Disclaimer: I own no rights whatsoever to any characters from Xena:Warrior Princess, I am only borrowing them for the length of this story. This story is for the amusement and entertainment of my friends in the Ares and Xena Shippers club. I promise to return the characters intact when I am finished with them. I am making no money from this story.
Drip, drip, drip...the sound had gone on for days now. It had rained steadily for over a week. Everything was wet, their clothes were clinging to them with an obstinancy that was becoming annoying. They had been fortunate enough to find this huge evergreen tree with low hanging, heavily needled branches. It was surrounded by other, smaller evergreens. For the first day or two that had helped. Then the wind had picked up, and the heavens had opened. Now, the very branches that had sheltered them were dripping their load of moisture in a slow, insidious, monotonous thud. Xena was holding up rather well under the circumstances, but not Gabrielle. "Isn't this rain ever going to stop?" she whined. "All it does is rain. It rains softly for a while, then it lets up to just a mist, but then it starts to pour again. I WANT IT TO STOP!" "Gabrielle, it is the rainy season. What do you expect? We have plenty of supplies, we have no place we have to be right now, and it will eventually stop." "It can't happen soon enough to suit me!" was the disgruntled reply.
Later that afternoon, the sun broke through. The blue of the sky, although still marred with a few clouds here and there, was a welcome sight. Their first order of business was to dry things out. They hung clothes here and there in the sunlight hoping they would soon be dry. The clothes on their backs would dry out rather quickly now that the rain had stopped. Their body heat was coming back. They had been chilled to the bone during the worst of the storm. Huddled together under a blanket to at least keep out the worst of the wind, they had managed to share what little body heat they had left. They had been back to back most of the time for the last several days. Xena's *old* bones were aching from the inactivity. That was a standing joke between then, as Xena was quite a few years older than Gabrielle.
Xena got out her sword and started some drills. The exercise would be good for her, and it would also quicken the speed with which her clothes dried. The swift sure movements soon warmed up her joints and muscles, and then she started with the leaps, flips, kicks, and other gymnastic exercises. It was never wise to start strenuous exercise until you were warmed up. She had learned that from Ares. He had taught her most of these moves, and had rigorously made her practice them until she could do them right every time. Most of the time just wasn't good enough. He was a stickler for detail. She finally completed her routine, and went looking for any kind of dry wood they could use for a cook fire. There wasn't much to be had, the rain had seen to that. She did, however, manage to find a rotton log. It had a punky section she could rip apart with her hands. It was dry inside, and she managed to get several handsful of kindling with which to start a fire. She was also fortunate enough to find an old nest inside, with a lot of dry grasses and leaves.
The fire started easily enough, and with the kindling burning brightly they soon had more wood dry enough to make a good fire. Gabrielle opened the packs and started digging through the contents. "Ruined, absolutely ruined!" she exclaimed. " Everything is wet, the flour is a gummy paste, even the jerky is damp." "Well, see what you can salvage." Xena replied. "It's not too far to a village where we can re-supply." They dried out the jerky beside the fire, Gabrielle made some kind of pancakes from the gummy flour, and they ate what they had. It would have to do. At least they wouldn't go hungry on the way.
The village wasn't much to look at. It consisted of only about a dozen houses, had a small temple to Athena, and a very small tavern attached to a supply store. The two women looked around on their way in, seeing nothing to worry them in any way, they reined their horses in at the front of the store. It was a quiet, peaceful town, to all appearances. They entered the store, made their selections from the supplies on hand, and paid for their purchases. As they left the shop, they took another look around. Practically no one in sight. Unusual for this time of day. They loaded their supplies on the horses, and then decided to see if there was any decent food to be had at the tavern. You never knew, one tavern would have great food, and another would have stuff you would consider feeding to your pigs. This one turned out to be of the former type. The aroma that tantalized their noses as they stepped through the doors was enough to make their mouths water. "Roast turkey!" Gabrielle said. They hadn't had roast turkey in months. It was one of Gabrielle's favorite foods, and something she just couldn't resist. "Please, Xena, let's stay for dinner?" The odor had also aroused Xena's appetite, so she gladly complied. The manager came over and took their order. As he was delivering it, Xena asked him why things were so terribly quiet in the village.
It seems that most of the villagers had gone to a fair in the next large town. They were having a livestock sale, competitions in baking, pickling, handwork and other crafts. After he had left them to enjoy their meal, Gabrielle started musing on the idea of the fair. It had been ages and ages since she had been to a fair. When she was growing up, that had been one of the highlights in her year. Her whole village would go to the fair. Sometimes her mother would buy her something nice, like ribbons for her hair, a new scarf, maybe even a new scroll to read. A fair was a wonderful place to be. The more she thought about it, the more she was tempted. "you know, Xena, that's not a bad idea." "What idea?" was the reply. Xena was thinking of something else at the time, and had no idea what Gabrielle was talking about. "The fair!" she exclaimed. "Didn't you hear him telling us about the fair?" "What fair?" was the reply. "I'm afraid I wasn't really listening."
They had discussed it for quite a while. Gabrielle was anxious to go, but Xena really didn't see the need to go out of their way just to see a fair. "But you were just saying that we didn't have any place we had to be. So what difference does it make where we go? I'd really like to take in the fair!" After more discussion Xena had finally given in. It wasn't as if they were on any kind of schedule or anything. If Gabrielle really wanted to go that badly, she guessed she could humor her.
The fair was quite a bit larger than Xena had ever imagined. They had all kinds of exhibitions. One of them that caught her eye was a weapons maker. She watched him for quite a while as he hammered a piece of iron into a shield rim. The shield itself would have been too heavy to carry if it had been entirely of Iron. The body was of brass, with a crosshatch and rim of Iron. It would easily stop most swords. She had no need of a shield, her speed and agility more that made up for the extra protection a shield would provide, but it was a beautiful piece of workmanship.
Gabrielle was in her element. She was excited and thrilled to be in a wonderful place like this fair. There were storytellers, musicians, magic workers who could make a scarf appear from your ear, all kinds of interesting things. She managed to get a good deal on some India ink, got three blank scrolls for the price of two, and found a piece of ribbon that was exactly the color of her eyes. Altogether a wonderful day.
The two women rejoined for supper. They had taken rooms at a decent inn, and had agreed to meet there for a meal when they were finished shopping. Xena had actually bought very little. She didn't have many needs. She liked to keep things simple. No need to be carrying loads of stuff that just took up room and loaded down the horse. Supplies were one thing, they were necessary. Knickknacks and pretties weren't. She was glad that Gabrielle had her own horse now. All those scrolls took up a lot of space, even though they didn't weigh much. Her saddle bags used to be taken up with mostly Gabrielle's stuff. Now she could concentrate on more necessary stuff. One item she had picked up was a small tent. It was oiled silk, and was supposed to be totally waterproof. Hopefully all the rhetoric the salesman had used was true. That week of rain had strained her patience to the breaking point. She realized that Gabrielle was happiest when she was telling stories, but she could also spend a lot of time bitching. The constant complaints during that week had really gotten on her nerves. She could only hope that the tent would help if they ever got in that situation again.
They found a table in a far corner, and took their seats. Something smelled good.
The serving girl came over to take their order, and they asked what that aroma was. "It's roast pork! we also have some oven roasted potatoes with an herbed cream sauce, and a choice of peas or carrots for the vegetable." was the reply. It all sounded delicious, and the two ordered their meals. They also ordered mead. They might as well splurge. They didn't spend much time in towns, and they had the ready cash to do it. Xena had saved a large town from a vicious warlord. She had had the help of several noted citizens, and Gabrielle had written a full account of the battle. She had given due recognition to each of the citizens involved, and when she read the scroll to the assembled citizens, they all wanted a copy. She had spent several days copying that scroll. The citizens had not only paid her for her efforts, but they had each provided her with the blank scrolls she needed. The head man had also given her a new bottle of ink and several quills to complete the task. The citizens now had scrolls detailing their heroic actions in the battle to save their town. Something for future generations to ooh and aah at.
As they ate their dinner, they discussed their day. Gabrielle went into intricate datail as to everything she had seen and heard. When it was Xena's turn she simply remarked on the workmanship of the blacksmith she had watched. She decided to keep the tent a secret for the time being. She'd wait until they needed it, and then voila, the tent would appear as if by magic. The look on Gabrielle's face would be something to see.
There was a sudden disturbance, two drunken men had come to blows, and it spilled over into their area. They grabbed their plates and mugs to avoid getting everything spilled all over themselves. They were just in time, the table went crashing to the floor as they sidestepped the squabble. They leaned against the wall as the pair knocked over another table. The people at that table weren't as fortunate as they had been. Food and ale spilled all over the clothes of the couple setting there. The woman screamed, and began wiping at her dress with a cloth. The man took umbrage at the mess. He leaped to his feet, grabbed both men by the nape of the neck, and tried to smash their heads together. He wasn't quite quick enough. The two forgot their argument with each other, and decided to teach this upstart a lesson. A man at another table was friends with the hapless diner, and came to help him. Soon half the tavern was embroiled in the melee. So far, Xena had successfully kept out of the trouble, but that was not to last. One man threw another into Gabrielle. Her food and mead went flying, fortunately it went away from herself or Xena. It formed a large messy puddle on the floor. Someone slipped on the mess, and landed on top of Xena. She kept her food and drink in hand, balancing on the balls of her feet, she managed to set things down safely. Then she waded in, "ENOUGH!" she bellowed. Her shout took them all by surprise. She had put an amazing amount of force into her voice, commonly known as command voice, which she had learned as a warlord under Ares. For a moment there was silence. Everyone turned to look at her. She then ordered them to get busy picking this place up, now. With sheepish looks on their faces most of them set about obeying her. The original two refused to pay any attention to some bitch who thought she was something. She flipped over the intervening table, landed briefly, and leaped again. This time she kicked both of them in the chest so hard they went flying into the nearest wall. Thud, the sound reverberated throughout the room. They slowly slid to the floor. Not a movement, not a sound, only limp bodies leaning against the wall. "Someone take them outside and dunk their heads in the horse trough. When they wake up, send them home." It was surprising how quickly she got volunteers for the job.
Before too long, the tavern was pretty well straightened up. People had picked up the tables and chairs, mopped up the floor, and rearranged the furniture back into place. Surprisingly, nothing serious seemed to be broken. The furniture was all in one piece, being made of pretty solid wood. The only damage was in crockery. There were broken dishes and mugs that had been swept up and dumped in a barrel, but not as many as she would have expected. The tavern owner was smart, he bought good quality sturdy merchandise for his place. It cost more to begin with, but it was definitely worth it in the long run. Taverns have a long history of fights, and she was sure this one was no exception.
The Innkeeper came over and offered the two women new dishes of food and mugs of mead. "It's the least I can do." he said. "You kept things from really getting out of hand. No one was seriously hurt, nothing inportant was broken, and I'd like to thank you personally for your efforts." Gabby was still standing open mouthed. "That was awesome!" she said enthusiastically. "I've got to write this down." Xena downplayed her own efforts. She said that she had only gotten their attention and made them realize just what they were doing. They had taken it from there. When they had finished their dinner, they went up to their rooms and turned in for the night. For some odd reason, they were really tired.