The moon shone brightly and the stars covered the land with their soft iridescent glow. It was late in August. A strong, unseasonably cold wind was blowing up from the South. Xena and Gabrielle sat wrapped in wool blankets on either sides of a campfire in a clearing within a forest. They sat in silence, hearing only the sounds of crickets, owls, moving leaves, and the crackling of their fire. Xena sat perfectly still, staring into the fire as if she were mesmerized by the swaying flames. Gabrielle was staring at her. “Xena, what’s wrong,” she asked, trying to seach Xena's emotionless eyes for some kind of answer.
“Nothing. What makes you think something’s wrong?” she responded, not even looking up.
“Well…ever since we got back from Corinth you haven’t said one word to me.... Are you mad at me?”
Xena looked up. “No," she declared almost surprised by the question.
“Then why aren’t you talking to me?” Her voice sounded hurt.
“I've just been thinking about all that’s happened in the past few days.... But I’m not mad at you. Why would I be?”
“I don’t know. I just thought maybe I did something and didn’t realize it.”
“Of course not. If you did I would have told you.”
Gabrielle smiled, picked up her blanket, and sat down next to her. “You’re thinking about the gods aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I can’t figure out why they all suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. And Callisto, we were in the middle of a fight, then just because Strife whispered something to her, she left…laughing. She never leaves a fight.”
“You’re right. Something is wrong…and maybe it involves you, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Just take one thing at a time.”
Xena nodded and sighed. “You’re probably right. Let’s just try and get some sleep. Maybe I will be able to figure it out in the morning….Goodnight Gabrielle.” As Xena said this, she laid down on her blanket and shut her eyes.
“Wait.” Xena opened her eyes and looked at Gabrielle, who was leaning over to her. “I have one more question. Honestly, are you frightened by the gods?”
“Depends on which one,” she stated propping her head up onto her hand.
“In general.”
“In general?” She pondered for a moment, looking up at the star filled sky and then responded, “In a way no and in a way yes. I can’t describe it exactly. It isn’t the fear of their powers. It’s the fear of the unknown. You can never be sure of what they’ll do. That’s why you must stay alert. Because if they catch you off guard, then you are at their mercy. Does that answer your question?”
“I think so. Goodnight, Xena.”
“Night.” Gabrielle laid down. Within a short time, she was asleep. Xena on the other hand couldn’t sleep. She knew something was wrong. She could sense it. Her body began to stiffen as tension pushed its way into her thoughts. She tried to relieve the ache by exhaling deeply. She needed sleep. Xena hadn’t been sleeping well for the past few days. At that moment, she made up her mind. Whatever it was, it would half to wait until morning. With that, she shut her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.