The road to the temple was a long one with many twists and turns. For the most part, Xena and Gabrielle just sat quietly in their cages, except for the occasional grunt when they were throne into the bars from a sharp turn. Xena did not just sit though, in her mind she had already formulated a plan. She did indeed have a way out of her cage.
The gods had forgotten about the little dagger she kept hidden in between her breasts. It was a gift given – well it was more like something she took away – from Gabrielle right before she had been captured by Morpheus. Xena smiled, remembering the lecture she had given Gabrielle about carrying a sword and becoming a target. She sighed deeply. ‘Enough reminiscing,’ Xena thought. ‘Time to deal with the matter at hand.’
She removed the little knife from its hiding place. It was relatively new compared to the rest armor. She shoved the pointed end into the lock at the front of the cage. With a twist of the wrist, the lock clicked. She was free. Still, she had to think of some way to get Gabrielle out. Xena resolved to wait until they reached the castle before she tried to rescue her companion. As for right now, she needed to get herself out of the cage without being seen.
Carefully, she slit the sheet by the loose door open, making sure to keep the door shut so it wouldn’t be as obvious. She peeked out. ‘This proves it. People must really become stupider as gods. That or just plain careless,’ she thought. They are highly over rated. The opening to the door was facing the back which was unguarded. ‘This is going to be easy,” she thought, smiling.
Ares sat impatiently in his throne, one leg draped over the arm rest. He was playing with one of his daggers, upset about having to miss a war council because of this pointless party.
Strife nervously paced the room in front of the throne. “They’ll be here, I promise you.”
“Well I hope for your sake you’re right.” He paused. “Cause I’m not waiting here much longer. This had better be worth it.”
“Oh it is.” Strife knew fully well that his uncle had no idea of what his gift would be. But he had wanted the warrior princess for a long time. This would make his day.
“Sorry we’re late,” announced Callisto as she strolled casually through the door way. Strife sighed a sigh of relief. He stopped pacing and walked over to the two large boxes which were pulled in behind the goddess. “We had a little trouble with the…uh…wrapping paper.”“Understood. Well, what is it?” questioned Ares. Strife smiled at his uncle’s curiosity. The mere size of the boxes had intrigued him. Ares walked over to Strife, arms folded across his chest.
“Uncle, allow me to present you with these two gifts on behalf of the other gods.” He paused for effect. “For your first gift, here is Gabrielle, bard of Podedia.” As he said this, he removed the sheet from Gabrielle’s cage. She was seated in the far corner of the cage, curled into a little ball. She looked up at the smiling gods in fear.
“Impressive,” replied Ares, amused. He was starting to get excited. He had a pretty good idea of what the second gift would be, and was lookinf forward to it immensely.
“And for your second gift, I present to you… your own creation…the warrior princess…Xena!” He tore off the sheet from Xena’s cage.
“Is this supposed to be funny?” snarled Ares as his face suddenly grew very angry. The puzzled gods peered into the cage. Xena was gone.
“I don’t understand. She was here…right here,” yelled Strife. The other gods began to frantically search around the room.
Their search came to an abrupt stop when they heard a voice from the background call out, “You know, it helps to remove someone’s weapons before you try to confine them.” All of the gods turned towards the voice. Xena was calmly perched on a windowsill on the side wall. Her feet dangled carelessly of the edge of the sill that was about twenty feet in the air. It was a big temple. Her hand held the side of the window as she looked down at the gods and smiled at Gabrielle. Ares’ look had softened as he smiled up at his chosen.
“How did you get out?! That cage was made of Hephaestus’s metal!” shouted Strife.
“True, but as I said, it helps to take someone’s weapons first.”
“But we did.”
“Ha!” Gingerly, she removed the dagger from her bodice and held it up for all to see. “Well what do you call this? Jewelry?”
“Well at least you eventually did decide to grace us with your presence,” Ares stated seductively. “Oh…and I love the outfit.” Xena’s mouth curled into a faked smile as her steely blue eyes met his. Easily, she jumped down from the window – like always – landing on her feet.
“Oh I almost forgot…happy birthday, Ares,” she remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Casually, she walked over to a table full of food and ate a grape. “At least the food is good.” She glanced around the room at all the gods present. Ares’ eyes never left her figure. She continued to stroll over to the gods until she was right in Ares’ face. “Just so you know, I really don’t appreciate being chased for miles just to end up being some sort of prize piece in your collection of whore priestesses simply for your entertainment. My life is mine.”
Very relaxed, she bent down and, using the little dagger, unlocked Gabrielle’s cage as well. Gabrielle stood up and took Xena’s outstretched hand. “Come on. We’re getting out of this place. Good bye, Ares.” She turned to leave, but a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Xena felt herself being pulled away from Gabrielle and towards Ares until he had captured both of her hands in his and they were standing face-to-face.
“Where did you think you were going? Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to leave a party before you even…” He glanced down the woman’s body which he held firmly pressed against his. “…open gifts.”
“I am NOT your gift, Ares. I belong to no one but myself, and the sooner you realize that, the better off we will both be.”
“No. Xena, you need to understand. You belong to me. I made you who you are…and I’ll never let you go. You are and always will be mine.”
“Not if I can help it.” As she said this, she brought her knee up and it swiftly connected with Ares’ stomach. Pulling her wrists free, she flipped out of his range and landed beside Gabrielle. “Come on. We have to go. Now!” She took Gabrielle’s hand and they headed towards the window which was in the back. It was the only way out. The gods had already barricaded the doorway.
“Gabrielle, hold on to me. Tight!” She clung to the warrior’s shoulders as Xena jumped and they both went flying into the air, landing on the windowsill.
“Xena, how can we get down? This window is too high and there’s water surrounding the entire perimeter.”
“Trust me.” Xena gave the window a jerk and it flew open. “See.” She pointed to a small rope attached to the window and to a tree on the other side of the water. “Here,” she said, handing Gabrielle a small hook.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Hook it onto the rope. Because the rope is slanted, if you hold onto the hook, you will be able to glide to the other side.” Gabrielle nodded in understanding. “I want you to go first.”
“No. I won’t leave you.”
“You have to.”
“But they’ll capture you,” Gabrielle pleaded. She glanced down at the gods. They were mobbed around the window and some had already began to climb up.
“No, they won’t. I’ll go as soon as you’re on the other side. I don’t want to put both of us on at one time. It might break.”
“OK.”
“Once you’re on the other side, I want you to run. Keep running and don’t stop. I’ll catch up.”
“But….”
“No buts. Just do it.”
“Fine, but I’ll see you soon, right?”
“Count on it.” Gabrielle leaned towards her friend and hugged her. “Now go.” Gabrielle got herself situated and was soon gliding down the rope to safety. Sadly, she glanced up at Xena from the other side and then ran.Faster and faster, she headed towards…where ever the path would take her. She had no idea of the land around her. Gabrielle soon reached the end of the road. It was a cliff. At the bottom were some jagged rocks and the crashing waves of the ocean. There was no way around. She turned to go back , but someone stood in front of her, blocking her way. Velaska. This was not good. Velaska hated her ever since Gabrielle had taken the mask of Amazon queen instead of her.
“My, my. This is somewhat of a jam you’ve gotten yourself into isn’t it?”
“Leave me alone. If you don’t, Xena will….”
“Xena will do nothing. She is still preoccupied back at the temple. Now where was I? Oh yes. You know, when you took that mask of queen that was a very foolish think to do. That mask was mine. By Amazon law, that mask was mine! And now you will pay. This is the end.” Velaska lifted up her hand. A column of light shot out from it and hit Gabrielle square in the chest. It sent her soaring over the edge. The sound of her echoing call for Xena continued even after she reached the end. Velaska, seeing that the job was done and that revenge had been served, disappeared in a fit of joyful giggles, just before Xena arrived in the clearing. She had heard Gabrielle’s cry for help.
“Gabrielle?” Cautiously, she approached the end of the cliff. All became silent when the echoing ceased. Xena slowly looked over and immediately a gasp escaped her lips. She felt like a knife had just been plunged into her heart, but not just killing it, ripping it to shreds.
Gabrielle’s body was lying atop of the rocks, covered in blood. Every new tide, washing away the old blood as the new began to show. Gabrielle was dead? This was not what was supposed to happen. The air at this point had become dead quiet. The only sound was Xena’s now labored breathing. For a moment Xena just silently sat there as if she still could not grasp what had just happened. Until finally, she lost all control, reality set in, and any and all hope she had died. Unable to control herself, she let out and ear piercing scream. One of pain…sorrow…and the loss of a love. Gabrielle was dead and a part of Xena had died along with her. For Xena, nothing would ever be the same again.