CHAPTER 3 OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
They rode hard for hours and hours, making conversation impossible until Xena forced Joxer to slow down sometime in the late afternoon. Joxer started to protest, but one look from Xena changed his mind. They made camp near a stream; and while Joxer watered the horses, Xena filled Gabrielle in on what was going on. When Xena was finished explaining about the strange dream-bond Joxer shared with his brothers, Gabrielle could only blink in response.
When they met Joxer at the stables, he was leading out Argo and Sandy, Gabrielle’s newly acquired horse. A stable boy followed him out, leading a grey mare.
“What’s this?” Xena nodded toward the mare as she took Argo’s reins from Joxer. She also noticed he was minus his helmet and sword.
Joxer handed Gabrielle the reins to her horse and shrugged at Xena. “We’ll go faster if we all ride, so I traded for her.”
Xena looked the horse over carefully and her keen eye judged it to be a healthy one, and the way the mare responded to Joxer’s handling as he swung into the saddle showed she was steady, too.
Gabrielle, bleary-eyed and thoroughly confused, caught Xena’s eye. “What could he have possibly traded?” The bard knew that their friend didn’t carry much more than they did when they traveled.
Xena glanced over at Joxer. She couldn’t help but notice how much smaller he looked without his clanky armor and that ridiculously large sword, like one good stiff wind would tumble him right out of his saddle. “Everything,” she answered Gabrielle with a sigh and climbed onto Argo.
The answer made Gabrielle pause for a moment and look at Joxer. The mare shifted nervously beneath him, responding to his obvious anxiety. Her sleep-deprived brain seemed to finally wake up as she quickly mounted her own horse. “Why the rush? Is there actually trouble in Marathon?” she asked Xena.
It was Joxer who answered her. “Athens.” He nudged the mare forward with his heel, trotting away.
Gabrielle looked inquiringly at Xena who shook her head and nudged Argo along. “I’ll explain on the way.”
Xena watched her friend as she soaked in the information, the bard looking puzzled and fascinated at the same time. Gabrielle glanced in the direction Joxer had left camp, to the fire Xena had made and back again, over and over, tapping her fingers against her chin. The warrior held back a grin, imagining all the questions that must be churning in the bard’s mind, but when Gabrielle turned to her, she halted the barrage with a raised hand and shook her head.
“That’s all I know. Joxer’s the one you have to ask.” Xena saw her glance back toward the stream with interest and sighed. “He’s tired and worried, Gabrielle…”
Gabrielle frowned at Xena as she reached for the saddle bags and dug out some traveler’s bread and a round of cheese. “I know that. I wasn’t going to ask him everything right away. I wouldn’t do that.” She gave Xena a sharp look that clearly asked if the warrior really thought she would upset him like that. Xena’s bland expression and raised eyebrow was her answer. Gabrielle stared at her in disbelief.
Xena stretched then took out her sword for sharpening while Gabrielle went very silent, glaring down at the cheese she was cutting. The bard was still deep in thought by the time Joxer returned with the horses. Gabrielle looked at him and felt a pang in her chest because she knew Xena was right. She’d always been rather thoughtless when it came to Joxer.
When Joxer had the reins of all the horses loosely wrapped around a low branch, he sat at the fire across from Gabrielle. He stared into the flames for a while, his hands tightly clasped, until a hunk of bread and cheese was held out in front of him. He took it, nodded, but didn’t look up at Gabrielle. He felt her hand squeeze his shoulder.
They ate in silence, rested for a few hours then mounted their horses again for another long, hard ride.
Such it went for the better part of a week, until one evening Joxer woke from his rest with a hard gasp, startling his friends awake as well. He sat up and rubbed his hands over his face as the women kneeled down on either side of him.
Xena recognized the haunted look in his eyes, put a hand on his arm and asked gently, “What did you see?”
Gabrielle looked at her sharply, then back at Joxer and scooted closer to him, concern etched on her face.
Joxer took a deep breath and shook his head, his voice thready and rough, “Nothing. It was all dark, like before, but hot. Really hot, like the air was burning and I could hardly breathe.”
Xena frowned, motioned to Gabrielle to give him a canteen. While he drank, the women shared a look and a nod and began packing up camp again.
By mid-afternoon the next day, they reached Athens. They decided to stop at a tavern to eat and care for the horses when Joxer explained they wouldn’t receive any hospitality from his father. Xena took charge of the horses while Gabrielle secured a table and Joxer ordered the food.
Taking three mugs of ale from the flirty barmaid, Joxer turned to carry them back to the table when a young boy ran slammed into his side, knocking the drinks from his hands and almost knocking him over as well. Several patrons around them grumbled and cursed at the disturbance and mess, but thankfully no one had been doused with flying ale. The kid muttered an apology and ran off, leaving Joxer with no drinks and ale-soaked boots.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned back to the barmaid. She winked and handed him three more ales, dismissing the mess with a wave of her hand. She stroked his hand as he took the drinks from her and gave him a sultry smile. His grin acknowledged her invitation but didn’t accept it and he felt relieved when she just shrugged and smiled and turned her attention to the next patron.
Xena was at the table when he returned. “Check your money pouch, Joxer,” she said wryly as she sipped her ale. She’d seen the boy bump against him, a common distraction for a thief.
Joxer reached under his tunic for the small leather pouch tied to his belt and sighed when he felt it there, then frowned. He pulled it loose and shook it. The money was gone. He groaned and threw it on the table. “Should’ve seen that coming.”
Gabrielle noticed something sticking out of the pouch and quickly set down her ale. She took the pouch and withdrew a small rolled-up scrap of parchment. She held it out to Joxer. “Was this there before?”
Joxer took it and mumbled a “No” before unrolling it. Xena smirked and nudged Gabrielle, “Kid’s got talent to manage that.” Gabrielle rolled her eyes.
“Jett sent him.”
The women turned to him in surprise. Joxer handed Xena the parchment and took a deep gulp of his ale.
Gabrielle leaned in close to Xena to hear her quietly read out the words on the parchment.”’The Black Swan. Midnight.‘ - And it’s signed with a triangle.”
Joxer nodded, “Jett wrote it, I know his hand. And the triangle…” He took the parchment back and stared at the little symbol. “It’s something we came up with when we were boys, a secret sign just for us.” He rolled the scrap back up and slipped it back into the pouch with a sigh. “The Black Swan is an inn a few miles outside of the city to the north.”
Xena nodded, “He’s been waiting for you, so he must know something. Come on, we have some time before we meet him, so let’s get some rest.” She caught Gabrielle’s arm as the bard started digging through her bag for her own money purse and raised an eyebrow at him. “Why don’t you make the arrangements with your new friend.” She twisted her lips into a wry smile and nodded over at the barmaid.
Joxer blushed slighty, took the purse as Gabrielle slapped it into his hand made his way back over to the bar.
Xena met Gabrielle’s bland gaze and shrugged, “It’ll cost us half the dinars this way and you know it.”
Gabrielle rolled her eyes.
