Epilogue

Xena's heart was racing. Her palms were sweating. Her eyes were twitching. And, her whole body was tense. It wasn't that she was nervous, but….well ok she was bit nervous.
It wasn't that she was unsure of what she was doing, Xena had never been more sure and excited about anything in her life. It was just the fact that today was the day. She was going to get married.
Although Xena had begged for something small, the marriage of an Amazon queen was not a quant affair. All the tribes from the united nation had once again joined for the joyous occasion. A big, long, formal ceremony had been planned. Gabrielle and Xena had to go through a week's worth of preparation, much to the warrior's dismay. But, she endured because she knew how important it was to Gabrielle.
It really had turned out beautifully. Xena had been granted one of her requests, she wanted the wedding to be held outside at the spot where her life began. The place where the two had met. Gabrielle found it simply sentimental and loved when the warrior showed her romantic side. She had been easy to convince. And once she had a battling bard on the case, the rest of the nation became convinced too.
Sara had arrived in yesterday. Gabrielle had asked her, in true Amazon style, to give her away because she was her only surviving relative. It saddened them both that she would be the only actual family member present.
Eve was still in Chin and couldn't be reached, much to Xena's dismay. But she accepted it and was ok with the fact. The only thing that truly hurt was that her mother couldn't see the wedding. Although she knew Cyrene was looking down upon her from the Fields, her presence was surely missed. Xena knew how much her mother would have loved the ceremony. She also knew how much the woman loved Gabrielle and would be so pleased at their union.
She could have made Xena's wedding outfit. Her mother had always spoke of how Xena would someday wear her wedding dress. They had made a trip to Amphipolis, just incase it was still there, but like almost everything else had been in the inn, it was in ruins.
Refusing to wear the skimpy Amazon leathers, she opted to design and have her own outfit made. She was dressed completely in black leather. She wore a tight pair of leather pants, covered in the ends by knee high black leather boots. The top was cut much like the bodice of her usual leathers, except it have any straps. It fit much more like a corset. And, instead of a breast plate, Xena had the seamstress embroider the design of her plate onto the actual leather in gold thread.
Covering it all Xena wore a long black leather coat, left unbuttoned, which fell only a few inches shy of the ground. She looked stunning and felt the lusty stares around her. Absolutely shameful, she humorously scolded. Easy ladies, I'm about to be a married woman.
Married. In all her years, Xena never thought she'd ever get married. First, she didn't believe she wanted to. But as time went on, her reasons changed. It wasn't that she didn't want to get married, it was that she didn't think she deserved that kind of happiness in her life. A part of her still believed that.
Everything was much too perfect for her. The whole day Xena had been constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for the next shoe to fall. She could feel it in the air, something was about to happen. As much as she wanted to, Xena could never let herself relax and be happy. She was always waiting for the sadness to come.
She prayed today would be different.
Gabrielle loved her with all her heart and Xena more then reciprocated. They were going to be together forever. Xena vowed she would never let anything change that. Forever…..it will be forever. She smiled with certainty.
Lethara came up behind her and whispered in her ear.
"We're about to begin."
"Ok." Xena acknowledged and let out a hesitant breath.
Forever.