Twilight's Eve
Part Two
by Trisha Von Doss, aka Xenamour
Standard Disclaimers -
These characters are owned lock stock and barrel by The Powers That Be at Renaissance
Pictures, Universal MCA, and their various and sundry associates and affiliates.
No infringement on the copyright holders of these characters is in any way intended.
My sole wish is to share, through my humble efforts, my hopes, dreams, and fantasies
for the Incredible Beings so lovingly created by the staff of Gifted Individuals
at Renaissance Pictures.
Of course there are some pretty dusty hidden corners of this marginally balanced
intellect of mine... and who knows... I may even develop a few of my own peripheral
characters along the way.
Specific Story Disclaimers:
Violence - this is a Xena:Warrior Princess story for goodness sake... I rather
doubt I would come close to fullfilling the premise of the characters without
a little ass kicking here and there. I'll try to make it pertinent to the story
line when it's present. However occassional random acts of violence attributable
to other than the feature characters are beyond the scope of this disclaimer...
or my control. <BG>
Subtext - It bothers me a bit that I even have to make a disclaimer here. I
don't see too many disclaimers for stories with implied heterosexual relationships
floating around and I am inclined to follow suit. However, until such a time
as people can accept each others sexuality with reciprocal respect, it is evidently
expected that we who view the Bard and the Warrior as more than friends warn
those of you offended by this of the presence of such a relationship within
the pieces we write.
In any case, their's is surely one of the greatest love stories of all time.
It is my own personal belief that the emotional integrity of that love should
be maintained at all costs, no matter how one views the physical aspect or lack
thereof in this relationship. So if you have something against love... this
is not the story for you.
Emotional Content- Well I should blessed HOPE so.
Though the trade caravans had already moved toward warmer climates for the winter
and there were few travelers through the area this late in the season, out of
long practiced habit, they made camp far from any view of the road. Years of
living with the danger of unannounced attacks from both Gods and mortals had
developed particular patterns in their camp site selection.
~
Cover of some type was a must. They chose a spot with a tight stand of Cypress
trees to their back, providing some protection from the elements and limiting
open exposure from potential enemies to the front and to the right of them.
A small stream percolated nearby.
~
Despite the oncoming winter, there had been little rain this far North, and
while Xena had an uncanny knack for finding camp sites with access to a fresh
water supply of some sort, even the Warrior Princess was one skill short of
rainmaking. The nearby stream, nearly spent, now ebbed to it's lowest point,
trapping remaing aquatic life between long stretches of sand and rock in isolated
and shallow pools.
~
Xena removed Argo's tack and after giving her a quick rub down, led her to the
stream bed for a drink, while Gabrielle dug a small pit, gathered firewood,
and began trying to light a fire.
~
"Hey Xena, any chance at a fish dinner tonight?" The Bard called out over her
shoulder as she struck the flint over some dry grass tinder.
~
"Not really... Water flow's not much more than a trickle. Unless you wanna choose
between the bottom dwellers and the fish that didn't have it in 'em to make
it upstream." Xena called back up the bank.
~
Now busy pulling the cooking supplies out of the saddlebags, the Bard looked
up momentarily, shaking her head and crinkling up her nose in response.
~
Xena chuckled, "Whatsa matter...lost your taste for fish jerky?"
~
"Very Funny. Gods Xena... Just once I wish your memory would fail you. Just
my luck...I travel with the one woman in the world who could take countless
blows to the head and end up with improved recall."
~
"I have man..." Xena started to reply.
~
"Yeah yeah.. I know, many skills... Put a stave in Warrior Princess." Gabrielle
interrupted, trying to maintain a glare only to have it disintegrate into a
grin and a giggle as she remembered one of her first real glimpses at Xena's
sense of humor.
~
They had been traveling together for just under a year, and were near the end
of their first autumn on the road. The wet season had been late in coming and
the waterways were even dryer than usual. She had been bugging Xena relentlessly
for months to teach her how to catch fish barehanded, and Xena, to her credit,
had tried patiently several times over the course of the summer.
~
She'd been pretty much all awkward and elbows up to that point though, and repeated
attempts had typically ended with the Bard in a sour mood over her own incoordination.
So naturally Gabrielle had thought her own potentially nasty disposition afterward
was the reason the Warrior was reluctant to agree to another lesson.
~
"Xena... Please... I swear I won't sulk if I don't catch one. Please?
~
Silence.
~
So she had tried another approach. "Just this once more... I promise... In fact...if
we start now and I don't catch one before sundown, I'll give up altogether and
you'll never hear another word".
~
Xena, who had been in the middle of cleaning some of Argo's tack, had abruptly
halted her task. That last bit had done it. Crossing her arms she had shifted
her weight toward one leg, and stood staring at the Bard for a long second.
Arching a skeptical eyebrow she'd finally asked,
~
"Why do I have a hard time believing that?"
~
But Gabrielle had seen her chance and she took it. "Oh come on Xena, I know
I can do it! I got so close last time... I had that great big one by the tail,
remember?"
~
"Gabrielle that was a Perch", Xena deadpanned.
~
Gabrielle had done her best to look terribly wounded in response at that point...
Hoping to play on Xena's sympathy.
~
Instead Xena had rolled her eyes. "Listen, Gabrielle, it's just that most of
the fish are upstream now...and the water level is too low, it won't even be
a chall..."
~
Xena had stopped herself just short of finishing the thought, and had looked
from Gabrielle, to the stream, and back again, the twinkle in her eye brighter
each time.
~
In her typical exuberance, Gabrielle had completely missed the implication of
Xena's unfinished sentence. In those early years, the excitement of learning
something new frequently overoad her skills of observation.
~
Had she been paying more attention at the time, both the water level and the
condition of it's inhabitants might have been more evident to her. A better
tip off yet might have been the mischievous grin that had flashed briefly over
the Warrior's typically stoic face.
~
"Well... Ok... But if you catch anything you have to clean it."
~
And of course she had caught something. Gabrielle couldn't help but chuckle
remembering her own naivete. How could she not have caught something. The water
level was so low the thing practically swam into her hands.
~
And that fish was old... Ancient old. The biggest, ugliest, toughest bottom
dweller of the lot too. She had been so excited to catch the creature she was
completely oblivious to the condition of it.
~
Of course, her traveling companion was all too aware.
~
"Xena this fish is huge... More than enough for both of us... Why in the world
would you wanna go hunting tonight?", Gabrielle offered to share her plunder.
~
"Oh I dunno... I just think since that's your first catch...you oughta have
it all to yourself", Xena had replied, with a strange look on her face Gabrielle
couldn't quite place at the time.
~
So Xena had gone hunting. During which time, Gabrielle had tried to scale her
fish.
~
And when Xena had returned from hunting... after she had skinned and dressed
and cooked her rabbit...
~
And eaten her dinner...
~
And cleaned her armor...
~
Gabrielle was still trying to scale her fish.
~
The carcass was as tough as boot leather. Old boot leather. Gabrielle grimaced
at the memory...fossilized boot leather.
~
Xena had already retired to her bedroll by the time she had gotten the Carp
cleaned and gutted and ready to cook. Every time Gabrielle had looked up from
her task... Xena had been sleeping, or at least feigning sleep.
~
Given the Warrior could usually hear a stinkbug chewing on a stick at fifty
paces, it finally occurred to Gabrielle that scaling that fish had to sound
about as soothing as draging armour plate over gravel.
~
Gabrielle smiled to herself. She had learned two things that night. First: Push
the Princess... Pay the price...if Xena said "no"... Whatever the reason, chances
were you were better off leaving it at that. Second: Never fall asleep while
cleaning a fish; the smell is virtually impossible to get out of your hair when
you've spent all night using one as a pillow.
~
Gabrielle turned her eyes away from the now healthy fire only to meet the laughing
blue ones of her soul mate.
~
"Rabbit for dinner?" The voice belonging to those pieces of crystaline sky asked.
~
Gabrielle's twinkled in answer "Only if you wanna sleep tonight".
Continue to Part 3