"Forgiveness" Pt. 3 (repost)

"ATTACK!" Came the cry from the band of men. Immediately Xena unsheathed her sword and
started slashing. Gabrielle met her first attacker with a quick jab from her staff to his stomach.
Then she swung the staff around until it found the thugs temple. He crumbled to the ground in a
heap. Xena was busy thrusting and parrying with her attackers. Three men had descended upon
her at once. She gave her famous battle cry and somersaulted above the cluster of men. Upon
landing, Xena laugh out loud and struck the first man with a thrust to the heart. The other two were
momentarily stunned at Xena's acrobatics. They'd never encountered a warrior such as this. But
they were snapped out of their stupor by a rushing Xena. With another battle cry Xena lunged at
the second man, blocked a blow from the third, spun around in the air and delivered a swift kick
to the jaws of both men. The men were sent sprawling to the ground. Then Xena looked up and
saw Gabrielle handling herself quite well. However, three men were set to ambush Gabrielle. Xena
was too far away to physically interfere so she unhooked her chakram and threw it at the
oncoming group. The chakram ricochet off of the men's helmets and one by one they fell.

Gabrielle was swinging her staff and defending herself with a vigor she'd never felt before. Never
before had their lives depended so much on her ability to hold her own. She didn't know if or
when Xena might give in to the poison again.

Xena had easily dispatched of the rest of the men around her, and none too soon. The poison was
just starting to affect her again. Although ever so slightly, she still was relieved that she didn't have
to fight through the ill effects of it again. That's when she turned around and was greeted by a smug
looking man. Greatly overdressed in his armor for the occasion.

"Xena! Warrior Princess! What a pleasure it's going to be to kill you today."

The tavern was still littered with broken chairs, tables and bottles. Arianna and D'Lara sat down
and took a moment to breath. Arianna put her elbows on the table and propped her head on the
palms of her hands. Then she pushed her fingers through her hair, bowed her head and sighed in
frustration.

"Are you alright?" D'Lara asked. She was concerned about Arianna. She'd never quite seen her
like this before.

"To tell you the truth," replied Arianna " I don't know what I feel. I hate her D'Lara. I really do,
but I won't allow it to consume me like Callisto did. I just wish I could've found Callisto before she
found Xena. I think I could've reached her somehow. Maybe everything would be different now.
Maybe Callisto would still be alive, and Xena would just be a bad memory. I don't know what
happened to Xena today. I feel a little cheated, but I want to beat her at her best. I don't want
people saying I took advantage of a weakened Xena. When I beat her, I want it to be because
I'm better than her, not because she was sick or injured before hand."

D'Lara put her hand on Arianna's shoulder. "I understand, and I stand by you, as always."

Arianna smiled and placed her hand over the hand on her shoulder. Then she gave it a gentle
squeeze before releasing. D'Lara removed her hand and smiled back at Arianna.

"Wow, I guess that stuff we put in Xena's drink really worked." the bartender said in hushed tones
to the young man with the broom.

"What do you mean 'WE'?!" said the young man. "You did it. I had nothing to do with it. You
should have stood up to those men. If Xena survives and figures out what happened, you're gonna
be in a world of hurt."

"How could I stand up to them. They work for Talinares. You know how he's come into so much
power lately. He would've destroyed this place and taken the plunder for his army." said the
bartender exasperatedly. Then he glanced to his right only to see Arianna seething at him.

Arianna grabbed the bartender by the collar and threw him up against the bar. "You're gonna tell
me what you put in Xena's drink and why Telenares wanted you to put it there. If you lie to me,
I'm gonna slice you into a hundred pieces and use you as a garnish in one of those nasty drinks
you make - GOT IT?!" She said in a low, deliberate tone.

The bartender was shaking with fear, but nodded his head in acknowledgment. Arianna released
her grip. Bartender, now sweating profusely, rubbed his neck and cleared his throat.

"TALK!" Arianna demanded

The bartender put his hands out in front of him, palms down as if to soothe Arianna into a more
complacent demeanor.

"Telenares struck a deal with Strife. Strife is desperate to prove to Ares that he's a God to be
reckoned with. It's matter of respect you could say. So Strife gave Talinares the poison. In return,
Telenares would kill Xena, gain instant respect from the other Warlords for being the one who
finally took down the Warrior Princess, and make a bundle of money to build his army by
producing Xena's dead body."

"Isn't Strife worried that he'll fall out of favor with Ares for having Xena killed?" D'Lara butted in.
"Everyone knows of Ares fondness for Xena's .......abilities."

"No, if Talinares succeeds, he'll have the most powerful army in the world. The other warlords
would acquiesce to his needs and he would pledge his allegiance to Ares. Ares would have his all
powerful warrior and an army to rule the world."

Arianna was furious. "Where's the antidote for the poison?"

"Talinares has it. He's the only one who has it and it's only in case he accidently ingests the poison
himself. He keeps it hidden at his camp."

"Do you have anymore of the poison?" Arianna asked, an idea suddenly brewing in her head.

"I only have a small portion of the powder left. It's not enough to do any damage." said the
bartender.

"Give it to me" Arianna demanded.

D'Lara looked at Arianna quizically. She didn't know what she had in mind, but she'd been with
her long enough to know not to ask questions. Just trust what Arianna had planned and that she'd
fill her in when it was time.

The bartender complied with Arianna's demand. Then he offered some more information
voluntarily. "Talinares knows that the only healer in the area is in the next town, due west of here.
He's planning on ambushing Xena when she goes that way. By then she should be fairly
incapacitated by the drug."

Arianna and D'Lara looked at each other. Without saying a word they ran out the door and
mounted their horses. Each road at a full gallop. They were headed west. The sun was just starting
to come down. At full stride Arianna looked at the sunset.<i> Gods, when was the last time I took
in the pleasure of a sunset,</i> she thought. Still she rode. Fast and furiously. The need to
personally extract her revenge on Xena pulsated through her and she wasn't about to be cheated
out of that right.

Xena stared at the armored man. She didn't say a word, just glared.

"Allow me the pleasure of introducing myself. Afterall, it's only polite that you know my name
before I kill you. I am Talinares."

"You're responsible for the attacks lately!" Xena said flatly. "Your men are in need of training. I
find that a lack of good training usually stems from bad leadership."

"Oh, touche Xena! But you can insult me all you like. You see, the poison that's in you is all the
advantage I need to take you down. I'm sure you're starting to feel the effects by now."

Xena couldn't hide the fact that he was right. She was already sweating and feeling light-headed.
But she wasn't about to back down. Time was of the essence. If she was going to defeat Talinares
she had to attack now while she still could.

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi" she yelled, gave a wicked smile and started the assault on a stunned Telenares.

Gabrielle in the meantime had her hands full holding off all of her attackers. Everytime she defeated
one man, another would appear. They just kept coming, ceaselessly and she was becoming
fatigued. Yet each time she felt her strength wavering, she found a new determination with the
thought that Xena depended on her. Once again sweeping and thrusting, jabbing and clubbing, she
put man after man out. When finally, the last man had been felled, she looked over to see Xena
battling with Talinares. What she saw concerned her.

Xena had expended all her energies. She could no longer mount an offensive. All she could do
was parry Talinares' thrusts.

Gabrielle started running towards Xena as quickly as she could.

Talinares was coming at Xena with everything he had. He was becoming frustrated with her ability
to continually parry his thrusts. Then he saw what he was looking for. Xena was now visibly
suffering from the effects of the poison. She backed up and staggered to one knee.

'Get there Gabrielle, get there' Gabrielle said to herself as she continued running. How did she ever
end up so far away from Xena.

Talinares slammed his sword down on Xena's then hit her with a backhand to the cheek. Xena
was stunned and feeling leaden again. Talinares withdrew a knife from his belt. Xena tried to grab
at it, but Talinares grabbed her arm instead and pushed the knife straight into Xena's left side, well
below her ribs.

"NOOOooooo!" Gabrielle cried. Her eyes were wide with horror.

Xena, on both knees, clutched at the knife embedded in her side with both hands. Talinares gave
Xena a smug grin, then laughed out loud. Xena wouldn't give him the satisfaction, even now. She
stood up slowly, much to Talinares surprise and gave him a swift backhand to the jaw. Talinares
staggered back. His eyes were watering from the pain in his jaw. Then he looked back at Xena,
hand gingerly placed on his jaw. He turned around again and went for his sword.

Xena clutched the knife again, gritted her teeth and pulled it out with a pained scream. She looked
down at her hands. They were soaked with blood and dripping. The knife seemed to mock her as
she let it fall to the ground. Gabrielle had gathered herself enough to run the rest of the way to her
friend and she was there to catch Xena as she began to fall backwards into unconsciousness.
Gabrielle grabbed Xena from behind and braced her fall, gently laying her down on the grass.
Lying next to Xena, Gabrielle wrapped her arms around her and stroked her hair. "don't you die
on me Xena. Remember your promise. Don't you die on me again!" Gabrielle said with tears
streaming down her face.

"Oh very touching, now move aside woman or you'll die too." Talinares said as he approached
with his sword raised.

"Don't you touch her. I mean it!" Gabrielle said sternly.

"And what are you going to do?" Talinares said, not even believing the audacity of the young
woman.

"I'll do what I have to, and I will stop you" said Gabrielle in commanding tones.

"Oh really. You and who else." he replied

"Hello Talinares!" came a voice behind him. His eyes grew wide with recognition and he swung
around to see his enemy.

"Arianna!" he said. He never even heard her approach.