Gabrielle, New Goddess In Town

"Xena, is it me or is it just hotter this summer?"

"Feels about the same to me. But I can’t remember when it was this dry. How long has it been since it’s rained -- two, three months?"

"At least. I sure hope we come across a spring or something pretty soon. I don’t know about you, but my water skin doesn’t have but a few swallows left in it."

"Then you’re better off than I am. I finished mine right after breakfast this morning."

"You know you’re welcome to whatever's left."

"I know, but you save it for yourself. We’ll find something pretty soon."

"I hope so. We’ve crossed how many dried up rivers so far?"

"Four or five. Not to mention the ones with just stagnant pools left in them. Sure wish it would rain."


"Look, Xena. Isn't that a house up ahead? You can barely see it through the trees."

"You're right. Sure is odd to see a house this far into the woods. Maybe there's a spring or well on the property."


"What Luck!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "A well! Let's just hope it has some water in it."

Dropping a wooden bucket tied to a long rope down into the well, the two thirsty travelers waited for the hoped-for splash. What they heard was a dull thud.

"Well, so much for the water." Xena said, sounding as disappointed as Gabrielle felt.

"Maybe someone's home." Gabrielle said hopefully. "Surely if there is, they must have some water."

Tentatively at first, Gabrielle softly knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she knocked harder, then harder still.

"Looks like no one's home, and from the looks of it, hasn't been in quite a while." Xena commented.

"Do you think we should go in?" Gabrielle asked. "Maybe there's something inside, like maybe a water skin, or a tub full of cool, fresh water."

"Why not? Can't let all that good water go to waste." Xena said answering Gabrielle's joking smile with one of her own.

Gabrielle pushed on the door but it wouldn't budge. She tried harder, and harder again, but it stayed shut.

"Do you think it's locked from the inside?" Gabrielle asked.

"It might be. Why don't we see if there's a back door?"

They walked around to the back of the small thatched house and found there was a back door, but it was just as stubborn as the front door.

"Looks like somebody didn't want anyone coming in." Xena said.

"Is it possible they died in there?"

"That's very likely. Living way out here, it could happen. Can you see anything through the window?"

Looking through the cracks in the shutters, Gabrielle answered, "No, it's too dark inside. So now what? Do we just leave, or should we break open the door?"

Thinking it over, Xena decided it wouldn't hurt to break in. "If there is a body in there, the least we could do is give it a proper burial. It's too dry to risk a funeral pyre."


After trying it a couple of times, Xena stepped back several steps from the front door, then with a short run, kicked the door just above the handle. The door cracked but didn't open. It took a third kick before it sprung open to the inside.

Slowly walking through the doorway into the house, Xena and Gabrielle allowed time for their eyes to get used to the darkness. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. A couple of broken chairs were turned over. Rats scurried into their corners. Gabrielle walked to the window and briefly struggled, but got the shutter open, allowing the sunlight into the hovel.

"Doesn't look much better now that we can see." Xena said. "Maybe there's something in the back room."

Xena had just walked into the room when she called for Gabrielle.

"What is it? Oh, Xena! Is she . . . ?" Gabrielle asked as she saw the shrunken body of an old woman lying on a crude cot.

"She's alive, but barely. No telling how long she's been here."

Picking up the woman, Xena told Gabrielle to move the bed into the main room. As she lay her back down on the cot, the old woman's eyes fluttered open, squinting against the brightness. When she was able to see, she looked from Xena to Gabrielle and back again. Several times she opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out.

Trying again, the old woman managed a dry squeak, then coughed a weak, dry cough.

"Water," Gabrielle said, "She needs a drink of water."

As she brought out her almost-empty water skin, Xena reminded her that was all she had.

"It doesn't matter, she needs it more than I do right now."

As Xena cradled the woman's head, Gabrielle slowly let the precious liquid pour between the dry, cracked lips into her mouth. Swallowing with difficulty, the woman eventually emptied the water skin.

Xena let her lie back, and a weak smile came to the old woman's lips. She put one gnarled, shaking hand to Gabrielle's cheek, and barely whispered. "Thank you, My Child. You have done a dying old lady a great favor."

She closed her eyes, resting for a moment, then opened them and said. "On the shelf by the window, there is a goblet of copper with a silver cover. Will you bring it to me?"

Gabrielle did as she was asked.

"Now, slowly and carefully, take the cover off."

Again, Gabrielle complied. As she did, she wrinkled her nose. "It smells like very old wine." she said.

"The woman smiled. "It has been . . . aged ," she said. "It makes it better, and a little stronger. Since you have been so kind to me by giving me the last of your water, then it is only fitting that I return the favor in kind. Drink, My Child, it will slake your thirst."

Gabrielle smelled the strong wine again and decided she really didn't want any of it, but at the same time didn't want to insult the old woman.

"I'm really not much of a drinker," she said, trying to find a reason not to drink. "I get tipsy pretty easy. Wine and I don't really agree with each other. But I'm sure Xena wouldn't mind."

"Won't you grant this dying old woman one last wish? Is it so much to ask?"

"Go on, Gabrielle." Xena said smiling, siding with the woman. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you if you throw up, or pass out."

With an unsure smile, and unwilling heart, Gabrielle raised the goblet in a toast, and said, looking at Xena, "Here's to strong wine ... and ... last wishes." She finished, looking at the old woman.

Slowly the goblet touched Gabrielle's lips, and as the powerful liquid began to pour past them, it seemed to Gabrielle as if it was alive, and before she knew it, she had drunk the last of it.

Her head began to spin, the room grew darker, then brighter. She saw Xena talking to her, but Xena's voice was very deep, and the words were spoken so slow as to be unintelligible. She saw Xena moving in slow motion toward her, and then she saw the ceiling slowly getting farther away.

And all of a sudden, she was on the floor in Xena's arms and everything seemed to be back to normal.

"Are you all right?" Xena asked her. "You really threw that stuff down! I thought you said you weren't a drinker. You sure could have fooled me!"

"I don't know what happened, I barely started to taste it when it just poured down my throat. There was no way I could stop it!"

As the old woman started coughing again, Xena and Gabrielle went to her side.

"My time has passed." She said. "Gabrielle, you have a loving and kind and generous soul. Use your gift wisely. Listen to your heart. It will never betray you."

Gabrielle and Xena looked at each other, puzzled at the old woman's words. When they looked back at her, they saw her take her last breath, a gentle smile on her lips.

Tears dampened Gabrielle's eyes, but as she put one hand over the old, misshapen hands, they began to dissolve. As Gabrielle jumped back in surprise, the old woman's body turned into a white mist, swirled slowly around the room, and then disappeared up through the thatched roof.

"What just happened?" Gabrielle asked Xena. "I've never seen anything like that!"

"She was some kind of enchantress or sorceress. I saw this happen once before, many years ago. She must have been hundreds of years old. Some stories say they are immortal, others say they live many years past a normal life span. I wonder how long she had been here, waiting to die. Or waiting for someone to come along so she could die."

"What do you mean, waiting for someone to come along so she could die?"

"That's another story. Supposedly, they can't die until they pass along their gift to another, to someone they deem worthy."

"So that's what she meant about 'my gift.' But what gift? All she did was ask me to drink the wine. And all it did was make me dizzy."

"She said it would quench your thirst. Did it?"

"You know, I think it did. I don't feel thirsty any more. But I suppose that doesn't help you any. You must still be plenty thirsty."

"I am, but we'll find some water, don't worry."

"It's too bad that well is dry. I sure wish it full of water." Gabrielle said longingly.

"Yeah, me too. But there's bound to be water somewhere. I guess we should leave, there's not much else we can do here."

Nodding her head, Gabrielle walked through the front door. As Xena walked out behind her, Gabrielle eyes grew larger and her mouth dropped. "Xena! Look!"

Following Gabrielle's eyes, Xena saw that the wooden bucket was floating in the well, which was brimming with water.

Running to the well, Gabrielle and Xena scooped up handfuls of water -- it was cool and fresh and refreshing. Between gulps, Xena whistled for Argo, who came over and drank her fill as well.


"This must have been the gift the old woman was talking about!" Gabrielle concluded. "She gave us all the water we could ever drink!"

"Yeah, I suppose, as long as we stay right here. No, this can't be the gift she was talking about. It has to be something else. She said to use your gift wisely. That has to mean something besides not drinking up all the water in one day."

Gabrielle shook her head, "Well, I don't know. Maybe she was just talking crazy. You know, how some people do just before they die?"

"The water came from somewhere."

"Oh yeah." Gabrielle agreed. "Then I'm at a loss. I have no ideas at all."


"So, do we stay, where we have plenty of water? Or do we fill our skins and hope to find more water before they're empty again?" Xena asked Gabrielle.

"Well, I don't think we'd be happy for very long staying here. I mean, this place is really run down. It would take us months to fix everything, even if we had the material we needed. No, I think we should leave. Let's look around, maybe we can find something else to carry water in besides these water skins. How about over there where all the garbage has been thrown?"

As Gabrielle pointed to the mound of refuse and waste, a stream of fire shot out from her finger, igniting the pile of garbage.

Quickly, Xena filled the bucket with water and threw it on the fire while

Gabrielle could only stand and stare at what she had done.

"Xena," Gabrielle finally managed to say, "What did I just do? Tell me fire didn't come out of the end of my finger. PLEASE! Tell me it didn't happen!"

"I'm sorry, but it did. I think we just found out what your gift is -- the Gift of Fire."

"But why? I mean, I can see where that could come in handy sometimes, but why the Gift of Fire? I don't get it."

"You're asking the wrong person." Xena said. "The only one who could have answered that was the old woman."

"The wine. It must have been the wine!" Gabrielle said. "She gave me the Gift of Fire when I drank the wine. I thought it tasted odd."

Turning back toward the house to follow Gabrielle, Xena had to almost run to keep up with her.

As she entered the house, Gabrielle said, "I can smell it! Can't you?"

"Smell what?"

"The wine! There was something in it. You can't smell that? It's almost overpowering."

Picking up the goblet and putting it to her nose, Xena sniffed long and deep.

"I do smell something besides the wine, but I can't place it." She said.

Taking the copper cup, Gabrielle sniffed. "It almost smells like ... like ... it almost smells like Ambrosia, but different somehow. I can't believe you can't smell it."

Taking the goblet again, Xena sniffed it again. "You're right, it does smell kind of like Ambrosia, but not exactly. Like it's in there, but not the same."

"By the gods, Xena, I'm getting scared. If there was Ambrosia in the wine, or even something LIKE Ambrosia, does that mean that I'm . . . ?"

"That you're what?" Suddenly Xena realized what Gabrielle was suggesting.

"Oh, Gabrielle! I don't know. A Goddess? It must be! I mean, you wanted water to be in the well, and it was. And then you threw fire from your fingertips. And now your sense of smell is suddenly so much stronger than mine. That is your Gift, Gabrielle, it HAS to be -- you are a Goddess! All because you showed your typical, unselfish kindness by giving the last of your water to a dying old woman, and a sorceress at that!"

Dropping down on the cot, Gabrielle looked up at Xena.

"Oh, Xena. What have I done? What will I DO?"

Xena could only look sympathetic and shake her head. "I don't know, Gabrielle, it's your gift. You have to figure it out."