Reactions And Resolutions
Chapter 6
by DQiscool
Hercules got up as soon as the sun was barely noticeable. He shook Iolaus and his friend jumped up, ready for a battle. "Where are they?" He asked confused.
"Who?" Hercules asked.
"You shook me like we were being attacked," Iolaus replied resheathing his sword.
"Sorry, let’s get going," Hercules said starting off.
"Whoa!" Iolaus called. Hercules turned back to look at his friend.
"Aren’t you forgetting something?" He asked. Hercules looked at him confused. "Breakfast," Iolaus offered.
"Oh," Hercules said. "Sorry, I already ate. Go on," He said. He sat down and impatiently waited while his friend cooked and ate breakfast. The moment Iolaus had finished Hercules jumped to his feet. "Let’s go," He said.
"Gods! Aren’t you in a hurry!" Iolaus exclaimed getting pulled to his feet by his friend.
"We’re getting close," Hercules replied. "About one week more and we’ll reach Amphipolis," He added.
"Hercules, I know that you want to see her, but she’s gone," Iolaus said resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
"Not if I have anything to do with it," Hercules replied.
"What are you saying?" Iolaus asked.
"I said, not if I have anything to do with it," Hercules replied staring off again. Iolaus just stood there for a moment, digesting what his friend had just said. He then ran and caught up with his friend, stopping him again. "We have to hurry!" Hercules yelled at his friend.
"You’re going to bring her back, aren’t you?" Iolaus asked. When Hercules didn’t reply Iolaus tried again. "Aren’t you?" He asked angrily this time.
"Yes," Hercules replied. "One can only be dead for a certain length of time in order to be brought back. I want to see her mother, and her body first. Then I’m going to the Algorian lake. It’s one of the many entrances to Hades domain, and bringing her back," Hercules replied.
"Hercules," Iolaus began.
"No, I’m bringing her back and that’s it. I’m not going to lose another person I love. I’m sick and tired of people I care about being taken away from me. This time I’m doing something about it," Hercules replied. Again, he started walking. This time, Iolaus fell into step beside his friend. Knowing that nothing he said would faze his friend. He didn’t know what he wanted. Xena had had such a hard life. He almost wished that his friend would let her stay in peace. He realized that he was lagging behind and ran to keep up with his friend. Hercules just looked ahead, as if not aware of anything but his goal. Nothing else mattered now, nothing but Xena. He set his jaw determinedly and increased his pace. Iolaus was almost running in order to keep up with his friend. But, he didn’t complain. He knew that his friend was in no mood for complaints. Iolaus tried to tell a joke to cheer his friend up but it was as if Hercules didn’t even hear him.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Xena had started for Thebes again. "I don’t think you should be riding with that wound yet," Gabrielle accused.
"Gabrielle, it’s just a flesh wound. I bandaged it, I cleaned it, it will be fine," Xena said, almost laughing at her friend’s needless concern.
"It’s just," Gabrielle broke off.
"I know, but Gabrielle, this isn’t like getting thrown up against a tree. Believe me, the gauntlet was much worse," Xena replied. Gabrielle smiled at her friend and realized that she was making Mount Olympus out of a mole hill.
"How much longer till we reach Thebes?" Gabrielle asked.
"Well, it’s two days at the rate we’re going. Of course, if you would ride, we would arrive by tomorrow morning," Xena said, to her friend.
"You know I hate riding," Gabrielle complained. But, then she thought about the situation. "All right," She sighed, knowing that she would regret it later. She held up her arms and Xena whisked her up behind her on Argo.
"Let’s go," Gabrielle said. Xena smiled at her friend and then clicked her tongue, sending the horse into a run. She knew that if they went fast enough, they might actually make it by night. She needed to make up for lost time. If only Gabrielle would have told her sooner. If only Velaska hadn’t become a god, if only pigs could fly. She scolded herself for thinking that way. She knew that she had to be logical. No use dwelling over what might have been. That doesn’t help anything. She needed to concentrate on the present. Argo seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and pushed as hard as she could.
Gabrielle held on for dear life. She wanted to watch the terrain but got to dizzy, watching the mountains, rivers, and trails pass by faster then she could count them. They all seemed a hazy blur. She tightened her grip around Xena’s waist in order to avoid being thrown from the massive horse’s back. She closed her eyes and felt as if she was flying through the sky like Icarus. She was beginning to feel sick but knew that they didn’t have time for her to walk. So, she started to make up stories in her head. Anything to keep her thoughts off her rapid pace. She thought about Autolycus, wondering what he really thought of Xena. About leaving Ephiny, almost leaving Xena for good. She then cleared her head of such depressing thoughts and thought about the up and coming reunion with Hercules and Iolaus. Gods knew they’d be in shock at the sight of her friend.
She started to laugh and then had to spit out some of Xena’s wild hair that had flown into her mouth.
Xena couldn’t help grinning. But, then her face grew more concerned. She could almost see Hercules now, on his way to talk to Hades, or whatever else he had planned. ‘Please Hercules, I’m all right,’ She thought. As if trying to communicate with him telepathically. She, unlike Gabrielle could see everything in detail as it flew past. Each tree, each rock, even each speck of dirt. After being a warlord so long, and traveling to reach destinations at top speeds, she learned to spot things that others couldn’t. Her officers often marveled at her ability to distinguish minute things from the blur around them. She could always see an attack before the others could. Now, she relied on her senses to see when something barred the way, or if an attack came again. She could only hope that one didn’t. She didn’t want to admit it to Gabrielle, but her wound was rather deep. But, she ignored it, as she said before, she had worse, much worse.
Suddenly, she could see the rooftops of houses. Argo had seemed to travel at an impossible speed. Gabrielle’s eyes were closed so she didn’t see the city coming into view.
Xena slowly stopped the horse so as not to let Gabrielle fly off. Gabrielle looked up as if waking from a deep sleep.
"Thebes," Xena said pointing towards the town.
Continue to Chapter 7
Return to Chapter 5
Return to XenaCrazed's General Fan Fiction and Poetry
Go to the Absolutely XenaCrazed Home Page