The court assembled about two candlemarks after the night's fast had been broken. Xena was brought into the hall, and the assembled Amazons took their seats on the benches provided. The Elders then entered and took their places on a raised dias, behind a long table at the far end of the hall. Xena sat with Gabrielle at a table immediately in front of them, with two guards standing directly behind the chained Warrior Princess. Tarelle, the prosecutor, sat at a second table to the left of the first.

As they waited for the court to come to order, Xena allowed a small, self mocking smile to flit over her face. Gabrielle caught the look and asked her friend, "What are you thinking?"

"Oh," replied Xena lightly, "Just that it seems we've been through something like this before."

The bard smiled back, "Well that turned out all right in the end," she reminded her friend.

"True," agreed Xena. "But I don't think that I'll be able to trick Ares into resurrecting the dead this time," she added. However, she felt comforted by the gentle squeeze that the bard gave her hand.

With everyone assembled, the hearing began. Tarelle, an Amazon who clearly stood with the anti-Xena faction, had been given the task as prosecutor of the charges, "The Amazon People charge Xena of Amphipolis, Warrior Princess of Calmai, Destroyer of Nations, with murder, grievous bodily harm and the abduction of Queen Gabrielle, with the intent to do murder upon her, and thereby commit treason against the Amazon people."

"Now wait a minute," declared Gabrielle hotly, standing up to contest the last part of the charges, "I have never sought to charge Xena with my abduction! And just how could she have committed treason? She's not an Amazon."

With a look to the Elders to gain their approval, the red haired Tarelle turned to the bard and said, "Forgive me, my Queen," it sounded almost as if she choked on that bit, "but you are the Queen of the Amazons and as such your person is part of the Amazon state. It is therefore within the people's right to bring the charge of abduction, because it was their Queen who was abducted."

Gabrielle looked a bit stunned about that, but she wasn't giving up on the charge of treason, "Look, even if the charge of abduction is admitted to the proceedings, there's no way that treason could or should be considered."

"On the contrary, Queen Gabrielle," Tarelle almost purred, "Xena is the Queen's Champion, and as such subject to the laws of treason."

"Tarelle is correct," contributed Elder Katanis, a raven haired woman with flecks of grey at her temples and a hardness to her face that seemed to speak of severity.

Amara, the Eldest, a white haired woman with an air of wise patience about her, made the first ruling, "The charges stand as presented. Tarelle," she instructed, "call your first witness.

"I call Ephiny, Queen Regent, to hold truth," stated Tarelle formally.

The blonde Amazon made her way from one of the front benches where she had been seated. Called to hold truth, all Amazon's were honour bound to give a true testimony of events they were questioned about. Ephiny stood stiffly as she faced Tarelle. Her talk with Gabrielle had led her to re-evaluate her opinions and position on the case.

"Were you present on the day of the attack?" asked the prosecutor.

"Yes," agreed the blonde.

"Did you see the accused in her attack on this village?" continued Tarelle.

"Yes," repeated Ephiny.

"Were you not attacked by Xena as you sought to protect Queen Gabrielle from a savage assault?"

"Yes, I was," agreed Ephiny and tried to add, "but it wasn't the Xe...."

"You've already agreed that it was Xena?" interrupted Tarelle.

"Yes, I know, but...." agreed the blonde Amazon, trying to clarify what she had seen.

"Well then, can you describe what happened?" pressed Tarelle relentlessly.

Ephiny had no choice but to describe how Xena had fought past her attempts to stop her, breaking her arm and attacking any Amazon that had stood in her way until she was able to get to Queen Gabrielle and remove her from the village by dragging her behind a fast moving horse.

"You saw Xena strike Mariss and Denara?" demanded the red haired prosecutor.

"Yes," agreed Ephiny quietly.

"And both of these sisters died of the wounds received from Xena's hand?" she pressed.

"Yes," agreed Ephiny almost reluctantly.

"And you also witnessed the brutal abduction of Queen Gabrielle?" persisted Tarelle.

"Yes," Ephiny stated once more to the hushed hall.

"Did Xena attempt to kill her, while here in the village?" demanded the prosecutor.

Ephiny bit her lip and stood quietly, reluctant to answer the question.

"You are under oath to answer truly," reminded Tarelle.

Ephiny looked an apology at both Xena and Gabrielle, "She threw her chakram at the Queen," she answered in a quiet voice.

"Xena is deadly accurate with this weapon, is she not?" asked the red head.

Ephiny nodded her reply.

"How is it she failed to hit the Queen?" she demanded.

"I deflected her aim," returned the blonde Regent softly.

"I have no further questions of this witness," Tarelle told the Elders.

"Do you have anything that you wish to ask Regent Ephiny, Queen Gabrielle?" asked Amara for the Elders.

Gabrielle rose from beside Xena and moved around in front of the table she had been seated at. Speaking to the Elders, Gabrielle began by saying, "I'd like to go back to the time a few days before the raid on the village took place."

"Is this relevant, Queen Gabrielle?" asked Sarelle, the youngest of the Elders serving as judge, a woman who looked young even though she had reached her fiftieth year.

"It's crucial to the whole event, Elder Sarelle," affirmed the bard seriously.

The Elders conferred quietly together for a few moments before Amara nodded her head and invited, "Please continue, my Queen."

Gabrielle turned to Ephiny who stood to one side of the dias, "I want to go back, before the day of the attack," she instructed her witness, "Can you tell the everyone of the events that took place at the Centaur gathering prior to Xena's alleged attack here on the village."

Ephiny outlined the events surrounding the appearance of Callisto and Hope amongst the Centaurs. She described the murder of Kaleipus and the battles that ensued, along with the many deaths and Xena's heroic part in limiting the damage and those deaths, finally defeating Callisto.

Tarelle, stood and objected to the relevance of the evidence being given, "The trial has been called to judge Xena's crimes against the Amazons, not to applaud her aid to a bunch of worthless animals."

That, drew a heated glare from Ephiny, who had married the Centaur, Phantes, and whose own son, Xenan, was a Centaur Prince. However, the Elder Amara, quickly quashed Tarelle's complaint with the statement, "To understand the instant we must look at the whole," and was backed up by nods of affirmation from the other Elders sitting in judgement.

Gabrielle returned to her questioning, while a fuming Tarelle returned to her seat once again, "And you say that Xena managed to save all the children at the gathering, including your own son, Xenan?"

"Yes," agreed Ephiny, "she particularly made certain the children were safe, as well as managing to ensure the safety of many of the adults as well."

Gabrielle had thought hard about the next questions. She moved behind the table until she stood behind the Warrior Princess and placed her hands firmly on her friends shoulders, partly as support, partly as a form of restraint. She knew that Xena's face was a blank mask, emotionless, expressionless. Her shields had come up as soon as Gabrielle had begun to trespass on the sensitive areas surrounding Solon's death. She also knew that raw pain still existed under that emotional barrier, because this was a topic that still seared her own feelings as well.

"Ephiny, a boy died in the centaur village .. the boy was Kaleipus' adopted son, Solon. Did you know that the boy was Xena's own son, given to be raised by the centaurs just shortly after his birth?" asked Gabrielle clearly, the question bringing a hum of speculation to the hall.

Ephiny shook her head, "At the time I didn't know that Xena had a son. She'd kept his existence a hard secret. It was only afterwards at the funeral pyre that I found out the truth," acknowledged the Regent.

Calming herself, Gabrielle looked at Ephiny and asked, "Do you know who killed Xena's son, Solon?" She tightened her grip on Xena's shoulders as she felt her tense beneath her hands.

"The daughter of Dahak, the child Hope," came Ephiny's quiet reply.

"Do you know who Dahak is?" questioned the bard.

Ephiny nodded and answered, "He's known as the Dark One. He is a god of ultimate evil and destruction, who seeks entry to our world and total dominion over it."

That produced a stir amongst the Amazons, most of whom had never even heard of the entity called Dahak.

Tarelle, stood once more, however, and demanded of the Elders, "Has this any relevance to Xena's slaying of our sisters, or her abduction of our Queen, or her treason? I have heard nothing to shed any light on the Warrior Princess's actions in mitigation of her offences."

The Elders conferred once more and then Amara spoke to Gabrielle, "Tarelle has a valid point. Testimony should be relevant to the charges."

"If you just give me but a moment or two," pleaded Gabrielle, "I'm sure the relevancy of this will become clear."

The Elders whispered together again before coming to a consensus that Amara pronounced, "Very well. You may have a little more time so that we may judge where this is going. But, my Queen, I hope that you are not trying to waste this tribunals time."

Thank you Elder Amara," acknowledged Gabrielle gratefully. She turned back to Ephiny, "Do you know who Hope's mother is?" she continued with a dogged determination, fighting her own feelings while trying to help Xena control hers.

"Yes," responded Ephiny quietly.

"Tell the Elders, and our sisters, please," instructed the bard.

Ephiny looked towards the table of Elders and said in a clear voice, "The mother of Hope was Queen Gabrielle." Surprised murmurs rippled around the hall at that revelation.

When the noise had quietened down, Gabrielle asked, "With your intimate knowledge of the events prior to the advent of the attack, would you say that Xena was deeply affected by grief and a sense that I had betrayed her?", she squeezed tightly on Xena's shoulders, knowing she must have hurt the still tender wound from the arrow at Menassos.

Ephiny licked her lips and hesitated before answering, "With the loss of her son, I think that Xena's grief may have unbalanced her reason. She could have believed you'd deliberately betrayed her."

"Ephiny, when the prosecutor asked you about the attack on the village, you tried to say something about Xena. Could you tell us what that was?" questioned the bard.

The Regent thought for a moment before answering, "It's just that when Xena was in front of me, she seemed like a totally different woman. Everything she said, did, the way she moved were all different from the woman I knew. It was as if she'd become a totally different person."

Gabrielle excused Ephiny as a witness and returned the floor to the prosecutor, "Thank you, Ephiny for your candour in this matter."

Tarelle called more witnesses to give evidence on the events that transpired in the village, basing her case upon the attack itself, without bothering to investigate the cause. In truth that was her task, but this was a far more complex situation that required, wisdom and compassion to fully understand all that had happened and how actions far removed from the Amazons had triggered the attack upon them that resulted in death and injury.

Gabrielle could not refute the evidence of the attack, but she did ask each of the witnesses whether Xena had attacked anyone first, or had only responded when Amazon's tried to attack or restrain her .. in other words acting in self defence. Yet she knew that to win the case, she would need to show something else to gain the Elder's judgement in Xena's favour.

With the end of the Amazon witnesses presenting evidence on the attack, the Elders stood and Amara spoke, "We have had a long morning of evidence, it is time to recess until after lunch. Take the prisoner back to her cell, if you please." The two guards grabbed Xena's arms and escorted her from the hall back to the gaol until the court resumed.

Pacing restlessly in her cell, Xena ignored the tray of food that Solari had brought in for her. The re-hashing of the events leading to Solon's death left her edgy, miserable and angry .. not at Gabrielle, but at the thought that the memories, of that difficult time, would be causing the bard as much pain as they did for her.

- Of course, I could end this right now, - she snorted at herself, jerking the links on the manacles, knowing that with just a little effort she would be able to snap them. - I could break out of here and ride away before any of them could stop me, - she told herself. - The only trouble is, that would hurt Gabrielle, and I've done more than enough damage there. -

She stopped pacing and slumped onto a cot, - It might actually be better this way. If the Amazon's decide to execute me, at least with my death Gabrielle will no longer have to fear Caesar coming after her. - she brooded.

Standing up she started to pace once more. She knew that it wasn't her time to die yet, that she had still much to do, so much to atone for, but she was growing tired of past mistakes, old as well as new, continually coming back to challenge her. - Is it any wonder that I'm ready to give up! - her mind shouted at her, - It would be the easy way out, - she told herself, then stopped dead still in the middle of the cell, - Since when have I ever gone for the easy anything? - she sneeringly asked herself, - C'mon, Xena! Snap out of this. You're just letting those events get to you! - she berated herself, and then more thoughtfully, - I just wish I could remember more of what really happened because, may the gods bear witness, everything that happened here is just some cloudy haze. -

She turned as the bolts on the door were drawn back and Solari appeared, "Recess is over. We have to get you back to the court now."

Dipping her head in acknowledgement, Xena preceded the guard commander out of the door and allowed the escort to conduct her back to the meeting house.

Upon resumption, Tarelle called the bard to the witness stand, "I call upon Gabrielle, Queen of the Amazons, to bear truth," she announced smugly.

As she stood up from her seat beside Xena, she gave her friend's arm a comforting squeeze, before walking calmly, head high, to the witness stand where she turned to face Tarelle and her first question.

"Queen Gabrielle, on the day of the attack against the town ..."

"Excuse me, but the attack was not aimed at either the Amazon's or the town. It was directed at me, personally and alone. It was unfortunate that other people were hurt and killed in the process, but it was not, and should not be described as an attack on Themiscyra and it's people," the bard corrected firmly.

"Perhaps I should remind you that under Amazon law you are the embodiment of the Amazon Nation and, therefore an attack on you is an attack on us," smirked Tarelle with assurance.

"Then I think I should ask the Elders to take under consideration the fact that I have a personal life away from the Amazons and these events stemmed from those, and had nothing to do with the Nation," protested Gabrielle again, turning towards where the Elders sat quietly listening.

"Your point is noted, my Queen," acknowledged Amara, "Now if you could please just answer the prosecutor's questions, we would appreciate it."

"Thank you, Elder," said Tarelle appreciatively.

"As you wish," answered the Amazon Queen simply having made her point.

Turning back to Gabrielle, Tarelle smirked and began once again, "Now on the day of the attack against the town and our people, where exactly were you?"

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "I was in the purification hut where I had been for three days, trying to ...."

"Just a statement of your location is sufficient, my Queen," purred Tarelle making the title sound like an insult. She saw the bard clench her fists and could see the knuckles whiten, "What happened when you heard the carnage taking place outside?" she questioned.

"Joxer had come into the hut to get me after hearing me cry out," Gabrielle remembered.

"Joxer?" questioned Elder Sarelle, who had not been in the town at the time of the attack.

"A male friend of both the defendant and the Queen," offered Tarelle in explanation.

"Very well," acknowledged Sarelle, "Please continue, my Queen."

Swallowing, and looking over Tarelle's shoulder to lock eyes with Xena, Gabrielle continued her narration, "I was weak from the purification ritual, and Joxer carried me outside to revive me. As he stepped through the door I could see there was trouble. Amazon's were attacking Xena, Ephiny was on the ground .. it was a scene from one of my nightmares," she ventured softly.

"What happened then?" prodded the prosecutor.

"I .. I .. don't remember," replied Gabrielle, very aware of the anguish in Xena's eyes as she struggled to recall exactly what had happened.

"Oh, come now, Queen Gabrielle, surely you're not asking us to believe that you can't remember the Destroyer of Nations throwing her chakram at you?" persisted Tarelle.

"I .. It's really not clear," stammered Gabrielle.

"Perhaps the memories, the memory of your best friend trying to kill you, hurts too much?" pushed the prosecutor, "Or perhaps it's what she did after, that you are having trouble reconciling as an act of friendship?" probed the red head relentlessly, "Are you telling this court that you remember nothing of what happened to you?"

"Leave her alone!" growled a voice that promised severe retribution if it was ignored. Xena was on her feet and moving across the floor before her guards realised what she was doing.

Tarelle rounded on her, showing either supreme bravery, or total stupidity, when she sneered, "What! The Warrior Princess seeks to protect the Amazon Queen! There's a turn up for the books. Or is it just that you believe only you have the privilege of inflicting severe physical damage upon her whenever it suits you ... and you alone!"

Having reached Gabrielle, the raven haired warrior rounded on the prosecutor, and the look that Tarelle saw on the Warrior Princess's face made her own blanche. With a furious wrench, Xena snapped the linking chain on her cuffs and bore down on Tarelle who, to give her her due, stood her ground, even though she looked terrified.

"No, Xena!" shouted the bard making a grab for her friend's arm as pandemonium erupted throughout the meeting hall, with guards rushing towards the scene of the confrontation, weapons levelled and ready to subdue the tall warrior.

Amara hammered thunderously with her gavel, trying to restore order before the whole affair turned into a riot, "Everyone stand still!" she roared with an amazing volume of lung power for an elderly woman.

Gabrielle pushed herself between Xena and Tarelle, and tried to use her body to shield her friend from the hostile guards. Knowing that, if she really wanted too, her friend could by-pass her restraining influence in a wide variety of ways to get to Tarelle. Instead she merely pressed forward until Gabrielle felt like the meat in a sandwich as the two squared up.

Ignoring everything that was going on around her, her eyes never breaking contact with the redhead, Xena's voice pitched down to a low threatening register and spoke words that only she, Tarelle and Gabrielle could hear above the noise, "You can say what you like about me, you can accuse me of whatever you want to, but don't you ever speak to her in that manner again!"

The prosecutor went as white as a ghost as she saw and read the undeniable menace in the Warrior Princess's eyes and knew that it wasn't an idle treat. She tried hard, but couldn't stop a convulsive swallow in a very dry throat.

"Be nice!" warned Xena in a deadly tone, "Or I won't be."

Seeing that the warrior was not physically threatening anyone, or trying to escape, the guards had enough sense not to charge in and make a tense situation turn deadly. While Solari snapped orders to the guards, Xena, having made her point, allowed Gabrielle to push her back away from the prosecutor, where members of the guard could surround their prisoner once more.

The bard turned to her friend and hissed in exasperated irritation, "That was plain dumb, Xena. You could have gotten yourself killed, and may have done our case all kinds of damage here."

Shrugging, the dark haired woman, looked down into her friend's eyes and told her, "She was attacking you, Gabrielle. Alright, not physically, but it was still an attack on you, on your position. I needed to let her know that it wasn't a viable option for her, okay," she quirked a smile, "I'm still Queen's champion and protector, remember?"

"Xena ..." began Gabrielle again, still angry and very concerned about the effect the outburst would have.

"Yell at me later, Gabrielle," the warrior told her calmly as she surveyed the shouting angry crowds as those supporting Tarelle demanded that action be taken against the Warrior Princess, while the Elders demanded order and Gabrielle's supporters railed against the way that Tarelle had badgered the Queen.

Finally, after a lot of shouting, threats, and a few outbreaks of physical violence, order was restored to the court, with several of the most vocal and belligerent Amazon's having been ejected from the meeting house by Solari's guards.

Her voice sounding a little ragged from all the shouting she'd been doing, Amara addressed the court, "Since we are nearing the time for the evening meal, and there is still a substantial amount of evidence to be heard as well as tempers to be cooled down, we have decided to adjourn for the day." She turned to Solari, "Take the prisoner back to the gaol."

With alert guards watching her every move, Xena allowed herself to be escorted from the meeting house, ignoring the catcalls and jeers that were thrown in her direction, idly twirling the broken chains hanging from her cuffs.

"As for you, Tarelle, and you, Queen Gabrielle, we'd like to have some words with you in the back chamber," Amara stated, while scribbling a hurried note, handing it to a guard, and quietly speaking a few directions. Noticing the bard's gaze following the prisoner and her escort, she reinforced her order with a curt, "Now."