"Ephiny? Is everything okay?" tried Malonda tentatively, throwing a glance back at the closed door and wondering whether she ought to pay a brief visit to Caesar and let him know that no one touched the Amazon Queen without retribution ... but then again, Ephiny hadn't called for help. "Eph?" she asked again.

"Let's just get out of here Loni. I've just about had enough of Caesar's company to last me a lifetime," answered the Regent sharply.

With Ephiny setting the pace, the group of Amazon warriors found themselves pushed to keep up. It was obvious that the blonde ruler wanted to put as much distance between herself and the Roman as possible.

"Ephiny where are we going?" demanded Malonda as she realised that the Regent was not heading back towards Pompey's Palace.

Pulling up short, the Regent looked around in something of a daze. She had been in such deep thought that she hadn't really been paying much attention to the direction she'd been leading her guard, but when she stopped and thought about it, she knew that she was heading towards the docks, "I think we'll pay a visit to Nebula. I want to see how things are working out there anyway." Having made up her mind, Ephiny set off once again at her bustling pace.

Rome's streets, as usual, were teeming with life as citizens and slaves hurried about their business in a never ending whirl of noisy, colourful, vibrancy that had taken the Amazons a little time to adjust to. After having been in the city for nearly a complete lunar cycle, however, they no longer found the sights and sounds strange. In fact, once the initial awe had worn off, the majority of the women had found themselves longing for the simplicity of life back at Themiscyra where they were surrounded by a natural world, not the deadly artificial life of an expanding city where every move was watched and examined for political implications, and stabbing your neighbour in the back, or spicing their meals with poison, was acceptable social behaviour.

In all the crush and rush of the streets, it was still noticeable, however, that the people of Rome made way for the body of armed Amazon women that seemed to be moving with implacable intent towards the upper docks. With the grim look on the leading woman's face, no one thought it politic to get in her way, let alone the seven guards that were hustling to keep up with her.

At the speed they were moving, it didn't take long to reach 'Wave Dancer' and Ephiny easily picked out the pirate captain on the maindeck as she chased her Amazon 'crew' around in the necessary chores that took up any crews time when they were at anchor in a dock.

With a practised eye, the Regent also found and identified half a dozen heavily armed Amazons who watched over the rest of the crew with eagle eyed intensity. Ephiny knew it wasn't a perfect solution to her domestic problems, but confining the suspect Amazons to the ship under the guard of Nebula and a dozen warriors, that Eponin trusted without reservation, seemed to be the best of a selection of poor choices.

Once they had realised that they had more of a problem than just Tarelle and her band of confederates, the blonde Regent and Gabrielle had ordered an investigation into just who was over-friendly with the dissidents. The fact that Autolycus had joined in with the hunt for rogue Amazons, meant that they had unearthed a further nine women, along with Jerushan and Essaine, who appeared to be sympathetic to Tarelle and her views.

That's when the decision had been made to confine the women on Nebula's ship. Malonda hadn't been happy about the move, citing the fact that it badly split their forces should they need to fight their way clear of the city, but when Eponin had pointed out that having likely traitors running lose could be much worse, and that if it came to fighting their way out, a couple of dozen extra swords was not going to be much help against two or three legions.

Another decision had also been made, and that had been not to include anyone in their plans other than the men, Nebula, Gabrielle, Ephiny and Eponin herself. It was difficult excluding Malonda, but Ephiny and Gabrielle had decided that they couldn't afford to take any more risks than they had to and they knew that those they had named were beyond reproach in loyalty.

The Regent quickly ascended the gangplank and moved to greet Nebula who turned towards her with a smile, "Your Amazons make pretty good swabbies," she laughed.

"I'm pleased that they meet with your exacting standards," returned Ephiny, "Keep them busy and tired and they might stay out of trouble for a while."

"Well other than to inspect my very unwilling crew, what's brought you down here in the heat of the day? And were you mauled by a bear, or did Malonda let you get mugged?"

"Can we talk in private?" Ephiny asked, not willing to discuss what had just happened when surrounded by several, potentially hostile, women who would probably be delighted to use the Regent's problems against her. "Sure," agreed the pirate easily, "C'mon down to the cabin."

Motioning Malonda to wait on deck with her escort, Ephiny followed the tall, lithe, sea woman and descended down the companionway into the narrow corridor that led past the small cabins for officers and back to the much larger one that was the traditional abode of the captain.

Nebula opened the door and motioned for Ephiny to take a seat while she went to the wine cooler and poured two goblets of a sweet red vintage that she'd picked up locally. Passing one of the cups to the Regent saying, "Here you look like you need this," she rested herself against the edge of her heavy desk and raised an eyebrow that invited the blonde to speak.

Stalling, Ephiny took a sip of the wine and asked, "Had any trouble with Tarelle or the rest of them?"

Nebula shrugged, "Nothing that the guards couldn't handle. But that's not really why you've come here, is it? C'mon, Ephiny, out with it. How'd you managed to get .. those particular types of marks, and why are they worrying you?"

The Regent let out a long heavy sigh, "You know that Caesar's been making his attentions fairly clear over the last few days?"

"Stood out like a bald wolf in a pack," agreed Nebula, "The guy's got the hots for you." Her brows drew together and her eyes narrowed as she made a connection, "You telling me that he forced you?"

"No!" responded the blonde sharply, pushing herself out of the chair to pace the narrow confines of the cabin in agitation, "I mean yes .. well maybe it was both of us!" She stopped in the middle of the cabin, threw her head back and took a deep breath. "I went to see him .. more to get a look at how Xena was doing than anything else. She's looking pretty good, by the way."

Nebula said nothing, just crossed her arms and waited for the Amazon to get to the point of what had taken place, knowing that the woman needed to get it off her chest and sort it out in her mind before she went back to face the others.

"Caesar .. well, you know he exudes this kind of aura that draws women to him?" she saw Nebula nod in reply, "Well I've felt that increasingly for the last few days. I've known about it, and I dislike him so much for what he's done to Xena and what he's put Gabrielle through .. yet I've been increasingly drawn, or maybe pushed to him." She drank down the rest of the wine and set the goblet on the table before starting to pace again.

"This morning it was like I couldn't control myself. He touched me and I was on fire. Whatever happened my body was a willing participant in it, and now I feel like I've betrayed my friends and myself and, most especially, the memory of my husband, Phantes," she finished softly.

"What do you feel about Caesar?" the tall, dark skinned woman asked the smaller Amazon.

"What?" responded Ephiny, surprised by the question. Nebula waited, "I .. I can't bear him. I despise all he is and all he stands for, I always have. How could I have done that with him, Nebula? It makes me sick just to think about it."

The two women remained silent as they thought about what the Amazon had just revealed. Each pursuing her own thoughts as they tried to understand the implications behind the conflicting emotions and actions that Ephiny had just admitted to.

"You know, I'd almost swear that you were 'interfered' with by a god," mused Nebula having examined and discarded all other possibilities, including the one where Ephiny was denying her love for a man she considered to be an enemy. Mood swings like that just didn't happen naturally.

The Regent slumped back into the chair and drummed her fingers on the arms, "Yeah, I kinda figured that might be the case. But which one's gonna gratify Caesar's lusts by playing fast and loose with mine? I know Ares is supposed to be pretty thick with old Julius, but something like this really isn't his style."

"Well the obvious suspects have to be Aphrodite or Cupid. But I can't honestly see what either one gets out of doing it. I really can't see that Caesar's going to have any time for love deities, can you?" appraised the pirate.

Ephiny massaged aching temples with her strong fingers, "I just don't know, Nebula," she answered honestly. "I guess it'll have to wait 'til I get home and can petition Artemis to find out just what was going on. If anyone will be able to tell me, it will be her."

"What's next on the agenda then?" inquired the tall sea woman as she crossed back to the wine cooler and refilled both cups, giving Ephiny hers back as she crossed over to her perch against the table.

Sighing, the blonde swallowed a mouthful of the wine before looking despondently at the other woman, "I suppose I'd better find some way of cleaning myself up and hiding as many of these marks as possible. I really don't want to have this discussion with Gabrielle."

"Ephiny, my dear," Nebula smiled sadly, "You've got a snowball's chance in Tartarus of avoiding that. I'd suggest you try to tone down the passions a bit if you want to avoid answering embarrassing questions from nosey bards." She shook her head in mock admonition, "Still we'll do what we can, and hopefully we can come up with some kind of tale between us that will satisfy at least Gabrielle's curiosity."

Titus received the order to take the slave up to Caesar's offices with some trepidation. Not only was he worried that his commander had seen the whole sorry affair, particularly the guards allowing the slave to get past them somehow, but as he looked into the pit, he could see Xena working herself up into a fine rage and he was certain that he didn't want her out of that pit if her temper was about to explode .. chains or no chains.

Unfortunately, Caesar's commands could not be safely ignored, and he would not appreciate being kept waiting for a slave to be brought to him. He took a deep breath signalled a runner to call out the reserve guard of forty men, just in case they were needed and decided to try and calm the warrior down before unlocking the gate to the pit.

"Lord Caesar wants to see you, slave. If you calm down I'll drop the ladder so that you can climb up here under your own power," Her glaring, pale blue, eyes snapped up to focus on him and he knew that he'd probably not had the desired effect with his words.

"Both you and your precious Caesar can go to Tartarus for all I care," she snarled, "You put me in here. You get me out if you can." Her anger at Ares had forced itself past the blocks on her temper and she was finding it impossible to put the brakes on again.

- There's that plain stubborn reckless defiance .. again! - she conceded to herself. But she'd kept the lid on her emotions for so long now, through all the indignities and humiliations of being kept like some animal in a hole, all to keep Gabrielle safe from the beatings that had been threatened, only to have Ares turn up and cause problems that were going to cause the bard to suffer.

- Well enough's enough! - she goaded herself. She stopped her pacing as a sudden thought slapped her between the eyes. She hadn't actually seen Gabrielle's face since she'd been in Rome and Ephiny had hinted that the bard was safe with her, - Gabrielle hasn't called out to me once when she was being beaten, in fact she hasn't tried to speak to me at all! That's not like her. She'd have said something even if it was just to tell me not to worry about her. - She felt like kicking herself for not seeing through the ploy sooner.

- Damn! Have I been a prisoner under a false threat? Well it's time I damn well cleared up that question. What's the matter with your brain, O Great Warrior Princess. You beginning to get sloppy in your old age? - she chided herself caustically. - It's taking a chance with Gabrielle's safety if they have got her, but I'm willing to stake my boots that she'd safe with Eph. -

Titus saw her stop pacing and the strange look that crossed her face, - Oh Mars! - he cursed silently, - What's going through her brain now? - He swallowed his trepidation and tried to sort the situation out before Flaccus appeared. He knew that he didn't command the same respect as the hardened veteran from either the men, or the woman that they were responsible for.

"Listen slave," he tried to imprint authority into his voice, "Get your sorry carcass up here before I have to start getting rough."

She looked at him. Her eyes had paled to icy slits and her voice was cold and menacing, "I want to see Gabrielle .. NOW!"

Titus was beginning to lose his temper, "Oh no! You don't get to demand anything, and you don't get to see the bard. But you'll hear her scream. You're building up quite a fund of punishment for your friend."

"That's not going to wash anymore, Titus," she snarled slipping into full warlord mode, allowing the anger and hate to wash through her. - Gods! Gotta be careful here, - she acknowledged to herself, - this feels too damn good. I can't afford to let it take control of me again. - She turned her attention back to the junior centurion, "I don't believe you've got Gabrielle, and I don't give a flying centaur's butt for anyone else."

"Shit!" Titus swore softly as he stood up and moved away from the hole. He looked around and felt relieved that Flaccus was heading across the yard towards him with the reserve guard falling in behind him. He decided that he'd better inform his superior of what had taken place and the demands that the slave was making.

"What's going on?" snapped Flaccus briskly, as Titus stopped him.

His junior officer quickly outlined the incident where the slave just seemed to disappear from sight, that they'd had to force her into her cell when she became aggressive, that Caesar wanted to see her immediately, and that she refused to come out of the hole, "Now she's demanding to see the bard. I think she's worked out that we don't really have her."

Flaccus wore a grim frown. He'd feared this situation developing, knowing that the warrior would not accept not seeing her friend indefinitely. In fact he'd expected the problem to arise sooner, although he'd hoped to make it through to the time of the pit fight against the Amazon's champion as Caesar wanted her in top shape for the match. Now they were going to have to fight her every step of the way.

Turning to the men behind him, he gave them a quiet order before heading over to the pit cell to confront the slave. What he found was the fully fledged Warrior Princess, full of righteous anger and indignant wrath. Gone was all pretense at docile tractability.

He looked down at her, locking his grey eyes onto her deadly blue orbs. They stood so for many heartbeats, neither willing to give an inch to the other. Finally Flaccus spoke, "Caesar wants you, and you're going to climb out of there quietly and behave yourself, or ..."

"Or what?" she sneered, "Forget it Flaccus! Unless you produce Gabrielle I'm not following any more orders, and I don't give a damn what you do to me or anyone else, for that matter."

The senior centurion glanced over his shoulder and saw his men hurrying back with the equipment he'd sent them for, "Open it up," he instructed two of the guards, and watched as the heavy grill was unlocked and swung open. "Last chance, slave. You come out or we come and get you."

"Try it," she sneered, and suddenly found a net smothering her quickly followed by a second.

"Get in there and secure her, " he ordered six of his men, who quickly dropped into the hole with a rope that was swiftly wound around the struggling mass of net and woman.

"Alright, pass her up here," instructed Flaccus, something easier to say than do as Xena struggled against the hands that tried to hoist her up out of the cell.

Finally she was deposited on the dusty ground of the drill-yard where the centurion ordered the removal of the netting, while eight men used their weight and numbers to hold the warrior down. Two thick chains were attached to her collar, the long absent oak beam was thrust behind her elbows and guide chains attached to the rings while cuffs with long chains were fastened to each ankle. Once everything was locked in place, Xena was pulled to her feet. Any movement she attempted to make was easily controlled by the chains held by the six bodyguards.

Flaccus shook his head in mock disappointment, "I had hoped that we'd got past the need for these," he gestured at the extra fetters and wood, "but you're backsliding again."

"Where's Gabrielle?" she growled, jerking hard against the restraints, but the weight of six men held her secure.

"You will be respectful, slave," the centurion reminded her with a backhand slap that knocked her head sideways.

"You can go to Hades," she sneered back at him, "I'm finished playing that particular game. You either produce Gabrielle or, if you don't, I'll know you haven't got her. Then ..." she allowed the sentence to trail off. "Then what?" Flaccus felt compelled to ask.

She gave him a feral smile and ignored the question, allowing him to think whatever he wanted to. She tugged on her bonds and said instead, "Thought Caesar wanted to see me. You intend on keeping him waiting?"