It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the attention that she was lavishing on him, - I do, - he admitted with a smirk, - I really do! - It was just that he wasn't at all comfortable with the essentially public nature of her pursuit ... - Well that and the fact that being chased by a woman makes me feel Zeus-be-damned uncomfortable. - admitted the blonde glumly.
Wondering where he could hide himself for a few candlemarks, he wandered across the maindeck and leaned against the mast as he continued his train of thought, - This adventure has kind of changed my mind a little on pursuit of women, - he grinned. - That disguise that Autolycus got me into sure gave me another perspective on that issue. - He shifted a little and frowned, - Which reminds me .. I still owe him for that! -
He glanced at the sun again and realised that it wouldn't be long before Nebula made her appearance on the quarterdeck, - Where, short of Hades, can I hide where she's not going to be able to find me quickly? - he wondered, still looking up. A smile brightened his face as the perfect place to conceal himself came to mind. With a lighthearted chuckle, he skipped across the deck and leapt nimbly onto the rail before scuttling with practised ease up the ratlines to the crowsnest. - That should give me a while away from her, - he decided.
When he reached the top of his climb, he swung his leg over the half barrel shaped basket and practically stepped on someone's head, "Hey!" came a gruff snarl from a voice he instantly recognised.
Frozen halfway between being inside the crowsnest and balancing on the ropes outside, he offered a hasty, "Sorry." Then added, "I didn't know that anyone was up here."
"That's the idea," came the grunted reply.
"Good idea," he agreed. "That's why I came up here." There was a moments silence between the two as Iolaus continued to remain in his somewhat precarious position, not sure whether he should just retreat or if he was welcome to remain for at least a while.
"Who ya hiding from," questioned the current occupier of his chosen refuge.
"What makes you think I want to hide?" he questioned as he let his eyes scan the deck for any sign that Nebula might be on deck yet. "Is that what you're doing?" he asked with a little laugh.
There was another silence followed by a short sigh before the answer came back, "I was looking for some place where I could be on my own and get some peace and quiet to think for a while ... away from prying eyes."
"Oh," he said softly, "I ... um ... I'll leave you alone then," he said drawing his leg back over the crowsnest rail.
The occupier thought about it for a moment before saying, "There's plenty of room for two here. You're welcome to stay." Then added almost inaudibly, "At least you won't be able to tell anyone where I am if you're here too."
Iolaus grinned and nimbly scampered up the ropes and into the wooden basket, settling down on the opposite side of the mast from the other person, "Thanks, Xena," he said with relief .. getting a grunt in answer.
Time passed quietly with the friends lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Iolaus brought out a knife and a chunk of wood and began to work it, carving with skill as he deftly whittled away the excess wood to make the basic shape of the head and body of the doll he was fashioning.
The Warrior Princess watched silently, assessing the hunter's easy skill as he turned the wood shaving away at the shapeless block that gradually seemed to come to life under his skillful attention. Finally, she said, "You never told me who you were hiding from."
Without looking up from where he was shaping the outline of a hand he replied, "I never said I was hiding."
Arching an eyebrow at him and fixing him with an insistent 'look', Xena just waited until the smaller man looked up, uncomfortable under her pointed scrutiny. "Oh all right," he muttered. "Nebula's got this ... 'thing' for me and she's been chasing me around for days making ... 'suggestions'!"
Xena smirked and covered her mouth with her large hand to prevent the bark of laughter escaping her. - That's choice! - she thought. - The great ladies man, Iolaus, treed by a predatory female! - She coughed to hide her mirth.
"You better not be laughing at me or I'll ..." he began.
She swung her cold eyes on him and asked chillingly, "Or you’ll what?" she questioned quietly.
"Um ... nothing ... just I don't find it funny," he muttered.
She grinned and watched him set about the carving once more. It had been a long while since she'd carved, she realised. She'd picked the skill up from an old neighbour in Amphipolis when she'd still been just a kid ... and she'd practised it for many years, often carving to while the time away in the odd quiet moments of her life. "Why don't you just confront her on it?" she asked him referring to his problem with Nebula.
Iolaus shrugged dispiritedly and continued carving.
Xena gave him an exasperated look, "She's chasing .. you're running. Why not turn around and call her bluff ... become the hunter, not the hunted."
"Because I don't think it's a bluff ... that woman looks ready to eat me alive!" he complained. "Besides ... that would ruin any chance I have of ..." he blushed a vivid scarlet and clammed up.
"Ruin the chance of what?" asked the warrior innocently, guessing she already knew the answer. She'd spent another three days in bed, under the watchful care of Gabrielle, Patroclese and Sheraya, before she'd managed to slip out before dawn this morning and escape up here. However, in that time she'd been a witness to the rivalry between Iolaus, Toris and Joxer as they all vied for the attention of the bard. Joxer, being injured, was getting a lot of her company and attention, but that didn't stop the other two men from dropping into the infirmary under one pretext or another.
"Forget it," he muttered, focusing his attention firmly back on the doll he was creating.
Patting his leg in friendly sympathy, she told him, "Gabrielle doesn't expect you to be anything other than what you are."
He gave her an exasperated look, "Oh c'mon, Xena! Gabrielle has made it pretty clear she disapproves of me flirting with women. What's she gonna say if Nebula and I ... well if we ... Hades, you know! What's she gonna say then, huh? Something like, 'I like experienced men, Iolaus .. come and show me what I've been missing!"
Xena had to grin at that. - Nope! Don't think that would be the response, - she admitted silently.
He sighed again, "I know I'm too old for her ... and I know that I've got a history with a few other - ," he looked at her smirk, "Well alright, a lot of other women. But Gabrielle makes me feel different. It's like I want to protect her and keep all the menace of the world away from her. I think ... I think that ... maybe I'm in love with her," he said softly. "She's a very special person."
"Yes she is," agreed the warrior. She gave Iolaus a hard speculative look, "and I wouldn't want anyone messing with her affection ... that would make me real mad."
"Oh, Zeus! Xena," he exclaimed. "Isn't that just what I've been saying to you. Hurting Gabrielle is the last think I'd want to do .. which is why this thing with Nebula is causing me such hassle," he complained. "Being cooped up on a small ship with an amorous pirate is a nightmare." He scowled as the warrior chuckled, "It's not funny, Xena!" he growled pointedly as her chuckle deepened, "I said it's not funny!" he insisted.
"Oh c'mon Iolaus. Ya gotta see the funny side of it," she told him as her laughter subsided.
"No I don't," insisted the blonde grumpily. He looked at her sideways seeing the lopsided smile on her face, "Well maybe a little," he admitted with a reluctant grin of his own.
Silence descended once more. Iolaus went back to his carving while Xena watched. Finally curiosity got the better of her, "What are you doing?"
"Carving a doll," he stated unhelpfully.
The Warrior Princess scowled, "I can see that," she growled, "Why are you doing it?" she wanted to know.
The hunter looked up and glared at her for a moment, before snapping, "No laughing?"
"Warlords honour," she replied with a mock serious look on her face.
"Hmmmph!" snorted Iolaus. He looked up again and saw her waiting for an answer, "It's for one of the kids," he said quickly.
"Pardon?" she questioned wanting a fuller answer.
"It's for one of those slave kids that Patroclese brought on board," he answered concentrating on the doll. "Those kids have either never had any toys or, if they did, it was before they were made slaves. I thought it would be good for some of the younger ones to have something to play with ... try to teach them to be kids again."
Xena nodded her understanding and watched as her friend continued to work on the wood. After some time she pursed her lips and looked at where the sun had climbed to, - Almost a couple of candlemarks after dawn, - she estimated. - Any time now. - she guessed.
Right on cue she heard the yell full of angry frustration, "XENA! Where in Tartarus are you! YOU PROMISED!"
Grinning she slipped a sharp dagger out from her boot and asked casually, "You wouldn't happen to have any more of that wood on ya, would ya?"
"That Gabrielle?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sounds like it," agreed the warrior with a gleam in her eye that was somewhere between childish glee and mischievous fun.
"She gonna be mad?"
"Almost certainly," agreed Xena cheerfully, feeling ridiculously happy at having given her friend and medical watchdogs the slip. It started to heal her trust in her own battered abilities, knowing that she was able to slip out of the cabin without disturbing anyone there, or anyone else on board the ship either ... including the Amazon watch.
"Oh great," muttered Iolaus moodily as he shuffled in his waist band for another piece of wood.
"We both have reasons to ... keep our whereabouts quiet, then," she grinned, settling down to work on the thinner piece of wood.
When Gabrielle awoke and realised that Xena was not in her bed it she didn't immediately panic. She looked across the room to the screen shielding the chamber pots expecting her friend to be there. When she wasn't she was quickly out of her own bed and scrambling into her clothes and roughly shaking Sheraya awake in the cot next to hers, before crossing over to where Patroclese sat in a chair having fallen asleep next to Eponin.
Poking him sharply in the ribs, she demanded, "Where'd Xena go?" as soon as he blearily focussed his attention on her.
"She's not here?" he asked, a trifle sleep-bemused.
"Of course she's not there, Patroclese! I wouldn't be asking if she was, would I?" the bard snapped angrily.
"Maybe she went up on deck for some fresh air," offered the healer as he cracked a yawn. "It gets a bit stuffy in here."
"Damn it, Patroclese ... she's not fit enough to be wandering about yet! That wound's still healing and she hasn't recovered anywhere near her normal strength," fussed Gabrielle unhappily.
Patroclese shook his head and scrubbed his face hard with his hands before standing up and stretching, "C'mon, Gabrielle. She's been in that bed for six days ... did you really think you were going to get her to stay there until we got her home?" he asked logically.
The trouble was that the bard was not feeling logical, "She's still not well. Just yesterday she was showing signs of a fever," she pointed out.
"Which disappeared by lunch time," reminded Patroclese, peering over her shoulder for some help from Sheraya.
"Don't look at me," the Amazon held up her hands to fend him off, "I told her yesterday that Xena needed to get some light exercise before she started chewing her way through the hull."
"You also said that she wasn't anywhere near fully recovered," Gabrielle reminded her pointedly.
"That's true," admitted Sheraya calmly, "but I also remember telling you that light exercise would benefit her recovery now."
"And I responded, if I remember correctly, that Xena has no conception of what light exercise is when it comes to herself," snarled the bard testily.
"You could have escorted her and kept an eye on her, my Queen," pointed out the Amazon healer.
The honey blonde had no good answer for that and whirled back towards Patroclese, "And you ... you were supposed to be watching over the patients, not falling asleep ... what's your excuse?" she demanded belligerently.
The Roman healer shrugged and grinned in a self-deprecating manner, "What can I say. I got tired; I took a nap."
Gabrielle wanted to hit him. - Don't they understand that Xena isn't like other people? Unless I make sure that she rests, she pushes herself to her limits before she's well enough to do it. Well not this time! I've just got her back from Caesar's clutches .. I refuse to surrender her to Hades again! -
A quiet voice from Eponin's bed attracted her attention, "Gabrielle, she can't go far ... she's on a small ship. The only place with enough space for her to do weapons practice is the deck .. but I think you'll find she just wanted some air. She's probably found a quiet spot up on deck to hide out."
"Why didn't she tell me, Poni," moaned the bard her anxiety evident.
"Because she knew you would have argued with her. Honestly, Gabrielle! You've been fussing over her like a mother hen with just one chick," explained the Weapon's Master with her usual unique brand of subtlety; unique in that she totally lacked any.
The Queen of the Amazons made a strangling noise deep in her throat before she regained her composure and calmly stated, "Well thank you for all your help with this matter, ladies and gentleman. If you'll excuse me, I have a Warrior Princess ... who is in serious trouble .. to find." She tugged assertively on the hem of the tunic she was wearing to straighten the fit, turned on her heel and stiffly stalked to the door and exited the cabin.
The anger that she'd been trying to control, with varying degrees of success, since she'd awoken, was now beginning to burn fiercely. When she reached the deck and could see no sign of her partner she'd yelled angrily, "XENA! Where in Tartarus are you! YOU PROMISED!"
She didn't really expect the Warrior Princess to show herself, she knew Xena of old. Sometimes the warrior got into a mule headed stubborn set and wouldn't listen to patient reasoning or logic ... - Especially if it's for her own good! - she silently moaned. "XENA! THIS IS NOT FUNNY! COME OUT AND LET'S SIT AND TALK ABOUT THIS!" she tried.
When after a couple of heartbeats no warrior appeared, - Not that I was expecting her too, - she admitted to herself. - She's doing this to goad me into tearing around this ship to try and find her. Well I'm not playing her game! - Frowning, she glared around the deck until she spotted Ephiny and about nine other Amazons hanging over the ships railing.
Intrigued, despite her anger and anxiety over Xena, Gabrielle made her way over to where her friend stood and gently rubbed her hand on the Regent's back in a comforting gesture, "Hey Eph?" she said with concern, "You okay?"
A concerted retching noise was made down along the line of Amazons before Ephiny straightened up scrubbing the back of her hand over her mouth. "I'm fine, Gabrielle. Just a little bit seasick." she answered.
The bard looked at her friend, very aware of her off-green colour as she began to feel the uncomfortable roil of her own stomach. She quickly jabbed at the pressure point that Xena had shown her and let out a shaky sigh as she felt the relief from it. Feeling substantially better she said, "Why didn't you say something? I could have shown you this pressure point thing that Xena taught me. You don't have to suffer from being seasick, you know ... just keep a careful eye on what you eat. This numbs the tastebuds, ya know." She grinned as she remembered where she'd learnt to use the method, "First time I used it I was eating raw squid."
The thought made her blanch as she recalled in vivid detail the squashy, slippery feel of the rubbery creature as she chewed enthusiastically at it. The sharp memory was enough to overcome the power of the pressure point and have the bard joining her friend in throwing up over the ship's side.
When both women had regained control of their stomachs, they looked at each other, misery plastered clearly across their faces, "Are you like this all day, Eph?" questioned the bard.
"Nah!" answered the Regent, "Only happens in the ... morning! .... Oh gods!" she whispered.
"What about the others?" asked Gabrielle in concern.
"Same thing," admitted Ephiny.
The Amazon Queen watched as a few of the ill warriors left to be replaced by others, "How many of them?" she wanted to know.
"Umm .. most," groaned the blonde, her sickness now having nothing to do with biology. She felt like crying. She felt like screaming. She wanted to die!
"I think you and the others better go talk to Sheraya," surmised the bard, "Just to make sure," she added.
Ephiny nodded in a distracted way, - Oh gods! - she raged. - I'm pregnant. I'm having that bastard's child. He raped me and I’m gonna be left with his brat! -
"Eph? ... Eph?" tried Gabrielle, knowing what must be going through her friend's mind, "EPHINY!" she yelled, finally drawing the other woman's attention. When she was sure that the Regent was paying attention she spoke slowly and clearly. "The child is yours. He has nothing to do with it except providing the seed. He's just a man and could have been any man. Forget him. Concentrate on YOUR child. Not his, but YOURS!"
The blonde Amazon nodded uncertainly at what the bard was telling her. - Maybe Sheraya can give me something to get rid of it? - she thought desperately. - This can't be happening to me! - her mind wailed.
"C'mon Eph, get a grip," encouraged Gabrielle, enfolding her into a warm embrace, "You can't fall apart, there's too many people who need you. I need you, dammit! Don't think of Caesar. Think of Xenan. He's going to have a little brother or sister. Hey if it's a girl, we'll have an heir ... that might help settle some of the unrest," babbled the honey blonde desperately trying to find a way to reach her friend who seemed to be in shock.
"I can't ..." murmured Ephiny, her eyes beginning to brim with tears, "Gabrielle I can't! Oh gods! Why did this have to happen. I can't have this child ... his child ... I just can't."
"C'mon Eph, we'll go and see Sheraya .. lets see if there's anything she can suggest ... maybe she'll have something to make you feel a little better so that you can think about this rationally." soothed the bard as she coaxed the Regent slowly towards the companionway that led to the cabins.
Catching sight of Malonda as she was moving across the deck with Ephiny, Gabrielle signalled the Chief Scout over and issued a few instructions about locating the absent Warrior Princess, wherever she might be on board the ship, and escorting her back to the infirmary, "I don't want any excuses from her," she told Malonda. "Just tell her I expect to see her back in her bed or else."
The bard failed to notice the malicious glare that flared in Malonda's eyes, as the Regent's panicked muttering drew her attention back to her friend at that moment. The scout really doubted that Xena was going to co-operate with the queen's instructions, which meant, if she followed the letter of the orders, she would be able to use force to carry them out. - The Queen might quibble about the outcome, but she can't dispute that her instructions gave me the licence to manhandle the Warrior Princess if she gives any indication of non-compliance! - she thought smugly. She set about rounding up her search party.
