| Eternal Companions |
| The wind whispered through Xena’s raven hair as she stared out at the liquid, blue world around her. She smiled to herself. A journey by sea was no novelty to her. She had stood upon ships bound for exotic loctations so many times that she could not begin to contemplate counting them… but this was different. Just a short time ago she had been dead in Jappa and had believed that she would never again see a sea voyage, never again be safely bound for home, never again see… …”Gabrielle!” she called. A dishevelled, pallid wraith limped up to the deck, her blonde hair dripping about her miserable face and her watery eyes jaded. “Oh, what?” she moaned. She then remembered how recently it was that she would have endured death itself to hear her name upon the lips of a living, breathing Xena. Her tone softened. “Did you want to tell me something?” The warrior princess raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. “You know something? I’m even happy that you’re still sea-sick!” “Hey, you know how glad I am to have you back, but do you have to take pleasure in my misery?” “You don’t understand! I mean… I’m happy that everything is still the same and that I’m around to see it. I never thought we’d have these times again!” It was most unlike Xena to be wide-eyed enthusiasm personified. Gabrielle burst into tears. “Hey!” exclaimed Xena, “What’s wrong now?” “I- I- I’m just so happy too!” sobbed Gabrielle as she ran into her friend’s comforting embrace. She convulsed slightly as they held each other. Xena winced. “Say it, don’t…” It was too late. Gabrielle had thrown up all over her soulmate. Her eyes grew into two large pools as they registered her embarrassment. She scuttled back to the cabin. Xena watched her with a smirk. She had had infinitely more pleasurable experiences in Gabrielle’s company but nothing could destroy her adoration of life at that moment. She laughed heartily as she left the deck to change. Night had enveloped the world in her velvet cloak and, from a blanket of midnight dreams, Xena awoke suddenly. Her disorientated eyes scanned the blurred room before focusing on the figure of Gabrielle, body writhing and heaving, head firmly planted in a neighbouring, pottery bowl. As she raised her increasingly ashen face, she noticed that Xena’s eyes were open and fixed on her. “I’m sorry if I woke you,” she groaned, “I just can’t help it!” “ “Well… something woke me!” growled Xena. With a gasp, she darted across the bed and pressed her hand, urgently, to Gabrielle’s lips. “Listen!” she hissed. Gabrielle listened. A strange noise raged above them. Cries and screams echoed from the deck. “Pirates?” she guessed, clutching her stricken stomach. “Only one way to find out!” Xena leaped up energetically and ran towards the commotion. Gabrielle sighed, took a last, longing look at the bowl and, after wondering briefly if she should have followed the way of peace after all, followed determinedly. The crew was distraught. Men wailed, clung to the ship for protection, prayed desperately to their gods… but there was no enemy to be seen. “What’s going on?” yelled Xena. The Captain made his way towards her, though it appeared to take tremendous effort. “XENA!” he screamed, “A strong wind… out of nowhere! We can’t keep the ship on course! It’s being blown away!” Xena stepped forward and was almost thrown back by the force of whatever mischievous power was dictating the boat’s direction. “Like… the breath of an angry god…” she muttered darkly. Gabrielle materialised beside her. “What is it? Not…!?” “Not what?” “Shikiro! Or…Yodoshi?” “No, Gabrielle. You must leave those memories behind. Besides, I don’t feel any familiar energy here. But something sure is determined!” “Xena…” Gabrielle’s sentence went unfinished, but as their eyes met, they both understood. They reached out and clasped each other’s hands and they were bonded in the same, throbbing heartbeat. Nothing was more real than this. “Gabrielle, we don’t know what this is. We’ll just have to wait and see. Together.” Again, Xena awoke suddenly. She raked her hand through her hair, savouring a few moments to remember what was happening. “I must have fallen asleep,” she murmered, sensing Gabrielle’s unconscious head on her shoulder. “Gabrielle, wake up!” “Wh- what?” “Wake up! I think something is happening!” Xena stood up and pulled her sleepy companion into a standing position. Gingerly, they crept out of the doorway in which they had huddled for protection. An unnerving calm lay over the boat. No movement broke the eerie, icy stillness, no breath the silence. “The wind has stopped!” Gabrielle pointed out, optimistically. Xena frowned. “Yeah, but where’s the crew?” A slight, fluttering sensation of panic touched them both with shivering fingers. The shapes that surrounded them were difficult to identify as the sun had not yet taken its place on the throne of the sky. They ran to either side of the boat and squinted. “Nothing,” sighed Xena, “Just sea.” “Er… Xena?” Xena spun ‘round and noticed the distinctly worried expression on Gabrielle’s face. She joined her and narrowed her eyes, barely making out… “Land!” “Looks like it!” agreed Gabrielle. Their eyes met and they shrugged. Wordlessly, they both hopped out, over the side and felt their feet sink into soft, warm sand. “Right, so now what?” wondered Gabrielle. “I don’t know. I guess…” In an instant, the rose and golden light of the sun spread over them, bathing their furrowed foreheads in blissful light. “Now, that was weird!” grumbled Xena, but Gabrielle had begun to run ahead, shouting joyfully. “Oh, Xena! Look! It’s beautiful!” Xena scanned her surroundings and inhaled sharply. They stood on a small beach. The sands were as pure as snow and the beckoning landscape towered in the distance, a maze of glittering, emerald trees and swirling mists. She could not help a slight, furtive smile. “Wow, Gabrielle! Where is this?” Gabrielle was indulging in a wild and sensual dance, her graceful feet sweeping spiral patterns into the sand as she moved. Xena watched her fondly, as if in a trance, then shook herself out of her reverie. “Don’t get too carried away! Something about this just isn’t right.” “Oh, I know,” sighed Gabrielle, “Looks like we’ve got some exploring to do.” She took hold of Xena’s hand and they advanced, leaving the beach and entering the realm of the trees. Arrows of sunlight darted through the leaves, lighting their curious faces, until they arrived at a mysterious pool. Xena began to register suspicion on her wary face, but Gabrielle had, again, run ahead, shrieking in delight as she leaped into the cool, bubbling water. Xena groaned knowingly as a shape began to take form on one of the rocks beside Gabrielle’s happily splashing person. “I knew something about this wasn’t right,” she said to herself, “GABRIELLE!” Gabrielle looked up and noticed what was watching her with an expression of pure loathing. She screamed and ran back to her friend, gazing into Xena’s face, looking desperately for some answer. “Yes, Gabrielle,” came Xena’s resigned voice, “It’s the…” “… Sirens!” hissed the figure, as she was suddenly joined by more creatures of a similar nature. “No, we haven’t disappeared into the sands of time,” they screeched in unison, “We are here and we see your purpose, you evil slayer of what was sacred!” “Well, now, if you want to talk about evil…” began Xena defiantly, before asking: “What do you mean, my purpose? My only purpose is to find out what you brought us here for? Still trying to kill me, or…?” The Sirens flashed angrily, their whispery, wailing voices crying: “We did not bring you here! You have come to kill our gods, like you killed the noble Olympians!” “Your gods?” asked an incredulous Xena, “Since when do you have your own gods?” “Our gods were always here. We did not call upon them for many ages, but we needed something to believe in after you destroyed everything!” Xena and Gabrielle looked at each other. “What are they talking about?” Xena placed her hands on her hips and looked at the Sirens, shaking her head. “Now, that’s just about the weakest and most pathetic thing I’ve heard in a long time!” she chided. The Sirens’ hissing sounded slightly taken aback, then began to grow in volume again, “Do not try to trick us into conversation, you treacherous women! If you were men, you would lie in your watery graves by now, but fear not! We shall defeat you yet! You are here to kill our gods, and we know it!” “My thoughts precisely,” agreed yet another voice from behind Xena, “But with one slight alteration!” The warrior princess and her friend spun ‘round and beheld a strange, unearthly woman, statuesque and beautiful, but far larger in size than either one of them. “Xena, I presume?” she continued, “Well, now, you must be a little confused!” Xena nodded mutely. The woman smiled: “Don’t worry! I brought you here! I drew you in on my breath. I have a little job for you!” “But who are you?” “Oh, I’m Ventitheia, a goddess of the Island of the Sirens.” Xena looked back at the Sirens who glowered at the goddess, wearing an expression that said: “Actually, you’re welcome to kill that one.” Gabrielle stepped forward. “So what exactly is going on?” “Well…” Ventitheia’s reply went unfinished. A searing ball of fire blazed through the air and exploded in some neighbouring trees, hungrily swallowing them up in expanding flame. Xena and Gabrielle rushed towards each other in terror. Ventitheia snarled: “Oh, there he goes again! I’ll show him! Be with you in just a moment!” She raised her hands menacingly and, with a cry, brought forth a raging whirlwind, sending it forcefully in the direction that the fireball had come from. “Now,” she went on, “let’s get out of here!” “We’ll deal with you later!” Gabrielle warned the Sirens, before following the others away from the pool. “Now,” began Ventitheia, “that fireball came from Ferithio, who I am ashamed to say was my lover. Since the dawn of time, we’ve been together, and then the Sirens call and all I hear from him is ‘the Sirens this’ and ‘the Sirens that’ and do I see him any more? Oh, no, because he’s too busy hanging out with the Sirens! ‘Well, if that’s the way you’re going to be’, I said, and I threw the greatest wind at him that the world has ever seen, and he said: ‘Don’t you take that tone with me, you’re being completely unreasonable!’ so he threw fire at me and I threw wind at him and he threw fire at me and it’s been going on and on for weeks and the island is going to be ruined if it keeps going but I’m not going to give in! Oh, no…” Xena coughed deliberately, “And what precisely does that have to do with us?” “Well, I said to him: ‘If it’s the Sirens you want, then it’s the Sirens you’ll get! Let them kill you! That’s what they do! See if I care?’ and he laughed and said: ‘How can they kill me? I’m a god!’ so I thought: ‘Ha! I think I know of someone that can take away your divinity! See what the Sirens do with you then! Nothing like they’ve been doing with you for the past…” “And you think I’m that person?” concluded Xena quietly, “The one that can deny godship.” “Exactly! So, tell me, how are you going to do it?” Xena sighed. “Ventitheia, you’re wrong. I can’t do that.” “What do you mean, you can’t do it? I can’t see you surviving one of those whirlwinds!” “She really can’t!” cried Gabrielle, “She no longer has that power!” Ventitheia froze, then sighed, looking severely deflated. “You mean you really can’t?” “I really can’t.” Xena assured her. “Well, what am I going to do now?” The goddess looked on the verge of sulky tears. “Ventitheia,” said Gabrielle gently, “Are you sure that your lover is really so interested in the Sirens? He probably hasn’t spoken to anyone other than you in a very long time and maybe he’s just being friendly!” “Oh, he’s being friendly allright! Far too friendly!” “Gabrielle has a point,” observed Xena, “You’re not used to sharing his attention. Maybe you should talk to him. Let him tell you how he really feels about you.” “Oh, I’ll talk to him! In my language!” She released another natural disaster from her outstretched palm. “Why not put this anger to good use and destroy the Sirens instead of destroying this island?” “Ferithio protects them from me.” “Well… he doesn’t protect them from me!” Xena took off in the direction of the pool, hoping that the Sirens were still there. They were, but there was an enormous man with them. He was sitting happily among them as the Sirens sang for him and caressed his hair, tantalisingly. “You see?” exclaimed Ventitheia, “Look at him, the good-for-nothing TRAITOR!” Ferithio was startled. Sheepishly, he disentangled himself from the Sirens and began to plead: “Ventitheia, listen…” “I won’t listen to you, you- you- you…” Gabrielle crept over to Xena and whispered: “I have an idea. Will you give me a chance, and, if it doesn’t work we’ll do things your way, okay?” Xena smiled. “Absolutely. You know I trust you in these matters of the heart.” Gabrielle smiled back and proceeded to approach the two bickering gods. “Ventitheia,” she said, “We lied. Xena has a magical power that allows her to kill one more god… or several supernatural beings. She’s very angry at you for taking us to this island against our will and she is choosing between you and the Sirens. Either you or they are going to die.” Xena glowed with pride as she spotted Gabrielle’s cunning plan. “That’s right!” she shouted, raising her wristband threateningly, “The magic is in this wristband! Who is going to go?” Ventitheia gasped. “Why me? I haven’t hurt you…” “Well, you dragged me here, lost my crew… although I can guess what happened to them…” Xena paused and scowled at the Sirens before facing Ventitheia again, “and you threatened to kill me! Yes, I think I’m going to kill you!” She violently raised her arm… “NOOO!” roared Ferithio, leaping in front of Ventitheia, “Spare her! Kill the Sirens! Avenge your crew! Kill me, even, but spare Ventitheia!” Ventitheia’s jaw dropped as they looked at each other, realization dawning across their shocked faces. “You… do love me!” breathed the goddess. “M-more than anything,” Ferithio assured her bashfully. Ventitheia noticed Xena and Gabrielle hugging each other and looking spectacularly pleased with themselves. She gasped, even more shocked. “Was this a trick?” “Well, yes,” admitted Gabrielle, “and I know it was pretty cruel, but…” “It’s okay!” giggled Ventitheia, falling happily into her lover’s arms. Then she tensed slightly. “But what about them?” She pointed viciously at the Sirens. Ferithio looked at her earnestly. “You can kill them, my love. This has made me realise that all I really want is you.” She clapped her hands gleefully, and, as the Sirens wailed in terror, she aimed a powerful blast at them and, with much hissing and screeching, they were gone. She and Ferithio gazed into each other’s eyes adoringly. “I guess we’ll leave you two alone!” laughed Xena and she and Gabrielle walked back towards their boat as the gods waved. Xena and Gabrielle paused to sit briefly in the inviting sands and comment on the day’s events. “I’m glad they’re happy again,” mused Xena, “It makes me think… You and I have risked our lives for each other so many times that we must be owed a lifetime of not having to reassure each other!” “Probably,” chuckled Gabrielle, “But it’s still fun!” “You’re right. I love you.” “I love you too, Xena.” “Now, wasn’t that great?” “Xena…” Gabrielle looked at her, serious for a moment, “I’ve felt loss before. I’ve grieved. You know that. But, when I lost you in Jappa, I just knew it was wrong. I would never have got over it. It just wasn’t meant to be. Nobody knows what happens when we meet each other’s eyes. They couldn’t! It’s… indescribable. And Fate could not have separated us forever.” “I know that now. That would never be right.” “And we feel this way partly because we’ve been through so much together. The power, the passion, the danger… it’s made us who we are. And I’m ready to go through it all again. I want to go home with you and face whatever new adventure life has to throw at us.” “Me too, Gabrielle.” They both stood up and made their way lazily across the glittering beach, back to the boat. As they approached it, a familiar head popped over the side. “There you are!” exclaimed the Captain, “Where were you? What happened? We’re all terribly confused!” “The crew!” cried Gabrielle, “They’re back!” Xena beamed. “I think this might be Ventitheia and Ferithio’s way of saying thanks.” Gabrielle nodded and replied to the Captain: “I’ll tell you all about it when we’re safely on our way home!” Copyright©Lodemy-2002 |
| Virtual Season 7 |