Xena and Gabrielle walked along the ridge of the river. Gabrielle was staring at her reflection and started to think about the last few days, "Poor Kallopiea." She said to Xena remembering the first time she killed. "I don't blame her for leaving with Beowulf to go back to his country for a while. Hopefully she'll also get time to go and see her family, if they are still alive. She's had about as much success with Rome as you.'
Xena laughed, "She'll be OK. She's stronger then she looks and besides at least it gives us some time to fight together."
"You're right lately it feels like we're always traveling with someone, whether it's Joxer, Kallopiea, Beowulf there's always someone."
"Of course if you hadn't written those scroll we wouldn't be so popular."
"I guess." Gabrielle laughed.
"Anyhow, I'm going off to hunt for dinner, you stay here and set up camp OK?"
"OK?"
Xena ran off to hunt for dinner, and so Gabrielle started to collect some firewood in the forest. Suddenly she heard a twig snap close to her. "Xena!" She called out expecting to she her friend. When no one replied Gabrielle quickly took out her sais. "I know someone is there, come out." She listened as the forest went silent. Thinking it was just her imagination Gabrielle went back to collecting wood. Suddenly she saw the shadow of someone behind her, she turned around and saw a person hooded in a black cape, "Kallopiea." Gabrielle said recognizing the cape. The hooded figure quickly hit Gabrielle hard in the face, sending her unconscious immediately.
Gabrielle awoke a few hours later feeling as if she had a fever. She looked down and realized that she was no longer in the forest but was in on the hard, cold and damp floor of a prison cell.
She tried to stand up, failed and fell down to the ground again in agony. She hauled herself up with difficulty and looked at her surroundings. Again she tried to stand up but she was too weak, and couldn't manage. A voice spoke from outside the jail bars.
"It's no good, you have come to your bitter end." The voice cackled.
"I'm, I'm afraid there must have been some sort of mistake!" Gabrielle said slowly, she felt like she was going to drop off at any minute.
"No, there's no mistake. You are Gabrielle, battling brat of Potadeia aren't you?" The voice replied.
"I'm Gabrielle, yes, but where am I? And why am I here?" She mumbled confused.
"You're in a prison cell, at a temple, a temple to Ares. You are here to pay for your treason against our great god."
Gabrielle thought for a moment, "No, I was in a battle against him because he teamed up with Julius Caesar, the roman dictator. Ares had to be stopped."
"Caesar has been dead for years, your insane as well as a murderer." the voice snapped "I'm coming in to see you, you'd better not try anything funny!"
Gabrielle sat helplessly on the floor as a cloaked figure advanced upon her.
It was a man, she could see is face now.
He knelt down on the floor beside her and touched her cheek.
"You have me, for ever, you will be in this prison, me and you. Forever! Who knows what we could get up to?" He chuckled and looked at her.
Again he stroked her check and she pushed his hand away.
"Get off me! Don't touch me! Tell me why I am a murderer." She yelled desperately.
"Why! Why! Because you, Xena and that army of yours killed many men in your war."
"You are right."
"Then you admit you're crime."
"Yes I mean no! We did kill them but we killed them in war."
"Just as good as murder really."
The man's smile turned into a menacing grin as he watched Gabrielle try and get up from the ground again. This time she mustered all her strength together and stood up shakily. She looked straight at him, her fists clenched, but she knew that she had no strength to power the punch she was planning.
"My friend will save me!" She shouted advancing slowly.
"Xena? She will never guess that you are here! She will never find you! And even if she does come here we are ready for her and she will be tried for the same crimes as you." he cried, throwing is hands up in the air.
He stumbled backwards and grabbed a leather whip that was lying on the floor.
He cracked the whip in front of himself and grinned at her.
"I have a weapon, you don't!" He cracked the whip again and marched towards her.
"Now be a good little girlie, and I won't touch you with this." He raised the whip "Be a bad one, and I will."
"I will never be good for you!" She screamed, her fists raised.
"Have it your way, you'll learn the nasty way!" He raised the whip and brought it down on her outstretched fist.
As the whip touched her skin, it felt like fire, burning and stinging. She wouldn't give up she told herself and continued to advance.
A man rushed into the cell and grabbed the whip of the other man.
"Is she being bad? The man questioned, nodding towards her.
"Yes! She tried to kill me," The evil man whimpered.
"Chain her to the wall, her back facing me. Then she will learn what a real whipping feels like!"
He quickly did as the man commanded and pushes Gabrielle hard against the wall, winding her badly.
Gabrielle slumped to the floor in agony, but he pulled her up and banged her wrists into chains on the wall. Then the man came and stood beside her watching on with glee.
"Now, you will feel the most pain you have ever felt!" The man with the whip screamed.
She felt the whip touch down on her back again and again and again.
Her screams mingled with laughter of the two men, until she slumped down, hanging lifelessly.
She had fainted.
Xena walked back towards Gabrielle, expecting to see a camp already made up
As she neared, she could see nothing, no one was around.
She broke into a jog and rose over the little hill.
Nothing. No Gabrielle. Xena bent down and examined the grass, she could see faint drag marks.
"I'm onto something at least!" She talked to herself quietly as she began to follow the marks.
After a while the trail led onto a dusty track, where wheel tracks begun.
She paced herself at a slow jog and prepared herself for the trail ahead.
"Gabrielle?" Xena called again and again, trying not to let the despair show in her voice.
After walking a long time, she found herself in a little village.
'Not much here, a well, a farm, a temple, and fields containing crops and cattle.' She strolled along and looked at the well, and the farm was empty. She walked into the temple and started to look around. Inside a priest was walking around. "How may I help you madam?" the priest asked lazily.
"I'm looking for my friend, I wonder if you have seen her. I'm Xena, warrior princess."
"Xena? Xena?" the little man stuttered nervously
She felt a burning sensation for a second and rubbed her face, suddenly she saw a quick flash as Gabrielle being an angel.
"Yes. Have you seen her?" She replied dryly.
The man's face turned a pale gray, and then white.
He tugged at his shoulder length greasy hair nervously and looked at the floor.
"Have you seen her?" Xena questioned again, louder this time.
"Guards!" The man shouted nervously. Suddenly twenty huge men came running over to Xena. Xena quickly did her infamous war cry and flip straight up into the air, bursting out of the roof. Once outside she ran around the back of the temple and saw a jail. She managed to look through a little window and saw Gabrielle lying on the floor of a heavily guarded prison cell.
"Gabrielle!" Xena whispered through the window. "Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle slowly woke up and walked over to the window Xena was at. "Xena."
"Are you OK?" Xena whispered trying not to be heard.
"I think so. Xena, they are going to put me in trial for crimes against Ares."
"It's OK I'm going to get you out of here." Xena said, she heard the voices of some men about to find her.
"Gabrielle, I have to go I will be back soon I promise."
Gabrielle nodded her head and watched as her warrior friend ran away from the window.
Xena ran behind a building, making sure no one could see her. Then she did her war cry. When she heard all the guards running over to find her she quickly ran back into the temple unseen and pinned the priest up to a wall.
"What are you going to do to my friend?" Xena shouted angrily.
"Gabrielle is going to be put on trial for her crimes against Ares and for the men she murdered in battle."
"When is this trial going to take place?"
"Tonight."
"Who will defend her?"
"She has already confessed to her crime, she will not be defended."
"What are you going to do with her then?"
"Execute her."
"For killing in battle your going to execute her."
"She defied our great god Ares and his killed his army, her punishment is now up to us."
"I don't think so." Xena shouted and hit the priest hard.
Then she took her sword out of her sheth and ran through the temple trying to find a way into the prison. After a while she found a a secret door, quickly she pushed it and went into the prison. Many guards came running over to her but Xena managed to fight them off with her sword. After a few minuets of hard fighting all the men were dead or unconcience, Xena quickly took the keys to the cell from one of them and unlock the door and went inside. Only then did she notice Gabrielle was gone.
"Where is she?" Xena screamed to the priest once she had woke him up.
"Gabrielle has been taken away, they plan to hang her tonight, for murdering those innocent men in cold blood."
"You're lying I never saw her leave this village." Xena shouted franticly.
"Believe what you will but Gabrielle has been taken away."
"Where to?"
The man looked at Xena blankly. Xena raised her hands and press the sides of the man's neck hard.
"I have just cut off the flow of blood to your brain. You will be dead very soon unless you tell me where Gabrielle is."
"She will be hanged just outside the village. At the moment she is in being prepared for the execution."
Xena reluctantly took the pinch off of him then ran out of the temple to the out skirts of the village.
The man quickly walked through the secret door to the prison cell and saw all the injured guards. He smiled evilly then walked into the cell Xena went into. He walked over to one of the walls and pushed it revealing another secret door. Slowly he walked through and saw Gabrielle standing in the centre of the second unseen cell, surrounded by guards.
"Xena will save me." Gabrielle shouted at him.
"Xena has gone." The priest said then left.
Xena had reached the outside of the village, but couldn't find Gabrielle. All she noticed was a small, dingy tavern. She went inside to see what she could find out.
Inside many drunken men and women where talking and fighting. Xena went over to the barkeeper and order a pint of ale.
"You're not from around here are you?" The barkeeper said.
"No, I'm here looking for my friend, Gabrielle. Do you know where she is?" Xena said while taking a gulp of drink.
"Gabrielle, the warrior, the one who helped Xena stop Ares?"
"That's her."
"She has been taken to the temple in the centre of the village, you will have to hurry she is to be executed soon."
"I have just come from there, her prison cell is empty she has been move."
The man laughed, "No she hasn't"
"What do you mean."
"Everyone around here knows about the second cell. The one where they hold all the really good fighters. It is hidden in the first, there is a secret door on the right wall. She is there." Xena placed the mug back onto the bar table as she did she saw Gabrielle bleeding surrounded by flames, still as and angel, and saw her pull her sais to defend herself from some sort of demon. Gabrielle lifted her sai and was about to plunge it into the monster…then Xena was back in the noisy tavern.
She stood up shaken and wandered outside.
Xena went back into the village and saw Gabrielle on a platform with a noose around her neck. Suddenly an order was shouted by the priest and the platform dropped. Xena watched as Gabrielle's body hug in the air, slowly dying. Quickly she reached for her chakram and threw it at the rope that was wrapped tightly around her neck. Guards started to run over to Xena and she began fighting them.
Gabrielle was on the ground. She watched as Xena's chakram ricocheted of the temple. As it went back to Xena Gabrielle jumped up and grabbed it in her bound hands. Quickly she used it to cut throw the rope and then split it into and started fighting with it. She saw a guard holder her sais, Gabrielle quickly fought him and took her sias back. She put the chakram back together and threw it over to Xena while she fought with her sias.
After a while the fight was over and Xena ran over to Gabrielle. "I nearly lost you!" Xena choked hugging her hard.
Gabrielle just nodded and smiled.. weak and tired.
Xena kissed her ontop of her head and supported Gabrielle's head on her shoulder.
"Let's get going." Xena smiled and walked out of the village.
A few days later Xena and Gabrielle were walking in the sunny woods.Some of Gabrielle wounds had healed and she was feeling a lot stronger.
"I nearly lost you Gabrielle!" Xena said for the fifth time that day.
"But you didnt, and you won't, we will grow old and gray together Xena, Hell and Heaven couldn't keep us apart...nothing will."
Gabrielle patted Xena's arm.
"Anyway.. where we headed?" Gabrielle questioned Xena
Xena looked at her and smiled.
"Do we ever know Gabrielle?… In fact, dont answer that!"
The two soulmates laughed together and linked arms...walking away together again through the sun set.
'Gabrielle was right' Xena thought…' Nothing would keep them apart.'
The Second Cell by Sian
copywrite Sian 2002©