Chapter 3

"Gabrielle, you're not going to let them...hurt her anymore, are you?" Solan's blue eyes, so much like Xena's, stared at the blonde.

The bard got to her feet and helped the boy up. "Solan, we're going to do everything we can to save her. Now come on, I need your help right now. You know the layout of the village. Tell me everything you can." She held the boy's hand in her own as they threaded their way back down the trail to the centaur village.

Solan had stopped crying, but the lump in his throat would not go away. He took a steadying breath, and answered his friend. "Well, they have Xena locked in a cell. I put Argo in the stable, and took off her saddle. Most of the centaurs were at the jail when I left. I guess they wanted to see Xena for themselves."

"And what does the jail look like? Are there lots of guards around?"

The boy shook his head. Starting to cry again, he could hardly answer Gabrielle's question. "I don't know...I don't know! Why did this have to happen? Xena was only trying to take me home...they didn't have to hit her...they didn't..." Solan felt the lump in his throat grow until his chest hurt from all the pent up emotions he was trying to keep inside. He shook his head, hoping that the images he kept seeing of Xena would change, and that she would be all right. But he couldn't forget the last sight he had of her, bloodied and chained to the wall of the cramped cell. He felt helpless that he couldn't stop what had happened, and that Lorenz wouldn't listen to him.

"Honey," Gabrielle knelt down and cradled the blond head to her chest. "I know it's hard. But believe me when I tell you that there was nothing you could have done to stop what your friends were doing. But that doesn't mean we are going to give up." The bard caressed the boy's back, helping him to calm down. When she heard him breathing easier, she leaned back and looked Solan in the eye. "I can count on you to help me, right?"

The youngster nodded silently, and then pulled on Gabrielle's hand. "The cells...they're cold, because they're built into a hill. Maybe we can get to Xena from the back of the jail."

Gabrielle ruffled the boy's hair. "That's a start, and a good one. Now come on, and show me how to get there."

The lump in Solan's chest shrunk just a little. Maybe they could get Xena out of the village.

Lorenz strode into the common area of the jail, waiting for Terek to join him. They were the only centaurs in the building, the leader having sent the crowd away so he and Terek could deal with Xena. The prisoner had yet to wake up, and he had sent his friend into the holding cell to see if the woman was faking her condition. Although having an unconscious Xena was safer than an active one, he missed having an opportunity to work the woman over. He wanted her awake so he could hear her cries of pain. The centaur leader planned to bring a weakened and defeated warlord to trial, and the pleasure of being the one to bring her to that level made his heart beat fast in anticipation. Hearing a noise behind him, Lorenz turned to see Terek enter the room. "Well?"

"She's still out, but I don't think for too much longer, She's reacting to pain more strongly now."

"Well, don't get too carried away, Terek. I need you to be her watcher for when she does decide to join us. I have some plans for her."

Terek's eyes lit up with excitement. Although he was too young to have actually fought Xena in battle, the tales had been told and retold to him. His hatred for the "Destroyer of Nations" burned as hot as with any of the other centaurs. He took great pride in knowing that the centaur leader was choosing him to carry out his wishes, and Terek didn't want to disappoint his friend and mentor. "And what would those plans be?"

The leader answered carefully. "Nothing too physical, she needs to be able to respond at the trial." Noting the look of disappointment on the jailer's face, he hastened to add, "But I do want her 'beaten down' into submission. We'll break her spirit, and then we'll break her."

Terek nodded in agreement, a smile spreading across his face.

The moon was long past its rise when Gabrielle and Solan entered the village. There were torches burning at the jail, and at a hut that the boy told Gabrielle was Lorenz'. Moving quietly, the two friends made their way around the buildings, at last coming to the rise that marked one side of the jail. There were a few small windows at ground level, all of them encased with heavy bars. No lights burned in any of the cells, and Solan was unsure if there were other prisoners being held in the rooms. Walking silently, he at last stopped before one window that he thought was the cell that Xena was in.

"Gabrielle, it's too dark to see, but I think this is it. They chained her to the back wall, and left her there. I hope she's all right..." Solan stopped whispering when he heard a familiar voice. Listening carefully, he could hear his cousin Lorenz talking to someone, but he couldn't make out the words. He lowered his voice more, and quickly told the bard that the centaur leader was nearby. Gabrielle nodded, and absently brushed a stray lock of hair off his face.

"Thank you, Solan. Now I want you to do me a favor. Go back to Lorenz's house..."

"Why?" the boy gasped between clenched teeth. "I want to help!"

"Honey, I have to talk to Xena, but I'll come and get you when I'm done. And what would happen when Lorenz gets home, and doesn't find you there? I promise I'll meet you at your home after I see how Xena is. Please?"

Solan didn't look happy, but he finally agreed to do what Gabrielle wanted; he hadn't thought about what would happen if Lorenz didn't find him at home, in bed, asleep. Reluctantly, he slipped away from the jail, after first pointing out again Lorenz' house to the bard. The boy knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, but somehow he would convince Lorenz that he was. And then he could get back to helping both of his friends to get out of this village. He entered his home quietly, relieved to find that it was empty, and that Lorenz hadn't been there recently to check on him. Not bothering to take off his clothes, he pulled back the blanket on the pallet, and turned on his side to face the wall, hoping that Lorenz wouldn't look too closely at the 'sleeping' boy.

Gabrielle watched Solan's shadow creep across the square and then enter the lit hut. Turning back around from the corner of the jail, she again found the window that the boy thought was Xena's cell. The bard laid down on the grass, and inched up to the window. She reached inside the cell, searching by feel for shackles as she whispered, "Xena?" Her hand at last felt fingers, stiff with cold and unmoving. Again she called her lover's name, and this time heard a moan in response. "Xena, please...can you hear me?" The blonde wrapped her hand around the motionless fingers, trying to warm at least that part of the warrior's body. Trying to keep panic out of her voice, she again breathed her lover's name. "Xena...?"

"Gab...rielle?"

"Xena, yes, you can hear me! How...how are you?" Gabrielle continued to clasp and wiggle her hand around Xena's fingers, but got no physical response from the woman.

"Gabrielle...I want you to...find Solan and ...leave."

"Leave? Xena, no, we're going to get you out of here. What are you saying? I can't..."

"Gab...rielle. Please. I don't want either...or you to see what...is going to happen."

"Xena..."

"Please. Take my son...home."

Gabrielle felt Xena curl her fingers into a loose fist, effectively removing her fingers from the bard's grasp. The blonde closed her eyes in pain at the physical dismissal, and pulled away from the cell window. Standing up, she leaned against the wall of the building before moving away to find Solan, ready to leave the Warrior Princess in the cold darkness. However, a sound from Xena's cell caught her attention. Creeping back against the wall, Gabrielle returned to the window to hear what was happening. She heard a door creek open slowly, and a little bit of light fell into the room, but the warrior was still well hidden in the darkness of the rear cell wall.

Terek pushed open the large wooden door to the prisoner's cell, and at once noticed that the woman's electric blue eyes were focused on him. Despite the dimness of the room, the young centaur could feel the warrior's dangerous presence. He was glad that she was still safely chained, and even though she was bruised and bloodied, he could read the intelligence and strength in her face. This one would be hard to break, but he had a few ideas. "Lorenz!" the centaur shouted. "Our company is awake!"

Gabrielle sensed more movement, and then heard the lead centaur speak.

"Excellent. Terek, move her to the secure room."

This was a test for the young centaur. It was only Lorenz, him, and Xena in the prison, and Lorenz would expect him to move the Destroyer of Nations by himself. Swallowing down his apprehension, Terek approached the woman, and with what he hoped were steady hands, unlocked the shackles from the wall. He jerked the chain roughly when Xena remained seated on the cold ground. "Prisoner, come with me!" he growled, and jerked again on the heavy chains as the woman rose to her feet, to tower above the small centaur. Terek looked up into the blue eyes, one of which was still partially closed from her earlier encounters with his brothers, and began to feel more than a little afraid of the silent warrior. He knew without a doubt that he was out-classed by the woman, and yet she was letting him order her around. "Come with me," he repeated, but this time without the usual tug on the shackles.

Xena walked into the middle of the room, the cold light from the corridor hitting her in the face. She stopped, and blocking the window with her body from the view of both Terek and Lorenz, she turned towards it, knowing that Gabrielle would be there.

As the bard listened to the voices of Terek and Lorenz, she crouched by the window, hearing every word. Hoping that the centaurs would have their full attention on her lover, Gabrielle dared to peek into the window. She saw Xena turning towards the window; she saw the bruises, the cuts, the swollen eye, and she saw one more thing. Xena looked directly at the blonde and mouthed the word, "Go," just before she faced the centaurs and then was led from the cell.

The bard sagged against the outer wall of the jail. She felt helpless and useless, since it seemed that Xena was ready to give in to anything the centaurs wanted. Her heart beat painfully when she realized that her woman knew what the centaurs had planned for her, and was deliberately sending her family...Solan, and she, herself, Gabrielle, away. 'I can't...I can't let her do this...sacrifice herself...for what? Protection for me and Solan? Doesn't she know that without her...I would be lost? Oh, Xena,' Gabrielle thought, 'I can't do what you want me to do. I love you too much. And so does Solan.'

Gabrielle moved along the side of the jail, keeping to the shadows. She didn't know how long Terek and Lorenz would stay with Xena, and she wanted to see how Solan was doing. Crossing the square as quickly and quietly as possible, the bard approached the house that still had one torch glowing softly from within. She looked into the first window she came to, and saw a small bundle curled on a pallet. Not wanting to startle the child, she whispered, "Solan?"

The boy popped his head up immediately. Although his hair was tousled, it was plain that he had not been sleeping. In fact, Gabrielle noticed that he still had his clothes on, even seeing that his boots were tucked under the covers. "Gabrielle?"

"Sweetie, I'm going to go to the stable and get Argo, and then I'm going to leave her part way down the trail to our camp. After your cousin comes back home, and you're sure he's asleep, meet me on the trail. We're leaving..."

"I'm not leaving Xena! She's my friend! I'm going to talk to Lorenz, tell him that..."

"Solan..." Gabrielle wished she could reach through the wall and hug the child. "They've locked Xena in another part of the jail. We have to go. We're going to your home, to Uncle Kaleipus. He'll help us..."

"I can't leave her! Who will protect her from Terek and the others? I can't go!"

"Honey, this is what Xena wants." Gabrielle didn't know if she softened the lie for Solan, or for herself. "Please. Your uncle needs to know what's going on, and who else but us would tell him?" The blonde paused, pleading Solan with her eyes. "I'm going to the stable now. Promise me you'll meet me on the trail. Please, Solan?"

The youngster laid his head back on the pillow. "All right. As soon as Lorenz is asleep. I'll leave."

"Thank you, honey. I'll see you soon."

Gabrielle looked at the moon. It would soon be dawn, and she knew it would be best if they were on their way to Kaleipus' while it was still dark. As she made her way to the stable, she hoped that Lorenz would be soon be returning home.

Argo nickered when she felt a familiar presence rubbing her neck. Gabrielle placed the saddle on the warhorse, expertly cinching down the straps and bridle, and then grabbed an empty burlap bag, filling it with dry oats for the mare. "I'm sure the centaurs won't mind if we take some of their supplies, will they, Argo?" The horse shook her head, as if agreeing with the small woman.

Gabrielle led the horse to the main door of the stable, and peeked outside, just in time to see Lorenz enter his hut. She waited to see if he would return to the jail, but was relieved when the torch burning in the home was put out, and things remained quiet in the village. She had no idea where Terek was, but decided it was time to get moving. Glancing at the sky again, she noted that it would be dawn shortly and sighed with fatigue. She rubbed her eyes to bring more life into them, and felt Argo gently nudge her in the shoulder with her sensitive nose. "Ok, ok, Argo, we're going," the woman reassured the horse as she led the animal behind the stable, unable to resist passing by the jail one more time in hopes of seeing her lover.

Every window in the stone structure was dark; the bard checked every cell and each was empty. Terek's 'secure room' must be far into the building, making any attempt of escape of rescue nearly hopeless. Sending a prayer to Artemis, Gabrielle found the trail to the stream and their camp, and led Argo a short way down the path. She loosely tied the reins around a small tree, and turned around as she heard footsteps approaching. "Solan?"

"Here, Gabrielle," the boy whispered back as he came into view. "I brought some food for us, so we don't have to stop on the trail." He handed the woman a bag filled with fruit, bread, and cheese, which Gabrielle added to their saddlebags.

"That was good thinking, Solan. Now we don't have to take time to get the supplies from camp..." Gabrielle paused as she thought of all that had happened in such a short time, "...so let's get going."

She lifted the youngster onto Argo, and taking the reins, led the horse to a fallen log. Scratching the mare's nose, she offered her an apple from Solan's supplies. "It's up to us, now, Argo. Ready?" the blonde asked as she stepped onto the log, and swung her leg over the saddle behind Solan. She shifted into a comfortable position, and pulled the boy back towards her in a light embrace.

Argo again shook her head as if listening to the bard, and waited for her next command. At the soft touch of the reins on her neck, the horse started off down the trail to the old camp. As she reached the stream, Gabrielle guided her along the water's path, leading her to Kaleipus. Streaks of purple and blue were just beginning to appear on the horizon when her hooves splashed in the shallow stream, making the water fly in curving arcs as the horse stretched her long legs into a gallop. Argo carried her two friends away from the village and Xena, already longing to return to her master.

The prisoner was silent as Terek, holding a torch aloft, led her down a slippery, wet slope into a single room cell that was known as 'the secure room.' There were no windows in the cell, and it was completely enclosed in stone and mortar, in roughly a circular shape. The one entrance to the room was a hinged door made up of metal perpendicular slats, directly opposite the end of the slope. The only light in the room came from the corridor area, and since the cell door faced away from the ramp, the cell was in complete darkness. Escape from the room would be close to impossible, since 'the secure room' was essentially a cell within a cell.

Terek opened the cell gate, the hinges protesting the movement in a rusty squeal. Without waiting for orders, Xena stooped and walked into the cell, and then turned to face Terek, her face a mask of impassiveness.

The young centaur forced himself to show the prisoner the same kind of aloofness that she was disarming him with. He followed her into the room, set his torch into a wall sconce, and then released the tension on a winch, dropping a chain from the cell's ceiling. After attaching the Destroyer of Nation's shackles to the chain, Terek made the mistake of looking into her eyes again; the look of raw power and control in the blue eyes shook his conviction and his sense of authority. Once more, he felt the woman, although shackled, was far from defenseless, and could over power him if she chose to. Gulping back his apprehension, Terek worked on the winch until the prisoner's arms were extended above her head. He hastily grabbed the torch, locked the cell door behind him, and made his way up the slope back to Lorenz, leaving Xena in the darkness of the room and her thoughts.

The centaur forcibly slowed his breathing when he reached the main area of the jail. Terek didn't want Lorenz to know just how badly the silent prisoner had shook him. After running his hand through his hair, he met his leader at the entrance of the prison.

"How did it go?" Lorenz asked, as his eyes looked over the young jailer.

Not trusting himself to say more, Terek merely answered, "She's secured."

A smile finally broke out across the red haired centaur's face. "Excellent. Terek, for now, it's your job to see that the woman does not get any sleep. No food or water, either. Watch her closely. I'll send your relief in the morning."