Chapter 7

Lorenz lowered his eyes and looked skeptically at his cousin. "Are you telling me, Kaleipus, that you and the Destroyer of Nations..."

"Of course not, cousin. Borias is the boy's father. And Xena is his mother. She gave him to me when..." the older centaur stopped explaining when he heard the door slam behind him. Through an open window, he saw the retreating form of Solan, running for the woods. Kaleipus shook his head in anger and frustration at his lack of thought and compassion for his son. He should have known that all this information would come as a shock to the boy; unfortunately, he had been focusing so long on how to help Xena, that he completely forgot that after so long, Solan might not be ready for, or like, the truth about his parents. "Gods, I'm so stupid," he muttered to himself. "Ephiny, would you and Xenan go after him? I don't think my boy is ready to see me, or Gabrielle, yet."

Nodding, Ephiny reached down to grab Xenan's hand, and followed after Solan.

Solan stopped running when he realized he had ended up with Argo and the other horse. Breathing heavily, the youngster threw his arms around the neck of the familiar mare and buried his face in the golden mane. His shoulders shook when he started crying. "They lied to me, Argo. Everyone of them. No one told me anything..." Argo rested her head on the boy's shoulder, and whinnied softly in his ear. The boy clung desperately to the horse, the only anchor he felt he had left in the world. "I thought Xena liked me. She saved me from Dagnon...why didn't she tell me? She must really think I'm an awful kid...to leave me..." Sobbing louder, he let go of Argo and sank to the forest floor, pulling his legs up to his chest, and resting his head on his knees. "I thought she might even...love me..."

Ephiny could hear the sobs even before she found the boy next to the horses. She had no idea what to tell Solan, whose world had changed suddenly in the last few moments. Letting go of Xenan's hand, she knelt down next to the youngster, and wrapped her arms around him. Immediately, she felt the child's body tense up, and the sobbing become louder. Ephiny released her hold, and leaned back on her knees. "I'm sorry Solan. I didn't know either." The boy didn't answer, but the shaking slowed down a little when Ephiny began to caress the young man.

"Now do you see why you can't kill Xena?" asked Kaleipus. "You would leave me no choice but to call for war to protect my boy's family."

Lorenz' eyes flashed with unsuppressed rage. "I don't believe the lengths you will go to save that...murdering harlot. But you're family, cousin. I will give her over to you..but make sure she never travels this way again. I won't be so generous, or forgiving, next time." The red haired centaur turned to his jailer. "Terek," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Release the prisoner to my...'family'."

As the small group left the house, Gabrielle handed her mask to Kaleipus, and then made her way to the jail with Terek.

The whole village was caught up in the events happening before them, and any pretense of not paying attention to the spectacle had stopped long ago. Most knew that the trial was to begin in a few hours at dawn, but it looked like something important was about to happen today. Feeling all eyes on them, Gabrielle and the jailer entered the prison.

As Terek led the way down into the deepest part of the building, Gabrielle began to shiver at the dampness. The centaur held the only torch in front of him, and the bard had to move quickly but carefully in the unfamiliar darkness to keep up with him. Her heart was beating loudly; she was extremely anxious to see Xena, and she worried about what the centaurs had done to her in the time the bard had been away. It seemed to take forever, but finally, the slope they were on leveled out, and Gabrielle managed to make out what looked like a separate secure cell in the middle of the room she was now in. She jumped when she heard Terek speaking to another centaur; in the darkness, she could see no one else in the area.

"Javet, you're relieved. Now go."

The other centaur was happy to leave, and didn't even bother to ask why Terek was bringing another amazon into the prison. He moved up the slope without a backward glance.

Terek put the torch into the wall sconce, and wordlessly walked over to the cell's door. As he expected, the blanket was thrown over the woman's head. The jailer called Xena's name when he put the key in the lock, and opened the door.

"Awake," rasped a voice that the bard could barely recognize. She looked past Terek's shoulder to see her partner shivering in the cold, trying her best to remain upright on nerveless legs. The only noise was the jangling of the chain links above Xena's head as her body moved constantly in the cold. The jailer moved over to the winch, and released the catch, slowly lowering Xena's arms down. Without the support of the chains, the warrior's knees buckled even more, as her fatigued legs could not bear her weight. Gabrielle rushed to her woman's side, removing the blanket from her face, and throwing her arms around Xena's body.

Xena had been holding onto the one thought that had calmed her so far; she kept a mental picture of her bard in her head and forced herself to forget about the pain in her arms and the ache of her screaming muscles in her legs and feet. She concentrated on remembering each detail of her lover's face; how depending on mood, the eyes of the bard could look green or blue, and how electrifying they looked in passion. She remembered the softness of the lush lips as they parted beneath hers, or as they smiled at her in love; the way they brushed...

In one movement, the cloth was removed from her face, and she was looking into her bard's eyes; then she felt her woman's arm encircle her, as the chains continued to be lowered from above her head.

"Oh, Xena," the bard whispered, as in one glance she saw what had happened to her friend. One eye was still partially closed, but looked to be healing. Gabrielle had already noticed the bruises on the warrior's legs, and now saw the matching ones on her arms and upper body. As the restraints continued to be lowered, Xena's arms fell naturally over Gabrielle's head, as if the woman was going to hug her, but the bard knew the real reason Xena had done this. Xena leaned heavily against her lover, and Gabrielle gladly accepted the weight. At last, the chains were completely lowered, and the bard helped Xena to the ground, even though it was cold and wet, and the warrior was still shivering uncontrollably. The smaller woman turned to the jailer. "Release the shackles, and then leave us."

After Terek unlocked all the restraints, he left the two women in the cell, and went in search of Lorenz.

"Xena?" the bard asked as she rubbed her hands over the woman's chilled flesh, trying to bring life back into the aching muscles. She wrapped the blanket around Xena's legs, and massaged the muscles of the woman's arms, gently rubbing the skin back and forth to try to bring feeling back into nerveless limbs. The area around the warrior's wrists was rubbed raw from where the shackles bit into her flesh. The skin was bloody and badly bruised, and Xena would need the help of Kaleipus' healer once they got back to the centaur's village. "Xena?" the bard repeated when she got no answer from her partner.

Unexpectedly, the warrior tightened her arms around Gabrielle, and pulled the woman to her closely, burying her face into the bard's neck. "Is it you?" she asked, the words muffled by the blonde hair of the smaller woman.

"Yes, it's me. But we need to get you out of here." Gabrielle pulled back out of the embrace, and cradled her friend's face with her hands. "Are you able to walk?"

Xena nodded slowly as the bard rose to her feet. Extending her arm down, she helped the warrior to stand, and that was when she realized just how weak her woman was. The warrior's legs were shaking with both the cold, and from having to support herself for the first time in days. The bard wrapped her right arm around Xena's back for support, and then bent down and retrieved the blanket, throwing it over her lover's shoulders. Taking hold of Xena's left hand, Gabrielle added her strength to the warrior and to help carry her weight. They left the torch in the sconce, since Xena really needed the bard's help to make it up the dark slope of the exit. With the dim light behind them, the two women slowly made their way out of the jail.

Kaleipus waited for Xena and Gabrielle to appear, a sack holding the warrior's weapons and leathers at his feet. Lorenz leaned casually against his home but stood up when his former prisoner finally exited the jail. "Well, Kaleipus, there's your 'family'. Make sure I never see them again." The red haired centaur turned away from his cousin and went into his house, closing the door firmly behind him.

When the two women reached the middle of the square, Kaleipus took his place behind them. He could see Xena straining to remain upright, but knew the proud woman would want to be seen leaving the village unbeaten, and unbroken, so he did not offer to help her. He supposed Gabrielle was supporting her somewhat, but the blanket was concealing how much help Xena needed. Still, he wanted to be close in case he was needed.

The centaurs of Lorenz' nation followed the strange procession, and came closer to watch the trio, forming a double line that resembled a gauntlet. The irony was not lost on Xena, and with a little bit of defiance, she lifted her head and stared at each centaur who was foolish enough to make eye contact with her. No one stopped them as they reached the woods.

Ephiny was watching the boys sleep, Solan finally exhausting himself from his conflicting emotions, when she heard the others approaching. As Xena staggered into the makeshift camp, the amazon rushed up to help her queen and the warrior; just when Ephiny reached Xena's side, the last of the woman's strength gave out. She would have fallen if the amazon had not been there to help catch her. While Gabrielle and Ephiny lowered Xena to the mossy ground of the trail, Kaleipus reached for the waterskin and offered it to the women.

Gabrielle took the boda bag and poured some water into her hand, and gently tried to wipe some of the grime and dirt from her lover's face. When the water trickled onto Xena's lips, she made a feeble attempt to take the waterskin from the blonde.

"No, Xena. Let me help you. You can't drink too much at once," the bard said, as she propped her arm behind the warrior's back, and held the skin to Xena's mouth. After giving her a few short swallows, Gabrielle let her eyes roam over the woman, looking for any other injuries. "How do you feel?"

"Tired. Thirsty."

Kaleipus moved closer to the small group. "Even though it's getting dark, I think we should move on. Lorenz might change his mind, and I don't want to be here if he does. We can follow the river easily in the dark...if you think Xena is ok to travel."

Getting no response from Xena, Gabrielle nodded her head, knowing she could support Xena on Argo's back. Her next concern was in waking Solan, not knowing how he would react to his mom. She touched the boy on his shoulder, and gently shook him awake. When his eyes first opened, he looked at her with easy recognition, but just as quickly, his features turned and showed his distrust as he jerked away from her. A cloud of hurt washed over his face, and with his eyebrows turned down in pain, he glanced away from the blonde and refused to make eye contact again.

"Solan, I know you're upset with us. I wish I could explain, but right now, we have to get Xena out of here."

The boy refused to answer, but stood up and folded his arms across his chest. He didn't want to acknowledge Gabrielle or his uncle, and he especially wanted to avoid Xena. When he was sure no one was looking, he glanced briefly at the warrior. Although part of him saw the woman and remembered the friend he knew, a big part of him recognized Xena as his mother...and as the person who gave him away without a moment's hesitation. Now he understood why Xena knew Borias so well. She must have laughed at him at how easily she had kept her secret from him. Solan clenched his teeth, and tried to keep his feelings locked up inside. He didn't want the others to see how much their game had hurt him. When he saw Gabrielle and Ephiny helping Xena to her feet, he looked away, hoping that he didn't get caught watching.

"Solan...son.." Kaleipus called out to the boy. "Please come here son." The youngster approached the centaur that he had been proud to call his uncle. With his arms still crossed over his chest, he looked at the ground and waited for the centaur to tell him something, anything, to explain what was happening. When he saw Kaleipus start to reach for him, he jerked away, and took a few steps backwards to stay out of his grasp.

"Son, we have to leave. Can I help you up on my back?"

The boy didn't want to show any weakness to all these people who were suddenly strangers. He slid up onto Kaleipus' back, but sat further back than normal. He usually would hang onto his uncle by clasping him on the shoulders, or by hugging him around the chest, but Solan no longer felt it was right to allow such an intimate embrace. Instead, he rested his hands lightly on the back of Kaleipus' waist, right where the fine horsehair met human skin. The difference did not go unnoticed by the grey haired centaur. He knew both he and his boy would have some adjusting to do in their new family roles, and hoped one day that Solan would understand why he let the boy think that his mother was dead. But right now, with full dusk on them, they had to leave.

Once everyone was settled on their mounts, and with Xena leaning heavily against her, Gabrielle led the group down the trail that led to the stream. When they reached their old camp, she heard Ephiny ask if she wanted her to gather up their things.

"No. Leave them. I don't ever want to see this place again."

Argo remembered the route, and followed the stream in the light of the moon to Kaliepus' village. Behind the golden mare followed Ephiny, holding her son atop the dark stead. Kaleipus took the last position in the group, wanting to hang back and make sure that no one was following them. From where he sat atop his uncle, Solan couldn't help but stare at the two women leading the way. Xena's head was resting on Gabrielle's shoulder, as the smaller woman held her from behind and guided Argo through the shallows of the river. He closed his eyes as he thought of how much he would have liked to be a part of that family, but knew that his mother didn't love him. He thought about how it felt to have Xena hold him as Gabrielle was holding her now, and remembered when the warrior held him in her embrace as she was returning him to Lorenz' village...to a family she knew wasn't his. 'She doesn't love me..or she would have told me. I thought she was happy to see me when I found her fishing...but she was just probably happy to get rid of me..again.' Solan felt tears welling up, but refused to shed them over someone who didn't care about him at all.