The Silent Bard

by B L Miller

"Damn that impertinent brat!" Ares stormed around his realm. "She’s always ruining my plans." He looked into the scrying bowl. It contained an image of Xena and Gabrielle sitting by a fire. As he moved closer, he heard Gabrielle telling Xena one of her stories. "And that voice! Ooh, how it grates on my nerves!" He stomped around, getting even more furious. "She’s always talking Xena out of doing things my way. With her influence, I’ll never get my warrior princess back. If only there was a way to shut her up!" he scratched his beard, as if it might give him some new ideas. "I can’t kill the bitch, Artemis would never let me kill her precious Queen of the Amazons!" He walked closer to the bowl. Gabrielle’s voice filled the air again. "Arggh! Doesn’t she ever shut up?" An evil smile formed on his godly lips. "That’s it! I’ll shut her up! Without her voice, she can’t tell Xena what to do. She’ll be helpless to stop me!" The room vibrated with his evil laughter.

As usual, Xena woke with the first rays of Apollo’s chariot. She took a moment to check on her sleeping companion, then headed to the water to catch breakfast. The rabbit she caught last night was small, but Gabrielle didn’t complain. Xena decided to make it up to her this morning. She would catch enough fish to fill her bard’s belly. Of course she knew that Gabrielle’s belly didn’t stay full for long. That girl could eat. In all her summers as a warlord, Xena had never seen anyone who could eat more than Gabrielle. The maddening part of it was that the bard didn’t have an ounce of fat on her. Xena knew that if she ate even half of what her companion did, she would be bigger than a hut. Chuckling at the image, Xena entered the water.

Gabrielle squinted against the bright sun. There was no use trying to go back to sleep now. She didn’t have to look to know that Xena was off somewhere getting breakfast. She did her normal morning all over body stretch and yawned. A quizzical look came over her face. She normally grunted when she stretched. This time she didn’t hear a sound. "Xena?" She called out, but no sounds came from her lips. She tried again. She felt her mouth move, her lips and tongue forming the necessary motions to make noise, but all she heard was silence, a deafening silence. Maybe it’s a dream, she thought. A painful pinch on her leg told her that she was quite awake. Scared, she tried again and again to call out for Xena, still with the same results. Her vision blurred as tears started to fall. Looking at the smoldering campfire, she spotted their frying pan. She crawled over and picked it up, smashing it again and again on the rocks that rimmed the fire.

Xena had just finished cleaning a small trout when her ears picked up the sound of metal against rock. There was an urgency to the banging. Fearing for Gabrielle’s safety, Xena dropped the fish and ran back to the campsite. Gabrielle was wildly banging the pan against the rocks, tears streaming down her face. The look on the bard’s face was something that Xena had never seen there before, stark terror. She knelt down next to her and took the pan out of the crying woman’s hands.

"Gabrielle, what’s wrong?" The bard shook her head back and forth. Not understanding, Xena grabbed her by the shoulders. "Gabrielle, tell me what’s going on." Those words served only to increase the amount of tears. More disturbing for Gabrielle was that even her sobs didn’t have sounds. She pointed to her throat and shook her head, desperately trying to make the warrior understand. "I don’t understand, Gabrielle. Calm down and tell me what’s got you so frightened." Frustrated with the lack of speech and angry at herself for not being able to communicate, Gabrielle pushed Xena’s hands away and ran towards the water. Totally confused, Xena quickly followed.

Gabrielle stopped at the edge of the water and frantically started to move her fingers through the muddy dirt. Xena almost reached down and pulled the bard’s hands away until she realized that Gabrielle was trying to write something in the wet earth. Xena waited until Gabrielle’s fingers stopped moving. Two words were written. Can’t talk. Xena looked from Gabrielle to the dirt and back to Gabrielle. "You can’t talk? Is that what’s wrong?" Gabrielle slowly nodded her head up and down. Without warning, the bard threw herself against Xena, wrapping her arms around the warrior and holding tight. "I’ve got you, it’s okay." Xena put her arms around the crying woman and stroked her hair. They didn’t move for almost a full candlemark, Gabrielle needing comfort like never before and Xena not certain how to provide that comfort. When she felt that Gabrielle had finally calmed down, Xena pulled back to look at the tear stained face. "Gabrielle…hey, look at me." She put her hand on the bard’s chin and forced her to look. "I don’t know how this happened, but I swear we’ll find a way to get your voice back." Gabrielle nodded and wiped her eyes. "That’s better. Are you hungry?" Xena was surprised when the bard shook her head from side to side. "Are you sure?" Another shake. "Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll get camp packed up and we’ll head toward Athens. We’ll go see Hippocrates. If anyone can figure out what’s wrong, he can." Xena moved her thumb back and forth across Gabrielle’s cheek in a comforting motion as she waited for the young woman to agree. After several heartbeats, the storyteller finally nodded.

The silence was eerie as Xena packed up the rest of their gear. She continually looked over at Gabrielle, who spent most of her time staring at the ground. The bard made no effort to help. Once everything was packed, Xena vaulted onto Argo. Gabrielle started walking, her head down as if the weight of the world was on her youthful shoulders instead of on Atlas’. Normally, Gabrielle would follow behind Argo, constantly chattering about their previous adventure or about a story that she was working on. However, Xena found herself holding Argo back, keeping the bard within her line of sight. Xena never realized how much she depended on Gabrielle’s chatter to let her know that the bard was still with her. Looking down now, Xena watched as Gabrielle walked slowly, staring at the ground. The warrior’s heart ached to take the pain away. Gabrielle’s voice was one of her biggest assets. It opened inns for them, eased the way for Xena to enter new towns, haggled for the best prices on goods. Now it would be up to Xena to handle all that, and the warrior knew that she was nowhere near as proficient with words as her beloved bard.

After an candlemark of deafening silence and painfully slow progress, Xena could stand it no more. Hopping off of Argo, she walked over and put her arm on Gabrielle’s shoulder. "Would you like to ride for a while? We’ll get there quicker." The bard turned to face her and Xena realized that she had been crying. "Hey," Xena said softly as she wiped away an errant tear. "Why didn’t you tell me?" Quickly realizing the mistake in her words, she corrected herself. "I’m sorry. Gabrielle, would you ride with me?" The bard shook her head. "Please?" Gabrielle looked at her thoughtfully. Xena never said please. "Gabrielle, I really want you to ride with me." Seeing no reaction, Xena took a deep breath and contemplated her words carefully. "It would make me feel better. I can’t hear you but at least I would be able to feel you. Please Gabrielle, I need some kind of contact with you." It was an admission of Xena’s own helplessness over the situation. As upset as Gabrielle was, she still understood the importance of the warrior’s words. The bard walked over and put her foot in the stirrup. Xena pushed her up, then climbed up behind her. Holding the reins in her hand, Xena wrapped her arms around the younger woman’s waist. Gabrielle continued to cry silently, but allowed herself to take comfort in the strong woman’s arms. Xena’s mind raced as she tried to figure out what happened to the bard’s voice.

Argo stopped quickly when Gabrielle pulled back on the reins. "What’s wrong?" Xena asked, then mentally berated herself for being so stupid. "I’m sorry. We have to figure out a way to communicate with each other." Gabrielle nodded slightly and pushed her hand against Xena’s leg. "What? You want to get down?" A nod. Xena slid off and held her arms out to aid the bard. As she lowered Gabrielle, Xena wrapped her arms around and held her close. "Gabrielle, you know there isn’t anything in the world that I wouldn’t do for you. We’ll find a way to make this better. I swear to Artemis that we will." She released the embrace. Gabrielle started to walk toward the thick underbrush. "Where are you going?" Xena said as she reached out and grabbed the bard’s arm. Gabrielle pointed at the woods. "Why do you want to go there?" Gabrielle looked at her, trying to figure out how to tell her without embarrassing either one of them. Finally she pointed between her legs, then waved her arm, indicating the woods. Xena arched her eyebrow as understanding set in. "Oh." She smirked. Gabrielle rolled her eyes in the first pleasant gesture all day. The bard headed into the mass of trees and undergrowth when she heard Xena’s footsteps behind her. She turned around. "I have to make sure you’re all right. What if you fell over a log and hit your head? How would I know? I’m just looking out for you." Gabrielle scowled and kept walking, well aware of the six foot shadow behind her. When she found the spot she wanted, she reached up and pushed on Xena’s left shoulder while pulling on the other one. "I was going to turn around, Gabrielle. I didn’t need your help." She turned around and looked up at the treetops, smirking at the bard’s modesty. Her ears told her when the bard was done, but she waited until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder before she moved. They walked back to the road in silence.

It was two candlemarks past mid-day when Gabrielle pulled on the reins again. They dismounted. Xena assumed that Gabrielle had to go to the woods again, but the bard stood there and rubbed her stomach. "Oh, it’s time for lunch, isn’t it?" Gabrielle nodded. Xena looked up at the sky. "I’m sorry. I guess I lost track of time. Usually you…" She let the words trail off, realizing her mistake. "Come on, I’ll catch us a rabbit and I swear it’ll be bigger than the one we had last night, okay?" She had hoped for a smile from her bard, but all she received was an indifferent shrug.

Xena quickly unsaddled Argo and let the war-horse munch on the sweet grass. Gabrielle made no attempt to unpack their foodstuffs or cooking gear. Uncertain if the bard even wanted to eat, Xena walked over and sat cross-legged next to her. Gabrielle quickly wrote something in the soft dirt. Xena looked over to read the words. "You’re scared? I know you are." Xena reached over and put her hand on the bard’s knee. "This isn’t permanent, Gabrielle." She said the words although she feared the opposite. "Look on the bright side, at least your hand isn’t broken. You still can write, even if you can’t talk." Gabrielle frowned and wrote in the dirt. "Big deal? Gabrielle, it is a big deal." Gabrielle turned her head away. "No. Look at me, Gabrielle." Xena used her hand to move the girl’s head. "It is a big deal." She sighed, wishing that she knew what was going on in her bard’s head. "Gabrielle, maybe you should take some time and write down what you’re feeling." The head shook. "Gabrielle, I mean it. I really think it would help." There was a long pause. "It would help me. I have no idea what’s going on in your pretty little head and I would give anything to know. Use your parchment and talk to me, Gabrielle. Don’t shut me out like this. I don’t deserve it." Xena stood, unable to deal with the feelings anymore. She needed something to do. "I’m going to get something for lunch." She reached into the saddlebag and pulled out the frying pan. "You go get some wood and start the fire. If you need me, use this." She held the pan out and waited a few heartbeats for the bard to take it. Unsure of what else to say, Xena turned and headed for the woods, making certain that she was within earshot of her precious friend.

Xena returned with two small rabbits, neatly skinned, to find that Gabrielle had indeed started the fire and made a spit. To her disappointment, however, she saw that the bard had made no attempt to write anything down. The warrior was not used to Gabrielle keeping her feelings inside. Usually Gabrielle was very forthcoming about her feelings. Xena realized the irony of the situation. The stoic warrior trying to get the passionate bard to express her feelings. She felt a twinge of guilt. Gabrielle tried so hard to get Xena to express even the tiniest of emotions, most of the time failing. I have to be more open to her about my feelings, the warrior thought to herself. "Well, I couldn’t get a large rabbit, but I got two small ones." She knelt down and put them on the spit. "Don’t feel like writing right now, do you?" Shake. "Okay, I won’t push you, Gabrielle, although I should. Zeus knows you push me enough to express my emotions." The bard looked up at her, acknowledging the remark. "What I’m trying to say is, I’m here for you." She took a chance and sat down next to her. "I’ll always be here for you, no matter what happens." Gabrielle maintained the eye contact, her face revealing a contrast of emotions. Xena saw the pain, fear, and sorrow mixed with a despondency that didn’t belong on a face so young. Xena moved over to the fire and turned the spit. I never realized just how difficult it was to keep up a one sided conversation, she thought to herself. How does she do it? Smiling to herself, Xena thought about just how lucky she was to have the copper haired woman in her life.

"Yes, Xena. How lucky are you?" Ares chuckled as he looked down on them. "How lucky will you think you are when you end up using your last dinar to get food for her, Mmm? She’ll be totally dependent on you, Xena. She’ll drag you down until you’re her personal servant. Sounds real lucky to me, Xena." The skies rumbled with the God of War’s laughter.

"Do you want more?" Shake. "Okay, I’ll go saddle Argo and you can pack up." Xena tossed the remains of her food into the fire and went to go take care of the horse. She was quickly getting frustrated with herself for not being able to get through to Gabrielle. Gods, how she missed that voice. How she missed closing her eyes and listening to Gabrielle weave a tale. The bard knew just the right words to say to bring Xena out of her shell, and the right words to comfort. As she brushed Argo’s back, Xena wished she knew what words to say to comfort Gabrielle. Nothing she tried had worked. She privately feared that her precious bard was slipping into a depression.

After dinner, they sat next to the fire. "Gabrielle, I want you to try to write." Xena set the ink down on the ground next to the bard and handed her the quill and parchment. Gabrielle dropped the objects on the ground next to the ink. "Gabrielle, you need to write down what’s going on." Shake. "Why?" Shake. "Tell me how your feeling, Gabrielle, please." Shake. Xena felt her anger rising and her patience thinning. "Gabrielle, I can’t stand not knowing what your thinking." That got a reaction. The bard’s blue-green eyes flashed with anger as she grabbed the quill and parchment. The angry scowl was still on her face as she wrote. She tossed the quill on the ground, something she never normally would do, and shoved the note at Xena.

"How’s it feel? Now you have a glimpse of what I go through every single day, and the funny part is, YOU CAN TALK, YOU JUST DON’T!!!"

Xena looked up from reading the note, her face clearly showing her shock. Gabrielle watched her until eye contact was made, then turned her face back to the fire. The orange flames reflected off the tears that rolled down the face of the Amazon. Xena moved the ink and quill out of the way and sat down next to Gabrielle. Both women looked into the fire. "You know, there was a time when I liked the silence. It was calming after a battle. After all the screams and shouts, the thundering of hooves, the sound of metal against metal, the silence was a blessing. Right now the silence is anything but calming. You mean more to me than anyone else in the world, Gabrielle." The bard’s head turned, Xena continued to stare into the fire. It was hard enough just trying to talk. "I guess I never told you that, huh? You do." Xena quieted. Gabrielle reached out and touched the warrior’s shoulder. Xena turned and looked at her. "More than anyone." Gabrielle’s bottom lip quivered as her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "Come here." Xena pulled the bard in and held her close, burying her head in the coppery hair. When Gabrielle pulled back, she had a sad smile on her face. "What?" Gabrielle pointed at the warrior, then held up two fingers. "What? One two?" Shake. Repeats the motions. "Me?" Nod. "Okay, me" Two fingers held up. "Two? Me two? Oh, me too." Nod. Xena looked down at the ground. "I’m not good at this, Gabrielle." Xena said softly, "I’m trying, I’m better than I was two summers ago, aren’t I?" Gabrielle nodded, then smiled and held up her thumb a forefinger, a thin flicker of light between them. Xena’s eyes widened. "Oh you." She leaned over and ruffled the coppery hair, receiving a good-natured shove in return. Xena sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Deciding that she needed to keep her hands busy, she threw more logs on the fire. "Why don’t we make it an early night so we can get a good start in the morning?" She looked over to see a shrug from Gabrielle, who made no effort to move. "Gabrielle…" She arched an eyebrow to make her point. Her body making the motions of sighing but without the sounds, Gabrielle got up and moved over to her bedroll.

Xena moved to the opposite side of the fire and laid out her own. That was the way they always slept, unless it was a cold night. Only then did they sleep together. Xena didn’t feel the cold as much as the young bard did, but she never minded when Gabrielle asked to sleep with her. Xena sometimes wished that the beautiful young woman would sleep with her more often. The warrior loved the way Gabrielle’s hair felt against her face, how soft the bard’s skin was against her own. Xena had just settled into her bedroll when she saw Gabrielle stand up. Xena propped herself up on one elbow and watched Gabrielle pick up her bedroll and walk over to the warrior’s side of the fire. "Come here." Xena said affectionately as she pulled back her cover and made room for her bard. Gabrielle quickly took refuge in the warrior’s strong arms. Xena covered them both with the bard’s bedroll and put her hand on Gabrielle’s hip.

It felt so good to be held in the warrior’s strong arms. Gabrielle snuggled in closer, feeling the heat radiate from the warrior’s body wherever their bare skin touched. Reaching down, she took Xena’s hand and moved it off of her hip and down across her stomach. She needed to be held, be comforted. If something happened during the night, Gabrielle had no way to let Xena know. She decided that she needed to feel her warrior’s body during the night. Even in her sleep, Xena would be able to protect her. Xena tightened her grip around the young woman’s midriff. Pulling the bard closer, she wrapped her tall body around the soft, smaller one, and fell into an uneasy slumber.

Gabrielle thrashed about, instantly waking Xena. She watched the bards lips move silently. Even with no sounds, Xena knew the girl was in the throws of a bad nightmare. Xena could usually tell what kind of dreams the bard was having just by listening to her from across the fire. Some nights she would hear giggles. At first, Xena would sit up and see if the bard was awake. After a while, she realized that Gabrielle was dreaming about something funny. One night, Gabrielle’s giggling had been so bad that after a while Xena couldn’t control herself and started to giggle at the girl giggling in her sleep. Other nights weren’t quite as pleasant. After becoming Queen, Gabrielle had terrible nightmares reliving the recent deaths over and over in her sleep. She would scream out the name of the person who died in her dream. At first, it was Perdicus or Xena. In recent moons, the occasional nightmare was always about Xena’s death. Although they never spoke about it in the mornings, what Xena witnessed at night spoke volumes to her about the depth of the bard’s feelings. On rare occasions, Xena woke up to hear sounds of pleasure part from the lips of the young sleeping bard. When those nights happened, Xena would quietly sit up and watch Gabrielle, enthralled with the movements and sounds she made. Gabrielle’s moans would start out soft, gentle. Then they would become more passionate as her dream progressed. The bard’s body would move beneath the bedroll and Xena would sometimes catch uninhibited gazes at Gabrielle’s smooth, soft breasts. They never talked about those dreams either, though Xena noticed that Gabrielle was more pleasant and easier to get up the next morning.

The way that she was thrashing about, Xena worried that the bard would hurt herself. Xena hated to wake up anyone in the middle of a nightmare. She knew what she was like when she was woken up from one. She almost knocked Gabrielle out one time when the bard tried to wake her from a nightmare. She’d even heard of people just plain dying from being woken up. She looked down at her best friend again. Whatever terror had it’s grip on her, it was too much for Xena to bear. She grabbed hold of Gabrielle’s shoulders and shook her.

Gabrielle stood there, looking at the three sword-wielding thugs. Her staff was out of reach. She knew Xena was nearby. She tried to shout but no words came. The men came closer. She tried to run but her legs got tangled up in the bedroll. She fell down just as they reached her. The men laughed lecherously as they realized that she couldn’t speak. She felt hands grab her shoulders, shaking her…

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Wake up!" She opened her eyes to see a very concerned Xena looking down at her. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare. "Boy, Xena, you wouldn’t believe…" Her mouth moved, but no sounds came out. It wasn’t all a nightmare. She had no control over the wave of tears that coursed down her face. Xena let go of her shoulders and pulled Gabrielle close. She stroked the coppery hair, gently rocking back and forth. "Okay…it’s all right now…I’ve got you…I know…" Xena repeated the words over and over like a mantra. Her voice low and throaty, she spoke in a hypnotic tone, hoping to calm the silent woman down.

Gabrielle listened to the deep voice of her warrior. She loved this woman so much. When needed, Xena was her calm port in a storm. Gabrielle never ceased to be amazed at how fierce and rough Xena could be one minute, yet gentle and soft the next. There were many dichotomies like that about Xena. She was a warrior and a healer. She hunted animals for food and pelts, yet spent candlemarks brushing down Argo. Intelligent about so many things, yet completely helpless in many social matters. Listening to Xena’s voice speaking gently to her, Gabrielle finally calmed down enough to fall back asleep. Xena waited until she heard the familiar rhythm of breathing that indicated sleep before she slid out from between the bedrolls.

She knew there would be no more sleep for her tonight. Between worrying about Gabrielle’s nightmares and the new horror of the day, she was lucky she had been able to sleep at all. Staring at the fire, Xena contemplated the new problems raised by Gabrielle’s sudden muteness.

The most obvious problem was the financial one. Keeping a full grown war-horse fed gets expensive quickly. Put that on top of the ravenous appetite of the bard and the situation became even more grim. Another new realization to hit Xena was that Gabrielle was responsible for most of the money that they earned. Whenever they were low on funds, which was most of the time, Gabrielle willingly told her tales to whoever would listen. It was the dinars that she earned that kept them clothed and fed.

With the concern over money heightened, Gabrielle’s haggling skills would be needed more than ever. But without the bard’s voice to sway the merchant, Xena was at the mercy of whatever mood the merchant was in. Xena never haggled. To tell the truth, she wasn’t always sure just what was a fair price. Gabrielle knew those things, she knew what everything cost, how much profit was being made, and how firm the merchant was on his price. Xena would be lucky if she could make the few dinars they had last until they got to Athens. Once there, there was no way Xena could afford to pay for a place for them to stay much less whatever it would cost to heal Gabrielle, if a cure could be found.

The problem that pressed on her mind and her heart the most was not Gabrielle’s physical state, but her emotional one. Xena could understand how upsetting it was for the bard to lose her voice. She could understand the mood swings between anger and sadness. But the bard seemed to be spiraling downward into a deep depression. Communicating was a lifeblood to Gabrielle. Xena watched many times as Gabrielle reached out and talked to people, not just with her mouth, but with her heart. They once came across a young boy who spoke a different language and Gabrielle worked and worked until she found a way to make him understand her and be understood. Xena sadly thought that Gabrielle was making no move to try to communicate with her. The most disturbing action was the Amazon’s refusal to put anything down in writing. Even in their most troubled times, Gabrielle found comfort sitting by the fire and putting her thoughts and feelings into words on parchment. Xena feared the bard would lose herself in the sea of emotions that were bottled up inside her. She knew from personal experience just how difficult it was to live with hidden feelings. She often had to battle within herself to maintain control over her own emotions. How could Gabrielle, a woman whose heart is so pure, so free, handle the intensity of caged feelings?

Gabrielle’s safety. The young woman had become so proficient with her staff that Xena had become more and more confident about letting the bard wander off on her own. That would no longer be possible. There was no way that Xena would let her precious Gabrielle out of her sight now. She knew the dangers a mute could face in an unfriendly village. The bard was much too vulnerable now for Xena to think about anything else but protecting her. The warrior only hoped that they didn’t run into any problems between here and Athens.

Rubbing her temples to ward off the impending headache, Xena impatiently waited for dawn, knowing that the new day would bring new problems for the two of them, especially if Gabrielle still refused to reveal her feelings. Xena’s inability to get Gabrielle to communicate with her was wearing on her patience. She wasn’t used to having to work hard to get her questions answered, especially from Gabrielle. Xena only hoped she could keep her frustration and anger in check until the bard could work out her feelings.

"Gabrielle, it’s going to be a long enough trip as it is. It would be a lot easier if we could work out some hand signals so I don’t have to ask a dozen questions to find out what you want." Xena said as she double-checked the straps on Argo’s saddle. Satisfied with the tension, she gave Argo a pat and walked back over to sit next to Gabrielle. "All right, let’s think about what we need." Xena smirked. "Let’s start with a trip to the woods." Gabrielle frowned at her friend’s attempt at humor. "Come on, we have to think of something. I can’t very well have you pointing at…" She raised her eyebrow. Gabrielle blushed slightly. Her sexuality wasn’t something she was comfortable with. The one and only night with Perdicus was her only experience and she felt sorely disappointed. Her mother had done an excellent job of instilling a sense of modesty in her. "Gabrielle, are you listening to me?" She was pulled out of her revelry by the warrior’s voice. "Good. Now, what are we going to use for you to tell me that you have to go to the woods?" She watched as Gabrielle’s face went thoughtful for a moment, then watched her decide on something. Gabrielle held out her hand and pointed two fingers at the forest. "Fine, two fingers pointed at the forest. That’ll do. Now, what else?" Gabrielle’s hands started to move rapidly. "Whoa, I can’t keep up with you. What are you trying to say?" Gabrielle held her hand out in the shape of cup, then held it to her lips. She did it a couple of times before Xena spoke. "Drink?" Nod. "Good. That’s a good one for drink, Gabrielle." Xena tried to remind herself that Gabrielle needed more compliments than ever now. "Yes, a very good one." She was rewarded with the first real smile she had seen on her bard’s face since the incident started. Unable to resist the joy at the moment, the warrior revealed a rare emotion. "That’s nice, Gabrielle. I wondered if I was ever going to see your beautiful smile again." Gabrielle looked at her thoughtfully, then lowered her eyes. Uncomfortable with the current mood, Xena quickly took the opportunity to go back to their original subject. "Okay, we have the woods and we have drink. What else do we need?" They spent a few more minutes going over different hand signals before packing camp and getting back on the road.

They were fortunate that no other travelers were on the same road. Xena worried about the dangers of a possible ambush. Her fear over Gabrielle’s safety already caused one fight earlier in the day when Xena insisted that the bard ride rather than walk. At least having Gabrielle on Argo made it easier to make a run for it, if need be. She tried being nice, then being firmer, then growling. When none of those methods worked, she used the tone reserved for when she would broach no argument. It was extremely rare that she used that tone with Gabrielle because she knew that it hurt to bard to hear Xena talk like that to her. Even if Gabrielle could talk, Xena figured that lunch would have been a silent affair anyway. The bard refused to write anything that evening, inciting another argument between them, if one could call Xena stomping around the fire, ranting and raving, an argument. Several times Gabrielle stood up to walk away and Xena followed her, making it clear that the bard was not going to be let out of her sight. Despite the hostile feelings during the day, when it came time to settle down for the night, Gabrielle pulled her bedroll over and snuggled up against Xena. Just before Gabrielle’s breathing eased and deepened into full sleep, Xena swore she felt the bard’s lips brush against her arm. Deciding to take it as a sign of truce, Xena pulled her closer and cuddled up for a semi-restful sleep.