Morning found a very hung over Gabrielle trying to stop the pounding in her head. "I’m never going to drink that much again." She moaned as they entered the food hut. Xena looked around and saw an equally hung over Dyna sitting at a far table, propping her head up with her hands.

"Looks like your new friend is in the same condition you are." The warrior chuckled. Gabrielle caught sight of Dyna and waved. The young Amazon waved back, happy that the queen wasn’t mad at her for getting her so drunk the night before. "What do you want to eat?"

"Something that isn’t going to make me sick." Gabrielle replied as she passed by a tray of some kind of creamed meat. The faint sound of a warning horn caught their attention as well as the attention of the rest of the room. Without saying a word, Xena and Gabrielle ran toward the village entrance.

They arrived to see a young Amazon warrior hanging on to her horse, her left arm bleeding. Two women went over and helped her off of the horse. With her long legs, Xena reached the woman before the queen. "What happened?" She asked as she looked for more injuries.

"Raiders. They’re coming this way. At least a hundred of them." The alert was sounding throughout the village. Xena turned and looked at her lover.

"Gabrielle, you have to go back to the palace. Ephiny will stay with you."

"Xena, are you trying to leave me behind again? Because if you are, I thought we already talked about this." Gabrielle tried to keep the frustration out of her voice, but failed. Xena sighed. Just once she would like the bard to listen to her and not argue.

"Gabrielle, this isn’t a case of my trying to protect you. You are Queen of the Amazons. You’re needed here, in the village. Let your warriors and archers handle this, that’s what they’re trained for." She paused. "Gabrielle, please?"

"I don’t like it." Gabrielle said angrily. She hated when Xena was right.

"There’s no time to argue." Xena said quickly as she saw the quickly formed groups of warriors heading to the north gate. "I’ll go help them all that I can." She started to head away, but Gabrielle grabbed her arm.

"I guess this is the battle that Athena warned us about." She looked up into the blue eyes that she loved so much. "Xena, be careful. I don’t want to be a widow again." She put her head on the warrior’s chest, listening to the strong heartbeat of her soulmate. Xena reached down and put her hand on the bard’s chin, turning her head upward.

"I swear I’ll be careful." She said as she brought her mouth down for a final kiss before heading off to join the Amazon warriors. Gabrielle wiped her eyes, then reluctantly headed back to the palace.

Ephiny nodded as Gabrielle walked in. "What can I do?" The young queen asked as she moved over to look at the map that was sprawled out on the table.

"There isn’t too much more that can be done." Ephiny replied. "We’ve sent our best troops to cover the north gate. Hopefully they can overpower the raiders without sustaining too many injuries."

"What about the south gate?" Gabrielle asked thoughtfully.

"We have a standard compliment of archers and warriors covering it. Our main concern is the north gate. That’s where the raiders are."

"Uh huh." The bard mumbled. "Ephiny, why would anyone try to attack from the north? After all, that gate is easier to defend than the south one. Besides, we have the added advantage of the north woods. It would be easy for our warriors to circle around and surround them if necessary. It doesn’t make sense…" Gabrielle’s eyes grew wide. "It’s a trick!" She yelped. "Ephiny, what’s the best way to get our warriors away from our weakest point of entry?" The Amazon’s mouth opened as she realized the point that the young queen was trying to make.

"By distracting them!" Ephiny quickly ran over to one of the guards. "Get every woman who’s capable of fighting and get them to the south gate immediately." The guard quickly took off to sound the alarm. Gabrielle grabbed her staff and headed for the door. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"To help defend the south gate." Gabrielle said defiantly.

"My Queen, I can’t take the chance of you getting hurt."

"Ephiny!" Gabrielle’s eyes flashed with fury. "There is no way I am going to ask the women of this village to risk their lives guarding the south gate while I stay hidden. All of our best warriors are at the north gate. We need every available person to protect the south entrance. I am going." Her tone was similar to the one that Xena used when she wanted no argument. "This is not open for discussion." Gabrielle stormed out of the palace, Ephiny right behind her.

They quickly reached the small group of women that were forming at the south gate. Gabrielle recognized several members of the royal guard. They were easy to pick out because of their distinctive blue tunics. Several other women were getting into different types of armor while others were testing the tension on their bowstrings. One of the guards walked over to them. "My Queen, please take this for your protection." She handed Gabrielle chain mail. The bard looked at her quizzically. "It will help protect you from arrows." The Amazon explained. Gabrielle smiled and let Ephiny help her don the armor.

"Are we ready?" Gabrielle asked as she moved her arms about, trying to get a feel for the strange armor before the battle.

"I still don’t like the idea of you being in the middle of this." Ephiny said. "But yes, we’re ready." Gabrielle ignored the comment made by the second in command.

"Let’s go." She looked at the hastily assembled group of guards, farmers, and any other able bodied woman they could find. Raising her voice to a bardic level, she addressed the group. "My fellow Amazons, I feel that a trap has been set. Our best warriors are trying to protect the north entrance. It is up to us to defend the south. Your safety is of the utmost importance. Don’t try to be a hero. Our goal is to keep them from entering the village before our warriors can get here to help. We’ve already sent someone to warn them." She looked around one more time at each of the Amazons before giving the signal to begin. The gate opened and they headed out, determined to protect their village or die trying.

They were just over a candlemark’s walk from the south gate when the battle started. The Amazons quickly took cover from the barrage of flying arrows. Ephiny and Gabrielle took cover behind a fallen log. "There’s more than a hundred of them." Gabrielle said breathlessly. Ephiny nodded.

"You’re right. It was a trick." The Amazons started to return fire with the few arrows that they had. Gabrielle knew that her staff was no good unless she was up front, near the attackers. Using hand signals, she indicated to Ephiny her plan. The Amazon shook her head frantically. "It’s too dangerous."

"Is it any less dangerous than waiting for them to roll over us? My staff is useless back here." Ephiny reluctantly agreed. Catching the attention of a nearby archer, Ephiny used hand signals to indicate that she should provide cover. The archer nodded and started to fire random arrows as Gabrielle and Ephiny moved from the cover of the log. Gabrielle reached one soldier and quickly disarmed him before knocking him out. She turned and assumed a battle stance as another soldier approached her. He had obviously never battled a staff before and he quickly went down. With all the noise and commotion, Gabrielle never heard the whistling sound of the arrow before it embedded itself deep into her thigh. She fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Reaching with both hands, she pulled out the projectile.

"Do you think you can move?" Ephiny asked as she moved to protect the fallen queen. She ran her sword through an approaching soldier. To her dismay, several more were coming right for them.

"Go back, get reinforcements." Gabrielle croaked.

"I can’t. There’s too many of them." She ducked as more arrows flew through the air at them. Gabrielle looked around.

"We’re cut off, aren’t we?" She said quietly. Ephiny didn’t answer, she was too busy fighting. Gabrielle leaned against the tree trunk and forced herself into a standing position, putting her weight on her good leg. She knocked three more men down before the loss of blood sent her sinking back to the ground. Ephiny backed up under the relentless attack. She backed up too far and fell down a deep ravine, landing on the ground with a sickening thud. Seeing their queen defenseless, several Amazons moved forward to try to protect her. They never made it.

Xena and Eponin worked their way through the raiders troops. It was almost too easy. They easily outnumbered the raiders. Xena figured there were less than fifty. The Amazons easily pushed the raiders back. Xena had spent too many years as a warlord not to notice that something was wrong. She quickly dispatched the man she had been fighting with and moved over to Eponin. "Something’s wrong."

"What?" Eponin asked, never taking her eyes off of the enemy.

"They’re not trying to advance. It’s like they’re trying to keep us busy…" Just then the retreat horn and the emergency horns were sounded. Realization hit Xena. "Eponin, the south gate! It’s a trick!" She quickly somersaulted into the tree and moved from branch to branch, quickly working her way back to the north gate, the Amazons right behind her. Xena noticed grimly that the raiders didn’t follow them. It only confirmed her suspicions about the ruse.

Xena didn’t bother to stop at the palace, especially when she no guards standing outside. She ran right to the south gate, quickly followed by Amazons. Xena recognized Dyna standing at the gate, awkwardly holding a sword. When she saw Xena, she pointed at the south gate.

The Amazon warriors arrived just in time to meet the raiders before they reached the gate. Unlike the troops they had faced in the north woods, these troops were massive in number and strength and intent on getting into the Amazon village. Quick glances showed Xena no sign of Gabrielle. Her attention immediately changed as three raiders came at her with their swords raised. With a quick flick of the wrist, she sent her chakram flying, striking all three before returning to her hand. She ran and drop kicked another one before running her sword through yet another. The battle raged on as the Amazons slowly gained control over the battle. No prisoners were taken. Too many Amazon lives had been lost today.

Watching the shift in control of the battle, Garath realized that his men weren’t going to be able to conquer and enslave the Amazon village. He looked over and saw the slumped form of the Amazon queen. Surely the Amazons would pay a handsome ransom for their queen.

The carnage was enough to make the strongest Amazons nauseous. They had finally stopped the raiders, pushing them back a half candlemark’s distance before all were killed or retreated. Blood was caked to everyone’s boots. Xena walked on, noticing grimly more bodies further ahead. Eponin ran over to her side. "I haven’t found Ephiny or Gabrielle." The look on Xena’s face told the Amazon that she hadn’t either. Behind them, the anguished cries of mothers and sisters filled the air. Xena’s face went white as she spotted the blue tunics on some of the dead still ahead. Eponin noticed it too and they broke out into a dead run. Frantic searching confirmed that many of the dead were from the royal guard, but there was still no sign of either the queen or her second in command. Xena noticed a trail of blood leading to a ravine. She walked over and looked down. "Over here!" She yelled as she worked her way down the slope.

Ephiny’s body was covered in blood. Several deep wounds on her arms and legs were testament to the battle she had been in. Her chain mail was all that kept her from being another casualty. Ephiny tried to focus on the strong woman that was picking her up, but the loss of blood made her too light-headed. She felt herself being handed over to two sets of arms as she was lifted out.

"Ephiny, it’s all right now. I’m here." Eponin spoke in a soothing tone, despite the fact seeing Ephiny in such dire striates was tearing her up inside.

"Ga…"

"What? Ephiny, what happened to Gabrielle?" Xena was standing there, trying to get an answer out of the semiconscious Amazon. Ephiny turned her head to look at the warrior.

"I tried…we all tried…"

"Where is she?" Xena practically screamed, drawing a stern look from Eponin.

"They…took her…"

"Took her? Who took her? Where did they go?" Xena stopped when she realized that the Amazon was unconscious. She looked at Eponin. "I’m going after them." She turned to head back to the village to get Argo.

"Xena!" Eponin’s tone caused the warrior to turn around. "I know you want to go find her, but we need you here." Sensing that she had the warrior’s attention, she continued. "There are too many injured women for Saras to take care of by herself. Think of how many Amazons will die needlessly from lack of medical treatment if you leave." Eponin sent five Amazon warriors to follow try and track the raiders. She watched as Xena battled the emotions within herself before the stoic look returned. Without saying a word, Xena walked over and knelt down in front of one of the dead guardswomen. Realizing that this woman had given her life trying to protect Gabrielle, Xena was unable to keep her tears in check. "Artemis, watch over this one. She deserves to be in the Elyssian Fields."

Garath cursed loudly as he dragged the unconscious woman onto his ship. He was supposed to conquer the city and bring all the young girls back as slaves. He had failed miserably, losing his entire army. All he had to show for his efforts was one woman who would probably die from blood loss before they even got to the King’s land. The more he looked at her, the more he wasn’t sure if she was the queen at all. Her hair color wasn’t like the others and she was shorter than most of them as well. He kicked the bard in anger. One girl! He was sent to capture dozens of them and he was coming back with one! Leaving her on deck, he stormed inside to drown his sorrows with a keg of wine.

Gabrielle’s eyes slowly opened. She kept her head still and looked around, trying to get her bearings without notifying anyone that she was awake. She realized that she was on a ship. The rocking motion and wood beneath her told her that much. It was daylight, she figured probably late afternoon. She noticed with relief that she wasn’t bound in any way. Her leg throbbed painfully. She wasn’t sure if she could even stand on it. Once she felt certain that no one was around her, Gabrielle sat up and looked at her thigh. The wound was impossible to see under all the blood. She knew that she had lost a great deal of it already. She pulled off the chain mail and stripped off her shirt. Putting the mail back on, she tore her shirt into rags and strips. She packed the rags into and on top of the wound, then wound the strips around to apply pressure. Rolling onto her knees, Gabrielle looked over the bow. Off in the far distance, she saw land. "What are you thinking of, Gabrielle?" She asked herself. "Even if you can stand and get off of this ship, there’s no way you can swim all the way to shore. Even if you don’t end up as fish food, the loss of blood will kill you." Gabrielle thought of the options that were available if she stayed. "Let’s see, rape, torture, sold into slavery. Yeah, those sound like wonderful choices." She pulled herself over to the edge of the bow and said a quick prayer to Athena, Artemis, and Poseidon. Taking a deep breath, Gabrielle pushed herself up over the rail and dropped into the salty water.

Xena, the stoic warrior, didn’t bother to wipe away her freely falling tears as she worked on the scores of wounded Amazons. On the ground outside of Saras’ hut, Xena had formed a triage of sorts. Her years of treating the men in her army had taught her well which injuries could wait to be treated and which ones required immediate attention. It also taught her when treatment could do no more than prolong the suffering. She tried to keep her mind busy with the numerous tasks at hand, but all she could think about was the blue-green eyes that belonged to her beloved Gabrielle. Torches were lit as darkness fell. Lanterns were brought over to help Xena see as she stitched wounds, set broken bones, and closed the eyes of those she couldn’t save. She didn’t realize how much time had passed until she felt Eponin’s hand on her shoulder. In the back of her mind, Xena noted that she had not felt the Amazon’s approach. Without looking up, she spoke. "No sign."

"There were too many tracks. Xena, we’ll send more troops out tomorrow." Eponin paused for a moment before continuing. "Xena, come inside. You need a bath, food, and rest." Xena looked over at Saras.

"Xena, go. I need you strong for tomorrow." The healer waved her arms, motioning for the warrior to go. Xena nodded, then slowly rose and followed Eponin back to the palace.

After scrubbing the blood and dirt off as best she could, Xena grabbed a clean tunic and laid back on the bed. She sat up quickly and wiped her eyes when she heard the soft knock at the door. "Come in."

Eponin entered, followed by a girl not much younger than Gabrielle. The girl stayed near the door. "Xena, this is Aris."

"You were one of the girls at the campfire last night." Xena said. Last night seemed a lifetime ago right now.

Aris looked nervously at Eponin. The Amazon put a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. "Show her." Eponin said. Aris reached into the hall and pulled back Gabrielle’s staff. Xena felt a stab of pain in her heart when she saw the blood covered weapon.

"I…found it over near the ravine." The girl started to cry. "I…I liked…I mean she…" Aris handed the staff to Eponin and ran out of the room. The Amazon put the staff back in the hall, then walked over and sat on the bed next to the warrior. Xena stared at the wall.

"Everyone is taking it hard." Eponin looked down at her hands. "Aris’ sister Joy was one of the royal guards." The warrior nodded in understanding.

"How is Ephiny?" Xena said quietly, still not making eye contact. She waited a moment for an answer. Hearing none, she looked over and saw the Amazon shaking with silent sobs. "Not too good." Eponin said after a moment. She shook her head from side to side as the tears cascaded down her face. Needed to comfort as much as be comforted, Xena pulled the Amazon close as her own tears started to fall.

The salt water burned Gabrielle’s leg on the outside while her muscles burned from the inside. The dead weight of the chain mail made it almost impossible to keep her head above water. She seemed to gain only an inch on each stroke, but she believed that she was getting closer. The dimming light only allowed her to see the silhouette of the treetops. She focused in on them, pushed the burning pain from her mind, and pushed her way closer to home, to Xena.

She didn’t know when she closed her eyes, rolled over, and started to float. She didn’t know when she ended up striking land. She only realized that she felt something firm under her back. She felt the water lapping at her face. Groaning as she moved her leg, Gabrielle forced herself up on her knees and crawled until she no longer felt water beneath her. At that point all strength left her body and she collapsed on the soft sand. She never saw the white owl perched on a nearby branch.

Xena opened her eyes and sat up, fully alert. Her shoulders sagged slightly when she realized that it wasn’t a nightmare. Gabrielle was really gone. She quickly donned her armor and started out the door.

Eponin stopped her before she could leave the palace. "Xena! Wait! I need you." Xena stopped, knowing her vow to always help those in need. "Please, let’s talk in chambers." Xena allowed Eponin to lead her to the Queen’s private office. The Amazon reached up on the shelf and pulled down three scrolls. All had the seal of the Queen of the Amazon Nation. Both sat at the small table. "We have to find out who holds the power of Acting Queen."

"We?" Xena was confused. "Eponin, I’m not Amazon. I have no say in who runs the nation."

"Xena, there are three scrolls here." She picked one up. "This one is Gabrielle’s instructions as to who receives her right-of-caste in the event of her…" The Amazon paused. Xena nodded, almost imperceptibly. Eponin took a deep breath and continued. She set that scroll down and picked up another. Xena immediately recognized her name, written in the bard’s handwriting. "This one is a personal note to you." Eponin went to hand it to the warrior, but seeing no hand to receive it, set it down on the table. The Amazon made no move to touch the last scroll. "That one is Ephiny’s personal note to me. Depending on what Gabrielle’s caste scroll says, we’ll have to open one of the others."

"I guess there’s no time to waste. The Amazons need to know who their leader is." Xena’s words sounded full of purpose, but her hands shook slightly as she broke the wax seal.

I, Gabrielle of Potodeia, Queen of the Amazon Nation as blessed by the Goddess Artemis, do claim that in the event of my death or inability to perform my duties as Queen, do hearby pass my Right-Of-Caste to my Amazon sister Ephiny.

It was signed at the bottom. Xena passed it to Eponin, then took it back and reread it. Gabrielle had obviously written it in a hurry. Xena set the scroll down and reached for Ephiny’s. "Let me." Eponin said as she reached out and took the scroll. Xena pulled her hand back and waited until the Amazon finished reading the document. As expected, Ephiny passed her right to Eponin. Both women breathed a sigh of relief as the legal formality was out of the way. "Xena…" Eponin looked down at the remaining scroll.

"No!" Xena growled. "I won’t. Not until we know for sure." Xena looked up at the ceiling. "I can’t." Her voice was little more than a whisper. She picked up the scroll and put it back in place on the shelf. "I have to find her."

"Xena, please. We need you here. We lost five more last night. Every woman we could spare is out looking right now. They’re following every trail, every track. They’re not going to rest until they find her. You have my word as an Amazon." Eponin stood and looked out the window. "Xena, at least fifty women died yesterday. If you leave, we could lose another fifty. Saras worked all night long so you could sleep. She’s exhausted." Eponin stopped talking. She said all that needed saying. Neither moved for a moment. The Amazon hoped that she had not overestimated the warrior’s compassion.

"Let me eat something first. I’m going to need all the energy I can get." Xena said as she pulled off her sword and scabbard. Eponin released a breath that she did not realize she had been holding.

"Artemis bless you, Xena." The warrior held back a scathing reply. Not knowing what happened to Gabrielle did nothing to improve her feelings for the Gods at the moment. She took deep breaths and steeled herself to the multitude of tasks that lay ahead of her. Tending to the sick and injured. Aiding in the locating and identifying of the dead. Building the funeral pyres. The most unwelcome task would be the carting of the bodies to the pyres. How many times had she sent people to the pyres on the end of her sword? How many widows had she made? As the day wore on, the screams of pain and cries of loss wore on her. She almost lost her lunch when she had to perform an amputation on one of the girls that Gabrielle had met at the campfire. They had run out of many pain killers early in the morning. Xena had been tempted to use her pressure points to relieve the pain, but knew that the pain that was released when the pressure was removed sometimes was too much to bear. It had been known to kill people if the pain was too great. The air burned with the stench of burning flesh after she cauterized the bleeding stump. Rising from the sobbing girl, Xena walked over and scrubbed her hands and arms in the basin, the water already a deep red from previous patients. With no time to rest or think, Xena walked over to another pallet and started on another patient. She would be the first of many to die that day.