DISCLAIMER: Xena, Gabrielle, Argo, etc. are ©copyright MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. I don't own them, I just play with them for a while and, like the good girl I am, I put them back when I'm done…okay, they get a little worn, but hey…I play hard! Absolutely no Copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. It's intended as flattery toward the creators, writers, and actors of the characters. All other characters that appear are ©copyright Devlin@xenafan.com. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and I'd appreciate if you included all copyright notices and this disclaimer.

VIOLENCE WARNING: There is violence (come on it's the Conqueror). The nature of the story is not nearly as dark as some Conqueror fiction, but it's essence is still the slave / master relationship that exists between Xena & Gabrielle.

TIMELINE: My own making. Xena is the Lord, Conqueror of Greece, but she is almost forty-five years old when she meets the slave, Gabrielle. Many of Xena's evil ways have been sedated, but not all. I call this Xena the "thinking woman's" Conqueror. She is a woman who wants to try to do the right thing, but doesn't always know how.

SEX: Yes, I'll have some, thank you. Ooops! I mean, yes there is. It is our favorite two Soulmates, after all. It's not gratuitous, but it is quite explicit when it gets going. This story shows consensual as well as non-consenting love (master/slave), sex and yes, even some light bdsm between two adult females.

HIGH ANGST WARNING: I was threatened within an inch of my life if I didn't start putting this disclaimer on some (all?) of my work. I will henceforth rate the angst content with sad faces, one being the lowest and four being the highest. This story earns: L L (2 sad faces for those without TT Fonts)

UNDERAGE WARNING: Hey, the Supreme Court said in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997) that laws against making available, online, certain "indecent" materials for those under 18 was unconstitutional…look it up! Besides, this is perfectly "decent." J

I only know how others feel about my stories from feedback. Let me know what you think...homophobes need not apply, however. I'm at: Devlin@xenafan.com

**Special thanks to Jim Kuntz for his permission in using any Lion of Amphipolis references.

The Conqueror Series

Tale One: Journey's End

By LJ Maas

Chapter 18:The Happiest Day…The Happiest Hour

I heard her soft steps before I felt my long hair pulled to one side and her lips tickle the back of my neck. Quicker than she anticipated, I reached around and grabbed her waist, pulling the small figure into my lap.

"No fair!" Gabrielle cried out between her laughter.

"Oh, and it was fair, you stealing a kiss?" I asked with mock sternness.

"It didn't feel like I had to steal it," Gabrielle replied, "seems to me you gave it up awfully fast, Conqueror." She said, reaching in to place a quick kiss on my cheek.

Yesterday's pain and hurts all but disappeared between us, replaced by an almost giddy feeling of first love. Gabrielle even looked like a changed woman; she most certainly acted differently, and not from when I first met her, but since yesterday. She appeared self assured and strong and I could feel myself falling in love with her all over again. She teased me with the title, Conqueror, and I felt the bond between us was solidified, for both of us to accept such a thing.

"You realize you'll have to pay for stealing that kiss." I said, standing and lifting her easily into my arms. I walked into the outer room, our bedchamber on my mind.

"Oh," Gabrielle purred seductively, "and what will my punishment be?"

I stopped in the middle of the outer room, the sound of Gabrielle's voice arousing my smoldering libido into a full-fledged blaze. I arched an eyebrow and gave her a wicked smile.

"You'll have to give it back," I whispered.

Our lips met in a kiss unlike any other we ever shared. The only way, in which to describe it, with mere words, is to say that it was powerful. That one kiss soon led to another and another, until my knees began to literally shake from something that had little to do with the weight of the slight figure I held in my arms. Unfortunately, that was exactly when the door opened. I don't know who was more surprised, Sylla, or the two of us. I'd completely forgotten that my maid…correction, our maid, came in to the rooms like this every morning to wake me. She'd taken to not walking into our bedroom at all, but I suppose she thought the outer rooms were still safe.

"I…uh…forgive me, Lord Conqueror." Sylla stammered.

"It's all right, Sylla" I chuckled, still holding Gabrielle in my arms.

Suddenly my lover must have felt slightly foolish, which I was surprised about, but I attributed it to Gabrielle's new sense of herself. She was a free woman and I was going to have to start remembering that fact.

"Xena, put me down," Gabrielle ordered and I immediately complied, much to Sylla's amazement.

The young maid straightened the room and brought the trays in with our early morning meal. I noticed both young women, their heads close together, speaking in low tones. Sylla looked at me with a distrustful eye a few times as I walked in and out of my study. That, I marked up to the quickly fading bruise left on Gabrielle's cheek. Finally, I watched as Sylla hugged Gabrielle tight and I was sure my young lover told her friend her important news.

"Xena…are you going to sit and eat something?" Gabrielle asked.

I walked over and popped a small piece of sweetbread into my mouth. "I need to bathe and get ready, the verdict and the sentencing are to be today. Besides," I placed a small kiss on top of the golden hair, "you need to get ready too."

"Me?" Gabrielle asked in surprise.

"Yes, don't you want to be present at such an event?"

"Yes, but I--"

"It will be your first time in the Great Hall as a free woman and I intend to have you by my side." I responded before waiting for her answer.

Gabrielle smiled and as I entered the bathing chamber, I could hear the two women begin a lively discussion as to what the Conqueror's future bride should be seen wearing to a day in court.

*********************

I'm not sure how to describe how I felt walking into the Hall. I usually just strode in as Antillius, the youngest advisor on my staff, announced me. I liked Antillius. He was an honest young man, like his father before him, who served me well as an advisor for many seasons. I search back over the summers that have passed in this palace and realize, through all my debaucheries, I always seemed to have a soft side. It simply didn't rear its head often. Antillius' father was an advisor on my staff until one winter a fever took more out of him than he could recover from. I could look around the palace now and see that nearly half my staff was comprised of people I rewarded for some reason or another. Either that, or I felt I owed their parents something, although that's how I ended up in this mess with Kassandros, isn't it?

It was customary for all those in the Hall to stand until I seated myself. On this day I led Gabrielle into the room, my hand placed strategically under her elbow. I wanted to make it clear; in the way that Gabrielle walked by my side and not behind me, her status within the palace, as well as my life, had changed. I'd made arrangements with Antillius earlier to scribe the necessary documents regarding Gabrielle's freedom, and also to make plans for a chair to be situated next to mine. I stopped and motioned for Gabrielle to sit before me, another indication of her status change. It sent a very clear message to those within the Hall. It told them that I placed Gabrielle's welfare above my own; thereby signifying that only one here had as much power as I within the Empire.

"Her Royal Highness, the Lord Conqueror of the Greek Empire," Antillius called out in a clear voice, "and the Lady Gabrielle," he added per my request.

Antillius grinned slightly as we passed and I winked at the young man. As Gabrielle and I took our seats, I heard the murmurs coming from those in the audience. Part of it was due to confusion over hearing the title affixed to Gabrielle's name, the other, anger because she was there in the first place. I plucked a few scrolls off the table beside my chair, I went about the pretence of scanning the information in the parchments, while one of the men appointed to argue this case before me, stood up, clearing his throat.

"You have a question, Terillus?" I asked, without looking up.

"Uh, Lord Conqueror…"

I looked up as he was nervously glancing over at Gabrielle. I knew he didn't want to be the one to say it. Terillus was a decent enough man, but I was breaking the law, having a slave seated in the Hall.

"Oh, yes." I said as if it just occurred to me. I was rather enjoying this. "Antillius, don't you have some sort of proclamation to read?"

"Yes, Lord Conqueror," he stepped up and cleared his throat, unrolling the scroll as he did so.

By order of her Royal Highness, the Lord Conqueror of the Greek Empire," I rolled my eyes in embarrassment at Gabrielle as Antillius read off my title and she used her hand to cover her smile.

"This morning, her Royal Highness declares that the slave known only as Gabrielle, receive her freedom from servitude. According to law, the Lady Gabrielle will present herself to this court seven days hence, for the official decree. Until that moment, the Lady Gabrielle is presented temporary status as a Greek citizen with all the rights that privilege contains."

Gabrielle looked at me and the smile on her face warmed my heart. I saw only love, mixed with a tiny bit of surprise. I leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"You asked if I would tell people…is this what you had in mind?" I questioned innocently.

"Not exactly," she whispered back. "I envisioned something a tad more intimate, but thank you, Xena."

Those green eyes sparkled in my direction and I knew in my heart, this wouldn't be the first time I would attempt to move a mountain for my lover.

I looked out into the sea of faces looking back at us. Some smiled and nodding their approval, other looked a bit taken back, and some, of course, appeared angry, frightened that the way of life they knew was about to change. Against the far wall, I caught the eyes of a familiar face and the large smile that graced the older woman's features. Delia's eyes shone with unshed tears and I bowed my head in her direction, in deference to the woman who showed me the most about being a friend, with the possible exception of the young woman seated beside me.

Terillus bowed and backed away. "Lord Conqueror…Lady Gabrielle." He said respectfully.

"Has the council considered a verdict, Terillus?" I asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

"They have, Lord Conqueror." He answered.

"Have the prisoners brought before me to hear their judgment," I commanded to no one in particular.

The six of them were led in, bound in chains. They filed in, at least four guards surrounding them, Kassandros brought up the rear. Finally, they all looked up and a surprised gasp escaped from Gabrielle's throat. Looking quickly over to her, the small blonde's hand reached out and she clutched at my forearm, digging her nails into my skin.

"Gabrielle?" I leaned toward her.

Her face was contorted in pain, her breathing increased by the telltale rapid rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes took on a glazed over cast as she stared down at the men, more particularly, Kassandros.

All I could do was reach out and call her name, which she seemed suddenly oblivious to. Gabrielle stood up, all the while staring daggers at the man. Suddenly, her balance seemed compromised and she clutched at my arm again. I jumped from my seat just in time to keep her from hitting the floor. I scooped her into my arms as Atrius opened the door into a side chamber. I moved through the open doorway, already calling out for my healer.

*********************

"How beautiful." Gabrielle dreamily commented as she moved toward consciousness.

I was worried now; the girl wasn't making any sense as she looked up, past me, and into thin air. I was standing over the low couch I'd laid Gabrielle's limp body on, upon first entering the room. Kuros, my healer kneeled at her side, proclaiming that she simply passed out and he couldn't find anything physically wrong with her beyond that.

"Gabrielle, are you all right?" I asked nervously.

"I see stars," Gabrielle tried to focus, pointing toward me.

"I told you she wasn't all right, Kuros," I chided my healer. Gods, it's amazing that the man still puts up with me, I turn into such a child around him.

He turned to look up at me and opened his mouth to speak. Suddenly he broke out into a smile and pointed above me. "Lord Conqueror…she does see stars."

I looked over my head, since Gabrielle and Kuros were both pointing toward the ceiling. I had to smile, sweet Aphrodite, the girl would be the death of me someday, I just know it. I stood looking at a painting of the night sky over Amphipolis, one that I commissioned an artisan to paint on the ceiling when I was in one of my more melancholy moods a few seasons back.

Atrius walked into the room and closed the door. He stopped when he saw all three of us looking up at the ceiling. His head inclined, then he took stock of the three of us once more.

"Lord Conqueror?" he asked uneasily.

"Oh, It's nothing," I said quickly, realizing we must look like a pack of fools. "Gabrielle?"

I kneeled beside her when Kuros relinquished the spot, brushing the hair that fell into her eyes. I kissed her lips, watching as the color came creeping back into her cheeks. Her face quickly lost the dreamy quality of sleep and she tried to jump up into a sitting position.

"Oh, Xena!" she exclaimed.

Gabrielle clung to me and I could feel her body trembling. It didn't feel like fear, it felt as if anger were coursing through her.

"Easy, easy," I said, helping her to sit up on the edge of the couch. "Please, Gabrielle, tell me what's wrong." I asked.

"I…Xena, that man!" Gabrielle cried out. I looked up rather helplessly and Atrius shrugged his shoulders, not understanding any better than I to whom Gabrielle referred.

"Gabrielle, I don't understand. What man? Has someone hurt you?" I asked slowly.

"The man…the one that stood before me in chains…he was the one." Gabrielle stammered.

"Kassandros? The burly man on the end?"

"Yes! It was him, Xena, I'll never forget his face." Tears formed in her eyes and I felt myself growing angry over whatever Kassandros had done to Gabrielle to terrify her so.

"What did he do?" I asked in a low voice, my teeth clenched together, trying to control myself.

"He was the one," Gabrielle seemed as if she were trying to explain, but couldn't put the thoughts together in an understandable way. "Xena, he was the one who kidnapped the girls from my village outside of Potidaea. He took us and sold us in Amphipolis the next day."

Gabrielle's tears overflowed and streamed down her lightly freckled cheeks. I looked up and every man in the room simply stood there with an open mouth. I'd never asked Gabrielle how she came to be a slave. I'd asked her how long she served and where she was from, and a hundred other questions, but I never thought to ask her that one. There were only three legal ways to become a slave in my realm. You could be destined for a life of servitude if you were captured as part of the spoils of war, if you had debts you couldn't pay, or if you sold yourself into the position. On the very borderline of the law were the people who would sell their own children as slaves, in my opinion, the worst kind of humanity. I'd outlawed illegal slave traders, but old habits were hard to break for some. My prisons were full of men arrested for the same crimes Kassandros and his bunch committed. All these thoughts went through my head, but I found myself unable to speak.

"Then, you're not a slave?" Antillius commented on the obvious.

"She's never been a slave," I said, as if to convince myself as well. I stared straight into those sad green eyes. "Gabrielle, why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"I tried, at first," her tears spilled harder as she related the memory. "I was beaten for trying to tell people, I was so young and the men had ways of making you…" she visibly shuddered and I pulled her against my chest, stroking her hair as she spoke. "…They made it so you didn't tell anymore."

I admit to feeling so many emotions at once, I couldn't rest on just one alone. It came upon me in a swirling rush, the notion that this was my past come to haunt me. All the old nightmares, the sleepless nights, the people who came in and out of my life, for a good many seasons, I tortured myself for my past. When I wanted to try to begin to atone for the slightest bit of my past crimes, I found it hard to know where to start. I had no focus or goal, but that was different now.

Gabrielle sat before me as a living memory of my past. I'd not caused all the ills of the world, but I certainly didn't do much as ruler of Greece to combat the evil and cruelty that existed here. I had the power to do so much good and I thoughtlessly squandered it all. Now I had a goal and even though it may appear small to some, I knew it was a start. I would work the rest of my life to repair the destruction of Gabrielle's young life. There would be no amount of love too great to give, no time too much to spend with her. I only prayed to Athena that it would be enough. In my heart, I knew it wouldn't come close, but I would try all the same.

"Gabrielle…why didn't you ever try to tell me?" I asked.

The small blonde looked up at me. Wiping her eyes, she then looked at the open mouthed men standing around her. "Because I was a slave," she said.

My lover used those very words once before and they made just as big of an impact on me as they did now. In a world where one person could own another, where one human being's life was thought to be worth so much less simply because of the direction the fates spun their life thread, Gabrielle's words completed the picture. Injustice and inhumanity allowed to flourish, for one simple reason; slavery. It brought about an even greater commitment to the event I would make happen on this day.

"Then we won't need the proclamation…Gabrielle is a free woman, right?" Antillius said enthusiastically.

Atrius and I looked at one another, knowing it was never that easy.

"Gabrielle," Atrius acknowledged her for the first time. "Where did this happen?"

"My father had a farm quite a distance from Potidaea. I was very young, but I remember that it used to take a full day to get to the harbor in Potidaea." Gabrielle answered.

"This farm…would your parents still be living?" Atrius asked again.

I saw where he was headed, but Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders. "I've never been able to get back to the Macedon area to find out." She replied tearfully. "I was bought in Abdera by Persian traders and it was another three seasons before I was sold to a Greek Master."

It suddenly became clear why Gabrielle was so well educated for a slave. Being sent to Persia as a slave had its advantages and its horrors. The unfortunate aspect for a ten-year-old girl was that of the Persians propensity for children as sex slaves. The odd part was that they neither beat nor berated the slaves, but taught through kindness and gifts, an odd form of abuse. They also believed in educating slave children right alongside the nobleman's children. Boys and girls all learned to read, write, and play an instrument, usually the lyre. It was good fortune for Gabrielle, that once a girl reaches the age of twelve, she must be Persian born to share a citizen's bed. Gabrielle was probably sold to a Greek buyer, bringing her back to her homeland, for that very reason.

"Gabrielle, it's only that…well not that any of us don't believe you, of course we do, love," I said, kissing her forehead, "but the court would have to have proof that you were born a free woman, your parents word, or a midwife present at your birth."

"I understand. I'm sorry I interrupted the proceedings, My Lord," Gabrielle answered and I grinned at her ever so slightly. All that she suffered through and she was still trying to present the proper amount of decorum in front of the other men present in the room.

"This isn't over yet," I stood up and ran my hands through my hair.

Something was nagging at me about all of this. Gabrielle's story rang true for more reasons than because she was my lover, and I wanted it to be true. My mind sped through the many conversations Gabrielle and I had over the last few moons. Ten…the number ten stuck in my brain.

"Gabrielle, you were kidnapped when you were ten summers old?" I asked.

"Yes," she responded slowly. "That was ten, almost eleven, seasons ago."

I turned to Atrius and Antillius. "When I spoke with my chief builder, Sagoris, that day I told him to tear down the hired servants housing and rebuild, he said something interesting. He explained that Demetri was in charge of building the shacks we're left with now. At the time, I simply assumed Demetri purchased inferior supplies and pocketed the money. Now I know where that money went. Sagoris said that all this happened about ten seasons ago."

"So, you think Demetri provided the funds for Kassandros' illegal slave trade." Atrius caught on.

"It makes more than perfect sense when you look at it." I began my customary pacing as I spoke. "Ten seasons ago Demetri stole enough money from the palace coffers to fund such an operation. Ten seasons ago Kassandros was made a Governor of Macedon. Ten seasons ago Gabrielle was abducted in the same manner as the girls we so recently rescued from Callius' clutches."

"It does seem more than enough to be presented as a case for dismissal," Antillius offered.

"But, where is your proof?" I hadn't even noticed Terillus come into the room. The older man folded his arms across his chest.

"Terillus is right. It's all conjecture unless we have testimony, someone who knew or saw something." I agreed sadly.

"He would know." Gabrielle's voice came from the couch she still sat upon.

We'd all but forgotten the young woman was still there and all of us turned at once.

"You mean Kassandros?" I asked her and she nodded her head.

"Gabrielle, he a man condemned to die, he would spit in our faces rather than give information that would help your cause." Atrius responded.

"Not necessarily." I added. "I might be able to make him a deal. Atrius, can you have a couple of guards bring him in here?"

"Aye, Lord Conqueror." He replied and left the room.

I pulled Gabrielle to one side and spoke softly. "Gabrielle, you may not want to be in the same room with him."

"Please, Xena, don't do what I think you might do…not just for me." Gabrielle responded. "I can tell by that look in your eye. These men deserve to die for their crimes. Think of all the woman like me, the girls like the ones you saved on the ship that day. Don't allow this man leniency simply for me. I wouldn't want that."

I pressed my fingers to her lips to quiet and reassure her. "There is no fear that I will not see that these men are punished accordingly, Gabrielle. They will wish for death before their punishment is through. Trust me?" I whispered at last.

She looked up at me, nodding and mustering a tiny smile for my benefit, the expression on her face, the look in her eye, spoke of an all-embracing and utter trust. I knew what it would come across resembling, but I simply didn't care. I reached down and kissed her lips lightly.

"I won't let you down." I whispered.

*********************

"Kassandros," I stood in front of the chained man, "I need information from you." I said simply.

"I'll suffer in Tartarus first!" he growled.

"I can arrange that." I hissed. "Do you remember Antipater? Remember how your father died?"

I moved closer to him until I was practically whispering in his ear. I could see that he blanched a little at the memory. I'd had the General and all his officers disemboweled while they still breathed. Sometimes I still heard those screams in my nightmares.

"What do I get in return?" he asked, knowing that I would offer a reward of sorts.

"Your life." I answered.

I had to admit, I was proud of Gabrielle. When I asked her to trust me, I was asking for a great deal. I could see her in the corner of the room, her hands formed into small fists.

"You'll be put into a prison for the rest of your life. Your alternative is death, and I won't make it a pleasant way to die, trust me." I raised an eyebrow for effect.

"What do you want to know?" he asked gruffly.

"When you started the kidnappings, where did you begin?"

"Hades, it was seasons ago!"

"Where did you get the money to hire men, then?" I asked.

"Demetri sent silver. He started the whole thing off."

"Think hard, Kassandros, your life depends on it…literally. Where did you begin?"

"Ah, it's no big a mystery. We started in Macedon, the Chalcidicē region. In those days, I'd hire some men and do the job myself. We started there; the little farm villages usually had plenty of girls to grab. We raided the outskirts where we could get whole villages sometimes. Adult males sold good for heavy labor, women, and brats for domestic stuff. The really pretty girls all went for pleasure."

"Do you remember where exactly?" I asked between clenched teeth. It was only my promise to Gabrielle that kept me from splitting his skull.

"Course. Potidaea, Amphipolis, but then it got so's you couldn't sell them there…once you and your laws came around," he added snidely. "We started sending them to Abdera, that way they could be shipped straight to Persia."

I listened to his tale and realized that I'd done precious little over the seasons to combat the illegal trade in slaves. Amphipolis, Potidaea, and Abdera, were all well-known ports of trade for slaves. Abdera got away with the most, I guessed, simply because they had a daily auction block for slaves, legally taken as war captives in neighboring Thracian tribal wars. Their proximity to Persia meant that a good deal of the slaves went there.

"Where else did you send them to be sold?"

"Hades, all over! Most went to the big slave markets in Ephesus and Chios, then on to Corinth and Athens. Some went to Delos, but not usually ours." He finally finished, as calmly as if he were telling us there would be rain tomorrow.

Delos would be the hardest port to shut down. Only recently, it became the notorious center of the Greek slave trade, legal and otherwise. I remembered the beautiful island well from the last time I was there. Funny thinking this now, but I got a notion in my head, that Gabrielle would probably enjoy the spectacular lake, inhabited by thousands of eye-catching swans. I would love to see the look on her face when she saw the breathtaking Lion's Terrace, built in my honor. The carved marble lions were indeed a remarkable sight.

I finally shook my head to bring me out of my thoughts and into the situation before me.

"Well, gentleman?" I looked at Antillius and Terillus, who nodded their heads.

"I will speak to the other advisors on the Lady Gabrielle's behalf, Lord Conqueror." Terillus spoke up.

I motioned with my hand and the guards stepped forward to bring Kassandros back out to the Great Hall.

"Don't forget what you promised, Conqueror!" The prisoner shouted back at me.

I stood there watching Gabrielle's eyes follow the man from the room; a haunted look of pain and a life lost burning in those emerald orbs.

"Oh, I won't forget," I muttered under my breath.

*********************

I left the room to speak with Antillius and Terillus, along with my four other advisors. I wanted to handle things in the right order to prevent any chaos that might come of the situation. First things first and I had a verdict to pronounce.

Once again, the men were brought before me, Gabrielle too, seated by my side.

"Lord Terillus, will you announce your verdict to the court?" I directed the older man.

"Yes, Lord Conqueror." Terillus opened a scroll and read the short, but predictable message. "In the court of her Royal Highness, the Lord Conqueror of the Greek Empire, we six advisors to the palace have conferred and found each of the accused guilty of the crime of illegal slave activity."

Terillus then turned to me and bowed slightly before returning to his seat.

"So be it," I said, sealing the fate of the silent men before me. "You will be brought before the court this afternoon for your sentencing. I recommend you say a few words to Hades." I smirked, as they were lead away.

Once they were gone from the Hall, I nodded to Antillius. The young man cleared his throat and opened the first scroll. I held my breath without realizing it, anxious to see the look on Gabrielle's face. I don't know why, but the usual preamble always caused me to want to roll my eyes.

"By order of her Royal Highness, the Lord Conqueror of the Greek Empire, the proclamation to free the slave known as Gabrielle is immediately rescinded."

If Gabrielle's eyes had been brands of fire, I would have been seared through. She looked at me with a combination of anger and incomprehension.

"Antillius!" I called out sharply, interrupting the young man. I crooked a finger when he looked up and he walked close to my chair, so close that I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down to ear level.

"Antillius, do you see the look on Gabrielle's face?" I asked. I didn't have to glance again; I knew what she looked like.

The young man nodded nervously once he saw the death wish written in my lover's eyes.

"Do you know what happens if Gabrielle gets mad at me?"

Antillius gave a red-faced grin. "May I hazard a guess and say I would get beat up or something like that?"

"You're such a bright boy, Antillius." I grinned right back at him. "Why don't we read those proclamations in a different order? Hhmm?"

"Of course, Lord Conqueror." He answered.

"Um…by proclamation of the--"

"Antillius, just get on with it!" my patience was sadly at an end.

"Yes, Lord Conqueror. After conference among the Conqueror's palace advisors and satisfying testimony, the advisors have reached an understanding; the slave known only as Gabrielle will no longer be known as a former slave. Due to kidnapping and illegal slave trade, the lady Gabrielle is not now, nor has she ever been a slave. She is a free woman born and raised until the kidnapping ten seasons ago. According to law, the Lady Gabrielle will present herself to this court seven days hence, for the official decree."

I looked over to find Gabrielle smiling proudly. We left the Great Hall for a break until the afternoon session, where I would be expected to pronounce sentence. I needed to be somewhere quiet for a bit. I wanted Gabrielle with me, so I asked one of the kitchen maids to prepare a light lunch for us to take into the gardens. I took Gabrielle's hand as we left the Great Hall, she with tears in her eyes that, for the first time in a long time, meant pure joy and happiness, and I with a smile that was so uncharacteristic, I saw a few old women laugh at my lovesick expression.

*********************

The girl amazed me as I watched her eat the last half dozen figs, followed by one more, thick slice of manoúri, a sweet cheese.

"You sure you're not eating for two already?" I teased.

"Not yet, but look out when I do." She smiled over at me and we both enjoyed the relaxed laughter that followed.

"It feels so different being with you now, Xena," she commented.

"I'm sure I'm much changed, love, but I think it is mostly because of the changes in you."

"Me?" she answered, the tone sounding as if she believed that to be highly unlikely.

"Yes, you," I reached over and touched my index finger to the tip of her nose. "I've watched you, Gabrielle, occasionally when you think I'm not," I smiled. "I remember the girl who stood before me with a dirty face and bare feet, not even able to look me in the eye. She was so terrified of the thought of spending one night in the Conqueror's bed, that she tried to hide herself from my eyes."

"I looked so pathetic then…I hadn't had a bath in days and days," Gabrielle said self-consciously.

"I think I started to fall in love with you on that very day, at that very minute," I answered her, and she blushed deeply, bowing her head.

"I've never heard you talk like this," she responded, unable or unwilling to raise her head and meet my eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you sooner," I said, taking her hand in my own, looking down at it and feeling the smoothness against my own much rougher hand. "I'm sorry that I ever led you to doubt how very much I love you, Gabrielle. I'm not always proud of who I am, much less who I've been, but having you in my life makes me believe that I can be a much better person; having you in my heart, makes me know that I am."

I was mightily rewarded with the sweetest kiss in the world for that little speech. Gods, who would have known? If I'd have recognized that the simple truth of revealing my feelings could do this, I might have tried it long ago.

"Xena, you're an incredible woman," Gabrielle said, surprising me. "You're different from every person I've ever known in my life, and I love you because of it. I knew there was something different about you after the first evening we were together, but I never knew it could cause me to feel this way; never realized it would instill this feeling of absolute love and trust for you, and I do you know."

I didn't want to cry, not again, and not in front of Gabrielle, but I was fighting a losing battle. All I could do was bring the hand in my own up to my lips and kiss it.

"I never thought, Xena…never dared to hope that something this beautiful would ever happen to me. That someone like you would ever want a girl like me," Gabrielle added.

I looked up, and through my tears, I smiled.

"Did I say something amusing?" Gabrielle asked.

"No, something mystical," I replied. "You just read my mind. Those were the very thoughts running through my mind. Gabrielle, are you sure, I mean, sure that I'm the one?"

"Would you rather I not be?" she asked in concern.

"No!" I answered quickly, "no, love it's not that. I only think about the fact that…well, Gabrielle, I'm quite a bit older than you, I've earned my share of enemies over the seasons. I worry that you'll be committing to a lifetime of loneliness or have your heart broken should Celesta come looking for me one day soon."

I searched her eyes, the green irises turning darker, misting over with tears. Just as suddenly they brightened, then she smiled and shook her head.

"No, Athena would never have fulfilled our destinies this way to set us up for pain. It's not like her to dangle a golden carrot before someone without at least giving them the chance to jump at it. I will make special offerings to her in hopes that she can persuade her uncle not to call your name for a very long time," the young woman answered optimistically.

"Gabrielle, do you know what an enigma is?" I asked. My tears forgotten, a smile now graced my features.

"Something that is difficult to understand?" she answered, uncertainly.

"In a way, yes, but it's more. It's something or someone that is puzzling, that's simply inexplicable. You are that for me." I responded. "You are the most loving, generous woman I have ever known, yet living the life you have, that you are that way, completely baffles me. You can be shy and timid, but in the time it takes an eagle to strike down its prey, you can be forceful and commanding. I can't explain it. You are a riddle, my love, that I want to spend the rest of my time in this mortal realm solving."

I reached over to kiss the look of shock from her face. "We need to get back, but I want to ask you something."

I pulled the small signet ring from my little finger. I kept a large, heavy ring in a box on my desk, which would someday go to my heir. I only wore it at official functions and kept it locked at my desk to use as a seal. For Greek royalty, the ring that bears our crest carries no greater sign of commitment. To give the ring to my heir or the next in line for the throne, displayed an open and willing commitment to the bearer of the ring. It showed great faith, trust, and belief in the recipient of the gift. No ruler ever gave their signet up lightly.

I took hold of Gabrielle's hand once more and pulled it toward me, easily slipping the trinket on her ring finger. Once in place, I kissed the tops of her fingers, then turned her hand and gently kissed her palm.

"This is my promise, Gabrielle. All that I have I share with you, except my heart, and that I give to you completely," I said softly.

"I don't think I deserve to be a Queen, Xena," she replied in a tearful voice.

"You do, my love, and I plan on spending the rest of my life showing you just how much I believe that." I smiled. "Are you ready?" I rose and held out a hand to her.

When I felt her hand slip into my mine, I thought of the eve before I took Athens, the night I pledged my allegiance to Athena. Suddenly I was there, in that old tent I set up as a shrine for her, remembering the Goddess' words to me.

"With Ares power, Xena, you would have become the mightiest warrior in the Known World. With mine, you'll become the greatest ruler Greece has ever known."

She slipped her hand into mine and I felt a tingling sensation travel up my arm and into my chest, followed by a feeling of confidence, that what she was saying would indeed come to pass.

"And what will I owe you?" I questioned in a low dulcet tone. My naturally suspicious nature knew the Gods didn't give anything away for free.

"Your heart," Athena answered.

"I thought you were the Pallas," I drawled, the use of the old title, indicating the Goddess' renowned virginity. I also stared hungrily, greedy for a chance at being the first. It seems conquering was in my blood.

Athena smiled seductively. "I've seen the way you go at it, Xena. I think if I were to take a lover, I'd want it a little less rough."

"Don't knock it till ya tried it," I grinned, turning on the charm.

This time she laughed. "Xena, you have a long journey ahead of you, and I fear what Ares has molded you into, may make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to recover."

I didn't understand one damn word she was babbling on about, but the ample breasts, threatening to spill out from their armored hideaway, weren't helping me keep track of her words any.

I looked into her face and she was shaking her head in amused disapproval. "Xena, I'm going to keep your heart for you until you need it."

"Trust me, that I won't need," I responded, still ogling her chest.

Quickly she reached out and grabbed my chin, holding it firmly within her fingers. I saw a previously hidden fire in her eyes and I realized her patience had come to an end.