"The End is the Beginning"

By

Wilbur

Chapter Four: "Dreams"

Go to Part 1


 

Gabrielle breezes past Socair giving him a start. He heard her one-sided argument and isn't sure if he should stop, follow, or let her be. He chooses the latter. Deerdra' s orders were to let her explore Lorrania on her own--in her right mind or not.

She rushes outside and ends up in the middle of the towns' square. Still reeling from her argument with Xena, she feels the need to go... somewhere. She hurries through the crowd, politely shoving people out of her way. She ducks through an iron gate and-silence. It's the rose garden. A gentle breeze blows off the ocean causing the flowers to dance. Gabrielle closes her eyes and slowly inhales, filling her lungs with perfumed sea air.

Meanwhile, word gets back to Deerdra about Gabrielle's hasty exit so she sets out to look for her. She finds her in the garden going through the slow, rhythmic motions of Tai Chi and embracing the sun's healing rays. Her movements make the faded dragon tattoo on her back appear to be dancing along with her. Deerdra had never seen anything so beautiful. Not wanting to disturb her, she turns to leave.

"You don't have to go."

Deerdra faces her. "I don't want to interrupt."

"You didn't." "I was just enjoying the peace and quiet."

"I understand." "I come here quite often." "So...did Xena tell you what she thinks of our little village?"

Gabrielle isn't in the mood to talk about Xena. "Did you say that you've read my scrolls?"

Deerdra rubs the back of her neck. "Yeah, well, that was kind of a lie to get you to trust me."

That disappoints the young bard. "Oh." "Then how do you know so much about Xena and me?"

"It's Xena, word gets around." "Plus we had a man staying with us who was chock full of stories about you two." "He made himself out to be the hero to impress the ladies, but I knew." "There was no way that the guy wearing the pointed hat with a round metal thing strapped to his chest was the one who did all the things in those stories."

Gabrielle perks up. "A pointy hat with straw lining?"

"Yeah."

"Joxer!" "You knew Joxer?" "What was her doing here?" "And how on earth did he find this place?"

"Socair found him passed out in the maze and brought him up here to dry out." "He kept mumbling about having to find Ares and where he took you and Xena."

Gabrielle eyeballs Deerdra. "That was over 20 years ago."

She explains, sort of. "The women in my family age at a slow pace." "He was a sweet man." "Heart-broken over losing you." "After we were alone, he told me the truth."

Gabrielle looks down, somber. "Yeah, I miss him too."

Deerdra puts her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. She looks up at Deerdra. "What truth?"

"That it was you who defeated Bacchus, you who stood up to Callisto numerous times, and it was you who took on Ares and Dahak and survived."

Gabrielle blushes at the misplaced praise. "That wasn't me, either."

Deerdra holds Gabrielle by the shoulders and looks directly into her eyes. "You died and defended Heaven from invading demons--that was you." "You're not given enough credit for all that you've done." "Xena didn't do all of those things by herself."

That's just the boost that she needed. To bad Xena wasn't the one heaping on the praise. "Thank you, Deerdra."

"It's the truth." "And I'm very glad that his descriptions of you were true." She gazes into Gabrielle's eyes and smiles. Gabrielle blushes again. Not wanting to make the moment even more awkward, Deerdra changes the subject. "Mary is looking for you."

"Oh!" "It completely slipped my mind."

"Don't worry about it." "She knows that grown-ups have things to do." "If you still want to go, I'll take you there, unless you think you can find her house on your own."

"You had better take me." "I don't even know how I got here."

Mary is standing outside of her house clutching a leather bound book trying to see around the crowd. She can hardly contain her excitement when she spots Gabrielle and Deerdra. She's grinning from ear to ear as she rushes up to Gabrielle and gives her a big hug. "You came!"

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, there's just so much to see here."

"That's okay, you're here now." She takes hold of Gabrielle's hand and begins to lead her into the house.

"Wait a moment, Mary." "Aren't you coming, Deerdra?"

"No, you go ahead." She chuckles "I'll see you at dinner."

Gabrielle wonders what's so funny as she sits next to Mary who places the book on her lap. "This is very nice leather work." "Did your father make it?"

"No, Deerdra had it made."

"Here in Lorrania?"

"No, whenever I need a book, she goes away and when she comes back she has a new one."

"Do you know where she goes?"

"Uh,uh." "Nobody wonders where she goes-except Lor."

The sun is lowering its self below the horizon when Gabrielle walks into the dinning room. She pulls out a chair and plops down, crossing her arms on the table then resting her head on them.

Deerdra comes in from the kitchen and chuckles. "You made it!"

Gabrielle gives her a dirty look. "You could have warned me." "She must have twenty books in her collection."

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"I was surprised all right." "I like Mary, but-."

"I know." "That many flowers in one sitting can be a bit much." "Are you hungry?"

"Famished!" "But before we eat, Mary said that you get the books for her." "Where?"

"Oh, I know some people." "You can wash up in that room behind you and I'll go fix our plates." She ducks back into the kitchen, avoiding any further questioning.

Gabrielle returns to a heaping plate of roast beef, cooked carrots, potatoes, fresh baked bread and a tall mug of ale to wash it all down.

"Wow!"

"You said you were hungry."

They proceed to dig in. "Mmm, everything just melts in my mouth." "Where did you learn to cook?"

"My Mother, but I didn't fix this meal." "Some women from the village did."

"Of course, you have servants."

"Oh, no." "I don't want people waiting on me." "Several women in the village use my kitchen to cook for their families." "And since I have a guest, they made a little extra."

"You're all alone here?"

"For the most part." "The soldier's quarters are at the other end, but they have everything they need so they don't come up here." "I know that it seems like a waste of space, but when we throw a party, boy howdy does this place jump!"

"It's hard to believe that all this is for real." She takes a bite. "But Xena didn't find..." She remembers their argument and her stomach knots up. She puts her fork down and stares at her plate.

Deerdra takes note. "Something wrong with your food?" "I can get you another plate."

"Oh,no, the food's amazing." "It's just--Xena and I had an argument and I kinda stormed out before we could resolve it."

"I noticed that you had been crying earlier." "I can leave so the two of you can make up." "She is here, isn't she?" Her question oozes with contempt.

Gabrielle is to upset to notice her tone of voice. "No, I haven't seen her since we argued."

"She's probably giving you two some space so you can cool off then talk it out." "Would I be overstepping if I asked what you argued about?"

"You." "We argued about you going with me to Amphipolis."

"Don't be mad at her." "It was my idea."

"Don't tell me that you don't think I can handle myself either."

"I have no doubt that you can." "I just think that at some point in your trip, you're going to need some extra muscle." "That's where I come in." "I have quite the reputation."

Gabrielle wonders 'a reputation for what?' but, not wanting to spoil a good thing, she doesn't ask. "Those men were pretty afraid of you." She sighs, the weight of the day's events wearing on her. "Maybe it would be a good idea." "I'll apologize and then discuss it with Xena tomorrow." Hoping to spot Xena eavesdropping, she scans the room. Not seeing her makes her heart sink. "When she isn't here, I feel so alone." Gabrielle sniffles and tries not to cry.

Deerdra walks over, hugs her from behind, and whispers in her ear. "You're not alone." "You're going to come back here with me." She gives her a not to tight squeeze. "You're going to be okay."

Gabrielle nods an okay. "I'm sorry I ruined your dinner."

"Don't apologize." "I understand." "Why don't you go on up to bed." "Xena's bound to be there when you wake up and the two of you can straighten things out."

Gabrielle stands up and off to the side of Deerdra. "Yeah, I am pretty tired." "I am sorry about dinner."

"Don't worry about it." "We'll just have leftovers tomorrow-and the day after that."

Gabrielle manages a smile. "See you tomorrow."

As the pooped bard ascends the stairs, Deerdra yells out. "Don't sleep in, we're having roast beef for breakfast!"

Gabrielle shakes her head and laughs. "Good night, Deerdra!"

Standing in the cavernous room all by herself, Deerdra feels a twinge of sadness. "Good night, Gabrielle."

Breakfast time and Deerdra is at the dinning room table about to chow down on a roast beef sandwich. Before she can take another bite, Gabrielle comes running down the stairs with a look of desperation in her eyes.

"Good Morn--"

"She's gone!"

"Who?"

"Xena." "I woke up and she wasn't there." "I even called out to her and she didn't answer."

"Maybe she was more upset than you realized and went off to haunt someone else."

"No, something's wrong." "She wouldn't miss an opportunity to hear me admit I was wrong."

"Let's not assume the worst." "Doesn't she have a daughter?"

"Eve."

"She could be talking to her and lost track of time." "She'll be here." "Remember, this is Xena we're talking about." "The entire Roman army couldn't keep her away from you."

"You're right!" "Something is wrong!"

"Gabrielle, that's not--"

Gabrielle has worked herself into a panic. "You don't understand!" "I can't feel her!" "Even when she was off exploring the city, I could feel her heart beating." "Okay, maybe it wasn't her heart, but I could feel her." She places her hand over her heart. "In here." "And now I feel...nothing."

"I don't know what to say." "I don't have any experience with spirits."

Gabrielle remembers the tail end of her and Xena's argument which only adds to her anxiety. "By the gods, that's what she meant." "She said that she was leaving me but I thought, and now..." Her voice trails off and she chokes back a wave of tears.

Deerdra wraps her arms around her. "Shh, you don't know that for sure." "You know, now would be the perfect time for Mary to come running in all excited about a dream she had of you and Xena."

They stop, look at each other, then look over at the door. No Mary.

Deerdra chuckles. "I guess that only happens in the stories." Then she has a flash of hope. "I don't know about these things, maybe someone here does." "I can ask around."

Gabrielle backs off and wipes away her tears. "Okay, let's go."

Deerdra glances back at her half eaten sandwich. To finish eating or spend the day helping a beautiful woman? "No time like the present." They head for the door and are nearly run over by Mary.

"I saw her!" "At least I think I saw her."

Deerdra kneels down in front of her. "Who did you see?"

"That woman you told me about." "The one Gabrielle lost." "I saw her in a dream last night."

Deerdra looks up at Gabrielle. "This would be funny if it weren't so serious."

Gabrielle's heart leaps at the thought. Could it be true ? She takes a breath to calm down. "What did you see, Mary?"

"You handed that shiny round thing to a tall woman with long black hair."

Gabrielle's heat races. "Did she take it from me?"

"Yes, and then you hugged."

"By the gods, she's alive." "Xena's alive!"

Deerdra's confused. "Because she took the chakram from you?"

"Because she couldn't before." "She can't touch anything outside of the spirit world--except me."

"Okay, Xena's alive somewhere." "Now we have to find out where." "What else did you see in your dream, Mary?" "Other people, water, trees?"

Mary scrunches up her face trying picture the dream. "Hmm...trees!" "Lots and lots of trees." "So many, they blocked out the sun." "They looked kind of funny too." "Their bark was real dark, almost black."

"And how about Gabrielle and Xena?" "Where were they?"

"There weren't any trees where they were standing." "It was flat and sort of rocky."

Gabrielle joins in on the guessing game. "That sounds like we're on top of a mountain."

Deerdra continues massaging Mary's memory. "Anything else?" "Was it night or day?"

Mary thinks. "It was day." "Sunrise, I think." "Oh!" "And I heard a bunch of dogs barking and yelping." "They sounded pretty far away, though."

"Interesting." "Thank you, Mary." "Will you find Lor and tell him that I would like to see him?" "Gabrielle and I are going on a little trip."

Mary perks up. "Okay!" "I hope you find her!" "Have a safe trip!" She leaves just as fast as she came in.

"I gather you know where she was talking about?"'

"Yep, there's only one place that I know of where the trees are that dark and that dense." "The Black Forest in Germania."

"Germania?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure Xena took care of all Grindls that may have been in the area."

"That's not what concerns me." "It's just so far away."

"Not so far if you go by boat and sail around to France and then ride up to the forest."

"That sounds great, but what about Argo?" "Xena's going to want to see her."

"My boat's big, but it isn't that big." "Argo'll still be here waiting for her." "It's not like Lorrania's going to disappear without me."

"In that case--let's go!"

"Hold on." "I need to talk to a few people first and have to boat stocked."

"Of course, sorry." "You do what you need to do and I'll go pack my things."

She hustles up the stairs but stops mid-stride at the booming voice of a man whose words drip with sarcasm. "You sent for me?"

She creeps back down to the landing and sees a giant of a man standing just inside of the doorway. He looks impatient and angry. Deerdra chastises him anyway.

"I'll thank you not to be an ass in front of my guest." "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be gone for awhile."

He sneers. "Paying another visit to those island girls, are you?"

Deerdra marches over to him and gets right in his face, practically growling the words at him "I'm going to Germania with Gabrielle to help her find and bring Xena back." "It is not a vacation."

He clenches his fists and glowers down at her. He begins to say something smart but remembers that they are not alone. He looks around and spots Gabrielle on the stairs. She gives him a timid wave.

"Hi, we haven't met." "I'm Gabrielle."

He walks over to her and takes her hand giving it a gentlemanly kiss. "It's a pleasure to meet you." "I'm Lor." "I understand that you've been ill."

She's a little thrown by his change of attitude. "Um, yeah, yes, I was, but I'm fine now--thanks to Deerdra." "She took real good care of me."

"I'm sure she did." He glances back at Deerdra. "I hope you have a safe and productive trip." "I'm looking forward to meeting this Xena I've heard so much about."

"Thank you." "I'm sure Xena will want to meet you too."

He bows and kisses her hand again. He turns and leaves without so much as throwing a sneer in Deerdra's direction. She takes a long, deep breath and slowly exhales.

"Okay, he'll tell all of the necessary people and they'll get the boat ready for us." "And no, I don't want to talk about it."

Gabrielle smiles. "Never even entered my mind."

"Good, then in that case--" she puts her hands on Gabrielle's shoulders-- "let's bring Xena home."

 

*CONTINUED*

in

chapter five


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