Xena and Gabrielle were walking through the forest. Xena was holding Argo in her right hand and making wavy motions with her left hand at Gabrielle. Gabrielle was carrying her staff in her left hand, her right arm dangling in a piece of cloth around her neck..

“Gabrielle, listen. All I’m saying is that it’s not a good idea to try this with out warming up.”
“I know Xena, but I was just practising! I thought I had the hang of it.”

Xena shook her head. Gabrielle had to learn it the hard way; she was too stubborn for her own good. She looked at her companion and sighed.

“You know, even I warm up before I work out, otherwise you get hurt.”

Xena pointed at Gabrielle’s arm. The little blonde had tried to do a flip through the trees and had fallen to the ground, hard. She shook her head again.

“I told you it wasn’t going to work; you started with the wrong foot to begin with. Next time listen to me when I tell you something. I had to go through trial and error; I can spare you from this. Next time you might not be as lucky.”

Gabrielle snorted.

“Lucky? You call landing on my arm lucky?”
“Well you only sprained it; it’s not broken is it? And besides, what would you have done if you had broken your neck?”
“I would probably be talking to Charon right now, on my way to see Hades.”

Gabrielle swallowed; she was beginning to see what Xena was talking about. She had learned her lesson. She looked down at her arm and then at her tall companion.

“Okay, you’re right. Next time the Warrior Princess speaks, the Bard listens.”

Xena smiled and clapped Gabrielle on the shoulder. Gabrielle flinched visibly. She was more hurt then she pretended to be, Xena could tell. But Gabrielle tried to be brave about, so the least she could do was pretend not to see.

“I’m hungry, Xena, think we can go fishing nearby?"
“I know a lake not too far away. We should get there before noon.”

Xena and Gabrielle set off with a relaxed pace. Gabrielle was really hungry, but the thought of riding on Argo made her feel queasy. Perhaps her arm hurt more than she gave in to.

“Xena, do you know something that could take away the pain?”
“You feel nauseous? I know some roots that can take away the nausea, but they might affect your... mood.”

Gabrielle looked at her dark companion, who seemed to be enjoying what ever she was thinking a little too much.

“This is not going to be like your seasickness medicine is it?”

Gabrielle made sure the suspicion came through in her question. Xena seemed to have a cruel sense of humour sometimes, and she was mostly on the receiving side of that humour. Xena looked at her sideways and a smile, that reminded Gabrielle of a shark, decorated the warrior woman’s face.

“No way. What ever you are thinking, no way!”

Xena gave her an innocent face, but Gabrielle wasn’t fooled. She had seen the smile and knew it meant Xena was thinking wicked thoughts, something that would embarrass her down to her toes. She kicked the warrior woman with a flip of her leg, and in response Xena burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay. I promise I won’t let you eat any roots that would affect your mind.”

“Or any other parts of the plants or fruits or what ever.”

Xena held up her hand and look forward.

“I swear I won’t let you eat anything that would affect your mind like that.”
“Good.”

They were coming closer to the lake. Gabrielle could hear the sound of running water. It sounded like a peaceful place. Xena had collected some herbs among the way. She had said to Gabrielle that, no, it wasn’t for a drinkable medicine; it was to be placed on top of the arm. But first she had to crush the leaves with the roots and boiled it until it became thick enough to not drip all over the place. Gabrielle shivered at the thought of some goop being spread on her arm. She had problems with mud, but this sounded absolutely repulsive.

Xena let Argo walk loose. She knew her horse would never be too far off and if she needed her, all she had to do was whistle. Gabrielle was collecting wood for a campfire close by, which meant that Xena had all the room she need for fishing. She untied her boots and placed them behind the log. She didn’t want them too close to the fire when Gabrielle started it, she remembered one piece of coal had burned a hole in her boot once; it had taken the shoemaker 3 days to repair her boot. Gabrielle had found it very amusing to see her toe sticking out of the front.

“I’ll get you for that one, Gabrielle.”

She spoke more to herself then to anyone else. Perhaps Gabrielle had done it on purpose, because Xena had accidentally ripped her skirt when she had grabbed it from a tree, where it had been hanging to dry.  It wasn’t her fault, not really. But it always ended with payback between the two of them. Of course, that was the fun part in it. They both knew they didn’t want to hurt the other too badly, but little jokes now and then were okay.

“How’s that fish coming along, Xena?”

Gabrielle called out to her from somewhere behind a tree. Xena wiggled her toes and stepped towards the beach. She suddenly heard a soft wheezing sound. Quickly she drew her sword and crawled forward. The sound came from behind some bushes. She listened closely. It sounded like breathing, slow and softly. She inched closer, without making any sound. Her years of fighting had perfected her skills in sneaking up on people, so she was sure that who ever was behind those bushed had no idea she knew they were there.

When she reached the bushes, she pushed them aside slowly, careful for any attack that might happen. But what she saw behind those bushes was not at all what she was expecting. What she was expecting was some fearsome warrior, armed to the teeth. What she saw was the small form of a child. She sheeted her sword and stepped forward. The child lay on her stomach, soaking wet, her long golden curls tangled with seaweeds. Xena had almost mistaken her for a mermaid, but what she had thought was a tail, was actually a cloak that was draped around her body. Xena stepped out from the bushes and knelt down next to the girl.

“Gabrielle, you better get that fire going! And place some blankets next to it as well.”

Xena yelled to her companion. She knew she could count on Gabrielle. Xena felt a thread of fear in her stomach. What was this girl doing her alone? When she turned the girl around in her arms, the girl’s hair hid her face from view. Xena carefully removed the strands of hair and seaweed from the girls face. Her eyes opened wide. This wasn’t a young girl; it was actually a young woman. She let her eyes travel over the body. She was small for a woman. Smaller even then Gabrielle. Xena snorted, she knew that that little fact would make her companion happy, as she wouldn’t be the smallest around Xena anymore. Xena scooped the woman in her arms and lifted. She braced herself for the weight, but the woman weighed almost nothing. One thing she did notice was that the woman clutched a book and a weird rod made of some type of metal.

“What’s wrong Xena? Did you catch any fish?”
“No, not a fish. But something else that came from the lake.”

Gabrielle hated it when Xena spoke in riddles, whether the warrior did it on purpose or by accident, whenever she spoke in riddles Gabrielle was almost always lost. She poked the fire a bit higher and spread the blanket as best as she could with one hand. It was a good thing she could handle the firestones with one hand and her feet, or they would have to eat raw fish again. When the tall warrior appeared from behind the bushes, Gabrielle looked up at her. She saw that Xena was carrying something that looked like a young girl. She jumped up and rushed over.

“What happened? Can I help?”

“I don’t know what happened exactly, but it looks like she almost drowned. Can you grab the things she’s holding?”

Gabrielle stepped close to the girl and looked at her face. She frowned and Xena caught that look.

“It’s not a young girl, it’s a young woman. I know. I thought the same thing.”
“But she’s so small?”

Gabrielle frowned even harder, and then shook her head. First things first. She pulled the cloak back and saw the woman was holding on to a book and something else. It was long, almost as long as the woman herself, and it had a star on top.

“What is that?”

Xena shook her head, she had no idea either.

“It’s not a staff, I can tell you that, nor is it any type of weapon I have knowledge off.”

This was creepy. If even Xena didn’t know the thing this woman was holding, it was either something new or from some undiscovered land. Gabrielle reached for the stick and the book and pulled gently. The woman moaned and clutched the things even closer to her small body. Almost as if she didn’t want to let go. Gabrielle looked up at Xena and tried pulling a little harder. The woman’s eyes flew open.

“No!”

She reached out with her hand that held the stick and would have hit Gabrielle, if she hadn’t let herself fall backwards. The woman looked up at Xena and her eyes fluttered shut again. Xena looked down at Gabrielle.

“Are you alright? She passed out again.”
“Yeah, I’m okay. But I won’t try to take the book again. That thing could be lethal!”

Xena grinned and walked over to the campfire. She gently laid the woman down and removed the cloak. The cloak was half dry already, even though the woman herself was still soaking wet. Gabrielle took the cloak and hung it over a branch next to the fire to dry further.

“We have to get her out of these wet clothes before she catches a fever.”

Xena started looking for the lace that held the dress together, but couldn’t find it. When she held the woman’s torso higher, Gabrielle fumbled with a small piece of metal. She pulled it down and the top of the dress came undone

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