"Gabrielle?"
The Warrior Princess awoke with a start, feeling intense apprehension. Quickly she glanced over toward the bedroll next to hers. It was empty.
"Gabrielle? Where are you?"
Xena jumped up, senses heightened, listening in the silent stillness for any sound which might indicate where her friend had disappeared to, but there was none. Forcing back the rising foreboding of panic in her chest, she began to search the surrounding area. Dreading the worst, her heart pounded wildly. Where could Gabrielle have gone? This was very unlike her good friend. She was not one to take lonely walks during the dead of night.
"Gabrielle!! Gabrielle!!"
As Xena made her way slowly through the thick underbrush of the darkened forest, she repeatedly called out to the Amazon Princess, but her only answer was silence.
Suddenly, she heard the tall weeds rustling softly behind her. With her warrior's instincts tingling, she spun around, sword in hand, preparing to meet whatever foe had been stalking her. As she did this, she caught a glimpse of a large spotted doe rapidly skittering away in the eerie glow of the cloud covered moon. Adrenalin still pumping wildly, she slowly sheathed her sword and returned to her search.
Off in the distance a lone wolf began it's mournful howl, sharply piercing the stillness of the night. Then, one by one the voices of his fellow wolves joined in, blending together in an unearthly harmony as the clouds separated allowing the glow of the brightly illuminated full moon to bathe the forest in mystical radiance.
Xena reached a small clearing. Looking at the ground, she noticed some fresh boot prints. Bending down to examine them more closely she realized that they belonged to Gabrielle. But it was the other set of footprints, the larger ones right next to the bard's, which really worried her. Strange, there were no marks of a struggle. Surely Gabrielle would not have given up without a fight. With fearful anticipation she swiftly followed the tracks which led her deeper into the darkened forest beyond.
The bright moonlight, which had been so very helpful only a moment before, now abruptly became obscured by a few dark clouds and Xena found herself in near total blackness. She relied on her finely honed tracking skills to navigate through the dense underbrush and finally emerged onto a dirt trail leading even further into the woods. Suddenly a dark puddle on the ground caught her keen eye. Bending down to examine it more closely the Amazon realized that what had looked like mud in the semidarkness was actually a small pool of very thick blood. Unconsciously she sucked in her breath. Was it human? She dragged her finger through the sticky goo and tried to get a better look at it, but there was no way to tell.
The luminescent moon darted out once again from behind the widely scattered clouds. Xena spied more drops of blood making a trail along the side of the dirt path. The blood stains continued for a while and then disappeared among the tall grass off the main road. Now she was on her own once again, having to rely solely on her instincts to unravel the mystery. Proceeding in the same direction very quickly but rather carelessly, her boot suddenly slid on something hard and round, and the great Warrior Princess landed very unceremoniously upon her posterior with a dull thud. Although alone, she couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at this awkward predicament and something which she almost never experienced took place. Xena blushed! Quite annoyed at the bothersome object which had been the cause of her undoing she reached out and picked it up. The large round apple looked fresh and inviting. She was a bit hungry so she rubbed it against the side of her leather tunic to wipe the soil off and then took a big bite. Chewing absentmindedly she looked around for the tree which had born this offending piece of fruit, but there was none.
"That's strange. I wonder where this came from?"
The words spoken aloud cut the stillness which blanketed the night. Still consuming the tart fruit hungrily, Xena walked a bit more. The tall grasses opened up into a clearing and as she continued across it she came upon another puzzling find. Several chestnuts and figs lay grouped on top of the ground in a small pile. And she noticed something else, more boot prints. Only this time there were four sets. Obviously, Gabrielle and her unknown companion had met up with two more people and continued on to.....where? What was going on here? Who were these people and why was Gabrielle with them? Many questions ran through Xena's mind, but the most heart wrenching one was, why would Gabrielle willingly run off with others without telling her first? Confused, hurt and just a little bit angry at her good friend, the Warrior Princess decided to continue her search. She knew that now she must solve this mystery or she would go out of her mind!
As she rose to her feet she caught a glimpse of a brilliant white-yellow flash, low to the ground, which was almost hidden by the dense bushes nearby. Callisto! Every one of Xena's muscles tensed. Clearing her mind of all other thoughts, she focused in on the impending battle. Obviously, the blonde goddess did not realize that she had been seen and the Warrior Princess knew that the element of surprise was on her side.
"CHEEEEYIYIYYIYI"
Dropping the remainder of the apple, she was instantly prepared to meet her enemy. The Amazon flipped forward aggressively,, and landed squarely on top of the bright yellow.............daffodils! She was furious! Fooled by a trick of the moonlight! The fear and frustration caused by Gabrielle's disappearance was affecting her ability to sense real danger. Xena knew she was beginning to panic and needed to calm down. Taking several deep breaths, she focused in on freeing her mind of all emotion, so she could once again rely on her excellent warrior's instincts.
The sound of rustling water became apparent and she reasoned that she was very near a waterfall. As she moved closer to the rushing din, the Amazon heard several voices speaking in seemingly hushed whispers, but was unable to recognize them or make out what was being said. She was still too far away and the background noise from the waterfall drowned out much of the vocalization. The inviting aroma of roasting meat permeated her nostrils and the apple which had been so satisfying only a moment before was no longer enough to fill her empty stomach. Every one of her senses tingling, she cautiously made her way closer to the glow of the campfire, remaining crouched low to the ground in order to keep herself hidden. Unfortunately this also prohibited her from being able to see what was beyond, since her vision was obstructed by the tall weeds which surrounded the camp.
Xena could hear the sounds of movement among the people. She risked a quick peek through the tall undergrowth. Although she could not see clearly, she could make out shadowed figures darted back and forth, bustling about their business. Then she noticed the unmistakable form of Gabrielle standing near the campfire. One of the men walked over and stood facing the bard, completely blocking the Amazon's view of her friend.
"No don't please!!! Stop!!! You're going to burn me!!"
"Gabrielle duck!!!!"
The Warrior Princess jumped to her feet chakram in hand. Still unable to see the form of the assailant clearly in the semidarkness, she sent the flying disk speeding through the air toward the extended arm of the unknown figure who was still standing next to the petite bard. As the bard stooped quickly, the sharp, round weapon sliced right through something in the offender's hand and continued to sail past the space where Gabrielle's head had been only a second before.
"CHEEEEE YIYIYIYIYIYIYYI!!!!!"
The reddish blond hair popped back up and four startled faces turned toward the direction of the familiar warrior's cry as Xena, flipping her body over and over, finally landed squarely on her feet in the middle of the campsite, sword raised and ready for battle.
For a moment they all remained frozen in place. The Amazon's steel blue eyes darted around rapidly taking in the scene. Three freshly killed rabbits were rotating on a spit over the cooking fire, while bowls of juicy red apples, plump figs and dates sat on the ground nearby. A large metal pitcher filled to the brim with a foamy, golden liquid was positioned in the center of the placement. Chestnuts, steam pouring out of their cracking shells, were roasting in a flat bottomed pan which sat atop the flames. Several bedrolls, which had been placed side by side, created the illusion of one very large mat. On top of one of the bedrolls were five metal plates, goblets and a fluffy, red velvet pillow. Resting on the royally colored cushion was a very shiny, jewel handled breast dagger of such fine quality that it may have come from the fires of Haphaistos himself. Joxer, looking a bit chagrined, stood next to Gabrielle holding the remains of a cleanly severed rabbit's leg, the tip of which had fallen next to his feet.
"Uh, surprise."
He looked sheepishly at the Warrior Princess while Hercules and Iolaus stood side by side next to Gabrielle grinning guiltily.
"Surprise?"
Xena, heart still pounding, breathing in short quick breaths, was still too worked up to fully comprehend what it was she had stumbled upon. She looked quizzically at her best friend who replied with a sigh of resignation.
"Happy Birthday, Xena!"
THE END