DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Xena stuff is the legal property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer.

The Fire
By Kristjan Brezovnik

Fire.

Callisto knew she will soon be trapped, the fire slowly surrounded her. There were still a couple of ways out of the trap, but a part of her didn't want to escape.

Suddenly she heard screams and she looked around.

"Mama," she whispered as she saw the illusion.

She stared at the image of her mother for a few moments and then jerked as she heard the scream. Her scream. She turned around and saw Xena riding past her. She grabbed her sword, but then she changed her mind and walked over to her mother and her sister.

Her sister was hiding behind a turned over-cart and Callisto joined her.

"Hm, reminds me of Tartarus."

Callisto jerked and the illusion disappeared. She looked around for the intruder and saw that it was Ares. She screamed madly and attacked him. Ares was surprised and Callisto inflicted several deep wounds that would each kill a mortal.

"Get lost, you creep!" Callisto yelled at the god. "If I ever see you again, I swear I'll kill you."

"In case you have forgotten, I'm a god."

Callisto smiled evilly.

"So? You lost your godhood before and if I see you again, you'll also lose your life. And believe me, it will be a pleasure taking it away."

"I'm sure it would be. Anyway, I came by to talk to you about Xena. I have…"

"Screw Xena! And screw you too. I don't care anymore whether she lives or dies."

"A change of heart?"

"None of your business."

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know."

Ares disappeared and left Callisto alone in the burning inferno. The heat was now almost intolerable, but Callisto ignored it. She looked around at the burning trees and thought.

She wanted so much to be happy, but she knew that was impossible, at least until she changed her ways. The problem was, however, that she didn't care about redeeming herself like Xena did. She missed her family a lot and she wanted so much to be with them, but not in the Elysian Fields, because they, to her, were not a place of happiness. To her the Elysian Fields seemed like a place of non-existence and she preferred Tartarus, at least there you knew and remembered every single torturing moment.

She knew that she would never go to the Elysian Fields, not that she wanted to anyway, and in spite of the fact that her family was there, and she didn't care about Tartarus either. The only place where she could really be happy was here.

She sighed.

She wanted to love and be loved by somebody again, but she was also afraid to, because she knew all too well what the price might be. She loved and was loved once, but that love was ripped out of her heart together with most of her soul, only the memories and the pain remained. The pain, she thought and shuddered. But then she remembered the love and how good it felt.

A tear ran down her cheek, but she ignored it. She sighed again.

She stood motionless for a couple of minutes and then she decided that she had a right to be happy and to love and be loved. She looked around and noticed that the fire would burn her if she remained there. She looked around more carefully and saw that the only way out was the river in the canyon.

She walked to the edge and looked down. It was very high and the chances that she would hit the river and not the rocks were slim, more so, because she didn't know how deep the river was.

It's not fair, she thought and looked back at the fire. She was about to change her life, but now it looked as though the gods have all turned against her. She looked down at the river again and thought. If she remained where she was, the fire would kill her and then Hello, Tartarus. But on the other hand, if she jumped, she would probably also go to Tartarus. She decided that the second option looked just enough better than the first and so she jumped.

When she woke up, she had a major headache, it felt as if she had a band of drummers right in her head. Not to mention the pain from various other parts of her body. She moaned and opened her eyes. Everything was blurry. She heard someone run away. A child, she thought. She blinked a couple of times and waited for her vision to clear.

Suddenly she realized that she was not wearing her armor. She touched the material and figured it was a simple dress. As she moved her hand again, her fingers hit something familiar. My sword. She clutched her fingers around the hilt and then let it go.

It was a while before anyone came. Finally she heard the door open. She grabbed her sword and turned her head to see who it was, but all she could see were five shadows. From their shapes she deduced that they were children, two of them girls. She was confused, because she expected their parents.

As the children came closer, Callisto slowly discerned more details. The oldest, a girl, came closer and touched her forehead.

"Who are you?" Callisto asked the girl.

The girl looked at one of her bothers.

"She is Andromeda, I am Alcmaeo, he is Belus, she is Calypso and he is Tenes," Alcmaeo introduced them by age.

"How long have I been here?"

"Two days."

"Where are your parents?"

Alcmaeo looked at Andromeda, who nodded.

"They're dead. They were killed three years ago."

"So you're alone?"

"Yes."

Callisto felt her throat tighten. She didn't immediately know why, but finally she realized that it was because she felt sorry for them.

"Where's my armor?"

Alcmaeo looked at his sister again and she nodded. Again.

"We hid it under the mattress."

"And my weapons?"

"Also."

Callisto thought. She looked at Andromeda.

"Why doesn't she talk?" she asked and glanced at Alcmaeo.

Andromeda opened her mouth and Callisto saw that her tongue had been cut out. She gulped. Again she was surprised by her reaction, she had cut out quite a few tongues herself and it never bothered her.

Over the next few days Callisto let the children take care of her and she was confused by the fact that she liked having them around. She silently observed them as they took turn taking care of her. She soon noticed that the younger four obeyed Andromeda without protest. She realized that Andromeda reminded her of her mother when she woke up in the middle of the night and checked up on her brothers and sister, covering them with her own blanket if they were cold. She felt that it took great courage to take care of loved ones in such conditions.

When she finally got better, Callisto put on her clothes and armor. When she was done, she noticed that Andromeda had lined up the children. Callisto stared at them. She though about killing them, but she couldn't make up her mind. She had a feeling that Andromeda wanted something from her, but was ashamed to ask. Suddenly she realized what it was. She wants me to kill them, she thought, shocked. The girl saw that Callisto had figured out what she wanted and she looked down, ashamed, her eyes becoming wet with tears.

Callisto thought, confused. People had begged her to kill them, but not until she had been torturing them for a while. This girl, however, wanted her to kill them because she wanted to spare her brothers and sister the misery of life.

Deep down in the remains of her soul Callisto felt moved. She shuddered and thought what it would be like if she had to take care of her sister in such conditions and realized that she would probably do the same thing. She gulped and quickly left the house.

Outside she stopped and took a deep breath. She didn't want to kill the children, she wanted to help them. She knew, however, that she had no experience, not to mention her many enemies who would just love to kill anyone she loved. She sighed. So close to love, but yet so far.

She heard the door open and she turned. It was Andromeda. They stared at each other, and Callisto saw the sadness in her eyes. Finally, she made a decision.

"I'll be back," she told the girl and smiled kindly.

Then she left.

Cyrene was confused when a man approached her and told her that he brought her the children. She followed him outside and saw five children on the cart.

"Who are they?" she asked them.

The man shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I was only told to bring them to you."

"Who told you that?"

"I don't know her name. She is a beautiful woman with blond hair."

"Blond?" Cyrene asked, suspicious.

"Yes."

Cyrene had a bad feeling. She turned to the children.

"Hello," she greeted them, "my name is Cyrene."

The oldest girl gave her a letter and a pouch. Cyrene took both, surprised and confused. The purse was pretty heavy and when she opened it, she saw it was full of dinars. Then she read the letter. It was very short: Take care of them. Callisto.

Cyrene frowned and looked at the children. They didn't look too healthy to her.

"Why don't you come in?" she invited them.

The children got off the cart.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

The children nodded.

"Come."

The children followed her into the tavern and Cyrene brought them food. Then she returned outside and the man helped her carry the children's things inside.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked him when they were done.

"Nothing, that woman paid for everything."

"Oh."

"Good bye."

"Good bye."

The man left and Cyrene returned into the house. She watched the children eat and wondered why Callisto had she sent her the children.

Finally, the children finished eating.

"Do you want some more?" she asked them.

The children shook their heads and she took the dishes away.

"So, do you want to tell me more about you? What are your names?" she asked when she returned.

Alcmaeo looked at Andromeda and she nodded.

"She is Andromeda, I am Alcmaeo, he is Belus, she is Calypso and he is Tenes."

"Do you know the woman who sent you to me?"

"No. We found her in the river and took care of her."

"I see. Where are your parents?"

"They're dead."

"Oh."

For a moment she thought she saw some strange reaction from Andromeda, but she couldn't discover what it was all about.

"Did that woman say she will visit you?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes."

Cyrene took a deep breath, knowing Xena won't like that one bit.

"And the money?"

"She told Andromeda to give it to you."

"Oh."

Cyrene leaned back and observed the children, thinking. She didn't want to meet Callisto in person, but if she sent these children away, Callisto would probably kill her. And besides, the children were all alone and she could take care of them, especially with the money Callisto gave her. It was all very confusing, the last thing she expected was Callisto helping someone.

"Come," she finally said, "I'll take you to your room. First we'll get the dirt off of you and then I'll get you some new clothes."

The children followed her and Cyrene hoped that this wasn't some trap.

It was dark when Callisto entered Amphipolis. She rode straight toward the tavern. She tethered her horse and went to the door. She took a deep breath and knocked.

The door soon opened.

"Yes?" a woman asked and froze when she recognized Callisto.

She took a step back and Callisto entered.

"Callisto!"

Callisto looked and saw Xena and Gabrielle get up.

"Hi, Xena. Hi, Gabrielle," she greeted them sweetly. "Long time no see."

"What do you want?" Xena asked.

"Nothing from you," Callisto said and turned toward Cyrene. "How are the children?"

"They are fine."

"Thank you for taking care of them," Callisto said, reached for a pouch on her belt and gave it to Cyrene. "This is for the children."

Cyrene took the pouch and looked in.

"That's a lot of money."

"Don't worry, its previous owner won't miss it. Can I see the children?"

Cyrene stared at Callisto for a few moments.

"Sure."

"Mother!" Xena warned her.

"Oh, Xena, don't worry. If I wanted to kill your mother, she'd be dead by now."

"She has a point, Xena," Cyrene said and turned to Callisto. "Come."

Callisto followed her to a large room where the five children slept. Cyrene opened the door and stepped aside. Callisto stared inside for a few moments and then entered.

She kneeled beside Tenes's bed and caressed him. She hoped that now they would have a better life than they had before. She moved on to Calypso and caressed her too. She remembered how her mother would sometimes come in the middle of the night and caressed her and her sister. Tears came into her eyes as she moved to Belus. She caressed the boy and thought about how it would be if she had more siblings. She shuddered when she imagined them all dying in the fire beside her mother and her sister. She moved on to Alcmaeo and caressed him too. She thought about adopting the children. She wondered what kind of mother she would make. Probably a lousy one as she had no experience with handling children. She sighed and moved on to Andromeda and caressed the mute girl. She knew that besides having no experience with child care, there were also her enemies. She knew that as soon as they found out that she lived with children, they would come after them and she was not prepared to endanger them, not even for the love and the joy they could bring her. She sighed. She would have to find love somewhere else, somewhere where nobody knew her. She caressed Andromeda again and kissed her on the forehead.

She got up and noticed that Cyrene was gone. She was surprised that she didn't hear her leave. She dried her tears and hoped that the three women won't notice. She exited the room and quietly closed the door. She took a deep breath and returned to the main room.

When Cyrene returned to the main room, Xena and Gabrielle immediately noticed that she was thinking about something.

"Mother?" Xena asked.

Cyrene looked at her daughter.

"She really loves them, you know."

"What?"

"Callisto. She really loves those children."

"Then why doesn't she take care of them?" Gabrielle asked.

"Because of her enemies," Xena said.

"Oh, yes," Gabrielle said as she remembered Xena's concern over her when they first met. "How…"

Gabrielle stopped when she saw Callisto enter the main room. Callisto glanced over to the three women and her eyes stopped on Cyrene.

"Thank you," she said quietly and went to the door.

"You can spend the night if you want," Cyrene offered.

Callisto shook her head.

"No, it's better this way," she said and left.

"I can't imagine how much it must hurt her to have to give them up," Gabrielle said.

Xena bit her teeth. She knew.

The End