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. This story is set during and after the Xena - Warrior Princess episode The Greater Good.

I Wonder…
By Kristjan Brezovnik

The soldiers were trying in vain, Argo and the other horse just wouldn't move. Suddenly, a battle cry was heard and the two soldiers who were trying to move the two horses dropped dead with their throats slit.

"Xena," Gabrielle whispered, full of hope, but soon realized that it wasn't Xena but some other woman warrior.

The woman slowly approached Talmadeus. She walked like a ballet dancer and had an innocent look in her eyes. The soldiers let her pass, confused.

The woman shook her head when she got to Talmadeus.

"No one but me touches Xena," she said and slit his throat.

The soldiers were surprised, but they quickly pulled themselves together and attacked.

The woman warrior cried her battle cry and stroke back. Gabrielle grabbed the opportunity and kicked the soldier who was holding her. She grabbed her staff and started to fight.

The woman gracefully moved among the soldiers, killing them one by one. The soldiers quickly noticed that it was not wise to be around her and they retreated.

When Gabrielle saw that they were leaving, she went to Xena's body. She kneeled and gently removed a stray lock from Xena's face.

"So, the bitch just died, hm?"

Gabrielle jerked, astonished, and turned around. The blond woman shook her head.

"Damn, couldn't even handle a simple poison."

"Who are you?" Gabrielle finally managed to ask.

The woman looked at her appraisingly.

"Callisto," she said.

"Did you poison Xena?"

"Yes. Pretty sloppy of me, wouldn't you say? I could just kill myself."

Callisto giggled and Gabrielle stared at her, shocked.

"Why don't you?" she finally said, angry.

Callisto stopped giggling and Gabrielle noticed that the tip of Callisto's dagger was gently grazing her neck. Suddenly, Callisto flipped her knife around and offered her the knife.

"Why don't you?" she asked, giving her a sad, innocent look.

Gabrielle stared at her, astonished, but didn't take the knife.

"Didn't think you could. By the way, leather suits you, but you should have it custom made," Callisto said and turned back to Xena. "Oh, Xena, dear, I know you can hear me. It's me, Callisto. I know you probably don't remember me, but I sure remember you." She paused. "Hm, maybe you remember my village, Cirra, or was it just another destroyed village, hm? Anyway, be a dear and ask Hades if he can by any chance send you back, I would just love to torture you some more." She paused, thinking. "Hm, on the other hand, don't ask him. That way I can look forward to a private little party in Tartarus when I get there." She laughed. "Oh, well, gotta be going."

Callisto left and the people, who heard her conversation with Gabrielle, stared after her. Finally, Salmoneus approached Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle didn't immediately respond. Finally, she turned back to Xena and took off the ropes that tied her to the two horses. She had tears in her eyes, but she suppressed them.

After she had said good-bye to Salmoneus and the villagers, Gabrielle headed for Amphipolis. She was just thinking about Xena when she noticed four soldiers approaching her. She recognized them, one of the was holding her when Callisto came. She clenched her fingers around her staff and stopped.

The soldiers slowly approached, thinking that she would be an easy prey for them.

"Aren't you a feisty little one?" the man who held her said.

"What do you want?"

"We want Xena's body."

"Over my dead body."

The soldiers laughed.

"That can be arranged."

The soldiers attacked. Gabrielle quickly slapped Argo, who ran away, and barely managed to deflect a sword. She noticed that the other three soldiers had to be new recruits, because they were easily overwhelmed by her use of the staff. Their leader, however, was a more seasoned soldier and he managed to avoid most of her hits.

Suddenly, a war cry was heard. They all recognized it and they turned into the direction from which it came.

Callisto somersaulted over her horse's head, throwing a dagger while she was in the air. The dagger hit the soldiers' leader while Callisto was still high in the air. The recruits were almost paralyzed from fear and Callisto quickly disposed of them. She retrieved her dagger and wiped the blades.

"Hello, fancy meeting you again," she said after she was done and smiled charmingly.

Gabrielle held her staff ready.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing, really. Did they want her body?"

"Yes."

"Thought so. Well, we just can't have other people stealing my glory, can we? Therefore, I have decided to escort you to where ever it is you're going."

"I don't need your help."

"I don't care. Now, shall we get the corpse?"

Gabrielle bit her teeth. Callisto mounted her horse and slowly went after Argo. Gabrielle followed her.

"What's your name?" Callisto asked.

Gabrielle hesitated.

"Gabrielle."

"So, did Xena teach you how to fight?"

Gabrielle didn't respond.

"Hm, not much of a talker, are you? That's funny, I thought you were a bard."

"I am."

"Really? Why don't you tell me a story, hm? How about the one where Xena dies?"

Gabrielle bit her teeth as Callisto laughed.

"Okay, any other would do," Callisto decided, but Gabrielle didn't respond.

Gabrielle was quiet all the way to Amphipolis and Callisto didn't tease her anymore. She did carefully observe her, though, and she saw that Gabrielle was devastated by Xena's death. It bothered Callisto that the Destroyer of Nations had such an innocent friend like Gabrielle. It bothered her when she heard that Xena had changed, but that she could get such a friend bothered her even more.

They finally arrived to Amphipolis and Callisto smiled inwardly as she watched the villagers' faces become serious when they realized what was on Argo's back.

When they got to the tavern, Gabrielle tethered Argo and went inside. She looked around and quickly noticed Xena's mother. She approached her.

"Gabrielle!" Cyrene said, glad to see her. "What's wrong?" she asked when she saw Gabrielle's sad look.

"Xena's dead," Gabrielle said quietly and her eyes became wet again.

Cyrene's face became serious and she followed the bard out. The first thing she noticed outside was a blond warrior who was still sitting on her horse. Then she noticed Argo and the cargo she was carrying. She gulped and went to the mare. She caressed the cargo and waited until Gabrielle unfastened it. Then she carefully slid the cargo into her arms and carried it inside. Gabrielle made way.

When they disappeared inside, Callisto smiled and left.

Cyrene took Xena's body into her room and unwrapped it. She saw that Gabrielle had already washed it.

"How did she die?" she asked after staring at Xena's face for a while.

"She was poisoned."

Cyrene looked at Gabrielle, surprised.

"Will you bury her next to Lyceus?" Gabrielle asked.

Cyrene nodded and hugged Gabrielle, who had a hard time holding back the tears. Gabrielle then burst into tears and Cyrene joined her.

Callisto stopped outside Amphipolis and made a camp. She didn't expect that Xena would be buried immediately, so she went hunting.

Finally Callisto saw that the burial was taking place. She followed the funeral train to a small tomb and then returned to her camp.

Callisto waited a day and then went to the tomb.

She noticed that there were two sarcophaguses inside. She briefly examined the older one and then stopped at Xena's. She touched it and then stared at it for a while, angry at Xena for not being able to stand a simple poison. She had looked forward to making Xena suffer for so long, but now she was dead and life suddenly stopped having a meaning. It was not fair! For a moment she thought about killing herself, but then she realized that Hades just might send Xena to the Elysian Fields. It would be no use killing herself and then not being able to torture Xena in Tartarus. All her planing thrown away because she had overestimated Xena's abilities. I could just kill myself, she thought and grinned as she recalled that that's what she told Gabrielle. Well, no chance of that.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She figured it was either Gabrielle or Xena's mother.

It was Xena's mother and she was surprised to find a stranger in her daughter's tomb.

"Are you a friend of Xena's?" Cyrene asked when she got to Xena's sarcophagus.

Callisto gave her a surprised look and then laughed. Cyrene stared at her, confused.

"No, woman," she said after she stopped laughing, "I'm the one who killed her."

Cyrene's face went pale. Callisto grinned and ran her hand across the lid.

"Why?" Cyrene asked.

Callisto turned to her and cocked her head.

"It wasn't my intention, you know, I just wanted her out of the picture long enough so I could destroy her reputation. Unfortunately I overestimated Xena's abilities. As to why," Callisto's face became serious, "she killed my family."

She ran her hand across the lid again and then started to leave.

"Would you like to know why Xena became a warlord?" Cyrene asked.

Callisto turned, surprised. She wanted to yell at the woman and tell her that she didn't care, but a part of her wanted, needed to know. She returned to the sarcophagus.

"Speak," she said.

Cyrene turned to the sarcophagus.

"When Xena was a young woman, a warlord named Cortese attacked Amphipolis. Xena brought up an army to protect us. She was successful and we repelled Cortese, but her younger brother, Lyceus, was killed. That is his tomb," she said and pointed at the older tomb. "After that, Xena started to conquer the neighboring villages to make a protective buffer around Amphipolis. She wasn't evil until Caesar betrayed her and even then she only killed soldiers."

Cyrene paused when she saw that Callisto was about to make an angry comment, but Callisto restrained herself.

"She started to change when she met Hercules," Cyrene continued. "After her own army banished her, she wanted to stop fighting, but then she saved Gabrielle's village from slavers and she realized that she couldn't leave the past behind. She came home, but I couldn't forgive her for what she had done. She tried to warn us about Draco, but we didn't trust her and we didn't listen to her. In the end, she managed to defeat Draco in a fight and he left. That's when I realized that she had changed and I was able to forgive her." She paused. "I hope you won't become like her."

They were quiet for a while and then Cyrene left. Callisto stared at Xena's tomb.

I wonder…

The End