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No one got much sleep that night. Morning found them all still tired and, in the case of Xena and Gabrielle, more irritable than ever. Silently they began gathering their things and packing Argo, the tension in the camp building steadily. Finally Cor had had enough. Clearing his throat he said, "I think I must have slept on a pile of rocks last night. I’m going to stretch a bit. I’ll meet the two of you out on the road." Buckling his scabbard to his waist, he left the clearing, hoping that Xena and Gabrielle would clear the air while he was gone.

Without a word, Xena watched Cor leave, not in the mood to speak to him any more than she was in the mood to speak to Gabrielle. Still maintaining her silence, she continued loading their gear onto Argo, before swinging onto the mare’s back. Glancing over at Gabrielle, she set her face into a blank mask before asking, "Ready?"

Gabrielle looked at Xena for the first time since she had arisen that morning and found her sitting astride Argo. She realized that the other woman had gone into "Warrior Princess mode" and had retreated well behind her defensive shield. Her face was expressionless, her voice monotone and her eyes cold. Gabrielle couldn’t figure out how things had suddenly gotten so twisted around. She was the one who was supposed to be angry with Xena, but somehow Xena had ended up more angry with her than she had ever seen her before. "Xena, I think....," she began, hoping that somehow the right words would magically come out.

The sound of someone stumbling through the forest to her left caused the words to die in her throat. As she watched, a tired young man stumbled into their clearing, before stopping short at the sight of the two women. Even though he was wearing a sword around his waist, he looked more like a farmer than a woodsman or a soldier. He slowly looked at Gabrielle and at Xena, and Gabrielle nearly laughed aloud when she saw his eyes almost bulge out of their sockets at the sight of the warrior. "Are you Xena, the Warrior Princess?" he managed to ask.

Xena’s eyes narrowed fractionally. "Yes," she replied guardedly, never certain what people’s reaction would be to her.

This time, however, the reaction was positive. "Thank the gods!" the young man exclaimed excitedly. "We’d heard rumors you were in the area. They sent me for help, but I never really expected to find you."

"Calm down. What are you talking about? Why are you looking for help?"

"My name is Nikias. I’m from a small farming community about a half day’s walk from here," he replied, pointing off towards the west. "We’re not even a village, but the soil is rich and we live well. At least we did until a few days ago. Raiders have been attacking us, taking everything they can get their hands on. None of us have any experience dealing with people like this, so several of us volunteered to try and find help. Please, we need someone to deal with these bandits before they get tired of just robbing us."

"How many are there?" Xena asked thoughtfully.

"Eight of them, half with swords, although maybe they all have swords by now," he replied.

"Eight?" Xena asked surprised. "You’re sure it’s the same eight each time?"

Nikias nodded. "We’ve seen them three times, I’ve seen them twice myself. They were the same men both times. They don’t wear uniforms or anything, and they haven’t mentioned a larger army." He gave her a rather embarrassed look. "I know it may not seem like much of a threat to someone like you, but we’re just farmers, and most of the people there are either too old or too young to be much good fighting bandits."

Xena realized that it was probably a gang of thugs who had decided it would be easier to stay in one place and terrorize farmers, than to travel the roads attacking travelers. Reaching a decision, she nodded briefly. "All right. I’ll help."

Gabrielle had been following their conversation closely, even though she hadn’t been participating in it. Hearing Xena’s words, she picked up her staff before asking, "Xena, do you want me to go get Cor or do you want to go get him yourself?"

Glancing at Gabrielle, Xena shook her head. "No Gabrielle. I said I would help, not we. You go find Cor and keep heading towards Agranor. I’ll catch up with you soon enough."

The look on Xena’s face warned Gabrielle not to object, but she refused to let that stop her. "Xena, it won’t take anytime to get Cor and then we can all go. There’s no reason for you to do this alone."

Out of patience, Xena snapped at her angrily. "Don’t be foolish Gabrielle. You and Cor are on foot and slower than I am on Argo. We’ve made poor time for the past couple of days and today we can finally make it up. Besides, we’re talking about eight men here. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of this on my own. I don’t need your help! Now go find Cor and I’ll meet you in Agranor as soon as I’m done."

Stung by Xena’s words, Gabrielle refused to let her see just how badly they had hurt her. Drawing herself up, she stared Xena coolly in the eyes. "Fine. And when should we expect to see you?" she asked icily.

"Not before late tomorrow, and that’s only if I’m able to find them fairly quickly," she replied evenly. "Get a room at the inn and wait for me. I’ll find you as soon as I get there." Turning away without another word, she nodded for Nikias to lead the way.

Gabrielle watched them walk away, before turning and making her way to where Cor was waiting. It only took her a few minutes to find him. Forcing a smile onto her face, she asked brightly, "Are you ready to go?"

Cor looked at Gabrielle with a confused expression. He had seen her before she had seen him and he knew that something was definitely wrong. "Sure...but where’s Xena?" he asked slowly.

"Some guy came along, looking for someone to help take care of bandits who were attacking farms in his community. Xena decided to go with him and said that we should continue on to Agranor," Gabrielle said, pretending a lightness she definitely did not feel.

"She went off to handle it alone?" Cor asked in disbelief. "What kind of logic is that?"

Gabrielle shrugged. "Xena logic. Apparently there are only eight raiders. She said she didn’t need any help and that we’d just slow her down."

Cor knew Xena didn’t need any help to deal with a handful of common brigands, but he still didn’t like the way this felt. Looking at Gabrielle, however, he was forced to admit that maybe this was for the best after all. A little time apart might ease tensions and force these two idiots to realize just how much they needed one another. "Okay," he finally said. "Let’s get going. You set the pace and don’t push it. If you need to rest your ankle, then rest."

The trip to Agranor was largely forgettable. Gabrielle occasionally told a story to pass the time, but was generally too absorbed in her thoughts to tell much of a tale. They traveled slowly, since Gabrielle’s ankle was still a bit tender, and they didn’t reach the town until it was nearly dark. Stepping into the tavern, they made their way to a table where Gabrielle sat down. Cor hesitated for a moment before turning to her. "Are you okay with just getting the one room? I don’t particularly care about sleeping in a bed anyway, and it seems sort of foolish to waste the money."

Gabrielle realized that she hadn’t even thought about the sleeping arrangements. Although it seemed strange to share a room with Cor, she couldn’t think of any particular reason not to. After all, they’d been sleeping a few feet away from one other around a campfire for the past several nights. "One room is fine," she finally said.

Cor nodded and then went to speak to the innkeeper, stopping along the way to talk with the barmaid. After a couple of minutes he returned, just as the woman was bringing two plates covered with food to their table. Thanking her, they began to eat, both enjoying the chance to relax and take things easy.

Cor studied Gabrielle as he ate, wondering what she was feeling. He knew she was upset about the way things were going with Xena, and he was willing to wager everything he owned that she was just as in love with Xena as Xena was with her. He wanted to just reach out and shake her and make her realize how foolish she was being, but unfortunately he had promised Xena he would stay out of the situation between her and Gabrielle. Slowly, a large grin began to spread across his face. ‘Well, technically I didn’t promise to stay out of it,’ he thought to himself. ‘I only promised not to tell Gabrielle the truth about Sairen. Now all I have to do is figure out how to make Gabrielle realize for herself that she’s in love with Xena.’

Cor considered several different approaches, before finally deciding on the best method of attack. Knowing that she had enjoyed the meal, he made a few casual comments about the food and then mentioned the innkeeper’s wife who had cooked everything. Continuing to discuss the wife, he slowly started talking about marriage and, after a few more minutes of innocuous questions and comments, he casually asked his first "real" question of the bard.

"So Gabrielle, Xena mentioned that you'd been married before...." He left the sentence hanging, not entirely certain of what her reaction would be to his comment.

Somewhat taken aback that Xena had told him about that, Gabrielle replied, "Yes I was. His name was Perdicus. He was from my hometown...Xena told you about him?"

"A little," he admitted. "She made a comment back when we were in Trezine about you having been married, so I asked about it. You don’t mind do you?"

"No I don’t mind, I’m just kinda surprised," she said, oddly relieved to know that Xena hadn’t told Cor about Perdicus after their fight last night. "She isn’t usually that easy to get information out of."

Cor grinned in a conspiratorial fashion. ‘First hurdle crossed,’ he thought to himself. "You’re telling me. It was like pulling teeth to get what I did out of her. About all she told me was that he was a farmer from your hometown, that you saw him again in Troy for a day or two, and then met him again months later when he visited your camp." He paused for a moment, to take a sip of wine, before continuing. "So tell me, what was he like?"

Gabrielle smiled as she thought of her former love. "He was kind and gentle, warm and loving. We grew up together in Poteidaia. He was my best friend...we did everything together." She chuckled at the memories that came back to her, and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "We used to get into so much trouble. Well...actually Perdicus was usually the one who ended up getting in trouble. He always took the blame for me. He could never say no to any of my crazy schemes." Her face clouded over when she said the last part, and Cor saw a fleeting expression of guilt cross her features.

Taking another sip of his wine, Cor asked, "Did I understand Xena correctly? Were you betrothed to him before you met her?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, I was." She smiled again before continuing. "I don’t really remember him ever asking me. Everyone just sort of expected us to get married, since we seemed so perfect for one another and, somehow or other, we ended up betrothed. But when I met Xena, I realized I couldn’t go through with it. I just wanted to see the world. The life of a villager just seemed so dull. I never really expected to see him again. Strange how things work out...." Her voice trailed away as she became lost in her thoughts.

"And then you met up with him again in Troy. That must have been quite a surprise, huh? Troy’s a pretty strange place for someone like him to find himself, isn’t it?"

Gabrielle’s face took on a guilty aspect once more. "Yes, I guess it was. After I left, Perdicus decided it was time for him to get out and see the world too. He thought fighting for Helen of Troy would be a noble, exciting cause, so he joined the Trojan army. He was so different from the boy I had left behind in Poteidaia. He wasn’t the farmer I remembered. He had become a soldier, a warrior." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But after the battle had ended, we decided to go our separate ways. He went off to find another battle and I went with Xena."

Cor chose his next words with extreme care. "And then one night he showed back up and asked you to marry him?"

Gabrielle nodded. "I didn’t know what to say at first. But eventually I realized that I loved him and that marrying him would be the best thing for me. So I said yes and we got married the next day. But....," she took a deep breath, unable to continue.

"It’s okay Gabrielle," Cor said comfortingly. "I know the rest of the story." Gabrielle smiled at him gratefully, thankful she wouldn’t have to relive that scene again.

The two sat in silence for several minutes, Gabrielle thinking about Perdicus, Cor trying to figure out the best words to use to ask his next question. Before he could try, though, Gabrielle asked a question of her own. "Have you ever been married Cor?"

Startled, Cor paused for a second as the image of Sairen dominated his thoughts. His hand involuntarily touched the metal bracer on his right wrist as he answered Gabrielle’s question. "Yes, yes I was. For a little over a year."

Gabrielle noticed his hand moving to the bracer and wondered again at its importance. Even when Cor had been swimming with Xena, he had still worn that bracer. Obviously it had some connection to his wife. Seeing the sadness that had instantly filled his eyes, she asked quietly, "What was her name?"

Cor suddenly felt uncomfortable. He had promised Xena he wouldn’t tell Gabrielle the truth about Sairen, but when he made that promise he hadn’t expected he would have to lie about him. "Sairen. We were both in Xena’s army. Well actually, Sairen was never really in Xena’s army. Sairen was a mercenary of sorts who considered Xena to be nothing more than a bloodthirsty warlord; used to call her the ‘Bandit Princess.’" He chuckled at the memory.

"What was Sairen like?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

Cor smiled. "A lot like you actually. Sairen was a warrior with the heart of a bard. Open, friendly, confident, brave. Never backed down from a challenge," he paused to grin at Gabrielle, "And very good with a staff."

Gabrielle smiled back at him before asking gently, "What happened to her?"

Cor’s voice took on a lifeless, almost mechanical quality. "Riding accident. The horse stepped in a hole and fell. Sairen was thrown, h...her neck was broken. She died instantly." He took a deep breath and downed the rest of his wine, before motioning to the barmaid for a refill.

Gabrielle reached out and placed her hand on his arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I’m sorry Cor," she whispered, as her heart went out to this man who usually seemed so happy.

Cor took another deep, calming breath, before looking at Gabrielle. Seeing the concern in her eyes, he smiled reassuringly. "It’s okay. Really, I’m fine. It’s been over two years, but not a day goes by that I don’t think about Sairen, that I don’t see hi...that I don’t see her face." He paused for a moment, collecting himself. "But I guess you know all about that, don’t you?"

Disconcerted and confused, Gabrielle suddenly realized that it had been weeks since she had thought about Perdicus, except in passing. Desperately she tried to recall the image of his face but, to her astonishment, she found that she was unable to remember exactly what he looked like. She didn’t see how this could be possible. How could Cor still remember his wife so clearly after she'd been gone for over two years? She had known Perdicus all her life and he’d only been gone a fraction of that time. "Yeah, I guess I do," she managed to mumble, as she struggled with her thoughts, unaware that her reaction was rapidly confirming what Cor has suspected all along about her marriage. "Sairen sounds like a very special person. You must have loved her very much Cor," Gabrielle finally said, trying to steer the subject away from her and Perdicus, needing to give herself time to think about this new revelation.

"I did. Sairen had the other half of my soul."

Gabrielle’s head shot up at his last comment. "‘The other half of your soul?’ You know that story?"

Cor chuckled. "You mean about the people with four legs and two heads?" Seeing Gabrielle nod vigorously, he continued, "Yeah, it was one of Sairen’s favorite stories. I used to hear it all the time."

Gabrielle stared into her glass for several moments, before quietly asking, "And do you think it’s true? That there’s one person out there who shares our soul?"

"I know it’s true. Something inside me called me to Sairen...and when...she died, a part of me died too. Fortunately, a part of Sairen still lives within me, so she’ll never really be gone."

"So if it’s really true, why does it have to be so hard to find your soulmate?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

Cor considered his answer carefully before replying. He knew he was walking a thin line as far as his promise to Xena was concerned, but he had never really promised he wouldn’t try and knock some sense into the young woman’s head. "Because that kind of love, the love between soulmates, is the greatest gift mankind was ever given. And a gift like that comes with a price that most people aren’t willing to pay."

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked, confused by his response.

"I mean that there are all kinds of love. Love between family, friends...you name it, it’s there. But to totally and completely love someone means you open yourself up to the possibility of being unbelievably hurt. You have to be willing to risk everything." He shrugged. "Most people are either unable or unwilling to do that. So they settle. Convince themselves that the ‘friendly’ love they feel for someone is ‘true love’. It’s easier. It’s safer. It’s polite."

"Polite? What do you mean it’s polite?"

Cor shrugged once more. "I mean when someone you care about tells you that they’re in love with you, it’s kinda hard to just say ‘that’s nice’. It’s much more comfortable to tell them you love them back and, if you do it enough times, you might even start to believe it yourself."

Gabrielle looked at him sharply as he said the last part. Something in the way he had spoken made it sound as if he was directing his comments specifically towards her. When she scrutinized the expression on his face, however, she could see nothing that would indicate he was deliberately focusing on her. She shook her head ruefully. Obviously she was still so upset about the situation with Xena that she was becoming paranoid. There was no reason why Cor would think she had ever done anything like that. Feeling rather uncomfortable with the direction their conversation had taken, but not fully understanding why, Gabrielle again tried to turn the focus back to Cor, still curious about this woman he had chosen over Xena. "So when did you know, Cor? When did you know that you’d found your soulmate?"

"I knew it the moment our eyes first met. It was like we had always known one another. I knew in that one instant that this was the person I was supposed to be with. Of course, I was lucky. It takes some people a lot longer to see what’s right in front of their eyes. Sairen, for example, was pretty stubborn and refused to believe we were meant for one another. But I can be mighty persuasive when I really want to be," he said as he grinned at her.

Gabrielle smiled back at him distractedly, as she became lost in her thoughts. Cor watched her while he finished his drink in silence. Rising from the table to head upstairs to their room, he hesitated for a brief moment and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. As she looked up into his eyes, he saw the confusion on her face and his heart went out to her, knowing that all of this had to be difficult for her. "So Gabrielle?" he said, looking at her quizzically. "When did you know that you’d found the other half of your soul?" he asked quietly, before leaving her to private contemplation.

Gabrielle slept in the next day. She didn’t have anywhere in particular to be, and she’d been up all night trying to sort out her feelings about, well about almost everything. She spent the day wandering around the village but there wasn’t much to see in Agranor and, since she wasn’t in the mood for company, she kept to herself as much as possible. As she walked around, she tried to organize her thoughts, but she was still no closer to figuring anything out by the time she turned in for the night.

The next day started out much the same as the one before. She and Cor sparred for a while during the morning, but her heart wasn’t in it. Nothing made sense anymore and she couldn’t understand how things had gotten twisted around so fast. If someone had asked her about Perdicus and Xena a few weeks ago, she would have said that she’d loved Perdicus and missed him terribly, and that Xena was her best friend and always would be. Now, however, she was questioning everything about two of the most important relationships in her entire life and she was still no closer to figuring out how she felt about any of this. As she finally settled down for bed that night, she couldn’t help being a little concerned that Xena hadn’t arrived yet. On the other hand, she rather doubted that Xena was in any particular hurry to catch up to her at the moment.

Gabrielle rose early the next morning and went for a long walk, eventually ending up beside the edge of a large lake. As she sat on the shore, she thought about all the times she had been at places like this with Perdicus. The memories brought back good feelings of her childhood in Poteidaia, and she lay back on the grass to let the sun warm her as her mind traveled back to her village. After a while, she stood and stretched and continued her walk around the lake. Eventually she stumbled upon a thin piece of rope that looked as if it had been used as a fish stringer. Immediately she thought of Xena and how she had once used a string of fish to pulverize a gang of men who were intent on taking a young boy to be sacrificed at an altar. She smiled when she remembered how Xena had looked while she had been fighting those men. It was their own fault though. They had, after all, ruined a perfectly lovely....

And there it was...Finally, things made sense again.

When Gabrielle returned to the village, she was surprised to learn that there had been no word from Xena. The day grew later and eventually darkness fell, but there was still no sign of the warrior. Cor and Gabrielle reassured each other that there was nothing to worry about, that Xena had obviously just had trouble finding the bandits. However, neither one really believed anything they were saying.

Gabrielle said her goodnights early and went up to their room, needing to be alone to think things through. She had the first answer she needed; she had finally figured out when she had found the other half of her soul. It wasn’t in Poteidaia; it wasn’t in Troy; and it wasn’t the night that she had agreed to marry Perdicus.

It was nearly two years ago, when she had been standing in a clearing outside her village and a powerful, beautiful woman had appeared out of nowhere to save her life and capture her heart.

Gabrielle rose early the next morning. Xena had still not arrived, and that fact was beginning to make her more and more nervous. There was no reason that it should have taken her this long to get here. Even if she'd been delayed for some reason, she would have sent word.

By the time midday had rolled around, Gabrielle had had enough. She went looking for Cor and found him in their room packing. "Come on, we’re going to go find her," he said, as he tossed her pack to her and walked out the door. They settled their bill and left a message with the innkeeper in case Xena showed up after they left, then set off down the road back to where they had seen her last. They reached their old campsite shortly after darkness fell and reluctantly set up camp, knowing that it would be foolish to try to go any further that night. Eventually they settled down to sleep, neither one of them expecting to do much of it.

For once Gabrielle had no trouble waking up. When it was light enough to see, they were off once more, determined to find Xena as soon as possible. The warrior’s trail was fairly easy to follow, but still they were forced to travel slower than they would have liked. After several hours had gone by, they came to a low ravine surrounded on either side by trees. As they passed through the gorge, they could see that most of the grass in the area had been trampled down. Here and there, blood stains covered the ground. They continued to search the area, finding a few pieces of armor with insignia that neither recognized, as well as a broken sword. Gabrielle’s anxiety steadily increased, certain that at any second they would find Xena’s lifeless body. It was obvious that dozens of men had recently been at this site and, as much confidence as she had in her friend’s fighting abilities, she had to admit that even the Warrior Princess would be hard pressed to fight off so many attackers.

"Gabrielle, over here!" she heard Cor shout urgently.

"Xena?" she asked hopefully, yet fearfully, as she ran to where he was standing.

"Not exactly," he said, as she saw him reach around the side of the tree and then pull. As his hand came back into view, she saw that he was holding Xena’s chakram.

Gabrielle swallowed hard. "Xena would never leave that behind....," she began, but she was unable to put the rest of her thoughts into words.

Cor nodded silently, considering the implications of what they had found. "Okay," he said finally. "It’s pretty obvious she was ambushed here. The chakram is still here. That means she didn’t give chase to whoever attacked her. Her body isn’t here, so I’m guessing they took her captive." He paused to think some more. "Xena would not be an easy person to take alive, so if they went to the effort to capture her then they probably knew who she was and wanted her for some specific reason. That means they’ll keep her alive." As Gabrielle watched, Cor’s face hardened and a cold look came into his eyes. He handed the chakram to Gabrielle as he rapidly checked his weapons. "All right let’s go; wherever she is, she’s in trouble," he said in a quiet, deadly voice.

"Cor," Gabrielle said hesitantly, startled by the sudden change in him. "Can you use this?" she asked, holding out the chakram.

For an instant, a ghost of a smile formed on Cor’s lips and a rather embarrassed look appeared on his face. "No, I can’t. Xena tried to teach me once but I was absolutely hopeless. About the only thing I ever managed to do with it was to nearly sever my own hand. I could never learn how to use it at all."

Following the trail of Xena’s ambushers was extremely easy, since they were following the tracks of 30 or 40 horses through the forest and then onto the plains. Late that afternoon they finally reached a road running east and west, where the tracks mixed with those of countless others, making it impossible to follow them any further. Fortunately, a small city could be seen on a hill off to the west so, crossing their fingers, they headed in that direction. As they approached the main gate to the city, they could see several soldiers standing guard. Their armor bore the same insignia as the armor the two of them had found at the ambush site. Cor’s eyes narrowed as he watched the guards, fighting the urge to draw his sword and demand to know what had happened to his friend. The guards barely paid them a second glance as they walked through the gates, seeing only an exhausted man and woman covered with trail dust.

Gabrielle sighed softly as she looked around the city. "Now what?"

"I’m working on it," Cor replied quietly. "We’ve obviously come to the right place though."

Gabrielle nodded. Suddenly she whirled around to face Cor, a stunned expression on her face.

"Gabrielle, what is it?" Cor asked, confused by her behavior.

"That soldier behind me, over by the blacksmith. Tall, blond, thin...do you see him?" Cor looked to where she had indicated and nodded. "That’s Nikias...the farmer who asked Xena for help."

"Are you sure Gabrielle? Absolutely sure?" he asked, needing to know for certain.

"Positive. He looks a little different but not that much. It’s him."

Cor’s expression became unreadable. "All right. I’ll find out what we need to know from him. You need to keep out of sight; he can surely recognize you too. Wait for me in the tavern...I’ll be there as soon as I get finished." Seeing her nod in agreement, he handed her his pack and then watched as she entered the tavern. Smiling a grim, humorless smile, he began to follow Nikias, waiting for the soldier to make his first, costly mistake.

Xena rode away from Gabrielle, her thoughts and emotions in a whirl. Nikias prattled on and on about meaningless things, until Xena finally glared at him and he fell silent under the weight of her stare.

Time passed slowly as Nikias led Xena towards the farms. ‘I guess I should be grateful to this fool,’ she thought to herself. ‘He gave me the excuse I needed to get away from those two. Maybe now I can finally sort through all of this.’ Not particularly paying attention to where she was and what she was doing, Xena allowed herself to dwell on the situation with Gabrielle. She could see where she had gotten the wrong idea about Cor. But why would she assume that Xena wouldn’t want her around if she and Cor were to get married? She hadn’t acted like that when they were with Marcus...of course with Marcus there had never been any real possibility of his staying. ‘Still, I thought we meant something to each other...I accused her of just killing time with me...Is that really how she feels about our relationship?’

Caught up in her thoughts and concerns about Gabrielle, Xena didn’t sense the ambush until an instant before she heard the sounds of men charging out of the trees and down into the ravine she had just entered. Knowing the odds were against her, but determined not to go down without a fight, she drew her chakram and sent it flying towards a group of men. She watched in satisfaction as it bounced off several of them, knocking them from their horses and wounding a few others in the process. Readying herself to make a run for it, she reached down to pull Nikias into the saddle behind her. To her astonishment, he braced himself and pulled her down from Argo, rolling clear of her in the process.

Cursing herself for her inattention and stupidity, Xena drew her sword, determined to take as many of her attackers down with her as she could, and hoping in the back of her mind that she would somehow be able to reach Argo. Viciously swinging her sword in a wide arc, she fought off several of her attackers, going for quick kills whenever possible, knowing that she was vastly outnumbered. To her surprise the attackers pressed on, heedless of their own safety and, eventually, through sheer force of numbers, she was overwhelmed. The last thing she heard was a sound behind her, before pain exploded in the back of her head and she fell into unconsciousness.

Slowly Xena became aware of her surroundings. Anger flooded through her as she remembered what had happened, but her earlier training helped her control her emotions. Knowing that her only weapon now was the element of surprise, she pretended to still be unconscious, while she carefully assessed her situation. She was bound, gagged and had a hood over her head. ‘Certainly not taking any chances, are they?’ she thought wryly. She was tied to the back of a horse, but she knew that it was not Argo. Wherever they were taking her they were obviously in a hurry, judging by the beating she was taking from bouncing on the animal’s back.

After what seemed like forever, she began to hear the sounds of the city. The horses slowed as they approached and she heard the sounds growing louder and more distinct. She could hear the laughter of the guards as they rode through what she assumed were the gates, and sensed the stares of people surrounding them as a sudden hush accompanied their movements through the town. Soon they came to a halt and she felt hands holding her down while she was untied. Unceremoniously she was pulled from the horse. She landed hard on the ground and was immediately kicked in the side and ordered to get up. Knowing it would do no good to continue to pretend to be unconscious, she struggled to her feet. She was dragged along and led blindly for several minutes before finally coming to a stop.

"My Lord, as ordered we have captured and brought Xena to you," she heard Nikias say.

"Excellent!" The voice was familiar, but Xena was unable to place it. "Remove her hood and then you may leave to collect your reward."

Blinking several times at the sudden light, Xena struggled to focus on the man standing in front of her. She recognized the face from her past. "Traymon," she said coolly.

He smiled evilly. "You remembered me. I’m touched," he said.

"Well I always thought so," she said with a cocky grin. "You didn’t need to go to all this trouble Traymon, a simple invitation would have been enough."

"Same old Xena...haven’t changed a bit have you? First things first though." Lashing out suddenly, he slapped her hard across the face.

Xena could taste the blood in her mouth, as she slowly straightened to face him again. Taking a moment to collect herself, she regarded Traymon calmly. "So much for small talk, huh?"

"That was payback for the last time we met when you slapped me in front of my men. I’ve owed you that one for a long time."

"So now we’re even?" she asked with a sneer.

He chuckled. "Oh no Xena...we have much to do before we’re even."

"What do you want with me Traymon?" she asked in a bored tone, tired of his silly games.

"Revenge. Pure sweet revenge. Six years ago you killed my son. Now at last you will pay for that. And the price, I assure you, will be high." Leaning closer to her, he whispered softly. "I’m going to kill you Xena, but not quickly, oh no, not quickly. And before I’m done you will be begging me to end your worthless life," he gloated, pure, unadulterated joy showing on his face.

"Don’t count on it Traymon." Xena said coldly. "I don’t make a habit of groveling to pigs."

Deliberately he drew his sword and, placing the tip under Xena’s chin, he slowly lifted her head until her neck was exposed. Xena simply glared at him defiantly. "This will be a great achievement, bringing the Warrior Princess to her knees, begging like a coward. You know Xena, I’ve always considered torture an art form...and you, you will be my greatest masterpiece!" Turning his sword around, he struck her with the pommel, driving her to the floor and knocking her unconscious. Sheathing his blade, he turned to two of the guards standing nearby. "Take her to her cell and lock her up...I’ll be there shortly," he ordered, as he smiled to himself. Today had been one of the best days he had had in ages, and things could only get better now that he had Xena.

Gabrielle waited impatiently in the tavern for Cor to return. All the while, she kept a sharp eye on the door, worried that Nikias might wander in and recognize her. The tavern appeared quite popular with the townspeople, and Gabrielle was soon doing her best to question the locals about their city, as well as everyone and everything in it. Her open face and friendly smile quickly endeared her to the patrons and soon they were providing her with all the information she could want. It didn’t take long to learn that the city’s name was Uthranis and that the local lord’s name was Traymon. Traymon was apparently not well thought of by the common people; vicious, ruthless, and cruel were the words she most often heard associated with his name. His soldiers were not generally well liked either, although there were some exceptions. All in all, the city did not appear to be a happy, peaceful place, Gabrielle decided wryly.

Eventually though, she got all the information out of them that she could, and retired to an out of the way table where she could keep an eye on the door and still be left alone. As she sat nursing her drink, a young barmaid approached her hesitantly. "Excuse me, but aren’t you the bard Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle looked up at her in surprise. The woman didn’t appear threatening, but the bard wasn’t willing to take any chances. She instinctively gripped her staff more tightly before she replied, "Yes, I’m Gabrielle."

The woman smiled broadly. "I thought I recognized you. You travel with Xena don’t you?" She looked around hopefully. "Is she here with you?"

"Not exactly," Gabrielle answered cautiously. "How do you know who I am?"

Sitting down next to Gabrielle, the woman smiled in a friendly manner. "You and Xena saved my sister’s village, Melphissa. It was months ago, so you probably don’t even remember it, but I was visiting my sister at the time and I’ll never forget the two of you!"

Gabrielle vaguely remembered the incident. It had been much like the battle they had recently fought in Trezine, although on a much smaller scale. Reassured that the woman intended no trouble, Gabrielle smiled for the first time. "Actually, I do remember Melphissa. I’m glad we were able to help your sister’s village."

To her surprise, the young woman didn’t get up to leave, but instead leaned in closer. "So," she whispered, "are you and Xena here to help the rebellion?"

"Rebellion?" Gabrielle asked in surprise. "No, I don’t know anything about that. What are you talking about?"

"The rebels are getting ready to overthrow Lord Traymon. I assumed since you were here that you and Xena had come to help. Lord Traymon is an evil man, no better than the warlord who was attacking my sister’s village."

Considering what she had heard so far that evening, Gabrielle was inclined to agree. Still, she knew that she’d been getting a decidedly one-sided look at the local lord. "Well, we don’t have any plans like that, but I can mention it to Xena when I see her," Gabrielle said neutrally.

The woman broke into a huge smile. "That would be wonderful. With you and Xena fighting with us, I know we’d be successful. By the way, I’m Sirrestia," she said, holding out her hand, blushing as she realized that she had only just remembered to introduce herself.

"Good to meet you Sirrestia," Gabrielle said, as she took the woman’s hand.

Sirrestia smiled and rose from her seat. "I need to get back to work. I’ll bring my brother over to meet you when he gets here. He can tell you more about our plans."

Gabrielle watched her walk away, noticing as she did that Cor had finally arrived. Looking around, he caught sight of her and walked to her table, stopping momentarily at the bar to grab a mug of ale. Gabrielle rose and switched seats, allowing him to have the chair with its back to the wall. As he took a drink, Gabrielle studied him carefully, realizing that she hardly recognized him. The funny, gentle man she had spent the last several days with was gone. Ever since they had found Xena’s chakram, Cor had been cold, hard and remote, and she was finally able to see how he had fit into Xena’s army. There was a deadliness about him at the moment, a pitiless dark fury, a barely suppressed rage that in some ways resembled Xena at her worst. Gabrielle was just grateful that none of Cor’s anger was directed towards her. "You talked to him?" she finally asked, although it was more a statement than a question.

He nodded. "You were right; he was the farmer. The whole thing was a setup to capture her. He led her into the ambush and then they brought her here to Lord Traymon, the leader of this city." He took a long drink before continuing. "On pain of death, they were under orders to capture her alive and keep her in good health. Nikias turned her over to Traymon several days ago and hasn’t seen her since, so he couldn’t give me any more information. He was pretty sure she was still alive though."

"So she’s in Traymon’s fortress?"

"Apparently. Nikias said that the last he’d heard, she'd been taken to the prison there. He gave me a general idea of the layout of the fortress, as well as the locations of the guards and such."

"Can we get in there?"

He sighed. "I’m working on a plan. At the moment, though, I’m coming up blank. What about you? Were you able to find out anything that would be helpful?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Maybe," she said, before telling him everything she had learned. When she finished, Cor looked at her thoughtfully.

"A rebellion huh? Traymon definitely deserves to be tossed out. I wonder if we can use this to our advantage?" He looked around the tavern. "Where’s your friend?"

Gabrielle searched for Sirrestia. With a soft gasp, she caught sight of the barmaid. "That’s her, over there with that soldier." Before she could figure out what to do, Sirrestia saw her and smiled and then began to walk towards them with the soldier in tow.

Cor shifted uneasily when he saw the soldier approach. The man was nearly the same size as he was and, from the looks of it, he was a skilled fighter as well. Preparing for the worst, he readied himself for whatever was to come.

Sirrestia smiled when she reached their table. "Gabrielle, I’d like you to meet my brother, Kieros."

Gabrielle gaped at the soldier. "Your brother, but I thought....," she stopped, too confused to continue.

Sirrestia and her brother sat down at the table. "It’s okay, he joined to get inside information. You can trust him," she said smiling. Gabrielle relaxed slightly, noticing that Cor did as well. A clatter in the kitchen caused Sirrestia to jump up quickly. "I’d better take care of that," she said. Turning to her brother, she prodded him gently. "Talk to them. Convince them to join us."

As she walked away, Kieros smiled indulgently at his little sister. Turning back to Gabrielle and Cor, he grinned. "Excuse my sister, she gets a bit...caught up in things at times." He looked them over carefully, assessing them. "My sister told me all about you Gabrielle, but I don’t remember her ever mentioning a man when she talked about you and Xena."

Gabrielle nodded. "This is Cor. He’s a friend of ours, but we haven’t been traveling together that long."

Kieros studied Cor for a few moments, noticing that Cor was observing him as well. "And Xena? Where is she?"

Gabrielle hesitated for a moment, looking at Cor before answering. Seeing him nod, she told Kieros the truth about Xena. He considered her words thoughtfully for several long moments. "So you intend to break into the fortress and rescue her. That’s not going to be easy. The prison is well guarded and, from what you’ve said, I’d guess Traymon considers Xena a prize. That’ll make it even harder to reach her, let alone get her back out." He sat back in his chair, lost in thought, while he considered possible options.

Finally he reached a decision. "I’ll help you; it’s the least I can do after you saved my sister’s village." He cleared his throat. "Cor, I have a plan, but I need you to be honest with me. You look like a capable fighter, but truthfully, how good are you?"

"I was once Xena’s second in command," Cor said simply.

Kieros nodded. "Good, you may well need that skill if this is to work. You’re about my size, I can lend you one of my uniforms and we can go in tomorrow and rescue your friend...."

"Not tomorrow...today, tonight."

"No, tonight won’t work, but tomorrow my plan can save your friend." Seeing Cor about to protest, he held up his hand to stop him. "I know you want to go as soon as possible, but listen to me first. Tomorrow, Lord Traymon is throwing a great feast. Every year on that date he has a huge celebration to honor the memory of his son. He buys enormous amounts of food and wine and invites nearly all of his guards to join in. They’ll start drinking at sunrise and, by early afternoon when the feast starts, at least half of them will be drunk. Even the guards that are still on duty wind up drinking quite a bit, and there aren’t many that are actually ‘on duty’ tomorrow anyway. Now, my sister doesn’t know this yet, but we’re already planning an attack tomorrow when they are most vulnerable...during the feast. And that’s the best time for you to rescue your friend."

Cor considered Kieros’ plan carefully, finally realizing it was their only real chance of success. "Okay, we’ll do it your way. Tell me more."

Gabrielle had been listening quietly and was growing concerned over the direction the conversation was taking. "Yes, tell us more about how we’re going to get Xena back out afterwards," she said deliberately.

"No Gabrielle, you’re not going," Cor immediately objected.

"Because it’s too dangerous? Forget it Cor, Xena pulls that crap on me all the time...you’re not going to do it now too. You and Xena may be...." She paused and took a steadying breath. "Xena is my best friend Cor. I’m going with you."

"Gabrielle, be reasonable. How do you think you’re going to fool them into thinking you’re a guard too? Kieros’ uniforms are not going to fit you!"

Gabrielle set her jaw stubbornly. "Then we’ll come up with an alternative plan for getting me in. I’m not staying behind and that’s final."

Kieros couldn’t help smiling at the young bard’s determination. "Well...there will be a lot of drinking and partying going on...." Seeing Cor’s incredulous look, he laughed shortly. "No, I don’t mean they won’t notice she’s a woman. But she wouldn’t be the only woman around. Traymon brings in women to...well to dance and entertain the soldiers, and quite a few soldiers bring in their own personal companionship for the day. They’d probably just think she was your woman if they saw her."

Cor sighed. He knew that if he was in Gabrielle’s position he would never agree to stay behind. Shrugging his shoulders helplessly, he agreed. "Okay...let’s hear the rest of your plan."

Gabrielle and Cor said goodnight to Kieros and his sister and gratefully went to the room that Sirrestia had arranged for them; it turned out that the inn belonged to her and Kieros. Gabrielle sat on the bed, thinking about Xena and what they were going to have to do the next day. "Cor, do you think the plan will work?" she asked quietly.

"It’s a good plan Gabrielle, better than anything we could have come up with without Kieros’ help." Cor sat down in a chair, going over what needed to be done before they went to the fortress. More importantly, though, there were things that needed to be said. He had been struggling with this issue all evening, and he’d finally decided what he wanted to do. "Gabrielle?" he asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Earlier, when we were talking to Kieros, you started to say something and then changed your mind. When you were trying to convince me that you were coming along, you said that ‘Xena and I may be....’ but you never finished it. What were you planning on saying?"

Embarrassed, Gabrielle didn’t know how to answer. She had thought he had missed that comment, but apparently he hadn’t. "I don’t really remember that Cor," she finally said.

"Yes, you do. What were you going to say?"

Turning away from him, she rose and walked to the window, staring out at nothing. "I was going to say that you and Xena may be lovers, but that she’s still my best friend, and that I was going to go too."

"Ahhh. Well, the problem with that statement, Gabrielle, is that Xena and I aren’t lovers. We never have been, and we never will be."

Gabrielle turned to look at him, disbelief and hope warring inside her for control. "But I saw you...and I heard you talking...."

He shrugged. "I don’t know what you saw or heard, but you can believe me when I say that Xena and I are friends; nothing more, nothing less. She’s just not my type."

"Not your type?" Gabrielle looked at him incredulously. "How can she not be your type?" Gabrielle couldn’t believe she was actually arguing against her own interests, but Cor’s statement was the most bizarre thing she had ever heard. "She’s beautiful, she’s intelligent, she’s brave...."

"And she’s a she."

"What? What are you talking about?" Gabrielle’s brain was frantically working overtime, trying to figure out what Cor was saying.

"She’s a she. A woman. Therefore, not my type."

"But...but what about Sairen?"

He nodded. "Sairen was my type."

Gabrielle frowned, trying to make sense of the last few minutes. "Sairen was a man?"

Cor nodded. He hated breaking his promise but, technically, he had never told Gabrielle the truth...he had merely confirmed it. In any case, there were bigger issues here than Xena’s stubbornness over the issue of Sairen. "Yes, he was the man I loved, the man I married."

"Why didn’t you or Xena tell me then?" she asked in disbelief.

"I didn’t tell you because Xena told me not to. You’ll have to ask Xena why she didn’t tell you."

Gabrielle was quiet for several minutes while she absorbed what had just happened. Finally, she looked at Cor curiously. "So if Xena told you not to tell me, why did you just force the issue?"

"Because, if we’re going to get Xena out of that fortress tomorrow, we have to be able to depend on and trust each other completely. I don’t want there to be any ‘unresolved issues’ between us. I don’t want there to be any kind of problems or tensions between us."

Gabrielle nodded. "I understand Cor, about everything," she said, looking at him thoughtfully. "I guess for now, though, I should try and get some sleep."

"Good idea," he said as he rolled out his bedroll. He waited until she had crawled into bed before blowing out the candle.

Several minutes passed before he heard Gabrielle’s hesitant voice. "Cor?"

"Yeah?"

"About tomorrow...I was thinking...."

"What is it Gabrielle?"

"Well, Nikias could recognize me...and that would spoil our plans...I was just wondering what you did about him...I mean, do we need to worry about him?"

Cor was silent for several moments before he replied. "Gabrielle, don’t ask questions that you really don’t want answered."

Continued