Seeking Forever

“Because that pedlar just won’t give up on Horace,” Xena sighed. “And while Ares with half the warlords in the land after him is a mild worry; Ares without his dog is a major concern.”

Gabrielle glanced back at Ares who was riding behind them, with Horace trotting quietly at his horse’s feet. He smirked at her.

“That isn’t the real reason, is it?” Gabrielle asked Xena, her eyes narrowing.

Xena looked uneasy. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Xena,” Gabrielle growled.

Xena gulped. “Well . . .”

“You’re still punishing me for leaving you amnesiac for a whole year, aren’t you?” Gabrielle exploded. “Forgetting the fact that I was in a coma the whole time. But no – you’re just mad that you nearly got married off to a king who mixed up cows and horses!”

Xena relaxed. “You’re right, Gabrielle. It’s just not fair that I was almost hitched to Hrothgar and you had Beowulf of all people after you!” She watched Gabrielle closely and gave a sigh of relief as Gabrielle’s frown turned into a pleased grin.

“Some things in life just aren’t fair, Xena,” she told her firmly. “There really is no need to keep punishing me –“

“Whoah!” Xena pulled her horse aside, and Gabrielle followed suit, slightly frightened.

“Although you can if you really want to . . .” she began, before realising why Xena had stopped.

A wagon had fallen across the road, and half the goods with it. The pair dismounted hastily to help the young couple who were miserably trying to right it. Xena threw Ares a glance, and he sighed heavily and joined them.

“Can we help?” Gabrielle asked quickly, before Xena began giving orders. “You seem to be in some difficulty.”

“Yes – Timon took this corner a little too fast, and –“ the young woman began, then cleared her throat at her companion’s glare. “Anyway, the wheel broke, and we can’t seem to right the wagon.”

“The horses are tired, Rosa,” Timon told her. “Which is why they didn’t take the corner as easily.”

Rosa rolled her eyes – and Xena followed suit.

“Here – we’ll lift this end, and you can put this stump underneath,” Xena directed. “Don’t bother picking up your belongings yet.”

“It’s too heavy – we’ve tried already,” Rosa pointed out. Then she stared, as Xena and Ares together lifted up the wagon. “Um – ok, I’ll get the stump.”

They righted the wagon, then helped fix the broken wheel, before piling the wagon up again.

“Have you far to go?” Gabrielle asked, lifting another pile of scrolls onto the wagon. “I think your load might be too heavy for the wheels, especially with a mended one.”

“We should reach the Elijan village by nightfall, now you’ve helped us,” Timon assured her, smiling now. He took Rosa’s hand. “And I will be more careful around the corners . . .”

Xena and Gabrielle looked at one another swiftly. “An Elijan village? You don’t happen to know if a girl called Eve is there, do you?”

“We don’t know anyone there yet,” Rosa explained. “But you’re welcome to come along with us and visit.”

Ares’ face was pained. “Thanks, but –“

“We’d be glad to,” Xena ended firmly. She walked back to her own horse, after watching the pair head off ahead of them. “Come on, Ares! It’ll be just one night, just to see if Eve is there. You know we haven’t had word from her since we came back from the Norselands.”

“Like mother, like daughter,” Ares mumbled under his breath.

“What?”

Ares winced, remembering how sharp Xena’s ears were.

“Nothing.”

“I heard something,” Xena said slowly, waiting with Argo’s reins resting on her arm.

Gabrielle bit her lip, and mounted her own horse before riding ahead to follow the wagon.

“Well – it’s not as though you were much good at sending word, either,” Ares pointed out finally. “It was over a year – everyone was pretty sure you were dead –“

Xena lifted her arms to the heavens. “No one believes me about the amnesia, do they?”

“And then – if you were dead, and I had to live, then –“ Ares paused. “Anyway. You could have sent something.”

Xena frowned. Then she sighed. “I really need to start thinking about getting your immortality back, don’t I?”

Ares opened his mouth to speak, then shrugged, and turned back to his own horse.

“It’s just one night, right?”

“Definitely,” Xena said firmly, then scooped up Horace and set him on the saddle ahead of her, and set off.

“Hey!” Ares protested. “That’s my dog!”

“Shut up, Ares,” Xena smirked. “You’re just jealous because he got to bite me on the butt before you did.”

Xena was almost out of sight by the time Ares recovered himself and got on his horse.

“Eve’s not here, Xena,” Gabrielle told her sympathetically. “But they’re happy for us to stay here for the night – they have some spare beds. In return, I’ve said I’ll tell them some stories about Eli.”

Xena nodded. “Thanks, Gabrielle.”

They all sat around a communal fire that evening, sharing their food, and listening to Gabrielle’s stories. She decided to avoid the ones featuring Ares, although they hadn’t mentioned his identity to anyone there.

“Thank you so much for telling us about him, Gabrielle,” the elder of the village said finally. “Here – have a drink – you must be parched. If only we had some stories to share with you!”

“Maybe you do,” Xena put in quietly.

Gabrielle looked across the room at Xena. Ares had chosen not to join them that night, pleading tiredness and heading straight to bed. In a room filled with robed Elijans, the warrior princess stood out, her armour glinting in the firelight.

“We came here looking for Eve; but that wasn’t all we were searching for.” She hesitated. “Wherever we’ve gone, we’ve heard tale of immortality. The Amazons have their ambrosia, the Norselands their apples. All fables, of course,” she finished hastily. “I’m wondering if you have any stories like that.”

It seemed as though understanding lit the elder’s eyes. She smiled across at Xena. “Oh – of course. We do have a story like that, about a deep cavern not far from here. Apparently there is an old ruin by the lake, and within that a trapdoor, which leads to a long flight of crumbling stairs. The stories say that deep within that cavern one might find forever.”

She got up. “It’s just a silly tale, of course . . .”

“Of course,” Xena nodded, rising and holding out her hand. “But I thank you for it, nevertheless.”

“What? We’re going in the complete opposite direction because of a story even the Elijans don’t believe in?” Ares asked disbelievingly.

“Oh, I know it’s true. I had a premonition,” Gabrielle assured him.

Ares snorted.

“Hey! I really do have visions – even Xena believes me!”

Ares looked over at Xena. “You do?”

“Yeah – but she only sees what isn’t going to happen,” Xena told him, tightening Argo’s saddle.

Ares digested that for a moment.

“You mean she has premonitions of things that definitely won’t occur?”

“Yep.”

Ares shook his head. “Well, I suppose that could come in handy. I mean, if you saw a group of bandits cutting your throat, at least you’d know you wouldn’t die that day.”

“Oh, no,” Xena explained. “It might mean the bandits stab me instead, or use a different sword, or wear a different bandana around their foreheads. You can’t really tell anything at all from Gabrielle’s premonitions.”

“Oh.”

They set off, with Ares still trying to work it out.

“So how do you know they’re premonitions, then?”

“Well, Xena didn’t believe me at first,” Gabrielle admitted. “But the night before Eve was born, I dreamt she was a boy. So that proved it.”

“Uh. Right.”

They headed out of the Elijan village and onto the road. Ares opened his mouth to speak, then saw Xena give him a quite deliberate wink. He closed it again.

“Since then, we’ve really followed my premonitions,” Gabrielle went on. “For example, Xena had to hit me on the head with the chakram, because I dreamt that she hit Eve, not me.”

“I see.”

“And that time in Amphipolis, when she met you in the temple? Well, I dreamt that she met you, but she had clothes on at the time. So as Xena pointed out, for the plan to work she needed to be naked.”

“Evidently.”

“And that time when –“

“There it is!” Xena shouted, pointing to a large lake to the east of them. An old ruined building stood beside it. “Who knows, Ares – maybe we’ll find the solution to all your problems after all.”

“Maybe,” Ares muttered, then brightened. “Hey, Gabrielle – did Xena have clothes on in this premonition?”

They found the trapdoor without much difficulty, and peered down at the stairs which disappeared into darkness.

“Gabrielle, you’d better stay up here and hang onto the horses,” Xena suggested. “This could be a trap – “

“But hang on, I dreamt that we both –“ Gabrielle began, then grinned. “Ah-ha!”

Xena nodded solemnly, then descended the narrow staircase, hanging onto a flint and a candle. Ares followed.

The steps spiralled downwards, going deeper and deeper into the earth, until the darkness swallowed and surrounded them, and the feel of the damp air grew heavy around them.

The stairway narrowed as it deepened; there was no room to go side by side, and there was no light to see the step ahead. They found themselves moving down slowly, an arm on the wall, and another hand clutching each other.

“You’re not getting any ideas, are you, Ares?” Xena growled.

“Well, maybe a few –“ he began, before yelping. “Ow!”

Still the stairway went on. Stone steps crumbled under their feet; the walls grew mossy under their fingertips. The darkness was utter.

“Xena, these stairs could go on forever. Is it really worth it?”

“You tell me,” she replied after a moment. “This is your immortality that we’re talking about.”

“What did the Elijans say, anyway?” Ares countered quickly, not ready to answer her demand.

“They said forever. That’s all . . .” Xena stumbled, her foot seeking the last step and not finding it. Ares grabbed at her and pulled her back, holding her tightly.

“It’s all right – I’ve found the floor. It’s the end of the staircase. I’ll light –“

“Wait.”

She was still in his arms.

Her head against his shoulder, her body pressed against his. He moved a hand blindly to her cheek, tracing a single finger along the curve of her face, finding her lips. Her breath was warm on his skin.

Slowly, slowly, she moved around in his arms until she was facing him; still unable to see even a fingerswidth ahead of her. His arms enclosed her; he was the only world left in the darkness. His hand still resting across her mouth. She opened her lips a little, and touched the tip of his finger with her tongue.

His breath was ragged; she could hear that, and feel his pulse racing. Unable to wait a moment longer, she moved forward, searching for him, drawing her lips over him, finding his mouth.

She was sweeter than ever, Ares discovered, her whole body in his arms, her mouth soft against his own.

“I want to see your face –“

He grabbed at the candle which Xena held. “I want to see you . . .”

She struck the flint swiftly, and the sudden flame made them blink.

“Look!”

The candle lit the entire room.

“But – “

“How –“

It was them. It was their story, painted in the small circular room. Their days in battle, so long ago. Ares’ deceits and wiles, and Xena’s rejection. His growing madness; her death and his sorrow.

“I don’t understand,” Ares breathed. “Who did this?”

Xena moved her hands over the images. “I think I do,” she said softly. “Look!”

There was Ares and Xena, blades at one another’s throat, Eli fallen dead at their feet. And there – directly opposite, was Ares fallen, his hand over two bodies, Xena staring . . .

“The Elijans have done this,” Xena whispered. “They’ve painted our story – to stay here –“

“Forever,” Ares finished.

The candle wavered.

“It won’t last much longer,” Xena warned, and then started. “What’s that?”

There were words written in the floor – mosaics, set into the floor to make letters.

“Love disarms war,” Ares murmured. Then he looked up at her questioningly. “Love?”

Xena stared at him directly – and then nodded slowly. “Yes,” she told him.

They moved forward, and the candle dropped, guttered, died.

“I like the sound of that disarming . . .” Xena murmured, pulling at his belt.

They found the stairs much later and began climbing up.

“So, how much of this did Gabrielle see in her – er – premonition?” Ares asked.

Xena snorted. “You know the answer to that.”

“I never thought that Gabrielle was so gullible,” Ares said, shaking his head.

“The word’s innocent, Ares,” Xena growled, elbowing him. Then she hesitated. “Either did I, actually.”

Their words carried slightly; even Gabrielle, waiting above the ruins managed to catch their echoes. She grinned, and resaddled her horse, heading back to the Elijan village.

“Neither did I,” she murmured to herself.

...h.o.m.e...
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