"Gabrielle, we only wanted to protect
you…"

"WHO IS HE?!?" Gabrielle
screamed.

Tears streamed out of Hecuba's eyes as she
spoke his name, "Apollo." Two globes of light engulfed
the sanctuary, one a gentle white, the other a bright yellow.

As the illuminating orbs dissipated, Artemis
and Apollo came into view and Gabrielle found herself staring at
the god whose eyes and hair matched her own.

The bard's body shook with anger.
"Let me get this straight," she stated as her fingers
pointed accusingly at the three. "You lied to me, he abandoned
me, and Artemis knew and said nothing." She sneered.
"Things just keep getting better and better."

"Gabrielle, please, let me
explain…"

Gabrielle raised hand silenced the Sun God.
"So now you speak? Where were you? Don't you ever speak to
me." She gazed at her family. "In fact, I don't want
to have anything to do with any of you again." She ran out of
the temple, and right into Xena and Sophia.

Xena grabbed Gabrielle and held her close
while she motioned for

Sophia to go and see about the others. Sobs
racked the young Queen's body as she tried to speak,
"Please, let's just get out of here."

"Fine, we will go to our hut."

Sophia escorted Hecuba out of the temple. The
older woman saw her daughter up ahead and tried to go to Gabrielle,
but the ex-Guardian held her back. "No Hecuba," she
whispered, "Gabby needs time. You will only make it
worse."

But the older woman wouldn't listen.
"Gabrielle?!?" The bard didn't turn around.

The older woman rushed to her daughter.
"Gabrielle, please say something."

Gabrielle turned and faced her mother. "I
wished I had let Artemis escorted you out of Amazonia when I had
the chance."

As they entered the hut, Gabrielle rushed to
their bags and began to pack.

Xena looked over at Gabrielle. She knew that
the bard was acting out of anger and confusion, so she went and
clasped her hands over Gabrielle's. "You are angry, and
you have every right to be. But right now, you are too angry to be
making a decision about anything."

"They lied to me. They have been lying to
me all my life."

"They were trying to protect
you."

Gabrielle stared at her soul-mate. "How
do you…"

"Sophia found out the truth and told me
today." Xena gently sat Gabrielle down on the bed and took a
seat next to her. "Right before he died, Herodotus told Sophia
that you were not his daughter. She thought it was his last attempt
to hurt you, but then she started to put things together. She found
out that, some time, ago Hera had declared war on all her
step-children and their families. In order to protect the children,
many of them were hidden and separated from their parents. That is
why Sophia was placed in Poteidaea and why Apollo and Hecuba ended
their relationship. And when Athena mentioned the city of Spatmos,
Sophia went there to confront Hera." Xena looked at Gabrielle
and gave her a small smile. "Sophia remembered that in all
your childhood stories that the bad guys came from Spatmos. She
figured that Hera had something to do with Herodotus being in your
lives."