Sophia rolled her mother's words in her
mind. She tried to imagine the horror that Hera could have
afflicted upon her best friend and her family. What would Hera have
done if she knew that Hecuba was carrying Apollo's child? She
couldn't think of anything worst that what had already happened
to her beloved friend."Mother, just where is Grandmother
now?"

"Spatmos is holding their annual festival
for her. That town has one of the largest cults dedicated to Hera.
She loves going to that festival."

Sophia knew she heard of that place before.
Then it came to her. "Did you say Spatmos?"

"Yes, why?" Sophia didn't
respond, so Athena tried to take matters into her own hands. As she
tried to read her daughter's mind, Sophia quickly threw up a
mental block. "Mother, what have I said about reading my
mind?"

Athena crossed her arms. "I see
you've learned another trick from your father."

"He said it might be useful one
day." She smiled at her mother and said, "I've got to
go. Talk to you later." She ran over and gave Athena a kiss on
the cheek. "Love you, and thank you."

Athena watched her only child left the temple.
"What is she up to now? I better warn Artemis and
Apollo." She crossed her arms over her chest. "And then I
need to go and have a talk with Ares. Damn him."

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Xena opened the door. "Sophia, come
in."

Sophia nodded as she entered the hut. She made
her way to Gabrielle. "Hey bard, how are you doing?"

"Okay. It was a shock seeing her here,
that's all."

"I bet." The ex-guardian reached out
and gave her best friend a hug. "Listen, I need to go away to
take care of some personal business. I should be back in two
weeks."

Gabrielle looked at Xena and smirked. Then she
turned back to Sophia. "Personal business huh? So tell me
Sophia, which of my Amazons' hearts did you break?"

"Yeah, and what weapon is she coming
after you with?"

Sophia looked at her two friends with a mock
hurt in her eyes. "I'll have you two know that I have been
a perfect angel. I'm not running from anyone, just some
personal business. I just came here to warn you two not to do
anything stupid while I'm gone."

"And what would that be?" Xena
crossed her arms and waited for Sophia's response.

"Getting hitched. After all, I brought
you two together. I deserve the best seat in the house."