“c72″> 

The
tall warrior gave Anara a heartfelt hug, to her own utter surprise,
and quickly fled the room.

“c72″> 

“c72″>Tunic, cuffs, and sandals were waiting for her when she
entered her room after a short visit to the empty temple and the
equally deserted bathing area.

“c72″> 

“c72″>Recalling Anara’s words, she knew that the healer
was right. Her demeanour was a mask but it also was part of whom
she was, it was a part of her as was her sword, her battle cry, or
her chakram. She could try and deny it as she successfully had done
with the more caring parts of her personality all these years long
even to herself. Yes, it had become increasingly difficult to do
so, even before the final victory over Caesar or the peace treaty
between Amazons and Centaurs but it was Gabrielle who really taught
her to accept every part of herself, the many dark plains and caves
and ravines as well as the few and small light
spots.

“c72″> 

Her
musings were abruptly stopped by Queen Melosa rushing trough the
door almost two candlemarks early.

“c72″> 

“c72″>"Remove the cuffs, Xena. The trial will have to be
postponed. The northeastern outpost reported an enemy army headed
towards our village. At first, they thought that they were only
passing through but now there’s no more doubt. We’ll
have to face about two hundred men, and they’re using some
civilians as a shield. I’ll gather all the warriors I can
rouse to fight them. I want you to take care of Gabrielle and the
children and get the infirmary ready."

“c72″> 

“c72″>"I will do as you wish, Mistress, but please
consider taking me along as your body guard. I know, it’s
against the law, and I know I haven’t earned this privilege
but you’ll probably need every sword you can get. Please,
Queen Melosa."

“c72″> 

“c72″>"The Amazon Nation will be honoured, Xena. Open
the chest, it holds your armour and weapons."The slightly
older woman answered, tossing her the key to the chest’s
padlock.

“c72″> 

There
weren’t as many warriors as Xena had hoped for, even though
the festival and the impending trial had brought more Amazons to
the village than ever before. Last nights celebrations really had
put a lot of them out of commission, basically as a consequence of
the drinking games they all were so fond of playing. So half a
candlemark later short of six score heavily armed Amazons were
ready to go, and if one of them was surprised to see the former
Conqueror fully armed in their midst, they didn’t give voice
to their objections. Leaving another one and a half score of
seasoned fighters to protect the elders and the children and get
them to safety if need be, they took to the trees to speed up their
journey and shortly after mid-morning they reached the tree line
near the enemy encampment.