“c1″> 

“c1″>"Xena – she knows, doesn’t
she?"

“c1″> 

“c1″>"She knows the fact but not the reason. Tonight
when she asked for my help she did it as an apprentice would beg
her mistress, and despite my resolve to stay away from this stuff I
couldn’t ignore her plea. She would have done it without me,
though she knows that her skills don't extend this far. She
willingly risked her life and her soul to safe the girl.
There’s a connection between her and the girl. Did you know
that she calls her 'little one'? And Thania asked her and
Gabrielle to be her second mothers."

“c1″> 

“c1″>"Time will tell, my friend. I’d really like
to get to know Gabrielle better, she holds Xena’s soul, but
she doesn’t know it. When Xena introduced us the day I
arrived, she seemed genuinely pleased to make my acquaintance but
she’s openly hostile since she knows of my role in the trial.
Do you really think it was a good idea?"

“c1″> 

“c1″>"Perhaps not, but it was the best plan I could come
up with, and if all goes as it should my granddaughter and Xena can
begin to finally heal from the past. There’s only one thing
we should be really careful about. It’s Xena, if she finds
out too soon; she could easily ruin all our plans. The moment I saw
her at the village square I could feel it, she could be one of the
mightiest ever if she really wanted to. I’d really like to
know who taught her."

“c1″> 

“c1″>"Do you think we should ask her about it during the
trial?"

“c1″> 

“c1″>"No, Theano. The jury will have more than enough to
deal with as it is. They don’t have to know about her
spiritual powers, not yet anyway, not as long as she doesn’t
embrace them herself."

“c1″> 

“c1″>"I’m worried about her. She has lost a lot of the
anger and hatred driving her to conquer class=”c1″>Greece and
Rome “c1″>but it hasn’t been replaced with something else yet. All
she has now are her love for Gabrielle and her self-hatred. I
really hope all of this will work out."

“c1″> 

“c1″>"It will, one way or the other. This isn’t
about saving her body but her soul. Xena prays to the Goddess,
let’s hope she’s begging for the right
things."

“c1″> 

“c1″> 

“c1″>-x-x-x-x-

“c1″> 

“c1″> 

Eponin
woke some time before sunset but when Anara tried to wake Xena, she
found her unconscious. With Melosa’s help, she checked on the
dagger wound and found it inflamed, two of the five stitches torn
and the flesh hot to the touch. To prevent a fever they had to redo
the cleaning and cauterising. This time, sturdy leather thongs were
used to keep the warrior from moving should she regain her senses
in the process. She did and managed to tear apart the wrist
restraints but Toris, who spent most of the time mentally reviewing
what he recently had learned about her, was able to pin her back to
the mattress.