Xena sat across from Gabrielle. "I need to know. No matter what had happened in the past, I will always love you; you know that, don’t you?"

Gabrielle leaned her head back and looked at the sky. She took a deep breath and lower her head, looking at the ground. Xena noticed that Gabrielle refused to look at her.

"Xena, you know I haven’t seen my family in years." Xena nodded. "There is a reason for that. But before I tell you, promise me that you won’t interrupt me. I might chicken out from telling you if you do." Xena nodded again, agreeing to the terms.

"People who live in Poteidaea follow the old way of thinking. Everything is an omen, a sign from the gods. When I was born, I had six toes on my feet." Xena smiled, remembering she made that discovery during their adventures in the dreamscape. "Well, my family took that was as a sign; a sign that I was different. My father…my father took it as a sign that I had some evil power." She swallowed again. "When I was a child, anything that I did that was different was frowned upon. Usually I got beaten for it."

I remember the first time I told a story, and everyone loved it. They bragged to my parents about how gifted I was. That night, my father beat me for telling stories. He said that my voice was a evil power that could control people. Then, another time my uncle captured a few horses. The men were trying to break them, but they were fighting a losing battle. Then one of the men got to close, and the horse kicked him and was about to trample him. I don’t know what possessed me, but I went to where the horse was, and spoke to him, kind of like what I did with Horse. He clamed down, and the others were able to pull the injured man out. That day, my uncle gave me my pony, and within two hours I was riding him.

My uncle told my father that I had a gift for animals. That night, I was beaten. It was so bad that I couldn’t leave the house for weeks."