Among Friends

The following is a bit of alternative fiction based on certain characters from the Xenaverse. It is not meant to infringe on anyone else's rights. If you don't agree or disapprove, please go read something else.

Gabrielle had it all written out. Words upon words, page upon page of arguments that she'd thought she might need. Preaching words, telling them about love and its permutations, telling them what was wrong with their world, what they ought to fix. Yes, she had it all worked out, what needed to be tossed, what should be kept. She'd made all these decisions and yet, when she stepped into the council room, all she could see was the table where Xena had loved her, held her, healed her, had given her back the words which had real meaning. She still heard, in her back of her mind, the whispered, "I love you." The important stuff.

She saw that the Amazons had prepared the dais, rearranged the room for the council. Ephiny would sit on her right. Xena, her beloved consort, would sit at her left. There was a space to make a presentation in. The council members, and there would be many, would span the room in a "U" shape. It made sense. There was distance and intimacy in the set up. Arguments could fly back and forth, yet order could be kept. They would be here soon.

Gabrielle glanced at the scroll she'd unfurled. Her notes. She read each dry word and shook her head. Then she carefully ripped it up as unworthy. The Amazons deserved better. Theirs was a civilization that had thrived thousands of years. It was her opinion that they could thrive again, but it meant that *she* had to make good choices so they could make good choices. She watched as the pieces skittered to the floor and smiled. That had been a good choice.

She wished briefly that Xena were here now. Of course, if she had been, given their current state of mind, the Amazons of the council would probably walk in on them in while they were in some form of a passionate embrace. She had a brief vision of herself spread eagle upon the chair, Xena kneeling and tasting. It brought a happy flush to her cheeks and the honey haired woman laughed to herself, surprised at the feelings the images invoked in her. Ever since she found out about her unexpected obligation, these fantasies would come to play in her mind. It had been happening more and more frequently. Up till yesterday she'd been very frustrated with it, but now there was a modicum of peace in her heart about the matter. Well, more than a modicum. She smiled. Some of those council folk would have ample opportunity to see them in a clinch later.

She wandered the room, testing the space, connecting with her place in the council chambers. She looked out each window and saw blue sky, trees whose leaves jangled in the breeze, Amazons applying themselves to their appointed tasks. They were a beautiful people, with beautiful traditions (mostly). She shook her head ruefully. Skip the mostly. They were beautiful traditions and there were reasons behind each one, even if one or two of them seemed inconvenient at the time.

There had been so many "changes" she'd wanted to make. She'd planned on gutting the whole system and starting over. In fact, those words now skittered upon the floor. She probably ought to pick them up, but the words could wait. She needed the reminder.

Gabrielle leaned against the wall and looked at the dais. She was the queen. She could force them, make them comply to her wishes, but that wouldn't be real change at all. Real change came from the heart. Real change came from day to day experience, from the truths held within.

Truths such as Love, which Xena had so avidly, so thoroughly reminded her about. The fair woman stretched sensuously and settled back again. The important stuff. Love had nothing to prove. It simply was. She loved Xena with everything that was her. There was no changing that. And Kalai and Arete? Funny, she felt as if a space were opening, a place for them within the realm of her heart. Not replacing Xena, not displacing, but joining, forming a circle. They loved her and she had to admit, at this moment, she loved them. The important stuff. They had a place with her, a place in her. It would be good to see them again. It would be good to love them. Her Amazons. There was no need for justification. It simply was. The important stuff was usually like that, wasn't it.

The Queen smiled as she watched an Amazon child run towards the dining hall, lovely hair flowing in the breeze, lanky legs taking her wherever she wanted to go. Ah, to have such energy. Now there were more Amazons milling about, gathering their morning wits, greeting each other. Gabrielle realized that she *loved* the Amazons. The people of her nation. She loved the way they thought and fought and loved and played. She loved their feistiness, their stubborn natures, their inquisitiveness. She loved the vast variety that made up the personalities, the history. There had to be balance. She couldn't just play with what made the Amazons what they were.

But she could love them. She could tell them the truth. There were ways and ways of telling the truth and it didn't have to be hurtful. There were laws on the books that really had to be changed, like that one with the cow. Somewhere, outside of the nation, a cow's offspring (or rather the farmhand) was receiving dinars as part of a "trade agreement." No doubt there had been a good reason for it in the beginning. There might be a true story behind it, but the law didn't serve the nation now. It was time for a change.

She could mention that and the other oddities she'd found in her research. There were dozens at least. She could mention the treaties they had with nations that no longer existed. She could discuss how their laws had affected her own life, let them know about the "little known clause," and how she intended to deal with it.

She smiled, maybe next full moon, in the temple. She could get Xena to help her find some square silk. Artemis might like that. She could be one of their witnesses. Or better yet, not the temple, the grove. That would be good. Less confining, less need of ritual. She'd talk to Xena about it. But the time was right. She could feel that. Ephiny would be a witness. That would be a necessity. It might be good to let her bring her wife. Was there any rule that said the witnesses had to be still during all this. Loving took awhile and Gabrielle knew how *she* got affected when she'd caught a friend of hers once.

Okay, when she'd caught *Xena*, who was much more than just a friend, before they were lovers. It had been a rush, both tingly with want (and oh, if she'd had any sort of courage then, she might have just joined them, but instead she'd closed the door and breathed hard, her eyes wide, her thighs wet) and jealousy (was that the first time she'd known. No there were others, plenty of others.) And there were plenty of times when the she'd felt the anger, the need. Like with what's his face in Ithica. Her eyes narrowed in memory. That had not been such a good time for her. She shook her head. No need to stay there. Xena loved her now and things were . . .clear. . between them.

Where had that jealousy gone? One would have expected it, but then were there that many who knew they were so thoroughly loved or who had been bound by the Gods? Seen in that light, she'd married all of them first, then Xena, then in the competition's contract. Interesting permutation. It didn't matter, either case. She had been jealous before, envious, because she'd thought Xena was one she would never have, could never possibly aspire to. Now she knew different.

Gabrielle felt a tingle of excitement, a taste of foreknowledge. It would be alright, she knew that now. Anywhere in Xena's arms were safe and these days, she always felt them around her (well, mostly, unless she was letting formal words get the best of her). Her skin flushed as she had another vision of her lover, and her mind brought in the other players, Kalai and Arete. What had Xena said last night. It had caused her to blush. Something about looking forward to sharing the delight that was Gabrielle. And then, Xena spent an inordinate amount of time soothing away the anxiety the red head had felt; telling her that she could face the ENTIRE council and do fine. Xena's tender words and kisses had convinced her, given her confidence again and inspired the litter on the floor.

Oh well, the clean up crew would forgive her and she would explain later.

She walked forward, and at a certain table stopped, and felt the smooth wood surface under her fingers. Such a blessing this table was. She would have to make an offering to Artemis for it and perhaps to Aphrodite. She grinned to herself. Definitely to Aphrodite. Maybe they could move it to the Queens' chambers? She could see where a table might come in handy in other circumstances. Xena was an. . .inventive woman. Gabrielle grinned and let the thoughts fill her, relax her. She continued her walk, up to the dais.

Now she just prayed for wisdom, to say the what needed to be said in the best way possible. To gentle the Amazons into the truth and open the way for the nation to move from the past into the future. They deserved another thousand years. They deserved forever. There had to be a way. She looked at the ring upon her finger and smiled. There was a way. She kept in mind the important stuff.

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15 | 16 | 18

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These pages were last updated: October 25, 1997

İOctober 1997