Children of the Moon  

By Rocky Macelli

Chapter I

Moonlight spilled over the landscape.  Dark shadows enveloped anything that escaped the cold silver light.  The footpath that ran up between the stable and the orchard flickered from the movement of a gentle breeze in the trees.  Coal black eyes watched as a girl made her way, slipping swiftly through darkness and light of the night's deepest hour.  She glanced warily about before entering the stable.  From the far side of the yard came a slow quiet hiss of steel pulled from leather, and almost imperceptible sound of breaths drawn in and out, joined the night. 

A man-shape detached itself from the pools of darkness and crept from one shadow to the next, moving in an irregular pattern and paused in the cover of a lightless overhang, close enough to detect the quiet whispers that came from the building.   Long after the faint sounds of someone climbing a ladder faded, the man-shape slipped silently through the half open door.

The violent clang of steel on steel broke through the night followed by the crying wrench of breaking timber.  Light blossomed from the adjacent farmhouse and the inhabitants rushed out into the night in time to see a man come crashing through the door of the stable and land in the pool of light from their lantern.

A leather clad woman, tall and dark, emerged from the stable and advanced on the prone man.  The light reflected on the length of sharp metal that now pressed at the man's throat.  "Who sent you?"  Her voice demanded.  Not 'Who are you?' or 'Why are you here?' questions most would have asked first, were deemed irrelevant.  A fact not lost on the shocked spectators. 

The black eyes shifted quickly from side to side in fear, desperately looking for the escape that did not exist.  A snarl curled up at the corner of the fallen man's lip.  He glared back at the hand that now held his life; sure that it was now measured in heartbeats.  Death stared back in icy blue.

"I said…" The Warrior pressed the blade deeper into the dirty creases of the assassin's neck.  "Who sent you?"  Her low voice, calm and business like, deadly in its meaning.

"Death to the Harlot Queen!"  Came from clenched teeth as the man lunged forward piercing his own gullet on the sword.  He fell back; blood spilling from the wound and his lips, eyes burning with hatred 'til they glazed over and the spark of life was no more.

A soft gasp from behind the warrior woman caused her to turn to the girl who emerged into the lamplight.  She rushed into the protective circle of the warrior's arms and looked down at body lying there in the dirt.  "Another one?"  The smaller woman asked wearily.  Her deep sadness was a disturbing maturity on such youth.  She turned her face onto the taller woman's shoulder, the dull lamp bringing up the red highlights in her blond hair.

The man who held the lantern looked uneasily from the from the bloody weapon in the warrior's hand to her free hand which now stroked the pale head on her shoulder.  His brows were knotted together over an angry frown.  "What's the meaning of this, Daughter?"

The tone of the question was two-fold, inquiring after both the obvious violent death he had just witnessed and his discomfort at the intimacy between the two women.

The dark haired woman looked up the man.  Her even gaze held no apology for either act.  "It's not safe for them if we stay here.  We'll have to leave at first light."  She spoke more to the young woman in her arms than her father.

"I was speaking to Gabrielle!" 

"I'm so sorry Father!"  Gabrielle turned to meet the angry look on her father's face.  "It's my fault, I thought a short visit would be safe." 

"Nothing's ever safe when 'she's' around!"  Gabrielle's father retorted indicating the tall warrior with a jerk of his chin.  "I said she could sleep in the barn, not turn the yard into a battle field."  His eyes narrowed looking from bloody corpse to his daughter.  "What were you doing out here and why do I have a dead man in my yard?"

The small blonde woman felt a squeeze on her shoulder.  "I think you should go into the house and talk with your family."  The warrior's voice was low and reassuring.  "I will take care of this."  One brown boot nudged at the cooling body of the assassin.

"Xena's right, we need to talk."  Gabrielle was careful that her gaze included not only her father but also the two women that stood slightly behind him.

Waiting until the farmer's family had gone back into the house, Xena turned to her task.  In the back of her mind she knew she had the easier job.  She felt a little cowardly by leaving Gabrielle to answer all the questions that surely would be asked.  Retrieving another lantern from the stable she bent to search the man who's dying curse rocked her to her very core.  'Who was sending these men?'  She wondered.  Hopefully something on the body would give her a clue. 

The sword that had fallen to the dirt outside the stable was nondescript; an ordinary weapon well cared for but yielded nothing to the origins of its owner.  The contents of a pouch at his belt carried a few dinarii and a hone stone, things that anyone who made a living with a blade would need.  Frustrated the dark woman looked up at the house.  Hushed tones indicated the hard questions were yet to be asked.  Grasping the dead man under the arms, she dragged the corpse around the building out of sight of the house and began stripping away the filthy clothing.

One arched brow shot skyward when Xena discovered the man had been circumcised, so very rare, only her experience with mercenaries who came from all over the known world, allowed her to identify something that most would have seen as a deformity.  Flipping the body over she made another discovery; covering most of the left buttock was a large tattoo.  A blood red fist held a crescent moon in a crushing grip.     

The rest of the clothing held no secrets, cloth and leather; dirty and ill cared for, the raiment of a man of the road.  Sighing she looked at the unseeing black eyes, no answers would ever come from the blank stare of the dead.  Taking the time to copy the tattoo on a piece of parchment, she hoisted the body onto a mule for the trip out to the fields and disposed of it on a hastily built pyre of deadfall and last season's stukes.

The first tendrils of false dawn met Xena when she returned the mule to its stall.  By this time the sounds of crying and angry shouts were coming from the house.  Gabrielle appeared at the door.  Her face was pale and tear streaked, but her chin was firm and her eyes held the fire of anger barely held in check.  "Let's go."  She said quietly and strode purposefully to the stable not even looking back to see if the tall woman had followed.  Her anger was mirrored in the cold gaze of her father who stood in the doorway; his jaw clenched so tight it seemed his teeth might crack.  The ice blue eyes met with pure hate and returned only pity.  The warrior empathetic to the man's pain, having known hate from all sides had learned that nothing done or said would change it.

The better part of the morning came and went without a word.  Only the quiet sound of the life all round them and the whisper of their passage through the tall grasses rose up in the silence.  Xena watched and waited for some indication that her small companion was ready to talk of the things that had recently come to pass.  Finally she slipped down from the tall horse, gathering the reins in one hand; she gently dropped one arm over Gabrielle's shoulders giving physical contact where words were lacking. When she felt the first shudder of a heart ready to break, she dropped the reins all together and pulled Gabrielle into a comforting embrace for all the tears that had to come before anything could be said.   

They stood like that for long moments, long enough that the mare wandered a short distance away and began cropping at a patch of wild grain.  Gabrielle tilted her head back, looking into Xena's eyes and saw her soul reflected back to her; held in those the blue depths by love, trust, and concern.

A single tear slipping free moved down the warrior's face, speaking in the language of the eyes, that she knew and understood Gabrielle's pain and would bear it away from her if it were possible.  The small woman reached up and caught the tear on her finger and held it to her lips as if to kiss it away.  She kissed the trail it had left, up a sculpted cheek until a kiss was placed on the closed lid of its source.  "They didn't understand."  Gabrielle said softly.

"Tell me what happened, all of it.  Don't gloss anything over.  I need to hear it …and even more so, you need to tell it."  Xena stood waiting patiently for the small bard to vent the hurt that coursed across her features and spilled out in the form of tears.

"At first they really were accepting."  Gabrielle began.  "To them the fact that you had killed a man in the yard was almost to be expected.  Father was angry but I think he was relieved too.  Then I started to explain about the threats and the other attempts and he was furious.  He started saying how it was all your fault."  She pulled in a shuddering breath and half smiled.  "It's almost funny.  I know where I get my temper from, I'm afraid that I let father get to me, …like father- like daughter."  Her smile faded and Gabrielle bowed her head in shame.

Xena chuckled softly; she had been on the receiving end of the blonde's fiery wrath on more than one occasion and knew it was a force to be reckoned with.  "You blew up huh?"

The pale head at the warrior's chest bobbed up and down.  "I let him have it!  I couldn't just stand there and let him blame you like that.  I tried to explain how all the threats were aimed at the Queen of the Amazons.  If anything he should be glad I was lucky enough to have someone like you to love and protect me."

"Oh Gods, love, you didn't."  Xena sighed and cupped her hands lovingly around the face that she adored, to tilt it up.  "It's a wonder the roof was still on the house when I got back.  That's asking them to accept an awful lot all at once."

"You should have seen the look on my father's face, it was like I had put a knife through his heart.  And then mother started to cry.  Lila looked at me like I was some kind of a stranger.  Shortly after that the shouting started."

The tall warrior was at a loss, she knew that they should have broached the subject of their relationship with Gabrielle's family sooner, but the time was never right. Xena almost felt relieved that now everything was out in the open.  "When this 'Threat' is over, we'll go back.  By then they will have had a chance to cool down and I'll be with you this time.  If they want to blame me, so be it."

"No!  That man killed himself.  It's because of who I am that he was there in the first place."

"In their minds I'm the one that made you who you are."  Xena held up one hand to dispel the immediate protest sure to burst from Gabrielle's lips.  "I know it's not the truth… but look at it through their eyes.  They don't see that you've grown; only how you've changed."

"I guess they didn't need to know everything, did they?  I know that my parents love me… Gods Xena, everything is such a mess!"  Gabrielle chewed at her bottom lip and then looked up pensively into the warrior's eyes.  "Did you find anything out about these people who are trying to kill me?"

Xena's mind spun in different directions wondering just how much to tell the young woman.  She searched for the right words and was left wanting.  Finally she decided the ugly truth had to be the only course, Gabrielle had indeed grown into a mature and intelligent partner with the right to know everything.  "The man had markings on his body that would lead me to believe that he was part of a cult."  She pulled the small piece parchment from her bracer and held it out to the smaller woman.  "He had this tattooed on the left side of his arse and the protective skin of his manhood had been removed."

Gabrielle looked up at Xena in shocked surprise as she took the parchment.  "What!"  She glanced at the rendering a frown forming at her brow.  "Any idea what this picture is supposed to represent?"

"A few guesses maybe; the fist was done in red and the moon in blue.  I think this may have to do with Artemis." 

"That seems to follow.  As the Queen of the Amazons, Artemis is my patron.  So you're saying they are trying to get to Artemis by killing me?"

"Something like that."

"…And the other?"  Gabrielle asked shyly, embarrassed by her limited knowledge the male anatomy. 

"It's not unheard of…  "  Xena replied with a wry expression.  "I've seen it before."  The startled look on the young woman's face was priceless.  The tall warrior chuckled.  "Gabrielle, I was with an army of men for almost ten years.  You see things."  She laughed out loud.  "From the look on your face, I'd almost think that you thought I held inspections."

The small woman felt her face and ears heat with a deep blush.  She was tongue-tied.

"Why… why would anyone do such a thing?"

"From what I understand, there are some who mark their children in such a way because of their faith."  The tall warrior shrugged.  "It was odd on this man though, he did not have the features of the people who follow this practice."

Gabrielle was quiet for a few moments.  "So we really don't know much more than we did from the previous attacks."

"No, I'm afraid not."

Chapter II

In the dull glow of the campfire's last embers the night stood still.  The noises of the night fell silent, even the breeze that had been rustling the leaves in the trees ceased.  It was the dark hour before dawn and only starlight witnessed the small form as it slid without a sound down from the trees.

Senses trained by experience and paranoia clicked immediately into focus.  Xena woke from a sound sleep in an instant, alerted by the subtle hint of fear sweat and the tiniest of noises of breath and rustling clothing.  'Whoever this is, they are very good.'  She thought to herself, still feigning sleep.  Then she heard it, a subtle squeak followed by a small 'click-click.'  Xena smiled and relaxed.  "Estrian you really should get that shin guard fixed."

The Scout moved into the glow of the campfire and crouched down beside the bedroll.  The pout on her lips made her look more like her fifteen summers than the fearsome Amazon Warrior that she fancied herself to be.  "I thought I 'had' fixed it!"  She complained, her voice becoming softer when Xena brought one finger up to her lips.

"Shh…  Gabrielle hasn't had a decent nights sleep in almost a week."  Xena whispered as she slipped out from under the bearskin and moved to put on her leathers with a swift economy of motion born of years of practice.  She pointed to the far side of the clearing and the slight brown girl nodded following the dark warrior in silence.

"It is good to see you Xena."  The small Amazon glanced over at the fire where the Queen lay sleeping.  "Is she okay?"

"Just exhausted.  I'm hoping that she will relax somewhat once we reach Amazon lands."  The tall warrior smiled down at the young woman.  "What are you doing this far away from home?  Hmm?"

Estrian suddenly found the handle of the dagger at her waist very interesting and was silent for long moments.  "I… I'm not really supposed to be here."  She played with the weapon a bit longer.  Finally she sighed and looked up at the Warrior Princess.  "I had a fight with Mom, so I took off for a while to cool down."

Xena kept her face neutral and squeezed the teenager's shoulder.  "Come on I'll make some tea and you can tell me about it.  We still have time before sunrise and I don't want to wake Gabrielle before then."

The fire was stirred up and water was put on to heat.  A good deal of time passed quietly with the warrior and the young Amazon sitting by the fire drinking their tea.  Xena knew the young woman would tell her story when she was ready and not a moment before.  She waited patiently for the young woman to break the silence.

"I wanted to meet my father."  Estrian said in a voice so low, that only Xena's keen hearing could have caught it.  "I've always been so little and Mom is almost as tall as you."  She poked a stick into the fire gathering up her thoughts one at a time.  "Mom's skin has always been lighter than mine, even at the end of summer.  We're just so…  Different."

Xena nodded noncommittally.  She glanced over at the girl amused at the irony; Estrian's features were so very much like Eponin's.  Most of the problem here was the fact that the girl and her mother were too much alike, both stubborn and proud.

The sun was peeking over the hills and filtering through the trees when Gabrielle awoke to the smell of cooking.  'Cooking?'  Gabrielle brought one hand up to her face to scrub away the last vestiges of sleep.  She smiled up at Xena, who had bent down beside the bedroll. Gabrielle leaned up for a good morning kiss.

   "Good Morning to you too!"  The warrior said sitting back on her heels.  "Did you sleep well?"

   The small woman thrust her fists above her head in a long luxurious stretch that looked as good as it probably felt.  "Gods Yes!  I feel great, in fact…" She dropped her arms around Xena's neck for a longer more expressive kiss.

   With longing and frustration the warrior forced herself to break from the heat of the moment.  With an apologetic smile she said softly.  "We have company."

   "Oh…  I should have known when I smelled cooking."  Gabrielle teased softly and released her lover's neck with a sigh.  "Who?"

   "Estrian."  The tall woman stood and stepped back, to reveal the girl who knelt by the fire stirring something in a pan.

   "Good Morning Estrian, how have you been?"  Gabrielle asked when she rose from the bedroll to get dressed.

   The small Amazon looked up in surprise.  She immediately assumed the position of supplication to the Queen, on one knee with her fist over her heart and her gaze downcast.  "Good morning my Queen.  I am well."

   Tugging her skirt into place the Amazon Queen touched Estrian on the shoulder allowing the girl to look up at her with a shy smile.  "Please, there's no one here but Xena and myself, so please call me Gabrielle if you want."

   "Yes my…" The Scout grinned.  "I mean 'Gabrielle'."  The teenager stood and a pleased smile crossed her face.  "Hey…  I'm almost as tall as you now."

   The delight in the liquid brown eyes was contagious, causing Gabrielle to grin remembering when she thought, she too would never grow.  "Come on."  She said wrapping an arm around the young woman's waist.  "Let's go have some of what ever that is that smells so good, and then you can tell me all the gossip from home."

   'Home.'  Xena pondered what Gabrielle had just said. It was good that she thought as the amazons as home rather than the stormy scene they had left behind them. Perhaps the answers to the assassination attempts lay there, and if not it would be a good place to rest up before continuing the search. Yes, it was good to be going home.     

 Chapter III

   The morning had passed well into mid-day when the first of the markers came into sight.  Rather than wait for the certain arrival of the perimeter scouts, Estrian placed two fingers to her lips and pierced the air with three shrill bursts.  Before long, amazons, who all fell to one knee, surrounded the trio.

The Queen was laughing and talking with her newly acquired entourage when a horse came thundering up the trail.  Eponin dropped from her mount, almost before the tall bay had slowed to a walk, and ran up to the group, eyes searching until they fell on Estrian.  She scooped up the girl in a fierce hug.  Both of them broke into tears, as the rest of the group politely looked away and then passed by. 

The tall Amazon eventually set Estrian down holding her at arm's length.  "I was searching for you everywhere.  Are you all right?"  She asked, her gaze traveling up and down the small scout looking for injury.

Scrubbing away the tears on her cheeks, the girl smiled shyly.  "Sure Mom, I'm okay.  …Look who's here." She turned to the Queen and her warrior standing behind her.

With her worst fears dismissed, Eponin suddenly noticed the couple with her daughter.  "Xena, Gabrielle, it's good to see you.  Thank you for finding her."  She thrust out her arm greeting them warmly.

"More like she found us."  Xena replied griping her friend's arm.  "She crept into our camp last night.  You should be proud, she was almost up to the fire before I heard her."

The tall arms master's eyes lit up with pride.  "Is this true, little one?"  She asked, grinning and throwing her arm about the shoulders of her daughter.

Estrian looked up into the smiling face of her mother.  "If it weren't for that damn shin guard I would have been able to crawl right into the bed roll with them."

"Actually that shin guard saved you from getting thumped."  Xena playfully punched the young scout in the arm.  "…And I'm positive Gabrielle would have thumped me if I'd let you into our bed."

The way that the warrior had said 'our bed' spoke volumes, and the veiled look of surprise on Eponin's face caused the blonde bard to blush crimson.  Eponin fought to keep back a knowing smile.  Instead she cleared her throat and gave her daughter a small squeeze.  "You and I need to talk."  She paused a moment, nodding to Xena and Gabrielle.  "It is good to have you back again.  I'll see you in the village."  Taking Estrian over to her horse, she hoisted her up and swung up behind her and rode away in the direction of the village.

"Do you think she'll let the cat out of the bag?"  Gabrielle asked as she watched the bay move out of sight.

They began walking in the same direction to catch up the handful of amazons ahead of them.  "No.  Pony loves a good secret, but I can guarantee that once we do say something, she will be gloating that she knew first."  Xena flashed a white smile down to her lover.

"Well Estrian knew first I guess, but I don't think her mom is going to let her out of her sight for a while.  Did she tell you why she was there? …What she was doing so far from the Amazon territories?"

"Yes, she and Eponin had an argument and Estrian left to cool down."

"Gods!  Pony must have been frantic.  What was the fight about?" 

"It seems that our little scout is feeling curious about her father and she wanted to meet him." 

Gabrielle stopped mid-stride and a look of worry crossed her face in the form of a frown.  "What brought that on?"

The Warrior sighed.  "She's a young woman looking for her own identity.  I think she's at that vulnerable age where she only sees the differences between herself and her mother."

A quiet giggle broke from the younger woman's lips.  "Differences?  By the Gods, that's rich.  They walk alike.  They talk alike.  Why, Estrian is almost a dark miniature of her mom.  They both even have that same weird laugh."

Xena smiled and reached out taking Gabrielle's hand.  "I know what you mean but she's young and so being so much darker and smaller than Eponin is all that's on her mind right now, and she wants to identify with where those traits come from."

They walked together hand in hand for a while.   Glad for something to mull around rather than the failed assassination attempts, the small blonde pondered what her lover had told her.  "Why do you suppose that Eponin is so against Estrian meeting her father?" She asked, watching the village appear in the distance.  "I know it's frowned on by the amazons to include the fathers in the children's lives, but it's not unheard of, and Estrian isn't really a child anymore."

The warrior stopped and let the rest of the group move further on ahead, until she was certain they were out of earshot.  Even then she kept her voice low.  "Sweetheart, the reason Pony is so protective of her daughter is that she had to give up two sons before she had a girl child."

"Oh…" A wave of understanding passed over the small Queen's features.  She looked up into the quiet blue eyes.  "How do you know that?"  To talk of the sons of amazons was very taboo.

Squeezing the small hand in her own, Xena took a deep breath.  "You remember how bitchy I was after we left Solan." 

Gabrielle squeezed back.  "You hardly said anything all the way back to the Amazon village." 

"As much as I hate to admit it, I was feeling very sorry for myself."  Xena sighed.  "I was spoiling for a fight."

"Gods yes, I remember, you went off to spar with Pony and you didn't come back for hours.  And when you did come back both of you were drunker than lords.  She had a black eye and you had a split lip."

Xena laughed.  "Smacking the tar out of each other turned out to be thirsty work and Pony had a skin of her latest batch of 'shine'.  I think she got me drunk just to find out why I had a bigger than usual chip on my shoulder.  When I told her, she got very quiet for a while and then she told me about the sons that she had given up.  It was good to know that someone knew the kind of pain I felt."

"I'm glad she was there for you."  Gabrielle said simply as they start walking again.  It hurt a bit that Xena hadn't come to her but she was grateful to Eponin for having the foresight to draw out the poison in the festering wound on her lover's heart.

Both women walked in silence for long moments, each lost in quiet contemplation.  As they drew closer to the main gates of the village the crowd of kneeling, leather clad amazons who were waiting for them grew, and a woman with blonde curly hair stepped into the forefront to greet them.

"Gabrielle!  Xena!"  She called out, with obvious joy in her voice.

Releasing Xena's hand, the small Queen rushed forward to greet her regent with a hug.  "Ephiny! It's so good to see you."

Smiling widely, Ephiny returned the hug and then held the small woman out at arm's length.  "It's good to see both of you too!"  She nodded to the tall warrior.  "What brings you back to the nation?  Not that I'm not thrilled to see you both, no matter the reason."

"I wish I could say that we are just here for a visit, but it's more than that I'm afraid" Gabrielle replied, almost apologetic.  "We'll tell you all about it later after all the fuss of my arrival is over and we can speak privately."

The Regent frowned but simply nodded.  "Come on let's get you guy's settled."  The crowd of woman parted allowing the women to enter the village, the Queen chatting with her Regent about the latest news in the lives of her Amazons.

The Celebration of the Queen's return was in preparation; amazons scurried about on appointed tasks.  In the shadow of the excitement Ephiny was able to take time to meet alone with Gabrielle and Xena.  "So what is the story?"  The Regent asked, her eyes running back and forth between the warrior and the bard.    

"Someone has put a price on Gabrielle's head."  Xena stated simply.

A wash of anger rolled over Ephiny's features.  "Do you know why anyone would do such a thing?"  Everyone who had ever met the small blonde bard usually came to love and respect her friendly open manner.  For anyone to want to extinguish such a bright, illuminating light was simply alien to her.  

Gabrielle regarded her friend for a moment and then stated soberly.  "Only one assassin was around long enough to be questioned and he thrust himself onto Xena's sword before he would tell us anything."

"Did he say anything at all?  …No clue at all?"  Ephiny asked in disbelief, unaware that she had freed the dagger at her waist and was caressing its pommel.

Xena sighed and pursed her lips in frustration, shaking her head.  "He said, 'Death to the Harlot Queen!' and almost took his own head off on my sword." She slapped a fist into her open hand angrily.  "I should have put pinch on him, or at least tied him up.  Damn!  I wasn't expecting him to do that and it happened so fast." 

Leaning into the warrior's shoulder, Gabrielle stroked Xena's corded forearm, willing the muscles to relax.  "Xena, it's not your fault.  We both know that nothing you could have done would have made any difference."  She looked up into the pained blue eyes and smiled as she felt the arm under her hand slowly relax.

Ephiny watched in amusement as the two women retreated into their own little world, locked in each other's gaze.  Oh she was still angry and afraid for her friend and Queen, but it was good to see without a doubt that the relationship between the dark warrior and the bard had progressed much further than the last time the pair had come to visit the Amazon village.  How far, she wasn't certain, but it was obvious that each woman regarded the other as much more than a friend. 

The Regent slid her dagger back in the sheath at her belt and cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the other two.  "I agree with Gabrielle.  It sounds to me that for once this has nothing to do with Xena's enemies.  This is a direct attack on the Amazons through our Queen, and therefore we shall use every resource to get to the bottom of this.  We'll talk of this again tomorrow." She smiled and walked between the two women, putting an arm around each waist.  "But…  Tonight we Party!" 

Part 2

(c) 2002 S. Day

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