Regrets Chapter 2
"What's going on?" Gabrielle asked.
Xena gave her an ironic grin. "I really don't know yet," she replied. "Whoever is leading these men have very unusual tactics."
"Why are we going west?" Gabrielle asked. "I thought you were more concerned with the men to the north."
"I am," Xena answered. "But we're too easy to spot out here. We'll go west, till we reach the base of the mountains, then turn north. I have the feeling...those men we just fought are going to do the same thing."
Gabrielle let all this soak in. "You know," Xena, added slowly, "I should give you another chance to take off for Acrimonius."
Gabrielle stopped her with a hand on her arm. "That's what I figured." Xena grinned. "I'll save myself the trouble."
They had lost track of the fleeing men, but Gabrielle spotted another glint of metal a quarter mile ahead. "Did you-" she began, and then censored herself, knowing full well that Xena had seen it. "Who was that?"
"It's whoever was lurking outside the village," Xena answered. "He's very good, but he must have recently had his horse shod. He should have taken the shine off."
Gabrielle nodded. "Did you see him when we were in the village?" she asked her statuesque friend.
Xena looked down at her. "No," she replied. "I don't know whose side he's on."
The sun was rapidly sinking into the horizon when they reached the base of the mountains, and easily picked up the trail of the retreating soldiers. Xena had purposely walked the distance, so as not to be spotted by the retreaters in front of them.
"Are you up to the climb?" she asked Gabrielle.
Gabrielle looked up, and saw the winding trail. It wasn't very steep. "Sure!" she replied, her usual enthusiasm in place. She seemed to have completely forgotten about being so tired earlier that afternoon.
Xena smiled at her exuberance, and they began the ascent.
They had only been traveling another fifteen minutes, when Xena paused, mid-stride. Gabrielle strained her ears, and heard male voices. "The camp?" she whispered.
Xena nodded, her body taut. Suddenly, she whispered savagely to Gabrielle, "Stay here!" and bolted off, her movements lightning fast. Scant seconds later, Gabrielle heard a muffled "oomph", and then Xena was moving back through the brush, dragging someone behind her.
She thrust her arm toward the ground, and the someone lowered his arms just in time to catch himself before his face hit the rocky soil. After a beat, the man stood tall.
His face was stern, but Gabrielle saw amusement and admiration in his eyes when he looked first at Xena, then at her, then back at Xena again. "Very, very good," he said, his voice softer than expected.
Xena watched him, her arms crossed, her face expressionless as she studied him. She knew the bard would take over.
She did. "Who are you?"
The man turned his gaze back to her. "My name is Jamen," he answered. "I am from Morob. And I'm here to stop these men from continuing."
Gabrielle found herself staring. Jamen had focused on her, and his eyes were a steely gray, deceptively light in color, with the longest eyelashes she'd ever seen on a man. His face was angular, yet smooth, with a day's growth of beard on its lower half. His shoulder length hair was honey blonde in color, and looked wavy and soft. When he talked, Gabrielle caught flashes of straight, white teeth. He was dressed in light brown leather trousers, which were tucked into dark brown boots. His shirt was beige, sleeveless, and open necked. He was tall and muscular, and his mannerisms were gentle and non-threatening. He was the most breath-taking man she had ever seen.
Wondering if Xena was as caught up in his appearance, Gabrielle managed to tear her gaze from Jamen, and look at her tall friend.
Xena was studying Jamen thoughtfully, her eyes not giving any indication that she had noticed Jamen's fine masculinity. Gabrielle knew the look well; Xena was sizing him up, determining whether or not they should trust him.
Jamen turned his dazzling gaze to Xena then. "You're quick," he told her. "I wasn't trailing you, and didn't know you were after me until you were there, but I still should have gotten away."
Xena gave him the smug smile then, but remained silent. Jamen turned to Gabrielle once again. "You know my name, how about returning the favor?"
"I'm Gabrielle," she answered, "and this is-"
"Xena!" Jamen exclaimed, his face breaking into a wide grin. "I should have known!" His reaction was one of pleasure and admiration.
"Oh yeah?" Xena asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Yeah! I saw the whole fight in the village, and you caught my eye. Not only did you organize the men in no time, but you were also the best fighter I've ever seen."
"Thank you," Xena replied, a slight smile curving her lips. "Now, would you like to tell us why you are trailing these men?"
Jamen looked from blue eyes to green. He had heard many stories about the incredible skills of the Warrior Princess and the Bard, and had heard they were quite an attractive twosome, but he hadn't been prepared for the sheer beauty of the both of them.
Gabrielle looked very young, hardly old enough to be away from home, let alone old enough to travel with someone who attracted as much danger as Xena did. Her hair was shoulder length, and golden blonde in color, almost the same shade as his own. Her big green eyes were the color of summer leaves in a dewy morning, bright and sparkling. Her nose was pert, and well shaped. She wore some kind of short shirt and skirt that he vaguely recognized as being Amazon. They highlighted her taut abs and shapely legs. She was a bit too young for him, but when she was fully matured, she would take any man's breath away. He had the feeling she had already broken a few hearts.
"So?" Xena asked, breaking his reverie.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," Jamen blinked, then said, "I've been trailing these men for quite a while. They're very elusive," The threesome started to cautiously move up the mountain again. Jamen continued, "But I'm not really after the men, I'm after the man who leads them."
"And who is that?" Xena asked.
Jamen paused, and then said incredulously, "You mean you're after this guy, and you don't even know who it is?"
Xena was nonplussed. "Whoever he is, his men were attacking a peaceful village. That automatically makes him our enemy. It wouldn't matter who it was."
Jamen nodded. "I understand," he replied. "I know you and Gabrielle have dedicated yourself to stopping all sorts of injustice. I wish my cause were that noble. But I only have one goal..." He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but no sound came out. Xena immediately knew why. She had heard it too, the sound of voices again.
"Stay low," Xena whispered to Gabrielle and Jamen, and they crept forward, as the voices got louder.
It wasn't long before they were able to see their goal; the war camp. Xena scanned the camp, and whispered to the two on either side of her, "There are about twenty-five men here. From the look of things, the majority of them have already packed up and moved on."
"Damn it," Jamen spat, and his face held an expression of irritation, but not surprise.
"Are we going to go after them?" Gabrielle asked.
Xena was still studying Jamen, but turned now to look at Gabrielle. "It would more than likely be a waste of time. This isn't the main power of the group. In fact, some of those men are the ones we beat earlier today."
"You're right," Jamen agreed. "Barclan layers his men, putting the weakest and the newest on the outside edge. That's what these men are. They barely have a clue what's going on. In fact, they've probably never even seen Barclan."
Xena was searching her memory. "Barclan," she echoed..."Barclan...I don't think I've ever heard of him."
"That doesn't surprise me," Jamen replied. "He uses a lot of different names. Barclan is just the one I know best."
Xena took one last look at the camp, and then said, "It won't do any good for me to put the pinch on any of those guys?"
Jamen shrugged. "I don't even know if it's worth getting your hands dirty. All you'd get from them is the rendezvous with the second layer, and it would be just as easy to follow them."
Xena considered the situation. "What are you planning on doing?" She asked Jamen.
"I'll go around the camp, and continue to follow the trail," he replied. "It's what I've been doing for a moon."
Xena had seen the stealth and cautiousness he had used earlier in the day. She knew he was a skilled tracker, and if he had been having that much trouble tracking down the leaders, it would be a few days before she and Gabrielle could do the same. And she had made a promise to her young friend that she intended to keep.
"I'll tell you what," she said to Jamen. "We'd like to help you out on this. But Gabrielle and I have to make a side trip to Acrimonius for a few days. Why don't you travel along with us? When we're finished there, we'll pick up the trail."
Jamen considered it. "I don't know," he said hesitantly. "I'd hate to lose their trail..."
"Trust me," Xena smiled confidently. "We won't lose them. And you yourself said you'd been trailing them for a moon. What difference could a couple more days make?"
Gabrielle hadn't said a word during this, but Xena didn't have to look at her to know her face registered surprise. She and Xena rarely had someone travel with them, especially someone they didn't really know.
Jamen was still very hesitant. "Look, you won't hurt our feelings if you don't want to go with us," Xena told him, nonchalantly. "I just thought you might want some company..." She shrugged and trailed off, her eyes twinkling at Gabrielle.
Jamen hated to pass up the opportunity. "All right," he said. "Like you said, a few more days couldn't hurt."
Chapter 3
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