The destruction of the once prosperous amazon village was heartrending. The burned out shell of the meeting hall stood in blackened agony, a testament to the brutality and suffering human hands have given. Bodies of slain amazons littered the landscape, many still clutching a child or a sword to their lifeless chest.
Gabrielle walked in a daze from one victim to another. Tears poured from her anguished eyes as she spotted a small baby, lying trampled in the street. Xena stood beside her, surveying the desolation as one used to atrocities would. The scene still had the power to sicken her, though.
“Xena, why would they do this?” Gabrielle knelt next to another slain warrior and looked up at her friend. She felt the anguish rush through her in waves, churning her stomach and making her want to strike out any way she could.
“I don’t know. this careless slaughter..., Gabrielle,” Xena reached out with a sigh, “Even I don’t understand this.”
Resting a gentle hand on her dejected friends shoulder, Xena tried to offer what consolation she could. But Gabrielle’s blood was hot with the need for justice.
“They must pay for this, Xena. We can’t just let them get away with murder.”
“They won’t. I promise you.” Releasing her friend, Xena started walking into the forest. “But right now, we need to give them a proper burial.”
The funeral pyre was immense. The inferno seemed to kiss the sky with it’s hypnotic dance, releasing billowing smoke from it’s raging heat. The fire became the final ending, returning the daughters of the earth back to their mother.
Above the roar of the flames, a voice sang sweet and pure, lifting the departed souls on their way to eternity. Another voice whispered the words of the twilight chant, ensuring her sisters would again find happiness in the next lifetime. And then, all was silent save the crackling of the embers as the blaze began to die.
Xena and Gabrielle fought the tears as they bid their friends goodbye. They turned, and in wordless communication, drew one another to their arms and held each other tight.
“So much death.” Gabrielle whispered, and Xena stroked her cropped, blonde hair.
“They deserve peace now, Gabrielle. Not our regrets.”She nudged her sorrowful friend in the chin, and Gabrielle mournfully looked up. Xena’s eyes sparkled with her conviction. “They are at peace. Trust in that.”
Gabrielle was nodding her agreement when both women were startled by the sound of a charred stick snapping, as if stepped on by a careless foot. Back in the village, Xena spotted a small figure, racing anxiously for the shadows.
Xena and Gabrielle both gave chase, anxious to learn if this individual knew anything about this terrible tragedy. The small, indistinguishable figure was fast, racing well ahead of Xena and Gabrielle. Occasionally, they lost sight of the runner, but following close behind, they managed to keep the person in sight, irregardless of the many hills and curves the figure used.
Just as Xena was sure she would have the person in her grasp, the fleet foot of the small spy carried it around a curve and behind a large pile of boulders. Xena and Gabrielle circled around on a well worn path, expecting to see the diminishing back of their quarry racing up the steep hill. But instead, they found themselves within inches of the deadly blades pointed right at them.
