The three tribeswomen never flinched. They had faced the trial of hell, and knew themselves to be forged as strong as their blades.
Xena and Gabrielle raised their hands in surrender. Not because they were outnumbered, but because these were some of the Amazons who had escaped their fate. The women didn’t expect their surrender, and made no move in advance.
“Who are you? Why were you in the village?” The tall, blonde warrior in the middle asked her questions rapidly, obviously the chosen leader of the group.
“We mean you no harm. Please, put down your sword. We are friends to the Amazons. You can trust us.” Gabrielle wanted to reassure them that they wouldn’t fight. But her request had the opposite effect.
“Do you think we’re stupid? If we put our weapons down, we’ll be ambushed in seconds. Your cohorts will see to that.”
Xena understood the fear living inside them. the loss of their world had scarred them deeply, and mere words wouldn’t help. Slowly she lowered her hand and while they watched, grasped her chakram. the women tensed and nearly withdrew altogether, but Xena only offered over the only weapon she had with her.
“She didn’t lie to you. My name is Xena. This is Gabrielle. If you wish, you can take our weapons. We will not fight you.”
Another amazon, a brunette with a short, powerful build, commented, “Gabrielle? that was the name of one of our great queens. We still sing tales of her heroism around the campfire.”
“We used to.” The third amazon muttered.
And in that instant, they looked defeated. Gabrielle’s heart cried out at so much pain. She had to do something to help.
“You may not believe this, but I am the same Gabrielle you’ve been told about.”
“Impossible! Queen Gabrielle has been dead for years! You speak blasphemy!”
Bristling with anger, the amazons regained a bit of their spirit. Gabrielle knew she could convince them. Slowly, like Xena did, she reached into a small pouch tucked at the waistline of her skirt. From inside, she withdrew the beaded necklace of her Queenship.
The amazons gasped audibly, knowing the necklace was one of a kind and always destroyed upon the death of their queen.
“How do we know you didn’t steal it?”
Gabrielle smiled. “Have you ever heard the story of how Queen Gabrielle united the Amazons in a fight against Rome?”
The group reluctantly nodded.
“The one thing that only another Amazon would know is that I agreed to end the battle if Rome would leave the Amazon nation alone. But Rome broke our treaty. The roman armies, nor anyone outside the amazon nation, had ever heard about our agreement.”
The three women believed then. Slowly, they resheathed their swords and allowed the tension to drain away.
“You really are the Queen?”
“In the flesh.” Gabrielle smiled and her sincerity won them over.
Xena stood back and watched her friend work her magic. When the tension had passed, she smiled and offered her hand in friendship. With only a moments hesitation, the leader took it, grasping her wrist in the universal show of friendship.
