Magic Misplaced

By Katrinna Pint

Disclaimer: This story contains content of a sexual nature & graphic content.

The ruins of the once glorious temple towered overhead like majestic mountains worn away by time. Thier pearly-white surfaces reflected mystery and elegant simplicity on the two mortals walking amongst them. The sun was low in the sky, but time seemed to stand still in this mythical place.

Gabrielle was awestruck by the peace that surrounded this place, and unconciously held her breath in an attempt to keep the essence of it inside her. Xena stood not far hehind her friend, absorbing Gabrielle's unabashed reaction to this abandoned monument.

She could feel it also; the tranquility of spirit seeped into your soul the moment you passed through the crumbling marble gates.

Gabrielle raised her arms and stretched slowly, tautening every muscle in her body before slowly letting the txquisite tention fade.

"I could stay here forever. Thank you for bringing me here Xena."

Xena's lips curled softly at the corners as she replied, "I'm glad you like it. this has been my secret retreat for a very long time. I haven't been back here since..."

Xena's smile and voice faded away. Gabrielle turned to look at the stricken expression her friend wore. The anguish she displayed told her everything she needed to know. Only a mother would know that look.

"Solen?" she asked.

Xena nodded and hugged her arms to her torso.

"Yes. Just after he was born. I came her when I couldn't contain myself any longer. The balance I searched so hard for I finally discovered here."

Tilting her head slightly to her right, Xena indicated a recessed opening in one imposing, white wall.

"Through there is a chamber. You might want to see this. Every surface in the room is covered in writing. Even the floors and ceiling."

Gabrielle's calness turned into excitement the moment she entered the room. Xena was right. She would have regretted missing this!

Indeed, everythingwas covered in writing. But not ink or paint, but masterfully carved driectly from the stone slabs themselves. The cool marble twisted and curled in the unintelligible arcs of a language long dead. At the far end of the room arose a smooth platform of dark granite, lit from above by the sun setting beyond the collapsed roof.

"There. That is the best place to pass the night. I've searched every corner of the ruin and I couldn't find any better place. Strange though..."

"What?" Gabrielle asked.

"The first time I came here I found this room right away. And yet the others that have come here have never found it. Their campfires litter most of the grounds."

Xena's drifting thoughts were forcefully pulled back to the present when Gabrielle laughed and replied, "Then it's lucky for us that they haven't or else we'd be spending all our time cleaning up instead of exploring."

Xena smiled and turned back to the entrance.

"You still get to clean up. Unless you like sleeping on cobwebs and bird droppings."

Gabrielle groaned as she looked closer at their chosen rest area. She thought to change her mind, but when she turned to comment, Xena was already out the doorway and retrieving their gear.

Oh well, she mused. It's better than some of the places they'd stayed. With renewed enthusiasm, Gabrielle began preparing the area for occupancy, anxious to begin her nightly meditation in such enhansed surroundings.