“Xena…what a great name…” Gabrielle was musing. “It’s strong…powerful…and at the same time…feminine.” She continued marveling over her discovery and now she was holding a hand out. “Hello, Xena…I’m Gabrielle,” she said, as though they were being formally introduced.
Xena looked down at the extended hand for long seconds. Gabrielle watched as the brunette glanced down at her own hand, then back at Gabrielle. The slowly, she raised hers, and placed it against Gabrielle’s check.
Gabrielle held her breath as the woman continued to touch her face, her calloused fingers delicately tracing over the jawbone. Gabrielle’s smile faded, and her brow furrowed as Xena continued to examine her. She wasn’t sure what Xena was trying to do, but her exploring fingers were causing tingles to break out wherever she touched Gabrielle felt her face warm in a blush when she thought about other areas of her body that were tingling without the benefit of Xena’s touch. But now, Xena dropped her hand and moaned softly, reaching out toward her injured leg.
Any touch seemed to hurt her though, and soon, she was half sitting up, rubbing at the top of her thigh. Gabrielle watched her and thought about the medicine she carried in her bag. After trying to get Xena to let her use the antiseptic, she knew she would never be able to get Xena to take aspirin voluntarily.
She gently reached out and patted Xena’s injured shoulder. “I’ll be right back, Xena.”
Gabrielle had no way of knowing whether or not the strange savage woman could understand her, but the fact that she had comprehended when Gabrielle had asked for her name told Gabrielle that she might. If Xena had known English at some point in her life, then it might be possible for her to learn to speak it again. Remembering it would be easier than learning it for the first time.
Gabrielle filled her canteen with water from the river, then slipped three of her pain relievers into the opening in the container. She swished the liquid around until the pills had dissolved, but could smell the bitterness of the medicine had infiltrated the water. That wasn’t going to work. Then something caught her eye.
There was a rock ledge directly above the entrance to the cave, and Gabrielle noticed something lying on it, so she climbed up a few rocks. There was an assortment of drying roots and leaves lying there, and Gabrielle recognized the sweet scent of sassafras. “Perfect,” she mused, taking up a couple of the more dried pieces.
Briefly, Gabrielle wondered how Xena managed to keep animals away from her collection of roots and leaves, but she let it go for now. When Xena was capable of telling her, Gabrielle would find out her secret.
Xena made a lurching movement when Gabrielle entered the cave, then calmed visibly when she saw who it was. Gabrielle held up the root she had taken, and Xena pointed to a jug not far from her. When Gabrielle examined it, she found that Xena had somehow fastened it out of a piece of wood and it even included a handle and a spout..
Gabrielle smiled, and held up the canteen. “We’ll save yours for later,” hoping Xena would understand and trust her.
Either she did, or she was hurting too much to protest, but Xena watched as Gabrielle poured the water from her canteen into the animal skin pouch hanging above the fire, and stoked the fire. It took a few minutes for the water to boil, and Gabrielle spent the time checking out the interior of the cave.
It was obvious that the cave had been Xena’s home for a long time. Beside the corner which served as the sleeping quarters was a pile of fur blankets, no doubt to fight off Saskatchewan’s brutal winters.
Another corner looked like a sort of pantry, and Gabrielle saw piles of apples, nuts, and what looked like paw paws. There were more of the dried roots, some berries, and a couple more jugs like the one that held the water. Curious, Gabrielle looked inside them. One was empty and the other was filled with honey.
“Are you hungry, Xena?” Gabrielle asked, holding out an apple to the hurt woman.
Xena’s customary scowl deepened even further, and she pushed the apple back toward Gabrielle. Gabrielle sighed with a nod, and turned to put the apple back in its original place.
Gabrielle heard a strange guttural noise from Xena and turned to see she was still reaching for the apple. Figuring she had changed her mind, Gabrielle handed it to her, only to have it shoved back towards her.
“What are you doing?” Gabrielle asked, confused.
Once again, Xena pushed the red fruit toward her, only this time, she moved her lips a little, like she was chewing.
“Oh!” Gabrielle grinned finally realized what was happening. “Thank you!”
She took a generous bite of the apple, suddenly realizing that she truly was hungry.
Xena just watched her eat, the scowl lessening a bit.
The tea was ready, and Gabrielle poured a cup, also made out of a piece of wood. Gabrielle had collapsible cups in her pack, but thought this one would be more convenient and Xena would be more comfortable with her own.
“Drink this, “Gabrielle said, gently holding the cup to Xena’s lips.
She noticed then that Xena’s cheeks seemed to have more pink in them than before, and the woman’s eyes looked strangely dull.
“Oh God, I think you’re getting a fever,” Gabrielle exclaimed. She sat the cup down and pressed a hand to Xena’s flushed forehead, then cheek. She was very warm.
Praying that the aspirin would help a fever, Gabrielle picked up the cup and urged Xena to drink more. Xena swallowed a couple of small sips, and her head was suddenly moving downward again.
“Oh shit, Xena…” Gabrielle wasn’t given to cursing, but the fact that Xena had almost passed out on her frightened her. She reached down and slid her hands underneath Xena’s silken hair, lifting her head enough to help Xena get a few more swallows. Xena pulled a face, but drank down most of the cup.
“Good girl, Xena,” Gabrielle crooned, feeling an odd internal response at her own words. She laid the head back down gently. “Now try to get some sleep.” She plumped a fur beneath Xena’s head, and watched as the dark beauty closed her eyes. Then Gabrielle began to say a silent prayer.
Xena slept through most of the morning, and somewhere around daybreak, Gabrielle felt her own exhaustion overtake her. She laid down a couple feet away from Xena, satisfied that Xena felt cooler to the touch, and in minutes, Gabrielle was in a sound sleep.
She was awakened a while later by the sound of Xena whimpering in her sleep. She sat up, and saw Xena’s leg had slid off its perch and she had somehow drawn up the knee of her broken leg awkwardly in her sleep. Gabrielle gently straightened out the position of the leg, before elevating it again.
Thankfully, the temperature of Xena’s forehead seemed to be more normal. Gabrielle mixed a couple more painkillers with the tea still in the pouch and Xena drank it without even opening her eyes. She was able to swallow it down fairly easily.
Gabrielle smoothed Xena’s drawn forehead with a damp washcloth for several minutes, until the dark woman’s breathing returned to normal and her pain began to ease. Satisfied the hurt woman was sleeping soundly again, Gabrielle stoked the fire to keep it burning and laid back down.
In the afternoon, when Xena awoke again, she was sill in a good bit of pain, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t live with. She often slept during the day and moved about at night, so her body wasn’t dragged down by sleeping odd hours either. She felt surprisingly good, especially compared with the way she had felt before she had fallen asleep.
No, it was the presence of another creature in her cave that caught her off-guard at first. Xena pushed herself up on her hands, despite the protest of her shoulders.
The other one was curled up on her side, facing Xena. She was sleeping. Xena’s mind traveled back to what she had been through with her.
She had spotted the girl a couple of days ago, when she saw her walking along a deserted path toward the cave. At the last minute, the girl had changed directions and had ended up at the pond in the woods.
It was not unheard of for people to camp in the same woods Xena lived in, and half even came near her home during their time there. But Xena had always been able to stay hidden from them.
The little blonde was different however, from the average camper. Xena had never seen such a little one out by herself, and had purposely kept an eye on her to make sure she was okay
If there was one thing Xena hated, it was to be caught soaking wet by the rain. And when the storm had fired up, Xena had seen the girl take refuge in a tree. She had made her own way back to the cave, so she could avoid the freezing rain herself.
By sitting near the entrance to the cave, she could see the path the girl had taken, so when the rain stopped, she had watched for the girl to start moving again. She wasn’t sure why, but Xena wanted to follow her; just to make sure she got back to where she came from safely.
Sure enough, after a while, the girl had started moving again, but she seemed to be meandering. Xena kept a good distance, watching carefully, and soon realized the girl was lost.
Eventually though, the girl made her way to the river and started following it. Xena was impressed by the girl’s calmness and inventiveness.
The suddenly, the girl had given out a short scream, and Xena saw the cliff’s edge collapsing beneath her. Suddenly, no longer concerned about staying hidden, Xena had rushed to her aid.
The girl had seen her. Looked right into her eyes. And what disturbed Xena about it was the fact that the girl seemed surprised she was being rescued, but didn’t seem surprised to see who her rescuer was. Almost as if she expected to see her.
When Xena had made sure the girl was safe, she had taken off, disconcerted by the girl’s attitude. Why did the girl act so calm about seeing Xena? Was there something wrong with her? She couldn’t remember another person ever looking right at her before. She would have expected some sort of frightened or at least concerned response from the little one, but it just didn’t happen.
Xena tried not to let that concern her too much as she resumed tracking the now muddy girl. She saw the campfire which told there the girl was safe, and turned to leave.
Xena had only gotten a few feet away, when something viciously struck her in her lower back. She reached behind her to brush off the stinging sensation, and suddenly found herself under attack.
It was a large bunch of men who where attacking her, and some of them were savage. She felt a heavy stick hitting her leg, and since her body was already twisted into an odd angle, she heard the loud crack of her lower leg bone being broken. It was suddenly unable to support her, and Xena found herself losing the battle.
The brutal men threw a thick cloth bag on her head, which both blinded Xena and greatly hindered her breathing. Burning sensations in both shoulders, accompanied by triumphant and amazed shrieks from the men were next, and she suddenly found her arms lifeless as well. Even as she lay on the ground, futilely trying to move her body to avoid the blows, they continued to fall.
Gradually, though, the blows had tapered off to fall only occasionally, and although Xena didn’t give up trying to move, she let her mind try to figure out her situation. At first, she felt nothing but anger toward the girl, knowing she must be somehow associated with these men. She must have told them how to find her.
But after the beating continued, and most of the fight was out of her, she heard the sound of the girl’s voice as she approached. The girl sounded outraged and it was soon obvious that she was. She continued to fight and argue with the men for some time, and Xena got the feeling that she wasn’t very happy with what had happened.
Finally relieved by that, Xena felt another sting this time in her bicep, and she couldn’t maintain consciousness any more.
She awoke, the pain in her body settling through her like a salmon traveling upstream. She hurt all over, but the leg was by far the worst pain.
She had been tied to some sort of wooden structure, by very thick ropes. She would have a hard time getting free of them if she had been strong and healthy. But now…there was no way.
Xena tensed up when she hard a groaning sound and the men on either side of her had collapsed. She couldn’t see what had hit them, but a moment later, the blonde was removing the bag that was still on her head. For some reason, Xena wasn’t surprised to the girl was there.
The girl kept speaking to her, but Xena wasn’t sure what she was saying. Every once in a while, she though she might understand a word, but others would crowd it out of her head.
One thing she did sense however, was that the girl was trying to help her. Her voice and demeanor was slow and deliberately calm, and the tone of voice had a soothing effect on Xena, despite her pain and fear.
The girl was tying sticks around the broken leg, and Xena understood it would help hold the bones in place. When the little one motioned for Xena to pull the ropes tightly, and she did so despite the pain, it took her breath away. But somehow, she still knew she could trust the girl.
Gabrielle was urging her to get out of there, and Xena knew that was a wise plan. She could see the men were still breathing and knew they and the others would be coming back soon. But when she tried to stand, the bad leg gave out on her. The girl slipped under her arm, and helped support her weight. Half-carrying her, they eventually got back to the cave they were in now.
The girl sighed in her sleep, shaking Xena from her revelry. The girl’s hair looked so soft, and it was lighter than any of the fur of the forest creatures. It was lighter than the color of any of the turning leaves. It was lighter even than the sunlight when it was high in the sky.
Xena reached out a hand toward the golden blonde hair, and just barely let the ends lick her fingertips. She had never felt anything softer. Without give it a second thought, she stroked her hand through the short strands.
Her own hair was heavy on her neck, and felt like a protective curtain on the back of her head. It helped keep her warm in the wintertime. The girl’s on the other hand, was very fine, cool to the touch, and sifted easily through her curious fingers.
“Ga…gab…” Xena tried to imitate the sound of the girl’s name, but it had so long since she had spoken human speech. She had the first part right, but couldn’t remember the rest of it.
Gabrielle’s eyes opened suddenly, and her face pinkened when she realized she hadn’t just been dreaming someone was stroking her hair. “Hello,” she said softly, smiling into Xena’s eyes. “I’m sorry I slept so long.”
Xena quickly drew her fingers back from Gabrielle’s hair, almost looking as though she felt she had done something wrong. Gabrielle lifted her own hand to gently touch Xena’s cheek.
“How are you feeling, Xena? Any better?”
Xena understood her name, but that was all. She looked at Gabrielle at a loss.
Gabrielle pointed to the injured leg then, and Xena self-consciously rubbed at it a little bit.
“Is it bad?” Gabrielle asked, concentrating on slowing her speech down.
Xena narrowed her eyes and looked intently at Gabrielle. She tried again.
“Does it hurt, Xena?” she asked, making an exaggerated face of someone in a lot of pain. She pointed to the woman’s injured leg again. “Hurt? Oh…” she mock-groaned.
She could tell Xena’s brain was processing all this.
“Yes…or no?” Gabrielle nodded when she said yes, and shook her head for no, doing her best to be patient. “Does it hurt?”
After a beat, Xena spoke. “H…hurt.”
“Right!” Gabrielle beamed, excited. “Yes or no?”
“No.”
Gabrielle grinned wildly at Xena. “Very good!” she exclaimed. “You don’t hurt and you were able to tell me. Very good, Xena!”
“Xena…”
“Right,” Gabrielle replied, looking slightly puzzled. “Your name is Xena.”
“Xena…” The dark woman tapped herself on the chest and said it again. “Xena.” Then she taped Gabrielle’s chest. “Gab…gab…”
“Oh,” Gabrielle nodded, finally catching on. “My name is Gab-ri-elle.” She said each syllable slowly, pronouncing it carefully.
Xena watched her say it several times, and then tried to mimic Gabrielle. It took her a few tries, but soon, she was saying it pretty well, albeit rather slow.
“That is so good, Xena,” Gabrielle praised. “Very good! My name is hard to say.”
“Gabrielle…” Xena said it one more time, this time much smoother. Gabrielle nodded. The fact that Xena was speaking at all was very encouraging to her.
Gabrielle sat up and put her hand to Xena’s forehead. She felt perfectly normal to her, thankfully. Hower, the wounds on the shoulders had become a dark red, indicating infection might be setting in.
“This hurts, doesn’t it?” Gabrielle asked, pointing very near one of the injuries.
Xena jerked back as if afraid Gabrielle was going to actually touch her there. She glanced at Gabrielle, then lifted her arms tentatively, and immediately sucked in her breath.
“I thought so,” Gabrielle responded. She reached into the first aid kid that was still opened beside her. She pulled out the same antibiotic cream she had tried to use last night.
“Xena..” she said softly. “This will help you…okay? It will help you.” She squeezed some of the white stuff out on her fingertips as she had done before, Xena’s blue eyes trained on her every movement.
She offered Xena her most reassuring smile. “It will make you feel better, Xena.”
Xena started to jerk away, as she had on the previous night, but then seemed to catch herself. She drew in a deep breath, then held herself still.
“Thank you,” Gabrielle whispered softly as she skootched herself a little closer. She reached out to gently touch Xena’s left shoulder.
“Ahh…” Xena whimpered slightly, when the cream made contact with her inflamed flesh. As lightly as she could, Gabrielle began to rub the cream into the abrasions. Xena winced in pain, and watched her closely, but didn’t make a move to stop her.
When she was finished with the left shoulder, Gabrielle squeezed out some more of the cream on her finger, and just as meticulously, started on the other shoulder. The ointment would have a cooling effect on the hot flesh within minutes, and Xena’s face looked amazed, letting Gabrielle know that’s just what was happening.
Gabrielle finished up with the other shoulder, and started to draw her hand back. She was startled when Xena took her withdrawing wrist, and pulled the hand in front of her face. Gabrielle had to move with it, and suddenly found her own eyes within inches of the plaintive blue eyes of Xena. She tried to pull her wrist away, but Xena tugged firmly and gently on it. Gabrielle could feel the strength in the woman’s arm, despite her injury, and she allowed herself to be pulled in even closer.
Xena was struggling with trying to say something, and Gabrielle was already used to the signs that Xena’s brain was fighting to remember. Xena glanced down at Gabrielle, her shoulder, Gabrielle’s fingers, then back at the blonde.
“Gabrielle…” she said cautiously, and Gabrielle nodded encouraging her. With only a little stumbling, she delivered her message. “Thank you.”
Gabrielle grinned at her new companion, delighted. Since Xena had said this on her own, perhaps her speaking was going to be easier than she thought.
“Very good, Xena,” she replied. “You’re welcome.”
Xena continued to hold her close to her, so close that Gabrielle could feel the other woman’s warm breath against her eyelashes. The woman seemed to be studying the blonde, her amazing eyes searching every feature on Gabrielle’s startled face. When the lashes lowered so Xena was studying Gabrielle’s mouth, Gabrielle gave a small squeak from the tingle that suddenly welled up inside her body. Her own eyes were suddenly glued to Xena’s mouth, those soft full lips that were slightly parted, giving her a flash of perfect white teeth just beyond.
Gabrielle suddenly found her breath catching in her lungs. The softened expression on Xena’s face seemed to stop all of the normal functions of her body. Gabrielle let the tip of her tongue nervously moisten her own lips, wondering what Xena was thinking and what was going to happen.
Xena watched the nervous licking, and her eyes raised to meet Gabrielle’s again. “Thank you,” she whispered, one more time, and then she suddenly released Gabrielle, only to sink back on to the furs.
It took a few seconds for the beating of Gabrielle’s heart to resume a normal pace. She continued to sit unmoving for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had just happened. From her reclined position, Xena returned the stunned look, and then gradually, her eyelids began to grow heavy.
Finally, shaking herself free from the spell, Gabrielle lifted up the tube of ointment again.
She spent a few more minutes using the cream on what appeared to be the worse of Xena’s injuries, without another word from her. Gabrielle couldn’t help but notice that most of the wounds were already partially healed, new pink skin creeping over the splits in the flesh. None of these wounds seemed to be causing Xena any pain.
“You’re a fast healer.” Gabrielle clucked her tongue at Xena, giving her a soft smile. The woman was a constant source of amazement.
Deciding to forego covering the wounds with gauze for the time being, Gabrielle put the cream back in the first aid kit, and closed it, then slid it back into her backpack. Once that was done, she gestured toward the pile of food on the far side of the cave. “Are you hungry now, Xena?” she asked.
Xena gave a slight start at the words, and Gabrielle , much chagrined, realized she the injured woman almost been asleep again. Xena’s eyes popped open again, and she focused on the blonde.
“I’m sorry,” Gabrielle said, lowering her voice. She pointed toward the food again. “Are you hungry?”
It took a second for the words to seem to register, and Xena whispered, “No.”. She lifted a hand toward Gabrielle and then the food, and her eyes began to succumb to exhaustion again. Gabrielle smiled and waved. “I’ll be okay, Xena, go ahead and sleep.” She pillowed her face on her hands, and briefly shut her eyes before giving a nod toward Xena, letting her know it was okay for her to sleep.
Gabrielle sat there on a thick fur, watching the slumber overtake Xena. She doubted the taller woman normally slept that much, but perhaps it was her body’s way of helping to heal itself. The afternoon sky peeked through the entrance of the cave, and Gabrielle thought about exploring a bit outside the cave before it grew dark, but decided against it. The last thing she wanted to do was get lost again or even worse, be seen by some of the men of the campsite. Realizing her bladder was calling to her, she did step outside long enough to make use of the river in the same way Xena had earlier. Gabrielle was far less casual and comfortable with it, but it did rest easier than using a spot behind a tree somewhere. Besides, she thought with a wicked giggle, the men’s camp was downstream.
She returned to the cave, and seeing Xena still sleeping fairly comfortably, Gabrielle drew her writing pad out of her bag, and began to record the details of what had happened thus far in this new adventure. She had consistently been told her photography skills were superior to her writing skills, but she simply loved to take pen to paper. She had been keeping a journal of her trip up through last night, and was quickly bent over the legal pad, detailing the last twelve hours.
She worked efficiently for an hour or so, and then got to the point where she needed to describe Xena’s looks. Gabrielle chewed on the end of her pen as she looked over at the other woman and tried to find the words for the woman’s effect on her.
Exquisite and gorgeous didn’t seem to be strong enough words when the woman’s sheer charisma was taken into account. Alluring, magnetic, exotic…those weren’t quite right either. Certainly, they were all accurate, but they weren’t ENOUGH.
“Just gazing upon her makes my heart beat faster, my stomach flutter nervously, and brings other reactions I don’t dare divulge in a family publication.” Gabrielle looked at the words she had written, and blushed, but so help her, they were true. Just sitting here a few feet of the woman made every one of her senses feel ultra-heightened. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to have developed a few new sense organs.
Embarrassed by what she was considering writing, Gabrielle set her notepad aside for now. She was so confused by what her body was telling her, and the feelings were totally foreign to her. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was feeling, but the more she analyzed them, the more she began to suspect what they might be
“This is ridiculous,” she said aloud, shaking her head. “I’m not attracted to women. Heck, I’m not even attracted to men.” She sat back and regarded the woman, thinking about Perry, the man she had been engaged to. They had dated for two years, and when Perry had asked her to marry him, she had hesitated, then finally said yes. Her family adored the young men, and as he was an engineering student, they were confident he would be a great husband for Gabrielle.
As for Gabrielle, she found Perry to be kind, sweet, loyal, and tender. Very tender. She loved him, but looking back on the situation, she had never been in love with him. In fact, as the date of their wedding began to loom closer, Gabrielle began to have second, third, and fourth thoughts. Perry grew a bit bolder in showing his affections, kissing and holding Gabrielle for hours while telling her how wonderful married life was going to be. It only made Gabrielle surer she had made a mistake in agreeing to marry him.
She had even felt a bit deserted by Genevive over the situation. According to the older woman, who had never been married herself, being Perry’s wife would be one of those risks that would help Gabrielle make it in the world. Gabrielle had left her friend’s office still upset and unsure, and found her parents waiting for her in the hallway.
“Gabrielle, Honey,” her mother, Helen, had said, taking Gabrielle’s hand. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. “There’s been an accident.”
Perry had been killed in a car accident on his way to one of his evening classes. The reason for his accident was never determined, and the college community chalked it up to a horrible accident. Gabrielle suffered through terrible periods of loss and guilt for not really wanting to marry Perry, but Genny had helped her through the rough times, eventually convincing Gabrielle it wasn’t her fault. Gabrielle believed that to this day, but had also convinced herself that she would never be attracted that way to someone again. The pain wasn’t worth it. She didn’t want Perry for her husband, but she certainly didn’t want him to die either.
Since Perry, she had been on a few dates, but always as friends, and none of them ended with more than a chaste good night kiss. A virgin at twenty-six, Gabrielle had pretty well convinced herself she would die untouched, and in truth, it didn’t bother her. She had heard her friends giggle over their sexual exploits with various men, but never truly felt the need to see what all the fuss was about. She had learned to tame her own sexual frustrations in the privacy of her own bed, alone, and that had kept her satisfied for this long.
But now, looking at Xena so peacefully reposing, Gabrielle felt the pressure between her legs that usually signaled she should think about seeking release. Usually those sensations would only come about late at night, sometimes after she had seen a particularly romantic movie or read a steamy chapter in a book. She had certainly never felt them just from looking at or thinking about a real person.
And Xena was most definitely a real person. If Gabrielle leaned over just a bit, she could feel the heat radiating off the tall tanned body, and she could easily hear the shallow breaths the woman was taking. Her eye lashes were inky black crescents against those high cheekbones, and were nearly as devastating as the brilliant blue eyes they sheltered.
Gabrielle couldn’t help but note the closer she got to Xena, the faster her heart beat and the harder it grew for her to breathe. She held a shaky hand out, and gently touched the thick hair framing the right side of Xena’s face. It felt like silk.
She drew her hand back startled a couple seconds later. Xena’s eyes had opened, and were staring directly into hers in her disarming way. “Gabrielle,” the dark haired woman whispered.
Xena reached her own hand out, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her shoulder, then took Gabrielle’s hand in her own. She gave a tug, and Gabrielle found herself being pulled down to stretch out beside Xena. She swallowed hard, and lost herself in a sea of darkening blue waters.
Taking Risks Main Page
The Xena and Gabrielle XXX Scrolls Page 4
Home