Start All Over
By Absinthe
WARNING: Violence ahead. For disclaimer, see part one.
Mega Happy Ending:
I am sore all over and bleeding from a few minor cuts already. One of the guards gets in a solid blow, and in the moment of disorientation I suffer afterwards, I lose the sword. Spots dance before my eyes, and one of the men circles behind me, trying to knock me forward onto my knees. I stumble forward a pace before I returned to my senses to see his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the business end of a turning spit protruding from his stomach. I glance over his shoulder at a triumphant, and yet dumbfounded Erykah. Smiling slightly then, my lips part to release a sound I had almost forgotten how to make. My war-cry clearly surprises the other two men still on their feet. Taking two steps backwards, I relieve the now dead man of his blade and dispatch the two remaining guards as quickly as I can.
Chaymon lay unconscious in the dirt in front of me. Erykah stands behind me, face jubilant. I ponder the mystery of what to do with our former captor. I am so tempted to kill him that I could feel his hot blood gushing out of his neck over my hands... But Gabrielle had taught me better I guess. I tie him up in the most uncomfortable position I can devise and leave him where he lay. Erykah dogs my every movement like a lost kitten. Finding the slave who is in charge of fitting collars to people, I set him about releasing all of the former slaves in the caravan, starting with himself. Erykah follows me to the flap of Pymer's tent, but refuses to go inside, where the healer is hurriedly packing up what he thinks he'll need.
I stride into the tent, hiding my exhaustion, and grab him by the front of his cotton tunic.
"Pymer, I want you out of here in less than a candle mark. You will take only your clothing, and a few days worth of food," I shake him to punctuate what I am telling him, "You will go on foot, and if I EVER hear of you getting involved in another slavery racket, I will PERSONALLY hunt you down." I release him and tromp out of the tent in a cloud of false bravado. Outside, the now free slaves stand about indecisively, not sure whether or not it is safe to be happy. Their eyes follow me out of the tent, and I try not to show my irritation with them.
"Well?" I shout, "Don't you all want to go HOME?" There is an emphatic, affirmative response, but no one seems capable of actually doing anything. Oh for CRYING OUT LOUD. I think, wiping sweat tainted with blood out of my eyes, I start organizing them into traveling groups, one for each direction. They manage to divide up the wagons and provisions without my help, giving me the chance to get the slave collar and bracelets cut off. Erykah pads along behind me through the woods as I follow my senses to the nearest source of running water. I feel a great weight lift from my heart as the clear stream comes into view. It seems at that moment that everything will be all right. I fall to my knees on the bank of the creek and plunge my face into the icy water.
"Let me help you," Erykah says shyly, using the hem of her skirt to wash my arms and neck while I quench my thirst and try to calm the still wild beating of my heart. The cold water soothes the myriad cuts and bruises I had won in the battle. We sit silently by the stream for I don't know how long, just listening to the water and enjoying the taste of freedom. My mind wanders back over the countless streams I have seen in the past, images of Gabrielle filling waterskins, washing clothes, bathing..... But today, my body feels as though it has been run over by a herd of wild horses from a fight that I should have been able to handle one handed. I couldn't blame that ALL on lack of practice either. The only difference between this fight, and all the ones that I had faced since Gabrielle's death, was that this time I hadn't been alone. I shake my head to clear the cobwebs and ask Erykah,
"Where is your family?" her bright eyes darken for just a moment.
"I.. They... They... They didn't make it. Chaymon's men...." she trails off. I nod silently, offering what comfort I could with an awkward embrace, "I keep forgetting, and I guess that as long as I knew I couldn't go home.. I could pretend they'd still be there..." she sniffles. I loosen my hold on her, trying to hint that I want her to move, but she doesn't, she just continues to lean against me. It reminds me a lot of Gabrielle again; she always liked to be held.
"What about you? Where's your family?" she asks suddenly regaining control of herself. I laugh.
"They're long dead," I shrug. I -- I who had once possessed the shortest life expectancy of all my family am the only one left.
"You don't have any children?" she seems surprised.
"I did. Once," I reply, barely able to get the words out, "C'mon, we need to go check on the others," I say at last, gently pushing Erykah up to her feet. I stand up more slowly, every muscle in my body protesting. I can still feel every blow I'd taken from Chaymon's men. When Erykah and I return to the camp, all of the guards are collared and cuffed and chained. The freed slaves are ransacking their captors' belongings jubilantly. A middle aged woman carrying a large leather sack waves me over to her, saying, "I think I found your stuff Xena!"
And she has. She hands me the sack, which contains my sword, chakram, and breast dagger, as well as the various items that I had gone to Potedeia to get in the first place.
Wearing my weapons comfortably, I find the place where the horses are picketed. Chaymon's people certainly couldn't complain about their mounts. I select a huge black mare from the herd, and while she's no war horse, I'll change that in time. Erykah hangs back from the animals nervously.
"Afraid of horses?" I ask.
"No...Not really." She laughs anxiously. I smile reassuringly at her, and coax her nearer to my chosen mare. I pull her to me, pressing her hand to the animal's velvet muzzle. Erykah grins foolishly, starting to stroke the horse's face.
"Where are you going to go?" Erykah whispers as if she was afraid to frighten the mare.
"I don't know. Back out there," I wave my hand in the general direction of nowhere. She is staring at me again, but this time with the obvious desire to ask another question. I watch her thoughts run across her face. As much as I want her to ask it, I won't push her. At last, she blurts, "I want to go with you."
I grin at her. I'll have to toughen her up, that much is obvious, she is still a soft creature, but I'll have her whipped into shape soon enough.
"Its not going to be easy," I say.
"Its all right," she grins too now, "I'll learn."
We spend that night with the stragglers who have decided to wait a day before heading to their homes. At dawn the next morning I rise, ignoring my still aching body to go saddle up Medea as I have decided to call my new mount. Packed at last, I return to the tent to rouse Erykah.
"C'mon," I say, shaking her gently. She grumbles a bit, then remembers where she is and sits bolt upright then scrambles to her feet. I grin at her sleep tousled countenance.
"Go saddle up," I suggest, having already taught her to tack up the smallish, rather old but very docile animal she had selected for herself. Erykah goes happily about her appointed task, but actually getting onto the little horse is another thing entirely. She may have overcome some of her initial fear of the beasts, but she still doesn't know how to ride. I boost her up into the saddle, then mount Medea. Talking reassuringly to Erykah all the way, we follow the road away from the past and into a new life, ready to start all over, and this time, I am not alone.
And just in case you missed your chance,
Do the mega sad ending
Do the Scooby Doo endingBack to Under the Pink
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Email: absinthe@earthling.net