“c7″> 

The
young woman’s voice now barely was above a whisper. "The
next morning I found myself naked and spread-eagled between two
trees at the other side of the camp. The whole staff was standing
there, and when the master came to me, I could see my handprint at
his cheek. There was sadness in his voice but his eyes were blazing
with anger. He said. 'What you did last night was really
disappointing, my young slave. You attacked your master, and your
punishment should be a painful death or at least I should cut off
the offending hand. But I’m not in the habit of damaging
worthy goods. Without your hands you won’t be able to write
and without your life you won’t be able to bear witness of my
justice.' He then gave a signal to someone behind me; I heard
the slashing of a whip and felt the burning pain consuming my whole
body. I soon lost my bearings but I know the whipping must have
continued. When I regained consciousness, there was a leather cuff
around my left ankle fixed to an iron ring in the floor of the
wagon. Bandages were wrapped around my upper body but every breath
sent a bolt of pain through my body. The next night we stayed at an
inn. I was asleep as soon as I was left alone, and when I opened my
eyes to the light of a flickering candle, I once again felt his
arms around me. This time I did what he asked me to do. He
didn’t come every night but often enough to let me dread
going to sleep, and always it started with an embrace and a
kiss."

“c7″> 

“c7″>Gabrielle raised her head and found the tear-filled eyes
of the older woman. "I’m not afraid of you, Xena. I
reacted to his touch, his breath, his demands; I was lost in bad
memories. Please forgive me. I probably can’t help it but I
don’t want you to be afraid of my
reactions."

“c7″> 

"I
won’t ever let anything like this happen to you again.
You’re free to make your own choices but if it does anything
good to you I‘ll have all of your former slave masters
arrested. None of them had the right to ill-treat you. Justice now
is in your hands."

“c7″> 

The
still injured woman obviously was tempted by Xena’s offer.
She searched the Conqueror’s face for signs of dishonesty or
falsehood but found none. "No, don’t do it, Xena. It
wouldn’t be justice. It would be vengeance. It won’t
change my past, nor my memories, nor my dreams, my nightmares. They
all thought they had a right to do what they did, and I thought
they had the right to do so also. Now I know better, and I thank
you for rescuing me."