“c7″> 

“c7″>"It was my pleasure,
Gabrielle."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"Would you please stay until I’m asleep? I
don’t want to be alone right now."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"I’ll hold your hand, so you won’t feel
alone."

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

x x x
x x

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

The
young soldiers' sword missed her head only by a quarter of an
inch; had it been a more seasoned warrior she certainly would at
least have been injured. She disarmed him with the next two strikes
and called an end to the sparring session. When she turned to find
her bathroom, she found the sparkling green eyes of her patient
waiting for her at the far edge of the training
grounds.

“c7″> 

“c7″>"The last one got pretty close, Xena. I hope you
didn’t do this on purpose."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"No need to worry, Gabrielle. My body knows how to
protect itself. How long were you watching?"

“c7″> 

“c7″>"Long enough to know that your head was leagues
away. You should take care of yourself better than this. I
don’t want you to get hurt."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"Why is this? You certainly don’t owe me. If
I would have been able to abolish slavery you never would have been
in need of my help."

“c7″> 

"I
would be dead by now, Xena, and this you know better than anyone. I
talked to one of your commanders, his name’s Palemon. He told
me that you stayed in the healer’s hut for days without a
break to save my life though the local healer would have let me
die. So, yes, I owe you, and yes, I care about you, but I
don’t know why. I learned the hard way not to trust easily
but I can’t help it with you. It just feels right, despite
everything."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"Thank you, Gabrielle. It’s been a long time
since someone cared about me, and I'll try to be less
thoughtless in the future. I’d like to take a walk through
the gardens with you but there’s a bunch of merchants already
waiting to bore me to death with their petty arguments about
profits and stuff."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"Trading agreements are important not only for the
merchants, Xena. I’m sure you know this. It’s much
harder to bargain for things the farmers can’t produce
themselves without them. I know, sometimes they are really boring
but usually it’s worth the effort. Would you mind if I come
and listen?"

“c7″> 

"I
would be delighted to have you at my side, Gabrielle. But only if
you’re sure you’re already up to this kind of
activity."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"I’ll only have to sit and listen. It beats
staring at the ceiling all day."

“c7″> 

“c7″>"Very good. I’ll take a bath, and then we can
grab some lunch and meet with the merchants. You just saved my
day."

“c7″> 

END OF
FLASHBACK

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

“c7″>-x-x-x-x-

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

“c7″>To be continued in Chapter Two: The
Journey

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

“c7″> 

“c7″>