Gabrielle frowned and shushed Xena. "Well,
Diana, you see, it seems that the men had mistaken the Amazons for
these beasts – you know we – uh, they wear masks when
they fight."

"Oh," said Diana, nodding in understanding.
"Hey, wait a minute – you mean Amazons were terrorising
the village? I don't think so."

"Wait, Diana, let me finish the story,"
said Gabrielle. "You see, it was all a misunderstanding.
Hercules came and got the Amazons and the Village of Men to sit
down and talk things out with each other – "

"Yeah, talk," chuckled Xena.

Gabrielle glared at her and Xena playfully covered
her mouth with one hand, wordlessly promising to be good.

"Anyway, they all came to an understanding and
agreed that they wouldn't fight anymore. In the meantime,
though, Hercules and Queen Hippolyta fell in love."

Diana wrinkled her nose.

"Eewww, mush!" she said. "Where does
the princess come into this story?"

"Right about here, I think," said Xena.
"Just listen, Diana."

"Hercules had to go back to Thebes to help other
people, but what he didn't know until later was that he and
Hippolyta had a daughter – the Princess," Gabrielle
said.

"Oh," said Diana, smiling. "What
happened to her?"

"Well, something very sad happened," said
Gabrielle. "Hippolyta was killed in a battle and the princess,
who was only a little baby at the time, was captured. The Amazons
tried very hard to find her, but she was just too well-hidden. The
Amazons are very stubborn and for a long time they looked for their
princess all by themselves. Finally, they had to ask Hercules for
help – they knew, you see, that if Hercules knew that he had
a daughter, he would not stop until he found her. Hercules talked
to his father, Zeus. And Zeus told him where the little princess
was."

"Where was she?" asked Diana, breathlessly
caught up in the tale.

"Right here," said Xena, standing.

"It's you?" asked Diana, her eyes
shining with the beginnings of hero-worship.

"No, Diana, it's you," said Gabrielle,
also standing. "I am also an Amazon Queen and Xena and I are
very good friends of Hercules. They asked us to come for you and
see if you wanted to go to the Amazons."

In truth, it had been a struggle to convince Hercules
to allow Diana to be raised by the Amazons. He wanted the little
girl himself, but, as Xena reminded him, the Amazons would be the
safest place to protect her from Hera.