What Happens Now?: Part Two
(Death Of A Nation: Book II)

by: Katelin B. Katelin_b@hotmail.com

Disclaimers: Okay... how many times do we bards have to go over it before it sinks in? Don’t own ‘em. Wish I did.

Warning: This is Xena, not that damn purple dinosaur. None of this ‘I love you, You love me’ bulls***! Just war, blood, fighting, sex... and lots of it!! heh heh.

People At Universal Studios: Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’ll put them back when I’m done playing with them, okay??

Another Warning: Yes it is violent. Wars and their after effects tend to get that way. Duh! Some of it IS disturbing.

Sexual Content: I’m not telling. *raspberry* You’ll just have to wait and see. Nyah! Nyah! But... just to be safe... if you’re under 18... DON’T READ THIS!!!!! (psst!!! who am I?? Sex? What do YOU think?)

Yet Another Warning: People with pacemakers... don’t read this without a qualified Emergency Medical Technician present... or at least a car battery for the jump-start.

Author’s Notes: Um...... er........ ah....... don’t really have any. I just like being able to call myself an author. heh heh. oh yeah.... this picks up right after Book I called ‘To Rescue A Friend’ and you MUST read it to understand what’s going on in this one.

One More Warning: Okay... I’m shutting up now. *grin* (actually, that’s not really a warning is it? More of a relief.)

***okay everyone... so I lied..... one more thing to say. Sorry this one took so long... but I’ve been extremely busy, and unfortunately for all my faithful readers.... all 4 of you..... real life tends to take priority over this story. That is the reason why this installment is so short. I wanted to get it out before some people started threatening me with the chains again. *knowing glance at the Fan Fiction Mob Leaders* I promise the next one will be longer, and more importantly.... QUICKER!!!!

...NOW I’m shutting up...~:o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...from part one...

“I need you to ride south to Amphipolis,” she said, her voice rough and strained from the crying she had done, “Go to the village tavern and give this to the owner. A woman named Cyrene. She’s Xena’s mother.” She handed him a rolled parchment with the wax seal of Amazon Royalty clear on the tied ribbon.

Kraylor nodded dutifully, tucking the parchment into his vest. “Anything else, Queen Gabrielle?” he asked softly.

“Bring her back with you,” she said, turning to head back inside the hut, “Accept no refusal, Kraylor.” The young centaur nodded once again and took off at a gallop, kicking up dirt and dodging villagers as he sped out of the village.

Tyldus wanted to go with him, but knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the young warrior, so he settled for trying to get an answer to his question. “Gabrielle,” he asked again, “How is Xena?”

Gabrielle stopped at the door of the hut and looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes hollow and dim. “She’s dying.” The little bard disappeared back inside, and the rest were left to stand by the door as an uncomfortable silence fell over them.

...and now, part two...

Shortly after Gabrielle’s brief appearance, Yarilis emerged from her home to check on the condition of the other wounded. The old woman muttered and grumbled while she tended to Ephiny, examining her head wound closely. Solari watched the healer with a wary eye, feeling very protective of the Regent. “Is she all right?” the woman warrior asked, trying unsuccessfully to mask the worry in her voice.

“Don’t know,” Yarilis clipped, huffing and grumbling under her breath about people expecting her to be an oracle, “Get her inside so’s I can take a look.” She turned away and quickly reentered the house, stopping once inside the door to call back gruffly. “Anyone else a’waitin for Charon’s boat?” Nothing but silence. “Good then. Stop dawdling and get that girl inside.”

“Tirin,” Solari called to the tall blonde woman leaning against the wagon, her eyes finally starting to droop after so long on the road, “Help me with Ephiny.” It came out more a plea than the strong order she had intended it to be from a leader to one of her soldiers, but never the less, the fair warrior came to her aid, shifting the unconscious woman into her arms. Solari climbed down gingerly from the wagon bed, wincing as the pain in her hip flared and she stumbled.

“Solari?” Tyldus said in a worried tone after he had lunged forward to catch her from falling. He noticed that not only was the stab wound bleeding again, but so was the deep slash across her thigh from the battle in Metreus’ castle the night before. She needs to be tended to, he thought grimly, wondering why she had said nothing to the healer.

Solari politely disengaged herself from the centaur leader once she was sure her legs would support her, and smiled reassuringly. “I’m all right,” she claimed weakly, knowing from his expression that the aging warrior didn’t believe a word of what she was saying.

“Right,” he snorted sarcastically, reaching out to gently force her back onto the wagon bed, “And I’m really a harpy in disguise.”

Solari shifted uncomfortably on the wooden boards, and glanced up at the centaur leader with a queer expression. “Well that certainly would explain the attitude, Tyldus,” she shot back half heartedly, but grinned when she saw him chuckle.

“Amazons,” he sighed with a small shake of his head, the amused smile still fixed on his face.

Tirin held Ephiny’s limp form for a long moment, wondering how to get her out of the wagon alone, when she felt a larger than normal hand rest on her shoulder. The Amazon warrior tensed instantly, and had to fight the urge to free her arms and lash out at whoever had dared to touch her. “Get you’re hands off me,” she growled low in her throat, and nearly sighed in relief when the offending limb was removed.

“Sorry,” the deep voice of the blacksmith sounded in her ear, “I didn’t mean you any harm.” He sounded more than a little contrite at having offended her.

Tirin took a deep cleansing breath and calmed her racing heart before turning her head to meet his eyes. “No, I’m sorry,” she mumbled, not believing that she was actually apologizing to a man, “It’s just reflex. You shouldn’t grab a warrior so suddenly. Most wouldn’t even think before drawing a blade. And many of those wouldn’t be able to stop the attack before they had cleaved your head from your shoulders.”

Jayla had stepped forward at Tirin’s angry words, a hand tensed on the hilt of her dagger. “Put your mind at ease, Amazon,” Kalitar said when he saw the threat in her move, holding up his hands in a non threatening gesture, “I only want to help.” He swallowed nervously around the lump in his throat when Jayla’s bright green eyes bored into him, sizing him up. Her hand remained tight on her dagger, muscles coiled, as if waiting for a reason to slice him to ribbons. But the big blacksmith made no move, not even to lower his hands.

After an eternity of waiting, Jayla nodded, her expression nearly savage; her eyes very clearly telling him that one wrong move would mean his death. The little guard didn’t allow a single muscle to relax, purposely radiating hostility to keep the man in line. Jayla hated men on the best of days, but when he was so close, and offering to touch her Regent, Ephiny, the compact Amazon had to force herself not to attack him.

Kalitar noticed her body language and nodded his understanding, making sure his moves were slow and even. He had no wish to lose his life to bad judgment and nerves when he was only trying to help. The gentle giant stepped up to the wagon and smiled shakily at Tirin, letting her see how nervous he was. Hoping she would, at least, understand that he was afraid, and therefore, no threat to the injured woman.

Tirin was too occupied with keeping Ephiny from being jostled to bother looking up at the burly man she was helping. She supported the Regent’s head and neck as Kalitar took her into his arms making sure that Ephiny would be comfortable if she happened to wake during the short transfer. Her hands lingered on the Regent’s brow a little longer than necessary, as if reluctant to let go of her completely, and trust Kalitar with her safety.

Solari watched Tirin’s behavior and Jayla’s hostility for a moment before deciding to break the silence and distract them. She had seen Kalitar’s nervous look, intended for Tirin, and was starting to feel sorry for the blacksmith.

“Jayla,” she said quietly, pulling away from Tyldus and shifting between the little guard and the huge helper. “Help me inside. I want to stay with Ephiny in case she wakes up.” Though she had two motives for speaking, Solari’s words came from the heart; she truly didn’t want to leave the injured Regent’s side.

Jayla recognized the tactic for what it was, but couldn’t bring herself to disobey one of her superiors. With one final seething look at the blacksmith, she rushed to Solari’s side, smirking at his nearly imperceptible flinch. Jayla wrapped a strong arm around Solari’s waist, being careful not to rub against her reopened wound and lifted the woman’s arm over her shoulders, holding it in place. “What?” she asked, trying to look innocent when she caught Solari’s disapproving glance.

“Nothing, Jayla,” Solari murmured, leaning heavily on the smaller woman. She was bone weary after the fighting and the long journey, and didn’t have the energy or desire to chastise Jayla for her actions. Solari knew they had no right to expect anyone’s help, and it wouldn’t be wise to frighten away the one person, besides the elderly healer, that was offering assistance. But she promised herself that she would have a long talk with the little guard about inter village politics once they were back home.

“I’ll stand watch, Solari,” Tirin’s voice called from behind them, just as Jayla guided the hobbling woman through the doorway. Solari merely nodded, not ready to argue the point that a sentry would make it look like they didn’t trust the villagers. In truth, even she had some doubts that their stay would be trouble free, but was willing to give the Potedeians the benefit of the doubt, for Gabrielle’s sake. Solari knew how trying the last two days had been for the bard, and didn’t want to add to her frustration by bringing up the subject of security of her birthplace. Not now; not when Xena was at death’s door.

Tirin watched them disappear into the hut, in much the same fashion as the Queen had with Xena. She smiled a little at the implied undertones, knowing how much the little bard cared for Xena, and wondering if it was the same with Solari and Ephiny. Tirin shook the thoughts from her mind, knowing it was none of her business, and assumed a rigid stance just outside the doorway.

The tall blonde warrior was just about to take advantage of Tyldus’ silent presence and strike up a conversation to ease the monotony of what was sure to be a boring guard duty, when the great hulk of a man reemerged beside her and stepped out of the way. Behind him, Jayla strode out, again glaring at his back, hand tensed, but at her side, not on the hilt of her weapon.

A minor victory, Tirin thought, she’s not ready to kill him on sight. Out loud, she said: “Everything okay in there?”

“As well as can be expected right now,” Jayla responded, pulling her gaze away from Kalitar with effort. Her training had conditioned her to always keep her eyes on the enemy, and she still saw this man as one. True he had kept his word that he wanted only to help, which was more than any man Jayla knew had ever done, but he was still a man. And that simple truth meant he wasn’t to be trusted in her eyes.

“The Queen asked me to stable Xena’s horse,” she said after a long pause, relaxing only slightly when the large blacksmith kept moving away. She looked again and saw him stop next to a woman holding an infant and assumed it was his wife. So he’s a family man, she thought darkly, her training instantly logging the information just in case she ever crossed swords with him. Survival instinct had taught her to look for any weakness in the enemy, and that was the biggest one there was.

“You’d better get to it then,” Tirin’s voice broke into her thoughts, and she looked back to her tall blonde sister. Jayla nodded and forced a smile, that was less than convincing to the troubled warrior and walked away, leading Argo and the wagon the great war horse was still hitched to.

“Blacksmith!” Jayla called over to the huge man, still talking with his wife, “Which way to the stables?” It was more of a demand than a request, but again, Tirin smirked. At least she asked him, the blonde warrior thought. She remembered countless times when the little spitfire had threatened to castrate a man with her dagger and roast his nuts for dinner if he didn’t spew the information quickly enough to suit her. Clearing her mind of thought when she was satisfied Jayla wouldn’t kill the man without warning, Tirin returned to her task of guarding the hut’s doorway from entry by anyone. She silently vowed that no one outside of her party would pass without Queen Gabrielle’s approval.

***

Kalitar decided rather than tell the Amazon how to get to the stables, he would accompany her, since he needed to start the day. Arianna was still terribly worried about his safety with the ‘strange women’, as she called them, but that couldn’t be helped. With a tender kiss on the cheek and a promise that he would be careful, Kalitar parted from her and went over to guide the hostile woman to her destination.

“The stable is beside my shop,” he offered with a half-hearted gesture in the right direction, “I have to get to work so I’ll show you.” Without another word, Kalitar started off, turning his back to her. He hoped silently that she would read it, not as an insult to her people, but as a gesture of trust that she wouldn’t stab him in the back.

After a moment, Kalitar’s tense body relaxed as he heard the soft squeaking of wagon wheels. The Amazon was following him with Argo in tow. Kalitar tried not to smile his relief when she pulled up beside him, her smaller legs moving double time to keep up with his length stride.

Kalitar slowed his pace gradually so she wouldn’t notice he was favoring her, and soon, he was moving along at an almost leisurely gait. “I hope you’re friends will be all right,” he said quietly, trying to make idle conversation. He had never liked silence much, and liked imposed silence even less.

“If it is the will of the Goddess,” Jayla clipped in reply. She had no desire to make small talk with any man, but she couldn’t ignore him after what he had done. It would be an affront to the Queen, and her loyalty demanded she be civil. Whether she liked it or not.

Kalitar noticed the tense, almost forced nature of her words, and decided not to continue. He didn’t know how much control Gabrielle had over these women, and he didn’t want to press his luck. He had promised Arianna that he would be careful.

They arrived at the stable in short time, and Kalitar was most grateful that the journey was over. “There should be an empty stall to the left,” he said shortly, with another halfhearted gesture, “And there’s plenty of fodder in the bin at the back.” With nothing else said, Kalitar moved away, into the safe confines of his blacksmith shop, more than a little relieved to be free of the Amazon’s reluctant company.

Kalitar donned his heavy leather apron with practiced ease and began stoking the still smoldering fire he needed for his work. There wasn’t much or him to do today, but he began setting up for a long day, none the less. The more time he spent working the bellows, the longer he could put off the chance of being caught alone with the hostile little Amazon that had instantly hated him. He had heard stories about the warrior women, their hatred of men almost legendary, but never had the huge man thought they were trained to kill men on sight. Every time the little Amazon had looked at him, Kalitar felt like he was being stalked, much like a hunter would stalk a deer.

His morbid thoughts of what hunters usually did to deer were interrupted by a sharp prickling at the base of his skull. Turning around, Kalitar was less than surprised to see the hostile warrior woman approaching him. He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat and forced a smile on his face. “What can I do for you?” he asked politely, trying to remain calm.

Jayla eyed him carefully for a moment, then seemed to make a decision, and tossed Argo’s tack at him. “There’s a broken link in the bridle,” she clipped, the frown never leaving her face, “Can you repair it?”

Kalitar picked up the harness from his anvil and examined the bent links carefully for a moment. “I think I can fix it,” he murmured, already thinking about how much force to apply without damaging it further, “I should have it done by the end of the day.” This seemed to satisfy the Amazon, because she gave him a curt nod and turned, striding away purposefully.

The huge blacksmith watched her go, marveling at how the little woman managed to look so imposing. With a small shake of his head, Kalitar set down the damaged bridle among his work to be done and began pumping the bellows again. His first task was to repair a worn hinge for Pollus and he wanted to have it finished before the kind old man opened his shop for the day’s meager business.

*****

After helping Gabrielle’s friends, Lila had rushed home, only to face her father’s wrath. He had screamed and bellowed at her, shaking his fists in the air and at her, pacing all the while. Lila had trouble understanding his words, his sentences broken and incomplete from the same rage that made veins pop out on his forehead, but his overall meaning was very clear. Stay away from the Amazons, or else.

Herodotus seemed to grow more angry with every lap of their small common room, until Lila was afraid he would actually hit her. She had never even considered the thought before, but now, it filled her mind, and terrified her. She had ended up cowering by the door of her room, until her father seemed to come to his senses, however briefly, and sent her to collect the eggs for morning meal.

Lila had gathered the eggs more quickly than any time in her life and returned to the house, only to start cooking without a single glance at her father. He said nothing while she toiled over the frying pan, more broodish than she had ever seen him. The unnatural silence worried her sick, and by the time Herodotus sat down to his meal, Lila’s own appetite had vanished.

After taking a plate to her mother, Lila joined Herodotus at the table, somewhat reluctantly, and picked at her own food. She was silently grateful that he didn’t notice her loss of appetite, normally so intense that it rivaled Gabrielle’s. The young woman nearly sighed with relief when her father stood from the table, mumbling that he was heading out to the fields. Herodotus called out to his recovering wife that he would be home for evening meal and departed without a second glance at Lila.

Once her father was gone, Lila gave up all pretense of eating and shoved her plate away. The food had barely been touched, but she knew the neighbor’s pigs would enjoy it more than she would. Lila made a mental note to dispose of the uneaten food quickly, so her mother wouldn’t see it sitting there when the young woman opened the door to enter. Her parents didn’t have much, and she had been brought up to believe that everything brought to the table should be eaten, regardless.

Lila peered over at the empty plate where her father had sat, and sighed quietly in resignation. The day was only beginning, and she had much to do, with her mother’s daily activities now added to hers. It had been like that since Gabrielle left for the Amazon village, and would likely be that way for the next week or two it took for Hecuba to regain her strength. With one final sigh, Lila rose from her chair and began cleaning up the mess left from morning meal.

*****

Solari glanced at the dark curtain separating her from Ephiny while the healer examined her, and again fought the urge to pace. She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled sharply, her frustration mounting with every passing second. What is taking so long?, she wondered silently, trying not to let the panic she felt take over.

Yarilis had been with the Regent for more than half a candlemark already, and the dark haired warrior was beginning to believe there was more wrong than she had thought. Solari hadn’t noticed many injuries on Ephiny when they had rescued her and Xena, but the old woman had been with the blonde Amazon nearly as long as the Queen’s warrior.

Looking over at the closed door of the spare room, Solari sent another prayer to the Goddess Artemis for Xena’s recovery. Not for the ex-warlord herself, but for Gabrielle. She knew the little Queen would be devastated if her beloved warrior died. The bard hadn’t said it in so many words, but Solari knew. She saw the same look on the bard’s face, that adorned hers whenever she thought about Ephiny, and wondered again how Xena could have missed it.

Solari’s attention was drawn away from her wandering thoughts when the soft rasping of cloth reached her ears. Turning her gaze back to the separating curtain, she watched anxiously as it rustled and swayed, and was finally drawn back as Yarilis emerged. She waited for a moment, while the elderly healer settled the curtain back into place before daring to speak, as if merely the sound of her voice would cause the old woman to drop the medicinal herbs and bowls she carried.

“She’s a restin’ quiet, Amazon,” Yarilis said softly as she returned clay bowls to their proper place on the shelves of supplies, answering Solari’s unasked question, “And no, ye can’t be a seein’ her now.”

At that statement, Solari’s temper flared. “Why not?” she asked, a little louder than she had intended. It earned a scathing glare from the healer.

“Hush yerself, angry one!” Yarilis hissed, waving a hand at the warrior, “She’s still awake. Don’t be upsettin’ her.” She turned her back again and continued returning everything to its proper place. After a lengthy pause, what seemed like an eternity to Solari, the elderly woman finally spoke again. “There’s more a goin’ on here than ye’ve been told,” she said, glancing over at the shielding curtain before returning to her task, “An ye needs to be knowin’ about it before ye can just go a bargin’ in there.”

“Speak your peace, healer,” Solari ground through clenched teeth, using every shred of willpower she possessed not to run and throw the curtain aside. Her very soul was screaming out for Ephiny, and the more she struggled against it, the stronger the feeling became. Her mind couldn’t fathom what the old woman considered so important that she would want to keep them separated after such an ordeal.

“Calm your heart, angry one,” Yarilis said sternly, her tone booking no argument, “The child’s hurts go beyond what you know.”

At the very idea of Ephiny being more seriously injured than she thought, Solari stopped her mental ranting about aggravating healers, her dark brown eyes glaring at the old woman’s back. “Tell me, healer,” she said urgently, then took a deep breath to steady herself. When Yarilis didn’t answer immediately, Solari stepped forward, lowering her voice to barely a whisper. “Please,” she added, her tone full of pain and desperation. The dark haired Amazon needed to know what the guards had done to her beloved Ephiny.

Yarilis finally stopped arranging herbs on the shelf, and bowed her head for a moment. She seemed to come to a decision and, after another impossible delay, turned around to face Solari. “Knowin’ that will hurt ye, angry one,” the healer said softly, as if afraid someone else was listening, or that Ephiny would start screaming at her to keep silent. But the old healer could see the love between the two as clearly as if she were the Oracle of Delphi, and felt the best help the Regent could have was standing right in front of her. Gesturing Solari to a chair at the table, Yarilis moved to sit opposite the worried Amazon and gently began breaking the news to her.

*****

“What’s taking so long?” Tirin muttered, stomping her foot in place yet again as she stood guard at the door of the healer’s hut. Normally a very patient person, the tall blonde Amazon was a little surprised at her own fidgeting, and tried to keep it at a minimum for the sake of the nervously pacing centaur that waited with her.

While Tirin was worried for her Regent, Tyldus was consumed with thoughts of another nature. His concern was not for Ephiny, though he knew it should be, but for Xenon, his grandson. The aging centaur realized that Ephiny’s weekly visits mean the world to the child, having never known his father, Phantes. Tyldus had no idea how Xenon would take his mother’s death if that should happen while he was still so young.

He was about to stop and answer, when a choked sob filtered out from the well guarded hut, putting a halt to his pacing. Tyldus approached the doorway, intent on finding out what was happening, but a quick glance at Tirin held him at bay. He could see that she was just as worried and perhaps even more anxious for word from inside, but her willpower and training wouldn’t permit her to leave her self-imposed duty to find out. Nor would it let him pass. So he resigned himself to waiting, trying to be as patient as Tirin pretended to be, and wondering if any of their lives would ever be back to normal again.

To Be Continued...

comments?? You know where to send ‘em.... please don’t yell at me. ~:o)