"Gabrielle?"

The Warrior Princess awoke with a start, feeling intense apprehension. Quickly
she glanced over toward the bedroll next to hers. It was empty.

"Gabrielle? Where are you?"

Xena jumped up, senses heightened, listening in the silent stillness for any sound
which might indicate where her friend had disappeared to, but there was none.
Forcing back the rising foreboding of panic in her chest, she began to search the
surrounding area. Dreading the worst, her heart pounded wildly. Where could
Gabrielle have gone? This was very unlike her good friend. She was not one to
take lonely walks during the dead of night.

"Gabrielle!! Gabrielle!!"

As Xena made her way slowly through the thick underbrush of the darkened
forest, she repeatedly called out to the Amazon Princess, but her only answer was
silence.

Suddenly, she heard the tall weeds rustling softly behind her. With her warrior's
instincts tingling, she spun around, sword in hand, preparing to meet whatever
foe had been stalking her. As she did this, she caught a glimpse of a large spotted
doe rapidly skittering away in the eerie glow of the cloud covered moon.
Adrenalin still pumping wildly, she slowly sheathed her sword and returned to
her search.

Off in the distance a lone wolf began it's mournful howl, sharply piercing the
stillness of the night. Then, one by one the voices of his fellow wolves joined in,
blending together in an unearthly harmony as the clouds separated allowing the
glow of the brightly illuminated full moon to bathe the forest in mystical
radiance.

Xena reached a small clearing. Looking at the ground, she noticed some fresh
boot prints. Bending down to examine them more closely she realized that they
belonged to Gabrielle. But it was the other set of footprints, the larger ones right
next to the bard's, which really worried her. Strange, there were no marks of a
struggle. Surely Gabrielle would not have given up without a fight. With fearful
anticipation she swiftly followed the tracks which led her deeper into the
darkened forest beyond.

The bright moonlight, which had been so very helpful only a moment before,
now abruptly became obscured by a few dark clouds and Xena found herself in
near total blackness. She relied on her finely honed tracking skills to navigate
through the dense underbrush and finally emerged onto a dirt trail leading even
further into the woods. Suddenly a dark puddle on the ground caught her keen
eye. Bending down to examine it more closely the Amazon realized that what had
looked like mud in the semidarkness was actually a small pool of very thick
blood. Unconsciously she sucked in her breath. Was it human? She dragged her
finger through the sticky goo and tried to get a better look at it, but there was no
way to tell.

The luminescent moon darted out once again from behind the widely scattered
clouds. Xena spied more drops of blood making a trail along the side of the dirt
path. The blood stains continued for a while and then disappeared among the tall
grass off the main road. Now she was on her own once again, having to rely
solely on her instincts to unravel the mystery. Proceeding in the same direction
very quickly but rather carelessly, her boot suddenly slid on something hard and
round, and the great Warrior Princess landed very unceremoniously upon her
posterior with a dull thud. Although alone, she couldn't help but feel a bit
embarrassed at this awkward predicament and something which she almost
never experienced took place. Xena blushed! Quite annoyed at the bothersome
object which had been the cause of her undoing she reached out and picked it up.
The large round apple looked fresh and inviting. She was a bit hungry so she
rubbed it against the side of her leather tunic to wipe the soil off and then took a
big bite. Chewing absentmindedly she looked around for the tree which had born
this offending piece of fruit, but there was none.

"That's strange. I wonder where this came from?"

The words spoken aloud cut the stillness which blanketed the night. Still
consuming the tart fruit hungrily, Xena walked a bit more. The tall grasses
opened up into a clearing and as she continued across it she came upon another
puzzling find. Several chestnuts and figs lay grouped on top of the ground in a
small pile. And she noticed something else, more boot prints. Only this time there
were four sets. Obviously, Gabrielle and her unknown companion had met up
with two more people and continued on to.....where? What was going on here?
Who were these people and why was Gabrielle with them? Many questions ran
through Xena's mind, but the most heart wrenching one was, why would
Gabrielle willingly run off with others without telling her first? Confused, hurt
and just a little bit angry at her good friend, the Warrior Princess decided to
continue her search. She knew that now she must solve this mystery or she would
go out of her mind!

As she rose to her feet she caught a glimpse of a brilliant white-yellow flash, low
to the ground, which was almost hidden by the dense bushes nearby. Callisto!
Every one of Xena's muscles tensed. Clearing her mind of all other thoughts, she
focused in on the impending battle. Obviously, the blonde goddess did not realize
that she had been seen and the Warrior Princess knew that the element of
surprise was on her side.

"CHEEEEYIYIYYIYI"

Dropping the remainder of the apple, she was instantly prepared to meet her
enemy. The Amazon flipped forward aggressively,, and landed squarely on top
of the bright yellow.............daffodils! She was furious! Fooled by a trick of the
moonlight! The fear and frustration caused by Gabrielle's disappearance was
affecting her ability to sense real danger. Xena knew she was beginning to panic
and needed to calm down. Taking several deep breaths, she focused in on freeing
her mind of all emotion, so she could once again rely on her excellent warrior's
instincts.

The sound of rustling water became apparent and she reasoned that she was very
near a waterfall. As she moved closer to the rushing din, the Amazon heard
several voices speaking in seemingly hushed whispers, but was unable to
recognize them or make out what was being said. She was still too far away and
the background noise from the waterfall drowned out much of the vocalization.
The inviting aroma of roasting meat permeated her nostrils and the apple which
had been so satisfying only a moment before was no longer enough to fill her
empty stomach. Every one of her senses tingling, she cautiously made her way
closer to the glow of the campfire, remaining crouched low to the ground in order
to keep herself hidden. Unfortunately this also prohibited her from being able to
see what was beyond, since her vision was obstructed by the tall weeds which
surrounded the camp.

Xena could hear the sounds of movement among the people. She risked a quick
peek through the tall undergrowth. Although she could not see clearly, she could
make out shadowed figures darted back and forth, bustling about their business.
Then she noticed the unmistakable form of Gabrielle standing near the campfire.
One of the men walked over and stood facing the bard, completely blocking the
Amazon's view of her friend.

"No don't please!!! Stop!!! You're going to burn me!!"

"Gabrielle duck!!!!"

The Warrior Princess jumped to her feet chakram in hand. Still unable to see the
form of the assailant clearly in the semidarkness, she sent the flying disk speeding
through the air toward the extended arm of the unknown figure who was still
standing next to the petite bard. As the bard stooped quickly, the sharp, round
weapon sliced right through something in the offender's hand and continued to
sail past the space where Gabrielle's head had been only a second before.

"CHEEEEE YIYIYIYIYIYIYYI!!!!!"

The reddish blond hair popped back up and four startled faces turned toward
the direction of the familiar warrior's cry as Xena, flipping her body over and
over, finally landed squarely on her feet in the middle of the campsite, sword
raised and ready for battle.

For a moment they all remained frozen in place. The Amazon's steel blue eyes
darted around rapidly taking in the scene. Three freshly killed rabbits were
rotating on a spit over the cooking fire, while bowls of juicy red apples, plump
figs and dates sat on the ground nearby. A large metal pitcher filled to the brim
with a foamy, golden liquid was positioned in the center of the placement.
Chestnuts, steam pouring out of their cracking shells, were roasting in a flat
bottomed pan which sat atop the flames. Several bedrolls, which had been placed
side by side, created the illusion of one very large mat. On top of one of the
bedrolls were five metal plates, goblets and a fluffy, red velvet pillow. Resting on
the royally colored cushion was a very shiny, jewel handled breast dagger of
such fine quality that it may have come from the fires of Haphaistos himself.
Joxer, looking a bit chagrined, stood next to Gabrielle holding the remains of a
cleanly severed rabbit's leg, the tip of which had fallen next to his feet.

"Uh, surprise."

He looked sheepishly at the Warrior Princess while Hercules and Iolaus stood
side by side next to Gabrielle grinning guiltily.

"Surprise?"

Xena, heart still pounding, breathing in short quick breaths, was still too worked
up to fully comprehend what it was she had stumbled upon. She looked
quizzically at her best friend who replied with a sigh of resignation.

"Happy Birthday, Xena!"