Sapphic Voices Fan Fiction

THE AMAZON QUEEN

Part Nineteen

DISCLAIMERS: The characters of of Xena, Gabrielle, Cyrenê, Joxer, et al (meaning anyone else I didn't list and should have.) are the property of their creators and anyone else who has a legal claim (thanks for letting the girls come out to play!) Melysë and The Amazons belong to themselves, though, (and I dare any man to say different!) This Story is mine, though, and written just for fun, not profit.

Subtext: - YES, though nothing explicit. Xena and Gabrielle, while still soul-mates and the very best of friends, are not a couple in the romantic sense of the word. They are joined to others as heart-mates.

Violence: Yes, but no more than you’ll see on the show.

Language: Pretty tame, so far.

Spoilers: (so far) The Deliverer, Gabrielle's Hope, Maternal Instincts, Sacrifice I&II, A Family Affair, Livia, Eve, The God You Know, Path of Vengeance

Other: If you haven’t read the previous installments in this series, you may have difficulty following along with who’s who.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xena left the cottage and raced to the Lodge. Not dead? she thought. How can that be? I saw the bodies burned ... Then again, that's not the first time Hope's dead body was burned. If the Destroyer survived, maybe Hope did, too. Gods - how do I tell Gabrielle this?

The warrior stopped for a moment, shaking her head. This isn't like me, she thought. Running off in a panic. I need to think. Need to talk with Romy again before I spring this on Gabrielle.

The warrior began to walk back to the Queen's cottage but was intercepted by a sentry.

"Warrior Queen - I mean, Xena," said the girl, handing a rolled parchment to the warrior. "This just came for you - and one for Queen Gabrielle, too. The messenger left them at the post.

"Okay," said Xena, nodding. "Thank- you."

The sentry nodded and ran to carry the other parchment to the Lodge. Xena looked at the seal and shook her head, not recognising it. She tucked it away for later, then headed back to the cottage and walked in.

"Xena, what's going on?" asked Melysë. "What's this about the Destroyer? Wasn't that ....?" Her voice trailed off.

"Yeah," said Xena, with a sigh.

"Okay - refresh my memory a bit here," said Melysë, sitting in one of the chairs before the hearth. Xena took the other chair and a moment to collect her thoughts.

"There were supposed to be six Destroyers," said the warrior, her deep blue eyes growing darker and far away in memory. "According to Ares, these Destroyers were to be '-- insidious creatures with no souls, who eat of the living and the righteous, and lay waste to all gods.' They were to pave the way for Dahak to enter this world and do his 'grunt work' after he arrived."

"But Dahak is no more," said Melysë, frowning in thought. "And Hope is dead."

"It wouldn't be the first time Hope managed to come back from the dead," said Xena, darkly.

"But why' With Dahak gone, what could they possibly hope to accomplish?" asked the priestess, thoughtfully.

"Are you kidding?" asked Xena. "Hope would reign in her father's place." Xena shuddered.

"Hope was reborn as our little Ephiny," mused Melysë. "Well, not so little anymore."

"That's right," said Xena, brightening. "So ... what does that mean?"
"Well, I was just wondering," said Melysë. "Why Dahak didn't ... well, when he had Gabrielle, why he didn't just make a Destroyer - instead of Hope."

"And?" asked Xena.

"Maybe he tried, but Hope was born with a soul," said Melysë.

"So Hope was ... a sort of 'practice run'?" said Xena.

"Unless ..." said Melysë, deep in thought.

"Unless what, ‘Lysë?" asked Xena, impatiently.

"Sorry," said the priestess, smiling. "Ares said that the Destroyers would be without souls - but who said they had to be born soulless?"

"Oh," said Xena.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anaxilea had been restless for some time. It had been an inspired moment when she went to the queen of her Tribe and asked to go on a quest. In truth, the Amazon thought she saw relief in the older woman's eyes at her request.

It wasn't that Queen Thraso wanted her gone from the Tribe - not exactly. It was just that Anaxilea had been so restless that she was distracting to her foster mother, the Queen. Since finding her as a tiny newborn, left exposed on a hillside near the Amazon village, Thraso had loved and raised the girl as her own. It was hard to not love the golden-haired, bright blue-eyed Anaxilea. She had a sharp mind and learned quickly. There was something strange about her, though. Not just the odd-shaped birthmark on the inside of her elbow - that was eerie enough to the Amazons, but her whole demeanor was one of polite detachment.

Anaxilea trained as a warrior and won her sisters? pride and respect on the battle-field - none could match her in fighting prowess and it was Anaxilea who brought home the most "trophies" from war. This disturbed Thraso; it had always been the practice of her Tribe to bring home the skulls of the enemy warriors they had slain. The general practice was for the Amazon braves to only a bring a token few, not the whole of their "kill", but Anaxilea regularly brought ten or more skulls back from every battle. That she had killed each of these men - in fair combat, no less - was never in question; the Amazons had seen her fight and her skill and ruthlessness was well-known and a little feared by her Tribe. Nor was her honour in question, it was just that detached air with which she threw down the string of skulls and bowed before Thraso when she presented them. As if they were stones and not the remains of once-living human beings.

Now she rode on a quest she had manufactured for herself. Anaxilea had no intention of returning to her Tribe. She knew they had tried their best, but they would never understand her. The dreams which had haunted her almost every night of her life told her this. Strange images of blood and death and fire, which only the mindless fury of battle could take from her - for a time. The more men she killed, the longer the dreams stopped, giving her a brief peace. She didn't know how she was going to keep the dreams at bay without battles to fight, but she was tired of the killing. Her soul felt heavy with the weight of the lives she had taken, even if those men would have killed her without a thought.

The most disturbing thing, however, was that recently, Anaxilea had noticed that the killing also brought her abilities - magical abilities - she had never had before - it frightened her badly. She didn't understand it, and didn't want to - she just wanted it to stop. She also knew that she was a danger now, especially to her sisters. Even though the Amazons had never understood her, they had accepted her as one of their own, given her a place among them despite her being different from them and Anaxilea loved them for that, even though she couldn't stay among them. By leaving, she was protecting the Tribe from herself, for Anaxilea felt the changes coming over her were not good. Not at all.

Suddenly, Anaxilea heard a disturbance just ahead. She reined in her horse and slowed to a walk, listening to determine the danger. She heard a group of men and one woman arguing. Quickly, Anaxilea rode to the scene.

The Amazon saw a young woman about her own age with dark eyes and black hair. She was pregnant and was fighting against the group of men, trying to pull her away into the woods.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed, struggling.

"Hey!" yelled Anaxilea, jumping from her horse and running into the centre of the conflict. She drew and her sword and put herself between the men and the young woman. To her surprise, the men dropped to their knees before her. Warily, the Amazon glanced back at the young woman and saw her rolling her eyes in disgust. "What's going on here?"

"Eli protect us!" cried one of the men.

"Eli?" said Anaxilea, looking cautiously around. "Where is this Eli? If he would help you, let him show himself!"

"He won't," said the girl. "He's dead."

"Lucina! That's blasphemy!" cried another of the men. "How dare you - ?"

"I dare because it's true," Lucina retorted. "Ares killed him years ago - you're asking for help from a dead man."

"Lucina, our holy scriptures teach - " began the first man.

"I know what they say - my mother wrote them," said Lucina.

"Wait a minute - you know these guys?" asked Anaxilea.

"Yes - they're trying to make me go back with them," said Lucina.

"You don't want to?" asked the Amazon.

"No - I hate it there," said Lucina, shaking her head.

"Okay," said Anaxilea, addressing the kneeling men. "Lucina here is going to go - and none of you are going to stop her, got it?"

"You cannot interfere with the will of Eli," said the first man.

"What does the 'will of Eli' have to do with me?" asked Lucina, disgusted. "The will of my mother is more like it."

"If you were to stay, your mother could explain all to you, Lucina," said the first man, solemnly.

"Oh, yes, my mother is so forthcoming," said Lucina.

"Alright, enough," said Anaxilea. "You men - get up and go before I run you all through."

"I would willingly sacrifice my life to save Lucina," said one of the men.
"If I kill you all, how are you going to save her from anything?" said Anaxilea, brandishing her sword.

The men reluctantly rose and left. One turned his head and spoke, "Lucina, I will pray for you."

The men were out of sight when Anaxilea leapt astride her horse.

"Hey!" cried Lucina.

"What?" asked the Amazon.

"Um, do you think that maybe I could go with you?

"No," said Anaxilea, wheeling the horse around and making ready to ride away.

"Wait!" cried Lucina, grasping the Amazon's ankle. Anaxilea had to restrain her horse from rearing up and harming the young woman.

"What?" she said, impatiently.

"Why not?" asked Lucina.

"Hey, you ran away - didn't you have a plan? Like where you were running to?" asked Anaxilea.

"No," Lucina admitted. "I didn't think that far ahead - I just wanted away from them." Anaxilea rolled her eyes and reached down to pull Lucina up into the saddle behind her.

"Are you okay to ride fast?" asked the Amazon.

"As fast as possible from here, please," said Lucina with a shudder.

"Okay," said Anaxilea, shrugging. I'll drop her off at the nearest Amazon settlement I can find, thought the warrior. They'll either take care of her until the baby's born or send her home. Either way, it won't be my problem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Melysë got the evening meal prepared and the girls fed, Xena remembered the parchment she had received earlier. She pulled it from her zona and re-examined the seal. It was not one she recognised, but she broke it anyway and unrolled the parchment. It was completely blank, but two feathers fell from it - a white one and a black one.

"What the - ?" said the warrior to herself.

"What's wrong?" asked Melysë, entering the room.

"This is really strange," said the warrior, holding out the parchment and the feathers to the priestess.

"What ...?" Melysë's eyes glazed over as soon as she touched the things. She found herself walking toward the centre of the crossroads where her goddess, Hekate awaited her.

"Mother? Did you call me here?" she asked.

"Yes, my Daughter," said Hekate. The Goddess sighed, knowing that Her Chosen would not like Her message. "The Three Queens of Aemetzainê must send your youngest daughters from the Amazons."

"What?" said Melysë, not quite understanding.
"Dylanda, Leilae, and Melosa must leave the Amazons - as soon as possible," said Hekate.
Melysë just stared blankly at the goddess for a moment. "Melysë, my child, they are in very great danger."

"Does this have anything to do with the Destroyer?" asked the priestess.

"Yes and no," said Hekate. "I cannot explain it to you fully without altering the decision you must make for yourself, but if the children remain among the Amazons, they will never fulfill their destiny."

"Their destiny is as the 'Hope of the Amazon Nation' - you said so yourself, Mother," said Melysë.
"How can they fulfill that destiny away from the Amazons? That just doesn't make sense to me."

Suddenly, the priestess was given a vision of a twisted ladder and she heard the goddess's voice in her mind.

"I have written the Amazon Spirit into their blood and their bones - it is as much a part of them as the colour of their hair or the shape of their noses," Hekate told her. The vision faded and Melysë saw the goddess seated before her once again. "They must leave the Amazons."

"Where am I to send them?" asked Melysë. "And for how long?"

"For good, Melysë, said Hekate, firmly. "And I have already made place for them to go."

"Mother, no!" cried Melysë. "Please, Mother - what must I do to keep them?"

"Melysë, you have done well with them - they are a credit to you and to Xena and to Gabrielle, but now you must give them to me," said Hekate, patiently.

"I have no choice?" said Melysë, stricken.

"You always have a choice, Melysë," said Hekate, gently. "You know that already. But if you do not do this, the Amazons will be lost for all time."

"That isn't much of a choice," said Melysë, suppressing a sob.

"No, it isn't, my daughter, and I wish I could offer you a better one," admitted Hekate.

"It isn't entirely up to me, Mother," said Melysë. "Xena and Gabrielle have a stake in this, too. I cannot speak for them."

"I know," said Hekate, sensing her Chosen was wavering.

"Mother, if you take them, I know they will be alright, but ...." said the priestess, biting her lip.

"I know," said the goddess, gently. "This will not be the first time you have been forced to give up a child."

"Or Xena either," said Melysë, softly. "But Gabrielle ..."

"Gabrielle has also suffered this heartbreak, my Daughter - and worse," said Hekate, darkly.

"Oh," said Melysë, remembering. "That doesn't make this easier, you know."

"Yes, I do know," said Hekate.

"How long do we have?" asked the priestess, fighting the tears already welling up in her dark green eyes.

"A little while, only, my Daughter," said Hekate, sadly. "When the time comes, you will know."

"It seems that I must trust you with this, Mother - despite what you say, I really have no choice, have I?" Melysë said, bitterly.

"Melysë, there is always a choice," said Hekate. "It's just that sometimes, the right choice is not always appealing for a queen."

"Especially for a queen," Melysë said quietly.

Melysë's eyes cleared and she threw herself into Xena's arms, weeping.

"‘Lysë, what is it?" asked the warrior, alarmed.

"Dylanda ... Leilae ... Melosa ... they have to leave us," Melysë.

"What are you saying?" asked Xena. Melysë relayed Hekate's message and Xena grew very quiet.
"The Destroyer - he must be coming for them," said the warrior.

"No, Xena - if it were just that, it wouldn't have to be for good," said Melysë, miserably.

"Maybe it would - obviously, if the Destroyer is still alive, he's not easily killed - maybe it's impossible to kill him once and for all - he would keep coming for them ... " Xena's voice trailed off and tears welled up in her dark blue eyes. She pulled the priestess closer. "We have to tell Gabrielle - and I really need to talk with Joxer. I need to figure this out."

Melysë sent a message to her cousin Persephone, goddess of the underworld, as a courtesy, asking for Joxer to be released briefly so that Xena and Gabrielle could ask him some questions. If she didn't hear back soon, she didn't know how she was going to keep Xena from jumping into the Alcyonian Lake and paying an impromptu visit herself. In the meantime, the warrior went to the Lodge to speak with Gabrielle. She went alone, telling Melysë that it would be better if she conveyed the message to the Bard.

"Either way, it won't be easy for her," Melysë said to herself, watching Xena's usually proud shoulders drooping as she walked towards the Lodge. "For any of us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anaxilea suffered her unwanted companion in silence. At least Lucina could cook - and she had a soothing way about her. The first night of their travelling together, Anaxilea awoke screaming from the nightmares. Lucina was there beside her in an instant, crooning some old lullaby that Anaxilea recognised as Amazon in origin.

"Where did you hear that?" gasped the warrior, calming from the evil dreams. Lucina shrugged.

"I don't remember," said Lucina. "I think maybe my mother must have sung it to me before ...."

"Before what?" asked Anaxilea, sitting up.

"Never mind," said Lucina, shortly. She arose and began to build up the fire from the night before. "We might as well get an early start - I doubt either of us will sleep anymore."

"Sorry about that," said Anaxilea, quietly.

"Don't worry about it," said Lucina, offering a smile to her companion. "Everyone has nightmares sometimes."

"Yeah, well, you should probably know - I have them most every night," said Anaxilea.

"Really? How can you stand that?" asked Lucina, concerned.

"Just do," said the warrior with a shrug. "Hey, how much longer are you going to be able ride - you know - in your ...um ... 'condition'?"

Lucina laughed. "As long as I have to," she said. "Why? Do you have a destination in mind?"

"Yeah - there's an Amazon Tribe not far from here - Aemetzainê," said Anaxilea. "I think they may be able to give you refuge - at least until the baby's born." Lucina nodded.

"I know of them," she said. "My mother dislikes the Amazons - especially the Aemetzainê."

"Why?" asked Anaxilea, frowning.

"I'm not sure," said Lucina as the two packed up the campsite and made ready to ride. "Once, this travelling Bard named Virgil came through our village. Mother welcomed him at first because he, too, was Elisian. But then he began to tell stories about this hero called 'Joxer the Mighty' and his sidekicks, Xena the Warrior Princess and the Amazon Bard of Poteidaia, Gabrielle. Mother asked him to leave, saying that stories about those 'harlots', the Amazons, were sinful and unclean and not for the likes of Elisian ears, and that those Aemetzainê Amazons were the worst."

"Well, Xena is the Warrior Queen of the Aemetzainê - and from what I know of her, she was no one's sidekick," said Anaxilea. "I've never heard of this 'Joxer the Mighty'. Your mother must really have some sort of grudge against Xena."

"I don't know what," Lucina frowned.

"Well, do you have anything against the Amazons?" asked Anaxilea, one eyebrow raised.

"No - after all, didn't an Amazon 'rescue' me?" said Lucina with a chuckle.

"Rescue you from what?" asked the Amazon rolling her eyes. "Those guys weren't exactly a threat."

"Because Elisians don't fight," said Lucina.

"Don't fight?" said Anaxilea, pulling Lucina up behind her on the horse. "How can they survive if they won't fight?"

"Well, my mother would say it's because Eli protects us," said Lucina. "I think we're just not enough of a threat to anyone - people just don't bother with us."

"Who is this guy - this 'Eli'?" asked Anaxilea.

"Eli is ... well, he's ... sort of hard to explain," said Lucina, frowning. "He was this wandering teacher and he preached that Love was the only weapon anyone needed to defeat evil. His 'Way of Love' got to a lot of people and they started following him around."

"It's a nice thought," said Anaxilea, quietly. "But it isn't very realistic."

"Well, actually, it is," said Lucina, thoughtfully. "If everyone followed it."

"Again - not realistic," said Anaxilea, feeling suddenly annoyed.

"You have a point," Lucina said with a sigh. "My mother is his messenger - only ..."

"What?" said Anaxilea.

"Mother embellishes his message," said Lucina, quietly.

"Huh," the Amazon chuckled. "I've found most priestesses - or priests - do."

"Mother isn't a priestess - not exactly," said Lucina, troubled. "She's Eli's Messenger - and she's wrong to do that. She given a sacred trust and she has betrayed that - for whatever reasons she may have, it is still wrong."

"You sound like an Amazon, talking of honour," said Anaxilea, quietly. "Is that why you left?"

"Partly," said Lucina. "I am escaping my arranged marriage."

"I see," said Anaxilea. "I assume that since you Elisians are non-violent, it's not because he beats you?"

"Hardly," said Lucina, rolling her eyes. "He’s one of my mother’s chief ‘advisors’. I can’t stand him. He wasn’t always so bad, but he thinks, just because he’s married to my mother’s daughter, that he should have all this ... power. That’s not what Eli was about. Mother listens to him too much and Eli not enough."

"Someone should do something about that," said Anaxilea. <Someone who gives a rat's tail,> the warrior thought to herself.

"Yes, but who?" asked Lucina. "The only ones who care enough are already mixed up - no one knows what message comes from Eli and what my mother has made up and just <said> Eli told her. Who can help us sort it all out?"

Anaxilea shrugged. "I dunno," she said, shortly, effectively ending the conversation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabrielle took the news with surprising calm.

"The Destroyer is alive - and Hekate wants my youngest daughter," the Bard repeated.

"Yes," said Xena quietly.

"Okay .... " said Gabrielle with a sigh. "Hekate said the children are in great danger. I am assuming that the danger is from the Destroyer?"

"We don't know," said Xena. "That would be the assumption, but ... I just don't know Gabrielle. If the Destroyer is alive, then we are <all> in danger."

Gabrielle sat with her eyes closed, rubbing her forehead with one hand. Suddenly, she leaped to her feet and ran out to the privy with a hastily mumbled "'Scuse me." Xena heard her out there, retching violently.

"Son of a Bacchae," said the warrior with a snarl. She waited until Gabrielle returned to the Lodge and sat back down, pale and shaking.

"Xena, I don't know what to do," said the Bard. "I don't want to give up Melosa, but if Hekate says that the children are in danger ... I just don't know what else to do."

"Neither does Melysë," said Xena, grimly. "I don't know, Gabrielle. I gave up one child - I'm not ready to just give up another."

"What can we do?" asked Gabrielle, miserably.

"I'll think of something," said Xena, frowning. "I have to."


To be continued...

If you have enjoyed L. M. Townsend's "THE AMAZON QUEEN - Part Nineteen", then please be certain to e-mail her at  QueenLaese1[at]aol.com  and thank her for posting this Story.

Click here to continue on to "THE AMAZON QUEEN, Part Twenty"

Click here for a list of all of L. M. Townsend's  Stories and Poetry at  Sapphic Voices Authoresses.