Casting Xena and Gabrielle in a less-mythic role than most doesn't detract from the romance of their relationship, it only enhances it. The earthy treatment, complete with the sort of everyday fears and securities that even legendary warriors and bards can't avoid, only makes the tender moments in the story that much sweeter. A perfect example is the wonderful exchange between warrior and bard, as Gabrielle shares a particularly personal scroll with Xena. Though not at all explicit, it ranks as one of my all-time favorite romantic scenes. And it's just one of many equally well-written vignettes in this charming story.

I was proved wrong. Anna has written an intriguing story about heroes who have become slaves to their adorers and it hits close to home. It really made me sit up and think long and hard about what I’ve done to Xena and Gabrielle in my own fiction, and what I’ve read in others and I have to say - she’s dead on. Sometimes, it seems we delight in abusing our heroines. It’s just as well they’re not real.

Well, in this story, they are, and Xena’s narration - although more verbose for the Warrior we’ve grown used to - is poignant and touching, as she reflects on what she and Gabrielle are put through on a regular basis by both fans and producers (yes, maybe in some cases we’re just as guilty as TPTB for the way we mistreat them - I’ve read stories which are ten times worse than FIN). Her depiction of what they both go through - an the changes it has wrought in Gabrielle in particular - are quite heartbreaking.

And yet amidst all the pain, there is home and togetherness and peace for these two as they snatch a rare moment of privacy before their next ‘assignments’. It’s a lovely story which somehow manages to convey all that has been best and worst in the show and fanfic of Xena;Warrior Princess.

A short summary can’t really do justice to the plot, but here’s a stab at it: Dr. Barbara Murphy travels to Cuba to assist the Cuban Health Ministry track down the puzzling cause of blindness suddenly afflicting thousands of Cubans. With new cases occurring every day, the urgency of Barbara’s mission is never far from the reader’s mind, and it adds a layer of compelling mystery to the story.

Chela Stevens is an intellectually starved Havana native who, like many others in similar situations, is forced to support her family through prostitution. Through a rather convoluted, yet believable, set of circumstances, Chela winds up as a translator/assistant on Barbara’s investigative medical team. As might be expected, sparks eventually fly between the two, but so do tempers, cross-cultural misunderstandings, and personality differences.

It’s wonderful to watch the miscommunication Ortiz sets up between two eloquent, bi-lingual individuals. Set against the backdrop of modern Cuban, she also does a marvelous job of bringing that country, with all its culture, history, trials and struggles, to life. Perhaps most impressive is her characterization of Barbara and Chela, both of whom are so skillfully portrayed that, just like real people, you sometimes love them, sometimes get angry with them, and always appreciate getting to know them a little bit better as the story progresses.

To provide a sample of Ortiz’ prose: “As she squeezed the cut digit, allowing the liquid to drop in a series of fat red tears upon the stone head, Chela prayed in a tongue that she knew only phonetically and in its effects, the specific meanings of the words lost to the members of her generation. ‘Laroye akiloye aguro tente onú apagurá akama sesé areletuse abamula omubatá okóloñiñi toni kan ofó omoró agun oyomna alayiki agó.’ She paused to consider what petition to make. I am tired of just asking for the minimum, for some luck, for a little money. She drew her breath in. ‘Open the doors, Elegba. Open them wide. Bring it all. Bring my fate.’ Then she stepped into the evening.”

I say, “Open the book, reader. Open it wide. Read it all.” And enjoy an evening with “Habáname.”