"A Matter of Trust"

By Jody Leak

Disclaimers:

All of these characters belong to someone else. (USA Studios, Universal, Renaissance Pictures, etc.). No harm or infringement intended.

Love/Sex Warning: This story contains no graphic sex.

Violence Warning: t's got some action, but no graphic violence.

Spoiler:This story contains spoilers for "A Friend In Need, Parts I and II".

Bard's Comments: Actually, this has turned into a new chapter that fits into my story, So It Goes, just before Gabrielle goes to find Eve. But it stands alone as well (I hope <grin>). So enjoy, and if you haven't already, I invite you to read So It Goes, and also, One Path (shameless plug).

Comments, feedback, and constructive criticism may be sent to ogwen@aol.com. Thank you.

The young woman sat alone, cross-legged, on the ground at the edge of a field that was sporadically dotted with haystacks. Nervous villagers scurried from place to place, casting furtive glances at the blonde stranger who seemed to be having an argument with…no one. Gabrielle ran a hand through her short-cropped hair with irritation. She looked up to see the ghost of her dark-haired soulmate, laughing, as she plunked herself down on the ground next to her.

"Xena, stop."

She glared at her soulmate, "Stop it. It's not funny."

"Gabrielle, I'm sorry...but it is funny."

"Xena, I killed it." Glare. "It's not funny!"

Xena hid her smile behind her hand, looked away and shook her head, still not able to contain her amusement.

"This is a lethal weapon..." the bard shook the chakram at her partner. "It can kill people!"

Xena regained her composure and said seriously, "Gabrielle, weapons don't kill people, people kill people."

Gabrielle shot her an irritated glance. Xena stared blankly back and raised an unapologetic eyebrow.

"You’re not making me feel better…"

"Gabrielle...it was a cow, not a person." The bard grimaced. Xena continued, "It escaped from the slaughter house…"

"Yeah…great…this close to freedom…" Gabrielle pinched her fingers together in front of her soulmate’s face, "and WHAM!"

"Gabrielle, the owner wasn't even upset…" Xena tried to be comforting, but she couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face, "…and the field workers…you saved them a day’s work."

The bard groaned and put her head in her hands.

"…and the grain tower…" the warrior continued, thumbing over her shoulder, "they were going to take it down next moon anyway."

Another groan. "Welcome to Tartarus, my name is Gabrielle…I’ll be your host…" She paused to watch the villagers as they cleaned up the destruction left by the errant throw. It was a sobering sight. "Gods Xena, I could have really hurt someone."

"Actually, I think they want to hire you on here…" Xena chided. "You did the work of half the village with one throw of the chakram."

"It was a disaster, Xena! Look at this place!"

"At least they let you pay for the sign at the inn..." Xena paused and tried to hide her widening smile. "After you got them to come out from behind the counter…"

"I told them it was an accident…" she shook her head. "They thought I was here to destroy their village…" Xena chuckled and Gabrielle frowned. "I help people!" she protested.

"And they so believed that…" the warrior said sarcastically.

Gabrielle put her head in her hands, "It’s not my fault."

Xena started laughing. "Explain to me what you were aiming at again?"

"The tree…" pointing.

Xena scrunched up her face and squinted at the target, mocking her soul mate.

"Xena, it came out of nowhere!"

"It was a cow..." Xena chuckled, "a big, lumbering, slow moving cow...they don't come out of nowhere..."

"I was aiming at the tree, it moved out from behind that haystack," pointing, "as I let the chakram go..." She glared at her partner, " and it was running!" Xena looked off innocently, still smirking. Gabrielle waved a finger at her and lowered her voice, "It wasn't my fault."

Xena smiled and shook her head, as she closed her eyes and a laugh escaped. "Come on…" she urged, "let’s give it another try."

"I don’t think I can use this, Xena…" the bard said, holding up the chakram. A few of the villagers saw her raise the weapon and darted for cover.

"I think we’d better get out of here before you traumatize these poor people."

"Too late…" Gabrielle responded, as she stood up and hooked the chakram to her waist. The villagers slowly came out from their hiding places.

"Sorry…" the bard shouted in their direction. "It’s all right..." she raised her hands in surrender, "I’m leaving." She lowered her arms and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry…" she turned to Xena, "that seems so inadequate…"

"Go…" the warrior urged, as she gave her partner a gentle shove in the back.

They walked away, Gabrielle shaking her head, Xena still chuckling.

"I feel terrible…"

***

They walked down the hill, away from the village, through the surrounding woods and onto a well-traveled road until they came to a clearing. Gabrielle diligently examined the surroundings, making sure there was nothing around that would be destroyed should the chakram get out of control again. She was also trying to convince her soulmate that it might be better if she just didn’t use the weapon.

"My point is, Xena, if I'm not comfortable with this," holding up the chakram, "I'm going to do more harm than good."

"Well, then I guess we'd better get you comfortable with it, because it can be a very valuable tool. One that can make the difference when nothing else will."

Gabrielle exhaled, knowing from experience, that Xena was right.

"You used it in Japa successfully, Gabrielle. What's changed?"

She gave that serious thought and finally concluded, "I didn’t have a choice in Japa…there was no time…" she paused…

"…to think..." the warrior said, finishing the recollection.

"Yeah…to think."

"Don’t think, Gabrielle…trust."

"I’m sorry Xena, this could really hurt someone…" holding up the chakram again. "I’m not putting my trust in it. There are too many variables that could cause…"

"Not it…" Xena interrupted, pointing at the chakram, "you…" pointing at her soulmate. "Trust yourself, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle clenched her jaw and looked down with a slight shake of her head. Xena could tell she’d struck a nerve, as her soulmate worked hard to keep something inside. Xena moved closer, put her hands on her partner’s shoulders and waited until she looked up. Gabrielle briefly met her eyes, but quickly looked away, swallowing.

"It was not your fault, Gabrielle…" Xena said sympathetically. The bard flicked her eyes back, then away, then back again. She tried to shake off what she was really thinking, in favor of what she thought Xena was referring to. She patted the hands resting on her shoulders.

"No, you were right…I should have seen the cow…"

"Not that…" the warrior said sharply, "what happened in Japa."

Gabrielle closed her eyes and tried to pull away, annoyed that the guilt had broken through her resolve so easily. Xena held fast to her shoulders, "Hey, look at me…" she said firmly. "Not your fault," tightening her grip for emphasis. "You did everything right…do you understand me?"

Gabrielle stared at her soulmate. "Then why does everything feel so wrong."

Xena didn’t have an answer, and the bard pulled away from her grasp. She turned her back on her soulmate and stared off into the distance, "Maybe Ares was right."

"Don’t do this Gabrielle."

"He said I wasn’t good enough to save you."

"Stop it."

Gabrielle continued staring and took in and released a tired breath. Xena had had enough. She leaned in from behind, and into her soulmate’s ear said tersely, "Since when do you listen to anything that bastard has to say. This was my decision…you know that."

Gabrielle looked up at the sky for a long moment and exhaled. "Yes I do."

Xena put her arm around her shoulder, "All right…" The tension fell away and the warrior’s voice became an encouraging whisper. "Let’s do this…" she pointed at the chakram. Gabrielle nodded, but Xena could tell she was still apprehensive.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes"

"I want you to close your eyes." Gabrielle complied. "Now keep them shut, throw the chakram, and don’t open them until it’s back in your hand."

The bard opened her eyes and gave her soulmate a suspicious glare over her shoulder. "Xena, if this is your way of getting me to join you in the afterlife…"

"Trust, Gabrielle."

Another cautious glance at her soulmate, then she turned her attention to the chakram. Xena gave her a confident nod. She closed her eyes and lifted the chakram in her hand a few times as if to guess it’s weight.

"Trust, Gabrielle…don’t think…trust…"

Gabrielle kept her eyes closed and nodded. Trust, trust, trust, trust, trust she repeated silently.

"Choose your targets, clear your mind…trust…" she heard Xena say, her voice trailing off.

Her mind was suddenly still, the sounds of the meadow whispering behind her steady heartbeat. She could feel the cold metal of the chakram warming in her hand. She exhaled a slow breath and let the chakram fly. She could hear the whistle of the weapon as it cut through the air, the sound abruptly stopping and changing pitch as it hit each object and changed direction.

Tree.

Boulder.

Tree.

The chakram was on its way back. Moment of truth. Gabrielle raised her chin, daring it to cut her down. Almost against her will, her arm began to move to intercept the weapon. Everything was in slow motion now, as her arm rose from its place at her side, her palm turned outward and up, across the front of her body and into the space before her face. The chakram got there at the same time as her hand, and she could see the action clearly in her mind’s eye. Her hand came from beneath the path of the chakram and into the center where her fingers closed around the bar dividing it, stopping it’s deadly path towards her head. The weapon was now one with her hand, and it followed her arm’s motion, which brought it to rest just off to her side, her palm still turned outward. She held that position for a moment, and opened her eyes. She held her arm still, but flicked her wrist over so that she had a full view of the chakram.

"Heh…" she snorted in amazement, "You were right, Xena." She turned to look at her soulmate, but she was gone.

Gabrielle let her arm and her stance relax and held the chakram to her chest, acknowledging that the accomplishment was her own. She closed her eyes and cradled the chakram closer. Trust. Was it really that simple? She kept practicing, each throw more complicated than the last. Standing, sitting, kneeling, running, crawling…she caught the chakram for the umpteenth time, perfectly. There were no miscalculations, no doubts. She closed her eyes in satisfaction. She had her answer. Yes.

From behind her, she could hear frantic footsteps crunching on the gravel in her direction. She turned, chakram still in hand, to see a small child come to a skidding halt at the sight of her brandishing the weapon. She recognized him from the inn. The child’s eyes widened and Gabrielle could tell the little boy was afraid of her. She tucked the chakram behind her back and held out a hand.

"It’s all right…I won’t hurt you…" she cooed.

His eyes looked left, then right, then stared at her. "Is it true you help people?" he asked anxiously, out of breath.

"Yes…" she walked forward, still holding out her hand.

He made a decision. He grabbed her hand and began to run, "Come on!"

Gabrielle allowed herself to be pulled along, "Where are we going?"

"Raiders. Attacking the village."

"Hades!" she swore under her breath. She pulled the boy to a halt, putting both hands on his shoulders and said earnestly, "Stay here!"

She took off at a dead run towards the village. Knowing that it took time for the boy to reach her, and more time for her to run back, she dreaded what she was going to find there. Please, please, please don’t let me be too late, she pleaded as she ran. Her legs ached and her lungs burned, as she finally scrambled up the hill overlooking the village. Argo would be good right now, she thought to herself. Sadness tugged at her heart as she remembered there is no Argo, and there is no Xena. That part of her life was over. Stop it. There’s no time for that now. She paused briefly at the top of the hill to take inventory of the situation. Only five raiders…that was manageable. Did I just say that? She was instantly relieved when she realized that they were the "slave and pillage" variety, rather than the "massacre and pillage" variety. The villagers that hadn’t escaped into the woods were locked up in cages on wagons. Three of the raiders were busy loading up valuables, the other two were carrying torches intent on burning the village. Gabrielle took a deep breath. Right. She yanked her sais from her boots and broke into a determined sprint towards the offending intruders. No one noticed her approaching. Good. The two with the torches were getting closer to their targets and Gabrielle knew she’d never get there in time. She gave a quick scan of the village, dropped a sai, and reached for the chakram. Trust. With a grunt, she let it fly.

Lock on the first cage.

Lock on the second cage.

She picked up her sai and continued towards the village, "Run!" she shouted at the freed villagers. Now she had the raiders’ attentions. The chakram continued on its path…

Torch.

Torch.

Sword. Knocking its owner off of his horse.

Lock on the third cage.

The raiders were now heading for her. As she reached the edge of the village, one cocked his crossbow in her direction. She threw a sai, pinning him to the door jam by his shoulder armor, which caused his arrow to miss its mark. She almost didn’t have time to recover from the throw before the chakram arrived at her hand. She caught it and with one smooth motion, replaced it at her hip. "Run!" she implored the gawking villagers. They looked at her, then at the raiders, and then at each other. The children were led towards the woods, and the remaining group picked up their farm implements and joined in the defense of their village. Gabrielle thrust her remaining sai into the air with both hands, stopping the downward sweep of a raider’s heavy sword. The impact made her knees buckle slightly, but she managed to use the power from the coiling of her legs to push the sword back, and with a firm kick to the chest, the raider wound up sprawled on his backside. Villagers were there quickly, pinning him down with pitchforks. Gabrielle braced for the next attack, but it never came. She looked around to see the rest of the raiders being corralled into their own cages by the suddenly brave villagers. She blew out a relieved breath as someone cautiously handed her the other sai.

"Thanks."

"No, thank you…" mumbles of agreement floated through the air.

***

The crowd ushered her into the inn, insisting that she accept the meal and lodging. It was a luxury she didn’t often get, and she welcomed it. They were surprised to hear that she was a storyteller and she promised she’d tell one after dinner.

It wasn’t a story about her travels with Xena…she wasn’t ready for that yet. It was a fairytale she’d heard when she was a child. The adults were amused, and the children were mesmerized. It felt good to get back to a craft that she seemed to have neglected of late. She returned to her seat, and the children scrambled to be near her. Fascinated by her exotic weapons, they watched intently as she laid them neatly in front of her on the table. The young boy that brought her back to the village reached out to touch the chakram.

"This is so cool…"

"Careful honey…that’s sharp." Gabrielle gently scolded.

"Don’t touch that!" his father snapped, grabbing the curious hand. "That’s not a toy!"

Gabrielle raised her brow in agreement. The young boy rubbed his hand and gave her a shy, embarrassed glance. She winked and smiled sympathetically.

"Off to bed with ye…come on…" Some of the adults began rounding up their offspring. They shuffled by, shaking Gabrielle’s hand politely. Some wanted to touch her sun bleached blonde hair, so different from their own dark heads. She was left in a room full of curious adults, all staring at her as if they expected her to say something profound.

"They’re sweet…" she said, referring to the children.

Polite nods, and more silence.

She cleared her throat, and shifted in her seat a bit. "Why didn’t you fight back before…?" she inquired gently.

The man closest to her spoke up, "It is not the way of love…"

Gabrielle froze. They can’t be. "Are you followers of Eli?"

"Yes." Excited affirmations spread through the inn at the mention of his name. "Do you know the way of Eli?" they inquired.

"Eli was a friend of mine."

They frowned, in disbelief. "You’re too young."

"Long story…"

They looked at her weapons. "But…you’re a warrior."

"I…" She started to protest, but with her weapons on display, and after what they’d seen from her that day, there didn’t seem to be much point in it. Maybe they were right.

"But if Eli was your friend, why do you not follow the way of love?"

"I did follow the way of love." The crowd eyed her suspiciously. "It led me here…" her gaze dropped to her weapons. Mumbles of disagreement traveled around the room. "I want to help people," she continued, "unfortunately, in order to do that, sometimes I need these."

"But Eli says…"

"Everyone finds their own way…" Gabrielle broke in impatiently, remembering the pain caused by her blind devotion to Eli’s way of love. "This is mine." She touched her weapons. "Sometimes you have to defend the things you love…like today you defended this village, and your families."

"But the Messenger…she says…"

"She…" This was just too easy. Couldn’t hurt to ask…"Do you know a young woman named Eve?"

"Oh yes, the Messenger of Eli…she brought us to the way of love."

Gabrielle’s eyes lit up. Yes! "When was she here? Do you know where she is?"

They were more than happy to direct this poor, misguided, young stranger to the Messenger. Gabrielle had to laugh, if they only knew. She scribbled a few lines on a piece of parchment, and handed it to a runner.

"I will make sure it gets there quickly…" and he was out the door.

Tonight she would enjoy the warm bed. Tomorrow she would begin her task in earnest. A task she’d been dreading. One day at a time Gabrielle, one day at a time.

***

Thanks for reading.

Any and all comments welcomed at ogwen@aol.com. If you enjoyed this, please read So It Goes and One Path. More shameless plugging, but if I don’t do it, who will?

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