The following is a bit of alternative fiction based on certain characters from the Xenaverse. It is not meant to infringe on anyone else's rights. If you don't agree or disapprove, please go read something else.
The screams startled Jacosta awake. She frantically threw her covers off and stumbled to the door of the house while pulling on a pair of trousers. She grabbed something to do damage with (just in case). The frying pan weighed heavy in her hand as she stepped, barefoot, into the nippy dark. She saw a light in the barn and knew that was where the piercing wounded sounds were coming from.
She was careful in choosing her path, padding silently forward and staying (as much as possible) in the shadows. The moon glow was bright tonight, but not so bright she couldn't work around it. The screams had stopped, but now there were definite sounds of mayhem. The tall woman carefully positioned herself to the side of the barn, listening with all her being. It wasn't long before she had a clue.
Aulix and his cohorts had captured an Amazon. She winced involuntarily at the next thud of a body against a wall. Apparently the Amazon was fending them off quite nicely The lanky woman smiled thinly and looked at the pan she held in her hand. No doubt the Amazon got a hold of the pitchfork. That would explain the screams. Aulix's sister sighed and heaved the pan experimentally.
Things might be going in favor of the Amazon now, but that didn't mean it would be forever. Jacosta had a decision to make. Help or Not. If she helped, there was no doubt her brother would seek revenge. If she didn't help, knowing Aulix, a war would get started. It was, in its own way, a surprisingly tough decision. She twirled the pan in her hand thoughtfully, thinking of the last occasion she'd had to use it. Funny how much damage a cooking utensil could do, given the right situation.
Oh well, her brother had done horrible things to her before. She'd get over it.
The barn door flew open with a bang and startled everyone. The skinny woman used her largest voice (and it was potent. She was her mother's daughter), "What in HADES is GOING ON here!!!" From her vantage point Jacosta saw it all (and really a bit too much in her opinion). There was one pissed off red head wielding a lethal pitchfork. The tips were blooded. The Amazon looked rumpled and aggressive, but none the worse.
There were four men. Jacosta knew all of them in one capacity or another. Seragi, the priest's son (who should have known better), was lying face first on the ground. He was grimacing in pain and wearing two obvious and bloody holes in posterior of his pants. Marak, who should have been home with his wife, had a serious swelling starting near his eye and she could see that his arms had been scraped quite thoroughly. He'd have a fine time trying to explain that (Later Jacosta made sure his wife knew the whole thing. It would be a while before the man felt the "urge" again.) Pymna, who spent most of his time supporting the local taverna, was gripping his way along the wall, back up into a position of standing. Tursi, whose mother was said to have been an Amazon, (though no one knew for sure) looked like he had been keeping well out of the brawl. He was hiding behind one of the haystacks. Aulix, of course, was nowhere to be seen.
That did it. This was too much. Jacosta might have had to live with her brother, but she didn't have to live with these men and she wasn't going to put up with this nonsense. Silhouetted by the moonlight she loomed like the wrath of Artemis herself. Jacosta chased the men out with that frying pan and the voice of power which she'd inherited from her mother. When the pan struck it was as if thunder struck. When her voice shouted it was as if lightening hit the ground. The men quivered and ducked and scattered like so much sand in the wind. Except for Seragi, who was still communing with his pain.
She left him there. He wasn't going to die, though, maybe he felt like it. Jacosta was more concerned at this point with the Amazon. She looked a little wild eyed, but relieved at the same time. The lanky woman extended her hand (the one that wasn't holding the pan) and asked, "Are you alright?" The Amazon nodded, and cautiously handed over the two-pronged instrument of agony (though that wasn't what Jacosta had been reaching for). The red head's body still had the high color of someone whose adrenaline had been pumping and it did lovely things for her appearance (or so Jacosta thought). The lanky woman tried again, not sure how to approach the subject, "Did they?" She received a ferally evil smile in return. Apparently not. Well,then, okay. Time to make arrangements.
"I've got a safe place, if you want to go there or you can. . . " she offered, unsure. Jacosta had a lot of hiding places around. She never knew when she might need to give Aulix some cool down time.
The Amazon's eyes flashed angrily, "I'm going home." The flame haired woman's expression brooked no argument and betrayed a hint of revenge. Jacosta had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and a quick vision of a gathering of angry Amazons storming the village flashed in her mind and thrilled through her body. Damn.
Jacosta knew she couldn't stop the Amazon warrior from returning to Skula. That wouldn't be right. But in a way she wished she could. Her visions were rarely wrong. There was going to be trouble for sure. Now she really regretted the council woman's absence. Why did she have to pick this month to go visit her sister?
The lanky woman moved her body out of the way, so the Amazon could see she was free to go. Jacosta watched in silent appreciation as the proud barbarian glided past her without looking back. There was going to be Hades to pay. The body language told Jacosta everything. Gods, what had Aulix started?
A sudden worry captured Jacosta's mind. What if Aulix were out there still? She shook the thought out of her head. Unlikely. He was probably boasting at the taverna. She rarely gave worry credence. It didn't have the feel of vision. It was just one of those what ifs that crept up on you sometimes. She found herself speaking, however. "Be careful." The words surprised her in their quickness, but mostly in their sincerity. She meant it as if she were talking to some long lost friend who was going out into the dangerous world. She felt as if she had more to say, but the words weren't there and she paused, dumbstruck.
The Amazon stopped in front of one of the posts that supported the barn. She pulled the knife out in one swift move, then stuck it back in her bootsheathe. She turned around at Jacosta's words. Her gaze was anything but neutral. "It's not me who'd better be careful." The venom in the words sent shivers up Jacosta's spine and she could see, that although she'd stepped in to help, the woman associated her with the problem.
Jacosta sighed. Of course she did. Aulix always boasted about his plans. He probably implicated the whole village somehow. He would have made it sound like they were all Amazon haters and that they only helped the Amazons rebuild because they felt obligated. Zeus and all His shiny Apples. Aulix wanted trouble, he'd just found it. Jacosta started to speak, to try to explain, but Seragi picked that moment to moan loudly. It distracted her and whatever pacifying words she might have chosen vanished.
After a quick visual check, Jacosta saw that he looked the same as before. She probably she ought to do something to help. She'd leave his punishment up to his father.
The short haired woman had another flash. She felt it rather than saw. Creamy smooth flesh and a touch along her thigh. She shook her head. Where did that come from? Another thought not to give credence to. She was probably just nearing the beginning of her cycle. She set the sensations aside. She could take care of that once she got Seragi to town. Thinking of, she'd better gather her stuff. Jacosta didn't want to be here when Aulix returned.
Jacosta returned her gaze to the Amazon. Fair skin shone in the moonlight. Bright hair seemed to be fire itself. She was lithe, sleek, but not skinny the way Jacosta was. Her lips were full and her bosom shared the quality. She looked like a warrior to Jacosta's untrained eye. How had a warrior been caught?
It didn't matter. It was done. She was caught and brought and they'd tried and lost. The Amazon probably could have beaten them without her help. There was no real apology Jacosta could offer. It wasn't her fault, but it felt like it. The Amazon stared back. Her gaze was assessing and Jacosta could tell she was found wanting. It was a look she'd seen before. She was used to it.
The Amazon lifted her head and moved to turn. Her leather skirt made a swooshing noise. She was going to leave. She was going to leave. Gods, she was leaving!
Jacosta felt a sense of loss out of proportion to the situation. She knew it was unreasonable. She didn't know the woman, didn't even have a name to associate her with. She didn't know her at all. She had a right to go home. Jacosta wanted to tell her to stay. She wanted to keep watching her in the moonlight. She wanted. . .
Jacosta reached out as the Amazon turned her back. "I'm Jacosta!" She called out. The Amazon didn't even stop, but stepped out into the moonlit world. Jacosta followed silently to the door of the barn and watched as the bright woman slipped into the dark mystery of the forest.
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These pages were last updated: October 23, 1997
İOctober 1997