Warlord Daze

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.

Xex Alert: Oh Boy Is There. .This is a Prurient Piece with a Bit of Kink (If you hear the crack of the whip then you'll be in the neighborhood) Proceed at your own risk. :)

When Xena kissed Gabrielle awake with the words, "Wake up, my bard," the smaller woman knew that everything was going to be alright. She stretched into their next kiss and was lovingly seduced into the morning. By the time they were done with the morning's freshening, she'd wrested (not that hard a thing) a promise from Xena that they would work on the tattoo that night. The warrior was all for it. That night they did work on it and Xena finished another third.

The day after, the prisoners escaped. Well some of them. A few were recaptured, but most fled the encampment under the cover of the early dark. Xena watched with some amusement as they filtered into the damp and dark of the forest. Then she went back to bed and the loving arms of her companion.

They split the army that afternoon. It was pretty much agreed that it was easier to take care of smaller forces than larger and though the main body would continue to be sizable, there was no reason that everyone should have to travel together and there were plenty of reasons why they should not. The most fleet messengers would be used to pass information along to the five parts.

No doubt there would be more in the future, with the way the people poured in. Apparently, despite some warlords who believed differently, no one wanted to function under Hercules' rule. Rumor did travel fast in the old world.

The recaptured prisoners, two of which were Xena's own (they returned to their original assignments and received congratulations on a job well done) were put to work as food tasters for the warlords. One prisoner swore fealty to Xena upon recapture and was released into Doba's care. He actually turned out to be a pretty good soldier and lived through the war.

With the permission of the Queen, Vivian and Esther accompanied Aedal as his seconds. Eponin and Solari stayed on and waited for the Amazon reinforcements to arrive. It wouldn't be that long of a wait, a week or two more at the most and some of the guard duty was now shared with the more "common" soldiers. The loyalty and faith in the camp was high.

Doba and Colchak remained as seconds to Xena. There were a couple of retired Generals who were called into duty. Uleven, a gray wolfish man in his forties, took over the fifth camp. His leadership was legendary and the warlord was glad to have him on her side. Xena's symbol now flew over most the cities, towns and villages along with their own flags. To all intents, it was she who was acting "ruler," though there were little restrictions she placed on the new acquisitions. She was too busy to bask in power. The governments ran themselves following Gabrielle's earlier directives. Still, Uleven responded not just as a general, but as Her general and once he discovered Lord Xena's relationship with Queen Gabrielle he became *their* general. His attitude set the tone for most of the other war camps. The other warlords, who'd joined Xena's cause ceased to be called warlords, but were now addressed by rank. They delighted in their new found respectability and chafed at it too. They couldn't be despotic and nasty, because Xena wasn't, yet they could blend in and were finally receiving the respect they thought they deserved. Once given the roles, they started acting the part.

Things may have been "alright" between the two of them, but things in general still weren't quite the same. There was a casually cruel edge to the way Xena did some things, or maybe it was just sharper, more pointed, than Gabrielle remembered.. Still the word "ruthless," kept springing to Gabrielle's mind, until the blue gaze would turn her way and soften. Then all kinds of other words would fill the smaller woman's thoughts. The bard couldn't help but feel a little confused (and perhaps frightened) by it all.

Three days after the "escape," and one day after the completion of Gabrielle's mark, Xena's food taster died.

The camp had stopped for the night (and it is almighty slow to move a camp, no matter how carefully planned it is) and dinner was being served in the mess and the command tents. Gabrielle was writing a thank you missive (and those thank you notes would become famous later. Every village wanted one, but if they hadn't contributed, they didn't get one. There were several townships that raised in prestige because they were able to display their participation.) while she chewed on one of Jalani's sweetrolls. She didn't look up until she heard the gag.

She stood up as the bulky man started to stagger back, holding his stomach. The red head rushed to his side when he fell over. Xena scanned the tent warily, but didn't move until she heard the plead in the bard's voice. "Xena! Xena!" The bard knelt, holding the man's head in her lap. He was turning green. "Isn't there something you can do to help him!"

Xena leaned over and sniffed the fruit the man had cut a slice from. She nodded, pursed her lips and stood up. Her eyes were narrowed in thought. She paced over to the reclining and now moaning man, half knelt beside him, then laid her hands gently to the side of his head. He looked up, but wasn't seeing anything. Lord Xena said nothing. His last hack was interrupted by the sharp snap of his neck.

Xena took Gabrielle's suddenly limp hands in her own and stood up, pulling the Amazon with her. The dead man's head fell out of the bard's lap and landed on the ground with a dull thump. Lord Xena deftly moved Gabrielle away from the body, called in the guard to take care of it and and calmly requested a new food taster. Then she had the bard sit down besides her, wrapped a secure arm around Gabrielle's waist, (she wanted to keep watch on her suddenly pale wife) and went back to talking plans with Colchak as if the deadly event hadn't happened.

Gabrielle didn't finish her sweetroll.