A light coverlet shielded their warm, naked bodies from the cool, damp darkness about them. Rain had fallen. Thunder and lightening, as if from a far off place, rumbled all during the night.

Perhaps Zeus had been angry with an errant son, either Hercules or Ares, and was grumbling to his Olympian companions?

Gabrielle would remember the noises and smells of this night for the rest of her life. She would forever recall the shower as it gently stroked the sturdy roof of their hut; the quarters of visiting royalty they were told by the beasts. But, in reality, it was a prison. Then she thought, with a near giggle, something that shouldn't have been amusing at all. This less than royal bed chamber was she and Iolaus' bridal suite. Their marriage bed was no more than a straw filled mattress, sewn carelessly with horse hair. Yet, it was beautiful to her. All of it.

She felt his body snuggle slightly closer to her's as he slept. She felt the exhale of warm air against her cheek as he sighed, caught up in a lovely dream she imagined. They were as close as two mortals could be at this moment without actually being joined during the act of love-making.

Gabrielle sighed her contentment and her fear. It was hard to believe forty eight hours ago she was so terribly depressed and lonely. She came to the Amazons because she didn't know what else to do. There was Potedia, she knew, but if she were to go there she might never leave again. She couldn't risk it. Besides, she didn't belong there anymore. She was an Amazon Queen and it was time to take on the responsibility, or at least be there to delegate where the responsibility should go. Gods, she was so horribly confused ...

... and because of this confusion Iolaus was in danger, his back currently marked with whip marks. Gabrielle could only hope and pray she had made the right choice. He seemed to think so and told her more than twice last night how it didn't matter. Even if this was it, the end of his life, he died a happy man. He had made love to the woman of his dreams.

Died. Death. Dying.

Xena had died. Gabrielle closed her eyes in pain at the remembrance.

They knew it would happen some day. The way they lived their lives nearly demanded a day would come when one or the other of them would die at the sharp tip of a sword or during the most inventive torture. Yet, the irony was that Xena had passed very simply and not as a warrior. She had caught the flu, which had developed into pneumonia then something worse. If the healer had gotten to her before the chills Xena might have had a chance but once the fluids invaded her lungs and the Warrior Princess was wracked with coughing and spasms of intense pain ... They knew she was dying even before the healer announced there was no more she could do. Still, Gabrielle had seen her pull through mortal wounds with no after affects at all. She had the determination of fifty warriors and a stubborness to match ... Yet, in the end Xena merely smiled at Gabrielle, defeated, and spoke the words they had said to one another so many times: "We will be together forever ..."

Then she closed her eyes. Peacefully Xena, Warrior Princess, drifted off into an ever lasting sleep.

She lay now in the crypt where her beloved brother was interred. Xena had always wanted to be placed there if she died ... Cyrene, promised to watch over her daughter now in a way she was never able while Xena remained alive.

The warrior woman, Gabrielle's best friend, teacher and companion, was finally at rest. She was perhaps sharing barbs now with Charon the boatman while crossing Styx or telling Hades how he should be running The Elysian Fields and Tartarus.
Gabrielle could almost smile at this thought. Surely Xena had paid her dues and was now living in paradise, happy and content with her son, Solan, in the after life. One day, Gabrielle knew, she would join her there ....

Joxer had been a comfort for awhile. As silly as he could sometimes be he was also tender and made Gabrielle smile. Yet, even he could see there was no staying with the bard as she traveled. Especially since she now needed to journey into Amazon territory. Gabrielle's tribe wouldn't mind the presence of Joxer but there were other Amazon tribes in the area that would more than frown on the presence of any man. The danger was very real and Joxer, not as foolish as he looked, agreed to move on. However, he made Gabrielle promise not to be a stranger. "Sweet guy." she thought and was sorry to see him leave.

With Xena gone Gabrielle felt her life was over. There would be no more exciting, often hazardous undertakings. No travel to foreign countries and experiencing the wonders of what were now magical memories. She would stop being an Amazon Queen, give Ephiny the permanent honor. She deserved it. Yet, Gabrielle would stay with her sisters, spend the rest of her days with her tribe, upholding tradition and fighting for the rights of the women warriors of Greece. Quietly, she would retreat into the forest where they lived, meekly writing on her parchments all she had learned, and live a relatively isolated life.

Little did Gabrielle know that a new life, filled with romance, adventure and danger, had just begun ....

(continue)