Chapter 26
Odin convinced Elissa to rest in Valhalla for a short time before continuing her quest. He took it upon himself to teach her to accept and utilize the power that she inherited from her father. She refused at first, but after hearing stories about the Orient, she decided some additional knowledge could prove useful.
Their lessons brought another time to Odin's mind. The time he decided to teach someone else how to tap into her inner power. Xena came to his mind followed quickly by Grinhilda. The two women were complete opposite, one ambitious and ruthless while the other thought of him and the Valkyries before her own welfare. Odin admitted that he found the dark-haired Warrior Princess exciting, but he missed what he shared with his lover.
"Do you want me to help you?"
Odin shook his long white hair. "What?" He tried to ignore Elissa, but should have known better.
"My help, do you want me to help you get Grinhilda back? She deserves her place by your side. I'll help you. You treated my sisters honorably when many others wouldn't. Your lover deserves the same treatment. She didn't do anything wrong, but has suffered all these years because of another's greed. I would like to help you end her suffering."
"You are a strange woman, Elissa. How would we do this? I am not sure that my Grinhilda is still alive inside that monster. The years may have killed her spirit." A tear fell from his lone eye.
She looked at the Norse god, wondering how someone who supposedly knew so much knew so little. "Her spirit is the only thing keeping her going. Don't you think that it's strange that after all these years the monster picks now to break free? The Fates weave strange tapestries, but somehow the threads come back to where it started to complete the picture. She's been waiting for you all these years. It's time to do what's right, not only for her but for the others as well. The Ring is too powerful to remain in the world on a monster's hand. Some fool might get lucky and kill her." Elissa watched Odin's face turn from sad to angry. She smiled to herself. "Then what happens when he or she..." She let her voice drop low, bringing to mind a certain Warrior Princess. "..decides they want to be the next powerful being. Will they be locked in a cave held by your locks or will they rampage through this world?"
"Enough, you have made your point. I let this go on too long, and Grinhilda has suffered from my negligence. I take it you have a plan."
Elissa's eyes sparkled with mischief. "This is what I have in mind." She whispered her plans long into the night.
Odin stared at her shocked. He wasn't sure that she knew what she was asking him to do. The risk was high, but the reward was too. The ring's hold on Grinhilda would be broken, but would Elissa survive. He hoped that she listened to all the lessons he gave her.
~~~~~
Xena, Gabrielle, Beowulf and Brunnhilda followed the destruction of the monster the villagers call Grindl. They entered a barn where villagers lay in pieces. Gabrielle looked at the destruction wondering what type of monster could do this. A long arm shot through the wall and pulled her back through. She screamed causing the others to run after her.
Xena pushed her legs to go faster, but Grindl seemed to disappear. "Gabrielle." She dropped to her knees in the dirt. The monster she created from her own greed had the most precious thing in her life. Xena felt like she couldn't breathe. Her hand clutched her Chakram until blood dripped between her fingers. "I will get you back and I will make this right. Hold on Gabrielle."
"Where is she? Where is Gabrielle?" Beowulf and Brunnhilda ran up panting.
"Grindl took her. It won't hurt her."
"How do you know that? Did you see what it did to those men in there? How do you know so much about this monster?" Beowulf challenged, his mind on the beautiful bard.
"I created it." Xena turned away without another word. She walked off toward the caves. The same caves that she closed with a raven lock years ago.
A raven landed in a tree to watch the three scuttle about. It flew to a cave not far away, there a small blonde woman prayed for the one she loved to find her. Another heart inside the cave beat; it beat with betrayal, pain and anger, but hidden deep in its farthest, deepest depths, hidden through years of exposure to the Ring was love. This night would reveal much to the world.
Chapter 27
Xena marched through the night wondering why it was taking so long to reach a cave that was only a few miles away. Odin sprang to mind, but thoughts of Gabrielle in trouble soon crowded out thoughts of the wily Norse god. She stood at the cave's mouth unable to stop the shiver that raced down her spine. She could still feel the Ring's power racing through her body. The unlimited power was a heady rush. If it weren't for Grinhilda's interference, that monster inside would be her. She wouldn't let Gabrielle pay for her past sins. A large shape shot past knocking Xena to the ground.
Brunnhilda shouted out. "Look." She pointed to a murder of ravens flying from the inside the cave.
"It looks like they're chasing Grindl." They warriors took off running after the monster only to stop dead in their tracks in a clearing.
There stood Grindl hideously deformed, holding a pale but beautiful Gabrielle. They looked like what they were - Beauty and the Beast. Some type of flat stone stood beside Grindl, Xena realized it was a funeral pyre. She stepped forward, but the monster put a large hand around a small delicate neck.
"NO! Don't, I won't come any closer, just don't hurt her. She isn't the one you want, I am. Put her down and you can have me." Xena tried to cajole Grindl into letting Gabrielle go.
They heard rustling in the bushes to their left while ravens circled their heads. Valkyries dropped from the sky like flies surrounding them. Xena and Beowulf turned to stand back to back, readying themselves for a fight.
Brunnhilda fell to her knees when Odin appeared. "You did well, little one, although falling in love with her lover wasn't part of your duties."
"I was merely watching them father."
Xena started forward, but found her way blocked by several swords. "Odin, I should have known that you would come sniffing around sooner or later." She curled her lip at him.
A white eyebrow lifted at the insult. "I remember a time when you liked my sniffing."
The rustling quieted, ignored while the two old lovers quarreled.
"Girls have been faking it for eons old man. Didn't you learn that when you took your big drink."
"ENOUGH!" Everyone turned watching a small figure walk forward. "You still want her don't you? Or is it something else you want more? Perhaps something, that even now glitters on your lost love's finger. Do you want the ring? Have you forsaken love Odin? If you don't love Grinhilda anymore, then kill her and slip it from her finger. What about you Warrior Princess, is your petty quarrel with him more important than the woman you love? Or perhaps you want the Ring too? If you can get by me then you can have your hearts desire." With those cryptic words, Elissa walked away.
Odin and Xena looked at each other shocked. Neither one trusted the other and Elissa's words brought back memories neither wanted to face. Xena stepped forward intending on taking Gabrielle away from Grindl, even if she had to go through Gabrielle's daughter to do it.
Elissa smiled. "You didn't think it'd be easy did you?" She watched Xena pull her sword and started laughing. A dark brow rose in question. "This isn't a battle of strength, Xena, although I would love to beat on you. This is a battle of love." Elissa closed her eyes to pull on the power Odin showed her. A warm wind blew her hair back. Slowly the warmth changed into a raging heat, it engulfed her in flame, until she was the flame. A wall of fire circled Grindle and Gabrielle. Elissa's face appeared clearly outlined in the blazing heat. "You may pass through my flame, only if your heart's desire is on the other side. You may enter and exit only once. Choose wisely, what you leave behind will be destroyed."
The rustling grew louder, until another monster rushed from the bushes screaming. It transformed when it threw itself through the flames landing the other side. It was Grinhilda. She rushed over to the monster. Talking in hushed whispers, Grinhilda convinced it to put Gabrielle down.
"What is going on here?" Odin looked at his lost love after all these years. "If that isn't Grinhilda, then who is it? How did it get the Ring?"
Chapter 28
"I don't know. I'm going to get Gabrielle out of there before anything happens. She wasn't part of this mess and I'm not gong to let her get hurt because of it." Odin tried to stop her, but Xena shoved him away.
She eyed the wall of flame, not liking the fact that Gabrielle's daughter created it. The same daughter that hated her guts, but she'd been in tighter spots before. Stepping through the flames, Xena cautiously walked over to Gabrielle. A smile broke out on her face when she saw her looking around.
Gabrielle remembered something hitting her in the head, then nothing. She saw Xena moving closer and smiled. Getting to her feet, she met her lover half way. "What happened and how did I get in the middle of a fire?"
"Grindl took you and the fire is Elissa."
"What do you mean its Elissa? How can my daughter be a fire? Xena, what do we do? How does she change back? Will she change back?" Gabrielle found that she was unable to speak, because there were two firm lips keeping her occupied. Her arms wrapped around Xena's strong shoulders holding her close. She knew as long as they stayed together that they would figure out a way to reach Elissa.
"Come on, we have to get out of here. Odin is next and I don't want us still inside while he figures out what he's going to do." Xena started dragging Gabrielle toward the flame's edge, but Gabrielle drug her heels.
"Wait, you can't leave her in there with a monster."
"Gabrielle, do you trust me?"
"What does that have to do with leaving her inside?"
"Yes or no?"
"Yes."
"Good, come on."
Gabrielle sighed, looking back over her shoulder at the beautiful woman who held the monster close to her breast. She stepped through the flame with Xena wishing she could hold Elissa the same way.
Odin couldn't take his eyes from the sight of flames dancing around Grinhilda's body. He stepped through the flame, once more stand to beside his one time love. Do I still love her above anyone else? Did I love her more than the power the Ring would bring me? He glanced down to see the Ring gleam up at him.
Grinhilda watched Odin wondering what he would choose. Would he once again forsake our love? Does he understand what is standing in front of him?
Odin picked up the hand with the Ring on it while everyone watched. He leaned over to kiss Grinhilda tenderly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
He cried as he walked back through the flames. The Ring slipped from his fingers to the grass, before he picked up the small child that appeared - his child. Grinhilda found out she was pregnant when Xena went after the Rheingold. Grindl was doomed to the same hell because of the Ring. Somehow, Odin knew this was his child. He wasn't going to lose them, not again. Picking Grindl up, he offered Grinhilda his arm and they walked back though the flames as a family.
~~~~~
Elissa started moving in a circle, faster and faster. Everyone held on to one another to keep from being blown away. She looked like a blur of reds, oranges and yellows. All at once, the flames shot off into the air. Odin and Xena looked at each other then walked back to where he dropped the ring. Nothing was there.
~~~~~
The Rhein Maidens swam in their private cove. They heard a horse and dove under the water. After a few minutes, they peeked back up, but didn't see anyone. The youngest saw something glimmer. Always the curious one, she swam close then shouted out for her sisters to come and see. There in a small box sat their Rheingold, beside it was a small note. It read.
Guard your treasure and your innocence. Do not trust strangers.
Chapter 29
Elissa knew it was time to continue her journey to the Orient. Her sisters deserved to go home and she wanted to see her tribe again. It saddened her to think about taking her mother's place, but she knew it was time. Shaking her head to clear the maudlin thoughts, large mountains came into view. They were breathtaking. This tiny island seemed more majestic than the large continent that she just left. Elissa only hoped that her sisters were well and that she could find them quickly.
Walking along the narrow streets to a teahouse Elissa slipped inside. She bowed to the shop's owner. Hesitantly, Elissa asked about the missing Amazons. The ship's captain told her this was the best place to get information. The woman told her about a village further down the coast where several girls were sold to a rich family. She wasn't happy to hear that they were little more than slaves, but not surprised. Elissa thanked the woman then set off once again on her journey to reunite her tribe.
~~~~~
Xena and Gabrielle journeyed toward Jappa. Xena wondered if the gods were laughing at her from Tartarus. Each place they raced after Gabrielle's daughter led to a ghost from her past. She took the opportunity to right the wrongs the old Xena left in her wake. Thankfully, Gabrielle understood and forgave her every sin, but Xena wondered if this time she might be asking too much.
"I need to tell you some things about last time that I was in Jappa."
Gabrielle stopped her before she could continue. "Xena, I love you, but I can't do this right now." She pulled a cloak tighter around her body. The illusion of her daughter kept slipping through her fingers. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her. Gabrielle wondered if she would ever catch her, if she would ever get a chance to know her daughter.
Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, a dark head leaned down next to a blonde one. As if she read her thoughts, Xena reassured her. "You'll get to know her. She'll fight it and make your life a living hell along the way, but it will happen. We made good time. Elissa shouldn't be too far ahead of this time. Maybe if we help her find the rest of the missing Amazons, it will give you an opportunity to get to know each other."
"Do you mean it?" Bright green eyes shining with hope looked into sparkling blue ones.
"Of course I do, Elissa doesn't know Jappa like I do. The people don't accept strangers, especially women at face value. She won't have an easy time getting anyone to talk to her."
Gabrielle turned back to look at the beautiful island. She hid a smile at the idea of her self-sufficient daughter having trouble getting around Jappa. She knew Elissa was on a serious quest to retrieve the Amazons taken from the campsite, but hoped the journey might lead to an opportunity for them to grow closer.
When they stepped on shore a monk walked up to Xena and bowed. He held a beautiful sword in his hand, which he offered to her. "Greetings, Warrior Princess, Akemi welcomes you once more to the land of her forefathers."
Xena is stunned. "You've seen Akemi?"
"She saved me when an evil spirit took the soul of a brother monk that I traveled with. I ran in fear. Akemi told me that you were the only person who could kill the Lord of the Dark Land. She said that a warrior from far away would save us, that fire and ice would meet to quench vengeance's rage."
"Xena, let's go find your friend, let's help Akemi?"
"That's impossible, Gabrielle."
"I don't understand. He said that she sent this sword for you and that some demon is killing people."
"We can't find Akemi because she's a ghost. I killed her."
Gabrielle grabbed the Warrior Princess' arm. "Tell me the real story and we'll know where to go from there. Elissa is important but innocent people are dying and we need to stop it."
Xena recounted how she bought a kidnapped Akemi. She returned her for the ransom, but along the way started caring for the little girl. Xena even went so far as to teach her the pinch. Akemi's father was a horrible man who killed his wife and children. Akemi only escaped because she was kidnapped. She used the pinch to kill her father, then herself, asked Xena to remove her head, and take her ashes to a sacred shrine in Higuchi.
Chapter 30
Elissa trudged furiously along the coastline towards the town where she hoped to find her sister Amazons. Jappa men didn't recognize females as warriors. She couldn't get the information she needed from the landowners or businessmen. Only women or monks would speak to her. No one recognized her as a warrior. The Samurai way could not be understood by a female mind. The Orient was a beautiful, graceful and garish creature all at once. Elissa realized that she would have to use brains not brawn.
An old monk took pity on her and gave her a place to stay. It was the perfect place to look for her sisters, centrally located to the mountain paths, small fishing towns and larger plantations. Lao Pan was an eighty-year-old Buddhist monk. He spent each evening in his gardens doing intricate martial arts movements. Elissa watched him intrigued. The movements were slow and precise. He told her, it was called Tai Chi. It teaches awareness of one's own balance and what affects it, awareness of the same in others, an appreciation of the practical value in one's ability to moderate extremes of behavior and attitude at both mental and physical levels, and how this applies to effective self-defense principles.
Elissa went out each day looking for her missing tribe members. She returned each evening to learn Tai Chi from Lao Pan. They became close friends learning about each others worlds.
~~~~~
Xena and Gabrielle approached Akemi's home town of Higuchi. Her beautiful home brought back memories that Xena would rather leave buried along with the dead. They settled into the house with the young monks help. He showed them where he saw Akemi's ghost then left them to continue his journey.
Gabrielle wasn't sure how she felt about talking to a ghost. This was someone that Xena cared enough about the teach the pinch. She felt stupid but she was jealous of a ghost.
Xena stepped beside Gabrielle taking her hands, she laid them on the pulse points of her neck. "Can you feel my life flowing underneath?"
"Yes?" Gabrielle's breath escaped in a soft sigh.
Strong hands forced slender fingers to apply pressure. The Warrior Princess crumpled at her lover's feet. "I wanted you to know that I love you with everything I have, with everything I am." She gasped as blood trickled from her nose.
Gabrielle released the pinch gathering Xena in her arms. "Don't you ever do that to me again. We share every day together. I love you and I need you more than I need to know anything else, even your stupid pinch."
~~~~~
Elissa knocked on a door. She waited patiently for someone to answer, hoping to learn something about her sisters. Lao Pan knew the right people to talk to for the latest gossip. Unfortunately, Amazons didn't adjust well to the cultural differences. Each time Elissa found a lead, she arrived in time to find the girls gone. They were sold repeatedly from town to town. Elissa hoped their spirits would remain intact until she could free them.
A tiny bird-like woman answered the door. She bowed opening the door allowing Elissa to enter the house. "Come, this way, you take her with you. My master say he kill her when he returns. Hurry, hurry." The woman scuttled, as fast as her bound feet would allow, through the house to the back gardens.
There tied to a tree was a medium-sized woman. She was bared from the waist up. There were lashes marking her back from a whip. An angry growl escaped Elissa's lips causing the old woman to run back into the house.
The Amazon Queen approached the woman. She knew it wasn't one of her tribeswomen, but it didn't matter. This woman was her responsibility now. Placing a hand under a bowed chin, Elissa lifted her head. She thought she'd never seen more expressive blue eyes in her life. They were so large they seemed to drown out the rest of the woman's features. Taking a step back, provided the perspective needed to admire the finely sculpted cheekbones, high patrician nose and full plump lips. It was an interesting face that held an aristocratic air about it.
"What's your name?" Elissa cut the ropes, catching the woman before she hit the ground.
"Cassandra."
"I'm Elissa, although I wasn't searching for you, it seems that I found you. Let's get you out of here before the owner comes back. I'm not leaving yet, but when I do I will help you get back to your home."
"I don't have a home anymore. Everything I had is gone, my home, my family, all of it is gone. They deterred it all and sold me."
"When I find my sister Amazons, we will return to Syria. If you want to return with us, you can, if not I will help you find a place to live."
Cassandra looked at her rescuer. This strange blonde woman with large green eyes. "Why would you help me? You don't even know me?"
Elissa walked over to pull a cloth from a table. She brought it back to wrap around Cassandra. "You were put in my path for a reason. Someday, I will tell you the Amazon's history, but right now we need to get you out of here." She put an arm around her new friend helping her from the garden. They walked back to Lao Pan's home. Elissa wondered what her two friends would think of each other. Somehow she thought they would like each other. A tiny voice told her that Cassandra was important, not only to the tribe, but to her as well.
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