Zara nodded and slightly bowed her head.
“Azzah al-Zarqa’ al-Agadir bint Majnun ibn Sayyar al-Hallaj abd Allah,” Zara introduced herself with a tilt of her head, as
she pointed her own hand to herself. Inwardly, she was pleased by the surprised expression on the woman’s face. Without
saying another word, Zara turned and made her way into her cabin.
Gabrielle knew that this was going to be a long trip. Ever since arriving on the ship, she could sense the hostile atmosphere
around her. As if she were carrying the plague, the crew kept their distance as they muttered under their breath. Now, after
attempting an introduction with the ship’s captain, she was certain that the ride to… to wherever they were going was going
to be long.
Steeling herself for the long voyage, she deeply sighed as she looked around the ship. Averting their eyes, the crewmen
worked briskly to set the sails. She could tell by the low murmurs of their voices that they were in just as much of a hurry to
leave Japa as she was.
From the safety of the shadows, two small dark eyes peered at the ones that everyone were calling a curse. Although she
had never seen anyone as white as these two women, she found it hard to believe that they were curses. Zara would never
have allowed curses to board the ship, her child’s mind decided as she watched them moving over the deck. The little child
found her curiosity peeked and was anxious to get to know the woman with hair the color of the sun and the taller, leather
clad woman with dark hair. Nadrah was certain that if the rest of the crew only got to know these two strangers, that maybe
they would stop calling them curses. At the sound of the cabin’s door opening, Nadrah ducked into the darkness.
Gabrielle was not aware of the pair of eyes examining her from the shadows. At the sound of the cabin door’s opening, she
turned and watched the tall, burly man leave the captain’s cabin. Although she wasn’t certain if anyone on this ship spoke her
language, she hoped that she could pick up their language quickly and be able to communicate.
When the tall bearded man walked past her, she reached out and lightly touched his arm. At her tap, he turned and gazed
down at her, his face a stern mask.
“Excuse me,” she smiled as she tried to keep her voice soft and unchallenging. “I guess it’s best to introduce myself, my
name is Gabrielle,” she offered as she pointed to herself.
The taller man simply looked down at her in silence. His bearded face turned into a frown. She could tell that he was
assessing her, as his eyes narrowed. As if assured that she meant no harm, he absently nodded as he slightly tilted his head in
an attempt to understand her words.
“Ga-bri-elle,” she offered again while pointing at herself. The man nodded understanding as he pointed to himself.
“Abu Abdullah Muhammad Shams ad-Din ibn Battuta,” his baritone voice rang out.
Gabrielle felt even more alone. For the first time she realized that she would be traveling for a very long distance without
anyone to talk with, except Xena. At this bleak thought, she forced herself to smile and nodded understanding to the man.
Satisfied that she was finished with him, he turned and left her standing on the deck as he began to bark out orders in a
language she did not know.
“A very long trip indeed,” she sighed. As she peered around the deck, two brown eyes ducked even further down, never
once being seen by Gabrielle.
The two women stood on the deck, watching everyone around them. Mindful of the situation, Gabrielle remained silent as
she assessed her surroundings. She noted the crewmen’s style of dress and heard their murmured voices in a language so
different from her own.
“They’re from the Kingdom of Morocco,” Xena explained as she examined the ship’s design and listened to the dialect of the
crewmen.
With only a low “ahuh,” Gabrielle moved to one side of the deck as some men were pulling the ropes of the sails. Through
the bustling noise, she heard the sound of a bird of prey. Looking up, she watched as it flew over the distant treetops. She
had been waiting with Xena at the burned city of Higuchi for days and feared that no ship would have the courage to come to
the shore and the storyteller almost lost hope of ever returning home.
“Look Gabrielle!” Xena’s voice pulled Gabrielle from her thoughts. Turning to her ghost lover, she saw Xena smiling and
pointing into the shadows of the deck. The blonde looked to where her soulmate indicated and saw the little figure of a child.
With waist length dark hair and equally dark eyes, the little one popped her head out from behind some crates and glanced
their way.
“Look at the child!” Xena exclaimed as she pointed to the little figure who came out slowly from her hiding place. “Isn’t she
so cute?” she exclaimed, motioning toward the little girl. Her soulmate’s enthusiasm was contagious. Gabrielle couldn’t help
but smile at the little impish figure. Waving to the girl, the Greek traveler moved toward the child. Not wanting to frighten
her, the ghost warrior stayed in her place and smiled. It was then that Gabrielle noticed the child’s eyes moving from her, to
Xena.
As if reading her mind, Xena exclaimed, “Gabrielle, she can see me!” Her voice was filled with an excitement that the
storyteller had never heard her partner use since she had died some weeks before.
“Hello, little one,” Xena calmed her voice as she waved to the child.
The little girl looked from Gabrielle to Xena. A smile was forming on the pixie face as she came out slowly from her hiding
place. She looked as if she were about to speak, but at shouts from the crewmen she glanced up at the men moving toward
her pulling large ropes. Like a rabbit suddenly caught outside its burrow, the little one turned and bounded up the steps. At
the top of the steps, she looked back down. The child’s eyes moved to each of the strangers before a smile broke free.
Quickly, she turned and disappeared into the door that the captain had disappeared behind.
“Did you see that Gabrielle?” Xena asked in awe.
“Yes! She can see you too!” Gabrielle exclaimed as her mind pondered this new information. Throughout the journey, she
assumed that only she could see Xena. She believed it was their bond that enabled her to see the ghost. During her travels
throughout Japa, no one had ever given any indication that they could see her lover. Now on this ship, the first person aside
from her who could see the warrior princess was a little child. As the two contemplated this news, they moved aside
attempting to stay out of the way of the working crew.
~~~~~~
Once the tall captain stated her name for the stranger, Zara immediately returned to the comfort of her cabin. If
circumstances had been different, she might have had a good laugh with Abu over their guest’s situation. They would have
sat down to compare the expression on the woman’s face and laugh at her confusion. Had it not been for the gutted village
where they picked her up, they could have had a good chuckle at the Greek woman’s expense. But there was nothing to
laugh about. Whatever had happened at Higuchi was evil, and Zara knew she had to record all that she had seen of the
area. If her recount of the events could keep other ships from traveling this far for nothing, then she had to do everything in
her power to record as much information as possible.
“You will have the extra cabin prepared for our guest?” she absently asked her trusted friend.
“It will take some time, Captain,” Abu hesitated. “We’ve been using it for storage.”
Zara began removing her weapons. One by one she returned them to their rightful place within the cabinet. Her mind raced
with many thoughts, but her body moved with slow, deliberate ease. “I am sure she can wait,” the woman’s voice carried a
hint of fatigue as she closed the weapon’s cabinet, then moved to her parchments. She took out a clean sheet and sat behind
her desk. Abu could tell their conversation was at an end. With only a nod, he made his way from her cabin. As an
afterthought, she called out to her loyal friend. “Abu,” she halted his retreating form.
“Captain?”
“Have Ayyub warm some water for a bath for our guest,” she ordered absently, keeping her attention to the scrolls as she
proceeded to jot down her thoughts of the day’s events with a feathered plume.
“There is no room in the guest cabin. Surely you don’t want the tub placed on deck!” Abu asked. After a moment’s
consideration, Zara waved toward the open floor of her cabin. “Set it there,” her voice held a slight irritation as she continued
to jot her already forming thoughts on the parchment.
“As you wish, Captain,” he stated before exiting her cabin. As he was leaving, a small typhoon bounded inside.
“Zara, is it true? Are they cursed?” a child’s voice questioned as she ran into the cabin and plopped herself down onto the
pillows of the bed. Zara made a slight guttural sound in answer to the child even though she wasn’t listening to the girl’s
words. The captain’s entire attention was focused on the words that she was scribing on the parchment.
