The ocean waves rocked her into a gentle slumber. Once moved onto her ship, Zara was immediately taken to her cabin
where Gabrielle was able to tend to her. Although she would have preferred to be on deck, guiding her ship out to sea, she
had to admit that as of yet, this was not possible. Between the grinding pains in her shoulder and posterior, she felt either light
headed or nauseous and had little choice but to succumb to the healer's ministrations and the soothing tea which brought
about a drowsy sleep.
Her dreams were a hodgepodge of images that mixed into a multitude of patterns. At one point, she was a child
sitting on her mother's lap. The memories of her mother's love and tenderness brought about a smile to her lips. Zara
remembered the familiar scent of myrrh that always seemed to cling to her mother. Before she could delve deeper
into the pleasant dream the scene shifted and changed. She was in the cold darkness, the scent of filth wafted to her
nostrils as the all consuming numbness threatened to take control. From somewhere in the darkness of her dream, a
soft melodic voice sang out, reaching for her and pulling her back from the ever-present madness. As the nightmare
visions were dispelled, her mind replayed the memories of recent events.
Zara saw the smiling face of Arjun, his comical antics never failing to amuse her. And she saw the intent gaze of her
great uncle, his shining blue eyes looking directly into hers. “Bring my niece home, bring your mother back to us,”
were his last words to her. With a promise to do so, the Moroccan clasped the older man's hand before she had been
removed from Arjun's transport ship to her own. As the kaleidoscope of events swirled through her dreams, the tall
Moroccan laid unmoving, even as her mind raged through the waves of memories.
Gabrielle sat silently by the captain's side. Once on board the ship, she made certain that Zara remained resting in the bed.
Knowing that the stubborn captain would not go easily into recuperation, the blonde laced the healing tea with a potion that
would induce sleep. As she watched the Moroccan's fitful slumber, she occasionally took a cool cloth and wiped away the
beads of sweat from her patient's forehead. Each time she lightly touched the dusky woman's flesh, the healer felt the fever
slowly rising. At a slight noise from behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and watched as Xena moved to stand beside
her.
"How's the patient?" the ghost warrior asked with concern.
The blonde unconsciously bit her lower lip as she looked down at the sleeping woman. Afraid to voice her fears, Gabrielle
sighed as she rose from the chair. With a shake of her head she pulled the covers aside and gently tilted the Moroccan's body
toward her, careful not to jostle her healing shoulder, before removing the gauze and bandages from Zara's wounded buttock.
"Xena, I did everything that I know. I cleaned out the wound as soon we got back to Arjun's place, applied the poultice and
then sutured it," she shook her head as she cleaned the dried poultice off of the wound and examined the fresh stitches.
Standing next to her, Xena leaned forward and glanced down at the infected wound. The area was inflamed and had red
streaks forming around the stitches.
"Damn, I shouldn't have listened to her. I should have had Healer Abu al-Farabi look at it," the blonde shook her head as she
took a small lancet from the steaming hot bowl of water and made a small opening to drain the infection from the wound.
"Why do I always give in to you warrior types," she groused as she applied some slight pressure with her fingers against
Zara's buttock to urge the contamination from the laceration. The Moroccan moaned softly and stirred in her sleep and
Gabrielle bit her lip.
"Hey, I'm not the one who was stubborn here, remember?" the warrior princess defended herself. At the Amazon's snort of
derision, Xena pouted slightly as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Well, not this time anyway," she mumbled slightly.
Gabrielle waved it away and spoke worriedly. "I'm sorry Xena, it's just that I don't know what I did wrong, except for not
letting a more experienced healer look at her wound." The blonde shook her head as she wiped away the infection, then
applied a fresh poultice to draw out more poison, before covering it with a clean bandage.
Xena moved closer to her soulmate. "Sweetheart, you did everything right. There might not have been anything that anyone
else could do to avoid this," the ghost warrior tried to convince with a soft voice. "Not only did the arrow go in deep, but it
was also barbed. And there's no telling what that bunch of… well, we just don't know if they put the tip into something that
would have made it harder to keep from getting infected." The warrior grimaced.
"Honey, you did your best," Xena reached out to touch the smaller woman's shoulder, then withdrew her hand as she gazed
down at the wound. "It may begin to heal after this poultice," the warrior princess suggested as her brows creased in concern.
Despite their teasing and occasional bickering, Xena could not help but be concerned for her new Moroccan friend. Although
at times it might appear that they had a love, hate relationship, overall, the ghost warrior knew that there was an underlying
respect that each woman held for the other. Whether it was for their positions, or their mutual love of the storyteller, the
warrior princess wasn't all together certain. All she knew was that at times, when they weren't bickering, the two strong
women were able to share their thoughts with one another.
With a slight frown, Xena looked away from the unconscious woman. A part of her knew what she could do to help, but
knowing where it might lead caused the ghost warrior to back away from the idea. In silence, she began to pace the length of
the cabin as Gabrielle gently cleaned and rewrapped Zara's wound.
Xena knew that she could enter the captain again, take possession of the Moroccan's body and begin the functions that would
speed up healing. But at what cost would this be? The last time she merged with Zara, a stronger link was formed between
them; a link that made it possible for the ghost to feel not only the tall woman's pain, but also her pleasure.
Gabrielle turned to her with a pleading expression. When Xena remained silent, the healer only shook her head as she pulled
the covers over Zara's body. Then she took the old bandages and placed them in a basket before moving to the basin to
wash her hands. At the continual silence in the room, the warrior princess moved to sit on the edge of the captain's bed. She
saw the beads of sweat breaking out over the dusky woman's flesh. The Moroccan's brows were furrowed in pain.
"Gabrielle," her voice cut through the silence. "Ummm, y-you know I could help and I want to, b-but… I don't know if it's
wise."
In silence, the blonde moved to sit back in the chair by the bed. With a sad expression, she gazed at Zara's sweat drenched
face, then looked down at her hands. When she finally found words, the blonde glanced up at her soulmate with tear filled
eyes.
"What isn't wise, Xena? Helping her to heal or k-keeping her alive?" Gabrielle's voice was barely a whisper.
At the small woman's words, Xena sighed with understanding, then leaned toward her bard.
"Oh, sweetheart, it's not that, please trust me!" Xena felt her words filled with conviction. "Honey, listen to me. I don't want
anything to happen to Zara, it doesn't matter what the outcome of…" she hesitated as she looked away, then sighed as she
bolstered her courage.
Gabrielle gazed at her silently, just waiting.
Xena looked back and swallowed. "Look, Gabrielle, I understand why you might wonder about my motives, but you've got
to believe that I don't wish for Zara's death! Holy Hades! She's the best thing that's ever come into our lives!" She lowered
her voice with an effort and spoke with conviction. "Sweetheart, Zara has helped you… helped us in so many ways since we
met that I am forever indebted to her. Please believe me. I want to help, I'm just not sure if I have a right to, especially
when…" then she silenced her words, almost afraid to speak them.
Gabrielle gazed at her intently. Her body relaxed as she examined the warrior princess closely. Then the blonde leaned
forward, her elbows resting on her knees, before she spoke softly.
"Xena, what is it that you aren't telling me?"
The question that always plagued at Gabrielle's mind was finally asked. Although she had a suspicion of what her soulmate
would say, she wanted confirmation from Xena. She wanted to know the secret that her ghost lover harbored in hopes of
understanding everything that was happening between Xena and Zara.
Almost unable to keep eye contact with her lover, the warrior princess stood up and began to pace the length of the cabin.
Then she swung back and her voice came out barely controlled.
"Gabrielle, I-I… uhh, I've been meaning to tell you something, b-but, the time never seemed right," Xena stammered, then
returned to the edge of the bed. The dark haired ghost looked at the Amazon, swallowed once and then began again.
"I don't know how it happened. In fact I'm not even certain what it was that happened, b-but ever since merging with Zara,
there seems to be some sort of a… a link, a bond between us," Xena spoke softly as her gaze fell on the sleeping Moroccan.
"Gabrielle, so help me, I never knew that it would happen, I only wanted to help her and you. Maybe, if had I known…" the
warrior's words trailed off into silence as she lowered her gaze.
"Xena, enough with the cryptic references and veiled hints! What exactly are you saying?" Gabrielle relentlessly pushed
forward with her questioning. She gazed intently at the warrior as her brows creased slightly.
The warrior closed her eyes as if not seeing the blonde would help and spoke tensely. "I… I'm trying to say, Gabrielle, that
Zara and I, we are linked. I feel her emotions and her pain. So help me, sweetheart, please believe me, I don't know why it's
happened," she glanced up at the storyteller, searching her for any criticism or harsh judgments. When none was detected, she
pressed on with her confession. "The first time it happened, it didn't seem like it would hurt to merge with her so that I could
explain everything. Gabrielle, I only wanted Zara to know why you were acting the way you were, w-why you were in so
much pain. I didn't know that we would form a link strong enough for her to actually hear me," Xena sighed tiredly as she
lowered her gaze.
