“I know, Ceno. War does terrible things to people; it brings out their ugliness. I don’t think anyone alive knows that
better than I do.” She seemed sad and shook herself from it. “Just make sure he sees someone so that he can heal… rid
his spirit of his pain.” she smiled as she lightly patted his shoulder. “And you? What will you do now?”
“Take my brother’s home, bury Malako beside my mother and sister,” he said softly and then glanced down as his voice
grew grim. “Funny, but I thought after I buried my sister and mother next to my father that I wouldn’t have to ever do that
again. Gods, how wrong I was,” his voice grew choked as the tears welled up in him. When control returned, he sighed
as he absently looked up at the early morning sun.
“Ceno, what will you tell your village? I mean, about…” Gabrielle’s words caused him to glance at the girl.
“The Destroyer?” he asked the woman as he looked away from the girl. At Gabrielle’s nod, he looked at the blonde, then
at Xena.
“I will tell them the truth that the Destroyer has paid for her crimes and died awhile back. Any punishment they may want
to give will never bring back the people we lost, at it certainly couldn’t equal what she’s already gone through,” he sighed,
then added, “or what she will go through,” he said with finality.
For the first time in a long time, Ari heard the early morning songs of the birds in the forest. The sky above her head was
the deepest blue she had ever seen. As the wind gently brushed past her, she caught the scent of fragrant flowers.
In an attempt to not cause herself too much pain, she laid still in the travois that her mother had built. The swelling of her
left eye combined with her split lip brought fresh pain. She felt the new bruises on her body and her aching nose.
Between her legs she wore the clean rags that were only worn during her moon time. Still bleeding, Gabrielle had assured
her that this was normal after such a thing. But the storyteller didn’t have to remind her because even though Ari might
have forgotten the numbers of times Alti left her bleeding, she did remember the many victims her army had left in their
wake.
With a grimace, the dark child closed her eyes as she strove to pull her dark thoughts under control. When control
returned, she glanced up at the clear blue sky. Although her body ached, she tried to think of other things.
The first thing Ari longed for was a bath. With Gabrielle’s help, she had managed to clean herself as best as possible. But
still, she felt dirty and soiled, and there was no water nearby for her to bathe in. In an attempt to turn her attention away
from this discomfort, she concentrated on the multitude of sounds around her. When she heard the slight footfalls, she
glanced up with her single good eye at the young man named Ceno. He knelt by her side as he gave her a warm and
kindly smile.
“You’ll be all right now,” Ceno said as he lightly touched her shoulder.
“I-I… t-thank you,” her voice was scratchy from lack of use.
“You’re welcome, I’m only sorry that…” But his voice trailed off as a blush crossed his face, and turned away. As the
sun glistened off his dark, curly hair, she wondered what hidden secrets he harbored. Although they had not spoken
much, there were times when she saw a familiar look in his eyes. Like someone haunted from a past pain, he carried
sadness in his heart.
“C-Ceno,” she tried to smile, but found it difficult. Instead, she covered his hand with hers, “I u-understand.”
His black eyes caught her blue ones and held them. In that silent interlude, they seemed to exchange all of the apologies
that were harbored deep inside. When they realized that they understood each other, he smiled as he patted her shoulder
gently.
“You have a nice voice, try not to lose it again,” he smiled softly as he stood up and looked down at her.
“I-I’ll try,” her slight voice replied and grew silent as she watched him walk away.
As he mounted his horse, he glanced back and waved at them one last time before turning away and leading the extra
horse behind. As if this was their cue, she felt her warrior mother guiding Thanatos in the opposite direction. The jostling
of the travois brought a slight pain to her lower body, but soon even this disappeared as she gazed up past the treetops to
the white clouds above.
“You let us know if you need to rest,” Gabrielle said as she walked by the travois.
“I-I will,” she answered as she felt the gentle movements of the travois. “M-Maia…”
“Yes?” Gabrielle smiled down at her as she paced beside Ari.
“W-What if I f-fall asleep?” Ari asked.
“Then you’ll get some rest and we’ll wake you when we have a break,” the blonde explained.
“B-But… what will happen if the d-dreams return? W-What if Alti c-calls me again?” she asked as she felt a drowsiness
fall over her.
“Then call for me. I won’t let you go through it alone,” the gentle woman’s voice was like a soft lullaby.
“You’ll be there for m-me?” Ari asked as she unconsciously reached out her hand toward the storyteller.
“I will always be there for you, my baby,” Gabrielle assured as she took Ari’s hand and held it firmly. “We all will.”
At her touch, the dark child felt her dreams swirling around her. For a split second in time, she thought she heard the
distant call of her name on the wind. “Is it the hushed voice of Alti beckoning me near?” Ari silently wondered. Before
she could answer her own thoughts, the evil voice was quickly pushed away by the songs of the birds and the gentle
voices of her mothers’ conversations. Although she did not know what her future held, she knew that she would never be
alone again.
Of
Sins of the Mother 4 - Possessions
