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The Amazon Way

By Barderella

Pairing: Ephiny/Solari, Eponin/Terreis, Gabrielle/Ephiny, Xena/Gabrielle

Rating: Mature

Synopsis: Some Amazon drama, lots of fluff, a bit of tragedy, this story is great for anyone who just wants to zone out to a little romance.

Ephiny peeked one eye open to the harsh morning sunlight. Groaning, she closed it tightly. 'Never again! I swear it!' she thought to herself as she remembered her drunken escapades of the previous evening. She rolled over to the edge of the bed, fully intending on standing, but her body just wasn't cooperating with her brain right then and she fell back onto the bed with a sigh. Her right arm fell across her eyes as she tried to take deep breaths to clear her fuzzy head. 'Ok, one more try...' With a grunt she hauled herself up into a sitting position and was rewarded by the room spinning out of control. Gripping the bed until her knuckles turned white, she waited for the feeling to pass...which it did, and she shook her head to clear it more. "OW OW OW OW OW!!!!! Eph, you know better than to do that!" She said aloud as the throbbing became almost unbearable. She raised her arms over her head and stretched, feeling numerous muscles begin to argue relentlessly with her to not do that. "Twenty summers, and it feels like eighty sometimes, geeesh!" she thought amusedly. Finally, she managed to stand without her knees feeling wobbly and worked her way over to the washbasin in her small hut. She poured some fresh water in and briskly splashed it on her face, feeling the cool liquid begin to break through the cloudiness in her head. Finishing with that, she ran her fingers through the tangled mass of shoulder length, blonde curls, found some clean leathers, and slipping them on headed out the door to Old Cervexa's hut to procure some herbs for her rebelling stomach.

***

Solari and Eponin sat on the bench outside the healer's hut awaiting their turn for herbs when they noticed Ephiny's hunched over form making its' way across the courtyard.

"Soli...hey...look over there..." said Eponin pointing Ephiny's way.

Solari turned her eyes to see a very hung-over looking blonde amazon trudging up to them. She averted her gaze as Eph practically fell into the spot next to her on the bench, leaned back against the wall of the hut and covered her eyes with her arm.

"Uhhhhh hey there Eph...one too many ciders last night eh?" commented Eponin with a following snicker.

"Oh! And no thanks to you!" snapped Ephiny. "Or your zombie-lookin' little friend over here either!" she jerked her free thumb in Solari's direction. "And to think I call you two my friends. Why did you let me drink so much?? You know how I get!!!"

"But Eph, I didn't realize how much you had til it was too late anyhow." shrugged Eponin. "Besides...you're sooo much fun when you've had a few. You really do some crazy stuff...it's great!!"

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh..." interrupted Solari. "I especially liked your rendition of 'The Dance of the Three Veils'...it was very...ummm....uhhhh...shall we say, inspirational?" She and Eponin burst into helpless fits of giggles.

Ephiny was about to retort when the door of the hut flew open and poor Pony was grabbed by the ear by Cervexa the Healer herself...

"What's with all this racket out here you whippersnappers? Can't ya see there's sick people in here?" She wrenched the ear she was holding so that the face turned her way. "Yep...just as I thought! Been partakin' of the spirits again have ya? Well I've a good mind to just leave y'all out here to suffer!!" She gave them all a warning look as she dragged poor Ep by the earlobe into the hut, "No more noise ya hear??

Quiet

!" She disappeared into the hut, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Solari and Ephiny turned wide eyes from the door to each other. They both began shaking with silent giggles which went on for about a quarter candlemark. Eph cleared her throat and casually glanced over at Solari, who was now watching the action over at the practice field. She was really beginning to notice things about her friend lately. Things like her eyes, her smile, her body....'

Whoa

wait a minute here Eph...her body???' She quickly looked away, but found herself looking back a moment later. She took her time, carefully studying the young woman sitting next to her. 'Yeah, and I'm liking what I see...' she thought as a wry grin unknowingly edged up the corner of her mouth.

She cleared her throat again. Leaning over towards her friend, she spoke softly so as not to bring Cervexa flying out the door to thrash them. "So Soli....you liked my dance huh?" Her breath tickled Sol's ear and she whipped her head around, only to come face to face with Ephiny.

Before she knew it, she was frozen in her spot and staring into very mesmerizing hazel eyes. "U-u-u-mmm..." she stammered. "W-w-ell, y-yeah I did what's wrong with that?" Solari couldn't remember when her stomach had felt this funny. She watched as Ephiny smiled at her and moved a little closer on the bench.

"So do you think I dance good?" whispered Eph, her eyes taking in all the reactions she was causing in her friend.

Solari's heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest. "Yes." was all she could manage to say.

"I'm glad you like it." She inched even closer.

"I do..." admitted Soli. Eph's lips were a scant distance from her own. "Very much."

"How much?" replied Ephiny.

"This much..." said Solari as she brought her lips against Ephiny's. She felt arms pulling her closer, and she moaned softly as she did the same. Oooooh, she had wanted to do this for so long, and now it was happening. She traced the contour of Eph's lips with her tongue. So nice. She deepened the kiss and felt one hand reach up to tangle itself in her hair and another slide down her back. She slowly pulled away and just stared at her friend.

Ephiny's eyes were still closed, so she reached out and touched the side of her face. "Hey..."

The blonde slowly opened her eyes, and found intense blue ones staring back at her. "Hey yourself." She smiled. "Wow...I had no idea you knew how to kiss like that."

"Did you like it?"

"Oh yeah...very much." She grinned slyly as she turned Solari's own words back on her. "So much I can't wait till you kiss me again." Their lips met in a second kiss, and Ephiny's world exploded into an array of swirling emotions.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! BREAK IT UP!!!" Cervexa stormed out of her hut, shoving a very suprised looking Eponin out in front of her and grabbing Solari by the ear, dragging the young woman off the bench to stand next to her. "I swear! You young ones! Always makin googily eyes at each other. WELL DIDN'T YOUR MOTHERS EVER TEACH YOU IT AIN'T RIGHT TO BE DOIN THAT IN PUBLIC?" She stumbled towards the hut door, with Solari in tow, mumbling something to herself about what they must be adding to the food lately.

Ephiny managed a weak smile at Solari before she disappeared into the hut with Cervexa. Noticing Eponin's eyes on her, she turned to face her. "What?"

"Oh nothing...nothing." replied Ep. "Except..."

"Except what?"

"Well uuuhhh, what are you going to tell Terreis?" Said the weaponmaster-to-be.

Ephiny's eyebrows scrunched at the thought. "Damn. I forgot about that." She caught a stern stare from her friend. "Don't give me that look Pony! I'll handle the Princess just fine."

"I'm not sayin ya couldn't Eph....I'm just sayin she ain't gonna like it much that you picked Solari over her. You know she's had her eye on you for a while now..."

"I know, I know. But I like Soli. She's just going to have to understand is all." replied Ephiny.

Eponin laughed out loud. "Understand? Understand??? She's gonna understand alright....so much I bet she goes straight to the Queen and gets you demoted!"

"Melosa wouldn't do that would she? Oh my....no no. DAMN! Pony...shit what am I gonna do?" Ephiny stared hopelessly off into the distance.

"Eph, Eph...don't worry. Yer ol buddy Eponin is here, and I got a plan."

***

Ephiny sat across the table from her friend and just rolled her eyes. "You can't be serious! That will never work Pony, you aren't giving Ter's intellect any credit at all here."

Now it was Ep's turn to roll her eyes. "I swear Eph, you are so negative! Where do you get it from, yer momma? This will work I promise!"

"Sure...sure. And just how am I supposed to make her think I'm not good enough for her? Hmmmm??" questioned Ephiny with an annoyed look.

"Well, there's a number of ways...you could be the village bully..." One look at her not so brawnily-built friend told Eponin that route was out of the question. "Or you could pretend to hate old people, I know she's fond of em..." Ephiny shook her head. "Hmmm ok, how about you become the biggest tease in town? You could really sleaze around....Yeah! She would hate that!" Ep leaned back in her chair, tipping it on two legs, put her feet on the table and crossed her arms, all the while sporting a smug look at her own brilliance.

"You want me to be a tramp?" Ephiny's shoulders shook violently as she laughed. "Oh yeah, that's a good one Pony!" More laughing. "Everyone knows me! You think they would believe that?" Her shoulders began shaking once again.

Eponin's smug look turned into one of defeat, and a pout began as her bottom lip edged out just a smidge. "Aw Eph....why won't ya even just try it? I mean, what do ya have to lose here? Come on! She likes you because you're considerate and caring. All ya gotta do is carry on like a woman possessed, and before ya know it...POOF! She'll lose interest! Then you and Solari can have yer fling in peace." She held her breath as she watched her friend ponder this latest argument.

"Well..." Drawled Ephiny.

"Excellent! Excellent! I knew you'd see it my way!" She raised her arms in the air and began clapping wildly at Ephiny's obvious agreement to her idea. Forgetting the chair was balanced precariously on two legs, she fell over backwards, crashing to the floor and emitting a loud grunt.

This was more than Eph could handle right then, and she doubled over holding onto her stomach for dear life. "P-Pony...you ok?" She stood and peeked over the opposite edge of the table and found her friend in a heap on the floor, trying to disentangle her legs from the chair.

"Not one word Ephiny. Not

one

word! Or I'll pummel ya, got me?"

All that did was cause Eph to laugh even harder. (if that was possible) She fell back into her own chair, praying to Artemis that she wouldn't bust a gut.

A rap came from the doorway as Solari entered the hut. She stopped in mid step as she witnessed Ephiny laughing hysterically, arms wrapped around herself in a death grip, and Eponin trying to stand with a chair attached to her backside. "What the?" She watched as Ep once again tried to pull her derriere from the chair unsuccessfully. "Forget it, I don't want to know." She giggled as she pulled another chair up next to Ephiny. Turning to the blonde, she held a small bag out to her. "Here, I brought you some of those herbs for your head Eph, considering you were gone when Cervexa got done prodding me." A tinge of hurt began to show upon the brunette's features.

Ephiny reached out to take the herbs from her. "Soli, oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to just leave you there like that...really." Her eyes softened as she caught the look in Solari's eyes, and she reached over to place her hand atop a smaller one. Solari looked up at the touch and smiled.

Eponin had finally managed to disengage herself from what would now on be known as 'The Trained Attack Chair', and was repositioning it so she could sit down again. "No no no, Solari, it was my fault, I dragged her back here." She put her elbows on the table and propped her chin up on her fists. "See, I know you guys got a thing for each other Sol, but that don't mean you can just ignore everything else ya know."

"Such as?" replied Solari, raising an eyebrow.

"Such as Terreis." she said emphatically.

"Oh, yeah well I guess that kinda slipped my mind." replied Solari, finding a very interesting design on the table to look at.

Eponin blew out an exasperated breath. "Soli, don't you know what this means?" She turned narrowed eyes upon her two friends. "A scorned Amazon Princess, whose sister happens to be Queen, and said Queen adores her baby sis so much that she gives the Princess almost anything she wants. This could really mess up Eph's chances at getting into the guard." She sat back. "Not to mention yours as well." She crossed her arms again. "It's pretty much a known fact that Terreis has her mind set on joining with Eph ya know..." She watched Eph swallow so hard she almost had to go check to make sure her tongue was still in there..

Now Solari....well...she was speechless. Eponin was right and she knew it. This could cause major problems for them both, and they didn't even realize it til now. "Aww centaur farts Pony! How are we gonna fix this? It's not like this was a planned thing you know..." She stole a look at Ephiny and sighed.

Eponin grinned broadly. "I was hopin you'd ask that Soli." And with that she began to relate her plan to her friend....

***

"It ain't such a bad idea Eph..." commented Solari as she pulled an apple out of her pack and began munching away contentedly. "Besides, it's not like you have any other options right now."

Ephiny kicked a stone, sending it shooting down the forest path ahead of them. "I know, I know, but come on Soli! There is no way in Tartarus that anyone in the village is going to believe I have all of a sudden turned into a hormone-raging, woman-chasing tramp!" She reached the stone she had kicked earlier and sent it flying down the path again. "Besides, either way I lose. If I do nothing, I end up having to join with Terreis, and if I go with Pony's crazy idea, and it works....well, then the whole village thinks I'm a floozy. This is a no-win situation."

Solari stopped munching on her apple. "Gee thanks Eph..." she said, a look of hurt beginning to paint her classic features. "Nice to know where I stand in all this." She quickened her pace, striding ahead of her friend to hide the tears that were by this time barely restrained.

Ephiny sighed. 'How come everything I say lately comes out sounding like a merchant's spiel at the market?' she thought as she hurried to catch up with her friend. "Soli, wait - wait up..." She placed her hand on her friends' shoulder, stopping her progress and gently turned her around so she could look into her eyes. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded...really." She brought her hand up to trace the contours of the brunette's cheek. "Look at me." Solari slowly brought her eyes up to meet the blonde's. "You mean a lot to me." A pause and a soft sigh. "And despite the fact that I absolutely hate the way I have to go about remedying the situation, I'll do it. In fact I'll do whatever it takes if it means I'll be able to be with you in the end." She cocked her head to one side, looking into the blue eyes that were now setting her soul aflame every time she did. "I'm sorry darling, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. That's the last thing I would ever want to do." She reached her other arm out and drew her friend into a sincere embrace.

Solari rested her head against a strong shoulder, bringing arms up to wrap around her friend's waist. "Do you really mean that Eph?" she asked softly.

Ephiny pulled her head back just enough to study the emotions on the young woman's face, and their eyes met again. "Yes." she replied. "I don't ever want to hurt you. You're everything to me."

A weak smile showed itself on the brunette's face as she sighed and once again rested her cheek on Ephiny's shoulder. "Thank you." she replied. "That means a lot." She paused, then added, "I feel the same about you."

Ephiny felt the arms around her waist tighten in emphasis to her companion's words and smiled, breathing in the now familiar soft scent of lilacs that seemed to be everywhere Solari was. She tightened her own arms around the young woman as she spoke. "Do you?"

Fingers slowly traced a circular pattern along the small of Ephiny's back. "Yes....for a long time now."

"How long?" inquired the blonde, running her fingers through dark tresses.

Solari chuckled softly as she pulled her head back to meet amused hazel eyes. "That is a loaded question Ephiny." She smiled at her friend. "Does it really matter?"

"No, but I'm curious to know." she replied, an eyebrow raising as she took in the hearty blush that was now coloring Solari's cheeks.

"Umm...." She rolled her eyes and looked away. "I think I realized it around the last harvest." Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought harder. "It might have been longer for all I know."

Ephiny's jaw hit the forest floor in amazement. "Soli, you've liked me for almost a year and you never said anything? How come?"

Solari rolled her eyes more dramatically this time. "You're kidding right?" A shake of blonde curls was her answer, and she took a breath before continuing. "Terreis made it pretty obvious to everyone that she intended on courting you, and I was afraid to say a word. I most certainly didn't want to bring the anger of the princess down upon myself."

"So why are things different now Soli? Why did you pick this time to kiss me?"

"Aw Hades, Eph!" The blush began creeping back into her face. "I only have so much willpower ya know!" She giggled. "And you weren't makin it very easy one me puttin your lips that close to mine..."

"Ooooh, I see....so it's all my fault?" said the blonde with a chuckle.

"Yes...all your fault."

"Hmmmm...so if I were to do this..." She brought her lips a hairsbreadth away from her friend's. "Then it would be my fault again?" A sly grin appeared at the corner of Ephiny's mouth.

Solari felt a strange warmth beginning inside as her eyes fixed on the invitation before her. She brushed her lips softly across Ephiny's. "Mmmmm yes...all your fault." She looked up into those gorgeous hazel eyes and was reduced to a pile of jello in a matter of seconds. "Gods Eph, do you have any idea what you are doing to me right now?"

"Probably the same thing you're doing to me." Whispered the blonde, her hands reaching up to tangle in the darker locks. "You're making it very hard to be a respectful amazon Solari." She smiled.

The brunette's blush went from pink to three shades of purple in a matter of seconds. She cleared her throat before she spoke. "Am I? I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry darling. In my opinion, you're worth the wait." She punctuated her words with a kiss that made Solari lose all sense of time.

"Good gods, Ephiny." Said the brunette as they pulled apart. Air seemed to be a precious commodity at that moment, and Solari tried to get some in as she mustered her courage to speak again. "Maybe I wouldn't mind you being a little disrespectful if you kiss me like that all the time."

"Hmmm, is that so?" replied the blonde, the insinuation hitting her right in her core. She gasped at the intensity of the feeling, wondering if this was what everyone alluded to when they referred to unbridled passion. 'Oh yeah, this has to be what they mean.' She pulled her friend even closer and looked deeply into those amazing blue eyes. "I'll kiss you like that anytime you want me to Soli; just say the word."

"Please..." she replied, desire now clearly evident in her features and body language. "I want you so badly Ephiny..." Her hands moved of their own accord and settled over her friend's rear. She squeezed softly, pulling closer and pressing her body tightly against the blonde's own. "Please..." she said again.

Ephiny groaned and brought her lips against Solari's in a passionate kiss. Tongues intertwined and hands roamed freely, exploring every inch of each other. They fell to the ground, Ephiny's lips seeking the soft skin of her soon to be lover's neck, and hands finding their way beneath the suddenly encumbering top Solari was wearing. Her breath was coming faster and her head was spinning trying to keep up with the emotions that were flooding her senses. She tugged at her lover's article of clothing. "This," she managed between gasps for air, "has to go."

Solari nodded her head and raised herself up a bit to allow Ephiny to remove the annoying garment. Her breath caught as she stared unabashedly at her friends body. "Solari....sweet Artemis...." she gasped as in turn, her top was being raised and removed...slowly...so agonizingly slowly she thought she would die of anticipation. Then hands were beneath her skirt and making their way up her thigh in an altogether extremely teasing fashion. She closed her eyes to the sensation, intent on feeling everything this moment had to offer.

"Make love to me Ephiny; make me yours." breathed Solari into her lover's ear. "I want it to be you. I've always wanted it to be you Eph, and no one else."

Ephiny's heart seemed to be caught in her throat, making it hard to do anything, especially talk...but this sudden admission by her friend required an admission of her own... "Gods Soli...you mean you've never...."

"No, never. I was waiting for you."

Ephiny swallowed hard. "Me either." Another swallow. "I'm not sure I know what to do."

Solari pulled the blonde to her and their bodies slid against each other, sending tendrils of pure, sensual pleasure through them both. "Trust me, you are doing just fine." Ephiny's lips once again attached themselves to her neck, and she sucked in her breath in response. "Oh yeah, just f - fine..." Her lips moved lower across her collarbone and into the hollow of her throat. "Oh gods." She breathed as those lips suddenly were teasing her nipple, and hands roamed lower.

By this time, Ephiny was completely into what was happening. She forgot about her nervousness, and her inexperience, and concentrated instead on the soft, guttural sounds coming from her partner. She dipped her head lower, wanting to run her lips over every part of Solari's body. Gods this woman was beautiful beyond anything she had ever laid eyes on. She ran her fingers up her friend's sides and down again, feeling the gooseflesh pop up, and thrilled to the feeling of hips moving against her chest. 'Well, it's now or never.' She thought, and scooted lower, her fingers tracing paths along the inside of Solari's thighs. She felt trembling hands wrap themselves in her hair in encouragement.

"Eph, please...oh gods, please..."

That was enough to cast her final fears of incompetence to the wayside, and she softly ran her fingers along her lover's most private of places. She brought her head down to take the place of her hand and was almost slammed into unconsciousness by the feel beneath her tongue. Solari's hips jerked in response, making her think for a moment she had done something wrong, but to her surprise, hips began rocking against her relentlessly, sending her to dizzying heights she had never thought possible. She watched the expressions on her lover's face, thrilled that she was the one responsible for it all. She gently pushed her fingers just inside and hesitated, not sure if she had the right to take this from her friend.

"Do it."

Their eyes met and held and Eph pushed in all the way, feeling the muscles clench around her. Solari cried out and a tear made it's way slowly down her cheek. "Soli...you ok?"

"Y-y-yes....don't stop now..." Came the plea, and who was Ephiny to deny it? She gently began her administrations again, and now it seemed more intense...more sensual the way Solari's legs wrapped around her. Then she felt inner muscles tightening, and heard the short gasps of breath from her lover.

"Oh my gods..." Uttered Solari as her world exploded into a thousand different sensations. Her back arched and she held onto Ephiny for dear life, wondering if she was going to live through this or not.

When the shaking finally subsided, Ephiny crawled up her new lover, bestowing sweet kisses on every inch of flesh along the way. Solari reached for her and drew her into her arms.

"Was that..."

"Yeah, I think so."

"Wow. I did that for you..." A huge smile broke across Ephiny's features.

"Yeah...I'll say. Boy did you ever..." They giggled as an involuntary shudder shook her again.

"Was it ok?"

Solari took the head of blonde curls in her hands and kissed the lips she found there with every ounce of passion she had in her. She then flipped her lover over, and pinned her arms over her head. "Oh yeah....more than ok."

Ephiny gulped audibly as Solari lowered herself down upon her.

"Don't think you're going anywhere anytime soon there Eph....we're not finished yet." She was about to help the blonde divest herself of that annoying leather skirt when they heard a twig snap a short distance away...

Ephiny shot up to a half-sitting position, accidentally throwing her partner off her and onto the ground. She grimaced when she heard the thud, and mumbled a quick apology as she fumbled for her clothes. Finding them, she threw her top over her head and took off towards where the sound had come from. She reached a line of high bushes, and peering behind she found a set of footprints.

Solari had found her own clothes and ran up to her friend. "Was someone here?"

"Yeah." replied Ephiny with a scowl on her face. She reached over to a leaf and pulled something off of it. She held the strands of long red hair up for Solari to see. "Terreis."

Ephiny's long strides were eating up the ground. She had long since left a huffing and puffing Solari behind, and was racing headlong towards the village. Rounding the last turn in the path, she saw the princess fling open the door to her hut and rush inside, slamming it closed behind her. "Aw rats!" She pumped her arms harder trying to draw out some last reserve of speed, until she came skidding to a halt in front of Terreis' hut. She just stood there for a moment trying to figure out what to stay when she heard a loud crash come from inside, followed by two more crashes and a clang. Swallowing, she tentatively knocked on the door frame.

"Terreis, it's me Ephiny. We need to talk."

"Go away Ephiny! I have nothing to say to you."

"Please Ter...let me explain - "

"Explain?" was the reply, followed by a very hurt sounding laugh. "There's nothing to explain...I think what I saw explained quite enough thank you."

She heard the choked back sobs, and with a wrenching gut she opened the door and slid inside, only to be greeted by a dagger whizzing past her ear and embedding itself in the door frame. Her eyes whipped to where the knife was still shaking from it's impact with the frame, then over to where the princess had secluded herself in the corner of the room. "Hey! Ter, now that was close!"

"The next one won't miss Ephiny. Leave me alone."

"I can't. We need to talk this out."

"Like I said, there is nothing to discuss."

Ephiny took a deep breath before continuing. "I never intended to hurt you ya know..."

"Yeah? Well guess what? You did. And what hurts the most is that you felt you couldn't even be up front with me about it." A sigh. "Instead you run around behind my back and go sleep with her." This time she couldn't stop the tears from falling, and she buried her face in her hands.

"Now just you wait a second here!" Replied Ephiny. "It's not like you and me were ever an item. You seem to be forgetting that."

Terreis's hands moved away from her tear-streaked face and her eyes shot up to confront the blonde's. "But you knew how I felt about you Ephiny!" More tears came. "You knew and you did it anyhow..."

Eph sighed. "Yes I knew....but honestly Ter, have I ever returned those feelings?" She crossed the floor to kneel down beside the Princess. "Have I ever once told you I felt the same?" Her question was answered by a reluctant nod of a head. "Then how can you justify what you are doing to me right now? Yes, I was wrong in not telling you first, because I knew how you felt for me, but then again I knew this is the reaction I would get!" She stood and began pacing the floor as she spoke. "It's not like I planned on hurting you, and it's not like I planned how I would feel for Solari! I can't control who I fall in love with." She stopped in mid-pace, realizing what she had just admitted.

Terreis's head fell forward as the words echoed in her head. "So you are in love with her then." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

"I...I....I guess I am..." Her eyes met the princess's. "I really didn't know myself Ter...honest."

"So there is no chance for me at all then?" Forlorn green eyes peered at her from under swollen lids.

Ephiny's conscience was having a helluva grand time messing with her now. But she knew she had to end it here. "I can't see into the future Ter, but as of right now the answer is no." She crossed the floor again, knelt down and took a small, trembling hand into her own. She raised it to her lips and brushed a gentle kiss across the knuckles. "I do care for you...just not in the way you want me to I'm afraid."

Terreis cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I acted so childish."

"It's ok....we all have our times." Ephiny stood and reached down to the redhead. Her forearm was grasped and she hauled the princess to her feet. "Friends?"

Terreis looked warily at Eph before finally answering. She nodded her head. "Yes...ok. Friends."

Ephiny's face broke into a wide smile. "Thank you."

"For what?" replied the princess.

"For not killing me with the dagger."

Terreis returned the smile. "Oh....well actually I was aiming for you, I just missed." She turned towards the door of the hut, and heard the gulp behind her. As she exited, she turned back and added with a wink. "Just kidding." And she was gone.

Ephiny made her way outside into the sunshine, feeling like there was nothing in the world that could ruin the euphoric feeling inside of her at that moment. She was now free to pursue her relationship with Solari, and not have to worry about the consequences. Ah, life couldn't be better. She made her way across the compound towards her own hut, where she was hoping to find her new love waiting for her.

The procession made its way slowly towards the village, flanked by two score Amazon warriors in full attire. As it reached the central square it slowed, being met by the Queen and her guard.

"Who is it Eph?" asked Solari as she bounced up and down to see over the heads in front of her, all the while muttering curses pertaining to her Sardinian heritage.

"I can't see!" Whined Eph as she tried to push her way to the front of the crowd. "Pony...c'mere!" Her friend trotted over in response. "Get on your knees." she ordered.

"Wh-what? Ephiny!" Eponin shot a very scared look Solari's way, then back to Ephiny. "What for?"

"Just do it - hurry!!" Losing her patience with her fer friend, she grabbed Ep and pushed her down. She climbed on her shoulders and cried out, "Take me up!"

"YOU are crazy Ephiny! Get off me!!!"

"Pony, come on! I just gotta see who that is!" She batted her eyelashes at her friend.

"Aw Hades, why ya gotta play so dirty? Ok." Eponin struggled to get to her feet with the added weight of her friend upon her back.

"Higher...higher! Eponin...please?" begged the blonde, and was rewarded when she finally got her eyes above the feather line in front of her. Melosa had dismounted and was walking forward towards the visitors. Ephiny's eyes squinted and she quickly brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight, nearly toppling them over backwards.

"Cut out the jigglin up there Eph!" yelled Eponin. "I ain't no trick Pony you know!" Giggles came from Solari's direction. "Oh put a horseshoe in it already Miss Fancy-Leathers!" she commented in the brunette's general direction while desperately trying to keep her cargo in the upright position. "If you hadn't kidnapped Eph, we mighta made it here earlier." Ephiny shifted again, and Pony barely caught her footing as she stumbled for her center of balance.

"Don't be jealous of me because you can't get a date Pony!" Solari snickered under her breath.

Eponin's face turned a brilliant shade of angry right then, "Why I oughta - "

"Stop! Stop you two!!" Hollered the blonde from her perch above the crowd. "Melosa is walking out to meet their leader..."

All movement and bickering stopped and Ephiny's eyes tracked to the lead horse. The rider swiftly dismounted and began to walk forward towards the queen.

"Well?" inquired a very impatient Solari.

Eph squinted some more. "He's wearing some kind of drape over his face, I can't see him. He's tall though, and looks quite imposing." She craned her neck as Melosa and the warrior stopped a foot away from each other. She watched closely as the rider began to remove his head covering. "He's taking it off..."

Eponin and Solari looked at each other excitedly as the anticipation of the moment grabbed them by their britches and yanked hard.

The warrior kneeled before Melosa, fully removed the item blocking the blonde's view, bowed a dark head, and softly placed a kiss upon the back of the queen's extended hand. "By the gods!" gasped the blonde.

"What? What? Eph come on...tell!" Whined Eponin from beneath her.

"It's a woman!" yelled Ephiny as the entire village sucked in a collective breath and simultaneously turned to stare at her. No sooner were the words out before she clapped both hands over her own mouth. The woman's eyes snapped to meet hers, and she felt the power...the strength...the pure magnetism that emanated from behind them. She was spellbound by them. One of the warrior's eyebrows rose and an amused smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

That was enough for Ephiny.

Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she toppled over backwards, taking poor ol Ep with her.

"Eph! Blasted woman! Off me NOW!" cried Pony as she struggled to get out from under her friend's dead weight. She finally managed to disentangle herself and rolled Ephiny over. "Hades! Solari, go get some water!"

Her friend ran up. "Why? Is she ok?"

"Oh yeah, she's ok...she PASSED OUT is what she did." Ep replied as she began patting her friend's cheek. "Eph. Eph! Wake up ya big dummy!" She was rewarded by movement from the blonde and turned to holler to Solari she didn't need the water after all, when suddenly a pair of hands were around her neck and dragging her down. Before she could react, soft lips were on her own and kissing her very thoroughly. Ephiny whispered softly against her lips, "Solari..." and pressed her lips to Pony's again.

Eponin was in shock. She couldn't move...she couldn't breathe...she couldn't stop it. (Now mind you all, our beloved Pony is a bit on the shy side, and had never kissed a woman in her life.) She felt the lips slowly pull back and she sighed sadly. She glanced down, just in time to see Ephiny's eyes glance up to meet hers. Their eyes went wide with surprise as they realized what had just happened, and they let out a yelp as they scrambled apart as fast as they could.

"Pony! What are you doing?" said the blonde, still backing away.

"Me? No, no, no, Eph...you kissed me."

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not. Would not. Could not. Wasn't me."

"Yes...it was. But...don't worry. I know you thought I was Solari when you woke up." She sighed. "It's ok."

"Oh yeah now I remember." said Ephiny, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs. "Oh my gods."

"Eph, hey come on! Was it that bad?" said the young warrior, dropping her eyes and looking a little hurt.

"No Pony....the woman..."

"The woman?" Eponin's brows scrunched up. "Oh yeah, the woman! Who was it? What happened? And WHY did you pass out??" She offered her arm and helped her friend to her feet.

"I don't know who it was Pony," Replied the blonde. "but I'll tell you one thing..."

"What's that?"

"She has the most incredible blue eyes I have ever seen."

***

"Shoot Eph, I wanna know who that was now....if her just lookin at you made you faint dead away, she's really got to be something..." stated Eponin as they trudged across the compound towards the dining hall.

"Pony...all I can say is holy Zeus! It was like being smacked in the face with a hammer..." Ephiny's hands were gesturing wildly now. "I felt completely exposed to that gaze...so unsettling."

Their conversation was interrupted as Solari came trotting up carrying a waterskin. "Oh...I guess you're ok then sweetheart?" She tossed the skin to the wayside.

"Yes...I'm fine. Just threw me for a loop is all. I didn't mean to blurt that out, and then to have that gaze turned on me? I swear it was the most intense stare I have ever been on the receiving end of!" Catching the sudden shift in Solari's mood at that sentence, she smiled warmly at her lover and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Aw Soli, don't get your leathers in a bind, you know I only have eyes for you." And with that she placed a soft kiss on the brunette's cheek.

"Well good, because for a moment there I thought you might be getting the lusties for the Warrior Princess." Replied her partner with a relieved look.

"The Warrior Princess?" Blurted Eponin. "The Warrior Princess? Xena? Oh my Gods! What's she doing here?"

Ephiny turned to her now stammering friend. "You mean you've heard of her Pony?"

"Gods yes! Have you been locked in a closet Eph? She's only the most feared warlord around. In fact, I heard she killed two hundred men with her own hands during the battle of Corinth!"

Solari's eyes were now wide with amazement. "You're kidding! Wow...a woman warlord, how cool."

Ephiny's brow was furrowed in thought. "Hmmmm, yeah, I think I remember hearing something about that. Question is...what's she doing here?"

"Oh, she's here to see Melosa." stated Solari offhandedly.

"And just how do you know all this Solari?" asked Ephiny.

"I heard some of the guard talking about it."

Eponin trotted a few paces ahead of the group and turned to walk backwards. "Melosa? Well, that would explain why we have never been attacked."

Ephiny's eyebrows shot up drastically. "Pony, are you implying that Melosa and Xena are...well...you know...lovers?"

"It would make sense Eph..." interjected Solari. "And to be honest, if what Pony says is true about her battle prowess, I'm certainly all for it."

"Agreed." Ephiny's attention was caught by a wildly waving Terreis, who was seated on a shaded bench near the dining hall. "Uh oh, look over there." She jerked her head toward the redhead. "We are being summoned."

"Rats!" said Eponin. "Just when I thought this was going to be a good day."

"Now now, Pony, calm your feathers down. If anyone should be annoyed it's me." stated Ephiny as they neared where the princess was seated.

"I know, I know...she just makes me nervous is all..."

Solari smacked Eponin in the back of the head. "Well get over it!"

"Easy for you to say..." she mumbled as they came to a halt in front of Terreis.

"Princess..." Ephiny bowed her head in acknowledgment to the title.

"Ephiny, good to see you." Her gaze flitted from one to the other, coming to rest on Eponin. "Pony...just the person I wanted to see."

Eponin gulped audibly. "Me? What did I do?"

Terreis broke into light laughter. "Nothing Eponin." She paused momentarily, then stood and walked up to a completely confounded Pony. "I was just wondering if you might join me for dinner in the Queen's hut this evening?"

Ep took a moment to glance behind her to see if Terreis had been talking to someone else. Seeing no one, she turned back to the princess, a flush beginning to creep up into her cheeks. "Um, are you sure you want me to accompany you? I'm sure there are others you would like to take." She suddenly found her boots very interesting. "Why me?"

Terreis smiled warmly at the now furiously blushing amazon before her. "Come with me," She said, holding out her hand, "and I'll be more than happy to explain."

Ephiny and Solari looked at each other and grinned. "Go on Pony..." said the blonde as she turned her attention back to the other two women. "We'll save you some lunch."

Eponin took a deep breath. "Ok." She reached out and tentatively placed her hand in Terreis' still extended one. As they began to walk away, she shot a look over her shoulder to her two giggling friends. "Help!" she mouthed, and then they were gone.

"I don't believe it." stated Ephiny, letting out a held breath.

"Me either. What's up with that?"

"Haven't a clue. All i can say is..,Yahoo!" Ephiny swept her lover into her arms and began dancing across the courtyard.

"Eph...Eph! Come on! People are starting to stare...."

"I don't care Soli!" She dipped the brunette and kissed her lips. "She's outta my hair...." She began giggling as she hugged her girlfriend. "I am so happy I could kiss a centaur!"

"Eww...Eph honey, if you do that, I will never touch those lips with any part of me ever again!" Solari shivered at the thought. "Yuck!"

"I'm just kidding Soli...hey, let's get some lunch."

"Lead on darlin, lead on. I'm famished!"

***

Ephiny awoke to the sound of rapping on her door. She wrapped her arms tighter around her lover and ignored it. More insistent rapping. "Alright, alright! I'm coming!" She regretfully released the warm body she was wrapped around and rolled over to the edge of the bed.

"Who is it honey?" inquired a sleepy voice from under the blankets.

"Don't know, haven't got to the door yet." The knocking came again, louder. "I said I'm coming! Geeeesh! Can't a person get any sleep around here?" Wrapping one of the blankets around herself, she stumbled groggily to the door and opened it a crack.

The door burst open and an extremely disheveled Eponin came barreling in. Ephiny took one look at her friend's wild hairdo and burst out laughing. "Pony...was there a windstorm or something?"

With that comment Solari sat up and rubbed her eyes. "By the gods Eponin, what happened to you??"

"What happened? What happened? I'll tell you what happened!! She attacked me! That's what happened!" She threw herself into an empty chair and pouted. She pointed at Ephiny. "This is all YOUR fault!" She said, "You had to go and dump her didn't you?"

Ephiny closed the door and crossed the room, taking a seat next to her friend. "Whoa, whoa Pony, slow down here. You're blaming me because Terreis is after you?"

"YES!" She crossed her arms and snorted her displeasure at the situation.

Ephiny chuckled. "You should be thanking me Pony. You could do a lot worse you know."

"Oh yeah....so you say." she blew out an exasperated breath. "She was all over me! I practically had to beat her off with my chobos!!"

Solari slid up behind Ephiny, and bending down she encircled her arms around her lovers' neck. "Pony, can I ask you something?" she said.

"Oh I guess so Soli...what is it?"

"Do you think she's cute?"

"Well...well...yeah, maybe...she might be semi-good-looking, in a redheaded sorta way..."

"Hmmmm.....then what's the problem?"

"Aw shoot Soli! Why ya givin me the third degree? Ok, maybe I'm just nervous...is that what you were getting at?" Her bottom lip poked out even more as the conversation continued.

"Well....um, have you ever been with a woman Pony?"

Eponin's eyes went wide and she looked away. Ephiny and Solari both exchanged knowing smiles.

"Ok..." Said the brunette. "You don't have to answer that one. But if you haven't, and you're worried about anything, you know you can talk to us Pony. We're your best friends, and we'll always be here for you."

"Awwwww, all you guys do is poke fun at me."

"Only because we love you Pony." said Ephiny noticing something she didn't before. "And just because you have a big hickey on your neck doesn't mean we'll make fun of you." She began giggling, and Solari joined her as she looked and saw it too.

Eponin had had enough. "I come to you guys to help me out, and all you can do is joke around! Thanks a LOT!" She stood and dashed out the door, leaving her two friends sitting there feeling like complete jerks.

"Hmmmm..." said Solari. "I think we messed up."

"Yeeeeah...I'd better get dressed and go fix it."

"Good idea. I'll wait for you here."

"Gee Soli, thanks for the moral support." She pulled the brunette into her arms and gave her a long kiss that left Solari speechless. "But I still love you." She grinned as she released her lover to find some more suitable clothes than the bedcover she was presently wearing. She dressed hurriedly and with a quick peck, she rushed out the door after her distraught friend.

***

Ephiny strode purposefully across the courtyard, eyes darting back and forth in hopes of spotting her friend. 'If I'm gonna find me a Pony, I'm gonna have to think like a Pony....where would I go if I was Pony and I was really upset?' she thought as she walked on. She really felt bad for making fun of Eponin. 'Of all the stupid things to say! Sometimes I wonder how she puts up with me at all!' Her brow creased in thought as she continued out of the village and down a path leading into the forest. "Artemis!" she called out into thin air..."Help me find her please, and I promise I'll make more trips to your temple!" She laughed out loud at herself. Imagine her - Ephiny - asking a goddess for help. Absurd! She didn't need help. After all she was one of the best trackers in the village.

Two candlemarks later, she was still wandering aimlessly through the woods, having lost Pony's trail a candlemark before. "Guess she doesn't want to be found." she sighed hopelessly. Finding a nice log, she sat down to think. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of children's laughing, coming from somewhere to her left. "Children playing this far from the village? That's odd..." She thought, and rose to investigate.

She came to the edge of a small clearing and saw three little girls playing tag. One of them was chasing the other two, and they were taunting and teasing her every time she missed them.

"Nah nah...you can't catch me!" yelled the little blonde headed girl. She stopped dead in her tracks and waited until the dark haired girl with the ponytail was almost upon her, then she ducked under the stretched out arm and dashed away to the other side of the clearing.

The girl with the ponytail stopped running and bent over trying to catch her breath.

"Pony...what's wrong? You out of breath already? Gods, you couldn't catch a blind cyclops!" said the third little girl. Ephiny's breath caught in her throat. 'No, can't be!' she thought.

"Awwwww Soli, come on, that's not fair! I'm ALWAYS the tagger! Why don't you or Eph be the tagger for once huh?"

Ephiny's eyes went buggy as she realized what she was watching. She pinched herself just to make sure. "Ouch! Ok ok, i believe it geeeesh!" She turned her eyes once again to the scene playing out before her....

"Pony, it's not our fault you can't play 'Rock, Parchment, Dagger' worth a dinar! You lost, so you are the tagger. Live with it!" replied her younger self, stamping her foot in annoyance. "Now come on, and let's keep playing!"

The young Eponin's eyes fell to the ground, and Ephiny knew her feelings were hurt. 'Boy was I rotten to her when we were younger or what?' she thought. She watched as lil Pony stood up and walked away from the clearing, leaving her friends behind.

"Pony come back! You can't quit!" said her young self. "If you don't come back and play now, we won't play with you ever again!" Ephiny shook her head at the heartlessness of her own words. Her eyes followed the retreating form of Eponin slipping into the forest. She made a quick decision. Silently she got up and started to trail the girl. She heard the mocking laughter coming from the clearing, and saw Pony turn her head at the sound. "Oh my gods...she's crying!" thought Ephiny as she saw the tears rolling down that cute little face, and silently cursed herself for being so cruel to her friend all those years ago. 'Damn!'

She followed Eponin for about a half candlemark, and slowed as the girl slowed down ahead of her. She stopped completely, ducking quickly behind a tree as Pony looked around to make sure no one saw her. Satisfied she wasn't followed, she slipped between two large boulders set at the bottom of a small hill and disappeared from sight.

Ephiny jerked awake, and found herself reclining not so comfortably against the log she was sitting on before. 'Wow, I must have dozed off' she thought. Then she remembered her dream. 'Gods...that was a weird one.' She stood up and brushed off her leathers, and as she was doing so, it hit her. "That's where she is!" She took off running into the forest.

***

It took her awhile but she found the entrance to the cave. 'I sure hope you're in there Eponin, otherwise I'm going to feel like a complete dork!' She brushed a stray curl behind her ear and slowly slid between the boulders. She came into a narrow passageway that looked like it went on for at least thirty paces, then turned sharply to the right. Silently she crept along the corridor til she came to the corner. Her ears picked up the muffled sniffles and her heart wrenched inside her chest. 'Damn! Why can't I do anything right? Just once!' she scolded herself. Peeking her head around the corner, she saw Eponin sitting against the far wall, head hung low, knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Carefully, she stepped out where her friend could see her. "Hiya Pony."

Eponin's head snapped up and she jerked in surprise. "Ephiny! Wh-what are you doing here?"

Eph slowly closed the distance between them. "I came looking for you."

Pony snorted. "Why bother? Unless of course you're just here to make fun of me some more..." She hung her head again.

"No, that's not why I'm here." She stopped next to her friend and took a seat next to her on the floor. "I'm here because I was a real jerk to you, because I treated you bad, because I don't take you seriously enough most of the time, and because I owe you an apology." She sighed. "Although I'm pretty sure an apology isn't good enough to fix all the damage I've done since we were kids."

Eponin raised her head to regard her friend. "You really mean that Eph?"

"Hades yes I mean it." She met Eponin's even gaze. "Pony, I am so sorry for anything I've ever done that caused you pain. You are my best friend in the whole world, and Gods know I never intentionally meant to hurt you." A tear squeezed out from her eye as she spoke, and Eponin reached over to brush it away.

"It's ok Eph. I know you didn't mean it." She took a breath and composed herself. "But even though I know it, it still hurts sometimes. I forgive you." She smiled at the blonde.

Ephiny's face broke into a wide smile, and she pulled Pony into a big bear hug that had the woman gasping for air before she let her go. "I love you Pony."

"Love you too, Ephie."

"Don't let anyone hear you call me that ok?"

"Ok Ephie." A wry grin accompanied the comment.

"Damn you to Tartarus, Pony. Let's go get some dinner ok?"

"Ok. Hey....how did you find me anyhow?"

The blonde's forehead creased as she tried to think of how to answer that. "I sorta ran into three little girls playing in a clearing, and they had seen you pass by earlier." Ephiny hoped she was lying convincingly enough. There was no way she could explain how she did it, she just did.

"Wow, what were they doing all the way out here in the woods? It's too dangerous for them to be out this far!" Replied Eponin.

"Well I didn't ask them why they were there, they just pointed me in your direction and I was gone. I really needed to find you Pony, I was worried about you."

"Awwww Eph, thanks. You're the best friend any amazon could have." She smiled warmly at her friend as they began the trip back to the village.

A whispered "You're welcome...." was carried along the breeze, unheard by the two friends as they made their way home.

***

"So, did you want to talk about Terreis? I promise I'll listen this time." said Ephiny, glancing over at her friend as they walked along the forest path together.

Eponin laughed a little. "Well, I'm not really sure what I wanted to talk about....It's just all so strange to me."

"What's so strange about it? The fact that you like her?"

"No...no, just the opposite." Pony's eyes drifted to the ground. "I mean, why would she like me?"

"Oh come on Pony....you can't be serious!" replied Ephiny in a surprised tone of voice. One look at her friend's face told her she was indeed being truthful.

Eponin shrugged. "Eph....we all know I'm not you or Solari. Let's face it, I'm basically pretty average."

"Average?" A chuckle. "Pony, you are FAR from average!" She was rewarded with an incredulous look from her stoic buddy. "Do you know how many of us wish we had your talent with weapons?" Ep shook her head no. "Well it's true! And aside from that, I think you're quite lovely." An even more incredulous look followed that comment, "And I'm not the only one that thinks that either. It's quite obvious Terreis thinks so as well."

Eponin's eyes were quite wide at that moment and her mouth hung slightly open. "No way Eph..."

"Way."

"Really?" "Yes really. Pony, you have these awesome big brown eyes, and a great smile....not to mention a damn killer body!" Ephiny smiled warmly. "Granted, your shyness and all-around generally stoic attitude makes it a bit hard to approach you most of the time, but there are quite a few ladies around who wouldn't think twice about spending some time with you." She rested her hand on her friend's shoulder as they approached the last turn in the path before the village.

"Wow." replied Eponin. "I never knew that." Her eyebrows drew together in thought for a moment. "I guess I may have been spending a little too much time with the sword huh?"

A laugh escaped the blonde. "A little? Pony, if anyone needs to find you, we always know to look at the practice field. You're always there!"

"Alright, alright...point made Eph." She sighed. "So ummm, about Terreis..."

"Yes? What about her?"

"Ahhh geeez Eph, this is sorta hard to say..."

"Pony, I'm your friend...you can tell me anything."

"Ok...well, ummm, shoot. Eph?" Eponin looked shyly at her friend. "Soli was right. I've never been with anyone before. And to be quite honest here, I'm sorta scared I won't measure up."

Ephiny's heart opened to her friend at these words. "Well, all I can say is I don't think Terreis has either Pony." She reached out and wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder as they approached the village. "I didn't have a clue either, aside from the scrolls I had read in the library..." Her voice lowered drastically. "And those don't even come close to what it's really like."

Eponin turned another wide-eyed look on her friend. "Really?"

"Yeah...it's so much more wonderful than anything that could ever be put into words." She smiled. "All I can say is if you don't feel comfortable, then don't do it. But if you really do like Terreis, and I suspect you do and just aren't admitting it, then I would say don't worry about it and just go with your heart."

"Hmmmm...maybe you're right Eph. I mean...I do like her. She's just so...so...aggressive!"

Ephiny couldn't help it as she burst into laughter. Eponin shot her a grimace. "Ok ok....well, if you want my advice..."

"I do...I do! Please...anything...."

"Alright, I had the same problem at the beginning with her, and what I did was sit her down and tell her how it was gonna be...you know...my feelings. And I explained she couldn't be like that with me. After that she calmed down a lot."

"Huh. I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a shot."

"No...couldn't hurt at all. And besides, if she continues Pony, you can always dump her."

"Dump her? Gods Eph...and have to go through the worry you had to go through? That's like the career-kiss-of-death!”

Ephiny laughed again. "Naaaaah, it only seems that way." She grinned at her friend as they passed through the gates into the village. "It passes. Besides, I think you two make a great looking couple."

Eponin's face turned a lovely shade of red, the blush covering every inch of her exposed skin. "Awwww, well maybe I should give her a chance then huh? I mean....she likes me and all..."

"Exactly!" replied Ephiny. "Go for it."

"Ok I will!" She smiled. Thanks for listening Eph...you're the best." She gave the blonde a fierce hug. "Well, I'm gonna go look for my girl then..." A quick smile, and she was gone.

"Well...." thought Eph. "I sure hope you can handle her Pony." She giggled as she made her way across the compound to find her lover.

***

Eponin picked her way through the crowd to the Queen's hut. Since it was midday, she knew Terreis would be there, going over the proposed treaty with the warlord Xena. Reaching her destination, she rapped on the door frame.

"Enter." came Melosa's voice from inside.

Pony pushed open the door and walked in. "My Queen." said Eponin, bowing her head.

"What is it Eponin."

"I wish to speak with the Princess." Her eyes raised and found Terreis' own green ones looking at her. Eponin smiled.

"Certainly. We were almost done here anyways." The look didn't go unnoticed by Melosa. "You are excused Terreis."

"Thank you my Queen." She walked over to Pony. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Would you care to join me for a walk by the lake?"

"Oh yeah, that would be wonderful! It's such a lovely day too."

"Alright then..." replied Pony, holding her arm out to the princess. "Shall we?"

Terreis slipped her arm through the brunette's and placed her free hand over the one attached to Pony's arm. "Lead on." She gave the arm a slight squeeze.

Eponin's face broke into a wide grin. "Your wish is my command." She lead the way out into the sunshine and across the courtyard.

They walked in relative silence until they reached the lake. Rounding a curve in the path, Terreis saw a blanket laid out along the shore, along with two wineskins and a basket. "Looks like someone had the same idea as us Pony.." she looked around but saw no one.

Pony led Terreis over to the blanket. "Please, sit."

"You mean this is your stuff?" the princess's eyes widened a bit in disbelief.

"Yes, this is my stuff." she grinned. "What? Did you think I was completely naive or something?"

Terreis cleared her throat. "Ummm...no...no, I just didn't think - "

"That's the problem Ter...you think too much. Please sit.." said Eponin, gesturing for her to do so.

The princess sat down, stretched her legs out in front of her, and leaned back on her arms. She patted the blanket next to her. "Join me."

Eponin seated herself next to Terreis and reached for a wineskin. Grabbing it, she held it out toward her friend. "I brought this for you. I thought you would like it."

The redhead accepted the wineskin and uncapping it, took a long pull. Her eyes lit up as she recognized the flavor. "Strawberry wine? Pony, wherever did you get this?"

"Ahem...well, I had to escort on a recent trip into Athens. We were allowed some free time until the traders were done for the day, and I was just wandering around when I saw this merchant with a table full of wineskins." Glancing at her friend, she saw she had her undivided attention and continued..."My skin was lookin sorta raggedy, so I decided to get me a new one. I asked him 'How much?' He said 'Twenty dinars.' " Terreis's eyes went buggy at the price of the skin, and Eponin went on with her explanation. "I know, but then he told me what was in it..." Her eyes met inquisitive green ones. "I um, knew you liked it...so I got it for you." Now her eyes swept over the ground, a little embarrassed since she wasn't used to expressing herself.

Terreis was totally taken aback. She gazed at this flustered warrior and couldn't help the warm smile that appeared on her face. "You are so sweet..." She reached out and touched the brunette's arm. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Eponin tried to hide the heat that now rose in her cheeks. "Aw...wasn't nothin."

"Yes it was something." Her hand reached up to push the hair out of Pony's eyes. "You're something..." She leaned over and softly placed her lips over Eponin's. Pulling back, she added. "Thank you for the wine."

Eponin swallowed. "You’re welcome." She couldn't take her eyes from Terreis's. "Beautiful..." her words barely a whisper, but the princess heard it.

Now it was Terreis's turn to blush. "You think so?"

"Absolutely." replied Eponin. "I still have some trouble believing this is real though."

"Believe it." was the reply.

Eponin looked at the redhead. Maybe this was what Ephiny had been talking about. Hmmmm. All she knew was that right then she wanted to be closer to Terreis, that she wasn't feeling insecure anymore. Something about this Amazon princess was pulling her deeper and deeper towards a place she was quite unfamiliar with, and she was running towards it with open arms. She reached out, grasped one of Terreis's hands, and raising it to her mouth brushed her lips softly across the knuckles. She heard the whisper intake of breath from the princess and looked deeply into her eyes. "I care for you very much. Please....may I kiss you?"

"Yes." was the only reply.

Eponin leaned forward, stopping just before their lips met, her eyes searching Terreis's for any sign that this was yet another dream. Satisfied this was indeed real, she brought her lips to meet the princess's own. A chill ran up her back as their kiss deepened, and her arms reached out to draw Terreis closer to her. When she felt arms slide around her as well, she thought she would surely die from the touch alone.

Terreis was shocked at the intensity of emotion flowing through her. Sure, she had liked Ephiny, but it had never done this to her. She moaned softly as Eponin's lips left hers and began to move down her neck to the hollow of her throat. One hand reached and tangled itself in dark hair as she lowered her head to trace her tongue around a sensitive earlobe. "I want to be with you Pony." she whispered.

Eponin stopped her ministrations and raised her head to meet those entrancing green eyes. "That's good...it would've been horrible if I was the only one thinking that..." She smiled. A thought and her face grew somber. "I just hope I don't disappoint you...." Her eyes broke away and found an interesting patch of flowers a short distance away.

Terreis reached out and turned Pony's eyes to meet her own. She looked deeply into them and spoke. "You could never disappoint me."

The kiss blew Eponin's last resolves to shreds. Now unafraid of her inadequacies, she let herself go....letting the feelings course through her and sweep her away to a place she was sure only lovers could go."There you are Pony!!"

Eponin stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the voice behind her. Turning slowly around, she saw Solari gesturing wildy for her to wait up. 'Oh no...here it comes...' was the only thought she had before Soli was upon her.

"I have been looking everywhere for you this morning! Where were you?" blurted Solari, a bit breathlessly.

Ep turned and began to walk towards the bath hut. "Um, I had some things to take care of Soli, that's all..."

"What things? Pony, you knew we were supposed to spar this morning." She held out her arm for Eponin to see, "See what sparring with Ephiny gets me?" She blew hair out of her eyes. "I can't concentrate around her!"

A small chuckle escaped the swordmaster. "Sorry..." She grinned. "I guess I lost track of time." A sly smile unknowingly spread across her face.

Solari did not miss that smile. "Pony...."

"Hmmmm?"

"What is it you're not telling me?"

"What do ya mean?"

"You're hiding something....you have that look on your face..."

"Me? Nah, I got nothin to hide Soli."

There it was again. This time Solari recognized the grin. "Sure ya don't...sure ya don't. Then explain to me why your skirt is on backwards."

"What?" Eponin's hands and eyes went to the skirt and then realized she'd been had. She raised her eyes to meet laughing blue ones and glared defeatedly. "You don't play fair Solari."

"I play to win." She put her arm around the swordmaster's shoulder and they continued towards the bath hut. "So..." she grinned. "You gonna tell me all about your little tryst with Terreis, or are we going to have to play 'Dunk The Pony' until you do?"

Eponin chuckled. "Ok, ok I'll tell you!" She rolled her eyes as she opened the door to the hut for Solari. "Women! Geeesh..."

***

"So they spent the whole night and most of the morning together! Can you believe it?" related Solari as she tore a hunk of bread from the still warm loaf.

Ephiny leaned back against the wall and stretched her legs out under the table. "Sure I can."

The brunette stopped chewing, and a look of surprise crossed her face. "Huh? What do ya mean 'sure I can'?"

"Just what I said." Eph crossed her arms across her stomach. "I mean, come on Soli....haven't you ever noticed how Pony always got flustered around Terreis?"

"Yeah...so? And that's supposed to mean exactly what?" retorted Solari through a mouthful of food. "She gets flustered at the drop of a hat. The only time she doesn't is when she's got a sword in her hand or something."

"Exactly. And do you remember the time you were sparring with her, and Terreis showed up one morning?" Solari shook her head affirmatively. "Wasn't it you that made the comment afterwards that something really must have gotten into her leathers all of a sudden?"

"Oh yeah, I see what you're getting at." She pulled off another piece of bread and added a good sized slice of cheese to it for taste. "You're trying to say that she liked Terreis way back then aren't you?"

"Yes. It seems pretty obvious now. After the fact I mean."

A complete look of shock spread itself across Solari's face. "Good gods Eph! You mean she's been in love with the princess all this time? Wow." The look changed from shock to utter amusement and a wide grin lit her features as another thought made itself present in her mind. "Now I understand why we didn't see her til this afternoon...."

"Oh?" She giggled. "And that's funny why?"

"Well, Pony must have been making up for all that lost time!" She couldn't hold it back any longer, and burst out into full blown laughter. Ephiny joined her and soon they were both holding their stomachs from the pain. "Talk about pent up sexual frustrations! She's been saving forever!"

More laughter, so loud they were beginning to draw the attention of almost everyone in the food hut. Suddenly, Ephiny had a revelation...."Oh my gods!"

"What?" replied Solari between giggles and gasping for air.

"Do you realize no one has seen Terreis yet today?"

Solari's laughter stopped completely, and her eyes met the blonde's. A very serious look came over her...so serious it even stopped Ephiny's giggle fit. A moment passed before Soli said anything....

"Do you think she's dead?"

That was it for the both of them. Ephiny fell off the bench laughing while tears flowed freely from Solari's eyes as she struggled to maintain a semblance of control. She finally gave in and doubled over, nearly joining her lover on the floor.

"Either that...." blurted the blonde between gasping for air and laughing, "Or we have seriously underestimated Eponin's prowess in the bedroll!"

Quite a few moments passed before they could stand up, albeit wobbly-kneed and all, but they managed. "C'mon Soli, let's get out of here. I think we have a Princess who is in dire need of a serious wake up holler." said Eph, grabbing her friend's hand and heading for the door.

"Sweetheart, have I ever told you just how much I love your devious mind?" replied Solari, allowing herself to be led away.

"I guess you're rubbing off on me Soli..." grinned the blonde as they stepped outside into the sunlight.

"Hmmmm..." replied the brunette.

Ephiny's eyebrows shot up as she caught the change in her friend's tone of voice, and she blushed furiously. "Soli! You are so bad!"

"That's not what you said last night..." stated the brunette in a sultry, low voice. "In fact, I quite recall the sentence...'Oh Solari, baby...you are so good' Or was I hearing things?" She linked her arm through Ephiny's as they continued walking towards Terreis' hut.

By now poor Eph was three shades of purple, with a tinge of magenta mixed in. She cleared her throat and leaned over to whisper in Solari's ear..."After we're done interrogating Terreis, you are sooo going to get paid back for that one dear..."

"Ooo, I can't wait." said her lover with a wistful look in her eye.

"Oh...but you're going to." stated Ephiny matter of factly.

Solari gulped. "You wouldn't!"

Her only answer was a sly grin and a very devilish look from the blonde.

Solari gulped again. "Uh oh."

***

Ephiny and Solari crept silently up to the window of the Princess's hut. Simultaneously, they peeked eyeballs over the sill and were rewarded with the sight of Terreis laying on her stomach, sprawled wildly across her pallet. Ephiny cocked her head as she viewed the mess in the hut. "My my, will you look at that..." she whispered as she pointed at three different spots on the floor. Solari's eyes followed Eph's gesture and she choked back a giggle. "Skirt there, top there, boots over there....Gods! How did her bracers get up there?" She pointed to the sconce on the wall. "Forget I asked, I don't think I really want to know..."

"Eph....hey look over there. Isn't that Pony's regiment sash?"

"Why yes it is Solari." A devious thought came to her as she studied the sash. "Wait here...and above all else, be quiet!"

"What are you gonna do?" whispered a now extremely intrigued Solari.

"You'll see. Be right back!" With that she slipped away from her lover and crept around to the door of the hut. Ever so carefully, she pushed the door open and slid into the room. Terreis's soft snores almost made her giggle out loud, but she managed to stifle them as she dropped to all fours and inched slowly towards the sash. She caught sight of Solari's wide-eyed look peeking over the window sill, and almost busted out laughing again.

She waved at her lover as she reached for the item, causing Soli to have to duck down and cover her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing herself. She tucked the sash into her belt pouch and was just about to leave when another, even more devious idea struck her. Oh yes, this would be the mother of ALL practical jokes! Her attention was drawn to the window where she noticed Solari peeking into the room again. A sly smile stole upon her face, and she put her finger to her lips to make sure Soli wouldn't utter a sound. This was going to be hard enough to pull off without her giggling partner getting her caught in middle of doing it.

Looking around the room, she spied what she needed to put her plan into action. Stealing over to the desk, she grabbed a quill and the ink bottle, and moved stealthily over to the bed to stand on Terreis's blind side. (just in case she woke up) She glanced over to the window to find Solari's mouth hanging wide open in complete disbelief. She grinned as she uncorked the bottle and dipped the quill into the dark blue liquid. 'They must have really drank a lot last night....this is almost too easy!' She thought to herself as she scribed some letter's on the back of the princess's shoulders. Ephiny froze in mid-stroke as Terreis stirred in her sleep. "Oh Pony, that feels so nice..." It was everything Eph could do to keep the laughter from escaping her. 'My my Eponin, I never knew!' she thought amusedly to herself as the princess stilled and returned to her nap. She resumed her writing. A few more strokes and she was done. Capping the bottle, she strode over to the desk and replaced the items exactly as she had found them, being careful to wipe the excess ink off the tip of the quill. Then she silently exited the hut.

She made it exactly five paces out before her arm was grabbed and she she was being dragged off into the main courtyard.

"BY THE GODS EPHINY!" squealed the brunette as they got out of earshot of the hut. "Have you completely lost every last bit of your mind?" She stared into her lover's eyes. "I can't BELIEVE you did that!!!" She began giggling. "I'm so proud of you darling!" And with that she slapped her partner on her back, almost knocking her off balance. "I couldn't have thought up anything more delightfully evil myself!"

Ephiny chuckled. "Well....it was just one of those spur of the moment kinda things Soli." She grinned and leaned in to whisper in her lover's ear. "And it doesn't end there...." She pulled out the sash and waved it in front of Solari's face. "This....." she beamed at her brilliance..."is going to come in very handy. Follow me..."

She walked back over to Terreis's hut and ceremoniously hung the sash on a nail above the door.

Solari just stood there grinning. "You are so so bad Ephiny." She entwined her arm with that of her lover's as they walked away. "Have I told you lately how much I adore your devious side darling?"

"Yes, but I love hearing it." She cast a look at the brunette walking at her side. "I believe we have some business to attend to on the other side of the village, do we not?"

Solari glanced up to see the gleam in Ephiny's eyes. "Oh yes...business. Lots of it too. Could take a long time to sort through it all...."

"Yes....we'd better get to it then..." replied the blonde with a smile. Their pace quickened as they made a bee-line towards their hut.

***

Terreis woke about mid-afternoon. Sitting up, she stretched and noticed a tight feeling in her shoulders. "Wow, maybe I can get Pony to take care of that for me later." She grinned to herself as she remembered the events of the previous evening. "Since it's her fault and all." Smiling she looked around her hut. "Holy Zeus!" She chuckled at the mess. "Who would have ever thought Eponin could be so wild!" Another grin as she found her skirt and slid it up over her hips, fastening it with the belt she found lying ten feet away. "Not that I minded one bit though." Finding her top, she slid that over her head, noticing again the tight feeling across her shoulders. "Definitely have to find Pony to take care of this." She slid into her boots as she found them, and glanced around for her bracers. "How did that get up there?" she wondered as she pulled the second one off the sconce on the wall. "No matter." Another giggle as she tried to straighten the muss of red locks falling across her shoulders. She walked out the door and into the sunshine, squinting at the brightness of it and headed towards Pony's hut.

She felt eyes on her as she crossed the square, and heard quite a few giggles and chuckles as well. But when she turned around to see what the fuss was about, the giggling stopped. "That's strange..." she thought. She turned around and continued walking, passing by three members of her sister's guard. There it was again! They were giggling! She turned in a huff to confront them....

"WHAT is so funny this morning?" she fumed at them, stopping them dead in their tracks and eliciting a very scared, wide-eyed look as well.

"N - nothing my Princess." replied one of them. "Our apologies for disturbing your walk."

Terreis turned and stomped off. "Some people!" she thought to herself.

She reached Eponin's hut and knocked. "Come in!" came the reply from inside.

Terreis opened the door and strode in. Pony was sitting at the table sharpening her sword, but put it aside when she saw it was her princess. She stood and met her lover midway across the room, slinging her arms around her and bestowing a very sensual kiss upon her lips.

"Mmm...." said Terreis as she pulled back to gaze into the brunette's eyes. "I sure could get to liking that on a regular basis Pony..."

Eponin blushed shyly and cleared her throat. "Count on it." she replied. "So what are your plans for today Ter?" She turned and led the princess to a chair. "Have a seat."

"Well, I woke up with stiff shoulders Pony..." Her eyes met Eponin's. "I was hoping you might be able to fix that..." A seductive smile moved onto her face and her green eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Well..." Replied Pony. "Personally I can't think of anything I would rather be doing Ter, than letting my hands roam all over your body." Her lips twitched into a sly grin. "Maybe you'd like to get a little more comfortable over there on the bed....you know, that way I can have an easier time getting those nasty kinks out.."

"Oh yes, definitely." replied the redhead. She stood and crossed the floor to the pallet.

Eponin watched as Terreis slowly began to undress. Her eyes followed every move as her lover disrobed before her. She gulped unconsciously. Her appreciative gaze was interrupted when she noticed what seemed to be some kind of writing along the back of Terreis's shoulders. She walked over just before the princess was about to take off her top. "What's this Ter?" she asked.

"What's what?"

"This writing on your shoulders."

"What are you talking about?" replied the princess as she craned her neck to look.

Pony got close enough to finally read what was inscribed there, and her eyes went wide. "By the GODS, they are gonna pay for this!"

"Who? What? What does it say?" inquired a now very exasperated princess.

"It says..." and a chuckle escaped her throat despite her efforts to keep it in.

"OUT with it Eponin! Come on!" Now Terreis was getting quite angry at the thought of someone in her hut while she was asleep.

"It says......" Pony cleared her throat. "Property of Pony." Now she began giggling at the thought of her lover walking in public with that on her back, for all to see. Silently she thanked her two mischievous friends.

"WHAT?" She looked at her girlfriend. "No way!" Eponin shook her head affirmatively. "Please tell me it wasn't you who did this Pony." This time Eponin shook her head no. "Then who did?"

"Oh, I have a good idea who did it Ter. And don't worry..." She grinned. "We'll get them back I promise you." She turned Terreis around toward the light from the window and took another look at the words written on the Princess's back. She smiled thoughtfully. "It does have sort of a nice ring to it though..."

Terreis snapped her head around. "Oh you think so huh?"

"Yeah...maybe I do."

"So you think I should leave it on?" She noticed the suddenly panicked look fly onto her lover's face. "Uh-huh. Ok, let's get it off then."

"Ok, come over here by the basin." replied Eponin, taking one last look at those words. "I do like the idea of you being mine though." She commented as she began scrubbing at the ink.

"Really?"

"Yes." She felt the flush begin to creep up her neck again.

"Ok."

"Ok?" A surprised look stole over the brunette's features.

"Yes...ok. I want to be yours." replied Terreis sincerely.

"Gods..." Replied Pony. "I don't know what to say to that!" Her brow furrowed as she retreated into her thoughts, scrubbing harder than she realized.

"Ow! Hey!" yelped the princess. "Take it easy Pony, I sorta need my skin..."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry." She softened her ministrations. "I just....um....aw Hades!"

"What? You can talk to me Ep. Don't be afraid..."

"Well...." the brunette paused in her scrubbing. "I just am afraid some people will think I'm with you because of what I can get out of it..." She hung her head. "That would be so not true Ter..."

The princess turned around to face her friend. "I know that Pony. After all, it was me who started this..." She smiled. "I don't care what they say...I just want to be with you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Alright, you can be mine then." She met those beautiful green eyes and stared into them. "And I'll be just yours." Her smile lit up the room.

"Deal." replied the princess. "Is it all off yet?" She tried to look over her shoulder to check.

"Well, most of it is...it's ink, we need a special herb to draw it all out."

Terreis grimaced. "Guess we need to go see Cervexa huh?"

"Yeah. I'll go with you."

"Alright, let's get going then."

As they walked across the courtyard on their way to the healer's hut, they passed by the princess's own. Pony glanced over at it and noticed her sash hanging above the doorframe. "Uh...Ter?"

"Yeah?"

"Look over your door."

She glanced at it, turned away, and then did a quick double take. "Lemme guess; Ephiny and Solari."

"Yup."

"Paybacks are a bitch." commented the princess, and with a flip of her red hair, proceeded towards Cervexa's place.

***

The summer sun was beating down on the Amazon village by the time Ephiny opened her eyes. "Oh, and here I swore off the cider for at least a month! When will I learn?" She casually shut them again, feeling a little sluggish in the early morning heat. She felt Solari toss a bit in her sleep and opened her eyes again. Glancing over, she couldn’t help but smile to see her lover sprawled with her head and part of her upper torso hanging off the end of the pallet. Chuckling, she gently eased away and stood up. "Wake her or not wake her?" she said out loud. "Hmmmmm...yeah wake her!" Bending over, she stood just out of arm's reach of the dark-haired beauty.....

"SOLARI! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" yelled Ephiny quite close to her lover's ear.

"Huuuuuh? Whhaaa? GOOD GODS! I'm up...I'm up! Where's my leathers?? WHERE'S MY SWORD?" yelped Soli as she threw herself into the air, just narrowly missing a dodging Eph.

The blonde exploded with laughter as she watched her friend scrabbling to find her clothes. So engaged was she in her mirth that she failed to see the light go on above Solari's head, and also failed to see her grab the bucket that was sitting right next to where she had landed after her frantic leap from the pallet. In one quick toss, Ephiny was drenched from head to toe with water, and it was suddenly her lover that was doing the laughing.

"Heh, that'll teach ya." She said as she walked back over to the bed and sat down, giggling at the expense of her tormentor turned tormented.

Ephiny just sat there watching the water drip off her and onto the floor. "Yup. Very good. You got me." She turned her hazel eyes upon the brunette and graced her with a great big smile. "I guess I should know better than to try and get one up on the 'Queen of the Jokesters' huh?" She stood and walked over to the pallet.

"Oh no, you are not sitting down here all drippin wet like that curly...." Eph made a face at the pet name. "We really need to go get a bath and get to the practice field for drills before Melosa makes us pick herbs for Cervexa for a week."

Ephiny sighed. "Yeah, guess yer right" She flexed her arms, then stretched, popping her vertebrae back into alignment.

"Ewwwww! Stop that! You know that sound makes me cringe Eph..."

"Sorry honey. Well let's get cleaned up then. I'm sure we smell like a wine cellar right now."

"After you my dear..." said Solari as she stood, sweeping her arm out in a gesture for her friend to go first.

"Oh no, after you..."

"No, I insist...after you." Soli gave her lover a shove towards the door.

"You are such a bossy woman Soli, why do I stay with you?" retorted Ephiny as she allowed the brunette to steer her outside.

"Because of my exotic good looks and the fact that I am so good in bed. Haven't we discussed this before?" Grinning, she tossed her arm over Ephiny's shoulder as they crossed the square towards the bath hut.

"Why yes...yes we did come to think of it." Eph planted a kiss on her lover's cheek. "Doesn't hurt that I love you to death either."

Solari's smile lit up her face. "You always say the sweetest things Ephiny. I love you too."

They reached the bath hut and were quite pleased with the fact that it was unoccupied for a change. Entering, they locked the door behind them and shed their clothes.

"Yes, oh this feels so good...." said Ephiny as she slid into the warm water. "Ahhh..."

"Doesn't look bad either..." drawled Solari as she let her eyes roam over her love's body. She slid closer so as to be able to gaze into those hazel eyes she adored so much. "I could just drown in your eyes Ephiny..." She smiled as the blush began to color the blonde's cheeks.

"You could?" replied a semi-stupified Eph.

"Ooooh yeah...and your lips..." She licked her own sensuously . "I think they were made just for me to kiss..." She leaned in closer, hearing the gulp from her friend. "I burn for you Ephiny....I want you...."

"Then take me, I'm yours." replied a now very flushed blonde warrior.

"Oh I intend to....right now in fact."

Their lips met in a crushing kiss, Solari's hands running the length of her lover's body and back up. They were well into some extremely passionate lovemaking when Ephiny's head shot up.

"What was that?"

"What was what? I didn't hear anything." replied Solari as she ran her tongue along a sensitive earlobe.

"I swear I heard something outside." This time they both heard it.

"Hades balls!" cursed the blonde as she hurriedly exited the pool and headed for the door. Reaching it, she grabbed the handle, only to have it come off in her hand.

"Son of a Bacchae!!"

"Uh oh..." said Solari, as she caught up to her friend at the door. "This sorta stinks huh?"

"Sorta?" Ephiny's brows creased as she tried to put the handle back on. "We're going to be late if we don't get out of here."

"Hmmmm....well we could bust it down." offered the brunette.

"I'm afraid we're gonna have to. Come on let's get a running start..." They took a few steps back and linked arms. "Remind me to hurt those two little troublemakers later, ok honey?" Said Ephiny as they leveled themselves for the door.

"Believe me dear, I WON'T let you forget!" replied Solari. "Ready?" Eph shook her head. "On three...One...Two....THREE!"

They made a mad dash for the door and crashed into it with such force that it flew outward and landed 5 paces away. Skidding to a halt they both looked at each other with big grins on their faces. But alas, their grins turned to frowns as a bucket of blue ink dropped ceremoniously on top of their heads.

"Argh! Eponin!" bellowed the now tie-dyed blonde. "You are gonna pay for this!"

Ephiny's tirade was interrupted by a fit of giggles coming from her partner. "Soli! How can you be laughing at a time like this!!!" she blurted.

"Awww come on Eph....it isn't that bad." She giggled some more. "Besides, you look sorta cute in blue..."

Ephiny threw up her arms in surrender and turned back towards the hut. "Women! Can't live with em, can't run em through!" she fumed. "Come on Soli, we gotta get this junk off us before it sets into our skin." She grabbed her chuckling lover by the arm and led her back into the hut.

Two silently guffawing forms were huddled together behind the bushes across the courtyard, watching all the action. As Ephiny and Solari made their way back inside to scrub off the ink, they slid from their hiding place and made a beeline for the Princess's hut. Once inside, they finally let loose the laughter they had been holding in for quite a length of time, each holding on to the other for support.

"We did it!" blurted Eponin between howls and hoots. "We did it!"

"Yep! Told you they would pay darling." replied Terreis as she plopped down into a chair.

"That was the most AWESOME thing I have ever seen Ter! You are so smart!" She bestowed a kiss upon her girlfriend's lips. "Thank you for helping me get them back."

"Anything for you Pony." She smiled sweetly. "You aren't alone anymore, and you will never have to be the brunt of anyone's jokes ever again as long as I am around."

Eponin's smile could have blinded a cyclops right then. "Really?"

"Yes, really." replied the redhead. "In fact, there's something I've been wanting to ask you if you have a minute to talk before you head off to the field..."

Pony sat herself in the chair next to her princess. "Sure. Is there something you need? I can get it for you.."

"Yeah, there

something I need." Terreis turned her eyes to meet Eponin's brown ones, and the brunette swallowed at the seriousness she saw there.

"Oh...serious chat...ok I can do that," Replied Pony as she settled back into the chair and crossed her arms. "Lay it on me. I can do it!"

The Princess smiled as she looked at the young woman sitting next to her. "Well..." started Terreis a bit hesitantly..."We have been seeing each other for a couple months now, right Pony?" The warrior shook her head yes. "So...ummm....I was wanting to ask you exactly how you feel about me...I mean...right now, how do you feel now that some time has passed?" Terreis bit her lip as she nervously awaited an answer.

"Hmmm..." Pony's brows creased in thought as she pondered the question. Looking her lover straight in the eye, she replied. "I love you. More than anything Ter....don't think I would like it much if something bad were to happen between us."

The breath Terreis had been holding finally escaped her lungs. "Whew! I'm really glad to hear that Pony because," She untied the braided leather shoulder sash that signified her rank among the tribe. "I want you to wear this." She held it out in offering to her lover.

Eponin's face went completely pale as she realized what she was looking at. Raising her eyes from the sash to Terreis's, she honestly still could not believe this was happening to her. She swallowed what seemed to be some kind of lump in her throat, and her voice was just barely a whisper as she tried to get something out. "Me?" was all she could muster.

Terreis looked upon her flabbergasted companion, and a warmth crept itself into her heart such as she had never known before. "Yes you." she replied.

"You sure?"

"Yes. Please say you will, or you'll break my heart..."

Eponin felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Gods Ter, I don't ever want to do that." She reached out a shaking hand and grasped the hand that held the mark of a princess. Their eyes met. "Yes, I'll join with you."

Terreis felt her own tears begin to stream down her face, and didn't care at all. She raised herself out of the chair and stood in front of her lover. Bending down on one knee, she carefully reached out and tied the sash to the left shoulder strap of Eponin's leathers. As she finished, she left her hand on top of it and looked deeply into her warrior's eyes. "I love you. Now let the world know it too."

Their lips met, and everything else faded away as they professed their feelings for each other through the language of their love.

"I haven't seen our two pranksters yet Pony." Stated Terreis as she glanced around the practice field. "They're late for drills...you know what that means..." A wry grin tweaked the corner of her mouth.

Eponin turned to smile at her lover, then resumed searching for the perfect practice staff. "Oooooh yeah....hehehe..." She found a suitable piece of wood and stepped back to check the balance. She suddenly became a whirl of motion, whipping the staff around her like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

As Terreis watched her lover warm up, she was again in awe of how at home with weapons Eponin truly was. The staff became a blur, and the princess couldn't take her eyes from the sight. So mesmerized was she that she didn't see the tye-dyed, blonde mass of curls making a beeline for the swordmaster.

Ephiny grabbed the closest staff and headed straight for Eponin. Just as Ephiny was bringing her staff to strike at Pony's unprotected back, the brunette ducked and rolled to the right, causing Ephiny to overbalance and stumble forward. As she planned, Eponin quickly got to her feet and brought her staff around to shove the blonde forward, face first into the dirt. She quickly placed her boot lightly on the back of Eph's neck to hold her down. She staked her staff into the ground next to her friend's face, casually leaned on it and looked down. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to make so much noise when you attack there Ephie?" She snickered.

"LET ME UP EPONIN!" Ephiny struggled to rise, but Pony put a little more pressure on her neck and shoved her back down again.

"Hold on there, where do you think you're goin?" She cocked her head a bit so she could look into her friend's eyes.

The blonde struggled a bit more, but finally just gave in to Eponin's greater strength and obviously superior position. "Damn you to Hades, Pony!" She frowned. "You are gonna pay for that little stunt of yours at the bath hut!"

Eponin let a chuckle escape. "Is that so?" Now she laughed a bit. "And I suppose you thought I would just let you get away with painting my girlfriend's back while she was sleeping?" She laughed even harder. "That's a good one Eph!"

The blonde sighed. "Alright, alright, I guess I can't blame you for being a little angry." Eponin removed her booted foot and held out her arm. Eph grasped the proffered forearm, and, standing up, brushed herself off, sending dust flying everywhere. This quickly dispersed the small crowd that had gathered to watch the short-lived fight.

By this time, Terreis had recovered her senses enought o come rushing over to the swordmaster. "You ok, Pony?"

"Ayup." She replied as she let her arm wrap itself around the redhead's waist. "Eph here is lookin a little blue though..."

"Very funny Pony....very funny." Suddenly her eyes fell upon her friend's left shoulder and her eyes bugged out. She looked from Eponin to Terreis, back to Eponin and then back to the sash that now adorned Pony's leathers. "Is that....." was all she could say.

Eponin cleared her throat. "Ahem....ummmm yeah, it is."

"Wow! Hey that's great!!" She suddenly ran up to the pair and drew them both into an amazingly strong bear hug.

Eponin cursed as she was suddenly being squashed like a bug. "Eph! You blasted woman! Let me go, yer makin a spectacle!" She finally managed to extricate herself but couldn't do much to save her lover, as Ephiny now wrapped her free arm around Terreis. Finally, Ephiny loosed the princess and stepped back.

"I can't believe it! When did this happen!" The blonde's words came out so fast even Terreis had a hard time getting all the words. Just then Solari came bursting onto the scene in a blue-tinged huff, using her lover to stop her forward progress.

"Eph! What happened?" Huffed Solari as tried to get some air into her strained lungs. "You shouldn't have taken off on me like that!" (A small crowd was now gathering again....after all, two tie-dyed amazons tend to draw some attention...) Ephiny just pointed at Pony's left shoulder, and now it was Solari's turn to go buggy.

"What...when...where...how..." she blurted.

Amusement danced in Terreis's green eyes as she replied. "Ummm, well I sorta asked her this morning." Now her eyes cast down and she blushed before looking back up to her friends. "She said yes, so..."

Eponin saw that same look in Solari's eyes that Ephiny had had just before she was made to feel like the grapes at the bottom of a wine squashing barrel. Shutting her eyes she willed herself to grin and bear it, since after all this was one of her best friends, and especially since Terreis seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. She sighed as now two sets of strong amazon arms were wrapped around her and her betrothed. 'Not so bad...' she thought to herself and hugged back. 'Not so bad at all!' She sorta rather liked this warm feeling that was running through her at the moment...yeah, it was definitely an ok thing.

Their moment of congratulations abruptly ended as Solari turned and saw the Queen standing not two feet away, with her arms crossed and looking extremely perturbed.

"Do I have to be present at all training sessions in order for any training to actually get done?" inquired Melosa as she stared directly at her sister.

Terreis was about to open her mouth to reply when Ephiny stepped forward and bowed her head. "Permission to explain, my Queen."

"Granted. Proceed. And don't forget to include the explanation as to why you are blue this morning..."

Ephiny caught the giggle that escaped Solari and shot her a glare before she proceeded. "Well, you see...." She hurried through the explanation, and by the time she finished, the Queen was trying very hard not to chuckle herself.

"My my....Eponin I am very proud of you." She turned and stood directly in front of the brunette. "That last show of your skill only reinforces the fact that I have made the right decision then."

"Decision?" asked Eponin curiously.

"I was going to wait for the ceremony this evening to announce it, but I guess now is as good a time as any." Melosa looked directly in Eponin's eyes. "Eponin, it is with great pride for me to inform you, that you have been selected as the tribe's Weaponmaster." She smiled warmly as she watched Pony's jaw hit the ground.

"Really? Me?" she swallowed audibly.

"Yes. Tonight you will be officially recognized." replied the Queen as she turned to go. She stopped in mid-turn and added..."And by the way, congratulations to you both." She smiled as she walked away.

Terreis rested her arm over Pony's shoulder. "I guess we have her blessing huh?" She giggled. "And you! Congrats! Oh Pony I am so proud of you!" She then threw her arms around her lover's neck and kissed her soundly. Their kiss was interrupted by the slapping of hands on Eponin's back, and the sound of many voices congratulating both them and Eponin for her promotion.

Pony found Terreis's eyes and she mouthed "I love you," Which was returned with a huge smile and twinkling green eyes. 'Can't get any better than this..' thought the weaponmaster as she continued to be hugged and pounded on the back by a now increasing number of her peers. 'But I swear my arm is gonna fall off if this goes on much longer.'

Time passes, and things change...for better or worse. Terreis took Eponin as her consort, and they were both very happy. Solari's flirting finally became too much for Ephiny to bear any longer, and they ended up going their separate ways. More time passed. A war with the centaurs was becoming more of a reality every day, and the Amazon Nation was preparing itself. "My Queen, the rut in the floor will soon be three feet deep if you keep that up," Ephiny shifted in her seat as she spoke, and patted the chair next to her. "Please rest for a few moments, you will not do any of us any good if you pass out from exhaustion." Melosa stopped her pacing and turned to the captain of her guard. Sighing, she responded, "Ah Ephiny...as always you are right." She walked over to the chair and seated herself. "I'm just so on edge...this war seems imminent, and I just can't seem to do anything to stop it." She sighed. "They want our best hunting ground, and if we give that up, the nation will suffer." Ephiny turned to face her leader. "I know you are doing everything in your power to keep this from happening my Queen, but sometimes there is nothing we can do." She folded her hands on the table. "Despite our best efforts, it seems some things are just meant to be." A knock sounded on the door frame. "Come." called Melosa. Eponin moved the curtain aside and entered. "My Queen...the centaurs have sent a messenger." she said, bowing her head. "A messenger?" The hairs on the back of Melosa's neck were standing straight up. "What is the message." "They wish to make us an offer." "An offer, how quaint." The queen stood and crossed her arms. "State the offer." Eponin unrolled the piece of parchment she had been holding and began to read. "I, Tyldus, King of the Centaurs wish to open negotiations with the Amazon Nation in respects to the hunting ground on their east border. I would be pleased to meet to discuss this issue on neutral ground, each bringing one negotiator and three guards. Follow the path to our shared west border, we will be camped there for two nights. I hope to bring about a peaceful solution to this affair. Signed, Tyldus." Melosa sighed and turned to Ephiny. "What do you think?" "I think it's a trap." "Me too." added the weaponmaster. "That makes three of us. Question is what do we do about it." She sent up a silent prayer to Artemis, in hopes that the goddess would do something to help them. War was not what she had in mind for the nation during her rule, but it looked like there was no other way if this turned out to be the trap she thought it was. She raised her eyes and prayed...'Artemis, what am I to do? Send me a sign...anything....let me know if this is for the best in the end.'

*** "Then it's decided." Melosa whipped around to face her sister. "No, it's not." Her hands went to her hips as she closed the distance between them. "I will not allow you to go Terreis. It's too dangerous." The redhead's eyes rolled. "My Queen, you cannot go. You know that if you do, something could happen. You belong ruling our tribe, not I." Her eyes cast down to the floor for a moment. "I cannot let that happen...I won't let that happen. It is only right that I should go." Melosa was doing everything she could to control her anger right then, and she raised a shaking finger to her sister's face. "You..." she hissed..."Are NOT expendable. Don't act as if you are!" "I am a princess of the Amazon Nation. It is my duty to do this." She crossed her arms as she regarded the queen. "You cannot let the fact that we are sisters stand in the way of doing what is right by the nation. What would that look like to our tribe?" Melosa could not argue that point. Indeed, if she refused to let Terreis go to meet with the centaurs, it would look like she was coddling the princess. She knew that would not be the best answer for this situation. She glanced up into those sparkling green eyes that were beseeching her to do the right thing. Sighing, she gave in. "Alright, but you take only our best with you." "Your choices?" "Ephiny, Eponin and Solari. Take it or leave it." replied the queen. "Agreed. We'll leave in a candlemark." Terreis turned to go, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "You know I don't like this one bit....please be careful..." The queen pulled her sister in for a hug. "I love you sister, be well and good luck." Terreis winked at Melosa. "You know I will." She smiled and was gone. Melosa just stood there for a moment, trying to figure out why she had this really sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Nope...don't like this at all...." She sat down at her table and put her head in her hands. *** Terreis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly she stretched her arms over her head. "Ah...Pony, isn't it such a great day?" Eponin lifted her head from where it had been drooping in misery from the heat of the afternoon to gaze at her wife. "If you call riding along with a sweat hut on your back a great day, I guess I would have to say yes." She reached down to peel up a corner of her skirt and flap it wildly, trying to get a breeze going. Glancing ahead, she noticed Ephiny's head snap to one side, then the other. The signal for silence was given, followed by the one to move forward slowly. Terreis and Eponin dismounted silently and crept forward, careful not to snap any stray twigs. As they reached Ephiny and Solari, the blonde pointed through the bushes and down the path. Pony's eyes narrowed as she spied the warrior and her companion. Cocking her head to one side, she listened for a moment, then pointed up. Into the trees they went, taking positions on either side of the forest trail. "What was that thing hanging back there from the tree?" Asked the small blonde as she tried out her new walking stick. "No trespassing signs. This is Amazon country." said the tall, dark warrior beside her." "Amazons..." Excitement began to creep into the blonde's voice even as the warrior pulled her sword out of the sheath attached to the saddle. "Do you think we'll see any?" Eponin gave the signal to fire the warning shots. Eight arrows landed in the ground at their feet. "Almost certainly." replied the warrior, spinning her sword in her hand and plunging it blade first into the ground. She clasped her hands over her head. "Gabrielle..." She said quietly as she motioned with her eyes to follow her lead. The blonde followed suit, and before they knew it four heavily armed amazons were dropping down in front of them. One came forward and spoke. "You know the Amazon symbol of peace." she said. "We'd like safe passage through your hunting grounds." replied the warrior woman, as the blonde's eyes went wide with awe and wonder. The Amazon pushed back her mask and regarded this duo. Her guard did the same. "My name is Terreis. You know the Amazon ways and yet you're not one of us." She glanced at the blonde. "And you're really not one of us." "Hey..." she replied. "Don't judge a scroll by its paper!"

This made Terreis chuckle. Ephiny spoke up. "They invaded our territory. We should take them to see Queen Melosa." Terreis eyebrows knit together in thought for a moment. "Ephiny's right. We have to let Melosa decide. Don't worry, she's fair." Eponin relieved the warrior of her sword, and as she did she made sure the warrior caught her glare as she backed away to stow them on her own mount. "Going to see the Amazon Queen..." bubbled the little blonde. "This is fantastic! I'm so excited...I wonder what she's like?" Terreis couldn't supress another chuckle at that comment. "Reminds me of myself a few years ago..." she said to no one in particular. Deciding she wanted to speak more with this young woman, she hurried to catch up. *** "I want to read philosophy, and learn about history and science. But they didn't consider me a normal girl." The blonde blushed at her statement. "Philosophy and history are some of the first things taught to amazon children." replied Terreis. "Really?" "It is a man's world Gabrielle. Not because it should be...but because we let them have it. It's based on a woman's weakness." "Yeah?" "The Amazon world is based on truth.." continued Terreis as they stopped walking. "On a woman's individual strengths." "I'm all for that! I've always considered myself a single-minded person." replied Gabrielle. "Of course...if I got married, I'd have to ask my husband if it was ok..." The Amazon Princess turned a hard stare on the little blonde. Gabrielle chuckled nervously. "Heh, that was a joke.." Terreis's eyes softened and her face broke into a smile as they began walking again. Ephiny was on point, and couldn't help but to turn around and look at this warrior woman every time she had the chance. She was just so beautiful....and dangerous. She stopped next to a tree and let the warrior pass by. As the warrior walked by her she spoke. "Something about me you find interesting?" she said nonchalantly. "Yes." replied Ephiny with a seductive tone in her voice. "Wanna tell me?" "No." "Then stop staring at me before I take your eyes out." Said the warrior in barely controlled anger. They stared each other down for a moment before they both heard the noise. A crackling sound from just ahead and to the right. "Gabrielle!" The blonde came rushing over. "What is it?" At that moment the sky began to fill with arrows. Ephiny yelled as loud as she could. "To the trees! To the trees!" The warrior noticed one of the Amazons drop her sword in her scramble to get out of sight, and she picked it up quickly...just in time to ward off a volley of arrows that certainly would have hit Gabrielle. Suddenly there was a scream as an amazon fell out of the tree, and thumped loudly to the ground below, an arrow protruding from her chest. "Terreis!" yelled Gabrielle as she sprang into action, racing over to the fallen Amazon, and shielding the princess from any more arrows. As the volley stopped, the warrior ran over to see about the amazon's injury. Xena grimaced. The arrow had pierced her lung. "Don't try to move her..." she warned Gabrielle. "I'll check to see if it's clear." The blonde shook her head, and the warrior ran off into the forest. Eponin was the first one to the ground, and couldn't move from where she stood. So in shock was she, that the only thing she could manage was "No...no...no..." over and over. She sank to her knees, able only to watch as half of her soul began to slip away. "Terreis!" shouted Ephiny as she hit the ground running. Solari bolted over to catch Eponin before she fell over. Eph skidded to a halt beside her fallen princess and friend. Terreis knew her time was short, and she needed to get this out before she passed over. She gasped. Looking at Gabrielle, she spoke haltingly..."You tried to save me..." "No...don't talk." replied Gabrielle, trying to keep her quiet and calm til Xena returned. Terreis continued. "What you did...only an Amazon would do....for another Amazon..." A wave of pain rolled thru her body and she grimaced. "I want you to take...my right of caste." Ephiny's face registered complete shock. "Terreis!" The princess met Gabrielle's eyes and pleaded..."Please!" "A - alright, I'll take it..." stammered Gabrielle. "J-just don't...don't..." Her sentence was cut short as Terreis let out her last breath. She looked questioningly up to Ephiny, who's only expression was one of confusion and disbelief. Solari had finally gotten Eponin to her feet and they came up behind Ephiny. Eponin was clearly distraught. "This can't be real," She said softly. "She can't leave me..." Ephiny placed her hand on her best friend's shoulder in support. "She isn't gone Pony...she'll always be in your heart." Eponin's eyes began to well up with tears, and she bit her lip as she tried to maintain her dignity in front of her fellow amazons. "Um...yeah...of course you're right." she sniffed and straightened up. "Let's get her home." Gabrielle turned questioning eyes on Xena as she returned, and the warrior felt the pressure of finding the right thing to say. But nothing seemed right at the moment. All she could do was look back as if to say "I'm sorry..." Gabrielle allowed the Amazons to take Terreis from her, and watched solemnly as they gently placed their princess on the back of her horse. Leading their own horses, they slowly began their trek back to the amazon village. *** "Aw gods Eph! Why me??" Eponin could barely keep the tears back at this point. "Of all the people you could pick for this, why me?" She sniffed. "Why now?" Ephiny sighed and turned a sad look on her friend. "Pony..." She spat out her next few words..."She is an Amazon Princess whether we like it or not." A pause, then in a calmer tone... "She has to have the best training, and that my friend, is you." Eponin's chin dropped onto her chest. "Alright, alright. Send her to weapons hut. I'll meet her there." "Done. Is there anything else you require?" Eponin shook her head no. "Ok then, as soon as Melosa and I have a talk with her, we'll send her by." "Can't wait..." Ep mumbled under her breath. She sat there for a moment, pondering what horrid crime against the gods she must have done to deserve this. 'I lose my wife to a centaur's arrow, and now I have to train her successor?' And then the tears came. Her shoulders shook violently as the pain and loss finally found a release. After a few long moments, she realized she still had a job to do. Wiping the tears away, she walked over to her basin and splashed some cold water on her face to try to bring down the puffiness that used to be her eyes. "Wouldn't look good for the Weaponmaster to look like a weak-willed crybaby now would it Ep?" she said to herself. Shaking her head sadly, she opened the door and walked out into the bright sunshine. She shielded her eyes with her hand and headed off to meet her new pupil. *** "My Queen....you know I was the next in line for right of caste!" Ephiny's voice was sounding quite whiny at this point and Melosa was beginning to get aggravated. "Captain, need I remind you of Amazon law?" She cast a stern look toward the blonde walking beside her. Seeing the hurt on her face, the queen's demeanor softened a bit. "I do understand Ephiny, but you know the laws as well as I do. It was Terreis's wish for Gabrielle to have her right of caste...even though we don't understand it, we have to abide by that wish." Eph's shoulders sagged. "Ok, but I don't like her. She has no skills!" "And that's what we have Eponin for. Ah, there she is now," said Melosa. "Let's go have a little chat with her." Ephiny rolled her eyes as she followed behind her queen. 'This is turning out to be the worst day I have ever had...' she thought as they crossed the compound. 'And if it gets any worse, I'm going to have to run myself through just see if it's all real.' She sighed as she spotted the new princess across the courtyard. 'Well at least Xena is leaving her alone for now. Thank the gods I don't have to deal with her hanging over my shoulder and getting in my business.' By the time she and Melosa reached their destination, a scowl had planted itself firmly across her features. "Gabrielle," she called out.

The bard turned around at the sound of her name. Seeing the queen approaching, she thought it the most opportune time to get some questions answered. "So are we going to talk about this Right of Caste thing?" She sounded just a bit perturbed about being left in the dark for so long. (just like a bard eh? Always needing to know things yesterday or sooner hehe) Melosa stopped before the blonde. "With her dying wish, Terreis bestowed all her rights and possessions to you." stated the queen nonchalantly. "And her position." Gabrielle seemed a bit shocked by this news. "Wait, you mean...I'm an Amazon?" "Terreis was my true sister...the next in the royal line." A pause. "You're an Amazon Princess." Turning to Ephiny, she continued. "Make sure she's taught." With that she walked away, leaving Gabrielle in a state of confusion and disbelief. All Ephiny could think of at the moment was tearing this poor excuse for an Amazon limb from limb. She took a breath and tried to relax, but all she managed was to purse her lips in anger and frustration, and glare coldly at the little blonde. Summoning all the strength of will that she could muster, she spoke. "Follow me." "Where are we going?" asked Gabrielle as they headed towards what looked like a weapons hut. It took all of Ephiny's self control not to turn around and beat her to within an inch of her life. In fact, just the sound of her voice was irritating her beyond anything she had ever experienced before...even more than sand in her breeches. "I'm taking you to Eponin. She will be your teacher." "Eponin? Which one is she?" asked the bard. Eph stopped so quickly that Gabrielle slammed right into her backside. "Oooops...sorry...heh" stammered the bard. The captain turned around and affixed a cold stare upon her smaller charge. "She...was Terreis' consort. She has agreed to train you despite the obvious futility of this endeavor." She turned to continue walking, but Gabrielle's next words stopped her dead in her tracks... "Now you just wait a minute Ephiny." She walked right up to the captain and tried her best to stand taller as she spoke, like she had seen Xena do so many times. "I didn't ask for this...all I was doing was trying to save her." She raised her left hand and stuck her index finger right in Ephiny's face. "And I don't need the likes of YOU making this any harder for me than it already is!" She lowered her arm. Ephiny was fuming at the insolence before her. "Then you..." This time it was her finger in the bard's face, "shouldn't have taken Terreis' right of caste before you knew what it entailed!" "Oh...as if I had a choice." The bard blew out a frustrated breath. "Need I remind you she was dying? Need I remind you that there was no time to discuss the logistics of the situation?" She crossed her arms. "Put yourself in my boots, Ephiny. What would you have done?" She pushed past the captain and walked the last few yards to the weapons hut and entered, leaving Ephiny standing there with mouth hanging open and contemplating the words she was left with. "Yup..." said Eph to no one in particular. "I'm a centaur's ass." She began heading towards the dining hall, scowling all the way. Even though she still didn't like Gabrielle, she had to respect the way the girl had stood up to her. Deciding to reserve her judgement of Xena's companion for a later date, she changed direction and headed back the way she had come...towards the Queen's quarters. *** Gabrielle was happily chatting away to Solari and Eponin as Ephiny strode purposefully in. "Come....now." she said, a cold edge in her voice. The blonde gave her an admonishing look. "I'm sorry...you must have me mistaken for a pet." she said, shaking her head. Ephiny rolled her eyes. "Would you come with me?" She rephrased. Gabrielle shook her head. "That's better!" and stepped down off the dressing pedestal. As the bard walked toward her, she caught the "Oh gods thank you for saving me" look from Eponin, and could only wonder what kind of torture this was for the poor weaponmaster. Nonetheless, she knew they had their jobs to do. "From birth, every amazon is taught to use weapons...pick your first weapon." she said as calmly as she gestured toward the array on the wall. Gabrielle stepped forward and began to peruse the assortment. "No, i don't like swords..." she commented as she passed them by. "Can't hit the side of a cyclops with a bow and arrow..." Then she saw something that caught her eye. "Ah what's this?" she inquired as she picked up some sort of ornate stick. "That's a fighting staff." said Ephiny as she took the weapon from the bard. "Eponin?" She turned and tossed the staff to the weaponmaster, who promptly began an impressive display of spins and attack maneuvers. Gabrielle was in awe, shaking her head up and down in respect. "Your training begins now." said Ephiny matter-of-factly. "Eponin, take her outside and make sure she knows how to use the staff." "As you request." replied Pony as she motioned for the bard to follow her. "No Gabrielle, counter-sundial-wise!" snapped Eponin, her patience growing slim as the small blonde clobbered herself in the head yet again with the training staff. "Ow!" The bard blew her bangs out of her eyes. This was tough, but she was loving every minute of it. 'I'll really have something to show Xena when she comes back!' she thought to herself as she reset her staff to the beginning position. 'Maybe she'll finally respect me a little.' She watched intently as Eponin demonstrated the move yet again. She began the kata and was almost all the way through before she lost control of a spin and clunked herself right in the noggin for the umpteenth time. Eponin scowled. Gabrielle noticed the look of frustration on the weaponmaster's face. Leaning on her staff, she cocked her head at the brunette. "Eponin...can we talk for a moment?" Now this was not something Pony was expecting, but she did manage to look semi-composed. "Whatever you wish Princess." The bard frowned. "First of all..." she said as she leaned her staff against the nearest hut, "I'm really not comfortable with the 'Princess' thing, so you can just call me Gabrielle." She smiled warmly at Eponin. "Yes Prin...errrr I mean, Gabrielle." Pony raised her eyes, meeting her trainee's, and was instantly drawn into the warmth coming from this little bard. She smiled back. "Good! Now that that's out of the way..." She closed the distance between them and took a spot next to the weaponmaster. Eponin held her breath. "I just want you to know that I truly appreciate you teaching me all this."

Eponin's eyes went wide with astonishment. The bard gestured to the weapons leaning next to them. "I know it must be so hard for you to do this..." Gabrielle held up her hand before Eponin could speak. "Please...let me finish." The brunette shook her head. "Thanks. Anyways..." The blonde moved to stand in front of her teacher. "Ephiny told me that you were Terreis' consort. I know how strange you must feel at having to see me dressed in her clothes, and having to teach me how to fight...but I want you to know that I will do my best not to shame her memory." She placed her hand on the weaponmaster's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss. Know that in my heart I understand. So please try to bear with me during this learning process. I'll try to make it as easy as I can for you, but by now I'm sure you can tell I have never done this before." Eponin watched as the blonde chuckled at her own incompetence. 'Amazing...' she thought. 'She's just amazing.' "I can tell..." replied a grinning Pony. "But I think we can work through it." "Excellent!" gushed the bard. "Shall we try it again?" "Sure Gabrielle." Eponin reached for her staff. "Assume the position!" This got another chuckle out of the bard. "Alright....I can do this...Again!" Eponin went through the kata once more, and Gabrielle watched intently. She began the maneuver...only a couple more swings and she would be through it without a hitch...CLUNK!..."Ow!" yelped the bard as she rubbed her head. As she looked up, she saw Ephiny approaching. "Oh great!" she said aloud. "Here come the critics!" Pony couldn't help but laugh at this latest remark. No matter how she tried now, she couldn't dislike this blonde bard. Sighing, she turned to meet Ephiny's greeting. The captain strode up and pulled the weaponmaster in close for a private chat. "Report." "She's not bad..." replied Pony with slight shrug. "A little rough..." then leaned in closer and whispered, "She's better than Jalana." This earned an elbow to the ribs for Eponin, but she still caught the slight smirk upon Ephiny's lips. Ephiny turned to Gabrielle. "So how are you doing with your training?" "It's sorta fun when I can keep it going." replied the young bard. "Gabrielle, war is not a game!" Ephiny threw up her hands in frustration. Gabrielle gulped audibly. The captain paced for a moment, then grabbed her staff and walked over to a nearby horse. What followed was a lesson Gabrielle wouldn't soon forget...one where she finally realized the levity of her present situation. Ephiny finished and walked back over to her. "Still fun?" inquired the blonde. Gabrielle shook her head no. "Good." She turned to the weaponmaster. "See that she is bathed before you bring her to lunch." "Yes Captain." replied Pony. As Ephiny sauntered off she turned to the bard. "Ready for some grub Gabrielle?" The blonde chuckled. "Oh boy am I ever! I'm starved!" Eponin laughed heartily. "Alright, let's go then." She gestured ahead of herself. "After you." "Thank you." smiled Gabrielle as she headed off to the baths with Pony in tow. 'I really like it here...' thought the bard as they crossed the compound. 'I wonder if Xena wouldn't mind staying here for a little while...' *** "So it's a regular thing for women to partner with women here?" asked the bard between mouthfuls of stew. Eponin grinned broadly. "Yes Gabrielle. Although there are some amazons who do partner with men occasionally." She popped a carrot into her mouth as she scrutinized the princess. "That's interesting." replied the bard. Then a serious look came over her face. "Can you tell me about her?" Eponin stopped in mid chew. She looked up to find innocent green eyes looking at her. She managed to swallow her bite of stew and leaned back in her chair. "Alright." she sighed and her face softened momentarily. "Terreis was the most wonderful person I have ever met. She always believed in finding a person's good points, despite what you might see on the outside." She took a drink of cider before she continued. "She was everything to me...my friend, my confidante, my wife, my lover, my hero..." A tear slowly made its' way down Pony's cheek. "I loved her more than life itself." Her shoulders sagged and she slid a bit down in her chair. Gabrielle was crying right along with poor Pony, and went to sit next to her. Circling her arm around the weaponmaster's shoulder, she began to whisper comforting words. Eponin shifted in her chair and leaned into the embrace, beginning to sob uncontrollably into Gabrielle's shoulder. The bard held her till she felt the sobs begin to subside, pulling back a little to see if Pony was ok. Eponin looked up at her through puffy eyes. "I'm sorry Gabrielle..." The bard smiled warmly. "There's nothing to be sorry for...I'm just glad I could be here for you." Eponin smiled back. "Thank you." Her eyes caught a movement near the entrance to the hut. "Ah...there's Ephiny.." "Oh great!" huffed Gabrielle. "What?" inquired the weaponmaster. "Haven't you and ol Eph made friends yet?" Gabrielle shook her head. "Nope...she hates me!" Pony had to laugh at this one. "Hates you?" She laughed some more. "On the contrary Gabrielle! I have only seen her act like that towards one other person..." The bard in her couldn't resist asking the question, "Who?" "Delia." "Who is Delia?" asked the blonde leaning in closer to Eponin. "Delia was my consort." replied a voice from over her shoulder. Gabrielle jumped three feet in the air, so startled was she by Ephiny's voice. Chuckling to herself, Ephiny took a seat on the other side of Gabrielle. "Why were you talking about her?" Her gaze went from Gabrielle to Eponin and stopped there. Eponin's eyes cast down and Ephiny knew she had her culprit. "Pony...Spill it, or we will soon be finding out if the old saying of 'You can lead a horse to water' is true." Ephiny crossed her arms and waited for an answer. "Pony?" stated Gabrielle. "Did she just call you Pony?" She turned towards the weaponmaster and found her muttering silent curses at the captain behind her back. "Yeah, yeah...ol EPHIE here plastered that nickname on me when we were in training." Eponin grinned now that she had successfully turned the tables on her friend. "Ephie?" repeated Gabrielle. "She called you Ephie!" And with that the bard doubled over in laughter. Eponin and Ephiny looked at each other and nodded. Ephiny spoke.... "Excuse me...Gabby?" And now it was the two amazons who were doubled over in laughter while Gabrielle sat there with a stupefied and thoroughly hilarious look on her face. It took a moment for the bard to realize what had just happened here. She smiled. Then she giggled. Then she was laughing with them, and before long they were pointing and calling each other by their nicknames and laughing more. Eponin finally stood and said, "Sorry to break up this little party boss, but I got a staff lesson in a half candlemark." She cast a wink Garbrielle's way. Ephiny smiled. "You're excused Pony." and they were all giggling again as the weaponmaster left. The silence between the two grew quickly. Eph cleared her throat and smiled awkwardly at the bard next to her. Gabrielle smiled back and Ephiny felt something strange happen to her....she felt her dislike for this woman leaving her in a rush. She let it go, and felt it replaced with a warm glow down in her gut. She cleared her throat again. "My Princess, I was wondering..." Gabrielle cocked her head at the blonde. "Wondering what?" Eph was finding it real hard to get some actual words out at the moment, but somehow she did, "Um..." "Yes?" asked the bard, raising an eyebrow. "I-I was wondering if you might like a tour around our territory this afternoon?" The look on Gabrielle's face took on one of barely veiled suprise. "You want to show me around?" "Yes." replied Ephiny. "You personally?" she asked, a slight upward twitch to her smile. Eph gulped. "Um...yeah...if that's ok with you?" "I think that would be nice Ephiny. Ok." She stood and brushed a few stray crumbs from her skirt. "I'll see you after my lesson then?" She smiled as their eyes met. "I'll be there." She was entranced. "Until then..." replied the bard as she turned and walked slowly towards the door. Ephiny's gaze stayed upon Gabrielle until she left the hut, and she sat there wondering what had just happened. "I'm losing it." she snuffed into her drink. Taking three long gulps, she sat back in the chair and pondered the situation. Had she just made a date with Gabrielle? She honestly wasn't sure. She admitted that she did want it to be one though...but maybe Gabrielle wasn't like her! She snuffed into her drink again, chuckling at herself. What kind of idiot amazon was she anyways? She swirled the cider around in her mouth a bit as an image of the blonde bard came to her mind. She swallowed and smiled to herself. She was the idiot amazon who had a date with the princess, that's who she was! She pushed her chair back from the table, stood and headed towards her hut. "Well if it's a date, then I'd better go prepare for it." And the people who saw a happily whistling Amazon Captain crossing the square had to look twice, since they couldn't believe their eyes. :)

Ephiny stopped at the edge of the practice area, and watched Eponin put Gabrielle through a pretty tough kata routine. She raised her eyebrow as every single swipe from the weaponmaster was blocked and returned by the little blonde. The captain watched in amazement as Gabrielle improvised and reversed her motion, effectually taking Pony's legs out from under her. She stepped onto the field as Gabrielle was muttering apologies to her teacher and approached her. "Princess." Gabrielle had just stood up and was helping the scowling weaponmaster to her feet. Hearing Ephiny's voice, she turned to greet her....and was shocked at what she saw. The captain was in full uniform! Her armor shined in the bright sunlight, giving her an almost glowing aura to her already dynamic personality. She didn't even know about the smile that had made it's way onto her face. "Ephiny! Hi! I was wondering where you were!" Ephiny stopped before Gabrielle and bowed. "I had to be presentable if I am going to be escorting the princess." She stood and gave the bard a sly half-smile. Eponin chuckled and shook her head. "I think I'll just be heading on over to the bathing hut now." She said between giggles as she slipped away practically unnoticed. "Yeah...see you later Pony..." replied Ephiny, while waving to no one. Her eyes were firmly attached to some quite mesmerizing green ones at that moment. Suddenly she remembered why she was there, and shook her head to clear it out. Gabrielle couldn't take her eyes off those hazel ones either. She was now in firm belief that Eponin had been right, that Ephiny might really have a thing for her after all. 'Well let's just be sure...' she thought to herself. "So..." she said. Ephiny finally seemed to shake herself clear of her wayward thoughts as the bard's voice got through to her. "Ahem...yes. Um, I believe I was going to show you around our land?" she said, glancing around nervously. "Yes you were." replied the bard with a shy grin. "Shall we then?" Ephiny looked at the small blonde and smiled back. Holding out her arm to the bard she said, "With pleasure Gabrielle." Gabrielle slipped her arm through Ephiny's and they set out across the courtyard towards the city gates. ***

"So where did Xena go earlier?" inquired Ephiny as they trekked up a rise. Gabrielle glanced at her companion. "She went to have a talk with Tyldus." Ephiny's head whipped around in shock. "Tyldus?" she swallowed. "Is she crazy? He'll kill her on sight!" Gabrielle had to giggle at this. "Ephiny...when you hang around Xena as much as I have, you come to accept some things." She smiled. "One, if Xena says she'll be back, she'll be back. Two, if Xena says don't worry about her, you don't worry about her." The bard stopped walking and turned to her new friend. She leaned over as if in confidence and whispered..."But I've learned you just don't let her know you worry anyways." She grinned and started walking again. Ephiny's brow furled at this seemingly revealing information the bard had uttered. 'Hmmmm, she worries about that warrior huh?' She decided it was time to be a little more forward. "Speaking of Xena my Princess...." "What about her?" replied the bard, a bit surprised at this new turn in the conversation. Ephiny made sure there was a definite hint of innuendo in her next chosen words, "Might I inquire if I could be in any danger from her?" "Danger?" Gabrielle was a bit surprised. "From Xena?" "Yes." "Why would you be in danger from Xena?" She cocked her head a bit. Ephiny threw her arms up in the air. "Gabrielle! Are you kidding me? If I'm stepping on Xena's toes with you, you had better tell me now before I'm one dead amazon!" "Stepping on her toes?" Gabrielle's brow furrowed in thought. "OH!" She began giggling. Ephiny gave the bard a look of complete exasperation. "How can you laugh at something as serious as that?" Honestly, maybe she had the blonde pegged wrong all along! "I'm sorry..." replied the bard as her giggles died down. "I guess I just didn't expect that!" "Huh?" replied the captain. "Maybe I'm missing something here..." Ephiny looked directly into those green eyes. "Aren't you and Xena lovers?" Astonishment lit Gabrielle's face. Then she burst out laughing....so hard in fact that Ephiny thought the bard was going to bust a gut. "Wait...you're not?" "NO! No!" Gabrielle was trying to control her giggles while she spoke. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she asked, wiping her eyes. "It's not just my idea Gabrielle..." Ephiny shrugged. "Everyone thinks that. You travel together, you do everything together...and I myself have seen the way she looks at you when you aren't aware." With this the captain turned her eyes away. "She most certainly does not!" laughed the bard. "She doesn't even know I'm alive!" She looked over at her friend, and her tone became serious. "You, on the other hand, seem to see me." Ephiny let their eyes meet again, and she couldn't deny it anymore! She was a goner...a hopeless case....mere putty as she stood before this woman. "I see you Gabrielle." she said allowing her emotions give her voice. "I see you." She repeated as she took a step closer to the bard. Gabrielle had only a minute to realize that this was "it". She was finally going to know what it was like to kiss a woman! She had fantasized so many times about Xena kissing her, but the warrior had always ignored her advances, or pretended not to notice them. Now here was a beautiful amazon warrior standing before her, practically begging to do just that. "Kiss me Ephiny." "Are you sure?" whispered the captain as she moved closer, running her fingers along the bard's cheek. "Yes." she whispered back. Ephiny ran her fingers up along Gabrielle's neck and into the tangle of blonde locks that fell gracefully about her shoulders. She sighed. "You're so beautiful, Gabrielle." She ducked her head in to brush her lips across the bard's own. "Xena has to be crazy not to want you." Their lips met softly and Ephiny was surprised to find herself being kissed back so readily. Sparks seemed to jump between them, and she felt a long-forgotten fire begin to burn inside of her. She deepened the kiss, and the fire burned hotter. 'Oh my gods!' she thought as she let the feeling carry her. Air...air! Wait! She pulled back, and was surprised to hear an almost inaudible whimper from the bard. She couldn't speak....she couldn't move. "Well." said the bard. "That was certainly something Ephiny." She began to fan herself. "I thought this was the eve of the tenth moon cycle, not the seventh!" Ephiny ran her hand under the bard's chin. "It is." She smiled. "So you felt it too?" "Gods yes!" She wrapped her arms around Ephiny's waist and drew her close again. "It felt very good." The captain smiled. "So does this mean I get a second date?" Gabrielle slapped her companion in the stomach as she pushed her away. Looking up at the sky she proclaimed, "It's getting a bit late. We had better be making our way back Captain." She cast a sly smile Ephiny's way, turned, and headed back the way they had come. Ephiny just stood there for a second before she had to hurry to catch up to the bard. "Wait! Gabrielle! I do get a second date don't I?"

Gabrielle was jolted out of her musings at the sound of Ephiny's voice..."Huh? What was that Ephiny?" she turned her head towards the blonde as they walked.

Ephiny sighed. "I've only called your name three times now Gabrielle..." She chuckled. "Mind elsewhere?"

The bard shook her head. "Yes it was." A pause. "It was on that kiss."

"Really...hmm..." Replied her captain. "Does that mean I do get another date then?" She quickly crossed her fingers behind her back.

Gabrielle smiled wryly. "So this was a date then Ephiny?"

The blonde gulped audibly. Dropping her eyes, she replied..."Well I was hoping it was." She kicked a stone in the path and sent it skipping twenty feet ahead.

"Well then...." replied the bard as they reached the city gates. "That puts things in a whole different light then..."

Ephiny swallowed again. "Meaning?" she asked as they reached the door to Gabrielle's hut.

Gabrielle scrunched her eyebrows together, as if in deep thought. "Meaning..." she said softly, stepping closer to the captain. "That I can do this..." And she brought her lips to Ephiny's in a soft kiss. After a moment, she broke the contact and stepped back.

Ephiny's eyes were still closed. She chuckled. "Eph...hey..."

The blonde opened her eyes and blinked. "Wow." She blinked again. "Gabrielle, if you kiss me like that all the time we may have a scandal on our hands." She thumbed for Gabrielle to look over her shoulder, and when the bard did, she gasped. The whole courtyard was staring at them!

"Oh my gods!" Gabrielle gasped and turned three shades of crimson. She buried her embarrassment in Ephiny's shoulder and began to giggle uncontrollably. After a few moments, she got herself under control, and with a smile she gently kissed the blonde's cheek. "See you later Ephiny..."

"Definitely, Gabrielle." She gave the bard's arm a last squeeze and slowly began walking backwards away from her. "Goodbye for now..." She smiled, turned and strode away. The gathered crowd parted to let her through, and Ephiny heard the whispers begin as soon as she passed by. She chuckled to herself as she reached her own hut. Going inside, she walked over to her armor chest. Pulling out her tracking gear, she slipped out of her best and replaced it with the soft brown leathers she loved so much. "Time to go pay Calliopis a visit methinks..." She slipped her shoulderpiece over her head and fastened it securely. "OK Ephiny, now best you keep your mind on the job at hand!" she said out loud to herself. Chuckling, she left her hut and headed towards the jail, her every thought on a certain strawberry blonde bard...

***

Ephiny sighed as she strode through the forest on her way to the sight where Terreis was murdered. Her visit with Phantes only served to prove he didn't kill her Princess. Now she had to find out who did before an innocent person was punished for the crime, and Ephiny would not be able to live with herself if she let that happen. But she needed proof to convince her sisters....

"Well here I am. Where to start..." She noticed some dung on the ground and bent down to take a closer look. "Hmmmm...hay sprouts." She scrunched her eyebrows together. Her thoughts were interrupted by a figure moving nearly silently through the forest. She quickly lit into the nearest tree and made herself unnoticeable, waiting for the intruder to make themselves known. They came into view shortly...it was Xena! "What is that bitch doing here?" she thought. She watched as the Warrior Princess bent down at the same pile of dung she had taken a sample from, then watched her move slowly around the area. scanning the ground. Her foot slipped and it snapped a small twig..."Damn!" She cursed herself.

"I'm not here to play games Ephiny." said Xena. "Come out before you make me hurt you." Xena coiled up and leapt into the same tree Ephiny was in.

"Well it's now or never." thought the blonde as she dropped down onto the same limb Xena was perched upon. Pulling her shortsword, she faced off with the leather-clad warrior in front of her.

"Don't do this Ephiny," Growled Xena menacingly. "We're on the same side..."

Ephiny's eyes narrowed. "Well your reputation makes that a little hard to believe..." She twirled her sword, let out a war cry and charged the brunette.

Xena sighed as she parried two quick slashes and a thrust, let out her own warmcry and flipped over the blonde's head, landing neatly behind her. "Ephiny, stop...we have to talk..." She parried another slash, this one to her legs.

"I have nothing to say to you Xena!!" She thrust forward, intending to gut the warrior.

"Then I will have to MAKE you listen!" She parried yet again, twisted the blonde's sword up and out of her hand, flipped over her and landing behind her again gave the woman a swift shove in the rear with her boot. She watched sadly as Ephiny plummeted out of the tree, trying to grab a branch on the way down. She managed to, but just as quickly as she grabbed hold, it snapped and she fell with a hard jolt face first onto the forest floor below.

Turning over slowly, she was trying to get her bearings when a centaur came out of nowhere! He raised his sword in triumph as she tried to scramble away backwards. Just as the centaur was about to slice and dice her, Xena dropped down onto the animal's back and disarmed him. A bit shocked, Eph's hand closed around her crossbow, and quickly arming it, fired it straight at her enemy. She was shocked yet again when Xena caught her bolt out of mid-air...two inches from that bastard's chest even!

Xena jumped off the centaur and ran to Ephiny. "Come on!" she yelled.

Ephiny realized she had better move here and FAST, since the centaur had just found his sword. She took off after Xena, and was swooped into the trees before she knew it, Xena following. They watched as the centaur grunted in exasperation and galloped off.

As they dropped down out of the trees, Ephiny swallowed her pride. "Thank you." A nod was all she got in return. She decided to tell the warrior what she had found, since she saved her life and all that. "Um, Xena..."

"Yes?"

"I was checking the ground here for clues, and look what I found..." She lead the dark-haired warrior to the pile of manure. "See this?"

"Yes I did..." Xena smiled. "The hoof prints around it show these were horses, not centaurs that ambushed your princess. The weight is clearly on the back hooves, while centaurs carry their weight on their front hooves." She crossed her arms.

"Ummm yes, I suppose you’re right. But I was referring to the hay in the manure.....centaurs don't eat hay."

"Very true." stated Xena, a small grin edging the corner of her mouth. She was darn impressed with this small blonde Amazon warrior. "Well, we best be getting back, there isn't much time before the execution..."

"Indeed. Let's go then." said Ephiny.

***

"But I can't kill him!" Gabrielle had been trying to reason with Melosa for about a quarter candlemark by now. "Please, you have to understand!"

"There is nothing to understand Gabrielle. Terreis's dying breath made you her successor, and her avenger. You cannot dispute Amazon law." Melosa crossed her arms as she lowered herself into a chair at her writing table. She looked intently at this little blonde, who was her heir to the throne. Oh yes, she did understand Gabrielle's situation, but if she did not adhere to the laws, she would be questioned and possibly cast down from her throne. "Gabrielle, if you don't kill him, you will be considered a traitor and you will die right along with him."

"Gods!" gulped Gabrielle. "Isn't that a little harsh? What about instead, kitchen duty for a moon?"

"I'm sorry my Princess, but you have no choice in the matter. You either do it, or you die." She let her look soften for a moment as she rose and walked to stand in front of the bard. "If it makes you feel any better, I do understand, I just can't do anything about it." Sad green eyes looked up into hers, and she felt herself feeling absolutely guilty as Hades. But, she could not back down. "I'm sorry Gabrielle."

The blonde sighed softly. "It's ok. I guess I'll just have to do it then..." She frowned. Turning, she walked out of the Queen's hut to go prepare for the ceremony. It was almost dawn now, and her mind wondered where Xena was. "I hope you're safe." The thought then crossed her mind that she missed the warrior. What would she do if something dire happened to her friend? "Oh my...Xena come back soon. I'm beginning to worry." Would she ever see those sparkling blue eyes again? Wait.....sparkling? What made her think of that? She saw the eyes again, and the warm smile that always seemed to be just for her. "I can't leave her and stay here to be princess...I just can't!" She sighed. "They will have to understand...I hope." She reached her hut and went inside to clean up some, her thoughts firmly on a certain Warrior Princess.

The edge of Terreis's sword rested against the flesh over Phantes' heart. Gabrielle's hands and arms were trembling all the way up to her elbows with the strain this was having on her psyche.

"What's going on here?" came a low growl from behind the crowd. Said crowd parted to allow the Warrior Princess passage to the dais.

"We're executing a murderer Xena...I thought you knew that." Stated Melosa in a growl of her own as the raven haired warrior stepped forward.

"Thank the gods. Xena..." said Gabrielle under her breath as she lowered Terreis's sword.

"Phantes isn't the murderer." stated Xena matter-of-factly to the Amazon queen. Reaching into her belt pouch she pulled out a ball of something. "Here is the proof."

Gabrielle reached out and took the proffered mud ball and rolled it around in her hand.

"Take a look at that piece of dung from the ambush site..." she gestured at the clod the Bard was now bouncing in her hand. "It has hay in it. Centaurs don't eat hay Melosa."

Gabrielle's eyes widened in shock and she dropped the dungball in record time. "Thank you! Thank you very much!" She shook her hands free of any dung remnants. "Eww...ugh!"

Melosa's eyes grew narrow. "That doesn't prove anything Xena, only that a horse was there. Centaurs are smart animals, they wouldn't leave traces of themselves lying around to incriminate them!" She gestured to Gabrielle. "Kill him NOW."

Gabrielle's eyes implored Xena to help her. 'Gods be damned, how does she get herself into these things?' thought the warrior as her mind raced for a way to extract her bard from this situation with as little blood as possible. Her mind latched onto an old scroll she had read while in the company of Cyane and her tribe of northern Amazons. 'That's it!'

Xena straightened and settled her most imposing, arrogant, dangerous and deadly look onto the Queen. "Melosa!" She shouted over the murmuring crowd..."I demand the challenge!"

The Queen's head whipped around like a slingshot. She laughed. "You cannot make the challenge, you are not Amazon royalty!"

Xena's eyes went to the bard, praying Gabrielle would get the hint.

The bard caught the strange look from her friend and glanced a second time to make sure this was what Xena wanted her to do. A subtle nod of the warrior's head gave her the courage to speak up. "She's not, but I am. I demand the challenge!"

"You? Gabrielle, surely you don't want to fight me to the death!"

"Not really." Replied the bard.

Ephiny's voice cut above the excited throng's noise. "Gabrielle....choose your weapon. Or....choose your Champion..." She rolled her eyes in Xena's direction a few times to emphasize her point.

Realization dawned on the bard's face even as she shouted. "Xena! I choose Xena!"

Melosa couldn't help but smile at the lengths this warrior would go to in order to protect her friend's blood innocence. 'Admirable. A far cry from the Xena I once knew.' "A good choice Gabrielle." Turning to the warrior, "Choose the weapons."

Xena narrowed her eyes. "Chobos."

"Very well." Melosa turned to Epinon. "Get them now."

"Yes my Queen." Eponin bowed before hurrying off.

Gabrielle ran to Xena's side as the Queen prepared for battle. "Where have you been?? I was worried sick! You could have at least sent a messenger..."

"Not now Gabrielle." Xena cut the bard off in mid sentence. "Fight now, talk later. Ephiny!" The Captain appeared next to her. "Anything I need to know about her style?"

"Yes. Watch your knees, she likes low attacks, and most of all her right side is her blind side..."

"Right, thanks." replied the warrior.

Eponin walked up and presented Xena with her set of chobos. She tested their weight and ran through a quick kata with them. Satisfied these would be good enough she turned to face her adversary.

Gabrielle walked beside her as she moved forward into battle. "Remember...her blind side is her YEOOOOW!" howled the bard as she flew back from the warrior. As she walked past Ephiny, she said in a low voice..."If anything happens to me, get Gabrielle out of here." Ephiny shook her head ok and the battle began.

Gabrielle watched in awe as the battle moved onto a tower lookout post, and then back to the ground, each warrior seemingly having the advantage at different times. But then Melosa left her right side open and Xena battered her back with a flurry of kicks and punches to her midsection...finally landing the Queen flat on her back on the ground. The warrior launched herself into the air and landed on Melosa, pinning her shoulders to the ground with her knees. "Don't make this to the death Melosa..." she said, barely out of breath, "I need your help..."

The Queen's eyes softened in acceptance of her situation. She shook her head ok, and Xena stood up, offering her forearm to the former Queen. Melosa took it, and was raised effortlessly to her feet. They looked at each other for a moment, until someone yelled..."All hail the new Queen!" The village collectively bowed to one knee, and Melosa bowed her head. Gabrielle couldn't take her eyes off of Xena. Then she felt eyes on her from behind her. Turning, she saw Ephiny looking at her, and as their eyes met, the bard saw the single tear glistening on her cheek. 'This is not good,’ thought the bard. Her thoughts were interrupted by the army of Centaurs now paused at the gates to their village.

Again, Gabrielle watched as Xena expertly avoided confrontation by throwing down her weapons. The Amazons all did the same...so Gabrielle did too! She watched as the warrior disclosed the traitor and somehow managed to forge an alliance with the centaurs to fight their common enemy. She was in awe...Xena was...well...practically radiating power! The bard basked in this, and was swept away by the magnetism Xena emitted when she commanded. Before she knew it, she found herself armed, and cavorting wildly across the countryside in a chariot pulled by two centaur warriors. Ephiny put her hand on the bard's shoulder. "Gabrielle..."

She turned. "Yes, Ephiny?"

"I know this isn't the time or place to be discussing this, but...I need to know..." she swallowed hard. "We won't be having a second date will we?" She averted her eyes.

Gabrielle sighed. How to explain this? "I don't think it would be a good idea Eph." she said. "I'm not going to be staying..."

Ephiny let out the breath she had been inadvertently holding. "I thought as much." Her eyes tracked to the tall, dark-haired warrior in the chariot in front of them. "If she ever hurts you Gabrielle, I will kill her."

Gabrielle's eyebrows practically flew off her face. "What???" her mouth went agape for a moment. "You mean Xena?" Ephiny shook her head yes. "Eph! You have got to be kidding!" Ephiny shook her head no. "Come on! She has no interest in me!"

"I see the way you look at her Gabrielle. And I see the way she looks at you, when she doesn't think anyone else is looking." She sighed. "I can see it all over your face Gabrielle...you are in love with her whether you know it or not." She turned to face her Princess. "And far be it from me to expect you to ever look at me like that. I am happy as long as you are, my princess."

Now the bard was stymied. Was she in love with Xena? To be truthful, she wasn't sure at all what love felt like...allbeit she knew it wasn't love with Perdicus. She stole a long look at the figure in the chariot ahead of them. She took in the long, raven hair blowing in the wind, noticed the beautifully chiseled profile...the muscles tensing and rippling with adrenalin. "She's beautiful." said the bard into the wind. Ephiny just shook her head and they rode into battle in silence.

***

It was a short battle, but then most battles are when the Warrior Princess is involved. She's just that damn good.

Gabrielle looked over her shoulder at Xena when the ceremony was over. "Xena..." she queried.

"Yes?" replied the warrior in that low tone that made the bard's stomach do flips.

"Does an Amazon Princess beat a Warrior Princess?" She looked again over her shoulder with a goofy grin on her face.

Xena leaned in close..."Do you really wanna find out?" A sly grin crept into her words.

Gabrielle gulped. Damn those blue eyes were just melting her! "Ummm..."

Xena grinned and leaned in even closer. "What's wrong Gabrielle...harpy got your tongue?" She turned the bard around to face her. Xena knew she was flirting with danger here, but her blonde friend had started it after all. She watched as Gabrielle continued to be rendered speechless by her intense gaze. She hadn't intended to let the blonde see how deep her feelings ran, but the moment was here whether she was ready or not. And right now, she couldn't stop it.

Now poor Gabrielle could think of nothing but how close Xena was to her, and her knees gave out from the intensity. Xena reached her arm around the bard's waist and caught her before she could reach the ground, Gabrielle's arms instinctively reaching out to hold on to her rescuer. She looked deeply into those twin pools of blue. "Xena..." she whispered.

Xena's free hand came up to gently brush the blonde's cheek. "Gabrielle..." She closed the distance between them and softly pressed her lips against the bard's. Gabrielle's hands slid up the back of Xena's neck to tangle in her hair, sending gooseflesh up her back. Too soon, they had to come up for air...

"By the Gods Xena..." whispered Gabrielle. "That was incredible."

"Yes it was." she replied as the bard settled her head onto the warrior's shoulder and hugged her.

"Let's not wait another two years to do it again, ok?" said the bard with a slight giggle.

"Ok." replied the warrior. Her eyes took in the horizon, and the setting sun. "We best get a move on if we're going to find a nice secluded place to camp for the evening bard." added Xena with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Gabrielle shook her head in vehement agreement. Grabbing the warrior by the wrist, she began propelling them through the shocked crowd at breakneck speed. "What's the record time for saddling a horse?" she asked as she practically dragged Xena towards the stables.

"I don't know, but I'm sure you're gonna break it..." replied Xena under her breath as the bard dragged her along. She laughed wholeheartedly for the first time in a long time, and decided this was good. It was a very, very good thing.

END

#xena #xena warrior princess #xena/gabrielle #xena/gabrielle fanfiction #ephiny/gabrielle #eponin/terreis #ephiny/solari #mature #author: bardarella #fanfiction #femslash

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