Disclaimers : Bacchae aren't the only bloodsuckers!

Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules and Iolaus are the property of Renaissance Pictures. They were used without permission and without promise of payment or job or anything other than the respect of my fellow bards. Their appearance in this work is not to be considered a challenge to their copyrights. Since I am poor, you vulturous corporate lawyers, sueing me would just be practicing.

The characters Nysa, Kepa and Melanthe are mine, however. If you want to use them, jusrt ask me. More than likely, I'll say yes.

The character Dionysius is a real Greek God. I hope he doesn't mind being a character in this tale or take offense to the way I have weaved him into this tale -- after all, he was my patron diety in high school and college. I am trying to shoot for a semblance of mythological accuracy.

Credit for the titles 'Once Upon The Lips' should go to my wife. Even I have an off-day at times...

The songs that precede these installments are owned by the owners of their individual copyrights. They are used without permission or promise of re-imbursement. Their use is not to be considered a challenge of their copyright. Hey, I've got your CDs, guys, what more do you want? Blood?

Feedback is always appreciated at: enoonerehwon@hotmail.com

 

Dancing Mad

By - Enoon Erehwon

 

Part One -- Once Upon The Lips

 

"I'm not the one who's so far away when I feel the snake bite enter my veins.

Never did I want to be here again and I don't remember why I came."

Godsmack / Voodoo

 

Gabrielle tapped the butt of her staff on the ground impatiently. She was bored. She had been holed up in the small village below her for several days. Xena was looking down at the valley below them where the village lay. She had gotten word that one of her old lieutenants, Admetus, was planning to raid the village now that the harvest was nearly over. Xena offered to help the villagers, arguing that she knew the newly crowned warlord's tactics because she was the one that taught him. The villagers were more than enthusiatic for the help and had opened their doors to her.

Gabrielle hated every dwindling candlemark.

"Xena, you've scouted every pace of the village. So, why not just set one gigantic trap for Admetus and we can be on our way? I hear there is a bard's contest in Corinth. If we leave today, we can still make it in time to hear some bards, maybe some songs," Gabrielle stood up and swung her short skirt flirtingly, "maybe some dancing? Come on, Xe. . . I want to do something fun. Let some other hero handle this," she tried her best to pout as seductively as she could. "You don't have to save every village you know."

Xena looked down at her once, then turned her attention back to the valley, "There are no other heroes in the area. Hercules and Iolaus are a good three days away handling some bandits attacking the caravans. We're the only ones nearby. This won't take long."

"You said that three villages ago. Doesn't beating the stuffing out of warlords, ne'er-do-wells and various ruffians get boring? Couldn't you take a break and just enjoy life without having to stop and crack a skull or two?" Her voice started to grow tiny claws. "Take a look at this valley, Xena. What do you see?"

"I see two possible points of safe entry for horses and calvary, there and there. I see a rock formation that can harbor two archers for picking off lieutenants and harrasing the enemy. We can funnel the foot soldiers through this opening, bottlenecking the advance while archers and javelin-throwers can concentrate on the back ranks."

Gabrielle bit her lip in frustration, "What about the green grass? The grain waving to us from the other side of the river? The purple thisles carpeting the valley below us? Or the rock? Doesn't it look like a swan with a purple ribbon around one of its wings?" Gabrielle pointed to the same rocky outcropping Xena had addressed, "See the vein of purple rock? See how it looks like a ribbon around that that other lump of rock that. . . looks kinda . . . like. . . oh, why bother?" She sat back down with a thud. Xena seemed unfazed by her lover's display as she scanned the country side.

"Come on. We need to check on the food stores. Admetus will try to starve us out if he thinks the battle isn't going to go his way." Xena started to pick a path down the valley side. Gabrielle stood up slowly, arching her back slowly. She sighed and followed the warrior down. She hated Xena when she was like this. Gods curse her, she's so. . . so. . .

". . .single minded," she blurted out. She slapped a hand over her mouth. Xena's temper was legendary, especially when she thought she was being diverted from something that she felt deserved her full attention. Even though she was trying to atone from the sins of her past, old habits were hard to break. Gabrielle waited for the coal-haired woman the whirl around and do or say something. If that happened, Gabrielle fully intended to give her a piece of her own mind.

"Yeah -- I used to like that trait in him. Getting him to break off an assault was like trying to drag a starving war dog off of a corpse. This is going to be a hard and bloody battle, but I'm going to keep him out of this village at any cost." Xena smiled ferally as she hopped over a rock.

Gabrielle glowered, "I can see that."

Xena picked her way as if she had never heard.

 

 

By the time the pair had made it to the valley floor and the village square, a small crowd had formed in the center of the square. Xena reached back for her sword. Admentus would have sent scouts to feel out the defenses, but even good scouts have bad days and find themselves at the wrong end of a sentry party. As the crowd milled around a figure, there was a wink of pale yellow cloth. The top of a dark blonde head of hair was visible as the pair of women got closer. Gabrielle smiled widely as she jogged ahead to catch up to Xena.

"Look, Hercules is here. We can still catch that festival in Corinth if we leave tonight." Gabrielle put an arm around her lover's shoulder. Finally, the Fates were rewarding her for her patience. Xena gave her a questioning look. Gabrielle's good mood was beginning to dissolve like a fog in the early dawn.

"No, Gabby. We have to see this to the end." Xena slipped out from under the hold, pushing gently through the crowd. Gabrielle's grip on her staff tightened to a white-knuckle intensity. She trailed behind like a reluctant child, trying to keep her face neutral. If Hercules saw her true expression, then awkward questions would be asked. The last thing she wated was to hurt Xena. So, for the sake of the relationship, I'm just going to grin and bear it. Worked for my mother, it'll work for me. She plastered her best and most sincere looking smile on her face and fought her way through the crowd in Xena's wake.

"Well, well, well. . . we do all the work and they get all the credit. So typical of the son of Zeus." The scorn in her voice and the smirk on her lips were all part of the game that Gabrielle had likened to some form of sibling rivalry. The mood in the crowd was growing cautious. They weren't in on the joke and they didn't want to take the time to learn.

Hercules looked around surreptiously, "Well, we did hear there was a vicious warlord in the area, so our first question was 'Where is Xena?'" His smile was big, broad and warm like the sun that was struggling overhead with the clouds. Gabrielle felt a good portion of her bad mood dissolve under the flash of friendliness from the large man. Sometimes, she wished she could take Hercules' happy spirit and graft it onto Xena's. There were days that the darkness was all consuming. It was those days that Gabrielle did as much as she could to keep her on her good side. Xena was never rough to her, never raised a hand and never gave her a cross word, but Gabrielle could feel the restraint straining at the seams.

The crowd ooohhed and aahhhed and then relaxed. There was going to be no titanic battle between good and evil at their feet. Only two good friends who shared a rumored common heritage and a life of hardships. They grasped each other's forearm in greetings, exchanging hearty pleasantries to ease the villagers. As the crowd dispersed slowly, Xena looked around suspiciously. Anyone taking a little longer than was needed would be noted and watched carefully.

"So, what's the situation?" Hercules asked, crossing his brawny shoulders across his even brawnier chest.

"The usual -- warlord threatens village... warrior princess to the rescue," she waved her hand as if she could conjure the feeling out of the air, "same dance, same song."

Gabrielle scowled slightly. She locked eyes with Iolaus and tried to smooth her face out before he might have noticed. His face was more neutral than hers. Maybe he noticed, maybe he didn't.

"We can take over from here, I've heard that the two of you have been on somewhat of a whirlwind tour of the weatern provinces. Go take a break and relax. You've earned it." Hercules started to pace away. Xena took three leaping steps to keep up with the tall man. Gabrielle kept her hopes tamed. Xena tended to be a bit over-zealous when it came to the completion of her goals.

"You need someone to coordinate the defenses, not to mention that Admetus was one of my lieutenants. I can anticipate his tactics and lead a healthy resistance." Xena looked eager, like a child anxious to show a new trick. Hercules looked down at Xena, then over to Iolaus. There was a flash of understanding between the two of them.

"All right, you can help in the efforts -- if and only if you promise to save something for us to do when this is over. Deal?"

Xena nodded, then looked over her shoulder, "Gabby! I want an inventory of all the medical supplies before dusk. Once that's done, we're going to need to move them to a central location for the hosptial," Xena marched quickly for the valley edge, pausing only long enough to give the blonde a motivating tap on the shoulder. "Let's go Gabby! I've got to show Hercules the defenses."

Hercules trotted behind, giving his friend the you-know-what-to-do look. Iolaus nodded, then followed Gabrielle as quietly as he could.

 

Chapter 2