She awoke with a start as Gareth kicked the stall door playfully.
“I must say, first she’s grazing with the horse, and now here she is sleeping in the barn. Tired of being human?”
The dreams were still fading. So were her spirits.
“Sometimes.” she answered sadly.
He tilted his head, seeing the urn. A silence fell. He cleared his throat and nodded toward the urn.
“Xena?”
“Yes.” she was going to say it without crying. “She’s dead.” that was hard, but better than last night. “How did you know?”
“The servants have been talking about it. You know how it is, if you tell one you’ve told the whole kingdom.” he tried to muster a smile but failed.
Another silence. He crossed his hands behind his back.
“Killed in battle? May I ask?”
“She fought hard, but in the end she was outnumbered.”
He whistled through his teeth. “Never thought I’d see that.”
Neither had she. She sat up, holding the urn in her lap, tracing her finger over the lid.
“I’m sorry Gabrielle. I know she meant a lot to you.”
She had meant everything. There was no way to express that now.
He shifted uneasily, as if reading her thoughts. He scuffed his boot into the dirt and sighed.
“Well, I came out to let you know dinner will be served soon. You slept through lunch.”
“I won’t be coming.”
“What? Gabrielle, you’ve got to eat something.”
“I will. But I’m going to have dinner with Dantien.” she got up and brushed herself off. “That is, if she’ll have dinner with me in her room. Seems she can’t go anywhere else.”
“Gabrielle, we can’t have anyone know that she’s here. And we can’t let her observe anything. It’s for all our safety, understand?” he tried to hide the irritation in his voice.
“I understand.” she tucked the urn back into the saddlebag and looked up. “I understand that being treated like a prisoner doesn’t make for a trusting relationship.” she looked at him and he drew himself up, tempering his response.
“Have a good dinner with your new friend.” he turned and walked away.
Gabrielle stood and hoisted the saddlebags over her shoulder.
“I think I will.”