"Well. Now
that you mention it... no, I don't remember." replied the dazed blond.
Her mouth seemed to be running on automatic as her mind tried to
process the new information.
The former bard didn't hear Callisto's response as she went on,
wistfully reliving the past: "Xena was still recovering from an injury
from our last adventure. When she heard about you she immediately got
out of bed and got ready to face you."
"Yes, it was nice of her to take some time from her busy schedule to
come and stop me," quipped the captive.
But Gabrielle still wasn't listening as she continued with a faraway
look. "She had a plan... she always had a plan. I had my part to play,
of course. I'd never let her face danger alone. Oh, we knew we would
defeat you. I never thought..."
She became lost in her thoughts until Callisto interrupted: "Stop
stalling! How did I kill Xee-nah? Was it painful for her? I bet that
was a fine day for me! Hades! I wish I could remember this!" she
finished with a wrinkle on her brows as she tried to recall the event
in question.
"I let her down..." thought the Queen aloud to herself as her subjects
fidgeted silently around the pair. "She died because of me."
With a sudden jerk of her head, Gabrielle focused her attention on the
captive. "After the funeral, I went looking for you. I wanted to kill
you so much it was agonizing. But you disappeared. So I gave up."
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"I had things
to do. Places to go, people to kill," sarcastically explained the
blond. "You can't expect me to wait for every bard bent on revenge to
find their way to me, can you? Although if I had only known you wanted
to have a little chat I would have dropped everything and come running."
Queen Gabrielle stared at the captive with an intense look of contempt
that surprised Callisto. The sun beat down on the whole group, and the
air was almost stifling. The blond was starting to get uncomfortable so
tried to stretch a bit, with a little difficulty as her hands were
still tied behind her and the whole of the Amazon Nation seemed to be
staring at her.
Gabrielle continued her narration: "I was still angry. At you, at me,
at the world for letting this happen. Eventually I made my way back to
the Amazons. If I couldn't have my revenge on you, I was going to make
the world pay instead."
Once again, the blond interrupted: "I've heard this story before.
Warlord kills an innocent's loved ones. Innocent goes on a mad rampage
of revenge. It's all quite familiar to me. That was quite a nice story,
bard. And it was nice catching up on old times with you. But I really
should get going."
"There is one more matter I need you for," said the Amazon Queen as she
was handed a staff by her second.
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