Streaks of orange
lightning scraped across a gray sky, signaling anger and
destruction. Ares, god of war expressed his wrath by
channeling the bolts repeatedly.
Xena,
who stood only a few feet away, just gazed at him in disgust. “Are you through?”
She
growled with clenched teeth. Ares
strutted towards her, looking her up and down.
He
walked around her, she followed him with eyes.
Her silver chakra was held firmly in
her
hand as if she was ready for combat.
“We could be so good together, Xena.
Why
continue
like this? Join me, be my queen!” Most of Ares’ soldiers were strewn about
the
beach. Some only pretended to be dead,
they had enough of the warrior princess.
Seagulls
squawked up in the air and the ocean waves could be heard hitting the shore.
Gabrielle decided to intervene. “Xena and I are on a journey. We have so much
yet to
do. You are not part of our
plans!” Ares’ eyes darted at her in
anger. “You are
quite
bothersome. I should have been rid of
you long ago!” Xena stepped between the
two. “Enough, Ares! I am not joining you! Take a
break, leave these villages near the
sea
alone or you will endure more of my destruction of your army!” Ares was so angry
he
wanted to start shooting lightning bolts again. He was really angry over Xena’s
refusal
of his affections not what she did to his army. Harming her was not an option, he
was in
love with her and wanted her for his mate. Xena didn’t share these
feelings. He
was
humiliated by her constantly defeating his army and he didn’t know how to
handle
those
feelings. Again he started shooting his
lightning bolts across the sky, only this
time he
projected Xena and Gabrielle far into the future. Let them travel around in a
different
world. This would give him time to
think.
Xena and Gabrielle found
they were blinded briefly by the lightning.
They
opened
their eyes to see Ares and his soldiers gone.
They were no longer near the ocean
but
next to a dirt road, obviously well traveled by the wear and tear. Xena knew they
were in
a different time and world. The air did not smell of the ocean, she thought she
could
smell farms nearby. The feeling she had
was different also, she couldn’t explain it.
She
just knew that Ares put her and Gabrielle somewhere drastically different from
what
they
were used to. Gabrielle stood behind
Xena, feeling anxious. “This isn’t
right!
Where
are we?” Xena remained calm. “I have no idea. But Ares has done this
before to
us.
When he calms down, he’ll return us to our own time. We might as well start
looking
for
food and shelter. Sometimes Ares gets
over the whim whams soon, other times not
so
soon.” Fortunately Xena’s horse was
also sent with the two women. Both of
them
got on
the horse and started riding down the road.
Galen found himself
enjoying this human family. They
laughed frequently
and
were genuinely interested in his tales of life on the road with the two humans
Pete
Burke
and Alan Virdon. They were fascinated
by the fact that this chimp would choose
to live
with two humans and be a fugitive. The
children, two boys and a girl listened
intently
to Galen describe their previous adventures of being chased by the gorilla army
and
seeking shelter with various humans and apes.
Burke assisted the wife, a young
woman
with shoulder length brown hair, in putting away the dishes. He was too nervous
to sit
still. The three fugitives barely
escaped a group of gorillas who were determined
to
capture them, thinking they would get a reward. Virdon found this odd since he
didn’t
think Urko offered a reward for them. It was an ape’s civic duty to turn them
in.
He
discussed this with the husband, a man about thirty with jet black hair. He couldn’t
understand
it either but he heard of the apes forming vigilante groups to police humans
and
themselves. Often they requested a reward.
Virdon sipped a cup of
coffee and hoped the night would be peaceful.
The
sound
of horses made his heart sink. The
gorillas had returned like they said and there
was
more of them. It looked like about
fifteen gorillas on horseback. Burke
peered out
a
window while Galen jumped out of his chair.
The husband reassured the fugitives.
“Stay
inside. I’ll handle this.” He walked out the front door and up to the
leader, an
angry
gorilla who got off his horse. He
immediately threatened him. “You’ll hang for
this,
Joshua. Harboring fugitives means death
for humans. If you know what is good
for
you,
turn them over to us. We’ll
conveniently forget where we found them.”
One of
Joshua’s
sons ran out of the house. Joshua grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close
to
him. The gorillas on horses all moved
closer towards him. Another gorilla
spoke.
“We
should take his son, then we’ll get the fugitives.” The leader liked the idea. “Yes,
his son
or the fugitives.” Virdon, Burke and
Galen felt panic overtaking them while the
wife
and other two children huddled together.
As the gorillas continued to move
closer the yell that penetrated everyone’s ears
vibrated
through their bodies. Both apes and
humans were stunned and thrown into a
state
of shock. Galen’s eyes grew so wide he
had a headache. “Eeeeeeeeeeeyaaaaaa,”
and for
only a few seconds a bright, round silver object flew through the air, knocking
all the
gorillas on horses to the ground. The
leader who was in front of Joshua had a
staff
pointed in his face by a young woman with long blonde hair. “Only a coward takes
children!” The leader stepped back only to have Xena
kick him in the head. He went off
balance
for a few seconds but remained speechless when he saw the six foot female
warrior
holding a knife over her head ready to do battle. “You will leave these people
alone
or face my wrath!” Gabrielle continued
to point her staff at him. Inside the
house
Virdon
blinked his eyes as if he wasn’t sure of what he was seeing. Burke stood with his
mouth
open while Galen looked for an exit. Burke grabbed Galen’s arm to prevent him
from
leaving.
The leader got his
bearings and shook his head as if he wasn’t sure this was
all real. He was at a loss for words but managed to
mutter “Who are you?” “I am Xena,
warrior
princess. Ares, god of war and
destruction sent me here because I angered him.”
Burke
mumbled to Galen. “Are you listening to this?”
Galen remained silent. Xena
continued
speaking. “You will leave these people
alone or face me in battle!” The
other
gorillas returned to consciousness, panicked and got on their horses and
galloped
off. The leader, seeing he was alone, leaped onto
his horse, took one last look at Xena
with a
face full of unbelief and rode off behind the others.
Xena walked over to Joshua
and his son. “Are you harmed?” Joshua
gave
Xena a
look of gratitude. “We are well. Do
come inside for some food and shelter.
We
are
grateful for your help.” Gabrielle
walked over to him. “Our journey has been long
and we
need to rest. We really appreciate you
helping us.” The two women followed
Joshua
into the house. Everyone in the house
hadn’t moved. Xena’s strong presence
radiated
through the room. Burke was the first
to speak. “You said Ares, god of war
sent
you here?” Xena walked over to him and
made eye contact as she spoke. “I
angered
him and for revenge he sent my companion Gabrielle and myself far into the
future. He has done this before, although we have
never been this far in the future. We
must
get back. The centaurs are raising my son and I haven’t seen him in quite
sometime.” Gabrielle walked over to Galen. “Are you Ezura, god of harmony?”
Galen’s
eyes grew wide again. “My name is Galen
and I am a scholar.” Burke
continued
talking. “So you are not from this time either. Neither are we. My friend
here
and I crashed our spaceship. We are
also from the past but not quite as far back as
you two
ladies are. Unfortunately most of our
ship has been destroyed and humans are
considered
a threat to the apes. We have to run
and hide constantly.” Virdon added to
the
conversation. “ I have read about the
distant past, your time period in particular.
Gods
and centaurs are considered to be mythology, not true as I was taught in
school.”
Xena
faced him. “Sounds like you were taught
wrong.” Galen was finally beginning to
relax. “Why would you think I am some god?” Gabrielle smiled. “The Amazons intro-
duced
me to Ezura. He provides harmony in
music but has guided me with my story-
telling
occasionally. Very pleasant
monkey.” Galen was stunned but forced
his words.
“I am a
chimp……chimpanzee, not a monkey.” Xena
responded. “Ezura must be a
chimp,
you look similar to him. My friend here
is a bard, Ezura and her will tell stories
all
night long if you let them.” Joshua was
puzzled. “You worship a chimp god?” He
was
quickly educated by Gabrielle. “The
gods only take certain forms when they appear
to
us. Some take human form, others do
not. Ezura is special to me because he aids me
with my
storytelling.” All Burke, Virdon and
Galen could think of was how bizarre
things
had become.
Xena and Gabrielle were
given supper and they chatted with their hosts and
the
fugitives well into the night.
Gabrielle shared some of her stories with Galen, they
were
beginning to form a bond. Galen was amazed that Gabrielle worshipped a chimp
god. He could tell that this young woman from
another era was fond of the simian
entity
by the affection in her voice for him.
Virdon asked Xena if the two women
would
like to join them in the morning when they left. Xena stated that they might as
well go
with them. She didn’t know what to do
while they waited for Ares to calm
down
and return them to their own time.
The vigilante group of
gorillas were so shocked by the warrior princess that
they
were hesitant to tell anyone what happened.
The leader didn’t feel that way. He
announced
he was going directly to Urko. Then the
rest of the gorillas decided to tell
their
families and friends what happened only to be laughed at. It didn’t help that
they
had
been drinking before they returned to Joshua’s house. The tale evolved into a myth
about
this human female with extraordinary strength who protected humans from apes.
The
leader rode through the night to see General Urko. When he arrived at Urko’s
office
it took much convincing for the guards to let him in. When he finally was
allowed
into see Urko and begin his tale about the warrior princess, Urko had him
removed
from his office and threatened to put him in jail if he ever wasted his time
with
such nonsense again.
In the morning, Xena,
Gabrielle and the fugitives left Joshua’s house. They
felt
his family would be safer with them gone.
Xena rode her horse while the others
walked. Galen and Gabrielle conversed with each
other, exchanging stories and
adventures. Gabrielle explained who the centaurs are,
half-human, half-horse and how
the
Amazons made peace with them. The
traveling was leisurely and pleasant. Xena
and
Gabrielle would fish when they came upon a lake or pond to supplement the
vegetables
Joshua gave them for their journey. Burke, Virdon and Galen found
themselves
actually having a good time for a change.
In the late afternoon, they
approached
a village. Xena insisted on entering
the village out in the open while
the
others preferred to be more cautious and try to hide as they went in. Xena re-
fused. Galen and the others pleaded with her not
to. “Warriors do not hide. I pro-
tect
the innocent.” Xena proceeded to ride
into the village with Gabrielle following her
on
foot. Both apes and humans stood still
and stared at the women as they approached
a water
fountain. All eyes are on the two women
as they drank from the fountain. The
air is
thick with tension and the nearby humans fidget nervously, as if they don’t
know
what to
do.
A yell and then a scream radiate from Xena’s left. She turned quickly to see
a chimp
hitting a young human male around the age of fifteen. The chimp was furious.
“How
dare you insult me like that!” He threw
a punch in the boy’s face and he fell
backwards. As the boy looked up from the ground in a
daze, the chimp stood over him,
ready
to strike again, when he heard a voice.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”
The
chimp
turned around and then looked up. Xena
was much taller than him and her fists
were
ready for combat. The chimp was
surprised but he wasn’t going to back down.
“This
is none of your business! Get back to
your master!” Xena spoke again. “It is
not
nice to pick on children!” She then
kicked him in the face and he toppled over to
the
side. When he got up, she had one hand
around his neck and a knife pointed in his
face. The chimp
who couldn’t believe how strong
she was finally relented. “Okay, I’ll
leave the boy alone!” Xena let him go and the young human said thank you to her.
The chimp attempted to catch his breath and between gasps he
spoke. “Who are you?”
“I am Xena, warrior princess, defender of the innocent. Ares, god of war is angry with
me so
he sent my companion Gabrielle and I far into the future. When he calms down,
he’ll
bring us back.”
The chimp blinked his eyes to make sure he wasn’t
hallucinating. “You are the
strongest
human I’ve ever encountered.”
Gabrielle
walked over to him. “We have been
traveling for quite sometime and would
appreciate
some food for us and our companions.”
Virdon, Burke and Galen were hiding
behind
a horse drawn cart and were shaking their heads as if to say no. But Gabrielle
continued.
“We mean no harm and I can tell you a good story if you give us some
food.”
The chimp gave her a sharp stare. “I do not socialize with humans!
Keep going
through the village and you should come
across some farms on your way.” He
pointed
behind
him. “One of the human farmhouses can
feed you! But beware, apes rule! You will
not
last long, warrior princess!”
Xena smiled at him. “My
destiny is not in this world, so our journey will
be
brief.” She looked straight into his
eyes. “But remember you’ll pay for your
cruel
treatment
of humans in the afterlife.” The chimp
was shocked at her statement and he
watched
the two women walk away in the direction he pointed in. Xena whistled and her
horse
joined her. The three fugitives
followed the women but tried to remain hidden.
Most
apes who were around watched the two women until they were out of sight.
Urko sat at his desk when
one of his guards rushed in. He was in
a total
panic
and talked nervously. “General, you
have to listen to this! There’s this
female
human, she’s a giant. She calls herself some sort of
warrior.” Urko interrupted
him. “IS this that same fable that moron tried to
tell me the other day?”
“General, please this is serious. She’s strong, she’s beating up apes. My cousin just
saw her
in his village, she apprehended a chimp and tried to strangle him!”
Urko grunted. “A female
human! This is some sort of myth that
is being fabricated
because
everyone is so bored! That jerk the other
day said she defeated an entire gang of
gorillas! Absolutely preposterous! I’ll put her on my criminal list but she is
on the bottom.
If some
woman is going around beating up apes then we have a lot of apes who need
to get
into shape! Now get out of my office
before I throw you out!”
Xena and Gabrielle walked alongside
Xena’s horse. “Well, Gabrielle this is
certainly
a different world. I’m sure Ares is
getting his sweet revenge. Most of these
monkeys
don’t like humans.”
Gabrielle laughed. “They are called apes and there are
different kinds of them. Pete
described them to me. Most of the soldiers are gorillas and that
was a chimp…..like Galen,
that
you saved the boy from. There is
another kind Orang….”
Burke cut her off.
“Orangutans. The red apes are
orangutans. They seem to be
the
leaders of ape society.” The three
fugitives now joined the two women.
They were
getting
out of the village and it was safer with less apes around. Virdon also felt that
Xena
was drawing most of the attention which
was kind of nice for a change. He could
relax a
little.
Virdon started a conversation with Xena. “You don’t seem to be bothered
by the
apes dominion over humans.”
“This is not my time or world.
I do not change destiny and my destiny is not here.”
Galen was curious. “You
stated the god of war will return you to your time period. Is
there
much war in your world?”
Xena
picked up her pace and Galen ran to catch up.
“Yes, unfortunately selfish warlords,
greedy
people, vicious monsters and angry gods cause much havoc for centaurs, Amazons,
giants,
benevolent gods and many other beings we share this world with. Once I had an
army
and we attacked innocent villages. I
saw the error of my ways and now I protect those
who
need it. Those monkeys….ah apes who are
cruel to humans will experience the
wrath
of the gods and this world eventually will come to an end for those apes in
power.”
Xena
stated all this with confidence. Burke
and Virdon were too stunned to speak.
Silence hung in the air and then Gabrielle began talking. “When I started traveling
with
Xena, I never thought I would have so many adventures or even time travel so
far
into the future. Life has been very
interesting and I am glad I am sharing it with
Xena.”
Both Xena, Gabrielle and the
fugitives stopped suddenly. Galen
bumped into
Gabrielle
who held his arm. In a field off to
their right, about fifteen human males
surrounded
a frightened teenage girl. All of them
were angry at her and shouting at
her. “You’ll pay for this! That was our food, you gave it to the
apes! We’ll starve!”
They
moved closer to her and the men proceeded to grab her by the arms but it was
too
late.
“AaaaaaaaaaEeeeeeeee!”
Xena’s piercing yell stopped them in their tracks.
She
somersaulted through the air, landing in the middle of the men. The men all
rushed
towards her but by the time she finished kicking and punching, they were
all on
the ground unconscious. Gabrielle also
attacked several with her staff.
Burke whispered to Galen, “here we go again!” Galen rolled his eyes. Virdon rushed
Over to assist Xena but his help wasn’t
needed. The girl was shaken, she looked
up at Xena
in fear but was relieved when a gorilla
galloped up on horseback. The gorilla
jumped off
his
horse and the girl ran into his arms.
“Tasha, are you alright?
I was so worried about you!” The
gorilla hugged the girl and
he
seemed to be on the verge of tears. The
fugitives were surprised at this, it was a scene
they
never witnessed before, especially the two astronauts.
Xena walked over to the gorilla.
“These men were going to harm your girl.
I think
I may have stopped them.” Groans could
be heard all around.
The gorilla looked Xena up and down. He was her height. “I am
most grateful for your
help. Tasha is like a daughter to me. If anything happened to her……..” his voice
trailed
off.
Gabrielle requested food
and water. “Of course. Follow me to my village.
You can
dine and spend the night.”
The gorilla had gray in
his face and he kept one arm around Tasha. He
assisted
her up on the horse. The fugitives
remained silent but as usual Gabrielle was
talkative. “My name is Gabrielle, this is my friend
Xena and our friends here, Galen,
Pete
and Alan.”
“My name is Zeke and this is Tasha.” The gorilla was polite but not
overly
friendly. He seemed to be still shaken
at what might have happened. Burke and
Virdon
just kept glancing at each other in disbelief. Galen kept turning around to
look at
the
unconscious humans. “You’ll come dine
with us at my boss’ house. I am employed
by the
prefect of my village. I’m sure she’ll
be interested in meeting you.” Zeke
remained
silent for the rest of the journey to the village.
Burke
whispered to Galen. “Did he say “she”
in reference to the prefect?”
“Oh, there are female
prefects, but they are very rare.
Usually they replace their
husbands
or fathers who have passed on.
However, I am not aware of any female prefects
in this
area, so she is new to me.”
The distance to
the village was not long, about half an hour of
walking. Zeke motioned for everyone to follow him to
the prefect’s house which was
in the
center of the village. “Wait here until
I return for you.” Zeke and Tasha went
inside
while the others stood with the horses.
Burke mumbled something
about how strange things were lately while Xena started a
conversation
with Virdon. “Your wife is a lucky lady
to have you as a husband.” She stood
close
to him and Virdon took a step back. He
wasn’t fully comfortable with her.
“I miss my wife and son very much. I hope to see them again someday. Maybe Ares
could
send us back also, to our time.”
Xena became more serious.
“Ares is not someone you want to be involved with. You’ll
return
to your world somehow, you’ll figure out a way. Or maybe your destiny is in this
world.” She glanced at Galen. “You have a friend in this world to think
about now.”
Virdon’s
eyes focused on Galen. He knew what she
was saying was the truth. “Gabrielle
and I
are here not by choice. You said
you…crashed here in a ship and you chose to
explore
the heavens. Your situation is
different from ours.”
Virdon listened intently to Xena. “When I joined the space program I was well aware
of the
risks. But what has happened to Pete
and I, is beyond my wildest imagination.”
Xena smiled. “We have
something in common. I also never
imagined a world like
this.”
Zeke returned. “The prefect requests your presence in her
house.” The
humans
and Galen left the horses and followed Zeke.
The inside of the house was
beautiful,
flowers and potted plants, paintings on the walls, ceramic figurines on
shelves
and goldfish in bowls here and there.
They followed Zeke into a large dining-
room. A
golden retriever greeted them with wagging tail and then returned to a dog bed
in a
corner. The prefect, an orangutan stood
at the head of the table. Tasha sat to
her
right,
Zeke took his place to her left, a female chimp sat next to Zeke, a male human
about
twenty-five years old sat next to her.
Across from him was an elderly orangutan
and another gorilla sat next to Tasha. The prefect smiled and seemed happy to have
visitors. “You three I already know. General Urko came by about four months ago
to
warn me
about you. Be careful of two humans and
a renegade chimp!” Burke and
Virdon
were nervous and didn’t know whether to run or stay.
Virdon spoke to her. “We
mean no harm to anyone, we just hope to return home
someday.” The orangutan gave a laugh. “I have no interest in turning you in. In my village,
apes
and humans work together. We should be
moving forward and progressing with ideas
and
technology. I see no reason why apes and humans cannot do this together. Urko and his
kind
are backwards. Always living in fear.”
Xena spoke next. “You sound like a caring leader. When we return, we shall mention
you
frequently, as an example of what a leader should be.” Everyone listened attentively,
not
touching any food.
Zeke looked directly at Xena.
“Obviously both of you are not from this time period
either.”
Xena was quick to respond to him. “The god of war sent my friend and I here because
I
angered him.”
The prefect was amused. “Oh yes, only a female could anger the
gods.”
She
seemed to enjoy the conversation. “Zeke
tells me you saved our Tasha. I am
forever
grateful
to you. Zeke also described your fighting
skills, quite impressive. Dine with us
and
stay the night. I insist. And by the
way, my name is Antonia. Now let’s eat
every-
one,
I’m famished.”
The other gorilla gazed
over at the fugitives and Xena, put a mouthful of
bread
in and began speaking. “Outrunning Urko
is not easy. A long time ago I was one
of his
soldiers. He is persistent, I am
surprised he has not captured you. I
doubt he is
aware
of the female warriors or he may deny their existence. He can be very prejudiced.”
Burke slowly ate a salad.
“How come you left his army, may I ask?”
The gorilla was unfazed by the question. “It wasn’t for me. I am more academically
oriented. Here in Antonia’s village I own a bookstore
and tutor children with their
schoolwork.” Virdon and Burke found this
fascinating. It was rare they
encountered a
gorilla
not in the army.
The others ate their food as if they heard all this before. The prefect jumped right in.
“You’ll
find my village different from others. I
love diversity, makes life much more
interesting.”
Galen became interested in the conversation. “Did you replace your
husband
as prefect?”
Antonia seemed surprised by the question. “My late husband,
may the
lawgiver take care of his soul, was so drunk all the time he rarely got off
our
couch. A nice ape, just loved the
liquor. Husband number one convinced
the
high
council to appoint me, he owned most of the land and was quite a successful
farmer.”
Gabrielle listened
intently. “What happened to your first
husband?”
“He was much older than me and passed away at the age of
eighty-eight. But enough
about
me, I want to hear about you, all of you.”
The meal went on well into
the night. Xena and Gabrielle regaled
everyone
with their tales of the ancient world.
Gabrielle shared stories of how the
ancient
gods took part in their lives. Burke
and Virdon described their lives back
in the
twentieth century and how they believed that apes and humans could work
and
live together in peace. Galen remained
silent most of the evening. He enjoyed
listening
to his astronaut friends but he knew they were preaching to the converted,
by the
company at the table. He had heard
rumors of these rare villages were apes and
humans
created a community that functioned well but until now he really only thought
they
didn’t exist. Outward appearances
showed the apes in charge for those who wanted
humans
kept in slavery. It bothered him that
Xena remarked she would challenge Urko
if he
threatened her friends. He actually
felt sorry for Urko, he would bet his money on
Xena if
he were a betting ape.
Tasha escorted
everyone to the guest rooms which were comfortable
with
fancy quilts and pitchers of water on the nightstands. Xena, Gabrielle and the three
fugitives
had never slept in such comfortable surroundings.
Urko ate celery
while reviewing some documents. It was
getting late
and he
was still in his office. Exhaustion was
coming on as he yawned and groaned.
One of
his gorilla guards came into his office guiding a human male who was one of
Tasha’s attackers.
The human was so fearful of Urko he was shaking. “General, you
better
listen to this.”
Urko looked up in anger.
“This better be good. I am extremely tired at this hour.”
The human cast his eyes downward and tried to compose
himself. His face was
severely bruised and his voice reflected his
fear. “Thank you for seeing me,
General. With great respect…”
Urko cut him off. “Don’t waste my time human! What is
your point!”
“I……I thought you should know about this woman….”
Urko cut him off again.
He rolled his eyes. “Not that
warrior woman from some
ancient
world.”
The human forced himself to talk. “She attacked a big group of us, easily and quickly,
by
herself. And then this young blonde
girl with a spear joined her and also attacked us.”
The guard assisted him with the story. “Several soldiers found the humans lying on the
ground,
most of them unconscious and badly beaten.”
Urko was in no mood for this and he was getting more annoyed by
this ongoing tale of
a warrior woman. “I am getting sick and tired of hearing about this warrior woman
and she
can
beat up all the humans she wants. I
don’t really care.”
The human’s eyes met Urko’s.
“There were two men and a chimp
with her also. They
didn’t
fight, they just watched.”
Now he had Urko’s full
attention. “Two humans and a
chimp?” “Yes, one had blonde
hair,
the other had dark hair. General, this
female is strong and I have never seen her kind
of
fighting before. I have been beat up by
a few apes in my time and she was stronger than
an
ape. She also moves very fast.” Urko was shocked. Now the tale of the warrior woman
had
another component to it. It was
difficult to picture the three fugitives with her. They
attempted
to hide but this female human appeared to be a bold individual always out
in the
open. He still didn’t fully believe
this story but he was stuck now. He had to
investigate
it, even if it was a hoax.
He pointed a finger at the human male. “If this is a joke, you will not live. If this is
true,
you did the right thing and I will see that you are rewarded. Take him and put
him in a
cell. Where is this gang now?”
The guard was quick to respond.
“They were last seen heading for Antonia’s
village.”
Urko rolled his eyes
again. “Wonderful, I get to put up with
that female
orangutan. This is not good. We get started at sunrise.”
He grunted and sighed while
getting
up from his desk. As tired as he was,
sleep would not come easy that night.
Everyone had a restful
sleep and got up at different times.
The young male
human
was the household cook and he prepared omelets when anyone arrived at the
kitchen. The food was gratefully received and then
coffee was served. The fugitives
were
enjoying the breakfast, it was a meal they rarely ate on the run. The prefect had
risen
before dawn to begin her rounds, checking in on businesses and farms. She would
be
occupied most of the morning. Burke,
Virdon and Galen wished they could stay at
this
village longer but they knew they had to keep going. Urko would catch up with
them. Xena and Gabrielle were adamant about
hanging around for awhile. The three
fugitives
tried to convince them otherwise, with no success.
Xena smiled at Galen. “I don’t run, I fight when necessary.”
Gabrielle joined in.
“Besides, we don’t feel right just running off after such wonderful
hospitality.” Virdon and Burke gave each other a
disheartening glance. It was
no use
trying to convince the women of the danger they faced. Underneath it all,
Virdon
was envious of Xena’s courage. She was
a soldier and he wished he could stop
running. But he reminded himself of Xena’s strength
and fighting skills. Hand to
hand
combat was her expertise and she demonstrated it well. Even though he didn’t
really
believe the story about the god of war, he knew the two women would return
eventually
to wherever they came from. And he would miss them both.
Urko started out early like he
planned. Still disbelieving the female
warrior
story,
he was grouchier than usual from lack of sleep and he rode at an unusually
fast
pace. He only brought six soldiers with
him because of his disbelief in the human’s
tale,
he felt he wouldn’t need more. Dealing
with the prefect was also something he
hoped
to avoid. Catching the three fugitives
was the number one priority.
Antonia chatted away with
Galen. She explained how her village
operated
with
several farms, retail businesses, a hospital, and two schools. Urko and his army
usually
left her alone. The hospital had a
reputation for being the best around and even
Urko
had been a patient there on more than one occasion. Outwardly humans appeared
to have
the status they did everywhere, either as slaves of lower class citizens. But most
humans
lived with apes as if they were part of the family. The existence for humans
was
comfortable
and pleasant. Galen was offered a
teaching position in one of the schools
but he
grudgingly turned it down. Being a
fugitive he had to keep moving. Antonia
offered
Virdon and Burke a place to stay and work.
It was so tempting to not run
anymore. Virdon stated to Antonia that if it was
possible to hide here, he would.
Urko
just wouldn’t give up the chase.
Antonia persisted in convincing the fugitives
to stay
even if only for a short time. She wanted
to show everyone a prosperous
vegetable
garden that fed the village year round.
Xena, Gabrielle and Antonia rode
out to the garden which was outside of the
village. Burke, Virdon and Galen joined them a short
time later because they preferred
to hide
behind some trees nearby in some woods.
Adjacent to the garden was a field in
which
the women and Antonia began chatting away.
Off in the distance Urko rode up
with
his soldiers but motioned for them to stop when he saw the three females. He
couldn’t
believe his eyes, it was true. Xena was
on her white horse talking to Antonia.
Gabrielle
walked around with her staff in her hand.
Urko took in the scene, still shocked from what he saw. He spoke to his lieutenant.
“So the
tale is true. That female couldn’t be
from our world or the astronaut’s time.
I’ve
never
seen a human female in that type of clothing.”
The lieutenant was just
as surprised as Urko. “She has weapons, she’s obviously a
warrior.” Urko continued to motion everyone to stay
back.
Xena and
Gabrielle were laughing. They were
telling stories of all the
times
the goddess Aphrodite got them into trouble.
Antonia got even more hysterical
after
Xena told her about the time she was in a beauty contest and a man won. The three
females
were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t see the group of human
males
surround them. They were the same group
who attacked Tasha.
The leader spoke. “You
didn’t think you would get away with attacking us, did you?”
Gabrielle grew
angry. “You were going to kill
that girl!”
“That is none of your business, Blondie!”
“Her name is Gabrielle and you are on my land!” Antonia was firm. “No disrespect
prefect
but that girl……”
She cut him off. “That
girl is a member of my household and you will leave her alone!”
The human bowed his head
in shame. “I am sorry, Prefect. I
wasn’t aware of that.”
He
motioned for the others to leave and they all walked off.
Urko and his soldiers watched with interest, they couldn’t hear
what was being said
But
Urko knew that Antonia worked like this, diffusing possible violent situations.
The human males had only been gone a
few minutes when the vigilante
gorillas
arrived and they didn’t care if Antonia was prefect or not. They planned on
turning
the women in, hoping for a reward.
Having bruised egos, they also hoped to
restore
their dignity. Many apes laughed at the
tale of the group of gorillas being de-
feated
by two human females. Payback
time. Urko watched in amazement as the
two
women
rendered half the gorillas unconscious while the other half ran away. Xena
began
with a somersault through the air and Gabrielle started attacking the gorillas
with
her
staff. Antonia kicked one in the face
and he was knocked out. Urko had enough
and
rode
out to the three females.
Antonia greeted him enthusiastically. “General, what a
pleasure! So nice to see you.
Let me
introduce you to my new friends. Urko,
this is Gabrielle, who is a bard. That is a
person
who is skilled at storytelling.”
Gabrielle smiled at Urko who quickly looked away from her. “This is not a social visit,
Antonia! I wish you would stay out of trouble and
stop harboring fugitives!”
Antonia
was still smiling. “Oh, Urko stop being
so belligerent! There are no fugitives
in my
village. I can decree that!” Urko was angry and nervous at the same
time. His soldiers were
a few feet behind him. They didn’t relish the thought of fighting
the two women. Urko also
wanted
to avoid a physical confrontation.
After seeing what Xena did to the gorillas, he
didn’t
want to be humiliated, especially in front of Antonia. He knew he would be
thrown
out of the army. Momentarily, he forgot
about the three fugitives.
Xena rode over to him and
looked him straight in the eyes. “So
you’re the
famous
General Urko. I’ve heard so much about
you. A brave warrior I have been
told.” Urko listened to her. Right now he didn’t
know what else to do.
He felt speechless but
after a few seconds he gave a grunt and spoke again. “And
I’ve
heard about you! Quite a female.
Battling apes and humans I hear.”
Xena became stern. “I
only protect the innocent. Evil is to
be defeated, whether ape
or human.”
She then softened her demeanor.
“And what about you, Urko? Are
you a
good
leader? Do you defend the
innocent?” The gorilla general hated
this questioning
from
the warrior princess but he didn’t want to argue with her either. He had argued
with
Antonia enough times in the past to realize it wasn’t worth the effort.
He decided to change the
subject. “Turn over the two humans and
the chimp Galen to
me. I’ll let you go.”
Gabrielle intervened. “No
way! They are our friends.!” Antonia watched and
listened. She forced herself not to grin.
“Those fugitives are a threat to ape civilization. They must be stopped!” Urko was
becoming impatient.
Xena responded to him.
“You live in fear, Urko. And
fear will be your downfall. Let
Galen,
Alan and Pete live in peace. They mean
no harm to you.” Urko wanted to hit
Xena
but he
kept himself under control. He still
didn’t want to battle Xena. “From what
I can see,
General,
it is the will of the gods that the time for monkeys…..ah apes to rule is
now. Use
your
destiny wisely and improve your world.
Include humans as well as apes.
For if you do
not,
the after-life will be harsh for you.”
Urko’s eyes widened and one of his soldiers came
forward. The soldier was very interested in what Xena
was saying.
“What authority do you have to speak of the after-life?”
“I have been there. Paradise is for those who treat others
well. You may rule humans
now but
with power comes responsibility. Treat
your charges well and I look forward to
meeting you again someday.” Now Urko was really uncomfortable. He
didn’t believe this
woman
existed until he saw her with his own eyes and she was warning him about the
after-
life.
His lieutenant shocked him even more. “I was going to wait to tell you this, General. I
quit.
Or rather I think I can retire. It seems like I have been a soldier
forever.”
Urko gave him a sharp
look. “This is not an appropriate time
to discuss this!”
“Oh, let’s discuss this now.
You never have time for anyone.
Now is fine. I always
knew
killing humans was wrong but I never questioned why. I always followed orders, it
was my
job. She’s right about the afterlife, I
am amending any wrong I ever did to anyone,
ape or
human. Unfortunately, I’ll have to
start with my mother-in-law.”
Urko fidgeted on his horse trying to
figure out how to get out of this
situation. All the discussion allowed him to look Xena
over even more. He hated to
admit
he found her fascinating. The metal
contraption around her clothing, her chakra,
her
whole demeanor, intrigued him. It was
an uncomfortable thought for him.
Orange lightning flashed across the
sky and Ares appeared with a smile
on his
face. The gorillas, Antonia, Xena,
Gabrielle and the three fugitives who were
hiding
all jumped. Shock could been seen on
both simian and human faces. “My, my
Xena. Looks like I failed again.” He walked over to Xena and the
gorillas. “I thought
for
sure you and your irritating friend here would be in a cage eating
bananas. My offer
still
stands, Xena.” His voice softened. “Be my queen. Walk at my side. We could
do
so much
together.”
Another gorilla soldier spoke.
He couldn’t help himself. “You
want
her for
a mate?” All eyes were now on him. Ares was fuming. He raised his arm to
strike
the gorilla down but Gabrielle ran in front of him.
“No Ares, don’t! You’re not being fair. This is not our world. We are very strange to
them.
They have done nothing to offend you.”
Ares still had his arms raised.
“The god of war does not take insults from
giant
monkeys.”
Xena intervened. “We’ll
talk about this in our own time.” She
turned and faced Urko.
“I’m glad I met you. I hope life treats you well.” She rode over to Antonia. “I will be
forever
grateful to you for taking care of us.
Please tell our friends good-bye
and we’ll think
of them
often.” Antonia gave a nod. Xena returned to Ares. “Please send us back. We can
discuss
this further in our world.” Ares
flashed a bolt of yellow lightning and the women and
himself
were gone. Silence hung in the air for
a minute or two as everyone surveyed the field
in
disbelief.
Antonia rode over to Urko. “You should have taken the time to get to
know the women,
General. They came from the ancient world and their
tales are fascinating. And I think Xena
likes
you.” Urko felt himself relaxing with
the women and Ares gone. Seeing a god
in
human
form baffled him. It was all too much,
he just wanted to leave. “Antonia, any
fugitives
in your village, hide them well. Maybe
I won’t see them.”
“Certainly, General.”
Next he faced his soldiers.
“We are going back to headquarters where we will discuss
what
happened here privately. No one is to
speak of this without my permission.
And
Lieutenant,
that human who gave us the information, give him some food and let him
go.”
He then
faced Antonia. “I’m sure we’ll
meet again” he remarked
grudgingly.
“My pleasure, General.
But let’s do dinner next time.” Urko and his soldiers rode off.
Antonia began riding back to her house when Burke, Virdon and
Galen
ran out
from the woods to talk to her. They
witnessed everything that took place and
they
also heard everything. Burke caught his
breath. “Did I hear Urko correctly?”
Antonia grinned. “You
certainly did. Urko doesn’t know what
to make of the warrior
princess. Urko is religious, you know. The after-life is an important subject for
him. I
would
say for the time being you three are safe in my village. Urko and I have always
had an
unspoken agreement. Due to the
countless times I have aided him in the past
with
various problems, he doesn’t go against me.
My hospital has provided medical
care
for his army on more than one occasion and I’ve lost track of how many times I
have
provided food and supplies for him. I
would say you are safe in my village, for
now. Our working relationship is long and
extensive. It is not in his best
interest to
capture
you here. My village could be your
future home. Think about it.” The three
fugitives
began to talk among themselves. Antonia
who had started riding back to her
house
heard her name being called.
“Prefect!” Virdon was running towards her. “We need a place to stay and we want to
work.”
Antonia smiled. “Dinner
at seven sharp. We can discuss it
then. You can spend the
night
again at my house. She gave a laugh and
then galloped off. The three fugitives
watched
her and then walked back to the village.
END