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Journey's End

Page 27

by LJ Maas


  “What did he do?” I asked in a low voice, my teeth clenched together, trying to control myself.

  “He was the one,” Gabrielle seemed as if she were trying to explain, but couldn’t put the thoughts together in an understandable way. “Xena, he was the one who kidnapped the girls from my village outside of Poteidaia. He took us and sold us in Amphipolis the next day.”

  Gabrielle’s tears overflowed and streamed down her lightly freckled cheeks. I looked up and every man in the room simply stood there with an open mouth. I’d never asked Gabrielle how she came to be a slave. I’d asked her how long she served and where she was from, and a hundred other questions, but I never thought to ask her that one. There were only three legal ways to become a slave in my realm. You could be destined for a life of servitude if you were captured as part of the spoils of war, if you had debts you couldn’t pay, or if you sold yourself into the position. On the very borderline of the law were the people who would sell their own children as slaves, in my opinion, the worst kind of humanity. I’d outlawed illegal slave traders, but old habits were hard to break for some. My prisons were full of men arrested for the same crimes Kassandros and his bunch committed. All these thoughts went through my head, but I found myself unable to speak.

  “Then, you’re not a slave?” Antillius commented on the obvious.

  “She’s never been a slave,” I said, as if to convince myself as well. I stared straight into those sad green eyes. “Gabrielle, why didn’t you ever tell anyone?”

  “I tried, at first,” her tears spilled harder as she related the memory. “I was beaten for trying to tell people, I was so young and the men had ways of making you... ” she visibly shuddered and I pulled her against my chest, stroking her hair as she spoke. “... They made it so you didn’t tell anymore.”

  I admit to feeling so many emotions at once, I couldn’t rest on just one alone. It came upon me in a swirling rush, the notion that this was my past come to haunt me. All the old nightmares, the sleepless nights, the people who came in and out of my life, for a good many seasons, I tortured myself for my past. When I wanted to try to begin to atone for the slightest bit of my past crimes, I found it hard to know where to start. I had no focus or goal, but that was different now.

  Gabrielle sat before me as a living memory of my past. I’d not caused all the ills of the world, but I certainly didn’t do much as ruler of Greece to combat the evil and cruelty that existed here. I had the power to do so much good and I thoughtlessly squandered it all. Now I had a goal and even though it may appear small to some, I knew it was a start. I would work the rest of my life to repair the destruction of Gabrielle’s young life. There would be no amount of love too great to give, no time too much to spend with her. I only prayed to Athena that it would be enough. In my heart, I knew it wouldn’t come close, but I would try all the same.

  “Gabrielle... why didn’t you ever try to tell me?” I asked.

  The small blonde looked up at me. Wiping her eyes, she then looked at the open mouthed men standing around her. “Because I was a slave,” she said.

  My lover used those very words once before and they made just as big of an impact on me as they did now. In a world where one person could own another, where one human being’s life was thought to be worth so much less simply because of the direction the fates spun their life thread, Gabrielle’s words completed the picture. Injustice and inhumanity allowed to flourish, for one simple reason; slavery. It brought about an even greater commitment to the event I would make happen on this day.

  “Then we won’t need the proclamation... Gabrielle is a free woman, right?” Antillius said enthusiastically.

  Atrius and I looked at one another, knowing it was never that easy.

  “Gabrielle,” Atrius acknowledged her for the first time. “Where did this happen?”

  “My father had a farm quite a distance from Poteidaia. I was very young, but I remember that it used to take a full day to get to the harbor in Poteidaia.” Gabrielle answered.

  “This farm... would your parents still be living?” Atrius asked again.

  I saw where he was headed, but Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve never been able to get back to the Macedon area to find out.” She replied tearfully. “I was bought in Abdera by Persian traders and it was another three seasons before I was sold to a Greek Master.”

  It suddenly became clear why Gabrielle was so well educated for a slave. Being sent to Persia as a slave had its advantages and its horrors. The unfortunate aspect for a ten-year-old girl was that of the Persians propensity for children as sex slaves. The odd part was that they neither beat nor berated the slaves, but taught through kindness and gifts, an odd form of abuse. They also believed in educating slave children right alongside the nobleman’s children. Boys and girls all learned to read, write, and play an instrument, usually the lyre. It was good fortune for Gabrielle, that once a girl reaches the age of twelve, she must be Persian born to share a citizen’s bed. Gabrielle was probably sold to a Greek buyer, bringing her back to her homeland, for that very reason.

  “Gabrielle, it’s only that... well not that any of us don’t believe you, of course we do, love,” I said, kissing her forehead, “but the court would have to have proof that you were born a free woman, your parents word, or a midwife present at your birth.”

  “I understand. I’m sorry I interrupted the proceedings, My Lord,” Gabrielle answered and I grinned at her ever so slightly. All that she suffered through and she was still trying to present the proper amount of decorum in front of the other men present in the room.

  “This isn’t over yet,” I stood up and ran my hands through my hair.

  Something was nagging at me about all of this. Gabrielle’s story rang true for more reasons than because she was my lover, and I wanted it to be true. My mind sped through the many conversations Gabrielle and I had over the last few moons. Ten... the number ten stuck in my brain.

  “Gabrielle, you were kidnapped when you were ten summers old?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she responded slowly. “That was ten, almost eleven, seasons ago.”

  I turned to Atrius and Antillius. “When I spoke with my chief builder, Sagoris, that day I told him to tear down the hired servants housing and rebuild, he said something interesting. He explained that Demetri was in charge of building the shacks we’re left with now. At the time, I simply assumed Demetri purchased inferior supplies and pocketed the money. Now I know where that money went. Sagoris said that all this happened about ten seasons ago.”

  “So, you think Demetri provided the funds for Kassandros’ illegal slave trade.” Atrius caught on.

  “It makes more than perfect sense when you look at it.” I began my customary pacing as I spoke. “Ten seasons ago Demetri stole enough money from the palace coffers to fund such an operation. Ten seasons ago Kassandros was made a Governor of Macedon. Ten seasons ago Gabrielle was abducted in the same manner as the girls we so recently rescued from Callius’ clutches.”

  “It does seem more than enough to be presented as a case for dismissal,” Antillius offered.

  “But, where is your proof?” I hadn’t even noticed Terillus come into the room. The older man folded his arms across his chest.

  “Terillus is right. It’s all conjecture unless we have testimony, someone who knew or saw something.” I agreed sadly.

  “He would know.” Gabrielle’s voice came from the couch she still sat upon.

  We’d all but forgotten the young woman was still there and all of us turned at once.

  “You mean Kassandros?” I asked her and she nodded her head.

  “Gabrielle, he a man condemned to die, he would spit in our faces rather than give information that would help your cause.” Atrius responded.

  “Not necessarily.” I added. “I might be able to make him a deal. Atrius, can you have a couple of guards bring him in here?”

  “Aye, Lord Conqueror.” He replied and left the room.

  I pulled
Gabrielle to one side and spoke softly. “Gabrielle, you may not want to be in the same room with him.”

  “Please, Xena, don’t do what I think you might do... not just for me.” Gabrielle responded. “I can tell by that look in your eye. These men deserve to die for their crimes. Think of all the woman like me, the girls like the ones you saved on the ship that day. Don’t allow this man leniency simply for me. I wouldn’t want that.”

  I pressed my fingers to her lips to quiet and reassure her. “There is no fear that I will not see that these men are punished accordingly, Gabrielle. They will wish for death before their punishment is through. Trust me?” I whispered at last.

  She looked up at me, nodding and mustering a tiny smile for my benefit, the expression on her face, the look in her eye, spoke of an all-embracing and utter trust. I knew what it would come across resembling, but I simply didn’t care. I reached down and kissed her lips lightly.

  “I won’t let you down.” I whispered.

  * * *

  “Kassandros,” I stood in front of the chained man, “I need information from you.” I said simply.

  “I’ll suffer in Tartarus first!” he growled.

  “I can arrange that.” I hissed. “Do you remember Antipater? Remember how your father died?”

  I moved closer to him until I was practically whispering in his ear. I could see that he blanched a little at the memory. I’d had the General and all his officers disemboweled while they still breathed. Sometimes I still heard those screams in my nightmares.

  “What do I get in return?” he asked, knowing that I would offer a reward of sorts.

  “Your life.” I answered.

  I had to admit, I was proud of Gabrielle. When I asked her to trust me, I was asking for a great deal. I could see her in the corner of the room, her hands formed into small fists.

  “You’ll be put into a prison for the rest of your life. Your alternative is death, and I won’t make it a pleasant way to die, trust me.” I raised an eyebrow for effect.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked gruffly.

  “When you started the kidnappings, where did you begin?”

  “Hades, it was seasons ago!”

  “Where did you get the money to hire men, then?” I asked.

  “Demetri sent silver. He started the whole thing off.”

  “Think hard, Kassandros, your life depends on it... literally. Where did you begin?”

  “Ah, it’s no big a mystery. We started in Macedon, the Chalcidicē region. In those days, I’d hire some men and do the job myself. We started there; the little farm villages usually had plenty of girls to grab. We raided the outskirts where we could get whole villages sometimes. Adult males sold good for heavy labor, women, and brats for domestic stuff. The really pretty girls all went for pleasure.”

  “Do you remember where exactly?” I asked between clenched teeth. It was only my promise to Gabrielle that kept me from splitting his skull.

  “Course. Poteidaia, Amphipolis, but then it got so’s you couldn’t sell them there... once you and your laws came around,” he added snidely. “We started sending them to Abdera, that way they could be shipped straight to Persia.”

  I listened to his tale and realized that I’d done precious little over the seasons to combat the illegal trade in slaves. Amphipolis, Poteidaia, and Abdera, were all well-known ports of trade for slaves. Abdera got away with the most, I guessed, simply because they had a daily auction block for slaves, legally taken as war captives in neighboring Thracian tribal wars. Their proximity to Persia meant that a good deal of the slaves went there.

  “Where else did you send them to be sold?”

  “Hades, all over! Most went to the big slave markets in Ephesus and Chios, then on to Corinth and Athens. Some went to Delos, but not usually ours.” He finally finished, as calmly as if he were telling us there would be rain tomorrow.

  Delos would be the hardest port to shut down. Only recently, it became the notorious center of the Greek slave trade, legal and otherwise. I remembered the beautiful island well from the last time I was there. Funny thinking this now, but I got a notion in my head, that Gabrielle would probably enjoy the spectacular lake, inhabited by thousands of eye-catching swans. I would love to see the look on her face when she saw the breathtaking Lion’s Terrace, built in my honor. The carved marble lions were indeed a remarkable sight.

  I finally shook my head to bring me out of my thoughts and into the situation before me.

  “Well, gentleman?” I looked at Antillius and Terillus, who nodded their heads.

  “I will speak to the other advisors on the Lady Gabrielle’s behalf, Lord Conqueror.” Terillus spoke up.

  I motioned with my hand and the guards stepped forward to bring Kassandros back out to the Great Hall.

  “Don’t forget what you promised, Conqueror!” The prisoner shouted back at me.

  I stood there watching Gabrielle’s eyes follow the man from the room; a haunted look of pain and a life lost burning in those emerald orbs.

  “Oh, I won’t forget,” I muttered under my breath.

  * * *

  I left the room to speak with Antillius and Terillus, along with my four other advisors. I wanted to handle things in the right order to prevent any chaos that might come of the situation. First things first and I had a verdict to pronounce.

  Once again, the men were brought before me, Gabrielle too, seated by my side.

  “Lord Terillus, will you announce your verdict to the court?” I directed the older man.

  “Yes, Lord Conqueror.” Terillus opened a scroll and read the short, but predictable message. “In the court of her Royal Highness, the Lord Conqueror of the Greek Empire, we six advisors to the palace have conferred and found each of the accused guilty of the crime of illegal slave activity.”

  Terillus then turned to me and bowed slightly before returning to his seat.

  “So be it,” I said, sealing the fate of the silent men before me. “You will be brought before the court this afternoon for your sentencing. I recommend you say a few words to Hades.” I smirked, as they were lead away.

  Once they were gone from the Hall, I nodded to Antillius. The young man cleared his throat and opened the first scroll. I held my breath without realizing it, anxious to see the look on Gabrielle’s face. I don’t know why, but the usual preamble always caused me to want to roll my eyes.

  “By order of her Royal Highness, the Lord Conqueror of the Greek Empire, the proclamation to free the slave known as Gabrielle is immediately rescinded.”

  If Gabrielle’s eyes had been brands of fire, I would have been seared through. She looked at me with a combination of anger and incomprehension.

  “Antillius!” I called out sharply, interrupting the young man. I crooked a finger when he looked up and he walked close to my chair, so close that I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down to ear level.

  “Antillius, do you see the look on Gabrielle’s face?” I asked. I didn’t have to glance again; I knew what she looked like.

  The young man nodded nervously once he saw the death wish written in my lover’s eyes.

  “Do you know what happens if Gabrielle gets mad at me?”

  Antillius gave a red-faced grin. “May I hazard a guess and say I would get beat up or something like that?”

  “You’re such a bright boy, Antillius.” I grinned right back at him. “Why don’t we read those proclamations in a different order? Hhmm?”

  “Of course, Lord Conqueror.” He answered.

  “Um... by proclamation of the--”

  “Antillius, just get on with it!” my patience was sadly at an end.

  “Yes, Lord Conqueror. After conference among the Conqueror’s palace advisors and satisfying testimony, the advisors have reached an understanding; the slave known only as Gabrielle will no longer be known as a former slave. Due to kidnapping and illegal slave trade, the lady Gabrielle is not now, nor has she ever been a slave. She is a free woman born and raised
until the kidnapping ten seasons ago. According to law, the Lady Gabrielle will present herself to this court seven days hence, for the official decree.”

  I looked over to find Gabrielle smiling proudly. We left the Great Hall for a break until the afternoon session, where I would be expected to pronounce sentence. I needed to be somewhere quiet for a bit. I wanted Gabrielle with me, so I asked one of the kitchen maids to prepare a light lunch for us to take into the gardens. I took Gabrielle’s hand as we left the Great Hall, she with tears in her eyes that, for the first time in a long time, meant pure joy and happiness, and I with a smile that was so uncharacteristic, I saw a few old women laugh at my lovesick expression.

  * * *

  The girl amazed me as I watched her eat the last half dozen figs, followed by one more, thick slice of manoúri, a sweet cheese.

  “You sure you’re not eating for two already?” I teased.

  “Not yet, but look out when I do.” She smiled over at me and we both enjoyed the relaxed laughter that followed.

  “It feels so different being with you now, Xena,” she commented.

  “I’m sure I’m much changed, love, but I think it is mostly because of the changes in you.”

  “Me?” she answered, the tone sounding as if she believed that to be highly unlikely.

  “Yes, you,” I reached over and touched my index finger to the tip of her nose. “I’ve watched you, Gabrielle, occasionally when you think I’m not,” I smiled. “I remember the girl who stood before me with a dirty face and bare feet, not even able to look me in the eye. She was so terrified of the thought of spending one night in the Conqueror’s bed, that she tried to hide herself from my eyes.”

  “I looked so pathetic then... I hadn’t had a bath in days and days,” Gabrielle said self-consciously.

  “I think I started to fall in love with you on that very day, at that very minute,” I answered her, and she blushed deeply, bowing her head.

  “I’ve never heard you talk like this,” she responded, unable or unwilling to raise her head and meet my eyes.

 

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