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ForevaXena's FanFic . . . Promise
Legal
disclaimer: Xena & Gabrielle are the property of Ren Pics and
MCA/Universal. The following story serves as a writing exercise and no more.
I do not make any profit from it and
it is to be used for amatueur fan fiction purposes only. TIME FRAME: Shortly
after "Motherhood" GABRIELLE GABRIELLE (cocks head) The bard blinks. What’s the matter, Mom? Your life isn’t like the fairy tales you tell? GABRIELLE What’s on your mind, Eve? EVE (bites lip) Nothing. GABRIELLE Something. EVE I keep thinking about (sigh) I look at what I was. And I look at myself now. I’m not the same. (frustrated tears) How could anyone ever want me? How could anyone ever love me again? GABRIELLE (puts arm around Eve’s shoulder) It’s going to be rough, Eve. This is just the beginning. EVE But I had Augustus. I had Ares. For better or worse I had them both. I was wanted, loved, desired. I had all the power and riches in Rome. Look at me! Look at what I’m wearing. Look at what I am now! Nothing. I can’t use a sword. GABRIELLE Eve. EVE I can’t even pick up a weapon. It’s all like poison in my hands. It’s what I do. It’s what I was. It's who I was. GABRIELLE (shakes head) You’re in a transition. EVE Everything I had before is gone. I don’t know who I am or what I am. I’m never going to be me again. I’m never going to feel wanted again. GABRIELLE Being loved and desired as a woman isn’t all about wealth. You’re beautiful. It radiates from the inside and the outside. EVE (chokes and wipes tears) You’re biased. No one’s going to pay attention to me. Not anymore. GABRIELLE The hell I am. You’re a pretty girl. I know what I’m looking at. EVE But you’re my mother. Of course you’re going to say that. GABRIELLE You know where you have some experience? Here’s where I have my experience. I think I know a thing or two about love. EVE What would you know about being here? Look at you. Everything worked out for you. You and Mother are the perfect couple. Perfect love. Everyone wants to be with you, both of you. They respect you, admire you. Where do I fit in? What am I in this world? A baby, a tagalong, a childish nothing. GABRIELLE Yeah, I know the feeling. EVE But you found yourself. Came into your own. GABRIELLE It took a long time. EVE You had a lover there to support you. GABRIELLE (smoothes hair) I tell a good fairy tale, don’t I? EVE So tell me the truth. Please tell me the truth. GABRIELLE I always tell you the truth. The truth about what? EVE Spare me the fairy tales. You know what I'm talking about. About you, about Mother. GABRIELLE Sure you want to go there? EVE I need to know. She’s never going to be honest with me. She puts honey on everything. GABRIELLE You're her little girl. EVE I'm as much a murderer as she is. Some how, some way, in all that violence she found love. I have to know that even for someone like me, it’s there. You found each other. How? GABRIELLE An accident. A circumstance. I wouldn’t call having your village destroyed a great way to meet people. EVE No, I suppose not. GABRIELLE The truth. (pause) The truth. She was terrifying. The warlord of warlords. I wanted out of that village. I took my chances. EVE You aligned yourself with her. GABRIELLE (shouts) I threw myself at her! I was a stupid kid. She could have killed me. EVE But she didn’t. GABRIELLE I have a smart mouth. EVE (nods) Smart is useful. GABRIELLE What would you have done? EVE Now it’s you who won’t want to go there. GABRIELLE ha. EVE Me? With a girl like that. There’s no telling. I might have killed her. I might have… (Long pause) GABRIELLE (chokes up) The truth… She… EVE (studies Gabrielle’s expression) I know. GABRIELLE (whispers) I was so scared. EVE Why did you stay? GABRIELLE I wanted to run. She’d get that look in her eye and… EVE Why did you stay? GABRIELLE (head in hands) Stay. I needed to stay. It’s so important for both of us. She would take me spiraling downward into her darkness. As strong as it is. I knew I could beat it. I knew I was stronger. EVE You didn’t answer my question. GABRIELLE I liked it. I like it. I don’t know why my body responds. EVE Not the girl in your fairy tales, are you? GABRIELLE The mind and the body are two different things, Eve. The Way is the only thing I have to mentally hang onto. With Xena I never know what’s going to happen. Every time I pray, I keep myself afloat. EVE On a sea of seething contempt and rage. Xena’s sea. GABRIELLE How delicious it would be to drown. With her, so many times I’ve wanted to. EVE (deep breath) So that’s our appeal. Mother and I. The mystery. The passion. The fire. GABRIELLE Greek Fire. EVE But this irony might destroy me. The darkness is eating me alive. How can I project that fire as an advocate of peace? GABRIELLE Dressed in rags and without a dinar. I believe you can. EVE And is there someone out there for me? GABRIELLE There is. EVE And now? How about you? How is she with you now? GABRIELLE Different. (looks down) She hit me once. Never again. EVE And the rest of the time? GABRIELLE We worked it out. We know what we’re doing. We learned when to stop. That’s our perfect love. That’s our promise of trust. EVE I promise if there’s someone like you, I’ll try to be kind. GABRIELLE Then you’ll be a hero and you won’t need fairy tales. EVE Will you help me? Will you teach me? GABRIELLE I will help you teach yourself. END OF SCENE
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