ForevaXena's FanFic . . .

Fragile Innocence

by Gabby Bard

Disclaimer: Xena, Gabrielle, Ephiny, Solari, and Argo are property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance. I in no way intend to infringe on their copyright.  All other characters in the story are my own creation. Also, the poem "Fragile Innocence" is mine. If you'd like to use it, please ask me first.

Thank yous: First of all, thank you to Cindy for putting my story on your awesome site. You're terrific! :) R.G. Heller <g>, for editing, reviewing, and commenting on my story. You've been a greater help than you realize and I'm so very grateful. And for making me laugh with your stories and humor that always relates to something in my day. Also, of course to Scarlet...there's no place to begin so I'll just say, thank you.

EPILOGUE

            Although it took some time, Rhiannon adjusted to her role as daughter in her new family. Naarah and Ethan were kind and loving, and as soon as she realized that Ethan was truly not a threat, she became very close to both of them. Still, her favorite time of the year was the annual trip Xena and Gabrielle made to their home in Delphi.

            They always stayed a fortnight (for any longer would make goodbyes all the more painful) bringing with them small gifts, exciting stories, but most of all their love. It was always the quickest two weeks of the year.

            The tradition continued for the next nine years until a few weeks after Rhiannon's seventeenth birthday. The duo was late in coming and it worried her. What could have happened? she frequently thought.

            A month after she began to worry about her friends, she got an unexpected visitor. She was outside grooming Freedom when a very familiar figure on a horse rode toward her.

            Stopping a few feet from the girl, the woman lifted her tribal mask and began to speak. "Are you Rhiannon?"

            "Yes..." she replied cautiously and set the horse's brush down. Who was this woman? She looked so very familiar.

            "Wow, I can't believe its you," the visitor blurted out.

            "Eh, do I know you?"

            "Its me, Ephiny. From the amazon village?"

            Remembrance hit her like a bucket of cold water. "Ephiny! My gods, its great to see you again!" They embraced lightly. "But what are you doing here? Did Gabrielle and Xena send you? They're late in visiting this summer and I haven't seen them."

            Ephiny's eyes dropped to the ground. "That's why I'm here. Rhiannon, I don't know how to tell you this..."

            "I don't like the sound of that."

            "They passed away a few days ago."

            "What? How?" A hundred emotions hit her at once.

            "In a battle against a large army of barbarians that tried attacking the village. On the battlefield Gabrielle was fighting very well until a soldier caught her off guard from behind, leaving her unable to fight and seriously injured. Xena, of course, rushed to her side when another man approached, trying to deflect the blow." She spoke with respectful quietness. "It worked. She was killed instantly before I or anyone else could do anything about it. Gabrielle passed not long after."

            "Oh my gods..." Rhiannon brought a hand to her mouth a look of unbelief was evident on her face.

            "The better side to this, if there is a better side," Ephiny continued, "is that they died together, the way they both wanted. Everyone knew how one couldn't bear life without the other."

            Before the young woman could say anything, the regent queen went on. "I  came to give you these." She handed Rhiannon a scroll and Gabrielle's amazon staff. "The scroll is the written proof of your right of caste. You're the Queen now."

            By Zeus, that was a lot of information to get in thirty seconds. Rhiannon blinked blearily, still reeling from the news of her friends' deaths. "So, what does this mean? You're saying I'm the new queen of Amazonia?"

            "That's right, if you so choose. Otherwise, you may pass on your right of caste to someone else." Ephiny could see the girl was drowning in the depth of news just given her. "Well, why don't you come back with me to the village for awhile? You can attend Gabrielle and Xena's funeral fires and while you're there you can decide whether or not you want to stay. Its entirely up to you."

            Rhi didn't need much persuasion. For awhile now she had been thinking of making a visit back there and now the window of opportunity was opening.  She told Ephiny to wait there for her while she went inside the quaint house than had become her home for almost the past decade. She sighed, wishing Naarah or Ethan was home right now to tell them goodbye. But they weren't and she didn't have time to waste.

            The teen rumaged around through a drawer until she found enough parchment and ink to write the a note of explanation--and farewell. Maybe its easier this way, after all, she thought with a sense of regret as she left the completed letter on the counter. Goodbyes never were easy. At least she could count on the fact that she knew her mother and father would be understanding about her choice.

            "Okay, I think I'm ready now," Rhiannon announced to Ephiny as she came out of the hut with a small bag of belongings.

                                                            ********************

            It took the two of them almost a week to get to Amazonia, but when they did Rhiannon recognized it right away. "I can't believe it. Everything looks the same. Gods, I didn't realize how much I've missed it," she commented and dismounted Freedom.

            The older amazon smiled. "Home sweet home, eh?"

            Rhiannon agreed enthusiastically. "Sure is." They led their horses into the village and she noticed many women looking toward her and whispering. "Think they remember me?"

            "Of course. We never forgot you, ya know."

            "Hey, who's that?" Rhi asked noticing a face in the mass of amazons that her heart knew but mind couldn't recall.

            "What? You mean you don't know?" Ephiny replied with an incredulous look. She point to the blonde's necklace. "Does that ring a bell?"

            "Oh my...you can't be serious!"

            "Go see for yourself."

            Rhiannon handed Ephiny the reins to her horse and shyly made her way over to the woman who was stringing a bow. She stood a few feet off, watching her for a few minutes in awe. Her best friend was everything she could remember; full of poise, determination, and beauty. Some things never change.

            "Eh, Fernanda?"

            The brunette turned around to see who called her name. Before she could ask the person's name her eyes fell upon Rhi's necklace. She recognized it right off the bat. "Ye gods above! Is that you Rhiannon?"

            So taken aback at by the instant recognition, the girl could only nod slightly. Then, in the next instant, without even putting much thought into it, the long separated best friends came together in an embrace.

            "I told you I'd be back someday," Rhiannon said with a grin.

                                                                        **************

            Two days later Rhiannon sat in a large, but sparsely decorated hut in the company of Xena and Gabrielle--or better put, their ashes. That morning had been their funeral fires and the amazons were in a state of mourning.

            For Rhi personally, today had been a turning point. She had learned a whole new level of grief that was in some way compounded by a determination and zeal to live her life the best she could. Today she decided she would put to use the gift the bard had given her when she was young, and become queen. It wasn't a hard decision to make, her heart knew this was home.

            "I'm not exactly sure how to deal with the fact of you two being gone," the teenager began after some time. "It seems so unbelievable to me. You two always were invincible in my eyes, like you could rise above any tragedy and succeed. But maybe if you two are together now, it really is a success. I know you two always wanted to be together, even in death."

            Rhiannon distractedly played with the hem of her skirt. What could she say to them? "I'm going to be Queen," she offered. "Wow, huh? Me, Rhiannon, an amazon queen."

            "You know, I never would be where I am today without the both of you. You risked your lives and your hearts to shelter and nurture me. You opened up a world for me that I never thought I'd learn to see, and you freed me from a violence I didn't understand."

            Then, for the first time in the past nine years, she allowed herself to take a risk--she allowed herself to think of Jorius and Avella for more than a few minutes. There wasn't so much a fear in her when she thought of them now as pity. She had heard a few years back that her grandfather had killed himself at his prison in Crete. She used to like to think that the guilt became too much for him and compelled him to throw himself off that cliff, but in all truth she didn't know. As for Avella, the last thing she heard about the old woman, she was working as a servant for a king in Macedonia.

            None of their punishment matter to Rhiannon anymore. Somehow, she was able to forgive her grandmother and grandfather of what they did. She wasn't sure how she forgave them or when, but she knew it'd happened once the nightmares completely left and she felt a peace in her heart that was never there before. They aren't worth it, Rhi, she used to tell herself. They don't deserve to take up that much of your life by hating them. The best way to get even is to forgive.

            "Xena," the new blonde haired queen said, once she pulled herself out of her memories. "Your strength and courage inspired me to stand up for myself. It was you who taught me that my grandparents only had power over me if I let them." She looked at the warrior's urn affectionately. "And you taught me not to try and hide the real me. Thank you for all the faith and trust you placed in me."

            "And you," Rhiannon went on, flicking her gaze over to Gabrielle's. "Oh, what can I say? You were the mother of my heart." She took a deep breath to get a handle on her composure. "You loved me when no one else would and were so incredibly selfless when it came to my needs. I can't count the times you held me when I felt the world around me was crumbling. You're a hero, Gabrielle. A hero in the life of a hurting child. Thank you."

            "Rhi? I was wondering--" Ephiny began to enter the hut when she saw the young woman was in the middle of something. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to you about the crowning ceremony. It can wait though." She flashed a empathetic smile at her before going back through the curtain.

            "I'll be out in a minute, Ephiny. Thanks." She hastily swiped away her tears and turned back to her friends.

            "I know that 'thank you' is so inadequate," she said regretfully. "I could never repay you enough for everything you have done, both of you. That's why I'm going to try to live out your legacies as well as I can. I'm going to do my best to display your strength, Xena; and Gabrielle, I promise I'll be the best amazon queen that I can possibly be. You two will always be in my heart and I know I'll be with you again someday."

            Rhi brought her fingertips of both hands to her lips and then placed them lightly on each urn. She stood and looked down at the tall clay pots with a steady gaze. "I love you."

            There was nothing left to say. Rhiannon turned around and with her head held high, ready to face the world and everything within it, she left the hut to join her tribe and the new life that awaited her.

            For the first time in her life, she felt free.

For Katy. Wherever you are in this world, little one,
I pray you have found peace and love.

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