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A Friend In A Funk

by Verrath

Panting heavily, the Warrior Princess leaned against a fallen tree trunk to catch her breath. She snapped off one of the arrows stuck in her thigh and tossed it aside with a sneer. Then, steeling herself, she broke cover once more.

As soon as she did, the shrill whine of arrows in flight rang through the air again. As she advanced step by painful step, more shafts found their marks with sickening thuds, piercing legs, arms, and torso with cruel indifference. Each hit buffeted the muscular body this way and that, but still she advanced, staggering with exhaustion, fierce determination etched into her face.

It must be done. She had to keep her promise. And even though she had kept this from her bard, she knew that keeping this promise meant walking to her death, meant leaving Gabrielle.

It was over in minutes. She went down wild-eyed and fighting like a Bacchae, as any warrior would wish.

However, her enemies were not about to give her a warrior's honor in death.

The remainder of the army that had been sent against her set about their ignominious task of ultimate defilement. Two fighters started working on the torn body, amongst jeers and howls of laughter from their comrades.

Before long, a linen sack dripping dark red was tied to a saddle, and a headless corpse dragged unceremoniously from the battle field.

 

"Oh jeez, Gabby," Sina said, giving her friend that 'Scowl' with her arms crossed in front of her . "I'm only going away for the weekend. Two days! Not like it's forever or anything."

She plucked a toy arrow from her arm, the rubber suction cup making a soft popping noise as it came off. More were stuck on her legs and arms, and several lay strewn about the ground around her.

"Yeah, but it's the weekend of my birthday," Gabby retorted, irrationally angry with her friend and knowing it. It wasn't Sina's fault she and her mom and brother had to be at her grandparents' fiftieth anniversary, after all.

But how could she?

"Now, honestly," Sina said, reasonably. "Xena killed and beheaded? That's the most dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

Gabby just stuck out her lip and said nothing, a plastic bow still clutched tightly in one of her fists.

"Xena would never be so thick and get herself killed on purpose," Sina went on doggedly.

"She thought she was being noble," Gabby said grumpily, making it quite clear that neither Gabby nor Gabrielle the Bard thought anything of the sort. She twanged the elastic string of the bow a few times for emphasis.

Sina paused with her hand on another arrow and considered. "Anything to make up for all her bads, huh?"

"Pretty much," Gabby said, appearing mollified.

"How about we have our very own birthday party when I'm back on Monday? Save me some cake?"

Gabby looked torn.

"C'mo-o-on," said Sina and tilted her head while putting on her best puppy-dog look. "I'll find you an extra special present, too."

The smaller girl gave her a narrow-eyed look. "Promise?"

Sina put two fingers to her heart and touched them to her lips. "Promise!"

"All right then."

There was a silence, then Gabby giggled. "You look like shish kebab."

Sina looked down at herself and gave her friend a lopsided grin. "You're awfully good with that thing," she said, indicating the toy bow with a flick of her chin.

Gabby beamed at the praise. "Yeah? Well..."

"So, what did they do with Xena's head, then? Stick it up on a pike?"

"No, no, they did better than that...."

 

NOT the End ;-)

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Comments? I'm at verrath@gmx.de

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