"... Xena, I must tell you something." Cyrene croaked through parched lips.
The Warrior Princess search the small table beside her bed for a water cup but saw nothing. "Mother let me ..."
"No, I must tell you before it's too late." and the mature woman, wasting away from illness, lifted a weak hand and placed it on her daughter's leg, "Please sit down."
Xena did, obediently.
"Your father was a very handsome man, do you remember?"
"No .. Not really."
"He had lots of dark hair and eyes as bright as a clear blue sky."
"You always said I took after him ...."
Cyrene gulped, "You do." She closed her eyes, "But your two brothers --"
"Yes, they both looked like you."
"Xena," Her eyes opened and, staring directly at The Warrior Princess, Cyrene said very steadily, "I am not your birth mother."
There was utter silence for the count of thirty. She's delirious, Xena considered.
"Your father was off at war, paying his tribute to Ares, when a beautiful young woman came to his camp. As far as I know he'd always been faithful to me but this was wartime and she was just so enchanting he couldn't resist her charms -- and they slept together. She left him that very night and he continued with the business at hand. War was all consuming. After awhile - when he was finishing a campaign - she returned with a child. A lovely little girl with tuffs of dark hair and a smile that could melt crystal."
"Me?" Xena could feel her face grow red and tears stand in her eyes. "Mother, why did you wait until now to ...?"
"Sh." Cyrene gently shook her head, "There's more, my dear." She again closed her eyes, fighting a spasm of pain then continued, "At first this woman took you to Zeus, attempting to make him angry. She was always so jealous of his attention to Hercules - his human child. She wanted to make him feel as betrayed as she felt."
"My Mother was a goddess? One of Zeus's courtesans?"
"She kept you around Olympus for a year, never really looking at you, allowing others to take care of you - and hoping to flaunt her human affair. But it backfired because Zeus adored you. He loved having this energetic baby crawling about the palace and getting into mischief. She couldn't understand that, despite what she had done to him, Zeus loved human kind more than he loved her so a half human-half goddess child was a delight to him .... reminding him of Hercules, the only son he truly loved. Furious, she made a decree. She told him this female child will destroy the human race. Left to her own devices she would take over Greece and parts of Britannia, even the orient. She would be evil and warlike and Ares - her half-brother - would watch over her and see to it that Hebe, which is what she named you, became a menace on Earth. "Hebe, The Destroyer, they would call her ....you."
Cyrene saw the horror growing in Xena's eyes, "But when your father brought you to me and we saw how utterly sweet and innocent you were I knew I could change things -- I renamed you and made you believe you were my own. No one in Amphipolis knew you weren't born from me because we had been away .... And you did grow up good until Cortese sacked our village. Then I saw it start to happen and there was nothing I could do ..."
"What goddess is my mother, Mother?" Xena's voice shook, "Tell me. Who cursed me? Who ruined our lives?"
"Your mother is ...."
***
HERA. The Queen of the Gods.
Murderer of Hercules' family.
" .... Hera."
Hercules looked down at the ground. It wasn't easier hearing it a second time.
Anguished, Gabrielle raised a hand to her face and hid her eyes.
Iolaus stared at the impassive face of Xena in complete and silent shock.
"And the funny thing is ..." Xena continued in a daze, " ... there was a time when I thought Ares was my father. I suppose I should have known. His interest in me wasn't only geographical but physical. Gods intermingle all of the time. But fathers and daughters don't mix. *Usually.*"
****
They moved onto Cyberus and when the warlords were dispatched and the city was safe, it was time to part.
"I can't leave her, Iolaus." Gabrielle leaned into the hunter-warrior, their bodies belly to belly, his and her foreheads touching. His arms were wrapped gently and lovingly around her. "Now, more than ever, Xena needs me. She has to purge this out of her system. Doing good is going to be an obsession with her and I have to be there to see that she doesn't over do it."
"She can be like that." he agreed, "And I can't really leave Hercules now, either. He's really torn. Can you imagine him discovering a woman he loves is also the blood-daughter of his worst enemy? No wonder Zeus didn't want to come to him personally about Xena ..."
" ... and why he thought Hercules needed to be here. I don't think anyone other than he could have calmed Xena and help her get through this ordeal." She leaned in closer to Iolaus and smiled, "Do you really think he loves her?"
"Oh, yeah."
The couple turned their heads to look over at Xena and Hercules, as they stood close - holding each other's hands - saying goodbye to each other. They were working through this event just fine but it still left a mark on both half-gods.
"And I always wondered why Xena, a mere human, was able to communicate with the gods so easily. Ares, Poseidon, Cupid, Hades and even Aphrodite seemed to come out of the woodwork at her call. Maybe they weren't even aware of why they were so accessible to Xena." A mild smile formed on Gabrielle's pert lips, "She's going to be rethinking a lot of her past. The choices she made weren't hers alone and that has to be sobering."
"And you'll catch her when she falls." Iolaus said affectionately.
"IF she falls." Gabrielle corrected. "By the way," she straightened from him and held Iolaus at arms length, "I realize that our separation also paves the way for YOU. I see many pretty females in your future, Iolaus, and I'm not going to fool myself into believing you won't take advantage of your single, uncommitted status."
He chuckled and veiled his eyes, "You're that sure, hunh?"
"You like women and they like you." she stated matter-of-factly. "Who knows, maybe some day we will both want to settle down ... and we'll find each other when the thought occurs to us."
He nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "That would be nice."
"Oh," It was her turn to recall something he once said to her, "it will be more than *nice* ..." and Gabrielle leaned forward, craning her neck to meet his tender lips with her own.
****
Somewhere a disembodied voice sang "YES!" and punched space and air with her delicate fists. "A home run!"
"I'd hardly say that, Mom." Another voice inserted, "They're leaving each other. This is so bogus."
"Cupid honey, the game isn't played out yet." she responded.
***
Mount Olympus quaked with HER rage.
THE END
(Fiction written August of 1998)
**NOTE - According to "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton, when Hercules finally "dies" and goes to Olympus to rest in his "full god" form he is reconciled to Hera and marries her daughter -- Hebe.
Quote (from book): "There are no stories about Hebe except that of her marriage to Hercules ..."
No wonder. As we all know, her name was changed ... to Xena g. Beckers.**
The Warrior Princess search the small table beside her bed for a water cup but saw nothing. "Mother let me ..."
"No, I must tell you before it's too late." and the mature woman, wasting away from illness, lifted a weak hand and placed it on her daughter's leg, "Please sit down."
Xena did, obediently.
"Your father was a very handsome man, do you remember?"
"No .. Not really."
"He had lots of dark hair and eyes as bright as a clear blue sky."
"You always said I took after him ...."
Cyrene gulped, "You do." She closed her eyes, "But your two brothers --"
"Yes, they both looked like you."
"Xena," Her eyes opened and, staring directly at The Warrior Princess, Cyrene said very steadily, "I am not your birth mother."
There was utter silence for the count of thirty. She's delirious, Xena considered.
"Your father was off at war, paying his tribute to Ares, when a beautiful young woman came to his camp. As far as I know he'd always been faithful to me but this was wartime and she was just so enchanting he couldn't resist her charms -- and they slept together. She left him that very night and he continued with the business at hand. War was all consuming. After awhile - when he was finishing a campaign - she returned with a child. A lovely little girl with tuffs of dark hair and a smile that could melt crystal."
"Me?" Xena could feel her face grow red and tears stand in her eyes. "Mother, why did you wait until now to ...?"
"Sh." Cyrene gently shook her head, "There's more, my dear." She again closed her eyes, fighting a spasm of pain then continued, "At first this woman took you to Zeus, attempting to make him angry. She was always so jealous of his attention to Hercules - his human child. She wanted to make him feel as betrayed as she felt."
"My Mother was a goddess? One of Zeus's courtesans?"
"She kept you around Olympus for a year, never really looking at you, allowing others to take care of you - and hoping to flaunt her human affair. But it backfired because Zeus adored you. He loved having this energetic baby crawling about the palace and getting into mischief. She couldn't understand that, despite what she had done to him, Zeus loved human kind more than he loved her so a half human-half goddess child was a delight to him .... reminding him of Hercules, the only son he truly loved. Furious, she made a decree. She told him this female child will destroy the human race. Left to her own devices she would take over Greece and parts of Britannia, even the orient. She would be evil and warlike and Ares - her half-brother - would watch over her and see to it that Hebe, which is what she named you, became a menace on Earth. "Hebe, The Destroyer, they would call her ....you."
Cyrene saw the horror growing in Xena's eyes, "But when your father brought you to me and we saw how utterly sweet and innocent you were I knew I could change things -- I renamed you and made you believe you were my own. No one in Amphipolis knew you weren't born from me because we had been away .... And you did grow up good until Cortese sacked our village. Then I saw it start to happen and there was nothing I could do ..."
"What goddess is my mother, Mother?" Xena's voice shook, "Tell me. Who cursed me? Who ruined our lives?"
"Your mother is ...."
***
HERA. The Queen of the Gods.
Murderer of Hercules' family.
" .... Hera."
Hercules looked down at the ground. It wasn't easier hearing it a second time.
Anguished, Gabrielle raised a hand to her face and hid her eyes.
Iolaus stared at the impassive face of Xena in complete and silent shock.
"And the funny thing is ..." Xena continued in a daze, " ... there was a time when I thought Ares was my father. I suppose I should have known. His interest in me wasn't only geographical but physical. Gods intermingle all of the time. But fathers and daughters don't mix. *Usually.*"
****
They moved onto Cyberus and when the warlords were dispatched and the city was safe, it was time to part.
"I can't leave her, Iolaus." Gabrielle leaned into the hunter-warrior, their bodies belly to belly, his and her foreheads touching. His arms were wrapped gently and lovingly around her. "Now, more than ever, Xena needs me. She has to purge this out of her system. Doing good is going to be an obsession with her and I have to be there to see that she doesn't over do it."
"She can be like that." he agreed, "And I can't really leave Hercules now, either. He's really torn. Can you imagine him discovering a woman he loves is also the blood-daughter of his worst enemy? No wonder Zeus didn't want to come to him personally about Xena ..."
" ... and why he thought Hercules needed to be here. I don't think anyone other than he could have calmed Xena and help her get through this ordeal." She leaned in closer to Iolaus and smiled, "Do you really think he loves her?"
"Oh, yeah."
The couple turned their heads to look over at Xena and Hercules, as they stood close - holding each other's hands - saying goodbye to each other. They were working through this event just fine but it still left a mark on both half-gods.
"And I always wondered why Xena, a mere human, was able to communicate with the gods so easily. Ares, Poseidon, Cupid, Hades and even Aphrodite seemed to come out of the woodwork at her call. Maybe they weren't even aware of why they were so accessible to Xena." A mild smile formed on Gabrielle's pert lips, "She's going to be rethinking a lot of her past. The choices she made weren't hers alone and that has to be sobering."
"And you'll catch her when she falls." Iolaus said affectionately.
"IF she falls." Gabrielle corrected. "By the way," she straightened from him and held Iolaus at arms length, "I realize that our separation also paves the way for YOU. I see many pretty females in your future, Iolaus, and I'm not going to fool myself into believing you won't take advantage of your single, uncommitted status."
He chuckled and veiled his eyes, "You're that sure, hunh?"
"You like women and they like you." she stated matter-of-factly. "Who knows, maybe some day we will both want to settle down ... and we'll find each other when the thought occurs to us."
He nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "That would be nice."
"Oh," It was her turn to recall something he once said to her, "it will be more than *nice* ..." and Gabrielle leaned forward, craning her neck to meet his tender lips with her own.
****
Somewhere a disembodied voice sang "YES!" and punched space and air with her delicate fists. "A home run!"
"I'd hardly say that, Mom." Another voice inserted, "They're leaving each other. This is so bogus."
"Cupid honey, the game isn't played out yet." she responded.
***
Mount Olympus quaked with HER rage.
THE END
(Fiction written August of 1998)
**NOTE - According to "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton, when Hercules finally "dies" and goes to Olympus to rest in his "full god" form he is reconciled to Hera and marries her daughter -- Hebe.
Quote (from book): "There are no stories about Hebe except that of her marriage to Hercules ..."
No wonder. As we all know, her name was changed ... to Xena g. Beckers.**