“I’ll never take it off. NEVER!” she declared, and gave Xena another hug, and an affectionate kiss on the lips.

“Since it’s your birthday, I suppose you’ll expect me to fix breakfast as well.”

Gabrielle laughed. “No. I’ll do it. This necklace is more than enough for my birthday.”

“You’re positive it’s your birthday?” Xena teased.

“One hundred percent sure.” And Gabrielle began to build up the fire.

~~~~~~~~~~

The two women had barely finished breakfast when Xena said quietly to Gabrielle, “Get ready.”

And she innocently took her sword from it’s scabbard and began cleaning it, her eyes and ears searching and listening to the surrounding forest for the attack she knew was coming.

Gabrielle withdrew her sais as if she was about to do the same.

Then without warning, a half dozen arrows rained down on them. Xena managed to dodge one of them and batted away two more.

The fourth hit off to one side of Gabrielle, but she tripped as she ducked away from the fifth, and the sixth arrow penetrated her back, just above her right shoulder blade.

Gabrielle fell to one knee, but hearing the screams of the attackers, she forced herself to her feet, grimacing with the pain as she moved.

Xena, seeing Gabrielle was injured, put herself between Gabrielle and the six men who ran at them.

Gabrielle readied herself for battle, but could barely move her right arm. She gripped her left sais as one man was able to avoid Xena’s sword and closed in on her.

But Xena saw him from the corner of her eye and before he could swing at Gabrielle with his sword, Xena spun around with her own, cutting deep into his neck, and slicing through the back half of it, severing his spine.

The attacker fell forward onto Gabrielle, knocking her to the ground, driving the arrow deeper into her shoulder until the point was nearly penetrating the front of her upper chest, and breaking the shaft at the same time. The pain caused Gabrielle to pass out, unaware of the weight of the dead man on top of her.

Xena finished off three more of them, and the last two ran away. She then ran to Gabrielle, pulled the man off her, and knelt down to make sure she was still alive.