"Well, I need her here. These two are never going to make it."

"She’s right, Athena. She may be the only one who can talk some sense in my Chosen One."

Athena sighed, and looked at her family. "You know, we have to do a better job and picking Chosen Ones and Guardians. Why do we always seem to pick stubborn ones?"

"Maybe it is in the bloodline." Aphrodite’s smart side was starting to shine through. "I mean just look at the facts. My Guardian is your daughter through your former Chosen One and Ares. Talk about stubbornness, the child had no chance!" She looked at Athena, and saw anger flashed through her gray eyes. "Opps! Sorry Athena, you know what I mean." She swallowed and quickly continued, "and Artemis chooses some fast talking bard to be her Chosen One and Queen of the Amazons, who can be as stubborn as Artemis herself." She realized she said something she shouldn’t, when she noticed that Artemis removed her bow, plucked at the string, and then looked back at her like she was some game to be hunted. "Anyway, Gabrielle was able to find her soul mate, your Chosen One Athena. And let me tell you, Xena has to be the most stubborn person I’ve had ever met. She’s as stubborn as…" She did some quick calculating, as realized that she was the only one of the three that hadn’t been insulted. "…Me!" She smiled. "And because they are soul mates who found each other, and have such great love they come under my care!"

Artemis looked at Aphrodite with new found respect. *She’s not a dingbat after all.* "Wow, that almost made sense. Almost." She looked at Athena. "Well, can Sophia make it?"

Athena sighed. "She’s going to have to. I’ll tell Hades to send her up. I just hope her darkness doesn’t overpower her."

"Don’t worry, Athena baby. Love is the most powerful force. She’ll do fine."

*****

So far, the day had taken place in complete silence. Xena looked at Gabrielle, who quietly rode her brown steed. Gabrielle still did not have a name for her new companion, so Xena called him Horse. Gabrielle stared straight ahead, not paying attention to the flowers, the insects or to the summer sky. Xena decided to break the silence. "The sky sure is pretty, today. And look at the buttercups. They are so pretty. And the butterflies, They are so…" she paused trying to find the perfect word. "Pretty."