Gabrielle clutched the root in her hand, glaring with absolute loathing at the horizon, which was blue and smooth - the hated ocean. It's not that she actually disliked the sea, not when she was in it. It was being on it that bothered her so much.

Xena was restless. She was sharpening her sword, and every now and again, she paced. Joxer was tying knots in some rope, and not doing a very good job.

"Xena, what's your problem?" croaked Gabrielle, struggling not to be ill. "Have you got ants in your pants or something?"

Xena shook her head. "We should have seen something by now..."

The Phoenician man in charge of the beautiful curved ship they were on came over. He had a round stomach of most men of his class, and watery black eyes. He bent placatingly to Xena, as if he were a maitre de and had brought her a less than satisfactory dish.

"I swear, they are along this stretch, Warrior Princess. They come upon us every time at this place and steal our goods!" he said, "And not just us! Every one!"

She shot a glare at him from the corner of her eye. It was clear that she was geared up for some fun. Well, fun for Xena anyway.

"Pirate!" came a young voice. It was the boy in the crow's nest, pointing to the cliffs ahead.

"WHERE?" cried Xena, her eyes glinting. She raced forward, peering into the distance.

She didn't have to look too carefully. From around the cliffs swung a dark, sleek ship, sails trimmed red, a black flag fluttering at the top of the masts.

"Pirates!" growled Xena happily, rubbing her hands. "Let's get 'em!"

She barely waited for either Gabrielle or Joxer. She leapt over the edge of the boat, untying a little runabout and rowing it swiftly towards the boat (that was coming in their direction anyway).

Gabrielle and Joxer stood by the edge of the boat, gazing after Xena, bemused.

"She really likes her fights, doesn't she?" murmured Joxer, looking down at the rope in his hands.

"Yeah," sighed Gabrielle. "She's got this thing for pirates... pirates and Romans." She shook her head. "They're her favourite people to pound, I swear."

Joxer nodded, then looked down and sighed. "Damn it."

Gabrielle glanced to his hands. He'd somehow managed to get his hands tangled up in the rope and he was unable to free them. He tugged and wriggled to little avail. Gabrielle looked at his hands and then up at him, a smirk on her face.

"G-Gabrielle, don't look at me like that," he said. "Will you help me here?"

She said nothing, watching him squirm. The enemy ship had drawn closer, but Xena was now climbing the side, sword blazing, men falling from the ship and wailing that they'd had the folly of running into the Warrior Princess.

She took a hold of his hands and began to untie him, laughing, sickness quite forgotten about for that moment.

Please take the time to write to Nancy at tosh@opera.iinet.net.au, and let her know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, and all other characters who have appeared in the series, together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of StudiosUSA and Renaissance Pictures. No infringement of copyrights or trademarks is intended in the writing of this fan fiction. This story is copyright © 2006 by Nancy Lorenz and is her sole property along with the story idea. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright notices.