Side notes from Jace:
Hi, I'm one of Susan's muses and I helped her with this story. The group is telling ghost stories and I hope you'll enjoy them. *Whimpers* I don't want to wear a business suit! *Shudders*

The four were getting ready to sleep. Gabrielle smiled as they watched the flames flicker. "Hey, anyone want to hear a ghost story? I know a good one!"

"Sure, Gabrielle. I could use a good laugh," replied Xena.

Jett also smiled. "Okay, let's hear it."

Gabrielle looked at Joxer, who had been silent. "Well, Joxer?"

"Yeah. Sure," Joxer replied nervously, taking his helmet off and fiddling with it in his hands.

Gabrielle smiled. "Okay, here goes."

The Tale of the Headless Warlord:

"A long time ago, in a far off land, there lived a mighty Norseman: a warlord named Hennich. Now, everyone in the village feared Hennich. He was the meanest warlord in all of Norway..."

"He didn't know our father, did he, Jox?" Jett interrupted.

Joxer giggled. "Be quiet, Jett!" Xena scolded the oldest triplet. "Go on, Gabrielle," she encouraged her friend.

"Thanks. Now where was I?"

"He was the meanest warlord in all of Norway," Joxer piped up.

"Right. Thanks, Joxer." Gabrielle smiled at him before she moved closer to the fire, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. "As I was saying, he was the meanest warlord in all of Norway. I mean, he'd kick dogs, steal candy from babies, and killed anyone that stood in his way. Then the day came for him to collect his share of the crops the villagers gathered. There was a terrible storm that day. The winds were so strong that it wasn't fit for man or beast. His men tried to warn him but he wouldn't listen. Nothing was going to stop him from getting his share. So, he mounted his steed and raced towards the village."

"Hennich forced his horse to gallop faster and faster and faster. All anybody huddled inside their huts to wait out the storm could hear was the horse's hooves pounding and pounding on the ground as he rode through the terrible storm. The wind was blowing and the rain made it hard to see, but the warlord kept pushing his steed onwards."

Gabrielle paused for a moment to watch her audience. All three of them were listening in fascinated silence to her. She smiled and continued, the fire casting strange shadows on her face as she leaned forward and pitched her voice low.

"The warlord kept whipping his horse to make it go faster. It raced on in the pitch black, its' hooves pounding on the ground. Then, it was over. The steed felt the weight of the warlord gone from its' back. It slowed down and disappeared into the night, never to be seen again."

Joxer sat in front of the fire, not realizing that he was biting the edge of his helmet. Xena stared at him, trying not to laugh. Gabrielle held back her own laughter as she went on. "The next day, some of the villagers found the Warlord's headless body. They all cheered and celebrated his death. The warlord was not give a proper burial, so he could not enter Valhalla. So, to this day, whenever there is a storm, you can hear the warlord's mournful cries: "Please! Give me a proper burial!"

Joxer held his helmet tight in his hands. Gabrielle's story had given him a case of the shivers, but there was no way any of them would know.

"Please! Give me a proper burial!" An eerie voice broke the silence.

Joxer jumped up from his seat, his helmet falling to the ground with a loud crash. "AAAAHHHH!!!!! Oh, Gods! It's him! It's him! It's the headless warlord!"

"HAHAHAHA! Joxer, you should see the look on your face!" Joxer stared at his brother, who was laughing so hard that tears of mirth rolled down his face as he clutched his stomach. Joxer turned around and saw Xena and Gabrielle also laughing at him. For a moment, he was angry with the three of them. Then he realized how silly he must have looked and started laughing too.

"I knew it was you all the time, Jett. I was just acting scared to show Gabrielle what a great storyteller she is," Joxer said with as much dignity as he could muster as he sat back down.

Jett patted Joxer on the back as Gabrielle and Xena hid smiles behind their hands. "I'm sure you did, Jox. Good acting. Hey, I've got a story too!"

"Okay, Jett. Let's hear your story," replied Xena

Jett smiled and began.

The Black Cat:

"In a small hut outside of a small village lived an old woman. The only company the old woman had was her cat. He was a big black cat with only one yellow eye. It was said that the eye was the eye of a demon. But to the old woman, this black cat was her friend."

"One day, a traveler came by and asked to rest for the night. Now, the old woman was kind and she let the stranger stay. She fed him warm honey cake and milk. The stranger figured she must be rich because her cakes were wonderful. They were nothing like what a poor peasant would make. He asked her, "Do you make your own honey cake?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, it is my own recipe."

"It must cost a lot of dinars for the flour and honey," the traveler said.

"Oh no. Money is not a worry for me."

The man thought to himself, No of course not. You must have plenty, you old hag.

"May I spend the night?" he asked.

"I see no harm in that," the old woman replied.

"Big mistake. Never let a stranger spend the night in your home."

Joxer and Gabrielle glared at Xena and hushed her with a loud: "SHHHH!"

Xena shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it is!"

Jett smiled and went on. "That night, while the woman slept, the stranger came into her room and slit her throat from ear to ear." Jett made a slicing motion across his neck. Joxer gulped and his hand slipped over his mouth. His deep brown eyes opened and closed rapidly several times as he swallowed hard, picturing the image in his mind.

"The black cat screamed and jumped at the man, clawing his face. The man screamed, threw the black cat to the ground and with his dagger, killed it. There was blood everywhere..." Jett paused for effect, not noticing Joxer's face growing paler by the moment.

"The man quickly disposed of the old woman and the black cat 's bodies and searched for the old woman's dinars, but he found nothing. He tore the hut apart - still nothing. The man went to where he hid the bodies. "Stupid old hag! Where's the money?" He kicked at the body. Then he reached down to pick up the black cat. Just as he was about to grab it, one eye opened and the man was frozen right in that spot. He screamed a bloodcurdling scream: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

At that, both Joxer and Gabrielle jumped in their seats. Jett and Xena smiled.

"The next day, the traveler's body was found on the side of the road by a group of men. He was lying face down in the dirt. One of the men slowly turned the body over to see who it was. The man let out a startled scream. The other three men came to see what just made him scream. To their horror, the head had no face, only loose, bloody skin, tissue and broken facial bones where once a face had been. It looked like it had been torn completely apart by some kind of monster."

With a loud, gurgling noise, Joxer shot to his feet and ran into the woods. Jett stopped and looked at Xena guiltily. Xena looked concerned and started to get up but then Joxer reappeared a few moments later, his face ghostly white as he stumbled back over to them.

"Joxer, are you okay?" asked the bard as the warrior wannabe shakily reclaimed his spot in front of the fire. She handed him a water skin and he drank, his hands trembling.

"Yeah. I lost my dinner, but I'm all right," Joxer muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he returned the water skin to Gabrielle.

"Do you want me to stop, Jox?" Jett asked softly.

"No. I'm okay, Jett, really. Go on." Jett nodded his head and continued after a short pause.

"As the traveler's body was covered with a sheet and placed on a horse, an old woman with a black cat approached the group. "Do you know this man?" one of the men asked her, pointing at the covered body.

The woman picked up her black cat. "No sir. I've never seen him before." The black cat lay in the old woman's arms, purring. The man looked at him and saw he only had one yellow eye."

Joxer stood up. "I don't understand. Didn't the man kill the old woman and her cat?"

Xena sighed. "Yes, Joxer. That was the whole idea of the story."

"Oh." It suddenly dawned on Joxer. "OOOOHHHHH! I see now! Wow, great story, Jett!" Joxer's eyes sparkled happily as he sat back down.

"Thanks, Jox - and sorry that I made you sick. Hey, it's your turn."

"Gee. I don't know any," Joxer's lips puckered into a pout.

"Yes you do. What about the bad luck scroll?" Jett reminded him.

"Oh yeah, that one! I forgot about that!"

The Bad Luck Scroll:

"One fine morning, a young bard was in the marketplace looking for a new scroll to write on. There were many to choose from, but he wanted the one that had silver lining on it. The scroll was so pretty and he felt it would make his tales sing. The merchant tried his best to get the bard to buy another scroll, but he wanted that one."

"Sir, please! This scroll is said to be bad luck to anybody that owns it!"

The bard just laughed. "That's silly! It's just a scroll and it can't be the same one, my good man. Now, how much do you want for it?" The merchant gave it to him reluctantly. "Take it! Get it out of my sight!"

"Aphrodite must have cursed it like she did to my scroll."

Joxer rolled his eyes. "No, Gabrielle, she didn't. Can I finish my story?"

Gabrielle held her hands up in the air. "By all means, Joxer. Go right ahead."

"Thank you." He cleared his throat dramatically and continued his tale. "The bard took out his quill and began writing that the apples on the tree in front of him turned bright red. Suddenly, the apples that were green turned a bright red, just like what he had written..."

"It still sounds like when Aphrodite put a spell on my scrolls," Gabrielle interrupted again.

"Well, it's not!" Joxer huffed.

"Sorry, Joxer. I've got to agree with Gabrielle on this one. It does sound like it. Maybe you should tell another story," Xena suggested.

Joxer looked at her, frowning. "But this story is good, and it's the only ghost story I know!"

Gabrielle stared at him. "Joxer, just make one up!"

"I can't, Gabs. I mean, not like you can."

"Sure you can," Gabrielle smiled and slid her arm around his shoulders to encourage him for a moment. Joxer blushed. "Okay, I'll try." He thought for a bit and then his face lit up.

The Haunted Sword:

"They say the sword was made of the finest metal and it fit anyone who held it like a glove. But the man who forged it did not want to sell it because every time he had in the past, the owner met a with bizarre death."

"The first owner, a warlord name Korth, died in his own home when he slipped and fell on the sword. The second owner, a merchant named Carlos, died when he placed the sword on display and it fell on him right into his head. Nobody wanted the sword after that, so the sword-smith took it to the woods and buried it. Now, the sword lay buried for ten years. Then one day, a brave young and handsome warrior came walking down the road. He had heard of the sword and knew that he, of all people, could master it. So he searched for a long time until he found the sword. He dug it from the ground and the sword became his."

"So how did he die, Joxer?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

"He's didn't die. He mastered it."

Xena looked bemused. "Oh, he did?"

"Yep, he did and he still has the haunted sword." Joxer leaned forward and held up his sword. "The haunted sword," he said proudly.

The other three stared at him for a moment then began laughing. Joxer laughed along with them. "Good tale, huh?"

Xena slapped him on the back, knocking the breath from him in a loud "OOF!" "It was great, Joxer. Okay, time to get some sleep."

"Hey, Princess. You haven't told your story," Jett reminded her with a grin.

Xena smiled. "Oh, okay. There was once a woman that was a witch. She had a black cat and they scared travelers along the road. The end and good night."

They all stared at her. "Xena, that's not a story!" protested Gabrielle but Xena wrapped herself up in her bedroll and was already asleep. Gabrielle turned to Joxer and Jett. "Did you two think that was a story?"

But to her surprise, they were wrapped up in their bedrolls and sound asleep, Jett snoring very softly. Gabrielle rolled her eyes, shook her head, put out the fire, curled up in her bedroll and quickly fell asleep.

Please take the time to write to Susan at sasondo42@yahoo.com, and let her know how you liked the story!

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, Jett, and all 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 © 2001 by Susan Owens 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.