A tall woman walked up to Gabrielle and sneered at her. "Hmph! So, you're an Amazon, huh? You're not very tall. No wonder that you're only the cook!" She ran the dull side of her knife along Gabrielle's arms and circled her. "Thorn likes his food rich and tasty, Amazon. I do hope you won't displease him. The last so-called cook lost her life."

Gabrielle stood very still and looked like she was scared, but deep down inside she wanted nothing better than to kick the woman's butt straight to Tartarus. "I'm a great cook. My queen was very pleased with me," she said softly.

"Then why are you here with Orion and not free with your tribe then? Surely, if you were that great as you say you are, your queen would've torn the whole country apart to get you back!"

"Halke! Have you something better to do than taunting this Amazon?"

"Yes, Keiko. I was just leaving."

Gabrielle watched as Halke left. She then looked at the new woman curiously.

"My name is Keiko. My man is Ali."

"Pleased to meet you," Gabrielle mumbled.

Keiko grabbed Gabrielle's hands and studied them closely. "These hands have been used in battle. They have many scars, but you sure don't look like a cook. Besides, don't the Amazons live in a community where everyone does their share of the work - including cooking?"

Gabrielle stared at Keiko. "I'm from a different Amazon tribe."

"Girl, do not try to lie to me. I'm not a stupid pig like Thorn is. I know that you're no cook and that Orion or whoever he is isn't a slave trader either." She let go of Gabrielle's hands. "You're friends of Xena and her man."

"Jett's not her man," The words came out of Gabrielle's mouth before she could stop them.

Keiko gazed at her, raising an eyebrow. "I will teach you how to cook Thorn's meal."

"Listen, lady! I'm here to save Xena and Jett, not to cook for that pig!" Gabrielle snapped.

Keiko's gaze did not falter. "If you even want a ghost of a chance to help them, then you better do as I say."

Gabrielle growled, but having no choice in the matter, she prepared herself for the quick lesson.

Thorn and Joxer walked around the village. As they walked around, Joxer noticed how the men and women almost seemed to fall over themselves with trying to please Thorn. He also caught that they looked at Ali first. He wondered if before Thorn came if Ali had been some kind of ruler for the tribe.

"Orion?"

"Huh?"

"You were lost in thought, my friend. We're here."

Friend? Who are you calling friend, you fat creep? Joxer thought to himself. "Here? Oh yes! Of course! Your prisoners," he said with a loud laugh.

Thorn had Ali remove the board and open the door. "Come on inside, Orion. They're both chained."

Joxer followed Thorn into the hut and just barely managed to suppress a loud gasp when he saw how Jett and Xena looked.

Thorn was also taken aback, for both of his prisoners were on their feet. Neither one of them should've had the strength to sit up, let alone stand, the warlord thought to himself.

Joxer turned to Thorn with a raised eyebrow. "It seems to me that your prisoners aren't as down as you thought they were. If I were you, I'd get out of here from what I've heard about Xena."

"Yes! Yes! Of course! What about you, my friend?"

Joxer smiled at Thorn. "Are you kidding? I eat women like her for breakfast! There's not a woman around that I can't handle."

Thorn slapped Joxer on the back, almost making Joxer fall to the floor from the force of his slap. "You must tell me your secret, Orion. I'll leave you alone with her and you can take your pleasure. Ali, take the weakling."

Joxer placed his hand on Thorn's shoulder. "Why not let the weakling stay and he can watch me have my pleasure with his woman?"

"Orion, you're a man after my own heart! Come on, Ali. Let's leave them alone." Ali followed Thorn outside, giving Joxer a strange look as he left the hut.

Once they were gone, Xena signaled to Jett to watch the door, and then she turned back to Joxer. "What in the name of Hades are you doing here? Are you crazy?" she hissed.

The smile immediately left Joxer's face and his dark eyes burned with worry. "Gabrielle and I are here to rescue you and Jett."

Jett turned back towards his brother with a scowl on his face. "And why are you being so friendly to Fatso?"

Joxer scratched his head and bit his bottom lip nervously. "Well... Uh... Err... I had to pretend I was this great slave trader," he confessed.

Xena's lips set in a thin line. "Didn't he question the fact that you look like Jett?"

"I told him looking like the King of Assassins comes in handy."

Xena put a hand to her forehead for a moment. "Joxer, I want you to get Gabrielle and get out of here!"

"But, Xena..."

"Joxer, I appreciate what you're both trying to do for us, but listen to me! These people obey Thorn's every whim, and if he finds out that you're not what you say you are, he'll have you killed!"

"Thorn's coming!" Jett hissed and then quickly went back to the corner where he was before.

Xena reached out and placed Joxer's arms around her waist. "Let go of me! You're hurting me!" she cried.

"Huh? Oh yes!" Joxer replied, pulling Xena closer to his chest. "I always get what I want, Xena." He bent his head to kiss her, playing along with the charade. "Always."

Unseen by Thorn, Xena, in an automatic defense movement, brought her knee up hard against Joxer, who yelped a little. "Sorry," she whispered in his ear before he withdrew from her.

Jett, who had seen what Xena had done, winced in silent sympathy for his brother while Joxer blinked hard but somehow managed to turn around and face Thorn with a leering smile on his lips.

"I see that you've got everything under control, Orion, but I just had to come and get you. Your slave's meal is ready and I want to know what her cooking tastes like."

"Believe me, Thorn. You've never tasted anything like it before."

Thorn laughed and threw his arm around Joxer's shoulder. "Orion, I'd like you to stay and be my right hand man."

Joxer looked back at Xena and Jett, who both shrugged their shoulders helplessly. "Do you want to know why they do as I say?" Thorn asked as they left the prison hut.

"You mean the people? No, not really. You're their leader," Joxer said in an offhand voice, trying not to gag from the warlord's body odor.

Thorn grinned wickedly at Joxer. "Ali is their chief, but I have something more precious to them then their own lives and after dinner I will show you. I need a man like you, Orion."

Joxer sneered a little. "You must really have something, then."

"I don't have something, my friend. I have control - complete control. Come, let's enter my tent and enjoy your slave's cooking." Thorn sat down heavily on the pillows and Joxer sat down in front of him. The warlord clapped his hands and Halke and Gabrielle entered the warlord's tent. Thorn sneered at Gabrielle and then reached out to touch Joxer's knee. "Take your liberty of your slave. Don't mind me."

Joxer, keeping in character, slapped Gabrielle on the rear. She jumped and gave him an angry look. Joxer's eyes widened very slightly in silent apology. Thorn laughed at Gabrielle's reaction. Joxer smiled. "Just to let the little girl know who's the boss. I've got to keep her on her toes," he said with a wink and a leer in Gabrielle's direction. He then took some food for himself.

Thorn wiped his mouth with the back of his dirty hand. "Tell me, Orion. Have you ever taken her?"

Joxer nearly choked on a piece of bread at Thorn's question. He knew he had to be careful about how he answered that question. "My friend - that is really none of your business."

"Ah, you don't kiss and tell. Come. Let me show you my hold on these animals." Ali's eyebrows rose, but he remained quiet. Thorn laughed and tried to get up. "Woman!" he shouted.

Gabrielle turned in his direction and felt a giggle come to her throat. Thorn was trying to get up, but couldn't. "Woman, stop your laughing and help me up!" Gabrielle just stared at him. "Orion, order your slave to help me up."

Joxer looked at her calmly, but his mind was racing. Gabrielle, please don't! Not now, he thought. As if reading his mind, Gabrielle walked over to Thorn and pulled in an effort to get him up, but it was impossible. He was too heavy and he smelled so bad that she could hardly breathe.

Ali walked over. "Allow me, my Master."

Thorn nodded. Ali grabbed him and the warlord was pulled to his feet. "I'm going to show Orion my surprise. You know what will happen if you follow me. In the meantime, so Orion's Amazon slave doesn't take off, put her with Xena and her..." Thorn slapped Joxer on the back. "I would say her man but he's not a man. It's too bad, really. The stories about him were all lies. Jett, the King of Assassins, is actually nothing but a spawn of a man."

Joxer slowly got his anger under control. He knew that it was not a good idea to let Thorn suspect that he wasn't who he said he was. "So, how far is it to your secret control over these animals?"

"Not far, my friend. Look! Here come our horses!" Joxer looked as a man brought up two horses: a frisky gray stallion and a smaller roan- colored mare. "I had Balto pick the best one for you. Not many can ride him."

Joxer stared at the high-spirited gray stallion and swallowed nervously. "You call that a horse? You dare insult me with that nag?" he said with an audible sneer in his voice.

Thorn glared at Joxer. "This is a good horse." His eyes narrowed. "Are you afraid of him, Orion?"

"No, I'm not afraid of him, Thorn. I could ride him in seconds, but I am but a humble slave trader and I should walk while you ride. After all, you are far greater than I am," Joxer said in the humblest tone of voice that he could muster and bowed.

Thorn smiled at Joxer's false flattery. "Yes, I am greater than you and I should ride while you walk. Balto, take the gray back. I will ride the roan."

Balto nodded and took the gray away. Joxer watched in silent relief as Thorn clumsily mounted the roan. "Okay, let's go. Orion, you will just love this."

Ali watched Thorn and Joxer leave then quickly turned to Gabrielle. "My woman Keiko tells me you are here to help Xena and her man."

"Yes, and we can help you too."

Ali rolled his eyes "What could a little girl like you do?" he asked scornfully.

Gabrielle's eyes sparkled angrily. "More than you can! You're not even trying!"

"You don't know what's at stake if we defy Thorn."

"I know. Keiko told me."

"She had no right!"

"Ali, tell me where your children are and we can help them!" Gabrielle exclaimed.

"Little girl, if I knew where my son and the others were, I'd personally kill Thorn to get to them, but I have no idea." He stopped in front of the hut. "Your friends are waiting."

Gabrielle tried again to reason with him. "Ali, please! We can help."

"There is nothing you can do, and if your friend does anything to bring danger to my son and the others, I will..." He stopped and pushed Gabrielle inside. He then replaced the board and walked away.

Xena rushed over to Gabrielle and hugged her, chains rattling as she did so. "Gabrielle! Why did you come here?"

"To rescue you and Jett," Gabrielle said as she returned the hug.

Jett snorted as he looked up from the corner. "Is getting put in here part of your plan?"

Gabrielle sheepishly grinned at him. "No," she admitted.

Jett shook his head. "Are you saying that us getting out of here will depend on Jox completely?"

Before Gabrielle could answer, Xena did for her. "Yes, it does. If Joxer can keep up his charade, maybe, just maybe, he'll do it."

Jett looked at both women. "Do you have faith in him?"

Xena sighed. "Two years ago, I would've said no, but Joxer's come a long way since then." Gabrielle nodded fiercely in agreement.

Jett sighed. "Then I do, too."

It seemed like hours before Thorn finally stopped the roan and was greeted by a man. Joxer saw that this person was not one of Ali's people. Probably one of Thorn's lackeys, he guessed.

"Andious, this is Orion. I've come to show him the prisoners. Are they being good little children?"

Joxer's heart raced as Thorn spoke the word children. Andious walked beside Thorn and spoke in a low voice. "These kids are weird! They don't even cry and the Chief's son is really hard to handle. He's tried twice to escape."

Thorn waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it, Andious. Orion can handle anything. He tamed the Warrior Princess without the potion. A mere child will be nothing to him."

Andious looked at Joxer and laughed. "This skinny little man?" he scoffed.

"Don't let his size fool you. This man is deadly. Xena was pudding in his hands."

It was all that Joxer could do not to burst into loud laughter at the warlord's words, but he managed to keep a calm expression on his face.

Andious only shrugged his shoulders as he took them to the children. Joxer gazed into the pen and saw that there were at least twelve children in different sizes and ages inside it. One child in particular caught his attention. He stood tall and proud, showing no fear at all in his eyes. Andious pointed at him. "That brat is Ali's son. He'll be the first child to die."

Joxer turned to Thorn. "You're going to kill them?"

Thorn's eyes sparkled with mad glee. "Yes, but Ali doesn't know that."

Joxer swallowed and out of nowhere, a plan sprang into his head. He only hoped that it would work. "I have a much better idea. If you merely kill them, their parents will suffer for a while. But, if you let me take them and sell them instead, they'll never see their children again. I've done this before and believe me, knowing your child is alive but out of your reach is far more devastating." He felt sick inside even as he said the words, but he was desperate to free the children.

Thorn thought about this and smiled. "Yes, you speak the truth, my friend. How soon do you want them ready?"

"I need to go back and get my slave, then I will be ready."

Thorn turned to Andious. "Have the brats ready when Orion returns," he ordered.

His man nodded and barked orders to a group of men. "You heard Thorn. Let's get them ready."

Keiko watched as Thorn and Joxer returned to the village. She spat the ground as Thorn rode by. Thorn clumsily got off the roan, which was led away. He called for Ali, who came right away. "Get Orion's slave. He's ready to go on."

"Yes Master," Ali bowed and walked away. He entered the hut and grabbed Gabrielle. Xena made a grab for her but he slapped her roughly, sending her to the ground. Jett sprang up and Ali looked at him with a warning on his face. "Sit back down, weakling! I spared your life before, but I can easily take it back."

Ali squeezed tightly on Gabrielle's arm and took her outside. Once outside, he growled to her, "You lied to us! Your friend is leaving and I've been told to bring you."

"Ali, listen to me! Joxer is up to something!" Gabrielle whispered.

"What is he up to?"

"I have no idea."

"I warned you, woman! If my son dies, he'll die too, along with Xena and her man."

As Ali pushed Gabrielle, she was thinking, Joxer I hope you know what you're doing and it would REALLY help if I knew what you were planning.

Once Ali and Gabrielle were gone, Jett rushed over to Xena and tried to help her up but she quickly struck out at him. Any other time, Jett's quick reflexes would have gotten him away, but he was still somewhat weak after the fight with Ali and Xena nailed him. She glanced down at him and sighed. "Sorry," she said.

Jett shook his head to get his senses back. "I'm okay. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just hate being helpless."

Jett nodded, knowing how she felt.

Ali roughly pushed Gabrielle into Joxer. "Here is your slave." Joxer stared at him. He could almost feel Ali's rage but he knew it wasn't the right time to tell him his plans. Besides, he wasn't too sure that Ali would trust him. Instead, he just took Gabrielle and said nothing.

Once Ali left, Joxer turned back to Gabrielle, but before he could say anything, Gabrielle grabbed his arms. "Joxer, children are involved!"

"I know and I know where they're at. Thorn showed me."

"Good! Okay... We need a plan," Gabrielle said.

"I've already got a plan, and I know it'll work." Joxer replied, gazing into her green eyes intently. "As long as you go along with it and don't ask too many questions. Just trust me, okay?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "Joxer, I need to know what your plan is!"

"It's simple and I'll tell you as soon as I can."

"I wish you'd tell me now!" Gabrielle exclaimed under her breath.

"Just trust me," Joxer replied softly.

Gabrielle followed Joxer without saying another word. Soon, they came to where the children were being held captive. Joxer had to hold on tight to Gabrielle's rope when she saw the children but he couldn't hold her tight enough as she broke loose and attacked one of the guards. "YOU MONSTER! THEY'RE ONLY CHILDREN!" she screamed as she beat the guard over and over with her fists.

"Orion! Get your slave under control!" barked Andious as he tried to pull Gabrielle off the guard.

Joxer ran over to Gabrielle and grabbed her. "Calm down!" he whispered, trying to keep hold of her while she kicked and struggled in his grip. "I told you that I've got a plan!"

Gabrielle whirled around, her eyes teeming with rage. "You better!" she whispered.

"I do, trust me. See that one over there?"

Gabrielle's eyes followed the direction that Joxer was staring in and saw a tall and proud-looking young man. "Yes," she whispered.

"That one is Ali and Keiko's son. The children seem to listen to him. He's the one we need to earn our trust."

"And if he doesn't?"

Joxer was quiet for a moment. "I just hope he does."

"What are you two whispering about?" demanded Andious.

"I was just telling this Amazon if she ever did that again, I'd kill her and she said for me to drop dead," Joxer answered.

Andious just shook his head. "These brats are ready for you. Two of my men will go with you."

Joxer smiled. "Good. I could use the help with those whelps."

He looked at the children and saw that all of them were chained in a straight line. He noticed that Ali's son was in front. He walked over with Gabrielle, took the rope and without a word led them away. Andious' men followed on horseback. They traveled for about two miles when Joxer suddenly stopped.

One of the guards went up to him. "What's the problem? Why did we stop?"

Joxer turned to the guard. "I thought that we could use something to eat." He went to unchain Gabrielle. "Go cook us something, woman," he ordered.

Gabrielle said nothing, but walked over and got a meal ready. She watched Joxer and the guards until Joxer called over to her, "Slave! Bring us our food!"

Gabrielle picked up the pot and took it over to them. Joxer looked at the stew and smiled, winking at her as she stood before them. The two men didn't see what he was doing, though because he had risen to his feet.

What does he want me to do? Gabrielle wondered.

"Why don't you serve this guard his stew in your special way?" Joxer asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Gabrielle.

Gabrielle suddenly caught on and hurled the contents of the hot boiling stew right over the guard's head. The guard screamed as he rose to his feet and staggered right into Joxer's fist. Gabrielle quickly took out the other guard. While she delivered an uppercut to the second guard's jaw, Joxer found the key to the chains attached to the first guard's belt and hurried to the children. Ali's son stared while Joxer smiled as he unlocked the chain.

"Joxer, be careful!" warned Gabrielle as she turned around, seeing the angry glint in the boy's eyes.

Before Joxer could reply, Ali's son was attacking him. "Hey! Hey! I'm on your side!" he yelped.

The lad withdrew from Joxer and looked him over carefully. "Then why are you going to sell us?" he asked.

"I'm not! I need to get you away to protect you. See that woman? She's going back to help your people and our friends and I'm staying here to protect you and the others," Joxer explained.

"I'll go with her."

"No, you can't. It's too dangerous."

The boy drew himself up to his full height. "I am Meeko, son of Ali and I'm not afraid to die to help my people," he said as he turned to Joxer. "Only a woman baby-sits. You will come with me," he finished haughtily.

Gabrielle stared at Joxer, but he only sighed and gazed at Meeko. "I am not a warrior, young one. In my tribe, I do the work of women," he said very softly.

Gabrielle's eyebrows rose. She knew that was hard for Joxer to say.

Meeko looked at Joxer hard. "I've watched you with that pig Andious, and your tribe needs to see that you're clever even if you're not strong. But I must come, because Father won't believe her if I don't."

Joxer looked at Gabrielle and they both knew that he was right. Meeko had to go with her. "Okay. You can ride my horse," he said.

"Joxer, we left our horses back there."

"I know, but I told Speckle to follow us."

"You told him?"

"Yeah, why not? Xena tells Argo stuff and she listens."

"I know, but Argo is smart!"

"So is Speckle," Joxer replied as he let out a loud whistle.

Gabrielle turned and to her surprise, she saw Speckle coming in the clearing with Amber trotting next to him. "How did you teach him that?" she asked.

Joxer looked at her strangely. "Teach him what?"

"To lead Amber."

"Oh, I didn't. He just does it," Joxer said, shrugging his shoulders.

Gabrielle shook her head and sighed. "Joxer, that horse of yours is just weird."

Meeko walked over to Speckle. "This horse has the heart of a great steed. I would be honored to ride him." Speckle made his funny whinny in greeting and Meeko smiled.

Joxer returned the smile and Gabrielle just stared for a moment then got her senses back. "Okay. Let's go and take care of Thorn and his men," she said as she mounted Amber.

"Gabrielle," Joxer's voice was husky as he looked up at her.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

Gabrielle smiled. "I will."

Joxer watched as they rode off. One child reached up and took his hand. He looked down at her and she smiled at him.

Conclusion >>>