Chapter Text
Chapter One
Xena had always known she wanted a large fleet, and she was well on her way to it: three ships in as many years of being a captain, and a crew who'd given - literal - blood to be working with her. It was great, for the most part. The respect people had for her, the money, the gold, and the thrill. There was nothing quite like the feeling of the salty air against her face, the weight of a sword, the pulse of blood under some navy captain's skin as she empties their safes and chests.
Yeah. That was the good part. Now, however, she was dealing with the politics, the bureaucracy, which meant long dinners, a lot of talking and a lot of paying attention to the answers. Clear head, no drinking. It was insufferable at worse and boring at best.
You see, the thing about a big fleet is that Xena couldn't be at three ships at the same time. She had to learn to delegate, to trust - at least find some feeling close to trust - in someone else to be a lider, trust they wouldn't be getting any ideas about going against her. Xena wasn't good at not being in control. She was a simple woman, really, she just liked everything the way she liked, and that is to say, she liked people to do exactly as she told them to do and she liked to know what they were up to at all times. It avoided scheming. Avoided unnecessary rebellions. She'd had enough of betrayal for one lifetime.
So here she was. It was that time of the year when she rotated the crew, she would send some men and women to the other two ships - The Potadeia and The Black Wolf - and bring in some people to The Greek love.
It was divide and conquer, simple as that. It encouraged loyalty to the whole fleet and to Xena herself, and broke any unpleasant plans they could be making amongst themselves. And Xena could get to know all their faces, talk to them. Or at least, listen to their talk and step in if necessary.
She took a bite of her fish and looked across the table, to the babbling blond holding a mug of beer nearly the size of herself. Not that that was saying much. She was laughing to the point of turning red at something the cook, Joxer, had said, and that laugh echoed through her ribs in a way Xena could only call... Familiar. Strangely so.
In any case, that tiny mess of a woman was supposed to be her new quartermaster. Gabrielle , Autolycus had said with an approving nod, and he wasn't really into the habit of approving of anything besides himself. Auto took good care of The Potadeia, and Xena valued his opinion and input on the crew. Not that she would ever let him know that.
“So... Did I pass the test, Captain ?”
She had caught Xena staring for a bit, and now her eyes danced over Xena's face with a drunk glow that made her seem even younger than she actually was.
There was a challenge there too, and Xena could see in that look a ghost the woman's stubbornness. Xena found it was usually easier to deal with men, to bend them to her will. But she could also tire of their stupidity very fast. At the end of the day, she would rather have a challenge that actually brought something to the table than some manageable dull lad who'd make her want to peel her skin out just to feel something interesting.
“Whatever do you mean?” Xena replied, in such a polished, innocent manner. It was clear she knew exactly what Gabrielle meant. Of course, she had been watching the soon to be quartermaster the whole night, and if Xena ended up displeased with what she saw, Autolycus would be on his way to find another one before the night was over.
Gabrielle said nothing more for a while, just smiled and held her gaze. The moon was fat and plump like an old pirate, and it lit half of her face in a way that made it hard for Xena to look away: The gold of her long hair shining like the surface of the water, and her eyes...
Again, Xena felt the sting of something familiar in the green of those eyes.
She was sure she hadn't seen Gabrielle before, but she was finding it difficult to break eye contact with her — she wasn't even drunk to be this distracted by a pretty girl.
“Funny, I think I did pass, even though I'm not entirely sure you're pleased with me” Gabrielle finished her beer in one long sip. Her tone was humorous, but there was also a hint of a question there somewhere.
“You'll deal with all the paperwork. Lots of it, non negotiable.”
“Already do. Not one of Auto's greatest skills.” Gabrielle answered without missing a bit.
“It's boring work, I don't want to hear complains”
“ I find it calming”
“I need to know what money is coming in and what money is coming out, and from where they are coming and going. At all times.” Xena played with a big golden coin between her fingers, and resisted the ridiculous and unwelcome urge to do something silly like making it disappear and taking it out of Gabrielle's ear. “And if you try any funny business, trust me, I'll know.”
Gabrielle inhaled like she was about to speak. Then froze for a bit and looked around. Then spoke:
“Tonight you spent at least a whole shilling just on beer. Maybe five pence more if those barrels over there are full too. But I saw some bet going on about how long the English Navy will take to spot us from shore, there was real money circulating too, not only numbers on notes, which suggests you sacked them earlier today. Probably around thirty pence judging from the size of their ships, which is a lot, but not nearly as much as you would profit on a big port. Also, I would say as an answer to the bet: Not long. The fucking militaries are overly confident, but not that much overly confident. They'll be checking their safes soon enough.”
Xena fought hard to contain a smile and succeeded, as everything she fought hard for.
“Do you always talk that much?”
“When given space. Your taciturness gives it.”
“You forget who you are talking to”
“Oh, I don't mean taciturn as an insult. More like a conclusion. A description.”
Xena kind of needed a beer. The woman was a lot to take in at once. She wanted to put an end to the conversation just as much as she wanted to keep talking, until the moon sank deep in the sea and the English Navy realized just how mocked they were being, as a whole crew of dirty pirates were having a party right under their noses.
“You talk and you observe.”
“I do” she had the fucking nerve to give Xena a loopsided smile “does it bother you?”
“It's a dangerous quality” Xena said even though the blond looked anything but dangerous right at that moment. The alcohol had softened the edge of her voice and her smile made dimples appear on either side of her flushed cheeks.
“A useful one.” Gabrielle said “To my allies. And I come, I don't think it's necessary to say, as an ally”
Ah, they were getting somewhere, now.
“And what is it you seek here?”
Gabrielle reached for her mug, found it empty and grimaced, as if she hadn't heard what Xena said; but when she raised her eyes again she had an answer:
“I want to learn. I want to learn everything you know.”