Gabrielle was filling two mugs at one of the hall's water barrels when Leonidas arrived. He looked to be in his mid thirties from what she could tell, with sandy hair, blue eyes and a tall, wiry physique. He wasn't exactly handsome, but there was a lot of character in his features. It made him quite attractive when he smiled as he did when he saw his former commander before him.

"Xena! How long has it been, twelve years?" he asked heartily in welcome.

"Just thirteen, and I'm glad to see you, too. What are you doing in Epirus? Last I heard, you were a highly decorated Captain in the Theban army."

"Oh, I left them a few years ago. There are no promotions beyond the rank of Captain for anyone who isn't a born Boeotian, so I decided to look for something with a little more future in it, since I'm not getting any younger. But the Theban Generals I served under were pretty happy with the job I did for them, and they recommended me to King Pyrrhus when they heard he was looking for experienced officers. That was good enough to get Pyrrhus to hire me on the spot, and now I'm his Commander-in-Chief. I guess they must have told him about that little maneuver I pulled off at Orchomenus."

"That was a nice piece of fighting," Xena said approvingly. "I'm glad to hear that your King is smart enough to recognize talent when he sees it. But tell me, what's going on here and now?"

"Trouble, for my King and Kingdom. Prince Adrian, the only son of King Pyrrhus has gone missing."

"Kidnapped?" queried Gabrielle.

Leonidas shook his head. "We don't think so. The Prince left a note saying that he was leaving but didn't say why. King Pyrrhus took it very hard, especially on top of the rest of his troubles."

"What troubles?" Xena prompted. Leonidas had always done a thorough job of briefing her when he was her Lieutenant but sometimes she just wished he'd cut to the chase.

Leonidas noticed her impatience wryly. Some things never changed, no matter what else did. "The King is extremely ill, and there's likely to be trouble with the succession. Epirus is a constitutional monarchy, and the constitution says that the throne goes to the eldest legitimate male in the royal line. For years there'd been no question that Adrian was the heir, but all of a sudden King Pyrrhus' nephew Jason of Pherae has laid claim to the crown upon the King's death. He claims he can prove that Adrian isn't the true heir. Nobody here believes him, of course, but Jason's challenge has the whole Kingdom in an uproar. Worst of all, word has just reached us that Jason is putting together an army to seize the throne if he isn't proclaimed Pyrrhus' heir."

"Sounds pretty bad," Xena said with concern. The last thing Greece needed was another internecine war. Every time the rival states of Greece started fighting the entire country grew weaker, leaving them dangerously vulnerable to an outside conqueror like Rome. Julius Caesar and Pompey might be dead but there were undoubtedly plenty of other ambitious Generals just waiting for their chance to make a name for themselves written in another country's blood.

"I still don't understand why you don't think Jason had had something to do with the disappearance of Prince Adrian," Gabrielle stated.

"If Jason wanted the Prince dead he wouldn't call attention to himself with a legal challenge right before he disposed of Adrian. Besides, he can't legally prove his challenge under Epirote law if the Prince isn't present in person to face his charges."

"I see," said Xena thoughtfully. She wasn't entirely convinced that Jason was innocent, but she set that unanswerable question aside for the moment.

"I had planned to go looking for Adrian myself," Leonidas continued, "but with Jason preparing to march on Epirus I can't afford to do that, at least until I know exactly where he is."

"Could you use some help?" Xena offered. She owed him that and more.

The General looked deeply relieved by her offer. "I was hoping you would ask that. I've already got as many men as I can spare combing Greece for any leads on Adrian's whereabouts, but I can definitely use your help getting Epirus ready for the war that's headed our way. And once they do track the Prince down I'll need someone I can completely trust to bring him back safely."

"You've got it," Xena promised without hesitation and then turned to Gabrielle. "Well, I guess I'll have to put off my visit to mom after all. But there's no reason why you can't go to Potidaea, and send a message for me. You can meet me back at Epirus when you're done."

"Are you sure you won't need me?" Gabrielle asked, clearly wanting to go home but not if Xena could use her help.

"Sure I'm sure. I can help Leonidas with all the preliminaries and I'm sure you'll be back in time for the real action. Hopefully by then we'll have some idea where Prince Adrian is and you and I can persuade him to come back. But until then you should have plenty of time to see your family."

"And you can put off seeing your mother again! I swear, Xena, if I didn't know better I'd say this was a set-up," Gabrielle teased her partner.

"Starting a war to avoid my mother?" Xena asked sardonically. "She's a pain, sometimes, but she's not that bad."

"Uh huh," agreed Gabrielle with exaggerated skepticism. "You have to admit, the timing couldn't have been more convenient for you."

"Give it a rest, Gabrielle," Xena growled, not wanting to admit that she secretly enjoyed her best friend's teasing. She was going to miss it over the next few weeks. Fortunately it looked like she was going to be too busy to dwell on her absence.

Gabrielle just smiled at her friend. Of course she knew that this wasn't a plot to avoid her mother and her own grouchy father. But that didn't mean that Xena wasn't any less relieved by this unexpected twist of fate. The legendary Warrior Princess was the bravest person she knew, but Cyrene still possessed the uncanny ability to transform her wayward daughter into a sulky adolescent at times. Xena could only hope that she wouldn't do the same to her own child someday.

"All right, then. I'll see you in about three weeks," Xena told Gabrielle briskly.

They hugged goodbye, then Gabrielle, pausing only long enough to swipe a heel of fresh bread and a chunk of cheese from the mess hall's serving table for her dinner, left the building. Now more than ever she was in a hurry to get home. Xena would be needing her soon, so she didn't have a moment to waste.

Xena watched her beautiful young friend go and then turned back to Leonidas.

"So, where do we start?"