looking down at the sky - xwp

I

The world was burning. Heat swept in tumbling waves over the dry grasses and dead branches that lay scattered over the battleground. Everything was a whithered gold, even the sky, as the sun shone a dark, scabby orange through the smoke. 

Blackness filled Gabrielle's lungs as she lay, glued to the ground, feeling the warmth beneath the powdery soil rise up against her back as the burning went on and on forever. The flames were the worst - they chased her through the forest, reaching for her like clamouring hands. She was only safe if she flattened herself against the earth, watching as the orange monster roared over her. 

The only sounds above the raging firestorm were the shouts and screams of men and women. There were no war cries, only chaos and fear. A single thought occured to her as she lay still, doing everything she could to keep breathing. Where was Xena?

"...Xena?" She croaked, coughing in the smoke. Her lungs felt like bags of sand. "Xena!"

Suddenly the flames above her began to speak. One of them lashed toward her, licking her cheek. It called to her urgently, in a voice that was strangely familiar. "Gabrielle. Gabrielle, wake up."

Gabrielle didn't understand. She was already awake. She was burning in hell. Wasn't that obvious?

"Wake up Gabrielle!" The fire insisted, surrounding her. It grew larger and stronger, engulfing her, suffocating her. She was going to burn alive. She was going to--

Suddenly the flames vanished, and the world went cool and dark. 

"Gabrielle!"

Gabrielle shot up in bed, panting and soaked in sweat. Her gaze darted around frantically, until she found the face of the tall warrior woman crouched before her, tightly clutching her shoulders. "But- I was-"

"Having a nightmare," Xena finished her sentence with a sigh of relief, loosening her grip as the fear fadened from her piercing sky-blue eyes. "That's all." 

"Oh," said Gabrielle, for once lost for words. She wiped the sweat from her brow and tried to blink away the images of endless fire, managing and chuckle and embarrassed smile. "Of course."

Reassured that her companion was safe, Xena rolled back onto her back under the stars and let out a deep breath. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gabrielle said quickly. "I just... in my dream, there was some kind of battle, but it all went wrong and the forest was on fire and, well..." she shuddered as it all flooded back. "I couldn't find you." She turned to Xena worriedly. "I was going to burn to death, Xena."

Xena's brow furrowed and she bunched her lips to one side. "Well, good thing I woke you up then, eh?"

"But Xena," Gabrielle lowered herself back down and lay facing the warrior. "It felt real. I really thought I was gonna, y'know..." she gestured to the heavens. "I mean, what if it was a premonition?"

Xena just rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. As if that'd ever happen. Us, loosing a battle?" She scoffed. "And besides, you know I'd never go anywhere without you."

"But you do." Gabrielle countered. 

Xena hesitated, and Gabrielle caught the smallest flash of guilt in her eyes before she spoke.  "Well, I won't. Not if there's a battle to fight." She reached up and ran a tender finger around the rim of Gabrielle's face and offered a small, ernest smile. "Now come on, we should get some rest before tomorrow. Big day, remember?"

"Uh-huh." Gabrielle agreed half-heartedly, settling back down under her blankets as Xena rolled over and was still. Barely a moment later she could hear the faint, soft snores of the warrior woman, but no matter how hard she tried, Gabrielle couldn't get the echoes of those screams out of her head. Instead she lay there, staring up at the stars through the trees, unable to shake the feeling that someday soon they were all going to burn down.