Cupid's Gift

"Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if Ares hadn’t chosen you as one of his favorite warriors?" The question of what made Xena who she is today always made Gabrielle reflective.

"No, Gabrielle," Xena answered inquisitively, "I never thought about it."

"Well, what DO you think? Do you think he had a big influence on you, or do you think you would have been just as mean and ruthless without his encouragement?"

Xena felt uneasy. She knew her friend was always trying to dig up buried emotions and usually Xena was better for the effort, but to be constantly reminded of the pain she caused so many people was a bit annoying. Still she thought on the question. A smile ran over her lips.

"Actually, I think knowing Ares has made me more inclined to stay on the path of good just for the shear enjoyment of annoying him."

Gabrielle smiled and added, "Or maybe you see how hard his heart is and it reminds you of what you don’t want to be."

The smile left Xena’s face as she answered, "Or what I was."

Just before they approached the town there was a crowd gathered in a clearing and a man was sitting in the middle. He seemed to Xena and Gabrielle to be teaching the people. They stopped to listen.

"….and the answer is simple, use your reason, your mind. The very mind you previously claimed was given you by Dyonesis can now be used to discredit his existence. Why continue to give your best fruits, breads and animals to Aphrodite? If she was really the goddess of love, would she not bid you give your gifts to the poor? What use has she for them?"

Xena gave Gabrielle a raised eyebrow look. They had heard of those who did not believe in the gods and who taught others to question their beliefs, but they had never encountered a teacher before.

He continued, "…so, why, I ask, would you worship gods you have not seen? Has any of you ever seen a god?"

Xena looked over the crowd. It was made up of mostly younger people and children. She figured they were all from the town, except for a few who sat closer to the teacher. There was one girl sitting beside him who looked like she was listening most intently.

No one was answering, so feeling ready for a battle, Xena spoke,"I’ve seen several gods." Xena wore a smirk and Gabrielle looked up at her with a grin.

The man stood and walked over to her. "You are new to my circle of students, are you not?"

"I never said I was your student." Still smiling, she fixed him with a challenging eye, "You asked if anyone has ever seen a god. I have."

The people began to mumble a bit but the teacher raised his hand and they were silent. Though he looked at Xena, he spoke to the students.

"What we have here is someone who is either a liar or a lunatic." He looked Xena over and then spoke to her, "You have not been here for the entire teaching, so I will recap for you. The gods were created by man to explain the things they do not understand. When we attribute something that has happened to us to the workings of the gods, it is usually to settle our own fears of the unknown, however it is an illusion we create for comfort, a crutch if you will. But in reality it is lunacy. The other type who speak of gods, do so for their own gain. To gain from a sense that we are special, different for recognition or monetary gain, or," he paused for dramatic effect, "quite possibly to instill fear in others for an advantage in battle. Tell, me, which god have you had the most interaction with?" he looked at her smugly.

Xena wanted to punch the guy right in his mouth full of fancy words, but she knew the truth was on her side, so she answered truthfully, "Ares, for one."

"AH! The god of war. How convenient for a warrior. You are a warrior, are you not? And does it not instill fear in those who you may fight if they believe you are in with the god of war? I think this is too logical reasoning for you to be a lunatic." He said walking back towards the crowd and taking his seat.

Gabrielle spoke up, "She’s Xena, warrior princess, and she’s telling the truth, I’ve seen him too."

"Xena. I’ve never heard of the tales of Xena. My students. Listen to me closely. A liar with a witness does not make him or her honest. It makes only two liars." He asked, "Have you any proof of the existence of these gods, besides your testimonies?"

Xena was indignant, it was as obvious to her that the gods existed as it was that she herself existed. She snapped at him, "I’ve seen them, talked to them, fought with them. I don’t need proof!"

"But we do." Said the teacher. He then turned to his students and continued to teach.

Gabrielle turned to Xena, "It’s not worth it. Let’s let it go."

"Yeah." Xena said, angrily, "I just don’t like that he’s misleading all these people."

"Me either, but they are free not to listen if they don’t want to. Let’s go into town and get something to eat, I’m starved."

Xena resigned the situation and they moved on.

After dinner Xena began to swap stories with a warrior she met in the bar, so Gabrielle decided to inquire about the local Aphrodite temple. She gathered some flowers and bought some honey. Walking through the gate into the garden that surrounded the temple, she noticed a girl standing just inside, praying. Gabrielle noticed it was the same girl from the teachers group, the one that sat beside him. Not wanting to intrude, but curious, she took a seat on a bench near by and waited.

As soon as the girl opened her eyes, Gabrielle spoke, "You’re the last person I would have expected to see here." She hoped her smile would warm the startled girl.

"I," the girl looked at her feet ashamed, "I don’t believe in Aphrodite."

Gabrielle laid her gifts on the bench, got up and walked over to her, "But you were praying," she said gently, "why would you pray if you don’t believe?"

The girl looked up at the temple, "I want," she said the word intensely, "proof." Her voice then calmed a little, "I was asking Aphrodite to show herself to me so I can know for sure."

Gabrielle felt tender towards the girl and reached out and took her hand. The girl pulled away and asked, "What have you come to ask for?" she motioned towards the gifts on the bench, "You must want it pretty bad to bring gifts."

"Actually," Gabrielle said, "I’m not asking for anything."

"Then what are you thankful for?" the girl inquired.

"Well, a lot, but that’s not why I’m here either."

The girl looked puzzled. Gabrielle explained, "I heard that this was a temple for Aphrodite and I was hoping that they might have a little shrine for her son Cupid."

The girl looked at Gabrielle frustrated and upset, "Why are you giving him flowers and honey? I don’t understand. If you don’t want anything and you don’t have anything specific to thank him for, then why?"

"I don’t know," Gabrielle said, "I guess it’s just because I want to. Because I love him and want to show him somehow."

The girls face went pale.

"What’s wrong?" Gabrielle asked.

The girls voice was colder still and distant than before, "He’s the reason I no longer believe in gods. I too used to believe and bring gifts to our local temple. I was very faithful."

Gabrielle asked in a concerned whisper, "What happened?"

The girls stance shifted and she crossed her arms and spoke hastily, "He betrayed me. I only ever asked for one thing. One thing, and it was too much." Looking away she continued, "When I was a child my father left my mother for an other woman. All I wanted was my father to come back and love my mother again. Cupid never helped me. How could a god of love let my family be torn apart like that? I can’t believe in a god of love that would let something like that happen, especially to someone as faithful to him as me and my mother."

There were tears in her eyes that she didn’t let fall. Gabrielle’s heart ached for her, but she didn’t have any words of comfort. She didn’t think it made sense what happened to this girl, but she couldn’t explain it without sounding defensive of Cupid. "I’m sorry," She offered the girl a hug. The girl pulled away and began to leave the garden.

"Enjoy your stupid religion while you can. Someday you’ll lose faith and see the logic of my teachers words."

Gabrielle watched as the girl ran out of the garden. She walked slowly over to the flowers and honey and lifted them into her arms. She smelled the flowers and walked into the temple. Looking around, she discovered there was a small shrine to Cupid. Her heart felt lighter. She walked over and knelt, placing the honey gently on the alter. Then she arranged the flowers in the empty vase that was there and bowed her head.

"Gabrielle," the voice was so familiar, yet it sounded like a brand new melody. She looked up and felt dizzy. Cupid stood before her, his arms out stretched to her. His huge wings framed his tan muscular body in a glowing soft white.

As she looked closer, she saw his cheeks were streaked wet.

"Cupid," she said, "did you hear our conversation outside?"

"Yes" he said. He cleared his throat and sat down on the alter next to her. "I so much wanted to go to her and tell her I’m real. To comfort her and tell her I’m sorry."

Gabrielle was surprised to see the god so vulnerable. She reached up and wiped away a tear from his face. It burned her fingers a little, but she didn’t mind. She felt herself choking up. "Why didn’t you," she asked.

"Because!" he said, "it would be worse for her if I did. That teacher of hers would just convince her I was a figment of her imagination or a horrible hoax or something." He rested his chin gently on his fingers.

Gabrielle felt she had to ask about the girls father, "Cupid, what happened to her? Why couldn’t you help her mother before."

Cupid sighed. "She’s learned to lie to cover her pain."

"What do you mean?" Gabrielle asked.

"It wasn’t her father who left her. Her father still lives with her mother in a town several days from here. It was her own husband who left her, not more than two years ago."

Gabrielle saddened more.

He continued, "When her husband made his choice to leave, I couldn’t change it. It was his choice. But I did work hard to delay his departure long enough for her to conceive a little girl, Adonette. Giving her a child to love her and for her to love was the best I could do for her." Gabrielle looked up at him. He was staring into the distance as he spoke, "But she was so torn by her husband’s leaving, she left her child in the care of her parents and took off with this teacher. The gift I gave her, she didn’t want, didn’t acknowledge. It’s worsened, because now there's an other little girl who, while she’s loved by her grandparents, doesn’t have a mother." Gabrielle watched an other tear trickle down his cheek, "But it was her choice. I can’t make her go back to her child any more than I can make her husband come back to her."

Gabrielle wiped away his new tear as if fell. Cupid looked at her and she said, "You did your best."

He smiled, touched, but a bit embarrassed. He looked away and said half-laughing, "Thanks for the flowers and honey."

"You’re welcome." She said grinning widely

Gabrielle returned to find Xena finished with her conversation in the tavern. The two women walked away from the town to camp in the woods. As they walked they heard the voice of the teacher.

"I told you not to go there. You’ll only find a building full of priests who will lie to you to get every last bit of money you have."

"Nothing happened. I didn’t even go inside. Besides, you always said it’s good to question what we believe."

His voice became calm again, "Yes that’s right. And guess what I’ve decided!" he said, turning to address the rest of the students, "We are going to go across the sea."

The other men and women in his small group turned to him excitedly.

"That’s right," he continued, "we are going to cross the sea to spread the news of reason to foreign lands. We leave in the morning."

The girl hesitated, but then asked, "When do you think we’re coming back?"

The teacher said, astonished, "We’re not coming back, ever. There is nothing here for us, all knowledge exists outside of what we’ve already experienced. We’ve learned all there is to learn here, why stay?"

"Gabrielle, where are you going?" Xena called after her friend who was now running toward the gathering.

"Don’t go!" Gabrielle called out. As she reached the clearing, the teacher looked at her annoyed. Gabrielle went straight up to the girl and said, "You can’t go! What about Adonette? What about your little girl?"

The girl looked at her puzzled and afraid.

The teacher spoke, "She has no daughter."

The girl said in a whisper, "I do have a daughter."

"Then, she could come with us." He said smiling.

"How did you know?" The girl asked Gabrielle.

Gabrielle looked at her with tenderness. She said as sincerely as she could, "Cupid told me."

The man laughed. "Lies!! Don’t listen to her. She must have found out and now is trying to use this as a way to mislead you!"

The girl turned to her teacher sternly and said, "I’ve never told anyone about Adonette, my own parents think they are raising an orphan child I found."

"A mid-wife told her?" the man said.

The girl turned to Gabrielle, saying, "I gave birth on my own. No one knows. No one but me…"

"And the gods." Gabrielle reached out to her, "Cupid said she was a gift of love to you, that if he couldn’t stop your husband from leaving you that he could at least give you someone else to love."

The girl became emotional. "What have I done? I’ve abandoned my child. I must go to her."

"No!" The teacher said, "We must bring her with us. Even if you do have a child, it doesn’t change the fact that we have to spread our news to all the world. We can teach your little Adonette the ways of reason."

The girl turned to her teacher and with eyes full of new understanding said, "Adonette will be taught that she is a gift from a god," her voice began to quiver as she spoke, "a god who loved me, when I needed it most." She turned to Gabrielle, "Thank you."

Grabbing a bag, the girl headed off away from the group. The teacher turned to his students and said, "See how easy it is to be misled. Don’t give up your reasons for your emotions, it will only lead you down paths of misfortune…."

Walking away together, Xena and Gabrielle could still hear the teacher explaining away the event that just happened. Xena just shook her head and said, "I hope he takes a wrong turn and falls off the edge of the Earth."

The End.

Xena and Hercules are registered trademarks of Warner Brothers. All characters, images, and related marks on this and all linked pages are the property of Warner Brothers. This site and all affiliated materials are in no way, shape, or form associated with Warner Brothers. This site is for non-commercial purposes only. Any misuse of such copyright materials is purely accidental.