I'd like to thank RCNorris who provided the inspiration to write this story, a few words can go quite a long way.

  ''Hey Melissa! Will you tell us a story?" Ashley asked.

  ''Yeah Mel, tell us a story!'' Katie pleaded.

   The three college roomates had all stayed home that night with nothing to do, so they decided to have a mini-slumber party with just the three of them. Melissa was a very talented story teller, and her friends were always eager to hear another tale.

  ''A ghost story?'' Melissa asked.

  ''Nah, how about an adventure story.'' Katie suggested.

  ''Okay,'' agreed Melissa. She took a moment to think of a story, then replied, ''This is a story my grandmother told me a long time ago. A story..about love and friendship.

  ''Hey! Where's the adventure?'' Ahley asked.

  ''Oh, don't worry,'' replied Melissa, ''there's plenty of adventure. It's about two friends, one was a warrior princess, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, the other was a bard, who told stories, she had blond hair and green eyes.''

  '' So this is a story about you?'' Katie asked.

  ''No, she just happens to have the same hair and eyes as me...the two friends had been through many great adventures, but none as great as the task they faced that day...

  ''Hey Xena!'' Gabrielle shouted, ''breakfast is ready.''

  ''Okay, I'm coming.'' Xena said as she walked over.

  ''How do you like your bread and cheese princess?''

  ''How about in my stomach,'' replied Xena.

  The friends laughed at Xena's attempt at humor, but suddenly the warrior stopped laughing, her body on full alert.

  ''What's wrong Xena?'' Gabrielle asked.

  ''We've got to leave, get your stuff.''

  Gabrielle never questioned Xena's judgement, and she immediately packed up the camp. Xena saddled Argo and put out the cooking fire. She mounted Argo and extended out her hand. Gabrielle grabbed on and pulled herself up behind Xena in the saddle.

  ''Hang on Gabrielle.'' Xena said as Argo galloped at fullspeed. They traveled at an exhausting pace, and Argo was doing the best she could for carrying two riders. They stopped for a short rest a few miles away from their campsite, but Xena still looked worried. Gabrielle decided to find out what was going on.

  ''Xena...what's wrong? Who is after us?''

  Xena hesitated before she spoke, ''I don't know how he got back, he was so far away. I thought he was gone forever, I-.'' Xena mumbled under her breath, using unpleasant vocabulary.

  ''Who Xena? Who is back?'' Gabrielle asked confused.

  Xena sat down trying to gather her thoughts. ''Gabrielle, have you ever heard of Traysus?''

  ''They say he is a ruthless warrior, who hunts people down like a pack of wolves, his army can never be stopped. No one has ever defeated him.'' Gabrielle explained.

  ''Exactly,'' Xena said, ''he's back Gabrielle, I don't know how or when, but he's after us, after me. Last I knew he was in China causing destruction there, but he's returned.''

  ''What are we going to do?'' Gabrielle asked.

  ''I don't know,'' Xena replied, ''I don't know.''....

  ''Wow!'' Ashley said, ''This story is getting really good. What happens?''

  ''Well, let me finish the story.'' Melissa said....

  ''Gabrielle I want you to get back on Argo. Ride out of here as fast as you can.'' Xena said.

  ''Xena I'm not leaving.'' Gabrielle replied.

  ''Gabrielle please, don't argue with me. There's no way to beat him, you'll die if you stay with me. Please, save yourself, he's not after you.'' Xena pleaded.

  ''Xena,'' Gabrielle said firmly, ''If we die, then we die, but I'm not leaving you.

  ''Gabrielle,'' Xena warned, ''If you don't get on Argo right now, I'll knock you out and then put you on Argo. Now get on!'' Xena commanded.

  ''You're not letting me die, it's my choice, and my choice, Xena, is to stay! I don't care if you knock me unconscious, I'll follow you wherever you go.''

  Xena was cleary defeated in this battle of words. ''Why do you always have to be so stubborn all the time?'' Xena said as she smiled, ''there's no point in running anymore. It's time to make a stand, I have a plan.'' Xena said more seriously. ''We'll go to the cliff, by the waterfall, that's our best shot.''

  ''I thought you said you couldn't defeat Traysus.'' Gabrielle said.

  ''We can't,'' Xena replied, ''not by ourselves anyway, we'd need an army, which we don't have.''

  ''So..how are we gonna stop him?'' Gabrielle asked.

  ''We don't...it's dangerous, but it's our only chance even if it is slim. When they are about to attack us, we jump off the cliff as far away from the waterfall as we can, but we still have to land in the water.'' Xena explained.

  ''Piece of cake.'' Gabrielle said as she laughed.

  ''Let's go.'' Xena said as they mounted Argo and rode toward the cliff. In a few hours they had reached their destination, their only hope, ''This is it.'' Xena said, ''Traysus will be here soon, there's not much time. Gabrielle please, please don't stay, ride away from here, the chances that we will survive this are so slim-''

  ''I wouldn't care if there was no chance at all,'' Gabrielle said, cutting off Xena, ''Xena, I'm staying, and that's all there is to it.'' Gabrielle said, sure of her answer.

  Xena was about to reply when she suddenly heard the horses, Traysus and his army were approaching. ''Gabrielle, they're here. Be ready to jump when I say.''

  ''Okay, I'll be ready.''

  Traysus and his army reached the cliff in a few short minutes. ''Xena, excited to see me?'' Traysus asked arrogantly.

  ''Traysus, I know how you are, and I'm not foolish enough to fight your army by myself, but you aren't getting the satisfaction of killing me.''

  ''Oh but you're wrong, I have you trapped. No one has ever escaped from my army alive, and you aren't about to become the first.'' Traysus said.

  ''Gabrielle get ready.'' Xena whispered to her friend, ''Now you are the one who is wrong Traysus, we may not escape, but my friend and I aren't going to fight you either. Now Gabrielle!'' Xena shouted.  Xena and Gabrielle took two steps then hurled themselves over the cliff.

  ''No!'' Traysus cried. He was very dissapointed, he wanted to be the one who killed the warrior princess, now he would never get the chance, he figured they didn't survive the fall over the cliff, so he took his army and rode off.

  They fell for what seemed like an eternity. Gabrielle hit the water hard. The impact knocked the wind out of her as she was pushed under by the strong current of the waterfall. She struggled to reach the surface, using every ounce of strength left in her, but the current was too strong. She continued to claw frantically, trying to swim. She needed air, her lungs burned like white fire. She worried about Xena, had she made it she wondered as she succumbed to the darkness calling to her.

  Xena fell into the water feet first, also being pulled under by the current. She scrambled to the surface and drew in a deep breath. She looked for Gabrielle, but there was no sign of her. ''Gabrielle? Gabrielle!'' she called out, but their was no responce from anything.

  Xena dove under the water, searching for her friend. She rose to the surface again for air, and plunged back into the water. She looked everywhere, then finally, she saw her. She swam as fast as she could. When she finally reached her she took the limp form in her arms and swam to the surface. The shore was thirty feet away. Xena held Gabrielle's head above the water and swam to the shore. She gently layed Gabrielle on the ground and checked for a pulse. It was very slow and faint. She wasn't breathing.

  Xena rolled Gabrielle onto her back and firmly pressed on it. Water came out of Gabrielle's mouth. ''Come on Gabrielle, don't you leave me, just breathe.'' the warrior pleaded. She rolled her back over and blew air into her lungs several times. Gabrielle began choking and at last, she drew in a deep breath. ''That's it Gab, just breathe.'' Xena said with relief in her voice. Gabrielle slowly opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings, then her eyes met with concerned blue ones.

  ''Piece of cake, huh Xena?'' Gabrielle said as she laughed. Xena knew her friend would be all right. They had beaten the odds, they'd survived.

  ''Yeah,'' Xena said, ''piece of cake.''...

  ''The end.'' Melissa said. Ashley and Katie just sat there, in awe over the story just told to them.

  ''Damn Mel,'' Ashley said, ''you've got to write that one down, publish them, become a millionaire!''

  ''No,'' Melissa said.

  ''Why not?'' Katie asked.

  ''These stories...they are from my family, passed down for centuries. My grandma said they go back thousands of years, and they were found written on scrolls of paper. They're sacred to me, I could never make profit off of them. They'll stay in my heart, forever, and one day I'll tell them to my grandchildren, and their legend will live on forever.