DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Xena stuff is the legal property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer.

Hurt
By Kristjan Brezovnik

A blond warrior was watching from the hill as Xena's army sacked a small village. She watched emotionlessly for a while and then grinned.

"Let's get them!"

She started to ride downhill and her army followed her.

"Xena! There's an army approaching!"

"How many?"

"They match us in number."

Xena grinned.

"Then let's annihilate them. I don't want a single soldier to escape."

"Yes, Xena!"

"Darphus!"

The blond warrior's army quickly reached the village and attacked. Xena quickly noticed that the blond warrior was very good and that she wanted to fight with her. She decided to oblige and she attacked her.

"Hello, Xena," the blond warrior said as they circled around one another.

"Ah, so you know who I am. And who might you be?"

"Callisto. I'm sure you've heard of me."

Xena pretended to think.

"Callisto, Callisto. Ah, yes, I've heard of you. They say you're as good as me."

"I should be."

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

"Because you made me!"

Callisto attacked, but Xena easily blocked the flurry of blows and slashes.

"Hmm, this doesn't look like I made you," Xena said and grinned.

Callisto screamed and attacked again, but, again, Xena easily defended herself.

"Now, now, little girl, temper, temper," she taunted the blond warrior.

Callisto screamed again and attacked. Xena defended herself at first and then stroke back and wounded Callisto's right arm.

"You're pathetic, kid. Why don't you go home to your mammy."

Callisto attacked, screaming, and Xena could see that her eyes were wet.

"Oh, you don't have a mammy anymore," she guessed. "No wonder nobody taught you any manners."

Xena attacked again and quickly dispatched Callisto into the land of dreams.

Seeing that his warlord was down, Callisto's second-in-command ordered retreat.

When Callisto woke up, she was in Xena's camp, tied to a stake.

"Xena, the prisoner has awoken," Darphus reported.

"Thank you, Darphus," Xena said, studying a plan. "I'll come right away."

Callisto saw Xena's second-in-command come out of the Warrior Princess' tent, but the warlord didn't follow him.

"Xena!" she screamed.

There was no response.

"Xena!!" she screamed again.

This time the Warrior Princess came out.

"Stop yelling, will you? I know you're awake." Xena circled around the stake and thought. "Okay, blondie, I killed your family, right?"

Callisto glared at her murderously.

"Yes," she spat.

"Thought so. Which village?"

"Cirra."

"Cirra, Cirra. Ah, yes, the barbecue!"

Xena and her men laughed and Callisto screamed, furious, and tried to break free.

"So, you survived that party, ha? And you feel I'm responsible for you, right? Well, let me tell you something, blondie, I don't give a shit about you, so you might as well chill out."

"You'll pay, Xena, I swear!"

"Oh, relax, will you? Of course I'll pay. I'm sure Hades has a nice little retirement spot ready just for me. He might have one for you too, but maybe he'll just throw you in with the rest of the garbage."

Callisto screamed and Xena and her men laughed.

"Okay, now, what shall we do with you, hm?" Xena thought and observed the young warlord. She was a good fighter and totally insane. If she let her go, she would come back. And she felt that Xena was responsible for her. She grinned as she realized just what that meant. "I know, I'll let you live! You would be a perfect replacement for what's-his-name. You're a pretty good fighter and I could use someone to keep me on my toes. You know, ever since I got bored with what's-his-name, I had to kill flies. I'd really appreciate a wasp." Xena laughed. "Darphus."

Darphus followed her to her tent.

"I want you to gag her. And I want the men to totally ignore her, like she wasn't there."

"I don't understand."

Xena grinned.

"Trust me. And also make sure that her ties are checked every hour or two in irregular intervals. Whoever checks them should pretend like he's just passing by and he should check the ties only visually."

"Yes, my Princess."

"Leave."

Darphus left and Xena laughed.

Over the next two days Xena's soldiers and Xena herself completely ignored Callisto. Callisto was furious and it hurt her that the woman responsible for her completely ignored her, like she wasn't there. Two more days later the army packed the camp and moved one, forgetting Callisto.

A few minutes after the army had left a soldier came back, cut her hands free and rode away. Callisto freed herself and screamed.

"It's not fair!

And it wasn't, not to Callisto. She felt that Xena should show some interest in her, after all, she made her. But no, Xena didn't care. She was like a mosquito to her. No, not even a mosquito, a fly. She wasn't even worth killing. That hurt Callisto more than any torture and for the first time since her family's death she felt tears in her eyes. She angrily dried them. There will be no tears, never again.

A week later Callisto had recovered from her imprisonment and she caught up with Xena's army again. Her own army had been annihilated as she found out and she was now on her own. She wasn't afraid to take on Xena's entire army. She might take them all, if it weren't for Xena. She knew that as soon as she engaged Xena, Xena would not let others to interfere with their fight. Callisto smiled bitterly. She was barely a workout for Xena, nothing more, not even a victim. She bit her teeth. She would make Xena acknowledge her.

She knew the map of the surrounding country by heart and she quickly figured out which village would be Xena's next target. She decided to prepare a surprise for the Destroyer of Nations. Not that she cared about the villagers, to her they were only sword fodder. She rode to the village.

"Who is in charge around here?" she asked an old man, the first person she encountered.

"Troilus."

"Where can I find him?"

"He is in the tavern right now."

"And where is that?"

"Over there."

Callisto looked and rode there. She dismounted, tethered her horse and entered the tavern.

"I'm looking for Troilus!" she called.

Everybody looked at her, surprised.

"I am Troilus," a man finally said and approached her.

Callisto looked at him appraisingly.

"Are you in charge of this village?"

"Well, I…"

"Yes or no?"

Troilus thought.

"Yes."

"Good. Xena will attack your village."

"What?! How do you know?"

Callisto grinned.

"I would. She will probably attack tomorrow morning, so this gives you some time to prepare a defense."

"But what if we just prepare the food or whatever she needs and…"

Callisto rolled her eyes.

"Why do I even bother? It's your village, do what you want," she said and left.

The villagers looked after her, confused, and then started to confer.

The next morning Callisto woke up earlier than usual. She slowly ate what was left of the food and then rode closer to the village. She waited. She didn't care about the villagers, this was about Xena acknowledging her.

Xena finally came. Callisto grinned and mounted her mare. She waited for a few minutes and then rode to the village.

Xena immediately noticed her.

"Darphus, nobody touches her!" she ordered.

Xena's army avoided Callisto and only defended themselves if Callisto attacked them.

"So, you're back," Xena said and grinned. "What's your name again? Calypso?"

Callisto screamed furiously and attacked. Xena played with her like a cat with a mouse.

"Oh, come now, Calypso… Oh, yes, it's Callisto, right? Oh, come now, Callisto, you can do better than that," she teased her.

Callisto drew on all her anger and pain and attacked with all her might, but Xena was still better. Xena played with the blond warlord, slowly carving her up. But Callisto didn't give up.

Xena's army had already completed their mission and were now standing in a circle and observed their warlord play with the blond warlord. Even the villagers observed the fight from a distance.

"Oh, come now, blondie, can't you do any better? If you can't, I'll have to kill you."

Callisto was almost sobbing, she was so furious. Even Xena had to admit that she was good, but she didn't let Callisto know that. Callisto was now barely standing, blood dripping off her in small currents, but she kept fighting. Xena smiled and slowly continued to carve her up like roasted meat.

Callisto finally collapsed on her knees and waited for the death strike. Xena stared at her for a few moments and then shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, well, fun's over," she said and turned to her soldiers. "Darphus!"

"Everything is ready."

"Then move!"

The soldiers started to move.

Callisto gathered her last strength and got on her feet. She staggeringly approached her maker and lifted her sword. Xena sensed her. She turned and impaled her. Callisto gasped and watched as Xena pulled the sword out of her body, shrugged her shoulders and left.

Callisto remained standing for a couple of moments and then fell on the ground. Her eyes tracked the Warrior Princess, but the Warrior Princess never turned, already forgetting that there was ever a victim named Callisto, a child who wanted to be cared for, who wanted to be acknowledged. It hurt Callisto so much, being ignored by the Warrior Princess, much more than all the wounds she had suffered in the battle. It hurt almost as much as loosing her family.

Mama, was her last coherent thought before the life left the big brown childish eyes.

The villagers slowly approached the corpse of the warrior who had valiantly fought the Destroyer of Nations and was slain, never realizing that the warrior didn't fight Xena because of them but because of herself.

The End