- Marmax: [as Gabrielle changes his bandages] Tell me a story.
- Gabrielle: Okay.
- [pause]
- Gabrielle: There was once this king, his name was Libarius. He was a brave warrior, a great hunter.
- Marmax: Ha, I like it already!
- Gabrielle: He was so proud of his hunting skills that he decided to test them in the sacred forest, of the great Goddess Artemis.
- Marmax: That sounds like a mistake.
- Gabrielle: She was so angry with him that she turned him into a deer.
- Marmax: He became the hunted; the worst thing that can happen to a great hunter!
- Gabrielle: [Gabrielle smiles] That's what he thought at first. But then he became so fond of the peaceful ways of the deer, that he actually grew to love them. Of course, he still missed his friends and family, which made him very sad. So Artemis took pity on him, turned him back into his human form.
- Marmax: A happy ending. But what a nightmare, a warrior having to live the life of a deer.
- Gabrielle: Actually, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He became a better king after the experience. A much happier man.
- Marmax: Why is that?
- Gabrielle: 'Cause he learned the true secret of life is to find peace in yourself and to share it with the world.
- Marmax: It's a pretty story. Too bad it has nothing to do with real life.
- Gabrielle: [smiles] Life is only what you make of it.
- Gabrielle: I can't bear to think of all the innocents who suffer because of this madness! Someone has to stop it. Come on, Xena, not even you can stop an entire war!
- [Xena raises her head]
- Gabrielle: All right! Well look, I did not mean that as a challenge...
- Xena: Stay here with Ephiny.
- Gabrielle: What are- what are you going to do?
- Xena: I'm gonna find a safe place for Ephiny to have her baby.
- [pause]
- Xena: And then I'm gonna stop this war.
- [Xena walks away]
- Gabrielle: [whispers loudly] I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut!
- Xena: Gabrielle, come on. You're going to be fine!
- [Gabrielle starts convulsing. Her body is jerking uncontrollably]
- Marmax: What's happening?
- Xena: I don't know! Gabrielle!
- Hippocrates: [Gabrielle suddenly stops and lies still]
- [pause]
- Hippocrates: She's dead.
- Xena: No, she is not dead. I wouldn't let her.
- [Xena starts stroking Gabrielle to wake her up]
- Xena: Come on, Gabrielle, wake up. Come on, wake up. Come on, wake up. You're scaring me, wake up!
- [Xena grabs Gabrielle and cradles her lifeless body]
- Xena: Gabrielle, breathe. Wake up and breathe!
- Xena: [as she treats the wounded Gabrielle] Keep that soldier awake. If he falls asleep, he may never wake up.
- Galen: She should have hit him an inch lower. She could have killed the monster.
- Xena: She knew that, that's why he's still alive.
- Marmax: Are you telling me that she'd rather die than take the life of a man she doesn't even know?
- Marmax: Gabrielle lives by her own code. That code doesn't include killing.
- Ephiny: My husband was ripped apart by Mitoan hunting dogs, while your men watched and laughed!
- Marmax: This can't be...
- Ephiny: Phantes was once my sworn enemy. Then I learned forgiveness and from that I learned love.
- [pause]
- Ephiny: I just hope my child grows up to live in a world free from your blind hatred.
- Marmax: You despise me for this.
- Ephiny: I don't despise you, but you've got to think of the children! Is bloodshed all you want them to know?
- Xena: [as she moves over to Gabrielle's unconscious body] Gabrielle, you know, if I could do it all over again, I'd take the southern route.
- [sadly]
- Xena: I'm so sorry!
- Marmax: She may well pull through...
- Xena: You were right, I shouldn't have brought her here...
- Marmax: I guess we all make mistakes...
- Xena: My pride may have killed my best friend.
- Hippocrates: We'd like to observe your work.
- Xena: These people need care, not another pair of eyes gawking at them. You got a lot of customers. Get to work. It's too late for him, but there are others that can be saved.
- [pause]
- Xena: You need to separate out the ones that can be saved from the ones that can't.
- Hippocrates: How can we be sure?
- Xena: You need to choose.