"But, M'Lady, we have yet to prepare the troops!"

Xena was ready to hiss at the clergyman assigned to her to help her with any duties as "Queen" and all that. The clergyman, aka the Clerappi, had interrupted an important meeting between the Elder and her Generals along with the small group of government officials working under her rule. The tent billowed in the breeze, golden skies giving a perfect embellishment of light in order to read the scrolls on the round table they were all gathered around. The small circlet with golden vines wrapped around the metal was threatening to fly right off of Xena's head, long black waves whipping a few men next to her, as did the black cape wrapped around her figure. A tall black man grumbled, crossing his arms while glaring at the clerappi.

"And your point is, Clerappi? I guess my orders were not clear. I said only hours ago that I wanted the newest installment of 15,000 to join up with the barracks, while the rest split up into other territories along Consequence's borders! What do our men, the brave soldiers fighting for a planet that they once called home, have to do with shipments of supplies, Mr. Gwazellie?! Nothing, that's what! So I suggest that you get moving, immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes, M-M'Lady, but - "

Xena interrupted him. "I'm sorry, what was that?" She had given him the last chance to correct himself, to make him seem like less of a fool than he was already presenting himself as.

"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!" The clerappi then ran off through a portal to do her bidding, beat red from embarressment. He tripped on his way out, leaving the men around the Elder of Light laughing. The woman sighed, shaking her head, and gripped the edges of the table. Some people turned into real idiots during times such as these. Worst of all, the clergyman had caught her in a foul mood, making her mind a reckless fit of chaos and confusion. 

"Gentlemen, we shall continue this meeting later if you don't mind... I need a breather for a few moments." As soon as they all nodded, she gave them a wave of dismissal, and off they went back to their daily duties.

It had seemed so long ago since she had last closed her eyes and relaxed, pressing her face against a pillow of swan feathers and wrapped up in a blanket of warmth and comfort. She had been so busy with the army and the healers, training them and helping them and fighting alongside them. She had been so busy with plans for the Temple of Light, the layout already before her now, along with a budget set forth by Tye and his government, supplies needed, places of interest, etc. And then there were the dreams. Those haunting dreams, every night for the past week. The dreams consisted of a purple rose, blossoming, and glowing with white light. Gaia light. And then as the rose got brighter and brighter, numbers started to appear out of no where, flying about, forming times and dates, while a soothing voice whispered in her ear:

"Formestaris Violepuratti..." 

Formestaris... That meant Champion in the new found language she had been studying... Violepurratti meant purple... So was Gaia trying to tell of her some Purple Champion? At first, the thought made her burst out into fits of giggles, for it reminded her of purple smurfs holding flaming pitchforks and heading forth into battle against a field of blades of grass. But after consideration, after a certain pull towards the Tavern, she knew it meant so much more. What wasn't she getting? What wasn't she understanding? The date of July 23rd was written upon one the papers before her, a date listed in her dream, as were a few times and images. But what was so special about Monday? She did not know. Only time would tell. Patience is the key, Gaia had once said to her. 

"M'Lady," a male voice rang from behind her, pulling Xena out of the complicated maze within the depths of her mind, "the shipments have arrived for the Valoci Tempelim."

With a forced smile on her face, pushing many unanswered questions into the back of her mind, the woman turned to the messenger, standing. He bowed quickly before her as he pulled out a scroll of the shipments at hand. "Thank you, Troy. You are ever so kind. I know I can always rely on you..." Then she heard that voice again. Gaia was speaking to her, softly, through the trees of the forest in the outskirts of the Tavern. A bundle of leaves and petals floated in the breeze towards her, up and down like a crazy roller coaster, saying two words only the Vielle could hear.

"Formestaris Violepuratti...."