Meeting Melinda
Macedonia, 1940. Xena Scrolls dig site.

    Just another normal day, or so I thought.  I woke up, walked around the dig site surveying all my men and their search to uncover anything that would let me into this blasted tomb.  At least I think it's a tomb.  All was in order, just a normal day.  But even the famed Covington Bad Luck can get worse, which more common folk couldn't handle.  I could being Harry's little girl.  This string of  bad luck wasn't nothing to get my self worked up over.  Well, let's see what and where exactly my day changed.  Ah yes, that bastard Smithe and his little band of thugs.  At least I was able to get a good workout today, that's something.

    Well, I broke a few valuables that the museum would have wanted.  I'll bluff a bit, tell them I ran into Germans, that always seems to work.  I have to laugh at all the war propaganda that's being sent home sometimes.  After seeing the devastation of England and France for myself, it's only a matter of time before we get into the war.  Maybe I'll join.  What am I thinking they'd never let a woman fight.

     Sometimes fate is more twisted than even I could have imagined.  My bad luck just kept rearing it's ugly head all morning long, and it didn't end with my little encounter.  There she was, in all her prim tall and lean glory.  Smug.  Yeah that's it, a rich smug nosed little brat trying to weasel her way into my discovery.  Calls herself Mel Pappas, the daughter of the Melvin Pappas who died last year.  I can't trust her, its all to convenient for my tastes.

    Oh she drives me crazy!  That Mel gets in more trouble than even I can handle, and she constantly gets in my way!  Worse yet, we have that French moron following us around.  Why did I ever agree to this!?  She must have some hypnotic power in those blue eyes of hers.  And let me tell you they are blue!  We did manage to get into the tomb, unfortunately so did Smithe thanks to Mel and her big mouth.  The fine art of subtlety isn't one of her many skills.  Skills, ha!  So far all she has done is translated a few paragraphs in that old scroll of dad's.  I can't even image that she's even close to being right with her version.  I have searched the globe over twice tracking down anyone that knows this archaic writing.  And here comes Miss Pappas from South Carolina translating it as if she was reading off a grocery list.  And if she says "oh my." one more time I think I'll scream!!

    Well of course, yet another fitting turn of events in the life of one Janice Covington.  Mel Pappas sat her pretty little caboose down and triggered some sort of mechanism that revealed what my father spent a lifetime, and our life savings looking for....  The illustrious Xena Scrolls!  Then our Miss Mel had the audacity to claim a 50% partnership in them.  She reminds me of my supplier Big Rod, who I am sure sold off his own mother just to get to Greece!  Well as it happens not only did she find the scrolls, but the Warrior's fabled Chakram.  Nothing more embarrassing that admitting failure in your own journal, but as strong as I am I couldn't even budge the damn thing out of the wall.  Mel sauntered over and slipped it out of the rock like it was only lying upon it.  Yes, I should have just stayed in bed today!

    Wonderful!  Have I told you how much my whole life has meant to me lately?  Well guess what, I am batting a thousand today.  Turns out that I am not Xena or Callisto descendant, I am Gabrielle's.  The silly little tag along bard, you remember the one that Callisto so easily captured.  Yeah that's my great great great, oh what's so great about my ancestor?!  Why can't I just be related to George Washington like everyone else!  As if I don't have enough shame in my family tree, Melinda turns out to be a direct decent of Xena, my hero.  That's right... that stumbling, tall, motor mouth of an Anthropologist has Xena's blood coursing through her veins.  How do I know all this new information?  The scrolls?  No.  I stood there and talked to Ares himself.  Yeah, Ares the God of War and I had a conversation, it wasn't long but it was definitely a conversation.

    Finally my luck is changing, somehow Mel brought Xena's soul into her own body after both halves of the Chakram touched.  I was looking at my hero in the flesh, and mentally noting that Mel is actually one good looking broad.  I wonder what Xena looked like, she was described as tall, muscular, tanned, piercing blue eyes, and long black hair.  I had to blink... was I really looking at Xena, or was this still Mel?  One thing was for certain, Xena explained to me just how much Gabrielle meant to her and all these years of thinking she was nothing more than a pest I knew better.  The only way I could thank Xena now was by helping her defeat Ares.

    I have no intention of putting this on my resume.  It was deja vu all over again being tied up on this pillar with Jack, yeah the bastard lied to me.  He's just a brush salesman from New Jersy named Jack, what kind of a name is Jack?  Ever since Mel Pappas walked into my life I feel like the word gullible was stamped on my forehead.  Next thing you know I might even run off and join a religious cult or something.

     Well that's all over with.  Xena defeated Ares, I blew up the dig site, confiscated the scrolls and was just about to set off on my way.  I don't know what it was, the sound of her voice, the words, or it might just be that I am so damn lonely.  But I asked Mel to team up with me, I know I'll regret it in the end, but its something that just seems bigger than the both of us.  I feel a connection with her somehow.  That and Jack was absolutely right about her, she does have a great set of gams.