I've already noticed a change in Joxer. I think talking has helped, that and the lute. He's played it every night before we go to sleep.
I'd almost forgotten how talented he was. He played so rarely when I was growing up, but now I get to hear him all the time. It's good for him.
We should be in Corinth tomorrow morning. Joxer's really anxious to see his friends again,
and I can't wait to meet Iphicles. I've never met a King before, at least not a royal one.
Joxer and Virgil passed through the gates to Corinth and watched the people passing through the streets. "So, which direction's the palace?"
"Well, if I remember right, it should be... this way!" Virgil knew Joxer had no clue, but followed him anyway. Amazingly, they soon came upon the palace. Perhaps Joxer's luck was improving.
Looking around, Joxer spotted a line of people by one of the entrances and took a spot behind a rather dirty looking man. There, he and Virgil waited a little. They waited some more. The line moved forward by a couple of people, then they waited again. The day seemed to grow a little shorter, yet they waited some more.
Finally, the line moved into the palace. The King, who really reminded Joxer of someone but he just couldn't get his thumb on quite who it was, was sitting on his throne receiving petitioners one by one. Eventually, Joxer and Virgil made their way to the dais and bowed to the King of Corinth.
"Yes? What can I do for you?"
"Well, Your Highness, I'm a friend of your brother's. I was hoping he and Iolaus might be here visiting with you."
"You know my brother?" The King began laughing. "Do you have any idea how many people come in here each day saying they know my brother and expect me to do them some kind of favour?"
"Well, I could guess, but I wouldn't really know."
"Why don't you head back to wherever you came from. This forum is for Corinthian business only."
Joxer, looking dejected, turned with Virgil at his heel and headed back toward the entrance of the throne room. When they were half-way there, two men made their way through the door with one of the palace servants running to try to reach the King before them.
"Your Highness, your brother's here to see you!"
"I can see that. Hello Hercules, Iolaus."
"Hello, brother." Hercules spotted Joxer and Virgil walking away from the dais. "Joxer? Hey, what are you doing in Corinth?" They gripped arms. "And Virgil, right?" Virgil nodded enthusiastically.
"Actually, we were hoping we'd see you guys here."
"Brother," Iphicles spoke up. "You actually know these two?"
"Yes. Joxer's a friend of Xena's. You know, Joxer, it's a good thing we met up here. I have some business to talk to my brother about and I wouldn't mind if you joined us."
"Really? I mean, of course. Joxer the Mighty is always at your service." Slipping his mask of bravado on, Joxer followed Hercules to the dais. Virgil couldn't help but be curious. Why would Hercules want to see Joxer? He loved his fath... friend, but still.
Iphicles called off the rest of the petitioners and led his four visitors to a living room deeper inside the palace. Everyone took a seat, and Joxer and Virgil couldn't help but relish in the luxury of their surroundings.
"Now Hercules, what was the business you wished to discuss with me?"
"We, Iolaus and I, were visiting with the King of Thrace. Apparently, the local gossip was that certain richer merchants in the area, as well as a few warlords, weren't too happy with your rule in Corinth. It appears they may have hired an assassin to get you out of the way."
"I wouldn't worry. The security around the palace is maybe the best in all of Greece."
"That it may be, but there are a couple of things that make this a little more urgent. The first is the reason I thought Joxer should be here. I think they hired Jett."
"Wait a minute, isn't he the King of Assassins?"
"Yeah, my brother's the best there is."
Iphicles stared at Joxer. "Your brother is an assassin?" Joxer nodded. "And you're proud of that?"
"Well, I know he's an overachiever compared to me, especially in Dad's eyes, but he's still my brother. And as I said, he's the best."
Iphicles looked to his brother who made a face as if to say "Don't ask." "So, the King of Assassins may be after me. You said there were a couple of complications, not one."
"That's right. We suspect he may have help."
"What kind of help?"
"I'm not sure. We want to stick around here and make sure you're safe." Iphicles didn't look happy about the situation, but he knew by now it was useless arguing with his little brother. Hercules turned back to Joxer. "I was wondering if you'd want to stay around a while too. From what Xena and Gabrielle told me, you can get through to your brother every now and then. That may come in handy."
"Do we get to stay here in the palace?"
Hercules smiled at his brother. "I'm sure we can find a room or two for you."
Joxer turned to Virgil, smiling. "So, you feel like staying?"
"I wouldn't miss this for the world."
* * *
Hercules had spent what was left of the day making plans with the palace guards to ensure his brother's safety. Since they weren't really needed at the moment, Joxer decided to take Virgil to one of the local taverns.
They walked in and could immediately smell the stench of alcohol. "Don't you just love these places?"
"Umm, yeah."
Joxer made his way to the bar and asked for an ale. The barman looked at him once, then twice, then couldn't help but ask the question that was on his mind.
"Excuse me, Sir. Is there something wrong with your room?"
"What room?"
"The room you rented from us."
"I didn't rent a room..." His face lit up with realization. "You know, I left MY ROOM, and I just couldn't find my way back. Which was it again."
"It was room 25."
"That's it. Right. Thanks." Joxer turned quickly, grabbing Virgil by the arm. "Jett must be staying here. Let's go surprise him. We'll convince him to leave Corinth, then let Hercules know there's no more threat to the King."
Joxer stopped, then turned back to the bar. "Excuse me. It's getting a little dark. Would you happen to have a lamp I could borrow?" The barman handed him a lantern and he led the way up the stairs.
Joxer and Virgil slowly crept along the wall down the hallway until they reached room 25. After making sure there was no noise in the room, Joxer slowly turned the handle, opened the door, and crept inside with Virgil at his back. Once Virgil was through the door, Joxer closed it as quietly as he'd opened it. Virgil was decidedly impressed that Joxer's armour hadn't made a single sound. Now that, he thought, took talent.
Joxer held a finger at his lips and motioned for Virgil to stay put. He approached the bed and without warning pulled the blanket away.
"Ahhh!"
Virgil looked around Joxer to find out what had made him yell.
"Oh my Gods!"
"Joxer, what in Tartarus are you doing here?"
Joxer and Virgil looked on in shock, not at the naked Jett but at the man who was still snoring at his side with one arm flung over his chest. Jett elbowed the man in the ribs.
"Okay, it's time to get up."
The man slowly lifted his eyelids until his eyes came into contact with Joxer's. "Umm, Joxer, this isn't what is looks like!"
Joxer couldn't do anything but stand there and stare.
"Give it up, Auto. My brother's not as much of an idiot as we make him out to be." Jett scowled at the new arrivals. "Will the two of you at least take off and let us get dressed?"
Virgil hit Joxer on the arm, waking him out of his shock. "Umm, yeah, sure." Virgil all but pulled him out of the room.
Once outside, Virgil bent over and let out the laughter he'd been fighting. Joxer looked down at him, still in shock. "What's so funny?"
"Come on! Like you didn't think that was hilarious."
"Why would my brother in bed with Auto of all people be funny?"
"Because it is?" Joxer didn't buy it. "I don't know, it just was. Well, that and your reaction."
Virgil was shaken yet again by a stream of giggles. The door opened a little.
"If the two of you are done, you can come back in now."
Virgil managed to calm himself down enough to follow Joxer back into the room. He noticed Autolycus, fully dressed in leather pants and a green vest, was standing as far away from the bed as possible and was looking uncharacteristically nervous.
"Hey Auto. What've you been up to since we got back to Greece?" Virgil did his best to look innocent, but the moment he looked back at Jett he started laughing again.
Joxer saw the look his brother was giving his sidekick. "Virgil, cut it out if you want to see tomorrow. Jett doesn't like being laughed at."
Virgil immediately stopped and instinctively took a step behind Joxer for safety.
"What are you doing here, Jox?" Jett, naked from the waist up, glared at his brother.
"Well, we wanted a drink so we went to the bar downstairs. The guy thought I was you, so I knew you were here and I thought I'd surprise you."
Auto crossed his arms over his chest. "Next time, don't."
"I meant in Corinth, little brother."
Joxer rolled his eyes -- he hated being called 'little brother'. "We wanted to see if Hercules and Iolaus were visiting King Iphicles."
"And was he?"
"Well..." Joxer was about to answer when he saw the gleam in his brother's eyes. "Hey, you ARE here to kill the King, aren't you."
Jett nodded. "And what are you going to do about it?"
"Wait a minute here." Auto pushed away from his spot against the far wall. "You didn't say anything about killing the guy, just about robbing the palace coffers."
"Auto, I'm an assassin. What did you think I was coming here for?"
"But Iphicles is the Big Guy's brother."
"It's just a job, Auto."
The two men stared each other down, almost chest to chest, apparently having forgotten that Joxer and Virgil were still there.
"We can't let this happen, Jett."
The assassin glared at his brother. "What, are YOU going to stop me?"
"But Jett," Virgil chimed in, "you wouldn't go after family, would you?"
"That's right!" Auto picked up where he left off. "The Big Guy's practically a brother to us, which makes Iphicles family."
"Nice try, but no go. I'm still doing the job."
Virgil almost sulked until an idea came to him. "But Jett, you can't kill your brother's lover!"
Joxer turned surprisedly to look at him. "What? I didn't see Jace anywhere around there."
"Come on, Jox. Don't think I didn't see the looks you and Iphicles were throwing each other. It was so obvious, I don't know why you tried to hide it."
"What?" Joxer turned to see Jett and Auto looking at him with separate expressions of shock. "You don't believe him, now do you?"
"Oh, stop denying it, Jox. We all know you wouldn't have lasted this long without someone watching over you. Anyway, I heard you mumbling about him in your sleep."
"Hold it right there! I do not mumble in his sleep. I mean MY sleep."
"Oh yeah? Then what were you doing last night?"
The two men stopped their volleying when a burst of laughter erupted at their side. Jett and Auto couldn't believe their ears, and had to hold each other up so as not to fall laughing on the floor.
"Okay Jox, I won't touch him. You know I wouldn't do that to you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Now if that's all, Auto and I have a bit of 'sleep' to catch up on."
"All right. I'll see you guys around."
Joxer and Virgil hadn't even turned to the door when Jett and Auto practically fell into each other's arms, and the bed. Once the door closed behind them, Joxer turned to Virgil.
"What in Tartarus was all that about?"
"Hey, we stopped him from going after Iphicles, didn't we?"
"Yeah, but now he thinks that I... and him..."
"Don't worry about it. Who's he gonna tell?"
"Still. You could have said something else."
They decided to abandon their original plan of drinking through the night and returned to the
palace.
* * *
The next morning, Joxer and Virgil joined the others in the royal dining room.
"Did you two sleep well?" Iphicles asked of his guests.
"Oh, yeah." Virgil replied. "We even met up with Jett last night and convinced him not to come after Iphicles."
Iphicles, Hercules and Iolaus were shocked. "And how'd you manage that?" the hero asked sceptically.
Joxer spoke up before Virgil could. "Don't ask. Just trust that he won't be coming around anytime soon."
"Yeah," Virgil agreed. "Anyway, I think he'll be a little busy for a while." He erupted into giggles, and this time Joxer joined him.
The remaining three exchanged glances. "Ooo-kay."
"Well," Iphicles said, "thank you for your help. You know there will always be a place for you here at the palace, and you can stay as long as you like."
"Thank you." Joxer nodded his thanks.
"Umm, Joxer?" He turned to look at Virgil. "I think Armaan may have a couple days off soon. I thought maybe we could go visit him."
"We'll talk about it after breakfast, okay?"
Well, we talked and I'll be heading off on my own for a little while. I really miss Armaan and I can't wait to see him again.
I hope Joxer takes the time to think about his friends, maybe even meet up with them while I'm gone. He loves them so much, and I can't stand seeing him upset like he is every now and then...
It's amazing the things you find out when barging into someone's room. I still can't stop laughing! Jett and Auto -- who'd have thunk it.
And I'm so glad Jox didn't hold any hard feelings about the Iphicles thing. From what I remember of my Uncle Jett, it was just about the only way to stop him from doing a job. Say what you like, but Jett's a professional. Then again, so's Auto. I wonder what kind of team they'll make.
Well, I'm leaving tomorrow. This is going to be fun!
Click Here to Read the Next TAJMAV Story -- Reunions 1: Virgil's Story
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