Levels to Zero

 She didn't feel like rainbows and sunshine, she felt like shit.

 She hardly counted what she did last night as sleeping it was a terrible attempt at finding rest.

 Each time she closed her eyes, she saw her self falling back into that oblivion with neon blue eyes watching her, his words constantly echoing.

 Somehow she felt even more dead than she did when she was actually dead, her left side hurt from the fall, and her head felt like someone was drilling her brain. She needed to rest, take a few days and recuperate, but she knew it wouldn't be possible the minute she saw Anna walking towards her.

 "Ryan wants to see you." the blonde woman said a bright smile on her face, a little too bright for Xena's taste, but she would let it slide because she was a bit rude to her yesterday

 "Why?" she questions, looking up and watching the curious eyes of the other occupants of the room scrutinize her.

 "Well, she wants to know more about you and also introduce you to everyone" Anna replied taking a sit on the edge of her bed.

 The girl was a bit too friendly, Xena thought.

 "Introduce me to everyone? You sound like she plans on keeping me. What am I a pet?" she questions, staring at the girl.

 Anna lets out a snort, nudging her slightly on her left side before replying, "If you were, you wouldn't win any pet competitions with how grumpy you are?"

 Instead of the anticipated comeback, Xena lets out a loud hiss, pain exploding from her side, it was almost blinding.

 Alarmed, Anna's eyes opened in shock, fear consuming her as she watched Xena groan in pain.

 "Are you okay?" she questions, watching her squirm in pain.

 Xena would have given her a sarcastic reply if it wasn't for the fact that she was in so much pain, tears slipped from her eyes.

 She didn't understand why that hurt so much, it was a tiny harmless nudge, unless, she thought back to her fall the night before, and with trembling hands she raised up her shirt.

 The collective gasps in the room, let her know just how bad her side looked.

 The doctor nearly passed out from the sight of her left side, it was an ugly shade of red that marred her fair skin.

 He had grumbled about her inability to take care of herself and then scolded her for not listening to him when he told her that she had to take care of her self.

 She was still fragile from recovery and her body had yet to adjust to this new life.

 She would have responded, but she kept her mouth shut this time because he had a big needle, one that he used to administer a pain reliever on her.

 Rubbing the ointment into her skin, he turned once more to Anna and praised her for rushing Xena straight to the clinic. Anna let out a bright smile in return, her cheeks going red.

 Xena rolled her eyes, kiss ass, she thought.

 But she was however grateful for her help, and so far her side felt better. It however hadn't slipped her mind that Ryan had asked for her, and she was beyond late.

 As if being summoned, Ryan stepped into the room, haven been informed of Xena's predicament by one of the other girls in the room.

 She might be a regarded as a somewhat ruthless ruler, but she cared for her people and that now included, especially since it appeared to be that she had been hurt on the camps' property.

 "Xena, heard about your little incident, how are you?" she questioned, keeping her eyes trained on the doctor's hand massaging the healing ointment on the bruise. It would heal naturally, but the ointment would help it heal faster.

 "Oh, I don't know, how would you feel if you were battered and bruised?" Xena questions, staring at the amazonian goddess before her.

 "I would feel victorious because I know I have torn my enemies to shreds" Ryan replied with a coy smile. Xena's eyes widened in shock.

 With one last rub on the bruise, the doctor put down her instrument and left the room, a subtle bow given to Ryan.

 "I need to speak with you, Xena." Ryan began, taking a sit in one of the chairs that Xena hadn't even noticed was there.

 "Why is the CIRCLE after you? What did you do?" she got straight to the point, watching the younger girl.

 Xena looked at Ryan, her head blank, she had no idea who the CIRCLE was, and she didn't know what she did to be assassinated in her own home.

 "I have no idea who the CIRCLE is or what I did, all I remember is opening the door to my apartment and then, well, we all know what happened."

 Ryan casts a glance at Anna, who nods her head in agreement, their little refugee was telling the truth.

 "What was that?" Xena questions regarding the shared look between Anna and Ryan.

 "I was just checking, if you were telling the truth, Anna here is our little accurate lie detector" Anna lets out a little awkward smile.

 "Tell me about your childhood, Xena" Ryan continues, staring intensely at her.

 Thrown off by the question, Xena takes a moment to prepare her answer, she hated talking about her childhood, the nuns at the orphanage weren't the nicest people, most especially to her.

 "Well, I grew up in an orphanage, I aged out of the system last year" she replies taking an audible gulp and praying to the gods that Ryan doesn't ask any more questions.

 Once more, Anna gives an affirmative nod to Ryan, Xena was being true, even though her words and actions were laced with anxiety and something else that was so thick, it took Anna sometime to read past it.

 "When did you get to the orphanage? Do you have any siblings?" Ryan questions further, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees.

 "I got to the orphanage when I was seven, they found me by the doorsteps, alone and nearly dead, I don't remember much of that, or how I got there, but it was just me, I don't have siblings." Xena replied, the same hard look on her face whenever she tough about her life before the orphanage.

She never seemed to remember what her life was before, the mean nuns and hurtful kids.

 Ryan, found it even more strange, Why would the government want an unknown orphan dead so bad they didn't wait for a second to execute their plan and why couldn't she remember her life before the orphanage…

And most importantly, who dropped her off at the orphanage.

 Seeing the discomfort on her face, Ryan decides to come back to the discussion later.

 "What happened to your side?" Ryan asks, staring at the now clothed bruise.

 "I fear I might have been tackled by one of your men last night while I was on a stroll"

 Ryan thought about it, the only person on patrol last night was… Frost. 

 Looking back at Anna, she says, "I think might have just had her first encounter with Frost."

 "Frost?" Xena asks, looking at Anna.

 "My brother"