Plot summary
King Lias asks Xena to protect his daughter Diana before her marriage to Mineus of Liberium. Xena is astonished to discover that the princess looks exactly like her. They exchange clothes and roles so that Xena can draw out the assassins while Diana experiences life outside the palace with Gabrielle.
At court, Xena learns that Mineus' brother Philemon loves Diana. She also notices that the attackers' tracks lead inside the castle, suggesting an internal conspiracy. Suspicion falls on the general Bromius and the ambassador Glauce. Meanwhile Gabrielle teaches the sheltered Diana how to survive outside, where she sees poverty and ordinary hardship for the first time.
Philemon realizes that Xena is impersonating the princess and admits his feelings for the real Diana. Xena captures an assassin who names Bromius, but the general is soon found dead in his cell. His death is presented as suicide, allowing the wedding preparations to resume without exposing the real organizer.
Glauce plans one final assassination once Xena appears to have left. The women have secretly exchanged places again. Philemon rides away with Diana, believing that he is accompanying Xena, while Xena remains at the ceremony disguised as the bride.
When Glauce makes his move, Xena reveals herself and defeats him and his assassins. On the road, Philemon confesses his love to the woman he thinks is Xena and is delighted to learn that she is Diana. The intended political union is ultimately secured through Diana's marriage to Philemon rather than Mineus.
Credits
Adapted from Legendary Journeys Wiki contributors, Warrior... Princess. Complete episode narrative, rewritten and condensed for clarity; causal developments and the episode's ending retained. Illustrations, dialogue quotations and non-story metadata omitted.