Untitled
by Emily
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em
Subtext: No, no, and NO!
Sex: I don't think so...
Rating: You decide
Violence: Stupid question
Author's note: This story takes place anywhere before
season five, probably around season three.
*******************************************************
Xena looked up to the gray sky with it's menacing
clouds. No doubt there would be a storm soon. And to
make matters worse she was traveling on foot because
Gabby and Joxer were on their way to Potedia and
needed to be their in a couple days for Lila's
wedding, so she borrowed them Argo.
Xena smiled to herself. Weddings, it seemed like
something she couldn't comprehend. Living with one
man for the rest of her life, and a hectic life at
that. Well, maybe if she found just the right person,
good looking, witty, sexy, tall, dark, mmm...leather,
she stopped herself. Xena knew who she was
describing. She'd never admit it to anyone, she could
hardly admit it to herself, but she wanted Ares. Who
could resist the god? The god, there were only a hand
full of gods and there was one, the most handsome of
them all in her opinion, who desired her.
A crack in the woods to the left of her startled her.
She looked over, and saw nothing. She continued to
walk, although subtly glancing from side to side. It
seemed like out of no-where a dagger whizzed past her
head and hit a tree in front of her. She turned
around, chakram in hand, to see a savage looking man
with red, white, and yellow face paints charging at
her.
The Horde. One of the few things that invoked fear in
her. She would have taken him, but noticed others
from the tribes jumping out of their hiding places.
She estimated some thirty of them. Xena looked down
at her trusty chakram. It suddenly looked so idle in
her hand. She turned, and saw a path leading out of
the forest. Maybe she could out-run them. It was a
better chance than her defeating them by the sword.
Xena took off down the path, glancing back to see the
Horde close behind her. She kept running, but before
she knew it, like anything in life, she came to a
cliff. Below she could see jagged rocks protruding
out of the crashing waves. She heard a crack of
lightning, almost like a whip starting a team of
horses, and a down-pour of rain came upon her like one
of the waves below.
There was a Horde member coming towards her
with...those things that look like hatchets, we'll
call 'em hatchets for now. She threw her chakram at
him. The fatal weapon, which had been intended to
slice through the man's neck and come back to her,
still lay embedded as he fell to the ground. Too late
to go get it for there was another man coming at her,
she unsheathed her sword. The two exchanged a few
blows when another came at her. She flipped over them
and grabbed the man's weapon who she had just killed
weapon.
Now taking both of them on, she saw a third coming at
them. These were terrible odds. She glanced back
again to check on the ascending man when she caught
sight of a hatchet a few inches from her head and in
that moment a hand shot out from beside her and
grabbed the leathal object before it hit its target.
Dazed, Xena looked at the owner of the hand, and found
herself face to face with the God of War. The two
captured each others' eyes, then Ares quickly blocked
a blow intended for her stomach.
Xena quickly snapped out of her daze and got back into
fighting mode. The Horde seemed mildly phased by the
appearance of the man out of thin air, but unlike
other cowards who would have run at the sight of the
leather clad god, they soon went back to attacking,
now having two targets.
Ares quickly disposed of the man whose blow he just
protected his Warrior Princess from. They fought
back-to-back, not knowing where the next man would
come from. Ares would occasionally help Xena out
after he was done with his attackers.
Together they took out a couple here, a few there,
eventually there were only a two left. Seemingly the
bravest and most skilled. The rain coming down on
them made their paints run and they seemed all the
more ominous. Ares was doing very well with his man,
he actually seemed to be toying with him, not doing
his best with him. Xena noticed this, and was not
happy for she knew what it felt like to think you
could beat him, then to find out he's a whole lot
better than you think.
For the first time she spoke to him.
"Stop toying with him. Get it over with!" She yelled.
This seemed to amuse Ares.
"I suggest you worry about your own little fight.
That guy you're fighting right now" He cut out of
speach for a second while dodging a blow "is the
leader, I saw many men go down for him"
Xena was about to reply when her opponent kicked her
feet out from under her. Xena fell hard and felt
dizzy. Ares quickly disposed of the man he was
fighting with and ran over to Xena, who just starting
to realize what was happening. The man had his weapon
raised, ready kill Xena. As he brought it down upon
her, Ares blocked the blow with his sword and kicked
the man to the side. The warrior charged Ares, but
just as the man was about to reach the god, Ares
grabbed his shoulders and rolled backwards, flipping
the mortal off of the cliff, down into the water.
He looked over to Xena, and once he realized she was
okay, let a small grin into his features and held out
his hands to Xena to help her up. She took them with
out hesitation, and he pulled her up. He lifted her
with a momentum causing her to stand pressed against
the God of War.
They both lost themselves in the depths of the other's
eyes. Xena's endless seas of crystal blue, and Ares'
rich, sexy, mysterious brown ones. Almost
simotaneously they both realized they were still
holding hands. Xena was about to pull away
instinctivly when she felt Ares' hands slide up her
arms and hold her elbows. She embraced his upper
arms, feeling the warmth of his chisled biceps under
her hands. Her heart was racing faster than when she
was at the most heated point of the battle. Ares then
asked
"Are you alright?" His eyes searching hers for an
answer, figuring she'd say she was fine even if her
neck was broken.
"Y- yes." She looked down nervously trying to escape
his gaze, only to find more Ares. She looked back up
into his eyes. "What are you doing here?" She asked
with a light tone.
He came closer as if to tell her a secret. "I had to
rescue my damsel in distress" He said with a devilish
grin.
Xena answered back with the same humor. "My knight in
shining..." She looked him up and down mock-sensually
and raised her eyebrows upon saying "leather".
Ares smirked. Then acted as though to be deep in
thought. "Isn't this the part where the girl kisses
the handsome...god for rescuing her?"
Xena grinned "Ya' know, I just don't know Ares, but
you can sure as hell get me out of this rain!"
Ares laughed at that. "One of my temples suitable
enough for you, my fair maiden?" He asked jokingly.
"Yes, now, aren't you supposed to take me away on a
white horse or something?"
"I would, but my temple's on another island. The
aether will have to do."
Xena sighed "Fine," mock disappointed.
"Hey, it's better than being in this rain" He said as
they disappeared and reappeared in one of his temple.
She took in the surroundings, not recognizing them.
"New temple Ar?" She asked, walking around, pretending
to look at the woodwork, but actually trying to figure
out where the secret passages were. Ares saw right
through her and said
"Yes. For you information the passage to the main
hall is to your left" He said pointing "You have to
sit on that chair".
Xena walked over to it and sat down, but soon realized
her mistake as the wall was being swung around and she
found herself in a dark room that's only light source
was a small window very high up. She got up and let
her eyes adjust to the darker setting. Xena turned
around to call Ares, but just ran into him. Gods how
she hated it when he did that!
"You lying-" He cut her off by placing his hand over
her mouth and putting a finger to his lips, indicating
to be quiet. She followed his instruction. Xena
heard a clicking sound before Ares abruptly grabbed
her by the waist and swung her around just as a dagger
shot past her head. He stood there holding onto her
waist. Ares looked into her eyes, trying to make sure
she was prepared for the next attack. Sure enough,
she quickly caught on and glanced down at the floor.
After making a quick observation, she heard a clang
and flipped up as huge spikes shot up from the floor.
She landed in Ares' arms.
"I've had enough of this" she told him.
The two disappeared out of the room and reappeared in
the main hall.
As soon as he let Xena out of his arms, she tried to
elbow him in his stomach, but he neatly caught her arm
and held it to her back and grabbed her other and held
it, therefor restraining movement.
"You gonna be a good Warrior Princess?" He asked.
She laughed. "That's like telling you not to start
any more wars."
He laughed and said "Point well taken" and let her go.
"This isn't over. I'm still getting you back for
putting me in that death trap" Xena promised.
He grinned a distracted grin that she knew all to
well.
"God business?" She asked knowingly.
"A general in Teradon, I probably won't be back until
later tonight. Do you want to stay here, or should I
bring you back to...where were you?" He asked,
realizing he hadn't paid attention to that detail.
"The woods in Pelopena. No, I don't want to go back
there, especially knowing the Horde is there..."
Ares was the only person who knew that fear. She had
told him one night when he still had her trust. She
told him her fears of the Horde and lightning.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning"
"Why not tonight?" She asked.
"Because I won't be back until *late*."
"Tomorrow morning" Xena said, knowing she wasn't going
to wait until morning. Besides, she liked his satin
pants he wore to bed. Bad Xena, bad, she mentally
scolded herself.
He smiled and disappeared. She went to go find a
room.
Xena first checked out the first one to her right. It
was nice, but it had no red, and Xena found that odd
because that was Ares' favorite color...and hers too.
The next was all black velvet. Xena hated velvet.
She went across the hall and found a gorgeous room.
It had red and black upholstry, with satin bedding,
cherry wood and interesting weapons adorning the
walls. She decided to take a peak at the next one,
even though she knew it was Ares' because of his
symbol on the outside ot his door. She walked in and
was absolutely awe-struck. There was a beautiful
four-post red satin bed with a canopy over the bed,
gathered at the posts. A black couch at the left side
of the room with a couple ferns. There was a
beautiful marble balcony which was seperated from the
room by golden doors and a translucent red veil.
There were other furnishings, including a table with
maps scattered on it, through-out the room. What
really caught her attention was the floor. It was
polished black marble with thick strips of gold
embedded in a circular pattern. She took one last
look at the room and returned to hers. What was once
so beautiful, now looked dull in comparison to his.
Xena walked into her room. It was starting to get
dark, so she decided to figure out where the secret
passages were in the morning. She slipped on a green
night gown that was long with thin straps over her
shoulders. Xena laid down on her bed, rolled over a
couple times, and finally fell asleep.
In about the middle of the night she woke up. She
noticed it was dark...and still raining...so she
decided to go see if Ares was back yet. Xena crept
over to his door, which was slightly ajar, and looked
in to see him standing next to a table surveying some
maps. He was supporting his torso on his arms on the
table. Ares' back was to Xena, so she thought she'd
try to sneak up on him.
She squeezed through the door, and stealthily walked
over to him. Xena laid an arm on his shoulder and
leaned her heaad against it. He didn't seem
surprised, didn't even glance at her. While still
keeping his eyes fixed on the map, he lifted the arm
she was leaning on over her head and back around her
waist and pulled her in front of him. Xena felt so
alive and yet relaxed she could hardly stand it.
While keeping one of his arms around her waist, he
pointed down to the map and said
"What do you think Xena? Should they take this pass
as a short-cut to that city, or should they go
around?"
"Well, the pass, of course" She said like it was a
simple question.
"But, they'll have to go single file through it, an
easy target for an ambush"
Xena nodded, starting to get her mind more into
action. "Then take the long way, wait, what's wrong
with the long way?" She said smiling, turning slightly
to look back at him.
"The only problem is it goes through a woods with
wild, human-eating animals. So here ya' have it Xe.
Wild animals, possible ambush. Wild animals, possible
ambush." He put his two hands to the side of her,
symbolizing a scale.
"Ambush," She said, turning in his arms.
"That's what I thought too."
She smiled. "We always did think alike". He shared
her smile and she turned back around in his arms.
"Nice room."
"Yeah, Discord always hated it. The two across the
hall were designed by her"
"Figures. Velvet." She shivered in disgust.
He laughed. "Well, I think it's time for you to go to
bed. I'm going to look over these plans, and if I'm
lucky I'll get some sleep. Thank you for your help."
"Sure Ar'. 'Night" He dropped his arms and she walked
out of the room. When she looked back she saw him
standing with arms crossed looking over his plans.
She resented him for a little while for acting like
his plans were more important than her. Then again,
he was the god of *War*, not *Xena*.
She resigned to her room and fell asleep for the
night.
When she woke up the next morning she took in her
surroundings. She saw the dreary sky outside and
consistent pitter-patter of raindrops on her window
'Oh great' she thought 'another rainy day'. Xena put
on her battle dress and armor. The floors were cold
on her feet, so the boots felt nice, even though they
weren't really meant for warmth. She walked out of
her room and over to Ares'. Xena saw him laying in
his bed, a hand resting casually on his stomach and
the other to his side. He was indeed a quiet sleeper,
unlike Hercules. She closed her eyes, for some reason
appalled at the thought of him. Ares was definitely
much more good looking, and more charming, yep, she
was spoiled. Xena opened her eyes again only to find
no one in the bed.
"Good morning Xena" came a voice from behind her. She
turned around and glared at him, which was met by a
smirk. "What?" He asked innocently.
"You know I hate it when you vanish or appear without
my consent." She said, feeling kind of stupid about
saying it like she was his mother.
"Okay, I'll be sure to ask you next time" He said with
a devilish grin.
She unintentionally let a smile spread across her
face. "Do you know how hard it is to stay mad at
you?" she asked.
"Well," He said walking around her "In the past you've
been mad at me for months straight, so I have a pretty
good idea" She turned and glared at him, although the
corners of her mouth were turned upwards. "Oh yeah,
well deserved, I'm sure, but you sure can keep a
grudge, especially when it comes to me" He said. She
could tell there was more meaning behind those last
words than what he said.
"I'm not that much harder on you than other people"
She said, slightly knowing she was setting herself up
for a debate that she would lose, for she knew she was
harder on him, partly because he was always hurting
her mentally. But who was it who said 'The ones you
love are the ones that hurt you the most'? But no,
that couldn't apply to Ares, she didn't love him...did
she?
He laughed at that statement. "Xena, when we were
still together, you got mad at me for forgetting our
anniversary," He stepped closer and took her hands and
said "But then I pointed out that you were two days
off, and you were still mad at me." He said, giving
her a half-smile.
She smiled and bowed her head. "I'm sorry. You know
how I was then..."
He smiled widely at that. "A month ago you got mad at
me for a war I had nothing to do with"
She laughed and rose her head. "Okay, so maybe I am a
little tough on you," She led him over to the bed
where they sat down. "But, I bet you never made any
of your other warlords practice drills all day"
"No, more like all day and night, but since you seemed
so content on making love at night...who was I to
argue?"
She laughed and nudged him in the ribs. He gently
pushed her back, causing her grab a pillow and smack
him in the stomach with it. He snatched it out of her
hands. She crawled over to the other side of the bed
to retrieve another pillow as Ares pulled her back by
her waist. Xena leaned back on Ares and made him fall
backwards onto the bed. She laid on her side,
partially on his stomach, pinning his torso down. She
knew he could get up if he wanted to, but he probably
wouldn't.
"I did too practice at night sometimes" She said, not
willing to let him win.
He smiled and shook his head. He reached a hand up
and ran it through her hair as he said "Give it up."
She sat up and took his hand, interlocking their
fingers.
"I will, some day. Until then, I'm ready to get some
sleep."
He laughed and her armor, leather, and boots
disappeared, leaving her in her shift. He still had
his satin pants on. Xena laid their hands down to
their side and laid her head on his chest. As she
closed her eyes, she felt his hand stroke her back.
Xena's eyes closed as she fell back to sleep.
She awoke a few hours later. It was a little lighter
outside, but still quite dreary and rainy. She found
no Ares, but a note beside her.
Xena,
I had to go talk to my general in Abasta. I won't be
back until later this evening. Try to bear without
me. And don't look for any passages right now, you
could easily get yourself into trouble.
Your favorite God of War,
Ares
Xena smiled, and decided then that she would have Ares
show her the secret passages that evening. She
wondered why she hadn't been hungry, then remembered
that Ares thought hunger was an obligation, so he had
some spell put on his temples to make food not a need
for mortals.
She got her armor back on, which was in a pile in the
corner of the room on a beautiful cherry wood chair.
After she had that on, she went out into the hall and
looked around. Noticing that there was no apparent
way to get out, she decided to find the passages
herself, despite Ares' warning.
Xena went to one end of the hall, which seemed to end
with a wall, a couple urns with plants, and a picture
of a battle, one she could not recall in her mind.
Figuring the passage was behind the painting, she
lifted it up, but there was no possible door behind
it.
The Warrior Princess then set the painting down and
inspected the wall some more. She noticed that there
was a semi-circle line cutting the stone on the floor.
It ended at the wall. Xena thought the wall must
turn...like her earlier experience. She was
inspecting the floor when she saw a small handle-type
looking thing protruding from the wall a couple inches
from the floor. She pulled up on it and instead of
the floor swinging around, a panel opened and she fell
through, and when she landed, which hurt extremely
bad, she found she was in a dark room, her only light
coming from the ceiling high above her.
Xena looked up. Damn Ares, he put a decoy passage in
his temple. She looked around, when something caught
her attention. Two burning eyes, yellow in color,
staring at her, about twenty paces to her right. She
froze, remembering her chakram, still embedded in the
man's neck. She cursed loudly, which only drew the
animal closer. The beast started edging closer until
he was in the light. Xena could make out that it was
on all fours and had a head similar to a dog's, with
fangs protruding. The rest of it's body had corse
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