Timeline: Xena is ten years old...
Disclaimer: There's no way in Tartarus that I own them, Baby!
Prankster
By Alicia
A young girl, with long, straight, black hair and piercing blue eyes was climbing a tall tree near one of Ares' temples.
Ares saw himself standing at the bottom of the tree. "Xena, you come down from that tree!"
The girl jutted her chin and rose a delicate eyebrow. "Give me one good reason why I should."
His future self sighed. "You might hurt yourself."
Xena shot him a look that said, 'Oh, please, you can do sooo much better than that...' "I haven't had so much as a scratch for as long as I can remember. Don't worry, you'll do better next time!" she yelled down at him happily.
The god disappeared, then reappeared by Xena's side near the top of the tree. The girl just stared up at him, a pout lingering on her mouth. She kept her wide, blue eyes on his face, gauging his reaction to her obvious 'puppy dog' look.
He gave in. "Oh, alright. But if you fall, sweet..."
"You'll be there to catch me!" she interjected mischievously.
Ares hung his head in defeat, a smile playing on his lips. "What am I gonna do with you...?"
The pre-teen just grinned.
Ares froze as a feeling of deja vu suddenly struck him. He had the feeling that they'd run this course before. Then it hit him. It was ten years ago when he'd first laid eyes on a tiny blue-eyed darling that had become the most precious person in his existence to him. Ten years ago that he'd looked into the future to see the handful she would become.
And she had.
Ares watched the child adoringly as she continued to climb the thirty-foot tree. He laughed when she glared at a branch that was too high for her to reach. The God of War stifled his laughter when she turned her glare on him, though, and watched in satisfaction as she got over the initial hurdle and climbed her way up the trunk and onto the next sturdy tree limb.
A flash of pale blue light signified the appearance of another god. In this case, it was Artemis. "I haven't seen my young Amazons do any better, brother. She's a credit to you," the goddess smiled.
"She had a lot of potential," Ares admitted needlessly.
Artemis laughed as she plucked an arrow from its carrier and readied her bow. "It's more than that Ares, and we both know it. She would have done well as an Amazon, had she been human...Xena catch!"
Ares' stunned, yet wary, gaze flew from his sister to Xena, high up in the tree. He hadn't missed his sister's pointed comment about Xena being human. She knew what had transpired ten years go, but Ares wasn't sure if he could trust her not to say anything to the others.
"Hey! Watch it, half-pint!" Artemis cried as she puled the arrow out of her stomach. Had Ares been in a laughing mood, he'd have been rolling on the floor in laughter when Xena caught the arrow and threw it back at Artemis, right through her armor and lodged it in her body.
"How?" The question didn't need an elaboration. Artemis looked at her brother and smiled.
"Don't worry, Ares. I've known ever since she was given to you and I'm not about to spill the beans now. I'm glad she had you because it could have been worse. I took a peak at what her life would have been like had it gone to the original plan. Not as good as this. She's always had the potential to become the best female warrior in history, so I had my eye on her since her birth, but this life is much happier for all of us," Artemis told him sadly.
"She's happy here," Ares told his sister.
"And she always will be." Artemis screamed in surprise as something landed on her back.
Xena clamped her arms and legs around the elder goddess and held on for dear life. "I'll teach you not to try and take down Xena: Goddess of Discord!" she yelled amidst a giggle.
All three gods laughed as Ares and Artemis teamed up against the fearsome Goddess of Discord and tickled her tiny body until she cried for Aphrodite and Cupid's help.
Please e-mail the author of this story with your comments. WPGAlicia@yahoo.com