Rating : PG, gets a little spicy at the end.
Sex: Not really, some innuendo here and there.
Violence: Some, but not a lot, this is after all Xena.

A Xena Tale

By Briar

CHAPTER ONE

Drip, drip, drip...the sound had gone on for days now. It had rained
steadily for over a week. Everything was wet, their clothes were clinging
to them with an obstinacy that was becoming annoying. They had been
fortunate enough to find this huge evergreen tree with low hanging, heavily
needled branches. It was surrounded by other, smaller evergreens. For
the first day or two that had helped. Then the wind had picked up, and
the heavens had opened. Now, the very branches that had sheltered
them were dripping their load of moisture in a slow, insidious,
monotonous thud. Xena was holding up rather well under the
circumstances, but not Gabrielle. "Isn't this rain ever going to stop?" she
whined. "All it does is rain. It rains softly for a while, then it lets up to just
a mist, but then it starts to pour again. I WANT IT TO STOP!" "Gabrielle,
it is the rainy season. What do you expect? We have plenty of supplies,
we have no place we have to be right now, and it will eventually stop." "It
can't happen soon enough to suit me!" was the disgruntled reply.

Later that afternoon, the sun broke through. The blue of the sky,
although still marred with a few clouds here and there, was a welcome
sight. Their first order of business was to dry things out. They hung
clothes here and there in the sunlight hoping they would soon be dry.
The clothes on their backs would dry out rather quickly now that the rain
had stopped. Their body heat was coming back. They had been chilled
to the bone during the worst of the storm. Huddled together under a
blanket to at least keep out the worst of the wind, they had managed to
share what little body heat they had left. They had been back to back
most of the time for the last several days. Xena's *old* bones were aching
from the inactivity. That was a standing joke between then, as Xena was
quite a few years older than Gabrielle.

Xena got out her sword and started some drills. The exercise would
be good for her, and it would also quicken the speed with which her
clothes dried. The swift sure movements soon warmed up her joints and
muscles, and then she started with the leaps, flips, kicks, and other
gymnastic exercises. It was never wise to start strenuous exercise until
you were warmed up. She had learned that from Ares. He had taught her
most of these moves, and had rigorously made her practice them until she
could do them right every time. Most of the time just wasn't good enough.
He was a stickler for detail. She finally completed her routine, and went
looking for any kind of dry wood they could use for a cook fire. There
wasn't much to be had, the rain had seen to that. She did, however, manage
to find a rotten log. It had a punky section she could rip apart with her hands.
It was dry inside, and she managed to get several handsful of kindling with
which to start a fire. She was also fortunate enough to find an old nest inside,
with a lot of dry grasses and leaves.

The fire started easily enough, and with the kindling burning brightly
they soon had more wood dry enough to make a good fire. Gabrielle
opened the packs and started digging through the contents. "Ruined,
absolutely ruined!" she exclaimed. " Everything is wet, the flour is a
gummy paste, even the jerky is damp." "Well, see what you can salvage."
Xena replied. "It's not too far to a village where we can re-supply." They
dried out the jerky beside the fire, Gabrielle made some kind of pancakes
from the gummy flour, and they ate what they had. It would have to do.
At least they wouldn't go hungry on the way.

The village wasn't much to look at. It consisted of only about a
dozen houses, had a small temple to Athena, and a very small tavern
attached to a supply store. The two women looked around on their way
in, seeing nothing to worry them in any way, they reined their horses in
at the front of the store. It was a quiet, peaceful town, to all appearances.
They entered the store, made their selections from the supplies on hand,
and paid for their purchases. As they left the shop, they took another
look around. Practically no one in sight. Unusual for this time of day.
They loaded their supplies on the horses, and then decided to see if there
was any decent food to be had at the tavern. You never knew, one tavern
would have great food, and another would have stuff you would consider
feeding to your pigs. This one turned out to be of the former type. The
aroma that tantalized their noses as they stepped through the doors was
enough to make their mouths water. "Roast turkey!" Gabrielle said. They
hadn't had roast turkey in months. It was one of Gabrielle's favorite foods,
and something she just couldn't resist. "Please, Xena, let's stay for
dinner?" The odor had also aroused Xena's appetite, so she gladly
complied. The manager came over and took their order. As he was
delivering it, Xena asked him why things were so terribly quiet in the
village.

It seems that most of the villagers had gone to a fair in the next
large town. They were having a livestock sale, competitions in baking,
pickling, handwork and other crafts. After he had left them to enjoy their
meal, Gabrielle started musing on the idea of the fair. It had been ages
and ages since she had been to a fair. When she was growing up, that
had been one of the highlights in her year. Her whole village would go to
the fair. Sometimes her mother would buy her something nice, like ribbons
for her hair, a new scarf, maybe even a new scroll to read. A fair was a
wonderful place to be. The more she thought about it, the more she was
tempted. "you know, Xena, that's not a bad idea." "What idea?" was the
reply. Xena was thinking of something else at the time, and had no idea
what Gabrielle was talking about. "The fair!" she exclaimed. "Didn't you
hear him telling us about the fair?" "What fair?" was the reply. "I'm afraid
I wasn't really listening."

They had discussed it for quite a while. Gabrielle was anxious to go,
but Xena really didn't see the need to go out of their way just to see a fair.
"But you were just saying that we didn't have any place we had to be. So
what difference does it make where we go? I'd really like to take in the fair!"
After more discussion Xena had finally given in. It wasn't as if they were on
any kind of schedule or anything. If Gabrielle really wanted to go that badly,
she guessed she could humor her.

The fair was quite a bit larger than Xena had ever imagined. They had
all kinds of exhibitions. One of them that caught her eye was a weapons
maker. She watched him for quite a while as he hammered a piece of iron
into a shield rim. The shield itself would have been too heavy to carry if it
had been entirely of Iron. The body was of brass, with a crosshatch and
rim of Iron. It would easily stop most swords. She had no need of a shield,
her speed and agility more than made up for the extra protection a shield
would provide, but it was a beautiful piece of workmanship.

Gabrielle was in her element. She was excited and thrilled to be in a
wonderful place like this fair. There were storytellers, musicians, magic
workers who could make a scarf appear from your ear, all kinds of
interesting things. She managed to get a good deal on some India ink, got
three blank scrolls for the price of two, and found a piece of ribbon that
was exactly the color of her eyes. Altogether a wonderful day.

The two women rejoined for supper. They had taken rooms at a
decent inn, and had agreed to meet there for a meal when they were
finished shopping. Xena had actually bought very little. She didn't have
many needs. She liked to keep things simple. No need to be carrying
loads of stuff that just took up room and loaded down the horse. Supplies
were one thing, they were necessary. Knickknacks and pretties weren't.
She was glad that Gabrielle had her own horse now. All those scrolls
took up a lot of space, even though they didn't weigh much. Her saddle
bags used to be taken up with mostly Gabrielle's stuff. Now she could
concentrate on more necessary stuff. One item she had picked up was
a small tent. It was oiled silk, and was supposed to be totally waterproof.
Hopefully all the rhetoric the salesman had used was true. That week of
rain had strained her patience to the breaking point. She realized that
Gabrielle was happiest when she was telling stories, but she could also
spend a lot of time bitching. The constant complaints during that week
had really gotten on her nerves. She could only hope that the tent would
help if they ever got in that situation again.

They found a table in a far corner, and took their seats. Something
smelled good. The serving girl came over to take their order, and they
asked what that aroma was. "It's roast pork! we also have some oven
roasted potatoes with an herbed cream sauce, and a choice of peas or
carrots for the vegetable." was the reply. It all sounded delicious, and the
two ordered their meals. They also ordered Mead. They might as well
splurge. They didn't spend much time in towns, and they had the ready
cash to do it. Xena had saved a large town from a vicious warlord. She
had had the help of several noted citizens, and Gabrielle had written a
full account of the battle. She had given due recognition to each of the
citizens involved, and when she read the scroll to the assembled citizens,
they all wanted a copy. She had spent several days copying that scroll.
The citizens had not only paid her for her efforts, but they had each
provided her with the blank scrolls she needed. The head man had also
given her a new bottle of ink and several quills to complete the task. The
citizens now had scrolls detailing their heroic actions in the battle to save
their town. Something for future generations to ooh and aah at.

As they ate their dinner, they discussed their day. Gabrielle went
into intricate detail as to everything she had seen and heard. When it was
Xena's turn she simply remarked on the workmanship of the blacksmith
she had watched. She decided to keep the tent a secret for the time
being. She'd wait until they needed it, and then voila, the tent would
appear as if by magic. The look on Gabrielle's face would be something
to see.

There was a sudden disturbance, two drunken men had come to
blows, and it spilled over into their area. They grabbed their plates and
mugs to avoid getting everything spilled all over themselves. They were
just in time, the table went crashing to the floor as they sidestepped the
squabble. They leaned against the wall as the pair knocked over another
table. The people at that table weren't as fortunate as they had been.
Food and ale spilled all over the clothes of the couple setting there. The
woman screamed, and began wiping at her dress with a cloth. The man
took umbrage at the mess. He leaped to his feet, grabbed both men by
the nape of the neck, and tried to smash their heads together. He wasn't
quite quick enough. The two forgot their argument with each other, and
decided to teach this upstart a lesson. A man at another table was friends
with the hapless diner, and came to help him. Soon half the tavern was
embroiled in the melee. So far, Xena had successfully kept out of the
trouble, but that was not to last. One man threw another into Gabrielle.
Her food and Mead went flying, fortunately it went away from herself or
Xena. It formed a large messy puddle on the floor. Someone slipped on
the mess, and landed on top of Xena. She kept her food and drink in hand,
balancing on the balls of her feet, she managed to set things down safely.
Then she waded in, "ENOUGH!" she bellowed. Her shout took them all by
surprise. She had put an amazing amount of force into her voice, commonly
known as command voice, which she had learned as a warlord under Ares.
For a moment there was silence. Everyone turned to look at her. She then
ordered them to get busy picking this place up, now. With sheepish looks
on their faces most of them set about obeying her. The original two refused
to pay any attention to some bitch who thought she was something. She
flipped over the intervening table, landed briefly, and leaped again. This
time she kicked both of them in the chest so hard they went flying into
the nearest wall. THUD, the sound reverberated throughout the room. They
slowly slid to the floor. Not a movement, not a sound, only limp bodies
leaning against the wall. "Someone take them outside and dunk their
heads in the horse trough. When they wake up, send them home." It was
surprising how quickly she got volunteers for the job.

Before too long, the tavern was pretty well straightened up. People
had picked up the tables and chairs, mopped up the floor, and rearranged
the furniture back into place. Surprisingly, nothing serious seemed to be
broken. The furniture was all in one piece, being made of pretty solid wood.
The only damage was in crockery. There were broken dishes and mugs
that had been swept up and dumped in a barrel, but not as many as she
would have expected. The tavern owner was smart, he bought good quality
sturdy merchandise for his place. It cost more to begin with, but it was
definitely worth it in the long run. Taverns have a long history of fights,
and she was sure this one was no exception.

The Innkeeper came over and offered the two women new dishes of
food and mugs of Mead. "It's the least I can do." he said. "You kept things
from really getting out of hand. No one was seriously hurt, nothing important
was broken, and I'd like to thank you personally for your efforts." Gabby
was still standing open mouthed. "That was awesome!" she said
enthusiastically. "I've got to write this down." Xena down-played her own
efforts. She said that she had only gotten their attention and made them
realize just what they were doing. They had taken it from there. When they
had finished their dinner, they went up to their rooms and turned in for the
night. For some odd reason, they were really tired.

CHAPTER TWO

Xena and Gabrielle had suffered through more than a week of rain.
They had resupplied at a small town, learned of the fair in the next big town,
and traveled for many miles on horseback. They had arrived in town to see
the big fair. Both had done some shopping, and had finally settled down at
the Inn's tavern for some supper. Two drunks had started a fight. The fight
had soon escalated into a drunken brawl. Xena had broken it up, and gotten
the crowd to clean up the mess they had made. Altogether an exhausting
day. They had gone to bed early, falling asleep almost before they crawled
into their beds.

The crowing of a very loud rooster awakened Xena the next morning.
At first she couldn't figure out why the bird sounded so very loud. She got
up and looked out the window. Below her sill was the roof of the kitchen.
There, just outside her window, was the rooster in question. He had a
perfect view of the sunrise from there, and was strutting importantly up and
down the slope of the roof. He turned his head and looked her right in the
eye. "COCK-A-DOODLE- DOOOO!" He announced. She could have sworn
he was doing it especially for her benefit.

She turned and looked at Gabrielle, who had pulled the pillow up over
her head. The rooster crowed again, eliciting a groan from the bard. "You
might as well get up," Xena told her, "He's in rare form today, and he's just
warming up." Her only reply was another groan. Morning was definitely not
Gabrielle's favorite time of day. Xena left her there to the rooster's
ministrations, and went looking for breakfast. The Inn owner was all smiles
when she entered the tavern room. "And did you ladies get a good night's
rest?" he queried. Xena laughed and replied"Lovely, until your friend outside
decided we were sleeping in. He has quite a voice." she laughed. The
Innkeeper laughed also, and agreed. "My wife has been threatening him with
the stew pot for two years now, it doesn't even faze him. Will your friend be
joining you for breakfast?" Xena shook her head and smiled, "She's not a
morning person, but I think that rooster just might encourage her to make
an exception today. Don't plan on anything for her until you see the whites
of her eyes. She's been known to sleepwalk." They both chuckled, and the
innkeeper asked what she would like for breakfast. "Do you have bacon and
eggs?" "Of course, why do you think we keep that blasted rooster, he keeps
the hens happy." They both chuckled again, and he walked back into the
kitchen shaking his head and grinning.

Xena had finished her breakfast, and was drinking a mug of tea by the
time Gabrielle came down the stairs. She was still yawning widely, and
stretching and swinging her arms as she came to the table. "Are you
awake?" Xena asked. She received a mumbled reply, that she couldn't
quite make out. "What did you say?" she inquired again. "I said, that
stupid loud mouthed rooster just won't shut up." was the response. Xena
chuckled, and just to rub it in a little, informed Gabrielle that she was
having eggs for breakfast. "Eggs? not on your life! Anything to do with
chickens is definitely out for today." While she was speaking, the
innkeeper had entered the room behind her. He grinned and winked at
Xena. "Ah, there she is. You're just in time for lunch. We're having a
vegetable omelet, chicken and gravy over biscuits, or a shredded chicken
salad." "What? I won't be here for lunch, I'll find someplace that isn't serving
Chicken." Xena laughed with the innkeeper. "He's just teasing you Gabrielle,
what are we actually having?" "I have plenty of the roast pork from last night.
We sometimes serve that on a roll, with a spicy tomato sauce." "Now that
sounds delicious,Gabrielle said. Just leave the chicken for someone else.
I'm not in the mood."

Lunch was even better than Gabby had hoped. They had plenty of
fresh cheese, fruit, fresh loaves of bread, and a dish of steamed broccoli
to go with the pork. They also had a fruit punch that was cool and delicious.
Xena was amused to see that Gabrielle's appetite was unscathed. She ate
her fill, then just kept on nibbling, a little of this, a little of that. Finally Xena
began to worry about her. At long last Gabrielle gave a big sigh, rubbed her
tummy, and burped loudly. Xena burst into laughter, it had been a
tremendous belch. "If we were in the east, that would be considered a
monumental compliment to your host." she informed her, still laughing.
For a moment Gabrielle looked offended, but then she saw the humor in
the situation. They laughed for several minutes, and then Xena got to her
feet. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's time to hit the road. We've
been here long enough."

They went to the stables, collected their well fed and contented horses,
and saddled them up. Then they loaded their packs, saddlebags and
provisions behind the saddles, and mounted up. At a slow walk they traveled
down the main street and to the city gates. Traveling any faster would have
raised a lot of dust. It seemed hard to believe that it had rained that hard, for
that long, and the streets were already dusty. Maybe the rain had gone
around? Sometimes it did that. A massive storm would pass to the south of
them, and a few candlemarks later another would pass along the northern
horizon. They would have bright sunlight all day. A good question for the
gods,...why ? As they traveled they passed a large dark temple in a grove
of trees beside the road. There were no obvious signs as to which god was
represented here, but, something about it reminded Xena of Ares. It was
dark, and rather massive, without any decorative touches. As they got
closer, they saw a stone pillar beside the trail leading to the temple. On the
pillar was clearly delineated the rune representing Ares. She had been right.

They quickly passed it without stopping or even slowing down.
Continued travel soon took them from the immediate area. Several hours
later, they made camp beside a small clear stream. There was a waterfall,
that only extended about six feet across, and maybe four feet tall. At the
base was a pool, not too deep, and not very large. It looked like the perfect
place for a bath. The air temperature had been increasing all day, and both
had been sweating. It was rather early in the year for this much heat.
Sometimes you just can't win for losing. Over a week of rain and cold had
left them feeling rather bedraggled. Now they were slowly baking in the heat.
The bath would be a welcome relief. They each had chores to do, Gabrielle
went looking for firewood, Xena went hunting for dinner. There didn't seem
to be many fish in the stream, at least not in this area of the stream. It didn't
take Xena long to bring back a very large, very fat, rabbit. She skinned and
cleaned it, then cut a stick to use for a spit. In the meantime Gabrielle had
started a small fire. She got out a pan, and prepared some vegetables, she
then placed two medium potatoes in the coals to bake. She said "We'll have
a feast!" Xena just grinned and shook her head. As if Gabrielle hadn't eaten
enough for both of them at lunch, now she was thinking about a feast. Where
did she put it all, in a hollow leg? Maybe both legs were hollow. What an
idea. Just thinking about it made her chuckle. Two hollow legs, that would
explain the appetite. Gabrielle gave her a questioning look, but she just
shook her head again, "Nothing, just a foolish thought." she replied.

After they had eaten, they cleaned up around the campsite, cleaned
the pans, and put things away. They both looked at each other, grinned, and
took off running for the brook. "Last one in is a rotten egg!" Xena called. "Don't
remind me about chickens!" Gabby complained. "Well, at least you won't
have to listen to sir rooster tomorrow morning." Xena commiserated. "He was
a bit too much at that hour of the morning." "You're telling me!" Gabby
muttered. "Actually, I thought I just did tell you." Xena grinned again. "Are
you sure you wouldn't likeeggs for breakfast? I brought a few just in case. "
"Xena!!!! you just stop it." They continued in this vein for quite a while,
teasing each other unmercifully. After all, what are best friends for? They
stripped themselves on the grassy verge of the stream, clothes flying in all
directions. Xena beat her into the water, but just barely. There wasn't more
than a hand's breadth between them. They scrubbed until they felt really
clean, then they washed their hair. Finally they got out of the water, they
had neglected to bring towels with them. They turned and looked at each
other, then they began laughing. There they were, soaking wet, standing
there naked and laughing. They were both feeling a little foolish at the
moment.

They had finally just picked up their clothes in one wet hand, and
raced naked back to camp, still laughing. They retrieved their towels, and
dried off. Then they got dressed again. Every so often they would break
out into laughter. First one would start, then when the laughter started to
die down, the other would begin again. They finally crawled into their
bedrolls, and tried to calmdown. Occasional quiet giggles continued for a
while, but then they both fell asleep. It was early dawn when Xena became
aware of his presence. She tried to ignore him, but soon he bent and
whispered "Xena...." in her ear. So much for sleep. At least this wasn't
quite as bad as the rooster. Ares was much easier to listen to, and also
much better looking. At least to a woman, she was sure the hens would
disagree. Just the thought of a bunch of hens walking around checking out
Ares was enough to set her off into giggles again. It's a good thing Gabrielle
slept as deeply as she did. "What's so funny?" he asked quietly. "Hens!"
was her amused reply. "Hens?" "Yes, hens!" she started to giggle again.
She was holding both hands over her mouth to muffle the laughter. With a
quizzical expression on his face, Ares waited patiently for her to explain. It
took a while. Every time she tried to talk, she would start to giggle again.

Eventually she got herself under control. When she explained the
mental picture she had experienced, he too began to chuckle. "Well, I
always thought I was good looking, but I can easily admit that hens might
not think so." he replied. "Especially if you drew your sword and waved it
around." she giggled. "They might get a bad case of not me!!!! Choose
some other chicken. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer turkey?" He started
to laugh again. They were trying to keep their voices down, but a sudden
guffaw woke Gabrielle. "Ares, what are you doing here?" "Being royally
entertained ." was the reply. "Royally?"she questioned. "Yes, royally, a
king would have to go some to find anything funnier than that." "What?'"
she wanted to know. "Chickens!!!" he guffawed. "Chickens? Xena, you
didn't!" "Actually, I didn't, this is something else entirely." she replied. Xena
started giggling again, "I wasn't even thinking about that." She received a
doubtful look from Gabrielle, and a questioning one from Ares. "What?" he
questioned. "Don't you dare tell him!!! Gabrielle shouted.

Eventually both stories came out, it really was humorous. The three
of them continued to laugh and come up with ever more hilarious ideas.
Dawn broke, and Ares disgustedly shook his head. "Well girls, I hate to
break it up, but I've got awar to supervise. I don't know when I've ever had
so much fun, in fact I don't know if I've ever had so much fun. I can't
remember ever laughing so hard in my life." The girls actually hated to
see him go, but they realized that the situation was not likely to be
repeated. He was still the god of war, and still technically their enemy.
At the moment, a rather friendly enemy, but an enemy nonetheless.
After he left they made breakfast (No eggs!), packed up, and continued
their journey.

CHAPTER THREE

The night before had been one of the most enjoyable Ares could ever
remember. He had decided to make a visit to his warrior princess. After all,
she was his chosen. When he had arrived, she had chosen to ignore him.
He knew she was awake, because her breathing had changed as soon as
he arrived. He watched for a moment, then leaned over and whispered
"Xena..." in her ear. That had done the trick. She resignedly sat up and
talked to him. Then she had started to chuckle. The chuckle had almost
reached the stage of hysterics. He wasn't used to people laughing at him,
not even Xena, and he wanted to get tothe bottom of this. Once she had
told him the mental picture she had of a flock of hens checking him out,
he had to admit it was funny. Gabrielle had awakened, and immediately
challenged his presence. When he told her they were laughing about
chickens, she was horrified. She thought Xena had told him about her
earlier episode with a loud mouthed rooster, with the teasing it had
engendered, and had been decidedly unhappy. Then Xena had explained
that this was another chicken story altogether. They had soon gotten the
mix-up straightened out. After both tales had been thoroughly dissected,
they had gone on to other ridiculous ideas. They had spent until dawn
chuckling and he had finally, reluctantly, left to perform his official duties.

He sat there on his throne, with one leg casually flung over the arm.
He habitually sat this way when he was pondering something. Every once
in a while he would chuckle. It was hard to get his mind back on business
after wholeheartedly enjoying himself like that. He hadn't had that much fun
since he was a child, and it had been a terribly long time since he was a
child. He and his sister Aphrodite had been incorrigible. They had gotten
into all kinds of mischief. 'Dite had always been his favorite sibling. Some
of his other brothers and sisters were so upright and perfect that it made
him sick. And furthermore, they hadn't improved any with age. They were
still a bunch of self righteous hypocrites. "Oh, Ares, you're so bad." Of
course he was bad, he was the god of war. If he had been a lily livered
pansy he couldn't have done the job properly. And he did take pride in his
work. His warlords had conquered much of the known world at one time
or another. If Xena were still with him, he could have finished the job. What
would they think then?

His imagination took him through an alternate reality. Xena, conqueror
of the world. She would be his warrior queen, a goddess, sitting at his side
forever.Then reality set back in. She wanted nothing to do with that scenario.
Thanks to that moralistic half brother of his she had chosen to leave him, to
change her life, to do good. The thought still irritated him. Of course there
was always a chance that she would change her mind and return to his side.
It was, admittedly, a small chance. At least a small chance was better than
no chance at all. What was that saying about women? Oh, yes, now he
recalled. It is a woman's prerogative to change her mind. Maybe he could
change it back.

The abrupt arrival of Discord roused him from his musings. She
casually came up, sat down on the unoccupied arm of his throne, and
grinned. "Have I got news for you!" she chortled. He tried to ignore her.
"Aren't you even going to ask what it is?" "No." was his reply. "But it's
really something!" she insisted. "Discord, if it was really important, I would
probably already know about it." he stated. "But..but.. it really is important,
at least to Xena. I know how you like to keep up to date with these things."
"Xena? What about Xena?" "A new warlord is setting up business in the
vicinity of Amphipolis." "A new warlord? One of mine? I never authorized
that!" "Well, she'll probably blame you for it, even if he isn't one of yours."
"Who is this idiot? What's his name? Where didhe come from?" he asked
anxiously. "He's got a strange name, Gregor, I think. It's not Gregorius, I'm
sure. As for where he's from, nobody seems to know. He just showed up
one day, killed the current warlord of the small band, and took over. He
sliced off his head in fact, then placed it on a pole as an example. He's
since done the same with two more small bands. That gives him a sizeable
group."

Ares decided that this was definitely something to check out. He
hadn't even been aware of the takeover. He must be slipping or something.
He transported himself to his chambers, seated himself in a chair facing a
large mirror, and began scanning the area. There he was, and no, he wasn't
anyone Ares was familiar with. He was stocky and muscular. Blond hair, blue
eyes, and a superior expression rounded out his description. Ares bristled in
response. Some of the lieutenants were men Ares recognized. Three of the
men had been under some of his minor warlords. They had been their
lieutenants in fact. What was this, mutiny? Actually he couldn't blame the
men if their commanders were unable to keep their heads. It was a case of
survival of the fittest. If they wanted to survive they had to acknowledge the
new commander as the fittest, as top dog in fact. Raiders were like a wolf
pack. The Alpha male leads.

The group was located in the hills near Amphipolis. It wouldn't be long
before they started demanding tribute. If it wasn't forthcoming immediately,
they would probably raze the town. This must not be allowed to happen.
Xena's mother and older brother lived there. If anything happened to either
of them Xena would blame him. He pondered the matter for some time. He
had no one in the area that was qualified to handle the situation. Maybe he
had better at least notify Xena of the matter. Let her know that Gregor was
not one of his, and that he had no control over the man. Gregor had his own
gods, and would probably ignore anything he had to say. Maybe he could
turn this to his own advantage.

His arrival was no surprise, it never was, she always knew the exact
moment he appeared in her vicinity. It didn't matter that he was still
technically inside the aether. She could still feel him. The link was
remarkable. Even though she refused to acknowledge fealty, she was
still his chosen. That designation was for life, and the mutual bond would
always exist. He alwaysknew if she needed him, he even knew when she
was thinking about him. That fact still made her furious. "What?" she asked.
"Just a piece of information you might like to have." he replied. "What
makes you think I want any information from you?" was her curt query. "The
fact that your mother and brother might be in danger was a little something
I thought you might like to know." "You bastard! What have you done
now?" was her furious demand. "I haven't done anything, in fact I have
nothing to do with it whatsoever. Itwas simply brought to my attention
that a new man has taken control of three small bands and moved into
the area of Amphipolis. He doesn't recognize any gods but his own, which
don't include me, I might add. I'd help, but I have no one in the area who can
command troops. Men I have in abundant supply, weapons are no problem,
I just don't have any capable commanders in the area." She looked at him
for a long moment. The intense scrutiny began to bother him. "So what do
you want me to do? You know I'm not coming back to you." "I didn't ask you
to come back. I am simply offering what help I can provide." was his quiet
reply. He continued to just stand there. She began to feel self conscious
under his level gaze, and began to pace. She muttered unintelligibly to
herself for a few minutes, and finally said, "What do you get out of this?".
"Nothing, no strings attached, I'm only offering to help. After all, you're my
chosen even though you deny it."

She had considered the matter from all angles. She couldn't find a
single fine thread of inuendo or threat in his offer. She finally decided that
she would be a fool if she refused his offer, and she was no one's fool. "How
fast can you get men and weapons into position? I want them in the clearing
to the north of the village as soon as possible. The raiders are camped in
the walled valley to the north of town aren't they? It's the only place a large
group could make a camp that wouldn't be terribly obvious. They could hide
out there for weeks before anyone found them. They will need supplies. That
means they will probably start raiding the farms in the area. I've got to put a
stop to this nonsense!" She had rapidly covered the entire subject from every
angle. Ares looked on with amusement. She was still his Xena. She was a
marvelous strategist. He had not even told her where the encampment was.
She knew the area well enough to place the campexactly. This was going to
be interesting. Xena was going to be leading a small army of his men, even
though it was in her own interest, and she would not be acknowledging him
as supreme commander. It was going to be marvelous. Another wonderful
thing was that the bard had never once interrupted. She had stood there,
with mouth gaping, in complete silence. Will wonders never cease? He'd
never thought to see that day.

Xena had quickly gathered the dumbstruck Gabrielle and headed for
Amphipolis. She left Gabby with her mother, and went out to reconnoiter.
She had found a place of concealment where she could overlook the camp.
They were situated in a valley with a brook running through it, fairly tall
cliffs on both sides, and only open at the two ends. An easy place to guard,
under normal circumstances, but not so easy when the enemy commander
was as intimately acquainted with the area as she was. She knew of at
least five places where a skilled climber could navigate the walls. Going
down was easy. Secure the upper end, drop a rope, and clamber down. If
she could get enough ropes, she could send a large group of warriors
down from both sides at once. they could take out any sentries, and her
army could simply march in and take the camp. If she was lucky, there
would be little bloodshed. Of course she would probably have to take out
the commander personally. He must be reasonably good to have taken over
three bands of raiders as he had. Warlords, even minor ones, had to be
capable fighters. They had to win the respect of their men. Braggadocio
just didn't cut it.

She quickly returned to town, and commandeered every rope that
was available. Then she went to the field where her men were to position
themselves. They were there, exactly where she wanted them, and she
promptly found out who was in charge. She actually knew the man, his
name was Teris. He was tall, rangy, had sandy hair and freckles. He had
been under her command when she was a warlord under Ares, but he still
appeared terribly young. He had been, at that time, just a gangly kid. The
fact that he was now second in command said a lot for his abilities and
resolve. He was still a little youthful for his position. Give him a few years,
though, and he would be a power to be reckoned with. She washappy to
see that he had done so well.

He knew all the soldiers under his command, knew all their strengths
and weaknesses. At Xena's request, he gathered a large number of men
who had climbing experience. She drew out a map of the enemy territory.
"We can go down here, here, and here easily. These other two areas
require real expertise." The men sorted themselves out into five groups, with
the most experienced climbers in two of them. "Now, report here just before
dusk. I want to get you in position before it's completely dark. Get some
rest today. Get something to eat tonight, and gather some supplies to take
with you for tomorrow morning. There will be no fires for you tonight, no hot
food, no comfortable tent. We can't take the chance that you will be spotted
before our attack. They hastened to do her bidding.

Teris stayed with Xena. "What supplies do we have?" she asked. "We
have plenty of food and weapons, tents, everything we could possibly need."
Teris replied. "Good, do we have any ropes? I've already gathered every rope
in town, but we don't really have enough. I'd like to send twenty men at a
time down the cliff. I only have thirteen ropes." "That's no problem. We were
provided with a whole stack of coiled ropes. I wondered what we were
supposed to do with them. Now I know." Xena thought a brief thanks to Ares.
Count on him to be one step ahead in the planning dept. There were brief
times when she missed their old camaraderie. They had always worked well
together. She had always been able to count on his support and
encouragement This would be almost like old times.

The rest of the men were divided into two groups. The two group
leaders were given their orders. They were shown the map, and told that
once they were in position, they were to keep complete silence, they were
to sleep in shifts. When the first faint hint of false dawn appeared on the
horizon they were to be in position. With the appearance of a fire arrow
arching in the air over the enemy camp they were to quickly and quietly
enter the valley and surround the camp. If possible, they were to take them
completely by surprise. There was to be no excess killing, because they
wanted to make an example of the surviving raiders.

The plan went off perfectly. Xena had positioned the two large groups
just out of sight of the entrances. She and Teris had taken opposite sides
of the valley, and gone down the ropes with their men. The climbers had
each been given a bow and fire arrows. They each carried a small earthen
pot with a lid, in the pot were coals. At their waists was a pouch of tinder.
Each man had been given specific orders. Some were to take out the
sentries, others were to hide in the brush just outside the camp site and
raise Tartarus if the enemy spotted the reinforcements entering the valley.
They could quickly add the tinder to the coals, blow on them until they
flared up, and then just dip each arrow into the flames before letting them
fly. Teris had the duty of sending the signal arrow into the sky. At Xena's
sign, he prepared an arrow and sent it soaring into the air.

Before the sentries knew it, they were disarmed and bound. The
reinforcements then entered the valley. They made almost no sound at all.
Metal accouterments had been bound with strips of cloth to muffle any
sound. They gathered silently around the camp, and began to enter tents
as quietly as possible. There was almost no resistance. Each raider was
bound and gagged to keep down any alarm. They had almost completed
the exercise when someone came out of one of the tents they hadn't yet
reached. When he became aware of the strangers in the camp, he gave
out a mighty yell..."We're under attack!" he screamed. Within seconds,
the remaining raiders swarmed out of their tents, weapons at the ready.
As they realized their circumstances ( they were desperately outnumbered),
they slowly began to lower their weapons. There were a few exceptions
who decided to fight.

Of course the commander was one of the exceptions. He managed
to kill one of the soldiers that opposed him, but Xena was right behind that
soldier. She gave her signature war cry, and brought her sword into play.
It took a while, he was surprisingly good, but she did manage to defeat him.
She had evaded his stroke, and successfully stabbed him in the thigh. He
crumpled. Laying there on the ground, he still refused to give up. He drew
a dagger and threw it at her. She had already turned to engage another
man, and didn't see the dangerous move. Suddenly the dagger stopped
in midair. Ares had appeared. The dagger reversed itself, flew through the
intervening distance, and plunged into Gregor's chest. "That's one less
problem." Ares stated. " He refused to even acknowledge me. Thought his
gods could protect him. Not so! Not in my territory at least!"

Gabrielle had unwillingly stayed in the village. Xena had asked her to
keep an eye on her mother, "She has no fighting skills, and I don't want her
hurt in case something goes wrong. Please, Gabrielle, keep her safe?"
Gabrielle had finally agreed. Now she was disgusted. Cyrene had never
been in any real danger. Xena's army had appeared and taken control of
the situation. The bard wasn't even on hand to record the battle. She had
missed out on everything. Of course when Xena got back and informed
her that there had been almost no fighting, she didn't believe her. " Our
side had only three casualties. Eight of the raiders died, including their
leader. We took them completely by surprise. It was all over before most
of them even knew it had started." As the soldiers slowly gathered outside
of the village, Gabrielle interviewed each of them to find out just what had
happened. She found that Xena had told her the truth, then she simply
recorded everything she could get. Gabby never did get the whole story out
of Xena. Xena decided to keep the knife incident to herself. Gabby would not
have appreciated the need for Ares' intervention. It could have been a serious
situationif he hadn't appeared. She hated to admit it, but she owed him one.

The raiders had been bundled up in several wagons and transported to
Corinth for justice. There the magistrates ordered them placed in the stocks
for public ridicule for a week. Then they would be sent to prison. There
weren't enough stocks for them all, and more had to be built. It was
unbelievable that so many of them had been taken alive. Only incredible
planning had allowed it to happen.

Ares was back on his throne, leg dangling again, with a pleased look
on his face. This was more like it. Not quite like old times, but an amazingly
sweet substitute. He had watched every move and counter move. Each
maneuver had been planned to perfection. There had been no real battle,
little bloodshed, but that was all because of intelligent planning. That took
real finesse, and he admired that quality. What he wouldn't give for more.
Oh well, he could hope.

CHAPTER FOUR

Cyrene was still in a bit of a dither. Danger had come altogether too
close. If her daughter hadn't somehow learned about the gang of raiders in
the area, they might have done any number of terrible things. Everyone had
heard stories of warlords and raiders. Stories of rape, pillage, and murder.
Towns had been burned to the ground, and even women and children killed
in horrible ways. This village had been attacked by a warlord named Cortese
many years before, and her younger son and several other youths had been
killed. Xena too had been in the battle, and had later gone on to be a warlord
herself. Cyrene was thankful that the danger had been averted this time. The
raiders had all been killed or captured, and the survivors had been sent to
Corinth for judgement. There had been few losses on the army's side. Only
three if she wasn't mistaken.

As the army of men trickled into the village, she became aware of the
fact that they all considered Xena to be their commander. They formed up
on the edge of the village, and awaited further orders. "What are you going
to do with them, Xena?" she asked. "Send them back, of course." Xena
replied. "I have no further use for them." "How do you plan to do that?" her
mother queried. "It's simple. Ares sent them, he can take them back." she
retorted. "Ares? Is that where you got them? Why would he give you an
army? Are you going back to him?" the questions came one right after
the other. "Yes, Ares. He sent them. He told me there were no strings
attached, and no I'm not going back to him." Xena stated firmly.

"Ares..." Xena called. No reply. "Ares!!! I'm calling you. You better
get your butt moving, you bastard." Still no answer. Now she was really
getting angry. She waited several more seconds, then she bellowed his
name. "Ares, are you getting deaf in your old age?" She figured an insult
might get some action. She was right. He appeared suddenly in front of her,
with a disdainful look on his face. "There's nothing at all wrong with my
hearing. I was busy. What do you want?" "I want you to take back this
army." she replied. "I have no further use for it." "WHAT... you want me to
take back my gift to you?" he asked. "You could always station them
around Amphipolis, that way no-one would dare attack. You'd have your
own personal guards. I can spare this many warriors without any trouble
whatsoever. Of course you'd be responsible for paying and feeding them,
as well as finding them quarters in which to live. That's not too much to
ask inreturn for your own personal guards. You'd never have to worry about
your town unless a quite powerful warlord decided to challenge you. Minor
ones wouldn't dare, they'd be out manned. You have nearly 100 men, that's
a sizeable group, even larger than the population of your town. What more
could you ask?" "I'm asking you to take them back. I have no further need
of them. After this, Amphipolis should be reasonably safe. The word has
spread about what happened to the last guy who tried to take the town.
No-one likes to be put in the stocks and ridiculed.That's worse than
imprisonment. At least then, most people aren't aware of your situation.
The stocks leaves you open to all kinds of criticism, kids throw rotten
eggs and tomatoes at you, and adults make fun of you. Take them back,
please?"

The 'please' had actually shocked him. He was used to sharp remarks,
ridicule, and worse. He stood there for a long moment, with a considering
look on his face. Then, at last, he sighed. "Oh, all right. If you're going to
ask so nicely. I'll take them back." The formations, with their wagons and
supplies disappeared from sight. "Right...thank you." she remarked. He still
had a slightly dumbfounded look on his face as he faded from view. "Whew....
it worked." Xena exclaimed. "For a while there, I thought he was going to
make me keep them. He was actually almost insistent. I hope he's not up
to something." Her mother was standing there staring at her. Xena had
spoken to Ares as an equal. She'd been insistent, notwithstanding the fact
that he didn't seem to want his armyback. What was going on here, anyway.
They acted almost friendly to each other. Xena had been *polite*. Xena
was never polite to anyone. Of course, Ares had also acted stunned by her
actions . Apparently he wasn't used to polite behavior either.

The village soon settled back to normal. People came and went,
some shopping, some visiting Cyrene's tavern. Xena and Gabrielle were
helping out there. The patrons just couldn't get over the fact that their own
Xena had saved the town. Most of them had known her from the time she
was an infant. She had always been a bit of a hoyden, practicing with
swords, wearing pants and getting in fights. Her younger brother had been
just as bad. The pair of them were always into something. The death of
that brother had changed her completely. From a happy, mischievous
child, she had become a solemn, and angry teenager. She had gone to
the temple of Ares and pledged herself, so that she could learn to fight well
enough to take revenge on Cortese. She had done very well... so well, in
fact that she had become a warlord in her own right. She had become a
terror, much like the man she hated so much. It had been years before
she got her life turned around. Now she had been doing good for some years.
She had turned her back on the ways of the warlord, but not on the ways of
the warrior. She defended the helpless, and aided in any way she could.
People now greeted her gladly when she came back home. Her little friend,
the bard, told stories in the evening, but Xena usually down played her part
in the story. She wasn't conceited in the least.

That night, as she was getting into bed, she suddenly shivered. There
was no draft in the room, which left only one possible reason for the feeling.
"Ares, what do you want?" she asked. He appeared in a shimmer of light.
"Nothing too serious." he replied. "I just wanted to see if you'd changed
your mind." "Why should I? What are you up to now?" she questioned.
"I'm not up to anything at the moment. I needed some excuse to visit you,
and I thought that would suffice." "You're just visiting? You don't have some
kind of plan to get me back?" she asked quietly. "Would it do me any good?
You keep telling me that you're not interested in coming back. No, I'm just
visiting. I enjoyed our little adventure. I loved the way you set things up. You
had people in all the right places, at all the right times. You had planned
everything perfectly. Your plan went off without a hitch, and I was actually
impressed. Of course there was almost no bloodshed, very little killing, but
that was only a matter of exceptional planning. I admire cunning tactics as
well as bloody action. Anyone can go up with a superior army and kill the
opposition."

He sat down beside her on the bed. He didn't say anything more for
a few moments, just stared. He stroked her hair back from her face. The
tension was becoming unbearable. Xena tried to move away from him, but
there was little room to do that. She suddenly got to her feet and began to
pace back and forth. She didn't say anything at first. He just sat there and
looked at her. Finally she sat back down. "Why do you always have to be
there? Wherever I go, whatever I do, you're always there." He said nothing
for a few seconds longer. Then he looked deeply into her eyes, and said,
"You mean a lot to me, Xena. I feel the need to keep an eye on you. I
wouldn't want you to be hurt because I wasn't there for you. It's happened
in the past, and I regret that fact. I don't plan on letting it happen again."
She looked back at him, examining his features carefully. There was no
hint of evasion or subterfuge. He really meant it!

She felt confused. So many things had happened between them, both
good and bad. How could she ever trust him again, and yet..."Why should I
believe you?" she asked. He slowly gathered her up in his arms. "Because
I've never lied to you. I've evaded the truth, I've given you only partial
information, and I've hinted at many things, but I've never actually lied. She
gazed at him for a moment more, then laid her head on his shoulder. He
gathered her close. He stroked her hair for a while, then the hand strayed
down to her back. It continued to pull her closer. His other hand moved up
to lift her chin. Her lips parted as he lowered his head. The kiss seemed to
last forever. It had begun gently, but slowly increased in pressure, and
became more insistent. She hesitated for only a moment, then relaxed
into his embrace, and returned the kiss with abandon. He gently lifted
her into his arms, and they disappeared.

Her first thought the next morning, was that it had only been another
dream. She had spent many nights dreaming of his arms. Each day she
fought the need, refusing to admit any feeling for him. There was one
problem with that thought. She was definitely awake, and there were a
strong pair of arms around her and a very warm body against her back.
She stirred slightly, shifting her weight. "Awake?" was the murmured
question. The voice wasn't loud enough to wake her if she had been
sleeping deeply, but it stirred feelings inside her that she had thought
dead. His voice was deep and husky. It evoked desire again. She turned
to face him. His hair was slightly tousled looking, the sheet had slid down
to his waist, and she couldn't resist. She reached up and straightened his
hair. Then she raised on one elbow, and bent over to kiss him. "Good
morning." she told him after the kiss. Then she realized just how bright the
light was in the room. "Oh no! It's late, I've got to get home!" she exclaimed.
As she sat up entirely, she found that she was suddenly dressed in the night
dress she had been wearing the night before. He gave a lazy wave of his
hand, and she was at home in her own bed. It was just in time, too. "Hey,
Xena, wake up! It's getting late, and it's not like you to stay in bed this late."
The voice was that of the bard, Gabrielle, and she suddenly opened the door.
Xena stretched and yawned for a moment. "That was the best night I've
spent in ages." was her only comment.

Breakfast was eaten quickly, as there was a lot of preparation
necessary in order to open the tavern. Bread had to be baked, food had to
be prepared, the tavern had to be cleaned and straightened up, and other
miscellaneous chores had to be completed. It was necessary to bring out
another keg of ale, as the patrons the night before had drained the last one.
Everyone did their part, and finally the front doors were unlocked and opened
for business. The outer doors were hooked to the outside wall to keep them
open. The inside doors were of the swinging type, with springs to keep them
closed. With the amount of traffic they were handling, it's a good thing they
were. People were coming in and going out all morning. Some people came
for breakfast and a little gossip every morning. The tavern was the hub of
the town.

Whenever anything major came up, the villagers gathered at the tavern,
as it was the largest building in the town. There wasn't room for everyone, but
people stationed inside the door would lean out and shout to those outside
and keep them informed. It worked quite well. Xena spent the day in a slight
daze. She completed all the things that were asked of her, and did them well.
However, she had a smile on her face, that numerous people noticed.
Several people commented on the unusually good mood she was in, and her
only reply was that she had had a better night than usual. "After all that time
on the road, a soft bed feels really good." was her only reply. She kept the
real reason to herself.

CHAPTER FIVE

Xena and Gabrielle had left Amphipolis shortly after all the excitement
of the rogue warlord had been settled once and for all. They were going to
visit Gabrielle's family. It was only fair after the visit to Amphipolis. They
had been on the road now for several weeks, with no real excitement going
on. They had, however, been hearing more and more about rogue warlords.
Xena had a strong dislike of rogue warlords after the last few days. In fact
they had heard one tale of a rogue warlord going so far as to attack and
loot a temple of Ares up north somewhere. This was almost unbelievable.
Who in their right mind would attack the God of War. Xena decided that
she must get to the bottom of this.

Xena and Gabrielle stopped at an Inn in one of the larger cities they
visited. and got rooms for the night. They settled down in the dining
room, and ate a meal. Things in this city had been quiet for the last two
years. It was large enough to have their own cadre of guards stationed
about the streets, and guard posts every few blocks where guards rested
between rounds. There was almost no crime in the city, and what little
there was had been quickly dealt with. The citizens were justly proud
of their reputation for swift justice. During the meal, Xena overheard even
more discussion of the attacks up north. Ares had a temple in this city.
A visit might be in order.

Xena had enjoyed the meal more than Gabrielle had. It was really
spicy, and Gabrielle liked her food a little less hot. Sweat was breaking
out on her forehead, and she was constantly wiping it off with a cloth.
Water didn't help. It only seemed to increase the heat. She tried Mead,
and that did seem to cool things down somewhat. Finally, she had some
pudding for desert, and the creamy texture seemed leave a cooling trail
down her throat. Xena just grinned and had seconds of the hot stuff.

After supper was done, they retired to their room. Gabrielle was really
tired, and looking forward to a soft bed for a change. When she saw Xena
getting out a dark hooded cloak, she groaned and asked. "Now what?
Don't tell me that we're going out again." "No Gabrielle, you're not going
out again, I am. I've got something to do, and I won't need any help doing it.
I'll be back shortly. Go to sleep, I'll see you in the morning." It was still
early, but Gabrielle really was exhausted. She finally agreed to wait in the
room.

It was several blocks to Xena's destination, but she covered it in record
time. She stretched out those long legs of hers into a manly stride, which
disguised her feminine walk completely. Anyone seeing her walking along
like that would automatically assume that the person in question was a man
in a hurry. She reached the huge double doors to the temple, opened one,
and entered the main hall. She strode quickly into the main sanctuary, which
held the throne, and the altar. She sidled her way past a number of people
until she could enter a passageway to the private quarters. As she strode
quickly within, she ran into a large hard bodied figure in a hooded robe.
There was no doubt that this was the one she was seeking. She opened
her mouth to speak, but was shushed. Then he took her by the arm and
led her back into the sanctuary. He took her along one wall, and into a
shadowed alcove.

Again she tried to speak. He whispered "Hush, just watch." He then
settled his back against the wall and observed the main room. She did the
same. At first all she saw was a priest behind the altar receiving offerings.
A slight pale featured man presented several gems. The priest received
them, and blessed the supplicant. Next in line was a warlord. He got up
there to the altar, took out a dagger and cut his hand slightly. As he
dripped the blood on the altar, he made a formal blood sacrifice, announcing
in a loud voice his dedication to his Lord Ares. "Pompous Ass.!" she heard
Ares murmur. "He is an idiot. Couldn't fight his way out of a tight squeeze,
a woman's squeeze." Xena chuckled softly. She knew the warlord in
question, and had to agree with Ares' description. She knew that without
the aid of his lieutenant the man would be long dead. Ares had seriously
considered killing him personally a while ago, but had decided to wait until
the lieutenant was older. The aide was a personal friend of hers, and had
been instrumental in winning the battle near Amphipolis.

Still there was nothing she considered important going on, and she
opened her mouth to speak again. "Hush, I say. Now watch a little longer."
He said. Another supplicant approached as the warlord received his blessing.
This man offered a matched set of daggers. They were incredibly beautiful.
Xena looked questioningly at Ares, but he just shook his head and nodded
again toward the altar. Following the man with the daggers was an older
woman. She offered a basket of fresh rolls, and opened the napkin they
were enclosed in to disclose the contents. The aroma flooded the temple.
It was mouthwatering. Ares was grinning from ear to ear. The woman then
began to sing the praises of Lord Ares.

There was a sudden commotion at the door. A bedraggled man pushed
hisway into the room. He was madly waving a sword in the air, and
practically frothing at the mouth. He was screaming something
unintelligible. As he got further into the room he found himself with no
targets for his wrath but the woman kneeling at the altar and singing
praises to Ares. "Lord Ares be damned." he screamed. "Our forces went
into battle on his behalf. We lost several of my friends in the fight. Ares
was supposed to protect us. Someone must pay. Damn your praises to
Ares!" He leaped forward, swinging the sword as he went, but as the sword
came down, it was met with an even larger sword. The stroke was blocked
by Ares himself. "Your commander failed to follow orders, that's why you
lost." Ares replied. He made a swift move that disarmed the madman,
then gave him a swift kick to the head that dropped him in place. Priests
swarmed into the sanctuary, moving to defend the place. Their help was
a little late, but they did get to take away the assailant for questioning. The
woman had not even hesitated during the whole episode. She continued to
sing the praises of Ares. As she finished, he himself gave her the blessing.

After the excitement was over, Ares led her back to his own quarters.
They sat down on the matching divans. He waved a hand at the table
between them. Fruit, rolls, meat and cheese appeared along with a carafe
of wine and two glasses. Xena then asked about the whole scene. "Alright,
now tell me what was so important that I keep quiet and watch." He then
went on to explain a few things. Several years ago a young man had come
to the temple. He was the youngest son of the woman in question. Her two
older sons were pillars in the community, but this last son was born long
after the others. He had sworn allegiance to Ares, and had gone into
training with other young men.

When his mother had heard, she had quickly come to the temple to
beg for the release of her son from his oaths. The priest in charge that
day had informed her that there was no way for that to happen. She had
then insisted that she wanted to talk to Ares himself. As he was in the
hallway just outside the room he heard the whole thing. He entered and
took her aside to discuss the subject. He assured her that her son could
not be released from his oaths. She had then asked if Ares could watch
over her son. She had promised to bring an offering each week, and to
sing his praises as long as her son remained safe. He had been amused
but had gone along with her request. He was sure that she would soon tire
of her vow. She hadn't. This had been going on for seven years now.
Each Sunday she came to fulfill her vow with fresh rolls and a song of praise.
Ares had also upheld his end of the bargain. She was the mother of Teris,
the lieutenant that had assisted Xena not too long ago.

Xena was pleased as well as amused to think of Ares getting involved
with a protective mother like that. She soon got down to business. She
told Ares of the rumors she had heard about the looted temple, and asked
if it could possibly be true. He assured her that it was. Every year there
were a few raids from the northern barbarians and every few years there
were major raids. They killed the men and ravished the women. More and
more of the northern Greeks were being born with light hair and fair skin.
This last year there had been more raids than usual. Groups of the
barbarians were forming war parties and raiding deep into Greek territory.
One of these groups had been responsible for the raid in question. They
had no respect for the Gods of Greece, in fact Gregor had been one of
those northerners. He had been blond, stocky and muscular.

Since Ares had been the one to help her not long ago, Xena felt she
owed him one. She offered to help. He raised one eyebrow quizzically.
She said "I mean it. I'm offering to help as long as there are no strings
attached." He grinned suddenly and asked with a smirk. "No strings?"
"You heard me, no strings!" she replied. He was still smirking, but he
finally agreed. She had to take care of a few things first but agreed to
meet him the next day.

Xena returned to their room at the Inn. Gabrielle was fast asleep.
Xena took off the cloak, and put it away with her things. Then she stripped
down to her shift and climbed into bed. She was also tired, and soon was
sleeping deeply. Ares was watching her in his mirror and smiled as he saw
her hug her pillow. She slept with her arms around the pillow and her head
on one corner, almost as if she had her arms about someone and her head
on his shoulder. He was tempted to enter her dreams and see if she was
dreaming about him, he resisted, but only because he was afraid she'd
remember in the morning.

CHAPTER SIX

Gabrielle was not happy, not happy at all. "You what? You volunteered
to help Ares with his problem? Are you crazy? He's just trying to get you
back again. You can't trust him, you know you can't, he's just up to
something. I don't know what, but I just know that he's up to something."
She continued to rant and rave for quite some time. Xena's calmness did
nothing for her. Gabrielle was absolutely furious. Xena simply continued
packing her bags. "You don't have to come, you know." she stated calmly.
"It would be fine with me if you decided to go on and visit your folks for a
few weeks. I can meet you there after this is all over and done with." "Not
on your life! Leave you to go with Ares? You could just be tempted to rejoin
him. You're better than that. I want to be there to make sure he's not up to
his old tricks." Gabrielle exclaimed heatedly. She began to furiously pack
her own bags."

They gathered their horses, loaded their packs, and walked to the back
of the temple. Ares was there with his own horse. This was a coal black
stallion a full two hands taller than Argo. The stallion promptly began to
prance in place when Argo got close enough for him to smell her. He ignored
Gabrielle's gelding entirely. They all mounted, Ares waved a hand and they
were no longer at the temple. They were on a grassy slope overlooking a
valley. In the valley was a large encampment circling a huge pavilion. This
was their destination. As they drew near, they were greeted with shouts of
jubilation. Ares....Ares....Ares, was repeated over and over. Xena grinned
as some of them suddenly recognized her. Shouts of Xena....Xena....Xena...
soon went up as well. As they drew up their horses at the pavilion, Xena
noticed that the idiot warlord was standing to one side. Just behind him was
her friend Teris. She grinned, passed the warlord by, clasped Teris by the
forearm and then threw her other arm about his neck and hugged him.
"Teris, I'm so glad to see you again. Ares stood to one side with a crease
between his eyebrows.

The warlord was trying to get his Lord's attention. As soon as Xena let
go of Teris and returned to his side, Ares actually recognized the man's
presence. His name was Cletus and he was the same man who had made
the blood sacrifice in the temple. Xena had absolutely no use for him. As
Ares had said, he was an idiot. Only luck and good lieutenants had brought
him to his present position of power. He had three aides, one of whom was
Teris. All three were too young for a position of leadership, so they worked
with Cletus. The troops would have preferred the younger men. Cletus was
unpredictable. Harsh punishment for small infractions was a common thing,
but if he was in a good mood, he might let a major foul-up slip by without any
punishment whatsoever. You just never knew from day to day. Most of the
time, however, the aides took care of the punishment details. They were
just and the men much preferred it that way.

They all gathered inside the pavilion, which had several rooms. The main
room had several divans and chairs at one end, and a huge table surrounded
with chairs at the other. They took their seats at the table, with Ares at the
head. Xena sat to his left, with Gabrielle beside her, Teris just beyond
Gabrielle, and the warlord on the right side with his other two aides beyond
him. A map appeared on the table with stones to hold the corners flat. Ares
stood up, pointed at a spot on the map, and announced that here was the
temple that had been raided. He then went on to point out other places that
had been raided recently. All were within a small area of the map. "These
were all done by a group of about thirty man. A small band, I agree, but
they seem to be well trained. They waste no time, hit and run, taking
their loot with them. As you can see there is an open area in the central
portion of the raids. Some deep valleys comprise most of that area, and
I believe that is their base of operations. I believe you, Teris, have had
recent experience with a similar situation." He was answered with a grin
and a nod.

The warlord tried to interrupt. He received a glare from Ares, and sat
back down. "I'll get to you later ." Ares continued. He went on with
supposition and rumor. "I will have to do some checking before we make
any serious plans. I just wanted to make sure we were all aware of the
possible problems at hand. I'll get back to you in the morning. Meet me
here shortly after dawn and I'll have more information for you." The
warlord and his men left the pavilion. Ares walked over to one of the
divans, seated himself, and motioned the two women to a seat on the other.
He then snapped his fingers. Plates of sliced meat and cheese, bowls of
fruit and baskets of fresh rolls along with a carafe of red wine appeared.
Xena looked at the rolls, and then at Ares. She lifted one eyebrow and
looked again at the rolls before looking back to him. He grinned and
nodded. there was a dish of cold fresh butter with some small knives
stuck in it. Xena took some of the butter, and spread it on one of the
rolls. It was absolutely delicious. "Now you know why my priests look
forward to Sunday." He remarked. "They always order fresh butter on
Saturday, because they know the rolls are coming on Sunday when she
comes to make her offering.

In one corner of the room was a shrouded shape. It was large and flat.
Xena had a pretty good idea what it was from her experiences as a warlord.
Ares always kept a large mirror on hand for scrying. He walked over, took
hold of the cloth covering it and pulled. The mirror was exposed as she had
known it would be. He took a seat before the mirror. Waving one hand in a
lazy manner he began observing the area in question. Xena had followed
him over and stood at one side of his chair watching as well. Gabrielle
was intrigued, she had never seen such a thing before. Without conscious
thought she followed Xena and stood on the other side of Ares. They watched
as a group of men on horses came out of a hidden valley. They had to move
some large shrubs which had been cut and placed to hide the entrance.
When they were all outside, the shrubs were replaced. "Clever!" Xena
stated. As they continued to watch, a bush was dragged across their tracks
to remove any trace of their passage. "Real clever." Xena continued. Ares
waved his hand again, causing the view in the mirror to shift. From a point
high overhead could be made out the rough location of the valley. Ares
walked over to the map and drew in the area. He then returned to the mirror
to see if there were other entrances to the valley, and to see just how
organized the encampment was. Gabrielle continued to watch in awe as
he scouted the whole area from his mirror. There was another entrance to
the valley, disguised as the first one had been. The encampment was larger
than they had thought. Apparently they only sent out a portion of the men
at any one time. The major portion stayed in the valley. There had to be
over a hundred of them. They were mostly blond, but some had light brown
hair, and a few were darker.

They were obviously barbarians. The camp was a rough one. They
had no tents, just some kind of brush huts with skins over them to keep
out the rain. There was no proper sanitation. They had trenches right
beside the huts. There was a small creek running through the valley, and
a large area had been fenced off for horses. Ares then began to examine
carefully the sides of the valley. He found a few places that would be easy
to access with ropes. Xena grinned at him. He was obviously thinking of
her own plans with regard to Gregor. He knew that he had men who could
take on this job because they had already done so for her.

When he was finished with his scrying and map making, he escorted the
women to another area of the pavilion. With a broad grin, he bowed to them
and left. Inside were a pair of beds, a dressing table, a washstand with
basin, pitcher and towels, and a wardrobe. Their bags were on the beds
having been placed there while they were in conference. They unpacked
their things quickly, got themselves ready for bed, and turned in. There were
none of the sounds they would have expected in the middle of an army camp.
The room was almost completely silent except for the faint sound of the wind
blowing on the wall of the tent. They were soon asleep. Both slept deeply,
without any dreams.

The next morning there was a faint scratching on the flap of their room.
Xena was instantly awake. She shook Gabby awake, and spoke to whoever
was at the door. "We're awake. We'll be out shortly." There was a soft
voice that replied. It wasn't familiar at all. The girls dressed quickly and left
the room. There they found a young priest waiting. He led them back to the
table where they had been in conference. A large and hearty breakfast was
waiting for them. All those from the evening before were gathered there as
well. They discussed tactics as they ate. As soon as they were finished,
the table was cleared. The map instantly appeared with all the new marks
clearly inscribed. Teris had seen such things before he had joined Cletus.
He had been aide to one of Ares' favorite warlords years ago. He had only
left when the warlord died of some kind of fever. Several others among the
troops had died of the same fever. Nobody knew what caused it. They were
lucky that more didn't catch the disease. Out of three hundred and fifty
troops, about ten percent had developed the fever, but less than a dozen
had died.

It had been decided that Teris along with several dozen of the climbers
who had worked with him before would climb down ropes and work from
within the valley. They would take out sentries, and prepare the way for
the main parties to move in. Half the troops would come in from the east,
and the other half would come in from the west. They would get into position
on the night before the battle, and by dawn would be ready to move in. Again
Xena ordered them to use cloth to wrap any noisy equipment. They were to
secure everything possible before they made their move. Xena was in
charge of the eastern group, and Cletus would handle the western group.
Ares made sure that they all had their orders before they set out.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Gabby was acting as Xena's lieutenant, much to the dismay of the
troops. "Two women? Xena we know, but who in Tartarus is the little
blond?" They soon found out that she knew what she was doing. No
group of barbarians was going to even slow her down. Their group made
it's quiet way to the eastern entrance to the valley. They saw a group of
raiders wiping out their tracks and entering the valley. That was good,
they didn't want to miss any. Another group appeared. This one was
comprised of only half a dozen men. They carefully wiped out their tracks
also, going a ways further, then doubling back to the entrance. All the better.
She hoped they 'd get them all.

The attack commenced shortly after dawn the next morning. They saw
a fire arrow arching over the hillsides, and began to move in. They were
hoping for a clean strike like the last one, but it didn't happen that way.
Not to be outmaneuvered by Xena, Cletus had decided to move in early.
His troops were already inside the western end of the valley when the arrow
flew. They had surprised a sentry that hadn't been taken out yet. He let
out a bellow that woke the whole camp. Raiders came scrambling out of their
huts with weapons in hand. Cletus took an arrow in one eye that penetrated
to the brain. He dropped in his tracks. His aides looked down at him,
shrugged their shoulders and took over the command of the troops. Shortly
after this, Xena and her troops came on the scene. The raiders were well
armed and trained. They were giving as good as they got. Their leader was
a huge blond bulging with muscles. One of the aides took him on, but was
soon wounded badly. Xena arrived just as he went down. She deflected a
blow that would have beheaded him, then went on the offensive. Her war cry
rose above the din of battle as she attacked ruthlessly. The powerful muscles
of the blond managed to defend himself against her strongest blows. Her
only real advantage against him was her speed and agility. He appeared to
be muscle bound, unable to make some of the moves that she could do with
ease. She ran up the front of him, kicked him in the head, flipped and landed
out of his reach. He shook his head briefly, then attacked again. She flipped
over him and came at him from behind. He was a little slow in turning, and
she managed to get in a kick to the knee before his sword was within range
of her. The kick didn't faze him. She dove to one side and rolled back to
her feet. She was just in time. His long legs gave him the advantage in a
small space. He had made two great steps and was upon her. She dove
again, ending in a flip. Again she was just out of reach. They had been
going at it for quite a while. Xena had never met someone who was quite
this good before. No one other than Ares had been able to match her, but
Ares was a god. This guy was a mortal and he was good.

The battle went on and on. Xena was getting tired. She was incredulous
at the fact. This couldn't be happening. Her opponent seemed to be as fresh
as ever. There was a sudden flash of blue light. Ares had arrived. He had
been watching for quite a while now. He had realized that this time Xena
was in over her head. He moved to intercept the sword blow that would
have taken off her arm at the shoulder. The blade met his in an incredible
ringing of steel. Sparks flew from his blade. The barbarian never hesitated,
he simply changed targets. Another warrior tried to take Ares in the back,
but was stopped by Xena's blade. She was terribly tired, but had rested
just long enough to get her breath back. Attack, parry, jab, within a few
minutes she had killed him. Another moved to take his place. She and
Ares stood back to back against a number of foes. He made a sudden
move that took out a sneak attack on her, and she later returned the favor.
Suddenly there was another great ringing of steel, and the barbarian
leader's sword broke in two. It hadn't been made to duel with a sword
made by Hephaestus. Two swift moves later, Ares had taken off the
leader's head. They continued to fight side by side and back to back
until there were no more enemies to battle.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Cleanup didn't take too long. They dragged all the huts and hides into
the center of the valley and burned them. The bodies and survivors were
taken back to civilization for justice. They had found most of the loot
taken from the temple in the leader's hut. It was several times as large
as the others and absolutely stuffed with valuables. Some of the horses
were later identified as belonging to various farmers and returned. The
raiders themselves went to Corinth. There weren't many left. They had
all fought like a bunch of madmen, shrieking and screaming as they fought.
Wounds didn't seem to slow them down much, They just went on with the
fighting until they couldn't stand on their feet any longer or could no longer
hold a sword. Less than a dozen had survived, and all of them were
wounded.

Gabrielle was as happy as she could be. She had been involved with
some of the fighting, and had overseen a lot more of it. She had been
nearby when Xena was failing in her battle. She had realized that the
impossible was about to happen to Xena until Ares had arrived. She had
breathed a great sigh of relief when he blocked the blow that would have
severely incapacitated Xena. He had saved Xena's arm, and probably her
life as well. She decided that he wasn't as bad as she had thought. He
had done something right, and it was a very important something at that.
She felt that she owed him one, or at least a thank you. When the battle
was over she did just that.

Ares transported them back to his temple, where they were greeted with
great joy. The priests had been aware of much that was happening during
the fighting. One of the high priests had used the mirror to watch the
battle. They had all seen the intensity of the fighting, had seen incredible
feats ofdaring by the soldiers of Ares. They had been facing a smaller number
of enemies but the foes had been berserkers. They didn't know when to quit.
If they had any strength left they kept right on attacking. It didn't matter
the odds. They had acted as though they couldn't possibly lose. It must
have come as a shock when they realized that they had not only lost, but
lost badly.

When Xena had first told Gabrielle to go back to the Inn by herself there
had been some resistance. Xena just stood there and stared her down. She
had finally left, but it was obviously with great reluctance. "I have matters
that still need to be cleared up." Xena had told her. Gabrielle had finally
acquiesced. Xena had gone with Ares back to the private quarters. They
had sat on one of the divans for a while and discussed the battle. They had
both been amazed at the strength and stamina of the leader. After having
fought Xena to a stand still, he had gone on to give Ares a good battle. If
his sword hadn't broken when it did, he might have lasted quite a while
longer. His men had tried to defend him to the last, swarming any who
battled him, trying to defeat all comers. They had died to a man. The few
that survived were mostly taken before the battle.

An uncomfortable silence fell after a while. They each stared at the
other. Finally they both started speaking at once. Then they both started
laughing. Ares looked at Xena, she returned the gaze. Then she moved
into his embrace. They just held each other for a while. Then she leaned
her head back and parted her lips for a kiss. He quickly obliged. The
kisses went on for quite a while. Hands began to roam. He raised an
eyebrow and looked toward the bed. She nodded. They slowly got to
their feet, arms about each other and walked the few feet between the
divan and the bed. As they went, she began taking off her clothes. He
admired the view as he opened the sheets, shed his leathers and climbed
inside. She was right behind him. They lay there for a while in each
other's arms and continued to discuss the battle. He kissed her hair and
brow as she lay there with her head on his shoulder. She again lifted her
head for a kiss, and things rapidly escalated from there.

The next morning they lay there kissing. Xena noticed something moving
under the sheet and couldn't resist. She lifted the sheet and asked "What
have we here?" Ares grinned and stated "That 's a warlord standing at
attention." "Not Cletus. Pray tell me that's not Cletus?" she asked anxiously.
"Oh, no, I can guarantee that's not Cletus. He's dead." he replied. She
laughed out loud. "That's good. I'm glad. May I make a suggestion?" He
looked at her for a moment then shrugged. "Sure, why not? What would
you like to suggest?" "I'd like to suggest that you order that warlord into
position, then attack." He laughed uproariously for a moment, then replied.
"I think that can be arranged." The battle raged for quite a while, until the
warlord lost his proud demeanor and surrendered in defeat.......until the
next time.

...h.o.m.e...
bleeding-heart[dot]net