Summary: After helping Ares against an old enemy Xena makes a surprising discovery.

In the beginning there was Darkness and then from Darkness sprang Chaos; then Night and Day appeared. Eventually, Mother Earth - Gaea - came to be. As she slept she bore her son Uranus and soon enough they had made the land as it is and each had many descendents of monstrous form. Eventually, Gaea bore children of semi-human form, as the Hundred-Handed-Giants and the Cyclops.

Later came the Titans, who Uranus fathered on Gaea. As the first quarrels emerged the Titans rebelled against their father and in due time Cronus became the supreme commander, confining the Cyclops, the Hundred-Handed-Giants and many other of his siblings who were not Titans to Tartarus.

But it had been prophesied by Gaea that one day one of Cronus' children would finally dethrone him and despite Cronus' attempts to avoid death, that day came. There was a great battle between the Gods - Cronus' children - and the mighty Titans. The battle was long and fierce but the Gods enlisted to their cause those who Cronus had trapped in Tartarus and in the end they were victorious.

The times that followed were hard ones for the small tribe of Gods who now took their place in the Universe and they soon learned there were more monsters and godly creatures out there than they'd ever imagined - and not all of them were friendly... They had to fight often to maintain the power and remain united against outside forces who constantly tried to usurp their place. Fortunately they had on their side one of Gaea's children who had proved his valor in the great battle against the mighty Titans: Uraeus.

Not much taller than a God and with a serpent's tail, curled horns and sharp fangs to set him apart from the younger race, Uraeus had stood courageously next to his gigantic brothers, the Hundred-Handed ones as they pelted the Titans who had enclosured them in the darkest place of the Underworld. In the early rule of the Olympian Gods he kept right on fighting by Zeus' side, fearing nothing and always volunteering to champion their cause no matter how fierce and strong the enemy might be.

But as time went by the Gods grew in numbers and their place seemed secure as they became more powerful and almost unchallenged. Each of them started to get their own place in the Universe and their own affairs to manage.

This didn't bother Uraeus who was happy to see this new order prosper and happy he did not have so many battles to fight. Until one day Hera took up her little baby godling to the Fates so they might assign him his duties - they stated he would be the God of War and the Defender of Olympus. At this, Uraeus protested, claiming he'd been the one who'd always fought for the Gods and if anyone was going to get the official title it should be him. So much did he protest that finally, vexed by his behavior, Zeus cast him out of Olympus.

Like a whimpering puppy Uraeus ran to his mother's arms asking that this baby God be removed from his path. But Gaea did not grant his wish.

"It is meant to be, my son." she spoke. "Ares shall be the God of War for as long as he lives and he is the one destined to carry on the Olympian lineage."

"No!" Uraeus cried out. "I shall kill the infant myself!" And had not Gaea stopped him, he surely would have.

"Beware, my son." Gaea warned. "If you ever kill a God yourself, you too will perish."

And thus began Uraeus' despise for the Olympians in general and his hatred of Ares. Unable to kill him because of Gaea's prophecy he still made sure to make life hard for the young God of War and tried to endanger him as much as he could, hoping someday Ares would meet death. As the God of War came to manhood and grew stronger he finally held his own against the spitted son of Gaea and more than once set him running in fear after spoiling his plans to harm the Olympian order or Ares himself.

So Uraeus got more and more apart from the Olympians, seeking refuge in the deep caves of his mountain lair, staying away both from the Gods and the pestilence that now infected the earth, the mortal humans. Still, from time to time, he caused trouble, the last time being about six years back when he stole Scythus, Ares' pet dragon. But every time the God of War defeated him, with more or less hardship and losses, playing in perfection his part as Defender of Olympus.

Now new and harder times approached as the rifts between the Olympians grew wider and new Gods threatened to gain power all over the land and Uraeus planned to make the best of it...

**********

The overwhelming heat of the unnatural fire spread through the grim cave in Tartarus to where Ares had lured his heroic half-brother. The flames cast the shadows of the three present as grotesque darkened forms dancing against the rough gray stonewalls. At the center, bound by some power she could not comprehend, Deianeira stood in mid-air, hovering over the flames that threatened to lick the soles of her feet; before her, the man who used to be her husband stared back at her with worried features and a ripe apple in his hand.

"So, what will it be, Jerkules?" the God asked as he watched the couple with a sly grin on his face. "Are you willing to sacrifice her immortal soul to save yourself?"

With rage boiling through his veins Hercules shifted his gaze from the frightened woman to his dark brother. "I'm gonna tear you apart, Ares!" he growled at him but as he prepared to charge against the God his wife's screams of pain as the rising flames grazed her feet made him freeze.

"Oh no, no, dear brother." Ares mocked, already anticipating victory. "Try anything and that beautiful wife of yours will be toast! Quite literally." he added. "You're not gonna tear anyone apart." Ares went on as Hercules stared at him with hateful eyes. "You're gonna be a good boy and eat that fruit of the Underworld and stay trapped in here forever."

Hercules grunted some unintelligible curse as he tried to consider his options - it certainly did not look good. Ares was threatening to destroy Deianeira's immortal soul if he did not eat the fruit and knowing his half-brother, he would not lose any sleep over delivering on that threat. But if he ate the food of the Underworld he'd be trapped in there for good!

Ares sighed as his patience started to grow thin and he feared Hades would notice something fishy was going on in his realm and come to check it out. "Come on, Hercules! I'm getting tired of waiting here… What's it gonna be?" he asked, trying to rush his brother to make a decision.

Hercules looked down at the fruit in his hand and then back at the woman. She was frightened and sweat beads mingled with the tears falling from her eyes but he still found her to be as beautiful as always.

"Don't do it, Hercules." the blonde whispered to the man she loved.

"You're not gonna get away with this, Ares!" the demi-God said as he turned back to the leather-clad warrior.

The God of War decided to put an end to the game. "Fine. If you're not gonna eat it, let's just stay here and watch as she goes up in smoke, shall we?" With a wave of his hand the flames under Deianeira grew higher and her long white robe caught fire.

"No!" Hercules shouted as the woman cried out in pain.

Immediately the God of War put the flames down again.

"I'll eat it." the hero said, bringing a smile to Ares' lips.

"Hercules, don't! Please!" Deianeira pleaded in vain.

Determined not to let her down a second time Hercules took the fruit to his lips but before taking a bite he made one last attempt to destroy Ares' plan. 'Father, please come to my aid!' he thought in silent prayer, invoking the all mighty King of the Gods.

Ares grinned as the brother he hated prepared to eat and forever get out of his way. "Hey, it won't be that bad. You'll be a happy idiot with that pretty wife of yours, for eternity in the Elysian Fields, right?"

But before the God of War could feel the sweet taste of success a bright flash of light sparkled next to Hercules as the apple simultaneously vanished. "Ares!" Zeus growled at his most hated son.

The God of War's throat dried up and he swallowed the recently formed knot there. "Father." he said with a nod, trying to sound as casual as possible. After all, him trying to get rid of Hercules was nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Meanwhile, the demi-God sighed in relief as his father's powers returned Deianeira safely to him. As Hercules comforted her in his arms Zeus returned his attentions to Ares.

"You can't leave him alone, can you Ares? Can't stand the fact he is a better man then you'll ever be?" the angered King of the Gods said as he stepped closer to the immortal warrior.

His father's words always hurt more than he led on but he never lost the cocky grin as he retorted, "I am a God, not a man."

Zeus eyed him in disgust. "Yes, you are. Pity you two can't trade places… But still that does not give you the right to hurt my son!"

"Ain't I your son too? Why do you always side with that brainless ox?" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Hercules.

Zeus' eyes blazed with fury as Ares insulted his favorite son. He raised his arm up in the air and in his hand an orb of blue energy began to take form. "I'll teach you a lesson." he mumbled more to himself than to the God of War.

If he could, Ares would have vanished from that pit in the depths of Tartarus but in the Underworld his power was lost and his father was easily keeping him there. Being King of Olympus Zeus maintained all his power even in the dark realm of Hades and he was so angry he would have killed Ares right there and then, if it wasn't for the fact his dark son was an immortal.

At once Zeus attacked the God of War, throwing him hard against the side of the Underworld cave with the force of his power. And again he attacked his son with a blue energy blow; and again…

The walls of the cave trembled with Zeus' furious display, making debris fall from the high ceiling and breaches start to form on the ground.

As his father punished Ares, Hercules held his wife protectively in his strong embrace and pulled her close to the wall, hoping to keep her safe. Under their feet the ground was cracking up and cries of agony came from underneath, making Deianeira tremble in fear of what she assumed to be the damned souls of Tartarus.

Alerted by the disruptions in his realm, Hades materialized in the same cave, witnessing another of Zeus' powerful attacks against Ares and another blow to the integrity of his complex domain. "Zeus!" Hades angrily shouted to his older brother. "Zeus, stop that this instant!" he demanded.

The King of Olympus finally diverted his attention from his son and turned to look at Hades who glared back at him.

"Can't you see what you're doing?" the God of the Underworld said with a harsh tone. "This place is the deepest cave of Tartarus; do you know what lies beneath?"

With a wave Zeus made Hercules and the frightened Deianeira disappear from the scene so that he could better continue Ares' punishment - after the exchange with Hades. "No. What does lie beneath?" he asked, not at all interested in the answer.

Hades paced around the damaged cave, ignoring the God of War who lay still against the wall. "Precisely! No one really knows; we only know it's bad and it should remain sealed. And look at what you've done!" he added with a tone that dangled between anger and despair as he gestured to the breaches on the ground. "You've unsettled the whole balance of things! Do you know how long it'll take me to repair all this damage?"

As Zeus tried to excuse himself before his grim brother, Ares took the opportunity to make his exit, disappearing in a sparkling shower of blue light. Zeus did the same as soon as Hades allowed it by pausing in his ranting.

Now alone, the God of the Underworld went on with his work, fixing all the damage his brother had caused with his fury. While he fussed over one of the steamy fissures on the ground, keeping his back turned to the rest of the cave, a clumsy, skinny, black-leather-clad figure crept out from underneath, on the other side. Quickly assessing his surroundings and concluding he had returned to a familiar realm, Strife used what little power he had left to make himself vanish from that place.

The small glint of light produced by Strife made Hades divert his attention from his work. Looking back the God saw nothing so he returned to the delicate task at hand. And as he remained concentrated, yet another being came out, escaping detection. This one was shorted but a lot more graceful. She had no power like Strife so she simply walked stealthily out of the cave and into the other parts of Tartarus, leaving Hades alone with his job.

**********

The Priestess cupped some hot water from the tub with her hands and slowly poured it over the God's sore muscled shoulders. "You shouldn't have angered him so, my Lord." she said, repeating the gesture. "Don't forget your father still has the power to do you harm or even kill you!"

"I know, I know. But I got so close this time, Cassandra! He was really about to take a bite," he explained, "when Zeus showed up and all my plan crumbled to pieces. He was really furious this time."

"Your father or your brother?"

"Both really." Ares answered. "But I meant my father. I think I should probably stay out of his way for a while."

"As usual. You two have really been on bad terms lately."

The warrior God nodded. "I guess. Somehow things have slowly become worse within the family. Zeus and Hera are at each other's throats more than ever since he seduced Alcmene; between me and him it's been always downhill since Jerkules was born and even the jealousy between my sisters seems to be much more serious. It's all going wrong." he said, dissolving some of his bath's white foam between his fingers. "And Strife dead…" he added with a sad tone. "I still can't believe he's gone. He was incompetent and annoying but I liked the little guy!"

"I know you did, my Lord."

"Even the little things go wrong - Hephaestus didn't finish the weapons for my army because he's still fussing over Aphrodite to make sure she's all right after the trouble with the Shadow-God."

Cassandra smiled at the God's little whine. "They're in love, my Lord."

"And in the meantime they forget about their obligations and screw up everyone else's plans! Being in love in no justification."

She didn't say it out loud but Cassandra thought that by now Ares should know love was indeed a justification for just about anything, shouldn't he? Gods know the things he'd done because of a certain Warrior Princess… "It's not all been bad."

Ares turned in his bath and faced the dark-skinned woman with a questioning raised brow. "Oh?"

"There's Xena."

"Xena." the dark God repeated, loving the way the name so easily rolled off his tongue. "But even that's gone wrong." he let out with a sigh. "Somehow she slipped through my fingers, I don't quite know how. Things were so perfect with her for a while and I had such grand plans for the future. How did that all fall apart? Now she's so distant…"

"Even so, I believe things with her might change if you wish, my Lord."

This definitely interested Ares. "You reckon?"

The Priestess nodded.

"How?"

"Well, I think she's close to forgiving you for the whole Dahok business and she was quite pleased with the way you handled yourself with the Shadow-God." the woman said. "You just keep yourself from doing her harm and maybe… Besides, I'm sure she cares for you a whole lot more than she admits."

Seeing the God had enough of soaking in the bubbly water, Cassandra stood up and stepped back, allowing him room to step out. As he got up from the water she still caught a glimpse of his nudity before he magically appeared fully clad in his usual attire. 'Yes, Xena will be one lucky woman if she comes to her senses.' she thought, sighing with the view.

"I sure hope you're right, Cassandra. Nothing would please me more than having my Princess back." He strolled out of the room, followed close by the woman.

**********

After running into Xena and Gabrielle again Joxer had easily persuaded them to make a visit to Meg's place. Gabrielle couldn't resist the thought of savoring the tramp's spicy cooking and Xena was a little tired lately and a soft bed for the night held quite an appeal when compared to sleeping on the ground.

It was early evening and Meg's establishment was starting its busiest period of the day. Lydia had just gone out with her new regular client - a local wealthy merchant - and several girls were entertaining their men, getting them to spend a few dinars on food and drink before they led them to a private room and gave them what they really went there for.

Sitting at a corner table with her back to the rest of the room Meg was taking some time off with her friends. Right next to her Joxer kept an arm wrapped around her waist as he nibbled on some freshly baked cookies and gossiped with the two women about Lydia's new guy. Across from them Gabrielle did her best to keep her eyes off the promiscuous activities going on in the rest of the room and concentrate in their conversation.

"And is he a nice man?" the bard asked, referring to Lydia's catch.

Meg shrugged. "Opinions vary. He is quite ruthless in business and has a little band of mercenaries at his service - they do some dirty work for him every now and then." The black-haired tramp leaned over the table and added in confidence, "Just recently they torched the farm of some guy who tried to cheat him out of some cash. There were even dead people!"

"So he's a murderer." Gabrielle concluded.

"You don't know that. Maybe they had it coming." Joxer guessed, before putting another cookie in his mouth.

Meg nodded in agreement and placed a noisy kiss on Joxer's cheek, making him smile. "Yep." she said. "Anyways, he's nice to Lydia and that's what matters, right?"

"Not only that." the blond bard disagreed. "Even if someone is nice to you, you still have to consider how that person is to everyone else before you let yourself fall in love." With her mind set on someone in particular, Gabrielle looked across the room until her gaze fell upon her best friend, sitting there on the windowsill and looking up at the stars now appearing on the darkening sky.

Alienating herself from everyone in the room the Warrior Princess sat there with one foot up on the windowsill and the other planted on the ground so she wouldn't lose her balance. She was looking up at the sky but was seeing nothing really; she was lost in her own mind, somehow still caught in the dream that came to visit her often lately. She'd be camping alone in the woods, close to a water well - Xena knew the place because she'd been there when she was preparing to kill the Shadow-God's witch. In her dream she was sitting there alone, sharpening her sword, when out of nowhere he came. He was handsome, as always, and sat near her, healing a small cut on her finger with his godly powers. It was then she did things in her dream she swore she'd never do again. She let her guard down and kissed him tenderly, allowing him to embrace her with all his passion. She and the God of War would make love for hours until, exhausted, they'd collapse into deep slumber in each other's arms. It was such a vivid dream, the emotions were so strong, it felt so real… Such a wonderful dream.

'Stop that, Xena!' the woman thought, mentally slapping herself for dwelling in such musings. 'Ares is not a dream, he's my worse nightmare!' she reminded herself as she got up, taking a moment to steady herself after a slight loss of balance. 'I'll never again let him seduce me back into his fold.'

She stalked across the room and, without a word to her friends, went to the room Meg had given her for the night.

With a puzzled look Gabrielle followed her warrior friend with her gaze. "I better go see if she's alright." she told the other two. Then she got up from the table and followed Xena's steps.

When she reached the bedroom door she knocked lightly before she opened it. "Hi. Can I come in?"

Xena had already removed her breastplate and leathers and now sat on the edge of the bed as she undid the laces of her high boots. "Sure." she answered without looking up, recognizing her friend's voice.

The bard walked in and closed the door behind her. Then she stepped closer to her friend and waited until she finished removing her boots. "Xena, are you all right? You've been acting a little strange lately…"

The Warrior Princess lied in bed and pulled the covers up to keep away the cold before she replied. "I'm fine, Gabrielle. Just a bit tired."

The blonde frowned with worry. "You've been more tired than usual lately and the other day you were dizzy and nearly passed out for no reason. That's not normal for you." she said, the concern evident in her voice. "Are you sure you're not coming down with something? Maybe you should see a healer." she suggested.

Xena was quick to decline. "No. I'm fine, really. I just need an early night, that's all."

Gabrielle was still worried but decided not to insist. Maybe Xena was right and it was nothing. Or maybe her worse fears would come true and the Warrior Princess was suffering from a serious case of heartache… "All right." the Amazon said. "I'll go now and let you get some rest. I'll bring you some warm milk before I go to bed, okay?"

"Fine."

First she blew out the candles lighting the room and then Gabrielle walked to the door. "Get some sleep." she said before letting herself out and closing the door behind.

In bed, the raven-haired beauty closed her eyes, secretly hoping Morpheus would let her enjoy the same sweet dream.

**********

The bright light of the morning sun finally awoke Joxer. He stretched, yawned, rubbed his eyes and eventually sat up on the bed. As he opened his eyes he saw Meg still in her flimsy nightgown standing by the window, looking out at something. 'She is so beautiful.' He thought as he watched her silhouette, easily revealed through the thin fabric she was wearing. "Good morning, gorgeous!" he said, letting the woman know he was awake.

Pulled out of her thoughts by his words, Meg took her eyes off the woman passing by with her little toddler by the hand and quickly brushed away an undisciplined tear before she turned to face him. "Good morning, Joxy." she replied, immediately putting on a simple dress and heading for the door so he wouldn't have the time to see she'd been crying.

As she opened the door Joxer still called her, a little disappointed she was leaving right away. "Hey Meg, wait up!"

"I'm gonna cook breakfast." she said as she looked back at him to justify her leaving so soon. Then she closed the door and headed for the kitchen.

The place was still quiet at that hour. Most of Meg's girls were still in bed, Lydia had slept out and Gabrielle, being a sleepyhead, welcomed the opportunity to stay in bed for a little longer. Only the Warrior Princess was already up, sitting at the kitchen table and eating a breakfast of fresh fruit she had fixed herself.

"Good morning, Meg." The warrior greeted as her look-alike entered the room. She'd been crying and it didn't go unnoticed by Xena. "Is everything okay?"

Meg was a little surprised to see someone up already but then remembered her friend had gone to sleep early. "Hi. Yeah, everything's fine. Can I fix you something to eat?"

"I already ate but I wouldn't say no to some of that wonderful honey bread you make." Xena said, both because she was still hungry and to cheer up Meg.

The tramp smiled with the compliment to her cooking. "Coming right up!"

"Great, thanks." Xena said over the screech of her leather garments as she shifted her weight on the chair. "I love it."

Meg quickly got to work and fixed the food for the Warrior Princess and also for the others she knew would soon turn up. "Are you feeling better today?"

"Better?" Xena gave Meg a questioning look.

"Yeah. Gabrielle said you weren't feeling too good last night."

"Oh, that… I was just tired, but you know how she is, worrying over nothing."

"So you're okay today?"

"Peachy." Xena answered with a smile. "Actually, I think we'll get back on the road today."

"So soon?"

The warrior nodded.

Meg placed a plate with thick slices of the sweet bread in front of her friend and stepped back, standing with her hands over her hips, watching as Xena indulged herself in the wonderful food. "Guess a hero's work is never done, right?"

**********

Xena and Gabrielle still had lunch in Meg's place before they hit the road. The bard wanted to go by the Amazon country and her friend assented. After all, Gabrielle was still their rightful Queen and last time she'd been there it had been a very short visit - she stayed only long enough to talk to Ephiny, drop off Taja and preside over one or two of their inevitable ceremonies. This time, if all went well, they were going to stay there for a couple of weeks.

As sundown approached and they kept an eye out for a nice spot to camp for the night the two women made small talk to pass the time, walking slowly along the quiet road.

"So, what do you think of Krathos?"

"Who?" the taller woman asked. She didn't know the name.

"It's Lydia's new…uhm…"

"Regular client?" Xena said, trying to be helpful.

The bard blushed a little. "Yeah, I guess. What do you think of him?" she repeated as she tapped the bottom of her Amazon war staff on the ground as she walked.

The warrior shrugged - she really didn't like meddling in other people's business. "Don't know. I don't really know much about him or even about Lydia, to tell the truth. Still, Meg seems to think he's the right man for her."

"Did she tell you he has mercenaries?" the bard asked, looking at the side to her friend for a moment before returning her eyes to the road.

"Not Meg." Xena answered. "But I heard someone there talk about it."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it?" the Warrior Princess asked. "He's done us no harm."

"And what about everyone else?"

The warrior sighed, a little wary of the conversation. "I didn't hear anyone complaining, did you?"

The bard shook her head.

"Right. Just because he has hired mercenaries doesn't necessarily make him a bad guy. Sometimes fighting isn't wrong."

"I know that Xena, but sometimes it is. Like war. War might be right - like Athena's kind or war - or…"

The dark woman could see where that was going. She stopped and turned to face her friend. "What at you getting at?" she asked, interrupting Gabrielle. "This is not about Lydia and that guy anymore, is it?"

"No. No, it isn't." the blonde answered, staring her friend in the eye, hoping to catch a glimpse of the emotions storming through her. "You know what this is about - Ares!"

Xena let out an exasperated sigh as she recommenced walking. "Gabrielle… Not that again."

The younger woman followed the warrior. "What do you mean again? Whenever I ask you about him you give me sharp short answers and avoid the subject. You say you hate him but that's not what your eyes tell me."

"You're imagining things."

"No, I'm not!" Gabrielle disagreed. "You never tell me what really went on between the two of you and whenever you're with him it's like… Like you have all this past history with him and you have such mixed feelings about him."

"I do not!" Xena retorted with an angry voice. "He's my enemy! That's perfectly clear in my mind."

"And in your heart?"

"Stop that!" Xena nearly shouted, pointing a long finger at her friend. Then, a bit calmer she added, "I'm tired of this conversation." With a quick jump she got on Argo's saddle. "I'm scouting ahead. Yah!" and with a kick to the mare's flanks she galloped away.

"Fine! Run away, Xena!" Gabrielle shouted to make sure her friend still heard her.

The Princess of War pretended not to listen… She felt like urging her mare to gallop even stronger and ride all through the night but she knew Gabrielle was coming close behind. She looked for a good place by the side of the road and guided her mount there. After dismounting she started to make camp. Gabrielle would soon be there, hopefully with the subject forgotten.

**********

It appeared to actually be on top of Mount Olympus but there was a lot more than met the eye to the home of the Gods. It did not belong to the tangible, material realm of the mortals but instead it was ethereal, created and maintained by the power and will of its inhabitants.

It looked perfect, immaculate and at constant bliss, although those who got to know it realized that wasn't exactly true. Even Olympus had its problems and many of them ended up affecting the whole known world.

Just then, and unnoticed by its mythical people, Olympus was under threat by an approaching enemy.

At the same time one of Olympus' lost children found his way home. With a faded flash of light Strife materialized in a long dark corridor of Olympus, in an area belonging to his uncle, the God of War.

Frightened and shaken up by the whole experience he'd been through, he welcomed the familiar safe surroundings with a long sigh. He could still hardly believe what happened to him - he died! He, a God, an immortal, a being destined to see eternity unfold had been cruelly, easily robbed of his life. True, he was a pretty much meaningless God but he was still a God! What gave that bitch Callisto the right to use the deadly hind's blood to kill him? She, a mortal who had taken Olympus' sacred food to get power, was now trying to destroy the ones born to godhood - it was insane! Who did she think she was?

'An ally of Dahok, that's who.' the young leather-clad God thought as he walked down the grim corridor, heading to Ares' personal quarters. 'I wonder how that whole Dahok business turned out - obviously he didn't totally win cause Olympus is still here and it feels pretty much the same.'

He reached a large black stone arch over the two darkened wood doors that stood there wide open. He took in a deep breath and then walked inside, wondering how his all-powerful uncle would react to seeing him there, alive once again.

The room inside carried the God of War's personal touch. Everything was black, red and silver and weaponry made for most of the decoration. The doors leading to other chambers were painted black and lined with metal and remained closed. The only really colorful element in the room was a painting of Ares' obsession - the mortal Warrior Princess, Xena. At one corner a strong fire burned in the hearth to brighten up the place. Turned to the hearth, with the back to the door Strife just crossed, was a very large carved wood chair where the young God suspected his dark uncle to be sitting, probably daydreaming of that woman again.

Strife stepped closer to the chair and stood there fidgeting for a moment before he spoke up. "Hey, unc." he said, trying to sound natural.

The one sitting on the chair staring at the flames was not the God of War but his younger sister, Discord. At the sound of Strife's voice she turned white as a ghost and felt a chill go down her immortal body. Could that be Strife? No, it couldn't be, he was dead. 'Okay, so that can only mean someone's playing tricks with my head or I'm finally losing it!' Slowly, the young Goddess turned in the chair to look back until her eyes fell on the clumsy skinny God.

Strife relaxed a little when he saw her there. "Oh, hey Discord." he said with a little wave of his hand. "Where's unc?"

She didn't hear a word he said, she just panicked and started to scream wildly, until Strife rushed to her and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shut up, Discord! What's wrong with you?" he asked, a little angry but also a little worried about her.

Discord stood still, staring at him with wide eyes.

When she seemed calmer he uncovered her mouth and took a step back, looking at her with a frown. "You okay?"

She didn't answer his question. "You… you're dead!" she said as she raised a shaky hand to point at him.

Strife walked pass the young Goddess and sat down on the chair, facing the fire. "Don't remind me! That was the most horrible, awful, disgusting thing that ever happened to me. And it hurt too!"

As time passed Discord's initial shock faded a little. She neared Strife and gently touched him on the face with the tips of her fingers, just to make sure he was really there. When she was convinced it was really him and she hadn't gone insane, she sat down cross-legged on the floor, close to the chair. "What happened?" she asked, looking up at him. "Are you still dead?"

"Dunno but I sure hope not!" He couldn't stand the idea of being thrown back into that awful place where he'd been for about a year. "After Callisto stabbed me," he said, still feeling a chill just to think about that blade in his body, "it was like I passed out or something. Then I woke up in this different place. It was terrible - I was powerless there and there seemed to be other dead Gods and monsters and immortals around. So spooky! The last one to enter there was this guy who called himself Shadow-God."

Discord got closer to him, placing a comforting hand over his knee to urge him to go on and listened attentively to his every word.

"It was so weird. I guess it must be what mortals feel like when they die. Only now something happened and I saw this crack open up in what looks like the sky there. Don't know what it was but it seemed to me like a passage to another world and I was right."

"I know what it was. Zeus was kicking Ares' butt in Tartarus because of something related to Jerkules and messed up something there." she explained. "Hades was really pissed."

"Well, I'm really glad it happened!" Strife said, licking his lips. "I went through that crack thing and there I was in Tartarus! I tell ya Discord, that creepy place of Hades' never looked so good!" he added, making the Goddess smile.

"Now what?" she asked. "You're alive again?" She hated to admit it but she actually liked him and she didn't want to lose him again.

"I feel alive… as much as I ever did. How can you tell the difference?"

The dark Goddess shrugged her shoulders - she didn't have a clue. "Maybe we should wait right here for Ares. He'll know what to do."

He nodded and as he was about to say something in agreement a strong flash of light brightened the room as the sound of thunder echoed against the walls and Uraeus materialized out of nothing.

Strife and Discord jumped up and stood close to one another, eyeing the dangerous creature before them.

"Well, well, look who's here." Uraeus said, looking at Strife and grinning in a way that displayed his fangs. "Weren't you supposed to be dead?"

Strife swallowed the knot in his throat before he replied. "Not anymore." His voice came out week and almost unconsciously he stepped even closer to Discord so their bodies would touch. Soon he discovered she was as frightened as he was because he could feel her shaking a little.

"Interesting. I really came here for the little bitch," Uraeus said, shooting a significant glance towards Discord, "but like this I think I might as well take you both."

"Take us where?" the young God asked.

Discord tried to look as confident as possible and rested her hands over her hips. "We're not going anywhere with you, Uraeus!"

Her insolence amused him and Uraeus smiled a little as his scaled tail shifted behind him. "You think I'm asking your permission, child? You really don't have a choice."

With a blinding flash all three were gone from Olympus; Uraeus finding it very easy to overpower the two young Gods and submit them to his will.

**********

It was with firm, determined steps Hera walked along the corridor leading to the Main Hall in Olympus. The Queen of the Gods had a concerned expression on her face as she rushed to go speak to her husband, the great Zeus. The threat pending over Olympus was more then obvious, so what in Hades was he waiting for? Why hadn’t he officially sent for Ares to put an end to Uraeus’ actions? Her questions would soon be answered because she was going to demand a proper explanation. What was he thinking?

She stormed through the room and found him sitting there alone in his place. All around the seats of the other eleven great Olympians remained empty. “Zeus, what’s going on?” she asked from the entrance, still at some distance from her husband. “Why haven’t you called our son yet? Answer me!” she demanded.

The King of the Gods sighed. He really didn’t feel like putting up with Hera now, but what choice did he have? Lazily, he rolled his eyes over the marble columns standing between and behind the empty thrones in the room and which held the high star sprinkled ceiling up, before looking at the powerful Goddess. She stood there very regal, as always, staring back at him with angry eyes and a worried frown. “What’s the problem, my Queen?” he asked as he straightened up in his seat.

“What’s the problem?” the Goddess raised her voice a little but then regained her composure. “Haven’t you seen the ancient monsters out there, surrounding Olympus? They obey Uraeus, so he’s up to something! Why haven’t you called Ares to get rid of them?”

“Ares!” Zeus said out loud in disgust as he recalled the God of War’s latest attempt to harm his favorite son. The name came out as if it was a curse he was speaking. “Why would we need him around?” He stood up and started to pace back and forth before Hera, keeping his eyes on the intricate pattern of the tiled floor as he thought. “If Uraeus is here, he probably came for Ares anyway, so he’ll find out soon enough. Why would we need to call him?”

“Why?” Hera could not believe what she was hearing. “What do you mean why? Even if Ares were the only target we must call him and warn him - he is still the God of War!”

“Maybe he shouldn’t be if he can’t handle Uraeus!” he said, only because he was still so angry with Ares, not because he was in any way displeased with his son’s job. “It’s his problem so let him handle it!”

“His problem? How can you say that? Those monsters are surrounding Olympus and Ares isn’t even here.” Hera said, trying to reason with him. “Do you know the Cyclops were attacked by Uraeus and Pegasus is nowhere to be found? Do you know what that means, Zeus? You do not have access to the power of the thunderbolt!”

“Uhm…” he frowned, finally seeming to show some concern. “I guess that was going a little too far but he’s probably just trying to prevent Ares from using that against him, right? We’ll see how it turns out.”

“How can you say that? He knows Ares can’t use the thunderbolt! Can’t you see Uraeus’ got us all under his thumb if he learns how to control that power? You must warn Ares of what’s going on, before it’s too late.” the Queen of the Gods insisted.

“No!”

“And why not?”

“Whatever Ares gets, he deserves.”

Finally Hera realized Zeus’ stubbornness in calling Ares had more to do with some vengeance against the God of War than with lack of concern for Uraeus’ actions. “Are you angry with him again?” she asked.

Zeus didn’t say a thing but the look on his face was answer enough.

“What did he do this time?”

“Well,” Zeus started, “he lured my son, Hercules, to the Underworld…”

“Hercules!” the Goddess interrupted. “You’re ready to put us all at risk because of something Ares did to that mongrel spawn of yours?”

“In this case, frankly, yes. “ Zeus replied as he stood crossed-armed before her and looking her in the eye. “I will not call Ares.”

Hera was enraged but she managed to keep control. “Such a stupid mistake because of Hercules.” she simply said before she turned her back on the King of the Gods and left the room.

If Zeus would not do anything about it, she would. Uraeus’ monsters were surrounding Olympus, by now he probably had mastered the power of the thunderbolt and his two giant servants - Ephialtes and Ottus - had stolen chains and other materials from Hephaestus’ sacred forge. It was obviously a very disturbing situation, in need of urgent attention. No matter what her husband thought, Hera still believed Ares was the one most suited to handle the whole thing.

She stopped half way through the corridor and shouted to the air. “Iris!”

She did not need to wait long before a shower of multicolored sparkles revealed her messenger. Iris was quite a bit shorter than the Queen of the Gods and with hair so light it almost looked made of silver. She wore a low-neck short dress covered in jewels of all the colors of the rainbow and short silvery winged boots. Respectfully, she bowed her head before Hera before she looked her in the eye. “What can I do for you?”

“I want you to go see Ares.” Hera answered. “Tell him the things Uraeus and his servants have been doing around here and that I want him to come right now to set things in order.”

Iris nodded and as she prepared to leave Hera spoke again.

“Another thing, tell him Zeus didn’t want to call him because of something he did to Hercules. I’m sure Ares will know what that’s all about.”

“Yes, Hera.” The messenger said, acknowledging her orders. “Anything else?”

“No.” the other Goddess replied. “Go!”

After another respectful greeting to Hera, Iris was gone, disappearing into the ether.

Alone, the Queen of the Gods continued down the corridor. “That’s better.” she said to herself. “I will not allow Zeus’ over-protectiveness of his favorite bastard harm the structure of Olympus.”

**********

The Goddess of the Rainbow immediately headed for the God of War's fortress, passing over his sacred forest and the village under his direct protection before she reached his lair in the mortals' realm. There, the High Priestess, Cassandra, came to greet her and guide her to her dark Lord.

When she met with Ares, Iris complied with Hera's orders and told him how Uraeus' creatures surrounded the home of the Gods and all about his control of the thunderbolt, since he'd captured the Cyclops and probably Pegasus too. She didn't forget to mention Zeus' determination not to call him.

The God of War was furious. "My father is an idiot!" he screamed in rage.

Iris was not used to hear someone speak in such a disrespectful manner of the mighty King of the Gods and frankly, she found it a bit offensive. Still, Ares did have a point, she thought, remaining there standing before the more powerful God who sat on his throne.

"Why in Hades didn't he send for me?" he shouted again.

Iris was going to reply but Ares cut her off.

"Did you see Uraeus there?" he questioned as he looked at the Rainbow Goddess, hoping to find out more about his enemy's plan before going into battle. "Do you know what he wants?"

The bright Goddess shook her head. "No. Only his monsters are going about Olympus and are holding the Cyclops prisoner. I don't really know if Uraeus himself has been involved in the attack or has been to our home lately." she explained. "Ephialtes and Ottus, they're around too - Hephaestus said they've been to his forge and stole some stuff."

The God of War grunted some curse under his breath as he slammed a closed fist against the armrest of his throne. "And Zeus doesn't think all of that is reason enough to call me?"

Iris didn't know if she was supposed to answer that or not, so she opted by a mere shrug of shoulders. "But I'm frightened. I don't really trust Uraeus."

"So you should be." Cassandra said to her, before walking close to Ares' throne and placing a hand over his arm. "My Lord, if Uraeus succeeded in capturing the Cyclops, he might own the thunderbolt."

Ares looked at his elegant Priestess' eyes and saw the concern she was feeling. "Even if he does hold them prisoner," the dark God said, "they won't make thunderbolts for him, not even under threat. You know those Cyclops - they've been through so much, by now they fear very little." He stood up and paced in a short space before his throne, under Cassandra and Iris' eyes. "No, to have the thunderbolt he would have to catch Pegasus half-way to Olympus and with a full load. Let's hope that didn't happen."

"But if it did, my Lord?" the black woman asked. "What then?"

Ares did not like the woman's pessimism, but he did have to face that possibility. "Well," he rolled his eyes over the ceiling of the room as he thought, "even so, it's not likely that he can use them without destroying himself, so he probably won't try."

"And if he does?" This time it was the godly messenger who spoke.

"Beats me, Iris! Then we'll see; I'll improvise. But whatever harm comes from this we have that old fart, Zeus, to thank for."

Again, Iris did not like the way Ares spoke of his father, regardless of how wrong he handled this matter; but again she said nothing.

The God of War stopped his pacing and pulled his sword out of its scabbard, examining the perfect blade by the light of the torches. "Guess I'll be off to kick Uraeus' butt!" he said, his dark eyes still set on the metal of his weapon. When he was satisfied with the inspection he returned the sword to his hip and turned to Iris. "You better stay here. There's no need for you to go to Olympus and take any chances of getting hurt."

The Goddess of the Rainbow nodded. "Alright." she said, thankful for his offer. She had no wish to go any near Uraeus - not that he'd ever harmed her personally but he frightened her and she knew what he was capable of. Besides, certainly he would not be pleased in knowing Ares had been summoned and he might go for the "kill the messenger" approach. Definitely, she'd be better off in Ares' fortress.

With a worried frown Cassandra approached her master, straightening his leather vest. "Be careful, my Lord." she said. "Uraeus is very powerful and he still holds a grudge against you."

"You think I don't know that?"

"But his time he might have the thunderbolt. Promise me you will use caution."

"Don't worry, Cassandra. There's nothing I'm better at than taking good care of number one!" he added with a forced grin, hiding from her just how much he too feared the old Uraeus. "I'll be back in no time." Ares was going to leave, but he looked at Cassandra again. "Find Discord and tell her to stay alert - I might need her help."

"Yes, my Lord Ares."

Then he was gone in a flash of blue light, leaving Iris and Cassandra behind.

"Good luck, my Lord." the Priestess whispered, still staring at the place where a moment before he'd been standing. Then, she called a young servant. "Iris, Mera will show you to a chamber."

The servant bowed her head to the beautiful young Goddess and then motioned her to follow. "My Lady, will you please follow me - I'll guide you to where you can eat and rest."

Iris said goodbye to Ares' head Priestess and went along with Mera.

After the Goddess of the Rainbow was settled, Cassandra went to look for Discord, as she'd been ordered but she was finding it quite hard to locate Ares' younger sister.

**********

The God of War chose to appear within his own chambers in Olympus. He already held his sword in a tight grip as he took a look around to make sure he was there alone - although he couldn't actually see them, he could sense Uraeus' monsters lurking around the home of the Gods and he wanted to make sure none of them were in his chambers. In just a few moments he was satisfied with the inspection and put the sword away, heading for the door. Ares didn't quite know where to start with his mission and he knew this time he would not have Zeus' support, so he decided to go to Hera.

'She detests me just about as much as Zeus does,' the warrior God thought, 'but she doesn't let little things like that cloud her judgment. She knows Uraeus is a threat and she'll do whatever it takes to expel him and his servants from Olympus. Uraeus has to learn his place!'

He was heading for the arched door marking the end of his quarters to go seek his mother's advice when a overwhelming familiar chill went down his back, making him turn on his heels and reach for the hilt of his sword.

When the sparkles of light announcing Uraeus' arrival dissipated he was already facing the God of War's defensive stance, sword in hand. "Hello, Ares." he said, looking down on the warrior, making the best of their difference in height to make him feel small.

'At least I don't need to wonder where to start anymore.' Ares thought as he swallowed the lump on his throat. "Uraeus." he greeted him with a nod. "I thought you'd finally understood your stinking butt is not welcome here."

At the unpleasant remark, Uraeus merely grinned. "I was wondering when you were gonna get here - you took your time."

"What, you felt ignored?" Ares mocked, returning the grin. Still, he wasn't as relaxed as he hoped he appeared to be - why hadn't Uraeus reached for his sword? He knew Ares was quite capable of kicking his butt most of the time, but not even try to fight… It just wasn't like him. 'He's got something up his sleeve.'

"Funny, very funny, but no. I was just eager to show you the little surprise I've got for you."

Ares tensed, preparing for whatever might come. 'Did he manage to get control of the thunderbolt?'

Under the God of War's watching eyes, Uraeus moved away from him, dragging his tail behind. The center of the room was left empty and with a wave of his hand the ancient God made a flash of light appear there. "Behold!"

Ares was expecting some monster, or an amazing weapon, or something else he'd have to do battle with but what he saw there left him baffled and speechless, just staring.

At the center of the room stood the twin giants Ephialtes and Ottus, having to bend down not to hit the ceiling and before them Strife and Discord were completely tangled in chains of Hephaestus.

The younger Gods wanted to warn Ares of Uraeus' intentions but their mouths were covered so they merely stared at him with eyes wide with fear.

The God of War didn't know how to react to that - seeing Strife there alive and well filled him with a great joy, but having his two young pupils bound by the enemy could only mean big trouble.

Finally, he found his voice again and looking up into Uraeus' eyes he said, "Strife was dead. How did you manage this?" He also put his sword back in its scabbard, deciding it was best to try and not antagonize him while he held the young ones prisoner.

The horned God shifted his eyes to Strife and then back to Ares. "Wish I could take the credit but I already found him like that." he said. "Maybe the little rat is hard to kill, but that doesn't matter now. The point is, I have them," he pointed at the chained Gods, "so you will surrender."

Ares raised a questioning dark brow. "Oh? How do you come to that brilliant conclusion?"

"If you do not," Uraeus said, taking a few steps closer to Strife and Discord, making them stiffen in fear, "my friends here will start by causing them a lot of pain."

The giants gave the chains a yank, making the young Gods gasp.

"Then," Uraeus went on, "I will destroy the two of them with the thunderbolt - they are young so it should work."

The God of War's first urge was to ignore Strife and discord and rush Uraeus by surprise. Surely he'd be able to defeat him one on one; he'd done it before and he could do it again. And minor Gods were expendable, right?

'Shit! Why do I have to like the little jerks?' Ares nervously shifted his weight as he stared Uraeus in the eye, trying to see if the older God was bluffing. "Even if you had the thunderbolt…" he started but Uraeus interrupted before he could finish.

"I do, Ares, and I can prove it." With a snap of fingers he made the winged white horse, Pegasus, materialize in the room, also bound with chains made by the God of the Forge. "See, I captured this pack beast on his way to Olympus."

"That proves nothing!" the dark God retorted, raising his voice. "Just because you have Pegasus doesn't mean you have the thunderbolt. And even if you do, it doesn't mean you can use it."

Uraeus grinned, realizing by Ares' tone of voice he was getting desperate. That could only mean his plan was working. "Are you willing to take the chance?" Slowly, he took one more step towards Strife and Discord.

The way he'd threatened Deianeira to hurt Hercules flashed through his mind but Ares quickly discarded the thought. Looking at his sister and nephew as they stood there bound and in fear he realized he had only one option. 'I cannot simply give up on them - there'll be another way to defeat Uraeus.' He let out a defeated sigh. "You win, for now."

**********

Uraeus laughed the whole time it took Ephialtes and Ottus to chain the God of war and lock him up in a brazen box made by Hephaestus with some other purpose. Then, the two giants took Ares away and hid him as Uraeus triumphly announced to Olympus he was the new God of War.

He found no opposition to his claim since he held Olympus in fear of his wandering monsters and the thunderbolt he might control. Besides, Zeus at that moment would welcome a substitute to Ares, as long as he learned to better perform his duties and stopped threatening them. The King of the Gods believed he could still persuade Uraeus to give back control of the thunderbolt, freeing the Cyclops and take up Ares' place peacefully. Of course most other Gods did not share his opinion and hoped he'd come to his senses and do something to find Ares and help him expel the invader from Olympus.

Aphrodite materialized with a flash of pink light and rushed to her winged son. "I don't know how much longer I can stand this, Cupid." she said with a whimper as he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I just had a close encounter with a fire-breathing-two-headed lizard! Ew! He nearly flamed my hair!"

Cupid didn't quite know what to say to make his mother feel better, so he decided on flattery. "You look beautiful as always."

The Goddess of Love smiled and let him guide her to a plush white couch, covered with small red pillows. They sat down and he pulled her close, leaning her head on his chest.

"I feel like a prisoner here, sweetie, and with Zeus brooding and Ares gone, what chance do we have?" she said with her lip quivering and then pouting a little.

Cupid gently caressed her blond hair. "Zeus will come around and see Uraeus can not replace Ares and we can not live in fear like this, right?"

"I sure hope so but what about Ares? What if Uraeus hurt the studmuffin?"

Cupid could not repress a little smile when he heard the fierce God of War being called by such a cute little pet name. "I'm sure he's alright - he's tough, right? Besides, Uraeus can't kill him, remember?"

"No, but he could have one of his servants do it. They took him away, trapped in one of Hephy's gizmos - who knows what they've done to him by now!"

"Nothing, for sure." the winged God said to reassure her. "Uraeus is too afraid of Gaea's prophecy to risk being so close connected to any permanent harm done to uncle Ares. He wouldn't take that chance."

"I hope you're right." Aphrodite snuggled closer to her son and closed her eyes, wishing all the problems would just magically go away.

"You'll see that I am. In the meantime, we'll try to figure out if there's something we can do either to find Ares or stop Uraeus."

**********

It was shortly pass mid day when the Warrior Princess and her best friend crossed into Amazon land, the border being clearly marked with a round shaped sign hung up on the trees. The two women traveled on foot and Xena guided Argo by long leather reigns. It was well into autumn and a cold wind was blowing from the north so they had long dark cloaks on and had to speak up to make themselves heard over the rustling of the leaves.

To pass the time as they headed for the Amazons' village Gabrielle talked Xena into another "guess-who-I-am" game but soon found out the warrior was capable of choosing hard puzzles. After a bunch of questions the bard finally decided she could not guess. "I give up! Who is it you're supposed to be? A warrior, alive, tall, near by, about your age…"

Xena grinned as she kept her eyes on the path they were following through the forest. "I knew I'd get you with this one!" she said, interrupting her friend.

"So, are you gonna tell me or not?" the bard asked, a little annoyed she'd been beat. "Well…" she looked up at her taller friend and by the look on her face she could tell it'd be some kind of trick character Xena had chosen.

"Me! I'm supposed to be me."

"What? That's cheating!" The blonde playfully hit the warrior on the shoulder.

"No it's not. You never said we couldn't be ourselves when you explained the rules."

"I thought that was obvious." Gabrielle said, circling around a muddy patch on the ground - it seemed the heavy rains of the previous week had left their mark there.

"Obvious or not, you didn't say it."

"Fine." the bard sighed. "You win. So who are you now? Man or woman?"

"Uhm… let me think… oh, I know - man." Xena replied, getting back into the game.

"Are you good or evil?"

"Depends on who you ask."

"What?" Gabrielle turned her head to look at Xena again. "What kind of an answer is that?"

"Good and evil - that's relative, isn't it?"

"Well, sort of, I guess. Let me put it another way then - do I think you're good or evil?"

"Evil, most definitely evil." the Warrior Princess answered.

"I see. Are you alive?"

"No. I killed me a while back."

"It is someone I know…" Gabrielle said to make sure Xena didn't have in mind someone from her dark past.

"Yeah, you met him."

"All right. Are you…"

"Shh! Quiet." Xena ordered, interrupting the bard and freezing on the spot.

The blonde did the same, standing still and listening carefully to the sounds of the surrounding forest.

Suddenly, from some distance ahead of them, the metallic clash of swords was heard again, this time accompanied by a woman's scream of pain.

Quickly, the Princess of War jumped to her golden mare's saddle and spurred her to a gallop, heading towards the sound of battle. On foot, Gabrielle did the same.

After a few rows of trees, Xena came upon a clearing where the fighting was taking place. It appeared a band of raiders had infiltrated in the Amazon territory and were now causing havoc. Strangely, there seemed to be two quite different kinds of Amazons involved: Ephiny's tribe and a Libyan tribe, the last being very far from home.

With her fierce battle cry the raven-haired warrior flipped from Argo's back and landed on the ground, facing a one-eyed raider. She pulled out her sword and in an instant sent him to Hades.

As the fighting continued she spotted a few familiar faces among the Amazon women, both from the local and the Libyan tribes. Ephiny herself was there, fighting side by side with Taja. She also spotted Eponin, unfortunately lying bleeding on the ground. From the Libyan tribe she knew Nysa, whom she'd saved from Roman slavers many years before.

The raiders were close to defeat when Gabrielle arrived to the scene; even so, one of them rushed to attack her. She parried the man's sword with her staff held firmly in both hands as she waited for an opening. He made a couple of strikes at her and when he hesitated, trying to find a better way of attacking the young woman, the bard spun around and brought the end of her staff to the back of his knees, making him fall. She followed that with a kick to the chest that knocked the wind out of him and then another blow with the staff, this time to the back of his head, leaving him unconscious.

A little far from the bard, Xena proudly smiled with the way her friend had handled her attacker.

The fighting went on for another couple of minutes before the surviving raiders retreated, dragging their wounded along.

Ephiny walked to Gabrielle and hugged her, before she pulled back and spoke. "Good to see you, Gabrielle. I'm sorry we couldn't give you a better welcoming."

The bard wiped the sweat off her forehead to the back of her hand. "What's going on?" she asked, looking around and seeing some of the Amazons did not belong to her tribe and were carrying a lot of their belongings.

"Who knows? There's trouble emerging everywhere. Here we and Tyldus' Centaur tribe started to have trouble with raiders and our Libyan sisters," she said, pointing at the foreign women, "were all but wiped out by renegade Roman soldiers."

By now, the Warrior Princess started to see to the wounded. There was no one with life threatening injuries but one of Ephiny's tribe, Eponin, lost a lot of blood because she was wounded earlier in the battle. Xena bandaged her wound, wrapped her in her cloak and helped her to mount up on Argo, so she wouldn't have to walk all the way back to the village.

"Gabrielle!" she called.

Both Ephiny and the bard walked to Xena.

"Gabrielle, mount up behind Eponin to make sure she won't fall off." the Warrior Princess instructed.

"Hey!" Eponin, pale as a ghost because of the loss of blood, protested. "I'm not that weak!"

As the bard mounted, Ephiny neared Xena and asked, "She's gonna be alright, right?"

"Yes, don't worry."

Soon the group of women was heading to the village again. Amoria, the Queen of the dozen Libyan Amazons, was taking the lead now, instructed by Taja about the way to go. More to the back, Gabrielle and Eponin were on top of Argo as Ephiny walked right beside them, holding her wounded friend's hand.

Xena finally approached Nysa, greeting her with a strong grip of her arm. "Long time since we last met, my friend."

"Indeed." the Amazon replied, smiling at the Warrior Princess. She was a little bit shorter than the other woman, with dark brown eyes and deeply tanned skin. She wore a leopard fur top and dark fabric skirt, like most of her Libyan companions. On her hand she carried her favorite weapon: a spear.

Xena started to walk next to Nysa, taking one of the bags her friend was carrying - she noticed all the Libyan women were carrying heavy loads. "So, what's going on, Nysa?" she asked. "What are you doing so far from home?"

The darker woman sighed, looking away from Xena's piercing blue eyes, bitterness taking over her. "Home, what home? Home is gone Xena."

"Gone?" she gave Nysa a questioning look the other woman didn't see because she still kept her gaze lost in the forest ahead. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it? But it's true. In one afternoon our village was burned to the ground and most women killed. We're all that's left of our tribe and we're reduced to this - taking charity and shelter from out Greek sisters."

"You're moving here?"

"Yes." Nysa replied, looking at Xena and then back to the forest. "Queen Amoria thought it was best, given that our village was destroyed and our land ravished.

"She's probably right. But you didn't tell me what happened - who attacked you?"

"That's the really strange part." the Amazon said. "Not too far from us there were Roman troops stationed - a lot of them. I think they were stocking goods and enlisting men for some campaign further east. I know Romans and Amazons don't much like each other but they gave us no trouble." Nysa explained. "We each minded our own business and stayed out of each other's way. One day, one of our patrols met one of theirs and for some reason - don't ask me what - they got into a fight. Strangely, there wasn't a single survivor. Queen Amoria and the Roman general exchanged a few scrolls and decided to forget the matter since no one really knew what happened and who was to blame. So everything was fine, as before, when the Romans attacked us without warning. They came with all their force - we weren't ready and we didn't stand a chance - it was slaughter."

"That's strange." the Warrior Princess commented. "Why would they attack you?"

Nysa sighed. "I have no idea. Things were okay between us - as good as before the patrols' incident. Some of the Romans say their general got crazy and ordered the attack but your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss but I'm sure Ephiny will make you fell welcome and you're gonna like it here."

"I hope so. By the way, that girl that came with you, she's the Queen here, right?" she asked, giving Gabrielle a quick glance. "But Ephiny is the regent."

"Yes." Xena nodded. "Gabrielle is the Queen but while she is on the road with me, Ephiny's in charge."

"Oh, right - we heard the Warrior Princess had changed her ways… Is that true? You've left your army?"

"Yep!" A hint of pride was recognizable in the warrior's voice. "All that is behind me now."

"And it seems to agree with you, Xena. You look happier. So, how did that happen?"

**********

When they reached the Amazon village Gabrielle accompanied Eponin as she was taken to Heba, the healer.

Xena went with Ephiny to show the Libyans to their new quarters and then joined the regent as she sat on the square table inside another hut, where the Queen usually did her work. Shortly after, three high-ranked Amazons joined them, also sitting at the table.

After the others were settled, Taja walked in and placed a tray of food on the table. Before leaving, she leaned near the Warrior Princess, so she could whisper to her. "Deros is still around, staying with Tyldus. Will you go see him later?"

The older woman's lips curled up in a little smile, happy to hear her former scout was still there, hopefully finally having found a home and started a new life. "Tell him I will. Thanks."

Taja waved the raven-haired woman goodbye and then left, leaving the older Amazons to report to Ephiny as Xena listened as an outside observer.

"So, Cory," Ephiny started, looking at the red-haired woman, "what have you to report?"

As Cory went on about the level of food stocks, status of the hunting grounds and the few trade deals the tribe did have, Xena let her eyes wander through the room, not being that interested in the Amazons' economy.

As usual, the whole place was made of wood and so was all the furniture. Colorful drapings covered the windows and on the floor, under their feet, a marvelously woven tapestry portrayed an eagle in all its glory. In a vase on the center of the table feathers and dry leaves took the place of the flowers since they were so hard to find on that time of year.

She wearily straightened up one and then the other gauntlet and put a rebel strand of black hair back in its place as the report went on. When the military subject came up she returned her attention to what the women around the table were saying.

Solari first read out loud a scroll written by some Centaur warrior Xena did not know, in which he described the attacks different band of raiders had tried against their village and even to a settlement of a couple of farms, not too distant from their territory. When she was finished, Solari rolled the scroll again and set it on the table. "I just picked this up from the Centaur village." she said, looking at Ephiny. "Tyldus says it's like the people are going crazy and fighting over nothing; even a couple of his calmer young ones have been getting into brawls."

"That happened here too." the fourth Amazon at the table spoke for the first time. Although being older, she was still a great swordswoman called Jade, a name matching both her green eyes and her bad temper.

"Well, it seems they have the same problems we do and know as much as we do about what's causing all this - nothing! Some people go crazy and fight over nothing while other are calm as always. Go figure! Might it be related to the attacks too? And it's strange because the raiders are from different groups. They have nothing to do with each other and are not acting on some combined plan. Why are they attacking now?"

Solari scratched her head. "Beats me, but we have to find out what's going on and do something about it."

"Agree." Ephiny nodded. "Maybe we should try interrogating some of the raiders if can get prisoners. Tomorrow I shall see Tyldus and arrange joint patrols in both Amazon and Centaur territories until these attacks stop. It's more effective that way."

Jade stood up to stare at Ephiny with angry eyes, making the Warrior Princess stiffen in her place, preparing to intervene if things got ugly.

"I strongly object to that!" Jade said with a louder tone. "We should stay away from those animals. Queen Melosa made a mistake when she made peace with them."

Ephiny hid the hurt Jade's words caused her and spoke in a soft manner as she looked into the other Amazon's green eyes. "Fortunately, most of us don't share your opinion on this, Jade. And it is not your decision."

"Now it's not yours either!" Jade nearly growled. "Queen Gabrielle is back and we'll see what she has to say about this!" She roughly got up from her seat, knocking the chair down, turned her back and left.

Xena followed Jade with her eyes and when she was gone she looked at Ephiny, raising a questioning brow.

"Jade has problems with our growing alliance with the Centaurs." the blond Amazon explained. "Both her mother and her sister were killed during the war against them, her mother in battle and her sister was captured, raped and murdered. I guess it's understandable why she resents them but I wish she'd realize times have changed."

"It's not that easy, is it?" the Warrior Princess said, remembering what a hard time she herself had in getting over the hatred."

"No, it's not."

Cory stood up and straightened the chair Jade left fallen on the ground. "Guess we can say this meeting's over."

"Guess so."

**********

In the evening, after dinner, Gabrielle returned to the hut Ephiny said she and Xena could share. She got in and closed the door, leaving the cold wind battering outside.

"Hi." she said to the warrior as she walked to the table and sat on one of the two simple chairs there.

Xena was settled on a folded blanket placed on the ground, near the small hearth's dancing fire. She was stroking the blade of her sword with a sharpening stone after carefully cleaning her chakram with a soft cloth. The round weapon lay on the blanket next to her. "Hello, Gabrielle." She finished her work on the sword and put away her things, before sitting across from the bard. Immediately, she noticed something was bothering her friend. "What's wrong?"

Gabrielle shook her head a little. "Nothing, really. Just that…"

"Just that what?" the warrior insisted, pulling her chair closer to Gabrielle's to encourage her to go on.

In return, the bard got up and stepped away from Xena, walking to Argo's saddlebags to retrieve her writing materials - or more to have an excuse not to look her friend in the eye. The subject was one she'd been nagging Xena with and having to bring it up right now might not please the warrior too much. As she searched for her quill in the middle of the stuff in the saddlebags she kept her back turned to Xena but could feel her inquisitive stare on her. "You know what I was thinking?"

"What?" She was sure Gabrielle was going to tell her.

She finally found the quill so she brought it back to the table, along with an empty rolled scroll and she sat down again. "The way the raiders are attacking - you know, erratic, without a goal, just for the fight?"

"Strange, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Gabrielle agreed. "But that, combined with the crazy attack the Romans did against the Libyans kinda made me think of something." She looked up at Xena and paused a little before she spoke again. "Don't you think this could be another weird plan of Ares'? Driving mankind to fight?"

"No!" Even to Xena it seemed her denial came out a little too fast. "I mean, it doesn't sound like him, doesn't feel like him."

Gabrielle frowned a little with her friend's comment. "Oh? And just what does he feel like?"

"Stop that." The Warrior Princess got up and strolled near the window, avoiding the bard's questioning stare. "What I mean is, it's not his style to act like that - so widespread and without a defined goal."

"How do you know he doesn't have one?"

"I don't know, but that's what I think."

The blonde shrugged as she picked up her quill, preparing to write. "Something's going on…"

"But maybe more in the lines of what happened when Ares lost his powers and peaceful people started losing it over nothing - remember that? It sounds like some of the stuff happening now, with everyone going kinda crazy."

"Well, not everyone, just some people. But maybe…" Gabrielle unrolled the scroll and started to put down on it what the Amazons had told her about the recent raids in their land and also a couple of Libyan short tales she'd heard from the newcomers.

Near the window, the Warrior Princess absently ran her fingers over the wooden shutters as her mind drifted to the irresistible God of War. Could he be in trouble again? For some reason she felt a weight in her chest as she considered the possibility Ares might be hurt, mortal, or even… dead. 'No! He's too good for that. Whatever happened he could sort it out, right? Anyway, if this goes on for much longer I'll go find him myself and get to the bottom of this.' A little comforted by her own thoughts she turned around and walked back to the table, sitting down near the bard.

**********

The darkness of the night already shrouded the land and the cold wind whistled through the half-naked trees of the God of War's forest. A certain gloom seemed to have permanently settled there and even the beasts knew their Lord was endangered.

In the heart of Ares' land, Strife and Discord argued about the steps to take to vanquish their enemy and ended up with no conclusions - the truth was they were both terrified of Uraeus. The old God was cruel and powerful and even though he'd freed them after Ares had been dealt with, the young Gods still feared him as much as before. If he knew they were plotting against him…

As the two Gods cowered in a corner of the throne room, Cassandra nervously walked around, her long red gown nearly touching the floor. Near the door, Iris stood with her arms folded, also wondering what could be done to get Uraeus out of the home of the Gods.

"You're a Goddess!" the Priestess said with a desperate tone as she passed close to Hera's messenger. "There must be something you can do to find my Lord Ares!"

"Hey, they're Gods too!" Iris said in self-defense, pointing at Strife and Discord. "I don't see them coming up with any bright ideas."

Discord shot an angry glare at the other Goddess while Strife merely sulked some more. She was right, so far they'd come up with nothing at all to find the God of War.

Then, a flash of light glowed in the room as the God of Love, Cupid, stepped out of the ether. "Well I have an idea!"

Strife and Discord gave the handsome God a disdainful look but Iris thought he was quite a nice sight.

Cassandra stepped before Cupid. "Thank the Gods you're here!" the Priestess said. "How are things up in Olympus?"

"Not good." he looked at the woman and at the other Gods as he spoke. "Uraeus is calling himself God of War and Zeus'll do nothing about it! He still thinks he'll give up the thunderbolt as soon as he's sure Ares is no longer a threat."

The Priestess rudely sneered, crossing her arms. "Zeus can be very naïve sometimes. He really thinks Uraeus will willingly give up that power?"

Cupid nodded.

"Do the other Gods feel the same?"

"Of course not!" the winged Olympian replied. "But you know how it is - no one wants to go openly against Zeus. Only Hera has done that but he doesn't seem to listen."

"So now what?" Cassandra gave him a pleading look, hoping he might be braver than the rest to the Gods and actually do something against Uraeus.

"Well… my mother and I had this crazy idea."

"What?" Strife and Discord asked, simultaneously standing up and walking closer to the God of Love. They desperately wanted Ares back so they could again have the privileged position as his favorite helpers and stop living in fear of Uraeus.

"Tomorrow," Cupid started, "there is a meeting of the twelve great Olympians where Zeus will announce Uraeus is the God of War for now."

"That's awful!" the Priestess interrupted.

"Maybe." he went on. "But the bottom line is Uraeus will be busy and that might give us the chance we need."

"To do what exactly?" Discord came even closer and ruffled the God of Love's feathers.

Annoyed, Cupid stepped aside, putting some distance between him and the leather-clad Goddess. "Do you know Narcysa, the ancient oracle? She always knows where to find Gods, even if they're hiding - I bet she knows where Ares is."

"So? That won't help us any." Strife said, pacing behind Discord. "Narcysa will only talk to mortals. And not all mortals, only the ones who pass whatever stupid test she comes up with."

"True." the winged God nodded. "But I think I have the answer to that."

"You're not suggesting one of us becomes mortal, are you? I certainly won't! And we probably couldn't pass those tests anyway, right?" Discord questioned.

"Well, you certainly couldn't!" Strife mocked her and the two started a little brawl.

"That's not what I have in mind." Cupid said, making the other two stop fighting and curiously look up at him. "While Uraeus is busy Iris can sneak out and ask for the help of the only mortal who would take any risk for the God of War - Xena!"

**********

He felt he was losing his mind, cramped in the tiny box Uraeus stole from the God of the Forge.

At first he struggled to break free, slamming his feet against the brazen bottom and pounding with closed fists, hoping the box could not resist the fury of the mighty God of War - he’d been wrong. The metal of Hephaestus was stronger than even the Olympians themselves.

Now he just tried not to move too much so he wouldn’t touch the sides and top of his prison and be reminded just how small the space he was confined to really was.

Ares was feeling weakened. Ephialtes and Ottus carried him off and dropped him, he didn’t know where and since then he’d been totally alone. He was guessing by now Uraeus had taken over his place in Olympus as the God of War - that would explain his weakness. Of course, being trapped like that didn’t help the matter any. It would sure be hard to defeat the old bastard this time… Still, there was one good thing that coming out of that - Strife! The little scumbag was alive! How that happened was beyond him but he was still happy about it. He’d missed his nephew. Of course, that opened the possibility Strife had finally discovered what happened to dead Gods and lived to tell about it - right now he couldn’t exactly figure out how, but he was sure the information held a lot of potential.

Of course first he’d have to break free. Out of frustration he punched against the box again. ‘Will I ever get out of here?’ Ares thought as the feeling of doom slowly took over him. No one in Olympus would oppose Zeus and if he chose to keep Uraeus around as God of War his chances were pretty slim. No one knew where he was; probably very few gave a damn. He’d be trapped in there until the end of time or until his immortal life finally gave up - whichever came first. No more battles no more swords clashing and leading armies to victory, no more blood and war… no more Aphrodite, Strife or Discord… no more sunrise, sunset… no more Xena.

He closed his eyes and pictured the raven-haired woman he liked to call his own. He found her fascinating in every way. Her rage, her skill, her fearless desire - he appreciated all that in a way no one else could. Her beauty was there for all to see and he believed she could shame even Aphrodite. But that wasn’t all - there was that other thing, the thing he couldn’t name or even begin to describe; the thing that made him irresistibly attracted to her, enchanted by her, putting her above everything and everyone else. He remembered the last time he’d been with his Princess, the way they kissed and the way she slapped him after to try and put the blame on him, in the eyes of the annoying bard.

Somehow, the thought of Xena brought him the warmth and comfort he so much needed.

**********

Gabrielle didn’t know what woke her up. She opened her eyes and realized by the darkness it was still night. In the other cot in the hut she saw Xena was sleeping. The warrior was smiling a little, now and then letting out a little moan as she slept. Then she sighed in content before turning around, away from the bard’s eyes.

‘She’s dreaming of Ares again.’ Gabrielle thought, her mind drifting back to the images Discord had shown her not that long ago, when she witnessed the love making of the Warrior Princess and the God of War. ‘I wonder how she really feels about him - does she cherish a part of their past and so she can’t hate him? Does she simply lust for him? He is quite a handsome man, I mean, God. Or could it be something more than that? Was it more than that in the past? I wonder… Gods, don’t let her love him.’

Gabrielle rolled in bed so she’d have her back turned to Xena and made an effort to go back to sleep. Hopefully things would look better in the morning.

**********

When the sun rose in the east it chased away the cold north wind and the clouds smudging the sky. It was still a cool day but at least it was bright.

Gabrielle didn’t mention the dreams she knew her best friend was having and even when Xena insisted she’d tell her why she was looking at her funny, the bard said it was nothing and it was just Xena imagining things. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in the warrior’s mind and especially what were her feeling towards a certain cruel, selfish and manipulative God.

When Xena said she was riding out to Solan’s grave, Gabrielle didn’t insist to go along. Her presence would only bring to life the memory of Hope and the way Xena’s little boy had been murdered. It would only serve to cause the warrior more pain.

After seeing the Warrior Princess off, she went to talk to Ephiny who brought her up to date in the affairs of the Amazon nation. It always made Gabrielle feel a little guilty - she held the title of Queen but the truth was she did nothing to deserve it, Ephiny did all the work and she wasn’t even around most of the time!

**********

Even from a distance Xena could already spot Solan’s gravestone, marking the place where his ashes had been buried after the cremation ceremony. She always missed him since the day she put him in Kaleipus’ arms while he was still a baby. She felt the pain, the loneliness of a mother away from her child; but when he was killed… Nothing could compare to that. It like felt the world had come to an end, her heart ripped from her chest and shredded to pieces, the best thing she did in her life destroyed and this horrible feeling she failed him when he most needed her.

In time, she managed to pick up the pieces and go on with her life. It would not honor Solan if she just gave up. She made peace with Gabrielle and herself and learned to live with her loss. The void was still in her heart, she still felt the hurt but somehow she came to terms with it.

Now, approaching his grave, the sorrow and the pain grew stronger as memories of him filled her.

When she reached the place Xena dismounted, released her mare to graze and slowly walked near the stone coming out of the ground, under the shade of a large tree that kept its leaves even during the autumn and winter. She knelt down and just stayed there, thinking of the little time she spent with her son while he was alive and all the regrets she had about not being there to watch him grow up.

As time passed, tears started rolling down her face as she mourned her lost child. Closing her eyes she leaned her head against the cold gravestone and just cried and cried, until she ran out of tears for the time being. And lift her head again.

It was hard to believe Solan was gone, buried there under that stone. Xena softly ran her fingers over his name etched there as if trying to caress him and then stood up, ready to leave.

When she turned around to fetch Argo Xena saw she was no longer alone. Standing there, with his back turned so he wouldn’t invade her privacy, Deros held his horse’s reigns and waited for her to be ready to leave the grave.

She wiped her tears with the palms of her hands, took a deep breath and started walking towards the scout. “Hello, Deros.” she said, getting his attention.

When he heard his commander’s voice Deros turned and greeted her with a warrior salute. “Hello, Princess.” he said, noticing although she was wearing a smile there were still tiny marks of tears on her face. “I didn’t mean to bother you…”

“Don’t worry.” Xena said as she approached the man. “I didn’t even notice you were here. By the way, why are you here?”

“I came to honor your son, Princess.” he replied without hesitation. “I didn’t even know you had one,” he went on as her expression saddened a little, “but since I heard you did and he’s buried here, I come by often. If you allow me…”

“Go on.” Xena said, nodding to him.

She stood by Deros’ horse while the man went over to Solan’s grave to place some standard offerings to the dead.

After he returned, she whistled to her mare to call her and when she arrived climbed on the saddle. Deros mounted as well and together they headed back to the villages of the Amazons and the Centaurs. He carefully avoided the subject of Xena’s child not to cause her any more pain but he sure was curious and felt like asking a million questions about it. Instead, they made small talk or discussed the recent raids occurring as they rode into the forest.

**********

Ephiny and Gabrielle were talking for hours and were just about to take a lunch break when they began to hear a great commotion outside the hut.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know.” Ephiny answered, looking at the door with a puzzled expression. “Let’s go see.” She stood up and walked out, followed close by Gabrielle who was just as intrigued as she was.

A small group of Amazons that had been out on patrol on the northern part of the territory had just returned and all the commotion seemed to revolve around them. A lot more women had gathered there and they were shouting - particularly the Libyan ones - things in the lines of “kill them now” or “slay those bastards”.

Intrigued, Ephiny walked closer to the returning patrol as Gabrielle stayed behind, watching.

Ephiny tried to ask the warriors what happened and what was all the excitement about but the others spoke so loud she understood nothing of the answer and felt the need to call for some order among her sisters. “Silence!” she shouted.

Ephiny’s shout caught Gabrielle by surprise and made her jump with the fright. ‘She sure knows how to command respect…’ the bard thought as her heart returned to its normal pace.

Near Ephiny, the other Amazons quieted and gave her some room, stepping away from the warriors who had just returned from their patrol.

Finally the reason for all the commotion became evident as two men in Roman warrior garbs were forced to their knees before the nation’s Regent. By the sides of the prisoners, Amazon guards stood holding the ropes binding the men so they wouldn’t try to get away.

A woman dressed in small leathers with many stitched feathers stepped forward. “We caught them sneaking around in our land.” she informed, being the one who’d been in command of the patrol that captured the men. “Queen Ephiny, my guess is they were preparing to attack, like the others.”

“No, we weren’t!” the darker prisoner spoke, trying to stand up. “We were just -ugh!”

Jade’s kick on his stomach put him in his place. “Silence! You’ll have plenty of time to speak when you’re interrogated.”

“Lift them up so I can see them.” Ephiny ordered and her guards did it.

Both men were tall and strong, one having lighter hair and skin than the other. They could definitely be warrior material.

“What shall we do with them, Queen Ephiny?” the commander of the patrol asked.

Before the blond Amazon could reply, Amoria rushed to speak her sentence. “Kill them both! They’re Romans, like the ones who destroyed our village.”

“Yes, kill them! Kill them!” several of the Amazons agreed.

“Quiet!” Ephiny had to scream again. “We’re not going to kill anyone until we know what these men have done.”

Her words seemed to calm the prisoners a little and for once, gain Jade’s support.

“The Queen is right.” the green-eyed woman stated. “We need them alive to find out why they’re raiding us.”

“But we didn’t raid anyone!” This time it was the man with lighter hair who gave voice to the protest. “We didn’t even know we were trespassing.”

“Lies!” Amoria said but Ephiny’s glare made her swallow the rest of her protest and take on a different approach. She looked at Gabrielle and spoke up so everyone could hear her. “You’re the rightful Queen. Are you gonna let these men get away with what they’ve done?”

“But we did nothing!” one of them said again.

Amoria simply ignored the man and kept her stare fixed on the young Queen, hoping to intimidate her a little. “Well, are you?”

Gabrielle stepped to Ephiny’s side. “I couldn’t agree more with what the Regent said. We cannot kill someone just because they happen to be in our land - then we’d become murderers. We have to listen to what these men have to say.” she added, now looking at the two prisoners.

“Thank you.” the darker man said.

“Don’t thank her yet!” Amoria gave the prisoner a little shove, enough to make him sidestep not to lose his balance. “You still have to justify why you’re here.”

Before things got uglier the man with lighter hair, the more eloquent of the two, rushed to explain how they got there. “My name is Cassius and this his my partner, Gaius. We are Romans, you’re right,” he said, “but we are not soldiers.”

“How do you explain the clothes then?” Ephiny inquired.

“I’ll get to that.” Cassius replied, leaving the Amazon a bit embarrassed for being so impatient. “Gaius and I are blacksmiths and we were partners in a business we opened in Ravenna, about six months ago - it was going well. We got in trouble when a drunken warrior showed up once and asked us to fix one of his weapons. When it came time to pay he refused and wanted to leave so I grabbed him - I wanted the money. We’re honest workers,” he went on, ignoring the sneer he got from Amoria, “and we obviously can’t let clients go away without paying.”

Next to him, Gaius nodded, hoping the Amazons agreed and believed the other man’s words.

“As I said, the guy was drunk so he reacted bad and pulled out his sword to attack me. Gaius did what he could to stop him and hit him on the head with a wooden board. Unfortunately, he took a bad fall and… I think he broke his neck - he died.”

“So you are murderers!” Amoria said, pointing an accusing finger at Cassius.

“Hey, hold on lady!” Gaius protested. He wanted to step up closer to the Libyan Queen but the guards held him in place. “He was attacking my partner and I acted in his defense! What’s so wrong about that? Besides, I never meant to kill him.”

“Lies!” a Libyan Amazon said, getting an agreement nod from her Queen.

Ephiny placed a hand over Amoria’s shoulder and gave her a look that asked for calm, so the other woman refrained from making any more comments - for the time being…

“That still doesn’t explain how you got here and why are you wearing warriors’ clothes.” Gabrielle pointed out, truly hoping the men had a good explanation for that.

Gaius elbowed his partner. “Go on, tell them!”

“I’ll explain that.” Cassius said. “You see,” he tried keep his eyes on Ephiny, Gabrielle and Amoria to best convince them of what he was saying - they seemed to be the ones in charge so his and Gaius’ lives were in their hands, “turns out the warrior who died was a cousin of Pompey, so we were chased for murder even though we acted in self defense. Because of that we had to run. We stole these,” he said, tugging at his own clothes, “and got on a ship that crossed the Adriatic Sea. When we got to Dalmatia we were still being chased, now by bounty hunters. We kept running and that’s how we ended up here.”

Ephiny frowned. “It’s a strange story.”

“Lies! That’s what it is.” was Amoria’s opinion. Then, speaking directly to Cassius she asked, “Where are they? Where are the bounty hunters? If they chased you all the way here they should still be around…”

“I can tell you what happened but I can’t explain why.” Cassius replied. “They followed our track until this forest and then it was like they lost their minds - they attacked a large group of Centaur warriors. Can you imagine that?”

Ephiny and Gabrielle exchanged significant looks - that really sounded familiar.

“Of course,” Cassius went on, “they were slaughtered.” He paused for a moment, looking at the women, before he spoke again. “Now you know what happened. We are guilty of no crime so if you ladies could just let us go, we’d really appreciate it.”

“You’re not gonna believe those lies, are you?” Amoria questioned Ephiny. “They are Roman raiders trespassing on our territory and they deserve to be executed for that!”

A choir of voices supported Amoria’s view, while others, calmer, didn’t think they had enough reason to ask for the men’s death.

After a moment of heated arguments, Gabrielle decided to intervene. “Quiet!” she ordered. “I am still the Queen and I say no one is executed without a reason. We shall have a proper trial and then we’ll see if these men are guilty of anything.”

“A wise decision.” Ephiny said. “We’ll set the trial for the next full moon, when we can have Artemis’ guidance.

Gabrielle assented with a nod while Amoria roughly crossed her arms and grunted a “Fine.” under her breath.

Finally, everyone started to go about their business again as the men were taken to a prison where they’d await trial.

**********

When evening came, the Warrior Princess got out of the Amazon village and headed out through the woods. By now, she knew the trails both Amazon and Centaur patrols used so she looked for a spot where neither of them would go. Finally, she stopped in a little clearing, more or less on the border separating Tyldus’ territory from Amazon lands. There, the ground was covered with fresh green grass and dry leaves, fallen from the trees, and she could still make out the sound of water running from a spring not far from there.

She left Gabrielle to have dinner with Ephiny and Eponin and decided to practice some sword moves. She couldn’t eat anything right now anyway. She ate so much during the afternoon she was even feeling nauseous! Not her fault the Amazons decided to make delicious little sweets - who could resist? Well, the exercise would do her good, right?

Xena pulled out her sword and started with some of the most basic moves, just to warm up. More complicated drills followed as the sky above turned dark and the stars began to shower the earth with their scintillating light. Soon, she began to practice the hardest moves with complicated jumps and flips in the middle. Now, her body glistened with sweat but she always executed everything with perfection and grace. As she went on, hundreds of imaginary enemies were sent to Hades by the sharp blade of her sword, until a shower of light warned her someone real and godly was arriving.

Quickly reacting, the Warrior Princess aimed her sword so that when Iris materialized it was pointed at her heart.

The Goddess of the Rainbow gasped when she saw the blade and took a few steps back to put some distance between her and Xena. “I mean you no harm.” she hurried to say, hoping the mortal woman would believe her. “I am Iris, the messenger.”

Xena didn’t think the Goddess looked threatening so she put away her sword. “What do you want from me, Iris?” she asked, going straight to the point, as she looked at her. She still didn’t trust her - Gods were usually nothing but trouble - so her right hand rested over her leather-clad hip, close to her chakram. ‘Just in case…’

A relieved sigh escaped Iris when the weapon was put away. “I come with a message.” she said. “It has to do with Ares…”

“What?” Xena raised her voice. “Now he sends his mother’s messenger to do his bidding? You can tell him whatever his plan is, it’s not gonna work!” she growled, making her anger quite obvious to the Goddess. “I am not going back to being his warrior! Tell him that!” she added, pointing at Iris.

“But Ares didn’t send me.”

Now Xena was puzzled. “Oh?” she raised a questioning dark brow at the Goddess and spoke with a softer tone. “You said it was about Ares.”

“And it is.” Iris confirmed, nodding. “But he didn’t send me - Cupid, Strife and Discord did.”

“What? Cupid?” Now it was really getting weird… She could picture Strife and Discord taking part in one of Ares’ plans, but Cupid?

“Yes, Warrior Princess. Ares is in trouble and they thought you might help.”

Part of her warned her she should turn away and tell Iris she’d have nothing to do with the God of War but Xena figured she owed it to him at least to listen to what the Rainbow Goddess had to say. He had helped her through the Shadow-God problem and the poisoning thing Obian caused, right? “What kind of trouble?”

**********

Gabrielle was already sound asleep in her cot, covered with soft blankets. Breathing slowly, she smiled a little, dreaming of a distant past when she and her sister Lila used to play in the meadows around their home village. When Xena stormed through the door she was startled out of sleep, quickly sitting up.

The warrior looked tired but had no intentions of going to bed. Instead, Xena was gathering her belongings on the wooden table.

To make sure she wasn’t still dreaming, Gabrielle rubbed her eyes before looking again at the other woman. “Is everything okay, Xena?”

Never looking at the blonde, Xena kept packing their things . “Remember you said Ares might have something to do with all these fights breaking?” she asked.

“Uh-uhm.”

“Well, you were right. He’s in trouble. Someone else has taken his place as God of War.”

“What?” Now Gabrielle was definitely awake. “Someone else? Who?”

“Some guy called Uraeus. Ares told me about him once - he’s bad news.” the Warrior Princess answered. “While I was practicing in the woods a Goddess came to see me - Iris.”

“Really? What does she look like?”

“Does it matter?”

Gabrielle thought it did - it would make for much more interesting reading if she could describe the Goddess of the Rainbow in her scrolls. Still, she could ask Xena later so she decided not to insist. “So what happened?”

Xena sat down on a chair for a moment, looking at Gabrielle, who was till sitting in her cot with the blanket covering her up to her waist. “Iris didn’t tell me that much, but here’s what I know.” the Warrior Princess said. “This ancient God, Uraeus has some old grudge against Ares. Now, he managed to trick him, imprison him and take him away - no one knows where he is.”

“Won’t Zeus ix it?” the bard asked, still not fully believing what the Goddess of the Rainbow said. Couldn’t it be another of Ares’ plots to get Xena back into his fold?

Xena shook her head. “He’s mad at Ares for something - no, I don’t know why.” she added, anticipating Gabrielle’s question. “Besides, apparently Zeus doesn’t have the thunderbolt now because Uraeus imprisoned the Cyclops.”

“That’s serious, right?”

“Only if he learns to control the power, I think.” She got up and began packing her things in Argo’s saddlebags. “Anyway, I figure we find Ares and free him. We’ll let him worry about the rest, right?”

“I really didn’t want to leave now - I’m supposed to be present for a trial - but if that’s what it takes to put an end to all these fights… Gabrielle got out of bed and started to get dressed.

“It is.” the Warrior Princess stated, not even bothering to ask about the trial. She had more important things to take care of at the moment.

“And how are we going to find Ares? Do you know?”

The raven-haired warrior nodded in reply. “There’s an oracle that can help, so I’ll see her. Her name is Narcysa.”

“Okay.” Then turning to look at Xena the bard decided she had to ask, just to put her mind at ease, making sure Xena was acting for the right reasons. “But we’re only doing thins because of all this trouble arising, right? Because other than that we let Gods take care of their own business, right?”

“Of course, you know how I feel about that.” Xena said. “Gods are usually nothing but trouble when they cross our path. Still, they are needed in Olympus to keep the right balance of things. With someone else in Ares’ place, you see what happens…”

“But why don’t the Gods find him? Discord, maybe…”

“A good thing she can’t or she’d try to take his place! Can you imagine Discord as Goddess of War?”

“Thankfully, no.”

“Right. The reason is,” she went on as she picked up her things and headed for the door, now that Gabrielle was dressed and ready, “it takes a mortal to speak to the oracle - she won’t talk to Gods.” Before getting out of the wooden hut she turned to Gabrielle. “Do you know what else Iris said?”

“What?” the blonde asked.

“Strife’s back.”

“Strife? Didn’t Callisto kill him, stabbed him with a dagger covered in hind’s blood?”

“Yes, but somehow he managed to escape from whatever place dead Gods go to - at least that’s what Iris told me. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“You’re such a cynical.” Gabrielle said with a smile as both women walked out the door.

They were starting to head to where Xena’s warhorse was stabled when Iris again materialized near the Warrior Princess. She was wide-eyed and shaky. “Xena, it’s a calamity!” the bright Goddess said, gesturing widely. “Uraeus learned how to use the power of the thunderbolt! It’s a disaster! We’re doomed!”

“Calm down, Iris.” Xena said, interrupting her. Beside the Warrior Princess, Gabrielle was happy she got to see the Goddess of the Rainbow in all her shiny glory. “First, why do you think Uraeus can control the thunderbolt; second, why is that such a calamity?”

Very ungodly like, Iris was literally shaking and gasping for breath as she spoke. “I’m sure he can use the power - he just attacked Hermes! Luckily he is strong and managed to run away.”

“And why is it so serious?” Gabrielle asked. “Once we go to this oracle and find Ares, he’ll handle it, right?”

The Goddess shook her head as she looked from Xena to the bard. “Not even Ares can stop him now. Not while Uraeus has the thunderbolt.”

The Warrior Princess shifted her weight and gently caressed her chakram with her fingertips as she tried to figure out what to do. Staring at her, both Gabrielle and Iris waited for her to decide what the next move would be.

Finally, Xena spoke. “Change of plan - instead of finding Ares we’ll go take the power of the thunderbolt away from Uraeus.”

“Okay.” Gabrielle agreed. “But how can we do that?”

Instead of answering her friend, Xena gave Iris a questioning look.

“You would have to defeat the twin giants - Ephialtes and Ottus.” she explained. “They are guarding the thunderbolts, the Cyclops and Pegasus.”

Xena turned to Gabrielle and said “That’s how.”

The bard faked a smile. “That sure sounds easy.”

“And there’s one more thing.” the Goddess of the Rainbow said, looking into Ares’ chosen’s blue eyes. “Ephialtes and Ottus… no God or man can kill them. You have to find another way to destroy them.”

“Terrific!” the warrior said with a sigh. “Anything else we need to know?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Fine. Go now and tell Cupid I’m on it.” Xena said. “Oh, and don’t let Strife or Discord do anything stupid - I want to take those giants by surprise and I don’t need those two getting in my way.”

“All right.” Iris nodded. “Anything else, Warrior Princess?”

“No, go now. I’ll call if I need you.”

In a shower of colored sparkles, Iris vanished, leaving the two women alone.

Turning to Xena with a grin, Gabrielle looked at her friend. “You do realize you just ordered Hera’s personal messenger around, don’t you?”

“So?”

“I don’t know, it’s just weird. I don’t know anyone else who handles Gods like you do. It’s like you’re one of them or something! You don’t worship them or fear them… you treat them as equals.”

“Hey, Gods aren’t any better than we are.” Xena said. “Only more powerful, and even that it’s just a little ambrosia away, right?”

“I guess.”

“Right. Now go and wake Ephiny up to tell her we’re leaving, while I go get Argo.” Xena ordered.

“Okay, but when we’re done, we’re coming straight back, right?”

“If you wish…”

“All right - I wish.” Gabrielle turned and walked towards the Queen’s hut, which Ephiny now occupied, while Xena headed for the stables to get her golden mount.

**********

Xena and Gabrielle traveled through the night, both on the back of the Warrior Princess’ powerful mare. The bard didn’t like the idea much but if it made them get to their destination faster…

Early in the morning they stopped in a small village so Argo could get some rest and the two women could eat breakfast. As soon as the mare was fit to go, they got on the move again.

By the end of the afternoon they reached the port. After sending Gabrielle to stable Argo, Xena went to try to get a ship that would take them across the bay, to the island where the Cyclops’ forge was located. To her surprise, Captain after Captain turned her down, no matter how much money she offered.

“What, are you crazy? There’s a sea-monster guarding the island and two giants at the entry of the forge! Not to mention the Cyclops themselves…”

“But I can pay very well.”

“Forget it, warrior! Not even all of Hades’ fortune would make me go there now!”

Xena was starting to consider the possibility of stealing a vessel when she noticed a small ship, harbored near the end of the port. On board, a couple of unfriendly-looking men unloaded crates and next to them, watching, another man stood. ‘The Captain.’ Xena guessed. He looked rude, dirty but also fearless - a regular bad boy. ‘They’re probably pirates, but who cares? As long as they get us across.’

She stalked her way to the ship and once she reached it she inserted two fingers in her mouth and whistled to get the man’s attention.

Gasgar shifted his gaze from the work of his men to the figure standing on the harbor. He sure liked what he saw. ‘What a woman!’ the pirate thought, looking down the warrior’s silky raven hair, full breasts and long shapely legs. He smiled at her before he spoke. “Hello.”

“I’d like to speak to the Captain of the ship!” she said out loud, ignoring the man’s insulting stare. “I have a proposition for him.”

“A proposition?” The man’s shifted to a lustful grin as he considered the possibilities. “Come on up then!” he said, gesturing an invitation for Xena to come aboard.

Quickly, the Warrior Princess climbed up on the ship. ‘She’s small and fast, exactly what we need.’ she thought as she looked at the vessel. Once aboard, she ignored the dirty comments of Gasgar’s men and stepped up to him.

“I’m the Captain; my name is Gasgar.” he introduced himself. “And who might you be?”

“I need a ship that will take me and a friend on a short trip. I can pay very well.”

Xena’s answer didn’t please the pirate too much. “Straight to the point and all business, uhm?”

“Always.” she said, matter of factly. “Are you interested or not?”

“Maybe. Where to?”

The Warrior Princess sure hoped he was as reckless as he looked. “To the Cyclops island.”

The man widened his grin. “Are you sure you wanna go there? It’s really not a place for a lady and there are even giants there now…” Slowly, he reached out with his arm, planning to hold the woman by the waist. “There are much better places to go.”

Guessing his intentions, Xena took hold of Gasgar’s wrist, twisted his arm and slammed him against the wooden railing of the ship, keeping his arm bent behind his back. “I can take care of myself, Gasgar.” she said, not releasing her grip even when he moaned in pain. “And I’m no lady but I pay with dinars only. I ask again: are you interested?”

“Okay, okay! Let go of me and we’ll do business!”

**********

Before nightfall the small pirate ship cast off. The cold wind added to the currents and whirlpools characteristical of that place made for a treacherous and perilous journey. Gasgar however, didn’t worry too much about that. He was an experienced man of the sea and he trusted his crew. As for his ship, he knew she might not look like those shiny new trade boats but she was strongly built and had never let him down.

As he stood holding the helm the pirate Captain glanced over at he door leading to the only cabin of his ship. There, his two passengers probably slept by now. The heave purse on his belt reminded him why he was going near a sea-monster and two crazy giants, not that he wouldn’t take the trip if the warrior woman had offered to share his bed as payment… A woman like that could get a man to do the craziest things - yes, even sail to the Cyclops’ island. ‘I wonder what they’re gonna do there…’

The rocking of the ship over the waves had lulled the women to sleep. In the morning they should reach the Cyclops’ island and surely it would be a busy day so both welcomed the rest.

**********

Although still a bit tired, the Warrior Princess awoke a couple of hours before the crack of dawn. Seeing it was still dark, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep - it was impossible. Her mind was too full of worries and questions. What exactly would they find on the island? How would she destroy the giants? Would the sea monster be a problem? And Ares… Why was he even in her mind?

After letting out a long sigh she got up from her hammock and quietly pulled her leathers over her shift, then, she walked barefoot to the door and stepped out, closing it slowly as not to awake Gabrielle.

Outside, the air was still quite cold and it made her shiver as it rolled against her skin, but she didn’t mind. She slowly made her way to one side of the ship and leaned against the railing, losing her gaze in the dark blue waters beneath. The lustful looks the pirates gave her completely ignored for she was already lost in dark brown eyes she pictured in her mind.

**********

By the time the sun cast its first warming rays down on the earth, Gabrielle too came out on deck. When she found Xena already gone and guessing her friend was outside enjoying the view of the sea, she decided to join her. As soon as she stepped out of the cabin she saw her, leaning against the railing. “Good morning, Xena.” she said, nearing her friend.

“Hello.” Xena greeted, turning and leaning her back to the railing so she’d be facing the bard. “Did you sleep well?”

“As soon as I got that pressure point thing on the wrist to work, yeah, I did.”

“Oh, right!” Xena said, letting out a little laugh. “I’d forgotten how sick you get on a ship.”

“Hey!” the bard protested. “Don’t make fun of me!”

“I’m’ not, I’m not!”

“Right. Anyway, it appears I slept better than you. How long have you been out here?” Gabrielle also leaned her back against the ship’s wooden railing, deliberately keeping her back to the water.

“A couple of hours, I guess.”

“Worried about what we’re gonna find at the island?” Gabrielle asked but as she peered into her friend’s blue eyes she could see it was something else.

“A little. I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it though.”

“Me too. So what’s really troubling you, Xena? Is it Ares? Are you worried about him?”

Gabrielle’s last questions were answered with a hard glare.

“Don’t give me that look. I know you care about what happens to him.” the bard pressed on. “I just don’t know how much or why.” She paused, waiting for Xena to comment on that.

Still as a statue, the Warrior Princess remained with her back to the railing and her gaze lost somewhere in the sunrise. The only movement was the shifting of her black hair as the breeze played through it.

“Well? You’re not gonna say anything?” Gabrielle insisted.

“No.”

“No? What do you mean no? I am your best friend, Xena! I can’t believe you still keep secrets from me.”

“I don’t!”

“So tell me! You two have a history together, that’s obvious. Were you two lovers?” she asked, hoping maybe a simple yes or no question could get an answer out of her.

With a long sigh, Xena turned around and stared down at the water. With the arrival of the sunlight the dark blue was now shifting to a lighter shade, resembling the woman’s eyes. “If the question is if we ever had sex, the answer is yes.”

That didn’t quite come as a surprise to the bard, somehow she’d come to believe that sex had been a great part of their relationship. Still, a million questions popped into her head but she was too afraid to ask them, lest Xena burry the subject again, so she remained silent, watching her friend’s features as she dwelt deeper into the memories of the past.

“I know most people think that I slept with him in exchange for his favor in battle,” the warrior went on, “but that never happened. I became his chosen because I was a good warrior and because he saw in me the potential to do his work.”

“But still you two…” Gabrielle said, feeling a little guilty for keeping hidden from Xena what happened when the warrior accidentally drank Aphrodite’s potion.

“Yes. It happened a very long time ago and it wasn’t as payment for his help or anything like that.” Xena explained, keeping her eyes on the water as her mind drifted into the past.

“I was still not far from Amphipolis, commanding my little army to our first victories. You see, after running Cortese out, I figured I’d conquer the villages around Amphipolis to protect my home - I think I told you this before.”

The bard nodded.

“Well, turns out one of those villages decided to turn the tables - instead of defending themselves by attacking me, they sent their militia to attack Amphipolis. I learned of this and rode into the village where I ordered two of the town council men to be brought before me - I needed to know which road had the militia taken to Amphipolis so I could send my men to intercept them. Before everyone in the village I asked them which way had the militia gone. Obviously, they refused to tell me so I threatened to kill them. They didn’t believe I could do it - you must remember I was still a very young woman, a girl in their eyes - they mocked me and said they were calling my bluff. You can guess what happened then… I took a dagger and slit the first man’s throat and after the other one told me what I needed to know, I killed him too.”

The bard was pale and a little shocked, but said nothing so her friend could go on.

“It was the first time I murdered someone in cold blood and I tell you Gabrielle, I felt nothing. No guilt, no remorse, no pity, no joy, no fun, no shame - it just needed to be done and I did it. It was only that night the reality of everything that was happening truly hit me. I woke up screaming from some awful nightmare and when someone came to check what was wrong with me, I just couldn’t face him. I ran away into the woods. Can’t tell you for how long I ran but I only stopped when I collapsed from exhaustion. I was cut and bruised from falling and I felt so sick, disgusted with my self for everything I’d done. My mother’s words still echoed in my head, blaming me for Lyceus’ death - and I did feel responsible. I felt I was this hateful creature deserving to be wiped from the face of the earth - maybe I was guessing the years to come. Anyway, I was there lying on the ground, still sobbing and freezing when I started to hear something approaching. Lifting my head I saw it was a pack of wolves, looking for a meal. I didn’t have the strength left in me to fight. I just lay my head down and closed my eyes, waiting for the end. That’s when he came.”

“Ares?”

The Warrior Princess nodded. “I guess he saw I was ready to give up. He picked me up from the ground and I think I passed out or something because the next I remember I was lying in the middle of red silk sheets, in a soft bed. He had taken me to his fortress, although then I didn’t know where I was.”

“The one where we were before you fought the Shadow-God?” Gabrielle asked.

“Yes. I think he took me there to heal me and to have one of those God/Chosen conversations, where he would tell me all about my potential for greatness, my destiny by his side and how I should focus on the matter at hand and leave the guilt for the weak. I guess you know by now that’s not what happened.” she said, smiling a little as she looked at the bard and then back at the water. “As I wouldn’t stop shaking and crying he sat next to me and held me until I fell asleep. When I woke up he was still there, looking at me. I don’t need to tell you he is very attractive and right then he made me feel safe. I just needed to be closer to him, to know that at least he cared for me, no matter what I did. I didn’t want to let go and I remember just closing my eyes and holding him tighter. That’s when he pulled away to kiss me and… I guess I don’t need to get into details - we made love and he took me back to my army when I was good and ready.”

“He took advantage of you.”

“No!” Xena quickly retorted, shooting an angry look at her friend. “Why do you have to twist it into something bad?”

“It is Ares we are talking about.” Gabrielle pointed out. “He is bad. And face it, you were merely a girl and he took advantage of the fact you were hurting.”

Xena shook her head. “It was nothing like that. I was young but I was surely mature enough, Gabrielle. He was my first and those are some of my fondest memories. Don’t think he did that to add another name to his sexual conquests or to make me depend on him or anything like that. He wanted to and I wanted to. We weren’t deeply in love but I did have feelings for him by then and he’s always cared for me - in his own way, true, but he does. It just happened. There was nothing wrong with what we did and to me, then it made the greatest difference. I needed to feel loved and he gave me that.”

“Because he didn’t want you to waste yourself, maybe? He didn’t want to lose you because he saw your potential?” Gabrielle suggested.

“If that was all, he’d just chase the wolves away and take me back to the army. I’d get over it eventually and continue fighting. Like this he healed part of my soul and made me feel worthy of being loved again. He made me realize I wasn’t all evil. The things Caesar later destroyed - that’s when I really turned into a monster.”

“Are you sure you’re not just seeing in Ares what you want to see?”

“I’m sure. You don’t even begin to understand what between Ares and me. He is my enemy now but…”

“Explain it to me then!” Gabrielle asked. “Help me to understand. What happened between you two then, after he took you to the army?”

“Does it really matter?”

“Of course it does! Ares is one of the people who most influenced your life, Xena. Of course it matters! Tell me what happened, please.”

Looking back at the waters that caressed the sides of the ship, the Warrior Princess prepared to tell the bard of the conquest of the villages that followed after her return to her army, when she spotted something slithering next to the vessel. She narrowed her eyes as she paid more attention to the thing that was getting under the ship. “Look!” she said to Gabrielle, pointing at the water. “Over there, see?”

The bard too peered out of the ship and saw the long snake-like greenish thing Xena referred to “What is that? Do you think it’s the monster?”

With a frown, the warrior picked up a spear from the pirates’ armory and then returned to the edge of the ship. “Yes, I think it might very well be.”

“Do you think it’s dead?” the younger woman asked, still staring at the thing which still lay next and under the boat, not far from the surface. “It looks so still and weird…”

Leaning overboard, Xena poked at the thing with the spear. “Nah - it’s never been alive!”

“What?”

“It’s just a decoy, Gabrielle.”

“What?” Also leaning over the railing, the bard assisted Xena as the woman pulled the thing aboard with the help of the spear.

By now, they’d caught the attention of the pirates who watched with interest as the women dominated the beast. A few minutes later, the long thing was on deck.

“It’s just a dummy!” Gabrielle stated as she ran her eyes along the thing, which was made of fabric and kept afloat with the help of inflated bags on its insides.

“Yup.” Xena said with a smirk. “Someone trying to keep people off the island must have planted it here. I guess it was sort of clever…”

Shifting her eyes to Xena, Gabrielle asked, “You think this God Uraeus did it?”

“Nah. It doesn’t seem like something a God would do.” the Princess of War said. “Maybe the giants guarding the Cyclops put it here to make their job easier.

“I guess you’re right.” the bard agreed. Seeing the pirate Captain approaching from Xena’s back, she signaled her friend to turn around.

“Hello, Gasgar.” the Warrior Princess said as she turned to face the man.

The pirate greeted her with a nod. “Quite a catch you ladies made.” He pointed at the “monster”. “Is that the so feared creature of the sea?”

“Yup.” the woman replied, leaning on the spear. “It doesn’t look so scary now, does it?”

“No, no it doesn’t.” Gasgar touched the thing with his boot as if to make sure it was truly not alive. “But I still could make use of it, I think. I bet I could fool some puffed rich merchant or King buy that from me, believing it’s the real thing.”

“It would have to be a pretty clueless guy!” the bard chuckled.

The pirate Captain looked at the younger woman. “You’d be surprised at the amount of stupidity existing in the world, young lady. It’s enough to feed a lot of resourceful men such as myself.” he said with a hint of pride. Then, he looked back at the warrior and asked “How much do you want for it?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. How much?”

“Tell you what, Gasgar,” Xena said, “you get us to that island without the twin giants spotting us and the monster is yours - I’ll even let you take credit for slaying it.”

The man laughed out loud at the Warrior Princess’ last sentence. “You’re my kinda woman! And don’t worry, those giants won’t see you coming.”

“Good.”

As Gasgar turned around and headed back to the helm of his ship, Xena started to walk to the cabin. Behind her, Gabrielle followed close.

“Xena.” the bard called, making her friend stop just before opening the cabin’s door.

“What is it?” she asked, turning her head to Gabrielle.

“So what did happen after Ares took you back to your army?”

Annoyed, Xena let herself into the cabin. “Can we stop talking about Ares? I was his warrior and now I’m not! Subject closed!”

‘Great! That monster had to turn up just when she was about to talk! Well she ever tell me the full story?’

**********

Gasgar made good on his promise and approached the small island slowly, from the side opposite to the Cyclops’ workshop. One of his men carried Xena and Gabrielle ashore on a small rowboat and left them on a narrow beach of golden sand. After the small boat returned, the pirate ship turned around and cast off, returning to the harbor it had left on the previous evening. Strangely, the two women told Gasgar they didn’t want him to wait or pick them up later - they seemed convinced they’d find other transportation to carry them off the island - so he said his goodbyes and thanked the warrior for the “monster” before they left his ship. Now they were on their own. ‘I hope the Fates are kind to them.’ The pirate Captain thought. He really knew nothing about the women but they seemed nice and adventurous, so he whished them all the best.

Xena and Gabrielle waited on the shore until Gasgar’s ship was at a reasonable distance from the small island. Then, the Warrior Princess turned inland and took a quick look at the huge rock formation that occupied the entire place, safe for little sandy beaches like the one where they were now.

As for the bard, she appreciated the unusual rugged beauty of the view. “It’s nice here, isn’t it Xena?”

“Uhm? Oh, yeah…” The taller woman didn’t even take her eyes off the dark rocks, looking for the best path for them to follow.

“If it was summer, I’d invite you for a swim, but like this…”

“Yeah, well… we have more important things to take care of anyway. Look.” Xena said, pointing at a certain place in the rocks, which seemed good for them to climb and circle around the island. With the other hand, she tucked her hair behind her ear but the wind stubbornly blew it out of place.

“I guess we can go through there.” Gabrielle said, after looking at the place her friend pointed at.

“Me too. The Cyclops’ place must be on the other side and I’m sure they’re being kept there. That means the giants must be there too, watching,” the warrior looked down at her friend, “so let’s go slowly and carefully because I wanna have a look around before we do anything, all right?”

The bard nodded. “All right. Do you have a plan yet? About the way to get rid of Ephialtes and Ottus, I mean.”

“No, not yet but I’m sure something will occur to me once we get there. Ready?” Xena asked.

“Ready.”

The two women crossed the short length of sand and started to make their way over the rocks. It wasn’t very steep or a hard climb and luckily the weather helped - although cold and a bit windy, it was sunny - so they didn’t find it very hard to circle the island.

Not too long after they started, they came up on the other side and could see the entrance to the Cyclops’ lair. A large cave served as a doorway and from inside a dark smoke billowed towards the sky, even though no thunderbolt was being produced at the time. Crouching under the cover of a tall oval-shaped rock, Xena and Gabrielle studied the place. What really caught their attention were the two giants just outside the entrance of the cave, one on each side, but they could also hear the whinnying of a horse in distress.

“Do you think that’s Pegasus?” Gabrielle asked in a whisper, still with her eyes on the giants.

“Yes, I think so - he must be trapped inside.”

“So what are we going to do?”

Xena’s eyes were also set on the two giants for they were the real obstacle they’d have to overcome. One of them was sitting down, scratching the sand with his fingertips, while the other stood on the opposite side of the entrance, apparently just staring at the sky. They looked quite identical and were about as tall as the blind Cyclops who lived not too far from Amphipolis.

Something shiny hanging around the neck of the giant who was standing up caught the Warrior Princess’ attention. “Look, on his neck.” she said to Gabrielle. “It’s a key - I think we’ll need that to free the Cyclops.”

“But how are we going to get it?”

“I don’t know yet.” the warrior admitted. “Let me think…”

**********

Far from the island of the Cyclops, in Ares’ fortress, all eyes turned to the portal through which they could spy on Xena and her friend as they looked on the twin giants. They were mostly silent, waiting to see how the God of War’s chosen would handle the situation. For once, all the Olympians present wished she would succeed. As for Ares’ mortal Priestess, she wanted that too but she would have preferred if Xena hadn’t changed her mind and found her Lord first, instead of going to free the Cyclops. Who know what might have happened to Ares by now?

When they were seeing Xena and Gabrielle exchanging a few words, the portal was unsettled and the image became cloudy.

“What’s going on?” Cassandra asked Strife, the God who was allowing them to see the two women.

Nervously running his tongue over his lips, the young God faced the Priestess and shrugged. “Some king of interference, I think.”

“Incompetent fool!” Discord said, elbowing him hard on the ribs. “You can’t do anything right!”

He glared at Ares’ younger sister and threatened to slap her but changed his mind when she closed her hand in a tight fist and displayed it before his face. Instead of hitting her, he excused himself. “Hey, it’s not my fault - it’s not easy seeing into the Cyclops’ island.”

“At least not if you’re a weakling.” Discord added with a scowl on her face.

By now, the image was completely gone.

“Oh yeah, I’d like to see you do better!” Strife challenged as he roughly crossed his arms.

“Easy!” Discord waved her hand to make the portal reopen, but nothing happened. Annoyed, she tried again and still nothing happened.

“See…” Strife said, looking victoriously into her dark eyes.

Tired of the discussion, Iris stepped forward and pushed the young Gods aside. “Let me try.”

“About time!” Cassandra muttered under her breath.

Iris closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, the image returned. “If you concentrated in the image and not in fighting, you’d see it’s not so hard.” she said to the other Gods, getting a little smile from the Priestess.

Annoyed, the other two brooded.

“Show off!” Discord whispered before returning her attention to the image of the Cyclops’ island.

**********

“Okay, this is what we’re gonna do.” Xena said to Gabrielle who listened attentively. “First we’re gonna attract that giant,” she pointed at the one sitting down, carefully remaining under cover, “with some noise or something, to get him to get out of there.” she explained. “When we have the other alone, I’ll use the chakram to cut don the key and then get him to chase me.”

The bard looked worried. “Are you sure? He is very big and if what Iris said is true, they can’t be killed.”

“I’m sure what she said is true, that’s probably why Uraeus has them as allies, but don’t worry, I don’t plan to let him catch me.” she grinned.

“All right.”

“Okay. Once they are both out of there,” Xena went on, “I want you to get the key and go inside the cave. I’m not sure what you’ll find there - just try to free the Cyclops.”

“Okay.”

“And remember Gabrielle, Cyclops aren’t exactly very fond of humans, at least not the ones I met so far.”

“They’re very fond of eating us!”

“Right.” the warrior nodded. “So I want you to be very careful, all right?”

“Yes, don’t worry.” she said, smiling at her friend. “It’s you who needs to take care, with a giant chasing you…”

“I can handle it.” Xena assured. “Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be!”

“Let’s go then.” the Warrior Princess said. “First you go around and get close to the one sitting there, then throw a rock away so it’ll make noise and he’ll go check it out, okay?”

“All right.” Gabrielle agreed.

“If it doesn’t work, return here and I’ll do the same so we can come up with a new plan.”

“I’m going.”

Slowly, the bard started to approach the giant who still sat on the golden sand, scratching on the ground. When she got closer, she could see he was trying to draw a horse but he wasn’t very good at it. ‘It looks like a sheep with long legs!’ Gabrielle thought.

From a short distance Xena watched her friend’s every move, ready to step in at any time if things went wrong and the giant spotted her.

Gabrielle got as close as she possibly could and crouched in a cleft between two rocks, settling over a bed of dry seaweed accumulated there. When she looked back, she saw Xena also approaching the cave and then hiding near the giant who was standing.

Seeing Gabrielle ready, Xena gave her nod, then watched as her fiend picked up a stone from the ground and threw it away.

For some reason the Warrior Princess’ mind drifted to the God who’d always been in her path. Had she been right in postponing her search for him and coming to free the Cyclops? What if the time she was wasting here made all the difference to him and he suffered real harm? ‘And why am I worrying anyway? Is Gabrielle right and I’m doing this for more than just the trouble the new War God is causing?’ She tried to shake her doubts away and concentrate on the present mission. She offered a silent prayer to Ares, just for good luck, and then watched for the giant’s reaction to the noise Gabrielle made.

**********

“Aaaaah!” he screamed as again he punched against the brass cover of the box keeping him trapped. He kicked and pushed against the sides and for the hundredth time tried to dematerialize from that place and transport himself out. And for the hundredth time he failed.

“Damn you, Hephaestus!” Ares cursed. Why did the God of the Forge have to be so damn good at what he did?

Not being able to get out of that tiny prison was driving him insane for a long time but now it had crossed the barrier of the unbearable.

He could hear her, praying, calling on him… His chosen one evoking his name in prayer and he could not respond. Worse, his Princess called and he could not go to her, as he always did. What if she was hurt or in need of help? She must be to call him.

In another attempt to break free, Ares made use of his Olympian powers and caused an explosion as strong as he could manage in his somewhat weakened state. Inside the brazen box it was worse than Tartarus and still the cursed thing didn’t even crack. All he accomplished was hurting himself.

Frustrated, Ares again pounded against the metal of Hephaestus. “Xena. Xena!” he cried out as loud as he could.

**********

Ottus lift his head from the drawing in the loose sand and turned to look aside. “Didn’t you hear something?” he asked his brother while he searched the rocky surroundings with his eyes.

Ephialtes was too busy counting seagulls to go and investigate every little noise heard in the island. “Nope.” He lied.

Just then, Gabrielle threw a second little stone so that Ottus was even more intrigued.

“Again!” the sitting giant said. Turning to Ephialtes he asked, “How about now, didn’t you hear that?”

“No. It’s just your imagination.” he answered. “Either that or that cursed horse inside!”

Ottus was not convinced. “I’m gonna check it out.” He got up and picked up one of the two gigantic spears at the entrance of the Cyclops’ workshop before he headed out, in the direction that Gabrielle threw the stones.

“Yes!” the bard whispered to herself. Then, she made herself as small as she could and remained quiet as a mouse while Ottus passed her by.

Near the cave, Ephialtes shrugged at his brother’s stubbornness and went back to his bird counting sport, unaware the Warrior Princess was stealthily nearing.

When she was very close, Xena took her chakram from the hook at her hip and waited for a clear shot at the string around the giant’s neck. She could feel Gabrielle’s eyes set on her as she prepared.

When the giant tilted his head up the raven-haired warrior sent her weapon flying through the air.

“What?” Ephialtes saw the bright glint metal as the sun reflected on the round blade and followed its path as it returned to its mistress’ hand. Luckily, he didn’t notice the key had fallen silently from his neck to the soft sand. When his eyes fell on the warrior woman his expression twisted to and angry frown. “Who are you?”

Xena displayed a smile full of white teeth as she looked back at him. “Come and get me if you can, chicken brain!” she teased, hoping the giant would follow her.

Furious because such an insignificant creature dared to insult him, Ephialtes launched in pursuit, carrying the second spear. “I’m gonna squash you like a bug!” he screamed.

Gabrielle watched from her hideaway how the second giant left after Xena. “Be careful.” she said, even though her friend was too far to listen. After making sure the first giant was still nowhere to be seen, she got out of cover and rushed to the sandy beach before the entrance of the cave. There, she had no trouble finding the key - it was shiny as silver and about as large as her forearm.

After brushing away the golden sand the wind had already blown over the key, Gabrielle picked it up and then turned to the cave. “All right, here we go.”

Outside, Xena was being chased by Ephialtes. It wasn’t easy outrunning a giant but she already had some experience in that, so she was doing okay.

As she entered the dark workshop, the bard was aware her knees were slightly trembling and her palms sweaty. She had been through so many dangers by Xena’s side but still the thought of coming face to face with a Cyclops or more frightened her quite a bit. It had been a close call that time, near Amphipolis. Back then she’d talked her way out of becoming the main course of the creature’s meal but somehow she suspected the Cyclops working for Zeus would be somewhat smarter.

Once inside, she took a quick look around and immediately spotted the huge cell in the back, beyond what looked like some kind of furnace with golden bit glowing inside. In the cell, leaning against the metal bars, was a one-eyed creature. Gabrielle couldn’t tell if there were more like him in there because the back of the cell was shrouded by darkness.

She was slowly starting to walk over the tiny shiny debris covering the workshop’s floor, heading towards the cell, when a loud horse’s whinny made her heart skip a beat. Looking to her left, where the sound came from, she saw a magnificent white winged stallion with heavy chains binding his hind legs to the wall.

“Pegasus.” she said as she marveled at the beast.

Hearing the young woman speak up his name the horse pinned his ears and seemed to quiet down a bit, eyeing her with curiosity.

Gabrielle wasn’t really a “horse person” but she couldn’t just remain indifferent to the animal’s suffering. He looked so miserable there, trapped in a way such a magnificent creature was never meant to be - she had to try to free him. Besides, it gave her a little more time to try to figure out how to reach the lock of the Cyclops’ cell - it had been made by and for gigantic creatures, using the metals of Hephaestus, so the keyhole was so high she just didn’t know how she was supposed to get the key up there.

“Hey boy.” she said as she slowly approached Pegasus, trying to assure him she meant him no harm. “Be nice and I’ll help you okay?”

The animal stood very still, watching as she came closer, but Gabrielle couldn’t tell if she’d really gained is trust of if he was just waiting for her to get closer so her could deliver a good effective kick that would surely throw her across the room.

**********

Xena had each giant in turn chase her around the island before giving him the slip and trading him for his twin brother.

She had to buy Gabrielle the time she needed to free the makers of the thunderbolt but the task wasn’t that easy. Both Ephialtes and Ottus were determined to hunt her down and already more than once they had hurled their gigantic spears at her, fortunately missing the target they were aiming at. Then there was the fact they were so much taller than she was, with that much longer legs, which meant she had to move at least three times as fast to stay one step ahead of them.

If only they could be killed by humans she would have used her chakram to hit them at the giants’ soft spot, just above the nose - it would be easy since neither of them were wearing a helmet - but like this…

As she kept on circling and doubling back around the small island, she realized she’d trapped herself in a dead end. With all the turns she took to lose Ephialtes or Ottus in turn, she kept climbing higher and higher and right now she was reaching the rocky peak on the very top of the island. Ephialtes was coming up after her on one side and Ottus on the other. She was therefore cornered - her only escape was the abyss on the south side, which ended up in the blue waters of the sea.

“Damn!” the Warrior Princess cursed under her breath when she saw the place she’d gotten herself in to.

There, at the highest point of the Cyclops’ island, the wind blew stronger and louder but it still couldn’t muffle the sound of the giants’ steps as they approached from both sides. If she stayed there she had no chance of escaping with her life - the abyss was then her only choice but tired as she was, with sore muscles because of all the effort she put to get the giants chasing her around the island, she didn’t know if she’d make it. It was quite a big plunge into the sea and even if she survived that would she have the strength to resurface? She sure hoped so. Drowning was not a part of her plan!

Slowly, as not to fall down before she was good and ready, Xena approached the edge of the rock to look down at the sea but what she saw was the soft muzzle of a white horse as he ascended through the air.

As the magnificent beast go higher, Xena watched in awe, with her jaw dropping a little so her mouth was slightly open. Finally he set all four hooves down on the rock ground, next to the woman.

Quietly, so she wouldn’t frighten him, Xena neared him and gently stroked his neck with her hand, feeling the velvety softness of his white coat. “Pegasus.” she whispered, looking back at the two magnificent wings.

This was her chance of escape. Sure, she knew no one but Gods and Heroes were allowed to ride the winged stallion but such rules never stopped her before. “Wanna give me a lift?” she asked, jumping on to Pegasus’ back before the animal realized what was happening.

Luckily, he didn’t mind too much, or at least Xena so assumed since he made no attempts to throw her. “Come on, boy, fly!” Her gentle touch of heels to the horse’s flanks urged him to move.

When the stallion took off and his hooves lost touch with the ground she could see the giants as they approached the peak, both chasing her and both ignoring his twin brother was doing just the same. It was then she thought of a way she might rid the world of both Ephialtes and Ottus.

With a gentle pat on Pegasus’ neck she said, “Stop boy, stop.” and when she got the animal hovering mid-air over the peak of the island, she looked down at the giants to make sure they both could see her but still could not see each other.

“Up here you bastard!” the raven-haired warrior shouted, getting her pursuers’ attention. “See if you can catch me now!”

Enraged both because the mortal woman mocked them and because they’d somehow let Pegasus escape, the giants rushed up even faster as they hurled their spears at the flying horse and the rider, as they hovered just above the ground.

Xena kicked hard against her mount’s flanks, hoping he would be fast enough to avoid the twin brothers’ weapons. “Now, Pegasus! Fly, fly!”

With a loud whinny the animal fully corresponded to the Warrior Princess’ expectations. One single flap of his magnificent wings was enough to get out of the weapons’ reach, high above the island.

Below, the spears missed their target and flying through, they pierced the other giant through the heart. With a mortal wound inflicted by his twin brother, they perished quickly and fell heavily on top of the island’s peak.

Up high on Pegasus’ back, Xena broadened her smile as she saw her plan successfully unfold. “The prophecy has been fulfilled.” she said to herself. “No man or God killed them, they killed each other.”

Then she took the winged horse to circle over the peak once more as she looked down on the giant’s bodies. “Come on, boy, take me down.” she told the horse when she was sure Ephialtes and Ottus had already crossed to the other side. “I need to go check on Gabrielle and see how’s she doing with the Cyclops.”

The Warrior Princess had to hold on as the winged horse abruptly changed his flight angle and darted towards the small beach that spread before the entrance of the Cyclops’ workshop. Most people would be scared out of their underpants but she loved the caresses of the wind against face and the amazing freedom of flying through the air like most mortals could only dream of. If she was still her “old self” she would have done everything she could to keep and tame that beast - think of the battle potential, not to mention all the fun - but now, on her road to redemption, she knew she had to let him go free so she enjoyed her short ride to the fullest.

**********

As soon as she finished unlocking the last chain trapping him, the winged horse, Pegasus, flew out the opening of the cave. He went so fast; Gabrielle barely had the time to watch him fly away.

It was now time to set the Cyclops free - her plan of riding Pegasus up to the keyhole obviously flopped since the animal got away before she could do anything, so she had to try something else.

After a while trying to figure out a way to reach the lock of the Cyclops’ cell, the bard came to the conclusion she was wasting her time. There wasn’t a single ladder in sight and all the crates and boxes around the place were way too heavy for her to drag and pile up to build a platform to stand on.

So, she decided to take her chances with the creatures and took a different approach to the problem. One of them was standing near the cell door, quietly watching with his single centered eye as Gabrielle tried to free him. By now, she was sure there was at least one more of them, hiding in the darkness of the bottom of the cell, but she decided to approach the one that seemed to be not so shy and hope for the best.

She stopped before the cell door and looked up into the orb in the middle of the creature’s forehead. “Hi.” she said, her voice coming out weak. Before continuing, she cleared her throat and swallowed the recently formed knot there. “My name is Gabrielle.” she introduced herself. “I want to free you but I can’t reach up there with the key. Do you understand?” she asked since the creature just stood there, expressionlessly staring back at her.

The Cyclops merely blinked his huge eye but uttered no reply, leaving Gabrielle to wonder if he didn’t understand Greek or was just not intelligent enough to get what she was saying.

“Okay…” she said, deciding on trying yet another approach.

She walked very close to the metal door of the cell and knelt by it, the large key Xena had taken from the giant still held tightly in her hands. “Why don’t I just give it to you and you open it yourself, all right?”

Gabrielle realized it was a risk she was taking, but what other choice did she have? She slid the key under the cell door and stepped back, closer to the furnace, and waited to see what the creature would do.

Immediately, two more Cyclops joined the first one, coming from the back of the dark cell.

Cautiously, the Amazon bard moved behind the hot furnace as she wiped sweat drops of her forehead with the back of her hand. She wondered it the heat was causing that or her fear was just becoming a little too obvious…

The first Cyclops bent down and picked up the key; then he opened the cell door and all three of them rushed out at the same time. For a brief moment they were all stuck in the door but the quickly resolved the problem and got out, heading to the furnace.

Seeing the three huge creatures heading her way, the bard yelped in fear and turning her back on them she starting running towards the entrance of the cave. However, a moment later she realized she wasn’t being chased. She stopped and looked back to see what the Cyclops were doing.

Bending over the furnace, the three one-eyed creatures threw strange substances in it and poked it with long metallic shafts, making it glow stronger - it seemed they were eager to get back to work and produce Zeus’ thunderbolt, completely ignoring the blond woman who was still in there.

“Thank the Gods!” Gabrielle let out, before taking in a few deep breaths.

Calmer, she resumed her way towards the sunlight peering through the cave’s opening. “Well, they could have at least said thank you.” she said to herself, thinking back on the Cyclops.

When she stepped out the thunderbolt workshop she was just in time to see Pegasus fly away. Xena was also there, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watched the animal. When he finally disappeared behind the rocky peak of the island the Warrior Princess turned and faced Gabrielle with a smile, motioning her to come near.

Smiling back at Xena, the Amazon bard started walking towards her. “I was worried about you.” she said, still from a distance. “How did you get rid of the giants?”

“They’re dead.” the raven-haired woman replied.

“And the prophecy? Iris was wrong?”

“No, but they weren’t killed by men or Gods - they killed each other.”

Reaching her friend, Gabrielle held her for a brief moment before she pulled back to look into her blue eyes. “Killed each other? How did you manage that? Did they fight? How did they kill each other?”

“Well if you give a chance to answer, I will.” Xena replied with a smile.

The bard didn’t have time to apologize because two bright flashes of light announced the arrival of a pair of Olympians to the scene.

“You did quite well, Warrior Princess.” Zeus complimented. “Thanks to you and your little friend the power of the thunderbolt is mine once more.”

“It certainly wasn’t thanks to you!” the Goddess beside him pointed out as she eyed him with an angry frown.

Neither Zeus nor Hera were exactly in the Warrior Princess’ good books so she pulled Gabrielle behind her, just in case things took a bad turn. “Will all the raids and fighting stop now?” the woman inquired, looking the King of the Gods in the eye.

There was something about that mortal female Zeus found quite disturbing. He couldn’t really put his finger on it but there was definitely something about her - all Gods could see that. Certainly the fact she did not fear or respect Gods was annoying all by itself and being Ares’ chosen didn’t score any points in her favor. But that wasn’t it - there was just something… Anyway, he didn’t let it show as he answered her. “Certainly, Xena, you know war is just as necessary as peace but all this unnecessary violence will be put to an end.”

“Good.” Xena said with a flat tone.

Another flash of light preceded the arrival of yet another God to the Cyclops’ small island. Xena had never seen him but she immediately recognized him - Ares had spoken to her more than once about Uraeus.

Turning to the newly arrived God, Zeus said, “Uraeus has already assured me he will put back in order now that he is settling in the job as God of War.”

“What?” Both Xena and Hera glared at Zeus, not wanting to believe what he was saying.

“Are you implying you won’t get rid of him?” Hera went on as she pointed at Uraeus.

To the Warrior Princess it became immediately evident Zeus had no intention of restoring Ares to his rightful place, at least not for the time being. Whatever the God of War had done to anger his father had most likely been serious and was still too recent to be forgotten. Hera however insisted her husband changed his mind but she still had no success.

While the King and Queen of Olympus argued, Uraeus studied Ares’ beautiful chosen as she stood there on the beach. By now he had heard a lot about the God of War’s obsession with this mortal woman but he never actually bothered to search for her. After actually seeing her, he could partly understand why Ares found her so appealing. She was truly magnificent - her beauty was stunning but what really surprised him was the power, desire and will she possessed - as an ancient being, those things were made clear to him. It was obvious she was no ordinary mortal. Still, Ares took things a little too far, making so many mistakes and getting into so much trouble because of this Xena. Magnificent or not, she was a mortal, right? Maybe he’d find out more about her later, though.

In a matter of minutes Zeus was gone so he wouldn’t have to listen to his wife any longer.

Realizing Hera had failed to change her husband’s and he was being given a chance to stay as God of War and Defender of Olympus, Uraeus grinned at the two mortal women and the Queen of the Gods. “Guess you ladies will have to put up with me as God of War for a while. But don’t worry,” he said specially to Gabrielle as she appeared to be the easiest of them to conquer, “I will put an end to this unnecessary raids and such and I’ll prove to you I can be a much more fair God than Ares ever was.” Then, facing Xena, he bowed his head as if he held for her the highest respect. “Wonderful to finally meet you in person, Warrior Princess. I heard so much about you and the way you use war to fight worthy battles. I look forward to getting to know you better and have you as my chosen.”

“Dream on!” Xena retorted as she glared at him.

Uraeus merely smiled. He then acknowledged Hera with a simple nod and disappeared with a flash of light.

“That’s it?” Xena said with a mix of anger and frustration in her voice as she turned to the Queen of the Gods. Behind her, Gabrielle remained silent, still trying to absorb all that was happening. “You forget about Ares and let Uraeus take his place as if it was nothing?”

Hera sighed. “I don’t like this anymore than you do, Xena. For once you and I are on the same side. I don’t trust Uraeus one bit but until Zeus changes his mind, there’s nothing anyone can do.”

“How about finding Ares?”

Hera shook her head in denial.

Disgusted with the Gods’ passivity about the whole matter the Warrior Princess took one threatening step towards the Goddess but Hera held her own. “You’ll do nothing about it?”

With a snap of fingers, Hera transported them all back to the mainland, to the center of the seaside village where they’d met Gasgar, the pirate. “A lift back here is all I can do for you, Xena. As for Ares, he’ll have to wait until Zeus calms down and changes his mind - he is still the King of the Gods.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t be!” Xena said.

Hera ignored the mortal woman’s last remark. “Goodbye Xena.” A bright light quickly enveloped the Goddess and she was gone before Ares’ chosen could say anything else.

Enraged, the Warrior Princess grunted something under her breath, keeping her hands closed in tight fists.

“What was that, Xena?” Gabrielle asked.

“Nothing.” she replied with a harsh voice, not wanting to repeat the dirty curse. “Get us rooms for the night while I go check on Argo. Then we’ll decide what to do.”

With a nod, Gabrielle headed for a near vendor’s stall to ask the man there where was the village’s inn.

**********

When she went to look for Xena, after renting a room in the local inn where they could spend the night, Gabrielle found her sitting at a tavern table, in the darkest corner of the room.

She walked there, pulled out a chair and sat down in front of a bowl of steaming broth. “Hi.” she said before she began to eat.

Xena had already finished her own broth and was devouring a plate of roast pork served with assorted vegetables. “Hello.” she said, keeping her eyes on the food.

By the Warrior Princess’ tone and expression Gabrielle could easily see she was furious with what had happened back at the Cyclops’ island. ‘She must have something serious against that Uraeus guy. I wonder…’

“Did you get us a place for the night?” Xena asked, interrupting Gabrielle’s stream of thought and looking up at her.

“Yes, I did, at the inn farthest from the port. There is another one right in the center of the village but the one I chose looked better and according to this guy I asked for directions, the food there is much tastier too. It’s okay with you, right?” the blonde asked before dipping her spoon back into the broth.

As usual, Gabrielle gave her a lot more information than she asked for, but the essential was still there. “Fine.” The she returned her attentions to the food in her plate.

Still wondering why Xena was so upset, Gabrielle decided to try to find out more about the strange God. Looking up at the warrior she asked, “You really don’t like Uraeus, do you?”

“No.”

‘Uhm… You’d think she’d elaborate on that a little. Than again, does she ever?’ But the bard didn’t give up so easily. “Do you know much about him?”

“No.”

“And still you don’t like him. Why?”

Finally Xena stopped eating and looked up at her friend’s green eyes. “Look, I just don’t think he’s trustworthy, and neither do most of the Gods. He is bitter and cruel.”

“And you know all this because…”

“Because Ares told me a little about him, while I was still at his service. They’ve been enemies for a long, long time and I’m sure Uraeus is bad news.”

“Just because Ares said so?”

“Yes! Now can we stop talking about this for a minute and eat in peace?” She returned her attentions to the food in her plate, remaining mostly quiet while the meal lasted.

Gabrielle changed the subject and to the bard’s constant chatter, Xena paid little attention and replied to her questions with one-word sentences.

When they were done, the Warrior Princess paid the servant girl and then she and Gabrielle headed out of the tavern.

It was market day in the small village and the streets were becoming busy with people coming to check out the goods the afternoon vendors were putting on display. This didn’t interest Xena much but Gabrielle always liked to find a good bargain, even when she didn’t need it.

The bard’s eyes brightened up when she saw the colorful market stands at the end of the street. “Look, Xena.” she said, pointing there. “Let’s go and check it out!”

“Why? Do we need anything?”

“No. Not really, but it’s always fun, right?” Gabrielle looked up at Xena, hoping her friend would agree.

“Nah, I don’t feel like it, but you go ahead.”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-uhm.” the warrior nodded. “Have fun there while I go out for a little exercise to clear my head - I need to think about what we’re gonna do next. I’ll meet you back at the inn later.”

“Well, if you’re sure, okay.” Gabrielle agreed. “Don’t forget it’s the inn farthest from the center of the village.”

Xena smiled a little at her friend’s concern and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Gabrielle, I’m sure I’ll be able to find it, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Fine. So I’ll meet you back at there, at dinner time, the latest. Don’t be late.”

“I won’t.” the bard assured.

“And be careful out there.” the raven-haired warrior recommended, glancing at the market down the street. “Those places are usually full of pick-pockets.”

“Now who’s worrying too much?” Gabrielle asked with a gin. “Don’t worry! Bye.” She waved at her friend and headed for the market.

Xena stood there for a while, watching the bard go. After her friend melted away into the crowd, she turned around and headed down the street in the opposite direction, going towards the edge of the village.

**********

She’d been in the market for a couple of hours already and although she was having a lot of fun, all Gabrielle actually purchased was a piece of parchment. She found a messenger in town who could carry a letter to Poteideia and decided to write to her younger sister, Lila. It had been so long since she last sent news home; they were bound to be worried about her.

She was trying to strike a bargain over a small carved hairpin when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around she saw the pirate’s familiar face. “Oh, hello, Gasgar!” she greeted him with a smile as the vendor let out a tired sigh. Was she gonna buy the darn thing or not?

“Hey, little lady! How did it go on the Cyclops’ island?” the man asked. “Obviously you made it back all right…”

“Yes, we did and we succeeded in our mission!”

“Really, what was that?”

“Now, don’t be nosy, Gasgar.” the bard said, playfully waving a finger in front of the pirate’s face. “Let’s just say you no longer need to worry about the giants.”

The man’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. “What do you mean?”

“I mean they’re dead.”

“Dead? You killed those two?” It was just too unbelievable, Gasgar thought as he eyed the young woman. ‘This little thing wasted two giants?’

“Well, not me, my friend. I guess you don’t know who she is…”

The man shook his head.

“Xena, Warrior Princess.”

“Really? Wow. I guess now it makes more sense. They say she’s meaner than a hydra.” Gasgar commented as he thanked his stars he was still alive after coming on to the raven-haired beauty.

“Hey, Xena’s changed a lot. Come with me and I’ll tell you.” Gabrielle took the pirate by the arm and walked with him as she began to tell him about her friend’s first encounter with Hercules.

Behind, the vendor was quite annoyed, realizing he’d wasted his time with the blonde. The little jerk didn’t buy a thing!

**********

By the time Gabrielle got to the inn the Warrior Princess was already there. They ate dinner and then retired for an early night.

As the inn was located on the very edge of the village, the noise of the seaport could not be heard and the sounds of the forest stretching just behind the building surrounded them. Somehow it was comforting, familiar in the way it resembled camping out under the stars as they usually did.

Xena had still been very quiet in the evening and Gabrielle left her pretty much alone. She could tell her friend had a lot on her mind, surely thinking about the best way to find Ares and return the title of God of War to him.

However, the bard did some thinking of her own and this time she did not see eye to eye with the Warrior Princess.

Xena had been acting funny for a while now, since the trouble with the Shadow-God, and it was easy to tell Ares was a lot on her mind lately - a lot more than he should be. Maybe having him out of circulation for a while would be a blessing. Like this he wouldn’t be able to stalk the Warrior Princess and she’d have the time she needed to get him out of her system once and for all.

Besides, it wasn’t like there wouldn’t be a God of War or his place would be empty for anyone to take - Uraeus was there and he didn’t seem that terrible. At least to Gabrielle he seemed a lot better than Ares and, most importantly, he didn’t have the same effect on Xena.

When they went to bed that night Gabrielle decided in the morning she would talk Xena out of her search for Ares and let Zeus handle it. After all, wasn’t that what the Warrior princess said earlier? Her only concern was the havoc the new God of War was causing, other than that, she’d let the Gods handle their own problems.

Now it was time for Xena to show she meant what she said.

**********

The day dawned cold and a bit cloudy but no rain was falling from the skies.

As usual, the Warrior Princess awoke at first light but the churning of her stomach, the worries haunting her and the cold sting of the air outside of her blankets persuaded her to stay in bed for a while longer.

Turning her head on the pillow, she saw Gabrielle still sleeping in the other bed, her eyes moving under the lids as she muttered something about not wanting to ride a horse. Her friend’s dream brought a little smile to Xena’s lips before she turned again and looked up at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh. “What now?” she whispered to herself.

The first step did seem obvious - she’d have to find and release Ares. After that it all became cloudy. Would his mere return to Olympus be enough for him to regain his place as God of War? Would Uraeus leave of his own free will if Ares were back? Could and would Hera stand up against Zeus in a Council of the Gods if that was the proper way to return Ares to his rightful place?

Too many questions to which Xena did not have answers. Hopefully, Ares would know what to do, once he was free. After all, he was constantly in trouble with his family and he always managed to fix things with them. This time should be no different, right? All she had to do was find him and return him to freedom - he’d know how to handle the rest.

At least she hoped he did…

Pulling the blanket closer to her chin she closed her eyes again and soon drifted back to sleep.

In her dreams, there he was, once more waiting to romance her back to his side. Only in Morpheus’ realm she’d offer no resistance to the handsome God’s intentions.

**********

The wind pushed the fluff clouds across the sky and created an opening through which the warm light of the sun peered until it fell on the sleeping woman’s face.

Bothered by the sudden brightness, Gabrielle woke up, fluttered her eyes and yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “Morning already…” she said with a sleepy voice.

Slowly, she sat up on the bed and stretched out her arms and legs. Throwing her blanket back, she slid to the edge of the bed and then got up and started to get dressed. When she reached for her boots she noticed Xena’s warrior boots were still there - that was a surprise! The Warrior Princess was usually up and about by the time Gabrielle got out of bed.

Puzzled, she turned around and quietly walked to her friend’s bed. There, a mane of black hair spread over the pillow was all that was visible, the blanket covering the remainder of the woman’s body.

Smiling, Gabrielle took her boots back to her own bed and sat down to put them on. “Guess I’m not the sleepyhead today!” she whispered, imagining all the teasing Xena could get when she woke up. ‘Guess being chased by two giants took more out of her than she wants to admit.’ the bard guessed, thinking back to the previous day’s events.

Deciding to wait for the Warrior Princess before going down for breakfast, Gabrielle fetched the parchment she bought in the market and her quill and started to write Lila as she waited. She had a lot to tell her sister since the last letter she sent her had been before she and Xena set off to find little Gabriel and the whole mess with the Shadow-God - a lot of adventures to write about, right?

**********

The night was clear and on the sky above millions of stars could be counted from the earth. Still, the woman was completely oblivious to the amazing beauty of the firmament, lost in the sea of sensations he was arousing in her.

Their clothes were long gone and she could feel his hands exploring her exposed flesh as their tongues parried in a long passionate kiss.

She lay back on the blanket spread on the ground, near the water well, and pulled him down with her so he’d lie on top of her.

Slowly, Ares pulled away and broke the kiss so he could look into her blue eyes.

As she looked back at him her heart melted with the vision of the love pouring from his eyes, even though his expression still revealed some confusion.

“Are you sure you want this, Xena?” he asked with a husky voice as her hands kept roaming through his muscled back.

“Yes.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead through her black silky bangs before he moved on to more intimate caresses.

Entwining her slender fingers in his curled black locks she pulled him closer, capturing his lips in another kiss as their bodies merged together under the pale light of the moon.

Xena sprang up to a sitting position with her eyes wide open, still steadying herself with her hands planted against the mattress of the bed. She was breathing heavily and sweat drops damped her flushed face.

Startled by her friend’s sudden awakening, Gabrielle scratched a black line over the letter she was writing as she dropped her quill. As she turned to face Xena she saw she didn’t seem very well. “Xena, are you all right?”

She left the parchment she was scribbling on and walked closer to her friend, kneeling down next to her bed. She thought the warrior appeared confused, maybe disoriented as she stared into the air. “Xena, you don’t look so good - are you feeling okay?”

“I think I’m gonna be sick!” the Warrior Princess said as she jumped out of bed and rushed to the room’s door, getting out with both hands covering her mouth.

**********

Alone, Xena sat quietly thinking, with her back leaning on the pillows propped up against the wooden headboard. She rested as she waited for Gabrielle to return with breakfast - her friend insisted on bringing the food up to the room so she could stay in bed until she was feeling better.

She told the worried bard it was just a nightmare that made her sick and when Gabrielle asked what was it about, she said she didn’t remember. She wondered if the bard believed the little lie. Probably not, her younger friend was quite smart.

‘A nightmare… I wish! If only it was a nightmare I wouldn’t be in trouble. The problem is it’s not a nightmare but a dream, a wonderful dream.’ the Warrior Princess mused. ‘Ares is my enemy now and also what the most dreaded part of myself so why can’t I just hate him? He’s done me so much harm and still I know he never means to hurt me and I keep remembering the good times we had in the past. But it’s not just the past in my mind, is it?’ the woman questioned herself with a little smirk playing on her lips. ‘This dream is not a distant memory, it’s as if it was happening now, or quite recently at least. Yet, it is so vivid, so real… What’s wrong with me?’

She heard Gabrielle’s steps as she approached the room and made an effort to push those thoughts out of her head.

Precariously balancing the food tray on one hand, Gabrielle let herself inside the bedroom and then closed the door behind. She walked over to the bed where Xena was reclining and carefully set the tray down. “Hi.” she said, looking at her friend. “You look a bit better. How are you feeling?”

“I’m all right.” the Warrior Princess replied, smiling at her friend. She reached for the tray and picked up a ripe apple. “It was just a nightmare that made me feel bad but it’s over now and I’m fine.” she added, before she bit the fruit.

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-uhm.” the dark-haired warrior answered with her mouth full and giving Gabrielle a nod.

“Good, you really got me worried there for a while. It’s just not like you…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t apologize! I’m just glad you’re okay.” Gabrielle said, gently brushing her fingers over her friend’s cheek. Then she started to eat too.

Soon, the tray was empty and Gabrielle placed it on the floor, at the foot of Xena’s bed.

“I’m getting dressed.” the warrior stated as she slipped out of bed.

“Don’t you think you should stay in bed for the rest of the day? You weren’t feeling well earlier and it might do you good.”

“No, I wanna get a move on.” Xena said. “Besides, I feel fine now.”

“Even so.” Gabrielle said as she sat down on the bed, watching the Warrior Princess put on the different pieces of armored leather. “One more day won’t hurt.”

Xena shook her head. “This has already been delayed much more than it should. I don’t want to wait any longer.” she said. “I want to find Ares as fast as possible so we can resolve this matter.”

“But isn’t it solved?” Gabrielle questioned. “You heard what Zeus said - all this new unnecessary violence will be put to an end.”

“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t.” the Warrior Princess said as she laced her high boots. “Frankly, I don’t trust Zeus’ word that much.”

“Uraeus agreed with him.” Gabrielle pointed out. “And right now he is the God of War.”

“I trust that creep even less. I’ll feel a lot better when Ares is back in his place.”

“Why? It seems to me Uraeus is a lot more reasonable than Ares. I actually liked the way he spoke back on the island and I don’t think you have any reason to dislike him - other than Ares’ word, that is. If things do go back to normal and all the raids and such stop, we should stay out of it.” the bard said, following her friend with her eyes as she picked up her weapons. “You said it yourself we should let Gods handle their own problems.”

“Believe me, Gabrielle, if Uraeus remains as God of War there will be problems for us as well as the Gods.”

“Why do you say that? What harm has he done?”

“I don’t know!” Xena answered with her voice rising a little. She walked to stand before the bard and looked her in the eye as she spoke. “Uraeus is an ancient God and most he’s done was way before you and I were born. However, Ares said he doesn’t like mortals much and more than once he wiped out villages for sport. He’s caused trouble in Olympus countless times - he even beat up Aphrodite once! He is very powerful, very evil and very bitter - a dangerous combination, believe me. He even does stupid thing like stealing Ares’ pet a few years back, just to cause trouble.”

Gabrielle let her eyes fall to the floor, taking in what Xena said. “All of that is Ares’ word alone, right?”

“Yes, so?”

“What do you mean so?” She looked up at Xena once more. “Why do you believe him?”

“Ares doesn’t lie to me - not really - you know that. Besides, he told me that a long time ago - Uraeus is bad news.”

“Bad news for Ares, not for us!” Gabrielle insisted. “So why should we interfere? As long as things go back to normal, we do nothing, right? Who knows, maybe Uraeus is better than Ares.”

“No! We find Ares now!”

“Why? You want to find him even if it’s not for the greater good?” Gabrielle asked. “What are your real reasons to want him free again? Do you still have feelings for him?”

“What are you talking about?” Xena started pacing along the room so she wouldn’t have to be facing the bard - she didn’t want Gabrielle realizing she touched a soft spot.

“Back on Gasgar’s ship you said when you were younger, on that first time, you weren’t in love with him but you had feelings for him…”

“I should have told you nothing.” the Warrior Princess interrupted.

“I just wonder what your real reasons are. Are you sure you’re thinking with your head?”

“Stop that!” Xena shouted, shooting an angry glare at Gabrielle but never interrupting her pacing. “Uraeus is bad news and I want Ares back now!”

“I still think Uraeus deserves a chance; if he messes up, than we free Ares.”

“No.”

“Yes, Xena. That’s the right thing to do.” the bard said in a calm, confident tone, hoping to convince her warrior friend. Then, she decided to push her luck a little and press Xena into making a decision. “Don’t forget I still have an Amazon trial to preside over on the full moon, and I want to be there before that. What I’m saying is,” she went on, “I’m staying here today but tomorrow morning I’m heading back to Amazon country. Are you coming?”

Xena froze on the spot, a little shocked by her friend’s resolution. Still, it took her just a few seconds to recover her make her own decision. She turned around and picked up Argo’s saddlebags and then walked to stand in front of Gabrielle. “You go on ahead.” she said. “I’m going to find Ares. I’ll meet you later at the Amazon village. Goodbye.”

Before Gabrielle could react, Xena was out the door, leaving her sitting there alone, still staring at the place where her friend was only a moment ago.

**********

“She paid me and left earlier this morning.” the scruffy stable boy answered Gabrielle as he gave a good brushing to a small brown gelding.

“Okay. Thanks.” Disappointed, Gabrielle turned and walked out of the smelly stable.

She hoped Xena was still there, pampering Argo or something, basically giving her time to change her mind so they’d both go and look for Ares. Not that she had changed her mind - she still believed they should leave things as they were, with the handsome God trapped away someplace where he couldn’t tempt the Warrior Princess - but she hoped to convince Xena to abandon that idea and come with her back to the Amazon village.

Now both scenarios were ruled out since she had no idea where her warrior friend was headed. She knew Xena would have to consult the oracle Narcysa but since she didn’t have a clew as to where to find her that information was of no use.

Maybe it was for the best anyway. If she went to meet up with Xena her friend would probably take that as an encouragement to her plan to help Ares. Like this maybe the warrior would change her mind and turn back.

The best thing to do, Gabrielle decided, was to go along with what she had told Xena - spend the rest of the day in the village and in the morning start back to the Amazon tribe.

**********

The golden mare galloped hard over the narrow country road, lifting a cloud of dust behind as her hooves stomped the ground below. Her raven-haired rider kept her eyes on the path ahead and her features mirrored her determination in completing her mission - she was sure she was right about the need to get Ares back to his place as God of War.

Since parting with Gabrielle and leaving the seaside village Xena had made only one stop to make sure her mount got some rest. Other than that she’d been riding hard towards the nearest temple dedicated to the God of Love.

She remembered Iris said Cupid was involved in the attempt to restore Ares to his place so she figured the small temple would be a safe place to summon Hera’s messenger.

In the middle of the afternoon she sighted the building, located at the center of a flower garden, which, amazingly, was still in bloom at that time of year.

As soft rain pelted the earth there was no one in sight, with the exception of a young boy who rushed into the temple, carrying a heavy amphora. ‘Good.’ the woman thought to herself. ‘Right now, I don’t have the patience for young sweethearts in search of blessing for their love or sexual escapades.’

She guided the mare at a slow pace through the garden’s paved trails, doing her best to ignore the intense scent of the flowers, which, instead of being pleasantly inebriating were making her nauseous.

Before the temple’s entrance she halted Argo and dismounted, then tying the leather reins to the branches of a decorative tree growing there.

As soon as she entered the temple a scantly dressed young priest walked suggestively to her, with a smile on his lips. “Welcome to our temple, beautiful warrior.” he said in a sweet manner. “Do you bring an offering to the kind God of Love?”

“No, no I don’t. I came to offer my prayers.” she lied. “I could use some privacy…”

“Of course.” the young man said with a nod, never wiping the annoying smile off his face. “I’ll be out in the back but if you need any kind of assistance, please, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thanks, I won’t.” she said, returning a fake smile.

The priest gave her a wink before he turned around and walked away, disappearing behind a painted door.

“Idiot!” the Warrior Princess muttered, still looking at the door. Then, she let her eyes survey the room and when she was sure she was in there alone, she closed her eyes and whispered the messenger’s name. “Iris.”

In an instant a shower of sparkles appeared before the warrior woman and Iris materialized out of nothing. Even after the brightness of her arrival faded, colorful shades of light kept flying across the room as the fire of the candles burning near the altar reflected off the jewels adorning the Goddess’ dress. “Hello, Xena. You called?”

“Iris, I need your help.” The Warrior Princess spoke with an urgent voice and stepped closer to the Rainbow Goddess.

“Tell me what you wish, Xena. I know you tried to set things right and get rid of Uraeus by giving Zeus the thunderbolt back. It didn’t work and we’ll be stuck with Uraeus, at least for a while but still we are in your debt.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not about to give up!”

“You’re not? But Zeus said…”

“Who cares what that old jerk said!” she interrupted the Goddess, who found Xena to have just about as much respect for the King of the Gods as her mentor did. “I’m still gonna make sure Ares gets back to his place so we’ll be rid of Uraeus.”

“So you want the location of the oracle, I presume?”

“You presume right, Iris.” Xena said. “I’ll go see this Narcysa and find Ares but in the meantime I want Strife, Discord, you and everyone else to act as if you are indeed stuck with Uraeus as God of War, okay? He can’t suspect a thing until we have Ares ready to fight him.”

“All right.” Goddess nodded.

“Good, now how do I get to Narcysa?”

“I don’t know, I have to get a map from Ares’ fortress.” she replied.

“Go then!” Xena urged.

“I will. And Xena, thanks for not giving up.” Iris said before she dematerialized from that place.

Left alone, waiting in the God of Love’s cheery temple, Xena lazily strolled to the altar and sat up on the polished pink marble stone. Sighing impatiently, she turned her attentions to a golden bowl filled with cherries someone left there and started picking on the fruits. Surely they came straight from the Gods’ orchards - where else would you find cherries in such weather?

A moment later, Iris returned to Cupid’s temple, materializing in the exact same spot where she was before.

“Finally!” the Warrior Princess said, even though the Goddess of the Rainbow hadn’t taken long at all.

She jumped down from the altar and with two giant steps got close to Iris. “Did you get it?” she asked.

The bright messenger nodded and handed the mortal woman a rolled up scroll. “Here it is, Xena. That scroll has a map showing the way to the oracle.” she said.

The raven-haired warrior opened the scroll and ran her eyes over the colorful markings there. “I know the territory.” she said, still looking at the map. Then, she rolled the scroll again and gave it back to Iris. “It shouldn’t take me long to reach the place.”

“And you don’t need this?” the Goddess asked, referring to the map.

“No.” Xena answered. “I know where it is now. You better take the map and put it back in a safe place.”

Agreeing, Iris nodded.

“Once I get there, what am I supposed to do?”

“Well,” the Goddess started, looking at the God of War’s chosen, “there’ll be someone at the entrance of the building. You’re supposed to tell that person you wish to see Narcysa because you have a question for her. They say there’s a challenge you must take before you consult the oracle.”

“What kind of a challenge?” she interrupted.

She shrugged. “That I don’t know, Xena, since Narcysa doesn’t talk to Gods.” Iris replied, before she went on. “When you do see her, just ask where Ares is.”

“Right. And while I look for Ares and when I do find him I don’t want Discord or Strife or even you showing up or spying on me, got that? I want nothing to draw Uraeus’ attention so that Ares can catch him off guard.”

“Of course, Warrior Princess.”

“Good. Now go back to Ares’ fortress and I’ll get on my way.” With large, determined steps, Xena walked out of the temple and mounted Argo, then galloping away towards the oracle’s place.

With a flash, Iris too left Cupid’s temple so that when the young priest returned, the place was deserted.

**********

The young woman stood before the open window as her eyes surveyed the darkness. Heavy raindrops fell from the sky since the end of the afternoon and dark clouds turned the night pitch black. With a sigh, she closed the wooden shutters and walked to the bed, sitting there.

‘She’s not turning back tonight.’ Gabrielle thought as she blew out the single candle lighting the inn’s room, then she lay down under the covers.

With her eyes still open, she stared up at the blackness of the ceiling, wondering if she had done the right thing.

‘What if Xena is right in believing Ares this time? Could Uraeus really be worse than him? Ares is a real creep but I suppose that’s a requirement to be a God of War; Uraeus seemed nicer, more reasonable, but that was all talk. What do I really know about him? Nothing! Now Xena’s gone Gods know where and I can’t go to her. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her because I wasn’t there to help…’

She turned in bed and fluffed her pillow, trying to get comfortable, before she covered herself better with the blankets.

‘Then again, what are the odds Uraeus will make a worse God of War than Ares? Very slim, I bet. Xena’s probably just acting on the influence Ares still has over her or some left over loyalty she still feels towards him. Yeah, that’s probably it. Hopefully, out in the woods alone with Argo, she’ll have the chance to think things over and realize she’s wrong. With a little luck, she’ll turn back and catch up with me even before I reach Amazon territory. Yes, that’s what’ll happen.’ Gabrielle told herself.

Then, she closed her eyes and decided to get some sleep.

A minute later the bard’s eyes flung open. ‘And if I’m wrong? What if Xena’s feelings for Ares are indeed deeper than that? What if it’s more than just reminiscing old times? She did like spending time with him when she was poisoned recently, didn’t she? Could that have made those memories more vivid or make her realize he still has a special place in her heart? Gods, did I refuse to help Xena save someone she cares about?’

She tossed in bed until she was facing the opposite direction. ‘No, that’s impossible. He’s her enemy now - she said so. It’s just the past that still has some hold on her. Yeah, that’s it.’ Gabrielle tried to convince herself before closing her eyes once more.

**********

Finally, she found a place in the thick forest where she and her mount could take shelter from the persistent pesky rain. It wasn’t a man-made roof, not even a cave, just an assemblage of dense-leaved trees that allowed very little water to come through their foliage and actually hit the ground. It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do.

The Warrior Princess dismounted and then removed her mare’s saddle and bridle. “How’s that girl? Feel better?”

As a reply, Argo snorted something at her mistress before shaking the water off her golden coat, sprinkling some of it on the woman.

“Thanks.” Xena said, eyeing the mare with a scowl. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She patted her animal on the neck and let her go free to graze about.

She would have liked to start a fire but all the wood around was too damp to burn. ‘Guess I’ll have to settle for the cold and the darkness.’ the woman thought as she sat down on her blanket. Pulling Argo’s saddlebags closer, she searched the contents until she found what she was looking for. ‘Should have stopped for supplies.’ Letting out a little disappointed sigh she unwrapped the meager portions of bread and cheese and started to eat.

When she finished her meal, Xena rolled up in her blanket and reclined against her mare’s saddle. Closing her eyes, her thoughts drifted to the dear friend she left back on the seaside village. ‘I think I was too hard on her. Maybe I should have tried harder to convince her that I’m right. She could be here with me now… The again, maybe it’s for the best that she isn’t. This could get dangerous and for once I don’t need to worry about her safety - that’s good, right? Right. Besides, Ares hates her! It would only complicate things if she were around. He must still be really fed up with her, after spending that time with Gabrielle and me while he was mortal. Yes, it’s for the best she isn’t here. I still miss her though.’

She was about to go to sleep when a heavy drop of water hit her right on the forehead, startling her wide awake. “Great.” she said out loud. Pulling on her blanket, she covered her head too and hoped now she could get some sleep.

**********

In the next morning, Gabrielle checked out of the small inn and decided to start on her way to the Amazon land. Before leaving, she still took a hopeful look down the road to see if Xena was returning but she saw no sign of her best friend so she got on the move.

Luckily, she got a ride on the back of a hay cart, which made the beginning of her journey a little easier. It wouldn’t take her that far but hey, it was half a mile less she’d have to walk! When, further ahead, she stepped down from the cart and said goodbye to the nice farmer who gave her the ride it started raining again.

“Wonderful!” Gabrielle ironically said to no one in particular, pulling her cloak out of her bag and putting it on, hood included. “The rain Gods must be against me.” she added as she started to walk down the road using her war staff as a walking stick to help her avoid the muddy puddles.

**********

The Warrior Princess started traveling at first light and managed to make good time all through the day. When dusk came she reached the village preceding the oracle’s home.

She led Argo at and easy canter through the village’s street and stopped near a vendor, buying there the supplies she might need during the remainder of her journey. Then, she stabled her mount in a nice establishment and got herself a room at the local inn.

In the morning she’d cross the river and finally go see Narcysa. Then, go and find Ares. After that, she didn’t have a clue, she only knew the outcome had to be the replacement of Uraeus with Ares as God of War.

Xena ate supper in a dirty tavern and then retired to her room, hoping to get a good night’s rest before seeing the oracle. After all, there could still be some sort of challenge she might have to take before questioning Narcysa.

Already in bed she found it very hard to go to sleep, her mind too busy worrying about Gabrielle, Ares, Uraeus and the fights still to come.

**********

The night’s wind blew most of the rainy clouds away so when the sun first peered into the horizon the day dawned pleasantly bright.

With the first light, little sparrows flew to the village’s only inn to feast on the bread crumbs the keeper would lay out for them each night. Their shrill chirping and fluttering wings as they bickered over the food awoke the warrior whose room’s window overlooked the plate of crumbs.

When she opened her eyes Xena saw dawn had already arrived. She yawned, stretched her arms and legs and then got up, proceeding to put on her clothes and armor. After festooning her breastplate in place she collected her weapons and the rest of her belongings and left the small room.

Just like Xena’s mother always did, that inn’s keeper was up with the first song of the rooster and when the warrior came down she was already getting ready to cook breakfast for the few clients who’s stayed over that night.

“Good morning.” Xena said as she approached the high wooden counter, at the same time dropping the saddlebags on the floor.

The plump woman working behind the counter was slightly startled by the greeting - clients weren’t usually up at that hour. She quickly turned and faced the tall woman with a smile on her face and wiping her hands on her apron. “Hi there, good morning. You’re up early…”

“Yes, I need to get an early start today.”

“So you’re checking out already?” the innkeeper asked.

“Yes, but I was wondering if I could get some breakfast first.”

“But of course.” the woman said. “You just sit over there,” she pointed at a small square table with two wooden chairs beside it, “and I’ll have your food ready in an instant.” She turned around and headed off to the kitchen.

“Thanks.” the warrior said.

She walked to the table the innkeeper had indicated and sat there, looking out the window at the sparrows as she waited for her meal to come.

A while later, the chubby woman came out from behind the counter, carrying a round metal tray. Then, she placed on Xena’s table a several plates and bowls filled with a variety of fresh fruits, deserts, eggs and salads, as well as two jugs, one containing milk and the other wine.

“There you go.” the keeper said. Before Xena could protest against the amount of food, she added, “On the house. Just a small thank you for your help last night.”

The innkeeper was referring to Xena kicking out of the establishment a guy who was causing trouble on the night before. Nothing much for the Warrior Princess but, apparently, the older woman was impressed.

“There’s no need…”

“I know you didn’t ask for anything,” the innkeeper interrupted, “but please, let me do this small thing to express my gratitude.”

“All right.” The Warrior Princess returned the smile and while the other woman went back to work she began savoring her meal.

**********

A couple of hours after sunrise, the raven-haired warrior rode her golden mare out of the village, heading towards the river - she knew she’d have to cross to the other side to see Narcysa, the oracle.

Looking at the sky above she was pleased to see the previous days’ clouds had mostly scattered. There was a cold breeze blowing but she still preferred that to the rain.

After a short ride along a dirt road, she sighted the river. Docked on the margin was a wooden barge that would take her across. With a pull on the leather reins, she slowed her golden mount to a canter and approached the bargee, a middle-aged man with a graying long beard.

“Good morning.” she greeted him from the top of her mount. “How much to carry me and the mare across?”

The man asked a reasonable price so, a moment later, the barge was on its way, carrying the Warrior Princess and a very uneasy Argo. The mare definitely did not like the unstable feel of the wooden structure floating over the river’s water.

Fortunately, the distance to cover wasn’t that large and soon they were back on solid ground.

“See, it wasn’t so bad, was it, girl?” the woman said as she patted the mare on the neck.

Argo simply replied with a snort.

Xena thanked the man, who took the barge back to the other margin and then mounted her mare, starting to head towards the thin tree line, behind which Narcysa’s place was located - at least according to the map Iris had shown her.

**********

The most impressive thing about that place was the white statue of a sitting lioness, maybe erected there to guard it from attackers.

Behind it, a short, roughly paved path lead to the door of the only building in the clearing. It was nothing much, just a small square construction, though it did look a bit weird with its flat roof and dark carved wood walls. It kind of reminded Xena of an old jewelry box her mother kept I her bedroom and she had this strange feeling the roof might pop open at any time, like a small cover, and reveal its treasure hidden inside.

Since that didn’t happen, she guided her mare towards the building, dismounting near the lioness’ statue. She walked the rest of the way and stopped before the door.

She was about to knock when the door opened and out came a short man, wearing a long dark blue tunic with a white belt around the waist. “Hello.” the man said with a smile. “I am the Guardian. What can I do for you, warrior?”

Thinking back to the Goddess of the Rainbow’s words, Xena answered, “I wish to see Narcysa. I have a question for her.”

The old man’s smile seemed to momentarily widen a little, as if he expected that answer - he probably did. “Naturally.” He stepped aside, inviting the tall woman in. “Go right ahead, warrior. You must find the Gatekeeper and she’ll give you the key to open the door to Narcysa’s chamber.”

Being in a bit of a hurry, the Warrior Princess walked right in, only to find herself before another door. Turning to face the Guardian, she arched a questioning dark brow at him.

“Right through there.” he said, pointing at the second door.

He watched Xena open it, but before the woman walked through, he called her. “Warrior.”

She stopped and looked back at him, wondering if it were now he would issue the challenge. Iris mentioned there might be one.

“Just ignore the other folks you might encounter there; they have their own path to follow before they go before the great oracle, Narcysa.”

“All right. Thanks.” Then, the woman turned to the second door again and went through, arriving at a long dark corridor, gently slopping down.

‘Path to follow…’ she was thinking as she descended. ‘That sure sounds like some difficulties might lay ahead, now if it’s a fight type of challenge, a mental challenge or just a maze to find the exit, I don’t know. Hey, maybe I’m lucky and it’s neither! Maybe the guy just likes to talk cryptic to frighten those coming.’

Soon, a flickering light started to show at the end of the corridor and as the Warrior Princess got closer to it, she realized by now she was walking in a man-made construction below the ground level.

The corridor opened in a concave ceiling room, lit by a number of burning torches. All though Xena couldn’t spot it, she was sure there had to be some sort of chimney in there, allowing the smoke to go out, because the air in there was still fresh.

At the end of the room there was a single arched door, leading to some dark place, and in a corner, two men dressed in common attire whispered to one another. They paid the raven-haired woman no attention so she decided to ignore them too. ‘Some of the people the Guardian said I might find, I guess.’

Continuing on her way, she headed for the exit of that room and found herself in a dark cave.

She had to go down a few steps roughly cut on the rock and as her eyes adjusted to the new darkness she realized the place was full of all sorts of disgusting little creatures. Big fat gray rats crossed the floor running, letting out annoying shrieks now and then and looking up she saw a few bats hanging up side down from the ceiling of the cave.

‘Gods, don’t let them wake up… You’re gonna pay for making me go through this, Ares!’

She began crossing the room, avoiding the ugly-looking lizard she spotted just on the bottom of the steps.

The cave ended at a small gap in the rock, covered with spider webs, and led to another dark place.

With her hand, the woman removed most of the sticky webs, her face contorting in disgust. She wiped the stuff off on her leather skirt and then, with some difficulty because she was tall, she passed through the narrow gap and found herself at one end of a tunnel, along which she immediately began to walk.

“I don’t have the time for this!” the warrior said to herself as the tunnel seemed to be never-ending. If the challenge was indeed to find her way out of a maze she could be in there for ages! That was not acceptable - Uraeus would only consolidate his position as God of War in that time. She had to hurry…

Finally, it forked in two; one wide tunnel lit with candles placed on elaborate bronze holders and the other smaller and darker.

Paying more attention, she heard a faint voice coming form the smaller tunnel.

‘It always has to be the hardest one.’ she thought, letting out a sigh and following the sound.

As she got closer, the words spoken became clearer and she started to advance with silent steps, so she could sneak up on the scene.

“No, please. Please!” the voice was saying, sounding truly desperate to Xena. She’d head that kind of plead many times before during her warlord years and she could recognize the terror in the way the man spoke. As a reply, it seemed to get no more than strange unintelligible grunts.

As the narrow tunnel approached its end, the voice kept begging for mercy and the Warrior Princess pulled her sword out of its scabbard on her back, preparing for the worse. ‘That poor man is in serious trouble.’

Peeking inside the place where the tunnel widened into a small chamber, the woman gasped in horror of what she saw.

At the center, a small flickering fire burned and behind it, tied between two wooden stakes somehow stuck into the rock floor, was a man, already stripped of most of his clothes and bleeding abundantly. Deep cuts were visible, spread throughout his entire body, but the most serious would was being inflicted at that moment by one of his five captors as he prepared to start stripping him of his flesh.

A lump suddenly formed in the Warrior Princess’ throat as she looked on them and felt the surge of fear. ‘The Horde!’

Of all the enemies she’d done battle with, these wild men were among the few that actually frightened her to the core. By now, she had encountered them in a more civil, friendlier manner and learned the weren’t completely savage, but even so… It was Gabrielle who could find goodness in everyone, she still found it a little hard to see beyond their wild manners, completely different of her own.

The thought of just walking away did cross her mind, but she couldn’t just leave that poor man to suffer at the hands of those barbarians.

Gathering her courage, she tightened the grip on her sword and shouting her powerful battle cry she stormed into the chamber.

Wielding her weapon fiercely, she sent the first member of the Horde to the other side with a deep cut, running from the middle of his chest all the way to his hip.

Alerted, the others shifted their attention from the man they were torturing to the warrior woman who attacked them. They spread out through the chamber and pulled out their weapons, getting ready for the fight.

After disposing of the first enemy, Xena’s eyes fell on the trapped man. Blood covered his all body and a crimson pool formed under him. His head had already fallen back and his half-closed eyes had a glassy stare that left no room for doubts or hopes - he was dead.

Seeing the lifeless victim made the Warrior Princess remember just how cruel the Horde could be. The sight of her own men stripped of their flesh brisked through her mind - also then she’d been too late to help. She’d heard their cries of agony but when she reached them it was over, they were dead and the Horde gone. Today it was no different.

She felt an overwhelming rage rise and take over her as the remaining four enemies started advancing and she gladly gave into it, feeding it and letting it take control of her actions.

The first man decided to attack the warrior woman from a distance, throwing his awkward battle-axe at her.

Xena easily caught his weapon in her free hand and threw it back at him with a vengeance, killing him in a second as it sunk deep in his skull. She then advanced to the other three Horde men, displaying a devilish grin on her face, now that she was enjoying the kill.

The men seemed a little uneasy but they didn’t try to run and got ready to fight her.

With her sword raised, she prepared to cut down another man before he had time to react when suddenly a bright white light flashed in the chamber, forcing her to close her eyes.

When the brightness was gone she opened her eyes again ready to evaluate the enemy’s position again - but they were gone. Xena was alone in the chamber.

“What?” The Warrior Princess’ stance immediately changed from offensive to defensive as she surveyed the small chamber, seeing if there was any place they could all have gone to. There wasn’t.

It was all gone, the dead prisoner, the warriors she was fighting, the Horde man she had already killed, even the blood that covered her and the ground - gone, vanished. Even the two wooden stakes had evaporated. Only the fire remained, burning at the center of the chamber.

She spun around, waiting for them to jump out of the ether or something but noting happened.

A moment later, she decided they weren’t coming back and her sword away. They had probably never been there in the first place. “It was just a trick.” she said out loud to no one but herself. “An illusion as part of the challenge or just someone’s sick idea of a joke.”

Turning around, she doubled back through the narrow tunnel until she came to the spot where the path forked. There, she took the wider one now, hoping she wouldn’t take much longer to find the oracle.

Rows and rows of candles lit the tunnel until it came to an end at a gold-plated door with a large lock keeping it shut.

Beside the door a girl was standing, wearing a white tunic and a friendly smile. “Hello.” she said to Xena.

The Warrior Princess eyed her with suspicion, given what had just happened with the fake Horde men, but decided to be nice for the time being. “Hello.” she simply said in return. “Who are you?”

“I am the Gatekeeper.” the girl replied.

‘Finally!’ Xena got closer and looked down on the girl. “Is this the door to Narcysa’s chamber?”

The girl nodded. “Yes. Here is the key, the oracle says you may go in.” She took her hand from behind her back and stretched it out to the warrior woman. When she opened her little fingers she displayed a metal key in her hand.

Xena picked it up and faced the door, paying no more attention to the girl, now that she had what she wanted. She put the key in place and easily gave it a gentle turn, feeling the lock move as she did it.

Pushing back the door she found herself before a stone staircase going up into a place where the sunlight was already visible.

“Narcysa, you better have the answer to my question.” the woman whispered as she started going up the steps.

**********

Near mid-day the sun shone bright over the forest, the few thin clouds sprinkling the sky not being enough to shield the earth from the warming light.

Below, a young woman walked with determined steps, knowing her way through the tress. She wasn't in a hurry but the worries in her mind somehow made her walk a little faster than she normally would and prevented her from really appreciating the beauty of nature surrounding her.

Perched on the tree branches above, two figures, one with dark and the other with light hair, watched as she came into their land, already having her in the aim of their arrows.

"It's Queen Gabrielle." the youngest one said, recognizing the woman walking below.

As they started to move in the tree branches, the rustling they made alerted the other young woman she was no longer alone. Remembering the old Amazon peace sign, she leaned her war staff against her shoulder and clasped her hands together, high above her head. She knew it wouldn't be long until the warriors approached her.

The two Amazon guards jumped down from the trees and landed on the ground, just before Gabrielle. They were both wearing animal Amazon masks that covered their faces so the bard couldn't tell who they were right away.

"Welcome home, Queen Gabrielle." the taller Amazon said, as she pulled back her mask, revealing her identity.

The bard smiled at the woman and greeted her, holding her forearm. "Hello, Solari."

Taja, the younger Amazon, also uncovered her face. "Welcome home, my Queen." she said with a respectful bow of her head. "Where's Xena?"

"She, uhm… she had to take care of something but she'll join us later." she answered as the three started walking back to the village. 'I really hope she's already heading this way…'

As they went along Solari and Taja told Gabrielle of what happened since she left and they were glad to report the wave of raids and pointless attacks had ended.

'Uraeus did keep his word and put an end to the unnecessary violence - could that mean Xena is indeed wrong? I wish I knew…'

**********

As she reached the top of the stairs, the Warrior Princess realized she was right back where she'd started from, in the small square building with the dark carved wood walls. She found herself in a small room with poor furnishings, where an old woman sat near the window, bending over her needlework.

'Can that be Narcysa?' she wondered as she studied the woman, but before she had the chance to ask, the crone spoke.

"Hello, Xena." she said, without lifting her eyes from her needlework.

The warrior's brown knitted in a frown as she stepped closer to the older woman. "How do you know my name?" she asked.

The crone smiled and finally set the fabric she was working on aside so she could face her visitor. "I am Narcysa, the oracle. Don't you think I should at least be able to know the names of those coming to consult me?"

The Warrior Princess did not reply.

"Of course I know your name." Narcysa added. "I just didn't know if you'd actually get here, if you could make through, from the Guardian to the Gatekeeper. I'm glad to see you have."

Xena didn't think the way there had been that hard; nonetheless, it had been quite unpleasant. "Yes, I have. What was that all about, anyway?"

"You mean your encounter with the Horde?"

The raven-haired warrior answered with a nod.

"It was necessary to see if you can handle the information you came to seek, if you can deal with the God you're searching for." She paused for a moment and then went on. "You've proved that you can." she said, pointing at Xena. "You were brave and selfless enough to fight for that man, even though you fear the Horde."

Xena listened attentively to Narcysa's words, standing a little uneasy before the old woman. 'How does she know what I fear?' she wondered. 'Hopefully it's because she is a good, reliable oracle and she'll give me the answer I need.'

"You have a good heart, Xena," Narcysa went on, "but a heart also filled with the darkness it takes to deal with the one you search for - you proved that with what you did when you thought the man was dead."

"So you know which God I'm searching for?" she asked, trying to get to the point.

"Of course. And if I didn't, it would be easy to guess." the old woman said. "Who would the Warrior Princess want to see but the God of War?"

"So tell me where I can find him!" Xena demanded to cut through the small talk, not realizing she was being rude to the woman.

Narcysa wasn't offended, of course. She could understand the warrior wanted the answer she came for, so she smiled as she looked up into her sapphire-blue eyes. "There's a river close by, do you know where it is?"

"Yes." Xena replied with a nod. "I had to cross it to get here."

"You'll have to go back to it and follow along its course until the place where it flows into a bigger river. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Have you got a horse, warrior?"

"Yes."

"So, I'm guessing, it'll take you until tomorrow morning, even a little before that, to reach the place - that is if you don't stop for the night." she added. "There, where the two rivers join, that's where Ares is, trapped in a brazen box made by the God of the Forge, sunk under the water."

"All right, thanks." Xena said, just before she turned her back on the old woman and heading out the second door in the room.

As she was stepping outside she still heard Narcysa say, "Good luck, Warrior Princess!"

She realized she was on the side of the square building opposite to the one she'd entered not that long before. She circled the wooden construction and immediately spotted Argo, still standing close to the stone lioness, where her mistress had left her.

With a smile on her lips, she raced to the animal.

"Hey girl!" Xena said as she climbed on to her mare's saddle. "I want to get to Ares before the night is over. Are you up for a hard ride?"

A loud whinny followed by a strong snort was the golden mare's response, which Xena interpreted as a yes.

"Good. Come on, then, yah!" She spurred her mount to a gallop and in an instant they were gone from Narcysa's clearing, heading back towards the river and then following along side it.

**********

It seemed like forever since she started wandering about in the gloomy depths of Tartarus, but it really hadn't been that long. Certainly nothing when compared to the time she spent in the area located even below the part of the Underworld that was reserved to the wicked; that place made Tartarus look like the Elysian Fields! Finally escaping it seemed like the realization of a dream - she believed she'd be free again. Now, she was having her freedom denied because she couldn't do something as simple as escape Hades' realm!

If only she had her powers, moving up into the world above would be child's play, but like this… Maybe they'd come back in time, after all, she'd only lost them after being locked up down there for long.

More than once she came close to an exit from the land of the dead, but there was always a guard standing there, one she could not defeat in her weakened state. She didn't even try to fight any of them - she was too afraid. Surely if she were spotted wandering about in the Underworld she'd be trapped back where she came from, or in some other place if Hades could not find out from where she'd escaped.

That was too big of a chance to take. She hadn't come this far only to be trapped again. No, this time she'd regain her freedom!

But, and in spite of all the encouragement she gave herself, she was truly beginning to despair, lost in that maze below the earth.

Finally, after what it seemed like the longest time, she spotted what might be her way to freedom.

It appeared to be some crack caused by a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, or some other convulsion of the earth, and it went up, out of her sight. The fresh air coming through it made her hope it might lead t the world above.

Cautiously, case another of Hades' guards was around, she started climbing up that crack. The rock was very hot in some places and it scorched her hands and bare feet, but she wasn't about to let that slow her down.

Freedom would soon be hers!

**********

After arriving to the Amazon village, Gabrielle was informed she was just in time to preside over a preliminary meeting, already preparing for the trial of the two Roman men who had been captured. There had been so many troublesome accounts lately - probably due to the change of God of War - that all needed to be reviewed to find out in which of them, if any, could Cassius and Gaius be involved. To add to that there was still Amoria's claim that they should be punished because of the attack on her own village, regardless of the fact it had occurred in Libya and the odds of those men being there being incredibly slim. But, Amoria was still an Amazon Queen so she had to be heard.

As regent, it would be Ephiny's place to preside over it all but since the rightful Queen arrived, it was now both her right and her duty to do it. There was no way Gabrielle could get out of it.

The meeting was held in the largest hut in the village, a place reserved only for special occasions such as big celebrations, meetings with other tribes and, of course, also trials.

The two accused were chained in a visible place, watched closely by a few well-armed Amazon guards.

The seats in the room were reserved to the high-ranked women while the rest stood around the room as they heard everyone speak.

To Queen Gabrielle was appointed the central, most elaborate seat, slightly elevated in comparison to the others, and decorated with colorful feathers and sharp animals' teeth.

Before her, Cory, a red-haired Amazon, explained to all how a certain attack had taken place when she was leading a hunting party. Gabrielle, however, wasn't listening. She had too many worries in her mind to be able to pay attention to Cory's words. She was still too unsure about letting Xena go alone to search for Ares. What if it had been a mistake?

Ephiny was sitting next to the Queen and more than once she realized her friend's mind was not in that place but away, somewhere distant, most likely with the Warrior Princess. Once again glancing to her side she saw the lost, concerned look stamped on Gabrielle's face as she stared into nothingness.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before dinnertime and the regent thought it might be a good idea to take a break as soon as possible and postpone the rest of the hearing for the following day. Maybe then Gabrielle could concentrate better on the matters at hand.

She waited until Cory finished her description and then stood up, clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. "Well, it's kind of getting late so we'll stop for now and continue this in the morning, right Queen Gabrielle?" she said, stressing the name to awake the other woman from her thoughts. "Don't you think we should continue this tomorrow?" she said again, already knowing she wasn't paying attention to her first sentence.

"Uhm?" Gabrielle turned her head and looked up at Ephiny who stood next to her. "Tomorrow? Yeah, I think that's a good idea." she said, blushing a little when she realized the other Amazon had noticed her mind wasn't focused on the meeting.

"That's settled then." Ephiny spoke to the assembly. "We'll convey here again tomorrow morning."

With that, the murmur of the talks became louder as the Amazons started to disperse. Gaius and Cassius, the two prisoners, were taken away again, back to their cell.

Gabrielle too got up from her seat and prepared to leave, but Ephiny's hand on her shoulder made her stop and turn to face her friend. "Yes? Is there something wrong, Ephiny?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine." the bard replied, forcing a little smile. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Are you sure? Is everything okay with you and Xena?" Ephiny insisted.

"Yes." Gabrielle answered, giving her friend a nod. "She just had to take care of something by herself, but everything is fine."

"Good. Then why don't you come with me and we'll go have a nice dinner?"

"That's the best offer I've had all day!"

"Let's go." Ephiny placed her arm around Gabrielle's shoulder and guided her out of the hut, still feeling a little worried about her friend. She heard her say everything was all right but she knew better. There was definitely something bothering her and it was more than just missing Xena.

**********

Because Gabrielle was so down, Ephiny offered to cook her dinner in her hut and invited Nysa and Eponin to come along. She thought maybe the little gathering could cheer up the bard. She hadn't been wrong.

While she and Heba, the healer, hovered around the cooking food, Nysa entertained Gabrielle and Eponin, who was still recovering from her injury, telling them an elaborate story about a hunting party she been on with some of her Libyan sisters, which ended up in a close encounter with a cannibal tribe.

Enthralled in the other Amazon's tale, Gabrielle managed to put her worries aside for a while and actually have a little fun. But by the end of the meal, when the four women gathered by the warmth of the hearth, the look of concern was back in her eyes in spite of Ephiny's attempts to distract her.

Eponin and Nysa were too busy telling Centaur jokes - keeping the nastiest ones out for Ephiny's sake, of course - to notice Gabrielle's mind was some place else. The other two Amazons however, being a little more observant, could see that quite clearly.

Discretely, Ephiny elbowed Eponin on the arm and when she got her attention she gave a significant look in Gabrielle's direction.

Eponin frowned as she looked at the bard. "Are you worried about the trial of those two men?" she asked.

Gabrielle looked up to see all the four Amazons were now staring back at her.

"You really don't need to." Eponin went on, shifting on her seat a bit because her healing wound still bothered her a little. "I know there are some people who want to pin all the troubles here and even the Libyan attack on them but that's not gonna happen. They'll only be judged for crimes we believe they might have committed - if there are any." she assured the bard. "And even then they'll only be convicted if there is enough evidence against them."

"Right." Ephiny said, to reinforce the other Amazon's words. "You really don't need to worry."

Gabrielle, who hadn't actually been listening to the other women's words, merely smiled and, nervously curling a lock of blond hair around her finger, said, "I'd like to ask you guys' opinion on something…" She paused, thinking of the best way to go about it, and then she went on. "You see, I have this friend… and my friend is in love - or at least she thinks she's in love with someone, but I know that love is not returned."

With the subtlety of catapult fire, Eponin widened her eyes in surprise and asked her directly, "You're in love with Xena?"

Ephiny and Heba immediately glared at Eponin but the other Amazon didn't notice.

Casting her eyes down, Gabrielle blushed to a deep red but she was quick to reply. "No, of course not! This has nothing to do with me!" After regaining some of her composure she looked back up at the other four Amazons. "But it does have to do with Xena. It has to do with Xena falling for someone who is totally wrong for her, who will hurt her and who's just bad for her."

"With all due respect, Gabrielle," Nysa said, voicing her opinion, "I don't think you can judge who is or isn't good for Xena, or what's right or wrong for her. You two are so different and you don't really know what she likes in a lover…"

"Maybe we're different but it's a fact she'll get hurt!"

"Are you gonna tell us who this mysterious person is?" Ephiny asked.

As a reply, the bard shook her head. "I don't think I should. I just wanted to know what should I do to protect Xena."

"You know," Heba said, looking up into Gabrielle's green eyes, "sometimes we need to learn from our mistakes. Maybe that's the case with Xena."

**********

In the quietude of Olympus the Goddess of Love and Beauty relaxed, reclining on a pink plush long chair, as she savored little red sweets she kept picking out of a bowl placed on a little table at her side. Before her stretched a garden of solid gold and silver flowers which sparkled under the ethereal light.

As she reached out to get another sweet, she felt a strong grip on her wrist. Startled, she opened her eyes and sprang up to a sitting position, gasping with the unpleasant surprise before she could say anything.

"Hello, Aphrodite."

"Uraeus." she returned the greeting with a nod as she tried to shake his hand off her.

He, however, maintained his strong grip. "I've found you to be a little evasive these days, kind of distant. You're not by any chance planning something to find your brother Ares, are you?" he asked, giving the last part of his question a somewhat menacing tone.

"No, of course not." Aphrodite was quick to reply. "I was just relaxing here for a bit. You know how it is, a God's work is never done but we do need our quiet moments." the blond Goddess added, forcing a fake smile.

"Right…" he said as he stared down at her, not sure if he should believe her. "Maybe I'll join you, then."

"No! I mean… I was just leaving."

"Really? I think you should stay." He gave her a yank on the wrist, pulling her to her feet and ignoring her little yelp as he did so. Wrapping his other arm around her slim bare waist, he pulled her closer and lowered his face down to hers. "Maybe we could get to know each other better."

"No, I really have to go." she said, trying to release herself from his stronger grip. "Uraeus, let me go!" Aphrodite finally demanded with a scream when she felt his disgusting tale grazing against her shins.

At that moment, Hephaestus materialized there and quickly wrapped one of his unbreakable chains around one of the older God's legs, immediately giving it a strong pull that made Uraeus have to let go of the Love Goddess in order to keep his balance.

With a flash, Aphrodite transported herself next to her husband and leaned into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Pointing an accusing finger at Uraeus, Hephaestus growled "Stay away from my wife!" Then, both he and Aphrodite vanished into to ether.

**********

The sun was down for a couple of hours and still the golden mare galloped with her raven-haired rider up on the saddle. By now, Argo was starting to show the first signs of exhaustion, making her mistress realize it was time to stop but, as she realized she should be arriving at her destination soon, she pushed her mount a little further.

The efforts were finally rewarded when by the dim light if the stars the Warrior Princess sighted the second, larger river, into which the one she'd been following all afternoon flowed. "Almost there, girl!" she said to her mount to assure her she'd soon get her much needed and well deserved rest.

A moment later, Xena dismounted by the crotch of the two branches of water and immediately removed Argo's saddle and bridle, allowing the animal to approach the river and get a drink. Then, she prepared to go down into the waters in search of Ares. She removed the scabbard from her back and also her breastplates, depositing them on the ground, next to her mount's saddle. Next, all her leathers joined the pile, followed close by her high boots.

Stripped to her undershirt, she picked up her chakram from the middle of her belongings. 'I better take this with me.' she though, looking down at the metal ring in her hands. 'Just in case…'

Xena then turned around and approached the water, stopping for a moment as she looked down at the still surface. By the poor light of that night the river had a dark gray tone to it that made her suspect it was probably quite deep. "Well, at least the waters are calm." she said to the night, just before plunging into the river.

His eyes were closed at that time as he tried to rest for a moment and recover from the hurt he'd caused himself in his attempts to escape the brazen prison. Just then, a familiar sensation crept up on him and he flung his eyes open, even though the top of the box was all he could see. "Xena?" he whispered to himself as it became more evident that what he was feeling was the presence of his Chosen, slowly approaching him.

As she swam deeper and deeper into the dark waters of the river, Xena did her best to ignore the painful sting of the cold and kept her eyes open, peering through the darkness, hoping to find the brazen box Narcysa said would be there. Soon, she felt the familiar tingle the God's presence always caused on her and her search became a lot easier. She no longer had to see to find the box, all she had to do was swim towards the place where she felt Ares was.

By now she was in a depth so great that no light from the surface could penetrate in the water - total darkness wrapped around her but she kept on swimming down until her hands touched a hard metal surface. She felt her way around the object until she found a lock. 'Damn! How am I gonna get this crap to open?' She tried to think fast of a solution but the ache in her lungs for the lack of fresh air was making it hard for her to concentrate. On top of that, she could feel Ares pounding against the box and feared he wasn't all right, which ruled out the possibility of going back to the surface to find a way of opening the box and returning later. No, she had to get him out now!

She thought of looking for a rock in the river bed and use it to break the lock but decided against it - Hephaestus had made that box so that would never work. Only then she remembered the chakram she was still holding.

Feeling her way through the darkness, Xena found the weakest point of the lock and slammed the blade of her round weapon against it, without losing her grip on it.

Unfortunately, all the water she was submerged in didn't allow her to power her blows properly and she felt she merely scratched the surface of the metal lock. And now, the painful weight in her chest as she ached for a breath of air was becoming too much for her to bear.

Trapped inside the box, Ares could sense his Princess was in trouble.

"Go back, Xena! Return to the surface! Go!" he shouted as he slammed his fists against his prison. He knew, however, she could not hear him.

Outside, Xena realized she no longer had enough time to reach the surface and breathe, so she decided to give it all she had in one last attempt. She planted both her feet on the muddy ground below while she held on to the brazen box with one hand, then, she struck her chakram against the lock one last time, as hard as she could.

The power of the blow sent a violent shock through the woman's body and she let out the remaining air she still held in, feeling herself lose consciousness.

As the lock forged by Hephaestus cracked open, the lid of the box loosened and water started pouring in over the God. He kicked the brazen top off of him and was immediately encircled by the cold liquid.

As soon as he lift himself up, he searched for Xena, knowing she wasn't well. He found her immediately for she lay motionless by the side of the brazen box. Quickly, he wrapped one arm around her waist while he picked the chakram in his other hand. Then, using what power he managed to gather, he made them both vanish from the water.

Almost instantly, the couple materialized on the riverbank, not far from where Xena had taken her dive.

Fearing for the mortal woman's life, Ares turned her with her back to the ground and pushed some soaked raven tresses away from her face, before he parted her lips with his fingers. He was going to blow some air into her lungs in an attempt to revive her but he realized she had already started breathing on her own.

He leaned back on an elbow, sighing in relief as he stared adoringly at the beautiful woman. A moment later, however, he too collapsed from exhaustion, weakened as he was because of Uraeus' usurpation of his place and the confinement in the brazen box.

Argo had been watching the two familiar humans since they magically appeared on the riverbank, standing on the spot where she was grazing, at a certain distance. When the two of them lied motionless on the ground, she slowly approached them, nuzzling their heads in turn. As they remained still, she again moved away a bit, to where the grass looked tastier and returned to her munching.

**********

The night was pitch black and a cold wintry wind blew through the forest, inviting the Amazons to wrap up in their blankets as they slept. Safe for the rustling of the leaves, their village was quiet.

Alone in her hut, Gabrielle sat on the cot in the same position she was in an hour or two ago, when she stopped halfway through as she was getting undressed for bed, Heba's words still ringing in her head.

'Maybe she's right. I should let Xena rediscover for herself Ares is not good for her and she should stay as far from him as she can. She already knows that, right? She just needs to be reminded of it after he was all nice and charming to her while she was sick in his fortress. Yes, Heba is right.' she decided. 'Of course, that means I probably made a terrible mistake letting her go. I should be there for her so Ares can't try to make her forget how much she's changed these last few years. More than that, I shouldn't have let her down like that.'

Deciding she had to go back to Xena's side, Gabrielle started lacing her boots once again.

'It's true I don't know where she is now, but I bet there's one way I can find out…'

**********

It was well into the night but Ares' High Priestess was still awake. She was on her bed, reclining on a pile of pillows and cuddling one of her master's hounds who'd crawled up next to her. She was too troubled to go to sleep, wondering if Xena's plans to release their Lord were going well. She sure hoped so…

She was absently staring at the dancing flames of the candles lighting her room when someone knocked lightly on the door.

Cassandra slid to the side of the bed and sat up straight as the animal pinned his ears and wagged his tail, recognizing the person standing on the other side of the door.

"Come in." the Priestess said, fixing her platted black hair since it had been somewhat crushed against the pillows.

The door opened and Mera, a servant girl, came inside. "The Goddess of the Rainbow asked to see you, High Priestess. She is in Lord Ares' throne room."

Cassandra was puzzled by Iris' request, but she nodded and dismissed the girl. "All right, I'll go see her immediately. Thank you, Mera, you may go."

The servant girl left and, a moment later, the dark-skinned Priestess did the same.

As she entered the throne room, Cassandra saw the bright Goddess already standing there, waiting for her. "Hello, Iris. You asked to see me?"

Hera's messenger nodded and approached the mortal woman. "Yes. I need your opinion on something…"

"Yes?" Cassandra said, quiet curious to know what was that all about.

"The Warrior Princess' friend, Gabrielle," Iris started explaining, "she went to Hera's temple in the Amazon land and is praying there, by my shrine, asking to see me. Should I go?"

The Priestess frowned, a little puzzled with the situation. "Yes, I think so." she said, not too sure. "Xena might need something, right?"

"That's what I thought." Iris said. "But I wasn't sure, so…"

"Yes, you should go. Just be careful not to do anything that might alert Uraeus to what's going on. I think that's what my Lord Ares would want you to do."

"All right, goodbye then." Iris waved, as she vanished in a shower of colorful sparkles.

**********

A very long time ago, ancient Amazons had built the small temple to honor the Queen of the Olympian Gods for her help in a battle against an army led by one of Zeus' mortal sons.

It stood in a beautiful secluded clearing and, being blessed by Hera, was often visited by wonderful rare birds.

No roof covered the construction, being only a rectangular stone base with one line of columns at each side and a statue of Hera at the center. In the back, much smaller sculpted depictions of deities related to the Queen of the Gods made little shrines, also worshiped by the mortal women who dwelt in that land.

Just before the small statue of the Goddess of the Rainbow, a blond young woman was down on her knees with her eyes pressed shut as she concentrated on her prayer. She was begging Iris to appear before her because she had a question to pose to her.

She had been there for nearly half an hour when a bright flash of light broke through the darkness of the night.

Startled, Gabrielle jumped to her feet and opened her eyes, finding herself face to face with Hera's messenger who had materialized between her and the small statue.

"Hello, Gabrielle." the Goddess said, flipping her silvery hair back.

"Hi." She had seen Iris before but she was still mesmerized by the multicolored brightness constantly emanating from her. Gabrielle found it to be breathtaking. "Thank you for coming." she said, looking the Goddess over.

"I wasn't sure if I should - Xena said me and the others should keep a low profile so Uraeus doesn't suspect what's going on." Iris said, cocking her head a little. "What is it you want, Gabrielle?"

"I need to know where's Xena. I want to go to her."

"If you want to be with her, why didn't you just stay with her in the first place?"

"I…" she hesitated a little, "I thought Xena was making a mistake. I… it doesn't matter why, Iris! Just tell me where's this oracle she went to consult, please!"

"Uhm… I could do that," the Goddess said, lightly scratching her chin as she thought, "but knowing Xena I'm sure that, if all went well, she's bound to have left Narcysa's place by now, and with the information she needed. She might even have found Ares already!"

"So how do I find her?"

The Rainbow Goddess shrugged. "I don't know, but I think your best chance is to go to Mount Olympus. I bet that's where Xena's heading as soon as Ares is up to facing Uraeus."

"Thank you, Iris." Gabrielle said, gently touching the godly messenger's hand. "I'll do that."

"All right, but be careful - make sure not to alert Uraeus to what's going on!"

"I won't." the blonde assured. "Don't worry."

With a shower of sparkles that covered all the colors of the rainbow, Iris vanished into the ether again, leaving the Amazon alone.

Determined to return to Xena's side, Gabrielle stated walking back to the Amazon village to collect her belongings before leaving. "I'm sure Ephiny will understand." she said, thinking out loud. "And if I'm not back in time, I'm sure she's capable of handling the trial herself and probably do a better job at it then I ever could! And I'll leave her a note, explaining why I had to leave. She'll understand, right? Right."

**********

The feel of the warm brightness on her closed eyelids caused the woman some discomfort and, eventually, awoke her. When she opened her eyes, all Xena could see was the sky above, being mostly clear, and also the sun shining down on her.

She felt a bit confused, not quite knowing where she was and it took her some time to recall the events that brought her to that riverbank where she lay, with her stomach up.

As it suddenly all came back to her, she sprang up to a sitting position. "Ares." she whispered, some anguish tangible in her voice.

But as soon as she looked to her side she saw the leather-clad God there, also lying on his back, apparently sleeping.

The Warrior Princess sighed in relief and passed her hand through his black curls, as if to make sure it was really him and not some deceitful illusion. "It worked, the box opened…"

Satisfied he was safely resting, Xena looked around to evaluate her surroundings and saw Argo grazing nearby and the pile of her belongings just a bit to the left of where she and the God were.

She got to her feet, slowly stretching some of the numbness off her body, and brushed the dirt out of her raven hair with her hands. She realized she was still a bit wet when she felt uncomfortably cold, so she walked to her things and pulled out her cloak, which she put on, and her blanket.

Nearing the sleeping God again, she covered him with the wool blanket and then sat next to his head, looking down on him.

She thought he looked incredibly handsome as he slept, not that he didn't usually… He was indeed a very attractive guy; she'd have to be made out of ice not to be moved be him. Especially since she knew first hand just how wonderful he could be, when he wanted to. They had shared some amazing moments in the past. But now that was all gone. She left his side and cursed his name, they were enemies now. She could only have him in dreams - there was no going back.

'A good thing, that there's no going back,' the Warrior Princess thought, still with her hand tangled in his hair as she admired his features, 'I don't know if I could muster the strength to leave him again.'

Without thinking, she bent down and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss.

When she realized what she was doing, Xena's eyes widened and she abruptly pulled away, jumping to her feet and wiping her lips to the back of her hand as if to brush away the wonderful feel of him. 'Don't be an idiot, Xena!' she told herself, incredibly mad for what she'd done.

She walked away from Ares and neared her things. There, she removed the cloak and picked out her leathers and armor and began to put everything on as she reprimanded herself for what had just happened. When she was finished, the woman decided to go hunt something for them to eat, both because she needed to get busy to fight the urge to kiss him again and because she realized she was incredibly hungry.

Before leaving the riverbank she looked back at his sleeping form. "Keep in mind he's a cruel, manipulative, selfish bastard!" she told herself before turning her back and melting into the woods.

**********

Xena was proud of her catch since it only took her a few minutes to track and slay her preys - a pair of nice hares. She returned slowly to the riverbank, still expecting to find Ares asleep, but as soon as she walked clear of the trees she saw he'd moved to lean against Argo's saddle and just sat there, flashing his cocky grin at her.

"Hello, my dear." he said.

"I see you're feeling better." she said as she walked closer to him and started building a fire.

"But of course, my dear." Ares said, stretching out to brush his fingers over her arm, ignoring the murdering glare she shot his away and pulling back before she could slap him away. "Since you came running to my rescue." he added with a playful tone.

As she worked on preparing her preys for cooking she said, "You know I'm here because I believe Uraeus is bad news. No matter how much I dislike you, I still prefer you over him, as God of War."

"Or maybe you don't really dislike me and just couldn't stay away for long, my dear." he said, part of him hoping there was at least some truth to those words.

"Stop being such a jerk, Ares!" She raised her voice a little but then continued with a normal tone. "This is serious!"

"I know it is, Xena." Ares said, sitting up straight and giving his words a more grave tone, the usual bravado gone for a moment. "And I do thank you for what you've done, no matter what you're reasons were. I don't know how much longer I could stand that box."

Looking into his eyes she could see he meant what he said and that he was genuinely worried about what was yet to come. "Yeah, well, you should thank me. I had to go through a cave full of rats and spiders to find you!" she said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled as he looked back into her sapphire orbs. "And what a challenge that was for the mighty Warrior Princess!"

She returned the smile but quickly reminded herself it was Ares she was speaking to and that she should keep her distance, not losing focus on the task at hand.

She put the meat on a spit over the fire and then sat back, looking at the God again. "I'm assuming you'll be able to defeat Uraeus, now that you're free."

"I sure hope so." he answered, tilting his head slightly. "But with you by my side I'm sure he won't stand a chance. You know you and I work together in perfection, we're an unstoppable team. It'll be just like old times and…"

"Whoa!" she interrupted, looking at him with a glint of anger in her eyes. "Don't kid yourself, Ares, this is just a temporary situation, until Uraeus is out of Olympus. Then, I want you well away from me! Nothing's changed, I'm not going back to being your tool!"

"Maybe you're not coming back but you know I'm not staying away either. And by the way you were always much more than just my tool, Xena, you know that. About Uraeus," he went on, not giving her a chance to retort something unpleasant back at him, "I think the best way to go about it is start off by attacking his monsters - I'm sure he'll have some creatures around. That'll attract him down from Olympus…"

"And then you have him!" she completed. "Sounds like a plan." She turned the meat and then looked back at him. "So I go for the monsters and you wait for Uraeus to turn up, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, but be careful, Xena. Uraeus is dangerous. If he decides he wants you out of his way…"

"Don't worry. I know how to take care of myself."

"I know you do, Xena, but even so, be careful. You don't know the things he's capable of doing to both Gods and mortals."

She noticed Ares was now staring at the flames of the small campfire, a haunted look on his face, probably reminiscing events of a distant past. 'He truly fears Uraeus…' the Warrior Princess concluded as she contemplated the God.

Feeling the urge to comfort him, Xena reached out and placed her hand over his. "Don't worry. I'm sure you can handle him and kick his butt into next winter! As for me, I promise I'll be careful."

By now he had a grin back on his face and the woman couldn't quite figure out why. A puzzled expression crept up on her as she kept looking into his eyes. "What?" she finally asked.

Widening his grin, he lowered his head to look at something. "Looks like you really can't stay away, my dear."

She followed his gaze and her eyes fell on her own hand, wrapped over his. She felt her face flush and quickly pulled her hand away. "You stupid idiot!" she growled at him, turning her attention back to the meat. "And I'm not your dear!"

He smiled but said nothing, happy and even a little proud he still had such a strong effect on his Princess' emotions.

**********

Just before the sun reached its zenith, Xena and Ares started heading to Mount Olympus. They didn't want to alert Uraeus to their arrival so they traveled on horse back instead of having Ares transport them there through the ether. It took longer but it was safer.

As they got on the move the God innocently let his hand fall to the woman's thigh and then slowly slid down closer to her more intimate core.

His touch fell so good she felt her knees weaken but instead of melting to his ministrations she took what control she still had over her body and, before his hand reached its goal, she elbowed him on the ribs as hard as she could, almost making him fall off the saddle. "Try something like that again and you'll be walking all they way back to Olympus!" she threatened.

He said nothing and merely grinned as he settled himself on the saddle again. Brushing her raven tresses away, he planted a soft kiss on the back of her neck. "I'll try to behave, my dear." he said, breathing on to her skin, knowing what effect that had one her.

Ares actually enjoyed that closeness to his temptress but to Xena was incredibly hard to resist the way he always enticed her. However, making use of the focus he so admired in her, she concentrated on the road ahead and the battle to come and did her best to ignore the feeling of his body pressed against her back and the tickling of his breath of her neck. It was nearly impossible…

**********

After such a long time spent in the darkness of the lands of the dead, she finally saw the sunlight again. At first, it even hurt her eyes and she almost feared it, but at the same time, she liked it. It felt warm and safe as it gently caressed her skin and, after a while, she was able to look at the world outside, first narrowing her eyes but then taking it all in. And it was marvelous.

When her fear was mostly vanquished, she walked completely out of the crack that stretched all the way to Tartarus and started walking. The rough ground hurt her scorched feet and the air felt frozen against her body since she was wearing nothing but a flimsy tunic. Still, she was too happy to allow little things like that to bother her.

Soon she recognized where she was - at the foot of Mount Olympus - and she hid behind some rocks, still fearing the now more powerful ones who lived there.

She didn't know what to do now, but since she was so tired, she ended up by falling asleep.

**********

She was very worried about her brother but still that hadn't taken away any of her beauty. 'Looking good!' the Goddess of Love thought as she contemplated her reflection on a silver framed mirror, in her private quarters in Olympus. She was preparing to impress a certain mortal King so he would have his artisans build a new temple to honor her so she picked up a tiny bottle and perfumed her body a little. Then, she gave her blond locks a final fluffing and then stared into the mirror again. "Perfection! Wait 'til Kingy gets a load of me - he won't be able to say no. Who could resist?"

"Who indeed…" she heard a strong male voice say from someplace behind.

She turned on her heels and slammed against Uraeus who, in the meantime, transported himself close to her. To make sure she would not escape he placed one arm around her waist and pulled her body to press against his. 'Yes, you have grown into a beauty.' he thought, remembering the first times he'd seen her, as a child.

"What are you doing?" The pink-dressed Goddess' voice was somewhere between anger and fear. "You're not supposed to come here uninvited, Uraeus. Go away!"

Looking down on her, the older God ran his free hand through her long blond hair, then her shoulders, finally bringing it to rest on her back. 'Truly a feast for the eyes… and more.'

Trying to push him away, Aphrodite repeated, "Go away!"

"I think not, my beauty." he said with lust evident in his tone. "We were interrupted the other time…"

"And you're interrupted this time too!" Cupid shouted from the other side of the room before he started walking towards Uraeus. Behind him, Psyche stayed back.

Annoyed, Uraeus took hold of Aphrodite by one arm and turned to see who was there. "If it isn't the winged brat! What do you want?"

"I want you to leave my mother alone. Now!" Cupid demanded, coming to a halt before the older God.

"And who's gonna make me?" Uraeus asked in a mocking manner, moving his tail behind. "You, lover boy?"

"If I must."

Almost amused, Uraeus smirked at the God of Love. "I don't think so." To prove his point, he grabbed Aphrodite with one hand behind her head and brutally kissed her.

The blond Goddess fought to pull away as Uraeus' fangs bruised her lips, but he was too strong for her to resist.

Uncharacteristically furious, Cupid charged against the other God, planting such a strong punch on his face he pulled away from the unwilling Goddess.

Outraged, Uraeus released his hold on Aphrodite and turned around with rage pouring from his eyes. Before thinking, he backhanded the God of Love across the cheek, sending him flying across the room, to his wife's feet.

"Cupid!" Psyche shouted as she fell to her knees beside her love. As he didn't move, she pulled his head to her lap and kissed him, as Aphrodite rushed there as well. "Cupid, wake up!"

Seeing he messed up, Uraeus vanished, not wanting to cause trouble with Zeus - the King of the Gods didn't like fights in Olympus so he decided he could lust after Aphrodite some other day.

In panic, Psyche looked up at the Goddess of Love. "He's hurt!" she said, tears already flooding her eyes.

"I know." she said, caressing his feathery wings. "Go and get Paeon - he's the God who can best heal other Gods. Go, hurry!"

As Psyche rushed out, Aphrodite cuddled her son and spoke softly to him. "You're gonna be all right, baby. Don't worry, mommy's here." she said, trying to comfort him. 'Ares, you better come quick. Things here are getting really ugly…'

**********

It was the middle of the afternoon when they reached the foot of Mount Olympus and the sun already threatened to set, being so close to winter. There, Xena and Ares dismounted and she sent Argo away to make sure the mare would not get hurt in the fight to come.

Cautiously, the two warriors approached the place and crouched behind the cover of some rocks, watching the three-tailed serpent slithering around. A little behind was a giant boar and some strange looking moving skeletons.

Xena frowned at the sight, always preferring to fight against human opponents. "Are those Uraeus' monsters?" she asked the God beside her.

"Yup, at least some of them. He might have brought more. Think you can handle them?" Ares questioned, already sure of what his Princess' answer would be.

"Of course I can! Watch…"

Xena was starting to leave when he grabbed her by the arm. "No, wait!"

She stopped, turned, and gave him a questioning look, arching one brow.

"Someone's coming." he elucidated. Then, extending his godly vision, he realized who it was. "Not her…" he whined.

"Who? Who's coming?" Xena asked.

Instead of answering, he pointed in the direction the newcomer would soon arrive, from behind dark bushes.

By his annoyed but relaxed stance, the woman could tell whoever it was, was not a threat. She crouched next to him, behind the rocks again, and waited.

An instant later, Gabrielle emerged from the spot Ares indicated, being immediately greeted by her best friend's smile. "Xena!" She ran to the warrior and hugged her, releasing her a moment after.

"Gabrielle, what are you doing here?" the older woman asked, looking at her friend.

"You didn't actually think I'd let you face this battle on your own, did you?" she playfully said.

Xena's expression became more serious. "We talked about this…I thought you didn't agree with what I'm doing, so…"

"Agreeing or not, I'm still your friend," Gabrielle interrupted, "and I'm going to stand by you. If you think Ares should be the God of War," she gave him and unpleasant look which he merely ignored, "and you're willing to fight for him, I'll be by your side, no matter what your reasons are."

The last part of the bard's sentence did leave the God wondering - did Gabrielle have doubts about Xena's motives? So this was for something other than the annoying "greater good"? Still, he wasn't about to ask for an explanation.

Gabrielle's words brought the smile back to Xena's face. Placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, the warrior said, "Thanks, Gabrielle. That means a lot to me."

The bard was going to say something more but Ares spoke first. Tired of all that he let out an annoyed sigh. "Can we stop with the mushy stuff now and get on with business?"

The blonde gave him an angry glare but Xena was with him on that one.

"He's right." the Warrior Princess said. "I'm going for the serpent and you," she turned to the bard, "you go for one of those skeletons - all you have to do is pop the skull off and it's defeated. And remember, when Uraeus turns up, let Ares handle him. We are to stay out of that fight."

"Okay." Gabrielle said with a nod. "I can do that."

"And be careful." the raven-haired beauty added, looking into her friend's green eyes.

"I will."

"Good. I'll go first." She took in a deep breath and pulled her sword of the scabbard on her back, looking at the strange reptile before she got on the move.

"Good luck, my Princess!" Ares said, loud enough so his temptress could still hear him, then he watched as the woman stealthily approached the creature. Turning to Gabrielle, he said, "Your turn, bardy!" and he gave her a little push. "And try not to get in Xena's way." he added, just to annoy her.

As a reply, Gabrielle scowled at him and then turned and left to fight the skeleton she'd selected.

From his hidden spot, Ares watched as the two women started to do battle, focusing his attention on his Chosen, who was now kicking the strange-looking serpent's ass. 'My dear, you are truly magnificent…'

**********

The sounds of fighting nearby brought her out of sleep. Frightened, not quite knowing where she was or what was going on, she looked towards the mountain, recognizing it once more as Mount Olympus. And there on the foot of it, she saw monsters fighting common mortal women. Strangely enough, the mortals seemed to be holding their own against the beasts, and even turning the battle in their favor.

One of the women in particular, caught her attention. She was obviously a well-trained warrior, much more than the other. She was chopping up a three-tailed serpent with vigorous wields of her iron sword, not even seeming to find it very challenging.

But what really caught her attention was the warrior woman's looks - tall, well built, hair the color of the darkest night and eyes of the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen, much like those of a mortal man she had once loved. 'Could it be her?' she wondered. 'Could that warrior be Atrius' child?'

She really didn't know how to answer that question but she promised herself she was going to keep an eye on that mortal woman and find out. After all, she could be the one…

**********

The dieing moan of his serpent alerted Uraeus to the attack taking place.

With the power of his will he created a portal through which he could see what was going on with his creatures and was shocked with the sight of the raven-haired Princess of War removing her sword from the serpent's limp body and immediately turning to search for another opponent.

"Xena!" he growled through clenched teeth. "What in Tartarus is she doing? Taking revenge because I trapped Ares? Can she understand I'm the God of War now?"

With a though, he transported himself to the foot of Mount Olympus but, before he could head for the woman, Ares materialized before him with his sword already in hand, ready to fight.

"Hello, Uraeus." Ares said, facing the other God with a grin on his face. The look of surprise in the other one's face made him realize they had been successful in keeping their actions hidden from him up until then.

Uraeus would certainly like to avoid a direct one on one confrontation with Ares but at that time he really had no choice. Also pulling out his sword from where it was at his hip, he tried to display a cool façade. "Ares." he greeted him with a nod, taking a defensive stance with his blade crossed before him. "How did you manage to escape the brazen box I shoved you in?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" was Ares' only response, just before he attacked Uraeus with his sword.

As the two Gods began a fierce battle, Xena and Gabrielle continued their own fight against Uraeus' monsters. The Amazon had already taken down one of the unnatural skeletons, reducing him to a pile of bones, and was now fighting a second one, not too far from where the Gods were battling. As for the Warrior Princess, she had already slain the serpent and now chased the giant boar into the woods.

Up on Olympus, some of the Gods watched the fighting below, Strife, Discord and Aphrodite with more interest than most. Zeus forbid anyone form interfering so they merely waited to see who'd come out victorious.

At first, it seemed Uraeus had the upper hand but soon enough Ares proved to be more skilled in the arts of war - it was, after all, his department - and turned the battle to his favor.

Uraeus was now finding it very hard to stand the younger God's strength as he came at him in a series of strikes. He was still managing to parry off his blade but was being forced to give up more and more ground to his opponent, coming closer to where one of his living skeletons was being given a big whooping by a blonde.

As the fight went on, Uraeus understood this was one battle he was not going to win, and by the look of rage on Ares' face, he would not settle with a simple victory in the sword fight. He actually started fearing this time Ares would try to kill him or, at least, press Zeus to have him banned to Tartarus for all eternity.

Obviously, neither of those two options was very appealing to the old God so he desperately tried to figure a way out of that mess. Looking back, he saw his only chance of escape.

And with a flash, time stood still.

The birds hung motionless in the middle of the hair, as if bound by invisible strings, and the waters of the rivers halted their movement. Nearby, the animals in the forests froze as the mortal men and women remained still as statues. Only the Gods were able to continue.

At first, Ares was caught by surprise but he understood what was going on when he saw Uraeus was now standing beside Gabrielle with his sword at her throat.

For a moment, both Gods stood still, just eyeing, studying each other.

Then Uraeus spoke. "I'm going to leave, now." he said, moving his tail behind. "And you aren't going to chase me. More than that, you are going to swear, by the Styx, that you won't come into my lair."

Ares relaxed his stance a little as he kept looking to the other God. "Because you're threatening her?" he asked, pointing at Gabrielle with the blade of his sword as she stood there, unaware of what was going on. "I think you picked your hostage wrong, Uraeus. I couldn't care less if something happens to that half-wit bard!"

For a second, the other God looked uneasy, but he recovered quickly.

"Maybe not, but what would your precious Xena think if blondie here got killed because of you?" Uraeus knew it was a long shot to bet on Ares giving a damn about what one of his mortal warriors felt or thought about him, but he had to try. Besides, the Warrior Princess was very special to Ares - at least that was the word around Olympus. "Do you really want her to know you cause her little friend's death?"

Are grinded his teeth as he glared at his long-time enemy. 'Stupid irritating blonde!'

"What's it gonna be, Ares?"

**********

Gabrielle's bony opponent vanished as she was about to knock it down with a blow of her Amazon war staff. Quickly turning around, fearing it might have somehow gotten behind her, she saw it wasn't there either. More than that, neither was Uraeus - he was gone as well. Only Ares stood there, putting his sword away, as Xena headed in that direction, coming from the woods.

"What happened?" the bard asked as Xena reached her side.

It was Ares who answered. "We won; Uraeus lost. He left." he added, looking at his Chosen.

"And I guess he took his boar with him." Xena said. "It just vanished while I was chasing it."

"Yeah." Gabrielle agreed. "The thing I was fighting is gone too."

"But you did good while it lasted." Xena patted her friend on the shoulder. "I saw the way you handled those things - very nice. I'm impressed!"

"Thanks." Gabrielle said with a smile. Seeing Ares was just waiting for her to leave to speak to Xena, she added, "I'm gonna find Argo." And she slowly walked away.

Heba's words were still clear in her mind and she decided to give those two some time alone, even though she still feared Xena might give in to Ares' temptations. 'Nah, she's too strong for that, isn't she? She knows what he's like…'

Ares waited until the irritating blonde was at some distance and then walked closer to his Princess, until he was standing right behind her. "Great fighting, my dear." he said as her fondled her hair, taking in the wonderful scent of it. "I told you he was no match for you and I together."

"It wasn't that hard…" She leaned into his touch until she realized she was enjoying it a little too much, which made her step away and turn around to face him. "So, does this mean you're the God of War again?"

"Yup." he answered. "Although there'll probably be some official announcement later, at a council or something."

"Good."

"Yes, definitely! Thank you, my dear." he said with a gentle caress to her cheek.

She felt her body reacting to his touch but did her best to keep that hidden. "Yeah well, no problem - as long as you know I did it for the greater good." she said, more to convince herself than him.

"Whatever." He grinned, seeing right through her, since he knew her so well.

"Just try to stay out of trouble all right? I'm tired of helping you lately!" She paused and then added, "Guess I'll see you around…" She waved goodbye and started to walk away.

"Oh, you can count on it, my dear." the God said, making sure she could still hear him and making her lips curl up in a smile. With that, he vanished into the ether, looking for Strife to make sure he was indeed back from the dead.

Xena happily returned to Gabrielle's side and the two women walked away, followed close by the Warrior Princess' golden mount.

**********

His father, the King of the Gods, decided to make the announcement that Ares was the God of War that same afternoon - all the best for Ares who liked to have that whole thing dealt with and put behind him as soon as possible. The old guy didn't mention the trouble he'd caused with Jerkules in the Underworld recently, so Ares hoped that too was in the past. Fortunately, Zeus had a short memory for such things, especially when Hera started nagging him about it. This time, that was the case. The Queen of Olympus didn't like her husband's attitude at all, using the problems with Uraeus to punish Ares for harming the son Zeus had begotten on the mortal Alcmene. Hera liked Hercules even less than Ares did…

The God of War met with Strife later, rejoicing in the fact his useless nephew was alive once more. Of course he didn't share that with him. He didn't want the little jerk to know he actually liked him - that could be seen as a weakness. He gave him a simple "Glad to have you back." and "You're gonna have to tell me all about that being dead stuff.", hiding is deepest feelings, as usual. He ordered Discord to keep an eye on Strife for a while, to make sure he was really okay. She said she didn't like it, of course, but she had no choice but to obey her older brother.

That evening, Ares dined with Aphrodite in his fortress, having to listen to her recount all the troubles Uraeus had caused, how he lusted after her and how he'd even hurt little Cupid. He didn't mind, he actually missed his sister's chatter. And Cassandra's fussing over him was most welcome too, after the hardship he'd been through…

But, by the end of the evening, he retired alone to his quarters, leaving the Goddess of Love alone with his High Priestess.

In the privacy of his room, he called forward the image of his temptress and it appeared, floating in the air before him. It showed the Warrior Princess as she and her bard friend set camp for the night.

Still in the dining hall, Aphrodite drank wine form a golden goblet. "Bet he's gone to watch Xena!" she guessed.

Cassandra smiled from where she stood, beside the table. "I think so too."

"Yup, the studmuffin is really in love with her, isn't he? Never thought I'd see the day…"

"That is my opinion." the Priestess answered. "But he won't admit to it, not even to himself."

"And neither will she! The warrior babe is almost as blind to the matters of the heart as he is."

"Do you think there's still hope for those two?" Cassandra asked, wanting Aphrodite's expert opinion.

"Of course!" she said with a smile as she looked at the mortal woman. "Love is much stronger than their stubbornness. They just need something radical to happen that'll push them in the right direction. I just don't think I should interfere - it should happen naturally, without the use of godly powers. And believe me Cassandra, it will."

"I sure hope you're right. I think nothing would make my Lord happier, even if he doesn't know that yet."

**********

When they finished eating, Xena and Gabrielle lay down side by side, near the campfire.

Turning to the bard, Xena said, "You still have that trial to attend to, right?" she asked, hoping to get an affirmative answer.

"Yes. If they do find something to hold those two men responsible for." the Amazon replied. "Frankly, I don't think they've done anything."

"But you still want to be there, right?"

"Of course." she nodded.

"So tomorrow morning I want you to go on ahead to the Amazon lands and I'll join you later." Xena said. "There's someone I want to see before I go."

"Well, I'll go with you!" Gabrielle said, not too keen on being apart from the Warrior Princess again so soon.

But the raven-haired woman shook her head. "No, I'd rather go alone, really. You go on ahead - you don't wanna miss the trial anyway, right?"

"Ephiny's there, she'll take care of it if I'm not back in time. I can go with you." the bard insisted.

"No, I'll go alone."

"Are you sure?"

The warrior nodded. "Uhm-hum."

"All right, I guess…if that's what you really want."

"It is."

"Who are you going to see?" Gabrielle asked.

"Just an old friend."

"It's not Ares, is it?" A little frown showed up on the blonde's face as she waited for an answer.

"Don't you think I've had more than enough of him?" Xena raised her voice a little, giving Gabrielle a hard look before she faced the night sky once more.

"It was just a question…"

"No, it's not Ares." Xena assured her.

"But you're not gonna tell me who it is either?"

"No!"

"I hate it when you get mysterious on me…" Gabrielle said. As her friend remained quiet, she asked, "But it's not dangerous, is it?"

"No, it's not Gabrielle. It's just a visit to an old friend, and I won't take long either, okay?"

"Okay…" the bard replied, still not too convinced.

A while later, they were both sound asleep.

**********

After the long ride over the hard mountain trails, she finally reached the small cabin as evening arrived. Smoke was coming out of the chimney and she could see flickering lights inside, coming from the candles lighting the place.

She settled Argo in the shed and then headed for the cabin, knocking lightly on the door.

A moment later, an old man appeared. "Xena!" he said, his eyes lighting up with happiness when he recognized the warrior. "It's so good to see you." He hugged her and let her inside, so she'd get out of the cold.

"Hello, Niklio." the woman greeted the old healer, seating down on the chair he offered.

"I heard you were all right but after actually seeing you die in here…"

Xena smiled, understanding the man's confusion. "My friends, Gabrielle - the one who was here with me - and Autolycus - a thief - helped me come back from the dead. It's a long story…"

"Back from the dead? You are truly amazing, Xena. Those things only happen to you."

"Just lucky, I guess." she said at his comment, and then went straight to the subject that brought her there. "This is not just a social call, Niklio, I need your help. I need you to see me, as a healer."

The man's expression darkened with worry. "Is there something wrong?"

"You tell me… I'm not sure - it's one of those things that only happen to me!" she joked before continuing. "I was… sort of possessed by this God for a brief moment - Shadow God or something - and then poisoned by a jealous forest Nymph and… I don't know, I've been feeling funny since then and I'm afraid the God of War, Ares, is manipulating me somehow, trying to get me back to his side."

Niklio stared back at her, a little confused with all she was saying. "The God of War poisoned you too?"

"I don't know! But I'm afraid he's done something… He helped me get rid of the Nymph's poison and the other God, but…"

"So what's the problem, Xena?"

"I've been feeling funny since then, I sleep too much, I almost passed out once. That could be some poison working through my system, right?" she asked, looking into his dark eyes.

"That or a million other things - you're a great healer yourself, you know that. You could be just tired!"

"I know, but I feel weird." the woman insisted. "And then I have these dreams…"

He gave her a questioning look, expecting her to describe what bothered her in the land of Morpheus.

"Never mind those." she said, blushing a little. "I just need to know if there's something wrong. Please…"

"All right, let me have a look at you…"

**********

When she finished getting dressed, Xena returned to the other room where the dark-skinned old healer was already placing dinner on the wooden table. She noticed a smile was playing on his lips.

"So? Is there something wrong with me? Tell me, Niklio!" she insisted, not being very patient.

The healer turned to the Warrior Princess as she pulled a chair to seat down. "Wrong? Of course not. There's something right - Xena, you are expecting a child!"

In shock, the woman slumped down to the chair. "What? Child? That's impossible, Niklio! It's been ages since I… No, that can't be."

"Believe me, Xena. I have no doubts about it - you're pregnant.!" he confirmed. "Congratulations, mommy!"

...h.o.m.e...
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