Characters: Xena, Ares, Gabby, Hercules, Iphicles, Aphrodite, Cupid and Discord.
Subtext: Nope
Sex: A little, but nothing to worry about.
Violence: A little Rating: PG-13 maybe R later on
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and Aphrodite feels bad for her lovesick brother Ares. She decides to help him win the heart of the woman he loves, but what happens when an innocent spell goes awry?
Author's note: Okay, this is the first time I've written fanfiction so please bear with me. If it gets a little confusing in the middle, it's probably my lack of experience in writing.
Dedications: This story is dedicated to Kevin Smith, who gave life to the wonderful God of War, he will never be forgotten. Also, I want to dedicate this story to Del, thanks for being a good friend, and for inspiring me to write, and for keeping your site up, cuz its really really cool.=) To everyone at the shippers club, and for everyone who supports the A/X relationship... YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!
Feedback: Please, please, please send me comments, complains, ANYTHING! Squeabo@aol.com
Crystal Tears
By Mel
He especially hated this time of the year, seeing all the mortals so blissfully happy. Valentine's Day, they called it. Named after Aphrodite's pet dove, Valentine. It was a day of celebrating your loved ones and confessing hidden feelings. The reason for his distaste of this holiday was because of the absence of a certain warrior princess. He had her once, but never again. He lost her forever because of his own selfish actions. How he regretted it, how he longed to hold her again.
Suddenly, there was a bright pink light and Aphrodite appeared. “Hey bro, why do you look so down?" she asked with genuine concern. “I don't feel like talking about it, Aphrodite." He said flatly. “Why are you here by yourself, you should be celebrating, send some roses to your warrior babe. It is Valentines Day for Zeus sake, be happy stud muffin and flash that sexy smile that won so many hearts." She said giddily. As much as he wanted to take Aphrodite's advice he knew Xena wouldn't like the roses. She'd think they were a trick or something to win her back. He was tired of being rejected by her. She didn't know it, but every time she made a mean remark it hurt him. Every time he saw her with another man, like his annoying half brother, he wanted to rip his own eyes out than see her with someone that wasn't him. But he'd rather die than show weakness to her.
"Leave me alone Aphrodite."
"Oh Ar, she'll realize you love her and she'll love you back, don't worry."
It pained Aphrodite to see her usually confident brother so unsure and lonely. She would have to do something to help him. With a thought she disappeared in a sparkle of pink hearts.
"Oh Cupie, you should see him, he's totally bummed. We have to do something." Dite announced. "Well, I heard Xena was in Corinth, apparently King Iphicles is having a party and invited them to attend. Maybe we could ask if Iphicles would invite Ares, so we can shoot Xena with an arrow that will make her fall in love with him. Even though the spell only lasts a day, maybe it will help them admit their true feelings to each other."
"Yeah but Cupie, what makes you think Iphicles will do us that big of a favor, Ares isn't exactly everyone's favorite guy."
"Well, I happen to know that Iphicles has had his eye on a certain lady in waiting. If he does do this for us, we'll help him win her heart."
"Oh Cupie, you surprise me sometimes. You are like, a genius!" Dite squealed!
The tall warrioress and her companion made their way towards the iron gates that guarded the royal palace. Two guards at the front gate bowed as she passed. "The king is expecting you." Said the guard. The heavy gate swung open and closed as they entered, barring any intruders. As they walked into the palace, a young servant girl came and greeted them with a bow.
"You must be Xena and Gabrielle. The king is happy you made it here safely. I am Medina. He requested that I should show you your rooms. There will be clothes in the closet fitted to both your sizes. You are welcome to change and freshen up before the party."
"That would be great." Said Gabrielle.
"Yeah, um, do you know if there will be any other guests attending that we may know?" asked Xena. "Well, the king did mention that Hercules and Iolaus will be attending, along with a few other guests you might not know." She smiled.
"Oh, well thanks. Are you sure we have to wear a dress?"asked Xena raising her eyebrow. "It will be a very formal party with dancing and merriment. After all, it is in celebration of Valentine's Day. The King requests that you might dress accordingly." Informed the servant.
"Would you like me to show you to your rooms now? The king will meet with you shortly; he is in an important meeting right now. This way please." She said motioning for them to follow her.
They walked down a long hallway with many doors to their left and right, Xena guessed they were all guestrooms. Medina led them to a beautifully carved door with a golden handle.
"This will be your room, Xena. Gabrielle will be in the one right next to yours, with an adjoining door.
" After Xena made plans to meet Gabrielle in an hour outside, she opened the door and went into her room. It was simply furnished, but with style. A large canopied bed sat in the middle of the room, the sheets the color of the deep ocean. There was also a dresser with a large round mirror and a small table with a bowl of fruit. Large glass doors opened onto a balcony overlooking the kingdom and the faraway sea.
After checking out the room, she decided to take a look in the closet to see what she would wear. She swung the doors open with ease and saw hangers that held masses of colorful material sewn to perfection. There were even matching sandals to go with each dress and a drawer filled with jewelry of every kind. A bit overwhelmed, Xena decided to wait until later to pick her dress, the party won't be for another 4 hours. Biting into a tasty apple she heard a knock at the door. Walking over she opened it to find Gabrielle standing in a silk robe wearing plain sandals.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Xena said smirking.
"I heard that the bath houses here are wonderful. I haven't had a good bath in a while. I was wondering if you'd like to join me." Asked Gabby hopefully.
"Well, alright. Give me a second to change out of my armor." Replied Xena walking back into the room.
Xena and Gabrielle enjoyed the large hot tub, while two servants massaged their shoulders. Aphrodite had finally convinced Iphicles to let Ares go to the party, but Dite knew that getting Ares to go would be an even harder struggle.
"Oh come on Ar, Xena will be there, maybe you could ask her to dance." Dite tried.
At the sound of Xena's name, his eyes lit up. He agreed to attend the party. Now that they knew Ares and Xena would be in the same room together, all they had to do now was find the right moment to nail Xena with the love tipped arrow. It was a foolproof plan; nothing could possibly go wrong, right?
The large banquet hall was filled with people, dancing, eating, and generally having a good time. Xena sat at the table talking to Iphicles. She looked stunning in a light blue dress that clung to her every curve. Her hair draped over her shoulders in loose curls like a veil, she was the most beautiful woman that night. Apparently, many of the male guests thought so too. Xena was asked to dance more than once by at least 9 different men.
Gabrielle was having a wonderful time chatting and telling stories with the guests. She was even asked to dance once by this shy man who had been eyeing her since she walked in the room. Ares on the other hand was bored out of his mind; he had been looking for Xena all night and hadn't succeeded in finding her. After all, it was a large room and it seemed the whole kingdom was packed in here. He sat in the corner, but still hordes of women came to ask him to dance. Suddenly Aphrodite appeared in front of him.
"Hey bro, I think I found your princess." Said Dite pointing to the other end of the room. "Go and ask her to dance, sweet pea." Said Dite cheerfully.
"Fine" Ares grumbled, he wanted to dance with Xena; but feared she would turn him down and publicly embarrass him.
The crowd parted and there she was. Sitting there, so beautiful. The blue dress brought out the color of her eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and walked over. She seemed to be bored listening to Iphicles talk. He knew she never really liked parties much. He gave a little cough that interrupted the conversation. She turned around and was a bit surprised to see him standing there.
"Would you like to dance, my lady?" he asked bowing, while taking her hand and kissing it.
She considered it for a while, those few moments seemed an eternity to Ares.
"Sure why not." She replied smiling.
"Excuse me, Iphicles." She apologized to the King, and got up.
She took Ares' outstretched hand and followed him to the dance floor. At that moment the orchestra began playing a slow and sensual song. Ares pulled Xena close, and their bodies swayed to the music. Xena stared up at Ares' hypnotic brown eyes; Cupid saw his opportunity to shoot his love arrow.
Hercules, who had heard that Xena would be at the party, and was looking all around for her. Then he spotted her, in the arms of his half brother. Rage and jealousy boiled inside him. It had been a long time since he'd seen Xena, and although he would never admit it, he still had feelings for her.
Cupid let the arrow fly.
"Xena!" exclaimed Hercules.
Just as the fated arrow hit it's target. Xena felt a tingling in her back, but looked in the direction she heard her name. There was Hercules, more handsome than she could remember.
"Sorry Ares, thank you for the dance but I have to meet Hercules." Said Xena pulling out of his embrace and hurrying over towards Hercules.
"Hello Xena, its nice to see you again. I hope you had fun dancing with Ares." Said Hercules with a little more bitterness than he intended.
But before he could say another word his lips were joined with Xena's in a passionate kiss.
"Lets go somewhere a little more private." Said Xena in a husky tone.
Still a little dazed by what happened, the son of Zeus just followed the Warrior Princess out the door.
What had just happened? Did he just see his beloved kiss his half- brother? Pain and anger threatened to spill over and destroy these innocent people if he didn't leave. With a thought, the God of War vanished.
Panting, Xena rolled off of Hercules and lay next to him. This was bliss, she had forgotten what it was like to make love to him, it had been so long ago. Xena snuggled closer to Hercules and rest her head in the hollow of his neck, soon falling into a peaceful sleep.
Hercules still couldn't believe who he was holding in his arms, in the middle of the woods. He had never stopped loving Xena; she was the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth in his opinion. After she left him, he didn't think they'd be together again. But now he was with her, and that was all that mattered. After a few more pensive moments, Hercules, too, fell asleep.
Ares wandered through the peaceful woods, not far from the castle. He loved coming here, it was so quiet and he was always able to clear his mind or solve his problems. He soon found himself in a small clearing, then he heard it. Pants and moans, not far away. He walked towards the sound and stood there in shock and horror. There was Xena, snuggling up to Hercules, both naked under the thin blanket that covered them. It was obvious what they had just done. How could she? Didn't she know that Hercules was bad for her? Didn't she know how much he loved her? He would have died for her if she asked him. At that moment, his heart was broken into more pieces than anyone could count, his soul breaking with it. With his head hung, he disappeared, with a single crystal tear rolling down his cheek.
The sunlight streamed down through the trees. Her eyes fluttered open, she felt strong arms around her.
"Ares?" whispered Xena.
Then her eyes shot open as last night's events poured into her memory. She remembered dancing with Ares and then she left with Hercules, and then. Xena groaned as she remembered what she had done. Looking down she saw that she was naked and Hercules was asleep peacefully. What had come over her last night? She suddenly remembered Gabrielle. She jumped up, searching for her armor. Hercules stirred and awoke to find a very naked Xena looking for something.
"Good morning." Said Hercules to Xena's turned back. "Did you sleep well?"
After putting on her shift she turned to face Hercules.
"Um, Hercules, what do you remember happened last night?"she asked.
"I remember you, we were one." Replied Hercules, not quite knowing what to expect.
"Oh, by the Gods." Mumbled Xena, covering her face with her hands. "Look, Hercules, our friendship means a lot to me. I love you, but not in that way, I love you as a friend. I don't know what came over me last night, it was like a dream." Xena tried to explain. But she could see the hurt in his face.
"Xena, I don't know what happened either, but you came to me, can you honestly say, that it meant nothing?"
She cringed at the question. She wanted to say that it meant something; Hercules was the last person she wanted to hurt. But she felt nothing, only disgust. Hercules was her friend; she never loved him in a romantic way. Well, she did once, but that was a long time in the past.
"I'm sorry Hercules, I barely remember what happened last night, I don't want to hurt you. I hope we can still be friends." Offered Xena, with a hopeful tone.
"I loved you Xena." Replied Hercules sadly. "I'm sorry you didn't feel what I did last night, but I'll always remember." He smiled sadly.
Xena nodded, put on the rest of her armor and spared Hercules one last look before she left.
Xena hurried back to the palace, where she knew Gabrielle must be searching everywhere for her. Running through the hallway, she saw Gabrielle barking orders at a servant girl to search the bathing quarters. When she saw Xena, she rushed to her side, giving her best friend a hug.
"Where have you been? I've been so worried."
"I'm fine Gabrielle."
"Like I said, I'm fine. But Corinth won't be if we don't notify the King immediately." Said Xena with a grave tone.
"What? What do you mean Xena, what’s going to happen to Corinth?" asked Gabrielle, beginning to worry.
" I passed an army on my way back to the castle. They were preparing for an attack on Corinth!"
Bursting through the doors of the library, Xena found the King sitting at a table reading over a few scrolls. While many of last night's guests were still in their rooms, sleeping, the King was back to work. "Iphicles, you have to assemble the royal guards and prepare the militia. There is a large army headed your way."
"What? But Xena, Corinth is completely defenseless, I dismissed all the guards and soldiers last night for Valentine's Day. Many of them left for the festivals and parades being held in Athens, they won't be back until tomorrow. My personal guard is still here, but I doubt that they'll do much against an army. Xena, we can't let them take Corinth. We have to do something."
"There isn't enough time to call the soldiers back, the best we can do now is to evacuate the city. Iphicles, round up the guards in the palace. Gabrielle, I need you to get all the guests and villagers out of the city, and find help. By the time you get back the battle should be over, but if it isn't, we're gonna need all the help we can get."
"Alright Xena, be careful."
"Don't worry Gabrielle."
One of the scouts had just returned and reported that the King's forces were out numbered 10 to 1. Xena was at a loss, she could think of nothing that could help the situation. Athens was two days ride from Corinth, by the time reinforcements came, Corinth would be lost. Xena had been pacing around her room for hours, trying to think of some way to get out of this mess. She had only been able to come up with one solution, but had dismissed it earlier. Now, she feared it would be the only way. As much as she hated to admit it, she would need His help. Closing her eyes, she whispered his name.
"Ares."
He didn't come.
"Ares." she tried again.
He still didn't come. She was beginning to worry, he always came when she called.
"Ares, I need to talk to you, Corinth is under attack. And as much as I hate asking for your help, I need you to give me an army." Xena called to the empty room, but still she was unable to summon him. Now Xena was really confused, what happened to him? Why wasn't he answering her? Xena had posted four guards at the gates, and four more as archers in the towers, but they would only be a distraction to the oncoming force. The army would arrive soon, and Xena needed Ares to be there now!
Please e-mail the author of this story with your comments. Squeabo@aol.com
bleeding-heart[dot]net