The Golden Arrow

Discord sat on her throne in the tent of one of her favorite warlords, watching Xena on her portal. The tent was bare except for a table and chair in the center, a single bedroll in the corner, Discord’s throne and one other chair. Her pet warlord Theramus was sitting on that chair quietly in the corner watching his goddess. He was dressed in black but was at the moment shirtless. His long black hair was pulled back and tied with a strip of leather. He was handsome in a fierce kind of way, but it was obvious by looking at him that he was not much on intelligence. Just the type that Discord loved. He spent the time while he was sitting there dividing his attention between watching her and sharpening his sword. It was evening and Xena and Gabrielle were busy setting up camp in a clearing just west of Corinth. The fire had already been lit and they were preparing to have dinner. There was a stack of firewood set neatly in a pile off to the side and their supplies and bedrolls were laid next to the fire in preparation for an early night’s sleep. Xena had just finished skinning a rabbit and was in the process of cleaning and sharpening her knife, and Gabrielle was preparing their meal. It looked as if she was making rabbit stew. She had a pot ready and she was adding carrots, potatoes and other things to the mix. They were talking and laughing and although Discord could not hear what they said, Xena’s good mood infuriated her.

“Warrior Bitch, what does Ares see in her anyway?” Discord sulked. She was angry and she wanted everyone to know it. She got up and walked over to the table and poured herself a goblet of wine. “Just look at her, little Miss Goody-Goody. What does she have that I don’t? Why does he want her when he can have me?” she said as she ran her hands suggestively over her scantily clad body. She was dressed as usual in a short black leather dress and high black boots. The dress was very form fitting and showed every curve. She was a very vain goddess and always strived to look her best. She liked black leather and felt she was very fashionable, ‘Not like that wimpy goddess in pink lace.’

Theramus spoke up for the first time, “He’s a fool, my goddess. Anyone can see that….”

“Who asked you?” she screamed, turning to him in anger. “Just sit there and shut up, I never gave you permission to speak, did I? It’s a good thing you have skills other than brain power, or I would have killed you long ago.” She walked over to him and ran her hands over his broad, heavily muscled chest. She so liked it when they were the strong but silent types. Unfortunately she found that the good-looking ones were usually missing something upstairs, except of course for Ares. The thought of him choosing that milksop Xena over her made her angry all over again. “So, you think he’s a fool do you? Hmm, maybe you’re not such an idiot after all.”

She grabbed his hair and yanked his head back so that he was looking up at her. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his in a bruising kiss. “I have a plan on how to get rid of the warrior bitch, and you’re going to help me. Now come and show me what you’re really good at,” she ordered. He gladly obeyed his goddess, and did as she wanted.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares was also watching Xena. He was lounging on his throne with his leg thrown over the arm, alone, in the Halls of War on Mt. Olympus, watching his princess get ready for bed. ‘How beautiful she is,’ he thought as he watched her. ‘I love watching the way she moves, with such animal grace and fluid strength. I love everything about her, her fierceness, her love of life, her passion, the way she kicks ass! I love her. But she hates me. I can’t say I blame her. With all the horrible things I’ve done to her and the ones she loves, no wonder she can’t stand the sight of me.’ He brooded, thinking about his cold lonely existence. The only thing that made his life worthwhile was her, but she hated him, and he didn’t know what to do about it. Whenever he talked to her she always shunned him, he couldn’t really blame her, but every harsh word she uttered to him, every hateful look she gave him, tore his heart apart. He remembered his last meeting with her and how he had stormed off when she had continually rejected him. He sat and thought for awhile, watching her and wishing there was something, anything he could do.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena and Gabrielle had finished eating and were cleaning everything up afterward so they could get ready for bed. They had to make an early start in the morning as they were going to Corinth to visit with King Iphicles. He had requested their attendance at a meeting of great importance between him and the ruler of the neighboring kingdom, King Meneas of Ithica. The two kingdoms had had some run ins with each other in the past and it was time that they sat down at a conference table and talked out their differences in order to form an alliance. King Iphicles wanted Xena and Gabrielle there, as well as his brother Hercules, to lend their insight and expertise in helping the two kingdoms achieve peace.

After getting into their bedrolls, they had talked for awhile about how the meeting the day after tomorrow would go. Then they settled down to get a good night’s sleep. Xena threw her top blanket off finding it was too warm to be underneath and lay there on just her bedroll thinking, but not about the coming meeting. No, she was foolishly thinking about a certain god of war and how infuriating he could be. He had appeared to her about a week previously and they had gotten into their normal fight. Ares saying he wanted her back and Xena saying it will never happen, now get lost. Ares persisted in teasing and taunting her before finally storming off in a flash of silver light when she continued to reject him, but not before Xena had seen the look of sorrow and pain on his face. Xena felt a little guilty for yelling at him that way. He had almost looked as if she had hurt him. Then she snorted, ‘Hurt Ares, that’s impossible. He’s incapable of being hurt.’

But ever since that day she had thought an awful lot about him, more than she usually did. He was always there in the back of her mind, but lately her thoughts of him were forcing him to the foreground. She had also been dreaming about him more often lately. She was disgusted with herself. How could she think about him so much and have such feelings toward him? But he was so strong and virile and that devilishly handsome grin of his just made her just want to melt. Dressed in black leather with his silver earring and silver pendent and the silver studs on his outfit, he was what Aphrodite would call a ‘studmuffin.’ She hated the term and always got mad at ‘Dite when she said it, but she had to admit it fit him. ‘He’s so passionate and full of life,’ she thought. ‘Stop it, stop thinking about him that way. You know he’s your enemy. You know he doesn’t really care about you. He only wants you back to lead his army again.’

She rolled over facing away from the fire. ‘Why can’t I stop thinking about him? I love him, damn him to Tartarus, but I love him.’ And she fell asleep with tears rolling down her cheeks.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares sat there all night just watching her sleep. Earlier when he had seen her cry, he was concerned. He didn’t know what she was upset about, but he thought it was because of him and the way he had been treating her lately. She was probably wishing he would never come around her again. If he didn’t then maybe she would have some peace, maybe she would be happy. But he couldn’t do it. As much as he wanted her to be happy, he couldn’t stand the thought of never being near her again. He knew that was selfish of him but he couldn’t help it.

With a wave of his hand he made the portal disappear. He sat there just thinking about his princess and how much he loved her. ‘How can I get her to care about me? How can I let her know how I feel without looking like a fool?’ He stood up abruptly having made an important decision. ‘Time to go see ‘Dite,’ he thought. Then he disappeared in a shower of silver light.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He appeared in Aphrodite’s pink & red palace on Mt. Olympus just as she was giving Cupid his assignments for the day. Aphrodite was dressed as usual in the skimpiest costume she could find and it was pink, it was always pink. She loved making her priests and follower’s bloods boil with longing whenever they saw her, and she was very successful at it. Her taste was reflected in the gaudiness of her palace. Everything in sight was pink, white or red with a healthy scattering of gold. It made Ares shudder in distaste every time he came here. His rooms were sensibly decorated in black and silver.

“Good, I’m glad you’re both here together. I need a favor.”

“Hey bro, how’s it going?” “Hi, dad,” said ‘Dite and Cupid in the same instant. Aphrodite laughed, and then she came over and hugged Ares saying, “What’s up bro, problems with the warrior babe? What can ‘Dite do to help?”

He frowned in consternation, “What makes you say that? Why do you assume I’m here about Xena? Why can’t I just see how you’re doing? You’re my sister for the gods sake, can’t I just say Hi?”

Aphrodite rolled her eyes and grinned at her handsome brother. “I know how you think bro. Whenever you get that hang dog look on your face, I know you’re thinking about the babe in leather. And hey, I’m the goddess of love, I always know when someone had love problems on their mind.”

“She’s right dad, I can see it too.”

Ares glowered at them, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He didn’t like the fact that they knew him so well. But he couldn’t complain, these two and Aphrodite especially were the only ones who understood him, the only ones who could see past his darkness to the person he really was. They were the only ones of all the gods who really cared about him.

“I need a way to get Xena to stand still long enough to see that I love her. I need to know how to get her to fall in love with me. Since love is your department, I thought you might have some ideas.”

Aphrodite giggled, “Oh Ar, I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think the warrior babe already has a thing for the Studmuffin of War.”

“Knock it off ‘Dite,” Ares growled. “You know how much I hate those ‘studmuffin’ cracks. And no she doesn’t care, she hates me. The problem is, she has every right to hate me for all the times that I’ve hurt her.”

“She only thinks she does. Trust me, ain’t I the goddess of Love? Okay stud tell Aunt ‘Dite, what did you have in mind?”

“I want Cupid to hit her with one of his arrows at a time when I’m visiting with her, when I know I’ll be the first one she sees.”

Aphrodite and Cupid looked at each other in shock. They had suggested this very thing to Ares in the past but he had always refused. He said that he didn’t want her love that way, he didn’t want false feelings. He wanted her to truly love him. He didn’t want what they had to be able to be taken away with a wave of Cupid’s hand.

“What changed your mind bro?”

Ares walked over to one of ‘Dite’s disgustingly pink overstuffed chairs and sat down. Running his hands through his hair in frustration he said, “I’m desperate ‘Dite. I’ve tried everything I could think of and nothing’s worked. At this point I’m willing to try anything, even this.” Then he looked up at his son and they could both see the pain and suffering in his eyes. “Cupid, how long does the effects of one of your arrows last?”

“Some 48 hours, some forever.”

“Good,” he sighed. “Maybe 48 hours will be time enough.”

“Time enough for what, dad?”

“Time to hopefully change her mind and show her how much I care. Then maybe after the effects wear off, some of the feelings will be left behind. If I can just get her to see how much I love her, then hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”

Cupid looked at his mother again and seeing the frown on her face said, “Sure dad, I’ll be happy to help, if you’re really sure you want to do this. When do you need me?”

“Yes, I really want to do this. And I’ll let you know when.” So saying, Ares disappeared.

“Well, what do you think mom?”

“I don’t like it Cupie. He sounds like he’s major bummed, but if he goes ahead with this I know he’ll be totally grossed out by the results, and he’ll regret it forever.” She thought for a minute, then said, “Don’t do anything yet. I’m gonna go talk to the warrior babe first. Later.” So saying, Aphrodite disappeared in a shower of pink and red hearts.

Cupid also left to start on his day’s assignments, knowing his mother would call him when she was ready.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena and Gabrielle were sitting next to the doused camp fire packing up their camp and getting ready to head on to Corinth, when Aphrodite appeared in a shower of white rose petals. “Hi ya, Sweet Cheeks,” she said to Xena.

Xena grinned at the sight of the scantily clad goddess. Out of all the gods, except Ares, Aphrodite was the one she liked best. “Hello Aphrodite, nice rose petals. Isn’t it a little early for you to be up and about?”

“Now, now sweetie. I start every day this early. I’m a very busy goddess you know. Supervising mortal’s love affairs is a majorly full time job. People would be surprised at how much work it is. Do you really like the rose petals? I’m trying to find a really cool entrance, and so far I like this one the best, I like white don’t you. Sweat Pea,” she said turning to Gabrielle, “Could you please leave us alone for awhile?”

“Sure Aphrodite. You gonna be okay Xena?” Gabrielle liked Aphrodite too and she knew that ‘Dite would never hurt Xena, but her friend had been in a funny mood lately and she wasn’t sure if now was a good time for ‘Dite to be here, especially if the reason was Ares.

“It’s okay Gabby, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay Xena. I’m going to go down to the river and have a bath. Let me know when you’re ready to leave. Bye Aphrodite.”

“Buy Sweet Pea, see ya later.”

Once Gabrielle had left Xena turned to Aphrodite and said, “Okay Aphrodite, we’re alone. What did you want to talk to me about? Is it important? Gabrielle and I need to be on our way soon to Corinth.”

“I just want to have a little girl to girl chat with you, it won’t take long.”

“What about?” Xena asked, although she had a very good idea what it was about. Aphrodite usually took every opportunity she could to remind Xena how strong and handsome her brother Ares was. She was forever trying to get the two of them together, to Xena’s intense irritation.

Aphrodite actually blushed and bowed her head in embarrassment.

Xena laughed at the goddess’s embarrassed look. She had never seen ‘Dite so self-conscious before. Usually the scantily clad goddess was shockingly forward and managed to embarrass everyone else.

“I’m sorry I laughed at you. It’s just that I’ve never seen you blush before, it’s very becoming,” Xena said, knowing the compliment would perk her up again.

“Ya really think so? Maybe I should do it more often.” She waved her hand and a pink fluffy chair and a mirror appeared. She sat down and looked at herself closely in the mirror. She patted her perfect blond curls, pursed her lips and said, “I think you’re right, thanks Sweetie.” ‘Dite held up her hand and the mirror vanished. “Okay now lets have our little talk. Would you like some tea? You always have to have tea when you sit and gossip.”

Suddenly a small table appeared, laden down with little finger sandwiches, a pot of tea, a small container of honey for sweetening and two little porcelain cups. Underneath the food was a fancy lace tablecloth and beautiful, fragrant flowers adorned everything. There was also a chair next to the table for Xena, while Aphrodite continued to sit in her disgustingly pink chair. Xena liked Aphrodite a lot, but her taste in clothes and furnishings left something to be desired. Her taste ran to black and silver, like a certain god of war……Quickly she brought her mind back to the present as Aphrodite started to speak.

“I want to chat about a certain leather clad god who has the hots for his little warrior babe."

Xena frowned in surprise, as Aphrodite’s words seemed to echo her own thoughts. “I am not his little ‘warrior babe’,” Xena said indignantly. “We’re enemies ‘Dite, you know that. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” Xena got up from where she was sitting on the ground. Trying to seem unconcerned about the way the conversation was going, she walked over to the table and sat down in the chair provided by the goddess. She reached out and accepted the cup of tea that Aphrodite had poured her and took a sip. “This is good ‘Dite.”

‘Dite sighed, “That’s not true Sweet Cheeks,” she said in answer to Xena’s first comment. I think you know deep down that he loves you. Admit it, you have the hots for him too don’t you? Come on, ‘fess up to Aunt ‘Dite. I promise I won’t blab.”

Xena set down her cup and got up from her chair. She walked a short ways away from the goddess and paced back and forth in front of the table for several minutes, trying to decide what to say. ‘I’m not sure what ‘hots’ means, but she’s right, I know she is. I do love him. But I don’t believe that he cares about me. He only cares about war and violence and bloodshed,’ she thought.

Finally she stopped in front of ‘Dite’s chair and slumped down on the ground in defeat. “You’re right, I do love him. But I also hate him for everything he’s done to me. If only I could believe that he regretted his actions and that he really cares about me.” Xena looked up at the goddess and said, “I would give anything to know for sure.” Then Xena hung her head and started to cry.

Aphrodite got out of her chair and sent it and the table of goodies away. Then she came over to Xena and put her hand on her shoulder to try to comfort the strong warrior woman. ‘Dite had never seen her looking so vulnerable before, but she was elated at the cause. She was so pleased to know that her favorite brother had a real chance with his one true love. Ever since Xena had come into his life, Ares had been more alive than she had ever seen him before. But lately she’d seen a side of Ares that surprised her. It made her realize how truly in love he was for the first time in his long lonely existence. The other gods hated him and picked on him at every opportunity because of his job, and even their father Zeus loved his son Hercules more than he loved Ares. She knew that although Ares would rather die than admit it, he was jealous of the attention Hercules received from their father. She knew he was brooding over what he thought was unrequited love, and regretting every rotten thing he had done to Xena. She knew how he felt. She was the goddess of love and had helped many a mortal to find their happiness, but it had taken her eons to find her own true love. She had finally found it in the shy, proud god of the forge, Hephaestus. But she knew and sympathized with the pain that only love could bring. When it came to pain, love was much stronger than war.

“It’s okay Sweetie. Leave it to Aunt ‘Dite. I’ll make it all better, I promise.”

Xena looked up with tear filled eyes and said, “Aphrodite, if you tell Ares how I feel, I’ll kill you.” Her blue eyes seemed to bore into the goddess and she knew that Xena meant what she said. For a mortal, Xena was surprisingly unaffected by any fear of the gods. ‘Dite supposed it was because of her relationship with Ares over the years that had totally erased any awe that she might have felt.

“Don’t worry hon. I promised I won’t blab, and I won’t. ‘Dite always keeps her promises to her friends. Besides, I’m sure I won’t have to tell him.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked. Then she focused on ‘Dite’s words and said, “I’m your friend?”

“Of course you are Sweetie, and I have every confidence in my handsome studmuffin of a brother. I think you’ll end up telling him yourself.”

Xena frowned at the goddess. “Aphrodite, stop with the ‘studmuffin’ cracks. You know I hate them.”

Aphrodite laughed. “That’s exactly what he said.” Then she vanished, this time to a shower of pink rose petals.

Xena shook her head in bemusement at the goddess’s final words and went to find Gabrielle.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares was sitting on his throne in his temple closest to Athens. He was here to supervise a war he had going on with the Athenians. He was enjoying himself immensely. His upstart half-brother Hercules was fighting on the side of Athens and although he was not allowed to hurt him, he could certainly humiliate him by defeating him in battle. Ares rubbed his hands together in delight. This was almost as good a feeling as when he was with Xena, almost but not quite. At the moment he had two portals going. The first one showed his generals conversing in the command tent discussing strategy for the upcoming battle. Ares was listening to what they were saying, and he would whisper his will to the head warlord whenever the plans being discussed diverged from what the god of war wanted. His warlord was attuned to his thoughts, it made things convenient when Ares didn’t have to be there in person. He was totally focused on what was going on, but every once in awhile he would glance over to the second portal, the one that showed Xena. He was always aware of her because of their bond, but he loved watching her anyway. If she needed him, all she had to do was whisper his name and he would hear her. He would stop whatever he was doing and go to her if she called, whenever she called. She was his Chosen even if she didn’t acknowledge it, and she always would be. He had noticed Aphrodite visiting Xena and he wondered what they could possibly have to talk about. He wasn’t concerned that she had told Xena about their plans, he knew her better than that. She could be a little flaky at times, but she cared about him and would not betray his confidence that way. At the moment she and the bard were traveling peacefully down the main road to Corinth. But thinking about her was too distracting to the business at hand, and since she was in no danger, he felt safe enough in closing her portal for the time being.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gabrielle was walking down the road next to Xena. She looked up at Xena sitting on Argo and saw her staring off into the distance. She seemed so far away. ‘I wonder what Aphrodite wanted to talk to Xena about. I bet it has to do with that bastard Ares. I wish he would just leave her alone.’ Finally she could curb her curiosity no longer.

“Xena…..”

“Hmmmm? What is it Gabrielle?”

“What did Aphrodite want?”

“What did she want? Oh, nothing really, nothing important anyway. You know how she is, she loves to gossip, and her favorite subject is Ares.”

Gabrielle looked up at Xena. She was puzzled by her tone of voice and the fact that Xena refused to meet her eyes. She almost sounded embarrassed. Then the bard shook her head in amusement, no Xena wasn’t embarrassed, Xena was never embarrassed, what was she thinking? It must be something else entirely.

“What did she have to say about Ares?”

“She was just trying to convince me that he wasn’t so bad after all. Trying to get me to go back to him. You know, the usual.” Xena felt bad that she was deceiving Gabrielle, but she couldn’t tell her the truth. She couldn’t tell her what she had confided to Aphrodite, that she was in love with Ares. She knew how much Gabby hated Ares, and knew she would never approve. Knowing how Gabrielle felt about him and knowing that he didn’t return her feelings is the only thing that kept her from letting him know how she truly felt. She couldn’t bear to have him reject her, so therefore she could never let him know that she loved him. It would give him too much power over her, and he would constantly use that knowledge against her.

Suddenly Xena stopped. She motioned Gabrielle to be quiet. After listening for a moment, she quietly dismounted Argo, turned to Gabrielle, grabbed her around the waist and threw her up onto Argo’s back. “Go Gabrielle, go to King Iphicles and bring back help, it’s an ambush. Hurry!” And before the bard could protest, she reached out and slapped Argo hard on the rump making her take off down the road to Corinth at a fast gallop.

Xena drew her sword and took her chakram in hand and turned towards the bushes on the side of the road. She was glad she had got Gabrielle out of the way in time. She knew that the bard was not helpless and could take care of herself, but Xena couldn’t stand the thought of her best friend being hurt. Suddenly ten heavily armed men rushed out of the brush and started towards her ready to attack. ‘Ten to one, not bad odds,’ she thought. The men rushed at her, two at a time and she fought them, thrusting and parrying her sword expertly. She quickly defeated the first two men, killing them easily. After seeing how well she fought and how easily she had defeated the first two, the rest of the men rushed her all at once thinking to overpower her. Xena gave her bloodcurdling war cry and flipped over the top of the onrushing men and landed behind them. While they were momentarily confused, wondering where she had gone, she threw her chakram and knocked them all over, killing most of them, before catching it again.

Xena walked over to one of the downed soldiers that was still alive, the one who appeared to be in charge, and applied her famous pinch. “I’ve just cut off all the blood to your brain. You have thirty seconds to tell me who sent you before you die.”

The man coughed and choked, trying to talk. Finally he gasped out, “Discord.” Xena took off the pinch, and the man took large gulps of air trying to recover.

“Discord? What does Discord want with me?”

The soldier continued to gasp. “I don’t know, my lady. She only told us to capture you, but not why.”

While Xena was occupied with Discord’s soldier, she was unaware that two men were sneaking up behind her. Suddenly she spun and knocked out the man who was directly behind her. But before she could get the second man, he had knocked her over the head with a large club. She crumpled to the ground and felt herself sinking down into darkness, and the last thing she heard was the man who hit her laughing at her.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gabrielle galloped into Corinth and headed directly for the palace. She reined in at the palace gate and dismounted. A guard stopped her before she had a chance to rush inside to look for Herc’s brother.

“Who goes there, and what is your business at the palace?” the guard asked her.

“I’m Gabrielle, and my friend Xena and I were invited by King Iphicles. I need to see him right away, it’s an emergency.”

“Of course, right away my lady. The king gave orders that you and Xena were to be ushered into his presence the moment you arrived.” The guard at the gate signaled to a couple of the other guards. “You, take the lady Gabrielle directly to the king,” he said to the first man. The guard saluted and he and Gabrielle hurried off into the palace. To the second guard he said, "Take care of her horse. Take her to the stables and make sure the stable boys groom her and give her plenty to eat and drink.” The second guard saluted and hurried off to do as he was ordered.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

King Iphicles was in his throne room seated on his large ornate throne. He was hearing the confessions of two men who had been caught steeling a dozen loaves of bread. The men were very poor and their families were starving. The merchants whose bread the men had stolen wanted them flogged. Iphicles felt otherwise. He knew that the problem was that the families were poor because the men were out of work. He felt if they had jobs, they would be able to feed their children, and would have no reason to steal again. When Iphicles saw Gabrielle escorted into the room and saw the look on her face, he quickly signaled that court was over for the day, with the orders that the two thieves were to be given jobs in the royal bakery. They could learn to make the bread that they had stolen. Not only would it teach them a new skill, but also it would impress upon them the effort it took to make the bread that Corinth was famous for. After they left Iphicles got up from his throne and came over to Gabrielle and gave her a warm hug.

King Iphicles was a very charming, handsome man who happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to the god of war. He was blond and fair complected were Ares had dark hair and olive skin. And although the king was clean-shaven as opposed to Ares’ beard, he was just as handsome. But where Ares exuded an aura of danger and power, Iphicles was the soul of calm and politeness.

“Gabrielle, how wonderful to see you again,” Iphicles said. Then he looked to the door behind her. When he didn’t see what he expected, he asked, “What’s wrong? Where’s Xena?”

“She’s in trouble your Majesty. She heard noises in the brush about five miles down the road from here and knowing it was likely an ambush, she sent me here to get help from you.”

Much to the bard’s surprise, the king looked very concerned, and she realized that he had a crush on her best friend. The bard found herself wishing that Xena could fall in love with someone as kind and gentle as this man before her, instead of the dark, dangerous god of war. Because as much as Xena herself might deny it, and as much as Gabrielle wished it weren’t true, she knew that her best friend was deeply in love with Ares.

Iphicles strode to the large doors, which led to the hall and called for his captain of the guards. The captain entered and bowed, awaiting his king’s orders. He glanced over at the king’s guest and was surprised to see a beautiful blond haired young woman. He had never met her although he would certainly like to, but he could see she was distressed about something.

“Captain, take a squad of my men down the road about five miles to look for the warrior princess Xena. She may have been ambushed and could be in grave danger. This is her friend Gabrielle, have you met her? As you can see she is very worried about her friend, as am I. Have you met Xena? Do you know what she looks like? If not Gabrielle will describe her to you.”

“Yes I know who she is, I met her the last time she was here. Unfortunately her beautiful friend was not with her at the time and I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her.” He walked over to Gabrielle and bowing to her he said, “My name is Solis, I’m a captain of the guards and I’m pleased to meet you. I’ll make sure to bring your friend back to you unharmed. I’ll leave right away sire,” Solis said to the king as he bowed again and rushed out of the room.

Gabrielle was confused by her reaction to the handsome captain of the guards. She realized that she would certainly like to see the blond haired, blue eyed soldier again. “I think she’ll be okay, your majesty. You know Xena, nothing gets her down. She can take care of herself. She’s been in this kind of situation before and she always manages to survive.” Gabrielle tried to reassure the handsome king, although she was very worried herself.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena woke up in a tent. Her head was throbbing and she felt nauseous. She looked around to see where she was and discovered that she was securely tied to the tent’s center support pole. Other then her and the pole there was nothing else in the tent that she could see. She cautiously tested the pole’s strength and found it to be securely buried in the ground and impossible to move, especially with the shape she was in.

Suddenly Discord and one of her ‘boys’ appeared in front of Xena. She was dressed as usual in her short black leather dress. The man she brought with her was also dressed all in black and was broad shouldered and well muscled. He stood behind the goddess with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? The warrior bitch all tied up and helpless.”

Discord sauntered up to Xena and ran one of her long, black lacquered fingernails down Xena’s cheek. Discord liked to touch things, as if touching them made them hers. She pressed down hard enough with her sharp nail to cause a trickle of bright red blood to appear. Xena refused to be intimidated by the goddess’s actions. She refused to show any pain or fear, knowing Discord would only use it against her.

“I may be tied up Discord, but I am far from helpless.”

“Well, we’ll just see about that, my dear.”

“You won’t hurt me Discord, I’m not worried. You’re nothing but a weak willed, spineless godling who’s too afraid of Zeus to go against his rules. One of those rules is you can’t hurt another god’s Chosen, and you know I’m Ares’. You also know what Ares would do to you if you so much as touched me.”

Discord pouted, “Oh, I’ll be sure not to hurt you myself, my dear. But hey, if some of my ‘boys’ hurt you is that my fault?”

Xena snorted in amusement. She so loved taunting Discord, it was so satisfying. “And you think Ares and Zeus will believe that excuse? You just confirmed my opinion of you. I knew you were spineless and weak. What’s the matter Discord, don’t have any control over your ‘little’ boys? Is the little goddess having problems?”

Discord looked daggers at Xena. She could almost feel the lightning flash from the goddess’s eyes, and she could feel the hatred pouring from her. Xena was afraid that maybe she had pushed Discord a little too far. She realized that as much as the goddess hated her, if she got too angry she might act first and kill her, and worry about the consequences later.

Finally Discord gritted her teeth and admitted, “As much as I hate to admit it, you’ve got a point. I won’t do anything now, but this is not over!” And with these words Discord, her pet and the tent all vanished in a burst of lightening, leaving Xena once again in the middle of the road where she was first captured.

Xena found to her relief that the ropes were gone and her hands and legs were free. She reached up to touch the back of her head where she had been struck by the club. She felt a large lump that was painful to the touch, and she was still feeling a little queasy. Her cheek stung too, but that was nothing, just a scratch. ‘I’m going to have one Tartarus of a headache very soon,’ she thought.

She heard hoofbeats hurrying down the road toward her. She stepped off to the side of the road to keep from being trampled by the oncoming horses. A squad of Corinthian soldiers rode up and stopped in front of her. The man leading the squad was a soldier she had met on her previous visit to Corinth. He was a captain of the king’s guards and she struggled to recall his name.

“Captain Solis, isn’t it?”

“Yes, my lady,” said the captain. He was very gratified that the famous Xena: Warrior Princess had remembered his name.

“Are you okay, my lady? Your friend came to the palace and told our king that you were in trouble. She and the king were very worried and sent us out here right away to check on you.”

“I’m fine captain. I was captured by some men of Discord’s, but she let me go with nothing worse than a bump on the head.”

“Discord? She’s bad business.”

“You’ve met her?”

“No, but I’ve heard rumors and stories. I’m glad you’re okay and I know the king and Gabrielle will be also.” He gestured to one of his men who came forward leading a spare horse. “I brought you a mount to ride. I assumed you would want to get to Corinth as soon as possible. Your horse is fine, she’s housed in our stables being fed.”

“You assumed correctly captain. Thank you for your foresight and your concern.” She mounted the horse and took off quickly towards Corinth with Solis and his men following closely behind her.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Aphrodite appeared in her throne room on Mt. Olympus and sat down on her throne. This throne was her favorite. It had been made specifically for her by Hephaestus. It was shaped like a large red heart with gold filigree trim all around the outside edges. The seat and back were upholstered in pink and white fur, and it was very soft and comfy. She sat there thinking about Ares and his strange request. She knew her gorgeous brother loved Xena, but she knew that if Cupid abided by his wishes, Ares would come to deeply regret it.

‘How do I grant Ares’ wish without granting Ares’ wish?’ Suddenly she jumped up in excitement. “I’ve got it! Cupie hon, I’ve got it!”

Cupid appeared in a flash of red light. “You’ve got what mom? What is it?”

‘I’ve got the perfect idea on how we can help Ares get his little warrior babe. Listen, here’s what I want you to do.” As she outlined her plan to her son, he began to smile. When she finished he nodded in appreciation and said, “Great idea mom, you’ve still got it.”

“Thanks Cupie, now off you go. Let me know what happens will ya?”

“Sure mom. Later.” Cupid vanished and reappeared in his personal bedchambers to implement his mother’s plan. He started by crafting a special arrow, one never seen before. A special golden arrow for this occasion only.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena and the squad led by Captain Solis soon arrived at the palace entrance. They dismounted and entered the palace, heading down the halls to Iphicles throne room. Solis and Xena were ushered into the king’s presence. They found Iphicles and Gabrielle quietly talking, anxiously awaiting word about Xena.

“Xena!” Gabrielle yelled, “You’re okay!” The bard jumped up from her chair and rushed over to Xena and put her arms around her best friend. She was so relieved that her friend was okay. She looked over to the captain to thank him for bringing Xena back safely. When she met his eyes she realized that this was the same man who she had just met a short time ago. Solis was a little older than she was and he had short blond hair and dark penetrating blue eyes. His chiseled features were handsome but not too perfect. As he returned her intense gaze she felt her heart start to beat faster and her face flush with heat. ‘By the gods,’ she thought, ‘but he’s handsome.’ Her reaction to him left her at a loss for words and the bard looked away in embarrassment before turning back to her friend.

“Are you okay Xena? What happened? Where you ambushed? Who ambushed you? Why is there blood on your cheek?”

Xena smiled at all her friend’s questions. “I’m fine, just a slight headache. The blood is nothing, it’s only a scratch. It was some of Discord’s ‘boys’ who ambushed me. One of them knocked me out and I woke up in a tent tied to the center support pole.”

“Discord? Why would she do that to you? She knows she can’t hurt you, and she knows why.” Gabrielle was as aware as Xena was of the rule against a god hurting another gods’ Chosen.

“That’s what I said to her. I think she just wanted to taunt and humiliate me, but it didn’t work. She finally realized she couldn’t do anything and she let me go.”

“Xena, it’s such a pleasure to see you again. I’m happy to see you’re okay.” Iphicles stepped up and took Xena’s hands in his. He leaned down and brought her hand to his lips where he kissed the back of her knuckles. He hadn’t said anything at first because he wanted to give the two friends time to say hello to each other. But he stepped in when he realized that all the bard’s questions were embarrassing Xena.

Xena found her heart start to race at the sight of the handsome king. He bore such a striking resemblance to Ares, that it tied her stomach in knots. She knew that Herc’s brother had a ‘thing’ for her, and she truly wished that she could return his feelings. But all she could do was compare him to Ares, and unfortunately he didn’t measure up. She felt guilty for her feelings. The king of Corinth was such a kind gentle man, so different from the dangerous, passionate god of war. But that’s what she loved about him. The passion and the danger inflamed her desire so much that she could barely contain it when he was around her. She had no such problems with Iphicles.

“Hello Iphicles, I’m happy to see you too.” She gently disengaged her hands from his as she stepped away from him. She looked around the room and then back at him, “Where’s Hercules?” she asked. “I thought he was supposed to be here also to lend you support.”

Iphicles sighed in disgust; “He would have been if war hadn’t broken out in Athens.”

“War in Athens? I hadn’t heard. What’s the story?”

“Oh, you know, same old thing. Ares’ warlords bent on conquest and Herc valiantly fighting them off.”

Iphicles sounded bitter. Xena knew it was because he had hoped his brother would be there for tomorrow’s meeting. She smiled to herself; she wasn’t surprised that the armies were Ares’. He could never resist going up against his half-brother whenever possible. Xena knew that both Ares and Hercules were forbidden by Zeus to hurt one another, nevertheless they could never resist trying to defeat and humiliate each other in battle. She didn’t like it when Ares started wars, but she knew that sometimes it was necessary.

Iphicles turned to Solis and dismissed him. “Thank you captain for bringing Xena in safely.” Solis bowed to his king and with one last lingering look at Gabrielle, he left the room.

“We should probably discuss tomorrow’s meeting with King Meneas.” Xena said after he left. “How much does he want this treaty.”

“Well, every indication he has given leads me to believe he wants the treaty pretty badly. We’d already worked out most of the details before we even decided to hold these talks. The meeting tomorrow and the signing of the treaty are mostly for formalities sake. Part of the reason why our two kingdoms are always at war is the dispute over who owns the rights to the river that runs between the two kingdoms. Traditionally that river was always shared equally and was considered free land, but lately King Meneas has been trying to extend his boundaries to encompass the river.”

“If that’s the case, what does he get out of the treaty?”

The King of Corinth smiled grimly, “He gets my alliance and good will.”

“And just why would he want that?”

“He has a neighbor to the south of him who is constantly trying to expand his borders, and I promised Meneas that I would lend him some of my soldiers to fortify his defenses. This in exhange for leaving the river and the area around it as a free zone, belonging to neither kingdom. I also told him that if he refused, I would sign a treaty with his neighbor, thus trapping him between two enemies. He quickly agreed.”

Xena and Gabrielle laughed in appreciation. “It sounds like you’ve got him caught between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to go.” Xena admired Iphicles’ cunning. He would have made an excellent warlord except for one thing; he wasn’t nearly brutal enough.

Xena, Iphicles and Gabrielle spent several hours discussing strategy for the peace talks while they ate a meal of delicious lamb stew, cheese and freshly baked bread. The meal was served to them in the throne room where a small intimate table and four chairs were placed. None of the three friends felt like dining in the palace’s huge formal dining hall. Finally Xena and Gabby decided to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a long day.

Iphicles called a servant to show them to their rooms. He ordered the servant to attend to all the ladies needs, and if they wished, to provide them with a tub and water so they could bathe. “Good night ladies, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night Iphicles,” they both said in unison as they headed out the door.

The rooms they were shown to were next door to each other with a connecting door between the two. The rooms were furnished tastefully but expensively, Xena’s in blue and Gabrielle’s in green. There was a large four poster bed in the center of each room and a small table with two comfortable chairs in the back corner. The walls boasted fine tapestries depicting scenes of forests and streams. There were many plush colorful rugs covering the floor and the beds were made up in fine linen sheets. Each room also had a fireplace but because the weather was so warm at this time of year, there was not fire lit. The fireplaces were huge, almost large enough to walk into. They were swept clean and logs laid in readiness in case the weather turned colder.

“Would you like me to draw a bath for you?” the servant who had shown them their rooms asked.

“Yes, please,” they both said. The servant left to have tubs and hot water brought for each lady.

“It will be so good to have a nice hot bath and sleep in a real bed for a change, won’t it Xena?”

“Hmmmm? Yes, yes it will.”

Gabrielle could tell that Xena was distracted by something. She smiled to herself; she understood the feeling all too well. She was herself thinking about the handsome Captain Solis, and how much she would like to get to know him. “What are you thinking about Xena?”

“I’m wondering what Discord is up to. She gave up too easily today. She’s got another plan up her sleeve and I’m almost afraid to find out what it is. She knew I was on my way here. She didn’t say, but I’m sure she knows why we’re here. I think she may try to sabotage the talks somehow.” Xena sighed as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She started removing her boots, her gauntlets and her shin guards in preparation for her bath.

Gabby sat on the bed next to her. “How can she sabotage the meeting?”

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling we’ll find out soon enough.”

At that moment several servants came in the room and set a large copper tub down on the floor. Other servants came in behind them and started filling the tub with hot steaming water. They also set a bucket of cold water on the floor that Xena could add to the tub to bring the water to the desired temperature.

“Now that the baths are here, I’m going to my room. Good night Xena, I’ll see you in the morning.” And Gabrielle left to enjoy her own bath.

Xena finished removing her clothes and armor before picking up the bucket of cold water and adding it to the tub. She climbed into the tub of warm fragrant water and settled back to let her mind drift.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

‘She’s so beautiful, my warrior princess. No one can ever compare to her.’ Ares was taking a break from his war in Athens. He was relaxing on his throne in his usual position, watching his favorite mortal take a bath. Currently she was lying back with her eyes closed, and Ares could tell that she was enjoying the soothing warmth of the water.

Aphrodite appeared in front of Ares in a sparkle of glitter. “Hi bro. Keeping tabs on the warrior babe?” She laughed in delight to see her brother watching Xena take a bath.

Ares frowned in irritation and waved his hand making the portal disappear. “Glitter ‘Dite? Is that a new look for you?”

“Yeah, you like? I’ve been trying to find the perfect entrance. I’m not sure I like the glitter though, it leaves such a grody mess on my rugs and gets all over everything. But it is way sparkly.”

Ares laughed; his sister had a way of always making him laugh. She could bring him out of one of his famous rages when no one else but Xena could. But as much as he liked and respected his sister, he couldn’t bear to have her tease him about his feelings for Xena.

“What do you want ‘Dite?”

“I wanted to let you know that everything is ready for your plan to win Xena, or have you changed your mind?”

“No, I haven’t changed my mind, I just want to make sure that the timing is right.”

“Okay stud, just call Cupid when you’re ready. Later.” Ares was amused to see that this time instead of glitter, she vanished in a shower of pale pink light. “Much better ‘Dite,” he whispered, “And thanks.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

King Meneas of Ithica was camping with a few of his soldiers, just outside of the city of Corinth. He was sitting in a chair in the tent that his men had erected for him. The tent was sumptuous. It was two layers thick and was crafted of red silk. The inside walls were hung with fine tapestries. The ground underneath his feet was covered with tasteful but expensive rugs. There was also a large comfortable bed in the tent, he didn’t believe in sleeping on the ground. He was totally unconcerned at the effort it took his servants to transport the bed and all the furnishings whenever he went anywhere. He was a king; he was entitled to his pleasures. He planned on getting a good night's sleep and being up early in the morning so he could arrive at the palace in time for breakfast before the meeting. King Meneas was a greedy man, but he was also practical. He greatly desired to expand his boundaries to include the river, but his army was spread pretty thin at the moment. Most of his forces were guarding his southern border against the encroachment by the neighboring kingdom. Although his forces numbered about twelve thousand, he didn’t have the manpower to protect his southern border and force his expansion to the north against Corinth at the same time. Besides he knew Iphicles well enough to know that he meant what he said about forming an alliance against him with his southern neighbor. Meneas judged that the alliance with Iphicles and the loss of the river territory was the lesser of two evils. He truly was caught between a rock and a hard place and he deeply resented Iphicles for putting her there.

Suddenly he was roused out of his thoughts by a bright flash of silver lightning. In its place stood a young seeming woman with long black hair and long black lacquered fingernails. She was dressed in a short black leather dress that managed to show a shocking amount of bare flesh. Next to her stood a large, heavily muscled man also dressed in black. The man had long black hair tied in back with a strip of leather and he was extremely fierce looking. He assumed the woman was a goddess judging by her entrance, but he had never seen her before.

King Meneas jumped up from his chair and demanded, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Discord sauntered over to him and started running her fingers down his cheek. “The name’s Discord, handsome, I’m sure you’ve heard of me, and I’m here to offer you a proposition. But the first thing you need to learn is you don’t demand anything of me.” To prove her point she threw a gentle bolt of light at him knocking him to his knees.

“I’m sorry my goddess, it won’t happen again,” he said as he lowered his body in a deep bow with his forehead touching the ground.

“See that it doesn’t.”

As he slowly got to his feet rubbing his chest, the King of Ithica realized that he had indeed heard of her. This goddess was definitely one who was out for her own best interests. Then his greed kicked in and he tried to think about how he could turn this encounter into a profit for himself.

“What did you have in mind Discord?” he asked cautiously.

Discord wandered around the room running her hands over the furniture and the tapestries on the walls of the tent. “Nice place you’ve got here. I see you like to travel in comfort. I think we’ll get along just fine.” She came back to Meneas and sat down in the chair he had abandoned, forcing Meneas to find another seat. He brought another chair over to the table and sat down on the other side from Discord.

“I know why you’re here in Corinth and I think I can help you out, if you do a favor for me.”

“What makes you think you can help and what’s the favor?”

“I know that your armies are spread pretty thin defending your southern border. I have an army of men that I can send to reinforce your borders. In exchange you must bring ten thousand of your men here to go up against Corinth.”

“Go against Corinth? Why would I want to do that? If I don’t sign this treaty, Iphicles will sign one with my enemies trapping me in the middle. With both my northern and southern borders in enemy hands, it would just be a matter of time before they invade my kingdom and start carving it up into little pieces. Besides, bringing ten thousand of my men here would leave my kingdom virtually defenseless. Signing this peace treaty is the only hope I have of keeping my kingdom intact.”

Discord pouted, “Don’t you believe me when I say that I will send you enough of my men to make sure your kingdom is safe? I thought you wanted to gain the river territory. With my plan, not only do you gain the river but you may gain Corinth as well.”

“Why not leave my men where they are and bring yours here to take Corinth for me?”

“Normally I would, but I’m not allowed to interfere where a god’s Chosen is concerned.”

“What does that mean?”

“The favor that I want is for you to kill a certain warrior princess who happens to be Ares’ Chosen. She needs to be taught what will happen when she goes up against me.” Meneas was shocked at the hatred radiating from the goddess’s eyes at the mention of this warrior woman.

“What is this warrior’s name?”

Discord looked ready to chew rocks as she said, “Her name is Xena.”

Meneas jumped out of his chair in shock, “Xena? You want me to kill Xena? That’s impossible.”

Discord got up out of her chair and grabbed the front of Meneas’ tunic. She pulled him close, gestured behind her, and stared him in the face. “Don’t…ever…talk…to me that way again! I am a goddess and you are scum. You’ll do as I say or I will destroy you where you stand. Do you understand?” At her gesture and the tone in her voice, her pet warlord came forward to stand behind her. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood awaiting orders from his goddess concerning this man.

When she let him go, the king of Ithica fell instantly to his knees again in a deep bow. “I’m sorry my goddess, I forgot for a moment who I was talking to. It won’t happen again, I swear.”

“See that it doesn’t.” With a wave of her hand, Theramus retreated back to his corner.

“Now listen closely. While you are a guest in the palace, you will have a chance to get close to her. Do you have any assassins in your pay?”

Meneas frowned, thinking for a moment. “Yes I do have one man who might do. He’s trained with knives and he could easily pass for a servant.”

“Good, now I want you to take him into the palace with you, but keep him in the background. Don’t call attention to him in any way; have him stay in your room. As soon at the opportunity presents itself I want her killed.”

“That won’t be easy my goddess. I’ve heard stories about her fighting abilities and I think she will prove to be impossible to kill.”

“Nothings impossible. She’s a mortal, all mortals can be killed, even you.”

The King of Ithica gulped and slowly got to his feet before sitting back down in his chair. He knew a threat when he heard one.

“Of course my goddess, anything you say. What did you have in mind for my army?”

“I want you to go to the peace talks tomorrow, but don’t sign anything. Do everything you can to delay the signing. Tonight send word to your troops to come close to Corinth and camp just out of sight beyond the city. I will send my men to your southern border to replace the men you bring here. It will take your men about five days to get here if they travel quickly. I also want your army to have catapults. I know those will take longer to get here than five days, but I will transport them here myself. I don’t want them used until after Xena is dead. The Corinthian army is largly untrained and I want Xena’s expertise gone before we make our final move against the city. Make sure you tell them no fires and to keep as well hidden as possible. We don’t want anyone at the palace to spot your soldiers until we are ready for them to, and cooking fires would give them away. I want three separate forces ranged evenly around the city, and I want them to advance only on your signal. When I tell you, you signal your men to attack. We’ll take them totally by surprise. They won’t be expecting to be betrayed.” Discord stopped and chuckled, “I can’t wait.” Then Discord outlined the rest of her plan to defeat Corinth after Xena was out of the way.

After listening to the goddess’ plan, Meneas found himself smiling grimly in intense satisfaction. ‘Finally,’ he thought, ‘I’ll get rid of Iphicles for once and for all. Then not only will I be King of Ithica, but King of Corinth as well.’ He turned to Discord and answered, “I will send word immediately by pigeon. The men will be here on time. I’ll await your signal.”

“Good, now that we have that out of the way, time for a little fun.” Discord walked over to Meneas and sat down on his lap. She put her hands on either side of his face and pulled his head down for a punishing kiss. Theramus stood quietly in his corner watching his goddess at work.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena was getting frustrated. After a week of peace talks they had come no closer to a solution then the day they started. It was evening and the talks had adjourned for the day to allow the participants time to eat and get a good nights rest. Xena and Gabrielle were relaxing in Xena's room waiting for food to be brought for them. Iphicles and Meneas had retired to their own rooms. It had been a grueling week and every one was exhausted. After the two friends were done eating, Xena intended to take a nice long bath and go to sleep early

The warrior turned diplomat was lying back on her bed in only her slip, with her eyes closed. ‘It feels so good to be out of that dress,’ she thought. Xena hated wearing dresses, but she knew that sometimes it was a necessary evil. She had to admit that the dress she had worn today had been stunning. It was dark red with a low neck and a tight fitting bodice. The skirt fell from the bodice in gentle folds to barely caress the tops of her matching slippers. The sleeves were long and tightly fitted at the top of the arm down to the elbow, and then they billowed out to her wrist. She didn’t particularly like red, but she wore it because it was Ares’ favorite color. She knew she was being foolish to dress to please him especially since he wasn’t even there, but when she had seen the dress in the closet she couldn’t help herself. ‘Even if he’d been here, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed the effort I went to,’ she thought in disgust. She was disgusted at herself for even worrying about it.

Gabrielle was sitting on the edge of the bed staring off in the distance, in a world of her own. Xena could guess what she was thinking about. She had noticed her friend’s lingering glances at the handsome blond captain of the guards whenever they were in the same room together. She knew Gabrielle was smitten with him and hoped he felt the same way about her. She would hate to see her friend hurt. Gabrielle was tapping her foot impatiently on the floor waiting for dinner to arrive. She was still dressed in the gown she had chosen to wear today. It was a lovely shade of rose that set off her coloring to perfection. She suspected that Gabrielle was dressing to impress Solis, and from all indications it seemed to be working.

“What’s keeping them, I’m hungry,” she said in exasperation.

Xena had to smile to herself; Gabrielle got very crabby when she didn’t get fed on a regular basis.

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Just as she finished talking, there was a knock on the door and two servants came in carrying two trays full of food. There was roasted chicken, some small roasted potatoes, a large wedge of cheese, a loaf of freshly baked bread and a generous helping of creamy butter to slather on the bread. Besides a fork, there was also a pitcher of cider and a goblet on each tray. Knives were not provided, as everyone, man woman and child, carried a belt knife everywhere they went. The servants set the trays down on the small table against the wall and quietly left the room.

Gabrielle quickly got up, crossed to the table, sat down and started eating. Once her initial hunger was satisfied she started in on all the questions that were running through her mind.

“Xena?….”

“Hmmmmmm?”

“Aren’t you going to come eat?”

“In a minute, I’m just resting, I have a slight headache.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on? Why is King Meneas so reluctant to sign the treaty? I thought everything had been worked out in advance between Iphicles and Meneas and the signing was only a formality. What do you think of Solis? Isn’t he handsome? I know you’ve met him before, what’s he like? Do you have any idea, Xena?”

Xena was amused by all her friend’s questions, and she couldn’t fail to notice that half of them revolved around the captain. She suspected that something might be happening between the two of them. She sat up and looked at her friend. Gabrielle was sitting at the table stuffing food into her mouth. The warrior chuckled, she knew she’d better get to the table quickly or Gabby might start in on her food!”

“I don’t know Gabrielle,” she said as she got up and crossed to the table. She sat down and poured herself a glass of the cool amber colored liquid before sitting back and taking a sip.

“I don’t trust Meneas, something’s up , but I don’t know yet what it is.”

“Yeah, he’s slippery, he reminds me of a….of a…..a snake oil salesman! He makes my skin crawl.”

Xena chuckled at the image but she had to agree. The King of Ithica was handsome and charming, but he made her feel….soiled…somehow, whenever he looked at her.

“I’m going to talk to Iphicles tomorrow. Meneas is up to something and I think we need to keep a close eye on him. I think we may need to check out the countryside just outside of the city too, just in case.”

The two friends continued to talk as they ate their meal. When they finished Xena called for tubs and water to be brought so they could each bathe. The bard retired to her own room to get ready for her bath.

After the tub and water were brought, Xena finished undressing and climbed in. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep in the warm soothing water not waking until the water cooled down so much that she started shivering. She climbed out, dried herself off and put on the nightdress that had been laid out for her. It was made of soft cotton and although it had a high neck and long sleeves, it clung to every curve and was very revealing. She climbed into the big comfortable bed and quickly fell asleep again.

Sometime later that night, Xena opened her eyes wondering what she had heard that had awoken her. Staying still on the bed and keeping her breath as slow and even as possible, she glanced around the room and let all her senses tell her what was there. There was a little light from the moon shining in the window. It wasn’t much but it was enough to show her a figure all in black with his face covered, close to the wall and heading toward the bed. She could hear him moving too. His shoes must have been made of soft leather to allow him to move so quietly. Her sensitive nose smelled his scent; she could detect a faint whiff of sweat, the distinct kind that was only brought on by fear. He was afraid of her, of her abilities and her reputation. She smiled grimly as she realized that before the night was over he would have every right to fear her. He didn’t realize that she was awake as he slowly, so slowly crept towards her sleeping figure. Quietly, Xena slipped her hand under her pillow and gripped the handle of the knife that she had placed there. The figure in black came closer to the bed and raised his hand. Xena could see that he held a knife and was ready to strike at her. Suddenly she erupted out of the bed and slashed out with her own knife slicing him across the leg. The man fell back with a yell of pain and while he was distracted, Xena leaped forward and finished him off before he ever had a chance to attack her.

Alerted by the yell, suddenly the door burst open and there were guards everywhere. Solis and a group of his guards had been patrolling the hall of the palace. The men were passing close to the rooms assigned to Xena and Gabrielle when he heard the yell of a man inside Xena’s room. Concerned by the sound, he and his men rushed forward and burst into the room. He was pleased to find that Xena was uninjured and her attacker dead on the floor. He knew her reputation, but he had always assumed that it was exaggerated. He was pleasantly surprised to find that everything he had heard about her was true. He glanced around the room hoping to catch another glimpse of Xena’s friend; first because he wanted to assure himself that she was okay too, but mainly because she was so beautiful and he found himself smitten with her.

Suddenly the bard burst into the room and seeing the dead man on the floor she rushed to Xena’s side. “Are you okay Xena?”

“I’m fine Gabrielle, I wasn’t injured at all. I heard him in my room and woke up before he could hurt me.”

Once Gabrielle had assured herself that her friend was okay she looked around for the handsome captain. She smiled in relief when she saw he was there in the room with them. The sight of him made her feel safer somehow.

“What happened my lady?” asked one of the guards. Xena turned and saw it was Solis who had spoken. She was glad he was here, she had not noticed him come in with the rest of the men.

“This man broke into my room and tried to kill me,” she answered simply, playing down how serious it had been, she hated being fussed over.

Solis turned the man over and uncovered his face. He didn’t recognize the man and he knew all the guards and servants in the castle. “Does anyone recognize him?” he asked. All present in the room shook their heads in the negative.

“I think perhaps that we should rouse the king,” said Xena.

“Yes, you’re correct, I was just thinking the same thing. I’ll send someone at once.” He immediately sent two of his men to deliver the message.

Shortly afterwards Iphicles came hurrying into the room. When he saw for himself that Xena was okay, he noticeably calmed down. He came over and took Xena’s hand in his and smiled at her in relief. His eyes flickered briefly over her nightgowned form and desire flared in his gaze, but Xena knew he was much too polite to say or do anything under the circumstances. “I’m so happy to see you’re okay. When the guards told me what happened I was worried that you had been injured.”

The warrior smiled at Iphicles’ concern. She so wished that she could feel something other than friendship towards this handsome king. But although his presence made her heart beat faster, she knew it was only because he looked so much like the man she loved.

“I’m fine my friend, I’m fine, you know me well enough to know that I can take care of myself.” She gently disengaged her hand from his grip and knelt down next to the unknown man on the floor, drawing Iphicles’ attention to him for the first time since entering the room.

“Do you recognize him Iphicles? Have you ever seen him before?”

Herc’s brother knelt down next to Xena and peered closely at the man’s face. “No, he’s not one of my people. I make a point of knowing, by sight at least, everyone who works or lives in the palace just for such an instance. But I’ve never seen this man before. King Meneas brought in several of his own servants when he came, maybe this is one of his.”

Xena frowned in concern. She already didn’t trust the man and now if he was responsible for this attempt on her life, then something was seriously wrong. “I suggest we ask him, Majesty.”

“I agree.” He turned to Solis and said, “Rouse King Meneas and ‘request’ his attendance here right away.” Solis sketched a quick bow and signaled for one of his men to deliver the message. The guard saluted to Solis and raced out of the room. A few minutes later King Meneas was escorted into the room.

Iphicles got straight to the point. He wanted Meneas caught off guard, then he might be tricked into saying something incriminating. “This man attempted to kill Xena, do you know him?”

Xena watched him closely as he looked at the man on the floor. When Meneas saw who it was, a look of fear flashed quickly across his face. “No, he’s not one of my servants, I’ve never seen him before.” Meneas fidgeted and wiped away the sweat that was starting to form on his brow.

Xena knew he was lying. It was pretty obvious, and Meneas wasn’t very good at it. But she didn’t want to voice her suspicions while he was still in the room. She came forward, “Thank you for coming so quickly, your Majesty, and I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble.”

King Meneas sneered at her as he ran his eyes all up and down her nightgowned form. “No trouble at all, my dear. You can bother me anytime.”

Iphicles stepped forward with a blanket and draped it over Xena’s shoulders. He didn’t like the tone of Meneas’ voice or the look in his eyes when he talked to the warrior woman. “Thank you for coming my lord,” he said pointedly. “Can I have someone escort you back to your room?”

Meneas grinned at Iphicles’ discomfort. “Yes, thank you. And good night my dear,” he directed toward Xena as he was led out of the room.

“That man makes my skin crawl,” said Gabrielle as she stepped over to Xena’s side. Xena nodded in agreement.

Iphicles looked at Xena again. He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. She could see the desire and concern in his eyes, and also the knowledge that his feelings weren’t returned. “As long as you’re okay,” he said, “I will leave you ladies alone for now. I’ll talk to both of you in the morning. Good night.” As he left the room Iphicles ordered Solis to have two men stand guard outside each room for the rest of the night with extra guards on King Meneas’ room. Solis did as he was directed. He decided to be one of the two guards stationed outside Gabrielle’s door. That way he could be close to both of them in case of any more trouble.

“What’s going on Xena? Gabby asked.

“Hmmmmm, I wonder…..”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Meneas walked back to his room in silence. After he entered and the doors were closed he crossed to the table and poured himself a large goblet of wine. “Damn her to Tartarus. She’s got the luck of the gods. I told Discord she would be impossible to kill,”

“What was that you told me, worm?” Discord said as she flashed into the room.

Meaneas dropped to his knees and said, “I’m sorry my goddess, it was my fault entirely. My man failed and Xena is still alive.”

“I’m very much aware that she is still alive! I watched everything! Your man was foolish and overconfident. I can see that you are not even capable of carrying out my simple orders.”

“Simple? Nothing concerning Xena is simple! What more would you have me do?”

“You dare to take that tone with me? You failed and the price of that failure is your life.” Discord raised her hands ready to blast Meneas to ashes.

At her gesture, Meneas looked on in fear. He gathered his courage together in time to say, “Wait, please wait. Give me another chance, please my goddess, I won’t fail you again, I swear. Please give me another chance to kill her. If I have to, I will do it myself.”

Slowly Discord lowered her hands. She stood deep in thought for a moment, then she said, “No, I don’t think so. I’ve got another idea on how to see the warrior bitch dead. Here’s what I want you to do.” As she outlined her plans to Meneas he smiled in pleasure as he thought, ‘This plan is sure to succeed. Once it does I will get my just reward. Everything I ever wanted will be mine for the asking.’

He bowed to Discord one last time as he got to his feet. “I swear, I won’t fail you again. Please believe me.”

As Discord vanished from his room she said, “Make sure you don’t, I’ll be watching you.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena, Gabrielle and Iphicles were eating breakfast the next morning in the large dining room just off the throne room. The dining room had five huge rectangular tables arrayed in it. The largest four tables were capable of holding forty people each, twenty to a side. They were used for large formal banquets. Flanking each side of each table were a series of long benches for the courtiers to sit upon. The smallest of the tables was on a raised dais at the head of the room, and was placed perpendicularly to the others. This table was flanked not by benches but by beautifully carved wooden chairs. Each of the chairs had arms and was upholstered in fine furs and was very comfortable. All the chairs were exactly the same except for the one in the center. This chair was meant for the king and was actually a miniature throne. Its back was higher than the others were, and it was more ornately carved. It was also finely gilded to match the throne in the king’s audience hall. It was at this table that the king and all of his closest friends and advisors sat during formal occasions. To be seated at this table was a mark of high distinction and his courtiers all vied for a chance to sit there. The closer to the king someone was seated, the higher his station in court.

It was at this head table that the three friends were seated eating. They were enjoying a hearty breakfast of porridge, cheese and more of Corinth’s famous baked bread. They were washing their meal down with more of the same wonderful cider that they’d had with dinner the evening before. King Meneas had not awoken yet and the three friends were chatting, enjoying the chance to be alone for awhile before the responsibilities of the day took over.

Xena especially was glad of the privacy so she could talk to Iphicles in confidence. “Iphicles, something’s going on with King Meneas.”

“What do you mean Xena? I know he’s delaying the talks for some reason and I certainly don’t like or trust him, but what makes you think something else is going on? Do you know the reason why he’s delaying?”

“No not yet, and it’s just a feeling I guess. I’m relatively sure that the man who tried to kill me last night was one of his. He reacted in fear when he saw the man's face and he was very nervous. With your permission, I’d like to have some of your men scout the area immediately around the city. I have a suspicion….”

“What do you suspect?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I want to be ready for anything.” Xena frowned in thought for a moment then said, “Discord. I think Discord may have something to do with all of this.”

Gabrielle looked up from her meal long enough to ask, “Discord? Doesn’t she know better by now not to mess with you? Especially after the incident last week.”

Xena sighed in frustration at her friend’s question. “I somehow don’t think she’ll ever stop. Gods can carry a grudge for a very long time. She sees me as a rival for Ares’ affections. She doesn’t realize that I don’t want him and she’s welcome to him.”

Gabrielle sighed to herself. She knew Xena was just denying her feelings for the god of war. As Aphrodite would say, her friend was ‘head over heels’ for the ‘studmuffin of war’. Besides didn’t Ares have something to say about the whole thing? Xena couldn’t just hand him over to Discord without his permission, even if she wanted to. And Gabrielle suspected that Ares would not give his permission.

“I know you well enough by now, both by your deeds and my brother’s confidence in you, to trust your feelings. I’ll have my men head out at once.” Iphicles clapped his hands and a guard appeared at the door. “Send for captain Solis at once.” The guard bowed and left the room. A few minutes later the Captain entered the room and bowed to his king.

“Captain, I want some of your best scouts to check out the area surrounding the city walls. Xena suspects something is going on and I think we need to check it out.”

“At once, Majesty. I will lead the men myself.”

“Very good captain, carry on.” And with those words Iphicles gestured his dismissal. Captain Solis again bowed and with a last glance in Gabrielle’s direction he left the room.

Xena watched in approval as the captain left on his assignment. “He’s a good man.”

“That he is,” agreed the king. Gabrielle also nodded her wholehearted agreement.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The sun was high in the sky as Solis and another scout crept up the hill overlooking a broad expanse of meadow dotted heavily with trees and brush. As they came to the top of the hill they crouched down and hid behind large clumps of bushes. They peered cautiously down the hill, trying to see between the dense foliage.

“By the gods,” Solis breathed. Both men were startled at what they had found.

“Quickly, go back to the palace and pass the word to the king.” The scout saluted in silence and quietly hurried back down the hill.

Laid out before Solis was approximately five thousand men. He could tell from the way they were dressed and the type of armor they wore that they were from Ithica. Solis had sent out ten pairs of scouts this morning in various directions around the city not knowing what he would find. He hoped the men were cautious in their scouting, he was afraid that with what he found some of his men might not make it back alive. Seeing as how this force of men had no cooking fires and the way they were hidden, he knew this army was here on the sly and they would do anything necessary to keep Iphicles from finding out they were here. What’s more, Solis was afraid that this may not be the only force of men camped close the Corinth.

After observing the army for awhile and giving the previous scout time to get back to the palace, he cautiously headed back down the hill and hurried back to make his own report. When he arrived he discovered to his consternation that of the original twenty men who went out, including himself, only five had returned and two of those men were badly injured and had barely escaped with their lives. Furthermore the returning men had reported spotting two other forces, each with about twenty-five hundred men, making the invading force about ten thousand strong.

The captain entered the king’s throne room and added his report to that of the other scouts that Iphicles had already heard. The king thanked him and then dismissed him. He bowed quickly and with a quick glance in Gabrielle’s direction to assure himself that she was okay, he hurried out of the throne room to check on his wounded men.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“What’s your opinion Xena,” Iphicles asked the warrior woman. “What do you think our next step should be?”

Xena sighed in frustration as she answered, “I think we should prepare for an invasion. Get your men ready Majesty, I think we’re going to be in for some trouble.” Xena knew that she should have trusted her initial feelings about Meneas. He was only buying time in delaying the talks to give his army time to arrive. Obviously he not only wanted the river territory but he was hoping that the element of surprise and would allow him to capture the city as well. Even though what she knew of the King of Ithica indicated he was capable of such treachery, she couldn't help but think that Discord had a major hand in the events that were unfolding.

“Xena, I’m well aware of your expertise and experience in leading men into battle and I ask that you lead my army for me.”

“I’d be happy to help in any way I can, sire.” She had been expecting the question and although she didn’t want to be involved in the fighting, she knew that she didn’t have much choice, and besides Iphicles needed her help. Briefly she wondered what Ares was doing at the moment and how he would feel about her going into battle once more.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares was out on the field of battle directing his warlords. At the moment both forces were pretty evenly matched, but Ares felt confident of his victory over his half brother, Hercules. He found himself thinking about his warrior princess, his Chosen, and wishing she were here by his side.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena and Gabrielle were preparing for war. Gabrielle was setting up the infirmary to care for the wounded and Xena knew she would be busy, but she would also be safe. Xena herself was looking over the deployment of the troops and the distribution of food and supplies. Once she was satisfied that everything was in order, she retired to her room to get some much needed food and rest. She had a constant patrol of scouts out watching the progress of the Ithican troupes and they had all reported that the armies were still in place and had not moved forward to attack the city yet. She knew that because of the time of the day, the attack wouldn’t come until the next day at the earliest. After the discovery of the encroaching armies, Iphicles had taken Meneas and his remaining servants into custody and the king himself was currently under constant guard in his rooms. Neither Xena nor Iphicles wanted him to be able to get word to his troops that they had been spotted. She knew they were waiting for his signal before attacking, but she suspected that they would not wait much longer.

When she arrived in her room she saw that a tray of food had already been laid out for her at the table. It was a light supper of cold roast, cheese and fresh bread. Another pitcher of delicious cider was there as well. She had requested this light supper because she didn’t want a heavy meal in her stomach weighing her down and leaving her feeling drowsy when she needed to be wide-awake and alert. She removed her armor and sat down at the table to start eating.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares was once again in his throne room watching his favorite mortal, the one who held his heart, the one he loved. He was excited to see that his warrior princess was getting ready for war. The thought of seeing her in action stirred his blood and excited his desire to be near her. He so loved to see her in action. It wasn’t his army that she led; but he loved to see her in battle nevertheless. She was glorious! So proud and so beautiful with the light of battle in her eyes, that the sight of her made his heart sing and his blood boil with desire. He wanted to be close to her right now. He wanted to hear her voice, even if it was angry and mocking. He wanted to look in her fiery blue eyes even if all he saw was anger and hatred. When he saw her head to her room to eat and rest he knew this was his chance. He arose from his throne and called for Cupid.

The god of love appeared before him in a flash of red light. “I’m here dad. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Xena’s alone and I think this is my perfect chance. I want you to come with me but stay invisible. At my signal I want you to shoot her with your arrow.”

“Dad, are you really sure you want me to do this?”

“No I’m not, but it may be my only chance to win Xena.”

“I think you’re making a mistake, but I’ll do whatever you want. I want to see the two of you together also, but Xena has helped mom and I in the past and she’s my friend. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

Ares looked over at Cupid in surprise. He knew that Xena knew Aphrodite and Cupid and he knew that Aphrodite liked her and not just for his sake. But he had not realized that Cupid liked and cared about her too. Xena had made many friends, especially since she stopped being the Destroyer of Nations, and some of them were in pretty surprising places. “I don’t want to hurt her either. I’ve hurt her too many times in the past, too many times without meaning to.”

Cupid looked in Ares eyes and saw the truth of his feelings written there for all Olympus to see. With a final sigh of resignation he nodded at Ares and the two of them vanished.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena was eating her meal in only her shift, having already removed her armor, leathers and boots, when she felt a tingle run up her spine. She knew Ares was there and she thought she knew why. He wanted to tease and her and gloat about the fact that she was once again going to war. “Come on out Ares, I know you’re there,” she called.

Suddenly he appeared out of the aether before her and her traitorous heart sang at the sight of his leather clad, muscled form. His hair was black and it lay on his shoulders in soft curls. There was an evil grin on his handsome bearded face as he stepped towards her. He wore an earring in his ear that was a duplicate of the sword he wore at his side, and he was dressed in his black leathers that were adorned with silver studs. He also wore a silver medallion around his neck. He was so handsome, and the funny thing about it was that he never realized the effect he had on the people he appeared to. He was totally unselfconscious about his body and he carried himself with pride and the sure knowledge of his place in the world and how much he was needed. No matter how much she hated to admit it, she loved him and wanted him near her. The problem was that although he always came around to tease and torment her, she knew that he didn’t feel the same way she did. But she took delight in the fact of his presence anyway.

“What do you want Ares?” She tried so hard to make her voice sound distant and cold: it wasn’t easy.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” he asked innocently, thinking he knew exactly the effect he had on her. He was well aware of the fact that his presence infuriated her. He was right, but there was much more to it than that.

“No, I’m not, and cut the ‘innocent crap,’ it doesn’t suit you. You’ve never been innocent in your life.”

Ares grinned and Xena felt her heart flutter in response. He strode over to the table and sat down opposite her. He reached over, picked up her goblet and took a drink.

“Not bad, not Ambrosia, but not bad.”

“What do you want Ares?” she asked again.

“Can’t I just come and see my favorite warrior princess for no more reason than because I want to?”

“No you can’t because I’m not you’re warrior princess anymore, and I know that’s not why you’re here.”

“Okay, okay.” Ares said as he held up his hands in defeat. “I never could fool you, could I? I saw you getting ready to fight a battle and I thought you might need my help. By the way, in case you were wondering, that’s not one of my armies.”

“No Ares, I don’t need or want your help. You know that I can take care of myself, you know my abilities. After all I learned everything from the great Ares himself, didn’t I?” She hated to say those things to him since it wasn’t quite true, but she couldn’t let him know that. He would not hesitate to use the knowledge against her in the future if he thought it would be to his advantage. But she was surprised by the brief look of pain that flashed across his face at her words before it was quickly hidden. She almost wasn’t sure she had really seen it. Did she think she saw something that wasn’t there because she wanted to see it? ‘Pain? Ares? What’s going on? Did I really see it or only imagine it?’ she wondered.

She sighed and said, “And no, I know the army isn’t yours.” Then she looked up through her lashes at him to see the look on his face as she said, “I think they’re Discords.”

Ares’ face darkened in anger as he bit out, “Discord? What’s that bitch got to do with this? I didn’t sanction her having an army here. I thought they were just a rebel faction warring without my guidance or permission. That’s bad enough in itself, but to find out they are Discord’s is beyond belief. That little ‘lady’ needs to be taught some manners when it comes to obeying her superiors. I’m the god of war and she answers to no one but me!”

When Xena told him the rest of it, how Discord had had her captured and tied up, and after she outlined what she suspected about Discord and Meneas, his face darkened even further. She could feel the anger radiating out from his body. She had only seen him this angry a couple of times before and she was suddenly very glad that it was not directed at her.

Ares jumped up from his chair and shouted, “DISCORD!”

Suddenly Discord appeared. She seemed totally unaware of the anger directed at her by Ares. “Yes Ares? You called me?” She sauntered slowly over to the angry god swinging her hips suggestively. Amazingly, she somehow managed to ignore Xena’s presence the whole way. But the warrior wasn’t fooled, she knew that Discord was fully aware of her and was hoping to humiliate her by coming onto Ares.

Ares stood there with his arms crossed before his chest, glaring at the seductive goddess, not amused at all by her posturing. Xena was happy to see he wasn’t fooled by her act either.

“Is what Xena said true? Did you capture her and tie her up? You know as my Chosen she is protected form harm by the other gods, and you know the consequences if you harm a hair on her head!”

Discord pouted as she sat down on the edge of Xena’s bed. She glanced over to Xena and the warrior could see the anger and hatred in her eyes. “Don’t worry Ar sweetie, I would never hurt your ‘little Chosen’. I just wanted to have a chat with her. Didn’t I let her go without hurting her? I would never do anything to make you angry at me.” The goddess batted her eyes at Ares and crossed her legs, allowing a shocking amount of bare thigh to show.

But Xena could tell that Ares was in no mood to be entertained by the spectacle and she tried very hard to suppress her smile of delight. Ares and Discord had had liaisons in the past, but Xena was very happy to see that that was over, at least on Ares part.

Ares walked over to Discord and grabbed her by the arm jerking her up from the bed. “Do you have anything to do with the army camped outside the city walls?”

“Of course not Ares, you know me better than that. You know I would never disobey your commands and lead an army without your permission.”

The angry god of war flung her from him in disgust. ‘Get out Discord and stay away from Xena and I.”

Discord smirked as she vanished in a flash of silver lightening.

“I don’t think that did any good Ares. She seems to enjoy being handled roughly, and it was pretty obvious that she was lying.”

Ares sighed as he visibly calmed down. “I know, I was just trying to put the fear of the gods in her, make her think twice before she does anything stupid. But if she ever hurts you she will have me to answer to, and I will make her life miserable.”

He walked over to Xena, his heart pounding in fear that she would reject him. He ran his hand slowly down her face, just feeling the softness of her skin. “I couldn’t stand to see anything happen to my favorite warrior,” he whispered. He reached down and took Xena’s hand in his as he pulled her from the chair. He smiled in delight when his move brought no sign of resistance from her. Cautiously, in case she objected, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her in close to his body. He could feel his need for her ignite the flames of his desire. As he brought his lips to hers, he sent a silent signal to the waiting Cupid.

Cupid saw the signal from Ares as he prepared to kiss Xena. He reached down and chose an arrow out of his quiver. He pulled out a very special arrow, one he had crafted especially for this occasion. He hoped that someday Ares would realize how much trouble he had gone to in order to grant his request. The arrow was shiny and golden, instead of the normal silver ones that he used. He knocked the arrow in his bow, pulled back and let fly. The shot was straight and true and hit Xena squarely in the back. Cupid then vanished to go back to his own interrupted work. He desperately hoped everything would work out okay for these two.

Xena’s head was reeling. She had no resistance left to this man. Although her head told her she was being foolish and he only lusted after her, that his feelings weren’t real, her heart urged her to give in to her feelings. She found that at that moment she just did not care what her head told her and decided to follow her heart. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck deepening their kiss. After a long moment they pulled away from each other. Xena stared into Ares eyes, they were like pools of oil, deep and bottomless, and she felt herself sinking into their depths.

Ares was astounded. He couldn’t believe Xena’s response to him. Although he was thrilled and excited by it, he knew it must be because of Cupid’s arrow. He reveled in the sensation of having her in his arms, where he had always wanted her to be. Before doing anything else, he stared into Xena’s eyes; he wanted to be sure she wanted this as badly as he did.

Once Ares saw that she was just as involved as he, he removed the last of her clothing and then his with a wave of his hand. Xena stood there drinking in the sight of him standing before her in all his glory. She couldn’t stop staring at him, this god she foolishly and perhaps unwisely, loved, he was so beautiful to her.

The god of war picked up his wonderful, beautiful princess and carried her over to the bed and gently laid her down. He climbed up next to her and just lay there for a moment holding her in his arms, enjoying the feel of her body against his.

Xena lay there content to feel his warm, strong body next to hers, his arms holding her close. Suddenly she could stand it no longer and she turned to face him and started running her hands and her lips all over his body making soft gentle butterfly kisses, exploring every part of him, she couldn't touch him enough.

He moaned her name as the feel of her hands and her lips ignited desires held deep within. He wanted this to never end, but he was afraid it would end all too soon. He moaned her name, “Xena…..” over and over again until he could stand the caresses no longer. He eagerly returned the attention and started stroking and caressing her as well until he had her moaning his name, after all turn about was fair play. As their lovemaking became more intense and passionate suddenly Ares stopped. “No, I can’t do this,” he moaned. “I just can’t.” With a wave of his hand he was standing on the other side of the room and they were both dressed again. With a last look of longing at Xena, he vanished.

Xena stared in shock at the spot where Ares had just been standing. ‘Why did he leave me? What did I do wrong? What did he mean when he said I can’t do this?’ she thought as tears welled up in her eyes. She was so ashamed of herself for giving in to her heart instead of her head. She had known that he only desired her and he didn’t truly love her but this action of his brought it home to her with a vengeance. She lay down on the bed and curled up in a ball to try to ease the aching emptiness she felt. She clutched a pillow to her chest as hot tears of pain and shame rolled down her face. She was lonely and miserable without him there beside her, and she ached inside with the knowledge that he didn’t love her. She was very much afraid that as much as she needed the rest in preparation for tomorrow, there would be no rest for her tonight or for a very long time to come.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares was in the throne room in one of his temples tearing it apart. It was the only way to give vent to his pain and frustration. He pulled expensive tapestries from the walls, picked up vases and smashed them against the floor and blasted statues from their bases with bursts of fire. All in all he was making a real mess. As he paced in front of his throne, he watched Xena through his portal. He watched her cry. She lay there looking so lonely and vulnerable with tears running down her face, curled up in a ball with a pillow clutched against her chest, that he felt his heart ache at the sight. He wanted to go to her, to hold her and comfort her, to tell her how sorry he was for leaving her like that, but he couldn’t. He knew that her reaction to his advances was just the effects of Cupids arrow and he couldn’t bear to take advantage of her. She already hated him and if he made love to her under those circumstances, then after the effects wore off and she realized what he had done, she would never forgive him. He couldn’t bear the thought of her hating him even more than she did now. So he had left her, left her to be lonely and miserable. The pain and misery he felt for his actions was unbearable. ‘I shouldn’t have done it. Cupid was right; I should never have asked him to shoot her. By the gods, what have I done?’ He sat down on his throne, put his head in his hands and started to cry.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Aphrodite felt tears well up in her eyes at the sight of both Xena and Ares so miserable and brokenhearted. Cupid was also standing in the room watching the god who was his father and the proud warrior woman who was his friend. They were both in so much pain that it made his heart ache. He knew pain. Pain was part of his life, part of his job. You couldn’t have love without pain. He also knew personally the pain of love for a mortal, a mortal that he thought was unattainable. But now he and his love were together at long last. He had Psyche in his life and together they had a child, Bliss. He had hopes that if he and Psyche could find happiness together, than perhaps Xena and Ares had a chance also.

“Should we tell them, Mom?”

“Not yet Cupie hon, not yet.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next morning before daybreak there was a loud pounding on Xena’s door. Xena was still wide-awake. She had not slept at all last night since Ares had left her alone. She crossed to the door and pulled it open. Outside there was a guard who bowed his head to her. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you my lady, but the king asked that you be summoned. The Ithican army in on the move toward us.”

“Thank you, I’ll be right there.” Xena closed the door and rushed over to the dresser where her clothes were laid out. She dressed hurriedly, donning her clothes, her armor and her weapons in a flash. When she opened the door again and entered the hall, she saw that Gabrielle had been summoned as well and was ready to go. If her friend noticed how tired she looked and how red rimmed her eyes were from crying, she was polite enough not to say so.

When they reached the throne room, Iphicles brought them up to date on what was going on. “The armies have advanced and the three forces have come together just outside of our southern gates.”

“Good, lets get down there and prepare to fight. Gabrielle you should go to the infirmary and prepare for the wounded. Majesty, you should stay here and coordinate things from this end. You need to direct your household in defense. We can’t afford to have the King of Corinth injured or killed. Make sure you send men through the city to make sure the people know to stay indoors and out of the way.”

Iphicles frowned, he didn’t like it but he was forced to agree that it was for the best. In the aftermath of battle, the recovering city would need a strong ruler who could inspire confidence in the people and enable the city to renew itself. He sent runners to deliver Xena’s orders and prepare the city for the invasion.

The two friends made their way downstairs leaving Iphicles behind to handle his end. Gabby went to the infirmary to start work and Xena went immediately out to talk to the captains and check on the troops. She went to the command tent that had been erected for her just inside the palace courtyard. The tent was bare of furnishings except for a small table covered with a map of the kingdom of Corinth, and two chairs. She studied the map and was pleased to see that someone had been updating it for her. The movement of the enemy troops was clearly marked. She noticed that the bulk of the force was indeed in front of the southern wall, but there was a scattering of troops along the other three walls as well. The thoughtful soldier who had prepared this map for her had also marked the placement of catapults. There were five of them in all, two on the southern wall and one on each of the others. She was surprised to see that they had catapults at all. According to her intelligence, she knew that the enemy had traveled in haste and arrived outside of the city in just a scant five days. There was absolutely no way that they could have brought the catapults with them. Those things were huge and incredibly heavy. They needed to be drawn by a team of four or six horses and would never have arrived at the same time as the soldiers without help, Discord’s help. She suspected that Meneas and Discord were plotting together and this fact only served to reinforce her suspicions. What she couldn’t quite figure out was what Discord wanted out of the deal. Did she just want to humiliate her, or was there a more sinister reason behind it all? She alerted a soldier just outside of the tent and had him summon the four captains to her. When they arrived she realized she only knew two of them, the others she had never met before. She looked at them briefly and noticed that except for Captain Solis, they were all very young. When she looked into their eyes, she failed to see the hardness gained from the necessity of battle and killing, which meant not only were they young but also inexperienced.

“Captain Solis and Captain Franco are known to me, and I’m sure you already know who I am. Could you other two please introduce yourselves?”

The first captain spoke up and said, “I’m Captain Remis, my lady.”

The second one said, “And I’m Captain Brendon.”

“Thank you. Now let’s get down to business. How many men do each of you command?”

Captain Solis spoke up, as he seemed to be the leader of the group. “We each command approximately one thousand men, my lady.”

“Hmm, that makes a force of four thousand against a force of ten thousand. Not good odds, but we do have the advantage of being behind the safety of walls while they are not. Now tell me, approximately how many archers do we have?”

“About fifteen hundred, my lady.”

“Good, now I want a thousand of the archers immediately stationed on the top of the wall. I want the bulk of them along the southern wall, but I want the rest spaced out evenly along the other three remaining walls. Then I want one in three of every remaining soldier and the remaining five hundred archers to take the first break. I want them well fed and rested so they can spell those on duty on the wall. The remaining soldiers I want split into four groups and stationed along all four walls. I want cauldrons of boiling oil prepared to pour down on the enemy as they attempt to scale the walls with ladders. They also have catapults and I want the palace personnel who are not involved in caring for the wounded or feeding the soldiers, to shore up any and all breaches that the enemy may make in the walls with the rocks thrown from the catapults. After the first group of men are fed and rested, I want them to begin relieving the soldiers on duty on a rotating basis. They are to also shore up any break in our defenses caused by our soldiers being wounded or killed. Any questions?”

Captain Remis spoke up in protestation, “But my lady, why must we waste manpower defending the other three walls? There are very little if any of the enemy outside any of the walls except the southern one.”

“How much battle have you seen?” she asked the young captain curiously.

“Not much,” he admitted. “Just a few skirmishes here and there with neighboring kingdoms.”

Xena sighed. She wondered if all the men under her command were just as inexperienced as this young captain before her.

“Well take my word for it captain. The main bulk of the enemy is at our southern gate, that’s true, but if the opposing army has any brains at all then it’s only a diversion to draw our attention from the main attack on another wall. If we were foolish enough to concentrate all our men in one spot, we could be overrun in no time.”

Captain Remis blushed and bowed his head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry my lady, I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay captain, you can’t learn if you don’t ask questions. Now what’s the disposition of our weapons and supplies?” As Xena continued to question the captains, she began to get a good feel for how to best deploy her defenses. And as she immersed herself in her job, she was able to hold the pain at bay for awhile. When she looked at the captains in front of her she realized that with the exception of Solis, all of them were largely inexperienced, but they were young and eager to learn. She only hoped they would live long enough to learn from their mistakes.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shortly before noon it started. Xena was on the southern wall checking on her men’s positions when suddenly the enemy forces rushed forward to try to cast scaling ladders against the wall hoping to overwhelm the defenders with sheer numbers. At Xena’s signal the archers picked their targets at random and started shooting. There were so many of the enemy concentrated in one place together that nearly every arrow found its mark. The deadly barrage hardly slowed them down. In turn the archers in the enemy force started shooting at the defenders on the top of the wall. When they saw the arrows coming the defenders ducked down in time and most of the arrows missed. But judging by the few screams and grunts of pain she heard, Xena knew that some of the arrows at least had found a target. She signaled to the soldiers who were preparing the pots of boiling oil that were stationed up and down the walls. The soldiers, in groups of three, used long handled forged iron tongs to steady the scalding caldrons while they poured the oil on the enemy below. Xena winced in sympathy at the screams of pain coming from the scalded men. Then she hardened her heart to the sound and continued hacking at any intruder who managed to make it over the wall. And that’s what it was, it wasn’t glorious, it wasn’t skillful, it wasn’t a battle pitting strength against strength. It was hack, and then hack some more and trying to stay alive long enough to do it again. She couldn’t afford to feel sympathy toward the enemy; she had too many people counting on her, too many things to do. But the energy involved in just staying alive did have the effect of making the pain of Ares betrayal recede, if only for a little while.

Suddenly just in front of her, another one of the Ithican soldiers managed to reach the top of the wall on a scaling ladder. She dispatched him quickly and pushed the ladder away from the wall, in the process knocking several men off that had just started to climb it. She could see her men valiantly fighting the enemy and repelling ladders all up and down the line. For the most part, the enemy’s arrows were only a nuisance. They weren’t doing much in the way of damage, but they were very effective in keeping the defenders pinned in one place. No one wanted to move around much when to do so meant an arrow in your chest, or your throat, or any exposed part of your body that it could reach.

Xena wondered what was happening along the other four walls. Had the enemy tried attacking them yet? She also wondered why the Ithican soldiers had not fired any of the catapults yet. She knew they had them and her reports also confirmed that they were in working order, so why weren’t they being used? What did the enemy have up its sleeve? She didn’t know and the lack of intelligence was driving her crazy. She signaled to a guard and when he came near, she ordered him to go to the other walls in turn and report back to her. She sent him off, only to see him fall to an enemy’s arrow before he had gone more than five steps. She quickly called another guard as the first was carried of to the infirmary. She gave the second soldier the same orders and sent him off. This guard was a little more cautious than the first and managed to get away. Sometime later the guard returned and told her the other walls were still quiet, they had not been attacked yet. He told her that all the soldiers along the other walls were restless and wondered why they weren't being ordered to go where all the fighting was. He asked her if there were any orders to relay. She said no but advised him to stay close just in case.

Xena was worried. What did the enemy have in mind? When were they going to attack the other walls, and why hadn’t they done it yet? Xena knew she wasn’t wrong, she was too experienced a warrior to misjudge the opposition so thoroughly. Suddenly she didn’t have time to worry anymore as another man came over the wall to quickly fall to her sword. She had a feeling this was going to be a very long day.

After several hours of non-stop fighting, Xena could feel the weariness deep in her bones. She looked down at herself for the first time to find herself covered in blood. Her arms were soaked to the elbow and there was more splattered over her chest and legs. She couldn’t see her face, but when she wiped the sweat off her brow and her chin, her hand came away red. She signaled to a water boy, who was carrying around buckets of wash water and dipping her hands and arms in the proffered bucket, she at least managed to remove the worst of it. She was dead tired and her arms felt like lead weights attached to her body. The enemy had been fighting non-stop for hours and had yet to fall back to rest and regroup. She was standing there quietly against the wall taking a breather and thinking about Ares when suddenly she felt a blow to her back. Thinking that someone had accidentally run into her she started to turn around to see what was going on. ‘That’s strange,’ she thought. ‘I can’t feel my legs.’ She turned her head to see a man standing behind her with a bloody knife in his hand. The same man who had been with Discord the day she was captured. She barely had time to register this fact when her legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap. As she sank into darkness for the second time in less than two weeks, she saw one of her guards dispatch the man who had stabbed her in the back.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares was on the battlefield in Athens directing his troops. He was still thinking about Xena and how much he had hurt her. 'Would it always be like this?’ he thought. ‘Am I doomed to always hurt the only one I’ll ever love?’ He tried to suppress the pain, to put it to the back of his mind, but it was always right there under the surface ready to rip his heart to shreds over and over again. He needed to focus on the matter at hand. He wasn’t completely successful, but finally he did manage to blunt the pain for a little while. He stood silently with his hand resting on his sword hilt, watching the battle rage around him. No one could see him unless he wanted them to and he took advantage of this fact to wander the battlefield at will. When he came on Hercules fighting off several of his soldiers, he smiled grimly and stepped out of the aether. The minute Herc saw him, he rushed forward and putting all his strength behind the blow, he laid Ares flat. Ares was a god and had godlike strength, but Hercules was the son of Zeus and had received godlike strength as his birthright. The two of them were pretty evenly matched. Ares jumped up and landed a punch of his own to his half-brother that sent him sailing through the air to crash on the ground. Seeing Hercules had no weapon, the god of war chose not to draw his own sword. This would be an unarmed fight, pitting strength against strength. Ares took grim pleasure in fighting his half-brother; maybe this battle would help the pain recede a little.

They continued their grim fight, neither one of them getting the upper hand, when suddenly Ares doubled over in intense, excruciating pain. His back felt like it was on fire.

“NOOOOOOOOO, XXEEEEEEENNNNAAAAAAAAAA!” he screamed as his legs gave out under him and he collapsed on the ground. He had never felt pain like this before, being a god he didn’t feel pain and couldn’t be injured, so he knew that what he now felt was Xena’s pain through his bond to her.

Hercules rushed up and knelt down next to Ares. “Ares, what’s wrong? Why are you in pain, gods don’t feel pain! What’s happened to Xena and why did you scream her name? Ares, tell me!” he said as he shook the downed god of war. He was extremely afraid at seeing what just happened, he knew it had something to do with Xena and that it was serious.

Ares got shakily to his feet with the help of his half-brother. Hercules saw the fear and pain in his eyes as he gasped, “It’s Xena, she been injured. She’s dying. I have to go to her.”

Hercules was surprised at the depth of fear in Ares’ voice. He realized that maybe his brother wasn’t as cold hearted as he thought. If he could love Xena then maybe there was hope for him yet. Besides he knew if Xena was to live, his brother would be the only one who could not only get to her in time, but the only one who even had a chance at saving her life.

“Go Ares, take care of her. Tell her I’m thinking about her.” Ares nodded as he left in a flash of silver light.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares appeared next to the litter that had been used to transport Xena to the infirmary. Gabrielle was standing over her trying to help her and crying uncontrollably. She had managed to clean off most of the blood that covered the warrior from head to foot, but was unable to treat the killing wound. She knew Xena was dying and there was nothing she or anyone there could do. When she saw Ares appear she looked up at with the first stirrings of hope she had had since seeing Xena’s injury.

“Can you help her?” she pleaded.

“I’ll try.”

At the sound of her beloved’s voice, Xena roused and opened her eyes. She looked up to see Ares staring down at her and she was surprised to see tears glistening in his eyes. She weakly lifted her hand towards him; she knew she was dying and she wanted to touch him one last time. He saw her gesture and he reached down and picked her hand up in his strong warm grip.

Xena opened her mouth in an effort to speak, but all she could manage was a hoarse whisper. Ares saw her try to speak and he leaned down to hear her.

“I love you Ares, I always have.” Then Xena lapsed back in to unconsciousness.

“I love you too, Xena,” he whispered, knowing even as he did that she couldn’t hear him. Her confession brought tears to his eyes. He knew they could never be, even if she lived, because it was only the effect of Cupid’s arrow that had caused her to confess her love. He was deeply saddened by the knowledge that she would never have said it otherwise, and that she didn’t truly love him at all.

He gently picked her up off the litter and vanished, only to appear in his private bedchambers on Mt. Olympus. It was here that he kept all his momentos of Xena, all his memories of her, from the time when he had first seen her until now. When she was his warlord, his Destroyer of Nations, she had been his lover, his confidant, and his warrior. They could tell each other anything. He missed those times, he missed her. He had loved her even then, but he hadn’t realized it until he lost her, until she left his side. There were small statues, tapestries and carvings, all displaying her, the woman he loved more than life itself. He had also kept all the items he had given her that she had either discarded or returned to him. Jewelry, clothes, another set of her famous armor, and even the rose he had given her the first time they had made love. He had dried and preserved it and it was sitting in a box on his dresser. She would laugh at him if she knew that he had kept all these things. She probably wouldn’t understand why he would.

He laid her gently on his huge four poster bed. It was sensibly decorated in black and silver like everything of his was, and it was covered in black silk sheets, with an abundance of huge fluffy pillows. He waved his hand and Xena’s clothes disappeared down to her shift. The pallor of her face worried him, and he knew she would die if he didn’t do something soon. The problem was since her injury was so severe he didn’t know if his strength alone was enough to heal her.

Desperately he called, “’Dite, I need you.”

Aphrodite arrived in a flash of pale pink light.

“Oh Ar, what happened? Poor baby,” she said as she rushed to Xena’s side.

“She’s dying ‘Dite and I need your help to save her.”

“Of course bro, anything to save the ‘warrior babe’, she’s my friend.”

Ares was surprised by her words; he hadn’t realized how much his sister cared about Xena. It seemed she had a lot of people who loved and cared about her. He was almost jealous. Because of who he was and what he did, not many people really cared about him. But as lonely as he felt sometimes, the only one other than ‘Dite, Cupid and Zeus whose opinion mattered to him, was the woman lying on his bed dying.

Ares and Aphrodite both put their hands on Xena’s head. As they concentrated, faintly at first a green glow enveloped their hands. After awhile the glow brightened and spread to encompass the entire stricken warrior’s body. The two gods stood like that for many long minutes until their strength finally gave out and they had to pull away.

Ares checked on Xena’s wound. It had closed and seemed to be healing well. Her face that had once looked so cold and pale was now pink and flushed with warmth and good health. Her chest was rising and falling as she breathed and her breathing seemed stronger and more normal. Ares checked her pulse and found that it too was stronger. Although she was still unconscious, Ares knew she would live.

“Thanks ‘Dite,” he said, the exhaustion plainly evident in his voice.

“Anytime bro,” she answered as she left in a flash of pale pink light.

Ares was amused to observe that that was the third time she had used the same entrance. She must have solved her serious dilemma and finally chosen the one she would keep. After she left, he undressed and climbed into bed next to Xena. He lay against her back and reaching out his arm he wrapped it around her and pulled her close to his warmth. Secure in the knowledge that his princess would be okay with a little rest, he quickly fell asleep to regain his own strength.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Xena woke in the early morning hours not knowing where she was. She felt warmth against her back and a strong arm about her waist. At first she panicked then she realized she was in Ares’ bedchambers, probably in one of his temples, and she relaxed, settling back against him for comfort before drifting off to sleep again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Ares woke up in the morning he saw that Xena was still asleep. He quietly got up from the bed, trying not to disturb her. After getting up, he gestured and was once again fully clothed. He settled back in a chair against the wall, prepared to keep vigil over his sleeping princess until she awoke.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Xena woke for the second time, she knew immediately that Ares was not in bed with her anymore. She looked wildly around the room searching for him and finally spotted him sitting against the wall watching her. Immediately she relaxed, she had been afraid he had left her alone again.

“Ares?”

“Yes, Xena?” he said as he came over to the bed and sat down next to her.

“What happened? How did I end up here?”

“You were injured and almost died. Aphrodite helped me by adding her strength to mine and the two of us healed you. What happened Xena, how were you injured? Who did this to you?”

“It was Discord. Not her personally but one of her ‘boys’. She transported him to the space directly behind me and before I realized he was there it was too late. I always know when you are near, but with Discord I don’t have the same connection and I couldn’t feel his coming.”

“Discord,” he growled in anger. “Zeus will hear about this, I promise. He will punish her and I'll personally make sure she never hurts you again. I swear this on the life of Zeus himself.”

She knew that he meant it. No one, neither god nor mortal, ever swore on the life of Zeus unless they truly meant what they said. If their claims were false and there was a lie in their heart, Zeus would know and he would strike them down where they stood.

Ares took Xena’s hand in his and brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Xena, about the other night, I’m sorry.”

Xena jerked away from him and sat up abruptly in anger. “Sorry for what Ares? Sorry you came to me? Sorry you kissed me? Sorry you tried to make love to me? Sorry you didn’t succeed? Or sorry that you left me alone and hurting? Which of those things are you sorry for Ares?”

The proud god of war hung his head in defeat. “I’m sorry that I hurt you. I’m sorry that I tried to take advantage of you. I’m sorry for everything cruel or mean that I’ve ever done to you. I know you don’t believe me, you have every right not too, but I’m telling you the truth. If you can’t forgive me I’ll understand, it will tear my heart apart, but I’ll understand. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I want you to know, Xena, that no matter what, I love you. I always have and I always will. And always is a very long time for a god.”

Xena was struck speechless, she had never thought to hear those words coming from his mouth. Her heart leapt in joy to know he truly loved her. And not only did he love her, but he also regretted everything cruel he had ever done to her. Aphrodite had been right about everything! Xena sent her a quiet prayer of ‘Thank You’. In her head she heard a giggle and a quiet voice say, “You’re entirely welcome, Sweet Cheeks.”

She reached over and put her fingers under Ares’ chin. She lifted his face up so she could see into his eyes. They were filled with love and longing and something else, pain. “I forgive you Ares, I forgive you for everything,” she whispered.

He grinned that infuriatingly handsome grin of his in joy and leaned in close to kiss her. Suddenly his eyes clouded over and he pulled back from her. Xena watched in surprise and pain as Ares walked away from her again. “I can’t do this, I can’t,” he muttered to himself. Suddenly he shouted in pain and anguish, “CUPID!”

Cupid appeared before them in a flash of red light. He saw them both looking at him. He saw the pain in Ares’ eyes, and the pain and confusion in Xena’s.

“What is it, dad?”

‘Take it off Cupid, take it off right now. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Take what off Ares? What did you do?” Xena asked in anger and confusion. She didn’t understand what was going on, and it was making her heart pound in fear.

Ares looked downcast as he answered, “I had Cupid shoot an arrow at you so you would fall in love with me. I wanted you to love me, and I was hoping that after the effects of the arrow wore off that some of the feelings would remain behind. But every time we got close I remembered the arrow and I knew I couldn’t take advantage of you that way. I knew that if I had, when the effects did wear off, you would know what I had done and would never forgive me. I couldn’t stand that, so I hurt us both and walked away.”

“You what?” Xena shouted in anger. “You mean to tell me this isn’t real?”

Cupid quickly stepped between the quarreling lovers. “Stop, it’s okay. Slow down a second and let me speak.”

Xena backed off but Ares could still see the anger simmering just below the surface. He had so hoped that when he explained things to her she would understand. He waited impatiently to hear what Cupid had to say.

“Now dad, mom and I knew that you were only acting out of desperation to get Xena to fall in love with you because you loved her so much and could see no other way. We both knew you really didn’t want to do this.” Then he turned to Xena, “And Xena, mom knew from talking to you that you were already in love with my dad, so…..” Cupid scratched his head in embarrassment and continued, “Mom and I decided on an alternate plan. Xena was shot with an arrow, yes that’s true, but it was a special arrow, a golden arrow. This arrow was designed not to create the feeling of love but only to slightly enhance the feelings that were already there. So you see, both of you already loved the other. My arrow didn’t change anything, it only got you both to admit the feelings you already had.”

Xena and Ares looked at each other in surprise and shock and then they both grinned in happiness and relief. Ares walked over to the bed as he said, “Thanks Cupid, you knew what we wanted and needed more than we did. We won’t forget you for this. Now get lost. Oh, one more thing before you go. Tell ‘Dite we love her.” Ares didn’t notice Cupid leave as he turned to Xena and looked into her incredibly beautiful blue eyes.

Xena returned his look as she reached out to take his hand. “You love me? You really love me? It’s what I’ve always wanted, what I’ve always dreamed of. I can’t believe that all my dreams are finally coming true.”

“Me neither,” Ares echoed. He couldn’t believe his incredible good fortune. The woman he loved more than life itself felt the same way about him. He couldn’t stop grinning like a fool.

Xena laughed up at her wonderful, handsome god of war. He really was, she could say that now, he was hers. “We should get back and let Iphicles and Gabrielle know I’m okay, and besides we have a war to finish.”

“Not now, later,” Ares whispered huskily as he bent down and captured her lips in his.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was dawn again when Ares roused from a deep sleep. He was lying on his bed in his private bedchambers. He looked over at Xena’s sleeping form nestled in close next to him. She was still recovering her strength from her injury and was exhausted. ‘Yesterday didn’t help either,’ he thought as he chuckled in remembrance. He felt a warm glow of contentment remembering yesterday’s events. Xena had forgiven him for his stunt with Cupid and had shown him that forgiveness in the most enjoyable way possible. He didn’t want to move, he wanted to stay here in bed with her forever with his arms around her, but he knew between his duties and hers that that was an impossible dream.

He moved away from her slowly, trying to get up without disturbing his princess. He eased off the bed and was dressed again with a thought. He opened a portal in Corinth to check on how the war was shaping up in Xena’s absence. Things were pretty quiet at the moment, but because of his connection to his job, after all he was war, he knew the quiet wouldn’t last for long. He surveyed the area outside the walls and saw the Ithican soldiers readying catapults to fire on the walls. If they succeeded in punching enough holes in the wall, they had the numbers still left alive to overrun the city pretty easily. Xena had told him yesterday about how the battle was going before she had been injured. All the fighting was concentrated on the one southern wall and the enemy had not used their catapults. Ares believed like Xena, that the attack on the one wall was just a diversion. In observing the army now, he realized that this was all part of Discord's elaborate plan. If she had succeeded, not only would Xena be dead, but also her expertise would be lost. The majority of the Corinthian army was untried and untrained. He knew with a certainty born of eons of experience, that the catapults had been held back until Xena was gone. Without Xena there to lead them, Ithica would have an easy victory over the defenders.

He checked on Gabrielle too, since he knew she would ask, and saw her busy tending to the wounded. She had set up an efficient organization and was delegating authority with the ease born of experience. The wounded with the most severe injuries were being treated by the most skilled healers in one area of the infirmary, while the other less severe cases were being taken care of by any and all volunteers that Gabrielle had been able to recruit. He could also see that she understood the necessity of cleanliness, as everything was as neat and clean as it could be, considering. He also spotted his uncle Hades and his associate Death, wandering the inside of the infirmary. No one else was able to see them as they went from soldier to soldier, taking only those whose time it was to die. Gabrielle was currently working alongside a blond haired man that Ares did not recognize, removing an arrowhead from a stricken soldier. The two of them worked well together and the god of war was able to detect a faint spark of something between the two. As much as the bard irritated him, he had to admire her dedication and efficiency in a crisis. She reminded him of his warrior princess. Although he knew Xena had trained her and taught her many skills, Gabrielle had already had many of those same qualities before the two had ever met.

He then went on to check on King Iphicles. The king was in his throne room directing the fighting and taking Xena’s place as best he could. He was taking reports from a series of scouts who were monitoring the events on the walls. He was currently standing over a map of his kingdom, tracking the movement of enemy troops. His head was bowed in concentration, but there was something about his face that caught Ares’ eye. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but there was something familiar about him. Then Ares shook his head in puzzlement as he concentrated once again on what the king was doing. Iphicles was being briefed and in turn issuing orders to a constant stream of men as they came and went from his presence. All in all, everything seemed well in hand, for now at least. He was sitting in his chair pondering and trying to decide how best to resolve this crisis, when Xena woke up.

When Xena woke she realized immediately that Ares was not there in bed with her. As first she panicked, but then as she remembered the events of yesterday, a smile of longing came to her lips. “Ares,’ she whispered, knowing he would hear her.

“I’m here,” he said. She looked over and saw he was there in the room with her, watching out his portal. She smiled at him and he smiled in response before turning back to his work. For an instant when she had awoke she had been afraid he had left her again. Then she realized she was just being foolish. She knew he had obligations that would take him from her just as she did. As long as she knew he loved her, she could deal with his absences.

She sat up, and wrapping her arms around her bent legs, she looked around the room wondering which of his many temples she was in. Her mouth opened in surprise when she saw that this was no normal temple room. No, this was Ares’ private bedchamber in the Halls of War on Mt. Olympus itself! He had never brought her here before even when they were having their torrid affair all those years ago. During that time he had always taken her to one of his temples, or some other exotic far away place where they could be alone. She wondered if he had brought any other mortal here other than her. She knew that he was eons old, he was immortal after all, and he had had many affairs and had many children as a result. But to her knowledge he never paid any attention to any of those other women and he never seemed to acknowledge any of his children. If she allowed herself to dwell on the past she might begin to feel jealous, but all that was over now. He loved her and she loved him and the past should stay where it belonged, in the past.

She looked over again to where Ares was sitting. She couldn’t quite believe he was really there with her and she couldn’t stop looking at him. He was continuing his observation of the current wars in his part of the world, and she could tell he thoroughly enjoyed his work. He smiled when he looked up and saw her watching him and she felt her heart leap as she smiled in response.

Ares got up and came over to her. He sat next to her on the bed and took her in his arms. He pulled her close and just held her, enjoying the feel of her body against his. He pulled away from her and kissed her gently on the lips. “I need to leave for a little while. I’m going to go see Zeus to let him know about Discord, and then I need to check up on my army in Athens. Things seem to be going well there, but my warlords need a little ‘gentle’ encouragement from me sometimes in person. It’s amazing how well things go after I make one of my little ‘appearances’.”

Xena grinned; she knew exactly what he was talking about. She’d had reason in the past to rate one of his ‘appearances’ herself.

“I also want to let Hercules know that you’re okay, he was worried.”

“How did he know I was injured?”

“Ares grinned in embarrassment as he explained, “We were fighting. I was taking out my frustration on his face and he was taking out his anger on mine. When you were stabbed, I felt your pain and doubled over in agony. When I told Herc that you were injured and I needed to get to you, he urged me to come right away. He’ll be happy to know that I made it to you on time.”

“How could you feel my pain?”

“We have a bond together, you and I. Don’t you feel it?”

Xena stopped for a moment and sent her mind deep inside her body. She explored every part of herself. She could feel her heart pumping and the blood rush through her veins. She could feel her stomach and indigestion working. As she went deeper and deeper she finally felt it, there, right there. She felt an insubstantial part of herself tug towards the man at her side, and she realized that she could feel him as well. She sent her mind deeper, ever deeper and then she could hear it, his heart beating, his blood pumping. They were tied together, what one felt the other would also. She was so startled by the knowledge that she jerked back suddenly breaking the link. “Yes I felt it, I really did, this is what you feel?”

“For me it’s a little stronger since I’m a god, but I knew you would be able to feel it too.”

“I’ll be back soon. You should eat and get some more rest.”

Xena smiled and kissed him gently letting him know it was okay to leave her alone.

“See you soon,” she said.

Ares vanished in a flash of silver light, leaving in his place a beautiful, blood red rose. He had left a table laden with food for her as well. She picked up the rose and brought it to her nose to sniff. It had a heady floral fragrance that brought back many memories of the past. Memories of the time when she and Ares were once lovers. Memories of good times as well as bad. He used to always give her red roses whenever they made love.

Before going over to the table to eat, she got up and took a closer look at the furnishings in the room since she had never been here before. After looking at several of the tapestries, she realized with shock that they all depicted her! There she was in the battle with Athens. In the next one she was being given her chakram by Ares. The next one showed her during the time of her training. The next showed her at the height of her fame as Ares’ Destroyer of Nations. The next one brought tears to her eyes. It was a depiction of her first battle. The one where she had fought with her brother Lyceus, the same battle where he was killed, as they were defending their homes against Cortes. It was the first time she had ever seen Ares. He had come to her after the battle and swept her, a young girl, off her feet. She fell in love with him in that instant. He was so strong and handsome and passionate, everything she had always thought, in her romantic fantasies, that a man should be. She was young and inexperienced but that didn’t matter to either one of them. He told her she should be one of his warlords, then he took her for training in one of his temples. The rest was history.

She continued around the room peering at all the objects and looking in all the boxes and chests and drawers. All the objects, everything she saw, were of her or had once belonged to her. She even found another set of her armor, one she hadn’t worn in years. She saw small statuettes of her, and of her and Ares together. There was jewelry that he had given her that she had abandoned or returned to him. In one box on top of his dresser she even found a dried and preserved rose. She knew what it was, where it came from. It was the first rose he had ever given her, the first time they had made love. He must have saved it and kept it here. He had kept everything here. She couldn’t fathom what he had gone through to save all these things. She walked over to the chair, sat down and started to cry. She realized that he had loved her from the first time he had met her, the same time she had fallen in love with him. Although she had denied the feelings for a long time, she had known that she had loved him from the first. But she had never imagined he had felt the same way. She couldn’t understand why, she was just another woman in Ares’ long line of conquests; he could have had anyone, why her? She shook her head in bewilderment. There was so much about him that she didn’t, and probably would never, understand. But one thing was clear, he had loved her and she had loved him and although they were together now, she deeply regretted all the lost years in between. Time was nothing to him, but she would only live for so long and every moment lost was precious to her.

Finally she shrugged off her melancholy, she refused to be upset any longer about something that she could do nothing about, and started to eat. All her favorite foods were here. Ares knew her so well. There was roast pheasant, small potatoes baked in the fire until their skin was black and cracked, freshly baked bread slathered with warm creamy butter, a bunch of sweet red grapes and more of the cold cider she had so enjoyed in Corinth. She hadn’t told him how much she liked it, but he always seemed to notice those things. Thinking back on all the events in their past, she saw that he had always noticed things like that. It wasn’t a matter of reading her mind, although he could, he rarely did because he respected her privacy. It was more a matter of watching her, what she did and how she reacted to things. He always noticed when she ate the same foods twice or when she never touched them again. Paying attention to her extended to areas other than food as well, he noticed things about her friends that she missed, especially Gabrielle. Xena knew that although she loved Gabrielle heart and soul, she tended to take her for granted. Ares never did. Although the two didn’t get along, Ares had always managed to find a way to draw Xena’s attention to Gabrielle when he noticed she wasn’t allowing the bard a chance to grow, when she didn’t appreciate her. Sometimes the methods he used infuriated her, but they always made their mark.

After eating Xena felt much better, much more alive. She walked over to the dresser again and found her armor, her sword, her chakram and the rest of her clothes folded in a neat pile ready for her. Everything had been repaired and cleaned of all the blood and dirt. Xena sent Ares a silent thank you for his thoughtfulness. She picked up her sword and started doing her exercises. She was stiff and sore at first, but as she continued to move, flowing slowly through her forms, her muscles loosened up and she felt more freedom of movement. As she moved to begin again she felt a tingle run up her spine and she knew Ares was there watching her. But as she brought her sword back to start her next set of exercises, she was startled to hear a sword being drawn and the sound of blade clashing against blade. She turned to see him standing there with a devilish grin on his handsome bearded face and laughter dancing in his warm brown eyes. His sword was blocking hers and there was a challenge to his stance. She grinned and shifting her own stance slightly she prepared to do battle with him.

They thrust and parried and fought each other. They flipped over each other in a heated contest of skill. ‘She’s glorious,’ Ares thought, ‘I could do this forever.’ They both reveled in this, this pitting one against the other, skill against skill. Xena was very skilled, after all she had learned from the best, but Ares was better. He not only had the strength of a god, but eons more experience. But no matter how good he was she usually beat him. She didn’t know if it was because she distracted him, or because she did something he didn’t expect or because he let her win. She suspected it was the last reason, he let her win just because he wanted to. She loved this; she was in her element, fighting with a superior opponent, someone who would make her try her very best. There were no half measures with Ares, you did your best or you didn’t do it at all. But best of all she liked the idea of fighting with no fear of bloodshed. She didn’t have to worry that someone would kill her if she didn’t kill them first.

After a time she began to get tired, after all she wasn’t fully recovered yet. But she refused to let Ares know how she was feeling. He noticed anyway. When he saw that she was tiring he stopped, allowing her to win so she could stop too without losing her dignity.

They were both hot and sweaty from their exertions so he transported them to a favorite spot. It was a quiet pool at the base of a beautiful waterfall. A grassy bank surrounded the pool and the scent of wildflowers permeated the air. Ares sent both their clothes away and they jumped into the warm water laughing in delight. They spent some time just playing like children, laughing and splashing each other and dunking each other under the water.

Suddenly they both stopped, as if at some unspoken signal, and stared into each other’s eyes. Xena felt herself drowning in his soft brown gaze. They came together in a long passionate embrace. Ares transported them to the grassy bank where they spent the next several hours getting hot and sweaty all over again. After jumping into the pool to rinse off one more time, Ares dressed them and picking her up in his arms, took them back to his room

“I love you Xena,” Ares whispered huskily as he set her down on the bed.

“I love you too, Ares,” she whispered in reply.

He sat on the bed next to her and pulled her close. “I want you to stay here, with me, forever. I want you to be my goddess and my wife. Xena, will you marry me?”

Xena broke down in tears as she replied, “Yes Ares, oh yes, yes I’ll marry you, yes. But what about Gabrielle? What will I tell her? How can I leave her alone? And the war in Corinth, I need to be there to help, they need me.” She sounded so forlorn and unhappy about what she thought were her responsibilities that he hastened to reassure her.

He wiped the tears from her face as he said, “I’ve been thinking about a solution for Corinth. I’ve gone to Zeus and explained things to him and he’s already punished Discord by making her mortal for thirty days, she should love that.” He chuckled as he remembered the look on Discord’s face as Zeus named her punishment, she was not in the least bit happy, but he had certainly enjoyed the show. “Anyway, that means Discord will be out of the way and won’t be able to interfere anymore. With her gone, it should be easy enough to stop the fighting. I’m sure they’ll listen to me, after all, hey, I am the god of war!”

Xena laughed as the expression on Ares’ face. He was so cute when he got that twinkle in his eyes, that twinkle that spoke of vengeance to come. He looked so excited.

“Once the fighting has stopped everything can go back to normal, well as normal as usual anyway, then we’ll be free to be together.”

“What about Gabrielle? I can’t just leave her alone.”

“She’s a big girl, she’ll be okay by herself.” Ares pursed his lips in thought for a moment and then continued, “Besides I expect that she won’t be alone for long.”

“Do you know something I don’t know?”

“No, just a suspicion, something I noticed.”

“Let’s go see her and tell her our news, I know she’s worried about me.”

He grinned down at her as he said, “In a little while.” He leaned over and captured her lips with his and very shortly she had completely forgotten what it was she had wanted to do. Nothing mattered at this moment but the two of them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gabrielle was tending to a wounded soldier who had been hit by an arrow the day before. She and Solis had removed the arrowhead and then she had stitched him up with neat practiced stitches. The stitches were healing well, but now the man had developed a fever. She was placing cloths soaked with cool water from the bucket beside her, onto his forehead to try to bring his fever under control. In the last few days she had seen a lot of blood, a lot of injured men and a lot of death. It was nothing she hadn’t seen before under other circumstances, after all to travel with Xena meant seeing bloodshed was inevitable, but she didn’t have to like it. Fighting and the accompanying bloodshed seemed to follow them around from place to place; they could never quite seem to get free of it. The volunteers she had recruited were shaping up well and had done a wonderful job so far. Some of them had even shown a real gift for healing and caring for the wounded. Some of those had elected to go on for more formal training when this war was over. But even those who didn’t have the gift had done the best they could and worked tirelessly doing what they could to ease the men’s pain and suffering, even if it was keeping bandages stocked and ready and keeping things neat and clean.

Solis especially had been wonderful. She didn’t know what she would have done without him. He had been by her side almost the whole time. He left on occasion to check on his men, but he always came back. When she had asked him why he was there and not on the battlements, he had told her that he had put his second in charge and he was doing admirably. He told her that he was testing his second in command during battle conditions for a possible promotion, but she knew the truth. She knew he was worried about her and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible in case anything terrible happened and one of them died.

Gabrielle hadn’t felt this way about anyone in a very long time. Not since Callisto had killed her husband Perdicus. Last night when she was bone tired and worried to death about Xena, she had burst into tears. He had come to her and taken her into his arms and comforted her. They had talked way into the night and told each other many things about their past and their hopes and dreams. They had ended up confessing their love to one another and Gabrielle felt that they had a real chance to have a long happy life together except for one thing, Xena.

Gabrielle loved Xena with all her heart and soul. She was her sister, her best friend. She couldn’t bear it if she left Xena to travel alone, without her. Even though Xena tended to take her for granted and tried to protect her, even when she could protect herself, she knew deep down inside that without her, Xena would be lost. Her heart ached at the thought of being without either Xena or Solis.

She was also desperately afraid for Xena. The last time she had seen her friend, she was dying. Never had she felt such total helplessness. When Ares came and took Xena, she had felt hope for the first time since seeing the warrior woman’s injury. She prayed to all the gods who would listen, that Ares had been able to save her best friend’s life. The love, fear and concern on Ares’ face had shocked Gabrielle when he had picked the warrior up and vanished. She realized that maybe, just maybe, the love that Xena felt for Ares was returned.

Suddenly there was a flash of silver light and there she was! She was okay! Gabrielle rushed to her friend and threw her arms around her in relief. “Xena, you’re okay…thank the gods, you’re okay. Xena, I can’t believe you’re okay….” she kept saying over and over again.

Xena felt tears well up in her eyes as she realized just how desperately afraid for her Gabrielle had been. She laughed silently at herself; she seemed to be crying an awful lot these last few days. “Gabrielle, it’s okay. I’m fine. It’s okay. Calm down, I’m fine.”

Finally the bard pulled away from her friend and noticed for the first time that Ares was standing at her side. She turned to him with tears in her eyes and said simply, “Thank you.”

Ares nodded and smiled at her and said, “You’re entirely welcome. Hey, I couldn’t let my favorite warrior princess die now, could I?”

Gabrielle and Xena both rolled their eyes and laughed at his remark.

Xena looked at Ares and then back at Gabrielle and said, “We have some news for you.”

Seeing the looks on both of their faces she said, “I think I know what it is, but go ahead and tell me anyway.”

Ares reached out and took Xena’s hand in his as he said, “I love Xena and I’ve asked her to marry me and become a goddess. She’s agreed.”

Gabrielle felt her jaw drop in shock. She had thought that they just wanted to tell her they were in love with one another. She had never imagined Ares would actually ask Xena to marry him. And Xena becoming a goddess! She had never thought to see the day when that would happen. ‘Ares in love and getting married, and Xena a goddess!’ she thought. ‘Will wonders never cease!’ But she could see the proof of their feelings for each other very clearly; all she had to do was see the expressions on their faces whenever they looked at each other. Then the meaning behind Ares’ words hit her and she smiled in wonder and relief. Xena wouldn’t be alone! She would have Ares to protect and care for her! She could be with Solis!

Her eyes sparkling with thoughts of their future together, she hugged her friend and said, “Congratulations Xena and Ares, I’m so happy for you!”

Xena looked in surprise at the bard. Was this really her friend or had some vengeful god exchanged her with someone else? Gabrielle hated Ares! What was going on? She looked to Ares to see his reaction and saw him just smiling in pleasure. He hadn’t noticed anything unusual in the bard’s words, or had he? Again she thought that he knew something about Gabrielle that she didn’t.

The warrior soon to become goddess took her friend in hand and walked her over to the corner where they could talk in privacy.

“What’s going on Gabrielle? You hate Ares, so why did you congratulate us? I expected you to be angry.”

Gabby sighed, “I’ve known for a very long time that you loved Ares. Probably even before you knew yourself. It doesn’t matter how I feel about him, but now that I know Ares loves you in return, I know that you’ll be happy together.

Xena hugged her friend in happiness and relief. She was pleased that Gabrielle could accept the idea of her and Ares together. “Thank you, my friend. I know we’ll be happy. But I’m worried about you being alone. I can’t stand the thought that you might be injured if I wasn’t there. Even as a goddess I can’t always be there for you.”

Gabrielle smiled, “Don’t worry about me Xena, I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine.”

“That’s what Ares said. What’s going on? Care to let me in on the secret?”

“Ares knows? Somehow that doesn’t surprise me, he always seems to notice things that others miss,” she said as she glanced up at Xena’s face. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

She took Xena by the hand and started to lead her outside the infirmary. As they passed Ares, he stepped in beside them as Gabrielle led them to a group of soldiers who were conversing just outside the door. Gabrielle walked up to one of the soldiers and took him by the hand. Xena was surprised to see that it was Solis. Then she thought about it and realized that she shouldn’t have been surprised after all, the evidence was plain to see if only she had only taken the time to look. She realized that once again she had failed to notice her friend, when she should have been paying closer attention.

At her touch, Solis turned to the two of them and smiled at Gabrielle. He also noticed the tall darkly handsome man standing next to Xena. He looked familiar somehow and Solis thought for a moment about where he had seen him before. Then with shock he realized that he had not seen this man, but he had seen statues of him in his temple. This man was none other than Ares the god of war himself! He tore his eyes away from the silent god and faced Gabrielle once again. “Yes, my love?”

“Xena came to tell me that she and Ares are getting married. She was only hesitating because she thought she would be leaving me alone. I think this is the time when we should give her our news as well.”

Solis’ eyes sparkled as he nodded his head in agreement. He let her tell the news herself, since he didn’t think he would be able to get his voice to work properly.

Turning to Xena, she said, “Solis has asked me to stay here in Corinth with him, as his wife. We love each other and we want to be together.”

Xena hugged her friend in shared happiness, then she reached out and took Ares’ hand in hers. She looked up at her handsome god with tears of love shining in her eyes. “Oh Ares, everything’s going to be okay after all.”

The love and relief in his eyes was plain for everyone there to see. “I told you it would be, my love.”

“I’ll never doubt you again.”

“I doubt that,” he said, then they both laughed.

Xena hugged her friend again and then she hugged Solis as she congratulated them and wished them both lots of happiness.

Then Ares turned to Solis and said, “Take good care of her, she can be very irritating, but Xena loves her. I can see you’re a good man, and I wish you both as much happiness as my goddess and I will have.”

Solis gulped in consternation at having to talk to the god of war, “Thank you, my Lord Ares, I love her and I will take good care of her.”

Xena turned to Ares in concern; “Ares only one thing worries me now. What about the war? How are we going to stop it?”

“I have an idea. Come on,” and still holding Xena’s hand in his, they vanished.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They appeared in Iphicles throne room. The king looked up in shock and surprise at seeing two people suddenly appear before him. When he saw that one of them was Xena, he relaxed. “Xena, I’m happy to see you’re okay. What’s going on? Who is this?”

Xena smiled at her friend as he stared in shock at the god by her side. Seeing the two of them together like this made her even more aware of the fact that they looked so much alike. She could tell by the look on his face that Iphicles was aware of the resemblance as well. “Iphicles, this is Ares, god of war. Ares this is Iphicles, King of Corinth and Hercules’ brother.”

Ares was also looking in shock at the man who could have been his double but for his coloring. He realized now what had been bothering him about the man’s appearance in the portal. He had been looking at his own features and didn’t even realize it until now. ‘This is Herc’s brother? Amazing! To think he has two half brothers, one fully god and one fully human and they should just happen to look exactly alike? What were the odds of something like that happening? Hmmm, I wonder…..’ he thought.

Iphicles came back to himself as his courtly manners surged to the fore. “I’m honored to meet you, my Lord Ares. You are welcome to anything it is in my power to provide.” Then surprisingly, to Xena at least, Iphicles bowed to him! Sometimes she forgot how the rest of the world viewed the gods. She had been around Ares, Aphrodite, Cupid and some of the others for so many years that she had long ago lost any awe that she once had. She knew that although they were gods and therefore immortal, they loved, hated, schemed, lied and had affairs and children just like any other mortal.

Ares came straight to the point, “I’m here to help Xena stop this war. She promised you her help and I choose to aid her in this. I’ve asked her to marry me and she has agreed, but only after this conflict is resolved.”

Iphicles blinked in surprise at the god’s bluntness. “Any help you could provide would be appreciated, my Lord Ares.” He regretted the lost opportunity with Xena, but realized that he had never really had a chance to begin with. Judging by the looks on their faces, the two were very much in love. “What can I do to help?”

“You can begin by showing me where King Meneas’ room is. I’m going to put the fear of the gods in him, I’m going to put the fear of me in him!” Iphicles had no doubt about the truth of the god’s words. With that look on his face and the light of destruction in his eyes, he could easily terrify anyone out of their wits.

“I’ll take you there myself.” So saying, he led Ares and Xena down the corridors of the palace to a room being guarded by two of Iphicles’ soldiers. “In here, my Lord Ares.”

They entered the room only to find Meneas asleep in bed in the middle of the day.

Ares shook his head in disgust; “I’m going to enjoy this, wait here.” He motioned for the two to stay behind at the door with the guards. He walked over to the bed, and with an evil grin on his face, he drew his sword. The ring of steel being drawn was unmistakable. “Arise!” he shouted in anger.

Meneas’ eyes popped open and he looked up in fear to see the wrathful god of war standing over him with his sword drawn ready to strike. A look of such pure horror and fear crossed his face that Ares was sure he had wet himself. Ares could stand it no longer as he doubled over in laughter. Iphicles, Xena and the two guards also erupted in laughter. Meneas was furious. He sat up in bed as Ares sheathed his sword and demanded, “What’s going on? Who is this man? How dare you wake me like that!”

Ares eyes sparkled in suppressed anger at the nerve of this piece of scum before him to talk to them that way. “I’m Ares, the god of war. I’m here to stop your army and you’re going to help me.”

At the realization that he was in the presence of the god of war, if anything he grew even more fearful. “Of course my Lord Ares, anything you say.”

“Yes scum, but it’s not anything I say that you’ll do, it’s everything I say.” He grabbed Meneas by the shoulder and without even allowing him a chance to get dressed; they left in a shower of silver light.

After he left, Iphicles turned to Xena. “What’s he going to do?”

Xena smiled in delight as she answered, “I don’t know my friend, but knowing Ares and his temper, I’m sure it will be spectacular!” The two left Meneas’ room and returned to the throne room to await the god’s return.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ares and Meneas appeared in the Ithican’s command tent. Three of Meneas’ generals were there in front of a table, looking at a map of Corinth and the surrounding countryside, trying to decide on strategy. The tent was bare except for the table and the map. The men looked up in surprise to see their king appear in just his nightshirt with another man out of thin air. The three men immediately dropped into a deep bow to their king.

“Your Majesty,” one said, wondering who this god was. He must be a god to judge by their appearance. “What are your orders?”

Before Meneas had a chance to speak, Ares stepped forward. He was dressed in his normal black leathers and he had his hand on the hilt of his sword. The three generals didn’t yet know who he was, but they recognized the fact that he was an extremely dangerous looking man. He was made even more so by the light of anger and vengeance to come in his eyes. The generals all swallowed in fear and had to physically restrain themselves from running out of the tent like craven cowards. Then he spoke, and the fear increased. “I’m Ares, the god of war! You are fighting this war without my sanction, therefore it will stop right now! Any who defy my orders will pay with their lives! Need I show you the proof of what I say?”

The generals stood in one spot rendered speechless by the god’s pronouncement. Finally one of them gathered the courage to say, “ We don’t worship you, Lord Ares. We only follow our king. What right do you have to tell us what to do?”

Ares face darkened in anger, and although he admired the man’s courage in standing up to him, he couldn’t allow him to get away with it. “What is your name,” he demanded of the man who had spoken.

The general gulped as he answered, “General Ameris, my Lord Ares.”

“Well General Ameris, I’ll be happy to demonstrate to you by what authority I have to stop this war. All of you follow me.”

He stormed out of the tent with Meneas and the generals following close on his heels. He walked to the middle of the clearing just outside of the tent. Without raising his voice, he was able to project it through the whole camp. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. “Hear me! I’m Ares, the god of war. This war is over. Your leader, King Meneas went against my orders and started a conflict that I did not sanction. Behold my anger at his actions.”

He raised his arms and sent multiple bolts of blue fire from his hands directly towards the catapults that were standing ready to be fired. The soldiers manning them leapt away in all directions when they realized what the god intended to do. When the balls of fire reached the catapults they burst into huge sheets of flame that could be seen for miles. Not all the soldiers were lucky enough to get away in time.

Ares spoke again as he crossed his arms over his chest, “You’re army will leave right now, and if I ever see you come up against Corinth again, I will do the same to the rest of you.”

The soldiers stood for a moment in shock at what had just happened. Then before the angry god could say another word, all the soldiers frantically started packing their supplies, tents, etc. in readiness to head back home. Meneas recovered his poise and started rushing around making sure that everything was done as quickly as possible.

After observing the god of war in action, he had no desire to anger him any further. His life was much more precious to him than any thought of possible profit.

Ares stood watch for several hours to make sure the army was in full retreat. As the men packed, they kept sending furtive glances his way to see if he was still there. They were all afraid he might get angry again and do something worse. The sight of the angry god watching them only served to make them move that much faster in an effort to get away from him. When Ares had assured himself that the army was retreating, with Meneas in the vanguard of the procession, he smiled in satisfaction before disappearing. He couldn’t wait to get back to Xena.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When he appeared in the throne room, he found her there talking with Iphicles, Gabrielle and Solis. When she saw him she rushed to him and put her arms around him and hugged him briefly before taking him by the hand and leading him over to her friends.

“I told Iphicles you would do something spectacular,” Xena said with laughter dancing in her beautiful blue eyes, “And I was right.”

Everyone else spoke up at the same time congratulating him on the fine show and the quickness of the army’s retreat. He was surprised to find that he was touched by these people’s good will and acceptance of him. He hadn’t felt this welcome anywhere, in a very long time. He especially felt deep contentment when he looked in the eyes of his one true love. He couldn’t believe that this wonderful, incredible woman loved him. He had hurt her so many times in the past that he was overwhelmed at the depth and strength of her compassion and forgiveness. It made him see the world in a whole new way and he realized that he would never be the same again. As he looked into her beautiful blue eyes, eyes that were filled with such love for him, suddenly everything clicked into place and the air itself seemed to change texture before his very eyes. He finally realized what he had always known deep down inside ever since he and Xena had first met. She was the other half of his soul, the other half of him! After eons of feeling something vital was missing in his life, but not knowing what it was, he realized that he had finally found it, and he would never let it go.

As Xena gazed into his deep brown eyes, she saw something new there. Not only did she see love, but she saw compassion and understanding too. “Let’s go,” she whispered, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be alone with him.

As they vanished, she called out, “Good bye my friends, see you at the wedding….”

...h.o.m.e...
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