I Know You
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Disclaimer: The characters Xena, Gabrielle and Ares belong to MCA/Universal/Renaissance Pictures. No copyright infringement intended.
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She was proud. She wouldn't let him feel her fear.
It was the unpretentious, honest pride that could be found only with simple peasants who had learned to stand up for themselves and what little they had to call their own.
But he could feel her tremble. She was afraid of him, because she knew him. He didn't mind. He was the God of War, and he was aware of how he was seen by humans. He struck the world with fear and terror, yes, but that was what kept the world go round. There could be no light without darkness, and they all had to play their parts in this. And this was his.
He meant her no harm, though. She had crossed his plans more than once before, but he didn't hold it against her. In this very moment when he could have ended her life in a heartbeat, she stood strong, willing to accept whatever fate may await her.
He admired her for that. But his respect was clouded by sadness. He understood her willingness to die was the last refuge of a person who had nothing left to live for. He knew her pain, and the burden she carried.
As a young girl, she had set out to find adventures, but she had gotten more than she had bargained for. She had the purest of souls, and wherever she had wandered, the people told the tale of the bard who was fighting for the good of all with words and verse, not swords. But after seeing so much of death, loss and betrayal, her soul now lay shattered on the ground.
Yes, she had been through a lot. More than she ever should have, and she would see much more before this was over.
He wished he could spare her the pain she was about to face.
Why he felt that way, he didn't know, but there was something he could feel through all her despair. It was small and warm, deep inside of her. Fighting to stay alive, much like a fire about to go out. He had never sensed such a thing before, but he knew he had to save it at any cost.
"You and I have got something to talk about."
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