Here for you
(Xentrya)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Xena: Warrior Princess. They belong to Studio USA and Renaissance Pictures. No profit has been made from this story, damn!
Rated: T
"Holly Olympus, Xena! These guys were good! I mean real good!" Gabrielle exclaimed desperately inhaling yet another breath of air, while letting her overly exhausted body fall freely down the smooth grass, steps away from the unconscious form of a man almost twice her size. "These are clearly not ordinary villagers. I mean did you see their style? Who do you think they are? They were definitely masterly trained. Whomever taught them how to fight did a dangerously good job…"
"Yeah, you can say that again." the Warrior's grave voice slashed the air, her bitter gaze still lingering on the crimson gushes of blood that were richly soaking the dry ground beneath their feet.
"Why do you think they attacked us? We were clearly a target from the moment they laid eyes on us. Plus they don't seam to be from around here…. " Gabrielle's hesitant, rhetoric inquiry launched from her lips, while still trying to find a satisfactory explanation for those previous ten unnecessarily violent minutes of that restless summer afternoon.
"You mean besides us wearing weapons and looking like regular warriors ready to slash any living soul in our path?" Xena's half sarcastic answer came with no delay what so ever along with a widely amused grin.
An impatient, irritated groan followed inevasibly the moment after.
"You know what I mean, Xena! It's like they had been looking for us on purpose and…and that guy that killed himself right before you had the chance to retrieve any information from him….what was that all about? "
"He probably thought that I'was going to kill him anyway after I had found out what I needed to know. Standard procedure for any loyal soldier. Nothing out of the ordinary about that"
"Soldiers? Soldiers of whom?" the petite blonde couldn't help asking, staring at the bloody corpses laying stiff all over the field.
"That's what I'm trying to find out….." the Warrior Princess replied hardly audibly, her heart almost skipping a beat as her tired mind finally managed to connect the image of an amulet one of the fallen man was wearing to a long forgotten memory…..the horrors of which she was rather unwilling to relive.
"Xena…? What's the matter? Did you find anything?"
"No, nothing important." the Warrior Princess answered trying to conceive her utter shock and spare her troubled spirit from the useless and very much unwanted explanation that she had to give to her worried friend. "Come on, we gotta get out of here. I have to get you to safety. As far as we know, there could be another twenty like them heading directly our way."
Obvious concern and fear in her green leaf eyes, the bard didn't need Xena to tell her twice what they needed to do.
"Should we head back to town?"
"For now that's the safest place we could be in. At least until I get to the bottom of this. Ok?"
"Sure" Gabrielle uttered, nodding in agreement with her friend's fair judgment, adding nothing more to what had already been said. As much as she hated to admit it, being a bard and all, sometimes words were indeed useless.
"Let's go then".
XXX
The sun had set for a long time and a pale, threatening moon was rising slowly at the horizon when the raven Warrior Princess left the wooden inn she and the bard had logged in a few hours back, looking for a warm meal and a place to sleep for the night.
And while Gabrielle was off to Morpheus's land, dreaming about more peaceful days in which all people were brothers and no troubles or diseases shadowed in any way the tranquility of the Greek territories, Xena had more important issues to deal with than beauty sleep and fraternal bedtime fantasies.
Dressed only in her black silk night shift, the skillful Warrior Princess headed to the woods located but a hundred meters away from that shabby old place they had chosen as a refuge, her catlike style of moving using every shade of darkness to envelop her body even more into the protective mantle of the obscurity, keeping her hidden from the curious, wondering eyes of the other guests of the inn.
As soon as she reached the limit of the trees, her crystal voice uttered a name, and the sound of the letters joining to form the meaning of it sent electric shivers up and down her spine as her eyes closed, waiting for a certain presence to fill the atmosphere.
But seconds later, she instantly felt the air around her getting warmer and warmer, as two strong, firm arms materialized around her half naked back and shoulders, a spicy scent of cinnamon and cumin invading her senses along with her will to stay away from the "conniving bastard" 's grasp - as she used to call him as often as she got the chance.
"Missed me already?" the sensuous inflections left his lips like the harmonious notes of an eternal love song as he buried his face in her long, dark tresses, kissing it lightly with an affection and gentleness that could have stunned even the Goddess of Love herself.
"Yeah. I missed kicking your ass , that's what I missed" the Warrior Princess bit back offensively, punching the mesmerizingly handsome War God straight in the nose, freeing herself from his tempting embrace, annihilating any hard to resist to intention, he might had had from the start.
"Hey! That was low! I was just trying to be…friendly, ok?" Ares' justified vociferation broke out, slashing the silence surrounding them faster than lightening.
"Friendly, ha?" Xena's incredulous tone caustically took over, a "Don't make me start" look literally painted on her face clearly underlining every single insignificant mistake the lather clad God had done across the years, violating consequently the literal and figurative sense of that sacred word over and over again until there was nothing left of it but an empty shell, bearing no more meaning what so ever.
"Ok, ok! No need to argue. Not in the mood tonight. Could we just be civil for once?"
The War God's unusual tone, almost pleading could be clearly distinguished, and the impact of it's sonority left his edgy Chosen almost speechless. Ares reluctant to fight? Now that was a first!
And when no answer came, neither positive nor negative to his rarely articulated request, the God just added quietly:
"It just….it was a long day, ok?…But never mind that. What is it you need Princess?"
"I don't need anything from you!"
"Wow! Calm down already, will you? You're the one who called me, remember?" Ares quickly responded, still playing defensive, avoiding a possible altercation, totally intrigued by now by the various dashes of emotions playing inside his beauty's dark beryl irides and by what he had sensed to be a typhoon of emotions vibrating from her heavy aura.
"I know….I'm sorry…..I…."
"You're sorry?" the War God couldn't help exclaiming hearing her utter the phrase. "See, now you're worrying me." he added still amazed by her sudden apology. "Are you ok, Xena?"
As seconds passed by, she didn't answer though. She just avoided his fixed,
distressingly inquisitive gaze by turning her head to one side as her back leant against a nearby tree, staring at an imaginary far away point into space, still wondering if she should tell him or not, if she was doing the right thing after all.
"Xena?" he lowly voiced, as he took a couple of steps forward, closing in the distance between them.
When he was but an arm's length away, he extended his hand, cupping gently her face, forcing her to look at him.
And by Olympus itself, what he saw in his Princess' eyes, genuinely made his blood freeze inside his veins…Fear…..That was definitely not good. Something terrible must have happened , he could tell that much, and his money went on the irritating blonde, since she was her main concern those days.
He was in for a big surprise though….
"Sweetie, what's wrong? Come on, talk to me….." he went on speaking, his fingers now caressing the smooth skin of her divine, marble sculpted like visage, mildly encouraging her to open up to him.
Needless to say that she was still silent when he opened his lips to try a different- hopefully more effective-approach, and she kept silent, even after a warm, crystal sparkling tear rolled down her cheek, while her trembling hands caught his free one in hers, placing a small round medallion inside his palm, her gaze never breaking his own, as if bewitched by the promises it could offer.
And when the God's eyes finally adverted their look downwards, at the object she had safely encased inside his now closed fist, he felt the earth itself shaking under his feet, completely flabbergasted at the implications of the amulet's presence.
"Where…..where did you get this from?" he barely managed to mumble, still dizzy at the realization of it, piercing her with such an astonished stare, that Xena herself hadn't seen before that very moment.
"A soldier. Me and Gabrielle, we fought them today, on the field at the outskirts of town"
"How many?" came the short, obviously anxious question.
"Twenty two" she whispered, barely controlling the shivers in her voice.
"By Chronos himself, I'm gonna kill her! I swear it on Styx, Princess. She won't get to touch one single strand of hair on your head cause she's as good as dead." an agitated Ares stated, deeply affected by the sight of his precious Chosen's agonizing heart, hardly controlling his wrath the moment the breaking waves of memories invaded his mind, washing away any trace of placidity he still wished for during that late August night.
And when his eyes fluttered open again, and met his Princess's petrified look, he just wrapped his arms around her again, clasping her slightly shaking body as hard as he could in a warm, cozy embrace, his fingers running smoothly up and down her long, silky tresses as salty tears kept on rolling down her face and further down on the croock of his neck where she had rested her head.
"It's ok, sweetie, it's ok. You're safe. You're safe. Shhh! Don't cry love, don't cry, it's ok….I know how much it hurts love, but that's all in the past now. And we can't change the past , right? Just like you've always said…. Shh! if you're right and if she dared step on Greek soil once again I promise you, by dawn there will be nothing left of her except a grey pile of ash."
"Just hold me…Please….Don't let me go…."
"Never sweet, never….shh! Relax now. Everything's gonna be ok." the War God hushed her on a comforting tone as if talking to a frightened child that had just woken up in the middle of the night, panicked and sweaty after the striking experience of a terrifying nightmare.
XXX
"Would you just stop arguing with me on this one, Xe? " Ares broke out despite his will, loosing his temper for the first time that night and cursing himself the second after for having allowed it to happen, considering Xena's fragile state of mind during those very moments. "I sorry. I didn't mean to yell." he paused briefly, noticing the change in her expression. The last thing he wanted was for her to shut herself from him again, giving him no chance to help her in any way. "Sweetie…I know that you want your revenge, and I can understand why you want to rip her head off her shoulders and all the other good stuff … but honey, look at you." he continued, on the mildest tone he was capable of , in a frantic attempt to avoid that from happening. " You're in no condition to fight right now. You need to rest. Plus… we don't know how strong she is, neither if she has an army with her or not." the God whispered caressing the back of her hands.
"Since when did your faith in me disappeared, Ares?" came the Warrior Princess' s caustic response, brutally pushing the War God from her side while rising from the edge of the bed. "I can deal with this" she added lowly, but her words seamed to belong to a rather empty phrase, meant to persuade herself more than her patron God.
"Stop talking like that. You know what I mean and you know I'm right." Ares replied instantly, cutting her off before she got the chance to say anything else. "Just…..just let me take care of this for you, ok?... I owe you that much" he added above a whisper, and he was sure that Xena had sensed the guilt echoing from his voice.
"Would you stop blaming yourself for that? It was not your fault. There was nothing you…" she started, trying to ease the burdening guilt from the God's obviously tormented conscience.
"I could have saved you!" he cried out angrily. " Had I been there for you that bitch would have been split into pieces and you would have been safe. Our…"
"Don't! …don't even go there Ares!" Xena rudely interrupted him, pressing her fingers against his burning lips as another uncontrolled tear started it's lazy path towards her chin. "It still hurts too much"
A long, thick silence followed soon afterwards, neither one of them knowing what else to say, words lacking more than ever to a couple that rarely spoke about hurt feelings, pain and personal tragedies, as rarely as they used to talk about their passions, obsessions or love….
With the most tender of touches, the War God kissed his Princess' cheek, whipping away her yet fresh tears, and when her eyes finally found his own amber ones, he just stated, as if having already reached an understanding.
"I need you to know you're safe, ok ? I'll be back by dawn. Try to get some sleep, will you? I'll cast a protection shield on Gabrielle, before I leave, so sleep tight. Till morning comes, all this will be over, I promise" Ares uttered, placing a sweet, protective kiss on his Chosen's forehead, enveloping her still trembling body in a secure, relaxing embrace.
"Just…be careful….."
"Don't you worry 'bout a thing Princess" he replied, a warm smile radiating from his soft, tempting lips before vanishing into thin air, leaving but a rain of blue sparkles behind him, and a faint echo, that filled Xena's heart with a certain sensation of peace.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you, sweet"
XXX
Casting one last gaze at the etiolated light of that now ridiculously bright moon, the Warrior Princess finally allowed sleep to take over the exhausting reality of her baleful mind and soul, hoping for them to miraculously heal during the few hours of night that still needed to slowly flow till Apollo brought the sun back on the sky.
A night without dreams would have been the Elysian Fields on Earth for the Warrior's aching heart, but somehow she knew that such a thing could only happen when the pits of Tartarus itself froze…
A bitter smile seized her lips as Morpheus's long claws dug deep into her mind, pulling her towards the eye of a tornado of long buried memories, that seamed more eager than ever to resurface, along with the horrifying, nightmarish images of one dreadful day that had left deep, burning scars inside her soul.
Nemesis's cruel, inhuman laugh, the sight of those filthy soldiers raping her over and over again, the disgusting sensation of blood soaking her thighs….the torture….
"How does it feel Xena? Do you enjoy the unique sensation of life being drained from your shattered body?I don't know about you, but for me…I gotta tell you… the sight of you broken like this is sweeter than the purest ambrosia…..I could watch a marvelously executed scene like this one for days on end, without sensing any sign of boredom what so ever. And I will…I just pray the Fates that you live long enough for me to enjoy it…."
"Well enjoy it while you can you fucking bitch, cause when Ares finds out that…."
"That what? That I've broken his favorite dolly? Well…...I dunno about that…I could bet my life that days after he finds your rotten corps he'll be drowning his pathetically endless pain in wine, humanly trying to erase the incommensurable idea of loss and sadness, wishing to forget it all….And guess who's gonna be by his side, right in the nick of time to comfort him, grieving together your premature departure from this savage world? Little old me of course….."
"Oh Nemesis, I indeed underestimated you. You are not only suicidal. You are stupid too, cause when he finds out that you have killed his unborn child, and trust me, he will, he shall rip you to pieces with his bare hands. And by all Olympus I will savor the sight of every single piece of flesh torn from your miserable shell."
"A child? Don't treat me like a fool Warrior Princess. The mighty God of War would never allow a mortal scum like you to carry his immortal heir!"
"Funny that! Suddenly the perspective of my demise doesn't seam that alluring in the light of these new circumstances , does it?"
"No! I don't believe you. You're just trying to save your worthless life. Get off her you despicable rat!...Sweet mother of Zeus!"
XXX
"No! Nooooooo! "
"Princess, it's me! Hey! It's just me. Wake up sweet, you're fine, love, you're safe. It was just a bad dream sweet, it was only a dream. She can't hurt you any more…." Ares repeated exasperatedly, vainly trying to alleviate the raven beauty's staggering pain, rocking her still convulsing body back and forth, pressing his gentle lips upon her own, silencing her with a soft, loving kiss, hysterically wishing he could erase with one wave of his hand the agonizing suffering from the depths of her bruised heart once and for all, just like he did with her physical wounds a few years back when he found her half past dead in one of Nemesis' temples, bleeding abundantly, the presence of their child gone from inside her belly.
"It's over…. Shh…everything's gonna be ok now my love, please stop crying. I'm here for you" the War God went on talking, silently hoping that the sound of his voice would somehow be an effective way to reassure her.
"That's my girl." he finally added when minutes later, his Xena's tears began to stop rolling down her cheeks, and after another brief pause, she just lifted her mesmerizingly azure eyes towards his own amber ones, capturing his restless gaze.
"Is she dead?"
"History. Limb from limb. Just like I know you would have done it" he simply replied, his face emotionless and still.
"Thank you….."
And when the faint shadow of a smile appeared on her crimson lips again, Ares couldn't help smiling back, capturing them in a longer kiss this time, a perfect, mind blowing union of tongues, souls, memories and promises of a new, brighter future that could hopefully cast a thick blanket of oblivion over the dark remembrance of the unfortunate past they had shared.
"I love you…" came the God's brutally direct and honest line.
"I love you too", Xena's voice soon followed, as if it had uttered the most natural phrase on the planet.
XXX
"I'm so sorry Xena! I'm sorry. I had no idea. I shouldn't have asked! " Gabrielle's shocked cry made the Warrior Princess instantly wish she wouldn't have burdened the sensitive bard's mind with the knowledge of such an atrocious information. "It must have been horrible"
"It was . I'd honestly rather not develop on the subject, actually….."
"By Chronos himself, Xena, who could have ordered such barbarous torture? And you were with child…" the blond bard murmured disgusted by the outraging images constantly replayed before her eyes by the unleashed power of her overly imaginative mind.
"Nemesis"
"Nemesis…like in the Goddess of Revenge, Nemesis? the bard inquired hastily, almost choking on the question. "But…why?"
"The one and only….It was my fault, though. I was young. And foolish enough to let myself caught…I was 17…."
"17? Sweet heavens, Xena! How could any of this could have been your fault? You were practically still a child! I can't even bare to imagine what you have been through.! Why didn't you call for Ares? He could have bailed you out. You were his Chosen after all! He should have been there for you. "
"I did…...He never came…I guess I just assumed that he had refused to help me and that he believed that I deserved to die for my incompetence."
"By the Gods…"
"Only days later, after having opened my eyes again, in the gloomy Halls of War, with him crying by my side, I found out that he had been off in the Eastern region of the Hindus with Zeus, to close an alliance with the Gods there, against the Northern ones. He was too far away from Greece…"
"He didn't hear you calling….."
"No….Nevertheless, regardless of the distance, he sensed that something had happened to me, and that's when he headed back. It was too late though…"
"He did save you life, didn't he? It was not to late…."
"Too late for our child to make it…"
" He must have felt very guilty for not being there for you…"
"He did. Still does, actually….despite the passing of time."
"And Nemesis?...How comes she let you live after all?"
"I don't quite remember that part. Ares probably found me son before she discovered that I was carrying his child…she probably freaked out at the correct thought of what an infuriated War God might have done to her…..I don't know…When he reached me she was already gone…."
"….Are you ok now? I mean…..it must have been torture for you to recall all those harrowing details…Is there something I can do to help?"
"No, Gabrielle, I'm fine...Everything's gonna be ok. Ares has seen to that" Xena answered on a calm, almost humorous tone.
"One thing I'm sure of: she should have staid in Persia for the rest of her immortal days. She's probably telling herself the same thing right now, from wherever Ares had send her accursed soul to." the little bard added, animated by the concept of retaliation and justice having been done to the matter .
"She wouldn't have escaped even if she took earth in the pits of the Underworld. Ares had been looking for her ever since, moving mountains to find her."
"…..Good thing it's over" came the compassionate reply of her friend, as a sour but necessary closure of the unpleasant discussion they were having for the past half an hour. "You can finally allow your soul to brake free of that guilt now"
"It was about time…...It has been a terribly long path though…..."