Waking up naked in another woman's bed was certainly one of the more confusing experiences of Gabrielle's short life. At first, she didn't remember where she was. She blinked groggily, trying to make sense of all the conflicting signals her body was sending her. A hand swatted her bare bottom lightly. It stung. "Hey," came Xena's stern voice. "Wake up."
Gabrielle sat bolt upright, rubbing her eyes and trying to clear the lingering cobwebs from her sleep-fogged mind. Xena was dressed in a dark brown tunic that fell to her knees. It was belted at the waist, and seemed to be padded in various places – really more of a light suit of armor than a shirt. A strap over her right shoulder held her sheathed sword.
The Conqueror gave Gabrielle's arm a light tug. "Get dressed. Move it." Before the slave really knew what was going on, she was tumbling out of bed and climbing into her green toga. Xena waited impatiently while the blond girl tugged on her slippers. Then she headed for the door. "Come," she barked over her shoulder. Gabrielle scrambled to follow her.
The sun hadn't even risen yet, the slave realized, glancing out a window. Stars were still glimmering in the sky. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as Xena led the way through the room with the throne-like chair. The queen stepped out through a hitherto-unnoticed door – a blast of cool air struck Gabrielle as she followed. She found herself out in the open air. The slave looked around as Xena lit a torch that was stuck in a holder by the door.
The night sky glistened above them. There was an eight-foot stone wall around the circular area where they stood. The only thing that blocked the sky was a tiny sliver of a distant mountaintop to Gabrielle's right. She looked at the Conqueror, who was watching her with an inscrutable expression. "This must be the highest place in the city, Mistress."
Xena's brows arched. "Clever girl." She drew her sword, twirled it lightly, and began to perform some idle warm-up moves with it. "So tell me, clever girl. Why do you think I come up here to practice?"
iAh. Well, that answers the question of what we're doing up here, anyway./i Gabrielle thought for a moment. "So nobody can shoot you, Your Majesty?"
A very brief glint of something like interest flickered in Xena's eyes. "Now who would want to shoot me, goatherd?" There was silence. The blade glittered as it whipped through the air in increasingly intricate patterns. "Would you want to shoot me, Gabrielle?"
The slave's eyes widened in startlement. "No!" she blurted immediately.
"No?" Xena moved away and turned slightly so that she could begin executing a more complex maneuver. Her piercing gaze, however, never left Gabrielle's face. "Why not? You hate me. You said so yourself."
Gabrielle shifted uncomfortably, but she didn't dare avoid the question. She had a feeling that would be the kind of thing that would upset her enigmatic owner. "I don't believe in hurting people, Mistress."
The sword-swinging didn't falter, but Xena flashed her a brief and dazzling smile. The sight of it almost shocked Gabrielle – she hadn't seen the queen genuinely smile before that. "Well, I guess that little ass-whipping I gave you last night must have come as quite a shock, then."
The blond girl's face immediately turned a deep, rich crimson. "Um, no…I didn't mean that you…I mean, my Da would sometimes…well, not iexactly/i like that, but…no, I mean, I've been…"
"You're babbling." Xena's sword twirled neatly up to rest against her shoulder. She pointed at a spot near the wall. "You've amused me enough for now. Go sit there so I can do my drills in peace, goatherd." Relieved to be let off answering, Gabrielle quickly sat down on the indicated spot, rubbing at her blushing face. Then she folded her hands in her lap and followed her new owner with her eyes.
Whatever thoughts had been whirling in Gabrielle's head were soon silenced as she watched what Xena was doing. At first, the woman performed a series of relatively simple sword drills. As time went on, the patterns woven by the flashing steel grew more and more complex. Then Xena began to move – jumping impossibly high, kicking higher than her own head, even flipping through the air – all the while whipping her blade around her twisting body in breathtaking arcs. Even though Gabrielle had never seen much in the way of fighting, she knew what she was seeing was incredible. Her eyes grew wider and wider, and rounder and rounder. She found herself forgetting to despise the woman as she took in the display.
By the time Xena stopped, the sun had risen, and her olive skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. She wasn't breathing hard, though, Gabrielle noticed. Xena sheathed her sword and turned to look at her. One of her finely arched brows lifted at the look on the slave's face. Gabrielle lowered her eyes. "You're amazing," she whispered.
"You think so, do you?" The note of slightly condescending amusement was back in the queen's voice. "Get up, and let's go. You can keep me entertained while I bathe." The slave got up. As she followed on the Conqueror's heels, she couldn't help but reflect on how much she was being ordered about here. Gabrielle supposed she was just going to have to get used to it – after all, taking orders was kind of what slaves did.
Xena led the way down the short hall and through the door that lay just before the steps that led down to the rest of the palace. Gabrielle looked around curiously once inside. Where the queen's bedroom was austere and unadorned, this room was almost sumptuous, with smooth marble floor and intricate tapestries on the walls. It was dominated by an enormous marble bathtub that was built into the middle of the floor. A smooth pipe curved up over the side of the tub, its fluted opening jutting over one corner of it. There was a stopper in the end of it.
The queen glanced at her slave and smirked just a little. Then she leaned over and deftly removed the stopper on the pipe. Steaming water gushed out and began to fill the huge marble tub. Gabrielle's eyes opened wide, and she forgot herself for a moment. The blond girl moved forward and put her hand in the flow of water to feel its heat. "Wow! How does this work? I've never seen anything like it."
"It is a neat bit of work, isn't it?" Xena regarded it with tolerable pride. "I came up with that idea. There used to be a hot spring just outside of old Amphipolis. I had it tapped to supply my palace with hot water. Gives instant warm baths to me and to my harem."
Gabrielle's ears perked up. "Your…harem, Your Majesty?"
"My harem." The queen gave Gabrielle's toga a twitch. "The clothes. Lose 'em." The slave stared at her in confusion, and Xena arched a brow. "Too complicated for you, goat girl? The words were only one syllable. Should I draw you a picture?"
"Um…no, Mistress, I…understand." Gabrielle timidly began to take off her slippers. iI guess I'm taking the bath with her. It makes sense – I am her body slave now. I wonder if she'll expect me to undress her and wash her? Gods, I hope not./i Xena watched idly as the slave slipped out of her garment. Gabrielle stopped then, feeling very self-conscious under the gaze of the pale blue eyes. Wordlessly, the queen pointed at the bathtub. Gabrielle awkwardly climbed in. The sides of the tub were nearly three feet high, so she practically had to vault her five-foot body into the water. She heard Xena's amused chuckle, and blushed deeply for the second time that morning.
A moment later, the queen's naked form slipped gracefully into the bathtub behind her. Gabrielle almost flinched as Xena's long legs extended on either side of her. Then Xena's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her backward until their bare bodies were touching. The slave felt distinctly uncomfortable. She wondered if she was finally about to be raped – even if she had no idea how one woman would go about raping another. At the same time, though, Gabrielle couldn't help but admire the cords of muscle in the legs that now flanked her, and the touch of Xena's powerful arm felt nice and warm and solid. The queen's head slipped around until her lips hovered near the slave's ear. "I'm going to wash your back," she said calmly. "Then I want you to do the same to me, so pay attention to what I'm doing."
"Okay." Gabrielle bit her lip and waited, her body humming with tension. Then she felt the woman's strong hands rubbing at her shoulders. Her skin felt slick, and the heady scent of roses wafted into the air. iScented soap,/i Gabrielle thought dimly, slightly dazed by the onslaught against her senses. Xena's palms slid lower, moving in slow circles, until at last she stopped at the small of the slave's back, just above her buttocks. Then the hands left. Gabrielle felt almost bereft for a moment – then something warm and wet and rough began to scour at the soapy skin of her shoulders. Her back arched involuntarily, and she gasped.
Xena's chuckle rumbled. "Washcloth." The gentle scrubbing moved lower, following the same path that the soap-covered hands had. Gabrielle thought that she liked it. She closed her eyes and shivered, her attention arrested by the slowly-moving touch. Then the queen stopped. A long arm moved past Gabrielle to drape a square of rough, crimson cloth over the side of the tub. "Your turn, slave girl."
Awkwardly, Gabrielle turned to face Xena. The Conqueror's pale blue eyes were half-closed and regarding her almost lazily. Looking around, Gabrielle located a dish of soft soap on the flat rim of the tub. She hesitated. A glance at the queen's face told her the woman had no intention of moving for her. Blushing furiously, the slave girl slipped around Xena's body. The tub was large, but not large enough that she didn't have to slide her naked form against her owner's in the process. Gabrielle suspected that was the point. Ears still scarlet with humiliation, the blond scooped some soap from the dish, spread it over her palms, and began to wash the queen's back the way she'd just washed hers. She wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but Xena made no comment, so Gabrielle assumed her efforts were adequate.
When it was done, Xena motioned for Gabrielle to move back in front of her. The slave obeyed. As she was about to sit down with her back to the queen again, a strong hand caught her elbow, pulling her down facing the woman instead. Gabrielle slipped and sat down awkwardly – she wasn't entirely certain what to do with her legs. This problem was solved for her a moment later as Xena tugged her closer and pulled Gabrielle's left ankle until her leg was draped over the queen's lap, her knee curved around Xena's hip. The slave couldn't help whimpering a little as her right leg was pulled up around the Conqueror's other hip. She was almost sitting in the queen's lap. Gabrielle could feel her own body shaking, taut with tension. Her eyes squeezed shut as she brought her arms up to cover her breasts. She was trying desperately not to think about how obscene her position was at the moment, or what Xena was likely about to do to her. She wondered if she'd ever get used to people just manipulating her body like this, as if she were only an animal or a piece of furniture.
"Hey. Relax." The Conqueror's tone held impatience. "It's just a bath. Didn't you ever take any on the farm, goatherd?"
Timidly, Gabrielle opened her eyes, conscious of tears trickling down her cheeks. Xena wiped them away with brisk movements of her agile fingers. Then she gave Gabrielle's wrist a light tug. "Arms down. We're washing the front now." Still shivering, the frightened slave obeyed. The queen scooped up a bit of soap and spread it over her fingers. Then, with almost clinical skill, she began to rub Gabrielle's collarbone with both hands, tracing slow circles out to the girl's shoulders, and then moving lower. Gabrielle bit her lips hard to keep back a gasp as the rubbing fingers slid over her breasts. The queen's hands didn't linger there, to Gabrielle's faint surprise; they moved down her belly and flanks, still in slow circles, and came to a stop just below the slave's navel. Then Xena took up the washcloth, wetted it thoroughly in the warm water, and retraced her route down the front of her slave's body with it. When she was done, Gabrielle's entire torso tingled, from her throat to her hips. The Conqueror put the washcloth away. "Show me what you've learned."
Evidently Gabrielle was doomed to sped the majority of her life from now on with a face as red as an apple. She could feel the hot flush on her cheeks as she slowly spread more soap on her hands. She'd never touched the breasts of another woman in her life – had never even thought of it happening. Her green eyes moved to the Conqueror's chest as she hesitated. The woman did have lovely ones, she had to admit. They were larger than her own. Slowly, gingerly, the slave reached out and began to wash her owner's shoulders and upper chest. She tried not to think about what she was doing as her hands moved lower. Xena gave no response other than a pleased purr; Gabrielle hurriedly moved down again to run her soapy hands over the bumps of the woman's ribs, and the hard muscle of her abdomen.
When the rough cloth had rinsed off the soap, Xena plucked it from Gabrielle's hand and laid it away. Then she paused. The slave shivered, wondering if they were going to continue. Despite the fact that the bath hadn't been too horrible yet, she still felt terrified.
Strong hands pressed against either side of Gabrielle's face, pushing her head up so that her gaze had to meet Xena's. The Conqueror's expression was stern. "You are my body slave now, Gabrielle," she said. "I expect you to know how to serve me in my bath, at my meals, and in my bed. This is part of your training." The slave girl's lips quivered, but she nodded as best she could. "Now, I don't want to see any more hesitation about following my orders, or you're going to be disciplined. Do you understand?" Gabrielle remembered the strapping she'd taken the night before. She nodded fearfully. "Good." The queen released her slave's head and dipped into the soap dish a third time.
Even though she knew the touch was coming, Gabrielle couldn't restrain a sharp gasp as the queen's hands made contact with her right thigh and buttock. Xena's left hand rubbed at her bottom as her right soaped the inside of Gabrielle's thigh. The hands moved down to the slave's knee; then Xena gave her a light push on the belly. Gabrielle moved back a bit in response to the silent instruction. The scrubbing hands massaged down the length of the slave's leg, ending by sliding slowly over her foot and rubbing at her toes. Xena paused to soap her hands again before repeating the process on Gabrielle's left leg. Then the rough cloth did its work, despite the fact that the slave was submerged in water to her rib cage and didn't really need to be rinsed off.
This time, Gabrielle didn't hesitate. The specter of the strap loomed over her as she hurriedly coated her hands in sweet-smelling soap and leaned forward to clean her owner's legs. Xena watched her progress with half-lidded eyes. Again, there was no response, except for something like a growl when the slave touched her upper thighs.
The smoldering blue eyes caught Gabrielle's gaze when she had finished. Xena smirked slowly. "Only one place left unwashed, Gabrielle." The slave's heart nearly stopped. She could feel herself shaking again. Gabrielle's entire body was warm and glowing from the queen's attentions – she felt torn. On the one hand, she was being forced into doing this, and she never would have considered it otherwise. On the other, though, Xena's masterful touch had felt very good so far. She couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to have the queen touch her more intimate places…tears sprang to her eyes.
Xena let her shiver and cry silently for a moment or two before flashing her a quick grin and chucking her under the chin. "Relax. The first time I take you, it'll be in my bed, not here in my bath," she said. "There'll be time enough for that later." She got up, water sluicing off her muscular form, and stepped out of the tub. "Come on. Time to learn to towel me off, slave girl."
Gabrielle had never been so glad to get dressed in her life. She knew this was only a temporary reprieve – the queen had all but promised to rape her that night, after all – but it was a reprieve, nonetheless. She followed on the Conqueror's heels as the woman headed briskly down the stairs and into the main halls of the palace. Xena led her to a door, which she unceremoniously flung open. "Hedia!" she barked. "Take this little scrap of a goatherd down to the kitchens and make her useful for a while. I'm putting you in charge of her, since Galen seems to have his britches in a knot. Have her ready in my quarters by nightfall."
The older woman was there with the seamstresses. She quickly got up and bowed low at the sight of the queen. "As you will, Your Majesty."
"I will." Xena looked down at Gabrielle with a faint glint of amusement. "Have fun peeling potatoes. I'm going to go kick Galen's ass for ditching you, and train some soldiers." She chucked the slave girl under the chin again. With that, the Conqueror whirled on her heel and headed down the hall. Gabrielle stayed rooted to the spot, following the woman with her eyes until her tall, powerful form disappeared into the bowels of the palace.