Finally got it updated :)

Ch.4- Only Mortal

The party raged on, and so did Xena, who now boiled with rage, and directed it at none other than the God of War, who cockily kept his Warrior Princess chained to him for the entire night. Everything was dying down, and if Ares did have any intentions of taking her with him, he was dead wrong.

Xxxxxxx

Ares-

He could tell she was tense, and from the looks of things she was not growing any calmer by him tightening his hold on her. Ares whispered into her ear,

"Just a little longer, sweet."

And Xena just glared daggers at him.

The guests, all of whom were Gods and Goddesses, bid him goodbye and left. The last who remained were his own siblings, among them was Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, and Apollo. Ares knew which two he wanted to leave first. One was his "honorable" golden sister, and the other was a lusty drunk, who couldn't keep his eyes off Ares' Chosen. Ares didn't really want to hang around any longer, he decided he was going to leave before confrontation with Apollo. He stood up from the feast table, and hoisted Xena up by her waist, so that she stood beside him. His plan was to release her when they were away from the crowd, it would have been an insult to Posideon- and to Ares's reputation- to let Xena just walk off, he was a God after all, and even though Xena had a hold of him more than anyone in the world, the other Gods didn't need to know how whipped he really was. All heads turned towards the pair as they stood up, and Ares said to them,

"I think it's time I depart. It has been fun, but as you can see, there are other matters that need attended to."

He gestured towards his Chosen. Apollo, who had managed to keep his mouth shut for most of the night, yelled out,

"God of War, give us a go with the Warrior Princess. If even you kept her around for as long as you have, she must really be something."

Ares fumed and started to form a red fireball in his hand, releasing Xena's waist just a little. The nerve of that idiot...

He yelled back at the God,

"Xena is my Chosen. You will treat her with respect, or so help me, you'll find yourself without a head. She belongs to me, and as much as you'd like to spend a night with her, she is mine, you'd do best to remember that."

Ares barley got to see the angered expression on Apollo's face before an unexpected slap hit his own with full fury. The blow had come from a outraged Warrior Princess, who said to him, loud enough so everyone could hear,

"You don't own me Ares. I belong to myself, and nothing will ever change that."

Ares barley refrained from slapping her back. He had just stuck up for her for Gaia's sake! Why she was acting like a brat was beyond him.

The gasps from the Gods broke Ares from his anger. Along with a serving woman who had been carrying a silver tray, and it dropped to the floor in a clutter. Various Gods, after the shock seeing a mere mortal hit one of their own, yelled out,

"Who does she think she is?"

"It is treason to hit an Olympian!"

"She should be punished!"

One voice, whose stood out in particular to Ares, was Athena's.

"Ares, aren't you going to punish her? Teach the little whore her place! It is treason to strike a God!"

Ares decided to direct his anger towards his sister instead of Xena, it was a stupid move his Chosen had just done, and he was absolutely pissed at her, but he would never tolerate someone calling her a whore.

He hurled a fireball towards Athena, who must have not seen it coming, because she was hit square in the chest and sent flying backwards, where she collided with a wall. Before she could retaliate, Ares grabbed ahold of Xena and transported them away from the scene.

Xxxxxxxx

"What were you thinking?!?"

Ares scolded Xena, once he had transported them to his temple in Macedonia. War's Chosen blew up in rage, yelling back,

"What was I thinking? You're one to talk, you bastard! You were treating me like your pet, a little dolly you keep around for your amusement! I'm not some common whore you can just enslave!"

The temple's throne room seemed darker than usual. The red accents were lit a glow by light shining through the windows, but still...

Ares was enraged and confused, he had just fought his sister for her! And she was ungrateful!?

"I never called you a whore! That was my sister, who, in case you didn't see, I just smashed into a wall!"

Xena rushed in to say,

"Oh, so it's ok for you to treat me like your little dolly, but not for anyone else?"

Ares spat at her,

"In case you've forgotten, you pledged yourself to me. So let's face it, you're pretty much mine."

Xena cast her look down towards the floor, so Ares knew he was getting to her. He pushed farther...

"Like it or not, Xena, you are my Chosen. But have I ever treated you like a whore, like my slave?"

There were tears in her eyes, and it broke Ares's heart to see her look up at him and say,

"No, you haven't. Not until tonight."

Xxxxxxxxx

"Princess..." He heard himself start to say. He started to touch her, wanting to pull her into an embrace, and just hold her until she stopped crying. Gods, he hated to see her so upset. Xena flinched away from his touch, and started to turn away from him. He grabbed her arm, trying to be gentle, but it wasn't as if he wasn't just going to let her walk away from him.

"Talk to me, sweet."

He urged her.

She bitterly said,

"Just let me go, Ares."

She was probably planning on meeting up with the annoying bard. She also probably thought he'd comply to her wish, since he'd made her upset. Her tears were his weakness...

Ares lifted her chin, saying,

"I can't Xe, try to understand. Athena will likely retaliate, and she knows the best way to do that is to go after you."

She stopped crying, and spat venom at the War God.

"Your'e Right, I don't understand. I can damn well take care of my self, Ares. And it just proves my point, that you consider me as nothing more than a plaything for you to control."

He raised his voice a little. Stubborn woman.

"I'm just trying to protect you! Athena is a Goddess, and you my dear, though exeptional, are only mortal."

She said to him,

"Don't make up excuses for keeping me prisoner here."

She was being unreasonable!

She continued,

"So what, you were just planning on releasing me after the party?!"

"In fact, I was! But somebody had to go and mess things up!"

He told her, in all honesty.

Xena pulled out a final argument,

"You should have just let me go in the first place!"

She obviously didn't understand the way things worked on Olympus.

"How do you think it would have looked if I had just let you walk away? Huh? The Gods see mortals as beneath them, and I am the God of War, Xe. If you had just played along a little longer-"

Xena cut in.

"I don't play around with my freedom, Ares! And you can't play around with my freedom, either!"

He chuckled, deeply.

"You forget, my dear. You were given as a gift to me, remember? Your freedom is mine, and I wasn't planning on keeping you like this, but let's just say you've pushed your luck."

Xena growled,

"You wouldn't dare.."

"You might not recall this, but I am a God. I may be more forgiving towards you, but at the end of the day, you're only mortal."

She was shocked.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm warning you."

He told her, sternly.

She was driving his patience, sometimes he needed to remind her who was the God here.

"You always said we were equals. Or were you lying when you told me that?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, she was visually torn up.

"No, I meant what I said. You were meant to be my Goddess, Xena. And you will be, one day. But for now, you should remember your place."

She looked heartbroken, but in the end he was only trying to protect her. If the other Gods saw how Xena had him wrapped around her little finger, it could get ugly. Ares needed to knock her down a few pegs, and he hoped she still realized how much he worshiped her, and how he loved her. It was dangerous for her to act as his superior or even his equal, and if the other Gods came to this realization, it could get dangerous...