The hooded figure was pacing back and forth at the edge of the road in between several trees. On the other side of the road was a slight hill that was mostly rock face but with some bushes growing out of the crags and ledges. The figure was not patient but knew that change of plans was in order. In a cloud of pink and bright sparkles a scantily clad woman was standing on the opposite side of the road. She had her arms crossed over her ample breasts.
The sound already could be heard of hooves on the dry dirt packed road. "What do you think you are doing?" Aphrodite made it so that she was standing in the middle of the road. It was certain that the rider would be able to see the woman standing there. And that was the whole point. The Goddess was beyond pissed off that her brother had been interfering with the mortals. "We had a deal. Neither of us would interfere with the little ones."
The hood was pulled back to reveal the leather clad God of War. His eyes shot daggers at his sister. "You know how much this means to me." The God made his way over and stood eye to eye with the slightly shorter Goddess. If she was intimidated she was not showing it. "She was supposed to be my chosen for many reasons." Now he was leaning back on his heals with his arms crossed against his wide chest. "So back off Sis!"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes at her brother. Indeed she was not intimidated. "I was going to go to father about this." An evil laugh escaped from the male God. "But he hasn't really cared about the humans in a long time. In fact, I think sometimes he gets bored with them and would do away with them." The Goddess relaxed her stance. "So I'll tell you what I've learned since I existed." Ares seemed more than interested and leaned forward. "Everything is fair in love and war."
Ares let out another hearty laugh. There was a twinkling in his eye as he figured with that kind of admission he had won already. For to him, warriors and war were the power behind the human race. It was what made them tick and therefore not only would he win their bet, he would also claim his Chosen like he had wanted since she was born. "Well then Sis, I think we have a deal." He came up to her and patted her on the cheek. "Just don't be a spoil sport when I win."
Now it was the Goddess' turn to laugh. It was a light laugh and it almost seemed to make the few wildflowers that were at the base of the hill behind her bloom even fuller. When she managed to stop laughing, she had a huge smile upon her face. "You, brother, need a lesson in humanity." She shocked her brother by wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Finding his ear nearby she whispered, "Love makes you do the wacky. And that includes defying the God of War. Or didn't you know that was part of the reason Xena turned you down?"
The lacy clad Goddess didn't wait for an answer. She simple took a step back and snapped her fingers disappearing leaving behind the soft smell of lilacs and an ocean breeze. Ares blinked and then stared for the longest time at the spot to which his sister had just been. Part of him way down deep knew that she was most likely right. But he was not about to give up on a woman that could not only fight the way that Xena did but also had the brains to go with it.
Ares once again put his hood up. He waited until the horseman was almost even with him before he stood in the road. The horse reared, almost dislodging its rider. It took several moments before the man was able to control his stallion. "Who goes there!" The man had a soft voice. It was clear that he was not a warrior though he was dressed as one. His brown eyes showed the fear within. "I have important business from the great general Xena so out of my way."
The God of War made his way over to the horse and claimed the reins. "I know who you ride for." With his free hand, he slid his hood down. There was instant fear in the human's eyes and it gave Ares a warm feeling and an ego boost. "I'm here to tell you something. You might want to go back to warn your general. There is an army coming from Athens. They've heard of the small exploits of Xena." He paused as if he were struggling to tell the next part. "I just came from Amphipolis. Gabrielle is dead. Hung for killing a man."
The man looked at him stunned nearly speechless which was saying something for the normally talkative and bumbling man. He reached down to where the notes were still hidden. Xena had told him that he was to deliver the messages only to the fair little one. But she had also told him to make sure and do it personally. Should he continue on to where battle might already be taking place? Or should he simply take this stranger's word. "How do I know? My general will want proof of some kind."
The leather clad man had expected as much or at least would with a mortal that had a decent amount of intelligence. This one seemed to be missing a few armor bits among other things. In fact it seemed that a mountain goat had more sense than the man standing before him. Or was it that the goat would be more intelligent and have more courage. "Here." Ares pulled out a piece of parchment from the inner part of his robe. "That is a copy of the trial transcript and the man who sealed the fate of Gabrielle."
Joxer took the piece of paper and scanned it. His eyes grew wide when he read the verdict and the signature at the bottom stating that sentence had been carried out. The bumbling warrior took the note and put it with the others. His eyes wandered down the road for a moment. Part of him wanted to continue. Part of him wanted to confirm what the words said. But he was no fool and he knew who was standing in the road holding his horse still. He was more afraid of a God then of a mortal. Even though the man had not introduced himself, he knew enough stories to know that it was Ares holding the reins.
If only he knew what a big mistake that was. The man nodded his head and the God released the reins to his horse. With one last look toward the village, the man gripped the reins as tightly as he could and decided to run like the wind. By the time that he got to the camp, his heart was racing and it wasn't just from the physical exertion. He knew deep down that he should have gone on to the village to confirm what he had been told. Perhaps…
The horse came to an abrupt halt outside of the medium sized tent that was occupied by his general. The army hadn't moved since the night before when he had left. It was now going on evening as he saluted the guards. He made show of knocking and called out to the female warrior inside hearing a gruff response. Immediately he was shaking in his boots. He tried to get himself calmed before he faced the potential firing squad.
The man bowed his head and remained just barely inside the entrance to the tent. There was no sound. There was only suddenly someone taking him by the scruff of the neck, luckily his leathers and dragging him next to the fire pit. Joxer swallowed having heard from a couple of the guards that had been on duty of how the fight between his general and the God of War had caused the leather clad man to fall into said fire pit.
Xena caused the man to kneel. Joxer felt defeated already and instead of remaining kneeling, he sat on his bum. She stood before him and settled a hand on each shoulder very close to his neck. There was that bloodlust that was boiling up inside of the young woman. Ever since she had sent the man on the mission to deliver the notes, it had come to boil over. In fact, one of the men now had two broken arms because he did not move as quickly as the female warrior had wished. "Report!"
Joxer was now shaking visibly. It was causing the bloodlust to flare up even more in the warrior and it was everything that Xena could do not to strike the man. Without a word, he handed the general the parchments that Ares had given him along with the notes she had written to Gabrielle. With grace and flare, the female warrior took the papers. After putting away in her special spot the ones meant for her bard, she scanned the new ones. Once blue eyes fell on the last page and she was sickened to see that blood was on the paper as if it was to notarize the death of her girlfriend.
A scream somewhere between agony and ferocity escaped the general. It was so loud and terrifying that the guards quickly entered. "Get out now!" There was fire and pain in the blue eyes that almost boiled the skin off from anyone she was looking at. She moved her hands to his neck and something suddenly told her to hit certain pressure points. The breathing of the man became labored. A small trickle of blood was peeking out of a nostril. The face was turning red and the eyes were bulging.
"I have one thing to ask you." Joxer was gasping and not sure if he could actually answer. "Did you go to Amphipolis?" The scared man managed to shake his head 'no'. Something was telling her that she needed to reverse the procedure and quickly she made the same jabs to the man's neck. "So you come to me with just a piece of paper." The man was now lying on his side attempting to get his breathing back to normal. "What would make you do a half assed job?"
The feeble warrior now was resigned to his fate. While Xena had yet to kill anyone, she had done bodily harm since disposing of Cortese. The fawnlike eyes were blinking up at her causing the general to become even more pissed off by the second. "Ares…" Still not able to breath properly, the weak man managed to get out between ragged breaths. "Told me…" Joxer managed to roll to his back. "Army…coming from Athens…for you."
Blue eyes grew large but only for a moment. It had not been that long since she had taken over the army and she had had some battles and had taken over some villages. Would her meager army of over two hundred and fifty soldiers really interest the Athenian army? Would her meager army be able to stand up to them if it came down to a fight? But what was most on her mind was the fact it was the God of War that had passed the information onto her lackey.
Could she trust the God? After all, she had embarrassed him royally with winning the fight so easily. Only a handful of her men had seen, but still it had spread throughout the camp and caused her status to go through the roof. Why would a God choose to help when one had humiliated them so badly? Perhaps he still wanted her for his Chosen. That made sense at least to a certain degree. While knocking the stuffing out of Ares could not have been easy on the God, it had shown her fighting ability was as good if not better than his.
There was a lot she could learn from the God. Xena was no dummy, a bit young and a bit naïve perhaps, but not stupid. All she needed was guidance and she could dominate not only the immediate area that surrounded Amphipolis and Potadeia, but perhaps most if not all of Greece. And why stop at just her own little corner of the known world? There were so many places out there that she had heard of in stories and by traveling salesmen.
Somehow her blood was pumping fast through her veins. She was not sure if it was because of the thoughts of becoming supreme ruler one day or by all the blood that would have to be spilled to make it so. Either way, she knew that she needed a good kill. And the man that had screwed up beyond words was the perfect target. Only she needed to do this so that the rest of her soldiers could see exactly what it was she was capable of and what she was willing to do to keep her power.
"Guards!" Two men came running in swords at the ready and hands on daggers. Well trained. They are getting it. Hope the rest are as well. Perhaps tomorrow will be field training involving me and the entire army. Do that before we move out. Her mind was trying to think of everything and anything to keep it off the real possibility that her Gabrielle was truly gone. "Take him to the stockades and send Borias in." She watched as one man put his sword away. Before moving to take Joxer away, they both saluted.
Xena waited patiently sensing something. She could not put her finger on what, but it felt very familiar. For the moment, she pushed that aside as her lieutenant entered without even announcing himself. Just as the man was about to speak, the general performed a perfect summersault so that she was standing right in front of him. Out of reflex, Borias took a step back. "I know you want to see me naked, but stop coming in here without announcing yourself. Even if I've sent for you. Is that clear?"
Borias stiffened considerably. He had thought he was being discreet in his wayward lust for the general. But then again, she was no ordinary woman even for someone that had yet to reach her sixteenth birthday which unknown to the man was only a month away. "I mean no disrespect, my general." The words were spoken through clenched teeth. "I just assumed that since you sent for me, you would be decent and want to get started right away."
The general laughed. "Don't make me tell you what happens when you assume anything." Out of nowhere there was a dagger at the man's throat. "I know I can be taken down and need my allies, but don't tempt me into making you an example." She let the sharp blade slice through the flesh just enough to leave a very visible red line in its wake. "I already have Joxer for that. But you know what?" There was such an edge to her voice that it caused the man to swallow hard in reflex. "The men need all the instruction they can get."
With that, she shoved the man so that he almost went back out the entrance. In a motion that was a blur to the naked eye, she had sheathed her small but effective dagger. Borias was holding his neck where the six inch line of blood was. When he pulled his hand back, something snapped inside of the man. He now wondered if he had been a fool to put his faith in a wild child such as the woman before him. But he knew he was stuck for now. The soldiers were extremely loyal to Xena. For now, anyways.
The general made her way over to and threw herself very unladylike onto the padded throne. Borias waited until she was settled before he managed to get his courage up enough to face her. "I take it you want me to prepare Joxer as a demonstration?" Xena nodded. "It shall be done. I'll be back to get you personally when it is ready." He bowed his head and took off faster than the general had ever seen him move.
The thought amused her seeing someone so terrified of her. It now seemed never to stop. This warmth that the bloodlust was causing her to feel. It was intoxicating. So much so, it was almost like a drug that she could easily get addicted to. The thought startled her and she saw Gabrielle's innocent face. What she was about to do was most likely against everything her girlfriend would have stood for. And yet there was something that was so far deep down inside her that she just knew she had to do this.
It was only a few moments later when Borias had shown her to where Joxer was tied up by his wrists with rope. He was stripped of his shirt. He was looking at her with fear and shame at the same time. Didn't think he could manage anything but to shit his drawers. Almost makes me want to keep him around. Almost. Xena held out her hand and whip was in it. That caused her target's eyes to grow very round and she could swear she smelled something nasty on the slight breeze.
The feeling in her heart every time that she felt the tip of the whip bite into the flesh of the back of her victim was indescribable. There was only one thing that she had come across in her short time in the known world that was more addictive and that was her love for Gabrielle. She knew if she was certain she still had that, this would not take on the joy that it was. In fact thinking about how her potential lover would react to what she was about to do caused some of the intoxicating euphoria out to fade a bit.
After her arm was almost too tired to wield the whip, Xena handed it back to Borias. The screams that had accompanied the snaps of the whip had added to the overloaded feelings she had gotten. But it was time for the real reason to do this. "Soldiers of Xena! Hear me!" The men and woman had all gathered around with the exception of those on guard duty and came to attention quickly. "This man did a half assed job."
There were murmurs that went throughout the troops standing around. Unbeknownst to most of them, Xena's better than average hearing picked up on most of it. There were those that were questioning what she was doing. But most were in support of her methods. While she knew her leadership was strong, there was always the need to strengthen it. "He was to get messages to an ally. Instead he was told by someone that this ally was dead. He never completed his task by confirming this. So now I don't know for sure and that pisses me off. Just as much as doing a half assed job does. So let this be an example to you all."
When Xena said the last words, she looked directly at Borias. Though he was the next in line of her command, which meant nothing to her. Loyalty, discipline, obeying orders and follow through were some of the things that she looked for her soldiers to have a part of them. There were other desirable traits but those would be enough to begin with. Fighting was something that she could teach almost anyone. The general held out her hand and in it was placed her sword.
Xena made her way to look into the terrified man's eyes. The blood thirst was heightened even more as she felt that familiar presence. It took a moment, but this time she knew what, or should she say who was causing the feelings. It brought a feral smile upon her face. "If you can't learn to be a good soldier and to do something so simple as following orders than you deserve this." With that said, she took the man's hair in her hand and forced his head as far back as she could. One neat motion and Joxer's blood was covering her the cut had been so deep.
It was only a matter of seconds as his life drained from his body. The animalistic smile that was upon the general's face only grew. Xena never let go of her sword suddenly feeling very alone. When her eyes met her lieutenant's, she just knew. To him, she had just crossed a line. Her smile, though never left her planed face. She simply waved at the soldiers standing around still and took in the cheering that went with it. A pause before she made her way to her tent to say to Borias, "Get this mess cleaned up."
With purposeful strides, the warrior made her way to her tent. Having thought ahead, she already had drawn her own bath. The smell of the soap was very inviting. As much as she had loved the feel of the fresh warm blood on her skin, it had become cold and sticky and was making her feel a little clammy. Xena pulled her armor off first and then she pulled off her blue leathers. The long pants were now stained and knew the blood might never fully come out. For some reason, that only made her smile widen.
After all, if Gabrielle was not going to be around there was no point was there. The warm sudsy water felt like heaven. She ducked her head below the water's surface and scrubbed her hair and scalp. When she emerged, she found that the water was now rose colored. Xena took the rag and bar of soap and began to clean her tanned skin. That was when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She felt it again before she saw anything. "Hello, Ares."
The God of War materialized right at the edge of the bathtub. Instead of ogling the young woman, he offered her a towel. She looked at it and then at him in question. "Fine." He placed the towel with in her reach. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your little friend. I thought you would like to know." The God stood there with his arms crossed against his chest. "Oh, and you're welcome for me teaching you the pinch among other things."
Xena took this in. When she looked back on what had happened it was like someone was whispering in her ear and telling her exactly how to do certain things. Something else occurred to her. Ares was not going to give up on her being his Chosen. Beyond that, she had heard that he could not be trusted. So if you are telling me that Gabrielle is dead, most likely she is alive. I'll play along. Learn what I can. For now. "Thank you."
The warrior stood with the water and the bubbles clinging to every part of her young curvaceous body. Xena took the towel with her as she carefully got out of the tub. It seemed odd that instead of checking out her youthful form, the God of War averted his eyes. Slowly she made her way over to Ares now wrapped securely in the large towel. "So does that mean I can still be your Chosen?" The smile on the God's face was enough of an answer. Yep. Use you and take what I want. And hopefully Gabrielle will be there by my side to enjoy it all.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Gabrielle was sitting on the porch of Cyrene's inn. It was late afternoon and she really should have been inside helping prepare for the dinner crowd. But the innkeeper had shooed her outside insisting that she take some time after the stressful night before and the stressful morning that had followed. Why the village reeve had gone after a conviction of her so soundly was a mystery that the young almost thirteen year old could not put her mind around.
It was something more than simply being thorough. The beginning of the incident had been witnessed by Lyceus. There were her own injuries that still were giving her a slight problem if only because they stung when she moved too quickly. There had been no need for stitches just a need to keep them cleaned and fresh bandaged. It was as if there was an unknown force causing the man to go after her and with a vengeance. Luckily for the young bard, Cyrene was a force to be reckoned with.
The young woman had one of her many parchments in her hand. This one was not one for public consumption. This one was her diary full of her personal thoughts and desires. Of course they all revolved around one thing and that was the warrior, her warrior princess. It had been like they had been meant to meet and would continue to meet in many lifetimes. It still blew her young mind thoughts like that. Of course the kisses they shared before Xena had left were even more mind blowing.
A sudden breeze caused the parchment she was writing on to flutter slightly. There was an unusually strong smell of roses on the wind, unusual because there were no rosebushes around the inn. There were lilac bushes and a bunch of wildflowers but there were none of the special flowers. A movement out of the corner of her eye made her look up. Sitting on the railing leaning against one support with one long leg stretched its full length on the railing while the other was hanging lazily was a figure in pink.
Gabrielle blinked a couple times and rubbed her eyes. The woman before her was the most beautiful woman besides her Xena that she had ever seen. There was this aura about the blond and there was this overwhelming sensation of love coming from her. The bard smiled and cautiously she rolled up her parchment and approached the slender godlike creature. "You're Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love." It was a statement and not a question.
Aphrodite smiled big at her. "I knew you were a smart cookie." The Goddess hopped down from the railing and stood before the little mortal. "Watcha got there?" A slender finger pointed at the rolled up parchment. Suddenly very shy, Gabrielle put the paper behind her back. Snapping her fingers, the Goddess suddenly was holding what the bard had been attempting to hide. "I won't look if you don't want me to but I think it could be important."
That caused the bard to scratch the side of her head. As she moved too quickly, she winced once again. Without a word, Aphrodite came over the young girl and her hands hovered wherever there was a cut or bruise from the fight the previous night. Green eyes blinked at her and then she smiled. "If you can be so gracious to heal an insignificant mortal as me then the least that I could do was to allow you to read what I've written. I just don't understand how it could be important. It's just my diary."
The tall blond winked at her but gave no more explanation. It only took her a moment or two to read the really long diary. With every word that the Goddess took in, she knew that she had made the right decision in choosing to put her faith in the little girl that was quickly becoming a woman. There was simply something about the bard. It was hard to put into words exactly what it was but she was the only one that could love the warrior princess and tame her heart. Why?
That was something that even the Goddess was not sure of. Even with all of her godly powers, it was beyond her what kind of connection these two women had. All she knew that it would take the woman before her to stop what could be catastrophic if she was not able to stop Xena from the tentative path that she was slipping and sliding down. The fates had told that there would be a warrior woman, young, that would end up ruling not only Greece but the known world.
That was not the bad part as truly Greece needed leadership. There were far too many bands of warlords and thieves running amok hurting innocent people and it was going to destroy the nation. If it was left as weak as it was, then the Roman Empire and possibly others would come and take over. There needed to be strong leadership. But it was going to take body, heart and soul. Right now all that Xena had to offer was her body.
The bard seemed to have her heart and half of her soul so they needed to be reunited. Normally the Goddess of Love wouldn't meddle in these kinds of mortal matters but for one she had a soft spot for the little bard. She was just too cute and adorable. The other reason though, and the real reason that Aphrodite was there was because this was beyond love between the two women already. They were simply put soulmates.
Gabrielle was sitting there and waiting. Her mind was wandering just a bit though while she waited for the goddess to tell her whatever it was she had come to tell her. Her mind was on the fact that part of her just wanted to take off and track down Xena. A promise to allow her to do this alone, at least for a little while was a promise she still intended to keep. But not being able to be with her was causing an ache way down deep in her soul.
The bard stood and stretched. It was nice not to hurt when she stretched. In fact, she felt so good she felt like running or fighting or whatever. It was too cold now to go swimming but there were so many other things that she could do. It was as if she had this restless energy. It was the strangest feeling as she had never felt like this before. Maybe it was growing up but she was beginning to feel so different but not in a bad way.
"Well, Sweet Pea." Aphrodite held out her diary to her. With a great deal of care, Gabrielle rolled it up and set it on the table next to the chair she had been sitting on. She rubbed her nose waiting for the Goddess to tell her what was so important in her words about herself. "The short of the story is that you and your honey are like totally meant to be together." That got a beaming smile out of the smaller woman. "But as always when it comes to you mortals, it's complicated."
The bard felt like she was on an emotional rollercoaster. And by the face that was upon the beautiful blond Goddess, it was easy to tell that this was just the beginning of what would most likely turn out to be one long emotional journey. How she knew that since she had yet to officially enter her teen years she was not sure. It was just like it had been when it came to kissing Xena. There was just something inside her that was telling her all that she needed to know. It was up to her what to do with all this knowledge.
"Life is complicated." Gabrielle stood with her arms crossed over her small but quickly developing bosom. "One minute I'm out in the field watching sheep. The next I'm captured by a warlord. Thinking my life is over I meet this mysterious older girl who I now know was nothing but woman. She helps me escape but I know here…" She uncrossed her arms and patted on the spot of where her heart was beating the pace having picked up a little. "I get to kiss her and then she is off."
Aphrodite looked like she wanted to say something but the bard quickly continues. "My parents reject the fact that I am still a virgin. My sorta betrothed shows up and I end up in a fight which causes his death." Gabrielle was now pacing just a little in front of the Goddess. "I have an adopted loving family that treats me nothing like my blood family taught me." Once again she stopped her pacing and stood before the pink lacy clad woman.
"And now I'm standing here talking to the Goddess of Love." Gabrielle smiled a little nervously. She wasn't sure if she was overstepping in anyway. It was just that if she was going to be told how her life was, she was going to have some kind of say in it. "Who proceeds to tell me the woman I love and I are meant to be together…but it's complicated." The bard let out a soft laugh. "Did I miss anything? I mean, tell me right now just how much more complicated my life is going to get."
The Goddess blinked several times. She was not used to mortals acting with such confidence around her. They, especially the males, always seemed to fall over themselves trying to impress her. But this young woman couldn't care less about impressing her. It was kind of nice for a change. "Well, you got what you know right. And I'm sorry bout Perdy." When it looked like her friend was going to say something, she quickly continued. "Oh not that he's dead or anything. Just that it had to be you that killed him."
A huge sigh escaped the Goddess. That had been how she knew that Ares was interfering with the mortals they had a bet about. She had felt the love that Perdicus had once upon a time felt for his young friend turned it to hate in less than the blink of an eye. "I don't think it should have happened either. My brother…" Aphrodite sighed heavily. While she would always think that the Gods had a right to interfere with mortals that had been created by them, it was still sad when things got the way they were now.
After all, it was now the known world was out of balance. And all because of her brother and his overweening ego and the fact that he just had to give in to his…The bard's voice interrupted the internal musings of the Goddess. "Ares?" Gabrielle's hands were now at her sides. They were clenching and unclenching into fists. "What in the Hades does your bro…?" Then it hit the petite blond. "He wants Xena for himself so he set me up to be killed."
The thought almost was too much for the small woman. In fact, Aphrodite's long arms were snaking out to steady the bard. The Goddess guided her young charge over to the chair and helped her to settle easily. "It's complicated." The tall blond held up her hands in mock surrender. "I know you hate that word probably more than I do but it's true. There is something that connects Ares and Xena. And my brother is not thinking things through. He's thinking with his…"
"Godhood?" Gabrielle quickly shot out. Though she was still a little dizzy from the thought that her first kill was all so that she would either be kept away from Xena or probably even better for Ares, be killed was making her feel completely ill. And now hearing that the God of War had some sick and twisted connection to the woman that she loved was almost too much to handle. In fact, her head rolled back and she closed her eyes her stomach threatening to rebel.
"I hope not." Gabrielle only smiled at the sound of the voice. Aphrodite on the other hand stood quickly at the sound of the intrusion into this private moment. Cyrene came out of the shadows of the doorway and came to stand behind her future daughter-in-law. Her hand was on the bard's shoulder rubbing it gently concerned when she could feel the amount of tension in the young woman's body. "You forget I know Ares on a very intimate level."
That statement brought the bard's head up and twisted around as much as she could so that she could look into her future mother-in-law's eyes. It was the last thing that she would have expected someone as nice and sweet as the innkeeper to say. Of course there was one explanation and it gave the woman the crawlies thinking about it. The Goddess of Love crossed her arms over her chest in as much of a threatening manner as she could imply. "You don't have the right…"
"To tell the truth?" Cyrene now put herself between the Goddess and the bard. If Gabrielle could see the look on the face of her future mother-in-law she would see a smirk that looked very much like Xena's. Not that they had spent enough time together to really know any of her traits or quirks but even a stranger could see the strength in the smile. "Funny seeing how I was basically…" Her words were cut off by the Goddess' long slender fingers.
"I know what happened." Aphrodite pulled her hand back. "All on Mount Olympus know what my idiot brother had a habit of doing years ago." The Goddess looked like she was going to panic. "The mortals were not supposed to know about it." Her eyes blinked a few times attempting to take in this new complication. It was not something that she had bargained for. Zeus was not going to be happy with either his son or daughter when this was over with. "How did you…?"
Cyrene laughed and relaxed a little. With the way that Aphrodite was reacting she now knew that she had the upper hand. She knew that the Gods would hate for it to get out that Xena was a demigod just like Hercules. Only her father of course was the God of War. "I knew that night. I'm shocked that I'm the only one that realized…" The innkeeper took in the look on the Goddess' face. For some reason the God didn't want it know what she knew. For now, perhaps it was safer that it be kept a secret. Still, it gave her a rather large bargaining chip. "She has to go, right?"
As Aphrodite was about to answer, Gabrielle had had enough of this conversation that was going on that she knew somehow included both her and Xena was somehow being discussed and that she was missing a very crucial piece of information. There was anger building up in the fiery bard and it was now ready to explode. "Enough!" Both women turned and looked at the younger one still sitting in the chair. "If there is something so serious going on that you two have to speak in tongues about it then it really should be shared with at least one if not both that it affects. So tell me!"
Cyrene kneeled down next to the young woman and took one hand in her own larger stronger one. There was a rustling sound and she knew without looking that Aphrodite was behind the bard watching very intently. "I don't know everything or the real reason that the Goddess of Love is here but I do know this." Her eyes went to the Goddess' getting tentative approval before telling her the part that she knew. The part that would change Xena, Gabrielle and possibly the known world. "You see, Ares is Xena's real father." The only sound for several moments was the breathing of two sets of human beings before there was the distinct sound of someone sliding to the floor.
