Once again the desert sand was too much for the pair that was traveling as quickly as they could out of the desert and back to their home of Greece. They were to meet a friend back on their homelands and they both needed a break away from the fighting that had been almost constant as of late. There was also the smaller blond's eternal struggle with how far she had come from the girl that had left her farm in Potadeia in search of adventure following after an ex warlord that had saved her and the other village girls.
From the first time that she had put her life on the line for someone else earning her the title of first Amazon princess and then queen. From the first time that she had picked up a weapon that while mostly used for defense could also turn deadly. From the time that she had drawn blood for the first time and it had just about killed part of her. From the time that she had given up fighting instead using as many peaceful ways to help. From the time that seeing a lover hurt and defenseless and picking up a weapon to take life after life. From picking up a weapon that was both defensive and offensive she had gone through many changes over her time with Xena.
And because of the last choice, Gabrielle had chosen to kill someone out of instinct. It was true that she had been blinded by the same sand that they were struggling with now. It was true that it had appeared that there had been a dagger instead of a scroll. How so easily she had killed was still something eating at her mind and her soul. Being forgiven by the man's father was of little consequence as it would never give the young man his life back.
Gabrielle wrapped the cloth tighter around her mouth and nose noticing the wind once again whipping up the sand causing her sight to momentarily blur. Her partner in everything was right beside her also struggling with the weather. What the petite blond was not aware of was just how much Xena was also struggling with the events of the past few days. The tall warrior never stopped blaming herself for taking the innocence of her soulmate. Whether it was the first time they made love to the first drop of blood she had spilled and every drop thereafter it all fell on the ex-warlord's hands.
Xena could see that her lover was getting tired. While her own tolerance was much higher than her bard's she too was beginning to tire of fighting with walking in the sand and at the same time the flying sand. While her eyesight and her hearing were trained to be much better than others, these conditions were making it difficult to find a place to rest for the night. The way that the temperatures fell at night, she wanted a sure shelter as well as a fire if they could find something to burn.
The raven haired woman's heart was also heavy still with the guilt. The guilt that it was her that Gabrielle had been attempting to protect when she took the life of the messenger. There were a lot of things that happened during war. Innocents dying were the worst of those things. Of course knowing her sweet bard; it would be hard on her even more if the warrior princess had been stabbed instead. It was just the nature of her lover even after all that they had been through and all that they had seen she always wanted to protect everyone especially her soulmate.
But this was not a time for Xena to be caught up in her guilt. The dejected way that Gabrielle had been acting ever since they had begun the journey home that it hurt just looking at her and the warrior princess had vowed one way or another to help at the very least to begin the healing process. After all, she had been going down that road for how many years now, ever since some selfless kid had come between her and a stoning in her home village.
"Gabrielle!" Xena's voice just barely carried over the howling of the wind. There was no answer but blue eyes took in the fact that her partner had turned her head. Instead of speaking, the warrior princess simply pointed to an area up ahead of them probably about a thousand paces. Though most could not see what was there, the ex-warlord could. At this point she knew that the battling bard could not see it either. But her soulmate usually took on faith what it was that the leather clad woman knew.
A nod of the head was the only response. They both attempted to pick up the pace so that they could make it to the shelter. Both had sand in places that neither one of them wanted and would be grateful just to get out of the wind. It took several more moments to get to the place that Xena had spied. It was only half a shelter but it was enough to keep the sand out and to have a place for their horses. It was two weary travelers that finally got out of the wind.
As Gabrielle unraveled the many layers of cloth from her body, she took in their surroundings. It wasn't much different than the place that Xena had washed the blood off her hands. The bard paused and closed her eyes remembering. Remembering just how easy it had seemed to be to take that life. Remembering just how much blood that her soulmate had to attempt to remove from her hands. While it had felt like the blood was still there when she had accidentally killed Meridian, this time it was different. This time it was her choice to kill a man and had not been setup by people she had trusted.
There was a covered well but no bathing area. That was all right with the bard. She was just glad to be out of the wind and the sand at least for the night. There was no firewood nor was there anything to eat. It was a good thing that they had accepted the rations before they had left the camp. Quickly she took care of her horse taking time to both brush him down and to make sure that he had plenty to eat and drink from her water skins before she got the bedroll ready for the night.
Behind her she could feel that Xena was mimicking her movements almost to the letter. They had traveled together now enough so that they had an easy routine when they stopped for the night and of course when morning was to come. It would be a little different tonight but not much. After making sure that her faithful horse was tied tightly in place, Gabrielle made her way over the well attempting to take the heavy concrete top off.
That was when she felt the strong arms wrap around her from behind. All she wanted was to turn around in the embrace and return the heartfelt hug. But at the moment she felt that she was anything but deserving of any kind of comfort. But standing there for what seemed like forever, she could not help but turn around and be enveloped by the one person in the known world that could even come close to knowing what it was that she was going through.
They stood there for the longest time with Xena just holding the smaller emotionally fragile woman. The warrior princess knew that there were no words that could take away the pain that was inside her soulmate's heart. Gabrielle already knew in her head that it was just one of those things that happened in the line of work that they did. Whether or not they had been in the middle of helping out people or if it had just been a messenger out of the blue, it still had been in the warrior's mind the right thing to do.
Her Gabrielle had not been born to be a warrior like she had. There were certain things that just seemed to be ingrained in the warrior princess that others had to spend a lifetime learning. And while Xena could teach everything that she knew, there were some things in life that you just can't be taught. This was one of the hardest lessens to learn. The warrior princess wasn't even sure that she had fully grasped the impact of taking a life could have on one's soul.
"I've already grieved." Gabrielle tried to pull out of her soulmate's strong arms surprised when for once Xena held her tight. It was not that her partner never held her and in fact had many times since they had begun traveling together to comfort her even before they had become lovers. In the beginning, they were tentative, unsure hugs. But as their relationship steadily grew and there was no longer a doubt on either part about how they felt, the embraces were longer and more heartfelt.
Xena leaned down and at first a surprised bard resisted. But finally Gabrielle could no longer deny herself what she so desperately craved with every breath that she took and reveled in the love that was transferred in the kiss. Finally when oxygen became too great a need, the couple pulled a part. Blue eyes met green ones and the warrior princess took in the way that her soulmate not only hated herself but seemed to not want any kindness said or shown. "Knowing you, you will grieve even in the next life. That is how amazing your heart is."
Once again Gabrielle was leaning her head against the tall warrior's shoulder. She exhaled as she felt the usual leaning of Xena's chin upon her head. So many lives lost during their travels together. Some were family. Some were friends. Some were strangers and potential friends and some of course were the bad guys. "I think I'm getting tired of this. Where life and death are held so perilously in our hands." A huge laugh escaped the petite blond. "And I remember when I wouldn't leave you alone to teach me to fight."
"You wouldn't leave me alone period." Xena quickly flashed through those early days together. She had resisted teaching Gabrielle how to fight not because she thought she was weak. On the contrary, there was something even then that she could see in the heart of her soulmate and how she wanted to protect others. It was just once one picked up a weapon of any kind, one was put in the position to make a decision. One that the warrior princess had hoped that her lover would never have to make and sadly had made with deadly consequences. "And the blood just won't go away." Blue eyes closed at the thought of the hundreds, perhaps even thousands of lives that she had taken over the years. There was innocent blood there. More than the ex-warlord cared to admit to.
Gabrielle pulled back reluctantly once again. Blue eyes would not meet her and in that moment she understood something that she should have realized a long time ago. "You feel the same way, don't you?" When Xena would not meet her eyes, part of her wanted to force the eye contact. But the other part of her wanted to let her soulmate to do things in her own time and her own way as usual. "I'm sorry. It's cold of me, but I guess I thought that…" She couldn't find the right words.
There was a long silence between the couple. Xena seemed to be caught up in her own world and Gabrielle was cursing herself for even thinking for a moment that her soulmate could ever begin to forgive herself. After all, that was what their travels over the years had been about. There would be, in the warrior princess' mind, never enough that she could do to make up for what she had done over the years. What had been the point of their travels if not for that?
"Oh Xena!" The voice cracked as it spoke and it brought the warrior princess back from her memories of her warlord days. Xena knew what she would see when she looked and sure enough, tears were strolling down the bard's face. "That was stupid of me to even think let alone say." Her soulmate instantly had that half smile that melted Gabrielle's heart. It also told her without having to hear it that her partner understood and loved her no matter what. "I might just have to make that up to you."
"Gabrielle…" Xena used her deepest register which just caused the bard's entire body to tingle. It tingled with anticipation not only of what she was going to say now but it was almost like a promise to a time when they would once again make love. "As much as I would love for you to make it up to me, there is nothing to make up. If your heart wasn't hurting so badly, you wouldn't have said that. I love you and am worried about you. Come here."
Xena led the petite blond over to where the prepared their bedrolls were. It was in the corner and away from any windows. The sandstorm was winding down a little but there was still a briskness to the wind as well as a drop in the temperatures. "I won't be able to offer you hot tea tonight but I can offer you a warm body to sleep against." Slowly the warrior princess stripped the remaining clothing from her soulmate and made sure that she was sitting down. "I'll be right back."
Gabrielle watched as her warrior made her way back to the well and pulled up the large bucket of water. It took a moment but the raven haired beauty got the wet rope untied and brought the full bucket over to where the petite blond was watching with a great deal of interest. Xena made her way to her saddle bags pulling out a soft rag, a towel and a special bar of soap that she had packed just for an occasion such as this. She had been hoping to use it for her bard's birthday or Solstice but this was as good as any reason to bathe her lover with it maybe even the best there was.
The bard had an eyebrow raised ever so slightly in question. She trusted the warrior princess with her life. And there had only been very few times that Xena had hurt her. Usually one or the other was under the spell of an outside force when that had happened. The tall warrior set the bucket down just at the edge of the shared furs. "I can bathe you and you can bathe until you're raw." That got the other eyebrow raised. "It still comes down to one thing." The raven haired beauty slowly began to bathe her lover. "We all have choices to make. In the end, it's up to us to live with them. That's cold I know but…"
Her speech was halted by a hand to her cheek. Xena had been concentrating on just her bard's body and had not really taken in the expressions upon her face. "It's not cold." For a moment they both got caught up in the feel of the other's hands on their own bodies. They were with each other almost twenty four hours a day and yet they never seemed to be able to get enough of touching one another. "What I said was cold. And before you say anything, we both know it was. I have a lot to work on and I know you do even if others don't realize that about you."
That got one of Xena's rare full smiles that only the bard could manage to bring out. Even their daughter could only garner the smile on rare occasions. Cyrene and Solon had also managed to elicit the warm full smile out of the tall warrior. But when Gabrielle was able to do it, it made her warm all the way down into her soul. Making her soulmate happy was the only thing that ever truly mattered to petite blond. And with things always happening that reminded the warrior princess of her past, it was rare when she allowed herself the privilege to smile.
No more words were spoken for the longest time. What Gabrielle had said were the truest words. As much as both women loved one another and were each other's soulmates, there were just some times in life when one had to work things out for oneself. Love never goes away nor does the support that two people deeply in love with one another feel for each other. And it's more out of respect that they give one another the time and the space to be able to work out their inner demons.
When Xena had finished with bathing her soulmate, Gabrielle had taken the rest of her warrior's clothes off and proceeded to do the same thing for her. While extremely intimate, this was not about being physical with one another. This was reconnecting at the basic level which was just to trust enough to let someone see one when one is most vulnerable. And both had allowed that almost since they had met and that was why they were so good with one another.
After they were both thoroughly cleansed and dried they reluctantly got into shifts for the night and settled down next to each other on their shared bed. It had been a long day of travel with the sandstorm almost constant. But what really had exhausted both was the fact that it had been an emotional few days. It has been said a few times, but Xena could fight for days on end exhausted and still keep fighting especially if Gabrielle was in danger. But emotions, that was something that just took everything they had out of each other.
It was Xena that as always fell asleep last. Her breathing was evening out and she smiled as she realized it was almost exactly in the same rhythm as her bard. She knew that as they slept, they would as well share the beat of their hearts. Her last thoughts were of an innocent girl that she had come across in a clearing what seemed sometimes like just a short time ago. Even then, her Gabrielle was so feisty that she had offered herself up in exchange for the others and had then fought as best she could.
You are the greatest gift I've ever been privileged with knowing. You have a hard road to travel. I want to promise to always be there for you. But in the life we lead, anything can happen at any time. I know you can't hear me right now but I want to make a promise once again to you my sweet bard. Even in death, Gabrielle I will never leave you. I will always be a part of you and you will always be a part of me. I love you my soulmate and will till the end of time.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Gabrielle could feel it. Once again she had her sias pressed against someone. In fact the tip of the one against the 'master's' neck had already made a small opening and there was a tiny trail of blood trickling down the neck of the man. The one that was pointed at his heart had very little pressure behind it. This was one of those situations once again. One that the bard could easily slip and then what would happen? She would once again have taken a life.
But that was nothing new for the bard as of late. Even before the untimely death of her soulmate, it seemed that lives had fallen at her blade. Not easily of course, but she had taken a fair number of lives. And after Xena's death? Gabrielle cringed to think about all the lives that she had taken that she hadn't truly had to. As in any battle, there were choices. A decision had to be made. But over the time that her soulmate had been gone, there had been no decision. Kill or be killed had become her motto.
Xena had only a glimpse into what her soul had become. Gabrielle knew that they were the other half of each other's souls but did that mean that her warrior princess could feel what she felt? When they had been brought back from death after they had been crucified, the bard had known something wasn't right with her other half. But she could not place exactly what it had been. A small smile was on her face as she thought about how even if her soulmate had never gotten her groove back; she would have loved her anyway.
So what would Xena think when she found out that for a short period of time that Gabrielle had truly become an assassin at least in a way? She knew that her warrior princess had heard her thoughts and she knew that it had shown what her mental state was when they had been gifted that moment in time. The bard still cringed thinking how poorly she had treated her body. Luckily she had treated it so well in the past that it had taken only a short time to recover almost fully.
An emotional tightrope was she was walking. Right now was a prime example of that. There were just over fifty men and women counting on Xena and the battling bard to keep them relatively safe. Would that be by eliminating the man at the head of an army that outnumbered their own by five times? Or would the words of the storyteller prove to be the path that was needed. Gabrielle was at a loss as what to do. She had thought she was ready for this moment but now…
Gabrielle took a deep breath as it seemed time was beginning to move once again. Everything, including her own breathing had seemed to stand still for the longest of moments. Finally her green eyes blinked and took in her surroundings. Xena had stepped about three paces closer. There was a concerned look on her face. Eve had drawn the sword that had been hidden under her wraps as had most of the meager army. The huge army was also at the ready.
It all came down to her at the moment. An image of the desert and that sandstorm once again flashed in her mind. This was similar but far from that. This was a situation where it was an army against an army. That had been a tragedy that Gabrielle was still punishing herself for. And yet she was not punishing herself for the lives taken after Xena had died. The bard suddenly realized there was something very wrong with her emotionally and decided that she needed to back off and have her soulmate handle things.
The bard gave one more shove with both her sias causing the gash on his neck to become ever so slightly larger but far from anything that would need stitches or even a bandage. "For the record, I may be a bitch but I'm no dog. And I don't just follow commands. I am my own woman." When the man bent over to pick up his swords, Gabrielle quickly kicked them one at a time until they were at the feet of her soulmate. "And I know how to kick your ass so I'd play my cards right. If this dance starts, you're the first one I'm going to take out."
Xena could not help it as the one eyebrow rose as her soulmate slowly and deliberately backed away from the man and made her way to stand next to the leather clad woman. Without even looking, Gabrielle put her sias in belt loop instead of her boots and used her foot to kick her staff up to her hands. The eyebrow lowered again and it seemed that the warrior princess let out a breath that she had been holding. Of course the ex-warlord made a mental note of what she had seen noting what the petite blond and she would have to talk about especially the switch from the sias to the staff. That spoke volumes. It was an endless list it seemed since she had chosen to accept death.
"She's right." Xena took a menacing step forward. "She's my partner and soulmate first and foremost. But that's not why we are here." Her long sword was pointed at the man's chest. They were still about a foot apart but with the reflexes, speed and strength of the warrior princess it was almost like they were standing next to one another. "We're here because Eve and her followers have something you want. You can claim holy land but they had been staying in the city before this. So, what is it you really want or I'll sick the battling bard on you." She turned and winked at her partner.
It actually caused Gabrielle to relax a little. The wink spoke volumes to her. It went back to saying everything when they actually said nothing at all. It told her that everything was going to be all right. It told her that no matter what, Xena trusted her to do the right thing. It told her that no matter what she was loved and that it was an unconditional kind of love. Sometimes with all that she had done and seen she wondered how she had ever been so lucky to find her soulmate and she knew that the warrior princess felt exactly the same way.
The dark eyes narrowed a bit as he held his hand to his throat. "You know, it is a great insult to have a woman be so brazen with a man." He removed his hand to take in the amount of blood. It was actually already ceasing to bleed. "And I'm not talking about the attack of your…" Before he could get the word out, Xena's free hand was on his throat. Once again the tension between the armies could be cut with a knife or a sword. The point of her sword was now aimed at the man's groin. His eyes were bulging not only from the choking but also because of fear from losing his manhood.
"I told you…" Xena hissed between clenched teeth. "Show her respect. Show me respect and we just might show you some." She released his throat but kept her blade pointed to the man's family jewels. About five of his men came towards her and her free hand went for her chakram just as quickly as both Eve and Gabrielle closed the distance weapons at the ready. The men were not stupid and decided to back off just a little. "Now don't make me put the pinch on you…and I'm not talk about cutting off the flow of blood to your big brain either."
The master visibly swallowed. Fear was not something that he often felt but with these three women, he truly felt a fear that hit him to his very essence. It was odd because he was surrounded by two hundred and fifty of his best fighters and still he suddenly felt that he was the one that was outnumbered. The dark eyed man was tired of the stalemate. It was time to be honest and see where that got him. "We were told by a representative from Rome that Eve was once again fighting for it."
"What does that…?" Xena never even had to finish the thought. She sighed heavily and put her chakram back in place as well as put her sword away. "This is…" The warrior princess shook her head not believing that once again she had been duped by her least favorite God. It suddenly was clear now why he was so much on Gabrielle's side to help get her back other than his obvious obsession for his former chosen. "Son of a Bacchae." The leather clad woman wanted nothing more than to call upon the God of War.
But she knew getting him involved at this point was not a good thing. After all these years she should have been able to sense when he was involved. Maybe being dead for a little while had caused her to get a tad rusty or was it the fact that he had already been helping to resurrect her once again. Whatever the reason, it was obvious that Ares was attempting to start a three way war. She and Gabrielle would of course represent Greece, Eve still had ties in Rome and you had this strange man that was known simply as the master.
It took Gabrielle just a little longer to comprehend what was going through her soulmate's mind. Eve was and always would be connected with Rome. But because of the involvement of the battling bard and the warrior princess that caused it to be connected with Greece and of course this stranger to his foreign land. "I can't believe…" She trailed off not wanting to give anything away to their adversary. Only after green and blue eyes met did she speak. "Who was this representative from Rome? What did they look like?"
Before answering, the master turned to his men and barked an order that Gabrielle could not understand. It was not in the native tongue of Egypt and it was not in any of the other languages that she had picked up during her travels with her soulmate. She looked at Xena and the look was almost veiled. There was just enough of a twinge that only the bard would recognize as a shrug. "He wore a cloak. Was dressed in black leather. His voice was deep. And I could tell that he had a goatee. But that was it."
That was more than enough to confirm what both the bard and the warrior princess had suspected. A quick look from Eve, who had also had put her weapon away, and all three women knew they were on the same page about at least realizing part of what was going on. It made sense on so many levels. It wasn't the first time that Ares had tried to get Xena to help him start a war after the death of most of the Gods on Mount Olympus. And the God of War never gave up a chance to get close to his former chosen one.
Xena was almost at a loss as what to do for once in her life. Part of her just wanted to turn her back on the entire situation. After all, she had just proven that she could forget about the greater good if it involved Gabrielle. And just like that, another piece of the puzzle came into place. Ares had needed her to prove that to not only the Goddesses that had helped them, but also the Egyptian God of War. The warrior princess was once again cursing herself for trusting her former teacher.
"We need to have a council." Xena motioned to her army and to the dark eyed man's army. "We need to do it away from the armies so that we can avoid possibly starting something." Her blue eyes met with ones that were almost identical to her own and then green ones. Without a word both women were off. Gabrielle was rounding up the troops while Eve was setting up a tent with only a couple men to help with getting everything ready. "We'll meet just before sundown over dinner. If that is acceptable to you."
The man's curiosity was obviously peeked as he nodded and went about what seemed making his own arrangements for his men. After the sun had gone down almost to the appointed time, the tent along with the shared meal was ready. The large army could still be seen but it was from a distance now. It was a comfortable distance and Xena was relaxing slightly about the new stranger that she was still trying to get a handle on his true self.
Finally the time had come and they were all sitting around the table. The man was at one end while Xena sat at the other side flanked on her right by Gabrielle and on her left Eve. There were two from the small army and two from the larger army. It was almost, the ex-warlord thought, just like one of her old war councils. Only usually that was a trap just to get the general or the leader of a group in her clutches so that she could then either kill them or ransom them.
"My name is Memos." The dark eyed man still was wrapped in the elegant cloth. His eyes never left the blue eyes of the warrior princess obviously more comfortable with her then he was with the other two females. "I am a prince of the largest province and have great influence in my homeland. I was sent here after the representative told us that Eve was here and she had sent for a great warrior. We had no idea of who it was this great warrior. Only that they possessed special knowledge and had access to special weapons and were going to fight for Rome possibly using her homeland's backing."
Xena wanted to shake her head. It all sounded good. Ares had basically covered his bases. She was sure that this was connected to the favor that the Gods of the Egyptians were going to require of them. It was putting them into a no win situation, one that the God of War had attempted to do many times. It was just up to the trio to find a way to get out of this and with as few lives lost as possible. This time it was not even for the greater good. It was because she was so tired of fighting and simply wanted to live with her soulmate somewhere quiet for the rest of their lives. But to do that, they had to appease the foreign Gods somehow if that was even possible.
"Typical." Xena picked up a piece of paper and wrote on it. She handed it first to Gabrielle who then handed it to Eve. After both had read it and approved it was sent to the other end of the short table. Memos' eyebrow rose as he read it. A leer came across his face and he quickly asked for a quill. With a flourish, he signed his name. The paper was then brought back to the warrior princess who signed it followed by her partner and her daughter. "I think we can let the ink dry and then we can proceed. Why don't your men rest for the night? We can do a joint watch, if that is all right." The warrior princess bowed her head, attempting to hopefully show her respect.
"That would be most acceptable." The quartet stood and the dark eyed man made his way towards the head of the table to stand in front of the trio. "I look forward to learning more about how your minds work." He looked them up and down. The tight black leather of Xena's traditional outfit. Gabrielle in her Amazon outfit. Even the messenger wore quite the revealing top though she had cloth draped over her shoulder. "You may be beautiful women, but looks are not only thing that you possess."
After Memos kissed all three of their hands, he made his way out of the tent. Three sets of eyes watching intently. Eve was about to speak when both Xena and Gabrielle held up a hand for her to hold her silence. The warrior princess dismissed their guards and then made her way to the opening to the tent. When she peered out, the dark eyed man and his compatriots were halfway to their encampment. "We need more than just that piece of paper. We need…"
"You need not to play with fire." All three women, even the peaceful Eve, went for their weapons when they heard and then saw the God of War appear before them. "Why must you mortals do that? You lost the ability to kill gods a long time ago, Xena. And you two never even have come close to that kind of power." He waited until they had once again put their weapons away. "So you think it's a good idea to strike a peace treaty with your new friends. The Goddess Neith, the Egyptian Goddess of War and Wisdom, is not going to be happy with you."
"I don't need the ability to kill Gods." Xena walked right up to the God of War. Just a small part of him flinched and inwardly the warrior princess smiled. Outwardly she kept that cold warlord exterior that not even Ares could see through. "Most Gods I've found are rather stupid in fact." That got a growl out of the particular god standing before her. "You might just want to back off yourself. The only reason we don't do anything about you is because of Aphrodite."
Without waiting for a response, Xena closed the distance. She whispered in his ear. Anyone looking at that particular moment would have thought the moment very intimate. In the past a scene like this would have upset or caused jealously to reign supreme in the bard. Now she had complete and total faith in her soulmate. "I know what the real reason was for you helping Gabrielle. Thank you for bringing me back. But know this…I'm done with war…I'm done with pain…I want to just live…So after I'm through with you and the Egyptian God of War, you better leave me alone."
Ares was surprised by the words. He had sensed just before Xena's death that there was a change in the warrior princess. It had not surprised him seeing that she had been moving further away from his way of life ever since she had started fighting to right wrongs and the influence that the bard had on her. But to hear her so boldly say what she had just said was something he had not expected. "What is it that you can do to me? I am a god, Xena!"
Xena just shook her head. She was done with Ares. She wanted to be done so that she and Gabrielle could go and lead a simple life. But if she knew anything, a God or Goddess that thought you owed them was a dangerous thing. Even with her big talk, she knew that doing anything to trap or stop the God of War or any of the other Egyptian Gods would be next to impossible. When her eyes locked with green ones, she knew.
She knew that no matter what, she would come up with something. She had once upon a time told Gabrielle that it was her that gave her strength and a reason to do what she did. Well right now that was trying to find somehow to trick the Gods and live a life together that they had been denied for so long. If nothing else in the known world, she had the greatest gift in life. There was the gift of love not only from her soulmate but also from her daughter. Without it…
The warrior princess turned over her should but never really looked at Ares. Xena was finished with him. What she wanted was to go back to her quarters with Gabrielle and snuggle. Maybe even finally begin to have those sensitive chats that seemed were too numerous to remember. "And I'm tired. Tired of dealing with Gods. Tired of dealing with impossible situations. Tired of putting my life on the line when all I want to do is love my soulmate. So go away, Ares. Just go away."
There was no sound from the God of War. Instead there was just this rush of air over the tent that left a foul smell behind. Gabrielle hurriedly closed the distance between them. Xena gratefully wrapped her arms fully around the small blond woman. Her eyes met with Eve's and it was as if she knew. The messenger made a hugging motion and blew her a kiss. Her mother winked at her just before the younger woman made her way out of the tent.
Without any words, Xena and Gabrielle made their way to their tent. Slowly they undressed and equally as slow they bathed one another. Nothing had happened like what had just before that night so long ago in the desert but both remembered when just the simple touches of the other seemed to be a balm on their shared souls. Once again it worked to wash away the tension of the day. But it could never wash away the love that they had for one another.
They wrapped their naked bodies around one another just like that day long ago reveling in the feel of the warmth not only of their skins touching but also the warmth that it caused in one another's hearts. They knew that they needed to speak of things to truly get back to where they were before Japa. They knew that making love was only a start. They needed to once again let the other know their true desires. For now, sleep would take them for both bodies were still healing and as much as they needed the emotional salve they also needed the physically healing just as much.