Nearly half an hour had passed before she made any type of movement. She briefly closed her eyes as she lowered her head. "It couldn't have all been a dream." She whispered in a defeated tone.

Chapter 10

Finally she stood up and walked back to the campsite. There she found Gabrielle still awake waiting for her.

"Xena, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I had a strange dream that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it was nothing." Xena laid down in her bedroll, hoping that Gabrielle would just drop it.

The bard stared at her friend a moment longer before also laying back down and going to sleep. However for Xena sleep would not come quickly, instead thoughts of Ares plagued her mind. She tossed and turned as she fought with the images that appeared before her eyes. They seemed so real that her skin would have sworn it knew the way it felt to have the warmth of his body against hers. She slightly shivered at that thought. Whatever it was, it had been more than just a dream. And it had left her with a constant feeling of panic that was slowly creeping into her heart, while she struggled against the overpowering need to see him.

The logical part of her screamed for her to forget this stupid dream; but she could not and she knew what she had to do. The dream must have meant something. She thought to herself as she came to a decision.

Morning finally came as Xena and Gabrielle awoke. They packed up their things in complete silence. Gabrielle watched Xena in the corner of her eyes, and looked as if she wanted to say something but instead she stayed quiet. A few minutes later they were done. Gabrielle climbed on top of her horse and waited for Xena to do the same, but she didn't move from where she was standing.

"I can't come with you." Xena abruptly said, breaking the silence.

"What? Why?" A look of concern covered the bard's face.

"There's something I need to do first. I'll meet you in Potedia in a few days."

"Wait, what is it that you're going to do?"

Xena hesitated before answering. "I'm going to visit Ares."

"Why?" Gabrielle seemed genuinely surprised. "…Is this about that dream last night?"

"Yes and No," there was a slight hint of frustration in her tone.

"Xena if something's bothering you then--"

"I don't want to talk about it. Look I just need a few days that's all."

"Okay, fine. I guess I'll see you later on." A hint of uncertainty could be heard in Gabrielle's voice, as she then gently kicked her horse urging it to begin walking. "I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for." She said softly.

"Me too," Xena whispered back.

She waited until she could no longer see Gabrielle before climbing on top of Argo. She pulled on the reins urging Argo to turn around, and began making her journey to the old farm.

The afternoon and evening had come and gone by the time Xena decided to stop and rest at a small village. She went and placed Argo in one of the stables, then turned to leave. The drunken laughter of two young men filled her ears as they stumbled into the stable area. Xena tried to ignore them but couldn't help but over hear a part of their conversation.

"The day that a thug like Argrilius becomes a great warlord is the day tartarus freezes over." The taller of the two said with laughter still in his voice.

"Argrilius may be a thug but he's smart, smart enough to realize where Ares is hiding."

"And where's that?"

"In the village just a short distance away. I'm telling you that Argrilius is right now on his way to kill the former god of war."

The taller man opened his mouth to reply but he never got the chance. In less than a second Xena was standing over the other man with her hand at his throat and her sword drawn.

"What did you just say?" She questioned him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The taller man yelled.

Xena didn't even bother to glance his way as she swiftly kicked him in the chest knocking him down.

"Who is Argrilius and what makes him think that Ares is in the next village?" She asked.

The man in her grasp struggled to breathe was her grip tightened.

"Argrilius is the leader of a group of local bandits." He said with his eyes practically bulging out. "He…he claims he saw Ares with his own eyes…and now he's going to kill him."

Xena abruptly let go of him and quickly made her way back to Argo. A feeling of panic rapidly consumed her as she and Argo raced to the old farm. She couldn't explaining what she was feeling, all she knew was that she couldn't lose him not now, not when she finally knew what she wanted. Her surroundings became nothing but a blur as the hours swiftly passed by. It was the dead of night by the time she reached her destination. Everything looked the same as when she had first left, but she paid no mind to this as she jumped off of Argo and ran into the house.

"Ares!" She called out as she began searching for him, but he was no where to be found. Angrily she kicked the door as she walked out of the house. Where in tartarus could he be? She thought to herself.

"The village," She whispered and rushed back to Argo.

It took only a few minutes for her to reach the nearby village. Cautiously she looked around at her surroundings as she got off of Argo. Most of the villagers were asleep in their homes, while the rest of them were scattered around the tavern. A few curious eyes turned her way; and those who were too drunk to see the glare in her eyes tried in vain to get her attention. But she ignored them and took notice of the young man who had been standing at the entrance of the tavern, and had abruptly left when he saw her. She could have sworn she saw a look of recognition in his eyes.

Something was about to happen, she could feel it in the air. She knew she had to get Ares out of here fast. She easily spotted him when she entered the tavern. He was sitting alone at a table in the corner of the nearly empty room. His shoulders were hunched as he stared down at the mug of ale in his hands. She walked over to him and felt her earlier feelings of panic vanish. When she was close enough, she called out to him.

"Xena?" He looked at her as if she were a ghost, and for a moment there he thought his drunken eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Yeah, it's me." She couldn't stop the relieved smile from appearing on her face. She took a few steps closer to him until they were barely an arms length apart.

"What are you doing here?" There was a surprising amount of anger in his voice.

Xena paused for a second before answering, her smile quickly disappeared. "There's a group of bandits after you, and I think they're already in the village."

"So let me guess, you're here to save me, right?" A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "Well warrior princess I don't need your help. So you can leave now."

Xena didn't bother to reply. She was slightly stunned by the anger and hatred she could feel coming from him. This is not how it's suppose to happen. She thought to herself.

"What are you waiting for?"

"I'm not leaving?" Her face was completely expressionless.

"Yeah you are. Right after you're done saving the day you'll leave just like you always do."

Xena's facial expression softened as she struggled to find the right words to say. "Ares,"

"Don't bother." He snapped at her as he slowly stood up, slightly swaying from side to side. "Just seeing you here makes me want to smile and cry out in pain at the same time." His voice suddenly became low. "I can't do this anymore." He whispered and for a moment he seemed completely sober. "I can't love someone who refuses to love me back." He moved to walk pass her, but she gently grabbed his arm stopping him.

"Things just aren't that simple." Her eyes seemed as if they were pleading with him.

"Yes they are. It's either you do or you don't."

"Ares you know that I…" She paused, unsure of what to say.

"You can't even say it, can you?" He pulled away from her and walked out of the tavern.

Xena stood there and watched him leave. She hesitated for only a moment before going after him; but a moment was all it took for everything to go wrong. A strange darkness had completely surrounded the village and even the light of the moon and stars could not lessen it. Xena stepped out of the tavern and immediately knew that something wasn't right.

All of a sudden a voice yelled. "Long live the god of war."

Xena quickly ran towards the direction of the voice and found Ares surrounded by a dozen armed men. Instinctively she tried to reach for her chakram but she could not move. It felt as if she was frozen in time, as if an invisible force was holding her back.

No, no this can't be happening. Damn it do something! Her mind shouted. She tried to scream, tried to yell, but all she could do was stand there and watch as a sword appeared and slowly plunged into Ares' chest.

"Nooooooo!" A pained scream filled the air; and it took Xena a second to realize that it had come from her.

The men turned towards Xena as if they had not noticed her before. Time seemingly released its hold on her as a blinding rage rapidly consumed her senses. In less than an instant her chakram was sent flying through the air, killing any thing in its path. With an almost animal like fury Xena attacked the few men who were left standing. One by one they fell until there were none left.

Her rage was promptly replaced by agony when she saw Ares lying on the blood soaked ground. She immediately dropped her sword and kneeled down beside him. He was struggling to breathe as blood continued to flow out of him.

"Ares stay still, don't move." She said as she tried to put pressure on the wound.

"It hurts." He coughed as more blood appeared.

"Everything is going to be all right. Just hang on." Her voice soon became thick with emotion. "Ares no, don't do this." She said as if he could stop himself from dying.

His voice was quickly becoming weak. "Good bye … princess." He somehow managed to lift one of his hands to caress her face.

"Don't you leave me," she whispered.

"I love you." He said with his last breath.

Xena helplessly watched as the life vanished from his eyes. A second later she lightly kissed his lips. "I love you too." She whispered as tears began to fall from her eyes.

She held onto him tightly as if her warmth could bring him back.

"Xena," she heard a voice calling out to her, but she ignored it. "Xena!" The voice said more insistently as someone began shaking her.

"Leave me alone. Get away from me." She yelled back, but the voice did not stop.

Suddenly Xena felt herself being pulled from Ares' body as darkness filled her vision.

TBC

I know you're probably thinking wtf (what the f-#-), but the next chapter (which might be the last one) will shed some light on everything that happened. I hope. ;)

Leave a review and let me know your thoughts :)