Unholy Matrimony X: Natural Born Killer

"Why do you think it was so easy to turn her?" Ares' words rattled through Xena's brain, over, and over, and over again. She should have been exhausted after fighting the massive Celt but she was wired, pumped. As soon as she was pronounced the winner, Xena bolted past Gabrielle, grabbed her leathers, dressed, and took off for a run. She knew what she was running from. Him. Herself. All of it. It had felt sooooo good getting lost in the kill, letting go. It didn't matter to her that the fight had been part of the games, she knew what she was. A murderer. That's why his words from old were haunting her. "Why do you think it was so easy to turn her?" Ares had taunted her after Eve had crucified those poor Elijans outside of Rome. Xena had been disgusted with him at the time but, even then, the truth of his words rang true. Her daughter had the same murderous instinct that lurked within her own soul. A natural born killer, that's what she was. "Why do you think it was so easy to turn her?" Xena picked up her pace.

Xena ran until her legs gave out. Spent, she crumbled to her knees on the road. She barely noticed the pain as her chafed skin hit the hard-packed dirt. Even though her body was drained, her mind still rushed. Shame warred with pride. She wasn't sure which would win. The guilt pricked at her conscience but the kill had been so satisfying. It was always that way with her. She knew she shouldn't glory in the feeling of sending another soul to the underworld but somehow that power still excited her. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she be like Gabrielle? Why didn't she see the world right?

Gabrielle! She knew that her friend would justify the kill. She knew they all would. It was the Pankration, for crying out loud. People died. Hell, the Celt had already killed as part of the event. Why did she feel any guilt at all? He was trying to kill her, after all. Gabrielle would reason it out so that she didn't have to live with the truth. There was only one who could live with her truth.
Ares. Xena had seen him explode from his seat when the Celt fell limp beneath her. He'd cheered her on. The ecstatic pride on his face had mirrored the joy she'd seen on his face the night before. He'd been proud of her. Ares had seen the darkness come over her. He knew the unstoppable force that lived deep in her darkest recesses. He'd been all too happy to see it unleashed.

Xena knew that she should be disgusted with him for reveling in her rage, but she wasn't. Instead, she had half a mind to seek him out and ravage him. Pride was winning the battle for her soul. And why not? The constant battle to choose right had gotten easier over the years since she'd walked away from her dark path, but it still remained a challenge for her at times. Each day had its victories and defeats. Today, she was losing the battle. She had to get a grip or more people were going to get hurt.

Xena took a few deep, calming breaths. Finally, she found the strength to rise. She headed back down the road to Elis. It was going to be a long walk back but she figured she needed the time and the clean air.

AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX
When Xena made it back to the inn, Gabrielle wasn't in the room. Then, Xena remembered there was going to be an acrobatics show following the games that Gabrielle had been looking forward to watching. Xena considered sleeping. She was exhausted from the day's events but also from a lack of sleep. Then she remembered the dream that had kept her up. Gunnr's taunting sneer. The dogs gnashing at her. Xena shook her head. The acrobat show sounded like a better prospect than another nightmare. Xena looked around the room for her armor and then remembered that she'd left it in the arena with Gabrielle when she'd ran off after her battle. Xena checked herself in the mirror. She looked as tired as she felt. She tidied her hair and smacked some color into her checks. Satisfied, she grabbed her bicep cuffs which she'd left on the bedside table, slipped them on, and then headed out on aching legs to find her companion.

The arena was ablaze. A huge fire burned in the center of the field. Braziers were strategically located to provide maximum lighting for the spectacle. Torches lined the stairways of the stands. The acrobats performed their stunts to the sheer delight of the crowd. Xena looked to the area where Gabrielle had sat before but she didn't see any signs of the blonde. Xena knew she should avoid looking at the box seats set aside for the gods but temptation got the better of her. She craned her neck so that she could look out of the corner of her eye. Ares was watching the show. Gunnr looked bored and appeared to be reading over some documents.

Xena spied too long. He caught her staring. The knowing look he gave her sent chills up her spine. "Why do you think it was so easy to turn her?" The bastard had the gall to wink at her! He could clearly see the torment that she was going through and he was toying with her! Xena winced at him and stormed off.

As Xena turned the corner behind the stands, her mind was wrapped up in memories of a night she should have never spent in Ares' arms. She wasn't watching where she was going and she bumped square into the rock solid chest of the Spartan who Ares had chosen to win the Pankration.

"Sorry," Xena grumbled and tried to step out of the way.

The Spartan held her firmly by the wrist. "It's okay. Do you have a minute?"

Xena stopped even though she wasn't in the mood for small talk. "Sure, what's up?"

"That was quite a performance today."

Great! He wanted to talk about her sins too. Why not?

"I must admit," he continued, "I didn't take you seriously at first. I mean, I know who you are and everything, but, you are a woman. But after today's display, I look forward to defeating you. It will be an honor and a privilege."

"What makes you so sure you're man enough to handle this?" It came out more flirty than she'd meant it to.

"Oh, I am man enough. But, as I hear it, you are used to tumbling with gods. It'd be hard for a mere mortal to compete with a god, I suspect."

Xena's lips twisted into a sneer. So everyone knew she was Ares' whore.

The Spartan mistook her sneer. He thought she was grimacing because she thought he was rejecting her advances. "Oh, I am up for the challenge, if you're offering."

She hadn't been offering. But as she looked at the fierce warrior, Xena realized that maybe a meaningless fuck was exactly what she needed. Something to clear Ares from her mind. Maybe then her dreams wouldn't be plagued by him and his wife. "It is said that Spartans are the only true men!" Xena smirked. "The question is: Are you a true Spartan?"

"My sword is solid, it won't disappoint you," the Spartan pulled Xena harshly into him.

The rough handling excited her. "This way," Xena took him by the hand and led him toward the stables where the horses for the chariot races were kept.

Yes! A fast, fierce, fuck was just what she needed. She wasn't Ares' whore! She wasn't any man's whore. She was a woman who took her pleasure when and where it suited her. The world be damned!

AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX

Ares hadn't meant to taunt her but he just couldn't help himself. She'd looked so miserable. The kill was eating her up. He wanted to remind her that she could leave him all she wanted to but she'd always be his. She'd never be rid of the darkness, it was half of what made her whole. Ares chuckled as he watched her storm off.

"What's funny?" Gunnr asked looking up from the documents in her lap.

"These clowns," Ares pointed to the acrobats. "But, I think I've had enough of this for tonight. I'm turning in." Ares moved to leave.

"Would you visit my quarters again tonight?" Gunnr requested.

"I thought we took care of that business last night," Ares groaned.

"Well, don't seem so disappointed, my Lord. My advisor says that today is still within the window of opportunity for pregnancy Best to try again, don't you agree?"

"Same method?" Ares glanced back at the servant girl who stood in the shadows behind her mistress. He'd sworn to himself that he was not going to go through that indignity again. But after having spent the night with Xena, loving her, holding her, he wasn't really in the mood to be intimate with his wife. No one was ever going to be Xena, so why did it matter how he got Gunnr pregnant, so long as he did? And once they had an heir, the charade could end. In fact, it wouldn't surprise Ares if Gunnr chose to go back to Valhalla once the deal had been sealed so to speak. Which was fine with Ares. The fewer Norse eyes he had on him while he worked out his plan to overthrow them all, the better.

"Unless you prefer a different girl."

"No, she'll do." Ares answered as he looked at the swell of the girl's breast.

The servant did her best to kept an impassive face but Ares' valet, who stood next to her, saw the pain flit across her features. He wished he could buy them both their freedom. He hated watching his girl he loved be summoned nightly to the god's bedchamber. Someday, he promised himself, someday they'd have more than stolen moments.

"See you at midnight, then," Gunnr extended her hand to her husband.

Ares kissed her milky skin and then bowed his goodbye. He turned to his valet, "Tomas, you are free for the evening. I will expect you first thing in the morning."

"My Lord," Tomas knelt and waited for Ares to depart before leaving himself.

Ares didn't head back to the villa. Instead, he headed off in search of Xena. He wanted to mess with her a little more. Push her a little farther toward the darkness. The thrill that had ripped through him when she'd severed the spinal cord of the burly redhead could only be paralleled by the feeling of having Xena in his arms. Ares knew the right thing to do was leave her alone. He'd made a deal with the gods. And if he kept fooling around, eventually one of them, whether Norse or Olympian, was going to get wind of his infidelity. Besides, Xena wasn't coming back to him. But if he had to live in misery for the rest of eternity then it didn't seem fair that she got to live her short mortal life in peace.

He caught sight of her pulling the Spartan into the stables. Really? She was unfuckingbelievable! An insatiable nymphomaniac! She wouldn't be his whore but she'd fuck the Spartan in the barn like a goddamned animal?! Fury ripped through him. Part of him wanted to gut the Spartan while she watched! But it wasn't the warrior's fault. Xena was a beautiful woman. Of course he wanted to fuck her. But she should have said no! No. It was Xena who deserved to be punished for betraying him, not the Spartan.

Ares crept toward the stables. He whispered a cloaking chant so that Xena wouldn't be able to feel his presence. He could hear soft moans coming out of her mouth. Her whore mouth. The closer he got the madder he got. Ares put his back against the stable wall and peered in. They'd wasted no time with foreplay. The Spartan had sat Xena up on the shoeing table. He had her legs crooked over his arms as he pounded inside her.

"Mmmm, Is that all you got? Come on, I thought you said you were a fucking Spartan," Xena urged him to fuck her harder.

"Argghh," the warrior roared and threw Xena's ankles up over his shoulders giving him a deeper thrust."

"Ahhhhh, fuck yes, that's it!" Xena panted.

The new angle and her urging was driving the Spartan hard. He wasn't going to last long. He plunged deeper and felt himself losing it. Two more deep thrusts and he was done. He placed a hand on the table beside Xena to hold himself up from the power of the orgasm. "The fuck?" Xena asked. "What're you sixteen? You can't hold your nut any longer than that?"

"I'll finger you off," the Spartan offered.

"Oh, that'll never get it," Ares smirked as he sauntered into the stable.

"Areeeeeesss," Xena growled.

Ares had his belt off before she could protest. "This bitch needs a GOD not a dog." Ares couldn't help himself. He used his powers to fling the Spartan across the room.

"Aresss," Xena protested and tried to scoot off the table but he was on her quick.

"Where you going, Xena? You haven't finished."

Xena tried feebly to kick at him but he caught her legs and pinned her knees against her shoulders. "This is what you wanted," Ares taunted as he slid his full length inside her, his girth stretching her walls wider than the Spartan had. Xena thought she was going to explode. She clawed at his forearms but only managed to break her nails against his gauntlets. He felt like Hell or Heaven, she wasn't sure which she just knew it was overwhelming. She burst into orgasm all over him. When she let go, she couldn't get enough. She wrapped her legs around his waist and urged him into her harder. She pulled him down so that she could coo into his ear. "Fuck me, baby. Fuck me. Fill me." Xena grabbed his lips with her own. She was so hungry he thought she might swallow his tongue. Ares bucked harder. He bottomed out and she cried out again clawing at his back. Her broken nails dug into his immortal flesh but the wounds self-healed. It was a shame she thought. She'd be marked by this rutting tomorrow, he'd be as perfect as ever. She started crying.

Ares slowed his rhythm. Monster though he was, he hadn't meant to really hurt her, just remind of to whom she belonged. "Xena."

"Don't stop! Don't!"

"But. . ."

Xena smacked him. "Don't be a fucking cunt, Ares. Fuck me."

"Oh, we both know who the cunt is here!" He smacked her back.

"Yes! Gods yes!" She cried as her pleasure started rising again.

Ares took her hand and put on her nub. "Rub yourself, I'm getting close."

Xena's hand flew wildly over her clit. She could feel his cock sliding in and out of her below her fingertips. The hot fire that burned in his eyes told her that she had marked him in ways that might not be visible but were there nonetheless. Xena came undone again. This time Ares followed.

When the post-coiltal haze wore off, Ares glanced to where he'd kicked the Spartan but the warrior had fled rather than face the wrath of a god. Smart, but a coward. Ares looked down at Xena who was still luxuriating in her orgasm. He scooped her up and carried her into the corner of one of the stalls and laid down with her atop the hay. He pulled her into a spooning position. Gently, he tucked her hair behind her ear and whispered to her from behind. "You wanna tell me why you were crying? Did I hurt you or was it something else?"

"Doesn't matter," Xena whispered. "Aren't you supposed to be staying away from me?"

"Well, we see how well that's working." Ares chuckled. "Seriously though, I didn't expect to find you with another man. I reacted badly."

"I'm glad you did," she answered honestly.

"So you don't want to talk about why you were crying. Do you want to talk about this morning?"

"The fight?" she asked.

"The murder," Ares challenged.

"I swear, sometimes." How was he the only one who saw her?

"How did it feel?" Ares traced the scroll design on her bicep cuff.

"Intoxicating," Xena let herself feel it again. Her neck fell back in ecstasy, her eyes rolled around in her head.

Watching her, something came over Ares. Something he hadn't expected. Fear. He shook her tenderly bringing her back to the present. "Hey, just don't lose yourself, okay?"

Xena looked at him stunned.

Ares sat up and shook his head. He wasn't sure where that had come from. He snapped his fingers and was fully dressed. "I've gotta go." With a flash he was gone.

Xena's mouth was agape. She wasn't sure what had just happened. What was he talking about? What did he mean don't lose herself? Hadn't he been the one to always remind her that her true self was a murdering, bloodlusting, warlord? Xena wasn't sure where they stood anymore. Hades, she was so sore from his flesh pounding, she wasn't sure she could stand anymore at all!