12. The key
"Gods Xena." Ares's voice vibrated throughout the room in pure relief. She lifted her head of the table and yawned.
"Xena…I was worried when I came back and you weren't in bed. I've been searching everywhere for you. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he continued on an upset tone.
"Trying to help…." she answered flatly, a bit annoyed by his behavior.
"I don't want you involved in this."
"You shouldn't have brought me here then." she made sure to sting back.
"I said why…"
"I needed to do something. I was searching for some answers in this books but I didn't find anything relevant." she brushed him off.
He looked good around her, finally noticing what she had been doing.
"Where were you?"
He remained silent for a moment not answering and asking a question instead.
"How's Adam?"
"Good. They played all day long in the snow. They loved it!"
"With you?"
He desperately needed to know Xena was alright, that she enjoyed life just as much as before.
"With all of us. I needed to threaten them to come inside."
"Come to bed." he added simply.
"I still…" But in an instant he was in front of her and her breath caught in her throat as his fingers began brushing gently her lips.
"Tomorrow." he added and put his hands around her waist. A second later they were in Ares's bedchamber. She took herself out of his embrace.
"Did they like their room?" Ares asked, curious and to break the annoying silence. She only nodded in return.
"Very much."
"I'm sorry for not telling you about Adam."
He clearly felt that she was still upset about it. She did not say anything. "I knew how you felt about it and I didn't want for you to worry so I trained him to control it. I swear I would have told you eventually…You must believe me."
"I do." she said, staring back at him. "I do. But how do I know you aren't going to keep things away from me from now on…just for the sake of my protection, which I might add isn't necessary?" she asked sadly.
"I won't. I sw…"
"Don't. What is wrong with you?"
Xena knew him pretty well and from the first time she laid eyes on him in the library she knew that something must have happened, given that he avoided her very first question. That did not past by her so easily…He took in a deep breath. He would not tell her all but some he would share.
"Hades found out that Discord is dead. It is his realm, so obviously he knows."
"What?"
She was puzzled.
"Yeah, which is strange because she visited me, remember? It must have been Dahak or something. I think Athena is working with him so I'm pretty sure that I'm the first on her and Dahak's list and with that I imply you and our children too…in fact everyone. I'm just worried sick." he ended.
"And…" Xena's eyebrows lifted. "….it's because of my big mouth that Hades and all the others think about making their vacation house in here. Athena has access on Olympus and supposedly Discord too, it's her body after all…I mean his if I'm right, this will be the only safe place…"
"They mean to come here, all of them?"
"Yeah Dite even planned her time here. Imagine that…!" Xena couldn't help smiling at that thought but she was worried too. Putting all those gods in one room and then having her, her friends and worse her children here too, not to say especially Eve- they had tried to kill her after all- wasn't anything at all appealing.
"I will take care of it." He said with determination in his voice.
Xena took a seat on the bed and covered herself up.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
"A little bit."
He made his vest disappear and cuddled in the bed next to her taking her in his arms. She had her back turned at him so that one of his arms was resting on her perfectly sculpted body. The smooth material of the gown covering her, felt nice against his palm and the other hand was under his head, his face inches apart from her neck.
She wanted to protest by making it clear that she was still upset but when she felt his breath on her neck, that settled her heart rate and after she got used with his proximity she let herself carried into the land of the dreams.
He wasn't sleeping just enjoying the sensation of having her in his arms again. That was enough. He smiled at her, looking for a better comfort zone, pushing herself more into him…
He did not need to sleep, but the current headaches he was experiencing were draining him. He voluntary omitted to say this to her. It was enough what he had already told her. Nobody knew that, not even his ditsy sister. When he regained his powers back he could not control them but after some time it appeared to be alright, just like in the past but when he took some of the energy from his son the headaches returned and were more powerful…sometimes he needed minutes off because he could not do anything more aside than focus on that rotting pain.
Sitting there, having her pressed next to him was the best medicine in the world, so minutes after she fell asleep he kinda did the same...
"Daddy…" a thin voice travelled to his ears.
"Daddy…"
This time little hands were pressing around his arms. Ares turned around and opened his eyes just to find his son looking back at him.
"Hey!"
The God of War took the little boy in his arms and placed him on the bed. He shifted his eyes back at Xena but she was thankfully still asleep. Adam was rubbing his eyes.
"Do you want to sleep here with us, champ?" Ares asked his son, playing in his hair. Adam disagreed. "Then…?"
"I can't control them daddy. Today I almost hit Eve with a fireball. Nobody saw but…" In Adam's eyes tears were forming just thinking about what had happened hours before.
"It came out of nowhere. I didn't want too. Eve understood though."
Ares massaged Adam's back in comfort but he was worried about those powers too.
He took his son in his arms and got out of the room. He didn't want Xena to wake up or to worry even more about it.
"Adam…" he said, putting the child down and bending to look in his son's eyes. "I promise you that you will control them but till our next lesson, I can take some of the energy away from you." Ares knew that wasn't a good idea in his case but if his son will feel better so be it…His headaches didn't matter so much to him. That being said, the War God extended his hands out and the little boy took them.
"What do I need to do?"
"Just think about them…search for them. It is all in you."
Adam closed his eyes and thought about what he almost did, how that fireball almost hit his sister but luckily enough Eve had good instincts and the fire was swallowed by the snow. The memory of it had kept him awake almost the entire night.
A transfer of invisible energy was travelling in his father's body soon enough. The energy changed into fire after some time and when, Ares felt his head literally exploding he stopped it. His hands went to his temples and for a second Adam frightened at seeing his father hurting like that but he calmed down when Ares made all the effort in the world to smile at his son.
"It's ok."
He reassured Adam and then sighed being annoyed by that calling. Who was it so late in the night? And then the voices become clearer.
"Adam don't be afraid when you see some ladies appear in front of us. They have a strange fashion, how Dite would say." What in the world did those three women want at that hour of the night?
Adam nodded not quite understanding his father's words but when indeed the three Fates received his accept to come in, they materialized in front of them, and the boy came to hide behind his father legs.
"I told you so…" he said, looking at his son, smiling.
"So what's the special occasion to get a personal visit by none others than the Fates?"
"We saw something today…"
"The son of the God of War is the key…"
"In winning the war with Dahak. "
"What? This is ridiculous. My Adam?"
They just looked emotionless at him and added in their own usual manner.
"We thought…"
"You must know this…"
"For your future battle." And then they vanished just like that.
No…their words always had various interpretations …ohhh gods that didn't make sense at all. They were delusional, he lied to himself. He could not risk Adam. He almost forgot that his son was at his feet when the boy called him.
"Daddy…who are those ladies?"
"Those…? Some ladies aren't they?"
He tried to laugh it out but he could not. "Are you feeling better?" Ares asked his son.
"Yeah."
"Good, go back to sleep now."
"Can I sleep with you and mommy?"
"Sure son…" Ares opened the door and Adam entered first and then his pain returned and he stopped in the frame of the door urging Adam to go on and closing the door behind. He remained outside for a few moments.
He leaned into the wall, his hands going to his temples, his vision blurred and he fell on his knees. He tried to make it as sound and as fast as he could, so he transported himself outside, letting the scream out. After the pain passed, he was cold, sitting in the snow but he was too weak to get up. He let his eyelids close and hoping for it to not come back, let him rest for awhile.
"Ares…"
Her voice still held the shock that she had when she saw him screaming in pain and collapsing in the snow.
"Gabrielle?" His vision cleared and now he saw the blonde sitting above him in concern.
"How…" she had no words.
"Don't tell Xena."
"What? She needs to know this."
"No, she doesn't. It's just my powers. It will be better."
"This is not the first time?...What were you thinking?" she admonished him.
"Look, you will shut up. We have enough problems now to bring this into discussion too, don't you think?"
She almost forgot from the jolt that she received with seeing him so weak why she was out in the first place. She heard it…all…what the Fates said about Adam.
"You must stop taking away Adam's energy…I saw you." she clarified when she saw his face.
"And I heard the Fates too…what they said about Adam being the key in this war with Dahak!"
She shuddered at only the thought.
"Xena doesn't need…"
"To know? Ares wasn't it enough that you hid Adam's powers from her? I want to protect her too, but trust me she will be furious to find it out from others."
"Others like you?...No one can rely on what the Fates say, this doesn't have to be true." He tried to convince even himself but he was failing miserably.
"Just forget what you saw and heard." he silenced her and turned to leave just to bump in Xena herself.
"Xena….."
