This is a rewrite of my abandoned story "Angel's Breath" because I thought it needed some much needed love and hated to see it waste away. You don't need any prior knowledge of that story to read this.
The One and Only
Her hands slid from his chiseled abdominal muscles to his pectorals. She lowered her torso, breasts pressing on his body. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin and a mischievous grin lingered on her lips.
His flesh, so tender, soft yet impenetrable. She dug her nails into his skin, leaned in close, lips gliding along his neck. The subtle gasps of pleasure escaped his lips as her lips traveled up to his lobe. With a quick bite he hissed as if he were harmed.
She pulled away, teasing him for but a moment. His chest rose and fell heavily as he gaped up at her toned abdomen and breasts glistening in the candlelight. A hand rose to cup her breast and she smacked his curious hand away.
Long raven hair draped over her breasts, leaving a bit to his imagination. As she sat atop of him, legs curled, she knew the longer she made him wait the more impatient he became. Still, the way she gradually pulled her long wild hair up, running her fingers through the sweaty strands, was enough to keep him aroused and interested.
She knows this. She is deliberately torturing me.
He wrapped a hand around the small of her back and dug his thumb into the crevice of her hip. That enticing smile of yours is enough to stop an army, he thought. Proceeding to pull her close to finally get his fill, she placed a finger against his lips and winked.
A dagger hidden in the thick of her locks was revealed. She raised the blade over her head and yelled loudly, thrusting her arms downward.
XXXXXX
Xena jolted awake, gasping for air. A hand came to rest over her throbbing chest. She felt the sweat dripping down her back and cheeks and dug her fingers into her hair. It took a moment for her to realize it was a dream or more like a nightmare.
She knew she'd been distracted as of late but she didn't know how her mind could wander to such dark places sometimes. At one point in time she thought she'd gotten rid of Ares but he appeared in her dreams once again.
This was the third time this week.
He entered her mind without permission. She grumbled at the thought. She could almost feel his touch in her dreams. Ares certainly had his way of grabbing her attention and perverting his way into her mind was new. Xena chastised herself for dreaming such heinous things but there was a burning that lingered in her core. That much was real.
That bastard.
She peered over at the sleeping bard beside her and faintly grinned. She couldn't tell Gabrielle about her dreams, she just couldn't. She went over every scenario in her head of all the reactions she expected from Gabrielle. Mild disgust was the first that came to mind. Confusion, anger and perhaps jealousy were to come second in stages.
Gabrielle had several meetings with the war god and all were confrontational. They both had something in common and that was ultimately Xena. The warrior knew this and there was always a bit of tension whenever Ares was brought up. It was a sore topic for both, although for entirely different reasons.
She never asked Gabrielle how she felt knowing that she once was a sole supporter of Ares' quests, be it on the battlefield or in the bed. Somehow, Xena didn't want to know the bard's inner thoughts whenever it came to Ares. She imagined that was a box she never wanted to open.
A bard. Xena had a difficult time calling her that lately. Gabrielle completely changed her tune over the years and since abandoned her writing and storytelling. Xena felt immense guilt for allowing Gabrielle to stray from her path more than once.
This journey was going to be different. Gabrielle was on a new path of peace and Xena had to respect that.
Gabrielle yawned, smacking her lips together and rolled over onto her back. She awoke to a pair of blue eyes ogling her from up above. With a light chuckle, she ran a hand over her face, adjusting to the morning sun.
She sleepily asked, "Do you always stare at me like that while I sleep?"
"Not always."
Gabrielle guffawed. "Well, please don't. It's a little…" she saw Xena's eyes enlarge, "strange."
"Just making sure you're alive, Gabrielle." She gave that side smirk that the blonde knew so well; a hint of sarcasm, playfulness and coyness all wrapped into one.
Xena watched Gabrielle shake out the blanket lined with grass bits and possibly bugs by the look on her face. She sneered and Gabrielle caught the snicker and gave a swift slap to her arm. Instead of responding with a light punch to the arm, Xena kept staring at her, thoughts of Ares overcrowding her mind.
The lump in her throat refused to dissipate the longer she stared at the bard. She kept wondering if she should keep those dreams to herself or tell Gabrielle everything. Alright, maybe not every single detail. She wanted spare Gabrielle the gritty and disgusting bits of their bodies pressing against one another.
Xena shut her eyes, trying to push those dreams aside but once again the burning within her stomach returned. She distinctively wrapped a hand over her abdomen. She refused to give in and allow him to win this battle.
"Why are you doing this to me?" she growled.
Gabrielle cinched her eyebrows and folded the blanket laden in her arms. She kept hearing the warrior whisper under her breath and reached out to touch her arm which caused Xena to flinch. She snapped her hand away and titled her head, bangs covering her eyes.
"Xena, are you alright?"
"Y-yes," she took a moment to respond in a calm manner. "I –I'm just not…feeling very good this morning."
Gabrielle snorted. "Maybe it's the fish we ate last night. You know, I think there's something wrong with the fish in this area. I've never seen a fish with three eyes before."
Xena nodded and turned away from the bard. "Yeah," she scoffs, "that must be it."
The quivering sensation surged through her body like a scourge that she couldn't control. Shutting her eyes tightly she tried to ignore the will of her body. Mind over matter, she told herself over and over. She bit her lower lip at the thought of his hands roaming across her body.
She slapped her cheek and shook her head out of the daze. Turning around she smiled at Gabrielle who was organizing the items in their saddlebags.
You're so oblivious it's almost pitiful.
"I'm going to the river," she announced.
The blonde picked some grass bits out of her bodice. "I'll come with you!"
"No!" she responded in a sharp tone. "I…need to bathe alone."
Gabrielle sneakily grinned. "Oh, I get it. You're in one of those moods."
What mood is she talking about? Xena stared at her traveling companion with a bit of an odd clueless look.
"I'll be here when you get back." She sat back down on the grass and began slipping on her boots, one by one. "I was thinking that we could eat when we get to Athens. I know a really great spot. You know the one we always go to. They have great gizzards!" she salivated, thinking of sinking her teeth into the fried food.
"What do you think?" she lifted her head and saw she was alone. "Xena?" she looked around and heard a splash not too far from their camp. She rumbled, "She always sneaks off when I'm talking to her," she mutters under her breath.
Pulling the laces through the eyes on her leather boots, she peered up at Argo. "She's being weird, right?" she asks and the horse snubbed her nose. "Well, fine!" she barked and then paused, grimacing. "I'm talking to a horse." She eyed Argo once more. "No offense."
XXXXXX
They walked for nearly an hour towards Athens but Xena felt like only a few minutes had passed. Gabrielle was particularly chatting today which normally Xena didn't mind and chimed in every so often to let the bard know she was listening. This was not one of those days.
She could hardly keep her thoughts straight with Ares perversely making his way into the deep crevices of her mind. It was a battle for her to push him away for all these years. Gabrielle's presence always brought her back to reality but lately she was being reeled in by the war god. It was true that he never truly left her mind. There was a special place just for him and she knew that he'd never truly disappear from her life.
He's obsessed with me, but why now, Ares? She placed a hand over her burning abdomen and winced. What do you want from me?
"You could get a shield!" Gabrielle cheered. "Or maybe since I've changed my clothes, you could update your armor. What do you think?"
Xena hummed and averted her gaze to the bard. "What?"
"You weren't listening to a thing I said." She sighs. "What's going on with you? You've been acting weird since we left India. It's my hair, isn't it? You hate it, don't you?" she ran her fingers through her chopped locks.
The warrior chortled and wrapped an arm around the fidgety bard. "I would love you even if you had no hair at all."
"Then what is it?" Gabrielle couldn't fathom why her brunette friend was so off lately. "If it's not my hair or my clothes…" she halted her stride. "Is this about the path of peace I've taken on? We talked about this, Xena. It's the right thing for me. I wish you would just –"
"It's not that, Gabrielle," she interrupted. "It's not you. It's me."
She grew accustom to Xena's cryptic language over the years but sometimes it really irritated her. How could someone be so vague? It was a constant guessing game with Xena and at times she could be incredibly hard to read especially when her mind entered dark places of no return. This wasn't one of those times, Gabrielle gathered.
"You can always tell me what's bothering you, Xena. I'm here for you. I know I haven't been very…receptive lately but I'm always here if you need me."
They stepped over the border into Athens and Xena stopped a few paces ahead of Gabrielle. The center of core once a burning pit of fire turned sour and churned at the sight in front of her. The overwhelming stench of death lingered beneath her nose. Her eyes watered at the fresh burning flesh scent swarming the air.
Gabrielle caught up and was about to go on a rant since she was being ignored. She grabbed her companion's arm and then her eyes followed in Xena's direction and gasped. That sight was enough to make anyone ill and right about now Gabrielle felt like vomiting.
"By the gods…"
They walked through the silent roads of Athens, seeing corpses of civilians scattered around the area. Handprints were stained on the walls with the Athenians blood. Merchant carts and stalls were burnt to a crisp but by the look of the wood, the fires were recent. Xena took a mental note of every detail in the slaughter of innocents.
The view only worsened when they walked through the square. Up ahead, Xena titled her head upward to several crucifixes lined along the road. So many bodies were hung on the crosses. It was more than she could count.
Gabrielle put a hand over her mouth and nose, trying to block out the smell. She didn't know what was worse; the smell of burning flesh or the mutilated and dismembered bodies.
"Who would do this?" she asks.
Xena frowned, eyes upon the crucified innocents. "This was a planned massacre."
"But why?" the bard clung to the warrior, holding onto her arm tightly. "Could it be Caesar?"
That name caused a twitch of Xena's lip. "He wouldn't do this. He only saves crucifixes for those he's close to," she says sourly and continued her stride.
"Surely the rest of the city isn't like this," Gabrielle hoped. Nearly gagging at the stench she shut her eyes as she walked behind the warrior.
Gabrielle's fears came true when they continued to search the city and it was desecrated everywhere. There wasn't a single sign of life. She tried to shy away from the children lying on the ground, drenched in their own blood. Some of them held toys in their hands. Their little lives were ripped away from them before they could even see life for what it truly was.
She kept her eye on Xena and once again she couldn't get a good read on her. She was angry, Gabrielle realized. Meanwhile, the bard was horrified at the massive massacre. She hadn't seen anything like this in her life even with all that she'd been through with Xena. This was something not even the worst of warlords would do.
Xena rummaged through a pile of wood debris and found a boy no older than fifteen summers she guessed. She pressed her fingers against his neck to check his pulse. There was a pulse but it was faint. He was alive and how he managed to be, Xena didn't know.
"Gabrielle! Come here!" she whistled, waving her arm in the air.
The blonde ran over, stomping on top of house wreckage. She knelt down and gaped at how young the boy was. His cheeks still had the little bit of baby fat that all young teenagers had.
"He's alive. Help me get him out from underneath this rubble." Xena grunted, lifting a large wooden board off the boy's leg and hissed at the hot touch. This slaughter was entirely too fresh. If only I didn't spend so much time in the river.
XXXXXX
He cowered as he was pushed into the large tent. The two brutes behind him whacked the back of his knees and he dropped to the floor, palms slamming on the floor. He shakily lifted his head, blood trickling down his forehead.
He gazed at a raven haired woman with cerulean blue eyes sitting in a chair that was taken from one of the village's temples. Her leg was propped over an armrest, drumming her fingers on her knee impatiently. She twirled a long straight strand of hair around her finger and shook her head at the poor elderly man.
"I…I have given you all that we have," he professed.
She smirked and nudged her head at one of her men waiting off to the side. A large chest was thrown in front of the old man and he flinched. The lid was propped open, exposing all of the coin, amulets and sets of expensive jewelry.
She drew her blade and the man began praying under his breath. "Now's not the time to pray, old man. You got your chance."
Snickering lowly, she scooped a ruby necklace with the tip of her sword from the chest and dangled it in front of the man's face.
"This looks like fine Egyptian craftsmanship," she admired the piece of jewelry. "When I asked for all your assets I didn't think you'd hold out on me," she said with a smile and clutched the ruby pendant in her hand.
"P-please," he stuttered out of nerves, "You can have it –everything! Just please don't kill any more of my people."
She rose from the throne and grimaced. Walking over to the old man, she lifted his chin with the tip of her sword. "Pathetic," she scoffed. "Take him outside and decapitate him," she ordered her men. She spun around once he started to whimper.
"No! Please!" he begged. The soldiers hoisted him off the floor. "I thought you changed! Xena!"
Her eyes enlarged and she twirled the sword with her wrist then turned around swiftly. With a loud cry she plunged the man in the gut and twisted the blade.
"Don't you ever…say that name," she hissed and kicked his lifeless body to the floor. "Get him out of here before he stains my rugs."
XXXXXX
There that boy lay on the ground, almost dead. Gabrielle sprinkled some water on his warm forehead, wishing he'd wake up already. She never liked to see death but it was far worse to see someone suffering.
"He doesn't have any broken limbs," Xena inspected his body thoroughly. "He might have internal bleeding. I'm not sure we'll be able to save him."
Gabrielle released a wary sigh and took a seat on the backs of her heels. "He probably had a family."
Xena washed her hands in the bucket of water she fetched from the well earlier. A tightening of her chest prevented her from speaking aloud. She knew that the bard was overly sensitive in times of battle and it rendered her emotional for days, weeks, months and even years on end. It was an admirable trait to have –to feel guilt for those you did no wrong to –but it was also a major flaw at the right moment.
"Are you sure you can't save him?" the jade-eyed blonde stared at the warrior. Tears swelled in her eyes.
Xena smiled warmly and gripped the bard's arm for reassurance. "You can't save 'em all, Gabrielle." in that moment they stared into one another's eyes before Xena broke the stare. "I'd like to know who was behind this. They must've had an army of hundreds to do this kind of damage."
"And what are you going to do then?" Gabrielle chided bitterly. "Are you going to stop an army of hundreds? Are you, Xena?"
She furrowed her brows and wiped her nose. "I've done it before." She felt a hint of malice directed towards her. "Why are you suddenly so angry? I'm trying to come up with a solution."
"A solution," Gabrielle mocked with a snort. "Killing is your solution, Xena. That isn't always the way."
"I never said I was going to kill anyone. This isn't the time to have this conversation. You're grieving over a boy you've never met before. I'm focused on the bigger picture!"
"The bigger picture?!"
The boy stirred awake from the bickering. Pained by the aching within him he tried to sit up but Xena gently pushed him back down on the blanket. Once his vision came back to him he looked up at her face and screamed.
Gabrielle flinched and rolled back on her rear at the ear piercing scream. Xena tried to calm him by offering some water and he whacked her hand. At this point Xena scooted away from the frightened boy. He sat up, momentarily blocking out his agonizing pain, and scooted on his rear, fingers digging in the soil.
"Stay away from me!" his voice cracked.
Xena put up her hands to show she was unarmed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you."
"You –you murdered my sister in front of my eyes!" he yelled.
Both women shared a confused stare and Xena tried to approach the boy. He flinched, fearing he'd be attacked again.
"Listen, I don't know what happened to you but I didn't murder your sister."
He breathed heavily and wagged his head several times. "I saw you do it! You made…you made me watch."
"Xena, what is he talking about?" asked Gabrielle suspiciously.
The boy shed a few tears and hid his face. "Just kill me. Get it over with. You've already taken everything from me…" he sobbed profusely.
Xena fluttered her eyes and looked over to the bard who was equally as miffed as she was. The boy was adamant that she was his sister's murderer but she knew the truth. She was used to being blamed for her crimes everywhere she went but this was new.
She extended her hand to aid the boy and then felt the burning sensation in her abdomen return. She dropped to all fours and then placed a palm over her stomach. The heat radiated through her leather corset and she moaned loudly.
Gabrielle rushed over and scraped her cheek with a gentle touch. "Xena? What's happening? Are you alright?"
Her eyes glazed over and then rolled in the back of her head. She slowly collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud and Gabrielle cupped her cheeks. She tried everything to wake Xena but slapping her cheeks, shaking her body and calling out her name did nothing to rouse her.
"Xena!"