Minutes later, both the War God and his Warrior Princess were casually walking out the mahogany doors of their room, and while Ares was wearing a subtle but very hard to miss smile on his lips- for him it was definitely a new expression that had nothing in common with his usually stern figure- Xena's blank gaze revealed more than a thing or two about her peculiar state of mind…Something was obviously bugging her, and a certain redheaded queen must have been still on her mind, even after that absolutely wild night she and the handsome Olympian had spent together….
For reasons that she couldn't yet fully comprehend, something kept bothering her when it came to the God's relationship with Amytis, and though he had bent over backwards to convince her that his ex lover was precisely that and nothing more, despite her best efforts, a small voice coming from somewhere in the back of her mind kept telling her that whatever it was they had shared, it was far from being over…There was something in their eyes whenever they looked at each other, something that just jumped to confirm her suspicions every single time…and she didn't like it , not one bit…..
What troubled her the most though, wasn't even the fact that they had a thing , but just how much their relationship seemed to affect her….For the love of the Fates, she couldn't believe it….the impact his every gesture managed to have on her was absolutely intolerable, and that wasn't going to get her anywhere. It was not an advantageous situation, not from where she stood, and in spite of the fact that Ares was playing the sweet, caring and protective lover with her, Xena knew better…..If she wanted more from him, this was definitely not the way ….No matter how bright their morning had been, she would risk to turn all the following days into complete, endless obscurity if things didn't change and fast…
She didn't like to admit it, but that peasant back in the village had been right: he would throw her away like a used rag the moment he got bored with her, and she simply couldn't allow that. She needed him, she needed his expertise, she needed all the military advantages that he could offer her, and that was supposed to be her main goal….Simply falling for his charms like a naïve teenager, was only going to lead her to her doom sooner or later, Chosen or not….
" I'd pay to know what's going on in that pretty head of yours…" his voice pulled her out of that silent chatter with herself.
" And just how much would you be willing to offer in exchange of my precious thoughts?" she playfully challenged, a naughty smile breaking through her lips.
" I don't know….it depends on the nature of that intense reflection….would it be of any interest to me?"
" Everything related to your Chosen should be interesting to you, my God….." she teased, arching a sharp eyebrow at him.
" Ouch! Point taken, my dear….Ok…..So….for the sake of conversation, we'll leave out that part in which I'd feel forced to remind you that one of my many skills is mind reading, and that I could just lose myself in those pretty baby blues of yours and find out everything you're trying so hard to hide from me, and …."
"Don't even dare do that again or I swear it on the head of Zeus, you'll be spending the rest of eternity in pieces….!" she threatened, suddenly glaring daggers at the Olympian- as the not very pleasant memory when, soon after Lyceus' death, he had pulled a similar scheme….She couldn't understand of course that it had been out of pure concern that he had done it, for that racking pain and sadness in her eyes , that alarming desperation that he could see growing continuously every day, had scared the very life out of him….He had to know how her brain worked in order to protect her if needed, even from herself…..He was just being cautious, that's all. Inevitably, our overly independent Warrior Princess had rushed to interpret it as a serious invasion of her privacy.
" Only Gods are allowed to swear on the head of Zeus…" he joked, trying to momentarily distract her.
" Who says so?"
" The Olympian King himself…"
"Well, just so you know, I don't give a rat's ass on what Zeus says…."
He couldn't help bursting into laughter at the bluntness of that line…..For a mortal, she was something else..
" And you still haven't told me how much you would be willing to pay for my thoughts- which had something to do with you by the way…" she cleverly tempted.
" Hmmm….so you've been thinking about me…." he pointed out , on a tone that showed just how pleased he was with himself.
" That isn't necessarily a good thing…" she specified, tightening the hold on his arm as they began to descend the curving stairs ….."Why are we walking again?" she just had to ask, frowning a bit at the endless number of steps spiraling down till the main hall….
" Can you really blame a man for doing even the impossible to spend a bit more time in your company?"
It was her turn to laugh….
" You're such a flatterer…."
" So….what is it that you want?"
She gave him a confused look for a second until she realised what he was talking about….Yeah….he was really getting to her….
" I want you to show me something tonight…"
His eyes instantly sparkled with lust…
" What is that?"
" I've noticed something strange about one of my soldiers during the last confrontation…..I want you to open a portal for me and replay a certain scene…."
" What did you see?" he asked, sounding rather concerned than surprised.
" I'm not sure yet….But I have a hunch…"
" Treason?"
" Maybe…."
"Who?" he inquired, suddenly tense.
" I think I'd rather keep you in suspense all day long….." she cattishly answered after careful consideration….Truth was, she couldn't wait to see if she had been right…That was why she had insisted to return to camp in the first place the day before….She hated treason and more than the act itself, she hated traitors. In her vision, double crossers were just a more elegant synonym for dead bodies.
" That's nasty…..I like it. But….in exchange, I want you to do something too….."
" I'll tell you what it was I was thinking about…." she answered without hesitation.
" Tsk, tsk tsk tsk tsk…How could I even be sure that you'd tell me the truth? No way….I wanna see it…" he demanded.
" There's no way I'll let you rummage through my mind again!" she immediately barked, sounding particularly angry and inflexible on the subject.
" Take it or leave it….."
She just rolled her eyes at him, and they walked in silence for the most part of the long corridor preceding the Great Hall.
"I'll think about it….." she finally announced, without looking at him though….
"I'd say it's worth it….Sometimes it takes one single betray to destabilize an entire army….You don't want that…." he casually reminded her, eager to tip the scales in his favour….He would have given her anything for the chance to access her mind again….Yes, he could also do it without her consent, but it was not the same, definitely not the same….If she were to agree to that, he could freely scan her brain, no barriers what so ever in his path to prevent him from finding out everything he wanted to know, and that was a rare opportunity.
"There are other methods to find out what I want to know..."
" None of which as fast as a portal..."
That being said, they finally entered the Great Hall, where the King and Queen- already seated at the royal table- were being served by a ridiculous number of slaves…
XXX
" Ares! Xena….." the redheaded Queen exclaimed, her pitch lowering considerably towards the last part of the exclamation….Needless to say, she was anything but thrilled to see just how tight Ares' hold of his Chosen was…..again…
For the first time since they stepped foot in Babylon, Amytis tried not to appear in any way affected by their presence. After that horrific display of passion she had witnessed the night before, from behind the mirror walls , one thing was finally clear in her mind: she had some pretty serious competition- standing now just a few menacing yards in front of her- and if she was to win this yet undeclared war with her rival, she had to play smart…..
" It's great that you have decided to join us…..Please, take a seat…" she courteously invited, gesturing one of the slaves to pour them some wine.
In her turn, Xena did her best to put on an adequate mask this time….She might not have been as experienced as the 300 years old stunningly looking Queen was when it came to reading people, but she wasn't stupid either….She could tell what she was trying to do…she was analyzing her, looking for weaknesses, for cracks in her armour…..she was up to something, she could smell it….
" Thank you. " Ares simply answered, making- to Xena's utter surprise- only a brief eye contact with her, his attention focused rather on clanging cups with Nabucco.
" How did you sleep?" she asked, taking a long sip of sweet, honeyed wine, while waiting for an answer.
" Do you want to know how we slept or how many hours we spent fucking?!" the War God's acid question slashed the air, making even Xena feel slightly uncomfortable with the bluntness of its content.
" I think that would be option number two…." Nabucco replied instead, and both men started laughing while pouring themselves some more wine.
"Men….always so deep…." Amytis mockingly added, rolling her eyes at them….."Option number two doesn't even require an answer geniuses, the answer is quite obvious on poor Xena's face….She's only mortal , Ares, you should keep that in mind the next time you decide to mercilessly use her frail body for your private entertainment…."
" Your boundless care for my sexual life is…..surprising to say the least." the Warrior Princess cut in, plunging a knife in a piece of chicken breast in front of the Queen. " ...especially given that the reactions of my frail body, were in complete disagreement with your logic there, last night…."she made sure to counterattack, arching a brow as she glanced at Ares, who was already biting his lip at the stream of memories invading his mind…"Mercilessly…..was just what I needed…"
A shade of jealousy flashed on the surface of the Queen's eyes before the King decided it was time to intervene.
" Catfight! ….I gotta hand it to you Bro', you haven't lost your touch…" he chuckled, discreetly signaling to Amytis to stop it, an order that was of course, fully ignored by the already furious redhead.
"No need to get all territorial Darling…I was just trying to be polite….Ever since that war with the Trojans, you Greeks, always misinterpret people's even most decent intentions...I guess after tricking them the way you did, now you even fear your own shadow..."
" You forget something….It was the Trojans who lost the war." the Warrior Princess reminded her with a broad, satisfied smile
" That Trojan War! Do you remember it, Nabucco?! Delicious carnage! Body parts everywhere, guts and blood covering the ground as far as the eye could see!" Ares suddenly roared, his eyes gleaming with pride and passion.
" It was a masterpiece! You did a legendary good job there! Why don't we drink to that?! To war, my friend! "
" To you….." Amytis made sure to add, raising her own cup, and offering the God a dazzling smile that held his gaze prisoner for a second longer than he had first intended.
" …And to my extremely gifted Chosen who will make sure to give a new significance to the art of combat…." he added, raising his glass in Xena's honor…..
Let's just say that it was a good thing that the cups they were holding were made out of silver and gold, or Amytis' furiously strong grip would have certainly broken hers to pieces….
XXX
Back in Xena's strangely peaceful camp, a remarkably restless Theodorus and an unusually overjoyed Darphus were supposedly having breakfast in one of the tents - away from the casual chatter of groggy men and definitely as far away from praying eyes as possible .
Had one of the soldiers happened to accidentally interrupt them though, he would have noticed that they had hardly touched their food and more than that, they were both standing. A keen observer would have also noticed that while Xena's second in command had the appearance of a man who had just won the most spectacular battle in history, Theodorus' ceaseless pacing back and forth the small interior gave the impression that he was going to explode soon. At the same time, their conversation had such a particular subject that it could only be held on the lowest of tones .
" How could we know that we can even trust that woman, Darphus? Do you even realize what you're saying there?" the man hissed, trying to get some sense into his friend.
" We can always experiment…." the suggestion soon came.
" Experiment? "
" Yeah…..Try it on one of these worthless peasants…If it works as fast as that bitch said it would….then we can tell the others to dip the tip of their arrows into it….The Warrior Princess would be as good as dead. "
" You're definitely out of your mind…..What if that woman wasn't even from Babylon? And just how do you think she knew that we were looking for a special way to kill our mutual friend- as she put it- huh? Doesn't that make you wonder?! What if this is all a test? "
" Xena doesn't suspect a thing….Why would she feel the need to test us in any way?! We've been more than loyal so far…..Too loyal, I might add….No…that whore has countless enemies. But we'll make sure to free her from any similar concern…."