SOME DITE TIME, FOR YOU :)
Seconds after the War God had transported his beloved Princess back to camp– at her own insistence, of course, under the ridiculous pretext that she had a million things to do before sunrise - the curly Love Goddess started to unconsciously bite her perfectly manicured nails ….She had two options : either to accidentally pop straight inside Xena's tent – and listen to her version of the story ( getting her to talk was after all, part of her expertise ) or, pay her big brother a short visit and laugh her ass off at him –foolishly ignoring both the risks and the consequences of her decision – this particular option being definitely worth any sacrifice.
"Ohhhh! " she grunted with frustration, rolling her eyes. " This is like totally unfair! "
In less than a blink though, she was inside one of the most stunningly decorated tents she had ever seen in her entire immortal life …..
" Well stripe me black and call me Ares!….." she exclaimed, staring in utter disbelief around her at every single item in the room. " You know, for months I have wondered where oh where could all that useless junk from the Corinthian Museum have gone…..I mean WHO could have possibly had an interest in stealing all those ooold, icky thinghies they usually displayed there ?! And voila! Here they were the entire time….- looking way better than I remember, too …."
" Hello to you too, Aphrodite …." the beautiful brunette answered, making an effort not to look overly irritated by her presence. Frankly, she was the last person in the world she wanted to see that very moment …Definitely not in the mood for small talk….
"No offense Babe, but not in a million years would I have ever imagined you being the artsy type and all ...!"
" I'm not…. Ares is " she inanimately stated, passing her by and languidly pouring herself a glass of wine the moment she reached the eye catching, expensive mahogany table in the farthest corner of the tent.
"Bro'?! Oh puhleaseee! Don't make me laugh. Ar can barely tell apart stone from marble... "she mocked, rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of the statement and waving her hand dismissively when Xena subtly offered her a drink."Relics are definitely not his forte! "
"You'd be surprised…" the Warrior Princess muttered under her breath, a comment not really meant for Aphrodite to hear.
The Goddess did catch it though, and it obviously made her day,judging by how her face lit up in the most lively, impish manner all of a sudden.….It was just so incredibly sweet how she had jumped to defend him! In spite of the rather unpleasant recent events , she was still morally loyal to him….That was fantastic news!
"As if !" she couldn't help the comment. "Well anyways….oldie but goldie, I guess, huh?" the graceful Olympian giggled while with the tip of a nail barely touching the exquisite surface of a Chinese silver satin lotus tapestry- incredibly well weaved- " This one is from the Shang dinasty- quite the masterpiece…I do happen to know a few people who would kill to get their hands on it... " she made sure to exemplify, silently wondering where exactly was it that she had seen that pattern before.
"Let them try …" Xena sharply replied, a wide, devious grin adding a bit more susbtance to her words.
"Oh, I didn't mean it that way..."
A few seconds of thick, heavy silence followed before the Warrior Princess spoke again. "What are you doing here, Dite?"
" Well you know …." the Love Goddess started, on her characteristic, high pitched, squealing tonality. "I was in Lesbos , doing the God thing, casting some spells , planning some orgies, listening to some prayers, getting my nails done, when right out of nowhere, it hit me!"
" What hit you ?" Xena just had to ask, secretly wishing it had been a meteorite and not just a metaphor….
" It hit me, Silly, that we haven't had a girls night in like…..forever ….- to put it mildly …"
The Chosen of War let out a remarkably exhausted sigh before she crashed on one of the sofas behind her, closing her eyes in the process ….Too many events for one single day...
" So…?"
A long, quizzical look soon made Aphrodite shake her head in despair. She was definitely going to have to drag every single word out of her….Though job given that late hour of the night….
"So ...it's high time we fixed that, don't you think? What's new?" the overly ecstatic daughter of Zeus continued, obviously not at all bothered by Xena 's reaction.
"Nothing worth mentioning, really ..." the Warrior Princess hopelessly tried to evade.
"Oh,come on, Xe! Don't ask me how, but I kinda foud out about your little escapade…." she whispered, as if it had been the biggest secret in human history.
"What are you talking about ? "
"You ... Stud Muffin... flowers...amazing sunsets…Need I say more ? "
"Doesn't ring ay bells, Dite, sorry. You'll have t be more specific…."
"Bab! As in THE Bab…." she stressed , only to continue the assault seeing that her revelation had failed to have the effect she had been looking for. "BABYLON! Duuuuh!"
"What about it?"
"Well, what was it like? I wanna hear EVERYTHING!...Every single spicy detail, every conversation and definitely …"
"Listen, Aphrodite, I don't wanna be rude but... could we do this another time? It's almost sunrise and…."
"Oh no you don't, Warrior Babe! There's plenty of time till sunrise" the Goddess cut in, taking a seat next to her brother's flame and materializing a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. "Plus, you owe me from the last time you and Ar went out for a date and you were too busy to chat- your words not mine !"
A loud, involuntary sigh broke from Xena's chest and the Love Goddess made a mental note at just how nervous she had become-given that she immeditely started rearranging the plush pillows behind her. Obviously,she was anything but comfortable with the whole situation…..
"So….uh…how long did you stay there …?"
"Three days …"
"Aaaaand?! What did you do?..."
"Enjoyed the gardens , met some people…."she carelessly mentioned, but the expression on her face instantly changed as she said it…..
"Anyone I know ….? Gods , Goddesses ….?"
"No….."
"Amytis ? …" Love bluntly inquired, taking a long, loud sip from her cup- enough for Xena's ocean blue eyes to deadly pierce her like daggers a mere moment later.
"Do you know her ?"
"If I know her?! ….."she snarled- her rosy lips curling in sheer disgust. "Oh yeah…That bicth and I , we go waaaaaayyyy back …"
"Do you, now?" Xena rethorically asked, a hint of interest sparkling in her suddenly attentive moons. "…..And uh….just how long would that be…..?
" About three hundred years….More or less…."
"So it's true that she's immortal …."
"Ares made sure of that …." The response was instantaneous, and Xena could efortlessly distinguish the disapproval in the Goddess' voice.
"He was being grateful…."
"In this case, he was just being stupid ….Careless and stupid …."she added through gritted teeth, cunningly spiking Xena's curiosity even more .
"Why do you say that ?"
"I'll share if you do…." Aphrodite playfully answered, hoping with all her heart that her friend would take the bait.
"What do you want to know ?" the Warrior Princess queried, not at all thrilled about the fact that the ditsy Goddess had the upper hand….Still, she was just dying to find out a few more things about that cunning bitch ….
"Tell me about Bro' …..How did he act around her ….?"
"Entranced….but at the same time decent . He didn't cross any physical lines if that's what you're asking, but he was definitely interested in her- he made sure to make it more than obvious . "
"Oh Sweetheart, I'm so sorry! He can be such a self conceited jerk at times! Still, as far as I know…..." she paused, searching for the right words. "... their relationship ended right after you pledged yourself to him , so whatever intentions she might have had ...I'm sure Bro'was very specific to her about that.."
"I guess he was …"
Her low answer was accompanied by a barely sketched, bitter smile.
"But ….." Aphrodite pushed.
When she replied, Xena's voice vibrated with barely suppressed pain, frustration and disappointment.
"The way he looked at her Dite….He's still in love with her. He claimed it was only passion of course- lust as he put it- but, there was more …..
" Sweety, I can assure you, it that wasn't precisely love that….."
"Don't try to defend him, Dite! I know what I saw!"
"I'm telling you, I know my brother...He might have given you the impression that..."
"You weren't there, ok?" an almost angry Warrior Princess put once again an end to the Goddess' ranting. "... So stop acting as if you knew what happened..."
"He was under a spell, Xe …!" the Love Goddess almost yelled back, adamant about easing that terrible ache in her heart, at least a bit….
"What are you talking about ?" the Warrior Princess demanded to know, confusion painted all over her face.
"She is a witch!
" And I am his Chosen!….." she unwillingly exploded, only to regret her recklessness the very following moment. She shouldn't have said that. Not out loud... Not in a million years...
"That's precisely why he came to me, asking for help..."
"Ares asking for help ? When did this happen ?!"
It was indeed an event as rare as planetary alignment.
"While you were sleeping,I suppose... He said that something was wrong with him, that he could barely think straight….There was dark magic radiating from his aura, pretty nasty stuff, may I add ….." she let her know on a low, grave voice. "Anyways, he's fine now …."
"Are you saying that ….dark magic was responsible for his behavior?" she questioned, shaking her head incredulously .
" Just sayin' that her spells might have intensified something that was already there…But he wasn't himself, Xe, so you shouldn't be too harsh on him…."
"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that." the Warrior Princess grunted, lifting a scolding eyebrow at her." Why did he grant her immortality in the first place?"
" Thinking with his cock, of course …Nabucco- her husband –saved his life once, on a battlefield- but I mean…. he could have simply thanked him, owed him a favour or something and end it all there. But immortality ?! Hmmmm…..I'm pretty sure he came up with that strikingly stupid idea after he met her…You can easily imagine the rest ." she explained, obviously affected by the whole story.
"So uh…what happened between the two of you that made you resent her so much?"
"Well let's see…..she she tried to turn Stud Muffin against me-his own flesh and blood- almost killed Cupie , said I have no style what so ever and that my hair looks like a broom, and last but not least, she ended up betraying Bro'…."
"Did she now ? Care to elaborate ?"
"Not so fast , Warrior Babe ….My turn…Did you and Ares make love while you were there ?"
"Why would you want to …."
"Just answer the question." she impatiently demanded, literally holding her breath while waiting for an answer.
"Yes…"
"You're da bomb'! " her screm piereced Xena's eardrums."How was he... ?"
" You mean during …." Xena asked, gulping nosily as a few powerfully explicit images began flashing before her eyes. "I don't know ….His usual, possessive self I guess...Though something felt different at a certain point …."
"Different how ?"
"On a few occasions he acted as if he were emotionally involved…" she said, not really sure how to phrase it right.
"As if he were in love with you, you mean …"
"Not that it would actually be the case…." The Warrior Princess quickly specified , pulling the Goddess out of her musing. " Business...that's all there is to it..."
Just as she was about to start questioning her about everything else she so desperately needed to know though, an unexpected sound of chatter, followed by steps, drew her attention.