As the minutes passed away unnoticed, the War God and Nabucco engaged into what appeared to be an endless, heated argument about strategy and warfare, only to end up- much to Xena's despair- going over every single stage of the Trojan War….Not really in the mood for that kind of conversation- she had barely woken up for Gaia's sake- the Warrior Princess let out a long, exasperated sigh while chewing absently on the last piece of chicken breast her stomach was still willing to accept. She had heard all about that damned confrontation at least a hundred times before –Ares was particularly proud of it- and having to listen to it once more was like some sort of divine punishment meant to make her pay for all of her wrong deeds.
In the meantime, judging by the mischievous grin settling now on her rosy, half parted lips, Amytis was silently cooking up a plan of her own- a strategy that was going to make the all knowing War God appear like nothing more than a mere, untalented puppeteer.
" I take it the food was to your liking…." she began- in a strangely neutral voice- once the Warrior Princess was done eating.
" It was ok..." the response came as concise as one would have expected to hear from her. "However, I was starving, so…." she felt the need to explain quickly noticing the Queen's skeptical expression. Truth was, she had eaten quite a lot- which made that rather inexpressive choice of words she had used to describe the quality of their meal, a bit to harsh, even for her standards….
" I see….Babylon is known for whetting people's appetite for …well….a lot of things- food included…" she replied, a forced smile plastered on her face- the same one she had been wearing ever since the couple had set foot in her palace.
" Great…" the Warrior Princess concluded, clicking her tongue, not the least bit interested in contributing in any way to enhancing and expanding this so called conversation Amytis was assiduously trying to entertain.
"So, Xena…" she continued, taking a mental note of just how difficult it would be for her to actually get her rival to talk in the first place, let alone open up to her…She had a lot of work to do and unfortunately, so little time to put in practice everything she had in mind. She certainly couldn't afford to waste one more second in that room. "… why don't we let the boys kill each other over these boring topics we don't really care about and make a run for it? I'd love to show you around. The palace and the gardens are absolutely stunning – at least that's what most people seem to think- you have to see them….Plus, given that with the exception of the bedroom Ares didn't have the courtesy to show you anything else, I would gladly do it…..It would be a pity for you to miss the opportunity of actually enjoying your time here.." she generously invited, trying hard to mask that highly unfriendly gaze that clearly stated just how much she wanted to part the Warrior Princess' head from her body- in a way that was as slowly and as pain inflicting as possible.
Despite the equally hard to conceal contempt she felt towards her immortal rival, Xena subtly nodded her acceptance, effectively suppressing a smile at the realization of just how threatened the Queen must have felt by her- the absolutely stupid mistake of constantly bringing up her relationship with Ares, speaking volumes to her about just how attached this redheaded bitch still was to the Olympian God….That was good news though….If she actually felt threatened, it meant that she considered her to be a pretty serious competitor to the War God's heart…To the War God's heart?! The awareness that such ludicrous ideas had actually taken over her mind, hit Xena like a tone of bricks. What was wrong with her?! Since when was she fighting with anyone for his heart?!Whom he showed interest in or not, was supposed to be the least of her concerns! ...But still, the perspective itself of wiping that patronizing grin off the Queen's pretty face - by showing her who exactly she was messing with, was a strong enough motivation to make her accept the otherwise dull invitation….After all, a palace was just that- a palace. What was there to be seen apart from stone or marble walls and furniture?! Plus, it was quite obvious that they had nothing in common, and thus nothing to talk about really….And yet, finally getting to put her in her place was worth the effort.
With that thought in mind, seeing that Ares was still so caught up in that conversation with Nabucco that he hardly had eyes and ears for anyone else, she got up from the table, ready to follow the Queen, but before she took one single step in her direction, the God's fingers were tightly gripped around her wrist, preventing her to move- an unexpected gesture given just how incredibly absorbed he had appeared to be by the King's own war tale about how exactly he had discovered and burnt to the ground the Trojan weapon warehouse….
" Where are you going?" he asked, in a low, rough voice, frowning a bit at her intention while a few scenarios had already began whirling around inside his head- silently wondering if he had done something to upset her, or if maybe Amytis had said something that she shouldn't have...
"Relax…." the Queen answered instead, placing a light hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze – an absolutely cordial touch for an untrained eye- but definitely an irritating enough one for Xena, whose jaw tensed almost instantly. By Hades himself, how she hated this woman!
Not in the least preoccupied with the Warrior Princess' opinion on the matter, the redheaded Queen continued her line on the same, lethally seductive tone that she always liked to use when addressing her ex lover. " I'll bring her back in one piece, I promise. You men are boring us to death with all that pointless talk of bloodshed and battle plans…I just want to show her around..." she let the Olympian know, offering him a dazzling, heart melting smile that made Xena's blood boil with rage.
On the other hand, quite surprisingly one might say, Ares didn't look as impressed as his Chosen was with the Queen's antics. He knew her far too well and yes, flirting might have been her specialty, but he was adamant about not letting her get to him anymore- not if that meant upsetting his Princess in any way. As a result, he did his best to act as if those torturously hard to suppress sensations coursing through his body the moment her hand made contact with his shoulder weren't even there, as if she left him completely cold….- an almost impossible task in itself….
"Good idea. This place is huge, there are plenty of things to see." he huskily agreed, softly caressing Xena's wrist with his thumb instead- refusing to let go of her yet.
" My point's exactly." Amytis retorted, all trace of humor suddenly gone from her voice as her hand started brushing languidly through his hair, driving him completely insane….
This time, Xena's brows furrowed, her eyes glistening with unveiled jealousy…..That needy bitch simply refused to take a hint, let alone keep her hands to herself! Unconsciously, as if wanting to spite her and to brutally remind her just why her actions were so out of line, she slowly bent down and placed a delicate kiss on her God's lips, one that she was positive would capture his attention in the blink of an eye and at the same time effectively mark her territory…
"We won't be long. " she whispered warmly a mere moment later, but, just as she was about to pull back, Ares' other hand tangled in her long raven strands and kept her in place, deepening that feather like kiss that she had so innocently sensual offered, with a raw, ravenous hunger.
Something in the air shifted as their breaths mingled and their tongues began to duel- fighting for dominance- and despite having kissed her thousands of times before, the War God couldn't help wondering again when and most importantly why in the name of Chronos he had become so utterly possessive of her….? Not knowing her there, in his immediate reach had never been precisely to his liking, but this….this was getting a bit ridiculous, he had to admit it to himself.…. For crying out loud, she was one of the few women he had ever known that didn't really require protection- she was more than capable to take care of herself, and still, he gradually discovered that he couldn't ignore that imperious need to constantly know where she was and what it was she was doing…It was as if one single moment of inadvertence, one instant of unjustified carelessness from his part could snatch her away from him, and for some reason, that was inconceivable.
"Now that's what I call a proper kiss!" Nabucco's resonant voice broke the spell the very second the Gods's fingers gripped her hair even tighter and his tongue pushed even more demandingly into her wicked mouth, making her moan a little from the pressure. " Throw her on the table and fuck her brains out Bro!" he exclaimed at the top of his lungs, entranced by the rough, primal lust radiating from their tense bodies. " Ram your cock up her sweet cunt! Gods know, that's what I would do if I were you!"
"As I see it, you'd even fuck your own mother you twisted psychopath!" the Warrior Princess snapped, throwing the King a menacingly, bone chilling glare.
" Yeah baby! So much passion! Did you see the rage sparkling in her eyes, Ares?!" he shouted, licking his lips wantonly while his eyes began drifting away from her face and preferring to shamelessly settle on her breasts instead. " She's the right woman for you, that's for sure….Just what you needed! No wonder you chose her out of all those Greek harlots crawling at your feet!" he continued, much to his visibly scandalized wife's revolt… It was not enough that her lover was so bewitched with this mortal cunt- so charmed that he no longer gave her the usual attention- but now, her own husband also appeared enchanted with her!
Before she got the chance to articulate a slashing enough reply to burn Nabbucco's wings to a crisp nonetheless, time itself stopped for a moment, when, only an inch away from the King's ear, a knife whizzed by like the howling winter wind, burying itself inch-deep into the wall.
" If you ever call me a harlot again, I'll make sure to stick that blade right between those pretty brown eyes of yours, you degenerated Bastard! " Xena announced in an unusually calm tone given the content of her reply, her eyes still furious enough as to blacken up that statement though.
That being said, she swiftly turned around, and, together with her overly friendly host, they headed for the door, without exchanging one glance or one word about that little incident.
" Amytis!" Ares yelled, just as they were leaving the room.
The Queen immediately turned around, arching her eyebrows inquisitively at the God, her heart fluttering with expectation at what he was about to ask….
" Behave yourself!" he softly commanded, in a tone that made her stomach flip and her skin tingle- more a request than anything else- but judging by the look in his eyes, the Queen could easily tell that he was dead serious about it.
"That's a very special lady you have there…." the King remarked once they were alone, still staring in utter amazement at the knife. " You weren't kidding when you said that she can take care of herself."
"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about…"the response came, no trace of doubt in it.
" That fire in her eyes…..the danger excites her….."
" The danger, and a good challenge…"
" You're a lucky Bastard…!" the King chuckled, amused by the whole situation, but rubbing his chin pensively nonetheless. " Still, keep your eyes wide open while you're here…My lovely wife doesn't seem as crazy about her as you are."
" She wouldn't dare touch a hair on her head. I'd kill her in the blink of an eye."
"Words of love, Bro! Though, I do regret to inform you that I doubt she knows that….Anyway, let us hope for the best. Why don't we drink to your new flame?!" the King urged, pouring some more wine into the God's cup.
" Let us do just that!"
" And while we're at it, how about some young, tight pussy to go with that wine?! I've just received a new lot of slaves, earlier this morning. We could test them together…see if they were worth the price….? " Nabucco offered, certain that a refusal was out of the question. He was in for a big surprise though…
" No thanks…." was the short, adamant answer he grimly articulated.
" My, my! " the King shouted dramatically, trying hard to keep a straight face. " She does keep you on a tight leash doesn't she?! I've never thought I'd live to see this day….Can I laugh at it?"
" You can laugh all you want. That won't change the fact that my cock still hurts from how much she rode me last night." Ares bluntly retorted, letting out an amused chuckle, one that matched perfectly his friend's expression. "Still….you could do something for me…."
" Anything brother!"
" You could wrap those smooth lips of yours around my pole….Kiss its head and make it all better…Maybe lick my balls awhile…..? "
They both burst into a hysterical laughter as soon Ares was done talking, everything becoming even more amusing the moment when, busy ducking an apple the King had playfully thrown his way, Ares fell straight on his back with a loud thud, his legs spread wide open in the air .
" I can imagine how anxious you are about getting me to fulfill those secret fantasies Bro', but seriously, we'd better leave that to professionals." the King struggled to articulate, still laughing his heart out. " In the meantime, why don't you tell me again about that fight between Achilles and Hector?! For the love of Ishtar, I still can't believe I missed it!"