I HAVE A HUNCH THAT YOU ARE GOING TO LIKE THIS, XA LOVERS ...IT IS THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING PARTICULARLY INTERESTING...SO, DO LET ME KNOW :)

No more words were spoken afterwards…no words were needed anyway….His comforting presence and that unearthly feeling that she always had when his arms were wrapped tightly around her- that no one and nothing could harm her- was more than any sound could ever offer..

…A lump rose in her throat though as the tips of his fingers continued to gently and unhurriedly trace her jaw line, only to move back to her slightly parted lips and then to her cheekbones- as if he wanted to draw every single inch of her face, to etch the perfection of it in his memory for the rest of eternity… She was absolutely mesmerizing and the thought itself of having been so close to losing her because of one single moment of inadvertence was hardly bearable for the War God …..

Despite himself- which pretty much translated into a deplorable completely out of his control- for the thousandth time since he entered that room and saw her lifeless body lying on that accursed bed, Ares mentally rewound the sequence of those last few days in search for an answer, only to discover to his unspeakable frustration that the details of the event continued to remain a mystery to him.

The guilt of having allowed death to come so close to her was obviously eating him alive….He should have been there. He shouldn't have left her side- especially given the circumstances …Maybe it had been the effect of the drugs …maybe some virus …maybe the climate was to be blamed or something she had eaten….maybe she had been poisoned or maybe ….maybe something else- his overworked brain concluded without finding a satisfactory, logic explanation for all the blood and the water she had vomited.….. Still, something just didn't make sense and not being able to tell what it was that had escaped him, was irking the Tartraus out of him.

Displeased with himself, the Olympian started to unconsciously grind his teeth, just like he always did when he was not comfortable with a situation - He hated not being in control of something and when it came to his own Chosen, he appeared to have failed miserably. He had vowed to protect her with his life, and boy, was he far from that crowning achievement!

On the other hand, one couldn't possibly forget that, at the end of the day, he did save her, and that had to count for... something- he subtly tried to lift his spirits. All in all, she was safe and sound- right there were she belonged – and a similar event was definitely not going to happen again…Not on his watch…Not ever….He was going to make sure of that, by the Styx itself, he was going to make sure of that!…. From that moment on, he was going to keep an eye on her and he was going to be the first to find out everything related to her. No more nasty surprises...Not even a drop of rain was to touch her flawless skin without his consent ….!

At the end of that dramatic inner speech, as if wanting to seal his newly self made promise, the War God placed yet another chaste kiss – on her temple this time – and a warm smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he discovered that his enchanted beauty had fallen asleep, and that judging by her regular heartbeats and those rapid eye movements, she was actually dreaming…..

XXX

Maybe it had been the tenderness of his sweet caresses or the enthralling musk perfume of his skin that made her feel as if minutes were blurring together slowly into nothingness, bringing darkness over her overly tired sapphire moons….

The last thing that still managed- up to a certain point- to keep her senses alert for awhile longer right before she drifted to sleep must have been the barely audible humming of a song she just new she had heard a long , long time ago-probably sometime during her childhood ….It sounded terribly familiar , and yet, for some reason, her mind refused to connect the sound to the situation….A peculiar melody that touched her to the core and that she perceived as being part of her- as if the universe itself had secretly written it into her very DNA….An impossible to explain sensation, really, that made everything inside her vibrate on the same low, melancholic key…..

Her eyes closed for a split second…they closed and then they reopened, but to a whole new world, to a new freshly painted reality…..She was no longer in War's arms , but somewhere close to Amphipolis, on the beautiful high hills surrounding the village, and, casting an eye over her surroundings, she could easily recognize the brownish red rock from which, either Lyceus or herself would take turns jumping, hoping to one day achieve the impossible- flying…

It was almost funny….She could still remember it- every single detail- as if it had all happened they day before...Their lines, the laughter, the illusion of eternity, her brother's smile ...Despite their efforts, nothing seemed to actually work and they did try everything from fallen tree branches to braided ropes and light wood that to a certain extent, for an untrained eye and from a certain perspective, offered the impression of a gigantic kite….they all proved to be useless sooner or later.. …They even plucked some of Cyrene's chickens in the attempt to build something that bore a striking resemblance to a vulture's wings ….they all had massive failure written all over, but they didn't give up ….They kept trying…..and now, coming to think about it, they probably knew they would never succeed in their madness- both of them did-…What kept them going though was most likely the joy of spending time together, and that unique sparkle of happiness' in the other's eyes….

She had to smile at the realisation…even as children, they were so much alike, Lyceus and her…..

An unnaturally cold gust of wind for that period- it was the middle of the summer and judging by the position of the sun it was hardly past noon- made her frown involuntarily….Suddenly, from the west, a multitude of dark, menacing clouds rushed her way, covering that amazingly bright sky, bringing an almost frightening obscurity along with them…..The entire scenery changed within seconds into what appeared to be a cold, depressing late November day …

She shivered uncontrollably as yet another glacial blast ripped through the air, whipping her unprotected skin, and finally looking down at herself, for the first time she realised that she was wearing nothing at all, that the linen dress she could swear she had felt covering her body had somehow magically vanished, just like the flowers she just knew she had been wearing in her hair….

" Welcome home, little Xena…." a strangely familiar, melodious voice came from behind her, forcing her to automatically turn around, just to discover that there was no one there …..

Quite unusual to say the least….She carefully scanned the area, as if wanting to make sure that she hadn't imagined it…..It must have been the wind…..

" This used to be your favourite place in the whole wide world as a child ….And yet, something is not quite the same..." the mysterious voice could be once again heard, making the Warrior Princess clench her fists angrily this time….Someone was trying to mess with her head and she disliked the idea profoundly …..

" Who are you …..?" she demanded to know, refusing to fall for whatever game that enigmatic someone had in mind for her.

" Why Xena…..come on, it hasn't been that long …" the whispered response soon followed, and this time, as she swiftly turned around, looking for the source of her torment, the Warrior Princess successfully solved the mystery …..

"Amytis…." she barely breathed out, the name grazing uncomfortably her throat on its way out.

" You don't seem too thrilled to see me …." the strikingly beautiful Queen remarked as she closed the distance between them, a victorious smile playing on her royal features. "I thought we were friends…and friends are always delighted to see each other…."

"We are not friends !" Xena icily clarified, her eyes as cold as those damned rain drops that had just began to fall on her skin, making her long even more for that torrid summer day from the very beginning of her dream.

Amytis stifled a laugh at the bitterness of her words, her emerald green eyes never deflecting her adversary's harsh stare. She could definitely get to her, she silently told herself, noticing that subtle- but very much present- shade of hurt on the Warrior Princess' face…She was weak….

" And just why ever not ? Have I done anything to upset you Xena? " she innocently asked, and the twisted, mocking expression of her doll like features definitely compensated for the lack of irony in her voice.

" Why you two faced bitch !" the dark haired Warrior Princess grunted, ready to cut her open, only to realise- when her hand instinctively went up her right shoulder that her sword was obviously not where it was supposed to be...

"Were you looking for this ?" the Queen inquired, particularly amused by her surprise- generously materialising the beautifully engraved blade on the ground, just a few steps away from them. "Here ….do your best …" she cleverly challenged, her eyes sparkling with mischief " And try not to make a fool of yourself this time…."

A mere blink later, the Chosen of War was furiously clutching the hilt of the lethally sharp weapon, eager to show the bitchy Queen a lesson. Oh, she was going to make her wish she had never met her!

Little did she know that things were far from what they seemed to be and that Ares had been indeed right….she still had a lot to learn….