It was an unusually hot day and Xena and Gabrielle were one
the road to Amphipolis. Xena was
anxious to see her mother since she hadn't seen her for several months. Xena road Argo while Gabrielle was beside
her riding Amber. It was such a hot day
that they had to take it slow so that their horses did not tire. Three-month-old Eve was strapped to Xena's
back fast asleep.
It had only been a few days since they had come into contact
with the priests of Apollo, Artemis, and Poseidon intent on killing her child. The dream that she'd had about Ares still
disturbed her greatly and as they road along, Gabrielle could see that her
friend was in much discomfort.
"Yes. I wish that it
would just go away. I know that Ares
must have messed with my head that night because I know I do not have feelings
for him. It's impossible."
Gabrielle didn't respond, but instead decided to change the
subject.
Xena smiled at her comment as they continued down through
the forest.
Soon they arrived in Amphipolis. Xena and Gabrielle took their horses to a stable and then went to
Cyrene's tavern. But when they got to
the door, it was locked and there was a note nailed to it. It read:
This tavern is closed until further notice.
Signed,
Athos, the town
magistrate
"My mother would never close the tavern, it's how she makes
a living. Something must be
wrong." Xena said.
"Like what?"
"I don't know but I am going to find out."
Xena and Gabrielle left the tavern and walked across the
street to a large building in the center of the city--the town hall. The two of them opened the doors and a pair
of guards holding spears greeted them.
They crossed the spears in front of Xena and Gabrielle as they walked
in.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" One of the guards asked them.
"My name is Xena and this is my friend Gabrielle. We've come to see Athos, the
magistrate." Xena said.
"He's in a meeting right now so you will have to wait a
moment. What do you need to speak to
him about?"
"I need to ask him about my mother Cyrene and why her tavern
has been closed down."
"In a moment." The
guard replied.
The other guard went toward a door in the far corner of the
room and walked in. Xena and Gabrielle
waited for a few minutes until the guard came from the room and walked over to
them.
"Athos will see you now."
"Thank you." Xena
said as the guard led them to Athos' quarters.
When they entered, Athos was standing by a window.
"Xena and Gabrielle are here to speak with you." The guard said before leaving the room,
closing the door behind him.
Athos walked up to the two of them.
"It's nice to meet you both. What do you wish to speak to me about?"
"We were just at Cyrene's tavern and there was a sign that
said it was closed. I want to know what
that is all about. I know that my
mother would never close her tavern."
Athos sighed. "I
closed the tavern because there was no one to tend to it. Two days ago, Cyrene was found missing and
no one in town knows where she is."
"My mother's missing?"
Xena asked, beginning to get a little worried.
"Yes. It's like she
just disappeared."
Xena was in shock.
She had no idea what could have happened to her mother. Gabrielle put a hand on her shoulder.
"Who would want to kidnap your mother?"
"I-I don't know."
Xena turned to Athos. "Was there
any evidence that she had deliberately left from town?"
"No. The tavern was
searched and there was no evidence that she had chosen to leave. The whole town is worried. Everyone loved Cyrene, she was a good friend
to everyone who came to her tavern."
Xena walked around the room to the window, thinking. Then she turned back to Athos.
"Do you think you could give me a key to her tavern so that
I could check it out for myself."
"Well, sure, but I don't know why you would find something
that I didn't."
Athos walked to a desk and opened a drawer, retrieving from
it a small box. He opened it and inside
was a key. He walked back to Xena and
gave it to her.
"Here. I hope you're
able to solve this mystery."
"Oh, trust me. If
anyone can find something out that no one else could, it would be Xena." Gabrielle smiled.
"Thank you, Athos."
Xena said.
"Good luck." He
replied.
Xena nodded her head in response before she and Gabrielle
left the room.
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The two of them went back to Cyrene's tavern. Xena put the key in the lock and opened the
door.
"See if you can find anything that could be useful." She told Gabrielle.
"All right."
Xena walked around the room, looking for anything
suspicious. Everything seemed to be in
perfect order. When Xena didn't find
anything, she turned to Gabrielle.
"Gabrielle, I am going to check my mother's bedroom. Keep looking down here, okay?"
"Sure, Xena."
Xena walked up the stairs and made a right, walking into her
mother's room. There was a small bed in
the corner with a desk next to it.
Across from the bed, there was a small open window that looked out over
the city.
Xena slowly walked through the room, surveying
everything. Then, lying on the bed was
a scroll. Xena rushed over to it and
picked it up. It read:
Hello, Xena. I'm
guessing that you want your mother back.
Well, I'm willing to give her back on one condition--you give me what I
want. If not, you will never see her
again. When you've made your decision,
meet me when the moon is high at the only building in town that sunlight will
never touch.
Signed,
I know you know
who it is; I don't even have to tell you
Xena's raised an eyebrow, trying to think of who it was.
"A building never touched by sunlight? Hmm.
The only building I can think of like that is…is…Ares' temple at the far
end of the city! It is built inside of
a cave!" Xena snarled. "Ares…Ares how could you? This is the worst thing you've ever done and
you will pay!"
Xena rushed out of the room and ran down the stairs.
"Xena, did you find anything?" Gabrielle asked.
"It's Ares. Ares has
my mother!" She responded hurriedly.
Xena handed Gabrielle the note and she read it.
"This is terrible.
He's done some mean things to you but this…this is the worst. I thought he was beginning to change." Gabrielle put the note down on the
table. "Xena, you can't agree to his
offer, so what are you going to do?"
"I don't know, Gabrielle but I will get her back no matter
how hard it is. Ares is NOT going to win this battle, not in a million
years!"
Xena walked toward the door and Gabrielle followed her.
"Where are you going?"
Gabrielle asked.
"Well, I can't do anything right now. I'll have to wait until tonight. You said you were hungry, didn't you? Well, me too so lets go get something to
eat." She smiled at her friend and then
left the tavern.
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That night Xena and Gabrielle were in Cyrene's tavern. Xena was rocking Eve back and fourth,
singing a lullaby to her quietly. Eve
cooed and babbled in her mother's arms.
Gabrielle was looking out the window, watching the moon.
"Xena, the moon is high."
Xena stood up and walked over to Gabrielle.
"Take care of Eve while I am gone, will you?" She said, handing Gabrielle the baby.
"Sure thing. Oh, and
Xena? Be careful."
"I will. The gods
know I have always been able to handle myself with Ares. Now is no different."
Xena grabbed a torch from the wall and then left.
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Xena walked along the lonely street towards the far end of
town. The stars in the sky didn't shine
as brightly as they normally did; a large dark cloud covered the sky preventing
the light from reaching earth. It
seemed that Xena's only source of light was the bright torch she carried in her
hand.
When Xena reached the outskirts of the town, she stopped in
front of a huge cave. There were two
very large torches that were on either side of the cave that burned
brightly. Xena walked into the cave. The entrance was a long hall that led to an
open room at the end. The sides of the
cave had been inlaid with stones of granite.
Every third stone had a torch imbedded into it, which made the entrance
seem to have an eerie glow. Near the
ceiling was a row of sculls that had red gems placed in the eye sockets.
Xena walked down the hall until she reached an open room at
the back of the cave. The room was very
big and the ceiling was high. Here too,
the walls were of granite and sculls lined the ceiling. Candles were placed all over the room
in. On the walls were murals that
depicted bloody battle scenes in extraordinary detail and color. The room could defiantly be identified with
the God of War. It was so
gruesome. At the far end of the room
was a thrown that had black diamonds imbedded into it and on it sat none other
that Ares. He was sitting with one leg
hanging over the edge of the thrown.
When Xena saw him, her facial features began to show the
anger that she felt toward him.
"Ares…" She growled.
"How's it going, Xena?
Have you made a decision?" He
asked as if nothing was wrong.
"Yes, Ares. I have."
"And?"
Xena walked up to him and leaned over him, placing her hands
on the armrests of the thrown. She was
nose to nose with him and gave him an icy glare.
"I will burn in Tartarus before I EVER give you a child."
Out of pure anger, Ares growled and shot a lighting bolt at
her, causing her to fly backwards and hit the wall on the other side of the
room. Ares disappeared and then
reappeared instantly, grabbing Xena and picking her up by the shoulders.
"I'm warning you, Xena!
You'd better give me what I want or you will NEVER
see your precious mother again!"
Xena looked at him firmly.
"Ares, I can't believe you would do something like this. You've done things to me in the past but
this is worse than everything else put together. You are such a liar!!
Trying to convince me that you love me when we were in Tartarus. Trying to tell me that all you really wanted
to do was help me. And yet, all you
really wanted me for was so that you would have a sure chance of
surviving. Ares, you're sick! I never want to see you again."
Tears had begun to well up in her eyes and she didn't know
why. Ares let her go and she dropped to
the ground. He turned around and walked
back to the thrown. Xena stood up but
before she left Ares looked at her.
"Fine, Xena. If
that's the way you want it. Your mother
dies tomorrow night."
Xena stared at him and then left the cave. As she left, she heard Ares howl into the
night.
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When Xena got back to the tavern, tears had filled her eyes.
"How did it go?"
Xena sighed and wiped her eyes. "Not good. My mother dies
tomorrow night. It's strange; I've
never seen Ares like this. He seems so
evil, more than he has ever before.
Everything he had said to me was a lie; it was all a lie! Gabrielle, I don't know how we are going to
save my mother. I have no idea where he
is keeping her and we only have until tomorrow night. It seems hopeless."
Xena walked over to Eve and picked her daughter up. Without a word, she went up the stairs into
an empty room where she planed to stay for the night. Gabrielle watched as she left.
She couldn't believe that Xena had just given up. She never gave up on anything.
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Later that night when Xena was asleep in her room, Gabrielle
left the tavern. She knew that she had
to talk to Ares; maybe she could convince him to change his mind. Gabrielle walked to the cave and
entered. When she was inside, there was
no one there.
"Ares. Ares, I need
to speak with you."
There was a flash of light in a dark corner of the room and
Ares appeared.
"What do you want?
Have you come to yell at me too?"
Gabrielle walked up to him.
"Why do you treat her the way you do?
You know you can never force her to do anything she doesn't want to
do. How can you be so heartless and
cruel?"
"I want her back. I
want things the way they used to be but she won't give me a chance."
"Ares, you haven't given her any reason to give you a
chance." Gabrielle paused before
continuing. "Let Cyrene go. You aren't gaining anything by killing her,
now are you?"
"I can't let her go.
I told Xena I would kill her and that is what I plan to do."
"Well, then…I have no business being here. You're not going to change your mind no
matter what I say."
Ares turned from Gabrielle and walked away but before he had
time to disappear Gabrielle spoke up.
"Ares, I know how you feel about Xena."
Ares stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Gabrielle.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Yeah, you do. I
know what your feelings are for her."
Ares was silent for the longest time. "How do you know?"
"Oh, come on, Ares.
It's obvious. Everything that
Xena has told me about you trying to tell her that you just want to help,
trying to tell her how you feel when you two were in Tartarus. She didn't believe a word of it but you
still said it."
Ares sighed and walked to his thrown, sitting down. "Gabrielle, I know I'm not one to be honest
with people but…you're right. I do have
feelings for her. I don't know what is
wrong with me. I'm the God of War; I'm
not supposed to feel this way."
"Ares, you have to release Cyrene. You can't force Xena to give you a child. If you do, you will turn her back in to the
murdering warlord she once was. Now, if
you really do care for her, then you will tell her how you feel. If you really want her back, she has to know
the truth. That's the only way."
With that, Gabrielle walked out of the cave leaving Ares to
think about what she said.
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The next morning, Xena was outside sitting by a lake nursing
Eve. She hummed a sweet tune to her
daughter as she looked out over the calm water. The talk with Ares the night before had really gotten to her. She didn't know how she was going to get her
mother back. It was the first time in
her life that something seemed almost hopeless. Gabrielle had gone for a morning ride on Amber and would not be
back for a while yet.
Xena was in such deep thought that she didn't even realize
that Ares was behind her until he appeared.
Xena turned around quickly and drew her sword. She held Eve in one hand and the sword in the other. Anger began to burn in her eyes.
"You're not getting this child, Ares like you got my
mother. The Fates may have said that
she will bring about the gods end but I would gladly die protecting her!"
"I don't want to hurt Eve.
I just came to talk to you."
"Talk?! What is
there to talk about?! Hmm. Let's see.
Oh, yes! You have my
mother. I want her back and I will
never give you a child. Does that about
sum it up?" She snapped, turning and
walking away from him.
Ares followed her and grabbed her arm forcefully.
"I was wrong, Xena.
I shouldn't have captured your mother just so I could force you to give
me a child. It was foolish and I'm
sorry. Your mother will be waiting in
the tavern when you get back. I
promise"
Xena looked at him with a steely gaze.
"You're lying!"
"Xena, no I'm not."
Xena pointed her sword at his throat.
"Yes, yes you are!
Everything you've told me in the past turned out to be a lie. Now is no different."
"None of it was a lie.
I was telling the truth then and I'm telling you the truth now."
"Right." She
replied, very irritated with Ares at this point.
"Why don't you believe me?"
"Why? Well, Ares,
I'll tell you why. When have you ever
done something to me that wasn't manipulative, deceiving, conniving, or
cruel? You have been treating me
harshly ever since the day I changed from evil to good. You're an arrogant, egotistical, and cynical
god who doesn't do anything unless it is for your own benefit and you care
about no one but yourself. That's why
I've never trusted you. You have given
me no reason to."
With that Xena walked away with Ares still where he
stood. As she left he suddenly appeared
in front of her.
"You were wrong, Xena.
I don't just care about myself, I…I care about you too."
"Yeah, whatever."
She said as she walked around him.
"I love you, Xena."
He said in a caring voice that echoed through the forest.
Xena turned around and looked at him with a blank expression
on her face. She didn't know what to
say.
"Did you here me? I
said I love you." Ares said leaning in
so he could kiss her.
Just before their lips touched, Xena's arms pushed against
his chest and she backed away.
"No. I can't do
this. How can I love someone who has
caused me so much pain?"
"I want to change. I
may not be able to undo the past but I want to try and make things better. I am sorry for what I did to you. Truly sorry."
Xena was silent for a moment before she spoke. "I'm sorry, Ares but it can never be for
us. I can't love someone like you."
Xena slowly walked away from him, still holding her daughter
in her arms. Before he was completely
out of sight she turned to look at him again.
"Goodbye, Ares. I hope you find
true love some day."
In a moment she was out sight. Ares was left standing where he was. Tears began to fill in his eyes, something that had never
happened in all of his immortal life.
He knew he would never see her again.
"You WERE my true
love, Xena." He whispered under his
breath before disappearing in sadness.