Title: Dragons of Revelation
Author: Smenzer
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ares/Gabrielle
Archive: Yes, please. Let me know if you take it, OK?
Teaser: This is Part 4 of Dragons of Despair
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to Studios USA or whoever owns the Rights to Xena: Warrior Princess. This is just for fun.
"What?" Ares stared at Gabrielle in shock, his mouth hanging open.
"I said I know where you can find a dragon." Gabrielle repeated. "But I don't think it's going to help you any."
"Just tell me where to find it and I'll decide if it can help me or not." Ares focused his eyes on her. "How can you know where a dragon is?"
Gabrielle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She counted to ten to calm herself, preparing for Ares' reaction to what she was about to say. When she was calm, she opened her eyes. "I know where the dragon is because I am the dragon."
"What?!" Ares was so shocked that he fell over sideways. It was a good thing he had been sitting down or he would have really embarrassed himself. He crawled to his knees and pointed a shaking finger at her. "If you were a dragon all this time, why didn't you say anything? And how can you be a dragon? You're a mortal!"
"I forgot I was a dragon, OK? I just remembered now." Gabrielle wrapped her arms around herself as she watched Ares. She could see he didn't believe her. Well, she didn't blame him, not really. It did sound crazy. She almost didn't believe it herself, but so much information had came rushing to the front of her mind. Even now it was making her head spin. She was trying to sort it all out, but it wasn't easy. There was just so much.
"How in the heck do you forget something like that?" Ares asked. He was on his feet now, his legs spread apart for better balance. He looked very much a War God. "Look, Gabrielle, I'm looking for a real dragon. A fire-breathing dragon. Maybe you hit your head on something when you fell down that hole."
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. That's why I survived the magma." Gabrielle explained to him. "As a red dragon, I'm immune to all forms of fire and heat. That includes magma and lava. I guess being a half breed wasn't enough protection for Hope and it killed her. I think I knew somewhere in the back of my mind the magma couldn't harm me. Call it intuition or whatever. Of course, my logical mind wouldn't listen to it because it sounded crazy! I was willing to give up my life to stop her."
"So....you just, what? Swam through it?" Ares shifted from one leg to the other. "This is very hard for me to believe, Gabrielle. I just thought a dragon would be more....war like. And what do the Fates give me? A peace-loving Bard. Oh, this is just great!"
"You see, it's a long story."
"Oh, I bet it is! So why don't you explain to me how you are really a dragon. I'd love to hear it." Ares leaned back against the cavern wall, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. "Any time, Gabrielle. Any time."
"OK, it goes like this." Gabrielle shifted on the stone floor til she was comfortable. She knew it wasn't going to be easy telling Ares all this stuff. She would be admitting an awful lot to him, stuff she had never told anyone else. That meant she had to trust Ares. But being trapped here, what choice did she have? She cleared her throat a bit and began her long story. "Where I came from there were lots of dragons. We reds love to make our homes on high mountain peaks. That way our lairs our safe from most humans. I'm sure you probably heard how we dragons love to collect treasure?"
"Yeah." Ares said. "The dragon's famous hoard."
"Well, humans love to steal our treasure. But that's not important. What's important is each dragon has to have a territory that he or she can rule. They depend on this area for all their needs. But dragons tend to live very long lives. We are almost immortal, you know. So the older wyrms tend to keep the best areas for themselves. After awhile, no good areas are left for younger dragons. So I left home and came to this world."
"Wait a minute." Ares was standing now, looking directly at her. "You mean there's other worlds?"
Gabrielle smiled up at him. She saw she had his attention now. "Well of course there are, Ares! Other worlds with other gods. Surely you didn't think you're all alone, did you?"
"Well, I knew there were other pantheons....but worlds? Don't you think your stretching it a bit? Either you're telling the truth or your a lot better bard than I thought!"
"Anyway," Gabrielle continued. "I saw this world in my scrying crystal and it looked perfect! Wonderful mountains with no other dragons to compete with. So I used my magic and came here."
"Just like that? It was that easy?" Ares asked as he moved closer to the seated bard. Oh man. He had really misjudged the blonde! Why should he go run after Xena when he could have a dragon? And one that could turn into a beautiful woman, too!
"Of course. I'm a dragon, am I not?" she asked.
"Oh yeah." Ares knelt in front of Gabrielle. He had his nicest smile on his face. "So why don't you be a nice girl and turn into a dragon for me, hmmm?"
"I can't." Gabrielle said.
"What? I thought you said you were a dragon!" Ares eyes grew dark and his lips twisted. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed. "Don't be playing games with me, Gabrielle!"
"I'm not! If you'd let me finish I'll explain!"
"All right. But it better be good." Ares let her wrist go but stayed where he was.
"Dragons are creatures of magic." Gabrielle began as she rubbed at her wrist. The skin was red where he had squeezed it. "We need magic to survive. Well, this world doesn't have very much magic. I couldn't live as a dragon here, so I was forced to take a human form. I found some humans and paid them with part of my hoard to pretend they were my family. They were very grateful, as they were poor and didn't have much. They promised never to tell anyone my secret. They have pure hearts and that's why I chose them. So anyway, until I find a source of magic, I'm pretty much stuck in this human form."
"But if you had a source of magic, you could change back into the dragon?" Ares asked. He had watched Gabrielle's face very carefully while she told her dragon tale. He could see she believed every word she had said. Could it be true? Could it be the dragon he had been searching for all this time had been prancing around under his nose and he just never knew it? Oh, if only it was true!
"Yes, if it was strong enough." Gabrielle replied.
"And then could you get us out of this cave?" he asked.
"I think so, yes. All it would take is a teleportation spell. And if that doesn't work, I could use a magic doorway." Gabrielle looked up at Ares. "Why. What are you thinking?"
Ares didn't say anything. He reached for his sword and slowly pulled it from its scabbard. The only sound in the cave was the steady scrape of steel against leather.
Once the sword was completely free, he turned it around and offered the hilt to her. Precious jewels sparkled among the metal and glowed in the firelight. "Take my sword. It should give you enough power to change."
Gabrielle look at the offered sword and shook her head. "I can't. I'm sorry, Ares, but I can't take your Godly powers! It just wouldn't be right."
"Look, you wouldn't be taking my powers. I'd still be a God." Ares explained. "This sword is.....enchanted, if you will. I'll allow you to use its powers, borrow them. So you could say we'd be sharing."
"I still can't." Gabrielle hung her head, her face hidden by the long curtain of blonde hair.
"Well, why not?" Ares asked, demanded to know.
"I didn't like who I was as a dragon. How I behaved."
Hmmm. This was getting interesting! "So," Ares said with a grin. "You're saying you haven't always been the peaceful bard you pretend to be? That maybe somewhere under all that peacefulness there's a fierce warrior...er...dragon?"
"You know how Xena has her dark side? Well, the dragon is my dark side." She explained as she nervously wrung her hands together. Ares offer was very tempting. Too tempting. To be a dragon again would be great. She could soar through the air once again, feel the cold wind rushing past her horns. But how long would it be before her old bad habits returned? Would she have the will-power not to do those things? Could she go against the very nature of being a dragon? "I did some horrible things as a dragon. At the time, I thought they were OK. That it was my right to do them just because I was a dragon and that I could. But since I've been stuck in this human form, I learned so much. I know now that what I did before was wrong. I've learned how humans live, as I've been forced to live as one."
"Look, Gabrielle. If you don't do this, a lot of those precious humans you care so much about are going to get slaughtered by Dahok. Many of them already were. The Gods will be next. I can't stop him by myself." Ares explained. "If you truely care so much about this world, then you'll help me stop him."
"OK, but there's a few things you should know about dragons." Gabrielle said as she gazed at the offered sword. She could already feel the power throbing in it as if it were alive. It was like finding a cool drink after being lost in the desert for days. It was so close and she wanted it!
"What?" Ares asked as he rolled his eyes. "Look, can't we get on with this already? I hope you're not going to talk this much as a dragon, are you?"
"I feel it's my responsinility to tell you these things." Gabrielle forced herself to keep her hands in her lap, away from the offered sword. "Dragons are telepathic. You know that bond I have with Xena? How we are soulmates?"
"Yeah. I know all about that." Ares said. "It's what stops Xena from coming back to me."
"Well, I had always thought she was the one with the power. I mean, she always seems to know when I'm in danger and rescues me. When Xena had gone to Chin, she had learned this mysterious power from Lao Ma. I had thought it was this power that had created our strong bond. For you see, it was very hard at first living as a human. Too hard. So I forced myself to forget I was a dragon. And it had worked. I truely had no idea! Yet I guess enough of my dragon powers had leaked out to create a telepathic bond with Xena. But everything that has happened recently has caused me to remember."
"So, you're saying you might form a telepathic bond with me?" Ares asked. He had not known dragons were telepathic. The old scroll had not mentioned that. But then again, this dragon was from a different world. "You know, I'm not too sure if I like the idea of you snooping around inside my head. Besides, after awhile I might end up like Xena, doing all sorts of good deeds and rescuing you all the time. And what would that do to my image?"
"Well, you could not form a bond and maybe end up dead." Gabrielle smiled at Ares.
She could see his face grow pale. Then she got more serious. "Look, Ares. As a dragon I can be quite dangerous. You know that. I would have to be dangerous to take Dahok on and win. But I could be dangerous to you, too."
"All right. We'll do the bond thing." Ares grinned. At first he didn't like the idea of her snooping in his head, but then he realized something. It also meant the dragon couldn't leave him. None of the other Gods would dare plot against him if he had a powerful dragon! "What's the other thing?"
"Have you ever seen a dragon?" Asked Gabrielle.
"Of course not! I just told you before Zues told me they were extinct."
"Well, I can be very scary looking as a dragon."
"Oh, please!" Ares threw his head back and laughed. "I'm Ares, God of War, remember? I've had giant snakes and huge lizards for pets! I love giant reptiles! Besides, I've always wanted a dragon. I've dreamed of that for centuries. I just never really needed one until now. Besides, dear old Dad made the dragon War's chosen beast. So I guess you and me just belong together."
Gabrielle felt her face become red. Ares had emphasized the word "belong". He had lowered his voice and had said it slowly, drawing it out. His face had been just a few inches from hers. Her heart was beating rapidly again.
"Come on, take it." Ares offered her the hilt of his sword again. "Just think how much fun we could have! I always wanted to get that show-off Apollo. He's always flying around on that stupid gold board of his, zooming through the sky. The way he acts, you'd think he owns all the air! Wouldn't you just love to see the look on his face when we fly past him?"
Gabrielle sighed. She could see the only way to get out of this was to change into a dragon and bond with Ares. How was she going to explain all this to Xena? Oddly enough, the dragon part would be easy. The bond with Ares would be the difficult part!
With a shaking hand, Gabrielle reached for the sword and took it from Ares. Instantly she could feel the power rushing through her body, filling every cell with magic. It was the most intense feeling she had ever felt. The power collected in her chest and began to build. All the arcane knowledge trapped in her mind for so long opened to her. She remembered facts, spells, names, ancient languages and so much more. She could instantly see Dahok's invisible shield surrounding the cave that had prevented Ares from popping out. It was a strongly woven spell, but Gabrielle saw she could easily get around it with a magic doorway. She let the power build more and then she began to change.
To be continued...
