Ares appeared a few seconds later in his temple, rubbing at his forehead.
Filled with nervous energy, Ares began to pace up and back.
"What am I going to do? I know Gabrielle hates me! She hates war and killing and fighting. She must think I'm some cold, heartless monster who enjoys nothing but murdering helpless innocents. She just doesn't understand...."
Inside his head, Ares heard his mother's commanding voice, telling him to MAKE her understand.
"Easy for you to say, Mom!" Ares moaned. "I don't have the slightest idea how to do that! In fact, we don't even have anything in common!"
The more Ares thought about it, the worst his problem became. What WAS he going to talk to Gabrielle about? Because if the bard loved anything, it was talking! And he realized he had no idea what to say to her. And he just couldn't let her do all the talking, could he?
And what about Xena?
Ugh! His mother had created this huge mess and dropped it into his lap!
Frustration welled up inside him and Ares flung a lightning bolt at a statue in the corner of his temple. He watched as it exploded into a million sharp shards of stone, the bits and pieces clattering noisily onto the floor. The War God took deep breaths to calm himself. He was letting his mother get the best of him, he had let her work him up into this frenzy of nerves. It was the same way that Hercules often got under his skin, like an annoying insect biting him.
"What the heck am I so worried about anyway? She's just another woman and I know how to handle those. Why should she be any different?" Feeling more like himself, Ares laughed off the rest of his nervousness. He was being such a fool! In fact, he was acting just like one of those mortal teenage males that got all tongue tied the moment they saw a pretty girl! Being grateful that no other Olympian God had witnessed his foolishness, he felt ready to take his first step toward his new goal.
A grin spread across his lips as he examined himself in a mirror. He looked good and he knew it. If the bard had even half the brain and she must have more brains than Xena to write all those scrolls, then she must know it, too.
Then a flash of doubt crept into his mind and the smile faded.
What if Gabrielle spent too much time with her scrolls? What if she never noticed how good he looked or how hard he worked out to keep his body looking this way?
Ares shook his head violently, his black curls flying around his face and stinging his dark eyes. "Positive, think positive. She will say yes, she will say yes...."
Gods, what had Hera done to him? He was the God of War! And here he was acting like some mortal! He hated feeling so weak, so helpless. Snarling, Ares popped off to face the source of his biggest problem yet. He just wouldn't give her the option of saying "no".
****
Gabrielle rested under a tall oak tree, writing in her scroll. Her back was pressed against the warm rough bark and her legs were pressed together to form a crude table for her unrolled scroll. Two packs of gear rested nearby. Except for Argo a few feet away nibbling on grass, she was alone. Xena had gone off to catch a few fish for their supper. She paused for a minute and nibbled the tip of the feather pen. She wanted to word it just right, it had to sound elegant and professional. "Hmm.... How should I word it?"
A flash of light assaulted her eyes and Gabrielle looked up to see Ares. The handsome War God stood in front of her, staring down at her. Gabrielle was quite surprised because Ares didn't normally pop in right in front of her. Normally he came to see Xena and her friend did her best to keep Ares away from her. Gabrielle's heart sped up a beat just looking at him. His dark tangled hair was more wild looking than normal and his nostrils flared with every breath. His wide chest expanded as he breathed and she could see a hint of dark curls where his leather vest parted. He flexed and unflexed his muscles as his eyes darted around the clearing.
"If you're looking for Xena, she's at the pond fishing." Gabrielle offered. She had no idea why Ares seemed so nervous, but it wasn't any of her business. Yet her curiosity was piqued. A part of her hoped Ares would tell her his problems, not Xena. Besides, Xena had made it perfectly clear many times that she didn't care for Ares anyway. Why couldn't he see that? Why, if given the opportunity, Xena would give him a good kick!
"I didn't come to see Xena. I came to see you." Ares blurted out.
"Me?" Gabrielle gasped. Now she really was confused. Gabrielle climbed to her feet and tried to look him in his eyes, but it was a bit difficult as he was at least a head taller than she was. "Why did you come to see me?"
"Well....there's something I need to ask you." Ares said. His fingers played nervously over the hilt of his sword as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. At least he kept both boots firmly planted on the ground and he hoped Gabrielle didn't notice how weird he was acting!
"What do you want to ask?" Gabrielle couldn't imagine why Ares was acting so nervous! All the other times she had seen him, she had admired how calm and confident he was, so sure of himself. Why, even when she had accidentally changed him into a mortal he had been calm about it. Something or someone must have really shook him up. Hmmm... his behavior seemed almost familiar, but where had she seen it? Gabrielle forgetfully twined a lock of her blonde hair around her finger and started to play with it as she thought. A moment later it ended up in her mouth and she started to chew on it.
Ares mind went blank as he watched her.
Yikes! She chews on her hair!!
Gabrielle could feel the answer almost on the tip of her tongue. Then her eyes went wide and she stopped in mid chew. Oh no! She was chewing her hair in front of Ares! What would he think? The possible answer fled from her mind as red creeped up into her face and she quickly flicked her long hair behind her shoulders.
Before either of them could say anything, footsteps crunched on the gravel path and Xena appeared with a handful of fish. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of Ares and she hurried forward.
Without a single word, Ares flashed out.
"What did he want?" Xena immediately asked, suspicion clear in her voice.
"I don't know. He didn't say." Gabrielle replied honestly.
"Why are you so red?" Xena asked as she tossed the fish onto the ground. "He didn't make one of his indecent proposals, did he?"
"No, I told you he didn't say anything! He just appeared and then you came and he left! He wasn't here long enough to say anything!" Gabrielle huffed and dropped onto the ground. She gripped a fish too tightly and it popped right out of her hand. Scooping it up again, she started to clean it with her knife, almost hacking at it. It wasn't fair! Ares had wanted to tell her something and Xena had scared him off before he had said whatever it was. Gabrielle forced herself to calm down and she worked on the fish like she normally would. The everyday work soothed her. "And if I'm red, I guess I was too much in the sun."
"Well, he has been known to make such deals." Xena told her. "Are you sure he didn't say anything of that nature?"
"No, Xena. I told you he didn't say anything." Gabrielle replied. She knew she could never tell Xena the real reason she had been so red. Her friend would never understand. How could she explain what she felt at every glimpse of him, how her heart skipped a beat?
Gabrielle finished preparing the fish. After she cooked them, they ate in silence. Xena was apparently satisfied with her answer about Ares, but Gabrielle's mind kept trying to guess what he had wanted. Then the answer hit her.
Ares was in love with her!
Gabrielle grinned at the idea and laughed when Xena gave her a funny look. The big bad God of War was in love with her and didn't have the slightest clue what to do about it! She never imagined a God could get tongue-tied or act that way, yet he had. Too bad Xena had scared him off, because he might not have the nerve to try asking her again. She had to do something, but what?
"Xena," Gabrielle said as she watched Xena toss another stick onto the fire. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can." Xena replied. The Warrior Princess noted her friend's odd outburst of laughter, yet it didn't worry her too much. Gabrielle often did weird things or got weird ideas. Xena always marked it down to the bard in her, wanting to know useless things like why the sky was blue and the grass green. She was keeping an eye out for Ares, but so far the God had not returned and Xena was relieved. She hoped he would continue to stay away. The last thing she needed was for him to be messing with Gabrielle's mind.
"What do you do if there's a guy you like and he doesn't seem to notice you? Or maybe he does and just doesn't say anything?" Gabrielle asked, hoping her question wasn't too transparent. Not too long ago they had seen Hercules and Iolaus, not to mention Joxer, so maybe Xena might think she meant one of them.
"A guy, huh?" Xena was relieved that Gabrielle was curious about a normal thing and not asking questions about Ares, Ares and his deals. "Well, I've always been the aggressive one in a relationship. If there's something I want, I just go and grab it. You have to let him know or some guys won't never figure it out."
"Go and grab him, huh?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yeah." Xena replied as she tossed a finale branch on the fire, then stretched out on her blanket to go to sleep.
Giggling filled the night air as Gabrielle imagined flinging a loop of rope around Ares' shoulders to 'grab him'. She didn't think he would take to kindly to that, but it sure looked funny in her mind's eye! Determined to think of something more workable tomorrow, Gabrielle drifted off to sleep with the crazy image in her head.
*** Ares reappeared in his temple and smashed his fist against the wall. The dark gray stone shattered under the War God's fist and a hole appeared.
"I can't believe I did that!" Ares howled at the empty room, his voice echoing. "I saw Xena coming and I ran like a coward! How pathetic."
Sauntering over to his chair, Ares collapsed into it and settled into his favorite position. Right now he didn't care if slouching with a leg thrown over the arm of the chair was bad for his back. He needed to do some serious thinking. If he was going to win Gabrielle, he had to understand his own odd behavior first.
One, he certainly wasn't scared of women, so that wasn't it. There was no way the Bard could hurt him, even if she did use her staff. And he had been with women before, like when he had made that deal with Nemesis.
"Of course, I can't make such a deal with Gabrielle. She'd never go for it." Ares muttered to himself. He remembered the deal with Nemesis. Hera had taken Nemesis' powers away and had made her mortal for refusing to obey commands given to her. The ex-goddess had been terrified of being mortal and all that entailed. So Ares had offered to make her a Goddess again if she gave him a child. Nemesis had agreed. But after his son, Evander, had been born Nemesis had taken the baby and ran away. His do-gooder brother had gotten involved and he never did get his son back.
"Hmmm....maybe that's part of my problem right there." Ares mused as he stroked his beard. "I'm used to doing things a certain way and I know that way won't work with Gabrielle. So I'm resisting change. And Xena does complicate matters a bit. So if I can't offer her a deal, how do I go about it? How do mortals do these things, anyway?"
Ares realized he had no idea. He had been always too busy dealing with wars to notice any mortal dating habits. Killing was more his thing, he had to admit. And he really threw himself into his job. Besides, being the God of War took a lot of time. But relationships took a lot of time, too. And if he was going to have a relationship with Gabrielle, he better figure out the correct way to do it this time!
"At least I didn't mention a deal." Ares said to the empty room. In fact, he thought he knew Gabrielle well enough to know how she would react to such a thing. Her green eyes would widen and her face would turn bright red from embarrassment, then her hand would slam into his face. Or maybe she would kick him in the leg. The important thing was that she would feel insulted and most likely would never forgive him for asking such a thing!
His mind wondered back to the day when he had been mortal. The would-be warrior, Joxer, had the same problem he had and had asked Aphrodite for advice. What had his birdbrained sister said?
"Flowers...." Ares whispered as he pulled up the information from some dark corner of his brain. "Flowers and presents."
Ares still felt his was missing a large chunk of the problem, mainly concerning his odd behavior around Gabrielle. He refused to believe he was actually scared of the little bard!
"Or am I?" He asked himself. "Maybe I'm scared of what she might say, of rejection. But why should that worry me? Unless...."
The idea was crazy, but it was like the sun going super nova in his head. Once he had thought of it, he couldn't just tuck it back away in some deep corner and ignore it. What if it was true? Could his mother be right after all?
Was he in love with Gabrielle?
"So maybe I am." Ares admitted as he relaxed on his throne, gazing up at the ceiling high above him. "The question is, what am I going to do about it?"
Sighing, Ares got up off the chair. He was going to need some flowers. Perhaps some red roses. Or a single red rose. He didn't want to ruin his big bad War God image by showing up with too many flowers. Word might get around and then no one would fear him. But a single flower, red like freshly spilled blood, should be OK. Especially if he delivered it in the dark of night.
Ares laughed. He liked the idea! This time he was going to talk with Gabrielle and he wouldn't let Xena scare him off. In fact, he decided he didn't care what the Warrior Princess would say. Or do. He knew now the love of his life was waiting for him below and all he had to do was go down there.
Popping down to the outskirts of Thebes, he studied the roses in Alchmane's garden. He may not care for Hercules or his mother, but he admitted the woman knew how to grow flowers. And with the profusion of blooms spilling out everywhere, she would never miss one. Besides, this was important! Choosing a rose only partly opened, he plucked it carefully so it had a long stem. Then he used his powers to remove all the sharp thorns. He wouldn't want his future bride to hurt herself.
But deep down inside, he still felt uncertain. Oh, he knew he loved Gabrielle. What else could this odd feeling be? His mother must have sensed it somehow and just redirected him in the right direction. But did she love him?
"I guess I won't know that until I ask her."
"Know what?" a voice asked him as a light appeared. An older woman with long grayish hair held a glass, six sided lantern in the doorway of her home. She wore a pale blue night robe that reached her ankles. "And what are you doing out here, stealing flowers from my garden? Don't they have roses up on Mount Olympus?"
Ares wasn't really surprised that Alchmane knew who he was. He had met her long ago, the very first time he had tried to kill Hercules. He had pretended he was a traveler that had fallen off his horse. Alchmane had taken him in and tended to his arm. He had given her a large ruby red chalice, not telling her the chalice really belonged to Hera and that it was the thing protecting Hercules. But when her over zealous son had taken Hera's chalice from the phoenix cave, he had lost Zeus' protection. Anyway, Hercules had shown up and told his mother who he really was. If he remembered correctly, Alchmane had kicked him in the leg and smashed a metal tray on his back. The woman had spunk!
Now he looked back on his past deeds and felt ashamed of how he had tricked her. But then, Hercules had started it by stealing from his treasure cave. Of course, being older he should have known better, but it annoyed him something awful that his half mortal brother would dare steal from a God!
"I just need a single flower." Ares told her as he held the flower in one hand, feeling a bit foolish at being caught with it. And guilty for just taking it without asking. "I'll pay you, of course."
"Oh, certainly not! Zeus knows I have enough of them!" Alchmane laughed as she hung the lantern on a hook designed for that purpose and went on sat on a stone bench near her garden. She looked up at Ares, a half smile on her face. "So who's the lucky girl?"
"What?" Ares asked, confused by Alchmane's behavior. He noted that she was unarmed and there was not a single trace of fear in her eyes. Surprise, yes, but no fear. He had to admit he was used to mortals fearing him. Only a select few didn't.
"Ah, you're wondering why I'm not scared of you, right?" Alchmane said as she swung her arm at him. "If the Gods wanted to harm me, they would have done so long ago. You know that, Ares. Yes, I know you and my son don't get along very well, but then Hercules is often bullheaded. He hasn't always done the right things, especially when he was younger. If people didn't make mistakes, how would they ever learn anything?"
Ares was astonished and his face showed his surprise. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
"I'm a mother, how else! Mothers know these things." Alchmane laughed. "Just like I know you must have a girlfriend somewhere. So who is she? A Goddess? Of course, it's none of my business really. And you're welcome to more flowers if you want."
"And you don't resent me, for all these years trying to kill your son?" Ares asked, surprised Hercules' mother was being so generous to him, of all people.
"No, that's between you and Hercules. And hating someone never gets you anywhere. It'll only lead to unhappiness and eventually destroys your life. But I'm sure as a God you know all these things. I'm sure I must be boring you." Alchmane sighed as she stared out over her blooming garden of flowers. She had spent years on her garden, designing it, enlarging it and picking just the right combination of flowers and colors. It kept her busy after Hercules had left for the Academy and the long years afterward, when he was away helping others. "I just wish my son would learn that. It seems he can forgive total strangers for wrongs they do but not his own family."
Although Alchmane was just a mortal, it was clear to Ares she was extremely wise. And she seemed willing to talk to him, even after all he had done to her son. Perhaps she could give her some advice. "Her name is Gabrielle."
"Oh, is she a Goddess? I never heard of her." Alchmane replied, smiling up at Ares.
"She's a mortal." Ares admitted as he shifted weight from one foot to the other. He wasn't used to telling private things to anyone, certainly not Hercules' mother! But yet he needed advice on how to go about this from a mortal, as Gabrielle was a mortal. "I must admit I haven't figured out how to go about this yet."
"Do you love her?" Alchmane asked.
"I'm not sure." Ares admitted. "I have never been in love so how would I know?"
"Well, do you think about her all the time?" she asked.
"Well, I know when I tried to talk to her earlier today, I wasn't my normally cool self." He admitted, remembering how out of character he had behaved. "And I really don't understand it, either. Suddenly I didn't know what to say or do. And I had this oddest sensation in my stomach. I think I was afraid of what she might say."
Alchmane giggled and put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, it's just I didn't expect Gods to get first date jitters! Why, I remember when Hercules and Iolaus had that problem. They couldn't stop making fools of themselves over every pretty girl they saw. They got tongue-tied, had no idea what to say beyond 'Hi' and all sorts of things like that. Of course, they eventually got over it, not that it ever gets any easier really. I just never thought Gods had that problem."
"Well, I never had it until now..." Ares admitted. "Of course, Gabrielle is a lot different from the others I used to see. And I don't see how she could ever like me. I mean, how could she ever love War?"
"Just be yourself and be honest with her." Alchmane advised. She thought it was very strange to be advising a God on love matters, especially this God, but it wasn't the first unexpected event in her life. It appeared once you involved yourself with the Gods, they just kept dropping in for more visits. Oh well, perhaps Ares was trying to improve himself these days - although he was going through adolescence very late! "If she feels the same way, I'm sure she'll tell you."
Ares glanced down at the red rose in his hand. If he was going to visit Gabrielle, he better do so before the flower wilted and dried up. Not really looking forward to the nerve wracking accouter ahead, Ares straightened his back. After taking a deep breath, he popped out.
It was time to go see Gabrielle again.
******
"What am I going to do? I know Gabrielle hates me! She hates war and killing and fighting. She must think I'm some cold, heartless monster who enjoys nothing but murdering helpless innocents. She just doesn't understand...."
Inside his head, Ares heard his mother's commanding voice, telling him to MAKE her understand.
"Easy for you to say, Mom!" Ares moaned. "I don't have the slightest idea how to do that! In fact, we don't even have anything in common!"
The more Ares thought about it, the worst his problem became. What WAS he going to talk to Gabrielle about? Because if the bard loved anything, it was talking! And he realized he had no idea what to say to her. And he just couldn't let her do all the talking, could he?
And what about Xena?
Ugh! His mother had created this huge mess and dropped it into his lap!
Frustration welled up inside him and Ares flung a lightning bolt at a statue in the corner of his temple. He watched as it exploded into a million sharp shards of stone, the bits and pieces clattering noisily onto the floor. The War God took deep breaths to calm himself. He was letting his mother get the best of him, he had let her work him up into this frenzy of nerves. It was the same way that Hercules often got under his skin, like an annoying insect biting him.
"What the heck am I so worried about anyway? She's just another woman and I know how to handle those. Why should she be any different?" Feeling more like himself, Ares laughed off the rest of his nervousness. He was being such a fool! In fact, he was acting just like one of those mortal teenage males that got all tongue tied the moment they saw a pretty girl! Being grateful that no other Olympian God had witnessed his foolishness, he felt ready to take his first step toward his new goal.
A grin spread across his lips as he examined himself in a mirror. He looked good and he knew it. If the bard had even half the brain and she must have more brains than Xena to write all those scrolls, then she must know it, too.
Then a flash of doubt crept into his mind and the smile faded.
What if Gabrielle spent too much time with her scrolls? What if she never noticed how good he looked or how hard he worked out to keep his body looking this way?
Ares shook his head violently, his black curls flying around his face and stinging his dark eyes. "Positive, think positive. She will say yes, she will say yes...."
Gods, what had Hera done to him? He was the God of War! And here he was acting like some mortal! He hated feeling so weak, so helpless. Snarling, Ares popped off to face the source of his biggest problem yet. He just wouldn't give her the option of saying "no".
****
Gabrielle rested under a tall oak tree, writing in her scroll. Her back was pressed against the warm rough bark and her legs were pressed together to form a crude table for her unrolled scroll. Two packs of gear rested nearby. Except for Argo a few feet away nibbling on grass, she was alone. Xena had gone off to catch a few fish for their supper. She paused for a minute and nibbled the tip of the feather pen. She wanted to word it just right, it had to sound elegant and professional. "Hmm.... How should I word it?"
A flash of light assaulted her eyes and Gabrielle looked up to see Ares. The handsome War God stood in front of her, staring down at her. Gabrielle was quite surprised because Ares didn't normally pop in right in front of her. Normally he came to see Xena and her friend did her best to keep Ares away from her. Gabrielle's heart sped up a beat just looking at him. His dark tangled hair was more wild looking than normal and his nostrils flared with every breath. His wide chest expanded as he breathed and she could see a hint of dark curls where his leather vest parted. He flexed and unflexed his muscles as his eyes darted around the clearing.
"If you're looking for Xena, she's at the pond fishing." Gabrielle offered. She had no idea why Ares seemed so nervous, but it wasn't any of her business. Yet her curiosity was piqued. A part of her hoped Ares would tell her his problems, not Xena. Besides, Xena had made it perfectly clear many times that she didn't care for Ares anyway. Why couldn't he see that? Why, if given the opportunity, Xena would give him a good kick!
"I didn't come to see Xena. I came to see you." Ares blurted out.
"Me?" Gabrielle gasped. Now she really was confused. Gabrielle climbed to her feet and tried to look him in his eyes, but it was a bit difficult as he was at least a head taller than she was. "Why did you come to see me?"
"Well....there's something I need to ask you." Ares said. His fingers played nervously over the hilt of his sword as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. At least he kept both boots firmly planted on the ground and he hoped Gabrielle didn't notice how weird he was acting!
"What do you want to ask?" Gabrielle couldn't imagine why Ares was acting so nervous! All the other times she had seen him, she had admired how calm and confident he was, so sure of himself. Why, even when she had accidentally changed him into a mortal he had been calm about it. Something or someone must have really shook him up. Hmmm... his behavior seemed almost familiar, but where had she seen it? Gabrielle forgetfully twined a lock of her blonde hair around her finger and started to play with it as she thought. A moment later it ended up in her mouth and she started to chew on it.
Ares mind went blank as he watched her.
Yikes! She chews on her hair!!
Gabrielle could feel the answer almost on the tip of her tongue. Then her eyes went wide and she stopped in mid chew. Oh no! She was chewing her hair in front of Ares! What would he think? The possible answer fled from her mind as red creeped up into her face and she quickly flicked her long hair behind her shoulders.
Before either of them could say anything, footsteps crunched on the gravel path and Xena appeared with a handful of fish. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of Ares and she hurried forward.
Without a single word, Ares flashed out.
"What did he want?" Xena immediately asked, suspicion clear in her voice.
"I don't know. He didn't say." Gabrielle replied honestly.
"Why are you so red?" Xena asked as she tossed the fish onto the ground. "He didn't make one of his indecent proposals, did he?"
"No, I told you he didn't say anything! He just appeared and then you came and he left! He wasn't here long enough to say anything!" Gabrielle huffed and dropped onto the ground. She gripped a fish too tightly and it popped right out of her hand. Scooping it up again, she started to clean it with her knife, almost hacking at it. It wasn't fair! Ares had wanted to tell her something and Xena had scared him off before he had said whatever it was. Gabrielle forced herself to calm down and she worked on the fish like she normally would. The everyday work soothed her. "And if I'm red, I guess I was too much in the sun."
"Well, he has been known to make such deals." Xena told her. "Are you sure he didn't say anything of that nature?"
"No, Xena. I told you he didn't say anything." Gabrielle replied. She knew she could never tell Xena the real reason she had been so red. Her friend would never understand. How could she explain what she felt at every glimpse of him, how her heart skipped a beat?
Gabrielle finished preparing the fish. After she cooked them, they ate in silence. Xena was apparently satisfied with her answer about Ares, but Gabrielle's mind kept trying to guess what he had wanted. Then the answer hit her.
Ares was in love with her!
Gabrielle grinned at the idea and laughed when Xena gave her a funny look. The big bad God of War was in love with her and didn't have the slightest clue what to do about it! She never imagined a God could get tongue-tied or act that way, yet he had. Too bad Xena had scared him off, because he might not have the nerve to try asking her again. She had to do something, but what?
"Xena," Gabrielle said as she watched Xena toss another stick onto the fire. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can." Xena replied. The Warrior Princess noted her friend's odd outburst of laughter, yet it didn't worry her too much. Gabrielle often did weird things or got weird ideas. Xena always marked it down to the bard in her, wanting to know useless things like why the sky was blue and the grass green. She was keeping an eye out for Ares, but so far the God had not returned and Xena was relieved. She hoped he would continue to stay away. The last thing she needed was for him to be messing with Gabrielle's mind.
"What do you do if there's a guy you like and he doesn't seem to notice you? Or maybe he does and just doesn't say anything?" Gabrielle asked, hoping her question wasn't too transparent. Not too long ago they had seen Hercules and Iolaus, not to mention Joxer, so maybe Xena might think she meant one of them.
"A guy, huh?" Xena was relieved that Gabrielle was curious about a normal thing and not asking questions about Ares, Ares and his deals. "Well, I've always been the aggressive one in a relationship. If there's something I want, I just go and grab it. You have to let him know or some guys won't never figure it out."
"Go and grab him, huh?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yeah." Xena replied as she tossed a finale branch on the fire, then stretched out on her blanket to go to sleep.
Giggling filled the night air as Gabrielle imagined flinging a loop of rope around Ares' shoulders to 'grab him'. She didn't think he would take to kindly to that, but it sure looked funny in her mind's eye! Determined to think of something more workable tomorrow, Gabrielle drifted off to sleep with the crazy image in her head.
*** Ares reappeared in his temple and smashed his fist against the wall. The dark gray stone shattered under the War God's fist and a hole appeared.
"I can't believe I did that!" Ares howled at the empty room, his voice echoing. "I saw Xena coming and I ran like a coward! How pathetic."
Sauntering over to his chair, Ares collapsed into it and settled into his favorite position. Right now he didn't care if slouching with a leg thrown over the arm of the chair was bad for his back. He needed to do some serious thinking. If he was going to win Gabrielle, he had to understand his own odd behavior first.
One, he certainly wasn't scared of women, so that wasn't it. There was no way the Bard could hurt him, even if she did use her staff. And he had been with women before, like when he had made that deal with Nemesis.
"Of course, I can't make such a deal with Gabrielle. She'd never go for it." Ares muttered to himself. He remembered the deal with Nemesis. Hera had taken Nemesis' powers away and had made her mortal for refusing to obey commands given to her. The ex-goddess had been terrified of being mortal and all that entailed. So Ares had offered to make her a Goddess again if she gave him a child. Nemesis had agreed. But after his son, Evander, had been born Nemesis had taken the baby and ran away. His do-gooder brother had gotten involved and he never did get his son back.
"Hmmm....maybe that's part of my problem right there." Ares mused as he stroked his beard. "I'm used to doing things a certain way and I know that way won't work with Gabrielle. So I'm resisting change. And Xena does complicate matters a bit. So if I can't offer her a deal, how do I go about it? How do mortals do these things, anyway?"
Ares realized he had no idea. He had been always too busy dealing with wars to notice any mortal dating habits. Killing was more his thing, he had to admit. And he really threw himself into his job. Besides, being the God of War took a lot of time. But relationships took a lot of time, too. And if he was going to have a relationship with Gabrielle, he better figure out the correct way to do it this time!
"At least I didn't mention a deal." Ares said to the empty room. In fact, he thought he knew Gabrielle well enough to know how she would react to such a thing. Her green eyes would widen and her face would turn bright red from embarrassment, then her hand would slam into his face. Or maybe she would kick him in the leg. The important thing was that she would feel insulted and most likely would never forgive him for asking such a thing!
His mind wondered back to the day when he had been mortal. The would-be warrior, Joxer, had the same problem he had and had asked Aphrodite for advice. What had his birdbrained sister said?
"Flowers...." Ares whispered as he pulled up the information from some dark corner of his brain. "Flowers and presents."
Ares still felt his was missing a large chunk of the problem, mainly concerning his odd behavior around Gabrielle. He refused to believe he was actually scared of the little bard!
"Or am I?" He asked himself. "Maybe I'm scared of what she might say, of rejection. But why should that worry me? Unless...."
The idea was crazy, but it was like the sun going super nova in his head. Once he had thought of it, he couldn't just tuck it back away in some deep corner and ignore it. What if it was true? Could his mother be right after all?
Was he in love with Gabrielle?
"So maybe I am." Ares admitted as he relaxed on his throne, gazing up at the ceiling high above him. "The question is, what am I going to do about it?"
Sighing, Ares got up off the chair. He was going to need some flowers. Perhaps some red roses. Or a single red rose. He didn't want to ruin his big bad War God image by showing up with too many flowers. Word might get around and then no one would fear him. But a single flower, red like freshly spilled blood, should be OK. Especially if he delivered it in the dark of night.
Ares laughed. He liked the idea! This time he was going to talk with Gabrielle and he wouldn't let Xena scare him off. In fact, he decided he didn't care what the Warrior Princess would say. Or do. He knew now the love of his life was waiting for him below and all he had to do was go down there.
Popping down to the outskirts of Thebes, he studied the roses in Alchmane's garden. He may not care for Hercules or his mother, but he admitted the woman knew how to grow flowers. And with the profusion of blooms spilling out everywhere, she would never miss one. Besides, this was important! Choosing a rose only partly opened, he plucked it carefully so it had a long stem. Then he used his powers to remove all the sharp thorns. He wouldn't want his future bride to hurt herself.
But deep down inside, he still felt uncertain. Oh, he knew he loved Gabrielle. What else could this odd feeling be? His mother must have sensed it somehow and just redirected him in the right direction. But did she love him?
"I guess I won't know that until I ask her."
"Know what?" a voice asked him as a light appeared. An older woman with long grayish hair held a glass, six sided lantern in the doorway of her home. She wore a pale blue night robe that reached her ankles. "And what are you doing out here, stealing flowers from my garden? Don't they have roses up on Mount Olympus?"
Ares wasn't really surprised that Alchmane knew who he was. He had met her long ago, the very first time he had tried to kill Hercules. He had pretended he was a traveler that had fallen off his horse. Alchmane had taken him in and tended to his arm. He had given her a large ruby red chalice, not telling her the chalice really belonged to Hera and that it was the thing protecting Hercules. But when her over zealous son had taken Hera's chalice from the phoenix cave, he had lost Zeus' protection. Anyway, Hercules had shown up and told his mother who he really was. If he remembered correctly, Alchmane had kicked him in the leg and smashed a metal tray on his back. The woman had spunk!
Now he looked back on his past deeds and felt ashamed of how he had tricked her. But then, Hercules had started it by stealing from his treasure cave. Of course, being older he should have known better, but it annoyed him something awful that his half mortal brother would dare steal from a God!
"I just need a single flower." Ares told her as he held the flower in one hand, feeling a bit foolish at being caught with it. And guilty for just taking it without asking. "I'll pay you, of course."
"Oh, certainly not! Zeus knows I have enough of them!" Alchmane laughed as she hung the lantern on a hook designed for that purpose and went on sat on a stone bench near her garden. She looked up at Ares, a half smile on her face. "So who's the lucky girl?"
"What?" Ares asked, confused by Alchmane's behavior. He noted that she was unarmed and there was not a single trace of fear in her eyes. Surprise, yes, but no fear. He had to admit he was used to mortals fearing him. Only a select few didn't.
"Ah, you're wondering why I'm not scared of you, right?" Alchmane said as she swung her arm at him. "If the Gods wanted to harm me, they would have done so long ago. You know that, Ares. Yes, I know you and my son don't get along very well, but then Hercules is often bullheaded. He hasn't always done the right things, especially when he was younger. If people didn't make mistakes, how would they ever learn anything?"
Ares was astonished and his face showed his surprise. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
"I'm a mother, how else! Mothers know these things." Alchmane laughed. "Just like I know you must have a girlfriend somewhere. So who is she? A Goddess? Of course, it's none of my business really. And you're welcome to more flowers if you want."
"And you don't resent me, for all these years trying to kill your son?" Ares asked, surprised Hercules' mother was being so generous to him, of all people.
"No, that's between you and Hercules. And hating someone never gets you anywhere. It'll only lead to unhappiness and eventually destroys your life. But I'm sure as a God you know all these things. I'm sure I must be boring you." Alchmane sighed as she stared out over her blooming garden of flowers. She had spent years on her garden, designing it, enlarging it and picking just the right combination of flowers and colors. It kept her busy after Hercules had left for the Academy and the long years afterward, when he was away helping others. "I just wish my son would learn that. It seems he can forgive total strangers for wrongs they do but not his own family."
Although Alchmane was just a mortal, it was clear to Ares she was extremely wise. And she seemed willing to talk to him, even after all he had done to her son. Perhaps she could give her some advice. "Her name is Gabrielle."
"Oh, is she a Goddess? I never heard of her." Alchmane replied, smiling up at Ares.
"She's a mortal." Ares admitted as he shifted weight from one foot to the other. He wasn't used to telling private things to anyone, certainly not Hercules' mother! But yet he needed advice on how to go about this from a mortal, as Gabrielle was a mortal. "I must admit I haven't figured out how to go about this yet."
"Do you love her?" Alchmane asked.
"I'm not sure." Ares admitted. "I have never been in love so how would I know?"
"Well, do you think about her all the time?" she asked.
"Well, I know when I tried to talk to her earlier today, I wasn't my normally cool self." He admitted, remembering how out of character he had behaved. "And I really don't understand it, either. Suddenly I didn't know what to say or do. And I had this oddest sensation in my stomach. I think I was afraid of what she might say."
Alchmane giggled and put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, it's just I didn't expect Gods to get first date jitters! Why, I remember when Hercules and Iolaus had that problem. They couldn't stop making fools of themselves over every pretty girl they saw. They got tongue-tied, had no idea what to say beyond 'Hi' and all sorts of things like that. Of course, they eventually got over it, not that it ever gets any easier really. I just never thought Gods had that problem."
"Well, I never had it until now..." Ares admitted. "Of course, Gabrielle is a lot different from the others I used to see. And I don't see how she could ever like me. I mean, how could she ever love War?"
"Just be yourself and be honest with her." Alchmane advised. She thought it was very strange to be advising a God on love matters, especially this God, but it wasn't the first unexpected event in her life. It appeared once you involved yourself with the Gods, they just kept dropping in for more visits. Oh well, perhaps Ares was trying to improve himself these days - although he was going through adolescence very late! "If she feels the same way, I'm sure she'll tell you."
Ares glanced down at the red rose in his hand. If he was going to visit Gabrielle, he better do so before the flower wilted and dried up. Not really looking forward to the nerve wracking accouter ahead, Ares straightened his back. After taking a deep breath, he popped out.
It was time to go see Gabrielle again.
******