Gabrielle didn't know what to think. She had been so sure both Xena and
Discord had made it up. But now Ares had admitted it. She wasn't sure how
to feel about it at all. Did it mean Ares didn't really love her at all?
That he was only dating her because his mother had told him to? Or maybe he
really did love her after all?
And what was she doing, dating a God? He was a GOD!
"I really do love you, Gabrielle." Ares said, a worried expression on his face. "And I don't want to loose you now that I just found you. Please give me a chance. I know how it must sound to you. But I assure you my feelings are real. I never felt like this before. I could have lied to you just now, I could have said that my mother had nothing to do with this. But I didn't. I told you the truth, even if it means that I might loose you. But I hope I won't. I want our relationship to be built on trust and honesty. I guess Hercules is right. You are a good influence on me. And you have no idea how hard it is for me to admit that he's right about anything."
"I had a fun day, Ares, but I need to think about this." Gabrielle rose to her feet and headed towards the boardwalk. It had just struck her what she was really doing. All along she had seen Ares more or less as another man. Oh, she of course knew he was a God, but she never really thought of it much. Just seeing him had given her a thrill and she had hoped someday he might notice her. But now he had and Hera was involved.
Hera, the Queen of the Gods!
Gabrielle paled at the thought. She never even thought Hera knew she existed and now she wanted her to marry her son! It suddenly had just become so, so.. REAL. She would probably have to become a Goddess. What would that be like? Would she be able to handle it? The powers and the never aging and all that? To see the future not extending a few decades but into forever? It seemed scary!
And all her friends ... she would loose them. They would grow old and die before her very eyes. That would be very hard. But Ares would be by her side.
Wouldn't he?
Gabrielle walked down the street until she reached an Inn and rented a room. She needed someplace quite to think about all this. Up in her room, which was on the second floor, she sat down on the bed to think. But her thoughts were all jumbled together and she wasn't really getting anywhere. A big part of the problem was lack of information. She had no idea what it was like being a God. If she accepted, what would her life be like? Besides talking to a few Gods, seeing them pop in and out, or throw fireballs, she knew almost nothing about how they actually lived. Did she want to be one of them?
She didn't know.
"I need to ask someone, someone that knows." Pleased with her decision, Gabrielle rose from the bed. "Aphrodite!"
"Hi, Sweet Pea!" Aphrodite appeared in a flash of pink rose petals, a big smile on her face. The petals floated to the floor and winked out in a trail of white sparkles. "Do you like my new entrance? I've been working on it. Oh, you look so stressed out! Tell me your problems and Aphrodite will fix them!"
"Well, it's about Ares." Gabrielle started to explain as she sat back down on the bed.
"I am so happy for you!" Aphrodite squealed with delight. "Ar is totally crazy about you. Really, he is! It's been ages since he did anything but plot wars or sit in that dark temple of his! But you actually got him out and doing stuff, sitting on a beach! You are so good for him!"
"Yes, I realize that." Gabrielle looked at Aphrodite. The scantily clad Goddess had been her friend now for several years. She was a bit of an airhead at times, but she had a good heart. "But I need your advice now."
Aphrodite's face fell. "Don't you love Ar?"
"Of course I do!" Gabrielle added quickly. "But he said Hera told him to date me. Is that true?"
"Of course it is. Hera approves of you. And that's good!" Dite squealed again, putting her hands together and hopping. "Oh, I just LOVE weddings! We need to figure out what you're going to wear!"
Gabrielle jumped off the bed and marched across the floor. "I'm not marrying anyone yet! Aphrodite, this is a big decision. The fact that Hera approves of me means it's just so much more .. real. The approval will go through and I'd have to become a Goddess. Except I have no idea what it's like to be a Goddess."
"And that's the problem?" Aphrodite asked, a fingernail in her mouth.
"Yes! I have no idea what Gods DO all day! And they live so long. I don't know if I could handle that. What if it drives me crazy or something?" Gabrielle walked to the balcony doors and opened them. The fresh sea air blew in, stirring her long hair. This Inn was so fancy. To her, after the fleatraps she and Xena usually stayed at, this place was a palace. What would Mount Olympus be like?
"But you'll love being a Goddess!" Aphrodite said as she followed her mortal friend out onto the balcony. "Why, just look at this gritty place! Olympus is SO much nicer! And you'll never get gray hair or wrinkles or anything like that! It'll be so cool!"
"I don't know, Aphrodite." Gabrielle leaned against the railing, watching the ships pull into the harbor for the night. The sky was already turning a brilliant pinkish orange as the sun sunk lower into the cold sea. Apollo must be up there doing his job. "I just don't know if I could handle being a Goddess."
"Well, being married to Ar wouldn't be much different from being married to another man." Dite tried to point out, a comforting arm around her shoulder. "And becoming a Goddess is simple. You just eat Ambrosia. That's simple enough to do. Look, why don't you just come and visit Olympus one of these days? It won't be so scary then, you know? Sort of meet people and see how things are."
"That sounds like a good idea." Gabrielle admitted. Then the thought of meeting his parents crossed her mind and she paled even more.
What did one say to the King and Queen of the Gods???
*****
Ares watched Gabrielle walk away and his heart sank. "I shouldn't have kissed her like that. Now I'm going to loose her! She might think that I really don't love her, that I'm only after her body."
Picking up his bag of art supplies, Ares popped off to his favorite temple. He had just dropped the bag of supplies on the stone floor and was going to head for his throne when he stopped dead in his tracks.
Xena was lounging on his throne! The Warrior Princess was still wearing the tight red dress that clung to her like a second skin. Her black hair trailed over one arm of the chair, almost reaching the floor. Both legs were propped up on the other arm, her toes pointed towards the ceiling high above. Spotting him, she pouted at him. "It's about time you got here. I was beginning to get lonely."
"What the heck are you doing here?" Ares asked, annoyed. His dark eyes stared at her.
"Waiting for you." Xena replied as she shifted her position. She sat up, curling her legs on the seat of the throne. "Get off your high horse, Ares. You know you don't really want to marry Gabrielle. It wouldn't be any fun. She wouldn't be able to make you happy the way I could. Just think of the things we could do together, you and I. We could paint the world red!"
"There's more to life than just war, Xena." Ares stated.
"Oh, I know!" Xena grinned wickedly as she slid off the throne. Slowly walking up to him, she placed her hands on his chest. One hand snaked upward and she twirled his black hair around her finger. "We could do all sorts of things together, just like you always dreamed. But we could have the wars, too. Just think of it, Ares! I'll be riding out in front of your army, your banner fluttering in the wind behind me! And as your Queen, I'll be undefeated! Think of the power you'd have then. Enough power to throw that old coot off his thrown! Then we'd really rule the world together, you and me!"
Ares tried to concentrate, but it was difficult with Xena breathing in his face. "You made it very clear you don't love me, Xena."
"Oh, but I do!" Xena walked behind him and came around the other side. Standing in front of him once again, she poked him in the chest with a finger. "I was playing hard to get. You were supposed to come back. You. Didn't. Come. Back."
Ares gripped Xena's hand, taking it off his chest. "You don't demean someone you love, Xena."
"Aaahhh, I didn't mean all those things I said!" Xena said in a soothing voice, trying to free her hand from Ares' iron grip. "You know that. I was just playing!"
"I admire your skills as a warrior, Xena, but your trying my patience." Ares told her, his voice hard. "Stop interfering in my relationship with Gabrielle. This is the only time I'm going to warn you."
With that, he threw Xena's hand down and popped out. Xena stood alone in Ares dark temple, frowning. Maybe her little friend was already putting out for him. "He can't really love Gabrielle, could he?"
Xena turned around to leave the temple and almost walked into Strife. The annoying pale faced God was standing directly in her path, a stupid smile on his face. "Get out of my way."
"What's the rush?" Strife asked. "Uncle Ares may not want you anymore, but I'm here!"
Disgusted, Xena shoved Strife to the floor and stormed out of the temple into the night. The last thing she needed was to have that creep following her around!
And what was she doing, dating a God? He was a GOD!
"I really do love you, Gabrielle." Ares said, a worried expression on his face. "And I don't want to loose you now that I just found you. Please give me a chance. I know how it must sound to you. But I assure you my feelings are real. I never felt like this before. I could have lied to you just now, I could have said that my mother had nothing to do with this. But I didn't. I told you the truth, even if it means that I might loose you. But I hope I won't. I want our relationship to be built on trust and honesty. I guess Hercules is right. You are a good influence on me. And you have no idea how hard it is for me to admit that he's right about anything."
"I had a fun day, Ares, but I need to think about this." Gabrielle rose to her feet and headed towards the boardwalk. It had just struck her what she was really doing. All along she had seen Ares more or less as another man. Oh, she of course knew he was a God, but she never really thought of it much. Just seeing him had given her a thrill and she had hoped someday he might notice her. But now he had and Hera was involved.
Hera, the Queen of the Gods!
Gabrielle paled at the thought. She never even thought Hera knew she existed and now she wanted her to marry her son! It suddenly had just become so, so.. REAL. She would probably have to become a Goddess. What would that be like? Would she be able to handle it? The powers and the never aging and all that? To see the future not extending a few decades but into forever? It seemed scary!
And all her friends ... she would loose them. They would grow old and die before her very eyes. That would be very hard. But Ares would be by her side.
Wouldn't he?
Gabrielle walked down the street until she reached an Inn and rented a room. She needed someplace quite to think about all this. Up in her room, which was on the second floor, she sat down on the bed to think. But her thoughts were all jumbled together and she wasn't really getting anywhere. A big part of the problem was lack of information. She had no idea what it was like being a God. If she accepted, what would her life be like? Besides talking to a few Gods, seeing them pop in and out, or throw fireballs, she knew almost nothing about how they actually lived. Did she want to be one of them?
She didn't know.
"I need to ask someone, someone that knows." Pleased with her decision, Gabrielle rose from the bed. "Aphrodite!"
"Hi, Sweet Pea!" Aphrodite appeared in a flash of pink rose petals, a big smile on her face. The petals floated to the floor and winked out in a trail of white sparkles. "Do you like my new entrance? I've been working on it. Oh, you look so stressed out! Tell me your problems and Aphrodite will fix them!"
"Well, it's about Ares." Gabrielle started to explain as she sat back down on the bed.
"I am so happy for you!" Aphrodite squealed with delight. "Ar is totally crazy about you. Really, he is! It's been ages since he did anything but plot wars or sit in that dark temple of his! But you actually got him out and doing stuff, sitting on a beach! You are so good for him!"
"Yes, I realize that." Gabrielle looked at Aphrodite. The scantily clad Goddess had been her friend now for several years. She was a bit of an airhead at times, but she had a good heart. "But I need your advice now."
Aphrodite's face fell. "Don't you love Ar?"
"Of course I do!" Gabrielle added quickly. "But he said Hera told him to date me. Is that true?"
"Of course it is. Hera approves of you. And that's good!" Dite squealed again, putting her hands together and hopping. "Oh, I just LOVE weddings! We need to figure out what you're going to wear!"
Gabrielle jumped off the bed and marched across the floor. "I'm not marrying anyone yet! Aphrodite, this is a big decision. The fact that Hera approves of me means it's just so much more .. real. The approval will go through and I'd have to become a Goddess. Except I have no idea what it's like to be a Goddess."
"And that's the problem?" Aphrodite asked, a fingernail in her mouth.
"Yes! I have no idea what Gods DO all day! And they live so long. I don't know if I could handle that. What if it drives me crazy or something?" Gabrielle walked to the balcony doors and opened them. The fresh sea air blew in, stirring her long hair. This Inn was so fancy. To her, after the fleatraps she and Xena usually stayed at, this place was a palace. What would Mount Olympus be like?
"But you'll love being a Goddess!" Aphrodite said as she followed her mortal friend out onto the balcony. "Why, just look at this gritty place! Olympus is SO much nicer! And you'll never get gray hair or wrinkles or anything like that! It'll be so cool!"
"I don't know, Aphrodite." Gabrielle leaned against the railing, watching the ships pull into the harbor for the night. The sky was already turning a brilliant pinkish orange as the sun sunk lower into the cold sea. Apollo must be up there doing his job. "I just don't know if I could handle being a Goddess."
"Well, being married to Ar wouldn't be much different from being married to another man." Dite tried to point out, a comforting arm around her shoulder. "And becoming a Goddess is simple. You just eat Ambrosia. That's simple enough to do. Look, why don't you just come and visit Olympus one of these days? It won't be so scary then, you know? Sort of meet people and see how things are."
"That sounds like a good idea." Gabrielle admitted. Then the thought of meeting his parents crossed her mind and she paled even more.
What did one say to the King and Queen of the Gods???
*****
Ares watched Gabrielle walk away and his heart sank. "I shouldn't have kissed her like that. Now I'm going to loose her! She might think that I really don't love her, that I'm only after her body."
Picking up his bag of art supplies, Ares popped off to his favorite temple. He had just dropped the bag of supplies on the stone floor and was going to head for his throne when he stopped dead in his tracks.
Xena was lounging on his throne! The Warrior Princess was still wearing the tight red dress that clung to her like a second skin. Her black hair trailed over one arm of the chair, almost reaching the floor. Both legs were propped up on the other arm, her toes pointed towards the ceiling high above. Spotting him, she pouted at him. "It's about time you got here. I was beginning to get lonely."
"What the heck are you doing here?" Ares asked, annoyed. His dark eyes stared at her.
"Waiting for you." Xena replied as she shifted her position. She sat up, curling her legs on the seat of the throne. "Get off your high horse, Ares. You know you don't really want to marry Gabrielle. It wouldn't be any fun. She wouldn't be able to make you happy the way I could. Just think of the things we could do together, you and I. We could paint the world red!"
"There's more to life than just war, Xena." Ares stated.
"Oh, I know!" Xena grinned wickedly as she slid off the throne. Slowly walking up to him, she placed her hands on his chest. One hand snaked upward and she twirled his black hair around her finger. "We could do all sorts of things together, just like you always dreamed. But we could have the wars, too. Just think of it, Ares! I'll be riding out in front of your army, your banner fluttering in the wind behind me! And as your Queen, I'll be undefeated! Think of the power you'd have then. Enough power to throw that old coot off his thrown! Then we'd really rule the world together, you and me!"
Ares tried to concentrate, but it was difficult with Xena breathing in his face. "You made it very clear you don't love me, Xena."
"Oh, but I do!" Xena walked behind him and came around the other side. Standing in front of him once again, she poked him in the chest with a finger. "I was playing hard to get. You were supposed to come back. You. Didn't. Come. Back."
Ares gripped Xena's hand, taking it off his chest. "You don't demean someone you love, Xena."
"Aaahhh, I didn't mean all those things I said!" Xena said in a soothing voice, trying to free her hand from Ares' iron grip. "You know that. I was just playing!"
"I admire your skills as a warrior, Xena, but your trying my patience." Ares told her, his voice hard. "Stop interfering in my relationship with Gabrielle. This is the only time I'm going to warn you."
With that, he threw Xena's hand down and popped out. Xena stood alone in Ares dark temple, frowning. Maybe her little friend was already putting out for him. "He can't really love Gabrielle, could he?"
Xena turned around to leave the temple and almost walked into Strife. The annoying pale faced God was standing directly in her path, a stupid smile on his face. "Get out of my way."
"What's the rush?" Strife asked. "Uncle Ares may not want you anymore, but I'm here!"
Disgusted, Xena shoved Strife to the floor and stormed out of the temple into the night. The last thing she needed was to have that creep following her around!