I instantly rushed by her side, heart thudding in my ears. The pressure in my head was immense!
"Xena?! What happened? Are you ok?!" I suddenly heard myself screaming while I somehow leaped through the air as if there had been no space separating us, a thousand questions whirling inside my head at the same time…How could I have been sleeping all this time? Why didn't she wake me up?...and most importantly, how comes Ares was with her?!
Speaking about that jerk, it was he who brought me back to reality with his trademark, acid tone. He could be such an insensitive bastard sometimes- sometimes meaning all the time, just so that you can have a clear enough picture of him….And yeah, I hate him! I could never possibly understand how Xena does it...Spending more than five minutes in his company, is pure torture! He's incredibly irritating! Beyond irritating actually….more like unbearably exasperating….
" Does she look ok to you, Snoring Beauty?!"
" Why didn't you wake me up?! " I asked, fully ignoring the jerk's stupid comment. He wasn't worth it…
"To do what? Read her a story…? Sing her a song…? You're a bard not a doctor!" he laughed in my face.
" And what...? Have you taken over Apollo's attributions as well, without me knowing it, or something ?! " I finally snapped. The imbecile! I couldn't stand him if my life depended on it!
" Well, what can I say? Unlike you, you insignificant mortal woman- and this might come as a surprise to you, I know- " he added, sounding even more sarcastic than moments before, if that was even possible " …I'm a God! Gods have powers….and knowledge. Get it?"
"Actually the only thing I get, is that you seem to turn more and more stupid with each passing month! " I barked, and I could just swear that for any decent human being that would have been the ultimate insult. He didn't seem to give a damn about my derisive line though, for he just kept cleaning Xena's wound.
For reasons that I couldn't possibly allow myself to consider- let alone articulate- my friend didn't utter one word about this, she just closed her eyes shut and pulled her brows into something resembling an almost aggressive frown. She didn't make the slightest effort to intervene and break our little squabble, and judging by her pained visage she wasn't planning to do it any time soon.
" And you're just getting more and more annoying. Hasn't anyone killed you yet?!"
" Are you blind or something? I look pretty much alive, don't I?" I said, taking a closer look at Xena's wound before he placed some sort of greenish herbal mixture on it.
" What is that?"
" Would you hold this for a moment and keep your mouth shut?! " he nonchalantly asked, placing a bowl in my hand. I couldn't help smelling the content. I immediately made a face at the absolutely disgusting stink coming from it.
" What is this?! Goat dump?! " I sneered, adamant about irritating the Tartarus out of him…If he wanted reasons to hate me, well I was definitely willing to give him more than one…
" You'll know for sure if you taste it! " he retorted, flashing a challenging smirk back at me, and I swear my first instinct was to spill the content of that bowl straight on top of his useless, square head!
" Is she going to be ok?" I asked in a somewhat lower and peace willing voice. He didn't seem to get the point though.
" Are you going to just stand there asking silly questions for the rest of the morning?! Go take a bath, feed Argo….fetch some food…..write a poem or whatever the fuck it is that you usually do at this time of the day!….And keep that pie hole shut already before I shut it for you! She's tired! The last thing she needs is to hear you constantly blabbing against hear eardrums!" he barked at me, in an completely uncalled for tone, eyes darkened with unjustified, barely controlled fury.
….Now you can finally understand why I wish Gods could die, dear Papyrus, can't you? Anyway, I was right about to scream back at him, revolted by the fact that he had started it all in the first place and that I had every right in the world to be worried to death about my best friend's condition- really pissed out now by his patronizing attitude- when something extremely peculiar drew my attention….As if waking up from a deep, long slumber, Xena opened her eyes. They were red from the tears, fatigue and pain. She tried to sketch a smile while briefly looking at me, but she failed miserably, and my heart stopped beating for a few seconds. Then, she frowned again, and slowly raised her hand- the expression of Atlas straining to hold the globe on his back, engraved on her chalk white figure. She softly caressed Ares' arm for a few moments, and it seems as if that was enough for him to stop what he was doing for a split second and focus his still burning eyes on my silently wondering, restless moons.
"She's not out of the woods yet, but with a bit of luck , she will be. She needs to rest, she needs to stay out of the heat and the dust. She can't possibly travel. " he said, in a surprisingly calm and professional tone, only to shift his gaze towards my friend when he heard something that sounded like some sort of protest forming in her throat.
" You heard me!"
" He's right Xena…As I can tell it, you've lost some blood, huh? We should find an inn and spend a few days there, just until you recover.." I defensively added when I noticed her displeased expression.
" I'm fine, Gabrielle! Don't worry! It's just a scratch!" she contradicted, exactly like I had been expecting her to.
"No you're not fine, and that ugly hole you have through your shoulder is definitely not a scratch! " Ares cut in, throwing her a nasty glare. " And an inn is out of the question, Blondie! Which part out of she can't possibly travel, has failed to reach your brain?"
"Well…you're a God! Can't you heal her?!" I broke out, once again, irked by his constant anti social attitude.
"Were you born without the standard number of neurons, Bard?" he asked, just to shift again to that low, strikingly pacifist tonality when Xena's hand squeezed his arm. "I can't do it without my bitchy sister's blessing….Athena?! You might have heard of her…" he explained the last part through greeted teeth, making sure to once again focus his attention on my wounded friend a moment later. " Ok, Princess, here we go….Now , I need you to sit up a bit. I have to wrap the bandage. " Can you give me a hand?" he asked, and I could swear he only did it to humor Xena, since I'm pretty sure he could have tied that piece of cloth all by himself without any additional help. I did what he asked though, my head still spinning with yet unanswered questions.
"So uh…." I hesitantly started, worriedly caressing Xena's hair. " If the inn's not an option, what do you suggest?"
"I have a temple nearby."
Needless to say, I was stunned. Not by the fact that he had a temple, obviously, but because he was actually offering us shelter there.
"A temple?" I asked, unable to believe my ears.
" Yeah, You know, a large, marble building serving primarily …"
"I know what a temple is, Ares!" I acidly spat, inhaling deeply when once again I noticed Xena's exhausted face. " I'm just surprised that you're willing to help us, that's all…"
" I'm not helping you. I happen to owe Xena a favor…."
"Oh yeah…." I casually retorted. " Sisiphus….the sword…She got your manhood …ahh….godhood back. Sorry.." I mockingly corrected myself, a proud, victorious smile fluttering on my lips.
" Was that supposed to be funny?"
"Yeah, actually….Too bad you have a terrible sense of humor…"
"Too bad you can't tell a joke right…"
" Would you two stop fighting already? I'm not going anywhere!" Xena finally spoke, making an effort to get up. Ares stopped her immediately though, pushing her forcefully back down.
"Oh no you don't! You're wounded Xena! If that injury gets infected you could lose that arm, and you know I'm right! "
I stood in silence for a few moments, waiting for what I would have expected to be an equally volcanic reply, that never came.
" The world still needs a hero for the following decade…You can't possibly let Jerkules get all the laurels!" he tried to reason with her, and to my surprise she actually chuckled at his idiotic commentary.
"You're such a manipulative Bastard!" she jokingly answered, shaking her head at him. "Is it ok with you?" she then had the courtesy to ask, waiting for my decision.
"Sure. Whatever helps…." I mumbled, still unsure whether I was supposed to join her or not.
"Good." Ares concluded in a relieved tone. " So…grab your bags, parchments , quill and whatever else you feel like bringing along…Preferably whatever keeps you busy…." he added, and I simply rolled my eyes at him again.
Within a blink, a dazzling silver light engulfed us, projecting us at an incredible speed to the other side of the forest where the War God's temple was located….Trust me, the following days, marked me for life…And yes, it was only later that I started asking myself why in Gaia's name couldn't he have transported us to that inn the same way he transported us to the temple...A question for future generations to answer, I guess...
