****THAT EXPLANATION WOULD HAVE TO WAIT SOME MORE, MAREITT :)) ***
I finally cleared my throat as I entered, the distinct feeling that I was intruding, that I shouldn't have been there, lingering even minutes after I returned.
I hesitantly stopped a few steps away from the bed, patiently waiting for her to say something. I could almost physically feel the tension in the air, and as Ares got up, freeing the place by her side for me, things only got weirder….
"So uh….I brought you the water….." I rushed to say, suddenly anxious to shift the focus from me to anything else.
" Thank you…" she murmured, stretching out her hand to take a small cup from the nightstand, and I almost jumped from the bed, grabbing it for her. I just felt so guilty for not having been there for her when she was attacked that at that point there was nothing I wouldn't have done for her…." Here. Let me! " I kindly said, pouring some water and offering it to her.
Her lips barely touched the silver rim of the cup and, one sip later, she hand it back to me….
I frowned a bit at the awareness that she must have lied to me only to get some alone time with Ares, and that she was anything but thirsty, but I didn't make any comment about it….Maybe I was just being paranoid and maybe she was so much in pain that she could barely drink….
" So uh….are you comfortable enough? Is there anything that I could do?!" I asked, in a rather nervous voice.
"Gabrille…." she started, and I knew that tone. " Would you please stop worrying? I'm not gonna die…It was just an arrow to the shoulder. In a few days I'll be all better, so please relax. I hate to see you all upset like this…"she pleaded, and despite the absolutely unusual conversation I had heard but a few minutes before, I couldn't help smiling at her….I loved her so much!
I was just about to answer, eager to tell her about the unusual conversation I had at the fountain, when, a discreet knock on the door made us shift our curious gazes in the direction of the sound. Moments later, my lips parted in surprise, when none other than the mysterious priestess whose words had had such a great impact on my peace of mind- entered the room.
" You called, my Lord?" she addressed Ares, bowing her head respectfully, without making eye contact, her gaze glued to the floor. "My Lady…" she courteously saluted Xena, in the same humble but graceful manner.
"I did, Draja. " he said, staring blankly at her.
I briefly glanced at Xena, only to notice a very surprising expression on her face….one that I hadn't seen before- one that I couldn't really name, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with power….
I involuntarily frowned again, but this time, it was the War God's statement that had painted it on my forehead….When did he call her? I had been standing behind that door for quite some time, and he was waaaay too busy talking to my friend to even think about anything else…..Plus, I had just seen this same woman in the yard and she had ran afterwords in the exact opposite direction the moment I mentioned Xena's name…..How could he have called her?
Anyway, dear Papyrus, the War God's voice pulled me immediately out of my musings when he started braking his orders to her.
" Xena and her friend, Gabrielle, will be spending a few days at the temple, as my guests. You will be at their beck and call. Whatever Xena wants, it will be done, no questions asked. Make sure you let the other girls know. Did I make myself clear?" he asked in a commanding, but not yet harsh voice.
She simply nodded, offering him a half smile,that looked incredibly fake to me.
"Look at me." he commanded, and when their gazes met, what I saw in her eyes took me completely by surprise….pure terror mixed with a boundless, barely veiled fascination …
"Of course , my Lord" she voiced, her eyes sparkling with the childish joy of a little girl staring through the large show window of a toy shop…..She was in love with him, the realization finally washed over me, as I kept staring dumbly at her, not quite trusting my own eyes….She was head over heals in love….but why on earth was she scared of him, then?
"Good. There are some things I need to take care of, so I'll be away for a few hours. If there's anything you need….." he then continued, without really finishing his line, his gaze once again connected with Xena's - the perfect moment for my inquisitive eyes to scan the priestess' visage…Her gaze had returned to its previous occupation - that of fixating the marble floor- and she looked as impassive as a marble statue, barely breathing if one would ask…..
Before I knew it, the War God had vanished into thin air, and finally, I could feel at ease around my friend, without constantly feeling his burning eyes drilling a hole through my head.
" Draja…" Xena's voice immediately reminded me that we were still in his temple, so even if he wasn't there anymore, in a way, his presence still lingered…..It sounds, stupid, I know, but that's what it felt like….
"My Lady…." the woman answered, without looking up, but taking a few steps in the direction of the bed. " I'm a bit cold. Could you bring me a robe , please?"
" Of course" she replied right away, heading for the large armoire, placed on the opposite wall. " Would you like cotton, silk or lace, my Lady? "
"Cottton.."
" Claret, turquoise or charcoal?"
"The claret one would do just fine…"
" My Lord's favorite. He will be pleased to see you wearing it again…." she commented and I could see Xena's face hardening at what had been the poor woman's colossal indiscretion. Again?
"Thank you, Draja. " she simply said, glaring daggers at her as she approached the bed.
"Could I help you put it on? " she then asked, making brief eye contact, just to stare back at the floor the moment she realized what she was doing. As usual, Xena's cold, cerulean moons proved to be utterly intimidating...
" There's no need to. Gabrielle can help me…"
"As you wish my lady….Is there anything else I can do for you?"
" Prepare a room for Gabrielle…Not too far from this one." she ordered, and it might have been my paranoia again, but I might have heard her emphasize that too far a bit too much for my taste…..As if she could have offered me a room right next to hers, and yet, she preferred to put a bit of distance between us…..
Once again , I shook the thoughts away….That was a very stupid thing to believe, and I was probably an awful friend to even allow such ideas poison my mind….
" I could sleep here with you, if you want…" I suggested, affectionately covering her hand with mine.
" No…You should rest properly. Plus, you heard Ares. If there's anything I need, the girls would be more than willing to help…"
"Certainly…." the priestess approved, smiling formally at us both.
"That would be all for now. " Xena made sure to specify, and it was all she needed to say for the woman to gracefully head out the door.
Now, I know I wasn't supposed to start asking a million questions on the subject, dear Papyrus…I mean, Xena and heart to heart talks don't really have anything in common, but I just couldn't help it…She wasn't going to shatter all those doubts voluntarily, that was for sure, so I was going to make her give me at least a couple of details on what I wanted to know….
"Xena….."
"Yeah…?" she asked absently, too focused with staring at the robe the woman had left her. I gladly helped her slip that dark, blood stained shift off her first, doing my best to avoid having her move her wounded shoulder too much, trying to spare her any necessary pain.
" ...that priestess….."
"What about her?"
"I saw her at the fountain today.." I confessed, wondering if it was a good idea to tell her about our little conversation or not.
"You did?" she said, not sounding at all intrigued about it.
"Yeah….She acted very strange when I told her that I was here with you…"
"Strange how?"
" She looked….terrified- that would be the word. At first I thought it had to do with your reputation, but then, she said something…" I explained, taking place on the bed, by her side. Her face was a mask. I couldn't possibly guess what she was feeling or thinking….That was Xena all right….
"What did she say?"
"Well, when I told her that she had nothing to fear, that you have changed….She said that you might have done so, but Ares certainly hasn't….." I stated, watching her every move, every shade passing on the surface of her enigmatic moons…..There was nothing unsual in them though….."What do you think she meant by that?"
" I have no idea…" she sternly answered, but I could feel she was lying.
" Hmmmm…." I concluded, pulling the blanket back over her. "And...while we're at it...why is Ares suddenly so…..helpful? Is it only because he owes you, as he put it?"
This time, she seemed to give her answer some thought. She was probably choosing her words, wondering what I was driving at…
"Well….we did help him with Sisyphus, didn't we? ….If it hadn't been for us, he would be still drinking himself to oblivion in some cheap tavern outside Athens…"
" Stilll…you two….he doesn't behave like the standard enemy, you know? "
" What exactly is it that you're asking , Gabrielle?" she finally articulated, a straightforward question, that left me totally speechless for a couple of seconds….
" I know you don't like to talk about your past and all, but….were you and Ares…Did you…..Not as in now…." I began blabbering, just to suddenly stop as I realized I wasn't really making sense.
I tried not to blush as I finally spat it out.
" Have you and Ares ever had sex? I know it's personal, but….it would explain a lot of things…." I uttered, wishing I could take it all back the very following moment…..
"What?! What things?" she inquired, but I could see I had hit a nerve.
"A lot of things…." I answered after careful consideration…" Us being here out of all places, the way he's always looking at you…this unbelievable urge of his to help you…I don't know...Is it only my imagination, or…? I mean….he framed you for murder, Xena!"
"I uh…."
" Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be judgmental here, I just want to understand …I mean sure, Ares might not be the best looking guy on the planet, but maybe he was at the right place at the right moment…Was that it? You're just human, after all, you do have needs …I could understand that…"
" What is that supposed to mean?"
"Not what it sounded like…Though, it must have been a one night stand right?...And he has been obsessing over you ever since- but you must have surely realized he had been nothing but a huge mistake and.."
" I wouldn't really call it a one night stand…." she calmly contradicted, shifting a bit under the covers.
"Oh…." I breathed, rethinking my options...I literally had like a virtual list in my mind. I just chose the next best scenario "So you were drunk….Of course! How couldn't I think about that? You used to spend most of your time with soldiers- men usually drink in the evening around the campfires- so you must have gotten drunk one night and he took advantage of your ….vulnerability….."
"That's not how it happened, Gabrielle…He wasn't …"
"You were both drunk?! Sure…well... that makes sense too, I guess…You couldn't possibly control it….Your brains could have easily mistaken hate for attraction right? You know the old saying…from hate to sex there's only one step…"
" I thought it was from love to hate…"
"It was clearly not the case…" I quickly clarified, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Gabrielle…"
She was trying to deny it, but I wasn't planning on letting her keep secrets from me any longer.
"One thing led to another, right…? And…here we are! As for Ares…."
"Gabrielle, stop it! We were not drunk!" she almost yelled at me, but as I scanned her face, I noticed that she wasn't angry…She was just trying to get my attention.
"You weren't?!"
"No …!"
" You mean….Oh Gods, Xena! Did he force himself on you? Is that it? The bastard! I knew it!" I blew out, and I could have killed that son of a bachae then and there if he had dared make an appearance.
Once again though, Xena was keen on proving me wrong….Getting her to talk about herself has always been a chore, dear Papyrus, but this…this was ….close to impossible…She just refused to open up to me, and she kept going from one lie to the other. Why was it so hard for her to admit that that good for nothing insolent jerk had used her in the lowest of ways? It's not like she was to blame for what had happened…
"Do I look like the type of woman that could be forced into doing anything? And would I still be here, in his bed if that were the case?"
"This is his bed?..."
For a moment, I was shocked! Once again, I could feel my heart pounding in my temples.
How did she know that was his bed?...A logic explanation shed light on my gloomy perspective though….
"Oh! Of course it's his bed…I mean, it's his temple after all…All beds are his…including the priestesses. " I finally uttered, blushing slightly at the awareness that I had just managed to make a fool out of myself for the thousandth time that day…
"He didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to, Gabrielle! I was very young when I met him…"
I was even more stunned than before, now….Speechless, really!
" The pedophile! " I eventually exploded in a revolted tone, hugging my traumatized friend.
"By Gaia, Xena! That's just disgusting! He sure looks like the type to take advantage of a young girl's innocence! How could he?!"
"He …."
" Shhh…don't say anything. You don't need to explain! I shouldn't have asked in the first place! I'm sorry! I get it now…He wants to make it up to you for all he's done…"
"Yeah. Ares is on his own redemption path…" she finally confessed, but thinking back about it now, I swear that was sarcasm I detected in her voice…
And just when I was about to say some words of wisdom on how even Gods can make mistakes, the priestess interrupted us again.
" My Lady, your friends' room is ready."
"Thank you Draja! " Xena immediately replied, looking almost relived at the news.
" Gabrielle, if it's ok with you, I'd like to get some sleep, I'm dead bet." she added, sweetly caressing my cheek.
" Sure Xena, sure. You should definitely rest. I'll just go grab a bite to eat and check out the temple"
" Ok. See you later."
" If there's anything you need , just call. I'll come running." I said, making sure that she got the message.
"Sure thing.."
Huh! Can you believe my luck, dear Papyrus?! It was the perfect moment to start digging for information!
