Chapter 7

Apollo watched her in excitement for the rest of the day. He patiently waited until she was alone. She finally broke away from a few of the other girls and made her way into the forest. Apollo followed behind her curious to where she was going. They walked into a small clearing in the woods and he watched as she pulled out her sword. He immediately looked around for the cause of such an action, but saw nothing….no immediate threat…

When he refocused his attention back to the raven beauty, he saw that she was going through some drills. He could see why Athena thought she had potential. She certainly took her training very seriously. That's when it hit him… the perfect plan to have her melt in his embrace. The more he watched her, he couldn't help but think how easy it was going to be. Just the right amount of flattery, a few suggestive pointers with her sword and she was going to be putty in his hands. He smiled to himself at the possibilities.

Xena continued to go through the drill with her sword all the while taking in her surroundings. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, but every time she scanned the area she came up with nothing. Still, her flawless senses were telling her that something wasn't quite right but since there was no immediate threat she put it off to being tired from the earlier try outs. She continued to twirl and slash the blade through the thin air as she gradually came to the end of her routine.

With one final thrust at her invisible opponent, she stood there a moment to steady her breathing. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't as it was supposed to be, so she scanned the tree line one last time to see if she had missed something earlier. The sound of clapping behind her caught her attention and she quickly turned around to face her mysterious guest. She raised her sword ready to defend herself. She was puzzled at how he was able to sneak up on her. No one has been able to do that before.

"That was truly stimulating." he gave her a wide grin. He took in her defensive stance and quickly tried to diffuse the situation. "No need to worry I'm not here to harm you." he held his hands up in surrender to further the point. "I was simply...observing." he told her while he gave her a lustful look while his eyes roamed over her body.

Xena didn't know what this man wanted and she didn't like the way he was looking at her. The fact that he seemed to have just come out of nowhere irked her. She didn't like being caught off guard. Seeing that he wasn't posing any immediate threat though, she lowered her sword a little. She took in the surrounding behind him to look for any sign that would explain his sudden appearance but saw none. She refocused her gaze on her new guest.

"Where did you come from?" she asked him, wanting to know just how he had managed to get into the clearing without her noticing.

Apollo simply smiled at her question and chose to ignore it. "What's your name?" he asked her while taking a few steps forward.

"What's yours?" Xena quickly retorted while bringing her sword back up at the sight of him, stepping closer.

Apollo chuckled lightly and once again raised his hands in surrender. "I am Apollo, God of the Sun, Prophecy..." but his words were cut short by her surprised line.

"Apollo?" Xena said more to herself then to him. She lowered her sword at this explanation. That was a good enough reason why he was able to go undetected, he was a God. She thought back to what he said earlier with how he was observing. That's why she felt as though she was being watched. She didn't like the fact that he was watching her.

Seeing that she was lost in thought he smirked to himself and thought "She is a beauty even when she is distracted." he tried to get her attention. "So I've answered your question… How about you answer mine? "

Remembering that she wasn't alone, she turned her focus back to Apollo. "And what question is that?" she asked him wondering what reason could a god have for showing up.

"Your name." he simply stated.

Xena just regarded him for a moment before answering. "Xena."

"Ah, Xena… what a lovely name." he grinned big at her while closing in the distance. He could see that she was a little apprehensive so he was going to put his plan in motion, without waiting any more time…

"I was taking note of your technique there and it could use a little work." he said while motioning to her sword.

Xena furrowed her brows at his comment. She looked down at her sword then back up to the God before her. "And what would the God of Prophecy and Sun know about sword techniques?" The fact that he started to laugh at her only, irritated her even more. She hated being laughed at.

"Xena… I am a God." he stated, while holding his arms out as if trying to prove that was all the answer she needed. "I may not thrive on it like some of my other siblings do, but I do know a thing or two." he gave her a suggestive grin.

Xena couldn't help but think he meant more than just sword drills. She felt that there was more to the reason of why he was here but she wasn't about to look a gifted horse in the mouth. It wasn't everyday that one would get a visit from a God, let alone have them offer you their help. She knew she was not a master with the sword yet and if Apollo was willing to help her along in that, then she was going to take him up on his offer. Of course she would have preferred someone who could actually mentally challenge her but Apollo might just prove his worth if he wasn't all talk. She could see that he was very cocky when it came to his abilities.

"Alright Apollo, show me what I'm doing wrong." she gave him a slight smirk as she waited for him to begin.

Apollo mentally praised himself at how well his plan was working out. That took less effort then he thought it would have. "First, get into your defensive stance again. I noticed something earlier."

Xena did as he said and stood there with her sword at the ready with her arms extended away from her. She watched as Apollo slowly circled her then made his way behind her.

"Now that's the problem, right there." Apollo whispered in her ear, as he placed his hands on her shoulders and softly caressed them; he couldn't help his intake of breath. He stepped closer to her and began to run his hands down her arms encasing her to him until he reached her hands. "Gods she feels amazing." he thought to himself as he pulled her closer.

Xena shivered slightly at the contact, she was completely disgusted with him. She didn't like the fact that he was this close. With the way he was touching her she was beginning to understand the reasons of why he was here in the first place and helping her with her sword drills was not one of them. With him holding her arms in place, practically locking her in his embrace, she wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this.

Apollo felt her shiver and praised himself for a job well done. She was melting at his caress and he reveled in it. Being this close to her he could feel how soft her skin was. The scent coming from her hair was driving him crazy as he nuzzled it more. "You smell divinely." he seductively said in her ear while inhaling deep.

Xena craned her neck at his words in the wise attempt to put some distance between them but that only gave him better access to her neck which he quickly took advantage of by placing a small kiss there. Xena huffed and mentally chastised herself for that. The situation was going from bad to worse and that kiss just made her skin crawl. The fact that she could now feel his apparent arousal made her face twist in disgust. She squirmed a little, seeing if she could get free but his grip was firm.

Apollo took her movement as a good sign and began to run his right hand back up her arm to her shoulder where he teased the strap of her dress before moving it to the side while placing another kiss there and nipping her skin slightly. He could hear her breathing heavily and could only think about how much he was going to enjoy this. How good this was going to feel once he had her beneath him. Those thoughts only made his arousal grow more. He began to run his hand down her side ever so slowly wanting to know the contours of her body. He grazed her right breast as he continued to go lower, softly grabbing at the fabric of her dress as he began to pull it up.

Xena was completely sickened by Apollo. But the moment his hand started its descent down her body, she knew she needed to stop him somehow, God or not. She was not about to just let this happen and the fact that he had gotten that wrong impression, only enraged her more. Seeing that the God was too occupied with other matters, she quickly brought her arm back and elbowed him in the gut. Once his grip on her loosened from the blow she turned around and brought her knee up to collide with his groin. Free from his grasp, she quickly put some much needed distance between them. The revulsion she felt towards him was feeding her anger.

As the God laid there in apparent pain, Xena just looked at him with disgust. "I suggest you keep your hands to yourself." she said in a disdained tone. "I think this lesson is over."

Xena sheathed her sword and began to make her way back to camp leaving Apollo in the clearing. She didn't care that he was a God and knew that he could kill her in an instance but she was not going to just stand there and let him do as he pleased. She laughed to herself as she thought "Men...they are all the same. Always think they are entitled to something."

Apollo was in shock at her reaction as he watched her leave the small field. He couldn't place where, in his masterly crafted plan, what had happened to change her mood. She was responding to his touch he could feel it, she wanted him. He knew one thing for sure, she was a feisty one. As he picked himself up off the ground he couldn't help but already work up another master plan to get her to succumb to him. "And succumb she will." he thought to himself as a big grin spread across his face. "It will be only a matter of time."