Chapter 11
Xena, Flora and Astra were sitting on a couch in a secluded corner of Athena's temple going over a strategy for a possible battle she had told them about earlier. Xena looked at her two comrades to make sure they were paying attention to what she was saying.
"We will split up into two groups. One will perch themselves up on this hill. Under the cover of the trees and bushes they will be able to watch the battle unseen. The other half of the group will come with me and lead the charge against the army." she said.
"Then, when we have the army in position I will give the signal and you will send in the reinforcements." Flora and Astra nodded in agreement. "This will give us enough time to falter their plans of getting into Athens."
She then glanced slightly over Astra's shoulder and groaned inwardly. Apollo was making his way over to them. She was hoping that he wasn't going to show up that night since she had gone this long without seeing him.
"Hello ladies" Apollo said "I guess it is safe to say that this afternoon's battle went well?" he glanced at all three warriors but he let his gaze linger on Xena a bit longer than the others.
Astra and Flora both replied with an enthusiastic yes but Xena just sighed mentally knowing that she was going to be in for a long night. This time she hoped that at least one of her comrades would save her from the torture she knew was about to happen. She had been trying to think of a more permanent solution to her problem, but no matter what she did, he always came back. She was just glad that there was no more room near her for him to sit.
Apollo frowned slightly as the seat next to Xena was already taken by Flora. He moved to sit next to Astra never breaking his gaze from her. Despite of the fact that he was unable to get close enough to her for the time being, the night was still young, and he had every intention of putting his new plan into motion. First he just had to get rid of the other two.
"Anything exciting happen during the battle?" Apollo asked all the while keeping his gaze on Xena.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. The plan Xena set worked out perfectly." Flora replied.
Astra, not liking the praise that Xena was getting, decided to point out that she wasn't as great as she appeared to be.
"Well I'm not so sure. At one point during the battle Xena just seemed to stop fighting and decided to stare at the empty air around her." she gave Xena a sly grin. "I mean it was like she got distracted and forgot she was suppose to be fighting."
Xena could see that Astra was just trying to gourd her into a response. She didn't bother to try and justify her actions from earlier. Not when she couldn't fully understand what happened at that moment either. She certainly wasn't about to try and explain it to Astra of all people.
"Yeah you're right." Flora stated. "If I hadn't shouted to you when I did, you would of never seen that arrow coming. How did you manage to get out of the way in time?" she inquired, really curious to find out how in the world she had managed to do that.
"His aim was not as good as he thought it was, I guess." she very simply pointed out.. There was no way they would believe the real reason as to why she was not one of the dead at the moment.
"I suppose you are right. It seemed that army's leader didn't know how to pick a proper bowman." Flora said. " I mean he couldn't have been more then fifteen feet away from you and he still missed."
"Yeah, well I got lucky. He must of missed that day of training." she was hoping they would just drop the subject.
"You really shouldn't let things distract you like that when in battle." Apollo told her on a concerned tone. Xena just decided to ignore Apollo's comment. She knew she shouldn't have let herself get distracted that way in battle. And she just hated to have to hear anything on the subject , especially from him; what she should and shouldn't be doing was strictly her business.. She began to think that if they could keep the conversation going to other things then maybe Apollo would get bored and leave. She really didn't want to have to put up with him the whole tonight.
Astra could see that their new guest was irritating Xena. She had rapidly noticed that Xena was struggling to keep as much distance between herself and the god now sitting next to her, as possible. She couldn't help but want to squash any dream that Xena might have had at evading Apollo that night. If she could make her life miserable, then she would take every chance that presented itself to do the very same. It was fortunate for her that Apollo always presented himself to help her with that goal.
She smiled to herself as she focused on Flora. "Flora weren't you going to show me that move with your sword that you did in battle today? "
Flora cast a confused look in Astra's direction for a moment, not really knowing what she was talking about.
"What move ?" she questioned in a hesitant voice, but seeing Astra nodding her head and gesturing implyingly towards the god next to her she finally got it.
"Oohh right! That move!. Sure, let's go…I'd be happy to teach you !
Before Xena could even say anything, they quickly got up , ready to rush towards the door. Xena frowned; she couldn't believe that was actually happening. Although, being as Astra was the one who had suggested the exit, it didn't take her long to understand what her intentions had been.
"But we are discussing a new battle plan for Athena. I think your sword skills can wait a moment."
She had a bit of a plea in her voice for them to stay. She was hoping that at least Flora would take some pity on her.
Astra looked at Xena and gave her a devious grin. "Xena we've already covered that… We are going to be on the hill and wait for the signal remember? I really want to know how Flora managed to do what she did."
She didn't give her a chance to respond as she hooked her arm through Flora's and lead them away from the pair now sitting alone on the couch.
Apollo couldn't believe his luck. It looked like he didn't have to wait as long as he thought to have Xena all for himself . He naturally took the opportunity, since she was still watching the other girls leave, to move closer to her on the couch they were now sharing.
"Well now that we are finally alone…..." he moved his hand to try and caress her cheek.
Xena looked back at Apollo when he started to speak and just glared at him. He seemed to stop his hand for a second from continuing its journey when she did that. She took note that he took it upon himself to try and sneak closer to her when she wasn't looking. 'Oh yeah, I'm really going to have to keep my guard up with him tonight.' she thought to herself.
Apollo seemed to just go on and on with things that Xena had no interest in. She tried to block out his constant chatter by looking out into the crowd to see if there was anything worth looking at while she was sitting there being tortured to death. Her eyes came to land on the man that had been standing on the hilltop earlier after the battle. She immediately remembered the way he was staring at her before she had to turn away from the intensity of it. She watched him and could see he was with some scantily clad blonde woman who was draped all over him. She didn't know why, but that image actually bothered her. She could clearly see that he wasn't paying attention to anything the blonde was saying, though. Instead, it appeared as if he was searching for something. She looked to where he was looking at and didn't see anything of interest.
Apollo pulled her from her thoughts when he lightly touched her on the shoulder making her jump a little. She looked towards Apollo and saw that he had moved a little closer on the couch. She couldn't afford to get distracted now. Plus, he was way too confident, and that irked her to an unspeakable extent. She simply glared at his hand and then at him and back again.
Taking the hint, Apollo removed his hand. He knew he was going to have to take it slow. Ever since their first meeting, she had never let him get that close . "You sure do look lovely tonight."
Xena just arched an eyebrow at him before she replied a very inexpressive "Thanks!"
She looked immediately away and rolled her eyes. 'Oh this is going to be a long night of cheesy come ons.' she thought. She had grown accustomed to Apollo's advances but she just wished he would take a hint and leave her alone, since it was becoming tiresome to try and fend him off all the time. Her friends, or so she thought, were never helpful with the matter either. Whenever she tried to get one to stay with her when Apollo was around, they would make up some excuse thinking she was just playing hard to get. She shook her head slightly thinking about how they had abandoned her, minutes before.
Being brought back to the present by another touch on the shoulder, Xena shrugged it off ever so subtle.
Apollo removed his hand again and tried a different approach. He decided that was the best time to put into motion his new plan to get her to succumb. He didn't know why he had never thought of it before. It had always worked wonders for him in the past.
"You know, I came up with this poem for you." he said as he stared at her practically undressing her with his eyes. Tonight was going to be the night, he could feel it. Taking advantage that she was looking away he inched himself ever so slowly closer to her. "Would you like to hear it?"
That precise moment, Xena felt that same tingle go down her spine and that same presence that she had felt on the battlefield earlier. She looked around a little to see if she could find a source this time but just like before, she came up empty. The only thing she knew for certain was that she knew, that whatever it was, it was standing right next to her.
Apollo thought that maybe Xena didn't hear him over the music and asked again. "Xena would you like me to recite it for you?"
Xena was too busy trying to will this presence she felt to show itself. "I know you're there. Show yourself." she whispered to the empty air.
Ares smiled at her attempt to get him to reveal himself. He glanced at Apollo and could see his eagerness to get her attention with whatever was about to leave his mouth. He still didn't like the way he was looking at her. But seeing that he had her full attention at the moment made him revel in his brother's failure.
"Xena, did you hear me?"
She simply nodded in response not knowing what she had just agreed to.
Apollo smiled slightly thinking he was finally getting somewhere. Closing in the remaining distance between them, he started.
"I wish you were a tea cup ,in which I take my tea, and every time I take a sip, It means a kiss from me"
Xena was not paying attention to anything that Apollo was saying as she was too distracted by this presence.
"That's nice." she told him in a mute tone. Apollo took this as a sign in the right direction and continued.
"Down by the seashore, Written on a rock, Three little words, Forget me Not" Apollo once again reached out but this time puts his hand on her thigh and began to make small circles on her exposed flesh.
At that precise moment, Ares reached out and lightly caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes at the contact, shivering a little from this knew sensation that she felt on her face not realizing Apollo had touched her again.
Ares grinned at her response and how her pulse quickened when he traveled to her neck. But it faded quickly once he saw where Apollo's hand had landed. He removed his hand from her and saw her eyes open again and began to take focus of the new touch she was feeling.
Apollo thought that the shiver meant he was making progress. If he would of known that this was going to work so well, he would have acted on his desires a long time before.
"Kisses in the kitchen, Kisses in the hall, Kisses in the bedroom, Are the sweetest of all." He said the last line as he leaned in slowly to initiate a kiss.
Xena was confused for a moment at what Apollo had said and turned to face him.
"Wh..What?" she mumbled, finally realizing that he was about to kiss her, not quite sure how he had got so close in the first place to think he could.
Ares watched as Apollo moved a lock of her hair out of her face. He didn't like the way this was heading. Seeing as how she was trapped by the couch and Apollo's body, there was no way for her to get herself out of the situation.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Xena watched Apollo lean in. She was not sure how she was going to get out of this one. She knew she did not want this to happen and if it did she might as well lose all hope of ever getting rid of Apollo. He would be more persistent then ever if he accomplished his goal. She leaned back as far as she could to try and delay the inevitable. Suddenly a flash of blue light appeared leaving in its wake a leather clad god. Xena was relieved for the distraction since it caused Apollo to pull back and she let out a sigh of relief.