Chapter 15

Xena was strolling down the market area in Athens. Together with the rest of her warriors, she had just got back from Egaleo when Athena laid out this new task. She wasn't looking for anything to buy but was gazing at the different carts filled with all sorts of trinkets while she made sure no one got out of hand. Seeing that everything was calm, she made her way over to a nearby alley. There she propped herself up against the wall, she crossed her arms across her chest and continued to watch the merchants.

It was during times like these that Xena grew bored with her duties. Having to watch over the town folks while they hackled over prices on merchandise was not the type of day she had in mind. She always thought these tasks where mundane and that she should be spending her time elsewhere. When she first joined Athena's warriors she didn't know what to expect, but this was certainly not it. The thought that she would finally get to do what she wanted made it worth it. But as the years went by, she was living less and less of her dream. She longed for the call of battle and the rush she always felt when in the heat of it.

The small battle she had been in three days before and the one against Ares' army had been the first few battles that she had seen since she made her decision. Sure, she had taken part to countless others since she made the finally cut but those had been the first ones Athena allowed them to be in for months. The Goddess only seemed to want them in a fight when it was a direct threat against herself. Now it would seem even those were few and far in between.

She couldn't help but think about what Ares had said to her a few days before. 'There are things that you could never learn with Athena.' She knew for a fact that what he said was true. There was still a lot she knew she could learn, but standing in that busy market like a statue, was not going to let that happen. She had often wondered what her life would be like now if she had walked into Ares' temple all those years ago. Would he have accepted her offer? He seemed interested in joining forces with her now. His offer was very tempting, especially at times like this, but knowing that the War God never trained women warriors made her wonder what could have made him change his mind so suddenly.

He had countless great warriors that had fought for him throughout the years and they were all male. Why this sudden change now, and why her, out of all people?He genuinely seemed to believe that she was destined for something great and he wanted to help her accomplish that. She knew he had been following her the last few days. He didn't show himself, but she felt his presence, however faint it was, as if he was watching from nearby and it was at its strongest when she finally got to the battle. The fact that he was watching at all, made her put everything she had into the previous days battle as if she was trying to impress him. Her thoughts were interrupted at that moment and she let out an annoyed sigh as she heard a very unwelcome voice come from behind her.

"See anything you like?" Apollo asked her while he came to stand next to her. He looked her once over and could see she was a little irritated. "If there is something you wish to have, all you have to do is ask." he said as he tried to improve her mood by offering a gift.

'I can't believe he is here again.' she thought. Xena turned her gaze to Apollo showing him that she was not at all pleased with him being there. "There is nothing I want from you." she said in a clip tone. "I thought I made myself clear the other night?" she cuttingly emphasized.

"Now Xena, I know the other night you were upset about what Ares did and said something's in the heat of the moment."

With that, he stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Xena quickly shrugged off his hand and moved a few feet away from him with a shocked expression on her face. "What Ares did? You must have had way too much to drink that night. Ares has done nothing while you on the other hand have over stayed your welcome." she said as she shot him with a stony glare.

"I can see that you are still in denial about what almost happened between us and that it was Ares who interrupted us just when we..." but he was quickly cut off.

"There is no us! When are you going to realize that?"

Xena was getting angrier and angrier at Apollo and his constant delusions.

Apollo on the other side was trying to control his anger as she said her words to him. Thinking to move on to his next plan he made a small box appear in his hand.

"I have something for you." he said, holding it out for Xena to take. When she didn't, he opened the box for her. Once opened, it revealed a splendid necklace in the shape of a laurel wreath- in the middle of the wreath there was a sun that spread out to connect to it. "It's enchanted. It will protect you on your travels." he said, as he gazed at her to try and decipher her reaction.

Xena simply looked at the necklace with no real emotion.

"Like I've mentioned before, I want nothing from you but for you to get out of my sight."

She reached out and knocked his hands away from her, causing the necklace to fall to the ground. She didn't give him a second thought as she headed down the alley.

Apollo's rage finally won out when she knocked the necklace from his hand. Seeing her walk away again only fueled it more. He reappeared behind her and he reached out and took a hold of her arm. He spun her around and forcefully grabbed both of her arms pinning them next to her body. He violently shoved her against the wall.

"Now Xena, I was offering you a gift. It isn't polite to refuse it!" he said as he tightened his grip on her arms as she struggled a little.

Xena's head had bounced off the wall from the force of the shove. Trying to keep her focus, she tried to shake her head clear from the blow. She could feel the trickle of blood that was now rolling down her neck and she looked up at Apollo, hatred sparkling in her eyes.

"I suggest you remove your hands from me before I make you!" her voice was full of rage as she stared the Sun God down.

Apollo simply chuckled at her threat. "And how do you suppose you are going to do that?" he asked, as he leaned in closer to her face, and Xena immediately turned her head to the side. "You won't stand a chance of resisting me." he said with a sly grin as he tightened his grip on her arms and heard her wince in pain.

Before Xena could respond, she felt Apollo's grip on her lessen as he was viciously ripped away from her. She slumped to the ground as she watched Apollo collide with the stone wall with a force that caused the wall to break. She looked up to see who had intervened and saw Ares standing there. She could feel the rage pouring off of him as he came to stand in front of her. She slowly made her way to her feet and propped herself back up against the wall as she waited for the pounding in her head to stop.

"I do believe the lady told you to leave." Ares growled out. "Although, I'm more than willing to make you." he unsheathed his sword and stood protectively in front of Xena.

"Ah, Ares so nice of you to interrupt yet another private moment between us. But then again, you love putting yourself in the middle of things that don't concern you." he barked as he picked himself up from the ground.

"I suggest you take a hike." he pointed his sword at Apollo, making it clear that he meant business as his eyes filled with rage and began to become darker. "Unless you would like to finish what we started the other night. Oh, please say we get to finish what we started…." a menacing grin began to form on his face as he tightened his grip on his sword.

Apollo could see the rage that was building in Ares and knew he was no match once the War God reached such limits. He looked from him to Xena a few times before finally letting his gaze rest on her. "This isn't over." he stated as he quickly vanished.

Ares sheathed his sword once Apollo left. He turned around to face Xena and took a step forward. His rage immediately left him and was replaced with concern as he saw the trickle of blood that was running down her neck.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he closed in the distance between them.

Xena looked at him with a slight smile.

"I'll be fine. Just a little knock to the head, nothing I can't walk off." she said confidently. She pushed herself away from the wall and took a few steps forward. But feeling dizzy from the blow to her head she stumbled a bit, falling into Ares' arms.

"Whoa there, I've gotcha." Ares said, as he encircled her with his arms. He pulled her closer, trying to steady her stance. She was far from being fine.

Xena leaned into his embrace for support.

"Thanks." she said as she brought her hand up to touch the back of her head.

"Here, allow me." the God continued as he gazed at the blood now staining her hand, then back up to her face.

Xena looked up at him, a little confused by his comment. What did he mean by that?

Ares kept a tight hold on her waist with his left arm and brought his other hand up and gently placed it on the back of her head. A blue light began to emerge from his hand as Xena felt a warming sensation on her head. Once he finished healing her, Ares brought his hand to caress her cheek.

"There, all better now." he said , staring deep into her eyes. It felt nice holding her like that and he tightened his hold a little, wanting to make it last as long as possible.

Since Xena was still in his embrace, she could feel her body begin to react to his caress. Her pulse began to quicken as he ran his fingers down her neck. She saw the satisfied smirk that formed on his face as she knew he could tell the effect he was having on her. She found herself getting lost in his amber eyes. Snapping herself out of her trance she slowly began to disentangle herself from his hold. She needed to think clearly and being that close to him was clouding her thoughts.

"Why did you do that?" she asked him. That was twice now that he had intervened to help her and she couldn't understand why he would do it even once, let alone a second time. She was having a hard time figuring out his motives.

"Let's just say that I have a lot invested in you."

He liked the fact that she took nothing at face value and questioned his every move.

"Right, you think I'm destined for something great. That I possess some power." she tried to read him, but his face gave nothing away.

"That my dear is very true. You are meant for greatness not babysitting a bunch of villagers." he said as he gestured towards the people behind her. "I can help you get there."

Xena couldn't help but believe his words. She always felt like she should be doing more than hanging around the streets of Athens, especially when the battles came few and far in between. She longed to feel that rush that only came during a fight. But she was a little apprehensive on accepting his offer. She just couldn't understand why he wanted her.

Ares could see her reluctance and tried to get her to trust him.

"I want to train you, mold you into the perfect warrior that I know is just dying to be let out. Your technique is a bit flawed but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little practice. You have the strength and the skill to be the best." he clarified on a pretty convincing tone that only made her even more inclined towards saying yes…

He watched her as she mulled over his words. She seemed to be coming around.

Xena didn't know what to think. She knew what he was offering was what she had always wanted. To be trained by the God of War himself was an incredible honor and more than that, a one in a lifetime opportunity. She knew he could turn her into a fierce warrior, she didn't doubt that. He had trained many skilled warriors in the past and all their names were still mentioned by the history books. Plus, she could detect no deceit in his words, what he said he meant and he wanted her to be his warrior. Why would she refuse such an offer, after all?

"Ares, I..."

A loud clatter was suddenly heard, causing Xena to turn around to see what was happening. She quickly scanned the area and saw that some merchants had gotten into a bit of a debate. All thoughts about what she was going to do came to a halt. She took a few steps towards the squabble then stopped, she turned around to face Ares and saw that he had an annoyed look on his face. She wanted to accept his offer but she needed more time to think. Somehow, she knew that he would wait.

"I'll think about it." she said to him as she gave him a soft smile.

Ares gave her a small nod at her words. For her he would have waited an eternity and once she agreed the world would be theirs. If that petty squabble hadn't interrupted them he knew she would have agreed right then. But for now, he was planning to respect what she wanted.

"Just call my name when you are ready."

She gave him a nod and turned back away and headed towards the altercation. Ares watched her as she walked away. It was only a matter of time before she agreed. He had watched her for the last several days and could see the restlessness she had. The call of war was a strong one and once she answered it she was unstoppable. A smile began to form on his face as he thought of how Athena was going to react to the fact that he stole a warrior right out from under her godly nose. Athena didn't know what she had but he did, he could feel it the moment he laid eyes on her. He was determined to help her fulfill her destiny. She was going to be the greatest warrior Greece had ever seen, he was going to make sure of that. All she needed was a little direction and he could do that for her. Seeing her get lost in the crowd he disappeared.