Chapter 18
Xena was on the training grounds near Athena's temple trying to improve her fighting techniques. Ever since Ares had said that her style could use some work, the idea was constantly nagging at the back of her mind, so taking his advice as literally as possible she decided that she would spend the whole day trying to improve and show him that her skill was not as flawed as he thought it was. She had been in that arena for more than half a day fighting her invisible opponents since she couldn't get any of the others to come and join her as none of them wanted to spend one of the few days when they didn't have to do anything, training. She didn't let that phase her though, especially given that she worked better alone and now she didn't have to worry about them quitting on her when they grew tired. The only down side to that was that now she lacked a proper way to test her progression.
She turned her attention to the wooden pole they used to practice some sword techniques and she began to go through a drill on it. A few moments later, she was beginning to grow bored with the fake routine and she slashed her sword one last time at the hunk of wood in front of her and just stood there looking at it. She let out an annoyed breath for she knew that this was no way to train. How could she build her offense without a proper defense? This piece of wood was not going to fight her back and give her the challenge she desperately needed to in order to really build that defense… Something or someone able to push her and give it as much as she did and not falter away the moment they were in a bad situation. She grew angry with herself for not having convinced one of her other comrades to join her. At least she could have gotten a good work out from one of them if nothing else. But no, now she was standing there glaring at this lifeless wooden pole in front of her, which except of seemingly mocking her with his defiant pose, had no other use.
"Oh, you think this is funny do you?" she inquired, arching an eyebrow at the rebellious piece of wood in front of her. "Well, how is this for funny?" she barked, swinging her sword at it and with one hard blow she lodged it into the side of the pole.
With a satisfied grimace she then stepped back from it and looked approvingly at her handy work as her sword was now sticking out of the side of the wood. Pleased that she had gotten the last say in the matter against the arrogant piece of wood she decided to move on to more appealing things.
Xena walked back up to the pole and grabbed the hilt of her sword and began to try and tug it out of the wood. After a few hard tugs she couldn't get her sword dislodged from the pole. "Come now, there... is no reason... to be stubborn." she breathed out in between tugs. "We win some.." she continued to pull. "...we lose some." she tugged as hard as she could but to no avail, she braced her left foot on the pole and began to pull again.
"Now let go!" she gritted her teeth as she gave one final hard pull and her sword came free from the pole. Off balance from the tugging, she stumbled backwards and lost her footing and fell to the ground. She laid there staring up at the sky for a few moments as she shook her head and she laughed softly to herself. She lifted her head and gave the pole an evil glare.
"Looks like you got your revenge."
Xena then picked herself up off of the ground and began to dust herself off.
"We will finish this later." she hissed, pointing her sword threateningly towards the wooden pole as she moved away from it. Moving on to something else she began to set up an obstacle course for herself that would cause her to use different moves throughout the course. Just because she didn't have anyone with her didn't mean she couldn't invent the challenge herself. Liking what she came up with, she moved to the start of the course and began it. She had skillfully set up different scenarios throughout the course that were supposed to cause her to have to do different flips, while others she had to fight off the attack of the menacing hay men she had set up in different positions with swords. If she landed from the flips right then she would be able to disarm her opponents with ease.
Half way through the course she came to one of her ambushed waiting hay men and as she flipped into the middle of them she felt that familiar tingle go down her spine as she knew he was now watching her. A small grin came to Xena's face …this was her chance to show him how fierce she could be. She slashed her way through the none threatening ambush and lopped off heads of some, while others she disarmed. Coming to the last one, she could feel his presence behind her and moving to try and catch him off guard she turned around and swung her sword in his direction. Steel met steel as she now stood facing him.
Ares just gave her a smirk as he tilted his head to the side as their swords were now locked together.
"Now Xena, is that any way to greet somebody?" he asked her sweetly as his grin widened.
"That's what you get for sneaking up on me!" she retorted as she shoved him back and moved to strike again.
The War God simply humored her, letting her think she was getting the upper hand on him. After all that training , she thought she had actually accomplished something for all her effort, but after a few more blocked blows from her, he changed his tactic and soon had her on the defense. He could see that she hadn't expected this sudden change but that she also hadn't let it deter her from trying to beat him. Several times he could see, though not alarmingly often, that she had left openings that could have allowed a fatal blow to hit her if he had acted on it. She was good, he could already tell that, but he wanted her to be flawless when it came to such matters and leaving even the slightest opening would not do.
At a certain point, Xena felt like the fight was going in her direction again, and she even seemed to be able to push him back again. Those thoughts quickly faded from her mind though the moment he once again had her on the defense as he swung his sword at her. She deflected and blocked his blows just before he was to make contact with her body. He never gave her a chance to go on the offense because as soon as she blocked one blow another had immediately followed. At a crucial moment in the fight, he flipped over her and the next thing she knew he was knocking her sword from her hand. She soon found herself in his embrace as he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to him with his sword at her throat. She felt invigorated from their little fight, and how could she have felt otherwise when he was the first worthy opponent that she had fought in her life. She stood there waiting to see what he would do. To her immeasurable pleasure, she could feel his steady breath on her neck. She felt him tighten his grip on her waist as he pulled her closer to him.
Ares reveled in what that fight ignited in him. She was persistent the whole time and did not give into defeat where others would have -the moment the tide had turned against them-. He brought his mouth up to her ear and he could feel her shiver from the contact; a smug smile from his part was thus unavoidable.
"This is just one of the several times I could have killed you." he whispered in her ear. "You leave far too many openings." he vibrantly added, lowering his sword without letting let go of her nonetheless as he loosened his hold.
Xena took in his words and thought back to their fight, and found that he was right. There were several times that it did seem that he had held off an attack when she thought he was going to strike and he didn't. Back then, she had thought that he was toying with her but now she realized he was giving her the necessary time to fix her mistake or that he simply grew bored with her and he was just humoring her throughout the whole thing. She chastised herself for not having realized it earlier and was now angry with herself for having let him down with somehow with such a dim-witted mistake as leaving herself open to what could have been a lethal blow. She was set in her thoughts that he had grown bored with her and she ripped herself away from him as she went to retrieve her sword. She kept her back to him as she didn't want to see the disappointed look that she was sure was already present in his eyes at the realization that he had been wrong to assume that she actually had potential and that she could ever be a great warrior.
Ares could sense the self doubt she now had for herself and could easily read in between the lines: she was trying to hide it. Did she really believe that he would think any less of her? He had seen her in battle and had watched her work and she was outstanding. He had never seen another with the skill set that she possessed and he wasn't going to let her think she was anything less but superb. He slowly made his way to her.
Despite the fact that she had heard him approach her, Xena kept her back turned as she gripped her sword in her hands. She felt foolish for having indulged herself in that absolutely naïve thought according to which the God of War might had seen something special in her and she had just wasted her opportunity at showing him what she was capable of. She couldn't even get a strike in against him, how was she supposed to be this ultimate warrior that he wanted?
"I think that was a great practice run. It showed me what we need to work on." he said in an encouraging voice.
Needless to say, the Warrior Princess was stunned. She truly believed that she had recklessly blown any chance she might have had with him and now it miraculously appeared as if she was completely mistaken with her assumption.
"Work on?" she questioned as she turned around to face him, hoping that he had meant it. He sure looked as if he did.
"Yes, you didn't honestly believe that you could best me the first time around?" he gave her a cocky grin.
"Well if I had been prepared for this visit I'm sure things could have turned out differently." she gave him a mischievous grin of her own as she moved away from him. "I suppose sneaking up on someone will give you the advantage but let's see how you do when I'm prepared for you."
Ares chuckled as he watched her walk a few feet away. She was challenging him and he found that he liked it. "Oh yes I saw what you did to the wood stump over there. You had him at your mercy." he taunted. "How will I ever fair against you now? "
Xena grew furious that he was making fun of her. "Are you just going to rant all day long or are you going to show me something?"
She was going to show him how deadly she could be.
Ares could see the anger flaring in her eyes at his comment and they were now filled with passion and determination. He was going to enjoy this and he would go an extra round with her at anytime that she wished for it.
"Alright Princess.." he clasped his sword in both hands as he brought it up. "..show me what you got."
Not long after he had charged her and she swiftly side stepped out of his attack. She countered with her own blow that he quickly blocked and he pushed her back. Not wanting to give him the opportunity to get the upper hand she rapidly started to strike out with little jabs towards his midsection. He expertly blocked each of her blows and she swiped at his legs which he immediately jumped over her sword. He started to strike out against her and she started to bide her time waiting for her chance to one up him. She loved the rush she was getting from this as she could feel the blood running faster and faster in her veins as she fought against him.
Ares knew very well what she was doing. He had seen her practice many times with those other warriors, after all. He made a swipe with his blade towards her right arm that she blocked and he countered with a blow to her stomach which she also managed to stop. Thinking to quickly move to strike her from the left he thought he was going to catch her off guard as he faked a swing to her legs but it was her who caught him as she landed a kick to his mid section. Stumbling back from the blow he had a huge grin on his face as he stared at her.
"Nicely done my dear. But can you do it again?"
He gave her no time to respond as he charged at her once more.
Xena was ready for him and dodged his attempt to back her into a corner. She pushed him back as she thought of a way to get the upper hand. Thinking that she had it she flipped over him and as he turned around to strike she kicked at his leg which caused him to stumble to his knees and she knocked his blade from his hand as she held her sword at his throat.
"Not so tough now, are you War God?'
She had a victorious grin on her face as she lowered her sword a little.
Ares quickly reacted and disarmed her of her sword and kicked out her legs. The next thing Xena knew she was lying on the ground with Ares on top of her pinning her down. She continued to fight against him and he pinned her hands above her head. He looked down at her as she squirmed to try and get free from his hold.
"Never assume the fight is over." he grinned as he leaned in closer to her. "You never know when your opponent is truly defeated and to let your guard down too early will get you killed. This is a lesson you'd better remember"
He didn't move away as she stared back up at him with those piercing blue eyes of hers that he always seemed to get himself lost in whenever he looked in them. He was so close to her now and he could feel those heavy breaths that she was now releasing as it hit against his skin. He let his eyes drift over her and he finally let go of her hands as he brought his hand down and let his fingers lightly run across her collarbone. He moved his gaze back up to her face and settled on the slightly parted lips waiting in front of him. They were waiting patiently for him to claim them and all he had to do was lean in a little more and oblige their wish. He was very tempted to fulfill that desire. Too occupied on contemplating whether or not he should give into his urge and just kiss her, silently wondering what her reaction would be if he did, all of a sudden he found himself lying on his back on the ground with her straddling him as she was the one to pin him down.
"What was that about not letting your guard down?" she smiled triumphantly down at him as she leaned over him and planted her hands on either side of his head.
Ares let out a laugh as she had indeed got the better of him. "Fine, I admit it! You are the victor of this match." he smiled proudly up at her as he brought his hands up to rest on her thighs.
"So….the ever so feared War God admits defeat?"
She smiled some more , struggling not to let it show in her voice the effect he was having on her as he began to caress her legs.
"If being conquered meant this..." he let his eyes roam over her and the position she was now in. "... then I'd admit defeat to you any day." Ares purred out as he continued to make small circles on her legs.
"Well then... you are going to be doing that a lot." she tried to hide the hitch in her voice as he continued his stimulating ministrations.
Ares was definitely enjoying the feeling of having her on top of him and he was in no hurry to change that at the moment. Instead, he decided to keep doing what he was doing noticing the effect it had on her and he was certain that she had failed to realize the soft moan she had just let out. He groaned inwardly as her eyes seemed to glaze over with a new passion as her chest began to rise and fall more rapidly. He brought one hand up and caressed her cheek.
Xena seemed to have found herself stuck in that position, reluctant about having him stop his caresses. Quite on the contrary, she seemed locked in place by his gaze and his touch only made her want to have it last longer. She shivered a bit when she felt him softly wrapping his fingers in her hair and soon, he started to pull her closer to him… She let him. She got about mere inches away from his mouth before she stopped, she licked her lips but being that close to him made her lick his also and she straightened back up at the unexpected contact to look into his eyes and saw that they had a fervor in them. She let out a small gasp and she unconsciously grinded against him as she felt him move his hand to her inner thigh. She had just realized what she did and she was right about to panic at the awareness when she heard his low groan in response. She knew if she let this continue any further that there could be major consequences but the logic part of her brain couldn't focus on anything except that touch on her leg that was steadily building a fire inside of her.
Throwing caution to the wind she decided to give in to that burning fire and she moved her hands over his chest and softly gripped the edges of his vest. This time, knowing exactly what she was doing, Xena slowly started to grind against him again and she smiled as she got the response she was expecting. Ares let out a deep groan and ran both of his hands up her legs at her slow torturous movements and let them come to rest against her hips under her dress and continued to guide her to move against him with a little more pressure. Gripping his vest tighter from the sensation she was now feeling, Xena started to lean in to capture his lips. Their mouths met in the lightest touch as both were testing this new territory before they pulled away. Ares, liking what he found, recaptured her lips in a more sensual kiss and she responded in kind as she returned his kisses.
Now that he was finally able to taste her, Ares felt a hunger begin to rise inside of him. Hearing her soft moan was all the encouragement he needed and he quickly sat up and started to run kisses down her neck to her chest. Xena gasped at the unexpected position change and moved her head back to give him better access. She could feel his hands moving lower as they now began to squeeze her bottom as he pulled her closer. The trail of kisses he was leaving on her body set her skin aflame at every spot that he touched. Ares continued with his onslaught of kisses on the tops of her breasts and moved his head lower as he lightly nipped at her nipple through her dress. Her soft sighs and moans in his ear were driving him crazy and he slowly started to kiss, lick and nip his way back up her neck until he found her mouth again. Reclaiming her mouth with his own he lightly ran his tongue across her lips asking her for entrance. When she complied he moved to deepen the kiss as their tongues now fought for dominance and he got a moan of approval from her.
Ares little by little started to lean back bringing her with him as to never break their kiss and he laid back down on the ground. Xena ran her hands over his chest as she continued to indulge herself with him. That small growing fire in her was completely a blazed now and she knew at any moment that they were going to burn together. Their hands became more frantic as they began to pull at the others clothing. Xena had succeeded in removing his sword belt and she pushed open more of his vest and she gently raked her nails over his well chiseled chest and abs. The War God had let out a throaty groan and she smiled against his lips and then playfully nipped at his bottom lip. Xena pulled back from him and he brought his head forward trying to reclaim her mouth again but she pulled back more out of his reach. At his frustrated grunt she smiled widely at the War God and leaned back down to him and he eagerly reclaimed her mouth with his own. She moved to start working on his pants as he started to roam his hands up her back to start working on the laces of her dress when hearing an all too familiar voice broke her out of her haze and she snapped her head up and looked to where the voice had come from.