Chapter 31
There it was, it was going to happen, any moment now it was going to fall. It was going to fall and finally, he was going to get the reward of seeing the reaction once it did. He looked for a brief moment from what he was staring at to the person who was seated underneath it. A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips at the prissy Goddess who sat at the other end of the table. She probably had spent hours picking out her outfit and fixing her hair to make sure it was perfect for the occasion and now it was about to be ruined by the raven who sat precariously above her. He glanced back up towards the bird, not wanting to miss the action for a second and just then it was finally released. He watched it fall and he couldn't have planned it better himself because right before it made contact, the Goddess just happened to move her face up a little with a small laugh and it splattered right against the side of her cheek.
She immediately shrieked out and the War God smiled wide at the situation, trying unsuccessfully to conceal his all out laughter at the woman who was now beside herself from what just happened. This was the most captivating action he had seen all week as the Goddess now launched small fireballs at the raven before leaving the hall in a banquet of tears. He tried to stifle his laughter some more after having received a menacing glare from Zeus from across the table, while Odin was doing his best to get things back in order.
"Pardon the sudden outburst. Let's get back to the business at hand." the King of the Norse Gods said irritated with the abrupt and uncalled for reaction by Freya, "Now, Zeus you were saying…."
"Thank you Odin. As you all know, this alliance will not only stren.."
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... They had had this same conversation over and over again for the past seven days...seven days, and they still couldn't agree on the terms that were set the first day they showed up. Ares thought he would indubitably go crazy if he had to stay there any longer, the Norse lands were so boring and dull and it was lacking a certain something that he couldn't quite figure out what it was. He couldn't understand why they just didn't agree on something already. Every day it was the same accursed thing, Zeus would offer them an alliance with the Greek pantheon and they would aid them in their fight against the Egyptian pantheon- if it called for it- to help keep them from trying to gain any power by conquering foreign lands. But like always, Odin demanded some kind of proof that if the time came they would actually hold up their end of the bargain. After the second day Ares had just tuned them all out, growing tired of the same discussion.
There were so many better things he could have been doing at the moment, but instead he was stuck in that stupid hall once again with a bunch of Gods who couldn't just say yes already. He sighed to himself and then propped his head up with his left hand as he leaned it on the table. He took a quick survey of the others around him and saw that they were all pretty much intent on listening to whatever Zeus was spewing out of his mouth over there. Taking the chance, since everyone seemed to be focused elsewhere, he secreted a small portal under the table. He started to check on a few of his warlords and saw that, like always, they were still having trouble sticking to what he had told them to do before he left. He was going to have to do some serious rethinking of who was going to replace these current generals with when he got back. At the thought of a new general, his thoughts drifted immediately to a certain lethal raven haired warrior.
With a thought, the figure in the portal changed and an image of Xena came into view. His mood suddenly took on a brighter note at the sight of her. Now that was a warrior he was proud to call his own. She had everything that he needed and was looking for in a fighter and he couldn't wait till he had finished training her to see just how much her potential was going to increase. Things were going to change and with Xena at his side he knew he was going to accomplish a lot more than with those idiotic generals that were simply refusing to understand what was demanded of them. His precious raven haired princess... his Warrior Princess. A smile curled at his lips at the idea; he liked the sound of that. He watched her as she was preparing to go to bed. His eyes had a hint of lust in them as they roamed over her for a moment.
That illegally maroon skimpy shift she was wearing, with a slit that went up dangerously high on her leg, was driving him crazy. His eyes lingered on the exposed flesh of her upper thigh for a while and then she bent over slightly as she rifled through something on a nearby table, a very faint growl formed in his throat at his new sight. He liked what he was seeing and he titled his head to the side to see if maybe he could get more of a sneak peek, he was eager to run his hand over that smooth velvety skin again. His gaze wandered up her body to those absolutely eye-catching full breasts of hers. Her hair glided down the valley of them and he furrowed his brow a little since it kept him from enjoying the full view of them completely. Xena had stretched, causing her to stick out her breasts more and making the hem of her shift lift a little higher up her thigh. Revealing more of her flesh to him and he was torn on where to focus his attention, on those voluptuous breasts that were pleading for his gaze or on the curve of her ass that started to show the more she curled her body and was calling for his touch. He ended up not being able to choose between the two areas and just darted his eyes from one to the other. Gorging on them as much as he could before she finally sat down on the edge of the bed, he sighed, longing to join her there for far more pleasurable activities then just holding her, eager to be able to break all barriers between them and be rid of all that pesky fabric that had kept her from him for far too long. He had never wanted anything or anyone more than he wanted her. The War God never had a problem luring a woman into his bed, he saw what he wanted and he usually took it. Enticing the already more than eager female with a little bit of flattery, not that it ever took much anyway. But with Xena it was different and she never fond over him like the others who would bend over backwards to try and please him. He actually didn't really like that, it was always just so simple, so easy, he wouldn't even have to do much and they would just throw themselves at him and sometimes he liked a good chase. With her, he was positive that she was doing everything in her power to not please him. He knew he affected her, but she would resist her more primal instinct with him every step of the way. He could tell she was fighting an inner battle with herself when he would touch her... when he kissed her. How she would struggle to find that sane thought that would keep her from going any further but ultimately that voice of reason would be defeated and she would return his kisses with an equal passion. Not just letting him take control of it but she would fight him for dominance, telling him that she wasn't just going to sit back and have him take control of her. And, for some strange reason, that made him want her in his bed because she chose it so and not because he had tempted her into it. He wanted her to want him, to make love to her because she wanted to make love to him. She was different... special from all the others and if she wished, he knew he would fulfill her every desire.
A few more seconds passed as she brushed her hair off of her shoulder, making her long raven strands flow down her back instead. He moved his hand closer to the portal and ran his fingertip against it, wanting to caress those silky tresses, and the portal rippled a little from the contact. The glint of something made out of metal caught his eye and he zeroed in on her chest. Right there, laying just perfectly between her breasts, like if it had always meant to be there, was the pendant he had left for her. A slight smile formed on his face, she was wearing it and therefore confirming to him that she was now fully his. A gratifying shiver went through him at the thought, of her and him being one. She was his and together they were going to be unstoppable. Tomorrow was going to be the start of their future together, of their destiny, just the two of them and the War God couldn't wait to get started.
"Ares. "
He watched his raven haired beauty lay down on the bed and pull the blanket up to cover herself to her waist. He heard her sigh softly as she laid down on her left side and nestled her head on the pillow and the fire light that danced across her face only seemed to illuminate her gorgeous visage even more, making it glow in the low light like the Goddess that she was.
"So perfect..." he murmured to himself as he watched those stunning cerulean eyes close, cutting him off from those alluring depths as she drifted off to sleep.
With a small motion of his hand the blanket started to move further up her body and cover her more and stopped once it reached her shoulder. Xena had snuggled more into the bed from the new warmth that surrounded her and her hand curled around the edge of the blanket and she held it tighter to herself. Ares stared down at her fondly, watching how she fell deeper and deeper into Morpheus' realm. The bastard better not be giving her any bad dreams and if he found out that he was acting otherwise, tormenting his Chosen then he was going to have to deal with him and he was not going to like his visit. He found himself wanting to be there, lying beside her as she curled up to him for warmth while he held her tightly to himself.
"Ares! " came the annoyed voice again, but his mind was miles and miles away…
The God of War finally heard the voice and this time he recognized that disapproving tone as Zeus'. He reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the enchanting image of the sleeping siren in the portal to come and stare at the King of the Gods angry expression. He looked around the hall and saw that everyone else was gone and realized that the meeting was over.
"Is there something in that portal that you would like to share since it seemed to have captivated you so much as to miss the entire meeting?" the King of the Gods asked while walking closer to his son to see what it was exactly that had captured his attention for so long.
He had seen that his son had been distracted by something earlier and noticed that he was looking at something in a portal. He was glad that Ares was seated closer to him and none of the other Gods had become aware of his lack of interest in the matter at hand. Zeus was also furious with him for so blatantly ignoring such a crucial gathering and deciding that it would be better to just gaze at some dim-witted skirmish somewhere. He was just an embarrassment to him and for once, he was thankful that the War Gods nonchalant attitude didn't interfere with the matter.
Ares saw Zeus coming closer to him so he could see what the image in the portal was. Not liking that the old man felt the need to deliberately intrude in on his business when it didn't concern him, only taking interest in something of his when it suited him, and not wanting to give him the privilege of looking upon his princess he quickly closed the portal. He did not need to be ogling at her while she slept.
"I don't know what you mean." a devious grin lightened up the War Gods features as he rested his hands behind his head, taking joy in the irritated look forming on the King of the Gods face.
Choosing to ignore the comment from his insolent son, he decided to fill him in on a few key elements that he might have missed while his attention was elsewhere.
"The Norse Gods have agreed to our terms of the alliance based on one condition."
"Finally, I was starting to think that they just wanted to enjoy our company for awhile longer then to actually agree to something. So what's this condition that made them at last see the light?"
A small smile pulled at the King of the Gods lips for he knew his son was not going to be thrilled with this new term.
"I have agreed to allow one of our pantheon to stay here for awhile as a sign of good faith that when or if the time comes we will keep our word."
"Oh man, who is the unlucky one that is going to have to spend some time with this dreary crowd?" he exclaimed with amusement, he had a few people in mind that he would like to have out of the way for awhile.
"You." came Zeus' simple reply and he watched as the smile quickly faded from the War Gods face.
"Me? You can't be serious? I've already been away from my duties for too long and I can't continue to stay in this dreaded land."
"Yes, you will be the one to help strengthen this alliance. Since you seem to have been enjoying your stay here so much I figured you wouldn't mind staying a little longer."
"You can't do this! You can't make me stay here!" Ares roared out at Zeus' ridiculous plan of trying to fortify this coalition, "I have a Chosen that I need to train and.." but he was interrupted by the King of the Gods.
"Chosen?" Zeus asked with disbelief, "Since when have you had a Chosen?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but if you must know, I have just recently picked someone to be my Chosen and I need to train her."
"Her? A woman is the Chosen of War?" the skepticism was clearly heard in the God's tone, "You expect me to believe that after all this time you have finally picked a Chosen and it is a woman?"
"I don't recall having to get your approval on who I chose for the job. " the War God bit back with agitation on having to justify on who he could pick to bestow the title to.
"Please, this is just one of your made up and poorly thought out plans to try and get out of your new state of affairs that you now find yourself in."
"This is not a scheme and I have picked a mortal that deserves the title of being my Chosen."
"Oh really?" came the Gods not convinced question, the Fates had told him of no such bond being made recently between a mortal and a God, "Do tell me, when was it that this said female mortal pledged her allegiance to you and became your Chosen?"
Ares was just about to tell the ever so arrogant Zeus just how long she had been his Chosen when he realized that Xena had never officially pledged herself to him. He couldn't believe that he had let such a simple step slip by before he had left. How could he have missed such a vital part of having her? It was all those damn interruptions that had kept him from fully gaining her as his own.
"That's what I thought." Zeus could see that his son's little plan to get out of the situation was blown away, "Just because one mortal slut spread her legs for you and allowed you to slide your cock into her and fuck her does not make her your Chosen, Ares."
The War God's eyes grew furious at the way Zeus had just insulted his Xena. It didn't matter to him that they hadn't taken their vows yet, she belonged to him and no one disrespected his Chosen, not even the King of the Gods himself.
"You will chose your words more carefully when you talk about her." he growled out, clenching his fists at his sides as he stared the old man down and stood up from where he sat.
"You dare threaten me boy?!" Zeus roared out at his son's clear warning, "You forget your place."
Before Ares even had a chance to react he was being tossed across the room by a lightning bolt that Zeus sent flying his way. He crashed into a pillar and sunk to the ground from the force of the blow and little sparks of electricity still flashed across his body as it held him down, constricting his muscles. His eyes glared with malice at the King of the Gods from where he sat, watching as he slowly approached him. He tried to get up, not wanting to give Zeus the satisfaction of towering over him, but the moment he tried to move a spasm of a painful voltage rippled through him and he dropped to his knees again as he groaned through the pain.
Zeus walked up to the fallen War God and placed his hand on his shoulder. His son just stared up at him with defiance and wanting to put him in his place, he gripped him more tightly and sent a painful blue light into him. The God of War grunted through the pain, not wanting the bastard to get the fulfillment of enjoying his torture. The moment Zeus had released him he knew he had done something to him, he tried to dematerialize from the room and found that he couldn't.
"What have you done?"
"That was just a little something to ensure that you won't skip out on staying here. You will only be allowed to leave once I decide that this alliance has strengthen enough and Odin is content with the terms." he said with amusement at the War God's growing anger of being so helpless since he was constricted to kneel before him and being denied a chance to wreak havoc, "And don't worry, I'm sure that little whore of yours will find someone else to satisfy her in your absence."
Ares growled threateningly low in his throat at how Zeus chose to describe his Chosen again. If the bastard wasn't forcing him to kneel down before him he would have taught him a lesson in respect. He jerked forward, trying to break free from his restraint again, but once more a burning hot pain shot all the way through his body. The hatred building in his eyes towards the King of the Gods was only growing at the satisfied smile that was now spreading across his face. A few moments later and the God had left the room, releasing his hold over him and he slumped forward as one last small tremor racked him. The War God made his way to his feet, cursing Zeus for what he had just done.
He had no right to keep him away from his Chosen, so what if the bond wasn't official yet. He was going to rectify that small mistake the moment he got back to Greece. But no, now Zeus had denied him the chance of claiming Xena entirely for himself and left him there to stay for Gods knew how long. This was a huge setback, knowing Zeus like he did he knew that he would most likely leave him there for years just to get a point across. That was time he didn't have to lose, every moment he now spent away from her was a risk at the possibility that she would grow away from him. A chance for Athena to officially squash that part of her that made her the warrior she was. Not liking that new prospect he threw a few fire balls across the room, destroying pillars, tables and chairs that were unfortunate enough to be in the way.
Pleased with his damaged he sunk down into a nearby chair that was lucky enough to have missed the havoc. This was not how he planned to start their destiny together, she was going to be at his temple tomorrow and he was going to be stuck here instead of being where he wanted to be. Not at all happy with his current situation he made a portal appear and an image of a sleeping Xena came into view. She was lying on her back with her face turned towards him and her right hand rested on her chest clutching lightly the pendant in her hand. The War Gods cruel eyes softened a little while he watched her sleeping form. He studied her serene face and with a thought moved the few stray locks of hair that were blocking his view. He noticed that she seemed to shiver a little in her slumber and he saw that the fire was slowly dying in the hearth and that the blanket had bunched up at her waist. With a small wave of his hand the fire began to come to life again and the blanket moved back up her body until it covered her to her chin and she began to stop shivering.
"Soon my dear, soon." he whispered out lowly as he lightly caressed her image.
He dematerialized from the destroyed room and went back to where he had been staying for the past seven days. He made a throne appear and sat down on it and draped his leg over the arm rest, never breaking his gaze from the captivating woman in the portal. He made a goblet of wine appear and he sipped it slowly, watching how a small smile began to form on her face. He wondered what it was she was dreaming about that caused her to smile like that, he hadn't seen that one before and he was curious of what brought it out of her. The War God decided that he really didn't want to know what it was, he didn't really want to risk seeing something he didn't want to see. He settled himself more into his throne as he just watched her sleep for the rest of the night.