Chapter 48
All of the other men looked on in fear once this man had appeared in the clearing. Witnessing what had just taken place with their leader had them all frozen where they stood. They weren't sure what to do next as none of them wanted to be the one who had the unlucky fortune of capturing his attention. They all adverted their eyes immediately, hoping that he would not signal them out.
"To be fair, I will put my sword away." Ares sheathed his blade and glanced around the clearing and saw that all of them were now avoiding his gaze, "What… no takers? And yet all of you were willing to put your hands on my property and have fun with her. What does she have that I don't?" he asked as he gestured in Xena's direction and then let out a disturbing laugh, "Nooo that does not sit well with me at all."
Upon hearing his words, they all began to scatter because they knew that they were not going to stand a chance going up against a God and one woman was not worth their lives. Ares, on the other hand was not about to let them escape that easily, no one was going to be left alive once he was done with them.
"There is nothing I distaste more than cowardice." Ares growled out and before any of them knew what was happening, a wall of fire had started to quickly surround the clearing. The unfortunate ones- that had been running frightened towards safety had collided into the barrier of flames before they had the chance to stop their getaway and were quickly consumed up by the firestorm. Considering that those were the ill-fated ones, they were actually quite lucky since they were not going to have to deal with the War God's wrath directly, a slight blessing in disguise.
All the others started to panic, there was no way out and now they were all trapped within an impossible to escape blaze and even though the rain was falling, it had no effect on their confinement. Some dashed over to puddles of water and started to scoop the liquid into their hands and unsuccessfully throw it onto the flames, hoping that it would make a path through it. Their attempts were futile and Ares just watched in slight amusement as they scampered around like rats, desperately trying to come up with a way to escape their fate. Shortly after, a fireball of his own formed in the War Gods' hand and he cast his eyes around a bit to see who was going to be the fortunate one. Decisions, decisions… What was a War God to do, there were just so many to choose from and he couldn't decide on one single person specifically so he made another fire ball appear in his left hand and he just started tossing them aimlessly out at them.
He first started launching them at the fleeing men that now tried to run for their lives, several unlucky few who weren't quick enough to escape the War God's determination to make them all suffer, met their demise. Ares began to close in the distance on this one group who were relentlessly trying to douse the flames, not realizing that it was a hopeless matter on their part, they weren't going to get out unless the War God wanted them to. A number of them had taken notice of the deadly steps that were unhurriedly approaching them and quickly scattered out of the way, each man for himself and they left one unsuspecting soul to deal with his fate alone. Ares slowly got closer to him and once the man realized that he was now alone he turned around to see that none other than the furious Olympian was standing there.
He swiftly pulled his dagger from his waist and held it at the War Gods throat. An amused smile formed on Ares'face the guy had guts he was willing to give him that but it was not enough to save him and Ares soon reached up and grabbed a hold of his wrist. The man struggled against it and soon the blade started to twist towards him. Fear started to fill his eyes as the dagger inched its way closer and closer to his body. He tried with everything that he had to stop it but there was no way that he was going to match the strength of a God and soon the blade had started to dig its way into the base of his neck.
Ares causally let the man fall from grasp and he tumbled backwards into the flames. He looked around for his next victim only to discover that all of them were now standing so far away from him. Was it something that he had said that caused them to dislike him now? Just a few moments before they had been all laughing together and now they were avoiding him like the plague. He did remember bathing before he had joined this little party so it couldn't have been that. It must have been something else entirely that was making them all wary of him, he guessed that he was just going to have to go and ask them. They weren't very gracious hosts though, they didn't even offer him a drink. That offended the War God, the strikes against them were only increasing and they weren't doing much to try and right their wrong. Not that he would have bothered to consider anything they had to say or do anyway.
Some had actually tried to defend themselves against the War God. They thought that if they could just somehow sneak up on him then they would be able to drive their swords into him and scare the Olympian off. Watching the God sending fireballs out at their fleeing comrades, a select doomed few, they began to close in the distance to him from behind. But the moment one of them close enough, Ares quickly turned around and grabbed him by the throat.
"Now, now…" the God of War cocked his head to the side as he looked at him, "... let's fight fair." he suggested in a reprimanding tone.
Just then, another man immediately rushed him seeing it as his chance to catch him off guard and help his fellow comrade. The War God never broke his gaze from the man he now held in his clutches and he extended his left hand towards the one that was charging him and an energy ball flew in his direction. It hit the man square in the chest and sent him flying backwards into a tree. The man gasped out from pain as he got impaled on the tree from a branch that was sticking out of his heavily bleeding chest and it wasn't long before his life left him. Ares tightened his grip on the man's throat and he brought his hands up to try and free himself from the Gods grasp as he desperately gasped for breath.
In the meantime one man, seeing it as his chance to finish what they had set out to do and not have his comrades die in vain, he began to head in Xena's direction. Since the God was way too occupied with everyone else he figured he would be able to sneak up on her and end her life. He cast a glance in the Gods direction and saw that he was way too busy choking the life out of one of his friends to notice what he was trying to do.
He turned his attention back to the worthless bitch in front of him and he raised his sword above his head and brought it down hard towards her, planning to drive it straight through her heart for having dare bring the War God there
However, his blade collided viciously with an invisible force and it bounced back at him and shards of blue light filled the empty space around the Warrior Princess where his blade had struck and after a few seconds the light disappeared. He didn't understand what had just happened and he attempted to drive his sword into her again but was met with the same resistance as shining blue light once more surrounded her at the same time that his blade struck the unseen wall. Determined to get to his vulnerable prey one way or the other, he continued with his reckless blows in the hope that he would eventually strike her and get vengeance for his fallen friends.
Ares had seen the flashes of light and turned his head in Xena's direction and saw the man that was swinging his sword in several attempts at her, trying to kill her. He didn't even bother to look back at the man he was still holding in his grip and with one final hard squeeze he broke the man's wind pipe and nonchalantly tossed him to the side like a rag doll. He sent an energy ball flying in the other man's direction and he went flying away from Xena. Ares reappeared in front of him and the man started to inch his way away from the God and he reached down and gripped him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off of the ground in one rough swift motion.
"You dare to cowardly attack my Chosen?!" the God of War breathed out on a dangerous tone.
The man never even got a chance to try and give a response, Ares had already tightened his hold and he brought his arm up and attempted to swing his blade at the Olympian to get himself free. The War God grabbed him brutally by the arm that held his sword and halted his actions. Ares was seething from this gutless mortal who thought that he could just so easily dispatch his Chosen and his hold on his arm tightened even more and he ferociously tore it from his body. The man screamed out in pain and immediately went into shock as he looked down at his arm that now laid on the ground. Next thing he knew, he was carelessly dropped to the ground and he slowly started to crawl away from his executioner.
He only got a few feet away before a pair of leather boots reappeared in front of him again and he looked up at the God before him and Ares reached down and snapped his neck. The War God looked down at the man with disgust and then he turned around to find two men who seemed to have been frozen in fear from what they had just witnessed.
"Oh, what do we have here?" Ares asked harmlessly as he began to start to walk around the two men. The two comrades watched the War Gods' movements with rapt attention in the hopes of somehow being able to escape from him. They were too frightened to move after what they had just seen. They thought that they could have helped him but they soon realized that they had just made one of the biggest mistakes of their lives.
"W-we... t-try… h-him..." one of them ended up stuttering as he failed the attempt to actually answer the War God.
"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that, what did you say?" the God of War cupped his ear with his hand as he leaned slightly in their direction pretending that he hadn't heard them " Hydra got your tongue?" he let out a disapproving sigh and then shook his head slightly at the daunting possibility that one actually did and he unsheathed his sword as he closed in the remaining distance between them, "Don't worry, I can help you with that."
The men were too frozen in fear to try and do anything and Ares brought his sword up and lopped off the heads of both men in one single strong swing. Apparently impressed with himself, he sheathed his sword and looked around the clearing once more to see who was left. He found one pathetic mortal that had stumbled over the dead body of one of his already dead friends while he was trying to make a run for it , but there was nowhere for him to go and he sent a fireball in his direction and reduced him to a pile of ash. Admiring his work one last time and satisfied with the results, he turned his attention back to Xena. He walked up to her and dropped to his knees before her as he started to look her over.
"What happened to you?" he questioned her but was met with silence. Ares began to run his hands over every inch of her body looking for any signs of a fatal wound but with the rain, the blood and mud that she was already covered in he couldn't tell. He could feel her shivering from the cold and he saw that her lips were starting to turn to a shade of blue. She still had yet to look at him and he gently lifted her chin so he could search out her eyes. They remained closed as he tilted her face towards his own.
"Xena!" he tried to get her attention but got nothing and he started to panic, "Come on..." he breathed out with a little bit of desperation, "... open those beautiful blue eyes for me."
He moved his hand to her shoulder and began to shake her a little more roughly with the hope that it would rouse her. This horrible feeling was starting to constrict his chest and it only agitated him more in trying to get her to open her eyes. He didn't like this strange sensation that was now coming over him and the longer her eyes remained closed the more awful the feeling grew.
"Don't you dare, Xena! Don't you dare! You don't get to check out on me now and I'm not letting you go that easy." he said in a frantic tone. He needed to get her to open her eyes and he needed to do something that would get her attention. Thinking that he had it, the War God soon cupped her face and leaned in and captured her lips in a sensual kiss. A red light began to form where their mouths met and he sent a flow of heat through her body to warm her up. Ares continued to kiss her and sent the heat coursing through her body until he started to feel her respond to him and he pulled back to look at her face. He patted her on the cheek a few times and finally he was rewarded with the sight of those baby blues as her eyes gradually began to flutter open and he let out the breath he had been holding.
Opening her eyes slowly, Xena was met with a wonderful sight of deep brown eyes that she knew well. "Ares..." she sighed out and gave him a weak smile, "... you..." but her words died in her throat since she was so cold.
"What happened to you?" he asked her again and softly pushed back her wet strands of hair from her face so he could see her better. She didn't answer him though and her head drooped down a little from exhaustion and Ares gently took a hold of her chin again and tilted her face back up towards his own. Her fatigued eyes stared back up at him and he ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek and then softly caressed her hair as he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss against her forehead.
Xena was enjoying immensely the feel of his touch as he ran his fingers through her hair, she was so tired and she tried to keep her eyes open when they drifted shut a few times. Not being able to hold herself up anymore, she slowly leaned into him and softly placed her head on his chest and let his strong presence seep into her, she gently nestled her head against him more and she finally allowed herself to close her eyes. She let out a deep unsteady breath as she now let herself relax for the first time in hours. He felt so warm against her cold body and she began to cuddle closer to him, wrapping little by little her arms around his waist, greedily trying to soak up all of his warmth. She immediately felt him snake his own arms around her in return a few seconds later. They sat like that, in each other's embrace for a few moments, each silently clinging to the other. Ares could feel her body shivering uncontrollably against his and he tightened his hold a little more.
"Let's get you out of here." he murmured to her and thus the God got to his feet and helped her to her own.
She leaned into him for support when her injured foot stumbled some on the wet ground, hissing a little when the action had caused strain to it, and Ares quickly lifted her up into his arms. Xena settled herself against him and burrowed herself in his arms and now rested her head on his shoulder and brought her free hand up and placed it against his chest. She lightly ran her fingers through the downy hair on his chest while she fingered his pendant and despite the pain, she smiled softly the moment she felt his steady heartbeat, inhaling deep against him while her senses took in his familiar scent and she knew that she was now safe. Gradually she began to close her eyes, she tried to fight it at first but her tired body wanted rest, and she moved her hand to the edge of his vest and wrapped her fingers around it firmly as she held on to him tighter and finally allowed herself to drift off to sleep in the safety of his warm embrace.
"I've got you." he whispered in her ear and placed a protective kiss on the side of her head as he held her close and a blue light began to surround them as they finally left that dreadful forest.
Xxxxx
They soon reappeared in his bed chamber in the Halls of War and Ares quickly walked them over to his bed and gently laid Xena down on it, trying not to wake her. Without even giving it a second thought he waved his hand slightly and he removed the clothes from her body so he could better assess her wounds. He cleaned her from all the mud and blood she was covered in and dried her to help get the chill out of her bones and made the fire roar to life in the hearth. He leaned over her and swiftly he began to run his hands over every inch of her nude form and he searched her body for any signs indicating that she was wounded fatally. Having checked her once, he checked her again and then again just to be sure that he didn't miss anything, no matter how insignificant.
Satisfied that he didn't see anything that was life threatening he made a blood red silk nightgown, that fell to her mid thigh, appear on her. He healed what little wounds that she did have and then he moved to her ankle, where he had seen the slight swelling, and he gently began to massage it. The moment he had touched her ankle she moaned out in discomfort and jerked away from him. He tenderly placed his fingers against the injured area again and delicately began to rub against it once more and she moaned out in distress once again and tried to move her foot out of his grasp but he held her leg firmly in place. A blue light began to form from his hand while he rubbed the tender area and soon the swelling began to slowly reduce and her small cries of distress died down. Having fully healed her sprained ankle, he made a thick fur blanket appear and softly laid it on top of her shaking form. He needed to warm her up before hypothermia started to set in. He sat down next to her on the bed and he reached out and started to smooth back the hair from her face and slowly ran his fingers through her silky raven tresses.
Looking at her, he couldn't help wondering what on earth had happened to her that caused her to end up in that forest nearly dead. And where were Athena's other warriors, why weren't they there to help her? Sure, she could handle herself, there was an impressive body count already by the time he got to her but she was gravely outnumbered when he showed up. He wasn't sure why but he could have bet that this had Athena's name written all over it. She wanted her dead for some reason but he was not going to just let that happen. Xena was meant to be his and he was going to protect her. Hearing her soft whimper snapped him out of his thoughts and he refocused on his Princess.
She was still shivering from the cold even with the fire and the blanket to keep her warm. He needed to warm her up and he needed to do it fast and he changed out of his own leather's and in to a pair of black slacks and moved to lay down next to her. He lifted the blanket that she was under and shifted closer to her. He pulled her to himself, wrapping his body warmth around her as much as he could. Ares felt her respond as she snuggled closer to him and he tightened his embrace. A red light began to form from his hands and he began to move them up and down her body as he tried vainly to warm her up and slowly he began to feel her quiver less and less against him from his effort. He pulled her closer to himself, eliminating any space that was keeping them even the slightest inch apart and then he moved his hand to her left thigh and draped her leg over him and continued to run his hands over her body. Once she had finally stopped shivering, he just laid there with her well into the night just stroking her hair and keeping his vice like grip locked around her waist to keep her from going anywhere. Even though she wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon to even entertain the thought of leaving his embrace and she soon burrowed herself more into him, finding sanctuary in Wars' arms while she nestled her head against his chest more. The chill had left her body hours before and he was content on just holding her.
He stared down at her as he felt her warm, steady breath softly hit against his chest, delicately allowing his fingertips to caress her bare thigh. He didn't know what he would have done if he had shown up a second later. The thought of losing her had made his chest squeeze with something that he had never felt before. To think that this one mortal woman seemed to hold such a power over him made him feel weak and he didn't like that feeling at all, but he was not about to let her go for anything, not now that he had just found her. He didn't like the feeling that the thought of her dying had brought on and he wasn't sure why he was getting those sensations in the first place. He just laid there with her thinking about it for a moment and then he realized that the force that had been reaching out to him earlier was her. His Princess had been silently calling out to him for hours and he had been trying to ignore it when she needed him, he was supposed to protect his Chosen.
He was never going to make that same mistake twice and he leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on the top of her head and she seemed to let out a pleased sigh at the contact. Gently, he shifted her so that she was straddling him and was now laying completely on top of him and he wrapped his arms around her as much as he could, locking Xena in his embrace. Zeus himself would not have been able to take her from him that night as he held on to her as if his life depended on it, afraid that she would somehow slip away if he loosened his hold in the slightest. The War God held her tightly to him while he laid awake, watching over her to make sure that she was really out of the danger zone. Keeping one arm firmly locked around her at all times, he would occasionally run his fingers through her raven hair and then softly run his fingertips against her silky smooth skin and after a few more hours, he encompassed his Princess tightly with both arms and he finally let his own eyes close to join her.