Chapter 63

Although the War God had left the Warrior Princess in what he believed to be a secure enough location, it wasn't long before another set of eyes were now upon her, watching her sleeping form sinisterly. Even though she was happily within Morpheus' realm, seemingly lost to what was going on around her, Xena had sensed Ares' absence the moment he had left her side. The abrupt loss causing her once peaceful form to shiver slightly as the presence of another more threatening demeanor began to wash over her.

Everything just felt less secure at that instant, making her senses be more on alert and she stirred a little from the feeling, softly nestling herself tightly within the bed some more - unconsciously searching for that familiar warmth that normally would have been right next to her. Besides the fact that she had basically come up empty, she was also getting now this more prominent weird sense around her and it started to further pull her out of her slumber.

It did not feel pleasant at all and this awkward presence made her skin crawl and she slowly opened her eyes. The stunning crimson rose that the handsome War God had left behind for her, distracted her for an instant to what had awakened her in the first place. That eerie feeling was projecting more though and it crept over her again, making her body grow tense unexpectedly from the sensation before she cast a small look around the confines of her tent. Something didn't feel right to her, it was as if something didn't belong there and was now intruding on her.

Not seeing anything that would have caused some type of an alarm-even though her senses were still clearly telling her otherwise, Xena pulled the sheet tightly around herself. She couldn't shake the strange notion that she was being watched and she didn't like it one bit and she sat up in the bed a little, keeping herself covered, more alert than before and then her hand touched against the rose that was lying beside her. She looked down at it, completely forgetting for a moment that it was there and thinking that it had been something else.

She swiftly picked it up, and admired it for a moment longer as a tiny smile crept its way onto her face and it only seemed like the weird energy that she could feel had become agitated from it. She looked around again, trying to find something at this point that would have been the cause of what was going on and she had the small impression that this had happened to her before but she couldn't quite remember when it happened, it really wasn't that memorable of a moment to begin with anyway.

As her questioning sapphire eyes scanned every detail of the interior of her tent, the Warrior Princess couldn't have possibly figured out that the not so wanted guest was the Sun God himself, standing cloaked just a few feet away from her rather provocative form. He was not entirely pleased with the sight that he had before him at the moment though. Oh sure, he had fantasized many a times of finding a completely naked Xena in bed waiting for him to do with as he pleased but the thought that she and Ares had just been rolling around like weasels not so long ago was just utterly disgusting.

He tried to push the not so pleasant image from his mind all the same, really wanting to actually enjoy this moment while he let his eyes roam over her in a way that he had never really had the pleasure to do before. She had never let her guard down that much when he was around her for the Sun God to be anywhere near as successful in getting her to take off a boot, let alone all of her clothes. Nonetheless, he wasn't going to let this moment slip by and he lustfully roamed his eyes over her.

Her gorgeous skin was just simply mouthwatering. He could have definitely done without the sheet, that was a given, but what he could see pleased him greatly. She looked so sexy with that tousled hair, her still slightly sleepy sapphire eyes just giving her a completely drugged with passion look after having been very well fucked and Apollo felt himself harden from the sight of her.

Unconsciously, he licked his lips and the unbearable need to just reap what had always been just right out of his reach while that troublesome guard dog was away was seriously beginning to cloud his need to self-preserve and he took a small step towards the most forbidden temptation he had ever had. There was a time and a place for everything and by the Sun God's calculations, their time had certainly been moving at a snail's pace of when it was supposed to come to fruition.

Just a little taste to sate a long building desire that was all, he wasn't asking for too much after all. The allure was completely overwhelming to him and the setting, well, that couldn't have been more perfect if he had planned it out himself. If that wasn't a sign saying that this union was meant to be then what was? The Fates were clearly giving their blessing with this rare moment of opportunity. It could very well be quite some time before he had the chance to be alone with her again and to let this moment pass by, he would only be a fool.

Just think about it for a moment… a luscious young maiden lying precariously in bed with nothing but a flimsy sheet shielding her worldly wonders from curious eyes, the satin linen hugging those utterly voluptuous breasts while her nipples slightly strained against the fabric, literally begging for some type of stimulation from him so her body could experience what it was really like to be touched by a lover.

Now, was that a sight that one could so easily resist? One surely had to have been blind to not appreciate such a generous offering and the Sun God was anything but that. The thought of skin against skin while he seductively removed that delicate material from her body, revealing a prize that by this point had been long overdue and merging with her in a coupling that would forever sear its longevity into her mind was completely agonizing to him of how effortlessly it could all be fulfilled at that instant.

There was no telling for how long Ares was actually going to be away and every second lost now was another chance gone of how impossibly close he had come yet again. With that thought in mind, it wasn't long before his sick little fantasies started to whirl through his head of how to go about it, not just once but for whenever and for how long he wanted it. He wasn't going to let Xena be another Daphne and his plan was slowly coming together nicely of how he was going to obtain her.

Unlike that nymph who had proven too ungrateful to appreciate the honor of such a gesture that he was graciously bestowing upon her, Apollo planned to make the Warrior Princess solely his by claiming her as his wife. She might have been led astray at the moment but he was more than confident that he was going to get her back and this was just a minor setback of their destiny. He already had one piece of the puzzle solved, now all he needed was the opportunity for it to have maximum effect and then he would have his Queen beside him, just like he had imagined her to be since he saw her.

As his eyes wandered their way freely over her, he couldn't stop the thought of how much of an Elysian dream she was, no doubt about it, just like he always knew she would be. However, as his eyes continued their journey over her body, he couldn't help the slight scowl that began to form on his face with the little subtle abrasions he was seeing against her skin.

Those passionate love marks that Ares had so generously covered her body in as he bit, nipped and kissed his way over her silky skin, were the only thing that had put a halt to the completely delusional Sun God's wicked thoughts, keeping the one who cunningly held his heart tightly in her hands from harm at the moment.

They were practically unnoticeable, a small scuff mark against her cleavage, a fading discreet blemish along her neck that must have been passionately placed there several hours ago, but they were all a clear statement that she belonged and was touched by another- that said sadistic lover had sure marked his territory….

However, what just seemed to make everything even more appalling to the fuming Olympian, there was that accursed red rose she was holding. Since when did she even like flowers anyway? Never, not for a single moment in the years that they had spent together did she hint once that she liked flowers, let alone roses and that inexcusable smile that had appeared on her face was just downright maddening. But yet, there she was grasping that pathetic excuse of a gift in her hand as though it really meant something special to her.

Talk about cliché too, I mean a rose, really?! Of all the different types of flowers out there that could have been chosen, that baboon of a War God had to pick something as simple as a rose. It just goes to show you that someone who was all brawns and no brains really didn't know anything about a romantic gesture. Now orchids on the other hand, those were a more romantic choice and were worthy of such an elegant beauty as his fair Xena, not that thorny atrocity. Though throughout all that time, not once had he ever thought of that before as a means to please her. Maybe he should have sent flowers?

The thought only managed to anger Apollo more, just how had Ares succeeded in luring Xena into his clutches in the first place? There was just absolutely no way that wretched rose had anything major to do with it, he himself had attempted to give her all sorts of trinkets before in the past and nothing had ever worked. The only logical explanation that he could think of was that the War God had brainwashed her. There was just no other way that it could have been anything else, besides the fact that Ares was a God, he really didn't have anything else going for him that would have enthralled her that significantly.

While Apollo had been trying to pep talk himself as to why things had turned out the way they did, Xena started to make her way out of bed but then stopped, not about to give whoever was watching her a show and she swiftly grabbed her abandoned battle dress, that Ares had so eagerly removed from her body just hours earlier in his fervent need to touch every inch of her, from the ground and hastily put it on under the safety of the covers that shielded her naked form from prying eyes.

Having done that, which proved a lot harder to do while semi lying down, the Warrior Princess got up, quickly but not entirely noticeable, making her way to her sword. Her eyes kept scanning the area, she was more than positive that there was someone there with her and this uninvited guest had quickly outstayed their welcome. Just when she was certain that she had precisely located the unwanted presence it all of a sudden vanished the moment a voice from outside her tent had pierced the air.

Apollo couldn't afford to stay there any longer then he had already done. He knew that once Ares got back he would be able to sense that he had been there and the longer his presence lingered in her tent the quicker he would pick up on it and it was best to keep the visit short. The War God's threat still dwelled in his mind and he wasn't entirely sure whether or not he would follow through with it, especially not for some mortal woman. Although he didn't think he had been there long enough for Ares to have figured out that it had been him, the Sun God really wasn't willing to put that theory to the test any time soon either.

"My Lady?"

Xena ignored it at first, not entirely sure if that presence was actually gone or if they were just hiding some more like the coward they were. Maybe it had something to do with Athena…? Had she stooped so low as to have others spy on her now, just to try and gain some type of upper hand?! Well, the Goddess had failed in that attempt and the Warrior Princess was a little thankful that in Ares' vital need to have her, he had discarded their plans messily all over the ground.

After a few more attempts from the soldier outside, Xena eventually acknowledged that she had heard him and he made his way into her tent as her eyes still scanned around searching. He honorably saluted her, letting his eyes scan her and although he was seeing it for himself, he still couldn't believe that the commander of the God of War's army was a woman. He thought his Lord had lost his mind when he made the announcement a couple of days before.

"My name is Gascar, your first lieutenant. We were expecting you a few days ago, My Lady." he informed her.

"Were you?" she absently asked, thinking back to what had caused such a delay in the first place.

"Yes, Lord Ares informed us of your arrival… and that your commands were to be followed as if they came from him himself…. Though I guess you must have gotten caught up in other affairs before arriving here…" he suggested, his mind spinning a few ideas of what had taken so long for the War God and his newly assigned general to make an appearance within the encampment.

Though no one had dared to even attempt to get close earlier, there had certainly been some highly unusual sounds coming from her tent just hours before, ones that left little to no doubt about just what was going on inside of it and none of the War God's men were that stupid to interrupt him when he was initiating his new commander. So it seemed that his Lord just had all the luck and he had more than likely enjoyed himself greatly while he had been fucking her for hours and if her racy moans had anything to say about it, then her cunt had been well taken care of.

The Warrior Princess had caught on to the little meaning he had behind his words and she glowered at him. This soldier certainly had some guts and clearly was looking for a quick or actually a rather slow, painful way to die. Nonetheless, she may have been fucking the boss, but these men were hers now and they were going to show her respect. She decided to let his little slip slide by this time, she needed every man she had but there was no guarantee that he would be so lucky on the next.

"How far are we from Sparta?" she chose to ask instead of giving in to her urge to make him beg for mercy.

"What do you want to go there for?"

"That's my business... something got left behind, I need to get it…" she strictly informed him, closing in the distance between them, "… So I'll ask you again, how far?"

"It's about half a day's ride." he grudgingly told her, really not seeing the point.

"Perfect, we'll head out to there now. Inform the men."

"I don't see the purpose of going back to where we just came from."

"Gascar, is it?" she asked and he nodded his head, "Do you always make a habit of questioning your commander's orders?"

"No." he stated but there was a look in her eyes that was making him grow uneasy with the way those malevolent sapphire eyes were now staring at him.

"Ah, so this is a routine that is fairly new then." she had gotten dangerously close to him, actually making him take a small step back from her, "Let's just get this out of the way now, shall we? Don't want there to be any confusion."

The words slithered their way out of her throat like a deadly promise, making the soldier gulp nervously for a moment. He could see why his Lord fancied her, she oozed that same kind of lethal presence that the Olympian did. It made it seem as if to defy her was like defying the War God and that was something that quickly made anyone think twice about it before doing it.

The thought sent a chill down his spine and suddenly, he felt like he had just walked into a lion's den where there was absolutely no escape and this fierce lioness was going to tear him to pieces, that was if the ferocious, blood thirsty lion didn't get to him first with the way he was foolishly disrespecting his mate.

"If you don't want to end up like your buddy… now what was his name again…?" she questioningly asked, seeming to give it some actual thought, "Tydus, I believe it was, then I suggest you keep that tongue of yours in check, otherwise, there will be an opening within the ranks and you, well, you'll just cease to exist."

That threat made him nervous, could she even do that? She was the commander after all, of course she could. Who would dare go against her, especially since she was the War God's favorite and it was not likely that he would side against her. In fact, he was more than certain that Ares would do the job himself.

"Of course, My Lady." was his humble reply, realizing his unwise mistake and attempting to get himself out of some very dangerous hot water.

"Good…" she sweetly whispered out, a small misleading smile forming on her face, "… now let the men know that we are heading to Sparta."