WARNING! WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS IMAGES OF NON-CONSENSUAL SEX.
My Immortal XI
When they reached Olympus, Xena and Aphrodite had to wait to be granted permission to enter Demeter's domain. The Goddess of the Harvest was being entertained by three female travelling rhapsodes reciting Sapphic poetry. As they waited in the foyer of Demeter's place, Xena could hear the rhythmic chanting of the young girls who took turns singing the verses. One of the voices reminded her of a young bard she had picked up in Potidea. A twinge of regret pricked at Xena's heart. She already missed the blonde.
"Finally," Aphrodite smiled as the mortals were led away by one of Demeter's servant girls. A second servant, a lean golden youth, clad only in a golden figleaf invited Xena and Aphrodite into his goddess' chambers. Xena couldn't help but admire his musculature as he walked in front of her.
"Surprised he's not in your service," Xena leered at Dite.
"He - uh- well - he doesn't swing my way," Dite explained.
"I see, but I thought everyone swung your way," Xena jibbed.
"You wanna swing my way?" Aphrodite ran a seductive finger up Xena's spine.
The excitement that coursed through Xena's body shocked the warrior.
"I'm spoken for." Xena answered.
"Oh, I don't think he would mind," she leaned in and whispered,"eating isn't cheating."
"Oh, yes it is, and as far as I am concerned sucking is fucking when it comes to cheating, so if you had any plans about wrapping your godly lips around your brother's cock ever again, I suggest you rethink 'em."
"You are so not fun!"
Xena bit off her last retort because they had reached Demeter's throne but she made a mental note to make sure that Dite knew that Ares was off limits, for good.
"Xena, Aphrodite." The goddess acknowledged the duo as Aphrodite curtsied. Xena followed the golden goddess' cue and lifted the hem of her dress before bending her knees.
"Xena's not here to fight," Aphrodite started but Demeter held a hand up to silence her.
"Xena can speak for herself." Demeter looked into the deadly blue eyes of the mere mortal who represented the god's most difficult challenge.
"Thank you," Xena said honestly. "This isn't easy for me to do. I don't ask things of the gods, I never have, not even when I was his warrior. Everything I got, I earned on the battlefield."
"The chakram?" Demeter raised her eyebrow.
"Fair enough," Xena conceded.
"I am fairly certain that the goal at the time was to overthrow Olympus, rule the world, something like that, am I right?"
"Yes, but. . ."
"But, it's not like that anymore. Xena, I get it. I know that you never meant the Twilight to happen. I know that you were only protecting yours which is why I stayed out of the way. It hurt to watch my family die and I harbored guilt for not helping them. But I couldn't abide by killing an innocent child either."
"Thank you."
"Zeus couldn't see that you had truly changed," Demeter continued, "all he saw was Ares' warrior whore trying to take down Olympus. And Athena, well it was partly losing Zeus that drove her but also her pride couldn't let you win. No one, not even me expected Ares to do what he did. I mean, I knew that he had deep, deep feelings for you. I even suspected that he might be in love with you. But to give up his godhood. Well, that - - that - was just unthinkable."
"I know. I didn't see it coming either. It's when I knew that all of his promises to join me, to protect Eve hadn't just been him playing games."
Demeter motioned for a servant to bring Aphrodite and Xena a chair each. Before the two women even got settled into their seats, the beautiful figleaf boy returned with two ruby-encrusted goblets, one with nectar for the Goddess of Love, the second with sweet white wine for Xena.
"I must say, it has been a joy to watch the changes you have inspired in him. I haven't seen him this happy since he was a boy. He was such a good boy. He could melt your heart with those pouty little lips. You couldn't deny him anything. Hera doted on him. He was her first. Made Zeus so jealous. That's the only reason he made him the God of War. He did it to hurt Hera for giving the baby so much attention."
"Really, I never knew, I just assumed he was born for it."
"Oh, no! In fact, Hera had intended on making him the Lord of the Sun and Moon. Zeus would have none of it, though. He made Ares the God of War and split the Sun and Moon between his bastard children, Apollo and Artemis. Hera was furious, it took them thousands of years to learn to love each other again."
"Who trained Ares?"
"Zeus taught him some moves but he wasn't really a skilled warrior, just a tyrant with thunderbolts. Still, he knew that Ares had to learn to fight if he were going be a decent God of War. So when he reached his twelfth year he kicked him off Olympus and stripped him of all of his powers and told him that he could only come back into the fold once he had mastered the art of war. Ares remained immortal. Hera was forbidden to visit him. It took him forty-two years of building armies and playing war games before Zeus allowed him to come home. It was really Ares' victory over the original Minoan gods that sealed his fate. Not only did it open the entire Aegean to the Olympians but Ares had proved to Zeus that he had chosen the right god for the mantle of War. Ares hated him for it. Still does."
"I thought he hated him so much because of Zeus' affection for Hercules."
"That came millennia later and it just added fuel to the fire."
Aphrodite who had sat silently through the whole conversation wiped a solitary tear from her eye. Xena guessed that this was the first time that she was hearing the sordid details of Ares' past.
"Xena, I know what you are here to ask me. I tell you this story as a way of explaining why it might be better for Ares if I don't grant your request."
Maybe Demeter was right. Maybe it was wrong of her to start a family with him when she couldn't promise him forever. Plus demi-gods weren't immortal, they inherited their mother's mortality. Not only would he have to watch her die but he'd have to lose their child as well. She was being selfish. She should just be happy that they had found each other again.
"You're right. I was only thinking about myself. My own desires. I can smell my mortality. I saw some old friends at the Halls of War and I realized how old I should be and I know that it won't be long and I will be that old anyway. I guess I'm just felt the clock winding down for the first time and I panicked."
"Xena, I can still make you immortal, if that's what you're here for. I just assumed that you were here to ask me to talk the others into bringing him back to Olympus. He's had enough of godly politics. He'd probably be happy on Earth instead of up here jockeying for position all the time."
"No, no that's not it at all." Xena shook her head.
"Xena was going to ask you. . ." Aphrodite started but Xena placed her hand on her forearm to stop her.
Demeter motioned at the golden boy, he quickly grabbed a new goblet and filled it with nectar and handed it to Xena.
Xena took the goblet and studied the viscous amber fluid. With one drink she could wipe away all of her mortal fears and give him the future he deserved. She brought the chalice up and took a deep whiff, it smelled like his breath.
She shook her head and sat the metal cup on the table between her and Dite. "That's not what I came for either."
"No," Demeter was confused.
"Demeter, I came here to ask you to bless my womb. Dite told me that you took up the mantle of female fertility when Hera passed and I was thinking of starting a child with Ares. But, now that you've told me his story. I don't want to be what causes him anymore pain. It's bad enough that he has to lose me, I won't bring a child into this world that he has to mourn too."
"Then drink the nectar, Xena." Aphrodite and Demeter said in unison.
Xena smiled, "I can't do that. I don't deserve to be a goddess. I've killed so many. I don't deserve immortality."
"Xena, none of us do. But we are here. You've changed. You've made up for your crimes." Demeter urged.
"Thank you for saying it but I will never have the blood off my hands. But what's worse is that I still fear the darkness in me. What if I lose it? This grip I have now. What if I turn back to the blackness? What if I become what I once was but instead of being mortal, I am a goddess?"
"I see," Demeter nodded her head in understanding. She understood the nobility of the gesture. It was completely possible that the power would corrupt her. And Xena was right, as a goddess, she would be unstoppable. "He loves you, he wouldn't let you slide back into the darkness. It's the good in you that he loves. But you already know this or you wouldn't have gone back to his bed."
Xena nodded. "Still, he shouldn't have to pull me back. What's it say about the darkness in me that I became corrupted in a few short years and mastered war in a heartbeat and it took him forty-two years to do so? What if he couldn't pull me back?"
"Guess, we'll never know. And, maybe you're right. Maybe that is for the best. But Xena, I can't bless your womb."
"I understand,"
"No, I can't bless your womb, because you've already conceived."
"What?"
"Yes, I would say within the last forty-eight hours. It's just a mass of rapidly multiply cells right now, but it's there. Would you like me to determine the sex?"
"I'm pregnant?"
"Yes, yes, you are."
"Are you sure it's his?" Xena asked abruptly remembering the dream with Lucifer.
"Who else could it be?" Aphrodite asked, shocked that Xena had just been schooling her on fidelity when she was already cheating on Ares.
"I had a bad dream that I was raped but the rapist was a supernatural being so now I don't know if it was a dream or if he chose to violate me in my sleep because the barrier between the realms is easier crossed in dreamland."
"Oh, Xena, I had no idea," Dite suddenly felt embarrassed at her thoughts.
Demeter rose from her throne and placed her hand low on Xena's abdomen. She grinned from ear to ear. "It's Olympian, that's all I can say right now. Was the one who violated you an Olympian?"
"No, he was one of Heaven's fallen angels."
"Well, this little one is not of their realm."
Twin tears dripped down Xena's cheeks as Demeter hugged her warmly.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAX
Ares surveyed his northern troops. He had to admit that Darian had done a fine job with them. They were each in tip-top shape, their armor gleamed in the afternoon sun. He'd taken a ragtag group of farmers and mercenaries and made them authentic, disciplined soldiers.
"Darian, how goes the campaign?" Ares asked as he appeared in his general's war tent.
"My Lord," Darian struggled to climb off of the captive girl whose flesh he was pummeling.
Ares waited patiently while Darian worked to pull up his pants and buckle his belt. As Ares watched the warrior with long hair and massive torso, Ares couldn't help but think that Xena would like the dark look of the commander. The nubile strawberry blonde hurried to cover her shame. There was something about the girl that reminded Ares of Gabrielle. He felt a twinge of guilt that his general was violating her in such a manner. He had never had misgivings about how his men conducting war or what they did with their flesh and blood captives. Why was it bothering him now? The image of Satan's minions raping his ass flashed through his mind. Ares smiled at the girl. She didn't return the sentiment.
When Darian had finally made himself presentable, Ares reposed his question. "The campaign?"
"Yes, my Lord. It goes well. We've been camped here for two days, we are waiting for Gargon's men to join us before we press farther east. The Persians have an encampment on the other side of the ridge. They have us beat three to one in numbers but with Gargon's forces it should even the odds a bit."
"I hope your men aren't getting soft, sitting around waiting for Gargon. Enjoying the pleasures of the flesh instead of going through their drills." Ares knew they weren't. He had been satisfied by the group he'd seen. Most were on the alert. There were as always a few drunkards but the majority looked ready to do battle at a moment's notice. It appeared that Darian didn't let his soldiers indulge in the same spoils of war that he allowed himself.
"Lord Ares, my men are disciplined. They won't disappoint you."
"I should hope not, but what about you?" He gestured to the girl.
"That, that was only to reduce some uh- um- a little stress, that's all."
"Still, I caught you unaware."
"Yes, my Lord but if you'll excuse me for saying, you are a god. There's not a mortal alive who could have gotten the jump on me." Darian stated confidently.
"Oh there is," Ares promised, "she's just not in Macedonia right now. Lucky for you too." Ares knew if Xena had seen Darian raping the girl that she would have cut him in two.
"My Lord?" Darian didn't like being questioned and he liked even less Ares' assertion that there was a warrior whose stealth and military prowess outranked his own.
Ares waved the conversation off as if it were an insignificant fly and turned his attention back to the girl. "What have you here?" The god asked lasciviously as he approached the bed.
The girl pulled the blanket tighter around her chest. She knew what was coming. She was about to be fucked by the god and his general at the same time.
When Darian saw the girl trying to hide herself from the war god, it infuriated him. He jerked the blanket away revealing her nude form. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest and brought her knees up defensively to her crossed arms. However, bringing her knees up only served to reveal her swollen, violated flesh. Ares saw with disgust the trickle of blood that ran from the girls center down to her ass cheek. There was a time such a vision would have driven him mad with desire. Now, he saw Darian for the monster he was.
"She was fresh. I am sorry, I already plucked her flower but if you want there still plenty of nectar left. We could enjoy her together if it would please you." Darian ran one hand up the girls skinny leg and reached for Ares' groin with the other.
"Oh, I intend to enjoy every inch of her blessed flesh, but you, you wage battle tomorrow and I wouldn't want anything distracting you." Ares advanced toward the frightened girl who couldn't have been a day over sixteen. He had no intention of misusing the girl but he couldn't let Darian know he had become a pathetic sap.
Darian swallowed hard when he realized that the God of War was taking away his toy. He knew he should have offered Ares the first crack at the virgin but she was just so delectable. He feared that Ares might punish him for such a slight. But it seemed that the god was only concerned about the upcoming war with the Persians.
"Take her, my Lord, she's yours, anything I have is yours, I owe you everything. Your favor has brought me unmeasurable success."
Ares felt that little twinge again when he considered the truth of Darian's words. Ares climbed in bed with the girl and pulled her bare young body against his leather clad form. Darian stood as if to watch.
"Leave us!" Ares ordered.
"Of course, Lord Ares," Darian grinned wickedly and turned to hurry outside so he could fist himself off while he listened to the sounds of the God of War ravaging that sweet piece of ass.
Before Darian made it to the tent flaps an excited clamor rose outside. Ares could hear men shouting and some wailing in pain.
He heard one scream the obvious, "We are under attack."
"What?" Darian asked as he grabbed his armor, "Who attacks in the afternoon?"
"Someone who wants to take the enemy by surprise. Catch him with his pants down, so to speak," Ares glared at Darian accusingly.
Ares turned to the terrified girl, who was now shaking in his arms. "You will be okay, you have my word as the God of War. I won't let anything happen to you. Here now," he whispered.
Darian's second in command came rushing into the tent, "General Darian, they are attacking from the northern hills and there appears to be a group of archers firing from the south."
"The Persians?" Darian asked in disbelief.
The lieutenant shoved a jade-fledged arrow into his commander's hand. The green feathers with and the ram's head etched on the point left no doubt as to who had just attacked his men.
"Gargon," Darian spat.
Ares bellowed in laughter. "No, Darian, no one gets the jump on you!"
Ares' laughter burned the general's ears as he ran from the tent to engage the enemy. "He'd show the God of War. No man would best him. No man!"
Ares turned to the girl. "He hurt you?"
She didn't answer. Compassion was not something she had expected from the god.
"It's okay, you don't trust me. I get it. Where's home? I'll take you there?"
"Doesn't matter? Your men, they killed my father."
"Your mother?" Ares asked hopeful.
"She was too old to sell as a slave, so they just raped her, gutted her and left her dead on the kitchen floor where she had been pressing olives for oil."
"I see," Ares was silent for a moment while he pondered what to do with the girl. "Aunts, uncles?"
The girl shook her head.
"A betrothed?"
Ares saw the shame flit across her eyes before she burst into tears. "He'd never have me now. I am dirty. I've lost my purity."
"Purity is overrated. And any man would be lucky to have you."
The girl was quickly warming to the god. She wondered if he would have her. She loved Axel, her betrothed, dearly but she knew that going back to him was useless. She didn't have a dowry to begin with, all she had to offer him was her purity and now that was gone. She supposed she should just dedicate herself to god or goddess. At least life in a temple would be better than working as a brothel whore.
"I can serve you my lord," The girl dropped her hand to his black vest and pushed it from his shoulders.
AXAXAXAXAXAX
Aphrodite took Xena back to the Halls of War and said her congratulations and goodbyes. Xena was beside herself with the news. She was having a baby. Ares' baby. Could they do this? Were they equipped to be parents together? Well, they were certainly going to find out. As Xena strolled down the corridor toward the master suite, she wondered if the Master had made his way back from Sparta yet? She couldn't wait to tell him the news. She hoped he would be as excited as she was. She didn't feel his presence nearby so she assumed that the meeting in Sparta had taken longer than he had expected. Oh well, she thought, it would just give her time to take a hot bath and prepare for him. Her inner muscles clenched at the anticipation. She decided that she wanted to fuck him once more before she told him about the baby.
Xena pushed open the double doors to their bedroom. The sight of Enyo atop the king sized bed pleasuring herself with a wooden dildo burned Xena's eyes. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Xena demanded.
"Waiting for my Lord," Enyo answered and continued plunging herself with the massive oak cock. Xena could see where her juices had darkened the wood.
"Get out of my bed, Ares won't be needing your services anymore," Xena sneered. "Now get the fuck out of my bed and out of my home."
The goddess finally pulled the polished stick from her gaping hole and tossed it onto the bed. Xena made a mental note to burn those sheets. "Home? Really? The Halls of War? It's hardly a home. His home is on Olympus and you know that! He'll only ever be half a god as long as he is banned from his rightful place as Zeus' heir."
"Ares doesn't care about all of that."
"Oh, how sweet," the raven-haired goddess laughed with twisted pleasure, "you think you will be enough. Is that it? You think you, a mere mortal, will be enough diversion to keep him from longing for home, from ruling Olympus and the world."
Xena reached for her chakram.
"Tsk, tsk, you haven't the power to kill gods remember. You're a pathetic mortal."
"No, you are a pathetic slut, who has nothing better to do than hang around where you are no longer wanted. You're just pissed because Ares didn't even hesitate when given the choice between ruling the gods and living with me. He chose me."
"It's only because he knows that it is temporary. You'll be gone. Poof! Before he even bats an immortal eye and then he will be restored. He's not stupid. He knows he can have his cake and eat it too!' He's been on the outs with the family before. They need him."
Where had Xena heard that before? Ares had said it once, hadn't he? Could Enyo be right? Could he just be biding his time with her? Had his sacrifice been a sacrifice at all?
"Leave you worthless whore." Xena reared back the chakram.
"I'll prove it to you. You think he is love with you. You think you are the be all and end all of his existence. And I am sure that Aphrodite has you believing all that sappy love crap. But the truth is Xena, he is only playing you. He's been playing you all along. He only wants to turn you so that he have his ultimate warrior back when he claims the Olympic throne. He knows with me as his queen and you as his warrior slut that he will be unstoppable. Nothing between Heaven and Earth would stand in his way."
"You're wrong. You couldn't be more wrong. He loves me. I love him. What we share, someone like you couldn't begin to understand it, much less appreciate it."
"Oh, Xena, my sweet, sweet Xena, someone like me? Who do you think he is? Who do you think you are?"
"I am his lover, his warrior, his chosen, and soon to be the mother of his child." Xena cried.
"Oh, and you think any of that makes you unique? I am the goddess of war and destruction Xena. I am his lover, his warrior, his chosen consort, and the mother of his child, Enyalius!"
"Yes, but I am the mortal for whom he gave up his godhood! For whom he would sacrifice everything you have to offer. He loves me, he will love our child. We will be a family."
"What do you think he is doing? Right now?"
"He's in Sparta negotiating a plan that will prevent a Helot uprising."
"Is that what he told you?"
"What are you getting at?" Enyo was causing her to doubt all the wonderful things Demeter had said earlier in the day. Xena was certain that it was Enyo that was lying though, and not Demeter. Destruction, after all, was what Enyo thrived on.
"He's not in Sparta, Xena. He's in Macedonia. He's enjoying the spoils of war."
"I don't believe you."
"See for yourself," the evil goddess opened a portal for Xena to see. Xena watched as Ares held the young captive against his chest. She saw the adoring girl promise to serve him and then work to push his vest off his shoulders.
"Stop it, that's enough." Xena yelled at Enyo.
"You sure you don't want to watch how special you are, Xena?"
"You've made your point, Enyo." Xena couldn't believe that she had gone to Hell and back for that miserable son-of-a-bitch. She considered what Demeter had told her earlier about how Zeus had thrust the mantle of war upon Ares. She had even felt sorry for him. She had wondered what he would have been like had Zeus not corrupted him. Well, some things could just never be known. The darkness crept into her soul. He'd said it once himself. He's the God of War and War is what he does. He liked war so much, well Tartarus be damned, she was going to give him one.
Enyo saw the defeat overtake Xena's steel eyes. It delighted her black soul.
Xena didn't even wait for the goddess to leave. She stripped off the purple dress he'd brought her and put her leather and armor back on. She pulled her boots on, grabbed her sword and chakram and left the suite. Enyo went back to fucking herself with the dildo, waiting on Ares to return.
Xena didn't even bother to say goodby to Bilka before she saddled Argo and rode away from the Halls of War and the pretend life she had been building.