The room in which he had transported her was large and warm, but mostly dark and close to empty- just like Xena's soul was at the moment…..
The Warrior Princess cast a brief wondering gaze at her surroundings. The place looked more like a dungeon than a chamber. There were no windows so that she couldn't actually tell where they were, but the distinct smell of fresh snow had somehow managed to linger into the atmosphere, thus offering her all the clues she needed in order to take a guess.
"Thrace? " she casually asked, without moving an inch away from him…
…His arms were still tightly wrapped around her waist and to all appearances, he wasn't planning on letting go of her any time soon. She was fine with that…
As to indulge her with an answer though, a slight move of his fingers made a huge, gothic window appear on the eastern wall, revealing the most breathtaking landscape anyone could have ever imagined….Sky high peaks, clothed in diamond snow were shining in the fabulously colored lights of the setting sun, making thousands of artistically painted rainbows reflect their unmatchable beauty on the translucent surface of the fairy tale icy mantle covering the ground and trees.
"It's quiet out here. No priestesses, no servants, no nothing. "
He slowly turned her around to face him, until his temptingly half parted lips were but a hair's width away from her own….
"How do you want your room to be?"
For right about anyone, that question would have sounded just as absurd as the rest of the situation was, but she knew better. She was well aware why he had bothered to ask….He cared…
"It doesn't matter….." she murmured, doing her best not to sound as torn apart by her inner turmoil as she really was.
"Show me….." he insisted, and before she could even think about voicing a protest, the tips of his fingers were already brushing her forehead- a feather like touch that she recalled far too well, and that had the most enslaving, irresistible effect..Even her lungs forgot to breathe ...
Her eyes closed almost automatically without her being able to do anything to control them. In less than a blink, well buried images from her drained out and tangled memory, rushed to the surface as if blindly obeying the War God's command.
Ares flinched. She had just pictured his private chambers from Sparta…The same place where, totally fascinated by her absolutely surreal presence, she had once brought him on the verge of admitting that he actually had genuine feelings for her….The same place he had taken her to when Solan had died….
By the time Xena opened her eyes, the utter darkness of the room had faded, eaten alive by the bright light of the playful flames of the torches and of the fireplace, and along with it a whole new reality appeared into view. They were no longer in the Thracian mountains….He had taken her back to the only location to which her troubled subconsciousness had managed to associate the idea of comfort and home….
Red and black oriental mosaic patterns were decorating the walls, giving the place the impression of a splendid Indian palace rather than a Greek fortress built in the middle of nowhere.
Everything inside was simple but elegant, each and every item attentively selected to create an overall sensation of peace and relaxation, of inner balance ; an utopian oasis turned real for her and her alone…..the ultimate refuge…
Soft plush rugs were covering the cold marble floors and the carefully sculpted mahogany furniture smelt unbelievably fresh….an aroma strikingly similar to the one of rising dust after a heavy summer rain… An unmistakable scent of moist soil that instinctively made her wanna fill her lungs with air….
Despite herself, a sad smile made way to the Warrior Princess' lips. Everything was just the way she remembered it…..As if not one single hour had passed since their last encounter….
Simultaneously, the War God let out a barely audible sigh of relief…He searched for her eyes, but she looked away, as if ashamed for having involuntarily shared- with him out of all people- such a dark, personal and incriminating secret.
"I can change it if you want me too…." he whispered hot against her lips while cupping her face in his hands.
For what seemed like forever, she made an effort to organize her thoughts….His amber irides were burning a hole right through her skull though, they were like lasers, forcing her brain to stop any other form of activity except for the one of wanting him even closer to her slightly shivering form.
"It's fine…." she finally stated, but the words sounded strangely unfamiliar, as if she hadn't been the one to utter them, as if they were some unimportant quotation she had heard at some point in the past, a sentence than belonged to someone else and that she was now accurately reproducing…".. just fine…thank you…."
He looked pleased with her answer, but he preventively refused to state anything in return for the following seconds.
Nevertheless, when his musing gaze finally materialized in the form of a voiced reply, Xena instantly realized that the brief, informative line had nothing to do with her own opinion on the matter.
" You look exhausted…You should try to get some rest…."
A dark blue satin negligee materialized on her body, replacing her armor, and, taking her completely by surprise, she suddenly felt her long raven tresses cascading down her shoulders, wrapping her in a protective mantle, meant to make her shoulders feel less naked.
Once again, she didn't fight his choices. She was way too crushed by that dreadful feeling of obliterating pain to even dream of contradicting him….
Apart from that, her usually flawless self control was playing cruel tricks on her, her gaze lingering absently on the God's broad, generously exposed chest, for outrageously more seconds than she would have normally allowed herself to. She didn't even notice that he had taken one step back, giving her some space, when the bewitching question she was anxiously waiting for, finally rolled off his tongue.
"Is there anything I can do for you…..?"
She certainly failed to catch the discreet implications of his words.
"Turn back the hands of time…..Turn back time, for me…." she murmured, aware that the agony in her voice could give him the chills like nothing else could.
A light caress on her left cheek let her know that she was asking for the impossible.
She turned around almost immediately, without wasting any more words, and headed for the bed.
Before he knew it, she was under the covers, her body turning as rigid as if it had been a lifeless block of uncarved marble.
With hesitant, slow steps, he walked towards her. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, but she didn't even flinch.
Their eyes met almost immediately, but for the following couple of minutes they were both silent. He had no comforting speech in mind and that dry "Princess, you know I can't" didn't prove to be as useful as he had expected it to. …
"Not even Zeus himself is allowed to do that…." the apology quickly followed, but to no avail…
For once that night, he didn't know what to do…He felt just as weak and powerless as any of those pitiful mortals walking the Earth were during each day of their lame, senseless lives..
A warm tear had already glided down Xena's tormented face before her beautiful eyes shut tight.
A visibly afflicted War God barely repressed the urge to scream out his frustration.