With slow, unhurried moves, Xena put on the dark leather dress that Ares had left on the bed for her. Once she was done, she hesitantly approached the full length mirror from the other side of the room.

She arched an eyebrow at her own reflection. It wasn't the awareness of that staggering magnetism radiating from her goddess like form that instantly appeared on her face nonetheless, not even a basic appreciation for the way in which the short Amazon like dress had embraced her body, underlining its outstanding perfection ….No…nothing of the sort. She couldn't find anything fascinating about the savage beauty of the cold blooded killer glancing back at her from the seeing glass…. Contempt and self repulsion were the only emotions still readable on her otherwise blank face….Hard years of self redemption, of sincere regret and inner conflict were bound to go down the drain along with everything that had ever meant something to her : Gabrielle's comforting friendship.

As the Bard's accusing gaze found its way to her whirling thoughts, she obstinately shook her head though, breaking all eye contact with the wretched thing. She couldn't stand looking at herself anymore….And worse than that, as the back of her hand went up to cover her mouth as if wanting to stop a shout of frustration from leaving her throat, the Warrior Princess could already smell the stench of blood, effectively imprinted on it…..

Her stomach convulsed at the unbearable nausea flooding her. The corners of her mouth twisted in disgust almost instantly. She could almost feel the metallic taste of claret on her lips….She sure hated her weaknesses. And more than that, she hated Ares for taking advantage of them the way he did.

In a vain endeavor to take her mind off the physical sickness she was now fighting, she took a sit on the edge of the bed, focusing on putting on the Roman sandals that matched the dress….She had a lot of straps to wrap though, so the unavoidable automatism of that kind of move didn't help much…..For all the logic reasons on the planet, Gabrielle's last words kept replaying over and over again in her head, like a broken record, making her wanna smash her skull against a pillar, thus forcing the voice to leak out through the cracks.

"This is what I was talking about Xena! Brainwashed!"

On the other hand, old Pathyos' unnaturally contorted body around that wooden pole in the middle of the village, his long white hair dyed in his own blood, his heart mockingly stuffed into his mouth, filled her with such uncontrollable rage once again, that soon, the Bard's brazen observation became nothing more than a distant memory, distant enough to be ignored...At least for the time being...

XXX

Only a few rooms down the hall, The God of War was making plans of his own. When Xena entered the study, he was seated in a large, comfortable mahogany chair , his forehead creased into a frown and his full lips tightly pressed together while obviously looking for a compelling enough strategy to ensure a fast enough victory so that his cocky Sister wouldn't even dream about getting a chance to defend her precious city.

His eyes were still glued on the widely spread map before him when she closed the distance between them, but, very unlike him, he didn't even sketch a smile as she took a sit on the corner of the desk- in such a tempting and inviting pose given her barely covered body, that it could have broken the focus of any living and breathing creature on the planet.

" How do you feel about splitting the army into four and attacking all gates simultaneously ?"

His voice was hoarse and thick, Xena quickly remarked while casting a rather disinterested gaze at the detailed map before her…That could only mean one thing: he was nervous, and he was trying to hide it.

A flicker of sarcasm could be read on her impassive visage. The Bastard was actually excited about the new game he was carefully trying to stage for her….

" I would need three extremely well prepared generals. But I wouldn't choose a multiple attack though. It's way too risky and once we have entered within the city walls, it would be almost impossible to regroup in time...We would have to face both the Athenian army, your Sister's elite archers and the chaos created by the desperate peasants trying to save their lives at the same time, and from separate locations….This could only be a successful plan if all those other legions were as good as my own would be, and if their commanders were creative enough to handle any type of surprise situation…..Not a very good idea in my opinion….."

Hearing her cutting conclusion, Ares finally raised his head and looked her in the eyes. They seemed strangely cold, calculated and….lifeless…..But they also held a patronizing gaze that irked the Tartarus out of him.

" Do you happen to have a better suggestion?" he inquired, standing up from the chair, and, bracing himself against the desk, he casually leaned over so that he was now just inches away from her lips. Challenging her had always been his favorite pass time activity anyway….

" It so happens that I do …." the response soon came, and jumping down from the desk she seductively walked to his side, where, gliding past him, she cunningly positioned herself between his rigid body and the desk, bending a bit as if searching for some particular location that she just couldn't seem to find.

Needles to say that harassingly short leather skirt was barely covering her behind now, and the ludicrous proximity to the God's groin only made her smile wickedly while drawing a mental picture of his tortured visage.

"We could as well use the drainage tunnels to turn everything to smithereens….We would only need a large enough amount of black powder for the entire city to collapse…."

"Where would the fun in that be?" his titillating voice could be heard, filled with toxic sensuality and lust.

Her grin widened even more as she sensed one of his hands traveling up her back in a soft, enticing caress, while the other one snaked around her waist in a possessive embrace.

"So what you actually want is a regular bloodbath?" she queried, apparently bewitched by the enslaving effect of the feather like kisses that were now spreading on her naked shoulders….

"Not just a regular bloodbath, my Princess…..I want a second Troy….I want my Sister's defeat to be so brutal and shameful that history itself would objectively present it as one of the most remarkable battles of all time….As for your name, it will be sung and praised for generations to come…!"

For a second there, the Warrior Princess closed her eyes, partially allowing that thrilling wave of dark ecstasy to fill her veins, to mix with her blood…..It was an electrifying sensation that only he had the ability to make her feel at that high level of intensity….

She unwillingly shivered at the awareness….

" I'm not looking for fame…." she anemically responded, her eyes still tightly shut.

"Too late….your reputation already precedes you…." he sexily whispered against her ear while pushing her long silky tresses aside, so that he could have full access to her neck.

" And…constancy is important for my overall image I presume? "

"Crucial my dear Xena, crucial…" he pointed out, while with confident moves, his hand glided down towards her chest.

"That's what I thought " she murmured sweetly, despite of the fact that any observer would have certainly noticed those fiery sparkles of mischief dancing like consuming flames on the surface of her now dangerously narrowed eyes. In addition to that, her jaw was tense too...

" Smart girl….." he continued, fondling her breasts through the soft, inviting fabric…

Needless to say that his entire body reacted to the contact and that it only took a second for Xena to be aware of the fact that with the exception of his leather pants and her silken underwear, there was nothing standing between that huge bulge in his pants and her treacherously contracting vagina.

In spite of the fact that she was literally boiling now, she even allowed him to pull down the straps of her dress, and, once it got more than obvious that from there on only two options remained- either give in his tantalizing ministrations or stick a poisonous needle straight throughout that overly swollen ego of his, she decided to act.

She was wise enough to choose the second option.

"Well….that being said, I think we should stop here then… For the sake of constancy, of course. " she hissed, sliding from his arms, and adjusting the straps of her dress in the process.

She grimly continued the moment she noticed his baffled glare.

"Square zero, remember? Don't get me wrong, it's not personal , but I do have a reputation to maintain…Image comes first, so….."

"You'll need to find some middle ground if you want my assistance…" he made sure to point out the second he understood where she was coming from, struggling to repress his choking anger.

" There is no middle ground Ares….You can't have them both. It's either war or love"

"Love? " he snorted. "Oh please. If I thought for one single minute that you being here meant we had a second chance, I would have squashed those savages like bugs myself, without you having to besmirch your hands with their blood!"

"I'd rather do it my self, thanks" she acidly bit back, glaring daggers at him "It will taste sweeter."

" Revenge could never taste sweet and be both know it" he emphasized, looking for a familiar sparkle of silent agreement in her eyes. He found none.

"Maybe not….But it sure beats the bitter one that frustration and helplessness have left behind…"