I KNOW IT TOOK ME AWHILE WITH THIS FICTION, BUT FROM NOW ON I'LL BE UPDATING IT REGULARLY AS WELL:) I WAS TOO BUSY WITH "TRUTH OR DARE" I GUESS:) THANK YOU FOR STILL READING THIS THOUGH:)

"Do you always get this anxious when it comes to executing someone?" Xena sneered after a careful evaluation of her situation- which by the way was not as peachy as she had hoped. She definitely hadn't anticipated this!

" Only when we are about to get rid of a dangerous enemy!" Mereya bit, her eyes sparkling with hate, and her words only seemed to inflame the spirits even more.

" I'm not your enemy! " Xena yelled, her resonant voice covering effortlessly the angry mob's vociferation. " And that….that was an accident…." she added, pointing at the girl's barely visible injury. "I had no intention what so ever of hurting her. "

" Well it seems like you did! " an unknown voice yelled from the back of the group.

" She's bleeding!"

"You shouldn't have drawn your blade in the first place!" another one added, and Xena just had to clench her teeth in frustration. Dite had been right…..she was dealing with savages!

" She would be dead by now, had I wanted to kill her! It wasn't like she left me a choice, though ! Listen to me! I need to talk to Marga! There are two armies heading your way as we speak, you are all in grave danger! "

"Oh really?!" the woman standing right next to her bit, on a rather suspicious tone. " Our scouts have only detected the presence of one army, and we will squash them all like bugs!""

"They'll have you surrounded at dawn! You stand no chance against Athena and Ares' united forces!"

The woman's dark eyebrows knitted together at the news, and she blinked absently a couple of times while her brain filtered the information, completely ignoring the low, worried murmurs of the group.

" You're lying . You're just trying to buy yourself some time. There's no way the God of War and Athena are working together. They're sworn enemies. Kill her!" she ordered, turning her back at her, ready to leave.

" All enemies unite in the face of a common threat! But I guess you knew that too, right?!" the Warrior Princess mocked, aware that public humiliation was the best way to force the Amazon's hand into giving her what she wanted.

A strong blow in the stomach sent her crumbling to the ground the very following second.

"Nice move. It doesn't change the fact that you're condemning your sisters to death. Take me to your Queen or you'll be soon drowning in the guilt of having unconsciously become the executioner of an entire tribe!"

The proud Amazon was right about to contradict her opponent again when , taking the time to cast a glance at the rest of the women, she noticed the utter disapproval painted on their faces…. In all appearances, this intruder had managed to convince them….She had no choice….

" If you're lying, I'm gonna kill you myself!" she threatened, signaling to the others that they should be heading towards the camp.

" I'd like to see you try…" the Warrior Princess silently said to herself, not wanting to push her luck. The time she had there was limited and she had to use it in the best possible way.

XXX

Back in Athena's camp, well wrapped in her blankets, Gabrielle was struggling to keep her eyes shut, furiously trying to suppress the continuously unfolding set of images from that day's battle….The men, the shouts, the sharp blades, the blood, Xena….Ares…..She twisted and turned in her bedroll for a few more minutes until she finally decided that she needed to take a breath of fresh air if she wanted to sleep at all that night.

As soon as she got out of the tent though, she heard them whispering…

XXX

The only light in Marga's royal tent came from an almost melted candle whose slowly burning flame was making it disappear from sight with each passing moment.

Drown in thoughts as she was, the Queen was carefully analyzing the maps, the faint dark circles under her slightly irritated eyes giving away more than enough about her state. In spite of her visible concern and seemingly unbreakable focus, right out of the blue, she turned around at a nearly superhuman speed, ready to attack right about anyone at the unusual sound she had heard somewhere at her left. She was ready to slash and tear when she finally acknowledged his completely unexpected presence.

"Ares…."