OK... SO, HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER TO THE HEART OF WAR...FOR ALL THE ROMANTIC GIRLS AND BOYS OUT THERE, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THIS STORY WOULD BE UTTERLY ROMANTIC :) NO AWFULLY NASTY STUFF IN IT:)) I'VE DECIDED TO GIVE YOUR HEARTS A BREAK:))...I THINK...AS ALWAYS, DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT THOUGH:)))
" I did something..."
"Something….? " he reluctantly inquired. Judging by the grave expression on her face though, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to know the answer.
" Xena…whatever it is that you did, we can fix it….Sleeping with the God of War out of all people, does offer certain advantages…" he tried to joke, thinking that somehow, a light smile on her lips would prove to be the secret ingredient that would make those dire premonitions that had started nestling in his heart ever since he made an appearance in that room, go away once and for all.
" There's no fixing it , Ares. Not everything can be fixed " she retorted- sounding a bit irritated by the fact that- as always- he arrogantly believed a snap of his fingers could solve any problem, no matter how desperate the situation was.
" I wouldn't be that pessimistic about it. " he encouraged, running nervously his hands up and down her thighs the moment he read the indecision in her eyes. "Talk to me…." he insisted but, despite having rehearsed her speech for a few days now, the Warrior Princess could barely find her words…..She shouldn't have done this…she shouldn't have stayed…she should have left without a word, leaving everything behind; she should have walked away- no goodbyes, no useless explanations…..He might have been furious with her for a week or two, but eventually , they would have both moved on, without putting herself through this ….Having him there again, so close to her, his inquisitive amber eyes piercing her to the core while that heart melting, soft touch of his hands was trying to relax her…it only made her task even more difficult…
For a few seconds, she anxiously rubbed her forehead as if it ached, then hesitantly ran her fingers through her hair – looking for something to keep her mind busy….She hadn't been looking forward to this conversation, that was pretty obvious, and the sudden realization of this little detail, made Ares feel like his head was about to burst with the tension that had built up in his temples.
" Right after the battle of Sounion, on our way to Thermopylae, we made a detour, remember?"
"Yeah, you made camp at Delphi…..You were looking for fresh supplies for the troops..."
" That's not why we stopped there…." she mildly contradicted- within seconds, the idea that she couldn't possibly take her words back once she had said it , flashing painfully through her mind, burning everything in its path…She wasn't precisely certain that her patron God had noticed it, but the decision she had already silently taken, had her petrified…..
"Ok….Why did you stop then? " Ares murmured, his hands suddenly ceasing their caresses and resting mechanically on her hips. …He was still waiting for the rest of the story, and for everyone who knew him- and there weren't a lot of people who could brag about it- his calmness was not only unusual, it was….life threatening….Still, ignoring the destructive tornado of emotions that had began forming inside him, reaching out his hand, the God preferred to delicately run the back of his fingers down the side of her cheek- another subtle encouragement for her to open up to him…. Surprisingly, it worked. Despite her continuously increasing heartbeat- which he had easily depicted- she kept speaking….
"As you probably know, some of the soldiers have families- spread throughout the entire Greek lands-…wives, children….and they have just escaped one of the bloodiest battles most of them have taken part to…not to mention that several others are about to follow…" she tried to explain, but the God kept staring at her, patiently indeed, but there was also a puzzled expression painted on his face….He didn't get it…
" So? What does that have to do with you?"
" Many of them wanted to visit the Oracle."
" A lot of people do…" he casually remarked, narrowing his eyes at her.
" So did I…"
" You went to see that blabbering idiot?! What ever for?! " he asked, looking slightly amused by the image now forming in his mind.
" I had a dream the night before….."
" I would have never considered the mighty Warrior Princess the superstitious kind…" he pointed out with a laugh.
" It was not an ordinary dream. "
" Dreams are never ordinary…They are either traumas, life events or figments of our imagination….but that's where the list ends…."
" I dreamt about Lyceus…."
" Life event" he professionally classified, guilt reflected in his eyes. " I wish I had been there….." he added- on a considerably lower, apologetic tone.
" You can't always be there, Ares…."she softly replied, his statement only making her feel even worse than before….How or when she had become so addicted to him, she didn't know, but these days, she could hardly breathe without him, and she had to ask herself now…..how would her life be without him in it?
" I'll just have to work harder…." he simply continued as if he hadn't even heard her.
" And it was not just a dream….I have dreamt about him countless times, you know that, but not like this….this was no dream, this was…" she hesitated, not really sure if she should say it out loud…..It was ridiculous and she knew it, no one else needed to tell her what she already knew " something else…." she ended, frowning at the memory.
" A vision?" he spelled it for her, his eyebrows arching sharply at the perspective.
" I guess you could call it that…"
" And just what did this vision tell you? " the God asked, looking enquiringly at her, displeased to see the pain in her eyes….Whatever had happened in that accursed town, it sure affected his Princess a great deal, and not only did this made him angry with himself for not having been by her side that night, but it also scared him to death….
" To go and see Pythia….He said that the rest of my life depended on the decision I would make once I had talked to her…" she confessed, clearing her throat, while getting ready to share the rest of the story…
" Apollo's head priestess….what a coincidence…." Ares cynically interrupted, appearing suddenly calmer though, the knot his in stomach finally vanishing along with that bothering, soul crushing fear he had been feeling. " So let's see…..you make camp at Delphi and at night you dream about your brother- a recurring nightmare in your case- and he asks you to go see Pythia – whose name is usually associated to Delphi anyway…..Princess….it was just a dream, darling. Nothing to worry about…" he paternally insisted, kissing her forehead and before she knew it, she was already enfolded in his arms, heart-stoppingly close, and for a moment there, despite that uncommon serenity his embrace would always offer her, she felt like she was choking. "The woman's a fraud…ranting all kinds of nonsense…." he whispered soothingly against her ear.
"It's not what she said, it's what she showed me! And she showed me the future!" she finally exploded, tears glistening in her eyes as she said it.
His gaze lingered lovingly on her troubled face for a few seconds more before answering.
" Except for the Fates, nobody knows the future, sweetie …Plus, not even they can be one hundred percent certain that…."
"But it felt so real, Ares! " she immediately countered, wanting to get up from the massage table, but in return he just tightened his hold on her, his lips grazing over hers as he spoke, sending shivers down her spine….She wanted so badly to kiss him, to feel once again that ultimate power and protection he always offered her, that she nearly gave in the temptation to just forget about everything and pretend that nothing had happened….Gods, the idea itself was so tempting, so damn alluring that it hurt..."Plus….the woman's blind…..how could she have even known who I was…?!" she added, trying to distract herself from the ocean of sensations washing over her.
" The Warrior Princess passing through Delphi with an army to scare even Zeus himself….? Yeah, that's very hard to find out in a city with little over two thousand people!" he patronized, rolling his eyes at her. She was being completely irrational...very unlike her...Something obviously had her horrified...He just refused to believe that it had been some stupid vision that had reached that performance.
" That doesn't explain what I saw….And the things she knew about me ….No one knows them, but you…" she breathed out, biting her lips nervously.
" What things?"
" The nightmares, the guilt, Lyceus' last words….She couldn't have known that….and the images in my head….I saw my life- past , present and future….."
" So what exactly was it, that has you so…..edgy? What did you see? " he inquired in a soft, velvet like voice, wisely choosing his words, careful not to offend her.
" In short, gradually, the wars and the blood will turn me into a vicious killer- a heartless monster….but that's not what worries me the most….."
Hearing her, he had to make a real effort to suppress a smile …..It was absolutely incredible how this absolutely brilliant woman- his own Chosen to top it all- could be so freaking naïve at times…..Did she really believe all that mambo jumbo crap?
" I saw …us ….up on Olympus….." she finally revealed, struggling to control her visibly shaking hands now that the images invaded her brain again. It felt so real….so real that she could swear she had already lived those events!
" You …me …Olympus….Nothing wrong with that picture, so far…Were we sitting on the throne? King and Queen?!" he then asked enthusiastically, taking both of her hands to his lips and covering them in kisses…
What was she even worried about? What was it that he couldn't possibly fix? A million questions were still whirling inside his head, but still, to all appearances, it had all been a false alarm and he had just panicked uselessly.
Something did shock him though…..the blinding fear of losing her- a strange sensation, so intense, like nothing he had ever felt before….It amazed him to the point that, when she spoke again, he just stared at her absently for a couple of seconds, sunk in thought and it took his brain quite a few moments longer to process the staggering information she was giving him.
" Not really….We were fighting the other Gods….I saw Zeus. He was dead-killed by your hand….Aphrodite was the only one helping us, along with two other blondes I haven't seen before…."
" I'd say that sounds like the Elysian Fields on earth…..! Overthrowing the old man has been on my mind lately….." he confessed, suddenly extremely interested in what she had to say. " It must have been a glorious battle!"
" You died…" she grimly announced, and the words grazed her throat like spikes as she uttered them…." …Trying to protect me and my daughter….our daughter…"