Gabrielle looked at the large, decadent room that she, the Conqueror, and who Gabrielle assumed was the Conqueror's top general, Leonidas, had barged into. She stood just inside near the doorway, watching the Conqueror, who was wearing a feral smile as she took a few more steps into the room and spoke to the man who had nearly been scared out of his chair when she abruptly burst into the room.
XENA
What's the matter, Petrodes? Not happy to see me?
The man, Petrodes, stood and faced the Conqueror, attempting to put up an air of bravado that Gabrielle couldn't tell was real or not as he spoke.
PETRODES
(Arrogant tone) Well if it isn't the mighty Xena herself?
Xena scowled at the use of her name in such a casual way. No one called her just by her name, not even those she considered to be her closest allies. It was always something along the lines of "my lord Conqueror," "my lord," "my Conqueror." Sometimes, on very rare occasions, she would get something like "her lord Conqueror, Xena." But never just her actual name. She took it as a blatant show of disrespect, especially considering the way that Petrodes had said it. It was obvious to Xena that he had indeed intended it to come across that way. Normally, she would kill someone who dared to disrespect her in such a manner, but Xena reminded herself of Petrodes' status and knew that outright killing him without any actual reason would only cause her more problems in the long run. So, for the time being, Xena kept her composure and attempted to handle the situation diplomatically, as difficult as it might be due to the unpleasantly familiar feeling she got from this man that reminded her of another enemy who always found a way of getting under her skin like no one else ever could.
PETRODES
So, tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of your gracing me with your presence?
XENA
Don't play dumb with me, Petrodes. You know why I'm here.
PETRODES
Oh yes, of course.
Xena watched as Petrodes casually strolled over to a table, poured some wine into a goblet, and then picked it up.
PETRODES
Can I offer you a drink?
He smiled, but Xena knew that it was all a ruse. She and Petrodes had never gotten along, and why would they? She wanted his city, and he was the last holdout in the area who hadn't either completely surrendered or voluntarily pledged their loyalty to her. And that bothered Xena to no end. After all, her goal was to completely unite all of Greece under her rule. Since she had started on this venture several years ago, she had gathered a fairly large portion of the country under her ownership, to mixed reviews by those she had taken under her sovereignty. But whether people agreed with her or not wasn't Xena's concern. Her focus was on uniting Greece and molding it into a thriving land where no one would dare come up against anyone or any place under her watchful eyes ever again.
XENA
I'm good.
Petrodes shrugged as he took a sip from his cup.
PETRODES
Suit yourself.
He then walked over and sat in a large chair, reclining in the seat as he casually sipped his wine.
PETRODES
I suppose you want to get straight to business.
XENA
Well, I'm certainly not here for the fun of it.
PETRODES
(Sarcastically) Oh, why Xena, I'm hurt. And here I thought we were becoming friends.
He chuckled as Leonidas could see the Conqueror's patience with this man already beginning to wear thin. But then Xena smiled, and Leonidas knew that Petrodes wasn't going to like what happened next.
XENA
Friends, huh?
LEONIDAS
(Quietly) Um, my lord, you wanted me to remind you...
Xena didn't look at her top commander as she spoke to him.
XENA
There's no need to worry, Leonidas. You heard the man; he wants us to be friends.
Xena walked over to where Petrodes had placed the open bottle of wine, picked it up, and took a drink straight from the bottle.
XENA
Hm, not bad.
Petrodes smiled as he raised his goblet in a toast.
PETRODES
To a profitable new friendship.
With a smile on her face, Xena raised the bottle in a cheers. Then, she slowly turned the bottle upside-down and let the red liquid pour out onto the light-colored rug under her feet as the smile was replaced by a scowl. Meanwhile, Petrodes watched in horror as his expensive rug was completely ruined. After emptying the bottle, Xena looked at it and then at the rug.
XENA
(Flat tone) Woops.
Xena then casually tossed the empty bottle over her shoulder, hearing it shatter when it hit the floor behind her.
XENA
(Flat tone) My bad.
Petrodes scowled as he stood.
PETRODES
(Angry tone) Now, what do you think you're doing?
XENA
Not playing your stupid little games anymore.
Xena walked up to the man, looking over his ridiculous attire that, in all honesty, looked more Roman than Greek.
XENA
(Thinking to herself) He reminds me so much of that son of a bitch Caesar. I just want...
Xena clenched her fist as she glared at him intensely.
LEONIDAS
My lord, the negotiations.
Xena looked at Leonidas for a moment, then back at the man before her.
XENA
Yes, the negotiations.
She leaned closer to Petrodes, and he instinctively went to back away, but with the couch right behind him, he only fell back into a sitting position.
XENA
I want full loyalty from Olympia, and I fully intend to get it.
Petrodes smirked.
PETRODES
And what are you going to do if I don't give in to your demands, Xena? Kill me?
An evil smile found its way to Xena's face.
XENA
Now, that's not a bad idea.
Before Petrodes could move, Xena pulled out a dagger and held it to the man's throat.
XENA
So tell me, Petrodes, what do you say to my demands now?
Leonidas sighed to himself.
LEONIDAS
(Talking to himself) I was afraid this would happen.
Gabrielle stood very uncomfortably by the turn of events as she watched the Conqueror physically threatening the leader of the city's life. And all because he wouldn't surrender to her.
GABRIELLE
(Thinking to herself) This woman really is as vicious and uncaring as I've heard. Even her own soldier is clearly not happy with this situation. Gods, if I don't find a way to get away from her, who knows what she'll do to me the second I don't give in to what she wants.
Petrodes leaned back as far as he could as he felt the sharp blade pressed against his windpipe.
PETRODES
You know, now that I think about it, there might be some more room for further discussion on the matter.
The Conqueror gave a dangerously satisfied smile.
XENA
That's more like it.
She pulled the dagger away as she stood up straight but didn't take her eyes off the man in front of her.
XENA
Now, where were we?
Suddenly, Xena heard multiple footsteps coming from behind her and swiftly drew her sword, with Leonidas doing the same. They, along with Gabrielle, all turned around to see a group of armed men rushing into the room. Gabrielle's blood went cold when she saw one of the men step out in front of the others.
HECTOR
You were about to get some news that you're not going to be too pleased to hear.
Xena looked at Hector and the men behind him and scowled.
XENA
Hector, what in Tartarus are you doing here?
HECTOR
I'm completely free to come here anytime I please, Xena. As you're clearly very well aware, you don't own this city.
XENA
Not at the moment. But as you can see, we were in the middle of some negotiations before you so very rudely interrupted. Now, if you don't mind.
With Xena's attention drawn elsewhere, Petrodes took the opportunity to move from the couch and scurry away from Xena's immediate reach. He hurried over to where Hector stood, and the unhappy look on Xena's face grew more intense as she began to put together what was happening.
PETRODES
It's about time you showed up.
HECTOR
Well, you weren't supposed to piss her off and put yourself in that kind of position.
Petrodes scowled.
PETRODES
We both know that's far easier said than done when it comes to Xena.
HECTOR
Yeah, well, we're here now, so shut up and stay out of the way.
PETRODES
Fine. As long as Draco's good on his word.
HECTOR
Yeah, yeah, as long as you don't cause him problems, he'll honor your agreement.
XENA
Now, isn't this a fascinating little conversation you're having? So which one of you wants to fill me in?
Hector smiled at her.
HECTOR
Simple, Xena. You aren't the only one who wants power for themselves. Unbeknownst to you, Draco's been working on gathering up his own foothold.
XENA
Ha! It's not as though that amounts to very much as a whole, given that the majority of the land across Greece falls under my control.
HECTOR
Funny, I never said anything about it just being Greece. Draco's been making moves all over the place, and you never even knew about it. Though Greece is in the works, which is what brings me here today. Olympia is one of the first to swear their allegiance to Draco, with the rest of Greece to soon follow.
XENA
Over my dead body.
HECTOR
That's the plan.
Hector looked at the large group of soldiers behind him.
HECTOR
You know what to do.
SOLDIER
For Draco!
The soldiers then proceeded to rush toward Xena and Leonidas. Steel clashed as a fight ensued. Xena used her sword to block an incoming strike and shoved the soldier back before stabbing at his midsection where he had a gap in his armor. Blood began to pour from the open flesh as Xena pulled her sword out, and he grabbed at his stomach as he backed away. But it was pointless, as with an aggressive yell, the Conqueror lunged forward and with expert precision slashed across the man's throat. He let out a sickening gurgle as he began to choke on his own blood before he fell to the floor at Xena's feet. Xena looked at his rapidly dying body with cold, unfeeling eyes before hearing a yell behind her. Without looking, the Conqueror rotated her blade downward and thrust it back, plunging it into another soldier's stomach. After giving it a quick twist, Xena yanked the blood-covered weapon from the man's body, and he too fell to the ground and died. Meanwhile, Leonidas was fighting off his own opponent. He threw an elbow into the soldier's face and shattered his nose. Then, with his opponent staggered, Leonidas drove his sword into the man's stomach, practically lifting him off the ground, before using his foot to shove the soldier back off of his blade and letting him drop to the floor. He then continued to fight off other soldiers that came his way. With utter chaos surrounding her, scared and not knowing what to do, Gabrielle found herself backed into a wall as she watched the fighting and bloodshed that ensued. She looked around and noticed that she had a clear path to the doorway. Realizing that with the Conqueror and everyone else there distracted, she had the perfect opening she needed to finally escape. Gabrielle quickly but quietly moved towards the door. She jumped back when a body of a soldier landed in front of her, and she stood completely still as she looked over at the fighting, unsure if she had been spotted. Fortunately for her, it seemed as though the Conqueror and her top commander were too focused on the fighting and hadn't noticed her. So carefully, Gabrielle stepped over the dead body as she continued towards the exit. She was nearly out of the room when someone stepped in front of her, blocking her path to freedom.
HECTOR
(Angry tone) You... I can't believe you're actually still alive.
Gabrielle backed away slightly as a feeling of dread fell over her.
HECTOR
You're a real troublemaker, you know that. But at least now I get to bring you to Draco myself.
He smiled as he saw the multiple bruises that still hadn't completely faded away.
HECTOR
Then again, Draco does already think that one of the girls died after falling into the river. So I guess killing you won't hurt. Well, it won't hurt me at least.
(Sinister tone) You, on the other hand...
Gabrielle found herself frozen in place as Hector raised his sword and then began to drive it down towards her. Her fate appeared sealed as Gabrielle stood unable to move with Hector's blade coming in to finish what he had started and kill Gabrielle right where she now stood.
TO BE CONTINUED...