The briny smell of the sea invaded Xena's nostrils as she pushed herself to burn through the last leg of her morning run. She'd awoken before first light to find Gabrielle and Aleta still in peaceful sleep. Xena had chased the sunrise across the hills that lay to the east of the gulfside city of Chalcis. When the first fingers of light had spread over the horizon, Xena had headed back toward their camp which was perched high above the city. The women had spent three leisurely days enjoying the fruits that Chalcis had to offer. When they'd first arrived, Gabrielle had been excited to learn that their arrival coincided with a theatre festival. The women had some dinars to burn, so Xena agreed to stay long enough for Gabrielle to take in a few plays. Gabrielle had even managed to drag Xena to a showing of Lysistrata. As Xena finished her run, she passed a band of actors heading out of town.. From the laurels that crowned their heads, Xena surmised that they must have won the competition and were headed on to their next adventure. Xena was excited to be leaving Chalcis, herself. There was nothing distasteful about Chalcis, in fact, she'd enjoyed their time there, even Lysistrata, but Xena was looking forward to getting back to the mainland and heading north toward Thrace.

Once back at camp, Xena found that Gabrielle and Aleta had risen and were breaking their fasts with salted cod and bread.

"Morning," Gabrielle called and tossed Xena a hunk of the loaf they'd been tearing from.

"Thanks," Xena answered as she snatched the bread from the air. After a couple of bites, Xena's stomach roiled and she doubled over puking up the bread and chunks of her rabbit from the night before.

"Xena." Aleta grabbed her waterskin and made her way to the warrior.

Xena stood back up, shook her head, and held a hand up to indicate that she didn't want the water.

"Are you sure? If you're sick you need to keep hydrated," Aleta offered the water again.

"She isn't sick, well at least not that kind of sick," Gabrielle smirked from atop her bedroll.

Xena glared at Gabrielle as she used the back of her hand to wipe vomit off of her chin. "It's not that!" Xena barked at the bard before picking up her saddle bag."I'm going to the baths."

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Aleta asked.

"Nope, I'll be fine," Xena insisted and broke her stare with Gabrielle as she turned for town.

"We will see you later, then," Gabby called, "just don't throw the baby out with the bath water," Gabrielle joked putting the emphasis on the word "baby."

Xena kept walking and fought the urge to fling her chakram at Gabrielle.

In town, Xena headed straight for the baths. She was pleasantly surprised to find that they were very modern, following the Roman style. She didn't like much about the Romans but their promotion of hot-water bathing was certainly an improvement on the old cold bathing practices she'd grown up with. A heavy-set woman served as an attendant at the caldarium. She offered Xena a towel and a variety of oils. "Bathrooms are in the rear if you need them before bathing," the woman grumbled, giving Xena the impression that it was more an order than a suggestion.

"Thank you," Xena nodded and picked up a small urn of orange-almond oil before heading to the bathroom.

When Xena had finished her business, she studied her body in the full-length mirror. Looking for any sign that Gabrielle might be right. She knew it was too early for her to be "showing" but it'd been a half-week since she realized she was late for her period and still, no blood, not even a little spotting. Her breasts were more tender and they did look a little swollen now that she really examined them. Xena looked down at the nipples. Were her areolas darker? Maybe. She squeezed one of her boobs. Yeah, definitely more tender. She flicked her nipple. Sensitive too!

Another bather entered the bathroom and looked oddly at Xena as the warrior flicked at her other nipple. Xena grimaced and wrapped the towel around herself. She leaned in closer to the mirror and saw that some puke had crusted in the corner of her mouth. She dipped her fingers into the water basin and then scrubbed the vomit off with her thumb. Xena sighed. This was the second time she'd gotten suddenly and violently sick. The eel she'd eaten for lunch yesterday swam right back up after five minutes. Xena loved eel. It was one of her favorite foods, normally.

Xena looked herself straight into the eyes and decided it was time to let denial be just a river in Egypt. She accepted the frightening truth! She was pregnant! She was carrying the child of the God of War. Joy and fear warred within her. Trepidation won. What if he was a monster? He would be the ultimate warrior. His destructive potential would be unmatched! Would the child be born with an innate darkness? Had Ares always been so wicked or had the rigors of his godhood turned him into the beast that he sometimes was? Xena tried to remember the stories that she'd heard about Ares' mortal children. Most of them, she recalled, became brutal kings who'd committed atrocious crimes against their people, often in an effort to impress their blood-thirsty father. Would her child be able to fight the bloodlust? Would he live a life of constant conflict, like her? Was it right to bring a child into the world to suffer such a fate?

"Ahem," the woman who'd given Xena the queer look when she came into the bathroom stood impatiently behind Xena waiting for the basin.

The woman clearing her throat had brought Xena out of her own head. She offered the woman an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm finished, it's all yours." Xena grabbed her towel from beside the wash basin and headed to the bathing pools.

Sinking down into the hot water, sent memories from the island grotto rushing through Xena's head. She hadn't seen Ares since the night he'd fingered her off under the waterfall. She'd felt him once, hiding behind the veil of the aether. She'd snarled that night. Perhaps her barred teeth had scared him away. A shame really, it wasn't like him to back down from a fight. Maybe he was tired of fighting. Hades, maybe he was tired of her.

Xena knew she had to tell him about the baby. Gabrielle had been dropping little hints and reminders that Xena needed to tell him, but Xena had been trying so hard to will herself not to be pregnant that she hadn't even entertained the thought of talking to him about it. Even now, that she was certain that she was with child, she was reluctant to share the news with the malevolent bastard. She could already see the self-satisfied smile that would certainly grace his smug, chiseled face! Oh, he'd gloat! And say something cocky about having her for eternity now! He'd whisper sweet nothings about destiny and inseparable bonds. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of knowing that his godhood had done the trick. She knew they weren't ready for this. He wasn't ready for this. She certainly wasn't ready for this! This was supposed to be a distant dream. Her someday that she hoped for, pined for, but would never let come to fruition It was the dream that she denied herself as part of her self-induced punishment for all of her sins. And yet, here it was in boldface. She was pregnant. Not just pregnant. She was carrying the heir to Olympus! The child of Ares! Xena fought the smile that spread across her face. With a gentle touch to her stomach, she shook her head. Why hadn't she been more careful? Had she wanted this? Subconsciously? Visions of golden apples danced in her head. Yes! Of course she'd wanted this! But the timing, the timing was all wrong!

Thirty minutes later, Xena's skin was pruned but she was no closer to an answer to her dilemma than when she'd first sank into the water. Maybe the answers lay in the mountains, lakes, and rivers of her home valley. Yes, she needed to go home. She needed Amphipolis.

AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX

Ares and the Seleucids were doing a fantastic job of holding Ares and the Romans at bay. Turning them back, however, was proving more difficult than the Seleucids had anticipated.

"Any word from Palmyra?" Ares asked his lead general as the commander walked into his war tent.

"Yes, Lord Ares," the general saluted, then continued, "they're sending troops, we can expect them in two days."

"Two days? You think we can wait out those aggressive Romans that long?"

"I do, my Lord."

"Very well, I'll leave you to it then," Ares smiled and vanished.

He considered going to Xena. He reached for her in the aether but stopped himself before he locked onto her soul signature. She'd seemed like she was still pissed at him when he'd last checked in on her. The contemptuous glare she'd thrown him had stabbed him right in the gut. He knew they needed to talk. He welcomed an honest conversation with her. But sometimes it felt like she only wanted to fuck or fight. He thought about going to the Halls of War but he only felt lonely there. When he re-materialized out of the aether, he'd surprised himself. He was standing in the courtyard of the palace complex he'd created for Xena. He studied the frieze that told the story of her life. The last panel with the image of him and Xena as King and Queen of Olympus haunted him. Ares laughed at himself for his wishful thinking .Embarrassment flushed over Ares when he remembered that like a lovesick school boy he'd shown her this, his dream. She was never going to give him these things. He knew he was a fool to keep playing her games. Ares thought back over the last few months that they'd been exploring her submissive fantasies. Was she really a submissive? Or was he the actual bitch? Was she just toying with him? Was that the truth of the matter? When she'd told him she shared his dreams of a life together, had she been lying to him? Had she only said the things he wanted to hear just to keep him coming back and catering to her perversions? Hadn't she always? Wasn't that what she did? It was her speciality! She'd fed him those same lies in Amphipolis when he'd offered to save Eve from Athena. And as soon as he'd kept up his end of the bargain, she'd found a way to cheat out of her end. Oh how he'd wanted to smash that wooden doll into smithereens the way she'd smashed his heart. And Gabrielle's gloating grin! Why had he ever saved her when he'd saved Eve? Ares had given up his godhood to save Xena. He hadn't been looking for recompense but instead of allowing things to become cordial between them, seeing it as a new chapter in their relationship, what did she do? She'd stowed him away on her grandparent's rundown farm. Xena had promised to visit him on the farm but she never showed one black hair until the day she came to tell him that she was getting him his godhood back. And that, that she only did for the betterment of humanity. She knew if she sent Dite back by herself that she'd run the risk of tipping the balance the other way. Oh, and she'd teased him with the golden apple. She'd teased him in front of everyone! Even Odin! Ares had lied to himself, had actually convinced himself that she'd been tempted by the promise of eternity with him. He had told himself that if Blondie hadn't been there, stopping her, that she would've bit down on the fruit and joined him on Olympus. But Ares now knew the truth. She'd never intended to eat the damn thing. She'd only been fucking with his head. Well, he was tired of being screwed over!

An urge to destroy the whole damn island started in the pit of his soul and spread out like a wildfire through his veins. Burning anger ripped through him first. Then it was joined by cold fury. Finally, fear coalesced with the anger and fury and gripped at his heart, taunting him, tormenting him. Darkness overcame him, he bolted down the hallway to the playroom. He laughed at himself. Not only had he gone along with her mind fuck, he'd created the space to do it. A safe space for her that was outside of her normal world, lowering the stakes for her. She didn't have to think of their time in that liminal space as real. It was playtime. Make believe. For him, it had been heaven and the only reality that he'd ever truly wanted. He'd spent his whole life as the steward of War, without a choice Even she'd demanded that he resume that mantle. As his laughter intensified, he realized she'd done it again, made him show his heart when all she had to give in return were empty promises. Ares conjured a fireball and hurled it into the bed. Vanishing quickly to the master suite he chided himself for his stupid sentimentality. A second fireball lit up the fine sheets that adorned the unchristened bed. Turning toward the nursery, he didn't even have the heart to enter. She was never going to give him a family, be his wife. She hated him, hated herself. Xena would never love any child that they created together. She would hold it in contempt like she did him. She'd probably think it a monster, an abomination! He summoned twin fireballs in his hand and with one thrust he sent them soaring into the nursery.

As his dreams went up in flames, Ares disappeared into the void.

The war god rushed himself to a different world, a world away from Xena and her manipulative little games. It was a world he visited from time to time just to torment an old lover. Ares stood at the entrance to a sealed cave and with the wave of his hand the boulders barricading the interior fell away, one by one. He didn't enter the den, he simply waited for its lone resident to surface from her dark, dank hell. Within minutes, the filthy blonde emerged. She held her hand out to shield the blinding sun from her eyes.

"Ares," the aged woman spat, "I knew it would be you."

"Mavican, time hasn't been kind to you. Though I guess feeding off vermin will do that to you."

"You did this to me!" She screamed.

"No, Xena did it to you. But hey, no harm, no foul," he called and with a flick of his wrist, she looked as youthful and vibrant as she did the day Xena had left her hanging for her life.

"What do you want? Let me guess, Xena's finally dead and you're looking for the right woman to take her place?"

"No, you idiot. Xena is not dead. She's cheated death, as have you."

"I'm guessing you had some help in that?"

Ares smiled devilishly. "Are you still interested in the job?"

"As your first in command?" She asked.

"You know you have to earn it."

"Oh, and surviving in that cave year in and year out didn't prove my tenacity to you?"

"No, but killing Xena will."

"Are you bringing her here again? Will she and that little bitch be sharing a body this time?"

"No, I'm sending you back and no tricks. Just a fair fight. If you defeat her, she isn't the one." Ares sighed.

"Nothing's ever fair with you, Ares."

"You're wrong. Everything is fair in love and in war. That's what Xena needs to learn. She forgot that valuable lesson. She thinks some people should be spared but everything is game in war, everything. There are no innocents."

"Can I kill the bard too, then?"

"That would be most pleasurable to watch." Ares opened a portal and watched as Mavican slipped through.

He flashed himself to the Halls of War and took his seat on his throne. With his hatred to keep him company the hollow halls didn't feel quite as lonely as he'd expected. With a twist of a hand, a viewing portal opened up. He couldn't wait to see the look on Xena's face! He'd been playing her games for weeks. And what did he have to show for it except a few stolen moments and nothing promises. She needed to be reminded that he wasn't a god to be trifled with.

"Let the games begin, Xena. Let the games begin."

Ares knew that Mavican was no match for Xena but he wasn't going to let Xena off so easily this time. The old fight between the three of them: Mavican, Gabrielle, and Xena was supposed to have resulted in one of their deaths, but like always, Xena had cheated him, played him, manipulated the rules to her favor. Not this time. There would be blood. One way or another! Sneer at him, would she? Hold him in contempt? Well he'd show her who was the master! The master manipulator! The master of the universe!