I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS YOU GUYS ...THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND REVIEWS :)
As they stepped outside the temple, Xena suddenly realized a tiny little detail that had somehow escaped her distraught mind just seconds before: it was still the middle of the night, and to make matters even worse, the moon was nowhere to be seen. It had been particularly cloudy and windy during the day and apparently, the night was no exception.
At the War God's signal, out of thin air, two stunningly beautiful stallions appeared by their side, the one destined for his Chosen, kneeling in front of her and patiently waiting for her to mount him.
''I guess he knows you're a Princess!'' Ares couldn't hold back the slightly sardonic comment, while casually throwing at her feet a trident and a net- the weapons that were supposed to ensure her victory. ''Good luck with those. I sure hope you win. I'd hate to see you spend eternity wearing a rusty iron hook instead of a hand. '' he made sure she remembered the risk, winking at her as he headed towards his own horse.
''I'd use it to stick it up your ass you cocky Bastard! I'll wipe the floor with you!'' she hissed through clenched teeth, completely forgetting for a split second that he could actually hear her through their bond. His bemused chuckle, intentionally echoed back to her, only turned out to be an even more powerful incentive.
''Good luck, my Lady! You'll need it….'' the young man murmured before she got up on the stallion, but her jaw was suddenly tense- at the awareness that truth be told, as much as she wanted to believe otherwise, there was little to no chance to actually beat Ares at his own game . She had never held a trident up to that moment let alone use it in a fight; as for the fighting net…..the only similar one she had previously seen was Lyceus' -an old fishermen's net he used whenever they went down the river in the hope of capturing Solaris…..But from that old thing to actually using one in in combat …she couldn't even wrap her head around it.
''Any rules?'' she yelled once there was enough distance between the two horses, squinting her eyes as if that could magically help her see through the thick darkness surrounding them.
'' Just stay on that horse long enough to make it worth my while!'' he laughed, grabbing the reins even tighter, and getting ready for a gruesome attack that was supposed to knock her to the ground before she could even blink.
As Ares' horse began galloping towards her, all of a sudden, time started to pass as if in slow motion for the Warrior Princess. She had limited options, but still, she could easily jump from the face of the rumbling danger heading her way- a temporary solution obviously, but she needed a minute longer to figure out some kind of strategy….For starters, she could surprise the overconfident Olympian with a full force attack of her own , by aiming the trident at the horses' feet, thus throwing her opponent off balance- an advantage she would then make use of by throwing the net over him and at least slowing him down until she got her trident back -in case she were to drop it during the savage attack upon that poor animal…..And then there was of course a different option, which involved a more complex number of acrobatics that would have allowed her in the end to land on top of Ares' horse, right behind its rider- the element of surprise would have been extremely beneficial in this case- and maybe choke him with her trident or use the net to immobilize him first and from there on, things only got simpler ….
As more and more ideas started to pop inside that frantically working mind of hers though, her adversary was getting closer and closer to his target, and let's just say that it was only by sheer luck that she managed to duck the spiky trident, the sharp prongs only missing her head by 5 inches or less. Her heart in her throat, Xena took in a deep breath and, pulling the reins, she urged her horse to rear up, thus scaring the War God's stallion enough as to force it to change direction and go around her,- a bold move that offered her enough time to turn around and launch an attack of her own, throwing the trident straight towards her patron God's back.
Catching the God of War himself off guard was as rare as a full planetary alignment though and this particular fight would prove to be one in which Xena was about to discover that legends were indeed true when it came to her lover- he was such a skilled fighter that not even Zeus himself would have ever dared challenge him to a fair fight….
As soon as he heard the sharp weapon flying his way , Ares leaped into the air in order to avoid the impact and, while still being in mid flip , before it flew out of his reach , he grabbed the metallic shaft and used it to balance himself once he landed back on his horse, until he managed to reach the reins again.
''Having fun, Ares? '' the Warrior Princess mocked, forcing her eyes to pierce through the dark, just in case he decided to throw that bloody weapon back from where it came ….''Honestly I kinda expected more from the God of War'' she cunningly challenged, determined to irritate him enough as to make him loose his cool …That would have been the prefect opportunity for her to try a different approach that was bound to take her at least one step closer to victory.
Hadn't it been for that oppressive obscurity engulfing the space between them, she would have surely noticed that proud smile beaming on the Olympian's face. She was putting into practice everything he had taught her to do when all odds were against her.
''Don't lose hope, Sugar! We're getting there!'' he bit back, urging his stallion to gain speed and swinging the net above his head with an enviable agility, adamant about capturing his prey.
In the face of this new menace, Xena now only had the net to protect herself, since Ares was holding her trident and his had landed somewhere to her left- in a spot that was at that precise moment, closer to him than it was to her. She desperately needed to retrieve it, but first she had to escape the net flying her way, and the best thing she could think of was to throw her own net in the air, thus halting its progression for a little while, but before she knew it, one of the sharp prongs of the trident Ares had skillfully picked while passing it by, grazed her shoulder, making her wince in pain.
''Come on, Sweetheart. Don't disappoint me now!'' he mocked, kicking her midsection as soon as their horses got close enough, leaving her breathless for a couple of seconds and she would have definitely fallen off that horse if the War God had had a better angle to apply that nasty kick.
As minutes passed, the Warrior Princess did try to adapt as best as she could given the circumstances, but much to her despair, all the initially mentioned strategies appeared to be failing, Ares efficiently anticipating each and every single one of them.
Their confrontation culminated with a heartstopping scene in which she actually sprang from her horse right behind him but the only blessed victory she got out of that poorly calculated attempt was the fact that she hadn't broken her spine in the process from the violent collision she had with the rocky terrain after the War God commanded his horse to jump.
Next thing she knew, she was struggling to escape both nets with the desperation of a trapped mermaid, and the trident poking her skin through the meshes only accentuated her frustration even more.
''Enough!'' the God barked his order, seeing that she stubbornly refused to give up, despite the fact that there was obviously no way out of it…A humiliating situation that only made the heavily breathing Warrior Princess feel even worse than she already did….
''Sorry, kid. She's my Chosen, not a miracle worker. She still needs a few centuries of training before she can even dream about wiping the floor with me '' he humorously mentioned, while with a wave of his hand, he made both the nets and the tridents vanish into nothingness.
''Come on, left hand up all losers on sight! '' he mocked, his eyes locked with Xena's piercing blues. ''Oh wait…..'' he continued, looking around as if having expected to see an impressively large crowd around him. ''It's only the two of you…I guess I'll just take what I can get….'' he continued, scanning Xena from head to toe once she was on her feet, diligently moving by Erastus' side, and raising her left hand above her head , just as instructed.
''At least you gave it a shot, My Lady! Thank you!'' the young man mumbled, in a weak, pensive voice.
She didn't reply though. She couldn't. She just felt awful about the whole situation. Not because she was about to lose a hand, after all, Ares had played by the rules and had won fair and square. She knew the risks way before she challenged him to a fight, but still, she couldn't shake the feeling that all this was her own fault. …She had been the one to initiate that flirt, in the hope to get Ares' attention- which she did, admirably…..She hated the consequences though …..
Deep in thought as she was, she almost missed the powerful strike of the sharp blade that severed Erastus' hand, his bone-chilling screams of pain being followed by a beastly cry of horror the moment when, covering his wound with his other hand in the naïve attempt to slow down the bleeding, he saw it being chopped off and falling at his feet next to the left one. His head was the next to roll on the grass in the pool of blood that was rapidly forming, making Xena's stomach twist as within seconds, the whole world appeared to be crumbling around her.
''You killed him!'' she barely found the voice to exclaim, genuinely shocked by the dramatic intensity of the scene.
Before she could add anything else though, the God's fingers were literally digging holes into her cheeks, his steely eyes shining with a form of anger she had never witnessed before...in anyone. He was always so in control of his emotions that she could have never imagined him turn into the very embodiment of rage.
''If you ever dare contradict me in public again, or question my orders I will chop you to little pieces, do you understand?! You are my gods damned Chosen, Xena, and you are not here to discuss my decisions! Do not think for one second that us sharing the same bed gives you the right to defy me in front of my followers! Or in front of anyone for that matter! DO NOT mistaken one role for the other! Fucking and fighting might share the same first letter but that's where the similarities end!" he shouted at her at the top of his lungs, overly tempted to smack her across the face. For some reason, he couldn't get himself to do it though.
''Maybe we shouldn't be mixing business and pleasure then!'' she growled, as he finally released her from that vicious grip and she instinctively took two steps back from his extremely tense form. ''Why don't we stick to business from now on ? It would definitely save us a lot of trouble!'' she venomously spat, turning around and heading for the temple, leaving a fuming War God behind.
She was so pissed she couldn't even think properly.
