Chapter 10: Will You?
After a tense dinner, everyone excused themselves, per usual. Ulysses grabbed Xena's hand and the couple walked gracefully out the dining hall. Gabrielle looked at Ares, who had his lip turned up, as he watched them exit. Once they made eye contact, she gave him a smirk. Ares met her with the same snarky smirk and rose from the table and made his own exit. At the doorway, he watched as Ulysses wrapped his arm around Xena's waist and pulled her into him. Xena casually laid her head on his shoulder.
Ares felt that tightening in his chest again, an unfamiliar sensation that both confused and irritated him. His eyes narrowed as he watched them, his jaw clenched. He shook his head, trying to dismiss the feeling, but it lingered, gnawing at him. Watching Xena with Ulysses made him feel a pang he couldn't ignore. His eyes followed their every step, the jealousy festering within him, growing stronger with each passing moment. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Ares materialized from view.
Xena relaxed as she walked with Ulysses through the halls of the palace. They didn't have a set destination, as they were enjoying just being within each other's arms. Ulysses stopped walking and turned to face Xena, taking her hands into his.
"You were great this evening." He brought her hands to his lips, giving them a peck.
"I think the kingdom will love you, I know our guests did tonight." Xena placed her hands on top of his and rubbed it against her cheek, closing her eyes at the feel on his skin on hers. However, she didn't say anything.
"So have you thought about it?" She opened her eyes to look at him.
"Thought about what?"
"Staying around a little bit longer?" He looked at her with pleading eyes as he stared into her soul.
"Well, Gabrielle seems to be enjoying herself, so I guess a while longer wouldn't kill me," she teased him. He rejoiced at her answer and pulled her close to him. They stared into each other's eyes. His eyes were glistening. She grabbed his neck and pulled his face into hers. He let her guide him to her mouth, closing his eyes. Their lips brushed against each other when Xena spoke,
"I've been enjoying myself too." Ulysses was on fire. She was teasingly close to him, and he wanted to devour her. She was igniting feelings that he didn't know existed. Yes, he loved Penelope, but Xena, she was something different. He felt like a new man.
"Good." Their lips brushed against each other again.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I seem to be lost." Xena let out a deep sigh. Surely, Ares would interrupt their moment. Ulysses promptly pulled back from Xena.
"Understandable, I'll have Lysandra..."
"Xena."
"Of course. Xena here can show you back to your room." Ulysses kissed Xena's hand and Ares impatiently cleared his throat. Ulysses smiled fondly at her and walked in the opposite direction. Xena rolled her eyes to Ares and began walking.
"You know you weren't lost you lying bastard," she told him underneath her breath. Ares picked up his pace to walk next to her. His shoulder brushed against hers and she swiftly looked at him.
"Haven't you heard of personal space?" She glared at him, utterly frustrated. He just smirked back at her. She started back walking picking up her pace this time. The sooner she reached his room, the sooner he would be out of her hair.
"Ah, come on Xena, don't act like you don't miss my company."
"Tuh, I'll rather be accompanied by a fly." Ares tried to reach for her hand as they walked but she quickly withdrew it from his grasp. Her nearness was driving him mad. He tried his best to maintain composure, but he was quickly losing that battle, with every step that he took. As he absent mindedly followed her, he was brought back to reality when she stopped, and he almost crashed into her. Lysandra and Olympia looked at each other and snickered as they walked past them. Ares wanted to teach them about laughing at the God of War, but Xena broke his thoughts when she asked him what was he waiting on? He looked at her and saw that she had opened the door, waiting for him to walk in. He slowly waltzed in, biting his lower lip at her, and then said,
"Care to join me?" He tenderly tried to pull her inside, but she placed her hand on his chest, stopping his actions.
"In your dreams."
Ulysses paced back and forth in his bedroom. His mind was whirled with thoughts as he considered his choices. A soft knock halted his pacing. He nervously opened the door and Lysandra handed him a small box.
"Is it in here?" he inquired quietly.
"Yes, my king." With shaking hands, he took the box out of her hands. She gracefully bowed and left.
"Wait!" she quickly made her way back to his door.
"Where is Xena?"
"Last I seen her, she was in front of Lord Ares' room and she looked annoyed. He on the other hand..." Ulysses held up his hand.
"Shhh, you never know if he can hear you right now."
"I understand. Is there anything else?"
"No, have a good night. Rest well." She bowed again and left. Ulysses closed his door and stared at the box within his hands. That box held not only his future but the future of the kingdom. He sighed, closing his eyes. Carefully, he sat the box inside his nightstand and slumped back on his bed. His thoughts drifted to Xena, wondering where she was. He could tell she was uneasy around Ares, but he had failed to ask her how she truly felt about the whole situation.
He slowly began to remove his regal clothing when there was another knock at the door. All day, his staff has been bothering him. He longed for just one moment alone. One moment to clear his head, to have empty thoughts without worry but no someone else was needing him. Huffing, he rose from the bed and annoyingly pulled open the door. There stood Telemachus.
"Son, is there something that you needed at this hour?" Telemachus invited himself inside of his room and slowly looked around. Ulysses walked in front of him but before he could speak, the prince spoke first,
"Are you alone?"
"As one could be."
"You promised me we would talk days ago.."
"And we will. You of all people know how busy I've been..."
"With Xena!" The prince loudly interrupted his sentence.
"You can't even get dressed without thinking about her. What is she to you anyway?" He eyed his father angrily. The king noted his son's heavy breathing.
"Without her, I would still be stuck at sea. I'm forever grateful for finding her."
"Grateful to her?! What about mother? She searched for you for years. Everyday, she would ride out to sea until it was too dark for her to make out anything and she would come home. Day after day, I watched her grow old and weary looking for you until she didn't return one day. We never found her body. She drowned! She drowned looking for you and you don't even care!" The prince fell to his knees as tears ran down his face. The ache that he felt in his heart was unbearable. His throat felt as if it was closing. He hated his father right now. He was too angry to look at him.
Ulysses felt a wave of sadness come over him. He imagined Penelope searching a whole decade for him, day in and day out. That explains why the palace was in such a sad state. Her time was dedicated to him. Ulysses placed a comforting hand on his son and kneeled to him.
"Son, I did love your mother."
"Did?" Ulysses sighed.
"I do love your mother. Very much. She was very special to me. And without her, I could not have created you, my greatest joy." The prince looked at him. This was the first time he'd ever heard his father speak of him this way. Honestly, the first time that he'd heard him show emotion toward him and his mother.
"Not one day went by when I was at war and then lost at sea that I didn't think about you both. I prayed to the gods that one day I would make it home to see your faces. At night, I would imagine your mother's face and have conversations with her while staring at the stars in the sky." The prince calmed his breathing. He could that his father was sincere. His anger was slowly dissipating with each minute. The king could see the calmness in his son's features now. He continued,
"So don't you dare ever doubt the love I hold. However, Xena is good for me. I deserve to find love again and I have." He looked at his son with pleading eyes. The prince weighed his words. What his father said was true. He couldn't think that he would spend the rest of his days alone. Shaking his head with understanding, he stood up.
"Father, I understand and...I'm..I'm..," before he could finish, the king pulled him into his embrace. At first, he just stood there. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around him and buried his head into his shoulders. A few unhurried moments later, the king pulled back.
"You have become a fine young man, and I am proud of you." The prince smiled brightly.
"Thank you, father. I must go to Xena." Ulysses stuck his arm out at him, and the prince quickly grasped it. With another smile, the prince left the king's room.
As the prince walked down the halls of the palace, he asked various staff members if they had seen Xena. All of them said no. He shrugged and thought nothing of it. Surely, she was around somewhere. He went to Xena's room and knocked. No answer. He sighed and headed towards the garden.
Xena sat in the gardens, lost in thought. The sun had set, and she knew she should be in bed resting for the homecoming, however she couldn't get her thoughts clear. The fact that Ares was in the palace still bothered her. She ran through different scenarios in her head on what he could have wanted but none of them made sense. She heard footsteps heading her way. She tensed briefly but calmed when she didn't feel Ares' presence.
"Lady Xena?" She didn't say anything at first. The prince was the last person she expected to be looking for her.
"I'm over here." He walked to where she was. She was sitting casually on the bench. She looked up at him. The prince finally really looked at her, as her hair blew in the wind. He slowly scanned all her features before taking a seat next to her. He could see how she caught his father's attention. She was very beautiful indeed. He looked at her and smiled softly.
"I do believe I owe you an apology." Xena immediately thought that Ulysses had put his son up to this. She shook her head,
"No, that's not necessary."
"Yes, yes, it is. I misjudged you out of my own misunderstandings." He picked her hand up in his.
"My father, he lo...he's fond of you. He deserves to be happy again. I was being selfish but now I see clearly. Thank you for helping my father return home." He held his hand out for Xena to shake it and she quickly clasped it. They both smiled at each other. The prince left her back to her thoughts. As he entered the palace, he bumped into Gabrielle.
"Gabrielle, excuse me." She laughed softly at him.
"Have you seen Xena?"
"Yes, she's in the garden, on a bench."
"Thank you." Gabrielle turned to leave but he stopped her,
"Gabrielle wait! I was wondering if...if...you would ride me with in my carriage tomorrow." she smiled at him.
"I would love to."
"See you tomorrow."
"Yea." She watched the prince walk away and she headed towards the gardens looking for Xena. Xena heard more footsteps coming her way. It seemed never ending. She wondered who this person was and if they were looking for her. She felt like her only moment of privacy was when she relieved herself. Hopefully, once the homecoming was complete, things would calm down, but she doubted that.
"Xena?" she heard Gabrielle's soft voice.
"Over here," she called out. Gabrielle sat down next to her. She could tell Xena's mind was whirling.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Yea, I'm just putting on some fancy clothes and riding in a carriage with Ulysses." Gabrielle laughed at how non-chalant Xena could be.
"Xena, you know it's so much more than that. Is Ares going to ride with you both?" Xena eyes widen.
"Why would that happen?"
"Well, I heard Olympia and Lysandra talking in the halls and they made it seem like since he's a god, that he rides with the king." Xena put her head in her hands. Could this homecoming possibly get any worse?
