Prologue

She reached out to stroke his jaw, and her placement felt more divine than a thousand deep kisses from a thousand nameless Grecian beauties.

Incredibly, she did not take back her hand as he commandeered it, pressing it to his chest. Was she really looking upon him, now, with the calm warmth Aphrodite had described to him over and over in eons past? He knew it to be true. He had gotten her favor.

Resisting no longer, he pulled her hand around and down to the small of his back...and when she put the weight of herself into their kiss it was as though he was reborn with an ecstasy he had never known. The weight of all that had passed between them, never landing, never dissipating, was finally coming home to dwell in the impossible space they now occupied...each other.

He enveloped her completely into his embrace and broke from her lips to find the coursing vein in her neck, pulsing frantically in the hastening ardor. Her mouth parted, and breathily she uttered...

"ca--ca--cack--a--doodle--dooooo!!!...cluck...cluck...cluck"

Ares bolted from the middle of his bed and just as forcefully dropped back down into the pathetic dusty bean-husk pillow, moaning in festered abhorrence at the inevitable start of a new day.

"I dine on rooster tonight."

He rolled over and blinked futilely as Apollo's rays invaded his lids. Then he sluggishly reached under the other old pillow beside his head and pulled out the sheer lavender garment it hid. He toyed slowly with the strap of it, twining it around his fingers, unravelling it, and weaving it again through his grasp.

How long had it been, he mused. Oh, the hatred he felt for this mortal's sense of elapsing time that he now carried. It was welling, once again, within him. He angrily thrust the delicate items back under the pillow.

He wondered why had she left them here anyway; was it only to torment him?

With an infirm stretch, he made his way into the main room, and looked over at the empty black kettle in the hearth. Then he glanced over to the bare shelving beside the rickety table. The butcher's rope dangling from the rafter held no carcasses. The house was empty of food and so was his stomach.

"Right."

He trudged out the door on his way to the pens, rubbing his eyes. Horace raced out the barn door and immediately got under foot. Ares could do nothing as the flailing mud from the fall landed in his hair and splatted on the back of his neck.

Pleased his master once again was in the mood to wrestle and play, Horace jumped excitedly back and forth over Ares, only stopping to take it upon himself to lick off the mud. Horace intended to be thorough but his master's bellow made it clear that morning greetings were over.

Ares picked himself up and found a new expletive to utter from the back of his memory...a well crafted little something members of the Phoenician army liked to use.

"Eli! Eli! Where are you? Get over here!" he shouted. Nothing.

"Li'l Kal, don't make me look for you! Li'l Kal, c'mere!" More Phoenician anatomical slang found its way to his tongue.

He heard some shouting from the barn. It got louder and more vicious. Then came the distinct sounding smack of fist hitting flesh, and he went to the barn.

The two teenage farm hands he'd hired from the slaver were engaged in a fist fight beside the stack of haybales. Ares at first was amused by their inexperienced sparring, but quickly decided that watching pitiful novices try to beat each other up was only serving to make him more irritable. After all, he bought these two because of their easy-going attitude and inexplicable ability to do all the demeaning farm chores with a happy grin, each and every stinking day. He even gave them their nicknames to try to belittle them, but they happily took a shine to the personal touch their master bestowed them.

"Break it up, boys, BREAK IT UP!" he yelled.

"What is going on? You've got my late breakfast to worry about, why are you risking my wrath to reduce each other to pulp?"

"He looked at me funny!" Li'l Kal pouted.

"Oh please, what other way do you expect me to look at ya, with that ugly puss of yours! *&@%$#!* you!"

They lunged at each other again. Ares grabbed Eli's shirt and base of his pants and tossed him into the hay bales. He then grabbed Li'l Kal by the neck.

"I deeply don't care, get me something to eat before I make ya MORE ugly."

Li'l Kal gulped and muttered, "But there's nothin' to bring you, the grain bin is empty and that bit of pork loin last night was the last of the meat. and the farm stock I might add."

Ares closed his eyes and let go of him. He knew they were running low on supplies, but had forgotten just how low.

"Alright, I'll think of something," Ares said. He stepped out into the morning light again and tried to think. Behind him he heard the two idiots go at one another again.

Horace trotted along with Ares back to the house. Ares went back to the large pot in the hearth and looked in again. Just as empty as before.

How had it come to this? How had he been reduced to this life? He internally kicked his ego about until he was at a full boiling rage.

That is IT. I cannot live by the skin of my teeth any more. I can't, I refuse. She's not coming back. Why should she? He pounded the fire mantle unmercifully.

Dink, dink, dink . . . ! A handful of dinars fell to the floor from a shallow plate that had been resting on the mantle's edge. He began to pick them up wondering if he had enough to send Eli to the village market for a few fish cakes.

Then his eyes lit up with fervour. His temples. His temples with offering plates. His offering plates filled with dinars, coins, silver, gold. Yes, GOLD.

His empty stomach lurched with a newfound hunger. He glanced up at his now defunct sword kept displayed over the fire. "Why, I'm rich of course, I just need to make a sizable withdrawal!" He exclaimed.

"To hell with this place, it holds only my dusty longing. I'm Ares; I deserve to meld life to MY will, MY desire. The time for holding onto hope has passed. In the name of...well, Me...I'm going to live large, I'm going to satiate my appetites if it kills me," he said to himself.

He walked with hurried purpose to the bedroom and found his old vest hanging on the back wall. Slipping it on, he felt a bit of a rush as its familiarity sunk onto his shoulders. He bent down to grab one of his gauntlets he knew Horace stashed under the bed. Horace was methodically tenderising the other one in the corner. "Give it up, you." He glared at Horace, pointing a finger tersely, and the blue-eyed dog dropped it, slinking away. Ares frowned at the torn one as he fiddled to make it fit.

Intensely he walked to the threshold of the bedroom door and suddenly stopped.

He went back over to the side of the bed, her side.

He stroked the pillow once, then twice, in deep thought. He fiddled with the top of the faded blanket and pulled it roughly up and tucked it under -her- pillow. His hand came out with the lavender undergarments. He stared at them in his hand a long agonizing moment, then carefully placed them atop her pillow and smoothed the blanket of its wrinkles. He stormed out.

Stopping only to grab his sword and pocket the dinars, he jumped swiftly off the porch never touching the rickety steps.

Li'l Kal, bloody and bruised, shaking his wrist gingerly, clambered out of the barn just in time to see Ares walking to the road.

"My Lord, my lord, wait, where...where...Hey ARES! Stop! Just where do you think you're going?"

Ares stopped in his tracks without turning. Had that little weed just taken a tone with Ares, God of War?! Former God...he chuckled to himself and continued walking.

"Never mind, you both are free. Take anything, touch anything in the house and I'll hunt ya down and rip your limbs off before I slice your torso in half.

When the traveling vendor comes back next moon, make sure he takes Horace this time."

He got to the road in front of the decrepit farm and started southwest, toward the city of Corinth.

Nothing to lose, after all, that damn rooster was his last chicken.

Chapter One

Spring was, by definition, a miserable time. At least, Gabrielle considered ruefully, it was a miserable time for camping outdoors. The earth warmed up just enough to release swarms of buzzing little things into the damp grass and the equally damp air; they got into sleeping pallets and made every night a contortionist torture of itches and bites. As if that wasn't bad enough, the rivers ran turbid, murky with melting snow from the distant mountain streams, and given the size of the fish, it would have been easier to feed them to the bait than the other way around.

The ground squelched under Gabrielle's feet as she returned to the campsite through the awakening forest, swinging the refilled water skins. River water. Spring river water, which wasn't fit for drinking - it'd have to be boiled first. Which meant that they needed a fire, which required dry wood, of which they had precisely two twigs - the two that had been digging into Gabrielle's back all night.

"That's it," she said, when the half-packed mess of the campsite came into view. "I resign."

Xena looked up from Argo's saddlebags, just in time to catch the waterskin Gabrielle tossed in her direction. "Resign from what?"

"This." Gabrielle indicated her red-bitten arms and legs with a flourish. "I refuse to spend another night as the main course." She brandished her water skin. "I'm sick of drinking water that tastes like swamp, sleeping on ground that smells like swamp and travelling through... well, through swamp."

"Good. Then you won't mind if we take a break from camping out for a while." This came from around the other side of Argo's placid back, where the straps of the second saddlebag were tugged into position.

"What kind of break?" Gabrielle said cautiously. Xena was deliberately avoiding her eyes, and that could mean only one of two things: they were about to travel to some godsforsaken corner of the world where the weather was even worse, and where years ago, Xena did something she'd rather forget -- or...

"I thought we'd pay Ares a visit".

Or that.

Gabrielle sighed, mostly in relief. She didn't think she could cope with another improbable tale about ten - uh, thirty-six - winters ago. Visiting Ares on the old farm where they'd left him seemed a positively cheerful prospect by comparison. She brightened a little.

"You think he's still got the chickens? We've had nothing but mouldy cheese for days. Eggs would be nice."

Xena finally straightened at Argo's side and raised her eyes to Gabrielle. She looked... relieved? Anxious? Something like that. Gabrielle waited for the inevitable sarcastic remark about Ares and his chickens, but instead Xena said, "We'll take the northern road, then cut west across the hills. It's the fastest way this time of year."

Gabrielle caught her arm before Xena could mount Argo. "Hey." She paused, trying to plumb Xena's thoughts. "Why now?"

Xena shrugged. "Good time as any. You said it yourself, it's not season for camping out."

"Hmm."

A smile crept to Xena's face. "What?"

Gabrielle stepped back and studied her friend with a smug little grin. The little lines of tension around those blue eyes didn't escape her notice. She was sure that Xena thought her expression was unreadable. She was equally sure that she knew exactly what was going through her mind.

"Don't give me that look, Gabrielle..."

"What look?"

"The 'I know what you're thinking and I know you're going to deny it' look."

Gabrielle laughed. "Two can play this game, huh?"

Xena jumped into Argo's saddle, waiting for Gabrielle to mount her own horse. "You forget, Miss Clever Bard. I know you as well as you know me. Maybe better."

At that, Gabrielle felt affection swelling inside her. They really did know each other right through, after all these years. It was a nice feeling. She drew level to ride beside Xena. "Oh? You want to back up that ridiculous claim with some cold hard dinars?"

"Nope. How about a nice warm meal instead? If I can't answer any question about you, we'll stop for lunch."

"All right, then." Gabrielle thought it over. "What was the name of my dog, and how old was I when Father gave him to me?"

"Easy. Woof."

"And how old was I?"

Xena fell silent for a moment, and Gabrielle smiled to herself. The horses stepped softly onto the soft ground, leaving the clearing behind. It wouldn't be long till they reached the northern road, and from there, it was less than a day's ride to the farm, with a nice warm meal on the way. Maybe some roast quail with potatoes, and ...

"Six," Xena said, breaking into Gabrielle's quail-and-potato daydreams.

Oh, well. They could eat on the farm.

Chapter Two

My boots really aren't made for this, Ares thought as he trudged down a mountain, stopping to massage his sore feet.

So this is what the god of war had come to.. Ares marveled at the time when with a simple snap of his fingers, he could have brought nations to their knees.

Not to mention he could get to one place from another without all this ridiculous walking. It was because of her that he was doing this now. Because of her - and because of all those mortal feelings which he had successfully escaped for so long.

"Oh, well."

Ares sighed and picked himself off the ground, turning to face the direction in which he was going.

"If I can't be with her then I'm not going to wait around my whole life, starving in a dirty shack. Sorry, Xena."

He continued his walk towards Corinth, fantasizing about what he would do once he got there.

His pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a strange looking man who came out of the bushes and blocked his path. His hand instinctively reached for his sword before he clenched his hands and stopped.

"Yes?"

"Money." The man grunted.

Ares smirked and turned around, his hands ready.

"I don't think so."

All of a sudden, he felt the force of something on his back, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, his head spinning. Just as he was about to get up and kill his attacker, he felt something cold on the back of his neck.

Something hard. The tip of a sword.

Cursing, he turned his head back down and his face came in contact with a black boot. A wet something landed on his face and he identified it in disbelief.
The once mighty god of war, lying at someone's feet. Being spit upon.

A rage such as he had never felt before erupted through him, coursing through his body. A deep roar came up from his throat as he turned his body, wiping the attackers feet up from under him. He jumped up, grabbed his sword, and looked at the faces of the men around him. There were more than twenty, but they were looking at him in that old way. The laughter had gone from their faces, and fear entered their eyes. Fear of him. Oh, how he had missed that.

With a murderous glare in his eyes, he started the deadly dance, listening to the sound of two metals coming together, until the only one able to fight was the leader. The rest of the living stared quietly, astounded. With a rush of satisfaction, he swung his sword one last time, slicing the barbarian open, feeling the rush of blood spilling on his hands.

Still holding the bloody sword, he rounded on the remaining members of the group.

"Get outta here!" he shouted.

They scampered, fear evident in their movements.

Ares remained, staring at them after they had gone. How long ago was it since he had done this? How long ago had someone looked at him with fear in their eyes.

The early satisfaction of the fight left him, as suddenly weak, he heavily sat down at the base of a tree, shaking. The sight and smell of the blood on his hands disgusted him, and he hurriedly whipped it off on the grass.

For the first time in his life, he felt sick at the sight of blood, knowing that it could have just as easily been his blood. or hers.

"Xena" he muttered softly, aching to feel her strong arms around him, comforting him.

Oh, how he wanted her here.

Chapter Three

"There it is!" Gabrielle said brightly.

From a distance, Xena looked pensively at her grandparents' old farm. The last time she had come here, she had been excited about revisiting the place where she had known such simple happiness as a child, and anxious to help Ares find refuge from the warlords who were after him. Now, she didn't quite know what to make of the feelings bustling inside her chest.

All she really wanted, she told herself, was to take a short break from camping out and check up on Ares, make sure he was all right. But there was no point in trying to deny it -- she looked forward to seeing him, and dreaded it too. She ... well, okay ... she missed him. Every so often, on the road, she had caught herself thinking about him: the way his face lit up with a smile after she kissed him, back when she saved him from the Furies; the way he made her laugh when they stayed here on the farm; the way he looked at her, his eyes so tender and so hopeful, when she said she'd come visit him ...

She tossed her head, as if to rid herself of these thoughts. How could he make her feel this way, after everything that had happened between them? Sure, he'd changed -- he was no longer the God of War, and he had given up all he had to save her and her loved ones ... but he was still Ares, he had still done terrible things that she could forgive but could never forget. And yet here she was, feeling a twinge of guilt because she hadn't visited him once in all those months ... actually wondering if he'd be mad at her. Maybe she'd gone soft in the head after her bout with memory loss in the Norse Lands.

The sound of a dog barking snapped Xena out of her reverie.

"Hey, Horace!" Gabrielle shouted, waving at the little mutt.

Horace raced toward them, yapping excitedly and wagging his little flap of a tail -- then stopped abruptly and started to whimper.

"What's wrong with him?" Gabrielle asked, puzzled.

Xena looked around. Ares was nowhere to be seen; the house seemed in worse shape than before -- if that was possible -- and the chicken pen was empty. She felt a chill creeping over her skin. Obviously, Horace was upset because Ares wasn't with them. So Ares wasn't on the farm? Had something happened to him?

The two women dismounted by the porch. While Gabrielle went over to pet Horace, Xena pushed the door open and stepped inside. No signs of life.

"Ares?" she called out. "Hey! Ares! Are you there?"

Obviously, he was not.

She came out of the house, and saw her own worried look reflected in Gabrielle's face.

"Well?"

"I don't think he's here," Xena said quietly. She wasn't going to dwell on how that made her feel; right now, she could focus on a specific task -- to find out what had happened to Ares.

"How about the barn?" Gabrielle suggested.

As they approached the barn, Xena heard the unmistakable sound of snoring coming from inside. She sighed with relief, and realized that she had been holding her breath.

"Ares!" She knocked on the door. "Wake up -- you got company!"

The snoring ended in a loud grunt, followed by the sound of rustling hay and then shuffling feet.

Unfortunately, the man who stood in the doorway of the barn looked nothing like Ares. He was a strapping lad no more than twenty years old, slightly cross-eyed, with tousled blond hair, a scraggly beard, and a goofy grin that revealed crooked, gapped teeth.

"Can I help you ladies?"

"We're looking for Ares," Xena said coldly.

"Oh, the master? He's been gone five days."

"Where to?" Gabrielle asked.

The young man scratched his head.

"Dunno, really. He just picked up one mornin' and said he was goin'. Told Eli 'n me we was free to go..."

"Eli?" Xena frowned.

"Yeah, the other farmhand. He gave us nicknames when he bought us to work the place. The other guy's Eli, I'm Li'l Kal."

Xena rolled her eyes and saw Gabrielle wince slightly. Yeah, he was still Ares all right ... who else would make a joke of giving one of his farmhands the name of someone he murdered? And more importantly, who else could pull a stunt like that and still make her care about what had become of him?

"He musta gotten tired of livin' here on the farm," Li'l Kal mused. "'Specially seein' as how we'd run out of chickens and livestock..."

"So how are you two getting by?" asked Gabrielle.

The goofy grin spread on Li'l Kal's face again.

"Oh, we been doin' some chores for the neighbor lady and she been feedin' us real good."

"Greba?" Xena chuckled as she remembered the irritating woman.

"Yeah, Eli's over at her place right now. She's a real nice lady too. I dunno why the master was always grumblin' about her bein' a pest. Y' know, whenever he heard her comin' he'd always tell us to say he wasn't home."

Xena was unaccountably pleased by this latest revelation. Then she wondered just what kind of chores Li'l Kal had been doing for Greba and whether the merry widow was that desperate.

Right now, however, she had more urgent matters to worry about.

"Do you at least know which way he went?"

"Su-ure. See the road over there? He was headin' in that direction." Li'l Kal waved his hand, pointing southwest.

"Thanks," Xena said curtly as she turned to walk back toward the house.

"I guess he decided to try looking for his fortune elsewhere," Gabrielle said thoughtfully.

"Fortune?" Xena snorted. She didn't know whether to feel mad at Ares or to feel bad for him ... or to feel mad at herself for letting him get to her. "Looking for trouble, more like it. I'd be surprised if he hasn't found it already."

"Come on, Xena -- you didn't really think Ares was going to make it as a farmer, did you?" The bard paused and then added, "I bet the only reason he stayed here as long as he did was that he was waiting for you to visit."

Xena shot her companion a nasty look -- go ahead and rub it in, why don't you -- and got back in the saddle.

"Are we leaving?" Gabrielle asked.

"What, did you want to stay for a few days and enjoy Li'l Kal's company? Maybe go over to Greba's for dinner? Yeah, I'm sure we'd have a great time."

"So ... I take it we're going to look for Ares."

"We'll just go in that direction and see if we can catch up with him," Xena said evenly. "I'm not going to knock myself out looking for him. But it can't hurt to check out if he's okay."

She avoided Gabrielle's eyes. She suddenly remembered the moment when she was saying good-bye to Ares, right here on this porch -- she was going to give him a kiss and then realized that Gabrielle was looking on, and so she chickened out and pinched his cheek instead, turning it all into a joke. Now, she found herself wishing she had kissed him, even if she would have to endure a little teasing from the bard afterwards.

"Xena?"

She flinched and looked at Gabrielle, who was holding a still-whimpering Horace in her arms.

"What?"

"Let's take Horace with us."

"You've got to be kidding. That's all we need, a dog getting underfoot all the time. Or did you want another chance to see him bite me on the butt?"

"Oh, Xena ... look how upset the poor thing is. I think he really misses Ares."

She patted Horace on the head. "Wouldn't it be sweet if we could reunite those two?"

"Sweet? How about ridiculous? We don't even know that we'll find Ares..."

"Come on." Gabrielle smiled mischievously. "When you have your mind set on something ..."

"Oh all right," Xena snapped. "Take the damn dog. Let's just get out of here."

Gabrielle climbed in the saddle, letting Horace settle in front of her, and they rode off at a slow trot. As the sun broke out through the clouds, Xena turned to take one last look at the old place. The place where she thought Ares might be able to find peace...

She really wished she had kissed him good-bye.

Gabrielle and Xena turned their mounts southwest out of the yard. Horace held his head high in newfound superiority over a beast of burden.

He cast a wary glance back at the dark haired human riding behind them. The bubbly sweet smelling blonde lass supporting his haunches was the only one of the two to be trusted, he concluded. That moody female, that's the one who threw the round thingy at me when last I jumped up onto a horse.

Crack-Cow!!!!! A lightening bolt raced across the sky. Rumble rumble crackle crack-cow! Another one. The heavens clouded over and grew dark. They had gone a quarter mile at most.

"Ugh." Gabrielle muttered. Horace gave a low growl.

Droplets began pattering the road.

"Here it comes, just great!" A suddenly testy Gabrielle said.

The sky then opened up and the lightening threatened the party at very close range.

"I don't think the heavy stuff will come down for a while yet, let's keep moving on." Xena commanded hollowly.

"By the gods, Xena, I'm soaked! I know you want to catch up with him, but look," she wiped her brow of drizzling down water, "Ares probably isn't traveling ahead either with this downpour, we won't be any farther behind if we get a start in the morning."

Xena frowned tightly, mulling over Gabrielle's words. She reached back to pull the drenched hair off the back of her neck. She wrung it out and it slapped right back on her neck when she let go.

"I DEMAND a warm fireplace, a warm indoor bed, and a roof over my head tonight. You coming or not?" Gabrielle turned her horse around and, passing Xena shot a deadly serious look.

Xena heeled Argo on a few steps, then she slipped a rear hoof slightly in the now muddy road. Argo whinnied in complaint.

Xena wiped her bangs back out of her eyes, and turned Argo around.

"What a bunch of babies," she whispered. "Still, like she said, one night won't make any difference."

Chapter Four

The streets of Corinth were crowded with people going about their business.

Everything looked status quo, but wasn't. Things just weren't the same as when King Iphicles had ruled. He'd been a fair king and had made the city grow and prosper. The people had felt fortunate to have had good rulers two times in a row. First Jason, and then Iphicles. Now, they were both gone.

Iphicles had died five winters ago from a fatal disease. Since he had no children, there was no heir to the throne. Ever since his death, various generals rose to power only to be replaced shortly by another one.

At the far end of the city stood a large building. It was decorated simply with carvings of weapons and battle scenes, but it showed magnificence and strength. It was clear that this was a temple dedicated to the God of War.

Inside, there were four priests tending the place. One was cleaning the altar, one was going back and forth carrying various items, and the other two were talking. They were discussing the recent story regarding their lord. "So do you think it is true?" one whispered to the other.

"About our lord becoming mortal?" the other whispered back with a small hint of anxiety.

"Yes."

"It is probably just a rumor." He quickly summed it up because this subject was making him uncomfortable. But the other priest pushed it further.

"Then why do you suppose we have not heard from him in a year.... no almost two years. Don't you think that is strange?" Again the other one quickly tried to convince his companion by saying,

"He is a God. He has important matters to attend to. That is all."

"Ah, good point." Upon hearing this, the other priest breathed a sigh of relief.

"But..." He got nervous again, worrying what his companion might say.

"I heard that there is a bounty on his head. Now, if he's really not mortal, why would someone be stupid enough to hunt a God, especially the God of War?"

This was the final straw.

"Hush!" After he silenced his companion, he added, "You must be careful what you say." He nervously looked around. "Consider this, there is no solid proof that he is mortal until we see it with our own eyes. For all we know, he might be listening to us right now. What do you suppose he will do then?"

Upon hearing this, the other priest turned somewhat pale imagining what Ares could do to him.

"You are right." He calmed down a little more before he muttered, "Nothing is ever sure." As he grimly responded, he looked out the window, no longer thinking about Ares, but about the conditions in the city. "How long do you suppose this will go on?"

The other priest was no longer nervous. He now looked deeply concerned as he answered;

"I honestly cannot tell. Nobody can. There is no way to decide who inherits the throne without bloodshed."

"Perhaps the late King Iphicles had a child about which no one knew."

"We can only wish." With that last statement the two returned to their tasks.

*****

Fire crackled in the hearth, illuminating the main room of the farmhouse with a reddish glow and making oddly shaped shadows flicker on the walls. Gabrielle stretched her feet and smiled, relishing the warmth of the fire on her skin and the warmth of the chicken soup in her stomach (thank you, Greba), listening to the soothing sound of the rain pouring down. Horace was curled up at her feet, twitching a little in his sleep. Xena sat with her arms folded on her chest, staring ahead, her face unreadable.

"You know, there's something to be said for having a roof over one's head," Gabrielle said with a contented sigh.

"Especially when it's leaking," Xena parried.

"Oh, it's not leaking that badly... not like the last time."

She saw Xena lower her eyes, her face changing a little. The last time ... when Ares was here with them, and when Xena talked about how wonderful it was that they could all sit together around the fire like good friends.

"He's fun to have around, isn't he," she said all of a sudden.

"Who? Li'l Kal?" Xena deadpanned. (The young farmhand had been dispatched to the hospitable widow's place for the night.)

"Yeah, right." Gabrielle laughed, crinkling her nose. "You know who I mean. By the way, what do you plan to do once we catch up with him?"

"Just make sure he's all right. What else?" Xena rose abruptly. "We'd better go to bed if we're going to get an early start tomorrow. My old bedroom's probably still the only dry place in the house."

They headed for the bedroom, Xena carrying an oil lamp.

As they entered the room, Gabrielle realized that there was something odd about the way the bed looked ... it was a rumpled mess on one side, but carefully smoothed and made up on the other ... on the side where Xena slept the last time they were here. She barely had time to marvel at this when she saw Xena walk over to the bed and furtively snatch something from the pillow.

"Hey! What was that?"

Xena turned to her, and Gabrielle wasn't sure if the light of the oil lamp was playing tricks on her eyes or the Warrior Princess was actually blushing. She glanced at the flimsy fabric clutched in her friend's hand. By the heavens ... if it wasn't the lavender undergarments Xena had worn the last time they stayed here!

Gabrielle barely stopped herself from blurting out: "I guess he really was waiting for you to visit."

The look on Xena's face went from almost guilty to defiant to wistful. She looked down, a tiny smile playing at the corners of her mouth, then raised her eyes again and said briskly, "Well. I guess these will come in handy when I need a change of underwear."

She quickly got out of her leathers, stripping down to the shift underneath, and lay down on the rumpled side of the bed.

Chapter Five

The sky was dark and the rain was coming down hard. The sound of pouring rain hitting the leaves kept Ares awake. He was cutting through a forest when the clouds started to form. He had thought he would be able to get through before it started to fall, but unfortunately, he was wrong.

He was lucky enough to find a cave for the night. Of course, it wasn't exactly a luxurious castle with riches and warmth but it was dry, and it avoided the rain.

He sat against the wall at the deep end of the cave as he bitterly thought to himself. What would people say if they found out that the God of War was now spending the night in some cave to stay out of the rain? This was the second time that day he'd thought of it. Strange - he had tried not to think about what had become of his former self. This past couple of months, he really had tried to convince himself that he could find a new life as a farmer.

He began to wonder whether he'd given up too easily. Maybe he should just go back and try again. Eli and Li'l Kal would probably still be there, so there was no problem there. And Horace would probably still be hanging around too. The thought of Horace made Ares smile a little. He had to admit, the dog was nice company, and he kind of missed the little mutt.

He continued to ponder his thoughts as he stared at the outside scenery. He didn't know why it was such a hard decision. If he really wanted to, he could go back. It was that simple. Or was it? By going back to the farm, would he be running away? He had decided that he was going to "live large". If he turned back now, then he would be chickening out. But if he did, then maybe he might be able to see . . . her again . . .

'Damn', Ares mentally cursed himself. No matter what he did or thought his mind always seemed to revert back to Xena. He loved her, but she didn't return the feelings. She cared for him. He knew that much, but that just made things worse--knowing that it wasn't going to be anything more.

He remained seated in the far corner of the dark cave. Suddenly he felt a chill, not because it was cold, but something made him feel funny. He stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave. He stood there leaning on the edge of the cave wall looking back towards the direction he came from. There it was again--that feeling. It was a familiar feeling. He had felt it when he was around Xena. Could it be? No, he was kidding himself. He felt stupid for even considering it. He persuaded himself that it was just the weather and returned to where he was sitting before.

The night was still young, and there was a significant amount of time until the arrival of daylight. He should be able to reach the city limits of Corinth by tomorrow. Yes, he was starting a new life and the past was no longer. The rain was beating even harder as Ares lay down to get some rest for the remainder of the night.

*****

It was strangely quiet, that morning of the Feast Day of War, the youngest priest noted as he prepared the smoking candles and images around Ares' altar.

Ordinarily the noise of the celebrating crowds could be heard even in the midst of the temple, before the doors were opened, before morning had barely broken. The festival was celebrated with displays of swordsmanship, with drinking and merrymaking. But young Emars could hear nothing.

Risking reprimand from his superior, the boy crept to the side door which opened up onto the street, and peered around.

The street was empty.

Astonished, the young priest hesitated, and then stepped out onto the main road which led to the marketplace; on any day, bustling and busy.

This day, deserted.

Emars ran back into the temple, horrified, and grabbed a fellow priest, gabbling without thinking;

"Has Ares been abandoned?"

"Quiet, you young fool!" The older man, Amarsa, ordered irritably. "This has nothing to do with the god of War - it is not disrespect which stays the people today, but fear!"

Emars frowned in confusion. "What fear could keep revellers locked inside on such a day?" He queried.

"They have loosed the Bull of Iphicles."

The two men turned to see the Head Priest enter the room, and stand staring at the altar.

"But - that beast is twice the size of any bull in the country - larger even than the Boar slain by Atalanta herself!" Emars breathed. "His horns are tipped with bronze, and his hooves with iron! Who would ever have released such an animal?"

"Only one who knew the prophecy," the head priest replied, still staring at the altar. "The bull of Iphicles seeks the true heir to the throne, and his slayer will be the one destined to rule."

"They say that the bull is descended from the Minotaur of Crete!" Emars persisted. "No wonder the people lock themselves away."

The Head Priest turned. "No one need fear - the animal was released into the forests beyond our kingdom. Come, to your duties!"

The priests hurried to obey; but not before Amarsa made a wry comment;

"It seems our king will be a woodsman with a taste for beef!"

Chapter Six

The huge animal rolled onto its back breathing heavily. With flaring nostrils it shook its enormous head and tried to move tired limbs.

Tensing all its muscles the animal's small brain began to remember.

The man in the dark robe had come to him and whispered something in a strange language, something the bull couldn't understand. Of course, he never could understand those naked creatures, which always held him in manacles. But this one had been different, more dangerous, and after he had spoken, he'd disappeared and all that was left was white smoke surrounding the bull, creeping into its nostrils, its brain and slowing its movements. And after that . . . nothing.

He was THE bull! He was holy, and though he'd been held in manacles the animal had felt a strange security back in the temple, back with the beings that constantly fed him . . .

The creature's brain may have only been the brain of an animal - and perhaps not even a very smart one at that - but every being with instinct facing a threat was dangerous. The threat of being all alone out in some unknown area and no food anywhere near was evidently embedded in the monster's brain.

Snorting and huffing the unholy creature rolled to its feet. Standing on two very muscled legs, it raised its hairy head in the air.

Anger flashing in its red gleaming eyes, a deep thunderous roar spilled out of its vibrating throat and broke the silence of the surrounding peace of the woods.

*****

Xena pushed the shutters open and squinted up at the sun, well above the horizon. Late! She wasn't used to sleeping indoors anymore; the room was deceptively dark -- and comfortable. A little too comfortable. Beyond the window, the road stretched into the forest, occasional puddles glittering blue. It had rained most of the night and the air smelled of damp hay and rich soil -- the smells stung Xena's eyes with childhood memories.

"All right," she said briskly, turning back from the window, "let's get going. We'll have to have to pick up our pace, Ares has quite a head start on us."

Gabrielle sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "I thought we agreed to wait for dawn..."

"If we wait any longer, it WILL be dawn -- tomorrow's." Xena stepped away from the window and Gabrielle blinked in the light. "I'll get the horses ready."

Leaving Gabrielle to get dressed, Xena went out to the stables. She opened the door and stood, staring -- both horses were already saddled, lowering their heads in impatience. Who...? Xena ran up to Argo and inspected the tack. It was perfect. She frowned in consternation.

"Hi there!" The coy cheerfulness could belong to only one person. Xena turned slowly. Sure enough, there was Greba, waving at her from a corner where she was refilling the water trough.

"Greba. What are you doing here?"

Greba set the bucket down and wiped her hands on her skirts. "Oh, well -- I do SO love animals, and I thought, seeing as you weren't up this morning, I'd give you a hand getting them ready."

"Thank you," Xena said tersely, a little uncomfortable in the face of Greba's kindness and fluttering eyelashes. A thought occurred to her. "Greba -- did Ar... uh... the man who lives here -- have you seen him recently?"

Greba twirled a long curl through her fingers. "Oh, Ares?"

Xena jumped slightly.

"It's a lovely name, isn't it?" Greba squeezed her eyes closed and took in a deep breath. "So... masculine." She opened her eyes. "I haven't seen him for days. One night he's here, and in the morning -- whoosh! -- gone."

"Night?" Xena kicked herself mentally when she heard the word and tried to cover up her embarrassment by changing the subject. "So where is he now?"

Greba sighed prettily. "I wish I knew! He didn't say anything at all, not even to his farmboys. They're left with no master, now, the poor dears -- no home, no job, completely rootless in the world..."

Xena choked down a comment that would have no doubt gone over the woman's head. Instead, she said, "Well, thanks anyway."

"My pleasure, I'm sure! Any time you need anything, you just come along up here and ask for Greba!"

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Then again, I suppose you must travel a lot, what with all those provisions, right?"

"Right."

"So you're not around here often."

"No." Xena grit her teeth in annoyance, then gave Greba a sudden radiant smile. She was definitely not his type... And SHE definitely didn't just think that.

Greba looked a little more confused than usual by the sudden change in Xena's demeanour, then shrugged and waves a happy little farewell to Xena and the horses. "Well -- it was nice seeing you again! BYE!"

"Bye!" Xena said as the woman disappeared outside, then caught the giggly note in her own tone. She was glad they were leaving.

"What's the smile for?"

Gabrielle stood frowning in the doorway, looking sleepy and none too pleased to be leaving. Horace was bouncing around her feet like a furball on springs. Xena wiped the grin off her face. "Never mind -- ready?"

Gabrielle heaved a long-suffering sigh and picked up Horace. "No," she said. "Let's go."

Chapter Seven

Mumbling under his breath, Ares crashed through the underbrush of the woods rather unceremoniously. Keeping his ego up with thoughts about what mortal or not-mortal-being he would curse or kill, were he not human but a god, Ares broke his way through bushes and thorn ranks.

He stopped, wondering why in Tartarus he had to make his way through a thicket of thorns. Wandering through a forest was bad enough without getting one's clothes snagged on the damn things. Someone should have lectured Artemis about stupid plants in stupid woods.

Before his thoughts could turn towards his family and yet again to Xena he found another disturbing object standing in his way.

Hacking at the innocent bush with the sword he'd taken from the earlier "interruption", Ares stopped dead in his tracks as the earth started to shake.

"What on Olympus.?!" his eyes widened as he hung onto the same bush he had wanted to turn to cinder a second before. Clamping his hands over his ears he turned his in every possible direction and scanned his surroundings.

There was nothing only this terrible sound, much like a roar of an animal; but surely there was no animal large enough to make a noise like that!

Ares slowly departed from the little bush and took a step backwards.

A deep frown lay on his tanned face as the frightening roar subsided, finally.

He let out a slow breath that he hadn't noticed he was holding and picked up the sword.
The little hairs on Ares' neck started to tingle and unnoticed to the ex-god his hands closed tighter around the hilt of his weapon.

Ares' senses reeled and every possible alarm bell in his head started to ring.

He couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong but he knew this feeling.

Remembered it well from the electricity that lay upon a battlefield before two armies crashed into each other.

He had learned to follow his instincts, though it was hard as a mortal to decide whether there actually was real danger - or if it was only mortal senses playing mortal tricks again.

Smirking, Ares forced himself not to remember the embarrassing scene with Greba when he had trusted his instincts and had been about to hack whomever had been about to enter the farm house into hundred thousand little pieces. He'd blamed his nerves for it back then.

He'd never mistaken this feeling with the tingle he got when Xena was around, though. That was different, always. Xena. His eyes closed for a brief second as his mind spiralled back to his latest dream. Her hair, her smell,...her hot wet breath.in his back?!

An even deeper frown curled his forehead as he snorted. "No! NO that wasn't in my dre..." shaking his head, Ares finally opened his eyes again and..was struck speechless for a second.

Slowly his eyes widened and his mouth gaped open as he took in the enormous shadow that formed on the ground in front of him.

"That one hadn't been there before, right?" he wondered, not really wanting to hear the answer.

The former god of war stood stock-still, not moving a muscle as he took in the size of the shadow in front of him. His blood started to circulate faster, and without wanting it, his heartbeat sped up and the little, oh-so-hated-and-definitely-human-hormones in his body started to produce a great wave of fear that overtook most of his body parts and froze his muscles.

Ares took a shallow breath and feeling himself unable to move he forced himself to calm down and let his warrior skills take over for the second time since he'd left the old farmhouse.

His ears picked up the sound of tree branches being bent; the cracking and the suddenly falling of leaves corroborated his conjecture. He sensed a slight constant shifting of the being behind him and figured because of its size it probably wouldn't have too steady a sense of balance. If he could move fast enough, perhaps the monster wouldn't be able to bite off his head the second he turned around to take a closer look at it.

Grinding his teeth together, Ares let his eyes adjust any possible routes to run that wouldn't hold a rather uncomfortable ending for him.

One way to his left, the actual route to Corinth, the one he'd been taken the all day long. The second way, to his right going deeper into the woods. A third one straight ahead and ... right into a tree. Trying to get around the broad trunk would cost him some awfully needed seconds.

The sounds around the two beings in the midst of the woods had died down completely. It seemed that besides the birds and the other animals, even the sound of splashing water Ares had heard before, probably from a nearby river, had ceased to exist. The leaves had decided to stop falling as though they dared not create any sound at all.

The wind had stopped and a thick wave of hot, stinking breath surrounded Ares. His spine tingled with the dark foreboding of great danger.

Almost as if time had slowed down to a minimum, a little green leaf decided that this moment was the best to fall to the ground where the two mighty creatures stood and waited. Neither of them dared to make the first move.

Feeling a sweat building on his forehead Ares watched the leaf sailing elegantly through the thick air, spiralling and flying loops until it finally came to rest on the ground.

Both the animal and the man took this as a sign and in union sprung into motion. Time jumped back into its usual flow and the normal sounds of the woods were back, except that they were now drowned in the angry roar of the huge bull.

Ares sprung to the left and started to run. Hearing the outrageous sounds of the monster behind him he didn't even feel the slightest notion of curiosity to look back at it. He ran faster than his feet could carry him and soon he was more stumbling than running through the thick underbrush.

Ares came to a sudden halt when he had to grab at a near by tree to steady himself and feeling the earth shaking he threw a short glance back over his shoulder. What he saw was both familiar and yet still able to scare him out of his wits.

With unbelievable speed storming up at him was "his bull", HIS creature, HIS ... killer if he didn't move really fast!

With a short gasp Ares jumped to his right and rolled a few paces away. Something painfully hit his arm in mid-flight and manoeuvred him right into another tree trunk. A grunt escaped his lips but he jumped to his feet never the less.

On iron-like glistening hooves, the wild creature came to a clumsy halt and whirled around facing his newest meal once again. Ares couldn't see any glimmer of recognition in the monsters eyes, hadn't expected it actually, and swallowed hard.

Well, he hadn't visited his "pet" very often after Xena's death, nor any of his temples, but couldn't he expect even a little gratitude?!

As if to answer his question the bull threw its head back and let out another thunderous roar. "Can't you quit that?!" Ares shouted irritated at the monster, backing away slowly.

The murderous animal advanced instantly.

Cursing under his breath, the ex-god dropped to the ground just in time. He felt the heat of the monster's body rush past him and without thinking climbed to his feet again. Not looking back, Ares started to run for his very dear life.

A loud crash and the sound of bursting wood draw a nervous giggle from his mouth. With the sword still in his hand, Ares moved as fast as he could. Tree-right-tree-left-tree-other side- bush-dive under. He hardly noticed that the earth had stopped shaking and ran on not caring about looking back.

"How pitiful! Now I'm running away from my own servant, my own creature!! How the mighty have fallen."

Anger built inside him again as he finally realized that there was no one chasing him anymore. Slightly wondering, Ares came to a halt and nearly toppled over. He wasn't used to walking by foot and for sure, he wasn't used to running for his life. Hands on his knees he breathed hard as he glanced back at the way he'd come from.

"This was too easy!" The bull may not have been the brightest monster on earth but it wouldn't give up on his prey that easily. Not one of Ares' creatures.
Not until of course it had found an easier prey, one that probably.

A high scream followed shortly by an unbelievable angry roar made Ares shudder.

"Run away! It's found someone else, you're safe if you run NOW!" a part of him, the godly part mostly, screamed, this wasn't his deal.

He wasn't all-righteous like Xena and the bard; he was the god of war!! This wasn't his concern. But then again a tiny voice, the one he'd come to call "his aging conscience", reminded him that the mighty, dangerous god of war probably wouldn't run away, at least not if he were that dangerous.

He heard the scream again. It had moved a bit to his left and sounded almost like the voice of a little girl. A child?! Out in the woods?!

"Oh no, I'm not going there!...But still, I can't just leave her here, can I?"

Shocked at his own thoughts Ares activated every little bit of courage he still possessed. He took off into the direction where he supposed the girl was, not giving himself another second to think this suicide mission over.

His gut painfully contorted as he finally reached a little clearing and he saw what it was that had drawn the bull's attention. A little black-haired girl was backed against a tree, shaking with fear and her big, brown eyes were fixed on the enormous head of the monster.

Ares gulped down the fear and numbness that started to over take him and pushed himself to a dead run towards the bull. His brain couldn't understand why he was doing what he was doing but settled with the lame explanation of probably getting a reward for this rescue.

The animal's head snapped around and glared at the strange human that came running towards it swirling a sword and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Had Ares still been a god, he would have laughed at the stupid expression the monster was giving him, so utterly unimpressed with its huge head slightly bent. Gathering all of the strength and will power that was left in him, Ares lifted his arm and threw the weapon, the sword tip pointing right at the bull's eye.

The ex-god didn't have time to look if the sword actually found its target but ran up to the frightened child that stared at him in awe. He grabbed her arm and turned instantly to run back the way he'd come from, but a frantic tugging at his arm stopped him. Hastily throwing a glance at the child, he shouted over the painful roar of the bull somewhere behind him, "I don't have time for this! I saved you, now RUN!!"

The girl shook her long black tresses and writhed out of Ares firm grip. With a fearful expression she motioned the man to follow her and with unbelievable speed disappeared between the nearest bushes. Cursing, Ares looked back at the bull just in time to duck under a small tree that came flying towards him.

The monster was stumbling around the clearing shaking its head, the sword deeply embedded in its nose.

"Very good aim I got there," Ares mumbled sarcastically, as he backed away towards where he'd last seen the girl disappear. "What in the name of ... me... am I doing here anyway?!" he asked loudly, only to pull the monster's attention back to himself.

"Uh-oh!" was all he could utter before the bull let out a howl that threatened to shatter Ares' ears. Its eyes weren't angry anymore, but boiling, totally mad.

A fire burned in its eyes that Ares had only seen very few times before, and then only in the eyes of some warlords. This thing was a bit bigger than a normal mortal, and besides he wasn't a god an longer.

"Damn!" Ares shouted and started to run after the girl with a speed he didn't think he could master anymore. Behind him, he could hear the trees bursting into every possible direction. So trees wouldn't stop the beast... While running he changed directions quite often and after some time to his biggest surprise, even caught up to the girl. Knowing that she was too slow and they would probably both die if they wouldn't go faster, Ares picked her up without stopping and continued his deadly race through the woods.

He slowly had to remember that he was mortal and eventually wouldn't be able to hold the pace up forever. The earth was shaking under his feet and the girl started screaming again right beneath Ares' ear, which made him drop over his own feet in surprise, and saved both their lives.

The bull, in full race, passed his prey and thanks to its enormous proportion wasn't able to stop.

It crashed into a tree and another one and another one. The fourth then finally stopped the animal's rampage and brought the monster to a sudden halt. A surprised gurgling sound came from the bull's throat as it sunk to the ground.
At least four big branches embedded deeply in its chest, it collapsed onto its hairy back and with its last powers let the earth around him shake with a thunderous roar for the very last time.

Ares stared at the scenery not believing what he just saw. A crazy laugh was forming in his gut. He took deep gulps of fresh air as he released the girl out of his grasp. For the first time he took a minute to have a closer look at the child.

"How pathetic!" he thought to himself. "You know why you did this?! Because she reminds you of... Oh, you are so unbelievably pathetic! No wonder Cupid is your... " His face contorted as in pain at his thoughts.

"I hope I really get a reward for this one. If not, I'll just have to use her as bait," he mumbled, more to himself than to the girl.

In the meantime the child was standing on her own two feet again and staring down at him. "You saved me," she whispered. Her dark eyes darted towards the slain monster and back to the strange man on the ground. "And you've slain the bull of Iphicles."

Obviously the girl was from around here and seeing that she knew of Iphicles and the bull, Corinth shouldn't be too far away. Glad about that fact Ares groggily got to his feet still not understanding why the little child looked at him as though she saw just another monster - or was it even awe he saw in her eyes?

"Yeah, so? I hope there is a price on its head." he shook his hand in the direction of the bull.

Chapter Eight

The South-West road hadn't improved since the storm which had delayed them. The ruts and furrows in the path had turned to deep puddles and more treacherous potholes. Xena threw an apologetic look back at Gabrielle - after all, she had indicated quite clearly that she was over wet and uncomfortable and keen on warm and sheltered. With a sigh, Xena reined in Argo and drew up beside her friend.

"Listen, Gabrielle, I know riding through a mudbath wasn't exactly what you were hoping for. It's just - my instinct tells me there's trouble this way, and . . . "

A scream rang out ahead and Xena and Gabrielle stared at one another.

"Oh Xena, I do respect your instinct!" Gabrielle said with a shaky laugh. "Let's go!"

The pair spurred on their horses, with Horace in his saddlebag growling as he bounced unceremoniously against Gabrielle's horse. Turning the corner, they saw utter chaos.

The usually quiet road was filled with people. There were wagons, laden with belongings; there were refugees, all their worldly goods in a hand-cart or on their backs. Children wailed, and a fistfight was beginning - it was that which had prompted the scream.

Xena acted immediately - with her trademark war cry she leapt from Argo in between the two hot-headed men.

"Now, are you going to tell me what's going on - or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

The men stepped back at the sight of her lazy smile, coupled with her hand on her sword.

"Uh - it was just this man pulled ahead of me, and . . ." The taller one began.

"And so you thought you'd delay everyone else." Gabrielle put in, rolling her eyes. "What is everyone doing here, anyway? All headed North for Hestia's feastday?"

No one laughed - even though, Xena thought fairly, it was pretty funny to imagine a mass exodus towards a feast involving a hunk of bread and salt.

"Haven't you heard?" A woman asked, bustling towards the pair. "They've loosed the Bull of Iphicles - and in our forest! We're all in danger!"

"Looks like we'd better do something about that." Xena replied, turning back to Argo. "I wouldn't get too far away - even a sacred Bull isn't going to make the chase along a road like this."

Leaping back into the saddle, she turned Argo off the road, and rode across the fields instead.

"If the traffic's like this, Gabrielle, we'd best try for a short cut." She advised. "Let's go!"

The pair raced their horses across green fields and along fusty little-known tracks, on the outskirts of minor hamlets and towards the great wood surrounding Corinth. They forded brooks and leapt over the fallen trees in their path. Xena looked back at Gabrielle, knowing that she was no longer worried about her own comfort, but thinking of the danger the woodspeople faced.

Finally, Xena reined Argo in and allowed him a short drink at the river.

"Remember, bulls travel faster uphill than down." She warned Gabrielle. "And they aren't smart - just easily angered."

Gabrielle nodded, then grinned. "But on the scale of - well, harpies, Norse monsters and Cyclops, this isn't a major worry?"

Xena shrugged. "Well not compared with rulers of Hell, anyhow." And she smiled back. Trust Gabrielle to put everything into perspective.

"So actually you're sort of relishing the challenge." Gabrielle persisted.

"I don't welcome danger . . ." Xena began, then trailed off. Running towards them, with shouts and cries of exultation, were a crowd of villagers.

"It's over!"

"He's killed it - our hero has vanquished the beast!"

"The new noble King has won!"

Gabrielle shot Xena a quick look. She'd be happy, of course, that the animal was no danger to anyone any longer. But she had a feeling Xena had really been looking forward to going on the hunt.

*****

"All right, kid, what are you staring at me for?" Ares exploded after over a mile of walking. The little girl's eyes had been glued to him the whole time, respect mixed with awe in her gaze.

The bull was behind him, lying on an abandoned cart which he had found, complete with a horse. Ares and the girl were walking beside the wagon so the horse wouldn't have too much to carry.

"You've slain the bull of Iphicles," she repeated.

Shaking his head, Ares grabbed her hand.

"And so what?" he asked.

"You've slain the bull of Iphicles," she deadpanned.

Gods, for a moment there she had actually sounded just like Xena. Never giving him what he wanted, keeping him frustrated.

Ares brushed the thoughts from his mind. Xena was a different story. He didn't have to take this from a small girl.

"If you don't want to tell me what the big deal is, that's fine. Just keep walking."

The girl shrugged and obeyed, following him as he went further on, trying to find the road. Suddenly, she pulled her hand away from his and ran ahead of him, out of his sight. Without a second thought, he started after her.

"Where are you?" he yelled.

"I'm here, come here" he heard her call, and ran in the direction of her voice, the dead bull bumping off rocks and branches behind him as the horse followed.

He found her standing at the edge of a weather beaten road, next to a small plank bearing the words Southwest road, which struck at an odd angle in the soil.

"This is the road home," she told him, delighted.

Feeling somewhat happy himself, Ares took her hand again and led her on in the direction of Corinth. To his great surprise, the small girl grabbed his hand with both arms and pulled until he squatted down next to her. She then planted a baby kiss against his cheek and hugged him.

"Thank you for saving me" she exclaimed.

Ares felt at a loss. Normally, the idea of a little girl thinking he was some kind of hero would have repulsed him. Yet he felt somewhat proud of her regard, happy that he was liked.

He gave her hand a small squeeze.

"No problem. Now let's get to Corinth."

After a couple miles of walking, Ares noticed his companion getting tired. They couldn't afford to lose any more time; he had no food or water.

Sighing, he stopped in his tracks and kneeled down again.

"All right, get on." he told her wearily.

The girl, thrilled with the idea of a piggyback, jumped on his back and held on tight.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome" Ares croaked.

The weight of the bull behind him, and the girl on his back was more than he was used to, even with his farm work.

Disgusted with himself, the former god of war trudged on, until finally, the gates of Corinth came into his view.

Feeling slightly nervous as he caught sight of the impressive spears in the hands of the guards at the gate, he let his friend climb down from his back, and took her hand.

"Come on," he told her, as they made their way to the guards.

They remained motionless as Ares and the girl got closer and closer to them.

Ares stopped before the guards, stepping in front of his companion.

"Hey fellas, I was wondering if you knew what I should do with this bull? He was attacking me and I killed him."

The guards turned and whispered to each other excitedly, pointing at his face.

"What the-" Ares murmured, confused, staring down at himself.

Suddenly, what looked like the lead guard swung his sword out and pointed it at him.

Ares stepped back, not knowing what to do. With the girl attached to his arm, and the bull just a few feet away, he had nowhere to run. His sword was no good to him now, not with the guard's sword at his neck. He was terrified, and apparently, so was the girl who clutched his hand tight and whimpered.

With a swish, the guard brought his sword up high in the air, and Ares cringed and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. It didn't come. The guard solemnly lowered his sword and threw it at his feet, and Ares heard the clashes of the other swords hitting the ground.

"Son of king Iphicles.. You are welcome."

"What in Tartarus?" Ares mumbled, staring from the faces of the guards, to the swords on the ground.

*****

"How about you explain this to me one more time," Ares said slowly.

It had to be some kind of dream - a hallucination, brought on by something in that bull's stinking breath. He was finally sitting on a throne again. Granted, it wasn't his comfortable black leather-lined number, but any throne would do after sleeping in a freezing cave for the night. He was being waited on by three pretty cute servant girls, and was surrounded by some very servile looking officials. Yep, it had to be a dream.

"My Lord, you are the heir of Iphicles, our former King," the High Priest repeated. "Only the heir could kill the sacred bull - it was prophesied unto us!"

Ares decided to up the wages of all Corinthian prophets.

"Obviously, our King had you hidden at birth among some - er - shepherd folk, because -er -"

Ares had got the idea. He decided to help them along.

"You are certainly wise, High Priest. Yes, my father Iphicles had heard a prophecy that unless I was sent away at birth, I would never be King," he began solemnly.

The officials sighed with relief. It was all right, then! The High Priest hadn't just given away the rulership of the city to a wanderer, or worse, a traitor.

"So now it is my divine right to rule Corinth - as King Sera!"

"The Coronation ceremonies must be performed post-haste!" the High Priest declared. "Let us first get the official duties completed, and then we must celebrate!"

Ares closed his eyes and slumped back onto the throne. Ahh, it felt comfortable even without the cow-hide. If the ceremonies included copious food and drink, he'd be satisfied.

"Let the sacred wine be poured forth!" he called out hopefully.

Chapter Nine

Xena and Gabrielle had been following Ares' tracks all day. But every track led them into a dead end, the final end coming at the sight of trampled ground. The massive bull's enormous hooves completely destroyed everything on the ground. Ares' foot prints were lost.

Xena fought back a tear when she saw the sight. If Ares' path had crossed with the bull's...she hated to think of the consequences. She yearned to keep searching, but the sun was already setting. Damn her for waking up so late! She silently cursed herself.

"We'll pick up from here in the morning," she said, still saddened. He just couldn't be dead! Silently, she nudged Argo in the direction of Corinth in the quickly fading light. She never saw the drag marks in the dirt outside the city walls.

*****

"Now remember Gabrielle, we're only staying until morning. Then we set out again to look for Ares. With that bull loose...and I don't care if it IS dead now..." Xena's voice trailed off. In her heart, she added, I'm afraid for him.

"You're afraid for him, aren't you?" Gabrielle asked, as they entered the town.

So now she can read my thoughts, Xena thought with a grin.

As they tethered the horses in the stable of a nearby inn, a man came running up to them in the darkness.

It had been well after dark when Xena and Gabrielle rode up to the gates of Corinth. The entire city was in celebration. Bonfires lit up the streets and the sounds of song and dance and merriment wafted their way.

"Come, come, you must hurry. They're going to begin the coronation ceremony for the new king! Believe me, you won't want to miss it," the man babbled, obviously drunk with happiness and the thought of stability in the kingdom.

"This is the man who killed the sacred bull?" Xena questioned.

"Yes, it's the heir of Iphicles, brought up in secret until the fates brought him to this very moment!"

"The fates, huh?" Xena repeated skeptically, but the man had already turned to other revellers.

"Wonder what this hero's like?" Gabrielle said suddenly, lifting up Horace. "I mean, it's not like he's been brought up a royal, distant from the people like - well, like Diana, for example." She chuckled at the memory of Diana's attempts to impersonate down-to-earth Xena.

"Uh-huh. Probably more like Paris, you mean?"

That silenced Gabrielle a moment; they'd both met Paris, who'd been brought up by a shepherd and had only found out his claim to royalty as a teenager. Trouble was, that had led to the biggest swelled head - and the biggest mistake - in Greek history.

"Still, Paris was a boy," she finally went on. "This king - well, he'll be a man."

Xena smiled with amused exasperation. One of the things she loved about Gabrielle was her irrepressible nature.

"And from what the people have said, a handsome man, at that. Oh, and obviously strong, and brave too, right?" Xena added with an air of innocence.

"Well - yeah." Gabrielle threw her friend a strange look. "Oh - come on, I just want a look, I mean, what a great tale I could tell . . ."

"And that's why we just have to be at his coronation?" Xena finished, with a smile. "It's all right, Gabrielle. You don't have to hide your low motives from me!"

"Why you -" Gabrielle began indignantly, before breaking into a laugh. "Look who's talking!"

"Got any ideas about getting in front of this king, then?" Xena went on good-naturedly. "It's invitation only, you know, and although they might make an exception for a talented bard, I don't know if a woman with a hand at a sword would be much entertainment."

"Says the winner of "Miss Known Universe"?" Gabrielle mocked.

Still teasing each other cheerfully, they turned round into a marketplace - nearly toppling over two women in the process.

"Whoah!" Xena steadied herself on Gabrielle's arm. "Is everything all right?"

They knelt beside the two unusual women, slim agile figures dressed in brief but vivid and flamboyant outfits. The younger woman's ankle was obviously swollen, and Xena ran her hands over it quickly.

"Sprained - just some rest and a tight bandage, and she should be right," Xena reassured the pair.

"Thanks, friends." The shorter, dark-haired woman got up, holding out her hand as greeting. "I'm afraid our delay will cost us dear." She helped up her companion, obviously limping.

Xena cast her eyes around for a strong staff, while Gabrielle jumped forward to help steady the girl. Horace ran about, barking importantly, whilst ensuring he kept right out of Xena's way.

"I'm Tia - this is Ana." The older woman introduced herself, accepting Xena and Gabrielle's names. "We were supposed to perform for the king tonight."

"Well - there's no chance of that," The blonde-haired woman said, wincing.

Xena nodded. "Something like that needs time to heal."

"In our case, a weak limb can mean death," Tia said glumly. "But if we disobey an order to perform, it could mean the end of our career."

"I see." Xena murmured. "I see."

Chapter Ten

This was more like it, Ares thought to himself from the Royal balcony. The inane mutterings of his underlings had bored him, and the tedious formalities of the coronation had irritated him to the point of near-regret. But this - well, this was really what being a king was all about.

"Dancing girls from Thessaly, my Lord!" The page cried out, drawing the new set of near-naked women to the center of the entertainment area. Ares settled back to enjoy the show. So far, he'd watched the acrobats of Hispania and the gymnastic tumbling of the Egyptian women. Funny how he preferred these dark-haired women with the tall, lithe bodies to -

He hesitated, realising that this feast before him was being dulled a little by memory of a far greater beauty. Someone who never wore the fatuous expression of facile servility, but hid half her feelings - and the depth of them - beneath a face alive with intelligence, and brilliant with the shine of her blue, blue eyes . . . like -

Ares nearly stood up as the newest performer somersaulted into the arena. He'd missed the announcement, missed whatever the fool had said, but he didn't care. It had to be - but whatever was she wearing? And what on earth was a vicious bull doing running into the ring?

"Who - what?" He gasped out to the advisor at his right.

"The bull-dancers of Minos, my Lord." The minion whispered back. "Tia and Ana; they come here in honour of the Bull of Iphicles, each year."

The bull raced towards the woman standing tall and strong in the centre of the arena. She waited, relaxed, as the creature ran, his mighty head lowered, and vaulted over its back, its razor-sharp horns only inches from her body. The crowd cheered, as the dancer landed lightly on the ground behind the beast.

Enraged, the animal turned and ran again towards the infuriating human - to find not one, but two, standing in his path.

There was a collective hush, while the two women stood, waiting for the animal to come. Again, only moments from death, the two women spun over the body of the bull and came together behind the beast.

Now it was faster and faster, the drums thudding their seductive rhythm, the women vaulting and somersaulting around and over the crazed animal, as it pawed and snorted, shaking its mighty head and crashing its hooves into the ground. Finally, the younger woman landed in a handstand upon the creature's back, and the crowd cried out, shouting their exultation and encouragement. With that, the attendants threw open the gate and the bull raced away to freedom, while two women stood - the blonde and the dark - in the centre of the ring, facing wild shouts of acclamation.

The dark-haired woman looked up deliberately, and caught the eyes of the King.

It was she. Ares knew that his heart was pounding, not just from the suppressed excitement of the wild bull dance, but from the sight of her again. It was a message, he knew. She did not know who he was - but she was ensuring he knew that she could have taken out that beast any time she wanted.

"Bring them to me." Ares growled. "Now!"

"But my Lord! There are still the dancers of Arabia, and the -"

"Now!"

*****

The bull leapers were brought before Ares. He could hardly wait to speak with Xena. But what was this? This wasn't Xena, you idiot! His brain screamed.

Sighing deeply, he dismissed the two women after thanking them for their exciting performance.

"You gotta stop doing that, Ares," he whispered to himself.

But he'd been so sure! He was certain that he could feel Xena's presence!

Suddenly a scuffle attracted his attention. Two women were trying to gain admittance . . .

"Let them come!" He roared.

"King Sera?" Gabrielle asked, then gasped as she realised who it was.

"Ares backwards," Xena answered instinctively, then added scornfully; "Ares, what are you doing here? And as king?"

Ares shook his head. "I don't know," he finally sighed. He related his tale to them, everything from leaving the farm to the present. Well, okay, he left out the parts about seeing Xena everywhere he looked. When he was finished, he waited for the barrage of questions that he was sure would come.

"You saved that little girl? But why? I mean, it's not...in your nature...to..." Gabrielle stammered.

"I just acted. Didn't really think about it. It was like a reflex." Ares said. Then he looked straight at Xena. "Is this what it feels like to be you, Xena?" he said, his voice just above a whisper.

Xena blinked, stunned. "What did you just say?"

"Saving people...is that what it feels like to be you?"

Xena looked at him as if she were fighting back a lump in her throat. Ares sensed her emotions, and changed the subject; he didn't want her to be uncomfortable. "So what brings you to Corinth?"

"We heard about the bull, came to check it out. But we have bigger problems...your majesty."

"Problems?"

"The Persian army is headed towards Corinth."

"But didn't they learn their lesson?" Gabrielle asked, remembering the last time they'd come to Greece. Xena had given them quite a bruising.

"They heard about the Twilight. They think we're weak. They know Iphicles is dead. Corinth is an easy target in their mind. If they take it over, they can drive a wedge between Athens and Sparta."

"Civil war would be inevitable," Ares spat the words out.

"Right," Xena said quietly.

"How much time do we have to prepare?" he asked.

"I don't know. Four, maybe five days with good weather. A little more if we get any storms."

Chapter Eleven

"My Lord? My Lord!!!"

Ares woke and looked around wildly.

"The Persians . . . the . . . huh?"

He'd underestimated exactly how exhausted the bull fight and subsequent trek into the city had made him - despite the strange throne, he'd managed to fall asleep.

"My Lord, you requested the bull dancers to attend you. Shall I send them away?"

Ares sat up and wiped his eyes. It had been a dream - Xena coming to find him - the Persians attacking -

So who were these dancers?

"Send them in!" Ares called.

Xena and Gabrielle were in a small room sitting on a couch, still in their dancing outfits, when a guard entered. "The king will see you now!" The two women exchanged glances as they stood up and left the room. They walked down a long corridor lead by the guard.

Ares was in his throne room still in a daze from his recent nap. That dream seemed so vivid. He could almost feel Xena's presence near him. Precisely at that moment, the guard entered. "My Lord Sera." He bowed and continued, "The dancers you requested are waiting outside. Shall I send them in now?"

"The wha..." Ares got confused for a second, but he immediately snapped to authority. "Oh, yes the dancers...uh, yeah go ahead send them in."

"As you wish, my lord." With that, the guard exited the room.

Ares continued to slump on his throne. He wasn't really sure why he allowed these "dancers" come see him. Yes, the dance was breath-taking in a way....and that dark-haired woman... Ares cleared his thoughts and tried to shake the image of Xena out his mind. Why was this happening to him? It was just a stupid dream that his desperate mind made up. Or was it? Ares was getting extremely frustrated with himself for trying to mix imagination and reality.

Ares made up his mind that when the dancers came in he would give them a supporting comment or two and dismiss them. He figured a few positive words never hurt anyone. Then, he was going to take a ride out to the countryside for a refreshing change. He needed to get some things off his mind before he could enjoy his life as king.

The guard came back and opened the door ushering in two women. Xena and Gabrielle entered in silence and stood in front of the throne. After the two women walked through, the guard closed the door behind him and stood in front of it.

Ares was still preoccupied with his previous thought to look at the two women standing before him. He began to speak without looking up, "I just wanted to thank you for that great performance, I enjo...."

Noticing that Ares hadn't realized who they were, Xena cut in, in a flat tone,

"It was our pleasure...." Ares immediately recognized the voice and shot his head up with his eyes wide open. The guard came up to Xena and grabbed her wrist.

"How dare you interrupt the king's speech! Have you no respect?" Xena didn't bother to look at the guard as she stared at Ares with mixed emotions. Ares, completely absorbed in Xena's presence, simply dismissed the guard.

"Leave us!"

"But..." The guard looked as if he wanted to object, but he stopped, "...as you wish my lord."

Xena just stood there looking straight at Ares. She didn't know where to start. A part of her was relieved that he was well, but a part of her was angry with him for.............for what? She was the one who left him on that farm expecting him to make it as a "farmer." She knew perfectly that the former God of War would eventually get bored with it and move on to something more fulfilling. But, Xena would have never guessed in a million years that he would end up as the King of Corinth. How was that even possible?

It was Gabrielle who broke the deafening silence. "Ares. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you two the same question," Ares responded in his smooth voice.

He was fighting an internal battle. A part of him wanted to embrace her tightly, never letting go … but, dammit, he still had his pride!

No. Uh-uh...there is no way in Tartarus that I, King of Corinth, former God of War, am going to act like a lovesick fool!

"We followed y...."

"...the news of the mad bull." Xena said this matter-of-factly. Gabrielle gave Xena a sideward glance. 'Not this again', she thought. From the years of travelling, Gabrielle knew that tone of voice. When Xena got stubborn, not even an earth-shattering catastrophe could shake her mind. She knew that Xena was worrying about Ares, but she was too proud to admit it even to her ... and especially to him.

"Well then, you have nothing to worry about. The bull is dead ... I killed it."

"So we've heard..."

"Oh?" Ares raised an eyebrow with a glint in his eyes. "Then why did you come all the way to Corinth . . ." He looked Xena up and down. ". . . in that outfit?" Perhaps she did care for him after all. There was sense of hope building up in Ares' mind, but he didn't let it show.

Xena flinched a bit from Ares' answer. 'Damn it! Why does he always do this...' Despite the anger, , she also felt kind of comfortable. This was like old times--back when he was still a god and trying to smooth-talk her. And way before the Twilight and before things got so complicated between them.

She had missed this feeling. The rushing blood, the fiery chemistry between them...but as much as she liked that feeling, that Ares was bad for her, and she knew it.

When he gave up his immortality and saved Gabrielle and Eve, she had developed a new respect for him. And at the same time, a sense of security was born inside her. Sure, she told him that he was still bad for her after that run-in with the Furies. But that was because she wasn't sure how Ares would face mortality and what kind of man he would become. Back at the farm, seeing him live as a mortal--working (although complaining) and interacting with Horace--had convinced Xena that there might be a slim possibility that this would work out. She thought Ares had finally found that one out of a billion chance. So much for that, Xena sighed inwardly. "We just wanted to see with our own eyes that things were really okay. You know how stories can spread."

Ares felt disappointed and hurt by that answer, but tried his best to hide it.

"Yeah. But as you can see, everything's just great."

That was such a lie. Everything in Corinth was just great, but as for him … he couldn't feel worse if his life depended on it.

"Yeah, I can see that ... your 'royal highness'."

"Hey, it's not my fault that they thought I was related to the dead king. Apparently I look like him." Gabrielle took this pause to interrupt,

"Well, I guess not but ... SERA?"

"I thought you were the master of this kind of thing, Blondie. It's..."

Xena finished the statement. "...ARES backwards."

Ares was startled. This was deja vu from his dream.

"Very good, Xena." He managed to find it in himself to answer without choking.

"Well, now that everything's settled we'll be leaving. Come on, Gabrielle."

Xena turned around to leave. Ares couldn't take it anymore. Before he knew what to say, he was calling out her name.

"Xena!"

Xena abruptly stopped, and without turning around -- "What?"

Ares had no clue what to say.

"Well... um.." Xena turned around from frustration.

"Is there something you want to say?"

"Yeah..."

"Well?"

Quick, he had to come up with something before Xena stormed out.

"How would you two like to...stay at the palace for the night?" In this situation with this amount of time, this was the best he could do.

"What?"

"Well, you ARE staying in town for the night -- right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why not stay at the royal palace?"

"Because we already got rooms in an inn, but thanks for asking."

"Wait. With...all this festivity going on for...well, me. There are a lot of people staying in town for the night. There are only so many places to stay. So, by giving up your rooms, you'd be doing some travellers a favor. I mean isn't that what you do? Help people in need?" Xena couldn't help but almost smile. He wanted her to stay... close. She decided to give in and let him have this one.

"Fine. We'll go get our horses." Ares breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Now he can have a chance to talk to Xena privately. But contrary to his thoughts, his pride made him continue putting on his act.

"And Xena!" Xena looked back at him, and Ares stood up from his throne and walked over to her. "You know, I also wouldn't mind having a ... queen to rule with," he whispered in his low husky voice. Xena shivered. She hadn't heard this voice in a long time.

"Ares."

"Yeah?"

"I still have no interest in being your queen." Xena emphasized that last word. She moved away from him and left the throne room with Gabrielle following behind her.

'Damn it!' Ares was being his old self again. Xena felt tears coming up from rage and frustration as she stormed out of the room. Things were never simple and easy for her...especially when it came to 'him.'

Gabrielle chose to remain silent because she knew Xena was upset despite her efforts to hide it.

Ares continued to stand where he was with Xena. He couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth. He was being such a jerk. Why couldn't he admit that he had missed her and that he was more than glad to see her? Who was he trying to impress by acting like a 'king'?

He gazed around the throne room. It was elaborately decorated with ornate tapestry and rich upholstery. And here he was, dressed in a heavy robe standing in the middle of all this. Less than a week ago he was in a run down farmhouse with moronic servants pushing hay and raising chickens. He wanted to get out of that life and he got his wish but what did he truly gain? Nothing … in fact he lost the most important thing in his life.

Ares doubted that Xena would come back, but she didn't say anything when she left so perhaps she will. When she did … if she did, he was going to set things straight between them again.

Chapter Twelve

"You know, he'll probably cheer up once he finds out we've brought Horace." Gabrielle suggested helpfully.

From Xena's comment about what she could do with the little dog, Gabrielle decided she was still mad.

They moved through the maze-like corridors of the palace, Xena staring straight ahead, until Gabrielle finally had enough.

"Slow down!" She exploded, pulling on her friend's arm. "I've just survived a bull fight, for the gods sake - and sustained the biggest disappointment of my life!"

Xena stopped, and sighed. Then a small grin crept out.

"That's right. You thought this "hero-King" could be the man of your dreams, isn't that right?"

A horrified look stole over Gabrielle's face.

"Oh, no. No - don't you dare!"

"Come on, Gabrielle - why, that'd really cheer him up."

Gabrielle started laughing, but she shook her head.

"I'm begging you, Xena, I swear, don't you ever tell him!"

"Oh, I won't - maybe. And then, maybe I will!"

She headed off again to the dressing rooms where their clothes were held. Gabrielle paused, and then remembered.

"Oh, Xena?" She called down the corridor. "Why don't you change into something more comfortable than those old leathers. Something . . . lavender?"

Xena froze, and Gabrielle let out a yell of triumph.

"I'm telling, I swear!"

"If you do, I'm putting on the pinch," Xena growled, turning around. "I'm serious."

"Go ahead. I'm waiting. You know if you kill me, you'll have to come after me again. And isn't that really a waste of time?"

Suddenly the pair burst out laughing. Gabrielle put her arms around her friend and gave her a hug.

"Don't worry about him, Xena. After all, he's mortal now. You really can chop his - uh - head off, you know."

*****

Ares paced back and forth across his throne room, nodding automatically when a blustering servant entered, and started stammering his apologies.

Just when he thought he had it all -- food, a palace, heaps of gold. He found himself missing the things he had before. Horace, even those idiotic farmhands he had hired; they were so much fun to make fun of. And most of all, he missed Her. Although of course, she had never really been his, he mused.

He felt strangely confined in the room, and abruptly opened the door, and walked outside, putting on a purposeful stance, hoping that his subjects would leave him alone.

Opening the gate of the palace, he made his way outside, and leaned against one of the large maples.

Something caught his eye, a horse going down the nearest hill -- black hair billowing around in the wind. Before he could stop himself, he had cried her name, thinking that she was leaving... then clamped his mouth shut.

She turned around, and for a moment, he thought she would keep going. But she stopped, and like she was battling with herself, started back to him.

Then, a dusty blur shot out from under the legs of her horse, making it's way towards him, making sounds between barks, and sobs. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Horace pelting at him as fast as his short legs would carry him. He threw his small body at Ares, yelping and writhing with delight.

Ares stroked his dog's head lovingly, and didn't even cringe as Horace continued his exploration of his face, and neck, growling at the unfamiliar royal clothing.

"Yes, it's still me, boy." Ares told him. "You can tell it's still me -- no matter how I dress. I guess that isn't changing."

With a start, he realized that his words had been heard not only by the dog, but also by Xena, who had walked up to him, unnoticed. She sat down beside him on the grass, not saying anything.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

She shrugged, and looked everywhere but at him.

"I'm not one for festivals -- that's Gabrielle's thing. Besides, you seem like you're doing fine here -- the accommodations are nicer that on the farm," she told him, with a hint of accusation in her voice.

"Xena, you said you'd visit me…. you never came. I ran out of food... I didn't come here to be king, just to take some gold out of my temples. You know that."

She sighed, and finally turned her gaze towards him, her eyes showing pity.

"I'm sorry I didn't come. You ran out of food--?" she said softly, letting her hand rest lightly on his shoulder.

He smiled, and nodded as if it were nothing, trying to forget the nights when his stomach rumbled so hard that it kept him from sleeping.

"So, why don't you stay for awhile?" he asked hopefully.

She thought for a minute, debating her answer.

"I mean, it's not often you get to stay in a palace."

She smiled at him, squeezing his cheek just like she had when she left the farm.

"Okay."

He let his mouth relax into a happy smile, before he realized he was doing it, and quickly resumed a casual expression. But not before Xena had noticed it.

"Well." She stood up, and he did also. "I should go tell Gabrielle about the change of plans, she'll be wondering."

He nodded, but seemed unwilling to let her go. Sensing his thoughts, she smiled at him, and gently skimmed his lips with her own.

"I'll be back soon."

As she disappeared from sight, Ares stood there awhile watching her, with Horace at his side, a peaceful smile on his face. Then he turned, and walked back to the palace, going in search of one of the palace officials.

"Get two of the rooms next to mine ready for visitors, Nilos." He commanded.

The man stood there, not moving.

"Nilos?" Ares asked, surprised.

"The Persians are coming, my lord. We don't know how, but they are less than two days away from our city. They have over 15,000men.more than two times the size of our army."

A flash of his dream came to him, and for a moment, he felt weak.

"What should we do, Lord Sera?"

It finally came to him, he was expected to solve this--he was expected to lead them against the Persian army.

Chapter Thirteen

By the time Xena and Gabrielle had found their way to the stables, they'd heard everything.

"Looks like the Persians have finally got over their defeat at Thermopylae," Xena said, throwing a look at Gabrielle -- recalling how nearly she lost her friend still hurt.

"They've got short memories," Gabrielle marvelled. "Then again -- I guess it has been 25 years."

"Yeah. So Ares has managed to get himself a kingdom and a war -- what more could he want?"

Gabrielle opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"Listen, I want to scout ahead and check out the Persian defences. Check out our digs in the palace -- oh, and keep an eye on Ares' bodyguard. Looked a bit shifty to me."

"Uh, Xena? How about I scout ahead -- and you keep an eye on Ares . . ." Gabrielle dried up at Xena's look.

"Nice try. See you in a couple of hours."

Xena dug her heels in Argo's side, urging her out from the palace gates and through the city, heading towards the woodlands surrounding Corinth. As she rode, she recalled the story of the king's - that was, Ares' - heroics. It seemed strangely uncharacteristic; but then, Xena reminded herself, now Ares was mortal he might well sport a number of new and unusual characteristics she was yet to discover.

Gradually Argo slowed, as the path through the woods began to climb. Finally Xena dismounted and led Argo up the rocky way to a look-out perch she recalled from many years ago. Tossing the reins about an outcrop of stone, she climbed a little further and then, crouching behind a large boulder, looked down at the Persian camp.

Well, they hadn't exaggerated the numbers; there were far more than the small contingent she and Gabrielle had met so long ago. Xena grinned when she remembered the rather embellished version as told by a tavern bard only weeks ago. Twenty-five years passing had obviously changed the story from history to myth.

Still, courage and strategy had won out there, and she was certain it would again. Satisfied, Xena turned - then heard a movement towards her left. She froze, waiting, allowing her instinct to dictate her timing. Then she leapt, flipping directly over the intruder and landing behind him, the blade of her sword at his throat.

"Nice move. New since I last saw you, isn't it?"

Xena rolled her eyes, and sheathed her sword. "What are you doing here?"

"Might ask the same of you. It is my war, isn't it?" Ares asked, then grinned. "Come to think of it, this kind of reminds me of the old days - you and I, fighting side by side. . ."

Xena elbowed him, hard.

"Shut up. In case you've forgotten, this isn't the way to win a war."

A distant look appeared in Ares' eyes, as he crouched on the edge of the precipice and looked over at the Persian camp. "Oh, I haven't forgotten, never fear." Then he moved away, and began walking down to where the horses waited. "Nor that some wars are unwinnable - for mortals, anyhow. They outnumber us ten to one, at least."

Xena stared at him. "So? What? You're just going to give up?"

"I am the war expert, after all," Ares teased, grabbing the reins of his horse.

"No. No, you just can't do that. What were you looking for as King? A chance to rule the world again? Or a chance to take it easy?"

"Neither!" He protested. "I didn't ask for this -- it just kind of fell my way."

"But you accepted it."

Exasperated, he dropped the reins and turned to her.

"What did I come here for? What was I looking for in Corinth, why did I come? Isn't it obvious - I was trying to get you out of my head!"

"It's incredible the way you're able to twist things round to my fault, once again," she snarled. "I would've left that very first day after seeing you were all right, but you asked me to stay!"

Ares looked at her with a curious smile.

"So - the real question is why did you hit Corinth? Seeing I was all right? Looks like I was in your head, too."

"Yeah, and I wish you'd get out of it," she retorted furiously. "Get over yourself! You accepted this false kingship; now take on its responsibilities."

"And die for people I care nothing about?"

"If you're going to die sometime, may as well make it good." She stopped at the look on his face. "Oh."

"Yes, oh. You've had a lot more time get used to this -- mortality business."

Xena hesitated. "Look -- maybe I haven't really appreciated how -- difficult this whole fall from Olympus has been for you."

He snorted. "Damn right."

"Hunger -- pain -- emotions . . . What you did the other day was very heroic. I heard about it, you know --"

"No big deal."

"Maybe. Or maybe it's a lot harder to become human than it is mortal."

Something was trembling in the air between them -- a kind of understanding, as though for an instant the walls were down. He looked up.

"I don't know if I want that." He said honestly. "It'll make it a lot harder, when . . ."

The mask was up again, he saw -- she'd retreated.

"When you regain your godhood. Oh, I guess you'll find a way somehow. We'll attempt to keep you alive in the meantime. Yah!"

Xena kicked Argo and set off back to Corinth, her dark hair flying back behind her. Ares wasn't sure, but he thought he'd just made some kind of stupid, irrevocable mistake.

Chapter Fourteen

It was late afternoon when both Xena and Ares returned to the palace. Ares rode up a couple of paces behind Xena. Gabrielle saw them come back and felt the tension in the air when she saw Ares go up to Xena as she dismounted. "Xena, listen to me. It didn't come out the way I meant it."

"Oh? Then how was it supposed to come out?" Xena took Argo's reins and lead her to the stables. Ares followed leading his horse as well.

"Come on..."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" To be honest, Ares didn't know where this conversation was heading either. He just managed to screw everything up again--that much he was aware of. It was funny how it always happened just as they were about to open up to each other. It was like an invisible barrier that kept them apart.

After Xena left the stables, she headed up the main corridors until she was outside of the throne room. Inside, the king's advisors were pacing about the place. Ares, who came up immediately behind Xena, entered the room through the two large doors. Xena entered as well because she sensed that something was wrong. The eldest of the advisors immediately came up to Ares. "We have been looking for you, my lord."

"What for?"

"We were wondering if you have chosen the one to be your queen."

"Queen?" Ares responded quizzically.

"Well of course. Naturally, it would be best if you can announce it at the dinner party tonight."

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course you have been informed about it ...the new king must choose a queen to rule with within three days of the induction ceremony. It has been like that for as long as anyone can remember. If you neglect this duty, you will be giving up the throne. Now, it is your choice as to who becomes the queen, but as your advisors, we have the right to know who will stand beside our leader my lord."

Ares just stood there speechless upon hearing this.

The news had taken both Ares and Xena by surprise. The advisors left after Ares dismissed them, and now the two were alone in the spacious throne room. "This is just great. Well, I guess this is it."

"What do you mean 'this is it'?"

"You were the first to point out that I don't deserve to be king. Now I'm not because there's no queen. See how simple that was?"

"Come on Ares, you're not going to quit."

"Oh so now you want me to be the king? I recall you pointing out how I wasn't responsible enough to rule just a few hours ago."

"And you're proving my point exactly. Do you realize what's going to happen if you leave now?"

"Corinth will erupt in civil war over the next leader. Meanwhile, the Persian army will come in and destroy everything," Ares said smoothly.

"That's only the beginning. Once they conquer Corinth, they will set out to take rest of Greece. This is something that can drag into a lengthy war costing more innocent lives. I'm not going to let that happen. The Persians have to be stopped."

"You can handle that. You did it before. What do you need me for?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, the people of Corinth are united under you. They worship you as their hero and their king. As long as you're on the throne they will be stable and united. They won't stand a chance against the Persians if they become divided amongst themselves."

"You heard the old guy, I won't be king for long."

Xena cut off Ares by stating matter of factly, "I got that covered."

Ares' expression hardened. He suspected what Xena was going to say next and he didn't want to hear it.

"I'll do it."

Ares flinched. He felt like he was stabbed as a sharp pain shot through his chest. Xena noticed Ares' reaction and felt uneasy.

"Ares ...what's the..."

Ares cut her off in a low icy tone. "No, Xena."

"What? Ares ..."

Ares raised his voice in anger and frustration. Didn't she get what she'd just done to him?

"I said no, Xena!" Ares stopped for a second and took a breath before continuing. He was hurting inside, but he wasn't about to show it. "I am not going to play the happy royal couple with you for a few days just to see you lea--." He didn't know how to continue without making a fool of himself. What the hell, there's nothing to lose anymore... I have nothing left. "You know what, forget it. I'm sick and tired of you messing with my mind."

Ares walked passed a speechless Xena and left the room.

As Ares headed down the corridor, Gabrielle stepped out from behind the shadows. She heard the entire conversation. She wasn't spying or anything. She was just worried about Xena, so she had come down to meet her. But instead, she overheard them arguing. From the conversation, Gabrielle picked up the situation. She stepped into the room and found Xena still standing there. She cautiously approached her. "Xena --"

Ares' words were replaying in Xena's mind. He sounded so defeated. She couldn't believe what she had done. But, what she couldn't believe more was that she didn't realize it until Ares mentioned the word 'happy'. She had asked him to 'pretend' that they were a happily married couple. Nothing could be harsher or more twisted than that.

She was snapped out her thoughts by Gabrielle's approach. Xena answered in the calmest voice she could manage, "Yes, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle saw through what Xena was trying to do. Xena wasn't one for expressing her emotions. Even though she had become more open in the years they'd known each other, Xena still kept some things to herself and Ares was one of them. Gabrielle never could figure out the complex relationship between the Warrior Princess and the ex-God of War. At first, she thought it was just hatred and obsession and nothing more. Xena despised him, and Ares couldn't leave her alone because of lust and greed. But after Ares turned mortal for the first time, she saw a different side of him. And the second time, she actually ended up spending a lot of time with him, and in some level, they connected ... for a moment. The point was that, Ares wasn't just a one-dimensional bad guy, and Xena felt something for him. Gabrielle had finally become sure of this back at the farm. Seeing the mortal Ares and Xena together -- they seemed to enjoy each other's company. She hadn't seen Xena smile like that for a long time.

"Listen Xena, I heard what's going on."

"Then, you know we have a big problem. We need to find some way to --"

"Xena why are you doing this?" Xena starred at Gabrielle with a blank expression. "Fine, if you don't want to admit it in front of me that's ok. But listen to me. Go after him Xena."

"Gabrielle you don't under-"

"You're right, I don't ...at least not completely, but if you don't go after him and something happens to him...remember, he's mortal now. I know you care Xena. You don't have to hide it from me." Gabrielle added softly, "Go."

Gabrielle was right. Xena knew that. For all anybody knew, she might never see Ares again--alive or dead. Xena took a step forward and left the room.

*****

Ares was still extremely upset as he came out to the courtyard. But his anger was gradually receding. So, this is what it felt like to be hurt by the person you love. How many people did he hurt in his time? But he still couldn't believe that Xena didn't realize what she was doing until he slipped.

He went straight to the stables for his black horse. Before he reached it, something jumped out at him. Ares caught a furry animal with both his hands. It licked his face up and down. "Okay, Horace, now stop that." He pulled the dog away from him. Horace looked back at Ares with a soft whimper --it was like he was saying 'What's wrong? Why do you look so sad?'

A smile crept over Ares' face. Looking at Horace reminded him of his days as a farmer and how he got started there in the first place. He never admitted it, but it wasn't so bad doing mortal chores those few days he spent with Xena. He could remember everything like it happened yesterday. She had said she 'might' visit him if he tried to build a new life.... Ares was pulled out of his thoughts with a sudden realization. He looked at Horace again. Of course, why didn't he notice before? If Horace was here then that means Xena must have brought him from the farm. She did keep her word and paid that visit she promised him. Ares set Horace down as he turned around and headed back into the palace.

Chapter Fifteen

Xena was hurrying her way down the long corridor. She hoped she wasn't too late. Xena stopped as she saw a figure approach from the other end. She immediately knew who it was.

Ares was walking back the way he came from when he heard hurried footsteps approach from the front. It was Xena. He decided to speak first, "What are you in a rush for?" Xena carefully selected her words,

"Ares, I just wanted to say that I'm ... sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly." Ares felt relieved hearing Xena's apology. He knew it wasn't easy for her.

"So ...what are you going to wear to the banquet tonight?"

Xena was puzzled by this sudden change of topic.

"What?"

"Well, most queens to-be don't show up in public in an armour ... stupid tradition yes, but --" The sarcastic voice was back which made Xena feel a little relieved but,

"Ares, you don't need to do this. It was a bad idea."

"Not anymore bad than my queen joke earlier. What do you say, let's kick some Persian butt." He grinned. Xena smiled back at him. They started to walk back up the corridor together when Ares added, "Oh by the way, thanks for bringing Horace by. I guess he does grow on you."

Xena knew exactly what Ares really meant by that last statement. It was true that he was glad to be reunited with his dog, but the underlying statement said that it was good to know that she kept her promise about visiting him. "No problem." Xena answered simply as the receding footsteps echoed on the walls of the corridor.

With a small smile on her face, Xena left Ares at the door to her room, and concentrated on getting dressed, with Gabrielle's help.

"Have you given any thought to the plan?" asked Gabrielle as she stuck yet another needle into the pincushion which had a few minutes before been her friend.

"Uh.I pretend to be the queen, Ares gets formally announced as the king, and, we kick some Persian butt" Xena said, laughing.

Gabrielle grinned as a smile lighted her friend's face.

"Sounds good to me," she said.

She finally stood back, and surveyed her work.

"You look good-Queen." she paused. "Xena, we have to think of a name for you!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I thought of that. You're the bard, what name should I go under?"

Gabrielle slowly nodded.

"How about Queen Alexis?" she tentatively asked.

"Sounds good, Gabrielle" Xena said, smiling.

"So, let's see how you look, Queen Alexis"

Xena moved closer to the mirror, and looked at herself. Her dress was made of the lightest blue, and it was creamy and soft to the touch. A delicate crown adorned her hair, which fell loosely on her shoulders. She looked-good.

"You think I can do flips in this?" Xena hesitantly asked as she pulled at the sensitive material.

Gabrielle groaned at her statement.

"Xena, you're going to pretend to be the queen. You can't just show up in some rag." She began pacing around the room, waving her animatedly as she talked.

"Just forget about what you usually do.this is different. You can have the chance to explore other parts of yourself. Like the parts that can appreciate fashion." she concluded, smirking.

Rolling her eyes, Xena pulled her friend over to her and hugged her hard.

"I'll let you appreciate the fashion and beauty.while I worry about the Persians."

"Oh-- I think you're going to be appreciating some beauty" Gabrielle slyly stated. "Like perhaps, I wonder how Ares would look in a--"

"Gabrielle!" Xena spluttered, blushing.

Gabrielle gave her friend an innocent smile and moved out of the room, heading for the King's quarters. Xena followed.

She softly knocked on the door, and she and Gabrielle let themselves in.

"Ares?" she called.

"Yeah, here" he returned, stepping out of the shadows. His eyes took in the change in her--the dress, the jewels, the crown, and he cocked his head.

"You think you'll be able to do flips in that?" he asked sceptically.

Behind her, Gabrielle groaned, and Xena had to fight the grin that was threatening to spill onto her face. Instead, she observed his clothes, noticing that he looked almost as wonderful in silk as he did in leather.

Stepping up closer, she cupped his cheek.

"You look good," she told him softly.

The expected devilish grin came out.

"As do you, my fair queen" he told her, and offered his arm with a smile.

She took it with a similar smile, and together, they made their way to the room where the coronation was scheduled to take place, with Gabrielle behind, posing as a servant.

The entered to wild applause, as the announcer yelled, "Ladies and Gentlemen.please welcome the future king and queen of Corinth!!!"

They sat, still holding hands, as the priest prepared to make the speech that would formally make them royalty.

After awhile, Xena noticed Ares' eyes begin to close, as his face took on a hazy look. She herself felt compelled to relax, maybe lean on his shoulder, and go to sleep. The announcer's voice droned on, and on, and Xena heard Gabrielle reciting one of her scrolls behind her to keep herself awake. She darted a playful look at the bard, who blushed.

"How much longer?" Ares whispered to her.

"I have no idea" she replied, and sighed.

Ares moved over, and patted the space next to him, and she moved in, resting her head against his shoulder. She blocked out the dull voice, and instead focused on her recent thoughts, all-revolving around Ares.

He had done his best at the farm, she knew that. She knew when she put him there that it wouldn't last forever. The country boy life just didn't suit him. Much like herself.

How much had he really changed since he had become mortal? He had accepted the throne, but was that really so bad? Was it so bad that he had tried to move on? Wasn't that what was good for him?

' No' a nagging little voice whispered from the deepest corner of her mind. 'You didn't want him to move on; you wanted him to stay at the farm, waiting for you. You love him and are afraid that you'll lose him.'

She sighed again, moving closer.

' I should have given him a chance to prove himself to me. because now, I'm not sure that he'll want to go back to what we had before. And I don't think I could stand it if I lost him' she desperately thought.

Suddenly, the announcers voice jerked her out of her reverie. Her head snapped up, and she stared around.

'Did he just say marry?' she asked herself.

She looked over at Ares, and saw that he was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"Xena, I swear I didn't know." he stammered.

"Will the king and queen rise to take their wedding vows, and in turn, become King and Queen of Corinth?" he boomed.

They stood, shakily, and headed over to the platform.

'There's no other way.I back out now, and Ares loses the throne, and Corinth gets beaten by the Persians."

She nodded at Ares.

"Will you, Queen Alexis, take this man, King Sera to be your lawfully wedded husband, and king?"

She hesitated.

Time stood still as all the history they had shared, all that had gone on between them seemed to flow in front of her. His giving up his immortality, saving Eve and Gabrielle... the sweetness of their kiss on top of the hill after their fight … how silly he looked in farm boy trousers. The bad things didn't show -- they were just a part of history now, it was behind them.

She smiled, and heard her own voice firmly saying.

"Yes. I do"

Something about her tone, her expression caught Ares' eye, and he smiled at her, the little wrinkles showing in his eyes. He waited for his part.

"And do you, King Sera, take this woman, Alexis, to be your lawfully wedded wife, and queen?"

"I do" he replied, his eyes glowing.

"I now pronounce you man and wife-King and Queen," he announced, and the room burst forth with cheers.

People stood, waving their hats in the air, yelling their congratulations to their new royalty.

Then a shout started, echoing from every corner of the hall.

"Long live the King and Queen, Long live the King and Queen-and may their love last for eternity!"

Chapter Sixteen

Before Ares could utter the words "wedding night?" a huge explosion rocked the building.

"That always happens -" He muttered, pulling Xena to the floor with him and looking around for Gabrielle.

But she'd already grabbed the sais at her boots, and was running for the door, while Xena headed to the window.

"It's the Persians! They've got catapults and are attacking the palace!" She yelled, over the noise of screaming guests and further explosions.

"Ah, well, a good fight might make up for it." Ares sighed, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Well . . ."

His eyes followed Xena trying to flip in her gorgeous gown. Frustrated, she used the chakram which she'd concealed to slit the sides.

"Who am I kidding . . ." Ares groaned, but followed Xena and Gabrielle as they ran to the roof.

Already soldiers were scaling the castle and attempting to overrun the place.

"Get the guests to safety!" Xena yelled to Gabrielle, who nodded and began herding the frightened people to the cellars. Ares grabbed the captain of the guards.

"Get your men mobilised immediately! We need archers and we need them now!"

The first Persian soldiers who tried to get on the roof met a chakram to the face. Then they came faster and faster, while Xena and Ares fought back to back, pushing the invading army out, slashing at the enemy.

"We've got to take out that catapult!" Xena shouted, as another explosion rocked the building.

Ares nodded, and grabbed a bow and quiver from a trembling archer. Jumping to the ledge of the roof, he fitted an arrow and took aim.

"Got him!" Ares yelled in triumph, then leapt back as a soldier came up behind Xena. Dispatching the combatant, he heard a quick "thanks" and grinned, before tossing another Persian off the wall.

A shout of victory rose up.

"They're retreating!"

"We won!"

"Long live the King and Queen!"

Ares realised he hadn't felt so good in a long, long, time.

"That was just a skirmish." Xena warned him, wiping the blood off her sword. "There's more to come."

"Can't wait." He grinned, and then sought out the Captain of the Guard.

Xena ran lightly down the stairs to the cellar, where the frightened guests had hid.

"Where's Gabrielle?" She asked, looking around. "Where's . . ."

The truth hit her. "That bodyguard was a traitor. They've kidnapped her!"

"Son of a bacchae." Ares mumbled under his breath.

"Why Ares, I didn't think you cared," Xena ribbed, the sarcasm in her voice hiding her fears.

"Okay, so I'm worried about Blondie. Is that so terrible?"

Before Xena could answer, one of Ares' guards came up.

"My lord and my lady," he said, respectfully bowing. "One of the Persians has been captured. Do you wish to interrogate him now?"

Ares looked towards Xena for guidance. He'd never expected to be in a war his first night as king! Xena looked back at him, nodding ever so faintly.

"Yes Ronus, we will see him now."

"As you wish Lord Sera. Please follow me."

Ronus led the royal couple to the castle dungeon.

It was a bleak place with low ceilings and uneven grey stone walls. An ever-present smell of mould and death hung in the air. Ares shuddered noticeably. Thankfully, only Xena caught this.

"Here my lord, in this cell," Ronus said, pointing.

"Thank you," Ares said, and dismissed him with the wave of his hand. "Leave us the keys."

He knew Xena would want to interrogate the man herself. He didn't want the guards to see, however. Using the first key on the ring, Ares opened the war prisoner's cell.

Xena stepped into the cell followed closely by Ares, who shut the door behind him.

"All right now," Xena said, her voice low and threatening. "You're going to tell us everything you know."

Xena took the man by the collar of his shirt and threw him up against the back wall of the cell. Using two fingers on each hand, she put the pinch on the soldier's neck. Immediately, the color drained from his face and he began to choke.

"Where is your camp?" she demanded.

The man said nothing and clawed at his neck.

"I've cut off the flow of blood to your brain. You've got thirty seconds left to live, so you'd better start talking if you want to live."

Still the man said nothing, his face bewildered.

"How many men do you have?"

The Persian captive said something to Xena in a language she didn't quite understand. It may have been Gallic she thought, one of the few languages that she did not understand at all.

"What's he say?" Xena asked herself.

"He said that you'd never take him alive. He'd rather die than betray his emperor," Ares replied.

"You understand him?"

"Yes."

Xena quickly undid the pinch.

"Okay then Ares, question him. Find out about his army, their resources, his leader..."

"I can't," Ares replied. "If I was still a god I could remember. But that's all I can remember of the language now."

He turned his back and paced. Xena joined him, a hand on his shoulder.

"You have to try."

As they spoke, the Persian man snuck up behind them and grabbed a small dagger from Xena's side. She had grabbed it during the fight. He attacked Ares, slashing the former god of war across the chest. Ares' blood flowed freely.

Xena charged at the man, rushing at him head on. The dagger met with flesh with a sickening thud. For a long moment, neither one moved.

Then, slowly, the Persian fell to the ground, his eyes black and staring. The dagger was in his stomach. He'd turned it on himself, preferring death over treason.

"Ares?" Xena said, rushing to his side. "Ares?"

"I'm fine...I think."

"Come, let's get you patched up."

Chapter Seventeen

"Look, you need to go after Gabrielle. I'll be fine," Ares said roughly, as Xena helped him into his room.

"So will Gabrielle. I've learned not to underestimate her, you know," Xena returned, after directing a servant to bring water and bandages. Tearing off his shirt, she examined his wound.

"You're still hurt from that bull's attack." She commented, seeing the pattern of bruises across his chest.

Ares flinched away from her cool fingers.

"Not how I imagined our wedding night," he joked uneasily, wondering how he could speak so coolly while focusing entirely on the glimpse of her legs beneath the split in her dress.

Xena turned at a knock at the door. Grabbing the water and cloths, she let the servant go, warning him to guard the chamber carefully. Then she moved over to Ares on the bed.

"Ow!"

"Ares, let's get one thing straight." Xena began, cleaning the wound carefully. "Lord Sera and Lady Alexis were married tonight."

She paused, unravelling a bandage. Then she looked at him directly.

"Xena and Ares were not."

Ares shrugged, moving away from her, but she stilled him.

"It was just a joke -" He began, then stopped. "It was a moment. Don't deny it . . ."

Xena's heart sped up. For an instant she knew exactly what he meant. In their roles as King and Queen they'd been able to forget their history, all the pain between them. In that moment, nothing had divided them.

She moved forward. "Ares . . ."

The door swung open and they jerked apart. An elaborately dressed councillor strolled in, staring down at the map in his hands, and, not even looking at the embarrassed King and Queen, started to speak.

"My lord, one of the prisoners in the dungeon has spoken with one of our translators. We located this map on his person and it appears not only to locate the Persian Camp, but also the place where their slaves are held -" he said, still not looking up but directing his voice towards Xena, "and my lady, I think that is where Gabrielle is."

He finally looked up to see Ares, groaning in pain on the bed, and Xena, staring a hole through his head intensely. He smiled uncertainly, "I'll just... go now..." he said weakly, and closed the door behind him.

Ares sat up with surprising speed. "Damn. I'm... sorry, Xena."

Her eyebrow rose. "What for?"

Both of his eyebrows rose with surprise. "For... for..." the look on his face changed. "Wait a minute. What am I talking about? I'm not sorry. I didn't do anything wrong. You wanted to kiss me just as badly as I wanted to kiss you."

Ares stared at the grin that was slowly appearing on Xena's face. "Xena?"

Biting her lip, she slowly walked over to where he was sitting on the bed.

"Yes, Ares?"

He grabbed her quite suddenly, and she found herself in his lap, staring up at his handsome face. "It's time for our wedding night . . ."

* * * *

Xena raised her head off of Ares' shoulder. "That wasn't too bad."

"Nope. It was pretty good."

"I still say we should have done it sooner."

"Well," he admitted, "it would have come in handy when Gabrielle was around."

She smacked his arm. "ARES!"

He laughed. "What? You know I'm right."

Xena nodded. "Yes. Okay. Once or twice, sure. But more than that and she would have killed us."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" They chimed.

The person at the door turned the knob and tried to get in. "Uh, my lord? I believe the door is locked."

Ares grinned. "You don't say," he muttered. Then, turning Xena's head to the side, he yelled, "I'm afraid you're mistaken. The door isn't locked."

More struggling. It would be suicide to question the king. "Well... I suppose it could wait."

They listened to the sound of footsteps, anticipating something. Then there was a loud yell and they grinned.

"The syrup worked."

Chapter Eighteen

Gabrielle groaned, then attempted to pry open her eyes. Her head felt as though she'd consumed every drink in the palace simultaneously, and her body ached.

"Shh, it's all right."

Gabrielle opened her eyes to see the most perfect face she'd seen in a long time hovering over her.

"No, don't tell me - what did I do last night?" She wailed, trying to sit up.

Everything spun, and she gave up the attempt, focusing instead on a pair of melting hazel eyes surrounded by tousled light-brown curls. Gabrielle decided she'd remember if she'd encountered such a gorgeous combination before, and relaxed.

"Fill me in, won't you?" Gabrielle prompted, lying back. "Last thing I remember was leading the wedding guests down to the cellar . . ."

"You were kidnapped." The young man told her. "They brought you in a few hours ago. Apparently you took quite a blow to the head."

"Explains why I'm dreaming." Gabrielle murmured, but then went on. "So how do you fit into all this?"

He hesitated, then moved over to the barrel of water in the corner. Filling a ladle carefully, he brought over the water and let her drink.

"I was taken a few days ago." He admitted. "I was spying out the Persian camp . . . guess I'm not much of a scout." He added glumly.

"You're part of the King's guards?" Gabrielle asked, frowning.

The man's eyes flashed, and he rose. "I've nothing to do with that false king! My name is Ceren, son of Iphicles, and heir to the throne of Corinth!"

Gabrielle simply gaped with astonishment before she could find her voice.

"You're the son of the former king? But that's impossible. I heard that King Iphicles didn't have any children."

Ceren's eyes turned sharply on Gabrielle.

"Then why would you think 'Lord Sera' is the king's son?"

He had a point there. Gabrielle was impressed by Ceren's sharp observation.

"Well, it's a very long story, but believe me if you are truly the rightful heir, I won't stand in the way to deny you of the throne." Gabrielle took a breath before continuing. "Do you have any proof that Iphicles is your father?"

Ceren looked into Gabrielle's eyes as if he was judging her character--if she was trustworthy enough to say what was on his mind. After a few seconds of deafening silence he opened his mouth to speak.

"Yes. And it's why I came to Corinth in the first place. There's a hidden area in the wall behind the portrait of the king--my father. He left written proof there that I'm his son -- and the other half of this medallion." He took out an old silver medallion with intricate patterns hanging from a leather string. Gabrielle recognized the design, although half missing.

"I think that's the royal symbol of Corinth," Gabrielle said. But she was still skeptical. "Who gave you this?"

"My mother before she died," Ceren quietly responded.

Gabrielle regretted asking the question the instant she heard that.

"I'm sorry; that must have been hard on you."

He softly smiled at Gabrielle's sensitive comment.

"You know, I never knew my father. But I never asked because I didn't think I needed to. Mother was trying everything she could to make me happy and I was. If my father didn't care to stick around, then he probably wasn't worth asking about."

"Iphicles wasn't known for being irresponsible and careless. I'm sure there was a good reason."

"Yeah, there was. After I was born, father wanted to accept me as his heir and marry mother, but some of his advisors didn't accept a servant woman as the queen. But the truth was that, they were plotting to make Demetrius, my father's cousin, the next king. He's still a young boy, so they figured they could influence him to the point that they will have control over the entire city."

"If all this was known, then why didn't Iphicles do something about it?"

"He did, but there was no hard-core proof. He thought that my mother and I would be in danger if we stayed in Corinth."

"So he sent you two away and gave your mother that medallion, so that one day, you could return and rule."

"Yes, that's right."

"Then why didn't you come sooner? King Iphicles passed away nearly five years ago."

"To make sure that we would be safe, we were sent as far as possible from Corinth. I grew up in a small village in near Gaul. The news didn't reach there until two seasons ago right after my mother's death. To tell you the truth, I hadn't planned on presenting myself as the heir. I much prefer the country life, but when I heard that Corinth was in turmoil because there was no rightful heir, I knew I was the only one who could stop it." Gabrielle looked up at him and smiled. He was young and inexperienced, but he had a good heart. He would make a wonderful king for the people of Corinth. "I don't know why I told you all this."

"I'm glad you decided to. I think we can help you."

"We?"

"You'll find out as soon as we can find a way to get out of here."

Gabrielle had been telling Ceren various tales of Xena, of course, leaving out her name and any distinguishing details, to pass the time before they could openly discuss a plan. The only way they knew what time it was depended on when the guards brought them food and water. She estimated she'd been there for half the night, and Ceren--longer before that.

What was so heartbreaking about Ceren's tale was the brutal honesty about it. Life had a pretty wicked sense of humor, in her opinion. Just looking at the situation with Ares and Xena was a case in point. But with Ceren... how a king's officials could do that to him was beyond her. If a king didn't like their decision, couldn't he just be all "off with his head," until he got someone's decision that he did like?

She sighed, causing Ceren to look up from the dust he had been studying. "Is everything all right, Gabrielle?"

"It's--I'm fine, Ceren. I was just thinking about how the Fates have the absolute wickedest sense of humor."

He laughed, and she noticed flecks of green and gold in his hazel eyes. "I agree with you. I was thinking that if my father, Iphicles, didn't like their decision about my mother, couldn't he just chop their heads off?"

Gabrielle stared at him hard before bursting into the giggles.

"What?" Ceren asked, wanting to know what was so funny. "What did I say?"

"You..." she laughed, "I was thinking the same exact thing."

His eyes lit up. "Oh. I understand." Ceren leaned over and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "You are an intriguing girl, Gabrielle." She shivered. "My mother always told me stories about the flimsy women that were after my father... she told me never to get involved with one of them. You don't know how glad I was to find out that there was a brain behind those lovely green eyes." He then patted the spot next to him and she shifted, resting her head against his shoulder. "If we're going to break out tomorrow... we should get our rest."

Gabrielle smiled. "Rest? No, I've got a better idea."

Chapter Nineteen

Ares fell back onto the bed with a thud. Xena grinned, looking at him. "Awww. Is little Ares tired?"

He growled at her. "Hey. It's not my fault. For once you have more stamina than me when it comes to this sort of thing."

Her eyebrows rose. "For once, huh?" Then she fell back on the bed next to him, thinking. "Do you think that those guys will come back again?"

"Are you kidding? The syrup over the door trick was classic. It was like a premonition of what's to come if they interrupt again." He paused. "You don't think they found the wax yet, do you?"

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and tilted her head towards the door. There was a loud thud, followed by a shout and more thuds. Xena smiled. "I think they not only found it, but a few others slipped on the wax, too."

"Still," he sighed. "This was fun. We haven't played pranks on people in such a long time."

She waved a hand dismissively. "You had war things to do... I had villagers to save... it all works out even in the end."

"Once again, you're right." Then he gave her a look that made the bottom of her stomach drop out. It wasn't fair. Here he was, mortal, and he still had an effect on her. "What about the 'real' part of out wedding night?"

Xena looked away, hesitating. "Gabrielle's still out there and we haven't done a thing to help her yet..."

"We can't help her if we're not fully rested."

Her eyes widened. "How do you expect us to be fully rested after... after..." she spluttered.

Ares grinned broadly. "Hey--you said it, not me. I was just thinking get some sleep, eat breakfast in bed... but if you're ready for that..."

For a while she didn't say anything. One night with Ares. No strings attached... what exactly was going to happen when I went back to visit him at the farm? Probably more of the same, right? And hey, we had fun. Besides. It's not like this is ever going to happen again... Then she looked reflective. "At least they won't interrupt us this time."

As the God of War, he had long since learned to just go with her quicksilver moods and methods. Only his eyebrows rose to show the skepticism he was feeling. "If you say so..."

Xena leaned over to situate herself in his lap, staring directly into his eyes.

"Still think you have more stamina than me?"

He threw his head back and laughed. "Looks like we're going to have to find out." He dipped his head and kissed her. Slowly. Very slowly. So slowly that she almost wanted to strangle him. He laughed against her lips. "Ah ah ah. Don't want to expend all that stamina just yet, sweetheart. Pace yourself."

"I'm pacing well, thank you. I just wish you would catch up!"

This continued for a while until he finally reached his breaking point and began to kiss her and reached to undress her with an intensity they both felt.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom behind them and the wall fell through--causing a bunch of dust and soot to fly up. When the dust cleared, Gabrielle was standing there with a young man they didn't know.

Ares groaned loudly and let his hands fall limp on the bed. "I don't FREAKING BELIEVE THIS! Did you plan this again?"

Xena looked as startled as he was. "No--no, I had no idea."

Chapter Twenty

Xena leapt in between them before Ares could get a good grip on Gabrielle's throat, pushing him to the bed and grabbing Gabrielle's wrist in a rather too-firm grip.

"Got any hot tubs in the place?" She snarled at one of the councillors climbing over the wreckage. "No, nix that. I need it cold."

She pulled Gabrielle along beside her as the councillor led the way. She blinked in the bright light streaming through the hall's windows, and groaned with the realisation of the time.

"Uh, Xena?" Gabrielle began in a small voice. "Your hand is - er - sticky."

Xena dropped hers hastily. "It's just syrup."

"Syrup?" Gabrielle's eyes widened, then her face took on a contemplative look. "So, how do you - "

"For the doorhandles!" Xena cut in quickly, then shut out the councillor from the bathhouse. Shucking off her now-tattered gown, she tore off a few strips and soaked them in water, pressing the compress to the lump on Gabrielle's head.

"Hence the explosion." Gabrielle went on, slipping off her own clothes. "I've never known you to sleep in - we thought anything might have happened in there . . ."

Xena slid into the cool waters of the large circular bath, and washed the grime of a night's fight from her. Gabrielle followed, glad to get all the straw and dust from the uncomfortable places they'd found during the night. Then she looked at Xena - and saw tears glittered in her eyes.

"Gabrielle, I'm so sorry." She said in a low voice. "I lost you for a year, and here I am acting as though your life means nothing to me?"

Gabrielle laid a hand over her friend's. "I know that's not true."

"I said to Ares that I refused to underestimate you any longer, but I should've come after you anyway - if anything had happened to you -"

"But it didn't." Gabrielle told her firmly. "I was actually going to thank you, Xena. Not once did I think to myself "better wait for Xena". For the first time I really felt as though you trusted me."

"I do." Xena smiled, and then ducked her hair under the water. "Still . . ."

"Over already." Gabrielle finished, wetting her own hair. "Anyway -"

"It impressed that young man you managed to bring along?"

Gabrielle's face flushed a little. "How did you -"

"Come on, he's your type!"

"I have a type?"

"Sure." Xena teased. "Gentle, sweet, with a touch of idealism. I could see it a mile off."

Gabrielle blushed again, then a smile broke across her face. "I have a type!"

*****

"So, you helped Gabrielle escape?" Ares asked Ceren, who was standing rather awkwardly in the remains of the royal bedchamber.

"Well, actually - she helped me escape." Ceren admitted. "She lured two guards over to our cell -"

"Oh, she's good at luring -"

"Banged their heads together, stole their keys, and locked them in our cell. We stripped them and wore their uniforms over our own clothes until we were out of the camp." Ceren's face glowed. "She's a girl in a million!"

"That's for sure," Ares said sourly. Suddenly an idea occurred to him. If Gabrielle managed to pair up with this man, surely she'd be far to busy to interrupt them again . . .

He swung an arm around the boy's shoulders good-naturedly. "Oh, she's a girl in a million, all right. And she's single! Lots of spare time on her hands . . .

* * * * *

"That's perfect." Xena nodded, as Gabrielle finished telling her Ceren's story. "That way we can get Ares out of here without this royalty thing going to his head. Once the Persians have gone, that is." She inclined her head thoughtfully. "Did you pick up anything from your time there?"

"Only that that's their whole army, out on the plain. I mean, it's big, but there's no other reinforcements anywhere else."

A smile crept over Xena's face. "Ah ha ha! Now that's good to know!"

She drew herself out of the bath and ignored the new gown placed by its side.

"Those dresses are useless," she muttered. "I'm finding my leathers."

She looked back at Gabrielle, who was plaiting her wet hair roughly.

"Oh, Gabrielle? I'm really glad you're back, and I promise I'll never leave you alone for that long again . . . but if you make any reference to what you saw in the bedchamber, I'll have to kill you."

"What bedchamber?"

Xena relaxed, and moved towards the door. Then -

"So, those positions on Aphrodite's wall really are possible, huh?"

Chapter Twenty-One

Xena gave Gabrielle a withering glare. " Gabrielle..." she trailed off warningly.

The bard looked at her for a second, tilted her head to the side, while a devilish smile grew bigger on her lips. "Maybe I should ask Ares what he thinks... you're gonna have to catch me to keep me silent!"

And she suddenly left the room.

The Warrior Princess chuckled. "Yes Gabrielle, I'll have to catch you. What a pity you're going the wrong way."

***
Ceren lifted Ares' arm off of him and gave him a distrustful look. "Why are you so gung-ho about Gabrielle all of the sudden? She told me that you didn't like her too much."

He frowned. "That's not true. There's always been a place... in my heart... for the blonde. Not the biggest place, but it's there."

By the look in Ceren's hazel eyes, he wasn't convinced. Ares rolled his eyes and put his hands on Ceren's shoulders. "Look. The woman who was with me before, in the bed?" He nearly groaned then and there. Having Xena... like that... so DAMN close!

Ceren was staring giving him the oddest of looks. He smiled suddenly and returned to his revelation. "I'm in love with her."

*****

Gabrielle panted heavily and leaned on the stone wall for support. "Yeah... you'll have to... catch me... first... Uh huh..."

Thunk.

The poor bard had collapsed to the floor from exhaustion. It was no wonder; staying up all night, gazing into Ceren's eyes, telling him wonderfully embellished stories of Xena, planning their escape, blowing up that wall... she was bone-tired, no doubt about it.

The sound of footsteps approached from the way Gabrielle was heading and Xena looked down to see her friend passed out cold. She sighed. "I told you that was the wrong way."

Xena leaned down and lifted her friend into her arms, walking but a few steps before opening a door and walking inside the room. It was a guest bedroom, likely for some ambassador or something, the way it was decked out, and there was a king-sized bed off the right.

"Eh... not as impressive as my bed," she gently put the bard down and covered her up, "but I have a feeling these walls will hold. Sweet dreams, Gabrielle."

She walked into the closet to see if there were clothes for her friend to wear when she woke up and pretty much disappeared from view.

***
The heir to the throne of Corinth staggered a bit on his feet before grabbing a post of the--surprisingly--intact bed.

Ares threw his hands up. "You've got to be kidding me, right? You like Xena, too? I could have sworn you were gone on Gabrielle!"

Ceren staggered again and quite suddenly fell to the floor.

The former God of War stared at him. "A simple yes or no would have sufficed. You don't have to be all dramatic." He rolled his eyes and leaned down to slap his cheeks lightly. "Come on. Wake up. Up you go. Ceren. Ceren, wake up." It was no use. A sudden grin spread over his face and he leant even closer to the young man's ear. "CEREN, GET UP THIS INSTANT!"

Like a shot, Ceren's eyes flew open and he sat up. Then he looked at Ares. "Dad? What are you..." And nearly fell straight back down on the cobblestone floor, except for Ares' saving hand.

"Geez, your head's heavy, kid." Then Ceren's words sunk in. "Dad?"

Swiftly, he got up and stuck his head out the door. A small drop of honey fell on his lips just in time to warn him of the bucket full that was just about to drop. He dodged just in time to miss being covered in honey.

"That was close."

A bucket of feathers fluttered down.

Ares resisted the urge to yell a rather colorful phrase. Instead, he yelled for the nearest councillor. The man who had walked in their room before sped over to him.

"Yes, Lord Sera?"

He had to think of something else as he noticed the syrup on the man. "Where is Lady..." Wait. What was her name again? "My wife. Where is my wife?"

He checked his clipboard. "Lady Alexis helped a young woman in to a guest room not to far from here. Would you like me to take you there?"

Ares glanced behind him at the slumbering young man. "No... No, just point me in the right direction."

*****

Someone knocked at the door and Xena stepped out of the closet, puzzled. She threw the dresses down on a spare chair and yanked the door open, "I didn't order--" she saw Ares carrying Ceren, "--Oh."

Ares' eyebrows rose. "A little help here? He's not exactly you, my dear."

Xena opened the door wider and let him in. "How did you find--never mind. Just put him in the..." a grin came over her face. "Put him in the bed with Gabrielle."

He turned back to look at her questioningly. "Ah, Xena? Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm just fine. Gabrielle and Ceren are the ones in for the surprise."

As he put Ceren on the bed, Ares couldn't help but laugh. When Xena got an idea, it was best to just flow with it. "Gabrielle teased you about the whole... syrup thing, huh?"

Xena glared at him. "Yes. Why? Did Ceren say something--"

"--no. Actually, yes. He said "dad"--referring to me. What's that all about?"

She glanced back towards the bed that now held the two escapees. "We'll find out when they wake up. Until then... let's make it an awakening they'll never forget."

He plucked a feather from his chest. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gabrielle woke up feeling as though she'd slept for days.

"Mmm. Soft palace bed, not having to wake with the birds . . . I could get used to this!" She yawned, stretching out and accidentally bumping the figure next to her. "Oops, sorry Xena!"

It occurred to her that she couldn't remember the last time Xena had slept in after her. Probably the only time Xena had ever needed her sleep, was when she'd been . . .

Gabrielle froze. A vivid picture came into her mind - Xena on Ares' lap, her lips on his, their bodies intertwined . . .

They'd looked pretty comfortable. Considering the explosion and all.

"Oh no!" Gabrielle howled. "You're pregnant with Ares' baby, aren't you!"

She jumped up out of bed, pausing for a moment to wonder why she'd slept completely naked, but too caught up in her thoughts to worry.

"Xena, you could have told me, you know! I am your best friend, and . . . all right, I was aware that you had certain feelings, you did admit you felt something, after all, but that was twenty-five years ago! And when did this happen, anyhow?"

She paced up and down the room excitedly.

"No, Xena! Don't tell me it was - no way! It wasn't when we were all together at your grandmother's farm, was it? You could have waited, for goodness sake!"

An indistinct murmur broke her train of thought.

"Xena, don't try to offer any kind of excuse. What, you thought I wouldn't understand? Yes, you're getting older, and maybe this is the last chance to see you baby actually grow up, and . . ."

Her eyes misted over and she threw herself on the bed.

"I'll support you, whatever you choose, Xena!"

"Gabrielle?" Ceren finally spoke. "Uh - what are you doing in my room?"

* * * *

Gabrielle screamed and grabbed at the bedsheet, covering herself with a celerity gained from much experience.

"Xena!" She hissed, then looked around hastily. Stepping forward, she drew back the drapes on a large curtained alcove, half-expecting both Xena and Ares to be closeted there, laughing.

Ceren had sat himself up, and was watching Gabrielle with a certain nervousness.

"Gabrielle? Last night seems really dim to me, but . . . we didn't . . ."

"Of course we didn't." Gabrielle replied impatiently, after ensuring neither Xena nor Ares was secreted anywhere about the room. "Let me tell you, if we had you would have no trouble remembering." She crawled under the bed, missing Ceren's dropped jaw. "It's just their sick sense of humour. And it won't end here, oh no. There'll be more and more ways to humiliate me . . . he just eggs her on . . ."

Suddenly the door to their room burst open, and both Ares and Xena ran in.

"Quick! We're being attacked - you have to get out of here!" Xena cried, grabbing Gabrielle from off the floor.

Gabrielle pushed away Xena's arm, and laughed quietly.

"Oh, no. You expect me to fall for the old "pretend the castle's on fire and get Gabrielle to run around naked" trick? I didn't fall for it in Thessaly, and I won't fall for it here."

"Thessaly?" Ceren inquired, then shut up at a look from Ares.

"It's no joke, Gabrielle. The Persians have launched their second wave of attack - we've got to get out of here!"

"Right, right." Gabrielle smiled sweetly. "The place is swarming with Persians? I bet you I don't see a single soldier when I open this window . . ."

"No!!!!" Xena shouted, as a dozen arrows shot through the open window. Gabrielle hit the floor.

"I did tell you that story of the boy who cried wolf, didn't I?" She asked weakly as Xena and Ares shut the window.

"I fell asleep before the end." Xena told her, handing her her clothes.

"Figures." Gabrielle muttered, pushing Ceren and Ares out of the room and slipping into her clothes. "So what's the plan?"

* * * * *

Xena couldn't help but smile a little as she and Ares ran for the roof. It had been funny seeing them together and asleep - but to see them trying to figure out what was going on . . . that was even funnier. And to finish off a practical joke with a good fight - well, it was no wonder she was in a good mood.

"OK, so Gabrielle will create her customary diversion, lead the Persians into a trap, where we'll crush them, right?"

"Uh-huh. Gabrielle's smart, she'll do a good job." Xena replied, crouching down on the roof-top so as not to be seen. "You'll need to lead the archers; be ready for the signal."

Ares watched as the Persians began to storm the castle. It was kind of hard to look for a signal when he didn't know what the signal was. It was even harder when Xena was crouching right next to him, her body pressed against his. All he could hear was the sound of her breath . . .

Suddenly the gates of the Palace were opened, and Ares regained focus.

"What is she doing?"

Xena smirked. "Told you she was smart. All right, get your archers to aim at the inner courtyard . . ."

Clang! The outer doors slammed shut. Ares raised an arm and the archers fired. Then Xena gave out her cry and leapt into the fray.

Ares could never remember afterwards why it had been such a good fight. Confined space, surrounded by huge warriors with really big swords . . . he decided it had to have been Xena. Watching her fight, watching her enjoy the fight, the flips over the startled soldiers, the quick dispatching of the roaring, boasting generals. And winning. That made it a really good fight.

Gabrielle made it back in with her sais and Ceren came in joyfully with his own sword, so that along with the palace guard they made quick work of the soldiers. Soon the Palace dungeons were full, as well as the courtyard floor.

A cry of joy and victory rose up, and Xena held up her sword, looking around proudly. She glanced at Gabrielle and knew she was forgiven; she looked approvingly upon Ceren who had acquitted himself well. She even grinned at Ares.

"You're not a bad fighter, anyone ever tell you that?" She teased.

"Victory to the King and Queen!" The cry arose. Ares heard it and decided not to waste an opportunity. Pulling Xena forward, he kissed her quickly on the mouth. Then his eyes flicked to her own.

They weren't icy, now . . . they were warm and happy. All the noise of cheering faded from Ares' ears . . . all sights and sounds apart from her blue, blue eyes. Their lips met again, not gentle, but hungry. Everyone, everything, disappeared.

Xena let herself be lost, for a moment - only a moment - in the warmth of his kiss, in the strength of his arms. Then she pulled back. An instant remained, when their eyes refused to break gaze. Then she shook her head, muttered something uneasily, and turned back to Gabrielle. She couldn't figure out what the strange pounding in her chest meant.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After the battle, everybody who wasn't wounded or dead washed up and retired for sleep. Normally, they would be having a celebratory banquet, but on such short notice, and the fact that the King and Queen were quite tired, they were changing the tradition for that of a breakfast banquet, instead.

Gabrielle and Ceren had long since retired to their room, but not before requesting a separate bed and stopping at the library--which was surprisingly undamaged from either the battle or the explosion--to pick up some reading material. The Bard had said that she might have problems getting to sleep that evening--and passed it off as jitters from the day's fight, while Xena had the good grace not to mention that she was probably just nervous about staying with Ceren again.

After stopping at the two-soon-to-be-lovebirds room, and pulling aside a councillor about the damage and the wounded, Xena found Ares in their room, studying over some reports of the battle and what the Palace's status seemed to be. She assumed that taxes were included in the set of scrolls, because he was mumbling a few choice phrases that she'd only heard once before--when her mother had been getting the tax money.

Even so, she decided to ask. "Taxes?"

He jumped slightly and refocused his eyes on her. "My gods, I didn't even hear you come in. Still as stealthy as a panther, I see." She didn't reply and he made an effort to answer her earlier question. "Yes. Taxes for the city of Corinth, actually. If I raise them, they'll have a better military--and Hera knows they need it--but that will also put most of them out of jobs or living in shacks--and no, I'm not talking about the farm where I lived."

Xena took a breath and walked to the other side of the room to hunt for the red robe that she believed was in the closet. "We need to talk," her voice was a bit muffled by the thousands of silks, one after another.

It was a bit funny, seeing her clothes on one side of the closet, and Ares' on the other side. In the very back, almost hidden like outcasts, lay their freshly cleaned leathers, and something about that sight made her throat catch.

"What about?" he asked, rising to meet her. Yelling from opposite sides of the room wasn't exactly relaxing.

When she walked back out, the robe was wrapped around her body, a black nightgown underneath, and her hair was up in a sloppy bun. "Ceren is the real heir to Corinth. One of the reasons he called you 'Dad' was because you have an uncanny resemblance to the former King. Didn't you wonder--Ares, are you listening to me?"

"--What? Uh huh, yeah, keep going," he motioned, looking at her as she started to retie her robe.

She gave him a look, but continued. "Didn't you ever wonder why all the statues and pictures and tapestries all looked so much like you?"

"Well, I. yeah, they did get those up kinda fast. Are you sure I have to? I mean, I'm really getting good at this 'King'-thing. Not to mention I have the perfect Queen for it," he mumbled under his breath. Ares realized what she was saying, and looked her directly in the eye. "So what do you suggest we do?" knowing full well that she already had an idea.

Her eyes gleamed. "Tomorrow, at breakfast, give the crown to Ceren. Make some announcement how he is the real king, have him show his medallion, and add a piece about how well he fought today." Ares' brows rose. She rolled her eyes. "We'll leave without a huge ordeal and you'll avoid getting lynched."

He blinked. "That's. that's good." Ares swallowed convulsively, images of being hanged flashing through his mind. He refocused on the present and saw Xena climbing in their bed. "Anything else?"

Xena fell silent. And then-

"Yes. We need to get a divorce."

*****

Creak. Creak. Creeeeeeaaaak.

A sigh. Followed by another sigh. And another.

"Gabrielle."

She was instantly alert. "Yes?"

"Would you be so kind as to stop moving? I can't get any rest with you tossing and turning over there."

Gabrielle was thankful for the darkness so that he couldn't see her blushing. "Ah, sorry. I'll try. I'm just not ready to sleep yet."

The sound of sheets rustling hit her ears, cold air flowed over her legs and she heard the sound of a match being lit before having the nearby area illuminated by a candle.

Ceren smoothed some of the brown curls off his forehead and slid out of bed. He snatched her robe off the nearby chair and brought it over to her, wordlessly. She put it on and stepped down. Only when they were seated by the fireplace that was now roaring and giving off precious warmth, did he speak.

"Looks like either of us aren't getting any sleep tonight. Let's get out those books and see what we can find, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled gently.

For a few minutes, pages turned and all was quiet. Then Gabrielle sighed. As did Ceren. Finally, he stood up and leaned over her chair.

"Gabrielle?" He asked her uncertainly.

"Yes?" She replied, ever so breathless.

"I was thinking... do you want to.... oh, Tartarus!" He dipped his head, leaned down, and kissed her. It took her awhile to get past the shock and then she started to kiss him back. That, of course, was when he realized what he was doing and suddenly stopped. They were both flushed and breathing heavily, and Ceren found that he had to sit down before his legs gave out.

"Wow."

"Um."

Silence fell over them again until Gabrielle giggled. And again. And again. Until finally, she was full-out, hysterically laughing. He watched her for a few minutes before giving in to a few chuckles himself. When they had both composed themselves, he leaned over to her and asked,

"What's so funny?"

One more giggle escaped her before she said, "I have been waiting so long to do that… and we still don't know a god's hair's worth of information about each other. It's insane… but I feel if this was anyone else but you …. I don't think it'd be the same." Her face brightened. "I know how we can fix this! We can play 20 questions!"

He was unable to keep the look off his face. "Uh, we don't really have to, you know, we could do something else, like-"

"Nonsense! This is perfect. I'll go first. Ceren, did you always want to be a King, and why?"

He should have known that when she got an idea in her head, it was usually a good one, and one that she wasn't going to just leave for anything. "I …." He paused, trying to think. "Yes... Yes, I think I always did. For me it's about helping people. There are so many out there that are just crying out for help-I know I can't reach all of them, but it makes me feel better just reaching one or two. There was only one time I didn't want to be a king." His eyes darkened in anger and for a minute, Gabrielle was afraid. She didn't want to be the one who got this seemingly good-natured man angry. "The time my mother told me about my father. I was furious with him. But… it took a while and I got over it. And now, my decision has never wavered."

His hazel eyes cleared. "So, Gabrielle. How did you know that you were meant to be a Bard?"

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ares' jaw nearly unhinged. "What?"

"I want a divorce, Ares."

"I -- I don't understand. Everything was going so well ... it just... did Gabrielle say something to you?" he demanded, his features going cold at the thought.

She shook her head. "No. This is my decision. We'll talk about it in the morning. Let's get some rest."

Ares bit back the retort he wanted to voice, but climbed into bed and made sure to stay as far away from her as possible. "Fine with me."

***
Ares lay on his side for a long while, Xena's words still burning in his mind.

What did I do wrong? he asked himself over and over.

On her side of the bed, Xena lay with her back towards Ares, staring into the blackness of the room. She knew her words had cut Ares deeply. In fact, it had even been hard for her to say them, to hear them coming from her mouth.

Why do I feel like this? she silently asked herself. After all, this is Ares for Zeus' sake!

Back on his side, unbidden tears came to the eyes of the former god of war. Silently they trailed downwards, staining the silken sheets and pillow covers. He did his best to stay still, not wanting to show his hurt in any way. For once, he was thankful for the darkness of the room, concealing him from Xena and her from him.

Xena felt the mattress tremble as Ares shuddered. She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed inwardly, instinctively knowing why Ares had shuddered so. But still, she did not move.

And in that darkened room, Ares' tears lulled him to sleep.

*****

Everyone at breakfast the next morning was in a somber mood. The clatter of plates and knives against them seemed to be the only music playing in everyone's head, not the usual celebratory trumpets and lutes. A knock sounded at the door, and all heads at the table turned to hear the herald announce the last arriving guests.

"Gabrielle, Battling Bard of Poteidaia, and her companion, Ceren, hero of Corinth." The pause in his voice was caused by the fact that they were so late, had arrived together. and because no one really knew what to make of Ceren. Who was he, really? Why was he so important to Corinth? And how did he get with Gabrielle in the first place?

The blonde and her 'companion' hastily made their way to their pre-assigned seats, on either side of the King and Queen. Gabrielle bobbed curtsied to Xena quickly and when she looked up, saw the fierce grin that was threatening to break free. Ceren, following her example, substituting the curtsy for a bow, saw the Ares was also battling back fits of laughter, and so they both sank gratefully into their chairs.

Two servants came and placed napkins on their laps, followed by the whisking away of two rather useless large plates that were replaced by steaming plates of eggs, fluffy pancakes, and sizzling bacon. Gabrielle nearly drooled at the sight and her sleep-clouded green eyes immediately brightened and cleared at the sight of nourishment.

There seemed to be a collective pause and she looked up to see what it was. Ares and Xena were quietly talking, so softly that she couldn't make out the words from her mere two feet away, and unaware of the fact that everyone was waiting. With a start, she realized that they weren't waiting for them to finish talking, they were just waiting to eat. She leaned over to Xena and coughed as softly as she could; it produced the desired results. They didn't jump apart, like they usually did when she caught them together, and Gabrielle wondered if something had happened last night that she wasn't aware of. But they did, eventually, separate, and leaned back in their thrones comfortably. She saw Xena squeeze Ares' hand briefly before directing her eyes out to the crowd.

"People of Corinth! I have come before you today to present to you my successor." Xena rolled her eyes at his theatrics and thought of Mavican.

"The young man your Queen and I have chosen will be a most capable king. Most capable because, in fact, it is his true inheritance." Gasps flew around the room. "That's right, people," his kingly demeanor faded, leaving his true cocky self. "I'm not your king. I never intended to be -- I was just saving a little girl. for the greater good," he choked out.

Unable to hide her grin at this point, Xena rose and put a hand on his arm.

"What my lord is trying to say, is that Ceren, yes, the young man on our left -- same one who walked in late this morning -- will be your king." She smirked and fluidly sat down, grabbing his arm on the way so that he landed in his seat awkwardly.

With a kick under the table from Gabrielle, Ceren stood uncertainly, facing his would-be kingdom. Gabrielle coughed again and mimed something at his chest. He groped around for something on his shirt and gave her a look that plainly said, "what?" During this time, Ares and Xena both had their heads in their hands, because they couldn't bear to see Ceren botch it up even more.

Gabrielle shot him a glare that could have melted Mount Etna, and reached for the Amazon chain around her neck. He finally understood her and pulled his medallion out of the thick shirt. Hand up high, so everyone could see, he spoke. "My father gave this to me. Your former King, Iphicles passed this on."

She started to chant. "Long live the new king! Long live Ceren! The new king of Corinth!" Pretty soon, the rest in attendance took up the chant and the current monarchs gathered strength to lift their heads.

"He's not dead," Ares stated in awe.

Xena grinned. "Gabrielle's his bard. How could he be dead?"

Soon enough, the crowd quieted and turned to look back at the King and Queen. Ares began to remove his crown when he stopped abruptly. "I have another announcement to make." Groans came from everyone.

"We want to eat!" someone shouted and Ares had to smile.

"I know, I know. Just one last thing, and I will no longer be your ruler. However, it has to be said before the crown is given away, otherwise I lose my power to do so." He took a deep breath and flicked a glance at Xena, who was watching him curiously. "Lady Alexis and I ... are..."

Xena thought it was almost humorous that the former Olympian was struggling for words and wondered what he was trying to valiantly to get out. A thousand different thoughts ran through her head and ultimately ended at one. He was going to tell them about the divorce.

Before Ares could get any further, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, silencing his speech. Then, looking in his eyes for the briefest of seconds, tilted her head up so their lips could meet. Ares was, of course, in somewhat of a shocked state, and it took him a second to register what she was doing. For sportsmanship, he kissed her back, and dipped her dramatically before drawing back to look at her eyes - because they always told the truth - and was thrown off by what he found.

She was smiling at him, and the happiness had reached her eyes to such an extent that the gold flecks were nearly swallowed by the brilliant azure in them. She didn't want him to tell. A welcome change of events, to be sure, but why?

He hadn't remembered speaking such, but apparently, he did, because she answered quietly, "I thought I saw Hercules in the crowd ... didn't want him to ruin the surprise." Then she pushed him into his seat, sat on his lap, and handed his crown to Ceren. He spent the rest of his breakfast being fed pieces of pancakes by the Warrior Princess.

It was, in his opinion, the best part of his being a king, yet. How ironic that he wasn't the king anymore.

It wasn't until much later, around when they left the palace, that he realized Hercules was dead, and had been for some time.

*****

The sun shone brightly overhead as Ares took the reins from Xena while she got situated on the bench of the wagon. He looked behind him at the farming supplies and had to smile. Since this whole thing was over and behind them now, they were going back to the farm. Gabrielle was staying with Ceren for a while ... no clue why ... and Xena was going to 'reacquaint him with farm life.'

So, he had everything with him that he'd need to start the farm up again. Except for one thing. "Horace! Where's Horace?!"

Xena looked at him incredulously. "After all that, you still want the dog?"

Ares fell silent, feeling incredibly guilty for not remembering the mutt earlier. "Yes."

"Okay," she swung over the edge of the wagon, "be right back."

He turned and stared at her while she ran back into the castle to get their dog.

*****

"So you're going to the farm, huh?"

Xena reached to grab the dog from Gabrielle's arms. "Yep. He needs to ease back into his mortality." She started to walk away - they'd already had their goodbyes - and threw over her shoulder, "And Gabrielle? Don't show up for at least a month."

While the Bard's mouth hung open, she walked back into the sunlight and over to the wagon where Ares was waiting for her.

He thought back to this morning and the announcement as she got her self situated again. "What made you change your mind?"

She smiled softly. "Remembering how nice it was to wake up in your arms."

The End