Warning Note: Since this is unfinished and going to stay
that way, it's also unbetaed, and barely even proof read by yours truly. Read
on at your own risk.
The following comments were written contemporaneously
with the story and remain for posterity.
Disclaimer: Renpics owns it all. I own nada. Next question?
WARNING: Okay, folks the harsh
reality is I've been increasingly disgusted with both the character Xena
(note: this was originally written shortly after the conclusion of season 5).
She's become a self righteous, all knowing, arrogant, abusive, manipulative,
murderous prig, who apparently can kill anyone at anytime and still do no
wrong, culminating in her most recent murderous rampage against Gabrielle and
the Greek Gods, all in the interests of protecting her dear little
slaughtering, blood-drinking brat. Now, bearing in mind what I've just
written, if you just love Xena, think she's the greatest and truly can do no
wrong, please, for all our sakes, just go read a different story. Really. Xena
is not the hero here. I'm not writing this to piss you off or start an
argument. I'm writing it for my own cathartic reasons and it will just make
your blood pressure rise. Then you'll get mad and write me nasty things, and
make my blood pressure rise. And no fun will be had. So, really, I mean it, IF
THIS IS GOING TO BUG YOU, DON'T READ IT. And if you do read it, don't
blame me if you get pissed off. I warned you.
DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN Part
3
by Blaze
Aphrodite stood in front of Gabrielle, her expression undoubtedly unusual for
a goddess--uncertain...even scared -- while her dress mode was anything but
normal; quiet and tasteful, the embroidered silk dress draped loosely over her
perfect figure in way that was shockingly demure.
The bard couldn't help it, her eyebrows lifted in shock and she was struck
dumb for a moment.
The goddess looked nervously down at herself. "What, you hate it? I mean
I was trying for something elegant and understated--which, I'll admit isn't
really my strong suit, but I thought it was kinda--"
"It's beautiful," Gabrielle whispered before she could continue.
Aphrodite's babbling ground to an immediate halt. "Beautiful?"
"Beautiful," Gabrielle confirmed without thinking and pushed to her
feet, letting the scroll she'd been writing on fall forgotten to the floor.
She'd spoken the goddess' name as she went over the notes she'd made, not really
intending to call her this soon--she'd meant to take a little more time and get
her own emotions more under control--but call her she had, and now she was
here...and.... Gabrielle felt her heart skip at least a half a dozen beats. And
she was gorgeous...which of course, made sense, since she was the Goddess
of Love. Couldn't have an ugly one of those. Amazing how somehow covering up
more skin had made her all that much more seductive. That was just not fair at
all. It made a person want to remove it piece by piece and discover the body
underneath. An erotic image of being wrapped in the goddess' arms flashed in the
bard's head despite her best efforts and she felt her blood heat in response to
the thought. This was not making her intention to be calm, cool, collected, and
in control any easier.
"Uh...Gabrielle?" the goddess murmured and the bard realized she'd
been lost in her own thoughts and staring for several seconds.
"Sorry," Gabrielle gasped and took a half step backwards. She held
up a hand in a loose gesture. "I just...um...was...lost in thought for a
moment."
Aphrodite nodded, though her eyes were worried. "Okay." She folded
her arms around her body, her stance almost self-defensive. "I was just
wondering...if...." She trailed off without finishing. She swallowed hard
and looked away. This was harder than she'd thought possible. Hercules would
probably enjoy the sight, since he was the one who was always telling her she
needed to more time among mortals and learn from them.
"I want to stay," Gabrielle said softly.
The goddess let out the breath she'd been holding. "Good." She
looked up meeting the bard's gaze. "I'm glad."
Gabrielle clamped down on the part of her heart that clenched in response to
that sweet, worried expression. She had to stick to the plans she'd made. She'd
blindly followed her heart with her first love and learned the better for it. It
wasn't a mistake she planned on making again. "But there need to be a few
ground rules."
Aphrodite's answering, "All right," was hesitant to say the least.
She stood silently awaiting whatever dictates Gabrielle intended to lay down.
Allowing such power to a mortal should have gone against everything she'd ever
been taught, but as uncomfortable as it might be, it never occurred to her to do
otherwise.
Gabrielle had half expected the goddess to argue or even refuse. Maybe a part
of her even hoped. It would give her an excuse to take the easy way out and go
no further. "No spells, arrows, or godly manipulation. Whatever happens,
happens on its own...naturally."
Aphrodite nodded. "I never intended otherwise," she said softly,
not quite succeeding in keeping a tone of defensive hurt out of her voice.
"And Cupid knows better than to interfere."
Gabrielle's shoulders were perfectly straight as she accepted the remarks,
hardening herself to keep from simply ending it there. "No pressure...I'm
not ready to...to push things any farther...right now...." She swallowed
hard. "I'm still not entirely sure what I feel...for her...or for
you...."
Again the goddess nodded, her expression guarded. "I understand
that."
"But...but if this does...happen..." Gabrielle said, not
quite able to describe what she was thinking in more detail. "No
others...no other lovers...I've been through that, and I can't do it
again."
"For either of us," the goddess said gently, and Gabrielle nodded,
then took a deep breath, preparing herself for the demand she felt she needed to
make.
"And no threats against Xena...and if I want to go back, you let
me...and you don't hurt her."
The goddess stiffened, dark blue eyes momentarily flashing fire, giving a
clue as to just how much animus she bore the warrior princess. "I can only
make that promise if she doesn't try to hurt you, or me and mine...if she goes
after anyone I care for, all bets are off." Her voice took on a steely note
Gabrielle wouldn't have thought possible for the Goddess of Love.
The bard paused. "I can't ask you not to protect your family," she
agreed, "but I won't have you harm her," or get yourself killed,
she added mentally, "in my name. If I go back, you stay out of it."
Aphrodite shook her head. "I can't agree to that," she said simply.
Gabrielle felt her frustration rise. Didn't the woman understand what Xena
would do to her if she tried to get in the middle of their relationship? "Dammit,
Aphrodite, this isn't your business."
"I'm a goddess. The affairs of mankind are my business. And I've
made you my business--"
"Do you want to get killed?" Gabrielle demanded in frustration.
"No," Aphrodite said softly, and there was fear in her eyes.
"But I can't walk away...not this time..." She let out a soft grim
laugh. "Once upon a time, the gods were leaders of mankind...we taught and
cared for mortals. Lately we've become uncaring jokes...parodies of
ourselves." Her expression hardened. "Not this time--"
"This is between Xena and I--"
"No, it's not. Not if she hurts you." The goddess folded her arms
across her chest. "I'll agree to any rules you want but that one. I won't
let her hurt you again--"
"She hasn't really--" Gabrielle started to argue, automatically
defending her former lover, but the goddess cut her off sharply.
"She's thrown you off a cliff, cleaved your skull down the center. She's
struck you. She's lied to you...repeatedly. She's snuck off into the bushes with
my brother...and apparently every other man who caught her fancy." She
caught Gabrielle's shoulders in her hands. "What does it take for you to
accept the truth?"
The bard looked away, knowing the truth of the goddess' words, but also
remembering other, better times. "You don't understand," she whispered
tightly, "how kind she could be...or how...how exciting being with her
could be."
Aphrodite exhaled heavily, stiff shoulders deflating as she sighed, "Oh,
I do understand...but, Gabrielle, it's not right for you to be hurt...or
humiliated...or afraid." She stroked Gabrielle's cheek tenderly. "I'll
do anything you want but this...I can't. I'm not going to look for a
confrontation with her, but I'm not going to let her hurt you
again."
Gabrielle was scared. The temptation to accept the goddess' protection was
almost overwhelming, but she'd already been in one relationship with someone
convinced she knew what was best in all circumstances and refused to consider
any other viewpoints. Simply retreating from one relationship like that to
another achieved nothing. "And if I ask to be taken back now?" she
choked after a long beat.
Aphrodite went perfectly still. "Don't," she exhaled, barely
resisting the urge to draw the bard closer.
Unable to bear that pleading gaze, Gabrielle looked away as she husked,
"Answer the question."
The goddess was silent for a long moment, shaking her head slowly as she
struggled with the question. "Don't ask that of me," she whispered at
last.
"I have to know."
Another long moment of silence followed. "I'll take you back. I said I
would, and I will, but Gabrielle, please reconsider--"
"I don't want to go back," the bard broke in before the goddess
could go any farther.
Aphrodite's expression was plainly confused. "I don't understand,"
she exhaled hesitantly.
"I just needed to know," the bard exhaled, then tried to explain
herself. "She never listened to what I said or what I wanted...I needed to
know that you wouldn't treat me that way."
The goddess stared at her wide eyed and sank down into a couch that magically
appeared behind her. "A test," she exhaled, then waved one hand up at
Gabrielle as she ducked her head and shaded her eyes with the other. "Don't
do that again." Her tone made it a plea, not a command, which made the
bard's chest contract with regret.
"I'm sorry...I just...needed to know." Gabrielle couldn't decide
whether to feel cruel or stupid as she repeated her rationale.
A long moment passed before dark blue eyes lifted to meet the bard's sea
green gaze. "I think I understand," the goddess whispered, then
gracefully rose to her feet. She drew close to the young mortal, studying her
carefully. "But I haven't changed my mind...and I won't...."
A muscle pulsed in Gabrielle's jaw.
"But you can set any other rules you want...I won't fight anything that
doesn't ask me to stand by and watch you get hurt." She reached out to tuck
a finger under the bard's cheek when she would have looked away. "All you
have to do is tell me what you want."
Gabrielle swallowed hard, suddenly dry-mouthed, mush-brained, and
rubber-legged. She still had a long list mostly made of comparatively minor
points and suddenly she couldn't remember a one of them. "That's it,"
she whispered after a moment.
"Okay," Aphrodite murmured thoughtfully. She cupped Gabrielle's
narrow shoulder in one hand. "Now, I have a couple of requests."
The bard was silent, her heart hammering in her chest. "All right,"
she said cautiously, not knowing what to expect. Godly rules had a bad habit of
favoring the gods far more than mortals.
"Only the truth...no games... " A dark memory flickered in her
eyes. "I don't like games."
Gabrielle nodded her agreement. "Is that all you want?"
"No...there's one other thing...." She gently petted silky blond
hair back from Gabrielle's brow. "A little trust...I'm not her. If you want
to know something or something's bothering you, talk to me." She stroked a
hand down the length of the bard's upper arm, her touch leaving goosebumps of
awareness in its wake. "You can talk to me about anything."
Gabrielle frowned, momentarily not knowing what to say as it struck her how
long it had been since she'd talked a problem out with a lover. Xena had taken
to simply giving orders -- usually without explanation -- and expecting them to
be followed without question. "I trust you," she admitted, eyes
sliding away. She looked back a short moment later when she felt the goddess'
hand at her waist. Aphrodite rubbed the pad of her thumb against the bare skin
just above the edge of Gabrielle's skirt, drawing a tiny quiver of awareness.
She trailed a hand up Aphrodite's arm, feeling the softness of her silk blouse
overlaying the slender length of her arm. "I do you know...even if it seems
that sometimes I don't...I wouldn't have come with you if I didn't."
"It's all right," Aphrodite soothed. "I guess that makes
sense." She continued just barely stroking the delicate skin at the narrow
curve of Gabrielle's waist.
"I'm glad it does to someone," the bard exhaled, looking tired. She
barely resisted the urge to rest her head against the goddess' shoulder. She
hadn't really slept since their last confrontation, instead pacing, worrying,
and trying to decide what to do. With a decision made, it all caught up with
her.
The goddess smiled gently. "You're tired," she whispered softly.
The hand at Gabrielle's waist exerted the slightest pressure to draw her closer.
Gabrielle found herself trapped in a pair of smoldering blue eyes.
"I-I'm not...ready..." she husked uncertainly, though her body was
reacting to that look.
"Shhh," Aphrodite soothed, still stroking tenderly. "I'm not
asking for anything. I just want to be here with you. Trust me."
"I do," the bard whispered, sounding overwhelmed. "God, help
me, I do." She leaned forward then, resting her cheek against Aphrodite's
shoulder, warmed by the heat of her body. A hand lifted to the back of her head,
petting silky blond hair lightly.
"Why, 'God help me?'" Aphrodite questioned near her ear.
"This scares me," the bard answered before she could call the words
back.
Aphrodite gently stroked the bard's cheek, bringing her head up. "I'd
never hurt you," she promised.
A muscle pulsed in the bard's jaw and she swallowed hard against the threat
of tears. "Once upon a time, I thought Xena would never hurt me."
The goddess' eyes were infinitely sad as she ducked her head to press the
most delicate of kisses on Gabrielle's lips. "Get some sleep." She
urged Gabrielle toward one of the mattresses.
The bard trudged away, turning back when she'd gone only a couple of feet.
"It's not you." She held her hands out in a plaintive gesture.
"It's me."
The goddess shook her head. "No...it's what she did to you...." She
seemed about to say more, but held the words back. Instead, the goddess simply
reminded her, "I'm only a call away." Then she disappeared in a wave
of light, leaving the bard alone with her thoughts.
Uncomfortable, confusing, and often arousing thoughts.
Gabrielle fell into bed, folding her hands together behind her head and
staring upward at the stars she could just glimpse through the leafy bower
overhead. Her thoughts were far away though, with the immortal woman who had
brought her to this place.
Every time she thought she had it all worked out in her head, had the whole
situation figured, planned, and structured in a safe way, the rules changed.
This wasn't simple.
The bard closed her eyes, centering herself as she struggled to understand
her own emotions.
No, not simple at all.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *
Hercules ran a hand through his hair and sighed softly as he watched the
latest in a string of cousins and half siblings disappear in a bright wave of
light. He'd called in nearly every marker he could think of, but after close to
two weeks of hunting for Gabrielle he'd come up against nothing but brick walls
of seeming ignorance. If any of the gods and demi-gods he'd talked to knew
anything, they were hiding it well, and there weren't many left to talk to.
Around him, the Temple of Phobos was dark and forbidding, a low ceilinged
place that invoked fear into the hearts of most mortals. Hercules had no such
problem with his nephew, though even he was careful around the young man. The
God of Fear was not someone even he dared take too lightly. Still, Phobos was
surprisingly honorable, for all of the fact that he was Ares' son, and he'd
answered his uncle's questions, and even checked around a bit.
Unfortunately, it was all for naught. Unless, he was lying, and Hercules
didn't think he was, he hadn't been able to learn anything.
As he strode back into the fading sunlight, the demi-god ran over a mental
list of gods and goddesses who might have had the power to take the bard.
Of the logical choices, only a few had so far eluded contact. And of those,
only his half sister, Aphrodite, was likely to be able to elude the other gods
so thoroughly. Hercules contemplated that possibility seriously, but just
couldn't imagine it. He knew she regarded Gabrielle as a friend, and after what
had happened on Mt. Olympus he couldn't imagine that the Goddess of Love was in
any hurry to get on Xena's bad side; not when she knew the likely end result.
He'd tried to make contact at her temple at Apollodoris, but the priestess had
rebuffed his efforts, quietly explaining that her goddess was in mourning and
not hearing supplicants.
Which made more than a little sense. After all, she'd seen much of her family
cut down, hardly a minor thing, especially for a heart as soft as Aphrodite's.
So why was he still wondering if there was any possibility she was involved?
Maybe it was her friendship with Gabrielle that had him wondering. The demi-god
rubbed his temple thoughtfully as he mused on the problem. If someone had
intended Gabrielle ill, he could easily see his half-sister getting involved if
only to protect the girl. There was also the possibility that after watching
Xena cut down her husband and so many of her siblings, she felt the need to do
something to put a stop to the situation. As he considered what direction to
take next, he debated the problem, trying to imagine his half-sister kidnapping
the bard. It wasn't an image that came easily to mind.
Of course, Cupid was another possibility. He could be afraid for his mother
and trying to do something.
Or he could have had other motives. Hercules' expression darkened. He knew
his nephew's tastes, and the boy did seem to think that bard was more than a
little attractive. No, he shook that thought off. As far as he could tell Cupid
adored Psyche and their son.
But...if either of them had had anything to do with Gabrielle's
disappearance, he was the weaker link, especially since Hercules had already
been rebuffed when he tried to make contact with his sister. He'd never known of
Cupid to give him a cold shoulder, and the boy always kept close track of what
his mother was up to. If something was going on, Cupid would know.
That decided it. He turned in the direction of Aginos. There was a small
Temple to Cupid there. He'd lifted a mug or two of wine with the head priest in
his time, and was confident the man would support him in his desire to call
forth the young god.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *
Gabrielle sniffed, frowning in her sleep as something sweet and tantalizing
teased her nostrils, drawing her up from deep sleep. "Wha'?" the bard
mumbled, blinking muzzily as she slowly pushed up on one hand.
"Breakfast," a cheerful voice greeted her ears. "Or maybe it's
lunch. It's always hard to tell up here."
The bard frowned slightly as her eyes fell on the figure of the Goddess of
Love, once again wearing something that definitely leaned toward the tasteful.
This was almost becoming a trend. "What are you..." she murmured, her
voice lifting in question as she noted the table of food behind the woman.
Aphrodite grinned. "You need to eat," she pointed out practically.
"Don't see why it shouldn't be something tasty."
Considering the angst of their last encounter, this almost merry countenance
was not what the bard expected. "I just...things were a
little...um...strained...the last...time..."
"I know," the goddess sighed as Gabrielle trailed off. She drew
close to where the bard sat, crouching down as she smiled gently. "Which is
why I thought something a little...." Her eyebrows lifted, mouth turning up
in a pixie grin as she considered her next words. "...light hearted might
be in order." She gestured toward the table. "Which is why you'll find
pretty much every fattening food known to mankind over there...and a few that
aren't known to mankind yet too." She winked and her grin broadened a
notch, showing even, white teeth.
Gabrielle's heart lurched a beat in response and she found herself smiling
back at the goddess. "Sounds like light isn't exactly the right term for
anything on that table," she chuckled.
The Goddess of Love laughed and caught her hand, tugging the bard to her
feet. "That's right." She winked again. "And the joy of godly
food is it never goes to your hips."
"Your hips maybe," Gabrielle pointed out wryly, "but mine are
of the mortal variety."
Another laugh and wink. "Don't worry," the goddess turned, eyeing
the bard's scantily clad figure, "I'll keep them safe."
Gabrielle's heart did another little double thump as a mental image of
exactly that flashed in her brain. "Promises, promises," she riposted
before she could think better of it.
"Careful, Little Bard," the goddess drawled, temptation glowing in
her eyes. "I might just make a few promises."
"Food," Gabrielle squeaked nervously as she abruptly stepped around
Aphrodite, consciously focusing on the delights--the edible ones anyway--laid
out before her. "We should eat."
The Goddess of Love laughed very softly, the sound sending awareness rippling
down the mortal's spine. "Right...food," she said agreeably.
Hours later, Gabrielle curled into a cross-legged position on the floor, a
pillow softening the marble, her hands braced behind her as she leaned back,
staring upward, the bower leaves magically parted for the moment to reveal the
night sky. Behind her, the goddess pointed upward, and a bright red line
appeared in the sky, connecting the brightly gleaming stars together.
"And that's Pegasus," she explained. "You have to kind of
squint, but if you think about it, there are the wings and the body." The
red bead of light outlined wings and a horse's body.
Gabrielle smiled as she noted the designs painted in the sky. "So, can
anyone else see this, or just us?" she questioned idly.
"Just us," the goddess assured her.
Gabrielle leaned a little farther back on her hands, still staring upward.
"Have you ever seen the stars up close?" she questioned. "Are
they little bits of fire in the sky...or something else?" It was something
she'd often wondered when she stargazed late at night, wondering what the points
of light were and how far away they gleamed.
"They're not little," she murmured. "They're huge--bigger than
this whole planet-- and they're a very long ways away, burning too brightly for
even a god to get close."
Gabrielle looked back at her. "Really?"
The goddess nodded. "There are even limits to what gods can do, y'know,"
she murmured.
"I'm not used to thinking that way," Gabrielle admitted, turning
back toward the sky as she spoke. Though considering recent events, she supposed
she was going to have to reorder her thinking.
Aphrodite shrugged. "Nothing has absolute power...not even gods. We
didn't put the stars out there. We just know more about them than mortals
do."
"I wonder if the gods have gods?" Gabrielle mused out loud and
flopped over backwards, unintentionally landing with her head in Aphrodite's
lap. For a brief second, both women froze.
"Sometimes I think we need them," the goddess exhaled, her voice
pitched higher than normal.
For a moment, Gabrielle considered pushing back upright. She'd intended to
simply lie back on the floor, but miscalculated the other woman's position in
relation to her own. But sitting up again threatened to draw even more attention
to their position--and it felt good...so good, that accident or not, she was
suddenly in no hurry to leave. Self-consciously aware of every movement, she
stretched an arm upward, pointing at a cluster of twinkling lights. "Tell
me about those," she requested.
Aphrodite was silent for a long beat, gathering her wits about her to
concentrate on the question as she was painfully distracted by the awareness of
the bard's head resting against her coiled legs. She reached down to absently
stroke silky blond hair as she concentrated on pushing down the sharp bolt of
arousal siding through her veins. "That's Cygnus...the swan," she
answered at last, her voice noticeably rougher than normal. She pointed, idly
drawing the shape of the creature for Gabrielle to see as she continued
babbling, only distantly aware of what she was even saying.
As the goddess finished her explanation, Gabrielle rolled her head and eyes
back, peering up at the other woman.
Aphrodite tensed slightly under the undirected squirming, her breathing
growing harsher. "Did you want something?" she questioned after a
beat, her voice ragged.
"Your necklace," Gabrielle murmured thoughtfully as she reached up
to indicate the wooden beads that hung in the hollow of the goddess' throat.
"I just realized that you always wear the same necklace," she mused
aloud. Somehow that seemed out of place for Olympus' reigning clothes horse.
Aphrodite smiled lightly. "And hopefully I always will," she
chuckled. "It's the source of my power," she explained.
Gabrielle frowned. "Like Ares' sword?" she questioned, remembering
how Xena had helped the God of War retrieve the sword and his godhood when it
was stolen. "And Hades' helmet?"
Aphrodite nodded. "Without it...well...it wouldn't be pleasant..."
Gabrielle stared at the necklace as if mesmerized. Something about it drew
her, made her want to know more. "Can I touch it?" she whispered after
a long moment.
The goddess swallowed hard, biting back on her initial reply in an effort to
resist temptation. She caught the hand that started to reach for the simple
arrangement of beads, bringing it to her lips to press the softest of kisses to
Gabrielle's fingertips. "I don't think that would be...wise," she
explained, her tone low and unconsciously sensual.
"Is it dangerous?" the bard questioned, still fascinated by the
jewelry for reasons she didn't understand.
"No," Aphrodite assured her instantly. "It just...it
has...some very...well...it affects mortals...certain ways...." Perhaps for
the first time in her entire existence, the goddess found herself blushing; a
very faint dusting of pink across her cheekbones that only somehow made her more
beautiful in Gabrielle's opinion.
The bard could feel the blood moving in her veins, warming her skin and
reminding her of the heat of the body so close to her own. Her eyes dilated as
she continued to focus on the necklace. "How?" she asked lazily as it
struck her how truly beautiful the woman leaning over her was. It occurred to
her that the sensations suddenly slipping through her veins weren't entirely
normal, but she wasn't sure she cared. It felt good to feel both desire and
desirable for the first time in so long. She stroked the fingers wrapped around
hers, then tried to slip them free to touch the beads hanging in the hollow of
the goddess' throat.
"Ah ah," Aphrodite chastised, catching the bard's hand before she
could reach the beads. "You really don't want to do that." Even as she
stopped the young mortal, she cursed herself for being a fool. It would have
been so easy to take what Gabrielle was so close to offering.
Gabrielle's lips lifted in a sensual smile. "I think I do," she
disagreed cheerfully and stretched her fingers from within the goddess hold,
just barely making contact with the very tip of her index finger. The bard's
breath caught, heat suffusing her nerve endings as a sharp tingle started at the
contact point with the necklace and flared through every cell in her body.
Arousal, thick and fiery, and far more intense than anything she could ever
remembering feeling bolted through her.
The goddess too was suddenly breathing hard, her skin flushed, eyes glazed as
she stared down at the woman lying with her head pillowed in her lap. She wasn't
used to that happening, and it caught her by surprise.
"Kiss me," Gabrielle whispered, tugging her hand free to reach up
and play with silky blond curls.
Blue eyes slid closed and Aphrodite's lips worked soundlessly for a brief
moment before she whispered, "You don't...want me ... to do that."
"Yes I do," Gabrielle disagreed as she trailed her fingers along
the goddess' cheek, stroking velvety skin, amazed at the tingle that slid down
her arm in response to the slight contact. "And I want you to do everything
else too...I want to feel you...I want you to touch me...taste me...while I
taste you--"
"Gabrielle," Aphrodite said sharply in an effort to regain control
of the situation. The bard only offered another lazy grin that set the goddess'
pulse afire. Her voice climbed an octave as she reminded the mortal,
"Remember, you said no godly stuff...well, the necklace--you touching
it--that's godly stuff. That's what's making you feel this way--"
"And what's making you feel this way?" Gabrielle teased as she
twirled her finger through blond curls. Aphrodite caught her hand, but the bard
only laughed softly and reached up with her other hand. The goddess caught that
one as well, pressing them together and downward. "I think you want
me," the mortal decided out loud.
Aphrodite sighed heavily. "Of course I want you." She leaned down
until their lips were only inches apart. "But you set the rules...and
you'll hate me if I break them...."
Gabrielle frowned, the seriousness of the words breaking through the haze of
arousal. She blinked, frowning ever so slightly. She closed her eyes for a long
moment, concentrating on centering herself and pressing down the overwhelming
weight of irresistible desire. "I think I know what you were trying to tell
me about that necklace," she croaked at last.
Full lips lifted in a wry smile. "It's kind of ... potent...for
mortals," the goddess added the last as an afterthought.
Sea green eyes ran over the goddess' flushed features as the bard chuckled
softly. "I hate to break this to you, but you don't look a whole lot
more...in control ... than I feel."
Sculpted brows rose, then the goddess shrugged. Generally, she was immune to
the force of the necklace, long since used to its formidable powers, but this
time she'd definitely been caught in her own trap. She shrugged. "It does
seem to be a little warmer in here."
The bard sighed softly. She was no less aroused, but she was in control of it
again, no longer so overwhelmed by the wicked need to surrender to the lust
burning through her. She tugged her hand free from Aphrodite's firm hold, and
started to reach up, freezing in place when she saw the goddess stiffen and rear
back.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Aphrodite breathed raggedly.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to touch the necklace," the bard
whispered.
"I'm still not sure it's a good idea." Aphrodite blew her bangs out
of her eyes. This whole resisting temptation thing was a lot harder than it
looked. It wasn't exactly her native territory after all.
"Some people might say none of this is a good idea," Gabrielle
husked raggedly. Despite the obvious danger of the maneuver, she trailed a
finger along the other woman's jaw, stroking very lightly, even that tiny touch
making her heart lurch in her chest.
Aphrodite let out a tiny gasp and caught her lower lip between her teeth.
Denial was just not her thing and this game was challenging her meager skills on
that front beyond belief. "Gabrielle," she whimpered.
"Kiss me," the bard breathed so softly the goddess almost didn't
hear her.
"Are you crazy?" Aphrodite's voice cracked as she let out a tiny
bark of laughter. There was no way she was going to be any good at resisting
Gabrielle's obvious charms if they started down that road.
"One kiss...that's all...." Fingertips danced delicately along the
goddess' cheekbone. It was almost like a part of her needed to test their
self-control.
"Gabrielle, resisting temptation is not what I do best."
The bard smiled as it occurred to her that she needed this...maybe even
needed something more. "Just a kiss." She knew it might go farther and
was willing to accept the risk. "Whatever happens after that...it's my
decision."
Her expression tender with affection, Aphrodite stroked a finger along the
bard's cheek, taking pleasure from the softness of her skin. "Are you
sure?"
"I'm sure." She was past being frightened by the intensity of
desire coursing through her veins. Instead, she just wanted to lose herself in
it; glory in the rich sensations, and sweet temptations. It might not be the
wisest course of action, but nothing else seemed likely to assuage the ache
throbbing in her blood.
A smile lifted full lips, and the goddess stroked Gabrielle's cheek again.
"All right," she exhaled. She ducked her head slowly, leaning down
until no more than a couple of scant inches separated them. It wasn't the normal
position for such things, with their heads reversed the way they were, but they
adjusted, lips just barely touching, moving and brushing tiny kisses everywhere.
Gabrielle tasted the goddess' breath and her tiny whimper of arousal and slipped
slender fingers into her hair, drawing her even closer.
Unable to resist the temptation to increase the contact, Aphrodite dusted her
fingers incredibly lightly down Gabrielle's arms, stroking silky flesh, and then
brushing them along the outer curve of her breasts, thrilling to the tiny
shivers of awareness that rattled the young mortal's slender frame. As many
lovers, both mortal and godly, as she'd had, the goddess couldn't remember a
time before when something so simple had left her so thoroughly shaken and
excited; literally aching for more.
Mortal and immortal traded caresses and sweet, sexy kisses until they were
both breathing hard, their skin moist with a thin sheen of sweat, eyes dilated
and unfocused. It was fast moving to a point where neither was going to have the
self-control to pull back from the brink.
Oddly enough, it was the goddess who pulled back first. Determined to abide
by the bard's wishes even when neither of them necessarily wanted to. "Ask
me about a constellation," she gasped when Gabrielle blinked up at her in a
daze of arousal.
Breathing rapidly, her hands trembling, it took Gabrielle a moment to
concentrate past the thick heat making her half mad with need. "By the
gods," she groaned low in her throat. But as she regained her senses, she
realized what the other woman was doing and was grateful for her control.
"That one," she panted, waving in a general skyward direction.
"Tell me about that constellation."
Aphrodite managed a shaky smile, but didn't look away from Gabrielle, still
enchanted despite her intention to break things off. "Hercules," she
whispered without looking upward. "That's the constellation
Hercules...." And then, despite herself, she gave way to temptation,
leaning down to kiss Gabrielle again, losing herself in the softness of her
lips. She was close to losing all control, close to simply laying down with
Gabrielle and learning every inch of her body when she tore her lips away,
gasping as though she'd run for days. "Hercules," she repeated as she
picked up the thread of her earlier remarks, looking upward in an effort to
distract herself and regain some command over herself. "Hercules,"
she repeated in a totally different voice, eyes going wide.
"I heard you," Gabrielle groaned dazedly, wondering if maybe she
should just chuck those damn rules out the window. It had been so long since
anyone had touched her, and the Goddess of Love made her feel so...so very--
"No, I mean--"
"Hello, Aphrodite," a deep voice interrupted the goddess, bringing
Gabrielle's head up sharply until she saw the two men standing a short distance
away. "Gabrielle," Hercules added, his expression and tone both grim,
his eyes blazing. He had a hand clamped on the leather harness Cupid always wore
crossed across his muscular chest, pulling it tight so it yanked his leather
shorts up in the crotch. That had to hurt.
"Sorry, Mom," the Messenger of Love squeaked, looking embarrassed.
"I didn't give him much choice," his uncle growled.
"I'm a really lousy liar," Cupid mumbled unhappily.
Suddenly breaking free of their brief paralysis, the two women sprang apart,
both finding their feet in no more than a second or two.
Hercules eyed the guilty display with quiet fury, his hard gaze falling on
his half sister. "I expect this sort of behavior from Ares," he ground
out, "but not from you." He glanced at Gabrielle, who was trying to
straighten her clothes and regain some measure of dignity. "Kidnapping a
young girl and...and using her this way."
"Now wait one minute--" his sister began, but Gabrielle broke in,
stepping between the two of them.
"She didn't!" the bard insisted. "That's not what's going on
here."
Hercules' gaze fell on the young woman, softening as he took in her slender
frame. "I'm sure you believe that, Gabrielle," he said carefully.
"But she's probably used her powers to make you think--"
"No, she hasn't," the young mortal insisted. "The only thing
she did was help me."
Hercules' expression remained gentle. "I've come here to rescue you,
Gabrielle," he said as though he expected her not to understand. "Xena
asked for my help."
"You don't understand," the bard rasped. "I'm here so she
can't find me."
"Gabrielle," Hercules kept his voice low and soothing, "Xena
loves you. You love her."
"It's over between us," the bard told him, her tone flat.
The demi-god threw an angry gaze at his half sister. "Why?" he
demanded. "Was it part of some plot, or just lust? Was the seduction the
only payback for Xena...or were you going to kill her and give back the body
just to twist the knife."
Aphrodite stiffened, eyes narrowing though she maintained a rein on her
temper. "I would never hurt Gabrielle," she snapped icily. "And I
haven't used any godly powers on her." She didn't count the little
incident with her necklace. She had tried to stop bard from touching it and had
pulled back when things were getting out of hand after all. "Whatever's
happened here has been her choice."
Her brother snorted in disbelief. "You don't actually expect me to
believe that?"
"It's the truth," Gabrielle insisted. "Xena didn't tell you
everything. I had reason to leave."
Aphrodite gently curved a hand to the bard's shoulder, pressing her aside as
she stepped forward to face her brother head on. "Nothing's happened here
beyond what you saw," she informed him crisply. "And that was by
Gabrielle's choice, but if you don't believe me, you talk to her--"
"Alone," he snapped, half expecting her to argue.
She didn't, just nodded. "You ask her why," she advised.
"Why I couldn't stand leaving her the way things were." She swallowed
hard and looked over at the bard. "You ask her whatever you want." She
reached out as if to touch Gabrielle's raised hand, but didn't quite make
contact. "I'll be here when you need me." Then she reached out and
touched Cupid's shoulder to disappear in a wave of light.
Leaving Hercules to wonder at her behavior. When he'd confronted Cupid and
realized the young god knew more than he wanted to let on, he'd been uncertain
what to expect. Finding the two women apparently on the verge of making love
left him fully expecting to find the bard blinkered by one of Aphrodite's
spells. That should have been the only way to draw the young bard into betraying
Xena. And yet, there was something about his sister's attitude that didn't ring
true for that scenario.
The demi-god turned his gaze back to Gabrielle. "Tell me what
happened," he said at last.
So she told him. At first he tried to argue, tried to imply that Aphrodite
had skewed her view of events, but she was cool and confident, simply explaining
the ugly facts to him, until he couldn't do any more than listen.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *
"Sorry, Mom," Cupid apologized for perhaps the hundredth time.
"I tried to refuse...but...well, you know how he can be."
Sitting high on a peak overlooking the broad snowswept plain that played host
to her private sanctuary, the goddess spared her son a look and shrugged.
"Better Hercules than anyone else," she sighed. She rested her chin on
an upthrust knee, her expression morose. "At least there's a chance he'll
listen to her."
Her son looked uncomfortable as a thought occurred to him. "What if he
doesn't?"
Aphrodite's expression hardened. "I won't let him force her to go
back."
"Mom?" Cupid questioned uncertainly and she refocused on his,
features softening.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't hurt him...I just can't let him make her go
back. Not with what I know."
They were both silent for a long moment before Cupid spoke up again. This
time, his lips twisted in a wicked grin. "Looked like you were doing pretty
good in there," he observed merrily, unable to maintain the whole downer 'tude
for long.
Aphrodite flashed him a mildly disapproving look. "I'm your mother."
He grinned. "Hey, that's why I'm happy for you." He gave her a
cheerful thumbs up. "Looked like you were definitely making some major
progress."
Aphrodite sighed softly, uncertain why his teasing her was bothering her this
time when it never had before. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't one of the
simple-minded liaisons of the past. "Cupid," she said at last, and
fixed him with a serious gaze, "could you not talk about it...particularly
like that."
His face fell. "Oh...I...sure..." he muttered, not at all used to
this quiet, reserved version of his mother. "Um...are you okay?" he
asked after a long moment of uncomfortable silence.
She smiled limply. "Just worried. This situation is already so
difficult...." She sighed softly and waved toward her private sanctuary.
"I don't want things to get any worse."
Cupid lifted his wings out of the way and sat on a nearby rock. He had to
work at it, but he managed a serious look. "You really do have it
bad," he observed as he studied her carefully.
She shrugged. Filial relations among immortals weren't like they were between
humans. Living so long meant having to eventually adjust to one's children more
as peers than children. Cupid was her son, but he had also been her closest
confidante, the one person she unquestionably trusted for more years than she
could count. Over time, she'd discussed any number of lovers with him, trusting
his judgement when she didn't trust her own and relying on him to remind her not
to take it so seriously. Only this time she wanted to take it seriously.
"Yeah," she whispered at last.
"Man, Mom, you do know how to make things complicated."
Aphrodite couldn't help but nod. He had a point. "Don't I though?"
Several hours passed before Hercules climbed up onto their overlook, the wind
whipping his hair and clothes while it left theirs alone, though there was no
sign he felt the sort of cold that would have had more mortal figures turning
blue. His expression was serious, but the earlier anger had drained away leaving
something akin to shock in its wake. "Cupid," he said without
preamble. "I need to speak to your mother...alone."
Grinning, the god bounced to his feet. "Hey, I'll just go keep the
bardster company," he said cheerfully.
"You do that," Hercules agreed without ever looking away from his
sister where she sat staring out at the valley below.
Aphrodite raised her head, focusing a sharp look on her son--the same look
she'd used when he knew he was in trouble as a child--and raised a single
finger. "Just remember, don't do anything I would throttle you for,"
she advised him, her tone sweet, though her eyes were stormy. She loved her son,
but she knew the men of her family all too well and it didn't pay not to be
certain about these things.
"Oh...hey...like you said, I'm a married man now."
The goddess smiled. "Uh huh, and the warning stands."
Cupid looked at Hercules defensively. "I wouldn't do anything," he
insisted and then disappeared in a wave of light.
Hercules stepped past where his nephew had stood until he was face to face
with his half-sister. "Is it true?" he asked simply.
Aphrodite looked up, sighing softly as she nodded. "I-I kept an eye on
it.... It's been getting steadily worse."
He growled a curse under his breath. "All right. I'll sit Xena
down...talk to her. Make sure this doesn't happen again--"
Aphrodite interrupted with a bark of dismayed laughter. "She's tried to
kill Gabrielle twice, Herc.... I'm not sending her back to find out if the third
time's the charm!"
"Look, Aphrodite, I know you consider Gabrielle a ... a friend ... but
Xena--"
"What does Gabrielle say?" the goddess demanded in a hard voice.
He looked uncomfortable, but admitted, "She doesn't want to go
back."
Aphrodite pushed to her feet. "Then no one is making her."
"She's Xena's lover," Hercules reminded his sister impatiently.
"But not her property. Or doesn't she have the right to leave if she
wants to?"
"Xena lost her temper...she let Ares influence her--"
"So if I talk you into killing someone, you're somehow less
responsible?" Aphrodite demanded, her tone arch. She wasn't used to being
the one on the moral side of the argument with her brother.
"Of course not, but there were extenuating circumstances.
Gabrielle--"
"You're going to blame her?!" the goddess exploded. "Do
you know that a few minutes after she opened Gabrielle's skull with a chakram,
she put a little tiny nick on Ares' upper arm." She gestured with her hand.
"About so big... She tried to kill her lover, and she barely even scratched
him...and now she's sleeping with him-- she was doing that with Gabrielle
listening in by the way."
"Aphrodite, you're too emotionally involved--" Hercules began
reasonably, but his sister cut him off.
"Damn straight I am." She rested her hands on her hips, glaring at
him. "And you're not taking her anywhere."
He was silent for a long moment. "Xena's been under a lot of
pressure...with her background--"
"No excuse, and you know it." Aphrodite punched a finger into her
brother's broad chest. "Just like you know that if Gabrielle goes back,
Xena will do it again. You can sit her down and talk until you're blue in the
face and it's not going to change a thing. She may say she's sorry and promise
it's the last time, but the moment she's upset, she'll just do it again."
She could see that he wanted to argue, but couldn't. "If she finds out,
she'll kill you both."
"And is it just me, or is that just one more reason why Gabrielle
shouldn't go back?" Aphrodite demanded sharply.
Hercules bit back on an angry reply.
"You accused me of being too emotionally involved, but what are
you?" She shook her head in disbelief. "You can't tell me that if
anyone but Xena was involved you wouldn't be the first telling Gabrielle to get
out."
He spun away sharply, folding his arms across his chest as he glared down at
the temple building far below. The last thing he'd wanted or expected was to be
caught in the middle of this mess. "Do you care for her?" he asked
after a long beat. He knew his sister had a point about Xena, but if she was
doing nothing but using the girl, he couldn't just walk away.
"You know I do," she insisted with heartfelt honesty.
He looked over his shoulder at her, pinning her in place with a hard gaze.
"How much?"
Her eyes slid away and she gnawed on her lower lip. "What do you want me
to say?" she questioned after a long beat.
He shrugged. "Are you willing to die for her? Because that's what it may
come to."
She flinched, knowing he was absolutely right, and didn't answer for a long
moment as she hunted inside herself for the answer. A part of her wanted to hand
the problem over to Hercules. He was the serious one, the hero. She was just a
goddess born for overseeing the good stuff--love, marriage, passion, beauty--
not death and destruction, and certainly not for fighting off a mass murdering
psychopath who could carve her into pieces with little more effort than she
might step on a bug.
But she couldn't hand it off. Couldn't fail the bard a second time. Besides,
if the prophecies were right and she was fated to die at Xena's hands, then at
least this way, she'd know why. "Yes," the goddess whispered at last.
It was Hercules' chance to flinch, a frown drawing a sharp line between his
brows as he stared at her in shock. "You're serious," he said at last.
She folded her arms across her chest, straightening her spine as she faced
him with a kind of gravity he'd seldom seen in her before. "I am," she
confirmed. "I'm not saying I'm not scared." She swallowed hard before
continuing. "She killed the others...with ease...if she comes after me, I'm
dead...." She paused, blinking away hot tears that had gathered at the
corners of her eyes. "But I can't walk away...not this time."
Hercules sighed heavily and massaged his temple. "You picked a hell of a
time to go and grow up," he complained at last, a new respect entering his
voice as he faced his sister. Despite the fact that she was far older than he,
he tended to think of her as his little sister; sweet, naive, and a little
flighty. The woman facing him was none of those things. She was a serious,
mature adult with a quiet sense of purpose in her eyes. She wouldn't be
dissuaded.
"Sorry," Aphrodite apologized wryly. She shrugged. "It just
kinda happened that way."
He nodded in understanding. He'd been there a few times himself. "I'll
do what I can to cover for you," he said after a thoughtful pause.
"But you'd better start planning what you're going to do when she finds
out... because I don't think she'll stop until she finds Gabrielle."
The goddess nodded, accepting his advice with grim resolve.
Instinct told Hercules to keep trying to talk her out of it, but it was
obvious any efforts were doomed to fail. Finally, he just reached out and
stroked her cheek lightly, his expression a little sad. "I'll get Cupid to
take me back."
"Hey, somebody mention my name?" the God of Love appeared almost
instantly, indicating that he'd probably been listening in.
"We need to be going," Hercules said without looking at his nephew.
Cupid looked to his mother who nodded her agreement. "'Kay, Unc. Hold on
tight." He grinned broadly and winked at his mother.
"Be careful," Hercules warned her one last time before they both
disappeared in a wave of moving light.
Aphrodite waited only a moment or two before she too disappeared.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ *
Gabrielle sat beside the small waterfall, chin resting on her drawn up knees,
arms wrapped loosely around her folded legs, her expression pensive as she
watched water appear from nowhere to tumble over invisible rocks to the pond
below. She knew the moment she wasn't alone, the awareness a thick realization
that slid over her skin and permeated every nerve ending.
"What's he going to do?" the bard asked without looking up, her
voice heavy with dread. Hercules' sympathies had been all too clear during their
conversation.
Aphrodite folded into a sitting position that mirrored Gabrielle's next to
the bard, but facing the opposite direction, so they were facing each other.
"He's gone.... I think I made him understand."
Gabrielle still didn't look, just continued watching the water splash into
the pond. "You think?"
Aphrodite shrugged. "He was worried that I'd put some kind of spell on
you, but I think I made him see that I haven't...that you were in real
danger." She sighed softly, watching the bard closely. "He didn't make
you doubt that I haven't...that I haven't put some kind of spell on you, did
he?" she questioned, uncertain how to deal with the distance she suddenly
sensed in the bard.
"No," Gabrielle murmured absently, still apparently fascinated by
the water.
The goddess reached out to stroke the bard's bare shoulder very lightly.
"I haven't, you know," she whispered. "And I wouldn't."
"I know that," Gabrielle allowed without elaborating.
Aphrodite took a deep breath and let it out slowly. With her powers, it would
be easy enough to read and understand the bard's thoughts and feelings, but
she'd sworn not to use them. Which left her with little more than seldom-used
instincts to understand Gabrielle's mood and those weren't serving her very
well. The irony didn't escape the goddess that she had no more idea what to do
than the lowliest mortal. "Have I done something wrong?"
Gabrielle shook her head. "No. You haven't done anything wrong."
She sighed softly, sounding oddly defeated. "You've done everything
right."
"Then what's bothering you?"
Gabrielle sighed again, visibly resistant to answering the question.
"Gabrielle...please." Aphrodite stroked the length of the bard's
upper arm. "Talk to me."
"I don't know what to say," the bard whispered, sounding lost and
afraid.
"Anything you want."
The bard finally turned her head to look at the goddess who had become her
protector. "I can, can't I?" she husked.
"Of course....anything at all," Aphrodite reassured her, then
reached out to stroke her cheek lightly.
"I don't want to go back to her," Gabrielle whispered after a long
beat. "It struck me while I was trying to make Hercules understand. There's
nothing left to draw me back to her...nothing at all." She shook her head
slowly, profoundly saddened by the realization. "It wasn't supposed to be
like this."
"I'm sorry," the goddess sighed softly, her expression sympathetic.
After seeing every kind of pain that loving could inflict, she knew what
Gabrielle was going through and hurt for the young mortal. Even wanting her as
she did, she would have traded her own happiness for the bard's--a realization
which shocked her no less than anything had during the whole situation. Not for
anyone but Cupid had she ever felt this curious willingness for self-sacrifice
before. "I feel like I should say or do something...make it all
better...all the godly powers in the world, and I can't help you."
"You already have," the bard exhaled and reached out to sift her
fingers through the pale blond curls resting on the goddess' shoulder. "I
don't know what would have happened if not for you...." She shook her head
at the memory of her late night flight from Xena's camp. She had no doubt the
warrior would have dragged her back and made her feel like a traitor for daring
to leave. "She would never have let me leave." She silently searched
Aphrodite's face, studying the soft curves and planes. She'd changed in the
years Gabrielle had known her--not the perfect physical beauty, that was the
same– but there was a new seriousness in her eyes, a sense of maturity and
purpose that the bard had never seen before. It was as though she'd finally
grown up.
The bard's eyes dropped to full lips, and she suddenly flushed with arousal
as she remembered the kisses and caresses they'd shared before Hercules'
arrival. Gods, she'd never thought to feel that way for anyone but Xena. Unable
to resist temptation, she stroked the velvety skin of Aphrodite's cheek, feeling
her heartrate slam into overdrive in response to that tiny contact. Desire, hot
and heavy, like molten lead was suddenly moving through her veins.
"Gabrielle." The goddess' voice cracked mid-word and she pulled
back ever so slightly. "I think I should...um...maybe...." She
gestured blindly toward the opposite side of the temple. "Go over there or
something."
"Why?" Gabrielle exhaled, hooking a hand around the back of
Aphrodite's neck, her gaze sliding over perfect features with undisguised
hunger.
Aphrodite was amazed to hear her own voice coming out nervous and stuttery.
"B-because...y-you...you...you don't want. I mean I don't think...I don't
think that's a g-good idea."
Gabrielle stared at the other woman, suddenly desperate to touch and be
touched. She just wanted to wash the past away, and lose herself in this woman.
"I do," she whispered.
Y'know, I really probably should write the lovemaking
scene, but honestly, I sorta lost interest in this one. Having worked out my
anger, I just didn't much care anymore. Funny thing about this one is that I
really hadn't intended to post it anywhere -- ever -- in the interests of my
continued survival, but a couple of friends talked me into it. Still have some
trepidation about the entire idea, but if you feel like howling obscenities,
howl at them. They made me do it.
