Lissia's Xena/Ares Fan Fiction
Leaving Gabrielle
at camp, Xena travels alone for awhile through the darkness of the forest. As she steps over a fallen log, a hand grabs
her leg. She turns, sword in hand and
cuts the hand holding her in place. “You
know you can’t hurt me,” a deep, male voice says. “I’m sure I could find something that
would. By now you should know that I’m
never coming back to you. Leave me
alone, Ares,” she replies, sword at the ready.
“I’m not here to win you back. I
just want to talk to you about what
happened back in Lucia,” Ares says, finally releasing her leg. A twinkling voice adds in, “Hear him out,
Xe.” Xena sneers down at him, “What’s
wrong Ares? Can’t talk to me yourself? Have to have your sister’s help? You’re pathetic.” Ares stands and strides over to her until
he’s standing with his head a little above hers. He leans over to whisper in her ear, “Drop
the attitude Xena and remove your sword from my chest. I just want to talk to you, no manipulations,
just talk, I swear on my honor as a God.”
She steps back a little and sheathes her sword, “Fine. What do you want to talk about? Oh, I know, how about how you pretended to be
my father? Or how you earned my trust,
then betrayed me? No? Well, how about how you framed me for a
murder you committed? Or how you brought
Darphus back from the dead after I killed him?
Is that what you want to talk about?
No? Well, too bad, that’s all we
have to talk about anymore, Ares,” she says, standing defiantly in front of
him. He moves closer to her, stopping
before their noses touch. Their eyes
lock, hers icy blue, his full of anger, “You are impossible, Xena.” With that he disappears, leaving Xena alone.
Xena stands for a minute, running her tongue lightly over her lips, able to taste his breath there, then collapses in a heap of hysteria. “You should have listened to him, Xe. He might have surprised you,” the twinkling voice says as a woman appears in a flash of pink light. Xena looks up and sneers at Aphrodite, “Don’t you Gods have anything better to do? What is this? Harass Xena day?” Aphrodite looks at her indignantly, “Shut it, hun. He has a soft spot for you, I don’t. And I wouldn’t think twice about zapping you with a nice little love spell.” Xena stands up and strides over to her, “You wouldn’t dare.” Aphrodite looks at her in a way that says, ‘You know I would,’ and says, “A good love spell might be just what you need. At least then you’d hear him out. That is, after you got done shoving your tongue down his throat.” Xena collapses onto the tree that Ares had been sitting on, “What do you want?” Aphrodite props herself up on the tree daintily, “I want you to give Ar a chance.” Xena stares at the Goddess unbelievingly, “Why? He doesn’t deserve a snowballs chance in Tartarus as far as I’m concerned.” “Xena, he came to you tonight to talk, that’s all. I think he wanted to explain himself.” Xena sighs and looks at the ground, “Dite, there’s nothing to explain.” When she looks up, Aphrodite is gone. She sighs, “Gods,” then heads back to camp.
When Xena arrives at camp, Gabrielle is cooking a couple of rabbits. She looks up at Xena from her perch by the fire, “Are you alright?” Xena nods aimlessly and heads to her bedroll. Gabrielle looks at her, worried, “Are you hungry?” Xena shakes her head and lies down. Gabrielle looks down at the rabbits helplessly, “Alright. You’ve had a hard day, especially with that fight with Ares.” She sees Xena wince at the mention of the name. “I’ll let you rest,” she says softly.
Xena lies in her bedroll, unable to sleep. Memories are floating through her mind. Most are about the old days when Ares was not only her patron deity, but also her mentor and closest friend. Tears sting her eyes as more recent memories spring to mine, painful ones that prove that there can’t be and never was anything between them, other than power and domination. The tears are flowing freely and silently, when she hears Gabrielle going to bed, muttering to herself, “I hope Xena’s okay,” and “If I ever see that God again...He’ll regret it.” Soon Xena hears her breathing slow and light snores escape her mouth. Xena rolls over, still crying softly. Finally, she gives up on sleeping and takes to brushing Argo. “Hey girl, sorry about earlier. I scared you, didn’t I? Don’t worry, I’ll never do that again. I was mad and confused, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She hears her voice cracking through the tears. She throws her arms around Argo and cries into the horse’s thick mane. Argo twists her head around to nuzzle Xena’s cheek. “If I’m ever going to get over this, I have to talk to him, don’t I?” Argo tosses her head lightly. She strokes Argo’s muzzle and begins to walk through the forest.
The forest is dark and Xena’s still crying a little, which makes it hard for her to see every detail. Finally, she navigates her way to a clearing by a fast moving stream. She rinses her face in the cold water, relishing in the coolness against her tear-stained face. She huffs, looking frustrated, “What am I doing here?” “I believe you were going to talk to Ar,” Aphrodite says, appearing behind her. Xena turns and flops onto the soft soil near the stream, “What’s the point?” Aphrodite sits down beside her and uses a finger to raise Xena’s chin, “The point is, it’s the right thing to do. You need to Xe and you know it.” Xena nods slightly and Aphrodite smiles, “So shall I get him or do you want to do it yourself?” Xena stares at the ground, solemnly, “I’ll handle it myself.” The Goddess nods, “Alright. And Xe, just between you and me, you are a total mess.” With that Aphrodite disappears.
Xena splashes her face with cold water again, then stands up, adopting the sure-footed stance of a warrior. Quietly, almost inaudible, she calls for him, “Ares.” There is a slight edge to her voice that clearly says, ‘I’m not happy and you aren’t forgiven.’ She waits a few seconds and when he doesn’t appear, she says louder, “Ares, I need you.” There is a hint of emotion in her voice. The last time she had used those words was when she was away from her army, injured, and near death. He still doesn’t appear and she can feel tears streaming down her cheeks. She wipes them away fiercely, then shoves her sword into the ground and places her Chakram around the hilt. Kneeling slightly, she says, “Ares, God of War, I, Xena, you once Chosen, do beseech an audience with you...now.” There’s a hint of sarcasm dripping off of every word. “Still Chosen,” Ares says from behind her, “That hasn’t changed, even is everything else has.” Xena stares at him, slightly shocked, then, while collecting her sword and Chakram, asks, “What do you want?” She sees the look of anger in his eyes and before he can leave, she grabs his arm gently. Surprised by her touch, he turns towards her, “Yes?” She looks at him quizzically, “I’m still your Chosen?” She asks. He nods and standing close to her says, “I haven’t found anyone who could even partially replace you in-.” She cuts him off quickly, “Battle.” He sighs, “That too. But what I was going to say was, I haven’t found anyone who could even partially replace you in my life.” She jerks back a few steps, anger and hurt in her eyes, then her hand races across his face in a surge of fury, “How dare you! I came here and asked for your presence so you could tell me whatever it was you were going to say earlier, not so you could try to get me back in your bed.” She storms off, but he grabs her waist, spins her around and grabs her lips with his own. Xena fights against him, then she begins to give in as he pulls away. He looks at her with shock, “Xena, you’re crying.” Her icy eyes, clouded with tears fall on him. Ares prepares to move incase she decides to strike at him again, but he isn’t prepared for what she does do. Her eyes fill with more tears and she collapses to the ground in hysterics. He kneels down beside her and puts an arm around her, gently squeezing her shoulders, “Xena, maybe I missed something, so I’m going to ask you, what’s wrong?” “Ares, what do you think is wrong?” She asks, desperately. “Does this have anything to do with me pretending to be your father?” Ares asks, still confused by her sudden show of emotion. Xena stares at him, obviously unsure of what to say at first, then she breaks down, “Oh, it’s everything, Ar! It’s you not letting me go. It’s me feeling guilty for leaving you. It’s that fight we had earlier today. It’s just everything.” She collapses again, this time against him. He runs a hand through her hair gently, then with a curious expression asks, “Why didn’t you fight back? That could have been an amazing battle.” She looks up at him exasperatedly, “That’s not the point, Ar!” Finally realizing the emotional show she’s putting on, she pulls away from him and dries her eyes. Ares nods, “I think I know the problem. Take my hand, we need to talk.” He holds his hand out to her, while standing up. Xena stands but doesn’t take his hand, “I can’t, Ar. I can’t go with you, not now, not anymore.” He moves closer to her, “Trust me,” he says, letting his lips brush hers. Her eyes fill with shock and nervous anticipation, “Ares, don’t. Don’t make me say no to you,” she says, stepping backwards. “Then don’t say it. I can’t make you,” he says, moving close to her again. She spins around and begins to walk back to camp, where Gabrielle is sleeping. “Alright, Xe. I get it, we’ll stay here. Just come back and finish the conversation,” Ares says. “I am finished, Ares. You’re impossible and I’m done dealing with you. Leave me alone,” Xena says without interrupting her perfect strides. Ares materializes in front of her, “Don’t walk away from me Xena. I’m not done with this conversation,” he says, threateningly. She raises an eyebrow at him and he notices that her eyes are still puffy from the tears. His gaze softens, “Why can’t things go back to the way they were? I miss those days.” Noticing the weakness he’s showing, she touches his arm gently, “I do too. But I can’t be like that anymore. It wasn’t good for me.” He looks at her, slightly confused, “Come with me Xena, just for awhile, I promise.” “Ares,” she starts threateningly. “No, you can’t say no. Your little friend and horse will be fine. You’ll be fine. I promise.” She stares at him, wanting to trust him, “No funny business, Ares,” she warns. “On my honor as a God,” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She glares up at him with puffy, blue eyes. In a flash they disappear into the ether.
After reappearing, Ares releases Xena, who looks around herself, trying to get her bearings, but seeing nothing but darkness, “Where are we?” Candles flare to life with a flick of his wrist, “A place you used to call home,” he says in her ear. Her eyes widen and she glances around, a little excited, “It’s my room.” Ares nods, “Yes, it is your room...in my palace,” he says pointedly. “But why? Why are we here? Why is it here?” Xena asks, running a hand over her dresser. “I told you that this would always be here for you, just as I am,” he answers, watching her closely. She nods slowly, once again feeling guilty over leaving him, “So, why are we here?” He sits on the bed, letting his eyes follow her as she examines her room, “By the Gods, you are beautiful,” he says, quietly. “Ares, you’re avoiding the question,” she says, threateningly, while hiding the blush that’s caressing her face. “Isn’t it obvious,” he says, grabbing her wrist gently as she passes by him, “We could always talk here.” Xena sits beside him on the bed, “Yes we could,” she says, then quietly adds, “Among other things.” Ares raises an eyebrow at her, “That’s for certain,” he says, shooting her an evil grin. Xena looks into his face and sees a fire burning in his eyes. She quickly changes the subject, “Aphrodite told me you have something to tell me,” she prompts. Color grabs his cheeks as he says, “Ah, yes, well, the thing is, well, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just want you back and went about it the only way I knew how.” Realizing how hard this is for him, Xena adopts a playful tone, “You didn’t hurt me. I can take care of myself in a fight against the Big Bad God of War any day.” He stares at her intensely, “That’s not what I’m talking about. I meant I’m sorry about what I did to you, what I put you through. I’m sorry, Xe, I really am. It’s just well, I wanted you back so bad, I thought that once I had you, it wouldn’t matter how I went about it,” he says, playing with her fingers. As Xena stands, he lets her hand slide away from him. Not knowing what to say, she walks to her dresser and thumbs through the jewelry in the top drawer. With her back towards Ares, she removes a necklace and places it around her neck. Unable to fasten it, she motions for Ares to help her, “I missed this,” she says, turning towards him, her eyes slightly moist. Ares fingers the ruby pendent etched in the design of her Chakram, lost in thought. “Do you remember when you gave this to me?” She asks, hoping to catch his eyes with hers. Ares nods, still looking at the pendent, “You were almost dead when you called on me that day. It took you a weak to heal, even with my help.” Xena smiles, “You gave it to me while I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I never understood why, but now it’s a link to our past. A way for us to o your camp. It’s almost dawn and your friend will be missing you.” Xena nods, “You’re right. Thank you, Ar. Thank you for bringing me here, thank you for everything,” she says, kissing his cheek. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close as they disappear into the ether.
Xena arrives just outside of camp. Ares kisses her gently, then disappears saying, “Until next time Xena, until next time.” A twinkle rises in her eyes and she struggles to hide it as she wakes Gabrielle up and starts a fresh fire. “Xena, are you alright?” Gabrielle asks with a yawn. Her back towards Gabrielle, she nods, “I’m fine, Gabrielle, just fine,” she says, fingering the pendent on her chest. She turns to show the girl that she’s alright. Gabrielle’s eyes widen in shock, “Xena! Where did you get that? It’s beautiful! By the Gods, it looks just like your Chakram! It must have cost a fortune! Where did you get it! It’s amazing!” Xena smiles, “Yes it is.” Gabrielle continues to question her through breakfast and until they’re on the road. Xena continues to finger the necklace occasionally and keeps her night time visit with Ares to herself. Xena engages herself in thoughts and memories as they walk down the road. As she begins to feel lonely, a strong, comforting presence seems to be in the air. She inhales deeply and can almost smell him on the wind. Xena gives a secret smile as she and Gabrielle stroll down the road, heading towards their next adventure.
-End
Xena stands for a minute, running her tongue lightly over her lips, able to taste his breath there, then collapses in a heap of hysteria. “You should have listened to him, Xe. He might have surprised you,” the twinkling voice says as a woman appears in a flash of pink light. Xena looks up and sneers at Aphrodite, “Don’t you Gods have anything better to do? What is this? Harass Xena day?” Aphrodite looks at her indignantly, “Shut it, hun. He has a soft spot for you, I don’t. And I wouldn’t think twice about zapping you with a nice little love spell.” Xena stands up and strides over to her, “You wouldn’t dare.” Aphrodite looks at her in a way that says, ‘You know I would,’ and says, “A good love spell might be just what you need. At least then you’d hear him out. That is, after you got done shoving your tongue down his throat.” Xena collapses onto the tree that Ares had been sitting on, “What do you want?” Aphrodite props herself up on the tree daintily, “I want you to give Ar a chance.” Xena stares at the Goddess unbelievingly, “Why? He doesn’t deserve a snowballs chance in Tartarus as far as I’m concerned.” “Xena, he came to you tonight to talk, that’s all. I think he wanted to explain himself.” Xena sighs and looks at the ground, “Dite, there’s nothing to explain.” When she looks up, Aphrodite is gone. She sighs, “Gods,” then heads back to camp.
When Xena arrives at camp, Gabrielle is cooking a couple of rabbits. She looks up at Xena from her perch by the fire, “Are you alright?” Xena nods aimlessly and heads to her bedroll. Gabrielle looks at her, worried, “Are you hungry?” Xena shakes her head and lies down. Gabrielle looks down at the rabbits helplessly, “Alright. You’ve had a hard day, especially with that fight with Ares.” She sees Xena wince at the mention of the name. “I’ll let you rest,” she says softly.
Xena lies in her bedroll, unable to sleep. Memories are floating through her mind. Most are about the old days when Ares was not only her patron deity, but also her mentor and closest friend. Tears sting her eyes as more recent memories spring to mine, painful ones that prove that there can’t be and never was anything between them, other than power and domination. The tears are flowing freely and silently, when she hears Gabrielle going to bed, muttering to herself, “I hope Xena’s okay,” and “If I ever see that God again...He’ll regret it.” Soon Xena hears her breathing slow and light snores escape her mouth. Xena rolls over, still crying softly. Finally, she gives up on sleeping and takes to brushing Argo. “Hey girl, sorry about earlier. I scared you, didn’t I? Don’t worry, I’ll never do that again. I was mad and confused, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She hears her voice cracking through the tears. She throws her arms around Argo and cries into the horse’s thick mane. Argo twists her head around to nuzzle Xena’s cheek. “If I’m ever going to get over this, I have to talk to him, don’t I?” Argo tosses her head lightly. She strokes Argo’s muzzle and begins to walk through the forest.
The forest is dark and Xena’s still crying a little, which makes it hard for her to see every detail. Finally, she navigates her way to a clearing by a fast moving stream. She rinses her face in the cold water, relishing in the coolness against her tear-stained face. She huffs, looking frustrated, “What am I doing here?” “I believe you were going to talk to Ar,” Aphrodite says, appearing behind her. Xena turns and flops onto the soft soil near the stream, “What’s the point?” Aphrodite sits down beside her and uses a finger to raise Xena’s chin, “The point is, it’s the right thing to do. You need to Xe and you know it.” Xena nods slightly and Aphrodite smiles, “So shall I get him or do you want to do it yourself?” Xena stares at the ground, solemnly, “I’ll handle it myself.” The Goddess nods, “Alright. And Xe, just between you and me, you are a total mess.” With that Aphrodite disappears.
Xena splashes her face with cold water again, then stands up, adopting the sure-footed stance of a warrior. Quietly, almost inaudible, she calls for him, “Ares.” There is a slight edge to her voice that clearly says, ‘I’m not happy and you aren’t forgiven.’ She waits a few seconds and when he doesn’t appear, she says louder, “Ares, I need you.” There is a hint of emotion in her voice. The last time she had used those words was when she was away from her army, injured, and near death. He still doesn’t appear and she can feel tears streaming down her cheeks. She wipes them away fiercely, then shoves her sword into the ground and places her Chakram around the hilt. Kneeling slightly, she says, “Ares, God of War, I, Xena, you once Chosen, do beseech an audience with you...now.” There’s a hint of sarcasm dripping off of every word. “Still Chosen,” Ares says from behind her, “That hasn’t changed, even is everything else has.” Xena stares at him, slightly shocked, then, while collecting her sword and Chakram, asks, “What do you want?” She sees the look of anger in his eyes and before he can leave, she grabs his arm gently. Surprised by her touch, he turns towards her, “Yes?” She looks at him quizzically, “I’m still your Chosen?” She asks. He nods and standing close to her says, “I haven’t found anyone who could even partially replace you in-.” She cuts him off quickly, “Battle.” He sighs, “That too. But what I was going to say was, I haven’t found anyone who could even partially replace you in my life.” She jerks back a few steps, anger and hurt in her eyes, then her hand races across his face in a surge of fury, “How dare you! I came here and asked for your presence so you could tell me whatever it was you were going to say earlier, not so you could try to get me back in your bed.” She storms off, but he grabs her waist, spins her around and grabs her lips with his own. Xena fights against him, then she begins to give in as he pulls away. He looks at her with shock, “Xena, you’re crying.” Her icy eyes, clouded with tears fall on him. Ares prepares to move incase she decides to strike at him again, but he isn’t prepared for what she does do. Her eyes fill with more tears and she collapses to the ground in hysterics. He kneels down beside her and puts an arm around her, gently squeezing her shoulders, “Xena, maybe I missed something, so I’m going to ask you, what’s wrong?” “Ares, what do you think is wrong?” She asks, desperately. “Does this have anything to do with me pretending to be your father?” Ares asks, still confused by her sudden show of emotion. Xena stares at him, obviously unsure of what to say at first, then she breaks down, “Oh, it’s everything, Ar! It’s you not letting me go. It’s me feeling guilty for leaving you. It’s that fight we had earlier today. It’s just everything.” She collapses again, this time against him. He runs a hand through her hair gently, then with a curious expression asks, “Why didn’t you fight back? That could have been an amazing battle.” She looks up at him exasperatedly, “That’s not the point, Ar!” Finally realizing the emotional show she’s putting on, she pulls away from him and dries her eyes. Ares nods, “I think I know the problem. Take my hand, we need to talk.” He holds his hand out to her, while standing up. Xena stands but doesn’t take his hand, “I can’t, Ar. I can’t go with you, not now, not anymore.” He moves closer to her, “Trust me,” he says, letting his lips brush hers. Her eyes fill with shock and nervous anticipation, “Ares, don’t. Don’t make me say no to you,” she says, stepping backwards. “Then don’t say it. I can’t make you,” he says, moving close to her again. She spins around and begins to walk back to camp, where Gabrielle is sleeping. “Alright, Xe. I get it, we’ll stay here. Just come back and finish the conversation,” Ares says. “I am finished, Ares. You’re impossible and I’m done dealing with you. Leave me alone,” Xena says without interrupting her perfect strides. Ares materializes in front of her, “Don’t walk away from me Xena. I’m not done with this conversation,” he says, threateningly. She raises an eyebrow at him and he notices that her eyes are still puffy from the tears. His gaze softens, “Why can’t things go back to the way they were? I miss those days.” Noticing the weakness he’s showing, she touches his arm gently, “I do too. But I can’t be like that anymore. It wasn’t good for me.” He looks at her, slightly confused, “Come with me Xena, just for awhile, I promise.” “Ares,” she starts threateningly. “No, you can’t say no. Your little friend and horse will be fine. You’ll be fine. I promise.” She stares at him, wanting to trust him, “No funny business, Ares,” she warns. “On my honor as a God,” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She glares up at him with puffy, blue eyes. In a flash they disappear into the ether.
After reappearing, Ares releases Xena, who looks around herself, trying to get her bearings, but seeing nothing but darkness, “Where are we?” Candles flare to life with a flick of his wrist, “A place you used to call home,” he says in her ear. Her eyes widen and she glances around, a little excited, “It’s my room.” Ares nods, “Yes, it is your room...in my palace,” he says pointedly. “But why? Why are we here? Why is it here?” Xena asks, running a hand over her dresser. “I told you that this would always be here for you, just as I am,” he answers, watching her closely. She nods slowly, once again feeling guilty over leaving him, “So, why are we here?” He sits on the bed, letting his eyes follow her as she examines her room, “By the Gods, you are beautiful,” he says, quietly. “Ares, you’re avoiding the question,” she says, threateningly, while hiding the blush that’s caressing her face. “Isn’t it obvious,” he says, grabbing her wrist gently as she passes by him, “We could always talk here.” Xena sits beside him on the bed, “Yes we could,” she says, then quietly adds, “Among other things.” Ares raises an eyebrow at her, “That’s for certain,” he says, shooting her an evil grin. Xena looks into his face and sees a fire burning in his eyes. She quickly changes the subject, “Aphrodite told me you have something to tell me,” she prompts. Color grabs his cheeks as he says, “Ah, yes, well, the thing is, well, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just want you back and went about it the only way I knew how.” Realizing how hard this is for him, Xena adopts a playful tone, “You didn’t hurt me. I can take care of myself in a fight against the Big Bad God of War any day.” He stares at her intensely, “That’s not what I’m talking about. I meant I’m sorry about what I did to you, what I put you through. I’m sorry, Xe, I really am. It’s just well, I wanted you back so bad, I thought that once I had you, it wouldn’t matter how I went about it,” he says, playing with her fingers. As Xena stands, he lets her hand slide away from him. Not knowing what to say, she walks to her dresser and thumbs through the jewelry in the top drawer. With her back towards Ares, she removes a necklace and places it around her neck. Unable to fasten it, she motions for Ares to help her, “I missed this,” she says, turning towards him, her eyes slightly moist. Ares fingers the ruby pendent etched in the design of her Chakram, lost in thought. “Do you remember when you gave this to me?” She asks, hoping to catch his eyes with hers. Ares nods, still looking at the pendent, “You were almost dead when you called on me that day. It took you a weak to heal, even with my help.” Xena smiles, “You gave it to me while I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I never understood why, but now it’s a link to our past. A way for us to o your camp. It’s almost dawn and your friend will be missing you.” Xena nods, “You’re right. Thank you, Ar. Thank you for bringing me here, thank you for everything,” she says, kissing his cheek. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close as they disappear into the ether.
Xena arrives just outside of camp. Ares kisses her gently, then disappears saying, “Until next time Xena, until next time.” A twinkle rises in her eyes and she struggles to hide it as she wakes Gabrielle up and starts a fresh fire. “Xena, are you alright?” Gabrielle asks with a yawn. Her back towards Gabrielle, she nods, “I’m fine, Gabrielle, just fine,” she says, fingering the pendent on her chest. She turns to show the girl that she’s alright. Gabrielle’s eyes widen in shock, “Xena! Where did you get that? It’s beautiful! By the Gods, it looks just like your Chakram! It must have cost a fortune! Where did you get it! It’s amazing!” Xena smiles, “Yes it is.” Gabrielle continues to question her through breakfast and until they’re on the road. Xena continues to finger the necklace occasionally and keeps her night time visit with Ares to herself. Xena engages herself in thoughts and memories as they walk down the road. As she begins to feel lonely, a strong, comforting presence seems to be in the air. She inhales deeply and can almost smell him on the wind. Xena gives a secret smile as she and Gabrielle stroll down the road, heading towards their next adventure.
-End