PG-13: Heavy allusions to sex, no serious violence.
Fervor
By Briar
Gabrielle had been away for two weeks, visiting her parents and sister. She would be getting back sometime tomorrow. Ares had been planning for weeks what he and Xena would do when she returned. They were going away for a few days, do some traveling, see some sights. There was a distinguished tavern in Corinth, that had delectable food, and entertainment. They often had bards, or singing groups, and others with musical instruments. He thought she'd really enjoy that. Then there was a little village on the coast of the Aegean Sea. He would also like to show her his mountain retreat. It was a huge stone and timber building near the top of one of the Caucasus Mountains. It was a good thing they weren't restricted to foot or horseback travel. It would have taken months to make the trip. He had been discussing some of these things with Xena and Cyrene, and both had been enthused about the opportunity.
When Gabrielle finally arrived, she was all rested up. She was full of stories about her family and her travels. The children were happy to see her, they had missed her a lot. They entertained her with their own stories. Some of them were met with a raised eyebrow, and a questioning look at Xena or Cyrene, whichever was present at the time of the tale. There had been only a few catastrophes while she was gone. They discussed every phase of her journey, and every day she had spent there. When her constant chatter had eased a bit, Xena and Cyrene began to discuss Xena's plans for a long weekend. When she heard about all the sights they planned to see, Gabrielle was just a little envious. She had heard about the tavern in Corinth, some of her fellow bards had performed there.
Several days later, Ares arrived to pick up Xena. She hadn't packed anything more than the bare essentials, comb, brush, etc. because she knew she would have everything else freely available to her. Eve looked wistful as she watched her mother prepare to leave. "Take me too?" she enquired. "ME TOO!" Jeb shouted. He usually mumbled, or spoke softly, so this was an unusual state of affairs. "No need to shout." Xena replied calmly. It was remarkable how mellow her temper had become since the children had entered her life. She had a lot more patience than her mother had ever given her credit for. She explained that she wasn't going for more than three days, and would be back before they knew it. There were still some woebegone expressions as she left. Ares wrapped one arm about her waist, lifted her off her feet, and stepped forward into the aether.
They had first gone to his temple. There, Xena had changed into a simple blood red dress, that reallly set off her dark good looks. With it she wore a perfect strand of black pearls and matching drop earrings. Ares was dressed in his usual black, but in this case it was a black tunic and trousers. His Silver earring and pendant were the only ornamentation. He wore a belt with a knife at his waist, but left the sword at home. After all, they were going to dinner in one of the largest and most important cities in the known world. There were armed guardsmen stationed about the city to stop any sort of bad bahavior or public nuisance.
They had walked the last few hundred feet to the tavern, Ares having transported them to a position that was out of sight of any present onlookers. They entered the tavern, Xena on his arm, looking spectacular. Ares took a quick look around, and spotted a table in the rear corner. They would both be able to see the whole room from their seats. He proceeded to lead Xena to the table, pulled out her chair to seat her, and pushed it back in after she was seated. He was being so proper, that Xena had a hard time in controlling a grin. Ares, God of War, being proper. Just the idea was enough to amuse her. He seated himself, and waited for service. It was soon forthcoming. They were obviously someone important. The owner himself came over and introduced himself, then he listed the specials of the day. They made their selections, and sat there drinking the wine that almost magically appeared at their table. It was a really fine vintage, and Ares recognized it. He had received many bottles of this wine over the years as offerings, and had always enjoyed it immensely.
Their dinner arrived, and was every bit as good as they'd heard. As they ate, they conversed about different subjects, not discussing anything important. Ares just couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was magnificent. Unfortunately two men at a nearby table thought so also. They had begun with furtive glances, but as they drank the wine, the glances became stares. Xena had been aware of them for some time now. It took a while for Ares to interrupt his reverie enough to see their forward stares. He wasn't too happy about it, but knew that Xena wouldn't take too kindly to a public brawl.
They continued their meal, and when they were finished, Ares pulled out her chair, held out his hand to help her rise, and tucking her hand inside his arm he led her to the door. They hadn't yet exited the tavern when they became aware that they were being followed. The two men had also risen to their feet, and were walking toward the exit. Ares quickened his pace slightly. He wanted to get away from the immediate area before he took any action. They quickly strolled down the street, and into a side street. This street wasn't quite so brightly lit as the one they had just left.
They walked to a point where one of the oil lamps had burned out. There they waited in a shadowed alcove until the men in pursuit were within reach. Ares stepped out in front of them and asked. "Was there something in particular you wanted?" "Yeah," one of the men growled "....the woman." "Well, I'm afraid that she might have something to say about that." Ares replied. "I do." Xena stated forcefully. " I have no interest in either one of you fellows, so why don't you just move on peacefully?" "And why should we do that?" the larger of the men asked roughly. "Because you're in for a rude awakening if you don't" she replied with a feral grin. The two men pulled knives, and tried to take Xena prisoner. Dress or no dress, Xena made a flip over the men, and took one from behind. A quick chop of her hand, a swift kick to his legs, and he was writhing on the pavement. She had broken his leg at the knee. She removed his knife from nis hand, and casually tossed it into an alleyway. While Xena was tackling one of the thugs, Ares had been playing with the other one. All he had was his belt knife, which was half the size of the one his assailant had, but his had been forged by Hephaestus himself. He blocked, he parried, he made occasional lazy swipes at the man. By this time the man knew that he was seriously outmatched. Seeing that Xena had dispatched her own assailant, Ares tired of the game. He quickly disarmed the foe, and with one sweeping kick, left him unconscious on the ground. "It's not nice to mess with the God of War." he commented as he linked arms with Xena and strolled off.
They had continued strolling for a while but, to Ares at least, the romance seemed to have gone out of the evening. Ares sighed, and took Xena back to the temple. When they arrived, they retired to his chambers. There he began to pace and mutter. "After all the planning I did to ensure that we have a good time this weekend, all it took was two ruffians to spoil the whole thing." Xena watched him pace for a moment, but when he made that comment, she replied with. "All dressed up, and noplace to go. We might as well get undressed." As she was taking off the necklace she retorted "Oh, I don' t know about spoiled, they say that excitement is the spice of life. It certainly made me feel spiced up!" She gave him a slow grin. He said "Well, why didn't you say so?" He snapped his fingers, and they were unclothed. Then he strode quickly over, grasped her face in two strong hands and kissed her fervently.
The sight of his body in flagrant motion had stirred her imagination. Before he even touched her she could feel his strong muscular body in close contact with her own. Imagination soon became fact, and he swept her up in his arms. He placed her gently upon the huge bearskin rug before the fireplace. He lay upon her for a moment as he kissed her again. She had the strangest sensation. With the bearskin pelt beneath her, and a hairy chest before her, she felt as though she were pressed between two pelts. Her thoughts became less and less cohesive. Her body was soon completely involved. There was music playing in her ears. Wild, tumultuous music, and she let it carry her away. Their passion was finally spent in one last tremendous burst of activity.
They never did go on their trip. They spent the whole weekend there in his chambers. After having spent only a few hours at a time together for the last few months, they had abandoned any other thought but each other. Each did their utmost to make this a memorable experience for the other, and succeeded beyond their wildest expectations.
When they reluctantly returned to Amphipolis, they were greeted by the joyous sound of "Mama...Mama!" from the children. She only told them that she had had a wonderful time. She described the tavern, gave them a complete breakdown on what they had eaten, and even told them about their little adventure. She then went on to say that they had spent the rest of the time quietly. They had decided not to make the grand tour after all. They would go another time. When pressed by Cyrene and Gabrielle after the children were in bed, she only stated "Believe me, I saw the most important sights!" she said with a sly grin. She remembered one particular scene very well indeed. "In fact, I saw all the sights I really needed."
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