One thing that always bothered me was that if Ares and Xena had the incredible bond, wouldn’t he know when she was burying her armor and vowing to never swing that sword again? Because they’re so ‘bonded,’ remember? Right. So:
Summary: Ares is Xena’s guardian. Has been ever since she was 15 or 16--after Cortez's raid. Instead of becoming a blood lusting warrior under Ares' care, she merely evolves into a warrior under the care of the God of War.
Anyway. We’re just going to set this for a test run and see how everyone likes it. Continuing the story (past the first chapter after she meets Gabrielle, of course) will depend on the response from my readers. (That’s you guys, in case you didn’t know.) Other notes: This is taking place just before “Sins of the Past," like, 5 minutes before the episode goes into Gabrielle’s village. Another thing, Xena is a lot younger than when the show started. She’s only about 4 or 5 years older than Gabrielle, who is about 16 or 17, and Ares isn’t quite as evil as we knew him to be in the beginning; raising a young Xena will do that to you.
At least 10 or 15 reviews for chapter 1.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Xena. Never have, never will. It belongs to universal or somebody else. Not me. Any dialogue that looks remarkably like an episode will let you know if it’s coincidental or not. (Like in this chapter, you might see some similarities between my dialogue and the dialogue from “Sins of the Past," where this one takes place.
Rated: PG-13
The Guardian
Serenity Sea
A dark brunette covered the dirt over the hold she’d dug and smoothed her hand over it reverently.
“And that’s the last of it."
There was a tingling at the back of her neck and she ignored it, making sure her shift was wrapped tightly around her body. Seconds later, she felt the weight of clothing settle on her and she looked down at her body in annoyance.
“Ares." She growled, looking especially accusing at a tree to her left.
A tall, dark-looking man stepped from behind a tree, looking at her disapprovingly. “Xena, Xena, Xena. What am I gonna do with you?"
She rolled her eyes. “Ares. Come on. You promised."
“I did?" He scratched his head, trying to remember.
“Well—sort of," she hedged. “You said I could go at least a day without having to be a warrior."
He nodded. “Okay. So I did. But Xe—you’re not cut out to be anything but a warrior, so do you really think this is necessary?"
The girl named Xena glared at him. “Yes."
“Fine," he said, trying to look unaffected by the thought of her leaving him. “But I guarantee it won’t be easy…"
“I wouldn’t dream of it."
***
(Insert the scene from “Sins of the Past," right where everyone has left except for Gabrielle and Xena.)
“Did you see the man they want me to marry? He’s so dull, boring and… dull."
Xena thought of Ares and wondered if that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Last week he’d gotten so upset that she’d hidden his plans for Thrace that he… well, anyway. “Maybe that’s good. You’ll always know what’s going to happen." Unlike with Ares, when one had no idea what to do.
She changed the subject. “Where are you going?" Gabrielle asked, while trying to look uninterested.
Before she could answer, there was a flash of blue light and Xena groaned. Gabrielle opened her eyes and her jaw dropped open—she didn’t care if she was gaping or not. Xena, who was standing next to her, lifted her hand and tapped Gabrielle’s jaw up. “Calm down. It’s only Ares."
Gabrielle’s eyes bugged out. “You mean Ares, ‘God-of-War,’ Ares?"
She looked at him while he blew on his fingers. “Yeah."
“So. Are you done yet, Xe? I really want to go home and it’s no fun without you."
Xena looked back at Gabrielle and took the steps that showed her choice to go with Ares. She stood next to him and he put his arm possessively around her waist.
“Nice meeting you, Blondie."
And they, with another display of lights, they were gone.
***
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