The Heart of Egypt
OWNERSHIP DISCLAIMER
The characters of Xena and Gabrielle and others belong in their entirety to Universal/MCA , Renaissance Pictures, and all the other powers that be. No copyright infringement is intended. I wrote this story at the urging of my muse; it should never be used for profit. Please do not copy or cite elsewhere without express permission of the author.
VIOLENCE
Not this time.
LOVE/SEX WARNING/DISCLAIMER:
This story depicts a loving friendship between two consenting adult women. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it. If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to read something other than this story. Further Warning: Intimated kink. Please skip if that's not your thing.
SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 5 EPISODE: "ANTONY & CLEOPATRA"
The Bard prepared to bed down for the night, unrolling her light sleeping fur next to Xena's. At the other side of the fire, a Warrior Princess repeated the time-honored habit of polishing and honing her sword.
Two days hence, they would return to Alexandria -- and to Eve and Cyrene.
Gabrielle sighed in frustration at the events of the past week. The sight of Xena seducing Antony, toying with him, had aroused the Bard's carefully guarded jealousy. Xena had explained seduction as a necessary part of their plan to save Egypt from Roman conquest, but that didn't make it any easier for Gabrielle to watch the woman she loved consorting with a hated enemy.
Then, Gabrielle remembered the blood and pain -- the look on Brutus' face as she slashed his throat to save her own life, the blade in her hands... She closed her eyes and tried to block out the vision.
"Jealousy and murder. Just see how far you've come, Gabrielle." The Bard scourged herself with her own unspoken guilt. She fell back on the sleeping fur with another sigh.
Xena studied the intense struggle on Gabrielle's wonderful face -- a face still cut and bruised from the beating Brutus had inflicted.
The Warrior Princess set down her sword and moved around the fire. She knelt beside her cherished Bard, who lay on her back, gazing up at the fathomless, star-sparked Egyptian sky.
"Gabrielle, do you want to talk about it?" asked the Warrior Princess in her gentlest tone.
The Bard shook her head and covered her eyes with her forearm, but Xena knew she would find tears beneath that feigned toughness.
With great tenderness, the Dark Warrior pried Gabrielle's arm from her face and kissed the salty tears that glistened on the Amazon's cheeks.
Gabrielle tried to turn away, but Xena pinned her and held her, whispering her love.
The Bard let Xena cradle her tightly as she cried away the hurt and guilt for this night.
At last, the crying stopped and Gabrielle gazed up into the eyes of her enigma -- the woman who gave her such pleasure and pain. She managed a sad smile.
"I'm sorry, Xena. It was just a tough few days, and seeing you with Antony like,... well, like you enjoyed it, hurt so much."
Xena felt the stab of her own insensitivity. But she could not lie to Gabrielle tonight.
"I did enjoy it, my love," she explained. "It was necessary for strategy, and I can't deny that he aroused me. But you need to know something..."
"And that would be?"
"No matter what we did, you were always there -- in my mind and in my heart."
Gabrielle accepted this, but pressed her point.
"When I saw how you presented yourself to him... those chains, the ones I secured with my own hands... I wanted to be Marc Antony -- to feel you before me, to fasten you to my heart, and possess you as mine alone."
Gabrielle brought her lips to Xena's wrist. The Warrior Princess groaned.
They lay together for awhile, holding each other in loving silence.
Then, a sly idea crept into Xena's consciousness and she rolled from the sleeping furs.
"Don't go," Gabrielle pleaded.
"I won't be long," Xena responded.
Gabrielle listened as her partner rummaged through one of the packs they filled with Egyptian offerings upon their conquest of Antony and Brutus.
When Xena spoke again, she was standing over Gabrielle. The Bard opened her eyes and gazed up.
Her Warrior towered over her, holding two sets of golden shackles, each joined by a glittering chain. The bonds glowed in the firelight.
Xena cocked an eyebrow suggestively. Forgetting her pain and exhaustion,
Gabrielle smiled and stood to help her soulmate.
Finis