Home Part 26
By D.virtue
Diana watched and listened to the priestess as she explained the ritual of the
bath and how it came to be apart of the bonding Ceremony of Xena the
Conqueror. Diana learned that she and Xena were undergoing the same exact
things, and that they were not allowed to see, or speak to one another until
the ceremony. Diana mouth to the Priestess, where am I suppose to sleep.
“ You will sleep in one of the rooms close to here, you will take all of your
meals, either with us, or by yourself.”
“ Can I speak to Gabrielle?”
Diana lipped.
“ No one except us.”
The priestess Niza answered.
“ What about Xena and her Duties?”
Diana lipped, realizing Xena had her Royal duties to attend to.
“She has made it allowable for herself to perform her duties as needed but she
will still be held to the same standards of not speaking to anyone
unnecessarily and taking her meals with either Priestess Kira and her
priestesses, or alone, she will also leave the Royal Chambers temporarily
until after the bonding and then the two of you will return to your Royal
chambers together as bonded mates. The Royal chambers will be decorated to
welcome the two of you back.”
Diana nodded her head in understanding, as she was being bathe by the
priestess, after the bathing Diana was asked to lay upon one of the alters of
Aphrodite, for her ritual oiling, but Diana refused at first, until Niza
informed her that if she did not go through the ritual oiling the bonding
would be called off until she agreed.
Diana crossed her arms, and thought about what she was being asked to do, she
was still very angry with Aphrodite for being bedded by Xena, and she didn’t
want Aphrodite thinking she had forgiven her for it, at least not yet, she
would have to earn her forgiveness.
“ You know Lady Diana, The Goddess Aphrodite was instrumental in helping Lord
Xena Defeat Regent Sahi?”
Priestess Niza informed Diana.
“ What do you mean?”
Diana lipped.
“ She told Our Lord that Ares had given Sahi skills to almost equal Xena’s and
had planned on using it as a surprise upon Our Lord, by Aphrodite alerting
Lord Xena, it took the surprise element away from Sahi and Ares, and therefore
Lord Xena was even more prepared to beat Sahi, and Ares.”
“ Really?”
Diana lipped once again.
“ Yes, and she told Lord Xena it was her way of asking for her forgiveness
for the pain she caused between the two of you.”
Diana thought about what she had just been told and after a moment she laid
down on the alter and her ritual oiling was started. Priestess Niza continued
to explain everything to Diana, as they oiled her.
“ You will undergo the ritual bathing and oiling daily and after, you will be
dressed in a white silk tunic and sent to meditate for the next eight
candlemarks. Then you will take your one meal , which ever way you would like.
Then you will be taken to your chambers to rest for the remainder of the day”
“ What am I suppose to meditate on?”
Diana lipped to the head priestess whom had been explaining things to her.
“ You will meditate on your life and forgiveness.”
“ My Life?!”
Diana lipped.
“ Yes, to have your bonding blessed you must clear your heart of any and all
negative thoughts.”
“ I don’t know?”
Diana lipped.
That’s why you must go through it.”
Diana inhaled slowly . Then she laid and thought about the ritual and then
wondered what the meaning was to Xena, she knew why the Amazons did it, but
she wondered why Xena made it one of her laws, Xena had always claimed to not
be an Amazon, although the Amazons always claimed she had to be. Diana filed
away the thought to ask Xena later.
After Diana’s oiling she was taken to the meditation chamber of the temple
where she was left alone to meditate, the room was simply decorated with only
a fireplace for the cold days, which was not lit at the moment due to the
season, also a table with parchment and quills on it with the ink needed to
write, there was also fresh water on the table and a strange looking jewel on
a pallet with one of the parchments next to it..
Diana assumed that was where she was suppose to do most of her meditation.
Diana walked over to the pallet and went to her knees and rested back on her
heels, she then ran her fingers over the strange looking jewel and then picked
it up off of the pallet and held it in her hands and examined it.
While Diana was examing the jewel she suddenly saw herself back on Rah’s
planet as a child. She tried to drop the jewel but was unable to, she sat
watching her life play out all over again, starting at the point where she
first could understand what was going on.
“ Princess Diana, it is time for your morning weapons training.”
“ Do I have too?”
“ Yes, King Rah was adamate that you attend all of your trainings, and if you
gave us any trouble we were to inform him, and he would deal with you
himself.”
“ Fine!”
“ Ow! that hurt!”
“ It’s suppose to hurt Princess, it gives you the incentive to protect
yourself.”
“ I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“ You have no choice Princess.”
“ I do, here!”
“ Your lucky Sraz was able to react to you throwing the sword. Now go and get
it.
“ No!”
“ Fine Princess have it your way, inform the king.”
“ Well, my little princess is giving the trainers trouble huh? Well perhaps I
can help?”
“ I don’t want to do this your Majesty.”
“ Well, you will.”
“ ow! ow! ow! ow! Please?!”
“ Will you do as your suppose to ?”
“ Yes.”
“ Ok, proceed with your training.”
“ Good block, your a natural with the sword Princess Diana.”
Consort Diana watched with tears running down her face as she saw the first
punishment that was ever rendered on her as a young girl, by Rah, the whip was
his favorite tool he use to punish her, she was lucky she didn’t scar
otherwise she would have had a body full of scars, from the number of whip
whippings she use to receive by Rah.
“ Princess Diana, King Rah would like you to join him for dinner.”
“ Do I have too?”
“ I think it would be prudent if you do not wish to be punished for ignoring a
request from the king.”
“ Ok, fine I guess I don’t really have a choice about anything?”
“ Ah, my princess, welcome, sit by me, you look beautiful as always, I had the
chefs make all of your favorites, isn’t that nice?”
“ Yes, thank you...but I’m really not hungry.”
“ well, that’s ok, maybe once you see what there is to eat you may change your
mind, either way you can keep me company.”
“ Yes your Majesty.”
“ sooo...is your trainings and education going well?”
“ Fine.”
“You don’t seem to have a lot to say to me?”
“ No.”
“ Why?”
“ because I hate being here, I hate all of the training and all of the
multitude of things you have me training in, on top of all of the theories,
and histories of other places I will probably never see.”
“ It’s for your own good, you’ll see when your older why it was so important.”
“ I don’t want to see, I just want to be a normal girl, with friends, you keep
me isolated from all the other kids, and the only friends I do have are your
servants, but their really not my friends, I know if I were to tell them
something in confidence they would tell you or one of your guards, who would
tell you.”
“ What would you not want me to know?”
“ How much I hate you.”
Once again Consort Diana saw herself being whipped by Rah, only this time she
had to be carried to the Doctor’s medical quarters, where she laid unconscious
for a day, and then awoke to the acute pain, and fear she felt within her
soul., Diana the consort was visibly shaking and crying as many different
images of all of her whip whippings were played out in her mind because of the
jewel.
Diana screamed as the images became overwhelming. The first sound she had made
since Xena’s proposal to her. Diana’s scream was heard throughout the palace,
and the areas outside the palace.
Xena’s body tensed as she knew what was going on with Diana, she knew because
she had gone through the purification before on Amazon land, when she was hurt
badly and was taken to the Amazons to be healed, they made her swear to go
through it or they would not be able to help her with her wounds and would be
sent away.
She saw all of the pain and suffering she had gone through after her brother
was killed and how she followed Ares to appease her vengeful heart, all of it
was emotionally painful for Xena verses Diana’s physical pain.
Although they both had both. Xena’s heart clenched at the thought of what
Diana was going through, and yet she wondered if the next day whether Diana
would endure it again, all for the sake of bonding with her, for the first
time since Diana excepted Xena’s proposal, Xena had doubts.
“ Would Diana endure all of the painful times in her life that hurt her and
made her feel angry enough to want to kill, would Diana go through all of it
....for her?”
Xena thought about all of it, and meditated on it for the rest of the allotted
time. Meanwhile Diana had passed out and was taken out of the meditation
chamber only after the time for meditation had ended.
The next day Diana awoke feeling drained and confused. The Priestess Niza was
waiting for her to awake so as to take her for her ritual bath and oiling and
meal and meditation once again.
“ Do you wish to continue the Ritual Lady Diana?”
Diana focused her eyes and then looking horrified at Niza, she shook her head
and pulled the covers up to her chest and held them tightly trembling, at what
happened yesterday, and what would be awaiting her today, and if she continued
all the other days.
“ So you wish to call off your bonding ritual? Therefore your bonding with
Lord Xena?”
Diana’s eyes went wide, at the thought of the bonding being called off because
of her fear. Diana then relaxed her body and shaking her head once again she
tried to speak , but still was unable to , she thought it had changed since
she heard herself scream yesterday, then she realized it was more of a reflex
than a conscious thing.
Diana was once again taken to the ritual bath and once again bathe and oiled
and then took her meal with the priestess’s, and then was taken to the
meditation chamber once again.
Diana hesitated going into the chamber for a moment, and then after taking in
a few calming breaths she walked inside and was once again left alone. Diana
saw the room was exactly the same including two of the parchments from the
table was lying next to the jewel on the pallet, Diana walked over to the
pallet and picked up one the parchments and read, what was written...and to
her surprise it was her own handwriting.
“ I know in my heart that what Rah did to me as a child was wrong, but even
though at this time when I first felt the lay of the whip upon my back, I
found I was learning how to survive in a culture that was made up of aliens of
human form, and by doing so I became stronger within myself. I can however for
the love of Xena forgive Rah for the pain he inflicted on me at that time of
my life.”
Diana sat down on the pallet the same way she had done the day before and just
absorbed all of the information she had just read.Then after a bit she picked
up the other parchment and found it blank, she examined it and then realized
that what happened in her next vision would be written, with her thoughts and
feeling about it.
Diana laid the parchment down and hesitantly she picked up the jewel and once
again the images of her life’s pain came into view.
“ Princess Diana, you will soon become Queen Diana in the next few days.”
“ What do you mean Queen? to who?”
“ King Rah of course, he has been grooming you for the day you would take your
place by his side as his Queen.”
“ I’m not going to become his Queen, he’s my father! How sick is he to think
something like that?”
“ He’s not your father. What?! What are you talking about? I’ve been here
since I was a baby, how could he not be my father?”
‘ He’s not. But I maybe shouldn’t have told you that.”
“ Well since you have, tell me the rest.”
“ No, I can’t.”
“ Fine. I’m a little tired I think I will turn in for a nap.”
“ Ok but we will pickup where we left off tomorrow.”
“ Ok.”
Diana the Consort remembered the conversation and the following information
she had gotten from her handmaiden, she also remembered what happened while
she was packing.
“ Princess Diana,King Rah would like to see you in his chambers.”
“ Oh, Ok.”
“ Your Majesty you wanted to see me?”
“ Yes, come and sit over here with me, I wish to tell you somethings.”
Diana the consort saw herself hesitate, but then she remembered why she went
to sit on the bed, it was to prevent Rah from getting suspicious, she thought
about how, if she knew then what she knew now how she would have let him have
his suspicious and been spared the rape that followed and how her body had
matured and how he became her first Chosen.
Once again Diana the Consort cried sorrowfully at what happened to her that
day, and once again had passed out from the stress of it. The remaining three
days of the ritual played out the same with Diana remembering the pain but yet
forgiving those who had caused them, finally on the last day Diana sat upon
the pallet and taking the jewel in her hand after reading the previous day’s
heart meditation. She closed her eyes waiting for the images to appear, but
this time she was pleasantly surprised, Xena’s image appeared in her mind’s
eyes.
Diana’s heart leaped at the sight of her love, Xena was saying something to
her but she could not hear it, it was strange considering she had heard all of
the other images, why couldn’t she hear the only one she really wanted to
hear.
After a few minutes of watching the image Diana finally realized that Xena was
only moving her lips. Diana focused on Xena’s lips and read what she was
saying.
“ I will see you soon my Love.”
And then the image was gone. Diana’s heart swelled and then she wondered if it
was a breach of the ritual for Xena to have come to her and spoke to her, she
would ask the priestess when she was allowed out, but for the remainder of her
time she sat and wrote her hearts meditation, this time wide awake and aware.
Later that night Diana was taken to her chambers and changed into a different
tunic, this one sapphire in color, it was the same color as Xena’s eyes, she
was then taken to a chamber that was large and had many statues, all
different, each one with one of the Greek Gods adorning different sections.
“ You must choose four to bless yours and Xena’s bonding.”
Diana knitted her brows together in confusion and Priestess Niza smiled and
explained to Diana the purpose behind the choosing of four.
Diana nodded her head in understanding and then she walked slowly by each of
the different alters. Thinking to herself as she did.
“ Ares God Of War, NO. Artemis Goddess of the Amazons...yes., Hera Queen of
the Gods...No., Athena Goddess of Athens...no., Hermes the god of
messagers...no. Hephaestus, Hades, Cupid......Gods of Iron, the underworld,
and love.....no, no, maybe...”
Diana thought as she acknowledged Cupid and what he stood for. But then she
continued and rejected those Gods she did not want .
“ Gaia, the Goddess of the earth and nature.....yes, Zeus, King of the
Gods.....yes, Aphrodite, your the last one, do I want you as one of the Gods
to bless my union with Xena? hmmm.....I am no longer angry at you and I have
forgiven you for the pain, although you did not offer an apology to me, but
because you offered it to Xena, and because of what you stand for......I will
accept you as the fourth.”
After Diana had made her choices she was then taken out of the chamber, and
taken to her room to sleep for the rest of the night so as to be ready for the
ceremony tomorrow. It was going to be a long Day of preparations for everyone,
but especially for Diana and Xena and the maiden of honor and Diana’s ladies
in waiting.
The next day was abuzz with all the last minute preparations, and the arrival
of the Guess, the Dignitaries, The other Royals along with their entourages,
They were shown to the many guest rooms where they would stay for all the
events after the ceremony it’s self.
Breakfast was made for all of the guest, where it was taken to the Royal
dining hall which of course was huge, Xena’s servants were efficient and well
trained, none of the guest had to ask for anything, the servants had learned
well to anticipate the needs of Xena The Conqueror, so with that training they
set their skills to work on all of the guest.
Some guest were taken to the many buildings on the palace grounds to reside
and wait for the ceremony later that evening. The organizer of the event had
made plans for entertainment of the guest seeing how Xena The Conqueror and
her soon to be bonded Consort as well as the rest of the wedding party would
not be joining in any of the activities of the day, not until the ceremony. It
would be the first time they would be seen, and then they would join their
Guest for the reception and entertainment afterward.
Xena’s Advisors and other upper ranked personnel would handle the greetings of
all of the Royal guest and Dignitaries, and to make sure that no problems
arose on this out of all days. Xena Royal Guards were on full alert, although
they were ordered to search All visitors, every guest was assigned two Guards
from Xena’s army.
It was made to look like a benign gesture of adding more protection to the
guest, but it was actually just a way for Xena’s army to prevent any problems,
by subtly keeping their eyes on the guest.
The day went by relatively fast with all the activities, and entertainment
that was offered. The guest had never been to anything as wonderful as what
they were at now, except for some who were there in the beginning when Xena
The Destroyer of Nations first took her place as Xena The Conqueror, that
inaugural ball was just as wonderful as this day had been.
There were Jousting contests, Round Robin contests, The Jesters were
hysterical and the crowd applauded and tossed dinars for the fools. The food
was always available and setup around the different arenas where the
entertaining was taking place.
Some of the guesst preferred the more subdued forms of entertainment, such as,
Poetry readings , Dramatic plays, and or musicals. The day offered something
for all, and it was because of the thoroughness of the preparations that the
guest were constantly complimenting The Conqueror for having such efficient
servants and how they wished they could have the same thoroughness in their
own homes.
“ It’s amazing the sheer number of things there are to do, as well as the
servants and soldiers and food and entertainment are all just amazing, The
Conqueror has the best of everything?”
“ I guess that’s why she IS The Conqueror.”
“ Yes I would have to agree though, the preparations and planning that had to
go into something like this is something we all should strive for, the
Conqueror’s staff demonstrates the absolute epitome of perfection in the
running of her Royal Household.”
“ Yes it is a spectacle, to be sure.”
The Advisors moved among the guest listening to many compliments, and praises
for the Ruler. As the time drew nearer to the time of the ceremony the
conversations changed to that of wondering what the two would wear and how did
The Conqueror tell her Consort that she was going to bond with her.
The Guest continue to talk about the two throughout the remainder of the day
until they had to return to their respective chambers to rest and get ready
for the ceremony that was to take place in a few candlemarks.
Meanwhile Diana was still with the priestess but in her temporary chambers,
along with one of the royal clothier, and servants.
They all made sure Diana was being pampered on this day and soon it would
become a daily thing, but for now Diana was bathe and oiled and scented and
massaged and made to rest and she was only allowed to talk to those who were
directly involved with her preparing for the ceremony.
Diana was happy that her voice had come back that morning when she woke up,
feeling well rested and alive, everything was vibrate to her, the colors of
the flowers outside of her chamber windows, the songs song by the birds, and
the air itself was alive with all the smells from the many foods that she knew
was prepared for the guest at the different events.
Diana hummed a song from her time as she begun her day of preparing for her
bonding to the love of her life. The servants as well as Sahi’s servant
Ludmilla who tended to Diana when she was captured were all listening to the
song Diana was humming as they went about their duties.
Finally Diana had finished all of the bathing and things and was now being
dressed. Xena in the meantime had awaken and was in a more subdued mood, she
was thinking about all of the things that would change as a result of her
taking a bonded Consort, not that she was concerned or doubting, just thinking
of the practical changes that would occur.
“ My Lord Your Bath is ready.”
Xena nodded and after a moment she turned from the window and headed to the
bath, where she was bath and oiled and massaged and scented as Diana had been,
Xena rested twice throughout the day and was then bathe after each as was
Diana.
Finally they were both being dressed in their Royal Bonding attire, Xena’s
dress was a Robed type gown, Royal blue in color with gold and multicolored
embroidery encircling the bodice of Xena’s gown, The Gown had large sleeves
that tapered at the elbow, The waist was fitted but then it flowed out, Xena’s
shoes were gold strapped type shoes with the toes and heels covered, they had
silk multicolored threading running through them.
Xena’s jewels were Sapphire earrings, with matching necklace. Her hair was
done in an upswept style that was regal in it’s appearance with strands of
soft waved curls flowing along the sides and back to give it a softer
appearance despite the Regal style.
The Colors that were chosen served to only make Xena who was already
breathtaking in her normal attire now looked absolutely Godly in her beauty,
Those who had dressed The Conqueror now stood in complete awe when she had her
Royal crown placed on her head, It was made of gold and the gold had been
formed to make a layering look, where jewels of multiple colors were inserted,
as a trimming along the top of each of the layers of the crown, as well as
along the base that sat on The Conqueror’s head.
“ My....My Lord, you are Wow, there are no words My Lord.”
The Royal clothier tried and failed to find the correct words to describe The
Conqueror’s appearance.
“ Thank you. I am quite pleased with all of your efforts, they have paid off,
and you will be rewarded for your excellence this day.”
“ Thank you My Lord...Thank You.”
Xena tilted her head slightly and then dismissed everyone and her Royal Guards
who would stand as her witnesses arrived in time to escort the Ruler to the
Ceremony. They were dressed in their formal uniforms that made them look as
though they had been made of steel and sharpened to perfection.
Their renown reputation through out the land of being the best was not a boast
they were the best in not only their duties as soldiers in war but also in
their distinction and flexibility in adjusting to any situation, including
this one, they were impeccable.
end of part 26
continue to part 27