The Conqueror's
Harvest
Chapter
Six
“Gabrielle!”
Xena lay gasping as the last of her orgasm left her. Her nostrils flared as she
clenched her teeth. What had just happened? How had things changed so drastically?
One minute she was in control of the seduction, and the next she was at the mercy
of it.
Gabrielle watched as the Conqueror ran both hands roughly through her hair.
“Xena?”
The Conqueror flinched and rolled to her side. Her name on this woman's lips had
sounded like ambrosia only hours ago. Now, it hurt. No more was she master, conqueror,
or lord. Now she was simply 'Xena'. Everything she'd ever accomplished over the
years, every war she'd waged, every battle hard won, simply vanished as a small
woman from Poteidaia stripped her bare and dominated her.
Xena pulled herself to her feet, wiping the woman's name from her lips, and stalked
over to the side table.
Her jaw quivered as she tried to still the shaking in her hand. She grasped the
bottom of the goblet, and then the wine came gurgling out of the bottle and onto
the counter.
'Damnitalltohades!' She moved to block her second attempt at pouring the wine
from the somber eyes of the woman still wrapped cozily in her sheets. Xena's eyes
blazed a cobalt blue as she relived what had been taken from her. She was the
master. She was in control. She was the pure essence of power! She ruled an empire,
and she would rule one small bard. One way or another.
Gabrielle pulled her sheets up high as the Conqueror hunched her shoulders and
gripped the sideboard. The sound of dripping reached her ears and the bard watched
as the deep crimson wine puddled at the woman's feet. It was clear that Xena was
very angry.
She, on the other hand, felt wonderful. Seeing the look of ecstasy come over the
Conqueror was an amazing thing to behold. It made her feel alive knowing that
she could elicit such rapture. But there was something more. She had felt a bond
so strong it was palpable. And Gabrielle was determined to experience it again.
Her breath caught as the Conqueror lifted one of the flagons and gulped down three
or four heavy draughts, her green eyes transfixed as the wine trickled down and
stained across the front of the warrior's leathers.
Gabrielle raised herself up on both elbows.
“Why are you so angry, Xe…Lord Xena? I wanted to show you how good we
could be together. I wanted to show you my love."
Xena blew her breath out with a resounding snort at the slave's words, and moved
closer to the bed.
“Your love?”
“Yes, I know everything will be alright if you just let me love you.”
“What do you mean let you love me? What in Hades does that have to do with
anything?”
“Just give me a chance, Xena…”
“I am The Conqueror, and you'd best remember that, slave.” With a sudden
yelp of surprise, Gabrielle found her throat gripped inside one large callused
hand, causing a whimper to escape as pressure was applied.
“You will pay me all the due respect and distinction my title affords me,
wench.”
“Lord Xena, please…”
Bright stars flitted across Gabrielle's eyelids as she was shaken cruelly. Her
teeth rattled and a weak cry was forced from her constricted throat while a rough
hand pinched and kneaded her breasts.
“Your body is mine, slave, to do with as I will. You belong to me, now and
forever. You do not take - I take. When I want and how I want. Is that clear?”
Gabrielle nodded weakly as her buttocks left the sheets momentarily, and then
she was slammed back down, and pushed over onto her belly.
“Your actions fly in the face of the law, slave. I am the law. My position
as ruler in your life is sacrosanct. And since you continue to defy me, I have
no other choice but to punish you accordingly.”
Gabrielle tried to argue and plead as the sheets were wrenched from her body,
and her legs forced open.
“One day, little one, that look of petulant obstinacy will garner you another
summons before my prison's headsman. Perhaps I shall watch with a tinge of sorrow
as that beautiful flash of green is removed from your continence? After all, a
thing of beauty should be both visually and physically appealing. What a disappointment
that would be, to lose such beauty. Now, lie there quietly.”
The bard felt her heart increase its pace, all but thudding against her rib cage,
and prepared herself for the next level of torment she would have to endure.
Why hadn't she just let the woman have her way, acquiesce to every demand, and
simply take the humiliation meted out to her? Couldn't she just for once see the
truth of her dire straits and act accordingly?
Her home life had been much the same way, sadly. Gabrielle had always felt the
need to push a point through, to stand her ground, and even make frequent attempts
at having the last word. Her parents had tried to convince her that her behavior
would not only earn her harsh punishment and endless chores, but would gain her
nothing in the long range scheme of things. Who would marry such a troublesome
girl? What man would find her opinions or thoughts of any relevance other than
those he would give her himself?
She had wept hot, bitter tears as each lash of the whip creased her back, and
had felt nothing but shame that she could not conform to her parent's wishes.
Hadn't Lila netted herself a good husband? And even if the man brutalized her
more often than not, hadn't she fulfilled her duties as daughter and productive
member of society?
Gabrielle wasn't conscious of just when her radical viewpoints on the worth of
all human life came into being, just that it had. His purse, his landholdings,
or his station in society did not dictate the true value of a person.
“Please, milord.”
She yelped in surprise as the first lash of pain trickled across her buttocks.
“I want…”
“Yes, Gabrielle. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you need. I'll see what
I can do about fulfilling your requests. All you need do is completely submit
to me. I am your lord, your master, your…”
“Salvation.”
Xena's head jerked back as if she'd been slapped. A tick began to twitch at the
corner of her left eye, and her hands gripped the handle of the flogger until
her knuckles grew white.
Throwing down the whip, the Conqueror hissed her displeasure, and then proceeded
to rip the balled sheets into strips.
“Roll over, slave. Do it quickly!”
Gabrielle fought with the urge to cry, determined that although her body was unsubstantial
in many respects, her mind and her indomitable spirit would continue to be held
steadfast.
“Yes, Xena.”
“You will not refer to me in that manner!”
She grabbed the blonde's chin and locked eyes.
“Do you understand, slave?”
Silence was her only response. Xena gritted her teeth, and a low rumbled emitted
from the back of her throat.
After lashing each of the young woman's limbs to the corners of the bed, she moved
back over to the sideboard to finish off the rest of the wine.
'How could she continue to defy me? Why does she deny my power over her?' Xena
seethed as she paced, and was somewhat startled as she eyed the bottom of the
empty bottle.
The rage ebbed and flowed as Xena plotted her next move. She played her eyes greedily
over the naked body of the slave, trying to elicit a whimper of fear, or even
a groan of hidden pleasure. It had stirred something in her when the bard responded.
She crossly had to admit that the woman's unforeseen impetuosity had been somewhat
of a thrill as well.
The Conqueror had always taken the dominant role in any of her sexual forays.
She'd felt comfortable and natural in the role of pursuer, and had only suffered
once as the pursued. Her lips thinned as the gentle continence of Zeus's fair-haired
boy wafted across her mind. While it was to be expected that any man's will would
soon crumble before the onslaught of her dangerous beauty and sexual cunning,
Xena felt nothing but contempt at the deep affection the half-god had professed
for her. As she had grown tired of the man, his pursuit increased, causing her
to feel more than a little vexed. She was more at ease with wanting something
denied her, something she had to take, oftentimes with force. She knew exactly
what she wanted and certainly didn't want anyone trying to convince her otherwise.
Finally, in a pique of anger, she had told him that even the lowliest female slave
had brought her more entertainment value than he ever could. His pride finally
damaged to the point of no return, the great Hercules had admitted defeat, taken
his broken heart and left for parts unknown.
It was strange that while she held total sway over the man, relishing each moan
and quiver she could drag out of his hulking body, it had meant nothing to see
him all but destroyed by her casual indifference to his declarations of undying
love. Not a single twinge of guilt had been felt as she coldly observed the man's
shattered remains as she spurned him. He was weak, and she was strong. His will
was ripe for the plucking, and like any battle, she had planned well, her victory
assured.
However, things were different now. She had pursued the young blonde, and been
spurned herself. Then the woman had responded much as Xena had known she would,
creating the false image of total subjugation before once more contravening every
effort she had employed to assure her of its truth. Xena knew the game was afoot,
and even relished the hunt. But on a different level, was totally flummoxed that
her skills as battle technician had been so easily thwarted. Truth be known, she
had anticipated a quick victory. Why hadn't she pushed the issue, and just simply
taken the woman when she was so obviously offering herself? Had the hesitation
been a moment of weakness on her part or that of the blonde's?
Xena pondered those very thoughts as the two servant girls entered the room with
platters of food and drink, and had set about lighting the tall candles and helping
her ease out of her now more than confining damp leathers.
The smaller of the nubile young women began unlacing the Conqueror's dark leathers
as the other one poured wine into an ornate goblet encrusted with jade. The servant
stood silently beside the table, waiting for her cue. As the last of the damp,
dark leathers had been peeled from the warrior, the other servant took her place
beside her taller companion.
Gabrielle wondered about the two women, who were obviously foreign. She suspected
by their physical attributes that the women were of Egyptian blood. Both women
were smallish, probably two finger's width shorter in height than Gabrielle was
herself. Their clothing consisted of a short linen dress, which fell to mid thigh.
Both were quite comely, and the bard briefly entertained thoughts as to whether
the lord had taken one or both to her bed.
A knot formed in her belly as fleeting images entered her mind. Would the Conqueror
strap them down, beat them senseless, take them repeatedly, and then…? While
she could see no outwardly demonstrative affection towards them, neither was there
any barbarity.
She watched as the Conqueror smiled indulgently as her leathers, boots and grieves
were taken away. Gabrielle could see a faint pinkish blotch on the left side of
the woman's shift. Was it her blood or someone elses?
With a simple nod of her head, Xena sent one servant to light the fireplace, and
then strode over to where the other had been preparing food and wine.
Gabrielle strained as she crooked her head forward to see. The small servant girl
trembled as the warrior stroked her back and neck gently. Then with a quick intake
of breath, the woman took a careful sip of the wine, then closed her eyes tightly,
and swallowed.
Xena narrowed her eyes and focused on any telltale signs of poisoning, and then
nodded. She snapped her fingers and the smaller servant appeared by her companion's
side.
The bard frowned as the servant swallowed a few pieces of food, clutched her throat,
and then fell to the ground.
With a shriek, the smaller servant began to pull and cry at her friend before
being dragged off by the Conqueror, who spoke a few strange words, which seemed
to somewhat calm the young woman.
Pushing a chair aside, Xena dropped to her knees, and then quickly went to work
on the dying servant. Gabrielle strained at her confines but could see nothing
of the injured woman.
“Xena? Is she…?”
Gabrielle felt her heart break as a veil of sorrow passed unguardedly across the
Conqueror's face and then was gone.
Lord Xena turned her back to the bed, damning her weakness, as her sorrow became
evident. Gently turning the servant over, Xena peered closely at Ankara's pupils,
and felt for the life pulse just under the servant's jaw. It was weak and shallow;
death was imminent. The Conqueror quickly shoved her fingers deeply into the woman's
throat, and then pushed hard with both hands below the rib cage.
“Ubris, fetch Andros straight away. Now run, girl.” She gave the woman
a smart smack on her bottom, and then turned back to the woman at her feet. Xena
leaned forward and whispered a low incantation over the cooling remains of her
servant.
She was quiet as the contents of the servant's stomach were examined, and then
she carefully sniffed her fingertips. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized the
scent.
'You go too far, Dagnon.'
A murderous red filled her vision as she went through the list of how to best
deal with those responsible. A man such as the inept Lieutenant wasn't able to
function by himself in such manners. Thracis was involved, most assuredly. How
many more were coming under the cancerous influence of an enemy she would have
done well to dispose of years ago? She had mistakenly thought Dagnon might prove
to be useful in dealings with the other warlords. That time had come and gone,
and still she had done nothing.
Xena frowned. She was becoming soft, a condition that could be easily rectified.
'What to do, what to do.' The resulting grin was very predatory.
Gabrielle craned her neck once more as the Conqueror moved out of range, disappearing
into the bathing room. There was a loud pounding on the door and two guards and
a rather barrel chested man hurriedly entered the room.
“Lord Xena!”
Andros carefully averted his eyes from the young woman pinned to the bed. Try
as he might, he couldn't keep the blush from his face as the woman wriggled about,
trying to shield her nakedness.
He cleared his throat.
“My liege?”
Silence.
Gabrielle felt the heat of her embarrassment branding her face and chest, bringing
her nipples to very hard points. Straining at her bonds, she finally settled for
turning her head to the far wall and closing her eyes.
'I'm not here. I'm not here. I'm far away in some camp, helping to brush down
a golden horse.' An eyebrow popped up and she wondered just where that thought
had come from. Then images of her dreams swam before her, and she felt at ease.
In that world, she knew her friend, her partner, her Xena, would always protect
her, love her…
She felt the soft touch of silk float down over her body, and sighed. Yes, the
Xena she knew would always be there to protect her.
The faint smile that graced her lips faltered when she opened her eyes to see
the strange man standing over her.
“Don't worry, little one. I will not harm you.” He continued to spread
the fabric over her body, affording her as much privacy as he could from the curious
eyes of the guards.
“Ah, Andros, there you are.” Xena dropped the towel carelessly, and
approached the Captain. Her teeth ground together silently, the man's obvious
attraction to her slave most evident by his solicitous behavior.
Andros' head jerked up as his elbow was griped.
“My lord, you summoned me?”
“What took you so long? Never mind. Ankara is dead. Food poisoning.”
She snapped her fingers and pointed to one of the guards.
“You. Fetch the cook and his assistant.”
She turned her back, dismissing the man immediately, and all but dragged her Captain
away from the bed.
“Ubris, come here, child.” The small form of the other servant could
be seen just beyond the doorframe, and then the woman quietly entered the room.
“Yes, lord.”
She placed her hand on the small of the Captain's back and pushed him towards
the woman.
“She'll need comforting, Andros. I'll be somewhat detained, so why don't
you just perform that function for me. There's a good man.”
Andros opened his mouth a few times, and then, feeling two penetrating orbs of
blue burning into the back of his neck, nodded once, and then took the servant
girl by the arm.
Gabrielle swallowed with a harsh click as she locked eyes with the young woman.
Ubris tried to smile, but failed miserably as fat tears began to fall from her
almond eyes.
“Show her some charity, won't you, but have her back before dawn. She has
a job to perform, after all. I believe I'll have worked up quite an appetite by
then.”
Gabrielle opened her mouth to say something, anything, about the harsh scene she
was witness to, but found her words choked off as two rather overweight men were
dragged before the Conqueror.
“Sire…please…” The larger of the two cried out in pain as
he was backhanded across the face.
“Silence! The only words I wish to hear from your miserable, worthless mouth,
are those of apology. Not only am I being inconvenienced by the loss of a good
servant girl, but I'm being interrupted from a private matter that requires my
immediate attention.”
Gabrielle felt herself shrinking into the mattress as two sets of piggish, leering
eyes sought her out.
“You swine.”
With a quick poke with her fingers, both men were rendered immobilized, and slowly
began to slump to their knees.
“Lord….Xena…plea…se.”
Xena's lip curled.
“My servant was forced to perform a very painful duty in my care because
you failed in yours. Should your punishment be any less than hers?”
The cook shrank back as Xena extended her fingers once again. White even teeth
filled his vision, but instead of immediate death, he felt the pressure removed
from his neck. The pounding in his head began to ease, and he swallowed painfully.
“Thank you, my…my lord. What has happened?” He coughed a few times,
and then began to fidget, his actions very reminiscent of a cornered ferret. His
foolish attempts at concealing his interest in both the servant and the slave
upon the bed were not unnoticed.
“Tell me…” She blinked slowly at the man.
“Oh! I'm Stephanik, my liege.”
“Yes, of course you are.” She crouched in front of the man, her face
inches from his.
“Tell me what I want to know, little man.”
The cook held his breath, his eyes shifting back and forth from the door, the
guards and Lord Xena. Perhaps if he were to run…they'd protect him. Of course
they would. They'd bide their time until an army could be raised, and…
“And just how far do you suppose you'd get, cook? Feeling brave?”
Thoughts of revenge vanished from his mind as more basic ones took their place.
There would be time enough later for dark plans and darker deeds. Right now surviving
this current ordeal was paramount.
She stood up, kicked the other man over, and then pressed two fingers into his
diaphragm. The assistant coughed once, and then dragged a slow breath of air into
his lungs. He tried to clear his vision, but found himself unable to move his
limbs as the Conqueror applied deeper pressure to the base of his neck.
Xena nodded once as the man gurgled piteously. She scanned the room quickly and
then moved back towards the cowering cook.
“The question of your culpability in this incident is rather moot, you being
in charge of food preparation. It matters not whether you are guilty of adding
the poison to the meal, or stood by as others did the deed, the punishment will
be the same. It's all just a matter of degree, really.”
She slapped the man's face with a sharp stroke as a moan left his lips.
“Oh, come along man. I haven't even gotten around to the punishment. Let's
not jump the fence quite yet.”
Stephanik felt his bowels loosen and prayed fervently that he wouldn't disgrace
himself before this heartless woman. That would surely be his undoing.
Xena smiled smugly as she watched the man squirm. Her ears pricked up as she heard
Gabrielle trying to break free. No doubt the young woman would be attempting to
free both traitors from their certain fate. Her kind always did. A sneer painted
her lips as she blamed the state of chaos that now ruled a good deal of the known
world on such thinking. She snorted derisively, and then turned her mind back
to the task at hand.
“You certainly don't look intelligent enough to engineer this by yourself,
so that means you are working for someone. Which means treason and insurrection.
I don't suffer either easily, Stephanik.”
The cook mewled a few mumbled words the lord took to be some sort of denial. She
found it quite amusing just how brave the common man was when meting out his form
of justice from a distance, and yet just how quickly that emotion changed as they
were held accountable for their actions.
'One must pay the piper at one time or another.' It was a steadfast rule most
seemed to forget in their haste to be judge, jury and executioner. It was, however,
something she felt quite at ease doing herself, so sure was she that her path
of justice was right. Men needed discipline and direction in their lives, and
if the lessons came at the point of a sword, so be it.
“Now, as to the degree of punishment, well that does somewhat depend on you,
little man.”
The cook moaned and then shook his head. If Dagnon knew of his confession…
Xena's cruel smile twisted into a snarl of rage as the man defied her.
“You will tell me what you know, and you will tell me now!”
A trickle of hot urine began to seep down the inside leg of the cook's trousers,
and he fumbled, trying to stem the flow.
“Guard, hold him!” The two guards snatched the arms of the fat man quickly,
and held him in a gripe of iron.
Xena all but strolled over to the table and retrieved her dagger.
“Well, I suppose I could spend hours showing you the error of your ways,
whereupon you'd gladly tell me exactly what I want to know. However, since I already
know Dagnon is involved…”
Any efforts to quell his body's natural reaction to abject fear simply ceased
to exist as the Conqueror forced his mouth open.
“Gaaa….”
“Xena! Oh gods, please…don't do this!”
Further protest was stilled upon the bard's lips as Lord Xena fixed her with a
hateful stare so cold that Gabrielle could all but feel the blood in her veins
turn to ice.
“Since you have yet to speak on your behalf, your degree of punishment shall
be severe.”
She motioned to both guards and then yanked the poor cook's tongue out of his
mouth. His struggling ceased as she jabbed a finger into his right temple, leaving
his tongue hanging limply. Xena waited a few seconds until the man's eyes cleared,
and then spoke quietly and very distinctly to him.
“You have defied me, betrayed me, and inconvenienced me to no end, little
man. Since you won't use this, you won't be needing it either.”
Although unable to move a muscle, the cook watched with incredulity as the blade
of the knife quickly flashed before his eyes and then his world of fear was replaced
with that of unending, all encompassing pain.
His ears filled with the shrieks only his mind could hear. His eyes rolled as
images of the knife descending upon him repeated, over and over. All of his efforts
to appear as brave as possible were for naught as the blood filled his throat,
making him gag, and then coming back up as his belly denied acceptance. He was
totally oblivious to his body's betrayal as the life's blood ebbed and flowed
out of his ghastly wound. Stephanik's final thoughts were of just how foolish
he had been to fear Dagnon's wrath when even the God of War would tremble at the
feet of such a demon.
He would tell her all he knew and she would let him live. Perhaps his life would
be hard without a tongue, but still, it would be life nonetheless. Yes, she would
forgive him, she would…The faint smile slipped quietly off his lips as his
eyes glassed over.
Xena moved back to the assistant, and roughly pulled him to his knees.
“And as for you, whether you are guilty as well is beside the point. If it's
any consolation, you may explain to Hades that you were simply at the wrong place
at the wrong time.”
She stepped back and snapped her fingers at one of the guards. He blinked slowly
back at her, his mind trying to erase the image of the blood still pumping out
onto the granite flooring. Perhaps his recent promotion to Royal Guard was more
of a curse than a blessing, money be damned.
“If you foul yourself, guard, there shall be more than two bodies to be removed
this night.”
The guard blanched and swallowed hard. He knew the penalty for failing in his
duties as a Royal Guard. There were no second chances in the life of Lord Xena's
chosen.
“Now, give me a coin, and be quick about it.”
The guard fumbled and almost dropped the dinar he had fished out of his pocket,
and then handed it over with fear. His mind refused to go anywhere as he fought
the urge to close his eyes.
“This is payment, fool. Guilty or innocent, I've not let you plead your case.
My will be done.”
And with that, she pushed the coin into the man's mouth.
Gabrielle struggled and then gasped as the Conqueror jabbed the assistant again,
his face purpling almost immediately as he began to flail about on his back, his
toll for Charon held tightly behind clenched teeth.
With casual dismissal, the Conqueror walked back over to the sideboard, picked
up her goblet, and then drank slowly as the life casually seeped out of the man.
Only the sickening gurgle filled the room and Gabrielle bit her lip harshly, pushing
back both anger and fear at what she had been forced to witness. How could someone
so cruel, so evil, and so terribly heartless, touch something so elemental in
her? Gabrielle's belly rebelled as she fought with a harsh truth: although totally
repulsed by what had occurred, it did nothing to dissuade her from the love she
felt for this very complex woman.
“Have Christos report to me in the morning, guard. I want a full report on
this, at his convenience, of course.”
Both men nodded stiffly, the Conqueror's biting sarcasm painting a dismal future
for their esteemed majordomo. Instantly thankful it wouldn't be their necks, they
took hold of the scruff of each corpse, and then made off with their grisly parcels.
Xena sighed with disgust at the pools of urine and blood left in their wake.
“Pigs. Obviously, they weren't men or they would have died as one.”
Gabrielle's bile rose as the Conqueror wandered slowly over to the table and picked
up a piece of fruit. She peered carefully, and then grunted with satisfaction
as no blemish was discovered.
“At least this was untouched. Thank you, Ankara, for a job well done.”
As the harsh sounds of crying hit her ears, Xena gripped the tabletop, forcing
herself to finish the mango. A very good woman had given her life so that she
could partake of it, after all. Her belly felt clenched between the fists of some
giant as she forced piece after piece down her gullet. The death of the servant
had suddenly made her aware of just how much more important than bed warmers both
women had become.
Perhaps Ubris would answer her questions on how it felt to lose someone who had
been a constant in their life for over five years. She'd been privy to their acts
of affection on many occasions, sometimes at her bidding, and oftentimes as an
active participant. Xena wiped her chin free of juices as she mentally went over
the suitable replacements for the dead servant.
“Now slave, where were we?”