**************************************************
Teaser: After a
few arguments and frustrations between the two lovers, Xena
proposes that she and Gabrielle go on a little afternoon trip to
Athens. Once there, they soon run out of money at the City Market.
They find an astute way to make more dinars. The Warrior Princess
also needs to figure out some plans to rekindle the intimacy of her
romantic relationship with the bard...
Genre: Xena Warrior Princess
alternative fan-fiction; Xena/Gabrielle femslash.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Xena Warrior
Princess characters. Universal/Renaissance
does.
Timeline: This story takes place just after the
Season Four episode If the Shoe Fits (but before
Paradise Found).
Warning: This story contains sexually explicit
erotic moments between two consenting adult women. If this offends
you, please refrain from reading. If you are under 18 years of age,
please do not read this and come back later when you're older and
you can read it. If lesbian romantic/sexual relationships are
illegal in your country or state, please advocate a change in
laws.
Author's note: (1) This is not a first time
story. I think there are enough first time stories out there. I'm
more interested in exploring the evolution of Xena and Gabrielle's
intimate relationship as it must be taking place beyond the screen.
Also, I believe that the warrior and the bard can still be
intimately passionate with each other after their first time. (2)
My femslash stories sometimes remotely follow each other; my first
three were called Closer than blood bonds, Circle in
the sand and What matters most. This is a seasonal
X/G femslash series, which means there will be two more stories to
come in the future.
Many Thanks to: Norsebard for the proofreading
and feedback; Donar (from TX) for the pre-release reading &
feedback; other people in the Xenaverse and lesbian culture for
their encouragements.
Feedback: wanted at maggielassie@gmail.com Please
feel free to email me your opinion.
-- SP1: Closer than blood bonds
-- SP2: Circle in the sand
-- SP3: What matters most
-- SP4: Love plans
-- SP5: To you I belong
-- SP6: Sapphic night fever
**************************************************
Once she, her taller lover and the young man had finished
eating, Gabrielle took the dirty pan, plates and spoons. She went
to kneel by the river and proceeded to wash all those dirty dishes
in the water, scrubbing them with a cloth. The bard had been happy
to come back to her Warrior Princess, but she was now frustrated
that, once again, she had had to do all the cooking and was now
doing all the cleaning. She sighed, annoyed, as she continued her
task. Sunset was only one candlemark away and she would be able to
go to sleep soon.
Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer had come to this little grass-covered
area, which spread by a river, after they had been walking into the
woods while they were on their way back from the castle where they
had said goodbye to Alesia, her father and her stepmother. The
warrior had wanted to go to the place where she had sent Argo in
order to get her horse back. She had told her Palomino mare to head
for the river as a way to create diversion for Zantar's men earlier
in the day.
The three friends had put down their gear there. There was large
cluster of the woods' trees and some bushes at the back of this
wide and flat riverbank. Xena had whistled for Argo and the animal
had trotted back towards her, whinnying. The smart horse had been
hiding behind some dense foliage.The Warrior Princess and the bard
had taken care of their usual evening routine of getting fire, food
and supper ready while Joxer had simply sat there quietly.
Gabrielle now cleaned the last bit of dirt on the dishes,
gathered them into her arms and stood back up. She was still
wearing the sack she had cut in a particular way to use as a
makeshift top. Her green shirt had been tattered to pieces by Xena
when the dark-haired woman had used it to gag and tie up
Zantar.
Joxer had already fallen asleep on a blanket he had been given.
He was presently snoring. The storyteller went to tidy up the
cookware she had just washed, not saying a word. Her warrior woman
was now crouched down on the ground, spreading out two small
bedrolls very close to each other on the other side of the fire,
away from the noisy male sleeper. When the blankets were ready,
Xena stood up.
The warrior then quickly went to check on Argo. She saw the mare
peacefully sleeping on the grass somewhere close by. The tall woman
walked back towards the bedrolls she'd just made. She removed every
bit of her armour and weapons, her thigh-high boots and placed all
those items on the ground near her as she went to lie down under
her blanket. She looked up at Gabrielle as she patted the empty
space beside her that was meant for her younger lover to sleep
on.
"Coming to bed, love?" the older woman asked in a low
voice.
"Yeah, I'm coming, Xena," the blonde woman simply replied. She
took off her dark red boots and quickly slipped herself into bed
too, next to Xena. She covered herself with a blanket. The two
lovers occasionally slept on separate -though very close- bedrolls,
especially when someone else was around.
The Warrior Princess kissed the bard's lips. She instantly
noticed that her partner was not in a good mood when she saw her
lack of responsiveness.
"Anything wrong, sweetheart?" she inquired.
"You let me do all the cooking and cleaning again. Maybe I'm the
fairy gods-sister of dishes after all." Gabrielle lay supine,
looking unhappy, while Xena lay on her side, keeping her eyes on
her younger lover.
"Gabrielle… I'm sorry. I will help you more
tomorrow."
The bard sighed in frustration. "That's what you always say,
Xena…" She turned her head to stare at her best friend. "And
my shirt, today, I can't believe you damaged it so that you could
use it as a gag rag for that smelly warlord," she said in a
slightly angry way. Both women were trying to keep their voices
down because of Joxer sleeping nearby.
"Oh, Gabrielle, I'm so sorry," the warrior repeated, in an
apologetic tone. "I'll buy you another one in town."
"Yeah, right… I don't think you'll ever find the same
one." Gabrielle huffed. "You shouldn't have stolen my favourite
top."
"Gabrielle, I had to use it because we ran out of rope," Xena
protested. "Remember, last night? I had already been planning on
catching Zantar that I had left a big coil of rope near our
bedrolls. However, when I woke up this morning I found that most of
the rope had been cut off and only a little bit of it was left. So
that's why I had to use your shirt."
"Well, sorry, Xena, but I had to cut a great length of that rope
you were keeping. I needed some rope to hang that showering pot
from the side of that tree I'd found in the woods. There was no
lake nearby and I had to get washed," the bard explained, sounding
peeved. "I thought you would still have enough rope left to bind
his wrists. So you didn't have to use my shirt."
"No, Gabrielle, I couldn't use that ridiculous bit I had left. I
had to use something else. I'd seen that you'd used my rope to hang
your water pot. Thank you very much." The dark-haired woman spoke
in an irritated way. "You hadn't even bothered waking me up to ask
me if you could do that. I had also been so anxious to catch Zantar
that I'd overslept this morning. I'd asked to wake me up in case
that happened and you didn't even do that."
The blonde diverted the subject of this conversation: "Xena, you
overslept because you'd been so preoccupied with catching that
warlord that you kept tossing and turning in your bedroll and you
couldn't get to sleep last night."
"Well, Gabrielle, it's true that I was being nervous about that
and other things. It had taken me a while to fall asleep." Xena's
tone sounded somehow quieter.
Gabrielle shook her head. She now had something else to argue
about. "Why didn't we make love last night?" she asked, in a voice
kept low enough to avoid waking Joxer. "We haven't made much love
these last few days... Are you that nervous? Is it your time of the
moons, Xena, or what? It can't be…"
"No, Gabrielle, you know it's not," the warrior denied. "You've
already noticed, countless times, that I usually get it pretty much
at the same time as you do, which often is a natural occurrence
when two women live together… Anyway," she continued, "our
'time of the moons' has hardly ever stopped us from doing stuff, my
bard… so long as we bathed in water to momentarily stop the
flow." The older woman winked and lightly smiled at her companion.
She was trying to be funny with this womanly talk. She used it as
an attempt to ease the boiling tension between her and her lover.
It worked, if only temporarily.
"True." The storyteller briefly chuckled, thinking about how
their lovemaking had occasionally been the best kind of painkiller
when she and her partner had had belly cramps. She still felt
somehow irritated by the way her taller lover had been behaving
recently, in general. "Xena… as I said earlier on when I came
back, I realise that we are like a family and that we have problems
of our own, but we still need to work things out, okay?" The blonde
spoke in a tad friendlier way for now.
"Of course, Gabrielle," the warrior woman simply
said.
"So, why didn't we make love last night, Xena?" The bard asked
again.
"Gabrielle, we couldn't have done much last night anyway, with
Joxer sleeping near us," Xena remarked.
"Yep," Gabrielle agreed. "And he's here tonight too, because you
did not tell him to go sleep elsewhere so we could get some
privacy." The younger woman's tone was angry again.
"Oh… you always put that responsibility on me. And we
can't tell him to go away all the time. It's not nice,
Gabrielle."
"Perhaps… but, anyway Xena, I kinda already figured that
you seemed too nervous for us to make love these last few days,
Joxer being around or not. What's making you so agitated that you
have trouble falling asleep at night? It can't only be catching
warlords, is it?" The bard had turned towards her partner and
propped her head up on an elbow. She was gazing into the eyes of
the woman lying next to her.
Xena gave her a seriously sad look. "Gabrielle, I've already
spoken to you about that vision I had, haven't I?" she asked,
talking about the fact that she had seen herself and her lover
getting crucified together on a snowy mountain.
"This is bothering you again?" Gabrielle scowled. "Xena, I
thought I had made myself clear before; I do not fear your vision.
I don't even believe in it." Gabrielle moved to lay her back onto
the bedroll again, wanting to go to sleep soon. "I'm glad you told
me though. I understand that it's still what's making you so
nervous." She reached beside her, took the Warrior Princess' hand
in her own and gently rubbed it. "I'm also glad you'd told me about
that vision, especially because I don't like it when you hide
things from me, like for instance you'd never told me you had a
stepfather…" The blonde woman still sounded
upset.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it was important." The dark-haired
woman shifted to place her back onto the bedroll as well. "It just
never came up, not before I told Alesia, anyway." Both frustrated
lovers were now looking at the night sky above while holding hands
under their joined blankets.
Gabrielle changed the subject, to go back to what she had
initially been talking about. "Well, I still don't like the fact
that you expected me to do all the cooking and the cleaning once
again…" She removed her hand from Xena's and swiftly kissed
her partner on the mouth. "Now sleep well, warrior." The younger
woman shifted to go lie onto her side. She turned her back to her
lover.
"I'm sorry, Gabrielle. And I'm also sorry I ruined your shirt."
Xena did not even bother moving at that moment. She just lay there,
still partially thinking about the vision Alti had shown her. That
terrified her inside.
"You know, Xena, I was thinking earlier on today…" The
bard spoke over her shoulder. "Lately, when you got angry at me, it
might have been a convenient way for you to avoid your deeper
emotions. That's like when you mistreat my belongings, like what
you did to my green top today. That's your way of
avoiding intimacy." Gabrielle put her head back down on the bedroll
and shut her eyes, frustrated and not wanting to talk for much
longer.
"Oh, Gabrielle…" Xena's tone was cheerless as she turned
herself to wrap an arm around her girlfriend. "I'm sorry. I'm gonna
make it up to you. I'll make things better for us, you'll
see."
"You always say that," the storyteller grumbled, unconvinced.
She shrugged a shoulder as she kept her eyes closed. "You don't
know how useful I am to you… Goodnight, Xena," she finally
said, flatly.
"No, sweetheart, of course I do…" Xena objected, in a low
and unhappy voice. She still understood that her blonde lover
wanted to go to sleep now. "Goodnight, Gabrielle." A few minutes
after hearing this, the younger woman entered the Land of
Morpheus.
Xena needed to dispel the disturbing vision from her mind at
least for a while. She thought about the argument she had just been
having with her lover. That troubled her so much seeing her
Gabrielle being so bad-tempered. The Warrior Princess realised that
she needed to figure out some exciting plans for the next day, so
that her bard would be able to forgive her for the edgy mood she
had been having lately. She needed to show Gabrielle, once again,
how much she loved her. She would also have to try to rekindle the
flame of their passion. She had her own ideas for that. After one
candlemark or so, Xena fell asleep too, knowing she would have to
get up early the next day. She was very exhausted as well, after
having spent quite a few late nights agitated and worrying on her
bedroll.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The fire had burned out a long time ago when the dark-haired
woman took a very early morning bath in the river. Gabrielle and
Joxer were still asleep when she got fully dressed and led Argo to
drink. Xena then walked to where the young man was lying. She
crouched down and lightly shook his shoulder. He jumped up, wide
awake.
"What's happening?" he asked.
"Shhhh… Joxer. Gabrielle is still asleep," the warrior
murmured. "Didn't you ask me, last night, to wake you up early in
the morning?"
Joxer glanced at his surroundings. He then looked at the tall
woman and lowered his voice as he spoke. "Huh… yes, I did.
It's my dad's birthday today, and I have to get to my home village
before midday." He sat up and started putting his clumsy warrior
outfit back on, starting with the boots. "Thanks for waking me up,
Xena."
"No problem. Won't you even stay for breakfast?"
"Mmm…" He placed his round silver shield in front of his
chest. "I would love to, Xena, but I've really got to go. I'll get
something on my way." He then put his weird hat back on his head.
"Can I still kiss Gabrielle goodbye while she's
sleeping?"
"Sure, go ahead." Xena got up and went to get her fishing
line.
Joxer rose from his bedroll and went to Gabrielle. As he
approached the sleeping woman, he lowered himself down and kissed
her cheek."Bye, Gabby. I'll see you later… hopefully." The
bard emitted a small whimper as she unconsciously turned the other
way while keeping her eyes shut.
The young man sighed. He still thought about Gabrielle as he
stood up and began walking away. "Goodbye, Xena."
"Bye, Joxer." After he left, Xena walked to the river. She
fished, for her and her lover's breakfast.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The smell of frying fish slowly woke the blonde woman up. It was
still very early in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and moaned
lightly as she sat up on her bedroll. She blinked and saw her older
lover making breakfast.
"Hey sweetheart, you're awake," the warrior woman observed,
while she kept tossing the fish in the pan.
The bard yawned. "Uh… I guess I am."
"Come sit near me. Breakfast's almost ready."
Xena put two portions of sliced fish on the wooden plates once
it was fully cooked. Gabrielle got up, went to sit next to the
taller woman and was handed her food and a spoon so she could eat
it. The Warrior Princess started to munch her own
portion.
"See, Gabrielle," she said, between two mouthfuls, "I've made
breakfast for you." She smiled.
"Thank you." The first bite made the storyteller feel even more
awake.
After they finished eating, they were still seated on the
riverbank when Xena gave Gabrielle a small bouquet of daisies.
"Look, I went to pick them early this morning for you." She grinned
at the bard.
"Oh, Xena..." The younger woman began to smile as she took the
little bunch of flowers into her hand. "This is so nice." She gazed
at her lover with her cheerful sea-green eyes. "Thank you so much,
Xena."
"Anything for you, my bard." The warrior leaned down to quickly
kiss the bard. "I'm going to go clean the dishes now." The taller
woman then took the dirty frying pan, plates and spoons and stood
up. She also seized a cloth and walked to the edge of the very
close river as she carried on talking. "I've got some very exciting
plans for you and me today," she said, her back turned as she knelt
to wash the dishes in the water.
"Oh, really?" Gabrielle was astonished. Xena was being so kind
and considerate this morning, in deciding to do all the cooking and
the cleaning for once. No doubt the Warrior Princess felt she had
things to make up for, the bard thought.
"Yes," the dark-haired woman answered as she began scrubbing the
plates, "we're riding to Athens, very soon."
"Athens? Xena, it sounds exciting. We've not gone there for a
while… By the gods," the storyteller realised, "this is going
to take us a few hours." She got up and started taking her clothes
off. "I'd better take a bath now, before we go."
"Yes, get ready, sweetheart. We're gonna be going soon." The
brunette was careful not to drop one dish while she was cleaning,
as the continuous stream of the water kept moving from right to
left before her.
A naked Gabrielle approached Xena and kissed her deeply before
going into the river to bathe. "Thanks for doing the dishes, my
love… for once."
"No problem. I'll do them a little more often if you like." The
warrior relished the view of her nude girlfriend swimming while she
washed the rest of the cookware. Once everything got scrubbed
clean, she went to tidy up their gear, pack the bags and prepare
Argo.
Meanwhile, the bard soaped and rinsed herself, before climbing
out of the river and drying herself with a towel. She got dressed
with the same sack she now used as a top.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the early candlemarks of the afternoon, the two women, on
horseback, approached one of the city's gates. They had been
travelling through the Attica region for a while in order to get to
Athens. They were happy to have finally gotten there. Xena slowed
Argo to a slow trot while Gabrielle, sitting behind her on the
saddle, tightly clung onto her waist with her encircling arms. Both
lovers were hungry, as they had not had lunch yet.
The guards carefully looked at the women who were nearing the
gate. "Good afternoon, ladies. Please state who you are and your
purpose in visiting Athens," one of them asked.
The warrior brought her horse to a halt and looked down at the
guard. "I'm Xena of Amphipolis, and I'm bringing my best friend,
Gabrielle of Poteidaia, to visit the City Market. It's on today, I
believe?"
"Yes," he replied, "it's on. We've heard of you, Xena, and the
good deeds you've been doing in some villages these last few
years."
"We don't believe you'd be looking for trouble," a second guard
remarked.
"No, that's right," the first man who had spoken confirmed,
respectfully smiling up at the dark-haired woman. "Have a good day
visiting the market. You'll find stables for your horse somewhere
on the right after crossing the entrance to the city. You can't
miss them." He ordered the rest of the guards to open the
gate.
"Thank you," Xena simply said as she made her Palomino mare
resume her trot. Gabrielle kept holding onto her partner as they
rode forward.
They got into the city, found a stable and paid a few dinars to
the horse-keeper to take good care of Argo for the afternoon. Both
women then strolled together further inside Athens. They found a
nice tavern to eat a quick, affordable and good lunch in before
going to visit the vast City Market, which was meant to be on until
the evening.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The two women leisurely wandered through Athens' huge and
magnificent market. Merchants, coming from different parts of
Greece and beyond, were selling a variety of diverse things: food,
drinks, clothes, jewellery, soaps, perfumes, oils, candles,
incenses, firewood, valuable goods, etc. The stalls extended up to
several yards around and ahead of them. From where they were
walking, Xena and Gabrielle could see the city's Acropolis if they
looked up somewhere on the right. That high, flat-topped rocky
hill, on which stood the temple called the Parthenon, felt so
pleasant to their eyes.
"The Acropolis is so beautiful, Xena," the blonde woman said,
holding her staff in one hand, as they both walked in between a
steady flow of drifting people.
"Yep, the Temple of Athena looks splendid, viewed from down
here." The warrior and her bard strolled by stand after stand of
colourful textiles and clothing for sale.
"Have you got any money left?" Gabrielle stopped to look through
a large display of shawls with intricate patterns on
them.
"Yes, I've got a few dinars left. Just ask me if you need
anything." Xena stayed by her lover's side for now.
"I'm alright just now." The storyteller kept browsing the stall
she had stopped at. "I've got a bit of money too."
The taller woman spotted something further ahead. "Excuse-me,
Gabrielle. I just need to go look at something. I think I may have
found what I'm looking for."
"Sure. Go ahead."
As the bard remained where she was, the Warrior Princess walked
to another stand that was only a few feet ahead on the left. The
merchant there was selling various kinds of ladies' halter tops.
The garments were made of the exact same fabric Gabrielle's green
shirt had been. Xena carefully searched through the colourful
displays.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" the clothes-seller asked. He was a
short man in his mid-forties with a moustache on his face.
"Yes… perhaps," the warrior replied. "Do you, by any
chance, have something green and nice that could go on a petite
woman?" She had the strange intuition that this merchandise came
from the same weavers as her partner's shirt had.
"Sure, ma'am." The merchant proceeded to show her everything he
sold that was green, until the dark-haired woman's eyes came upon
the exact same green halter top that Gabrielle used to
wear.
"Here." She pointed. "This one, can I have it? How much do you
want for it?"
"Four dinars, please."
Xena gave the man the four dinars he wanted and was handed the
top. Gabrielle, who had finished looking at the shawls, walked
towards her lover. The bard could not believe what she was seeing
as she approached the warrior.
"My top, Xena… You found the same?" Gabrielle's jaw
dropped.
"Yes." The Warrior Princess grinned as she turned to her younger
lover and showed her the garment. "Isn't this
wonderful?"
"It is." The blonde took the green shirt. She could not stop
staring at it. "I never thought you'd be able to find a similar
one."
"Gabrielle, this was one of the reasons I wanted to come here
today. We find everything in Athens."
"Well, thank you, Xena. Where can I put it on?"
Xena turned to the clothes-seller. "Do you have a secluded booth
somewhere? My friend wants to get rid of the sack she's wearing and
put this on instead."
"Yes, ma'am. Just back there, at the back of my
stand."
Gabrielle walked towards the booth at the back. She went behind
the large curtain that hid it and quickly changed her upper
garment. She came out a few seconds later, criss-crossing the laces
of her green top to fasten it shut.
"Thank you so much, Xena." She repeated as she went towards her
taller lover. She kissed her only on the cheek, since there were
people around them. The bard was happy. She beamed at the warrior
as they both resumed their walk around the market.
"No problem, Gabrielle. So much better than wearing that sack,
huh?"
"Oh, I am so incredibly glad you've managed to find my favourite
shirt in this market." They kept wandering forward. The blonde
woman was still holding her staff vertically as they
strolled.
"Yes, so am I. I'd told you I would be getting you another one."
Xena gave Gabrielle her familiar slight half smile.
"This is so kind of you, Xena."
As the two lovers turned around a corner, they heard a slur
being hurled at them. "Harlots!" a male voice shouted. The warrior
and her bard spun around to see a couple of old men sneering at
them.
"Silly old fools!" The dark-haired woman retorted, with scorn.
She saw the rude men shake their heads and walk away. She turned
back to her girlfriend. "Don't pay attention, sweetheart." She
gently placed a hand onto her shoulder, encouraging her to walk the
other way, which they did. "Some Athenians are very conservative.
Whenever they see women who don't seem to have husbands or
slave-owners, they call them 'harlots.' They simply don't like to
see free women."
"Yes, I've heard about that, Xena." Gabrielle shrugged. "It's
unfortunate."
"It is. Gabrielle, we're in a big city-state that's not exactly
egalitarian. Even the Athenian government owns some slaves." The
two women strolled across a square that bordered the City
Market.
"Speaking of slaves…" Ahead of them, the storyteller and
her older lover saw a bunch of male and female slaves being held in
shackles and forced to advance as their traders whipped any
trailing one. One of the masters kept yelling at them to move. It
felt depressing for Xena and Gabrielle to see this.
"Gabrielle, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do for them, not
within a city that's got a powerful government on the side of the
bad guys."
"I know, Xena. I know… Let's go back into the market."
Both women turned away and made their way back in between the
stands. They were now wandering through the large section where
vendors were selling fruits, vegetables and other food items.
"All that slave trading is so heartbreaking. That's not one of
the things I wanted you to see today." The warrior's tone was
cheerless.
"It's all right, Xena. I'm very grateful you saved me from such
a horrible fate when we first met." The bard briefly stroked the
taller woman's upper arm as they kept walking.
"Well, I'm glad I did." Xena gave her a small, fleeting grin as
she lightly patted her shoulder.
"I'm glad you did." Gabrielle spotted stalls that sold empty
scrolls a few feet ahead, just outside the food section of the
market. "Xena, I need to go buy some more blank scrolls. I ran out
and I've not been able to write about yesterday's events
yet."
"Okay. You go ahead. I'm gonna look at the fruits. I'll come
find you later… soon." They separated for a few
moments.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Warrior Princess came near a berry stand. All kinds of
berries were being sold there. With a dinar or two, she purchased
one pound of strawberries and one pound of raspberries. She had
kind of an idea of what to do with those items
tonight.
"Do you have a bag I could put them in?" she asked the female
vendor.
"Sure," the woman answered. She wrapped the fruits in some cloth
and placed them in a cream-coloured sack, which she then handed to
Xena.
"Thank you." The warrior carried the bag over her shoulder as
she continued strolling until she had moved past the food stalls. A
stand sold flowers, candles and essential oils. This gave her more
ideas for the evening that was to come. She bought a bunch of white
candles, some red roses and a bottle of almond oil from the
merchant there. She put those things in her sack and began walking
towards where Gabrielle was. The dark-haired woman felt a little
peeved that she now barely had any money left. She would have to
find a way of making some more dinars before tonight if she wanted
to be able to take her girlfriend to an inn.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The blonde woman had just purchased five new blank scrolls and
some more ink for her quill when Xena arrived. The bard felt
satisfied that she would have a bit of a writing supply for a
while, but the fact that she presently had only two dinars left
annoyed her.
"Okay, Gabrielle? Having fun?" the warrior woman inquired as she
approached.
"Yep." Gabrielle looked at the little bundle her older lover was
carrying. "What did you buy?"
"I'll show you later on." The taller woman
winked.
"Fair enough." The storyteller shrugged with a smile on her
face. It somehow intrigued her that the Warrior Princess sounded so
cryptic. She knew Xena so well that she had already surmised that
her partner had some plans, though she had no idea what they were.
"Gabrielle, we have to leave this market to go somewhere else in
this city. I have no money left, and I think I've got an idea on
how I could make some more if you follow me, please. Is that
okay?"
"Sure. I don't have much money left either." The bard carried
her blank scrolls and the little pot of ink in one hand and her
staff in the other as they started strolling away from the big
market.
"It's all right. You'll have an opportunity to make some more,
too." Xena peacefully led the way as she and Gabrielle left the
City Market.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the later candlemarks of the afternoon, the Warrior Princess
and the bard arrived near what looked like an area for outdoor
performances, enclosed by wooden barriers. There were various rows
of benches with many people sitting on them; they were watching the
current performers. On the stage, a man and a woman were telling a
love story. Twenty feet from there, Xena and Gabrielle stopped
walking in order to talk to each other before coming any
closer.
"Gabrielle, this is a place for free performances, one of the
few places in Athens where anyone can speak freely." The warrior
woman gazed down into her shorter lover's eyes. "However, as you
can see, they only have two guards to watch over the area; so
whenever the occasional controversial view comes up on stage, it's
bound to cause a stir. I was thinking that, maybe, you could
volunteer to tell them a story that would be against slavery. I
know you've got some in your repertoire, right?"
"I do, Xena, but telling a story like that in Athens… This
is not like in the small village taverns where I'd been doing some
anti-slavery storytelling. We're in a big city here. My audience
would definitely be more agitated. Why would you want cause such a
stir?" Gabrielle wondered. "Plus, I'd be the only one making money
if my story worked."
"No, Gabrielle. I would too," Xena explained, "Anti-slavery
views tend to come off as contentious to the more conservative
Athenians, but they would be the only ones to protest. Some more
open-minded and progressive people here would listen to your views
on slavery, especially the ones who do not happen to own
slaves… I was thinking that, perhaps, I could be making quite
a few dinars in helping the guards maintain security and making
sure that no one manages to interrupt your performance. I'm a
warrior after all, and I could use some of my skills to help keep
the peace around here. The people organising artistic events also
tend to be enlightened. I'm pretty sure they would let me protect
that kind of free speech. What do you think? Is it not a good
idea?"
"Well… we're broke, Xena. We don't have much choice if we
want to make money anyway." The bard resigned.
"Thank you, sweetheart. Think about some of the people here. You
could open their minds with a compassionate story."
"Sure," the storyteller agreed. "Let's try it."
The two women walked towards the small entrance to the outdoor
performance area. The guards gave them slightly weird looks but
then opened a corner of the barriers for them to go in. Xena and
Gabrielle immediately went to sit on an empty bench at the back and
waited until the current performance ended.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Who wants to go next?" the male organiser asked the audience,
from where he was standing on the stage. He was short, overweight,
grey-haired and beardy. His outfit was a white toga.
The blonde bard rose from her seat. "I do, sir," she
answered.
"Then come forward, little missy." He smiled at Gabrielle as she
began to approach while staring up at him. "My name is Apollinaris.
What is yours, young lady?"
"I'm Gabrielle of Poteidaia." She grinned back at him as she
climbed the small steps that led to the top of the platform. She
had her staff in one hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Apollinaris announced, making his voice
heard to all the people watching, "Gabrielle of Poteidaia is going
to tell you a story. Please consider rewarding her well if it turns
out to be a good one." He left the stage to the storyteller, who
went to stand in the centre of it.
Xena remained seated behind the rest of the audience. She had
put her bag of purchased goods down somewhere onto the stony ground
in front of the bench she was sitting on. Her partner's new scrolls
and ink-pot lay next to it. The warrior's eyes gingerly scanned
around the place as her lover was just about to start telling a
story.
From where she was standing, Gabrielle put her staff down on the
floor and gazed around at the audience who was facing her. She
could tell it included mostly married men and women. Athenian
husbands had been taking their wives to come watch outdoor
performances. Having performed a few times elsewhere, including in
this city's academy, the bard did not have any stage fright. She
felt confident as she saw people smiling at her, and decided to
tell a slave girl's story she knew well.
"Once upon a time," Gabrielle began, grinning at her audience,
"there was a young girl. Her name was Timothea. She had been
abducted by slave-traders when she was only sixteen. She still
missed her parents and her big sister years after she'd been taken
away from them." Her facial expression became gloomier as she
continued telling the story.
Among the Athenians watching, a few pro-slavery conservative
people started to stir in their seats. They already did not like
the idea of the story being about the misery of some slave girl.
Other spectators, who did not happen to own slaves, looked very
interested in the tale the blonde woman was telling. At the back,
the Warrior Princess kept an eye on all the people
watching.
"Every day, Timothea had to carry barrels and barrels of wine
for her owner, who was a tavern-keeper." Gabrielle carried on. "She
was totally exhausted. She also had to clean the whole bar and main
room in the tavern every night. Her master would then check that
everything was 'spotless,' and if it wasn't, he would whip and
batter Timothea…" The bard mimicked gestures of physical
violence. "… until she got so many bruises that her injuries
made it even harder for her to work for him the next day…"
Some people in the audience were horrified by what the blond
performer was describing. They could not imagine how bad the pain
of slavery was. The young woman kept telling the story: "…
but she still had to. So Timothea worked in slavery with a painful
back and sore legs. Plus, she was underweight and in terrible
health as she was being poorly fed by her owner. Every night before
bed, she cried huge tears, praying the gods that her torment would
soon be over." Gabrielle kept displaying sad features and speaking
in a morose tone as she told the unhappy tale.
A pro-slavery man stood up and started protesting against the
performance. He interrupted the storyteller and bawled in an angry
voice: "This sort of story is the exception rather than the rule.
Many slave-owners treat their slaves respectfully and feed them
well."
Another man, who was rather burly and whose stylish clothes
suggested that he was wealthy enough to own slaves, also stood up.
Looking at the first man who had spoken, he added loudly: "Yes,
that's right. We should stop all this hate speech against
slave-owners! We aren't all bad people." Ironically, just after
saying this, he got a dagger out of his vest and advanced towards
the stage. He got past the front row of benches and stood in the
empty space in front of the platform when the two male guards and
Apollinaris walked towards him, trying to stop him. However, the
burly man started punching the guards, who were not as sturdy as he
was.
"Ayiayiayiayiayi!" Xena ran to the front and kicked the
attacker's weapon out of his hand. On the stage, Gabrielle was
silent as she was seeing her lover fight the burly man. The warrior
managed to punch him several times, making him growl in pain, while
occasionally ducking herself to avoid his blows.
The first slave-owner who had spoken wanted to attack too, but
he was not as muscular. He rushed towards the stage, got past the
guards, and managed to climb on top of the platform while Xena was
still busy fighting against the other man. "Take care of this one,
Gabrielle!" the Warrior Princess shouted as she kept kicking the
burly slave-master. Meanwhile, Apollinaris and the guards were
attempting to keep some of the audience calm. Many people just sat
and watched what was going on at the front as they really felt
impressed by Xena's heroics.
The man approaching Gabrielle on the stage was unarmed. He was
still very menacing though, as he looked like he wanted to attack
her with his bare hands. The bard swiftly seized her staff, held it
horizontally with both her hands and hit him hard in the chest.
She kept striking him with her fighting stick until she made him
fall off the platform, knocking him out as his body hit the floor.
The Warrior Princess had severely weakened the burly man she had
been fighting. With several kicks to his stomach, she managed to
push him back towards the exit. One of the guards opened the
barrier and let Xena kick him some more, until he got fully sent
outside the outdoor performance area. The dark-haired woman then
ran rapidly towards the other man, whom the storyteller had knocked
off from the stage. She grabbed him by the shirt and, with all her
mighty warrior strength, she lifted him and threw him over the
surrounding fence.
Once the first two protesting slave-owners were away, their
wives rushed towards the exit of the enclosed area to join them and
help them get back up and go home. Xena walked towards Apollinaris
while Gabrielle was still standing on the stage, waiting to find
out if she would be allowed to go on.
"My name is Xena," the warrior woman said to the beardy
organiser. "I'm here to keep the peace while my best friend is
telling a story. Can you please let her go on with
it?"
"Certainly." Apollinaris joyfully grinned at the tall woman. He
seemed to be a light-hearted man who was not ready to give up on
views that were challenging the unfair status quo in Athens. "Thank
you so much, Xena. I'm one of the people who oppose slavery, and I
would love to hear the rest of your friend's story."
"Thanks, sir." Xena gave him a slight half smile.
"It's alright, Xena. If I had known I was to get a free
performance of storytelling against slavery today, I would have
hired some more guards, but since you're here and you seem strong
enough to beat those guys, I'll pay you good money."
"Thanks." The Warrior Princess was glad. Her plan worked and,
with enough luck, people from the audience would also offer her
dinars for keeping the peace. Apollinaris looked up at the stage
and spoke loudly to Gabrielle: "Please continue, young lady. Many
people in the audience would like to hear the remainder of your
story."
"Yes!" Some progressive people amongst the spectators cheered at
Gabrielle, raising their hands. "We want to hear the rest,"
someone's voice exclaimed. Xena now stood near the stage. She was
surveying the audience and watching out for potential further
trouble.
On top of the platform, the bard quickly placed her staff back
onto the floor and briefly smiled at the audience. She then carried
on with the story while speaking in a solemn tone: "One afternoon,
Timothea's sister, Eugenia, who had kept looking for her ever since
the abduction that had taken place a few years back, walked into
the tavern where the young slave girl was working. She recognised
her sister but was horrified at seeing her looking so thin, so
battered…" Gabrielle frowned. "… The slave-owner saw
Timothea talking to who he felt was 'a stranger' and he slapped her
right in front of her sister. Eugenia tried to get her little
sister out of all this. The two women figured out an escape plan as
they continued communicating through exchanging notes via slipping
them under doors and windows…"
As Gabrielle kept telling the tale, Xena saw a man rising from
his seat, brandishing a sword and coming to fight her.
"Anti-slavery extremists!" he yelled. The warrior got her own sword
out of the scabbard on her back and wielded it at him. Their
weapons clashed a few times and the fight interrupted the bard
anew. The blonde woman, the guards, Apollinaris and the rest of the
audience simply watched what was going on in front of the
stage.
As her blade kept clunking against the attacking man's, the
dark-haired woman replied to his slur. "Is that what you call
extremists? People who just want to speak out on the suffering of
the enslaved? You're a bastard."
"Why would people listen to harlots like you anyway?" he angrily
retorted, while continuing the sword fight.
Xena succeeded in making a small cut on the back of his wrist.
He bellowed and dropped his sword to the ground. She put her weapon
away and gave him a shove with her boot, which made him fall.
"Because women can be right too," she simply
replied.
The two guards picked him up and dragged him outside the
barriers. His wife walked out to take him home. The Warrior
Princess had to fight and kick out a few more pro-slavery folks
before Gabrielle was allowed to continue her story.
Finally, the bard resumed her tale on the stage: "So Eugenia was
able to get a key made for Timothea to unlock the chain on the
collar that she was being forced to wear. One night, the slave girl
managed to rid her neck of the heavy thing. Without her collar, no
one would ever be able to identify her as a slave and take her back
to her master. The escape plan nearly worked. Eugenia was waiting
for her sister outside the place where she was being kept…"
The storyteller loved the way her partner had fought those bad guys
that had tried to stop her performance. She felt secure to tell the
ending now.
"… Unfortunately," Gabrielle bemoaned, knowing this
particular story did not have a happy ending, "Timothea had just
gone out the door when her owner ran out and stabbed her in the
back, inflicting a deadly wound on her. He had somehow heard her
footsteps when she was trying to flee his place. 'That's the price
to pay for an escaping slave!' he yelled, and turned to go back
inside. Timothea died in her sister's arms as Eugenia ran towards
her as soon as she saw her collapse…" The bard shed a couple
of tears while finishing the story. Many people in the audience
were crying. Some did not own slaves and felt utterly aghast while
thinking about the cruelty of slavery. "Timothea said, just before
holding her last breath, 'Please, Eugenia, don't let the story of
my life be forgotten…'"
The blonde woman dried her tears with the back of her hand and
told the last part while keeping an earnest facial expression. "So
a few months later, Eugenia went on to tell her late sister's story
all around Greece as she kept advocating for the emancipation of
the enslaved. I'd like to add that what happened to Timothea is not
an odd or unusual case. Although there may be some masters who are
much less abusive towards their slaves than Timothea's owner was,
the story of her life represents the experience of many slaves and
the potential threat for every person living nowadays under
slavery: the experience of mistreatment, malnutrition, battering
and even the threat of death. No one deserves this. People deserve
real freedom."
Most people in the audience applauded to Gabrielle's story about
a slave girl and, more importantly, to the political statement it
conveyed. The bard thanked the audience for listening and climbed
down the platform to join her lover.
Many spectators approached Gabrielle and Xena. They gave both
women generous amounts of money. "With some friends that were with
me and my husband tonight, I'm going to try to develop an
anti-slavery movement right here in Athens," said one woman as she
shook the storyteller's hand. The blonde woman replied to her
something in encouragement for such a plan. Apollinaris and other
people also gave lots of dinars to the Warrior Princess for
protecting free speech and beating slave-owners while she had
stopped them from interrupting Gabrielle's
performance.
Once they had said goodbye to all the open-minded people there
and gathered their belongings, the two lovers left the outdoor
performance area. It was now the evening and dusk had fallen as
they both decided to make their way back towards the public stables
where Argo was being kept. They smiled at each other, and Xena
kindly encircled an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders as they kept
walking.
"I'd told you this was a good idea, Gabrielle," the warrior
woman warmly stated. "Each of us made some money and, at the same
time, we've managed to speak out against slavery to those
compassionate people through the real story you told. It's sad that
most people out there still don't know what is really going on in
slaves' lives, but maybe a stronger anti-slavery movement which
they would support could help bring more of the truth into
light."
"Yep," the bard agreed, "we've opened their hearts, Xena. I'm
glad they intend to do something useful with the awareness they now
have."
They arrived at the public stables when Xena said, "Let's go to
a relaxing place for tonight."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Xena and Gabrielle had just gotten out of the city's gates on
horseback. The Warrior Princess had placed her bard in front of her
on the saddle this time. She had her arms around her younger
lover's bare midriff as she was manipulating the reins. This close
contact thrilled the blonde woman as she strongly held onto her
taller partner's arms and leaned into her embrace while they were
moving forward. The travellers rode to an inn that was situated in
a small village somewhere just outside Athens.
As the two women neared the large public house with well-lit
windows, Xena stopped Argo, climbed off the mare and helped
Gabrielle dismount as well. The warrior tied the Palomino horse's
bridle to a wooden barrier that was located close to the entrance
to the inn.
Gabrielle took the saddlebags off from the mare. One contained
Xena's sack of purchased market goods, and the bard handed it to
her older partner. The lovers were gently holding hands as they
walked towards the place's front door. They then released each
other's hands as they got inside.
"It seems to be a very nice place, Xena," said the blonde woman
as she looked around the reception and into the main dining room,
which she could see through the doorway that led to it.
"Yeah, it does," the dark-haired woman answered. She walked to
the front desk as she saw a woman who looked about fifty years old
standing behind it, greeting them both. "Hello, lady. Can my friend
and I have a meal and a room for tonight?" Xena got some of the
dinars she had earned out of a small leather purse she had and put
the money down onto the innkeeper's wooden table.
"Certainly," the lady at the front desk answered, grinning at
both women.
"I can help with the cost, Xena, if you'd like me to," proposed
Gabrielle.
The warrior woman turned to her and refused the offer. "No,
Gabrielle. I intend to pay for us both tonight." The taller woman
had really planned on paying for the inn with only her own money
and let her younger lover keep her own part of tonight's earnings
to herself. "Please keep your own money, sweetheart," she whispered
in her ear.
"Okay," the bard accepted and kindly shrugged. "Thank you,
Xena."
"No problem." She gave her the familiar slight half smile, and
then turned back towards the innkeeper. "Will this be
enough?"
"Yes, sure," the woman replied, and took the dinars Xena had put
on the desk. "Make yourselves at home. You can go have dinner now
if you want. Your bedroom will be the first one on the left after
you go up the stairs."
"Thank you. I will add a few more dinars for my horse to be
taken to your stables. Her name is Argo and I left her just outside
at the front."
"All right. I will arrange for someone to take your mare to our
stables at the back."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The soup and main course meal in the inn's dining room had both
been deliciously excellent. The two lovers were now savouring
honey-covered dates that had been served to them for dessert. They
were sitting at a table for two, lovingly exchanging little warm
glances towards one another.
After they finished, the innkeeper took all the plates and
cutlery away, and Gabrielle decided to place one of the blank
scrolls she had purchased from the City Market earlier in the day
on the table. She took her quill out of the saddlebag, which she
had placed near her feet while sitting at the dining chair, and
spread the empty parchment on the table. The bard looked at her
partner in front of her.
"Sorry, Xena," she said in a very friendly way, "but I'm still
due to write yesterday's events on a scroll."
Xena smiled. "Sure. Go ahead. I've got to go upstairs and get
our room fully prepared for tonight." She winked, and then got up
from the table, leaving the blonde storyteller alone to write.
"Join me when you're finished. See you soon."
"Yes, see you soon, Xena." Gabrielle was happy to notice that
the Warrior Princess probably had something in mind for the two of
them to spend a good night together, after their recent lack of
intimacy.
First, her taller lover had made breakfast and done the dishes,
for once. Xena had also given her a small bouquet of flowers that
she had handpicked. Then, she had taken her on an unexpected trip
to Athens. They had been wandering through the busy City Market and
her older lover had bought her another green shirt, the exact same
as the one that had been damaged. Sometime after that, Xena had
found a brilliant, useful and interesting way for both of them to
make money at a 'free performance' show. Finally, now that her
dark-haired partner had taken her to an inn just outside the city,
the warrior wanted to get the bedroom she had paid for 'fully
prepared' for them tonight.
Something suggested to Gabrielle that perhaps Xena had some
plans in mind, some love plans, to rekindle their intimacy. She
knew Xena so well that she already figured that out. The bard had
some of her own exciting love plans too. She smirked and kept
writing about yesterday's events, deciding to concentrate on her
scroll for now. She was a quick writer and, in a candlemark or so,
she would be happily joining Xena into their bedroom
upstairs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The warrior woman walked up towards the room that had been
reserved for Gabrielle and her for the night. When she got in, she
found a female servant still in the room, finishing preparing the
bed. She was a woman in her thirties, with brown hair, and dressed
in a rather plain chiffon outfit. "Is there anything I can do for
you?" the servant asked.
"Yes, I think so." Xena looked around the room. It was gorgeous
and big enough. There was a large copper basin placed not far from
the fireplace. She turned back towards the servant. "Can you please
prepare a hot tub for me and my friend tonight?"
"Sure," the innkeeper's maid replied.
"Thank you." The Warrior Princess went to put the saddlebag she
was carrying on the floor near the bed. She got the cream-coloured
sack of purchased market goods out of it and placed it on top of
the bedside table.
As the servant came in and out of the room at regular intervals,
bringing more and more buckets of very warm water to fill the
copper tub with, Xena took off her scabbard and breastplate. She
put her weapons and armour down near the saddlebag on the floor by
the bed.
Once the hot tub was full and the servant had left, the warrior
knew that Gabrielle would probably be up here in less than half a
candlemark now. She wanted everything to go as planned. She took
the fruits she had purchased earlier out of the sack of goods that
was on the little table. She also got a couple of wooden bowls out
of her saddlebag and poured the strawberries and raspberries into
two different receptacles.
Xena found the almond oil she had bought earlier. She went to
hide the two fruit bowls and the small bottle of essential oil
somewhere on the other side of the bed, in a corner her partner
would not see unless she really looked.
The warrior walked back to the bedside table and grabbed the
sack that only had the red roses and candles left in it. She
approached the hot tub, moved a hand into the bag she carried to
pluck at the flowers and threw all the roses' petals into the bath.
The little red bits floated on the surface of the hot water.
With the help of the fireplace, Xena lit all the candles she had
purchased earlier on and placed them wherever she could, all around
the room. The place looked so romantic when she suddenly heard
footsteps coming from the hall and nearing the bedroom
door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Gabrielle had just finished writing when she had put away her
scroll and quill, left the dining room and climbed up the stairs
with her own saddlebag in hand. She opened the door to their
reserved bedroom and saw Xena standing, looking at her in a
charming way. "I've just had the hot tub prepared for both of us,
Gabrielle."
"Thank you." The bard walked further inside to go put her
belongings near the warrior's on the floor. Her eyes wandered
around. It was a very nice place. The bed seemed comfortable. The
tub was full. The room was well-lit, with candles scattered here
and there.
Xena walked towards Gabrielle, hugged her and then kissed her.
They exchanged a deep, warm, passionate and tongue-mingling kiss.
When it ended, the bard spoke.
"This is such a nice place you found for us tonight, Xena. Very
romantic." She gazed up at her taller lover with her sweet
sea-green eyes. "I'm suspecting…" she said in a gentle tone,
"that the candles and the rose petals were your ideas, right?" The
Warrior Princess kept holding her close and caressing her beautiful
long blond hair, which started to excite her.
"Yes. Of course the innkeeper's maid wouldn't have thought of
that." The taller woman chuckled. "Those were my ideas." She
playfully grinned. "And I've got a few more ideas for the two of us
tonight." She immediately leaned down to reclaim her younger
lover's lips, tenderly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Both lovers got near the hot tub once they had removed all their
clothes. Gabrielle had taken two wooden hair sticks out of a bag.
She handed one to Xena. Both of them had already washed their hair
in the morning and did not want to wet it again. So they each
lifted and rolled their hairstyles into buns on the back of their
heads, before they climbed into the bath.
Xena got into the water and sat in the hot tub. So did Gabrielle
who sat in between her lover's legs, her back to her. The smell of
roses felt very pleasant to the bard, as the bright red petals
rested on the surface around them. The warrior had a bar of soap in
her hand and started lathering her younger partner's back with the
creamy, frothy substance.
Gabrielle relaxed under the influence of Xena's tender strokes.
Underwater, both of her taller lover's legs touched each side of
her thighs. She placed her hands on the warrior woman's knees while
Xena kept rubbing her back.
The Warrior Princess also cleaned the storyteller's shoulders
and arms before asking her to turn around. Once the bard faced her
in the bath, the dark-haired woman moved her body forward, kissed
her younger lover and began running the soap along the blonde's
neck, collar bones and breasts. "So how do you like our romantic
evening so far, Gabrielle?" she asked in an alluring tone while she
kept washing the rest of her younger lover's body. Xena's azure
blue eyes always mesmerised Gabrielle.
"Well," The bard briefly chuckled, "it clearly feels like a bit
of a change from the last few nights…" She kissed the older
woman again as she snatched the soap from her hands. She lathered
it all over the beautiful bronzed body, loving the feel of her
taller lover's curvy shapes. "Let me do your back now." Once she
managed to move her body around the warrior in this large tub,
Gabrielle got behind Xena and washed her back. She put down the
soap on the side of the tub and used her palms and fingers to
massage her taller lover's shoulders, back, spine and
ribs.
"Hmm…" The warrior woman loved how the blonde's touch made
her feel at ease. Once the delightful backrub was over, she moved
herself around in the tub and gathered the smaller woman into her
arms. They both lay snuggled up to each other in the warm water of
the bath, keeping their heads above the surface.
On top of Xena in the tub, Gabrielle felt the warrior's wet
hands move around her back. The Warrior Princess was seductively
moving her fingertips across the younger woman's spine. The blonde
woman covered her older partner's mouth with hers and their tongues
intermingled as they both closed their eyes. When the kiss ended,
the two women just rested in the large copper basin for a magic,
quiet moment.
They were being absorbed in the absolute serenity that enveloped
their senses in the peaceful Inn room. The scent of the bath,
perfumed with soap and roses, smeared, immersed their skin and made
them cuddle up to one another some more. Each woman revelled in
feeling the other's body pressed tightly against her own.
Once they felt they were clean enough and fully relaxed, they
decided to climb out of the tub. Gabrielle got out first, seizing a
towel that lay somewhere near and quickly drying her body with it.
Xena followed a short while after. The bard had just finished
drying herself when she covered the warrior's skin with the towel
and began rubbing it onto her. She stared up into Xena's
eyes.
"I love you, Gabrielle," asserted the warrior. She claimed the
bard's mouth again, for a short but intense kiss. While kissing
her, the older woman reached around Gabrielle's head and removed
the stick that held the storyteller's hairstyle together. The
younger woman's dry blond hair fell onto her back. She spoke as her
dark-haired partner's lips then travelled to the corner of her
face.
"Hmmm… I love you too, Xena." Gabrielle replied as she
felt her taller lover's sweet little kisses moisten her cheek with
love. Still holding the towel, she reached up and also undid Xena's
bun by removing the wooden stick from the dark hair, which then
cascaded down the warrior's back. Both women chucked the hair
accessories aside.
"You know… I've also got some ideas of my own for tonight,
Xena." the bard gazed up at the Warrior Princess with passionately
libidinous eyes as she said this. "Please… Let me finish
drying you, my love."
"Sure." Standing in front of her shorter lover, Xena let
Gabrielle dry her.
The blonde used the towel to brush away the humidity that
trickled down her lover's body. She first wiped the semi-damp cloth
onto Xena's shoulders and back. She then moved the towel across the
front of the warrior's body. Her strokes caressed the warrior's
ample breasts. Once the two gorgeous mounds were dry, she could not
restrain some deeply erotic desire to bring her mouth to them.
Interrupting her drying motions, Gabrielle placed the towel over
her shoulder and leaned down to wrap her lips around one of Xena's
nipples. At the same time, the storyteller grabbed and squeezed the
taller woman's breasts.
"Gabrielle… Hmm…" The dark-haired woman had not
imagined that Gabrielle would be taking control of her body so
quickly. She had thought she would be the one to make the first
lovemaking move on this romantic night at the Inn. As she felt the
bard's delicious mouth switch to her other breast, the warrior
woman uttered another moan of delight and forwent some of her
initial plans. Now she could not wait to feel the blonde woman's
skilled sweet little tongue touch her where she wanted it the most.
"Gabrielle… Please…" Still standing, Xena slightly
spread her legs in front of her younger lover. She gently caressed
the back of the blonde's head.
Gabrielle noticed the hint her partner was giving her. After she
had relished taking as much of each of the warrior's breasts into
her mouth during a few more moments, she dropped to her knees and
kissed the brunette's lower belly. She then took the towel and
began to tease Xena by rubbing the large cloth onto one of the
taller woman's legs, then the other. The bard noticed her older
lover shudder as she caressed her inner thighs with the towel. She
could feel that the Warrior Princess was becoming even more
impatient. Gabrielle blew some hot breath onto the dark curls and
the magnificent glistening folds before her.
"Please… Gabrielle…" Xena groaned in excitement. She
put her hands onto the blonde's hair, delicately stroking the back
of her head. "Your mouth on me, please… Lick me, my
love…"
Unable to resist her strong sexual hunger any longer, Gabrielle
dropped the towel onto the floor and nudged her lover's thighs a
little further apart. Putting her hands on Xena's hips, she pressed
her lips onto the warrior woman's soaking wet centre and thrust her
tongue into the heavenly wild taste of her partner's sex.
"Oh… Gabrielle… Gods…" The Warrior Princess
closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the storyteller's head.
She gently drove the eager mouth and tongue deeper into the burning
need between her thighs. "Gabrielle… Oh… Yes…
That's right… Lick all of it, my bard…" Having her
beloved little girlfriend pleasuring her like this, Xena let more
sounds of enjoyment escape her mouth when she felt the incredibly
skilled sweet bardic tongue glide its way around her engorged clit.
Kneeling in front of her lover's parted legs, Gabrielle had her
face buried into the essence of her older lover's exotic heat while
she flicked the tip of her tongue around the bundle of nerves for a
moment. The warrior's wetness coated the bard's nose, mouth, cheeks
and chin as she eagerly licked the tender hot folds, savouring
every corner, every crevice of the dark-haired woman's intimate
flesh.
"Gods… Gabrielle… Yes…" Xena lovingly ran her
fingers through Gabrielle's hair. She loved the way her bard always
knew how to sexually gratify her with her amazing oral
abilities.
The blonde woman carried on tonguing her partner's centre with
fervour. She continued to bask in the scrumptious scent and taste
of her Warrior Princess. Simultaneously, Gabrielle was humming her
joy against Xena's sensitive textures as she performed this oral
activity she always loved so much. As the bard moved a hand to her
partner's sex to tease the clit with her thumb, her tongue entered
the warrior's sodden opening and she plunged it back and forth
inside it, eliciting more pleasure exclamations from her taller
lover. After a little while, Gabrielle's tongue made its way out
and travelled back up towards Xena's swollen bud, which she
lovingly sucked and licked until her warrior reached
orgasm.
"Gabrie-e-e-e-elle!" The Warrior Princess screamed the bard's
name. Her hands pressed the blonde's head even deeper into the
juicy heat between her legs as she came. As she breathed heavily
and loosened her grip on Gabrielle, she gently caressed the smaller
woman's hair.
"Hmmm… You taste so good… Xena…" The bard
licked and drank every last drop of her lover's passion before
affectionately kissing her centre. She stood back up and looked
into her taller partner's eyes.
Xena instantly bent her head down to kiss Gabrielle. She
delighted in the feel of her own taste onto the younger woman's
lips. The two naked women kissed deeply, their tongues dancing
around one another. The room was still being lit by the bright
candlelight. The warrior could no longer wait for the rest, and she
knew the bard needed some lovemaking tonight. The tall brunette
reached down to the back of her blonde lover's thighs and suddenly
scooped the smaller woman's legs up to wrap them around her waist.
She started carrying her towards the bed.
The way Xena lifted her somewhat surprised Gabrielle, but she
kept kissing her older partner as she tightly enveloped her arms
around the warrior's neck. The dark-haired woman could feel the
warm dampness of her lover's centre pressing against her belly as
she firmly held onto the younger woman's thighs while walking
towards the mattress. She carefully deposited Gabrielle onto the
bed. "Hang on, Gabrielle… I also have a couple of surprises
for you tonight." Xena walked around the other corner of the bed to
get the things she had hidden there earlier.
The blonde woman lay on top of the blanket, hoping her beloved
warrior woman's surprises would be good ones.
Xena placed the small bottle of almond oil and the two fruit
bowls somewhere on top of the bed. She then climbed up towards
Gabrielle. The bard spread her legs as she saw the Warrior Princess
approach her on the bed.
"What are these for?" Gabrielle asked with a gleeful sparkle in
her sea-green eyes.
"You'll see," was the warrior's cryptic response. She went to
lie on top of the younger woman and pressed her lips onto hers.
As both lovers shared another blazingly passionate and deep
tongue-searching kiss, they hugged each other in bed. Gabrielle
constantly enjoyed how soft the dark-haired woman's well-toned skin
felt. Xena could not get enough of touching her blonde lover. She
realised how much she had been missing the silkiness of her skin
these last few nights.
The warrior caressed the bard's mouth with her own a few more
times before she began descending on her younger partner's body.
She nibbled at Gabrielle's neck and placed a few little fiery
kisses on her way down to her breasts.
"Oh… Xena…" The smaller woman shivered in bliss as
Xena cupped and kneaded her breasts. She felt incredibly happy and
aroused that her older lover was touching her again, after quite a
few nights without lovemaking. "Gods… Xena…" Gabrielle
exclaimed when the warrior woman's mouth closed itself around one
of her nipples, making it stiffen in response. She moved her hands
back to grasp at the pillow that supported her head.
The Warrior Princess greedily drew the bard's breast into her
mouth. She took joy in sucking it, flicking her tongue around it,
before she switched to the other breast and gave it the same loving
treatment, which made her younger lover moan pleasurably again.
After this, Xena lifted her head and was glad to see Gabrielle's
nipples had become all sensitised by what she had done. She touched
them with her thumbs before moving downwards and kissing
Gabrielle's abdomen.
"Oh… Yes, Xena… Please." The blonde woman was
becoming even more excited. She had been missing her older lover's
lovemaking so much.
Before doing what she would usually do, however, the warrior
raised herself to a kneeling position between the younger woman's
legs, which made the bard whimper in disappointment. "Hold on,
sweetheart. This is when my surprises begin," Xena said as she
smilingly stared down at Gabrielle while running her strong hands
over her lover's thighs.
The bard continued to wonder what the warrior woman was up to.
The feeling of her partner stroking her thighs kept her excited, as
she looked up at her.
Still kneeling between Gabrielle's legs, Xena grabbed a
strawberry from one of the fruit bowls and held it by its green
tail. She could see the beautiful blonde curls of her younger
lover's centre before her. She lowered the red fruit to her
girlfriend's sex.
Gabrielle held softly onto the cushiony fabric behind her head.
"What are you doing?" she asked with astonishment, as she felt Xena
gently running the strawberry between her nether
lips.
The warrior gave the bard a radiant, wicked smile. She still had
one hand placed onto one of the bard's thighs. "Just lay back and
relax, my love. I'm just having a bit of delicious fun," she
answered as she brought the fruit up to her mouth, after it had
been well-coated with the blonde woman's nectar. Xena bit on the
strawberry, savouring it, and especially the appetising juice that
was on it. "Hmmm..." She lowered it to the storyteller's labia
again and took another bite, eating the whole fruit. She discarded
the tail and took another strawberry, which she, once again,
positioned against Gabrielle's centre.
"Oh… Xena…" The storyteller moaned as she felt her
partner, once again, touching her sex with the red fruit. "Why are
you teasing me like this?" She was becoming
impatient.
"Because it spices things up." Xena winked down at the bard and
smirked. She slightly dunked the strawberry into Gabrielle's juicy
entrance, turned it on the spot -covering it with the bard's
essence- and took it to her own mouth to taste her lover's luscious
nectar again. After she finished eating that strawberry, she took
another one, dipped it in the younger woman's folds and then
brought it to her supine partner's mouth. "Taste yourself,
Gabrielle."
Gabrielle opened her lips and ate the strawberry Xena was giving
her, tasting her own excitement on it. "I taste good." She grinned
up at her older lover, who then discarded the fruit's
tail.
"You do." The warrior used another strawberry to tease the
bard's labia. She also tickled her clit with it, before smearing it
with more juices and eating it. Xena even used one strawberry to
dip it in her own wet centre. She immediately moved the fruit to
her younger lover's mouth. "Taste me again, now."
Gabrielle instantly bit on the strawberry Xena was giving her,
loving the taste of her lover's passion on it. She eagerly ate the
whole fruit minus the green tail, which her taller partner chucked
aside.
"And now I'm wanting some more of your precious cream for my
strawberries, my love." The dark-haired woman smirked again before
she coated a few more red fruits with the blonde's taste and
hungrily ate them. "Too delicious." She put the strawberry bowl on
the bedside table.
Gabrielle was becoming very aroused. "Uh… Xena…
Please." She moved her hips slightly up a couple of times, to give
her partner a hint of what she wanted.
"Hmmm…" The Warrior Princess smiled down at her younger
lover, with her charming azure blue eyes. "You want me to put my
mouth on you again, don't you?"
"Yes… Oh… Xena… Please." Gabrielle squirmed in
over-excitement. Xena had been teasing her too much. She wanted
more.
"Please, what, Gabrielle? Come on. Say it, my bard. Tell me you
want me to lick you." The warrior woman, still knelt in front of
companion, stroked the younger woman's legs.
"Lick me, Xena, please…" the blonde woman begged with
impatience, briefly raising her hips again. "I want you to lick all
of it." She wanted her lover to stop teasing her.
"Very good, Gabrielle… Whatever you want from me, you get,
my love." Xena immediately moved back, lay on her stomach and
positioned her head between Gabrielle's spread legs. She placed her
hands around the younger woman's thighs and blew some warm air on
the glistening blond curls, making her girlfriend tremble in
delight. The warrior then placed Gabrielle's legs over her
shoulders and buried her face in the bard's heat.
"Oh… Yes… Xena." Gabrielle felt absolute bliss when
Xena's tongue touched her clit. She had been waiting for this for
quite a few nights. She had missed her dark-haired partner loving
her with her tongue.
The older woman used the tip of her tongue to stimulate the area
around the storyteller's sensitive nub, licking it in slow
circles.
"By the gods… Xena…" The bard kept her hands onto
the pillow. She curled her hands into fists as she grasped more
strongly onto the soft material while raising her hips up towards
the warrior's face, encouraging her to dive deeper into her
intimate parts.
Xena groaned pleasurably against the excited flesh as she slid
her tongue all over Gabrielle's centre. She sucked each of her
younger partner's outer folds into her mouth, and then slowly
licked the delicate pinkish textures of the blonde's inner labia.
As she kept tasting and savouring her bard's succulent hot sex, the
Warrior Princess glided her tongue into every crevice and every bit
of the warm flesh, making Gabrielle utter more sounds of pleasure.
Xena's tongue, lips, chin, nose and cheeks were now completely
covered by her companion's ambrosial love juices, and the warrior
hungrily carried on licking the bard's precious
flower.
"Xena… Oh… Yes!" Gabrielle moved her hands down to
tenderly caress her lover's dark-hair.
The warrior's tongue got inside the bard's wet entrance and the
older woman moved it back and forth inside the blonde's love
tunnel.
"Uh… Oh… Yes… Xena…" The younger woman
enjoyed every moment of the sweet and loving activity her partner
was performing on her, as she pushed the taller woman's head closer
onto the area between her legs. She voiced her delight, once again,
when she felt Xena use her thumb to rub her clit as the warrior
continued making love to her orally and skilfully.
After a while, the dark-haired woman's tongue got out of its
comfortable haven and moved upwards to touch Gabrielle's engorged
bundle of nerves again. This time, she drew the node into her
mouth, sucking it and tonguing it to bring her younger lover closer
to climax.
After thrusting her hips up to press her centre more closely
onto Xena's mouth, the bard moved her hands back towards the pillow
behind her head, gripping it firmly as she orgasmed. "Xeeenaaa!"
Her body fell back onto the mattress as she attempted to catch her
breath again.
The Warrior Princess licked away at every trickle of Gabrielle's
intimate essence. She loved drinking her bard's honeydewed liquid.
It had such a deliciously unique taste. Xena gently kissed her
younger lover's sex and lifted her body up. She raised herself to
crawl back up the storyteller's body and fervently kiss her on the
mouth.
The bard revelled in the taste of herself on her taller lover's
lips. "I love you," she said, following the kiss'
end.
"I love you too," Xena replied, gazing into Gabrielle's eyes.
"What an amazingly tasty little treat you are, my bard." She
claimed her lips again, and their tongues intertwined as they both
hugged on the bed. The warrior softly ran her fingers along the
bard's skin as the two of them rested for a few moments. "I have a
few more plans for us tonight," she murmured sweetly in the
storyteller's ear.
"What are they?" the blonde woman asked quietly.
Xena raised herself back up to a kneeling position on the bed.
"Turn around and lie on your stomach, my love. I'm going to give
you a massage."
"Oh, great idea." Gabrielle rolled over and moved her long hair
away from the skin of her back. She dragged down her pillow to
place it under her upper chest, keeping her arms around it. She
closed her eyes as she lay prone onto the bed, anticipating her
taller lover's skilled touch.
After quite a few years of being Gabrielle's lover, the Warrior
Princess obviously knew by heart all the sensitive areas of her
beloved companion's body. The dark-haired woman grabbed the little
bottle of almond oil, opened it and went to straddle the bard's
hips. She poured some of the sticky liquid onto one of her hands
and rubbed her palms together to make it warm after she had put
down the open bottle of essential oil on the bedside table. She
first massaged the back of the smaller woman's neck with firm but
delicate, skilful hands.
"Xena…" Gabrielle felt Xena's long fingers make contact
with her skin while applying a pleasantly warm and oily substance
onto it.
"Just relax, Gabrielle." The older woman kindly ordered as she
worked her slippery hands onto her partner's shoulders for a little
while. She then moved her fingers down towards the blonde's
shoulder blades and started to rub them. With gentle pressure, she
worked her slippery palms and fingers into the skin at the top of
the storyteller's back.
"Hmmm…" The blonde woman purred, enjoying every moment of
this delicious massage.
As Xena moved her hands further downwards in continuous, and
sometimes circular, motions, she felt Gabrielle's muscles relax
under her every stroke. She also used her thumbs and index fingers
to work her smooth touch along the sides of bard's spine. The
warrior got some more oil to massage her younger lover's lower
back.
"Hmmm… Xena…" The younger woman just lay there,
breathing calmly, with her hands around her pillow. Feeling her
partner's oily touch slide further down her back sent thrilling
shivers down her spine.
The warrior moved to straddle the bard's thighs. She intensely
rubbed the small of Gabrielle's back with unhurried movements,
eliciting a few more, occasional, happy low moans from the smaller
woman. After this, Xena grabbed the small bottle again and poured
some more almond oil onto her hands. She then kneaded her younger
lover's firm, round buttocks. "You've got such a gorgeous butt, my
love," the taller woman softly said.
Gabrielle chuckled briefly. She clung onto her pillow when she
felt the Warrior Princess' oily hands massage her butt cheeks. The
bard moaned quietly, feeling mild titillation when her partner
softly brushed the back of a finger across the cleft of her rear.
She experienced a very warm and pleasant sensation when her older
lover lightly stimulated her little puckered opening with the tip
of a thumb. The storyteller sometimes craved and loved the
warrior's touch all over the sensitive parts of her body, like in
this evening's gentle massage for instance.
After she had finished massaging the younger woman's buttocks,
Xena glided her hands over the back of Gabrielle's thighs, moving
herself on the bed accordingly as she kept slowly rubbing the touch
further down the bard's body. Her fingers could still sense some
taut muscles at the back of the blonde woman's legs, but this
tension swiftly yielded under a few firm, but careful, tactile
strokes. "Keep relaxing, sweetheart."
Gabrielle gasped when she felt Xena's fingers touch the back of
her knees. She was particularly sensitive right there. The warrior
worked her way further down her legs, and the storyteller enjoyed
the way her older lover deeply massaged her skin there. She also
loved how Xena took special and tender care of her
feet.
After she had was done with massaging Gabrielle's soles and
toes, the Warrior Princess went to lie closer to the younger woman
on the bed. She spoke again. "So you loved the massage, Gabrielle,
didn't you?"
"Hmmm…" the bard cooed, rolling herself back over to a
supine position. "Xena," she grinned, "you know I always love
massages from you, and I give you some as well
sometimes."
"It's true." Xena smiled back and went to lie on top of the
blonde woman's body. She passionately kissed her and ran her
fingers through her hair.
Gabrielle touched her dark-haired partner too. They both loved
the scent and the feel of each other's skin and hair. They shared a
strong hug, loving the contact of their bodies pressing against one
another. "Thank you so much, my warrior. I had been missing your
touch these last few nights."
"Well, I really wanted to make up for it, my bard." Xena was
caressing Gabrielle's skin. They were both gazing intently into
each other's eyes.
"Have you got any more plans for tonight?"
"Well..." Xena sat up on the bed and took the bowl of
raspberries, "I do have another little surprise." She grabbed a
fistful of the dark pink fruits and placed the small bowl on the
bedside table, beside the strawberries.
The bard wondered once again what the warrior was up to as she
saw her holding a handful of raspberries while staring down at her.
"What are you going to do with those?" Gabrielle
asked.
"I'm just gonna be having a little fun." The Warrior Princess
smirked. "Spread your legs, Gabrielle."
"You're not going to…" The blonde woman gave her partner
an astonished look.
"Please, spread your legs, my love," Xena kindly
requested.
Gabrielle could not resist and complied. The dark-haired woman
pressed the raspberries against her lover's centre and gently
squashed them. The pink fruits' juice spread all over the bard's
centre. Droplets trickled on the blanket beneath.
"Hey, Xena," Gabrielle jumped slightly from feeling the
raspberry nectar on her labia, "you are staining the bed. The
innkeepers are going to charge us for this."
"It's all right, Gabrielle." Xena brought her fingers to her
mouth to suck the raspberry juice off them. "I'll pay for it. It'll
be all on me." She looked at Gabrielle's sex again; the raspberry
liquid was all over it. "Hmmm… I'm gonna have to lick all
this off now." The warrior began to lower her head towards the
bard's centre.
"Xena, wait!"
"What?" The dark-haired woman stopped her motions to look into
the storyteller's eyes.
"If you're going to do this to me again, I would like to be able
to do it to you at the same time. Is that okay?"
"Sure…" Xena gave her a slight half smile. "I'll also give
you some of that fruity taste too." She grasped another handful of
raspberries and smeared her own sex with them, spreading the pink
juice all over her nether lips.
After her blonde partner got her pillow out of the way and moved
her body slightly further down towards the middle of the bed, the
Warrior Princess turned her body around so her hips were positioned
above the bard's head. Unable to wait any longer, Xena moved her
face down to Gabrielle's centre. She started licking all the fruity
nectar off from the gorgeous pinkish folds, intensely appreciating
the taste of her younger lover mixed with the raspberry liquid. Her
tongue got into every warm and wet recess of Gabrielle's
sex.
A few little drops of juice and bits of fruit fell onto the
blonde woman's face. She immediately reached up and lowered Xena's
hips until her hungry mouth made contact with the taller woman's
centre. The bard greedily tasted her partner's sexual textures and
enjoyed the juicy mixture of her lover's passion and the
raspberries.
The two women carried on orally pleasuring each other
simultaneously. When there was no more fruit juice to lick off each
other's sex, they continued to eagerly savour one another. Xena
took great joy in running her tongue all over Gabrielle's precious
flower while feeling her blonde girlfriend do the same thing to
her. Similarly, it was intense rapture for the bard to be able to
tongue her older lover's intimate area while the warrior was
performing the same ministrations on her. They both stimulated each
other's clits at the same time.
As they were closer to climax, Xena interrupted while they both
remained in this position. "Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle stopped her oral task for a few seconds. "What is it,
Xena?"
"When I come, please keep some of my juices in your mouth. I'll
do the same thing. I have an idea. You'll see." The warrior
returned her mouth to her younger partner's centre.
"Okay." The bard also resumed her own activities. They both
licked deeply and intensely into each other's sex. Once again, each
woman sought out the engorged nub of the other. After a while, they
orgasmed and kept one another's wetness into their mouths. Then
Xena turned her body back around on the bed and took Gabrielle into
her arms.
They both shared the most heated kiss they had ever experienced
together, mingling their own intimate tastes into each other's
mouths. They searched each other's tongues, and together they drank
each other's mixed love essence as they kissed
deeply.
"I love you, Gabrielle." Xena said as the kiss
ended.
"I love you, Xena," responded Gabrielle. "We're so clearly made
for each other."
"Yup." The Warrior Princess went to lie on her back onto the
comfortable mattress and pillows.
The bard moved to lie next to her taller lover, placing her head
on the dark-haired woman's shoulder, her hand on her belly and
wrapping a leg over one of her thighs. Xena encircled an arm around
her beloved companion. They rested, experiencing the agreeable
post-orgasmic effects.
After a few moments, Gabrielle lifted her head.
"Xena?"
"What?"
"I want us to make love again… in a truly soul-connecting
way. Do you know what I mean?"
"Umm… I think I do… Come here." The warrior woman
sat up, pulled the bard up and encouraged her to do the same. They
faced each other, sitting up on the bed. "I've got an idea for a
soul-connecting position," said the taller woman as she parted her
younger lover's thighs. "Do you want to try it,
Gabrielle?"
"Yes, absolutely, Xena."
Xena scissored her legs around Gabrielle's and tightened them
around her partner's hips, causing both their warm centres to
tightly press against one another. The storyteller shivered at the
very warm and blissful contact, as she also encircled her legs
around the dark-haired woman. With their legs interlocking like
this, they firmly held onto each other's arms. They exchanged a
very intimate and direct gaze into each other's eyes as Xena began
grinding her sex against her companion's. "Follow my movements.
Move against me, Gabrielle."
"All right." Gabrielle strongly clung onto Xena as she rubbed
her own clit against the warrior's.
The two lovers embraced each other as they found the right
rhythm for this intense, tribadic lovemaking. Xena leaned down to
bring her mouth to Gabrielle's and kissed her for a short instant,
grinding herself harder against her. The strong sensation they were
mutually sharing swiftly rippled through both their beings. It
would not take them long to find release again. The dynamic moves
they were doing so marvellously connected their bodies and minds.
Azure blue eyes and sea-green ones met again as both women brought
themselves over the edge while screaming each other's names. The
utter rapture of this moment filled their minds. They ground their
mounds together again, one more time, mustering another strong
climax within their groins.
Exhausted and sweaty, they quickly unlocked their legs and
collapsed onto the bed, their damp and hot bodies snuggled up to
one another. They had the odd feeling of a trillion of
multicoloured stars having just exploded inside their minds. They
both breathed heavily in the aftershocks of this interesting kind
of lovemaking.
"Wow!" Gabrielle lay into Xena's arms, tired but so happily
fulfilled. "I'll forever love you, Xena." She kissed the older
woman's neck.
"Me too, Gabrielle." The warrior delicately stroked the bard's
back. "I'll love you forever, my bard."
"You know, what, Xena?"Gabrielle asked quietly.
"What, Gabrielle?"
"I really believe that you and I share a soul-uniting connection
of some kind. I feel we are destined for one another. You're part
of me, Xena, and I have an idea." The blonde woman briefly lifted
her head, just to look at the Warrior Princess. "I think we should
go on a spiritual quest together. I think our next trip should be
to India. That way we could perhaps find out more about our
soulmate link."
"India, really?"
"Yes, Xena. I would love so much to go there with you, to find
the answers that I need."
"All right. India, it will be then."
"Thank you, Xena." Their lips joined and their tongues danced
again with one another. After this kiss, Gabrielle spoke again. "Of
course, we could always stop by some holy mountains on our
way."
"Anything you want, sweetheart." The warrior briefly kissed the
bard's temple. "So, have I made it up to you today, with all the
things I did for you? No more frustration, huh,
Gabrielle?"
"No," the younger woman beamed, "absolutely not… Xena,
you've made me feel so glad today." Gabrielle admitted sincerely.
"First you made our breakfast and did the dishes. You also gave me
flowers. Then you took me to Athens and found me another green
shirt at the City Market. Then you found us an interesting and
politically productive way to make money at the outdoor theatre."
She continued speaking about this wonderful day with an
enthusiastic voice: "And you brought me to this pleasant inn and
paid for the room and dinner. You found some exciting things to do
in bed, with some fruits, and then you gave me a massage. Finally,
we made love so wonderfully it felt even more intense than
ever…" The blonde woman kept smiling. "I am so proud of you,
Xena. Forget about the arguments we've had recently. None of them
count anymore."
"Good. I'm so happy too… I love you, sweetheart." Xena
gave Gabrielle a goodnight kiss.
"I love you too, warrior. I'm glad I'm so important to
you."
"You are more important to me than anything,
Gabrielle."
"It feels the same to me."
They both got under the blanket on the bed. The bard fell asleep
in The Warrior Princess' embrace. Xena lay awake for a few more
moments, listening to Gabrielle's peaceful breathing. As she softly
caressed her lover's blond hair, she stared at the ceiling and
thought about how happy she was about the fact that all her love
plans had succeeded beyond expectation. She was satisfied she had
so brilliantly managed to rekindle the flame of their
passion.
Then a darker thought suddenly came over her: the haunting
vision of them being crucified by Romans on a snowy mountain. The
images in her head felt so cold, so frightening. Gabrielle had just
been bringing up the possibility that they may be soulmates. If so,
would they really have to die together in such a cruel and painful
way? The warrior felt sad. If the vision was to come true, she
would be dragging the bard to her death. She would do anything to
stop such an awful thing from happening, even if it meant that she
would herself die alone, sacrificing herself for
Gabrielle.
Xena strove to dispel the abhorrent thoughts from her mind. She
managed to join her bard into the Land of Morpheus. The next day
she would pay for breakfast and the raspberry stains on the bed.
Then they would both leave the inn, travelling together towards
more adventures.
THE END