The following is a bit of alternative fiction based on certain characters from the Xenaverse. It is not meant to infringe on anyone else's rights. If you don't agree or disapprove, please go read something else.
Xex alert: Very Very Naughty bits ahead. This is a rather important piece, yet I will understand if you need to skip ahead
The execution of Xena's plan for optimal privacy went smoothly. Their exodus from Gabrielle's conveniently located floor window went unnoticed, as did their carefully maneuvered entrance into Amphipolis' temple. It was handy that Xena knew the back way (one of the benefits of growing up in the lovely town). It was also handy that the warrior princess knew which rooms in the temple had locks. There were three, Aphrodite's, Ares' and Artemis', which looking back on it, was pretty felicitous considering, but there were logical reasons. One, almost everyone had used Aphrodite's room as a hideaway, because they knew she wouldn't mind. Two, anyone who used Ares' room usually needed the privacy as there was no sense in scaring the public with blood sacrifices. Three, Artemis was, well Artemis, and privacy was her thing.
Xena planned on using all three rooms if she had to, based on her knowledge of the schedule that the priests kept. She figured they had plenty of time. Certainly it would take hours for Joxer and Kalai to find their respective treasures, and they had a clue as to where they were going. Meanwhile, as far as Xena was concerned, she had her treasure right here with her. Besides, she could always go get something quick if she had to. Xena was a resourceful woman.
She guided the bard discreetly into Aphrodite's room. Priestly services had already occurred and she didn't expect any interruptions in the near future, but, just in case, she drew the bolt securely into place. The warrior princess' grin turned sultry.
Gabrielle noted that amorous smile and started grinning herself. Xena strode up to the bard and in one swift move gathered Gabrielle into her arms. She carried the Queen of the Amazons and settled her on Aphrodite's amazingly comfortable altar. Then Xena dropped a small bundle at the floor of the altar. Gabrielle glanced at Xena in surprise and opened her mouth to say something, but it was too tempting for the warrior princess. Xena's mouth swooped down on the redhead's tender lips and rendered the bard speechless with a few simple movements that sent tremors of lust through the bard's body. Gabrielle hadn't known one could have an orgasm just from a kiss, but she sure appreciated it.
Xena pulled wetly and reluctantly away. Her blue eyes frothy with eroticism. "How would you like to be my offering today?" she spoke in a naughty murmur. Gabrielle returned Xena's gaze with a stormy anticipation of her own. She pulled Xena back in for another kiss, pressing her body close to the woman.
"I thought of you all night." the bard whispered. "I hardly slept. I kept waking up, smelling you, but you weren't there."
Xena nipped at one of Gabrielle's earlobes, "ooh, I'm so sorry about that," she said in a tone that wasn't truly sorry at all. Gabrielle felt a shiver pass through her body at Xena's low tones. "Tell me bard, when you thought of me, what did you think about?"
Gabrielle had planned on this question, after all she did know Xena. She'd planned on a pretty funny answer too, but it just wouldn't come to her lips. Instead, she found herself locked in an eternal gaze of love with the warrior princess and all her mouth could say was "Xena."
After that, there was no more talking, only the "sacrificing" of inhibitions. The pressure of Xena's body against the bard's caused Gabrielle to lie back against the soft altar. Her legs already parting for the warrior's gentle invasion. Gabrielle's mind took the time to fully appreciate the skimpiness of the candidate outfit and then she forgot about it because it was soon laying in a pile of clothes, her own included.
Presently their bodies were slick with each other's sweat and motion. Their hands kept tempo with their desires in profound accuracy and admirable talent. Their breath mingling with delectable kisses and urgent murmurs of affection, including Xena's fervent expression of "You *are* my treasure," which was issued in a low growl to the bard in a moment of ecstatic pleasure.
Their return to the consciousness of their location was slow and luxurious. Xena disentangled herself from Gabrielle's arms so that she could spend a brief amount of time leaning down off the altar, which caused Gabrielle to once again appreciate how limber her warrior truly was. Gabrielle heard a bit of rustling, then Xena sat up with a brief, "Aha!" She grinned wickedly at Gabrielle who stared at the contents of Xena's hand. The warrior held two small silk squares, one a very familiar blue and one the color of the bard's eyes. Gabrielle gave out a gasp and reached for the blue silk, but Xena held it away from her. "No no." she laughed quietly. Then the warrior separated the silks from each other, and cupped on in each hand. She nodded at the bard and lifted her eyebrows in silent command. Gabrielle picked up the thought, grinned, leaned back, spread her legs again, and moaned with pleasure as Xena very carefully and gently used the greenish blue silk to gently wipe the bard dry (Although not entirely. The whole "cleaning" process was itself very arousing) Then Xena used the same technique on herself (which was not as disappointing to Gabrielle as one might think because she got to watch). When she finished, the warrior princess (whom Gabrielle was now in increasing agreement with Ares that Xena should really be called the Goddess of Desire, not that Aphrodite was in anyway poor at her job, but Xena seemed to have a flair for this kind of stuff) put the two pieces of silk together and twirled them so they wrapped around each other. She knotted the ends together so that the silk formed a kind of circular bracelet. Then she laid the newly crafted object in a cup at the head of the altar. "I thought we should leave a little something." Xena explained.
Gabrielle only grinned. Here she was the bard and Xena rendered her so easily speechless. Xena smiled in return and then hopped off the altar casually. She turned around and opened her arms to Gabrielle. "Come, my little bard, there are other Gods we must appease." The redhead laughed sweetly and fell easily and trustingly into Xena's arms.
She didn't expect to be led into Ares' room next, nor did she expect the sound of the bolt being shut to click so loudly or finally in her ears. It was darker than Aphrodite's room, that was sure, and even a little redder (that made sense). The altar was hard rock and there was blood stains that seemed to pour down it's side. The cup on the altar was the color of rust, but she knew it wasn't because of poorly cared for metal. An Ares statue (about half of his height) stood watching over the altar with his usual smirk. There was a heavy thump as Xena's bundle hit the floor of the altar. Gabrielle gulped and questioned softly, "Xena?" The bard turned slowly to look at her lover and gasped.
Xena stood casually, her arms dangled loosely at her sides, yet to Gabrielle, she'd never seemed more dangerous. A smoky sensuality exuded from the warrior. Her eyes were a dark dark blue. Gabrielle felt a spark of something go off in her belly. Xena licked white teeth, which seemed suddenly dazzling and the bard felt like she would melt into the floor. The warrior princess spoke, her voice held a earthy rumble. "Gabrielle?" she questioned the redhead, "Do you trust me?"
The bard swallowed hard against a sudden dryness, but she managed to squeak out, "yes."
The warrior took one step forward and Gabrielle surprised herself by taking a cautious step backward. Xena grinned wickedly, "Do you really trust me?" Gabrielle wasn't sure, but she had an intuition that she had to answer this question correctly.
Her voice was stronger, "I trust you Xena, but you scare me sometimes."
Xena laughed a little wildly and seemed to almost tackle the small bard, though all she did was pull the red head in her arms. "Good," her voice shivered down Gabrielle's spine, "because you scare me too." Gabrielle blinked in wonder at that statement. Her? Scare Xena? Even so, in Xena's arms, Gabrielle suddenly felt incredibly safe. "Gabrielle?" The bard looked up at a questioning face, "Do you trust me?"
Gabrielle's, "yes." was as firm as Xena had ever heard it. There was no denying the look on Gabrielle's face. It was surrender.
The warrior mouth claimed the bard's in one heck of a ferocious kiss, the kind that makes the toes curl and steam drift out of the ears. She lifted the woman up, so the bard's legs had no option but to wrap around Xena's waist, and she carried her bard to the altar. She settled Gabrielle gently against the cold stone. The bard gazed unwaveringly at her warrior standing between her legs. Xena knelt and reached, without looking, into the bundle on the floor. She pulled out a exquisitely sharp knife and captured Gabrielle's hand. Her thumb rubbed Gabrielle's palm open and splayed the bard's fingers. Then she captured the index finger in a gentle grip.
Xena didn't say a word but looked the question at Gabrielle, who nodded solemnly. Then the warrior, very quickly and efficiently pricked the bard's finger, causing a quick gasp. She guided that hand over the cup and let three drops fall, then she turned Gabrielle around so that she was facing the statue and placed her finger against the statues lips and dragged down so that it marked the god's lips and chin. Then she turned Gabrielle around again so that she faced a Xena with dark and hungry eyes. Xena bent her head down and licked the rest of the blood away, tenderly and savagely at the same time. Gabrielle forgot she was in any sort of pain, minuscule as it was.
Then Xena took the knife and placed it in her bard's hand. Her voice was firm at Gabrielle's questioning look, "Do it, Gabrielle." The redhead's hand's trembled but her faith was in Xena. She pricked the woman, maybe a little less quick, but as carefully as she could. Then she followed Xena's pattern exactly, three drops in the cup, bloodmarks down the lips of the god and suckling the finger.
Xena's voice rippled through her again, "Very Good." Gabrielle looked up at the warrior and Xena's finger fell out of her mouth and rested on her chin. Xena's hand curved to cup Gabrielle's face. She bent down and brushed warm lips against waiting mouth. Then her hand reached behind Gabrielle's head and gripped the bard's neck. "Hear me Gabrielle." It was a command, not a question, but her voice was a total seduction. "I am your warrior. I am the one who will fight for you. I will live for you. I will die for you. I am yours and You are mine." Her hand tightened against the bard's hair and pulled a little. Her mouth made a demand against ruby lips. "I claim you Gabrielle. I don't care what prissy little ceremonies anyone creates. Nothing will keep me away from you, not the gates of Tartarus or the peaceful fields of Elysus. Nothing." She pressed against Gabrielle's mouth demandingly and received the response she'd hoped for. When she pulled away, Gabrielle's own eyes lowered in a craving and Xena found herself being dragged back into a passionate embrace.
If their lovemaking in Aphrodite's room had been sweet and wild, their passion in Ares' room was savage and primitive. They groaned and screamed into each other. They marked each other with bites and scratches of such primal carnal love that it would have startled even the most jaded of sexual artists. But it was only because they were striving so hard, arching their bodies into each other with a ardent intent to bind their souls together (not they weren't already, but this was an affirmation of that which was already true) so that there was no question in anyone's mind, who belonged to whom. They belonged to each other, no ifs, ands or buts and they made it completely totally clear to a certain god of war at the end by marking the blood on the statue with their combined essence.
To be truthful, it was amazing they could walk without bending their knees funny when they were finished (Xena had a few "toys" in that bag and those toys had been used quite imaginatively and thoroughly), but they headed on over to the next room in a very relaxed, almost casual manner. So they barely missed the entrance of the priests and priestesses who walked into Ares' room with the intent of having a fairly normal ritual and instead found the God of War himself crouching on the altar sporting a massive hard on, licking his lips and grinning. The God, leapt off the table and whispered something into the startled high priest's ear. Then Ares disappeared in God fashion with a hearty laugh. It would be months and months before he bothered them with something petty like trying to win Xena's soul (and even longer before he could personally appear to either of them without his body betraying him). Besides, now he thoroughly and completely (he thought) understood what Xena saw in the bard. Who knew? Gods, it had been magnificent!
This time it was Gabrielle who threw the bolt on the door and Xena who sat upon the alter, her leg swinging lazily and a wide grin stretching across her face. The bundle lay half open on the altar beside her. Xena opened her arms wide and the bard sailed into them with abandon. Xena rubbed her cheek lovingly against Gabrielle's face and inhaled deeply. "You were breathtaking. Positively outstanding my love." Gabrielle's smile, while being held in Xena's arms, would have cured anyone's ills it was so miraculously beautiful.
The warrior princess pulled the bard into her lap and kissed the bard, almost, but not quite chastely. Then she looked at her very seriously, "I want you to know something, Gabrielle." The red head returned her earnest gaze. "While what I said in there," and she nodded in the direction of Ares' room, "was absolutely true, and don't you forget it," Gabrielle grinned, it wasn't likely that she would ever forget. "I know you have obligations. I do not expect nor would I want you to have difficulty in meeting your people's needs."
Gabrielle thought she'd better get some clarification, "What do you mean?"
Xena sighed and thought of how to phrase this, "I mean, that you are my home. Where you go I will go. I will support you in what you need to do, no matter who wins this silly contest."
"But." Xena shushed the bard with her hand.
"I love you more than life itself. You are more valuable to me than anything. But you are Queen of the Amazons. That is an obligation you took upon yourself and your integrity will call you to fulfill it sooner or later." Gabrielle's eyes went wide.
"But I like being with you."
Xena grinned, "I know. And I like you being with me. But things change, I just want you to know that I am more flexible than I may appear. I like to travel, but I can stay in one place too and for that matter so can you or we can do the opposite." Xena was saying two things at once, Gabrielle was sure of it. Her breathing changed at the implications, "And there are ways of meeting our need to be together and the needs that may arise. I just wanted you to know that your options were open," and Xena leaned forward, "and that I can share if I have to."
Gabrielle blushed at the implications of what Xena was saying. "Oh." She gripped Xena's arms. "You won't lose." She spoke only to the one topic.
"I expect I won't, but I thought we should be prepared for. . .any. . .contingency." Gabrielle gulped and nodded. "But I,"
"Don't worry about it right now, my love. Time will tell us what we need to do." Xena gave her bard a reassuring kiss. "You make a lovely Queen." The warrior released Gabrielle's lips and smiled. "I have something for you."
Gabrielle grinned, "I liked the last something you had for me," she quipped. Xena practically purred when she captured the redhead's lips again. This time their kiss was passionately intense, but they lingered and savored each other's mouths and then pulled back at a mutually appropriate time.
Xena's smile was wicked, "now don't distract me again or I may forget to give you this." Gabrielle leaned against Xena's body and placed her head against her warrior's shoulder. "I meant to give this to you in Conera, before we were so rudely interrupted." Gabrielle smiled softly. Xena's hand shook imperceptibly, she felt more nervous than she let show. She pulled out a thin silver bracelet.
"This is my token to you of my affection, my adoration, my desire. There is no one I would rather spend my life with than you. It is not a joining piece. That will come at another time. I'd like you to help me look for something that would suit us both, but this. . .this I thought might serve as a reminder, although you don't have to, but I would like. . ." Xena thought she was expressing herself poorly, and tried not to dig herself deeper, "Especially now that. . ."
"Oh Xena!" Gabrielle gasped and Xena found herself drowning in kiss so sweet it took her breath away. Then it changed and Gabrielle's voice became voluptuous, "Oh, Xena."
Now neither of them had expected to feel the fire of their passion spark so thoroughly again. Xena practically fell off the altar into Gabrielle's arms and they ended up connecting with each other on the floor in an intense mating ritual that stole any doubts they might have had about each other away. Xena found nurturing in suckling Gabrielle's nipples. Gabrielle found liberation in fondling Xena's lovely triangle. Both of them found joy in each other. It was sweet and almost mystical and certainly it was spiritual for they communed with each other in glorious recognition.
And when they were finished they rested, laying gentle, healing hands upon each other and finding comfort.
Gabrielle gazed up at the altar. "We should give her something. She is my people's Goddess after all."
Xena traced a soothing design along Gabrielle's thigh. "Well, I hadn't intended to make love in this room, to be truthful. I didn't bring anything, really." Xena frowned and started worrying.
Aphrodite, she knew would be totally into someone loving in her room. Ares, well they would find out what he thought later, but it had been important. She'd only meant to declare her love in front of Artemis, not Make her love in front of the Amazons' goddess. She sighed. She could only hope that Artemis wouldn't be pissed.
Gabrielle sat up, then stood up and smiled, "Yes you did." She reached down a hand and helped her lover up (though she didn't really need it, but sometimes it's nice to do something like that). Xena stood up agilely and smiled quietly at Gabrielle. Then she watched in shock as Gabrielle picked up the bracelet and dropped it in the cup.
"Gabrielle?" she questioned, afraid of the answer.
Gabrielle turned to Xena with a bright smile. She touched the area of her heart and then Xena's, "I accept you Xena as my love and true desire. I will honor the contract of my people, as it turns out, but know this, you are my haven and I love you." She looked at the silver bracelet and bit her lip. Giving it up was harder than she thought, but she knew it was the right thing to do. "We will select our joining rings when it is time. For now, let's play the game as if we mean it. This way we will spare my people shame and only shock our parents." Xena gave Gabrielle a full out grin.
She pulled Gabrielle close, "Has anyone told you how wise you are my love?"
The bard laughed, "Not recently, but I'll take any compliment you give me."
Xena laughed, "You really do make a great Queen." Then she kissed the bard quite thoroughly again.
A little later they snuck out of the temple, and back to inn. The smell of food was already in the air. Miraculously, neither looked worse for wear despite the intensity of their experience nor were they missed. The bid farewell with a parting kiss and hug, then Gabrielle opened the door to her room and requested a bath. Vera smiled at the Queen and did as she was bid. Xena went and found some "treasure," deposited it in front of some astounded judges (How in the Heck did she carry all of that?), went to the temple and offered a really simple sacrifice and then went back to her room to clean up.