Chapter 1

It was perfect, absolutely perfect and everything had worked out flawlessly. She felt quite satisfied with herself, she had pulled it off and showed that arrogant, chauvinistic bastard that she did know what she was doing and she didn't need his help as much as he thought she did. She wasn't like those pathetic generals who couldn't get themselves out of a burlap sack- but though she had proven that time and time again he still felt the need to try and control her and she still couldn't believe that he had actually tried to talk her out of the brilliant plan she had come up with. It had been utter nonsense to consider that strategy a risk and she had actually believed that the War God would praise her for the tactful scheme that she had conjured up to take Thronion. There might have been some hazards with what she had planned but Xena just couldn't understand why he couldn't see the bigger picture of what taking that city was going to mean for her army.

They had argued for hours on the days leading up to the battle and it hurt her tremendously to think that he had such little faith in her after all this time and that he actually thought that this was a battle that she couldn't possibly win. For hours and hours he ranted that the Thronion army was a force that she was not ready to go against and that her army was not entirely prepared for them just yet, insisting that it was wiser to wait some more before attacking. But the Warrior Princess was just as stubborn as he was and thus refused to listen to him, of course. So, not paying attention to anything that he had to say, Xena had led her men against them and her army had taken a major blow with this battle- it annoyed her to some extent that Ares had been right about that, but they prevailed in the end and everything worked out just like she was certain it would.

So there she stood, on a small embankment overlooking the destruction that had been roaring with life just a few hours ago. Although she was aware of the fact that it was not likely to happen, she had been waiting for the fierce Olympian to arrive but she somehow knew that he was still probably too mad at her for defying him yet again and all she was going to get to keep her company on what should have been a joyous day for her victory was the cold night air.

She tried to tell herself that she really didn't care what he thought and his opinion didn't mean anything to her but she secretly hoped that this battle had secretly pleased him. She couldn't help wondering if he had been watching, he was never too far from any of her battles but this time, she hadn't felt his presence once during the whole fight. It had been days since she had seen him last, not since their last heated argument anyway, when she told him that she cursed the day that she had ever agreed to be his Chosen and that she wished that there was a way for her to go back in time and stop herself from taking that accursed vow with him. His reaction had been naturally violent. Before she knew it, he had viciously slammed her against the wall, literally knocking the air out of her lungs from the force he had used, brutally tightening his grip around her arms and then angrily telling her that she better get used to life without him in it and then he roughly shoved her back against the wall and left.

Although he had quickly covered it, she had seen the small amount of hurt that had flashed across his eyes when those words had left her mouth. She didn't care back then if she had hurt him, she was actually quite pleased with it and she was so angry with him for being as stubborn as not to see things her way and his complete lack of faith was something that she really didn't expect coming from him. This battle had been a calculated risk, yes, one that she was willing to take to show Greece just who she was and it worked of course- soon word was going to travel about it and the neighboring cities would be trembling. It was a triumphant day, one meant to celebrate her victory and spoils for a job well done, right, so why did she feel so damn sad?

A few seconds later, a soft sigh escaped her lips, followed by a light sniffle that she quickly tried to blame on the cold air that was whirling around her before one small tear fought its way free from the hundreds that threatened to fall and she swiftly wiped it away before more of them could follow in its place. She let her shimmering sapphire eyes wander over the vast battle ground for a few seconds more and then turned her head up towards the sky for a moment and just gazed at the countless sparkling stars that adorned the night sky. It wasn't long until a fierce cold wind had blown around her, whipping her hair wildly behind her and she immediately wrapped her arms around herself to provide a bit of warmth from the sudden assault, thinking that at any moment a new warmth would soon engulf her. She lightly ran her hands up and down her arms, softly tracing the bruises that still lingered on her arms from when Ares had cruelly grabbed her there. It was only getting later though as she waited and with it, the night was only turning colder and cutting her losses, she let her eyes admiringly dwell on the twinkling lights above her for a moment more and then decided to head back to her camp.

The Warrior Princess' thoughts had been completely consumed by something else though during her little walk. Instead of thinking about her next conquest, of new exciting places where she should lead her army, of how to successfully annihilate some more enemies, her mind had been consumed with thoughts of Ares. She missed him, Gods did she miss him more than she was willing to admit to herself. Now don't get her wrong, he had made her angry more than anyone else ever could and his arrogance most of the time just drove her mad with the way he would show up with that conceited smirk when things didn't go as planned when she didn't listen to him, making her want to just smack it right off his face. But despite her mistakes, he did understand her- how he did it, she wasn't really sure but he just did- and she had missed that while he was gone or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself to think.

One could have called what they had quite intricate indeed, they seemed like they were always fighting more than they were doing anything else and despite how complicated their relationship might have seemed, there was a genuine trust between them. Yeah, one could say she had an army, hundreds of men that had pledged their allegiance to her and who would have fought and died for her just to show their loyalty to her but she didn't trust any of them. They feared her, and with good reason too because she was not someone that anyone would want to trifle with on a good day and in the end they knew that she held the favor of the God of War and they feared him even more. One did not simply go against the feared Olympian, plus, to do so was to ensure their imminent death and although it did annoy her beyond words that her men were more scared of what Ares could do to them than what she could, the Warrior Princess did feel safe with him. Never was that feeling any stronger then when she was lying within his arms.

Regardless of the countless times she had said it to herself, and him for that matter, that she didn't need him in any way that mattered, she knew that as long as his arms were around her, there wasn't a single soul who could touch her and those nights were the most peaceful ones she had ever had. She knew that somewhere along the way during their complex relationship, between the fighting and the scheming, the manipulation and the long nights of love making- which they had both fooled themselves into believing was just nothing more than a bout of amazingly hot sex- she had fallen in love with him. That was something that she wasn't ever supposed to do but yet, she did, and somehow the Fates had completely different plans for her instead on how that was supposed to go. She denied it every time she had the chance of course, except maybe when she was alone but even then she wouldn't let her mind reside for too long on that subject. That was only asking for something that she wasn't entirely sure she really wanted to know the answer to.

While her mind was hastily having a fierce battle with that inner demon that was telling her to just embrace what she was feeling for the War God, trying to dispel those horrendous thoughts that were mercilessly fighting to break down that barrier that she had kept in place to protect herself from him, before she even knew it, she was back at camp. It was strangely quiet, there wasn't as much activity- not the regular celebrations that would take place after a well deserved victory- and she figured it had something to do with the significant amount of numbers that they had lost by engaging in this battle. She passed a few soldiers on her way to her tent, she didn't pay them any attention and just kept walking though, wanting to just wash this tiring day away and get some much needed rest.

"Xena!" a soldier saluted once she made it to her tent and held the flap open for her to enter, "Your bath has been prepared for you, is there anything else that you might need this evening?"

She just stared at him with his question, making the man grow tense under her gaze since he didn't want to get on her bad side and it seemed like she was already in a bad mood, she had been that way for days and he didn't want to be the unlucky one that she took out her frustration on by upsetting her more. The last person who did that, well, let's just say that he was now missing a vital piece of his anatomy and the soldier was not looking to repeat history, he was quite attached to all his limbs. It was an innocent enough question though, one that had been asked hundreds of times before but the only difference this time was that what she wanted this pathetic soldier wouldn't be able to give her. Her captivating sapphire eyes that the man had suddenly found himself getting lost in only seemed to harden at the realization, making him snap out of his little fantasy and gulp nervously and he soon directed his eyes to the ground while he waited for her reply, if he was even going to get one to begin with.

"No…" she coldly answered, moving passed him and into her tent, "… just make sure I'm not disturbed for the rest of the night."

With a respectful enough answer meant to please her, Xena had completely paid no attention to it and the soldier left her to herself and she just looked around the confines of her tent for a moment. Given the countless times she had spent in here, all of a sudden it just didn't feel right, it hadn't felt right in several days but just like all those times before, she pushed the reason why out of her mind and started to slowly take off her armor. She really wanted to get all this grim off and that warm bath was going to be her Elysian Fields.

She carefully took off her armor, moving slower than usual because she was really beat up after such a tiring day. That army had been a fierce foe and gave her troops and herself one heck of a battle. But now her muscles were extremely sore and they were just crying out for relief. She was so tense and every little movement seemed to cause an ache in places that she didn't even know could hurt. Having successfully taken all of that bothersome heavy armor off, Xena gradually slid herself in to the warm comforting water, sighing out softly as her aching muscles seemed to thank her for it. Gods what she wouldn't give at that moment to feel Ares' hands working magic on her body while he leisurely soothed away all of her pain, his skillful fingers did know how to make a woman relax.

It was a wild fantasy that wasn't going to happen though so she had to settle with relieving her body aches on her own, not being quite as successful with it as the skilled Olympian. There were just places that she couldn't reach and her own gentle massaging wasn't having the same effect as the one she wanted. A rueful sigh soon escaped her lips, she really didn't mean what she had said to him, she was just so angry with him and she just wanted to hurt him the one way she knew would cut the deepest and it was only when she was alone that she allowed herself for a few moments to admit that she really did cherish what they had with each other.

A light smile soon formed on her face from the thought- there was just no one else like Ares, he was unique and although he infuriated her to the point that words just couldn't describe it, making her want to just run him through with her sword just for the sheer pleasure of knowing that she could do it, he was hers, flaws and all and she missed him dreadfully.