DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS: This site and its author have no connection whatsoever with the actual show Xena: Warrior Princess. That show and all its characters are the property of its creators and the appropriate licensed agencies. This site is run for fun by a fan, and no profit is made from it. Gods willing, there is nothing here to sue me over.
This site is subtext friendly, and yes, some of the stories may contain graphic descriptions of sex between two women. Some of the stories may also contain graphic descriptions of sex between men and women. There may also be a certain degree of violence in some of the stories. They may contain all sorts of things. I won't know for sure until they have been written after all. In any event, if this type of content offends you, or if you are under the age of 18, or if this is illegal where you live, please go away.
SPECIFIC TO THIS STORY: The Characters Xena and Gabrielle belong to RenPics et al. I make no claim to their creation. Original characters and situations are mine and no fault of the PTB's. Certain events in the actual canon timeline, for example the Twilight of the Gods bit, Callisto the good, and other events in Season Five, did not happen in this timeline. Major Warning for Violence Later in the story, small degree of het content (not our girls of course). Not exactly my usual type of story... darker overtones... but still Uber, more or less.
OUT OF THE SHADOWS
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ares stood atop the wall, looking broodingly down into the little camp. 'Appalling,' he thought as he dropped lightly to the ground below. 'Look at them, curled around one another like the tendrils on a grapevine.' You'd think they hadn't a care in the world, the way they slept. Xena, at the very least, should know better, if not the annoying little blonde.
No. Actually, she should know better too. He'd hounded them both for a long time, keeping them constantly under attack. Their skills should be honed to a razor's edge, always ready and alert, never failing. They hadn't even made a pretense of setting up a defense. Perhaps he shouldn't have had the little bard brought back after all. Love still made Xena soft, blunting her wits.
Perhaps he should rectify his lapse in judgment now. Zeus knew, the seemingly innocuous little blonde had caused enough trouble for the Gods in her first life. Her rebirth could not be a good thing. What had he been thinking, to let her have another chance? Awash with ambivalence, he walked over to where they lay in a tangled mass of blankets and bare limbs. Almost immediately, Xena spoke.
"You so much as touch her Father, and I swear I'll find a way to kill you."
"Just looking, Xena." The god of war took a small, hurried step backwards, attempting to look as nonchalant as possible. "No harm in that, is there?"
Xena was on her feet in one impossibly fluid motion. "There is harm in everything you do Ares. What do you want?"
"Nothing. Everything. The whole damn world. Your respect." His dark eyes crackled with suppressed energy. "I could go on and on…"
"Don’t bother." The warrior's impatience was evident in the crispness of her reply. "I could not possibly care less. Just see that you leave us out of it this time."
"What? Are you afraid your little friend will die on you again?"
"I just found her. Nobody is going to harm her. Not you, not your brothers and sisters. Nobody! Keep your stupid games away from us." There was no mistaking the menace in her tone.
Ares looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, before vanishing with his customary aplomb. His disembodied voice lingered, echoing crazily in the still air. "Its far too late for that Xena. The two of you, you are the game."
For a fraction of an instant, Xena could have sworn that his voice held a hint of honest regret. Odd. Extremely odd. The strangeness of his reaction baffled her, raising numerous questions in her mind. They were instantly forgotten when a piercing wail split the air behind her.
Gwyn woke to the harsh sound of voices in conflict. Hazily, she wondered who Xena had found to argue with in the middle of the Burnouts. Burnouts!? Damn! She'd been fast asleep for who knew how long, right in the middle of enemy territory. Ephiny would have been so ashamed of her.
Gwyn's temples began to throb violently. 'Who the hell was Ephiny?' The harder she tried to track the thought fragment down, the louder the cacophony in her head became. Two sets of thoughts and memories warred within her, flooding her with confusion. She was Gwyn, just as she had always been, but she was someone else as well; someone who had loved the warrior well. Loved her to the arms of death and beyond. The mere thought set her senses reeling.
Through the errant fragments of memory, she was able to identify the voice arguing with Xena. Ares, God of War. Even in her mind the name was a curse. That small scrap of knowledge only added to the tumult within her, making that unknown other almost desperate to reach Xena. With grim determination, Gwyn fought to bring the chaotic jumble of her thoughts under control. She howled in agony as the torment became too great to contain.
Kayl stumbled blindly along the pathway, oblivious to her surroundings. She was trying sullenly to keep her mind on her task; finding the dark warrior. Despite her best efforts, she was failing miserably. Her thoughts circled relentlessly, inexorably drawn back into the morass of memories that hung like a leaden shroud around her soul.
The conclusion was inescapable. Everything that had happened, the abuse she had suffered, the death and destruction; all of it was her fault. She was to blame for every bit of the suffering. No one else. Guilt and terror rose in tandem, driving her down, suffocating her. Even thoughts of revenge no longer bolstered her failing ego; it would be so much easier to just let go.
She was on her knees, knife in hand, when a scream pierced the twilight. What in the hell was that? There shouldn't be anybody around, not at this time of night. Not unless she'd finally found the warrior a little voice insinuated. Pulled back from the brink of oblivion for the moment, Kayl crept cautiously toward the scream.
Magnus strode haughtily through the camp, furtively watching the reaction of his men. All appeared to be well, they showed no sign of the uneasiness that ate away inside him. So far only Brion knew of the warrior's return. He was the only one who'd been there in the beginning, the first time the bitch appeared. The rest were gone, long dead. He had seen to that. Satisfied that there was yet no erosion of his control, Magnus turned back toward his office. He'd wait there for Kayl's return.
Briefly, he wondered where the hell she was. How long did it take to find two women where they didn't belong, anyway? Kayl would pay dearly if she kept him hanging much longer. A brief glimmer of anticipation lit his eyes at the thought. He had toyed with her when she was a child, a mere flexing of his power. How much sweeter would it be now, to dominate the woman she had become?
Thoughtfully, he closed the door to his office and beckoned the boy from his corner. He rarely chose an adult plaything anymore, but it would be the ultimate in power. He could almost see her on her knees in front of him, pleading with him. Intrigued by the possibilities, he felt a slow fire start deep in his loins. Still lost in the mental image of Kayl's subjugation, Magnus smiled chillingly at the child that stood in trembling silence before him.
The echoes of Gwyn's scream had yet to fade from the air when Xena reached her side. The little blonde's eyes were squeezed tightly closed, almost as if she were making a desperate effort to avoid seeing. The bedroll was a disaster, tangling around her like a snare as she thrashed and moaned on the ground. There was no visible cause for her distress, but the Fates were notably capricious. If they were tormenting her, the lack meant nothing.
Dropping to the ground, Xena gathered the smaller woman into her arms. Rocking back and forth, making soothing noises, she tried fruitlessly to calm the struggling body in her arms. A brief surge of unreasoning panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she clamped it down ruthlessly. Gwyn would pull through whatever assailed her. She had to. The alternative was unthinkable, now that Xena knew she was linked somehow to Gabrielle.
Trying by any means available to reach the now sobbing girl, she let her hands stroke gently over every inch of bare skin. Touching, planting small kisses on the girl's forehead, whispering promises of safety; all were meant to break through the thrall that held the other woman. That they also gave reassurance to the warrior was incidental.
Finally, the girl quieted a little, her tears dying to a slow trickle on her cheeks. Still, she never opened her eyes. Settling her long frame into a more comfortable position, the warrior continued to hold Gwyn tightly. There was nothing else she could do.
Magnus listened absently to Brion, ignoring the muffled weeping from the curtained off corner of his office. The kid would get over it; they all did sooner or later. Besides, it amused him to watch the other man assiduously trying to pretend that corner of the room did not exist. Perhaps he should get rid of the curtain, just to make it more difficult.
Brion was just winding down, finishing his daily reports. Magnus could tell how eager he was to be gone by the way his gaze kept straying toward the door. Too bad he wasn't through tormenting him yet.
"So. All is well with the raids then?" he kept his tone deliberately thoughtful, as if he had a great deal on his mind. Magnus knew from long experience that Brion's inherent curiosity would keep him in the room.
"So it seems? Why?"
"Oh, no reason. Has there been any sign of Kayl?"
Brion's face darkened immediately at the mention of the scrappy blonde woman. It would be a while before he forgave her for threatening his beloved computer, by the look of things. A hint of an idea twisted in Magnus's brain, an idea Brion wasn't going to like at all. He smiled wolfishly as the other man gave a cautiously negative reply.
"Go after her then. Bring the little bitch back."
"Alive?" It was only one word, but it told Magnus everything.
"Sorry to disappoint you. Yes, alive. Go yourself, don't just send somebody." He dropped his eyes to the papers on his desk, effectively dismissing Brion.
He knew the grizzled veteran would hate every moment of this job. Good. It would forcibly remind him just why Magnus owned him, body and soul. It was all he could do to contain his laughter until the other man left.
Two birds with one stone, he thought gleefully. Very soon Kayl would be under his hands, and he could make Brion pay for his sins yet again. Two for one indeed.
Carefully, Kayl climbed up the crumbling wall. It took every ounce of skill she had to navigate the treacherous brick in silence, but navigate it she did. 'Insane I may be,' she thought wryly, '…but damn I'm good.' As an added bonus, the effort had allowed her to regain her focus.
The past was long over, her parents dead and buried. She had endured, surviving it all. That was all that mattered. Guilt was fruitless at this point, a hindrance to be ignored.
Reaching the top of the wall, she hid behind the overhanging willows. From her vantage point, she could see down into the area on the other side of the wall. She had a clear view of the warrior and her companion. The little one appeared to be having a fit of some kind, perhaps it was she who had screamed.
They had set up a fairly well ordered little camp, so they were obviously staying put for a bit. Well enough, she would watch for a while. Maybe she could learn something useful before returning to Magnus and her reward.
He owed her big for this one. Kayl licked her lips thoughtfully as she anticipated the payback she expected. He owed her really big.
Gwyn stilled as the tumult within her mind quieted to a dull roar. What was wrong with her? First the dreams that had driven her here, and now this. Was she losing her mind? Xena was fast becoming her anchor to safety, her beacon in the darkness. As she should be, a quiet voice sounded in the back of her mind.
As if the mere thought of Xena had conjured awareness, Gwyn felt strong arms around her. She had no doubt whose they were, she had been dimly aware of the warrior trying to reach her. It felt so good, so secure, to be held like this. Somehow, she was somewhat loath to open her eyes and end the moment.
"Gwyn?" Xena's voice was hushed and hesitant, filled with concern.
Perversely, Gwyn refused to answer. Instead, she turned and buried her face in the other woman's soft leather vest. She stayed like that until she heard the unmistakable rumble of laughter coming from the warrior.
"Now I know you're feeling better." Xena chuckled unreservedly. "Time to get up."
"Oh all right." Gwyn muttered in irritation. "What's the damn hurry?"
"I've got a cramp in my arm." was the deliberately mild reply.
"Oh!" Gwyn was immediately contrite. "How long have we been sitting like this?" she scrambled hurriedly to her feet.
"Hey, slow down." Xena looked up at her lazily. "A little cramp isn't going to kill me."
Gwyn glanced down and found herself drowning, lost in two pools of the deepest blue. The warrior's eyes caught and held her, casting a spell she had no desire to break. Slowly, driven by an impulse she didn't question, she sank to her knees in front of the dark haired vision before her.
Without faltering, she reached out and caressed the other woman's cheek. The spark of desire that flared in Xena's eyes was blinding, giving lie to the words that followed.
"Gwyn, we can't do this. We need to talk. I must know what just happened."
"Not now." She spoke firmly, unwilling to be denied. Pressing her lips to Xena's, she slowly pushed the other woman back down onto the scattered bedroll. "Not right now." She came up for air only briefly, murmuring softly against smooth skin.
She felt the warrior's resistance slowly give way as the kiss between them deepened, and felt a moment of dizzying triumph. As the dark warrior's hands tangled in her hair, pulling her down, taking control, Gwyn knew there would be no stopping this time. Perfect.
Text & Original Images (c) M.C. Sak 2000