Xena Fan Fiction ❯ To Settle the Score ❯ Scars: Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

When Xena returned to Rome, she was immediately swept into the whirl of preparation for the festival. She avoided the girl was much as possible, only engaging with her in casual and necessary conversation. The girl was far from stupid, but she did pry. She asked to be seen at all times, offered Xena baths, and massages wherever they went. Xena insisted she remained quiet in public however. And then, all she had to do was avoid being in privacy with girl. Something she had all the power to do.

However, she was her handmaiden after all, and since Xena did not want her killed, it was imperative she prepared her properly for the festival.

"You were gone longer than I expected," the girl commented when they were finally alone.

"I came back as soon as possible. Cleopatra did not sit well with me this time. I met with her in Corsica."

"Oh, Cleopatra?" The possible questions that stemmed from such a topic consumed Gabrielle’s gaze. After a moment's pause, she slipped in, "I hear Egypt is beautiful."

Xena smiled, thinking of how Cleopatra often referred to herself as 'Egypt', as if she only embodied the entire kingdom, much as Caesar did in regards to Rome. "Yes, she is beautiful."

"I wish I could see it," she went on with a dreamy sigh, "I wonder what it would be like to meet someone as gorgeous as they claim Cleopatra is..."

Xena did not say any more on the subject. How ironic it was that these two women were connected through her, both wanting to meet each other so, not knowing the other was longing for the same. She passed the slave girl a dress. "Here, you will wear this during the festival."

Gabrielle took it and nodded with a smile, holding it up to her slight frame. It was all Xena could do not to picture her in it.

"Now, we must discuss proper etiquette."

The girl groaned. "Must we?"

"'Must we, empress,'" she stressed the word, "is what you should have said, for one."

She sighed. "Yes, empress."

"Good." Xena then threw a book her way. "Read this, it will help."

"You are positive you have dealt with the matter?" came Caesar's interrogation.

Xena quirked an eyebrow. "Have you really lost all confidence in me since I've become your empress?"

He ignored her question. "I received word from Egypt."

Xena's heart grew weary.

"It seems Egypt would like to discuss an agreement with Rome." Caesar took a sip of wine and eyed his empress. "Cleopatra herself would like to appear at the festival."

"I see." She shook her head slightly, silently chastising herself for letting Cleopatra have the upper hand.

"I am not convinced that her intentions are genuine."

"Of course," she said, "however, I was quite satisfied with the discussion I had with her diplomats. I am confident that she would only appear for the festival if she had trust in Rome."

Caesar nodded and placed his cup on the table before standing. "And what if she has ulterior motives?"

Xena gracefully approached him, draping her arms around his neck. "Then we will deal with Egypt, and you will be the savior of the Roman festival."

"Mmm... I see your logic," he purred into her ear, snaking his tongue out to lick down her neck, making his intentions clear.

She did not push him away but allowed his hunger to fester. This presented her an opportunity to release some of her pent-up aggression.

From the handmaiden's quarter's, Gabrielle could hear the soft cries of pleasure coming from her empress' chamber. She tried to ignore the sounds; the thought of her empress being with Caesar made her feel sick. The moans of her empress, on the other hand, proved to be more than tolerable and though she fought her arousal, she slept that night with a wandering mind full of wild and erotic ideas.

The next morning, Gabrielle warmed her empress a bath, as she did every morning, and knocked softly on the door to the imperial suite. The door creaked open from the force of her knuckles, and when she received no response, she hesitantly entered the chamber. "Empress?" she breathed out in greeting, but again, there was no reply. She searched the room for her empress and saw that she was still asleep in bed, the blankets laying over her, but not fully covering her naked form. Caesar had already left, so Gabrielle was more confident in proceeding into the room. She debated as to whether she should wake her empress up or not, and while she was thinking it over, she let her eyes roam over her empress, who was laying on her stomach, sprawled out across the bed, the sheets covering no more than her behind and upper thigh.

"Empress?" she asked again, but still no response. Gabrielle reached out and slowly brushed her empress' long locks aside and rested her hand on her shoulder. She curiously ran her hand through her empress' hair and smiled at the way it fell through her fingers, tickling the inside of her palm.

Xena released a groan as she awoke, turning her head to face her slave. Gabrielle immediately drew her hand away. "Why are you in here, girl?" her empress mumbled.

"I've warmed a bath for you."

Xena smiled drowsily."Mm... you know what, girl, maybe you're not such a bad handmaiden after all."

Gabrielle relaxed and smiled brightly. "That's very kind of you, empress."

Xena rolled over onto her back, and then sat up without hesitation, despite her nudity.

The slave girl flushed red at the sight, her dreams from the night before returning. She turned away, ashamed of herself.

Xena did not notice her blush, and proceeded directly into the bathing chamber.
Gabrielle followed after a few moments of composing herself. She came into the bathing chamber with a loud yawn and sat down beside the bath.

"Did you not sleep well last night, girl?" her empress asked from the tub.

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

Xena grinned from the tub, knowingly. “Oh? That's too bad. I slept like a baby."

I guess you would after the night you had, was Gabrielle's thought. "I can imagine."

Her empress laughed. She glanced over her shoulder at the girl and quirked an eyebrow, almost in question. "Perhaps the castle walls need reinforcing."

The blonde-haired woman blushed again at her boldness and looked away.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, girl," Xena said. "Sex is a part of life."

Gabrielle blushed more and did not meet her empress' eyes. "I just... Caesar?" she laughed. "Pardon me for this saying, empress, but don't see the attraction."

Gabrielle felt Xena’s eyes linger on her as she spoke her next words. "We cannot choose who we are attracted to, girl."

Gabrielle turned the idea over in her mind, and thinking back to the night before, nodded. "No, I suppose we can't."

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. Gabrielle felt the tension between them intensifying, and with each passing second, the sound of Xena’s moaning more and more present in her head. Abruptly, Gabrielle broke the silence.
“Will they expect me to dance, empress... at the festival?”

“Only if you are asked,” Xena replied.

Gabrielle scoffed at the bluntness of her empress’ statement, as if the thought were so absurd. “Oh, I guess I have nothing to worry about, then." The bitterness in her reply was obvious.

Xena turned and quirked an eyebrow at her quizzically. “I assume you know how to dance?”

“Hah, in my village, they wouldn’t let me dance in the crop festivals because I brought a bad harvest."

"You can't be that bad."

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow right back at her. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."

Xena lowered herself until she was chin deep in the water, but Gabrielle could still see her smile. "Hmm, in that case, maybe I should assign myself a new handmaiden for the festival.”

Gabrielle paled. "That's not funny. I don't even want to know what Caesar does to your handmaidens when you're through with them."

Xena did not reply, but simply stood from the tub. Gabrielle lowered her eyes and wrapped her robe around her, as she always did, though this time she made sure not to let her hands rest on Xena’s body longer than needed.

Gabrielle started to disrobe as to take her own bath, but her empress stopped her. "No need for that today, girl. I think I want you to go stay at the healer's for a while. She has a spring you can use to wash up there."

Gabrielle stopped her movements and looked at her empress in confusion. "More bandages?"

"No, no more bandages."

She swallowed and nodded, confused. Perhaps her empress was not joking about replacing her. "Then what, empress?"

"You will see when you get there, girl."

Gabrielle arrived at the healer's hut shortly after breakfast. The guard who escorted her this time proved to be an annoyance, so she was actually happy to arrive at the hut. The healer was already inside. The guard who had escorted her turned to leave, but Ephiny motioned for him to stay.

"So, girl, I assume you know why you are here," Ephiny began, standing up from her seat behind her desk.

"I was hoping you would tell me."

"You are here to dance," she said, with a forced smile. She motioned to the gimpy guard who had escorted her and said, "and he will be your partner."

The guard looked dumbstruck. "Who, me?" he said, holding his hands out in front of him. "Hey, no one told me about this."

"I just did," Ephiny replied. "Is there a problem?"

The guard swallowed, obviously intimidated by her. "At whose command?"

"The empress herself."

The guard seemed to think it over, but then nodded. "Alright, but I'm not the best dancer. If you wanted a dancer, you should have called my brother. I've got two left feet."

"Joxer, that is your name, correct?" Ephiny asked.

"The Magnificent, yes."

Gabrielle scoffed next to him and rolled her eyes.

"I don't care how you dance. If it were up to me, I wouldn't be teaching her anything, anyway."

Now realizing the reason for her retreat to the healer's hut, Gabrielle smiled with relief. At least she was not going to be replaced.

After a rather turbulent dance lesson, Gabrielle went off by herself to bathe in the spring her empress had mentioned to her earlier, and soak her unbearably sore feet—more from Joxer stepping on them than anything else. Gods, that man was a klutz. The healer herself did not dance much, unless to demonstrate, though it was easy to see that she possessed more rhythm than the dweeb she was partnered with. The way she moved, Gabrielle noted, had been like an animal impassioned by instinct alone.

The sounds of someone ruffling around in the bushes behind the spring interrupted her bath. Then two women emerged from a wooded area in the distance. Gabrielle got out of the spring and quickly put on her clothes. Once dressed, she approached them, spying at them from behind the bushes. Gabrielle sensed that they were out of place.

"Darling, we have a visitor," Callisto said, nodding her head toward the woods.

Najara followed her gaze and met eyes with Gabrielle, and panic soon consumed the girl, and she retreated into the woods. The crusader watched as she ran, but Callisto followed, and quickly caught up with her. She launched herself at their visitor, tackling her to the ground and sitting atop her, putting a knife to her throat. "Why, hello girl—aren't you the pretty one?"

Gabrielle struggled from underneath her attacker, but minded the knife. It was pressed tighter to her neck and she ceased to resist.

"Good girl," her attacker purred, lowering her face to place a forceful kiss on her lips. Gabrielle stiffened under her and ripped her lips away.

"Callisto," Najara chided, "must you make me so jealous?"

Callisto grinned devilishly up at her partner and licked her lips. "She tastes good. You should give it a try, dear."
Najara ignored her, locking eyes with Gabrielle. "Who are you, girl? And why were you following us?"

"I'm Gabrielle," she replied. Her eyes shot between the woman above her and the woman holding the knife to her neck. "I was bathing... I heard you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Callisto pressed the knife closer to her throat, commanding forth the slightest dribble of blood. "I should just kill you now."

Gabrielle cried out softly, swallowing hard and squeezing her eyes shut, tears beginning to fall from the corners of her eyes.

Najara kneeled down next to the girl and took the knife from Callisto's hand. "No, Callisto. We do not kill innocent girls."

Callisto's glare filled with rage at her partner's contempt, but she said nothing.

Najara directed her attention down to the girl. "Gabrielle?" she breathed, "what are you to Caesar?"

Gabrielle opened her eyes and looked back at Najara, grateful for her life. "I'm his slave."

"Don't cry." The crusader reached out and gently kneaded her thumb over Gabrielle's brow. "It's okay. I'm here to set you free." She smiled. "Just promise me you won't tell anyone that you've seen us, okay? You'll be free soon."

Gabrielle nodded slowly in response.

Callisto stood up with a growl and completely released the girl, stomping pointedly away. Najara helped Gabrielle to her feet and wiped away her tears. "We'll be back for you, I promise."

Gabrielle continued to wander the woods, wondering what exactly had just transpired. She knew that she had to stop shaking before she could return to the hut, but regaining her composure proved harder than she expected.

"Girl, you've been gone for hours," the healer said when Gabrielle finally returned to the hut. "Where have you been?"

"I bathed, and took a walk through the woods," Gabrielle answered.

The healer eyed her carefully. "For three hours?"

"I lost my way."

Ephiny was not convinced, and narrowed her eyes. "I see."

"Can I go back now?" Gabrielle asked, still shaken from her encounter with the women. She wanted nothing more than to see her empress' face, and maybe her smile. It was the only thing in the entire castle she found comforting.

"Our empress has not sent for you yet." The healer sat down behind her desk and pushed a plate of food at the girl. "Besides, your dance lesson is far from over."

Gabrielle sighed and sat herself across from the healer, rediscovering upon taking her first bite of food the hunger she had ignored for hours. A thought occurred to her."Are you Caesar's slave as well?"

"No. In all regards I am only a slave to Xena."

Since her stay at the palace the only time Gabrielle had heard her empress referred to as 'Xena' as when Caesar first introduced her, so the word caught her off guard. "Xena..."

"What girl? I assume you knew her name?"

Gabrielle blushed some and nodded with a forced smile. "I just realized I've never said it before." And that she's never said mine.

Ephiny nodded. "Good. I doubt she would approve." After a long silence, she spoke again. "So, how has Xena been as an empress so far, girl?"

"Oh, I haven't had any problems so far. I mean the first day she was a little rough around the edges, but—" Gabrielle froze when her mind caught up with her voice. "Well... What I meant to say is that she is absolutely terrible. I would have rather Caesar killed me that day—I'd rather be dead than ever see that beast of a woman again."

Ephiny watched the girl go through the range of emotions, almost convincingly, but still laughed aloud when she finished.

Gabrielle swallowed, but felt relieved when she heard the healer's laugh. "That was a test, wasn't it?"

Another voice added to the hut, this time from behind them. "If that had been a test, girl, I would have thrown you to the dogs."

The slave girl's head spun around to greet her empress.

"'Beast of a woman,' eh?" Xena joked. "I thought my smile lit up my face like, 'moonbeams reflecting off the Mediterranean'?"

She smiled sheepishly, and a blush swept across her cheeks.

Ephiny arose to greet her friend and eyed the two women with confusion. "My empress is in a good mood this evening."

Xena nodded at her healer and smiled. "It's nice to be out of the palace."

"Caesar been acting up?"

"Not really—he's been kept busy with festival affairs," Xena said. "I just wanted to make sure my handmaiden was obeying your command."

"I see. She has been fine thus far," the healer replied. "Though I need more time with her, the dancing expectations you placed on us were quite sudden."

"That's fine. As long as she knows what to expect, I'll be taking her back with me."

Gabrielle's face lit up with the news. No offense to Ephiny, but she would much rather be inside the palace walls than dancing with that klutz of a man ever again.

They exited the hut after Gabrielle had finished eating and all conversation had been wasted. Ephiny watched as they left her hut and smiled. So, it seemed Xena had not lost herself completely to her bloodlust for Caesar. She silently pleaded to Artemis to keep her queen safe. She doubted the girl had simply "lost her way" for three hours. Something had happened in those woods, she just did not know what. "I love you Xena, but please, don't grow too comfortable with the girl," Ephiny said, knowing Xena was long out of earshot. "Your happiness with her may not be worth the loss."

"Girl, I've been thinking," her empress began after they were a few paces from the hut. She knew that if she did not hurry to spit out her question, then it would never leave her lips. Xena wondered how long it had been since she had been nervous, but shrugged it off and kept a cool exterior. "How... How would you react to the idea of me becoming your sole owner?" She rambled on and said, "Therefore relinquishing the rights Caesar has over you?"

The slave girl felt warm at the thought. "Like Ephiny?"

"Yes, like Ephiny," she answered. "You must first understand that it is further enslaving yourself to me." She paused, and then continued, "Because this time I will actually have your consent to own you. You will belong to me."

Her empress’ words echoed in her head, setting her stomach aflutter. You will belong to me. The idea of giving her consent to be a slave would not have seemed like a favorable option if any other person had presented it. "Do I really have a choice, empress?" she asked lightheartedly, but her empress was not joking.

She stopped their pace and turned to her in all seriousness. "That's the point. You do have a choice."

Gabrielle looked up at her empress and was mesmerized by the gentle glint of sincerity shining in her eyes, amplified by the moonlight cascading over her face. "Then... can I make a request first, empress?"

"Depends."

"I want to be able to speak freely to you when we are in private..." she said, then added on, almost impulsively, "and call you by your name."

Such simple demands, Xena thought with a smile. This girl thinks too much with her heart. She resumed walking back up to the palace and agreed with a nod. "In private then."

Gabrielle smiled at how easily she got want she demanded. "Is this private enough?"

Xena nodded. "I suppose."

"Then... yes Xena, your smile does light up your face like moonbeams reflecting off the Mediterranean."

Xena went to bed that night with her slave girl's voice in her head, saying her name repeatedly. It sounded so sweet—the way it formed in her mouth, and the way it the girl’s surprisingly husky voice altered it. She imagined her whispering into her ear, breathing heavily as she pushed her past the breaking point, then crying out her name in pleasure. For the first time, Xena could no longer deny her desire to have this girl as more than simply as her slave.