~*~

She sat on the hilltop, the sun glinting off her bronzed skin, warming it. The wind ruffled through her short hair, and Gabrielle’s eyes were hooded. The usually light green orbs now danced with jade, and on her face was an expression that only flitted across her features when she was in a state of intense thinking.

She was alone, and for the moment, thankful for it. Xena had taken Eve to her mother’s house, for some family bonding, and strangely, Gabrielle didn’t feel up to it. She didn’t feel up for anything. Her thoughts were whirling.

The tightened feeling in her gut that had come into place the moment Ares had shown his face in Amphipolis,

It was anger. Hard, bitter anger, at the God of War assuredly, at their helpless situation, but mostly… at herself.

Gabrielle felt herself a traitor, a hopeless traitor. So much had happened since their crucifixion, since Xena and herself had pledged their lives to each other and vowed to never let anything keep them apart, and Gabrielle believed whole-heartedly that it would continue to be this way.

And yet the feeling inside of her every time she SAW him…

She wasn’t sure what it was, whether it was anger, or hatred or an emotion so deep and so capable of shaking everything she held dear apart that she was deeply afraid of it.

And for the moment, it didn’t matter what it was. What mattered was that she felt it, that it crowded her thoughts, and made her feel an outsider, a traitor and strangely… helpless.

She had always felt so lost. She had always been looking for a way of knowing, a way of discovering who she really was, what she was meant for, what her purpose was destined to be. In her life with Xena, she had finally believed she had found what she was looking for. She had her family to look after, to protect; and it gave her a sense of peace, of purpose.

She didn’t want or need the confusion that mounted in her soul. It had been building in her since she had witnessed Ares declare his love for the Warrior Princess, inside of her, in her heart, a broiling emotion that had made her want to hate him, made her angry and helpless.

It was jealousy.

The blonde bard groaned, leaning forward, running her hands through her short bangs and staying that way for one long moment.

A tickling of her skin interrupted her moment of pathos, and suddenly wary, her head jerked up, turning to the side of her.  Glancing at the being that had chosen to occupy the spot beside her, she felt her heart freeze, but her face showed no expression. Her eyes merely glinted with the hated emotion she had come to use around him as a reflex, and her voice carried across the breeze to him in a passive tone.

“What do you want, Ares.”

The dark God of War had settled comfortably, looking supremely at home beside the blonde bard, his thick, muscular arms rippling as he leaned back, resting his head on the palm of his hands, staring up at the sky, not looking at her either.

“I’m not sure.” His voice was dark, rough, so seductive with out intention that Gabrielle felt herself involuntarily shudder with need. He paused, studying her, but she never moved. Finally he began to speak, not mincing words. “I’m here to call a truce, Gabrielle. Between me and you.”

“Really?” she gave him a cocked eyebrow. “A truce?” the sarcastic tone was not lost on him.

“Haven’t lost that loving nature, I see, Gabrielle,” he drawled. When she merely stared at him coldly, he continued, his voice dry, somber, and without emotion. “I’m in love with Xena, and you’re her best friend. Talking to her is doing no good, and-“

“So you came to me?” Gabrielle gave him a surprised glance, and suddenly threw her head back and laughed. He stared at her, not amused at all. “You don’t know what love is, Ares.”

He didn’t comment on that, he merely gazed at her with crackling eyes. “You’re the reason she hates me.”

“She hates you because of who you ARE,” Gabrielle hissed, turning to stare at him, standing to face him. "You’re the reason we hate you, Ares.”

“Do you really hate me?” the tone was a sarcastic one, patronizing, as he stood, looking down at her with what could only be described as despise. “Truly, Gabrielle? Or is it fear of what you really feel?”

“Oh, it’s hate, Ares,” she whispered. “Make no mistake about that.”

There was a tick in his jaw as he studied her, and he straightened, his tone getting businesslike as he stared down at her. “We’re supposed to hate each other, Gabrielle. I’m war… and you’re the closest thing to peace there is. There is no way the two of us can co-exist, not at Xena’s side. Not the way we are right now.”

Gabrielle stared at him silently for one long moment. “What are you doing, Ares?” she asked. “Are you announcing you’re intentions? Telling me that you’re going to make Xena choose?” Gabrielle laughed a bitter laugh that was accompanied with a self-assured smile. “Xena doesn’t love you, Ares. Get over it.”

“Get over yourself, little girl,” the god retorted, his blue eyes flashing. “I’ll MAKE Xena love me, and then you’ll have to accept me. I’m offering you a chance to LIVE.”

“I can never accept you,” she whispered.

“Why NOT?!” he hissed. “I’m don’t HAVE to be your enemy, Gabrielle.” He shook his head, frustration in his face. “I don’t want you dead. I can save you. If you help me.”

“You’ll always be my enemy, Ares.”

He growled, losing his control, his composure as he leaned forward, grabbing her shoulders. “Gabrielle! Do you have a death wish! This Twilight affects you too. You’ll die.”

“I’m not scared of death, Ares,” she whispered. “There’s only one thing I’m afraid of, and that’s the thought of you ever being permanently in my life.” His eyes bore into hers as she shook him off, her eyes glinting.

“You can’t feel it? Are you so blinded by your “love” for Xena that you can’t discern with all your Godly powers what’s going on?” Her voice had turned low, so contained that it fairly seemed to burst with emotion. Gabrielle’s form was tight, her eyes crackling with suppressed fire, the green orbs glinting with spark as she came toward him, her smaller form seeming imposing nevertheless as she approached the god.

He seemed unsure, such a strange expression on the handsome face, and yet Gabrielle didn’t seem to care to think about it. Instead, she found herself slipping, the mask of control, of hatred that she so desperately kept about her when it came to this God of desire, of lust and carnal pleasures that had managed to infect her coming apart before his very eyes.

“I will never accept you, Ares, and I will NEVER play second choice.”  She began to turn away, but her movement was stopped when he placed one large, masculine hand on her forearm, trapping her.

“Who said YOU were second choice?” he said softly.

Gabrielle smiled, shaking her head. “Don’t play that game, Ares. I’m not Xena. I don’t want to believe you, I don’t feel anything for you but lust.”

He looked taken aback for a moment, not at the fact that she held desire for him, it couldn’t be that. Gabrielle knew he could sense it, could feel the awareness of him, the bitter feelings they both ignored now that he had made his intentions clear with Xena.

No, he was surprised that she had admitted it. It was a weakness, and Gabrielle seemed to exhibit no regret at the admission.

To her, it was a statement, of what she deemed an annoyance. To him, it was victory. Gabrielle’s stoic resistance of him was something he had always found intriguing. Like Xena, she refused to give in to the fact she found him fascinating, and like Xena, he was drawn to her, although for different reasons.

He had always wanted Xena for what she had been, he wanted Gabrielle for what she COULD be, for the mystery, for the lure, for the knowledge that she could be everything inside of him and everything he wasn’t.  For the knowledge she would never, ever, willingly give in to him.

This beautiful, gorgeous, strong woman so full of vivid emotion was an enigma, capable, he knew of being even stronger than Xena. If there wasn’t a Twilight to contend with, if he wasn’t sure Xena would try and kill him if he had ever gone through on his plan to seduce her… if he didn’t feel his essence so divided…

He stared into her eyes, allowing a moment of petty triumph, of desire to flood him as his eyes drifted down to the bard’s form, reminded once again that she was one of the Earth’s most beautiful creatures.

He grinned, a wicked, seductive grin at the admission. “Is that so?”

And she smiled back, but her grin was different, knowing the game he was playing and refusing to allow herself to get pulled in.

“Oh, Ares. You never learn, do you?” She shook her head, crossing her arms and regarding him.  “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have it ANY way.” Her eyes glinted slightly as she locked eyes with the god of War. “Even gods don’t get what they want.”

With that she turned, facing away from him, almost as if he, the god of War, had been dismissed.

He found himself smiling.

He knew exactly what she was doing. She was deliberately teasing him, punishing him almost, it seemed, for choosing Xena for his obsession instead of her. That was what it seemed like to him, and the desire, the pure thought of ravaging her because of it, filled him with such an unfiltered desire that he literally had to clench his fists not to haul her to him.

But no. He couldn’t do that, not now. There were consequences to consider. Xena, for instance.

And yet, standing here, looking at this delectable woman who had managed to change from a pawn to a hero, from a sniveling irritating blonde to a voluptuous, confident Amazon Queen, none of that seemed to matter. All that seemed to consume him at that moment was the knowledge that he wanted her, he wanted her to badly he could taste it in his mouth.

“I ALWAYS get what I want, Gabrielle,” he said thickly, his hand clamping on her shoulder, pulling her back against him. She felt the contours of his well muscled, hard body against her and she closed her eyes, feeling herself surrender a silent moan, feeling his heat mingle with hers.

It would have been so easy to let go, to let him take her, to worship him in such a way that he knew she desperately wanted, to drown herself inside the lust, the emotion, the desire she had no intention of hiding.

But that would mean giving up, it would mean defeat, and that was not something Gabrielle was going to give him. It was something she would NEVER give him. His lips fell on her throat and Gabrielle slid down, ducking out of his arms in a swift gesture he didn’t expect. It was fluid, and quickly Gabrielle turned, her eyes flashing, her voice hard and angry.

“Get out of here, Ares,” she whispered. “You’ll never have Xena, you’ll never have me. All you’ll have is a world of maybes, and your own mortality, and with it, all the emotion that tortures us and makes us human. And then you’ll REALLY what it feels like to love, and then…” her voice trailed off, her eyebrow rose. “Then you’ll know.”

The God of War regarded her, licking his lips once as he stared intensely in her eyes. She saw the question in his mind, saw his desperate desire not to ask it, and saw, like a moth to a flame, his inability to resist. “Know what,” he demanded.

She smiled, a small, grim smile that seemed to contain every answer, something so foreign to Ares he could only stare at her, waiting with baited breath.

Her answer came out slow, cold, and completely seductive, so unlike the usually frank and bewitching bard he seemed entranced. She leaned forward, her eyes glinting as her lips were centimeters from his. He stood stock still, watching her with hooded eyes. “You’ll know,” she whispered, “that love is never about YOU, about what YOU want. It makes you a slave, Ares, a slave to your heart, and I can’t wait to see what that does to you.”

And with that, ever so deliberately, she skirted his lips, and planted a soft, lingering kiss on his cheek, millimeters from his mouth. Her lips lingered only a second, breathing in the God’s scent, and feeling herself shudder in response, feeling his own desire for her emanating from him. It wasn’t imagined, it wasn’t something either could ignore, and she knew he knew at this point it was impossible to ignore it.

His hands slid to her forearms, running up and down the skin, caressing it with a touch so light Gabrielle seemed to gasp with pent up emotion. But the control she had over him stayed, for at that moment, just as his lips began to descend and just as his dark eyes seemed so black they seemed an abyss, she pulled away, and still, the god did nothing to stop her.

Her head was raised high, the triumph clear in her face.

“This is over, Ares. Whatever happened between us that never got off the ground, it’s over. Leave me alone, leave Xena alone.” The words carried an air of finality that told they were not about to be contended. Her eyes bore into his, and although her chest was heaving, her breath baited, her eyes, those dark jade orbs sparkling, she held an authority that seemed to mesmerize him.

She was still as she waited for him to react, but he merely gazed at her, his strong jaw hardening, and then he cocked his head, and smiled, the startled expression replaced with the sensual gaze he always carried. One hand lifted to cradle her face with a tender, carnal caress, and then his hand fell away, and his haunting presence stepped away from her.

His eyes never left hers as he placed his hand on his sword, the god’s taught, massive body the same rigid, self-assured pose he always struck.

“See you soon, Gabrielle,” he breathed, and she merely crossed her arms and waited, watching as the familiar bolt ran across his body and he disintegrated into thin air.

Her heart was in her throat, in her body, a torn welt of emotions that she couldn’t even begin to discern.  Without a word she settled back into the position she was in before she was interrupted, watching the fields below, the stalks shifting with the wind. Her posture betrayed none of tremors of her body, however slight, nor the fierce beating of her heart.

She should have been proud. She had stood up to the God of War. For once, she had ruled him, if only for a moment. But she felt nothing but a tense emotion that would never, ever come out of her, a deep-seated feeling that she would never admit, ever again.

She had to admit the one folly that her release of emotions would cause her, this fiery interlude of emotion and hazy desire had caused her to understand. She had just ignited something with the God of War, something that she should never have done, for Xena’s sake, for her sake, for Eve’s sake.

She had become a temptress, something she had never considered herself capable of being, and she had confused him, she had seen it in his eyes.

Gabrielle swallowed, and stood, stretching for a minute, before turning away from the fields and walking back to the road to Amphipolis, where she would meet Xena and smile and laugh and never mention this at all.

Today wouldn’t exist for her in a few minutes. She would put the buried emotions inside of her, bottled up and hidden away, as usual. She would return to her regular state, the loyal side-kick, the love of Joxer’s life, the soul mate of the one true Warrior for Peace. Ares wouldn’t exist for her, until he showed up again to try and lure Xena with his words of obsession, and she would continue to exchange barbs with him and she would continue to watch Xena’s tortured eyes try and fight the emotion she knew lay inside of her for the god.

She would continue to be Gabrielle, warrior for Peace. It was who she was. It was her way. She would fight for Eve, for peace, for Xena, until she was destroyed.

But in her heart, she knew the absolute truth about her and Ares.

It was anything but over.

FIN

Maelstrom: An extraordinarily violent whirlpool or a situation resembling a maelstrom in turmoil.