by LJ Maas
She lifted her hips as I slipped the silk breeches off her. I tossed them away and kissed my way down her body. I paused, and pushed the silken material further up her belly. I kissed the damp curls between her legs, and allowed my tongue to flick lightly over her wet folds in a teasing manner. I felt her fingers entwine themselves within my hair. She attempted to pull me closer, lifting her hips at the same time. Her moans grew louder, and her legs trembled against me. I draped her legs so that they lay along my back and shoulders, and allowed myself one long languid stroke against he sex. I pulled away before she could press herself more fully against my face.
"Xena," Gabrielle at last breathlessly pleaded.
I looked up, waiting until I heard the words. She knew exactly what I wanted, and in other circumstances, she might have attempted to hold out longer. By this point, her need to be taken seemed as great as my wish to have her.
"Please," she begged.
I didn't hesitate one moment, quick to reward my wife's willing submission. I buried my tongue deep within her, pulling back only to lovingly stroke the small area of swollen flesh that desired my most intimate attention. I gently sucked on the bit of flesh until I could feel Gabrielle's orgasm begin. She convulsed against me, stifling her cry in mid voice. I think she might have suddenly realized where we were. She came hard and fast for me, and I continued to kiss the silky wet flesh until her quivering ceased.
Still breathing deeply, I helped her to sit up straight, her legs wrapping even more tightly around me. She brushed my shirt aside to suck at the skin at the base of my neck.
"Mmm," I murmured. "Not yet, my love. I'm not through with you yet," I whispered seductively into her ear.
She moved her hands to cover my breasts, pinching, and then releasing the taut nipples. Her roaming hands pressed up between my legs, and I involuntarily spread them further apart. I felt her pulling loose the laces of my trousers.
"What are you up to, little one?" I teased as I grabbed both her hands.
"Please, Xena, I want to feel you against me. Please."
I laughed. "And when someone opens the door? What will they think when I have my trousers around my ankles?"
"Oh?" She pulled back slightly, and looked down at her own disarrayed attire. "And you don't mind them seeing me this way?"
"Yes, but I'll be the only one with my bare ass facing hundreds of gawking guests." I kissed her and she chuckled evilly.
"I'm willing to take my chances on that scenario, Conqueror," she replied.
Before I could take a firmer hold of her hands, she wriggled free and pressed the heel of her left hand directly against me. The small rotating move she added left my knees weak. Then with a lightning quickness, she pressed her fingers to that spot on the inside of my thigh.
I gasped as the effect of the pressure point registered within my brain. "Oh Gods! Off... get them off," I now begged.
It took only heartbeats until my trousers were down around my ankles, and I had one knee braced upon the desk beside Gabrielle. I groaned in relief at the feel of Gabrielle's fingers upon my drenched sex. Under previous circumstances, Gabrielle's pressure points led to some rather mind numbing orgasms. In the mood I was in tonight, I could only speculate how the building pressure would release itself. I suddenly envisioned my body literally exploding.
I felt Gabrielle's free hand reaching for mine, guiding me to her own center. I easily slipped two fingers inside of her just as her mouth covered my own. The sound of pleasure she made, the way her moan vibrated against my lips caused an additional flood of wetness from my own body. We moved together without words, only numerous sounds of pleasure.
The physical need to be pleasured was great, but greater still was the need to have Gabrielle. True, our lovemaking had always been inventive and passionate, but I always took care to do everything in my power not to make Gabrielle feel used. Her days as a slave, having been taken in any manner, and as rough or as coarsely as pleased her master were not times that were that far behind her. It had not even been a full season since we were together, let alone in love with one another.
Although I wanted her in that way now, simply because she fueled my passion beyond anything I'd ever known, I was reticent to have her in such a manner. I was unsure about her feelings. Thus fearful to treat her body as something I possessed. It's what I wanted at that moment, however. I wanted to claim her, to exert my right of ownership, but the truth was, the feelings were quite reciprocal. I wanted Gabrielle to feel the same way about me. I wanted her to want me, to claim me as no other ever had or ever would. As in all things between the two of us, I needn't have worried so much. Her next breathless words affected my libido more than any other ever had.
"Oh, Gods, Xena... harder. God's, harder!"
I did as she asked. I forgot that I'd always promised myself to treat Gabrielle like the most delicate flower in my garden. I made love to her with as much passion and physical force as her body dictated. When she requested more, I gave it to her. Anything at all that she requested, I immediately provided.
I felt Gabrielle's thumb press into the hollow space high up on my inner thigh, and I realized she loosed the pressure point that had kept me suspended, moments away from my release. Our bodies and our excitement melded together perfectly. I was so caught up in Gabrielle's pleasure that I'd nearly forgotten my own, until I felt her tighten around my fingers, the area pulsating wildly.
All at once, my body felt as if it had exploded into a thousand shards of light. The pieces burst from me with such a force that I loudly cried out Gabrielle's name. She fell back against the desk, and my body followed, lying over her. The pieces of my conscious self were softly floating back down to earth and reattaching themselves to my physical body. That's what it felt like anyway.
Gabrielle and I both stopped breathing and looked anxiously toward the door. We heard the sound of music and loud conversation, and released our breaths once we realized that we hadn't been noticed. Looking back at one another, we laughed, and I kissed her soundly. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed my ear.
"I don't even understand where that came from. I mean... I've never wanted... that was..."
Her words trailed off as she tried to form some conclusion about the different sort of passion we'd just shared. I could not see into her heart completely, but I could share what I knew of her.
"I think it's called coming into your own, love." Gabrielle looked at me with a confused expression, and I leaned up on one elbow to look at her better. "Any sort of loving such as this would have reminded the old Gabrielle of a time when she had no choice in the matter, therefore it would have caused you emotional pain. It wouldn't even have occurred to you to find it pleasurable. Perhaps it's different now that you know your body and your heart will always be safe with me, and they always shall, my wife." I punctuated the statement with a gentle kiss.
"I'm so happy that I'm married to you Xena!" Gabrielle said in a rush of emotion.
"You've made me quite a happy woman as well, little one. Will I make a good wife, do you think?
She kissed my nose and released her hold on my neck. "I think you will make a splendid wife, my Conqueror."
We both jumped at the timid knock at the door.
"Maybe they'll go away. It's locked, isn't it?" Gabrielle asked.
"I find it a most interesting time to ask that question, my dear."
We paused. The knock came again.
"Ahem," a male voice was clearing his throat. "Conqueror?" It was Atrius's hesitant voice.
"Go away, Atrius," I teased, as I pulled away and started to redress.
I helped Gabrielle up, and scrambled around the room in an attempt to find the panties I'd taken off her. She straightened her clothes while we heard Atrius continue to shuffle around outside.
"Conqueror, the Governor of Argos wishes to bid you farewell." Atrius commented softly from the other side of the door.
"All right, all right, we're coming!" I shouted out.
/>
Gabrielle replaced a comb in her hair; we looked at one another, and burst into a fit of laughter over my words. We laughed like two schoolgirls.
"Well, at least not until we get upstairs again," she said, wiping her eyes, and our laughter began again.
Finally calm and presentable, I opened the door to face my Captain. Atrius stood there, his manner as staid as ever.
"Lord Conqueror... My Queen," he said as he nodded to us both.
Atrius quickly explained that, Thalpius, the Governor of Argos, wished to speak to Gabrielle and I before he left to return home.
"Did uhm... did anyone realize we were gone?" I asked my captain.
Atrius grinned at that question and I knew this was going to be good.
"Not a single solitary soul realized the two of you were missing." He clapped me on the back, and just before he moved away, he said, "right up until the moment they heard you scream out Gabrielle's name!"
Atrius laughed as he walked ahead of us, a sound that rarely came from him so heartily. I cringed, and I'm sure my face was turning scarlet, yet I tried to retain what little shred of dignity I had left.
"Look at it this way," Gabrielle whispered to me, as she tried to hide her own embarrassment. "You have just become very human in their eyes, My Conqueror."
* * *
Two nights had passed since our wedding. On this night, I sat alone in my chair before the window. The heavy tapestry was fastened back to expose the night sky to my pensive gaze. I left Gabrielle sound asleep in our bed chamber.
The first pass of the sun after our wedding was spent in bed. Gabrielle and I took turns wearing one another out. We made love, enjoyed relaxing in a hot bath, and sometimes talked by the fire. All our meals were delivered to our rooms, and we enjoyed every moment of our personal time together.
My body ached somewhat now. It seemed as if I was trying to make up for the lack of sexual activity for the last few seasons, all in the space of a few days. I had my suspicions at my renewed vigor. I wasn't sure if I was insane, or if the physical manifestation of energy was real. I debated telling Gabrielle of my sudden youthful feeling. How would she feel to know the Gods sometimes took an active hand in my life?
Today, Gabrielle spent time with the Amazons, and took care of a number of palace situations that demanded the Queen's touch. That simply meant they were too diplomatic a nature to have me attend to them. Solan and I spent a great deal of time mapping out his position within my new family. It gladdened my heart to see Solan and Gabrielle so at ease with one another. It made things easier all around. Kaleipus and I spoke briefly regarding Solan's future, and while I could see that it broke the Centaurs heart to give up his claim on the young man, I reminded him of his place in Solan's life. I assured Kaleipus that we would talk more before he returned north.
Solan wished to travel, to see the lands he had only heard about in stories. I was always looking for intelligent men to serve as emissaries to my court. Now that my conquering days were past me, it took more than the might of a large army to deal with provinces outside my immediate realm. I told Solan I had an idea, but it would require diplomacy, and hard study on his part. He agreed and I spoke to Yu Pan in the afternoon. The old man had expressed a wish to return to the province of Chin, to meet with people he knew, and to visit places that held his memories. He surprised me by agreeing rather quickly to my plan. I suppose he's grown rather fond of Solan, and the boy's constant attention, as the young man was eager to learn about the old healer's homeland.
We agreed that Yu Pan would travel back under the protection of the Empire, and that he would travel along with Solan as an emissary. I was thankful that it would be Yu Pan's tutelage Solan was under. The old man could teach Solan much. As happy as I had been over my new marriage, I still felt like I was losing Solan again. I had missed so much of his life. Now that we were mother and son, I felt a selfish desire to have him beside me for a while, but he was a grown man, and I had to allow him his freedom. I would worry less while he traveled with Yu Pan. Odd, how things turn out the way they are supposed to. I could ask for no better teacher and companion for my son, than the man who brought me so much life.
"Xena?"
I looked up to find a sleepy looking wife with a fur robe pulled close around her.
"Aren't you tired?" she asked.
"A little, but you know how I get at times. Come here, love."
Gabrielle wasted no time curling herself into my lap, her body pressed closely to my own.
"I was just thinking mostly," I said.
"Thinking or worrying?"
I smiled at her intuitive response. "Perhaps a little worry, but a very small bit." I described just how small by holding up my thumb and forefinger a hair's width apart.
That caused her to smile, and instantly my worries were gone. It was as if the sun had risen within our room.
"Gabrielle, would you like to go on a trip? A sort of wedding trip?"
"I'd love to travel with you, Xena, but can we just leave like that?" Gabrielle inquired.
"Good point, but there ought to be some gain in being Conqueror." I grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. "Actually, it won't be very difficult. The circle of advisors do most of the day-to-day work anyway. Besides, there are so many places I've wanted to go back to again. I think it would mean so much more to be able to share them with you."
"Xena, if we travel, do you think..."
Gabrielle trailed off and refused to meet my eyes. "What, love? Is there somewhere you'd like to go?"
"Home," Gabrielle whispered softly.
"Potidaea?" I asked.
Gabrielle nodded her head in silence.
"Of course, little one, forgive me for not thinking of that ages ago."
She brightened considerably at that. My own happiness was so tied in with hers that I felt lighter just seeing her come to life again.
"I know that my mother and father... well, that there's every chance they may be dead by now, but if I could only know."
"I have an idea. Since Solan will be leaving with Yu Pan, and the Amazons and Centaurs, will all be heading north, why don't we join them? A caravan of sorts. Solan wants to go back to his home and take care of some loose ends there. This will give you time to get to know the Amazons a little better, and we can have the ships meet us in the harbors of Potidaea or Scione. Solan and Yu Pan can begin their journey from there. It will even give us time for the Queen of the Amazons to visit Amazonia."
"Oh, Xena, that sounds wonderful!"
Gabrielle kissed me and then began talking in an animated fashion. She started making lists of all that would need to be done, things to bring, clothes for travel. I listened attentively to every word, sincerely and utterly fascinated by the way my wife's mind worked.
Once again, I wondered at my good fortune. How could my life have been so miserable and dead just moons ago? How is it that I was chosen at birth by the Gods to receive such joy by Gabrielle's mere presence in my life? What one thing did I do, what one act atoned for my many crimes enough to know such happiness now? So many questions and too few answers. I knew that our lives would not always be as though sailing on a sea of glass, but even when the difficult times come, I know I will never again have to face them alone.
That is what will matter the most.
Gabrielle and I will travel the road back home, and then we will travel the road called life together, hand in hand, never breaking stride. We can't know what the journey will contain, but like the petals of a rose, they will unfold one by one. When they have finally opened fully to us, we will look back at the blossom, in all its beauty, and say that it was love. Love made all the difference.
EPILOGUE
WE WILL LEAVE on our extended travels in two days time, and still my wife has me writing in these infernal scrolls. What I find most odd, and almost entertaining, is the fact that now I look forward to the writing. She has not made a bard of me, that much is certain, but Gabrielle has certainly given me a release
of sorts.
I scribe my thoughts and feelings at the end of the day, along with the events that occurred. It helps me to see it in writing. I am learning, and at my age that is not always an easy thing to do. I look at the page before me, and some days I am able to look at it quite objectively, others I am not so good-natured. I try to look at the occasions when I lost my temper or spoke sharply to an underling. I remember the incident, and I try harder the next time to keep my feelings more in check.
A knock on my study door stops me in mid thought. "Enter."
"Lord Conqueror."
Acasia, a trusted soldier, salutes me. He is among the number of men and women I entrust with private matters. They are loyal to death, and have, in the past, been spies or assassins. These past lines of work make them perfect for discreet operations.
He hands me a scroll and I peruse it before speaking. I motion with one hand for him to sit, but he does not, I usually expect him to act no differently.
"The mother and father?" I ask.
"Still alive, a small farm just as you said in Potidaea, no word on the girl, though. If she was taken as a slave at the same time, she could be dead many seasons past. I still have a few connections. I have the word out, Lord Conqueror. If she's still alive, I'll track her down."
"Excellent work! I'll reward you amply for this, Acasia."
"And the other, My Lord? Do you wish to know of the woman?"
"She must be quite elderly by now." I answered, unsure of what else to say. I feared the soldier's answer, no matter what it should be.
"Aye, Conqueror, that she is."
"She's alive then?" I asked, feeling my belly clench tightly.
"Aye, old, but spry. She still owns the inn there in Amphipolis. She married about fifteen seasons ago... has a family helping her. Her old man died a few seasons back, but she's got a son and a daughter, some little ones that must belong to them."
"Did she... how did she look? Well?"