Little words of wisdom, passed o'er lips of wine
stripe across my soul in an endless flow of pain
dripping like sweet honey or pearls before swine
they dance across my heart like little feet of clay

Each word a sweet caress, slaps across my face
as bitter truths denied me, leaving me in shame
to ponder on that which love cannot erase
that our blissful union was nothing but a game

Tears continued to fall long after the wisps of her dream had vanished into thin air. Gabrielle lay with her eyes tightly shut, unwilling to face her cold reality and the truth it contained.

She sighed and a small cry left her lips. If only this Xena was like the one in her dreams. That Xena was strong and fearless, but also loving and kind. And there was no one braver than she was. This Xena was a cold and heartless woman who thought nothing of…she shuddered involuntarily as images of the two tortured men in their death throws seemed to swamp her senses. She tried to blank out the desperate look the younger one wore, as blood dripped from his nose and ears, and the panic etched across his face. He had died so horribly. Was that justice?

"My Xena wouldn’t have carved a man’s tongue out of his head. Nor would she have cruelly watched with total dispassion as he flopped about like some poor fish out of water afterwards."

Gabrielle turned over and hugged the pillow to her. If she just kept her eyes closed, perhaps her Xena would be ‘real’ for just a little while longer?

She sighed and a small smile graced her lips as she thought about just how perfect it had felt while lying in the strong woman’s arms. A low hum of satisfaction seemed to purr forth as she remembered the absolute rightness she’d felt while listening to her Xena’s heartbeat.

"My Xena."

A larger smile painted her expressive mouth as she imagined manipulating that heartbeat, causing it to race alarmingly, as she smothered the warrior’s face with kisses.

Rolling over onto her back, she finally opened her eyes a crack and stared up at the intricate tile work set into the ceiling. The colours were quite bold, and although the tile work was indeed well done, Gabrielle couldn’t quite make out what the scene was. The longer she looked, the more difficult it was for the picture to coalesce. There was something…

"Oh my!"

The image seemed to jump out at her as she began to see the scene before her. There were nymphs and other mythical fauna in various areas of the scene, as well as both men and women in different poses. Gabrielle tried very hard not to see the images that began to flow together, but it was as if she were bewitched by it all.

It was a landscape scene right out of someone’s darkest soul, the images both erotic and fanciful but also violent and debasing. There had been so much time and effort invested in it that Gabrielle felt regardless of the subject matter, it was both breathtaking to behold as well as thought provoking.

The bard squinted and could see the dominant figure of the dark haired, blue eyed Conqueror orchestrating the frenzied activities before her. Everywhere that she looked was another scene of rampant and unbridled sexuality. She found her cheeks hot as she finally tore her eyes away with embarrassment. Peeking through her fingers for one last look, she shook her head in puzzlement.

She sucked at her swollen lip thoughtfully, and was pleased to note it had stopped bleeding sometime during the night.

"Now, surely that’s impossible even for her?"

Closing her eyes again, Gabrielle’s fingers trailed down over her breasts, legs and buttocks, tracing each bruise and bite mark left in her frenzied encounters with the Conqueror.

‘With the Conqueror, perhaps not.’

Gabrielle pulled the covers up high, leaving only a mop of blonde hair and a pink little nose poking out. The darkness seemed to somewhat soothe the bard’s racing heart.

It was the morning of the fourth day of her time spent with Lord Xena. Although she had initially embraced the surety that a cruel death was the only outcome she could expect, Gabrielle was finding that perhaps there might be more to her last days than just the constant pain that was a means to an end. Perhaps she wasn’t as eager to leave what she considered a miserable existence after all?

What was the summation of her life? Had there been love, laughter, hopes and dreams fulfilled? And what of passion? While it was truly the way of the martyr to have led a life of pain and misery, couldn’t one appreciate it all the more by experiencing the very things being denied if only once before the life was wrung from their bodies? She wanted the passion she instinctively knew only Xena could give her. She was both surprised and afraid of just how responsive she was to the Conqueror’s focused lust. How could someone that intent on eliciting such intense sexual satisfaction co-exist inside the cold and cruel shell of a ruthless killer? The ideal Xena of her dreams was bold and fearless but also romantic and giving. Part of her reveled in the animalistic abandon the Conqueror applied to her physical needs. She was so forceful, so ardently confident, and Gabrielle could see such strength and potential there, as yet unplumbed. However, it didn’t follow that just because she wanted this Xena to love her, respect her, and change her ruthless ways that it would ever come to pass. This Xena, this Conqueror, had no future mapped out with them both in mind, it was a dream only she could experience, regardless of just how terribly foolhardy it was to do so. All she was to the woman was a sex slave with a very short life expectancy. There was no investment of time and care involved at all. The cold and cruel realization of this truth was akin to a harsh physical blow. She would have to put aside such fantasies and deal with the reality she now lived in. Death could indeed be a harvest well reaped.

Gabrielle clenched her teeth with the memory of them sweating amongst the sheets, both so very close to orgasm. She hadn’t given in, denying herself even that bit of pleasure, and had thought that by letting the warrior use of her body for her own release that it would appease this need to own her. If anything, things had gotten far worse. If what she had heard being done to the small slave was any indication, her partial submission had only added fuel to the fire.

The memory of the young servant’s desperate pleas hit her again, causing a shudder to ripple across her body. While not prone to fainting spells, Gabrielle was very pleased that she hadn’t been privy to exactly what the Conqueror had done to the young woman nor the aftermath of such an encounter. She had been very surprised to awaken alone in the lord’s bed. And although both wrists and ankles were still red and chaffed, the restraints had been removed while she’d been unconscious. Gabrielle was sure this alone was the reason for her sound sleep and presently alert demeanor.

Just what exactly did the Conqueror want? Was her soul, the very essence of who she was the only thing that would assuage the demanding beast lurking behind blue eyes?

Although she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to accept total domination at the hands of someone that wouldn’t even appreciate the gift, Gabrielle was coming to the realization that perhaps that would be the only way she’d survive. If Xena was intent on taking her physically, then there was nothing she could do to stop her, but knowing that her continued resistance was the very thing that fed the woman’s demons helped the bard to see that the inevitability of her total submission was truly the only way. Perhaps by giving in totally she could defuse the anger, and the mistrust. Perhaps then they could build on what was left?

A feeling of calm settled over the young woman and she expelled a deep cleansing breath. All the unrealistic notions she’d been having about ‘her’ Xena seemed quite childish all of a sudden. As much as she would have relished living in the world where that Xena existed, the truth was that she didn’t. All she could ever expect from this Xena was pain and humiliation if she didn’t submit. At this point, she had everything to gain and nothing to lose by just playing the game. And in reality, the final outcome was never really in question, just the method by which she would offer it up.

But oh, how she wanted to feel that burning in her loins when her Xena looked at her, touched her, spoke her name…She groaned.

"Gabrielle."

Pulling her covers back from her face slowly, the bard cocked an ear. Had someone truly spoken or was it just her imagination again?

A slight squeaking noise had her sitting bolt upright in bed, heart thudding painfully, and throat suddenly very dry with fear.

"Ah, I see you’ve decided to join me here in the land of the living. Had plans to spend the whole morning in bed, did you? Well," The Conqueror slowly arose from the chair she was in, and approached the bed.

Gabrielle managed a dry swallow in the half-light. She began to fidget as the corner of the sheet was slowly pulled from the bed.

"I have some plans of my own." Fear gripped the blonde more firmly as the burning eyes of the Conqueror played over her gradually exposed flesh. She watched as the warrior made every effort to look as menacing as possible.

Closing her eyes briefly, the bard gathered what little strength she had and decided that if the Conqueror wanted to continue to play this game, she was going to change some of the rules. After all, a person could die but once.

"I…I will do as you ask, milord. You may have me, at your leisure. I shall submit to your every whim. I would ask, however, that I be given sustenance and a chance to prepare myself for you."

Xena had been prepared to face tears and a wailing and gnashing of teeth. She was ill prepared therefore, to see the calm woman before her, whom it seemed, had decided to accept her fate. There would be no terrified waif, no tearful pleading, and finally no battle of wills hard won.

‘And where is the fun in that?’ she asked herself.

Xena tapped her lower lip coyly.

"Oh, I shall have you when ever and which ever way I wish, slave."

She tightened the sash around her robe and then came to where Gabrielle was sitting at the side of the bed. The blonde’s body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, despite the cool morning air. Xena smirked, knowing just how hard it must be for the little thing to keep together and not fall into a puddle of quivering, frightened flesh. After the ordeal of the past few days, it was a wonder the woman wasn’t totally incoherent.

"You’re a bold little thing, aren’t you? I like that. So. You’ve decided to comply with my wishes? Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Gabrielle lifted her chin and gazed unflinchingly into the eyes of the Conqueror.

"I gave myself to you, as you wished, but it wasn’t enough. I…I don’t know what it is you want. But I will comply."

Xena snorted and inched her knee between the woman’s pale thighs.

"You took, slave. It wasn’t yours to take. What I ‘want’ is simple, really. I ‘want’ everything. And compliance is essential for total submission, slave. And yes, sooner or later you will comply, Gabrielle." A very cold smile graced her lips, the kind that freezes the soul with its cruelty.

Gabrielle found the tip of her chin pinched painfully between two tapered fingers.

"‘As I wish.’ Let’s take a close look at that phrase, shall we? Just to be sure that we both know where we stand, of course."

Gabrielle attempted to pull the edge of the sheet up around her lower torso, and winced as the fabric was wrenched from her fingers.

"Ah, ah, ah. Now you see, this is exactly what I’m referring to. Did I not pull the sheet from your body? That does somewhat indicate my wishes for your current state of undress, does it not? Good."

Xena moved her hand slowly along the woman’s jaw line and then settled her hand around the bard’s throat.

"It’s been a fine chase, slave, but now it’s over. Your defiance has gotten you no where. Unless you consider a tepid bath and some food payment for pain inflicted thus far? Do you come that cheaply, slave?"

She smiled as the fire returned to the blonde’s eyes. ‘That’s much better. Complacency was just so…boring and terribly predictable. Now fire, that held a hint of promise.’

"Now, I believe you had some…requests."

Gabrielle glared briefly, and then dropped her gaze, taking care to smooth the claw-like hands in her lap. Her nostrils flared as the hurt bubbled to the surface.

"Yes, milord. Unless you’d prefer me in my base form, chained to the wall, the surface of my skin decidedly unpalatable. I’ve not been adequately prepared, and still have the stink of the commoner upon me."

Stars sparkled in front of Gabrielle’s eyes as her head snapped back from the blow inflicted. The tip of her tongue came out and danced across her newly split lip.

Xena pursed her lips angrily, taking pleasure out of the nicely forming outline of her hand across the slave’s face. She waited, her hand poised for another blow, and was somewhat disappointed to see the young bard regain some of her lost control.

"While you speak the truth, slave, it is your tone that I’ll take issue with. Now, stand up."

Gabrielle blinked a few times, forcing hot tears to recede, before she lumbered to her feet. Her jaw quivered with the effort it took to bite back an angry and ill-timed retort.

Xena pointed to the bathing chamber, and then watched with covetous eyes as each careful step made the young woman’s breasts bounce enticingly. The marks she’d made there were already beginning to fade; something she would remedy at the earliest opportunity.

Her eyes seemed to devour the woman as they trailed over every inch of her pale skin. Although the slave was slightly underfed, Xena could fully appreciate her splendid physical attributes, much as one would a fine piece of horseflesh.

Gabrielle’s hair fell just past her shoulders. Even though they were both standing in partial light, Xena could imagine the lustrous shine as the woman moved across the floor. Her small boned shoulders were perfectly proportionate, leading the observer to contemplate their taste and texture. The bard’s hips were somewhat narrow but framed her well-turned ass admirably.

Xena’s eyes continued on their merry path until reaching the rather misshapen mass that was Gabrielle’s knees. A sharp pang hit the Conqueror and she quickly looked away. Walking angrily over to the bench against the wall, she hastily sat down. Crossing one leg daintily over the other, she did her best to ignore the gnawing feelings of guilt and just focus on the task at hand.

"Take the soap, girl, and do a thorough job of it. Start at the ears and work your way down."

Gabrielle thought briefly of defying the Conqueror. She hadn’t been told to wash behind her ears since she was a wee child and was more than capable of taking care of her own hygiene without having someone overseeing the project.

"Perhaps you need help?"

The bard turned quickly and then stepped into the cold bath water. Her jaw was rigid as she began to scrub her arms and shoulders.

"I think you’d best wipe that belligerent glare off your face, slave, before I have to deal with it myself."

Touching her purpling lip carefully, Gabrielle decided petulance wasn’t going to get her anywhere. If the lord was intent on belittling her, any childish response on her part would only contribute to the behavior.

Xena tapped her fingers against the wood with impatience as the young woman slowly moved the cloth over her body. The still pink stripes seemed to ripple like waves as the muscles moved tantalizingly over her back.

"Turn around."

Gabrielle bit the inside of her check and then turned to face the Conqueror.

"Yes, lord."

Xena held her expression in check as a bit of blood appeared at the corner of the slave’s bruised mouth.

She didn’t like to punish the woman. Why did she have to be so stubborn, so brazen? If she only did as directed, there would be no need for punishment. Xena cast a hateful look down at her willful hands. She had always been quick to temper. While taking some satisfaction from sexually tormenting the woman, meting out discipline that would result in marring her beauty was not something she particularly enjoyed.

Gabrielle stood self-consciously and watched as look of sadness crossed the Conqueror’s face.

"I’m sorry."

Xena’s head snapped up and she let go of the fabric clenched between her two fists.

"Why do you make me strike you? I am perfectly willing to entertain any thoughts you may have on the accumulation of momentos," she grinned lasciviously, "but blows given other than with a passionate hand is something I’d rather not deal with in the confines of my bed chambers."

Gabrielle’s lower lip trembled. "I don’t like being abused, Lord Xena. And if you truly wish to show me your passion, I would embrace it with much less reluctance were it offered with a more gentle hand."

A very disgruntled warrior stared back at her.

"Why is it what you want? It’s what I want that counts right now."

"But I’m willing to give you what you want, why do you have to take it?"

"I always take, Gabrielle. It’s what warlords do."

"But if I’m willing to give it…?

"You say you are, but you continue to defy me, giving me no recourse but to take it."

"If you were more gentle, more loving…"

Xena’s voice began to rise as she found herself enmeshed in another long and protracted ‘discussion’ with the willful bard. Why was she even arguing this point?

"Why should love have anything to do with it? I want you sexually. That’s all. If you give yourself to me completely, then l won’t have to punish you, and take what you profess to offer."

"But l do offer it, Xena. I want to make love with you."

Xena stood as if poleaxed. "What do you mean ‘make love’? When did that enter into anything? You keep bringing that point up and yet there is no basis for doing so."

"But l can’t submit willingly unless there are intense emotions involved."

The Conqueror arched her brow at the word ‘intense’.

Catching the knowing look, the bard poked the air with emphasis. "And by intense I do not mean binding me and striking me with a whip."

Xena narrowed her eyes. "You looked to be enjoying it at the time."

"I did not enjoy being brutalized, Xena."

Clenching her jaw fiercely, Xena leaned forward.

"You will refrain from using my given name, slave."

Gabrielle’s jaw dropped open. "Is that all I am to you? Just a slave to be used sexually and then cast off?"

Xena’s mouth opened and the words were released callously before she even pondered their impact.

"Yes!"

The hurt expression on Gabrielle’s face felt remarkably like the knife blow Xena had sustained earlier. Guilt was an emotion the warrior was just newly becoming acquainted with. So far the close encounters Xena was experiencing left much to be desired. As much as she wanted to drill into this woman’s head just how little she truly meant to her, there was a part of her that died, knowing to do so meant the truth: there was no one in her whole miserable existence that meant anything to her, nor she to anyone else. If she died tomorrow, would anyone cry for her the way that Ubris did for her beloved Ankara? The answer was like ashes in her mouth.

The blade of guilt was twisted deeper as the young woman slumped down into the cold bath water. She hated this feeling! This reptant lack of control, even over her own body, was becoming more than she could bear.

"I dislike arguing, sla…Gabrielle. You will learn to do as you are told, or you will suffer the consequences. Is that understood? I will brook no further arguments on this subject."

The bard nodded quickly as the tears continued to fall.

Xena pointed to the woman’s belly and breasts. "I believe you’ve forgotten a few areas. Be quick about it now."

"I’m not a child."

"Then don’t act like one. Stop the petulance and simply submit to my will. It will go all the easier for you if you do. However, if you wish to continue your path of defiance, then you force me to react in a certain way. This will be your doing, Gabrielle."

The young woman quickly wiped her tears away, turned and then went back to scrubbing her body, muttering all the while. With a final stomp, she exited the bath and reached for a towel, oblivious to the lord’s mounting fury.

The Conqueror got slowly to her feet and towered over the slave.

"What was that you mumbled?" This was too much. Having a slave openly insolent was something Xena would not abide. Reaching out with brutal intent, Xena stopped short of connecting with the side of the slave’s head as the woman dropped to her knees before her.

"Please, lord! I mean no disrespect." She hugged the woman’s knees tightly and prepared herself for the blow that would surely come.

But didn’t.

"I remember the first day you came before me. I knew then that you were nothing but trouble, and said as much, I believe."

"You called me pouty, milord. And stubborn. And I am quite willful, as well. And I do deserve to be beaten, lord, truly. But please, not today?"

The fury that threatened to consume her seemed to disappear, and Xena wove her fingers through the impossibly golden hair of the slave.

"I dislike thrashing you, Gabrielle, but you will submit."

Gabrielle nodded and got to her feet.

"I would offer up my soul if you would but ask it."

Xena pulled her hand back and frowned.

"It was what I mumbled, lord."

The Conqueror stood lost in thought as the bard finished drying her face and body.

‘But I’ve always taken what I’ve wanted. Why would I ask? Her will counts for nothing, mine counts for everything.’

Gabrielle turned to face the warrior, intent on asking whether she should leave the towel behind, but closed her mouth as a look of confusion knit the Conqueror’s brow.

‘She must give in to me. My will shall be done. But she is young, and will learn in time. But there is no ‘we’ and therefore no ‘time’.’

Xena sighed at the empty feeling the thought produced. A soft kiss placed upon her palm startled the warrior and she refocused her attention.

"What…?"

"If I were to offer a caress with one hand and yet a blow with the other, which would produce the desired results?"

"I suppose it would depend upon the results I wished."

"If you wished to have me…sexually, milord…do you believe an adequate response to a blow would be total compliance, in every way?"

‘It has always worked before,’ she thought silently to herself but said nothing.

"If you wished to have me writhing beneath you, eyes clouded over with lust, and body ripe for the taking, lord, would not a caress be more apt to guarantee such a response?

Gabrielle dropped the towel slowly and stepped closer to the warrior.

Xena probed a few front teeth and then smirked.

"The discussion is ended. Get into my bed, now." She pursed her lips, as her decree wasn’t met with an immediate response.

"Am I prepared adequately, milord?" Gabrielle did a slow turn with arms akimbo. "Or should I rinse again?"

With nostrils flared, Xena grabbed a fistful of the blonde’s hair and pulled her closer.

"You would do well to remember that I am well versed in the art of seduction, slave. You’re little feminine wiles will get you no where."

Gabrielle winced as her face was pulled closer and her mouth covered with a brutal kiss.

Xena sensed a stiffening in the young woman’s body and enfolded her tighter within the embrace. ‘And still you resist me.’

Finally, Gabrielle pulled back and wiped at the blood dripping onto her chin.

"Why must everything be taken with force? You say you know the art of seduction but in truth the skills I've seen thus far are comparable to those used an act of war. I am not a possession, Lord Xena, I am a human being."

‘You are a decidedly large pain in the…’

"Why can’t you simply treat me like a human being?" Gabrielle began pacing back and forth in front of the perplexed warrior.

"Don’t I have needs and wants? Can I not voice these from time to time without the threat of torture hanging over my head? Why can’t you just be nice for once?"

"Nice? Why should I be nice? And yes, you are a human being, but you are also a slave. My slave. Mine to do with as I please. And I please to have you naked and in my bed now. Without further argument. Writhing beneath me. This instant. Do you understand?"

Gabrielle shook her head slowly. The woman just could not understand that the typical niceties dealt to another human being would net her more favorable results than threats and abuse.

‘Perhaps she was dropped as a child?’

"But I want to be writhing beneath you, lord. I want to scream out your name in total ecstasy."

Xena rolled her eyes skyward. "Then do as you are told and I shall entertain your request."

Gabrielle bit her swollen lip in an effort not to smile, but it was a losing battle.

"Would you entertainment my request in a softer tone?"

Xena frowned, feeling totally flummoxed as to exactly what was going on. In the first place, the slave defied her at every turn. And then she professed to want to be ravaged. Well, perhaps not ravaged, per se, but taken nonetheless. And then she began spouting off requests and demands, knowing she would be beaten for it. And smiling all the while? When had she lost control of this vexing woman?

She was totally at a loss as to just how to proceed. Should she strike the girl, drag her into bed and just have at her? Xena dismissed such an idea immediately, knowing she would be no farther ahead in the taming of this stubborn woman than before. Perhaps she should growl and threaten, torment her verbally, and then chase her into bed? Well, while such things had worked in the past, in this instance Xena doubted they would achieve the desired results.

She huffed dramatically and dragged a hand across her forehead. "You’ve given me a headache. I detest taking potions and now…well, you’ve ruined another evening."

Gabrielle blinked slowly. "Should I go for the healer?" And then she gasped as the Conqueror’s gown fell open revealing a partially covered wound. That was bleeding.

"You’re injured!"

Xena dismissed the wound with a wave of her hand. "It’s nothing. I’m experiencing far more pain right now from your constant rebellion. Oh, please stop talking and go away."

The bard stood uncertainly, wishing to offer assistance but unwilling to cause the woman further discomfort.

"Shall I…go to your bed?" She tried hopefully.

"Yes, go to bed. Anything, just do it quietly."

Xena retied the sash about her waist and then walked over to the sideboard in the main chamber. Gabrielle watched as the woman took a pinch of this and a pinch of that from a few small vials. Then a very large quantity of wine was poured over the concoction and consumed quickly.

The Conqueror sighed happily and then smiled as a small burp escaped her lips. Having dispensed with the need for breakfast, Xena found the room spinning as the wine began to have a very immediate and pleasing effect.

Gabrielle shifted from foot to foot until the warrior stretched out on the bed. Climbing in beside the woman carefully, the bard propped herself up with one elbow and just lay watching the warrior.

"The herbs will begin to take effect momentarily and then we shall continue our discussion on why my needs and desires are not being met."

Gabrielle suppressed another smile.

"Well, I suppose I’m making headway after all."

"What, lord?"

Xena peered carefully at the woman beside her. "Well, you’re not writhing deliciously beneath me, but I suppose I’ll have to settle for you being in my bed… for the moment." And then her eyes fluttered once and then closed.

Gabrielle waited patiently and then carefully placed the woman’s hands at her side. Then gingerly opening the sash, the bard went about inspecting the wound. While the injury wasn’t life threatening, it was swollen and somewhat discoloured. The stitching looked rather good, and the bard commended the healer on his fine work. Her mouth twitched as she gazed upon the assortment of other scars that littered the beautiful body of the Conqueror.

Her breath was caught as she gazed over every inch of the woman. Rosy nipples stood at attention in the cool air and a slight breeze seemed to move over them, causing the blonde to shudder. She swallowed deeply as the soft crinkled hair covering the woman’s mound was ruffled. Her eyes were almost black with desire as she contemplated the taste such a bounty of olive skin would offer.

She wanted to reach out and touch such beauty, realizing that only in slumber was such a thing possible. It had been most apparent that the lord didn’t enjoy being touched. It was almost as if the only way she could truly enjoy physical contact was when she initiated it. Gabrielle wondered if it was fear that had her so bound by her need for control.

She sighed and then marveled at the way the pulse point thrummed with every breath the warrior took. Gabrielle caressed the crimson silk of the woman’s gown and then wondered at the opulence surrounding her. Everything was so pleasing to the eye. She fingered a few pieces of jade in the headboard and then went back to admiring the luscious beauty of the Conqueror. Her brow knit as she contemplated the ring adorning the Conqueror’s breast.

"See something you like?"

Gabrielle gasped as her wrist was taken in a strong grip.

"I was just admiring your…jewelry, lord."

"Of course you were. Now, I believe your requests were addressed, yes? Perhaps we can continue our conversation regarding your total submission, thus fulfilling my ‘requests’. Good."

Gabrielle squeaked as the warrior rolled quickly over and covered her completely.

"I believe this is when you complete your part of the bargain."

The bard squirmed as both wrists were pinned to the bed.

"My lord?"

"I remember you saying something about me being ‘nice’."