~ If At First You Don't Succeed... ~
by Kristien Damon
(a.k.a. Lawlsfan)
No.1 from the Foibles and Follies: The Misadventures of the Warrior and Bard Series.
Alternative Sexual Content: Nothing too graphic but it could be considered explicit enough to set some folk’s toes to curling. And of course it is between two adult and consenting women. So if you are not at least 18 years of age or this type of material offends you then perhaps you should read something a bit tamer. There are plenty of great classic general X:WP stories out there.
Spoilers: None.
Xena:Warrior Princess, its characters, and all related materials are the property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures © 1995-1999. The story idea for this story is the property of the author (me). "If at First You Don’t Succeed…" was completed and published 12/23/99.
Feedback is always welcome at: lawlsfan@aschweb.com. Don’t be shy, tell me how you feel.<g> Now on to the story....
The clearing was subtly bathed in morning sunlight, the light casting an iridescent glow as it caught and danced about within the mist sent up from the waterfall that crested above and cascaded down to a deep pool below the rock ledge on which they stood. There was a chill in the air, and every breath they took escaped them again as a misty illumination. All was silent except for the sound of rushing water, and the occasional fluttering of wings or scurrying woodland creature nearby. Oh, and of course the sound of two hearts beating in delicate syncopation to love’s sweet song. It was an incredibly picturesque scene, quite serene and comforting.
The bard sighed deeply.
“Xena?”
“Hmm?”
“How long before we have to leave
here? It’s so lovely.”
The tall, raven-haired warrior gazed
appreciatively down at the woman leaning back against her comfortably enveloped in her arms. She
smiled. Today, as every other day since they’d realized they were in love, she had eyes only
for her young companion. She studied the delicate curve of the bard’s nose and saw a faint
freckle near the tip she hadn’t noticed there before. She reached up to touch it tenderly
with her fingertip; her smile broadened.
“Hmm…very lovely.”
“Just look at how the morning light
captures everything and brings out its exquisite beauty,” the bard continued softly, while she unconsciously reached up to gently grasp
the warrior’s fingers in her own and draw the strong hand down to rest at her waist. “Gods
-- look at how it dances on the water down there. It’s gorgeous.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed.” Xena continued to study the soft lines of the bard’s face, the way the light brought out the
golden highlights in her hair, the way it danced in her soft green eyes, the way it enhanced the curve of her….
“Xena, you just don’t see it do
you?” Gabrielle said quietly, turning her eyes upward to meet the warrior’s studying gaze. “And
you haven’t really heard a word I’ve said, have you?”
Xena grasped the bard’s shoulders and
slowly spun her around to face her. She allowed her arms to rest lightly around the smaller
woman’s waist and grinned devilishly. “Nope. Your light is just too dazzling and distracting for me to see anything else but you.”
The bard returned the grin, her nose
crinkling slightly. But it quickly faded into a seductive smile as she lost herself in the azure blueness of the warrior’s eyes. Gods, now that is gorgeous, she mused. “Oh what am I going to do with you warrior princess?” Reaching
upward, she draped her arms lightly around the warrior’s neck and batted her eyelashes demurely.
“Hmm, I’m sure you’ll think of
something,” Xena whispered as she leaned down and enveloped the bard’s lips with her own in a warm and passionate kiss.
Gabrielle immediately felt her knees
turning to mush and a telltale fluttering in her gut. It quickly blazed into a fire down below
when the warrior started nibbling on her chin. “When did you say we’d meet Ephiny and the others back at the village?” she inquired breathlessly as she felt
Xena’s hands roaming slowly down along the curve of her back and then coming to rest, gently massaging her buttocks. She tossed her head back and moaned softly. The fire
was growing.
“Mmm, for once they’ll wait,” Xena
mumbled as she lowered her head and starting tasting her way along the silky flesh of the bard’s neck.
The warmth of the warrior’s breath
against her skin nearly sent Gabrielle quivering over the edge into ecstasy on the spot. “Gods,”
she sighed deeply.
It had been a while since they’d had a
chance to be alone and close like this. Far too long, Gabrielle thought as she felt her desire rising. Being queen of the
Amazons certainly had its percs, but it also had some serious drawbacks. Her duties sometimes
seemed endless and often took her to late into the night. Many were the times she’d found her
way into the warrior’s arms after a long, grueling day and being totally exhausted, fell immediately to sleep. Then to top it off, Xena had been away for the past several days on a hunting trip with Eponin and
Solari, leaving the bard yearning for her warrior throughout their separation. The hunters had
returned about two marks before sunrise this morning but Xena had chosen not to awaken the queen. She’d
been sleeping so peacefully. Oh, so many ceremonies to perform, so many meetings to be
conducted, so much to learn, and so many young Amazons to teach, in so little time it always seemed to this Amazon queen.
And
far too little warrior princess, Gabrielle thought as she felt Xena’s lips and tongue lingering in the indentation at the base of her throat. She groaned as the warrior’s right hand made its way from her backside, upward along the quivering
flesh of her abdomen, and came to rest over her breast, kneading it gently. Suddenly all of her senses were drowning in a flood of erotic need; she couldn’t hear, see, or feel anything but her
lover’s touch and she hungered and thirsted for more. “Yeah, they’ll wait,” she growled
ardently as she reached up and quickly undid the laces securing the front of her top and in a flash slid it over her head and tossed it
aside.
Neither woman noticed the article of
clothing come to rest in a precarious location, dangling from a nearby tree limb - - out of reach and about fifteen feet above the water
below. In surrendering to their passions they had totally forgotten they weren’t surrounded
by solid ground.
Gabrielle leaned backward, thrusting her
breasts upward and inviting the warrior to nibble lower. Xena was happy to oblige and hungrily
sought out the soft sensitive flesh that beckoned to her, flesh aroused by both the chill air and her touch.
The young queen shuddered as her need suddenly rose to a feverish level; it had been far too long -- the fire was now an inferno,
raging out of her control.
“By the gods enough foreplay! I need you now!” she abruptly exclaimed and threw her arms around Xena’s neck while her legs
flew upward and clamped tightly around the startled warrior’s hips.
Xena’s eyes grew the size of centaur
dung at having been thrown off balance by Gabrielle’s sudden and unexpectedly lustful lunge. Not only that, but she had also suddenly remembered that they had been playing with fire while perched on a rock ledge
over a very chilly pool of water. She hurriedly reached behind her for a handhold but came up
empty. All she could do now was cast the bard a sheepish grin as her usually keen sense of
equilibrium betrayed her and she fell forward, the Amazon queen wrapped tightly around her.
The splendid silence and serenity of the
picturesque scene was abruptly drowned out by a loud splash followed by much cursing and shrieking.
*****
Back in the village, Ephiny, the
queen’s regent, was intently studying the scroll in front of her, trying to make some sense of it. The
document contained the revised peace agreement between the Amazons and the neighboring Centaurs and she wasn’t quite clear on the land
boundaries that had been laid out in writing. When the queen returned she would discuss with
her a need to do a walk around of the borders to get a better feel for what had been outlined on parchment.
The blonde regent was abruptly roused
from her thoughts and raised her head in agitation at the sound of hushed whispering and restrained chuckling that suddenly arose from the
group of young Amazons surrounding her.
“All right. What’s going on?”
The words had barely escaped her lips
when Ephiny saw what the buzz was about. She had to fight to maintain her own composure as a
very wet warrior princess slowly approached. Funny, she hadn’t remembered Xena having four
arms and four legs when she left the village that morning.
Xena stopped in front of the group and
sneered viciously at the Amazons surrounding the queen’s regent. They looked at the deadly
one facetiously for a moment and then quickly scattered to various locations around the village. Satisfied
to have easily dispersed the snickering hordes with a single menacing look, the warrior then cast her piercing gaze upon the regent who was
still desperately trying to remain straight-faced. And making matters worse, Ephiny was sure
she’d caught on the air the faint sound of -- well, it sounded like teeth chattering.
“Regent, the queen would like to
postpone the meeting to discuss the agreement until after she’s had a hot bath and some dry clothes,” Xena said stoically. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.”
Ephiny nodded her head in concurrence
and the warrior turned and started waddling away. It was then that the regent saw a semi-nude
and quite frazzled Amazon queen plastered against the warrior’s backside, her arms wrapped tightly around Xena’s waist as she valiantly
trying to cling to her own modesty. The corners of the regent’s mouth started to turn upward
as she noted they both were leaving a trail of water in their wake as they headed as rapidly as they could for the sanctuary of the
queen’s hut.
When the queen and her ‘bodyguard’
had finally disappeared into their abode, Ephiny’s face finally cracked into a broad smile. Wonder what that was all about, she mused. She beckoned to Solari and several of
the young Amazon warriors to get the buckets and start heating some water.
*****
“Xe-e-e-n-n-a…I c-c-can’t
b-b-believe you left us f-f-fall into that p-p-pond,” the bard declared through chattering teeth as she miserably searched around the hut
for a towel or blanket to dry and warm herself. “G-g-gods this is so embarrassing!”
The warrior grinned and quickly picked
up a warm blanket from off a chair near the fire. Wrapping the bard in it she led her to the
chair and gently pushed her down into it. Then she knelt in front of her and began rubbing her companion’s thighs and calves to get some warmth back into them. Within moments the bard’s chattering and shivering were beginning to subside.
“Getting warmer?” Xena asked softly
as she gently parted the bard’s thighs and starting kissing her way up along the inside of the left one, seeming content to pick up where
they’d left off before they’d taken their plunge earlier.
The bard sniffed, rubbed her nose with
the back of her hand, and pulled the blanket tighter around her bare upper body.
“Mmm, warmer…yes th-thank you.” Then quite without warning she clamped her legs together nearly capturing the warrior’s head
between them. “But your gonna have to work harder than that to make up for putting us in the
drink,” she said with an impish grin.
Xena returned the grin with a raised
eyebrow and a smirk. Then just as she opened her mouth to respond, there was a knock on the door.
“Yes, who is it?” the bard shouted
with a hint of agitation.
“My queen, it’s Deineris. We’ve got your bath water.”
Xena stood and opened the door and
quickly jumped back out of the way as a troop of Amazons brushed by her with large buckets of hot water.
Hurriedly they dumped the steaming liquid into the large wooden tub, which had been placed near the fire, then rapidly departed. None of them either would, or could, look the warrior in the eye on their way out. Xena smirked at Gabrielle as she swung the door closed behind them.
Without warning the bard suddenly
adopted an oddly accusatory expression on her face and the warrior cringed and wondered what she’d done to deserve this look. She held her
breath; her smirk faded into a sheepish grin. She waited.
“Xena, what color are Deineris’
eyes?”
The sheepish grin turned into a
befuddled gaze. “Gabrielle, what does…?”
“Uh-uh warrior princess. What color
are Deineris’ eyes?”
“I don’t know,” Xena declared in
exasperation.
“Just as I thought. I don’t think you could tell me what color the eyes are of most of the women in this village.”
While the warrior scowled at her in
confused silence, the bard stood up and casually let the blanket slip off her shoulders and fall onto the chair behind her. Then she turned toward the tub and began removing her skirt. She
glanced demurely over her shoulder while she spoke.
“Warrior Princess, you need to stop intimidating all my Amazons with your way of the sneer.”
Xena’s scowl slowly disintegrated into
a lascivious grin and arched eyebrow as she watched the bard’s skirt fall to the floor exposing the silky white skin beneath. Anything you say Gabrielle, she thought,
just let me at….
“Promise me you’ll reserve your
sneers for warlords and villains from here on out,” the bard said as she slowly lowered herself into the warmth of the water. She settled in against the back of the tub, resting her arms along the sides and causing her breasts
to rise tantalizingly just above the water line. Gazing seductively at the warrior across the
room and knowing full well the power of her wiles, she casually continued. “Promise me?”
The bard batted her eyelashes coyly and
Xena felt her breath catch in her throat. She had just opened her mouth to respond when there came a loud bang against the side of the hut.
“What in Tartarus..?” Gabrielle
shouted and quickly crossed her arms over her chest as she stared bewildered at the wall.
Just then it occurred to Xena that she’d forgotten to
tell the queen of the maintenance she had requested be done to the roof of their hut today. Damn thing leaks like a sieve.
“Ah Gabrielle, I guess I forgot to
tell you that we’re having our roof fixed.” She grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“Oh great,” the bard said as she
looked around her trying to locate her bar of lavender scented soap. “Here I am, wet in more ways than one, and we’ve got people
climbing around on our roof. How romantic, Xena. You
know you need to work on your timing.”
Xena watched as the bard found the soap
and began lathering herself, her hands slowly and sensuously leaving a foamy trail down across her neck, shoulders, and finally lingering at
her breasts. The warrior bit her lip.
“Hey! Aren’t you going to get out of
those wet leathers?”
Xena was snapped out of her
bard-lathering hypnosis when she was suddenly struck in the face by a flying sponge. She
grinned and immediately pulled off her gauntlets, greaves, and boots. “Wash your back if you
wash mine,” she said mischievously as she removed her armor and leathers in record time and tossed them next to the fire to dry. Then stopping her momentum only long enough to reach down and retrieve the sponge, she lithely
glided toward the tub with a wicked twinkle in her eyes.
The bard’s eyes began to glaze with
desire as she watched the lean, muscular, body of her champion sliding across the room toward her. She barely noticed the thumping sound radiating from the roof directly above them.
“Oh yes. Sounds like a good plan
warrior.”
Xena slid into the tub beside the bard
and quickly gathered her up in her arms, drawing the little one onto her lap. “Now where were
we?” She leaned in and gently drew Gabrielle’s earlobe into her mouth then released it and whispered into her ear, “Oh yeah, where do
I start to make up for earlier?”
The warrior leisurely suckled her way
down along Gabrielle’s jugular eliciting a soft moan from the bard.
“Uh-huh…that’s a good place to
start,” the young queen cooed.
The thumping above continued.
Xena could hear nothing but the pounding
of her own heart.
“Xena?”
“Hmm?”
The warrior’s hand began to travel
slowly along the bard’s calf while her lips teased the sensitive flesh of her lover’s breast.
“Ah-h, oh gods -- Xena do you
think…?”
The thumping grew louder.
The warrior’s hand slid along the
inside of the bard’s thigh, lingering and stroking gently, teasingly.
“Mmm gods, yes that feels so good.
But….”
A scurrying sound and another loud bang
radiated down from above.
Xena’s hand finally found its mark and
the bard groaned deeply, her head lolling backward against her lover’s shoulder.
Oh yeah…Xena, ah yes…gods, I
hope…”
Above them there was an instant of
silence, followed by a muffled ‘oh no’, which in turn was followed by a loud cracking as the roof caved in and a flailing Amazon hit the
floor beside the tub with a resounding thud.
“The roof holds out,” the bard said
quietly as a cloud of dust and debris rained down and settled around them.
Xena and Gabrielle stared at each other
in wide-eyed wonder for a moment before they simultaneously leaned out over the side of the tub and found themselves gazing into the face of
a quite startled and dazed Deineris. The young Amazon blinked up at them, shook the dusty residue from her head, then smiled sheepishly.
“Brown!” Xena declared, abruptly
shattering the silence that now hung in the air around them except for the occasional sound of falling debris.
The bard glanced at her smirking partner
inquiringly.
Xena’s smirk grew into a smug grin as
she nodded toward Deineris. “Her eyes -- they’re brown.”
Gabrielle shook her head in disbelief
and reached for a towel. “Deineris are you alright? Are you hurt?” she inquired as she quickly
wrapped the towel around herself and exited the tub. She knelt down and started to check the
young Amazon for injuries.
“My queen. I’m fine,” Deineris
said quietly as she struggled to her feet with the assistance of her queen. “But your roof…”
They all gazed upward at the gaping hole
in the thatching above.
“How long will it take to fix that?”
the bard asked.
“Well by the looks of it we’ll have
to tear out the rest of that entire section. And then we’ll have to get the materials.” Deineris hesitated, calculating. “I’d say we could have it done by tomorrow night.”
“Can we stay here tonight?”
“Oh I wouldn’t recommend that my
queen. That roof is obviously not very sturdy at present,” the young Amazon said as she
absently brushed a bit of crushed thatching from her shoulder.
“Hmm, obviously,” Gabrielle mused
aloud.
“I’d sure feel better if you stayed
elsewhere this eve,” Deineris continued.
“Well Gabrielle. It looks like we’ll
be spending the night under the stars huh?” Xena quickly interjected while casting a smile and a wink to the bard. “Haven’t done that for a while. Could be fun.”
“Oh no!
I’m sure there is another hut you two can…” Deineris exclaimed excitedly.
“That’s Ok Deineris, “ Gabrielle
interrupted as she gazed at Xena with a raised eyebrow and a knowing grin. “Xena and I will be fine out under the stars.”
“Well alright. Is there anything I can
do for you my queen?” Deineris quickly averted her eyes downward. “To make up for
interrupting -- ah, I mean for breaking your roof.”
The bard and the warrior looked at each
other momentarily in amused silence while the young Amazon fidgeted uncomfortably between them waiting for a response. It was Xena’s turn to raise an eyebrow. The silent
communication was not lost on the bard. She smiled, grabbed a towel and tossed it at her. Xena proceeded to wrap herself in it and step out of the tub while the bard laid her hand upon
Deineris’ shoulder and steered her toward the door.
“Actually, there is something you can
do. You can tell the cook that we would like a picnic lunch and a wineskin readied.” The bard
hesitated and glanced back toward the warrior princess just as she was dropping her towel and reaching for a dry shift. The queen’s stomach fluttered at the sight. She quickly opened the door
and gently pushed the young Amazon through it. “Oh, and please send word to Ephiny that we
will be postponing the meeting until after the evening meal. Xena and I have some -- rather
urgent unfinished business to attend to.”
*****
Gabrielle walked rapidly toward the communal kitchen,
keeping her eyes to the ground and trying hard to avoid the faces of the grinning Amazons she passed along the way. Then she heard a snicker and stopped dead in her tracks.
“Alright, that’s it!” the queen
shouted as she spun around to face the offending parties. “Xena and I had an accident, we
fell in, we got wet, I lost my shirt, doesn’t matter in what order that all happened, end of story. Now
don’t you all have something to do?!” She crossed her arms and stood glaring and stamping
her toe on the ground to emphasize her impatience.
In the blink of an eye ten young Amazon
warriors scattered leaving a startled and somewhat bemused Amazon queen in their wake. A smirk
spread slowly across her face. “Hmm, didn't mean to scare them that bad. Hey, I’m liking
this queen stuff more and more every day…” Turning around abruptly she ran face first into
a familiar armor breastplate.
“Ouch!” the bard exclaimed loudly,
grabbing her nose and falling backward a step. She glared up at the warrior in startled
disbelief.
“Xena, how long were you…? Oh never
mind, come on.” Grabbing the grinning warrior’s hand and nearly pulling her off her feet,
they headed for the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen the bard glanced
around and quickly located the picnic basket that had been prepared at her request. Xena
grabbed the basket while Gabrielle picked up the wineskin and slung it over her shoulder. Then
they slipped out the door and, arm in arm, strolled leisurely into the woods.
*****
Both the sun and the temperature were on
the rise as Xena unfolded a blanket and laid it out on the grass beneath a sprawling oak tree in a flowery clearing near a stream. The bard reached up above her head to hang the wineskin from a low overhanging branch so it would be
out of the way while they unpacked the basket. As the warrior bent over to smooth out the blanket she couldn’t help but stare spellbound at the elegantly tapered
waistline and firmly muscled abdomen that stretched in front of her. Suddenly overcome with a
need to touch this masterpiece of humanity she fell to her knees and pulled the bard to her, burying her face into the smaller woman’s
taut midsection, and kissing her way across it from side to side.
Gabrielle sighed and reached down to
tenderly run her fingers through the warrior's hair. Once again she was tingling from head to
toe and felt a familiar sensation growing in the pit of her loins. Sweet mother of Zeus, if I don’t
get some relief soon I’m going to spontaneously combust.
“By the gods Xena, I need…” the
bard hesitated, briefly interrupted by a telltale rumble erupting from her gut. She blinked
sheepishly. “Food.”
Xena pulled back and gazed up at the
bard lovingly. “Insatiable hunger; just one of the many, many things I love about you
Gabrielle.”
The bard grinned broadly. “Good thing
you’re non-fattening Xena,” she said as she sat down on the blanket and reached around the warrior to get the picnic basket. “Now
let’s see what we have here.”
The top of the basket was quickly tossed
aside and Gabrielle studied the contents while the warrior studied her, memorizing and re-memorizing every delicate line and curve of her
face and her….
“Oh I don’t believe it!”
Gabrielle’s agitated voice snapped the
warrior immediately out of her reverie. She watched amusedly as the bard reached into the
basket and pulled out a towel and then another, and then proceeded to wave them in her face.
“Son of a Bacchae, Xena! Does everyone in the village know?”
Xena grinned sheepishly. “It would
seem so.”
“Well I hope they soon get over it
before I die from embarrassment,” the bard said in exasperation as she tossed the towels aside and then dove back into the basket.
“Gabrielle, maybe we should thank our
thoughtful cook for including those. I mean, we do have a tendency to get wet on occasion.”
The bard stopped rummaging long enough
to lean over and place a lingering kiss on the warrior’s lips. “Hmmmm, can’t argue with
that. Now let’s eat!”
Gabrielle made short work of unloading
the remaining items from the basket. There was a small pot of elk stew, a loaf of bread, some
cheese, a bit of nutbread, and several pieces of fruit. She grabbed a spoon and two bowls and
quickly ladled a serving of the stew into each. Meanwhile Xena stood up to retrieve the wineskin and by the time she sat back down Gabrielle’s bowl was nearly empty. The warrior set the skin aside and picked up her own bowl, eating leisurely while she watched the bard consume a second
bowl of stew, a piece of bread, a slice of cheese, a large piece of nutbread, and an apple. Xena
shook her head in bemused silence. How does she do that?
Her stomach finally satiated the bard
lay back onto the blanket and watched the warrior munching on an apple. A smile crept slowly
across her face as she noted the way Xena licked her lips after every bite, seeming to savor the sweetness of the juicy remnants that
lingered around her mouth. The bard’s heart skipped a beat.
She does that same thing when she…. She shivered with a sudden surge of desire. Zeus! Here I go up in a cloud of smoke - - poof.
“Xena?”
“Hmmm?”
The warrior bit off the last of the
fruit and tossed the core into the woods across the stream. Almost immediately an elk appeared
and began nibbling at the remains.
“What’s for dessert?”
Xena detected the unmistakably lustful
tone of the bard’s voice. She gazed thoughtfully at the elk for a moment then turned to meet
her partner’s sultry gaze all the while considering her options. Hmm, I’m thinking sweet -- yeah, very sweet, she mused as she leaned toward the bard, their lips drawing closer and closer,
the air around them sizzling with sensual excitement. At the last moment the warrior’s
eyebrow shot up and she leaned back. Picking up the wineskin, she grinned playfully.
“Wine my queen?”
Gabrielle’s expression was of
disappointment and disbelief as she gazed at the warrior holding the wineskin in her hand. She
wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Is Xena really missing the point here? Ok, maybe I need a more direct approach. She raised herself up on one elbow and rested her
head in her hand, gazing longingly into Xena’s eyes and giving the warrior her best ‘come hither’ look as she spoke. “No thank you Xena. I was thinking of something more non-fattening.” Upon
uttering the word ‘non-fattening’ she lowered her voice to a seductive lilt and licked her lips seductively. Take that warrior princess. She watched
smugly a flush crawl slowly up the warrior’s neck.
Xena flashed the bard a spellbinding smile as she suddenly
stood, and without saying a word slowly and deliberately stripped away her armor, leathers, and underlying shift.
When the warrior was finally standing before her in nothing
but a grin, Gabrielle held her breath and watched spellbound as Xena grabbed the wineskin again, raised it over her own chest, and poured a
small stream of the sticky sweet liquid into her cleavage.
“Oops! Clumsy me,” Xena said coyly. She shivered slightly as the cool liquid flowed down her frontal plane.
Gabrielle’s eyes followed the wine as it rolled
tantalizingly down across the warrior’s stomach. Down, down it meandered, like a tiny red
stream heading to an ocean of bliss, holding the bard in a hypnotic trance. Only when her head
started to spin did she suddenly realize she had stopped breathing. Gasping loudly she sucked a
large dose of life giving air back into her lungs and nearly averted a faint. “Praise
Dionysus!” she suddenly exclaimed as she snapped out of her hypnosis, pulled the warrior down beside her, and immediately began lapping up
the spilled nectar -- slowly following the trail down the warrior’s lean muscled body.
Xena moaned deeply as the bard’s tongue circled her
naval. After a few moments she gently pulled the bard up from her eager wanderings and while
holding the little one spellbound in her passionate gaze, deftly eased the bard’s top up over her head and without a thought tossed it
back over her shoulder. It landed amidst a thick patch of thorny brambles.
Suddenly the bard found herself on her back with the
warrior astride her, the wineskin poised in her hand and an impish gleam in her eye. Gabrielle
sensed that a very pleasant sort of trouble was about to befall her.
“Hey now,” she glared up at her attacker in mock
defiance. “Just what are you planning to do with -- oh dear gods!”
The wine rained down upon her; the bard felt its sticky
wetness splaying across her chest and rolling down the sides of her neck and her stomach. She
watched in erotically charged fascination as the warrior leaned down and began licking and sucking the liquid from her body. Slowly at first, then with ever-increasing intensity Xena worked to capture every drop, her tongue
and lips flicking and devouring, leaving the bard’s flesh tingling and every inch of her body aching with desire.
Gabrielle threw her head back onto the blanket and closed
her eyes. She was drowning in the raw sensuality of the moment and she didn’t care if she
ever resurfaced. She knew she was going to go under for the last time a very, very satiated
woman.
“Oh Xena, I never realized that wine could be so-o-o-o
intoxicating.”
“Mmmm, I could drink of your sweetness all day,” the
warrior moaned as she leisurely kissed and suckled her way from one of the bard’s breast, through the valley between to the other and then
lingered there, tasting and teasing.
“Ah-h-h, oh my…Xena?”
“Hmmm?”
“I think you missed a spot.”
“Mmmm….”
“Ah-huh -- a little more to the left.” The bard reached up and clasped her fingers around the warrior’s head, guiding and urging her to
continue. “Oh yeah…yeah, that’s it. Gods,
that’s definitely it….”
Just then Gabrielle heard a twig snap to her left and
opened her left eye a crack to see a small and quite curious elk gazing at them through the underbrush.
“Xena?”
“Hmm?” The
warrior unfalteringly continued her erotic wanderings along the bard’s shoulder and up the side of her neck.
“We’ve got company,” Gabrielle declared breathlessly. She closed her eye again and groaned deeply when Xena took her earlobe between her lips and lightly
manipulated it with her tongue.
“Ah-huh, he’s probably attracted by the smell of the
apples,” Xena said as she released the bard’s lobe and began kissing and tasting her way along her chin and then down the opposite side
of her neck. “If it makes you uncomfortable to have an audience -- I could stop.”
“NO!” Gabrielle
quickly threw her arms around the warrior’s shoulders, digging her nails in and holding her lover close, captive to her rapidly
intensifying need. “Uh-uh -- oh no. Don’t
you dare stop warrior,” she insisted through rasping and rapid breaths.
Xena pulled back and they gazed into one another eyes for a
moment before their mouths hungrily sought out a sultry connection.
As they devoured each other’s lips, passionately probing
and maneuvering with their tongues, Xena’s hand snaked slowly down along Gabrielle’s side and began releasing the belt holding the
bard’s skirt in place. She quickly undid the restricting article, deftly removed it from her
lover’s hips, and casually flung it into the air to her right. The bard’s undergarment was
simply torn away and discarded as a tattered rag. Then the warrior’s hand returned and
started a slow, meandering ascent up the inside of her lover’s thigh.
Throughout their rapture, neither woman noticed the
flailing of the startled young elk as it thrashed about in the underbrush, having suddenly found itself blinded by the piece of cloth that
had caught in its antlers and fluttered down over its eyes. After much tossing and twisting of
its head, the animal finally stumbled off into the thicket never to be seen again, the piece of cloth dangling from its left antler
fluttering wildly in the breeze.
“Mmmmm, Xena?"
“Yes my love?”
“Did you hear something?”
“Only the beating of my heart, Gabrielle.” Her hand slid higher and higher while her lips once again sought out the soft and fully aroused
flesh of the bard’s breasts.
Gabrielle reached out with her hand and grasped the blanket
beneath her, gripping it between her fingers as though holding on to it would keep her from falling into the precipice she suddenly found
herself teetering on. She didn’t want to fall so soon; no she wanted it to last, she wanted
to savor it. But it had been so long with too much pent-up need.
Her grip was slipping.
“Gods! Xena I’m so clo…”
The warrior’s hand slid home and Gabrielle arched her
back into it. Her mind was saying hold on but her body had other plans, and as hard as she
tried to stave it off, as much as she wanted to savor the moment, she was about to tumble into a much-needed release. Oh Hades, just go with it Gabrielle.
“Yes…oh yes…oh gods Xena, yes…”
Just as the bard was about to let go and start her free
fall into the sea of sexual bliss the warrior suddenly raised her head and became still as stone, her ear cocked to the slight breeze that
whirled about them, listening. Not a muscle twitched in her entire body.
Gabrielle’s eyes flew open and she stared in disbelief as
her own body literally quivered at the edge. “Zeus warrior! What are you doing?” she
exclaimed in frustration and tried to draw the warrior’s lips back to her flesh.
“S-h-h Gabrielle. What’s that?” Xena continued to listen intently to the air around them. There
it was again -- a very faint, barely audible humming. “Do you hear that?”
The bard listened for a moment and heard nothing. The aching in her loins easily overrode her reason and convinced her that the warrior had simply
heard another passing woodland creature, that’s all. Hear
this warrior, I’m going to self-destruct here if I don’t get some relief. She began to slowly move her hips, undulating and pleasuring herself against the warrior’s hand, which remained
suspended between her legs. Almost instantly she found herself teetering at the precipice once
again while Xena remained transfixed elsewhere.
“Mmmm…Xena…it’d be nice if…ah gods…you’d be
present…when I…when I co…”
The warrior abruptly removed her hand from between
Gabrielle’s legs and slapped it over the bard’s mouth. Her eyes were intently scanning the tree above them.
“S-h-h-h!”
Out of sheer frustration Gabrielle promptly bit her finger
forcing Xena to quickly remove the offending appendage from her mouth. The warrior shook her
hand in pain but never took her eyes off a spot somewhere high above their heads.
“Xena! What in tartarus…?
Just then the bard heard it to -- a faint humming that was
getting louder with each passing moment. Only it wasn’t quite a hum it was starting to sound
more like….
“Buzzing? Hey, what’s that buzzing? Xena?”
The bard watched the warrior’s eyes suddenly become the
size of centaur dung as she stared up into the tree. Gabrielle followed her gaze until it came
to rest on a large round gray colored mass. The mass, which surely should have been inanimate,
seemed to be alive with movement.
“Gabrielle. Stay calm and don’t move.” The
warrior’s voice was barely a whisper. “Do bees like wine?”
Gabrielle continued to study the mass intently.
“I think they’re attracted to most anything sweet,”
she replied softly, then shivered slightly when she realized she was covered in a veritable bee smorgasbord. My gods, I’m bee bait. Xena’s next words did nothing
to allay her rising fear of being eaten alive.
“Well my sweetness, I think we’ve got double trouble
then,” the warrior whispered as she slowly maneuvered herself off of the bard and readied herself for a mad dash to -- where? Where does one dash to in the event of being surrounded by hungry bees? This was one enemy the warrior princess wasn’t absolutely sure how to deal with. She glanced around her and spied the stream. Just
maybe, if we could make it to the water….
Suddenly, as though someone had flipped a lever releasing
them from the starting gate, a cloud of venomous winged insects raced out of the hive and quickly enveloped the hapless warrior and her
equally ill-fated bard. The two women sprang to their feet swinging and swatting violently.
“Ack! Ow! Xena?!”
“Gabrielle run!”
“Ouch! Damn
it!”
“Run woman!!!”
The bard was dancing and flailing about wildly and barely
noticed when her hand connected with a loud smack against the side of Xena’s face. Unfazed,
the warrior leapt into action. In one smooth motion she lifted the bard, deftly flung her over
her shoulder, and sprinted toward the stream. The next thing Gabrielle knew she was flying
through the air and for the second time this day, found herself hovering briefly in time over a rather chilly looking body of water. She casually swatted a bee from her arm and managed to draw a deep breath before the water enveloped
her with its frosty arms.
*****
Back in the village Ephiny was just returning to the
village from the sparring practice fields. When the queen had postponed their earlier meeting
the regent had suddenly found herself with more free time then she’d expected. So to pass the
candle marks until the evening meal she had decided to show some of the younger warriors a few of her patented defensive tactics for use of
the staff.
As she stepped back out of the armory having returned her
weapon, the regent halted in her tracks upon seeing almost the entirety of the village gawking at her; or rather she suddenly realized,
something behind her. They were all attempting to hide their growing smiles but failing
miserably. Without even turning around she sensed that her queen had returned. And when the snickering masses quickly departed and disappeared as if into thin air leaving
her standing quite alone in the middle of the courtyard, she knew the queen’s champion had also returned.
Oh no, not again. The regent closed her eyes and sighed deeply, gathering her composure before she turned around.
There they were, two wretched looking huddled masses
beneath a single blanket. The queen was clothed in a small white towel that barely concealed
all of her physical assets. Both were dripping wet except Xena’s leathers seemed dry. And the warrior had the beginnings of an ugly looking purplish colored bruise on her cheek.
Ephiny’s arched her eyebrow in wonder at the mystery of
it all. Then she quickly averted her eyes from the warrior’s icy blue gaze to the shredded piece of cloth the queen held in her hands. It
appeared to be the top Gabrielle had been wearing when Ephiny had last spied the couple slipping into the woods earlier. The article looked as though the claws of some griffin-like beast had raked it repeatedly. Then she noticed a single large thorn protruding from the cloth and several light scratches along
the queen’s forearms. The corners of the regent’s lips quivered as she fought back the
smile that once again threatened to betray her.
“Ephiny?”
The regent was stirred from her musings and finally allowed
her eyes to meet those of her queen. It was then that she noticed several tiny welts on Gabrielle’s forehead and neck.
She studied them carefully. Bees?? “Yes my queen?” she said as stoically as possible.
“Would you mind if Xena and I were to borrow your hut for
about an hour to take a bath and…”
“Please, take as long as you need,” Ephiny quickly
interjected. “I’ll have some water brought round.”
“Thank you,” the bard said softly, her voice quaking
slightly as she reached out and gently touched the regent’s arm. “Eph, you are a good
friend.”
The poor girl looked as though she had been through
Tartarus and back and Ephiny couldn’t help but wonder what happenstance had brought her queen before her soaked, shivering, and disheveled
for the second time today. She watched in wonder as Gabrielle and the warrior sullenly turned
and started toward her hut.
Suddenly the queen stopped and turned back while Xena kept
moving away. She looked a bit bemused. “Ephiny you’re not having your roof fixed today are
you?” Gabrielle said, the corners of her mouth turning upward ever so slightly.
The regent relaxed enough to grin but kept an eye on the
retreating warrior just in case she turned back suddenly. “No, I don’t think you’ll be
interrupted again,” she replied with a wink.
Gabrielle smiled broadly and trotted off after the warrior,
swatting the tall one on the butt as she sped by her and quickly disappeared into the regent’s hut.
Ephiny’s grin broadened into a smile. She called for Eponin who had been hiding behind a nearby hut, peaking out every once in a while to
see if the warrior princess had departed the scene. Upon hearing the regent’s call she
immediately rushed to her friend’s side.
“Yeah Ephiny, what can I do?”
“Ep, Queen Gabrielle will be using my hut for a candle
mark or so. It is absolutely imperative that she and her champion are not disturbed during
their stay.”
Eponin grinned and nodded her head affirmatively. “Of course, I’ll see to it.”
The regent continued quietly. “And if you see Solari
lurking around here somewhere would you tell her the bear is in the cave so it’s safe to come out now, and the queen needs some water
heated for a bath.”
Eponin cast the regent a wry grin. “Certainly. Bear, cave, water -- got it.”
They separated, with Eponin trotting off toward the last
know location of Solari and the regent heading toward the communal kitchen. She intended to
instruct the cook to make some more nutbread, the queen’s favorite, as well as some of those odd pastries with the red stuff inside that
the warrior seemed to like so much. Anything to appease that one so she’d finally stop with
‘the look’; it was making everyone, including the regent herself, a bit nervous. As she
neared the kitchen door another thought suddenly occurred to her and she stopped. She turned and called out after the retreating Eponin.
“Hey Ep?”
Eponin came to a halt mid-stride and midway across the
courtyard. “Yes, my regent?”
“Would you also see to it that some candles are sent over
to my hut as soon as possible?”