WARNINGS AND DISCLAMERS

Gabrielle hurried back to their room when she saw Xena and the other woman headed for the stairs. She left the door slightly ajar and watched Xena being lead to a room down the hall from theirs. The other woman reached for the door and Xena trapped the woman in her arms and the woman laughed softly as the warrior leaned into her caressing her breast and kissing her lustfully. When Xena backed away a little the woman opened the door to the room and they started to enter together.

When Gabrielle realized that the warrior was indeed going into the room with the woman, Gabrielle stepped out into the hall facing Xena. Xena stopped and eyed her. Gabrielle wasn't sure what was going through the warrior's mind, although her usually stoic expression was gone. The warlord's face held the look of hunger and need until she looked into the eyes of the bard. Then it seemed to soften slightly and then was quickly replaced with the stoic warrior look.

Xena turned to whisper something in the woman's ear that caused the woman to giggle. The warrior walked back to the bard and stopped in front of her. "Gabrielle I... I'm staying down the hall tonight... I'll be right here if you need anything. Remember to keep the door barricaded and don't open it." Xena leaned forward and kissed the bard politely on the forehead then said, "We'll talk in the morning. Goodnight Gabrielle." Xena turned and walked back to Melena and they entered the room together.

Gabrielle's emotions and passions were raging. She was feeling jealous, angry, bitter, betrayed and the gods only knew what else all rolled up together and it was tearing her thought processes apart. Gabrielle was definitely jealous of the woman with the warrior and she was bitter and angry with herself for not just enjoying the affections of the warrior in the bathing room, butÖ that was the problem; it hadn't been her warrior, it was the warlord. The warlord was rough and cruelÖ there was no love only lustful need. Then she was angry with Xena because she felt like the warrior had betrayed her by going with the other woman. The honey-blonde knew that she had no claim to that part of the warrior's life but she just couldn't help feeling the way she did about her.

Gabrielle lay on the bed staring at the ceiling hurting, as silent tears rolled down her burning cheeks. Being upset like this made her afraid to try and sleep, she was sure the nightmares would return. She was trying to fight the emotions and passions that was raging inside her and trying to decide what to do. Everything was so mixed up in her mind; it was difficult to sort it all out. Gabrielle loved Xena and would follow her anywhere, but being too close to the warrior lately drove her passions and hormones wild and made it difficult to maintain just a friendship with the warrior.

Her heart again started pounding remembering the arms that had held her briefly, not as a friend, but with passion. She wanted and ached for Xena's touch but not that of the warlord and tonight they were one and the same. It was all so confusing especially to the bard's passions that were burning within her for the woman she loved.

As the bard lay on the bed trying to sort out her feelings the sounds of lovemaking seemed to be coming to her from everywhere. This was a brothel, after all, and the sounds were only keeping her own painful arousal at a peek.

Gabrielle didn't usually drink, but considered now might be a good time to try some of the port. She walked over to the small table and picked up the skin of port that Xena had delivered with their meal and pulled the cork out. She poured a mug full and sat down at the table looking at it. The bard picked up the mug and took a sip and immediately gasped for air, as the port seemed to have taken her breath away. GODS... that stuff is strong. How in Tartarus does Xena drink this stuff if she doesn't have to?

The bard decided that maybe if she thought of it as medicine, like Xena had said earlier, that it might be a little easier to get the stuff down. By the time Gabrielle finished the first mug she realized the port was definitely getting easier to drink, so she poured another mug. She thought that if she were lucky enough maybe she'd just pass out before she got sick and threw up.

It didn't take long for the port to start having a strong side effect that the bard hadn't figured on. It was decidedly having an effect on her burning ache she felt, but it seemed to have intensified it instead of dulling it.

Her undergarment felt soaked and was starting to feel very uncomfortable, so she took it off and got a rag to try to clean herself up. When she touched herself she felt like a bolt of lightning had just hit her; it felt like every nerve in her body had come to life. She had never experienced anything like that before and wasn't sure if it had been caused by the port that she'd never drank that much of before or the fact that she'd never been this sexually aroused before. The bard had also never stayed in a brothel before having her senses bombarded with carnal sounds coming at her from everywhere.

She dipped her fingers into the wetness between her legs; she closed her eyes as the touch sent a quivering ecstasy through her body. The bard remembered seeing the warrior taste of herself and brought her fingers up to her lips. She could smell the heady muskiness long before she reached her mouth. She carefully tasted the end of her fingers and liking the taste continued to lick and clean them.

This time when she lowered her hand it wasn't for another taste but to try to extinguish the fire that felt like it was consuming her. The climax helped only marginally as her thoughts remained on the goddess of her desires. Thinking of Xena also brought back to mind that she was in the arms of another woman and Gabrielle just felt worse.

Tears were now flowing down her checks again. To make matters worse every now and then throughout the night she kept hearing what sounded like the warrior's moans and cries of passion. There was no way to know for sure as the sounds were mingled with the other sounds of lovemaking from nearly every corner of the inn. Thoughts of the warrior mixing with the sounds of lovemaking were again driving the bard's sexual arousal to soaring heights.

The bard poured another mug of port and this time downed half the mug before she sat it back on the table. Gabrielle was beginning to wonder if she would ever pass out from drinking the port; her arousal seemed to be working awful hard at keeping her awake.

Trying to decide what she should do had boiled down to just two obvious answers for Gabrielle. The first was to just run away from all the carnal sounds that were driving her hormones crazy. And the second was being caused by the growing bravado the port was giving her to just strip off her clothes, walk down the hall, walk in and throw herself at Xena... the warlord or whoever the Hades she was now. It wasn't starting to matter as long as Xena took her and made love to her.

Gabrielle started remembering, even through her drunken haze, how many times that she'd made a fool out of herself the last few days and decided her first choice was probably by far the best answer to her problem since the port wasn't working. Gabrielle was a little frightened to leave the room alone remembering the men from earlier in the evening and the last thing she wanted was for the warrior to have to rescue her again.

Gabrielle finished the rest of the mug of port while she continued to try to work things out in her mind. She also wasn't too sure how understanding the WARLORD would be to find out that Gabrielle had been drinking her port and she knew she didn't want to find out... not tonight.

Finally the inn grew quiet about a candlemark or so before sunrise. Gabrielle crept to the door, removed the barricade and cracked it open listening for signs of anyone still awake. When she heard nothing she quickly gathered her things and headed for the stairs to her freedom. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she could hear loud snoring coming from the common room. She peeked in and saw one man on the floor and another with his head on a table. She doubted an earthquake could shake them awake, but tried to be as quiet as possible just in case.

Once outside Gabrielle hurried to get in the cover of the woods before she could be spotted. Her head was really starting to spin and somewhere in the back she could already feel the dull throbbing of a headache starting. She headed in the direction that she hoped would eventually take her to the Amazons Nation. She knew if she could reach the Amazon's she would be safe.

Just before sunrise Xena got up, dressed and went downstairs to get some breakfast. She was feeling a whole lot better this morning now that a real dent had been put in her lustful passions. It wasn't completely gone, but it was better. She also had no complaints about the woman she spent the night with. It wasn't the first time that she'd shared a bed with the woman, but the last time Xena was still a warlord and had taken what she wanted. The warrior hoped that now she'd be able to keep the warlord hidden in her past where she belonged.

The warrior continued to contemplate the events of the day before as she ate. I know I warned the bard about battlelust but it doesn't excuse the way I treated her. I never wanted the bard to know how bad the warlord could actually be. I just thank the gods, that Gabrielle was strong enough to stand up to me and I didn't do something I'm sure we both would have regretted. I guess it is time to face her and apologize now that I'm sober and a whole lot saner than I was yesterday.

When Xena finished her breakfast, she walked to the window and looked outside. The rain had stopped over night and the sky had cleared. It looked as though her and Gabrielle would be able to move on, that is, if the bard would go with her anywhere after the way that she'd been acting lately. She ordered breakfast for the bard so they could get on their way, when she'd finished eating.

Xena climbed the stairs with the tray in her hands. She started to open the door and remembered she'd told the bard to keep it barricaded. After last night, and the look on the bard's face when she kissed her on the forehead, she wasn't sure she'd be welcomed any way and knocked on the door. Xena waited but there was no answer to her knock.

Xena tried the door and it opened easily so she peeked into the room. Gabrielle wasn't there, she looked around the room and the warrior's things still sat in the room but the bard and her things were gone.

Xena looked around and seen the bard's undergarment lying on the bed. She felt the sheets and they were cold, which meant the bard had been gone for a while if she'd even slept there. The warrior picked up the undergarment to examine them wondering why Gabrielle hadn't taken them with her. As she lifted them she could feel the wetness and smell the musky odor of the bard's arousal on them. She brought them to her nose and inhaled deeply filling her senses with the smell of the small bard that instantly ignited a new fire in her core. The pain in her loins made it very clear that not all of the hot lustful passion she'd been feeling for her bard the last few days was as much 'battlelust' as the warrior had thought; it may have magnified the feelings, but it hadn't caused it.

The warrior grabbed her things and tucked Gabrielle undergarments into one of her bags. She reached for the skin of port and noticed that it was nearly empty and she knew it had been nearly full when she'd left the room last night. It was looking more and more like Gabrielle had a small party of her own after the warrior had left.

Xena wondered if Gabrielle had partied alone or had some company. Considering the choices in this pit, she was sure if the bard had company that it wasn't invited or consensual, but she'd never heard the bard scream for help. She didn't even want to think the bard would have willingly given up her virginity for one night of drunken pleasure. Xena finished gathering up her things from the room and headed out the door.

² Copyrighted January 1998 by DelShannon