The cool autumnal air about them was filled with excitement and eroticism as the music pulsated, well-muscled bodies moved in synchronous motion, and the sweet, intoxicating wine flowed. The dancing and merriment was nearly all consuming in its intensity and liveliness, often leaving the participants and the audience breathless. The young queen glanced over at her companion and frowned, finding the sullen look was still there, wandering over the warrior’s face, darkening the radiance of her eyes and haunting her beautiful features. Gabrielle sighed in frustration. Here they were, immersed in a celebration, the likes of which they were rarely accustomed to, and Xena was in a dark mood for no apparent reason other than she just felt like it. ‘She is just so-o-o…wonderfully mysterious,’ the queen mused.

Xena’s moods just seemed to affect everyone in the Amazon village. If she was happy they were relaxed and life went on as usual; if she was unhappy they basically went into hiding and for the greater good stayed out of her way, often disrupting their own activities to do so. But today was a day of celebration because two of their members were being joined in a ceremony of lifelong commitment. And, since the warrior was the queen’s companion and consort there was simply no way of avoiding her throughout the affair. They could give her a wide berth certainly, but staying out of her way completely was impossible. After all, they couldn’t have a celebration without participants; so at the risk of life and limb and mental stability, the participants had to simply put up with the moody warrior princess in their presence.

Gabrielle watched somewhat amusedly as a pair of young Amazon warriors, lost in the music and each other, unwittingly danced toward the dais on which she and the warrior sat. They were chatting merrily until one glanced up and caught Xena’s glowering stare and quickly guided her companion away, she assumed out of harm’s way. And she was right; Xena was in a mood but not in a physical harm kind of mood, although they could not tell that by the intensity of her numerous sneers.

Gabrielle sighed again and rested her chin thoughtfully in her hand, quietly pondering their predicament. Within minutes, a broad grin had captured her lips. She’d fantasized about all of the ways she could attempt to erase the gloom and lighten the mood for her warrior and for her Amazons and now her eyes twinkled with sheer delight at one fantasy in particular. ‘For the greater good,’ she mused. ‘It just might work. And besides it is my queenly duty.’ Filled with eager glee tempered with a hint of lust, she turned to her companion.

"Xena?" she said coyly.

"Hmm?" the warrior replied absently. She continued to stare off into space, occasionally sneering at unwitting passersby who, lost in their celebratory reverie, happened to wander too close to the dais on which she sat.

Gabrielle reached over and placed her hand over the warrior’s, lightly tracing her fingers along the back of it before finally grasping two of her companion’s long fingers in her palm and squeezing them gently. She shifted in her seat as she thought about what she was about to propose. Taking a deep breath to still her suddenly racing heart she leaned over toward her unsuspecting quarry.

"Gods, I want you," she purred breathlessly into the warrior’s ear then sat back and watched her words sink in and hopefully work their magic on the mysterious woman beside her.

Xena’s face suddenly brightened into a wry smile while a hint of color slowly crawled its way into her cheeks. She turned toward the queen; the gloom rapidly dissipating into a deep blue sparkle that had captured her eyes.

"Ah…Gabrielle, we’re in the middle of a celebration here."

"Yeah, I know," the queen replied with an air of whimsical nonchalance. She picked up the warrior’s hand and began kissing the tips of each finger one by one, finishing each kiss with a sensuously moist flick of her tongue before moving to the next.

Xena’s smile broadened as her eyebrow arched high toward her hairline. She’d been rescued from herself once again and she knew it. "What’d ya have in mind, my queen?" she drawled in a low flirtatious timbre.

"Satisfaction," came her lover’s heady reply.

Xena’s eyes quickly darted around the courtyard in front of them taking in the throngs of people dancing and drinking and celebrating. "But Gabrielle, the joining must be presided over by the queen. You can’t leave now."

"I know," Gabrielle crooned as she leaned in closer and with wanton longing in her eyes, drew the warrior into her gaze and held her captive to her own rising need. The game was beginning to take a turn as she gazed deeply into her lover’s eyes and saw her own desires matched there. Her heart began to race in time to the rising tempo of the music that seemed to charge the air around them, not to mention her own libido, with a pulsing sexual tension.

"Gabrielle," Xena hesitated and glanced over her shoulder at the guards then at Ephiny, the queen’s regent, seated to Gabrielle’s immediate left on the dais. She dropped one eyebrow and arched the other as she quickly considered the situation. "I don’t think…"

Without waiting for her to finish, Gabrielle suddenly arose from her seat and placed herself squarely in the warrior’s lap. Wrapping her arm around Xena’s shoulder and lightly tracing her fingers through the soft hair at the back of her lover’s neck she whispered seductively.

"Now."

Xena glanced over her shoulder at the guards one more time and again at Ephiny. The regent, suddenly feeling the eyes upon her, turned and with a wry smile took note of the new position of her queen on the warrior’s lap. Xena returned the smile with a toothy grin of her own, then shrugged. Ephiny simply shook her head in amused silence and turned away again to watch the celebratory dancing.

By this time oblivious to the outside world, Gabrielle continued to stare into her lover’s eyes, sending silent but clear messages of lustful yearning as her hand slowly descended down over the warrior’s neck and chest to come to rest on her waist. It lingered there, caressing softly with restrained urgency.

Xena could feel the heat of the queen’s touch through her leathers and shifted anxiously in her seat. Swallowing hard she resigned herself quite willingly to her queen’s wishes, dropped her hand to Gabrielle’s inner thigh and very slowly, so as not to draw undue attention toward them, slid it upward, gently caressing and kissing the skin with her fingertips. Feeling a sudden intake of breath escape from the woman beneath her hand, she slipped under the queen’s ceremonial skirt and lingered on the soft flesh at the apex of her thigh just shy of her ultimate goal, teasing and eliciting subtle, yearning squirms from her companion.

Gabrielle leaned over and drew near the side of the warrior’s face, allowing her breath to escape in an excruciatingly slow, hot and sexually charged exhalation against Xena’s ear then following it closely with her tongue. Feeling the warrior shiver slightly she pulled back and sighed, "I want it now." Then without further hesitation she quickly returned her tongue to the warrior’s inflamed ear, tracing it lightly along the lobe and up, her own flesh hot with desire as she thought about what this simple action was doing to her lover - - no doubt sending waves of need like a volley of love poisoned arrows straight to the warrior’s loins. The thought excited her to the point of unbearable need and burning for the warrior’s touch, but somehow she managed to maintain her control as she allowed her hand to work lower and come to rest on Xena’s thigh, massaging and tickling it gently. She smiled knowingly as another mild shiver racked the warrior’s body.

Xena nearly swooned out of her chair and fought to maintain what little composure was left within her as she hurriedly reached over and picked up her goblet to take a long draw of wine. She closed her eyes and felt the sweet nectar flow smoothly and coolly down her throat; it immediately began to settle into her brain and smooth out the tensions of the day. Licking her lips, she set the goblet aside and glanced over at Ephiny, who still appeared to be lost in watching the festivities going on around them. Then she returned her full attention to the woman in her lap. "Mmmm. All right, Gabrielle," she growled from deep in her throat. "You’re in control. What do you want my queen?" Returning her hand to her lover’s thigh, she slid it upward again, searching and eventually finding nothing between her fingers and the young woman’s passion, her hand meeting instead a smoldering heat and damp hunger. She pulled away in surprise and grinned seductively at her lover. "You had this planned all along, didn’t you?"

The queen smiled and tenderly ran her fingertips along the breadth of the warrior’s mouth and then quickly enveloped it in her own. Her tongue lingered and caressed Xena’s lips in tantalizingly soft flickers before finally slipping between them, probing deeply and urgently, tasting and savoring the hints of wine that remained there. As she sucked the heady remnants from Xena’s bottom lip a soft moan arose from her depths and escaped her, to which the warrior responded in kind. They were so lost in each other at that moment they failed to notice the ceremonial music had suddenly ceased, blanketing both them and the celebration in silence.

"Ahem…my queen." The sound of Ephiny’s voice suddenly wrenched the two lovers from their encounter.

Gabrielle sat up and turned around to look at her regent with bleary eyes and flushed cheeks. "Ah, yeah Eph?" She brushed back a strand of loose hair from her face as she disappointedly felt Xena slowly and discretely retract her hand from underneath her skirt. "What is it?"

Ephiny grinned wryly at her queen then thrust a piece of parchment along with a brightly-feathered quill toward her. "You must sign the joining decree…now."

Gabrielle noticed the playful hitch on her regent’s voice but thought nothing more of it as she glanced at the parchment then down at the small gathering of Amazons standing below the dais. The happy couple, surrounded by many of their friends, was hand in hand and smiling up at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath and gathering her composure, she grinned sheepishly then took the parchment and quickly placed her mark on the bottom of the page. Returning the decree to her regent, who seemed to be smirking now, she turned again to the couple and smiled brightly while speaking to them in a voice loud enough for the entire assemblage to hear.

"I bestow upon you my best wishes for a long and happy union, blessed by the Goddess Artemis Herself. May She smile upon you always."

Then with a regal wave of her hand the music began again as the elated couple nodded their thanks then bowed and sauntered off to dance their dance before heading off to their hut for the night.

Gabrielle settled back again into her warrior’s lap, sighed deeply, then caught Xena’s wry smirk. "What?"

"You are just so…cute when you’re doing your queen thing."

"Cute?"

"And desirable," the warrior whispered breathlessly.

"So where were we then?" Gabrielle said softly as a hood of desire once again descended onto her eyes.

"Now?" inquired Xena instantly recognizing the amorous look in her lover’s eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as the queen reached out and grasped her hand drawing it slowly toward the hem of her skirt.

"Now, Xena. Right now."

Gabrielle shifted slightly onto her left hip as she pulled the warrior’s hand toward her and underneath her right thigh, toward her hot, throbbing need. She closed her eyes and fought the urge to cry out as Xena’s long fingers grazed her wetness and lingered upon her, slowly sliding back and forth, teasing her to the point of ecstasy and then hesitating without allowing her to fall into its depths. Resting her head down on the warrior’s shoulder she allowed herself to sink into the excruciating bliss of the moment, while everything and everyone around her seemed for the moment to disappear. "Gods yes," she whispered, fighting to keep her breath from getting totally out of control and attracting undue attention from those still seated and standing around them.

Xena slowly and deliberately slipped inside the queen and began working her fingers slowly, in and out. She could feel Gabrielle’s muscles tightly gripping and releasing her fingers with a sensual rhythm pulsing in time with her heartbeat. Spurred on by the queen’s subtle hip movements she nuzzled into the side of her neck, her tongue playing along her lover’s throbbing jugular vein feeling the pulse quickening with each new thrust of her fingers. She moaned softly as she felt a bit of Gabrielle’s wetness escape and trickle down along the back of her hand and settle onto her own thigh. Inhaling deeply of the intoxicating scent of her lover, her thumb repeatedly grazed the sensitive area at the apex, and knowing full well the effect it was having on the woman in her hands she gradually increased the intensity until the queen was writhing with restrained passion.

Gabrielle quickly muffled the scream that threatened to escape her throat. She tightened her hold around Xena’s neck as with each thrust she felt herself rising toward her peak, the sound of the ceremonial drums faintly pounding in the background of her mind striking out a sensual beat, slowly building to a crescendo that seemed to correspond with her climactic need. Then suddenly, with one last plunge of the warrior’s fingers she exploded; just as the final beat of the drum faded into silence her body shuddered in orgasmic release and she collapsed into Xena’s chest, totally relaxed and trying to catch her breath. "My gods," she muttered as she felt the spasms of her release slowly subsiding into a pleasurable afterglow.

Xena sighed and leaned back in her chair to gaze lovingly at her blissful companion, her fingers still lodged deep within the warm wetness of the queen's release, and simply enjoyed the feeling of the soft muscular contractions as they slowly waned.

Gabrielle opened her eyes and looked at her consort appreciatively. "Thank you," she said as she leaned in to place a lingering kiss on the warrior’s lips.

"No, thank you," Xena replied with a wry grin as she pulled away, her eyes sparkling with the intensity of her love.

"How bout thank you both."

The sound of the Ephiny’s voice once again wrenched the two lovers from their reverie of one another. Xena slowly removed her hand and discretely hid it under her chair so as to hide the sticky wetness that covered it, while the queen quickly straightened her skirt, fidgeted with her hair, and took a deep breath before turning to look at her regent.

"Ah, Eph. Whatever do you mean?" Gabrielle said coyly after she’d finally composed herself.

Ephiny grinned wryly at her queen. "I definitely think that the greater good has been served here tonight." She stood up and before leaving the dais winked at her friends then quickly added, "In more ways than one." And with a broad smirk she turned and retired to her hut, grabbing a half-empty bottle of wine from a nearby table and taking it with her.

Wide-eyed and somewhat bemused, the queen followed her regent until she’d disappeared into her hut then turned back to her consort. "Xena, you don’t suppose she…?"

Her thought was cut short and immediately forgotten when the warrior suddenly captured her lips in a fiery and quite promising kiss. After several searing moments they parted and gazed longingly into each other’s eyes.

"Now?" Gabrielle said quietly.

"Now," the warrior said as she stood up holding the queen in her arms and started for their hut. "I feel a bad mood coming on." She grinned playfully.

The queen’s guards started out in their wake but stopped dead in their tracks, cowering, when the warrior sneered at them for no apparent reason.

Gabrielle watched the exchange with a devilish twinkle in her eyes. "Hurry Xena," she said with a subtle urgency in her voice as she waved the guards off and quickly added, "No, you two stay." She smiled at Xena. "Believe me, it’s for the greater good."

The guards shook their heads in wonder as they watched their queen, locked in her consort’s arms, quickly disappear across the compound and disappear into the royal hut. Then they grinned wryly at one another.

"Did something odd happen just now?" the taller of the two inquired of her companion as they turned back toward the waning but still continuing celebration.

"Now?" the second guard said with a smirk.

"Yeah, now."

"Well, I don’t know about now, but a while ago on the dais…"

The rest of their conversation was drowned out by the pulsating rhythms of the drumming, which had suddenly started up again even though most of the celebrants had now retired.

In the queen's hut sweet music was being made again as well, but of course in there, a 'now' uttered softly in the throws of passion actually meant all night. And so it was. So it was.