The characters of Xena and Gabrielle are property of MCA /Universal. No copyright infringement is or was intended. This fiction may contain descriptions of a sexual nature between two consenting adult women.
Upon waking, Xena immediately assessed her situation.
She was sitting on a straw-covered stone floor, her upraised arms securely chained to the brick wall behind her back. None of the other prisoners in the cell were bound like she was, but neither did they look inclined to help her out. In fact, they were all keeping their distance. Evidently they'd heard how many men it had taken to render her unconscious... and how many had died in the attempt.
Not surprisingly, her weapons were missing, as was her armor. Hades only knew where it all was now -- beyond her reach, that much was certain. She listened to the guards chatting somewhere out of sight. She counted at least five voices, and there were probably three times that number of armed men throughout the prison; her fight had drawn quite a crowd. She tested the strength of the chains. No give. And judging from the quality of light that was filtering down from the single high window, her execution was scheduled to take place rather soon.
In other words, her situation was desperate.
This was going to be fun, Xena decided, and a familiar thrill of excitement pulsed to life in her veins, that jolt of heightened energy and awareness that always accompanied a brush with violence and death.
Senses alive to everything around her, she heard the distant scuffle of footsteps and muffled sobbing. The unruly sounds were drawing nearer. Good. Any break in the pattern of the guards' routine provided opportunities she could exploit. Xena fully expected she would escape from her imprisonment and avoid execution; the only question was how.
With apparent nonchalance, Xena raised her head to study the group of women -- some of whom had progressed from sobbing to wailing -- as they approached the cell. Her eyes narrowed when she caught a glimpse of a familiar reddish-gold color on the other side of the bars.
"Everyone keep your hands where I can see them," growled the guard who was unlocking the gate to the cell. "You've got fifteen minutes... for those that need that long."
The other guards guffawed at this witticism and snickered as the women rushed into the cell. One slender figure detached itself from the crowd and strolled over to the corner where Xena was chained.
"Hi," said Gabrielle with a cheery smile. She straddled Xena's outstretched legs and settled down on the warrior's lap. "Did you miss me?"
Xena's sardonic expression almost, but not quite, masked the glint of amusement in her crystal blue eyes. "Not that I'm complaining, but how did you wrangle this visit?"
"Easy. King Phrates is a sentimental despot. All the condemned get a final visit with their family."
"You convinced the guards we're related?" said Xena incredulously, then laughed. "I'd like to have heard that story."
"Oh, I didn't claim to be a blood relation." Gabrielle nodded her head toward the men and women who had rather quickly sorted themselves into embracing couples. "This is more in the nature of a... conjugal... visit."
"What!" cried Xena in an outraged whisper. "You told them we were lovers!"
Gabrielle shrugged. "Why not?" Pitching her voice low enough to escape eavesdropping, she said, "As soon as you escape, they'll think I was lying just to help you, and... well...."
With a grim smile, Xena finished, "And if I don't escape, it won't really matter."
"Something like that," muttered Gabrielle as she struggled with the laces of
her green top.
"It looks like you're taking your clothes off!"
"I knew you could figure it out for yourself."
"Stop that, Gabrielle! Gabrielle...." Xena trailed off, swallowing hard as the front of the bard's vest parted to reveal two very firm, full breasts. Fortunately, at least a portion of the warrior's mind was sufficiently detached to notice the dagger nestled between them. "Very clever."
"I thought so, too. In case you were wondering, I used beeswax to keep it in place."
"Ah," Xena said. With effort, she pulled her concentration back to her current dilemma. "But there's a slight problem." She shook her upraised arms; the chains rattled softly. "My hands are a little too visible to take advantage of your... gift."
With a wicked grin, Gabrielle said, "Then we'll just have to improvise." She wrapped her hands behind Xena's neck and pulled the warrior's head forward until she could feel warm breath between her breasts.
After a long moment, the bard said, "Xena?"
"Ummm?"
"The knife, Xena."
A muffled voice answered, "Oh, right."
Gabrielle felt a slight tugging sensation as Xena's teeth grabbed hold of the dagger's handle and loosened it from her skin. She giggled softly. "That tickles."
Xena's response was unintelligible.
"What did you say?" asked Gabrielle, leaning back.
"Now... what?" said Xena, carefully enunciating around the handle between her teeth.
"Just drop it down into your cleavage."
Xena's eyebrows shot upward in alarm. She shook her head. "Uh uh."
"Wimp."
The warrior just glared.
"Okay, okay. Are any of the guards watching us?"
Xena cautiously craned her head up to peek over the bard's shoulder, then ducked back down with a heavy sigh.
"All of them, I take it." Gabrielle pondered another tactic, but it was difficult to concentrate with all the rather vulgar grunts and groans coming from nearby.... "That's it! We'll just do what everyone else is doing. A floorshow should distract the guards from noticing what I'm really up to."
"Uh uh!!" protested Xena, but the knife between her teeth blunted the force of her argument.
"Let's make this look good." Gabrielle cupped her hands around the black leather covering Xena's breasts and began to knead. The leather was wonderfully soft and pliant, as was the flesh beneath it. "Try something louder than a gasp... yeah, those moans are much more convincing."
Positioning her body so that her back momentarily shielded her movements, Gabrielle slid one hand between Xena's breasts. "Okay, drop it."
With a twinge of apprehension Xena parted her teeth, releasing the dagger. To her relief, Gabrielle caught the blade and quickly tucked it inside Xena's leather bodice. The metal was still warm, heated by its contact with the young bard's bare skin, skin that was tantalizingly close, as were those two luscious....
Shifting again, Gabrielle returned her hand to Xena's breast, letting the guards see just enough of what her fingers were doing to allay their suspicions. "Xena, are you all right? You look a little... flushed."
"Yeah... yeah... I'm fine. It's just a little... warm in here, that's all."
"Actually, it's kind of cold and clammy." For the first time Gabrielle paid attention to what was happening beneath her palms. She rubbed a thumb over a leather bump that appeared to be Xena's stiffening nipple. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were really enjoying this...." She eyed the slight sheen of perspiration on Xena's upper lip. "...really, really enjoying this."
"Nonsense," said Xena hoarsely. "I'm just concentrating on my predicament."
"Is that so?" Gabrielle squeezed her knees against Xena's thighs, then smiled slyly at the low moan that resulted from the pressure. "Why, Xena, how come you never told me you liked bondage?"
The warrior gritted her teeth to keep from pleading with Gabrielle to do that again. When she could trust herself to speak, she said, "Not funny. You caught me at an... awkward... moment."
"What?" The bard puzzled that over. "Oh, I get it. You mean when your 'juices' were starting to flow."
"Yeah." Xena could feel her hips straining to push themselves up against the bard; by sheer force of willpower she managed to keep them from moving. Unfortunately, Gabrielle wasn't helping the situation any by running her hands up and down Xena's torso. "I wish... you wouldn't... do that." It felt entirely too good.
"But Xena, if I stop touching you, the guards will wonder why I'm here. So, just to be on the safe side...." Leaning down, the bard brushed her lips over a jutting collarbone, then worked her way up the side of Xena's neck. The beat of Xena's pulse was becoming quite pronounced. "By the way," she whispered into Xena's ear, "I saw your armor and chakram in the anteroom outside this cell."
"Thanks... oh, goddess...." The rough, wet touch of Gabrielle's tongue outlining the edge of her ear was sending shivers up and down Xena's spine. I'll pick them up... later."
"Mmmmm," said Gabrielle. She bit down ever so lightly on a fleshy lobe and was rewarded with the sound of Xena's throaty growl. The bard settled herself a little more forcefully onto the warrior's lap.
"Yes, oh, yes!" With dismay, Xena recognized that frantic, gasping voice as her own. In fact, her entire traitorous body had stopped listening to her orders to behave. Her back arched, rocking her hips against Gabrielle's muscular thighs and pushing her chest against the soft cushion of Gabrielle's bare breasts. Dimly, she registered the voice of a guard shouting into the cell, but she was far too distracted to make sense of his words.
"Oops," said Gabrielle. "Looks like we're out of time." And the bard abruptly pulled away.
"What!" Xena hissed, shock jerking her out a sensory daze. "Gabrielle! Don't you dare leave me like--"
"Sorry, but these things happen," said the bard with a shrug. She eased her weight off Xena's body and grinned at the deep groan of frustration from the warrior. "This will just have to wait until later."
"Now!" insisted Xena, as the corded muscles of her arms strained against their chains. With a gasp, she collapsed back against the wall, but not before she felt metal links begin to unfold. "... or... I'll... kill... you," she panted out.
"You have to catch me first," said Gabrielle smugly, as she rose to her feet. "Meet you back at camp... soon, I hope." She deftly laced up her top. Oh, and bring the chains. You seem to like them."
She jumped back, startled by Xena's sudden lunge forward; the incoherent snarl was also a little intimidating. On the other hand, the bard noted, with one more heave those manacles were going to fly to pieces.
"I'll bring the chains, all right," said Xena with a dark glower. "Only you'll be wearing them tonight, not me."
"Promises, promises," said Gabrielle airily.
As she walked out of the cell, she waggled her fingers in a final wave good-bye to Xena. The warrior looked sufficiently enraged to kick her way through every door in the prison complex.
Passing by the guards that lined the corridor, Gabrielle let loose a quiet sigh of relief. When she'd first entered the prison she'd been rather worried about the odds against Xena. Fortunately, though, she'd managed to shift those odds in the warrior's favor. Granted, the task had involved some slightly unorthodox behavior this time around, but she was willing to take advantage of whatever worked.
In fact, the bard mused as she walked out of the prison fortress, she felt rather sorry for the squadron of guards that would soon be facing Xena's wrath. They didn't stand a chance.
Gabrielle handed over a dinar to the street urchin who had guarded her staff. Then with a feigned look of puzzlement she leaned on her weapon, trying hard to look like a weary traveler deciding where to go next. As she waited, she considered Xena's parting words. Although the warrior princess had been under considerable stress at the time, she rarely uttered idle threats. So this evening promised to be very interesting indeed...her paybacks always were.
The bard grinned at the sudden outburst of shouting coming from behind the prison wall. Xena was on her way.
"I hope she remembered to bring the key," muttered Gabrielle as she raised her staff into fighting position and dashed toward the prison gate.
Send comments to: quince@shentel.net