Love/Sex Warning/Disclaimer: Oh yeah now we're getting down to it. YES this story depicts a sexual relationship between two women and between a woman and a man. Is it graphic? Well, maybe… kinda… in a tasteful sort of way… that is to say… yeah okay it's graphic but hey let your hair down a little. Give yourself a little thrill. As is indicative of a Conqueror story there is some nonconsensual sex, one scene of the disturbing kind and the other more of the "she's forcing herself on me and I just hate myself for loving it" kind. If you are under the age of 18 or live in a state or country where this kind of story is illegal or this kind of thing disturbs you then read no further. Oh yeah that love thing. Lots of love in this story, love between two women, love between a woman and a man and they all love me! Me, me, me! Hey it's my story and I can write it anyway I want. You want love too? Oh all right, they love you tooJ Happy now?

Feedback: What did ya think? tlh277@aol.com

Part 2

Xena cursed as she looked down the crowded street for her new slave. Seth was twenty minutes late. She knew now that something had happened to the boy. She knew that he wouldn't have run away. She had taken care of that, no slave she ever owned ever tried more than once to escape, more than the memory of the pain of disobedience though the boy had come to like her in the last two days. No he didn't run, he either got hopelessly lost or some local thugs hit him over the head, took his money and left him unconscious in an alley somewhere. Since the market was little more than a hard stone's throw away from the inn she suspected the latter.

The Conqueror found herself feeling anxious and worried. She frowned; this was a new emotion for her. Or at least she hadn't felt it in quite a long time.

"If anything has happened to that boy I'll kill whoever did it." Xena stated in a low voice to herself.

She turned towards the farmers selling carts full of produce and fresh meats in the open square at the end of the street. She passed by a tent with closed flaps and nothing displayed in front. It struck her as odd. Every other merchant on the street had his space crammed with open carts and racks full of the various items they had for sale with the flaps to their tents tied back to offer a better view of the merchandise inside yet this one's front was bare and flaps of his tent closed.

The dark haired warrior decided to take a closer look. She threw back the tent flap and passed through. Inside the dirty tent she found a man with his back to her counting money on a small table. He turned when he heard her enter and he gasped at the sight of the Conqueror of the known world in his tent.

Xena's eyes narrow and her face grew dark as she saw her mark on the small leather money pouch the bearded man held in one hand.

Muhammad dropped to his hands and knees prostrating himself before her. "My Queen what is it that this humble merchant can do for you?"

The Conqueror crossed to the man and pulled him to his knees by his shirt and shook him roughly. "Where is the boy you stole my money pouch from?"

"Please my Queen I stole nothing!" Muhammad pleaded with her.

"I have no patience for your lies!" The Conqueror released the mans collar and then made two strikes in rapid succession to the man's neck with the middle and forefinger's of her hands.

Muhammad stiffened painfully and he labored for each breath. A small trickle of blood started from his nose.

The Conqueror stepped back from him and stared icily into his eyes. "I've just cut off the flow of blood to your brain, you'll be dead in thirty seconds if I don't release you so you better answer my questions and answer them quickly if you value your life! Now where is the boy?"

Muhammad struggled to answer her. "S… slavers ha… have him."

"Where?" Xena asked in eerily calm voice.

The man croaked and gasped before he answered her weakly. "O… on t… the road to… the east. To… wards, towards the seaport."

The conqueror turned to go.

"W… wait, I… did as… as you asked!" Muhammad begged.

Xena stared at him, death in her vivid blue eyes. "And now you get to die that is your reward. I don't have time for anything else. Consider yourself lucky."

The Conqueror turned then and left the dank tent. Muhammad's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell over onto his back dead.

Seth woke to an ugly man with a scared face kicking him and screaming obscenities at him. He was lying in a clearing in the forest next to a wagon with a cage built onto it. He groggily looked up into the desperate eyes of six young women with bruised faces staring at him from the cage on the wagon. He got another kick to his side then.

"Get up you lazy piece of farm trash! There is no way in Tartarus that I'm going to heft you up into that wagon! Get up damn you!" Scar face yelled at him.

Seth got unsteadily to his feet. "W… what do you want with me? Where am I?"

Scar face laughed then and Seth saw that he wasn't alone. Two men at the head of the wagon laughed too and then so did two other's who rode towards him on mean looking black horses. They were all big and ugly like scar face with greasy hair and stained teeth.

"We want you to get in the wagon boy! You're a slave now and we're going to sell you." Scar face said when he finished laughing.

One of the men on the mean black horses spoke up then. "That's right boy were going to see a pirate named Haggar. Haggar the nasty to be precise, he likes smooth faced young boys like you."

They all started laughing again at that then one of the men on the wagon jumped down and got behind him.

"Pretty boy like you should fetch two or three hundred dinars from Haggar so get in the wagon." The man with the crooked, broken nose that jumped down from the wagon said.

One of the men on the horses got down then too and they all stood in a triangle around him.

Seth stuttered lamely. "I… I can't, I'm already a slave! X… Xena will be angry that I'm late!"

The brutish men all froze at the mention of the Conqueror's name, then scar face grabbed him roughly and tore his shirt at his right shoulder to reveal the Conqueror's mark.

Scar face's eyes went wide with shock. "He's telling the truth! She'll kill us all for stealing from her!"

Seth continued. "I was suppose to meet here back at the inn with some supplies!"

The man from the horse looked thoughtful then. "Calm down Grattus, what would the Conqueror be doing this far from Athens and traveling with only one slave? More like this boy escaped from her palace and was trying to get as far away from there as he could."

Grattus shook Seth by his shoulders then. "Is that right boy? Or are you telling us that you really are traveling alone with the Conqueror. No royal guard, no other slaves, just you."

"That's right! It's just me and her!" Seth exclaimed nervously.

The man from the horse spoke again. "He's just trying to save his skin. No matter he's ours now. You should feel lucky boy. The Conqueror doesn't treat runaway slaves kindly. Now get in the wagon!" The man ordered.

Seth struggled and broke free of Grattus's grasp then and ran. He only made about ten paces past the triangle of men when the other horsemen knocked him down with the flank of his mean black horse.

Seth got quickly to his feet but the others were on him. Grattus hit first a stunning blow to his jaw. He staggered then the other two were on him. They half beat him half drug him toward the cage on the wagon. He was strong though and he held out. He fell to his knees then after a crippling blow to his stomach; he bent over and gasped for air.

Grattus grabbed a nearby tree branch from the forest floor. "By the Gods I'll teach you to run from us boy!"

Ugly scar faced Grattus hit him then with the think, dead wood. First on his back, then his shoulders and then when he was lying face down in the dirt he struck him on the head. Seth bruised and bleeding was out cold. The three men threw his limp body in the cage on the wagon with the other slaves then locked the gate.

One of girls in the wagon cradled Seth's head in her lap while the other's dabbed at the blood that trickled from his swollen lips and nose; using strips of cloth torn from their skirts.

The wagon began to move then with Grattus walking along the side and one horsemen front and rear. The man with the broken nose had returned to his seat at the front of the wagon with the burly driver.

They traveled for about an hour when they came to a bend in the road. As the wagon came around it Grattus watched the slaves in the cage. They were all still fusing over that pretty farm boy! Bah! The little harlots, he would show them a thing or two when they camped for the night, he thought with satisfaction. He would drag one or more out of the cage and have his way with them then he would…

Grattus's perverted fantasy was interrupted suddenly by a high-pitched sound followed by a thud. He looked curiously about then turned to the rear when he heard the horse trotting up.

He stared for one uncomprehending moment at the rider-less horse when it dawned on him what had happened. He turned to shout a warning to the front rider but before his voice could bellow out over his lips he heard the high-pitched sound again and he watched with horror as his comrades head was cut cleanly off at the neck. Sightless eyes stared at him as the head tumbled backwards and gore spurted from the body still clutching the reins of the mean black stallion.

Crooked nose on the wagon drew up his crossbow while Grattus and the wagon driver both drew swords. They all watched in shock as the Conqueror rode into them from the front.

Crooked nose quickly shot a bolt off at her. The bolt flew true but just before it struck the Conqueror snatched it from the air then she was riding hard for him, her sword drawn.

The burly driver panicked, dropped from the wagon and ran.

Xena was on crooked nose as he was in the act of cocking his bow; her razor sharp sword took him at the base of the throat and cut through in one smooth motion. Even as crooked nose's head was tumbling over her blade she had drawn her chakram in her left hand and flung it toward the running driver.

The left handed throw took the man too high and the chakram sliced the man's head open like a ripe melon just below his eyes. Xena caught the bloody instrument seconds later. She gracefully threw one leg over Argo's neck and slid from the horse with both bloody weapons still in hand. She wiped them both on the fallen body of crooked nose then hung her chakram on her side seemingly ignoring Grattus.

Grattus watched the Conqueror in shocked disbelief. His mind could barely comprehend that in a mere few minutes she had killed his four friends. His wits came back to him then as he saw her turn towards the cage on the wagon. Then he watched her face cloud in anger the likes of which he had never seen as she saw her battered slave still cradled in the lap of one of the weeping, terrified slave girls. She turned to him then, cold furry burning in her eyes.

Grattus threw his sword to the side then and dropped to his hands and knees blubbering. "Mercy, Conqueror, mercy!"

Xena walked slowly to him dragging the tip of her sword across the ground. The sword made an eerie scraping sound on the hard packed dirt of the well-traveled road. She stopped when she stood directly in front of the downcast man prostrating himself at her feet. She drew up the tip of her sword then and plunged it back down hard through one of the man's outstretched hands!

Grattus howled with pain as blood gushed around the sword.

Xena twisted the blade viciously in the wound. "Just like the mercy you showed my slave!"

She had felt all manors of battle lust before but this was a totally new sensation. One that surpassed all others she had ever felt in intensity although she couldn't think about it now, she was just acutely aware of how powerful it was.

Xena pulled her sword from Grattus's hand and circled around him. The man was a pathetic bully. When the odds weren't overwhelmingly in his favor his true cowardice shone like a new dinar. Suddenly she felt like just killing the man but no, he needed to suffer more, he didn't deserve a quick death.

She was at his rear now and kicked the man hard in his groin sending him face down in the dirt.

Grattus screamed then lie clutching himself in the road.

The Conqueror looked again at Seth's limp form in the wagon and she could no longer restrain herself, she plunged her sword into the man's heart and left it there while she stared into his dying eyes.

"Here's your mercy scum!" Xena pulled her sword from Grattus's dead body and wiped the blood on his shirt before replacing it in the scabbard.

She knelt down and removed a heavy iron key ring from the dead man's belt then crossed to the wagon and unlocked the gate at the rear then swung it open.

The slave girls were all huddled around Seth sitting on their knees with head and eyes lowered submissively to the Conqueror. They all trembled with fear, their faces pale white in shock after witnessing the ghastly scene.

"Bring him out here and lay him on the ground carefully." The Conqueror commanded in a low tone.

The girls obeyed. Three of them climbing down while the other three in the wagon handed Seth out to them. They laid him gently on the ground face up then immediately withdrew a face paces. The others climbed down from the wagon and they all prostrated themselves on the ground before the Conqueror.

Xena knelt beside Seth. She explored his head first with her skillful fingers. She found several bumps but none that were overly large and no fracture. She pealed his eyelids back one at a time and watched as his pupils dilated in the sunlight.

So far so good she thought strangely nervous. She had examined hundreds of her soldiers after a battle and she had never felt like this. She was worried she suddenly realized, no terrified that some serious injury might have been inflicted upon her slave. She tired to shake the feeling off. It was just good business sense that's all. She didn't want her property damaged, right?

Xena continued her examination. She ran her hands down his neck then collarbone, shoulders, arms and hands. She paused over his torso and noted the many contusions on his sides and back but no broken ribs that farm boy resilience she mused and continued down his legs.

Satisfied that he hadn't received any serious injuries she rose and crossed to Argo then mounted. The boy had a concussion and would be very sore for the next week but he would make a full recovery shortly she was sure.

She rode Argo over to him then turned to the young slave girls still huddled together on their hands and knees.

"Hand him up to me." Xena instructed then removed her brass breastplate and stowed it in her saddlebags while the girls carefully hefted Seth to her outstretched hands. Xena swung one of Seth's legs over Argo's back then positioned the unconscious boy facing her. She laid his head on her shoulder then draped his legs over hers. She felt his body collapse against hers then she wrapped her arms around him and placed her hands on the saddle horn and loosely took hold of the reins.

She liked this position. She could feel Seth's heart beat against hers and his warm breath on her shoulder reassuring her of his stable condition. She turned and faced the slave girls who had resumed their positions on their hands and knees before her.

"This is your lucky day. You're all free now; because you were kind to my slave I've decided not to take possession of you. You may take whatever money you find on this scum and return to wherever they stole you from."

One of the bolder girls raised her head and spoke meekly for the group. "Thank you Mistress. W… will he be okay? They beat him pretty badly."

The Conqueror was touched at the concern for the boy. It seemed all that he encountered liked him. All that weren't thieving scum that is. "He'll be fine."

The girls watched as the Conqueror turned then and rode away with her slave. They stared at each other for few moments in disbelief. They all knew the stories of what a monster she was and how cruelly she treated her slaves and they were shocked to witness the kindness and concern she had for the boy. As they watched her go they all felt a new sense of pride and a loyalty for their ruler.

Xena moved Argo along at a slow trot back towards Callonus. Her fierce battle rage having fully subsided now, the boy's calming affect on her again. That was why she had been so enraged by them stealing him, she told herself and she really tired to believe it.

Seth's eyes strained open to mere slits and he briefly glanced a strange canted world from an elevated height that the he didn't understand. His eyelids felt heavily burdened and he was only able to hold them open for a moment before they fell shut again. Dimly aware he felt strangely safe and warm in a familiar way. After a time he tried again to open his eyes, this time with great effort he was able to hold them open for a little while longer. The scene before him rose and fell and he noticed a bushy yellow tail below him then his eyelids succumbed to their burden again. Slightly more aware now he tired to think, why is that tail familiar to me? Then he realized that it was Argo's tail or a tail like Argo's, he couldn't be sure. Then suddenly he was afraid that it might not be Argo's, he might already be sold to the pirate that he had been cruelly teased about. Once more he opened his eyes and this time he was able to keep them open. He looked again at the tail of the beast he was riding then his nostrils caught the familiar sent of the Conqueror's hair and he noticed that his head was resting on her shoulder, her obsidian locks cascading down her back. Still he was afraid that it might not really be her, he tried to find his voice.

"X… Xena?" He asked in a low voice without moving.

The Conqueror smiled then and reined Argo to a halt. She took hold of the boy by the shoulders and pulled him slightly away from her so she could see his face.

"And who else would I be?" Xena asked with a grin.

She saw relief wash over Seth's face and it made her feel warm all over. Someone was actually glad to see her, the boy needed her and the need made her feel like something more than she was. She wasn't sure what this feeling was but it was enormous she knew and it filled her with happiness.

Seth let out a deep sigh of relief that it truly was his mistress and not the pirate.

"I thought you might be a pirate called Haggar the nasty who likes smooth faced young boys like me." Seth related to her in a most serious tone.

A short burst of laughter erupted from the Conqueror's lips. She shook her head and continued to grin at the boy. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts." Seth said swaying in her grip still too weak to support himself.

Xena leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Better?"

Seth smiled warmly and nodded then his eyes slid shut then fluttered open again.

The Conqueror grasped the back of the boy's head and guided it back down on her shoulder. "It's okay, go back to sleep boy, your safe now."

Seth kissed her exposed shoulder then with a contented sigh he closed his heavily lidded eyes and was almost instantly asleep.

Xena felt the light kiss and smiled, she rubbed the boy's back with one hand and felt him collapse against her again. In mere moments the boy's breathing was slow and steady again and he was fast asleep.

The conqueror nudged Argo back into a slow walk and she found herself wishing that the village were further away.

When Seth woke again it was dark and he found that he was lying in a soft bed his head familiarly pillowed against the Conqueror's warm flesh. He noticed then that they were both nude and that he had been bathed. He still felt groggy but he was terribly thirsty.

"Go back to sleep boy." The low tone thick with sleep commanded.

"X… Xena I'm thirsty." Seth rasped.

Xena sighed heavily then disentangled herself from the boy and crossed to a table at the other end of the room. She poured cool water from a jug into a cup for the boy then crossed to the bedside and handed it to him.

Seth sat up and drank greedily. When he was finished he handed the empty cup back to Xena who was still standing over him.

"Thank you Xena." Seth said warmly.

The Conqueror grunted at him then set the cup back on the table and returned to bed. She wordlessly pulled the boy back against her. Her intention clear, don't even think about getting up now.

Seth wasn't very tired anymore, his head started to clear and he had a million questions but he knew better than to get up. The Conqueror wouldn't have it and if he tired she just might have him. He tired to go back to sleep, his head rising and falling rhythmically with the Conqueror's breathing.

"Sleep boy." Xena's order had a sharp edge to it.

Seth shut his eyes and sighed heavily. How did she know I wasn't asleep? His mistress continued to mystify him. With his eyes shut he couldn't hold onto his thoughts, though he tired they evaded him and soon he was asleep again.

The sun was shinning through an open window when Seth woke again. He sat up in bed and looked sleepily about the room. Xena was seated at the table by the window writing something on a scroll. He yawned and stretched then fixed his attention on his mistress.

Xena looked up from her scroll then crossed to the bed and sat on the edge. "And you weren't sleepy last night." Xena said with a slight nod of her head towards the bright morning shinning through the window.

Seth smiled shyly at her and shrugged.

"How do you feel this morning?" Xena asked inspecting the lumps on his head that had shrunk during the night.

"Pretty sore, got a little bit of a head ache but not too bad."

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Yes." The Conqueror intoned.

"It's Kara ma'am, I have your breakfast." The cheerful barmaid exclaimed at the door.

"Come on in."

The door swung open and Seth noticed the energetic girl that had served them lunch yesterday. She crossed to the table and placed a tray full of food down on it."

"I have scrambled eggs and bacon with wheat toast for you and some freshly squeezed orange juice along with two cups of tea." Kara said with a wide smile and gesticulating hands, her energy seemingly boundless.

Seth suddenly noticed that he was still nude although the blanket was still covering his private areas he felt awkward and shyly looked down at the mattress his face flushing deep red.

Xena watched him blush and grinned at him.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Kara asked.

"No, this will be fine." Xena answered in her usual gruff manor.

"Okay, well I'll come back in a little while for your dishes then." Kara smiled and bound off out their door, shutting it gently behind her.

Xena shook her head at the barmaid. "Come on boy let's eat."

Seth looked around for his clothes and found them on the floor next to the bed. He put them on then joined Xena at the table. He munched happily at his breakfast.

Xena finished writing her scroll then dripped wax from a candle onto it and pressed a small circular crest into the hot liquid. She blew softly on the wax then placed the scroll in a wooden cylinder and set it aside to eat her breakfast.

"How did you find me yesterday Xena?" Seth asked between bits of eggs.

Xena took a sip of her tea before answering the boy. "I asked the old merchant in the dirty tent."

Seth thought about that. "How did you know to ask him?"

"I know everything boy remember?" Xena said after swallowing a bite of bacon.

Seth nodded his head that he did remember that, he took a drink of orange juice then went on with his questions. "What happened when you found me and what happened to the others?"

"I killed the slavers and set the slave girls free." The Conqueror stated nonchalantly then finished the last of her tea. Seeing that Seth wasn't drinking his she took the steaming brew.

Seth had stopped eating and was staring at her. Shock evident on his face. "You killed them all?"

Xena nodded with a mouth full of scrambled eggs.

Seth looked thoughtful for a few moments. Then he felt compelled to speak. "They deserved it! They were all bad guys." He said with conviction.

Xena stared at him for a moment, his simple but true assessment of the slavers taking her aback. She sensed Seth waiting for a confirmation of his assertions. The boy needs to know that I killed them with just cause, she mused. Well they surely did deserve it. Like Seth said they were all bad guys. The Conqueror caught herself using the phrase and smiled as she repeated it in her mind, 'bad guys'.

"They certainly did." Xena said reassuringly.

Seth finished the last of his breakfast then waited for his mistress to finish hers before he started at her with more questions.

"How long are we going to be here Xena?"

Xena looked at him thoughtfully. "Stand up and come here boy." She said sliding her chair out from the table so Seth could stand in front of her.

Seth did as she instructed him; he had no idea what she was going to do but he felt a bond to her since she had rescued him. It was something that had been growing since that day she taught him how to swim and now it had blossomed into a trust.

Seth moved in front her and Xena lifted his shirt to examine the contusions. His sides and back were covered with large dark purple bruises. She ran her fingers gently over them and the boy winced. Xena lowered his shirt.

"Kneel."

Seth knelt between the Conqueror's legs and she felt the bumps on his head again. When she was satisfied she looked thoughtfully at him.

"Get back in bed boy." Xena ordered.

Seth looked sheepishly at her then slunk off to the bed. He didn't want to go to bed! He wasn't tired at all anymore. He stared at her from across the room sitting up in the bed and he could contain his protests no longer. He was about to speak when Xena cut him off.

"You're going to stay in bed until your better and I don't want to hear that you feel fine. I'll let you know when you're better." Xena said from her chair then took another sip of tea.

Seth looked as if she had just beaten him. He sulked then stared away from her defiantly. Then he sighed and looked back.

"What am I going to do all day Xena?" Seth asked exasperated.

"Sleep, lie there restfully, eat way too much food I'm sure." Xena said with a smile.

Seth smiled then too. "I can't seem to help it here Xena. The food is really good."

Xena nodded sipping her tea; the food was indeed very good at the inn. Then she had another thought as she placed her cup on the table.

"I'll get you some scrolls to read boy."

Seth's face went blank and he stared down at the covers. "Um, thanks Xena." He said meekly.

Xena cursed under her breath, she should have known the farm boy couldn't read. Most people in the rural areas couldn't. She felt bad for embarrassing him. She'd fix it. She smiled then; it was always easy to make it better with her slave.

"It's okay boy, I'll read them to you. Then we'll work on teaching you how to read."

Seth looked up at her in amazement. She really did know everything. He smiled broadly then.

Xena stood and took up the wooden cylinder then crossed to the bedside.

"I've got to go and send this dispatch to the Palace in Athens. I'll be gone for a little while but you are not to get out of bed unless you have to use the latrine." Xena stated firmly.

Seth smiled up at her mischievously. The moment the door closed he was going to start bouncing on the bed then he would jump off of it and see how far he could get then he would….

"Don't even think about it boy! I know everything remember?" The Conqueror's voice was firm.

Seth's smile vanished and he nodded thoughtfully. That's right she did know everything, he had forgotten that for a moment. He turned sullen again.

Xena smiled and was just able to restrain a laugh. She touched the side of the boy's face with her open hand and his smile return. The slave closed his eyes and sighed contentedly then he kissed the inside of her wrist lightly.

He was way too easy Xena thought. "Back in awhile, be good."

The Conqueror left then and Seth looked about the empty room, which suddenly was a whole lot emptier with his mistress gone. He lie back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He began to think about all the changes that had happened in his life this past week. He didn't mind so much being the Conqueror's slave anymore. In fact when he thought about it he never had it so good. He realized then that he had always been a slave. He had worked much harder for his uncle and he hadn't treated him nearly as well as the Conqueror was treating him now. He wondered then why she was treating him so nicely now. She had been increasingly nice to him ever since that night he had tried to run away and she had done what she did to him. He thought about it for a little while longer then decided that it must be that he was just growing on her.

Seth continued to stare at the ceiling for awhile but he could think of nothing else to think about and soon he fell asleep again.

When the Conqueror returned awhile later she found Seth fast asleep. The breakfast dishes were gone and a fresh pitcher of water and clean cups were on the table.

After Xena had scared the Tartarus out of the captain of the village detachment of royal soldiers, giving him the dispatch to send to the palace, she went to the market and bought some new clothes for her slave. Time to replace his tattered farm rags she thought. She was surprised at how much fun it had been to buy the clothes for the boy and she had ended up buying him three new sets and a new pair of boots. She had also picked up a few scrolls with various stories of Gods, monsters and hero's that she was sure the boy would like.

She placed her things on the table and crossed to the bed. Seth was sleeping soundly, his injuries had taken more out of the boy then he realized. Xena wanted to make sure he was fit before they moved on. She sat on the bed next to him and Seth rolled and placed his head in her lap. She smiled at him warmly and began to stroke her strong fingers through the boy's thick hair.

They remained like that until Kara knocked softly on the door with lunch. The barmaid was uncharacteristically quiet. She had found Seth sleeping earlier when she came to remove the breakfast dishes and didn't want to wake him now.

She entered the room and Xena looked up at her and motioned with her head to place her tray on the table.

Kara stood rooted just inside the doorway for a moment and stared at them. She tilted her head to one side and smiled warmly at them and a low "Oh how sweet." Escaped from her lips.

The Conqueror frowned and glared at her. Anyone else and this look would have been enough to have them shaking in terror but the gleeful barmaid seemed not to take notice of it and set the tray on the table and quietly left.

Xena roused Seth and they ate another satisfying meal. She made him try on the clothes and model them for her and she took great delight in the boy's discomfort in having to do so. Afterwards she read him one of the scrolls and then started to teach the boy the alphabet.

Soon a week had passed in that same manor, with the Conqueror reading stories to her slave and teaching him to read. Finally she felt he was well enough to travel. His bruises had mostly faded away and the lumps on his head where completely gone.

The Conqueror paid their bill at the inn and gave Kara and extra amount for having given them such good service.

The energetic barmaid squealed and thanked Xena then hugged Seth making the boy blush.

They were back on the road to the north heading deeper into the mountains and the thicker forest with Xena riding Argo and Seth keeping stride at her side.

Part Two: The Amazon Queen

It was a little bit cooler out as they went higher into the mountains. The late summer was turning into fall, the colors changing and the mornings cold and brisk. They traveled for a week without seeing another soul. They had fallen into a comfortable routine with Xena riding along on Argo with Seth at her side. Xena would hunt during the day and she had Seth scrape the hides for winter clothing and blankets. At night she would read stories from the scrolls she had gotten in Callonus then continue teaching Seth how to read and write. On the seventh day after leaving the inn they came upon a hot spring in the forest as the sun was setting and decided to camp.

Xena tethered Argo to a tree and Seth went about his chores of gathering wood and rubbing down the mare. Soon he was finished and went to Xena by the fire. She was sitting on a rock removing her armor.

"Are we going to eat dinner now Xena?" Seth asked.

"No, we're going to bath first. We haven't had a bath in a week, dinner can wait." Farm boys, always thinking with their stomachs Xena mused with a grin.

They had camped next to the spring and the light of their campfire danced on the tall rocks surrounding the far side of the spring, illuminating it as darkness fell in the forest.

Xena finished taking off her clothes and eased into the water with her bar of soap. She settled against the smooth rock in the heated water and sighed.

Seth finished getting undressed and went to follow his mistress into the water. He placed one foot in the steaming spring and pulled it back with a gasp.

"What?" Xena asked giving him an annoyed look.

"It's too hot Xena!" Seth exclaimed.

Xena just gave him an exasperated look then realized that the boy had probably never had a hot bath in his life. Besides the one she gave him at the inn but then he had been unconscious. Never having had a hot bath that he could remember anyway, it would take some getting used to she reasoned.

"Just get in slowly boy. One step at a time, you'll get used to it." Xena said then stood in the waist deep water and began to wash her body thoroughly with the soap.

Seth eased his foot back in and grimaced, then eased the other one in after a moment he caught sight of the Conqueror's soap slicked skin and her strong hands lathering her breasts and he slipped and fell face first into the water.

Xena who hadn't been paying attention to the boy for a moment turned surprised by the splash and watched as Seth's head poked up from the shallow spring. It dawned on her then why he slipped when he emerged and his eyes were still glued to her body, the heat of the water totally forgotten.

"I see you've gotten used to the water." The Conqueror said with a smug grin.

"Huh? Oh yeah, right." Seth said dully.

Xena finished washing and eased herself into the water to rinse. When she was finished she turned her attention back to Seth. "Come wash my back boy."

Seth tripped again in his hast to get to the Conqueror and once again dunked himself.

When his head re-emerged the Conqueror was chuckling and she rolled her eyes at him then handed the boy the soap and turned her back to him.

Seth took the soap and then with slightly trembling hands he began to wash his mistress's back.

Xena felt the trembling hands and the slow circles the boy made with the soap and smiled. He was so shy and his hands were so gentle.

Seth finished washing then cupped water in his hands and rinsed the Conqueror's back with it. He felt his pulse racing and his breath becoming slightly irregular. She was so incredibly beautiful.

"All done X… Xena, um I mean Xena." Seth stammered out.

The Conqueror turned to face him and she saw that look she loved so much. The awed look, the 'you're the center of my universe' look and more. Just then she thought of the boy's special rock that he had given her and all that it meant to him. This time she couldn't restrain herself and she drew the boy into her arms and hugged him.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

Seth basked in her words and the feel of her warm skin pressed against his. He kissed her shoulder and sighed as he returned her hug.

"I love you Xena." The words fell from his lips without the slightest thought. The boy was incapable of lying and to not say the words would be to deny the truth which in Seth's simple way of thinking was the same, although no such thought's occurred to him now. Now there was only emotion.

The Conqueror pressed the boy to her and felt the innocent butterfly kiss on her shoulder and her heart smiled. She felt that familiar lightness the boy made her feel then she heard the words and she stiffened. Her mind registered them but she rejected it, it couldn't be, could it?

She held the boy at arms length and stared at him. "What did you say?"

The Conqueror's discomfort was lost on Seth. He could feel nothing but an overwhelming feeling of love.

"I love you Xena." Seth repeated smiling warmly at her.

The Conqueror returned the smile and pulled her slave back into the hug. She silently kissed his ear then began to rub small circles on his back. She just held him to her for awhile feeling his heart beat against hers. She could hardly believe that someone could love her. LOVE not fear or lust but love. When she had looked into the boy's eyes though she had known it was the truth and more than that she could feel it and it felt good. Better in fact than anything she had felt in a very, very long time. She wondered then if she could ever return that love. Her heart had turned to ice so many years ago she didn't know if anything could ever melt it. She knew that she felt very strongly for the boy but she wasn't ready to call that feeling love, but she would gladly accept the boy's adoration.

She released him again and looked into his eyes. They were so bright and pure, the same vivid blue of her eyes.

The Conqueror reached for him then. She grasped the back of the slave's neck and drew his lips to hers. The boy kissed her awkwardly as Xena massaged the back of his neck. She smiled into the kiss as her tongue parted the boy's lips and she could taste the mint. That was nice.

"Just relax boy." Xena said breaking the kiss.

Seth nodded his breath ragged and his body trembling.

Xena lay back against the sloped rock, which arched her back slightly and brought her large breasts to the water's surface.

Seth had frozen, he stared at his mistress his senses on overload. It had short-circuited his brain and he lost all ability for rational thought. He could only react now.

The Conqueror smiled at him amused, then she thought she better take it easy on the boy before he spontaneously combusted.

"Come here." Xena said gently extending her hands to the boy.

Seth wordlessly obeyed. As he drew near the Conqueror pulled the boy to her breasts caressing the back of his head, running her fingers through his wet hair as the boy suckled her nipple. She switched him from one breast to the other. Lying back against the smooth rock she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the boy's mouth on her.

After awhile she opened her eyes and pulled the boy's lips back to hers. He fumbled with the kiss but in a nice way. Xena reached down and guided the boy to her then pulled him down on top of her.

Seth gasped and bit his lower lip as they ground their hips together. He shuddered then collapsed against his mistress panting.

The Conqueror had been expecting that and she softly kissed her slave's ear and playfully tugged on it with her teeth as he lay with his head across her shoulder catching his breath. All the while she slowly gyrated her hips into his. Moments later Seth was moving his hips in rhythm with hers again. That farm boy resilience, Xena smiled.

The Conqueror deliberately quit kissing Seth's ear, not wanting to over stimulate the boy, soon her breath was becoming ragged as they increased their rhythm together then Seth began to cry out.

"Oh Xena! Ah…"

"Just a little while longer!" The Conqueror rasped into his ear.

She felt Seth's body tense with the effort, every muscle in his labor hardened body straining. Then she was there at her peak.

"It's okay, let go!"

Seth strained against her and Xena pulled him tightly down on her. As the moment subsided and they lie catching their breath, Seth lying completely inert on his mistress. Xena gently stroked the boy's damp hair for a while then pulled Seth's head back to look into his eyes. They were glassy and heavy lidded.

"You okay?" She asked with a knowing smile.

Seth just nodded, he didn't seem to have regained command of all his faculties yet, speech being one of them.

A low laugh escaped from the Conqueror's lips and she hugged him again then scooted him back into the center of the spring and retrieved her soap from the ledge of the pool where she had placed it.

"I think we better get you clean before you totally collapse." Xena teased then began to wash the boy.

"Huh?" Seth said smiling dreamily at her.

The Conqueror shook her head at her slave. "Just be quiet now boy, I'll be finished in a minute."

Seth went silent and stared at the campfire. Xena's hands and the soap felt good on his body. He felt like he was in a dream one that he hoped he never woke up from. He didn't know how or when his relationship with his owner had changed, he just knew that it had. He loved her more than he ever loved anyone or anything before in his life, even his mother, which was such a far off and hazy memory that he really couldn't compare it with how he felt now.

Xena moved from the boy's body to his hair. Seth's head gently rocked in her hands as she lathered his hair. She felt relaxed and contented. Her mind turned to her journey's purpose. Whatever it was that was missing from her life she felt that she was on the right track. Part of it she realized she had found already in Seth but there was more she knew. Whether that was her ability to give love in return or something else she wasn't sure.

"Rinse boy." Xena commanded.

Seth dunked himself and shook under the water like a dog trying to dry himself. His head re-emerged from the pool clean and fresh smelling.

The Conqueror smiled at him. "Come on let's get dried off and have something to eat."

The mention of eating got Seth's attention and he seemed to come out of his daze a little. They exited the spring and dried themselves with rough towels then draped them over a tree branch to dry. They dressed and Xena prepared a simple meal for them. After dinner Seth washed their plates then sat next to Xena by the fire and stared memorized into the flames. He swayed sleepily and blinked his eyes.

Xena watched him half sleeping next to her. Usually she had him work on a scroll writing out the alphabet and sounding out each letter but tonight she took pity on the exhausted slave. After all she was the one who had exhausted him she thought with a sly smile.

"Go to bed boy." Xena instructed.

Seth jerked himself awake at her words then turned to look at her. "Huh?"

"Go to bed." Xena repeated.

"You don't want me to work on the scroll tonight Xena?" Seth asked then yawned.

"I don't think it would do much good tonight, now go to bed. I'll join you after a bit."

Seth yawned again then stood and stretched. "Okay Xena."

Xena watched as the boy made his way to the bedroll and fur blankets they had made for the impending cold weather. He slipped his boots off then crawled into the blankets and lie on his side facing her and the fire. He smiled at her then closed his eyes and was asleep in moments.

The Conqueror watched his slow breathing and felt it's peaceful affect on her. No matter how many times she saw it, it always amazed her how easily the boy fell asleep. She thought of the boy's proclamation of his love for her then and she felt the lightness return to her body.

Xena stared into the flames of the fire then and sat just enjoying her relaxed state and lightened heart. The wind picked up just then and rustled the leaves of the trees and stirred the fire and Xena had a sudden intuitive feeling of change. She couldn't put her finger on it but she knew that another change was on the way. She glanced over to Seth who was still sleeping peacefully and suddenly she was concerned. She went to him then and took her boots off then crawled into the blankets next to him. Xena lie on her back then rolled Seth to her side and pulled the sleeping boy tightly against her.

Seth sighed and burrowed his head into her breast and shoulder then went quiet again, a slumbering smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

The wind died back down and the Conqueror held her slave tightly. She pondered on the premonition then decided to pay it no heed. She made her own destiny, the fates be damned and she wasn't going to allow change to happen that she didn't approve of.

She listened to the boy's slow even breathing for awhile and she felt better. She relaxed her hold on him then kissed the top of his head. Sometime later she allowed sleep to take her feeling reassured that whatever was coming she was more than capable of handling it.

The morning came crisp and damp. Xena allowed them to sleep past dawn, something she had come to enjoy in the past few weeks. When they woke they ate a light breakfast then broke camp and headed deeper into the forest. Around mid-day Xena spotted the tracks of a large stag and decided that they would make a camp so she could go out and hunt. They still needed more hides for blankets and winter tarps. When they had the small camp set up Xena was ready to take Argo and track the animal, leaving Seth in camp to work on the scroll that he had missed the night before.

"Xena are you sure you don't want me to come and help you?" Seth pleaded; already he was developing the aversion to study that was characteristic of the young.

The Conqueror looked scornfully at him. "No, you need to study. I want to see your work when I get back. Don't think you're going to sit around here and throw stones and sword fight trees with sticks while I'm gone."

Seth frowned. "I wasn't going to throw any stones." He said indignantly.

With a mighty effort Xena managed to subdue a laugh and maintain her stern look. "Boy!"

"I'll work on my scroll Xena." Seth said staring at the ground.

A small smile ever so slightly tugged at the corners of the Conqueror's mouth and her eyes gleamed with her delight in teasing the boy. "Good, I won't be gone more than two hours."

Xena turned Argo and headed out into the forest while Seth dug his scroll and quill out of the Conqueror's saddlebags.

He had been working for about a half hour when he heard someone clear her throat. He looked up expecting to see his mistress when he saw that he was surrounded by women dressed in brief skirts and halter-tops. They were all armed and looked mean. The one standing directly in front of him looked down at him scowling with cruel eyes.

She had thick shoulder length black hair and an athletic build. She had a sword on her back but she carried a staff in her hands and she jabbed it at Seth, poking him in the chest with it.

Seth dropped his scroll and quill and upset a small bottle of ink he had also retrieved from the Conqueror's saddlebags, spilling it on the ground.

"What do you want?" Seth asked franticly wishing that Xena would hurry back.

The one with the cruel eyes spoke. "I'll ask the questions. Who are you and what are you doing here? This is Amazon territory and your trespassing!"

Seth looked around him and saw that the five others had formed a circle around him. Fear was starting to take hold of him and he stared desperately into the forest for Xena then cruel eyes jabbed him with her staff again only harder this time.

"You better answer my questions boy! The penalty for trespassing is harsh." The leader had glint of sadistic pleasure in her eyes as she threatened him.

"M… my name's Seth. W… we're heading north." Seth stammered out obviously frightened.

Seth's fear pleased the cruel eyed leader. She squatted down on her knees and looked into Seth eyes as she spoke, laying her staff across her thighs, seeing that she didn't need it with him. "Who's we?"

Seth scooted back along the ground away from her when he backed into one of the others who had maneuvered themselves to block him from retreating from their leader. He looked up at her. She had shoulder length brown hair and although she wore the same stern expression as her leader her soft brown eyes were kind.

A strong hand grasped Seth's jaw and guided his head and eyes back to the front.

"Who's we?" Cruel eyes asked again exaggerating the words then releasing the boy's jaw.

"X… Xena and me." Seth managed.

At the mention of the name the five other Amazons surrounding him gasped and took an involuntary step backwards. Their leader eyed them coldly and they reluctantly resumed their positions.

"And just what would the Conqueror be doing out here with one little boy?" Cruel eyes questioned mocking Seth's youth.

Seth tired to gather himself and took a deep breath before responding managing to further aggravate the leader. "I… I told you, w… we're heading north."

"And why are you heading north?" Cruel eyes flared.

Seth looked away confused. He didn't know, he never really thought about it before. The Conqueror had just told him that's what they were doing and they did it. He had just assumed that she had her reasons, she was after all the Conqueror of the known world and her motivations were, he had surmised beyond him.

The cruel eyed leader took in Seth's confused expression and his silence and assumed he had no answer because he was lying. Her features clouded with anger and she grabbed the front of Seth's shirt and jerked him forward viciously.

"You're lying little boy! You better tell me who you're with and what your doing here or I'm going to hurt you, a lot!"

Seth tried to draw back from her again but she pulled him back to her and snarled at him.

"L… let me go! I… I told you the truth, let me go!" Seth exclaimed in near panic.

"Take it easy Varia. We'll take him to Queen Gabrielle and she can decide what to do with him." The one with the kind brown eyes standing behind him said.

Varia looked hard at her for a moment then nodded her head in acquiesces.

Seth looked alarmed. "No, no, no. I can't leave here, Xena will be angry if I'm not here when she gets back!"

Varia took a strip of cloth from a small bag at her side and quickly thrust it between Seth's lips then bound it behind his head gagging him.

"Enough with your lies!" She barked then with the others holding him down she quickly bound Seth's hands and feet.

They slid a staff between his arms and legs then two of them hefted him away like a beast they had just slain. Varia was the last one to leave the small camp and she brushed their tracks away with a tree branch as she left walking backwards back the way they came. She gave the camp a contemptuous look then turned and headed off at a jog to catch the others.

Xena walked into camp leading Argo who was laden with a large stag. It had been an hour and a half since she left and at a glance she could see that something was wrong. Seth was gone and she knew that the boy would not disobey her and wonder off to play in the woods.

Her trained eyes immediately saw the scroll and quill strewn about the ground and the upset inkbottle. She crossed to them and knelt down to investigate the surrounding ground. It had been brushed with a tree branch to try and hide several tracks. The Conqueror was not fooled.

"Amazons." She said under her breath after further investigation of the ground.

The Conqueror cursed viciously as a dark rage welled within her and she realized that her premonition of the night before had come to pass. She leapt up in the air and kicked a small tree the size of a large man's thigh to her right and snapped it in half!

"I kill them all if they've so much as bruised him! Then I'll kill all three of the fates for their treachery!" Xena yelled out at the forest.

She crossed quickly to Argo and flung the heavy stag that lie across the saddle into the surrounding forest as easily as if it were a small rabbit. She mounted and set out on the trail of the Amazons.

After what seemed to him an eternity swinging on the staff they finally came into the Amazons small village tucked inside the thick brush of the deep forest. More like a gathering of oilskin huts than a village really. The patrol stopped in front of one hut that was larger than the rest in the center of the village. They set Seth down and untied him although they kept him surrounded to detour him from trying to make a break for it.

Seth sat on the ground rubbing his sore wrists and looking nervously about him. It struck him odd that there were only women in the village although that was by no means the pervading thought on his mind. His gaze kept returning to Varia who was looking down at him with those cruel eyes. She scared him, she wasn't as scary as his mistress when she was angry but she was scary.

"Get up!" Varia commanded in a harsh voice.

Seth stood wordlessly and looked around him again. He bit his lower lip nervously and stared out into the forest hoping to see a glimpse of Xena.

"Nobody is coming for you boy, not here anyway. Only Amazons can find this place." Varia tormented Seth.

Seth stared at her in despair to Varia's delight. Her cruel eyes glinted and her lips were curled into a humorless grin.

One of the others held open the oilskin flap to the hut and Varia pushed him inside.

The interior of the hut was spacious and warm with a small fire burning in the center and venting through a hole in the hut's roof. Thick blankets of fur were laid about the fire and a rough-hewn table set against one wall was laden with pitchers of water and cider and an assortment of very fragrant food. The spices wafted up from the warm breads and spiced game and Seth suddenly remembered he was hungry.

Varia and the one with kind brown eyes entered with Seth. Varia kicked the back of his legs out and pushed down hard on his shoulder forcing him to his knees.

Seth grunted as he hit his knees and stared at the two other women in the hut that rose from the blankets around the fire and approached them. The taller one had short brown hair and large, soft brown eyes. She was athletic like all of them and wore the same brief amount of clothing as the others. The other one in the tent was in charge, Seth surmised by the way the taller one waited for her to step in front of her and by the way the others looked at her with reverence. She was also the most beautiful Seth decided. Not that his thoughts had turned to a sexual nature, far from it, he was still afraid of what they were going to do with him. It was just a fact, like whether it was day or night outside, something that is indisputable. She wasn't very tall, she was about a head smaller than most of them in fact. She had short blonde hair and piercing green eyes, her body was athletic and strong looking like the others but it was different too. She looked softer and her curves seemed more pronounced. She wore a brief green skirt and halter and around her neck she wore an ornate necklace. Her knee high boots had the handles of strange looking weapons sticking out of the tops of them.

The two women walked wordlessly to them and the beautiful one in charge stopped directly in front of Seth and looked down into his eyes. She could see that the boy was terrified and he look up at her pleadingly. She gave Seth a brief, reassuring smile before turning her attention to Varia. The smile belayed Seth's fears and he could tell that she wouldn't let cruel eyes hurt him in that brief gesture and suddenly he felt indebted to her.

Varia's attention was on Seth and she angrily raised her hand to hit him for his impudence at looking the queen in the eyes.

"Bow your head before the Queen boy!" Varia barked and swung the back of her hand towards Seth's face.

Seth flinched and ducked his head but before the hit could land the queen caught Varia's blow and held the warrior's forearm tightly in her grasp with surprising strength.

Varia looked up startled and stared at the queen.

"No." Gabrielle said simply staring back at Varia until the warrior lowered her eyes in obeisance.

Gabrielle released Varia's arm and Seth looked back at her and smiled, he knew it, she saved him.

"What do we have here?" Gabrielle asked Varia gesturing to Seth.

"We found him on the boundary of our territory. He says he's with the Conqueror and that they're heading north but he's lying. What would the Conqueror be doing way out here with this boy! Let me have him for ten minutes and he'll tell us whatever we want to know." Varia said glaring at Seth, her annoyance with him further enraged by the queen protecting him.

Seth's head shot up in alarm at Varia's words and he looked again to the queen for reprieve.

"Calm down Varia." Gabrielle stated in an even tone, she smiled again at Seth who was pleading with her with his eyes. Varia was her best warrior and her warrior chief but she was a bit over zealous at times and had a cruel resentful streak that the blonde was trying to abate in her.

Gabrielle turned to Seth and smiled at him again. "What's your name?"

"S… Seth." The boy stuttered out still a bit cowed by Varia, he looked from the queen then nervously to her warrior chief.

Varia smiled at Seth's discomfort, she could taste his fear and she liked it. It fueled her warrior instincts for brutality.

This was not lost on the queen. Gabrielle drew Seth up by his arm and took him further into the tent a few paces away from Varia. When the warrior chief tried to follow a hard stare from her queen rooted her in place but she was not beyond verbal protest.

"My Queen I must protest! This is a prisoner and he must be kept under guard while in your presence, we cannot risk your safety." Varia stated continuing to glare at Seth.

"First I decide who is a prisoner, and secondly we're not going far, you'll only be a few feet away besides he doesn't look like much trouble." Gabrielle turned away from Varia and back to Seth. "Are you?"

Seth shook his head. "N… no."

Varia continued to glare but said nothing more staying in the entryway of the hut with her kinder companion.

Gabrielle smiled reassuringly at Seth. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you. I just need to know what you were doing this far into the forest okay?"

The queen's voice was clam and soothing and it had the desired affect on Seth, he visibly relaxed a little and when he spoke again he didn't stutter.

"Okay." Seth said looking into the queen's deep green eyes, he felt their calming affect on him and he unconsciously slowed his breathing back down to a normal rate.

One of the many qualities that made Gabrielle such an excellent queen was her skill with people. She was a natural communicator, being able to be firm yet kind and fair at the same time. She employed her skills now with Seth and he was no less susceptible to them than anyone else she had ever encountered.

Gabrielle led Seth to a fur rug near the fire and guided him down to a sitting position then she leaned back against a writing table against the hut's wall across from him, giving the boy a little breathing space but also keeping herself in an authoritative position in front of him.

The queen's regent watched admiringly from the entryway with the two warriors. Ephiny had always enjoyed watching Gabrielle with people, she hoped to one day be as much a leader only for her she knew, she would have to work hard at it. The queen on the other hand was a natural.

Gabrielle smiled again at Seth. "Okay Seth what were you doing so far into the forest?"

"I was working on my scroll when um…" Seth glanced at cruel eyes trying to remember what the queen had called her.

"Varia." The queen supplied.

"Yes, thanks, Varia and the others took me." Seth said then stared at Gabrielle waiting for her to ask another question.

Gabrielle smiled a little at Seth's simple answer then tried again. "Okay, you were working on your scroll that's good but what was the reason for you being so far into the forest in the first place?"

Seth cocked his head to the side and thought about it for a moment before answering. "Well we're heading north."

"Okay who is we and why are you heading north?" The queen asked continuing to smile at Seth who was very easy to smile at with his shy, good-natured manor.

"Xena and me is we and we're heading north because that's what she wants to do." Seth stated simply.

Gabrielle digested this new information for a moment then went on. "Okay why are you traveling with the Conqueror?"

"I'm her slave. She took me from my uncle's farm a few weeks ago."

Varia could restrain herself no longer. "He's lying! No way the Conqueror is traveling alone with one slave!"

"Enough Varia!" Gabrielle said in hard voice. "One more outburst and you can wait outside."

Varia lowered her head and eyes in a submissive gesture, effectively cowed by the queen.

"This is easy enough to verify." Gabrielle turned her attention back to Seth who had been watching the queen berating her warrior chief in awe. "May I see your right shoulder Seth?"

"Sure." Seth said easing the collar of his shirt down over his shoulder and noticing for the first time that his new shirt was ripped a little at the neckline where Varia had grabbed him. He sighed, my brand new shirt, Xena is going to be mad, he thought.

Gabrielle squatted down next to Seth and examined the mark on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily then stood slowly and looked grimly down at Seth.

Seth's face showed sudden concern over the queen's somber new mood and he stared up at her pensively, wondering if he did something wrong.

Gabrielle caught the concerned look and forced a smile to calm the boy. After all, she thought, it's not this kid's fault.

"It's okay Seth, you're not in trouble. Are you hungry?" Gabrielle asked her voice still even and reassuring.

Seth nodded his head and eyed the table full of wonderful smelling Amazon dishes.

"Help yourself." The queen said gesturing to the table laden with food and drink then she turned to her regent and the warriors in the entryway.

Varia had been watching closely with the others and she noted the look of concern that crossed the queen's face when she had seen the Conqueror's mark on the boy's shoulder.

"He's probably a runaway slave, that mark just means that he was a slave of the Conqueror's." Varia ventured albeit more meekly than previously.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Runaway slaves never make it out of Athens, then the Conqueror has them crucified and their bodies hung outside her palace walls as an example to any others that would dare to defy her. No, he's telling the truth."

The regent had been silently listening and observing, her large brown eyes speculative.

"How can we be sure he's telling the truth, I just can't see what the Conqueror would be doing out here alone with only one slave."

Gabrielle eyed her friend and smiled. "I don't know but you know I can tell when someone is lying, he's not."

"Even if he's not lying, only Amazons can find this village." Varia stated starting to regain some of her boldness.

Gabrielle just gave her an exasperated look. "Don't count on it. This is no ordinary woman. No, you have to take him back but not all the way to her camp though just in case she's back and waiting for you."

Seth was listening to the Amazon's conversation while he munched on a piece of warm spiced apple bread and finished off a mug of funny tasting apple juice. He set the empty mug down on the table and refilled it from a pitcher.

The queen turned to her regent. "Ephiny I need you to get everyone ready to abandon the village, tell them to pack light we're going to have to move fast."

Ephiny, Varia and even the other Amazon guard just stared at their queen in shock for a moment, stunned by her proclamation to leave their home.

Varia was the first one to snap out of their collective trance and question the queen. "Queen Gabrielle we can't just leave everything and run over the word of one boy!"

Ephiny looked sheepishly to her queen. "I have to agree with Varia my Queen. I think we need more to go on before we do something so drastic."

Gabrielle's features grew stern and she took on an authoritative posture glaring at them. "We aren't leaving on the word of one boy, we're leaving on my command! I am the Queen and you will obey me, this is not a discussion! The Conqueror is probably already on her way here and if she gets here before we have a chance to…"

"S… She's right. X… Xena is probably already on her way. Funny thing, this same thing happened to me a couple weeks ago, hey your apple juice tastes kinda funny." Seth said cutting off the queen and setting his second empty mug full of the stuff down on the table.

They had all been so engrossed that they almost forgot Seth was standing there. The four women looked at him for a moment in silence then they looked at each other and mouthed the words "apple juice?"

Then it donned on them all at the same time and the queen cursed softly under her breath. Great, now we have to take him back half drunk to her, that's sure to make things worse, Gabrielle thought.

"Seth, honey that's not apple juice, it's hard apple cider. How much have you had?" Gabrielle asked in a soft voice.

"Oh, um… one no two mugs. W… what's the difference?" Seth asked about to refill his mug when the queen quickly crossed over to him and placed a hand on the pitcher.

"Woe, how about some water okay. Cider has alcohol in it honey, that's why it tastes funny to you. Here." Gabrielle filled Seth a mug full of water and handed it to him.

Seth took the mug of water then leaned back against the table before taking a drink. "My… my head feels fuzzy." He took a deep breath then sipped the water trying to clear his head and the cool water seemed to help a little.

Gabrielle patted Seth's shoulder and smiled at him again. "Seth, I need you to concentrate okay? What happened to you a couple weeks ago?"

Seth smiled back at her. "Huh, oh yeah. Xena sent me to buy some supplies while we were in Callonus and some guys hit me over the head and stole me. They were gonna sell me to some pirate named Haggar the nasty who likes smooth faced young boys like me. This bread is really good." Seth said taking another bite of the bread.

The queen looked at the others and they looked back at her and shrugged, any other time and that comment would have been funny.

Seth finished chewing and took another drink of the cool water. Gabrielle gave him an expectant look and he continued.

"Oh, I… I don't know exactly what happened after that because they hit me over the head again and knocked me out but when I woke up again Xena was taking me back to the village. She said she killed them all." Seth stated simply.

The queen looked somberly at the others. "That's it, we've got to move fast! Varia take Seth back, Ephiny this is what we're going to…"

"You in the tent, get out here, now!" The Conqueror's voice boomed from outside the hut cutting off the queen.

Seth's eyes lit up as he heard his mistress's voice. "Xena!" He exclaimed happily.

Gabrielle closed her eyes and lowered her head. She exhaled long and slow, the sudden gravity of their situation settling on her shoulders. The others looked to her for guidance, shocked that the Conqueror could have found them so quickly.

Even in his slightly inebriated state Seth could sense the dread in the hut. He crossed to the queen just a little unsteadily and gently touched her arm.

"Excuse me Queen Gabrielle but it's best if you don't keep Xena waiting, believe me, I know." Seth said shyly.

Gabrielle nodded then moved through the entry flap and the others followed with Seth in the rear.

The Conqueror sat impatiently on Argo in front of the queen's large hut. She had easily rounded up the small village of about thirty Amazons and they were all prostrating themselves on the ground next to the queen's tent before her. They had known better than to resist her, the look of sheer rage on her face was discouragement enough but they all knew what happened to villages that resisted the Conqueror, she made you wish you were dead then hours later you got your wish. They huddled together now on their hands and knees before her. Their heads and eyes cast down.

Xena was just about to call out to the tent again when the flap opened and an exceptionally beautiful woman exited followed by three others then Seth.

As Gabrielle exited the tent she saw her entire village prostrated on the ground before the Conqueror. Her once proud Amazons now huddled together close to one another on the ground before the dark warrior woman, many of them weeping softy. It stung more than anything she had ever known. She was their queen and they were her responsibility and now they were in the hands of the Conqueror and had the Gods only know what horrors in store for them. She would not let them down; even now she would continue to do what she could to protect them.

Gabrielle was surprised at how beautiful the Conqueror was. She had always heard that she was so but never having seen her in person it took her by surprise. Although her beauty could in no way hide the deadly rage that clouded the warrior's face. The Conqueror surprised her again though as Seth exited the tent behind them and her face immediately changed. Her hard features soften and she looked genuinely relieved to see the boy. Gabrielle went down to her knees and motioned for the other to follow suite.

When Xena saw Seth she threw one leg over Argo's neck and slid gracefully to the ground.

"Come here boy." Xena ordered with a sigh of relief seeing that the boy was unharmed.

Seth walked a little unsteadily to her.

Xena placed her hands on the sides of Seth's face and gave him a concerned, maternal look. "Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" She asked, as she looked him over.

"I… I'm okay Xena." Seth said smiling at her.

Xena's gaze stopped at Seth's ripped shirt and her eyes grew angry. "They ripped your new shirt!"

The Conqueror turned her head from Seth for a moment and glared at the group of Amazons prostrated before her, then she felt Seth sway slightly in her grasp and her attention was immediately drawn back to him.

"What's the matter boy?" Xena asked then noticed his eyes were slightly glassy and… she tilted her head towards Seth's mouth and sniffed, alcohol.

The Conqueror turned back to the Amazons, livid. "You gave him alcohol!"

Gabrielle raised her head and spoke quietly. "He was hungry Mistress, we offered him something to eat and he mistook hard apple cider for apple juice."

"Who are you?" Xena flared.

"I'm Queen Gabrielle." Gabrielle immediately realized her mistake and cursed herself. It was just habit to refer to herself as the queen.

The Conqueror's eyes narrowed and she let her hands slide from Seth's face as she crossed to the blonde.

Gabrielle was on her knees with her head and eyes lowered, her hands placed loosely in her lap. The Conqueror moved in front of her and backhanded her viciously across the face. The Amazon's head snapped back and a small trickle of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Varia lunged at the Conqueror when she struck her queen! It was pure reflex; she came out of her crouching position on the queen's side with a small dagger drawn from the top of her boot. She was swinging the small blade in a deadly arc even before she had made it to her feet.

The Conqueror turned smoothly to the new threat. Quick hands made two strikes in rapid succession to the Amazon's neck and Varia fell back on her knees the dagger slipping from her grip. The warrior chief was paralyzed, starring up at the Conqueror in shock a small trickle of blood starting from her nose.

Xena turned calmly back to Gabrielle. "Who are you?" She asked again in a low even voice.

Gabrielle's eyes were fixed on the agonized eyes of her warrior chief and her mind raced trying to figure out a way to save her. Her voice cracked slightly as she addressed the Conqueror's question.

"I… I'm Gabrielle! Please, please you don't have to do this! We'll do whatever you ask; no one else will try to resist you! Please release her Mistress!" The queen begged.

The Conqueror let the Amazon grovel for a moment before she turned back to Varia and released her. She turned back to the queen and grabbed a fist full of blonde hair and twisted it pulling the girl's head to her waist.

Gabrielle pulled off balance fell against the Conqueror's legs her face held against the skirt of the woman's battle dress.

"You'll do whatever I ask anyway, but I'm not going to kill your little friend. I'm not in that good of a mood." Xena tormented her.

"X… Xena." Seth said in a shaky voice tugging on the Conqueror's skirt.

The Conqueror turned her head to the trembling voice and looked into Seth's terrified face. No, no, no, damn! She thought. She had forgotten he was standing there and now he was looking at her with that old fear in his eyes. No she had come to far with him, his adoration had come to mean too much to her, she wouldn't let it slip away now, but the boy wouldn't be able to understand this. She would fix it.

"X… Xena, please d… don't hurt them! They… they didn't mean to rip my new shirt! I'm sorry I drank their al… alcohol, I… I didn't mean to! Please they'll be good!" Seth was rambling in a state of panic trying to think through his fogged mind.

The Conqueror released Gabrielle and the Amazon slipped gratefully to the ground at her feet.

The queen watched as the Conqueror turned to Seth and placed her hands gently on the sides of the boy's face and spoke softy to him.

"Shhh, it's okay Seth. Shhh, hush now." Xena said in a calming voice to her slave and it had the desired affect.

Seth stopped his ramblings and took a few shaky breaths then his eyes met the Conqueror's and she fixed him with a penetrating gaze and smiled at him. Seth felt his body relax and his breathing slow back down to normal.

"That's a good boy. It's going to be okay." Xena said then turned her head and spoke over her shoulder to the Amazons. "I need one of you who helped to take my property."

The Amazon with kind brown eyes rose meekly to her knees and spoke. "Mistress."

Xena eyed the woman coolly. "Take him back to my camp then come right back."

"Yes Mistress."

Xena turned back to Seth. "I want you to go with her and I'll be along in a little while." Xena said in another soothing voice.

Seth nodded.

"Good boy." Xena let her hands fall from Seth's face and motioned for the Amazon to take him.

Kind eyes took Seth's hand and they walked out of the village together.

Xena watched them go and smiled at her slave. He was afraid for the Amazons. Even after they had captured him and stole him away he still didn't have it in him to be vengeful. Well she didn't have that problem; she turned back to the group prostrated before her.

Gabrielle watched as the Conqueror soothed her slave, and then had him guided back to their camp. She didn't want the boy to see what she was going to do. That was something to remember, then she watched as the Conqueror turned back to them, her face cold and angry again.

The Conqueror stared at them for a moment then made up her mind exactly what she was going to do.

"Two of you take the feisty one and tie her between those two trees." The Conqueror ordered indicating Varia and two trees spaced about six feet apart bordering the village.

Two of the Amazon warriors got to their feet and picked Varia up off the ground where she was still recovering from the Conqueror's pinch. They drug her sorrowfully to the trees and bound her there standing between them with her back to the Conqueror. Then they retreated back to the group and resumed their positions on the ground before the Conqueror.

Xena ignored Varia for a moment and continued to stare at the Amazons before her.

"First you steal my slave, then this one dares to attack me." Xena said coolly and uncoiled her whip, letting its length fall to the ground. She walked slowly to Varia and continued addressing the village.

"And I would venture to say that this village is a little behind on its taxes."

Xena reached Varia and tore her brief top from her body, completely exposing her back and letting her breasts fall free.

"So I'm going to take possession of all of you as payment for back taxes."

The Conqueror grasped a hand full of Varia's thick black hair and yanked her head back viciously. She leaned close to the Amazon's ear and spoke quietly to her.

"You're going to get a lesson in obedience. When you beg me to stop, I might. It will all depend on how convincing you are."

Tears streaked from Varia's eyes from the strain the Conqueror was putting on her hair but she glared back at her definitely.

"Never!" The warrior chief barked out at the Conqueror.

Xena smiled wickedly and leaned even closer to the Amazon's ear until her lips were touching her captives flushed lobe.

"We'll see." The Conqueror said in barely a whisper then took Varia's ear lobe in her teeth and bit it painfully, drawing a small amount of blood.

Varia groaned slightly, not wanting to give the Conqueror the satisfaction.

Xena released the ear then kissed it sensuously and licked away the small trickle of blood.

Despite herself Varia moaned. The Conqueror smiled at her and Varia glared back even harder. Xena released her hair then strode back from her about ten feet then turned to face her captive.

The Conqueror raised her arm and lashed the whip forward. It sliced through the air then with a wicked crack it bit into Varia's back leaving a large red stain of blood in a vertical slash in the center of the Amazon's back.

Varia screamed and jerked violently on the ropes that bound her.

"I'll be taking the little blonde with me as my new handmaiden." Xena stated coolly not bothering to face the Amazons at her feet as she spoke or to stop whipping Varia.

The Conqueror's whip bit into Varia's flesh again leaving another cruel cut across her back. Again Varia cried out in pain and surged against her bonds.

"The rest of you are to go to Athens and report to the slave master at my palace."

Again and again the whip bit into Varia's back leaving overlapping cuts in the Amazons flesh.

Gabrielle watch with horror as her warrior chief screamed and twisted in her restraints. The queen reached up and pulled the ornate necklace from her neck and slid it across the ground to her regent at her side.

Ephiny stared at the symbol of leadership for a moment and then her brown eyes met piercing green ones and she shook her head no.

Gabrielle continued to stare at her, not being able to risk speech and gaining the Conqueror's attention. After a moment Ephiny could resist her gaze no longer and she accepted her queen's will and took the right of cast reluctantly becoming the new queen.

Gabrielle glanced up at the Conqueror. The tall warrior had her attention focused on her task, poor Varia's screams were starting to abate and warrior chief no longer thrashed against her bonds only jerked as the whip cut into her.

The former queen wrote a simple message in the dirt for her regent then quietly brushed it away after Ephiny had read it.

LEAVE ME, SAVE THEM

The four words hurt to read but the logic was evident. It would be pointless to attempt a rescue once the Conqueror had left with her new prize. She had to do all she could to save the rest of the village from a life of slavery at the Conqueror's palace. Amazons didn't do well as slaves. They usually didn't survive for more than a year, the Conqueror knew this and that was why she had condemned them to slavery instead of killing them. She knew it was a far worse fate for an Amazon to be a slave.

Varia no longer screamed only cried softly, sagging against the ropes that bound her. The Conqueror coiled her whip and strode to the bloody Amazon. She rounded her and stood in front of the once proud warrior. Varia's head hung, her face stained with tears that ran from red-rimmed eyes. The Conqueror reached down and grasped a handful of Varia's hair and lifted the girl's head. She fixed her icy blue eyes on her and stared wordlessly, it was done.

Varia's lips quivered and fresh tears spilled from her eyes as she spoke softy. "Please stop Mistress."

"Louder." Xena's voice was incredibly cold.

"Please don't whip me anymore Mistress." Varia said in louder voice through her sobs.

The Conqueror said nothing just released the girl's head and let her dangle against the ropes supporting her.

Varia, almost incoherent with pain continued to beg the Conqueror through a torrent of sobs. "Please… please, no more Mis… Mistress."

The village listened to Varia beg and what was left of their hope was shattered. Varia had been the best and strongest warrior among them. She was proud and fiercely independent and she had been broken humiliatingly for them all to witness. They felt her shame and many of them wept with her, they all felt her fear.

The Conqueror moved to address them. "Cut her down." She ordered to no one in particular.

The two warriors that had tied her went to their leader and cut her free, gently lowering her to the ground. Varia sobbed uncontrollably, the Conqueror had done her the most damage she possibly could. She took her pride and her dignity, it was more than the warrior chief could bare and she cried unable to resist her tears. The two warriors held her and gently stroked her hair tying to console her; their hearts ached at the sight of their broken leader.

"If you don't show up at the palace than I'll send a thousand men to come and get you. Then you will wish you would have gone on your own accord." Xena said with a cruel smirk.

They all knew what she meant. If the soldiers came to get them they would be raped for weeks while they made the journey to Athens. If they went to the palace of their own accord there was a chance that at least some of them could avoid that torment.

Xena went to Argo and took a length of rope from her saddlebags then crossed to the blonde Amazon and jerked her to her feet. She quickly tied Gabrielle hands then pulled the weapons from her boots and tossed them aside.

The Conqueror mounted her horse and rode out of the village without another word or a backward glance. She tugged Gabrielle along a few feet behind Argo.

Gabrielle took one last look back at her home and former life. The regent had gotten to her knees and was staring after her, a lost brokenhearted look on her face.

Gabrielle gave her a brief smile in an attempt to console her friend but the regent could no longer resist her emotions and tears began to stream down her face. Gabrielle turned away and took a deep breath and fought back her own tears. She stared at the Conqueror's back and her anger welled within her. As they moved through the woods towards the Conqueror's camp Gabrielle's rage continued to mount, it grew with every step and then finally as the Conqueror pulled on her tied hands hurrying her along it burst.

"You know you don't have to do that! If you would just untie me I could walk easier and I wouldn't fall behind. And you didn't have to whip Varia!" Gabrielle knew she should shut her mouth but once she started she couldn't stop. "Why couldn't you just leave us alone? We didn't hurt your slave! Gods it's not like you need the taxes! I mean why couldn't you just…"

The Conqueror reined Argo to a halt and dismounted; Gabrielle immediately regretted her words as the Conqueror turned to face her.

Xena took the rope that bound Gabrielle's wrists and threw the end over a nearby tree branch. She backed the blonde against the tree and pulled on the end of the rope hoisting Gabrielle's hands above her head. The Conqueror held the rope in one hand then leaned in close to Gabrielle and pressed her body firmly against the smaller woman's. With her free hand the Conqueror reached up and took one of the blonde's breasts and began to fondle her through her clothing.

Gabrielle gasped in shock as the Conqueror forced her body down against her; the tall warrior's thigh came up between her legs and pushed up against her center.

The Conqueror leaned close and kissed Gabrielle on the lips her tongue forcing entry into the Amazon's mouth. As she kissed the former queen she began to grind her thigh into the smaller woman's sex all the while still groping her breasts.

Gabrielle struggled out of pure reflex, shocked at what was happening to her. She stared wide eyed at the Conqueror and tired in vain to protest through the kiss.

Gabrielle's resistance fueled the Conqueror's lust for conquest and she increased her grinding motion against the blonde then slipped her hand beneath the smaller woman's halter top and grasped the woman's naked breast.

Xena withdrew her mouth from Gabrielle's breaking the kiss and took her new handmaidens breast in her mouth, tugging lightly on the nipple with her teeth.

Gabrielle gasped again then began to pant. She tried to speak but couldn't seem to find her voice; despite herself she began to moan at the Conqueror's attentions. Her mind was on overload, she couldn't think straight and now to her shame she found herself getting lost in her own arousal.

The Conqueror continued to suck on Gabrielle's breast, her hand sliding down the girl's body and slipping beneath the blonde's skirt and underwear and coming to rest on the curve of her backside. She pulled the smaller woman to her and increased the rhythm with her thigh and felt the girl begin to shutter. She felt her own release building as she ground herself onto the blonde's leg while she continued to work her thigh against the smaller woman. She released the Amazon's breast and brought her mouth back to the former queen's, kissing her deeply as they climaxed together.

The Conqueror continued to kiss her for a few moments afterwards then slowly she rose off of her and took a step back, letting the rope holding the blonde's hands above her head slip from her grasp allowing the Amazon's arms to come down.

Gabrielle stared at the Conqueror for a moment catching her breath. She couldn't believe what just happened, more over she couldn't believe she had reacted the way she did. She was at a complete loss, she thought she hated this woman yet she found it hard to believe her body could react the way it did to her touch if she truly hated her. She let her hands down in front of her and stared confused at the Conqueror, her clothes still in disarray, her breasts hanging loosely beneath her top, her skirt bunched up around her hips.

The two continued to stare at each other for a few moments both it would seem at a loss for words. The Conqueror hadn't planed on taking the girl just then she was just going to make a point about who was in charge but she found herself in the grip of a sudden fierce desire that's she couldn't resist. Now that she hadn't resisted it she felt strangely guilty. It wasn't the first time she had forced herself on someone but this time was different. There was something about this woman that unnerved her. She looked into the blondes deep green eyes and felt a strange familiar sensation. She reached forward and almost shyly straightened the woman clothing the untied her hands.

Gabrielle continued to stare at her still at a loss, her emotions in complete turmoil.

"Thank you." The Amazon said quietly lowering her eyes.

Xena just stared at her, still a little off balance from the intensity of what they had just shared.

"Stay close." She finally managed then mounted Argo and started them back towards the camp.

Continued in Part 3.