Part 3

The third day of the festival was dedicated to the fertility rites. Heaps of the finest of grains and first fruits were brought to the foot of the Akropolis for priests to anoint. The priests, robed in white, signaled for the acolytes to carry the bounty to the top of the hill. The Council and the city elders, somewhat annoyed at having to wait in the hot sun, were waiting at the Akropolis to begin the sacred rites. Many citizens surrounded the base of the hill , some of them spilling into Dionysos' theater. Not far from the amphitheater, and sitting as the tallest monument, the Parthenon rested at the northern side of the Akropolis. A steep path, covered with small stones, crisscrossed a path down the north slope. Near the bottom the caves of Pan and Apollo were decorated with garlands for the festival; and at the very bottom of the slope stood the Klepsydra springhouse; a quiet place for people to gather to get away from the riotous spectacle in the city.

The springhouse served as a meeting place for those wishing to make use of the spring that gently rippled from an outcropping of subterranean rocks. At one time this served as a bathhouse for the elite, now it served the needs of all. Its marble was stained green in many places and the smooth rocks that served as a floor were cracking, creating a jagged surface for the still intact porch. Free standing Ionic columns, topped with small statues of the Muse' wrappe d around the outside porch. The ones closer to the springhouse entrance were permanently stained green by the steam coming from the mouth of the inner chambers.

A certain bard, minus her warrior, was lounging under the shade of cypress and oak trees not far from the springhouse. Several young men and women stood nearby watching the interplay before them.

Apollodoros smiled as he tried to best the bard. 'I've meet Sokrates. Have you, bard?'

Gabrielle eyes narrowed. 'That's not a fair question, Apollodoros. I was young when he died, stilling living at home. Besides we're talking about the concept of love, not philosophers.'

'You forget I was there that night. You can ask Glaukon to verify my presence there.'

'This is not about the famous symposium, this is about here and now.'

'Yeah, forget about it. You' re boring our friends here at our public debate,' Agathon said.

Gabrielle cleared her throat. 'I think there is a fine line between suffering and love.'

Phaedros nearly spit out his wine. 'Are you, Gabrielle, implying that suffering and love come from the same place.'

Just as the bard was about to speak Agathon interrupted her. 'She didn't mean it that way.'

A young man spoke up from the audience. ''From Chaos rose broad-bosomed Earth, the sure

and everlasting seat of all that, and after, Love...''

Apollodoros frowned at the outburst. 'Yes, we do know Hesiod's views on love. Please, no comments from the gallery.'

The woman who was with the man spoke out. ''And Love she framed the first of all the gods.''

Phaedros turned to Apollodoros. 'There you see, colleague, we all agree on the antiquity of love!'

Gabrielle laughed. 'I don't think our audience will be merciful with us today.'

'Why should they be, we're at a festival for Gaia's sake! ' Agathon laughed as he drained the last drop of wine from his cup.

Apollodoros stood up and addressed their audience. 'So what do we think love is?'

'Love creates valor!'

'Love lives in the heart.'

'...unites the one who loves and the beloved.'

'Love is pure pleasure!'

'It is the power behind honorable men and women.'

'Aphrodite lives!'

'Love is a gift from the gods!'

Gabrielle gestured for her colleague to sit down. 'We seem to have a little problem here, gentle friends. Is love a feeling or a physical pleasure?'

Phaedros poured more wine. 'Ah...very good, young bard. My question then is: do you necessarily need to have love to make love?' The small crowd cheered at his cleverness.

I would say yes' The young bard tried not to blush.

Apollodoros gave her a wicked grin. 'Would that be by personal experience, Gabrielle?' Both Phaedros and Agathon erupted in laughter while the crowd snickered.

The hairs on the back of Gabrielle's neck began to tingle and she knew the warrior was near enough to be watching her. 'Now it's time for you, my warrior.' 'Making loving happens between the beloved and the one who is with the beloved. If love does not live then we would be like the animals, rutting only when the season permitted.'

Another young person from the crowd called out to her. 'All of Greece knows you travel with the great warrior princess. So tell us something about you and Xena!'

Gabrielle's three companions turned to her for an answer. She knew she was going too far with Xena close by but she proceeded anyway. 'What's your name, boy.'

'First of all, I'm seventeen and no boy, and my name is Aristogiton.'

'Well, young Aristogiton, Xena is a most passionate lover. She knows how to please a woman. She can do more to a woman with her tongue than a man could do with his penis.' She thought she heard rocks falling from the cave of Pan.

'Where does her passion come from, Gabrielle? Agathon said, 'From Aphrodite Uranaia or from Aphrodite Pandemos?'

An older woman spoke form the audience. 'What's the difference, philosopher?'

Apollodoros addressed the woman. 'Aphrodite the Elder, they say, was not born of a woman but of the heavens--making her realm the spiritual domain. Aphrodite the Younger was born of a woman, Dione. She takes care of, how shall I say it, earthly pleasures.'

A low groan reached the bard's ears. Now Gabrielle was sure the warrior was above her, and not in the trees; but in one of the caves above the patio.

Before any one else could speak, a man, draped with many garlands, ran up to them from the path. 'The nights festivities will begin when the sun goes down. You must prepare for the sacrifice!' Most of the crowd, to Gabrielle's dismay, went with the man. Her own companions bade her farewell and moved into the springhouse.

Rolling on her side, the bard placed her drink on the table before her and eyed her surroundings. Xena's presence was still surrounding her, like a spark of static electricity. As she was about to get up and search for her woman when the body covered her. Gabrielle signed. 'Her weight alone and how it fits into my body tells me, everytime, that's it her.' The woman on her back began to slide her hands towards the bard's breasts.

'Oh, Xena...'

'Yes, my beloved.'

'I felt you, almost as if you were laying on the lounge with me. ' She sighed in pleasure.

'Do you realize all of Athens will know you are my lover. I'd even bet the rumor has started spreading all ready.' She slid her sleek form back and forth on Gabrielle's backside. 'Now how shall I punish you for your error, my love.'

Xena's movements pressed her pubic bone into the chaise, causing the burning in her loins to spread. 'You know what I like, Xena.'

Xena groaned.