Nuptials Part 2

Nuptials

Part 2

Written by Virginia Leonard

Xena and Gabrielle stood on a rise and peered down

into the valley at the town of Astopholes.  The sun was

getting closer to the horizon and both women were

thankful that they wouldn't have to spend the night out

in the open.  The cool evening air was one thing but

the newly forming clouds and the faint rumble in the

distance was another.  Sleeping on the wet ground was

not ranked among the top ten on either woman's list of

really fun things to do and since they wasted no time in 

leaving after Gabrielle's halted marriage, they were both

ready to sleep in a bed again.

     The brutal, ground-eating pace that the warrior had

set was beginning to take its toll on both but most

especially on the bard.  Gabrielle's legs weren't nearly

as long as her companion's and she had to work twice

as hard to keep up.  She never complained, but one

judicious glance from Xena told the warrior that they

needed to find someplace to rest, and soon.

     Argo signaled her restlessness by nudging, and

none too gently, her human in the back.  Her irritation

at having been reduced to a common pack-animal was

beginning to show and whatever graces she had

learned as a young mare had been lost hours ago.  She

wanted nothing more than to shed the obnoxious mass

strapped to her back.  How, in the name of Hades, did

her human wear this outfit.  It felt like it weighed the

same as two full sacks of oats.

     "I get the picture, knothead.  We're going." 

     Gabrielle shifted from one foot to the other trying

to find some relief.  "I'll try to find us someplace to sleep but

don't expect much, we don't have much money."

     Xena smiled, "It doesn't matter to me as long as it

doesn't leak and as long as you are there with me."

She reached up and put her arm around the red-haired

woman.    

                             @@@

    

     Astopholes did have a tavern, of sorts, and that

tavern did indeed have two rooms.  Gabrielle managed

to bargain the price down to only two dinars, one too

many in her opinion, which included fresh bedding

and one hot meal. 

     What they lacked in decor, they more than made up

for in comfort, something for which both bone-weary

travelers were grateful.  By the time Xena returned

from taking care of Argo, the bedding had been

changed and fresh water filled the basin.  "Well, it's

actually more than I expected.  Nice job."

     Gabrielle straightened up, wiping her just washed

face with a towel.  "Glad it meets with your approval

because we're likely to be here a few days, depending

on the weather," she replied as she looked out the

window.

     Xena did not answer.  She was too busy looking at

the image standing before her.  Gabrielle was dressed

in a linen shift which hung only to her upper thighs

and unlaced at the throat, forming a v that ended

between her breasts.

     Xena felt the heat begin to rise in her cheeks and

the familiar butterflies that always appeared in her

stomach when she saw Gabrielle barely dressed.  She

dropped her pack in the corner and walked to where

the bard was standing then reached out, with gentle

fingertips, and moved the stray wisps of hair away

from Gabrielle's face.  "Dear Zeus, but you are

beautiful." she whispered.

     Gabrielle reached up and took Xena's hand, "You're

shaking."

     "So I am."

     "What's wrong with this picture?  You're the one

with all the experience, remember?  You aren't

supposed to be the one who's nervous-I am."

Gabrielle teased.

     "True enough, I'm no virgin," she paused,” but this

is the first time I've been in love with the person I'm

about to lay with and that makes a big difference to

me."

     Gabrielle took a step back from Xena, studying her

face for hints as to the inner turmoil she was going

through.  "If you are uncomfortable we can wait.  It's

ok with me."

     "I don't want to wait, Gabrielle, not anymore." she

said and began removing her armor, letting each piece

drop to the floor. 

     This was the first time that Gabrielle had seen Xena

completely undressed without having some wound

that needed tending.  Then, she was always

concentrating on the wound, not the body, now, she

was fully focused on the piece of art standing before

her.

      She studied the soft contours of battle hardened

muscles that rippled with Xena's every movement.

She looked into the eyes that in one moment could

freeze some men's hearts with fear and in another feed

the flames of passion in others. 

     The first seducing notes of the reed pipe drifted

through the window.  Xena took Gabrielle into her

arms, leading her in the dance of desire and passion,

moving to the rhythm of the melody coming from a

distant reed pipe.  Bodies stilled as the music faded

away and Xena could only stand there looking at her

storyteller.   

     Gabrielle reached up and stroked Xena's slightly

damp face, moving closer so that her body was pressed

firmly against the warrior's.  "You don't know how

long I've waited for this moment.  I used to dream of

you holding me, me holding you.  Sometimes, I was

even afraid to share a bed with you because I couldn't

be certain of what I would do in my sleep."  Gabrielle

paused, trying to slow her breathing.  "The most

glorious moment of my life came when I turned

around at my wedding and saw you standing at the end

of the aisle.  You were a vision and I wanted nothing

more than to run to you, throw my arms around your

neck and to kiss you in front of those people, to make

love to you right then and there.   I still want to so

please, don't stop now."

     Xena reached down, easily lifting the slight bard

into her arms, and carried her to the bed.  Warrior

hands slipped under the storyteller's shirt and began to

remove the last piece of clothing that either of them

wore.  Gabrielle's pulse quickened at the touch of

strong hands against her skin and she could feel the

heat rising in her hips, spreading throughout the

rest of her body. 

     Xena pulled her partner into the same kneeling

position that she was in and moved the hair away from

Gabrielle's face.  "I think I've known, for a long time,

what I wanted.  I just didn't know what to do about it.

Then you announce your impending wedding to

Perdicus and I felt like I had been kicked in the

stomach.  And now?  I still can't believe that I'm

here with you about to make love to you and nervous as 

a cat at the thought.

     Gabrielle pressed her body against Xena's and

kissed her with a voracity that surprised both women.

Gabrielle twisted and the next thing Xena knew, she

was on her back with a lithe body covering her own.

Gabrielle kissed Xena's neck, the hollow of her throat

and the valley nestled between each breast.   Erect

nipples succumbed to the manipulations of her tongue

and they grew harder, more sensitive, propelling Xena

towards a level of ecstasy she had never experienced

before. 

      Gabrielle moved enough to fill Xena with fingers

that kept the same rhythm as the insistent hips beneath her.  

She worked her way down until she lay cradled between 

Xena’s legs and quickly learned where her  tongue brought 

the most pleasure. 

     Xena moaned and writhed which sent chills through the 

bard’s body. 

     Gabrielle became more determined, her fingers reaching, 

owning, filling, her tongue moving with such precision that 

Xena flew into the pinnacle of her climax and called it out 

to the Gods as a gift. 

     The legendary warrior held her breath for as long as

she could, allowing her body to feel the orgasm that

had begun in her hips then spread outward and grew in intensity 

until it ended in an explosion of sensations and sound.   

"Great gods...Gabrielle!"

     Gabrielle smiled and moved up to lay next to the

barely conscious warrior, silencing her with a quick

kiss.  "Don't say anything, I want to memorize this

moment.  Hey, Warrior Princess, I love you."

     Xena chuckled, a deep throaty sound that resonated 

in her chest and rolled to her side, wrapping her

body around Gabrielle as much as was possible.  

"It’s a good thing too.”

                           @@@

     The next morning dawned grey but warm and dry,

at least for the moment.  Xena looked around the room

and found no traces of Gabrielle except for the note

laying on her pillow.   "The market." she groaned,

"Just what we need, more stuff to carry."  She rolled

over, breathing in the faint scents that lingered in the

bed covers, remnants of their love-making last night,

and she couldn't help but smile.

     She could have stayed there longer but decided it

would be best to get up and try to find her companion.

Xena dressed quickly and hurried down to the market.

Gabrielle was a shrewed trader but sometimes a

hardluck story would tug at her heartstrings which

were directly attached to the purse strings and they

couldn't afford to be frivolous with their dinars.

     Xena soon spotted her prey involved in what

appeared to be a serious discussion with a cloth

merchant. 

     "Any trouble here?"  Xena asked as she took a

menacing position behind the smaller red-haired

woman.

     Gabrielle looked back over her shoulder, "There

you are, finally.  This kind gentleman seems to think

that I took a piece of cloth belonging to him.  I told

him that was ridiculous but, as you can see, he doesn't

believe me."

     Xena stepped from behind Gabrielle and grabbed

the merchant by his shirt collar, lifting him off the

ground and bringing him up level with her eyes. "If my

mistress said she didn't take it, she didn't take it.  You

have any argument with that and you'll answer to me.

Clear enough?" 

     Xena released her grip and the shaken merchant

landed with a dull thud.  "No, of course she didn't take

it.  It was a simple misunderstanding.  My apologies."

he stammered.

     "That's what I thought.  My lady, shall we?"  Xena

bowed, slightly, at the waist and waited for Gabrielle

to take the lead.

     They strolled from one booth to another admiring

the various pieces of art and merchandise on display.

Xena watched Gabrielle as she examined an intricately

carved piece of ivory jewelry and she suddenly felt

very playful.  "I would like to see you naked in a field

of clover with your head thrown back and your body

on fire." she whispered then walked away.

     Gabrielle covered her mouth with her hand and laid

the medallion back down on the table.

     "Are you alright?" the merchant asked.  "You look a

little flushed."

     "Hm?  N...no, I'm fine, fine,... just a little warm."

Gabrielle walked away looking through the crowd for

any traces of her warrior partner but finding none.

Instead, her attention was captured by the bright colors

of a silk trader's booth and she stopped to examine

some of his wares.

     Xena approached on silent feet and brushed against

Gabrielle's back, "I want to slide my hands between

your legs and slip my fingers inside you."  Again she

retreated before Gabrielle could reply.  Pictures began

popping into the storyteller's head making her stomach

jump with anticipation.  She looked around but was

not surprised to see that Xena had disappeared. 

     Her next stop was a parchment dealer's table.  This

was one commodity that was always in short supply

and one that a bard always had a need for.  She

listened, with feigned interest, as he explained the

finer points of producing such a high quality product,

how each raw material, grown in different regions,

made a difference in the quality, how one type took

ink better than another, how this affected that.

     "I want to take you now, on this very table, and

make love to you until the sun sets.  I want to hear you

tell me what you like and what you don't.  I want to

inhale your perfume and taste the salty juices that are

uniquely yours and I won't wait much longer."  Xena

whispered, suddenly appearing then disappearing.

     "A friend of yours?" the dealer asked.

     Gabrielle paused a moment, trying to gain control

of her voice.  "Yes," she squeaked, "you could say

that."  Moving on, she tried to concentrate on the

available trinkets that surrounded her. 

     There were vendors selling foods of every type and

tables with earthenware vessels of all shapes and sizes,

each designed with a different but specific purpose.

Glass blowers were entertaining the crowd as much as

with their antics as with their creations and dancers

plied their trade with a great deal of intensity and

enthusiasm.

     Passing by a tent with its flaps closed, Gabrielle

was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled inside.

Before she could cry out, lips covered her own,

provoking a level of passion that threatened to

completely consume the bard.

     Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the sudden

darkness but even without eyesight, Gabrielle knew

whose body it was that pressed against hers.  She

recognized the familiar hand that held and caressed

her breast, the other hand that pulled the hem of her

skirt up to her waist and the fingers that massaged the

pulsating area between her legs.

     The sounds of the market were replaced by the

roaring of  blood as it rushed through her veins

threatening to rip the delicate vessels apart.

Perspiration covered her body making her shirt cling

to her back, causing her nipples to become more erect

as the touch of a wet shirt, cooled by the slight stirring

of air, fluttered against each delicate tip.

     Gabrielle had been brought to the pinnacle of

arousal and was left breathless when her unseen

partner pulled away and whispered in her ear, "Not

now.  Not here-not for the first time." then slipped out

through the tent's opening.