Disclaimer: I own no rights whatsoever to any characters from
Xena:Warrior Princess, I am only borrowing them for the length of
this story. This story is for the amusement and entertainment of my
friends in the Ares and Xena Shippers club. I promise to return the
characters intact when I am finished with them. I am making no
money from this story.
It had been a month since the last time Eve and Jeb had come to visit. After the fiasco of their last visit, Ares was reluctant to ask for the terrible two to come and visit again. Unfortunately his granddaughter had him wrapped around her little finger. Laurel had asked for her two little friends to come back again this weekend. He had informed her that he had a war to supervise, and she had replied "Your war will just have to wait. I want my friends NOW!" She was becoming a major pain in the posterior.
When he had hesitantly asked for their presence, Xena had only agreed if she came to supervise. That took a load off his mind, and he had readily agreed. If the children would only behave this time, he and Xena might spend some quality time together. If you believe that one, you aren't familiar with these three children, and I have a rotten rope bridge across a crevasse to sell you..
For the first few hours things had gone well. Then the newness of the situation wore off, and all hell broke loose. They fought over toys, they spilled food, they broke things, until Xena started yelling. That brought them up short for a few minutes. Unfortunately, it didn't last for very long. The various priests and priestesses spent most of their time looking over their shoulders. The children had taken to pulling pranks on them. Thankfully Ares had again taken Laurel's powers away. If she had had those available, everyone would have been in serious trouble.
Mortal child tricks were bad enough. They had found a mouse in the gardens, and had brought it in and released it in the kitchens. The head cook had seen it and fainted, landing in a large dish of fresh dough. She and the dough wound up on the floor. One of the under cooks took a broom and tried to shoo the mouse out the door. It dodged, and cut back under the table. Then it ran up the pants leg of one of the helpers. He started dancing around and cussing, while trying to shake it loose. In the meantime the children were gathered in a corner laughing. Ares and Xena heard the screams and curses and ran for the source. When they arrived, the children scattered. Laurel ran into the main temple, and Eve and Jeb ran for the garden door. Xena had no trouble capturing the mouse, and released it outside again. She took it quite a ways from the temple, into a wooded area, and loosed it in the bushes.
By the time she returned from her errand, Ares had gathered the perpetrators, and made them all sit in chairs widely separated from each other. Each was in a corner of the main altar room. There would be no whispering, no giggling, and no contact whatsoever for a while. Xena just stood there for a while. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The scene in the kitchen had been hilarious, but she was aware that those involved didn't think so. The head cook had been in hysterics when she awoke from her faint, and had required a great deal of assurance that the mouse was truly gone before she returned to work. The dough was ruined and would need to be redone. While they had all been chasing the mouse, the meat had gotten scorched on one side. It was still edible, but just barely. Dinner was going to be late.
The children remained in the corner for a long time. They wouldn't be eating dinner with the others. They were given a dish of porridge for supper along with a glass of milk. They seriously thought of complaining, but reconsidered when they took one look at Xena's face. They ate their supper in silence. There was no joking, or giggling. Soon afterwards they were sent to bed. Since this was much earlier than usual, the adults decided to take advantage of the situation.
Ares looked over at Xena during dinner, amazed that she had remained so calm during the ruckus, and then realized that this was probably just everyday stuff to her. He really admired her. She was not only beautiful, smart, and energetic. She also had a lot more patience than he had. He reached over and took her hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Then he turned it over and kissed her palm. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. They ate a little more, but each had other ideas on ways to spend a long evening alone together.
When dinner was over, Ares took Xena's hand and placed it through his arm. He then strolled with her back to his quarters. They sat before the fire on a divan. He slipped his arms around her, and pulled her head over on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms about him as well. She snuggled her face into his neck, kissing her way up to his ear. She then began nibbling his lobe. Blowing softly in his ear, she then planted a kiss on it. By this time his hands had begun wandering over her body. He stroked her waist, sliding his hands up to her bosom. Using his thumbs on the sensitive areas, he continued stroking, then he took her mouth with his. Kisses deepened and soon developed into more intimate things.
Their intimacy was soon interrupted. Screams came from the children's room. They dropped everything, Ares snapped clothes onto both of them, and they took off running from his room to the one across the hall. As they entered, they found the children playing on the floor. It was too much. Ares bellowed "What in Tartarus do you think you're doing? Were you or were you not sent to bed? Did anyone give you permission to get up and play?" Three sets of eyes looked at the floor. Three little heads shook dismally from side to side, then all three of them started to cry. The sobs soon turned to wails.
Xena just stood there, with her hands on her hips, watching how Ares handled this state of affairs. He was becoming flustered, so she took over. "What's that supposed to be, crocodile tears? I don't believe for a moment that you didn't know better. Nor do I believe that those tears are real. I think you're trying to put one over on us, and it's not going to work." She took both Eve and Jeb by the arm, and escorted them to their beds. Ares took the hint and put Laurel in her own bed. Xena then stood there with her hands on her hips, saying "There will be no more of this nonsense. Do you understand?" Three heads nodded emphatically. "Now go to sleep." She waited for a moment, but there were no arguments. She escorted Ares to the door and semi-closed it behind them.
Ares gave a great sigh of relief. He sure was glad that Xena had come along this time. Those children were really a handful. She seemed to know just what they were up to and whether or not to take things seriously. Mother instinct or something like that. He had been sure that they were really crying, and hadn't any idea of how to deal with it. How do you comfort three crying children at once? Fortunately she had known the difference. Those little wretches. Putting one over on him like that. He was seriously put out with them, especially since they had interrupted a really intimate moment. He didn't know if he was going to be able to get back into the mood. Aaaaarrrgh!!!! Fortunately Xena was still in the mood, which quickly put him back in the mood. He made mad passionate love to her. They then fell asleep in each other's arms.
Morning came altogether too soon. The children were awake with the birds. They ate their breakfast in peace and harmony. They then went out into the gardens to play. Things went well for several candlemarks, but then things started to heat up again. The two girls were in a knock down drag out fight. They were pulling hair, kicking, and screaming at the tops of their lungs. Xena was the first at the scene. She grabbed both girls by the arms, and dragged them apart. Each blamed the other for the fight. Xena asked Jeb what happened, but he told her he was playing nearby with a toad when the fight started. He didn't know who started it. He held up the toad in question to show that he was telling the truth. One of the older priests had overheard the whole fight and informed her that Eve had started it by pulling Laurel's hair. Eve was taken inside and placed in the same chair she had occupied the day before.
Laurel started playing with Jeb, and things remained peaceful for quite a long time. They were just beginning to scrap a little when they were called to come in for lunch. All three children were on their best behavior during lunch, and afterwards they were allowed to go outside to play. No problems occurred for a long time afterwards. While no adults were watching all three children were eating some green apples. Before too long they all had tummy aches. Jeb was the first to come in crying. "It hurts... Mama!" He was holding his tummy with both hands. Xena lifted him onto her lap. She examined him, but could find no wounds. "What hurts Jeb?" she asked. "My tummy....it hurts real bad." By this time Eve was also coming inside holding her tummy. She was soon followed by Laurel. Xena was becoming worried. Could they have eaten something poisonous? She asked the girls what they had eaten. At first they denied eating anything, but as the pain grew worse they reconsidered. As soon as she knew about the green apples the worst of the worry was over. They would have to suffer for a while, but they'd get over it.
Within a few hours they were feeling better. Good enough to eat their supper at least. They didn't eat as much as usual but did eat enough to tide them over until tomorrow. They went to bed early again. This time with no shenanigans. Ares and Xena enjoyed one evening of peace and quiet. They took advantage of it by retiring to their own bed. There were no interruptions this time. Each took pains to make up to the other for the prior night's frustration. Xena took the lead, grabbing him by the ears and kissing him passionately. He got both arms around her, almost crushed her body to his, then kissed her in return. Time seemed to stand still for a time. Then came rushing back as they teased and pleased each other. Wild music seemed to match the beating of their hearts. The tempo kept increasing with their passionate explorations. The grand finale was enough to take their breath away.
The last day went incredibly well. The children played peacefully and the adults spent their day in quiet conversation. They had placed some chairs and a small table under a spreading tree in the garden. Then they had spread a large blanket on the ground for the children. There were a lot of toys and a picnic lunch to look forward to. There was also a large pitcher of cold lemon drink on the table. This was enjoyed by all. One of the priests had created three puppets made from wood and string. they weren't fancy by any means, but another priest had painted clothes and faces on them. The children were making the puppets dance and walk around on the blanket. This had entertained them for longer than anything else ever had. Even for the children, lunch was enjoyed in peace. Both Xena and Ares were thankful for the toys.
They had gone back inside for dinner. The children were eating quietly, and enjoying their food when Evander and his wife Daphne entered the room. The children greeted them with smiles and waves, then went on with their dinner. Ares breathed a sigh of relief. All in all it hadn't been TOO bad. He hoped they were done with their time off though. He did understand that they needed a break from Laurel occasionally. They needed time to themselves. He just wished they could find someone else to take her once in a while. He loved her dearly, but, she had a tendency for mischief. When you added the other two you really had your hands full. He was going to be glad to take them home and have the temple to himself. Ah, peace at last.
Cyrene and Gabrielle had enjoyed their weekend also. They had gotten a lot of work done. They had cleaned everything in sight, rearranged furniture, restocked the bar and Inn, and had even taken the time to just sit. Things had been almost too peaceful. The citizens had noticed at once that the children weren't there, and had been glad to know that they were only visiting for the weekend. They would be back to their old selves soon. And they were. Ares delivered them late that afternoon. They hadn't been home for more than two candlemarks before they were in trouble again. Xena just sighed and sat them in the corners where they sulked for a while. Things had to improve sooner or later didn't they? She certainly hoped so.
TBC