“So where are we going?” Xena asked Callisto. She hated the fact that she was blindly following Callisto’s lead. In fact she never liked to rely on anyone let alone her arch enemy. Callisto glanced back at the disheartened warrior princess and smirked. Xena didn’t even look up.
“You’ll see.... Trust me.” She gave the chain connected to Xena’s wrists a strong jerk which sent Xena stumbling forward. However, she was back on her feet a moment later. Xena tried in futility to break the bonds which held her wrists. It was impossible because they were made of Hephaestus’s metal and the metal made by the god’s could not be broken, not even by Hercules himself.
They traveled in this manner down that rocky path for what must have been two days. On that second day they came to an abandoned palace. “We’re here!” Callisto exclaimed. She paused for a moment in front before she headed in, pulling Xena and Gabrielle with her.
Xena and Gabrielle were taken into a room where the other gods were seated around a table. Xena heard the door lock behind them. Strife released Gabrielle from her restraints as Callisto unlocked Xena’s. Xena glanced at Gabrielle and at the door, but Callisto caught her glare. “Don’t even think about escape, Xena.” Xena didn’t even have to say anything because Callisto somehow knew what she was thinking. “The doors are sealed with Hephaestus’s metal too. Only the key can open them.” Xena narrowed her eyes. When she still didn’t respond, Callisto added, “Are you ready to begin?”
“Begin what?”
“The preparation. You and Gabrielle can’t be given to Ares as a gift looking like this. I mean Gabrielle looking like you, you looking like Gabrielle. That just doesn’t cut it. But don’t worry. We’ll get you fixed up.”
“What do you mean ‘fixed up’?” Gabrielle questioned.
“You know. Hair...makeup...clothes...the works! To be a gift, you gotta be pretty.... Follow me.” Callisto gestured for them to follow. Knowing that they would have no chance of escape, they followed her lead. Once they were inside the little room, the door locked and Callisto disappeared.
The room was like a sauna, having a high humidity level. A hot tub was situated in the center. There were no guards, only a few girls cleaning the room. One girl approached them.
“Are you Xena and Gabrielle?”
“Yes. Do we know you?” replied Xena.
“I’m Tessa. No, you probably don’t know me, but I’ve been told to expect your arrival.” Some of the other girls also walked up to Xena and Gabrielle. “It’s our job to get you ready.” Xena sighed. Callisto had carefully planned this out. She knew that Xena would fight any guard who tired to lay a hand on her, but a defenseless girl.... Xena would cooperate. “So are you ready?”
“Can you give us one minute.” Tessa nodded and Xena turned to Gabrielle.
“So are we going to go though with this?” Gabrielle asked.
“We don’t really have much of a choice.... Besides, a little cleanup would do us good.” They both smiled.
“You’re probably right.”
“Of course. We’ll just get out of this whole situation later.”
So they went through with it. They washed their hair, took a bath, brushed their teeth, had their hair styled, were dressed in a fancy ensemble, and had makeup/jewelry applied to them.
Xena and Gabrielle looked at themselves in the mirror. They did not look at all like the way they did when they arrived. They almost looked regal. Xena wore her hair down. It was curled at the ends, but was still controlled. As for makeup, she only had on dark red lipstick. She guessed that the other gods thought that Ares wouldn’t like a lot on her. To him she was perfect. She was wearing a short red gown. It was made of satin and was rimmed with diamonds. It was held up by little straps on the shoulders. She still had on the same sandals that she came in with. Around her neck was a small, red, heart-shaped diamond that was encircled with smaller white diamonds.
Gabrielle had her hair pulled up in a bun. She had on a pinkish lipstick and green eye shadow. She was wearing a short, gold-colored dress with long sleeves. It was actually plain compared to Xena’s, but then again Xena’s was supposed to look better. She was the gift. Gabrielle was the insurance.
Xena looked over at Gabrielle. “I think they may have over done it...just a bit.” They both laughed.
“I think you’re right.”
“Well it looks like you’re ready,” said a voice from behind them. Callisto. “All set to be gift, Xena?” They turned to face her. It was obvious that she was enjoying this. “Well no time to dawdle. Come on.”
Xena and Gabrielle exchanged glances before following the goddess. “So now where are we going?” Gabrielle timidly asked Callisto.
“To finish the final steps in getting you ready.”
“You mean there’s more?”
“Well we can’t just have you two waltz right on in there only to have you run right back out again. I know you’d find a way to escape, Xena, so we’ll just have to work extra hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
They walked down another hallway, longer than the first. Callisto pushed open the heavy door at the end. They were greeted by the morning’s sunlight. Xena’s gaze set firmly on the two objects sitting neatly on the grass in front of them. “You two will be traveling in style,” Callisto stated happily when she saw the look on Xena’s face. Tormenting Xena was her absolute favorite past time.
Finally, after a good struggle, two threats on Gabrielle’s life, three attempts at running away, four naughty words, five punches in a Callisto’s jaw, six high flying kicks at Velaska, and a good jab into Strife’s stomach, they managed to get Xena in the one cage and Gabrielle in the other.
Surprisingly, the cages were quite nicely furnished. They were made of a mixture of silver and Hephaestus’s metal. They had a purple velvet lining on the bottom. It even had a small matching pillow in the corner. Xena and Gabrielle were actually comfortable even though the cages were a little bit too small.
Callisto covered the two cages separately with sheets and put them on little wheels. She obviously didn’t want any communication between them. She wasn’t taking any chances. Callisto knew what Xena was capable of especially when she felt that her best friend was in danger.
With a heave and a groan, they were on the road, headed towards Ares’ temple. Heading towards the party where they were going to be the gifts and the main source of entertainment for the god of war.
