Dea Ex Machina

Disclaimer: The characters and settings of "Xena: Warrior Princess" are property of MCA/Universal and Renaissance Pictures, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended. This particular story, however, is property of the author and should not be reproduced or retransmitted in any form without her permission.
Warning: This story is rated NC-17. Do not read it if you are under 17 years of age, or if the idea of two women in love turns you off. This story contains fairly explicit sexual content.

"...and then, with Xena's sword still buried in its heart, the enormous creature fell to the earth -- CRASH! -- and was still." Gabrielle swept her hands out dramatically, and paused to gauge her audience's response.

A small family of rabbits regarded her solemnly. A deer glanced up and then returned to its grazing. A sparrow leapt into the air and flew away.

Gabrielle sighed.

"Xena," she said beseechingly, "when are we going to stop in a real village? We haven't seen any actual people for days."

"That's not true," said Xena as she examined Argo's hoof with care. "There were those bandits yesterday."

"Oh, great," Gabrielle said. "Maybe if you hadn't knocked them all unconscious in thirty seconds, I could have told them my new story."

"Relax, Gabrielle. We'll stop at a village tonight and spend the night at an inn, okay?"

"Good!" Gabrielle smiled happily. "Thanks, Xena."

"There you go, girl," Xena said, putting down the hoof and patting Argo's side. "That wasn't such a big stone, now was......" Her voice trailed off as she straightened up and found a single bare foot level with her nose.

"Yoo-hoo, Xena! Up here!" called a cheerful voice from amongst the branches of the nearest tree. Xena followed the foot up a shapely leg, past a tight stomach and two ripe breasts and upward.....and groaned.

"Not HER," she muttered to herself.

"Hi, Aphrodite," greeted Gabrielle politely. The blonde smiled as she dropped gracefully from the tree to the earth.

"Like, totally rad to see you two, you know?" she enthused. "Hey, cute new haircut, Gabby!"

"What do you want?" Xena growled as she went about making Argo ready to continue their journey.

"You don't have to be so grouchy," Aphrodite pouted. "I just dropped in to say, like, hi and stuff."

"Didn't I hear you married Hephaestus?" Gabrielle asked.

"Oh, that...." The Goddess of Love waved a dismissive hand. "Heffy is sweet, but he's totally into the blacksmith gig, and I'm sorry but it is just waaaay boring."

"Sorry to hear that," Xena said, not sounding very sorry. "We gotta get going."

"Wait - just let me say goodbye," Aphrodite cooed, insinuating her nearly-naked body between Xena and the horse. Xena eyed her suspiciously. Gabrielle, whose knowledge of such things was limited to the fact that some women liked to do . . . you know . . . with each other, watched in confusion.

"Say it, then."

Aphrodite stretched upward to plant a soft kiss on Xena's cheek. "Later, alligator," she whispered and stepped back.

"Good, now can we get going?" Gabrielle asked. "Xena?"

"Gabrielle..." came the low voice of the warrior princess, huskier than usual. The bard looked up in surprise to find her friend invading her personal space. "Let's stay here a little longer."

"Huh...what?" Gabrielle asked in confusion as Xena's fingers closed around her upper arms. "But the village - the inn - "

"Forget 'em," Xena murmured as her face descended toward Gabrielle's. Her soft, hot mouth touched the younger woman's lightly, and then more firmly, sending quivers of strange pleasure through the bard's body. But just as she was about to give herself over to the sensation, Gabrielle's sensitive ears caught a merry giggle and she whirled around, catching Xena by surprise so that the warrior released her hold.

"Aphrodite!" Gabrielle yelled in annoyance. "What have you done to Xena?"

"Who, me?" the goddess asked, batting her eyes innocently.

"You put a spell on her!"

"Huh!" Aphrodite snorted. "As if!"

"Well, she's certainly not acting like her usual self," Gabrielle pointed out as Xena, her eyes shining softly with passion, stroked the bard's bright auburn hair with one hand and pressed Gabrielle's palm to her cheek with the other.

"Well, okay, I may have, like, enhanced some of the things she was already feeling," Aphrodite admitted. "It's all just part of the love goddess thing, you know?"

"I want you to take the spell off right now!" Gabrielle demanded, trying in vain to escape Xena's questing hands.

"Sorry!" Aphrodite replied cheerily. "No can do, babe." She sighed theatrically. "Responsibility can be, like, *such* a drag." Suddenly she perked up and her smile returned. "Gotta run. Toodles noodles!" With a flash of light, she was gone before Gabrielle could voice another objection.

"Great," the bard moaned as she turned back to her friend. She grabbed Xena by the shoulders and shook her a few times. "Xena! Can you hear me?"

"Every sweet, lovely word," Xena replied earnestly. Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

"Well, we have to get moving," she told Xena. "Come on, grab Argo and let's go."

"Whatever you say, Gabrielle. I don't really need a bed to be with you, but if that's what you want, that's how we'll do it," Xena promised. She seized Argo's reins, Gabrielle seized her staff, and they began to walk.

A few paces down the road, Gabrielle jumped in surprise when she felt Xena's fingers slide across her palm. The warrior princess laced her fingers in with the bard's and squeezed gently. Gabrielle heaved another sigh and shook her head silently.

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