She had spent five candlemarks jumping rope, running sprints, lifting weights and hitting punch bags. If the trainers didn't think she was applying herself diligently enough, she was encouraged in her efforts by a stinging whip that flicked at her bare thighs, and all the while the guards from the elite maniple watched her like hawks, knowing that their lives depended upon her continued captivity.

The exercises had been taxing and close to exhausting in her current state of health, but she had completed each session to the specific demands of the trainers without feeling the sharp sting of the lash too many times.

She felt like an animal being put through it's paces.

Upon return to Caesar's palace, she'd been escorted to a room not far from the kitchens, where she had been served an excellent meal of soup, roast chicken, three different kinds of vegetables, bread and cheese, all washed down by a sharp wine. It was fairly obvious that Caesar wanted his prize fighter fit and healthy enough to take on all comers.

After eating she was taken back out to the drill yard where she had immediately noticed the huge pile of rocks in the far corner of the yard by the wall. Somehow she just knew that she was going to get to know each one of those rocks in intimate detail.

"Alright, slave," Flaccus had said, "Your task for the rest of the day is to move those rocks from where they are to the other end of the courtyard. If you've behaved yourself, like you have today, you'll only have to move them once a day. If I think your behaviour has warranted it, you'll move them back and forth until I give you leave to stop. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," responded Xena trying hard to fight the dejection she felt. She knew the purpose of this useless task. It was designed to 'gently' break her spirit. There was no point to it, other than to emphasise her helplessness, to sap her morale and mental strength. It was an exercise tailor made to wear on her and she was well aware of it.

That first day had been one of agony for the Warrior Princess. It had taken her until close to dusk to finish her task. Her muscles had begun to protest every movement, her back once more felt lanced with fire, but she had completed what she had been instructed to do, and when she had finished she had been taken back to the baths where Patroclese waited once more to help her clean up, then tend her wounds and even massage some of the knots out of her protesting muscles.

When she was returned to her kennel, she actually felt human once again … at least she did until Gabrielle had been brought into the drill-yard and given the promised five strokes of the strap. Xena had stood, helpless, below the grating, flinching with the sound of every blow as it fell and the anguished scream that accompanied it, imagining her friend's green eyes filled with pain, and knowing all too well that she was responsible for it.

Her eyes slitted to icy blue chips as she thought of yet another way to add to the growing list of how to kill Caesar and Flaccus!

That first day had become the pattern that her routine was now based upon. Oh, there had been adjustments as the days wore along. With her back healed, Patroclese no longer ministered to her wounds, instead after her morning and evening bath, a masseuse worked on her body, toning the strengthening muscles and pampering Xena like the prize piece of property she was.

Her training at the Coliseum was also adapted to her growing fitness. Added to all her initial activities, sparring with the other gladiators in unarmed combat techniques now became a daily ritual, sharpening her skills to a fine degree, and distance running for stamina was included. This took place in the main Coliseum arena, on her own except for six trainers and Flaccus' forty guards who lined the walls, alert and ready for any sign that the Warrior Princess looked likely to try for an escape.

Her outbursts of temper and stubbornness became rarer and that had more to do with the sound of Gabrielle being beaten in the drill-yard on the evening of the occurrence, than the added time she was sentenced to spend lugging rocks from one side of the yard to the other .. an activity she was beginning to heartily loathe.

As she picked up yet another of the head sized boulders she felt an ominous tingle and the hairs on the nape of her neck rose in warning. She knew he was there before he chose to materialise himself for her. She chose to ignore him, turning away from the pile that she knew he was sitting on and heading, determinedly for the other end of the parade ground where a growing, small pile awaited another deposit from her.

She saw the silver blue light from the corner of her eye as Ares materialised beside her, matching her shuffling gait as she continued with her task and ignored his presence. She could feel his hot eyes on her and could picture the smugly sardonic smile on his face .. she was after all very familiar with him. Dropping the rock, she turned deliberately so her back would be to him and started the long return to the other pile of stone, with Ares sauntering by her side.

"My, my. Is this really a suitable occupation for a Warrior Princess?" the God said at length, growing slightly irritated by her lack of acknowledgment.

Without bothering to answer, she hefted another rock and began to make her tedious way with it to the other pile. She was well aware of what he was there for, and he'd get around to it in his own time without her having to contribute anything to the conversation.

"You know, if someone had come to me and told me that Xena was happy to be lugging rocks around in a yard as hot as Tartarus, I'd never have believed it. If you'd told me you enjoyed this kind of thing, I'd have arranged for you to spend some quality time with Sisyphus rolling that Zeus be damned rock of his," he smirked.

Then scowled as she continued to ignore him.

She dropped the stone, and turned back to collect another. Ares tried a different tack, "Hey! Doesn't it make you all warm inside to know that one of your ex-lovers is doing so well for himself? I mean Julius, under my guidance, is setting himself up to be the conqueror of the World. Admittedly he wasn't my first choice for the job, but I'm nothing if not flexible … when I have to be."

Xena ignored him, claiming a rock from the pile and turning back, for what seemed the millionth time, towards the far end of the yard, only stopping moving forward when Ares, having tired of speaking to a seeming brick wall, placed himself directly before her.

"Xena, why haven't you called me?" he asked with apparent concerned sincerity, "You know I'd have taken you away from all of this," he smiled gently waving his hand at the rocks and the guards who seemed to have frozen in time standing motionless in the heat of the day.

She looked him squarely in the face and, in a voice as cold as death, snarled, "Move!"

Ares smiled indulgently and stroked her cheek in a possessive gesture that reminded her all to readily of Caesar's touch. She closed her eyes and fought to control the mad surge of rage that erupted deep within her, "I'll move when you tell me why you didn't ask me for help," he answered, a caress filling his voice.

Drawing a deep breath she told him calmly in a tone that belied the turmoil that surged within her, "You are about the last person, man or god, that I would ask help from. I've paid my dues to you, Ares. I'm never coming back to you, so why don't you just butt out of my existence!"

"Oh, Xena, Xena, Xena," he shook his head in mock regret, "You really don't think it's that simple, do you? I'm part of you! You can fight it, but you can't deny it. And one way or another, you will be mine again."

"Get out of my way, Ares. I've got better things to do with my time than listen to you," she growled.

"Ah, I can see that, my dear," he nodded, biting his lower lip to prevent a grin from spreading over his entire face. "Look, why don't you just drop all this and let me take you .. yes and that pesky bard .. away from this mess you've got yourselves into? Mmm?"

Xena looked at him, seeming to weigh the prospect. Ares knew that she would be hard pressed to forego a chance of getting Gabrielle to safety, "Drop this?" she asked softly.

"Oh yes, Xena, drop it and come ..." he got no further as an excruciating pain throbbed through him thanks to the rock crushing his right foot.

"Forget it, Ares. I'm not interested. Not now. Not ever." She grinned impudently as the God of War did his best not to hop around clutching his sorely bruised toes. She stooped to retrieve the lump of stone and continued her shuffling passage across the drill-yard to where she dropped it once again.

"Xena, you're making a big mistake!" Ares threatened explosively.

"Going with you would be a bigger one," she replied as she moved past him on the way to fetch another chunk of rock.

"Do you think you're going to get any help from the Amazons? Get real, Xena! Most of them hate you worse than Caesar does .. at least he still has a lingering interest in ..."

"GET OFF IT, ARES!" roared the Warrior Princes, well aware that only he could hear her. They glared at each other for several heartbeats before she added in a far quieter tone, "Just get outta here. Don't you have some brown nosing to do with Zeus to make up for all your recent indiscretions?" she questioned with marked pointedness.

Anger and frustration waged war on Ares' handsome features as he glowered at HIS Warrior Princess. Now was not going to be the time to press his arguments as she was still no closer to being ready to listen to him, even with all that Caesar had put her through, "Alright, Xena," he snarled. "I can be patient. Eventually you're going to get tired of this and you will ask me for help. I'll give it too .. even after all the insults you've thrown in my direction since you got onto this goody, goody kick of yours … but you will pay me for that rock! One way or another!" he warned as he vanished in an explosion of blue and silver light.

"Oh Hades!" swore the warrior as she saw the guards reacting in panic when they returned to motion to find that she'd vanished from the spot they were watching and was, in fact, some distance down the length of the yard. She dropped the rock onto the hard packed earth and squatted down, curling her body, hands covering her head, to make as small a target as possible as her six personal watchdogs descended on her, lashing out with the heavy batons they carried, the solid blows powered by the fear and anger they felt at having lost sight of her.

The junior centurion, Titus rushed onto the scene and demanded to know what had happened. The guards, calming down, finally, after having seen their prisoner was not going anywhere, stopped hitting Xena and one of them answered his officer, "Sir, we was watching her shift them rocks as we always does. Everythin' seemed like normal, but then one moment she was right in front of us an' the next moment she was halfway down the yard. She must have bin tryin' to make a break for it, but we managed to catch her afore she could get away."

Titus gave Xena's ribs a sharp kick, "Get up, slave!" he ordered.

Slowly unwinding from her protective huddle, the warrior stood, hiding the winces she felt from the bruising her back had just taken. She stood calmly in front of Titus, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones as she waited to hear what he had to say.

"Have you got an explanation for what happened?" he asked. He thought it unlikely that she was trying to escape, the fact that one of the rocks lay beside her made the idea seem rather incongruous, but he could think of no other explanation.

"You'd never believe me," she told him flatly.

"Try me," he encouraged, ignoring, for the moment, the fact that she had failed to address him correctly.

"A god dropped by for a visit. He froze time for all of you and I continued working while he ..." she tried.

"Alright. That's enough. You just never learn do you?" he rasped, angry that she was trying to make a fool out of him.

Xena shrugged, "You asked what happened."

Titus glared at her, "Put her back in the hole, while I report this. I think the bard's going to get a few more stripes tonight," he commented, watching as the slave began to struggle and shout.

"No! You can't do that. I told you the truth ... get your hands off me!" she yelled as she fought against the guards.

Titus signaled for extra men to help the other six, and against increasing numbers, the Warrior Princess was inevitably forced down into the pit that acted as her cell. Titus looked down on the violently angry woman as the grating was locked firmly shut.

"Calm down and behave yourself," he warned, "You'll only make things worse for your friend."

Xena glared up at him, but her true ire was aimed at a black leather clad, bearded, God who managed to cause her trouble no matter what she did, - Damn you to Tartarus, Ares! - she cursed.