She stole a look to her left. There set up on display like a trophy from the hunt, was Xena's armour, leathers, sword, chakram and daggers: a reminder to all visitors to Caesar's offices, that he had taken, subdued and held Xena, the Warrior Princess, Destroyer of Nations and enemy of Rome. Wishing she could take the armour and weapons with her when she left, Ephiny turned her attention back to their erstwhile owner.

Watching intently, the Regent, never-the-less, felt the approach of Caesar behind her, joining her to observe his prized possession, "Ah, I see you're watching my slave," he murmured as his hand slid over her shoulder in a soft, half touch, and allowed it to linger on her arm, "She'll be fit and well to take on you man in seven days as agreed," he smirked, "I hope you're ready to lose an awful lot of dinars on this fight. I don't expect my slave to lose."

Ephiny's skin jumped in response to his hand and she bit her lip to avoid making any sound. - Oh Artemis! How can I hate this man so yet respond so to his touch? - Her heart beat faster as he leaned closer to her ear, his sweet breath warm on her neck, made her pulse leap erratically. - This is ridiculous! - her mind protested. - This man is brutal, callous and power hungry. He has brutalized two of my best friends and wants to rule the world which will, in the course of things, include the Amazon Nation. I cannot get involved with him. - "We'll see who loses what," she responded with a smile, inwardly dismayed at how easy she found it to flirt with this man.

"Ah, a worthy opponent, I feel," his lips brushed her cheek in an intimate caress as his arms encircled her waist, "It is such a pity that you must return to your homeland so soon, but with time so short we must relish the opportunities we have."

Her heart fluttering wildly and her body betraying her will, Ephiny turned in his embrace and engaged the enemy in a passionate kiss that left her breathless and receptive to his further advances. While a part of her mind screamed out against the betrayal of her dead husband, Phantes, and her live friends, the Regent felt somehow powerless in this calculated seduction by Caesar, as though she was being driven by a will other than her own.

"Man that mortal's a fast worker," grinned Aphrodite as she watched Ephiny lose to Caesar's seduction. "What a trip! You sure you really want this, Arte? I mean your Regent fought my little charm tooth and nail. She'll go ballistic when she finds out we've been juggling her hormones."

"Don't worry about it, sis," grinned Artemis as she watched the carnal passions being played out in the scrying bowl. "The child from this union is gonna be a major influence on my Amazons when she comes of age. I checked it out with Clotho and Lachesis and although they did their normal game of smoke and mirrors, I did get them to admit that if the girl makes it to be an adult she will be a power for good for my Amazons."

"Rippin!" congratulated the bubbly Goddess of Love, "Just remember you owe me big time for this, Arte. I'm gonna have that Amazon chick burning my ears for sure for this stunt."

"Don't sweat it 'Dite. I owe ya one, but we've still got work to do with our little mortals, and we have to be ready for the opportunities as they arise," her voice trailed off absently as she watched the bodies writhe in the water before her. "Hey, he's got some technique. If I was into that kinda thing he'd be a guy to check out."

Aphrodite examined the scene critically, "Well if nothing else he's rockin' her world. Quite the stud muffin! Trouble is, as I tried to explain to Cupid, mortals are like plums .. they taste great for a while, but before you know it .." she threw her hands into the air, "prunes! They're great to mess around with but not worth getting attached to. Still it's a pity that you don't go in for the love thing." She frowned as the image on the scrying bowl shifted perspective and settled on Xena as she worked to haul rocks across the drill-yard. "Hey! No fair, Artemis, that dude had great ..."

"Aphrodite!" broke in Artemis in an almost shocked tone.

"Stamina, sis, stamina. That guy has definitely got rock hard ..."

"APHRODITE!" gasped the other goddess as she anticipated what her sister was about to say.

".. assets, Artemis, assets!" grinned the blonde cheerfully.

"Quit this, ‘Dite. It's not a game I like to play," her sister told her prudishly.

"Yadda, yadda, yadda! You sure know how to ruin a girls fun," moaned the curvaceous Love Goddess. "How are you gonna square it with your Amazon babe?" she asked to pass the time.

"Oh, I'll just get the temple High Priestess to inform her it was necessary," Artemis replied in an off-hand manner.

"You know what? I don't get why you didn't get me to do a tango with Xena's hormones. Caesar's hot for her and any child of hers is going to be something special."

"Don't even go there, 'Dite." warned her sister with a shudder.

"I kinda thought it would be a killer idea," persisted the blonde as she watched Xena at her endless task.

"That's just about the word for any child coming from the lines of those two. I checked that with Clotho and Lachesis as well. If they'd been mortal they would have dropped dead on the spot as soon as I brought the subject up. Any child from a pairing of Xena and Caesar would be a savage with a mind of a genius in excess of both it's parents. It would be unstoppable and strong enough to challenge even us." she informed her sister firmly.

"Oh," answered Aphrodite thoughtfully, "Guess that's why old cow face interfered the first time they got together then."

"If mother hadn't made a few suggestions to Caesar, it's quite likely that the pair wouldn't have just one, but several, off-spring by now and that would have proven a disaster for everyone and everything," Artemis told her suppressing another shudder. "Look, 'Dite. Here comes Ares. Tits and Titans, he's so predictable!" she complained. "You don't need sound to know just what he's saying to her." She made a hacking cough, pumped up her shoulders a bit and gave her best impression of her brother, "This is no situation for a Warrior Princess. Come with me and rule the world."

Aphrodite laughed hysterically, "Bitchin'! That is sooo wicked, Arte! You just gotta do that at Hera's next party. She'll be so ticked to see her precious baby's short and curlies yanked."

"Mother hasn't invited me," Artemis informed her giggling, "She didn't like it when I told her just what I thought about Ares involvement in the Dahak thing."

"Oh! did you see that?" howled the blonde. "The warrior babe just dropped a rock on his foot! That's gotta hurt!" She screamed with laughter and had tears streaming from her face as Artemis joined in with her.

"Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?" choked the Amazon Goddess between gales of laughter.

Ephiny straightened her clothes, her emotions in riotous turmoil after having sported with Caesar on a thick bearskin rug on the floor. She didn't know if she wanted to kill him for taking liberties with her, admittedly extremely responsive, body or fling herself back into his incredible embrace for another round of energetic, passionate, lustful, sex.

She suppressed a shudder of growing desire at the thought and headed back to the window, hoping that seeing Xena being forced to endure the role of a slave would help her get her priorities in order. She soon picked out her friend at one end of the yard as she dropped a rock on the growing pile. Running her fingers through her mass of curly blonde hair, Ephiny continued to watch as the warrior moved back to the other pile to collect another stone.

"You really seem quite taken by my slave, my sweet," Caesar said smoothly as he slipped his hands around her.

Ephiny slapped him away as questing fingers sought out her breast. She was beginning to regain control of her senses and felt the first stirrings of real horror about what had just taken place, "She's special to the Amazons," she growled a little more tartly than she should have as she wondered how she was going to cope for the next seven days if Caesar believed he had made a conquest of her and expected a repeat performance of the exercise.

Both of them stood looking at Xena for long moments, then both blinked in shock as the woman suddenly disappeared, "Where in Tartarus ...?" yelped Ephiny as she registered the fact that Xena had vanished from the place she had been.

Caesar's eyes darted around wildly until he picked her out close to the smaller pile of rocks, crouching down, using her hands and arms to block the blows she knew would be coming in her direction as soon as the guards caught up to her, "How in great Jupiter's name did she manage that?" he demanded of no one in particular.

Ephiny had her suspicions, but she was damned sure that she wasn't going to share them with the enemy. - How, in Artemis' name, could I have let him do that to me? - her mind demanded as she watched the soldiers converge on Xena to administer chastisement for managing to escape their observation. She struggled not to wince as the batons descended time and again, - That has got to hurt! - she thought distractedly, before turning her unquiet musings back to what had happened with Caesar, - How could I have encouraged him to do that? - her mind wailed.

Her face froze as a very unpalatable thought sprang to mind. She was well aware that her body bore the frenzied marks of the passion that had been expended, - How am I going to explain this to Gabrielle and Eponin? They're both going to see the marks and they'll know just what caused them! -

She thought about that for a heartbeat as she saw an officer hurry to the disturbance in the yard and order Xena to be taken back to her cell. She couldn't understand why the warrior had suddenly started to struggle against her guards and create a rolling brawl until she was finally forced into the barred hole in the ground and locked in.

Ephiny's churning, turbulent, thoughts returned to Gabrielle, - Well maybe she won't know what the marks mean .. I mean, alright she's been married, but one night of gentle love doesn't give her the necessary expertise to realise what these are ... does it? - She gave herself a mental shake, - Oh c'mon Eph! She's a bard for Artemis' sake, she's travelled for three years with Xena. She not the naive little girl you first met! Besides, I'm sure Poni and the men will soon let her know all about it. Maybe I could get Nebula to take me back home before they see me, - she thought miserably.

She was jerked from her thoughts as Caesar spoke to her, "I'm sorry, what was that you were saying?" she asked, mentally kicking herself for not paying attention to what was going on around her.

He gave her a quizzical look and then repeated, "I said, I'm sorry, my dear, but I fear I'm going to have to cut your visit short. I need to investigate just what went on out there. I don't like unexplainable little events like that taking place around me. The slave will know what occurred and I think I'll need to question her."

Ephiny's brain raced, - Here's the perfect opportunity to make sure we don't get a repeat performance of the madness that just took place! - her mind crowed. "I see," she answered her countenance filled with icy disdain and tone brittle with frigidity, "So some murdering harlot of a slave is more important than the Amazon Queen." - Forgive me for that, Xena, - she made a mental apology as she collected the remainder of her things and started for the door.

Caesar hissed in annoyance, "Ephiny, wait ..."

The Regent turned and gave him a chill glare, "That's quite alright, my Lord Caesar. If your tastes run to such a 'low' standard, you'll fully understand if I find it socially politic not to meet with you until the night of the match, here, in seven days time." Without waiting for a reply, she stalked across the large chamber and stormed out of the room, for all the world acting the part of the slighted lover.

Slamming a fist down on his desk, Caesar swore long and inventively over his blunder. Having ardently pursued the Amazon Queen for fourteen days, he'd at last managed to taste her sweetness, only to have it taken away from him again because of a disturbance caused by ... Xena! "Lucullis!" he yelled for one of the guards stationed outside of the thick doors.

The door swung open promptly and a member of his personal guard stepped through smartly, jerked off a salute and inquired, "My Lord?"

"Get down to the drill-yard. Tell whoever's in charge that I want the slave brought up here immediately," he snarled angrily.

"At once my Lord," accepted the guard who turned and left the room as quickly as was prudent. Caesar knew that as soon as the door closed the man would be running down to the yard as though a horde of harpies were on his heels.

Standing up, he made his way back to the window to watch proceedings.