 Episode 1 of 'Conquered' Mine
"I like this one!" said the tall, dark warlord as she leered down at the blonde village girl that had been forced to kneel before her, "she's got spirit!" All around, the village of Potediea smouldered and burned as its small population huddled in the wrecked marketplace, cowering before the great Warrior Princess Xena, the Destroyer of Nations. The girl had been the only one to stand up and fight against the forces of darkness that Xena had brought down on their heads, but she was untrainned and really hadn't stood a chance against Xena's army. A soldier had her at his mercy and was about to hack her to pieces when Xena called out "no! Bring her here!" and it had taken two soldiers to drag the small, struggling girl up in front of their commander. Although she had refused to kneel, a quick jab to the back of her knees with a heavy boot had left her no choice. Xena crouched before her, one arm resting nonchalantly on her thigh, and reached out for a fistful of the girl's beautiful red-gold hair, yanking her head up cruelly and smiling when the girl winced and stiffled a groan. "You've got a lot of nerve, girl" she purred dangerously, running her finger down the scowling blonde's cheek, "I like that....and you're really quite attractive, for a peasant. I'll bet you're still a virgin too, huh? Well I can soon change that. Yes, I'm sure I could have a lot of fun with you." She smiled and giggled as the girl renewed her struggling against the two soldiers that held her arms tightly, growling her frustration at her inability to act, and spitting at the warrior. "Well, well! A real wildcat, huh!?" she laughed, revelling in the girl's desperation, "What's your name, harpy?" The girl's eyes smouldered with hatred and defiance as she stared into the dark face and her
mouth stayed closed firmly closed. "Hmmm, don't want to tell me, huh? I'm sure I could persuade
you, if that's what you really want." The girl stayed silent so Xena motioned for her two
captors to haul her up and backhanded her hard across the face, eliciting a gasp from the staring
crowd. The girl turned her face back to look at her tormentor and, without a word, spat in her face.
Xena's eyes grew dark and she grabbed the front of the girl's top, ripping the fabric from her
breast in one easy motion. "You can't defy me, girl!" she hissed in the defiant face over which
she towered and then she bent down and, roughly grabbing the exposed breast, took the virgin nipple
in her mouth and bit down hard. The blonde screamed and flung back her head and a woman in the crowd began to cry loudly.
Feeling very pleased with herself, the warrior lifted her head and stared daggers at the squirming
girl. "I
can see you're not ready to give in to me yet for your own sake," she said softly, "that's alright,
I enjoy a challenge. But what about them, hmmm?" She flicked her eyes at the crowd before continuing
"What if I told you that if you don't tell me your name, right now, I'll take three of those
sweet little children over there and torture them for a while before I split them in two?"
The girl swallowed and lowered her head, knowing she had lost.
"Gabrielle," repeated the warrior, "that's pretty.....like you." The blonde flinched as Xena's
hand came up as if to strike, but the hand only caressed the damp cheek tenderely, bringing confusion
to the girl's mind and a slight trembling to her body. Xena smiled, showing perfect, sharp teeth
and made up her mind. "I'll tell you what, Gabrielle," she soothed, "I'll make you an offer. You
come with me now, willingly, and I'll spare the people of this village. If you refuse, or if at any time
you even think about running away from me, I'll have them
all killed, very slowly. Choose."
* * * * * * When Gabrielle realized there was no way she was going to be able to get free of the shackles that held her spreadeagled on the wooden frame, she stopped struggling and looked around the enormous tent. The lighting was so dim that she couldn't see how high the ceiling ascended, but she could see the massive sleeping platform, piled with layers of soft fur and wool, which took up almost a quarter of the space. More pelts covered the floor around the bed, providing a soft surface for naked feet to step on. Open chests stuffed with fine fabrics dotted the room and, although the sheltered village girl did not know the origins of this finery, she knew they were not from Greece. Delicately embroidered silks from Chin and saris from India, that glittered with the gold woven into them, spilled out of the chests onto the carpeted floor. Yes, it was carpeted! Intricate rugs from Persia and Armenia not only adorned the earth but hung from the walls. Fantastically carved furniture was dotted about, a great thronelike chair on a daïs, a small table inlaid with ivory and gold, a jewel-encrusted treasure chest that contained who knows how much wealth? The only break in this embarrassment of riches was a large table made from rough-hewn wood, its surface scarred and stained, a large map lying open upon it. Gabrielle groaned as a stabbing pain lanced down her arm. She didn't know how long she had been hanging here awaiting her new mistress and her pleasure; she only knew that her muscles were beginning to cramp with the strain of her splayed position. Like everyone else, she had heard stories of the Warrior Princess and her ruthless brutality. She was under no illusion that she would be treated kindly, expecting pain and degredation to be her daily lot until she died of it, but she knew she must endure it until then, for the sake of her friends and family. It was well known that when the Warrior Princess made a threat she invariably carried it out, and Gabrielle knew without question that if she failed to please her mistress everyone she knew and loved would suffer and die. She also knew that if she could not endure the punishments that Xena was sure to mete out, if she died too soon, the warlord would find another innocent plaything. She didn't want to condemn anyone else to her own fate if she could possibly help it. Gabrielle held her breath as the doorflaps parted and Xena stepped into the tent. Even Gabrielle had to admit that the woman was magnificent. Tall, lean, tanned, muscled, resplendent in her golden armour, her twin swords at her waist and the infamous chakram lying against her hip, the Warrior Princess was more than striking. Yet, despite her almost inhuman strength and her tough lifestyle, she had not lost her femininity. Much to Gabrielle's disgust, the sight of the imposing warrior took her breath away. After silently staring at her captive for a while, enjoying the play of the flickering lights on her naked flesh, Xena strode over to the old table and slowly removed her weapons, her greaves and her armour. A brazier smoldered at the side of the table and now Xena poked at it with the rod that protruded at an angle from its coals. "Let me make your situation very clear, Gabrielle," she said loudly without turning to face the girl, "you are mine. You have bought your friends' lives with yourself." She let her hand drop from the poker and turned, sauntering up to the girl with a graceful, swaying gait. When she stood before her prisoner, she trailed a finger very slowly down the crevice between the blonde's generous breasts and crooned "you are so beautiful, Gabrielle. That's the main reason I chose you. You have a tangible, physical effect on me and I don't allow that to happen to me very often." The warlord stepped under her captive's arm and trailed her finger onto the girl's soft back, tracing smoothe, intricate patterns on her skin. "If you are obedient and serve my needs well and do not attempt to leave, I will treat you like a princess, my beauty. I will feed you and clothe you in finery and protect you from your enemies, and care for your when you are ill. You will be my queen." Gabrielle whimpered unconsciously as Xena's soft lips painted her back with kisses. "But, if you defy me again, in any way" Xena continued, "you will feel my wrath...just...like...this." On the last word Xena slashed her favourite bullwhip visciously on Gabrielle's back. The blonde had been soothed somewhat by Xena's words and so the sudden bite of the whip was all the more shocking to her. She jerked violently and screamed as the abrupt pain flashed through her. Xena swaggered around to face her gasping victim and, after thrusting her lips in to steal a kiss, said "learn this lesson well, Gabrielle. I really didn't want to do this so soon, but you have a strong, defiant spirit and, for your own good, I must teach you what will happen if you try to use it against me." The warrior hooked a finger under Gabrielle's chin and raised her face. She kissed the girl softly, tenderly, almost reverently, and when she pulled away she purred "please, Gabrielle, don't make me have to do this to you again. Learn now....please." Gabrielle was disconcertingly touched by the desperate sincerity in the warrior's voice and squeezed her eyes tightly shut against the anticipated thrashing. The soldiers that were grouped around the great campfire, discussing the day's haul, stopped to listen to the invigorating cries emanating from their commander's tent. The Warrior Princess was delivering a severe lashing to her latest acquisition, that much was clear. The strokes went on and on, so that even these hardened veterans lost count. Fifty.....sixty....eighty-five... "was that a hundred!?" asked Darphus. Fear tempered by profound respect for their mighty general bloomed anew in Xena's warriors that night. Gabrielle hung limply from her bonds, blood streaming from the many stripes on her back. She was conscious, but only just, the pain in her arms entirely forgotten as her back burned. Xena lifted the lolling blonde head, gently stroking hair from the girl's sweating, twitching face, and softly asked "have I made myself clear, Gabrielle? Do you understand?" She waited patiently for an answer as Gabrielle gathered her remaining strength together to gasp weakly "y..ye..ss." Xena smiled broadly and hugged her new slave, careful not to touch her tattered back. "There's just one more thing I have to do to you," she said, her tone strangely seductive despite her message, "then it will all be over." The warrior loosened her grip and walked slowly to the still smouldering brazier. "You are mine" she proclaimed, her voice suddenly sharp and clear, "and you will bear my mark." Gabrielle was too exhausted to scream at the sudden agony that seared through her chest as Xena pressed the red-hot branding iron into the flesh that covered her heart. * * * * * * The girl awoke face down in a pile of soft furs and moaned. "Don't try to move, Gabrielle" came the whispered command in her ear as the Warrior Princess crouched down beside her. Her back was stinging terribly and she winced and whimpered, balling her fists into the bedding. "I've washed and treated your wounds" Xena informed her, "you'll be fine in a few days, but you must be still." Gabrielle's lips moved and Xena bent down to place her ear closer to the quiet words. "Why...are you....being...so....kind?" asked the young girl, the confusion at her situation evident. Xena laughed and settled on the floor before she answered "because I like you, silly." She smiled at the grimace on the young face and tried to explain. "Gabrielle," she soothed as she carefully stroked the blonde hair that lay on her pillow, "you are strong and defiant, in a way I like that but I can't allow you to take advantage of my affection for you. I had to teach you how things are, I had to show you that you are mine to please or to kill as I see fit. I'm not going to break you as I do with my other slaves, I don't want you broken, I like you as you are. If I didn't like you so much I wouldn't have been so harsh, I would simply have let you make your mistakes and punnished you for them. But I don't want to have to punish you, Gabrielle. I want you to be happy with me and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are, but you must understand that however much I like you, you are still mine. I don't want to hurt you, but if I have to, I will, without any hesitation. I think you understand that now, don't you?" Over the following days, as Gabrielle healed, Xena was as good as her word. She cared for the girl almost as if she really loved her, tending to her every need and, when she was strong enough to get up, Xena took her out into the brilliant sunshine and introduced her to some of her camp followers. The warrior princess had made it very clear that if anyone else touched Gabrielle they would wake up mutilated or dead, and several of her fearless warriors backed away and averted their eyes from the vision of beauty that Xena lead around the camp. She was indeed lovely, now that she had been bathed and had recieved a little pampering. Xena had dressed her new woman in some of the finery that Gabrielle had seen that first night. A long gown of purple silk trimmed with silver braid covered her lithe young body, its neckline low to reveal the unsullied flesh of her chest. A string of Indian pearls encircled her neck, their surface picking up a slight tint of gold from her fine freeflowing hair as it fell gently around her shoulders. On her small feet she wore the jewel-encrusted slippers that Xena had pillaged from a Turkish noblewoman just a month before. The innocent village girl looked for all the world like a princess and, despite the harsh treatment she had initially recieved at Xena's hands, the warrior now treated her so well that she was beginning to feel a little like a princess too. She was under no illusions about her position here or that Xena would overlook any improprieties on her part, but she now felt that at least she could be comfortable here, and not have to live each day in fear for her life. There was, however, one thing that was worrying her right now as she walked around the camp on Xena's arm. The warrior princess had announced that afternoon that, now Gabrielle was recovered, she would complete her act of claiming by taking the girl's virginity, and tonight was the night! End of Episode 1 SW
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