The Love of War

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters of the Hercules/Xena universes. They belong to Renaissance Pictures. I don't profit from my writing in any other way than satisfaction. I would be very satisfied if I owned Cupid and Strife. Who wouldn't?

WARNING: If you don't know by now that this is the other universe and the characters aren't the same, and then you haven't been paying attention. Shame on you.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Silvered glass mirrors didn't come about until the Renaissance. But, this universe has never been too concerned by too much historical accuracy.

The Love of War, Part Five

Demetrius tried to hide a smile without much success. He hadn't expected it, so it had given him a delightful surprise. When he'd realized it, he had to look at his companion with new eyes. This new facet to the gem of her personality was sparkling. Jessie, the woman who had killed three attackers without much difficulty, who had displayed her lethal dance before the altar to the God of War, had a tiny bit of vanity. Maybe more than a tiny bit.

The riveted leather scales that he had pulled out to add on to Jessie's back and breastplate were a couple of shades lighter than the ones that made up the armor. And, rather than give her armor an 'added on' appearance, Jessie had gone to the trouble of taking apart the original scales in several places to add on a line of the new. The result being that the armor now looked like the newer, paler scales were accents in the original design; four lines of the dark to one line of the pale. She had also added the new scales in a starburst pattern around the symbol of War. The effect was quite striking; it didn't look like the same breastplate.

His arthritic hands had been unable to help, so he had handed her tools, made them mugs of tea, and watched. The tip of her tongue had eventually crept out of the corner of her mouth to be caught between her teeth as she concentrated on her task. She looked adorable. He smiled and refilled her mug, shaking his head. As she finished, he went to get her a tunic to wear under her armor.

Jessie unbent from her task with a sigh. Finished. She arched her back and heard it pop. She looked down at her armor with a smile of accomplishment. The shiny bronze rivets on each scale gleamed in the light. There were enough studs to turn away most of a blow, but she was used to getting a few bruises in a fight from her time in martial arts practice. She held it up to her front to check the length, careful not to rest the still damp glue on her borrowed tunic. Damn, she missed her needle-nosed pliers. Her fingers ached from pulling the leather needle. Just adding on the new scales would have been faster, but she couldn't do it. The sensitivity about her height surfaced at the oddest times. She just couldn't wear anything that looked 'added on to'. It came from the many times she had tried on pretty clothes, only to have them be too short. No worries this time, the breastplate was long enough now.

Demetrius came back with leather and cloth in his arms. The leather was a pair of trousers that laced up the side, just like in her dream last night. Hmmmnn. Weird. The cloth was a tunic made of some absorbent fabric, almost like terry cloth, but not quite. Jessie held up the pants and to her surprise, they were the right length.

"I have a grandson about your height." He answered her unspoken question. "The lacing should provide the right fit for your...body type."

Jessie smiled at the polite words. How had someone who had plainly been a soldier had such good manners? She wanted to ask, but her own good manners prevented it.

"Will your fellow priests return today?" She asked.

"They should be arriving any time now." He confirmed.

As if on cue, they heard a commotion coming from the courtyard. Demetrius left the room while Jessie put away the supplies and tools. She cleaned up the drops of spilled glue with a rag and laid her breastplate face down on the table to dry. She washed the residue from her hands and was just turning to leave when Demetrius returned with a younger man in tow. The younger man was wearing robes that were almost identical to Demetrius, but his had a little less decoration. He also had the look of a retired soldier. He was still quite handsome, with aquiline features, iron gray hair and a scar that ran along his jaw line. He looked to be in his late thirties early forties. She guessed that she was looking at the second in command of the Temple of War.

"Jessie, this is my successor, Nikos." He introduced the other man. Jessie nodded in a friendly fashion, but didn't offer her hand. She didn't know the protocol for meeting a priest of War, her meeting with Demetrius yesterday hadn't given her anything to go by.

Nikos eyed the woman with a fascination that he couldn't quite hide. She was tall, he noted with surprise, as tall as he was. Wisps of dark chestnut hair were curling around her face and he could see that most of it was pulled back into a fat braid. The dark maroon tunic contrasted nicely with her pale skin and highlighted her dark blue eyes. He could also see from size of her wrists and what was exposed of her arms that she was no stranger to martial arts. That was also evident from the balanced way she held herself. By contrast, her smile was open and friendly even if her eyes were measuring.

Demetrius saw the interest rising in his subordinate and gave a purely internal sigh. He couldn't blame the man, but he needed to let him know the situation. Poaching on the territory of their God was never a good idea, and Demetrius didn't want to train another man if Cupid decided to smite Nikos for trying to get Jessie into his bed.

"Jessie, why don't you go try on the tunic and pants to see if they fit?" The High Priest suggested. He needed the woman out of the room to brief his fellow priest and prevent immolation.

"Probably a good idea." Jessie nodded. "I might have to make some alterations to the tunic too and get the proper lacing for the pants." She smiled at the two men and left the room.

"Forget about it, Nikos." Demetrius said bluntly. "She isn't for you."

Nikos had watched Jessie leave the room and he turned to his mentor with a surprised look on his face. Demetrius seldom interfered with the amorous life of the priests, but now he looked as though Nikos was trying to seduce one of Artemis' temple virgins.

"Why?" He asked just a bluntly as the older man. "Who is she for? You? I didn't think that you had those inclinations anymore."

"I'd have to be dead not to have those 'inclinations'," Demetrius said wryly. "But, seducing Jessie would not be good for your health. She is for the God." He cut off the protestations that were coming from the other man with a slicing motion of his hand. Then, he quickly gave a run down of what had transpired the day before.

"A noteworthy first kill doesn't mean the God wants her." She looked like such a delightful handful.

"She made Blood Offering last night." Demetrius gave the death knell to his successor's hopes. Nikos winced. "I don't think that she knew the significance of what she did, but Cupid was very interested. If she hadn't had such a day yesterday, our Lord would have gotten her last night."

"How do you know?" He protested weakly.

"He was here."

Nikos gave one last sigh as he wistfully looked at the closed door. Ah, well. If the Lord wanted her, it wouldn't be a good idea to show anymore interest. Nikos didn't have any immediate plans on meeting with Apollo, Lord of the Dead.

"I know, Nikos. If Cupid hadn't looked like a starving lion sighting a wounded doe, I'd be delighted to keep her here for you." Demetrius clapped his underling on the shoulder. It wouldn't have been a hardship to try and talk the young woman into staying and training others in her martial dances if he thought for a moment that she would accept. She wouldn't stay though; he had seen the determination to find out why she was here in their talk last night. And his Lord wouldn't seduce a woman is His temple now that the rest of the priests were back, it might cause dissent among His few female priests.

"As you say, Hand of War." Nikos gave his mentor his title with a disconsolate grunt. "I could wish His taste and mine weren't so similar. Is she fit to be His consort?"

"I think so." Demetrius gave his fellow priest a wicked grin. "I don't think that she is going to make it easy for him. I think our Lord is in for a merry hunt."


Jessie had to let out the laces, especially in the hips in her new breeches. Apparently, Demetrius' grandson was a bit lean. The length was good, falling a little past her ankles; just how she liked her pants to fit. The sleeveless tunic wouldn't need any modification, it fit pretty well. She was looking to see how it fit in the back when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." She was decent. A bulky young man came into the room with a stick of charcoal, a slate and a piece of leather. He was wearing a leather apron that had scars of use and bits of old glue on it. He took a string from his belt; it had knots in even spaces for measurement. He had a comfortable face, the kind that would wear well with maturity.

"I'm Spiros, Lady. Lord Demetrius sent me to get your measure for boots." He said with a deferential bob of his head. He laid the piece of leather on the floor and motioned for Jessie to step onto it. She did and he used the charcoal to trace both of her feet. Then he wrapped the string around her calves in several places and just under her knees. He made some notations with his stylus on the slate, mumbling under his breath.

"Do you have a preference for color, Lady?"

"Make them to match the breeches, please." He made another notation on the slate.

"You'll have them tomorrow, Lady." He left, still mumbling under his breath. He reminded her of one of the craftsman of her Renaissance group. Armand did the same thing when he was making sword sheaths.

Tomorrow. It meant another night here. It also meant that Demetrius was taking her spending another night in the Temple of War as a given. She almost wanted to leave today, just to be perverse. But, since it was a long way to Delphi, having a pair of hopefully well- fitting boots would be a good thing and Demetrius had been a good host up to now. A very good host. He was giving her armor, maps, and footwear, so she would stay another night and be gracious.

There was another knock at the door. This time, it was a boy of eleven or twelve, coming to get her blood stained jeans and tank top for cleaning. He assured her that at this temple, bloodstains could be gotten out of her clothes. Apparently, the laundresses were accustomed to them.

The boy came back with a deferential invitation to join Demetrius and Spiros for dinner. There was a strange look in the kid's eye as he passed on the message. Almost as if he knew something that Jessie didn't. Since she didn't think that Demetrius would poison her at this point, she wondered what the kid was thinking. There was a bit of reverence in the boy's eyes, like he was looking at a hero or something. Since she doubted that the priests had been here long enough for the story of yesterday's activities to have already made the rounds, the look was a bit unsettling.

She passed on her acceptance and went to the baths. There was nobody there, which was odd to her mind. You'd think that they would all be getting clean after traveling, but there was no one present. She bathed quickly and left her hair loose. She had a feeling that both men would appreciate it. When she returned to the room, a new tunic of deep blue was waiting for her on the bed.

She changed into the new tunic and looked at herself in the mirror. She turned her head to one side and then the other. Maybe she should put her hair up. It might give Nikos the wrong idea about her. She wasn't looking to form any attachments in this universe, especially to a priest of War. Then she saw some hair ornaments on the table next to the mirror.

Okay, that was creepy. She just decided to put her hair up and suddenly, there are combs to do it with. She didn't think she saw them when she came in. Of course, she could have just missed them sitting over there. She pursed her lips and considered for a moment. Then she shrugged. Why would the gods be interested in her?

She pulled a stool over to the table and attended to her hair.

Cupid watched his priests dine with his woman in his scrying mirror while he lounged in his throne like chair. He could see interest sparkling in Nikos eyes, but his Second made no move to seduce Jessie. Good. Demetrius might not survive long enough to adequately train another successor.

His mirror allowed him to see Jessie with her hair in an elaborate twist anchored with the combs that he had sent her. He was glad that she had used them; it allowed him to see the elegant line of her neck. The blue of her tunic brought out her eyes. The clingy nature of the fabric outlined her figure wonderfully.

"Daddy, whatcha doing?" A familiar little voice asked. Bliss' timing was as good as ever. He was getting a lot quieter on approach too.

"Checking up on one of my temples, sweetheart." Technically, it was true. He didn't want to explain Jessie just yet.

"Who are they?"

"That is Demetrius, the high priest," Cupid pointed to the old man. "And that is Nikos, his second."

"And her?" Of course the Godling of Mischief would be even more curious then most. Or, it just might be that all children were that way.

"A guest of the temple, Bliss." Also not a lie. How could he get his son's attention off the mirror? "What did you do at Grandpa's today?" As a diversionary tactic, it proved to be a good. Bliss climbed up into his father's lap and excitedly told of the many things that he had done that day. Luckily, none of them were quite as bad as the bathing room incident. The little godling's voice got higher and higher and his little wings were flapping wildly.

Cupid smiled at his son's chatter. The godling was a constant source joy in his life. While Bliss told his daddy about finding Aunt Eris' edible body paints and adding stripes to his feathers, Cupid carefully blanked the mirror.

Cupid counted himself and the rest of Olympus lucky that Aunt Eris had been able to keep Bliss from finding her potions. So far.

Eris looked at the mess on the table with a sigh. Little jars and pots were open, upended, and spilled everywhere. Bright colors mixed in garish combinations and the food smells were enough to make anyone hungry. Eris dipped her finger in a particular eye screaming combination and lifted it to her lips. Hmmmn. Raspberry and lemon.

Bliss had looked like he'd dipped his wings in a rainbow. She had come into the room to find her little nephew smeared with all the colors she had come up with so far and wearing such a smile of accomplishment that she couldn't get very mad. She had to scold him, though. He knew that he wasn't allowed in her workshop and he was supposed to be napping. She had taken the little godling by the sticky hand and took him to his grandfather. Ares had taken one look at his colorful grandson and had burst out laughing. The resulting boost of mischief energy to Bliss had made sure that there was no nap today. Once Ares had gotten his mirth in control, he had told his grandson to stay out of Auntie Eris' workshop. Bliss didn't like anyone playing with his toy soldiers, didn't he? The same went for Auntie Eris' toys. Then, the two gods of Love had captured the image of the rainbow streaked Godling of Mischief in a scrying mirror and put it up on the wall. It was so cute and could be used as blackmail material when he got older.

Eris had been tempted to send her great nephew back to his father as is and let him drip colored paint on the polished black marble of the House of War, but had decided to clean him up anyway. She just thought him clean rather than attempting to get him into a bath. The Goddess of Love was fairly certain that the God of War bathed his son the old fashioned way as tactical battlefield practice. Bathing Bliss was certainly a physical exercise as well and the only physical exercise she got wasn't bathing her great nephew.

She cleaned up her workroom with a wave of her hand and then summoned one of her scrying mirrors. It was time to check up on the mortal woman that had been chosen by the Fates. Jessie's image appeared on the silvered glass. She was smiling and eating with two priests of War. Eris gave the woman a considering look. Nice. She was certainly pretty enough, even if she wasn't as gorgeous as a goddess. Her eyes sparkled with spirit and intelligence. Strife would be interested. Maybe she could be a grandmother by the end of the year.