Naked Warrior

Naked Warrior
PART ONE
He noticed her one day, sitting as still as a rock underneath the shade of a large tree. So still, he almost had missed her completely. But the scent of her femininity caught his attention and he stopped to seek the owner of such a desirable aroma, curiosity getting the better of him. She was sitting Indian-style, with both her feet resting atop her thighs. Her arms were completely at rest on her sides and her eyes were closed. She looked to be sleeping.

"What an odd position to be sleeping in!" he said out loud to himself, and then he laughed. "She must have been really tired to fall asleep while sitting."

Ares walked closer to the woman. She was breathing so quietly, one could easily have thought that she wasn't breathing at all. He stopped and listened intently for a moment. There was a definite pattern to it. Slow and deep in, through the mouth, slow and firm out the nose. Each breath identical in size and length. It was almost like she was under a spell . . .

Ares raised one eyebrow as he wondered which of his relatives might have had a hand in casting the poor girl into this catatonic state. What a waste of such beauty, too! He squatted down to look her over more closely. He envisioned what this mortal woman would have looked like if she were still full of life. Her golden hair would catch sunlight and her skin would drink it up, giving it it's lush color. Her eyes, blue - no green - would sparkle brightly and she would wear a shy smile upon her lovely face. Her tone body looked to be more eye-catching than a rainbow against a gray sky. Ares' cock began to stir when he started to think about how that body would feel under his. He gazed at her mellonous bosom, picturing his tongue sliding over the plump flesh and finding a nipple to swirl around. He reached out and caressed her cheek.

"What terrible act did you commit against a God to deserve such meaningless punishment?"

"No crime," she answered, startling the God of War. "This is not a punishment. It is absolute peace within one's self. Or, at least, it was, that is." She snapped open her eyes and bore them into the figure before her.

Ares quickly stood, gaining the higher position as a show of his superiority over her. He was thrilled that her eyes were in fact green. And full of life, too!

"Then you were praying? Whom were you worshiping?" he demanded to know. And why aren't you worshiping me? he added in thought.

"I was meditating. I worship no God." She sounded surprised that he did not already know that.

We'll see about that, he thought.

"Unless you have a specific reason for interrupting me, could you please excuse yourself, so I may get back to my exercise?"

"Pardon me? I don't think I understood you correctly." This mortal did not just tell the God of War to get lost, did she? He felt a bit put off.

"I was trying to ask you politely to LEAVE." She paused a moment and when he did not move, she repeated her request. "So . . . leave."

"You obviously are NOT aware of who I am."

"I don't care if you're the King of Corinth. I wish to be left alone."

Ares ignored her response. He was becoming quite agitated with this disrespectful woman, however beautiful she may be. Insolence was something he did not tolerate.

"I am Ares, God of War."

"You could be Zeus himself and it wouldn't matter to me. I have no use for the Olympian Gods. Now, do I have to spell it out for you? G - O - A - W - A - Y." She had unlocked herself from her odd sitting position and stood up.

Her eyes narrowed and burned with a passionate anger, as she looked the God in his face. It only fueled Ares' desire to dominate her.

"You, mortal, are out of line. You do not give a GOD orders! If you were not serving a punishment for disrespecting a God, you surely have earned one now!" He snapped his fingers and they both disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived in one of Ares' temples, in the main throne room. She was already tied and bound to a heavy metal chair. Although there was no gag around her head, she could not speak. Ares had obviously cast a silencing spell on her.

He slowly circled around her a few times. Occasionally running his thumb and forefinger down the sides of his jawbone, appearing to be deep in thought. She had on battle leathers, light brown in color, but seemed to be missing the protective armor. A slight smile crossed his face watching her struggle to try and free herself. Who are you and why have we not crossed paths before? the War God wondered. When he saw the determination in her useless struggle against his restraints, he began to think she might make a good warrior. Her beauty, an added reward for his taking. He had been quite bored as of late. Perhaps she could "entertain" him for a while.

"What is your name, woman?"

She had no choice but to answer him; it was part of the spell he had cast.

"Daria."

"Daria, huh? So then, you are Greek?"

"Yes. Both my mother and father were born in Athens."

"Then why do show such disrespect in the presence of a Greek God? Did your parents not teach you to give thanks and worship the Gods?"

"Yes. They lived their entire lives in devotion to you thankless creatures." There was much hatred in the girl's voice. Ares quickly assessed that something had happened in her life that turned her away from the gods. A challenge, he thought. Perhaps I can bring you back around again.

"Thankless creatures? My, my, such blasphemy! Those are the kinds of remarks that will get you in trouble, young Daria." His eyebrows were ed, ed, which caused his forehead to crinkle, and he looked at her down his nose. "So tell me, why are we Gods such thankless creatures?"

Daria struggled with herself, trying to keep silent, but it was useless against Ares' spell. "Because, you let them perish for reasons they had no control over."

"I let them perish? I did no such thing. Why, I didn't even know your parents. They certainly didn't worship me. Tell me what happened. I want to know more. "

Daria's eyes began to fill as she recalled that terrible day in the city's temple. It was the twelfth anniversary of Hera's acceptance of the village. Hera had her temple built and everyone who lived there vowed his or her live to her. Those who refused were vaporized with a lightening bolt or burnt to a crisp with a ball of fire.

Daria had only been nine at the time. Her family lived on a small farm just outside the village. She and her parents went to the temple that day to bring their offering to the Goddess and received their blessing for prosperity. They had not done so well that past year. Daria's father had been badly beaten by a bandit on their way to make the offering the previous year. Due to his injuries, they unfortunately did not make it into town to give thanks to Hera. Because of this, they did not receive the blessing of prosperity.

Many hardships fell upon the simple folk the following year. The last of which being a terrible disease that fell amongst their livestock. All the animals had died, except one sickly cow that died shortly after giving birth, leaving behind her newly born, deformed calf. The disease had also affected the poor baby calf, and normally, Daria’s father would have put it out of its misery, but it was the only thing they had left to offer to Hera that year. They gathered the pathetic animal, and Daria, her mother, and her father headed into town.

The God of War studied her intently as he circled around her again, waiting for her answer. He grew impatient. "Well?"

"The only offering my parents had to give in exchange for the blessing of prosperity was rejected. They were told that they had insulted the Goddess by bringing her a diseased calf. My father's life was to be taken in retribution for the act, and my mother was kept for the guards' pleasures. I found her dead the next morning. Her bruised and beaten body was dumped outside the temple gates."

"Why were you not also taken?"

"Because my father would not let me enter the main offering area. He had heard that Hera was not tolerant of children and he feared that I might anger the Goddess somehow. He was already concerned about showing up with such an unworthy gift, but it was ALL we had.

"My parents were willing to give the only thing of value they had. Even after such a terrible and unfruitful year. Still, it was not good enough." Daria began to weep, partially from the sorrow of the loss of her family, partially from her anger and hatred for the Gods.

Ares reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. She flinched away from his touch. So he took her chin in his large hand and turned her face to his.

"It is true that Hera demanded the best offerings from her followers. And she had killed many mortals whose gifts did not please her. It is sad that your family was not shown any leniency, young Daria, but that still does not tell me why you hate all the Gods for the actions of one."

"The fruit never falls far from the tree," she remarked in disgust.

"What does THAT mean?" Ares snapped back.

"It means that ALL you Gods are cut from the same cloth. You are Hera's son, are you not? And what is your title, again?"

Ares walked over to his throne, sat down, and looked at her harshly. "Yes, I am the son of Hera and Zeus. And I am the God of WAR!" Ares' chest puffed out as he spoke. He was proud to be the God of War. He was a strong and powerful God, feared and respected across the land. And his following had grown to be twice the number Hera had in her days of ruling. His temples had slowly replaced those belonging to his mother over the past years, and even more so since Hercules had trapped her in the abyss of Tartarus.

"War, huh? You're probably even more cruel than Hera," Daria mumbled under her breath. She didn't think Ares heard her, yet his dark, black eyes were burning through her like a dagger, making her quite uncomfortable. She pulled at ropes that held her to the chair again.

After a few moments of silence, Ares waved his hand, making the ropes disappear, and removed the silencing spell from her. She immediately stood and spoke her mind freely.

"What do you want with me, War God? I have nothing to offer you. You certainly don't need any more worshippers, and I would rather die first than be forced to serve you."

Ares’ eyes dropped down the length of her body. She was young and fit, with a curvaceous shape and full, round breasts. The muscles in her long, strong legs were well defined, which indicated to the War God that she engaged in some sort of regular training exercise. Her eyes burned with fire, showing her bravery and courage, and he actually liked the fact that she was not afraid to stand up to him. Oh! Yes, my dear, he thought, you will be a tough one to break! But I will certainly enjoy the rewards of your body when I do! He smirked.

"Why do you wear battle leathers and no armor?" he asked.

Daria tried to hide the truth from him, now that the spell was lifted. "I stole the leathers from a warlord’s camp . . ." She noticed that he was smirking at her now. " . . . after his soldiers had captured me and stripped me bare to keep me from escaping."

The truth was she had traded them to a street peddler for some food last week. She had no other choice after she had befriended a small orphan boy who ran off with her pouch of dinars while she slept. Part of the reason she had been meditating today was to keep her mind off her grumbling stomach.

"No, you didn't," he laughed and stood up and walked to her. "Why do you tell such a story? I know about the peddler. There's nothing wrong with that. You did what you had to do to survive."

"Well, if you already knew what happened, then why did you ask?" Daria stared at the floor, completely embarrassed at being caught in a lie. She should have known better in dealing with a God, forgetting they could look into one's mind.

"Because, I wanted to hear what you would tell me." Ares circled around her, although this time he moved so close to her, his shoulder brushed against hers. He stopped in front of her and put both his hands on her forearms.

"I have decided to help you, young Daria. Tonight you will be my guest. You will bathe, feast, and rest peacefully, and tomorrow I will give you new armor and a weapon to take with you on your journeys."

Daria brought her own arms up between them and pushed them outward, knocking Ares’ grip from her body. She backed away from him.

"I want nothing from you, God of War," she said with contempt.

"Oh, come now, child." He reached up and caressed her cheek. "I refuse to let you leave here until you've given me a chance to show you that not all of us Gods are terrible and cruel. I am not responsible for the destruction that Hera caused. Just like Apollo or Aphrodite are not to blame for anything I may do on the battlefield. We are all independent of one another. Now, my servant will take you to your chambers so you may wash before dinner." He brought his arm down in front of his stomach and bowed to her as he took a step backward. He disappeared in a flash of light before she had a chance to object.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daria stood there looking at the empty place in which the God had just been standing, shaking her head.

"GODS!" she exclaimed. This one is really confusing. Threatening one moment, thoughtful the next. She wondered what his real intentions might be. She had nothing to give, and although she had been training herself to fight, she was no warrior. But he had a way about him, so charming and good looking. It made her trust him even less. She was not worldly, but she knew enough about men and their ways. Especially the good looking, charming ones.

A moment later the door opened, and a short, elderly lady entered, beckoning Daria to follow her.   They entered another room off the large main hallway where two more servant girls were preparing her bath.  She undressed and got in, allowing the servant girls to cater to her.  When she was done, she reached for her old clothes.
 

"Oh, no - no, milady," one girl spoke up.  "The Master would like you to wear this."  She held up a beautiful, long chiffon gown.  It was a mixture of deep purple and black with streaks of violet weaved throughout.  It had a low neckline, although it still covered all of her "assets", and it tied at the waist with a solid black strip of material.  She was surprised that it fit perfectly.

She ran her hands over the material of the skirt.  It felt so soft.  She couldn't remember the last time she had worn something so pretty.  It really made her feel like a lady.  The servant girls finished readying her and left.  Shortly thereafter, the same elderly woman showed at the door again.
 

"Lord Ares is ready to receive you."  She waited for Daria to join her as she led her down the long hallway once more to another room.
 

"My, this place is huge!  Where exactly are we?"   The elderly woman did not answer her.
 

They soon reached a set of double doors at the end of the hallway.  The woman opened them, revealing a small flight of stairs that fanned out into a huge round room.  There was no ceiling, just a spectacular covering of stars that looked like sparkling diamonds against black velvet.  Off to one side, there was a small rectangular table set up with food:  fruits, breads, meats, and vegetables.  There was another table, this one round, set up directly in the middle of the room.  The table covering was made of fine white lace with an elegant design and there was a decanter of wine sitting on top.
 

On the floor opposite of the table with food, there were at least thirty large, puffy pillows, made of different fabrics and colors.  Some had silk tassels; others had pretty accents of jewels.  Ares was casually lounging amongst them, looking out into the night sky as if he were studying each star's position to another.  He was wearing black leather pants and boots, but rather than his usual matching vest, he had on a silk shirt that was the same deep purple color as Daria's dress.   He had not bothered to lace up the front of it, leaving the beautiful bronze skin on his muscular chest exposed.  The soft, dark mass of hair matched in color with that on his head, and seemed to grow in a way that lead the eye downward to his nether region. 
 

He heard the doors open and shut and turned to look towards the stairs.  Daria stood at the top, looking as lovely a vision as any of the Goddesses he knew on Mt. Olympus.  Her long hair hung loosely in both front and back, and covered most of the exposed neckline that the dress had not.  He smiled at her, motioning her to join him, and as she descended the stairs, her gown flowed artistically behind her.  She stopped a few feet in front of the God and bowed her head respectfully.
 

"Lord Ares."
 

"My sweet, young Daria.  You are radiant!   I hope the gown is to your liking."

"Yes it is, thank you.  But it was not necessary . . ."

"Ah, ah," he interrupted her, holding a finger in the air at her.  "I know you do not want to accept any gifts from me, a God, but it would be a direct insult for you to refuse.  You need only to appease me for one night.  What you choose to do with my gifts after you have left is up to you.  Keep them, sell them, it mas nos not to me, young Daria."

She opened her mouth in rebuttal, but then decided against it. She bowed slightly instead.

"Thank you, Lord Ares."

He tilted his head back a little and looked at her through seductive eyes, curving a small smile with his closed lips.

"You're welcome, my dear! Now, child, you must be starved. Let us sit and feast and you can tell me of all your travels." He stood and stretched his arm out towards the table as an indication to move there. Before she reached the table, he hurried around her and pulled the chair out for her to sit in. She paused and looked surprisingly at him and then adjusted her gown so it wouldn't bunch up beneath her and sat down. She was obviously not expecting the God of War to be such a gentleman.
Standing behind her as he scooted in her chair, he caught a hint of the lilac the servants had used to bathe her in. Although no one knew, lilac was one of Ares' favorite fragrances - so utterly feminine, the smell always seemed to trigger a wild passion within him, an unquenchable desire to submerge himself a pool of womanly pleasures. One of his arms lightly brushed against her shoulder and he silently gasped at the softness of her skin. Quickly, he moved to the other side of the table and sat down. He pored them both some wine and clapped his hands together twice. Three servants entered the room and began to serve the food.

Between the wine and the conversation, Daria started to relax more and more as the evening progressed. She found this God was not only intelligent, but also funny, charming, and attentive. Where she had first hesitated to speak of her life, she was now responding to his inquiries with ease, even elaborating on details at times.

After Daria and Ares finished eating, they moved to the mass of pillows with their wine and continued to talk. She sat in her funny Indian-style position while Ares lounged on his side with his head propped against a bent arm. His natural charm worked magic on Daria's misconceptions about the Gods. Well, this God, anyway. He honestly could care less if she liked the others. As a matter of fact, it was better she didn't. A mortal devoted totally to one God was like a point on the Top God chalkboard. He and Apollo were always running neck in neck.

She set down her goblet and lay all the way back on the pillows next to him, staring up into the night sky. Her eyes suddenly grew wide and she pointed upwards as she saw a star shooting across the open ceiling.

"Wow! Did you see that? Beautiful!" she sighed.

Ares had no interest in the stars at this point. Not when he had such a vision of beauty in front of him that far surpassed any star's radiance.

"Yes, beautiful," he purred as he tenderly ran a finger across her cheek. Daria responded by leaning into his touch. She closed her eyes and softly sighed. She reached up and took his hand from her face and rubbed it between her fingers, slightly squeezing it at the same time.

"Your skin is so soft. I would have never thought that you are a warrior from your touch." She opened her eyes again and looked up at his handsome face. His inviting lips were perfectly framed by his trim beard, and his dark, curly locks fell forward around his face as his looked down at her, smiling.
When their eyes met, she fell deep within them, causing her to feel lightheaded. Maybe she had drank too much wine, or maybe it was because she was laying down, she thought to herself, trying to break free from their capture.

They did not speak for a long moment, letting their body language convey the volume of attraction between the two of them. The entire evening, Daria had been trying to ignore the way he was making her feel. But between the pretty silk dress and the fragrant perfume she had been bathed in, his attention made her feel more like a woman than she ever had in her life. She was suddenly very aware of her own body and realized she had womanly desires.

Ares slowly leaned in closer to her and gently touched his luscious, full lips to hers and then pulled away and smiled. She blushed, unsure of what to make of the gesture.

"You are very beautiful, young Daria. You, indeed, are fortunate to have been able to keep such an innocence about you after being on your own for so long." He sighed heavily, sat up and continued, "Many orphans have come to my temples wishing to acquire the fighting skills of a warrior. Boys and girls alike, some younger than you. By the time they reach my gates, they're full of rage and hatred, hardened by the cruelties of life that surrounded them." He picked up his goblet of wine and took a drink. He stared into the clear, rose-colored liquid in the cup he held for a moment, then set down the cup again and turned his attention back to Daria. He reached over and caressed her cheek.

"But you, young Daria, you remain unscathed by such cruelties. And without the protection of a God, no less! You are either extremely lucky or very smart."

Daria shrugged. "Maybe a little of both," she replied. "But I have to admit that I, too, am interested in learning to fight. I have seen danger, and though I have been fortunate enough to have avoided most thus far, one day my luck is bound to run out and I want to be prepared."

Ares raised an eyebrow in interest at the young girl’s desire to learn to fight. "Perhaps this is the reason our paths have crossed, Daria. Maybe you have a special purpose to fulfil and up until now, the Fates have directed your journey to avoid confrontations. But I know, as do the Fates, that it is impossible to avoid it completely. It is possible that you are being redirected."

Ares moved and got comfortable lying next to her. They were both on their backs, side by side, looking at the stars. He tilted his head slightly to the side so it touched hers and then pointed to a particular cluster of light in the blackness.

"Do you see that star?" he asked.

"I see a bunch of stars," she joked.

"No, the one really bright one? There!"

"Oh, yes. I see it. What about it?"

"Well, Zeus named every star before tossing it into the blackness. That star is named Daria. It means Small Great One. Perhaps you have been named Daria on purpose."
She pondered his words for a long while. She rolled over onto her stomach and looked at the God’s face. "Do you think I have a special purpose?"

He smiled at Daria with a sensuous look in his eye. "Yes, I do. I think there is a specific reason you were brought to my attention . . . other than the obvious one, that is!"
"What do you mean? What obvious reason?"

Ares chuckled. She was so naïve.

"Why, this one, of course!" He grabbed both of her shoulders and pulled her body on top of his and then enclosed his arms around her as he kissed her deeply. Daria resisted at first, but then her body started to sing to her mind, soothing her fears, and she began to kiss him back. She found that she was enjoying the sensations he was giving her and she didn’t want him to stop. When he finally broke their kiss, she moaned in disappointment.

"Now, now, my sweet. Patience, we have all night." He suddenly rolled over on top of her, and Daria began to giggle and squirm, trying to move away from him, but his weight pinned her beneath him and it was useless. Ares grabbed her wrists and held them above her head with one hand. With the other, he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, exposing some of her neck.

"I think it’s time for desert, my sweet!" he said rather brazenly as his deep, dark eyes captured hers once more.

Daria suddenly felt fear from the way he spoke and was looking at her. She tried to free her hands, but he just increased the strength of his grip. He lowered his head and nuzzled in her neck, lightly biting at the tender skin.

"NO!" she cried. "STOP. PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!" She was in tears now.

Ares was completely taken by surprise by her reaction. To him, this was just a little teasing, playing around. But to the innocent young Daria, it seemed like he was forcing himself upon her. He released her immediately and she sat up and scooted back away from him. Her eyes were wide with shock.

"What do you think you were doing, you . . . you - God?"

He looked at her quizzically at first and then it dawned on him that she was probably still a virgin. The thought pleased him and made him want her even more now, but he didn’t want to destroy the progress he had just made with her.

"I apologize, Daria. I tend to get a little carried away sometimes. Most women want me to be aggressive. But you’re not like most women, are you? You’re still inexperienced." His voice was soft and apologetic as he spoke, and his eyes showed sincerity. He stood and walked to her, offering his hand to help her up from the floor.

"Perhaps we should call it a night and you should get some rest. I’m sure you’ll want to get going at first light, right?"

Daria took a deep breath. She had overreacted – again. She found that she did that many times in the past with various situations. It was just a natural response for her to do so, since she was always traveling alone and had to protect herself somehow.

She reached for his hand and allowed him to help her up. The look of fear was gone but had been replaced by embarrassment. She found it hard to look the God in the eye.

"I’m sorry, Ares. It’s really not your fault. I just got a little scared – that’s all. I don’t usually get so comfortable around other people and you just took me by surprise when my guard was down." She finally looked up at him.

"I understand, Daria. It won’t happen again, I assure you," Ares said in a very formal-sounding way.
The look of disappointment on Daria’s face at his response caused the War God to keel over with laughter. Now she was confused and frustrated.

"What’s so funny?" she demanded to know.

He could barely get the words out between his howls. "Your face!"

"What about it? What’s wrong with my face?"

Ares finally composed himself somewhat, although a large, stupid grin remained on his face.

"When I told you that it wouldn’t happen again, you grimaced, and then looked almost angry. You want me to continue, don’t you? You liked it, you’re just unsure about it."

Daria's face turned red. He was right. She had been enjoying his attentions quite a bit, and the kissing had made her feel... desirable. He made her feel like a woman and she wanted to feel that way again.

Ares stepped closer to her and swooped her into his arms, pulling her tightly to his hard body in a hug.

"You want me. I can tell, young Daria. But we will have to move a little slower from now on. Now, off to bed with you." He separated her from his embrace and swatted her on the ass twice as he pushed her towards the door. She stopped after a couple of steps and turned back around. "Go on, now. I’ll still be here in the morning," he said as he grinned.

She opened her mouth to say something, but instead ran back to him and kissed his cheek.

"Good night, War God."

"Good night, young Daria."