The battle had been raging for days now and showed no sign of letting up. The battle field was lined with dead bodies on both sides. The sound of steel clashing against steel rang out over the open field as the remaining warriors continued the fight. Niobe's once undefeated army was dwindling fast. The barbarians were relentless and had no intention of giving up. Nor did Niobe.
These were the people who had attacked her village when she was a child. They killed everyone including her father. Niobe had vowed revenge on them. She spent years searching for them. Now that she had them, she was not about to let them get away. About half a dozen of the ruthless killers had her surrounded now. She hacked and slashed at them and one by one they fell dead at her feet. The barbarian chieftain sat mounted upon a coal black war horse as he glared at the young woman. Niobe gave a sharp whistle and her own horse, a majestic roan stallion, appeared.
Niobe climbed into Fury's saddle and with a Xena-like war cry galloped toward him with her sword drawn. The barbarian saw her coming and raised his battle axe as he prepared for her attack. Niobe raised her sword high above her head ready to bring it down upon the barbarian's skull. But before she could the barbarian swung his axe outward at her slicing across her midriff and Niobe tumbled from Fury's saddle......
.....Niobe awoke in strange surroundings. She was lying in a bed and her wounds were dressed. She struggled to sit up and looked around the small room for her armor and weapons but saw no sign of them. There was a trunk against the far wall and Niobe assumed she would find her things here. She threw back the covers and swung her long legs over the side of the bed. Just as she was about to stand someone else entered the room.
"Well, look who's awake," said a cheerful woman. "Who are you?" Niobe asked. "My name's Helena," said the older woman. "Well, Helena," said Niobe,"Would you kindly tell me where I am and how I got here?" "Of course," said Helena,"All your questions will be answered. But first you've got to get back into bed."
Helena walked over to Niobe and began helping her back into bed. "What are you doing?" Niobe said. "Please, you must lay down," Helena insisted as she began covering Niobe with the blankets. Niobe pushed her hands away. "I can take care of myself," she said,"I'm not a helpless child." Helena just looked at her for a moment. "Of course you're not, dear," she said,"I'll just go and fetch the healer." And with that she left.
It wasn't long before she returned. "The healer is here," Helena said before leaving once more. A young man about Niiobe's age entered the room. He was very handsome. His light brown hair reached just past his shoulders and he had amazing bright blue eyes. The youn man stood about six feet tall and had an average build.
He smiled pleasantly as he entered the room going over to sit on the edge of Niobe's bed. "Hello," he said,"How are you feeling this morning?" Niobe said nothing. "Not in the mood to talk, huh?" he said, "That's fine. My name is Nichos. I'm just going to take a look at your wound here." He pulled the blankets back and reached over to lift Niobe's night shirt.
She slapped his hand away. "What do you think you're doing?" she said. "Well, you can talk," Nichos said, "I was just going to take a look at your wound." he reached toward her again and again Niobe slapped his hand away. "Look, if I don't check your wound I can't tell if it's healing alright or not," Nichos said. He reached toward her once more.
This time Niobe allowed him to look at the wound across her midriff. She watched him in silence, her brown eyes observing every move he made. Nichos touched her stomach gently. His flesh felt warm and smooth against her own. Niobe felt a sort of tingling sensation rush through her body as Nichos moved his hand over the wound. ~Get a hold of yourself, Niobe~ she thought ~You're being ridiculous.~
Nichos looked up at her, his blue eyes dancing with laughter as he smiled at her. ~Gods, but he's cute~ "Everything seems to be healing nicely," he told her, "You should be back on your feet in no time." "The sooner the better," Niobe said under her breath. "What?" Nichos asked. "Nothing," said Niobe. Nichos gave her that same smile once more. "Well, I should let you get som more rest," he said, "I'll be in later to check on you. In the mean time if you need anything just call."
Niobe watched him go. When she was sure he was gone she began to get out of bed again. "I've got to get out of this place," she said to herself. She stood up and nearly fell over. "Woah," she said, "Maybe I shouldn't have done that." She paused for a moment as she leaned against the bed.
Straightening up she took a few steps and a wave of dizziness came over her. She nearly fell again but was caught by a pair of strong arms. "Where do you think you're going?" asked a familiar voice. Niobe turned around and found herself looking up into the gorgeous face of the god of war. She smiled, glad that he was there. "Hello, Ares," she said.
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To be continued...
