Within- Chapter 12

 

 

Xena saw Callisto and Alti giving each other knowing looks, and then Alti released Xena’s head. Callisto stepped forward, and finally the gag was being pulled free from Xena’s dry mouth.

 

“I’d advise you not to make too much noise,” Callisto spoke as she worked,” or the gag will go right back on.”

 

Xena figured that was coming, and nodded her understanding. Her mouth was too dry to say much of anything at the present time anyway.

 

“Water?” she croaked after finally finding a voice. She couldn’t believe how bad she sounded, and wondered exactly how long she had been gagged.

 

 

 

From somewhere, Alti produced a waterskin and uncorked it. She grabbed hold of Xena’s hair again, and lifted her head, pouring a couple mouthfuls down Xena’s throat.

 

The Warrior Princess swallowed eagerly, and licked her lips, staring at the waterskin. Alti pulled it away again. “Please…a little more?” Xena said, her voice sounding better already.

 

Alti held the waterskin just out of her reach. “Maybe later,” she replied. ”Let’s see how you behave first.”

 

Callisto giggled again at that.

 

 

 

Xena expected as much, and wasn’t too disappointed. If she drank too much water, it would make her sick. She swallowed experimentally, and found her body already producing saliva again.

 

She took a deep breath, then spoke again. “What’s going on, Alti? What are you and Callisto up to?”

 

Alti took a step back and crossed her arms. “Can’t you figure it out?” she asked.

 

“Oh come on,” Xena replied, doing her best not to let her voice get too loud. “Maybe I could figure out what you alone are up to…maybe I could even figure out Callisto’s plot…but the two of you? Together? I’ve never know either of you to work with a partner, and besides…” she looked directly at Callisto now, who was listening with apparent rapt attention, “the last time I saw you, you were an angel thrilled to be reunited with your family.”

 

Callisto swallowed nervously, and glanced at Alti before responding. “Guess you were wrong then, huh, Xena?”

 

Alti chuckled at that, and nodded her head in an approving manner.

 

Xena tried a different approach. “If I don’t know what you’re after, how am I going to know what to do to appease you?”

 

Again, Callisto and Alti exchanged looks. “We’re not after appeasement,” Alti said finally.

 

“Then what are you after?” Xena asked.

 

Callisto giggled wildly, and Alti’s full lips moved into a leering grin of its own.

 

“Let’s begin, Callisto,” she said, ignoring Xena’s question.

 

 

Xena found her head becoming heavier and heavier to hold up, and when nothing happened right away, she lowered it again, figuring she was going to need all the energy she could muster.

 

 

 

“You wanna start with THAT?”

 

When she heard Alti’s thick voice, it got her attention again. She looked up and tried to see what Callisto was holding, but she had her back to Xena.

 

Xena did see Callisto shrug. “This is Xena we’re talking about,” she replied. “I’m sure she’s been through much more.”

 

“Good point.”

 

 

 

Xena felt great trepidation, not knowing what they were referring to. Her mind was drifting back to the torture instruments used against her in the past. She had undergone so many…thumb screws…hot pokers…whips of all varieties…stocks… All were effective in their own way, but none had ever served to break her. Somehow, she was sure whatever Callisto had picked out wouldn’t either.

 

 

 

Alti approached Xena then, and her hands hooked over Xena’s shoulders, unusually gently.

 

“Time for your first lesson,” she said, in voice that was even huskier and lower than usual.

 

 

 

Xena took a deep breath when she saw the glint of steel in Callisto’s hand. The blonde was holding a dagger, her eyes veering from the reflection in its bright blade to the expression on Xena’s face. Callisto licked her lips, a maniacal gleam in her eye.

 

 

 

With the position Xena was in…she realized it was futile to even try to escape. Being half-upside down for so long had drained the blood from her head, weakening her, and she would not be able to break free from her bonds anyway. They were too strong.

 

Callisto was slowly closing the distance between them, the whole while holding the knife in plain sight. Xena took a good long look at the psychotic gleam in the blonde one’s eyes, and then, let her head rest again. She said a silent prayer to Gabrielle, realizing it could easily be the last time she ever saw her golden haired savior.

 

 

 

Callisto had slipped down on one knee, right in front of Xena’s bent head. Xena saw the tip of the knife heading for her chin, and steeled herself for the pain. She blinked, but barely flinched when she felt the point digging into the soft area below her chin. If anything, she felt a slight relief that Callisto might actually go for a death blow, rather than a slow torture.

 

The knife pointed harder and Xena instinctively tried to lift her head slightly. She didn’t stir when she felt Callisto’s fingers tangling in her bangs. Callisto yanked upward, the knife still pressed firmly against Xena’s chin.

 

Xena kept her eyes focused not wanting to give Callisto the satisfaction of a confrontation. Her mind vaguely wondered why Callisto was the one wielding the knife, as Alti was still out of sight, and almost grinned when she realized it probably some perverse bet that Callisto had won.

 

Callisto bent so she was very near Xena, and gave the little giggle Xena had heard far too many times in her life. “You look so serious, Xena,” she said. “If you relax, you’ll enjoy it more.”

 

“Give her something to smile about, Callisto,” Alti intoned from behind them.

 

Callisto nodded gleefully, and leaned in even closer, so her breath was right on Xena’s lips. Xena felt the point of the knife dig slightly into her skin, but didn’t even pay any attention. She was suddenly occupied by the sensation of Callisto’s lips pressed against her own.

 

 

 

Callisto’s lips were soft and full, and Xena realized she was kissing back out of habit before she could stop herself. She was absolutely stunned by the gentleness in Callisto’s lips in contrast to the sharp pain of the dagger.

 

Callisto, when she realized Xena was being almost cooperative, gave a little further hum of pleasure, and her mouth opened slightly, sucking gently at Xena’s lips.

 

Xena’s brain was receiving mixed signals, from the pain under her chin to the pleasure on her mouth. Finally, realization sunk in, though, and Xena pressed her parted lips together and tried her best to pull away from Callisto.

 

Callisto didn’t seem bothered by that. She just grasped Xena’s hair a little more firmly, and kept the woman’s mouth pulled tight against her, trying to get Xena to accept her. It wasn’t happening, but it didn’t seem to effect Callisto much.

 

 

 

When the blonde finally pulled her mouth away, Xena found herself gasping for air, her already dry mouth now starved for oxygen as well. Callisto just leaned back a step, and licked her lips as she smiled at Xena, withdrawing the knife.

 

“I know you’re a much better kisser than that”, she said with a cluck of her tongue, but she didn’t look too disappointed.

 

 

 

She reached out and lightly, and her fingers wiped up the trickle of blood on Xena’s chin. Xena wasn’t surprised as Callisto pulled her fingers back, and sucked on them, savoring the taste of her blood. Seconds later, the knife was approaching again.

 

 

 

Xena felt the feeling of the cold blade brushing one of her shoulders, then the other, but there was no real pressure or pain. She felt the straps on her shift give, and it was slipped from her shoulders.

 

A few seconds later, Callisto was cutting her way up the shift from the bottom, rendering the material so it was completely split up the middle. Xena heard twin groans of passion from Alti and Callisto as she felt the skin on her thighs and back being exposed to the damp air.

 

 

 

The undergarment now partially hung from Xena, but Callisto ripped it the rest of the way off, leaving Xena clad only in her breeches.

 

 

Gabrielle was awakened by an annoying shaft of light shining across her pillow. She rolled over to avoid it once, but could still feel the warmth of the sun on the back of her neck where her hair wasn’t covering it. It was just enough to keep her from going back to sleep.

 

Finally, she rolled to her back again, flinging an arm across her face to keep the sun from blinding her. After a minute, her eyes grew accustomed to the light and she turned to check on Xena.

 

 

 

The Warrior Princess was still lying flat on her back, her hands folded over her chest. Gabrielle watched her torso move with her breaths; noting it was barely moving. It was just as Dinah had predicted, but it still disturbed her.

 

This morning, Gabrielle noticed a slight shiver move over Xena. It certainly wasn’t cold in the room, and therefore, struck Gabrielle as odd, for normally Xena was much more warm-blooded than she, and right now, Gabrielle was feeling rather warm herself.

 

Gabrielle ran a hand over Xena’s forehead and Xena felt plenty warm to her. There was a very light sheen of perspiration on her forehead. With a start, Gabrielle realized that there was one thing that could easily make Xena break out into goosebumps when she wasn’t cold.

 

Sexual excitement.

 

 

 

“Look at the muscles in that back,” Alti was saying.

 

“Mmm…yeah…” Callisto nodded. “They’re all bunched up from being so tense. And here I thought my kiss would relax her.”

 

Alti laughed. “You are kidding, aren’t you?” she asked. “I can’t see Xena ever feeling relaxed when some hot blonde is kissing on her.”

 

“Even Gabrielle?” Callisto asked.

 

“Especially Gabrielle,” was the response.

 

Xena listened silently to all this, and managed to bite back a retort.

 

“You ARE exquisite, Xena,” Callisto crooned, stepping up closer. Xena felt hands touching her shoulder blades. The fingers probed and explored for a minute, just as Callisto’s hands had done, Alti’s were deceptively gentle, as they stroked and kneaded over Xena’s toned muscles.

 

“Gods, Xena, you are so…hard…” she half-purred. She was squeezing the muscles of Xena’s shoulders, then stroked around front to Xena’s breasts. The Warrior Princess could do nothing to keep Alti from feeling her up. “Ooo…but you’re not hard here…no…you’re as soft as a newborn babe.”

 

Xena fought back a groan as long fingers made their way to her nipples. “I found another hard spot,” she said, giving the nipple a firm twist.

 

It wasn’t designed to be painful, nor was it. In fact, it was of just the right intensity to greatly appeal to Xena.

 

She ignored that thought though, and instead gritted her teeth to keep from moaning. She should have known Alit and Callisto wouldn’t bring her here just to torture here. She had no double that was their eventual goal, but apparently, they were going to take the long way to get there.

 

 

 

Finally, she had to speak. “Don’t tell me you just brought me here to be your little sex toy.”

 

“No, no, far from it,” Alti replied. She reached for Xena’s other nipple and gave it a similar treatment, and this time, a grunt escaped Xena before she could stop herself. She bit her bottom lip, waiting for the onslaught of mockery from her captors, but for some reason, it never happened. Instead, they shared knowing glances.