Ally Through Time, part 1
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by Anne Beaudry

Copyright 1999

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Maggie, young woman from present time.
Ares, Greek god of war
Xena, warrior princess
Gabrielle, Xena's sidekick and bard
Joxer, Warrior wannabe
Eric, Maggie's boyfriend in present time
Jorrus, former commander of Ares' armies
various other small characters

The young woman parried and thrust her sword. Her long auburn hair waving in the slight breeze and the loose-fitting T-shirt was plastered to her slim, well-toned body. She kept her breathing slow and steady and grinned as she performed another perfect back-flip, pretending to evade imaginary foes that tried to surround her. She paused and held her sword above her head, ready to bring it down in a powerful blow, and the sun glinted off the well-polished sharp blade.

She had bought it cheap from a local flea market. The woman who sold it to her was very old and claimed the sword was her dead husband's. He had got it from his father and was handed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. The woman had asked $200 and she had paid $150, all that she had on her. The hilt looked like it might be ivory and was ornately carved with a dragon with the outstretched wings being the handguards. The blade looked rippled which meant that the metal had been folded many times, one sign of a quality blade, and was etched with ancient symbols. The scabbard was leather covered with cloth and beads that looked as though it had seen better days.

She had spent hours repairing the scabbard and sharpening and honing and polishing the blade. She had been surprised that the blade was of quality, not just stainless steel. The antique dealer she took it to said it was maybe about 50 years old and offered to buy it for $100. She refused, knowing the man was lying about the age and the actual worth of the blade. She knew it was just a hunch, but she believed that it may be far older than that, perhaps even as old as 500 years or older.

"Yiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!" she yelled as she flipped and swung at her pretend opponent. After holding her position for a moment, she straightened and sheathed her sword. Walking to her backpack, she grabbed her water bottle and took a long drink and poured a little over her head.

Well, that's enough for today, she thought. Tomorrow I've got to work on my flips. I'm getting a little rusty.

Turning, she picked up her pack and started to walk home when she felt a strange tingle at the back of her neck, like someone was spying on her. She tried to shrug off the feeling, knowing that this was an isolated area that no one came to. She started to walk back to her house when she was stopped by a tall, dark-haired man wearing a black leather vest and pants to match. She looked him up and down and stepped aside to avoid him. He stepped into her path again.

"Excuse me please," she said as she tried to walk around him again.

"I want to talk to you," he said, stepping into her path again.

"I was trying to be polite, don't make me angry! Just let me pass," she said.

"We need to talk. I have a job for you," he replied.

"I don't have the time for this. Just get out of my way, now, and you won't get hurt!" she growled, drawing her sword. "I don't know what kind of pervert you are, but I'm not interested in playing your little games!"

"Put that away! If I were going to do anything to you, it would have been done by now! I'm Ares, god of war. I've been watching you and I want you to command one of my armies," he said.

"Ares? What is this? Some kind of practical joke? Get out of here. I'm not interested," she said, sheathing her sword and darting around him to jog down the trail.

The man disappeared in a flash of sparkling light and reappeared before her. She stopped, surprised to find him in front of her again. "How did you...? Never mind! Look I don't know or care who you are, but I'm late for dinner and I've got a date tonight and I really don't have time for this. So just leave me alone!" she said.

"Let me try this again, my name is Ares. I'm the god of war and I want you to lead my army," he said.

"Ares, eh? Prove it! If you're Ares, then I'm Aphrodite!" she replied.

"You put Aphrodite to shame! Your beauty far surpasses hers. But you want proof. Hmm. Well, I could start a war anywhere you want. Name it. What will it be?" asked the handsome god.

"A war. Between Switzerland and..." she paused for a moment to think. Suddenly, she looked up, a smile on her face. "Canada! I want you to start a war between Switzerland and Canada! Switzerland never goes to war and Canada won't start a war at all." Smirking, she thought, I've got him now! He can't start a war! This will prove to him that he's not a god. Besides Ares never existed! He was just a myth.

"You think that I'm just a myth? You want a little war? Fine! You got it!" Snapping his fingers, he smiled and cocked his head as though listening to something only he could hear. "Done! For a couple of countries that don't like war, they sure know how to wage it! It'll be on the six o'clock news tonight."

"Yeah, right. Have a good life." She started walking away, trying to ignore the man who was following her. As he drew alongside her, she quickly side-kicked him in his knee and clasping her hands together, brought it down on the back of the man's neck. Turning to run she felt a hand grab her ankle and brought it up, tripping her. Flipping on her back, she tried to kick his hand loose, but his grip was like iron. She kicked at his face with her other foot. The man ducked and let go of her foot. She jumped to her feet and tried a round-house kick to his head, but he backed away and made a grab for her leg. He missed and she took advantage of his exposed stomach to aim a rabbit punch there. She succeeded in hitting him and dropped to the ground and swept her feet behind his to knock him down. He was on his feet a second later. But a second was more than enough time for the young woman to kick his head and back away. She assumed a defensive posture, waiting for his next move and taking deep breathes to try and calm herself down. The first rule of a confrontation is to remain calm. If you loose control of yourself, you loose control of the situation. She watched the man get to his feet again and bring up his hands in a show of surrender. She relaxed a little, but didn't let her guard down.

"Leave me be! Unless you'd like some more?" she growled.

"Relax, Maggie! I don't want to fight you. I want you to join with me. Together we can rule the world! Take my hand and I swear to you that you will be the warrior most men only dream of! Come with me!" He extended his hand and frowned as she did not take it right away. "What are you waiting for? Do you think that I offer this chance to everyone? I'm giving you an opportunity, a rare opportunity, to use that incredible talent the way it should be used."

The woman started when she heard the man use her name, but quickly recovered and smiled disarmingly. "But, you haven't given me any time to think about it. Why don't you let me go home and I'll come back tomorrow and we'll talk about it then. Okay?" Like I'm going to be stupid enough to come back here?

Ares shook his head. "Fine! You go home. Watch the news. Watch the little war you had me start and then come back here tomorrow. I'll see you then." With a sparkling flash of light, the man disappeared.

Maggie looked around, but all she could see were the trees and shrubs that lined the trail she was on. Turning, she ran down the hill towards her home.

When she arrived home she saw David tossing the evening paper towards the front door. She waved and he nodded as he rode away. That was strange. He always said hello at least. She also saw two cars in the driveway. That meant that her parents were home. That meant that her mother was going to lecture her again about playing with swords instead of being a "normal" girl. Great! Just what she needed. She'd be glad when she could afford to move out. She was 20 years old and was still living with Mom and Dad.

Eric, her on-again/off-again boyfriend, had asked her to move in with him but she refused. She may not be totally religious but she still didn't feel right about moving in unless he was going to commit to her and every time she mentioned the "M" word, he hemmed and hawed and wouldn't about it and if she pushed the subject, he would get angry and leave for a few days. She had broken up with him more than once because of that. Last week he had asked her to forgive him again, and, as before, she had. He had asked her out tonight because he had something "important" to talk to her about. She was hoping that he was going to propose.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad! I'm home!" Maggie called out she came through the back door.

Receiving no answer, she looked through the house until she came upon her family in the family room watching the TV. Her mother was wiping her eyes and her father was pale and trying to comfort her. Her little brother and sister stared at the screen in awe.

"What's happening?" she asked, coming into the room. Looking at the screen, it took her a second to realize what she was seeing. Instead of the normal afternoon cartoons that would normally be on at this time of day, she saw women and children crying and screaming while men were trying desperately to calm them and protect them. A news reporter was interviewing a man. They were talking about a bombing that had occurred about twenty minutes ago in a small town in Switzerland.

"A war. Can you believe it? We're at war with, of all countries, Switzerland! I don't know what happened! The kids were watching Batman and all of a sudden -- this! What is the world coming to?" Shaking his head he turned the channel and discovered the news of the sudden war was on almost every channel.

Backing out of the room in horror at what she saw on the TV, she turned suddenly and ran out of the house towards the trail leading to the area where she fought the god of war -- Ares. She paused as she listened to a strange siren, then in dawning horror she realized what it was -- an air-raid siren.

Oh god! I've got to stop him! What has he done? My family, my friends everyone I ever knew! We'll all be killed! Why did we have to move to Vancouver? Why not Penticton? Or Merrit? I've got to find him! Where is he? This is where I met him wasn't it? Or was it over there? She wandered around the last place she saw the handsome god and tried to think how she could call him. The only God she knew was the One they taught in her siblings' Sunday school.

She decided to try the direct approach. "Ares! I know you can hear me! Answer me. I want to talk! ARES!!" she yelled. She felt a funny tingling at the base of her neck and turned.

"That's amazing! Only one other person has been able to sense me like that. So, you believe me now?" he asked as he appeared in a flash of light. She nodded nervously. "Good. Now I want you to lead my army against a warrior."

"Wait a minute! I want you to stop the war you started. I'll do whatever you want if you'll just stop it," she pleaded.

"I am the god of war! Not the god who stops wars! But if you agree to lead my armies against one foe, I will stop the war and make it as though it had never happened. Deal?" he asked.

"Yes! Yes, deal! I'll lead your armies. But why me? I mean, surely there are others who are better than me?" she asked, confused.

"There are only a few others who are better than you, but no one else has your drive or beauty or power. I want someone who can finish what they start. I've been watching you for a long time. I saw you pick up your first sword and when I saw that you had the drive and potential to be a great warrior, I helped you get this sword." Seeing her doubt, he responded, "Do you honestly think you could have bought this sword otherwise? This is one of the best swords that you'll ever find! The person who made it, was trained by Hephaestus, my brother. You do need some on-the-job training, which I will provide. We can leave now," he replied.

"I can't leave tonight, I have a date and I think my boyfriend is going to propose to me. I want to say good-bye to my family and I have to pack," she said.

"You have a date with your boyfriend? I offer you the chance of a lifetime and you have the audacity of telling me you have a date? You're not talking about Eric are you?" He sighed as she nodded in agreement. "My dear, you are worth so much more than what he could ever give you!" He lowered his voice, softly stroked her shoulders and purred, "Come with me, my dear. If you join with me, I promise you will not regret it! I can offer you whatever you want!" He lowered his head to kiss her neck and breathed in her ear, "Take my hand! Imagine how awesome together we'd be?"

She melted into his embrace then shook her head and pushed herself away from him. "No. I mean, this is wrong! I promise I'll be back. I want to go with Eric and then I promise I'll be back tonight. Okay?" Turning she jogged down the trail to her house, trying to stop thinking of his hands gently caressing her shoulders and his hot breath in her ear.

"I won't wait forever! This is a one time offer! If you're not back tonight, it's off!" Ares called after her, smiling. He knew she would be back, he may not be the god of love, but he was no slouch when it came to seducing women. Only one had refused him and, if all went well, she would be his too. Smirking like the cat that just ate the canary, he waved his hand and disappeared in a flash of light.

When Maggie reached her house, she saw David and waved.

"Hello Maggie. What's up? You look like ran all the way home. Are you okay?" he asked when she was near.

"Hi David! Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to stretch out my legs. That's all. Well, I'll see you later! 'Bye" she said. She entered the house and quickly went to the family room and saw her brother and sister watching Batman fighting the Joker. She breathed a sigh of relief and went to her room.

As she calmed down, she took a shower and dressed for her date. She put on some casual jeans and a light tank top. She looked herself over in the mirror. Her auburn hair hung almost to her waist. She turned sideways and admired her hard abdomen and tight buttocks. Maybe she should change her pants, they seemed a little tight. She went to the closet and changed into a long skirt. Looking into the mirror again, she quickly brushed her hair and put some make-up on her fair-skinned face. Her green eyes looked back at her while she was applying some mascara. By the time she was finished, she heard her mother calling her from downstairs.

"Be right down!" she hollered and grabbing her belt pack and checked herself in the mirror one last time. Brushing her hair again, she thought, I wish I knew more about make-up and stuff. I hope I look okay. Smiling at her reflection, she hurried downstairs to meet her date.

"Eric! Hi honey! Where are you taking me tonight?" she asked cheerfully and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hi Maggie. Thought I'd take you somewhere special tonight. It's a surprise. I think you'll like it. Ready to go? Good. 'Bye Mrs. Richards. I'll have her back before morning!" Smiling, he waved at Maggie's mother and put his arm around his date.

"Be good Mister! I expect her home at the regular time!" Kissing her daughter on the head, she said, "I love you darling! Have fun!"

"'Bye Mom. Love you too." Maggie returned her Mom's kiss and turned to leave with Eric.

As they reached his car, he opened the door for her and helped her in. He kissed her gently on the cheek before he closed the door and went to the driver's side and got in. He didn't say a word as he started the car and pulled away.

"So, where are we going?" Maggie asked. "I hope you included dinner with tonight's plans. I'm famished!"

"I've got dinner taken care of. We'll be having a picnic. Sound okay?" he asked.

"Sounds great! Are you going to tell me where we are going?" she asked, curious.

"As I said, it's a surprise," he said and smiled at her. They drove the rest of the way in silence with the radio playing rock and roll to drown out the quiet. He pulled onto a dirt road and drove another mile or so along a steep windy road lined with trees. As they reached the top, Maggie suddenly realized where he was taking her.

"What are we doing here? This is the make-out place, isn't it? If you think I'm going to do anything here, you're wrong. If this is all you want, you can take me home!" she snapped.

"Relax. We're having a picnic first, then if anything happens, it happens, right?" he said.

"I told you already, I'm not going to have sex until we get married, or at least until I get married anyway. I don't know what you plan to do," she said.

"Maggie, just relax. Nothing's going to happen unless you want it to. Okay? I love you. I wouldn't do anything like that unless you wanted it too." He smiled at her and parked the car.

As it was still early in the evening, there was only one other car parked at the far end. Eric got out and ran to her door to open it for her. When she was out, he reached in behind her to get the picnic basket. He took her hand and led her to a gentle hill that overlooked the city and spread a blanket out for them to sit on. As she sat down, he began taking food out of the basket, spreading it before them. Lastly, he took out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. He pulled the cork out of the bottle and poured the wine. Handing her a glass, he raised his in a toast.

"To the most beautiful woman in the world. Maggie, I love you!" he said and drank the wine.

Maggie sipped at her wine and smiled. He's going to ask me. I know he is. Why else would he go to all this trouble? She waited for him to ask and when he didn't, she thought, Maybe he's waiting until sunset. They ate and drank some more and Maggie got up to stretch her legs a little and didn't see Eric put some powder into her drink.

"Come here, baby, sit down and finish your drink," Eric said patting the mat next to him.

Maggie sat down and snuggled into Eric's chest and drank the rest of her wine. A short while later, she felt woozy and tried to stand. "Eric, what's happening? I don't feel so good. I think I need to go home. Help..." Maggie fell unconcious into Eric's arms.

"Sure took long enough! Now, I'll take what I've been waiting for! 'I'm going to wait until I get married!' Bah! Nobody does that anymore!" Eric grinned as he loosened his belt and unbuttoned his pants. As he began pushing Maggie's skirt up, he noticed a tall, dark-haired man staring down at him in an unfriendly manner.

"Excuse me. Do you mind? I'd like a little privacy here. Get lost!" Eric said, expecting the man to leave.

"I think you should stop now. I'm not against seducing a woman but outright rape is out of the question. Leave her alone," the man warned.

"I don't think you know what's going on. You see, she just had a little too much sun and when we were getting down to business, she fell asleep. So you see, it's not rape. Now leave!" Eric said.

"I will give you three seconds to get off of her and leave! One!"

"Get real! If you don't get outta here now, I'll make you leave!" Eric got up and approached the stranger. He looked the guy over and saw that he was wearing leather pants and a black leather vest. I'll bet Maggie's sleeping with this guy just because he's into the same weird things she is. I knew she wasn't for real!

"Two!"

"I know what's going on! You're her boyfriend or something aren't you? I knew she was sleeping around. Hey! You want her, you can have her! She isn't worth it!" Eric said. "When she wakes up, tell her not to call me. As far as I'm concerned it's over!" he said as he walked past the guy to his car.

"Good thing for you! If she found out you were going to rape her instead of proposing, she might have done something you'd regret. She's too good for you anyway. You'll never amount to anything. In a few years, she could be ruling the world!" the man said.

"Never amount to anything? I've got a football scholarship to Yale and I'm already looking at going pro! In a few years, I could be ruling the world! What does she do? She wants to be an action actress! She doesn't even have the looks to be on TV! If she was stacked, I could see her getting on as an extra or something. But she's got nothing on top! She's as flat as a ..."

"Enough!" Maggie's voice came from behind him. Eric turned around and saw Maggie standing behind him with fire in her eyes. "I've heard enough! Eric, I can't believe you were going to rape me just because I wanted to wait! You're right, it's over. It should never have started! Let's go, Ares. I have nothing left here."

She walked to the god of war and took his extended hand. "Good-bye Eric!"

Eric took a step towards her, "Maggie! I never..." He never got the chance to finish as a bright flash of light blinded him for a second. When he opened his eyes to look around, he saw that he was alone in the clearing, Maggie and the man had disappeared.

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