While he thinks, Xena meets an old acquaintance.

Her eyes closed, Xena was oblivious to the man's return. It took all her willpower not to start begging or pleading for release. She was better than that, stronger than that. She would rather die than surrender to them.

All of the sudden, the ever-present vibrations against her pussy began to feel duller. The near overwhelming need to cum began to fade until it was just a bit above what she could stand. It was still present, still pushing against her resolve, but at least she could endure this. The vibrations had died down enough that it was just a pleasant sensation against a sensitive spot. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

Across from her, Gabrielle was still trashing violently against her restraints. Whatever happened to her had not happened to her friend. She could hear her screams and wails, and the occasional sob, but the sound was oddly muted. Between them, staring at Gabrielle with a thoughtful look, was the same man as before. She was beginning to wonder what the hell as going on when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

'My my, you sure have gotten yourself into a bind this time, haven't you?'

Walking into view, and stopping next to her, was a woman Xena was all too familiar with.

She had shoulder length, golden blond hair, that fell into curls around her face. She had clear, sky blue eyes, that looked at Xena with both merriment and exasperation. Her clothes, what little she was wearing, consisted of a pink bra that accentuated her generous breasts and similarly coloured pants that were really only their to preserve some semblance of modesty.

'Aphrodite'

Xena tried to say, but the large ring locked inside her mouth made it come out as a barely recognizable word. Seeing the god made her renew her attempts at escaping, but they proved unsuccessful.

'Please, don't get up on my account. We never were big on formalities, no point in starting now.'

The scantily clad god leaned down on the wooden construct holding Xena trapped, revealing more of her generous cleavage.

'You know, when one of my followers told me in his prayers that he had captured the mighty Xena and Gabrielle, I just had to see for myself. Yet here you are. Are you enjoying yourself so far?'

Xena began to make muffled yells and intensified her still useless attempts at breaking free.

'What is was that dear? Oh, these people? Yes, they are my followers. I can't always be the benevolent goddess of love. Contrary to what your blond friend believes, love is not always a happily ever after emotion. It can be dark and corruptive as well.'

Xena saw her reach out with a hand and felt the soft caress of a single finger along her neck. The very touch of a goddess devoted to love in all its forms sent a wave of the purest pleasure through her. Even with the sensations already flowing through her body diluted, that simple touch was enough to make Xena moan. The pleasure and her moans continued as Aphrodite trailed her finger down from her neck towards her collarbone, where she lifted the finger, making the pleasure disappear.

'Just as my brother Ares supports the occasional times of peace, so will I embrace the darker sides of passion. And these people have perfected that to a level rarely seen in mortals.'

Xena's attention to the goddess' words was broken when the finger returned, this time circling one of her breasts. The pleasure this time was much more intense than before. She had recovered somewhat during the monologue, but that was quickly shattered as the sensations broke her resolve, and pushed her right back to orgasm. unfortunately, the power of the runes proved effective at stopping even the divine pleasure only a god can bring.

For minutes Xena squirmed in her bonds as she experienced a form of pleasure that no mortal was made to endure. Aphrodite slowly circled Xena's breast, going higher and higher until she reached the nipple at the top. She playfully flicked it, making Xena scream in extasy before she repeated the same process with her other breast.

'So here is my dilemma.'

The goddess removed her finger from Xena's breast and resumed her one-sided conversation.

'I like the two of you. Especially Gabrielle over there. But I can't just free you. that would be an insult to my followers, and what kind of god would want that?'

She traced her finger down Xena's sides, from her breast until she reached her hips. All the while Xena moaned and trashed as even such a simple act overwhelmed her with pleasure.

'But there is a way I can help you. You see, the runes they have marked you with are gifted by me. That means that I can control them. Alter them. Or even, remove them.'

The goddess moved her finger from Xena's hip to the inside of her legs. Starting as low as she could reach from her position, she moved up until she was just below her crotch. This made Xena's sounds of pleasure increase in intensity, and her struggles became but still ineffective. She used some of her powers to lift the orange crystal from its position resting against Xena's pussy and clit.

'So that means that I can give you what you desire.'

The finger went up and gently brushed over her dripping wet pussy, she went higher until she was next to Xena's clit. There she waited and looked into the bound warriors' eyes. Xena shook her head in denial and tried to say something, but Aphrodite instead pressed down onto the overstimulated bundle of nerves.

Xena howled in ecstasy. Pleasure like nothing she had ever experienced flooded her body. She thrashed wildly in her bonds, powerless to move away from the finger pressed against her clit. The pleasure was already at levels far beyond what she could endure, and the orgasm that had been building for the past hours had swollen to monstrous proportions. Aphrodite made little circles with her finger, further increasing the pleasure. Suddenly, something inside Xena broke, and all she felt from then on was orgasmic release.

Aphrodite had finally allowed her to orgasm. Every part of her being was filled with pleasure as the orgasm tore through her, destroying what was left of her resistance. Every muscle in her body tensed from the . Her mouth was open in a silent scream. Her pussy contracted wildly as wave after wave of pleasure left her body. With each wave, a stream of liquid was shot powerfully from her cunt, the potion they gave her at the start still in effect. Xena faintly heard a metallic clank but couldn't care to check it out.

All this time, Aphrodite held her finger firmly pressed against Xena's clit, prolonging the already monstrous orgasm as much as she could. And being a goddess of love, that meant quite a bit. Finally, the orgasm ended, and Xena lay twitching on the wooden construct. Completely spent from the release, she slowly drifted off into blissful unconsciousness.

Xena's eyes snapped open, immediately her mind was assaulted by the familiar feeling of a long denied orgasm. The crystal was still in place, humming away without a care for Xena's situation. She looked to her side and still saw the goddess of love leaning next to her. It was all an illusion, she never really came, it was just a trick played by the woman standing over her.

'That is what I can offer you. Pleasure beyond your imagination. A way out of your captivity. And a release you so desperately crave. And all I want in return is for you to submit to me. Become my follower, my champion. Or continue to resist, and become my servant and .'

The dulled and suppressed sensations caused by the crystal returned to their original strength, and Aphrodite stood up.

'I'll let you think over my offer for a while. I'll be back in a few days. Now let's see how my sweet, innocent Gabrielle is doing.'

The goddess disappeared from her sight when she blinked her eyes, and Xena was once more left to the uncaring mercy of the crystal. As the orgasm that had been building all this time increased, again and again, she could no longer hold back her tears.