Bargaining Chip

"Ah! Checkmate!" The orc yells triumphantly.

Stella fumes in silence, digging her fingers in the hem of her dress. She cannot believe that she has been defeated, again. This is the twelfth time in a row.

In front of her, the buff green warrior crosses her arms and gives her a smug smile. Xena hadn't even known the basic rules of the game a week ago, and now she is trampling all over Stella. She's a meathead, a filthy marsh barbarian, and yet she's constantly demonstrating wisdom and intellect. No wonder her troops managed to elude the human army for so long.

"Enough of this," Stella says in what she hopes is a calm tone. She does not want the orc to see how much of a sore loser she truly is. "I am starving."

Xena snickers, then gets up and follow her. Maybe Stella hasn't managed to sound as calm as she wished.

When they reach the dining room, the witch's animated puppets bring in plates after plates of fancy food.

"Still hoping to impress me with these fancy meals?" The orc sounds confident, but there is still a twinkle in her eye when she stares down at the roasted chickens, the juicy figs and the steamy lobster. The orc's war camps don't have steady access to fresh ingredients from across the kingdom, the witch smugly thinks.

"I'm not trying to impress you or anyone, that's just how I eat every day," she lies. She always eat lavish meals, sure, but she has definitely upped the standards for her new guest, dipping into her coffers to acquire better ingredients and better recipes. "How have you enjoyed your stay thus far?"

She shrugs while cracking a lobster claw. "A prison's a prison."

Stella feels a lump in her throat. She is doing her best to seduce Xena, but her efforts might all be in vain. "Are you so certain of that, my dear? I could give you back to the King. The castle's dungeons don't serve lobsters. That is, if they even choose not to execute you."

"Emotional manipulation, very sexy," Xena quips. "Wife material."

"I'm just..." The witch looks down and rubs a hand against her forehead. "I'm sorry. You're right. It would be quite unfair of me to send you back just because you refuse my proposal."

Xena stares back while sucking juicy white meat out of the cracked red shell.

Stella scoffs, althought she is not sure if she is scoffing at her prisoner or at herself.

"The state of my bondage is not my primary concern," Xena says. Her tone is frank and serious. "I have been a prisoner for two weeks now, and I worry about the members of my warparty."

Stella perks up. "You haven't really talked about your party so far. In fact, you have been rather stringent regarding informations on the orc army."

"I figured that if you truly wanted to use me for information, you could simply enchant me and read my mind."

"True. Then why the sudden mention of orcs' tactical assets?"

"Tactical assets," she snorts. "To me, these warriors are more than mere assets. I have fought alongside some of these men since the days I could barely kill a wild boar by myself. We are blood-brothers, a bond formed from blood spilled on the battlefield. We have to look for each other." Xena frowns for a moment, before adding, "I guess the gang's got a blood-sister now."

"Are there no... other women in your party?"

"The women of the Charred Marshes have been kept off the battlefields for the past two generations. The previous warchief, my grandfather, deemed them too valuable as mothers to risk losing them in battle."

"A stupid decision," Stella blurts out.

"Agreed."

"Does that mean you would now renounce your place as a warrior?"

Xena avoids the witch's gaze, instead staring down at a half-eaten chicken.

"Xena?"

"I have never truly wanted to be a warrior." She closes her eyes and exhales loudly. "I... I don't mind taking up arms to defend my tribe and my people, but I do not want to spend my entire life killing for the sake of killing."

"Then, am I correct in assuming that you would want this war to end?"

Xena's shoulder slumps. She looks exhausted. "There is nothing I want more. Too many of our warriors have been needlessly sacrificed for the hubris of old bitter men. On both side."

This is it, Stella realizes. She has found the perfect bargaining chip. "If I help you bring an end to this war, will you then be more recipient to my proposal?"

Xena stares back with wide eyes. "Lady, if you stop this war, I will be yours until the day I die."