Chapter 1:
Buffy woke up startled and bewildered. It has been the third time in a row that she woke up in the middle of the night with no recollection of the dream she was having. All she knew was that something, correction, someone was coming….coming soon.
‘Perhaps it’s a Slayer dream’ Buffy remembered a few of the basics of the way of life for a Slayer from her assigned Watcher. She remembered that dreams about imposing doom were on that list.
‘But you aren’t the Slayer’ Buffy reminded herself, ‘You’re not even 15 yet.’
Another tidbit of information that her Watcher, Mr. Giles, told her was that Slayer’s were mainly called around the age of 16 or 17, and that their were rare occasions that a potential was called before the age of 15. The oldest called slayer to date was a 19 year old Swedish Slayer back in 1818. Mr. Giles said that as soon as Buffy reached that magical age of 19 she was free to go and leave the Council, live her life anyway she liked. Buffy was counting down those days. She missed L.A and shopping, she missed her boyfriend, Tyler, and her annoying little sister Dawn. Little things that she took for granted when she was at home were the things she was pinning for desperately. Most of all, Buffy missed having her own room.
In the darkness Buffy could count the heads of all the other Potential Slayers that were forced to bunk with her. Five, five girls and possibly one more was on her way to England. Buffy was the youngest one out of the bunch, and the newest addition too. Chloe, who slept soundly in the bed next her was the oldest, at 18 she had been in England for 2 years and was happy to see each day pass and her calling never come up. Chloe too hated this place and being away from her family that lived in Michigan. Buffy worried how her life with the Council would be when she heard that Chloe only saw her parents once since she moved to England.
‘I have 5 years to go…5 years at least. Chloe is the lucky one; she only had to suffer 2. But me, 5 years?’ Buffy thought to herself.
The weight of the situation almost made Buffy have a panic attack. She felt the need to escape, the need to runaway.
Voices down the hallway of her room could be heard through the door. Curious, the little potential Slayer decided to risk getting in trouble and follow the sound.
A tiny little squeak could be heard as soon as she opened the 300 year old castle door.
Buffy glanced back to see if anyone woke up, she sighed when not one of the Potentials stirred.
‘We need some oil for this freakin door…’ she made a mental note as she slipped into the chilly hallway in her robe and slippers.
*~*~*~*~*~
“I don’t care if he has a soul, I don’t care if he has 3 souls and is defanged, that THING is not coming into this castle.” Mr. Giles argued in his wrinkled pajamas and tousled hair; the man had clearly been awakened from his slumber and dragged out of his comfy bed in the middle of the night to attend to some important business.
“It’s not your decision to make though Rupert, he’s on his way whether you like it or not.” Mr. Travis said calmly, much more relaxed than his employee across his desk.
“I don’t want him near these girls.” Rupert argued back, his fury caused him to whip off his glasses and slam his right fist on top of the wooden desk.
“Our subject won’t cause harm to them, the girls won’t even notice his presence. He’ll be guarded nonstop in the left wing in the basement; no Potential is even aloud in that part of the castle.”
”You’re willing to take that risk?”
“Yes, yes I am.” Travis nodded whilst fiddling with his ballpoint pen between his hands. He looked down at his desk, at the papers that weren’t finalized yet. He needed one last signature.
“What if he were to break loose in the middle of the night and—“
”Every possibility has been analyzed and been brought up Rupert. We are equipped to handle one vampire.”
”He’s a master vampire.” Giles corrected, “Have you studied his history at all? He’s killed 2 slayers, maybe even 3.”
”The last one that we know for a fact was over 80 years ago Rupert.”
”Oh, so it can easily be forgotten then?”
“Will you just sign so I can go to sleep and we can all go on with our lives?”
”I won’t.”
Mr. Giles straightened up and stood tall. He put his glasses back on his face and stood firm on his decision. He has been a Watcher for 17 years and wasn’t going to make any exceptions for one lone vampire.
Quentin Travis raised his hands up and said, “Fine”. He reached into the file cabinet next to his desk and pulled out a different form. “Tell me Rupert, are you fond of sushi?”
”What?”
”This move to the castle is going to happen whether you like it or not. Now, either sign the paper, which all the other Watcher’s have already done except for you, or I’ll complete this form here to have you transferred to Japan tomorrow.” Travis threatened and clicked his retractable pen, causing his warning to be more dramatic.
“Japan?”
”Japan headquarters in Osaka, little bit hot this time of year but I’m sure you’ll adjust…” Travis said as he slid the form over for Mr. Giles to see that he wasn’t kidding.
Giles glanced down at the piece of paper that was his ticket out of his mother country before looking back at Travis. The head Watcher shrugged, letting Giles decide.
“You’re a bastard.”
”I’m a leader…” Quentin corrected, “I do the duties that others can not. That’s why I was voted headmaster and you weren’t.”
Giles clenched his jaw, ‘Still throwing that in my face I see’ he thought to himself.
With a tiny growl, Giles grabbed a pen off Quentin’s desk and started to sign his name hard, letting his signature be engraved not only onto the paper but also onto Travis’s desk.
”Happy to see you aren’t leaving us Rups…” Quentin smiled as he took the paper work and placed it in an orange envelope for save keeping. “I would hate to tell our new potential, Buffy, that her new Watcher was deported because he wasn’t a game player.”
With a huff Giles turned to leave, he put his hand on the doorknob and started to turn it. However, Travis stopped him again.
Buffy, who was listening carefully on the opposite side of the door panicked when she heard the jiggling of the door knob. She raced down the hall toward the nearest empty room and peeked back out to see Giles and Travis exchanging a few words before parting.
All Buffy could think about was the tingling sensation that she got while Giles and Travis talked about this vampire. She felt like everything they talked about was important, important specifically to her for some reason. She made a grab at the ring that hung from her chain around her neck. It was her grandma’s ring and always brought a sense of calmness whenever she held it close. Buffy rubbed the emerald stone as if it were a magic lamp, within a minute or two she felt at ease.
TBC…