by Redwulf50



Chapter Two

Spike turned and faced the two women in the center of the room, could feel them calling him in his blood. He felt almost boneless; as if he were flowing towards them. His eyes were hooded as he saw the woman covered in mud approach him then stop. //Slayer// His demon screamed, but Spike just smiled. If this was the shadow of the valley of hell then he was the bloody biggest big bad here.

Buffy watched as he moved forward and her stomach clinched. She loved him and only him, but it could not be, as she was doomed to another's arms. Every step he took felt as if scales or maybe blinds were being lifted from her eyes. After his second step, her minds eye replayed Spike holding her as she sleptthose last two nights in Sunnydale. Step four: her mind showed him giving her “ The Speech”, SHE was the ONE. At steps six and seven: she remembered what both Dawn and Faith had told her after the first date with Antony. "If he was your soulmate, wouldn't your heart know it?" But Buffy knew the truth; she was doomed to an endless marriage to a man she could never love. It wasn't Antonios fault, or Spike's, it was the fault of the Powers that Be.

Spike felt Buffy's eyes on him and it was all he could do not to break into tears. He loved her and only her, but she would never, could never, love him. He was a tool, and as long as Angel, Riley, The Immortal or whoever was around caught her eye, Buffy would only see Spike as a means to an end. In his heart he doubted if she even liked him.

Spike stopped in front of the First Slayer and went into full game face. No matter what had happened outside, he hoped she was going to end his suffering. As he stood there, Sinyea grabbed both his shoulders and yanked him to her. Before he could react, her primitive voice yelled "MINE" as she bit deeply into his neck. Spike’s reaction was instinctive and nobody was more shocked than he when his teeth bit down into the soft, scarless neck of the First Slayer. As her powerful blood flowed onto his tongue he nearly screamed "MINE". The ancient entities hands grabbed his ass and she ground her body into his until…

*Ahem* A loud melodious voice came from behind the First Slayer. As Sinyea released Spike he nearly fell, his knees weak from shock and his tongue tied with primal blood. He looked into the eyes of the woman behind the first slayer and at first thought he was looking into his own mothers eyes. There was a purity there, but one that promised retribution if crossed. Spike managed to keep his feet under him and as Sinyea moved from his path, he again moved forward.

While Sinyea blocked Spike's path, Buffy fought her bonds desperately to fight for the man she loved, but as the first slayer had claimed him, and had her claim returned, all Buffy had was tears. She had lost him now. She never truly had him, but now he was lost forever. The tears that flowed down her cheeks were as hot as the inner most circle of hell. The bonds that held her wouldn't even let her speak.

As Spike got within a few feet of the Earth Mother, her voice rang out. "Kneel, William Edward Davenport, Duke of Essex."

Buffy watched as Spike knelt. Three of the elven women took position around him and the silver haired elf retrieved something from Sinyea. Buffy felt no jealousy towards the elves now. She just prayed they could keep her beloved safe.

Gaiea stepped closer to the kneeling champion and, seeming to materialize from thin air, drew a sword from her robes. As the sword point touched Spike's left shoulder she spoke. "In 1854 a young man was born into this world. A young man whose heart was too kind and pure to truly fit into the world around him. There was a reason for this; he was mine. From his very birth, he was mine."

She drew the sword back and kissed the blade, then lay the point on his right shoulder. "In 1880 Young William was turned. From the day of his rising, he was different. He loved more, was born for battle. I had planned for this man to be champion from the first."

Again she pulled back the sword and kissed the blade. "In the year 2002, the demon Spike went on a quest that no demon before him had tried, but this demon was different , for this demon knew true love. In the darkened caves of Africa he fought for and earned a soul, for no other reason then to be what the woman he loves truly needed. Never had a demon so ruled his own nature. And by this deed, was this day set in motion." She touched the blade again to Spike's left shoulder.

As the blade again touched her lips Gaiea again kissed it then began to speak. "But his love spurned him at first, afraid to open her own heart to the warrior that had been created with half her soul. As time passed, they grew closer than before, though both fought it with all their might. In the end, however, his lady love knew the truth. Now, however, others have clouded her mind. My sweet William, my fearless Spike, gave his life in the very mouth of hell to prove that both his love and I had chosen true."

"In the year that followed, William was resurrected by evil, but still he fought for the good of the world. He saw his true love in the arms of an unspeakable evil, and knew he still had to fight the fight she asked of him. In the end he faced his worst fears of being alone and unloved---faced them and moved past them to kill the dragon, satisfying prophecy to become my champion."

The Mother touched the blade between his eyes and ended her speech. "Rise, Sir William, Eternal Champion."

For once Buffy was glad the invisible bonds held her as the lines of the prophecy echoed through her head: claimed by the First, knighted by the Earth, he shall be proclaimed Eternal Champion and take the Immortal Slayer as friend, lover, mate and wife." //Damn. Spike was her eternal sex monkey.// Buffy's brain couldn’t let go of the new reality. The smile on her face could have lit a stadium as the girl’s words came back to haunt her. //Damn. Faith and Dawn were right.// Spike was hers and she was his. The simplicity of it blew her mind. Buffy was now in heaven.

Tears fell from Spike's eyes as he smelled the Buffy's musk getting thicker. In the midst of his finest hour she was planning her next session with the Bloody Immortal. He turned and saluted the bastard before following the elven warriors out through a gate.

--tbc--

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