The Truth Within

Written by: Trish



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Summary: Up through the Body...  See Author's Notes for more details, that also contain spoilers.
Distribution: If you want it, let me know.  :)
Disclaimer: The show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of it's characters belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, & Fox Prod.
Author's Notes: This takes place after Crush, but before I Was Made To Love You.  I've changed the order of events around, so The Body happened long before Crush.  Did I confuse you yet?  Good.  <g>  To make a long story short, Joyce is already dead, but Spike just confessed that he loves Buffy recently.
Dedications:  Jessa, thank you so much for everything that you've done!  That award means the world to me, and I have it printed out and hanging up everywhere.  <g>  Big ol' hugs!  Special thanks to Pandora, Meredith, Tracy, Isabelle, Raven, Barb, Queenie, Vera, Maggie, Julia, Faith, Cazy, Dru, Ryan, all the sinners, and everybody else that has been so great!  (Those are in no particular order, incase you were wondering!)
Feedback: I save it, treasure it, savor it, decorate my house with it... skittlez143m@aol.com


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~ ~ Prologue ~ ~


*I hate him, I hate him, I hate him...*

Ever since the night that Spike had professed his love to her, Buffy had been a wreck.  It wasn't because she had to think about whether or not she felt the same way.  On the contrary, it was because the whole idea of it repulsed her.  Where he saw heat and desire, she truly did feel loathing and disgust.  

It was true that he had proved himself useful time and again over the past year, but his reasons were all wrong.  When she thought that he always happened to be in the right place at the right time, he had really been following her.  When she thought that he protected her loved ones because he cared about them, he had really done it to impress her.  When she had thought that he was helping because he had changed, he had only really been doing it in hopes of a good shag.  Everything about him had been a complete lie, and she wanted nothing to do with it anymore.  She wanted nothing to do with him.

That's why she was walking through the park to do her patrol, while the Scoobie's protected the cemetaries.  Buffy didn't even want to face the remote possibility of running into him while patrolling near his crypt, so she stayed away.  Far away.

So, she walked through the park, by herself and got ready to call it a night.  There had been no strange activities in the past week, and she was really thankful for it.  It was almost as if all of the nasties out there could sense her mood and knew to stay away from her.  They were very wise.

With a large sigh, Buffy turned around and started heading back to meet the rest of the Scoobies to make sure that all was well.  She decided that her life had become pretty pathetic now that she was avoiding most places incase he was there.  She wouldn't even go to the Bronze anymore after she had seen him there, staring at her with those solemn eyes that seemed to speak of love.  Of course she knew that it wasn't love, but an obsession that he would outgrow.  At least she hoped that he would outgrow it, because she really wanted to get back to her normal life.  

*Normal...  Ha!*

Once she got to the outside of the cemetary, Buffy sat down on the sidewalk while she waited for her friends to get there.  She was a few minutes early, so she knew that she would have to do a bit of waiting, but once a half hour had gone by, she really started to worry.  Mumbling to herself about the injustices of being a Slayer, she made her way into the cemetary, and got ready to yell at the gang for making her risk the chance of seeing Spike.

"If they're not in trouble, I swear I'm gonna-"

Buffy's mumbling got cut short when she spotted her friends about 100 feet away from where she stood.  It wasn't the sight of them that set her running as fast as her legs would carry her, but the hundreds of walking corpses that surrounded them.  The zombies seemed to be moving in slow motion, but there was still no way that she could take them all on.  Maybe seeing Spike wouldn't be such a bad idea afterall...

The Scoobies stood in a circle, fending off the not so pretty bodies that approached them.  Willow was doing her best to come up with a spell, but everytime her brain started to think of something, she would have to defend herself again.  She turned to her left and saw a zombie go up behind Giles, nearly sucking his brain out.  Doing the best that she could while she fended off her own zombie, she took the stake that she held and jammed it through it's eye, jumping back while a foul smelling liquid oozed out of the gash she had made.

To her relief, she saw Buffy running towards them at a furious pace.  Running equally fast from the other side of the cemetary was Spike, holding an oversized ax and a sword.  Willow let out a sigh of relief when she saw the cavalry arrive, and tried to hold on just a little bit longer.  

When Buffy saw Spike going towards them, her jaw set in a grim line, and she pummeled all of the zombies in the way of her path to her friends.  She got to them at the same time as the vampire, and took the ax that he tossed to her, gracefully beheading the zombies as they approached.  Together, the two mutilated enough bodies to form an army of body parts, but still they kept coming.  

Giles yelled out over the fray, "Buffy!  There are too many.  If we can find the one responsible for all of this, we can put a stop to it now!  Willow, do you know how to do a ritual location spell?"

The witch yelled out as best as she could without stopping her fight.  "I think I can do it, Giles!  Just look for a blue glow, and that's the one you have to stop!"

Willow stepped inside of the circle that the Scoobies had formed, and started to chant lowly while everybody else continued to fight.  It proved to be hard to concentrate with zombie parts flying all over the place, but she continued to chant until her eyes gave off a blue tint, and she could see a similar color surrounding an area behind the army of zombies.

Upon seeing the blue haze in the background, Buffy started to sprint, swooping her ax through the air and leaving a trail of body parts behind her.  When she finally got to the origin of the light, she raised her weapon to put an end to the sorry creature who had caused all of this, and froze in her tracks when she saw who it was.

Throwing her ax on the ground, Buffy picked up the figure that was kneeling behind the headstone, and let her fist smash into his nose.  Blood started gushing, and he let out a pain filled howl at her assault.  She continued to hit him, having no mercy for the one responsible, and refused to stop until she had no answers.

"Tell.  <punch>  Me.  <kick>  How.  <jab>  To.  <slap>  Stop.  <wham>  This.  <punch, kick, jab, slap, wham!> Now."

Now lying in a bloodied heap on the ground, Ethan Rayne spit out a mouthful of blood and lifted a weak finger to point to the headstone in front of him.  "Break it," he said in a near whisper.

Giving him a look that promised that she wasn't done with him yet, Buffy kicked the headstone with all of her stregnth, and stepped back in a fighting stance while it shattered.  With it, the zombies all vanished, and all was calm once again.

Well, all except for Buffy.  She grabbed Ethan by the collar of his shirt and forced him to his feet.  Even though she would never have it in her to kill a human, she had no problem with putting one such as the likes of him in pain.  He looked at her and let out a low laugh.  Make that a lot of pain.

Punching him in the nose again for good measure, Buffy ignored the sound of the cartilidge cracking, and started to shout.  "What the hell do you think you're doing?!  I thought I told you to get out of here."

He gave her his most charming smile; well, as charming as it could be with his smashed in face, and began to speak.  "It's good to see you too, Buffy!  Since I'm going to be in town for a while, I thought I should throw myself a welcome back party.  Pity that you killed all my guests.  Oh, and I do believe that your mother was one of them."

Buffy felt the fury unleash within her as his words hit her hard.  Her eyes welled up with tears, and she threw him back on the ground, pummeling him as much as she could without knocking him unconscious.  She wanted him to be awake, and to feel every bit of pain that she inflicted upon him.  It had been six months since Joyce had died, but the pain was still fresh in Buffy's heart.  She'd be damned if she would let that little troll stick around to cut deeper into her wounds.

Gritting her teeth while she spoke, Buffy momentarily stopped beating him so that she could tell him how things were going to be.  "Ethan, you are to leave and never come back.  You're a pitiful, ignorant, defenseless little bastard, and I'm sick of wasting my time on you.  I want you out.  Out of this town, and out of my life.  Now just pack your things and go, because next time I might not be so kind."

He groaned through his pain, and tried to pull himself up while his body felt like it was going to explode from the agony he was in.  "Don't you understand, Buffy?  If it wasn't for me, how much fun could this pathetic little town have?  All I want to do is show people how things really are..."

She glared at him, and gave him a final kick.  "Ethan, you could never understand how things are meant to be.  You think that we all need to have zombies treating us like Lunchables so that we can see how things really are?  You're disgusting.  Go!"

Practically crawling away, Ethan yanked off a piece of material from Buffy's ripped pants and began to mutter to himself.  "This is just the beginning...  Just wait until I give you the reality check that you deserve, you little bitch!"  The last thing that Buffy heard before she was surrounded by Spike and the Scoobies was Ethan's obnoxious laughter while he made his exit.

Once he saw the look of pain and fury in her eyes, Spike felt his heart break.  He hated to see Buffy so upset, and he wished he could kill whoever was responsible for it.  Unfortunately, there was the pesky problem of the chip in his head, and the fact that the one he loved more than anything hated him enough to want him dead.  For good this time.

Reaching his arm out to try to comfort her, he tried to hide his feelings when she pushed past him and left the bewildered group to think about what might have happened to make her so upset.  Everybody gave Spike a look of disapproval, and he walked away with his head down, assuming that he was the reason for her sadness.

***********


Ethan sat in the room out back at Willy's bar, drawing a diagram on the floor.  Candles had been strategically placed around the drawing that he had made with his own blood, and the piece of material that he had stolen from Buffy was in his hand, along with a small piece of paper.  A sly smile crossed his face when he thought of what was to happen, and he slowly began to chant.

Dalla sua ignoranza, nasca il suo sapere...
Per il suo futuro, fai riapparire il passato...
A un tempo dove non aveva difese...
A un'epoca dove non era niente...
Spogliela delle virtu' di questo guerriero...
E lascia che la verita' vengo scoperta.

With the last words spoken, he watched a faint red glow spread around the diagram, and with a knowing smile, he let the garment flutter to the ground.  When it went up in smoke, his smile grew and he let the piece of paper that he had been reading from drop out of his hand as he walked away, and waited for what was to come.

 From her ignorance, let knowledge be born...
For her future, bring forth the past...
To a time where she will have no defenses...
To an era where she is nothing...
Strip off the virtues of this warrior...
And let the truth be seen within.

***********

Still extremely upset with what had happened earlier, Buffy stomped towards her house, and prayed that Giles was already asleep.  She had spent an hour in hiding after she stormed away from her friends, and she just hoped that it was enough time for everyone to go off on their own paths.  

A groan escaped her lips when she heard soft footsteps coming from behind her, and when she whipped her head around, she had the sudden urge to run.  Spike caught up to her, and she really wished that she had gone with her urge.  

"Slayer- Buffy.  Please just talk to me, luv.  I know that you're mad at me, but...  But I love you.  And you can't blame a bloke for trying.  Maybe I didn't go about it the best way, but still.  Don't I get points for intent?"

Buffy whirled around to face him with anger written across her features.  "Damnit, Spike!  You just don't get it.  You get no points.  You get nothing!  There is nothing there, and there never will be!  So just go.  Just leave, and... and...."

Spike's look of pain quickly turned into one of concern as Buffy's sentence trailed off.  Her face was rapidly becoming pale, and she was suddenly very disoriented.  Before he even got a chance to question her, a red glow spread around her, and she fell into his arms, unconscious.  

He didn't hesitate, because he didn't know if there was time.  Running as fast as he could, Spike fled to her house, hoping against all odds that everything would be okay.  Looking down at her, he realized that the chances didn't look good.




*~*~*~*~*~*



~ ~ Chapter 1 ~ ~


*Knock, knock, knock!*

Spike was frantically pounding on the door while he waited for somebody to
let him in so that they could help Buffy.  He didn't know what had happened
to her, but it was obviously magic, judging by the fact that she was
surrounded by a red glow.  Looking at her, he took notice that she was
smiling, which made him feel at least a little bit better about the
situation, but not enough to make him want to rip the door off the hinges any
less.   

After what seemed like an eternity, a befuddled Giles opened the door,
rubbing his eyes tiredly.  He let out a loud yawn, and stretched his arms
over his head before setting his gaze on whoever might be at the door.  Upon
seeing Spike with Buffy in his arms, he was fully awake in a heartbeat, and
pried the Slayer away from the terrified vampire.   

Running into the house to place her on the sofa, he didn't even notice that
Spike wasn't behind him.  When he heard the sound of a throat being cleared,
Giles turned his head for the first time, and saw the peroxide blonde stuck
at the barrier.  He stared at Spike with his brow furrowed, and put on his
best thinking face.

"Bloody invite me in, you ponce!  I can't do a lot of good standing out on
the porch like a soddin' wanker!"
"Right.  Well, err, come in, Spike."

Not even thinking about how great it felt to be allowed in her house again,
Spike ran inside and dropped to his knees at Buffy's side.  Her face was
starting to get warmer, and her hands were clenched together, but other than
that, she seemed unharmed.  Tearing his gaze off of her, Spike watched Giles
pace back and forth in front of his secret stash of books, trying to find
something to determine what was wrong with her.  Finally, he pulled out a
book and started skimming through it.

A small grin crossed his face when he let the hope that Giles would help her
sink in.  When he turned back to Buffy, his smile quickly faded.  Where he
had seen happiness a moment ago, there was now an unmistakable look of pain.   
Spike felt his heart drop to the floor.

*****************



Buffy was more happy than she had been in the past six months.  She was
having a dream where everything was as she thought it should be.  Her mother
was alive and well, Spike had never told her that he loved her, and the demon
population seemed to be on vacation.  Willow had found a spell that would
permanently attach Angel's soul to him, and they were able to live together
in happiness.  Everything was wonderful, and she doubted that anything could
ever go wrong.

But then she woke up.

When she tried to open her eyes, Buffy realized that the pain of moving was
unbearable.  Her hand reached up to touch her head, and it came in contact
with a large bump.  Moving her hand back down, she could feel a light wetness
from a small amount of her blood.   

Forcing her eyes to fully open, she took a look around her, and realized that
she had no idea as to where she was.  She was surrounded by trees, and there
didn't seem to be any paved roads.  There didn't seem to be much of anything.
The only thing that she knew was that there was a tree branch with small
spots of blood on it, so she assumed that it was from her.   

*Great.  This is just peachy.  I'm in the middle of nowhere, I don't know how
I got here, and it looks like I ran into a fucking tree.  Smart.  Very smart.
You're the goddamn slayer, and you're stuck in the woods looking at a Buffy
shaped dent in the tree.  I really need to get a life.*

Trying not to concentrate on the pain, she pulled herself to her feet and
picked a direction to walk in. Everything looked the same, so she didn't
know where to go, but she did have a very good strategy for choosing a path.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, mo..."

When she finally decided on where to go, she was surprised to see that it was a struggle to walk.  She felt like she was carrying every weapon that she owned, and she knew that her hands were empty.  Looking down at her body to try to find chains or something that was weighing her down, she stopped dead in her tracks, and her face paled.

No longer was she wearing the pair of snug fitting jeans and tank top that she remembered being in earlier.  Instead, she found herself in a very old fashioned dress. The gown that she wore was a light blue shade.  It was long, flowing and very tight on the top half, probably because of what she assumed to be a girdle.  The sleeves of the gown were wide, and they were closely fitted over her wrists.  The neckline plunged down enough to show a bit of cleavage, but not low enough to be a distraction.   

Her feet were clad in a sewn pair of shoes, which were embroidered with elaborate designs that made her look almost like royalty.  Her hair was up in an elaborate design, with two braided sections that came around her head, almost looking like a crown, and pieces of silk that matched her dress were interwoven into her light hair.  Small tendrils of perfect curls tickled at the nape of her neck, making her wish for a mirror.  Whoever had sent her there couldn't have meant her any harm from the looks of it, and that thought relaxed her mind a bit.

As she started to go off in the direction that she had chosen, she felt a light vibration rumbling the ground, and she immediately feared an earthquake.  The sound continued to get closer, and she decided that it moved, so it couldn't be nature.  Picking up her gown so that she could walk easier, she walked towards the sound, ready to fight if she had to.

Buffy had hardly gotten anywhere when she discovered where the sounds had come from.  Riding toward her at a furious speed, were five men on horses, who seemed to be looking for somebody.  She slowly walked towards them, seriously beginning to panic.  The five men were all dressed in armor, and looked like pictures that she had seen in her history books.  When she saw their swords, and their grim posture, she started to run.

*Go, go Slayer speed, go!*

Gathering her gown as far up as she could without giving them a peep show, she tried to increase her speed, but it was to no avail.  For some reason, she couldn't make her legs move faster.  It was almost as if she had lost her ability to move quickly.  It was like she was a normal girl.

It barely took a moment for the knights to reach her, and when they did, Buffy got ready to fight.  The one at the front of the group got off of his horse and approached her carefully.  He slowly shook his head at her, and began to speak.

"M'lady, why must you run from your future?  His majesty is not pleased."

"His...  His majesty?"

"He was awakened from his slumber when your servant ran to his bed chamber to tell him that you had gone missing.  Again."

"My servant?"

"Come now, and I am sure that he will be lenient...  And I beg of you, please stop acting as if you do not understand what I am talking about.  I would hate to see the King get angry."

Buffy silently nodded at the knight, and allowed him to help her sit sidesaddle on a horse.  They began to ride through the countryside, back towards the place where he said that she ran from.  She didn't know what was going on, but she really couldn't understand why anybody would ever want to run from a lifestyle like that.  Maybe she could just find her way home a bit later...

As they rode, she took in the scenery around her, and grew more confused by the second.  She decided that she was definitely somewhere back in time, but she didn't understand how she got there.  They rode by a market with dozens of vendors selling various goods from stands that reminded her of a hot-dog stand.  The other women were dressed similarly to Buffy, but their dresses were not nearly as elegant, and they almost looked dirty.

The further along they moved, the less people that Buffy saw.  Finally, they came to a large gate, and Buffy's eyes popped open in shock at the palace that was behind the doors.  It was made of stone, and had elaborate carvings engraved along top.  The gardens were magnificent, and put the work that Buffy had done in the backyard to make her mother proud, to shame.  It really was a breathtaking sight, and Buffy felt her fear begin to reside.   

The knight led her across the moat, and gently set her down at the main door of the castle.  He led her through the halls, not allowing her time to take in her surroundings, and motioned for her to stay put while he walked through a grand set of doors. When the door shut behind him again, she heard a loud roar come from who she presumed to be the king.   

A moment later, the knight emerged from the room with a swollen eye, and let out a gulp.  Lifting his head back up in a gesture of pride, he told her to enter, because the King had a few words to speak to her.

Swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, Buffy walked
through the doors, and almost dropped dead when she saw who the king was.   
She brought her hands up to her face, and let out a low whisper.

"Angel?"

*****************


"Watcher, did you find anything yet?"

Giles sent Spike an irritated glance for what could have been the millionth time that night. He had been looking for hours, and so far there was nothing that could be of any help.  There were explanations for spontaneous combustion, extra body parts mysteriously forming, and how to travel back in time, but nothing that would be of any use to them.  With a sigh, he closed the book, and tried to control his anger.   

"Nothing yet, Spike.  Not unless we want to get rid of body parts or travel back in time, and I don't think that either of those will be of help to us right now.  Though if you don't stop asking me bloody stupid questions, I might try to remove some parts from you!"

Spike took that as his cue to keep his mouth shut, and let Giles keep looking. His mind was a myriad of emotions, and he didn't know how to feel.    On one hand, Buffy appeared to be healthy and she didn't look like she was in pain anymore, but on the other, she did have a funny looking light emanating from her body, and they couldn't wake her up.   

Walking back towards Buffy, he decided to just hold on to the hope that everything would turn out alright, and take his seat by her side.  What he saw made him freeze in his tracks.  Her face was etched in the shape of a silent scream, and there were tears streaming down her cheeks.  Things definitely did not look good.

*****************

Buffy looked up at Angel with hope and love in her eyes.  A small smile spread across his face when he saw the look that she flashed him, and he motioned for her to come closer.  He stood up from the simple throne, and held his arms open to welcome her with an embrace.  She ran to him as fast as she could, and let herself get lost in the feel of his arms wrapped around her.   

Maybe she was still dreaming...  Maybe her dream had come true...  Maybe she was in a land where her and Angel really could be together...  Maybe...    Maybe Angel had a heartbeat?

Buffy pulled her face back to look at him in confusion.  He continued to smile at her encouragingly, and she decided not to dwell on why things were, and to just let them be.  This is what she had always wanted, and now she had it.

"Now Buffy, why did you try to run away again?  The wedding is in 30 moons
and this is when you chose to leave?"
"Oh, Angel, I'm so sorry! I'm here now though, and I promise to never leave
you again!"
"Buffy?"
"Yes, Angel?"

She froze in shock when he slapped her across the face, and gave her a wicked sneer.  Fury began to well up inside of her, and she flung her arm out with all her strength to defend herself.  To her horror, all that she managed to do was to daintily slap him in the chest. She kept trying to hit him, but there was no power behind any of her slaps. She had lost her strength.  All of it.

Angel let out a throaty laugh, and grabbed onto her hair, holding her head to meet his gaze while he spoke in a harsh tone.

"You will never disrespect me again by speaking to me in such informal terms! I am the King, your master, and you will respect and obey me!  From here on end, you are to call me by the same name that the servants do!  I am King Angelus, and that is what you will call me. Now get out of my sight, and get to your chamber.  You will be watched tonight, and every night, from here hence forth!  Go!!!"

Her eyes began to well up with tears while he spoke.  She didn't understand any of it, and she didn't know if she wanted to.  In a hurt voice, she asked, "Why are you acting like this?  Don't...  Don't you love me?"

His laughter nearly bubbled out of him when he took in her shaken appearance, and her pain filled words.

"Insolent fool!  What does love have to do with this? The only reason that I accepted your dowry was because I needed the allies! You should be glad for what you are!  You are the future queen!  Do you know how many women would love to be in your place?  My mistresses envy you, because for them it is nothing more than sex.  When I choose to go to you for my pleasure, and to bear my children, all of the women in the country will weep at your fortune!"

Buffy's lips continued to tremble when she heard of his mistresses.  That just wasn't right.  What good was it for her to have a chance to be with Angel if he didn't even care about her?

"Now, go!  Tonight's mistress is awaiting my arrival.  I should have been to her hours ago, but you chose that time to disappear!  Now I don't even know if I can get my prick hard, I am so angry!  Get out!"

Buffy slowly started to back up as the pain of his words really sank in. With tears streaming down her face, she sent one last look at her first love, and upon seeing his mistress, let out a bloodcurdling scream.



*~*~*~*~*~*



~ ~ Chapter 2 ~ ~



When Buffy saw who Angel's mistress was, she let out the loudest, most heartfelt scream of her life.  She knew that he didn't care about her in the twisted land that she had been sent to, but there was a world of difference between knowing and seeing.  Especially when it came to seeing him with that whore.

The King abruptly swung himself around to see what on earth had made Buffy scream like that.  He saw her wide, tearful eyes pointed at his lover, and let out an annoyed sigh.  Stalking towards his future Queen like she was his prey, he roughly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out into the hallway.  His mistress stared on in wonder, smirking at the situation unfolding before her.  

The door slammed shut when they exited the room, and Angel hit her for the second time that night.  Buffy still couldn't grasp the concept that she had no strength, and tried to hit him back.  Her nails raked at his face, drawing a small drop of blood, and she hissed at him defiantly.  His hand went up to his face, and he slowly wiped away the crimson bead.  With a fierce growl, he threw her to the floor and yelled for his guards.  

Seconds later, a group of knights marched towards them, ready to do as they were told.  Angel motioned towards the knight at the front of the line, who Buffy assumed was the most important, and started talking to him in a hushed tone.  The knight slowly nodded and helped Buffy to her feet, gently leading her to her room, while Angel went back into the other room.  As she was led away, Buffy could hear Angel murmuring, and Faith moaning loudly.

*****************

"Shit.  Not good.  So bloody not good."

Spike paced back and forth in Buffy's living room while her face changed from one expression to another.  Giles was still trying to figure out what to do, and he was growing very impatient, very quickly.  He had called Willow to come and try to help, because he thought that the witch should know a little something about magic.  That, and he couldn't bare the thought of calling the whelp or any of the others.

A knock at the door sent Spike running from Buffy's side to answer it.  He flung it open and practically dragged Willow inside before a word was spoken.  She had no idea what was going on, because he hadn't gone into detail on the phone, but the second that Buffy came into view, her hands flew up to cover her mouth, and she let out a gasp.  Her best friend was laying there with tears rolling down her cheeks, and her brow furrowed in sadness.  She didn't know what was going on, but she was determined to find out.

Willow turned to the two men, and tried to be logical about everything that was going on.  She needed some explanations, and the look on Buffy's face made it impossible for her to wait.

"What happened?  Tell me everything you know!"

"Everything?  Alright, when I was a lad, the food choices in England were just not acceptable.  No flowering onions, no-"

"Willow, ignore the profoundly stupid vampire in the corner.  Buffy was walking with Spike, and she suddenly collapsed.  This is how she's been ever since."
"I'm not bloody stupid."

"Okay, do you know if she was fighting any particular demons tonight?  Maybe they're the ones who caused this?"

"Well, pet, what about the zombies tonight in the cemetery?  Did either of you see what she killed to stop them?"

The three just stood there in silence, trying to figure out what Buffy had been fighting.  They had all been struggling with the zombies while she was trying to stop them, and when they got back to her at the headstone, she took off.  There was nothing for them to go on as far as the knowledge of what they were up against went.  

With a feeling of dread spreading over them, Spike, Giles, and Willow each picked up a book and started to read.  Spike mentally prayed for Buffy to be okay to whoever would listen to him.

*****************


When Buffy got to her room, she was still sniffling quite a bit.  The knight that led her there kept a comforting hand on her shoulder, and surprisingly, it made her feel a bit better.  There was something about him that just seemed supportive, and after what she had been through, she needed all the comfort she could get.

Seeing Angel with Faith had been hard enough back in Sunnydale.  Here, where he was a human and she was supposed to marry him, it was a bit beyond difficult.  It was just plain devastating.

When she walked through the door to her room, the knight gave her a brief nod, and stood outside of the door.  Buffy cocked her head to the side, wondering what he was doing, and why he was still there.  From the looks of it, he had no intentions of going in there, but he also didn't plan on moving from his spot.  

*I really wanna go home.*

She slowly walked towards the knight, not understanding how things worked in the confusing time that she had been sent to.  All she knew was that she was completely helpless, Angel was an asshole, and Faith was still a whore.  That, and there was a knight who hadn't spoken a word to her, but still managed to have a comfortable presence, standing outside of her room.  

Buffy stood in front of him, and asked him why he was just standing there.  The knight's response was muffled through the closed helmet that he wore, so she took a step closer to try to hear him.  He repeated himself, to no avail, and finally took off his helmet that covered him from her sight, to speak.

When she saw the face of the only person who had been kind to her since she got there, Buffy's eyes grew as wide as saucers.  She started shaking her head, back and forth in denial, and he stared at her in confusion.  He took a step towards her to see if she was okay, and when his hand brushed across her shoulder, she collapsed to the floor, unconscious again.

*****************


"Ooh, I think I've got something!"

Giles and Spike whipped their heads around to see what Willow had found.  Sadly, her happy face turned to one of disappointment a moment later.  She gave them a sheepish grin and sat back down to keep looking.  It hadn't been all that long since they had started their search through the books.  In reality, it had only been about an hour since Buffy had even passed out.  Time was just moving way too slow at that moment.

*Cor, I miss her...  I know it's only been an hour.  One stupid, soddin' hour.  But it doesn't matter.  I would do anything right now to have her back with us.  Even if that meant lettin' her take all her frustrations out on me.  Hell, I would strap myself to the ceiling on a chain, stark bloody naked, and let her use my bullocks as punching bags if it would get her back!  Anything.  I would do anything to have her be safe.  I would do anything for her.*

Spike was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand slap him upside the head.  He turned around, complaining loudly, and stopped when he saw the look that Giles was giving him.  

"Well, praise the Lord.  You've finally decided to come back to us.  I've on been saying your name for the past five minutes."

"Oh, right then.  What is it, Watcher?"

"The book in your lap is upside down.  I thought you should know."

Looking down at the book, Spike realized that he was a bit more preoccupied than he had thought.  Trying to save himself from further embarrassment, he sat up straight and began to flip through the pages diligently.

"Alright, mate.  Sorry 'bout that.  The answers have to be around her somewhere.  We just need to figure out what we're lookin' for."

Giles and Willow nodded as they turned back to their own books, and once again, the three searched for some kind of clue to help them out.  If only they could know something, even if it was just a tiny morsel of fact, it would be so much easier to know how much time they had.  So far, they knew nothing.

Behind their backs, Buffy began to smile.

*****************

When Buffy drifted back to consciousness, she tried to tell herself that it was all just a dream.  What else could it be?  There was no way that she was back in fourteenth century England.  There was no way that she was betrothed to 'King Angelus.'  There was no way that Faith was his little whore.  Most importantly, there was no way that Spike was staring down at her dressed as a knight.

Slowly opening her eyes to take a look around her, she let out a groan.  Everything was true, and there was nothing she could do about it.  Spike was squatting next to her with her head in his lap, and his eyes shone with true concern.  

"M'lady, are you alright?"

"W-What are you doing here?"

"King Angelus wishes for me to stay with you right now."
"Why?"
"For I am your protector."

At that, Buffy just started to laugh.  She laughed and laughed until she couldn't breathe, and then she took another look at Spike and started to laugh some more.  He stood there, staring at her as if she had gone mad, and she laughed even harder when she realized that she really had.  Whatever was left of her mind before she saw who the knight was left at that moment.  She had completely lost it.

When her laughter had died down a bit, she tried to speak.  The concerned look in his hypnotizing blue eyes made that a bit difficult, but she finally stopped.

"So let me get this straight.  You are my knight in shining armor?!"

"Well, my armor isn't really shiny, but I suppose you could say that."

"I see.  <smirk>  And, let me guess, your name is William?  <small laugh>  Right?"

"Sir William, yes.  How did you know?"

"Let's just say I had a hunch.  God, I need to go home.  Like, now."

Buffy started to retreat into her room with that said.  Completely perplexed by her mention of her home, her protector followed after her, stopping once he reached the doorway.  She knew he had been following her, and was confused by why she was standing in her room alone.  Turning to him, she realized that he had stopped like a vampire would for a barrier of somewhere that he wasn't invited into.  A smile spread across her face when she decided that he was still a vampire in this world.

"Why are you standing out there?"

"It would have been impolite of me to enter without your consent, Lady Buffy."

"Uh huh...  I see..."

"But pray tell me, how is it that you knew my name, and what did you mean by wanting to go home?"

When Buffy looked at him that time, she realized that he really was serious.  He wasn't trying to get her into bed, or to make her feel stupid.  He was really just trying to be polite.  It was a nice feeling.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Buffy smiled.  She motioned for Spike to follow her, and led him into the sitting area of her room.  He sat down next to her, being a gentleman and keeping his distance, and she began her story.  She gave a mild version of it, of course, but she stuck to the basics.  The future queen told him about how she came from a place called Sunnydale, from far off in the future.  She didn't even get frustrated when she had to explain the concepts of cars, electricity, or America in general.  He hung onto every word that she said, seriously intrigued, and she hadn't even gotten to the good parts.

Buffy hadn't mentioned how everybody here resembled somebody from back home.  She didn't tell him about the demons, or the Hellmouth.  She didn't tell him about how sitting there with him was making her miss everyone, even Spike.  But still, he was interested.  

When she got to the end of her story, where she was walking back to her house and she collapsed, he was literally sitting on the edge of his seat.  There was an excited gleam in his eyes, that made him look so innocent that she couldn't even believe he was the same as her Spike.  When she looked more closely though, she realized that there wasn't really that big of a difference at all.

After hearing her whole edited story, he sat back in his seat, letting out a breath of disbelief.  He did believe her though.  In his opinion, there was no way that a lady as sweet as her could come up with a lie like that.  At that moment, for the first time in his life, Sir William began to feel a strong hatred for his King.  From the way that he had talked about her, Spike was convinced that she was no better than one of the mistresses; no better than a street urchin.  When he looked up at her beautiful face though, he was convinced that nothing could be further from the truth.

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall pulled them both out of their thoughts.  They both looked up at the same moment, and he hurried to pick up his helmet.  Letting his lips briefly flutter across her hand, he stood up and gave her a smile.  On his way out the door, Buffy called out to him.

"Sir William?"

"Yes, Lady Buffy?"

"Please, just call me Buffy."

"Alright then, Buffy.  What do you need?"

"I just wanted to say...  Thank you.  Thank you for everything."

He smiled at her from the doorway, and gave her a brief bow before he walked off.  Once he was gone, Buffy flopped onto her bed with a huge smile on her face.  Maybe things wouldn't be so bad afterall.  At least somebody was on her side, and at that moment, she wouldn't have wished for it to be anybody else.

When Buffy finally found a happy thought to keep her going, she was startled by the sound of a loud bang.  She jumped up as fast as she could, and turned towards the door, with her mouth dropping open in shock.    

"Dawn?!?"




*~*~*~*~*~*



~ ~ Chapter 3 ~ ~


Dawn was completely taken aback when Buffy screamed her name and wrapped her arms around her in a sisterly hug.  They had never met before, that much she knew, so she couldn't understand why there were still future queen arms wrapped around her.  Dawn gave her a kind smile, and lightly patted her on the back, trying not to be rude.

Even if she hadn't been a polite person to begin with, Dawn wouldn't have been able to escape from the hug, though.  First of all, it would not be wise for a servant to create a problem with the future Queen.  Secondly, she had been given strict orders by the King that clearly stated that she was to be friendly to her.  He had told her that Buffy was a bit off, and that she needed to be watched at all times for her own safety.  When Dawn saw the scratches on King Angelus' face, she knew that what he said about Buffy must have been true.  Nobody in their right mind could ever do that to the King!

So, for the sake of her king, herself, the future queen, and her country, Dawn gave the poor girl a hug, and got ready to assist her with anything that she needed.  She took a look at her, and decided that the outfit would have to be the first thing to go.  Dinner would be served in a little over an hour, and Buffy still needed to be bathed, dressed, and made up for the night.  If she couldn't get out of the hug though, it didn't look like they would be eating breakfast the next day either.

For the first time since she had seen Dawn enter the room, Buffy was hit with the realization that Dawn probably didn't even know who she was.  Light giggles poured out of her, and she waved her hand in indifference.

"I'm so sorry.  You don't even know me, do you?  I keep forgetting that."

Dawn sent her a smile, and when she walked over to her to help her undress, Buffy let out a yelp, and swatted her hand away.  Both of them were completely flustered.  Buffy's mind kept yelling out, 'Incest!  Incest!' and Dawn was just completely convinced that the King was right about her.  Both stared at each other in confusion, and finally Buffy just collected her things from Dawn's arms, and went to get herself ready.

A few moments later, Buffy was back with a sheepish grin, asking for help with the girdle.  She had never worn one before, never needed to, but it seemed customary to wear one, and she didn't want to go even more against their times as she already had.  Once she was fully ready, Buffy did a little twirl in front of her mirror, and admired her appearance.  The fashion style was definitely more flattering than what she was used to!

Before she had a chance to survey herself anymore, the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway could be heard.  Letting out a deep groan, Buffy made a mental note to talk to Dawn after whatever dinner was planned.  

A moment later, she was escorted to the dining hall, where she was seated between the only two men that she knew in that strange time.  To Buffy's right sat King Angelus, who gave her an evil sneer when nobody else was looking.  To her left sat Sir William, giving her a shy smile when she caught him gazing at her beauty.  A low blush spread across her cheeks, and she glanced back down at the table in front of her.

She was saved from further embarrassment when the food started to come out.  One of the King's many servants placed a bowl of soup down in front of her, and gave her a small nod.  Buffy looked around, and tried to find the silverware, but she was coming up blank.  A confused look crossed her face, and she looked to her left to try to see what everybody else was doing with their food.  Spike made a motion to either drink from the bowl, or to dip her bread in it, and she flashed him a grateful smile.

Throughout the dinner, Buffy and her protector kept sending glances at each other, but they would both turn away, red in embarrassment once they made eye contact.  The King accidentally elbowed her when they both went to take a sip of their drinks, and he flashed her a menacing look that promised pain in her future.  Tears started to fill her eyes, and she turned in the other direction to hide them.  

Underneath the table, Spike gently patted her hand, and she looked up to meet his gaze.  Their eyes met, and neither of them moved.  They probably couldn't have if they tried.  It was obvious that there was something there, and even though they both knew that it could never happen, it was nice to pretend for at least a moment.

While they continued to stare deep into each other's eyes, the world seemed to disappear around them, and there was only them.  In the background, a jester tried to amuse the king by juggling while he sang a tune.  When he finished his first song, Angelus gave him a disinterested look, and said that his future Queen seemed to be bored.

The fool opened his mouth to protest, but with a flick of his wrist, the King motioned for somebody to take him outside and beat him to death.  Two of his servants obliged, and dragged the jester out of the room.

Buffy tore her gaze away from Spike's for a moment, and for the first time realized that she had completely zoned out.  A small voice at the back of her mind nagged at her, and she turned around with a confused look.

*Did I just hear Xander singing?*

The sounds of banging vibrated the walls, and tortured screams could be heard from outside of the room.  Two men came back into the dining room, and sat with the rest of the servants, away from the more elite crowd.  Upon seeing the smiles on everybody's faces, Buffy shrugged her shoulders, and turned to look into those hypnotizing eyes again.

*****************

"Watcher!  Witch!  I think I found something!"

Spike was practically jumping up and down with joy at his discovery.  Willow and Giles threw their books on the floor and ran over to the vampire, ready to jump up and down with him.  

"Right here, there's a spell.  It won't get her back for us, but it can let us see whatever she's seeing.  So maybe if we can see through her eyes, we'll know where she is, and we can get her the bloody hell out of there!"

Willow took the book from him and started to read the spell over.  It was going to be a hard one, that much she could tell, but she knew that she would be able to do it with a bit of help.  Giles and Spike stared at her while she read, and waited for her to say whether or not she would be able to do it.  It was a good thing that Spike didn't need to breathe, because he probably would have passed out from holding his breath while he waited for her response.

"Okay, guys, I think I can do this.  I need some ingredients, but I can get all of them at the magic shop.  For now, let's keep reading, and see what else we can come up with."

Spike was ready to run out into the door the second he heard that they could get the ingredients, but Willow stopped him when she spoke.

"Spike, where are you going?"

"You said that we can get the ingredients, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't mean-"

"Right then.  The ingredients are at the magic shop, that's all we need to know.  C'mon now!  Let's go!"

"Spike, wait!  We can't even do the spell until tomorrow night.  It needs a full moon to work."

At hearing that, his face visibly fell.  Spike looked back at Buffy's body, and was just thankful that she looked peaceful.  For the first time since the whole mess had started, she seemed to be calm, relaxed.  Moving at the speed of a disabled snail, he trudged back over to his book to keep looking.  Willow's eyes were filled with sympathy, and she reached out to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.  He looked up at her with a faint trace of a smile, and for the first time ever, he felt like more than just a vampire.  He felt like a friend.

*****************


After dinner was over, and the King had finished making Buffy feel like an irritating child, she went to her room, and got ready to sleep.  When she closed her eyes, she felt completely at peace for the first time in what felt like forever.  She had vivid dreams of a combination of both worlds.  Vampires and knights.  Demons and kings.  Keys and servants.

There was one thing that she kept seeing in every part of her dreams that made her want to smile at the happy moments, and made her feel better on the sad ones.  A pair of loving blue eyes showed up everywhere that she went, and she didn't even know who they belonged to anymore.  She told herself that they belonged to William, but the deeper her dreams got, she realized that they could just as easily be Spike's.  There really wasn't a big difference between the two.

The next morning, Buffy stretched her arms out, and let out a cat like purr at the memory of her dreams.  Smiling at the thought of them, she opened her eyes and got ready to start another new day.  Staring back at her were a pair of brown eyes, full of jealousy.

"Lady Buffy."

"Faith."

The two glared at each other, their faces both masks of contempt, neither wanting to be there any more than the other.  

"Why are you in my room?"

"King Angelus has sent me here as...  a punishment."

"Is this a joke?"

"I wish it was."

More staring took place while both fought to control their tempers.

"How is being in my way a punishment for you?  And what are you being punished for?"

"I am being punished for ... for begging King Angelus to give me my release for the sweet torment that he bestowed upon me last night in his bed chamber, even though he had already finished."

"So he didn't make you cum, huh?  I guess the stallion couldn't keep up with somebody of your ... experience.  That still doesn't explain why you're here though."

"I am being sent to you because he has told me of your insanity, and he thinks it will do me well to suffer for my actions."

"He told you that I'm insane?  Well, he didn't have to say a word to me, and I already know that you're a whore."

Buffy smirked at Faith, while the brunette's face turned beet red with anger.  Buffy might not have the physical strength that she would have back home, but she did have the power of being a bitch.  She also didn't have any power when it came to the male gender, but she could do as she pleased to the women, and there was nothing that Faith could do about it.  Sometimes people just have to make their own fun.

Keeping a hold on her tongue, Faith shuffled around the room to prepare Buffy's things for her.  After she had everything gathered, she stalked back over to Buffy and matched her expression with a smirk of her own.

"Oh, and Lady Buffy...  King Angelus would not be rude enough to neglect the scene that you made yesterday.  Not only did you run away, but your behavior upon your arrival was uncalled for.  I do believe that he said something about a punishment for you..."

When she heard that, Buffy visibly paled.  She knew from first hand experience that Angelus could be far beyond evil, and she didn't even want to think about what he would do to punish her for what she did, if Faith was forced to maid after the woman that she knew she could never be, just for wanting him to return a favor.  She took a deep gulp of fresh air before she said anything.

"Oh?  And what might that be?"

"While I do think that he is letting you off far too easy, he has decided on two things.  First and foremost, every movement that you make will be watched by his most honorable and vicious knight.  The gossips say that he has killed a boar with a single movement, and that he can behead a man with nothing more than the strength of his own two hands.  He is the one who will be near you at all hours of the day, and he will sleep in the room next to yours at night.  There will be no escape from your fate."

Back in her world, she wouldn't have been worried about it, but here everything was different.  Buffy didn't even want to fathom the thought of having to spend every waking moment with the ogre that Faith had described.

"Yes, Lady Buffy, the King's plan is bittersweet, indeed.  Our strongest warrior will be sure to give you the treatment that you deserve.  He will not fail in his task.  Sir William has never failed."

Buffy's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she heard of the first part of her 'punishment.'  It took all of her self control to keep her happiness at bay, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep a straight face.

"And the second part of my punishment?"

Faith's eyes darkened at hearing that question, and she gnashed her teeth together as she responded.

"The rest of the punishment is for both of us."

Buffy smirked at her, and motioned for her to continue.  If the worst part of her punishment was to have the gallant Spike around at all times, she couldn't wait to hear the rest.  What could it be, a personal masseuse?

"The rest of your punishment is that in twenty more moons...  You will be wed."


Continued...




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