SPOILERS: nothing big. Graduation Day, a line or two from becoming 2.
SUMMARY: Buffy tells her daughter a truth.
I never really knew my mom. I was just 3 when she died. You can't miss what you never knew, logically, but it does feel emptier without her. My dad's an angel, but I would love to have known my mother. I'm 16, and Aunt Willow's given me a letter from Mom. Usually its Dad that gives out the letters, and I don't remember Kieran or Maighan getting letters when they turned 16, but I think I know what this is about.
I open the letter.
"Dear Melissa,
Your dad doesn't know this letter exists. He doesn't know about any of this. I couldn't break his heart and tell him then, because I only found out after I knew I was dying. I wish I could be there to tell you this myself. I never wanted this for you, but there's nothing I can do for you to stop it. You are destined to be a Slayer, and you'll be called when you're about 17. Maybe you'll be lucky, and you'll have graduated high school by then. Listen though, you WILL finish high school, and you WILL have a normal life, and you WILL have the chance to do anything you want because I did it. You have a support network, and everyone knows about slaying now. Don't listen to the slayer handbook, I never even knew about it, and it didn't hurt me. "
I'm a slayer. Oh god, that's what these sudden bursts of strength are all about. Oh god, I had suspected, but I was never sure.
"If I could have been strong enough, I would have told your dad. but sweetie, he was so happy when we discovered despite Maighan's unusual heritage, she wasn't to be a slayer. I couldn't burst his bubble and tell him his baby girl was going to be a slayer."
I can imagine. Dad has always hated that some young girl had to give up her life in order to save the world. I know he's risked his own life to stop the slayers dying, I realise he must see some small part of mom in each one.
"Your Aunt Willow knows. She's the only one. She'll help you tell your dad. You know he's not going to allow you to slay, but I've left a letter for him too. I don't want you to slay either, but promise me sweetie, that you'll think of it as a hobby, not as a duty. There are two of you now. Two of you. If Faith's still alive, she'll help you. If not, well there's going to be a slayer older than you when you're called."
Aunt Faith. Uncle Xander told me about her. She was called about 2 years after mom, and after a bad start, mom and aunt Faith were friends, but Aunt Faith was incredibly jealous of mom, and she turned against her. They fought, to the death supposedly before mom's graduation, and Aunt Faith was left in a coma. She wasn't supposed to awake. But just before mom died, she did, and she had seen the error of her ways. I don't know the details, but she saw some major prophecy while she was unconcious and this brought her back. She was killed by a master vampire about 3 years ago. Luckily, she took him out with her. Aunt Faith, sometimes, lived with us, after she took a year out, to get in touch with herself. There are two slayers just now, one in a land far from her, Kyra, who comes from the same people as mom's original replacement, Kendra did. MY mom started the two slayers, by surviving, and Kristen, who's 19. I don't know Kyra too well, but Kristen is Maighan's best friend. Oh god, I'm gonna be called when one of them dies.
"Honey, I know how hard slaying can be. Don't blame yourself for people who do die, congratulate yourself for the ones who survive. Use your emotions. As I once said to Kendra 'my emotions are like, total assets'. A slayer needs the fire of anger. I hope you need never use this piece of advice, but someone once said to me,
"no friends, no family, no watcher. Whats left?" before hoping to deliver the final blow and kill me once and for all. I answered "me", and managed to win that fight. As I won them all. And you have to remember, you always have yourself. And me. I'll always be here for you.
I love you sweetie. Be careful. Watch your back.
All my love
Mom."
My mom was a warrior. I'm going to honour her memory.
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