~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Okay, Willow, just one more and then there's no way you're going to sleep.)
She coughed slightly, sputtering as she downed her third double espresso.
(Does that mean I've had six espressos? she thought loopily. Oh, dear,
I can
feel my heart rate in my thumbs. Is that a bad thing?)
After her realization in the library, she had stammered something about
suddenly feeling ill and stumbled out like an embarassed bull in a
china
shop.
Angel had tried to stop her, but he couldn't without looking incredibly
suspicious. Buffy already had a jealous streak a mile wide. Him showing
concern for her friend would push her over the edge.
Across town, Angel was jumping rope. Boxer style. In his underwear.
Anything to keep from going to sleep. From going back to that place
where he
and Willow were lovers. The place he never wanted to leave until he
realized
it could be real.
(How the hell could this be happening? Is Willow messing around with
magic
again? No... she looked just as shocked as I was.)
He stopped for a moment, remembering what she had worn in their last
dream.
The feeling of sliding the silky material down her smooth, warm skin.
The
way she smelled as her crimson hair fell over his face.
He shuddered. (Cold shower. That's what I need. A nice cold shower to
wake
me up and make other awake things.... go away.)
Willow screeched as the icy water sluiced over her body. She watched
as her
nailbeds turned a disturbing shade of purple. THe coffee was not working.
All it did was make her mind race as she yawned. Images flowed through
her
head. Angel's dark eyes running over her body as she walked into his
chambers. The smell of honey and apricots as he pressed fruit between
her
lips.
"ARGHHH!" she groaned.
She fumbled for the cold water knob and blasted her skin with the coldest
water possible.
Angel screeched as the icy needles struck his skin. This wasn't doing
any
good. Now he was just horny and sleepy.
He threw the shower curtain back and threw on a pair of pajama pants.
"Just a few minutes," he yawned.
"How can I get to a dream state in a few minutes?" Willow asked, yawning
widely as she pulled her sheets to her chin and setting her alarm for
10
minutes later. "Just a little nap. That's all I need."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Willow sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Shit," she muttered. She was back in the harem room, surrounded by
the
other girls. Delilah was shaking her shoulder.
"Well, good evening to you, too," Delilah grinned.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Willow giggled. "I was just having a weird dream."
"I've had those," Delilah said, pulling Willow up from her palette.
"The
last one involved a big hairy monkey chasing me around with a banana.
What
do you think that means?"
Willow bit her lip almost to the point of bleeding to keep from bursting
into laughter over the obvious Freudian overtones. "I have no idea."
"What's so funny?" Delilah asked. Willow shrugged. "Well, you'd better
stop
laughing, Galen has called for you again."
"Of course he has," Willow grumbled.
"You make it sound as though you don't like all the attention," Delilah
laughed. "If you ask me you're really testing the capacity of the other
girls' jealousy."
Willow grinned. "I know, I'm sorry."
"Let's get you dressed," Delilah said, unravelling her complicated sarong.
"I'm always being dressed and undressed," Willow grumbled.
"If I were you I wouldn't be complaining about being undressed by Galen,"
a
beautiful brunette named Inell approached them, carrying a silver comb
and a
wry grin. Inell was wearing a ruby red dress speckled with red gems.
Willow giggled as Delilah helped her step into a slinky emerald-colored
skirt. Inell brushed Willow's hair into a shining coil on top of her
head.
"Ow!" Willow winced as Inell shoved a heavy ornate headpiece in place
through her hair.
"Sorry," Inell grinned sheepishly.
"Don't you gave somewhere else to be?" Willow asked.
Inell looked up. "Of course!"
She smiled conspiratorily at Delilah and Willow and ran for the door.
"I didn't mean to hurt her feelings," Willow said.
"Oh, I'm sure in a few minutes, she'll be in a much better mood," Delilah
winked.
(What the hell does that mean?)
"There, perfect," Delilah said, pulling her shawl over her shoulders.
"Fit for a king."
Willow was led from the harem room down the hall to Angel's chambers.
As
she passed a dark nook, she saw a flash of red. Careful not to call
the
guards attention to it, she craned her neck to see Inell wrapped in
the arms
of a tall, blonde man in garb of the palace guard. A tall blonde guy
who
bore an incredible resemblence to ... Spike.
That proved it, Spike was there. It had to be a dream. Otherwise...
she
didn't want to think about the otherwise. She grinned as the doors
to
Angel's bedroom opened. Good thing Angel wasn't really king, he would
have
Spike castrated.
Angel was pacing the room. She tried not to meet his eyes.
"You may leave us, now." he told them.
Willow fought the urge to follow them out the door.
"Willow," Angel said softly.
"Oh, god, you know it's me," she sighed. "Angel, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know," Angel shrugged. "Have you been messing with magic again"
"No!" she cried.
"Maybe this is some sort of shared time-travel thing?" Angel raised
an
eyebrow.
"I don't think so," she said.
"What?" he demanded. "Weirder things have happened."
"Angel, I just saw Spike out in the hallway. Now unless he's travelling
through time with us, "Jules Verne," I think that proves that this
is a
dream."
"How does that prove it?"
"One of the harem girls reminds me of Cordelia, the palace guard looks
like
Spike. One of the eunichs looks like Xander."
"Not surprising," Angel snorted.
"So I'm thinking this is my dream and I somehow pulled you into it."
"OKay, so this is a dream," he shrugged. "Now what?"
Willow faltered. "I don't know."