Willow entered the room, closing the door then facing what had to be at least
a hundred lit candles. The scent was heavenly, a beautiful mixture of vanilla
and flowers and fruits. She'd never have been able to manage that perfect
blend of fragrances. The room was rather sparse for a business. She saw a
table that had two chairs around it. A few shelves held various bottles. She
moved closer, trying to read the small handwritten sign underneath one of the
displays. She gasped when she heard a twinkling sound, turning to see a
rather large woman watching her from beneath a curtain of bells and beads.
"H..h..hello," she stammered, feeling almost as if she had been caught doing
something rather than simply browsing in a store.
 

"Child," the woman said, her voice a melodic accent as varied as her candles.
"Let me look at you."
 

"Excuse me?" Willow asked, eyes narrowed as they moved over the woman. She
had dark hair peppered with gray, large brown eyes that looked at her
closely, a round body that moved quicker than Willow could pay attention, and
a smile that displayed one gold tooth that caught Willow's interest. She
replayed the words of the familiar song, shaking her head for being so
foolish. She was going crazy. Insanity brought on by too much second hand
smoke, she decided.
 

"Ah, I see it now," the woman that must be Madame Ruth said with a sparkle in
her eyes.
 

"See what?" Willow asked, scowling at the woman no matter how friendly she
might seem.
 

"The reason that you are here, my child," Ruth said, motioning towards the
chair. "Sit. Sit. We must talk so that I can learn the perfect concoction to
assist you."
 

"I don't even know why I'm here. How could you?" Willow challenged, finding
herself sitting down despite her reluctance.
 

"Madame Ruth sees it all," the woman said with a toothy smile. "She sees what
is in here," she pointed to her head, "but most of all she sees what is in
here," with that she pointed at her heart.
 

"I don't believe in that stuff," Willow said, challenging the woman. True,
she practiced witchcraft, but she had always seen these fortune tellers as a
fraud. People like Drusilla and Cordelia were seers, not someone that had to
put the words Madame in front of their name.
 

"Yes, you do," Ruth replied, "as long as it falls into the image that you
have cast alongside it."
 

"Whatever," Willow muttered, her green eyes looking at the table before she
looked up. "Fine, then. Why am I here?"
 

"I see it in your eyes, child," Ruth said, nodding. "You want to be loved."
 

"Who doesn't want to be loved?" Willow asked, sighing softly. The past five
months without anyone in her life had been more difficult than she had
expected. She missed waking up in someone's arms, laying against them as
they'd sit together, simply holding hands, the kisses, the tasting, the
touching. It had been so long since anyone had looked at her with love in
their eyes before kissing her. Hell, Spike had been the only person to kiss
her since she'd left Tara and those were brief little kisses against her
forehead. Brief little kisses that reminded her what she was missing.
 

"True, child. Love is the elusive thing that many search for and very few
truly find," Ruth said.
 

"True love?" Willow asked, wanting to make sure she understood.
 

"But of course," Ruth said. "There is love and then there is true love.
Sharing of mind, body and soul. Not as common as one might imagine. Sometimes
it is there and ignored. Sometimes it just needs a little help."
 

"And sometimes it just doesn't exist," Willow said.
 

"Child, it always exists. One has but to keep their eyes open and their
hearts available," Ruth said, studying the pretty redhead. "You have been
fortunate enough to find it, but you're foolish. You keep your eyes closed
and your head buried in the sand. It will pass you by, silly girl, and you
will never have another chance to share in its wonder."
 

"I'm not in love with anyone," Willow said honestly. "You must be talking
about someone else."
 

"He is there now. I feel him, in here," Ruth moved and put her hand above
Willow's breast against her heart. "You just won't acknowledge him, child."
 

"So I'm here to learn that I've supposedly fallen in love with my 'true
love'?" Willow asked, her words giving no doubt to her disbelief.
 

"That would be too easy, child," Ruth said, sighing. "Young people today. You
have such caution, such reserve. You do not believe in love any longer. Fear
surrounds you like a heavy dark cloud. Fear of being hurt. Fear of loss. Fear
of loneliness. To love, you must rid yourself of the fear and open your
heart."
 

"And you can do that?" Willow asked.
 

"Of course not," Ruth said, shaking her head. "Only you can perform something
so serious. I can give you something, though. Something to help you find that
love you are ignoring."
 

"A love potion?" Willow asked, laughing. "Don't tell me. Number 9?"
 

Ruth's lips twitched but she scolded, "Silly nonsense. It is a potion, child,
but something much stronger than number 9."
 

Ruth stood and moved to a shelf, pulling off a bottle of liquid. She held it
up to Willow, the candlelight illuminating the purple contents. "This is a
special recipe. With this, you will no longer be able to ignore what is right
in front of you. With this, true love will open both of your eyes, you and
your young man."
 

"A man?" Willow said, her eyes still on the liquid. Was it true? Could that
one bottle find her the love she had started to believe didn't exist?
 

"Yes, child, he is a man," Ruth said with a soft smile. "I call this love
potion number 12, a."

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