Things Unseen

By Gidgetgirl

Chapter Three

Anni, like Dawn and Buffy before her, made her way down the trellis with few complications. Also like her predecessors, the single complication occurred in the form of a demon, or rather, a former demon.

“What exactly are you doing, rather small person wearing very party-esque clothes?” Anya asked Anni, causing her to jump literally three feet in the air in surprise.

“Um,” Anni said, using the universal teenage expression meaning *stall, think, brain, think.* “This isn’t what it looks like, Anya,” she said.

Anya raised one eyebrow. “You’re not partaking in the ritual teenage rebellion of sneaking out, therefore outsmarting your parental units in a display of desire for independence and perhaps male companionship?” she asked.

Anni smiled. “Actually,” she said, hoping Anya would be as thrilled as Willow and Buffy had been with the prospect, “there’s this guy.”

“There always is,” Anya said. “If he hurts you, I can find someone to flay him for you,” she offered pleasantly.

“Um, thanks,” Anni said, using the second that-offer-disconcerts-me definition of the word “um.”

“Hey Anya,” Anni said, giving her a sweet smile. “Any chance you won’t tell Wes or Buffy or Willow about this?”

Anya thought about it. “That would probably be wrong,” Anya said thoughtfully.

“Come on,” Anni cajoled, “you just offered to flay someone for me. That’s wrong, too.”

“I suppose,” Anya said, running a hand carelessly through her hair.

Anni decided it was time to take a different approach. “As someone who appreciates the capitalist system, perhaps you would keep this confidence with some form of monetary compensation,” Anni said. Anya’s eyes lit up at the mention of money.

Anni fished a ten dollar bill out of her pocket. “I know it’s not much,” she said.

Anya grabbed it. “You’re secret’s safe with me, kid. Knock him dead, and remember, this is America, the land of democracy and capitalism, where everything and everyone can be bought, especially when the bills are crisp and smell so of economic potential.”

Anni gave Anya a quick hug, taking the older woman by surprise. Anya slipped the money into her pocket and walked carelessly into the Summers’ house.

Hopie smiled sweetly at Connor, currently wearing, albeit reluctantly, a tiara on his head. “Can’t we play something else?” he asked Hopie in a grunt. She shook her head, and gave him a look that very pointedly reminded him that she had been through a lot recently.

Angel smirked. “I think you make a very pretty princess, Connor,” he said. Hopie smiled at her daddy.

“Next time, it can be Uncle Gunn’s turn,” she said brightly. Angel squeaked his rubber ducky in excitement. Finally, someone else was the princess.

“Hell no,” Gunn said.

“What?!” Cordelia yelled from downstairs.

“How did she hear that?” Gunn asked, not wanting to incite the wrath of Cordelia for swearing in front of Hopie.

“Momma hears everything,” Hopie said seriously. She was wearing a little set of armor that Cordy had bought for her a toy store and brandishing a sword. Connor may have been the princess, but Hopie was the cutest knight any of them had ever seen.

“Why don’t you be a Princess Knight?” Connor asked, desperate to be rid of the hot pink tiara.

Hopie beamed a smile. “That’s a great idea,” she said. “A princess can be a knight, too, but what will you be?”

“I’ll be your Connor,” Connor said, tickling her. Hopie giggled.

“He’s good,” Angel muttered to Gunn.

“Damn good,” Gunn agreed in a whisper.

“Gunn!” Cordy yelled from downstairs.

“So,” Lindsey said, carelessly lifted a silver orb paper weight off of Lilah’s desk, “who’s the father?”

“I don’t ask about your relationship with the Bad Seed,” Lilah said in a low voice. “I’d appreciate the same respect. And put that down, it’s an Orb of Lagassis. There are only a hand full left in the world.”

Lindsey tossed it casually up in the air, putting Lilah on the edge of her seat. “I know,” he said, shooting her a wicked smile.

“The thing is,” he said rolling the orb over his palm and jerking it out of reach when Lilah made a grab for it, “I heard you say your kid was promised to the company, and we both know what that means: either sacrifice or consignment.”

Lilah shrugged. “I’m high enough up that it probably would have been assigned as an acolyte to a higher level demon,” she said. “It will be,” she corrected, again, royally miffed that someone had managed to snatch the baby from her womb. What kind of monster would steal a child from a parent.

“Like you were going to steal it from the father?” Lindsey asked. Lilah shrugged off his question. “It’s Wesley’s,” he said. “Isn’t it?”

Lilah didn’t reply, and Lindsey wondered why nothing was ever simple. He had come in looking for answers about what had attacked Hopie, and now he’d had the burden of telling Wes that Lilah Morgan was pregnant with his child, or at least had been until the child had disappeared.

“It’s mine,” Lilah corrected. “I don’t know what you’re talking about concerning that little brat being attacked, but I can’t say I’m sorry. Now get out of my office.” Lindsey dropped the orb and caught Lilah’s hand when she went to catch it.

“I hope Cordelia hears you talk about Hopie that way,” he said as the orb shattered. “You’d never live to tell the tale.”

He walked out of the office. He had work to do.

Joscelyn came back to the Potentials’ shared room. She was dripping sweat. “One of you is up next,” she said. “I’m tired.”

“Tired?” a voice drawled from the doorway. All five girls jumped at the sound of Travers’ voice. Chance’s stomach began to crawl, and Colette struggled not to back herself into a corner. Travers was in their bedroom and Maddy wasn’t. That was never a good sign. He tempered his harshness around the privileged girl. With Maddy gone, Travers had free reign. “You’ve been fighting a girl four years your junior, Joscelyn. Surely you aren’t tired.”

No one came to Joscelyn’s defense. They knew better.

“Chance,” Travers barked. Chance jumped. “Go keep Lady Madeline entertained,” he instructed. Chance was out of the room before anyone could blink. The tiny blonde girl, who much resembled Buffy physically, was the youngest next to Maddy, at twelve, as well as the fastest and the weakest among them.

Nicolaa, by far Travers’ favorite among the girls, stared at the corner behind his shoulder. She had the proper mix of fear, respect, and discipline. Nicolaa would make a marvelous slayer, he thought. If only the Summers girl would die, Travers thought, but then again, that seldom worked.

Nicolaa had long learned to conceal her emotions behind a mask on her face. She was disciplined, about that Travers was right, and afraid because she wasn’t stupid, but she didn’t respect him, and she was simply biding her time until she was either called or released from service at the age of eighteen. She mentally sent signals to Colette to stop looking so nervous and to Kendall to stop looking so insolent. She cared about the girls more than they would ever know, and a great deal of her time went in to making sure that Travers stayed out of their way and they out of his as much as possible.

Kendall gazed at Travers, a fire in her eyes that he detested only because he’d seen that fire elsewhere, in other slayer who shall remain nameless. It pleased him that the fear was there as well, and the obedience. She had, after all, submitted to the bleeding. Of course, he’d had to order her severely beaten first, but she had submitted. Kendall took everything in stride. She loved Maddy best and Chance next, and she had seen the refusal in Chance’s eyes when Travers had instructed them. Kendall had known the first to refuse would be beaten, so she had simply done her best to get the words out before Chance could manage them. Better that Travers beat her than Chance. At least Maddy was safe, and as long as Chance was with her, she was as well.

When I’m the slayer, Kendall thought, I’m going to come back here and kick his ass.

“Why don’t you take a ten mile jog?” Travers suggested to Joscelyn. The girl, already exhausted, nodded. She wasn’t as strong as the others, but she was compliant.

“I expect you back in an hour,” Travers said pointedly. Joss paled slightly but agreed.

“Colette,” Travers said. Colette looked at him.

“Yes, sir?” she whispered. Travers gave her a kindly smile.

“You look a little pale, my dear. Why don’t you go see if the kitchen has some orange juice. Low blood sugar is nothing I want my Potentials to suffer through.” Colette’s eyes widened in pleasure. Maybe Mr. Travers was changing, she thought. She left the room.

“Kendall, Nicolaa,” Travers said, addressing, in his opinion, the two most likely candidates for the next slayer, “I believe you have studies, but since you don’t seem busy, perhaps you could add a research paper on genetic abnormalities in the demonic strand Incubus Occus to your plates.” Both girls cursed silently. Travers left the room, please that he had given the research he needed done to the girls. Now, his afternoon was free.

Kendall cursed out loud. “Damn him,” she said, punching the air.

“You’re hand is fisted too tight,” Nicolaa commented. Kendall knew it was the closest the older girl could come to agreeing with her out loud. She took the offer. “If you do the research,” Kendall said, “I’ll write the papers.”

Nicolaa smiled. Kendall made the offer every time, even though Nic never accepted it. Kendall grinned wickedly at Nicolaa, glad to see the older girl smiling, for once, with her eyes.

Maddy grinned kindly at Chance when she saw the girl running towards her. “You’re next?” Maddy said, pleasantly surprised. Chance nodded, ignoring the pain in her side, just glad that she wasn’t in the same room with Travers any more.

Maddy, not a bit tired, acted as if she was, sparring with Chance on the weaker girl’s level. Maddy was surprised to find herself on the ground.

“Gosh, you’re bloody fast, Chance,” Maddy said, grinning. Chance rolled her eyes. Maddy got a thrill out of using mild cuss words. Everyone was waiting for the stage to pass.

Maddy gently kicked the girl’s feet from underneath her. When Chance fell, Maddy caught sight of the bandage beneath her shirt.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Shhh,” Chance shushed her.

Maddy complied. “Come on,” she said. “Stand up, and talk while we fight. Whisper. We have good hearing, remember? It’s one of the tests.” The Potentials had all been through the tests, some testing their senses to see if they had natural enhancements.

“Maddy, you can’t tell anyone you saw it,” Chance said, ducking a punch. “They’d beat me.” The words blurted out before Chance could help it. She threw a punch at Maddy. Maddy caught it, eyes wide.

She’d heard the other girls whisper, but she’d thought she was mistaken. Surely Mr. Travers wouldn’t…

And yet, deep down in her stomach, Maddy knew that Mr. Travers would.

Anni arrived at the Bronze, having dusted only one vamp on the way. She desperately tried to dust the last bit of vamp dust off of her shirt, when she remembered Lorne’s words. “Vamp dust won’t brush, sweetie pie, but it will blow.” She blew the last bit off, again sending the green demon a mental thank you.

Jordy saw her the second she walked into the Bronze. He thought she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. “That’s her,” he whispered to his cousin.

Oz looked around and his eyes settled on the girl. He was grateful that she wasn’t in the least bit familiar. He was in Sunnydale visiting his Aunt and Uncle, and had only agreed to a Dingo’s Reunion gig at the Bronze because thirteen year old Jordy had begged him, saying that he needed an excuse to very coolly mention a pseudo-date to a girl he liked.

Oz had agreed. After all, he thought wryly. Over the years, Jordy had given him a lot.

 

 

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