Chapter 19

 “Liar!”

****

“So you think that your senses have been enhanced since entering the game?” Giles asked Anya once she had finished relating her story. She and Xander had made their way back to the cottage, where Giles had been waiting with Angel and Cordelia, having had far more luck searching for the tower than the others.

Anya nodded and waited for the Watcher to tell her what had happened and how to fix it. Giles however merely shook his head and turned to the others. “Have any of you noticed any differences in yourselves since your arrival here?”

Angel and Cordelia both shook their heads, while Xander turned away. “Xander?” Giles prompted as the others stared at him.

The young man sighed. “Alright. When we were fighting that thing I felt a little different. Stronger; more able to handle the situation. Seemed easier to fight than usual.”

Anya continued to stare at her fiancée while the others turned back to Giles. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she hissed at him when the Watcher started to theorise with Angel and Cordy.

“I didn’t know if it was anything important or just a fluke. I didn’t want to worry you.”

The former demon stood and walked quickly outside. Xander didn’t spare a second before following. “An? What’s wrong?”

Anya spun to face him, her eyes blazing with hurt and anger. “We’re getting married Xander. You’re not supposed to hide things from me.”

“I didn’t want to worry yo…”

“Really? So every time something bad happens your going to hide it? Every time you think I’m better off not knowing you’re going to lie? Or just until the time Buffy comes to see me at three in the morning and tells me you’re hurt or dead or worse?”

“No that’s not what I…”

“Do you know how scared I am?” Anya asked quietly, the young woman turning into a scared little girl before his eyes. He didn’t think he was supposed to answer and so sensibly refrained from talking. “I keep wondering what’s it going to be like. Us. Being married. Most of the time I think it’s going to be great. We’re going to be happy, ‘cause I love you and you love me and that’s all that matters. But sometimes I get scared. What if you realise that you don’t want to be with me forever? What if something happens to you and I lose you?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Xander tried to reassure her, stepping closer.

“You don’t know that. But all I’m trying to say is that if you can’t even be honest with me, how is it ever going to be right and good?”

“Anya,” Xander started quietly running his hands up her arms to her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the strength thing. I promise that I will never conceal the awful truth from you again, even if it makes you anxious and crazy.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she shook her head slightly at herself. “I’m sorry I’m already half crazy.”

Xander laughed. “Are you kidding?” He asked leading her back inside. “That’s why I love you.”

****

Tara glanced at Buffy and Spike, as Willow and Wesley started talking excitedly with the dwarves. She blinked in surprise when she saw them, still near the entrance to the cave, wrapped around each other, kissing each other as though their lives depended on it. A slow smile spread across her face and she turned away, letting them have their privacy.   

“We can take you as far as Enoi-Mreh. You can see the castle from the hilltop. The road will lead you directly to the castle gates,” Tara heard Valdo inform the others.

“What’s Enoi-Mreh?” Willow asked, filled with curiosity at this strange world they been plunged into.

“It’s a ruin,” another of the dwarves piped up. “Legend has it that Enoi-Mreh is haunted by…”

Valdo silenced the dwarf with a sharp stare, while the others pulled him back down, whispering amongst themselves.

“Pay no attention My Lady,” Valdo addressed Willow. “Enoi-Mreh is as safe a place as you will find. Silly stories are passed around to attract attention. Nothing more.”

Willow wasn’t so sure. There was something in the way they had been so quick to silence their friend that made her wonder if there wasn’t more to this than they were telling. She sat thinking for several minutes while Wesley tried to smooth things over by asking a few more questions about Tolemac. Something tugged at her senses and she was reminded of the feeling she had had when she had first woken up. She turned her head in time to see her best friend push Spike up against the wall of cave, never once breaking her lips from his.

****

Buffy was drowning. She had never felt anything like this before. The sweet pressure of his lips on hers. Searching, asking, taking. She gave as much in return, knowing he felt the same way.

His hands slid up her back into her hair and Buffy moaned as she pushed herself closer to him, needing to feel him surrounding her. He growled as she rubbed subtly against him and she smiled into his mouth, her eyes crinkling at the corners with pleasure at the sound.

She pushed him, her hands tightening on his shirt as they stumbled backwards towards the wall, without breaking apart. His hands moved back down around her waist to pull her even closer as her leg crept up the side of his.

Vaguely, Buffy became away of a noise in the distance, threatening to encroach on this perfect moment. She shook her head as Spike started to pull back and pouted when he finally broke the kiss. She opened her eyes to find him grinning down at her, as the noise finally registered as a cough in her intoxicated mind.

She turned her head to find Willow, Tara and Wesley staring at them. Tara was smirking, Wesley had raised one eyebrow in surprise, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his lips. Willow however looked to be in shock.

“Buffy…?” she croaked after a few drawn out moments. Tara couldn’t seem to help herself any longer and snorted with laughter, covering her mouth and trying to regain her composure when her girlfriend swung round to stare at her. The blonde witch couldn’t cover her giggling for long however, and this combined with the look that remained frozen on Willow’s face set Spike and Wesley laughing also.

Willow turned her attention back to her best friend who was still trying to think of the right words to explain what had happened. “Willow…” The redhead raised her eyebrows in question as everyone silenced, waiting to hear what Buffy had to say. “Can I talk to you outside?”

Willow shook her head. “No, I think you should say it here.”

Spike silently agreed. He hadn’t meant to kiss Buffy. He had simply let his worry and frustration get the better of him. He knew that she wanted it every bit as much as he did. She had told him – was it really only two days ago? – that she would give him a chance eventually. That she’d stop the games they always played and let herself love him. But was she there yet? Had he just ruined any progress he might have made by rushing things?

“I, I, I…” Buffy stuttered looking back and forth between her friends, trying to explain without hurting anyone. “I kissed Spike,” she finished lamely and Willow frowned at her in confusion.

“Yeah. We saw that. And?”

“And… I like kissing him,” Buffy shrugged, and with a smile to equal the Buffybot’s, she walked quickly past the others to discuss that night’s plans with the dwarves.

 

Chapter 20

 “I’m gonna kill you. Will that blow the whole Karma thing?”

Buffy – ‘The Dark Age’

****

Angel reached the hilltop and sighed in relief when he saw the castle Giles had mentioned, in the distance. The highest tower dominating the fairy tale castle was a much larger version of the one Darla had shown him on the map. Dawn was bound to be there.

“Thank God,” Cordelia panted as she joined him. “I must be really out of shape.” Angel looked down at her concerned, but she waved away his concern and smiled. “Is that it?”

Angel looked back towards the castle and nodded. “Yeah.” After a moment, he turned to face her again. “It’s going to take a while to get there. Are you going to be ok?”

Cordelia sent him a withering look. “I’ll be fine. You’d just better hope there’s some shelter, or I’ll be carrying you back to L.A. in my coat pocket.”

“And how many of us would pay to see that?” Xander asked as he and Anya arrived next to them, Giles appearing a few seconds later.

Fearing that they’d never manage to get to Dawn or Buffy if Xander and Angel kept bickering, Giles quickly interrupted. “Well the forest seems to be quite dense enough to provide some shelter. We’ll be able to cover you at any rate.” Xander snorted and turned away to cover his laughter as best he could. Giles ignored him. “I think it’s best we start. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we…”

“Um, guys,” Xander exclaimed suddenly. “I think you might want to see this.”

The others turned to see what Xander was looking at and gaped as the landscape before them changed. The forest rearranged itself into an intricate maze, which led right up to the castle walls.

“Now what do we do?” Cordy asked, her eyes remaining fixed on the trees as though trying to memorize their layout.

“It’ll take us forever to get through that,” Anya added as Angel and Giles shook their heads in answer to Cordelia’s question. “We might never get out.”

“But that’s the only way,” Xander pointed out, becoming a little more panicked. “We can’t get to Dawn and the others if we don’t go.”

“We are going,” Angel told them determinedly and set off towards the beginning of the maze, which had opened up for them at the bottom of the hill.

“Angel are you crazy?” Cordelia shouted, running after him. There is no shelter in there now. And there’s no way we’re going to reach the other end before daybreak.”

The vampire spun to face her, anger mixing with sorrow in his face. “What else can we do Cor? Like Xander said, there’s no other way.”

“So Xander’s right? For the first time ever. Have you thought about walking around the outside?”

“That’ll take even longer. Look, I’m sorry, but I have to do this. We have to do this. So we can take our chances and go this way or we can go back to the cottage and die. Which is to be?” The last statement was addressed to the whole group who had, by this time, joined them.

Cordelia lowered her head, knowing that Angel was right and hating that they were probably going to be stuck in the game forever. Xander, Anya and Giles all voted for the maze, and Angel nodded. “Giles, keep your left hand against the trees at all times and we’ll get out eventually.”

With that the small group made their way through the entrance, towards the castle.

****

The dwarves marched in formation through the wood; Buffy and Wesley followed close behind with Willow and Tara behind them and Spike bringing up the rear.

After they’d been walking for about an hour Wesley tugged discreetly on Buffy’s shirt and they slowed allowing the dwarves to move ahead out of earshot. Buffy looked up at Wesley in question.

“I have a bad feeling about this Buffy,” he told her quietly. “There’s something not right about this place they’re taking us to. I think, and Willow agrees with me, that this is some sort of trap.”

“I’m not stupid Wesley,” Buffy hissed back, not unkindly, “but we haven’t got any other leads and we could wander around the forest forever without some form of help. Frankly I’d rather take my chances with the little guys, than do nothing.”

Wesley nodded, his apprehension dissipating a little once he knew that Buffy was on her guard. They quickened their pace again and the space between them and the dwarves was quickly closed.

“Uh,” Wesley began nervously a few moments later.

“Spit it out Wes,” Buffy told him after about a minute’s hesitation.

“Well… you and Spike…?”

“None of your business,” Buffy interrupted firmly and Wesley sensibly remained silent.

It wasn’t just that Buffy didn’t want to talk about it. It really wasn’t any of Wesley’s business, but more importantly Buffy didn’t know where to begin answering such a question. She didn’t know what was going on between her and Spike.

He had kissed her.

He hadn’t planned to she was sure. He was just so angry and scared; he had let his emotions get the better of him. And he had been afraid for a moment when it had ended. Afraid that she was going to deny that she had felt anything; that she was going to blame him or punish him for moving too quickly.

She had kissed him back.

And she hadn’t been lying to Willow. She did like kissing him. He was very good at the kissing thing. Very, very, very good. And it didn’t feel as though they were moving too fast when he was holding her. It felt as though they were moving at exactly the right speed.

But that was what was causing her the most confusion. All those barriers and problems and fears came rushing back ten times stronger the minute he let go. She had said ‘eventually’ because she knew with the right amount of time, she’d be able to get rid of every doubt and fear, but right now Buffy had no time to work through those problems. All she had time to worry about was Dawn.

****

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Tara asked her girlfriend as she watched Willow watch Buffy.

The redhead started and turned to face her lover. “Oh. Nothing. I’m just thinking about this place we’re going and what beasties could be there waiting for us.

Tara gave Willow a knowing look. “You don’t you don’t have to cover with me. If something’s bothering you, you can tell me.”

Willow hesitated a moment before answering. “Buffy and Spike…”

“Ah,” Tara replied as Willow paused, but said nothing more as she waited to hear what Willow thought.

“Spike and Buffy.” Willow stopped again and Tara gave her an encouraging smile. “Am I crazy to think that that might be a good thing.”

Tara sighed with relief. “No. No you’re not crazy. I think so too. Good thing.”

Willow frowned. “But, vampire.”

“He loves her.”

“I know that. But I’m the best friend. It’s my job to be worried.”

Tara smiled. “Well I’ve made it my job, as best-friend’s girlfriend to be their official matchmaker.”

“You’ve just been their unofficial one up ‘til now?” Willow joked with a smile.

“Yes but now I have best-friend’s approval. Don’t I?”

Willow glanced behind her at Spike and then back at Buffy. “Yeah. You do.”

****

Another half an hour brought them within sight of Enoi-Mreh and the dwarves halted and turned to Buffy. “This is as far as we can take you Princess. From the top of the hill you should be able to see the castle where Princess Dawn is being held.”

 “Thank you Valdo,” Buffy said appreciatively with a smile. She glanced around at the others. Wesley was looking up at the ruin apprehensively; Willow was wearing her best resolve face while Tara stood calmly next to her. Spike looked bored.

She turned back to address the dwarves and found that they had disappeared. “Where’d they go?”

Willow looked around in confusion. “I don’t know. They were right there.”

Buffy sighed. “Well I guess this is where we find out if they were on our side.” She looked up towards the ruin and turned to Willow. “Getting any weird vibes? I mean, is there anything up there?”

“Nothing that I can tell. Of course if this place is really haunted there wouldn’t be any heartbeat to focus on.” Tara squeezed her hand and the redhead smiled tightly. Even though she had heightened senses, her lack of magic was making her feel weak and ineffective. The fact that she hadn’t realised how much she had been depending on her magic scared her more than the loss of it. Willow had always felt she was in control. Now she was afraid that that wasn’t true at all.

“Well we’re not going to get the Little Bit back standing around here all day,” Spike drawled with a roll of his eyes. “Let’s get on with it.” He started up the hill and Buffy ran to catch up with him.

“Um, are you ok?”

He looked down at her and then back up towards their destination. “Fine. You?”

“Fine.”

“Buffy…”

“Spike…” They both started talking at the same moment and laughed slightly as the tension was broken. “Please,” Spike continued, “You go first.”

Buffy took a deep breath and fixed her eyes on the edge of Spike’s shoulder. “I just wanted to say that I understand about that thing… before. I know you were upset and I’m not getting all weirded out about it.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“Um, Buffy?” Wesley’s voiced interrupted the Slayer and vampire, but they weren’t paying attention.

“Not now Wes. Oh? What does ‘oh?’ mean?”

“Buffy I really think you should look,” Willow called out urgently and the Slayer turned, irritated, to where her friends were staring.

“Oh my God,” she breathed as she saw the huge emerald green dragon swoop down through the air towards the ruins at Enoi-Mreh.

 

Chapter 21

 "Don’t warn the tadpoles!”

Willow – ‘What’s My Line Part 1’

****

Giles abandoned the ‘left hand to the wall’ plan as soon as Anya told them she could hear Polnar demons along that route. Angel confirmed that there were about five of the demons lying in wait and opted for a different path. Now he and Anya were leading the way through the maze, trying as best as they could to avoid any dangers along the way.

“We are never getting out of here!” Xander told them, panicked after an hour and a half.

“Calm down sweetie,” Anya threw over her shoulder as she tried to judge which way to turn. Like Angel, she was trying as hard as she could to keep track of the direction in which they were headed. But mazes were meant to be confusing and she had to concentrate as much as possible.

“But we’re lost,” Xander cried, looking around him as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction.

Cordelia pulled Xander away from the others as they tried to focus their attention ahead. “Will you calm down? Panicking isn’t going to help anyone,” she hissed.

“Oh, I know you have absolute faith in Deadboy,” Xander replied sarcastically, “but you might remember that I have no such belief in his ability to get us all out of here safe and sound. And before you say it, Anya’s had these ‘special powers’ for less than a day. I am nowhere near confident that they can do this. I’m not even confident I can do this.”

“Alright,” Cordelia said, rolling her eyes as Xander finished his tirade, “maybe you have no faith that we’ll get out of here, and believe me, I’m worried about the exact same thing but, I do know that Angel is going to try his best to save us. And Dawn. And you know Anya is too.”

The young man sighed. Looking across towards his fiancée he saw the determined, yet slightly fearful look on her face. He nodded quickly at Cordelia and then walked back to the others, resting his hands supportively on Anya’s shoulders.

“Left?” the former demon asked Angel, smiling up at Xander in thanks.

“Left,” Angel agreed and the small group headed along the left path, praying that they wouldn’t encounter any demons along the way.

****

“It’s a dragon,” Wesley whispered, rather pointlessly as the group stared up in awe at the creature.

“What are we going to do?” Tara asked looking back and forth between her girlfriend and the Slayer.

Willow gave a small shrug and glanced at Buffy quickly before returning her gaze to the dragon. Buffy couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. Her mouth hung open slightly and her mind went completely blank.

Spike looked down at the young woman standing in shock beside him and took in the look of horror on her face. He reached slowly towards her and took her small hand in his, squeezing it slightly so that she knew he was there for her. At that small gesture Buffy turned her fear filled eyes up at him, silently begging him to take charge and get them through this.

One part of the vampire’s mind found it funny that someone who had faced a hell-god could hesitate at taking on one dragon, but as he himself had no idea of how to get past it, he stopped himself from commenting. “Wesley?” he asked instead. “Any ideas about dragons and how to get past them in one piece?”

“Uh, Umm,” Wesley stuttered as he struggled to switch his brain back into working mode. “Uh, yes I think so. About dragons anyway, but as to how to get past one…”

“Can’t we just go around another way?” Willow squeaked.

“It’ll take too long,” Spike said determinedly. “There has to be a way to get past it.”

****

“A Minotaur?” Anya hissed at Giles as they stood staring at the beast at the end of the path.

“Well the Minotaur was trapped inside the Labyrinth in Greece,” Giles told them. “So obviously we’re faced with the same challenge. To, uh…”

“Kill the Minotaur,” Angel finished for him, looking back along the path to see if there was another way to go. “Ok, Giles you take the girls the other way. Keep going. Xander and I’ll catch up when we’ve…”

“When we’ve what?”

“Angel you can’t do this alone!”

“I’m not going anywhere without Xander!”

“Cordy, Anya, please. You have to get to Dawn,” Angel reasoned, moving so that he and Xander were standing a little behind the others. “Xander’s the only one besides me with the strength to fight this thing. We’ll be ok.” He stared Cordy straight in the eyes as he finished and she nodded, gently leading Anya in the opposite direction.

“I love you,” Anya called back to Xander.

He smiled bravely back at her. “I love you too.”

The two males watched as their friends disappeared from sight and then turned around, walking slowly towards the Minotaur. “So, uh, how do we kill this thing? What’re its weak spots?”

“I don’t know,” Angel answered. “No one ever found out.”

“What?”

“Well in Greek legend, Theseus killed the Minotaur. But no one knows quite how he did it. Some say he used a sword. Others say he used his bare hands. So let’s hope it was the latter and that together, you and I are as good as he was.”

“So you’re saying that in all probability we’re going to die?”

“Most likely.”

Xander nodded and straightened his shoulders. “Just so long as I know.”

****

“This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Spike told Wesley as the group cautiously approached the ruins.

“Well there isn’t anything else we can do. It’s either try and find a way past it or go around. And as you said, we don’t have time to find another way. We’ll just have to take our chances and do the best we can. We do still have you and Tara.”

Tara looked round at Wesley in shock at his statement. “Me?”

“Now that Buffy’s lost her powers, you’re the strongest person here, along with Spike,” Wesley reminded her, looking apologetic but sounding fiercely determined at the same time.

“Ok,” Spike interrupted as he took in the looks of horror on the girls’ faces. “I’ll go up first, you lot stay here until I come and get you. If I’m not back within the hour, start walking that way,” he told them, gesturing that they should try and go around. Wesley looked as though he was going to argue, but Spike’s expression was almost identical to the one Angel wore when he had made up his mind about something. He knew there was no way of stopping him.

Tara swallowed nervously but then raised her chin, staring the vampire straight in the eye. “Let me come with you. I want to help. This is what I’m supposed to do. I wouldn’t have this strength otherwise.”

Willow squeaked in fear and gripped her girlfriend’s hand a little tighter but she didn’t try and stop her. She knew how brave Tara could be and how willing she was to sacrifice herself for those she loved. Just like Spike.

Buffy however was not going to let him go without an argument. “Are you crazy? You’ll get yourself killed!” she shouted, pulling him round to face her.

“Better me than all of us,” he told her through gritted teeth. “You still have to get to Dawn.”

The Slayer’s face crumpled. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Spike cursed and drew her to him quickly, crashing his lips down on hers once again. Before she had time to respond the way she wanted to he pulled back. “It’s only a dragon,” he told her with a cocky grin as he moved her firmly, yet gently away. “One measly dragon against the Big Bad and Goldilocks here.” Willow and Buffy both smiled a little as they held onto each other, watching the young witch and the vampire continue up the hill.

“If anything happens to me, you get the hell out and catch up with the others,” Spike told Tara quietly as they walked away, their eyes on the ruin and not on each other.

“And if anything happens to me you do the same,” Tara agreed bravely.

Spike looked across at her and couldn’t help but be awed once again by the strength of her courage. “Damn Scoobies,” he muttered, silently agreeing to Tara’s request.

****

Rounding another corner, Anya and Cordelia came to an abrupt halt, causing Giles to quicken his pace to catch up with them. “Anya! Cordelia! What is it?”

“Is this the centre?” Cordelia asked as Giles stopped next to them. “Did we make it all the way through the centre?”

“It certainly looks like it,” Giles answered, following the brunette into the large square lined with tall hedges. There was a sundial in the centre and a small bench, which Anya gratefully collapsed upon to rest.

“Should we wait here?” she asked lying back and closing her eyes. “We should wait here right? For Xander?”

“And Angel,” Cordelia added, looking towards Giles. The older man smiled back at her supportively.

“Of course we will. For as long as we can anyway. If they aren’t here by daybreak, I think we should continue to the castle. God only knows what’s happening to Buffy and the others. We really do need to find Dawn as quickly as possible.”

“Poor Dawnie,” Anya said, sitting up so that Cordelia could sit next to her. “She must be so scared.”

“She’s been in bad situations before Anya. She’s a very brave girl, I’m sure she’s fine.”

The former demon, seeing through Giles optimistic words, was about to comment when Cordy decided to intervene. “What kind of bad situations has Dawn been in? She was too young to patrol or help out when I was still in Sunnydale. I guess she’s grown up a lot these past couple of years huh? Has she been getting into trouble? Trying to take on the bad guys herself?” She looked back and forth between Giles and Anya who wore matching expressions of surprise. “What?”

****

“Who approaches?”

The voice startled Spike and Tara who had very cautiously entered the ruins, watching their surroundings closely. Turning to their left they saw an eye blink through one of the stone arches and then gasped as the dragon raised its head, staring down at them over the crumbling walls.

“Spike!” the vampire shouted up to the dragon, stepping in front of Tara to try and shield her somewhat from their adversary.

“Ah yes. Lord William. The Brave White Knight.” Spike growled softly at the description and Tara giggled nervously. “And Lady Tara. The Warrior.” Tara immediately stopped laughing and gazed up at the dragon fearfully. “Have you come to vanquish me then?” The dragon began to laugh himself and Spike and Tara exchanged a confused look.

“You do not have to fight me,” the dragon told them lowering its head so that it could converse more easily, and even Spike couldn’t prevent a sigh of relief at the words. “I will take you and your friends to the castle at Tolemac.”

“Thank you,” Tara answered with a bright smile. “We’d appreciate…”

“I will take you,” the dragon interrupted, “if you can answer a question.”

“A question?”

“Yes William a question. You can’t get something for nothing. Especially here. So answer this question and I will help you. If you get the answer wrong you and your friends will remain here and I shall ask another question tomorrow. And the day after, and the day after. Do you understand?”

Both Tara and Spike nodded, though neither looked happy at the prospect of being stranded there indefinitely. The dragon cleared its throat and began.

“What was born the same time as the world, is destined to live as long as the world, but is never 5 weeks old?”

*****

“Wow,” Cordelia breathed, a moment after Giles and Anya had finished their story. “You mean Dawnie… Wow.”

“You get used to it,” Anya told her nonchalantly and then stood and started to pace.

“Well you were right Giles,” Cordelia continued talking with the Watcher. “She’s very brave. I’m sure she’ll be giving her captors a run for their money. But you know Darla and Drusilla are pretty scary. Even for someone who’s faced a hell-god. I mean, I’ve seen some pretty bad things in my line of work. I’ve been impregnated with demon spawn, had to suffer horrendous visions from the Powers, was almost killed by these priest guys in an alternate dimension, not to mention the hundreds of demons I’ve had to face and the number of times I’ve had to sit through Angel singing at Caritas… But still Darla and Dru remain at the top of my all time fear list. Along with Angelus and Sp…”

“Spike?”

“I guess I shouldn’t say that huh? Since he’s working for the good guys now.”

“Cordelia, I understand your… mistrust of Spike and occasionally I continue to share it but, no matter what has happened in the past, I know that Spike has done things, good things, that I would be doubtful to expect from even the best among us.”

Cordelia looked as though she had more to say but Anya’s excited cry stopped her, and she and Giles made their way quickly to where the former vengeance demon stood. She was pointing eagerly at the sundial. “This writing here. I recognise it. The sundial can take us to the castle. We just have to touch it, repeat the phrase and we’ll be transported to the end of the maze. The castle.”

Giles bent down to inspect the text and Anya beamed brightly at Cordelia. “It certainly looks like…”

The Watcher got no further as Angel and Xander came hurtling into the centre from the right. They were both breathing heavily and laughing. Anya and Cordelia immediately ran across to them; Anya lovingly stroking her fiancée’s face before pulling him into a fierce hug, while Cordelia tenderly inspected the cuts on Angel’s face.

“Are you ok?” Anya asked, refusing to let go of her lover.

“I’m fine An. Tired, but fine.”

“Yeah,” Angel agreed, taking Cordy’s hand away from his face and holding it tightly between both of his. “Have you figured out which way to go? We really need to keep moving.”

“The sundial,” Anya told them, turning her head but leaving her body wrapped around Xander who laughed slightly and held her firmly against him.

“Yes,” Giles explained further, “the sundial should take us to the end of the maze. We just have to touch it and… and say the words apparently.”

“Thank God,” Xander said as the small group stepped forward. “I thought we were never going to get out of here.”

****

Spike turned to Tara, who frowned for a minute and then grinned happily. The vampire raised his eyebrows as her face lit up with pleasure. “It’s easy,” she told him and he rolled his eyes, waiting as patiently as he could for her to answer the dragon’s question. “Oh,” she said after staring at him for a moment. “The answer is the moon.”

“Correct,” the dragon shouted delightedly, jerking his head back away from them as sparks of fire began to fly from its mouth in its excitement.

“Hey!” Spike shouted, jumping quickly out of the way. “We answered the damn question. There’s no need to go killing us now.”

The dragon’s mouth turned up in what Spike thought was a smile as it spoke again. “Go and fetch your friends. When you return I shall take you to the castle as I promised.”

Tara practically skipped down the hill to Willow, who shrieked at the sight of her girlfriend and ran half way to meet her. Spike himself was hard pressed not to start skipping when he saw the look of happiness and relief on Buffy’s face, right before she threw herself into his arms.

 

Chapter 22

 “Two Slayers.”

 “No waiting.”

 Kendra and Buffy – ‘What’s My Line Part 2’

****

Dawn stared out of the window, puzzled at the sight below her within the walls of the castle. What looked like an arena had been set up, and the stands were beginning to fill with people. There was a sharp knock at the door and the young girl turned as Ethan entered the room.

“What’s going on down there?” she asked bluntly, her attention returning to the crowd outside.

“The arena has been set up for your friends’ second task,” Ethan answered, moving to stand behind her.

“Which is?”

“A joust,” he told her with a smirk, peering over her shoulder at the scene below.

Dawn turned around sharply to face him. “A joust? Like with horses and lances?”

“Very good Dawn,” Ethan mocked her with a cruel smile. “Do you like it?”

“Who will they be jousting against?”

“Each other,” he told her casually, but the look on her face forced him to elaborate. “Each team will choose one member. They will compete against one another. The winner claims the prize.”

Dawn felt ill, but refused to be cowed. “What’s the prize?”

“You can come and see for yourself if you want?” he offered and the teenager nodded, following him out of the room and down the spiral staircase of the tower.

“They won’t die will they?” she asked, fearing for the lives of her sister and friends. “I mean, they’ll have all that armour and…”

“No armour Dawn,” Ethan corrected, leading the way along a gloomy corridor and down another flight of stairs. It was getting colder, but Dawn didn’t know whether she was shivering because of the castle or Ethan’s words. “And of course it will be a fight to the death. Did you expect anything else?”

“I expected that you’d have more sense than to try and kill Buffy or anyone she cares about,” Dawn shouted angrily. “You know you’re never getting out of this alive don’t you? Darla and Drusilla will kill you as soon as this sick little game of theirs is over and if they don’t Buffy, Spike or Giles will. You’re such an idiot.”

With an angry glare Ethan rounded on Dawn, stopping in front of a door at the far end of a long passageway. “Listen to me girl,” he ground out threateningly, scaring Dawn for the first time. “I’ve kept you and your friends out of as much danger as possible this far. But as you said, Darla and Drusilla have a death sentence hanging over my head. They aren’t going to be happy if everyone comes through this without a scrape. Now it can be one of your friends or it can be you. And before you offer to sacrifice yourself, let me just remind you what it will do to your sister if she gets here and discovers you dead. So just be brave a little longer and all of this will be over with.”

As he finished he unlocked the door, swinging it wide and gesturing that Dawn should enter. The room was dark, and Dawn stepped nervously through, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she heard Ethan call out as he pushed her fully into the room and slammed the door closed behind her. She heard the key turn in the lock and shrank back slightly, looking wildly around the room for whatever beast was lurking in the darkness.

She heard a chain rattle and turned her head sharply in that direction. “Hello? Who’s there? I, I’m not afraid of you.”

As her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room, she saw the outline of a figure huddled in a corner. Cautiously she approached the figure, hoping that the chains held whatever it was out of reach. She knelt down next to the human shaped body and peered closely at it. It seemed familiar to her. “Um, do I know you? I’m Dawn. Do you know me? Dawn Summers?”

The figure turned its face towards Dawn and carefully pushed back the long dark hair that obscured its face. Dawn sucked in a sharp breath and the girl sitting opposite her chuckled. “How you doin’ shortstuff?”

****

Wesley felt sick. He held tightly to the dragon’s back as its soared across the sky, fervently ignoring Willow and Tara’s ‘ooo’s’ and ‘ahh’s’ as they watched the scenery fly by.

“Are you ok?” he heard Buffy ask from her seat beside him and opened one eye to peer at her.

“I’m flying on a dragon’s back in the middle of the night, to God knows where, with a Vampire Slayer, a Vampire Master and two witches, while trapped in a game set up by two evil and insane vampires with the hope of killing us all. Yes Buffy I’m fine.”

Buffy grinned and nodded. “That’s alright then.” She saw the castle drawing ever closer and thanked the higher powers that they were heading towards Dawn and hopefully the end of this game. She glanced across at Spike, who caught her gaze and sent her a cheerful smile. The Slayer chuckled. He was obviously enjoying himself. And she could easily admit that flying on a dragon’s back was particularly thrilling for her too.

“How much longer do you think it’s going to take?” she shouted up to the dragon, seeing that Wesley had gone decidedly green and taking pity on him.

“We’re almost there Princess,” the dragon replied, swooping low along the ground. “Five minutes and you shall be inside the castle grounds.”

“Why can’t we just fly up to the tower and Dawn can hop out to us and we’re done?” Spike asked, and Buffy and the dragon both answered simultaneously.

“There are magicks in place around the castle, protecting it.”

“We need to get the others. We can’t go without everyone.”

As promised, five minutes later the dragon landed perfectly within the castle walls and waited patiently as Willow and Tara slid from its back and Spike grasped Buffy firmly by the waist to lift her down. “Thanks,” she murmured with a shy smile, before Wesley, clambering hurriedly from the dragon’s back, muttering something about parents and becoming a librarian, interrupted them.

“Lord William?” a voice behind them asked, causing everyone to turn. They came face to face with a small group of soldiers who bowed politely as their captain stepped forward. “My Lord, his highness wishes you to accompany us to your quarters. A representative will meet you there once you are refreshed to explain what is to come.”

Spike glanced at Buffy and then gestured that the guard should lead the way.

****

“Faith?” Dawn squeaked in surprise and the brunette Slayer smiled again at the youngest Summers.

“Glad you remember me Dawn.”

“How could I not?” Dawn asked with a roll of the eyes. “I’m even more glad that you remember me.”

“How could I not?” Faith repeated and then raised her eyebrows as Dawn snorted derisively.

“It’s a long story. What are you doing here?” Faith shrugged. “Well, how did you get here?” Again the Slayer shrugged and shook her head.

“I have no idea. One minute I was in my cell. The next this one. So which demon did this and how long do you think it’ll be before big sis busts us outta here?”

“Oh, I think you’ll be seeing Buffy soon enough. According to Ethan you’re the star prize that Buffy and the gang are competing for in some big joust he’s got planned. I guess you’ll be taking the place of whoever…” She shuddered at the thought of her sister or her friends dying and Faith looked away uncomfortably. She really didn’t know how to act around Dawn, having threatened her and her mother with a knife the last time she saw them.

“Hey, look Dawn. Don’t get upset ok. Buffy and her super-friends have been in way worse situations than this. Everyone will be fine,” she paused as she considered what to say next. “Look I haven’t seen you in so long. Why don’t you tell me everything that’s happened this past year? How’s you mom?”

Dawn looked sharply at Faith, wondering at her cruelty before she realised that the Slayer had been serious. “Oh my God. You don’t know.”

“Know what?” Faith asked, perplexed and worried by the pained look that had crossed Dawn’s face at the mention of Joyce.

“Mom died. Earlier this year. She had a brain tumour and…”

Faith stared at Dawn in horror and then closed her eyes against the sick feeling forming in her stomach. “I’m sorry Dawn.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“She was a wonderful person. I can’t… the things I did. The way I treated her that last time, I… I’m so, so sorry.”

Dawn laid her hand gently on Faith’s arm and sat more comfortably next to her. “I know.”

****

Angel, Cordelia, Xander, Anya and Giles found themselves standing just within the castle walls seconds after touching the sundial.

“Hey that was neat,” Xander said, looking around at Anya and Giles. “Do you think we could get one of those at home? ‘Cause it would be so much more useful for getting to work in the mornings.” Everyone ignored him as they looked around the grounds.

“Up there,” Angel said, pointing towards the tallest tower. “That’s where Dawn’ll be. We have to find a way up there.”

“Um,” Anya interrupted pointing over the vampire’s shoulder. “I think we might have to deal with those guys first.” The small group looked in the direction the former demon was indicating and saw a group of soldiers, in traditional armour marching towards them. Xander and Giles stepped up next to Angel in front of Anya and Cordelia who, with a simultaneous shake of the head, moved next to the men.

“My Lord Angel,” the captain of the guards acknowledged as the soldiers stopped. “We welcome you to Tolemac.” The captain bowed. “His highness wishes us to escort you to your place of rest.”

Angel looked round at the others and Giles nodded reluctantly, indicating that they would follow. The small group set off, surrounded by the soldiers, following the captain the short distance to the large red tent, which had been set up just outside the arena.

Inside, the tent seemed as large as Xander and Anya’s apartment, and was furnished with two large beds, a chaise-lounge and piles of cushions and pillows, which were all varying shades of red, pink and purple. Along one side of the room were two long tables, piled high with food and drinks. Xander, Anya and Cordelia gazed appreciatively round and then raced for the food.

“Hey Angel, there’s stuff here for you too,” Cordelia called around a mouthful of bread, pointing at the large jug of blood sitting at one end of the table.

The vampire smiled across at his friend before turning back to the guard. “What are we doing here?”

“I am told someone will come to explain everything to you shortly. Until then I suggest that you make yourselves comfortable and take advantage of this opportunity to rest.” With that the guard bowed deeply once again then quickly exited the tent.

“Ok. This is weird,” Angel said, turning back to Giles. “They were expecting us.”

“Maybe we have to complete another task,” Giles theorised, removing his glasses as he made his way over to the food, and poured himself a glass of water. “The maze got us here. The next task may get us into the castle.”

“Alright,” Angel agreed, trying to relax as he too moved towards his own liquid refreshment. “But everybody stay alert. We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet.”

 

Chapter 23

 “I believe the subtext here is rapidly becoming text.”

Giles – ‘Ted’

****

As the guards explained to Buffy and Spike that someone would soon be there to instruct them, Willow and Tara pulled Wesley to one side of the cream and white furnished tent. “It looks like we’re going to be here a while,” Willow began casually, shooting a glance back over her shoulder to make sure the Slayer and vampire were occupied. “I mean, what with the beds and all the food.”

“Yeah,” Tara agreed, picking up from where her girlfriend had left off. “So you should sleep on the chaise. Or else, you’ll have to sleep with Spike.”

Wesley was by no means a stupid man. The look he gave the girls left them in no doubt that he knew exactly what they were up to. The two young witches blushed. Wesley’s lips twitched. “You could have asked me you know. Although I hope we’re not doing anything we’ll regret later.”

The ‘we’ set Willow and Tara smiling again and the together the three of them went to grab some food from the table.

When the guard finally left, Buffy and Spike turned to find that the girls had commandeered the bed along the right hand wall of the apartment size tent, and Wesley relaxing on the nearby chaise-lounge. They simultaneously looked at the other bed on their left, as far as it could possibly be from Willow, Tara and Wesley.

“Um,” Buffy said hesitantly, her eyes remaining fixed on the bed as she addressed the others. “The guard said someone should come by soon with more info. ‘Til then we should relax.”

“Great,” Willow smiled at her friend threw an extra blanket from the bottom of the bed to Wesley. “We should all try and get some sleep. The two witches and former Watcher finished their food quickly and settled in for some rest. Although they had intended it merely to give Buffy and Spike a little privacy, they were all asleep instantly, exhaustion finally overcoming them.

The Slayer and vampire watched as their friends fell asleep immediately and shared a look across the table where they were gathering food and drink.

“Not very subtle are they, your friends?” Spike asked after hastily drinking a mug full of blood.

“No,” Buffy agreed. “They must have been taking lessons from you.”

“Hey, I can be subtle,” the vampire protested as he followed Buffy to the King size four-poster bed.

“Name one time,” the Slayer answered without turning round. Spike didn’t answer. “Well?”

“I’m thinking.”

****

“Are you ok?” Cordelia asked as Angel paced by the side of the bed. The others had all gone to bed after they had eaten and Cordelia was waiting for Angel tell her what was wrong. “I know you’re worried Angel. You can tell me you know. We’ve been through too much for you to try and hide things from me.”

Angel looked over at Cordy who was half lying, half sitting on the bed in front of him and drew a sharp breath. She was right. He was hiding things from her. But then he was always hiding things from her these days. He seemed to have lost all ability to act naturally around her. But he knew there was no way he could tell her the truth. So he settled for worry about Dawn, in the hope that she would believe that was the sum of his worries.

“I just don’t like this. Waiting around isn’t really my style. We should be out there doing something.”

Cordelia sighed. “I know. Dawn’s in trouble. But I doubt very much that we’re going to get to her if we don’t play along with these little games. I mean we are talking about Darla and Drusilla. Walking advertisements for the sadistic.”

The vampire joined Cordelia on the bed. “We have to find the others before we get to Dawn,” he told her, staring up at the roof of the tent. She turned her head to look at him and if he’d been looking back, he would have seen a little hurt flicker briefly in her eyes.

“We’ll find her.”

“I know. But we have to find the others fir…”

“No, I mean. We’ll find Buffy.” It was Angel’s turn to look across at his friend while she looked resolutely away.

“Cor…”

“Yeah, yeah. Love of your life and everything. I do understand.”

A smile started to tug at the corners of Angel’s mouth. “Well, maybe if you let me finish…”

“Can we talk about this later?” Cordelia asked turning away from him and closing her eyes. “I’m tired.”

“Of course.” Angel watched Cordelia as she feigned sleep, both of them knowing they would get no rest that night.

****

Spike and Buffy lay side by side in the dark room, with only the sound of the others’ breathing to disturb them. They both remained completely still beneath the covers, neither daring to move for fear of what the other would think.

“Spike?” Buffy whispered, knowing that he was still awake.

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember up on that hill?”

 “Yes.”

“You kissed me.”

“I did.”

“And before that, in the cave.”

“I remember.”

“Well, are you sorry you kissed me?”

“Are you sorry I kissed you?”

“I asked first.”

“Yeah but I’m older than you.”

“Spike!”

“Ok, ok. No I am not sorry I kissed you. I wanted to kiss you. I like, no love kissing you.”

“Really?”

Spike rolled onto his side to face her. “Yes!” Then he saw the real insecurity in her eyes and brought one hand up to smooth her hair away from her face. “They really messed you up didn’t they.” It was more a statement than a question and Buffy didn’t even pretend not to know who he was talking about. “I will never leave you.”

“I know. I know you’re not them. I’m sorry. I just get scared.”

“Shh. Don’t worry about it.” He leaned in closer to her and she raised her head to meet his kiss. It was softer than their previous kiss. More gentle, more loving. They wrapped themselves in each other and clung on tight until Buffy, realising at the last second her continued need for air, pulled back slightly.

“Mm,” she smiled at him as they lay nose to nose, holding one another. “Is it alright if I fall asleep right here?” With a happy smile of his own, Spike rolled Buffy gently onto her other side and spooned against her back. “You better be careful,” she said sleepily as she relaxed in his embrace, “I could get very used to this.”

 

Chapter 24

“I resent that. Or possibly thank you.”

Xander – ‘Bad Eggs’

****

“Right then,” Ethan said as he entered the cell, the candle he carried with him illuminating the dark room somewhat. “I hope you two have had fun catching up. Unfortunately I’m going to need Faith. And Dawn, you’ll probably want to watch the proceedings from your window.” He moved forward and pulled the teenager to her feet.

“If you hurt her I’ll…” Faith’s eyes flashed angrily at him, but Ethan refused to be intimidated.

“Guards!” he shouted and seconds later two guards appeared in the doorway and bowed deeply to him. “Take Miss Faith to change for the joust,” he told them, passing them the keys as he made his way out into the corridor, pulling Dawn along behind him.

“Well my dear, I hope you had a nice time with your friend. It’s doubtful that you’ll see anyone but me for another few days.”

“I hate you,” Dawn spat as Ethan pushed her into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She banged her fists pointlessly against the door for a few minutes, allowing her anger and frustration to escape her for the first time. When she had worn herself out she walked wearily across to the window to wait for the joust. She didn’t want to watch, fearing what she would see, what would happen. One of her friends was going to die. And there was nothing she could do about it.

****

Faith stared at herself in the long mirror as the maid smoothed out her dress. “There you go miss,” the young girl, who could have been no more than Dawn’s age, said as she stood back to admire her work. “You look beautiful.”

The Slayer had to admit that that was true. She did look beautiful. So beautiful she had trouble believing it was actually her looking back from the mirror. She had never really believed herself to be attractive, despite all her confidence and bravado.

“I feel weird,” she said blushing as she turned away from the mirror.

“Don’t worry miss. Everything’ll work out soon enough.”

Faith thought that that remained to be seen, but forced a smile as she followed the maid from the room. According to Dawn, one of the Scoobies Ethan had trapped in this game was not going to survive this joust and then she would have to take their place. She was not looking forward to seeing them. She knew she had done enough to hurt them to ensure that they wouldn’t want to see her. Even Angel had stopped visiting a while ago. He had come to break the news of Buffy’s death to her and found that she already knew.

“I felt it. I was dreaming of her. She was falling and falling…And then this white light engulfed her. She called my name and I woke up… And I knew.”

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come straight away.”

“It was personal Angel. It was something I had to deal with. I hurt her so much. You don’t know what it’s like.”

“Yes I do.”

“Here you are miss,” the maid startled her out of her reverie, and Faith looked warily at the guard the maid had stopped in front of. “He’ll escort you to your seat.”

Faith smiled once more at the young girl and followed the guard outside and into the arena.

****

Angel woke with a start as the sound of a guard entering the tent. He sat up, jolting Cordelia, who was asleep almost on top of him, awake. Her startled yelp woke the others and everyone turned their attention to the two men who had just entered. One was the captain of the guards; the other was a small man in medieval dress, who looked overjoyed to be there.

“Welcome my Lords and Ladies,” he greeted cheerfully as he bowed to them. “I am Dumain. I am instructed to acquaint you with your second challenge.

****

“What challenge?” Buffy asked as she faced Dumain, arms folded indignantly across her chest.

“One of you must take part in the joust. The decision on who will take part should not be taken lightly. I suggest that the four of you consider who would be most suited to taking part in the event.”

“Four?” Spike asked, confused.

“Of course. The Princess is unable to take part.”

****

“What?!” Cordelia shouted, as Dumain informed her of her ineligibility to fight. “What kind of stupid rule is that?” Angel refrained from answering, happy that Cordy wouldn’t be placed in any danger. “I’m just as good as any of them,” she continued, gesturing at Xander, Anya and Giles. “Better probably.”

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Dumain looked truly saddened that he had upset her, but shook his head in regret. “I don’t make the rules. I am simply here to inform you of them. In fact I shall have no further contact with you. Other than to escort the Princess to the Royal Box.”

****

“You have to be joking right?”

“There is no way she’s going anywhere with you,” Spike ground out dangerously as he stepped towards Dumain. “She stays with us.”

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that my Lord.” He reached forward and took hold of Buffy’s arm. Spike growled angrily and his eyes flashed yellow, as Buffy struggled ineffectually against Dumain’s grasp.

“Let her go!”

Willow shivered slightly as she remembered exactly how scary Spike could be when he put his mind to it. She glanced at Tara, who was staring at the vampire wide-eyed. The blonde witch had seen the blonde vampire happy, sad, angry, suicidal, drunk and lovesick, but she had never seen him homicidal before. She was incredibly glad he was on their side now. Wesley, luckily, had enough experience to take the whole thing in his stride. Soul or no soul, Angel, would have ripped the man’s arm off if had touched Cordelia or Fred like that. If anything he was rather proud of Spike’s restraint.

****

“You have five seconds to take your hand off her or you’re going to be short one arm,” Angel growled at Dumain.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Melodramatic much?”

“Not now Cor,” Angel responded, not taking his eyes off the unfortunate messenger.

Xander sniggered at the interaction between the two; while he grudgingly allowed himself to feel a little respect for Angel and the way he was protecting Cordelia. He knew he’d feel the same if anyone tried to hurt Anya.

“It’s ok,” Cordy told Angel calmly, forcing him to meet her eyes. “I’ll be fine. You’ll come get me when this stupid task is over. I’ll be right there watching. Won’t I?”

****

“Of course,” Dumain assured Buffy as she tried to reassure the vampire.

“It won’t be long,” she told him with a brave smile, and pulled away from the messenger long enough to press a soft kiss to Spike’s lips. “Good luck guys.”

Dumain led Buffy to the entrance of the tent, where he turned and bowed to the others.

“I love you,” Spike said, knowing that if he didn’t he end up hating himself.

Buffy smiled serenely as she answered. “I know.”

Continue