Chapter 11: In Which They Meet a Queen "Stop there!" The trio halted. In front of them was a knight decked out in scary black armor, on a pitch black horse. "I challenge you." "Do be quick about it. We are expected by her majesty." the page said. "Spike you aren't going to fight him are you?" "Course I am. I have to." Spike pulled up his shield and lance. "Don't. What if you get hurt?" "I'm a vampire. I'll survive." He trotted away and they charged at each other. A fraction of a second before they hit Buffy charged. The spears clashed and shattered. Wood went flying at an excessive speed. Buffy snagged a piece right before it plunged into the armor over Spike's heart. The other knight moaned as the wood pelted him and wounded him. "You saved me." Spike said, slightly awed. Buffy dropped the wood hastily. "He was gonna kick your ass." "Wait. Buffy. The chip didn't go off." He looked at her, his blue eyes wide with wonder. "Am I cured?" "I doubt it. It's just this place. Things aren't the same." Suddenly she was afraid. Just because he loved her didn't mean his natural instincts would stop him from trying to hurt her. "Are you coming?" "Yes." They came upon a castle soon after. It was breathtaking with high turrets and isolated from the rest of the world. The page hurried before them and when they arrived at the gate they were encouraged to get off their horses and leave them with the stable hands. "Her son is a knight of the round table if I can remember correctly. Although her relationship to Arthur is ambiguous." "It's so quiet here." Buffy touched the slender sword at her side and moved closer to Spike. "The Lady Morgana is awaiting you." Another young man appeared and led them down endless corridors until they couldn't possibly remember the way back, and up stairwells until even Buffy was panting. He stopped in front of a door and knocked then let them in. They were presumably in one of the highest towers because they could see across the forest. An older woman sat in a large chair, draped in red velvet. She was beautiful and deadly looking. Her sharp eyes looked at them and a vicious smile spread across her lips. "Welcome. Please sit." Buffy and Spike took seats facing her. "You may leave us." The page left and they were alone. "What do you want with us?" Buffy snapped. "I know who you are." The lady didn't seem at all annoyed, only amused. She picked up a goblet and took a sip. "And we can be of service to each other." "Who are we?" "Children from another place and time. From a world beyond this one." "I'm no child." Spike protested. "Vampire, do be quiet. You would like to go home. I would like the Crown of Knowledge." "It's for Arthur. I don't think you should have it. You're evil." Buffy glared at the Sorceress Queen. The woman simply laughed. "We're all a little evil, and a little good. It's just which side you prefer to work with." She looked at them for a moment. "I'm sure you're both hungry. Eat. Sleep the day and go again. You do not have to make your decision now. You will make it soon enough." There was a beat of silence and then people entered with food. They placed trays on a table near them. "There is blood for you vampire. Your choice. Human...or animal." Spike looked at the large glasses in front of him. He didn't have to look to feel Buffy's eyes on him. Hesitantly he took the animal one and downed it, then he pushed his chair away from the table. Buffy ate for a few minutes then pushed her chair away. She looked at him and muffled a yawn. "I'm tired again." "There are bedrooms ready, unless you prefer one." They shook their heads. "Very well. They are adjacent. I bid you good sleep." They left the room with the boy who had brought them in and followed him around the castle again until they were led into large rooms with huge beds, plush with pillows and covers. Buffy jumped onto the bed and then watched as Spike went to the next one. When she looked around she noticed a sleeping gown and a change of clothes on a wardrobe. Gratefully she changed into the dressing gown but kept her sword by her pillows. Sometime during the night Spike heard screaming. He jumped up and grabbed his sword. He left the room and realized it was Buffy. He yanked on the heavy door and found her. He yelped from the daylight and ducked around it. She was asleep, but thrashing from a nightmare. Risking bodily harm he jumped on the bed and pinned her wrists down. "Buffy wake up!" "Angel! I'm not dead! You can stop Glory in time. Don't cry. We'll find a way." "Buffy. WAKE UP!" Her body stopped thrashing. Her eyes fluttered, tears ran down from the corners and disappeared into the big pillows. "Spike?" She cocked her head and blinked a couple more times. "Spike get off of me." "Are you alright?" "Yeah. Why wouldn't I Be...oh." She remembered the dream. "Glory!" she sat up. He pinned her down again. "It was just a dream. You're safe enough for now. We're in Camelot. You're not even in Sunnydale." "My dreams are sometimes prophecies. Oh God. I'm gonna die." Her lip trembled in that vulnerable way. It was the look that he fell in love with. The side he so rarely saw of her. "No you aren't. Slayer you're not. Not while I'm here." She leaned forward and buried her head in his chest. He closed his eyes and gave a small moan. He felt her wet tears soak his shirt and touch his chest. He put his arms around her and stroked her hair stiffly. Slowly he rested his head on to of hers. She still smelled faintly nice, but now the smell mingled with sweat and dirt and it was edgy, intoxicating. Like a hunter. He fought the emergence of his other half. He concentrated on her again. She was stopping. Pulling herself together. "I usually don't do that." She said pulling out of his embrace. "I know. You're usually tough. It's hard here." "Why are you so nice to me? Most of time. Sometimes you're evil and weird. But lately, why? What have you to gain?" "This. Being near you. It almost makes me forget how messed up I am. Because when I'm around you the whole world falls away. Nothing else matters." "How can you feel that? I've been so mean to you." "You don't choose love. It chooses you. You have to play along or die trying." "Have you always been that poetic." "It's what I did as a human. I can't say it any other way. My actions don't say anything." "They do. They say so much. It's too much to handle." She looked at him at long last, after her eyes had looked at everything else. "I just don't have the words. And I'm not really sure what action I would take." "Are you saying..." "No." she said it crisply. She was coming back to herself. "But I'm also not saying. I just need more time. Everything is so crazy. I kissed you once didn't I?" "Yes." "Then give me time and maybe I could do it again." He stood up and zigzagged by the patches of sun and went back to his own room. Buffy shuddered from heartache and turned over. But she couldn't sleep again. Not while those images kept appearing before her eyes. She kept thinking about the way Spike's arms felt around her. And just how soft he was when he was stroking her hair. She pulled the covers closer and sighed. Chapter 12