Resolutions

Buffy asked in a horrified whisper, “They really meant me to die?”

Giles began to stammer a denial, but he had to shrug and nod in reluctant agreement when Spike confidently declared, “Yeah, ‘course they did. They didn’t want you around being all defiant and independent, did they, sweetheart? They knew they had the other Slayer they thought they could control.” He shrugged, “’Course when she went to the bad they must have decided to hang onto you after all, just in case. Then when she was in a coma then got banged up they had no option, you were all they had.” He thought for a moment and added, “Actually I’m surprised the buggers didn’t off her while she was in the coma. It would have made sense in their twisted little minds. Get rid of a useless Slayer and get a new girl Called they could train up their way ready to take your place before they got rid of you.”

Buffy chewed her bottom lip as she considered. “They did try to kill her... that is, me.” She squeezed Spike’s hand. “You remember when Faith came out of the coma and she had that crazy bodyswap doohickey and I was her and she was me?”

Spike’s eyebrows went up. “You told me someone switched your bodies, didn’t realise it was the rogue Slayer…” He cast his mind back to that night in the Bronze when Buffy had taunted him with her challenging, out of character slutty attitude. He had recently learned that the fuel for many a private fantasy since hadn’t actually been ‘his’ Buffy. Now he knew it had been the other Slayer the exchange made a lot more sense than if it had been some random stranger in a Buffyskin.

“Yeah… anyway, when they captured me they were gonna take me… uh... her back to England, but then they changed their minds and they were gonna kill me. Then later in LA they were still trying to kill Faith when she turned herself in and they couldn’t get to her.”

There was a brief silence then Clem broke the spell by shifting in his seat and asking, “Could I have more tea please, Great Aunt P?” and he reached forward to refill his plate.

When Perpalla had replenished their glasses and refilled the teapot with more boiling water and everyone had selected more treats, Buffy took a deep breath and asked quietly, “Please tell me about the Slayer Demon, Perpalla. I know I do have some demon in me ‘cos when we were in another dimension I had these little fangs and markings on my skin… and if I really have a triple dose...” There was a catch in her voice when she pleaded, “I need to know what I am.”

Perpalla cocked her head to one side and smiled. “Why, you’re a Slayer, child. A very strong Slayer, it’s true, probably the strongest there’s been since the First, but just a Slayer nevertheless.”

Buffy frowned, “But…”

The old demoness nodded in comprehension. “You need the full story. Right.” She took a deep breath. “You remember what I said about the shamans who created the first Slayer?” Buffy nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you how they did it.” She paused and turned to Giles. “The Council should have complete records, but from what you’ve told me I expect they’ve hidden them away with everything else they feel uncomfortable with.”

Giles looked up from his notes, heaved a resigned sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose between finger and thumb. “I expect so. There have always been stories, theories really, doing the rounds at the Watchers’ Academy, each of them more fanciful than the last. The ‘official’ line, however is that the Powers That Be created the Slayer line and gave the sacred duty of guiding the Slayers to a group of men that evolved into the Council of Watchers…”

Perpalla gave a very undignified snort and shook her head in disbelief. “Sacred duty, indeed. More like a guilty conscience.” She took a sip of tea and carefully set her glass down, folding her hands in her lap. “Well this is the legend that was handed down to me by my grandmother and to her by her grandmother and so on through the generations.”

She closed her eyes and started to recite, her voice falling into measured rhythms as if she was recounting a frequently told history. “Our tale begins with a group of shamans. We don’t know how many of them there were, but our guess is there were three. The country where they lived was beset by vampires and the local warriors were unable to keep the villages safe. They died and were turned, one by one, as they tried to defend themselves.”

“The shamans met to discuss the problem and agreed they needed to take extreme measures to combat the vampires effectively. They decided they needed a special warrior, one whose sole responsibility it would be to seek out and destroy the monsters that hunted their people. They knew there was one lone demon left in the mountains, the last of its kind. It preyed upon vampires, feeding on their blood. They knew that it was old and infirm and would soon perish leaving vampires to spread and multiply with no natural predators to control their numbers. They decided to attempt to harness this demon’s spirit to give their special warrior the instincts and strength he would need.”

“They sent out a hunting party that captured the weakened demon and brought it to their sacred cave where they used spells and enchantments to draw from the demon’s heart its essence. They considered all the remaining warriors and selected one of those who volunteered for the honour. They tried to imbue the brave young man with the demon’s power but the ritual failed and the boy died in agony.”

“They began to wonder whether the fact that the demon was female was a factor in their failure, so they resolved to try again using a female subject. That was when their gaze fell upon a girl who was always getting into trouble for being unruly and trying to butt in on the boys’ lessons instead of staying at her mother’s side to learn the ways of women. Because of this unacceptable behaviour none of the young men in the area had made an offer for her and although she was already a woman they doubted if she would ever make a suitable match.”

Spike sneered, “Yeah, the misfit. Poor girl. ‘S’pose they thought she was disposable. Bloody wankers.” He subsided at a reproving glare from Buffy, and Perpalla went on with the story to the quiet accompaniment of the rustling and scratching of Giles’ frantic note-taking.

“Needless to say they didn’t feel the need to seek the girl’s agreement to their experiment. They took her from her family and chained her to the ground deep in the sacred cave so she could not escape, and began the ritual anew.”

This time it was Buffy’s turn to voice a protest. She clapped a hand over her mouth to hold in a cry of horror and pity. Her other hand reached out to Spike for support and he didn’t hesitate. He pulled her from her seat onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She leant back against his chest, her tear-filled eyes fixed upon the ancient demoness who had continued speaking, oblivious to their reaction.

“The demon’s essence coiled as a black cloud through the air and entered the girl who screamed and fought against the fearsome assault, but her struggles were in vain. When the sound of the drums faded away as the shamans finished their incantation she collapsed to the ground.” Perpalla bent her head as she paused briefly, apparently in respect for the First Slayer’s suffering.

Before anyone could summon up the will to speak she went on, “The shamans approached the girl, thinking her dead and their ritual once more a failure, but before they could touch her she woke and stood up. They flinched back as she snarled at them and broke her shackles as if they were forged of cobwebs. Then she fled from the cave, out into the night.”

“For weeks the shamans sought her. The warriors and hunters who ventured out in search of her told tales of a silent figure flitting from shadow to shadow in the darkness, always too fast and too elusive for them to catch. Meanwhile the attacks by vampires steadily reduced in number. The shamans attempted spells to show them her location but always they reached the indicated spot to find only piles of dust to show where she had passed by and hollowed scrapes in the ground where she had paused to rest.”

“The women of the tribes left out gifts of food for the girl in respect and gratitude for her protection from the creatures of the night, and that is how the shamans finally managed to trap her. She was wild and struggled furiously against her bonds, but the three had been prepared and had magically enhanced the chains that held her. She had covered her nakedness with the scraps of cloth that had wrapped the gifts of food and had painted her face and adorned her hair with the ashes of the vampires she had slain. She did not speak.”

“The shamans tried to instruct her in her duties but she ignored them, spitting in their faces and turning her back to them when she learned she could not fight them. Time passed and the girl went into a decline. She stopped eating the food they offered and lay listlessly in her corner of the cave, unresponsive to every stimulus they provided. This situation lasted until they managed to trap a stray vampire and throw it down in front of her as a last desperate test. She immediately attacked it with a length of branch she had kept secreted in her wrappings and let out a wordless cry of triumph as it fell to dust.”

“Coming to the realisation that the warrior they had created understood instinctively what was required of her with no need for their instruction, they released her to continue her perpetual hunt. Years passed and they kept track of her from tales told by hunters and traders and others who travelled through the country and were saved by her hand, chronicling her life until her eventual death.”

“When word arrived that she had finally been defeated she had had such a beneficial effect on the lives of the people the shamans thought to repeat the ritual and create a replacement warrior. However before they could select a likely candidate they heard of a young girl from a neighbouring village who had left her hut one night and taken up the fight with no need for their intervention. The Powers That Be had taken note of the warrior girl’s noble sacrifice and decreed it to be acceptable in the service of the essential Balance. They had stepped in and Chosen the most suitable successor to be their Champion of the Light, and by their will the power had passed on. And so was the Slayer line born.”

For long seconds the room was silent except for the scratching of Giles’ pen racing to catch up with the narration as Old Perpalla roused from her story-telling trance and sipped her tea to ease her throat, hoarse from her long speech.

Sniffling into the tissue she had found in her pocket Buffy finally spoke. “So… I’m not a demon, but I have demon… essence in me, and that’s where my Slayer powers come from? Is that right?”

The demoness nodded kindly. “Yes, my dear. You contain the incorporeal essence of the last of a breed of Old Ones that used to hunt and feed on vampires. Have you never wondered why your full title is Vampire Slayer when your duty encompasses the fight against all forms of supernatural evil? It is because the demon whose essence your power is derived from was a close cousin to the Old One who infected the first humans with its essence in order to create vampires. Think of them as… let me see… the analogy isn’t perfect but think of the vampire as a wolf and the Slayer as a coyote. Separate species but very closely related, and although they would normally fight whenever they meet, if they are separated from their packs for any reason a wolf will take a coyote as his mate. It is this close relationship that allows you to sense when a vampire is near. It is also the reason why you are instinctively drawn to vampires. Your Slayer powers were derived from a female Old One without a mate. The closest breed to her own, and her natural choice as a substitute, would have been the kind that spawned the first vampires. Her spirit within you recognises this.”

Giles finished writing at last and sat back in his chair, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with a weary sigh. While he gazed blindly across the room trying to process the fantastic tale he had just heard Perpalla once more took up her duties as hostess and freshened their tea glasses. Spike reached over and handed Buffy her drink and she sipped automatically, her mind in a whirl of conflicting emotions that was leaving Spike feeling a bit dizzy.

After a few moments she looked up, setting her tea glass to one side. “I… That is… If you don’t mind I need to be alone for a few minutes, just to get a bit of fresh air and clear my mind.” When both Giles and Perpalla nodded in understanding she stood up and patted Spike’s hand. “Stay here with Giles, please, Spike. I won’t be long.” She looked back and forth between the two Englishmen, instructing them with a sad smile, “And play nice now. No hitting.”

When the door closed behind her Spike heaved a huge sigh and slumped in his chair, scrubbing his face with his hand and heartily wishing for a cigarette and a strong drink. Accepting a fresh cup of tea instead he bent down to pick up his thankfully unbroken plate and helped himself to another pastry. He glanced over at the shell-shocked Watcher and mumbled, “Wouldn’t want to be in old man Quentin’s shoes next time she speaks to him.”

Giles sniggered briefly. “No, neither would I” He peered down at his notebook for a few moments then hesitantly addressed Perpalla, “I’m not questioning your integrity, you understand, Madam, but I wonder if… That is… How can you be sure…?”

The demoness smiled and nodded. “You want to know how I know of the events I have just described. Don’t worry, young man. The story has been handed down word for word since our clan encountered a Slayer many, many years ago. The origins of the Slayer line was required study for the Chosen One in those days and she was only too happy to tell the tale to the clan’s record-keeper.” Seeing the doubt written on the Watcher’s face she added, “Luckily her knowledge of which demons were dangerous to humans and which were benign was also very thorough. She was welcomed and presented with gifts as thanks for her elimination of a group of marauding t’taren demons that had been troubling the region at the time.”

“So… am I to understand that the study of the Slayer line is a longstanding interest in your clan?”

Perpalla nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes. In every generation there are at least three or four students who sit at the record-keepers feet and learn the tales.” She sniffed in disapproval, “Of course in recent centuries all the old stories have been written down, but in my day we still believed in the power of the well told tale to pass the long winter nights. A few of us still carry on the tradition of keeping track of the Slayers and marking their achievements.” She fluttered her eyelashes again and toyed with a stray lock of hair as she assured him, “I have been most impressed by your young charge, most impressed.”

Flushing at the flattering praise, Giles thanked the demoness and bent to get his notes in order in preparation for when Buffy should return for the next part of the interview.

To fill the uncomfortable silence while Giles was busy and Spike was distracted by the jumbled feelings he was receiving through the Bond from Buffy as he sat idly picking a pastry apart until it was nothing but sticky crumbs, Clem addressed his aunt. “Great Aunt P, I don’t know why you should think I know where Cousin Pavel is. As I said before, I haven’t seen him since I left home. I didn’t even know he was coming to visit.”

Perpalla frowned anxiously. “But he set out just before Beltane of two thousand. He shouldn’t have taken more than a few days to reach Sunnydale!” She complained irritably, “Now where has that silly boy got to?”

Clem’s brow creased even more than was customary as he wondered what might have caused his cousin to go missing.

Spike was brought back to a full awareness of his surroundings when Clem nudged his arm. “Are you all right, Spike buddy?”

The vampire cleared his throat self-consciously and put his plate aside as he sat up straight muttering, “Uh? Oh, right, yeah, thanks.”

Giles added, “It’s just that…” He gestured at Spike’s face.

Spike became aware that his face was damp from tears trickling down his cheeks. Defensively he grumbled, “Oh, they’re not mine. Buffy…”

Concerned, Giles asked, “How is she feeling?”

Spike snorted. “Haven’t a clue, Watcher. She’s giving me a headache, she is.” He concentrated and tried to give a running commentary of the maelstrom whirling through his mind. “Now she’s sad, angry, disappointed, excited, scared, angry again, curious, frustrated, proud, curious again…” He chuckled ruefully, “I think it’s safe to say our girl’s confused.” He cocked his head on one side as he sensed her approaching, “And she’s coming back.”

His brain finally catching up with his ears, he hesitantly asked Clem, “Your cousin, he came to town a couple of years ago?” When Clem shrugged Spike hesitantly suggested, “Well… you know… that was when the bleedin’ Initiative…”

Clem and Perpalla both gave shocked gasps and started giving off waves of fear and anxiety while Giles took his glasses off for a polish, gesturing at their hostess and her nephew. “But Spike, the Initiative was studying dangerous demons. Surely they wouldn’t have been interested in…”

Spike snarled sarcastically, “Oh of course not, ‘cos those bloody toy soldiers knew exactly what they were doing, didn’t they? Look, Watcher. As far as they were concerned all demons are evil and dangerous animals just perfect for them to play God with. They grabbed Red’s wolf didn’t they? Good lad, he was. I saw some real nasties while they had me, it’s true, but they had at least one Kwaini demon all chained up down there and you’d never find a gentler more peace-loving creature.”

He turned to Perpalla. “I don’t recall seeing anyone who looked as if he might be your boy you understand, Duchess, but after I got out…” He shrugged, leaving the horrific possibility open. “Then I dunno what happened to all the prisoners that got free in the last fight…”

Catching the tail end of the exchange as she slipped back into the room, Buffy went up to Clem and laid her hand on his arm, saying, “You don’t think Pavel was captured by the Initiative, do you?”

Giles answered regretfully, “It’s beginning to look likely, Buffy. We never did investigate what had happened to the demons we let loose. I suppose some may have survived the battle and escaped when we did…”

“Well that just sucks.” Buffy patted Clem’s arm reassuringly. “Now we know he’s gone missing we’ll ask around, Clem, Perpalla. Someone must know something.”

Perpalla wiped her eyes and murmured, “Thank you Slayer, you’re most kind to a poor demon…”

Resuming her seat Buffy fiddled absently with the hem of her jacket as she took a deep breath and asked her Watcher, “Giles, do you really think that when Willow brought me back I got a third dose of the Slayer demon essence? ‘Cos if I did… Would it have made enough difference to explain why Spike’s chip didn’t register me as human? I asked Tara to check the spell and she said I was fine, that the only difference in me was that I had a kinda cellular suntan. But she didn’t know about this…”

Giles gave a determined nod. “I shall have to ask Willow for the exact method and wording of the spell she used. She never did give me a satisfactory account. If she just asked for ‘Buffy Summers’ to be returned it’s doubtful, but if she made any reference to you being the Slayer then I should think it is a real possibility. That would certainly go some way to explaining your enhanced uh... abilities, although I expect the Claim has had an influence too.” He regarded her pale face and swollen eyes thoughtfully. “Are you all right to continue, Buffy? We could leave the rest of our questions for another time if you’d like more time to…”

Buffy put on a brittle smile and shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine, Giles. I just needed a few minutes to process… you know?” She briefly glanced aside at Spike’s concerned expression. “We need to know… Well… We’ve told you we’ve already noticed some changes in ourselves since the Claim. It would be good to know what else we might expect. And as for the turned Slayer stuff… I get that it’s really important, and not just for us. I know you’re dying to find out…”

“Well… if you’re sure, Buffy…” Giles turned to Perpalla, “I read the material on vampire Claims you sent over, but I’m a bit puzzled as to why you would have such information…”

“Oh I don’t pretend to know everything about vampire Claims, oh my goodness no, not at all. We only record observations of the effects of Claims between vampires and Slayers, as part of our interest in the Slayer line.”

It was at this point that Clem cleared his throat self-consciously and drew everyone’s attention to himself. “Er… Look I can tell this stuff is gonna get real personal, real quick. I know you wanted me here Great Aunt P, but really I need to…” He gestured desperately to the door.

“Oh of course, Clement. I requested your presence because I was a bit nervous about meeting the Slayer. You can never be sure how they might react to meeting a strange demon. I’m sure we’ll be just fine.” She made a shooing gesture. “You go on now, and make sure you come to see me soon. I know of a lovely girl I want you to meet.”

By the time Perpalla had finished speaking Clem was already sidling out of the door. Resigned, he said quietly, “Oh, yes Great Aunt P, I surely will.” And with an awkward little finger wave to Buffy and Spike he was gone.

Giles cleared his throat and started, “Perpalla, the Council has let me have some records from the restricted archive documenting occasional relationships between Slayers and vampires through the centuries, but nowhere do they make any mention of Claimed Slayers, or for that matter turned Slayers. You did seem quite confident in the details you sent me, however. Could you expand on this please?” He held up the pages of yellow legal pad covered with loopy violet handwriting.

Directing her reply to Buffy, the demoness began to explain. “Well, my dear, I’m sure you’ve noticed that since you were Called you have been unable to sustain a satisfying relationship with a mundane human?”

Buffy immediately looked confused. “Mun-huh?”

Spike snorted, “Mundane, Slayer. Means normal, ordinary.”

Flushing, Buffy became defensive. “Well… Riley was really nice…”

“Nice?” Spike shuddered, “Talk about damning with faint praise. Nice is boring. Nice is settling. He wasn’t right for you, and you know it, Buffy. He hated it when he realised you were stronger than him. He claimed to like it but when faced with the reality of it he couldn’t cope. You wouldn’t fawn all over him and defer to him as the strong manly man the way he wanted you to. Made you feel you had to pretend to be less than you are so as not to bruise his precious delicate feelings.”

“Oh stop it Spike! Just because he had trouble understanding the ‘sacred duty’ part of me being the Slayer and I made him feel all inadequate…”

Spike huffed impatiently, “The boy felt inadequate ’cos he was inadequate! Thought being the Slayer was just a job you could switch off whenever he wanted you to be ‘JustBuffy’, the perfect girlfriend. Stupid pillock didn’t realise that being the Slayer was part of ‘JustBuffy’. Slaying wasn’t something you did, it’s who you are every second of every sodding day!” He pointed an accusing finger at his Mate. “Admit it, Slayer. He hated that he couldn’t swoop in and save the day the way he needed to, to feel like a man.” He murmured irritably, “Wasn’t content dating the Slayer, daft tosser bloody well wanted to be the Slayer!”

Becoming a bit heated, Buffy came back with, “But even though I had to hold back some, he made me feel like a normal girl. And that felt so good ‘cos that’s all I am really. There are all these prophecies… and I’m supposed to be so special… but all I am is just an ordinary girl…”

Spike rolled his eyes in frustration. “You’re not ordinary, Buffy. You couldn’t be ordinary if you tried!”

Buffy slumped in defeat, “Well… maybe not now. But only ‘cos I’m the Slayer. If you’d known me before I was Called…”

“No, Buffy. You still don’t get it, do you? All over the world there are girls with the potential to become the next Slayer. Hundreds of them. Something in their make-up has set them aside, made them special, worthy of just possibly sometime in the future being Chosen as the Slayer. When the Slayer before you died and the power had to be reallocated, the Powers that Be had all those girls to choose from. Out of all of them the Powers Chose the best. They Chose you.”

His voice lost its lecturing tone and became quieter and more intimate. “Buffy, love. You aren’t extraordinary because you’re the Chosen One. You were Chosen because you’re extraordinary! And nobody has the right to make you feel as if you have to hold back part of yourself!”

Perpalla clapped her hands together and cried, “Oh yes, that’s it in a nutshell, Master William!” She cocked her head to one side and smiled indulgently at Buffy. “And of course an extraordinary girl needs an extraordinary partner. One that she can be herself with. One who will both support her and challenge her as she carries out her Calling.” She gestured towards Spike. “And who better to understand the Vampire Slayer and be a true match for her than a Master Vampire?”

Perplexed, Giles asked, “But under normal circumstances how can a Slayer and a Master Vampire ever reach the stage of being able to form a relationship? Any meeting between them would generally result in one of them being killed. Spike here is a unique case because of his encounter with the Initiative. The chip in his brain resulted in him being unable to kill Buffy and gave him the opportunity to get close to her and develop more… uh… tender feelings towards her. If it hadn’t been for that, I don’t doubt that one of them would be dead by now.”

Perpalla appeared genuinely amused. “Now let me guess… when you two met you fought several times but were so evenly matched neither of you could get the upper hand?” Buffy and Spike looked at each other and both smiled and nodded. “And each time you fought, you enjoyed yourselves more and more until it wasn’t about the kill any more, it was all about the fight. So much so that each of you either subconsciously or deliberately didn’t take advantage of openings that could have allowed you to kill the other just so you’d have the opportunity to fight again?” Again the two blondes shared a special look and chuckled as they nodded.

The demoness sat back in her chair and spread her hands as if demonstrating something self-evident. “Passion. Passion and a natural attraction between equals. That’s all it takes for the seeds of a solid relationship to be sown, Mr Giles.”

Buffy frowned. “But… But I don’t understand.” She glanced apologetically at Spike. “Vampires… I’m the Slayer, I’m supposed to destroy vampires. I’m not supposed to have warm fuzzies for them. They’re everything I’m supposed to hate. They’re everything that I'm supposed to be against. I’m not supposed to chat with them to find out if I want to… to be with them!”

Genuinely puzzled, Perpalla asked, “Why would you hate vampires, Buffy? They can’t help being what they are. Of course it’s your duty to Slay them because they’re evil and they kill humans, but once upon a time they were as much innocent victims as any other person who dies at the hands of a demon. They don’t deserve your hatred, just a quick merciful end. And of course you don’t stop to chat with every vampire you stake, although I’ve heard you do like to deliver a timely pun from time to time. Most vampires have no interest in you other than as a potential meal or, if they recognise who you are, a glorious conquest.”

“How many Master Vampires have you faced, Buffy? Surely you’ve noticed they’re very different from the newly risen creatures you Slay every night?” When Buffy gave a reluctant shrug and nod she continued, “They are no longer driven by their bloodlust and the desire for mayhem. They are capable of rational thought and long range planning. They can look beyond the hunt for their next meal and appreciate the strong warrior within you as a potential Mate.”

Giles smugly pointed out, “That’s what you said, Spike, that your demon considered Buffy as a worthy Mate before you realised you had feelings for her.”

Spike nodded slowly as he reconsidered his former enthusiasm for challenging himself against Slayers. “Yeah… hunting Slayers… I thought it was good sport, you know? Fought several, managed to kill two. Didn’t realise it was because I was searching for a Mate. Thought I had everything I wanted in Dru. I’d convinced myself she loved me, when all she felt was a certain fondness for me ‘cos I looked after her and indulged her every whim. All that ended when soddin’ Angelus came back, of course. She dropped me like a crucifix doused in holy water and she never forgave me for ganging up with the Slayer against her and her precious ‘daddy’.”

Buffy took his hand and squeezed it firmly. She declared, “Well speaking as SelfishBuffy, I’m glad she dumped you. Her loss is my gain.”

Basking in the warmth of Buffy’s feelings for him, Spike almost missed the demoness’ next question. “So you want to know about the effects the Mating Claim will have on you? What have you noticed so far?”

Buffy started, “Well, we can both sense each other’s emotions and we can always tell where the other is… except when Spike went through a portal into another dimension and we couldn’t sense each other at all…”

Spike put in, “We’re both faster and stronger and we’re both healing a lot quicker too. Slayer had a spear through her guts and was up and fighting in a minute or two…”

Buffy took over again, “And I’m finding the Slaying fun again. I’d got so fed up with it… I’d really had enough.”

Spike grumbled, “She’s only gone and infected me with her human empathy for her little friends… ‘s’not natural for a vamp to care about people so much… pathetic excuse for a demon…”

“Oh, and my senses have had like a major upgrade. Hearing, smell, sight, especially night vision all way better… especially when Spike vamps out… and that is majorly weird, let me tell you…”

“Human food tastes good again which is great, but blood…” Spike shuddered. “The animal blood I feed on now... it all tastes revolting. Dunno about ordinary human blood but Buffy’s, now that’s ambrosia.”

Buffy shrugged, “I think that’s everything…”

Spike sniggered, “Yeah… except for the sex…”

Buffy blushed furiously and batted at his arm. “Spike! Shush! You shouldn’t…”

Perpalla nodded wisely. “Ah yes, the sex.” She glanced in amusement at Giles who was polishing his glasses so enthusiastically it looked as if he might wear right through the lenses. “I’m guessing that you are finding that aspect of your life better than it has ever been before… am I right? As a matter of fact I’m rather surprised you’ve managed to keep all your clothes on for the duration of your visit. You’re still settling down into the Claim and for some time to come any kind of physical contact you can get will be vitally important to you both.”

“One Slayer/Vampire couple I heard of were rarely seen for over a year after their Claim. They only emerged to go hunting and even then they sometimes didn’t manage to make it back home…” Her red eyes twinkled with a touch of mischief. “For months there were wild rumours of the local parks and cemeteries being haunted or of escaped wild animals. There was roaring and screaming in the middle of the night… and even one report of a running battle through town in which two of the combatants were fighting naked. I’m assuming they were… uh… interrupted…”

Buffy and Spike’s eyes met and despite Buffy’s obvious embarrassment they both started sniggering helplessly. Eventually Buffy was able to splutter, “Well… it hasn’t got quite that bad…”

“Yet….” Spike pulled Buffy into his lap again and gave her a squeeze as he slid his hand up her shirt to rest on her warm soft belly. He smirked. “You’re right about the touching thing though, Duchess. Can’t keep our hands to ourselves.”

Giles cleared his throat and asked with forced patience, “If we could perhaps get back to the point…”

Buffy sat up straight in Spike’s lap and looked sheepishly through her eyelashes at him. “Sorry, Giles. Here’s me being all pointyBuffy...” And then proceeded to belie the statement by dissolving into giggles.

Perpalla fought off her own laughter as she continued. “It seems as if you’ve already discovered most of the benefits of the Claim for yourselves. There are a couple of things I can add that wouldn’t have become evident for some time. For one thing, Buffy, as your life essence has been linked to that of Master William’s demon your life expectancy has increased dramatically. As far as we have been able to discover you aren’t exactly immortal, but you’ll find that you will age extremely slowly. If you survive your Slaying duties you should find yourself still fit and able for at least a century. Even after your body begins to show enough signs of ageing to prevent you from fighting on a regular basis you could survive for many more years.”

She solemnly added, “You should know we don’t know of any Claimed Slayers who have died a ‘natural’ human death. This has led us to form the theory that they can’t just die, they need to be killed. So if you’re careful….” She left the sentence hanging and Spike sat stupefied, delightedly pondering a long future with his Slayer stretching endlessy ahead of them.

Her giggles completely forgotten, a very shocked Buffy whispered, “That means… that means the Hellmouth thing… it could be years and years away… Willow and Xander, Tara and even Dawn… they could all be… and Giles!” She turned to her equally stunned Watcher. “Giles, if I… Oh God… Giles!” She pressed a hand over her mouth as she came to the tearful realisation that she could very possibly outlive her Watcher and all of her friends while awaiting the fulfilment of the Hellmouth prophecy.

Perpalla gently reminded her, “Don’t forget you’ll have William at your side for the rest of your life, Buffy. He will be your support through everything, as you will be his. You will share all the pleasures and pains of life and fight side by side until the end. Of course that is the main benefit of the Claim. You will never have to fight alone again.”

Buffy gave an ironic chuckle, “So much for that normal life Angel tried to convince me I should want.” Sadly she added, “So… no children for FutureBuffy then… ‘cos vamps…”

Perpalla sat forward. “Ah, you haven’t noticed yet then…” When she was pinned by Buffy’s questioning glare she cleared her throat and murmured, “You have to admit that pregnancy and childbirth would be a great handicap to a serving Slayer, and as we mentioned earlier I don’t know of any…” Buffy’s impatient expression made her snap back to the point she wanted to make. “As you’ve just realised, Buffy, once Mated to a vampire the possibility of bearing a child of your union is impossible. There’s no way either of you would accept the uh… assistance of a human male. You shouldn’t therefore be too upset that your regular uh… female problem… that is… well…”

Buffy looked very thoughtful for a few seconds then realised with surprise, “I’m late. I’m very late. In fact I’m so late I’ve missed the bus altogether.”

Perpalla nodded. “You won’t be having that problem any more, my child. Remember that vampires traditionally live in family groups or clans, particularly those belonging to the oldest Orders. If you were to live among your Mate’s family, which has happened in the past, just imagine what the scent of Slayer blood on the air for several days every month would do to them. Your poor Mate would be forced to defend you against his own family…”

Spike snarled under his breath, “Not gonna let my poxy family get anywhere near her… sadistic loada lowlifes the lot of ‘em.”

Clearly desperately trying to find an upside to the revelation Buffy half-heartedly joked, “Well I guess that means no more PMS-Buffy… that can only be of the good… right?”

Holding his distraught Mate close, Spike whispered in her ear, “S’pose it’s a good thing you’ve already got Dawn then, Buffy. Have to give her all your mothering…”

She nodded and gripped his arm tightly as she tried to calm down. “Yeah,” She sighed. “Looks like Dawnie’s gotta be the one to carry on the family. I’d really only ever thought about having babies as a vague ‘perhaps one day’ thing, you know? Still only just twenty one here! But being told I never can… it’s still a shock.”

After giving Buffy a few moments to recover Giles quietly asked, “Is there anything else you can tell us about Claims between vampires and Slayers? If not, perhaps we should move on to what happens when a Slayer is turned, because what you wrote here…” He held up the yellow pages again helplessly. “…goes against everything the Council teaches.”

“I can’t believe how distorted the Council’s teachings have become! I think I’d best begin by telling you the brief history of one Slayer who was turned. Her case is as typical as you can get, I suppose.” Perpalla once more folded her hands in her lap and closed her eyes, going into her ‘story teller’ mode.

“Françoise de Bergerac was Called in fifteen eighty three, a few months after her fifteenth birthday, in the département of Aquitaine in South West France. She lived in a cottage in the grounds of her parents’ vineyard with her Watcher who had trained her since she was a child. After a time her Watcher decided she was strong enough to move to the city of Bordeaux to control the growing vampire and demon population there.”

“It was in Bordeaux that she encountered and fought the Master vampire known as Étienne. For months they battled. Sometimes one prevailed, sometimes the other, but always something happened to prevent their fight from reaching a resolution. During this period there was great turmoil in the region with frequent confrontations between Catholics and Huguenots, and one night Françoise’s Watcher perished in a skirmish.”

“Desolate without her mentor, the Slayer fell to Étienne’s fangs but he did not drain her. Impulsively he only took enough blood to weaken her and took her back to his clan’s lair. When she recovered he asked why she had not fought with her usual skill. She explained what had happened and Étienne comforted her. The comfort took on a physical nature and the infatuated vampire initiated a Claim. In her grief and gratitude she copied his actions and echoed his words to complete the Mating.”

“The newly Mated pair dealt with all Étienne’s minions and then in a quest for security from the troubles they travelled back to her parents’ vineyard outside Bergerac where they were welcomed warmly. Her parents insisted that a civil marriage was performed to complement their vampiric ritual and subsequently Étienne was accepted into their society and given the formal title of Françoise’s Champion. The couple took up residence in the Watcher’s cottage from where they continued making frequent forays back into the city to Slay.”

“They were happy together for nearly two years, until at last a new Watcher arrived.”

Perpalla’s voice took on an ominous tone. “The new Watcher was not like his predecessor, an indulgent older man who had treated the Slayer as a favoured child. He was a zealous young puritan who had been sent direct from Council Headquarters in England after they finally received notification of the old Watcher’s death and Françoise’s marriage. He was appalled to find his supposedly virtuous Slayer consorting with a demon. He assumed she had been corrupted by evil and in his shock and disgust privately resolved to destroy the couple.”

Buffy gasped in shock and whispered, “But surely, as she was still patrolling… Why would he…?”

While Perpalla had been speaking Giles had been frantically searching through papers in his briefcase and at last sat up and brandished a sheet of closely printed text. “Françoise de Bergerac! The Council recorded that she went through a form of marriage with a vampire and died shortly thereafter. They don’t make any mention of a Mating Claim or of her being turned!”

Breaking off her narration, Perpalla sighed, “After everything you’ve told me about how economical with the truth the Council has become I cannot say I’m surprised. Why would they wish to publish an account of a Watcher deciding on his own volition to murder the Slayer he had been appointed to assist?”

Spike raised an eyebrow at Giles. He commented scathingly, “Puritans!” Giles just gave a resigned nod.

Buffy gasped, “Oh God! Did he…?” Then with a puzzled frown she murmured, “But you said she was turned!”

Huffing impatiently, the demoness said, “If I could be allowed to continue?”

Her three listeners all murmured their apologies and Perpalla resumed her tale. “For a time the new Watcher merely observed the couple as he went through the motions of advising and training the Slayer. He very quickly realised that he was not sufficiently strong or skilled as a fighter to confront them together so he planned to take advantage of a daylight outdoor weapons training session to kill the Slayer when her vampire would be unable to come to her aid. He would deal with him afterwards.”

“His opportunity came when he was instructing Françoise with a crossbow. After the lesson was over he directed her to approach the target to retrieve the bolts they had shot. While she had her back turned he raised his weapon and aimed a bolt at her heart.” She paused for a second when Buffy gave a horrified gasp, but carried on when she realised nobody was going to interrupt her again.

“Confident that his aim had been true the Watcher finished tidying up the practice area then picked up the Slayer’s still form and carried her, not to the cottage where he knew Étienne would be waiting, but to the family’s château. When he arrived he told them that Françoise had been careless in their lesson. That she had ignored his safety instructions and crossed in front of him just as he had shot at the target. He made effusive apologies and after a decent interval excused himself to go back to the cottage to prepare to set off for England to make his report.”

“When he reached the cottage he quietly retrieved his luggage and set fire to the little house, confident that the vampire was within and could not escape without being fatally exposed to the sun. He then walked to the nearby village and took a room at the inn to wait for the coach to Bordeaux. He was convinced that he had eliminated both the subverted Slayer and her vampire consort.”

“There were four things he didn’t know, however.”

“He didn’t know about the emotional Bond between Slayer and vampire that had alerted Étienne to his Mate’s momentary shock and fear before she lost consciousness. He didn’t know about the ability they shared to sense each other’s location, which had informed the vampire of the fact Françoise had been taken to the château. He didn’t know that when the original Watcher had moved into the cottage an underground passage had been constructed between it and the château so that the Potential Slayer and the Watcher could pass undetected between the two buildings to enable them to maintain the requisite secrecy as he trained her. Lastly, he didn’t know about the further enhanced accelerated healing the Mating had gifted to the Slayer.”

“When Étienne arrived at the château in frantic haste to discover what was wrong with his Mate he found her laid out in state with the bolt still in place in her heart, which unbeknownst to her family was trying to heal around it. The vampire knew that the heart could not heal with the bolt still in place. He also knew that if he removed it to allow healing to begin his precious Mate would bleed out before she could be saved.”

Spike shuddered in sympathetic understanding and muttered, “Poor bugger.” Then he realised, “The only way to save her was to turn her, yeah? Drain her almost dry, remove the bolt when there wasn’t enough blood left to make a difference and so that the wood would be safely out of her heart when she changed, then make her drink.”

“Exactly, Master William. Very perceptive of you.” Perpalla turned to Giles. “Naturally the Council was not informed of this development as once the newly risen Slayer explained how she had come to be mortally wounded the family rallied around her and her Mate and maintained the fiction of her death. They had no wish to attract further assassination attempts by an organisation they no longer trusted.”

“With his Slayer Mate undead at his side Étienne kept his position as the family’s Champion, spreading the story locally that he was doing so in respect for his late wife’s memory. The pair lived together in secret in a cottage that was rebuilt on the site of the original which gave them daylight access to the family home. They continued their fight against evil roaming all over Southern France and Northern Spain for over a century before they perished within hours of each other. We aren’t certain which of them lost the fight, we suspect Étienne, but whichever went first the other surely met the sun the following morning.”

Giles removed his glasses and wearily pinched the bridge of his nose between finger and thumb. He quietly said, “A turned Slayer retains her soul.” He shook his head helplessly. “And yet the Council’s standing orders are to despatch a Slayer immediately it has become apparent she has been turned because once she adjusts to her new situation she would become an unstoppable force for evil.”

Buffy frowned thoughtfully then hesitantly said, “Giles… I think she’s right. When I woke as a vampire I wasn’t… that is… I didn’t feel evil, just very hungry. It wasn’t all that hard to control myself until we’d got the nightmares sorted out and I was me again. I certainly didn’t want to kill anyone…”

Giles gaped at her. “Dear Lord, I’d forgotten all about that!”

She said sardonically, “Yeah… that was the first time I had to dig myself out of my grave.” Very quietly she added sadly, “The nightmares lasted for ages that time too.”

Spike’s eyebrows went up in disbelief. “You were a vampire? And then you got better?”

Buffy explained, “There was a little boy in a coma… people’s nightmares were coming true until we could wake him up, and then when we did everything went back to normal.” She smirked at a lighter memory, “Xander went to class in his underwear… and Willow had to sing on stage in front of hundreds of people… and Giles forgot how to read.”

Giles cleared his throat and reminded her sternly, “And none of it was funny, Buffy.”

Suitably chastened, Buffy shrugged an apology to her Watcher then turned to Perpalla and asked, “Oh yes, another thing. Mr DuRose said you told him that a turned Slayer’s powers were increased threefold?”

The demoness nodded eagerly. “Oh yes, my dear. That phenomenon is well documented. It seems that the vampire demon, when introduced into a body that has already been enhanced with Slayer essence merges with it to increase the strengths of both to such a degree the end result surpasses the sum of the two.”

Giles broke in excitedly, “Hybrid vigour! You’re talking about hybrid vigour!” When three pairs of startled eyes turned to him he sheepishly added, “My aunt cultivates orchids, she’s always experimenting with cross-breeding different varieties trying to develop the hardiest possible plants that would bear attractive disease resistant flowers.”

Perpalla nodded approvingly. “Yes, the turned Slayer becomes a supreme warrior. She is practically invincible.”

Spike put in musingly, “That’s why when Angelus told me about Slayers he emphasised… “You kill Slayers, if you can, but you never turn them.” I don’t think he knew they kept their souls, he just knew they became bloody strong and very dangerous. He said the story he’d heard… the first thing a turned Slayer did when she rose was dust her Sire.”

Perpalla shrugged. “Well, if she wasn’t turned by her Mate so she woke up in his presence I should imagine a Slayer’s first impulse upon rising and sensing a vampire close to her would be to attack it.”

She went on to caution them, “Of course a turned Slayer is as susceptible to being corrupted by evil as any living Slayer. There have been occasional cases of them abandoning their Calling and acting inappropriately as I’m sure you’re aware. The possession of a human soul is no guarantee of noble intentions, it just gives moral guidance. There is no compulsion to follow the guide. So much depends upon the individual’s character and personal choices.” She nodded sympathetically. “And of course the reception a turned Slayer gets from her Watcher and friends and family immediately after she rises will to a great extent determine her future attitude. If they accept her and try to help her she will have a reason to retain her humanity. If they reject and persecute her…” She shrugged as her point was made.

Buffy broke the ensuing leaden silence by asking fiercely, “What happened to the murdering son of a bitch of a Watcher? Did they go after him?”

Perpalla smiled smugly. “It would appear he disappeared from his room at the inn and was never heard from again. He certainly never made it back to Council Headquarters.”

Spike gave an approving nod. “Good. Hope they made it very painful for a very long time.”

When the silence began to get uncomfortably long they realised there didn’t seem to be anything more to discuss. They made small talk for a few minutes while Giles sorted out his notes and packed everything back into his briefcase and then they stood to prepare to leave.

Buffy approached Giles and they quietly discussed the possibility of the Hellmouth prophecy being set in the far future leaving Spike at a bit of a loose end. He grabbed a spice cake to nibble at while he waited.

When he saw Perpalla watching him with a little smile he shrugged shyly and asked, “Don’t suppose you’d care to share your recipe would you, Duchess? These pryaniki are right tasty.”

They drifted towards the door while the demoness was promising to copy out her recipe and send it to him, with Giles and Buffy following. Just as Perpalla was about to open the door, Buffy turned to her and said, “I want to thank you for everything you’ve told us.” She shrugged and gave an ironic little laugh. “If you’d told me a couple of years ago that a demon would be explaining to me what it meant to be a Slayer…”

Perpalla smiled up at her. “Oh, you’re quite welcome, my dear. I may be a demon but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the wonderful work that Slayers do. After all I live in the world too and wouldn’t want the evil demons to get too powerful. They’d spoil everything.”

Impulsively, Buffy gave the tiny demon a hug then hesitantly asked, “You said you’ve been following my Calling… does that mean you’re writing up all about me for your clan’s records?”

Perpalla chuckled excitedly, “Oh yes, my dear. I think my history of your exploits is going to take pride of place amongst our Slayer tales.” She leant towards Buffy and whispered conspiratorially, “I’m so glad you broke Angelus’ Controlling Claim. I have to confess I was most concerned regarding the possible consequences of that little piece of foolishness. Your Mating with Master William is much more the thing for a Slayer.”

Buffy’s eyes went very wide. “You knew about that? But… but... but I didn’t even know!” She hastily added, “And anyway, it wasn’t Angelus’ Claim, it was Angel’s.”

Perpalla shook her head disapprovingly. “Oh my dear Slayer. Changing the language in which a name is spoken doesn’t alter the nature of the person who bears the name, and the fact that he Claimed you without your knowledge or consent just makes me even more thankful that you managed to break it.”

Buffy opened her mouth to make a quick rejoinder, but didn’t seem to be able to find the right words. Spike realised from the flash of anger that shot through her whirling emotions that she was about to say something she might later regret, so to forestall her he took her arm and drew her with him out into the hall suggesting, “Come on, Slayer. Let’s go find something for you to kill. That’ll make you feel better.” He twitched an eyebrow and chuckled suggestively, “If there’s nothing nasty lurking about I’ll let you beat me up instead.

Her attention diverted momentarily from Perpalla’s comment Buffy protested in horror, “No, Spike. I’m not going to do that any more!”

Spike pouted. “What? Not even if I ask very nicely?”

Buffy shook her head and gave a low chuckle. “Oh Spike… you’re so twisted.” She looked up at him through her lashes and added provocatively, “I might just be persuaded… if you irritate me enough.”

Behind them as they came to the outer door Perpalla laughingly commented to Giles, “There you are, Mr Giles. What did I say? A perfect match. After all who else but a vampire would understand the Slayer’s instinctive need for violence as a legitimate method of stress relief?”


TBC