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A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms that ruled the land. One of darkness and the other of light. But looks were deceiving. The light had a core of coldness, the heart of which was in the Royal family. King Giles did his best, but his queen, Buffy was.... difficult. Some whispered 'Bitch.' behind her back, and the name was deserved. Their only son, Prince Xander, was no better. He faithfully followed the family tradition of illicit affairs. But so far, his only indiscretion was a well publicized affair with one of the kitchen maids, Cordelia.
In the dark kingdom, there was a core of warmth, that came from the love they all shared. This warmth seeped down into their loyal subjects, and even though they were seen as dark and evil by the neighboring kingdom, they didn't care. They were happy. This land was ruled by King Angelus, who had loved only once. That had been Princess Amy, from an enchanted land, far away. He had loved her so much, that the king had walked away from his life-long betrothed, Buffy, for her. They had married, and had two children, Prince William - better known as Spike - and Princess Drusilla. The Princess had inherited some of her mother's magikal abilities, but mainly her second sight. It had been a sad day in the kingdom when the princess had been driven mad by these visions. Queen Amy's heart had been broken.
King Angelus and Queen Amy had only had a few years together, before being torn apart. Not by death, but by vengence. Queen Buffy, still bitter about her jilting, had kidnapped Queen Amy and imprisoned her in the dungeon. This had caused a great rift between the neighbour kingdoms. The king had demanded the release of his queen, but King Giles, unable to oppose his queen, had not. So every year, on the anniversary of his queen's imprisonment, King Angelus made the trek to the Land of Light, to plead for the return of his queen. It had never worked. The last time, he'd brought his daughter, Princess Drusilla with him. After an incident involving the princess, Queen Buffy had contacted a powerful mage, who had then banned the two of them from ever returning to their kingdom.
But she'd missed one person. Prince Spike.
Once he was old enough, King Angelus had sent him on a very important mission. Free his mother, Queen Amy.
He made it over the border, and even managed to become one of the royal guard. But he couldn't get to his mother. Only a select few were allowed near the imprisoned queen, and they were the most loyal and trusted of the Royal Guard.
But he would never give up. He remembered his mother's laughter and smile, and it would give him renewed sense of purpose.
Then he met her. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, and he knew. This was the other half of him. Angelus had told him about meeting Amy, how he'd known in that one instant that she was the one for him. He'd also said that one day, Spike would find his partner, and he would recognize her in an instant. Spike hadn't beleived his father, until this moment. She was standing by a window, looking out over the forest, in the direction of the kingdom of darkness, with a wistful expression on her face. Her red hair fairly glowed in the sunlight. Then he saw what he was sure others never had. A single tear traced a path down her cheek.
"Is something the matter?" he asked, remembering his role as a palace guard.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking about something I heard today." she replied, not turning around.
"It couldn't be that bad." he said. On the outside he looked calm, but on the inside, he was busily planning on how to get both his mother and this woman out of the castle, and back home.
"What was it you heard?"
"I was finaly told the story about why there is discord between our kingdom and the dark one." she said, still not turning away from the window.
"And what were you told?" he wanted to know what these people were telling everyone about what had occured between the two kingdoms.
"That a manipulative witch took King Angelus away from his betrothed, Queen Buffy. She managed to capture the witch, but it was too late, for Queen Buffy had already married King Giles."
"Is that all?" Spike asked her, trying not to let
his anger show. <How dare that bitch try and make
the queen look like the bad one!> he thought angrily.
"No. They also say that every year, King Angelus would come to thank the queen for freeing him of the witch's spell. That was, until her daughter became fully aware of her powers, and tried to attack them all. Then they were all banned from this land for eternity." Still not looking away from the window.
"Do you beleive it?" he needed to know.
"No. I've heard it whispered that Queen Buffy imprisoned Queen Amy because she was mad at her for stealing King Angelus from her." explained Willow.
"You're right, you know." he told her, glad that she didn't beleive the lies.
Finaly, she turned to look at him. And was stunned by what she saw there. He had blonde hair, almost unnatural in colour, high cheekbones and the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. The small scar in his eyebrow only added to his looks. But that wasn't what made her breath catch. It was the way he was looking at her. Like he could eat her up, and at that moment, she couldn't care less.
"Who are you?" she asked. She'd always known she'd meet her true lifemate one day, but after this morning, she had despaired at it ever happenning.
"I think you already know that." he told her. Spike was pleased that she recognized what was between them.
"Yes, but I don't know your name." she said with a smile.
"Ah, but I don't know yours, either." he replied, a smile curving his own lips.
"I'm Willow." was her simple response, knowing the reaction it would cause.
"Lady Willow?" he asked incredulously. <Just my luck. I finally find her, and she's betrothed to the idiot Prince Xander.> he thought. At her slight nod, he knew what he would have to do. He'd steal her away from here, as well as his mother. So what if it caused more problems between their two kingdoms. Everyone in his land would understand, and begrudge him nothing. They understood that when true love happened, there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. His people would love her as he knew he soon would. <If I don't already.>
"That complicates matters, some." he told her. Spike knew she understood. He also knew that she didn't love Prince Xander. Walking towards her, he was pleased when she didn't back off, but stood her ground. Stopping in front of his red head, he took his signant ring from around his neck, placing it over her head. "Tonight, put this on your finger. Keep it on until morning." he explained to her.
Picking up the ring, she looked at it closely. There was something vaguely familiar about it, but she couldn't quite place it. "What is it?" she asked him.
"My family crest. We only give it to the one we plan to spend our lives with." Spike informed her. Willow's face exploded into a huge grin. She didn't care if he was a penniless farmer, she would go with him anywhere. As long as she was with him, Willow knew she would be happy.
Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on her soft lips befor turning to leave. He had to get his mother out tonight. It was now or never, because after tonight, Willow would be bound to him forever. That's what the ring was for. In most places, the ring symbolized either the intent or act of marriage, but in his kingdom, it meant more. Magik ran strong in the Royal family, and in the morning, their souls would be bonded for eternity. Just as his father and mother were. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later That Night
Willow was dreaming. She tossed and turned in her large bed, trying to rid herself of the images she saw. She saw a strange land with strange people, and somehow knew they were from the kingdom next to them. Then she saw him.
The man from this afternoon. He was releasing all the animals from one of the stables near the palace. He was walking away from the building, entering the castle and heading for the dungeon. Suddenly, shouts were heard from outside. The stable was on fire. Everyone ran to help put out the blaze, as the blonde walked calmly down the steps to the dungeons.
One word entered her mind just before she woke up.
<Spike.>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike waited until there were only a few guards left before making his way down into the dungeons where his mother had been held prisoner these many years. He could feel Willow in his thoughts, following his movements in her sleep. Then she was gone.
Knowing she had awakened, Spike quickly took care of the two remaining guards, taking the keys off one of the unconscious men. He'd planned the fire well, making it big enough to draw almost everyone's attention, but small enough that they could take care of it, and it wouldn't endanger any lives.
Finding the right key, he opened the door, to find his mother exactly as he remembered her. She was sitting on the bed, already dressed, waiting. Seeing her son, she paused for a moment, taking him in. She hadn't seen him since he was five, and was amazed at the strong man he'd grown to be.
"Oh, William..." she breathed, happiness filling her as she rushed forward to hug him.
"Mother." he said, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He hadn't seen her in so long, and it felt good to be surrounded by his mother's love. "We have to leave." he told her, reluctantly pulling back from her.
"Yes. We must go." she agreed. As soon as they were out of the cell, both their heads turned when they heard the unmistakeable sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Amy was about to pop them both out of there, when her son's hand on her arm stopped her.
"What is it?" she asked him. She didn't want to get caught, for William would be either killed, or imprisoned like her. She wouldn't allow that. Spike just smiled, his gaze fixed on the stairs. When Willow reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped, taking in the scene before her. Spike was standing there, a smile on his face, his arm around the waist of a red haired woman.
"Willow." he said, letting go of his mother to go to her.
"Spike." she whispered. She didn't consciously say his name, but it came out anyways.
"It's time to go." he told her, holding out a hand to her. She took it without thought, and followed him as he drew her towards his mother.
"Well, well, William." said Amy. She'd known who this young woman was the instant she'd seen her. Her son had found his true love.
"Willow.' began Spike. "I'd like you to meet my mother, Queen Amy." he said. Willow was stunned. If this was Queen Amy, then that meant....
"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded, turning to face her love.
"Now is not the time, William." said queen Amy. She could hear the guards returning, and knew the time to leave was now. Nodding in agreement, Spike took hold of Willow's hand, again, as well as his mother's. Saying a quick incantation, the queen transported the three of them to just inside of the border of their kingdom.
"We have a day's walk before we reach the castle." stated Spike, knowing the time had come to explain, and he had plenty of time.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked again, not moving.
"I needed to be able to move around without drawing suspicion." he explained. Looking deep into her eyes, he passed a silent message to her that explained everything - one of the perks of their bonding. Willow slowly nodded in acceptance, still not fully understanding their bond, but grateful for it.
Queen Amy was quite taken with this young red head. She was beautiful and had a kind heart. Also, magik flowed strong in her veins. "Who is your family, dear?" she asked.
"Rosenberg." answered the red head.
"Oh my." exclaimed the queen. She had heard of the name. The girl's mother had been taken from her homeland by Lord Rosenberg, many years before. A great search had begun to find their stolen citizen, but to no avail. Now, here was her daughter. Queen Amy told the young red head this, who looked surprised. Then nodded as if it were apparent to everyone but her.
"I should have guess it was something like that." At the other two's questioning look, Willow explained. "I would hear them fighting when I was younger. Mother would demand that he return her home, but he wouldn't hear of it. She died when I was still young." thinking of her mother always made her feel sad.
"Come on, love, lets go home." said Spike, putting his arm around her, leading her and his mother in the direction of the castle.
"Why do you look so young?" Willow asked the queen a time later. She'd been wondering about this, as she didn't look old enough to have a fully grown son.
Laughing softly, Queen Amy explained. "When I realized that I would be missing years with my beloved husband, I did one final spell. It kept Angelus and I both young until we were reunited. It was the only thing I could do in that cell. Buffy had protection barriers put up before I arrived, to keep me from popping out of my cell." explained the queen.
"So don't be surprised to see my father look only slightly older than me." Spike told Willow. They all walked in silence for a time until the queen spoke up.
"William, why were Angelus and Drusilla banned from the kingdom? No one would answer me that question." she asked. She had thought long and hard on the subject, and couldn't figure it out. "Oh, that would be Dru's fault." said a sheepish and amused Spike. He had spent hours laughing over his sister's antics. "She found some apples that looked absolutely delicious, and decided to make a pie out of them." he explained, trying not to laugh too much. It still made him chuckle after all these years. "Turns out, the apples she picked were from some sort of magikal tree that no one but the Royal family was allowed to eat from."
"Your sister made a pie out of the sacred apples?!" cried an incredulous Willow. Commoners weren't allowed to even LOOK upon the fruit, let alone eat them.
"It was a really good pie." countered Spike. Dru had secretly brought the apple pie with them, and they had all shared in the 'stolen booty', as his father called it.
"You're incorrigiable." she told him, smiling as his arm went around her waist.
"And you love it."
"Yes, I most certainly do." she said.
The queen looked on with a soft smile on her face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the trio arrived at the castle, there was much rejoicing. Not only had Prince Spike rescued his mother, but he had also brought back a wife. A full scale party was in effect that night, which lasted for a full week. But before that, Queen Amy, with the help of Princess Drusilla and Princess Willow, erected a barrier around their kingdom. It protected them from an attack from the kingdom of light, by barring anyone who had malicious intent. All others were welcome.
And so the Land of Dark lived on and prospered for years, while the Land of Light slowly diminished, due to their own greed and hatred.
And King Spike and Queen Willow ruled the land with love and kindness, and every year, on the anniversary of Queen Amy's imprisonment, everyone in the kingdom was invited to the castle for a piece of delicious apple pie.
And the Good Witch Anya looked down upon the land and smiled. Everything was absolutely perfect.
The End. (They lived happily ever after.....)
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