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Reviews are awesomeness surrounded by more awesome. I'm just sayin'...



Thanks for all the lovely words of support on this one-chapter five will be up tomorrow. :)
Buffy wouldn’t have admitted it but freshening up and putting on clean clothes was delightful. She’d had to hide her amazement upon discovering the small wardrobe of offerings left in the trunk in her room. Not only was every item in it her exact size, they were all things she would have chosen for herself if she could have afforded them. Not wanting to appear too enthusiastic in front of the other woman, she quickly picked out a soft butter yellow knit dress and a white cardigan. She smiled slightly when she found a pair of white ballet flats at the bottom of the trunk.

In less than fifteen minutes, Buffy stood before Willow with a freshly washed and moisturized face, a perky ponytail and comfortably preppy outfit.

Willow smiled. “Well, that’s better, isn’t it?” She took a brief moment to study the girl Aphrodite had picked for William. Small and pretty, the girl looked delicate, but Willow had already seen plenty of evidence of a strong backbone. She suspected that William would appreciate the dichotomy. Willow hoped that the girl would bring William not only the love that he deserved but a boost in confidence. She was tired of seeing his talents overlooked, simply because they weren’t the ones expected of immortals residing in Hades.

Buffy’s momentary calm quickly faded under Willow’s scrutiny. She wondered what she had been thinking. They were about to go tour Hell and she’d actually focused on picking a cute outfit. She couldn’t even imagine what Willow was going to show her. Would there be people getting tortured? Buffy didn’t think she could handle seeing that. Were most people here dead? She had so many questions, but she worried that getting the answers would only make things worse. Finally, wringing her hands, she asked. “Is it scary?”

The redhead frowned. “What? No, I mean not really.” She sighed. “It’s darker here and different, but I’m sure parts will feel like home.” She considered explaining more. She considered telling Buffy that she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t belong, but decided that it was all too complicated for the moment and that it would be best to simply address the girl’s concerns head on. “Come on.” She held out her hand.

Anxiously, Buffy let Willow led her out of the room. She frowned when they entered an entirely normal looking hallway. If the color scheme hadn’t been so unique, she’d have thought it looked like an upscale hotel. She hadn’t ever seen a hotel with slate grey walls and charcoal carpeting.

Willow walked quickly and Buffy scanned the doors and hanging art along the way.

“It can be like a maze around here, but if you just stay to the left,” she paused before smiling triumphantly, “you’ll be at the library.”

Buffy’s eyes widened when Willow tugged her into a cavernous room. The library was several stories high, but the center of each floor was left open so she could stare up at the impossibly high ceiling. There was quiet music being played and a small number of people reading or speaking in hushed voices. Buffy didn’t think that they looked dead, but wasn’t sure what that would look like here. She supposed that, aside from its size and the rich-looking leather seating scattered about, it looked like a fairly standard library. “It’s huge.” She didn’t bother to hide her awe.

“W…wwe have ev..every book ever written and some that…that haven’t been.”

Buffy looked over in surprise at the young woman who had spoken. She was standing right next to them, but Buffy hadn’t noticed her arrival. The girl smiled prettily at Willow before dropping her gaze to the floor. “Every book?”

Willow grinned. “Buffy this is Tara; she’ll help you find anything you’d like. She knows this library better than anyone else here.”

Buffy watched Tara blush. She certainly didn’t seem very threatening. She held out her hand. “I’m Buffy.”

Tara looked up surprised. “Oh, but I know!” She blushed again. “I…I mean…we all know who you are.” She curtsied. “It will be my pleasure to help you in any way.”

Buffy frowned and looked quizzically at Willow. She wondered if she was supposed to curtsy back. Buffy hadn’t curtsied since she’d dropped ballet at seven. Her ballet teacher had told her parents that they’d be better off finding an activity better suited to Buffy’s particular talents. In other words, she was too rambunctious for thirty minutes of position drills to classical music. She’d been thrilled at the time, but worried now that she ought to have been practicing those curtsies. Biting her lip, she bowed deeply at the waist.

Willow laughed. “You don’t have to bow, sweetie. Tara’s fully mortal and kind of old fashioned, so she curtsies for the immortal crowd.”

Buffy shook her head. “But I’m not immortal.”

“No, not fully, but you would have been chosen for William if you weren’t at least a quarter.”

“A quarter what?”

“God, silly.” Willow smiled. “Surely you realized that you were different?”

Buffy shook her head. “I think you’ve got the wrong girl. I’m really not-”

“One of your grandparents was fully immortal, Buffy. There had to have been signs. You must have skills or abilities that seem…special.”

“My grandparents…” Buffy shook her head. “No, they’re all normal.”

Tara interrupted quietly. “She doesn’t know.”

Willow shook her head. “I’m supposed to be explaining, but I don’t even know where to start.”

“B..Buffy. Your grandmother probably didn’t even know. That’s sometimes how it works. The…the Gods can make it seem like they are someone else.”

Willow nodded. “Or sometimes they are just really charming.”

“And,” Tara continued with an increasingly confident tone, “they’re all really good looking.” She shrugged.

Buffy looked back and forth between them. “You’re trying to say that one of my grandmothers slept with a God? But maybe she didn’t know? And now that makes me…”

“Partially immortal.”

Buffy shook her head. “That’s crazy. I mean immortal seems like something that you either are or you aren’t and I’m definitely not.”

“Oh! But you are. I can see it in your aura. You’re all golden and shimmering. Your real grandfather must have been very powerful.”

Buffy stared at Tara for a moment. “My aura? Like from yoga class?”

Willow laughed. “Tara can tell a lot about a person from their aura.” She looked at Tara and smiled. “Go ahead, honey. Tell her.”

“Well, g-gold is energetic. You’re –you’re not shy and you laugh easily.” She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes in concentration. “Nothing about you says cautious. You jump in, confident. You attract admiration— effortlessly. People simply come to you. But you’re kind.” She smiled suddenly. “I’m glad for that. You drive fast. You like movement, dancing, or maybe running.” She turned to Willow. “She’s nothing like I would have expected.”

Willow nodded.

Buffy frowned. “So maybe there was a mistake. I’m the wrong girl? I could go home.”

“She’s never wrong. She was simply more right in this case than any of us could have predicted.”

“I really don’t understand.”

“You will.” Tara said gently. “I can see the changes already, bits of refection, an awakening of sorts.”

Buffy just stared at them. Were they serious with all this?

Willow touched her arm. “I’m thinking now that the library isn’t really your speed. I’ve got another idea. Come on.” She gave Tara a quick smile before leading Buffy back out to the hall. “We are going to go downstairs.”

Paling instantly, Buffy froze. “What’s downstairs?”

Willow took one look at her face and started giggling. “It’s not like a torture chamber, I promise.” She paused. “Actually William does consider it a torture chamber, but I think you’ll love it.” She reached out and placed her hand on the wall. Instantly, an elevator appeared. She stepped inside and turned to grin at Buffy. “Come on.”


Chapter End Notes:
Thoughts? Predictions? General musings on life and the meaning of it all?



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