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Chapter 1



One moment they were fighting the two demons and the next they were standing in a huge hall. Buffy stood slowly, turning to look over the room where they were. It was the biggest room she had ever been in. The curved ceiling had to tower at least two stories above them covered in paintings of what appeared to be the days of knights. On either side of the room were massive staircases winding up to a landing that overlooked the hall. The floor beneath their feet appeared to be marble that sparkled until it shone.

“Where the hell are we?” Spike muttered. His brows furrowed together as he turned to look at her. His eyes flew open as they ran over her body. “And what in blazes are you wearing, Slayer?”

“Huh?” Buffy said, looking down at herself. “Oh, crap, this isn’t good.”

Her hand ran down the soft, blue velvet of the gown she was wearing. It curved low on her bodice; fitting snug along her waist then fell in soft swirls until it brushed the floor. Her hair flowed around her face, making her raise her hand to find out where her former ponytail was. It was gone. Her hair seemed to be in loose curls that hung below her shoulders.

“I do have to say you look quite fetching like that,” Spike said. His tongue flicked across his top teeth as he studied her. “Makes you all feminine like.”

For the first time she looked at Spike. This had to be someone’s idea of a joke. She giggled then broke out in loud laughter. There was no way she could say a word so she only pointed. Spike was dressed in black breeches tucked into boots that came to his knees. Her eyes moved upwards. Studiously avoiding the now highly obvious bulge caused by those tight pants. Her wandering stopped only by the spectacular view of his marbled chest that the shirt afforded her. It was a white pirate shirt with the loose sleeves and the stays undone almost to his waist.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Spike asked, following her finger so that he looked down at his own outfit. “Bollocks…this is not funny. Not funny in the least.”

Buffy crossed her arms and smiled. “I think it makes you look all masculine and stuff.”

“Funny, Slayer, funny,” Spike said, softly with a tilt of his head.

The look of appreciation he was giving her was making her insides all squishy. Her body definitely felt feverish despite the chills darting along her flesh. She could feel herself swaying toward him, wanting his touch. A noise somewhere else in the building tore her from her intentions. She blinked and shook her head to clear it of the foolish notions she’d been indulging in.

It was time to find out where they were, why they were there, and how they could get home.

“Let’s go exploring,” Buffy said. “I’m ready to go home before anything happens.”

“I’m not,” Spike muttered behind her.

She ignored him, but only because if she was honest she felt the same way.

~~~~~

They traversed through room after room that was utterly bare. Paintings and tapestries hung in startling colors that contrasted with the whiteness of the wall and gray stone of the floors. Through every window there was snow piled almost to the top of the pane.

Spike didn’t need to try the doors to know they were trapped in this castle. The chill that blew through reminded him of the time Angelus, the women, and he were stuck in St. Petersburg during a blizzard. Panic set in as he thought about what would happen if he were starving. Buffy’s blood was racing through her body. It sang to him and he knew the madness of a vampire that would kill to feed. No matter what the cost. No matter the pain.

And he would rather her stake him than taking the chance of hurting her in any way.

The thought of leaving her alone here…wherever here was…tore at him, too. Buffy was trying so hard to be brave but her fear was strong. She moved through the empty banquet hall to the window, pressing her hand against the glass. It had to be cold but she didn’t move, just stood staring at the snow that was falling again.

“We’ll find a way home, Slayer,” Spike tried to say with disinterest. He wouldn’t want her to know how concerned he was. It didn’t help. His voice held the warmth of his caring for this tiny woman.

She turned to look back at him. The barest trace of a smile on those supple, pink lips that still shone from the gloss she’d put on before patrol. It was cherry scented and it teased him with thoughts of things he wanted to do to her.

“I know,” Buffy said, sighing as she returned to his side. “Let’s finish the downstairs and see if there’s a kitchen in this place. Maybe they have some hot chocolate. I’m freezing.”

“It would have been nice if they’d left me my coat,” Spike lamented, running his hands up and down her upper arms. “It would keep you warm.”

“Thank you for the thought.”

Her politeness surprised him. They’d been at odds with each other for so long that he almost forgot the sweetness that was hidden inside of Buffy. Life had taken its toll on the Chosen One. It wasn’t getting any easier on her either. The whole business with Glory and her sister was a burden that was almost too much for her. It was the reason he was there night after night, helping her anyway he could. He didn’t want that girl to be lost forever in the burden of her duties.

“Let’s go see,” Spike said, with a shrug. He kept his fingers crossed that there was food for Buffy. Maybe some blood for him but he wasn’t holding out hope. Suspicions were forming on how they had gotten to their icy prison, too, but he decided not to say anything until he had further evidence. No reason to start an argument, which it surely would, unless he had to.

Spike led the way down the end of the hallway they hadn’t explored yet with Buffy trailing at his heels. She was so close that he knew if he stopped suddenly she would plow into him. So, it wasn’t entirely unexpected for him that she did so when he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Spike, what?” Buffy pleaded, her hands resting on his waist as she tried to peer over his shoulder. “Move or something…”

Well, if nothing else his suspicions had been confirmed. He moved to the left to allow Buffy to enter the ultra modern kitchen. Her gasp echoed around the room after bouncing off the stainless steel appliances. Nowhere else in this castle was any evidence of electricity. It was only this room so far that seemed even close to their century. There was a stove and oven to rival any busy restaurants, a microwave, and a side-by-side refrigerator all humming away.

Buffy was headed straight for the refrigerator. A look of hopeful expectation settled on her features. It turned to one of delight as she opened both doors simultaneously.

“Anything good, Luv?” Spike asked, sauntering over to join her.

“Oh, yeah,” Buffy replied, bouncing a little. “There’s ice cream, a ton of grapes, chocolate covered strawberries, and ooh, cheese all sliced in little squares.” She reached in and plucked a piece off the tray. It was soon ensconced inside of her mouth where she uttered happy little moans as she chewed.

“You forgot to mention the champagne,” Spike said, leaning over her to grab a bottle. If he didn’t have blood then…wait a minute…his eyes had moved downward to the large drawer at the bottom of the fridge. His tongue darted out at the outline of the rectangular bags he saw there. There was blood and it was human blood too. “Thank god, Red didn’t totally mess up,” he muttered.

“What about Willow?” Buffy asked turning to look at him with her ‘don’t push it’ look.

“It’s very obvious we are here because of a spell,” Spike said, raising an eyebrow at her. “The snowed-in castle, the clothes we’re wearing, the food and champagne, it all reeks of romance and seduction.”

“How do I know that you didn’t plan this?” Buffy asked, her hands finding purchase on her hips. “I mean you’re the one with the talking about sex and me liking you and…and.”

“A bit stuck on yourself, aren’t you,” Spike fired back. “Like I would go through all this trouble to try and get you to part those silky thighs.”

“It would be the best thing you’d ever get,” Buffy muttered on her way past him. She stalked down the hallway. She sniffed loudly. “Mr. I sleep with Harmony…”

“Yeah, well, you slept with Peaches,” Spike retorted. When more mumbling reached him, he shouted. “Vampire hearing, you silly bint, I can hear you.”

“Go to hell.”

“Already there,” Spike mumbled. “I’m stuck here with you.”

He wasn’t sure if he meant it or not, but she didn’t need to know that though. With a sigh he started after her. No telling what was on the second floor of this place. It seemed like a romantic getaway but if it was Willow’s spell, they had a tendency to go wrong. There were a lot of things that could happen here. They’d freeze, the food would run out, and always the most pleasant thought of all, they’d kill each other. He started fantasizing of ways to torture Buffy before killing her, when an ear piercing shriek sounded above him.

It was Buffy. He took off running in the direction of her terrified shriek. The steps were taken two at a time. His boots slid on the floor as he turned a corner in the direction of her heartbeat. There weren’t any sounds of a fight ahead and he wondered what had frightened the Slayer. He turned another corner and saw her standing in a doorway. She was frozen in place. The blood drained from her face as she stared horror stricken at something.

“Buffy, what the hell is wrong?” Spike asked when he stopped beside her.

She only lifted a hand and pointed. His eyes followed the direction she indicated, and the only thing he could do was stare in mute shock along with her.



To be continued…





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