They walked to the gate of the fortress and the tallest again yelled out another word Spike didn’t know and the door slammed open. Buffy paused in awe of the place. It was made of white sand stone that sparkled in the light. The windows were large and made of crystal instead of glass and the lights were torches but had been covered with a sort of crystal that made designs on the walls, ceiling and floor. The furniture was made of fine wood that looked hand carved.
Buffy was greatly impressed but continued when the guard behind her pushed on her with his bow. She looked over at Spike noticing the way he was admiring his environment too. She looked around making out a list of the entrances and windows that might open for an exit. She also looked around for signs of where her sister might be but it was hard to tell. Every door was closed with a large, thick, wooden door that allowed no light or sound to penetrate.
Buffy looked a little nervous as the tallest knocked on the door in front of them and all the guards but two disappeared. Buffy tried to run but was immediately caught by the guard who said something to her in his language and Spike leaned up against her ear, “Love, not that I blame you for trying to escape but I think it’s in our best interest as well as the half pint’s to hear them out. They have something we want. We need to bargain with them in some fashion.”
Buffy rolled her eyes but stayed quiet and stayed in line as the guards led them into a huge room that was empty except for two thrones in the front of the room. One throne was occupied, by a handsome young Native, who Buffy supposed was the King while the second throne was left empty and she figured someone else sat there but was missing.
The King said something in a foreign language and Spike stood up straighter answering. Spike replied to the King in his language, “We have come to seek permission to return to our dimension with the young lady who was captured. You see, we are not from around here and in fact the young lady in question was kidnapped out of our care and brought here by mistake and we just wish to take her home.”
The King pondered and asked, “Who is this girl and why are you asking me to return something that you lost?”
Spike growled, “Listen here, we didn’t lose her. She was stolen from us and we just came to get her back. It appears she is being used as one of your bride picks. Once we get the bit, we will return to our own sodding lives never to bother you again.”
The King frowned and stated, “I cannot return her. There are laws in this world, which must be followed. I am due to wed in three weeks from today. At this time, any maidens who are up for eligibility can be fought for. This means that if you so choose to battle for this young lady who you seem so intent on…” Spike faltered on this word but he figured it meant saving. He heard the King continue, “you can battle for her.”
Spike pondered this, “Battle? You mean like a fight to the death kind of thing? Against you?”
The King laughed as did the other Native guards. When the laughter finally stopped the King shook his head, “No, I own and rule this place. There are warriors who will be offered at the time to do my battles. You can fight for her at that point.”
The king gestured to the lady with him, “Or you can choose to let her go in the young lady’s place.”
Spike looked back at Buffy horrified and moved closer to her, “No, she’s my mate. She’s not for trading.”
The King chuckled and looked a slight bit confused, “If you are already mated, why choose to…” Spike sighed as he used that word again but listened to the rest, “You already have a young lady who is quite beautiful.”
Spike growled not liking the King’s tone and shouted, “The girl in question is this lady’s sister. I promised her I’d get her back for her. She’s still too young to marry.”
The King nodded, “Well you can stay in the West Wing with your lady for the three weeks then you can choose to celebrate with us or probably die in battle. The choice will be yours. Once you are settled in, have one of the maids bring you back. There is something we need to discuss.”
He then turned towards the guards and watched as a young lady appeared. She smiled and curtsied to the King and turned towards Spike, “One room or two?”
Spike smirked saying, “One of course. She’s my lady after all. She’s be lost without me in her own room.”
The lady smiled knowingly and the guards untied them. Spike gave Buffy a warning glance and she carried Fuzzball in her arms falling in step behind the maid and Spike wondering what the Hell was going on.
From behind a door, the mysterious white-haired lady watched the two as they walked in the fortress. Her blue dress never hit the ground as she wandered in to talk to the King about the two strangers.
The maid handed Spike a key and Buffy watched as the lady came over to her with a measuring tape and took some measurements and smiled saying something. Buffy couldn’t understand but smiled in return determined to make the best of this since Spike didn’t seem put off by all of this. The lady took some measurements of Spike who appeared to be flirting in their language and Buffy felt jealous. She was convinced she had been using Spike to feel alive but at this moment, all she felt was jealousy. So far in the last week the question of what is love, if she is feeling love and now jealousy has come to her attention. She sighed feeling even more confused as she watched the maid smile putting a hand on Spike’s shoulder and she gave him a kiss on the cheek and disappeared.
After the maid had closed the door, Buffy put her hands on her hips and turned towards him demanding, “What the Hell is going on around here? Were you flirting with that maid?”
Spike smirked, “You don’t want me and I can be in the sunlight here, what’s the harm of making friends in a place who doesn’t think I’m trash.”
Buffy sighed feeling a bit bad, “What’s the verdict?”
Spike sat down on the bed pulling off his boots. He knew they would be back one more time tonight with dinner and some clothes. He pulled his shirt over his head and leaned back on the bed. Buffy looked around the room noticing a chair, and two dressers were the only other furniture in the room besides the huge bed Spike was laying down on. She frowned and asked, “Where do I sleep?”
Spike chuckled and then smirked at her, “Next to me, of course.”
Buffy stomped over to him and stated putting her hands on her hips, “I most certainly do not.”
She pointed towards the floor, “You can sleep on the floor. We might have been sleeping together in the wilderness but I’m not sure I want to sleep with you here in a bed of all things.”
Spike frowned a bit, “Listen here, Buffy. In this world, it doesn’t work the way you think. Women are worthless. I had to tell them you were my mate in order to make you not become the King’s concubine like what it appears Dawn is. So it was in your best interest to share a room with me and have one bed. I didn’t want to risk you being taken or something worse happening to you.” Buffy looked horrified and Spike whispered as his voice softened, “Just wait a minute there, love. She’s not one yet and you won’t become one. In three weeks from today, there’s going to be from what I gather, a beauty contest of sorts. The best will be chosen to be his queen and the others will become his concubines.”
Buffy tried to cut him off but he sat up in bed holding one of his hands out in front of her and continued, “The King said I can fight for her. He said at the ceremony there’s a time for men to challenge another warrior to a dual of sorts where there’s a fight to the death. I can challenge this warrior to a battle and when I win, I can free Dawn and she will belong to me in this world. Then we can go back to our world on our merry way like none of this ever happened.”
Buffy frowned petting Fuzzball gently who was shaking in her arms from the yelling, “Can’t I do something?”
Spike smirked, “Well you can keep me company, train with me, enjoy a bit of cold comfort that we like so well and make sure I’m ready to win back your sis but other than that, probably not. This world isn’t meant to have women champions. Sorry, love.”
Buffy frowned repeating her question from earlier, “So where do I sleep?”
Spike shrugged, “Well I’m on this side of the bed. You can choose either to sleep on the chair, sleep on the floor or on your side of the bed.”
Buffy got pissed off and went into the juncture room and noticed it was a large bathroom. It had a beautiful large bathtub, a shower, two toilets and a sink. The room was completely tiled from ceiling to floor in pinkish coral shells and had a pink soft flowered rug on the ground. The towels were made of a type of fur but nothing like any fur she had seen before. She put down Fuzzball to explore the room as she gladly used the bathroom surprised at the fact in order to flush, there was button to push which had water drop from the ceiling into the toilet to rinse it out and then the bottom opened up causing the toilet to “flush”. It was quite fascinating indeed but it didn’t help with the lack of second bed issue. She just decided she would sleep in the chair. She would steal a blanket from Spike and sleep there.
She was so confused and lost and was still upset at him for flirting with the maid that she didn’t want to do anything with him tonight. She wanted to be alone to cry but that wasn’t an option. She picked up Fuzzball curled up in the chair and started petting him softly while thinking. She sighed and then pouted realizing what she really wanted was for Spike to hold her but to admit to that would be defeat. She willed the tears to stay at bay and continued to pet Fuzzball.