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William rolled to his side, the early morning sun shining down on him, warming his body and for the first time in days. The only aches and pains he felt were the usual stiff limbs associated with sleeping on the ground.



He groggily opened his eyes, the bright light from the sun causing him to shut them quickly as the first light he had seen in days caused stars to shoot behind his closed eyelids. Raising his hand, he shielded his eyes, opening them slowly before a huge smile lit up his face. Four long agonizing days of seeing nothing but black were finally over.



William sat up slowly, blinking quickly as his eyes began to water in the bright light before his vision started to clear. He turned his head away from the sun, taking in his surroundings and his smile widened when he saw the area Buffy had settled them in. It was every bit as beautiful as she had described. Flower petals littered the ground and the small pink and yellow flower petals were floating in the breeze as their fragrant scent drifted through the air.



Turning his head, he shielded his eyes as he looked at the pond. His eyes widened and his smile grew when he finally saw her.



Buffy was standing in the pond, her dress pulled up over her knees as she waded in the cool water. The sun was shining brightly, casting a bright glow as it reflected off the water. She inhaled deeply, the smell of the flowers filling her as her eyes closed and she took a few steps deeper into the pond.



The pond floor was covered in grass and it was slightly squishy under her feet. The soaked grass gave slightly, causing her feet to sink in a few places and she had to fight to keep her balance.



Raising her dress higher, she ventured in further as she looked towards the waterfall. The sight always seemed to steal her breath and she smiled as she saw the flower petals swirling in the air as the outpour of water disturbed the airflow near the waterfall.



"Having fun?" William asked, smiling as he stopped near the water's edge.



Buffy screamed, turning quickly as his voice startled her and as she finally saw him, the slick grass under her feet gave and she was down before she could regain her footing.



William's eyes widened as she went down and he ran in after her, his booted feet sticking in the soggy bottom as he reached for her. The slick grass under his feet offered no footing and as Buffy's head finally re-surfaced, she barely caught a glimpse of William before he followed her into the water, face first.



Buffy was laughing hysterically as William finally resurfaced. She was still sitting in the water and her face was lit up as she stared at him. "That had to be the funniest thing I've ever seen," she said, watching as William wiped the water from his face.



"Wasn't so bleedin' funny from this end," he said, scowling slightly as he looked over at her.



"Serves you right for sneaking up on me," Buffy said, giggling.



William finally smiled, shaking his head before splashing water in her direction. "I didn't sneak up on you," he told her standing before taking a few steps towards her. "'s not my fault you weren't aware of your surroundings," he said, reaching down and grabbing her arm, helping her to her feet.



"I was very aware of my surroundings," Buffy said as she finally got her feet back under her. "I just didn't expect you to come walking in behind me is all."



"Well if you had been paying attention, you would have heard me."



Buffy smiled as she stared up at him, his normally curly hair hanging limply on his head, long curls falling over his forehead and he had an almost boyish appearance to him. His bruises had all but vanished, barely visible except when standing close to him and the cut in his eyebrow was healing as well. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized his eyes were open. "You can see!" She squealed, her smile causing her eyes to twinkle. William smiled at her enthusiastic statement.



"That I can," he said, laughing slightly as he looked down at her.



"See, I told you it wouldn't take long," Buffy said, laughing with him. "So does this mean, no more grumpy William?"



"Depends," William said, taking a step away from her and looking around the pond.



"On what?" Buffy asked him.



"On how bad you irritate me," he said grinning, turning back around to look at her.



"Is that so?" Buffy asked, laughing loudly as he turned towards her, his shocked face causing her giggles to erupt as she splashed water into his face. He just stood there, his eyes closed as the water ran down his face. She saw his jaw tighten before he opened one eye, his hand rising to wipe the water from his face before he smiled.



"You do know you're going to pay for that, right?" He asked, reaching down and cupping his hands together.



Buffy squealed, turning her head as they yelled and splashed each other, each falling back into the water as their water fight escalated.





________________________________________





Angelus stalked down the steps past the dungeons to where he knew his father was waiting. He could hear the witche's shrill cackle as she laughed and he felt repulsed just hearing it. Making his way into the room, he spotted his father and the witch as they both hovered over a boiling cauldron near the fire.



"Breakfast?" Angelus asked, smiling as he approached them.



"Your attempts at humor are sorely lacking," Ethan said, turning his head and looking at his son.



"Must be genetic," Angelus said, grinning. "What do you have cooking there?"



"An enlightening spell," the witch declared. "It shall aid in finding your princess."



"How so?" Angelus asked, peering into the foul-smelling concoction brewing in the pot.



"It will allow us to see where she is," Ethan said, staring back into the pot.



All three watched as the smoke bubbling over the surface began to clear, trees clearly coming into view before a purple haze seemed to envelope the scene and block out the picture.



"What happened?" Angelus asked, looking at the witch.



"They are inside the forest," the witch said, taking a step away from the pot and looking at both men. "No magic can penetrate that realm."



"So, we can't actually see if they are there then?" Angelus asked.



"Oh, they are there," the witch stated, walking back towards the table. "The magic of the forest is blocking them," her harsh raspy voice echoed in the room. "Once they clear the forest, we will be able to see them."



"So, what now?" Angelus asked, walking to the large chair by the fire and sitting down with a heavy sigh.



"We get the eye and concentrate on controlling the Trolothan," Ethan told him, joining the witch.



"I'm still not to sure about acquiring the eye," Angelus said, his fear at what lay in the mountain of Meralot causing him much distress.



"You need not go," Ethan said, turning to look at his son. "The witch and I can do this without your involvement."



Angelus shook his head, hoping his joy in not having to help in the scheme to acquire the princess didn't show on his face. He was all for having her as his bride, but the drastic measure his father seemed to enjoy taking had always seemed a little on the obsessive side to him. "Well, I think I'll go into the village," Angelus said, standing. "Chant if you need anything," he told them smiling before turning and leaving the room.



"Your son is not as brave as he appears," the witch said, smiling knowingly.



"Angelus does not appreciate the magic as I do," Ethan told her. "He still believes it is all smoke and talk. He will see soon enough."



"And then?"



"And then, he will embrace the dark arts as I have," Ethan said, smiling.





_______________________________________





Buffy was laughing hard as she finally started yelling: "stop". She could barely breathe; having swallowed what she assumed was as much water as she threw.



"You promise to be a good girl?" William asked, grinning.



"Maybe," Buffy replied, grinning big as she turned to look at him.



"Alright then," William said, swimming towards the shore and standing.



Buffy was smiling as she kicked her legs slowly, keeping herself afloat as she watched William stand. She giggled as he reached down, pulling the long boot from his foot and watching as he turned it over, pouring the water from it before tossing it to the bank.



As her gaze traveled over him, she realized the white shirt he was wearing hid nothing as the now wet material clung to his body. She could see every muscle she had just days before secretly admired, and, as his hands reached for the bottom of his shirt, her eyes widened when he grabbed the material and pulled the shirt up over his head.



She spun around quickly, turning her back to him as her breathing increased. "What are you doing?" she asked loudly.



William turned his head to her, his wet shirt now in his hands. He smiled at her bobbing head before walking to a nearby tree branch that hung over the pond and throwing his shirt across it. "I'm getting out of these wet clothes so they can dry," he told her. "Can't walk around dripping all day."



"But..but you.," Buffy stuttered, scared to turn around.



"You might want to get out of that dress as well," William said, ignoring her babbling. "It will take that thing hours to dry as it is."



Buffy closed her eyes. She could feel her face heat up and knew it had to be as red as the night sky when the sun settled low in the horizon. "You must be insane," she told him, laughing nervously.



William looked back over at her, realizing finally that she had turned away from him and he looked down at himself. A smile lit up his face and as his gaze finally lifted, his smile widened. "What's the matter princess?" he asked, grabbing the waistband of his pants, yanking the material down over his hips. "I'm sure you've been naked in the presence of another before," he told her, throwing his pants over the limb before diving back into the water. "Does your lady in waiting not bathe you?"



"Yes," Buffy said softly, her head turning in the opposite direction as she saw him out of the corner of her eye. "But she is.."



"Female?' William asked, grinning. "I promise not to look."



"You are a pig!" Buffy said, her head snapping in his direction. "How dare you even suggest such a thing? I cannot be naked in here with you!"



William laughed, shaking his head before turning and swimming towards the waterfall. "Suit yourself," he said, turning his head to look back at her.



Buffy stared after him, watching as he completely disappeared under the water. Her mind was a swirl of conflicting emotions and the already quickening heart rate she experienced at seeing him remove his shirt, only seemed to accelerate as she realized he was "completely naked"!



Seeing him resurface in front of the waterfall, her eyes traveled over his form as the water spray from the waterfall hit the pond. The light from the sun seemed to glisten over his body, each tiny drop of water highlighted as it traveled down his back.



Looking around, she swallowed hard, debating what to do. She agreed with the thoughts of it taking hours for her dress to dry, but to actually allow herself to be naked in the presence of another, a man, more importantly William, how could she?



Looking down, Buffy realized that the once crystal clear water was now clouded as they had disturbed the bottom. She could no longer see anything in the pond but small grass particles floating around mixed with a brown tint of dirt as it floated throughout the pond.



Biting on her bottom lip, she glanced back over towards William before taking a deep breath as he turned to her.



"Well, are you just going to float in that same spot all day?" he asked, smiling as he looked at her.



Buffy stared at him for a minute before looking down again. Raising her head she saw him slowly swimming towards her before she looked towards the shore. "You'll promise not to look?" She asked quietly, glancing back over at her.



"I promise not to look," William said, hoping he wasn't lying.



Buffy stared at him for a long minute, chewing softly on her lip before finally nodding her head. "Turn around," she said, waiting for him to do so before she swam towards the shore until her feet hit the bottom. Standing, she reached behind her, finding the long row of buttons that traveled down her back before she began unfastening them.



William swan back towards the waterfall, silently asking himself "what he was doing?" There was no way he would be able to control the reaction his body was already having at the thoughts of her being completely naked and he was glad the water was clouded. Sighing heavily, he had to force himself not to turn around and look at her as she quietly undressed.



Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm himself and as he opened his eyes back up, he barely heard Buffy's voice over the rush of water of the waterfall. Turning his head slightly, he saw her out of the corner of his eye and, seeing that she was still dressed, he turned completely.



Buffy looked at him, her embarrassment over the situation only increasing as he started towards her. "I can't reach all the buttons," she said softly, her eyes looking at anything but him.



"Do you want some help?" William asked, stopping halfway to her.



Buffy looked back over at him, swallowing hard before finally nodding her head. As he started towards her, she turned her back to him and tried to get control of her breathing as she heard him approach.



William swam towards her, his own breathing increasing as he stopped behind her. Standing, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before raising his hand and moving her hair over her shoulder before reaching down.



Buffy's eyes closed as she felt him start unfastening the buttons. His fingers softly slid down the material of her dress before her breath caught when he touched her skin. Her mouth opened slightly, her chest rising and falling quickly as William unfastened the buttons and she stood completely still as his fingers once again brushed over her flesh.



William was having as much trouble controlling is own breathing as she was when he saw the golden skin slowly exposing itself to him as he unbuttoned the dress. He couldn't stop himself from lightly brushing his fingers over it and he could see Buffy shiver every time he did.



As the last button was finally unfastened, the dress seemed to pull away from her, her whole back now exposed to him and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He unconsciously reached up, brushing the expanse of her back with the backs of his fingers and he heard her sharp intake of breath before she shivered again.



What seemed like a thousand emotions swamped his brain as her warm skin played under his fingertips before he finally cleared his throat and took a step away from her. "All finished," he said quietly, turning and quickly swimming away from her.



Buffy turned her head, seeing him swimming back towards the waterfall before she reached up and pulled the dress from her shoulders. She kept her eyes on him, making sure he didn't turn around before pushing the wet material down her body and stepping out of it. Turning quickly, she draped the dress over the same limb William's clothes were hanging across before quickly ducking back down into the water.



William heard the splash of water Buffy made as she lowered herself into the water and as much as he wanted to turn around, he kept his gaze locked on the waterfall. He really hadn't thought that being that close to her as she undressed would have affected him as much as it had and he cursed himself for even suggesting she undress.



The fact that she was now, completely naked and swimming only yards behind him had him trying desperately to control his body's reaction to the fact. As he heard her coming towards him, he slowly turned his head in her direction, waiting for her to signal that it was okay for him to look. Seeing her out of the corner of his eye, he inhaled deeply. Her bare shoulders just barely exposed over the surface of the water and as he saw her smile at him, he finally turned.





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