Title: Well of Realms Author: Nightmelody email: nightmelody@hotmail.com Season: post Chosen Summary: Yet another human-Spike- post Chosen fic. Pairing: S/B Rating: R Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon Chapter Twenty Emma wasn't far away, just up a spiral staircase into a crystal tower. The tower room had a large window with a long view of a green valley reaching to the sea, so spectacular a view that Buffy and Dawn did not see Emma at first. She was covered with a silky blanket, on a small bed by the farthest wall. She was pale and unmoving. Little Marie was nowhere in sight. Dawn rushed to Emma while Buffy took care of the guards. "Buffy," Dawn's voice was low pitched, tense. Buffy turned to see that Dawn's eyes were huge, and full of horror. "There's blood." Buffy walked to the bed, noting Emma's pallor, and that she was not responding to Dawn's voice or touches. Under the cover was a large blood stain. Buffy felt for a pulse. "She's alive. But this is not good. This is about the twins." "Ohmygod." Dawn started to cry. "Is she gonna die? Are the babies?" "Dawn, Dawnie, don't panic. We'll figure something out." She hugged her sister but Buffy felt panicked, too. This was not a problem she could solve with a stake. Suddenly she felt furious. She stomped to the guards and pulled them both up by their throats. They looked at her, bug eyed and terrified. "If she dies, or her babies die, you'll die. I promise." She dropped both of them to the floor. She ripped the gag off of Emma's guard. "Tell me what you did to her." "Sh-she began to have her pains last night." this guard was middle aged, considerably older than the boy who had guarded her. " D'nil said we should leave it to nature, because there are no midwives now living in the land of Aeld. We could not help her--we did not know what to do! I thought to get my dog keeper, for he oversee's the birthing of the whelps on my estate. But D'nil would allow no one into the palace." "She was in pain, and frightened." He continued. "So I contacted the cook, who has some training in magicks, and he gave her a tisane to ease the pain. But it reacted wrong, because she is not Aeld. She has been asleep since then. But she lives, and her babe lives." "Where's her little girl?" "Just down the hall. With Prince Belin." "Let's go get Marie and this Prince." Buffy gagged the guard and she and Dawn rushed down the hall until they heard a child's voice. Marie was in a child's room, full of toys. She was riding on a crystal rocking horse, giggling and happy. The prince turned out to be a boy, probably not older than twelve. He was amusing her with a hand puppet. The boy stood up, wordlessly. Just a kid, Buffy thought. "I have to tie you up," She said. "Sorry." She ripped down a curtain and began tying. "It's all right. I understand. Are you here to help her mother?" "I'm trying to get her back home, where she can get help." "Good. We...we didn't know what to do. It wasn't supposed to be like this." "How exactly was it supposed to be?" Dawn asked in her hard voice. "We...we were going to take one of you, to prove to the Council that D'nil could bring women back to the Land of Aeld. But Jonar, my oldest brother, was too impatient. We waited for one of you to come to the well alone, but the little mother was the only one who came. So he took her and Marie And then she started having pains.." "Who's D'nil?" "The king--my father's--mage." "What happened to all the women of Aeld, did they all run away from your charming selves?" Dawn asked. "No. No, they all died, from the plague. My mother, my sisters...all the mothers and sisters." The boy's voice was sad. "Only D'nil says it isn't as plague but a magic spell. Father says it is a plague. No one knows for sure." "Let's get back to Emma," Buffy said.Marie protested leaving the toys so Dawn grabbed a handful and they hurried back to Emma "Well," said Buffy. "I guess we wait. Spike will try to find us." She stroked Emma's soft hair. She and Dawn locked eyes. This was bad, very bad. *** "Bloody hell!" Spike shouted. He and Kyri had followed the small ball of light some miles. They had taken open country side instead of the crowded highway, and Kyri had managed to get them horses, though Spike did not trust the beast under him at all. It was unlike the horses he had ridden in his youth. These fairy horses were almost cat-like in the way they moved. And their eyes were sly. His kept running him under low branches. Kyri laughed. "It's not funny! We're going to lose the guiding light." Kyri gave him an odd look. "They can be called, you know. Watch." He gave a high pitched whistle and the glowing ball suddenly appeared right before them. "I think I know where this is going, anyway. We're heading north, towards Frostmere . There is a stronghold there, one of the royal ones. I think that we'll find your women there. The challenge will be getting in, of course." "I can fight. You?" "One of the King's Elite Guard." Kyri said. "And, perhaps, we will run into some of my cohort and persuade them to join us." "Yeah, I can see that happening," said Spike. He, for one, was not going to trust in the Fair folk. *** "Okay, then. We have a pile of weapons. Weapons, good." Willow said. "And I have a spell. Instead of following Dawn, it will follow the little light guide we sent to search for Emma. We have no way of knowing how every one is doing, there. They may be together, or they may have gotten separated. Oh, and I'll open the portal right here, so noone will have to swim." They were assembled at the table in Kate's kitchen. The guys had found a nice assortment of weapons-- knives, crossbows, a couple of swords-- in Spike's room. "The big question is-who should we send?" Willow asked. "I think I should stay here, as-as the last line of defense. If we can't get you back, I can get help from the Wicca counsel, or from Angel's crew in LA." "Sylvia has some training as a midwife, so she could be a help to Emma." Kate said. "But I have never been in a battle or used weapons, " Sylvia said. "I've been in hundreds of fights," said Xander. "Me, too." piped up Andrew. "Well, not hundreds. But a few. I know how to use a crossbow. And I have a little magic knowledge-" "-like we're going to need demon dogs or flying monkeys!" Xander interrupted. They began to bicker. Willow rolled her eyes. "Okay, you two. You can both go. Goddess help us all."