"MAIL CALL!" the voice rang loud and clear through the cellblock. But the last thing Faith expected was to get a letter. Except for occasional visits from Angel, the Slayer knew she was on her own. As she had been for most of her young life.
Her cellmate was a girl around her own age named Anne. She was in for grand larceny, and had tried to be make friends, but once Faith had found out that Anne had a connection to Wolfram and Hart, she had been very cautious about trusting her, even though when she had talked to Angel about it, he had told her Anne was clean, that she had been set up by the firm for helping Angel.
She collected the day's mail and was as surprised as Faith when she found the enveloped addressed to Faith. "Hey, you actually got a letter. I guess you actually do know people after all."
Faith took the letter and was surprised to see the return address was Sunnydale. She instantly recognized Willow's handwriting though. She opened it, and a card fell out it. She picked it up, then dropped it again as soon as she saw the words. She just stood there while Anne picked up the card and started reading it out loud.
"She saved the world a lot. We miss her. What the hell does that mean?"
Faith recovered enough to fake a flippant answer. "Just an old friend's idea of a joke." But her mind was far from joking. It understood exactly what Willow meant and was screaming out how wrong it was. Faith went to the barred window and looked outside.
Buffy was dead. Sunnydale, and the world, had lost its protector. Now she was the only Slayer left, and she couldn't help them. Why Buffy? Why not her instead? Where was the justice in that? Didn't the Powers that Be know that the world would be better off if she had been the one who died? Or maybe it was justice after all…Buffy's suffering ended, and every day Faith's empty heart kept beating in her chest, her scarred soul reminded her that she was damned for what she had done.
Anne picked up the envelope as well. "Sunnydale. I used to live there for a while."
"Congratulations." Faith briefly looked away from the window to Anne.
"She saved the world a lot…that sounds like a girl I met…oh my God…it's her, isn't it? It's Buffy!"
Faith had Anne shoved against the wall in a split second. "What do you know about her?"
"She saved my life a couple times. That's what the message meant, isn't it? Buffy's dead. How?"
Faith released her. "It was the only way to close a portal." Buffy had talked a lot about prophetic dreams, but Faith really had never any. Until the other night. She had dismissed it at first, but when she woke up, she felt an incredible sense of loss. And Willow's card confirmed it. At least she knew Buffy was at peace. She had tried to hide the constant pain she was in, but Faith had seen it, and tried to help her find the joy in life again. But Buffy could only find that in death.
"How do you know that?" Anne was confused.
"Because Buffy and I were the Chosen Two."