Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Sophie.

"They are silly, aren't they?" Willow smiled.

"Uh-huh" said Sophie. "So then what happened?"

"Well, just like Willow, Buffy's adventures started when she was five years old.."

The five year old Princess Buffy ran out of the cave, looking over the Sunnylands just as her mother had when she was her age.

"Wow" she breathed. Buffy giggled, then ran to go off and play, but a pair of hands grabbed her from behind.

"Whoa, whoa" Willow grinned, lifting her daughter up. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Mommy!" Buffy giggled, trying to wriggle out of the Queen's grip. "Mommy, let go!"

"I just want you to be careful" said Willow, setting her daughter down. She frowned when the little girl became distracted with trying to capture a passing butterfly. "Buffy, are you listening to me? Accidents can happen. You could get hurt, or..

"Or stepped on, or even get lost" Buffy finished, reciting by rote. She had heard this speech millions of times before.

"And remember, I want you to stay in sight of Sunny Rock.."

"At all times, I know" said Buffy, rolling her eyes.

"Yes" said Willow, "And.."

"If I see any strangers, don't talk to them, come straight home" Buffy frowned, crossing her arms. "So can I go now?"

"Very funny" Willow chuckled.

"Mind your Mother, Buffy" said Tara, walking up beside her wife.

"Yes, Mama" said Buffy.

"And stay out of the Outlands" warned Willow.

"There's nothing there but a bunch of murderous, backstabbing outsiders" added Wesley, taking his place at the Queen's other side. The Outsiders were a group that, for some reason, had chosen to remain loyal to Wilkins after Willow had reclaimed the throne, forcing her to banish them into the Outlands.

"Wesley's right" said Willow seriously. "You can't turn your back on them.."

"Why not?" asked Buffy curiously.

"Never mind" said Willow. "Just run along now."

"But Mommy.."

"You'll understand when you're older. Off you go" said Willow, watching as her daughter ran out of the cave. "And remember to stay on the path I've marked for you!" Watching her wife stare after Buffy with a worried look on her face, Tara let out a small chuckle. "I don't see how this is funny" Willow frowned.

"Willow, who does she remind you of?" Tara smiled.

"Huh?" said Willow, confused.

"She's just like you when you were young" Tara replied.

"Exactly" Willow frowned. "Do you realise the dangers we put ourselves in?" Tara laughed in reply, tackling Willow and pinning her to the ground just as she had done when they were children.

"You mean the dangers that you put us in." Tara gave her wife a kiss before letting her up. "Don't worry about Buffy. She'll be fine."

"Maybe you're right.." Willow relented. But, as soon as Tara had moved out of earshot, Willow beckoned Anya and Xander to her.

"Good morning, mon Capitan" Xander greeted with a bow.

"I want you two to keep a close eye on Buffy for me today" said Willow seriously. "You know she's bound to run off."

"No problem, Willow" said Anya. "We'll be on her like stink on a cyclops!"

"Hey!" Xander snapped.

"It's a hard truth, Xander, live with it" said Anya, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Guys, this is serious!" said Willow. "I'm counting on you. There could be danger behind every rock!"

"Ha!" cried Anya, leaping around a rock, frowning when no sign of danger was present. Xander shook his head, knowing she had obviously taken Willow's instructions too literally. Nearby, Buffy was stalking through the grass, following the butterfly that she had been trying to capture in the cave earlier.

"The mighty Slayer has cornered her pray" she grinned as the butterfly perched on a rock. Buffy pounced on it, but missed, and sat on the rock watching as it fluttered away over a pond and then beyond the borders of the Kingdom, into the barren wasteland where the grass was dry and very few green plants grew. "Wow, the Outlands" she whispered to herself. "I wonder what's out there.." Unfortunately, Anya, still searching for danger, chose this moment to leap around that particular rock, startling Buffy and causing her to scream and topple into the pond.

"Don't worry, Buffy!" cried Xander, seeing the whole thing and leaping into the water after her. "Uncle Xander's coming!"

"Oh no" Anya panicked, before rehearsing the conversation she thought she may have to have with a certain royal friend. "Well Willow, the good news is, we found your daughter. Bad news is, we dropped a cyclops on her. Is there a problem with that?" Xander crawled out of the pond, accidentally sitting on top of Buffy who had gotten out just before him.

"Buffy?" he called, looking around. "Buffy, where are you?"

"Xander" Anya frowned, "Let me define the term : Babysitting!" she yelled, gesturing to the spluttering child beneath him.

"Oops, sorry" he blushed, standing to let a very annoyed Buffy up. "Now, Princess Buffy, as Willow's daughter you should no better than to go off on your own. You could have been hurt!"

"Hurt?" Anya yelped. "Willow would kill us!" she rushed over and began inspecting Buffy for any sign of injury. "You didn't slip a disc did you? Catch a fever? Get a hangnail?"

"Anya!" Buffy snapped, pulling her hand out of the demons grip.

"Hey, I had one once!" Anya yelled.

"Very painful" Xander agreed.

"Excruciating!" Anya finished. She plucked a frond from a nearby palm tree and held it over Buffy's head. "You know honey, with your complexion you should really stay out of the Sun!"

"Cut it out!" Buffy yelled, batting the frond away.

"What?" Anya frowned. "Do you wanna wrinkle?"

"Would someone just listen to me?" shouted Buffy, annoyed.

"What is it, Princess?" asked Xander.

"I'm not just a Princess, you know" Buffy frowned, crossing her arms. "That's only half of who I am!"

"What's the other half?" asked Anya.

"Um, uh, well.." Buffy wasn't entirely sure yet, but she knew she had to be more than just a princess.

"While you're working it out, let's eat" said Anya, rubbing her hands together. She lifted a rock, revealing a bunch of assorted insects. "Bugs!" she grinned.

"The other meat" Xander smiled.

"And so high in protein" said Anya, scooping some bugs onto a leaf and offering it to Buffy.

"Gross!" said Buffy. Anya shrugged and turned to Xander.

"I love bugs" he grinned, taking one.

"Not like" smiled Anya.

"Love" they sighed in unison. Xander took a bite out of his bug, then burped and spat it back onto the leaf.

"Xander, you always do that!" Anya snapped. "You take a bite out of one and then put it back, it drives me nuts!"

"But you can't tell from the outside which are the really slimy ones" said Xander.

"Xander, my friend" Anya frowned, "It's the crunchy ones that make the meal!"

"No, it's the slimy ones!" yelled Xander.

"Crunchy!" Anya yelled.

"Slimy!" shouted Xander.

"Crunchy!"

"Slimy!"

"Crunchy!"

"Slimy!"

"Crunchy!"

"Less filling!" yelled Xander.

"Tastes good!" Anya shot back.

"Less filling!

"Tastes good!"

"Less filling!"

"Tastes good!" While the pair continued to argue, Buffy quietly slipped away. She paddled across the pond on a log, reaching the border of the Outlands. She smiled as she began to explore her new suroundings, until she tripped, tumbling down a log and landing right on top of the dark-haired Outsider girl who was sitting at the bottom of it.

"Uh-oh" said Sophie.