Author's Note:Italics signify thought, emphasis or vision. One row of Xs means change of POV, two mean change of scene, and three signify the beginning of a chapter (or end when there is a final note).
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The woman said something then and Willow could tell from her inflection that whatever she had said had been a question. But the language was unfamiliar to her, sounding slightly like Latin. Seeing the two girls puzzled expressions, the stranger tried another language, "Où suis-je? Quelle année est ceci?"
From her four years of high school French, Willow managed to piece together what she hoped would be a figurative white flag, "Paix! Nous vous voulons dire aucun mal. Parlez-vous anglais?"
"Merci, mon ami. Vous êtes une sorcière, n'est-ce pas? Elle est la tueuse, non?" When Willow frowned, her forehead wrinkling in concentration to try to translate what the woman had said, the stranger spoke again, "Ah, je suis désolé, je presque ai oublié déjà!" Then she switched to English, "I'm terribly sorry, when I left Earth, I left from France, but obviously I'm not there."
"Obviously," retorted Buffy.
The stranger frowned at the hostility in Buffy's voice, and Willow almost asked her friend what was bothering her.
Instead, she asked, "When did you leave Earth? And where were you?"
"First, let me ask my questions again, in English this time. Where is this, what year is it, are you a witch, and she is the Slayer, no?"
Willow looked surprised but answered, "My name is Willow, and yes, I'm a novice witch, and Buffy is one of the two current Slayers…"
"Two? How? There is only supposed to be one at a time."
"Well, she died once by drowning, but she was resuscitated. But since she had technically been dead, the next Slayer had already been called."
"Fascinating, I always wondered what would happen if the Slayer was revived after death. Please, continue."
"The year is 2001, and we're in Sunnydale, California, on the west coast of America."
The stranger's face drained of all color and she took a deep, shuddering breath. "We're in the colonies? The new world...er...America has certainly changed. Mon Dieu. I have been gone for more than two hundred years!"
"How old are you?" asked Willow. "Obviously you're not a vampire since you came from a place that was in daylight."
Buffy suddenly straightened as if just awakening from a spell and pushed Willow back out of the way. "I don't care how old you are. What are you? And how did you know I'm the Slayer?"
"I can sense Slayers, it's one of my gifts. Why are you threatening me? Your friend said you meant me no harm. And as for what I am, my kind is called Immortal. We have no other name, though I can tell you we are much closer to human than to any type of demon. As for Willow's question, I am very nearly twelve thousand years old, and my name is Mara."
Both girls paled, and Willow squeaked, "Twelve thousand?"
At that moment a car drove passed and Mara paled once more. "Mon Dieu."
Willow made a decision then and stood in front of Buffy once more. When her friend tried to again push her back, she stepped out of reach.
"I don't know why, but I feel connected to you. Are you a witch, too?"
Mara smiled, flashing perfectly straight white teeth. "No, but I am a sorceress."
"What's the difference?" Buffy muttered.
Answering Buffy but looking at Willow, Mara replied, "A sorceress must learn under a master, and be born with power, but a witch teaches herself or learns in a coven and doesn't necessarily have to have any natural talent, though I can sense that you have a great deal."
"Could you teach me?" Willow asked, awestruck.
"Unfortunately, I am not a master, though I could certainly ask Merlin if he would be willing to take you on."
"The Merlin?" It was Willow's turn to pale again.
"Is there more than one?" Mara asked teasingly, but another car drove past and she blanched again.
Taking pity on her, Willow linked arms with her companionably and asked, "Can you teleport?"
"Teleport? Oh, you mean shimmer. Yes, I can. Where shall we go?"
Wanting to test Mara's powers, Willow said, "Well, Buffy needs to get home, and you and I can talk some more at the Magic Box. There won't be any cars there, and Giles is going to want to meet you."
Barely had she said the words when she realized she was now standing in Giles' store. Giles, sitting at the table they used for research and sorting the contents of a shipping box, let out a very undignified squeak and stood quickly.
Excitedly, Willow hugged her mentor and pulled him over to meet Mara, "This is Mara, she's a twelve thousand year old sorceress and she trained under Merlin!"
The usually quite proper English gentleman stuck out a hand and whispered, "Oh my," at the feeling of power coursing through Mara's body when they clasped wrists in the old way of greeting.
Willow's cat, Miss Kitty, who spent most of her time sitting on Giles' paperwork everyday, came over to investigate, sniffing daintily at Mara's boots. Willow noticed that they were old fashioned, soft leather shaped to their owner's specific shape, and wrapped with leather ties, crisscrossing in an intricate pattern. Though they were very well made and seemed right on Mara somehow, they were an incongruous sight with the black jeans and T-shirt. Just then the phone rang and Willow picked it up.
"Magic Box. This is Willow, how can I help you?" She listened for a moment and then said, "Buffy, slow down, she didn't hurt anyone, she was just trying to help, I'll call you later when I know more."
"Buffy's home," she announced unnecessarily when she hung up the phone a moment later.
Amazed, she noticed that Mara had again changed her attire. Now she was wearing form-fitting black pants and a halter style top that exposed a trim stomach and crossed over one shoulder. On the opposite arm was a plain black leather band. A belt with built in pouches hung low on her hips and her black hair falling loosely in waves to her waist. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, and her brilliant blue eyes contrasted sharply with her black hair and attire. Mara's sword had disappeared again, but looking closely, Willow noticed a knife tucked into the side of each of her boots.
"I'm more at ease this way," Mara explained, "this was my everyday outfit while living with the Dragons."
Giles looked startled and Willow asked, "Why were you living with Dragons?"
"She's a Guardian of the Realms." This came from Giles, and Willow frowned, completely lost, while Mara looked mildly surprised. "The Realms were created to keep magic creatures safe from evil and mankind when man began to hunt them thousands of years ago. Some entities are periodically asked to be a Guardian of the Realms, quite an honor actually, you have to already have fought evil and won and be considered special on top of that. They are allowed to pick a type of creature to live with and keep safe, though they actually protect all of them. How long were you a Guardian?"
"Actually I've been a Guardian twice. When the realms were first created, my sisters, brothers and I all helped make them, and get all magical creatures to safety. I was the first Guardian after I saved a family of Fairies from an evil mage. That first time, I was in the Realms for half a century before I had to leave. This last time, I was there for a little over two hundred years. I'd been there so long that no new Guardians were able to be chosen. I was asked to leave so others could have the honor too. Now I have a lot to catch up on." She looked at each of them warily for a moment. "If ask you a large favor, would you do it?"
Giles and Willow nodded, and Mara smiled.
"There is a way to share knowledge, and it would certainly help me understand the modern world better, but I would also learn everything about each of you. In return, you would learn the events of my life along with some of my knowledge. We won't learn each others feelings though, just observe what happened. Are you still open to it?"
"Yes." Both of them answered at once.
Mara smiled again and nodded. "Thank you both. Just sit down in a circle, or a triangle as it were, and join hands with your eyes closed and your minds clear and open. I'll do the rest."
Pushing the table to one side, all three sat down cross-legged on the floor, their knees all touching. A soft hum filled the air and peeking with one eye, Willow saw that Mara was glowing, the same blue that she had stepped through earlier the same night. Willow had read about the physical manifestation of powerful magic, and she realized that must be what she was seeing. Remembering Mara's request, she shut her eyes and let her mind relax.
Suddenly images filled her mind and she heard Giles gasp.
Images of Mara as a very young girl filled her mind, and although she knew she couldn't feel the emotions of the scenes, she sensed the happiness of growing up in a large family from the young Mara. Somehow, she wasn't at all surprised that Mara was the second youngest of fifteen children. She could also somehow sense that some of them were different than the others from the time they were born. Mara was one of the ones that was different. Knowledge came to her soon enough that the "different" feeling she had about them meant they would become Immortals like Mara was in the present time. She wondered how, sure that she would learn soon enough.
The family had a fairly normal life as the children grew to young adulthood, considering the fact that their closest neighbors were Dragons, Fairies, Unicorns and Pixies. But then came a warring tribe of humans and several members of the family were struck down protecting the magical creatures they had grown up with. The ones that had been different from birth came back to life, gasping for air, but without a scratch on them. Mara was not among them, having been saved by a Pixie, and still physically younger than her modern self. Mara's oldest sister, Eve, now an Immortal, screamed in anguish when a mere touch from her left hand killed a tribesman who had been wounded and left behind. Her blond hair turned white and her amethyst eyes became black. Asha, Eve's identical twin and now also an Immortal, found her appearance changed to match, though her touch on a young man didn't do anything at first.
Then a faint yellow light began to glow under her open palm and the small wound she had been covering was healed almost instantly. Their mortal siblings lay still, and in anguish Asha tried to heal their fatal wounds. None of them moved and those who had not died began to weep, heart wrenching, vulnerable sounds. Eve got to her feet and approached the still body of their youngest brother, red-haired Jaleb. Tears falling silently from her obsidian eyes, she knelt beside the boy, only three years old, and placed her right hand on his small back. There was a sudden flash of white light that surrounded the two of them and when the light dissipated, Jaleb sat up and rubbed his eyes. With a startled cry, Eve clutched him to her with her right arm, careful to keep him away from her left arm.
After reassuring herself that he was alive and well, and kissing his little nose a few times, she moved on to their other mortal siblings, awakening each of them from the eternal slumber that had stolen their fire. After healing the mortals, she joined Asha moving through the magical creatures they had been protecting, healing smaller wounds and checking on all of them. When everyone was accounted for and healed, they all headed for the hollow hill where they made their summer home. Halfway there, Eve, who had been hanging back, careful not to touch anyone, suddenly collapsed.
Mikel, the oldest after Eve and Asha and an Immortal too, carefully poked Eve's left arm with a forefinger. When nothing happened, he scooped her up and carried her to the hill. It took ten days for Eve to wake up, during which time the other children learned their own history. Their parents, Dagan and Malia, had been Immortals who fought for good and fell desperately in love. They lived their lives together for a very long time, mourning the fact that they would never have children, as all Immortals were sterile.
When the couple saved a herd of Pegasi from being captured and sold to a Worsi demon, they had suddenly found themselves inside a strange hall with bright white light everywhere and two strange beings standing in the middle. They were a boy and a girl, with gold skin covered with blue swirls and symbols. Their speech was strange, but what they said made Dagan and Malia happier than they had ever imagined possible. They were to be allowed to have children as a special circumstance, not only for the good they had done, but for the good that their children, some destined to be Immortal and some mortal, would do. The only catch was that they would have to grow old and die. Neither one of them hesitated even an instant, agreeing immediately.
They were then told that none of their Immortal children would be regular Immortals, all having special powers that would give them great joy as well as great pain. Their oldest daughter was destined to have the greatest difficulty in her long life, but she would also have great power. With these warnings, the pair was sent back to where they had been taken from. That very night they began their lives as mortals, destined to be the only people to actually give birth to Immortals. No one knew where other Immortals came from, all of them being found as infants. Dagan and Malia shared with their children the rules of being Immortal.
Some were good and some evil, just like all other beings. Although they would never grow old or get sick, they could be killed by complete decapitation, after which the Immortal that killed them would gain the sum of their power and knowledge added to their own. Fighting was not permitted on holy ground, however. Nor could a fight be interrupted by another Immortal once begun.
When Eve finally did awaken, she was given a shorter version, with no mention of the hard life that had been foretold for her. The next morning she was gone. Mara's life continued within the context of her family, until she was the same age Asha and Eve had been when they came into their Immortality. That year the warring tribes banded together to try and conquer the creatures of Magic. In response, a council was held. Giles and Willow watched in amazement at the variety of creatures assembled, realizing that through Mara's knowledge, they could understand every language spoken there.
When the talks began about how to deal with the invading threat, Jaleb stepped forward, now a young man with a wife and child, and made a suggestion that his Immortal siblings come together and use their assorted powers to create Realms where creatures of all kinds would be safe and separate from the world of man. To accomplish such a large task, though, they would need Eve, who had not been seen since disappearing many years before. While this was being mulled over, the tribes attacked.
Throwing herself in front of a spear stabbed at Jaleb, Mara died her first death, the man who killed her immediately pulling the spear out to attack someone else. Seconds later, much faster than the others had awoken so long ago, she was on her feet, grabbing and using the same spear that had killed her to fight off the tribes. As she fought, she began to glow, blue light surrounding her in the shape of fire. When the spear in her hands was broken and the offending party lunged at Jaleb, who had been fighting by her side, Mara screamed in rage and the stick left in her hands was suddenly replaced by an ornate sword, the same one Willow recognized from earlier that night.
Both Giles and Willow realized that the sword must be extraordinary since swords were not invented until millennia later. Mara swung at the man going after Jaleb, cutting him almost in half. She was back amongst the fighting before he had even hit the ground, showing a skill with the sword that shocked Willow and Giles, which was amazing when they realized that among the three Slayers and numerous ancient entities they had known, not a single one could touch Mara's skill at fighting. As she fought, her sword, too, glowed and the blade shone with an almost blinding light.
Though the tribes quickly withdrew, heavy causalities had been afflicted on both sides, and a young dragon was now out of control, breathing fire in fright, both of his eyes having been punctured. The other dragons tried to help, but no one could get near him. They were preparing to kill him to keep everyone else safe when a stunningly beautiful man appeared suddenly next to Mara and told her to help the dragon.
Handing the man her sword, she walked through the dragon's fire, the clothes burning right off her body and falling to the ground as ash. As she walked a tattoo of a dragon in flight appeared on her back and a murmur arose among those watching. Murmuring softly as she reached the dragon's head, she laid a comforting hand on the side of the dragon's face and he stopped breathing fire.
The mysterious man moved to her side and wrapped his own cloak around her body. She looked up at him in wonder, as if just realizing what she had done. Reaching past her, the man healed the dragon's eyes. The young dragon thanked them both with a soft keening song. Moving away, Mara asked the man who he was. Giving the sword back to her, he replied that his name was Merlin and he was a sorcerer from the future, and that one of the Realms she and her siblings would make would be Avalon, the future sight of his birth.
He was only here to deliver the sword and show her how to find Eve, but they would meet again in the future. Looking down at the sword, Mara, and therefore Giles and Willow, saw the word Excalibur etched in gold right at the base of the blade where it met the hilt. Merlin then explained that to find Eve, Mara must rent the very fabric of space-time with Excalibur and step through to the place and time where Eve now resided. With that, Merlin disappeared from sight.
Concentrating on a mental image of Eve the last time she had seen her, Mara raised Excalibur and cut a blue streak into the air before her. Before she stepped through, Mikel approached her with some new clothing to put on. She smiled and slipped the simple garment on, then stepped through the rent. When she got through, she was inside a building the likes of which none of them had ever seen. The room she was in was huge, rivaling the interior of the cave she and her extended family lived in. Looking around, there were perhaps hundreds of women in revealing garments, soft cloth draping some of them, though the fabric was see-through.
The knowledge that they were seeing the inside of a real harem at once amused and disgusted Giles and Willow. At last they spotted Eve in a far corner of the room, two eunuchs standing on either side of her, curved swords in hand. Other guards in the room were already moving to catch Mara and she panicked for a moment. Then Eve, who had been looking in a different direction until now, saw her. As soon as she stood, a path instantly cleared for Eve to walk through, the women who had moved out of the way looking at her with terror in their eyes.
Never showing for an instant that their reaction to her meant anything at all, she made her way all the way across the room to stand just before Mara. Tears filled her obsidian eyes and she swept her sister into a fierce hug. Mara hugged back, thinking that Eve must have found a way to harness her power. When Eve took a step back to look at her, Mara noticed she was wearing a strange garment on her arm, like a detached sleeve that covered from shoulder to fingertips. Giles and Willow knew it was a glove of some kind, which Eve proceeded to explain to her younger sister. Though the eunuchs had abandoned the idea of going after Mara, the two sisters did have to get back to Mara's time.
Mara swung Excalibur once more and gently nudged Eve through the opening before going through herself. Their family waited on the other side, anxiously staring at the sister they hadn't seen in so long. Cautiously, they hugged her one by one. By the time Eve got to her parents, tears stained her face and the upper portion of her dress, and her eyes were completely bloodshot.
The next morning a meeting was held with the leaders of each group of creatures to decide what the Realms would be. Each type of creature's Realm would be everything they needed, and each would be connected to the other. Only one of them would lead to earth, though. A lake nearby would be made to have an island in the middle of it, an island perpetually shrouded by mist, and any one stepping foot (or claw or what have you) on the middle of the island would be instantly transported to the beginning of the Realms. This doorway world would remain open to the real world until such a time that magic was no longer accepted at all, or until it was too dangerous for it to remain open.
The night before the big event, a young adult Faerie approached Mara (Giles and Willow were surprised to notice that Faeries were just as tall as humans, somewhat taller, actually, with a willowy grace any being would be proud of). He told her that his family had been kidnapped and that a dark mage was going to use them in a ritual to increase his powers. His parents, sisters and brothers were all being held half a day's ride away, but he was sure that a large group riding that way would alarm the mage and cause him to kill the Faeries ahead of schedule.
Mara went with him and defeated the mage with a burst of the magic she had just come to possess and did not yet know how to harness. The Faerie who had asked for her help bowed and introduced himself as Ti'en. His father, Mara soon realized, was one of the High Elders of Faerie. His mother was a renowned spell-caster. Shaking off a sense of impending doom, Mara brushed off his thanks and helped his family prepare for the journey back. The whole way back there were whispers among the Faeries and Mara grew more and more uneasy. They arrived just before dawn, and Mara went to her family's section of their cave to sleep at least a little before the ordeal ahead.
Sudden pain seared Willow, Giles and Mara, centered in their right shoulders. The connection was broken, and Willow opened her eyes to find Giles doing the same. The pain disappeared.
When Willow looked at Mara, she realized why they had felt it in the first place. Mara was pulling a crossbow bolt out of her right shoulder while creating a magical barrier around herself. Buffy stood a few feet away, reloading her crossbow while keeping her eyes on Mara.
As she pulled the crossbow bolt from her own flesh, Mara cried out in pain and the barrier wavered. Buffy took the opportunity to aim the now-loaded crossbow at the raven-haired sorceress.
"Buffy, no!"
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Second Author's Note: Just a "warning", there will be a bit of Buffy bashing for awhile, seeing as how it makes me mad that she's always whining, but her behavior will eventually be explained and the bashing will stop, because I really do love Buffy. Just don't expect it to be soon.
