When the elves and Buffy first arrived at the southern tip of the Eryn Galen, it had been partially overrun. With a significant amount of work, Buffy and the elves had managed to push back the darkness, forcing it all the way back inside the borders Buffy had drawn. The black trees that stretched several yards past that line stung Buffy's pride, even though there was nothing she could have expected after being gone for a week and a half. Tauriel had been invaluable, and between the two women they'd paired off the guards and now they loosely ringed the hill that the fortress sat on.
Legolas made three for Buffy's group. The prince of Mirkwood was a formidable fighter, and didn't need the protection being in the trio brought him. But Thranduil is her friend, and the least she can do for him is keep an eye on his son. Plus having both Tauriel and Legolas reminded her of simpler days, of late night graveyard patrols with Xander and Willow back during the Sunnydale days.
The three of them circled the entire hill every day, thinning orc numbers and disrupting supplies that were being hauled into Dol Guldur. Buffy made sure she was seen everywhere, trying to keep up the illusion that she was still the only watcher of Dol Guldur.
Most nights Buffy wondered about the dwarves, tugging her elven cloak tightly around her shoulders, or while melting through the shadows of the lengthening nights. She'd finally gotten the full story out of Tauriel and Legolas, about why they'd been imprisoned in Thranduil's dungeons.
Jewels? Really?
Buffy liked shiny things as much as the next girl, but spending so much of her life fighting evil had also given her a lot more perspective on the whole idea. Especially now. Buffy barely knows what to do with the nice dresses she wears when visiting Elrond or Galadriel. Somewhere along the way she'd gotten used to worn breeches and dirty cloaks.
Her inner fifteen year old Californian cheerleader had withered away a long time ago. If she had known what her life would become - if high school Buffy could have imagined a life beyond dying young - her younger self would have cried.
Even now, her only consolation is her hair; the intricate elven braids weaving through her gleaming mane. It had taken years to learn how to style her hair without a mirror - but inner California girl loved her hair. It was the one of her few vanities to survive her years in Arda.
A branch snapped and Buffy tore herself out of her thoughts and focused on the now. She waved Legolas and Tauriel behind her. The two elves silently melted into the shadows. Buffy carefully pulled the scythe from its holster and crept forward, dodging around trees and slipping from shadow to shadow as she approached the sound of familiar voices.
Buffy knew those voices, but this was a dangerous place to be and the shadows could play all sorts of tricks on the mind. She could see the flickering of firelight through the branches, two shadowy forms sitting around it. She flicked a hand towards where she knew Tauriel and Legolas were watching, silently counting down on her fingers.
Buffy leapt out from the trees and snagged one of the men around the shoulders and pressed her scythe to his neck. Tauriel and Legolas grabbed the other one, a brown hat going flying to the side.
"Peace Buffy! We have come with terrible news from the tombs of the Nine!" Olorin shouted hoarsely, one hand patting frantically at her arm, trying to pry the scythe away from his throat. Buffy let go of the wizard abruptly, almost sending him crashing to the ground. Tauriel followed her example, although she kept a hand under Aiwendil's elbow, allowing him to regain his balance with more dignity than Olorin had.
"Gandalf?" Legolas asked peering closer at the two men.
"Ah, suil Legolas." (Hello Legolas.) The prince nodded his head at the Istari. Legolas introduced Tauriel while Buffy went to hug Aiwendil, pointedly ignoring the stench of bird poop that always lingered around the brown wizard.
"What are you doing here? It's dangerous Aiwendil. You know there is a great evil here." She asked her pacifist friend quietly. The brown wizard nodded sagely.
"Yes we know. But what we found in those tombs… We must act. It looked as though something great and terrible tore free, leaving iron crushed and bent, stone destroyed. We have been blind Laireiel. Very blind."
Buffy sighed as she looked to the lightening grey of the sky. Here it never grew to true daylight, only shades of grey between the black of night and the gloom of day.
"Buffy." There was a question buried in her name somewhere. She turned back towards Tauriel and Legolas, shadows playing across both the elves as the fire guttered in the wind.
"Go finish the patrol. I will go with Olorin and Aiwendil. Be prepared to move at any time. This will only be the beginning." The two elves nodded and vanished into the night. Buffy set the scythe down as she turned to the Istari.
"What have you discovered while you held guard here Buffy? Last we met you were to stand here alone." She nodded her head.
"Galadriel sent me a dream, and I followed after a hunting pack of orcs deep into Mirkwood. I met with Thranduil, and he agreed that Dol Guldur must be guarded." Gandalf raised a bushy eyebrow at her.
"The Elvenking has always refused to go beyond his borders. What changed Buffy?" She smiled.
"My charm and good looks?" She offered weakly. The collective scoffing of the Istari and the elf prince behind her made her pull a face. Buffy threw a rock without looking, nailing the ellon in the head before he could dodge out of the way.
"Go Legolas. We have a forest to defend." She reminded him. There was a deliberately loud huff, and a slight scuffing in the leaves as Legolas finally left, following after Tauriel.
"Thranduil and I came to an agreement. But if there is a deeper evil here I don't want to risk his guards. Olorin the Council must cleanse this fortress. Especially if you are to go help the dwarves retake Erebor. We can't leave it to chance." She continued in Quenya. Olorin nodded his head, wrapping his hands tightly around his ever present staff.
"It is most impressive that you got Thranduil to bend; not even Galadriel has accomplished such a thing in centuries. It is good to be guarding these dark lands, we cannot allow the enemy to gain a foothold here. Get some rest Lady Summers, we shall depart for the fortress at first light." Buffy shook her head and got to her feet.
"Olorin I must finish my patrol. The threat of the orcs is growing ever larger, and the elves and I have been working on tracking down the main nest of spiders. We want to ensure that the darkness around Eryn Galen will lift. I will meet you at the bridge at dawn. You will be safe here, but be wary. I cannot be everywhere at once, but the orcs fear the night now. You should be undisturbed here as long as you remain quiet." Buffy spun the scythe in her hands as she strolled away from the small fire and the two wizards who sat around it.
She was worlds away from the cemeteries of Sunnydale, but even in the shadow of the evil fortress reeking of the same kind of black magic that had stolen her death from her, Buffy was the most relaxed she'd been in years. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed the routine of walking at night, nothing but her, a weapon, and a couple of demons to kill. As she walked silently through the song of night, Buffy heard the gentle tune of elves as both Tauriel and Legolas reappeared at her side.
"What was that about?" Legolas asked her. She cast a glance at the elf-prince, his blond hair bleached silver in the moonlight, piercing blue eyes boring into her.
"The White Council has been worried about this fortress. I was sent to guard against the shadows here, while Gandalf, along with Radagast, investigated other rumors to the north. What they found… it's evil. Old, powerful, evil." Buffy fell silent for a moment, looking up at the black sky where the stars couldn't shine through the heavy cloud cover.
"And?" Tauriel was more perceptive than Buffy would like. It made making plans to protect her and the other elves much more difficult.
"Tomorrow Gandalf and I are going to enter the fortress. I want you to pick your two fastest guards to go with Radagast to Lothlórien. Have them meet us at the hill path to the bridge leading into Dol Guldur, I have a message I need delivered to Galadriel, and I'd prefer a more reliable messenger than Radagast. I want everyone else to pull back to the healthy trees. Leave the blackened forest entirely. Wait there two days. If I have not returned by then, send word to Thranduil that Dol Guldur has been taken. Then head for Erebor. That will be the next battleground. That is where the war against the Shadow will begin. This darkness must not be allowed to reach the dragon." Legolas immediately protested.
"Buffy, you can't go into that fortress. You'll die! It's swarming with orcs and other fell creatures. All you will find there will be your death." Buffy smiled sadly at them, looking at the two horrified elves.
"And that is the fate of the slayer. I'll be ok." She promised them both.
"Then let me come with you. Legolas can lead the others to battle, and I will defend you. Is that not why we work in pairs? You said that partners will keep us from death. Let me keep you from death, as you have shielded us these last few weeks." Tauriel begged. Buffy shook her head, turning to look up at the looming fortress.
"I will have Olorin with me. It's too dangerous to bring either the Prince, or the King's favored captain into Dol Guldur. We've been here two weeks and managed to hold out without a single casualty. We've dealt a heavy blow against the enemy, and slowed the rise of his armies. Go back to the forest; you'll be safer there. Hold the line for two days. Promise me." She turned to face the two elves when neither replied.
"Promise me!" She hissed, grabbing them both by the arm, glaring up at them. Legolas caved first.
"I swear my lady." Tauriel was far more stubborn.
"No, I cannot in good faith let you walk into that death trap alone. Please my lady, mellon nîn, let me come with you." (My friend) Buffy shook her head, gripping Tauriel by her wrists.
"In my world you could have been called a slayer. And I would have been proud to call you my sister and to race into the pit of evil side by side. But here, in this world, we have different responsibilities - different fates. Go with Legolas. Promise me you will follow my orders." Tauriel slumped, her shoulders folding in defeat.
"I swear."
"Good." Buffy nodded decisively. "Stick together. Watch each other's backs ok? I don't want to come back to find my second favorite elves hurt or dead got it?" She hugged them both briefly before flashing them bright smiles, her teeth gleaming in the darkness.
"Second favorite?" Legolas protested, swatting at her shoulder. Buffy dodged, grinning weakly. Tauriel shook her head at them both, worry lining her tense shoulders, her forehead deeply furrowed.
"Two days. I'll see you again. Faro vae. Boe annin mened." (Good hunting, I have to go.) She reminded them, turning to leave.
"Namárië." Buffy did a double take at the Quenyan goodbye. Legolas shrugged.
"I asked my Adar." Buffy laughed and repeated the sentiment.
"Namárië Legolas, Tauriel." Tauriel slammed into her for one last hug.
"Novaer, vi-band." (Goodbye, be safe.) Buffy waved at the two of them one last time before vanishing into the trees alone. The red headed elleth's voice drifted after her, echoing slightly in the trees.
"Two days Buffy. We will see you again." Tauriel's conviction made a long forgotten feeling inside of Buffy unfurl, tendrils of sisterhood and connection filling her chest. Buffy spent too long alone, and now that she wasn't alone anymore, she didn't want to go back to it.
She steeled her resolve and set her feet towards the fortress. Dawn isn't for another few hours, and there are evil things to kill.