Disclaimer: I own nothing but Daynon and the plot. Everything else belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and the WB.
Finished: April 25, 2001
A/N: THANKS to SpikeLover for helping me through my writer's block! :)
~~ I Put A Spell On You ~~
"What do you think, Giles?" I ask hopefully. "That way we can see if anything is causing Angel's memory loss." We're sitting in the danger room while Angel waits in the shop, helping customers, much to Anya's dismay that Giles might actually hire him.
"I don't know Buffy," he replies. "If nothing is present, your emotional state could affect the spell. It could have dire consequences."
"I've done it before," I say. "It'll be easier this time since I've been through it once. It'll be dire-free."
"Perhaps Willow or Tara should perform the spell," he says. "Just to be on the safe side."
"Giles, I am safe!" I protest. "I've saved the world time and time again. You think I can't handle a little spell?"
"Well, Buffy, I guess it wouldn't be a problem," he says, barely avoiding a losing argument. "But you must be--"
"Be careful and perform it alone," I finish for him. "Thanks for the worry, but I read the warning label the first time I did it."
Giles chuckles at my persistence and nods. "Let's find those ingredients." he says.
I give a small squeal and throw my arms around his neck. "Thank you, Giles!" I exclaim.
"You're welcome, Buffy." he replies, pulling my arms from around his neck as he stands up.
About an hour later, everything is prepared for the spell. While Angel waits patiently downstairs watching TV with Dawn, I'm sitting cross-legged in my little counter-clockwise spooky-sand circle and my magic-incense is lit. Resting my hands on my knees, I close my eyes and begin meditating.
Hours pass like minutes and it's dark when I snap out of my trance. Stepping outside of my room, I look at the pictures of the wall. Dawn flickers in and out of them like before, so I know the spell as successful. I head downstairs and find Angel asleep on the couch with a flickering Dawn sleeping in the armchair beside him. I kneel down in front of Angel and notice a light blue aura surrounding his head. It's very light and hard to see, but I can see it better against his dark hair.
He stirs and wakes up. "Buffy?" he asks. His voice sounds far away and has a slight echo effect. "Did the spell work?"
"Yeah, there's something around your head," I say quietly. He unconsciously reaches his had to his head. That's when I see the thin trail of the same blue colour leading from the bubble surrounding it. It looks sort of like an astronaut's oxygen cord, but much thinner, maybe more like a strand from a spider's web. It leads out of the window, not broken by walls or glass. "Stay here, Angel. I'll be back soon."
I stand and grab my pre-packed weapons bag. I leave the house, ignoring Angel's pleas to let him join me. I follow the strand quickly as it quickly begins to flicker, like Dawn and her pictures had. Seeing it lead into a large house before it dissipates, I break into a sprint toward my destination. Stopping outside, I marvel at the building. It looks to be two stories tall and made of white stucco with a flat roof. All of the windows have shutters on them, some closed and some sealed off with bricks, which immediately make me think 'vampire'. Large trees and bushes surround the house like a moat, except for the sidewalk leading to the front door.
I walk up to the door and stand hesitantly, gripping my weapons bag tightly. Should I barge in or knock? Maybe it's not a vampire; maybe it's just a peaceable Wicca or Warlock. I notice a gold nameplate imbedded in the wall beside the door. Inscribed on it is the name 'Daynon' and under it reads "Practicing Warlock". So does this guy run a business or what? I knock on the door and a butler answers.
He stares at me for a minute waiting for me to say something I guess. "Hi, I'm Buffy Sum--"
"This way, Miss Sum," he interrupts me. I roll my eyes after I walk by him as he holds the door for me. He closes the door behind me and I take in my surroundings. An elegant chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Large, wooden, sliding doors are on either side of the foyer, probably leading to conference rooms, or a living room, or kitchen, or something. A red carpeted stairway leads up at the opposite end of the room and splits into a left and right side creating a balcony around the rest of the room. Like in the movie 'Titanic'.
The butler leads me up the stairs and to the left side of the stairs. There are numerous doors along the balcony and he leads me to one near the end of the line. He knocks on the door and I hear footsteps then the door opens. A tall man answers the door, looking to be in his forties, but he's a magician so I can't be sure. He has short brown hair, glasses, a beard and is dressed in a plaid shirt and blue jeans...sort of ruining the whole 'magician's wardrobe' idea I have in my head. He smiles when he sees me standing across from him.
"Sorry to bother you sir, but this young lady was at the door," 'Jeeves' said.
"Thank you, Thomas," Daynon replied. "That will be all."
Thomas bowed slightly and returned downstairs. "Come in, Miss--?"
"Summers," I replied with a smile. "Buffy Summers."
"Ah, the Slayer," he says returning my smile. He holds the door open for me and offers me a seat in front of a nice oak desk with another gold nameplate reading 'Daynon' on it. "I think I know why you're here."
"And why would that be?" I ask cautiously.
"Because you want your boyfriend back," he replies, sitting down in the chair behind the desk.
"So, you cast the spell?" I ask.
He nods. "Yes, I can sense the magic in you now. You used 'Tirer La Couture', didn't you?"
"Yeah, it led me here," I answer. "A blue strand of something."
"I guess every curtain has its string." he chuckles.
I hear Angel's voice in my head say, 'Just cut the string.' I stand up suddenly. "Cut the string." I order. "You have to give Angel back to me."
"I can't do that, dear," he says standing up. "It was another client's service done. I can't just undo it."
"Well, I'll pay you to undo it," I offer, digging into my purse. "Please, this is very important." I pull out a wad of cash, probably about $300. "This is all I have but I'll pay you whatever you want, Slayer's Honour!"
"Tell me," he says, motioning for me to sit. I do and he does as well. "Why do you want the old Angel back so badly? Don't you love this one as well?"
"Yes I do," I reply honestly. "But he's so confused about his life, and I know he wants to be his normal self."
"But what is normal?" he asks me.
"Normal is before the car accident, when he was just my Angel." I reply.
"But you love--"
"Yes, I love the current Angel too! How many times do I have to say it?" I ask angrily. Daynon just sits back with his hands laced across his abdomen, listening to my rant. "I mean, I love both of them with all my heart, but this morning Angel was so happy to think he could be his former self. He wanted to do it for me."
It is now I realize that I had never even asked Angel what he truly wanted. I'd just said, 'There's a spell we can do.' and he was all for it, for my sake. He could finally live a life without the guilt, or memories of being Angelus, or even being in Hell. But it would also be a life without knowing of all of his hard work to become human, or his long, arduous hours of brooding, our first meeting, our first kiss, or even our first lovemaking.
The second line of 'withouts' heavily outweighs the first. I'm certain Angel would want to remember everything about our troubled past, and I'm sure he would want to remember the long, difficult battle to achieve his Shanshu. I sit in the chair, thinking, staring at my hands, and turning the Claddaugh ring on my left ring finger. Surely Angel would want to remember giving this to me. Am I being selfish? I hope not. I want Angel to remember everything about himself as well as us. That's not selfishness; that's love...right?
Daynon has sat quietly and patiently throughout my mind-wanderings and when I look up at him through tear filled eyes, he smiles warmly.
"So you've made your decision then?" he asks softly.
"Yes," I say in a choked voice, nodding my head accordingly. Remembering what Angel told me in the dream, I give my reply. "Just cut the string."
Finished: April 25, 2001
A/N: THANKS to SpikeLover for helping me through my writer's block! :)
~~ I Put A Spell On You ~~
"What do you think, Giles?" I ask hopefully. "That way we can see if anything is causing Angel's memory loss." We're sitting in the danger room while Angel waits in the shop, helping customers, much to Anya's dismay that Giles might actually hire him.
"I don't know Buffy," he replies. "If nothing is present, your emotional state could affect the spell. It could have dire consequences."
"I've done it before," I say. "It'll be easier this time since I've been through it once. It'll be dire-free."
"Perhaps Willow or Tara should perform the spell," he says. "Just to be on the safe side."
"Giles, I am safe!" I protest. "I've saved the world time and time again. You think I can't handle a little spell?"
"Well, Buffy, I guess it wouldn't be a problem," he says, barely avoiding a losing argument. "But you must be--"
"Be careful and perform it alone," I finish for him. "Thanks for the worry, but I read the warning label the first time I did it."
Giles chuckles at my persistence and nods. "Let's find those ingredients." he says.
I give a small squeal and throw my arms around his neck. "Thank you, Giles!" I exclaim.
"You're welcome, Buffy." he replies, pulling my arms from around his neck as he stands up.
About an hour later, everything is prepared for the spell. While Angel waits patiently downstairs watching TV with Dawn, I'm sitting cross-legged in my little counter-clockwise spooky-sand circle and my magic-incense is lit. Resting my hands on my knees, I close my eyes and begin meditating.
Hours pass like minutes and it's dark when I snap out of my trance. Stepping outside of my room, I look at the pictures of the wall. Dawn flickers in and out of them like before, so I know the spell as successful. I head downstairs and find Angel asleep on the couch with a flickering Dawn sleeping in the armchair beside him. I kneel down in front of Angel and notice a light blue aura surrounding his head. It's very light and hard to see, but I can see it better against his dark hair.
He stirs and wakes up. "Buffy?" he asks. His voice sounds far away and has a slight echo effect. "Did the spell work?"
"Yeah, there's something around your head," I say quietly. He unconsciously reaches his had to his head. That's when I see the thin trail of the same blue colour leading from the bubble surrounding it. It looks sort of like an astronaut's oxygen cord, but much thinner, maybe more like a strand from a spider's web. It leads out of the window, not broken by walls or glass. "Stay here, Angel. I'll be back soon."
I stand and grab my pre-packed weapons bag. I leave the house, ignoring Angel's pleas to let him join me. I follow the strand quickly as it quickly begins to flicker, like Dawn and her pictures had. Seeing it lead into a large house before it dissipates, I break into a sprint toward my destination. Stopping outside, I marvel at the building. It looks to be two stories tall and made of white stucco with a flat roof. All of the windows have shutters on them, some closed and some sealed off with bricks, which immediately make me think 'vampire'. Large trees and bushes surround the house like a moat, except for the sidewalk leading to the front door.
I walk up to the door and stand hesitantly, gripping my weapons bag tightly. Should I barge in or knock? Maybe it's not a vampire; maybe it's just a peaceable Wicca or Warlock. I notice a gold nameplate imbedded in the wall beside the door. Inscribed on it is the name 'Daynon' and under it reads "Practicing Warlock". So does this guy run a business or what? I knock on the door and a butler answers.
He stares at me for a minute waiting for me to say something I guess. "Hi, I'm Buffy Sum--"
"This way, Miss Sum," he interrupts me. I roll my eyes after I walk by him as he holds the door for me. He closes the door behind me and I take in my surroundings. An elegant chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Large, wooden, sliding doors are on either side of the foyer, probably leading to conference rooms, or a living room, or kitchen, or something. A red carpeted stairway leads up at the opposite end of the room and splits into a left and right side creating a balcony around the rest of the room. Like in the movie 'Titanic'.
The butler leads me up the stairs and to the left side of the stairs. There are numerous doors along the balcony and he leads me to one near the end of the line. He knocks on the door and I hear footsteps then the door opens. A tall man answers the door, looking to be in his forties, but he's a magician so I can't be sure. He has short brown hair, glasses, a beard and is dressed in a plaid shirt and blue jeans...sort of ruining the whole 'magician's wardrobe' idea I have in my head. He smiles when he sees me standing across from him.
"Sorry to bother you sir, but this young lady was at the door," 'Jeeves' said.
"Thank you, Thomas," Daynon replied. "That will be all."
Thomas bowed slightly and returned downstairs. "Come in, Miss--?"
"Summers," I replied with a smile. "Buffy Summers."
"Ah, the Slayer," he says returning my smile. He holds the door open for me and offers me a seat in front of a nice oak desk with another gold nameplate reading 'Daynon' on it. "I think I know why you're here."
"And why would that be?" I ask cautiously.
"Because you want your boyfriend back," he replies, sitting down in the chair behind the desk.
"So, you cast the spell?" I ask.
He nods. "Yes, I can sense the magic in you now. You used 'Tirer La Couture', didn't you?"
"Yeah, it led me here," I answer. "A blue strand of something."
"I guess every curtain has its string." he chuckles.
I hear Angel's voice in my head say, 'Just cut the string.' I stand up suddenly. "Cut the string." I order. "You have to give Angel back to me."
"I can't do that, dear," he says standing up. "It was another client's service done. I can't just undo it."
"Well, I'll pay you to undo it," I offer, digging into my purse. "Please, this is very important." I pull out a wad of cash, probably about $300. "This is all I have but I'll pay you whatever you want, Slayer's Honour!"
"Tell me," he says, motioning for me to sit. I do and he does as well. "Why do you want the old Angel back so badly? Don't you love this one as well?"
"Yes I do," I reply honestly. "But he's so confused about his life, and I know he wants to be his normal self."
"But what is normal?" he asks me.
"Normal is before the car accident, when he was just my Angel." I reply.
"But you love--"
"Yes, I love the current Angel too! How many times do I have to say it?" I ask angrily. Daynon just sits back with his hands laced across his abdomen, listening to my rant. "I mean, I love both of them with all my heart, but this morning Angel was so happy to think he could be his former self. He wanted to do it for me."
It is now I realize that I had never even asked Angel what he truly wanted. I'd just said, 'There's a spell we can do.' and he was all for it, for my sake. He could finally live a life without the guilt, or memories of being Angelus, or even being in Hell. But it would also be a life without knowing of all of his hard work to become human, or his long, arduous hours of brooding, our first meeting, our first kiss, or even our first lovemaking.
The second line of 'withouts' heavily outweighs the first. I'm certain Angel would want to remember everything about our troubled past, and I'm sure he would want to remember the long, difficult battle to achieve his Shanshu. I sit in the chair, thinking, staring at my hands, and turning the Claddaugh ring on my left ring finger. Surely Angel would want to remember giving this to me. Am I being selfish? I hope not. I want Angel to remember everything about himself as well as us. That's not selfishness; that's love...right?
Daynon has sat quietly and patiently throughout my mind-wanderings and when I look up at him through tear filled eyes, he smiles warmly.
"So you've made your decision then?" he asks softly.
"Yes," I say in a choked voice, nodding my head accordingly. Remembering what Angel told me in the dream, I give my reply. "Just cut the string."
