"Hey." Xander stood outside the back door of the Magic Box and watched as Spike and
Willow exited the DeSoto.
"Hey," Willow glanced around worriedly. "Really nervous about tonight."
Xander nodded. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
Xander led the way into the danger room, and found more than just the usual suspects
there. Buffy, Giles, Tara, and Anya were seated around theresearch table with a silver haired
woman. Another three woman were sitting on the couch.
Every eye was on them. Willow shrank a bit behind Xander, and the three women rose
from the couch, moving foward carrying ropes.
"Meribeth," snapped the silver haired woman. "This has been decided. Would you set
you face against me."
The dark haired womn, flanked by her companions, stopped and glared. "No Serena. I
would not do so, but what you propose is foolishness. The girl is incautious, by her acts she
would call down the Burning Times upon us. By her acts, she has already called the attentions of
the Watchers to us. They wish to use us. For that alone, she should be destroyed."
"Hey," shouted Buffy, "No ones going to..."
"The Watcher's only interest is to provide," began Giles, but he was cut off.
"Such things are not your concern, Watcher," hissed Meribeth. "Keep them to your pet
Slayer."
"Hey," protested Buffy.
"Meribeth," snapped Serena. "I am the chosen leader of the White Witches, not only here
but in all of California. The path has been set in decision and in ritual. Would you set you face
against me?"
For the longest moment it looked like Meribeth would. She glared at Serena, and the two
women, backing her, looked increasingly nervous. Finally, with a sigh she relented.
"No my mistress, I will submit to this foolishness."
"Foolishness perhaps, and in another time I would relish an entanglement with the
Watchers for their presumptousness. But with the Old Gods seeking a return to this land we can
ill afford a war with the Watchers Council. Beside, the girl is not too dissimilar to what you were
when you first came to us. Now you are second."
Meribeth looked at her surprised.
Serena smiled. "Do not think that I will reward opposition, but in this time we need
strong leadership and a second thet fears not her own mind."
Meribeth returned her smile. A smile that faded as she regarded Willow.
"Like me she may be, as I once was. But no more. You burned sense into me."
"As I expect you will do with her."
"What?" Clearly Meribeth was surprised. So were most of the other people around the
room.
"It is high time you took an apprentice to yourself. I can think of no better candidate for
you or for her."
"Hey!" A red faced Willow stepped forward into the room. "Don't I get a choice?"
Serena looked at her.
"Your choices are what led you, and us, to this moment. Your actions have brought
unwanted attention u[on us. Unchecked, they could still bring the Burning Times down upon us."
"Nobody has burned a witch at the stake in hundreds of years." Willow glared back.
"People won't stand for that."
"They burned my daughter."
Every eye turned to Meribeth.
"April the first, 1993. Emma, my eldest, was picking flowers in the Ozarks when she was
accosted by a group of savages. Dragged to a clearing where she was burned alive for being a
witch."
"W-was she...?"
"Yes, she was, but not the one that caused the problems that seeded the fear. Just the one
they caught." For a moment, Meribeth's eyes misted, but she shook herself out of it. "They
never caught the ones that did it and never will."
"But someone...surely someone knew something."
"If they did they said nothing. They were all caught by the fear and then by the shame of
what they did." Meribet sighed ant turned to Willow. "Do you not see what you did. What you
did at the Bronze, shifting those people to another dimension, no harm may have come of it, they
may not even remember, but you chose. You chose to subject them to forces they would never
agree to being subjected to. You chose to do so with no thought to anything but your own
convenience, because you were to lazy to use the other senses you were blessed with. You may
have lucked out this time, what about next time. Next time may fuel the seeds of fear. The kind
of fear that leads to witch burning. The kind of fear that oft times gets acted upon before rational
thought breaks through the fog."
Willow said nothing, just lowered her eyes.
"Girl," this time it was Serena who spoke. "We do not compel, or decide for thee, such is
not our way. Refuse this offer, or accept it, but tis thee that will choose your fate."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Buffy was not looking happy.
"If she accepts our proposal, then we shall see her learn discipline and control. If she
refuses it, then she has maade her choice and it will not be offered again. We will soon have other
concerns than the fate of one foolish child."
"So you'd throw her to the wolves..." Buffy rose from her chair.
"Wait...no...she's right."
They turned to Willow.
"I...I spent the last few weeks curled up in a crypt, afraid to go out. Afraid to do anything
that might lead to my using magic. I...I just can't do that anymore. I can't just quit, and if magics
always gonna be a part of me, then I need help. To control it, to control me, and if they can help
me then I have to let them. I think." Willow glanced at Giles. Xander said that I'd be working
with a Watcher. He said Tara, but I want Spike."
"Impossible," snapped Meribeth. "Out of the question."
"Spike!" Buffy was astonishe.
"Pet..." Spike was stunned. "I'm a Vampire, one of the things they fight. They'd never
accept me."
"Not officially, but you could be like Goles was when Wesley was Buffy's atcher."
Xander was relieved that he didnt have to worry about how he was going to suggest that.
"This is so wrong on so many levels in so manu\y ways..." Buffy rn out of words but the
slack was soon taken up.
"Actually it's righter than you think." Every eye turned to Xander, who chose now to
jump into the conversation.
"What," sputtered Buffy. "But he's evil, big bad, trid to kill us remember."
"Oh I remember all that, and he is evil only not so much anymore. So who'd be better
than him to tell if sh's edging closer to the line. Besides, she trusts him. He could do the regular
watching stuff whilw Tara does the official watching stuff, and they do the magic stuff."
"Impossible," Meribeth repeated, though it was doubfull that any one was paying
attention. "The Coucil has no place in this."
"Unfortunately they have chosen to find a place." Giles shifted his eye between Serena
and Meribeth. "It would be hard to keep them out."
Meribeth glared at Giles, and opened her mouth to rel\ply but was cut off.
"Normlly I would agree with my second," said Serena. "But these are not normal times.
Watchers will you hear my proposal?"
"That is what we're here for," Giles sighed and polished his glasses.
"What I propose is the the Watchers, the ones in this room, plus Tara, if she will take the
position, work together, but we work with no one else until we see that we can work together.
Willow will be apprenticed to Meribeth, who will see to it that she learns what she needs to learn.
Meribeth will consult with her Watcher, or Watchers, as the case might be, and will accept
suggestions and directions if there are good and compelling reasons to do so. In return her
Watchers will consult with Meribeth, and will accept her suggestions and directions if there are
good and compelling reasons to do so."
"Foolishness," snapped Meribeth. "An impossible task made worse. Both for me and for
the girl. She will have to satisfy two where it will be hard to satisfy one and what satisfies one
may not satisfy the other."
"That may be true, but I think there will be enough common ground for it to work more
often than not, and when it does not, then she will have to struggle all the harder. She will also
have to remember that she is here of her own will and we do not compel, or decide her fate. She
will do this of her own choice or not at all."
Serena moved to stand in front of Meribeth.
"Is the proposal and terms acceptable to you? Do you have anything which you might
add?"
"Probation. I cannot be expected to do this If I do not have her agreement on these. She
will not use magic, in thought word or deed, except in gravest need, unless she is in the presence
of one of us, or her Watchers, and they fully understand what she is doing and why she is doing it,
and, and how she is doing it, and have given their permission. She will obey all direction given to
her by me or her Watcher unless there be good and compelling reason for her disobedience."
"Accepted." Serena moved to stand in front of Giles.
"Is the proposal and terms acceptable to you? Do you have anything which you might
add?""
"They are acceptabe."
The process was repeated with Spike, who accepted for himself and Willow's official
Watcher, who ever that might be. At that point Tara jumped in and accepted the position, much
to Spike's obvious relief. Finally Serena approached Willow.
"Is the proposal and terms acceptable to you, as well as the additions made by your
Mistress and Watchers acceptabe to you?"
Willow looked frightened. "Yes."
"Do you hold yourself in obedience to them?"
"Yes."
Serena arched an eyebrow, expecting more.
"I hold myself in obedience to the terms of the proposal and to the additions made by my
Mistress and my Watchers."
"So Mote It Be."
Willow exited the DeSoto.
"Hey," Willow glanced around worriedly. "Really nervous about tonight."
Xander nodded. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
Xander led the way into the danger room, and found more than just the usual suspects
there. Buffy, Giles, Tara, and Anya were seated around theresearch table with a silver haired
woman. Another three woman were sitting on the couch.
Every eye was on them. Willow shrank a bit behind Xander, and the three women rose
from the couch, moving foward carrying ropes.
"Meribeth," snapped the silver haired woman. "This has been decided. Would you set
you face against me."
The dark haired womn, flanked by her companions, stopped and glared. "No Serena. I
would not do so, but what you propose is foolishness. The girl is incautious, by her acts she
would call down the Burning Times upon us. By her acts, she has already called the attentions of
the Watchers to us. They wish to use us. For that alone, she should be destroyed."
"Hey," shouted Buffy, "No ones going to..."
"The Watcher's only interest is to provide," began Giles, but he was cut off.
"Such things are not your concern, Watcher," hissed Meribeth. "Keep them to your pet
Slayer."
"Hey," protested Buffy.
"Meribeth," snapped Serena. "I am the chosen leader of the White Witches, not only here
but in all of California. The path has been set in decision and in ritual. Would you set you face
against me?"
For the longest moment it looked like Meribeth would. She glared at Serena, and the two
women, backing her, looked increasingly nervous. Finally, with a sigh she relented.
"No my mistress, I will submit to this foolishness."
"Foolishness perhaps, and in another time I would relish an entanglement with the
Watchers for their presumptousness. But with the Old Gods seeking a return to this land we can
ill afford a war with the Watchers Council. Beside, the girl is not too dissimilar to what you were
when you first came to us. Now you are second."
Meribeth looked at her surprised.
Serena smiled. "Do not think that I will reward opposition, but in this time we need
strong leadership and a second thet fears not her own mind."
Meribeth returned her smile. A smile that faded as she regarded Willow.
"Like me she may be, as I once was. But no more. You burned sense into me."
"As I expect you will do with her."
"What?" Clearly Meribeth was surprised. So were most of the other people around the
room.
"It is high time you took an apprentice to yourself. I can think of no better candidate for
you or for her."
"Hey!" A red faced Willow stepped forward into the room. "Don't I get a choice?"
Serena looked at her.
"Your choices are what led you, and us, to this moment. Your actions have brought
unwanted attention u[on us. Unchecked, they could still bring the Burning Times down upon us."
"Nobody has burned a witch at the stake in hundreds of years." Willow glared back.
"People won't stand for that."
"They burned my daughter."
Every eye turned to Meribeth.
"April the first, 1993. Emma, my eldest, was picking flowers in the Ozarks when she was
accosted by a group of savages. Dragged to a clearing where she was burned alive for being a
witch."
"W-was she...?"
"Yes, she was, but not the one that caused the problems that seeded the fear. Just the one
they caught." For a moment, Meribeth's eyes misted, but she shook herself out of it. "They
never caught the ones that did it and never will."
"But someone...surely someone knew something."
"If they did they said nothing. They were all caught by the fear and then by the shame of
what they did." Meribet sighed ant turned to Willow. "Do you not see what you did. What you
did at the Bronze, shifting those people to another dimension, no harm may have come of it, they
may not even remember, but you chose. You chose to subject them to forces they would never
agree to being subjected to. You chose to do so with no thought to anything but your own
convenience, because you were to lazy to use the other senses you were blessed with. You may
have lucked out this time, what about next time. Next time may fuel the seeds of fear. The kind
of fear that leads to witch burning. The kind of fear that oft times gets acted upon before rational
thought breaks through the fog."
Willow said nothing, just lowered her eyes.
"Girl," this time it was Serena who spoke. "We do not compel, or decide for thee, such is
not our way. Refuse this offer, or accept it, but tis thee that will choose your fate."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Buffy was not looking happy.
"If she accepts our proposal, then we shall see her learn discipline and control. If she
refuses it, then she has maade her choice and it will not be offered again. We will soon have other
concerns than the fate of one foolish child."
"So you'd throw her to the wolves..." Buffy rose from her chair.
"Wait...no...she's right."
They turned to Willow.
"I...I spent the last few weeks curled up in a crypt, afraid to go out. Afraid to do anything
that might lead to my using magic. I...I just can't do that anymore. I can't just quit, and if magics
always gonna be a part of me, then I need help. To control it, to control me, and if they can help
me then I have to let them. I think." Willow glanced at Giles. Xander said that I'd be working
with a Watcher. He said Tara, but I want Spike."
"Impossible," snapped Meribeth. "Out of the question."
"Spike!" Buffy was astonishe.
"Pet..." Spike was stunned. "I'm a Vampire, one of the things they fight. They'd never
accept me."
"Not officially, but you could be like Goles was when Wesley was Buffy's atcher."
Xander was relieved that he didnt have to worry about how he was going to suggest that.
"This is so wrong on so many levels in so manu\y ways..." Buffy rn out of words but the
slack was soon taken up.
"Actually it's righter than you think." Every eye turned to Xander, who chose now to
jump into the conversation.
"What," sputtered Buffy. "But he's evil, big bad, trid to kill us remember."
"Oh I remember all that, and he is evil only not so much anymore. So who'd be better
than him to tell if sh's edging closer to the line. Besides, she trusts him. He could do the regular
watching stuff whilw Tara does the official watching stuff, and they do the magic stuff."
"Impossible," Meribeth repeated, though it was doubfull that any one was paying
attention. "The Coucil has no place in this."
"Unfortunately they have chosen to find a place." Giles shifted his eye between Serena
and Meribeth. "It would be hard to keep them out."
Meribeth glared at Giles, and opened her mouth to rel\ply but was cut off.
"Normlly I would agree with my second," said Serena. "But these are not normal times.
Watchers will you hear my proposal?"
"That is what we're here for," Giles sighed and polished his glasses.
"What I propose is the the Watchers, the ones in this room, plus Tara, if she will take the
position, work together, but we work with no one else until we see that we can work together.
Willow will be apprenticed to Meribeth, who will see to it that she learns what she needs to learn.
Meribeth will consult with her Watcher, or Watchers, as the case might be, and will accept
suggestions and directions if there are good and compelling reasons to do so. In return her
Watchers will consult with Meribeth, and will accept her suggestions and directions if there are
good and compelling reasons to do so."
"Foolishness," snapped Meribeth. "An impossible task made worse. Both for me and for
the girl. She will have to satisfy two where it will be hard to satisfy one and what satisfies one
may not satisfy the other."
"That may be true, but I think there will be enough common ground for it to work more
often than not, and when it does not, then she will have to struggle all the harder. She will also
have to remember that she is here of her own will and we do not compel, or decide her fate. She
will do this of her own choice or not at all."
Serena moved to stand in front of Meribeth.
"Is the proposal and terms acceptable to you? Do you have anything which you might
add?"
"Probation. I cannot be expected to do this If I do not have her agreement on these. She
will not use magic, in thought word or deed, except in gravest need, unless she is in the presence
of one of us, or her Watchers, and they fully understand what she is doing and why she is doing it,
and, and how she is doing it, and have given their permission. She will obey all direction given to
her by me or her Watcher unless there be good and compelling reason for her disobedience."
"Accepted." Serena moved to stand in front of Giles.
"Is the proposal and terms acceptable to you? Do you have anything which you might
add?""
"They are acceptabe."
The process was repeated with Spike, who accepted for himself and Willow's official
Watcher, who ever that might be. At that point Tara jumped in and accepted the position, much
to Spike's obvious relief. Finally Serena approached Willow.
"Is the proposal and terms acceptable to you, as well as the additions made by your
Mistress and Watchers acceptabe to you?"
Willow looked frightened. "Yes."
"Do you hold yourself in obedience to them?"
"Yes."
Serena arched an eyebrow, expecting more.
"I hold myself in obedience to the terms of the proposal and to the additions made by my
Mistress and my Watchers."
"So Mote It Be."