YELLOW BRICK ROAD
By: Lisette (lisette@chaletian.co.uk)
Rating: PG-13 so far - might change later on.
Distribution: Want, take, have. Just e-mail me first.
Summary: Faith is released from prison - but there's a catch.
Feedback: God, please.
Angel, Buffy, the whole lot, belong to JW, Mutant Enemy, and anyone else who officially owns them. I don't. Big surprise.
*** *** ***
Chapter Five - Brother Anselm and the Sheep
Brother Anselm had lived in a monastery off the north-eastern coast of England in the ninth century. His days had been typified by early mornings, cold water, and a large amount of praying, all of which, for some reason, he had felt obliged to chronicle in a series of excruciatingly boring manuscripts. However, during one spring, Brother Anselm had ended up slaying a Kavlar demon, which he had, dutifully, added to his blow by blow account of the day. So, slipped in between, "the morn was cold and Brother Eleric did lose three sheep", and "we broke our fast with bread made from the new miller's flour while Brother Alfred read a psalm", was an accurate description of how to kill the mighty Kavlar demon, and it was this that Wesley was studying with an intensity unusual even in him. An intensity that seemed somewhat misplaced since the Kavlar demon slain by Brother Anselm was the last recorded Kavlar demon to ever walk the face of the earth.
In fact, so entranced by Brother Anselm's account ("and then I smote the beast with a large stick borrowed from the wife of the new miller") was he, that Wesley failed to look up when Angel, having knocked and received no answer, entered the room quietly, closing the door behind him.
"Wesley." No answer. "Wesley."
"Mm?" Deciding that the direct approach may not be the best idea, Angel sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. He sneaked a peek at what Wesley was so engrossed in, and grinned.
"Brother Anselm, hmm? Hey, you read the part yet where he catalogues the monastery's sheep? Definitely the high point for me." Mild curiosity prompted Wesley to look up.
"You've read Brother Anselm?"
"Classic bedside reading. Guaranteed to have the most die-hard insomniac asleep in ten minutes. In fact, I kind of have this theory that the whole counting sheep thing came from Brother Anselm's cataloguing."
"Hmm. Angel, about Faith-"
"Wesley, she wasn't going to kill me."
"I know." Angel looked up in surprise, and Wesley smiled ruefully. "Contrary to popular belief, Angel, I am not a fool. Faith isn't going to hurt you; I know that and so do you. The problem is, she doesn't. She's so used to being cast in the role of an evil murderer - not without some cause, I must admit" - and he unconsciously rubbed his right arm, feeling now returned - "that she can't see how else she can behave. We must remember, that for most of her life, it is Faith's violent tendencies that have been rewarded - by the Mayor, and also by us, initially. After all, she is the slayer - we expected her to be slaughtering demons every night. Unfortunately, I believe it became her way of connecting with a world that didn't want her.
"And we owe it to her to help."
"She hurt you." Wesley's smile was faint as he carefully closed the chronicles of Brother Anselm.
"People hurt people, Angel. Unfortunately, that's a part of being human."