Chapter Sixteen: Faerie Tale Endings

It took several hours to completely clean away all traces of the battle. Magic was used to repair the smashed door and get rid of the demon corpses. Unlike vampires, the demons hadn't conveniently turned to ash as they died. It was nearing dawn when everything was finally finished and the entire group pretty much collapsed on any surface they could find.

Spike lounged on the stairs, his long legs stretched out in front of him. "Well, that was a bit of fun, wasn't it?"

Everyone else just stared at him, too worn out to say anything. He shrugged, "What? I always like a good fight, we won, what's to complain about? There's just no pleasing some people."

"So GilesI mean Ripper" The Watcher took pity on his young friend and said, "You can still call me Giles, Xander."

"Right. Well, Giles, what exactly was that spell anyway? I mean, you and Tara were real busy coming up with the idea but I don't get it, why couldn't you have just given it to him without all the fighting?"

Willow lightly smacked the back of Xander's head with her palm. "Because then he would have suspected something, doofus!"

Giles nodded, "Yes, he had to believe that I was only giving up to him after all my options were gone, after my defenders had fallen. The key to any great mischief or trickery is misdirection. If someone expects something specific, you provide that while behind your back you do something else."

"And you as a Faerie would know this well, eh mate?"

"Yes, well, I am rather the black sheep of the family, but there are some traits that I share with the rest. I may not be the great trickster that the Puck or the Amadan are, but I know the basics."

"So how come it was Tara who thought of tricking Gregory and not you?" Buffy simply looked curious, wanting to find out more about her Watcher, where he came from.

"Perhaps I have played the human for too long. Simply because I am Faerie though is no reason to expect me to always be thinking of what cruel trick to play next. Tara showed remarkable perception and creativity. And the spell was truly inspired."

"Yeah, you didn't answer that. What was that spell, anyway, huh Fae-Man?"

"You know, I think I almost prefer him calling me G-Man," Giles said softly to Ethan, who grinned. Then he spoke louder, letting everyone hear him. "It was an opening spell. It opens doorways. The spell is set into an object, usually a key. I just made it look like the armband so he'd be fooled. The magics of appearance have ever been one of Faerie's strengths. If he keeps the spell, doors will keep opening for him and he will get ever deeper into other realms. Faerie magic doesn't kill you see, but it can often be much crueler than death."

"B-but this time, the v-victim deserved the c-cruelty."

Ethan cocked an eyebrow at Tara. "Yes, I agree completely. Which is why, of course, I let you do this to him instead of killing him like I wanted. Hurting my Ripper" He pulled the Faerie close to him, glad to simply be with him.

Xander rolled his eyes, "I can see where this is going. Come on guys, let's go out for breakfast and then get some sleep. Leave the two lovebirds alone."

Giles chuckled softly as the four teens all trooped out of the house. "Spike, you may sleep on the couch. Please do not keep the telly too loud."

Spike nodded and moved his body just enough so that Giles and Ethan could go up the stairs. "Have fun, mates. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Come to think of it, don't do a lot of stuff I would do."

Ethan smiled softly as he was finally alone with his beloved. After all these years apart, with the hurt between them, he still loved this man. But he'd have to go slowly, he knew. His Ripper was still hurt, fragile. For now, they both stripped down to underwear and climbed into bed. Giles was already falling asleep, exhausted after the long night. Ethan pressed a kiss against his lover's brow.

"Good night, sweet prince. I'll let only happy dreams come for you."

"You know in the old days, more often than not, fairy stories had grisly, horrific endings. The hero is devoured by the fearsome beastthe young girl dissolves into sea foamsomeone's sweet granny is baked into a pie and fed to her loved ones. Scarcely a happy ending in sight. The crowd-pleasing, Happily Ever After' ending is a fairly recent invention, easy morals and artificial sentiment. Safe, bloodless and utterly disposable. Hardly an improvement, if you ask me. But the fact is, neither school of thought gets it right. Both of them miss the real point. So, what is the truth? What's the big secret? How do fairy tales really end? The truth isthey don't."

--Kildare, "The Magic of Aria"