Per Aspera Ad Astra
*Through the thorns to the stars*
Sorry guys, was seriously trying to get this out before my exams came up, so it's not going to be as long as I had hoped. I was going to make it a lot nicer, but I got sick (yeah, yeah, allergies are evil, left me with enflamed sinuses for a week) and my plans got blown to hell. That combined with AP exams, finals, and about five projects all due the same week, this really isn't a good time. So, without any further ado …
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Chapter Dua
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Buffy frowned and silently followed Spike out of the room, the soft brown leather sandals padding on the marble tiled floor. It was funny. It was usually the other way around with Spike sticking his foot in his mouth. Time travel can do funny things to you.
She was broken from her reverie when Spike knocked loudly on the doorframe of the next room down. When no answer came, he pulled back the curtain to find an empty room. As if to answer them, Willow stuck her head out of the room next door.
"Hey guys, we're in here. Anya is helping everyone dress in Tara's and my room." Without another word, the two entered the room to find Anya helping Xander put his sandals on.
Spike smirked. "Need a woman to help you dress, whelp?" he quipped.
Xander simply glared back, too annoyed to answer. "How the heck do these people live with such stupid clothes?" he cried out, frustrated. "Guys are meant to wear pants, not dresses!"
"I think you look very manly," Anya patted him reassuringly.
"I think Spike looks hot," Dawn added. "Nice legs."
"Dawn!" Buffy immediately criticized.
"What?" Dawn asked innocently. "Look at him."
Tara exchanged a look with Buffy. She had looked all right, but at least she had tried not to. The frescoes were interesting, after all, and very appropriate.
"You're all done, Xander," Anya patted him on the knee before standing. "You didn't have any trouble, Buffy?" Buffy shook her head in response. "Why aren't you wearing your stola?"
"You mean that big frumpy thing?"
"Yes, it means you're married. I mean, your hair is up, but where is the stola?" Anya asked as she put her own hair up.
"It was too hot, so I decided not to wear it while we're inside the villa."
"I guess that's okay. You know, I'm hoping that if I hear enough Latin, I might be able to remember how to speak it," Anya said, changing the conversation.
"Well," Tara added, "I think I know a translating spell so that all of us can understand, but I'll need all the ingredients."
Buffy fiddled with the new ring on her left hand, oblivious to the talk. It was a funny feeling, being married to Spike, and the ruby ring was ten times better than the skull ring he had formerly used when proposing. Then, something caught her eye and she quickly turned around.
"Who's there?" she called cautiously to the door.
A girl about Dawn's age stepped into the room. She was quite pretty with black hair and deep blue eyes that were also twinkling in mischief. She began jabbering off in Latin, and Buffy immediately turned to Spike, helpless.
Spike smirked before talking to the girl. Then, he turned to Buffy, "I just told her that you don't speak Latin."
"Oh. Um … can you ask for her name?" she asked him, feeling a little silly having to communicate through a translator.
He did as he was asked, and his eyes darkened suddenly when he received the answer. "Her name is Portia Opimia Drusilla."
"Do we call her Drusilla?" Dawn asked meekly.
The girl turned to her and smiled. "Portia," she said, as if knowing the question. "Et tu?"
Dawn grinned, finally knowing something that had been spoken. After all, who hadn't heard Shakespeare's famous words, 'Et tu, Brute?' "Dawna." She beamed, proud of herself for remembering the name Spike gave her. "Spike, ask how old she is."
"She says she's fifteen, Bit."
Suddenly, Tiberius appeared behind Portia, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder and spoke to her. Although they couldn't understand what was being said, it sounded mightily like scolding.
Spike immediately stepped in, launching a full-blown conversation. After about five minutes, he turned to the group. "Portia is his adopted daughter, along with her older sister Livia who is eighteen. She wasn't supposed to be here; she was supposed to be shopping in the Forum with her sister. I suppose she snuck back home. From what I hear, there is going to be fireworks soon."
As in response, another girl stormed in also with flowing black hair and blue eyes, but this time, they were filled with fury. The two started shouting at one another complete with finger pointing and mockery. The Scoobies held back several chuckles, seeing as they were probably not supposed to be witnessing this. It was very interesting to watch a fight going on in a foreign language.
Rolling his eyes, Tiberius grabbed the older girl by the shoulders and diverted her several feet away to talk to her. Portia made a move for the door, but Tiberius stopped her with a word. After some rapid speaking in a hushed tone, the two girls turned back towards the group and muttered several words.
Spike whispered to the group, "They just apologized, if you're wondering."
"That's okay!" Willow said brightly, "Oh, but you probably didn't understand that …" she trailed off. "Too bad I'm way too wigged out to remember any Latin from my spells …"
Finally, Tiberius hustled Portia out of the room and said a few words to Livia.
Rolling her eyes, Livia turned back to the group. Standing with her hands on her hips, they were finally able to get a good look at her. She was a couple inches taller than Buffy, with a flattering tan and high cheekbones. Her black hair spilled over her shoulders to mid-back. That was interesting, an unmarried nineteen year old.
"Salvete, nomen mea est Livia Opimia Drusilla." Her voice sounded haughty, and she ran her eyes through the group stopping briefly on Spike before continuing her observations.
Spike gave her their names before she nodded briefly and spun on her heel, leaving the room in a huff.
"What a bitch," Dawn muttered. Buffy glared but didn't respond. There was something weird about this girl.
"She told us to meet her in the garden. I suppose Tiberius wants to speak to us," Spike said.
"Something wiggy is happening," Willow said. "I can feel it."
"She was giving me weird vibes, too," Tara agreed.
"You think this is why the demon sent us back?" Xander asked. "To punish us with bitchy nineteen year olds who have the hots for Captain Peroxide?"
"What are you babbling about, you ponce?" Spike shot back.
"You didn't notice?" Anya added in. "She was giving you the look."
Spike groaned. "Just what I bloody need."
"I thought you liked young girls," Xander drawled.
"I'm supposed to be married here, you nit," Spike reminded him.
"Maybe that's it," Xander continued. "You want to be married to Buffy. I mean, you were the last one to touch the demon. Maybe he's granting your deepest desire or something."
Spike stopped and gave him a funny look. "Yeah, bricklayer, that's it. My deepest desire is to see you in a dress while a woman puts on your shoes. Hello, there's no Passions here," he said bluntly.
"That's right," Dawn added in. "I hadn't even thought of that. Do you think we'll miss much?" she asked Spike. He had drawn her into Timmy's world due to her frequent visits. They would sit on the couch and watch Timmy fall down a well or something.
"Dunno, Nib," he told her, "I just want to find out what's going on. Why in bloody hell are we here and why can I go into sunlight?"
"Did any of you guys wear a cross?" Buffy asked the group, finally jumping into action. "Dawn, let me see your necklace." She stuck out her hand as Dawn pressed the tiny silver crucifix into her palm.
She crossed the room to Spike. Then speaking softly to him, "Do you trust me?"
He looked up at her, speaking with an equally soft tone. "Should I, pet?"
Gracing him with a small smile, she pressed the edge of the cross onto the back of his hand. When he didn't sizzle, she pressed the full cross onto his palm. "That's weird." Biting her lip, she reached forward to place her hand full on his chest.
"What are you doing?" Spike reared back.
"Would you hold still?" Buffy bit back. "I want to see if you have a heartbeat."
"So you think I'm human now?" Spike sneered. He felt the familiar shift of bone that called forth his true face. "Guess not." He shook the face away.
Buffy looked at him for a few seconds, tilting her head to the side before reaching forward and running her fingertips down the side of his face thoughtfully. His brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend what she was doing.
"So," Tara broke the uncomfortable silence. "From what I've gathered, I guess you've somehow gained some human characteristics."
"There's one last thing to test, though," Xander jumped in.
"And what would that be, whelp? A stake?"
"Your chip," Xander smirked.
"Oh? You want me to hit you? No problem," Spike said, ready to stalk over and pop the boy a good one, damn the pain.
"How about you hit Buffy?" Willow suggested. "She probably could take it."
Buffy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you see, there's a problem with that, too." Taking a deep breath, "Spike can hit me."
"Well, Spike can hit anyone, Buff," Xander said slowly, "It just hurts a lot. For him, I mean."
"Without the pain," Buffy added.
"The chip stopped working?" Dawn said quietly.
"No," Buffy said quickly. "Just on me. Something went wrong when I came back, but nothing big. Just a … molecular sunburn or something." She looked over at Spike. "But it's okay. He won't hurt me."
"How can you be sure?" Xander asked frantically. "You should dust him right now."
"Because he hasn't tried anything, Xander, and trust me, there were a lot of times when he could have just killed me in my sleep and he hasn't. I trust him," she answered quietly.
Spike looked at with wonder. Clearing his throat, "Well, I guess this leaves me with no choice." Taking the few steps, he hit Xander, holding back his full strength before screaming in pain, holding his head. "Jesus H. Christ! I didn't even hit you hard!"
Dawn immediately came to his side. "Well that's that." She led Spike over to the bed to sit down. "Guys, how are we gonna feed Spike?"
"With blood," Anya answered matter-of-factly.
"Where are we gonna get the blood?" Dawn asked again.
"Oh."
Buffy rubbed her eyes. "I guess … I could …"
"No!" Xander shouted.
"Look Xander, it's not a big deal. He can probably last a long time on Slayer blood. He wouldn't have to drink a lot," Buffy answered. "It's my decision."
Xander huffed before settling back on his seat.
"Do you think we should go to the garden now?" Anya asked. "Didn't Tiberius want to meet us there?"
Without another word, they left the room. The two servant girls that showed them to their rooms were standing in the corner, giggling to themselves.
"Hey Anya?" Dawn asked. "Can you understand what they're saying?"
Anya's brow furrowed, then she giggled a little. "They think Spike's handsome and they're disappointed that he's already married."
Spike glanced over and chuckled under his breath. They made the rest of the way to the gardens without another word.
Suddenly, a scream made its way through the villa. Buffy and Spike exchanged glances before running full-speed in the direction of the voice. Surprisingly, the voice was coming from the garden.
A large demon was standing over a young screaming girl. Portia.
Spike leapt into action, unwary of the sunlight, Buffy not far behind him. As Buffy starting an attack on the demon, he swept the fifteen year old girl off the ground and moved her to the rest of the gang.
A brutal-looking orange fist backhanded Buffy across her face, leaving a trail of slime and ripping her hair from its confines. As it was ready to punch her across the other cheek, Spike grabbed the gruesome hand and twisted it hard behind its back until he heard a satisfying pop. Pulling up her skirt, Buffy delivered a roundhouse kick across its cheek, watching as it landed on the dirt of the garden. Spike pulled his hunting blade from its sheath and stalked over to the demon. Reaching down, he slit its thick throat and immediately pulled Buffy away from it, watching as deep orange blood spilled from its throat.
"Don't touch the blood," he murmured into her ear. "It's like acid."
Nodding, Buffy turned back to the group and sighed. They had had an audience-practically the whole household of servants. "Great," she said under her breath.
"Let's go face the music," Spike answered her quietly.
Tiberius was crouching over his daughter as Livia stood next to them protectively. With a fierce shout, she dismissed the servants. Her eyes landed on Spike. "Lamia," she hissed at him.
He glared back with equal force. "That's right, luv, Lamia." He smirked. "Vampire. Knew you could sense it when you came in. I can smell your blood pounding through your veins, occisor." He ran his eyes down her length. "You're one of the prettier ones."
The girl sneered before brandishing a stake from the folds of her tunica. With a growl, she launched herself at Spike as the rest stood on watching. Her moves were graceful but fatal as Spike parried every punch and blocked every blow but not launching a counterattack.
Buffy immediately threw herself in between them, taking a blow to her face. Launching into Slayer mode, she dropped to the ground, kicking the girl's feet out from under her and pinning her to the ground. "Back off," she hissed at the girl. "He just saved your sister. Portia."
The girl attempted to buck her off, failing miserably. "Occisor," she said in shock.
Spike stalked forward, pulling Buffy off the dark-haired girl. "That's right. Occisor, like you." He placed Buffy on her feet and tilted her face to the side, touching the forming bruise lightly.
"I'm fine, Spike," Buffy told him quietly.
"Just making sure, luv." He released her and she moved back toward the Scoobies.
"Are you guys okay?" she asked, concerned.
"We're good," Dawn answered. "How about you?"
"That's one ugly bruise," Willow joined in.
Buffy touched her cheek. "I think that girl's a slayer," she told them. "Spike?" she called softly.
"Yeah, luv?" he asked, coming to her side.
"Lamia means vampire," she said, and he nodded in response. "What about occisor?"
"It means slayer."
"That girl's a slayer?"
He smirked. "Which would explain why she just tried to kill me." He stopped and swung around, catching the girl's hand in his own. He spouted off in a flurry of Latin before pushing the girl away. Rubbing her wrist, she moved back toward Tiberius and Portia.
"What did you say to her?" Dawn asked.
"I told her I wouldn't hurt her and that maybe it would be better to take care of her sister." He leveled gazes with Xander before turning around and stalking over to the smaller group, Anya following.
They started a quick conversation and Anya even joined in albeit hesitantly. Nodding at them, Tiberius called for a servant and sent him away with instructions. Several minutes later he returned with a wet towel. Other servants began moving the demon from the garden wearing thick sheets over their arms as to not burn themselves.
Spike took the towel from him and walked back over to Buffy. "Here, luv," he said, pressing the cold towel to her face. "Sorry they didn't have ice." He offered her a smile before going back to Tiberius.
Buffy looked over at Willow and Tara from under her lashes before turning back toward Spike and Anya. The other group started moving back toward the house. Anya looked over her shoulder. "We're going to the study. You can come."
They followed hesitantly before coming to the wooden door that was the entrance of the study. "Funny," Tara said to them quietly. "This is the only room in the house that has a real door."
Willow nodded before they followed Tiberius into the room. The study was filled with hundreds of scrolls and tablets up to the ceiling. "Geez …" she breathed.
The study was cleared on one side, several types of weapons decorating the wall. "You think Tiberius …?" Xander trailed.
"Definitely a watcher," Dawn answered.
Finally, Spike turned back to the group. "If you haven't figured it out already, Livia is a slayer, Tiberius is her watcher, and we are in his library." He took an unneeded breath. "Demon girl and I told him everything."
"He took it surprising well," Anya added in. "He's got a translating spell. He's going to send the servants for ingredients and maybe Tara can …"
"Perform the spell? Is it big?" Tara asked.
"Not really."
"I guess I can." Tara looked over at Livia. The girl was glowering in a chair, glaring at Spike. "Is she okay with not killing Spike?"
"She'll get over it," Spike answered smirking.
Before anyone could answer, the door to the study slammed open and a young looking man stormed in.
"Lucius," Livia sneered as she grabbed a stake and stalked over to him.
He smirked at her and grabbed her hand as she tried to stake him. Pulling her to himself quickly, he pressed his lips tightly to hers. Pushing him away with her other hand, she slapped him hard across his face.
"Well isn't this interesting?" Spike asked amusedly. "She was all for the killing me while little do we know …"
"That guy's a …" Buffy breathed.
The vampire swung his eyes over to her. He had deep brown eyes and a lighter shade of brown for his hair.
"He's hot," Dawn whispered to Willow.
"He is," Willow agreed.
He walked over to Buffy and took her hand. She balled the other into a fist, ready to strike him. Instead of hitting her, he took her hand to his mouth pressing a small kiss to the back of her hand. "Occisor," he greeted not at all fazed at the sight of another slayer as Spike bore holes into the back of his head for touching Buffy.
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That's it for now!! Sorry this is late. Hope you review. ;p I think I like a jealous Spike. What about you?
Evangeline