dis: doesn't belong to me, no harm intended, etc. No money being made, don't sue, please.
a/n: OK, THIS IS A REVISED FIRST CHAPTER AND I HAVE A VAGUE IDEA OF WHERE IT'S GOING NOW. COME ON, REVIEW PEOPLE, LOOK, ALL REVIEWS GET NOTED, I HAVE ON REVIEW AND SAID CHANGES WERE MADE.
Would you like to hear our story? No, I don't suppose you would, no-one ever wants to hear our story, but it's usually told because it's the same as her story. I'd love to say that this time it was our story we were telling you, but even if you did agree to listen, it would still be because of her. Don't worry, we'll tell it anyway; she always expects someone else to record /her/ tales, might as well be someone who was there, no?
This is how our tale starts, hers joins ours soon enough. We'll give this over to everyone.
Pain, blinding pain, that's what they remembered before the darkness. The darkness wasn't the peaceful darkness one expected after death, no, this darkness was filled with the voices of panicked girls, becoming louder by the second as more joined them. Then there was silence, and a feeling of pain all around them. They were in a body again, except they were all in the same body.
Molly seized control first, she had been one of those in the darkness the longest, to feel a body again was a nice sensation, however painful. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a giant spider staring straight back at her through the darkness. Molly did the first thing she could think of, she stood up and ran like hell. Fortunately for her this body was the body of a slayer, unfortunately Molly was neither thinking clearly or used to being encased within flesh. It was lucky one of the other girls took over.
Shannon turned and faced her enemy, she had no weapons, but she was a slayer, she would improvise.
The border guard of Thranduil's realm in Northern Mirkwood heard a disturbance heading towards them. All of the guard tensed as they heard the unmistakable sounds of a spider-fight approaching. Yet all were too shocked to react when a naked girl being chased and still fighting the spider rushed into their clearing.
Shannon rushed forward into a clearing, if she was going to stand her group it would have to be here. She stopped and turned around and drove straight at the spider. She was wrestling the life out of it when the elves finally came to their senses and shot it full of arrows.
Shannon turned around to see who had shot at her and saw she was surrounded by several distinctly male looking creatures who were all staring at her, naked. She tried to cover herself as best possible but was dying from embarrassment, it didn't help that these stupid things didn't seem to have the decency to look away or offer her some clothes. Oh, a sudden thought his Shannon, 'I hope these aren't bad guys.'
Shannon, now wallowing in the back of the body in despair, was not the one to speak, Rachel was. She opened her mouth to say, "Um, do you think you could offer me some clothes instead of just staring at me?" But found she couldn't, infact, she couldn't speak at all.
One of the elves blinked, clearly understanding the general gesture. He took off his cloak and was about to give it to her when he was stopped by another of the elves, his captain.
"Do not go near her." He ordered.
"Why?"
"Because she fights too well for the form she inhabits, she is probably some spy of the enemy."
"What if she's not, either way, it is cruel to leave any female creature naked in front of so many males."
After much more conversation and pleading from Rachel, (even though she had no idea what they were actually saying) she was led, tied and bound, into the halls of Thranduil.
Rachel was brought before the Elf-King.
Thranduil looked at the girl, wrapped in one of his guards cloaks and trembling all over, oh what /had/ those darn guards dragged home this time? He elegantly raised an eyebrow and looked towards the captain.
"We found her fighting a spider like a wild-man in the woods." The guard offered as way of an explanation.
"You saved her?"
"Aye, but she probably would have killed the spider in the end, we just finished it quicker for she was not armed."
Thranduil looked down at the trembling girl, (now Chloe if one wants to know) and looked back to his guard, "Her?"
"Aye, her."
"I find it hard to believe, for if it was her she must be some deception of the enemy." He turned back towards Chloe, "tell me girl, how did you end up to be in my woods?"
Chloe did the only thing she could think of when faced with a question she could not answer, because she both could not understand and could not speak. She burst into tears.
Thranduil regarded the girl and returned his gaze to that of his guards, "The healers tell us she has everything she should be able to speak, so we must conclude she chooses not to."
And that's how they ended up locked in the dungeons of Mirkwood.
Months passed and the world moved on, ambassadors were sent from realm to realm, trades and festivals occurred. And still the girls were locked in the dungeons. It was on a trip from Imladris that help came.
Erestor had been sent to negotiate one of the various things that had to be negotiated between Thranduil and Elrond, childish elflings. Erestor approached the main gate of the Thranduil's...halls. The guards stopped and questioned him, yes, yes, yes, the usual things. As the guards escorted him in he could hear the almost gossiping between themselves.
"...she was at it again last night, she keeps wailing, perhaps she can speak after all..."
"Really? I do think it's quite cruel to keep her in there so long, it's quite clear she's mad, not a spy of Sauron..."
"I know, I know, but the King has to think about the safety of his realm..."
"Look, the only thing she's a danger to is herself, casting her out of the Kingdom would be a lot easier than keeping her confined and wailing..."
Both guards were broken of by a 'ahem' from their commander and a nod towards Erestor. Human girl in the dungeons? Oh what has happened now?
*
Erestor was negotiating things with Thranduil, he had been here two weeks already and rumours about the girl locked in the dungeons had reached his ears many times. It was now, just before he was to return home that he was going to approach Thranduil about the matter, most of the negotiations had gone fairly well, there was no reason why this aspect should be any different.
As Erestor entered the Throne room he saw Thranduil actually sitting there, picking his finger nails. As Erestor entered, he sat up, quite flustered.
"What do you want?"
"I was wondering, about the girl in the dungeons..."
Thranduil sighed, if it wasn't his people pestering him about her, it was /other/ rulers people. "What about her?"
"Well, I was wondering if perhaps it might benefit her to be taken to Imladris, I am sure the healing abilities of Elrond would help her and you do not want her as a burden for this long..."
Thranduil thought it over but for a moment, his people would stop complaining about her treatment, and if she was a spy it would be Elrond that suffered..."Very well."
Erestor blinked, suddenly quite confused, Thranduil had agreed that readily? Oh well, never look a girt horse in the mouth.
"Thank you, /sire/." Erestor said as he left the room.
*
Eve, currently in control banged her fist repetitively and slightly less than forcefully against the walls of the cell. It was boring, it was worse than hell, maybe this was hell? But what had she done? She hadn't done anything, this had all been forced on her, she hadn't even met these girls, she was killed before she got the chance. While some of the girls had been arguing, some had been threatening and some had been wailing in despair, others had been listening. Others had been learning about where they were kept, she was sure they could escape from here.
Eve was still in control of the body when a creature dressed in black was led into the cell and shown her.
"Stand." He ordered, not in Sindarin, not in Westeron or any other language on Middle Earth, no, he ordered her in English and her heart leapt at the command.
Eve tried to stand up but found she couldn't, she sighed and felt defeated. They had been in this cell, devoid of movement for far too long. One of the other girls took over and was in control as Erestor came over and helped the wretched creature up.
"Who are you?" Shannon, currently in control again tried to ask.
Guessing, Erestor answered, "I am Erestor," He paused and took in the sight of the filthy, barely clothed, human female. "Who are you?"
Shannon shook her head indicating that she couldn't answer. Erestor smiled and produced some parchment. Typical of Thranduil's people to assume a human couldn't write.
Shannon reached forward and slowly scrawled the word, 'Slayer', hoping the elf would understand.
Erestor 'ah'ed' it was as he thought. Strange girls dropping into a kingdom, slayers. "Do you know one called 'Buffy'?"
Shannon, had to squeeze her head as all the others started talking frantically. She was barely able to nod.
"What can you tell me of her?" Erestor asked, not sure it he could trust this creature, or if she was just doing it in a desperate attempt to find release from Thranduil's dungeons.
Shannon, devoid of contact other than the voices in their head could barely form this sentence. 'She is the slayer, she was the Chosen One, she was our commander'
"She was?" Erestor questioned.
'We dead.'
Erestor nodded, "She lives still, and by the looks of things so do you, barely. Now, I must see you come with me."
Erestor turned and left the cell.
*
The return trip to Rivendell had been rather hard, he had got the girls as he later learnt, writing, but they could not speak.
As they approached Rivendell the body behind Erestor grew more relaxed, perhaps sensing the sway of Vilya. They rode in silence for a while, the girl snuggled behind Erestor as very few of them knew how to ride horses and those who did, didn't like being in control. Erestor knew that a different girl had taken control of the body when he felt tears beginning to soak through his robe. Ah, Chloe.
"Hush child, it is alright, nothing bad will happen, perhaps you should give one of the others control." She had been afraid and hung herself and considered this life her punishment. It was never good when she was in control, but Erestor's request was taken quite harshly and she started crying harder and louder than before. When the girls got relaxed the quieter, more distressed ones got control.
*
They entered the Last Homely House a girl and an elf. And there was no-one there to greet them.
Erestor brought the girl, Amanda at the moment (he had learned to distinguish them by the way they held their bodies, but he could only really pick out a few distinctive ones at the moment) Into the house dragging her behind him. He pushed straight into Elrond's study and showed him the girl, still not fully cleaned up.
Amanda's eyes lit up as she saw Buffy sitting near the man Erestor was addressing. She rushed forward and threw herself at the girl.
"Amanda..." She breathed as she run forward and hugged the girl, the girl hugged back and trying to whisper "Buffy..."
Buffy was suddenly pushed away from the girl, a confused hurt expression on her face, Helen was in control. "order us to our deaths why don't you?! Take you somewhere you know we'll die. Throw us like fodder to the enemy, just because you have to be right." Buffy was even more confused by the fact that she heard these words in her head, and the image before her changed to that of Helen.
Helen had died at the vineyards. Molly pushed her way to the front of the body. "No, don't worry Buffy! It had to be done, there wasn't really a choice. Caleb was strong and we were the strongest you had. I don't resent you."
Shannon had now pushed herself to the front of the body. "Yeah, ignore her, you saved me Buffy, it didn't matter if I died later, I took loads of them with me, just tell me this, did we win?"
Buffy was beyond confused. "Win? Win what?"
The girl sighed, "The First, was it stopped, does the line of slayers still live on?"
Buffy still didn't understand, but answered all the same, "The line of slayers doesn't live on. There isn't a chosen one anymore."
The girl in front of Buffy looked heart broken, "Instead of a chosen one, there are girls all over the world like us, everyone with the potential to become one of us is. We're no longer alone."
The girl looked pleased, and then confused, Eve was in control now, "Who are y'all?"
Buffy blinked, recognising the accent, "Eve?"
"Yes?"
"But..."
Now Erestor and Elrond were beyond confused, all they saw was Buffy having a one way conversation with a mute girl and being able to tell them all apart.
Erestor looked at Buffy and asked, "What is happening?"
"You can't hear them? I thought you knew English by now, and look, you can see them all ,but I must admit seeing them change from person to person is quite strange."
Elrond looked totally perplexed and so did Erestor.
"What?" Buffy asked, completely confuzzled.
***
a/n: OK, THIS IS A REVISED FIRST CHAPTER AND I HAVE A VAGUE IDEA OF WHERE IT'S GOING NOW. COME ON, REVIEW PEOPLE, LOOK, ALL REVIEWS GET NOTED, I HAVE ON REVIEW AND SAID CHANGES WERE MADE.
Would you like to hear our story? No, I don't suppose you would, no-one ever wants to hear our story, but it's usually told because it's the same as her story. I'd love to say that this time it was our story we were telling you, but even if you did agree to listen, it would still be because of her. Don't worry, we'll tell it anyway; she always expects someone else to record /her/ tales, might as well be someone who was there, no?
This is how our tale starts, hers joins ours soon enough. We'll give this over to everyone.
Pain, blinding pain, that's what they remembered before the darkness. The darkness wasn't the peaceful darkness one expected after death, no, this darkness was filled with the voices of panicked girls, becoming louder by the second as more joined them. Then there was silence, and a feeling of pain all around them. They were in a body again, except they were all in the same body.
Molly seized control first, she had been one of those in the darkness the longest, to feel a body again was a nice sensation, however painful. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a giant spider staring straight back at her through the darkness. Molly did the first thing she could think of, she stood up and ran like hell. Fortunately for her this body was the body of a slayer, unfortunately Molly was neither thinking clearly or used to being encased within flesh. It was lucky one of the other girls took over.
Shannon turned and faced her enemy, she had no weapons, but she was a slayer, she would improvise.
The border guard of Thranduil's realm in Northern Mirkwood heard a disturbance heading towards them. All of the guard tensed as they heard the unmistakable sounds of a spider-fight approaching. Yet all were too shocked to react when a naked girl being chased and still fighting the spider rushed into their clearing.
Shannon rushed forward into a clearing, if she was going to stand her group it would have to be here. She stopped and turned around and drove straight at the spider. She was wrestling the life out of it when the elves finally came to their senses and shot it full of arrows.
Shannon turned around to see who had shot at her and saw she was surrounded by several distinctly male looking creatures who were all staring at her, naked. She tried to cover herself as best possible but was dying from embarrassment, it didn't help that these stupid things didn't seem to have the decency to look away or offer her some clothes. Oh, a sudden thought his Shannon, 'I hope these aren't bad guys.'
Shannon, now wallowing in the back of the body in despair, was not the one to speak, Rachel was. She opened her mouth to say, "Um, do you think you could offer me some clothes instead of just staring at me?" But found she couldn't, infact, she couldn't speak at all.
One of the elves blinked, clearly understanding the general gesture. He took off his cloak and was about to give it to her when he was stopped by another of the elves, his captain.
"Do not go near her." He ordered.
"Why?"
"Because she fights too well for the form she inhabits, she is probably some spy of the enemy."
"What if she's not, either way, it is cruel to leave any female creature naked in front of so many males."
After much more conversation and pleading from Rachel, (even though she had no idea what they were actually saying) she was led, tied and bound, into the halls of Thranduil.
Rachel was brought before the Elf-King.
Thranduil looked at the girl, wrapped in one of his guards cloaks and trembling all over, oh what /had/ those darn guards dragged home this time? He elegantly raised an eyebrow and looked towards the captain.
"We found her fighting a spider like a wild-man in the woods." The guard offered as way of an explanation.
"You saved her?"
"Aye, but she probably would have killed the spider in the end, we just finished it quicker for she was not armed."
Thranduil looked down at the trembling girl, (now Chloe if one wants to know) and looked back to his guard, "Her?"
"Aye, her."
"I find it hard to believe, for if it was her she must be some deception of the enemy." He turned back towards Chloe, "tell me girl, how did you end up to be in my woods?"
Chloe did the only thing she could think of when faced with a question she could not answer, because she both could not understand and could not speak. She burst into tears.
Thranduil regarded the girl and returned his gaze to that of his guards, "The healers tell us she has everything she should be able to speak, so we must conclude she chooses not to."
And that's how they ended up locked in the dungeons of Mirkwood.
Months passed and the world moved on, ambassadors were sent from realm to realm, trades and festivals occurred. And still the girls were locked in the dungeons. It was on a trip from Imladris that help came.
Erestor had been sent to negotiate one of the various things that had to be negotiated between Thranduil and Elrond, childish elflings. Erestor approached the main gate of the Thranduil's...halls. The guards stopped and questioned him, yes, yes, yes, the usual things. As the guards escorted him in he could hear the almost gossiping between themselves.
"...she was at it again last night, she keeps wailing, perhaps she can speak after all..."
"Really? I do think it's quite cruel to keep her in there so long, it's quite clear she's mad, not a spy of Sauron..."
"I know, I know, but the King has to think about the safety of his realm..."
"Look, the only thing she's a danger to is herself, casting her out of the Kingdom would be a lot easier than keeping her confined and wailing..."
Both guards were broken of by a 'ahem' from their commander and a nod towards Erestor. Human girl in the dungeons? Oh what has happened now?
*
Erestor was negotiating things with Thranduil, he had been here two weeks already and rumours about the girl locked in the dungeons had reached his ears many times. It was now, just before he was to return home that he was going to approach Thranduil about the matter, most of the negotiations had gone fairly well, there was no reason why this aspect should be any different.
As Erestor entered the Throne room he saw Thranduil actually sitting there, picking his finger nails. As Erestor entered, he sat up, quite flustered.
"What do you want?"
"I was wondering, about the girl in the dungeons..."
Thranduil sighed, if it wasn't his people pestering him about her, it was /other/ rulers people. "What about her?"
"Well, I was wondering if perhaps it might benefit her to be taken to Imladris, I am sure the healing abilities of Elrond would help her and you do not want her as a burden for this long..."
Thranduil thought it over but for a moment, his people would stop complaining about her treatment, and if she was a spy it would be Elrond that suffered..."Very well."
Erestor blinked, suddenly quite confused, Thranduil had agreed that readily? Oh well, never look a girt horse in the mouth.
"Thank you, /sire/." Erestor said as he left the room.
*
Eve, currently in control banged her fist repetitively and slightly less than forcefully against the walls of the cell. It was boring, it was worse than hell, maybe this was hell? But what had she done? She hadn't done anything, this had all been forced on her, she hadn't even met these girls, she was killed before she got the chance. While some of the girls had been arguing, some had been threatening and some had been wailing in despair, others had been listening. Others had been learning about where they were kept, she was sure they could escape from here.
Eve was still in control of the body when a creature dressed in black was led into the cell and shown her.
"Stand." He ordered, not in Sindarin, not in Westeron or any other language on Middle Earth, no, he ordered her in English and her heart leapt at the command.
Eve tried to stand up but found she couldn't, she sighed and felt defeated. They had been in this cell, devoid of movement for far too long. One of the other girls took over and was in control as Erestor came over and helped the wretched creature up.
"Who are you?" Shannon, currently in control again tried to ask.
Guessing, Erestor answered, "I am Erestor," He paused and took in the sight of the filthy, barely clothed, human female. "Who are you?"
Shannon shook her head indicating that she couldn't answer. Erestor smiled and produced some parchment. Typical of Thranduil's people to assume a human couldn't write.
Shannon reached forward and slowly scrawled the word, 'Slayer', hoping the elf would understand.
Erestor 'ah'ed' it was as he thought. Strange girls dropping into a kingdom, slayers. "Do you know one called 'Buffy'?"
Shannon, had to squeeze her head as all the others started talking frantically. She was barely able to nod.
"What can you tell me of her?" Erestor asked, not sure it he could trust this creature, or if she was just doing it in a desperate attempt to find release from Thranduil's dungeons.
Shannon, devoid of contact other than the voices in their head could barely form this sentence. 'She is the slayer, she was the Chosen One, she was our commander'
"She was?" Erestor questioned.
'We dead.'
Erestor nodded, "She lives still, and by the looks of things so do you, barely. Now, I must see you come with me."
Erestor turned and left the cell.
*
The return trip to Rivendell had been rather hard, he had got the girls as he later learnt, writing, but they could not speak.
As they approached Rivendell the body behind Erestor grew more relaxed, perhaps sensing the sway of Vilya. They rode in silence for a while, the girl snuggled behind Erestor as very few of them knew how to ride horses and those who did, didn't like being in control. Erestor knew that a different girl had taken control of the body when he felt tears beginning to soak through his robe. Ah, Chloe.
"Hush child, it is alright, nothing bad will happen, perhaps you should give one of the others control." She had been afraid and hung herself and considered this life her punishment. It was never good when she was in control, but Erestor's request was taken quite harshly and she started crying harder and louder than before. When the girls got relaxed the quieter, more distressed ones got control.
*
They entered the Last Homely House a girl and an elf. And there was no-one there to greet them.
Erestor brought the girl, Amanda at the moment (he had learned to distinguish them by the way they held their bodies, but he could only really pick out a few distinctive ones at the moment) Into the house dragging her behind him. He pushed straight into Elrond's study and showed him the girl, still not fully cleaned up.
Amanda's eyes lit up as she saw Buffy sitting near the man Erestor was addressing. She rushed forward and threw herself at the girl.
"Amanda..." She breathed as she run forward and hugged the girl, the girl hugged back and trying to whisper "Buffy..."
Buffy was suddenly pushed away from the girl, a confused hurt expression on her face, Helen was in control. "order us to our deaths why don't you?! Take you somewhere you know we'll die. Throw us like fodder to the enemy, just because you have to be right." Buffy was even more confused by the fact that she heard these words in her head, and the image before her changed to that of Helen.
Helen had died at the vineyards. Molly pushed her way to the front of the body. "No, don't worry Buffy! It had to be done, there wasn't really a choice. Caleb was strong and we were the strongest you had. I don't resent you."
Shannon had now pushed herself to the front of the body. "Yeah, ignore her, you saved me Buffy, it didn't matter if I died later, I took loads of them with me, just tell me this, did we win?"
Buffy was beyond confused. "Win? Win what?"
The girl sighed, "The First, was it stopped, does the line of slayers still live on?"
Buffy still didn't understand, but answered all the same, "The line of slayers doesn't live on. There isn't a chosen one anymore."
The girl in front of Buffy looked heart broken, "Instead of a chosen one, there are girls all over the world like us, everyone with the potential to become one of us is. We're no longer alone."
The girl looked pleased, and then confused, Eve was in control now, "Who are y'all?"
Buffy blinked, recognising the accent, "Eve?"
"Yes?"
"But..."
Now Erestor and Elrond were beyond confused, all they saw was Buffy having a one way conversation with a mute girl and being able to tell them all apart.
Erestor looked at Buffy and asked, "What is happening?"
"You can't hear them? I thought you knew English by now, and look, you can see them all ,but I must admit seeing them change from person to person is quite strange."
Elrond looked totally perplexed and so did Erestor.
"What?" Buffy asked, completely confuzzled.
***