"Anything?" Buffy asked for must must have seemed like the thousandth time as she watched Legolas pore over the pages of information they had retrieved from Willow's house.
The elf wearily put the page he'd been reading down and turned his icy eyes on the slayer. "It speaks about the Father, Xander, and this Daughter of Fire that he must find in order to stop the descendant of the ancient one from reforging the Ring."
"Does it say who she is, or where I can find her?" Xander asked, unable to stay quiet any longer.
Legolas shook his head. "It says she is from the "Mountain of Roses" and that when the time is right, she will make herself known to you."
"So in the meantime, we just sit around waiting for her to show up to save the day? And what if she never shows up? What then?"
Buffy felt the frustration Xander was showing, but she knew it wasn't Legolas' fault. These ancient texts Willow had found were very cryptic at best. Why did they never write anything down in a straight forward fashion?
"Does say anything else that might help?" she asked. "Maybe something about the identity of who this is we have to stop?"
Legolas wished he could say more, but there was nothing in the files Willow had found that was of any use now. "Everything is in the Diaries of Belegdagnirion, Xander. Without them, its hopeless."
"But files," Willow finally said. "Aren't they in there?"
"There is a brief mention of them, and some entries, but what diaries they possess haven't been fully translated or entered yet." Legolas was surprised at how well he was adapting to this strange new world. He smiled as he looked over at Buffy. She was the reason he was feeling more comfortable here.
"So all we can do is wait for the Daughter of Fire to appear then?" Xander asked.
"We have no choice," Buffy said quietly as she sat down beside Legolas. "Maybe she knows something thats not in here."
"You're putting a lot of faith in something that is unknown," Legolas said softly.
Buffy sighed as she looked into his eyes. "I have no choice."
"The crypt," Xander exclaimed as he jumped up.
"What crypt?" asked Buffy.
"The one where I was 'sleeping'. The demon I saw, with firey red hair and eyes so blue..." he trailed off as he remembered her. She was beautiful, even for a demon. But then he blushed as he remembered that he'd always kinda had a 'thing' for the demonic ladies.
"Xander?" Willow said as she poked her finger into his ribs. "The demon?"
"The demon? Oh right. She was looking for something and I'm wondering if she was the 'daughter of fire'."
"Can you describe her?" Giles asked as he grabbed one of his many books.
"She was tall, firey hair, blue eyes..."
"Besides that," Willow said rolling her eyes.
Xander blushed again. "She had a kind of tattoo on her arm. A figure eight lying on its side with a line coming up from the middle and it had two lines going through it."
"Hmmm," Giles mumbled as he flicked through his book.
"Anything else about her that makes you think she is the one?" asked Buffy.
"As I said, she was looking for the Diaries and was upset that they weren't with me in the crypt. She also said 'he will not be pleased.' If she is working for the the one I, we, are trying to stop, maybe she isn't the one we're looking for after all," Xander said.
"But she might be. Maybe she was looking for them for another reason. You can't just assume she is on the other side. If she is the Daughter of Fire, maybe she is getting a head start."
Legolas nodded. "We cannot take anything for granted though. Xander might well be right. He might have corrupted her and she might not know who or what she is."
"If she is the one," Willow said quietly.
"Sorry what did you say Will?" Buffy asked.
"Um nothing. I have to go," the redhead replied jumping out of her seat. "My parents are expecting me home."
Buffy frowned but nodded. "I'll call you later."
"Sure," Willow called as she ran out the door.
"She's been acting odd lately," Buffy said as she sat back down.
"Its been an odd time," Xander said.
They sat in silence as Giles read through his book. Occasionally he would put it down and run off to find another book. Xander noticed Buffy and the Elf exchanging those looks again. There was definately something going on there.
~*~
"So he gave the Diaries to your brother, this Culromen?"
Mara nodded. She hadn't thought about him for what seemed like forever. When she closed her eyes she could still his face as he watched her banishment into the accursed place Galadriel had imprisoned her. He hadn't tried to stop her exile, nor had he tried to free her from it. She had wished him a painful death a thousand times over, but there was no way she could avenge what he had done to her. Xander however, was a different story.
"I do not know for sure," Mara said. "But I know he would have given them to Gandalf. They were...friends...before we changed. He would have trusted the wizard."
"Gandalf..." Richard mumbled. "That name is familiar to me. Tell me about him."
Mara curled up in her chair and told Richard all she knew of the ancient wizard. How he fought against Saruman and Sauron to destroy the Ring and bring peace back to Middle Earth. Every word that fell from her lips rang new bells in Richard's head. This all felt familiar to him, like a story he'd heard before and was now remembering.
"What happened to him?" he asked, interrupting her story.
"That I do not know," she said. "They banished me into the abyss from whence you pulled me before Xander wrote his books."
Richard fell back in his chair and opened the Diary in front of him. The writing was still vivid on the fragile pages. He ran his fingers over the words that were written so long ago. The words that held the secrets he had been searching for for most of his life. It was so close now he could almost taste it. He sat there reading, lost in his thoughts.
Mara sat watching him, lost in her own. They were all she'd had for so long. Her thoughts had sustained her throughout her exile and her torment. Thoughts of the revenge she would have on Xander for abandoning her to that fate and never trying to free her. He had said he loved her. That together they would build a new world for their kind. Instead, he had let Galadriel send her away. The world they had planned together was just a dream now. But maybe this man in front of her could do what Xander couldn't. What he'd been too weak to do. She sensed a power in this man that was dormant now, but that soon would awaken. And when it did, she would finally see her new world.
Both were so lost in their thoughts that they didn't hear the commotion coming from outside the room until one of Richard's guards flew through the closed door.
"Oh now look at that mess. Do you know how hard it is to find doors like that?" Richard groaned.
Angelus dropped the door handle he'd ripped off and laughed. "The city will pay for a new one," he said as he stepped over the unconscious body of the guard.
Mara looked at the intruder. She could sense her own kind. This one had a very dark power flowing inside him and it excited her. But she could also sense something else fighting inside him. Something trying hard to gain control.
"That's not the point Angel," Richard started to say.
"You know who I am?"
Richard laughed. "There isn't much that goes on in this town that I don't know," he said. "Why are you here?"
Angelus ignored the female watching him as he pulled up another chair and sat down on it. He stretched out his long legs and let his feet fall onto the top of Richard's desk as he lay back and placed his hands behind his head. "I heard through the grapevine that you hold the real power in this town," he said. "And I think together, we can rid this place of the Slayer and make it great again."
Richard took a second to let his words sink in as he sat back down, grinning. "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better..."
The elf wearily put the page he'd been reading down and turned his icy eyes on the slayer. "It speaks about the Father, Xander, and this Daughter of Fire that he must find in order to stop the descendant of the ancient one from reforging the Ring."
"Does it say who she is, or where I can find her?" Xander asked, unable to stay quiet any longer.
Legolas shook his head. "It says she is from the "Mountain of Roses" and that when the time is right, she will make herself known to you."
"So in the meantime, we just sit around waiting for her to show up to save the day? And what if she never shows up? What then?"
Buffy felt the frustration Xander was showing, but she knew it wasn't Legolas' fault. These ancient texts Willow had found were very cryptic at best. Why did they never write anything down in a straight forward fashion?
"Does say anything else that might help?" she asked. "Maybe something about the identity of who this is we have to stop?"
Legolas wished he could say more, but there was nothing in the files Willow had found that was of any use now. "Everything is in the Diaries of Belegdagnirion, Xander. Without them, its hopeless."
"But files," Willow finally said. "Aren't they in there?"
"There is a brief mention of them, and some entries, but what diaries they possess haven't been fully translated or entered yet." Legolas was surprised at how well he was adapting to this strange new world. He smiled as he looked over at Buffy. She was the reason he was feeling more comfortable here.
"So all we can do is wait for the Daughter of Fire to appear then?" Xander asked.
"We have no choice," Buffy said quietly as she sat down beside Legolas. "Maybe she knows something thats not in here."
"You're putting a lot of faith in something that is unknown," Legolas said softly.
Buffy sighed as she looked into his eyes. "I have no choice."
"The crypt," Xander exclaimed as he jumped up.
"What crypt?" asked Buffy.
"The one where I was 'sleeping'. The demon I saw, with firey red hair and eyes so blue..." he trailed off as he remembered her. She was beautiful, even for a demon. But then he blushed as he remembered that he'd always kinda had a 'thing' for the demonic ladies.
"Xander?" Willow said as she poked her finger into his ribs. "The demon?"
"The demon? Oh right. She was looking for something and I'm wondering if she was the 'daughter of fire'."
"Can you describe her?" Giles asked as he grabbed one of his many books.
"She was tall, firey hair, blue eyes..."
"Besides that," Willow said rolling her eyes.
Xander blushed again. "She had a kind of tattoo on her arm. A figure eight lying on its side with a line coming up from the middle and it had two lines going through it."
"Hmmm," Giles mumbled as he flicked through his book.
"Anything else about her that makes you think she is the one?" asked Buffy.
"As I said, she was looking for the Diaries and was upset that they weren't with me in the crypt. She also said 'he will not be pleased.' If she is working for the the one I, we, are trying to stop, maybe she isn't the one we're looking for after all," Xander said.
"But she might be. Maybe she was looking for them for another reason. You can't just assume she is on the other side. If she is the Daughter of Fire, maybe she is getting a head start."
Legolas nodded. "We cannot take anything for granted though. Xander might well be right. He might have corrupted her and she might not know who or what she is."
"If she is the one," Willow said quietly.
"Sorry what did you say Will?" Buffy asked.
"Um nothing. I have to go," the redhead replied jumping out of her seat. "My parents are expecting me home."
Buffy frowned but nodded. "I'll call you later."
"Sure," Willow called as she ran out the door.
"She's been acting odd lately," Buffy said as she sat back down.
"Its been an odd time," Xander said.
They sat in silence as Giles read through his book. Occasionally he would put it down and run off to find another book. Xander noticed Buffy and the Elf exchanging those looks again. There was definately something going on there.
~*~
"So he gave the Diaries to your brother, this Culromen?"
Mara nodded. She hadn't thought about him for what seemed like forever. When she closed her eyes she could still his face as he watched her banishment into the accursed place Galadriel had imprisoned her. He hadn't tried to stop her exile, nor had he tried to free her from it. She had wished him a painful death a thousand times over, but there was no way she could avenge what he had done to her. Xander however, was a different story.
"I do not know for sure," Mara said. "But I know he would have given them to Gandalf. They were...friends...before we changed. He would have trusted the wizard."
"Gandalf..." Richard mumbled. "That name is familiar to me. Tell me about him."
Mara curled up in her chair and told Richard all she knew of the ancient wizard. How he fought against Saruman and Sauron to destroy the Ring and bring peace back to Middle Earth. Every word that fell from her lips rang new bells in Richard's head. This all felt familiar to him, like a story he'd heard before and was now remembering.
"What happened to him?" he asked, interrupting her story.
"That I do not know," she said. "They banished me into the abyss from whence you pulled me before Xander wrote his books."
Richard fell back in his chair and opened the Diary in front of him. The writing was still vivid on the fragile pages. He ran his fingers over the words that were written so long ago. The words that held the secrets he had been searching for for most of his life. It was so close now he could almost taste it. He sat there reading, lost in his thoughts.
Mara sat watching him, lost in her own. They were all she'd had for so long. Her thoughts had sustained her throughout her exile and her torment. Thoughts of the revenge she would have on Xander for abandoning her to that fate and never trying to free her. He had said he loved her. That together they would build a new world for their kind. Instead, he had let Galadriel send her away. The world they had planned together was just a dream now. But maybe this man in front of her could do what Xander couldn't. What he'd been too weak to do. She sensed a power in this man that was dormant now, but that soon would awaken. And when it did, she would finally see her new world.
Both were so lost in their thoughts that they didn't hear the commotion coming from outside the room until one of Richard's guards flew through the closed door.
"Oh now look at that mess. Do you know how hard it is to find doors like that?" Richard groaned.
Angelus dropped the door handle he'd ripped off and laughed. "The city will pay for a new one," he said as he stepped over the unconscious body of the guard.
Mara looked at the intruder. She could sense her own kind. This one had a very dark power flowing inside him and it excited her. But she could also sense something else fighting inside him. Something trying hard to gain control.
"That's not the point Angel," Richard started to say.
"You know who I am?"
Richard laughed. "There isn't much that goes on in this town that I don't know," he said. "Why are you here?"
Angelus ignored the female watching him as he pulled up another chair and sat down on it. He stretched out his long legs and let his feet fall onto the top of Richard's desk as he lay back and placed his hands behind his head. "I heard through the grapevine that you hold the real power in this town," he said. "And I think together, we can rid this place of the Slayer and make it great again."
Richard took a second to let his words sink in as he sat back down, grinning. "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better..."