Chapter 22 The Key
Buffy traveled the hallways with the key in hand. Someone had to have left it there for her. She was sure that it wasn't just a coincidence that it was right outside her door. But who would want to help her? What did the key go to? She thought of the basement door her and Spike had discovered locked.
All of a sudden she felt very strange. Her head was a little fuzzy and then she heard a voice. Was it Willow's voice? "Buffy can you hear me? It's Willow. If you are here in the castle we are trapped on the first floor. The door is locked and we can't get out."
Buffy stopped dead in her tracks. That was Willow's voice. Was she talking to her through her mind? How could she be here in the castle? She decided to try and talk back. "Willow is that you? Are you alright? Where are you?" Buffy was trying to think hard. She didn't know how this mind thingy worked so she was winging it here.
"Buffy, yes it's me Willow. Giles and I are trapped on the first floor. The prince has locked us in. Can you get to us?" Buffy was shocked. Willow and Giles were here and the prince had locked them in a room. This was all very confusing. She looked down at the key in her hand.
"Hold on Will, I'm coming." And with that last sentence Buffy began to feel normal again. She walked to the stairway and descended to the first floor. She followed the hallway and came to a large door with the dragon's head. It was locked. She took the key from her pocket and prayed it would work.
She inserted the key and turned to hear a click and then she turned the knob and opened the door. She was surprised at what she found. There was Willow and Giles on the other side and they were both very glad to see her. Willow greeted her friend with a hug.
"Buffy, I am so glad that you are alright. I told Giles I could contact you. I said if you are here in the castle that you would hear me and here you are." Willow was hugging Buffy tightly now and Giles was grinning. They were both very glad to see her.
"Good thinking Will. It felt weird to have you there in my head but it worked. I think we shouldn't stay here though. We need to get to my room before anyone finds us. We need to get back so the four of us can talk. I'll tell you what we know about this place already and you can explain how you got here." Buffy was grabbing Willow's arm now and urging her and Giles to follow her.
Giles was scratching his head and frowning. "Wait…..the four of us? Is someone else with you Buffy? I thought you went to the library alone." Giles and Willow were both staring and waiting for her answer.
Buffy realized what she had said. "Oh, don't you know about Spike?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Xander and Oz had carefully read and re-read the text. It wasn't good news. They read about the king and the curse, and also about his beloved Anne. It really wasn't that disturbing until they reached the part about the special girl that could break the curse.
"Man, this is not good Xander. What are we going to do?" Oz was worried now. Willow was transported by the book just like Buffy and who knows what the king had in store for her. It was right there in black and white what he intended for the slayer. They both knew why he needed Buffy.
"I know, I know. Do you think Buffy knew about this before she disappeared? I mean, I can't imagine that she would have gone along with this." Xander was worried more than ever now. The king was going to use Buffy to restore Anne. The question was how.
Oz knew better as well. He knew she couldn't have had all the information. "Do you think that is what happened to the other missing girls? Do you think the king tried to use them to bring back his girlfriend?"
"You could be right. It would make sense. Now all we have to do is figure out how he plans to do it so we can stop it from happening." The boys looked at each other. "I think it is time to pay a visit to Mr. Hargis."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
They all managed to make it back to the bedroom without being seen. They hadn't talked along the way and the silence was awkward.
They entered the bedroom to find Spike sitting in the big chair smoking a cigarette. Buffy was surprised to see that he was up and had gotten dressed. He must be feeling better. Spike was shocked to see Willow and Giles.
"I guess you found something then huh pet?" He wasn't sure what they were doing there but he knew it meant that the home team wasn't home figuring out their rescue.
Giles was the first to respond. "What is Spike doing here Buffy?" Buffy walked over to the basin of water on the table near the dressing screen and leaned over and splashed water on her face. This had certainly been an eventful day and she was feeling a little weary.
"Spike followed me to the library, Giles. He was doing his usual stalk Buffy routine. He grabbed the book when it sparked and then, poof, here we are." That was the short version and it was the best she could muster at this point.
Giles pushed even further. "Right, I certainly could see how that would happen since Spike always manages to find trouble, but what does the prince know about Spike? Giles was rubbing his glasses now and decided he needed to sit as well. He walked over to the chaise lounge in the corner and sat down. He noticed the bathtub and frowned a little. Spike was a little offended at that last comment. He didn't find trouble. Trouble seemed to find him.
Willow chimed in before Buffy could answer. "Yeh, I mean Giles and I came up with a good story about us being father and daughter. What story did you guys tell the prince?"
Buffy and Spike were looking at each other now and Spike remained silent as he puffed smoke into the air. He hated to admit it but he was enjoying the slayers discomfort and he decided he would let her tell the tale. He also saw Giles notice the bathtub and thought that would be a good story to tell. Better to keep his trap shut for now.
Buffy cleared her throat. "Well, you see it was raining, really hard. We weren't expecting Julian to be a prince and I got a little flustered and……….well…….I sort of told him that Spike and I were married." She knew that last part was going to cause a stir. Spike was still enjoying the show.
Giles stood up quickly and he and Willow both responded at the same time. "Married?" Buffy knew it wasn't going to be pleasant but it was the truth and they needed to tell each other everything if they were going to figure a way out of this place safely.
Buffy sighed and began again. "Look, I know that this seems strange." Giles cut in quickly. "Déjà vu is more like it." He looked at Willow who ducked her head and remained silent.
"It's ok Giles. It's just a cover story. No spells, and no actually thinking we are married. Oh, and you both need to know a couple more things." Giles and Willow were looking a little nervous now. What else could there be to tell? Giles looked over at the tub again and placed his hand over his face.
Buffy continued. "Here he is known as William. I thought Spike was a little too much for this place. He also has a pretend condition where he needs blood transfusions. The problem is it seems that someone wants him dead. They poisoned his blood this morning."
"This is serious Buffy." Giles was sitting again. "Someone is trying to make sure we don't mess up anything. Willow and I were purposely locked in that wing of the castle. There must be a reason and we need to find out why."
Willow was looking confused. "If Spike was poisoned then why isn't he dead?" She looked over at Spike and he looked the same as always to her. Giles contemplated Willow's question and looked as if he was waiting for an answer as well.
Buffy looked a little flushed now. She looked over at Spike for help but he was just sitting there, grinning and smoking. She knew better than to think he would help her out of this. Her hand automatically went to her neck and Giles noticed the bite. His face turned white as a ghost.
"I did what I had to do. He was going to die and he was the only help I had here. I…I cured him the same way I cured Angel." That last sentence was all she had to say. Willow and Giles were both on their feet and pacing now. The word Angel had put Spike back in a foul mood.
"Buffy that was very dangerous. You could have died, or worse. I can't believe you would be so irresponsible." Giles was upset now and standing in front of Buffy with a disapproving look on his face. He could see the bite up close now and he suddenly averted his eyes.
"What's done is done Giles. I made the decision and it worked. Spike is fine now. What's important is that we work together to figure out what's going on. I need to tell you about Anne." Buffy had made up her mind not to argue. She had saved Spike and that was all that mattered.
Giles didn't like it but she was right. It was already done. She was here with Spike as her only ally. He would be sure to question her more about it later. "Who is Anne?"
Buffy was glad that it looked as if he was going to let it go for now. "Anne is Julian's sister. At least that is the story he is telling. She is very ill. She appeared to Spike and me as a ghost and we followed her. We found her room and it seems as if she is in some kind of coma. She asked me to help her."
Giles and Willow took in the information about Anne and then Willow spoke up. "Giles, what about the prophecy? If it could be real then Buffy has a right to know. It might have something to do with what's going on here."
Buffy heard the word prophecy and froze. Spike then spoke up for the first time. "What prophecy would that be Rupert?" Giles was still silent. He was remembering the information he kept from Buffy and how he had gotten her into this whole mess.
When Giles didn't answer Buffy asked again. "Exactly what have you been keeping from me Giles?" She had her hands on her hips now. He knew he was in a lot of trouble. A whole lot of trouble.