Time Explains Us by Erykah Miszti
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Chapter Eight: Ripples
The nebulous masses of energy started fighting amongst themselves…
Xxxxxx
William matched Buffy's moves exactly… and he learnt quickly. Hours passed and the light began to die. They barely noticed.
Buffy taught him to jab and kick, to attack swiftly and to dance back out of range. She taught him all her moves. As a human, he'd never beat her but he was still fast and light on his feet. He did catch her on the hop a couple of times with moves that were bold and unexpected. At those times, he grinned and she could almost forget that he wasn't really Spike.
It was the rain that finally stopped them. It started with a few spots but rapidly became a minor deluge. They scurried for the line of trees that marked the field boundary. Some rain made it through the thick branches but mostly they were protected.
"When did the sun go down?" Buffy asked, panting slightly from the hours of fighting and the sudden exertion of the run.
William stood bent double with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He looked up at her and grinned that Spike grin again.
"Possibly around about the hundredth time you dropped me on my rear, Miss Buffy." The cadence in the speech was stuffier but the snark was right there.
"Well, what do we do now?" Buffy frowned as she looked around at the pouring rain and the miles of empty fields, she had forgotten that she was supposed to be a hardy Frontierswoman used to surviving in rough surroundings. She may have been the Slayer but she was a city girl at heart.
William looked around and then up at the largest of the trees.
"Perhaps, we should get off the ground…" He gestured upwards. "…and get some sleep."
"You're kidding?!" Buffy did a double-take, staring up in the direction he was pointing. "You want to sleep up a tree?"
"Actually, Miss Buffy… I would very much like to get to my sister before your Angelus does…"
"He's not my Angelus." Buffy cut in defensively.
"No, of course not." William replied apologetically. "But, I am assuming, that if he gets to my sister before we do, then I will never see her alive again."
Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.
"Then we should sleep. We have a long way to travel come morning and we will need our strength. If we sleep on the damp ground, we will not feel well tomorrow. Therefore, up the tree we must go."
She couldn't fault his argument, so she shrugged and watched him walk up to the tree and start trying to climb it. She watched him struggle for a few minutes before she went over and gently pushed him out of the way. With a light jump, she grabbed onto a low branch and hauled her way upwards to a steadier footing. Then she reached an arm down to him. He was watching her with that awed expression again. She wasn't sure that she liked that he was in awe of her. It felt wrong somehow, like having a dopey pet puppy following you around.
He took her hand and he clambered up to join her. Buffy sensed he was going to say something sappy, so she turned away and assessed the situation instead.
They were up quite high but in the centre of the tree, where the biggest branches split from the main trunk, there was a hollow just big enough for two people to curl up without falling out. They would have to curl up quite a lot though to squeeze in.
William stilled the foolish words that he felt rising up in his throat. He wanted to tell this girl how wonderful she was but he knew he would just sound silly. He followed her gaze instead and his heart started pumping strongly. The space in the centre of the tree was tiny. They would have to curl up indecently close to one another to pass the night.
"Umm… perhaps I should sleep on the ground?" He suggested nervously.
"Don't be silly." Buffy replied. "You're the one who suggested we come up here and it was a very sensible suggestion." She smiled with false bravado. "It'll be tight but I'm sure we can squeeze in."
She regretted the words as soon as she'd said them. It was only a very slight sexual connotation but it sent the temperature up a few degrees between them. William blushed pure scarlet, while Buffy blanched.
"Er… we'll be able to… er… " She stuttered whilst her brain threw up unhelpful phrases like 'snuggle up'.
"I'll climb down." William stated, turning to go.
"No." Buffy said firmly and caught his sleeve. "We're adults. We can sleep together without it meaning anything."
While Buffy's brain nearly exploded at another Freudian slip, William was actually calmed by the statement. Having no knowledge of the twentieth century interpretion of the phrase, he took it at face value. He was a gentleman, not a monster or a rake. He could sleep next to a lady without being a threat to her honour and her chastity.
"Of course." He assured her politely. "You have nothing to fear from me, Miss Buffy."
Buffy smiled at the primness of his manner, catching on to his meaning. He was probably worried about her honour, like in some quaint old movie.
"Likewise, William." She countered playfully and carefully moved to the centre of the tree, where she lay down. It wasn't the most comfortable of beds but it'd have to do.
William followed suit, picked his way over and lay down with his back to her. They were touching from shoulder blade to buttocks and each lay very still. The contact was electric. Neither believed that they would fall asleep but the exhaustion of the day took over and they soon abandoned consciousness.
The rain continued to fall in a curtain all around them.
For the first time in months, Buffy did not dream of monsters or demons.
Xxxxxx
Birdsong roused Buffy from sleep and she awoke feeling languid and cocooned in warmth. Strong arms were wrapped around her in a hold that was both firm and light. She let her head loll back against the warm chest and sighed dreamily. She hadn't woken in a man's arms since Riley had left and she hadn't realised how much she'd missed it. She could feel his involuntary erection against her lower back. His breath caressed her neck pleasantly, causing her to shiver. The shiver must have woken him up and he purred contentedly into her ear, pulling her momentarily closer. Then he froze and the pleasant dream was shattered.
"Oh my goodness!" He exclaimed and pulled away quickly.
Buffy let reality crash into her own head more slowly. She'd spent a wonderful, innocent, night curled up in his arms and it had done her spirit a power of good. She really liked William.
He scuttled to his feet and Buffy joined him reluctantly.
"I'm most incredibly sorry." He stuttered out, his face was bright red with embarrassment.
"It's alright." She reassured him softly. "Nothing happened. It's alright."
"But I… " He couldn't finish but Buffy knew that he probably meant the erection.
"It's alright." She spelt it out and smiled reassuringly. "It'll be our secret." She couldn't help but tease. He was too cute.
Buffy stretched and looked out across the fields. The day was bright and green (leafy again) with no trace of the previous nights rain.
"Let's just hit the road, shall we?" She suggested.
"There's a road?" He looked in vain for it.
"It's an expression." She replied. "It means let's get out of this tree and see if we can find a town. This is an island, isn't it? It can't be that big."
William smiled for the first time.
"We may still have a few hours walk ahead of us." He pointed out.
"All the more reason to get moving."
Xxxxxx
A short while later they were walking across fields again. The morning sunshine was warm but not unduly so. A light breeze swept over them playfully.
Buffy couldn't help herself… she reached out and took William's hand. He was startled at first but he smiled and relaxed, keeping her hand inside his.
They mostly walked in silence again but every so often one or the other would point out a feature of the landscape or an animal and conversation would turn to differences between England and California. Buffy kept it vague even when William pressed her for more information but it was light and fun.
William picked a small blue flower and gave it to Buffy, tucking it carefully behind her ear. As he did so, he touched her cheek gently and smiled into her eyes.
They carried on walking.
"A road!" Buffy exclaimed about two hours into their walk. It was more like a dirt track but they chose to follow it as it curved it's way through the countryside.
An hour later they saw a village next to a stream and grinned up at each other happily. It wasn't much civilization but their eyes were grateful to see it. Laughter and music were on the wind and they could see flashes of colour amongst the houses.
"It looks like a summer fair." William told Buffy.
It didn't look like any fair Buffy had ever seen but she took his word for it.
They crossed a small stone bridge over the river and into the village. It didn't take them long to reach the village square where all around were stalls selling fresh produce, meat, cheese, breads, fish and trinkets of all kinds. On one side was a small stone church and on the other was a public house, with benches arranged outside. At the benches sat men drinking beer and everywhere there was people milling about, buying things and gossiping happily.
In the center of the square a small stage had been set up and performers in bright clothes were re-inacting some old folk tale to the delight of the children. William told her to stay put and dashed off into the crowd, disappearing almost immediately. Buffy watched the play.
It was a familiar theme. A demon seemed to be terrorizing a village and the villagers were amassed to fight it. They beat it with what looked like swollen leather bags on sticks and the demon ran away in fear.
"As if." A sceptical Buffy muttered under her breath.
Just then William returned with two small wooden jugs of some kind of golden drink.
"What is it?" She asked warily. "Because beer and Buffy do not mix."
"It's cider." He replied. "It should not cause you too much harm. In moderation."
"Good." She answered and took a sip. It wasn't bad. It was very sweet but it was refreshing. "Is there somewhere here we can catch a train or get a horse or something?"
"No trains, I'm afraid, but we should be able to rent a carriage of some kind to convey us to the nearest town. Although, I'm not even sure where we are."
Xxxxxx
They asked at the public house for transport and were told that someone could drive them to the nearest town, Lincoln, but not until tomorrow. Everyone was busy enjoying the party.
"Another day lost." William lamented.
"It'll be okay." Buffy reassured him. "Your uncle will have reached her by now. He'll have taken her somewhere safe."
"Hopefully." He replied. "If his stories are to be believed, then Uncle Monty will know what to do." He sighed.
"Come on, cheer up… just a little." She smiled. "Everything will be fine. Soon we'll get to York and I'll sort everything out. I promise."
"How can you promise that?" He frowned. "Are you a miracle worker?"
"Only on Tuesdays." She grinned. "Now, let's find somewhere to stay tonight that doesn't involve branches or leaves and then we might as well enjoy the show."
Xxxxxx
The party became raucous after night fell. There was dancing and singing and a lot of drinking. There were amusements that Buffy recognised as the ancestors of games she'd played at fairgrounds. Generally most things involved taking a ball and throwing it at something in order to win prizes. William insisted on trying his hand and won Buffy a bronze bracelet decorated with a blue enamel bird.
"A fortune teller!" William exclaimed happily around 11pm.
They had wandered out to the edge of the village to escape the crowd and there, just outside the circle of light, was small garishly coloured gypsy tent that appeared to glow with an inner light.
"I don't think so." Buffy demurred. "I think I know all I need to about the future."
"Come on…" William coaxed. "It's just a little fun."
Buffy rolled her eyes and let him drag her along.
"Hello?" He called, as he pushed aside the curtain and entered.
"Welcome." A husky voice replied from out of the darkness. A candle flared and a woman was revealed.
The woman was dressed in rich robes and had a chain of golden coins hanging across her forehead. They contrasted sharply with her thick dark hair. Her dark eyes were framed by heavily made up lids and lashes. Her lips were a streak of deep purple. She momentarily reminded Buffy of Jenny Calendar but she thrust that thought very firmly away.
"Cross my palm with silver and I will tell your future." The Gypsy intoned invitingly.
William grinned at Buffy and dug some money out from his drawstring purse. Buffy rolled her eyes some more. It was so cheesy. This woman was about as likely to see the future as William's shoe was.
William reached forward and placed the coin in the woman's palm. The Gypsy reached the other hand up suddenly and clasped his hand in hers. The change in her was electric. Her eyes shot open wide and her lips parted on a gasp.
"Death." She hissed viscously. "You are death. Monster. Killer. Despoiler."
"Stop." Buffy said, panicking.
"You will bring pain and death to the world. Darkness shall reign because of you." The Gypsy continued brutally.
"Stop." Buffy yelled and rushed the woman.
Buffy forced the Gypsy away from William. He backed away startled and horrified.
"Get out." Buffy ordered him but he did not move. She let go of the Gypsy and grabbed him, thrusting him bodily out of the tent. "Go back to the square. Don't come back here."
He turned on her angrily.
"No. I want to know what…"
"Get out, William." Buffy ordered. His eyes flashed fire and his mouth froze into a hard, thin line. He snorted, before turning and going.
Buffy momentarily closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath.
"You can't protect him, Slayer." The Gypsy said softly from behind her. "He must die."