Bright sunshine flowed into the room, flooding every inch of it and awakening the occupant. Willow yawned and stretched before checking the time. She was only moderately surprised to see that it was quite late, after all she had taken her time in going to bed yesterday evening. She slipped out of her bed and crossed to the window to look out over the gardens. A light sprinkling of snow had fallen in the night, something which wasn't deterring Buffy and the other Slayers from their usual morning exercises. Here and there in the gardens Slayers were sparring one on one, two on one and even three on one, all under Buffy's supervision. Willow smiled slightly as she turned away to get dressed and prepare breakfast. From her experience of Slayers she knew that they would all be ravenous when they came in. While dressing she made a mental note to tell Xander and Giles to make sure that the Slayer School kitchens were large and that the cooks were excellent.

She had just finished dressing when she was surprised by the sound of the kitchen gong. She hurried down the stairs to discover Andrew, outfitted in an apron and chefs hat setting food on the dining room table and the Slayers already helping themselves. They were quickly joined by the others but of Thiery there was no sign.

He didn't show for lunch, or for dinner. In fact there was no sign of him at all. Willow kept meaning to look for him but every time she mentioned it she was swiftly distracted by one of her friends, all of whom were only too pleased that Thiery wasn't around. In fact, their exuberance wore Willow out so much that she went to bed early without having seen Thiery once that day. Once Willow had gone to bed and there was no longer any need to keep distracting her, the group of friends soon split into several groups. The younger Slayers and Gunn went off, Fred and Wesley headed to the library and the original Scooby Gang made themselves comfortable in the drawing room, enjoying the sensation of all being in the same place and able to catch up on each others gossip. Near midnight, returning from the toilet, Dawn glanced through an open doorway. What she saw sent her rushing back to the drawing room where she disrupted a discussion comparing American confectionery to British.

"Kennedy and Vi are kissing!" She exclaimed.

Expressions of outrage and shock reverberated around the room and Xander had to be physically restrained from finding a shovel and going after the perfidious pair. The conversation quickly turned to the best way to break the news to Willow and confront Kennedy. Unnoticed, Claudette slipped from the room.

She headed upstairs and continued going up until she reached the roofs. There, under the light of the pale moon she indulged in a guiltfest. The reason for her guilt was clear to her mind. If it hadn't been for her then Willow and Giles would never have come to her village. Giles would never have been captured by the beast and Willow would never have taken his place. Had that not happened then Kennedy and Willow would have been together and Kennedy wouldn't have turned to someone else. She sighed miserably.

"What's wrong?" A gruff voice asked.

Claudette shrieked, jumping up and whirling round to come face to face with Thiery. She slipped on the melted snow, turned to ice with nightfall and began to slide towards the edge. She screamed as she reached it and fell.

Only to be grabbed in the nick of time and hauled back up onto the roof.

"Careful." Theiry told the young girl. "It is slippery up here."

Claudette gasped for breath and nodded her agreement.

"I know why I am here but why are you?" Theiry asked.

Claudette pushed herself into a sitting position and considered carefully before answering. Everything she had heard about the beast had painted him in a black light. But he had just saved her life and seemed to genuinely care. Should she cause him more pain by telling him that his actions were causing Willow pain and that she felt guilt for that fact. And Willow certainly seemed happy enough – it was her friends who were convinced that she wasn't.

"I needed to get away from the crowd." She answered him in her native French. "Just for a short while I needed to be by myself. To think. My Great-Grandmother died yesterday and I wanted to make sure that I honoured her memory."

Thiery nodded and sat down beside her. Claudette took a deep breath and stared at the distant village lights, just visible above the tree-tops. "Willow missed you today." She told him. "I think that after we leave she will need your support. Something's happened tonight that's going to affect her badly."

Thiery frowned, deeply concerned. "What has happened?" He asked.

"Her lover was seen kissing someone else." Claudette told him.

"Willow has a lover?"

Claudette nodded. "She and Kennedy have been together for just over a year now. Tara, her last lover, was murdered. I don't know how she'll react when she finds out about Kennedy." She glanced at Theiry. He looked flabbergasted. Claudette realised that he hadn't known that Willow was gay.

"How is this common knowledge?" He asked. "Surely she and her friends would keep such information to themselves. Such a relationship is illegal and should she be discovered the penalties would be harsh and I would not wish her to suffer them. How is it that you all seem to know? Forgive me, but Willow barely knows you. How is it that you are confided in?"

Claudette was touched that his first thought was for Willow's safety rather than himself. She had seen a little of his behaviour towards her the day before and had come to the conclusion that he felt a deep affection for the red-headed witch at the very least.

"Times have changed." She explained to him. "Homosexual love is no longer a crime although some people do still frown upon it. Willow is in no danger by openly admitting that she is attracted to those of the same sex."

"I see."

Claudette laid a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Theiry asked in surprise.

"My Great-Grandmother was the elder of the village. When I visited her on her deathbed she told me of the spell that was cast upon you. I'm sorry that Willow will not be the one to help you break the curse."

Theiry smiled sadly. "In truth I never expected her to be. I hoped but I did not expect. She is so beautiful and I am so..." He paused. "Now I know that she will not be and that the curse will lay upon me until I die. I will be content just to be near her until that happens. It will not be long now. All I ask is that she remain with me until the end."

Claudette nodded, very close to tears. "Will you..." She cleared her throat. "Will you join us for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Like you now, I do not think that I could face the crowd."

"It'll be Christmas Eve." Claudette told him. "And Willow would want you to."

"Then for her sake I shall be there."

Claudette smiled at the beast she was coming to think of as a person and left him to his solitude, returning to her room to cry at the memory of his hopeless resignation.