Chapter Six

Buffy stirred, awakening from her dreamless sleep. She sat up and placed her right hand on her cheek, feeling a small headache. Her eyes widened when she realized she was in an unknown place. Her glance turned to the exceptionally large room. The walls were stone and contained no pictures or character. There was a gold and beige couch placed in front of a roaring fireplace. The bed she was lying on had a white canopy and was very soft.

Buffy turned to get up and noticed she was wearing a gown. She stood up and turned, trying to catch every aspect of it. The dress was plum and had random embroidery on it. There were small clasps down the bodice that were holding it on. It loosened around the hips and flared out slightly to give a soft flow to the bottom. There was a trail as she walked which made the dress look like an eighteenth century one, only without the ruffles.

Buffy felt her hair. It was held up in some way. She noticed a mirror on the wall of the door and looked at it. Her hair was in a bun with the ends curled and a few pinned up. Her attention turned from her new look to how to get out.

As Buffy was looking for her actual clothes, two women came in dressed in identical black, form fitting dress with spagetti straps. "You have awakened," one said. "I am Maureen and this is Coral."

"Hi. Do you know where my clothes are?"

"Those dreadful things you were wearing? Why on earth would you want to put on those nasty apparels when you can wear something as elegant as that gown?" Coral asked.

"Because, those nasty apparels are comfortable and less stand outish in a crowd." Buffy opened up another drawer in the elegant, carved dresser.

"Not in the crowd you're about to enter. You will, as they say, blow their minds." Maureen walked to Buffy and held the next drawer shut. "Now, come, our Master is expecting you. He has an edition to your beauty."

"That's sweet but tell your Master I am not staying."

Maureen looked at Coral and Coral nodded. They each grabbed an arm and pulled Buffy out.

"What are you doing? Let go!" Buffy tried wriggling out but they had a good grip. Buffy kicked out her foot, making Coral trip and fall. Buffy punched Maureen with her free hand and ran down the hall. She looked back and they were gone. She turned her glance forward and stopped abruptly when a man was standing in front of her.

"Going somewhere?" he asked. He was dressed in a white button shirt that was barely visible under the grey silk vest and silk white tie. He had on a black jacket that separated into two parts below his waist and came to two points at his knees. His pants were black as well as his glossy shoes.

"Actually yes. It's this little place that's not here." Buffy tried walking around him but he stood in her way. "I strongly suggest you move unless-"

"I want to end up as a pile of ashes? I'm sorry Miss Summers but I simply can't allow my bride to be to leave before the festivities."

"Bride to be? I certainly wasn't asked about that. Or the service. I always wanted a church wedding."

"It's an honor to be chosen to wed someone with prestige, such as myself," he answered, looking her up and down.

"For another vampire, maybe, but I would rather jab a stake in your heart than walk down an aisle with you."

"I knew you wouldn't come quietly. That's why I have a captive to ensure your consent." He stood there with a smile. "It is certainly no ordinary human. I use human lightly. I made sure to grab someone that was close to your heart. One whom you would not permit to depart."

"The cashier at the Seven Eleven?"

He chuckled. "I'm glad my servants didn't demolish your personality when they retrieved you."

"Yeah, about that. How did they get into my house? I wasn't there and I'm the only one who can invite them in. Unless the rules have changed recently."

"I have ways of bending the rules. Quite like you bent the rule about the one Slayer."

"Can you get off the fancy schmancy talk for one minute and explain to me how your little imps were in my house?"

"Through the use of a spell someone cast. It's from a long lost book, which I have the only copy of. Hence, the rule not bending often."

"Thanks," Buffy said sarcastically.

He revealed a necklace he concealed in his hand behind his back. "It's a cabochon smoky topaz gem. Polished to perfection." It was in the shape of a teardrop and was the size of her palm. There was a gold bale composed of small spheres surrounding it. A beautiful gold ring was what held the pendant to the leather chord. "Turn around so I may put it on you."

"I don't want you to put it on me."

He held in his annoyance with her and addressed her politely. "Miss Summers, I must request you wear this to complete your ensemble. You will be frowned upon if you have a bare neck."

"I would think vampires would enjoy it."

"They will not be feeding off of you. Now, please put this on." Buffy just stood there. "If you put it on, we will go to the ballroom and I will show you who the captive is. If you refuse, I'll send the signal to exterminate him immediately." Buffy pursed her lips. She didn't trust him but she didn't want to risk one of her friends' lives. She turned around and allowed him to tie on the necklace. When he finished she turned back around. "I also ask you to at least look like you're enjoying yourself."

"Care to throw me a name so I don't walk in there calling you Bob?"

"My name is Lenity." He held out his arm. She unwillingly took it.

Downstairs, the ballroom doors opened, revealing a huge room filled with people, well, vampires. Everyone was dressed in black and white and was dancing. There were five violinists, five cellists and one pianist playing the music that filled the room.

The music ceased when they both stepped into the room. Everyone stopped and made a walkway to the two thrones placed at the end. Lenity looked at Buffy who put on a fake smile, before descending down the path.

When they reached the thrones they turned around and Lenity released Buffy's arm. "I would like all of you to meet, my wife to be." Everyone clapped, including Lenity. Buffy wasn't sure what to do so she just smiled and kept her hands together behind her back. "And you are all invited to our wedding tomorrow night." Everyone clapped again. Buffy's head abruptly turned to him, her mouth partially open. Lenity took notice and quickly advanced the music to play. Everyone resumed to dance.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes," Lenity said, gesturing for her to sit down.

"By wedding you mean another of these parties?"

"By wedding I mean we wed and then yes, there will be a banquet."

"I absolutely, positively protest to this wedding and refuse to say I do." Buffy was very perturbed.

"Please sit and we will talk of this more."

"No, I will stand and you, will call off the wedding. At least to me."

Lenity smiled. "Look into the crowd Miss Summers. See anyone familiar? Particularly, close to the right wall."

Buffy amused him and looked. She couldn't tell the difference between one vampire to the next. But then a person she knew well caught her eye. She remembered that slick blonde hair and stature. "It can't be," she said in a whisper.

"But it is," Lenity replied.

"Spike," Buffy's voice remained low.

"Yes. We found him waiting in front of your doorway two nights ago. Couldn't help but, capture the chance." He looked at Buffy. "Now, I suggest you sit down."

Buffy kept her eye on him as she reposed in the stone cold throne. After a couple more minutes she looked at Lenity. "Why are you doing this? And why would you want to marry a Slayer of all choices?"

"You're the only one worthy of this throne. You're strong minded, powerful, and above all, beautiful." He grazed his hand against her cheek. She turned her head away.

There were few points in her life when she felt helpless and this was one of them. Knowing Spike was the captive sent her mind into a complete blank. This vampire had to have some kind of power for wanting to marry a Slayer. He must've known he could "tame" her. Not to mention she had no idea where she was.

"You're frightened." He tilted his head, keeping his glance on her. "I can sense it, you're frightened."

Buffy looked at him. "Congratulations, you caught the Slayer. I'm sorry but all the door prizes are gone. Please accept this complementary t-shirt." She glared into the crowd. Her breath was a little unsteady.

"Come," Lenity said as he stood up from his chair. He held out his hand. "Let's dance." Buffy took her hand and placed it in his. They walked elegantly down the three steps that led to the floor and faced each other. Lenity placed his other hand on her lower back and kept hold of her right hand. Buffy placed her left hand on his shoulder. The music played and they danced while everyone watched.