Disclaimer: The characters of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions Inc. No copyright infringement is intended, nor is any financial gain being made from the writing and posting of this fanfiction.

Rating: PG-13

Author's Note: My apologies for not updating sooner-wacky life has gotten in the way of writing. This is a somewhat short chapter, but it's also a transitional chapter with much confusion for poor Giles. In the last chapter, Giles had been knocked out (poor guy never gets a break), wakes up in the Council infirmary, lusts after Lydia Chalmers, and meets his young cousin for the first time in several years. This portion picks up with Giles and Sarah.

Chapter 4

Happenings in the Hedge Maze

Written by Jen

On the vast grounds owned by The Council, a three hundred-year-old hedge maze presided regally over four acres of the property. It was, quite possibly, the most intricately planned and difficult to navigate hedge maze in all of England, and it was never open to the public. Very few people were privy to the knowledge of its' existence outside the Council, but many a historical society would've given boatloads of gold for the chance to see even a fraction of it.

As a boy, Rupert Giles spent much of his time memorizing all the twists and turns, enjoying the different sitting areas, and playing hide and seek with his friends in the small alcoves. Dispersed throughout the maze were several small flower gardens, statuary and bird baths, all perfectly fitting and suited to the general idea of a classic English garden, but the center of the maze, and highlight, was a completely unexpected scene that Giles had adored as a young child. A miniature replica of Rikugien, a Japanese park built around 1700, stood perfectly scaled and absolutely accurate. The name meant six poems garden, and there were times when Giles dreamed of visiting the real garden, walking the beautifully landscaped trails, and visiting the teahouses. In one of the old journals a passage had been written by a fallen Slayer in which she mentioned how much she missed spending time in Rikugien at night; patrolling the Watcher assumed. As a boy, Giles had often commanded many an army to march through those tiny, yet majestic, pavilions while his father sat on a nearby wrought iron bench writing reports or reading one of his favorite classic novels, the same bench Giles and Sarah now shared.

A small bronze plaque explained the presence of the Japanese miniatures, "Kekeo, Daughter first, Slayer Second, Beloved always. 1932-1949" Kekeo was a formidable Slayer in her time, but even Slayers are susceptible to illness, and the girl had died during a dysentery outbreak after tracking a particularly vicious vampire, Lucinda, through India. The vampire's sole purpose in death was turning children. All of her victims had been aged between five and nine, and Kekeo had been forced to slay dozens of the monstrosities before finally destroying their creator. Giles recalled reading that not one vampire had mourned the loss of that vile creature because most felt that trapping a demon in the body of a child was akin to sacrilege. Unfortunately, the poor Slayer had fallen ill before she'd even had a chance to celebrate her victory. The Watchers tried every remedy known to no avail and Kekeo's grief stricken parents had insisted on the astonishingly lovely memorial for their daughter. Their eldest son ended up a Watcher, and now his descendants continued to serve the Council. Giles supposed that Dawn Summers would eventually be pressed upon to join their ranks as well, and he dreaded her elder sister's reaction. Truthfully, he was fairly certain his own reaction would be quite negative. Quite.

Sarah broke the silence first. "Someday I want to see Japan. You know, I've never been this far in the maze. It's beautiful, but was the memorial built entirely by human means?"

Giles chuckled, "No, of course not. In order to maintain an accurate portrayal of Rikugien, magic was used. If you spend enough time here, you'll notice subtle changes, which emulate the actual park. One year, our autumn was exceptionally warm, and while the surrounding trees and grounds were still perfectly green, this little miracle was a riot of vibrant reds and yellows. Some of these plants couldn't be found in miniature, but with the aid of magic, you've got a perfectly rendered scene, and the cherry blossoms in spring are quite beautiful. It's a marvel."

"I wondered," Sarah continued, "if I could ever learn magic like this. To be able to create something so lovely and full of meaning..." For a moment the girl looked very sad to Giles, and he wondered again why she was there.

"Magic isn't taught, Sarah, it's a gift which we all have to one degree or another. There are simple spells anyone can perform, but the spells used to create this are...well, they're only performed by those most gifted in the dark arts. Do you wish to study with the mages?"

Sarah laughed and shook her head, "No, it's nice to dream about, but what I want to do with my life isn't precisely what Father envisioned. Still, duty and all, I suppose it would make Dad happy, along with the Council of Wankers!"

The Watcher startled to hear his soft spoken and gracious cousin speak so vehemently against the Council, and to hear the girl use Spike's favorite insult for the Watchers was a little annoying. "Council of Wankers? Where did you hear that?"

"Oh please, Rupert, a four year old could've easily come up with that insult given the inclination and appropriate vocabulary. You should've seen poor old Dad's face when I yelled it at him last month. Priceless," the young woman said grinning ear to ear.

Rather than explain his dislike of the phrase, Giles changed the subject. "I gather you'd rather not work here, Sarah?"

"I want to study in America," she replied, "and live in Japan eventually."

"Really?"

"Yes, I've never wanted anything more than to study at MIT and design video games. Computers have always been my talent, and I love games. Konami, the company that makes some of my favorites, is a Japanese company. I'm good with languages. It's not like I'd be out of sorts since Father's had me studying Japanese, along with French, Norwegian, and German since I was about three years old. There's never been a time when I wasn't studying something," the young woman said bitterly. "You'd think it might be okay to have a childhood in all that, but you know my dad. Any play makes a happy child, can't have that."

Giles frowned, surely her homelife couldn't have been that bad? "Would you like me to speak with Stephen?"

"That would be great! Actually, that's kind of why I came," Sarah smiled brightly and added, "I just didn't want to talk about it inside the 'Hallowed Halls'."

"Yes, I was beginning to suspect as much," Giles returned his young cousin's smile before continuing, "You're good with computers then?" He couldn't help but wonder if it was a bad idea to enlist this girl's help, but Giles felt he had no other options at the moment, "Sarah, I have a bit of a project, but this discussion cannot go any further."

"Would Dad approve?"

"No, I daresay."

"I'm in!"

Giles unsuccessfully tried to frown at the girl, but he couldn't help laughing instead. As best he could, he explained his problem with the computers and security tapes, and he watched the young woman listen intently. Without going into too much detail about Sir Robert's death, the Watcher managed to enlist the girl's help. In many ways, she reminded him of Buffy with her passionate nature, but listening to her speak made him realize this young woman was brilliant in a way that not even Willow could match. Her computer skills, from what he gathered, could only be described as phenomenal, and Giles barely understood a word she was saying to him. Still, he was grateful to have one new ally in a world where he was completely uncertain who to trust.

"I'm not sure how much help I can be if magic was used, but I can at least try," she said.

Pushing his luck, the Watcher asked hesitantly, "Do you know much about Mr. Nigel Daarsha?"

"Only that he's a prat, why?"

"Nothing really, he's just been a bit unpleasant," Giles replied.

Sarah sighed before replying, "Um...well, I'm not supposed to know this, technically speaking. After you were sacked, old Travers wanted to send that sneaky little toad to America, but Wesley Wyndham-Price got the job. You know how well that turned out. Anyway, when your Slayer quit the Council, Dad said Nigel was furious!" Sarah paused for a moment, "I guess he had his bags packed and everything since Wesley had been terminated as well, so Nigel was really jealous of you. He was also very angry that a Slayer would dare choose her personal ties to a Watcher over her duties to the Council."

Giles eyed the girl thoughtfully, "How did you discover this information?"

"I read my father's journals and letters. It's the only way to survive the secrecy in families like ours," she said, shrugging.

"Too true."

"So," Sarah demanded, "tell me about Buffy Summers."

Giles laughed heartily, pondering what tales to share before settling on his happiest memories of Buffy and her friends; memories that included Joyce, celebrations, amusing spells gone awry, and his Slayer at her most content. As he made his cousin laugh at his tales, Giles felt a warmth for the girl sitting next to him. Though in her twenties, she seemed far too young to be forced into making a decision to spend the rest of her life studying demons. He hoped he could reason with Stephen, make the man see that not all are meant to be a part of the Council. Finally, Giles checked the time and stated, "Oh dear, we've been out here for hours! Surely you're hungry, Sarah?"

"Starving! Do you want to eat here or escape the dreariness? I won't tell the doctor if you don't," Sarah smirked mischievously.

As they discussed their options, Giles and Sarah began the long walk back through the maze, and just when they'd decided to drive into London for an evening out, a scream shattered the peace and comfortable rapport.

Giles ran toward the screams, navigating the maze with ease, as Sarah paced herself behind him. When they finally reached a small alcove, the Watcher saw Lydia Chalmers fallen to her knees, her cries for help still echoing all around. A body lay at her feet.

"Dear lord!" Giles could see the back of a man's head smashed to pulp, blood and gore steeping into the surrounding ground. White as cream, Lydia looked up and began crying; Giles could hear his cousin gasping for air behind him.

"Rupert, thank goodness!" Lydia reached for his outstretched hand, and he pulled her to her feet.

"What's happened?"

"It's Adam Penderson," Lydia responded, her voice shrill and shaking, "he was coming to see you."

"Adam? Oh God, no! Sarah, would you please get to Quentin Travers' office as quickly as possible. Tell him I need to see him in the maze, and tell him to be discreet." Giles then added a simple rhyme, "I am lost and need be found, take me out from mazed grounds," and brilliantly lit arrows appeared to show the girl the way. Her eyes held astonishment, but she didn't waste time to comment and ran for the exit.

"Lydia, did you see anyone?"

"Not a soul," she said.

"What were you doing out here?" Giles tried not to sound distrusting.

"I came to bring you this," she replied, holding out a file folder with a few loose sheets of paper protruding from the edges.

"Do you know why Adam was coming out here?" All Giles could assume was that the head of security had thought of something regarding the many tapes he'd let Giles peruse.

Lydia's eyes darted about before she answered, "He didn't tell me everything, Rupert, but he did say that he might know of a way to undo the magic on the tapes. He rushed out of the security office so fast I didn't have time to question him further, and then as I was walking by your rooms, I found this file and decided to bring them. I couldn't have been more than ten minutes behind Penderson."

"What were you doing in security?"

"Looking for you," the woman responded, "I wondered if you and your cousin might have dinner with me, and I thought perhaps you'd ignored the doctor's orders and gone on to work again."

"I see," Giles said quietly. He wasn't sure if he believed her, but it would probably be better to withhold his skepticism until further notice. "I've been with Sarah all day...this is going to kill Penelope, another death so soon after Sir Robert's. I can't imagine how Quentin will break the news to the Penderson family." Surveying the area, Giles checked for clues and found a tiny slip of paper in Adam Penderson's left hand. It had been torn and the writing was half smeared, but Giles could just make out the word "ask" and the letters a, y, n or possibly m, what might have been another a or e. He wondered what on earth it could've possibly meant, but it was obviously important enough for Adam to scribble down before leaving his the security room. Perhaps it was a person's name, but it could've just as easily been the name of a demon or oracle. Giles also wondered if the killer was still around, but he couldn't risk leaving Lydia alone on the off chance she was at risk as well. His mind was a confused cauldron of theories and possibilities, but he had no real leads. He only hoped that Sarah and Quentin wouldn't dawdle.

When the faint sound of a motor trundled toward them, Giles couldn't have been more relieved to see Quentin Travers and Sarah Giles approaching the scene in a small golf cart. Obviously Quentin had no desire to run a good portion of the maze, so much the better.

"Rupert, you're sure he's dead?" Quentin asked.

"Take a look for yourself," Giles said as he pointed to the body of Adam Penderson, and he had to admit he took perverse pleasure in seeing Travers flinch as he surveyed the brutal killing in front of him.

"The wards have not been breached, Rupert, I think we must assume the worst. Lydia, I'm told you found the body," Travers directed the conversation at the young Council member.

"Yes, Uncle," Lydia replied with a detached and casual familiarity directed at Travers, and Rupert Giles nearly leapt from his skin. Quentin Travers was Lydia's uncle? His mind scrambled to remember if either Travers or Lydia had shared this information in the past. Obviously, she was the daughter of Quentin's sister, Linda, but Giles honestly didn't recall ever meeting the woman's husband or child in the past. He did remember hearing of Linda Travers' marriage when he was a child, but since it wasn't held on in the Council chapel, Giles suspected that many of the details had been hushed all those years ago. Come to think of it, Giles was fairly certain that Quentin had never once talked about his sister or her family. In fact, Giles was sure the siblings had been estranged since her marriage though he would never ask why, and he was bright enough to realize it probably had a lot to do with her dislike of the Watchers program in general. Giles' father had mentioned it a time or two when Giles began his training in earnest. He didn't ever recall hearing of a child.

Quentin frowned at the woman before continuing, and Rupert realized that was information the older man didn't want widely known. "Miss Chalmers, I am going to assume you are unhurt? If so, it's time to notify the appropriate parties, and Rupert? Continue with your investigation as planned. Sir Robert's wife must be notified at once, and I am sorry to say that your suspicious regarding his death are not unfounded." The lines around Travers' eyes appeared deeper, more tightly drawn, and Giles wondered how long it would take before the strange chill twining through his intestines would cease. He now had tapes he couldn't use, a note he couldn't decipher and the added burden of another reason to be suspicious of both Lydia Chalmers and her...uncle. Thankfully, he felt he could rely on Sarah Giles, who was standing behind Quentin, and the look on her face was quite easy to read, 'You've got some explaining to do, Rupert.'

As testimony to the Council's efficiency, Adam Penderson's body was removed quickly and without fanfare. Giles overheard Travers inform some of the elder members that, for the time being, no one was to think anything more than a serious and extremely tragic accident had occurred. Unbeknownst to all but Travers of them, Rupert Giles had been given free reign to take his investigation where needed. What he needed most was to discover the meaning of Adam's note.

Ignoring his doctor's orders, Giles decided it was past time to get a good hard look at the computer systems again. Sarah readily jumped at the chance. As for Lydia, she was horrified to hear that Sir Robert's death wasn't natural, but Giles hesitated trusting the woman. He liked her, no doubt, but he couldn't let lust or emotions control his actions, and he was aware that he must not let her know his suspicions had been aroused. The files she'd given him were indeed the missing files from the previous night; they had been opened, and most of the contents appeared to have been removed. Whatever this had to do with Sunnydale and Buffy was still an unknown, the x factor in an equation that Giles couldn't quite see. In truth, he needed someone extraordinarily gifted in magic, and if Penderson was killed for knowing of someone able to help, then Giles also believed he was responsible for the man's death in part. Giles shuddered thinking about the only person he knew fit for this kind of magical work, aside from Willow. However, Ethan Rayne had been incarcerated by the Initiative for the last year or so.

Perhaps the coven in Devon could help him.