THE CIRCLE
Author: Enn-Enn
Summary: .....The pain awaits you, and the fear bites with strange sweetness at your beautiful neck.
Pairings: Spike/Dawn-friendship (just for now, something more later)
Rating: R ( I suppose )
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Time-line: AU Post-Chosen.
A/N: Thanks to Eurothrashed for her fantastic beta-work !!
PROLOGUE
From the beginning, it should have been this way. From the beginning, their bones should have been broken, their skin should have been lacerated, and their minds should have been marked forever with fire. They relegate this torture, not for their enemies, but for their own families; their own "children." The "children"... accept all this - voluntarily, proudly; they call it "the Ordeal."
You want to think that they are demons, or that they are vampires, but sorry, they're human. You want then, to think that they are some kind of murderous clan, or some "oh we are chosen by divinity" maniac sect. But that is not how it is. The worst terror isn't the terror of the unknown. The worst terror comes from the everyday, the familiar things; and the terrible thing about this is, that you know them.
They are the Watchers.
And you want to be a part of them, and you will be one of them. The pain awaits you, and the fear bites with strange sweetness at your beautiful neck.
You are Dawn Summers.
Still.
CHAPTER 1 - LIES
You thought that the Scoobie gang could have been in charge of founding the New Watchers' Council...
Girl, you were so wrong.
Now you are here. In this enormous room, in an ancient castle, in the middle of the Scottish mountains (the former Council's headquarters before they moved to London, actually), you are surrounded by them - the council-members of the Watchers' Council. You see their cold eyes. Their dark suits in a dark room - the lighting purposely insufficient for such a chamber.
You try to ignore the frozen air that kisses your naked arms, your naked face. Your hair cannot cover it. Their hands as a cruel rule against vanity cut your long brown hair, three months ago, when you came here to begin your training...
You saw how they chopped it with ceremonial daggers, your shiny long brown hair sacrificed to the wind, to the almighty will of the Council.
They are the Masters now, they are your masters.
But the thing that feels like a sword of ice in your spine is not the wind, or the room, or even this horrible silence filled moment. The thing that really scares you, is their faces.
In their faces, you find nothing but fury and tragedy.
One of them, a woman, has horrible dagger-scars that mark her from forehead to chin; dead red lines travelling throughout her formerly beautiful face. Now, she looks like a Harbinger (people say that she killed four of them... before they finally caught her).
One of the male members, has no eyes. He doesn't use black glasses; he just sees you with the empty blackness of his face (it is said that he had an encounter with Caleb).
Another member, the leader, simply has no face. He was in the Watchers' building when it exploded.
He survived.
They all are survivors of the old Watchers' Council; the only ones. They were brave and tough people before, and they are brave and tough now. It is just that now, they are in charge. They don't want weak people near them; weak, young people trying to become new watchers. You suspect that they have lost most of their feelings; their humanity, in the last war against the First.
They are god-like automatons now.
They are freaking heroes now.
They hate because you have feelings. They hate your beautiful I-have-big-blue-eyes-and-I-am-so-innocent face. They hate your last name: Summers.
Do you think because your last name is Summers, because you are the sister, we will treat you better? No, little girl, because of that, we will treat you like trash.
Of all the faces, just one isn't disfigured. This is the face that you hate the most: Rupert Giles.
He is the great pretender. He pretends to look at you like a new student-slave, but you know that this is subterfuge. He is trying to maintain his position as the senior-member; with his I-don't-care-about-my-almost-adopted-child-and-don't-look-at-me-with-those-pleading-eyes attitude.
This suits you just fine. Totally! You are sick of trying to resolve your daddy issues.
Yup, your male-figures always betray you... your Dad, Giles, even Spike... no, don't think about him now; you can't deal with that now. If you do, they will notice it, and take advantage of this as a weakness... you have plenty of time to cry for him, alone in your bed.
You miss him so much.
Oh, yes! .You miss him, protecting you, taking care of you...
You miss him... you miss him... you....
Calm down!!
Get a grip on yourself, girl! Not now! This is not the time!
You remain calm, hoping that they don't notice your inner struggles.
Suddenly the silent is broken.
Giles informs you that you are now allowed to grow your hair back; all of the members are in agreement.
One word comes into your head at this proclamation....
Liar.
Giles is keeping something from you; all of them are keeping something from you; you can sense it. What is this all about it... what it is? Why are showing me this kindness? Is this some kind of manipulative plan, watcher-style?
Or am I just becoming: paranoid... maybe I have finally lost it...
You shut your mouth and incline your head saying thanks . You quickly depart from their presence, to meditate on the current proceedings back in your cell.
The only thing that is keeping you from confronting them, and asking them about their plans for you, is the fear that they would discover your hidden agenda in
the process.
You are here for your own reasons.
And none of them have anything to do with becoming a stupid Watcher.
TBC