NOTES: BUFFY BELONGS TO JOSS WHEDON and MUTANT ENEMY!!!! I own none of then ..except Selena and her folks.

NOTES: THanks for the feedback! This is my first Buffy fic, been doing Firefly so far!

STRANGE ALLIES

„ My help?"

Buffy asked suspiciously.

" What…for?

" I really don´t like to discuss things of great importance in the middle of back-alley, if you don´t mind." Selena answered gently, still smiling.

" Why don´t we finish our discussion at your beautiful home. I´ll be awaiting you there."

Before Buffy could even say anything a sharp gust of wind blew through the alley, sweeping an unnatural cloud of mist over them. Only seconds later the fairy was gone.

" I hate it when they do that!" Spike mumbled, getting back on his feet.

" Tell me she did not just vanish into thin air….."

" She didn´t!"  he answered, patting the dirt of his black jeans.

" Not really…."

" Then how did she just disappear like that.?"

Siobhan laughed bitterly, shaking her head.

" She´s a fairy, a princess of the ancient blood. She can do pretty much whatever she likes!"

" She travels on the wind, it´s a neat trick."

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring at Spike.

" So she´s for real, she is a fairy-princess…..and she´s waiting for me in my own home with some request."

" She´s as real as they come, pet."

He looked at her puzzled features and couldn´t surpress a grin.

 "What? After all the things you´ve seen and fought, you didn´t really think that the stories about fairies were folklore, did you?"

Buffy shrugged, biting her lip.

" Sort of …yeah."

The vampire chuckled to himself.

" I wish Rupert were here to see this….."

" So I guess I´ll go home and ….talk to the fairy, ha?"

" Better not to make her wait."

Buffy sighed, pulling her cell-phone out of  her pocket to call Dawn.

" Dawn…..hi.No I´m outside , it´s fine. Yes I´m ok, but I need to take care of something at home. Could you stay with Willow until I call you?

No, really everything is alright. I´ll call you later, I can´t talk now."

Sighing heavily she switched the phone off.

" Better not tell her there´s fairies involved yet, she´d be all over this."

" Yeah, the little bit has turned into quite the little watcher, hasn´t she?"

Buffy rolled her eyes in mild resignation.

" Tell me about it! One day she´s just a Freshman in Highschool next thing I know she´s translating Sumerian texts ……when did she learn that? Hell, I can´t even speak French!"

They walk through the darkening streets of Sunnydale towards the Summer´s house in silence.

Buffy´s gaze wandered curiously from the blond vampire at her right to the banshee on her left. " So what else can she do….."

" What do mean, love?"

" Besides the fancy vanishing act and the whole being pretty much the most incredibly beautiful woman anyone has ever seen, what else is she capable of power-wise? She seems to have you two whipped like ……well, why do you…"

Spike shot Siobhan a foul look before answering.

" You mean, why does she have power over us?"

Now Spike  really wished that Giles could be there to do the explanatory part. He had never been good playing the part of Mr. Exposition.

Buffy nodded.

" Yeah, you´re a vampire, she´s a banshee…..you are strong and both quite powerful. Yet you seem to fear her."

" It´s all in the titles. She´s a princess of royal fairy blood, that makes not only immortal but also very strong. We both have preternatural strength and all, but her majesty could squash us both like tiny bugs!"

Buffy raised her eyebrows.

" She didn´t look that strong to me."

Spike snickered.

" Neither do you, pet, and you are the  slayer, but you got one mean left hook. Selena could probably twirl a grown elephant around the room without even breaking a sweat."

" Okay, so she is stronger than you, but ….what´s with the whole power thing?"

" As he said, it´s her titles…" Siobhan cut in, smiling faintly, as though the thought that the slayer did not know about these things amused her.

" She is Lady of the Shadows, Keeper of the Dusk and Twilight, that´s not just a bunch of big words. Selena is three times darkness. As Lady of the Shadows she commands those who dwell in the shadows, as most beasties do, since we don´t really like the sunlight.

She is also the keeper of dusk which is the time a newborn vampire rises from his grave the first time. And twilight, well that´s when most monsters crawl out of their hiding spots."

" Whoa …you mean to tell me that she is able to command most preternatural creatures in the area?"

Spike nodded gravely, not liking the expression on his slayer´s face.

" She´s that powerful?" Buffy swallowed hard.

" Yes." He answered simply.

" So how can you hurt her, I mean just in case. What works? I guess stakes won´t do no good, ….crosses, holy water?"

Siobhan laughed again, this time it sounded like a toned down version of her screech. Buffy winced against her will. It sounded like fingernails drawn over a blackboard.

" It´s hard to scare someone off with a symbol of faith that hasn´t been around as long as that someone."

" Isn´t steel supposed to hurt fairies?"

" The common ones, yes. But it won´t work on someone who´s seen  Troy fall ……..

Steel does not hurt the old ones. See the reason why we call them the ancient blood is because they are indeed ancient. They can command us if they please because of their power and their power is rooted in their age. We obey them because their power over us is irresistible. There is nothing alive on this earth anymore that is older than the fairy, they predate everything."

Buffy was quite sure by now that she did not like what she was hearing.

" How old is she?"

Spike shrugged uncomfortably.

" We don´t really know, pet. Nobody does."

" The fairies, the old ones have been walking this earth before time was time, in a world before men." Siobhan whispered.

" Whoa …."

Buffy shook her had in disbelief.

" You can´t be serious…."

The banshee lifted her eyebrows at her, as though Buffy had just said something incredibly amusing.

" At Oberon´s court Selena is also known as the Stormborn. They say that thunder lies in her step, and that´s not just because she can ride the Stormwind.  Selena was born during the worst storm the fairy can remember. When she was born, it is said that the heavens opened their gates and flooded the earth with rain. She has seen the wars between fairy and men, before history was written. She has seen the rise of the human race ever since your ancestors crawled out of their caves."

Buffy stopped dead in her tracks, staring into the banshees dark eyes. There was no deceit in them.

" Okay,  ..I get it. She is ancient; she has all her bases covered. Are you saying there is no way I can hurt her?"

"  Hurt her maybe, but I very much doubt that even the three of us together could kill her." Spike said matter of factly.

" Maybe we won´t have to…." Siobhan added.

" She obviously wants something from the slayer. She did not order her around, she asked her for her help!"

Spike pursed his lips, desperately wishing for a cigarette. But he had given up on smoking because Buffy didn´t like it. The things he did for that girl…..

As they approached the Summer´s house Buffy could make out two tall men standing on the veranda.

One of them was slender with long, grey hair. He stood as still as a statue, his arms behind his back. His skin had the same colour as Selena´s, softly shimmering in the night like polished marble. The other man was burlier, his black hair in a military buzz cut. There were tattoos on his face and his naked arms. His skin was darker than his companion's, a rich, healthy bronze tone. His whole appearance reminded Buffy of a maori- warrior. He was older than the first one.

The long haired man turned his face towards them, his eyes were a clear amber glowing slightly.

" Looks like we got company." Buffy uttered under her breath.

" Bodyguards…" Spike whispered to her.

" She only brought two of them.  I told you she travelled light!"

The banshee smirked in Spike´s direction.

Buffy frowned.

" Bodyguards? After all you two have just told me this princess seems to be as close to invincible as you can ever get. What does she need protecting from?"

" Other fairies…." Siobhan said coldly. " Or do you all humans love each other unconditionally? Because the fairies don´t."

" Oh....why did she come to the alley alone then?"

" She didn´t, love. The wolf, remember."

Buffy looked back towards the grey haired man. His face looked young, ageless, but his hair was grey……..and he had amber coloured eyes. Buffy lifted her brows.

" A shapeshifter…." She breathed  " He´s not a werewolf, he´s a shapeshifter."

The man  bowed slightly in front of them when they reached the porch, giving Buffy a rewarding smile. Inwardly she cursed herself. He must have heard their whole conversation.

" Her ladyship is awaiting you!" he said in a dark voice, opening the door for them.

" Great …." She mumbled, staring to feel very annoyed.

" She´s  receiving me in my own house!"

The princess was lounging on the couch. She had taken off her hooded cape, revealing a black silk blouse with only two buttons closed above her chest. The shining fabric set off her colourful hair and perfect, pale skin.

If possible she looked even more beautiful than before, leaning on one arm as though she was posing for a portrait. In fact, Buffy thought, Selena looked so effortlessly striking, as if somebody had just poured her over the couch.

" I´m glad you made yourself at home…" Buffy told her impatiently.

The fairy gave her a faint smile that made the slayer feel reproved and at the same time warm inside.

" Come, sit with me Buffy!"

She held out her hand, the smile spreading over her full lips.

Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat. The pull was incredible, like swimming against the tide……. only that Selena was more like a tidal wave.

The thought crossed Buffy´s mind that, if she could just take that hand, if she could just surrender to the longing she suddenly felt, everything would just fall into place. Everything would be alright if she could just ….

She felt like something warm was melting inside of her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head violently. Behind her Siobhan and Spike stood like frozen in time.

" Okay!" Buffy whispered hoarsely, " Let´s get one thing straight: If you really want my help, stop doing that! Stop using your weird fairy magic against me!"

Selenas smile widened, if that was even possible, but at the same time it grew more real.

She gave Buffy an appraising look.

She could still feel the magic wavering through the air, flowing through the room like a warm stream of water. It whirled all around Selena, making the air billow like heat.

" Stop it!" Buffy said, loudly this time.

" I meant it, stop this now!"

Spike moved towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

" It´s fairy magic, a glamour, pet."

" I´m not using it against you!" Selena told her serenely, her voice sweet and calm.

" You were , just now!"

" You are right. I apologize. I should not use petty tricks like this against a warrior such as yourself."

Buffy scoffed.

" Going for flattery now, your majesty?"

She could hear Spike´s sharp intake of breath behind her.

Selena lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow, her eyes as grey and dark as the sky just before a storm. Thunder rolled in the distance.

She sighed, folding her hands in her lap.

" I did try to bedazzle you, but you have a very strong mind. I respect that, Buffy Summers. I will not attempt to win your sympathy or support  with magic, this I promise. But I can not switch this glamour off like a light. It is like a reflex. The glamour I have woven around me and mine is not to impress you, but to protect you."

Buffy stared at her for a moment.

" That does not make sense. My friend is a Wicca, a powerful witch, I know what glamour is used for. It is to make things seem different then they really are. You use it to alter my perception of you. True?"

Selena nodded once.

" True."

"I take it the way we see you is not the way you really look. If you want my help you cannot win it with tricks. Show us what you really look like!"

" Your vampire knows, ask him"

Buffy turned to look at Spike.

" What is she talking about?"

" Glamour does not work on the undead!" Siobhan answered for him.

"Fine!" Buffy said impatiently

" Then show me!"

" That´s not a good idea, love. Trust me."

" Why ..I take it she made herself irresistible, which  woman wouldn´t, if she could do this? I just wanna know what she really looks like, before I offer her my help."

" No, you don´t,pet!"

" Don´t tell me what I want, Spike! She can´t be that  ugly or scary."

" Scary,yes. Ugly ,no!"

" What ?"

Spike breathed deep, trying to reign down on his temper.

Why did she never listen to him?

" She´s not exaggerating her beauty or her effect on you, Buffy. She´s toning it down."

" You mean she made herself uglier?"

Spike nodded.

Buffy turned back to where the fairy was sitting, all shimmering hair and skin.

" No way…."

That exact moment, Buffy could feel the magic slipping away. She blinked, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. She gasped, staring at the iridescent creature, sitting on her couch. It was as though she had seen Selena on a black and white TV and now somebody had suddenly switched to colour. She could feel a tear sliding down her cheek.

Selena´s eyes met hers and for a second Buffy could see something moving inside those eyes, a feeling buried deep inside; overwhelming grief and sadness.

Without taking her look off the fairy in all her glory, she asked Spike.

" You always see her like this?"

" Yes.."

Buffy nodded. She had not understood before, but now she knew why all those creatures did as she commanded. It wasn´t just her beauty, it was her power……

Slowly Buffy could feel the glamour returning, it was like the sun going down.

" What is it that you want my help with?"

" Somebody has taken something from  me, someone who´s powers equal mine. I want it back. She has taken it without my consent, taken by force what is not rightfully hers, something very dear to me. Your power might tip the scale."

" Who is she?"

" My cousin."

" What has she taken from you?"

Selena stared at the slayer for a moment, her eyes like dark, groundless ponds.

" The captain of my guard!"