NOTES: THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED and waited so long for me to update this! I am truly sorry, but I was sufferung from a real writer´s block for several stories of mine and just couldn´t get anything done! Hope anyone out there is still interested! I will try to update soon again! SORRY!

DISCLAIMER: the Fairies are mone, all else belongs to joss!

Facing up

The blond man led them through a house that was both all that Buffy had imagined it to be - and more. Thick Persian rugs covered, white, grey, black and even red marble floors, gigantic gold-rimmed mirrors covered the walls, but the most fascinating thing was the plants and flowers. The inside walls of many rooms were covered in ivy and different kind of vines, crawling up the walls, framing the mirrors and windows. The potted plants sprouted blossoms bigger than any the slayer had ever seen- some bigger than dinner plates. Selenadid not seem the least bit impressed, her face as arrogant and cold as Buffy had ever seen it. Siobhan, who caught Buffy's amazed look at the surroundings, gave her a warning glance.

"Don't be impressed with this ….the lady of the morning dew can make anything grow from a drop of water and a grain of sand."

"Yes …but she can also make it wither and die." Len whispered tonelessly, his amber eyes scanning the room.

The flowers made the air heavy with their scent. Then a pair of gilded wooden doors swung open, leading them into what would pass for a dressing room, had the room not been big enough to fit the entire Summer's house.

Selena´s infamous cousin was seated with her back to the room in front of a mirrored dresser while the tiny winged fairies, about the size of dragon flies, were busy arranging her hair. She did not turn to greet them, but Buffy could see her reflection in the mirror. She was watching them with a smile. If Selena was a stormy autumn's night, then Iolanthe resembled a glorious summer morning. If Selena was moonlight and shadow, Iolanthe was honey and sunrays.

Even though she was seated it was obvious that she had the tall willowy figure which fashion designers favoured for their models; every sensuous curve of her body flawless under taut skin that seemed to be dusted with a shimmer of bronze. Her eyes had the colour of simmering gold, her hair the colour of ripe wheat and dark honey.

"No surprise there…" Buffy thought to herself. "…they obviously don't call her the golden child for nothing."

She was a contrast to Selena´s kind of beauty in every way possible.

"Greetings Princess Amoret, my dear cousin. It is so good to see you after this long time of absence from the royal court. Do you bring me the latest gossip?"

Her voice was soft, almost childlike, but with a deeper undercurrent. The way she talked, told Buffy that the sweet tone reminiscent of singing birds could drop to the low, hoarse purring of a schooled seductress.

She turned to look at Spike. The vampire lifted an eyebrow at her and shrugged.

"Greetings Lady Iolanthe." Selena answered meeting her cousin's eyes in the mirror. "I do think you know that gossip is not what I came here for….."

Iolanthe smiled at her mirror again, still unmoving so that the dragonfly- fairies could continue to braid her hair and pile tresses atop her queenly head in an intricate design.

"Why ever else would you come, dear cousin?"

Buffy let her eyes wander around the room, silently taking a headcount of the bodyguards that stood at their back and in front of the windows. There were six of them and as far as the slayer could tell, they all looked as though they were related, each one a carbon copy of the man who had led them into the room and was know lounging in an armchair to Iolanthe´s left.

"To demand what is mine …" Selena returned, her even, polite voice laced with an unmistakable trace of challenge.

In the mirror, Iolanthe´s eyes met Selena´s as her lips curved upward in another pleasant smile, though Buffy noticed that the sentiment did not reach her eyes. It was as though her muscles knew all the right movements, her face knew how to display certain emotions …but that was just it, a display…..no matter what her face showed, her eyes remained untouched by feeling.

"I do not understand, cousin." She said with a little laugh. "I do not remember borrowing a dress or trinket or any such thing from you. Nothing that would justify you visiting my house with this kind of …entourage."

The tiny fairies had completed their task and were now busy with fastening glittering, gem studded hair needles in Iolanthe´s hair. In the mirror, Buffy could see her eyes narrowing slightly as she took them all in.

"A banshee, a vampire and …the slayer even." Iolanthe said softly, like she was talking about something as benign as the weather. "You always kept….such interesting company." Her smile grew wider and a hint more seductive as her eyes settled on Liath.

"And you ….my lord of snow. What would bring you here into the sunny regions? Have you missed me, my love? Are you finally longing for the warmth?"

It took a moment for Buffy to understand the insinuation and it stunned her. She turned her head slightly to look at Spike, but the vampire seemed as surprised as she was herself. He shrugged at her, shaking his head.

"There is no warmth you can offer, Iolanthe. We both know that."

Iolanthe threw him a playful look, pretending to pout for a moment. Then she sighed and commenced to admire the efforts of her fairies in the dresser's mirror.

"Ah yes …it seems you are more comfortable playing with fire, now."

"It is enough, Io." Selena told her, letting go of Liath's hand. Her voice was still pleasant, but it had an edge to it that made Spike quite uncomfortable. Things could get very ugly here, very fast.

"I have come to ask you…..in all courtesy …..To release my captain."

Iolanthe raised one of her perfect eyebrows into a flawless arch, her eye-lids fluttering in confusion.

"What makes you think he is my prisoner?"

"He has not returned …." Selena stated simply, watching her cousin's back with pursed lips.

"That is hardly to be laid at my door, cousin. Did you ever contemplate the possibility that he does not want to return to you?" Iolanthe inquired with raised brows, simultaneously slipping several gold rings onto her fingers.

"Cay would never abandon his duties without reason." Liath answered with a cold smile.

"Maybe not …maybe he had reason…."

In the mirror, Buffy could see those golden eyes fix on her. The stare was not entirely friendly, but not outright threatening either.

"The slayer …..I always thought someone like you would be …taller."

Buffy was tempted to answer that she had always thought the swan princess was supposed to be sweet and gentle, like in the children's stories, but thought it wiser to keep that to herself.

"It's not the size, but what you do with it that counts." She quipped instead. She could feel more than see Spike shifting his stance nervously. Iolanthe threw her head back and laughed, the movement made the dragonfly- fairies flutter around her head. Her laugh had the same quality as Selena´s, the same inexplicable pull and yet…..where Selena´s laughtersounded like the ringing of soft bells or a gurgling well, Iolanthe´s laughter had a sore undercurrent- like walking over broken glass. Her mouth laughed, but her eyes did not. The laughter was automatic, a mimicry like her smile.

"Well ….you might be right. So tell me, why would my cousin bring you? Has she told you all about my wicked ways?" she smiled malignantly. "Or has she conveniently forgotten to tell you more about herself ….?"

"Iolanthe…." Liath interrupted, clicking his tongue like chiding a child.

"No…" Selena said, glancing at Buffy for a moment. "Let her speak her piece. I think she will be quite disappointed to find that the slayer will hardly care …" Her eyes wandered over to Spike and back to Buffy.

Iolanthe watched it all, while the fairies fastened an exquisite gold choker around her long neck. "Oh …She is the princess, everybody knows that." She said her voice smooth as honey. "But did she tell you why she has to resort to ruling all the vermin that creeps through the darkness, hm?" Iolanthe laughed again, her eyes burning rings of gold in her mirror.

" You see, when Amoret was born, my dear uncle had long abandoned the hope of fathering a daughter and was quite at peace with having only sons. So at her birth, Oberon had nothing left to give that was light and bright and shining. She was born during a raging storm, so that birthright was hers, but what then? When her father had already bestowed the domain of water and fire and earth, of what grows and lives, of what bears fruit and life? There was nothing left for her, no place for his little princess to shine a light. So in an attempt to console his wife and himself, he gave his daughter domain where no other fairy deemed to rule; he gave her darkness threefold…..the rule of twilight, shadow and dusk. Hardly any living thing answers to her call." For the first time Iolanthe turned in her seat, to look directly at her cousin and the look was far from friendly.

"She cannot give life, cannot make things grow ….like me …." She whispered huskily, extending her hand. Buffy had seen many strange and scary things in her lifetime, but seeing the vines of ivy running along the walls stretch with a sound entirely too close to a sigh, seeing them slither across the floor to roll over Iolanthe´s naked feet like obedient, attention seeking snakes, was just too much.

Buffy swallowed, suddenly wondering if these vines could just as easily snake across the floor towards them to strangle them. This was not a demon or a vampire, those she could fight, this was mother nature herself coming for them ….and shedid not like to seeit coming.

" The second this goes awry…" Spike whispered every so quietly to her. " You make a run for it and let me worry about those …"

Buffy shot him a look, torn between being offended because he still thought to protect her, and the question how to handle this possibility.

"Why?"

"Because I can't die from strangulation, pet…unlike you."

Iolanthe´s eyes wandered back to Buffy, she still smiled, but this time it was threatening. Buffy cursed herself silently for falling for the trick. Iolanthe had achieved exactly what she had intended with the little demonstration; to rattle her and make her wonder how far her powers reached.

"She can only command the walking dead…." Iolanthe continued, her eyes raking over Spike for a minute. " The monsters that dwell in shadow and darkness."

Buffy looked at Selena´s cousin for a moment, raising her head in defiance. Her mouth was dry, but she did not intend to let this creature scare her with party tricks. She had fought the First, Buffy reminded herself. She had come back from the dead- twice, she had defeated the Master, Angelus, Spike, Drusilla and the major and every other beastie that had come her way. She would not be afraid of this one ...

" You know…" Buffy said, smiling slightly as she crossed her hands in front of her chest.

" If there is one thing that being the slayer has taught me, it's that the good guys don't always wear white…." She looked at Spike for the time of a few heartbeats, then at Selena and back to Iolanthe. " …and not all monsters like to hang out in the dark."

Selena looked at her with stormy, glittering eyes, bowing her head ever so slightly at her as if to pay respect to Buffy's answer. Iolanthe´s smile was still in place, but she looked as though she had tasted something sour.

" Well…." She laughed lightly, turning to face the mirror again. "Then you must really enjoy my cousin's company."

" Enough, Iolanthe ….we have wasted enough of my time with your games." Selena told her, impatience evident in her voice.

"I want my captain released. I will not leave without him."

"Then I fear you will not leave at all, dear cousin." Iolanthe said with a sigh. " For he has no desire to return to you. So your visit and all your regal attire are for naught."

"I will hear this from his lips, Iolanthe." Selena returned, her face still unreadable without a hint of emotion.

" He does not wish to see you. Who am I to go against his wishes?"

" Do not be ridiculous, cousin."

Buffy could see Iolanthe´s back straighten, see her eyes narrow again. There was a subtle change in the atmosphere of the room, as though the temperature was dropping and the air became heavy with the scent of hundreds of blossoms opening.

Iolanthe´s face became the same blank mask that Liath and Selena usually wore, but the emptiness of her expression was tinged with something much colder.

Buffy could see Siobhan shift nervously. Len took a tentative step forward, his hand on the hilt of a dagger hidden at his waist.

Iolanthe turned, swatting away the tinyfairies with the same movement one would use to swat a mosquito. One of them collided with the back of her hand and tumbled to the ground, where it lay in a lifeless, crumpled heap. The others dove for cover amidst the vines. Iolanthe did not seem to care.

" Ridiculous, my dear princess?" She stood, taller than Selena by several inches. She was dressed in a skirt and halter-top made from tiny nuggets of gold, connecting in the same manner as chain mail. Prepared for a night on the town, Buffy ventured to guess. The ensemble brought out the perfectly bronzed skin and willowy figure to the max.

A malicious smile curled her lips as she looked down on Selena, hands propped up on slim hips.

" It is you who is ridiculous, Amoret. What makes you think he would return to you, now that he has come to me? I was the first lady among the court, only second to your mother, before you were even born. My beauty is celebrated in legends and songs, mortals sold their souls and forfeited their lives for a kiss from my lips and a dance with me."

She threw back her wheat coloured hair, the movement caught the light and made it shimmer like gold. "Did you think he would be satisfied with staying by your side forever? That you could have him follow you around like a lapdog waiting for the moment you would finally turn to him, still after thousands of years? He got tired of waiting, Selena …tired of loyalty and silent acceptance of the crumbs you offer. He does not want you anymore, he has resigned his post. He will stay with me ….."

Buffy could feel the impact like silent thunder, hear the storm gathering above Iolanthe´s mansion even before the first roll of thunder struck with deafening power. Wind, as loud as a hurricane howled through the windows and made the lights flicker.

She could read it in Spike's face; Iolanthe had finally managed to get what she wanted ….she had made Selena very, very angry.

" Shit´s hitting the fan, love!" Spike hissed, looking around to see several of the body guards who had stood as still as statues before, reach for their swords.

Amidst the chaos Selena´s voice held the crackling of lightning.

"And every word a lie!"

Buffy turned to look at Selena in time to see the mask slip, her restraint and control for once gone. Somehow it was a far more terrifying sight than the blank, empty expression Selena´s features wore at times. Now the fairy's face was filled with emotions so strong, that the slayer thought these feelings might just spill over and out of her at any moment. Her expression was torn between hurt, fear and anger ….only that anger was a word far too mild for it. For the first time Buffy truly understood the meaning of wrath.

If Selena could, she would rip her cousin apart with her bare hands.

Her voice trembled with fury. Selena spit the words back at Iolanthe as though they had a disgusting, foul taste. It was a low, violent sound, as though she had to force each word out mouth.

Iolanthe faced her cousin, a playful, satisfied smile on her lips, like a cat that had just emptied the cream- pot. It was plain to see that it was the thought of having caused Selena significant pain that contented, even exited her.

Buffy's gaze wandered from Iolanthe back to the look of raw emotion Selena´s face ….and suddenly she understood. It had been there, right in front of her all along . How could anyone have missed it?

It had never been Liath or Len, some other guard or man at court Buffy had never heard about. She had loved Evarion for more than a thousand years, even after he must have bee long dead and gone. But it was Cay whom Selena loved now.

And he did not know …….she had never told him! And now …..Iolanthe had him, the beautiful monster with appetites which obviously made Selena´s blood run cold. To make matters worse ….Cay had delivered himself to her willingly in exchange for information about Evarion's fate. Cay had known what Iolanthe was and yet he had gone. He had done it for her …….sacrificed himself for Selena´s peace of mind.

Buffy exchanged a weary look with Spike. The vampire lifted a brow, shaking his head.

"We're out of options here, love!"