The princesses and princes ran away from the unknown creature. "I'm guessin' this isn't s'posed to happen," Spike announced. He pushed the blanket off his shoulders and revealed himself.
"The soldier?" Amy noticed. "I knew something was going on." Amy quickly remembered the creature and continued running.
"What kind of princes are you?" Buffy yelled to the evacuating bodies.
"Princess Hazel," her prince said when he approached. "We must run now."
"I am not running away. And you shouldn't either. You're a prince for crying out loud. You're supposed to fight the dragons and save damsels in distress not run away at the sign of a little trouble."
"I think you must notice that that thing is not little."
"Well, no not technically."
"Not literally either," the prince said.
"You want to run away Boy Blue then go ahead, but I am staying."
The prince inhaled deeply as if to prepare himself for facing his fear, but it turned out he wanted to get extra air in his lungs for his mile run. He didn't even look back.
"You coward!" Buffy yelled. "Can you believe that? I'm surprised he can run without a backbone."
"Buffy there's bigger problems than you getting' dumped," Spike reminded her. He was slowly inching back and keeping his eyes on the giant beast.
"I was not dumped. If anyone was dumped it was him."
The dragon let out a loud growl that sounded like Godzilla. It looked at them and cocked its head. "Can it see us?"
"I don't know, I left my Giles at home," Buffy whispered back.
Spike looked around, trying to find possible weapons. "I got an idea."
"And me without my camera," Buffy quipped.
"Just come on." Spike grabbed Buffy's hand and ran to his left. She followed in hopes of getting out of the dragon's range. The dragon was less than happy and unleashed another scream.
Spike ran towards a wooden door and tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge. "Bloody hell!"
Buffy moved him aside and kicked it in. She gave him a smile and ran inside.
Spike followed her in and said, "I was just goin' to do that." He continued up a flight of stairs and made it to a tower.
"How did you know there were stairs there?"
"I didn't. But there had to be stairs somewhere around here."
"And how did you know there was a door here?" Buffy interrogated.
"I wasn't gonna watch you dance with some git the whole night. I looked around."
"Okay, I get it. Now what's the plan? I think me knowing the plan would be a good plan."
"Just run around here and don't get eatin'."
"That's the plan!" Buffy exclaimed.
"That's your part of the plan."
"Well what's your part of the plan?"
"None of your business now start runnin' around."
"You know I'm only taking orders from you because right now I lack ideas," Buffy said matter of factly.
"Yes I get it, you're strong and powerful and can kick my ass," Spike recited drearily. Buffy ran to the other side and waved her arms around to get the dragon's attention. It rose from the lake, exposing its enormous, yellow belly and wings the size of two cities.
"Oh my God," Buffy said with astonishment. "Hey Spike!" she yelled. "I hope you don't need a lot of time with your plan!"
Spike sized up the area he had and sized up the extremely huge problem they had to get rid of. "This isn't gonna work," he said to himself. He ran back downstairs and through the castle.
Buffy ducked into the nearby tower but the dragon swiped at it with its hand and sent the top crumbling down upon her. She was covered in scrapes from the sharp stones cutting into her skin. Her dress had some bloodstains on it and huge chunks of fabric were missing. Buffy crawled out of the rubble and started running again only to have more stones knocked on her. When the second tower fell she had trouble moving. She managed to scramble loose but was now limping. She had no chance of crawling out of the next blow.
"Hey!" Spike screamed to the dragon from the ground. It paid little attention to him. It raised its hand to grab Buffy but Spike ran towards it and shoved a sword in its foot. It looked down at him, feeling a little prick and growled. It swiped at him, catching him in the first clutch and dropped him into his mouth.
"Spike!" Buffy screamed, as if it would help him.
The dragon licked its lips and then returned its attention to Buffy. She got up and limped to the next tower and threw herself down the stairs. She could feel every step ramming into her shoulder and ribs but this was her only chance of escape. Buffy landed on the floor but her body was going through moving withdrawals. She looked up at an oncoming rockslide and gathered enough strength to drag herself out of the way. A few small pieces landed on her but Buffy remained safe from the big stones.
The dragon discharged a screech but quickly halted. Its eyes became curious and it looked down at it's body. It started scratching its throat after feeling a tickle. Spike rammed the sword through it's skin and pulled as hard as he could to cut into it more. The dragon started losing breath and its body was becoming limp. Spike pushed harder and harder and made it about half way around the neck before the dragon collapsed. He crawled out, covered in saliva and blood. "Buffy!" he yelled. He rose and stumbled to the castle. He made it to the wooden door they entered and he yelled, "Buffy!" Spike stopped and listened. He could barely make out some shallow breathing and a heartbeat. He staggered down the hallway and saw Buffy passed out on the floor. "Buffy!" He ran to her and sat beside her. Spike rested Buffy's head on his legs and gently brushed her face. "Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes slowly opened. "Spike," she tried to exclaim but it came out as a whisper. "You're okay… and you smell."
"Well I'm covered in dragon liquids."
"Is it dead?" she asked with concern.
"I think so. It's body's lyin' out there, not movin'."
"How'd you do it?"
"I cut its throat. When it swallowed me I jammed my sword into some muscle and made my way to the bone where I stood as I cut through it's extremely thick skin," Spike recapped. He ripped off a piece of her dress and licked it before rubbing it onto a deep cut that slanted on the right side of her forehead. She flinched a little but Spike made sure he was gentle.
Iniquity screamed at the top of her lungs. It sent a bright energy out of her body and it threw Pernicus back about ten gravestones. "Uh, ow," he said to her.
"What is going on! She was on the brink of death! How can a dragon that immense not be able to kill something the size of its claw!" she yelled.
Pernicus staggered back over to her. "I asked that question earlier. Kinda."
"She has broken bones and severe wounds but she keeps going. Why won't she die!" Iniquity's breath was fast and shallow. She composed herself and took inhaled deeply. "That's it. No more Mr. Nice Guy." Iniquity aggressively sent magic through the crystal ball and observed her spell unfolding.
"You're not a guy," Pernicus informed.
Buffy's eyes clenched shut at the shock of a bright light flashing in them. She rose her hand over her eyes and opened them. Of course she was in a new place and of course Spike wasn't there. She was in a stone tower. She quickly looked at her hair and let out a sigh of relief when it looked the same. "Definitely was not looking forward to dragging all that hair around." She opened the wooden door in front of her and decided to walk up the stone steps.
Buffy made her way to another door, which she carefully opened and peered into. An old woman, dressed in raggedy clothes and a bonnet, was spinning some thread. Her thick glasses were perched on her nose and she was guiding the glistening string along. "Well hello deary," the old woman said.
"Hello… grandma?" she asked.
"Grandma?" the woman said. She chuckled from the flattery. "I'm not your grandmother dear."
"Oh, sorry."
"That's all right." She continued feeding the thread to the object. She looked over at Buffy who seemed a little confused. "Would you like to help me deary? I could use some new hands."
"I don't know how," Buffy said.
"It's not that hard and I could really use some help."
"Uh…" The old woman was freaking Buffy out so she acted on the first thing she thought of. "What!… I'll be right there." She yelled to the door. "I'm sorry but I have to go. Have fun though." Buffy quickly left the room and ran down the stairs to the bottom floor.
Buffy walked down the corridor and observed all the paintings on the wall. There were pictures of her as a little girl. There was one of her playing in the grass, riding a caramel colored pony, and smiling in a white dress. The last picture she saw was of her, Giles and her mother. A family portrait, she assumed. They all looked so proper. Giles had his right arm on her mother's left shoulder and his left arm was folded behind his back. Joyce was holding Buffy on her lap with her hands folded around Buffy's waist. Buffy looked like she was ten and had her hands folded on her lap.
"Briar Rose," a woman said.
Buffy turned around and saw her mother. Her hair was down and a gold crown rested on her head. She was wearing a dark green dress that clung to her arms and body and panned out below her waist. "Mom?"
"Darling are you feeling all right?" she asked.
Buffy gave her a big hug. She'd seen everyone in this nightmare of a world but this was the one person she wanted to see the most. She smelled her hair and felt her warm body. She still had the mother's touch.
"Rose," her mother said, kissing her forehead. Buffy let go and looked her in the face. "You should get some rest before the big ball. Would you like me to sing you to sleep like when you were a child?" she asked. "I'm sorry darling. I keep treating you like a little girl when really you're all grown up."
"No, I'd like you to sing to me," Buffy said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Joyce smiled and put her arm around Buffy. She walked Buffy to her room and waited for her to lie down. "Would you like to get under the sheets?"
"No, I'm fine," Buffy insisted.
"All right." Joyce brushed a piece of hair out of Buffy's face and she started singing in a light, harmonic voice.
I'll walk in the rain by your side
I'll cling to the warmth of your hand
I'll do anything to keep you satisfied
And I'll love you more than anybody can
I'll be there when you're feeling down
To kiss away the tears if you cry
I'll share with you all the happiness I've found
A reflection of love-
Buffy dozed off quickly as her mother ran her hand delicately over Buffy's back. Joyce kissed Buffy on the head and left the room. She walked down the steps and saw everyone asleep. The cooks were passed out on the floors with their spatulas and spoons in hand. The dancers were asleep and their ribbons lay lifeless on the floor next to them. The king and queen were asleep on their thrones. Joyce walked towards the exact replica of herself that was resting her head on the king's shoulder. She reached her hand out and changed into her real self; Iniquity.
Iniquity smiled at the sight before her. Everyone was sleeping. Their silly little actions and parlor tricks had stopped and they now slept, with death close by. She walked out the front gate and struck the stone ground with bright light that came from her hands. Vast thorn bushes broke through the hard ground and twisted and wound around every which way. There was no way to make it through without a few scrapes, if you didn't die trying.
Iniquity took one last look at the window that looked in on Buffy's room. She grinned and zapped herself out of there.
"Maybe she got eaten."
"Anya," Xander scorned.
"What? I'm just being practical. You have been looking for her for a day and all Willow's locator spells are coming up empty."
"She wasn't eaten."
"No I guess she could've died a number of ways."
"She's not dead," Xander insisted. He refused to believe that was a possibility. He kept hold of Anya's hand as they walked through the wooded area by one of the graveyards.
"Maybe they ran away together."
"What?"
"Maybe Buffy and Spike ran away together. Vegas. I hear that's a popular place for young lovers to go."
"Buffy would not marry Spike."
"Why not? They got engaged two years ago because of Willow's spell."
She's right. Maybe Willow- "No, Willow would've told us if something happened and if she cast a spell."
"Maybe she doesn't know. She didn't know her 'I-Will-It-So' spell would cause all of what happened to happen. She cast that spell to make her wolf boyfriend come back."
"Anya, please," Xander demanded, letting go of her hand. "Let's not talk about what could've happened. Let's just find her."
"But where? I'm sorry Xander but you said so yourself that you have looked everywhere. You should just contact some higher power to find out where she is."
"Good idea," he sarcastically said with a smile. "I'll pull my magic wand out of thin air and then zap up my mystical address book and then I'll contact the guy who works the portals between different dimensions. Chuck is his name right?"
"Are you mocking me?" Anya asked.
"I laid it on kinda thick there Anya."
"The only thing thick here is your head!"
"I'm trying to find my best friend, if you don't want to be here then go!"
"Fine! I'll open up the Magic Box and make lots of money and I won't share any of it with you!"
"Fine! But when I find the Slayer I'm going to keep all her slaying powers to myself! You can fight off your own vampires and demons!"
"Fine! Then you can just come to the Magic Box and find my dead body lying somewhere and know it's your fault!" Anya and Xander looked at each other with anger and then grabbed one another and started kissing.
Willow and Tara were checking the main part of town. Each was carrying a book in hopes of finding another locator spell. "I can't find anything new in here," Willow said.
"I still don't see Buffy. Do you think we should put out lost posters or something?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea. If the vampires saw that the Slayer was missing from the town that was located above a Hellmouth-I don't even want to know what bad would happen."
"You're right. Sorry."
"No, that's okay," Willow comforted. She placed her hand on Tara's arm. "You had a suggestion. Suggestions are good."
"Unless they're bad ones."
"Well, you need bad ones in order to get to the good ones," Willow said with a smile. Tara smiled back. Willow always made things seem positive which was one of the things Tara loved about her. They gave each other a quick kiss and proceeded their search through town.
Giles was on the phone at Buffy's house. He was talking to Angel in hopes of hearing him say that Buffy showed up there randomly last night. No such luck. "No, I'm sure she would've found you by now…. No, you should stay in Los Angeles and keep things at bay there… Yes, I'll call you if we find her…Goodbye."
Iniquity suddenly appeared before Pernicus, back in the graveyard. He was playing with her crystal ball, rolling it around and tossing it in the air. "You idiot!" She screamed, making the ball fly into her hands.
"Oh, hi," he said.
"Do not play with this. If it breaks they are set free!"
"Sorry," Pernicus said with an attitude. "So what'd you do?"
"I put Buffy to sleep."
"Ah, Sleeping Beauty. What's the catch?"
"Every minute her life is being drained. Within an hour, she will die."
Author's Note: Woo hoo! Here you are, Sleeping Beauty. I know everyone's been waiting for it, it's the original idea I had for this story but then I had them visit a bunch of other ones first and left the romantic life or death one for last. Yes, last. I'm sorry but as you know all good things must come to an end. Let's not think about that right now and focus on the now. The now would be submitting a review about the story and making me say "Yea! A review!" and then I'll read it and smile because you all are so nice and so supportive. Without readers this wouldn't be much of a story, so thank you.