Title: Make All Things New
Series: Winter Tidings
Author: Jmaria
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine, Joss & Bruckheimer own all. I own nothing
Pairing: FfA #1510 Dawn/Galahad
Summary: Sometimes, you shouldn't mess with weird things.
Make All Things New
"Giles, what is this?" Dawn Summers called, as she peered down at the large shield-like object in the middle of the conference table.
Rupert Giles had summoned the Scoobies in for an emergency meeting over something. She couldn't really remember what he'd said it was over the phone. She was the first of them to arrive at the Council Headquarters, because she was here getting ready for the fall semester of classes. Buffy was in Rome, Xander was in Africa, and she thought Willow was in Tibet looking for Oz.
"Don't touch it. There is an uncertain inscription on it, and it is very rare. We only hae it on loan." The older watcher said, cleaning his glasses as he paused in his search of the text he was looking for.
"You know Giles, this 'let's not trust Dawn with the rare items because she might break it' routine is getting pretty old." Dawn replied, taking a dark black crystal that Giles had set next to the shield. Juggling it in her hand, she watched as he got more and more irritated. "See? I'm a big girl and I -"
The crystal slipped from her fingers. It hit the wooden floor with a dull crack. Giles' jaw twitched as he bent to pick up the two halves of the broken stone.
"Yes, I can see that you should be trusted with the shield." Giles said sarcastically.
"Was it ours or theirs?" Dawn asked sheepishly.
"Ours, luckily. Unfortunately, it was the bloody key to the shield and is at least sixteen hundred years old." Giles snapped as he bent to pick up the shards of the crystal.
"Giles, how was I to know?" Dawn argued
"Well, I told you not to touch the shield, perhaps that was a warning not to touch the stone as well?" Giles retorted. He peered down at the crystal shard in his palm. Tucked in the folds of the crystal was a piece of parchment. "Dawn, stay here for a moment."
Dawn watched as he went into his study. Feeling bad about the crystal, Dawn was determined to not go anywhere near the shield. That lasted all of three seconds. She peered down at the shield. There was an odd jumble of words engraved on it, but they looked newer than the shield itself. They were old, just not as old as the shield itself.
Whatever it was, it was engraved three times. The top layer was in a language that looked Scythian. The second layer was Celtic, and the third was Latin. Dawn traced her fingers over the worn lettering. Her middle finger suddenly burned, and Dawn could see a fire-ridden battlefield before her for just a second. The room was thick with a heavy, musty smell that hadn't been there a moment ago. Dawn's head spun as she braced her hands on the table. She watched as the shield seemed to ripple, the words blurring together until they formed new words in English. She squinted as she began to read.
"Of honor and courage none nobler than he, Of virtue and strength Galahad be." Her voice was rough, not really hers as she spoke.
The air crackled, the air in the room becoming a bright glowing green. Dawn felt her chest tighten as images swarmed through her head. A small, brown haired boy running through the tall grass as he watched the soldiers come to take away his village's boys. She saw the tears of anger that streaked down his chubby cheeks as he was lifted into the cart and reached back for his mother's hand. Saw a bow win over his young heart, and horse. Drinking, knife throwing contests, fights, drunken songs, battles. Songs from home, sung by a beautiful woman with a baby in her arms. The boy grew. His legs, his arms, his muscles, his hair. He grew a shaggy beard and mustache. Watched as his friends died, watched as he died. Her lungs burned, and the glow of the room got brighter and brighter.
"Dawn!" Giles yelled, yanking her back from the table. She gasped for breath as he moved her toward his study.
There was one final cracking noise, and a dull thud. Dawn jerked her head around, her breath ragged as her eyes trailed over the naked flesh of the man she had seen in her visions. He shivered. Dawn broke away from Giles, snatching the throw that was on a nearby sofa. It was on him just as he turned to face her.
His eyes were wild with fear, anger, uncertainty, and he grasped her roughly by the shoulders. Dawn clamped her teeth together to stop the hiss of pain at his overzealous grasp. She gently pried his fingers from her arms, cooing softly to him as if he were an injured puppy.
"Shh, Galahad, it's just a bad memory." She said softly, brushing the damp locks of hair from his eyes. "You're safe here. There are no Romans here."
"Dawn -"
"Giles, be quiet." Dawn snapped, turning her attention back to the man on the floor.
"I - I saw you in a dream." Galahad said roughly. "You're not real, I'll wake up on that accursed island alone again."
"No." Dawn said forcefully. "You're home, you're safe."
Galahad cupped her cheek in his hand, running his thumb over the soft skin there. He smiled, and as if in a trance slowly pulled her lower. He hadn't the strength to do more than brush his lips against hers before he passed out. Dawn cradled his head in her lap, a little scared and a little uncertain about what was going on.
"Giles, what were you going to say?" She said roughly.
"You touched the shield, I take it?" Giles demanded.
"Not on purpose. Why - why did he come out of the shield?"
"He didn't."
"Huh?" Her head snapped off, finally pulling her eyes off of the man.
"And the one who is no more than a child shall rend the taint and make all pure again." Giles said heavily.
Dawn sat there in silence, staring down at the man in her arms. Did she really have the power to make all pure again?
"Giles, why is my sister sitting on the floor with a naked guy in her lap?" Buffy demanded from the doorway.
"Dawnie - with a naked guy?" Xander's jaw dropped. "Geez, Dawnie cover up the Full Monty there!" He yelped, looking away.
"Buffy, I can explain - well, sort of." Dawn started to say.