Chapter 5

(Good morning, luv.)

Kara stretched, before looking over at her new mate with a lazy grin. "Morning? It isn't even light, yet." The image of her and Spike in a very creative position popped into her head. She buried her face into his shoulder. "Quit that. I'm sleepy," she yawned.

His hand slid under the silk sheets to caress her naked hip. "You've been asleep for hours, luv. Aren't you the least bit curious about what that will feel like?"

"I was asleep for – two hours – that's barely plural," Kara whined. "I'm supposed to have breakfast with the others, too." Her mental pout was as exaggerated as the actual one her lips were enacting.

"Ooo, pouty. Gonna get it," he purred. Her resistance quickly melted away faced with his talented kisses.

Boy, was Anya right about the new claim encouraging physical intimacy. Once they started touching, there was no stopping until both were practically boneless and exhausted. Their need for each other roared to life like a fire through dry brush, and in that moment when all the walls fell, it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended.

The sky was lightening with the approaching sun when they both collapsed to the bed again.

(I don't know whether to eat or sleep first.)

(Hmm?)

(I'm starving, but standing is going to take serious effort.)

(Want me to give you a push?) he mumbled sleepily in her head.

(Ha, ha. Just go to sleep. I know the sun's calling.)

(Mmm…)

Kara swung her tired legs over the side of the bed. 'Okay, now to try standing.' She slowly put weight on her feet until she was upright, then waited to stop wobbling. Her mate should have come with a warning label – guaranteed to make your legs useless, or your money back. She giggled into her hand at the thought. She clumsily made her way to the closet to grab a robe, then walked into the sitting room to pull the cord to alert her servant of needing her attendance. Five minutes later, a young woman came out of the secret entrance to the servant's tunnel.

"You called, Empress?"

"Yes, could you tell the council I won't be down for breakfast this morning? I'd like to have food brought up here, instead. Something simple right now, like fresh bread and fruit. Oh, and I'll need a bowl of fresh animal blood for Spike."

"Animal blood, Empress?" The servant's eyes were wide in confusion.

"He's a vampire, Sarina. Just have Cook save whatever animal's blood that's going to be butchered today for lunch or dinner. There's no rush. He's sleeping right now."

"Ah, I see…"

"You see…what, Sarina?"

"He is your…consort? I do not know how it would be worded where you come from, Your Highness."

"Our term is boyfriend, before marriage has occurred." Kara turned her head back toward the curtain hiding her bedchamber. "Though, I guess we are more than that, now," she murmured. Her turned head enabled Sarina to see the bite marks on her neck.

"Oh! Congratulations, Empress!"

"What?"

"The marks you wear. You are mated!"

"How do you know about mating?"

"Much about the history of your family has been handed down through the generations in the village, Empress, including the great love stories. It is no secret, the wilder nature of the Immortals of Ossiriand. You carry characteristics of a beast, yes?"

"Correct, Sarina. Cats are my specialty," Kara said, smiling.

"I'm sure you remember, then, that all of your family carried a similar nature inside that defined them."

"You're right. Kalari's knowledge, memories, are all here, but I often don't think to recall them when I should. Claiming bites were exchanged after the marriage ceremony for a couple…oh, dear Lord. What have I done?" she whispered.

"Empress, are you alright! You're looking very pale. Here, drink some water. It will help." Sarina sat down next to Kara on the couch and took her hand. "There, now. No need to worry, Empress. You have made a life partner. This is a reason for celebration. You love him, don't you?"

"Of course, Sarina, with all my heart."

"And he shares that love?"

"Likely more so, if anything."

"Then you have made a good match, Your Highness. Wait until I tell the others! We have so much to do to prepare a banquet in your honor…"

"Sarina, that's very kind, but we can't stay long. We have to leave later this morning to be back at the proper time in our dimension."

"I understand, Empress. We will plan it for another day?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged. Now, if you could alert the kitchen?"

"Oh, certainly, Empress. Right away." Sarina disappeared the way she came, leaving Kara to sink back into the cushions with a long sigh.

"Kara? Are you alright, luv?" Spike called from the other room.

"Yeah, why?"

"I felt you panic for a moment, through the claim."

"Oh. I almost dropped something and thought it was going to break. I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yep!" she said brightly. "Just waiting for my breakfast to arrive."

"Okay. You coming back to bed?"

"Yeah."

She felt him smile, sleepily, and nod off again. She would really have to watch what she sent through the claim, until she figured stuff out for herself. It was comforting to feel Spike there at the edge of her mind, but would also take some getting used to. They hadn't taken the time to discuss the possible attributes that could occur in a claim between their species. She'd read about it in Anya's vampire book, and was remembering now how her parents had been so long ago. That brought to mind something specific, and she raced into the bathroom to check the full-length mirror.

Kara took off her robe and set it on the counter. If what she suspected would be there, then she needed to center herself before she looked. She didn't want to send another flood of emotion through the claim and wake up Spike again. She turned her back towards the mirror, schooled her emotions, and looked back. 'Sonofa-' Her tattoo symbols were different. She had an Elder to find.

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Kara teleported to an adjacent hill overlooking the valley, dressed in a black top and pants.

"Figured I'd find you here." Her voice was tense.

"Empress? Yes, I usually meditate here as the sun rises. What are you doing out at this early hour?"

"You knew! You knew what was to come when I showed up in your village that day," she growled angrily.

"What has happened? Why are you so upset?" He was confused over what she was saying.

"You played me. I could have had at least a little warning, don't you think? With everything I've gone along with so far!"

"I'm confused, Kara."

"This! Look! The symbols have changed. Symbols that I can't identify, even with all of Kalari's memories." She felt him trace over the symbols with his finger.

"I did not expect it so soon, but this is nothing to be angry over, Kara. You just completed a sacred act. We should-"

"Celebrate, I know. What do the symbols mean! Obviously, your people came up with them in the 10,000 years I was asleep, so you have to know."

"It is a blessing of protection, just like I told you. It still is."

"And you won't tell me more," she stated, beyond annoyed.

"It is not my place to reveal every secret to you, Your Highness. There are greater forces in the universe than your self, even as a true Immortal."

"Will I…?"

"It is possible. You know what to look for," The Elder responded, catching her meaning.

Kara nodded. "And if I…"

"All will work out as it is intended." His old, wrinkled hands caressed her face. "Sweet child, you know that I would never put you in harm's way. You are here because you are destined for great things, special things. It was written in the stars from the beginning. Go back to your mate and rest before you have to leave." She searched his face, but only saw the same concern for her that it had always held.

"Alright, but no more secrets from me. I have the power to be very…creative, with your life."

"Understood, my dear. Let's go fill your belly, eh? Even my old ears can hear it rumbling."

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Buffy had met with Sebastian on Thursday and Friday, too, for tutoring sessions. She now felt like she was on the right track to passing her final with a decent grade at the end of the month. He was a very good teacher, and quick to calm her when she started getting frustrated. Even though she felt okay about her other classes, he had offered to go through the material for those tests, too, before she takes her finals in May. Sebastian was quickly becoming a good friend, and Buffy didn't know if that was completely a good thing. She had mentioned that most everyone would be at The Bronze Saturday night when they parted Friday. It had popped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

Saturday night…

Xander set the drinks he had been trying not to drop on the table in front of the girls. Anya, Willow, Tara, and Buffy were talking close together, and didn't notice him at first.

"Should I go make myself scarce for a few more minutes?" he quipped.

"Hey, Xan. Good, the drinks are finally here," Buffy said, taking a big swallow of her Diet Coke. It felt like the air conditioning had died in the club tonight, the ceiling fans only circulating hot air.

The four women just looked at him expectantly.

"Okaaaay, I'm just going to go play some pool, or something," Xander said. He gave the group a last confused look, then walked off.

Willow giggled first. "It's so fun to do that to guys. He's going to be mulling over what we might be talking about all night, now."

"Have you talked to Will lately, Buffy?" Tara asked.

"No. Our last phone conversation didn't go so well, and he's busy prepping his students for the last play of the year, so I don't expect him to come up until after that, either. I'm starting to think that long distance sucks," she pouted.

"You could always lure him to town with the promise of many orgasms," Anya suggested.

"Anya!"

"What? No man would resist that, especially if you send him sexy pictures. If he does, then he just has to be gay. Did I tell you all about the visit I made to Xander's work last week? It was his lunch break, and I-"

"Anya, we really don't want to know. Getting details about Xander is like seeing your brother naked. It's just eew, and likely to scar you for life," Willow said, interrupting before Anya could share too much again.

"Oh, well, I can see how you'd feel that way. So when does this mystery guy arrive?"

Buffy groaned and put her head down on the table.

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It had taken a little while to walk back to the palace. The Elder couldn't move very fast, at his age, and he refused Kara's offer of teleporting him to breakfast. Food was waiting for her in the sitting room of her suite. She wolfed down the bread with honey, and fruit. The reports she had asked for were on her desk, so she placed them in her tote, then went to check on Spike. He was still fast asleep, face down with the pillow over his head. Kara folded his clothes and laid them on the bed before making a quick decision.

She muttered a spell under her breath, sending Spike to his own bed in his crypt, picturing his gentle placement in her head on the mattress, so he wouldn't be awakened. His clothes and bag followed, along with a note from her explaining that she had a few things to take care of and would see him soon. She knew he wouldn't be particularly happy when he woke up, but she wanted to be able to do some research in the library without interruption, and Spike would be a distraction right now. Kara slung her tote over her shoulder and went downstairs.

Jacobi, the head scholar, greeted her in the library. "Your Highness. I had heard that you were leaving this morning."

"Not just yet. I have some reports to go over. Could you pull out the latest atlas for me, please?"

"Of course, Empress."

There were two lists: one of the soldiers that had left, and one for those that were still at the fortress. Belegurth had been thorough. There was a letter from each soldier detailing why he was leaving, and what he planned to do instead. She was surprised to find that the number of the whole company had been much smaller than she had originally thought. They had had no replacements for a long time when soldiers died. The army had consisted of less than a hundred before their trip to Sunnydale, 60 upon return here, and half had decided to travel now. Every letter claimed a loss of purpose, and so, a gradual loss of identity. The emigrants planned to set up a colony wherever they found land that was suitable in the search for Valaraukar women.

The female demons had long ago grown tired of waiting at home for their men to come back from their battle campaigns in other dimensions, and had finally picked up and left. The men came back to a note that said to search for the women if they ever felt them important for their lives again, but not until then. It had been 1000 years since the last Valaraukar child was born, and they had never reproduced often, to begin with. Kara understood the quest now. She looked at the large map Jacobi had unrolled in front of her and traced her finger from the nearby coast to possible locations of travel, and marked them for future study.

She drafted a short letter to Belegurth, then sent Jacobi off to take it to the messenger. Kara's next search was for the book on mating rituals. When she finally found it, Kara went outside to read in the garden. She took a seat on a padded bench in a secluded nook, out of sight from the house. No one would come looking for her unless there was an emergency. She flipped to the chapter on possible side-effects of claiming. Unfortunately, there was no record of an Ossirian taking a mate of another species except for one human, and the only unusual effect had been that the human had lived until their mate was killed in the Great War, 500 years after the claim had been initiated. Ossirians didn't have children often, in human terms, because their lives were so incredibly long, that they didn't feel the haste to reproduce that mortal species did. The child matured normally up to 18, then aged slowly to the appearance of a mature adult in their prime, no longer considered an adolescent at age 100.

The only difference in attributes that she read, from vampire claims to Ossirian claims, was that Ossirians could temporarily share their gifts with their mate when there was a very strong connection between the couple. Their powers were available to each other. She didn't think Spike would want any part of that. He shied away from magic under almost any circumstance.

Kara set the book aside and watched some birds playing in a birdbath. They really should have talked before making this step. They still lived in separate places, for goodness sake, but that wouldn't work for being mated. They would crave to be next to each other each night until it drove them insane. She got caught up in the moment and claimed him back, when she shouldn't have. Spike claiming her meant she was under his protection. Her actions had sealed them together until death, and she couldn't die without being killed by one of her own species. Could it be reversed until they had a chance to make plans? Think, think, THINK! She set off back to the library.

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Saturday night continued…

Sebastian walked into the dance club, a bit embarrassed by the dance moves displayed out on the floor. Couples touched in ways only allowed in the privacy of the bedroom in his day. He kept up with the times, to a point, but coming into places like this was just something his kind didn't have time for, normally. His life had been business first since he had joined the Order. On rare occasions, some of the men would stop into a pub and have a pint, but that was it. He spotted Buffy and her redheaded friend with two other women and a man their same age.

"Good evening, Buffy, Willow."

"Sebastian! I was thinking you weren't gonna show. This is Xander and Anya, they're married; and that's Tara, Willow's girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you all. Buffy has mentioned you all many times. Is it…always this loud in here?"

"Yup. It's not a dance club unless it deafens you," Xander put in. Anya was staring at Sebastian.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked.

"I doubt it, as I've never been to Sunnydale before now."

"No, not from Sunnydale…I've got it! World War I! Stuck in an elevator for two hours because the power went out. The old woman with us smelled like liniment."

Sebastian studied her face more closely. "Anyanka?"

"In the flesh! Sebastian plays a mean game of poker, and I seem to recall you being very supportive of a woman's right to vote."

"Yes, I remember well, now. How did you become human? And married…never thought I'd see the day," he said, chuckling.

"Ah, you know how it goes. My pendant gets broken, Hoffy won't help, and next thing I know, I'm meeting Xander, and we got together for many satisfying orgasms. We just got married on Valentine's Day," she replied happily.

"I wish you both the best health and happiness. Would you excuse me? I'm a bit parched from the heat."

They all nodded, and the knight went in search of the bar.

"Anya, you and he didn't happen to…"

"Have sex? Oh, no. He's forbidden from engaging in relations with demons. Part of their 'code', or something. Not that I wouldn't have been interested. He's gorgeous!"

"Thanks, Ahn. I think," Xander muttered. Willow patted his shoulder, wearing a teasing grin. He rolled his eyes.

"What do you think, Buffy?" Willow asked. "Do you think Sebastian's gorgeous?"

"Me?" she squeaked. "Um, he's good looking, I guess. I don't really pay attention these days, since I'm with Will," she replied, shrugging.

Tara and Willow nodded knowingly.

Sebastian came back and set his glass down on the table, taking the empty seat next to Buffy. Her nose wrinkled up at the dark, pungent liquid he was drinking.

"What is that?" she asked, grossed out.

"Guinness."

"It looks like you're drinking motor oil."

He laughed, before replying. "It's not 's bad as all that, Buffy. Practically everyone has a pint of this now and then in England. You can try a sip, if you like."

"No thank you!" She snapped her fingers, remembering something. "Tara, do you know when Kara will be back? Dawn was in a bad mood this morning from missing her riding lesson."

"As far as I know, her trip was just for today and tomorrow. That's what she said last night."

"Okay. Ooo, I like this song. Someone come dance with me." Buffy hopped off towards the floor, already melding into the crowd.

Anya leaned over to Sebastian and said quietly, "If you want to watch her, there's a balcony above us." He looked over in surprise, then shook his head 'no'. Anya shrugged. It didn't matter either way to her.

They all got to know each other better as the night went on, until the girls were ready to go home and rest their tired feet. Sebastian escorted the Wiccas along with Buffy, insisting he wouldn't feel right about it if he didn't make sure they got home safe. They were quite charmed with him by the time he and Buffy left the pair at the dorm and started for her house.

"Well, this is me," she said, stopping on the porch of the Summer's home.

"I had an enjoyable time, Buffy, though I dare say I've lost a bit of hearing tonight."

She giggled. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess The Bronze isn't your typical place to hang out, huh?"

"No, not really. Give my regards to your mother and sister?"

"Sure. Um, how do I reach you, for our next study date – session! Next study session."

He brushed her hair behind her ear. "I'll be around, Slayer." Sebastian stepped off the porch and faded into a shadow.

"It really bugs me when you do that," she grumbled, then fished her keys out and went inside.