"Father!" he said and looked at Giles. "Every guard has run off and refuses to fight the witch! And why did I just see Merlin and some strange ginger girl dressed in pants laughing like everything was perfectly normal?" Then he realised that Buffy was sitting on the throne. "What happened?" he said and drew his sword. "What did she do to you?"

"I'd put that down if I were you", Buffy said.

Giles stepped forward. "Calm down, Arthur. Everything is alright. There's just been a small mix up. No one means any harm."

Arthur pointed his sword towards Giles. "She's put a spell on all of you!" he exclaimed.

"No, no! Buffy's here to help", Giles tried to convince him.

"Yes! Some sort of wicked charm. And now she's making herself the queen!"

"Woah", Buffy said and stepped down from the throne. "I'm not gonna be queen. I barely got time for a life as it is."

"Well, then what do you need the king for?"

"For the last fricking time, he's ..." Buffy started.

"She doesn't", Giles interrupted. Buffy stared at him. Maybe she'd hit him too hard. "As I said", he continued, "there was a mix up". Giles gave Buffy a look. "And I've decided to reprieve her this time, and, eh, let her go."

Buffy could see what Giles was trying to do. He was playing along, trying to fool the prince. Only, Giles was perhaps the worst actor ever.

"Why don't I believe you?" Arthur said slowly and glared at Buffy. "Father, you're not yourself. You'd never let anyone get away with witchcraft."

Giles's eyes flickered. "Oh my, you're right, of course. Well then ... the witch shall die. I'll take care of everything. Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"No", Arthur said and crossed his arms. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Figures", Buffy said.

The hall door squeak.

"Finally", Arthur said. "Someone with their minds straight." He turned around just as Merlin walked through with his arms full of plants.

"Oh. It's you." The prince didn't look pleased. "Well then, would you care to explain what's going on here?"

Merlin's POV

Merlin recognized the look on Arthur's face. It meant he was in trouble. He hesitated. Maybe Arthur could understand, but it would take an awful lot of time to explain. Time that they didn't have, sadly enough. He looked at Willow standing next to him. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Hi! We haven't met", she said and offered her hand to Arthur. The prince just looked at her.

"Merlin", he said. "Explain."

"I … I … Well, they are telling the truth."

"Not the answer I wanted", Arthur said.

"I kind of figured that much", the blonde girl said before she smashed the king's crown in Arthur's head. She looked at him as he fell on the floor, unconscious. "Pity he had to be so stubborn. This is not how I would've wanted him to remember me."

"He won't remember you anyway", Giles reminded her.

"Guess you're right. Though I'd like to believe I made quite an impression."

"You made quite the impression on his head, at least", Merlin said. "At least he'll always have the bump to remember you by."

"Haha", Buffy said. "Okay, I've had enough with annoying royalty for one day. Can we go home now?"

"My pleasure", Merlin said, and his eyes glowed as he started talking.

As soon as the void had become large enough to fit a human being, Buffy slipped through.

"Well, I suppose I should say thank you for your hospitality", Giles said.

"Don't mention it, your majesty", Merlin said. "Sir Giles, I mean."

"Well … good bye, then", Giles said and disappeared as well.

Willow hesitated.

"So … if you ever leave this dimension?" she said with one foot through the void. Merlin looked at her big green eyes and gave her a smile.

"Sunnydale is where I'll go."