16. Butterfly

"What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil."
- Nietzsche

Caras Galadhon Lothlorien April 8/11 Tuile 2976 III Age

Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood, stood over her mirror unmoving. She knew what she had seen. She knew the paths that lay before her daughter. That her fate stood on the edge of a knife. To become something even greater than she imagined. Many trials lay before her daughter and many choices. The wrong ones could lead to destruction.

She could not fail.

Power now sought her daughter.

Fate fast on its heels.

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Caras Galadhon Lothlorien May 3/ 36 Tuile 2976 III Age

It had taken nearly a month for them to make arrangements to leave Mirkwood and travel to Caras Galadhon. Aragorn had joined them in the trip. He planned to continue on to Imladris after resting for a bit.

Her naneth and adar were as happy to see her as she was them. Within moments of their arrival she had been whisked away from her two fellow travelers and firmly ensconced in her rooms; an exuberant Arwen there to greet and spoil her.

Now after several hours of talk with her family she was luxuriating in a hot bath and could faintly hear Arwen moving about her bedroom. She knew what the elleth was doing and it amused her to no end. For six years she had avoided wearing a gown in Thranduil's kingdom and now Arwen was hell bent on getting her back into one.

Buffy smiled to herself as she sat up and began to soap her body. While in her naneth and adar's presence she would be the dutiful daughter and look the role of the lady. But she didn't have to like it. Years in mostly male presence and trekking the wilds had burned her fashion sense down to nearly nothing and oddly enough she found it liberating. Well that and one couldn't very well fight in a dress.

Ignoring the urge to stay in the bath to avoid having to play lady Buffy stood up and got out of the tub. Reaching across she pulled a large piece of cloth that was a close to a towel as they had here from a stack and dried herself. After finishing she wrapped it around her body and made her way into her bedroom to the waiting Arwen.

"So what have you picked for me today on great lady of girly?" Buffy quipped as she took the under dress from Arwen's outstretched hands.

"The deep green with silver. After I will see to your hair." Arwen replied as she helped Buffy slip the pale silver sleeveless under dress Buffy's head. Before Buffy could even give a reply Arwen had turned and retrieved the green gown from its place on the chair.

"Arms up thel neth" She instructed and Buffy; knowing better than to argue with Arwen on a mission she complied.

After a few moments of adjustment Buffy was almost pushed to the vanity of her room and obediently sat down. Arwen brushed her long gold hair until it was dry and then began to plait two thin braids on each side of the crown of her forehead. They were held together with a simple silver clasp. On her head Arwen placed an intricate head piece.

It was made of mithril and immeasurably beautiful. Designed to remind one of a butterfly from all sides; the front was indeed that of a delicate butterfly that sat in the center of Buffy's forehead. The sides were like that of wings with the first arch high to hold the front in place. The second sat near Buffy's temples and from it hung delicate chains that ended with the same green stones that adorned the sides. More chains followed the along to the back where they connected in another intricate and larger butterfly that sat between the 'V' of Buffy's braids.

Buffy had always loved the it; given to her as a gift from her adar when they had taken her into the family. It was a thing she prized greatly.

Looking into Arwen's eyes in the reflection of the mirror she smiled and stood up.

"Diola lle thel mell" she said and made her way to the doors, her arm entwined with Arwen's.

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Then our eyes meet 'cross the room, And I feel like I'm flying outside myself.
I can't catch my breath, I just feel something switch,
Can't explain myself.
I thought I was happy, until I met you.
-Until I Met You -Paula Cole

The Lord and Lady had been warned of their coming nearly two days before they arrived in Caras Galadhon. Evidently pleased with the arrival of their foster daughter they had ordered a celebration to take place.

Within moments of arriving Buffy had been whisked away by two of Galadriel's maidens; leaving the two males to be greeted by the Lord and Lady. They were offered shelter for as long as they wished and directed to their own talans.

After bathing and dressing they made the most the festivities that had begun only a short time earlier. Legolas and Celeborn were deep in conversation next to the Lady of the Wood. They had been informed that the Lady Arwen was here as well and had chosen to stay close to her kinswoman as she prepared.

Sitting comfortably with a goblet of wine in his hand he turned his gaze when he heard tinkling female laughter. Breath caught in his chest he stared at a sight that was overwhelming. There stood Buffy looking more beautiful than any he had ever seen.

Her gown was deep green and cut in the manner of the Eldar. With long draping sleeves of silver and intricate embroidery across the top of the sleeves and neck in silver as well. On her brow was a delicate adornment of mithril and green stones. Her long golden tresses flowing free to her waist.

He had seen her in a gown before in the White City but at the time he had paid her appearance little heed. Now though she looked remarkably like her naneth.

His perusal was broken when she turned to look at him and a small wicked smile played on her lips. She continued to speak to Arwen for a moment and then made her way to him; amusement still playing in her eyes. She stopped just short of him.

"You gonna keep staring at me like that or not cause honestly it wigging me out."

Aragorn sucked air into his lungs and attempted to think of something to say. "My apologies. I was simply taken aback by the sudden change in you."

She laughed softly and continued to smile. "I should have warned you about that I guess. Here I behave myself and with Arwen around I tend to revert to back to my girly side some. Hope you can handle it."

Raising an eyebrow at the diminutive beauty he couldn't help his reply. "I'm overwhelmed. You behaving. It will be a rare change. I'm quite sure I will manage though. The thought of you being a Lady is quite the motivation."

Sitting down next to him and pouring herself a goblet of wine as well she laughed softly before turning back to him. "I will never be a 'Lady' Aragorn. Many other things yes but never a Lady. I leave that to Arwen. She's much more lady like than I'll ever be; at least by the standards of Arda."

Aragorn couldn't help but agree with her words. She would never be a 'Lady' by the standards lived by here.

"Besides being a 'Lady' is no fun. They never get to go out patrolling and they have to wear dresses all the time. Nope not me at all." she continued as she took a sip of her wine.

"Then perhaps a princess then, tithen dagnir? My adar would so enjoy having you as a member of the family." Legolas said jokingly as he came up to the other side of the table and causing Buffy to choke slightly on her drink. After a moment of coughing she regained control of herself.

"Ewww Legolas that is so wrong! You or your adar. It would be like marrying Xander. So wrong and taking me such a bad mental place." Buffy replied as Legolas let out a chuckle.

Aragorn watched the exchange with a small smile on his face. Tonight was going to prove interesting. Legolas seemed to be in good spirits which always led to a good time. And Buffy; she had just surprised him for a moment, now she was exactly as she always was. A friend and fellow warrior. Nothing more.

Then why did he feel his eyes following her as she spoke to Legolas?

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"The irrationality of a thing is not an argument against its existence, rather a condition of it."
- Nietzsche

Buffy was far from her normal self at the moment. She had been at the party for hours and it was still going fairly strong. The Eldar had a really hard time getting drunk and as such could drink for hours without feeling a thing. She on the other hand didn't have that ability even with a slayer's metabolism. Some how she and Aragorn had ended up in a corner playing a drinking game and acting like complete idiots.

Or at least she felt like an idiot.

And she was still very very drunk so that should mean something.

After over an hour of drinking hard and challenging each other they had somehow ended up staring into each others eyes for what felt like an eternity. She'd felt lost in those gray eyes. Had felt something like those first faint stirrings she had felt so long ago with Angel and it had bothered her. She was sure she was still cookie dough. After all she hadn't really had to get through anything here so far. There hadn't been any real challenges yet. She didn't feel like she had grown at all since that night when she had killed Caleb. She still mourned the loss of the Scoobies and of Spike and Angel.

So she had run.

So here she was, drunk as a dwarf, laying in the middle of one of the training fields attempting to will away everything.

Will away the wine.

Will away the her memories of Angel.

Will away that minute flutter that she had felt even for an instant for Aragorn.

Sighing she laid there waiting for her body to clean out her system enough so that she could get up and go to her room. If Legolas found her like this he would never let her live it down. Her thoughts were still fuzzy as she heard footsteps approach her. Hoping to Eru that it wasn't Legolas she opened her eyes to look at the form standing above her.

It was Aragorn.

Oh course. Someone up there hated her.

Legolas would have been better.

Haldir would have been better.

And the Valar knew her adar would have even been better despite the lecture.

"Can you stand and walk?" he asked as he looked down on her.

"mmmph." was her reply as she threw a silver covered arm over her eyes trying to block him out.

"Buffy you must rise and make your way to your rooms. You cannot sleep on the training field."

"Yes I can." she grumbled through the cloth

"No you can't." He argued and bent down. Sweeping her into his arms as she began to try and protest.

"Hey! Put me down you big ape!"

"No I will not. Now stop trying to get free or we will both fall." he replied as he moved across the field steadily despite the amount of wine he had consumed.

Buffy couldn't help but feel her mind slipping further into a hazy state. Her stomach was still very full of wine and despite her best efforts she couldn't fight the effects. After what seemed like forever to her the rhythm of his movements changed and she knew he was climbing the stairs to her room.

Giving into her wine induced impulses she burrowed her head into his shoulder and inhaled deeply. His smell was so heady to her. Of moist earth, rain, leather, and something sweet. It was a comforting smell; a smell that was entirely Aragorn. Buffy took deep breaths and concentrated on the smell until she felt her world shift to grateful oblivion.

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Aragorn looked down on the sleeping form in his arms. She seemed so small there and he couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the sides of his mouth. She hated being referred to as small. But in fact she was. She was just one small woman and for some reason he couldn't for the life of him figure out he had an urge to protect her.

Pushing aside any attempt to think on the reason for the feeling in his inebriated state he finished making his way to Buffy's room where he softly deposited her on her large bed. Picking up the blanket from the end of the bed he covered her still sleeping form as he smiled.

Then bending he brushed a strand of hair from across the mithril butterfly on her forehead. He straightened and turned; leaving a sleeping slayer in his wake.

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Buffy knew that she was dreaming. It wasn't as if she'd never had a slayer dream before. But this one felt different. The others had always warned her of fear, pain, death, and most of all of bad things to come. And so they always had a certain feel to them.

This one didn't. It was a slayer dream; of that she was certain. Because only in a slayer dream did she truly feel the slayer inside her. In every other dream the feeling of the slayer essence was always muted. But right now she could feel it strongly and yet there wasn't a sense of anything bad coming. Instead it calming and serene.

You think you know. What's to come. What you are. You haven't even begun.

The words came out of no where as Buffy took in her surroundings. She stood in a room of white; like the one that she had seen Whistler in that last time. But instead of the balance daemon there stood an exact copy of herself. She didn't appear threatening at all. Her eyes were full of laughter and love and strangely enough compassion. She didn't feel evil to Buffy at all.

On her head she wore an intricate circlet of mithril. Butterfly in the center like the one she wore to the party but much different. It was much more delicate though it resembled faintly the one given to her by her adar. Though this one reminded Buffy more of a crown. It was beautiful. She wore a dress of silver and white with only the faintest traces of green embroidery adorning the splits of the sleeves and at the deep neck. But more than anything her hand caught Buffy's attention. On her right hand was something immeasurably powerful. she could feel the power in waves. The ring looked to be made of mithril and beautiful with a deep red stone in the center. It reminded Buffy of a miniature crown.

Buffy's eyes were torn from the ring when her copy spoke.

"You think you know. What's to come. What you are. You haven't even begun. You must accept this gift. It will teach you; save you."

Buffy's eyes snapped open and the words echoed in her mind.

She could feel it.

The power that radiated from that ring.

It was coming.

She could feel it approaching. It felt vaguely familiar and yet she couldn't for the life of her place it. It was calling her. And yet it didn't feel evil. She could feel it in her blood; feel it calling out to her.

"Its always about the blood"

Spike's words came back her her. He had never been wrong and for some reason she hoped his words wouldn't be now

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