By David MycockWalking the Path 6/
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer or any other of the characters in this story they belong to Joss Whedon and whoever else created the characters used in this story. Any characters I created I own.
Pairing: Janna Kalderdash/Xander Harris
Summary: Set after the love spell episode. Xander begins to walk his own path after leaning of his true origins. This also has a twist from the love spell episode with Xander actually sleeping with Jenny during the spell and the reactions from the rest of the group.
Sarah Harris stared at her son and lover with one question still confusing her and that was what had started Alexander in thinking about his true origins
"Alex what happened to make you started questioning your birth origins?" she asked
"Janna has a sword on her wall at home a relic of her people. One infused with the ancient magic of her" he started before he corrected himself "Our people and I managed to pull it from it's scabbard which should have been impossible if I had no Romany blood in me but as I have I could use it" he finished
"The sword is more than just a relic" Sarah told them surprised to learn that the ancient blade was so close
"Janna?" Xander asked
"There's an old legend that states the sword was once used by the ancient kings of the Romany people when they were united in one kingdom back when Vlad Tepes ruled Wallachia" she informed him
"Vlad Tepes you mean Dracula?" Xander asked confused
"Yes" Janna answered "Vlad was indeed a vampire but only after the murder of his first wife" she added "The myth which we know today is used as a smoke screen because most people do not believe in vampires" she added "Vlad is no demonic vampire Alex he's a completely different type of beast, he ruled the original Romany kingdom" she continued "He vanished a hundred years later and was succeed by a host of human kings each wielded the sword until the kingdom broke up into tribes and began in fighting, the sword passed from tribe to tribe during the wars and then the Kalderdash came into possession of it" she finished
"So did Vlad create the sword?" Xander asked
"Yes he did according to the ancient legend, whether it is true I have no idea but he wielded the sword during the wars with the Turks" Janna answered
"What happened to Vlad?" Xander asked worried about been told about other forms of vampires
"That is a mystery that has continued to elude our people Alex, some believe if he can be found he will be able to reform the kingdom and stop the in fighting" Janna explained
"Is he evil?" Xander wanted to know what kind of threat this new type of vampire was
"He dislikes the human race Alex because they murdered his wife" Janna continued to answer him as she recalled all of her history lessons from her father
"Why?" he asked actually disliking the information
"They accused her of marrying an evil spirit and bringing doom on their nearby village, the fact that she gave birth to a son only added to their anger" she told him aware that Sarah was nodding along with her making her realise she knew this "Vlad at the time was half human and it was this event that made him choose to shed his mortal life and become a full vampire, he destroyed the village and was stopped from going further by his own son" she added "Now fifty years later he married again and had a daughter and both of his children soon became vampires as well" she continued
"The sword is the key" Xander mused
"What do you mean Alex?" his mother asked
"If Vlad forged the sword and he imbued it with magic then it must be tuned to his spirit and so it should lead a stronger enough person to him wherever he is if he alive" Xander told them as the idea hit him
"Do we actually want to find Vlad?" his mother asked the two Romany
"Killing Radrik may not solve the full problem mom, others would come wanting control or other tribes would want to wipe ours out" Janna answered this "If the legend is true and not some myth then finding Vlad may be the only way to fully ensure the safety of not just our baby but every future generation of Romany to come" Janna said with hope of ending the inter war between the tribes
"If you're right then we have a long journey ahead of us" Alex said thinking about the possibility of trying to find Vlad
"He may not want to be found depending on what made him vanish in the first place" Sarah put in
"True" Xander agreed "But to protect our family and future generations I am willing to try" Xander told her
"Me too" Janna agreed
"I will help anyway I can especially if it uncovers the truth about your father's fate" Sarah pledged
"What happened to his children?" Xander asked having forgotten to ask before his sudden idea had hit him
"They vanished as well" Janna answered as she leant against Xander
Somewhere on another plain of existence a tall well dressed man stood looking down at a pool of water which showed the kitchen of Xander's mother's house and the conversation they were having, as he watched a short red headed woman came up beside him
"His quest is almost upon him" the man spoke in a deep rich voice
"Almost" the woman agreed looking at the picture of Xander reflected in the pool fondly
"He must face Angelus and his kin first and there is no guarantee he will survive" a third figure added as a shorter man approached the two around the pool
"Alexander will not fail his task" the woman responded hotly
"Agreed" the tall man nodded "Angelus and his kin are but pebbles to the tasks that lie before Alexander hand his future group of friends" he added looking sternly at the shorter man
"I mean no disrespect my lord" the short man quickly spoke "But I fail to see why you can put so much faith in the boy" he added
"You powers think to much of yourselves and your selected champions" the woman spat "Just because you did not choose Alexander it does not mean he is useless" she added
The shorter man refused to answer but he glared at the woman who returned it with as much venom
"Enough" the first man finally spoke once again irritated by his subordinates actions and dislike for one another "We are all fighting the same war and we all have our own chosen champions" he added "Powered or empowered neither of you should be attacking each other" he said with a shake of his head
"Sorry my lord" they both mumbled
"The powers will stay away from Alexander and those destined to join is that understood?" the man asked forcefully
"Yes my lord" the shorter man replied before fading away
"And you should stop provoking him Cassandra" he said turning to the woman "Alexander maybe of your line but do not allow that to influence your judgement" he cautioned "As much as you want him to succeed and survive you cannot allow that to cause friction with the powers that be"
"I know my lord" Cassandra answered "But Alexander is the only one who can bring my shattered people back together" she continued "He does not know he has a connection to me and through me to Vlad and his kin" she finished
"Vlad himself does not know you had a child before you married him" the man reminded her
"I know and that is to be one of Alexander's greatest problems when Vlad finds out" Cassandra admitted gloomy at the thought of his husband murdering one of her last actual descendants in one of his explosions of anger.
She knew Vlad had loved her and even after her death he continued to love her, the fact that he had remarried had not bothered her as she knew it was part of life and she also knew Vlad had desired another child.
She had not admitted to him the truth about the child she had when she was twenty in fear of his rejection and now that secret had to be revealed in order to hopefully bring her people back from the eventual brink of extinction.
"I have to have faith that Vlad will overcome the darkness within himself when the time comes" Cassandra whispered
"That is still a long way off, Alexander has much to learn and do before he is ready to come face to face with Vlad or his kin" the man reminded her
"True my lord but something tells me he may meet either my son or step daughter sooner than we think" Cassandra replied
"Anything is possible that is both the reward and the curse of free will" the man said as he turned back to the pool to find Alexander was now approching the library of the high school again
"For now all we can do is watch and wait" he told her
Xander walked towards the school library full of nerves and yet was determined to see if he could find anything to help fight Angelus or any of his childe's whilst trying to ignore everything he had learned in the last day and a half, he took a deep breath before walking in to find Giles sitting at the table staring absently at the book in the table
"Giles?" He asked
The watcher looked up at the voice of the one person he did not want to have to talk to for a while
"What do you want?" he asked annoyed
"I just want to look through the library for anything on Angelus and the others" he told him
"Why?" Giles asked with a frown
"You and Buffy may be willing to allow him to run around without trying to stop him but I intend to stop him" Xander answered
"We could of stopped him if you had not destroyed that disk" Giles reminded him
"Tell me Giles were you really willing to risk Janna's life to bring a vampire back into line just to make Buffy happy?" Xander asked
"Get out" Giles spat as he stood up
Xander shook his head and turned and exited the library knowing he would get no help from Giles for a while
Janna watched as Sarah looked at the sword she held in her hand, Xander's mother was truly amazed to see the sword William had told her about. Janna's tale and the promise it may provide awed her
"How do you really feel about my son?" Sarah asked as she finally sat down
Janna sat across from her and smiled at the protecivness in Sarah's voice, it made her happy to know there was still someone else beside her and Amy who still cared for Alex
"I am falling in love with him Sarah, something I did not see coming but I am not fighting it" Janna answered "This child we are going to have will be hopefully one of many" she added with a smile as she remembered her teenaged dreams of having a big family
"I am glad to hear that" Sarah replied as she settled back into the sofa and began to get to know her future daughter in law