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Hiya again, Well it is here, the first new chapter of the Two Worlds saga in I think four months. This is the B/W part of the story, with great big changes planned for the near future and watch out for a sneak peak of next chapter at the end of the mail. Catch you around, Cilia Title: Following of the Rose Book: Prophecy's Twilight Chapter: Return to Larken Author: Cilia Beta: Cheryl Summary: After the horrible defeat suffered at the Tower (see
Prophecy’s Twilight Introduction) Buffy has withdrawn with her troopsand
injured wife back to Larken. Now accompanied by Ziel Grey and Gymli Greybeard
her mother’s former companions and joined by her daughter June Xare and
Spike. Buffy must prepare for the coming battles, but reunited with her wife, PROPHECY’S TWILIGHT: FOLLOWING OF THE ROSE Chapter 1: Return to Larken Our numbers have diminished yet again as we return to Larken. Tark has vanished along with Tare, meaning the loss of my two most trusted soldiers. Still there is a reason for this; I can feel it in my bones, which at this moment are aching from the hard ride down from Argon. The tall gray stoned walls of Larken rise up in the center of the valley in which it lies. Carved from the rocks of the river it stands by, Larken is the most heavily defended city on the continent and a perfect place for a war council, cause if anybody disagrees you can justshut the gates and nobody is getting out until the issue is resolved, and peoplesay I’m losing my sense of humor. No I’m not on the barricades this time, instead I’m bored
out of my mind, sitting through yet another strategic meeting, this Alliance is
fragile at best, after all you try getting five species to work together
without tearing each other apart. We have your drow who don’t like the
elves all that much, less cause of the alliance though, and vise verse, then
you have you humans who are paranoid of the older races, you have dwarves who
are just trying to make profit in the end and then you have high elves and I
thought the Royals were bad, but these guys take the cake talk about
superiority complex. These things usually work so well at the start though and
I wish “General Summers?”
Queen Amy Solonus, head of the Alliance Council in “Sorry just wondering why we haven’t had word from Tharon,” Buffy answered and showing that despite her seeming disinterested with the meeting she still had her wits about her and Piratess, the Drow Queen, smiled at her protégés statement. “They have dispatched mages that will be arriving shortly,” Amy answered firmly. Willow’s former protégée despite being married to King Vitor Solonus of the Elves, had joined the mage guild shortly after Buffy’s departure from the Old Realm, thus their aid was a matter of pride to the Mage Queen. “Great, then if you’ll excuse me I have an army to drill,” Buffy said, stood upand strode out of the meeting hall. The room erupted into protest and arguing the moment she left, cause with her went Piratess and that meant all bets were off. The Drow Queen caught up with her human protégée in the halls of the “Elisabeth when will your wife return and claim her place?” The Queen asked, getting right to the point. “Soon Tessa, soon,” Buffy said as the floor became very interesting all of a sudden. “She’s just needs time to recover a bit of her strength,”she added. “We have had this talk before have we not?” The Queen asked with a motherly smile. “Yes, many times,” Buffy answered. “And things are cool, err good, they really are it’s just...” “You do her no good by protecting her you know that,” Tessa said as they stepped aside for a hurrying messenger. There was silence between the two women, in the brief time they had spent together prior to the Battle of Necris and then again when Buffy returned had forged a sisterly bond between the two. “You are right of course,” Buffy finally said with a smile. “Time to put all that angst behind us and move on.” Upon hearing this the Drow Queen, smileda smile that she rarely used. “Good, now tell
me about this daughter of yours… from the future,” she asked and
Buffy sighed and it was a deep rumbling in your chest kind of sigh. ~*~*~*~ Willow Rosenberg-Summers, the most powerful being of two worlds, sat
and watched the sun travel across the sky. Her body was sitting in a large
chair in the mage There was a small intrusion, almost too small to notice. It had a
familiar feel to it and Finally it is June that speaks, lacking the patience born of years of
training that both her mother’s posses, though arguably one more thanthe
other. Figured i’d tell you cause
you would have figured it out sooner or later. Mommy I am an elemental, just
like grandma Joyce is, there are, or will be four of us, one is already born
here, the other two are waiting back home. At this ~*~*~*~ William, also known as Spike, sat and waited for his companion to return from wherever she was and his place of waiting; of course the pub closest to the Alliance building of Larken. It would be a lie to say that the he didn’t find all this a bit unsettling and that he had not undertaken the mission under extreme protest. “Silly smart fucks,” he muttered to himself, referring two of his oldest friends who had orchestrated this little sojourn into the past. Just when he had settled down into a nice mentoring gig with a group of second generation white hats, they had pulled him back in, as if he could have let June go alone. “Prince William Blood?” a soft voice asked causing him to jump slightly. Before him stood a short woman, of no more than twenty odd years, with distinct elfin features but also a touch of humanity. “Priestess Ziel Grey,” he greeted with a bow, good memory one of the must of eternal life. “You have good memory Prince Blood,” she said as she sat down. “What happened to your accent?” he asked, remembering the strong dwarfish brogue the woman had spoken with the last time they had met almost twenty-four years ago. “Ten years of wandering can change things,” she answered with a small smile. “And your father, Gymli, how’s the old bastard?” Spike asked. He had fond memories of his time here, many of the spend drinking with the dwarf. “Aye if it isn’t dat no good bloodsucker who cares little for fine meat,” a voice thundered from the entrance. “He was running late,” Ziel answered and her smile grew as Spike stood up to greet the dwarf. It was an awkward greeting, Spike towering a good two feet over the bulky dwarf and both men sizing each other up and the other customers started to stir at the prospect of a fight. “You have gained weight,” Spike said in a conversational tone. “Ye are exactly the same,” Gymli answered. “Well almost,” he added and gave a bellowing laugh when he noticed the gray color of Spike’s temples. “Sure mock
me,” Spikes huffed and planted himself back into his chair. “Well you are no feast for the eyes yourself,” Spike said and Ziel’s smile just grew. “What are ya smiling about,” both men asked and that caused the petit and usually controlled Priestess to burst out laughing. When the Priestess' musical laughter subsided she just smiled a silly little smile and blushed. “Where is dat lass you brought with ya?” Gymli asked looking around when the barmaid delivered the meat. “Locked up in the mage guild reading,” Spike muttered. “That girl spends too much time hunches over books, I think it comes from her mother’s side of the family, Willow’s one that is,” Spike explained. Ziel looked thoughtful for moment and then a smile spread across her lips. “Oy me know that look,” Gymli muttered. “What ya plottin’ lass?” he asked. “Spike, what if I told you I could get her into the drow army, elite that is?” Ziel asked. “I would ask what it will cost me?” Spike asked. “Nothing, just a favor, one that I will collect at a later date of course,” Ziel said with a smile. “Favors I can do,” Spike said with a smile. “The more brawl involved the better,” he added and offered her his hand. “Deal!” he said and Ziel took his large hand in her small one. “Deal,” she said and they shook. ~*~*~*~ Later that day Priestess Ziel found herself looking for an old friend in order to settle an old issue, one that had been allowed to fester far too long, almost five years too long. She strode intothe study of Ambassador Grimm, scholar, thief, general and most notably consortto Queen Piratess of the Drow. He had at one point been her lover. The study was filled with trophies from battles, thefts and journeys. Buried in a book, but still even hunched over a tome his body was still coiled ready to spring into action and that he did, throwing knife at ready and a glint in his eyes. “Ziel,” he greeted, as his smile got wider. It was a thief’s smile, a roguish one at that. “Hello old friend,” Ziel greeted with a bow and Grimm’s face fell, being a good judge of people he knew that this was not a social call. “I heard of your
acceptance as Piratess’ consort,” she went on. “I’ma
sorry that I did not make my way here sooner to congratulate you.” He had known that getting together with the then young priestess atTharon during their mission to rescue But the priestess knew so much about him, she was one of the few that knew he was a son of a respected scholar and had walked that road briefly in his youth. That he had beliefs and fears, fears of loving a woman, no a Queen, that would outlive him by centuries. She had been so desperate in her search for understanding of her
humanity, a half elf, half-human raised by a dwarf, and there was little chance
of finding an odder mix in race and upbringing than that. So he had helped her,
walked with her through the streets of Altran and Tharon, seeking out clues and coming up empty handed.They
had become lovers on the voyage across the “I know you
trust me silly,” Ziel said interrupting his racing thoughts.
“That’s not why I came,” she added with a sly smile. “Why thank you,” Ziel said with sly smile. “The reason I came, is to tell you that I wish to call in a favor I believe you have owed me for five years now,” she said and the thief sighed. “You remember good,” she said with smile. “What do you want Ziel?” Grimm asked, knowing that it would be something thoroughly embarrassing. Who knew that she would remember a simple banishing for so long? “I need to have a friend moved through the ranks,” she said. “Without it being known that it was my doing and that includes everybody,” she added. “That can be arranged, who is it?” Grimm asked. “You’ll find out soon enough, I’ll send her by tomorrow,” Ziel said. “Her?” Grimm asked, but Ziel only smiled and the thief buried his face in his hands. “Good day
ambassador,” Ziel said and when Grimm looked up she was gone. To be contiuned on Following of the Rose #2 . . . Sneak preview at . . . Before her stood |