Cursed Love
by TC
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of BtVS or Angel…I do own the
original characters and the plotline…
Spoiler: Set after the season finale so could be a spoiler for any
episode...
Author's Note: Suck at writing smut, but I still try…I can't write
without a plot…This will be a five part series…
I haven't written BtVS in such a long time...though BtVS fiction was
the first one I ever wrote...this I am writing for a fest entry in
another group...but I thought I would share it here too...let me
know how you like it....
Feedback: Please please please…
The mountains were white and the hills were green. The sky was blue and the river was sparkling. The sun was at its noon and everything was as bright as the smile on the faces of the two young women who sat almost conjoined to each other by the bank.
Distant birds sang with the low blow of the wind in the background as the two hands entangled with each other played lazily. The one with the golden hair leaned down and scooped some water in her hand and brought it to her face. The brunette tilted her head back and closed her eyes due to the brightness of the sun as the cool water ran down her face and to her neck. She was waiting for it to stream downwards when it was intercepted by wet warmth. Her soft smile widened as her heart recognized the touch of the tongue on her skin a little too well. It made its way upward; she opened her mouth slightly anticipating its entrance on her mouth. But this time the blonde changed the path of her tongue and traced it to her earlobe instead and nibbled it a little harder so that she had to open her eyes.
Not wanting to squint at the harsh rays of the sun, the wet faced beauty instead grabbed the smaller woman and let both their bodies fall onto the grass. Once comfortably under her, the blonde beauty's tongue was still out and was licking off the remainder of the water droplets from her face. When none remained she finally decided to fulfill her anticipation and she let her lips suck her lower lips at first. The brunette raised her head wanting more but she pushed her back, enjoying the foreplay. She lowered herself to kiss the upper lips; just then the brunette's hand pressed the back of her head forcing her into a deeper kiss. The blonde though reluctant obliged.
As their kiss got deeper, her hands got friskier as she wandered it all over. She touched her arms…then her breasts…she massaged it a little to get a definite moan…she moved it lower to her stomach…she lifted her top to touch the skin … she lingered her finger there for second or two…then she slipped her hand in between her legs…the legs parted and her finger found the heat effortlessly as their tongues were still busy exploring each other.
She loved the warm wetness on her finger…she let her fingers dig deeper into the core of the wetness but…it was different…yes her finger was wet…and yes it was hot but it wasn't the same. She immediately pulled her hand out and backed up from the kiss. She stared at face below her bewildered as she failed to recognize it. Then her mind kicked in and she brought her hand to see why it had felt different. Her eyes widened as she stared at her hand that was red. Red because it was covered in blood. She jumped right up in shock…she looked down at the woman…whose face was cringed with pain as her hand held on to her stomach from where the blood was oozing out. She took a step back as the spilled blood started to make its way to her feet…she unwillingly looked at the woman again and this time she recognized her…it was Faith…Faith was lying on the ground that was turning red…the hills were turning red…the mountains were turning red…the blue sky was turning red … 'FAITH' she screamed looking down at her own hands…which somehow was now holding a dragger…She looked up frantically at the red cloud that was approaching the sun…and looked back down to Faith's face that was loosing its light and darkening…. "I know you love me…" Faith said before her eyes closed and the cloud completely darkened the entire scene….
"FAITH" Buffy screamed once again.
The mountains were white and the hills were green. The sky was blue and the river was sparkling. The sun was at its noon and everything was as bright as the smile on Willow's face as she stared at the mesmerizing view from her window.
"What are you smiling at?" Kennedy asked peeking from the covers.
"Oh! The view. Come here…look at it…it's just so beautiful." Willow said unwilling to break her stare.
"That's ok…we were in the car for almost 10 hours…last night…now all I want to do is stay in the bed for the rest of day…." Kennedy was in no mood for looking at any view even though it was already afternoon. "Preferably with my girlfriend." She added.
Willow turned around just to be see Kennedy laying side ways on the bed with her one hand holding the sheet open giving Willow an eyeful of what she had to offer. The offer Willow Rosenberg couldn't refuse.
After the hellmouth was closed the Scoobies had an open invitation from Angel to join them in LA. Most of the potentials went back to their own lives, some who liked the thrill along with Faith accepted Angel's invitation. But, that wasn't something that neither Buffy nor Willow wanted to do, even though they both did want to stay in business of saving lives. That's when Kennedy had come up with a plan to open their own detective agency for supernatural investigations and the three women had jumped up and down thinking they had found a perfect solution. What they hadn't anticipated was the empty office with a phone that never rang and the bills that piled up with every passing day. That was of course till Giles decided to help and started forwarding cases to their agency. Very soon they made their name in the market and started having their own cases. One of which cases brought them to this town.
A month ago a newly wed couple Dina Shah and Jack Jackson came to this particular little town for honeymoon. They had even bought that particular house where the sleuths had arrived the night before. Now a month later the couple had both disappeared. Dina's family had contacted their office and here they were.
"You know Buffy as much as we like you, we don't want the details of your sex life." Kennedy said seriously as soon as she saw the older slayer walking into the kitchen.
Buffy narrowed her eyes wondering what she was talking about.
"We just heard you…that's all." Willow clarified a little embarrassed as though she was the one who had screamed.
"Heard what?" Buffy asked innocently as she poured herself some coffee.
"FAITH…..FAITH…." Kennedy imitated the scream that startled them. "Now we know you fantasize about Faith but hell we don't need to know when …after all even we keep it low…it's called being polite."
Buffy's gaze automatically fell on her hands remembering the nightmare she had. Pain quickly flooded her heart as the scene of blood all over her hand and Faith's face darkening with everything else repeated before her eyes. She had stabbed Faith once and she had watched the blood come out of her before, but the scene in her nightmare was different. It wasn't the same Faith. It was first someone else. And it certainly wasn't her. It was like she was watching two different women almost having sex, when everything changed and the woman on the ground became Faith and on the top was her, with Faith dying and her with blood-drenched dragger in her hand. Yes, it certainly wasn't the same because the last time Faith had survived.
"Ken stop it." Willow elbowed her girlfriend hoping she wouldn't embarrass her best friend seeing that Buffy had remained silent.
"It is not like that…" Buffy nodded her head to bring herself back to reality. "I actually had a nightmare…"
"Come on Faith …Faith….ummm…doesn't sound like nightmare to me." Kennedy just couldn't help but tease the older slayer whom she knew had a thing for the Faith from the time she had seen them together. And Kennedy was rarely wrong about these things.
Before Buffy could have her say, the phone rang and Kennedy left the kitchen to answer it, leaving the two friends alone. Willow who had desperately sought Buffy's approval when she had come out, was a little shocked to find herself feeling uncomfortable about the fact that Buffy might be gay too. She wasn't sure if she was just shocked at the possibility or that she actually did not approve of it. May be it was just because of Faith, she reasoned her thoughts.
"I just had a dream about Faith that's all. It wasn't really like …" Buffy thought she would at least explain to her friend.
"That's ok Buffy." Willow interrupted unwilling to be the confidant for details regarding her feelings towards Faith. If what Kennedy had hinted was true, Willow didn't want to know about it. "I don't want to know."
"But this you want to know." Kennedy said walking inside. "That was the local police I had informed them that we were coming to investigate the disappearance. Apparently there is a cave about two miles from here, and they want us to go and check it out."
"Did they say why?" Willow asked welcoming the distraction.
"Nope, the dude just said you might find your answers there."
"When do you want to go?" Buffy asked.
"How about now…?"
The cave was nothing scary compared to the ones that they had seen. It was just big. It was like a huge hole on a side of a hill that just went on and on as the three women walked on and on.
"Is there an end to this or we are just going to around the world while we are at it." Kennedy complained.
"There has to be." Buffy said who was walking couple of steps ahead of the couple.
"May be the cops were the ones that killed the Jacksons and this is their plan to trap us in the cave." Willow who had protested to come inside voiced her pessimism.
"Don't worry baby, if they trap us I'll protect you." Kennedy said always willing to be Willow's savior.
"Really." Willow's eyes were open wide as she contemplated the idea of being saved by her girlfriend. "Even when there is a big bad monster in our trail just like the last time?"
"Yes, baby just like the last time." Kennedy was saying when the couple who were looking at each other instead of their path bumped right into Buffy. "What the fuck…"
Kennedy didn't finish her sentence as her eyes fell on what had made Buffy freeze. The three women were staring at life size statues, hundreds of them, lined up neatly in hundreds of rows and columns that seemed like it went on forever.
"Wow…" Willow remarked as she tried to catch the end of the row. "How many statues are there?"
"Thousands." A familiar voice somewhere from the middle of the statues replied. "There doesn't seem to be an end to these statues, so I am assuming thousands." Faith was saying as she came into the view of her former allies.
"Faith…what are you doing here?" Kennedy was the one who asked as both Willow and Buffy were too shocked to ask.
"Jack Jackson's father is a client of Wolfman and Hart's, when he disappeared Angel wanted me to come and find out what was happening. What brings ya'll here?"
"Well, Dina's parents hired us to find their daughter." Willow replied.
"Why are Dina's and Jack's family hiring two different firms to investigate this? I mean, should they be joining forces to find them." Buffy wondered allowed as she opted to think about the case at hand rather than listen to her heart that was constantly racing because of Faith.
"Why you don't know?" Faith was surprised that Buffy was in more dark than she was. "Dina and Jack eloped. Their family was against their marriage."
"So, what are these statues about?" Willow asked realizing that Faith had more information than they did.
"I don't know. They look too damn real to me." Faith was staring at one that was exactly her size. "Like someone froze a living person."
"I feel the same thing." Kennedy agreed as she started walking in between the statues.
Buffy and Willow took their turn to do the same as they inspected one after another statue. What they were looking for they didn't know but that was soon answered when Kennedy hollered for everyone to rush to her.
"Look at her." She said once everyone was by her side.
The women stared at the statue that Kennedy was pointing at.
"Is it just me or she looks just like Dina?"
"That is Dina."
"I know you love me…"
Faith had said in her dream. Everything else about the dream had now faded away except for those words, Faith's words. Words those were unfortunately or fortunately true. Yes, Buffy was in love with Faith. She had realized that long time ago, but amidst saving world and making it a safer place there never was a right time she could say it aloud to herself let alone to Faith. Not to mention the fact that it always seemed like everything was against them; almost as though karma had forbidden her love. Except for at that moment in that town, somehow everything had overturned.
Buffy strode lazily behind Faith wandering around the woods surrounding the cave while Kennedy and Willow had left to question the locals and the police. With every step she took towards the distant hill her feelings towards the beauty who hadn't spoken a word to her since they had accidentally met couple of hours ago, grew stronger and stronger. Buffy had worked in close proximity with the other slayer in numerous occasions but never had she ever had her feelings grow in such rapid speed as it was doing right at that moment.
She stood still looking at the scene around them. The green pastures of the ground were only interrupted by the occasional one or two trees here and there while a river un-apologetically ran right across. Occasional chippers of distant birds accompanied the rhythm of the river as the sun made its descent behind the hills that seemed to be all around them. The scene was so beautiful and romantic that it was no wonder Buffy's suppressed love for Faith was emerging out.
The slayer wanted to say something like wow or whoa…at the scene but it just seemed inappropriate and she remained silent with just a smile on her face. Then it hit her. The hills…the mountains…the river and …Faith sitting on the bank with her legs just touching the film of the water. It was the exact scene from her dream. Except it was two strange women and not Faith but the background was the exact same.
Normally when a dream reappeared in her reality, Buffy never discarded it as a co-incident. Nothing in her life was a co- incident. But somehow with the romance that seemed to be in the air of the present scene, Buffy did not want to break the moment with her worries.
She simply walked up to the bank and sat beside the brunette. Before Buffy could let her mind think, the moment took over and her hand unconsciously reached the water and scooped some and brought it up. Almost automatically as her hand had done so, Faith's head tilted back just as the brunette in Buffy's dream had done. Buffy let the water pour on Faith's face as she felt her tongue nearing her neck to intercept the downward flow of one particular stream. Faith smiled and opened her mouth at the same time, and Buffy trailed her tongue upward and at the last minute changed the path to the earlobe instead. To which Faith reacted by pulling the slayer to fall back on ground with her. As soon as their bodies landed, Buffy concentrated on the droplets on Faith's face. Once that was done she finally let her lips lower to the younger slayer's lips and just sucked the lower ones. Faith lifted her head wanting more but Buffy just pushed her back and leaned closer to do the same to the upper ones when Faith put her hand behind her head and made the kiss complete. Buffy reluctantly let the kiss get deeper as hands wandered on Faith's body. She let her hand reach her breast and let it massage for a moment or two before she let it slide down to the stomach then slipped it through her pants. Faith's legs parted automatically as Buffy's fingers' reached its destination.
Then Buffy froze. Faith froze. Buffy stared right into Faith who was looking at her with mirror expression.
"You saw the dream too." Buffy finally asked.
"Wouldn't you call that a nightmare…. after all you killed me?" Faith certainly had seen the dream/nightmare.
"When?"
"Last night, after I came here."
Buffy's eyes hadn't diverted but her mind was quickly in overdrive trying to make sense of the dream. It wasn't just that the dream wasn't weird enough but now that Faith had seen the exact same dream possibly at the exact same time meant ….
"Hey B" Faith said yanking Buffy back. "Unless you want to put your fingers to its use…could you take them out?" Faith brought attention to the exact point they had both stopped.
"Oh! .." Buffy said looking down at her hand between Faith's legs but somehow didn't take it out.
"B it's okay." Faith who was gazing at Buffy's hand too, knew exactly why Buffy was afraid to pull it out. She put her hand on Buffy's wrist while the usually stern slayer lowered her body once again. Faith lifted her head just a little to reach Buffy's ears and whispered gently as she tugged Buffy's hand at the same time. "I am not going to die. You haven't killed me… Yet…" Faith added with her patented cocky voice but as soon as Buffy heard the last word, tears burst out. She did not want to kill Faith. She had once done it but it was different time … and certainly different place…but right at that moment and at that place even the thought of Faith dying was tearing Buffy from inside. She resisted Faith's pull on her wrist, as she feared the worst. She was scared that the nightmare would repeat itself. So, was so scared that her mind had taken a complete back seat as her heart overloaded with all her feelings for the younger slayer.
"I can't…." Buffy confessed between her sobs. "I can't see you die…"
"I am not dying B…" Faith consoled stroking Buffy's cheek with her hand.
"Yeah but….I won't…I won't ever do it again…." Buffy had to say it, she had to tell Faith now, "I won't kill you Faith…I love you…."
Faith's grip on Buffy's wrist loosened as the words registered in her thought. She let Buffy's hands be where they were as she pulled the blonde into a kiss. As the kiss deepened Buffy's fingers slowly danced with the same rhythm as the two slayers tongues were playing.
…And the mountains were white and the hills were green. The sky was blue and the river was sparkling.
The sun was setting on the west and the streets were illuminated with a beautiful orange light that seemed to be wrapping the town. So that the random couples that walked by holding hands completely lost in each other could steal a moment from the rest of the world. For a moment they could take solace in the light that still shown brightly on their lover's face but threatened to be dark everywhere else and kiss or touch each other to share the affection that the whole scene seemed to accelerate in anyone who was in love.
"I can see the reason why Dina and Jack chose this place for their honeymoon." Kennedy said aloud as she watched a couple on the other side of the street basking in the romance of the scene that just wanted lovers to completely fall in love.
"Yeah…something about this whole town…seems so …" Willow agreed as she watched the sun nearing a distant hill from the side street café.
"Romantic." Kennedy completed the sentence.
"Yes…and look at the sun…it feels as though it is about to go hide in between that mountain and that hill." Willow was pointing so that her girlfriend understood what she was saying.
"Wow…" The slayer just marveled at the view. "I can't believe that the mountains are snow covered even in mid July. And it is just not as hot as the summer is supposed to be. The weather feels like …"
"Perfect." The waitress said who was holding their second rounds of soda. "Everything about this town is just perfect. Including the weather. It is always this pleasant temperature through out the year."
"Isn't that a little odd though?" Willow asked.
"Yes, it is but this is the town of love. And lovers don't need rain or snow or cold. We need bright sun and beautiful sunsets and mesmerizing sunrise. We need the green pastures to run and play freely, we need snow covered mountains to recite poetries … whoa…I am sorry." The waitress caught herself before she went off rambling. Which, by the look of her, seemed like she was capable of. "I am Madeline Haze by the way. Call me Maddy, I own this little cafe and when I see a new couple in town I just get a little excited."
"Oh that's okay. We were both just captivated by the scene…like you said it just is perfectly romantic." Willow looked at her girlfriend who seemed extra sexy as the orange light fell on her dark curls.
"That is because this town is cursed." Maddy was still smiling even though she used a negative word like curse.
"Cursed?"
"Yes, cursed with love. If you come here with a person that is your true love, your heart can never deny it. And you can see the reason why…everything about this place is like it encourages you to fall in love and if your heart is already in love how can you ever deny it here." Maddy was watching the sun as she told the story. "It was about 10 years ago that I came here with my business partner David… but in actuality my true love. We came here and within hours we were all over each other. It was like every wall that we thought existed between us just evaporated. Most of town folks' story is similar…"
"Wow that is so sweet…" Willow was touched by the look on Maddy's face, which still beamed with the thought of David.
"But…how come you call it a curse?" Kennedy asked.
"I don't know dear…they say there were two lovers that lived here centuries ago…somehow one of them died or was killed…then the other cursed this town with love…I myself don't know how falling in love can be a curse but they call it a curse and I don't care…All I know is that if it weren't for this place I would have never admitted to my feelings…so we just didn't want to leave this place…and we settled here."
"So, once you fall in love you can't leave this place…may be that is the curse?" Willow speculated aloud.
"Not really…I know plenty of couples who came here fell in love and left…settling here is entirely up to you. This place only makes it possible to see and acknowledge the love inside you … it doesn't create it."
"Then what are those statues about at the west end cave?" Kennedy asked feeling comfortable with the older woman.
"Oh! You have already been there…and you came back…that is good. My husband must have called you." Maddy pulled up a chair and now sat down with the girls. "Jerry call David and tell him they made it out…" She yelled at her employee before she turned to the girls again. "He told me about a group of people coming to investigate the disappearance of Jack and Dina…and had told me that he would send you all to the cave and I thought it was a terrible idea but now that I see you two have made it back I am just relieved."
"Well I guess we did make it out…it wasn't as though anything stopped us…" Kennedy said thinking they had come out of hell mouth alive…coming out of a cave which was unusually big didn't seem big of a deal.
"That means your love is not cursed." Maddy put each of her hand on each of the lover's hands and squeezed it as though they had just achieved something.
"What do you mean?" Willow asked.
"Not everyone's love is meant to be…now when lovers come here and if their love is forbidden then the whole town has to suffer…and the cave feeds on the cursed love…when David saw the two of you…he thought may be your love was cursed and he didn't want to take chances so he sent you all there…and now that you have come back there is nothing to worry about."
"I don't get it…what do you mean by feed the cursed love…is that what happened to Jack and Dina…was their love cursed."
"Their love was forbidden dear…and they didn't make it back so yes it was cursed love."
"What do you mean by feeds on…?"
"You saw the statues honey…they don't come back…"
Kennedy and Willow were back inside the cave and between the statues. They were running past rows and rows…hoping that what they feared hadn't happened. Willow didn't even want to think …she just wanted to run…run...run past all the statues…run past the cave…run out of that town…if she could…
"Willow…." Kennedy called but in a whisper…almost hoping that her girlfriend didn't hear her. But Willow did hear and she came slowly to where Kennedy was… Kennedy's head was covering a statue behind her. Willow approached slowly with tears already in her eyes. The youngest slayer pulled her witch towards her and just hugged her while Willow saw past Kennedy and into the statue of Buffy.
"B!" Faith nudged her lover who was basking in the warmth of the sun and their newfound love. "As much as I love this whole Garden of Eden scenario; you …me…lying naked here with absolutely nothing to give a shit about…But something is not right."
"It's right. Nothing has ever felt as right as it feels right now … right here…right with you… right this way." Buffy disagreed with a smile that refused to vanish. She hugged the once dark slayer tighter as she kept her eyes closed and listened to the rhythm of Faith's heart.
"That's all five by five babe. But how long do you think we've been here?" Faith again asked.
"Not long enough." Buffy replied with a renewed interest trailing kisses along Faith's neckline, confirming her statement.
"Seriously B." Faith interrupted the older slayer by holding her face with both her hands. "How long do ya think?"
"I don't know…couple of hours."
"That's what I thought." Faith turned the blonde to what she was facing. "I aint a rocket scientist but don't ya think that by now the sun should have set?"
Buffy narrowed her eyes trying to collaborated Faith's assessment. She immediately sat up and looked around.
"It's like the time has stood still."
And Faith was right.
"What does that mean?" Kennedy asked even though what Willow had just read from the ancient book in front of her was English. She just could not make head or tail out of it.
"It means that while mourning for the dying love, the lover cursed the town with love." David Anderson, Madison Haze's husband and the town's Deputy Sheriff answered.
When Willow and Kennedy had returned from the cave the second time the whole town was waiting for them in the town hall. According to them, whenever a cursed love was trapped within the cave the time stood still till the curse was played out in full.
"Maddy said that before too, and you said that the curse has to play out in full what does that mean?" Kennedy didn't mind to be perceived as dumb but the plain truth was nothing was making sense to her.
"We don't know what the curse is or what happens to the ones who are trapped." Maddy started trying to clarify.
"All we know is only one becomes a statue and the other disappears. Then time stands still till whatever that has to happen to them happens. Look at the sun; it has been in the same position for hours now. That sun won't set till your friends …" David paused unable to find the right word to say that their friends would be lost forever. "We always try to help them though. We have tried breaking the statues, we have tried burning them. Everything we could think of to bring them back." He then turned to Willow. "You said you were a witch, may be you can do what we couldn't."
"If you knew that was going to happen and you are so damn wanting to help now, why the fuck did you send us there?" Kennedy charged at the Deputy whose intentions she doubted.
"Because when a cursed love enters our town, town gets haunted. The cave starts to consume us trying to find them. So when we suspect a forbidden love we send them in before one of us face the wrath." David answered as though what he did was heroic.
"You might have sent our friends to death…you son of bitch." Kennedy pushed off couple of townsmen who were in her way and once again pounced on David. Several other men quickly went to the Deputy's rescue but with slayer's strength and training, Kennedy overpowered them all. Her hand was squeezing on to David's throat as men tried their best to loosen her grip, when Willow slammed the book close.
"Ken let him go." Willow said calmly but sternly. "These people are just being people. Trying to save their own skin."
Willow offered her hand so that Kennedy would come to her letting the Deputy go. "We don't have much time. For all we know they are already living the curse. We have to warn them."
"How can you do that?" Maddy, who was now beside her husband, asked.
"You said the time is still till the curse is played out. That means the curse has to be played out by them. In other words they are not dead yet. They just exist in different plane. We just have to find a way to cross the threshold and reach their dimension." Willow explained as she cleared the table throwing its content on the ground. "A simple dimensional sweep spell should enable us to find where they are…." She turned to the men who were looking at her like she was ghost and continued. "Now if you want to help get me five candles white some rose water …"
"Willow …."
"Kennedy….."
The chosen two were screaming on the top of their voices as soon as they entered the Jackson's house.
"They might have disappeared with the rest of them." Faith figured recalling the empty streets when they had come back.
"No…..It can't be…" Buffy wasn't willing to give in to the obvious yet. "Willow…." She screamed once again.
"Buffy…" A voice answered with matching volume.
Buffy ran towards the front door…and yes…it was Willow and Kennedy walking in.
"Oh my God! Buffy…." Willow said running to her best friend. The slayer met her half way and gripped the wicca in a hug.
"I thought you were gone…or disappeared." There were tears of relief in the slayer's eyes.
"We thought you were gone." Willow's reaction mirrored her friends tightening the hug.
The two dark haired slayers watched the watery best friends as they exchanged polite hellos.
"When I saw no one in the town…and hell the time seems to have stopped and you were not here…"
"I know…the time has stopped…because of the curse." The red head explained as they moved out of the hug.
"What curse?" Faith who had quickly taken her place right behind her slayer asked.
"YOU!…You have to go." The wicca said instead pointing at Faith as though she was a demon. "I won't let it happen."
"What are you talking about Willow? This is just Faith." Buffy tried to explain.
"No, Buffy…it cannot happen. You don't understand…This is forbidden." Willow turned to the youngest slayer and continued. "You know the whole thing. Kennedy please take her away from here."
"I know babe…but come on." Kennedy hesitated.
"No…baby NOW…before the time starts to move again." Willow insisted.
"Willow…" Buffy yanked her best friend to face her. "What the hell is happening here?"
"First throw her out." Willow stubbornly repeated again.
"I want to see you try Red." Faith dared even though like Buffy she had no idea what was happening.
"No one is throwing anyone out." Buffy said between her gritted teeth glaring at Willow whose eyes turned dark and her hair quickly followed suit.
Buffy's hand unconsciously moved back and grabbed on to Faith's recognizing the transformation.
"What the fuck…?" Faith managed to exclaim before a jolt emerging from Willow's hand hit her and flew her right out the door. Buffy tried to get past the wicca but Willow put a barrier with her other hand as she turned to the astonished face of her girlfriend. "Make sure she stays out." A voice barely resembling the red head's barked.
Kennedy immediately ran out while the oldest slayer used all her power to break the barrier. After a moment or two, Buffy gave up in distraught and fell to the ground. Seeing tears stream out of her face, the darkness that Willow had enveloped slowly started to fade and the softhearted wicca ran to her best friend's aid.
"Buffy you have to understand. I am doing this for you."
"No…you don't understand…I love her." Buffy was sobbing but she still found her voice to declare her love. "I love Faith."
"But…your love is forbidden. It should not happen…this town…" Willow had only started but Buffy had already got up and ran towards the door. She kicked the door open and walked into the street, just in time to see Kennedy floating in air barely alive and Faith at least a couple of feet away weekly getting up. She ran towards her best friend's girlfriend almost at the same time Faith did too. Before both their eyes some invisible force broke the youngest slayer's spine and her body fell right in Faith's arms. Buffy was still couple of inches away when she slowed down watching Faith put her down. Just then…
"KENNEDY."
They both heard the shocked scream of the wicca. Buffy turned right back to see how the scene looked like Faith had just killed Kennedy. The consequence of the wrong assumption made her panic as she quickly rushed to take Kennedy from Faith.
"Faith leave now." Buffy wishpered.
"But B…I didn't kill…."
"I know …" Buffy said looking right into her lover's eyes. "But you have to leave now." They both turned to see the red head falling on the ground with pain. "When she stops crying she'll start getting angry and you don't want to be there when she does." Buffy explained hurriedly recalling the last time Willow had lost her girlfriend.
"I don't want to leave you."
"Meet me by the caves…" Buffy said giving her love a quick peck on the lips and pushing her at the same time.
Faith got up and ran, while Buffy stared at the pale face of the dead slayer. Willow still couple of feet away was on her knees screaming her tears out as a silhouette watching the whole scene from far fizzled away.
"Kennedy…sweetheart, please wake up…." Willow was holding her girlfriend's body.
Maddy, David and the whole town were surrounded around the two women watching with tearful eyes.
"She is not dead."
"Not yet." David agreed silently with the red headed witch who was refusing to take her eyes off her girlfriend's body. "Time is still so she is not dead yet. But when the curse is played out and the time starts to move again …"
Maddy knew that her husband didn't have the heart to complete the sentence. They had mourned too many neighbors and friends who had collapsed and later gone for no apparent reason. If it were possible they would put up signs on the town borders warning all the forbidden lovers but what good would that do other than just attract them more. That was the reason why they had decided to keep their town low key and made sure that the ones who came there were sent by people who knew about the consequences. But every once in a while passerbys like Jack and Dina would get lured to the town and then the whole cycle would begin.
Yet, this time it was different.
"I don't understand how she is taken though. It has never happened before. Once the forbidden lovers are trapped by the curse, the curse never attacks the townspeople." A man said thinking aloud. "Tell them Deputy that it is not possible." He begged David as though his words would change the scene in front of them.
"Because we were there." Willow answered.
"You saw the curse playing?"
"Yes." Willow answered once again feeling guilty that she had needed Kennedy's strong energy to get past the force field that protected the dimension where the Chosen Two were trapped. Only if she hadn't asked Kennedy to hold her hand… if only she hadn't taken Kennedy with her… if only… But wait… if nothing else … she could bring Kennedy back.
"I can bring her back." Willow thought out loud before she got up and closed her eyes to summon the dark magic that by now she had learned to command without loosing herself to it. "She died of un natural cause. She died in a curse. I can bring her back." She wasn't asking for permission, she was telling.
"Yes…." The voice of the dark magic answered in her mind. "You can bring her back if you break the curse."
"What is the curse? I must know what the curse is to break it." Willow asked in her mind.
Willow waited for the answer but only silence continued. She screamed out her question couple of time but it was in vain. So she finally opened her eyes and walked to the book that had the curse.
The red haired witch stared at the book that rose up in the air before she spoke.
"Spell out the curse I command thee,
The untold story …Let it free."
No sooner had the spell escaped her lips the book closed with a loud bang and positioned itself horizontally. Then two smoky figures, one on the ground looking up at the other, which had a dragger in its hand, appeared. The two figures were surrounded by hundreds of others, which seemed to be screaming something. First their scream was too soft to be heard but as Willow narrowed her eyes and concentrated she heard their chanting.
"KILL HER. …KILL HER… KILL HER."
"KILL HER."
Buffy turned right around and stared at the statue that she could have sworn was the one that whispered. But it didn't move. She looked at the statue right next to it and as life-like as the man looked; he remained still like the hundreds that were lined up just like it. Buffy just shook her head wondering why of all the places she told Faith to meet her by the cave. She had waited for Faith by the cave…around the cave …when she hadn't seen her; she had decided to come inside. But now that she was already by the statues Faith was still nowhere.
"FAITH." She screamed hoping Faith would pop out from between the statues just like she had done before.
"KILL HER…" She heard it again. Buffy stayed put. She knew this was no imagination.
"FAITH." She screamed again but this time she wasn't expecting a response from Faith.
"KILL HER…" Yes, the response did come; a different voice, different tone and even a different accent but the same message.
"FAITH." She said keeping all her senses tuned to its finest.
"KILL HER…" Another voice, another accent.
The slayer flipped right around. No, she hadn't seen any movement or heard any movement, but she knew. Her slayer senses knew. She stared right at the statue of what looked like a black man, slightly taller than her. She took a second or two to examine the statue then she gripped its neck and started to choke the stone. Of course as expected nothing happened but with slayer strength the stone should have crumbled but it didn't. Yet Buffy kept the pressure on.
"You can't kill me." Another voice said from behind. Buffy turned with one hand still squeezing the unbreakable stone.
"I killed her." The statue on Buffy's hand said as the statue turned into human. Buffy let go of her hand in shock and took a step or two back glaring at the man in tears. He was covered in blood all over as tears streamed down his eyes.
"I killed her…." He said lifting a blood-drenched dragger.
"You kill her too." He said offering the dragger to her. Buffy frantically nodded her head turning away from the man just to face another statue that had come to life in mirror state. She quickly looked both ways and yes…all the statues had come alive and all the statues were saying the same thing. "Kill her…. Kill her."
"NO." Buffy screamed as she grabbed one and threw it across but the next was right in front of her.
"KILL HER…KILL HER…"
Buffy tried to push her way out but she was right in the middle of all of them. She had nowhere to go. She kicked and then pushed. She even grabbed a dragger and started to slice them but even as the blood spilled out uncontrollably but they still kept zooming onto her, so much so that if they were breathing they would be doing so on her skin. But they were certainly speaking actually chanting. They were chanting one thing.
"KILL HER…. KILL HER…. KILL HER…."
"I have to go back." Willow said walking towards the table where she had placed the candles.
"NO." David said stopping her. "You have to understand. No one has ever died after the forbidden love is trapped. But now your girlfriend died when you went in the first time, we don't know who else will die when you go back again."
"David as much as I can understand where you are coming from but the fact is, those are my friends that are trapped in the curse and that is my girlfriend lying on the floor. Now, I will go back to break the curse as that is the only way that I can bring them all back."
"But you don't even know what the curse is to break it."
"I do now." Willow said addressing the entire town. "The town was cursed because one of the lover was forced to kill his love because it was forbidden. I don't know why it was forbidden but I know one thing, the curse is for every forbidden love to face the same fate. That is why one of the lover the one who kills turns to statue, most probably reliving that moment over and over and the other …dies."
She then turned to Maddy and David whom she considered friend by now.
"I can't let Buffy be a statue she'll be stuck in hell. I have to bring her back. I have to go back."
Just then a hand grabbed her from behind and turned her. She was looking into empty eyes of one of the woman from the crowd.
"You cannot go back." A monotonous voice said.
Willow had seen too many possessions in her life to not recognize that at that moment the curse had somehow possessed the whole town.
"You cannot interfere." David's voice but in a monotonous accent said from behind her.
Willow closed her eyes allowing the tears that had formed to stream down. When her eyes opened, it wasn't the same. It was black; it was pitch black just like her hair. The Dark Willow smirked as she dared the woman that had turned her.
"STOP ME."
"Hey…"
When Buffy heard the familiar voice she looked right up. Immediately she also realized the state she was in. She was crouched unwillingly to look up amidst now lifeless statues. She got up right away and hugged her.
"Did you see?" She asked hoping she hadn't gone insane.
"See what B?" Faith said more than happy comforting her lover who seemed scared. "What happened to you?" Faith said a little distraught by the older slayer's ghastly appearance.
"These statues were all alive…they were all covered in blood…" Buffy said hugging tighter after every word. "They were telling me to kill you."
"Come on B now you got to stop dreaming about killing me." Faith laughed a little hoping her girl would get distracted.
"No, Faith something about this town is not right. First we both have the same nightmare, and then Kennedy is killed right in front of our eyes. Then Willow completely disappears and when I come here all these statues are …"
"Hey …baby…" Faith said grabbing Buffy's face with both her hand and giving her a deep kiss to stop her from repeating. "Look…I give you that the town is creepy right now. But we do creepy remember. We are slayers."
"Yes…we fight vampires and demons but this…" Buffy was saying as slipped one hand out of Faith's protective hold and she pushed the statues nearest to them. "These…these that can't be killed…why are they talking to me."
"I don't know." Faith replied honestly. "But I do know one thing." Faith pulled Buffy's both hand to her lips and kissed them. "I know you love me."
Just as she finished her sentence her face turned. It darkened along with her eyes that quickly filling with disbelief and pain.
"B!"
She exclaimed as both the slayers looked down at Buffy's hand which was holding a dragger as blood spilled out Faith's gut. Buffy was still trying to make sense what had just happened when Faith dropped on her knees then immediately fell on her back.
"KILL HER….KILL HER…."
Buffy looked up and the statues were now gone. The cave had dissipated as she was looking up at the sky that was blue, the mountains that were white and the hills that were green. And all around her were smartly dressed dead statues now alive cheering her on to kill her lover.
"NO." Buffy screamed at the crowd.
"You will kill her." A woman came out from within the crowd. Buffy recognized her immediately from her dream; the woman with the golden hair that had later turned into her. "Your love is forbidden. It cannot be."
"No, it is not forbidden; why would it be?" Buffy asked.
"She is right."
Buffy knew this voice. It was a voice of her best friend.
"The Chosen Two cannot be lovers. It is forbidden." Willow confirmed once again as she appeared from within the crowd just like the blonde had.
"But Willow…"
"Can't you see…it has already killed Kennedy? She will die if you continue this. You don't get it; the price for you to stay together is too high."
"Then I'll leave her. I don't have to kill her."
"It is too late for that now." Another voice said coming out of the crowd. This time it was the other dark haired woman from her dream. She walked out and immediately held the blonde's hand as they smiled at each other looking directly into each other's eyes. "I killed her." The blonde said as the gut of the dark beauty started to bleed.
Before Buffy could react the crowd was mumbling the same thing over and over.
"I killed her…I killed him…I killed her….I killed him."
Buffy's eyes quickly scanned crowd that now stood in pairs with one that was bleeding and the other had a dragger.
"Buffy you need to do this." Willow said walking a couple of steps closer.
"Willow you are telling me to kill Faith. I love her."
"But are you willing to loose it all for love." Willow asked.
"Yes." Buffy replied without hesitation. Willow smiled staring at someone past the slayer. Buffy hesitated for a second but then she turned to look behind.
"Dawny." She said recognizing her sister.
"Buffy…Willow…What am I doing here? I was just preparing for class and then …" Her words froze as she glared past her sister.
Buffy turned right back around to see what shocked her sister. And then she saw, the Dark Willow.
"You said you were willing to sacrifice anyone right?" The Dark Willow smirked raising her hand that magically raised the slayer's sister from the distant. "Now why should I be loosing all the time for your cause? You are the slayer and I loose Tara. Your love is forbidden and I loose Kennedy…. It's time the Chosen One knows the pain of loosing too."
The pair from her dream grinned as they watched Willow apply more pressure on the little sister.
"Save your love or your sister slayer." The golden haired beauty that uncannily resembled herself laughed as she spoke.
"I choose this." Buffy said throwing the dragger right at Willow's heart.
The dark hair and the dark eyes immediately disappeared as her red headed best friend fell to the ground. Willow looked down at the chest then at her friend. "Buffy…" Was the last word she said as she fell to the ground with her face down.
The older slayer rushed to her friend crying. "Willow I am sorry…I am sorry…"
"Buffy…what is happening?" Dawn was right beside her sister with tears in her eyes too. "Is this some kind of a nightmare?" She asked hoping she was right.
"I don't know Dawny. I hope so."
"No, it's not." Faith who had now found strength to get up said pulling Buffy up. "It is this town…we have to get out of here."
"When they said your love…they meant you?" Dawn asked looking directly at Faith.
"Yes, Dawny I love her." Buffy confirmed.
"Sunshine you got a problem?" Faith asked seeing that Dawn had a shocked look on her face.
"Yes, I got a problem. It is forbidden. You killed Willow for HER? Buffy this cannot happen." Dawny said immediately getting up and taking few steps away from the couple.
"Yes…tell her little sister." The golden haired bitch was talking now. "Tell her to kill her lover."
Dawn walked right up to her sister and grabbed the dragger instead. "If you can't do it, I'll do it."
"Dawny no…please listen to me." Buffy was struggling with the dragger when she felt the dragger pierce through, and she looked up to eyes of her little sister that was closing shut. "DAWNY….DAWNY…." Buffy couldn't believe what had just happened.
"What did you do?" A shaken voice of Giles came as the man rushed to hold Dawn's body before it fell. Angel appeared from nowhere too as he rushed along with the English man.
"This must be a fucking nightmare…even though it doesn't feel like one." Faith said watching the events unfold.
"No…this is a curse…" The dark headed woman from dream spoke up. "The more you resist the more people from your life you loose. And believe me when I tell you… their death is as real as it can be…. just like it was for my love." She said looking at her lover. "I know how hard it was for you to see them die…so don't for a second think that I don't know that you love me…I know you love me… even if you did kill me." She said with loving caress as tears ran down her lover's cheeks.
"No I won't." Buffy said once again.
"Buffy you have to. The curse is too strong." Angel said as he approached the two women and Buffy pushed Faith behind her protectively.
"If a powerful witch like Willow couldn't survive the curse you think we can?" Giles provided the objectivity of the situation. "You'll be killing everyone you know and love to keep her alive. Now you have had to make this decision before and you have always chosen to sacrifice your own love. What is so different now? Kill her."
"I won't kill you if you don't interfere." Buffy warned.
"If we don't interfere we will be trapped in the curse. You would have to kill us too." Angel said once again approaching.
Buffy quickly pulled out her stake and kept it in attack position, but Angel didn't stop. As soon as Angel was a step away Buffy pulled back her hand to put a momentum for the plunge, but her hand was stopped.
"No…B… kill me." Faith said from behind. She took the stake out and put the dragger back in Buffy's hand. "I know you love me…kill me baby…I can't watch you kill any more people you love." Faith said as she held Buffy's hand with full strength so that she couldn't let go of the dragger.
"Exactly the way I felt…." The dark haired woman hearing Faith's words.
Buffy's hand wasn't the one that was pushing. Instead it was Faith's hand that was pulling the dragger to herself and Buffy was just allowing it. Buffy moved and kissed Faith as she felt the dragger resist on her skin for a moment. She hardened the kiss knowing that the next moment would be the end of her lover. And then she stopped. She couldn't do it. Buffy pulled the dragger out.
"Don't kill her." Willow voice said but not from the ground.
Buffy searched for the voice and saw a silhouette walk closer and closer from far. As soon as she was near the crowd, Willow let go of the dark robe that was hiding the witch. The first thing Buffy noticed after seeing a double of her friend was that her heart was bleeding in the exact same place where she had hit her.
"They are right about one thing, who ever dies in the curse will die in reality. So, Kennedy, Dawn and I are already dead. But you can reverse it, if you break the curse." Willow said as she approached her friend. "Look you are in a different plane. The plane of the curse. I am using magic to come here…the only reason I can walk and talk is because of dark magic. The curse completes the moment you kill Faith and then you turn into statue like every one of them and Faith along with everyone you killed disappear."
"But how do I break the curse?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know Buffy but the only way is to break the curse." Willow said offering no solution.
Buffy looked around and looked at the couple from her dream. She knew if there was an out it was through them.
"You cursed the town?" Buffy asked looking at the golden haired woman.
"Love can be curse at time. I know…I lived through it." She simply said as she stared into her own lover's eyes. She pulled her dragger back and put it right through the dark headed woman's gut. "I know you love me…" She said as she fell to the ground. "Did you hear that? She knows I love her…but do I? I killed her…." She stood still just watching the blood flow out of her lover's body unwilling to move or cry or react just like a statue.
Just then the crowd froze to a statue too.
Willow and Buffy watched it and they both knew how to break the curse. Buffy looked at her best friend and the witch just nodded her head as Buffy picked up her dragger and walked towards Faith.
"I am sorry Faith…" She said just before she plunged the dragger in.
The mountains were white and the hills were green. The sky was blue
and the river was sparkling. The sun was at its noon and everything
was as bright as the smile on the faces of the two young women who
sat almost conjoined to each other by the bank.
"So…" The brunette finally spoke breaking their spellbinding
romantic moment. "You think Red's protection spell on the town
against forbidden love worked?"
"I think so…she is good at those whole spell and mojo things you
know."
"Then how come we can still be here?"
"Because our love is not forbidden anymore. This town accelerates
true love and also accelerates any obstacle it faces, so any
forbiddance that anyone in our lives had about our love was all gone
when I broke the curse and freed us all." Buffy said grinning at the
fact that she had once again saved the day.
"So, how did you know that you had to kill yourself?"
"When I heard the blonde ask if she knew that she loved her. I knew
the reason why she froze was because she is still wondering if she
loved her. That is the actual curse, for the lover's to think over
and over if they actually loved the one they were killing, anytime
they stop the dragger and kill themselves, they'll be out of the
curse too."
"You really think that …the actual couple was two women?" Faith
asked wondering if that was just a co-incident.
"No…It was just about love. We see what we want love to be. We saw
not just two women but also a blonde and a brunette almost our look
a like because when we think love we see one another. I am sure Jack
and Dina saw spitting images of them. It wasn't about gender…it was
about love."
"Very profound B…now care to finish what we started."
"What…?" Buffy asked.
Faith simply stooped down and scooped some water on her palm as both
their glittered in anticipation….