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| by The Baron |
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| “Tell Giles ... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. The and give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.” Buffy finished and leapt off the platform towards the swirling mass of colored energy below. The sensation of falling through the air. Then blackness. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The dark began to recede. The sound of music, laughter and the clop of horse’s hooves striking stone are distant at first, but begin to become louder by the with rapidity. Once she was fully aware of the sounds that were intruding in on her darkness, came the feeling of the straw prickly pressing into her back as she lay on a hard unyielding surface pressing up against her body. And then came the pain. Every muscle and joint seemed to be on fire. The urge to be violently ill gripped her and only through an instinctive force of will, was held at bay. A small whimper of pain escaped her as she tried to move. For long endless minutes, the agony held, until, finally and blissfully its grip loosened its hold on her. Then the almost over-powering smell of human and animal waste mixed in with the sweeter smell of straw, along with a jumble of unrecognized aroma’s assaulted her senses, causing yet another wave of nausea to hit her. Once again she barely held it in check with a strong surge of will. “Miss? Miss can you hear me?” A concerned voice asked. Fighting the remaining pain and nausea, she opened her eyes. A youngish blond man knelt down beside her. Relief was apparent in on his face as she slowly nodded then winced at the fresh pain that the movement caused. “Amazing. When saw those thugs strike you I was for sure you were dead! May I help you? I am a physician. Or I should say, training to be one.” “Yes”, she gave permission in a hoarse whisper the slightest of nods. Even that slight movement caused a spear of pain to flare behind her eyes. She closed her eyes again as the stranger, with gentle hands, explored the back of her head. “There is quite a bit of blood. But for the life of me, I can’t find a wound! How astounding!” His voice reflected the amazement he felt. “Well, I can not leave you lying in this filthy alley. I shall get you to your home. Now if you could please tell where that is?” “Sunn….” She broke off in mid-word, realizing that she had no idea what she was saying. It was only then she realized that she didn’t remember anything about herself. In a panic her eyes flew open, looking around her for the first time. She lay on a stone-cobbled street strew with filthy straw. Light streamed from open shuttered windows in the gray stone buildings that made the alley and the street beyond. As she stared a team of horses pulled a four-wheeled carriage past the opening of the alley, the sounds of their hooves echoing in between the buildings. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember any of this.” There was a panicky edge to her voice. She felt the man beside her start. “You are American? At least your accent sounds somewhat American.” She shook her head, “I don’t know. I can’t remember.” “Oh dear. This complicates things.” The man sighed. “Well, you need a bed at the moment. I am sure you will be able to remember after a bit of rest. Here let us get you to your feet.” He tugged on her arm until she leveled herself up. She swayed unsteadily on her feet for a moment holding on to her helper, until the world quit spinning. Brushing the long red hair out from her face and looked at her benefactor for the first time. He was wiry, pleasant looking man with an air of learning about him. But that could have been the result of the small wireframe glasses he wore. “Better?” He asked. He received a small nod and half smile in return. “Good. Well my flat is just a short ways away. It should not over-tax you.” He started to guide her out of the alley, while talking in a nervous fashion, “As I said, I am training to be a physician. I am afraid it is more to my father’s wishes than mine. If I were to choose I would be…” He paused with a look of consternation on his face. “Oh bloody hell!” He blushed brightly as he realized what he just said. “Forgive my bad manners!” He stumbled through several more apologies, while the woman looked at him in amusement in spite of herself and pain. “Ah, well. Anyway, forgive my bad manners. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is William.” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * His “flat” turned out to be a rented room in a fairly nice boarding house, run by a middle aged Matron who took on look at William dragging in a disheveled woman and began to light into William for “trying to bring in bring in a common street trollop into her respectable establishment”. It ended abruptly when the she swayed on her feet, still suffering the effects of what had happened to her. What ever ‘IT’ was. The next few hours were a blur to her. She vaguely recalled being ushered into a bed, sinking down into the feathered mattress and falling into a dark, dreamless sleep. When she awoke, light was streaming in through the windows. Next to the bed the man who had helped her lay slumped in a chair asleep, softly snoring. “William.” She recalled that it was his name to herself. She also realized that he must have stayed up most of the night watching over her. She glanced around the room, getting her bearings. She still had no memories past last night and the vague sense of ‘wrongness’ of what her eyes saw did not ease her mind. But neither could she understand why she felt this ‘wrongness’. There was nothing remarkable about the room. The furnishings were well made but not extravagant. And yet, the sense of things not belonging remained with her. Or was it SHE who didn’t belong? “Awake are you?” Lost in her musings, she reacted without thinking. In an incredibly graceful and fast motion, she was out of the bed on her feet facing him. William blinked in amazement. Then cleared his throat, “I would guess that would be a yes to my question. And an answer to my unasked question of ‘how are you felling’.” The young woman, feeling very confused and somewhat embarrassed, retreated back under the covers, even as she gave him a nod. “Good. Quite frankly I was wondering he you would wake up at all. I am afraid that I am a very bad medical student. Even worse than I am a poet. And I am quite a dreadful poet.” William grimaced deprecatingly. “Well, no matter -- first things first. What do you remember this morning?” She pulled her knees up to her so that she could hug them, and then answered. “Nothing. Not a thing except after you found me.” She noticed something flash across his face so fast that she couldn’t identify it. “What?” She asked. William blushed slightly at not being able to hide what he was thinking. “I was just thing how very well you are handling not have a shred of memory. I wouldn’t be so calm as you.” There was a genuine tone of admiration in his voice. |
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