The Substitute

Day 3

Buffy had arrived in class just in time for a pop quiz. She was starting to feel anger towards her substitute/boyfriend, when he had excused her to the library for the period.

Giles was in the stacks when the doors swung open. He peered out from behind a book shelf and saw Buffy fling her bag onto the table and drop into a chair. He shook his head. These children really had no respect for furniture.

"I'll be down in a moment," he called out, still searching for the book he was looking for. "Ahhh," he said, pulling it down from the shelf. He examined the cover as he came down the stairs.

"Hey Giles, whatcha doin'?" she asked in her childish way.

He set down the book and withdrew his glasses from his pocket. "Well, I've just been catching up on any new prophecies. It's quite interesting, actually."

Buffy took the book in her hands and frowned. "'Alice Through The Looking Glass'? Aren't you a little old to be reading fairy tales?"

Giles rolled his eyes. "The Codex says that a new demon will arise, and he uses certain storylines from certain fairy tales and children's books for his victims to face. A sort of nightmare for them to live through."

"So, say for instance, he might make me dream that I'm chasing after a white rabbit in a waist coat?" Buffy said, replacing the book onto the table.

He cleared his throat. "This book is nothing like the Disney Movie, Buffy. There is no white rabbit. Fairy tales like these can be very dangerous."

Buffy picked up the book again and flipped through the pages. She stared at the pictures. "Wow, I see what you mean!" Some of the pictures were nice, like those of Alice and her kittens, or when she was talking with flowers. But others were chill worthy. There was a clock with an old mans face, an old man who sat on a gate signing riddles, talking food, knights who fought and chessman who came to life. Even Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were wiggy.

Giles nodded. "Some stories that have been used by this demon in the past were 'The Ice Queen,' 'Sleeping Beauty,' and 'Snow White.'"

"So what does this demon look like?" Buffy asked, sitting up a little straighter.

Giles took a seat across from his slayer. "A child, actually. She's a little girl, I do believe I have a picture of her...." he reached across the table to a black book that was already open. He flipped to the proper page and handed it to Buffy.

"She's pretty," she remarked. She was a little girl dressed in a flowing white dress. Her hair was blonde and curly and fell to her knees. The face of the child was simple, but something was wrong with her eyes. They were slit, like cats were. Buffy shivered. "....Creepy," she added.

"Yes, that's a good way to describe her. Shouldn't you be in class right now?" Giles asked, noticing the time.

"Um, yeah, but Angel excused me to come here, he had a quiz."

Giles raised an eyebrow. "Buffy, you can't expect Angel to get you out of every little thing. You must pay attention to your studies."

"Don't worry, Angel's been helping me after school and during lunch with my history and English. I even got a B+ on my English test!" she beamed. She'd retaken it this morning and had done far better than she had hoped.

"Well, I suppose it's all right as long as you concentrate on your studies, and not studying each other." His faced turned slightly pink at that last thought. Just then, Ms. Calendar came into the room.

"Hello Buffy, Rupert. How is everyone?" she asked cheerfully.

Buffy smiled, "I'm fine, but I think I should leave you two alone." With a wink to Giles, which turned his pink face to crimson, she took her bag and walked out of the library.

At Buffy's house, later that evening

"What year was that in??" Buffy asked impatiently.

"1780, that's when he became a traitor."

"So that's what they mean when they say Benedict Arnold!" Buffy said, proud at figuring something out. She moved to rested her head on her hands, her elbows propped up against her bed. Angel sat beside her with the history book, reading important notes as she jotted them down.

"I think I understand this now," Buffy said. "But this is the American History, what does it have to do with Europe?"

Angel smiled, "They were fighting against Britain which is a part of Europe."

Buffy nodded. "I better write that down. Hey did Giles tell you about the fairy tale demon?" she asked him.

Angel nodded. "He came to me after school. Sounds interesting."

"What's your favorite fairy tale?" Buffy asked Angel.

Angel sat up. "Hmm, let me think about this....I know. I like Cinderella. It's a classic."

Buffy stared at him. Her vampire boyfriend had a thing for Cinderella. "OK, well, I like Alice in Wonderland, although Giles said the book was nothing like the movie."

Angel laughed. "I've never seen the movie, but I have the book from Giles right here." He reached into his black bag and took out the green covered book.

Buffy took it from him and changed her position so that she was now leaning up against her pillows. "I love the pictures," she said.

"Is the book like the movie?" Angel asked.

"I'm not sure, I've never read the book."

"Why don't you?" he asked, lying beside her.

"Too long, too boring probably. Why don't you watch the movie?" she asked him.

"Too Disney," he said. "But, I'll make a deal with you. I'll read the book to you, and you can show me the movie."

"Deal," Buffy said. "Now, which comes first?"

"The movie's shorter, do you have it?" Angel asked.

Buffy climbed to her feet. "Of course." She opened her closet and shuffled through a box before she reappeared with the video case. She popped the movie into the VCR, grabbed the remote, and turned out the lights. Angel reached for the video case. He saw the cartoon characters and almost laughed. This should be interesting. They lay side by side through the entire movie.

When it was over

"Wow," Angel said. "That was very dumb."

Buffy hit him in the arm. "I love that movie."

Angel smiled. "Now, I'm reading you the book."
\
They turned on the lights and turned off the TV. Buffy lay next to him and stared at the pictures as he read. The opening was a poem.

'Child of the pure unclouded brow
And dreamin eyes of wonder!
Through time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
The loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy-tale.'

"That's nice," Buffy interrupted.

"Shhhh, listen," Angel shushed.

'I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard hy silver laughter;
No thought of me shall find a place
In thy young life's hereafter--
Enough that now thou wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale.

A tale begun in other days,
When summer suns were glowing --
A simple chime, that served to time
The rhythm of our rowing --
Whose echoes live in memory yet,
Though envious years would say 'forget.'

They read until they came to the last verse.

And though the shadow of a sigh
May tremble through the story,
For 'happy summer days' gone by,
And vanish'd summer glory --
It shall not tough with breath of bale
The pleasance of our fairy tale.

Now they started the real story.

Chapter 1
Looking Glass House

"One thing was for certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it: -- it was the black kitten's fault entirely."

Angel read on as Buffy looked at the beautiful pictures. She heard only the memorable lines:

"'That's three faults, Kitty, and you've not yet been punished for any of them yet. You know I'm saving them up for Wednesday week.'

'Kitty, can you play chess?'

'Nurse, do let's pretend that I'm a hungry hyena and you're a bone!' (Thoughts of Xander ran through her head.)

'How would you like to live in a looking-glass house, Kitty?'

'Let's pretend there's a way of getting through it!'

'It's the voice of my child' the White Queen cried out as she rushed past the King, so violently that she knocked him over among the cinders. 'My precious Lily! My imperial kitten!'

They reached even more poems:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Die gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Hey!" Buffy called out. "The mome raths. They were in the movie. Remember, those little furry things that made an arrow and pointed Alice to the path? Those were mome raths, and the Chesire Cat said 'And the mome raths outgrabe' before he disappeared."

"So he did," Angel said. They continued until they reached the end of the chapter. "That's enough for tonight, we'll read more tomorrow. Get some sleep." Angel got up and helped Buffy into her covers. He kissed her on the lips and gathered his things. She was asleep before he left.

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