It’s my seasonal_spuffy debut. *curtseys* I am delighted to be on board and I’m Spuffy to the core!
Title: The Fourth Wish: Prologue part 1/?
Author: scarlett2u
Setting: Post-series. Prologue covers the series as aired. Story goes AU in early s8.
Rating: Probably R overall; this prologue is PG
Genre: It’s an AU/wishverse
General Disclaimer: Although I am a Spuffy enabler, I did not create and do not own the characters, canon, or anything else that might to Joss Whedon or Mutant Enemy Productions. If I did, it would be Spuffy 24/7 and that little Grrr!Argggh! guy would hang out in my home office. I am not about the profit, just the love. My icon was created by the lovely and talented beloved_77
Summary: What if Buffy said those all-important little words: “I wish…”?
Feedback: Last night, I went to TGI Friday’s and the entire wait staff sang me a very long birthday song and gave me a huge ice cream sundae. I’m lactose intolerant and I blush on occasion. Obviously, your feedback would be much better for me.
The Fourth Wish
Prologue: A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, there was a special girl,
A Princess for the Powers That Be.
One girl in all the world,
She alone was chosen to stand
Against the demons, the evils of her kingdom.
The weight and danger of this duty
Did not rest lightly upon her head.
Although she was surrounded by
A loving family and friends,
The Princess was,
at heart,
Very much alone.
As year followed year and
Apocalypse followed apocalypse,
And loss followed loss,
The Princess began to build defenses
Against that which would cause her heart pain.
It began slowly,
So slowly that at first her family and friends
Did not notice the walls going up around their beloved Princess.
They did not realize the loneliness, the fear, the heartbreak
That were the Princess’ most constant companions.
They saw only a brave warrior who had fought and defeated
Many a foe and would continue to do so
But no foe is as deadly as the foe inside oneself
As time passed, the walls went up around the Princess
And sealed her against the pain, but they made
Her feel colder and lonelier as her heart
became encased in stone
The inner fire that allowed her to feel for the world,
To feel like part of the world she was protecting,
began to wane.
If only there were someone as strong as the Princess
To share the burdens and the joys
To keep the spark lit in her soul…
The Powers sent help in the form of a Dark Prince…
A demon cursed with a soul.
And for a time, the Princess had a warrior by her side
Whom she grew to love.
Alas, the curse was a double-edged sword,
And the love between them stole his soul
As well her trust and hopes for the future
The Princess built higher walls, vowing never again
To give her heart to a soulless demon
Eventually, the Princess met a Pale Prince,
One who seemed the very picture of upright heroism.
He had a purpose and a pulse.
Could it be that the princess had found her true mate?
But the Pale Prince felt that he was on unsure footing
in the Princess’ kingdom
This fear led to jealousy, anger and darkness,
And before long the Pale Prince was swept away
By his own selfish interests
The Princess’ walls grew even higher and more impregnable
She had no thought to looking for romantic love,
Not when she had to protect her family and kingdom
From the greatest danger and loss they had ever faced….
But she had overlooked one thing…
one…someone.
He was a Demon without a Soul, a Vampyre,
One she had sworn to protect her kingdom against
Indeed, upon their first meeting,
he vowed to kill her on Saturday
But he couldn’t wait ‘til then,
Turns out, he couldn’t kill her either
And try as she might,
neither could the Princess
Slay this formidable new foe
He became her arch-nemesis
Curious thing about enemies, though….
They can make powerful allies
And a remarkable variety of circumstances
(some might call it fate even)
conspired to pull the two warriors together
to save the kingdom time and again
Closeness in proximity can often lead to
A closeness of hearts
And it did for the Warrior Prince
It was with shock and horror that
He came to discover that he was in love
With the Princess
He did not bother fighting the feeling,
For in his heart, he knew it to be true.
Upon learning his feelings for her,
The Princess was equally shocked and horrified
(some might even say that lady did protest too much)
She called his feelings a “crush”, an “obsession”,
An “aberration”…one that would pass
But pass it did not.
Indeed, the Warrior Prince’s love seemed to
Grow stronger with time
It could not be deterred by pain, fear, the grave
Nay, not even by rejection from the Princess herself
Eventually, the Princess quit protesting
That the Prince loved her, though she
Refused to acknowlege any growing feelings for him
Oh, she was attracted to him, certainly,
For he was a handsome devil with winning ways,
This, no maiden could deny
But the Princess claimed their connection
Was purely physical,
one of convenience and comfort,
Certainly not love
The Princess said she could not love where she could not trust
And the Prince argued that their love was like fire.
Perhaps so, but the Princess feared him and his love like fire
And the Prince made a vow:
He would regain his soul to give the Princess…
What she deserved
It took an epic journey, a quest, a fight
To make good on his word to himself,
But he did, and upon returning, the Warrior Prince
Continued with his sworn duty to help the
Princess stay safe and protect the Kingdom.
He no longer aspired to be her great love,
Merely to keep her safe
The heart is funny thing;
like a door stubbornly closed at times,
slowly creaking open at others.
When the Warrior Prince was tortured
By guilt,
Flayed by his own soul,
Desperate and confused…
at his very lowest point…
It was then she truly saw him and his soul,
And her heart changed.
The walls that she had so carefully constructed
Began to be chipped away, and the
Heart she had so carefully hidden
And guarded, began to shine through
The Warrior Prince could see that light,
He was blinded by it, by its effulgence,
But he dare not trust it, dare not ask for more.
So when the Princess chose him to be
Her Champion, to fight beside her until
The end of the world…even if it happened to
Be that night, he went cheerfully,
Happy to save the world and save his girl.
And during the battle, when she was finally able
To tell him what was in her heart,
That she could feel again, and
That she loved him,
He was unselfish enough not to
Hold on her words.
“No, you don’t, but thanks for saying it.”
His love, his death was her gift.
If she’d had more time, the Princess
Would’ve said that he was right—
Their love was like fire, only
Fire didn’t only burn and consume,
It provided heat and sustenance,
It kept you warm and made you feel alive,
And it was worth risking the pain for that.
But she had to go on living,
So one of them was living.
So go on she did.
But it haunted her,
His words and their hands clasped together in flames,
The ache in her heart was echoed by
The burning sensation in her hands,
Palms to fingertips,
She felt, but she felt empty.
It had to be wrong, that she should
Love this much and lose this much,
That he should be gone and never know,
Never believe that her heart was his,
That they belonged together,
That she had waited too long.
She wanted to once more say those
All-important words and see his
Eyes light up and a smile come to his lips.
She wanted him to know,
Beyond a shadow of a doubt,
That he was loved and he was hers.
Once that thought came to her,
She could not let it go
She dreamed of it at night,
And her thoughts kept returning to it by day:
‘I wish he knew. I wish he believed.’
Changes of time and place did nothing
To still the voice of her heart,
Kept silent for too long.
On a damp night halfway round the world,
Quite unexpectedly, almost unintentionally,
the Princess uttered the words
that would shake her world to its foundations
and possibly change the universe forever:
“I wish…”
The Beginning (Not The End)
Gentle readers,
I am honored to be your Bard, your teller of tales, your prelude to the Remarkable History of the Fourth Wish. Wherever I go, I am always asked to tell what I know of this thrilling episode about the Slayer and her Vampyre. It is the story of a girl, a powerful love and some powerful words. It is a fairy tale that is true. Of course, being the savvy audience that you are, you realize that many bad and frightening, sometimes funny, things happen before such stories conclude. Sadly, this is the conclusion of my contribution to the tale. Some might say the story really begins with the making of the Fourth Wish, but I think what came before is compelling too, no? It’s so important to begin at the very beginning and remember that today’s ending is tomorrow’s beginning.
Very truly yours,
Andrew Wells, Esquire
TBC
(More to come on Free Posting day)
Originally posted at http://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/463833.html
