Xander led his band of merry men through the cemetery towards Spike's crypt, totally unconcerned, for a change, about his safety. The three vamps they'd met coming from the hotel had taken one look at the group and run the other way. Xander and Fox had enjoyed themselves immensely, yelling taunts after the fleeing demons.

Even Chinthliss had laughed when the two old friends had done a strange little victory dance in the middle of the street, but only Tannim understood the reference to 'Crash Bandicoot'. Keighvin had thrown an inquiring glance in Tannim's direction, but the mage had just shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Finally arriving at the crypt, Xander smacked the door a couple of times and yelled, "Hey, Spike, you got company!" before just walking in.

And there Tannim met William the Bloody for the first time. There was no doubt in his mind that this was a predator. Sleek grace and an animalistic beauty all wrapped up in a deadly package. He was smaller than Tannim had imagined, but his size did nothing to disguise the menace in his form. And the fact that the vampire had bleached blonde hair, clear blue eyes and a serious set of cheekbones only added to the image of someone worth avoiding.

Tannim, after spending so much time with Keighvin and his clan, had thought himself immune to masculine beauty, but this William the Bloody was in a class all his own. And when the vampire's face changed into it's demonic form, Tannim still found himself fascinated.

"Hey, Spike," Xander asked as the vampire placed himself between Xander and the others, "what's up with the grrrr? Is that any way to treat your guests?"

Spike stayed where he was, "Guests, pet? Why the hell did you bring a damn dragon here?"

Xander immediately started looking around, "Dragon? Where?"

Spike pointed directly at the oriental looking man, "He might look human, pet, but that's a bloody dragon."

Chinthliss sighed, "Yes, I am a dragon, but I have come with my friends to ask for your aid, not to have you for lunch."

Xander cocked his head and stared at Chinthliss. "How? I don't see any sign of a glamour."

Chinthliss grinned, "It is not a glamour, this is how I would appear if I actually were human. It is merely a reflection, not a disguise."

Xander shrugged, "Cool. Wish I could do that."

Spike lit a cigarette, his face sliding back to human now that he knew there was no threat, "Okay, Harris, what's going on here?"

*****

Xander gave Spike the basics, the vampire had no trouble realizing what this could mean. "Underhill, huh? That should work. I doubt even the Bitch would want to go against Oberon. That is one seriously pissed off elf." With a smirk in Keighvin's direction Spike said, "Oops, sorry, Silverhair, forgot about that whole elf thing."

"I'm guessing you two know each other?" Xander asked.

"You could say that, Xander." Keighvin replied. "Tell me, William, how is Angelus these days?"

Spike glared at Keighvin for a second, but relaxed when Xander touched his arm. "You ought to get a kick out of this one, Silverhair. Angelus got himself on the wrong side of a gypsy curse. He has a soul now, the bloody, brooding poof, and he's 'Angel' now. Daft bugger protects humans, if you can believe that."

Keighvin shuddered, "They gave him a soul? That's monstrous! I agree he needed to be stopped from committing wholesale slaughter, but to do that?"

Tannim was totally lost, he had no idea that Keighvin knew vampires, and now this. "What's the big deal about him having a soul? I mean, he's a good guy now, right? Isn't that a good thing?"

"No, Tannim, it's not. If he should ever lose that soul, an insane demon would be let loose on the world."

Xander shuddered, "You got that right."

Keighvin knew they had other things they needed to be worrying about, but he really wanted to know what had happened. "Has it happened? Did he lose his soul?"

Xander nodded, "Yeah. The gypsy's left a get out of jail free card. If Angel gets happy, and I mean happy, the soul goes bye-bye and Angelus is back, and he's pissed off. At least he was. That was a really bad time. I wouldn't mention it in front of Buffy, you wouldn't like her reaction."

Spike patted Xander on the leg, Xander had told him about the way he'd convinced Buffy to send Angel to Hell. The whelp still felt guilty, but Spike knew that Angel didn't blame the boy for that. But convincing Xander was impossible, the boy did guilt almost as well as his Grand-Sire did.

"This is great, a lot of fun, no really it is," Fox said sarcastically, "but shouldn't we get going? The sooner we hide the girl, the better. I don't even want to think about what would happen if Glorificus gets her grubby little hands on the Key."

"Yeah, we'd better head back to the shop. Buffy is probably going nuts."

*****

Everyone was still at the shop, even at this late hour. As soon as the door shut behind them, Keighvin dropped his glamour. Pulling his sword, he knelt down on one knee in front of Buffy and Dawn. "Slayer. I am Lord Keighvin Silverhair of the Seleighe High Court and I offer you this pledge. Me and mine will protect your ward against all who seek to harm her. I offer her Sanctuary in Underhill, and I offer you the weapons of Seleighe in your quest."

Buffy quite obviously didn't know what to say, so she settled for a quiet, "Thank you."

Keighvin got back on his feet and sheathed his sword. With a gentle smile he said, "Your sister will be very well cared for, and my kin will do their best to ensure that she wants for nothing during her visit with us." To Dawn he said, "You will see unicorns dancing in the mist and dragons winging through the sky across a silver moon. Young men will sing you songs and the young ladies will fill your ears with giggles and gossip. And it will matter not that you are the Key, only that you need a place of safety."

Dawn blushed and smiled shyly. It wasn't often that an incredibly handsome man paid this much attention to her.

With a nod of satisfaction Keighvin said, "We should be away. The sooner Dawn is safe, the better." Looking at Willow and Tara he asked, "Will you be willing to aid me in creating a Gate?"

Tannim huffed, "I can help, Keighvin, I already know the spell."

Silverhair frowned, "No, Tannim. You are hurt and need rest. There is no need to exhaust yourself further. Save your energy for when we free Shar."

Tannim didn't like it, but he knew Keighvin was right. The mage slumped down on the couch and sulked, but the wonderful smell of coffee caught his attention. Looking up, Tannim met the eyes of the Key. "Here. You looked like you needed this."

Tannim took the cup and smiled his thanks. Dawn perched on the edge of the couch and said, "I understand how you feel. They never let me help either. I know they're just trying to protect me because they love me, but it isn't always easy to remember that when they tell me no."

"It's not exactly the same thing."

Dawn gave Tannim a pointed look and then nodded over at Keighvin, who was throwing worried glances in Tannim's direction. "Are you sure about that? Because that's the way it looks to me."

*****

Keighvin and the witches had the Gate up much sooner than anyone had expected. The Seleighe Lord bowed and said, "Shall we?"

Buffy took Dawn's hand and followed Keighvin through the Gate and into the land of fairy tales.

*****

Valeria felt a gate open and hurried to the area where she felt the pull of strong magic, Seleighe and human magic combined. She, and the rest of the Clan, arrived in time to see her youngest child, Keighvin, step through the Gate with an eclectic mix of people in tow. Dragons, mages and kitsune were unusual, but not unheard of in Underhill. But Valeria only had eyes for one human, a young girl by the looks of her, but the power held inside that fragile human frame was astonishing. Valeria laughed, trust her child to become involved with such a group. She hurried forward, certain that this tale was one she wouldn't want to miss.

Coming to a stop in front of Keighvin, Valeria put her hands on her hips and glared up her recalrant child. "Well, Keighvin Silverhair, what do you have to say for yourself?"

The humans in the group tensed at her tone, but soon relaxed when Keighvin snatched the elfin woman up in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Hello, mother, it is wonderful to see you again. You're looking as lovely as ever. I like the new hair." He said, touching a tress of her electric blue hair.

Valeria smacked him on the shoulder, "Don't try to sweet talk me, child. If you'd bother to come home occasionally you'd know that your cousin Alora did this to my hair and now the damnable stuff changes color without any warning. Danaa, I swear it has a life of it's own." The fact that a curl had wrapped itself around Keighvin's finger and refused to let go, lent proof to her claim.

Keighvin just laughed and kissed her again. "Come, mother, let me introduce you to our guests."

The introductions were soon accomplished and Valeria led them to her home. After she'd made them comfortable, she led Keighvin into the kitchen under the pretense of making tea.

"What's going on, Keighvin? I'm very glad to see you, but don't try to tell me you've just come for a long overdue visit."

Keighvin sighed, he never could pull the wool over his mother's eyes. "The girl, Dawn...ach...mother, I've stumbled into a mess. Tannim's lady love has been imprisoned by the Unseleighe Court, Buffy is the Slayer and is trying to face down that she-devil Glorificus with only her courage and the aid of her friends. And Dawn, that child is the Key."

Seeing the shocked look in Valeria's eyes he nodded, "The monks who were guardians of the Key knew that they were about to be overrun. Instead of hiding it, or even destroying it, they managed against all reason to turn the Key into that human girl. And then they went and made her the Slayer's younger sister."

Valeria groaned, "As if the Slayer doesn't have enough to worry about. Well, never fear, we will keep Dawn safe. She is more than welcome here. And if that blowhard Oberon has anything to say about it, well, he'll just have to deal with me."

Valeria turned her son to face her, she wanted to look in his eyes. "And now, Keighvin, would you be wanting to tell me how the human mage you're crazy in love with came to be involved with a Kitsune Dragon." Shaking her finger in his face she added, "Don't think that because we don't go into the mortal realm that we are unaware of what happens in your life. Madoc's misbegotten whelp has been causing trouble all over Underhill. Someone should have taken care of her long ago."

Keighvin raised his hands in supplication, "Not now, mother, please. Come, we've neglected our guests long enough."

Valeria followed him back into the other room, but he knew that this was only a temporary respite.

Buffy and Giles both relaxed when they saw the understanding smile on Valeria's face. Seeing that Dawn was occupied on the other side of the room, she said, "Keighvin has told me of your troubles. I will be more than happy to foster Dawn. I can guarantee her safety." Valeria set down the tray she carried and shook her head, "It is a sad day when the humans have forgotten how to ask for help. There was a time that the arrival of one such as Glorificus would have resulted Danaa Sidhe being called out in force. We would have rode her down with silver lances and bolts of fire. But now, now, none believe and the old ways are lost. But I'm glad this child of mine had the sense to bring her to us."

Buffy practically wilted with relief. "I don't know how to thank you."

Valeria's laugh sounded like bells, "No thanks are needed, child. But now that your sister is safe among us, what can we do for you?"

Keighvin cleared his throat. "I've offered her weapons and training, mother. I know we can't face Glorificus ourselves, but we can offer that much."

Valeria's smile caused chills to run down Keighvin's spine. "I think I can do better than that. Come with me, Buffy."

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