Keighvin knew his brief respite was over the second he got a good look at his mother's face. Even the fact that she had guests wouldn't stop the inquisition that was about to descend upon his head. He only hoped that she'd be feeling generous enough to keep Tannim out of it. But his mother had never been known for her discretion.

Today, however, Danae was smiling on her errant son. "I'm sure you'd all like to see something other than the inside of my home. Why don't you take a look around?" Seeing the uncertain expression on their faces, Valeria said kindly, "You'll be perfectly safe here. Everyone knows who you are and why you are here." With an added smile at Dawn, Valeria added, "There are several young ladies, not to mention several young men, who are dying to meet you. Any of them would be more than happy to play guide. I'd join you, but my son and I need to discuss matters and make some plans."

The cottage cleared out with an almost alarming speed. Even Tannim, still weak and in a fair amount of pain, hurried out with Chinthliss and FX, leaving Keighvin to his fate.

*****

Spike and Xander weren't really the type to wander amongst the flowers and the two quickly found themselves bored out of their skulls. Spike, unknowingly, came up with the plan that would change their lives forever.

"Heard the lady mention weapons, want to see what kind of toys they're giving the Slayer to play with?" Spike asked around the cigarette hanging from his lips.

Xander grinned, "Oh yeah. Maybe we'll get lucky and get something to play with too. But where do we look?"

Spike rolled his eyes before slipping a hand into Xander's front pocket and tugging him along, "Vampire, mate, remember? I can smell a Slayer from miles away. And ours is just over there," Spike said, pointing at gnarled old tree.

*****

Keighvin looked at the ceiling, the floor, the various items scattered around the room, anywhere, but directly at his mother. Valeria, of course, was quite accustomed to her youngest child's ways. "Keighvin, talk to me. You aren't leaving this room until you explain this to me. Why is the young man you're in love with involved with a Kitsune-Dragon?"

Keighvin sighed and looked at his mother with weary eyes, "Mother, the fact that I'm in love with Tannim doesn't mean a thing. He doesn't think of me that way. To him, I am simply a friend."

Valeria prayed to Danae for patience, "Keighvin, have you told him how you feel about him?"

Keighvin's eyes almost burst from his head, and Valeria was hard put not to laugh in her son's face. "Mother! Of course I haven't! Telling him would accomplish nothing other than to make him uncomfortable around me. I'd rather have him as a friend than not at all."

"Keighvin, I think you're selling him short. Have you ever considered that if he'd known how you felt about him, he never would have gone chasing after that nine-tail?"

Keighvin smiled at his mother sadly, "Mother, you know how humans are. The Faie may not care about the body that houses the soul they love, but Humans set a great deal of store on the physical form. And Tannim likes women, not men. No, Mother, it's better that he never knows how I feel about him."

Valeria brushed her son's hair off his forehead, "As you will, Keighvin. I'll abide by your wishes in this."

Tannim slumped against the side of the house, completely stunned. Quickly realizing that he'd vastly overestimated his strength, he'd returned to Valeria's house hoping that he'd be able to rest for a time. Possibly even see a Seleighe healer while he was underhill. Then he'd overheard his name. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but now he was glad that he did.

After all this time, he'd never had a clue that Keighvin loved him. Now every word, every action, took on a whole new meaning. His emotions in complete chaos, Tannim didn't know what to think. But one feeling was perfectly clear. Anger. How dare Keighvin make decisions like that for him? On the verge of bursting through the door to demand answers, he felt a strong, yet gentle, hand grab his arm.

Chinthliss shook his head at his adopted son. "Not now, Tannim. I think you should take some time to consider this. Do not say something in the heat of the moment that will be difficult to take back later."

Tannim glared at the old dragon, "You knew, didn't you?"

Chinthliss shrugged, "Of course."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tannim cried.

Chinthliss tapped the end of Tannim's nose, "It was plain to anyone willing to see. I think if you search your heart, you'll realize that you've always known how Keighvin felt about you."

Turning Tannim from the door, Chinthliss said, "Come. I know a healer here. I think you could do with a draught and some rest. It has been a very stressful day."

Tannim, at this point, was too tired to argue, and followed Chinthliss deeper into the vale.

*****

Mortequi had been more than pleased to have more guests. Now the smith, Buffy and Spike were deep into a discussion about slashing versus hacking. Spike, of course, was arguing in favor of whatever weapon would create the most bloodshed. Mortequi, with centuries of experience in warfare, was adamantly advocating using a weapon that would cause the most amount of damage, while still allowing it's wielder to walk away unharmed. Buffy just wanted something that would work.

Xander, not much of a fighter, quickly grew bored. Mortequi, seeing the young man's discomfort, offered him an out. "Why don't you look around some? See if there's anything here that strikes your fancy."

Xander quickly agreed and was soon happily sorting through piles of daggers, throwing knives and swords. Some of these weapons were literally works of art. Curved and scrolled blades chased with silver, sporting hilts that resembled fanciful creatures that existed only in Mort's imagination.

He and Spike had spent hours pouring over catalogs from BudK, Knight's Realm and Museum Replicas. They'd both ooh'd and ahh'd over some of Hibben's creations, but the simplest blade in Mort's collection put Hibben to shame.

So when Xander found a very plain sword stuck under a shelf, he was more than a little surprised. The hilt was utterly boring and the blade was made of some dull metal.

Mortequi, for some reason, chose the exact moment Xander was reaching for the sword to glance at his neglected guest. The warning he'd been about to scream out died in his throat when Xander picked up the blade with no ill effects.

Buffy and Spike, seeing the completely shocked and amazed look on Mort's face, turn to see what had frightened the smith so much. The sight of Xander holding a sword gave no clue to Mort's dismay, until the blade began to glow faintly. Quickly growing brighter while a faint ringing sound echoed throughout underhill.

Every Faie underhill stopped in their tracks at that faint sound, then ran, enmass, to Mortequi's tree. Valeria and Keighvin found themselves in the odd position of having to shove their way through the throng to get to the source of the disturbance.

Valeria reached the smith's side half a step before her son. "Mort? What? How?"

Mortequi, his mouth still hanging open in disbelief, pointed a shaking finger. Valeria and Keighvin both followed his direction and stared at the young man standing on the other side of the room.

Xander's face turned red as he said, "Uhhhh, oops?"

Valeria turned pale and staggered. Keighvin grabbed his mother before she could fall and helped her into a chair. The rest of the visitors made their way into the crowded room, each wanting to know what had stunned their hosts so much.

FX looked at his old friend and suddenly started laughing, "Well that explains everything."

Buffy was becoming a little irritated, and she wasn't the only one. Spike grabbed the four-tail and shook him, "What the bloody Hell is wrong with you people?"

FX pointed at Xander, or more specifically at the sword that Xander was holding. "That's a Moon Sword. Only a MoonSidhe can hold that sword with getting their hands burned off."

Mort shook his head, "It's more than that. That's Prince Sandor's sword. After he died during the battle with the HellBitch, I kept it. His mother didn't want it. Not two days later, the MoonSidhe opened a gate and disappeared."

"If Prince Sandor was killed, how is Xander holding his sword?" Giles asked, then quickly realized what he'd just said. "oh dear," the Watcher whispered.

FX nodded, grinning so hard the muscles in his face were starting to hurt, "Yep. Sandor. Xander."

Buffy buried her head in her hands with a groan, "Explain it to me? Please? In very small words?"

Keighvin cleared his throat, staring nervously at the unassuming young man. "Prince Sandor was Queen Narlia's only child and her heir. During the final battle, Oberon had been wounded by Glorificus. Sandor stepped between Oberon and Glorificus and took the hit meant to kill our king. There was a bright flash of light and we all heard him scream. His sacrifice gave Oberon enough time to get to his feet and rally our forces, but Prince Sandor was never seen again. We all thought he'd been killed."

Valeria continued the tale, "More MoonSidhe's died that day than any other Faie. Queen Narlia took the few of her people that survived and went so far underhill no one has ever seen or heard from them again."

FX scampered over the table and thumped Xander on the back, "That explains why you could just stroll into the Hellmouth, order the guards to stand aside and pull me out of there. The MoonSidhe controlled that portion of underhill. Once they were gone, it was a free for all."

Xander looked at FX with pleading eyes, "I don't understand. What does all of that have to do with me?"

FX was so excited he was practically bouncing, "Don't you see? You're Prince Sandor. Or you were."

Xander stared at the sword, at his friends and then at all the strangers crowding into the room. "Okay. I'm confused."

Valeria rose gracefully from her chair and gently took Xander by the arm, leading him out of the room. "Come, I will try to explain what I can." Throwing her son a glance over her shoulder, she said, "Keighvin, call Oberon. If anyone can reach Narlia, it would be him. And I'm sure he'll want to meet young Xander here."

Xander turned pale and staggered, "Oberon? I don't want to meet Oberon. I've heard bad things about him and I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a toad. Or a jackass."

Spike, having knocked several people over trying to get out of the room, finally reached his lover's side. Giving him a nudge, he said, "Remember when I first tried to get into your knickers and you informed me that you were no fairy? Guess what, pet. You were wrong."

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