Working Holiday: Chapter 7 - Summer Daze
by Kali
The Hellmouth was quiet for the next couple of weeks. It was as if the demons were taking stock of the situation.

The teenagers took the chance to explore Birmingham, they went shopping, visited the Sea-Life centre and went to a little theme park. Basically doing touristy things.

It was a beautiful, hot summer's day. Willow and Xander were lying on the patio at the back of the house watching Giles get his butt kicked. He was training Buffy and Minty and losing badly. Eventually he got the tow Slayers practising on each other. He sat down by Willow and Xander.

Willow handed him an ice pack, he gingerly placed it against a huge bump on his forehead. They watched Minty and Buffy for a few minutes in silence.

"She's good, isn't she?" said Xander meaning Minty.

"Yes, she has been trained well. I think she is trying a little too hard, though." Giles winced.

"She's trying to make up for the other night." Xander said. "I personally thought she did a great job of saving me."

"She's definitely talented." Giles said. "But she has no confidence in her abilities. Hopefully you three will help her past that." He paused as Willow came out of the kitchen with two ice lollies. "There must be some event in her life that has given her such low self-esteem." He lapsed into silence as he watched Buffy and Minty fight. They were very evenly matched. Minty's fighting had improved in leaps and bounds. Giles secretly believed that it was due to the fact the Millennium was so close.

He had been in contact with the Guild since he had been in England, nearly every country had its own Slayer, all female, only Australia and Chile were without Slayers, but there was still time left. He smiled as Minty disarmed Buffy. It was not often that Buffy was bested.

"No more today." Buffy sank down on the grass next to Willow and lay down. "I'm beat."

Minty sank down next to her, panting. "Oh my, I'm worn out."

For a while it was silent in the garden, everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

"Giles," said Buffy. "I thought you said it rained in England, I haven't seen any yet."

"Well, this is a heatwave," said Giles. "Although in California this would be just an extremely warm day."

Xander finished his ice lolly and started crunching on the stick. "You've heard all about our lovely town of Sunnydale. What's it like where you live?"

Minty smiled. "Well, it's not like this, that's for sure. I've never been to such a large city before. There's so much to do here, lots of shopping, places to visit, a Portal, it's all a little too much to take in. I live in Cornwall in a small village near a place called Tintagel."

"That's a strange name," said Xander.

"Tintagel is a very special place," continued Minty. "There's the ruins of a huge castle on the cliffs, Tintagel castle. It is rumoured to be one of the possible sites of Camelot. Even if it wasn't it belonged to a very wealthy Celt. It is also rumoured that the magician Merlin lived there in a cave below the castle. Below the castle is a bed of very sharp rocks that the sea pounds day in day out. It is a place that is strong in magic and mystery. Home to myth and legend since the beginning of time." She smiled at the Americans. "My village is made up of dozens of tiny thatched cottages and rose-covered trellises. The population is only about 200 people . . . most of which are my family. I miss it a little, but I'm glad I got to see the big smoke."

"It sounds so beautiful," breathed Willow.

"Well, when all this is over, come down and stay, my family are connected to the Watcher's Guild, it will be no problem. Words can not describe the beauty of where I live."

"That would be fantastic," said Buffy. "We'll repay the compliment. Come back and stay with us when we go back to Sunnydale. You'll love it. We have the sea too, but it's a little different to yours."

"Thank you. I'd love to." Minty lay back and closed her eyes.

They all sat in silence for a while. The sun beating down on them and bees buzzing amongst the flower beds, it was all too perfect.


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