"Okay, I'll see you in an hour." Willow hung up the phone and stared at the notepad. On it, she had written an old prophecy Giles had read to her. He understood most of it--or so he thought--and had asked her to look at it as well. She read it to herself out loud, trying to make sense of it all.
"In thy dreams the evil shall come forth
"To feast upon thy nightly peace
"But when thus said when time is right
"The words return thee back at ease
"When come the solstice is the first
"When the foe is slain no more
"Evil shall rise in blazing fire
"Only whence the cloak she wore
"Coming time thy shall have to choose
"For on the night of the crescent moon
"Is when evil shall saveth its breath
"And the Chosen shall awaken soon"
"Crescent moon?" Buffy's voice sounded very drowsy. Willow turned and saw Buffy leaning against the staircase.
"Just something Giles came up with. He'll be here in a few hours."
"He's got something?" There was a tone of hope in her voice. She dragged herself to the table and read the rhyme. "Boy, I must be tired. What's it mean?"
"It's quit simple, actually. If you juggle the syntax a bit it actually means something. Take the first four lines." Willow pointed at them. "They speak of a demon haunting your dreams, but can be defeated at a specific time. The next verse is a problem. Giles thinks the foe is the Master, and that this demon won't rise until the first solstice after the Master has been slain--which he has. The cloak's still pretty much a mystery. He says the third verse means the demon is at its weakest on the night of the crescent moon, which is tonight."
Willow quickly stood up and supported her friend before she could fall, too weak to stand on her own two legs. "I think you'd better lie down." Buffy wanted to object, struggle, afraid of more nightmares, but she couldn't even open her mouth. Willow could feel her friend's reluctance, but guided her gently up the stairs and into bed. Buffy was asleep even before Willow could pull the covers over her.
* * *
At seven, Giles rang the doorbell. As soon as Willow opened it, he walked in and hung something white over her shoulder.
"What's this?" she asked, as she closed the door.
"That ah... that's the Ceremonial Cloak, the gown Buffy must wear at the exorcism."
"Exorcism?"
"To exorcise the demon... to ah... to cast him out." He reached into his pocket and came up with a bar of greenish looking soap. Willow turned her head away as she took it from him. The smell didn't really agree with her.
"W-What is this?"
Giles grimaced. "A special soap, made from a large variety of herbal extracts. For this ritual, Buffy must be purified in a special way, she must be as clean as possible, in a certain way." Willow looked at him in surprise. "That means you'll have to bathe her, and give her a good scrubbing with that soap. Only this one, no others. And then dress her up in that gown. I'll be waiting for you in the living room."
Willow opened her mouth to say something, but instead just turned and started up the stairs. Giles, too, turned, but paused for a moment.
"Ah... eh... Willow," he said, remembering a small detail. Willow faced him again.
"Yes?"
"No underwear."
"No underwear?"
"No underwear. Nothing. That gown is made of a special fabric. It will act as some kind of ah... collector. It will draw the power of the exorcism to whoever is wearing it. Any other fabrics might very well diminish that effect or nullify it completely. No underwear, no earrings, nothing."
"And the mall just happened to have a dress like that lying around?"
"No. I-I ah... I made it," Giles said, slightly embarrassed, especially when he saw a chuckle on Willow's face. "I know my way around a needle. It ah... comes with the territory." Before giving Willow a chance to react, he disappeared into the living room. Willow just went up the stairs, slightly baffled.
"Oh. Comes with the territory. Of course. Stupid me," she whispered to herself.
* * *
Thirty long minutes seemed even longer to Giles as he waited for the girls to come down. But a sound from the hallway told him it was time. He stood up and walked into the hallway. Buffy was slowly descending the stairs, almost being carried by Willow. She still was too weak to go by herself. To Giles, his Slayer looked even more stunning and beautiful than ever. And though for a moment his eyes were locked on her, he pretended not to notice the gown she wore was slightly see-through. And as the books commanded--aside from a few red and yellow ribbons in her hair--the gown was all she wore. Just for a few seconds he forgot about the Buffy he knew, and seeing this beautiful young girl, he understood why at first Jenny Calendar had hesitated to believe she was the mighty and powerful Vampire Slayer.
Even though Buffy was very tired, Giles' look did not slip by her unnoticed. Something inside her tingled, and it gave her an unexpected sensation of feeling good about who and what she was. Inside her mind, she smiled.
"Are you ready?" Giles asked, forcing his eyes on Willow in her thick cashmere sweater.
"As ready as she'll ever be," she answered. She, too, had seen something in Giles' eyes, although she didn't know what it was.
By this time, they had reached the bottom of the stairs, and Giles walked up to Buffy, supporting her from the other side. Together, Willow and Giles half carried, half-supported Buffy to his car.
"So, where do we go?" Willow asked, as she helped Buffy in the back seat of Giles' car. She then sat down beside her to make sure she wouldn't bounce against the door. Giles got in and started the car.
"We need a place where we can be in the full light of the moon. I ah... I was thinking about the football field." Carefully, Giles drove away, making the trip as easy on Buffy as he could.
"Sounds fine to me," Willow said.
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