Author: Tawilove
Rating: I don't know really but let's say PG-13 for a start and then NC-17 eventually (but not before some time), changed in the rating will be signalled when they occur.
Distribution: No problem, just ask me first.
Feedback: Yes please, I really want to know your opinion. tawilove@yahoo.fr
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME... except for the ones I created, I won't be naming them all, I'm kinda lazy! But you'll have no problem spotting them 'cause they were never on the show.
Summary: This story takes place (except for the first chapter) in another reality, one of Magic and Kingdoms, Knights and Witches. Of course it's a W/T-centric story (what else could it be!) but most of the characters of BtVS are also present. A princess from a magical kingdom, evil forces brewing, and a young woman who doesn't know yet that she's the chosen one!
Notes: I am not a professional writer and English is not my mother language so pardon me for any misspelling or grammatical errors! If you want me to correct something that seems incoherent or misplaced to you, please let me know.
Thoughts are in italics.

She was walking fast, faster than usual.

She wasn't mad at him, well not anymore, not as much as before, she was mad at her self, because she had let him betray her one time too much. The first time was already too much, but she hadn't cared, she had forgiven because she simply had been afraid to loose him!

Why so? She couldn't explain anymore, and now came the time of realization.

When she saw him with that girl, again....she felt a rage she didn't even know she could hold within her. She knew there and then that she was over with him, that she had been over since the very first time he cheated on her; but she had been weak all the way.

She remembered his face when she came in!

She had been happy, the sky was blue the temperature perfect and she was feeling like hiking with her boyfriend. So she went directly to his apartment with her backpack and her hiking equipment, she new Oz was not a morning guy that's why she planned on arriving early to shake him out of bed, so they wouldn't go too late.

She wanted to make a surprise, like jump on his bed or something so she didn't knocked, she had the key after all! Very quietly she entered the flat and directed herself toward his bedroom; she opened the door with a smile on her face ready to pounce on the sleeping boy. One second later she felt her legs giving in and she slumped to the floor with a muffled cry and a mixture of disbelief and understanding plastered all over her face.

He heard a noise; it was soft for she was so lithe that her body touching the ground couldn't make a big sound. But he heard it, he turned his body from the dark haired silhouette lying still on his bed and he looked at her, fear evident in his eyes, for he knew in that very moment she was gone from his life. He couldn't move, didn't dare to talk so he stared at the redhead girl sitting limp on his bedroom floor, he was a bastard and he knew it.

Suddenly she stood up, a fierce determination on her elfin features, a look of resolve and anger; she turned around and slapped the door with all her might.

It was over!

Now she was walking, no aim in sight, she just had to walk or her rage would eat her up, she had to sooth her nerves and to find out why on earth she had been so stupid, so blind.

She had left Sunnydale three years ago to come to San Francisco, she had received a scholarship for UCSF and she had been so excited. Her life in Sunnydale had been dull and she had been so happy to move into a big city, to meet new people, to attend university.

And of course she had been granted for all that! She even met a nice young man called Oz, a singer in a group; he was so cool and gentle, exciting and safe!

Safe, not like her violent father had been, not an abusive alcoholic.

But she had been fooled, of course Oz had never hurt her physically but he had betrayed her so many times that the scars were printed deeper in her heart than any of the beatings her father had given her.

Now she was faced with the truth, with her choices and she didn't like what she saw. She needed to take back the control of her life so she walked with her head full of questions. The trees around her seemed to move with her, affected by her pain, they shook their branches back and forth like the tide of a stormy sea, beating in time with the crazy rhythm of the redhead heart.

It all had been so logical, she was a girl and he was a boy, the equation was easy to solve! She was a girl so she had to have a boyfriend, a nice man at her side that would treat her right. She had to follow the scheme, the one that every girl followed since the beginning of times ... right?

It was a question she had never pondered more than a few seconds.

But it was still at the back of her mind, dormant, waiting for her to be ready.

Right now she was so confused, she didn't even know who she was, what she wanted, what she needed.

So she walked, she climbed the hills, crossed the river, entered the woods, she wasn't feeling the ground anymore, she wasn't feeling anything except for that crazy obsessing rage. Then she stopped with no apparent reason, she could feel them, thousands of drops falling from the dark looking sky, she didn't know for how long it had been raining but she suspected that it had certainly been for a while for she was drenched to the skin.

Slowly coming back to her senses, she realized it was becoming urgent to find a shelter, the storm was getting bigger and bigger, the wind was blowing full force and the rain was so dense that she couldn't see anything further than a few feet ahead. She knew the place; she was used to be coming here, feeling at peace surrounded by nature. But right now with all the turmoil inside and outside of her she was lost. So she decided to walk straight forward and look for a place to hide from the furious sky. After a good ten minutes in that liquid hell she caught the sight of a big rock, she knew this rock, there was a cave in it and she could wait there for the storm to pass.

She entered the dark cold hole with a shiver, it felt odd, though she had no choice but to stay in. She found a few branches scattered around probably blown inside by the wind, so she collected them opened her backpack, fetched for her lighter, and a few tries later she finally started a fire at the entrance of the cave. After a little while she felt the heat and sighed, getting some of her clothes off to dry them, she felt lucky in all that craziness, now she could relax and think.

Three hours later the storm was still raging outside and she was beginning to worry, realizing that she would have to spend the night here, even if the rain would stop now she was too far from her car to reach it before night fall. It would be more dangerous to try and go back than to wait for the morning, so she unpacked her sleeping bag and found a place for it near the fire. She ate a cereal bar and slipped into the bag resting her head into her palm, staring at the flames while feeding them regularly before falling asleep.

Mist was surrounding her as she tried to find her way, hard stones were scattered along her path making her stumble every other step she made. Frightening noises came from every directions, a cold wind was blowing chilling her to the bones, she felt like letting go, like falling to the ground but she couldn't stop she had to get out of wherever she was. Somewhere at the back of her mind she knew she would make it, she felt a force, a power leading her, comforting her, giving her the courage to go on.

So she walked, never looking back, holding onto that faith that she was not alone. It felt like eternity had passed when the wind finally died, and a ray of sunshine braking through the foggy air gently caressed her frozen skin. She sighed in relief, she was safe now and as she opened her eyes to look at the glowing light invading the forest she heard a whisper "Willow, come to me ...". She squinted as a shadow approached from afar, a feminine silhouette stood out but she couldn't see who she was. The soft voice seemed to be hers, she was her saviour the one that led her out of the mist, and the redhead stretched her arms towards her ....... "Willow....Willoww where are you"....

The redhead woke up with a jolt; she was agitated ... where is she? where am I? ... She looked around her mind still groggy from her sleep, slowly getting her bearings. She remembered now, she was in a cave where she had fallen asleep earlier that night and it was surely a nightmare that woke her up. But she couldn't remember her dream; except for that voice....it had felt soft but distant, like a far away sound. She looked outside, the night was pitched black but the rain had stopped, finally. She put another branch into the fire which was still burning, strange she thought, she didn't know for how long she had been sleeping but she was sure that without taking care of it, the fire could not have lasted for so long. Then she heard it again, that voice, that beautiful voice, calling to her like a siren to a sailor ..."Willowww....come to me".

She wasn't afraid, even though she knew it was crazy not to be, because the situation was incredible, a woman voice was calling her in the middle of the woods, at night, in a cave and she wasn't afraid.

Her rational mind was screaming at her ...run like hell away from here..., but her soul calmed her, guided her to that voice, so she stood, put her now dry clothes back on and started to walk slowly toward the end of the cave flashlight in hand.

"Willowww" the voice seemed nearer but still she couldn't place it "Come to me Willowww".

She came to a halt when she reached the end of a tunnel; a huge wall was standing before her going up with seemingly no end ....well I think this is the end of that little night trip... she concluded with some disappointment, facing the definitive obstacle.

But after a moment hers eyes got use to the dark and she saw carvings and drawings slowly appear on the rock. They looked like from another age, another world. The redhead slid the light source softly from one side to the other giving all her attention to that discovery. It looked a little like those prehistoric drawings that were found in some caves around the world but those were not naïve looking, they seemed more elaborated, more detailed and from the left to the right where showing a sort of logic.

The scientist in her was fascinated, so fascinated that she nearly missed the next calling "Willowww where are you..." As strange as it could appear, the voice seemed to come from behind that wall so she approached the surface to put her ear on it. But nothing, silence fell. So after a few minutes she stepped back and went on the examination of the paintings.

On the left side of the wall she saw a castle with some villages scattered around, the landscape was peaceful, and she could feel joy radiating from it ... how can a painting make you feel such an intense happiness, I mean what's so special about it, ok it's pretty but why do I feel so good looking at it? ... The redhead was perplexed but nonetheless followed the scenery and slowly strange forms showed, like awful looking beasts and disfigured humans; they were invading that castle and destroying everything around. It's awful, my god those poor people ... she was upset, shocked by all this ... here it is again, what's up with me, why do I feel all those things? ... Then the sun came back on what looked like a kingdom but something was gone it didn't look so happy anymore. It was a story, the redhead realized, the wall was telling a story. She went on to the right, the castle still stood in the middle and she saw people in arms surrounding it, and what looked like dragons flying around. Then on the next picture she saw a girl, a young maiden sitting under a tree near the castle, she looked melancholic, her sorrows darkening her beautiful feature ...Beautiful... she sighed. It went on like that till the end of the wall, the story of a kingdom and of a sad girl waiting for something, for someone.

Willow felt moved by all this, like if she was related, like if she knew those people, that girl, that beautiful girl. She felt silly because the only wish on her mind now was to be there, to hold that woman and comfort her.

But she knew she couldn't, it was only a drawing ... and what if I could! ... why was she feeling this way towards her?

She shook her head and turned around, this was a nice discovery she could show to her archaeology professor ...stop being silly and start being pragmatic, this is a great finding... she would bring him here, he would be so excited.

There was no more she could do now so she decided to go back near the fire and sleep some more ... Now go and finish your night Rosenberg, you still need some rest... She started to walk back when she heard another strangled cry, "Willowwwww find me!"

She turned sharply on her heels and stared at the wall ... this voice again but so desperate this time, my god I must do something!

She flashed the light again on the rough surface and searched for a sign, anything, a clue.

Getting frantic was not a solution so she calmed down to proceed methodically, method was her way. She started again from the left of the rock to the right, sweeping the light thoroughly over each centimeter.

Just before the end of the wall, before she lost all hopes to find anything interesting she saw a carving, a small carving with the shape of a hand, just above the last painting. She studied it attentively concluding that it was surely the shape of a woman's hand.

Then she pondered why it was here, did it serve a purpose?

The more she looked at it the more she felt like putting her hand on it, it seemed approximately the same size. She approached her arm from the wall grazing her finger tips over the surface and felt something, an energy coming out of it. She shook her head and took a step back; it couldn't be ...it's insane!

"Willowwwwww find me" the cry echoed again and like driven by an unseen force the redhead plunged towards the carving and placed her hand onto it. She just had the time to see it fitting perfectly before a huge halo of light engulfed her entirely.