The November Project - Part 8

TITLE:	The November Project (8/10)
AUTHOR:	-Andy- see2go4me@yahoo.com)
STATUS:	Words: 2,658.
RATING:	18/R
DISCLAIMER:	This is a derivative work. All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Television, Panzer/Davis and others. I don't own any of this, just the words gluing my story together.
SUMMARY:	A Third Slayer Tale
SPOILERS:	All seasons of BtVS and Highlander.
DISTRIBUTION:	My blog fanfic pages. TtH eventually. Anyone else, e-mail me please.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:	This is my NaNoWriMo entry. Quantity over quality. Don't expect anything better than a rough draft until the whole thing is done. Then I'll revise it.

From her window seat in the small chip shop, Fann stared across the street at the large building partially obscured by the drizzling rain. They'd been in London for a week, Amanda showing her around while they waited to hear from a contact about a job somewhere in Scotland. So far she'd seen a large number of museums, antique dealers, and mansions. They'd done the same thing in Madrid the month before. In addition to getting her used to international traveling, Amanda seemed intent on Fann gaining first hand knowledge of a number of cities she considered ripe for the picking.

Blowing the steam off the top of her mug, Fann sighed and took a sip. While she was enjoying the time she spent with Amanda, she wondered when she would consider her good enough to tackle more complex jobs. She had been involved in the planning for the bigger jobs Amanda had pulled off since Fann had become her apprentice but so far she'd only only allowed Fann to be directly involved in the small jobs they could do together. She knew that the immortal thief didn't have the same sense of urgency she did. To Amanda it was a game she had plenty of time to play. Fann, on the other hand, felt the urge to do something, anything. And now she was just sitting, watching a large building and trying to see if anything obvious happened while Amanda walked around it.

"So, what did you notice?" Amanda asked, entering the chip shop and gracefully sitting across from Fann.

"Nothing. You walked around the building. People walked in. People walked out." Fann frowned. "Kind of boring."

"Good." Amanda told her. "It's been a while since I was last here. They don't seem to have done anything special since then."

"What do you mean?" Fann asked, confused at Amanda's comments. She hadn't explained why they were checking out this particular building.

"I was wondering if they'd notice an immortal nearby." She grinned. "If they did it looks like they don't care."

"Why would they care?" Fann asked. "And who are they?"

"That is supposed to be the headquarters for the Council of Watchers. In that building are the answers to your questions about slayers." Amanda shook her head. "When you are ready to find out what being a slayer means you'll find what you want to know in that building."

"So, you think I should just walk up and ask them?" Fann asked her curiously. Given how much time Amanda had spent drilling into her that the direct approach could be fatal, it was a little surprising to the younger woman.

"No. Not unless you want to work for them for the rest of an unnaturally short life. Not something I would recommend." Amanda grinned at her. "I was thinking more of doing a little nocturnal exploring some time."

"When" Fann asked with interest.

"From what I've heard over the years, they have an unusual security system." She reached over and taking Fann's cup took a sip from it. "They supposedly use some kind of magic to guard the building. Getting past it could be interesting."

"Magic?" Fann looked at Amanda with a disbelieving expression on her face. "What kind of magic are we talking about? Fairy tale magic or the mind control stuff Cassandra does?"

"I don't know." Amanda admitted. "There are supposed to be a lot of different kinds. Or so I've been told. Most immortals can only do the 'stuff' that Cassandra can do. And we try to stay away from anything that sounds like magic." She shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen strange things over the years that I can't explain that other people would call magic. Of course, I'm not the one with a mythical ancestor."

Fann frowned at her. Cassandra might claim that her grandmother was one of the Sidhe but she didn't see how that affected herself personally. Even if it was true, the Sidhe were long gone and Fann had no way of learning anything from them.

"Why even bring it up then?" Fann muttered. "I'm not going to live forever. With all the things you and Duncan have me doing when will I have time to learn about magic? The only witch I know of is Cassandra. And she's too busy being mysterious to be interested in teaching me anything."

"There are others who call themselves witches." Amanda shrugged. "I'm sure we'll eventually run into one who would be interested in a joint venture like that. I thought it would be useful for you to know where they are."

"Thanks." Fann put the idea to the back of her mind and looked at her companion. "So what's next?"

"We have a meeting with our source in a small pub. The Leaky Cauldron is a twenty minute walk from here." Amanda stood up, stretching like a contented cat as she did so. Rising from her own seat, Fann smiled to herself at the reactions of the mostly male patrons of the shop. She was continually amazed at Amanda's ability to attract attention from the opposite sex but still get away with robbing them the way she did.

Walking at a leisurely pace, they arrived at their destination with plenty of time to spare. The pub sat between a second hand bookshop and a ratty looking record store. Fann looked at it dubiously. "Are you sure this is it?" she asked, turning towards Amanda.

"Yes. This is it." Amanda confirmed. "It caters to a very select group of people. Fortunately we shouldn't be here long."

Fann gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see." Amanda told her. "Just act normally and we'll be okay."

Fann raised an eyebrow and followed her into the pub, shivering at a strange sensation as they passed the threshold. "What was that?" she asked quietly so only Amanda could hear her.

"It's protected by some kind of magic that keeps out people who don't belong." Amanda told her while looking around. Fann gave her a look. This was the second mention of magic in a day, more than she'd heard since their visit to Cassandra months ago. "I think. It's a good place for an immortal to do business if you don't want your watcher following you."

"I thought we lost her days ago?" Fann asked.

"No. She's around here somewhere. She's just gotten more cautious since you caught her at the airport." Amanda grinned at the memory.

She was still grinning slightly when the barkeep showed them to a private room. It was occupied by an old man with white, long flowing hair and twinkling eyes. In the dim candle light he seemed to be dressed in the same odd clothes the other pub patrons had been wearing.

He waved them to seats near the small fireplace on the other side of the room before ordering drinks from the hovering barkeep.

"I hadn't realized any descendants of the Sidhe were still walking the earth." the old man commented when Amanda introduced her.

"How can you tell?" Fann demanded before Amanda could say anything. "I didn't know I had any Sidhe blood myself until recently. And no one can tell me what it means."

He just smiled at her for a moment before answering. "To some of us it is very clear where your family comes from." He seemed to think for another moment before continuing. "And what it means? That is up to you. There is power in knowing where you come from. Some would envy your connections to the mystical past of these islands."

"Albus..." Amanda warned him. Fann could tell there was some history between them but from their interaction not what kind. "We're not here to get involved in any of your schemes. You promised me a job appropriate to Fann's current skills."

"Yes. Well..." He winked at Fann. "It is certainly that."

They were interupted by a barmaid bearing drinks for all of them.

"Okay, what do you need us for?" Amanda asked, frowning at him. The conversation was confusing Fann but knowing Amanda she quietly sat back and sipped her oddly flavored beverage.

"I need you to retrieve an object for me." He told her. "It fell into the wrong hands a few years ago and I suddenly find a need for it."

"Why don't you just get it yourself? And why wait until now to get it?" Amanda asked him. "I would think it would be easy for one of your people to get it."

"Well, I don't see any need to attract attention to it by the wrong parties." He pursed his lips in thought as if trying to decide what to tell them. "It's been perfectly safe where it is until now. Using my normal methods to retrieve it would cause problems. We need something a bit more subtle."

"So what is it?" Amanda asked.

He handed a small photograph across to her. "It's in the Maritime Museum." he told them.

"I've seen it." Amanda admitted, handing the photo to Fann. "What makes it so special? Other than its age?"

"Ah... I can't tell you that." He demured.

"Understood." Amanda shrugged. "So when do you need it?" she asked as Fann handed the photo back.

"As soon as you can arrange it."

"We'll need at least two weeks." she told him. Fann nodded in agreement. It was on the list of London museum plans Amanda had insisted she memorize before their trip but they hadn't visited it yet.

"Good. Good." He smiled delightedly at them. Let me know when you have it."

They sat for another few minutes discussing mutual aquaintances before he left them. Following him back to the common room, they left the pub, heading in the direction of their hotel.

Once they were alone in their room, Fann turned to Amanda "It isn't an ordinary sword is it?"

"No. We'll need to find out more about it." she acknowledged. "There's more to it than he said." She looked at her watch. "I need to make a few calls. Why don't you take a cab to the museum and take a look?"

"Like this?" She gestured to her clothes. Intent on being taken seriously, she'd dressed as maturely as possible that morning before they'd begun their day.

"No." Amanda looked at her thoughtfully. "Something younger looking would be better. You might actually want to dress your age this time." She grinned at the face Fann gave her.

"Okay." She grumbled. "But if I get in trouble for hitting any teenage boys you get to bail me out!"

"Not a problem." Amanda smirked. "Just be glad you can still look young when you need to. It's a good way to stay unnoticed."

"Well, I haven't felt my age in years. And I prefer it that way." she groused before shrugging when Amanda just shook her head and going to change into something more school girlish.

Casually strolling around the museum, Fann could see the wisdom of Amanda's clothing advice. There were at least three different school groups wandering around the museum when she arrived in Greenwich. No one paid her any attention as long as she kept moving, not standing in one place for too long.

She found the sword in a large case with several others, all labelled according to size and age. From a distance it seemed to be a simple weapon. Nothing special. Stepping closer she thought she could see it shimmer in the harsh museum light. Looking casually around to make sure no one was watching her she ran her hand along the length of the sword just above the case. As she did so her hand seemed to tingle slightly. It definitely wasn't ordinary.

Fann spent the next hour wandering around the rest of the museum doing her best to update the image in her head with what she was seeing. The little physical evidence of the museum's security system she could see seemed to indicate that Amanda's information was still accurate.

It wasn't until she'd stopped in the museum cafe to grab a quick drink that she became aware that she had somehow gained a shadow. Someone in the crowd seemed to be following her just at the very edge of her enhanced senses. It was as if they had a good idea of her abilities, something not even the two immortals she'd spent the better part of the last nine months with knew.

Ducking into an unoccupied exhibit room she waited quietly just out of sight to see who would pass. Over the next ten minutes a large number of people walked by but didn't enter the room. Just as she was about to leave her hiding place a tall older man wandered into the room. There was something very familiar about him. She watched him wander from display to display for several minutes before she realized where she'd seen him from before.

He was older, his face slightly more worn. But he was clearly someone she'd seen in one of the nightmares that had eventually driven her from home. He'd been with at least one of the multitude of young girls she'd dreamed of dying during those painful months.

She wasn't sure if he'd been the person following her but Fann followed him as he left the room, being very careful to not get too close. As stealthily and silently as possible she followed him out of the building onto the museum grounds, keeping her distance until he stopped and sat on a park bench overlooking the Observatory.

Giving herself enough room to get away quickly if necessary, Fann nonchalantly perched at the other end of the bench. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know how he'd found her but she gave him a full five minutes to say something before starting.

"I'm sure it must be illegal, even here, for old men to stalk young girls." She told him without looking in his direction. She could sense him starting in surprise though she didn't know what had caused it. "And if it isn't it should be." She turned to look at him at that point.

He removed his glasses and carefully cleaned them before he answered her question. "You reminded me of someone." he told her quietly, searching her face, obviously looking for something. "You have the same look."

"I'm not her." She told him sadly. "I can't follow her path or theirs. They don't need me to fight those monsters. I have my own destiny." she mumbled. "Or so I've been told."

"Destiny can be a harsh taskmaster." He answered with a sympathetic look before asking curiously "What are your plans?"

"I still have a lot to learn." She admitted. "I'm not ready yet. I don't know when I will be but I've found my own teachers. I don't need yours."

He nodded. "I understand. If you need any advice or help she's in Sunnydale, California."

She watched him get up with a puzzled frown. "Isn't she dead?"

"No..." He sighed, before walking away. She heard him say, almost to himself, "sometimes destiny doesn't allow you to rest in peace."

She stomped into their suite at the hotel. The trip back from the museum hadn't allowed her much time to contemplate what he'd told her.

"What's wrong?" Amanda asked, coming out of her bedroom.

"I ran into someone at the museum." Fann told her angrily. "I can't believe it!"

"What can't you believe?" She asked, watching her stomp back and forth as she paced in the room.

"She's not dead!" Fann growled.

"Who?" Amanda asked her, confused.

"I had nightmares about her for almost six months." Fann finally sat down. "I saw her and other girls dying horrible deaths in my dreams." She started to shake. "He said her destiny wouldn't let her die." She looked at Amanda. "Why?"

• Yes, the bit with Giles isn't very good and needs some work. How does he know she's a slayer and why doesn't he try to convince her to go to Sunnydale or to the Council?

© Copyright 2009 Andy Stoffel. Last update: 7/19/09; 10:54:02 PM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.