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Part 18
“Look, it just isn’t practical for me to go to the palace with you every day. I mean, look at this place. Nothing got done here today. The dishes from this morning are still in the sink, clothes still need to be washed and hung out to dry, dinner’s not ready, and I still have to gather the vegetables for the meal.”
“While I agree that it is not very convenient, we are talking about your safety here.”
“I know, Giles. But there has to be a better way. This isn’t helping anyone. I have nothing to do all day at the palace, and then I come home to all this work that I normally would spend all day doing.”
“Well then, we’ll help you. I mean, how hard can it be to wash a few dishes and clothes?” Buffy stood and started to walk toward the sink of plates and glasses.
“If it helps Willow get dinner done, why not?” Xander joined her as Jesse and Cordelia went to the clothes.
Giles and Anya walked to the garden, and Faith turned to Willow before following. “Well, Red, it looks like you’ve earned yourself a few hors break. Enjoy it. But… keep an ear out for glass breaking. And don’t let Xander show you his juggling.”
“Why not?”
“Just trust me on this one, okay?”
Two hours later, Jesse and Cordelia returned from hanging out the wash, and Giles, Anya and Faith brought in a basket of vegetables for dinner. They found Willow asleep in a chair and no sign of Buffy or Xander.
“Oh, look at her,” Cordelia sighed. “She looks so peaceful.”
“Yes, quite. Let’s not disturb her,” Giles agreed.
“Where’s Xander?”
“What do you mean, Anya?”
“Where is he? There weren’t that many dishes. He and Buffy should have been done by now. Something’s happened.”
“What could possibly have happened?” The others stared at Jesse. “Right. Bad question. Well, should we check the kitchen?”
“That is where they were last seen.”
“Okay, G, we’re behind you. Lead the way.”
“How many times have I told you not to call me that?” Giles led the way into the kitchen, then stopped in the doorway. “What happened in here?”
“Um, oops?” Buffy and Xander looked around at the mess surrounding them. Flour and sugar coated the table in a layer of white dust. Eggs and eggshells made a gooey mess on the floor, and some combination of the two substances coated the walls. “Well, we were washing the dishes, and then we started talking about how much Willow does for us, even though she doesn’t have to do anything, ‘cause she’s a princess and all. And we thought it would be nice if we made a cake to thank her.”
“Yeah, only, we’ve never made one before.”
“It looks much easier than it really is.”
“So it seems. What are you going to do now?”
“Give up my dreams of being a gourmet chef, that’s for sure.”
“What about this mess? Are you going to leave it like this?”
“Well, we…”
“Oh, that’ll show her how you feel about her.”
“We were hoping that maybe you’d take pity on us and help.”
Faith sighed. “We may as well. If we don’t, Lucy and Ethel here are likely to get into a bigger mess than they already are.” The seven friends grabbed buckets, brooms and cleaning supplies and began to work in the kitchen. Just before dawn, they glanced around the kitchen at their work then collapsed around the still slumbering princess. An hour later, Willow began to stir.
Stretching, she looked around the room as the sunlight streaming through the windows began to rouse the others. “Wow, you guys did a great job. You should have woken me, though. You didn’t need to do it all yourselves.”
“Not a problem,” Buffy yawned.
“Maybe you guys were right. You don’t need me to do this every day.”
“No, really, we do. We discussed it last night, and we don’t *all* have to be at the palace every day. We’ll take turns staying home with you and helping.”
“That sounds great!” she chirped, cheerful from a
good night’s rest. “So, who wants to go first?” Seven hands
shot up simultaneously.
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