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Part 3
Meanwhile, the residents of this house were returning from a day's work at the palace. These included Giles, the Royal Historian, Buffy and Faith, Lieutenants in the Royal Army, Xander, the Court Jester, Cordelia, the Queen's Wardrobe Attendant, Jesse, the Tailor, and Anya, the local Greenwitch. As they made their way through the dark streets of the city, they discussed their day, much to the annoyance of those living in the homes they passed.
"Can you believe the Queen wanted a dress out of white chiffon? I mean, besides the color being completely wrong for her skin, do you realize how many yards of fabric would have to be gathered to make it halfway decent?" Cordelia commented loudly. Turning to Jesse, she continued, "You should be glad I convinced her to go with the red brocade."
"And I suppose that the fact that you would have been the one to clean those yards of material had nothing to do with it."
"Of course not. The color totally washes her out. She's too pale for it. It makes her look ill. Now, she looks great in black. That accents her fair complexion. But she really should stick to an off-white or cream if she wants to go light."
"Hey, did we leave the lights on?"
"I don't think so, B. Why don't we go check it out?"
"Good idea, Faith. You and Buffy should go and see what has caused this…. Disturbance in our normal routine, and w…we'll wait here."
"Speak for yourself, G-man. I'm going in. I'm not losing any sleep because you forgot to put out the lantern this morning." Xander brushed past the historian and followed the two girls through the doorway.
"Yeah, just leave me out here with no protection! Come on, Jesse." Cordelia grabbed the tailor's arm and pulled him after the others.
"There's really no reason to stay out here. It's much safer indoors, anyway," Anya shrugged an explanation and followed Jesse.
"Well, then… if I'm the only one who is going to be reasonable about this…" Giles trailed off as he looked around. "Don't leave me out here by myself. I'm a Historian, not a soldier."
Giles walked in to see his six roommates crowded in a semi-circle around one of their chairs. "Now what's got you all… oh my, it's a girl."
Willow yawned, stretched, and slowly opened her eyes to find seven curious faces crowding around her own. "Oh, hello," she said, scrambling to get up. "I… I'm sorry, I -- I didn't know anyone lived here. I tried to knock, but there was no answer, and the door was unlocked. And it was so late. I didn't mean to… I hope you can forgive me for - "
"For cleaning up the dump these guys like to call a home?" Cordelia asked.
"And washing our clothes?" Buffy fingered the edge of one of the freshly laundered shirts that was waiting to be folded.
"And… cooking?" Xander and Jesse turned and headed toward the kitchen and the meal cooking there.
"Can we keep her, Giles?" Faith asked, turning to the historian.
"Please?" Anya added.
"Well, erm… I suppose that if the young lady has no objections, then perhaps she may stay the night… er, day."
The six younger residents turned to the newcomer with hope in their eyes. "I'd love to stay… as long as you'll have me," she replied. A cheer echoed throughout the house.
"Well, now that that's decided, why don't you tell us how you came here. And who you are, perhaps?" Giles quieted the rejoicing youths.
"Oh… of course. I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself sooner. I'm Willow, of Rosenberg. And I came here because I ran away from home."
"Oh, that's so sad. Why'd you run away?" Anya asked quietly as a look of deep thought crossed Giles' face.
"My mother… step-mother… convinced my father that I should be married to Oz, a minstrel in the royal court."
"So? He's rich. Why not marry him?" Cordelia inquired.
"Because I don't love him. My heart belongs to another. I only hope that some day we will find one another again." She paused, lost in her memories for a moment, then continued. "Well, you know who I am, but I'm afraid I don't know where I am now or who you are."
"Well, that's easy enough. You're just outside of Sunnydale. I'm Buffy, and this," she gestured to the brunette next to her, "is Faith."
"Xander."
"Jesse."
"Anya."
"Cordelia. And by the way, I love that dress. It needs cleaning, but - "
"Cordy!" The others whined.
"Oh, all right."
"And I, my dear, am Giles. Tell me something, please. In the kingdom of Rosenberg, there is a Princess named Willow. You wouldn't happen to be named for her, would you?"
"No, sir."
"Ah. Just checking."
"I am her."
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