The Prince stood to the side, watching as the knights embraced William and congratulated him. Alexander had never felt that much pride. His knight, HIS, had killed the stag and brought back the head. On his first hunt at that. Even the king had been thoroughly impressed. He had congratulated his son on the choice he had made earlier that day, when he had chosen to welcome the knight in the hold.

The young Prince smiled at the memory. Never had his father told him he was proud of his son.

As he lost sight of William in the crowd, the Prince's eyes wandered over the other knights and ladies gathered in the hall. The whole court had come out to meet the knights as they returned to the castle after the hunt and the festivities had started immediately.

The young man's eyes settled upon the new lady, Elizabeth. William had introduced her to the king earlier, as a young lady he had encountered in the woods and who needed help. The King had welcomed her, but quickly dismissed her, asking that she'd be hosted in the castle until the next day, when he would be ready to hear her plea.

She had tried to plead and ask for an immediate audience, but the king hadn't given in. He had some festivities to attend and the day had been long, so it would have wait.

Lady Elizabeth was now sulking in a corner of the hall, watching the display of richness and abundance with a look of shock and wonder on her face; she had never seen anything like it before.

Alexander made his way to her, intent on greeting her properly as befitted her rank and maybe ask for the reason of her visit to the castle. The sudden sound of the horn curtailed his plans and he quickly returned to his place at his father's side.

"Silence, my friends!" The king's voice echoed in the hall. "It is time for young William to give the hunt's kiss and the stag's head to the purest and most beautiful lady of this court." The king waved to the young knight, and continued. "Young William, it is time to make your choice."

After hearing the king's words, Liam waved at Charles to stay behind William with the stag's head. "William, be wise, my young apprentice. You do not want to start a fight." He whispered in the young man's ear.

William turned back to the older knight and whispered back. "How do I know if a lady already has a protector?"

"It is hard I know, but use your knowledge." With that enigmatic answer, Liam left the young knight alone.

For what seemed like hours, William went through all the people he knew at the court and tried to find the one person he would more likely give the stag's head to. He dismissed many of the ladies at the court, for most of them were likely to have a protector. As his eyes neared the royal group, he caught sight of the young Prince, and felt drawn to him. There was something so pure and innocent, yet so brave, braver than most knights, about that young man and William couldn't tear his eyes away.

//If only it was acceptable. He is the only one worthy of this head.// The young knight thought before looking away. There was no way he could do it and keep his status. Instead, another thought crept into his head. The young Prince had just got engaged that night and his lady was known for her beauty and purity. She would be the best second choice.

William waved at Charles to follow him and made his way to the young lady's group. He bowed before her as she blushed.

Alexander watched as his young knight kissed his fianc�e chastely and then present her the head, which she asked to be taken away as fast as she could. Lady Winnifred was now a burning red, flattered by the honour she had just received. She bowed before the young knight and everyone in the room started cheering.

The young Prince stood straight, an overwhelming fear washing over him as he remembered his earlier words to his teacher: "How is it that such a lovely lady as my fianc�e could be faithful to me? I am not strong, I can't protect her like a knight would. I am weak, a shell of a man. She'll seek the comfort and protection of a knight's arms soon after we are wed. I have seen this happen before." The sight of his lady and young William together was reanimating his earlier feelings of failure.

He watched in a haze as all the knights congratulated William once more and Alexander could feel jealousy and hurt overwhelming his heart. He looked away and suddenly realised that no one was paying attention to him. Hastily, but not running, he exited the hall into the gardens, where he stood against the banister, looking up at the stars and wondering. What was it about young William that made him feel this way? Like he was someone he should know, but didn't at the same time; someone he should hate, but loved instead; someone that could crush him with a single fist, yet could be as insecure as the Prince himself was. There was something about William.

Eck, there was something about Liam too. Alexander felt like he was familiar, yet not entirely trusted. And Dawn. he'd always felt like she wasn't really his sister, yet she was his confident and she knew him so well. Just like Willow, his best friend and almost sister and the silent Tara, who the Prince knew was Willow's lover, even though they never told anyone, for it was a sin. Somehow, Alexander knew Tara wasn't 'supposed' to be there. But he couldn't explain the feeling. It was the same thing with the Lady Jenny, something was very wrong with her, something that always made Alexander shiver when she was around, but he had nothing on which to base this feeling, no sins that she could've performed, nothing. It was just an overwhelming sense of dread. And then there was Rupert. nothing could describe the teacher. The Prince always felt calm when he was around, like he could keep all the monsters at bay and protect him. Like a father would.

Alexander could feel a headache start to work his way through his head, like it did every time he started thinking about those things. About how some people seemed so familiar, yet some others seemed so unreal, so distant, like his own parents. In fact, some total strangers, like this lady Elizabeth, to which he hadn't talked at all before, seemed much more like family than his parents were.

And then. there was William. //Spike.// The thought crept through his foggy mind and he couldn't stop it, but he couldn't understand it either. There was something about the eyes.

*****
Part 7:

While Alexander leaned against the banister, thinking and brooding, young William took leave of the ladies and looked around, trying to find the young Prince. The young knight wanted nothing more than to make further acquaintance with the man.

"Sir Liam, my lord," William bowed before the older man and asked, "Have you seen the Prince? He seems to have disappeared from the room shortly after I gave the hunt's prize to his lady." Just as he said it, the thought that this exact action might have been the cause of the Prince's disappearance came crashing on William. He gulped and waited for the answer.

"I do not know where he would've gone, young William, but he seems to like the gardens a lot, maybe that's where he went. Do not linger too much, we need to get you settled for the night soon." Sir Liam answered, raising an eyebrow at his apprentice's haste to leave the hall.

"He is very headstrong." A voice whispered in Lord Liam's ear. The knight turned around swiftly, but smiled; he knew that voice.

"Isn't he, Lord Wesley? He reminds you of someone, I guess." He asked teasingly to his friend and counselor.

The older man smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it the reason why you decided to take him as your apprentice, my Lord? Because he reminds you of yourself."

Liam nodded absently, as his eyes roamed the room around him, making sure no one was looking at them. "Follow me." He whispered as he started walking towards the hall. He knew of a little room, a few doors down, where they would be more comfortable for talking. He grinned. As if talking was really what they both had in mind. Liam hated being separated from his friend when they were at the King's castle, but it was the law. If they had been seen together... but it was best not to think about it.

Liam opened the door and ushered Wesley in, before closing the door with a kick. Without a word, their lips met in a passionate and desperate kiss. They hadn't been intimate for more than two months. It had been way too long.

"Angel." Lord Wesley gasped, panting, as his lover starting kissing his way down his jaw.

Liam stopped, startled. It wasn't the first time Wesley had called him that, but the knight knew that it wasn't conscious. At first, he had thought Wesley was thinking about angels, but why would he be gasping that? And then he'd been jealous, extremely jealous, thinking that his friend was seeing someone else, but Wesley had assured him otherwise, and Liam had trusted him.

But it had been so long since they had last been together. Something inside Liam broke and he looked into his friend's eyes, questioning.

Wesley looked back at Liam, embarrassed. "I did it again, didn't I?" He asked, scared of his lover's reaction.

The knight nodded. "Wes, tell me you're not..."

Wesley shook his head immediately. "I'm not seeing anyone else, Liam. I swear. I love you. I would never betray you." He said without hesitation. "I believe my subconscious is trying to tell me something." He continued, with a pondering expression on his face.

Liam shook his head and captured Wesley's lips once again. "Those lips are mine," He whispered hoarsely as they broke for some air. "And just what is a subconscious anyway?"

***

William walked into the gardens, looking around for the Prince. He found him, leaning against the banister and looking down at the moonlit flowers spread before him. The young knight said nothing. He waited.

"I know you're here." Alexander said, turning around. "Why?"

"I saw you leave just after I gave the stag's head to your lady and I wanted to see if you were all right, my Prince." William answered, bowing his head.

Alexander shook his head. "No; I mean, why did you give the head to my lady? Why not any other lady of the court? I know I'm not strong enough to protect her, but I believed..."

William shook his head. "No my Prince, don't ever think that I would take her away from you. If I could have... If there had been any possibility that I could have... without a controversy, I would have... I would have chosen you, my Prince."

Shocked, Alexander looked up sharply, directly meeting the knight's eyes. "Me?" The Prince asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes." William replied, trying to avoid Xander's gaze. "You are the only one worthy of the head and the..." He stopped himself, finally realizing what he was about to say. "I'm sorry my Prince, I will leave you in peace." The young knight turned around and was about to leave when Alexander stopped.

"Don't go." The Prince said in a small voice. "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult. Would you care to enlighten me?" He asked, blushing slightly. He had no idea what he was doing; in fact, he was extremely embarrassed and was about to turn away when William gripped his arm and stopped him. They looked in each other's eyes and something clicked in the Prince's mind. He had seen those blue eyes before: William was one of the people he had seen in his dreams. The blue was unmistakable. His head felt light and he started wavering on his feet, not able to keep his balance. Alexander could feel himself drift into his dream world again, but was it really a dream?

The young knight felt a shiver run through the Prince's body just as he was about to collapse. Without thinking, William wrapped his arms around the young man and gathered him close, pressing their lips together. The only thing he knew was that he needed to keep the Prince grounded, or he would faint. The knight had heard about Alexander's illness, everyone in the kingdom had, and to see the young man just about to collapse was alarming the other man.

The Prince felt William's arms around him and then the lips, but his mind was going from awareness to black out... from the warm, cozy night of Britain to a hot sweaty night in California. From the beauty of the cloudless sky to a boring white ceiling. From the arms and lips of the young knight to the emptiness of a comfortable bed.

Suddenly, the Prince gasped sharply. His world stopped moving and his focus returned. He broke the kiss, turning his head away from the burning lips. Pushing himself away from the knight's arms, he stumbled back, watching in horror and shock.

William felt the Prince escape his arms and awareness came crashing on him. He had been kissing the Prince. Kissing a man in the gardens of the King. "I'm so sorry my Prince, I'll... I'll go." He turned away. "I'm sorry." He whispered one last time before glancing one last time and the shocked Prince and starting to walk to the door.

What had he been thinking? Taking advantage of the Prince like that. The young man had had a crisis and what had the knight done? He kissed him. William couldn't stop scolding himself for his stupidity as he stormed into the castle to find Lord Liam, still feeling the Prince's lips on his as if they had burned him.

Xander looked as Spike walked into the castle. "What the FUCK was that?" He muttered, looking around him at his surroundings. "And where the HELL am I?"

****
TBC