Angel and Garwin were already saddling the horses by the time Willow arrived in the palace stables. She looked like a gem, her hair flaming like the recent sunrise against the dark purple of her fitted riding habit, but Angel mostly noticed the expression on her face.
Fear.
He smothered a laugh as she scanned the horses with wide green eyes. This was a girl who had been raised on a Hellmouth, who had fought against vampires for the past three years, a girl who had fought countless demons and random nasties, a girl who was best friends with a Vampire Slayer, a girl who was dating a werewolf, a girl who had seen Xander eat. Yet here she was, looking for all the world like she had never seen anything more frightening than a gently whickering mare.
"I'm told you're exceptionally fond of riding, Princess," he said with a wry smile upon his lips.
She glared at him, but nervousness severely reduced the steel in her gaze. "Yes, well, horses..." she trailed off.
Angel shook his head wonderingly, turning to see Garwin looking at her quizzically. "Garwin, I don't think you've actually met the Princess yet. Your Highness, this is my lifelong friend Garwin. Garwin, this is Princess Aurelia, as you already know."
Willow almost stuck her hand out to shake in greeting, but stopped herself as she saw Garwin bowing respectfully. Biting her lip, she did her best to curtsy. "I'm so glad to meet you, Garwin. Thank you for accompanying us on our ride today. It is much nicer to have you than some anonymous groom."
Garwin looked at her with some degree of surprise. Angel didn't know if it was because she was being so gracious or because she had used polysyllabic words like 'accompanying' and 'anonymous'.
"It is my pleasure, Highness. Now, can I help you mount?"
Realizing that Garwin would notice instantly that she was no horsewoman, Angel stepped in. "Oh, allow me. Please." Taking Willow's hand, he led her to the curious mare, all the while whispering in a low voice. "Your horse's name is Salla. She is fast but steady, and she thinks she knows you. She will follow my horse until you learn to control her. Just hold the reins and pretend you know what you're doing. It's easier than it looks." With that, they were at Salla's side, and Angel was cupping his hands to boost Willow up.
With a sigh of extreme trepidation, she placed her foot in his hands.
****
Garwin was confused. Anything he had ever heard about this Princess had been disappointing at least. She was supposed to be plain, dull, and foolish. Instead she was a vivacious bundle of loveliness and sweetness, treating him like an equal instead of the servant he essentially was.
Suddenly, Willow gasped and pointed to some indistinguishable spot amongst the trees. "Did you see that? Did you see that?"
"What?" Angel and Garwin asked simultaneously.
"That," she began, still pointing and somewhat in shock, " was Colibri coruscans. Colibri coruscans! Here!"
"Yes. And what, pray, is a Colibiri coruscans?" Angel asked.
"A sparkling violet-ear!" she replied in great excitement.
"A sparkling...violet...ear." Angel said slowly.
"It's a hummingbird," she explained patiently. "But the thing is, they live in Ecuador. How on earth can one live in this sort of habitat? I mean, the difference in temperature alone would seem to be prohibitive to their survival, but what could it possibly be eating here? There's quite a difference between an equatorial rainforest and a deciduous forest, yet here it is, flying around for all the world like this is it's natural biome. Amazing." Shaking her head in amazement and an overload of scientific facts, she rode ahead of the two men, who looked at each other in confusion. Eventually, Angel rode on to catch up with Willow, while Garwin continued to trail behind.
"Guess she's not stupid," he muttered softly, no one hearing him save one curious sparkling violet-ear.
****
Angel couldn't decide whether he was perfectly happy or extremely frustrated. Part of him was overjoyed that he was riding a responsive horse through a forest trail dappled in golden sunlight and living amongst diurnal creatures yet again. Another part of him wanted desperately to talk to Willow alone, a feat that would be nearly impossible to accomplish.
Meanwhile, Willow was doing her best to make friends with Garwin. She liked the unnaturally silent man, who had Angel's build and a few of his mannerisms. She liked the way he watched Angel, making sure his friend was alright. She even liked the way he didn't immediately trust her, knowing all too well that best friends adopted significant others with difficulty. As a result, she really, really wanted Garwin to like her in return, and not just because of Angel's good opinion.
"So, Garwin, are you enjoying your stay at the palace?"
"Of course, Your Highness. His Majesty your father is a gracious host."
"Please," she asked beseechingly, "Don't let's be so formal out here. You don't have to call me Willow, if you'd rather not, but at least use one of my many superfluous names. I might not remember to answer to most of them, but it would be fun to see which ones I actually recognize as my own."
Garwin smiled in spite of himself.
"Now really, all graciousness and decorum aside, how do you like our court?"
"I thought the decoration of the dais was a little ostentatious, but I was raised in a more Spartan environment, so I might be exposing my lack of sophistication. The banquet was exquisite, though I thought the game a little tough and at least one of the sauces overtart. With that in mind, I am constantly impressed by the level of courtesy that abounds under your father's rule. No one has cut me because of my low position, which is a delightful surprise, unmerited though it may be."
"I agree about the dais. It was overly stagey, however lovely the overall effect. I thought it was more an attempt to impress your party, rather than to welcome you. I actually didn't touch the game last night, and only tried certain sauces at Angel's insistence. Furthermore, anyone who would be rude to you deserves the same treatment themselves. Royalty has an obligation to treat everyone with respect. Nobility is nine tenths self-importance and snobbery anyway."
Garwin looked at her, noting the complete ease and honesty in her manner. Nodding as he quickly came to a decision, he pulled up on the reins of his horse. Noticing that he had stopped, Willow and Angel both halted their steeds. "Is something the matter, Garwin?" Angel asked.
"I'm afraid we forgot something terribly important."
"What?" Willow asked.
"Neither of you have any provisions in your saddlebags, do you? Nor do I. I obviously can't go back to the palace, but I believe there is a village not far from here. If you two are capable of riding on alone, I can go procure some luncheon for us."
Willow looked at Angel in delight, knowing that he wanted to talk about their situation as much as she did, but Angel's eyes were still fixed on Garwin.
Giving his prince half a smile and a lazy wink, Garwin spurred his horse into the woods.
****
"So, Angel," Willow began, "It's not that I'm not enjoying this ride, but, well, we're engaged."
"I would have to agree."
"Is this what you and Cordelia do regularly?"
He laughed. "No, I have never been forced to get married to Cordelia on any of our cases. We have occasionally masqueraded as a married couple, but it wasn't real. It wasn't a time/reality portal that landed us in nonexistent countries."
"Do you think we're even on earth?" she asked as the thought struck her.
"I have no idea. I really don't know what we should do in this situation. We can't tell anyone who we really are, because they would never believe us."
"What I wouldn't give for the internet and a stack of Giles's books right now. When it comes to that, what I wouldn't give for Giles right now."
"Yeah," Angel answered vaguely. Willow heard a decidedly noncommittal tone in his voice, and she searched his face, but only his face, as his eyes refused to meet hers. "Angel?" he looked down the path, though it was doubtful his mind was occupied by the view.
It was then that Willow realized something she had known already. "You like it here, don't you?"
His eyes remained focused on some distant point, and only the clenching of his jaw betrayed the emotions stirred by her quiet question.
"Yes," he finally responded, "I like it here. I like...breathing. I like rediscovering the feel of sunlight on my face, and knowing that eventually, my skin will darken. I like getting hungry for food, instead of someone's life-essence. I _love_ garlic.
I like meeting somebody and not feeling like a fraud when they assume I'm human. I like talking to people without being distracted by the sound of their blood rushing through their veins. Furthermore, I like having a pulse again, and I like knowing that the blood within me is my own.
I like the fact that I'm already forgetting what it feels like to do battle with a demon living inside me. I like knowing that I can get upset without worrying that my face might change into something frightening. I like having this face finally be my _real_ face. I like knowing what my face looks like, because I have a reflection again. I like the fact that I've stopped thinking there's someone else in the room when I see myself in the mirror.
I like waking up in the morning in warm sheets, sheets that are warmed by my body, which is finally above room temperature. I like getting out of bed with the knowledge that I'm a day older than I was yesterday, and then running outside to see the morning sun. I saw the sun rise this morning, did you know that? I witnessed the dawn.
I like having normal strength. I like sneezing when I walk into dusty rooms, and shivering when I walk into cold ones. I like never running into invisible barriers that guard places I haven't been invited. I like touching crosses.
I like never having to frantically search for a stake. I like knowing that no one in this world has ever known the feeling of fangs piercing their neck. I like the fact that none of the horrible things I did exist in this world." He paused. There were so many emotions in his quiet voice, emotions ranging from bitterness to long-awaited hope.
He continued, but his voice was a husky whisper. "The only thing I loved in that world was Buffy, and I had to leave her. Ever so slowly, just being around her was making me happy, and so I left her and all possible joy.
But now I'm here. I don't know why and I don't know how, but here, maybe I could someday find happiness without her, and that happiness would be a blessing instead of a clause in an ancient curse."
Willow, having no words to contribute, placed a gentle hand on his forearm. He finally looked at her, and his eyes were full of conflict.
"Yes, Willow. I like it here. I like it so much that I'm worried. I'm worried that if we don't find a way back soon, I won't be willing to take it when we do."
"You could stay here. I could go back alone," she offered.
A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "Somehow, I don't think that's allowed. Nothing about this situation has been random, and I doubt either of us can choose independently of the other." Mustering up some of his earlier cheer, he grabbed her hand and squeezed comfortingly.
"Don't worry, Willow. It's my fault we're here, and if you want to go back, we'll find a way back. For now, though, let's play royalty, and enjoy our scandalously unchaperoned ride through the Royal Forest." With an increasingly common grin, he kicked his horse into a gallop and Willow squealed as her mare followed suit.