ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The usual suspects. See Part 1.

RATING: R this chapter, NC-17 over all

DISCLAIMER: I only wish they were mine. What Joss said about BtVS and fanfic still goes, so I'm only doing what he wants me to do. But he still owns Buffy and Angel. So do the WB (for the moment), Fox, Mutant Enemy and soon UPN. No infringement is intended.

NOTE: I’ve heard it speculated that echolocation enables dolphins to "see" a swimmer’s lungs fill with water, and account for their legendary habit of trying to herd drowning humans to shore. In researching this to get more information, I read that echolocation helps a dolphin learn things about the internal structure of objects near them. A really cool, off-topic fact is that female dolphins can tell when human female swimmers are pregnant . . .and that they will act protectively toward the human females! Certainly, dolphin behavior in trying to help drowning members of their pods by getting them to the surface is well documented. There are also accounts of dolphins protecting humans from shark attacks, and a certain Cuban child who became the point of contention in an international custody battle after his mother drowned at sea claimed that dolphins surrounded him and protected him until he was rescued. Anyway, the dolphins in this chapter aren’t supernatural or under the influence of anything supernatural. They’re just friendly. However . . .

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME: Though the overwhelming number of reported interactions between humans and dolphins show dolphins as friendly towards humans, and while there are plenty of verified accounts of dolphins coming to the aid of humans, in recent years, there have begun to be accounts of negative interactions, as well. Perhaps years of being trapped and drowned in fishing nets are beginning to piss them off? Sigh. At all odds, Buffy’s actions in swimming out to play with the dolphins might be against federal laws meant to safeguard marine mammals and protect humans from being attacked by "wild animals." I didn’t know that when I wrote it, and there are times when "the law is a ass" as Dickens said, so I’m not taking it out. But, I’m not trying to encourage people to do anything unlawful or dangerous, either. If you find the idea of swimming with dolphins irresistible, check around for commercial ventures that allow such interactions under controlled circumstances.

CULTURAL NOTES: Because Angelus is a vampire, I had to have the luau start after dark. Most of the pages I consulted advertised luaus that started earlier. Consider it artistic license. If anyone wants URLs to the pages where I found the Hawaiian terms used, descriptions of the leis and clothing being worn and the food being served in this chapter, email me.

The Silken Cage

The private beach attached to their retreat was not accessible by foot. Mai, dressed in a hi-cut black one-piece, led Buffy to the motor boat the Slayer had noticed when they first arrived. A few minutes later, the demoness had steered them down the river to a small crescent of land, situated at the base of a lava cliff, that looked very like an undisturbed paradise. Profusely blooming flowers grew right down to the edge of the white sands of the beach itself. Buffy could see dolphins leaping at play at the far end of the crescent, and the water, sparkling beneath the late afternoon sun, was a blue so pure as to rival the vault of heaven.

"You can swim out to them, if you’d like," Mai said of the dolphins as she and Buffy spread a quilt on the white sand. "They rather enjoy humans." Something subtle in her tone implied that Mai found this a rather inexplicable preference on the part of the dolphins. Buffy wasted no time in losing her sandals and Angelus’ shirt.

"Good idea," she said cheerfully, dashing toward the sparkling water. She plunged in, finding it delightfully warm from the long day of sun. A few minutes of strong swimming took her into the midst of the pod. They very quickly proved that Mai hadn’t misjudged them, swimming up to Buffy and leaping from the water to chirp excited greetings. One of them butted against her encouragingly, and Buffy wrapped her arms around the smooth gray animal, careful to avoid pulling on the delicate cartilage of its dorsal fin. It took off, pulling her along as it swam parallel to the shore, then turned to race back to its starting point. She enjoyed the game for several trips before, laughing, Buffy let her companion go, and swam with the pod, relishing the first moments of freedom she’d had in what seemed forever.

Or, almost freedom. She wasn’t even going to try to overpower Mai and steal the boat. If whatever magic Mai had used on her that morning weren’t still in effect, some other, similar, magic would be. Not that she wouldn’t put it to the test. She was a lot further from Mai here in the ocean than she had been in the hotel. Most spells had a fairly limited area of effect. That is, you couldn’t cast a spell on someone in California if you were in New York. You needed to be in range. How close a range varied. Some spells required the subject to be present in the same room; others, like the one the Rom had used on Angelus could take effect as long as the subject was within a mile or two. But, the larger the area of effect, the more power was required to cast them. Maybe Mai hadn’t wanted to waste power on creating a large range for this spell, given that, while they were shopping, Buffy wasn’t apt to be all that far away at any given time. And, she might think that the drugs Angelus had fed Buffy had weakened her to the point where she wouldn’t be able to swim long or far, either.

That remained to be seen. Buffy hadn’t eaten any tainted food since they’d left the boat. As Angelus has said at breakfast, it wasn’t practical to use the drugs on the island. While it took a few days for the debilitating effect of the drugs to wear off completely, she was pretty sure there had already been some improvement. Certainly, her strength, agility and recuperative powers were currently far below what she was used to. But, she suspected that they were at least at the high end of normal, by now, and might be sufficient for the task she had set herself. Freeing oneself from a cage, however silken, and however enamored one was of one’s captor, could also give a girl an awful lot of motivation . . .

Buffy tread water, and glanced at the shore. Mai had set up a beach chair beside the quilt. She appeared to be reading a magazine, and not paying attention to Buffy at all. Well, nothing ventured . . . Buffy broke away from the pod, and swam for the far edge of the crescent, determined to round it and head up the coast until she had put enough distance between herself and Mai to come back to land.

She wasn’t prepared for the physical manifestation of the barrier, though. It wasn’t visible, but it was tangible, for all that. One moment she was swimming along in a clear sea, the next she had smacked headfirst into what felt like a stone wall. For a moment, Buffy was thrown, sinking beneath the warm waves, and taking in an unexpected breath of seawater. Instantly, she was surrounded by dolphins, which promptly nudged her back to the surface. Buffy coughed the seawater out of her lungs, grabbing onto one of her anxiously chattering rescuers and letting it tow her toward the beach. She wasn’t quite ready to go ashore yet, though. As she had before, she released the dolphin to swim on her own for a few more minutes. The dolphins hovered near by, but satisfied that she wasn’t in any danger, they didn’t try to force her toward land.

The danger probably hadn’t been too serious to begin with. The dolphins couldn’t be expected to know about Slayer reflexes or Slayer strength, though. Not that Buffy particularly liked being drowned, but she hadn’t inhaled that much water. She was confident that she would have managed. Still, being rescued by a bunch of dolphins was pretty cool.

Her escape attempt had been more a gesture she’d felt honor-bound to make than something she really expected to succeed. So, she wasn’t too upset as she made her way back to the beach.

"Did you have a nice swim?" Mai inquired, looking up from her copy of Town and Country.

"Yes," Buffy said, picking up a towel and patting herself dry. "You were right. The dolphins are friendly."

Mai gave a faint smile and went back to the magazine. Buffy plopped down on the quilt beside Mai’s chair, staring out to sea.

The sun was beginning to set, and the cliffs around them were turning from deep blue to purple, as the sun turned from gold to orange. The reflection of the sun on the water, the blaze of the cliffs, the shimmer of the dolphins, leaping at play in the distance all combined into one of the most breathtaking, peaceful views Buffy had ever seen. She wasn’t happy about her circumstances, but she was certainly happy to be on this beach at such a moment. She continued to watch until the sea swallowed the sun and the sky itself became purple with dusk. A moment later, Mai got to her feet, and began packing things up to go back to the boat. Reluctantly, Buffy donned her shirt and sandals, then helped fold the quilt.

When she returned to their apartments, Buffy found Angelus in the bedroom picking out a shirt to go with his linen slacks. She couldn’t help unconsciously licking her lips as she watched the smoothly rippling muscles of his back, the tattoo on his shoulder flexing as if the cat-creature etched there had come to prowling life.

He turned and gave her one of his sexier, less leering smiles.

"Did you enjoy yourself, my love?" he asked, reaching for her hand and pulling her close, his search for a shirt temporarily forgotten.

."Yep. You should come with us tomorrow," she said kissing him. "Oh. Right. The intense sun allergy kind of makes the beach off limits, huh?" she teased, counting on her affectionate greeting to avert any wrath he might normally feel at such a remark.

Once again, she’d read him correctly. He didn’t seem in the least bothered by what she’d said, finding an apt rejoinder for her. "Not really, darling. The ocean is never so lovely as when silvered by moonlight."

"We’re gonna have to agree to disagree on that one," Buffy said, thinking of the play of light on the glorious blue water sparkling beneath the sun.

"Perhaps I’ll have to show you," he said lightly, then put her aside, returning to his search for a shirt. "Later. For now, hurry and change. Pick something casual. We need to leave in twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?" Buffy squeaked. "You expect me to bathe, shampoo, moisturize, condition, dress, blow dry, style and make-up in twenty minutes?"

"Nineteen if you don’t hurry," he said dryly, pulling out the steel-gray shirt he’d been looking for. Rolling her eyes, Buffy headed for the bathroom. She managed to shower, shampoo and towel off in less than five minutes, blow dry and style in five more. She’d gotten plenty of sun that day, so her face had enough color that make-up wasn’t really needed. She settled for mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick. Dressing didn’t take much longer: she’d opted for another sundress, this one a silvery lavender that made her eyes look a smoky gray. There was a matching swath of fabric that could be used as a light shawl, should the evening breeze turn too cool. Hair falling around her shoulders in loose waves, she gave herself a final glance in the mirror, decided her appearance would do, then grabbed up the shawl along with her purse. A quick check to make sure the necklace was still where she’d placed it: unlikely though it was that she’d be able to escape from Angelus en route to the promised luau, if the opportunity came up--or if she had a hope in hell of creating an opportunity for herself-- she wanted to be prepared.

"So, where are we going tonight?" she said as she emerged from the bedroom, fastening her new Ni’ihau shell bracelet around her wrist. "I mean, I know luau, but where, when, how?"

"Mai has made some arrangements," Angelus said, opening the door onto the lanai and holding it for her.

"Doesn’t she always?" Buffy murmured wryly, walking through the door.

Mai was emerging from her apartment as Buffy and Angelus came down the stairs. The demoness was dressed in another embroidered sheath, this one emerald green picked out in gold thread. It was anything but casual, and Buffy felt gauche as a schoolgirl beside her.

"You look charming, my dear," Mai said. "I hope you’ll enjoy your evening."

Buffy raised a brow.

"You’re coming with us?"

Mai appeared vaguely shocked by the idea. Angelus chuckled.

"I’m sure Buffy will be delighted with what you’ve planned," he told Mai. "I hope your meeting with Wulf goes well."

Mai inclined her head, then moved off toward the garage, where her white Miata was parked. Robert pulled up in the limo, and Angelus handed Buffy into the car.

"I thought Mai was going to call Wulf later tonight," she mentioned as she settled into her seat.

"I decided it shouldn’t be put off," Angelus said.

"She doesn’t like him," Buffy said. Angelus laughed outright at that.

"My naïve darling, what the hell has that got to do with anything? Mai is in my service. Wulf can be of use to me, and, if it comes to that, I hate his guts, myself, as I’m very sure he hates mine. But, business is business. Wulf knows that, I know that, and Mai probably knows that better than either of us."

"And that means she won’t mind having dinner with him?" Buffy said doubtfully, remembering the one moment of unguarded rage she’d seen on Mai’s face after they’d left Wulf earlier that afternoon.

"It means that she’ll put aside her personal dislike, and explore the advantages my alliance with Wulf can bring us. Just as she’ll be on guard against any disadvantages," Angelus temporized.

"Resourceful gal, that Mai," Buffy commented dryly. Angelus grinned wickedly.

"Yes. Everybody ought to have a Mai, as it were." At Buffy’s blank look, Angelus sighed. "I really must attend to your education. You aren’t as familiar with musical theater as you could be."

"Musical theater?"

"Yes. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum was revived on Broadway a few years back."

"Not seeing the connection, here."

"Because you aren’t educated enough about theater to recognize the musical allusion I just gave to Everybody Ought to Have a Maid, darling."

"Oh. Ha. Ha. Funny."

"My dearest, my most darling girl," Angelus purred, "you are going to learn an appreciation for the arts if I have to beat it into you. When you reign at my side as my consort, you will be worthy of the role."

Buffy shivered. If she needed a reminder of why Remaining With Angelus = Bad and Escaping From Angelus = Good, she’d just gotten it.

"I appreciate the arts," she said, her tone conciliatory. A placated Angelus was less likely to be a homicidal maniac Angelus. "Haven’t I enjoyed the things you made me read, the pictures of paintings and sculptures you’ve shown me? But that play is before my mother’s time, and if you hadn’t noticed, Sunnydale is not exactly near the Great White Way."

"I’ll have to think about returning to New York, next year. Or perhaps London," Angelus said thoughtfully. "We’ll have to see how well your--education-- proceeds in the interim." A caressing note had entered his voice, telling her he wasn’t referring to her education in literature and fine arts, and she shivered once more, this time in anticipation rather than dread.

Robert had driven them in the opposite direction to the one they’d taken last night and this morning. They had been driving for perhaps half an hour when he pulled into the parking lot at the entrance to what had been a profitable sugar plantation some hundred years in the past. A horse-drawn carriage was waiting to take them the rest of the way to the estate proper.

If this truly were her honeymoon, it would have been perfect, Buffy reflected sadly. She could fall in love with Kauai, the Garden Island. Their carriage was meandering along a well-tended path that wound through lush tropical foliage on its way to the main house. The top of the carriage was down, so that they could admire the stars, which, in the unpolluted countryside, shone bright and sharp as diamonds. Angelus had pulled her close, her head resting on his shoulder. She recognized the gesture as more possessive than romantic, but it still provided her with an illusory comfort.

It was still Angel’s shoulder against which she lay her cheek, Angel’s arms holding her close, Angel’s lips dropping light kisses onto the top of her head. If only it were Angel’s soul here, as well.

They pulled up to a mansion built in the late Victorian era. A man in the uniform of a nineteenth century footman helped Buffy alight from the carriage. An impeccably dressed butler opened the front door. Once they entered the mansion, however, the European gave way to the Hawaiian.

"Aloha ahiahi," an attractive young woman wearing a traditional raffia grass skirt and brilliant coral blouse greeted them. Around her head, ankles and wrists were leis of green maile vine leaves, and a multicolored lei of plumeria flowers was around her neck. A number of additional leis--floral, shell, berry, nuts and vines, sometimes in combinations-- hung from her arms. She came forward with a sumptuous bougainvillea lei in rainbow colors to drape around Buffy’s neck.

"Um, yes. Hi. Thanks," Buffy smiled.

"Aloha ahiahi," Angelus said smoothly, dipping his head so that that the woman could place a handsome lei of unpolished, mottled black kukui nuts and braided ti leaves around his neck.

"Mahalo, he said when she’d finished. The woman’s pleasant smile widened into a grin of real delight.

"A`ole pilikia," she returned.

"Lama pai’ipa’i?" he queried. That got a laugh. Then the woman chatted something that Buffy couldn’t follow. Seemingly, Angelus could. "Mahalo nui loa" he said, and led Buffy along a corridor to the back of the house.

"When did you learn to speak Hawaiian?" she asked.

"1868 or thereabouts," he said. "I brought Mai here after I met her in San Francisco. King Kamehameha IV had changed the land ownership laws, and was encouraging trade and industry from about 1845 on. It seemed like a good opportunity. By 1893, most of the landholders were Europeans. And, of course, Mai had managed to become one of the biggest on Kauai."

"Oh," Buffy said, remembering what Mai had told her earlier that day about the details of her meeting with Angelus. "And what was all that about?" she asked, with a nod of her head back toward where the young woman was greeting more arriving guests. He chuckled.

"The usual: Good evening; thank you; your welcome; thank you very much. And, I wanted to know where I could find lama pai’ipa’i. Cocktails."

They had found their way into a large salon at the back of the house, where a number of people were mingling and chattering. Clearly, most were tourists here for a traditional luau. Angelus steered Buffy toward the bar, and ordered drinks from one of the cheerful young men tending it.

Buffy couldn’t follow that conversation, either. At one point, the young man serving them looked at Buffy, then back to Angelus, saying, na`au with a grin. Angelus laughed. They exchanged a few more words, then Angelus lifted her left hand with his, to display their claddagh.

"Male 'ana," he said.

The man beamed at him. "Pomaika`i," he said to Angelus, then turned to Buffy, handing her a large glass filled with something she couldn’t identify.

"Congratulations, and good luck," he said to her heartily. "May you have many long and happy years together, and be blessed with many children."

Buffy blushed furiously. "Uh. Thank you. Um, Mahalo nui loa?" She hoped that she’d gotten that right. That was what Angelus had said when he thanked the woman for the leis and for her directions. He’d added the nui loa part the second time, so that was probably the equivalent of very much. Seemingly, it was the right thing to say. The young man returned a happy, "A`ole pilikia," just as the woman with the leis had done.

Angelus took his own drink, tipped the bartender, and led Buffy toward an unoccupied corner of the room. A smiling woman in a costume similar to the one the woman who had given them their leis had worn passed them with a tray of empty drinks, heading back toward the bar.

"Let me guess, you told the guy we were just married," Buffy said dryly.

"He asked what special occasion we were celebrating. I said, ‘wedding.’ Why are you surprised? As I’ve told you, for all intents and purposes, ku`u lei , that’s exactly what we’re doing."

There was no point arguing with him about that, especially not in public. "What does that mean? The words you just called me. And, what did the bartender say that made you laugh?"

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I called you my beloved, of course. And, the bartender said that you were pretty. Since he was complimenting me on having good taste, and not asking if you would be available any time soon, I’m not going to come back later and feed him his liver. Now, try your drink."

It was a concoction of fruit juices laced with rum, which made it relatively palatable. Buffy had only tried beer on one memorably bad occasion, a few weeks earlier, and had sworn off the stuff for life. Her mother had permitted a few sips of champagne at special occasions such as the formal opening of her gallery, or at family weddings. Like many young people her age, Buffy had sampled hard liquor, but the taste was pretty revolting and she hadn’t felt the urge to try it in any great quantities. Although she didn’t mind champagne, she’d found, remembering the night before. Buffy took another sip of her drink. She could deal with this, she decided.

As they waited--Buffy wasn’t sure for what-- she looked around the room, which was furnished rather the way any European drawing room or salon might have been furnished a hundred or more years ago. The emphasis was on polished woods and brass fittings, with a few large couches and wing chairs scattered around the room to accommodate the waiting guests.. Large wooden fans turned in the ceiling, ensuring that the crowded room stayed pleasantly cool. A set of large doors, opposite the archway through which they’d entered the room, remained closed. Buffy turned her attention to one of the curio cabinets against the wall behind her, which seemed to contain ceremonial items used earlier in the island’s history.

A few minutes later, the closed doors were dramatically thrown open. A man with a bright yellow loin cloth, ti leaf leis at his wrists and ankles, an open maile lei draped about his shoulders and anot ti lei on his brow, stood in profile, raising a large conch shell to his lips. Everyone fell silent as he blew several long blasts on the shell. A third woman in native dress, her skirt made of broad green ti leaves, beamed at the guests.

"Aloha ahiahi, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening and welcome. Our luau is about to start with the ceremonial torch lighting, and the arrival of the Royal Court by outrigger canoe.. Please come out onto the lanai so that we can begin."

Angelus led Buffy through the crowd, finding a spot at the front of the lanai, and placing Buffy before him so that she had an unobstructed view. He pulled her up against his chest, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist, the very picture of the attentive bridegroom he pretended to be. She relaxed against him and sipped her drink. It was safer, much safer, for all the excited, happy, oblivious tourists around them if she played along. Even if she were at full strength, she could hardly take on Angelus in the midst of so many innocent bystanders.. Much better for her to just accept the illusion.

Before them was stretched a large lawn, leading to a river much like the one behind their apartments. A number of tables had been set up around the lawn, covered with fishnet tablecloths and illuminated by candles placed in hollowed-out coconut shells. A large stage was to the left of the tables. Near them was what appeared to be a large leaf-covered pit.

"What’s the pit for?" she asked as a number of young men in bright yellow loin clothes or more of the ti-leaf and raffia skirts set about lighting the torches.

"It’s an imu pit, and that’s where our dinner is roasting. Kalua pig, probably chicken, vegetables, that sort of thing."

The young man with the conch walked down to the river, blowing on the shell again.

"Here comes the court," Angelus told Buffy.. A moment later, an outrigger canoe came into view.

It took perhaps half an hour for the court to arrive, and to perform the ceremonial uncovering of the kalua pig. As servers went to work lifting out the pig and shredding it, the guests were invited to mai e `ai, come and eat.

Angelus found them seats at one end of a long table, so they wouldn’t be in the midst of a group of chattering tourists. The elderly man sitting next to Angelus did try to start up a conversation, though.

"So, you kids on your honeymoon?" he directed his question at Buffy.

No, this ‘kid’ is a demon old enough to be your grandfather’s grandfather. He’s kidnapped me, convinced my friends and family that I’m dead and has been ravishing me non-stop for the past week, introducing me to every decadent, wicked, nasty, painfully pleasurable act of sexual excess I never wanted to learn.

Buffy didn’t think either Sid or Angelus would appreciate her saying that aloud. And, if she were honest, had she been on a real honeymoon with her real Angel, she’d probably have been enthusiastically learning almost exactly the same decadent, wicked, nasty, painfully pleasurable acts of sexual excess. Just without the whips and the threats of torture.

She smiled brightly at Sid.

"Yes," she said as cheerfully as any new bride would do, "we are."

"Good, good," Sid nodded approvingly. "Myrtle and I are celebrating my retirement. I’ve been panning to settle here since I was a kid your age," he smiled at Buffy. "I was stationed here just before The War." He sighed. "I’ll never forget--"

"Sid," Myrtle, who was seated next to Buffy, interrupted. "Leave the kids alone! They don’t want to talk to a couple of old fogies like us, and they sure don’t need to listen to war stories when they’re celebrating a happy occasion. Let them enjoy themselves." She turned to Buffy. "Congratulations, sweetheart. So, have you and your husband had time to see any of the sights?"

Buffy said that they’d only arrived the day before, and hadn’t done much sight seeing yet, although she had managed to get in some shopping."

Sid commiserated with Angelus about the propensity of wives to spend their husband’s paychecks. Angelus responded politely, but not expansively. Buffy wondered uneasily if he might grow annoyed, and decide to hunt down Sid and Myrtle later just for sport. Fortunately, before she sensed that his annoyance was rising to dangerous levels, the servers came around with their food, and Sid and Myrtle were distracted.

Instead of plates, dinner was served on wide green ti leaves, and there was more food than Buffy could even think of finishing. In addition to the shredded kalua pig, there were dishes Angelus told her were chicken long rice, lomi lomi salmon, yams, more of the poi she had enjoyed at breakfast, the chicken, fish and vegetables which had cooked in the imu pit with the pig, and salad greens.

For most of the meal, Sid and Myrtle were drawn into conversation with the people on the other side of them, allowing Buffy and Angelus to eat in relative privacy, required to make only the occasional polite, social response. Angelus surprised Buffy by asking her if she had any preferences for the next day’s activity.

"You mean like more shopping?" she said brightly.

"If you insist. But I had thought you might want to enjoy your last full day here taking in the sights, with Mai. There are some spectacular trails for horseback riding or hiking. Or, perhaps you’d like a whale watching cruise?"

"I think I’ve been onboard ship enough lately, thanks." she said dryly. "Actually, I just thought we were going to hit the beach again."

"I wasn’t suggesting that you shouldn’t. I just thought you might want to spend some time enjoying the scenery. Kauai is one of most beautiful spots on earth. There are magnificent waterfalls and stunning views of rain forests you could enjoy with Mai."

"Hmmm." Buffy said, tilting her head as she considered the idea. If she dove off a cliff, into the sea a few hundred yards below, would gravity pull her through whatever remained of the fading magic barrier Mai had put in place? "That’s a possibility," she said neutrally, not wanting to appear too eager, lest she arouse his suspicions.

"Or," Angelus said with a wicked grin, "you could just stay in, and I could spend all morning ravishing your delectable body and making you scream in pleasure."

As it happened, he’d said those final words at a moment when the other conversations around them had died down, and his comments could be heard halfway down the table. Buffy blushed furiously as a burst of surprised laughter came from the other guests. Angelus, not in the least embarrassed, simply smirked.

Sid elbowed the middle-aged woman on his left. "Honeymooners," he said with a wink. The woman smiled good-natured congratulations to Buffy, who smiled back. Repressing the urge to scream in frustration, she reached for her drink.

Buffy and Angelus had to endure a few moments of teasing before the general conversation took another turn, but nothing was said to put him out of humor, so Buffy relaxed and enjoyed the rest of her meal.

The food was varied, plentiful, and delicious. By the time she was offered her choice of deserts between haupia, the traditional coconut pudding, an assortment of pies made with macadamia nuts or island fruits, lilikoi cake and some plain fresh fruit, the luscious pudding, pies, and cake weren’t even a temptation. Buffy was happily munching pineapple spears as the evening’s entertainment began, and the halau, or hula troop, swinging poi balls and shaking beautifully feathered uli uli rattles, took the stage

Halfway through the second dance performance, Buffy pushed aside her plate and picked up her purse. Angelus raised a brow as she got up from her chair. She smiled and bent to kiss him. "Nature calls," she whispered into his ear. The smile he gave her touched nothing in his eyes.

"Hurry back, ku`u lei, I’ll be waiting."

Buffy pretended she hadn’t heard the implied warning, and strolled back to the house as if nothing of undue urgency were on her mind.

In fact, nature did call. Which didn’t mean that she couldn’t take the opportunity to try to wriggle through the bars of her cage, once she was done answering. Although she’d prefer to make her escape attempt during the day, when Angelus himself couldn’t track her, she had to take every opportunity that came her way.

It wasn’t such a great opportunity.

The payphone between the two restrooms was as dead as the ones at the hotels. The wahines’ lounge was an interior room, with no outside windows. She snuck into the lounge for the kanes only to discover it had the same problem. Quickly heading toward the front of the building, she tried to open the front door, relieved to find she could to do so with ease.

She just couldn’t walk through it.

Buffy gritted her teeth and tried again. After several moments of fierce concentration, and straining her muscles to the limit she could endure, her left leg quivered, and she was able to raise it a hairsbreadth off the floor. But Buffy couldn’t force it to move forward, no matter how hard she tried. Panting, she put her foot back, winded by the effort, and stood for another moment recovering herself. Then, swearing softly under her breath, she turned on her heel and hurried toward the back of the house, hoping to return to her table before Angelus came looking for her.

She was partially successful.

"I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost." he said coolly as she walked down the steps of the lanai. He was waiting at the bottom.

"Men," she snorted crossly, boldly taking his arm and linking hers through it, as if the thought of escape had never even occurred to her, and she was annoyed at him for other reasons. "Just because you can whip it out and get things over with--or you could when you were living--you think it takes us no time at all. And it isn’t like you have to check your make-up--"

Surprisingly, he laughed.

"Actually, my love, in the eighteenth century men were as apt to use powder, patch and paint as women." That brought her to a standstill.

"You used to wear make-up!" she squeaked, honestly shocked. He grinned down at her, enjoying her discomfiture as she tried to get her mind around the concept of make-up as a guy thing. He wondered if he should point out that high heels had been invented for men.

"Shall we go back to our table?" he said, not giving her a direct answer to her question. "We’re missing the show." Pleased that she had deflected whatever suspicions her overlong absence had caused, Buffy pushed aside the jarring image of Angel with a face full of powder, paint staining his wickedly sensual mouth an outrageous--and all too fitting-- crimson, smiled up at him, and let him lead her back to their seats.

Determined not to let her inability to escape ruin her evening, Buffy threw herself whole-heartedly into enjoying the entertainment, even allowing Angelus to order her a second drink. For the next hour, as she watched the dancers perform to the rhythm of ipu-heke gourds, kala'au rhythm sticks, ili ili rock lava castanets, and uli uli rattles or listened to singers accompanied by ukuleles and guitars, Buffy allowed herself to forget that she was a prisoner being offered a glimpse through the bars of her cage, and just enjoyed the magic of the evening.

One other thing contributed to her pleasure. Her failed attempt had taught her a very important fact: whatever spell Mai had cast, it wasn’t permanent. It was already weakening. If, tomorrow, she could avoid having Mai touch her and thus activating another restraining spell, she just might find herself able to act next time she got an opportunity to do so.

As she watched the dancers perform with swinging poi balls and lit torches, and felt Angelus shift his chair around the table, so that he could draw her back to rest in his arms, Buffy decided not to worry about things tonight. She had another day, perhaps two, to find the door on her silken cage, and force it open.

Until then, she thought as Angelus dropped more soft kisses to the top of her head and she snuggled closer, making Sid, Myrtle, and some of their other table companions grin at them knowingly, she might as well enjoy her honeymoon.

We have not yet come to the end of our Journey, which we will resume in the Fall.

FEMFIC        PART 17        PART 19a         FEEDBACK

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