Author: JustSkipIt
Rating: R to NC-17
Feedback: Please leave feedback on the Waiting for Dani thread on the Kitten Board.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Willow and Tara and the Buffyverse. I'm not saying this universe is totally original but I didn't steal it from any author or creator that I know of. No copyright infringement is meant by this fic and I will not make any money from it.
Distribution: Kitten Board, Through the Looking Glass, Mystic Muse. Everyone else, send me a note.

Additional and permanent disclaimer: Yadda yadda. Yadda Yadda. Not comfortable. Power imbalance. Etc.

After our guests departed, we allowed everyone a few days to simply recover from the latest gathering. Xander's crew came to disassemble the stables, taking the considerable lumber with them for reuse and he spent few nights at the castle to assist in our planning. Having never ventured farther from his home than our Estate, he was quite excited about the journey and seemed to be constantly asking questions of Dani, Faith, and Stefan. Dani and he had been fast friends for so long that anyone could see their affection and I believe that Faith, Stefan, and I were growing to love his sense of wonder and adventure. He seemed quite open to any suggestion made him.

The day before our departure was quite filled with our packing everything that could be packed in advance. Faith and I had significantly pared down our wardrobes and books to save the transportation and still it seemed we had more trunks than we could have imagined. We could hardly have had more supplies to move an army over the land.

I woke the day of our departure alone and saw that Dani was seated at the table looking out our window. It appeared that she had just finished writing a letter and was affixing my seal, having not her own. She stuck the edge of the letter under the corner of the lamp and continued looking out the window. I quietly rose from the bed and padded across the floor so that I was standing at her side. My girl of course, realized that I was awake and turned her head to look at me and I saw that she was crying. I took her hands in my own and dropped to my knees in front of her, kissing each of her fingers. "What is wrong, my love?"

She smiled a little forlornly and kissed my fingers in turn. "I feel a sense of sadness at leaving our home, Tara."

"Would you rather not leave, my girl? I never want to make you sad." I brushed a long strand of hair behind her ear.

She pulled on my arms so that they wrapped around her waist and she could wrap hers around my shoulders. "This is to be our first great adventure." She smiled at me then and I could see the joy in her eyes just before she leaned down to kiss me. And her kiss was more passionate than I expected. I still felt a little dazed from the kiss as she leaned back and pulled me into her lap.

I pulled my knees up so that they were tucked under my chin and I was leaning on my girl's chest as I wrapped my arms around her neck. "I wonder if you can know how much I love you," I murmured into her soft skin and she giggled and moaned in a way that made me want to forget about all that needed to be done before we left the Estate.

She hugged me tightly and then I felt her shifting beneath me. "Please sit, My Lady."

I skewed up an eyebrow at her as she slid from beneath me to kneel at my feet on the floor. It was a joke between us by now and one in which I was as likely as she, perhaps more so, to take that position and I laughed as I lifted her chin with my fingertip. I grinned cheekily and batted my eyelashes. "I'm not sure we have that much time before we leave, my love."

Dani smiled at my joke and bowed her head again. "I have a request, My Lady."

She was serious although I couldn't imagine what she would need to request so. I would surely grant her anything she desired and always had. "Yes, D'ni." I felt a little silly accepting a formal request from my girl dressed in nothing but the sheerest of tops and, well, nothing else.

"Lady Maclay." So it was to be a very formal request. "Xander is very exuberant and proud." I nodded but did not interrupt her. "But he has not been gifted as we have." Again I nodded. "He has only an eating knife and doesn't know that anyone would travel with more. I fear he will be embarrassed when he realizes we each have a camp kit and he does not." This was certainly true. "I bought him a used camp kit on my last trip to the village but I don't think he will take it from me."

"You would like me to give it to him and tell him that it is my responsibility to provide for all the members of the group or that I found it in the kitchen?"

"Please, My Lady."

I bent down to reach my lover's soft lips and kissed her gently. "You are so generous, my girl. " Later today I would drop a few coins into my girl's purse to pay for the kit.

She leaned up and kissed me in such a way that I no longer thought about her generosity nor the coins and then bounced up onto her toes to twirl away from me. She began to sing as she straightened our bed and pulled our last bag from the closet to finalize our packing. I stood and passed near her on the way to bathe, teasing that with my head under water I would be saved from her voice and she swatted me with a pillow for the insult.

By the time I emerged from our necessary room, my girl had laid out my traveling clothes and packed everything else, save my toiletries. She left a space in the bag so that it was obvious where I should place the brush when I was finished with it and a blue leather tie was on top of my shirt so that I could tie back my hair as I always did when riding.

I quickly dressed and stowed the last of my belongings in the bag, bringing it with me to the dining room. The remainder of the expedition was at the table enjoying a very early breakfast although other members of the family were not present yet. I sat and Dani passed me my breakfast plate. We ate in relative quiet and I think that the others felt nervous over the journey. When we were done eating, I asked the others to pray with me and we all joined hands to ask The Creator to bless our journey with speed, safety, and success. Father and Melanie waited until our prayer was complete before coming in to add their blessings to my own.

We made our way out to the courtyard and I noticed that my father had a small traveling token for each member of our expedition which he managed to give to them personally and individually. His diplomacy was something I could only wish to equal someday.

Those of us who had eaten breakfast together were joined by the three house servants who would be traveling with us as well as Xander who had slept in the room off the stable by his own choosing. Traveling with us would be three young house servants: Briena, Lory, and Merie. Briena was quite the cook in spite of her youth and Lory and Merie had many applicable skills in the house and gardens.

Also traveling with us would be one of the stable boys: William who had earned the unfortunate nickname William the Bloody for his tendency to fall down or walk into things and hurt himself when he was younger. William was, I believe, actually older than my siblings and I while seeming ageless but was feeble of mind. His grandmother had brought him to the Estate when he was still young saying that he couldn't master any true skills so she could not apprentice him out but that he very much loved animals and was there anything he could do on our Estate. This was around the time that we had gotten Hope and Dream and he was hopelessly devoted to both of them as well as to Dani. The rest of us had no idea that he thought to be included in our expedition until two days prior when he had met Dani in the yard with a small bag, packed with his meager belongings, and a dazed and expectant look on his thin face.

A few hours discussion with Father, Dani, Stefan, and myself had determined that the young man was welcome to go with us. He was actually a useful addition to the stables as he followed instructions very well. Years earlier, someone in the stables had been quite frustrated by William's forgetfulness and Dani had come to me with the idea of drawing a series of pictures to remind the boy of all his tasks and the order in which they should be done. It had hung on the wall by his cot ever since and he followed it quite committedly. My only concern about his undertaking the journey was that his grandmother was now quite elderly and her health was failing. I feared that she would pass while we were gone and he would miss her but she had spent the last week at the estate and felt that her passing would be handled ok by him. He was, it's important to note, not a bound servant of the house but a paid stable hand. Nonetheless, we felt protective of him as we did the bound servants on our Estate and would take care of him on and beyond our journey.

Shortly we had amassed in the courtyard for your journey. We had two wagons which carried supplies as well as those members of our expedition who did not ride (the house servants, William, and Xander). The remainder of our party rode or led our eleven fine horses. As we were beginning to get into procession for our departure, Donnie, Dale, and Anne rode up on their own mounts announcing that they would ride with us until late afternoon before turning back for home. It was obvious that they had planned this grand gesture for some time but it was a surprise to me and I felt quite touched.

Finally, and not without more than a few tears from the entire assemblage, we set off in formal processional: myself, Dani, Donnie, Dale, Anne, Faith, Dawn, Stefan, Jonah, and the wagons. I admit myself somewhat naïve enough that Dawn's enthusiastic and passionate departure from D'rek caught me by surprise. Everyone else, Faith included, were nonchalant regarding the display so it was apparently no secret on the Estate.

No one was quite so overjoyed at the presence of our unexpected companions as William. He has long harbored a public and obviously doomed admiration for Anne, following her and her horses around when she was younger. When she was very young, she had been quite embarrassed by his attentions as he would weave daisies into her horse's bridle or even attempt to write her poems expressing his love. By the time her studies formally began, however, she had matured enough to show compassion for the poor creature and she was friendly with him without encouraging his affections.

I would have been just as pleased to see one of my siblings or Stefan leading the procession but as Lady Maclay it was my responsibility and honor to do so. And I'll freely admit that while I held little pride in my position, being mine solely by the order and condition of my birth, I quite reveled in my girl's place a half-horse length behind me. A smile played on my features which none but perhaps she could see at the thought of her superiority.

After perhaps an hour, I tired of my position and began to slow my horse to pull even with Dani. I slowed even further and she and I pulled even with Donnie, signaling to the rest of the group that they could relax the riding order. Donnie accepted the silent offer to lead for sometime and he and Dale pulled in front of us. For the remainder of the morning I moved freely throughout our column, visiting with each member of our group including the two wagon drivers. These men would ride with us to the new Estate, assist us in unloading and then return on one of the wagons, leaving the other with us. Dani, of course, did much the same riding next to the nobility as well as our servants and behind the wagons to visit with those within much of the time. Of course, we spent a sizable portion of the morning riding side by side.

I was as transfixed by my girl as I had been on that journey so many years ago. Her hair seemed to glow in the sunlight. It was tied back with a piece of dyed-green leather I had given her when I realized how the color set off her eyes so I could see the pulse beat in her neck. My fantasies threatened to take my attention from the ride as I savored the thought of how she would wiggle, then moan, then scream as I kissed or sucked that point-her specific response frequently dependent on my other actions.

I halted the group shortly after noon by the position of the sun and we had a small meal of bread, cheese, and sweets from the kitchens. After lunch, I would send Faith and Dawn or perhaps Dani to hunt and we could eat fresh meat for our dinner. Our progress was slowed by the wagons and I wanted to get a good distance behind us before we made camp so a quick lunch was my preference. Accordingly, those of us riding were astride our mounts and the passengers were in their places within a half an hour of stopping. Xander and Stefan had sat close together throughout most of the meal and when we started again, I saw that Jonah had saddled Stefan's second horse and was helping the young carpenter into the saddle.

Xander was, simply put, a marvelous young man and I could see why Dani held such affection for him. His situation was quite a bit more challenged than any of ours but he had a thirst for learning and his humor made him eminently likable. As the girls had unpacked our luncheon, I was able to give him the camp kit with the indication that it was my responsibility to provide such for everyone on the journey. He was grateful and I could not detect any suspicion in his manner.

I took the lead position again for our setting out and this time kept it for fifteen minutes or so before drifting backwards. Donnie and Anne had previously led the procession and now gave Faith the opportunity to do so with Dawn her half-length behind. I moved throughout the group checking in with everyone, visiting, and generally enjoying the bright sun which cut through the crisp cold of Winter. When I moved around to the rear of the wagons, I could see that the Briena and Lory were sleeping while William, in the other wagon was happy to see me. He nodded his head in a reasonable bow and then began saying "Anne coming. Anne coming to our new home." His excitement was very clear and I attempted to explain that she was only with us for the day before Dani arrived. She quickly moved from her horse to sit next to William on the wagon and tied on so that she could remount. I gave her a quick nod to let her know that I appreciated her efforts and moved forward through the line once again.

Our progress was very good throughout the afternoon. Shortly after Donnie, Dale, and Anne turned back toward the Estate, I asked Faith if she would like to hunt. I could have taken the holiday but I wanted her to realize how highly I counted her skill. She was quite gracious and took Dani with her, leaving Dawn with me. I allowed Stefan to lead the procession for a bit and he seemed quite honored. The Finns were so enamored with procession and appearance that I imagine he rarely had such a showing and I was glad to provide it.

The sun was lowering in the West when Dani returned to report that she and Faith had brought down a small wild boar. They were quite excited as it was not a meat that we enjoyed frequently and although we did not need such a supply of meat, I could keep it cold enough with my magic to eat it the next day. Faith was slaughtering the meat and wondering if she should meet us at our evening's stop. I conferred with Stefan for a few minutes to determine where to stop and then sent he and Jonah ahead to meet up with Faith, help her finish the task, and have the three of them advance to our resting position. With our slower movement, we would not arrive for perhaps an hour to an hour and a half after their arrival and they should have the fire started and meat cooking by that time.

By the time we saw the smoke in the distance, the riders were tiring. Xander had returned to his position in the wagon after an hour or so of riding which Stefan, Dani, and I had all complimented as a reasonable amount of time his first attempt. Dani and Dawn looked eager and I gave them leave to sprint ahead to meet up with the others at the camp site. I rode with the wagons and other horses until we reached the destination. Once we reached the camp site, everyone leapt into action. Lory and Merie began to lay out the tents and other materials while Briena took over the cooking duties. Without my direct orders, everyone found something useful to do. Xander began to build the tents in spite of never having seen tents of this type before and I was again grateful for his help. William led the horses a few at a time over to a field where they could graze. Others built or fetched water or brought wood for the fires. I made sure to pay my compliments to Faith on her successful hunt and generally helped wherever my assistance was needed. Having a powerful magic user is useful in many ways and I lofted tent timbers, stoked the fires, even calmed the horses. I placed a wide warning perimeter too warn us of intruders and keep us from having to post a sentry overnight. While our area was generally quite peaceful, one couldn't be too careful and four-legged predators were always a concern.

It was full-dark by the time our meal was ready and everyone ate quite voraciously. Xander had to have been glad of his plate and spoon as Briena had boiled some roots for a stew in addition to the roasted meat. We all complimented Faith and Dani on the hunt and Briena on her culinary skills. I could tell she was not used to such direct praise from one of my status as she blushed and looked at the ground and mumbled something to the effect that she was no comparison to D'Shel. Later I saw Dani visiting with her so I am sure my girl passed on our sincere compliments on the meal.

After dinner, our party had a few hours to pass the time. In groups of two or three, people went to the stream to bathe. I entertained a few wishful fantasies regarding the type of bathing I would like to do with Dani but it was not to be as Lory and Merie went with us. It seemed that they were not as comfortable in the wild as were we and they feared getting lost or being ravaged by tigers on the way to or from the stream. Once we had returned everyone was quite comfortable and the air had a sense of a casual party atmosphere. Dani pulled her traveling Chest game from her packs and soundly routed Faith, Stefan, and myself in that order. Dawn, I saw reading to Xander, William, and the girls and later I noticed her attempting to point out various letters to the young carpenter. So it turned out that my speculation that he could only make numbers for the calculations required by his skill but not actually read were correct. If Dawn or Dani wished to teach him more, I would let them know I approved for it could benefit him in our new home.

A few at a time, everyone turned in commenting that tomorrow would be a long traveling day. We had three tents and protocol would normally have had myself, Faith, Dawn, and Dani in ours with the girls in the other but they were scared of various sounds of the wild so Faith and Dawn slept in the other tent while Dani and I shared ours with Briena. The men shared the third tent and I'm sure were quite comfortable. I had laid a two or three inch layer of air under each tent so that the sleeping rolls were softened considerably over sleeping on bare ground. When I finished the spell, Faith had teased me that magic users were "soft" if we couldn't even camp properly but when I offered to take the air from her tent, she conceded that she would test the luxury just for the sake of comparison. Of course the presence of the cook kept my girl and I from engaging in any of the activities I had found myself daydreaming of during the ride.

I felt sure that Dani would wake long before Briena and I lay on the ground with my arm around my love. We whispered our impressions of the group and the journey so far interspersed with long kisses and tight hugs. Before long I was whispering to my girl - describing our currently denied pleasure and promising that pleasure for the day of our arrival. Her breath seemed labored with my increasing story and she finally rolled over me to kiss me deeply and begin her own story telling. It was the first time we had spoken to each other such and I blushed even as my heart beat in my chest with excitement for the words she said and the look on her face during my descriptions. She smiled as I likened her movements to those of the Willow trees, again found in the nearby stream--the way the branches seemed still and then suddenly whipped around so uncontrollably I compared to her movement just before and during her most beautiful movements. She teased me back that I wished her my Willow tree for the way the branches made me think of her tongue moving quickly and fluidly over and over my most sensitive skin and I added that as long as she hissed her pleasure, shuddering under my mouth or hand, she could be tree, cat, or woman. Finally we hugged each other tightly as we attempted to calm down from our excitement before falling asleep. That night I slumbered in a frustrated state as I had not since the night of our celebration.

As expected, Dani was the first member of our party awake. When I emerged from the tent she was warming her hands by the fresh fire and I smiled at her as I felt the unmistakable signature of her magics. Next to her on a rock were five fish and I wondered how early she had risen given that the sun was just coloring the horizon. "Good morning, D'ni."

"Good morning, My Lady. Did you sleep well?" She spoke with an amused look on her face as if remembering a happy thought or a funny joke.

I teased her in return wishing to see the pink color return to her pale cheeks. "Not as deeply as some nights but well, thank you."

She smiled knowingly. "I'm sorry you didn't sleep as well as you would like. Perhaps when we are at our new home… in your new bed."

Her retort was almost too cheeky and she looked away at the last moment but I had the blush I had wished for. Of course it wasn't my girl but I sporting pink cheeks when Dawn pushed aside the flap of her tent and came out stretching and yawning. "Good morning, Lady Tara." She bowed. "D'ni, do you have any kaffee made?" She held out Faith's cup and I thought to myself that I would have to tease my sister for needing the drink before she could even come from her tent.

Within minutes the group had emerged from the various tents and greeted each other formally or less formally as station required. I wondered, not for the first time, who had schooled Xander on our customs and structure. He seemed to follow the position that when in doubt, use more rather than less respect and I found that quite appealing. William had taken his fish sandwich and fruit and wandered silently over to the horses where he circulated passing each of them another handful of grass or patting their noses or flanks. We ate quickly and struck camp before resuming our procession, myself in the lead once again.

In all, our morning ritual had taken less than an hour from the time I emerged from my tent. Dani told me that she had risen perhaps thirty minutes before me to start the fire and catch and clean the fish. I, of course, praised her highly for her consideration in rising so early to begin the day for the rest of the group and waggled my eyebrows at her flirtatiously as I commented that I would have to find some way to repay her for her efficiency. Finally I had my blush as well as a teasing response that she had no idea what I meant. Our smaller group had less need for our formal riding order than the day before and I faded back after about ten minutes to allow Faith the lead. She, following my example, faded back even more quickly to allow Master Stefan his share. Our process was quick this morning, even with Xander again riding. He was learning quickly but seemed tender and we all urged him to retake his position on the wagon after an hour of riding. When he did retake his place, he climbed onto the seat and rode with the driver for quite some time.

As the day before we stopped only briefly for lunch, planning a larger meal when we halted for the day. We all noted the changing vegetation as we moved farther from our home and kept our eyes peeled for signs of predators or other wildlife. At one point, I thought I saw a tiger but it kept eluding my vision. Stefan, Jonah, and Dawn took the hunt this day although we still had the meat from yesterday's large kill. I asked them to only hunt for fowl and then agreed without question. For quite some time I rode by Faith and it was quite enjoyable as we were able to catch up on a great many personal issues that we didn't usually have time to share. Her feelings for Stefan were quite sincere and she felt that his were as well. I had to believe the same or he would have been a great fool (which he was not) to agree to an appointment with the Lady of her Estate. I would not have been someone whose wrath he wished to raise. In fact, his service of Maclay East has been exemplary and I have enjoyed growing to know him throughout our Summers here.

This night's halting was a mirror of the night before with the addition of the quail to our feast. Briena was already quite exalted in our group for her cooking skill and we sang a song to the hunters and then to her for her preparations. Before long we had designed a song for every member of our party no matter his skill or contribution to the project. The group drifted into small groups to visit, read, or whittle and Dani and I met with Faith and Stefan to confer on our position. We were on schedule for arrival at Maclay East late the following morning, only a few hours slower than we had intended in our planning. I believe that we had not quite estimated the extra time required by the wagons and all agreed that a journey without wagons would cut six or seven hours from the trip. Our sleeping arrangements matched those of the night before and I teased Faith into admitting that the cushion of air was a pleasant luxury.

I committed to myself that I would wake before my girl the next morning to give me a chance to watch her sleeping and then start the fire early. I did wake before her and had a moment to watch her but she woke as soon as I lifted my arm from around her waist, becoming instantly awake and whispering her greeting. I glanced over to see that Briena was asleep and kissed my lover quickly. "Today we reach our new home," I elated. Dani kissed me back and hugged me seeming intensely happy that we would be one step closer on our adventure and in finding a place of our own.

It almost seemed a shame that our journey would conclude today. Our departure was nearing the status of a slick wheel-everyone working quickly to break camp. All members, from William and Xander to myself had saved our finest traveling clothes for today to make the best impression at our destination. I took the lead, passing it quickly to Faith but retook it upon nearing the Estate. As we rode, we were very conscious of the terrain and condition of this land. We three nobles and our servants took notes on the conditions and agreed that this wild land seemed promising.

It was perhaps 10:30 as we neared the path to the Estate. I had expected to be greeted by my ailing great cousin, all appropriate members of his household, and Steward Giles. We rode in a dignified and formal manner up to the gate bearing the Maclay name and crest, to find Steward Giles, three other men, and two women-none of them noble. Nonetheless, I extended my hand and the six members of Maclay East bowed three seconds to me before turning their devotion to Faith and Stefan. Giles was the very picture of formal greeting and made a very positive impression. As soon as I gave him leave to speak, he apologized for the meager greeting and explained that my grand-cousin had, in fact, passed early the day before. He had sent a messenger to our Estate with some hope that we would encounter him on his ride but not knowing our intended path, had little chance of the same. He explained that the Estate had not many members and that the three remaining servants and four working free men were tending to duties or sitting with the body. Our group was formally introduced to each of the contingent who had greeted us and I expressed my condolence at their loss.

Leading our horses, we now neared the threshold to our new home. Steward Giles stood his back to the Estate and front to me just under the gateway, showing that he knew the terminology we had for the Estate. "Lady Tara Maclay, may I, Steward Rupert Giles, in absence a ranking owner of this Land, welcome you to Maclay Estate East."