By Dawn's Early Light by Grundy

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The Last Homely House

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Celebrían knew. She couldn’t have said how she knew, but she was certain that the time was upon them. They would be returning home very soon now. That was why she had invited all her daughter’s friends over. One last time. One last dinner with all of them together.

She would have liked to invite Spike, especially since Riley wasn't here. She knew that Riley and Buffy were having difficulties, so that had given her the perfect excuse to omit him from the guest list. She didn’t want any chance that the problems of this world would follow them home. She didn’t fully understand the rulers of this world, but they had already caused her daughter enough trouble.

She smiled as she passed the potatoes down the table. She would miss them all, Willow, and Xander, and even Giles. She hoped they would be all right after. She knew both her daughters would miss them terribly as well. She was glad to see that Anya and Tara were both present. They would be moral support for their respective partners.

“Now, Buffy, Giles,” she began, seeing both of them start at being addressed at the same time. “Why don’t you tell us what you’ve discovered about the Key.”

Dawn sat up a little straighter as well. She was intensely curious. Celebrían shuddered to think what might have ensued had she not told her youngest child that she knew she was new and hadn’t been made in the usual way before Dawn had read the Watcher’s journal.

“The Key was originally pure energy,” Giles said. “It has the power to unlock the gates between dimensions.”

“Which dimensions?” Dawn asked eagerly.

“All of them, if used properly,” Giles replied. “The Order of Dagon has been protecting it for several centuries. Recently, they came to fear that the god Glorificus, who we know as Glory, would seek to use the Key. Their solution was to send it to the Slayer in the form of a sister, knowing she would protect her sister with her very life if necessary.”

Dawn chewed her lip.

“So I wasn’t really real until they did that,” she said.

“No, you are real,” Celebrían corrected gently. “But part of you is much older than your body, and your soul is younger- what our people would call your fëa.”

“Your people?” Xander blurted out. He stopped hastily. Celebrían suspected Willow had just kicked him underneath the table. Anya would not have bothered.

“Yes, Joyce, do please explain,” Giles said, focusing his full attention onto her.

Joyce stood up.

“My daughters have known for several weeks now that there was something different,” she said.

“You’re not still having headaches, are you?” Willow asked in concern. “Because that could be a sign of-”

“No, Willow, no more headaches, but it’s good of you to be concerned,” Celebrían told her with a smile. “The headaches were triggered by the spell the monks used when they put Dawn into our lives. I was not aware, but I had previously been victim of a memory spell. This newer spell destabilized the old one, and when I began meditating, my true memories returned.”

“And what would those be?” Buffy asked quietly.

Celebrían looked at her daughters. Buffy had been curious, and a little reluctant to fully accept Dawn, but now that she had, she was ready to protect her from any threat- even their mother, if necessary. Dawn had slipped a hand into her older sisters, in need of silent reassurance.

“My name is not Joyce,” Celebrían said, quietly but firmly. “It is Celebrían. And I am not human. My people call themselves the Eldar, the firstborn, though I believe you would call us elves- that was what the humans of our world called us.”

“That’s why you’re so freakishly short,” Dawn whispered to her sister- perfectly audible to everyone- in mock surprise.

“I was being hunted by what you might consider demons in our world, when I found a tear between two worlds- though I did not realize that was what it was. I saw only an escape for myself and my small daughter, Anariel.”

All heads swiveled to regard Buffy.

“You called me that before,” Buffy said thoughtfully. “That night-”

“Yes,” Celebrían agreed.

At the same time, Dawn piped up, “My name’s prettier, though. Tell them my name, Mom!”

“Tindomiel, you must learn patience,” Celebrían chided. “Elves are longer lived than men, there is no need to rush. You have plenty of time.”

She forbore to mention that by ‘longer lived’, she meant ‘immortal’. She had a feeling the others had enough to take in as it was.

“What do you call your world?”

That was Anya, and Celebrían realized there might actually be an unexpected benefit to her presence.

“Arda. We are from Arda,” she said. “Do you know of it?”

“Yes, I know of it,” Anya replied. “But I’ve never been there. The protections around your world are woven incredibly tightly. There must have been something very powerful and very malicious at work to rip a hole so conveniently close to you- no vengeance demon could have managed it. You’re talking big leagues.”

“There are several powers of evil that might have thought to wreak mischief in that way,” Celebrían said. “Though I think it would be mischief only. I am not mighty among my people, nor numbered among the Wise, and my daughter was too young to be a threat to anyone.”

“You never know,” Anya said doggedly. “Look what she’s accomplished here, and it’s not even her native dimension. Imagine what she could be if she was on home ground. It matters, you know.”

Celebrían imagined for a second, and it nearly took her breath away. With proper training, Anariel would be the very figure of an elven warrior, maybe equal to even some of the mightiest names among the Eldar. Glorfindel should take her in hand…

And that was enough. It was certain. They needed to go home. Perhaps even tonight.

“Is there a particular reason you have chosen to share this with us, Joyce? Pardon me, Celebrian?” Giles asked.

“Indeed there is,” Celebrían responded. “When Tindomiel was sent to us, I sensed that something had changed. I remembered home. And now I think with Tindomiel’s power, we finally have a way to return.”

“That would solve the Glory problem,” Buffy said brightly. “Without the Key, she couldn’t follow us! Dawn would be safe.”

Dawn looked equally delighted. The Glory situation had been wearing on her. Buffy had been hypervigilant the last few weeks. Celebrían hadn’t had the heart to tell her that when they returned home, she would doubtless find that Anariel’s watchfulness would be outdone by Arwen, the twins, and Elrond- once they got over the shock of finding out that not one, but two elflings were returning with her.

“Anya? Willow? Tara? Is there a way to tap Tindomiel’s power to return us to Arda?” Celebrían asked.

The three women exchanged glances.

“I think so,” Willow said slowly.

“Definitely,” Anya corrected immediately. “Come on, there are some things we’ll need from the Magic Box. And-”

She stopped abruptly, suddenly looking upset.

“This is for good, isn’t it? This will mean we have to say goodbye. You’re going to go and never come back.”