North and South...and West
by Rin
North and South...and West
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Prologue
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Willow Rosenberg went by many names but her birth name, Willow...was not one of them. At least not since she was a little girl. Lately, she had been going by Will, or Private Rosenberg. She had graduated from West Point along with her best friend, Alexander Harris, and it wasn't two days after graduation that the war broke out between the Yankees and Southerners.
Being California natives, the two graduates joined the Yankees...believing in the cause. Growing up, Willow never would have imagined herself in a war...especially considering she was a girl.
When Xander had said his father enlisted him in West Point, the young boy was crushed. His father had obviously done this to prevent the marriage between Xander and Mr Harris's rival's only daughter, Cordelia Chase. They were to be wed once Xander graduated from his schooling. However, his father had immediately listed him in West Point, stating that he had better go, or else. Xander never stood up to his father.
Confiding in Willow, the stubborn redhead refused to let Xander go alone, so she forged the appropriate records, and enrolled 'himself' in West Point as 'Will' Rosenberg. All she would have to do is cut off her long red locks, grab some of her brothers' old clothes, and learn to be a man. Her parents were always away with their education jobs, so they would never notice, and her three older brothers were off...married, and two with kids. Veterans of the Mexican-American war, and following in the path of their parents...as educators.
Willow spent most of her days in her father's library. Reading books on all topics, learning how to do all sorts of things, and even teaching herself how to play sports and fence...and Xander helped her, showing her all the silly things she did wrong. Finally, the day came that Xander was to start his journey across country, and Willow donned her favorite horse and packed her things, and the two started their journey on horseback. Xander's cousin Jesse, and Willow's Indian butler arranged pick up for their horses, and the two would continue by train all the way to West Point.
While at West Point, Xander struggled in the schooling part of things. He and Willow shared a bunk, and none of the guys there mistook Willow for a girl...although most of the drill sergeants drilled her extra hard b/c she was a 'girly' guy. Frail and meak was what one had said...
Willow helped Xander with the education part, while Xander helped Willow become a 'soldier.' It was weird, being a guy...she was given so many more privileges and opportunities. She was allowed to voice her opinions on politics without embarrassing her father. She was allowed to ride a horse with the saddle between her legs, and pants instead of some difficult dress...which was much easier in her opinion.
They muddled through the entire time. Cordy and Xander wrote back and forth through Jesse, who would transfer the letters. Both knew Cordelia's father would've burned the letters right away.
It was Xander's smitten nature that had Willow sad and lonely most of the time. She had many suitors when she was a 'lady' but now that she was supposed to be a guy? Love was not something forthcoming, since it would be obvious that she was NOT a guy, and after this stunt, even if she grew her hair back long...word would get out what she'd done, and suitors would never knock again.
Willow Rosenberg was stuck being Will for the rest of her life now. She expected it to be a lonely life. It didn't get much better when the inevitable happened, and war finally broke out between the nation two days before graduation. That meant they would be thrown into battle, fresh from the military academy. Willow didn't want to fight, and Xander wanted nothing but to return to Sunnydale, California to marry Cordelia. That's all he'd been wanting for the past six years, four of them being away from her.
The war raged on...and Xander suffered a major wound to his knee within the first year, causing him to be tranferred to tactical instead of battle, since he now had a permanent limp. He now worked with Willow, who was tactical the entire time (since she graduated third to top of the class...she didn't like firing guns, so she never was the best at them, or else she would've been top). Their reunion was great, as they hadn't seen each other in a year...being on different ends of the spectrum (Xander barely graduated). It was during those years that the two had formed a deeper understanding of humanity, sometimes questioning whether it really existed with all of the killing.
Years passed, battles fought...and finally, the war had ended. It was time for them to go home. The problem? When Xander wrote to his parents that he would need money for the trip home, they refused him, and now he and Willow had to find a way back home...with the little bit of funds they had left from the army.