Rekindled
Author’s Note: In this fic, the entire series revolved around Faith, with Buffy not being in it at all. Therefore, it was Faith that slept with Angel and made him lose his soul, Faith that Spike went and got his soul for, ect. Also, Spike was sired at age 25. This will be Spike/Buffy
*Special thanks to Spikeslovebite for my beautiful banner and all her help,Kyra Storm for creative feedback, Bloodshedbaby for help with the summary, and Addie Logan for the betaing*
Prologue
London-1860
“William, please be ready to call on the new neighbors in fifteen minutes,” Anne Pratt said to her five year-old-son.
“Yes, mother,” William replied. “Mother, do they have a son my age?”
Anne shook her head. “It is a gentleman with his young niece. I believe that she is his ward, poor dear. We must make certain that we never look down on her for being an orphan. Her uncle is quite well off, works for the government or some such.”
“Is she my age, Mother?”
“Yes, I believe that she is. I think her name is Elizabeth,” Anne replied. “Elizabeth Summers.”
1865
“Good afternoon, Mr. Pratt, Mrs. Pratt,” Elizabeth said as she curtseyed to them both. “Thank you for inviting me to afternoon tea.”
“It was so good of you to come,” William answered. He fought the urge not to laugh at Elizabeth’s formal use of his name. He knew that if his mother and her uncle had not been present, she would have simply walked into the room and seated herself at the table, calling a “Hello, William” over her shoulder. When it was just the two of them, they were alarmingly casual with each other. Apparently that was the reason for the formal afternoon tea. Now that both Elizabeth and himself were ten years of age, they were supposed to start acting more “socially acceptable” with each other.
“Thank you for having us,” Elizabeth’s uncle, Ethan Rambly, replied. He escorted Anne to the table where the afternoon tea had been laid.
William, following Ethan’s example, held out his arm to Elizabeth. She giggled and tucked a stray piece of blond hair behind her ear before taking his arm. The moment her hand touched his arm, he felt a tingle race through his body. His breath caught and he tried to remember how he felt at this exact moment so that he could write it all in his journal later that night. Swallowing hard, William led Elizabeth to the table. Something had changed in their relationship. He just didn’t know what it was.
1871
The knocking on his window woke William out of a sound sleep. He crouched under his blankets, images of robbers running through his head. Who else could climb the tree to the second floor window?
The knocking came again, followed by a stifled sob.
William sat straight up in bed, clutching his quilt to his chest. His mouth opened and closed several times at the sight of Elizabeth perched on the tree branch, staring into his window. He reached out and grabbed his robe, throwing it over his nightgown before hurrying to the window.
“My dear Elizabeth, what on earth are you doing? You could have fallen and broken your neck.”
Elizabeth ran a hand through her disheveled hair, and William noticed that she was crying.
“Whatever is the matter?” he asked.
Elizabeth threw her arms around his neck and cried harder. William froze a moment before awkwardly patting her on the back. They had been courting since her sixteenth birthday, but there had always been a chaperone present. William hadn’t done much more than kiss Elizabeth’s hand before, and here he was with an armful of her, him in his bedclothes no less.
“William, so-something bad has happened,” she said between sobs.
“Why did you not come to the front door then? Mother would have understood,” William said, slowly.
Elizabeth shook her head. “D-didn’t want U-uncle Ethan to know where I was…and I-I,” she trailed off and pulled away, blushing furiously. “I wanted…I wanted you to h-hold me.”
William pulled her fiercely against him, surprising both of them. He knew that he would never be considered a brave man, preferring books to games and sports, but he also knew that it was his duty to be strong for Elizabeth. If she was afraid, then it was up to him, as a man, to stay her fears.
“Tell me what happened, my love,” he whispered.
Elizabeth stepped away again, her fingers nervously playing with the locket around her neck. It had been a gift from William and his mother on her sixteenth birthday, and she hadn’t taken it off since.
“My…cousin died,” she muttered.
“I’m sorry. Were you close?”
“No…she was…murdered and I’m afraid!” Elizabeth threw herself back in William’s arms. “I’m afraid that it will happen to me too!”
“Why would it happen to you?”
Elizabeth was silent for a moment. “Why did it happen to her?” She fell silent again. “William?” she asked softly.
“Yes, Elizabeth?”
“Do…Do you love me?”
“With all my heart.”
“I know that this is improper, well, the whole night has been improper, but…do you think…that you would, perhaps, want to marry me one day?” Elizabeth held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“More than anything,” William replied. “The fact that a woman as beautiful as you would want to spend her life with someone like me…I know that I’m not as…I know that I am a scholar and that a woman like you deserves someone who can protect her…”
“William,” she cut him off. “I don’t need a man to protect me. I need a man who is good and will be good to me…like you.”
William’s breath caught in his throat. Ever so slowly, he pulled back to look at Elizabeth’s face. Before he could lose his nerve, William leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.
“I-I should walk you home,” he murmured after he pulled away.
Elizabeth’s eyes were still closed. “I can climb back down the tree.”
“No, we shall be very quiet and I will walk you from my front door to your front door,” he insisted.
“As you wish.”
1873
William followed the servant into the sitting room where Elizabeth’s uncle was pacing frantically.
“Good afternoon, sir. You called for me?” William had never been summoned to the house before and it made him nervous. He was also quite sure that being summoned to your fiancée’s house a month before the wedding was definitely not a good thing. Was Elizabeth’s uncle going to take back his permission for them to marry?
“William,” Ethan said, rushing to the young man’s side. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“Not at all, sir. Is something wrong?”
Ethan hesitated. “It’s-It’s Elizabeth.”
William felt his heart stop beating. “What is it? What is wrong?”
Ethan motioned for William to follow him into the hallway and up the stairs. They stopped outside a door. “Best you see for yourself,” Ethan said as he opened the door.
The room was dark and it took a moment for William’s eyes to adjust. When they did, he noticed that he was standing in a bedroom, Elizabeth’s bedroom, and that she was clearly in bed. William rushed into the room, not caring if he was being proper, only knowing that his heart, his sole purpose for existing was lying in that bed.
“Elizabeth, my love!” He cried, taking in her pale appearance and difficulty in breathing.
She opened her eyes slowly, trying to focus on the sound of his voice. “W-William?”
“I’m here.” He grasped her hand, pulling it to his lips. “What is wrong?”
Elizabeth turned her head to look at him. “I don’t know. I feel strange, William, so strange…hot and cold all at once…weak, but strong…”
“What happened?” William implored. “Is this why you canceled our dinner last night?” The day before had been Elizabeth’s eighteenth birthday, and they had planned a dinner to celebrate and go over wedding plans. “Why did you not tell me that you were ill?”
Elizabeth stared at the ceiling. “D-didn’t want to w-worry you…thought I’d be better today.”
“Has the doctor been called? Why isn’t he here?”
“He’s come and gone…” Her voice grew quiet.
William shook his head at what the sentence implied. “No! No, I don’t believe it. I don’t.”
“William, I want-I want you to promise me something,” Elizabeth said.
“Anything, anything.” William was on his knees next to her bed, her hand still clasped in his.
“Promise me…that you’ll…you’ll love again...that you’ll find a girl…and marry her.”
“No!” William jumped to his feet. “I’ll never love anyone again.”
Elizabeth smiled. “My handsome poet…it is your nature…to love…I would never…want you to be alone…Promise me you won’t be alone.”
William closed his eyes, tears falling freely down his face. “If it is your desire, I will p-p-promise to l-love again.”
Elizabeth seemed satisfied with his answer. “Will-will you recite to me some of your…poems until I…fall asleep.” Her eyes were started to close and her gasps of breath were getting louder.
“If you wish,” William whispered. “They are not very good.”
“You always…say that…I…love your…poems…they…are e-extensions…of your…love.”
“I will read them,” William whispered.
“I am…just going…to rest…my eyes,” Elizabeth whispered.
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