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~Part: 51~
"Umm I can explain?" Willow was praying that this was just a nightmare. The whole day could be just one long, incredibly detailed dream, and then she wouldn't have to explain to Giles and Miss Calander why she was working with Dru. Somehow, she doubted it would be easy. Things were never that easy.
Miss Calander was looking extremely worried, and holding a stack of printouts in her hand, her knuckles white. Giles looked torn between blowing up and being worried sick. Angel looked surprised and dismayed. Apparently, he'd been so busy thinking about that horrible clause that he hadn't heard the others come in. Wonderful.
"Umm I met Dru by accident, sorta. Didn't I just cover this with Angel? We talked, we're friends now, I promised her that I would try to help find a way to make Angel stay Angel. I've been talking to her about the soul curse, she said the old gypsy made it fragile, and that Angel would be a bad daddy if it broke. She also said... umm.. Angel, could you tell them that bit, you don't blush."
She could tell that that had caught Miss Calander's interest, and Giles was giving her this worried look. Angel looked, well actually, Angel looked like he was inspecting Giles for hidden stakes. With a slight sigh, he looked at Giles and filled in the next bit, the part that had been incredibly embarrassing to explain once.
"Willow seems to be able to decipher what Dru's saying. Dru thinks that there's.. a loophole. If I were to... have sex, she thinks it would break the spell. Willow's thought was that it would be because I wasn't feeling guilty and tormented at the time. Apparently, Dru and Willow are also trying to find or create another spell to anchor my soul to me." Angel spoke, not blushing because of the unfair advantage of being a vampire.
Willow tried to prepare herself for a lecture, some explosive disapproval of her time spent with Dru. She didn't want to be yelled at, but she thought it was likely. Instead, Miss Calander went pale-ish, and started searching through the pages until she found one in particular. She read over it, looked at something in the middle again, and elbowed Giles who was looking shocked, worried and disapproving. He then looked at the place where her finger was pointing, and his expression changed to mostly shock, and a bit of horror.
"Dear God, what could they have been thinking?"
Giles and Miss Calander walked over to the table, both looking entirely unhappy with the printout. They chose to sit next to each other, and with a space between them and Angel. Miss Calander shuffled through her papers again, as if she was searching for something, like a single bit of good news to soften the delivery of everything else.
Her voice was low, apologetic. "I've got most of the spell translated. One section that IS finished is the clause. It says that if.. if Angelus knows a moment of true happiness, a moment completely free of torment, pain and guilt, where his soul causes him no pain, the ties of flesh and soul with part, and his soul.. it would go away. There's a bit more covering what would happen after that, but that isn't all translated yet. So, while it doesn't come out and say no sex, that.. well, if that would cause a moment entirely free of torment, I think you should pass on that until.. Willow, do you actually think that you and Drusilla can anchor his soul?"
oh, the attention was on her again, everyone was looking at her. She could feel herself blushing, and she slouched a bit in her chair, as if trying to escape their notice. "Well, Dru thinks that we can. She said that I have the ability to work magic.. well, that's what she meant anyhow. She also said that she isn't strong enough to cast it alone. How could I just stand back and not try to stop this? Angel is a friend, I'm not going to stand back and ignore something like this if I can try to fix it."
Suddenly, and to Willow's great surprise, Angel spoke again. This time, his words were directed to Miss Calander. "Soo.. were you ever intending to tell us that you're Kalderash? How exactly are you related to the old woman that cast the spell?"
Willow watched as Miss Calander fidgeted, looking embarrassed and awkward. Giles had this odd impression, and it was clear that Giles hadn't known. So, how did Angel know?
"Angel? Why did you umm how did you know that she's a gypsy?" Willow was curious. She knew because Dru had told her. But, how would Angel have known?
"Other than the fact that she looks like Rosa did?"
Giles drew a bit closer to Miss Calander.. was that even her real name? Should they call her something else now? He was clearly trying to offer her a bit of comfort. Miss Calander looked deeply worried. Not just because her secret identity was revealed, but the reference to Rosa. That must have been the gypsy that Angelus had.. umm killed. Miss Calander's hand had one to her throat in a nervous gesture, and she was trembling slightly.
Angel gave an almost smile, lacking any humor or warmth. "I had a dream. The Kalderash were in it, from the night they cursed me. New thing this time, there was another person there. You." He pointed right at Miss Calander, his gaze steady. "You spoke, only her voice was there also, the woman that had cursed me. Rosa's grandmother. The only thing that kept you from blending in with them exactly was the fact that you were dressed in clothing from now."
After a few false starts, a shaky indrawn of breath and her mouth opening and closing, Miss Calander spoke. "I'm also descended from her. The woman who cast the spell, Marialle Kalderash. Rosa wasn't her only grandchild. I... I was sent here to watch you. I didn't know about the clause, I swear that to you. All I knew was that I was supposed to watch you, to make sure you continued to suffer. Nobody told me why it was important."
~Part: 52~
Willow finally managed to get a copy of the translations, and she slipped away from the library. Let them stay there debating what right the Kalderash did or didn't have to send someone to follow Angel, or what flight of lunacy had led them to put that clause into the spell. She wanted to go home. She wanted to wait for Spike.
She made it to her house, and started herself a small pot of coffee with the last of the almond coffee that Spike had given her. He had given her poetry last night. She hadn't actually read it yet, but still... he had given her poetry. Since she had fallen asleep last night lost in the memory of his kisses, she hadn't actually accomplished much.. well, anything after he'd gone. She could read the poems while the coffee brewed.
She brought back the three pages that had been left, slightly crumpled, beside her flowers. They still carried a faint scent of leather from being inside Spike's coat. She settled into the chair to read them, wondering what sort of poetry Spike had given her. She straightened out the first sheet and began to read.
The sheer emotion in them took her breath away. They were hand written, and she could feel how much of himself he had poured into these just from the look at the jagged handwriting. So much emotion, so much appreciation and desire... and it was all for her. It sounded as if she had become the center of his world; he'd described her as 'his sun in darkness', and as 'the true light in his eternal night'.
She could feel tears in her eyes from the intensity of them. He wanted her to be his forever, thought that she was beautiful... No one had ever wanted her even a little, and now she had Spike writing such impassioned poetry making it clear that he wanted her by his side until the end of time, 'until the stars, like feeble candles, gutter and fade away.'
She was sitting there, reading over them again over the last cup of the coffee as he came into her house. She had decided that her favorite was the one with the stars like candles. She was running her fingers over the letters, feeling how they had been pressed deeply into the page.
"Hope you liked it, Willow. They were for you... I was never a very good poet." Spike's voice surrounded her, like honey pouring over her.
She looked over to where he was standing, and smiled. He looked wonderful... and unexpectedly nervous. She gave a little gesture for him to come over and sit down. "They were wonderful, Spike. I.. There was so much passion, and emotion... they made me cry. In a good way."
He came in, not quite sauntering, but his motions still showing grace and confidence. He grinned for a moment, and swooped down, lifting Willow from the chair and sitting there himself, with Willow now perched on his lap. All this had been accomplished without spilling the mug of steaming coffee in Willow's hand. Willow had given a small squeak of surprise, and her eyes were very wide by the time all the rearrangement had been finished.
"What if the coffee had spilled on you? I wouldn't want to burn you with it." She looked into his eyes, certain that the last thing she wanted to do was accidentally hurt her Spike.
Spike smiled at her, one hand brushing over her forehead, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I trust you, red. You wouldn't hurt me on purpose, well, maybe if I asked you pretty please, but that would be different."
Willow felt a sudden rush of heat at his words and touch, not just from the blush that his words had caused, but also a different sort of heat, accompanied by the same nervous anticipation that she had felt when kissing him last night. She put the cup down, and reached out to place her hand over his cheek, her fingertips brushing into his hair. He leaned slightly into her hand, and they sat there for a moment, gazing into each others eyes.
Willow broke the silence, her voice slightly nervous, slightly amazed. "You said you wanted to claim me? What would that actually.. umm how is that done? What would that do, I mean, would there be some sort of effect?"
Small flecks of gold, like tiny starbursts, formed in his eyes when she mentioned him wanting to claim her. She could see the tip of his tongue brush over his lips, and she knew that this was not only something serious, but quite likely something very... sensual as well. When he spoke, his voice had taken on that slightly huskier tone that she remembered so well from last night. "Oh, I definitely want to claim you, Willow luv. One thing though.. a real true Claim has to be willing. You have to want me to mark you, to let everyone know that you're mine... The part that people like those daft chits at the coffee house would see is a bite, normally right here." His fingers brushed the side of her neck, sending little sparks into her.
"The part that's less visible, more of a.. hmm more of a vampire thing I guess, it leaves sort of a feeling behind, like a psychic stamp, and it says that you belong to me. Any vampire that saw you would know that you were Claimed, that you are mine, under my protection. If they tried anything, it would be a big insult, a challenge. It would be noticeable to a lot of other demons as well. Some of them would leave you alone for it. Part of it is, vampires generally only Claim people that they plan to make into their childer or their mates. It's not a little thing."
His hand was still resting on the side of her neck, his thumb moving slightly back and forth. She felt as if the whole room was getting warm, she was incredibly aware of Spike, his every word, each shift of his body, every expression of his face. She was trying to think seriously about his words, but she had this.. ongoing mental image, an image of her and spike, naked on her bed, limbs entwined, touching, caressing... It made it very difficult to think seriously about anything. She knew that her pulse was racing, and she could feel her breathing speed up. Those delightful..naughty images weren't helping.
"Last night.. you said everything you are for all that I am. Does that mean.. is there.. umm.. you said if you Claimed me, everyone would know that I'm yours. Is there some way that I could let people know that your mine? What would happen if.." letting a few of the things from those images guide her, she ran her hand down the side of his neck, brushing her thumb over where his own pulse should have been. "What would happen if I bit you, Spike?"
~Part: 53~
Spike closed his eyes at her words. If she bit him... oh the images that started in his mind. Ohh if he could be so lucky. She wanted him.. he could see it in her eyes, the flush of her face, her quickened breathing... and in her scent. She might even want him as badly as he wanted her. She was still rubbing her thumb over his throat. He groaned, feeling the desire growing inside him.
"Willow, luv.. if you bit me...it would make me an extremely happy vampire. Humans can only rarely Claim a vampire.. they have to be pretty strong willed, and then there usually has to be something..umm mystically powerful about them for it to stick.." He was starting to purr from her touch. He could feel it, and from her soft gasp, she could as well.
"Dru seems to think I'm a fire fairy, and that I can help her make Angel's soul permanent. Would that count?" Willow's voice was soft, blurred a bit by the same passionate wanting that he could feel.
What the bloody hell? How did Dru come into all of this? He was startled and confused. "Willow... what's this about Dru? Ummm do you mean..." He wasn't quite certain how to ask. How did you ask the person you wanted to be your lover for the rest of time how they had met your former lover?
"Dru, you know, dark hair, long dresses, calls you Spikey, which I can't really picture anyone else doing... she's got a doll named Miss Edith. That Dru. We sort of.. she found me one night watching the meteor shower. She asked me to help keep the dragon from eating her Angel's soul. I suggested that maybe we could find a better spell than the gypsy curse, and I'm not really certain how she decided that I'm a fire fairy, but she thinks I have some sort of magic, and she wants me to help cast the new superglue Angel's soul spell. I'm pretty sure that she wants him for her very own. She seems nice enough, but.. I didn't think we were here to talk about Dru?" She was looking at him her eyes like green jewels, shining with so many things.
When her voice continued, Spike felt hope and something else blossom inside him. "I thought we were going to talk about you and me... Claiming... and that there was a pretty good chance that sex would come under discussion as well."
He pulled her closer, kissing her with everything that he was feeling, passion, desire, hope.... His hands had slid over her, tracing patterns over her back and shoulders, trying to memorize the feeling of her soft skin. He could taste the almond from coffee that she had been drinking, and a sweetness like a hint of chocolate and toffee. Underneath all the other flavors, he could taste Willow, taste her passion and fire, everything that made her Willow. The kiss was a desperate effort to taste her, to burn this moment into his memory so that it would last forever.
Finally, the kiss broke, and Willow clung to him, her hands having slid under his shirt where they had traced burning lines over his skin. She rested her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath after that kiss. He could feel her breath caressing his throat... This shirt was in the way. He wanted nothing to be between them... He moved, almost ripping it from his body in his haste to remove the offending garment.
She had been forced to move when he pulled the shirt over his head, and he heard a soft 'ohhh' from her. She was staring at him, her eyes devouring the sight of him. Her hands were moving over his chest now, feeling like the most delightful fire dancing over his skin. There could be no doubt that she was pleased with the way his body looked.
Her eyes were almost a tangible feeling as she looked over him. He could feel the heat of her, reaching towards him, warming him. He wanted to bury himself into her, to be seared by her heat. He kissed her again, feeling his face shift with anticipation. She wanted him, wanted him to claim her. She wanted to be his, wanted him to be hers... They continued to kiss passionately, hands sliding, touching each other. He had managed to undo some of the buttons of her shirt, allowing his hands to slip under the fabric, touching her skin.
"I think we should take this upstairs." Willow's voice was soft, filled with anticipation. It was the most wonderful suggestion that he had ever heard. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her to her room, kicking the door shut behind them.
~Part: 54~
Willow hadn't been quite certain what to expect. Oh, she had a general idea what would happen after he carried her into the bedroom, but that wasn't the same. They'd kissed until she was certain that she would float away she was so lightheaded. He'd kissed her throat, kissing and nibbling in such a bewitching fashion. Their hands had explored each others bodies, trying to memorize the feel of each other, and each touch, each caress had only made their desire grow.
She had expected it to hurt a little when he bit her. While there had been a bit of a sharpness when his teeth had parted her skin, the overall experience had been amazingly sensual. His teeth had slid though her skin, her flesh parting for him, and it had felt like the world had spun around her. He had drank from her, and the feeling of him drinking from her.. the knowledge that she was giving him strength by this had been oddly appealing to her. Spike had been purring, and the vibration from that, she had felt it, as if by having his fangs inside her transmitted the vibration.
That had been only the beginnings of their passion. They had touched, joined their bodies together in ways that she'd only imagined before. Spike had brought her into a world of pleasure, and he'd made certain that she knew exactly who was responsible for showing her these new delights. She'd screamed his name in passion, in pleasure... in frantic need for him to touch her.
During a brief pause while they had tried to catch their breath, well, Willow at least trying to catch hers, Willow had decided that it wasn't fair for her to be the only one getting lost in pleasure. She had decided to try to bring Spike to the same heights that he had shown her. He'd really liked it when she'd nibbled on his throat.... that had drove him wild. She'd nibbled at him, giving sharp nips with her teeth, leaving little marks over his throat, his shoulders, over his chest. That had sent him into passion, and he'd made certain that she knew exactly how much he'd enjoyed that.
Somehow or other, she'd bit him. Right on the side of his throat, a bit under his ear. It had been deep and firm, and she'd tasted his blood, a rich coppery taste, tasting almost seasoned, with a hint of spice and something she could only describe as shadow. Considering the way he'd reacted to that, Willow had been wondering if she would learn if a person could honestly die from to much pleasure.
It had been a close thing.
She was laying here, in her bed, entwined with her vampire lover. The man that she hoped to spend the rest of her existence with. She had slept, exhausted from... everything. She had awakened a few moments ago, and now she was laying here, against his cool flesh, remembering. She'd contemplated seducing him awake, but she didn't have the energy. It had been a very good thing that her parents were gone.
If seducing him into wakefulness was out, she could still lay here, looking at him. His body was all sculpted planes and sleek muscles. His hair was a tousled mess right now, and the paleness of his skin was broken by little marks where she had nibbled on him, now turned purple. There were also raised lines along his back, over his arms, along his stomach where she had caught him with her nails. Most prominent, there was the bite on his throat. It looked harsh, and deep, almost painful. It gave her an oddly pleased feeling to know that she had marked him so thoroughly, and at the same time, the sight of the bite, looking so deep made her want to kiss him all better.
They had covered the windows, making certain that no sunlight would get into her room. A glance at her clock told her that it was almost three. Her stomach insisted that that three had to be in the afternoon, and that she needed to eat. Carefully, moving slowly and with stiffness in every muscle that she had and several that she was positive she'd never heard from before, Willow separated herself and made it out of the bed. She nearly fell face first to the floor, but managed to catch herself. Demandingly, her stomach growled again.
There was a noise from Spike. Something that might have been intended as a question. He stirred slightly, clearly not awake.
"It's okay, Spike. I just need to go get something to eat. I'll come right back up, I promise." She didn't want him to think that she regretted last night. She also didn't want her stomach to wake him up with this insistent demand for food.
He made another noise, something that could have been acknowledgement of her words. It also could have been just about anything else, she couldn't tell.
She pulled on her robe, seeing the marks that their passion had left on her. There was the Claiming mark on her throat, a few other lesser nibbles.... her wrists were a bit chafed from those scarves... and there were faint bruises on her hips from his fingers. She looked in the mirror, examining the Claim he'd left on her. She looked as if she'd been thoroughly ravished... which wasn't far off from what had occurred.
Her stomach made this odd gurgling noise. Right, food... what could she eat quickly? She had ended up having a rather unusual meal. There had been some fruit, a bagel with cream cheese, a few leftover bits of this and that. She'd been ravenous.
Spike was still in her bed. Willow smiled, her mind full of naughty thoughts. She had the whole weekend... nothing other than the whole Angel's soul thing to worry about on the supernatural front, her schoolwork had all been done days ago. She'd read in romance novels about couples spending the whole weekend in bed, or at least, being passionate. Maybe she could try it?
~Part: 55~
Monday had rolled around, and Willow had searched her closet for something that she could wear that would cover the mark on her throat. It wasn't that she was ashamed of Spike, or the amazing passion that they had shared over the weekend. She simply didn't want Buffy to hunt down her boyfriend and stake him. Willow wanted to spend a very long time with her Spike, which would be very difficult if he were killed.
There had been considerable frustration over the contents of her closet. She had ended up with a considerable pile of things that she didn't want to keep, and a few items that might work to cover the mark on her throat. Any vampire would still feel it, but the actual mark would be covered. Spike had promised to go shopping with her in an effort to help her find some more appealing clothing.
She had ended up wearing a pale blue sleeveless turtleneck with a pair of blue jeans. Her search for something to wear had taken so long that her hair had been left loose, falling halfway down her back like a crimson cloud. Spike had assured her that she was lovely, and given her a kiss for luck. She had seriously considered skipping school just so she could stay home with him....
She had gone to school, still feeling wonderful after her weekend. Well, maybe a bit sore, but she had never felt so loved, so cherished before. It wasn't until Willow had settled at her desk for her first class that she realized people were looking at her oddly. As if they were talking about her. Somehow, she had become the focus of rumor. Possibly the scene with her and Spike at the Expresso Pump?
It didn't take long for her suspicion to be confirmed. She heard a whisper about a 'sexy blond guy' and 'kissing'. Definitely the scene from Thursday. Willow tried not to smile, knowing that what they had seen was only the tip of the iceberg as far as what had happened. She knew that it was simply a matter of time before Buffy decided to ask her all about this 'mystery guy'. She had to figure out what she would tell Buffy, she didn't want to start by telling her everything.
It was a good thing that she had started planning what to tell them. As soon as she walked into the cafeteria, Buffy and Xander practically swooped in, herding her off to a corner table. Questions and broken bits of sentences were flying from them both as they tried to demand answers over each other.
'Who's this guy' 'how did you meet him' 'is he safe?' 'do we know him' 'why didn't you tell me?' 'kissing in the Espresso Pump?' 'I had to hear about it from Harmony, of all people' 'what were you thinking - no, please don't answer that!' ' no, do answer, and is he a studly?'
Finally, Willow stated to snicker, amused at the way that her friends were almost arguing over what they wanted to know. Xander wanted to know if this guy was safe, probably trying to find a way to ask if he was human. Buffy wanted all the details, and a detailed description of Willow's new guy. After a few more minutes of rapid fire questions, repeating most of them several times, Buffy and Xander finally came to a stop, realizing that Willow couldn't answer if they wouldn't be quiet so that they could listen.
After she managed to stop laughing, Willow decided to answer some of their questions. "His name is Spike, and he's got blue eyes. He's originally from London, you don't know him, and I'm perfectly safe with him. Buffy, you've been to busy juggling Scott and Owen to hear about him."
"Are you sure you want to get involved with some guy called Spike? I mean, Wills, Spike? That's the name of the big dog that was always chasing Tom the cat." Xander sounded worried.
"You have to come... ahh over to my house tonight and tell me everything, Wills. I want details! I'm your friend, I want to know about these things." Buffy sounded almost envious.
The rest of the day had been odd. People that had never had the time or interest to talk to her before gave friendly sounding hello's, she was the target of speculative and envious glances. Willow wasn't used to being the focus of so much attention. Nor was she used to the idea of her personal life being under discussion in the rumor mill of school.
~Part: 57~
Willow found herself drafted to patrol with Buffy. The stated excuse was 'I hardly ever see you recently.' Willow was trying to figure out if that meant 'I want to quiz you over this blond guy' or 'I want to talk about Scott' or possibly even 'I need help with one of my classes.' Listening to Buffy talk about Scott would be easy enough. So would helping her with studying something. But if she wanted to ask more questions about Spike... that could get tricky. She wanted to be careful how much Buffy found out at first.
So, Willow found herself meandering through the cemeteries of Sunnydale, with Buffy. She listened as Buffy talked about how cute Scott was, and about all the various things they had been doing together recently. They'd seen a couple movies, and been to the concert at the beach, and they'd danced together at the Bronze. She was going on about how he was all sweet, and nice, and a normal guy. He wasn't a demon, or a vampire, or any other sort of hellmouthy weirdness.
Willow could only nod at that. Yes, Scott was a human guy. Human guys were pretty normal. Buffy seemed to be pretty happy with how her relationship with Scott was going. Willow wondered how Owen would take that, seeing Buffy happy with Scott. It would have to hurt, seeing as how Owen had this huge crush on Buffy... The next sentence from Buffy's mouth made Willow gape in shock.
" I wonder why I haven't seen Angel lately? I'm a bit worried, that Dru vamp is trying to get him, and I don't intend to let her have my Angel." Buffy sounded annoyed, as if Dru were trying to take something away from her.
Willow felt stunned. Buffy had just been going on about how much fun she'd been having with Scott. How things were looking like they could get serious. Now, she was saying that Dru couldn't have HER Angel? That just sounded wrong, not to mention possessive. "Buffy... I thought you were dating Scott now? How can Angel still be your boyfriend if your seeing Scott?"
"Because he's.... Angel's my... We have this thing, you know?" Buffy looked as if she was trying to explain something, as if she were trying to find the words for what she wanted to say.
"Buffy, there are words for girls who collect guys like charms on a bracelet. They aren't nice words. You can't keep Angel dangling on the side while you play with Scott. If you want Scott, fine, go for it. But you can't try to keep Angel at the same time. He's not a toy, he's not a pet..." A sudden vivid image burst into Willow's mind, of Angel on deep red silk sheets, wearing nothing but a collar. She turned absolutely crimson, and made a few noises as she tried to banish that image. Angel was gorgeous, but.. that wasn't an image she needed. The only naked vampire that Willow wanted was Spike.
"Ummmm I was saying that Angel is NOT a pet. You can't just keep him and get another one. You have to choose. If you want Scott, then Angel isn't your boyfriend anymore, and you can't lay claim to him. If you want Angel, then you can't date Scott, it would be cheating." Willow's voice was firm, and she looked right at Buffy. She hoped that her friend would listen, would see the logic in what she was saying.
"You think I'm being selfish." Buffy sounded a bit hurt.
"Well, it's not that I don't want you to be happy, because your my friend and of course I want you to be happy but..." Willow's attempted explanation was interrupted by a green scaled demon with a row of spines down it's back attacking Buffy with a hiss.
Willow stepped back, her back now pressed against the wall of a crypt as she watched Buffy fight the green demon. It was snarling an hissing at her, looking and sounding extremely menacing. Buffy was insulting it, trying to throw off it's attacks with witty quips. Buffy ended up with her lower lip split, and bleeding slightly from the side, and several slashes over her arm. Her pretty pink shirt was completely ruined, the sleeve torn entirely off, the front slashed where the demon's claws had almost caught her stomach, and splattered with the dark green blood that had flowed in the thing's veins.
"Yuck. Green demon blood.. and I really liked this shirt. Nasty weirdly colored demon fluids almost always stain. Now, what was it you were saying before that thing interrupted?" Buffy sounded as if she felt a bit better now.
Willow sighed, hoping that her friend would follow her reasoning. "You can't keep dangling Angel and Scott. It's not fair to either of them. You have to choose one or the other, and let the one you don't pick know that you won't be dating or whatever anymore. That's the only thing to do. Because if they find out your seeing someone else while being sorta whatever with them, you'd better believe they won't be happy. Pick one before you loose them both. Although, I'd say since you've been spending so much time with Scott, maybe you've already chosen, and just didn't want to let go."
They walked quietly, and Willow could see that Buffy was thinking. Hopefully, she was thinking about what Willow had said, how she had to choose one and let the other go. While they walked, Willow decided to try to think of more interesting things than the mess that was Buffy's social life. Maybe.. Spike, with that leather collar, and a rose in his teeth? Yeah, that was a much more enjoyable thought. She let her mind play with that image for a while, contemplating how things might go from there. Her pleasant fantasy was interrupted when Buffy spoke again.
"You're right, Wills. I can't keep them both. I just.. I wish that I didn't have to choose. They both have some very nice things going for them. Any advice on how I should try to pick?" Buffy sounded sad now.
Willow gave a small smile. It sounded like Buffy would be reasonable about this, at least for the moment. She had this urge to say 'go with Scott, you won't make him loose his soul', but resisted. "You have to think about it. Which one of them can you see a future with? Who can you see trying to happily after with? Going to dances, having fun? Another thing, if you want to build a future with someone, you have to be able to accept all of them, the handsome outside and everything inside as well. Can you accept the fact that Angel is a vampire, and always will be? Or the fact that Scott.. I don't actually know any major character flaws or difficulties about Scott, but I'm sure he has something that isn't perfect about him."
~Part: 57~
When Willow finally made her way back to her house, she found the lights on in the living room. Puzzled and slightly worried, she opened the door, slightly tense with nerves. Dru was inside, and she could smell tea. Breathing a sigh of relief, Willow closed the door.
"Someone's been naughty. Did you and Spikey have fun? I can tell that he Claimed you... and why were you off with that nasty taffy girl?" Dru's voice was colored with amusement.
Willow grinned, feeling oddly relaxed by having someone that she could talk about everything with Spike. "We had a lot of fun. It was... wow. He gave me poetry. As for Buffy, we had a talk tonight. Seems she's been seeing Scott lately, umm he's one of the guys from our school. I told her that it wasn't fair to try to keep them both, she has to choose one. Told her that she should choose someone that she could see herself having a future with, someone that she could accept all of, not just a few bits here and some from there. Also, I mentioned that neither of them would probably like it if they found out she was seeing someone else on the side.
Dru giggled, apparently finding that idea amusing. "But my Angel already knows that the taffy girl is seeing the mortal boy. I told him about it on the night that there was all the music by the waves. She is very naughty... do you think that she will stay away from my Angel now?"
"We can only hope. I know that she can't accept all of him, she has problems with the fact that he's a vampire. She doesn't like it, it makes her all twitchy. It's not a good thing for your boyfriend to make you all twitchy nervous. So, hopefully, she'll think about it and go with Scott, especially since she's been spending a lot of time with him anyhow." Willow was trying to think positive. Buffy wasn't an idiot. Actually, the Slayer was fairly smart, if she just thought about it instead of going with her mixed up emotions.
"I came here to show you. I found something.. it's a spell that the ancient Egyptians used to link the souls of the dead to statues. I thought maybe we could use that to make a new soul spell for my Angel."
Willow sat up, eyes widening at Dru's words. "Really? I saw a program on the history channel that sort of mentioned that, about how... the spell was supposed to create a link between the soul of the dead and some statues that were specially made to look like the dead person, so they could act on behalf of the living. Wow.. how did you ever get it? Do you think it would work on his body? I mean if we have the soul, and his body isn't exactly living anymore.. umm.. definitely something to look into."
Dru handed Willow a cup of tea, smiling at her friends words. "We went to Egypt once. I went to see the pyramids, and the great Sphinx, and there were all sorts of things. I talked with a little old sorcerer with funny marks on his cheeks, and he said that the ancients had many powerful spells. That they could bind the soul of someone to their body, so that they would be trapped within as long as even a single bone remained of them. His name was something odd... something about water. Ardeth something about water. He said that his wife had learned a lot more about soul magics that he had, but she didn't talk to the nightbound."
Willow looked up, wondering what sort of soul magics the ancient Egyptians had known. How much had been empty ritual, and how much had been real power? "Dru, do you know any way that we could get in contact with this guy? Would he even still be alive? Maybe he or his wife could send us some information?"
Dru looked thoughtful. "I don't know if they would still be alive. He was very old, and we were there almost twenty years ago. He said there was something about me, that I had a part to play in destiny. He said he didn't know what part I was going to play. But.. I can try to send him a message. I don't know if he's alive, or if he or his wife could help, but..."
That question considered, they settled into a lively discussion on the Egyptian spell, trying to understand how it worked, and what would be needed for each part of it, especially what would be needed to bind the spirit to the body. Parts of it could be very useful. Willow was getting a list of spell fragments that might be useful, but they still needed a way to blend them smoothly.
"Umm Dru? Giles and Miss Calander and Angel all found out that you're trying to help me find a way to anchor Angel's soul. They think .. how did Giles phrase that? 'Dangerously unpredictable' is how he put it." Willow was still looking at the Egyptian spell, trying to figure out if it would be compatible with a South American fragment that Dru had found before, to prevent something from being lost or stolen.
Dru only laughed, and poured more tea.
~Part: 58~
After Willow had gone home for the evening, Buffy continued, not exactly patrolling, more like walking and thinking after dark. Willow had brought up a point earlier, and it wasn't a happy one. She couldn't have Angel AND Scott. She couldn't have Scott to do fun things with by day and Angel at night to be mysterious and kiss in the cemeteries. That wasn't fair to either of them, and there were words for people who tried to do that. Ugly, harsh words that Buffy didn't want applied to her.
She had to choose. She had to decide which of the men in her life to keep and which to let go. Should she keep Scott? He was cute, and alive, and funny, and they had so much fun when they went out. But.. he didn't know that she was a Slayer, didn't know what dangers lurked in the dark. She could tell him, but then he might freak out and leave her. Her other option was Angel, who was incredibly handsome, knew that she was a Slayer, and could help her fight the baddies that were around the hellmouth. He was also a great kisser. But... Angel was a vampire, and he always would be. Could she really open herself up to a vampire? Someone that drank blood, even if he did brush? Someone with centuries of time to have accumulated experience and exes?
Things had been nice with Scott, she'd had fun and laughed and felt almost like a normal girl. Things with Angel... she never felt like a normal girl, everything was too intense. But.. could that intensity last? Could it be enough? Could she be the girl who's boyfriend couldn't come to the beach party because it was in the daytime? Could she give up the idea of a nice house and a family because her boyfriend was a vampire? Scott could give her those things.
Yes, Scott was human, and alive, and fun. They could go places in the daytime, and get married in a church and have kids and a house and happily ever after together. Now, all she had to do was figure out a way to let Angel down gently. After all, it wasn't his fault that she couldn't have a future with him, that he couldn't give her a lifetime filled with sunshine and happiness and laughter. Off to talk to Angel, to try to break it gently to him that they had no future together.
She found him in one of the cemeteries, sitting on a marble bench that had been set at a family grouping. He looked like he was brooding about something. Well.. at least he was sitting down. Hopefully, this talk wouldn't make him feel too much worse. Oh, who did she think she was kidding? It was the middle of a cemetery, at night, and she was about to break up with him, to tell him that he could never give her the type of future that she needed. He would be devastated. "Angel? There's something... umm.. We need to talk."
He looked at her, the moonlight making his skin look like some sort of carving, to smooth, to perfect to be real. His eyes were unreadable dark pools. "Buffy? I didn't expect.. sit. What did you want to talk about?"
Ouch, right for the hard part. She didn't sit, instead pacing a bit near him, twisting her hands over themselves, uncertain of the best way to say this, to do this. "Umm I've been.. thinking about things. About us.. about the future."
"What about the future?" Angel's voice was soft, showing curiosity and a hint of something else. His expression was unreadable.
"We don't have one." The words tumbled out, and Buffy winced at their harshness. "I mean.. oh, that sounded sharp. It's just.. I was thinking about what I want in life, and... from the future. I wish things didn't have to be like this.. you have no idea how much I wish thing could be different." Her words had fallen to a whisper, and tars were gathering in her eyes. If things could only be different.. if only it could be Angel that she shared her days and life with, if only they could be just two normal people....
Angel's voice as he spoke was thick with sorrow. "You want a normal life. All the things that I can't give you... sunlight and afternoon picnics and babies."
Buffy could feel the tears running down her cheeks. "Angel.. I didn't want to hurt you..." She reached out, her fingertips brushing his shoulder. "I'm sorry?"
He stood up, the action somehow putting more distance between them, and when he looked at her, Buffy couldn't read his eyes at all. He was entirely closed to her. "I hope your future is as bright as you imagine it, Buffy."
With those words spoken, Angel walked away into the night. Buffy watched him go, feeling as if something had just been lost. A door to the future had just been closed, and she had the feeling that this was one of those things that could never be changed. She had lost him forever. Oh, he might still be here, in Sunnydale, but... no more midnight kisses for Buffy. She had just let him go, and it hurt.
~Part: 59~
While Angel was walking away from Buffy, Willow and Dru were talking about how to get in touch with this Ardeth water guy that Dru had met in Egypt, assuming that he was even alive anymore. If he had been old twenty years ago, he could be dead. Finally, they concluded that the best way would be to write a letter, and then use a small spell to send it to him. They wrote it, explaining that there was a small matter of a soul curse in danger of breaking, and could he or his wife possibly give them any information on the ritual used to enable the spirits of the deceased to act through the statues that had been left in their tombs? Or some other method to bind a soul to the vampire's body?
Dru wrote out the letter, and then sealed it, addressing it on the outside to Ardeth water-named, desert mage. She then wrote the words for the spell to send it on a different paper, and gave it to Willow.
"This is the chant, we say it, and picture the person that we want something to go to. In this case, you can't picture him, but if you use the words as well, you can help me cast it, adding your power to mine. magic isn't that difficult, little tree." Dru was smiling reassuringly.
Willow looked over the paper, softly forming the words, wanting to be certain that she had the correct pronunciation. Dru smiled at her, and asked if she was ready. Willow nodded. "I'm entirely nervous, but I think I'm ready. I have the words here, and we got the right way to say them, and if you remember the guy, you said we need a clear mental image for this to work? I guess... it's time for the magic."
Dru took Willow's hands into hers, and the letter to the desert mage sat on the floor encircled by their hands and arms. They began to chant, and Willow closed her eyes, focusing on the letter going to this person, finding someone that could help them. Dru had closed her eyes as well, focusing on her memories of Ardeth. That was how they both missed seeing the green gold glow that started from their linked hands, and darkened to an almost jade hue, spreading to form a circle, swarming in little flecks over the letter and giving a humming presence to the room. With an audible 'pop' the letter vanished.
Hearing the noise, Willow's eyes snapped open, widening as she saw the last bits of the deep green glow that radiated from their hands, stretching wisps into a circle around... the empty place where the letter had been. "It worked.... it really worked. I just helped cast a magic spell... I just did magic!"
Willow was smiling, her expression somewhere between glee and amazement. It seemed so unbelievable, she had just helped cast a magic spell. "That was... amazing. I felt this humming, and it was like this warm feeling from inside.. is it always like that?"
Dru smiled at her, her eyes twinkling. "In some ways. The humming was from all the power... you have very strong magic. Sometimes, after a spell, you'll feel all tired, because it took a lot of energy. I'll just go now, Miss Edith says it's time for me to go home for the night."
Willow waved her a cheerful goodbye, and had just finished locking the house up when the phone rang. It was Buffy, and she sounded like she was crying. Concerned, Willow asked what was wrong. She spent the next two hours listening to Buffy tearfully tell her all about the painful breakup with Angel, how much it hurt to let him go, how much she would miss him.
As she listened to Buffy, she found herself wondering if anyone was there for Angel. Surely this had to hurt him worse that it had Buffy, after all, it had been Buffy's choice.
~Part: 60~
Dru walked into the factory, placing Miss Edith next to the lovely urn with the roses in it, ignoring the fact that the roses had long ago shriveled up, and the petals fallen away, leaving nothing more than branches of thorns in the vase. She could see Spikey, pacing, shooting angry glances at a notebook, growling phrases and words... talking about flowers and jewels and luminous eyes... sometimes he just didn't make any sense at all.
"Spikey... leave the paper be. I'm sure it's very sorry that it made you mad. We have something better to do than growl at the paper. The sticky taffy girl hurt our not daddy, stabbed her sharp words into him until his heart started to bleed... We need to go talk to our not-daddy." She wanted him to go with her. If Spike were there, she wouldn't be as tempted to carry her not-daddy off and try to make him purr with pleasure. That would be bad because they hadn't found the glue spell. His soul would scorch and burn and fly away... she didn't want that to happen.
Shrugging slightly, Spike put down the pen that he'd been holding, letting it sit on the paper, and walked towards her. "Right, the taffy hurt our not-daddy... so you want us to go visit him. I hope you know what you're doing, Dru."
They walked, and followed the feeling of their sire until they found a small apartment building. Dru opened the door, and they walked down a hallway, where the door to the last apartment stood slightly ajar. There was silence from inside, broken only by the faint hum of a refrigerator. Spike glanced at her, his expression worried, and she stepped through the door, worried about her Angel. With a small sigh, Spike followed her.
The apartment was dark, although they could see a few lams set about the room. Dru reached over to one, pulling the dangling chain and causing a soft amber light to spill through the room, illuminating Angel as he sat at the end of a black leather couch. There were various keepsakes from some of the places that he had been, and several gleaming weapons hung on the walls. The one window was covered with blinds and heavy velvet drapes, to prevent any sliver of light from entering.
Angel was sitting there, looking as if he had simply collapsed onto the couch, intending to just... what? Sit and be miserable? There were crimson lines down his cheeks, dried tears shed and not wiped away, and his eyes were dark with pain.
Dru walked towards him, her heart pained at seeing him so miserable. "Poor Angel, all hurt by the nasty taffy girl... she hurt you." She settled on the couch, pulling Angel's unresisting form closer, wrapping her arms around his waist, and resting her head on his legs.
Spike drew closer as well, drawn in by the pain. It radiated from his sire, filling the very air with knowledge of a pain that cut to the bone and laid the heart bare to bleed. He rested his hand on Angel's shoulder, squeezing lightly, a gesture meant to make the other aware of his presence.
Angel finally reacted, one arm sliding over Dru's back, and he looked at Spike, a slight frown on his face. "Willow... she Claimed you? Does she know... you didn't drag her into this blindly, did you?"
Dru chuckled, her not-daddy could be so silly. She twisted, rolling so that she was looking up at his face, smiling at him. "Silly.. you can't make the little tree do something like that against her will. She wanted someone that would be hers forever, her very own knight and poet and big purring kitty... and Spikey needed his tree. She's going to be with him until they're both no more than an echo of memory... They bound themselves of their own will, ties of caring and destiny and fire... fire burning in the night... no, this tree will be safe from fire and pain.."
She listened for a moment, trying to find a way to explain the images dancing inside her mind, behind her eyes. "She's a fire fairy, all light and fire and power... we're going to make your soul stay with you.. forever, or until you die. But we wanted to make sure you were alright, that you knew you weren't alone. The stars said that the taffy girl hurt you."
Angel nodded, apparently not willing to argue or question how Dru had known. "Buffy wanted to talk to me earlier. She said we had no future together, that I couldn't give her what she wanted."
Spike hissed, pain flashing through his eyes. "Sounds like she did everything but say you were beneath her. We could kill her?"
Dru frowned, wondering something. There had been more... "Where did the mortal boy fit in?"
Angel shook his head, his body tense with emotion. "She never mentioned him. Not a single word. However much she claimed that she cared about me... it didn't stop her from going off with some.. mortal boy. Someone her own age, someone that could be with her in the sunlight. She went with him, and she didn't even think enough of me to tell me. She didn't trust me with the truth. She's right, there is no future for Buffy and me."
They stayed there, huddled together against the pain of heartache and loneliness. They were a family again.