~Prologue~

Present Day

"Baby, eat something." Spike implored his Dark
Goddess. "I went out and caught the chit just for you.
Her blood's all sweet." He said, trying to get her to
eat.

His Princess looked at him, her eyes glassy with
insanity. "Not hungry, Spikey." She pouted. "Besides,
her blood will get my dress all dirty."

She knelt by the girl. "Blood is pretty, all red.
Smells pretty, too. Isn't that right, my Spike?"

Spike looked at his love tenderly. "Yeah, baby."

She giggled. She walked over to Spike. He embraced
her and kissed her. She rested her head on his
shoulder.

"Spike?" She asked.

"Yes, Princess?" He replied.

"Can we kill the Slayer? And the Watcher. They don't
deserve to live. They were mean to Princess."

Spike looked down at the woman in his arms. "Yes,
luv. You shall have their blood."

She smiled, eyes shining. "Thank you, Spike."

He smiled, glad to see her smile, a true smile.
"Anything for you, sweet. Always."

She gazed at him lovingly. "Spike. My sweet Spike.
You're my Spike, right?"

He kissed her forehead. "Always, baby. Always."

She clapped. "Goodie. Kill Slayer now?" She asked
eagerly.

Spike laughed. "Might want to wait for the sun to set
first, Princess. Don't want you frying like bacon, do
we?"

She nodded. "You're right. Although bacon makes the
most lovely sound frying. Ssssss. Sssssss." She danced
around the room, making hissing noises. She stopped
abruptly.

She frowned. "Spike, I'm hungry now."

Spike chuckled. "That," he said, pointing to the
unconcious girl sprawled on the floor, "is what she's
for."

Spike watched as his lover walked over to the girl,
vamped out, and drained the girl dry in a matter of
seconds. Spike sunk into a leather chair. "Better,
pet?"

His Goddess nodded, smiling. "Yes, much. I'm so happy
to be back in Sunnydale. I missed it." She began to
spin around the room.

Spike got up, and caught her slight form in his arms.
He sat back down, pulling her onto his lap. She
wrapped her arms around his neck, and laid her head on
his shoulder. "Tell me a story, Spike."

He craddled her closer. "Alright, pet. Once upon a
time there was an evil vampire. And this evil vampire
had a gorgeous Princess. The evil vampire, and his
gorgeous Princess killed the Slayer, her Watcher, the
souled Poof, the Cheerleader, and all the other ninnys
that the Slayer pranced around with. Then the evil
vampire and his Princess took over the hellmouth, and
lived unholy ever after. How was that for a story?"

His love giggled. "Is it true, my Spike?"

He kissed her. "It will be soon, baby."

She jumped up off his lap. "Is it time?"

He held out his hand and she clasped it. "It's time."

She giggled, as she led him outside towards the
school. "This is going to be so much fun!" Her eyes
flashed amber. "Watch out, Buffy. Willow's back, and
she's not happy."
 

~Part 1~ The Stars Weep

January 1998
 

Willow was running for her life, lungs burning,
sobbing. <Goddess, please help me!> She pleaded
silently.

After a passionate night with Buffy, Angel lost his
soul, and reverted to his former self. He had been
leaving presents (using the term loosely) on her
balcony.  He had given her dead flowers, sketches, and
had gotten into her house, and gutted her fish. She
immediately revoked his invitation. She knew he was
watching her constantly, and it was only a matter of
time before he tired of his game, meaning her death.

She got a spurt of energy, and ran desperately to her
front door. She could hear him closing in behind her.
Just as she grabbed the handle, she felt a cold hand
curl around her wrist. Angelus.

"Please, just let me go! Goddess, you were my
*friend*!" She cried.

Angelus chuckled. "Sorry, kitten. *Angel* is your
friend. Not me. Honey, I'm your worst nightmare."

Meanwhile, Willow was frantically trying to open her
front door, knowing if she got inside, she'd be safe
for another day. Angelus noticed that, and laughed
aloud. "Here, allow me." He said, swinging the door
open, and stepping inside.

Willow gaped. Her spell hadn't worked! Angelus
grabbed her arm and yanked her inside. He dragged her
up the staircase, leaving the entryway behind in a
blur. What was that on the ground? Blood? He brutally
ripped her clothes off. She tried to scream, but he
punched her. The last things she heard before plunging
into darkness was her panties ripping, and him saying,
"I've waited a long time for this." She welcomed the
blackness.

She awoke later, and immediately wished she hadn't.
She felt him pull out of her bruised and battered
body. <Goddess, I was a virgin!> she thought blearily.

She felt him wrap her in a blanket, and carried her
gently down the stairs, and in an almost loving
gesture, set her gently on the sofa. He smiled at her
and kissed her cheek.

"Willow, Willow, Willow." He mocked. "Why didn't you
tell your parents about vampires? I mean, I told your
mother I was a friend of your's, and she just let me
in."

Willow gasped. Angelus grinned.

"Not like I needed the invitation, anyway. I've been
coming in to your house for weeks, even after your
poor attempt at a revoking spell." He softly brushed a
lock of hair off her bruised and bloody face. "I watch
you all the time, sweet. While you sleep, while your
studying, on the computer, changing..."

Willow blushed, humiliated.

Angelus grinned at her mortification.

"Anyway," he continued, "I came by after sunset,
while you and Slutty were researching. I took the
liberty of redecorating."

He stepped out of the kitchen doorway, to allow
Willow a clear view.

Willow let out an unearthly scream. Her mother was
hanging from one of the beams in the ceiling.

"Mom! MOM!" She sobbed hysterically.

Angelus walked over to the sobbing girl, hiding
something behind his back. He kissed her cheek.

"Now, my dear Willow, we have come to the final act.
It is almost the end. You should of seen your dad's
face when he came home and saw your mom, hanging. His
expression was priceless. I wish you could of seen
it." He paused, and grinned. "Oh, wait. You can." He
exclaimed before dumping her father's head in her lap.

Willow felt what was left of her mind shatter. His
stalking her for months, his little "gifts", all lead
up to this. Willow screamed and screamed.

He grinned, gathering the girl in his arms, and began
to rock her. "It's okay, I got you." He stared into
blank eyes. Seeing he had done what he set out to do,
he sat her down,got ready to leave. He wasn't going to
kill her. It would only give her release. He wanted
her to suffer. "Bye, Wills. See you later!" He said
jauntally, waving, and walked out the front door.
Leaving Willow behind, sitting in blood.

After hours of rocking back and forth, mumbling,
Willow stood up, and moved woodenly to the front
porch. She sat on the step. <The stars are weeping for
me.> She thought insanely. <Weep for me. Weeping
Willow.> She giggled.  She heard footsteps coming
towards her. She began to sob, thinking it was
Angelus.

**********

Spike was wondering through Sunnyhell, looking for a
bite to eat. Literally. He stopped. He smelled blood,
and alot of it. He also heard sobbing. He followed the
noise, curious.

As he came closer to the noise, the smells grew
stronger. One smelled like death, a sweet smell that
was familiar, and his sire. Spike's eyes widened as he
realized who it was. <That redhead! Willow! Good God!>
He began to run towards her.

Spike wasn't one to care for other people, but he had
a soft spot for the red head. He'd wanted her since
the first time he saw her, and he was pretty sure he
was in love with her. He couldn't be sure, because he
hadn't felt love in almost 120 years.  He scoffed.
Him, William the Bloody, in love with a mortal, the
Slayer's best mate, no less. He felt concerned when he
walked up to her, seeing her covered in blood, and how
she didn't even seem to know he was there.

He tilted her chin up, to force her to look at him.
"Willow?" he said softly.

Her eyes were clouded and glassy, with a look of
insanity. "He hurt me. He hurt them." she said,
gesturing towards the open doorway. Spike looked in
and blanched. He felt a pang of pity for the slight
girl. What the hell had his bastard sire done to her?

He turned to look back at the girl, and found she had
passed out, her heart beating erratically. He noticed
she was bleeding profusely from a bite on her neck he
hadn't seen.  He was just thankful he was there to
help her. He looked at her, and made a decsion. He bit
gently into the other side of her neck, and drained
what bit of sweet blood she had left, then bit his
wrist, and held it to her mouth. She began to suckle
for a few minutes before succumbing to death. "Come
on, Princess." He said softly, before picking her up,
and carrying her off into the night.
 

~Part 2~ The Stars Dim

I smile slightly as she giggles at the telly. I
remember that night two years ago like it was just
yesterday. In some ways, it was just yesterday.
Angelus raped her, gutted her mother, and gave her her
father's head. All that drove my Princess to the other
edge of sanity. It was the most grusome thing I've
seen, and that's saying alot. I'm 126 years old, and
I've seen alot in my days, but that had to be one of
the most disgusting things I've seen. I know, I'm a
vampire, I live for blood, but I after spending the
past two years with Willow, I can see it like she did.
It's almost a blessing she lost her mind, she
retreated inside herself, trying to keep safe from the
awful memories.

Slutty and the idiot boy went over to Willow's, and
found the carnage. They thought Willow dead. The
Slayer went on a rampage, killing all the vampires she
could, except for the one she *should* of. Anyway, the
Watcher managed to resoul Angelus, due to the damn
Slayer's insistance. Peaches came clean, and told them
all what happened, how he raped Red, and murdered her
parents. Everyone went nuts. The Watcher staked him,
but his aim was off, hitting him in the shoulder
instead. Too bad. But then, *I'm* going to be the one
to stake Angel, the prick. After that, he left to try
and "atone" for his sins. Ha. Yeah, right. After
awhile, he came back, and Slutty forgave him. What
kind of dumb bint forgives the man that tortured her
best friend? Anyway, on the bright side, everyone else
hates him, but tolerates him. How do I know all this?
I'm William the Bloody. When I leave a place, I never
really leave. I have some of the boys following them
around. They're pretty good at spying, for a bunch of
bleedin' idiots.

My Princess giggles again. I love it when she laughs,
when she smiles. She hardly ever smiles. When she
smiles, her eyes light up, and everything, the sun,
the stars, dim in comparasion to her. She looks like
she did before my bastard sire destroyed her.

Don't worry, baby. Daddy's going to make them pay.
 

~Part 3~ The Stars Glow

January 1998
 

Spike carried the slight young girl to the burned out
abandoned warehouse, knowing Angelus wouldn't go
there. He kicked the door open, and set her up against
the wall. He proceeded to check for holes in the
celing, or anything else that would result in him and
the girl becoming dust. Satisfied they were safe, he
took of his duster, and wrapped it around Willow, and
pulled her to rest against him.

**********

Spike started. He must of dozed off. He glanced at
his watch. 5:48 a.m. Spike scowled. Couldn't go
hunting. Well he could, but he'd risk becoming flambe
a la Spike. The body on his lap started to stir. He
watched as his new childe began to awake. Her eyes
fluttered open, and she sat up, taking in her
surroundings. She turned around to look at him.

"Spike?" She asked, quietly.

"Yes?" He replied.

She looked up at him pitifully. "I'm so hungry."

Spike allowed himself a smile. "I know baby, but it's
light out, and I can't get you anything right now."

She sighed. She paused, as if realizing something.
"I'm dead?" She squeaked.

Spike nodded. "I had to turn you. I saw you while I
was out hunting. He almost killed you."

Willow gasped. "He...he killed my mother. Hung her
from the ceiling like a chandelier..."

Spike looked at her, concerned. What he saw made
shivers run down his spine. He had hoped that her
babbling earlier had been due to shock, but the look
in her eyes had confirmed his fear. Angelus had driven
the girl crazy. Spike realized that was what Angelus
set out to do. He snarled softly. He really hated his
sire.

Willow had begun to cry. "He gave me my father's
head. He hurt them. And he hurt me..." She began to
sob.

Spike gathered her in his arms. "He hurt you? How did
he hurt you? Tell Daddy what he did." He soothed.

"He raped me. He hurt me." She whispered.

Spike's demon roared, furious.

Spike kissed the top of her head, rocking her. "It's
okay now, Princess. No one will ever hurt you again. I
promise." He looked at her bloody and tattered blouse,
and her shredded panties. His sire would pay. He'd
make sure of that.

"Sleep now. We'll find you some food later." Spike
told her, and they curled up, and fell asleep.

**********

Across town, Buffy was getting ready for school. She
hummed a pop tune under her breath, happily. Or as
happy as she could be. She slept with her boyfriend,
and he turned into a monster. She began to cry softly,
but stopped. She shook her head, putting on a "resolve
face", as Willow called it. She smiled as she thought
of her best friend. Will was really one in a million.
A true blue friend. She glanced at her clock radio.
7:45. <Geez! I'm gonna be late!> She grabbed her bag,
and bounded out the front door, headed for her best
friend's house.

**********

Buffy slowed as she neared the Rosenberg home. The
door looked ajar. Her brow furrowed. She cautiously
made her way to the front door. She stepped in
something sticky. Was that blood? <Oh, God!> "Willow!
Will?" she called frantically, running into the house.
She moaned, and a few seconds later, ran outside, and
began to retch in the bushes.

**********

Rupert Giles was sitting in his office, reading a
text on demonology, while Xander was seated at one of
the tables in the library, munching on a Ho-Ho.

The phone rang, and he grabbed it.

"Hello? Yes, I'm Rupert Giles. The police? What's
this about?  Rosenberg? Willow? Dear God, is
Willow...What? Her parents? Dead? Oh my... How?
Oh...Oh..Oh, God. Yes. Yes, thank you. Good-bye."
Giles hung up the phone, numb. He walked out to the
library to talk to Xander.

Buffy ran in, sobbing hysterically. Xander looked
shocked.

"Buffy." He said, pulling her into a hug. "What is
it? What's wrong?"

"G-G-Giles," she sobbed.

Giles nodded. "Yes, I know Buffy. I just got the
phone call."

Buffy tried to calm herself down, so she could at
least speak coherently.

"What?" Xander cried, "What happened?!"

Buffy was now crying quietly. Giles led her to a
chair, and helped her sit down.

Xander was shocked, again, to see tears in Giles'
eyes. "Xander, that was the police. Willow's parent's
were-" his voice broke. "Murdered."

The color leeched from his face. "No! NO!! You're
wrong!" He screamed.

Buffy began to sob again. "N-no Xander. I stopped by
to pick up Wills for school, since you came early. I
saw it, Xander."

Xander gritted his teeth. "What happened?"

"Xander, I don't think--" Giles began.

"Dammit! What happened?! What did the police tell
you?"

Giles sighed. "I'm not sure. All the police told me
was that the Rosenbergs had been murdered, and Willow
was missing..."

"Giles, I found them." Buffy said. "I got the
neighbor to call the police. M-Mrs. Rosenberg was
hanging in the kitchen. Mr. Ro-Rosenberg's h-head was
on the couch." She began to sob loudly again. "I
couldn't find Willow! She's not dead! She's not!"
Buffy was going into hysterics. Xander was sobbing
into his hands.

Cordelia breezed in. "Hey, all. Wh-what happened?
What happened?"

Giles looked up, his vision blurred by tears.
"Cordelia, Willow's parent's were murdered. Willow's
missing."

Cordelia shocked everyone by going after Buffy. "You!
This is your fault! Your damn Slayer thing got her
killed!" She began to scratch at Buffy before breaking
down. "I pretended I didn't like her, but I did!
She'll never know!"

They all sat that way, grieving, and thinking about
memories of Willow, and regrets.

**********

Spike was jarred out of a sound slumber by the sound
of the heavy door opening. He looked down at his
childe, who was still sleeping. Humans. He smelled
them, coming into the warehouse. He smiled. Easy food.
He shook Willow. "Wake up, sweet. Time for a snack."

Willow stirred. "I'm sleepy." She perked up. "Food?"

He nodded. He heard the humans walking around across
the warehouse.

"You sure this is the right place?" one called.

"Yeah, Vinny. This is the warehouse I was told to put
the furniture in."

Vinny shrugged. "I'm just saying, this don't look
like no furnature warehouse. Damn, it's dark in here.
where are the freakin' lights?"

Spike gave a feral grin, pulling Willow up beside
him. "You have to be quiet," he said lowly. "Don't let
them see you until it's too late." He stalked towards
one man, as Willow grabbed the other.

"Screw quiet." She said, as she looked at the man.
"I'm hungry." She said, her features morphing as she
bit him, and drained him of his life, as Spike was
doing the same with his dinner.

After their hunger had been satied, Spike grabbed his
childe, and pulled her into a brutal kiss. "What shall
we do now, baby?" he asked, unbuttoning her blouse.

She sighed. "I wonder..." she mused, as she dragged
Spike's lips back to hers.

**********

Spike led Willow out of the warehouse. The sun had
just set. Spike's demon growled in contentment. He had
claimed the little witch as his mate, as she had to
him. Spike was a master vampire, and he was his own
person. No one owned him. But now this slight slip of
a girl did. And he couldn't be happier.

She shivered, wrapped in his duster. "Look! Look at
the stars, Spike. They glow."

Spike looked at his Princess with a mix of love and
sadness. He had figured out that Angelus had driven
her to the edge of sanity, and she was tettering over.
He had to get her out of Sunnyhell, and try and help
her.

"Let's go somewhere." He said. "Where do you want to
go, Princess?"

Willow's eyes lit up. "Can we go to Denmark? I've
always wanted to go there! Please?"

Spike smiled at her. "Anything you want, baby. We can
leave tonight."

Willow clapped with joy. "Yay!" She frowned. "Wait, I
need some new clothes."

Spike looked her up and down. "I don't know, Red. I
like you in my duster."

She giggled. "Let's go."

He kissed her hand. "We can be at the airport in an
hour. We'll stop and get you some clothes. I'll have
one of the boys come and pick up the car."

He and Willow drove away from their past, and into
their future.
 

~Part 4~ The Stars Shine

I thought getting her out of Sunnyhell was supposed
to help her. Sadly, it didn't. After we left for
Denmark, she was on the edge of sanity, coherent and
well, sane most of the time. I thought she would get
better. My sweet Princess.

Instead, she got worse. I think the nightmares were
what pushed her over the edge. She'd wake up
screaming, reliving that night over and over. I'd hold
her and tell her I was there, and nothing was going to
hurt her. I started seeing the cloudy look of insanity
in her eyes more and more, the clearness of sanity in
her green orbs less and less. I haven't seen the
sanity for awhile now. The last time I saw it, was one
night when we were looking at stars. She smiled at me,
and told me how much she loved me, and that was it.
Then she started talking about how the stars shine. I
think she knew her mind was breaking, peice by peice.
 

My Goddess is here, yet she isn't. I have her
phsyically, and sometimes mentally, in those rare
moments of clarity. I cherish those moments, but they
are few and far between.

I'm not saying I don't love her, because I do, with
all that I am. I'm an evil viscous killer, a souless
killer, and I care for another being. She's my
everything. My light, my dark, my life, my death, my
world. I love her with a passion I thought I didn't
think I posessed. She loves me too, I can see it
whenever she looks at me. And when she tells me, I
know she's sincere. My Willow's still there. The love
beind the insanity.

She's mine, and I'm hers, for eternity. She's my
mate. I couldn't and will never love another, and I
know it's the same with her. She's my Willow, my
Princess, my Fire Goddess.

Sane or not, she's my heart, my long dead soul, my
salvation, my weakness, my joy.

I will avenge her. The man who destroyed her mind,
who hurt her shall pay. Soon.

Not now, though. My Princess is calling me.
 

~Part 5~ The Stars Sing

 June 1998

  Willow stood frozen in place as she watched Angelus
kill her parents and friends. They were screaming for
her help, and blaming her.

 Willow sat bolt upright, screaming and sobbing,
jarring Spike out of his sleep. He reached over and
pulled her shaking body into his arms, soothing her,
petting her hair, until she finally fell asleep again.

 He was worried. He had taken Willow out of Sunnydale,
and to Denmark 5 months ago, attempting to restore her
sanity. At first, it seemed like she was getting
better. She loved Denmark, she was attentive and
coherent, her eyes clear, and focused, *sane*, like
she was before Angelus attacked her.

 Then the dreams began. She would wake up in
hysterics, seeing the carnage, and feeling the pain
over and over. He saw her start to slip away, inside
herself, trying to hide from the horrible memories.
She would sit down, and just stare at the wall, as if
in a trance, for sometimes hours at a time. She was
terrified that Angelus was going to kill her, and
Spike could do nothing to ease her fears. She still
hunted, and killed, but she didn't seem like a demon.
She seemed like a lost, broken, innocent young girl,
and that tore at Spike's long dead soul, knowing he
couldn't save her from her worst enemy. Not Angelus,
or even the Slayer. Herself.

 Spike smiled as she walked into the room. "Hello,
pet. What have you been up to?"

 Willow smiled back, and sat on his lap. "Nothing.
Spike, can I go outside?"

 Spike smiled sadly at the blank look in her eyes.
"Not now, baby. Later though, with me. We'll go catch
you a nice, young, sweet little thing to eat."

 Willow pouted. "I wanna go outside now."

 Spike shook his head. "You can't, Willow. You'll
burn."

 Willow cocked her head. "Why?"

 Spike sighed. "Because you're a vampire. A demon. You
can't go outside during the day, or drink Holy water,
or hold crosses, or...stake yourself." Spike frowned,
that didn't make much sense. He was starting to sound
slightly around the bend himself.

 Willow nodded. "Oh."

 Suddenly, she began to cry.

 Spike kissed her forehead. "What's wrong, Princess?"

 "I'm a demon! I'll never go to Heaven, I'll never get
to sing with the stars. I'll never see my parents
again, or be friends with Buffy and Xander again, or,
or..." She broke off, sobbing.

 Spike held her close. He was used to her little
"episodes", but to his dismay, they were becoming more
frequent.

**********

 Spike and Willow were on their way back to their
lair, when Willow stopped suddenly.

 "Spike?"

 "Yeah, luv?"

 "I want to go home." Willow announced.

 Spike smiled. "We're on our way home now."

 Willow stomped her foot. "No! *Home* home.
Sunnydale."

 Spike froze. "You want to go back to Sunnydale?"

 Willow nodded. "Yes. I want to go home."

 Spike looked closely at her. "Willow?"

 Willow felt blood tears running down her face.
"Spike, i-it hurts. They gave up on me. I want them to
pay. I need to avenge my parents, and myself, in a
way." Willow explained, in a moment of clarity. "They
all need to pay. To die."

 Spike saw her eyes were clear of madness for the
first time in months. "Willow." He breathed, and
pulled her into an intense kiss. "Princess."

 Willow reached up and touched her mate's face.
"Spike. Make them pay. Please."

 Spike kissed her palm. "You'll have their blood,
baby."

 Willow smiled and kissed him.

**********

 Spike looked at his Goddess sleeping next to him. He
didn't know what he did to deserve her, but he was
damn glad he did it, whatever it was.

 Willow opened her eyes. "Spike?"

 "Yeah?"

 "My Spike?"

 "Yes, luv. Your Spike."

next