SERIES: Choices (#6)
AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue
E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com
I just know my eyes are rolling, but I can't seem to help it, because... It's been *three* *days*! The bloody prick's kept me here for *three* *entire* *days*! And yeah, I knew he'd have plenty to say, but Hell, what a big waste of my fucking time!
I drove here, through the night, barely making it to this great groaning pile of stone before sunrise, and good thing none of his pet-bloody-humans have taken to *living* here, or I'd never have made it inside! And it's not like I could have stayed in the car 'til sunset, either. The De Soto's long gone, and the watcher's car, sweet as it is, isn't exactly set up for my kind.
So, I came inside, and... I guess he must have sensed me getting closer, 'cause I strolled into the great echoing lobby, and next thing I knew...? There I was on the floor, getting a *very* good look at the pattern of the ornamental rug.
It's a *nice* rug, too, although I would have appreciated it more without the great lumbering weight of my Sire on my back. I also could have done without the sharp pointy *stick* against my ribs, but that's not important. No, what was important was the fact that... the longer things took, the longer I'd be apart from my Red.
// Where you are, that's where I want to be,
And through your eyes, all the things I want to see...
And in the night, you are my dream...
You're everything to me. //
Great sodding pouf didn't want to hear me out at first; I think he'd convinced himself that I'd come to finish our *last* bit of business, and if I'd thought he still had that blasted ring...? Well, I *might* have. It would have been worth it to be able to share the daylight with my girl. But I knew the poncey git entirely too well, so I was fairly sure the Ring of Amara no longer existed. And that wasn't the point of my little visit, anyway.
So I just lay there, not even struggling, and when he asked me what I wanted, I... swallowed my pride, and forced the demon back, and told him. 'I need your help, Sire,' I said.
I wish I could have seen his face at that moment, because if the sudden indrawn breath was any indication, I'm sure he must have looked stunned. After all, I hadn't asked him for anything-- well, except that bloody ring back-- in over a hundred years.
It would have been so easy to play with him; to fuck with his world, but... It wasn't play-time, after all, and I really *did* need his help. Besides which, I figured it maybe wouldn't be too bright to antagonize him right then, what with the sharp stake digging into my ribcage.
So, after a good while of him asking questions, and me giving answers, he finally let me up and took me into his office. Oddly enough, the small room smelled an awful lot like a *human*, but at the time, I shrugged it off. He sat me down in a chair, and perched on the edge of the desk, still playing with that bloody stake. I'm guessing he wasn't sure of whether he could trust me or not, and I have to admit... the very thought made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
He kept asking me questions, though, and that's when I realized... No one had told him about the bleedin' *chip* in my head! I know I sighed then, the first of many, and started to explain about the fucking Initiative and their connection with his dead ex. I don't think he believed me at first, or at least, he didn't until the cheerleader burst into the office.
I didn't actually *mean* to do it, but... I'd been awake for much longer than usual, and I was *hungry*! I felt the demon slipping out, but I only got a few inches from the chair before the mind-shattering pain burst through my skull, and the next thing *I* knew? Well, I was laying on the floor becoming well-acquainted with yet *another* of the pouf's patterned floor-coverings. Bloody Nancy-boy's got a fixation for oriental rugs, I think.
But seeing it seemed to drive the situation home for him, and at least he put down that damned stake. Maybe, I thought hopefully, maybe we could talk about why I was there. I should have known better.
Much of a wanker as my Sire is, I seem to have misjudged him a bit, because he got *really* upset over what Farmboy and his little group of G.I. Joe wannabes had done. It was odd, but... I'd've thought he would have been *glad*. Guess that just goes to show how much I *don't* understand the souled version of Angelus.
Still, as flattering as it was that he seemed to *care* about me, that wasn't why I was there. I was there for *Willow*. Well, okay, I was there for cold, hard *cash*, but only so I could find a place good enough to take my girl.
// You're the love of my life and the breath in my prayers...
Take my hand and lead me there... What I need is you here.
I can't forget when we are one...
From your lips the heavens pour out.
I can't forget when we are one...
With you alone, I am free. //
He looked confused when I first told him what I wanted from him, and I almost chuckled at the expression, but it only lasted a moment before his features turned hard. 'Why?' he asked me, and I know I sighed.
Hell, couldn't the prick just stay out of it and do his duty as my Sire? Well, apparently not, because the question kept being repeated in various ways. I jumped up, annoyed, and paced in front of him, and all my chances of lying to him died in that one instant, because I took of my coat, and... he *smelled* her on me. Next thing I knew, there I was on the bloody *floor* again, only this time his big, peasant-y hands were wrapped around my throat.
I suppose he could have just ripped my head from my shoulders then; he's certainly strong enough... Or I could have fought back, but that didn't seem smart, considering the fact that I wanted his help, so... 'I *love* her, Sire,' I told him through gritted teeth, 'And I think she loves *me*.'
Well, I could see his shock at the idea that the sweet little witch could ever care for me at all, much less be harbouring tender emotions towards me, and honestly, I couldn't blame him. I *had*, after all, tried to kill her and her little friends on more than one occasion. I'd even kidnapped her, back when I'd had hopes of getting Drusilla back. It hadn't worked, of course, for which I'm immeasurably grateful. Dru wasn't the one for me; it just took me a while to realize it. 'I'm almost certain she loves me,' I elaborated, when his tight grip on my throat relaxed a bit.
So, after another hour or so of playing twenty questions, he finally let me up, and he called the May Queen back into the office, then told her to go home. He called whatever *other* little cronies he'd managed to gather to his 'cause', and told them to take the day off, as well, and then our *discussion* began in earnest.
I never knew he cared so much about my Red, and honestly, it pissed me off a *lot*. It wasn't right that my Sire should care so much about my girl! A little voice in the back of my head tried to tell me that he'd cared about Drusilla, too, but that was hardly a comforting thought, considering the way that 'caring' had been expressed in the early hours of morning. The witch belonged to *me*, and she always would... once she admitted it.
// Every day, every night, you alone...
You're the love of my life...
Every day, every night, you alone...
You're the love of my life... //
And that's how the last three days have gone. I tell him I love her. I tell him I'm never going to hurt her, and that I won't let her go... And *he* tells *me*-- in graphic detail-- all the things he's gonna do to me if I *do* hurt her.
I don't think he realizes it yet, but eventually he'll understand... If I hurt her, even unintentionally, I'll bloody well *stake* myself. She's the only good and pure thing in my entire world, and believing she loves me has made an incredible difference. I don't even *care* that I can't hurt humans anymore. I don't care that I'm the most pathetic demon in existence. I don't care that I'm going to spend the rest of eternity fighting the 'good' fight. None of that matters to me at all.
No, what matters is... she's *mine*. Or she will be, once I get my ass back to Sunnyhell. I'll get the cash from my Sire, and I'll find us a nice little house somewhere, one with a garden, and some trees... yeah, she'll like that... A sweet little house, set back from the road, with plenty of room for her to do her spells and whatnot... Hell, she can even fill the place with *pastels*, for all I care!
Of course, first she'll have to cut the little blonde witch loose, but... I think I can convince her. I'll get the house, and a big, new bed-- one that doesn't smell of dust and death-- and I'll spend as many nights 'convincing' her as it takes. Yeah... I can see it now...
// We go dancing in the moonlight,
With the starlight in your eyes...
We go dancing 'til the sunrise... //
And the great pouf is finally coming through for me. I guess he feels like we've bonded, or something, and I have to admit-- only to myself, of course-- that we're not so different anymore. He's got a soul. I've got a chip. Not quite the same thing, seeing as I don't go all broody at the drop of a hat, but... Hell, we're enough alike now that I almost want to die.
So he hands me the paperwork for my brand new bank account, and I can't get out of here fast *enough*. It's been *three* *days*, after all, and if I'd known it was gonna take this long, I'd've at least left her a *note*, but... she probably doesn't even realize I've been gone, and if she *has* noticed, odds are she's glad for the time apart. I know I was crowding her, and I know it made her uncomfortable sometimes, but pathetic or not-- Sire-like or not, I *am* stilla demon, so... I get in the little red car, shrugging as I drive off into the night. She's had her time. She's had her *space*. It's time for her to make a decision, because I won't share her any longer.
And if she's decided she wants the *witch*? Well, I'll just have to change her mind, that's all! I can be very persuasive when I put my mind to it...
But maybe I should look into buying some restraints, just in case...
// You and me...
We're gonna dance, dance, dance... //
End.