Like a Candy Apple

Bon Temps, Louisiana

A few hours later Sookie and Tara were eating candy and watching the latest horror flick. In fact, Sookie had very deliberately picked 'Vampire's Dark Kiss' out at the video rental store in an attempt to get her friend to discuss what was on her mind. After all, it wasn't like Sookie could just tell her the truth (even if Tara pretty much knew that Sookie was a mind reader) because Sookie had promised herself a long time ago that she would stay out of the heads of her loved ones – she had learned long ago what a bad idea it was to do otherwise.

Typically Tara liked horror movies but Sookie noticed that she kept flinching during the suspenseful moments of this one. It was awfully tempting to take a peek at what she was thinking, but she refrained. Instead, she just made an 'innocent' comment twenty minutes into the film.

"I don't know if it's as good as critics say, but I think I like this movie. Vampire films are pretty cool."

A small but noticeable shiver ran down Tara's spine and she averted her eyes from Sookie. "Yeah, I don't really like them that much anymore." Then she turned bright eyes to her best friend. "Ya know Sook, how bout we watch something else. I'm feelin' the need for something a little less gory."

Sookie bit her lip; she really wanted to let Tara know that she could talk to Sookie about being a vampire slayer (whatever the heck that was!) and she'd help her friend in any way she needed.

"Well, okay Tara. What do you think about that Viking movie that came out recently? Features Brad Pitt. Plus, Vikings are hot," she giggled. "Gran just rented it last night and forgot to take it back."

Tara gave her a relieved smile. "That sounds great, Sook. Where is Gran, anyways?"

Sookie shrugged as she went to retrieve the movie from the dining room table. "You know Marjorie Baker down the street? Her sow is giving birth tonight and Gran said she'd go by to help; she used to raise them growing up."

"Ick," Tara wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I don't know why anyone would wanna get elbow deep in cow vagina."

"Tara!" Sookie exclaimed in astonishment as she started laughing. "You're bad."

"You know it," Tara grinned.

A knock sounded at the door and the girls exchanged a look.

"Who would be here at this hour?" Tara wondered out loud.

Then screaming erupted behind the door.

"Dammit Tara Mae! What are you doing here? You know you gotta be home tonight to take care of me!"

"Oh god," Tara whispered.

Sookie patted her arm gently. She knew that Mrs. Thornton was an awful person but Tara still loved her regardless, and that made the situation even harder to deal with. "Don't worry, Tara. I'll send her on her way."

"Sook," Tara started to say but then she stopped herself.

Sookie opened up the door as far as the chain would allow and stared at Mrs. Thornton. "Tara's sleeping right now, Mrs. Thornton. Why don't you get home and get some rest? My gran will take her home tomorrow."

'Stupid white bitch always trying to steal my baby,' she heard Mrs. Thornton snarl in her mind.

"No! I need her now!" she demanded, and Sookie caught a whiff of bourbon.

"Mrs. Thornton, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Sookie requested in a gentle voice as Tara's mom tried to push open the door. "Ok?"

'Like hell it's okay girl! Who's gonna make my meal tonight before I go to bed?'

"Tara Mae!" she called. "You get your behind over here right now – or else!"

Sookie was just about to give up talking to her and just slam the door in her face when she heard a child's voice sweetly ask, "Or else what?"

Baffled, Mrs. Thornton spun around and Sookie felt Tara press close against her to peer through the crack in the door. There on her porch was a little girl no older than eight with a face that look nearly translucent under the harsh porch lights. She had hair that was blacker than the night pulled halfway back with a white bow and she wore a flowing jade summer dress. But the strangest thing about the girl was that Sookie couldn't read her mind…just like the man that identified himself as a vampire during his conversation at Merlotte's.

"Mrs. Thornton, come into the house, now!" Sookie demanded.

"What? Why?" Tara asked in confusion.

Mrs. Thornton – sensing that danger approached her even in her alcohol-addled brain – took a step forward until a word cut through the night like a diamond on glass.

"No."

Mrs. Thornton paused and Sookie shouted at her again to come in.

"Sookie, what's the matter? Who is this girl?" Tara asked in worry.

Right then Sookie Stackhouse did not give a flying cupcake about secrets. "I can't read her mind," she whispered. "I think she's a vampire."

She felt Tara stiffen as she took in a gulp of air.

"Lettie Mae Thornton? Isn't that your name?" the girl asked sweetly.

"Y-yes," she replied.

"Mama, get inside," Tara pleaded.

"Lettie Mae, you've been a bad mother, haven't you?" the little girl smiled but it was a wicked smile.

"N-no," she suttered. "I love my baby."

The girl gave Tara and Sookie a cold look. "So you say." Then her eyes – which looked far older than the face she wore – cut back to Mrs. Thornton.

"But you see, I hate bad mommies that leave their children – and I especially hate bad daddies." She gestured with her index finger for the older woman to bend down and Mrs. Thornton obliged.

"Mama, get away from her!" Tara screamed as she ran out the door.

In a flash of movement the little thrust her tiny arm into Mrs. Thornton's chest and yanked out her still-beating heart.

Tara screamed as she froze on the spot and Sookie suddenly felt sick, especially when the little girl lowered the heart to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss before biting into it – like one would with a candy apple.

"You monster!" Tara screamed as she threw a fist at the little girl. In reply the girl just smiled, grabbed her wrist, and flipped her over.

"Wait your turn, slayer," she said in a superior, yet still childish, voice. "You mummy may have had a cold heart, but it is most delicious."

Tara just scrambled up and Sookie yanked violently her into the house. "Tara, what do we do?"

"Stay in the house!" Tara panted as tears welled up in her eyes. "They can't enter without an invitation. A-and there's a-a card in my purse. C-call them, please, and te-tell them to come."

The little girl giggled as she turned malicious dark eyes towards the telepath and vampire slayer. "Ooh yay, more playmates!" Then she gave them a toothy and bloody smile that was full of evil promises.

After dinner they went back to the inn where they were playing wizarding chess in Spike's room, on a cherry wood coffee table bordered by floral-patterned couches. A fan of violence, Spike greatly enjoyed the barbarics of wizarding chess and while he didn't give much of a damn for strategy his almost two-hundred years of knowledge made him an excellent opponent for Luna. After all, wizarding chess was the premier game of Ravenclaw House and she had spent many a night playing…of course, she often played by herself since she didn't really have any friends in that house, but she still played.

"Interesting move there, Crescent. Let me guess, you think that if I move forward your knight will be able to take me in the next move?" Spike asked with a smirk.

"Maybe," she smiled secretly.

He laughed as he pulled the opposite move. "Ha, take that Cres! Not so smarty-pants now, are ya?"

Luna just calmly had her queen take his bishop.

Spike just looked at her in shock. "Why you little minx! Damn, I 'spose I should have seen that."

Luna just giggled. She loved playing chess with Spike. In fact, besides his melancholy moments over the little girl vampire and Drusilla, this who trip had been a wonderful time with him. They had spent time together often before the Sunnydale battle but there were often other people around. When it was just the two of them Spike had his guard down more and he was so much fun.

"I'll get you back, I wager," he mock-threatened as he shook his finger at her.

"Oh, I'm sure you will. Probably June thirty-first," she commented lightly with a teasing smile.

"June thirty-first?" he repeated in confusion. "Wha—" Spike quit talking mid-sentence as he realized what she had meant. "You know Cres, I think I liked you better back when I didn't realize what a mean young lady you are," he stated seriously but laughter lurked in his eyes.'

She met his eyes and smiled. "I had a good teacher."

Spike chuckled. "Damn straight you did! Nobody teaches evil like I do!"

"Of course," Luna agreed with a snicker. "Perhaps you could do a 'Big Bad Psychology 101' course at the Slayer Academy," she joked.

His eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Now that is not a bad idea, Crescent! Of course," he sighed, "that would mean that I'd be surrounded by teenage girls again."

Luna's brow rose in defensiveness. "I am a teenage girl."

Spike laughed and rubbed the top of her head in an affectionate manner. "Yes, well you and Niblet are the only ones I can stand. 'Sides, you act quite a bit older than you look, you know."

Luna looked down and pretended to concentrate on the chessboard. "I know," she sighed. "But after mother died there wasn't much of a choice. My father is a brilliant man – but he certainly requires quite a bit of help taking care of the house, lest he burn it down."

Leaning back on the chair, she felt him observe her for a moment. "It's not an easy thing, growing up early. You miss out on a lot."

"It's been alright," she shrugged. "At least I have a purpose in life, which is not something that many people are able to find."

"This is true," he agreed softly.

"The only thing I wish is that I was able to do a better job at being a Guardian," she commented sadly as she absent-mindedly toyed with a slain pawn.

"Luna! You're doing a bloody great job, trust me," he reassured her. "You cannot put yourself under all this pressure; you're only one girl."

"Only one girl in the all the world; a world with hundreds of slayers," she commented wryly. "It's rather ironic, isn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it is, Crescent," Spike agreed softly as he ran a hand through his bleached locks. "But you've got plenty of support. 'Sides, once you and I have found the slayers on this side of the planet this summer you'll be back home at Hogwarts."

She nodded, but there was no enthusiasm in her action and Spike gave her a concerned look. "Luna, what's the matter? You don't seem particularly excited about going back home."

She looked up at him and shook her head. "Oh no, it's not that. I mean, I do love Hogwarts, it's just…"

"Just?"

Luna gnawed her lip and looked cautiously into his eye. "It's just I don't know if that's what I'm supposed to do. Or rather, I don't know what I'm supposed to do as a Guardian. Should I even leave the slayers to go back to school? Am I supposed to travel with them and look out for them during their hunts? After all, what if someone gets hurt – and you know they will – and they need my help? Am I supposed to help Mr. Giles organize the Slayer Academy?"

Her voice broke then a burgeoning tear finally slid from her eye. "I just don't know what to do! I don't know what a Guardian is and A Kwanza Bovu killed my her before I could ask, and now I'm connected to all these wonderful girls who feel like my sisters and daughters and they're all in danger and I just do not know what to do!" she finished with a sob.

Spike's arms were suddenly around her and she leaned into his chest. She had tried so hard to be brave this past year but there was just so much that seemed to be happening that it was suffocating her. Seeing Tara's abuse first hand today had snapped something in her and she first realized that it wasn't just supernatural beasts that her charges were in danger of – but even their own families. And how was she supposed to fight that? Worst of all, her grandmother had left her without instructions and there was no one to guide her as to what her role as a Guardian even was.

Tears slid down her cheeks in rivulets of desperation and her sobs stole of her throat with abandon. It was just too much. She was only fourteen and she was lost. Her grandmother had died for her and her mother had been murdered by the evil forces of A Kwanza Bovu; if she failed in her duties then she was failing them.

"Hush now, Crescent," Spike said soothingly as his hand rubbed her back. "Listen to me, most girls would never have been able to handle the changes in your life with as much maturity as you. You have been chosen for a reason, luv, and it's because you can handle this. We'll find whatever it is that was hidden away and soon you'll be unlocking all the secrets and being the best darn guardian that you be be."

Luna took a deep, shaky breath and her sobs concluded as she began to take control of herself. Goodness, she had not been this upset since her mother had died when she was nine. Spike's words and his confidence made her feel better, yet worse at the same time. Suddenly, the face that she had kept a part of her dream hidden from Spike felt wrong.

Still with her tear-stained face against his black button-up dress shirt, she began to speak in a very soft voice that even Spike's vampiric ears had to strain to listen. "Spike, there's something I left out when I told you my dream, because I thought it might make you too sad to think about her and I didn't think it mattered terribly much."

She could feel his body stiffen at the word 'her' and his voice was guarded when he spoke. "What do you mean, Luna?"

Luna pulled gently away from his embrace and took a deep breath as she looked into his eyes. "In my dream, it wasn't my grandmother that told me the riddle, it was Drusilla."

A dark, haunted look came into his eyes at the mention of her name. "Drusilla? Did you dream of her…or did she come into your dream?"

Luna clasped her hands in her lap. "At first I wasn't sure – because why would Drusilla know about Guardian information? But I researched her and I know she's a seer and now I think she may have contacted me because of the friendship that you and I have."

Spike was silent for a moment as his eyes turned downcast. "I knew she had to be involved somehow," he said softly. Then he faced her and spoke in a normal, albeit hurt, tone. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Luna?"

She shrugged, suddenly feeling very stupid and very…young. "Well, you never like to talk about your life before you got the soul and when I brought her name up before you looked so sad that I didn't want to worry you. It's stupid, I know," she said in a softer voice.

He squeezed her shoulder. "You're right, it was stupid." She looked at him in surprise and he continued. "Crescent, you can talk to me about anything. I've lived for just about soddin' forever and I can certainly take any sort of information – you don't have to worry about my feelings."

"But I do. Worry," she added. "I don't have many friends, Spike…and you're one of them. And I know you don't have a lot of friends either so," she shrugged. "If I don't look out for you, who will?"

A spark lit within his eyes and he smiled at her unexpectantly. "Luna, you truly are one of my favorite people."

"Ditto," she said, and Spike laughed.

"You really do need to stop hanging around Niblet, you know," he grinned.

Then his face turned serious. "And how about I make you a deal? We'll both look out for each other but be honest with me, okay?"

Luna nodded. "Okay."

"Good then," Spike smiled. "Want to finish our game?"

"Actually," Luna said slowly as the wheels in her mind began grinding. "If we're going to be honest with each other, can I ask why that vampire girl upset you so much? And why she would say those things about you?"

Immediately Spike's face darkened. "Luna, please don't ask me that," he pleaded in a pained voice.

"Why not?"

"Because you won't like the answer."

"Maybe not, but shouldn't I still know?"

Spike was saved from answering by the sound of his cellphone ringing.

A/N:

Thank you everyone for reading and a special thanks to the reviewers out there :)

Did you like Sookie's comment about the vikings? ;)

A bit of violence in this chapter and there's a good bet there'll be some more in the next chapter ;) On the plus side, you'll learn some more about the Bite-Sized Evil!

Remember: Reviews are puppies wrapped in rainbow and spinkled with fairy dust. Please leave one ;)