Memories, Forgotten and Unwanted - Part Three

A/N - the flashbacks are all supposed to be set before Drusilla was made. Angelus has only two Childer (Penn and Charlotte, Charlotte is only 14 - well, her body is anyway) and Darla is away, exploring Europe. Please R&R.

~~**~~
Being the eldest, Penn felt it his responsibility to look after Charlotte whilst Angelus was away. If anything happened to her, his Sire would beat the living daylights out of him. Out of the only two Childer Angelus had, she was the favourite. Penn sat beside the fire, watching her devour the human heart he'd saved for her from his hunt. It was still warm. The room was relatively quiet, excluding Charlotte's soft growls as she fed.
The whole mansion seemed to shake as Angelus slammed the thick mahogany door behind him, locked it and stormed up the stairs, locking every window and outer doors as he went. Both vampires stood as he entered the room and looked at them. It was hard to tell whether he was fuming or terrified. Penn rather hoped it was the first. Nothing could ever move his Sire to be even vaguely apprehensive, nevermind terrified. The elder vampire stared at them hard for a moment, then he froze. His eyes darted across the room as though he thought something had followed him home. Charlotte began to whimper and his attention was immediately turned to his Childer. Suddenly gripped by a brand new fear, he stood ramrod straight and looked Penn in the eye. The younger vampire panicked. He could think of nothing that could scare his sire this way and if it had, well, he couldn't bare thinking of the impact it would have on them. Angelus turned, bolted the door and closed the windows, his mind evolving round the safety of Penn and Charlotte. He seized Charlotte by the waist and hefted her over his shoulder, grabbing Penn by the wrist and took them both to his room. Window downstairs was locked, nothing could get in and he made sure no-one could get in upstairs either. Literally throwing the boy onto the bed, he seated the girl next to him and set about locking all the windows and blocking the gap under the door with discarded shirts. Suddenly realising they had been watching his every terrfied move, Angelus turned away from them, glaring at the wall,
"Don't look at me."
His voice was low, a soft, warning snarl following every word. He was ashamed. The emotions that caused his fear to arise so rapidly weer disappearing almost as quickly as they came and he was returning to his former mentality. Charlotte slowly climbed off the bed, she appeared to be no more than 14 and her bare feet made little to no sound on the wooden floor. She padded over to him and gently took his hand in hers. He didn't stop her but every muscle in his body tensed with frustration and Penn feared he would lash out. She looked up at his face. His demon had claimed it as his anger with himself grew and her eyes widened,
"Angelus?"
He clenched his teeth. He wanted to hit something. The thought of hitting his beloved Charlottle had crossed his mind, but she wouldn't understand. She was frozen at the age of 14. Due to the torments he'd subjected her to, she would probably never grow up. He squeezed her hand gently to let her know he was alright, then left the room, kicking the door down instead of unlocking it.
~~**~~

The vampire's eyes snapped open, his past renewing his shame.
He had been afraid of that damn apparition.
He. Angelus.
Time and time again the scourge of Europe, and he'd been afraid of a godforsaken illusion.
A hallucination.
Lifting his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he realised Drusilla had gone. He glanced at his watch. Midnight. Dinner-time.