Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Joss and ME
Chapter 1
She looked out the window. Not quite believing how much her life had changed in the last few months. Her cousin Faith had been killed. It was believed by some animal, due to the bites on her body and the complete loss of blood. They buried her only to find that grave robbers had stolen her body the next day.
Her family had been so heartbroken that they had sold their castle to a stranger that had come in from Ireland. He was a Lord, or at least that is how his servants referred to him. Lord Angelus had made his presence known quite well in the short months that followed. He made it be known that he had come in search of a wife.
Elizabeth lived outside the edge of the village, near the sea. The manor was quite striking. She loved it here. The sound of the sea crashing into the rocks below the cliffs, were like music to her ears. She thought of Faith. It had always been Elizabeth, Faith and Willow. They had grown from little girls to women together. They were like sisters. They had planned to go away to London together, to find husbands, to get married, and to have babies. But now Faith was gone and Angelus disapproved of Willow because of her interest in what he called the black arts. All of her dreams had faded.
In the months that followed Faiths death, and the coming of Lord Angelus, Elizabeth's parents had decided that their daughter was of age to be a wife. Lord Angelus attended her 18th birthday party and immediately decided that Elizabeth would be his wife. The day after the party her father Earl Summers had told her that he had promised her hand in marriage to Angelus.
Although she should have been more upset, she wasn't. She knew that she had to go on with her life, she was no longer a child. Truth be told, Angelus was quite handsome, and seemed to be quite gentle in all of his attentions towards her. There was something that bothered her about him though. It was his eyes. There was darkness in them that she could not explain. When they first met she felt a chill run up her spine, and felt as though the air had been taken from her lungs. It wasn't love, that much she knew, but she was attracted to him and was beginning to grow quite fond of him despite her initial apprehension. There was although always a hint of fear inside her heart; her mother The Countess Joyce told her that it would pass. The fear was merely nerves and nothing more. Elizabeth knew better, but she knew her parents wanted her to marry Lord Angelus, so she dismissed her feelings. Perhaps he would become the great love of her life in time.
As the weeks passed, her world grew more and more empty and frightening. A month before she was to marry Angelus her parents were murdered on a trip back from France. They had been killed and robbed by highwaymen. Surely this must be a curse thought Elizabeth. So much tragedy. Why?
It was raining now as she looked across the landscape. The morning sun hidden by the clouds, yet she could see slivers of light escaping through some of the rain clouds. She could hear the servants scurrying outside her room. Tomorrow, just before the sunset she would be walking down the isle towards the man that would be her husband. He had been quite patient with her this past month. He had taken to handling the affairs of the household and managing the estate that her parents had left her. He was she thought, her knight in shining armor.
There was a knock at her door and it opened. It was Willow.
"Willow! How did you get past the servants?" said Elizabeth
"Well, luckily some of them are new enough not to know who I am. I said I was here to make some last minute measurements to take back to the seamstress" Willow smiled as she ran to Elizabeth the hug her.
It had been weeks since she had seen Willow. Her friend was such a great comfort to her at these times. How she longed to be able to talk to her friend as they used to.
"So tomorrow is the day." Asked Willow.
Elizabeth gave a heavy sigh and turned back to the window.
"Yes." She was silent for a moment and then turned to look at Willow.
"Willow, something isn't right. I know this sounds strange, but I feel as though I will not live to see myself married to Angelus" Willow looked at her in shock.
"Buffy did you have one of those dreams you use to have like when we were children?" She walked to Elizabeth and put her hand on her shoulder. Only Elizabeth's friends called her Buffy. Angelus thought it was too childish a name, and too much a part of her past. It seemed as though he wanted nothing to exist before him.
"No, it's just something I feel. I..I can't explain it. It's like something I know. Like I know the sun will set today, and I know it will rise tomorrow. That is how I feel." She looked at Willow and immediately knew what she was thinking.
"No Willow. Its not like that, I'm not going to kill myself." She smiled as she saw her friend relax. They sat on the chaise near the window. Willow rested her head on Elizabeth's lap. They stayed like that for a few moments and then Willow sat up.
"Please, try to get some rest. I know you aren't in love with him, but you do care for him don't you?" Elizabeth looked at her and nodded. "Buffy, you're getting married tomorrow. Be happy, you deserve some happiness." She kissed Elizabeth's cheek.
"Maybe you're right. I'm just tired. I wish you could be here to see me tomorrow, but, I know Angelus doesn't approve of our friendship." She walked to the bed. "I promise after we get married, I'll explain to him that what you do isn't evil. He just doesn't understand it and it frightens him." Willow walked to her and gave her a hug then went to the door. Before she opened it she hesitated and looked back at Elizabeth. She felt a sadness come over her. At that moment, she knew that something was going to happen. She felt something ominous around Elizabeth, and she knew she could not prevent what would happen. She opened the door and left before the tears fell from her eyes.
The afternoon passed quickly and as the evening rolled in, the manor grew quite. She decided that it was time to come out of her room. She walked down to the grand hall. It was lovely. The afternoon had been spent decorating for the reception. Since it was going to be an evening affair there were candles everywhere around the room waiting to be lit. Velvet fabric the color of her golden hair hung everywhere. The tables set with fine Wedgwood china, the chairs covered in a dark green silk. In the morning the flowers would be placed on the tables and around the pillars that lined the walls. She closed her eyes, and for a moment tried to imagine what it would look like to see the room filled with guests and music and most of all laughter. Then she thought she heard a faint voice calling her name.
She looked out towards the garden. The doors were open and there was a breeze coming and stirring the gold table linen. The wind she thought. That's what it must have been.
Buffy.
Again. There it was again. This time it was clearer. She walked to the doors and stood just inside the frame. The night air smelled clean, just as it always does after the rain. She felt something out there. It was an eerie feeling; she should have been scared, yet she wasn't. Whomever or whatever this was, knew her.
Buffy, outside. Come outside with me.
She closed her eyes and stepped out. The cool air hit her face. It almost felt like a caress. She thought of Angelus, and how tomorrow it would be his hands caressing her. She walked down the steps that led into the garden. She walked towards the fountain ahead of her. Because of the wind, the clouds drifted across the sky and revealed the full moon. The grounds were now bathed in moonlight. Elizabeth stopped. There was someone standing in front of the fountain. It was a woman. Her dress flowed along with the wind. That dress. It seemed so familiar.
She gathered her nightgown and her robe and walked toward the figure.
Come here.
She walked a little faster. The wind started blowing harder. She started to run now, the faster she ran the cooler the wind on her face felt. As she approached, the figure turned. She froze, and time stood still.
"Faith."
Chapter 1
She looked out the window. Not quite believing how much her life had changed in the last few months. Her cousin Faith had been killed. It was believed by some animal, due to the bites on her body and the complete loss of blood. They buried her only to find that grave robbers had stolen her body the next day.
Her family had been so heartbroken that they had sold their castle to a stranger that had come in from Ireland. He was a Lord, or at least that is how his servants referred to him. Lord Angelus had made his presence known quite well in the short months that followed. He made it be known that he had come in search of a wife.
Elizabeth lived outside the edge of the village, near the sea. The manor was quite striking. She loved it here. The sound of the sea crashing into the rocks below the cliffs, were like music to her ears. She thought of Faith. It had always been Elizabeth, Faith and Willow. They had grown from little girls to women together. They were like sisters. They had planned to go away to London together, to find husbands, to get married, and to have babies. But now Faith was gone and Angelus disapproved of Willow because of her interest in what he called the black arts. All of her dreams had faded.
In the months that followed Faiths death, and the coming of Lord Angelus, Elizabeth's parents had decided that their daughter was of age to be a wife. Lord Angelus attended her 18th birthday party and immediately decided that Elizabeth would be his wife. The day after the party her father Earl Summers had told her that he had promised her hand in marriage to Angelus.
Although she should have been more upset, she wasn't. She knew that she had to go on with her life, she was no longer a child. Truth be told, Angelus was quite handsome, and seemed to be quite gentle in all of his attentions towards her. There was something that bothered her about him though. It was his eyes. There was darkness in them that she could not explain. When they first met she felt a chill run up her spine, and felt as though the air had been taken from her lungs. It wasn't love, that much she knew, but she was attracted to him and was beginning to grow quite fond of him despite her initial apprehension. There was although always a hint of fear inside her heart; her mother The Countess Joyce told her that it would pass. The fear was merely nerves and nothing more. Elizabeth knew better, but she knew her parents wanted her to marry Lord Angelus, so she dismissed her feelings. Perhaps he would become the great love of her life in time.
As the weeks passed, her world grew more and more empty and frightening. A month before she was to marry Angelus her parents were murdered on a trip back from France. They had been killed and robbed by highwaymen. Surely this must be a curse thought Elizabeth. So much tragedy. Why?
It was raining now as she looked across the landscape. The morning sun hidden by the clouds, yet she could see slivers of light escaping through some of the rain clouds. She could hear the servants scurrying outside her room. Tomorrow, just before the sunset she would be walking down the isle towards the man that would be her husband. He had been quite patient with her this past month. He had taken to handling the affairs of the household and managing the estate that her parents had left her. He was she thought, her knight in shining armor.
There was a knock at her door and it opened. It was Willow.
"Willow! How did you get past the servants?" said Elizabeth
"Well, luckily some of them are new enough not to know who I am. I said I was here to make some last minute measurements to take back to the seamstress" Willow smiled as she ran to Elizabeth the hug her.
It had been weeks since she had seen Willow. Her friend was such a great comfort to her at these times. How she longed to be able to talk to her friend as they used to.
"So tomorrow is the day." Asked Willow.
Elizabeth gave a heavy sigh and turned back to the window.
"Yes." She was silent for a moment and then turned to look at Willow.
"Willow, something isn't right. I know this sounds strange, but I feel as though I will not live to see myself married to Angelus" Willow looked at her in shock.
"Buffy did you have one of those dreams you use to have like when we were children?" She walked to Elizabeth and put her hand on her shoulder. Only Elizabeth's friends called her Buffy. Angelus thought it was too childish a name, and too much a part of her past. It seemed as though he wanted nothing to exist before him.
"No, it's just something I feel. I..I can't explain it. It's like something I know. Like I know the sun will set today, and I know it will rise tomorrow. That is how I feel." She looked at Willow and immediately knew what she was thinking.
"No Willow. Its not like that, I'm not going to kill myself." She smiled as she saw her friend relax. They sat on the chaise near the window. Willow rested her head on Elizabeth's lap. They stayed like that for a few moments and then Willow sat up.
"Please, try to get some rest. I know you aren't in love with him, but you do care for him don't you?" Elizabeth looked at her and nodded. "Buffy, you're getting married tomorrow. Be happy, you deserve some happiness." She kissed Elizabeth's cheek.
"Maybe you're right. I'm just tired. I wish you could be here to see me tomorrow, but, I know Angelus doesn't approve of our friendship." She walked to the bed. "I promise after we get married, I'll explain to him that what you do isn't evil. He just doesn't understand it and it frightens him." Willow walked to her and gave her a hug then went to the door. Before she opened it she hesitated and looked back at Elizabeth. She felt a sadness come over her. At that moment, she knew that something was going to happen. She felt something ominous around Elizabeth, and she knew she could not prevent what would happen. She opened the door and left before the tears fell from her eyes.
The afternoon passed quickly and as the evening rolled in, the manor grew quite. She decided that it was time to come out of her room. She walked down to the grand hall. It was lovely. The afternoon had been spent decorating for the reception. Since it was going to be an evening affair there were candles everywhere around the room waiting to be lit. Velvet fabric the color of her golden hair hung everywhere. The tables set with fine Wedgwood china, the chairs covered in a dark green silk. In the morning the flowers would be placed on the tables and around the pillars that lined the walls. She closed her eyes, and for a moment tried to imagine what it would look like to see the room filled with guests and music and most of all laughter. Then she thought she heard a faint voice calling her name.
She looked out towards the garden. The doors were open and there was a breeze coming and stirring the gold table linen. The wind she thought. That's what it must have been.
Buffy.
Again. There it was again. This time it was clearer. She walked to the doors and stood just inside the frame. The night air smelled clean, just as it always does after the rain. She felt something out there. It was an eerie feeling; she should have been scared, yet she wasn't. Whomever or whatever this was, knew her.
Buffy, outside. Come outside with me.
She closed her eyes and stepped out. The cool air hit her face. It almost felt like a caress. She thought of Angelus, and how tomorrow it would be his hands caressing her. She walked down the steps that led into the garden. She walked towards the fountain ahead of her. Because of the wind, the clouds drifted across the sky and revealed the full moon. The grounds were now bathed in moonlight. Elizabeth stopped. There was someone standing in front of the fountain. It was a woman. Her dress flowed along with the wind. That dress. It seemed so familiar.
She gathered her nightgown and her robe and walked toward the figure.
Come here.
She walked a little faster. The wind started blowing harder. She started to run now, the faster she ran the cooler the wind on her face felt. As she approached, the figure turned. She froze, and time stood still.
"Faith."