Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Joss and ME
Chapter 5
Elizabeth's Bedroom
She spent most of the night either trying to sleep or dreaming, but she had no further dreams of the man with the blue eyes. If there had been a question in her mind before about Angelus being that man, it was answered this night. She didn't know why she never realized it before. This man has always had blue eyes. Even in the vastness of her unconsciousness she could see the emotion emanating from them. Angelus' eyes were never that tender. They were dark and cold and rarely showed emotion. She now wondered why she had ever agreed to marry him, let alone to think she could one day love him.
London - Mulberry Square - Second floor room
A man awoke with a sudden start. Another dream of the cottage. Again he saw the woman's face in a haze. This time he touched her. He could feel her skin. She was soft and eerily cold. He spoke to her but could not remember what he said. He threw off his blanket and walked to the window. The moonlight shone on his lean naked body. He felt as if there was someone in the room with him, yet he knew there was no one but himself. He took the locket that was on the table next to him and held it in his hands tightly. He opened it and looked at the picture.
"These soddin' dreams. Can't get any rest." He touched the picture. "What do they mean pet, what the bloody hell do they mean.?
McKenna Manor - Angelus' bedroom
Angelus was looking out the window towards Summers Manor. There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Angelus was agitated at the interruption at so late an hour. A young man opened the door slowly and walked into the room silently.
"Well, what is it Jonathan?" He asked getting even more agitated.
"Lord Angelus, it has been found." Angelus turned and looked at him. "It is where the witch said it would be. It has been a difficult journey, costing many lives." Angelus smiled.
"When will Amy be here with it?" asked Angelus.
"Before the end of the month, depending on the roads." Jonathan stepped back, not wanting to feel the back of Angelus' hand.
"Excellent." He turned back to the window. "Leave me. I have many things to think about." Jonathan walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He felt a sickness in his stomach. He whispered to himself, "This is not going to end well."
The Wedding Day
Morning finally came. Despite the dreams and hardly being able to sleep, she felt almost revived. She was anxious, which was no surprise. The sun was not up but the darkness was beginning to fade. The sky was slowly turning blue, his blue. She closed her eyes and searched her mind for him once again. She could almost feel him beside her. She opened her eyes and laughed at herself for thinking it was anything more than a dream.
"Just dreams Buffy. They don't mean anything. Soddin dreams." She stopped, shocked at her own words. "Where did that come from?" She laughed at herself again. 'Nerves.' She thought, just nerves.
As soon as she saw the sun peeking out over the horizon, she was dressed and already walking out to the carriage house. She had asked Riley to be ready to take her to run some final errands early in the morning. Riley had been her carriage driver for only a few months. He had come to her after her parents and their driver had been killed. She had never truly trusted him, and more so now after what she knew about Angelus. She felt sure Angelus secretly sent him. For that reason she asked him to drop her off in front of the dress shop. She told him she would be a few hours due to her final fitting and instructed him to go home and pick her up at 3:00pm. She did have a final fitting, but that would really only take less than a half hour. That would leave her the whole morning and part of the afternoon to see Xander and then go speak with Sir Giles and Willow. The fitting was done and she asked the seamstress to hold her dress until the afternoon when she would pick it up.
She walked out of the shop and looked about to make sure Riley had indeed gone back to the manor, which he did. Up until now Elizabeth had never given Angelus reason to not trust her, so there was no need for him to have her spied on. That would come after they were married, but since he had planned on killing her anyway there would be no need for spying then either. But in the off chance he did have Riley spying on her she had one thing in her favor. Riley was as dumb as a basket of hair. He was truly the daftest man she had ever met. Something she was thankful of on this day.
She walked to Xander's office. He began his day early, which was another thing she was thankful for. She knocked on the door and within a few moments he opened it.
"Buffy?" He grabbed her forearm and pulled her inside and gave her a hug. "What are you doing here today? Why aren't you getting ready to become Mrs. Angelus McKenna?" Xander lead her into this office. She sat on the chair across form his desk. This is not going to be easy she thought.
"Is there something you need Buffy?" he said looking at her with worry on his face. She looked as if she was a million miles away. She blinked a few times and looked at him as though for the first time, and began to speak.
"Xander, I need to ask you to do some things for me. Much of what I am about to tell you will be hard to believe. I am going to ask you to take much of what I will be telling you on faith." She paused for a moment to gauge his reaction before continuing. He said nothing for a moment, and then spoke very slowly.
"All right." He said as he narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong he thought. Elizabeth told Xander the story of Angelus. She told him of how it was suspected that he had killed his entire family in order to obtain his fathers wealth. She told him the he was behind the death of her parents and how he was planning killing her during their honeymoon. And of course she told him that she was planning on leaving him waiting for her at the alter that day. At that Xander smiled. She spoke no further and let him think on her words. After a rather long silence he finally spoke.
"Buffy. This is a bit hard to swallow." He shook his head and stood up and ran his hand through his hair, "Are you sure about all of this? I just, I mean, Angelus is a powerful man. I realize he has not gotten this far by being charitable to nuns or by saving stray puppies from being run over by carriages in the streets, but murder? Who told you all of this? When did you find this out? Is this person trustworthy?" She knew he would ask her all of these questions. It was understandable; it was a hard thing to take in. Her answer to him would be the test of how true a friend he was to her.
"Yes Xander, the source of my information is trustworthy." She stood and took a step towards him, "I was told all of this last night." She said
"By who Buffy?" he took a step towards her.
"By Faith." She said it calmly and without hesitation. His face went pale, and his eyes looked as though they would jump out of their sockets. He felt the blood rush down to his feet, and he fell back onto his chair. He looked up at her.
"Faith? Buffy, Faith is dead" His voice shook.
"Yes, well, that brings me to the rest of my story. Faith came to me last night just after dusk." She looked into his eyes. "Faith is a vampire Xander." He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. His breath was coming out in gasps. He was going to faint if she did not do something. She quickly took a glass and poured him some water from a pitcher he kept at the corner of his desk. She put it in his trembling hands and guided it to his lips. He drank half of it and then waved her hand away. She stood back and waited for him to calm down. He put the glass down and closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke again.
"Buffy. You are one of my best and dearest friends. And I love you. But, when exactly did you let go of the reigns of your sanity? Faith is dead. We saw them put her into the ground. There are no such things as vampires." His eyes looked at her as though pleading with her to tell him this was all a bad joke. But she never did. She took a cautious step towards him and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in hers.
"Xander, look into my eyes. Everything I have told you is the truth. I have never lied to you about anything in my life. Please tell me you believe me." She had hoped he would. He looked at her for a long time. He searched her eyes for the slightest indication that she was not telling him the truth. Then sighed and gave her a crooked smile.
"Oddly enough, yes Buffy, I do believe you." She let out a heavy sigh.
"Thank you." She said softly and smiled. Now comes the hardest part of all. She spoke quickly; she did not want to forget anything. "I want you to draw up papers giving Willow power of attorney over my entire estate. As of today I will officially be missing. I need for Angelus to think I have gone out of the country. He will no doubt try to take over running the estate himself in my absence, but if Willow is left in charge of everything, property and monetary wise it will keep him from trying to take anything away from me."
"Where are you going?" he asked as she finally stood.
"I was going to ask you to accompany me to see Giles. I am hoping he will let me stay with him. Most of all I am hoping he will assist me in my revenge." There was a fire behind her eyes he had never seen before.
"Giles loved your mother Buffy. When he found out she was killed he was devastated. But, what kind of revenge are you planning?" He stood and took her by the shoulders. "What are you playing at Buffy?" He was scared now. There was hate inside of her.
"I have asked Faith to help me. I have thought about this and I cannot be talked out of it. For me to carry out my plan, and make Angelus suffer the way he deserves to suffer I must do one thing. Before this day ends I will be as Faith, I will become a vampire. I must become strong. I must know no fear. I must become a thing to be feared and I must become the instrument of his destruction. I am going to kill him. I am going to kill Angelus Xander." And there it was. He not only saw the rage in her eyes, he heard it in her words and felt it beneath his hands as she spoke, her body shook with rage, it was inside of her, feeding her, keeping her alive. He was afraid for her, afraid for her.
He kept looking into her eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of green when she came in, and now they were as dark as night. He thought of the story she had told him, of how Angelus had killed his own family killed. Of how he had murdered her father and her mother, a woman he had grown to think of as the mother he never truly had. And he thought of the plot to have one her killed, and he knew what he had to do.
"You're going to need help."
Chapter 5
Elizabeth's Bedroom
She spent most of the night either trying to sleep or dreaming, but she had no further dreams of the man with the blue eyes. If there had been a question in her mind before about Angelus being that man, it was answered this night. She didn't know why she never realized it before. This man has always had blue eyes. Even in the vastness of her unconsciousness she could see the emotion emanating from them. Angelus' eyes were never that tender. They were dark and cold and rarely showed emotion. She now wondered why she had ever agreed to marry him, let alone to think she could one day love him.
London - Mulberry Square - Second floor room
A man awoke with a sudden start. Another dream of the cottage. Again he saw the woman's face in a haze. This time he touched her. He could feel her skin. She was soft and eerily cold. He spoke to her but could not remember what he said. He threw off his blanket and walked to the window. The moonlight shone on his lean naked body. He felt as if there was someone in the room with him, yet he knew there was no one but himself. He took the locket that was on the table next to him and held it in his hands tightly. He opened it and looked at the picture.
"These soddin' dreams. Can't get any rest." He touched the picture. "What do they mean pet, what the bloody hell do they mean.?
McKenna Manor - Angelus' bedroom
Angelus was looking out the window towards Summers Manor. There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Angelus was agitated at the interruption at so late an hour. A young man opened the door slowly and walked into the room silently.
"Well, what is it Jonathan?" He asked getting even more agitated.
"Lord Angelus, it has been found." Angelus turned and looked at him. "It is where the witch said it would be. It has been a difficult journey, costing many lives." Angelus smiled.
"When will Amy be here with it?" asked Angelus.
"Before the end of the month, depending on the roads." Jonathan stepped back, not wanting to feel the back of Angelus' hand.
"Excellent." He turned back to the window. "Leave me. I have many things to think about." Jonathan walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He felt a sickness in his stomach. He whispered to himself, "This is not going to end well."
The Wedding Day
Morning finally came. Despite the dreams and hardly being able to sleep, she felt almost revived. She was anxious, which was no surprise. The sun was not up but the darkness was beginning to fade. The sky was slowly turning blue, his blue. She closed her eyes and searched her mind for him once again. She could almost feel him beside her. She opened her eyes and laughed at herself for thinking it was anything more than a dream.
"Just dreams Buffy. They don't mean anything. Soddin dreams." She stopped, shocked at her own words. "Where did that come from?" She laughed at herself again. 'Nerves.' She thought, just nerves.
As soon as she saw the sun peeking out over the horizon, she was dressed and already walking out to the carriage house. She had asked Riley to be ready to take her to run some final errands early in the morning. Riley had been her carriage driver for only a few months. He had come to her after her parents and their driver had been killed. She had never truly trusted him, and more so now after what she knew about Angelus. She felt sure Angelus secretly sent him. For that reason she asked him to drop her off in front of the dress shop. She told him she would be a few hours due to her final fitting and instructed him to go home and pick her up at 3:00pm. She did have a final fitting, but that would really only take less than a half hour. That would leave her the whole morning and part of the afternoon to see Xander and then go speak with Sir Giles and Willow. The fitting was done and she asked the seamstress to hold her dress until the afternoon when she would pick it up.
She walked out of the shop and looked about to make sure Riley had indeed gone back to the manor, which he did. Up until now Elizabeth had never given Angelus reason to not trust her, so there was no need for him to have her spied on. That would come after they were married, but since he had planned on killing her anyway there would be no need for spying then either. But in the off chance he did have Riley spying on her she had one thing in her favor. Riley was as dumb as a basket of hair. He was truly the daftest man she had ever met. Something she was thankful of on this day.
She walked to Xander's office. He began his day early, which was another thing she was thankful for. She knocked on the door and within a few moments he opened it.
"Buffy?" He grabbed her forearm and pulled her inside and gave her a hug. "What are you doing here today? Why aren't you getting ready to become Mrs. Angelus McKenna?" Xander lead her into this office. She sat on the chair across form his desk. This is not going to be easy she thought.
"Is there something you need Buffy?" he said looking at her with worry on his face. She looked as if she was a million miles away. She blinked a few times and looked at him as though for the first time, and began to speak.
"Xander, I need to ask you to do some things for me. Much of what I am about to tell you will be hard to believe. I am going to ask you to take much of what I will be telling you on faith." She paused for a moment to gauge his reaction before continuing. He said nothing for a moment, and then spoke very slowly.
"All right." He said as he narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong he thought. Elizabeth told Xander the story of Angelus. She told him of how it was suspected that he had killed his entire family in order to obtain his fathers wealth. She told him the he was behind the death of her parents and how he was planning killing her during their honeymoon. And of course she told him that she was planning on leaving him waiting for her at the alter that day. At that Xander smiled. She spoke no further and let him think on her words. After a rather long silence he finally spoke.
"Buffy. This is a bit hard to swallow." He shook his head and stood up and ran his hand through his hair, "Are you sure about all of this? I just, I mean, Angelus is a powerful man. I realize he has not gotten this far by being charitable to nuns or by saving stray puppies from being run over by carriages in the streets, but murder? Who told you all of this? When did you find this out? Is this person trustworthy?" She knew he would ask her all of these questions. It was understandable; it was a hard thing to take in. Her answer to him would be the test of how true a friend he was to her.
"Yes Xander, the source of my information is trustworthy." She stood and took a step towards him, "I was told all of this last night." She said
"By who Buffy?" he took a step towards her.
"By Faith." She said it calmly and without hesitation. His face went pale, and his eyes looked as though they would jump out of their sockets. He felt the blood rush down to his feet, and he fell back onto his chair. He looked up at her.
"Faith? Buffy, Faith is dead" His voice shook.
"Yes, well, that brings me to the rest of my story. Faith came to me last night just after dusk." She looked into his eyes. "Faith is a vampire Xander." He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. His breath was coming out in gasps. He was going to faint if she did not do something. She quickly took a glass and poured him some water from a pitcher he kept at the corner of his desk. She put it in his trembling hands and guided it to his lips. He drank half of it and then waved her hand away. She stood back and waited for him to calm down. He put the glass down and closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke again.
"Buffy. You are one of my best and dearest friends. And I love you. But, when exactly did you let go of the reigns of your sanity? Faith is dead. We saw them put her into the ground. There are no such things as vampires." His eyes looked at her as though pleading with her to tell him this was all a bad joke. But she never did. She took a cautious step towards him and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in hers.
"Xander, look into my eyes. Everything I have told you is the truth. I have never lied to you about anything in my life. Please tell me you believe me." She had hoped he would. He looked at her for a long time. He searched her eyes for the slightest indication that she was not telling him the truth. Then sighed and gave her a crooked smile.
"Oddly enough, yes Buffy, I do believe you." She let out a heavy sigh.
"Thank you." She said softly and smiled. Now comes the hardest part of all. She spoke quickly; she did not want to forget anything. "I want you to draw up papers giving Willow power of attorney over my entire estate. As of today I will officially be missing. I need for Angelus to think I have gone out of the country. He will no doubt try to take over running the estate himself in my absence, but if Willow is left in charge of everything, property and monetary wise it will keep him from trying to take anything away from me."
"Where are you going?" he asked as she finally stood.
"I was going to ask you to accompany me to see Giles. I am hoping he will let me stay with him. Most of all I am hoping he will assist me in my revenge." There was a fire behind her eyes he had never seen before.
"Giles loved your mother Buffy. When he found out she was killed he was devastated. But, what kind of revenge are you planning?" He stood and took her by the shoulders. "What are you playing at Buffy?" He was scared now. There was hate inside of her.
"I have asked Faith to help me. I have thought about this and I cannot be talked out of it. For me to carry out my plan, and make Angelus suffer the way he deserves to suffer I must do one thing. Before this day ends I will be as Faith, I will become a vampire. I must become strong. I must know no fear. I must become a thing to be feared and I must become the instrument of his destruction. I am going to kill him. I am going to kill Angelus Xander." And there it was. He not only saw the rage in her eyes, he heard it in her words and felt it beneath his hands as she spoke, her body shook with rage, it was inside of her, feeding her, keeping her alive. He was afraid for her, afraid for her.
He kept looking into her eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of green when she came in, and now they were as dark as night. He thought of the story she had told him, of how Angelus had killed his own family killed. Of how he had murdered her father and her mother, a woman he had grown to think of as the mother he never truly had. And he thought of the plot to have one her killed, and he knew what he had to do.
"You're going to need help."