Spoilers: Season 2 up through "Epiphany"
*~*~*~*~*
Her steps were calm and casual as she slipped into Angel Investigations. She was met with the beaming smile of the secretary. The Englishman was reading at a table. The vampire was nowhere to be seen.
"Can I help you?" the secretary asked.
She smiled. "I'm looking for Angel."
This caught the Englishman's attention. He got up from the table and walked slowly towards her. "Is there something perhaps we might be able to help you with?"
She smiled at him. "Such charm." She turned back to the secretary. "Angel. I would like to speak to him. Now."
"And just who are you?"
The woman smiled. "They call me Eve. Now where is the vampire?"
The secretary crossed her arms. "Well 'they' call me Cordelia and he's busy."
The Englishman stopped about ten feet from Eve. "What is your business here?"
Eve looked him over. "And your name, sir?"
"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. Angel's employer."
She nodded. "Where is Angel?" she repeated.
Cordelia's hand was sneaking under the desk. "Why do you want to see him?"
Eve's eyes flashed a violet color. "Move your hand, Miss Cordelia, before I remove it from your body. I think you would find that unpleasant."
Cordelia quickly moved her hand back onto the desk and swallowed. "Right."
Eve smiled. "You have no need to be afraid of me. Unless you try to harm me, I will do you no harm. That is not why I'm here."
A deep male voice came from the front door. "Why ARE you here?"
She turned to the voice with a smile. "Angelus..." She chuckled. "I mean, Angel."
His eyes widened when he saw her face. "You!" He rushed over to her and swept her into his arms in a warm embrace.
Wesley and Cordelia exchanged looks.
Eve laughed and returned the gesture. "It's good to see you too, little one."
"Little one?" Cordelia piped up.
Eve turned to her. "Well, yes. He's not that old yet."
Wesley took a moment to look over this woman's features. She was tall, possibly around six feet, tan and quite fit. She wore a pair of khaki colored shorts with a wide black belt and a white sleeveless blouse. Her brown layered hair swept just past her shoulders. She had deep blue eyes and a broad smile that could light up many rooms.
Cordelia scoffed. "He's 247 years old."
Eve nodded. "That's right. Still a baby."
Angel cleared his throat. "Uh, Cordelia? She's a little older than I am."
"How much older is a little?"
Eve smiled. "I'm almost three thousand years old."
Cordelia looked down. "Oh. Well, that would be a little older then."
Wesley was dumbfounded. "Three thousand? Good heavens! What are you?"
"Wesley," Angel warned.
Eve patted Angel's chest. "Calm down now. It's all right." She strode over to Wesley and extended her hand. "I am called Eve now."
He took her hand but didn't shake it. "I didn't mean your name. I meant... Well you obviously aren't human if you're three thousand years old." He noted that her hand was warm and soft.
She smiled that perfect smile. "Do I not look human?"
Angel chuckled, trying to hide it in a cough.
Cordelia scowled. "So what kind of gross-out-oh-but-I-can-look-human demon are you?"
She lost her smile and stepped close to Cordelia. "I am NOT a demon."
Angel took Eve's arm. "Let's go catch up." He led her to his car. Maybe "led" isn't the right term. He just about had to drag her. Once at his car, he pulled her to him, crushing his lips to hers. She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
When the kiss ended he smiled at her. "Now that we've had the proper 'hello…'"
She nodded and licked her lips. "How have you been?"
He lost his smile. "I've been better."
"The curse. Still intact I take it?"
He nodded and moved away from her. "So what are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you but you normally have a reason."
She nodded and leaned on the car. "I was in the area. There's someone I'm supposed to... Well, they'll been taken care of. In any case I heard that you were around here and I thought I'd stop by." She crossed her ankles. "Did you miss me?"
"Life is always interesting when you're around." He crossed his arms in front of him. "Are you here to kill someone?"
She smiled. "Angel, now you know better. I simply lead people to their ends. It's already decided when they die."
He sighed. "You know I'll try to stop you."
"And you know I'll win. You can't fight me. It can only end up two ways: with sex or with you dusted. And either is bad for you at the moment." She ran her fingers over the sleek metal of the car. "Nice wheels. Care to give a girl a lift?" Her eyes were taunting and she pursed her lips.
He grinned a little at her then paused. "Uh, be right back. Wait here." When she nodded her compliance he went back into the office. "Uh, guys? I'm gonna be out."
Cordelia glared. "Out of a soul if you don't watch it! We just got you back and now your going to go prancing out with a who-knows-what who's obviously into more than your charming personality!"
Wesley was a bit calmer. "Angel, she is a bit flashy towards you."
"She's known me most of my vampire life. I'm not going to sleep with her. We're just going to go out and catch up on things."
Wesley looked out the open door to catch another glimpse of her. "What exactly is she?"
Angel followed his eyes with his own and sighed. "She's a pixie."
This time Cordelia craned her head to get a look. "THAT'S a pixie? She doesn't look like Tinker-Bell."
"It's her powers that make her a pixie. Not her size."
"So if I say I don't believe in pixies will she die?"
"Cordelia!" Wesley snapped. He caught himself as he did so and wondered silently why he felt like defending this woman.
Angel also looked a bit surprised. "That's not how it works," he explained as he turned his attention to Cordelia's comment. "She's like a free spirit but with human form. She shows compassion and love and she..." He mumbled that last of his sentence.
Cordelia leaned closer. "What?"
"Helps people to their deaths."
Both humans were staring at the vampire in awe. "And you're giving her a ride in your car?" Cordelia quirked. "Hello! Aren't we supposed to STOP killers?"
"She's not a killer. That's not what it means. The higher powers decide who is supposed to die and then send her to just kinda give them a push."
"Right over a cliff?"
"Mentally that's pretty true," Eve said from the doorway. "I use mental powers to give them thoughts."
Cordelia's jaw dropped. "That's it. Angel you are NOT going with her."
Eve laughed. "It wouldn't work on him anyway. He's already dead." She turned her glance to Wesley and her eyes turned that odd violet color.
Wesley started patting his head and rubbing his stomach.
Eve smiled. Angel grinned. And Cordelia flipped. "You mean you can get into our minds whenever you want?!?"
Wesley looked at her, still doing what Eve had told his mind. "I'm sure that's rather impossible, Cordelia. I mean, if it were that simple then..." He paused and looked down at the hand rubbing his stomach then abruptly clasped his hands in front of himself. "I say, that was rather disturbing."
Eve nodded. "But it got my point across."
"That you're an evil killing bitch?" Cordelia smiled.
Eve's eyes flared and she took a step towards her. "Take that back."
Cordelia crossed her arms. "Well do you save any lives?"
Eve stopped in her tracks. "Yes, I do. I've saved yours."
"What do you mean you've saved mine?"
Eve cleared her throat. "Too bad we'll never know if this is a face you could've loved."
Angel closed his eyes and took a step back. "Doyle."
Cordelia tore out from behind the desk and flung her fist at Eve. "No! You fucking heartless bitch!"
Eve caught her fist. "It was his time. And he went nobly. You should be very proud. It took only but one thought to get him to go. And that thought was the fear of you dying if he didn't do something. He died for you." She released her fist and turned back for the door. "Let's go, Angel."
Angel looked to Cordelia. "Are you okay?"
She was trembling. "Get her out of here."
He nodded and led Eve out to the car. Once the door was shut, Cordelia crumbled to her knees and started crying. Wesley rushed to her side and wrapped her in his arms. "There, there," he calmly whispered. "It's all right..."
*~*~*
Angel had the top down as usual and Eve was enjoying the rush of air. She had her eyes closed as he drove. They hadn't spoken a word since he found out that she was there for Doyle's death. He couldn't blame her though. He glanced over at her. Her chest was rising and falling normally, even though he wasn't sure that she even needed to breathe. He hardly knew anything about pixies. Just what she had revealed to him when they met. It was to long ago...
1810...
Angelus tossed another body aside and dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief. "I tell ya, these rich French debutantes are starting to lack any flavor."
Darla smiled as she straightened her dress coat. "Maybe a change in cuisine would suit you. How would you feel about Italian?"
He smiled and pulled her close. "Sounds wonderful." He crushed his lips to hers.
"Oh no. Damn it all!"
Both vampires turned their gaze to the light feminine voice. A girl in a pretty blue gown with her dark hair swept up was surveying the scene with her twinkling blue eyes. She didn't seem frightened at all, rather pissed off.
Darla smiled. "Hello, child..."
The girl glanced briefly at her. "Oh, hello there." She turned her attention back to the bodies and started looking through them. "Not him, not him, not him..." It was as if this girl had a list and was missing someone off of it.
Darla lost her smile and took a step towards her. "Have you lost something?" she asked sarcastically.
The girl straightened up and placed her hands on her hips. "You don't ask for names when you kill, do you?" She glanced from one to another.
Angelus just about laughed. "You should be more worried about whether or not someone's going to know YOUR name when we kill." He stepped towards her.
She paused then waved her hand. Both vampires couldn't move. "I really don't have time for this. I think I have made a mistake."
Darla's eyes were wild. "What are you?"
The girl smiled for the first time. "They call me Alexandra now." She sighed and looked again at the bodies, then gasped and clapped her hands together. "There! Ah yes! The right one got here in time." She waved her hand again and the vampires were freed. "Thank you for your service." She turned to leave.
Angelus growled and slipped into his game face as he ran over to her and grabbed her arm. "And what service will ya be givin' in return, Alexandra?"
She looked at his hand then to his face and smiled. "I've already given it. You aren't ashes now, are you?"
He returned her smile and his other hand trailed to her hip. "What if I wanted you to repay me in another fashion?"
Darla laughed softly as she watched. But Alexandra kept her smile and touched his face. "If you'd really like that, then fine." She pressed her lips to his.
He was a little slow on his response. He had never seen such a fearless woman since Darla. Once his initial shock was over his lips were quite animated as he kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his closer. He cupped her bottom and did the like. Both were completely lost in the kiss.
Darla scowled and stomped over to them. "Excuse me?"
Angelus broke the kiss and looked to her. "A'ight then, you're excused."
She gasped. "Angelus! How DARE you talk to me in such fashion!"
He chuckled. "Calm down there, Darla. 'Twas only having a little fun with ya."
Alexandra looked to Darla. "Does that mean you're joining?"
*~*~*
Angel parked the car in front of an all night coffee shop and walked around to open the door for her. "So you got a new name?" he questioned as the entered.
She nodded. "Every fifty to a hundred years or so I change it. Eve seemed to fit for right now. People in this century like the short names that they don't have to use a lot of brain to remember." She ordered a coffee and sat down in a booth.
He did the likewise. "What was it after Alexandra? Oh yeah. Isabelle."
1912...
They were extremely filthy sewers and the rats were becoming scarce. He had eaten most of them. He tried to contain his thirst as much as he could. Wallowing away in his loneliness it seemed that the hunger was all he had to keep him company. That and the putrescent filth that passed though the sewers every now and then.
Angel walked down the tunnels slowly, not really having anywhere to go when he saw her. But it couldn't have been. He hadn't seen her in a little over a hundred years. Back then he had done such things to her sexually that it would have almost killed a human. And she didn't seem immortal. But there was that dark hair and those twinkling eyes...
"Alexandra?" he called. But she didn't answer. So he stepped closer. "Alexandra?"
This time she looked up and saw him. Her smile was just as bright as the last time he saw her. "Angelus!" she exclaimed as she ran up to him. She stopped short, however and looked him over, plugging her nose. "What happened to you?"
He told her everything. Right down to what had happened in China when he had tried to be with Darla, Dru and Spike again. She listened patiently through it all. She listened through him telling her how he made Drusilla. She listened as he told of the gypsy girl that led to his curse. She listened. And what amazed him more was that she didn't judge.
"It's not my place," she told him. "I am not the judge. I have a simple job to do and I do it to the best of my ability. But I am glad you told me."
"I'm glad you listened, Alex..."
"I am called Isabelle now." She smiled. "Maybe it is time I told you more about what I am."
*~*~*
"A pixie," Wesley read, "is of the more playful type. They are rarely governed in their actions and therefore can be quite dangerous if provoked or they so deem fit to cause mayhem. They are only female, breeding with humans to make their own kind. Their life span is anywhere from one hundred years to eternity."
Cordelia tapped her nails on her desk. "Can they be killed? Does it say anything about Eve?"
Wesley glanced up from his reading. "Will you hold on a minute?"
She huffed and motioned. "Okay, go on."
He straightened his glasses and continued. "To destroy a pixie you must posses a sword of Acacia and decapitate her." He paused.
"What? What's wrong?"
He looked up at her. "Swords of Acacia are myth. None have truly existed."
"What about Eve? Does it say anything about her?"
He flipped through a few more pages. "Here's a drawing of her. My God, that is magnificent detail." He studied the facial features in the sketch that one man had done. She truly was beautiful, even in the pale pages of a dusty old book.
"Hello? Earth to Wesley?"
He cleared his throat. "Um, yes. She is mentioned. But not by name. It looks as if she might have even been around for the crucifixion of Christ himself." He skimmed more pages. "She's never kept a name. But her original birthname was thought to be..."
"Well? What is it?"
He looked up. "Eve."
*~*~*
1912...
She'd taken him to an inn and gotten him fairly cleaned up. He'd let her bathe him, since she had seen him naked before. She dressed him in fresh clothes and sat him down on the bed.
"Why are you so kind to me?" he asked her.
She smiled. "Because even with all the evil that you have done, you are still a being on this Earth capable of feelings and you feel remorse for what you have done."
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, I had to confirm some people's reservations on the Titanic then I came here to get ready for the press release." She combed his hair and tied it back. "You know, Angelus. You might do good with a haircut."
He shrugged. "Can't do it myself without a reflection."
She beamed as she picked up some sheers from the bathroom. "Then allow me." She removed the tie she had placed in his hair and straddled his lap. "Such nice hair." The sheers made almost silent snips and he watched as locks of hair fell to the floor. He had to keep his eyes on the floor or else he'd remember that there was a beautiful pixie in his lap.
When she finished she sighed and ruffled his hair. "Much better." She nodded her approval and stood from his lap, dusting stray strands of hair from herself.
He watched her shape and the way her skin looked in the light. "Thank you," he whispered.
"'Twas nothing." She set the sheers aside and tied up her own hair. "You can stay here tonight. You'll stay smelling better." She turned to him. "I can arrange for some finances for you so you can stop living in the sewers. Maybe you could go to Los Angeles." She smiled at her own little joke.
He bowed his head. "I don't deserve your help."
She pondered this. "Maybe not. But you're going to receive it. Because I deem it so." She swayed her hips as she approached him. "If you feel you must repay me... There is your body." She sat in his lap again. "I could use a bit of physical fulfillment." She kissed his neck. "And I think that would make proper payment for say... five thousand dollars?"
He swallowed. "Fine."
*~*~*
"So then Cordelia got the gift of sight? How interesting." Eve sipped her mocha and nodded absently. "She's a pretty girl. Full of independence and strength."
Angel looked down at his coffee. "I've put her and Wesley through a lot."
"You're lucky Wesley's not dead after that gunshot."
He looked up. "You know about that?"
"I was informed. Briefly. But that's not the point. I also heard about Darla. Or rather I heard of your little banging night with her. I must say, I had to pay you. I'm a bit... shall we say, insulted?"
He chuckled. "But it meant nothing with Darla." He took her hand. "You were actually trying to help me." Her skin looked so dark against his. He sighed. "If things were different..."
"Even if you weren't cursed, Angel, I'm a pixie. No man must ever love me." She took her hand back. "Not until I bare a child." Her eyes grew sad. "Do you think that will ever happen? I'm three thousand years old, give or take a few years. Several other pixies have bared children. But not I."
He lifted her chin. "Both of us have something to work towards it looks like."
*~*~*
1912...
When Angel awoke the next day, all the shades were pulled closed and she was gone. He glanced at the table where five thousand dollars cash lay for him. Maybe LA would be nice this time of year.
*~*~*~*~*
Her steps were calm and casual as she slipped into Angel Investigations. She was met with the beaming smile of the secretary. The Englishman was reading at a table. The vampire was nowhere to be seen.
"Can I help you?" the secretary asked.
She smiled. "I'm looking for Angel."
This caught the Englishman's attention. He got up from the table and walked slowly towards her. "Is there something perhaps we might be able to help you with?"
She smiled at him. "Such charm." She turned back to the secretary. "Angel. I would like to speak to him. Now."
"And just who are you?"
The woman smiled. "They call me Eve. Now where is the vampire?"
The secretary crossed her arms. "Well 'they' call me Cordelia and he's busy."
The Englishman stopped about ten feet from Eve. "What is your business here?"
Eve looked him over. "And your name, sir?"
"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. Angel's employer."
She nodded. "Where is Angel?" she repeated.
Cordelia's hand was sneaking under the desk. "Why do you want to see him?"
Eve's eyes flashed a violet color. "Move your hand, Miss Cordelia, before I remove it from your body. I think you would find that unpleasant."
Cordelia quickly moved her hand back onto the desk and swallowed. "Right."
Eve smiled. "You have no need to be afraid of me. Unless you try to harm me, I will do you no harm. That is not why I'm here."
A deep male voice came from the front door. "Why ARE you here?"
She turned to the voice with a smile. "Angelus..." She chuckled. "I mean, Angel."
His eyes widened when he saw her face. "You!" He rushed over to her and swept her into his arms in a warm embrace.
Wesley and Cordelia exchanged looks.
Eve laughed and returned the gesture. "It's good to see you too, little one."
"Little one?" Cordelia piped up.
Eve turned to her. "Well, yes. He's not that old yet."
Wesley took a moment to look over this woman's features. She was tall, possibly around six feet, tan and quite fit. She wore a pair of khaki colored shorts with a wide black belt and a white sleeveless blouse. Her brown layered hair swept just past her shoulders. She had deep blue eyes and a broad smile that could light up many rooms.
Cordelia scoffed. "He's 247 years old."
Eve nodded. "That's right. Still a baby."
Angel cleared his throat. "Uh, Cordelia? She's a little older than I am."
"How much older is a little?"
Eve smiled. "I'm almost three thousand years old."
Cordelia looked down. "Oh. Well, that would be a little older then."
Wesley was dumbfounded. "Three thousand? Good heavens! What are you?"
"Wesley," Angel warned.
Eve patted Angel's chest. "Calm down now. It's all right." She strode over to Wesley and extended her hand. "I am called Eve now."
He took her hand but didn't shake it. "I didn't mean your name. I meant... Well you obviously aren't human if you're three thousand years old." He noted that her hand was warm and soft.
She smiled that perfect smile. "Do I not look human?"
Angel chuckled, trying to hide it in a cough.
Cordelia scowled. "So what kind of gross-out-oh-but-I-can-look-human demon are you?"
She lost her smile and stepped close to Cordelia. "I am NOT a demon."
Angel took Eve's arm. "Let's go catch up." He led her to his car. Maybe "led" isn't the right term. He just about had to drag her. Once at his car, he pulled her to him, crushing his lips to hers. She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
When the kiss ended he smiled at her. "Now that we've had the proper 'hello…'"
She nodded and licked her lips. "How have you been?"
He lost his smile. "I've been better."
"The curse. Still intact I take it?"
He nodded and moved away from her. "So what are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you but you normally have a reason."
She nodded and leaned on the car. "I was in the area. There's someone I'm supposed to... Well, they'll been taken care of. In any case I heard that you were around here and I thought I'd stop by." She crossed her ankles. "Did you miss me?"
"Life is always interesting when you're around." He crossed his arms in front of him. "Are you here to kill someone?"
She smiled. "Angel, now you know better. I simply lead people to their ends. It's already decided when they die."
He sighed. "You know I'll try to stop you."
"And you know I'll win. You can't fight me. It can only end up two ways: with sex or with you dusted. And either is bad for you at the moment." She ran her fingers over the sleek metal of the car. "Nice wheels. Care to give a girl a lift?" Her eyes were taunting and she pursed her lips.
He grinned a little at her then paused. "Uh, be right back. Wait here." When she nodded her compliance he went back into the office. "Uh, guys? I'm gonna be out."
Cordelia glared. "Out of a soul if you don't watch it! We just got you back and now your going to go prancing out with a who-knows-what who's obviously into more than your charming personality!"
Wesley was a bit calmer. "Angel, she is a bit flashy towards you."
"She's known me most of my vampire life. I'm not going to sleep with her. We're just going to go out and catch up on things."
Wesley looked out the open door to catch another glimpse of her. "What exactly is she?"
Angel followed his eyes with his own and sighed. "She's a pixie."
This time Cordelia craned her head to get a look. "THAT'S a pixie? She doesn't look like Tinker-Bell."
"It's her powers that make her a pixie. Not her size."
"So if I say I don't believe in pixies will she die?"
"Cordelia!" Wesley snapped. He caught himself as he did so and wondered silently why he felt like defending this woman.
Angel also looked a bit surprised. "That's not how it works," he explained as he turned his attention to Cordelia's comment. "She's like a free spirit but with human form. She shows compassion and love and she..." He mumbled that last of his sentence.
Cordelia leaned closer. "What?"
"Helps people to their deaths."
Both humans were staring at the vampire in awe. "And you're giving her a ride in your car?" Cordelia quirked. "Hello! Aren't we supposed to STOP killers?"
"She's not a killer. That's not what it means. The higher powers decide who is supposed to die and then send her to just kinda give them a push."
"Right over a cliff?"
"Mentally that's pretty true," Eve said from the doorway. "I use mental powers to give them thoughts."
Cordelia's jaw dropped. "That's it. Angel you are NOT going with her."
Eve laughed. "It wouldn't work on him anyway. He's already dead." She turned her glance to Wesley and her eyes turned that odd violet color.
Wesley started patting his head and rubbing his stomach.
Eve smiled. Angel grinned. And Cordelia flipped. "You mean you can get into our minds whenever you want?!?"
Wesley looked at her, still doing what Eve had told his mind. "I'm sure that's rather impossible, Cordelia. I mean, if it were that simple then..." He paused and looked down at the hand rubbing his stomach then abruptly clasped his hands in front of himself. "I say, that was rather disturbing."
Eve nodded. "But it got my point across."
"That you're an evil killing bitch?" Cordelia smiled.
Eve's eyes flared and she took a step towards her. "Take that back."
Cordelia crossed her arms. "Well do you save any lives?"
Eve stopped in her tracks. "Yes, I do. I've saved yours."
"What do you mean you've saved mine?"
Eve cleared her throat. "Too bad we'll never know if this is a face you could've loved."
Angel closed his eyes and took a step back. "Doyle."
Cordelia tore out from behind the desk and flung her fist at Eve. "No! You fucking heartless bitch!"
Eve caught her fist. "It was his time. And he went nobly. You should be very proud. It took only but one thought to get him to go. And that thought was the fear of you dying if he didn't do something. He died for you." She released her fist and turned back for the door. "Let's go, Angel."
Angel looked to Cordelia. "Are you okay?"
She was trembling. "Get her out of here."
He nodded and led Eve out to the car. Once the door was shut, Cordelia crumbled to her knees and started crying. Wesley rushed to her side and wrapped her in his arms. "There, there," he calmly whispered. "It's all right..."
*~*~*
Angel had the top down as usual and Eve was enjoying the rush of air. She had her eyes closed as he drove. They hadn't spoken a word since he found out that she was there for Doyle's death. He couldn't blame her though. He glanced over at her. Her chest was rising and falling normally, even though he wasn't sure that she even needed to breathe. He hardly knew anything about pixies. Just what she had revealed to him when they met. It was to long ago...
1810...
Angelus tossed another body aside and dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief. "I tell ya, these rich French debutantes are starting to lack any flavor."
Darla smiled as she straightened her dress coat. "Maybe a change in cuisine would suit you. How would you feel about Italian?"
He smiled and pulled her close. "Sounds wonderful." He crushed his lips to hers.
"Oh no. Damn it all!"
Both vampires turned their gaze to the light feminine voice. A girl in a pretty blue gown with her dark hair swept up was surveying the scene with her twinkling blue eyes. She didn't seem frightened at all, rather pissed off.
Darla smiled. "Hello, child..."
The girl glanced briefly at her. "Oh, hello there." She turned her attention back to the bodies and started looking through them. "Not him, not him, not him..." It was as if this girl had a list and was missing someone off of it.
Darla lost her smile and took a step towards her. "Have you lost something?" she asked sarcastically.
The girl straightened up and placed her hands on her hips. "You don't ask for names when you kill, do you?" She glanced from one to another.
Angelus just about laughed. "You should be more worried about whether or not someone's going to know YOUR name when we kill." He stepped towards her.
She paused then waved her hand. Both vampires couldn't move. "I really don't have time for this. I think I have made a mistake."
Darla's eyes were wild. "What are you?"
The girl smiled for the first time. "They call me Alexandra now." She sighed and looked again at the bodies, then gasped and clapped her hands together. "There! Ah yes! The right one got here in time." She waved her hand again and the vampires were freed. "Thank you for your service." She turned to leave.
Angelus growled and slipped into his game face as he ran over to her and grabbed her arm. "And what service will ya be givin' in return, Alexandra?"
She looked at his hand then to his face and smiled. "I've already given it. You aren't ashes now, are you?"
He returned her smile and his other hand trailed to her hip. "What if I wanted you to repay me in another fashion?"
Darla laughed softly as she watched. But Alexandra kept her smile and touched his face. "If you'd really like that, then fine." She pressed her lips to his.
He was a little slow on his response. He had never seen such a fearless woman since Darla. Once his initial shock was over his lips were quite animated as he kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his closer. He cupped her bottom and did the like. Both were completely lost in the kiss.
Darla scowled and stomped over to them. "Excuse me?"
Angelus broke the kiss and looked to her. "A'ight then, you're excused."
She gasped. "Angelus! How DARE you talk to me in such fashion!"
He chuckled. "Calm down there, Darla. 'Twas only having a little fun with ya."
Alexandra looked to Darla. "Does that mean you're joining?"
*~*~*
Angel parked the car in front of an all night coffee shop and walked around to open the door for her. "So you got a new name?" he questioned as the entered.
She nodded. "Every fifty to a hundred years or so I change it. Eve seemed to fit for right now. People in this century like the short names that they don't have to use a lot of brain to remember." She ordered a coffee and sat down in a booth.
He did the likewise. "What was it after Alexandra? Oh yeah. Isabelle."
1912...
They were extremely filthy sewers and the rats were becoming scarce. He had eaten most of them. He tried to contain his thirst as much as he could. Wallowing away in his loneliness it seemed that the hunger was all he had to keep him company. That and the putrescent filth that passed though the sewers every now and then.
Angel walked down the tunnels slowly, not really having anywhere to go when he saw her. But it couldn't have been. He hadn't seen her in a little over a hundred years. Back then he had done such things to her sexually that it would have almost killed a human. And she didn't seem immortal. But there was that dark hair and those twinkling eyes...
"Alexandra?" he called. But she didn't answer. So he stepped closer. "Alexandra?"
This time she looked up and saw him. Her smile was just as bright as the last time he saw her. "Angelus!" she exclaimed as she ran up to him. She stopped short, however and looked him over, plugging her nose. "What happened to you?"
He told her everything. Right down to what had happened in China when he had tried to be with Darla, Dru and Spike again. She listened patiently through it all. She listened through him telling her how he made Drusilla. She listened as he told of the gypsy girl that led to his curse. She listened. And what amazed him more was that she didn't judge.
"It's not my place," she told him. "I am not the judge. I have a simple job to do and I do it to the best of my ability. But I am glad you told me."
"I'm glad you listened, Alex..."
"I am called Isabelle now." She smiled. "Maybe it is time I told you more about what I am."
*~*~*
"A pixie," Wesley read, "is of the more playful type. They are rarely governed in their actions and therefore can be quite dangerous if provoked or they so deem fit to cause mayhem. They are only female, breeding with humans to make their own kind. Their life span is anywhere from one hundred years to eternity."
Cordelia tapped her nails on her desk. "Can they be killed? Does it say anything about Eve?"
Wesley glanced up from his reading. "Will you hold on a minute?"
She huffed and motioned. "Okay, go on."
He straightened his glasses and continued. "To destroy a pixie you must posses a sword of Acacia and decapitate her." He paused.
"What? What's wrong?"
He looked up at her. "Swords of Acacia are myth. None have truly existed."
"What about Eve? Does it say anything about her?"
He flipped through a few more pages. "Here's a drawing of her. My God, that is magnificent detail." He studied the facial features in the sketch that one man had done. She truly was beautiful, even in the pale pages of a dusty old book.
"Hello? Earth to Wesley?"
He cleared his throat. "Um, yes. She is mentioned. But not by name. It looks as if she might have even been around for the crucifixion of Christ himself." He skimmed more pages. "She's never kept a name. But her original birthname was thought to be..."
"Well? What is it?"
He looked up. "Eve."
*~*~*
1912...
She'd taken him to an inn and gotten him fairly cleaned up. He'd let her bathe him, since she had seen him naked before. She dressed him in fresh clothes and sat him down on the bed.
"Why are you so kind to me?" he asked her.
She smiled. "Because even with all the evil that you have done, you are still a being on this Earth capable of feelings and you feel remorse for what you have done."
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, I had to confirm some people's reservations on the Titanic then I came here to get ready for the press release." She combed his hair and tied it back. "You know, Angelus. You might do good with a haircut."
He shrugged. "Can't do it myself without a reflection."
She beamed as she picked up some sheers from the bathroom. "Then allow me." She removed the tie she had placed in his hair and straddled his lap. "Such nice hair." The sheers made almost silent snips and he watched as locks of hair fell to the floor. He had to keep his eyes on the floor or else he'd remember that there was a beautiful pixie in his lap.
When she finished she sighed and ruffled his hair. "Much better." She nodded her approval and stood from his lap, dusting stray strands of hair from herself.
He watched her shape and the way her skin looked in the light. "Thank you," he whispered.
"'Twas nothing." She set the sheers aside and tied up her own hair. "You can stay here tonight. You'll stay smelling better." She turned to him. "I can arrange for some finances for you so you can stop living in the sewers. Maybe you could go to Los Angeles." She smiled at her own little joke.
He bowed his head. "I don't deserve your help."
She pondered this. "Maybe not. But you're going to receive it. Because I deem it so." She swayed her hips as she approached him. "If you feel you must repay me... There is your body." She sat in his lap again. "I could use a bit of physical fulfillment." She kissed his neck. "And I think that would make proper payment for say... five thousand dollars?"
He swallowed. "Fine."
*~*~*
"So then Cordelia got the gift of sight? How interesting." Eve sipped her mocha and nodded absently. "She's a pretty girl. Full of independence and strength."
Angel looked down at his coffee. "I've put her and Wesley through a lot."
"You're lucky Wesley's not dead after that gunshot."
He looked up. "You know about that?"
"I was informed. Briefly. But that's not the point. I also heard about Darla. Or rather I heard of your little banging night with her. I must say, I had to pay you. I'm a bit... shall we say, insulted?"
He chuckled. "But it meant nothing with Darla." He took her hand. "You were actually trying to help me." Her skin looked so dark against his. He sighed. "If things were different..."
"Even if you weren't cursed, Angel, I'm a pixie. No man must ever love me." She took her hand back. "Not until I bare a child." Her eyes grew sad. "Do you think that will ever happen? I'm three thousand years old, give or take a few years. Several other pixies have bared children. But not I."
He lifted her chin. "Both of us have something to work towards it looks like."
*~*~*
1912...
When Angel awoke the next day, all the shades were pulled closed and she was gone. He glanced at the table where five thousand dollars cash lay for him. Maybe LA would be nice this time of year.