{This is based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, some of the characters have needed some of their personalities fixed slightly, but they should be all relatively similar. I own nothing.}
Chapter 2
January 20th, 2004, LA
"You mean, still no word from Angel?"
"Well, he called, too say that the lord was a creepy guy, and that he's gotta stay for like, the next month"
"The next month"
"I know it's stupid! What's he gonna do that'll take a month?!"
"Did you try talking him out of it?"
"Yeah, but he just called me up, said he loved me" At this Buffy's red-headed friend Willow rolled her eyes "Yeah, said he loved me, said he was fine, and that he had to stay for a month"
"And…?"
"He said that the lord was creepy, but he had to stay for the benefit of the label. I tried arguing but then he had to go."
"…men" Willow huffed "Thank goddess I don't need them anymore
Buffy nodded "So, looks like it's another girl's night with Anya and Tara then…?"
"You bet. Anya's having some party tonight, so we're gonna go and have fun"
"Sounds like a plan!"
Anya was the daughter of a wealthy film producer, who adored his little girl. Needless to say, she still lived at home, in a small mansion in Beverly Hills. She was spoilt, money obsessed and blunt, but Buffy's and Willow's worlds would be much duller without her. In addition to being rich, Anya took great delight in being flighty with men. A party at her house, meant that she would flit between however many she was interested in at that time, while a lot of rich people got drunk, and Willow, Buffy and Willow's girlfriend Tara sat in the corner, normally leaving about 6 hours before everyone else.
----
Angel had been at the fortress like manor for 2 days now. He did not like it. The temperature was constantly below freezing, the weather was gloomy and frequently stormy or misty. And then there were the other inhabitants of the manor. Lord Rayne for one thing, was the most disturbing person Angel had ever met. To Angel he was polite and occasionally humorous, yet whenever Angel's back turned he was certain that Lord Rayne was going to jump on him from behind and drink his blood…or something. This wasn't help by when it was mealtimes; all Lord Rayne ate was a glass of red wine and some kind of red meat. He was also unsure as to how Lord Rayne managed to enter rooms without making a single noise, and the previous night, on returning from the lavatory, Angel could have sworn he saw Lord William's shadow, yet there was no one in that part of the house.
Then there was the butler, Mr Wyndam-Price, an odd, soft spoken man who Angel was positive he had seen snatching a fly out of the air and eating it. The thought made him shudder. Also, there was the disturbing way in which Mr Wyndam-Price called Lord Rayne "Master" in an obsessive manner. Lastly there were the 3 women who came every evening to the house, the only visitors. Lord Rayne wasn't hideous, it made sense that women would find him attractive, and so Angel's original thought was that they were "play-mates", however, he was no longer so sure, as William did not appear to spend any time with them at all.
A knock at the door made Angel jump and come out of his disturbed thoughts "Yeah?"
Mr Wyndam-Price entered "Master wishes you to join him for dinner in the main hall"
"Okay, sure"
The odd butler nodded and left the room. Angel shuddered involuntarily and got up from the chair beside the window, heading out and down the stairs. In the main hall he went through the large door into the long, velvety gloom of the dining room. The table was very long, probably best suited for about 30 people. As it was, Lord Rayne sat at one end, Angel at the other, in ebony carved chairs.
Like every night, William sat at one end with a plate of red meat, and a large crystal glass of red wine. A crystal pitcher was next to his glass with more wine in. Angel sat down opposite, his plate containing salad, a bread roll, and chicken slices.
"Good evening"
"Evening" Angel replied
"So, Angel, tell me about America. I've never been myself, and I cannot say I am not curious. Tell me about your family, hometown, tell me about Elizabeth"
Masking his feeling of unease, Angel started eating, after taking a sip of water he began answering "Not so much to tell, was born and raised in New York where my family came to from Ireland in the 1800s, moved with my mom to LA when I was 11, went to college a few hours away in a place called Sunnydale. Met Buffy when I was at College, she was studying History cuz that's where they'd put her, she fell asleep in the class and I woke her up and lended her my notes, we kinda got on from there"
"And where is she from? What does she like?" William asked
"Ah, y'know, all that romantic stuff girls love, figure skating…kick boxing. She lived in LA her whole life, then when she was about 16 her dad left to go to Spain with his secretary and she moved with her mom and sister to Sunnydale."
"I see. Where do her family originate?"
"I dunno, England I guess, her and her mom are both blonde"
"I see" William took a long draft of wine and then slowly picked at his meat, Angel tried to ignore the disturbing way his teeth seemed to get bigger as he put the meat in his mouth by biting into one of the bread rolls. The meal continued in silence until the Lord asked.
"So, when do you wed?"
"May 6th, she was desperate to have a spring wedding"
A ghost of a smile took over the blonde man's features "And what kind of a man would you be if you did not bend to her wishes"
"Yeah, well, I'm not bothered when and how we get married, just as long as we end up married y'know?"
"Quite"
----
Willow extended a hand and rang the bell of the large red door. From inside music could be heard and sound of people getting terribly, terribly drunk. Buffy shifted her weight from one black jean clad leg to the other; she uncrossed her arms and went to pull the bell again. Tara give a tight smile and Willow gave a half one. Buffy rolled her eyes as another minute passed, before going to ring the bell yet again. This time, a woman with brunette hair and a bright smile, suggesting that she didn't have two brain cells to rub together answered the door.
"Hey!!" She squealed, jumping to hug Buffy, who startled said
"Uh, hi Anya"
"You guys came!"
"Yeah, we did, 10 minutes ago in fact" Willow smiled and Tara grinned
"You haven't drunk anything have you sweetie?"
"Me? No! No, no, I never drink, you know that silly…well, c'mon, come in! The party's raging!" With that, Anya swigged from her bottle of WKD and bounced back inside.
Willow shook her head, took Tara's hand and they walked inside. Buffy followed, as she was about to shut the door she could have sworn she felt something from outside touch her hand, ever so gently, as if to caress it. When she looked, there was nothing there save shadows and moonlight, shaking her head she pulled the door shut and went inside.
Sometime later, Buffy was sitting with Anya on the granite counter in the kitchen. Anya was still relatively tipsy, but Buffy had strict instructions from Willow not to let her get plastered, before Willow and Tara had disappeared off outside.
"Ahh…I think I'm in love Buffy" Anya said, leaning her head on her friends shoulder
"Well…thanks Ahn, but I'm engaged…sorry"
"Heehee, not you silly, though if I was gay like Will and Tara you'd be the first one I'd try and give orgasms to"
"Uhm…thanks?"
"No, I'm in love, with, three guys"
"Three?" Buffy wasn't surprised if Anya was juggling three guys; she assumed that she was simply saying love because of alcohol
"Yup. Xander...Andrew…and Oz"
"And who are they then?"
"Xander's a…architect. Andrew's a TV producer and Oz, Oz is a musician, oh my god!" She screeched, causing Buffy to wince "Oz! OZ!"
She jumped off the counter and ran towards a stoic looking guy with blue hair; he looked startled but let Anya put her tongue in his mouth. She pulled away grinning, then took his hand and led him up to the counter where Buffy was still sitting.
"Buffy, this is Oz, Oz, this is Buffy"
"Hey" He said in a mellow tone
"Hi" Buffy said, grinning, she was about to try and start a conversation with Anya dropped Oz's hand and squealed
"XANDER!" while running towards a tall guy with black hair, he grinned widely when he saw Anya running towards him and pulled her into a big kiss. Buffy noted that Oz only raised an eyebrow but shrugged, soon Anya was dragging Xander over there as well. Buffy gave another tight smile upon the introduction, and cast an amused expression at her friend, who was back out to greet yet another of her "male-friends", this time screaming "ANDREW! My lovely producing person!"
Very soon she was dragging in a startled, blonde man who was smiling nervously at Anya, obviously not believing his luck. He then noticed the glaring Xander and cool expression of Oz, and his smile faded slightly.
"Buffy! This is Andrew!"
"Hi, Andrew"
"Um, hi"
Feeling incredibly uncomftable, Buffy hopped off the counter "Its pretty hot, I'm gonna go get some air" She said
"Okay!" Anya grinned, pulling her in a hug "Come back soon!"
"I will!" Buffy grinned, waving at Anya's male-friends who were all sizing one another up.
Rolling her eyes and fanning herself with her hand, Buffy made her way to the back door and stepped out in the relative coolness of the garden. She walked down the steps of the house and walked into the maze, she knew her way around in blindfolded having known Anya since she was a toddler. She presently came to the centre, where a fountain was. She sat down on the stone bench and looked up at the stars, she kept her head back and smiled, she'd always loved the stars, when it was quiet nights like this it was as if they were whispering to her.
There it was again. Buffy could have sworn she saw a shadow move against the hedge. She shivered and tried rubbing her arms, a strange type of cold coming over her, like she was being touched by a cold figure. Her hair moved in a non-existent breeze and she heard someone whispering
"Elizabeth…" in her ear
"William?" She said, before abruptly passing out.