Disclaimers: Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon own it all. I'm just doing this for fun, and hopefully entertainment
Reviews: Welcomed and appreciated
Tara knocked hesitantly on the door. It had been over four days since Angelus had taken Buffy up to his rooms. Food and blood had been left on the table near his door and it was always gone when the next tray was delivered. But no one had seen them. Heard them? Goddess yes! That had been the talk of the mansion, but no sign of them. Spike had taken Tara to meet Giles and the small group of people when they had inquired after Buffy. They were worried and Tara insisted she be allowed to them let know the slayer was most likely alright, that had been 2 days ago.
Then, about an hour earlier, there had been a loud knock at her and Spike's door. When Tara answered it she was shocked to find Angelus leaning against the frame, a smug but tired look on his face. Spike got up to join his mate, not fully trusting his grand-sire.
"Sweet Tara." Angelus smiled at her and ran his finger along her jaw line. "Spike." He acknowledged the younger vampire. Still looking at Tara, he spoke. "I need you to take food up to Buffy and help her get ready to come downstairs. Give her about an hour." He winked at the girl. "She didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Have her downstairs by nine and have her looking the part."
"Hey peaches, looks like you could use a few extra hours yourself. A bit rung out there, old man?" Spike smirked at his grand-sire.
Angelus' eyes narrowed at him. "Time enough to sleep when we're dust, which in your case may happen sooner than you think if you don't lose the attitude." He turned and left a laughing Spike and a worried Tara.
Buffy heard the knock, but it sounded a bit muffled in her sleep induced haze. She heard a second knock and sat up in bed. Looking around she saw, with a mixture of relief and disappointment that Angelus was gone. There was that knock again. She gingerly got out of bed, her body sore and her limbs a bit shaky. Grabbing Angelus' robe, she went to the sitting room door.
"Hi." Tara stammered. "Ummm, Angelus asked me to bring this up to you." Buffy just stared at the blond girl. "Can…can I come in?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure come in." Buffy shook her head in attempt to clear up the fuzziness. "I'm sorry." She stood aside and allowed Tara to enter. "You can set that on the table over there." She pointed to the far window.
Tara looked around and smiled. "You have really nice rooms. Ours are nice too." She set the tray down. "Want me to pour some coffee?"
"Yes. Please. That would be nice. Pour yourself a cup too. I'll be right back." She rushed into the bathroom to get a look at herself. Gods, I look like I've been properly fucked for days, she thought, which I have been. She pushed the robe off her shoulders and was relieved to see that the bite marks and the scratches were almost healed. She wondered if Angelus could say the same. She returned to the bedroom and changed quickly into sweats, she'd shower once the girl left. What was her name again, she asked herself?
"And then I just fell in love with him. I know it seems so odd, falling in love with a demon and all, but we do live in a very odd world now. And Spike is different." She looked down at her hands. "He may not have a soul, but he is the most soulful being I've ever met." She looked back up at the slayer, trying to gauge her reaction and saw no judgment.
Buffy gave her a slight smile and shrugged. The two of them had been talking for about an hour and Tara soothed her. She could almost pretend the two of them were friends at a coffee house, discussing men. Except they weren't.
"I am certainly in no position to judge your choices Tara." She frowned. "You know what I did, don't you?"
"Spike told me about everything." There was an understanding in her voice. "If it's any consolation Buffy, I don't think I could ever kill Spike no matter what the consequences might be."
Buffy sighed. "Thanks Tara. That's really nice of you to say. And now here I am, a…what's that word? The one where you sleep with the enemy? That World War II thing?"
"Collaborator?" Tara supplied.
"Yup, that's me, the ex-slayer slash collaborator. Fucking the enemy. My mom would be so proud."
Tara put her hand on Buffy's arm. "Oh Buffy, don't do this to yourself, you didn't do it to make your life easier. You did it to save the lives of your friends, your family. There is destiny Buffy, we don't always know why things happen when they're happening. But…it seems that there's always a reason."
"You really are sweet. I hope Spike knows just what he has in you." Buffy rose from her chair. "Guess I should shower and get downstairs to my lord and master, you think?"
"Umm, yeah. That's kinda why I'm here. I'm supposed to help you get ready." Tara stammered.
"I think I can dress myself Tara. Been doing it for years now." She smiled at the other girl but saw her discomfort. "What is it?"
"When Angelus asks you to do something there's usually a reason for it. I mean…" She wasn't sure how to approach this as she followed the slayer into the closet. Buffy pulled out a denim skirt and a red tank top. Tara grimaced. "Umm…I think Angelus told me to help you get ready because he wants me to help you get ready." She went to a rack at the far end to the closet, pulled out a cream colored silk gown and held it up for Buffy's inspection.
Buffy reached her hand out and ran her fingers down the fabric. "It's beautiful Tara, but really I could never wear something like this. I mean, look at it. I'd be falling out of that for days."
"Buffy. You're the consort of the Master of Aurelius. Whether you realize it or not, it's a huge thing in this world we now live in." She bit her bottom lip. "He's going to expect you to look the part when you greet his contemporaries."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Buffy felt the grasp on her control fastly slipping away.
"Totally." Tara said in a sad voice.
Fighting the tears of frustration and humiliation, Buffy nodded. "I guess I could try it on after I shower." She took the gown as Tara turned to retrieve the shoes and under garments the slayer would need and followed her out of the closet.
Placing silver hoops in her ears and running a hand against her hair, Buffy turned to her new friend. "Well, what do you think?"
Tara smiled. She had helped Buffy put her hair in a chignon and smoothed a shimmering gel over her shoulders, she looked pristine, both innocent and worldly, like a sexy, ethereal angel. "You look phenomenal. I think Angelus will be more than pleased."
Looking over her shoulder at her reflection, Buffy gasped at how low the back of the gown was, it hit just below the curve of her back. "I don't think I can do this Tara. Look at me!" At first Buffy felt like a movie star from the 40s, now she just felt like a slut. "Just call me Slutty, the vampire layer."
"Silly. You look fantastic. You just have to carry yourself with that slayer confidence I hear Giles and Willow talk about. This is a test of sorts Buffy. You have to hold your own with his cohorts; you have to be the mate he expects. Otherwise you just become his little sex toy. You can wield power Buffy; Angelus just doesn't know it yet." Tara went to the slayer and embraced her. "Somehow Buffy, we'll get out of here. All of us. You just have to keep him happy 'til then. Pull this off Buffy and all his guests will be impressed, which means he'll be impressed." It sounded as if she were talking from experience.
"And how do you have all these insights into the workings of our dear lord and master?"
Tara lowered her head. "Angelus kept me as his…pet, I guess. I listened, I learned. There's something else Buffy, something you have to know." Her eyes were downcast as she told Buffy the missing part of her story, about herself and about her fellow musicians. "He spared me, for whatever reason. And then Spike," she raised her eyes to look at the slayer, "he traded you for me. I know him Buffy, I know how it works with this new hierarchy and whoever his mate is, she has to be an equal in so many ways. Maybe his plan is to make you suffer, but you can turn it around. And maybe, somehow, I can save you from this life I caused."
Buffy heard the guilt in the girl's voice and shook her head. "Don't blame Spike or yourself. Someone would've found us, turned us in. At least this way you were spared." She turned to the mirror and applied a little more kohl to her eyes before turning back to Tara. "So, what are you wearing?"