Arezue; Desire
Chapter Thirteen: What's Best For My Children…
Arezue walked through the lobby and into her office, her leather books clonking on the floor rather loudly. She immediately sprawled out on what she'd decided must be Angel's desk – it had a big sign that she supposed must have been from Connor or the like that read '#1 Dad'. The irony to such a thing was so thick she couldn't resist sending a scathing look in Connor's direction.
"Gimme the whiskey!" She demanded and both Connor as well as Angel stared at her for a moment. Finally, Angel gave her a long-suffering groan.
"No." She shot up at this angrily and Connor gingerly sat down on the desk next to her. For some reason, he was getting the idea that Angel didn't want him to get to close to the honey blonde vampire and, after the entire "Underwater Debacle" as everyone in the office seemed to refer to it as, he didn't think it was all that good of an idea to make anymore trouble.
"What the fuck do you mean –" Arezue started but Angel cut her off, his eyes flashing at her violently.
"Don't – swear – around – Connor." Arezue let out a frustrated groan and rolled her eyes, turning to Connor in an effort to keep from grabbing a chair leg and finding out exactly how far she could get the self-made stake before Angel pounced.
"How old are you?"
"I'll be seventeen soon." Connor didn't know why, but for some reason he wanted to impress Arezue as well as show her up in front of his father (she was obviously important to Angel and he didn't like the idea of a woman being more important then his mother to Angel). He honestly didn't know which one he wanted more.
"But you promised Angelus!" Arezue, bored with Connor, turned back to Angel, twisting her blood red lips into a pout. She ran her fingers through her damp locks, quickly putting it up in a messy replica of an eighteenth century bun. "And besides, the kid's at the point where he's already swearing and pretty much doing everything you don't want him to do."
Angel watched her silently. The way she moved, the way she spoke, the way she smirked with that false bravado. It was all so fake, yet so real. And it was such a far cry from the little girl he's held in his arms just a few hundred years ago.
Ireland; November 18, 1755
"You must get an invite for me before you go in." Darla, the woman with the English drawl and pink lace ball gown, whispered to the longhaired brunette that clutched her arm.
"Yes, sire." He answered, watching her with wonder. To think that they would be together forever… She'd told him that she had made him not only a vampire but also her mate for all eternity as well.
The two stood in front of a door. The door to his life, the very one which she'd revived him from. The life that he would now destroy.
"Go ahead, my darling childe." She said softly, her voice like magic moving through the air. The fledgling, Liam, took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door slowly swung open on its hinges.
"Papa? Angelus?" It was a word they'd made up together a long time ago. My Angel. The one with the face of an Angel; it fit now, didn't it? A small child, perhaps fourteen or a little older, stood in the doorway staring at the man in awe. Her clear blue green eyes shone with tears.
"Is it really you?" Liam laughed at her words and pulled her into his arms, balancing her lithe body quite easily with his new strength.
"No, my little lamb." He kissed her wet cheek, licking away the salty tears that had made their course down. "I've changed." She smiled at him, her expression one of absolute adoration.
"Of course you have, Papa." She ran her fingers through his hair gently. "You promised to change and I suppose you did." Liam chuckled at her wisdom-less statement.
"This women here, sweet lass, is Darla. Your new mum, won't you invite 'er inside?" The girl's smile slowly faded as she spotted Darla.
"You always say that…" Her eyes started to tear up once more as she stared at Darla. "Please come in, Miss." Darla laughed, amused with her words to Angel.
"Oh no, sweetheart. This time your father's quite serious." Her English lit voice ran against the girl's Irish one as she raised the girl's face to look into her eyes. "Now, shall I call my new daughter sweetheart for the rest of forever or does she have a name?"
"Charlotte Jane." She whispered softly, trying to duck her head back down. Darla, her supposed new mother, didn't let her.
"Well, Charlotte Jane, we're both wearing pink. Pink is my favorite color, what's yours?" A small smile spread it self over Charlotte Jane's face.
"Pink…" It was low enough so that any normal human would have to strain to pick it up, but Liam and Darla did not need to.
"You know, on our way here Liam and I saw a doll with a pink frock in one of the shops. Do you like dolls?" The child slowly nodded and Darla looked up at Liam who had a contented smile playing across his features.
"Your mother thought you'd like it." Liam told her, stepping forward and pulling a package out of his coat.
"Open it." Darla urged as Charlotte Jane slowly undid the packaging, all the while smiling at her happily. Darla had a feeling Charlotte Jane had never been thoroughly spoiled. She'd make it so now.
"Ooooh…" It was a porcelain hand crafted Persian doll – according to the label. The doll's pink dress, it read, was especially sewn to match the current child's fashion.
"Her name's Katherine. She comes with her own brush and we can buy a doll's pram and maybe some more clothes." Suggested Darla and Charlotte Jane nodded happily.
"And," Darla said slowly, brushing back a strand of hair that had made it's way out of the pink bow that held up Charlotte Jane's hair and into her eyes. "Every new mother names her child. Would it be all right if your new mummy gave you a new name?" Charlotte Jane glanced at her father who conspiratorially winked at her, a smirk on his face.
"Okay." Darla hmmed.
"I think," She pronounced the words thoughtfully. "Arezue would be perfect. It means desire." Arezue nodded at this, her love for her new mother rapidly growing
"Arezue…" Liam repeated slowly, smirking at Darla. "I'll have you know, woman, that I picked the lass's name me'self." He paused. "And I will ta' call her what I please." Darla laughed at this.
"If you must, darling." She turned back to Charlotte Jane. "And where is my new family?" The child immediately brightened at this.
"Oh! They'll adore you." She paused. "They may be angered that you're English but that can't be helped." She clutched at Darla's fingers. "They're asleep."
Darla nodded towards Liam and he stepped forward.
"Close your eyes, my love." He reached out to cover his daughter's eyes. "and tilt your head." He ran his fingers over her slim neck.
"This might hurt a bit." Darla warned softly, stepping forward and running her fingers over Liam's and consequently Arezue's neck. "But remember this darling, Mummy will always love you."
A gasp was all that escaped from Charlotte Jane's lips before her mother's fangs penetrated one side of her neck and her father's the other side. And then, as quickly as it had started, the pain disappeared and Charlotte Jane passed away.
"Dad?" Angel snapped out of his stupor as Connor worriedly called for his attention. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Angel blinked, running his fingers through his hair, just as Charlotte Jane had done that night. "Yeah, I – I'm fine." He turned to look back at his desk where Arezue was still sprawled on its contents. He squinted, and then set his jaw, averting his eyes.
"Are you wearing underwear?" Arezue shrugged and Angel felt disgusted. When had Arezue become such a – whore? "Sit up." Arezue gave him a trademark "bored now" look that oddly reminded him of Vamp-Willow and crawled over to his chair before settling down in it.
"Where's that alcohol!" Arezue demanded and Angel sighed.
"Can both of you please – just sit?" What was he supposed to say? Did they have handbooks on how to, you know, actually talk to your kids? Connor rolled his eyes at the question.
"We are sitting, dad." Angel bit his lip at the remark. Arezue hadn't been around Connor for even fifteen minutes and she was already corrupting him. God…he just wanted to just throw her out on her ass and lock Connor up in his bedroom so that he would never become a monst – what she had became. What countless other people he'd met had become.
"Connor," He started slowly. He didn't want to alienate the one thing that made his life worth living. "I need to tell you something. It's really important, okay?" Connor nodded and Arezue faked a dramatic yawn.
"Okay, dad." Angel smiled at the words and walked towards Connor, wrapping him in an affectionate hug.
"I love you Connor. I want you to always remember that – no matter what. " Connor hugged hi back and Arezue stiffened, tears threatening to fill her eyes.
((You know I'll always love you, right?)) The words echoed through her head as Angel and Connor laughed over something, the happiness obvious in their eyes.
"Arezue?" Angel turned to her and she immediately forced a look of indifference onto her face. He just shook his head at her and turned back to his son.
"A long time ago, when I was human, I had a daughter." Angel started the speech he'd carefully rehearsed in his head for the last five minutes or so.
"You were married?" Connor asked and Arezue burst out laughing, her tone noticeably bitter.
"No, you idiot. That means he knocked up a prostitute at the local brothel." She smirked over at Angel who glared angrily at her. "Oh, I'm sorry 'gelus. Forgot you wanted to sugar coat the story. Oops!" Her face spoke the words for her. She'd said exactly what she'd meant to say and there was no way in Dante's hell that she was going to let him get away with white lies and half-truths.
"Is that true?" Connor probed. Angel shrugged, not really knowing what to say.
"Yeah." He held his breath. What if Connor suddenly hated him? And it wasn't like he was a good role model for Connor in the first place, what with the vampire thing, but when you added Arezue to the mix it was ten times worse.
Instead of condemning him as Angel had expected, Connor just nodded. Angel unconsciously wondered whether Connor even knew what 'knocked up' meant. Or what a prostitute or brothel was.
"Anyways, after becoming a vampire, I turned her." Connor blinked confusedly while Arezue – who was obviously bored at this point – started singing rather loudly, flipping through Angel's drawers.
"I'm not a girl, not yet a woman…All I need is time…a moment that is mine…and while I'm in between – I'm not a girl!" Ignoring her, Connor stared at Angel.
"Does that mean you made her a vampire?"
"There is no need to protect me…it's time that I…learned to face up to this on my own…I've seen so much more than you know now, so don't tell me to shut my eyes…"
"Yes." Angel was glad he wouldn't have to go into much detail.
"I'm not a girl, not yet a woman!" Arezue sang on.
"Her name was Charlotte Jane and she's, um, behind you." Connor turned to look and frowned, searching for something he couldn't quite place. All he found was a singing Arezue who was obviously searching for attention.
"All I need is time …a moment that is mine…and while I'm in between – I'm not a girl! But if you look at me closely," The two stared at her as she finished the chorus. "You will see it in my eyes, this girl will always find her way! I'm just trying to find the woman in me… while I'm in between…I'm not a girl, not yet a woman!"
"Done now?" Angel asked, annoyed and Arezue giggled, suddenly bubbly.
"Hey little brother!" She smirked at Connor as realization swept through him. He slowly turned back to Angel.
"Oh." It was pretty much all he could say. Arezue stopped going through Angel's desk and tuned the two back in.
"So," Connor, it seemed to Arezue, had all the verbal skills that their father had. Arezue frowned at the thought, Angel was hers - not theirs – and she was not sharing. "You're Charlotte Jane."
"Don't call me that!" Arezue snapped. "He," She nodded towards Angel. "Was drunk when he named that."
"No I wasn't" Angel protested, and then reconsidered when Angel shot him a look of disbelief. "Or maybe I was. Who remembers that kind of thing anyways?" Arezue rolled her eyes at Angel's stupidity.
"Whatever. Just point me towards the alcohol already." Connor perked up at this, much to Angel's dismay.
"On the bookshelf, behind the book labeled 'Demonology Encyclopedia'." Arezue immediately found it and started to work on unscrewing the cork.
"So," She smirked at them. "Is baby Connor allowed to drink or – "
"No." Angel cut her off, his anger growing. He was damned – metaphorically – if he was going to let her give Connor an alcohol addiction. Why Arezue felt the need to pick on Connor was beyond him.
"Why not?" Connor demanded and Angel sighed. Great, he was going to have the 'I want alcohol' argument with Connor. He'd known he'd gotten too good of a deal when raising Arezue had been a breeze.
"Because Connor," He tried to keep his voice as well as his temper in check. "Your just too young." Arezue giggled at this and Angel frowned. It weirded him out – Arezue giggling or acting happy usually meant that she felt crappy and wanted to torture someone. Or it could mean she was up to something.
"No, sweetie." Arezue told Connor, drinking the liquid straight from the bottle. "It's because you're daddy's little baby." Connor felt a jolt of anger flow threw him at the words. He's spent his entire life in Quortoth, who was Angel to treat him like a baby?
"I'm not a child, dad!" He nearly shouted. "I'm sixteen." Angel struggled to keep his composure; why did Arezue have to try and destroy his relationship with Connor?
"Connor, it's not just the age thing." Angel tried to reason with Connor. The fact that drinking under twenty-one was illegal, he knew, would do nothing to help his case. " Alcohol does things to people. It's really not safe Connor." Arezue stopped mid-sip at this, hurt shooting through her.
"Actually –" She started.
"Shut the hell up and drink your damn alcohol!" Angel spat at her, not even bothering to glance at her. Arezue raised the bottle to her lips, but didn't drink. Angel and Connor argued in the background but she didn't hear them.
She didn't understand, why would he not let Connor drink but urge her to drink more? Didn't he care at all about her?
"Well, why does she get to drink and I don't?" Connor demanded, voicing Arezue's thoughts. Angel ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated beyond belief.
"Because I love you, Connor!" He shouted. "I love you and care about you in a way that I don't –" He shook his head at Connor. "I'm your father and as a father it's my job to do what's best for my children." Connor immediately quieted down at this and gave Angel a tentative smile.
"Okay." As the two made nice with each other, Arezue frowned.
'What about me?' She wondered, but didn't say. 'You're my father too, why don't you love me?'
As Angel turned to look at her, she busied herself with the task of drinking her whiskey and looking bored.
"About the mating ritual," Angel said softly. "I'll send a letter to Vladimir. I don't know if he'll be willing to compromise but I'll try." Angel shrugged.
"Arezue, I'm sorry, but until you get a mate I have to speak for you in the Aurelius court." Arezue's mouth fell open at this. "And if I have to force you into an arrangement with Vlad, I will."
"No! You can't do that!" Arezue exclaimed, feeling angry and a little scared. "You can't just force me to spend the rest of eternity as one of Dracula's simpering brides!" She was really scared now, what if he flatly refused to help her? What if he forced her to go through with the mating ritual? She'd become Dracula's sex-slave…
"Yes, I can." Arezue told her. "And if you continue to annoy me, I will. I owe Dracula for helping me out in a tight spot so he might ask for you as payment. I can't refuse a request like that." Arezue was silent, for once she truly had no idea what to say.
"In the demon world, women are regarded in the traditional sense – we both know that Arezue." He turned to go then turned back to her.
"I really am sorry, honey. I'm just trying to do what's best for you." His voice was much softer now. Arezue just shook her head at him, tears streaming down her face.
"How can you say that?" She demanded angrily. "How can you pretend that tying me down to some vampire that sleeps with dirt is good for me?" She stared at him as he ignored the questions, looking everywhere but in her direction.
"Papa?" She tried to appeal to his paternal side. He shook his head at her/
"You can go out tonight, after the sun sets – If you want – but I want you to take connor with you. Curfew's at ten and," He paused to regard her. "If you try anything, Charlotte Jane," He told her, his voice chilling not only her bones but Connor's as well.
"I will beat you until you bleed into unconsciousness." He walked out.
Arezue burst into tears and started to sob. Connor, feeling wretchedly sorry for her, came over and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her.
"It's okay." He whispered into her ear, doing this felt weird and he didn't know exactly what to do – but he figured that she was family and that it was his job to at least try and make things better for her. " He cares. You heard him. He's only thinking of you…" He didn't feel so sure as the words left his mouth and he knew that Arezue knew. "He loves you…"
Her soft broken sobs were the only thing that answered him.