Arezue; Desire
Chapter Twenty-One: Wedding from Hell
"Rise and shine, Gorgeous!" Lorne's voice roused Arezue out of a dream in which she was eating crumpets with a green vibrating orb of energy.
'Weird…' She thought drowsily as Lorne paced back and forth asking for her opinion on a wedding theme and reiterating to her everything that still needed to be done. Arezue just stared at the demon blankly.
"Lorne!" She finally snapped. "What time is it?" Lorne gasped in horror as he looked at his watch.
"Oh no, Muffin! It's 4:22 already – sunrise is in an hour!" Arezue scowled in disgust as he pulled her out of bed. 'Muffin?' "You're going to have to hurry if you want to get ready in time for the wedding, Sweetheart." Arezue pulled her arm away from the anxious demon.
"You only gave me an hour of sleep!" She sputtered. "And stop pacing; I'm getting all these worried-anxious vibes from you." Lorne stopped pacing and turned to her.
"If you knew what I know, you'd be anxious too." He muttered under his breath and Arezue's eyes narrowed. He obviously hadn't meant her to hear. "This wedding has to happen tonight in order for -" Arezue was intrigued.
"What?" The demon's eyes widened when he realized she'd heard his mutterings.
"Oh! I just meant that I'm receiving waves of fear and denial from you, Sweets." He paused. "Maybe you want to talk about it?" He sounded hopeful, causing Arezue to groan. If Lorne wasn't pepped up on drugs…
"If I go along with this charade of a wedding, will you stop playing the shrink?" Rolling her eyes, she made to leave but was stopped by Lorne.
"Honey, I'm an empath demon... I know everything's gonna be okay in the end." Arezue sighed.
"So do I" She replied hotly. "You know why?" She answered her own question, "because it's not taking place." She paused, frowning. "I thought your empathy thing only worked when people sang for you?"
Angel paced back and forth as his secretary watched him. The wedding was tonight and he was going insane with worry as to whether everything would go off without a hitch or not. And the fact that the groom hadn't said much other then 'Shove off, pouf' when he'd called was a bit unnerving to say the least. But then again, he had sounded drunk at the time…
"We booked the caterers, right?" He asked earnestly.
"Check." Cordelia zinged, marking it off on her list.
"Connor?"
"Easily distracted by a television." Angel frowned, not at all fond of the fact that Connor would be taken with the box all day. He'd read horror reports about what television did to children…
"And the cake?" He forced himself to move on. Cordelia flipped through her checklist.
"Will be delivered an hour before the reception starts."
"Decorators –" Angel started but the brunette woman abruptly cut him off.
"Are decorating as we speak." Angel racked his brain, struggling to think of what else needed to be done.
"The wedding dress!" He finally remembered and Cordelia beamed, tossing her clipboard away.
"I picked it out last night – you are so going to die when you see it!" Angel hesitated, visions of virginal white wedding dresses running out.
"It's not, you know, white – right?" He inquired. "Because if it, then I'll die because Arezue will kill me." Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Duh." She sighed, giving him a look that said she found him pathetic to say the least. "It's red – the color of blood." Angel stared at her, panic consuming.
"You picked a red wedding dress!" He exclaimed. "That doesn't sound normal!" Cordelia rolled her eyes, ignoring his obvious distress.
"Well neither are those invitations." She waved one around. "You replace Dracula's name wit –" She started but Angel deftly cut her off, snatching the invitation from her hands.
"No! Arezue might hear you and –" He took a deep breath. "Dracula's name isn't on the invitation because I've got a plan." Cordelia's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Angel!"
Wesley silently watched as Arezue made faces while the tailor, Fred and Gunn argued about the veil. Arezue spotted him and smiled, flashing him her underwear under the lavender dress she wore.
Wesley just smiled back, sadness filling him. Arezue had been flirting with him on and off since the moment they'd met – he was pretty sure he had a reasonable shot at a relationship with her – but he knew better.
She would live forever, he would die tomorrow - it was better he accepted it now. The relationship between Angel and Buffy had closed off Angel's heart forever; he could never do that to the woman he loved.
It wasn't that he was a good man, quite the opposite actually. He'd just chosen to make sure that Arezue would be happy and loved.
Angel had informed him that she did, in fact, love the man she was to marry tonight and he had it on good authority that he loved her just as much. After all, the two of them had spent nearly a hundred years together; the watcher's council had even nicknamed them 'the vampire paradox couple'.
If he could do this without breaking down then perhaps he was not a lost cause after all...
"Wesley!" Arezue's voice broke into his thoughts and he looked up to see her beaming at him. Would she hate him when the truth came out? He wondered. Would the wonder he saw reflected in her eyes towards him at the moment turn cold after tonight? "I think I'd like a sundae. Join me?" Her eyes said it wasn't a request. "Promise you can have the cherry."
Wesley smiled. Maybe tonight she would hate him, but right now she didn't. Only a complete monster would accept her offer, knowing full well that he was going to betray her. But then again, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce had never really sold himself as a good man.
"I suppose the decorators can wait awhile." Wesley confirmed coolly, making sure to keep his composure. Beaming, Arezue stood up and grabbed his hand, ignoring the tailors' protests about how they hadn't tried on the veil yet and Fred's nagging for them to be ready for the hairdresser soon.
Spike hurried into Groom's Bridal, pulling the tattered smoking blanket off and discretely tossing it into a corner. Angel had insisted that he pick up his tux from the bridal shop before he did anything else.
He'd received the invitation long before he'd gotten the phone call and had nearly had a heart attack (figuratively speaking, of course).
When Angel finally informed him of what was going on, he'd nearly freaked – after all, to be reminded of your lost love was painful. How she'd walked out on him all those years ago was still a sore spot…
But then he thought about what Buffy would want him to do if she were alive (after telling him to get lost) and made his choice.
He'd left Dawn in the care of Willow and Tara (telling them that he had a wedding to attend) and drove down as soon as possible.
"Name, sir?" The clerk inquired and Spike grinned at the leggy blonde.
"William the Bloody." The clerk smiled back at him; flashing him her breasts as she purposely bent down to supposedly see the book better.
"I'm guessing you're the best man." Spike laughed.
"Not bloody likely, pet." He smiled, hoping the next line would make her stop drooling. "Finally decided to tie the knot." The clerk seemed to think this was a turn on.
"Wow! Congratulations." She giggled. "I'll go get it from the back." Spike watched her go, spotting the woman's side. Maybe he ought to get the bride-to-be a present.
"That teddy seems nice enough." He mused, tilting his head to see if it was, in fact, see- through or not. "Would call for a lot of make up sex…"
Arezue stared at the Polaroid in her hands. "This is what I look like?" She blinked. "Hey, I have really nice skin!" Since Arezue didn't have a reflection, Fred had come up with the idea that maybe they should take pictures instead. Arezue was pretty surprised at the idea – wasn't there a rumor that vampires didn't show up in photographs?
"No…" Cordelia groaned. "You're supposed to be telling us whether you think anything needs to be fixed or not," She paused. "Like your hair. It's all poofy on one side and not the other. The hairdresser sighed (Arezue had pinpointed him as gay by now).
"That is the fashion!" Arezue groaned as Cordelia and the hairdresser began to argue again. She was starting to suspect that she was going to spend the entire day getting her hair done.
'I am so never going to get married for real. It's a waste of time that I could be using to seduce a certain ex-watcher…' Cordelia hadn't even allowed her to finish her sundae, insisting that they still had too much to do. Poor Wesley had even gotten a lecture from the queen bee about how he was supposed to be with the decorators, supervising their work.
She distractedly watched Fred and Gunn make kissy faces at each other as they left to pick up demons and vampires that were flying in.
'Poor, poor Wesley,' She mused. 'I wonder how I can make it up to him…' As the hairdresser began to redo her hair according to Cordelia's instructions, Arezue began to daydream of all the things she was going to do with Wesley once the wedding was canceled.
Denial, thy name is Arezue…
At seven that evening the hotel was bustling with activity. Angel was going insane, the furies were chanting Angel's name provocatively, Cordelia was helping Arezue change into her dress, Wesley and Gunn were keeping the multi-species guests under control and Fred was fawning over Arezue.
"You know this is a waste of time, right?" Arezue asked Cordelia, trying to see if Cordelia was lacing up the corset right.
"Angel…Angel…Angel…"
"Right." Cordelia answered her distractedly. Arezue had a sneaking suspicion that the brunette wasn't paying any attention to her at all. "Fred, honey," Cordelia squinted. "You think the hem is done right?" Fred shrugged.
"Angel…Angel…Angel…" Arezue bit her lip; she was starting to feel nervous at how close the furies were to her father. They were practically smothering him…
"Looks all right, do you want me to get the tailor?" Cordelia pressed her lips together, tilting her head to the side.
"Nah. I think it looks okay. Did you get the bouquet?" Fred held up the pink roses – Angel had insisted they be pink. Arezue smiled thinly, realizing the symbolism of the pink roses.
"Angel…Angel…Angel…"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
1755, Ireland
The hand broke through the dirt, searching for leverage. The onlookers watched with anticipation, the brunette male tense.
'Shan't we help her?" He hissed to her company. The blonde sighed.
"She has to make it out on her own. It's tradition." She sighed again. "The girl should've been out by now." The creature crawling out of the dirt seemed to struggle but neither moved to help her. Fifteen minutes later, managing to reach leveraged ground, it burst out and into the silent graveyard.
A relieved look broke over the brunette's face as the couple reached the fledgling who was now struggling to breathe.
"Alrigh' there lass?" The male inquired.
"Of course she is. She's a childe of Aurelius, isn't she?" It was a broad statement as the blonde brushed the dirt out of her childe's face.
"My adorable little girl." She whispered delightedly, handing her a bouquet of pink roses. "To signify the beginning of the rest of your life." The girl's eyes widened as the blonde enveloped her into a hug, dirt and all.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Arezue took a deep breath, taking the bouquet from Fred, eyes filling with tears as she fingered them.
Darla. Her mother. She'd have been so proud of her today (even if it was all a sham).
"Aww!" Fred engulfed her in a hug, obviously convinced that she was crying with happiness. Arezue chose to preserve her dignity by letting her think it.
"Angel…Angel…Angel…" Gritting her teeth, Arezue whirled around. She was going to kill those slutty furies...
As the wedding march sounded and Arezue was pushed into the isle, everyone oohed and Arezue distractedly reminded herself to watch the furies. She'd taken care of them but they could come back…
Dracula smiled at her and she coldly smiled back as her mind wandered to how she would get her revenge. Next to him stood Spike (who Dracula supposed was the best man). Arezue's eyes widened as she spotted the platinum blonde.
"William?" She whispered in shock, staring at him. He grinned at her mischievously, not looking at all surprised to see her.
"Yep. Here for Drac's wedding. You one of the bridesmaids?" Something in his eyes told her that he was up to something. Before she could reply, a smirking Dracula cut in.
"She's the bride, William." He sneered, his eyes telling Spike that he was the victor in their bid for the vampiress. "And I'm the groom." Spike pulled back, shock on his face. Why was Arezue getting the feeling this was all an elaborate act?
The guests watched, presumably wondering what the holdup was.
"Le' me get this straight." Spike whispered, anger flaring in his countenance. "You're indebted to me and you pay me back by stealing me woman?" Vladimir looked taken aback.
"No, I didn't –" He knew what this meant. If he screwed Spike over in front of the entire the entire demon community while indebted to him (even for a lousy eleven pounds), everyone would see this as backstabbing. It was a setup, he realized with anger. "No, William, you misunderstand me." He forced a smile onto his face. "Arezue is the bride and you are the groom. This is how I repay you."
Arezue's eyes widened in shock. No! What the hell was going on here?
'It doesn't matter.' She told herself. 'If I don't do my part in the ritual – If I don't drink his blood – we can't be bound together for all of eternity.' She smiled. Her plan was the best plan in the world. She'd spent an entire day working on it! She watched as Dracula stepped aside and Spike took his place (was it just her or did he have the deepest darkest clearest bluest most gorgeous eyes in the world or…).
The vampire priest took his place, "we are gathered here today, my fellow demons, to witness the blood-binding of William the Bloody of Aurelius and Charlotte Jane Angelus of Aurelius…" The look on Dracula's face was one of pure contempt.
Arezue ran through her plan once more; William's impromptu arrival would not change anything. In order for them to be bound, she had to drink Spike's blood and he hers, she would just refuse to drink and the couplitus ritual would not work.
The priest continued, "Instead of using the couplitus ritual, that has been widely popular over the last century or so," Arezue froze, glancing at Angel. He was giving her a knowing look. No, no, no! "We will be using the triumlitus ritual." There was a gender murmur of confusions amongst the guests.
'The triu-what!' Arezue thought, too shocked to run. 'What the hell is he talking about?'
"As you may or may not know," The priest spoke over the crowd, raising his voice over the crowd to be heard. "This ritual requires the exchanging of blood by the bride's sire as well as the groom.
"No…" Arezue whispered, staring in frozen terror at her father. This ritual would require her to do nothing; she didn't even need to be present. She silently watched as the golden goblet was filled with Angel's as well as Spike's blood.
She watched as they both drank and everyone clapped. She watched as the priest informed the crowd that the ritual would be complete when the union was consummated. She watched as the guests rose to move onto dinner and shock overwhelmed her senses.
The last thing she saw was Wesley's pained expression before darkness consumed her and she lost consciousness.
"Charlotte Jane?" Pet?" The voice permeated Arezue's consciousness as the feeling of warmth suddenly overwhelmed her senses. Was it William? It sounded a lot like him… She smiled slowly, his ocean-blue eyes coming into contact with her brown ones.
"William…" He grinned down at her and she could practically feel her heart melting. Wasn't that just ironic? …and the Ice Queen's heart melted as… Arezue giggled, the child's fairy tale coming to mind.
"Took a nasty fall there, love." Spike frowned at her. "You okay?" Arezue nodded, reaching up to massage her forehead.
"I had the oddest dream, Will. We got married…" Her laughter ceased as guilt glided across Spike's face. "What? Where are we?" She shot up and glanced around. They were in an ordinary looking room.
"Welcome to La Suite De Lune de mile." Spike murmured huskily, running a finger down her arm. Arezue's eyes widened – the honeymoon suite! Seeing her look, Spike clarified. "We're s'possed to go down after we're done shagging."
"After we're done sha…" It clicked in her mind suddenly. If they didn't consummate the ritual, it would be void.
"I have to go." She tried to leave the bed but was stopped by Spike pressing his lips to hers.
"Nooommmm…" She moaned against the kiss. She couldn't do this. It was wrong. And he was a complete bastard – leaving her the way he did. And – was it just her or was he the best kisser she'd ever been with?
"Ooh!" She gasped out as Spike's hands found their way under her dress. As the lust slowly overtook her, she forgot all about the ritual and gave in to his ministrations.
A few hours later, Arezue crawled out from under him. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling, brooding and looking spent. As realization as to what she'd just done hit her, she burst into tears; running to the door and throwing it haphazardly open.
Wesley stood in the doorway, holding a bouquet and sporting a look that said he was to trying to compose himself.
"You forgot this." He slowly said, handing it to her. She stared down at the pink roses in horror.
((To signify the beginning of the rest of your life)) Darla's words echoed in the wind. Arezue clapped her hands over her mouth in disbelief.
"No!" She shook her head at Wesley in disbelief. Wesley looked at her sadly.
"You love him – Spike." He said softly and she nodded the affirmative.
"Yes, Wesley, I do love him. But," She bit her lip. "I think I also love yo-" Wesley silenced her by placing his right index finger to her lips. He seemed to be in pain.
"No." He shook his head at her. "You shouldn't." She stared at him, confused.
"Wesley, when we met – I had a premonition." Wesley nodded, not looking at all surprised. He would know, Arezue couldn't help but think; he had been a watcher after all.
"Yes." He nodded for her to continue.
"I saw love –" His eyes widened with panic.
"Did you see who – " Arezue shook her head and he looked relieved, causing her to frown. "Good." She watched him curiously.
"Who is it?" He smiled at her, reaching out to stroke her cheek. Wesley shook his head at her, sadness in his eyes.
"It's really not all that important." She smiled, tilting her head to consider him.
"Bet she loves you too. Or he. No one could ever resist those charms of you, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." He wasn't too sure about that but he did know that she regarded him with as much affection as her twisted heart could manage.
"I don't think that's quite possible." He replied finally. Her smile faded in surprise. "We're from two different worlds. It would never work." She rolled her eyes, laughing a heartless laugh.
"You're such a freak. Romeo and Juliet are so overdone." She shrugged nonchalantly. "The furies are stashed in a broom closet down the hall. You could fuck them if it would make you feel better." He laughed softly and she smiled down sadly at the flowers.
"Have you told her that you love her, yet?" She asked and Wesley couldn't help but smile sadly. He'd figured she'd hate him if she ever found out his secret – now he would know for sure.
"No," He broke off abruptly, pulling a card out of his tux. "There's something I need to tell you." He held his breath as she read it.
"You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Charlotte Jane Liam O'Connor and William – " She glanced up at him, eyes widening. "- the Bloody!"
She stared at him as everything slowly clicked into place.
"Everything was planned?" He chuckled bitterly.
"Everyone knew. Angel and I came up with it. Everyone just went along with it." There was silence.
"Arezue – " Wesley started but was cut off.
"It's Charlotte Jane, you know that." He nodded slowly. She didn't hate him like he'd feared she would. She respected him.
"I did the right thing, didn't I?" Angel asked Cordelia who replied the affirmative. "Then why do I feel so –" he searched for the word, "bad?" Cordelia sighed.
"Because you're afraid she hates you. Angel," She placed her hand on his thigh. "It was either Dracula or Spike. The lesser of two evils, remember?" Angel couldn't help scowling a little. He couldn't believe he'd given his little girl away to Spike, of all the stupid mindless things he'd done…
"And anyways," Cordelia took a bite of her cake. "She actually likes Spike, remember? Give it a year, she'll be thanking you." Angel just sighed, drowning his drink and glancing over at where Connor sat, nervously trying to hide a wine cooler. Next to him sat Wesley, staring stonily at the wall.
"Yeah," Cordelia intoned just as Angel decided to let Connor's wine cooler slide. "Wesley's on his seventh whiskey." She frowned. "Speaking of which, we get to keep the leftover alcohol, right?"
"You think they're going to come down anytime soon?" He asked, causing Cordelia to burst out laughing.
"As if!" She threw back her glass. "They're probably all lovey-dovey with the love making and all."
Arezue leaned against the back of the door, sobbing. Spike held her silently. He knew she was probably devastated at being forced into such a marriage but wasn't quite sure how to make it better.
"I'm sorry, love." He whispered and she shook her head at him, a look of resentment crossing her features.
"I love you!" She gasped out. "I never stopped, tell me!" She pounded on his chest. "Tell me that you never stopped either."
Spike didn't reply. He loved her but he loved Buffy as well. Yes, Buffy was dead but that didn't mean he could forget about her.
And he couldn't tell Charlotte Jane he loved her. It wouldn't be a lie, but it would still be wrong.
"Tell me…please…" ((To signify the beginning of the rest of your life))