"You're a vampire? You're a vampire!" Spike shouted, before being quieted by Wren's sharp "Shhhh!"
"You're a vampire!" he said again in a harsh whisper.
"Yeah, I think we covered that part already," Wren said, starting to get a bit angry.
"But, you're alive! I can hear you're heart doing the whole beating thing!"
"Well...that part might need a little more explanation."
England, 2002, Oxfordshire, April.
"And you're sure, it will be soon?" said the younger looking Vampire
"All the signs point to the prophecy being carried out exactly as was foretold. The Hellmouth will be destroyed next month and the ritual will take place." said the other occupant of the room, a slightly older looking Vampire wearing glasses and dark red ceremonial robes.
"Then someone should tell the Master."
"He is already fully aware of the situation. He is speaking with the child now. Assessing whether she is truly ready for the change."
The younger vampire waited before speaking quietly, "And if she isn't?"
"We have been training her for the last sixteen years! She will be ready!"
-+-
Wren walked up to the large oak doors she had become so familiar with over her years in the mansion. Today was the first day she was to be allowed to pass through them, to speak to the Master in his private chambers. She knocked without hesitation, and walked in confidently when she was called.
Inside the room was almost entitely dark, except for a small area at the far end where a patch of the carpet was lit by a huge log fire. Wren considered this a very stupid thing for a vampire to have in their room, but did not give much thought to the matter.
In front of the fire was a large leather chair. Next to it stood a man...or rather, male vampire, with whom she was all too familiar. He was tall, but not enormous, with shoulder length blonde hair. He wore plain blue jeans and a black sweater and was remarkable only for his unusually normal dress sense. Everyone else in the cult was far more eccentric in their clothing, while he preferred to remain as nondescript as posible. He was standing with his back to the door through which she had entered, leaning over so that he may talk quietly with the occupant of the chair. As Wren approached, she saw a long, think hand wave the vampire away and beckon her to step closer.
The vampire turned and left the room, walking past Wren. As they crossed paths, he gave her a look of barely concealed malice, which she returned in kind. There was no love lost between these two.
"Wren, please join me," the figure in the chair spoke.
Wren walked over to the right and side of the chair and kneeled with her head bowed, as she had been instucted to do. Holding her hand out she spoke in a low and reverent tone.
"Master, I beseech you let me look upon you and hold council, for you are truly wise and great." Wren spoke with the formality of someone who has been told exactly what to say, and threatened with what would happen if she was anything other than servile.
The Master took her hand and spoke in a strangely kindly manner, "Come now child, no need for such formality, eh?"
With that, Wren looked up for the first time and into the eyes of the figure seated before her.
What she saw was the same she had seen almost every day for sixteen years. A vampire of uncountable age, with long grey hair, dazling blue eyes and a face which, although aged, did nothing to reveal the true number of years it had seen. Some people said this Master was one of the remaining Old Ones on Earth. Others said he was even older than that. To Wren this did not matter. To her this man, this demon, was the closest thing to a father she had ever known and, although she knew she did not love him, he had a place in her heart which no one else could ever have.
"Well, then," he said, moving to stand up and walk towards the fire, gesturing for Wren to join him, "I suppose you are wondering why I called to meet with you in here, rather than in the Great Hall, yes?"
"Yes sir, when Julian said you wanted to see me, I was affraid I'd done something to displease you."
"Now Wren, we both know that could never be the case," the Master said, smiling fondly on his protoge. "I called you here, because the time of your calling is almost at hand."
Wren did not react to this. She had been aware for months that she would soon become a slayer, and about the prophecy for years before that. Instead she simply replied "Yes Sir."
"I just wanted to know how you are dealing with the last few days of your training. I know that Edward has been training you hard this past few weeks."
Wren nodded in response to this and added "Yes Sir, but I have been enjoying the challenge."
"Yes, I'm sure you have. You really are a remarkable girl Wren. I await the time after the ritual with great anticipation."
Unsure of how to repond, Wren said nothing. She had no thoughts either way about the fulfilment of the prophecy, it was simply the way things were and had always been.
The Master continued, "As for the ritual itself, I'm sure you are aware that it will be I who carries out the required tasks. Seth will naturally be there to ensure nothing goes wrong, but..."
At the mention of the other vampire's name, Wrens expression immediately darkened, and her fists clenched, something with did not escape the Master's notice.
"Ah, yes. I see the two of you have still not managed to resolve your differences."
"I'll resolve mine as soon as he resolves to stop trying to kill me," Wren answered, anger and hatred clear in her words.
"Yes, it is quite reprehensible, this vendetta he has against you. But you seem to hold your own quite well against him?"
"Well enough, Sir," Wren replied, but said no more on the matter.
"Very good then. As I was saying, the ritual should be a simple matter of you drinking from me at the exact moment you are called as the Slayer. After that it shouldn't be any time before the full effect of the merging takes place and you are imbued with your new powers."
"Yes, Sir," Wren said politely.
The Master studied her for a moment longer, before turning his attention back to the fire.
"Very good. Well, I'm sure you will have a lot of preparation to be doing before then. Seth tells me that I certainly will, so I must take my rest. Good Evening Wren."
At her clear dismissal, Wren turned and left the room the same way she had entered. She turned left to return to her room, but was grabbed by a tight hand on her shoulder and was spun around quickly to face her assailant. Powerless to break his grip she was forced to look into the startling green eyes of the person who she loathed above all others, his eyes reflecting the hatred she had in her own hazel ones.
"How wonderful to see you child," he growled, putting emphasis on the last word. "Did we have a nice little chat with daddy?"
Wren struggled uselessly, before replying, her words shaking with anger. "He's not my father."
"No, but he soon will be, wont he? Soon the Master's precious little girl will be a big bad slayer, and then everyone shall bow before her."
"You think I care about this Seth. You think I actually care how you, any of you, feel about me? I don't. But as soon as the ritual is done, you will wish you had never been born, let alone turned."
Both stood, facing each other, trying to stare their opponent down, Seth growling in a dangerous tone the whole time, but it did no good. Both knew they could never hurt the other. Wren because of her inferior strength, and Seth because the entire order worshiped the ground the girl walked on, a fact which made him sick.
Seth finally broke and forcefully pushed Wren away so that she stumbled back a few paces.
"Ok then, precious," he spat the word out as though it were poison, "have it your way. But just don't count your chickens before they hatch. After all this goes down who knows who's going to have the power around here? And what they might have in their mind to do with it."
With that, Seth turned and stalked off down the corridor, leaving a confused and shaking Wren behind him.
After a few moments of staring after her nemesis, Wren turned and angrily stormed back to her room, slamming the door behind her.
-+-
"So there you go," Wren finished explaining, "It was a case of your basic 'Girl gets called, girl gets turned, ooh lookie a half vampire, half slayer killing machine' kind of deal. With a bit more magic and ritual thrown in for good measure."
"OK, I get the whole ritual turning thing. Combining the essence of the Slayer with the essence of a super powerful Master vampire would lead to a big pile of trouble. But you're still not telling me how you turned out the way you are pet. I mean, as far as I can tell you're not some blood crazed killing machine working for a cult of vampires..." Spike paused and looked at Wren speculatively,"are you?"
"Hmmm...maybe..." Wren teased. At his stunned look she continued, "No dumbass I'm not a...whatever it was you just said."
"So I ask my original question. What are you?"
"Well, me telling you that that would require two things."
"Such as...?"
"Another flashback moment...and a very large piece of chocolate cake," she said, fake sweet smile firmly in place.
Spike sighed, and put up his hand to catch the waitress' attention.