(Here's Chapter Four, sorry it is shorter…But thank all of you for the nice reviews! I'm sorry Vince is evil in this story, but i needed a bad guy and he fit so well with what i needed. But we all know he is not evil, just...gloomy. :) Well, enjoy!)
Beetlejuice was really starting to get worried now. He'd waited all night for Lydia to come home and she never had. Finally, when the sky had brightened again (it was never truly "day" down here) he moved out toward the market.
When he got there, everyone was still setting up their shops and putting out their produce. He walked over to several vendors who all swore on their mothers' souls that they'd never seen hide nor hair of the raven-haired girl. After about an hour of being stonewalled by guilty-looking vendors and salesmen, he finally lost his temper, walking over to a wagon selling books marked "Half Off" and each book was missing half of their pages. Growling almost, Beetlejuice flipped the cart over into the storefront proper, scaring the hell out of the patrons.
"WHERE'S THE GIRL?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, deafening everyone around him who wasn't already shocked.
The storekeeper, seeing Beetlejuice coming for him with hellfire in his eyes, squealed loudly before trying to run away. He got about two feet before Beetlejuice grabbed him with both hands, his form having grown to about twice his normal size, and his features having returned to the gruesome visage rather than the almost human face he'd been wearing for Lydia.
"WHERE IS SHE?" He fumed into the frightened storekeeper's face. "TELL ME NOW OR SUFFER."
"I don't know! I don't know, I'm sorry!" The storekeeper said, scared witless. He'd seen Beetlejuice angry before and would rather spare himself the pain that resisting him would inflict. "I saw her last night, I did. But she just walked away with some well-dressed man. I don't know where they went."
Beetlejuice deflated, this time, literally shrinking his form until the storekeeper was standing back on the ground.
"She what?" He asked again, more calmly this time.
"She left with some well-dressed gentleman. He seemed quite surprised to see her at first, but it was almost like he was waiting for her. I heard him say something about taking her somewhere, but I wasn't really paying attention, I do apologize but that is all I know, so would you kindly leave so I can clean up the mess you've made. Thank you and good day, Beetlejuice."
Beetlejuice was in such shock that he allowed the fast talking salesman to push him out the front door and lock it behind him.
"She left?" He asked, in disbelief.
Hanging his head, he walked slowly back home. More alone than he'd felt in his long un-life.
Lydia groaned as she shifted, heavy with sleep. Her eyes opened slowly, unaware that she was not at the Roadhouse. Then everything hit her with so much force she moaned.
"Beej…" She whispered, her heart breaking into a million pieces.
Tears sprung to her eyes. He probably thought that she had broken her promise…again. Jumping out of the fluffy bed, she ran to the window. She could see everything from where she stood. Even the Roadhouse. Tears fell from her eyes. What was she going to do? Some other freak was trying to marry her! Only, this one wanted her dead. Lydia sobbed. She wished Beetlejuice was here. She wished he had done with her. Falling to her knees, Lydia let the tears flow freely, her heart aching terribly for the one person she though she despised.
Suddenly the door creaked open. Frightened, Lydia spun around to see a ghost maid float in.
"It's time to get ready, Miss." She whispered as she began checking all of Lydia's pulse sights. Lydia pushed herself away from the ghost.
"Get away! I AM NOT MARRYING THAT JERK! AND I AM NOT GOING TO DIE!"
The maid looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry Miss, but you must." With a snap of her fingers, the maid caused Lydia to go stiff and unmoving, unable to move. A tear escaped Lydia.
'I need you BJ. Where are you?' She thought to the vast emptiness.
Lydia felt the ghost causing her body to float through the air down the hall to a large bedroom where Vince was standing, looking quite smug.
"Hello Lydia-dear."
Lydia glared though her form was unmoving. Vince chuckled as he walked over to her.
"Poor, innocent Lydia." He purred before kissing her.
Lydia wanted to scream and cry, anything to push him off but she was still FROZEN!!
Vince pulled back, snapping his fingers. In a flash Lydia's attire changed to one of a pearl colored dress that fit loosely but still flattered her. He leered at her.
"Once you are my bride, you will not be so unsure nor innocent." He threatened.
Lydia's eyes widened in fear. Good God…
Vince chuckled evilly as he snapped his fingers once more, releasing her from the spell. Lydia fell to the floor, wincing in pain.
"Get the Hell away from me…" She hissed, glaring daggers.
Vince laughed as he flicked his fingers, a knife appearing.
"Such a mouth…now, how should I kill you? If I use this that pretty little neck of yours will be ruined…"
Vince's grin grew as the knife disappeared, a goblet taking it's place.
"But poison would leave you flawless."
Lydia stood up and backed towards his window, fear hidden in her eyes but she hid it with a glare.
"I won't drink it." She challenged.
Vince chuckled. "Willingly, maybe not. But you WILL drink it one way or another."
Before Lydia could respond, Vince had thrown her against the wall with a flick of his hand, an invisible force held her there. Her stomach began to drop in fear.
Desperately she closed her eyes and tried to call for Beetlejuice. Damn his curse!!
"B-B-B-GAH! NO!!!" She sobbed. "Beej! I need you!" She sobbed.
She wanted to shout his name. She had promised Juno she never would again and Beetlejuice told her she would never be able to say his name in hate ever again so she couldn't escape him. Tears moistened her lashes but she refused to let them fall. She had to keep trying…
"Beet-BEET-LE…" Her heart stopped in hope. Maybe…
"BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE!! BEETLEJUICE!!!!" She sobbed, her heart aching with the ringing of his name on her lips.
At the Roadhouse, Beetlejuice felt utterly dejected. He's trusted Lydia and she had burnt him.
Again.
"Well fool me twice, shame on me." He grumbled.
He'd resolved to go out and drink away all memory of Lydia and everything else when he felt a strange twisting in his stomach.
Someone was calling him.
Beetlejuice felt dizzy as he saw his surroundings go hazy then disappear. Who the Hell was calling him at a time like this?? In fact, who the Hell was calling him at all?
Suddenly he was dropped onto a stone floor. Grumbling he looked up ready to cause havoc when he saw Lydia trembling on the floor, Vince loosing control of his spell due to the shock, in a long white dress that hung loosely around her shoulders. Prince Vince was standing above her, ready to do who knows what. And right now, it didn't look good.
"Excuse me, sir." He said to Vince, ignoring him, knowing full well that Vince hated to be ignored and walked over to talk to Lydia, whose hair was falling out of the little bun that it had been previously pulled into.
"Just where have you been young lady? I've been worried sick about you." He said, trying to sound as if he were joking to cover the reality of the statement.
Bending slightly, he took her elbow and pulled her up to him. Lydia lost all control at the sight of him. Her pent up tears fell down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck without thinking.
"Please don't be mad!" She cried out without thinking, trying to defend herself. "I swear I didn't run out on you!"
With that she buried her face into his neck, the tears wetting the cool skin there. Beetlejuice felt something inside of him hitch at the feel.
"Oh? And where'd you go then Lyds? Running off with odd men," He nodded his head to Vince, who seemed rather taken aback by all of this. "Odd men with good taste anyway."
He turned to face Vince fully, holding Lydia close to him.
"Sorry to just drop by like this, wouldn't want to wear out our welcome and all so we'll have to be saying goodbye."
Prince Vince hissed, coming out of his shocked state. With a flick of his wrist he sent Beetlejuice flying from Lydia, dragging the girl to him and wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Beetlejuice, how nice to see you. I don't know how this girls knows you but she's MINE." He leered at her while reaching to touch her butt. Lydia, who seemed to be struggling in vain, screamed.
"GET OFF ME!"
Vince just chuckled and pulled her closer to him, kissing her on the mouth.
Beetlejuice took this about as well as could be expected.
One. Vince had disrespected Beetlejuice's bad-ass reputation, cold-clocking him like that. That wouldn't do.
Two. Vince had made him angry with Lydia when it wasn't her fault. That definitely wouldn't do.
Three. The asshole had just touched his lips onto Lydia's. He would pay for that one.
Beetlejuice stood back up, fury boiling over in his eyes, his pupils being out shown by the rage shimmering within.
"Let. Her. Go." He said slowly, trying not to completely lose it, afraid to attack Vince while Lydia was still in the line of fire.
Vince grinned menacingly as he threw Lydia to the bed. For some reason the infamous Beetlejuice seemed to care for the small human girl. If his calculations were right, Vince had finally found his weakness. Cackling he slammed Beetlejuice into the wall again with another flick of his wrist, and with a snap bindings grew from the wall and wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles, holding him in place.
"Oh, I'll let her go…as soon as I'm done with her." He leered, tying Lydia to the bed as she thrashed around trying to keep him at bay. When that didn't work she screamed.
"BJ!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Vince laughed as he began to pull the beautiful white dress from her shoulders. Beetlejuice stepped away from the wall, his body oozing around the bindings as though they weren't there. Walking up behind Vince, he tapped him on the shoulder to get him to turn around before releasing the punch he'd wound up, his fist taking the form of a hammer the size of Vince's head. Lydia cringed at the crack the blow made, which could only have been Vince's nose breaking.
"I told ya to let her go, Bub. Now you get to see my mean side." Beetlejuice said before bringing a knee up into Vince's face. Vince, trying to pull himself together and keep the green ectoplasm trickling from his face from staining his outfit.
Vince pointed an angry finger at Beetlejuice, a blast of magic spewing from it and causing Beetlejuice to crash against the bed post.
"Why so upset Beetlejuice?" Vince taunted. "You couldn't possible care for her could you? You? Actually thinking of someone other than yourself?"
Vince noticed Beetlejuice's eye twitching with rage. He sneered. Jackpot.
"You lost her years ago." He hissed, bringing back the memories of three years ago.
Beetlejuice stood up, the shattered wood of the bedpost in his hand as he took a step towards Vince. Denial was shooting through him. He hadn't lost her! She was right THERE! She hadn't betrayed him again like he thought she had! Beetlejuice narrowed his eyes. She. Was. HIS.
Furious and overprotective, Beetlejuice swung the wood one-handed at Vince's head. Vince blocked the blow easily with one hand and took in a breath to laugh at Beetlejuice's ineptitude at fighting before losing it in a gasping cough as Beetlejuice's other hand came hammering in, this one holding a pointed shard of wood it its fist.
Vince coughed green ectoplasm.
"Silly Beetlejuice. You can't kill me. You out of everyone should know that. I'm already dead."
Beetlejuice tried to punch him again, but this time Vince caught his fist in his hand and began pushing him, one hand against the wall.
"And I am always going to be stronger then you. That's why I'm royalty and you're just a base cur. So why don't you just give up and go home already?" Vince taunted.
Vince snapped his fingers and an iron maiden appeared on the other side of the room. Cackling, he held Beetlejuice by his throat and untied Lydia, positioning her in aim of the torture device.
"This may ruin your beautiful body, but I think it will get the point across quite nicely."
Lydia looked up at Beetlejuice, her eyes pleading with him as she lifted her arms, surprising him by actually reaching for him.
Seeing Lydia reaching for him unlocked something inside of him he didn't even know he had. Reaching within himself, he drew up a power even greater then his pride-the prior source of his ghostly powers. His eyes set on Wince, black flames dancing playfully in each of them as he locked sight on his target. As easily and naturally as breathing would have been if he were alive, he bent Vince's arm back, putting him into a painful lock. With the same ease, he used his powers to pull Lydia away from the Iron Maiden and to push Vince toward it. Vince's eyes grew large as he saw the black contraption drawing near. Where he couldn't die, he could still feel pain. He tried to stop Beetlejuice, but every time he'd stop struggling long enough to concentrate, Beetlejuice would push harder on his elbow, the pain shattering any chance of reaching focus.
"NO! NO! NOOOOO!" Vince yelled, being pushed unwillingly into the maw of the death machine. Beetlejuice grinned as he closed it shut on him and summoned a giant padlock chain which he wrapped around it to keep it sealed. With a grin at Lydia, who was staring in horror, he pulled the slide which covered the face to the side to show a very unhappy Vince. Lydia blinked then looked up at Beetlejuice in question. Vince drew a breath to curse them before having his mouth sealed by Beetlejuice with a riveted plate. Other than being angry it didn't look like he was harmed. Lydia cocked her head at Beetlejuice, who grinned at her, pointing back to Vince. Lydia grimaced as she saw beetles crawling over Vince inside the contraption. Somehow Beetlejuice had gotten rid of the spikes on the inside and replaced them with…beetles? Lydia looked up at him, a confused smile that spoke 'you are so weird'. Beetlejuice just winked at her before closing the plate to further muffle Vince's moans and grunts. He waved his hand and took the form of Vince, and, using his voice, said.
"Do be a dear and pretend that you're dead and my wife now darling. I would so hate for you to blow my gambit."
Lydia crossed her arms across her chest playfully.
"You would love that wouldn't you? It'd be three years ago all over again."
Beetlejuice grinned before turning and summoning the maid.
"Oh maid! Come here at once."
The maid that Lydia had seen before appeared immediately and was apparently taken in by Beetlejuice's disguise.
"Yes, Milord, how can I help you?"
"Well you can start by cleaning up this mess." He gestured towards the shattered remnants of the bed and the locked Iron Maiden. "The wife is quite…energetic, in bed, if you know what I mean." He added with a leer and wink to the maid.
"Y-yes! Milord, right away!" The maid said, moving to pick up the pieces.
Lydia's whole face was bright with a blush as she glared at Beetlejuice whom she could tell was laughing inside at her due to the sparkle in his eyes. Her blush deepened as she stared at him. She was still in shock out of the whole experience and she was still no closer to finding another way out of this mess. Although, she HAD been scared out of her mind for Beetlejuice, though she could not admit it aloud, especially to him. She cursed herself but it was a true fact that she had realized seeing the two fight. She actually cared for Beetlejuice. Lydia fell to the floor, a tear escaping her will. What was she going to do now?
Beetlejuice felt his stomach churn at the sight of her tear. In the blink of an eye he as standing next to her, bending over to pick her up. He gently wiped the tear out from under her eye before starting to walk away. Lydia strewn in his arms, he turned back to the maid.
"Oh and make sure you take all of that junk to the dump. And one last thing. I'm going away on my honeymoon for a few weeks so don't be worried it I am not around for the next couple of months."
Lydia surprised him yet again when as he started to walk towards the Roadhouse she did not insist that she could walk on her own. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the soft skin of his neck where it met his shoulder. Her breathing was heavy, still trying to calm the adrenaline rush. What Beetlejuice hadn't noticed yet was that her small body was covered in cuts and the dress was completely tattered now, the straps slipping down her shoulders. At the moment however, she didn't care. She was safe. She KNEW she was safe now, here with Beetlejuice.
(YAY! A little fluff! I love fluff! And these two are just too cute! ;) I hope you liked it even though it is a stressful chapter. I should have chapter five up pretty soon! Please Review, they motivate me! Heehee.)