-First
Battle-
AUTHORS : dru & Evil Willow (Go worship the goddess that is EW!)
SERIES: Beauty & the Beast
PAIRINGS : Cordelia/Spike
RATING : NC17 (highly smutty with plenty of delicious yums!)
WARNING: a little violence,
bloodplay and death- as well mild female/female & spike/female
DISCLAIMER : We do not own these
characters.
NOTE : Takes place after season
three of Buffy, but before season four.
=====================================================================
THE
WAR : FIRST BATTLE
I
open my mouth to argue with him, because there's no *way* he can go out and
confront those psychopaths! I'm interrupted by a knock on the adjoining door.
Anton walks in, after a second. He takes one look at John, and then says,
"I'm sorry to intrude. I wanted to tell you that Mia and I found one of
your female servants, earlier, frightened out of her mind and talking about
Donovan... but it looks like her mate made it back to you after all."
"John!"
Anne comes rushing in, crying, and I can feel for her. She must be feeling what
I felt when I saw Spike, after he'd gone to confront Julius. Granted, Spike got
off a lot easier than John did... I shudder and move over to where Spike is,
and wrap my arms around his waist. I want to ask him not to leave, but I have
the sinking feeling I'd be wasting my breath *and* risking making him angry
with me. So I don't say a word.
I can
sense Cordelia's fear, and William's fury, and I wish I could do something to
help them. "William, if you're done getting information from John, Anne
should take him back to their room so he can rest and start healing," I
suggest. "I've already sent one of our servants out to bring him back a
human to feed on. I also put more of my minions around the perimeter of the
hotel. They won't allow Penn *or* Donovan within fifty feet of the building.
And ... *if* you want my assistance, with your plan... I would like to help in
any way I can."
"Yeah-
that'll be good," I say as a few servants file into the room. "I
think it's time to pay my boy a visit."
I kiss
Lia's forehead and look at Anton. "Where is he?"
Mia
walks in, as Anne and another couple of servants help John out of the room.
"We simply moved him to our servants' room, on the other side of ours. I
thought it would be best if he were guarded, although he hasn't shown any
interest in leaving. He *has* asked about you quite frequently."
"Well,
I can't keep him waitin' then, can I?"
I start
over and Lia's a bit reluctant to let go of my waist so I just smile and move
her hand from me.
I watch
her watch him walk out the door, only to our room, but I remember when being
one room away from Anton scared me to no end, especially when I didn't know the
rules, or just how well-respected he was/is.
I walk
over to her and take her hand, "Come, Dear. Sit and tell me a bit about
yourself pre-William. What's your heritage?"
"I..."
I stare at the door, as Spike shuts it behind him. "I can't do this
again," I say, standing and going for the door. I'll catch up with him and
talk some sense into him. I don't care if he gets angry, I'm *not* letting him
go anywhere without me. "I almost lost him once already, and it nearly
killed me."
I jump
up as soon as I sense where she's going. I slip in front of her, just as she
opens the door, and I close it quickly. I stand, my back against the door,
staring at her beautiful green eyes. "No."
I place
my hands on her shoulders and say, "You cannot accompany William, Dear.
You *will* not. This isn't our world."
I
knock her arms away. "It *is* my world, because he's my world! I can't let
him go off and get himself killed! Why don't you understand that!" I try
to pull her away from the door, but she's stronger than me. "Mia,
PLEASE!" I say, and I can't hold back the tears. "He can't leave me
again!"
"He
didn't, Honey. He's just in our room with my love. He's just sitting in our
room- that's it. You are *not* going to lose him in the next fifteen minutes.
You need to calm yourself and get it together. He will not be able to do what
needs to be done if he is worried that you are going mad."
I place
my arms on her shoulders again and *this* time pull her to my bosom as she
cries. "Shh, calm down, Dear. Calma voi stessi, Cara." %Calm yourself, Dear
"I...
I can't," I sob. And I hate how weak I'm being right now, but I can't help
it. I had just gotten to the point where I was starting to forget that Penn
might destroy everything we have. But *now*... now I realize I might lose
Spike. Forever. And it's scaring the hell out of me.
"You
don't understand. When ... When Julius took Emily, and ... and... and Spike
left to help her... and I ... I knew ... I knew he was in danger... and I was
so scared... and I ... can't do this again."
"I
*do* understand, Cara. My love did not get to be the Master of our clan easily.
There were many fights and battles- many nights I spent locked away, guarded by
twenty of his best fighters, pacing and waiting and worrying myself sick.
"I
*know* it *is* a terribly frightening thing, but it is the life you chose, *we*
chose. There are no guarantees, but William has fought four slayers, as well as
his own sire. He has drawn from some of the oldest veins in our order and has
the complete backing of all our resources and ourselves.
"Surely
only a complete *idiot* would challenge Anton. Donovan is no such vampire.
Stupid, perhaps, but he will *not* try and challenge a future Empirical. He
does not want war with Clan Revail. This problem will clean itself in a matter
of minutes. You'll see."
"It's
not about *Donovan*," I reply, pulling away and sitting on the bed.
"I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about Penn. He's already tried to
rape me, and he wants to do anything he can to destroy Spike. All because of
something that happened over a century ago that Penn won't believe Spike
about..."
*****
I open
the door slowly and he's chained to the bed. "Perfect place for you,
Luv," I whisper. His eyes perk up and… so does the rest of him.
"WILLIAM!
I've been waiting for hours!"
I walk
over and sit on the bed next to him. I playfully run my hand up his leg and
say, "You're *going* to tell me everything you know, Noah. You're *going*
to tell me because you love me and only me, *forever*. Right?"
"William-
you- I can't tell you *any*thing. You *know* that."
I run my
hand over his hard cock, and growing harder. "You *will* because
somewhere… inside… you're *hoping* that I'll let you taste me again. Aren't
you?"
"Willllll…"
he groans as I slip my hand inside his trousers and start stroking his cock.
"Please!"
"Tell
me about Penn," I say. "What does he want?"
"Will-
please don't-"
"What
does he want?" I ask again, increasing the speed and pressure on him.
"Please-"
I squeeze
his cock hard in my hand and he screams out in strangled release. "Has he
spoken with Cheree?"
"YEEESSS!"
He screams as I squeeze harder.
"What
did she say to him?"
"Will-
STOP! PLEASE! I can't-"
"TELL
ME!" I growl as I vamp and jump on top of the bed, straddling his thighs.
"GODDAMMIT, TELL ME!"
Gods,
I'm getting hard. I always did like to watch. *Especially* when it's William
I'm watching.
And
when he's being so forceful, so clearly a vampire worthy to rule his clan, I
can't help feeling a sense of pride. I'd like to think I had *some* part in
bringing those qualities out in him.
I can
hope, anyway.
I
pity Noah, as he tries to resist his desire for Will. He won't hold out long,
though. I can tell he's already starting to break under the pressure. No pun intended.
"Please!
NO!" He whimpers before I rip his shirt off and start licking his chest.
"OHGOD! PLEASE! MORE!!"
"More?"
I ask. "What did she say?"
"I-
I can't betray my sire, Will... please- don't make me..."
"You.
came. to *me* in that bar. You *wanted* to be found. You *wanted*
*this*..." I grab my hard cock and wave in front of his lips. He whimpers
and moans and I smear a drop of pre-cum on his lips. "Tell me... and I'll
let you have it in your mouth. I'll let you feel me again... and I *might* even
let you come while you do it."
"Willll-"
he pants. "Will- she said... said that he'd have the... truth... and that
it would save him."
"And
what is he planning with your sire, Noah? He planning on fighting? Killing?
Hurting?"
"Please,
Will... enough-" he pleads.
"Fine,"
I nod and jump off him. "Bye," I say as I head for the door.
I
can't help myself... I grab Will by the hips and pull him to me, kissing him. I
know, now isn't necessarily the time...
Or
maybe it is, because Noah just whimpered quite pitifully. Of course. It's even
more torture for him to see Will being touched and touching someone *other*
than him. It makes him realize just how much he truly is missing.
This
is all part of a plan, in other words, to help William get information out of
Noah. Right. And Mia would not believe that in a second, but luckily for me,
Mia is not here at the moment to tease me.
I
slip a hand down between our bodies and stroke his cock, firmly. He groans, the
sound mixes with Noah's whimper. I pull away and look over Will's shoulder at
Noah. "Do you remember how good he tastes, Noah? How many years has it
been since you've sucked his cock, or had him inside you? Don't you miss
it?"
Ohshit.
I'd hate to be Noah now.
"Please..."
he whimpers.
"What
is he planning?" I ask with a grin.
"Will-
I... can't."
"Remember
how long my tongue is?" I ask. "Remember how far I could shove it
inside you? How much I made you squirm?"
"Stop,"
he says. "Please stop. I-"
"Noah,
if you tell us what we want to know--"
"I
can't!" he yells. "Damn it, Will, I... even if I wanted to... I
can't. He'll kill me."
And I
*would* offer to take Noah into my clan, and protect him, to get him past that
concern. But I can't do that, not in this situation. William's planning on
turning over Noah in exchange for Penn. And I won't do anything to disrupt that
plan.
"I
just mated," I tell him. "I met her... and I've mated with her."
I walk over and get right in his face. "And if something happens to her,
*I'LL* kill you."
*That*
scared him. Thinking of a lover killing you *is* up there on the scary thoughts
list.
"He's
told Donovan... about the untouchable."
"WHAT?!"
I growl. "HE KNEW?!"
I will
fuckin' *kill* him. I'll tear his goddamned throat out and make *him* eat it.
"WHAT ELSE?" I growl as I throw the hotel phone across the room.
"He...
I don't even know if Master believes him... he just- he's saying- about *you*
betraying the clan... and-"
"AND
he's *not*? By going to Donovan in the first place?"
"Please-
Will- please don't tell them I told you. Please- I- he'll... *please*..."
*****
"Once
we have Penn, he'll be punished. We just have to *get* him. Try not to worry. I
find that thinking of other things will help. Do you want to go and gamble? Or
we could watch a movie? Do you read? I've some excellent books in my
collection. Or we could talk- if you have questions… or you could tell me about
yourself…"
"Do
you feel it?" I ask. She gives me a puzzled look and I try to explain.
"When Spike was gone... I felt ... he was afraid. I felt it. I don't know
how and I never told him that I felt it, because I didn't want to embarrass
him. But I didn't understand how I *knew* he was in danger... is it because of
the blood sharing? Do you get those feelings too, when Anton is in
danger?"
"I
feel *everything*," I say. "Every joy, every smile, every pain...
every time when he's thinking of Will- every pang of regret and longing... when
he's scared, when he's terrified and angry... I feel it all, as if it were my
own emotion."
I push a
few strands of hair behind her ear and add, "When you have that kind of
connection with someone... the kind Anton and I have... it's just- that other
person is a *part* of you. And it's one of the most incredible things to
feel."
"Sure,
it's great unless I can feel how he's in danger of getting killed," I say.
"How have you not gone insane with worry, in six hundred years of this? I
just don't think I'm strong enough to handle this as an everyday thing."
"Because
when I start getting overwhelmed with his fear- I close my eyes and concentrate
on the other part of him- the strong, confident part that swore in blood- the
first time he made love to me- that he'd never leave me. I find *that* part of
him and know that he would sooner move mountains and ocean than leave me.
"I
find that part inside him that loves me completely and I let *him* *feel* *me*
and *my* strength to help *him*."
"I'm
not that strong," I say again. I get up and wander into the living room.
That glass has got to be cleaned up, and the blood on the floor and the bed--
Now
there's an idea. Diversions. I walk over to the hotel phone and dial the number
for housekeeping. "Hi, room 803 here. I want a fresh set of sheets, and a
broom and dustpan-- No. I don't want any of *you* to come change the bed or do
the ... cleaning. Just leave the stuff with the... there's someone outside the
door. Just give it to him... Thank you."
Okay,
this is good. If I can keep myself busy, I can pretend everything's okay. And
I'm *good* at denial. I've had *tons* of practice with it. It's all about
focusing your attention on other things.
I
walk over to the little kitchen area, because the *best* kind of distraction is
- Ah. Chocolate ice cream. Perfect. And then I'll clean up the mess from the
glass door, and ... damn I forgot to ask them for some cleaner so I can work on
the blood on the floor... I'll worry about that later, though. I'll be busy for
a little while with cleaning up the broken glass and changing the bed.
I watch
her move around the room and I *do* understand what she's going through. There
were so many times when I thought of just killing myself because the pain was
so great- but "Love, what you're feeling- all the worry and fear that you
feel- it doesn't *hurt* him, it makes him stronger. All that fear is the fear
of leaving you and it- just makes William fight *more*.
"I
have no doubt that he will handle this situation completely without
altercation. He has the makings of a great leader and diplomat. My love saw
that from the beginning and I have every belief that this will work out exactly
as you want it. You just have to learn to trust yourself, and William, and
above all- the blood."
I know-
it's not really helping because she's not really listening to me. So I walk
over to her and say, "And if you cannot accept that yet, and still feel
the need to be distracted... I'd be happy to help." With that, I pull her
to me and press my mouth softly, but insistently, against hers.
That...
wasn't something I expected.... And ... tempting. But-- No. Spike's not having
fun right now, I shouldn't be having fun either. I take her by the arms and
push her away gently. "I'm sorry... I'm --"
The
knock on the door interrupts my pathetic attempts at apologizing. I walk over
and look through the peephole. It's one of Spike's new servants. I open the
door and he hands me the broom, dustpan and new sheets. "Do you need me to
call anyone to help you with this, Mistress?"
"No,
I can handle it all myself," I say. "Th--" I stop myself before
I thank him, remembering how much Anne hates it when I do that. I nod and then
shut the door and lock it again.
Okay.
First, I'll change the bed sheets. I don't know what to do with these bloody
ones... Throw them away? Have someone burn them? I'll figure it out later, or
I'll ask Spike when he gets back. He knows how to handle these things so much
better than I do.
And I
really hope that this is the last time I have to ask for fresh sheets for
*this* reason-- NO. DO NOT think that way!
*****
"Does
he hurt you, Noah?" I ask softly and I know the answer from the waves of fear
I sense from him.
Shit. I
*know* what that's like. And I have *always* loved Noah- from the very first
moment I saw him.
"Do
you *want* to go back to him?" I ask as I glance back at Anton.
"No,"
Noah says firmly. Shit. I can't hurt him like that- by trading him like some…
thing to be used- like a whore. I'm better than Angelus and Dru and… all of
them.
"Then
you won't," I say and quickly unchain him. "But I *need* to know what
Penn is planning so I can protect her."
He nods
and says, "Please- promise me I won't go back there."
"Noah,
if you know Will you know you can take him at his word," I say. He looks
away, and nods, obviously ashamed of acting so fearful.
"I
know enough of Donovan and his cruelty to understand your hesitance," I
say. "But Will needs your help. The untouchable is his mate, and Penn
would have raped and killed her, if William hadn't found them in time. It would
destroy him if Penn was able to follow through with that plan to go after
Cordelia. If you care about Will as much as you claim to, you wouldn't want to
see that happen to him."
"I
*don't* want to see him hurt," Noah replies softly. "But I... you
don't know, you haven't *seen* what my sire does to traitors. I... I'm sorry, I
hate myself for not being stronger, like the two of you...And I believe you
when you say you won't make me go back to him... but even so, I'm a sitting
duck, don't you understand that? He'll... "
"Noah,
beyond Will's word that we won't turn you over to Donovan if you give us the
information we need, you have my word that I will see to your protection,
personally," I tell him. "And... I would be willing to consider
accepting you into clan Revail, if that is something you would be interested
in."
He
looks up at me, in utter shock. "I... but why?" he wonders. "My
sire is contemplating siding with Penn against clan Nest. How can you trust
*me*, one of his childer, enough to let me into your clan?"
"You've
earned William's affection, and to do that, you had to have earned his trust,
first," I say. "And if *he* trusts you, that is enough for me to know
that I can too."
Noah
looks at me to make sure it's the truth.
"Will
you help us?" I ask.
"You
really love her," he says.
"Yes,
I do."
"He's
convinced Master to send demons to kill your eldest- Amelia and her sisters.
He's... he convinced Sire to help ensure *his* reign over your clan so he can-
so he can take your untouchable by Master rights and claim you as well."
"Oh"
is the only thing that I can get. I just thought it was clan wars or something-
but... he's really being vindictive and personal about this. Isn't he?
"Thank
you," I tell him before opening the door. "Come on," I say and
offer my hand to him.
*****
In the
past fifteen minutes, she has changed the sheets *and* cleaned the glass *and*
ate a half pound of chocolate while doing so. She also put all of her clothes
away as well as William's before opening all the blinds and subsequently
closing them.
I have
just let her go about her business because there is nothing I can really do.
"Lady
Lia, please, Dear- calm yourself a bit."
Okay.
Shit. There's... absolutely nothing left to do -- Oh! The stain on the floor.
I
look over at Mia. "Look, I've *told* you, already, I'm not GOOD at this.
Shit, he's only next door, but I'm about two seconds away from a nervous
breakdown when I think about what he's planning on doing. And I *know* that my
panicking doesn't help him, because he has to be able to focus on his plan and
coming back home and I hate that I might be distracting him and I'm TRYING to
hold it together, but the only way I can do that is if I keep busy!"
I let go of his hand as I open the
door. I'm just trying to rearrange my plan. I should have never thought I'd
*trade* Noah for Penn. Why the hell do I *want* Penn anyway?
BACK TO THE HOME OF the BEAUTY & THE BEAST
BACK TO THE INDEX OF CED & EW FICS