Her blood swept over my tongue and down my throat, strengthening me with every delicious wave of deep, red ambrosia. I could hear her gentle sighs of acceptance, and I knew�I knew she wanted this. She was ready now. Perhaps she had been ready from the very moment we met. The only reason I waited so long to turn her...The only reason I'd tortured myself for so long...Was that I wanted her to know how much she wanted it. I wanted her inwardly begging me for the change to immortal; to be with me forever.
A ripple of pain mixed with her pleasure, and she flinched beneath me. I growled, pulling her closer as I continued to drain the essence of her into my throat, into my demon. My mind was whirling as she infected me. I couldn�t stop thinking about the moment when she would awaken as immortal. I would take her back to the ballroom, and we would kill every demon that didn�t bow and cry tears of blood at the mere sight of her.
Yes, eternity with my precious Queen at my side, would be oh so sweet�delicious�eventful.
And it was just as I was closing in towards that final sip to her sweet death, that I realized something was wrong. My mind clouded, and my vision blurred. And then it was as if I�d been staked through the heart. I cried out in a hoarse voice, pushing away from Buffy and tumbling off the bed to the floor. Landing on my back, I cringed as the pain slipped through my every nerve ending.
The pain began to subside, and my mind began to clear. Buffy! I had to get to her and turn her before her heart stopped beating. Lest she be lost to me forever. But before I could open my eyes and make a move, the pain returned. I arched my back off the floor, crying out again and again as the mystical fingers of vengeance and detest ripped at my inner being. This pain was new to me. It was different than dying. Different than losing a soul. This wasn�t a punishment or a gift.
This was something new.
And as suddenly as it had begun�It faded. My eyes shot open, and I took a moment to gather my bearings. I could hear a heart beat in the room. Buffy was still alive! But the beating was so faint�so distant. I turned my head, and was astounded at the scene that met my eyes. Buffy wasn�t lying on the bed, taking her last breaths. She was standing next to me�dressed, as if she hadn�t been knocking on death�s door with me: nipping at her heels.
�Buffy,� I whispered. I shot to my feet, realizing that I shouldn�t be moving so fast, and almost losing consciousness. �What�?� I trailed off, not too sure about what I should be asking her first. Should I ask what happened? Who did this? If she had anything to do with it? �Buffy, your eyes�� I looked closely. Her eyes were grey, but they stood out so much. I didn�t know what to think.
Let�s just say, things weren�t going the way I�d planned.
�Let�s go,� Buffy said, her voice stern and deadly. I wanted answers, but I was more curious about what Buffy was going to do.
~~
It wasn�t long before Buffy and I had exited our little lust room. She moved to a swift, determined rhythm that I�d never seen her in before. She held my arm like my mate should, but now she had an air about her that said she was more than my mate�She was my equal. And she was pissed.
Upon re-entering the ballroom, all eyes were on us, but for a very different reason than before. Now, they weren�t just curious to see Buffy�They wanted to see what she was going to do. It was apparent that everyone knew what had happened. The marks on Buffy�s neck had already scarred over, and she was smirking as we made our way across the room.
I was surprised when Buffy led me to Damien. She stopped just short of him, and stroked her free hand over my chest, turning her back to Damien and smiling at me. �Do you love me?� she asked softly, an adorably evil smirk slipping over her full, luscious, red lips.
I ignored the room and looked down at her, returning her smirk. �With all that I am,� I replied honestly, not caring that the entire room had quietened to hear us.
Buffy smiled, �good.� She turned around then and said, �Because you might not like this very much.�
I didn�t understand. For the first time in the longest time; I found I had no control over anything that my mate was doing. I could feel the excitement as her blood pumped through her veins at a rapid pace. My curiosity crept higher as her attention focused on Damien. My face dropped as I realized what she was about to do.
�Damien, you respect my mate, right?� she asked.
�Of course,� Damien smiled good-humouredly at her. It was apparent that he had no idea that she was about to strike out at him. I found myself torn between my loyalties to Damien after all he�d done for me in my absence, and my love for fulfilling my mate�s every desire.
�Good,� Buffy smiled brightly, an almost-genuine smile.
It happened so fast that there was no way I could have stopped it. The entire room was stunned. No one was expecting such an act out of my white Goddess. My Queen of Daylight and Sunshine. This was just one thing in a long train of events that no one expected to happen tonight. Jaws dropped all over as the piercing shriek of a vampire exploding into dust, rang out through the room; echoing off the walls. And just like that, the vampire was dust. Dead again. Gone�
Thalia was no more.
That�s right. Thalia. I know what you�re thinking. You thought Buffy was going to end Damien�s existence. That she was going to reach out and rip his heart from his chest, or snap his neck with one rapid motion. But no�my darling girl is a constant source of surprise.
The next event was even more surprising. I heard a low growl behind me. I responded with a snarl of my own as I turned to see who dared to challenge my power and the actions of my mate. I was deadly shocked to see Damien standing there, squaring off with me as the crowds slipped back with every millisecond; clearing a space for the two Master Vampires to indulge their inner darkness in a battle that was surely to be one to remember.
However, do keep in mind that things aren�t going exactly as anyone predicted for them to go, tonight. This was just going to be yet another example of that.
I heard Buffy chuckling softly as she slid to my side. �I guess he was lying, lover,� Buffy purred to me. �I believe his�loyalties?-as he called them�belong to that little pile of dust on the floor.� She looked up at me, her eyes alit with the excitement of watching the drama as it unfolded all around her.
�You knew,� I whispered, taking my eyes off Damien to look down at my genius little love. She knew all along that Damien wasn�t on my side. She must have known all along that he was in with Thalia�s dirty schemes.
�My darling, I know what I need to,� Buffy was beaming, so pleased with her accomplishments.
�Angelus!� Damien roared, gathering my full attention once more. �You have disgraced yourself in my views. Allowing your mate to destroy my own? I never thought I�d see the day!�
Buffy giggled evilly, �I can show you the day if you�d like, Damien. I just don�t think you�d live through it.�
I couldn�t help chuckling softly at Buffy�s little jab at Damien. �I must admit, Damien, that I had no idea that Buffy was going to kill Thalia. Though it was mildly amusing to watch my lover rip the heart out of your so-called �mate�. To be perfectly honest�I thought she was going to kill you.�
�And you did nothing to stop her?� Damien�s face contorted with anger and rage. �I�ve been loyal to you, Angelus. Now you choose this blonde slut over me?�
I chuckled again, feeling the evil darkness inside of me churning with intensity as he dared to insult my lover. �Actually Damien, I�m not choosing sides here�� With a simple flick of my wrist, I ripped out Damien�s heart. �After all�You don�t have a side anymore.�
Damien�s eyes widened in absolute horror. �Angelus,� he mouthed my name as he looked at my heart in his hand. I smirked and dropped his heart to the floor. He wouldn�t be ash, until his heart was dust. �Buffy, darling, do you still have a hair pin on you?� I asked her casually.
Buffy slipped one of her little clips into my hand, from the inside of her dress, where I assume she was keeping them in case this happened. �Thank you, love,� I smiled at her, my Irish accent returning for a split second.
I crouched down then, and opened up the clip, pointing the stabbing end towards the heart. �Damien, one thing you�ll realize in the few seconds you have left before you meet your Hell God, is that I really, really love the art of torture. It takes a special touch. Not many know the joys that can be found in keeping a victim alive for hours on end. But to be frank�I just don�t think I could stand hours of listening to you cry like a bitch. That said�I think it�s time to end the drama.�
And just like that, I dusted his heart. Looking up at Damien, I smiled. �Better, my friend?� He never had a chance to respond as he exploded into dust, screaming as his inside burned with evil fires that consumed his demon, carrying it off to the far depths of Hell.
I stood up and sighed at the pile of ashes dancing around the floor of the ballroom. �Damn shame,� I said, dismissing all future thoughts of Damien or Thalia. I looked around at the crowds and almost smiled, �nothing to see, all! Go about your useless business.�
I turned back to Buffy then. �Well, love, I suppose I should ask your opinion more often. After all, you saw things I never thought I�d see in Damien. Buffy, darling, I just have one question.� I looked down and then into her eyes once more. �I was so close to turning you. You were almost dead. Allow me to be blunt and rather unintelligible when I ask�What exactly happened back there?� I motioned behind me towards the stairs leading down to our little room of erotica.
Buffy smiled and stepped closer to me. Placing one hand on my chest, she gazed up at me adoringly. �I have no clue.�
�Ah,� I smiled, �Perhaps it will remain as one of life's...little mysteries.� My mind was already moving on to bigger and better things�Preferably involving our little room again. �Now where were we before all of this drama began to unfold?
Buffy smiled, watching her hand as it caressed the bare skin revealed by the top unbuttoned buttons on my shirt. �Angelus, lover�� she trailed off, chuckling evilly. �What makes you think I�m Buffy?�
**
Why can�t things just be simple? Like, why can�t there be an explanation for every strange act, immediately after it takes place? For example, can somebody please explain to me how I can pass out in the arms of my lover, receiving several advanced degrees of darkness and pleasure�And wake up on a dirt floor in the dark of what I can only assume to be the basement of a castle.
My head was pounding. Opening my eyes was probably the most painful experience of my life�ever. My eyelids were telling me that it wasn�t anywhere near the time that they would be ready to open. My entire body was agreeing with my eyelids. I was exhausted: Mentally, physically�Completely.
Ignoring my body�s protests, I somehow managed to pull myself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the stone wall behind me. The cool stone felt good on my hands as I reached my palms behind my back to press flat against the wall. I let out a sigh of relief, allowing my eyes ample time to adjust to the darkness of the room. �Out of all the basements, in all the world�I get the only one that doesn�t have tiles on the floor,� I quipped, looking down at the dirt and dust on the floor. �And it figures that I�m wearing white�� I trailed off and frowned as I looked down at myself. �Or not�? What the Hell?�
I found myself dressed. But I wasn�t in my white evening gown. I was dressed in black. Black. Black. Black.
Like the night.
There was a small glow of light coming from a candle in the corner of the room. It enabled me to see a little bit. I looked down, and cringed at my ensemble. I felt like I was thirteen again; wearing black. Black pants. A black tank top. Black socks. Black shoes. Probably black lingerie. And black chains on my hands. Hang on a second�Chains??
As that thought kicked in, I realized that perhaps I was in danger. Duh! right? Well it just so happens that I�m not the brightest person in the world. Occasionally dense, I never thought I was completely stupid. Of course, it takes a time like this to prove that I really am a moron.
For all I know, I could be dead! Angelus could have killed me, and I could be laying in one of the many jail cells that Hell has to offer me! Why don�t I think before asking vampires to bite me? It's those damn sexual escapades with Angelus! I knew they�d do me in soon. Now I�m stuck in Hell, paying the ultimate price for indulging in the darkness of evil and all of its dirty delights.
That ought to teach me.
Deciding that escape was probably impossible, I made the effort anyways. I began pulling at the chains on my hands. Maybe the chains were really cheap and breakable. Maybe this dimension of Hell was really poor, and they didn�t have the funds to buy really expensive chains. Maybe they had to settle for cheap piece of crap like those little sex shop chains. Willow had told me once that they were really easy to break.
These chains on my wrists, however, were not.
�They�ll only tighten if you struggle,� came a husky voice from the darkness.
I jumped back, suddenly allowing my fear to overwhelm my senses. �Who�s there?� I asked, wondering if that would work. �What do you want?� Good job, Buffy! Ask the psychotic Hell Gods just HOW they plan on killing you. Cause that�s something you really want to know!�Not.
�I�m not gonna hurt you,� the voice told me. �If I come closer, you have to promise you won�t scream.�
�Umm�I just woke up on the floor of a dirty, disgusting room, chained to a stone wall like a whore.-I�m not promising anything here.� I informed the voice. Why is it that whenever I meet someone who seemingly wants to help me, I rebel with sarcasm and rudeness? Why can�t I just play along with what they want, until the moment comes when I can smack them on the back of their head with a stone and make my heroic get-a-way?
�Nice to see you haven�t lost your sense of humour,� the voice-which sounded vaguely familiar when the owner chuckled-replied.
�Yeah, it�s great. Now would you mind telling me who you are?� I asked, trying as hard as I could to remain polite.
�You know who I am, Buffy. At least�I should hope you haven�t forgotten already.�
�Of course I didn�t forget!� I smiled, hoping that my sarcasm wasn�t dripping off my words. �Since we�re such great friends, maybe you can get me out of these chains. Friends help each other and all, you know?� I could only foolishly hope that that would work.
Of course, it didn�t.
I heard a rustling as the voice moved across the room. �It doesn�t work that way, Buffy. I can�t get the chains off you. Only you can.� I finally spotted the source of the voice. The man walked into the corner of the room where the candle was lit. It seemed to take forever for him to turn around so that I could see his face.
My jaw dropped when I did.
**