Willow stared out the window of the carriage, both cursing and thanking the many stars in the sky.  Between their constant light and that of the sliver of moon, she wasn't in complete darkness, but it also meant she could see the man across from her.  The man...the demon...who'd beaten her at poker.

As predicted, it had come down to the two of them toward the end of the day.  While Willow had made a great showing, easily winning many hands in the beginning from the seemingly distracted vampire, Angelus had managed to pull it off in the end with the help of some lucky draws in the cards and expert playing.  Also, he didn't exactly play fair.  Not that he cheated, he was too good for that.  Instead he distracted her--making her nervous by subtly reminding her what was at stake, using wordplay to remind her what was in store for her at his hands, and even going so far as to purposely brush his leg against hers--anything to break her concentration.  It worked.  Willow's only consolation was that he didn't take all her money.  The redhead was able to leave with considerably more than she'd come in with, but when they came to the time that had been previously decided for the game to end, Angelus was ahead financially.  Still, she couldn't help wondering what would have happened if she'd had more time, both to play and compose herself in his disquieting presence.  She thought she could beat him.

Unfortunately, it made little difference what she thought might have happened.  For now she was stuck in a carriage with him under the guise of his protection for the long ride to his home and her own inevitable torture.  The doors had been secured from the outside, and the breakneck pace that the driver was forcing from the horses precluded any attempts to jump for her freedom.  She was well and truly trapped.

Angelus studied her as she stared out the window, trying to ignore him.  Sooner or later, he knew she would speak, so he could wait.  She was so stubborn, even more so than when he'd first met her, and that thought pleased him.  It was going to be glorious breaking her.  After a couple of hours, though, he grew weary of the game and raised the stakes a bit.  Angelus reached over and pulled the heavy crimson drapes closed with a quick, almost dismissive snap of his hand.  Willow contemplated reopening them but somehow managed to hold her hand still, as well as her tongue.

Willow knew why he had plunged them into total darkness.  He wanted her to speak first, possibly even beg to be released or plead for mercy, but she refused to give him the satisfaction.  He'd upped the ante, but the redhead refused to fold.  She kept her eyes trained on the windows, as if the curtains had never been closed.  Unfortunately, she couldn't even see the curtains.  She couldn't see anything, but she knew he was still watching her...probably listening to the sound of the blood as it hurried through her veins or the quickening of her heart.  She tried to calm herself, but it wasn't easy without appearing as if that was what she wanted to do.  She couldn't take a deep breath, or close her eyes and picture her calming place because all of those things would be the same as revealing her cards.  Instead, she used the darkness as her canvas, and as the waterfall formed before her eyes, she felt her body respond almost instantly.  Her breathing steadied and her heart beat calmed.

They rode that way for over an hour, neither speaking nor moving, each waiting for the other to break first.  It was taking a toll on the redhead physically as she'd remained nearly motionless for three hours, save for the swaying and bumping of the carriage as it hurried across the country roads.  Her aching, tense muscles were begging for release.  Just a simple stretch or slump against the soft cushions would cause the throbbing to ebb, but she fought it.

Just when she thought that she would have to bite her tongue to quiet her own body's protests, there was a soft noise from the other side of the carriage, followed immediately by the distinctive sound of a match being struck.  Willow didn't react fast enough, and the sudden flash of light after the hours of darkness was painful, causing the redhead to flinch and shut her eyes before she could control her own reflexes.  Even through her tightly closed lids, Willow could tell the light in the small space had increased, and she slowly reopened them to find that Angelus had lit a small oil lamp that hung in the upper corner of the carriage, just over his shoulder.

"Just wanted ta make sure ya didn't fall asleep on me, my love," Angelus informed her as he settled back into the seat.  "Not when we have so much more ta talk about.  I thought maybe you and I could be takin' this time ta get ta know each other again."

Willow tried hard not to squint or blink against the still-too-bright light, and it caused her eyes to tear as she forced her gaze not to stray from Angelus's face.  A smile crept on to his face as he saw the glistening in her eyes increase.  Finally, one welled over and a lone tear slipped down her cheek.

"Tears?  Already?" he chided with a rueful shake of his head.  "But I haven't even tried yet.  Please don't tell me yer goin' ta disappoint me again?"  Angelus carefully leaned forward, never breaking eye contact with her.  Languidly he reached out with one finger, moving very slowly as he watched the tear trail its way down her face.  He was hoping for several different reactions from this beautiful captive.  After all these years, he thought he knew women pretty well and could predict how they would behave in almost any given circumstance.  One reaction was for her to jerk away from the inevitable contact, or better yet, to try and slap his hand away or perhaps even attempt to bite the offending digit.  In the end, he was almost disappointed when she remained perfectly still...perfectly calm when his long finger traced the damp path on her face.  It wasn't until the lone tear had reached her mouth that he finally captured it with a sensual brush across her heated lips.

Willow's tight control slipped when his cool skin came in contact with her fevered flesh.  There was an intake of breath, so quick, so slight, that only the most observant would have caught it.  Unfortunately, as she watched Angelus's smile broaden even more, she knew that he'd caught the breath, as well as the slight parting of the lips that accompanied it.

Angelus brought the tear-dampened finger to his own lips and moistened them with her salty offering before licking the wetness from his own cruel mouth.  "If I'd known ya were so easy ta excite, my innocent love, I would've done this a long time ago," he teased.

Willow pried her eyes away from his gloating face to finally rest her head back against the cushion and close her weary eyes.  She'd lost to him, once again, and as if that weren't bad enough, she also couldn't see a way out of her present situation.  <At least he let me ride facing forwards.  If I were sitting backwards like he is, I'd be throwing up on his shoes by now...not that that is necessarily a bad thing...> she mused.

As her head leaned back, Willow's hair fell away from her collarbone, once again revealing several bite marks along her ivory throat.  He'd never noticed them before, either because of the clothing she wore or because her hair hid them.  That is, he hadn't noticed them until she sat across from him at the poker table earlier that day.

At first he'd been angry with her for not obeying him by wearing her hair up as he'd insisted, her long auburn strands covering much of the delicate skin of her neck, collarbone and chest that the dress he'd picked out was supposed to reveal.  His anger had distracted him only slightly, but several hands later, when she'd absentmindedly brushed some of her silky tresses away from her face, that was when he saw them--the nearly invisible scars left by another vampire's kiss.  She'd been with him recently, that other vampire, and they appeared to have become quite close, in spite of her virginity.  His anger escalated tenfold, and he had to request a break in the play to find one of his minions to savagely feed from and kill as a means of releasing some of his tension.  Even after that, he'd lost quite a bit of money before he was able to control his jealousy.  Watching her now, seeing those marks again made him crave answers.  And he wasn't about to wait any longer.

"Where did ya learn ta play poker, Rose?  Yer one of the best I've seen, but ya still aren't a match fer me."

"Sp--*He*, the other vampire, taught me the basics," she said quietly with her eyes still shut.  "The rest I learned on my own."

"He took the time ta teach ya gamblin?" Angelus asked caustically.  "What kind of a demon would teach ya ta play cards, and what else did he teach ya, Rose?"

Willow opened her eyes at the tone in his voice.  It was suddenly very cold and angry.  "What do you mean?"

"The marks on yer neck..." Angelus continued, "there are more of them than there were before.  Last time I saw ya, ya had but the one.  Now ya have several, all from the same vampire, all done in pleasure."  The venom in his voice was building.  Willow was actually relieved that she could practically feel his jealousy of Spike in his voice.  She'd discovered her edge; she only wished she'd thought of it sooner.

"We were together for a while," she said slowly, watching his reaction closely.  "We shared a bed...and more."

Angelus found himself gripping the seat beside him, his nails puncturing the fabric.  "How much more, Rose?"

"As much as we could without ruining the spell."  Willow subtly noted with great satisfaction his damage to the cushion.

Angelus stewed about her words for a while, then realized what must have happened.  "He seduced ya, then.  This other vampire?"

"No," she said calmly.  "I seduced him."

Angelus growled softly, the demon in him demanding that she be punished for speaking to him this way and for letting another vampire touch her.  Somehow, though, Angelus kept a tight rein on his stampeding emotions.  When he finally noted the smug look on her face, Angelus knew that she was purposely trying to anger him and make him jealous, probably hoping that he'd grow careless and make a mistake.  He even convinced himself that she was lying about them sharing a bed, since he doubted that there was another vampire capable of controlling himself after one taste of her blood.

He calmed himself before speaking.  "Then he grew tired of ya and left ya?" he asked, almost laughing.

Willow's superior air dissolved as she recalled how her relationship with Spike had ended.  "Let's just say he remembered what he was...suddenly."

"Ah..." Angelus smiled knowingly.  "Ya must not have been as fillin' as he'd hoped fer."

Willow glared at him briefly but kept quiet, wondering if perhaps it was best if she didn't tell him too much about her relationship with Spike.  There was silence for several miles, but then Willow decided to take a chance.

"If I understand correctly, Angelus, because he bit me first...marked me...I'm his, not yours, right?"

Angelus felt his temper flare again.  After all this time, there was no way he would surrender his prize to another vampire.  He'd kill him, if necessary.

"I wouldn't worry about the other vampire, if I were ya.  He's not here, and I am, and since he seems ta have already gotten what he wanted from ya, I doubt ya will ever see him again."

Willow opened her mouth, ready to remind him that Spike would have to come for her one day so that they could go home, but the words died on her lips.  She had no way of knowing if Spike would even want to go back after seeing his Drusilla again, and she knew there really wasn't anything stopping Spike from just staying here with Drusilla.  <Except for William...then there would be two Spikes, and sooner or later...>  Willow groaned inwardly in frustration.  No matter how much she thought about it, she only got more confused.  Plus, it was worse now that Angelus had found her.  <Oh God...You just know this is going to really mess things up!>  Yep, this time-travel thing was a real pain in the ass.

With the lull in the conversation, Willow tried to get a handle on what these recent events would do to the future.  All she got for her trouble, however, was a dull headache.

"I need some fresh air," she exclaimed, simultaneously turning away from his stare to reopen the curtain and allow some of the night breeze in.  Angelus didn't try to stop her.

"How much longer?" she sighed, closing her eyes against the refreshing wind that caressed her face.

"Until when, me love?"

"Until we get to wherever we're going.  Your dungeon, I presume."

Angelus chuckled again.  "Ah, getting anxious, are we?  Don't worry yer pretty little head over it, me love.  We'll be there in a couple more hours."

"You know, trains are much quicker!" she said contemptuously, regretting it instantly since it sounded as if she were in a hurry to get to their destination.

"Impatient wee thing.  And I wish ta get there as quickly as you, Rose, but trains don't give me the control or privacy I need, nor do they run much at night.  I've a trusted driver who knows the fastest way, as well as what's at stake if he fails.  The fear of death makes fer a speedy journey, don't ya think?"

She met his laughing eyes with a withering look.  "I disagree.  This has been the longest and most painful journey of my life."

The vampire shook his head.  "So much wasted energy."

"What?" she asked irritably, turning away to look at the stars once more.

Angelus leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his fingers meeting to form a triangle.  "Ya try so hard ta behave as if ya hate me..." he stated plainly, "...as if ya can't stand ta be with me, but we both be knowin' better, don't we?"

Willow didn't rise to the bait but continued to stare out the window.  Undaunted by her lack of response, Angelus pushed on.

"When ya look at me, ya still see the man I once was...the man ya loved."

"The man you were is dead," Willow spit out suddenly before she was even aware that she'd spoken.  "You're just evil, wearing the face of a good man," she added, embarrassed that she couldn't control her temper.

Angelus threw back his head and roared with laugher.  "A good man?  I was never a good man!"  The demon inside was bubbling over with joy.  He'd found another chink in Rose's armor, a way to hurt her, and he continued to strike at her weak spot.  "Well, maybe I was good at being bad, but that's about it.  Ya think ya knew the real Angelus Connellan, do ya?  Ya think that man who taught ya how ta ride a damned horse was the real me?  Then yer a bigger fool than I ever realized."

Willow shook her head in denial, even though he was only confirming what Spike had told her decades before.  "No!  You were--I mean, Angelus was-- always kind to me...respectful..."

"And do ya have any idea how hard it was fer him to treat ya like that, when all he wanted to was bed ya?"

"Stop it," Willow said softly, her hands beginning to twist her dress as her stiff demeanor wavered.

"It's true.  All he wanted was to seduce ya into his bed, Rose.  To taste your lips, knead yer breasts in his hands, and get ya to part yer legs for him.  Ya know he would've gotten that, eventually, if it weren't fer this little spell of yers.  Then he'd have forgotten about ya, like he did all the other tarts he bedded."

"Stop!" Willow cried, fighting back the tears.  "I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work!"

Angelus smiled at his small victory and leaned back in the seat again.  "Won't it?  Why not?"

"Because I don't care.  I felt nothing for him but pity because I knew..." her voice trailed off.  She was about to say too much.  "It won't work, Angelus.  I don't care about you, and I never did, so you can't hurt me like this!  The only emotion you'll get out of me is hate.  Pure...cold...hate."

If she had dared to look at him, she would have seen the flash of demon-yellow in his eyes, but it quickly faded, leaving the standard evil glint.

"Is that right, me love?  Ya hate me so much then?"

"Yes," she said firmly and backed it up with a nod of her head.

"And, just how much do ya hate me?" Angelus interrogated further, causing Willow to shake her head at the odd question.

"Enough," she told him softly but with conviction.  She heard Angelus chuckle to himself again and the soft brushing of fabric-on-fabric, but she refused to satisfy her curiosity by looking at what he was doing.  Suddenly, something was shoved into her hand.  She looked down to find she was now gripping a large, sharp wooden stake.  She could only stare at it for a moment as if she'd never seen one before.

"Use it, Rose," Angelus commanded as he sat back against the cushions.  "If ya despise me as much a ya say ya do, then take that stake and plunge it into me heart.  I won't be stoppin' ya, me flower," he informed her casually as he relaxed, closed his eyes, and put his hands behind his head.

Willow could only look back and forth between the stake and Angelus as a million thoughts hammered at her all at once.  She could end this whole thing now.  Angelus would be dead, just as Spike wanted, he could have William turn Drusilla, if she hadn't been turned already, and they could go home...finally.  It would be so easy.  She had killed vampires before, after all, and he was just another very evil vampire.  <Dust 'em, Willow!>

"But I..." she started as a distraction, then threw her petite body at him with all the strength and speed she could muster, or at least she told herself it was.

Angelus was ready for her though and caught both her wrists and forced them behind her, bringing her up hard against his muscular chest.  She struggled for only a moment, more irritated by his laughter than the fact that she'd failed because deep down she knew it was, at best, a half-hearted attempt to kill the future Angel.

"You lied!" she spit out accusingly anyway.  "You said you wouldn't stop me!"

"I didn't stop ya.  We both know ya couldn't have done it.  Ya weren't even tryin' ta hurt me."  Angelus squeezed her wrist until she dropped the stake, then he kicked it under the seat with his foot.  "Now, this is more like it, me love," he said huskily, pulling her closer.  He rearranged their hands so that he was able to hold her small wrists behind her with only one of his larger hands, leaving the other free to roam at will.  He was ready to start the next stage in his plan.

"Have I ever told ya how beautiful ya are, Rose?  Yer fiery hair, alabaster skin, and eyes the color of emeralds?" he asked softly, running his free hand through her long locks.

"Actually, yes, you have.  Several times, in fact," Willow reminded him with a touch of sarcasm that surprised even herself.  "I know what you're up to.  I may be a virgin, but I'm not a child."

"No," he agreed, his eyes roaming her body wantonly.  "Ya certainly aren't a child.  But it isn't that vampires don't appreciate a beautiful, *living* woman.  Ya don't have to be dead to make me want ya, Rose."  His hungry gaze rose to bore into her eyes, then softened slightly, lost in their see-green depths.

She felt her breath catch again when for a moment he looked exactly like the man who'd taken her into his arms so lovingly more than a lifetime ago.

"Although ya might make me want ya to be dead," he added, and with a cruel arching of his lips, he was once again the demon Angelus.

Realizing her momentary slip, Willow began to struggle frantically against him.  "You're just...trying to drive me mad, Angelus."  I won't let you...it won't work."

"Won't it?"  His face changed again, a mask of caring falling so easily into place.  "Haven't ya wondered if there is any good left in me, Willow?  A small bit of the man ya loved that ya could find in me?  The mere fact that I haven't killed ya yet, that I've gone to so much trouble fer ya, must make ya wonder that.  If I'm capable of more...of really caring fer ya...loving ya, perhaps?"

Willow's eyes widened in horror.  Deep down she had wondered that more times than she cared to remember.  "No, Angelus!" she fibbed.  "I'm not that...that simple...to think that you...that you're anything more than a soulless vampire.  Besides, I *never* loved you, so I don't care!"  <Pathetic, Willow.  Could you have sounded a little less convincing?>

"Ya don't lie very well when there aren't any cards in yer hand, Rose," he sneered, before moving his mouth closer, bringing it to rest at the corner of her lips, then trailing down to her jaw.  He kissed her gently, sensually, taking his time to savor the taste of her skin.

Willow arched in protest, trying to bring her face as far away from his as possible. Unfortunately, throwing her head back only served to open her neck to him, and Angelus wasted no time in exploring that nubile flesh.

The vampire did not bite her.  He never even nipped or scratched her with his teeth, instead letting his lips and tongue torture her more than his sharp fangs ever could.  He knew that biting and feeding from her was what she expected him to do--not slow, tender lovemaking.  He kissed and licked every inch of bare flesh that he found, save her lips.  He often brought his mouth close to hers, sometimes hovering a hair's breadth away from it, but he never kissed her.

Willow struggled to stay afloat in the rough sea of emotions that she found herself immersed in.  He was being so gentle--so loving and passionate--that Willow had to remind herself of what she knew him to be.  The forced reminder caused her to renew her struggles.  The young-looking woman once again twisted and turned in his arms, but even she sometimes wasn't sure if she was endeavoring to get away from him...or struggling to get closer.

His hands stroked her face gently, exploring every inch of her cheekbones and jaw, brushing over her lips and eyelids, time and time again.  He wanted her to plead for him to stop, or not stop.  The important thing was that she begged.

"Please," she said breathlessly, instantly hating herself when she heard the word that came out of her own mouth.  She waited for the familiar chuckle or the smirk to appear as he won this hand in their on-going game, but he never paused in his ministrations.

His mouth traveled without mercy to her nearest earlobe.  He gently licked and sucked on it for a while as his hand slid down her down her side, his thumb barely grazing her breast as it traveled down to her waist.

"Please what, me love?" he finally asked.

"Please...stop...we can't...you can't do this..."

He paused for a moment.  Angelus had hardly intended to take her right there in the carriage, although the had thought crossed his mind more than once.  The whole fact that she needed to remain a virgin threw a wrench in his plans.  Nevertheless, he solaced himself with the knowledge that there were still plenty of things he could do to her, over and over again, for the next few centuries.

"I assure you, Rose," he whispered menacingly in her ear, "that one day ya will beg me ta do just that which ya now beg me not ta do."

His momentary pause had given her enough time to gather her wits about her again.  "That will never happen," she said forcefully, bringing a mocking grin to the vampire's face.

"Ya are very sure of yerself, aren't ya?"  He used a hand at the back of her head to force her face close to his own.

As his mouth again lowered toward hers, Willow screwed her eyes tightly shut and waited for his brutal kiss.  To her surprise, one again he instead turned his attention to her neck.  Ever patient, Angelus studied her reaction to his every kiss and swirl of his tongue.  If her heart sped up or even skipped a beat, he made a mental note of the area and gave it special attention.

Willow had lost all track of time.  It seemed like his sweet torment had been going on for hours, and she was nearing the end of her limits.  She felt as if she would shatter...as if he kissed her one more time, she would splinter into a million pieces.  At this point, she almost welcomed it.  Willow was losing control and it petrified her.

"Please..." she whispered one more time in desperation as he paid particular attention to the area around her mouth, still without actually kissing her lips.

"Please what, me love?" he mumbled huskily at the corner of her mouth.

"Just bite me already..."she managed through ragged breaths, forcing her lids open to look at her tormentor.

Angelus stopped for only a moment to meet her eyes.  "Whatever pleases my lady," he replied with a knowing twist of his lips.

Willow was almost relieved as she braced herself for the pain of his fangs piercing her throat, but quickly she discovered that he was far from ready to end his game.  <Oh, God!  Oh, help me!> she pleaded silently when she realized he wasn't going to bite her yet.  <Let a meteor hit the coach...or...or a heart attack would be good right now!  I can't...>  But soon Willow was even beyond praying for help.

Eventually positioning his mouth over her jugular, he teased her hot flesh once again, this time allowing only the slightest hint of teeth as he traced the vein's path.  It wasn't long before the anticipation was too much even for the vampire, and slowly his scratches became nibbles, then his nibbles became bites.

Willow had no idea when he'd let go of her wrists.  It almost seemed like a scene from one of her dreams when she became aware that one of her hands was now tangled in his hair while the other dug into his back like she was clinging to him for her very sanity.  It was after this realization that she gave up the battle, somehow knowing that either trying to fight him or hiding her body's reactions would only make things worse.  While he may be able to arouse her body with his own by using mental trickery, he would never have her mind or her heart.

When he realized her struggles had changed into near-participation, Angelus couldn't hold back any longer.  He allowed his true nature to come through and, before he'd even finished the transformation, his fangs punctured her tender flesh.

Willow gasped at the feeling of his face changing against her and gripped him even tighter.  She felt his teeth, already embedded in her neck, elongated even further, and the soft skin of his face taking on the ridges of the demon.  More than the act itself, it was her body's growing response to the erotic sensations that disgusted her.  <I really am going to go to hell for his...> flitted through her mind, almost drowned out by the sounds of her own heavy breathing.

Angelus fed slowly and carefully.  His hands roamed her body as he reveled in the feel of her holding on to him instead of trying to push him away.  Not that he didn't love it when his victims struggled, but Rose had so much fire in her that the fight was almost unnecessary at the moment.  With gargantuan effort, he eventually pulled away, wanting to see her face when she realized how she'd responded to him.

Her lids drifted open and closed in blood-loss-induced sleepiness, but she managed to focus on him.  She knew somewhere in her foggy mind that she should be ashamed, but she no longer had the energy.

"This...changes nothing, Angelus," she whispered, no longer able to keep her eyes open.  "My body...may react to you, but...you won't make me crazy...I..."

But Angelus would never hear what she had to say because she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Ah, don't worry, me sweet Rose," Angelus murmured as he set about licking the sleeping woman's wounds.  "I think yer body may be enough, fer now."

******

Spike watched impatiently from the shadows where he'd been all night.  He was beginning to  wonder if he had the date wrong or if he should head for the abbey himself when he saw a dusty-but-expensive carriage pull up in front of the large manor house.

Spike's lips curled into a sneer when he saw Angelus step out of the carriage, only to be met within seconds by William.  They talked for a minute, too softly for even Spike to hear, and then Angelus climbed back in the carriage.  After a moment, Angelus stepped back out, carrying a large bundle.  <That's no bundle...that's a body...>  Spike took a chance and scrambled closer, trying to get a better look at the two vampires.

From his improved, though more dangerous vantage point, Spike could see that it was indeed an unmoving woman that Angelus was holding in his arms.  Angelus's cloak was wrapped about her, but Spike could just make out the feminine hand dangling from underneath it and a few trails of long hair that lay against his shoulder.  But before he could get a closer look, Angelus handed his armload to William.  Spike heard Angelus grumble something about having a quick feed before the fun began and then stalked off down the street in the opposite direction.  Once William had carried the woman inside and the driver had taken away the carriage, Spike just plopped down on the damp ground amongst the bushes.  He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  He had waited for this night for so long, agonized over whether he was doing the right thing and about whether everything would happen as it should, that sometimes he'd wondered if this night would ever arrive.  And now it had.  His beloved Drusilla, his Dark Goddess, had obviously been sired by Angelus and was in the arms of his former self.  Now all he had left to do was what he'd come here for in the first place...kill Angelus.

The smile left his face for only a moment as a whispered promise that he'd once made crept into his consciousness--a promise to a warm redhead as she lay quivering in his arms from nightmare-induced fear.  After all that Angelus had done to Willow, the pain and guarantee of more where that had come from and even the horrific dreams that she'd had, Willow had made Spike promise not to kill his sire.  Reluctantly, he'd agreed when she assured him that she'd find a way to alter the future just enough so that Angelus would never make another appearance in Sunnydale.  As a result, she pledged that Spike would never have to help Buffy and betray Angelus, the very act that led to Drusilla's eventual suicide.

"Bugger that!" Spike grumbled caustically.  <She betrayed me, after all!  She'd promised to do anything to get me my Dru back, but she didn't, did she?  She broke her bloody promise, so why the hell should I keep mine?>  "Time to take my future into my own hands, I'd say."

Easily rationalizing to himself that once again Angelus and Willow were the cause of all of his problems, Spike was once again filled with the need for revenge.  Suddenly, he felt young again.  His goal now in sight, Spike rose to his feet, took the ever-present stake from his coat pocket, and strode after Angelus with the kind of energy that only comes with the opportunity for vengeance.

***

Angelus was hungry for something, he just wasn't quite sure what.  It wasn't that he was starving because Rose's blood, whether it was due to magik or her age or her prolonged state of purity, was very filling.  He just needed to take some of the edge off...to do the things he couldn't do with his enchanting captive...like rip at someone's flesh when he fed, or drink until there was nothing left, for example.  There was the other hunger as well...the one that to entirely satiate would ruin all his plans for the future as it could very likely take the object of his obsession away from him.  He had a long time to think during the ride, and while at first he was skeptical about Rose's story and what would happen if she were to be bedded by a man, in the end he believed her...not because he thought she was incapable of lying, he had seen her abundant skills of bluffing at the poker table, but because the pain in her eyes when she spoke about it was undeniable.

After dropping his latest victim, an older man that reeked of smoke and cheap perfume, Angelus decided to go in search of a woman who could fulfill his other needs.  It was at that moment that he sensed he wasn't alone.

Spike stayed in the shadows, watching his prey as a million thoughts crossed his mind.  There were so many things he wanted to say before he turned his sire to ashes, so many things he wanted to do. On the other hand, he had seen enough telly to know that the bad guys always lost because they never simply killed the hero.  They always had to drag it out, make some pithy speech, and kill them in some slow, albeit ingenious, way.  Of course, while Angelus had more in common with Jack the Ripper than James Bond or Indiana Jones, Spike was not about to make the same mistake that the enemies of those celluloid heroes did time and time again.  It was going to be simple.  He had a short but witty speech all planned and was going to use the few moments when Angelus was confused as to who he was to deliver it.  The blonde vampire had a few things to tell him about himself, as well as Willow.  And when he saw the ego deflate, Spike would deliver his blow and it would be all over.  No fuss, no muss.  Then all he had to do was make sure that William was taking good care of his Drusilla, and then they could go home--once he found Willow again, that is.

And from they way Angelus stood up and cocked his head, Spike knew it was time to begin.

Angelus stopped, catching a familiar smell in the air, then shook his head in dismay.  "William?  Why are ya here?"

Spike took only a small step forward, keeping himself partially obscured in the moon's shadows, not that it mattered since Angelus hadn't even bothered to turn around.

"Where else would I be but at my sire's back?"  His hand gripped the stake that was hidden in the depths of his pocket, his fist repeatedly clenching and releasing around it.  He didn't want to make his move too soon, nor did he want to be just another failed adversary.

"Yer supposed to be taken care of her!  Makin' sure that none of those idiot minions of ours get any wrong ideas!" he growled.

<Minions of ours?  That'd be a first!>  "She's in good hands, mate.  I can promise you that," Spike drawled, brushing off his own question.

"Ya know ya are the only one I trust her with, Will!" Angelus went on, too disappointed in his childe at the moment to bother to turn around and look at him.

"She's safe as houses."  Spike took a few steps closer, with each step feeling the comforting weight of stake against his thigh.  A flash of anger coursed through him as he realized that his sire wasn't even going to turn around to look at him.  <Damned, bloody, arrogant bastard!>

"Did ya come to tell me somethin' important, then?  It best be damn important that ya put everythin' we've worked so hard fer at stake, William."

"No pun intended, right Angelus?"  <If only the pillock knew just how much I was going to 'put at stake'.>

With a frustrated shake of his head, Angelus ignored his childe's attempt at humor.  "Ya don't understand all the time I've invested in this woman, I suppose?  Ya've come here ta straighten me out, then?"

Spike walked slowly forward, finding this conversation more fascinating than the speech he'd planned, at least for the moment, anyway.

"Can't ya see how special she is, William?  I don't know why I didn't see it before, but the woman practically glows with a power, of sorts.  I haven't had a chance ta tell ya everythin' she told me yet, but she has so much promise that ta not take full advantage of it would make us damned fools!"

Spike snickered silently.  <You're telling me, mate!>  It was perfect.  Just as he'd hoped.  Angelus had become obsessed with Dru and now saw her potential because of her visions.  <Too bad you didn't change her earlier.  She may have been able to warn you that today you were going to die...for good, this time.!>

"She's special all right," Spike said, standing directly behind his sire, close enough to feel the coolness emanating from his body.  "She makes a beautiful vampire...a Dark Goddess even," he added, with a touch of wistfullness in his voice.

Angelus knitted his brow.  William had seemed fine when he'd first arrived back at the house, but now he was acting so strangely.

"William, I thought ya understood!" Angelus started impatiently, finally spinning around.  "I can't turn Rose..."  Angelus's explanation came to an abrupt halt when he finally saw who he'd been talking to.  In the blink of an eye, the Irish vampire instantly shifted to his game face.

The victorious smile on Spike's face faded fast as Angelus's words finally filtered through his brain.  "Um, did you say Rose?" he asked in a state of confusion, barely noticing that his sire was now wearing his demonic face and staring at him with murderous intent.

Angelus's hands flew out, grabbing Spike by the lapels and dragging him closer.  "Who are ya?"

Spike vamped out the moment Angelus touched him.  His own hands latched onto Angelus's wrists, easily breaking his sire's hold on him.  It was just as Spike had hoped.  He was older than Angelus now, and as a result, stronger.  He'd never have to submit to him again.  However, as much as he would love to take the time to gloat, he had more important matters to worry about at the moment.

"You have Rose?" Spike demanded, louder this time.

Angelus was surprised by the strength of the other vampire but was undaunted.  This time he grabbed him by the neck, again demanding, "Who are you?"

Spike's only answer was to mimic his sire's move, grabbing him too by the neck.  "Do you have Rose?" he demanded in return.  "What about Dru?"

The two vampires stared at each other, utter bewilderment and anger keeping their demons at the forefront and their grips tight.  It was unlikely that they could truly hurt each other this way, it was more a show of strength--a test for dominance--and they both knew it.

Just when Spike thought his plan couldn't go any more awry, it did.

"This is just too bloody perfect," Spike muttered, releasing one of his holds on Angelus's throat to quickly reach into his pocket and pull out the stake.  Angelus's grip on Spike faltered, his eyes opening widely as he caught sight of the stake in the blonde vampire's raised hand.  As Spike let all of his hatred flow into that one tightly clenched grip, he let go of Angelus's throat, thrusting the wooden weapon at the vampire's chest with all of his energy.

The surprised vampire was unable to utter a strangled cry before he disintegrated in front of Spike's eyes.

"Sorry mate," Spike said resentfully as he kicked at the ashes.  "But that's what happens when you muck up my plans!"

Spike finally turned to look at the silent vampire beside him.  "Bloody hell, Angelus!  How many people are trying to kill you, anyway?" he snarled, barely able to hide his disappointment.

Angelus's amber eyes studied the ashes of the rival master vampire and then turned back to the blonde vamp that had saved his life.  "I'll ask ya again.  Who are ya?  Ya look and sound like me William, but..."  Angelus shook his head in total bewildered.  The master vampire didn't appreciate being confused, nor did he care for his lack of the control of the situation.

"What?  Don't you recognize your own childe anymore, Angelus?  I'm crushed, pop, truly I am," Spike said with distaste, brushing some ashes off of his coat.

Angelus jumped to his feet, ready to beat some answers out of the other vampire if necessary.  "Listen here, Blondie.  I'm only goin' ta ask this one more time.  While I'm thankful fer ya savin' me backside just then, I'm not goin' ta put up with yer games.  Now tell me, vampire that looks like William, who are ya?"

Spike had to think fast.  "I *am* William...or at least what William will be around the end of the 20th century.  Just call me the bloody ghost of Christmas future, Ebenezer."

Angelus's confusion only grew, but before he could gather his thoughts enough to question him further, the blonde vampire began demanding answers from him again.

"Now what the hell happened to Wi--er, Rose?"

Unfortunately for the already impatient Spike, Angelus wasn't about to back down after that little bombshell he'd just dropped. "Yer...from the future?"

Spike took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Okay...I can see that you're having trouble with this point, Angelus, so I'll sum up.  Pay attention.  I'm William, your childe.  I'm from the bloody future, brought back by a damned spell.  Was that simple enough for you?"

Angelus wasn't pleased with the way the other vampire was talking to him, especially if he truly was his childe.  Luckily, he had more important things on his mind than putting William in his place.  As he continued his cold scrutiny of the white-headed vampire, he finally remembered where he'd seen him before.

"You...yer that vampire from Galway, aren't ya?"

Spike tried to contain his anger has he saw his plans falling to pieces around him.  "Yes, yes, *yes*!  Now, can we move on?" he demanded.  "God, I forgot how slow you could be on the uptake sometimes, mate," he muttered more softly to himself.  "Now, do...you...have...Rose?" he repeated.

Angelus studied the other vampire, not even really hearing what Spike was saying.  After a moment, he knew.  It was William.  The hair was different, but everything else was the same--the piercing eyes, the chiseled features, even the way he clenched his jaw when he was frustrated.

"William..." he uttered in awe, almost like a prayer.

The tone of his sire's voice, the raw emotions behind it, almost blindsided Spike for a moment.  He hadn't heard that from Angelus in centuries, but he quickly pushed his own chaotic feelings aside--the blonde vampire had become pretty good at denial by now.

"Rose, Angelus.  I asked you about Rose," he groaned.

The dark demon furrowed his brow at his childe's colder-than-normal behavior, but he chalked it up as an effect of the time-travel spell.  "I have me Rose, yes."

Spike clenched his jaw and stepped closer, drawing his face with in an inch of his sire's.  "Then where's Dru?"

"Dru?" the darker vampire asked, his eyes now blazing with anger at the vampire that seemed to have forgotten his place.  Yet, it wasn't the time or the place to punish him.  There were still too many questions, so Angelus squashed his fury for the time being.

Spike had to keep himself from rolling his eyes in impatience..  "Drusilla...the girl from the confessional, remember?  I know you met her.  I was there at the church just a few weeks ago, watching the whole thing.  Now, where the bloody hell is she?"

"Ah!" Angelus said with a slight smile and a shake of his head.  He didn't know what was going on, but he was bound and determined to find out soon.  It was obvious that Drusilla became important to William at some point, which surprised Angelus.  "I remember her now.  It was quite a bit of fun toyin' with her.  She was so simple, so trustin'.  With each word I whispered in her ear, ya could practically hear the tiny threads of her mind come undone.  Each time I killed a member of her family, ya could see it in her eyes that she was one step from an asylum."

This time, Spike couldn't control himself.  He rolled his eyes.  "Spare me the bloody history lesson, mate.  I mean, I've been there before, haven't I?  The question is, why weren't you at the convent tonight?  You were supposed to change her, right there when she took her vows!"

Angelus shrugged, then reached down and picked a blade of grass and twisted it between his fingers.  "It sounds like I missed quite a time, but I had other things to do.  I got a lead on me Rose about a fortnight ago, and while drivin' Drusilla mad is always good fer a spot of fun, Rose is much more of a challenge...a woman of mystery, ya might say."

<I don't bloody believe this!>  Spike snarled internally.  Everything had gone to hell in a hand basket, and once again, Willow was the cause.

"Oh, so suddenly the great Angelus can't handle terrorizing two women at the same time?  You aren't the demon I remember then, Angelus," the blonde vampire sniped.

<William...where did all this anger come from?  What did they do to ya in the future ta make ya so bitter?> he wondered.  "Why is she so important to ya, Spike?" Angelus inquired aloud.  "Ya were never much one fer the more subtle side of torture before.  Ya always said if it doesn't make 'em bleed, then what's the bloody point?"

Spike chuckled.  He remembered saying that a lot back then, whenever Angelus would try and get him to wile away a few months driving some poor person insane without ever touching them, like he did with Drusilla.

"Things change, Angelus.  Things change."

Angelus slowly approached his childe, staring at him intently.  "Why is she so important to ya, then?"

The blonde vampire clenched his jaw but managed to maintain his sire's intense gaze.  "Let's just say we become very close, and her gift of foretelling comes in bloody handy.  We don't want to lose it."

Angelus shook his head, surprised by his childe's devotion to the woman he and William had been taunting a few week's earlier.  "If she's that important to ya, what difference will a day make, right?  Now, tell me, what did ya come back fer, William?"

Spike winced at the use of his former name, it just seemed ill suited to him now.  "Spike," he told his sire firmly.

"What?"

"I go by 'Spike' now.  Have for over 100 years, so learn it and use it, all right?" he grumbled bitterly.

Angelus briefly pondered his childe's disrespectful attitude before once again advising himself not to become too concerned over it at the present time.  There was still too much at stake.  Besides, apparently they would have plenty of time for appropriate punishment later.

"Spike?  Spike..." he ventured, rolling the word around on his tongue a bit until it felt more natural.  "Well, if that's what ya want, it'll make it a bit less confusin."  Tired of the games, Angelus stood up straight, looking at his childe with the air of complete authority that Spike remembered so well.  "Now, tell me, *Spike*, why are ya here?"

<Ah!  There's the Angelus I love to hate.  Now, think fast, Spike.  There's no room for any more bloody errors!>  "Didn't Rose tell you?" he queried after a quick internal debate.

Angelus shook his head in the negative, but Spike noted his sire's eyes gleamed yellow briefly at the mere mention of her name.

"She wouldn't talk about ya much.  I planned on gettin' it out of her later," he said with a knowing smirk.  "All she said is that ya forced her ta do a spell and now she can't die or enjoy the company of men until ya end the spell.  Apparently me little witch forgot ta mention that she was from a different time as well."

Spike laughed, "She so sweet and innocent looking, isn't she, with those big green eyes and pouty little lips?  She lied to the great Angelus and got away with it!"

The gleam was there again.  "Explain yerself, Wil-- Spike."

Spike grinned as an idea dawned on him, just in the nick of time.  He leaned nonchalantly against a tree, took out a cigarette and lit it, taking several slow draws before speaking.  "It's simple, mate.  She came here to kill you.  I came to stop her."

"What?"  Angelus stared at the blonde vampire like he'd suddenly sprouted a halo.  "No," he said firmly, shaking his head.  "I gave her several chances to harm me, and her attempt was half-hearted at best.  She doesn't have killin' in her."

"She wasn't going to just come right out and knock you off, Angelus," Spike said impatiently.  "She's too bloody smart for that.  Rose was just trying to keep you from being changed.  That's why we were in Galway, Angelus.  She was trying to keep you busy until Darla left town."

After a pause, Angelus grunted a vague acceptance that what Spike was saying might perhaps be true.  "Why?" he asked as he began to pace.

"So many reasons, Angelus.  You're quite notorious in our time...get up to all sorts of mischief...Hellmouths, awakening demons, torturing, you know, the usual stuff.  I guess she and her slayer friend didn't care too much for your antics."

"Slayer?"  Angelus stopped his walking.  "Do I get me a few slayers in me time?

It was one of those conversations that Spike knew someday he would look back at and just laugh his undead ass off.

"Yes, you'll *have* a few Slayers, mate.  One way or another."  <If you can't kill 'em, shag 'em, right Angel?>

Angelus stood a little straighter, his pride showing in his countenance like a beacon.  "I can't believe it.  A hundred years from now I cause enough mayhem that a woman decides ta actually come back in time ta stop me from ever becomin'."

<Egotistical bastard!>  "That's about the sum of it."

Pushing pride aside, Angelus had more questions.  "But ya tried to stop her?  She said it was yer spell..."

Spike was thinking fast.  "It was, in a way.  I interrupted her at the last moment...and just came along for the ride.  The virginity thing is her own damn fault, but she thought she'd be here for months only, not decades."

Angelus eventually plopped down on a small boulder, trying to absorb all the information.  Things were starting to fall into place now...Willow's comments and odd behavior when he was human, her vampire companion's cryptic remarks the night after he was sired by Darla.  It all was beginning to make sense, but there were still plenty of questions to be answered.

"But why are ya still here, then, Spike?  I was changed, thanks ta you, and you were sired.  What more is there?"

Spike clenched his jaw and kicked at a pebble on the ground, his brain working in overdrive.  "Rose got a way from me the night you were changed.  I didn't see her for decades after that.  I had to stick close to you in case she found enough of a backbone to actually kill you after all."

"You've been followin' me around?  Watchin' me back?"

"Off and on."

"I'm touched by yer obedience, Spike," Angelus said honestly, "but we both know there's more ta it than that, now, isn't there?"

Spike didn't answer.  He simply took a few more puffs from his cigarette and watched the smoke drift away in the gentle breeze.

Angelus stood up and approached him.  "Aye, I'm sure there's more ta this than yer tellin' me."  Angelus reached out and lightly traced the very familiar scar on Spike's eyebrow, as well as the new one on his jaw, causing Spike to grind his teeth in a concentrated effort not to break his sire's hand for even touching him.  If Angelus noted his childe's increased tension, he didn't let it show.

"It's Drusilla.  She's important enough to ya ta go to all this effort?"

Spike nodded, meeting his sire's gaze again.

"She must be somethin', then..." Angelus said lightly, taking a few steps back from the other vampire, "...ta make me William go ta so much trouble fer a woman when ya keep tellin' me that they're all the bloody same.  She is fer you perhaps what Rose is fer me?"

Spike stifled a laugh at the irony of the situation.  "It's different, Angelus.  Drusilla becomes a bloody marvelous vampire.  One that will make you proud.  Rose is human and always will be.  She's good for only one thing, and you'll soon get bored with that."

<Like ya did, my childe?>  Angelus's face darkened when he remembered the bite marks on his Rose, but he was able to contain his jealousy.  His control came easier with the knowledge that the vampire he'd been envious of was, in truth, his childe.  That changed everything.

"We shall see," he said coolly.  "We should be gettin' back, Wil--Spike.  It'll be light soon, and we need ta be discussin' yer Drusilla somewhere more private."

<My Drusilla?  Bloody hell...things have changed!>  Spike nodded, engrossed in his own thoughts of Drusilla and Willow.  This was a little overwhelming.  Only an hour before he'd been about to kill his sire, and now not only had he saved Angelus's hide, they were going to have a calm discussion about the future of his Princess as well!

"And I suppose ya want ta see Rose," Angelus added reluctantly.

Spike dropped his smoke and ground it out with his boot, unable to keep the smirk from his face.  "I guess I should see how the old ball and chain is doing."

Angelus chuckled softly, happy to know that his childe hadn't lost the sense of humor that he'd come to appreciate so much.  He slapped an arm on the blonde vampire's shoulder.  "Let's get ya home.  I can't wait fer William ta be seein' ya...especially the hair."
 

~Chapter Thirty-two~

Willow half-heartedly searched her new room in vain, looking for a way out even though she knew it was doubtful that one existed.  She was mainly searching for inspiration, hoping a plan would come to mind, but more than anything she was simply trying to keep herself occupied.  There were too many things that she didn't want to think about.

When she'd awakened in the strange room earlier, it had taken Willow a few moments to get her bearings.  Unfortunately, all the memories of her carriage ride with Angelus had come back to her in a stomach-clenching rush.  "Oh, Willow..." she'd moaned softly to herself.  "What have you done?  You practically threw yourself at him.  Heck, you barely even struggled!  And...and...Angelus gave you a chance to kill him and you didn't even make a dent in that conceited demon!"  <When did I become so pathetic?> she'd speculated silently, rolling over to bury her face in the pillow.  <Only a few short decades ago I was learning how to play the guitar and pick pockets with the Rom!  I've gambled with old pirates and young thieves, and I explored every inch of Italy!  Not to mention the fact that I learned a couple of self-defense moves while I was in Asia, and all of this in a time when women aren't even supposed to travel on their own!  But now, because I keep letting my childish emotions get the best of me, I'm Angelus's prisoner.  Not so smart now, am I?  All this wonderful new knowledge isn't going to help me escape!>

With a groan, Willow pulled herself together.  She couldn't afford to wallow in self-pity or embarrassment at the moment.  Right now she needed to figure out how to get away from Angelus.  Besides, if she succeeded in that, she'd have plenty of time to kick herself later.

Willow sighed and looked around her new quarters despairingly.  The large bedroom in which she was being kept was as opulent, if not more so, than the one she'd just stayed in at Mr. Simms' country house.  Rich velvets and brocades adorned the room, and everywhere she looked, dark woods and fine antiques met her eye.  The artwork was exquisite, and she had to admit that someone, maybe even Angelus, had very good taste for the finer things--much better than her last host.  But she wasn't here to admire the decorating, so instead she studied the room for what it really was...a prison...a thing to escape.

The room had only two windows, and they were behind the bed.  When Willow threw open the heavy drapes that kept out every ray of light, she discovered that they were covered with wrought iron bars on the inside.  Even if she could reach the very thick, opaque glass through the ornate bars, she doubted that she'd be able to break it.

"Maybe I'll just have to keep the curtains open day and night.  I could sit right in the middle of the warm sunshine, and they wouldn't be able to get me!" she said with a hint of renewed hope, but her face soon fell when reality hit.  "At least until it's *nighttime* and there is no sun, Willow!  Duh!" she reminded herself sharply.  She was also keenly aware that the tiny amount of self-defense that she'd learned wasn't going to be of much use in this situation.  Sure, it was handy anytime a vampire, or a living man for that matter, caught her unaware because it surprised them, giving her the chance to escape or grab her stake.  Unfortunately, in hand-to-hand combat, she still had almost no chance of winning.  Realizing this, Willow began to look about for a weapon of any sort, but Angelus had obviously been a step ahead of her, again.  <Still no fire poker or vase to smash anyone over the head with!>

Next she tried the doors...for the fifth time.  The large one opposite the bed that obviously led to the hallway was still locked.  There was also a locked door on a side wall, and she guessed that it led to another room, a sitting room perhaps.  Across from that was the only unlocked door, and it opened to a private bathroom, complete with the most modern indoor plumbing for the time, including a large tub.  All the fixtures looked as if they'd never been touched, let alone used, and Willow's heart fell as she realized what the sparkling new tub symbolized.  Not only were they planning on her being a 'guest' for a very long time, but also if they brought her food--that was assuming they weren't going to starve her to death--she'd never have to leave the room.  Angelus really had thought of everything.

When she opened the wardrobe it only got worse.  As if being his prisoner wasn't bad enough, apparently Angelus planned to treat her like a toy as well.  While her trunk and travel bag were there, all of her normal clothes were gone.  He'd left her with only some of her more personal belongings.  Willow realized how lucky it was that she'd decided not to bring her journal with her on the poker weekend because if Angelus had gotten his hands on that...Well, she didn't even want to think about those consequences.  Nevertheless, even though all of her clothes were gone, she wasn't lacking in things to wear.  The closet was full of dresses, appearing to somehow be the right size, but none of them very Willow or Rose-like.  Granted, they were beautiful and obviously very expensive, but they were all more provocative that what she was used to wearing lately.  It wasn't that she was opposed to showing her cleavage or that she was ashamed of her body.  On the contrary, while she had been with the Rom she'd grown quite used to the peasant-style blouses that the women wore.  The gypsy females were never shy about displaying an ample amount of bosom, but this...this was different.  Back then she was trying to fit into the gypsy way of life, while now she was supposed to be a lady...not an over-dressed trollop.  The clothes Angelus had chosen for her were not for everyday wear.  Instead, the resembled more what one would wear to a fancy-dress ball or a very special evening on the town.  Showing this much skin before nightfall was a big faux pas in Victorian society.

"And what's with all the red?" she whined.  Unfortunately, she had little choice since the dress she'd worn on the trip was dusty and wrinkled, and to her dismay, it now had a large rip up the seam, similar to the one Angelus had put in her other dress.  Putting off the inevitable, Willow slammed the door shut, blocking her view of the clothes she was expected to wear, and plopped back down on the bed.

Looking about sullenly, she had to admit that it was truly a beautiful room, but Willow couldn't enjoy it.  She was completely aware of what Angelus was up to, or at least she hoped she'd figured out his plan.  He was trying to make her comfortable and relaxed so that when she let her guard down, he could swoop in and be his usual evil self.  Torture was still torture, no matter how lush the settings or grand the costumes.  In fact, she almost wished she'd been thrown in a cell or a dungeon instead.  The niceties only made her more uneasy.  <Which is probably also part of his plan,> she reminded herself.  <No matter what, he wins.  If I get comfortable, he'll enjoy taking that away from me, and if I worry about what he's up to, he'll take pleasure in my frustration!>

She sighed again and then made a decision.  Really, she had no choice.  She could get dressed and play along for now in hopes that a means of escape would present itself, or she could sit there in her smelly and torn dress until he forced her to change clothes.  And she didn't even want to think of how he might go about doing that.  So, after a quick bath, Willow chose the least distasteful dress.  It was a wine-colored silk, worn off the shoulders and made to be tight fitting around the middle so that it would show all of her assets to their greatest advantage.  She was grateful for one thing, however, as she stared at the garments--the matching hoop petticoats, or crinolines, were not as wide as many she'd seen.  It took practice to sit down in the narrowest of the hoop skirts, but some of the more recent styles were so wide that the wearer could scarcely fit through the average doorway.  Normally, Willow wore the simplest designs she could--sacrificing style for comfort and classic clothing that required the least amount of fuss to put on.  On some occasions, she would even stay in her dressing gown all day when she wasn't going out or expecting company.

"What I wouldn't give for a pair of jeans and sneakers!" she lamented as she stared at the finery.  "Even the styles of 50 years ago were better than this," Willow said, fondly remembering the short Empire period in which women were corsetless and the gowns much lighter and loose fitting.  Fashions in Victorian England seemed to change faster than they did in Sunnydale High School.

Deciding she'd better get started, Willow easily slipped on the chemise and then shimmied into the corset.  After all these years, she was getting pretty good at doing it up all by herself, but it helped that she didn't wear it as tight as most other women of the time.  The dreaded hoop petticoat followed that uncomfortable item.  Then she put on the embroidery-trimmed over-petticoat before finally wiggling into the expensive, double-flounced gown itself.  Willow griped the whole time she was putting the intricate ensemble on, allowing the grumbling to take her mind off of her impending meeting with Angelus.  It took her awhile to get all the buttons fastened, but eventually, after slipping into some handed-beaded slippers, she was fully dressed.

Her hair was another matter.  Fashion dictated that during the day women were to wear bonnets or hats of one variety or another when in public.  Otherwise, it was usually worn up or at least pinned back with ringlets about the face and neck, but she didn't really give two hoots about fashion at the moment.  Sitting at the dressing table covered, Willow quickly combed out the drying tangles.  She twisted and then pinned only a small section of hair back on each side, just enough so it wouldn't hang in her face and annoy her.  The rest she brushed forward so that it fell to the front, allowing her some degree of coverage along her neck and chest.  It wasn't fashionable but it was comfortable and quick.  She only wished she could find her cross to wear, not that it would help, but it had mysteriously vanished the night Angelus had appeared in her room.

Annoyed for having to put so much effort into her appearance considering what was likely to happen to her, Willow voraciously started inspecting the room again.  She was so busy examining every nook and cranny, she wasn't aware of William when he unlocked and opened the door behind her.

Unnoticed, William watched her scurry about the room that he'd had only a fortnight to prepare for her.  In fact, they'd barely made it on time.  It was a good thing that he and his sire had turned quite a few laborers over the years.  As a result, beneath their own roof dwelled all the carpenters, masons and plumbers that they'd required to get the job done.  Angelus had insisted that Rose's room, which had been created from two smaller rarely used bedrooms and a tiny sitting room, have an attached private bath with all the modern conveniences.  Angelus's instructions had also made provisions for a small, private library for Rose.  His only offered explanation was that his Rose was an intelligent woman who liked to read.  Unfortunately that room wasn't quite ready yet.  The carpenter had only finished the shelves the day before, and the books still needed to be put on the shelves.  When that was done, hopefully later than night, Angelus would check it one final time to make sure there was nothing in the room that his Rose could use to aid in an escape.  To William, it all seemed like a lot of trouble for someone Angelus just wanted to torment until she lost her 'intelligent mind', but William gave his sire the benefit of the doubt.  Angelus always knew what he was doing.

What would be interesting though would be Darla's reaction when she came back in a little over a week.  After all, it was her house that Angelus was renovating without permission.  Fortunately, Darla's personal quarters were much larger and far more luxurious than those made especially for Angelus's captive, so that shouldn't cause a fuss.

Darla had come by the estate only a few years earlier after paying 'special' attention to an older wealthy man.  After estranging him from what little family he'd had, she'd promised him eternal life in exchange for all of his worldly possessions, including the huge and relatively new mansion that was now their home.  Within days of the will being finalized, he'd died of a heart attack while Darla sat back and watched.  She'd never intended on turning him, but the man didn't realize that until it was too late.  The end result was that Darla and her extended demonic family now legally owned a secluded London mansion that suited their special needs perfectly.

William smirked to himself.  Yes, Darla's reaction to the whole Rose situation should prove very interesting indeed, and he couldn't help wondering if she'd be jealous of the redhead.  <Bloody hell...even I'm a little bit jealous of Rose since she's all Angelus has bloody talked about for weeks...decades, really,> he admitted.  Then he remembered what had happened only a few hours ago.

When Angelus had put Rose into his arms earlier, telling him to take care of her, William had carried her into the house and to the room they'd finished for her only a couple of hours earlier.  Just as he'd been about to place her on the bed, Willow had stirred restlessly in his arms.

"Don't worry, love," William had hushed sarcastically.  "You're home.  This is where you belong now."

Then the most curious thing had happened.  Her lids fluttered open only for a moment to look at him.  When their eyes met, she smiled softly, whispering, "I knew you wouldn't forget me..." before they closed again and she seemingly snuggled closer.

At the time, he'd just chalked it up to the ramblings of one of Angelus's playthings.  Their minds were always so fragile that they rarely made sense after a few days in his sire's presence.  That thought disappointed William though.  He'd been hoping that this one would offer Angelus, and of course his favorite childe, the challenge they'd been counting on.  Now he couldn't help wondering why it was that had Angelus become so totally obsessed with her.  Sure, she was a pretty lass, especially for one that was over 100 years old, but he'd seen women who were more beautiful.  Obviously there was more to her than met the eye, and he was looking forward to finding out exactly what that was.

"Lose something, Pet?" he finally asked, revealing his presence.

Luckily, Willow had been expecting to see William sooner or later.  That was just the way things seemed to go in her life now.  She took a quick glance at the door and noted him casually leaning against the doorjamb.  He was no longer wearing the military uniform she'd seen in him two times before but was instead dressed in the same manner as Angelus and any other man of the time.  Plain, dark trousers and a white shirt, with the only real color coming from the richly embroidered vest that peeked out beneath his frock coat.  Plus, he was wearing Spike's familiar smirk.  As a result, if it weren't for his dark hair, Willow could have easily mistaken him for Spike.

Forcing herself not to stare at the vampire, she tried to pretend as if he were just another one of Angelus's lackeys as she answered his question.  "Only my ever-loosening grasp on reality," she mumbled caustically, continuing to cast her eyes about the room.  "What do you want?"

"Unfortunately, what I want isn't important right now.  Angelus is asking for you.  Says he has a surprise for you...for both of us, actually.  So, shall we?" he leered, yet offered her his arm like a true gentleman of the time.

Willow shuddered at the kind of surprise that Angelus might have in store for her.  Apparently, it was time for her torture to begin.

"I'd be eternally grateful if you would be so kind as to tell him that I don't really like surprises," she said a little too sweetly, trying to stall for time.

"Don't think so, Pet," William snickered.  "Besides, the surprise is half the fun.  Now, do you want to be dragged out of here by your hair, or do you want to walk down the hall like the proper lady that you are?"

"Fine," she grumbled under her breath, then brushed past her escort and walked out into the hall to wait for him.  "After you, Sir," Willow said, with a mocking curtsy.  "Since I have no idea where we're going," she added, trying to make it sound like an offhanded remark.

Disappointed that there would be no hair pulling, William ignored her display, turned left, and headed off down the long hallway without another look at her.  He didn't need to see her to know that she was following him as instructed.  At one point, they passed a tall, brass candleholder that sat on the floor.

"Don't even think about it, love," he warned her without turning around.

Willow's hand, which had made only the slightest movement toward what she'd thought was the perfect makeshift weapon, fell back to her side.  Neither's steps had faltered.

After a few turns, Willow was already wondering if she'd be able to find her own way out on her own, when they came to a large, intricately decorated vase, resting on a hall table.  Again, just as Willow thought to reach out, grab it, and smash it over his head, William's voice put those notions to rest.

"I'd think twice about that if I were you.  All that shattered glass flying about, you're likely to get a nasty cut in the process.  Next thing you now, a dozen hungry vampires will descend on you like bees to honey, and I won't be able to do a thing to help you," he told her indifferently, never stopping his forward momentum.

Willow felt the panic begin to rise again, her feet getting more leaden with each step that brought her closer to Angelus.

"We're almost there, Pet.  I know you must be dying for your surprise.  I know I would be...*dying*...if I were you," his sardonic voice wafted back to her.

Willow spotted a chair in the hallway and faltered, but before she could take more than a step toward it, William was upon her, grabbing her by the forearms and pushing her back against the wall.  His hands slid up her arms to her wrists and pinned them above her head.

"Stubborn thing, aren't you?" he asked, leaning his full weight against her wrists.  "Not too fond of following instructions, are we?"

As William's demon came to the forefront, Willow tried not to let the memories of her last day with Spike flood back to her, but it was difficult.  The future version of him had held her the same way that time, pinning her against the wall of her own home.  She didn't struggle this time though, partly because she refused to give him the satisfaction but also because the dress she was wearing didn't allow for it.

"If I were you, Rose, I'd play nice with me.  From what Angelus had told me about his plans for you, we're going to be around each other for a bloody long time.  And, of course, my sire and I share everything," he warned, his eyes flashing with a familiar hunger.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," she informed him bravely.  "In fact, go ahead and bite me...we'll see what Angelus has to say about that!"

William grinned lasciviously, unable to resist a challenge.  "Don't mind if I do, Rose."  He lowered his eager mouth to her throat, waiting to hear her whimper or beg him to stop, but it never came.  Even when he licked at her pulse point and grazed her delicate skin with his blunt teeth, she didn't give in to fear.  With a supernatural effort, he stopped himself, but it wasn't easy.  While Angelus would most likely share her after a while, William knew she was special to him, and he doubted that even he would be forgiven for daring to mark her.

The dark vampire pulled away to penetrate her eyes with his own.  He shifted his grip, easily holding her two wrists captive with only one of his hands, allowing the other to slowly fall until he was running a finger along her collarbone.

"Aren't you afraid of me, little virgin?" he asked huskily, and Willow felt an icy-cold stab of pain at all the similarities between William and Spike.

Willow clenched her jaw, unconsciously mocking the man in front of her.  "No, I'm not.  I know you better than you know yourself.  Nothing you do can surprise me."

A smirk grew on the vampire's face.  He was starting to now see the inner fire that kept Angelus so enthralled with her.  She was cocky, and he liked that.  Once again, William had to remind himself that Rose was Angelus's.  His sire had marked her ages ago, which caused a slight twinge of envy in the younger vampire.  At that moment he could think of nothing better than dragging her, kicking and screaming, back to his room so that he could teach her the proper way to behave.  <Soon,> he reminded himself.  <When Angelus grows bored, he'll allow me to indulge myself...if she survives that long, that is.>

"I'm really looking forward to watching Angelus teach you your place, Pet.  After all, everyone works better with an audience."

Just as William was about to release her, he let his eyes drift over her one last time.  That was when he noted it--a faded scar on her neck.  It looked so familiar that he had to look at it again.

He abruptly pulled back and grabbed hold of her chin, forcing her to look at him.  "That mark...who gave it to you?"

Willow stared at the vampire defiantly. <You wouldn't believe me if I told you...>  "That's none of your business, is it?  Hadn't we better get going?  It isn't good to keep Daddy waiting, is it?" she sniped.

Ignoring her words, William touched the scar that looked like one of his, as if making sure that it was really there and he wasn't just seeing things.  Then he let go of her abruptly, letting his human visage slip back into place.

"Angelus will get it out of you, Pet," he advised, then started back down the hall. "But I think before he's done you'll wish you'd just told me."  <Crikey, she's a spirited one!  Hope Angelus knows what he's getting himself in to.  We may be better off with that religious nutter he met at the church a while back.  At least she wouldn't give him so much bloody trouble!> he mused as he brought Rose closer to Angelus.  Nevertheless, he didn't believe his own thoughts for a moment.  Deep down, he agreed with his sire--the more spirited they were, the longer the amusement would last.  And much like his sire, William couldn't wait for the fun to start.  He only hoped Angelus really would share her one day.

Willow followed weakly behind William as he led her down a staircase and across the marble floor.  It was impossible for her not to notice the two large vampires that were blocking the front door.  With a sinking heart, she realized there was no way she could 'muscle' past those two brutes.  From the no-nonsense looks they were giving her, it was apparent that they'd already been given instructions about her.  <Doesn't look like I'll be walking out the front door anytime soon since I doubt that I could flip one of them over my shoulder...let alone hurt them,> she thought morosely.

Finally stopping before a set of double doors that led off of the foyer, William opened them with a flourish and gestured for her to enter.  Willow took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.  Unfortunately, before she could even exhale some of her tension away, her feet were already in motion.  What she saw within the room, though, forced Willow's breath out in a coarse hiss, and she was as close to fainting as she thought she'd ever been in her whole life.  Angelus she was expecting to see, in all of his arrogant glory, but not Spike, and especially not the two of them chatting amiably like old school chums.  That was the last thing she'd counted on.

Willow froze just inside the doorway as the two laughing vampires turned their cocky grins on her, chasing away much of her own spirited strength.  William, who had stepped back in order to make her enter first, had yet to see them.

"Go in, Pet," William instructed.  "Angelus won't bite.  Well, actually, he will, but..."

"Miss me, Pet?"  Spike asked, taking a few steps toward her and opening his arms for a hug.

Hearing the new voice, William finally poked his head around the door.  "Who the bloody hell is this?" he demanded.

Willow didn't even hear William's question.  Her attention was fully consumed by the blonde vampire in front of her.  "S--spike," she stammered, not moving any closer to him.  "I'd recognize that lying, selfish, conniving voice anywhere," she managed shakily, remembering her words from a previous meeting.

Spike smiled devilishly while inwardly hoping to every deity he could think of that she wouldn't say the wrong thing.  "You flatter me, love."

As hard as she tried, Willow couldn't hold Spike's gaze.  Her confusion as to his presence in the room and the coldness she saw in his face, cut her to the quick, and she had to turn away.  Unintentionally, she looked straight at the smug Angelus.  Realizing that looking at the darker vampire wasn't any easier, she admitted defeat and lowered her gaze to the floor.

Angelus observed the pain in his captive's eyes with great interest, not only when she looked at him, but also when she looked at Spike.  William, meanwhile, was staring slack-jawed at the other vampire as he slowly entered the room. <He looks just like me!  That bloody wanker stole my face!>  He turned to Angelus, who was too busy watching Spike and Willow's interactions to notice his childe's bewilderment.

"Angelus!" William exclaimed, getting his sire's attention immediately.  "You better tell me who this pillock is or I'll stake him, no matter how good looking he may be!"

Angelus gestured for William to lock the doors and come closer.  He was loving every second of his childe's confusion, not to mention Willow's obvious distress.  The air in the room was thick with tension, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"William," he said, putting an arm lazily about his childe's shoulder, "I would like ya to meet yerself in about...um, how many years was it again, Spike?"

Spike tore his attention away from Willow and turned back to his sire and his former self.  "A hundred or so," Spike said casually, strolling up to come face-to-face with William.  "Hell, I'd forgotten just what a good-looking bloke I am!" he said with a broad grin, taking in every inch of William's perplexed appearance.  "No wonder you can't keep your hands off me, Red," he teased cruelly.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Angelus's smile vanish, replaced by a look of jealousy.  Behind him, Spike heard an angry, sharp intake of breath from Willow.  <Damn, this is fun!>

"You're supposed to be me?"  William snorted incredulously as he circled Spike.  When he'd come full circle, William stopped and brought his face closer to the one that was almost a twin for his.  He reached out, planning to touch the identical scar on Spike's eyebrow, but he was stopped by a shout from Willow.

"Don't touch him!" she wailed.  Willow rushed forward, ready to throw herself between them if necessary.  The redhead had been unable not to watch William and Spike's first meeting.  <Sort of like a fire or a car wreck,> she'd first thought, trying to cheer herself up.

William looked at the distraught woman's face, then back to Spike.  "What's she got her knickers in a knot about?"

Spike smiled again.  Even his own voice was sexy.  "Don't mind her.  She has some theory that if we were to come in physical contact the whole soddin' world would come to an end...some blither about the same matter not being able to occupy the same space at the same time, or something like that."  He rolled his eyes and made one of those all-encompassing 'Women!  What the bloody hell are you going to do?' faces.

"It's true," Willow said, trying to shrug off his demeaning behavior.  "Although you come from different times, the matter that makes you up is the same yet distinctive to you alone.  According to the theory of..." When the matching faces of two annoyed vampires turned to her in impatience, she stopped her scientific rant.  "Just don't touch...if you two think you can manage to keep your hands off of yourselves," she muttered, trying to find strength in sarcasm.

Angelus smiled in spite of himself at her audacity.  She was so intriguing that the vampire found it difficult not to stare at her in front of the others.  In all the years that he'd roamed the world, Angelus had never found a woman her equal.  More beautiful perhaps, if one were to go purely by society's current vision of the perfect woman, but there was something about Rose that he thought outshined all the women that he'd known, both living and dead.  He couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what it was that had kept her in his thoughts for over a century now--an impossible combination of innocence and passion, mystery and candor, youthful vitality and worldly maturity, perhaps.  No, Angelus didn't know what it was precisely, but at least he now had the time to find out.

Willow was watching the two Williams study each other, trying to figure out what Spike was doing there in the first place, when she sensed it.  Wrinkling her brow in consternation, she reluctantly looked over at Angelus and found him looking at her as well.  The strange thing was that for the first time, he wasn't studying her like she were a bug under a microscope or like he was plotting the easiest way to rip her heart to shreds, he was just...*looking* at her.  No...that wasn't quite right either, he wasn't just looking at her...he was gazing at her in the way that a man looks at a woman.

She knew she should turn away, but she couldn't because it wasn't the vampire or the demon looking at her, it was the man.  She had only seen brief flashes of the Angelus she remembered during the past couple of days, and even if it were only a cruel trick, she found some strength in the human Angelus's eyes...Angel's eyes.

At the sound of William's voice, they were both ripped back to reality.  Angelus's face hardened, and Willow's eyes fell back to the floor.

"So, you're me in about 100 years?"  He pointed to the scar on Spike's jaw.  "Then where did that beauty come from?" William asked skeptically.

"Just a token of Rose's love," Spike answered, raising a hand to rub the scar himself.  "Won't heal properly because of the spell, I suppose."

William pursed his lips, studying it a while longer.  "A bloody spell, eh?  Well, it's not too horrible...gives you some character."

Spike raised an eyebrow in faint surprise then began patting his pockets for a cigarette.  William began doing the same.  Finding his first, he offered one to Spike, and the blonde vampire took it with a smile.

Deciding that if he was ever going to get his Rose alone he would have to interrupt the two vampires that seemed intent upon staring at themselves for all eternity, Angelus spoke up.  "Apparently, me little witch here cast a spell in the future, hopin' ta come back and keep me from bein' sired by Darla.  Isn't that right, me love?"

Willow glanced nervously from Angelus to Spike, wondering why the blonde demon had told his sire that, even if there was a smidgen of truth to it.  She hated not knowing what Spike was up to, and his face revealed nothing.  In fact, the blonde vampire only smiled at her and then pursed his lips for a moment.  Realizing that Spike's lie sounded far more plausible than her did, not to mention the fact that Angelus would of course believe his own childe over her, Willow had to turn around under the weight of their stares.

Not seeing how she would benefit from telling Angelus the truth, Willow twisted her hands together in front of her.  "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about," she said weakly, praying that Spike knew what he was doing.

Angelus approached her from behind and placed his cool hands on her trembling forearms, drawing her back to him.  "Ya lied to me, my flower," he whispered in her ear, before sharply sinking one fang into her lobe for emphasis.  He was not surprised when she only gasped against the pain and didn't cry out.  He knew her self-control was considerable, despite her behavior in the carriage the night before.  "Yer goin' ta have ta be punished, no matter how impressed I might be that ya were able ta fool me."

Spike had a harsh but outwardly invisible reaction to Angelus's biting Willow.  Spike's demonic side had claimed her and did not take kindly to another taking her blood--or anything else for that matter--when it was rightfully his.

"You see," Spike blurted out a little more loudly than he'd planned, "Angelus caused a bit of a ruckus in the town where...Rose...lives.  Since she and the Slayer couldn't seem to kill him the standard way, she came up with this little back in time spell...sort of a demonic 'What came first...the chicken or the egg?' thing to try and stop him."

"And you...I mean, *I*..." William started, trying to puzzle the whole thing out.

"And I had no other choice but to come along on her little trip, uninvited, and make sure that Darla and Angelus still found their way to each other," Spike offered in explanation.

William clenched his jaw as he continued to scrutinize Spike.  "And the bloody spell did that to my hair?"

Spike groaned and shook his head before running his fingers through his cropped locks.  "Trust me.  It's all the rage in the future."

William made a snort of disgusted disagreement, yet the more he looked at his older self, the more he liked the lighter hair.  It brought out his eyes and sharp features.  <Damn, I get better looking every day,> William thought to himself.  Finally becoming serious for a moment, William pondered everything that had been said, and it all began to make sense...Rose's bite marks, her behavior and comments...

Willow took the time afforded by William's analysis of the twisted timeline to move away from Angelus and sit down in the nearest chair.  It felt as if her legs would give way beneath her any second, and she didn't want to faint in front of the three vampires.  To her dismay, Angelus followed to stand behind her chair, casually leaning on the back of it and stroking her hair occasionally as if she were a child or a pet.  Willow tried hard not to grimace or shy away from his touch, wanting to appear as if she hardly noticed his attentions.  It was difficult, though, considering all she really wanted to do was slap his hand away.  <Calm down and breathe, Willow,> she reminded herself.

William took a long drag from his cigarette, looking at Willow and Angelus before turning back to Spike.  "What...didn't you want to sire yourself?"  William asked with a laugh before sitting on the arm of the sofa.

Willow smothered a smile at the fleeting look of chagrin that passed over Spike's pale features.  She remembered very well how he'd considered doing just that very thing when they'd first arrived in Galway a century too soon.

"Sire myself?  How bloody thick do you think I am?" Spike answered, looking incredibly insulted at the question.

"So, how long will we have the pleasure of my own company?" William continued.

"As soon as I know that you, Angelus, and Drusilla are all fine and dandy again; Rose and I will be on our merry little way."

"Drusilla?"

Angelus fielded that question.  He stepped out from behind the leather wing chair only to perch on its arm next to his Rose, letting his hand rest of Willow's bare shoulder.  "Apparently, the three of us make a great team, William."

"Really?"  William lifted an eyebrow in surprise, but he couldn't say he was displeased at the thought of having the beautiful brunette as a new member of the family.  He and his sire had spent many an enjoyable evening tormenting the poor girl, and it would be a shame to see all of their hard work go to waste.

Spike spoke up.  "William, she makes a brilliant vampire...beautiful, cunning, deadly.  I'll have you know, she'll bag herself a slayer in the future."

William laughed in delighted surprise.  "You're joking, right?  She's off her rocker, mate!"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Spike's face as he thought about his vampiric lover.  "That's one of the things you two will learn to like the most about her, and her visions save your asses more times than I can count!" he added, trying not to let his desperation show.  He had to convince Angelus to change her and soon, but the very fact that he was trying to fan Angelus's interest in Drusilla was painful beyond measure.  This was not that way it was supposed to happen.

Spike finally allowed himself to look at Willow again--the woman he blamed for this new torture that he had to endure.  As he saw her sitting so close to his sire, putting up with his attentions without the slightest bit of protest, Spike felt a surge of anger.  Although somewhere deep within the desperate vampire he knew Willow had little choice in how she reacted to his sire, it was far easier for Spike to put his grand plan's most recent failure squarely on her shoulders.  If she'd only managed to stay out of Angelus's way, Drusilla would already have been sired and Angelus would be ashes.

At that same time, Angelus was studying Spike.  It was obvious how his childe felt about the odd girl he'd had met in the confessional, but Angelus wasn't about to change his plans just to play matchmaker.  The blonde vampire also appeared a bit territorial over his Rose, but Angelus wasn't worried about that either.  Spike was his childe, after all.

Angelus spoke up, watching his Spike's reaction carefully.  "We won't be needin' Drusilla anymore.  We have you and Rose now.  She can tell us anythin' we need ta be knowin' about the future, can't she?"

Willow grimaced and shifted uncomfortably in her seat while her future was being discussed as if she weren't even in the room.  She'd remained sitting quietly while they'd discussed Drusilla's future, glad to be temporarily forgotten about.  In fact, when Spike had mentioned that they would be leaving as soon as Drusilla was turned, she'd even allowed herself to believe that maybe Spike knew what he was doing after all--that he had some sort of plan.  It was also plainly evident that Spike was trying to channel Angelus's attention back to Drusilla.  If he was successful, Willow could see how it might just be possible for her to get out of the situation relatively unharmed.  So she found herself once again having to trust Spike, no matter how difficult it was for her to place even an ounce of faith in him.

<Bloody hell...> Spike thought when Angelus spoke the words that basically dismissed their need for Drusilla.  Spike had almost been hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but he saw no way around it.

Spike stood up straight and stubbed out his cigarette.  "You can't have her Angelus.  Rose is mine," he said firmly, fixing Angelus with a no-nonsense glare.  "I marked her first, so next time, ask permission to touch her."

Angelus's smile faded at the tone in his childe's voice.  He slid off the chair and approached him with deliberate steps.  "Ah, but ya seem ta be forgettin' somethin', my childe.  I claim the Rights of the Sire.  She's mine fer the askin'.  Actually, I don't even have ta ask.  I can just take her, and I have every intention of doin' so!" he informed his blonde childe in no uncertain terms.

Spike shook his head.  "No.  You seem to be forgetting the Rights of the Elder, Angelus.  I'm older than you by a hell of a lot of years now.  Plus, if it weren't for me, you'd be long dead and buried.  The chit is mine."

The two stared at each other in the middle of the room, and Willow held her breath, strangely relieved that Spike was fighting for 'ownership' of her.

Seeing the truth in Spike's claim, Angelus was the first to back down.  He turned back to look at Willow.  "I acknowledge yer rights, Spike," he said darkly, but what Willow saw in Angelus's eyes was anything but surrender.

"I'll trade ya fer her," Angelus added quickly.  "Ya can have Drusilla.  Ya can be her sire.  And since *I* marked *her* first, I'll release all me claims on her, if ya do the same on Rose."

The room was deathly quiet for a moment.

"What?"  Spike exclaimed, breaking the silence.  He was completely thrown for a loop by this new development.  It was something he'd never expected.  For Angelus to *offer* sireship of Drusilla to him was more than he'd ever hoped for.  It had always been a last choice for Spike.  He'd told himself that he'd only sire her if absolutely necessary.  Not only for fear of changing the past and future too much, but also because he knew sooner or later he'd have to leave her to return to his own time.  Otherwise, there would be two of him running around the 19th century.  Besides, William needed the chance to fall in love with her the same way he had.  But this...for Angelus to just give Drusilla to him...that changed things a bit.

Speechless, Spike looked at William for support.  From the look on his face, it was obvious that his younger self was pleased with the opportunity.  Angelus, meanwhile, had not taken his eyes from Willow's, and she found herself unable to look away.  There was no sign of forfeiture in the dark, fathomless orbs that were negotiating for her future.

"Ya heard me," he snapped at the vampire behind him.  "Is it a deal?"

"Yes," Spike answered, his voice shaking with emotion.  "Wait...no!  I can't be her sire, Angelus," he backpedaled, having gathered his wits.  Although the offer was tremendous, he knew he'd still only have the same problems in the end.  There would be two Williams, or Spikes, and sooner or later he'd have to leave her.  That wasn't acceptable.

Angelus was on the verge of losing his temper.  "Then let William do it!  Same thing in the end," he grunted.

That choice was even better and solved many of Spike's problems.  The chance to be Drusilla's sire, to break all ties that his Dark Goddess had to Angelus, and to never again have to hear her call him Daddy or compare him to his sire was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Almost.

"No," Spike said with great effort.  "I was not her bloody sire the first time around, Angelus!  You were, and that's the way it has to be," he ground out, still not believing that he was passing up such an offer.

"Are you daft, mate?" William demanded.  "Do you know what you're saying?  She could be ours alone...to be her sire...to have that kind of control over her.  You must have wanted that before."  William had not sired a true childe at this point, and since he seemed destined to be involved with the woman anyway, he preferred to have some authority over her.  Besides, Angelus would be occupied with Rose now, and William wanted someone as well.

"Give us some bloody credit, William!" Spike growled.  "As you very well know, the sire-childe relationship is different...it's a forced bond.  What Dru and I had, well...what you and she *will* have is different.  If you sire her, nothing will be the same!"

"Fine!"  Angelus snarled, finally prying his eyes away from the trembling redhead.  "William, take Goldilocks here and go get Drusilla from the convent as soon as the sun sets!  Bring her here, I'll sire her, and then she's yers.  I'll relinquish all rights to her and give her to ya in exchange fer the witch.  Now, is that deal ta yer likin' or not?"  Angelus may have phrased it as an offer, but the three vampires knew it was one that Spike couldn't refuse.

Willow couldn't contain herself any longer and jumped to her feet.  This was it...the moment of truth.  She stood just behind Angelus, staring at Spike beseechingly over his shoulder. <Don't do it, Spike.  Just get us out of here and we can fix everything...please, Spike.  Don't listen to him!> she begged with her eyes.

Spike's looked from Angelus to Willow.  He walked closer to the beautiful redhead, drinking in the sight of her in the flattering gown and luxuriating in the sound of her quickening heart and rapid breaths.  He reached out to drag his finger along her collarbone like he had done countless times before, ending at his mark of ownership.  The blonde vampire smiled at her, receiving a weak smile in return.  Spike could sense Angelus's growing anger with his delay, but he was enjoying every moment of his torment.  It wasn't often that he had the chance to create such a reaction in his sire, so he stretched it out as long as he could.  Spike then ran his finger up the other side of her collarbone, stopping abruptly at a nearly healed wound that he hadn't noticed before but recognized well as being left by Angelus's passionate bite.  It only made his decision that much easier.

Reluctantly ending the sensation of her heated skin beneath his cooler flesh, he started to search his pockets.  This time he found his own hand-rolled cigarettes, lit one, and then took a deep drag before slowly and deliberately blowing the smoke directly in Willow's face.

Willow didn't look away even as her eyes began to water under the assault, but she did slowly begin to shake her head as his decision began to become clear.  "No...no...Spike...no..." she pleaded, barely above a whisper.

Ignoring her, Spike turned his attention to Angelus, whose patience was growing thin.  "It's a deal, Angelus.  William and I will wander over to the abbey as soon as the sun sets.  When I have my Dru, you can have Rose."  He stepped away without a second glance at Willow and walked to his twin.  "Now, since my old room is taken by you, I assume, show me where a demon can get some bloody sleep," he said coolly, following the widely grinning William out the door.

Willow sank to her knees right on the spot.  She couldn't believe that Spike was going to abandon her like this.  What's more, Willow couldn't believe that she'd even thought for a moment that he wouldn't.  Angelus had just offered him everything he'd ever wanted--Drusilla, no strings attached--and he didn't even have to kill his sire in the process.  So what if that doomed her to long and painful life, or death, with Angelus?

Spike's voice echoed down the hallway, each syllable causing tiny pinpricks of anguish to her soul..."For the minions' sake, I guess we'd better say that I'm a long-lost brother or something.  Oh, and call me Spike, mate.  It'll be less confusing that way."

"Spike?" she heard William question.

"Yeah, Dru thought it up a couple of years from now.  It's a funny story actually..." and then his words faded away to Willow's ears, either due to distance or the sound of her own sobs.

Angelus looked down at the crying woman with surprise.  "I didn't know William had it in him," he said softly to himself.  His childe had never taken much of an interest in breaking women's' hearts before.  He'd always been more of a love-em and eat-em kind of vampire up to this point.  Angelus couldn't help being proud of his childe.  He truly had followed in his sire's footsteps.

Staring at her a moment longer, Angelus tried to decide which direction to take this.  He could try to comfort her, show her a more compassionate side by playing the good vampire against Spike's bad vampire only to destroy her later when she found out that he truly was worse than Spike could ever be.  Or he could continue with the original plan...make her want him, demon and all.  So many wonderful choices and so much time ahead of them.  Unfortunately, it would all have to wait until after the ritual when she was officially his.

"Follow me," he said abruptly then started for the door.

Willow looked up to watch Angelus swagger out of the room.  She wiped her tears away and got to her feet, but she didn't follow his command.  She wasn't going to make this easy for him, no matter how much worse it would make it on her.

Sensing that she wasn't following, he turned.  "Rose, me love, ya best be rememberin' where ya are.  Now, ya aren't in a position ta be defyin' me, are ya?"

Willow crossed her arms about herself.  "Spike is still my...master," she spat out reluctantly, clutching at straws.  "I don't have to obey you."  Willow awaited his wrath, bracing herself for yelling, grabbing and possible biting.  She was almost disappointed when Angelus just started laughing.

He looked at her with a genuine--although a still truly evil--grin on his face.  "I told ya once, Rose, that ya will beg fer my attentions one day, and ya will.  Now, either follow me as I show ya back ta yer room or ya can wander about this place on yer own.  There are guards posted at the only exits, knowin' that they are dust if ya escape.  There also be about twenty other vampires milling about the place.  Now, I told them not ta be touchin' ya, but they aren't the brightest demons in the world."  With a last smirk for her stubbornness, he left.

Willow held her ground for what felt like an eternity, but in all reality it was only about 15 seconds.  She darted out the door, spotted Angelus on the staircase, and hurried to follow him.

To Willow's surprise and enormous relief, Angelus did just that and only that.  He escorted her back to her room, telling her that he would come for her when William and Spike were back with Drusilla.  That said, he then shut and locked the door behind him.

Willow numbly removed the dress and corset, collapsing on the bed in only her chemise.  Then, for the first time in decades, cried herself to sleep.
 

~Chapter Thirty-three~

Willow stood by the window, watching as the day threatened to give in to night.  Even though her room didn't catch the afternoon sun, she could tell by the softening of the light that it was getting closer to sunset.  Soon, Spike and William would leave to get Drusilla, and in exchange, Willow would be handed over to Angelus.  It all seemed so very matter of fact, as if she were nothing more than a school lunch to be traded between choosy yet hungry children--peanut butter and jelly for ham and cheese, a Twinkie for a Ding-Dong.

Willow hugged her arms tightly about herself as she focused past the opaque window.  Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.  She had thought that she knew Spike pretty well by that point, in spite of their past difficulties or maybe even because of them, but she could not figure out what he was thinking when he agreed to surrender her to his sire.  <He wasn't thinking at all.  Not about me, anyway.  All he can think about is his precious Drusilla,> she whined to herself but soon regretted it.  Once again, she was sounding even to herself like an immature, lovesick little girl, but love really had nothing to do with it.  Willow had always known she could never replace Drusilla in Spike's heart, nor did she want to.  But she had always thought that they had something special.  Somewhere along the line she had convinced herself that they had some magical and rare relationship that transcended the boundaries of mere friendship--a bond that would always find a way through of all their respective pain.  Maybe it happened the night he didn't feed from her when she had practically dared him to.  Or perhaps it materialized during their discussion on the special properties of chocolate, but it had definitely been there long before the night that Spike had painstakingly released her from so much more than just her restrictive clothing.  But now, as the light in the room faded, keeping time as well as any clock or hourglass, she saw the truth.  Whatever bond they had shared was flimsy, as any bond between a demon and a human would have to be.  The bindings of steel that Willow could have sworn she once felt between them were now scattered in the wind.  They were nothing more than paper, torn under the first signs of stress.  Without that connection, she felt naked and totally lost for the first time in decades.  Even during the past few years when a part of her hated him and never wanted to see him again, deep inside she'd always thought that they'd find away through this.  Not anymore.  Willow saw their relationship for what it really was.  She had always just been a means to an end for Spike, and this was just the final example because by being given to Angelus, she was fulfilling Spike's greatest desire.  In exchange for her, Drusilla would be his, free and clear.

"At least I know I'm worth something to someone, I guess," she mumbled, letting herself sink into another moment of despair.

It was all too confusing.  The repercussions on the whole timeline from Spike giving her to Angelus were enormous.  How would they get home?  Spike couldn't leave this timeline without her, so it was now her fear that Spike was planning to stick around instead.  Maybe Angelus's grand gesture had restored his once-strong feelings for his sire, and instead of wanting to kill him, perhaps Spike hoped to rebuild what they once had.  If so, where did that leave her?  She guessed as long as she stayed a virgin they could go on in this timeline indefinitely, but the willpower that that would require on everyone's part...she didn't even want to think about it.  Besides, she didn't want her torment at Angelus's hands to happen at all, let alone last for an eternity.  No matter how she looked at it, it was a nightmare with no real escape.

A short time later, even though submerged in her own melancholy thoughts, Willow heard the door open and the vampire step inside.

"It's almost time, Red.  We're about to go fetch Dru.  Are you going to miss me?"

Willow continued to stare out the window as she felt the vampire nearing.  She didn't think she could look at Spike right now without embarrassing herself one way or another so she refused to turn around.  Instead she focused on a smudge that marred the otherwise immaculate windowpane.

"Get out," she said firmly, but even she could hear the undercurrents of pain in her voice.

"Ah, that's no way to behave, is it?" he teased, his hand lightly caressing her shoulder.  "Not after all we've been through...all we've done to one another."

His touch sparked her into action.  "Spike, don't you dare..." she began and whirled around, ready to slap the vampire who had sentenced her to a desolate future without so much as a second thought, but she was shocked to instead find a cockily grinning William the Bloody.

"I'm not Spike...well, not yet anyway, but when I grow up, I hope to be just like him," he taunted, placing a tray of food on her bed.

"William..." Willow acknowledged warily, sidling away from him.  She glanced at the food hungrily, but the look on the vampire's face chased away her desire to eat.  He looked as ravenous as she felt.

"It all makes sense now--" William admitted, following her as she tried to put some distance between them, "my marks on you, the way you were acting towards me, your cryptic little speeches.  And to think, I was starting to feel like a naughty boy for being a little jealous of my sire, knowing that you were to be his, when you were actually mine all along.  You are mine--"

Willow shook her head.  "No!  I'm not yours...I'm not anyone's!" she denied adamantly.

William continued his advance until she was backed into a corner.  "You're Spike's possession, even Angelus had to admit it, which was nearly bloody impossible for him, believe me," he snickered.  As he spoke, William found himself rubbing the fairly fresh wound on his own neck that was a reminder of just how frustrated Angelus truly was at the whole turn of events.  His sire took his anger out on him, and now William planned on doing the same with his Rose, as was his right.  At the thought, the hunger in his eyes burned brighter.

"Now," William continued, "since Spike and I are actually the same person, I own you, Pet.  I think it's about time I sample the goods, don't you?" he asked menacingly as the look of fear mixed with hatred in her eyes threatened his own self-control.

Somewhere, Willow found a shallow well of strength that Spike's betrayal had yet to drain from her.  Drawing from it, she raised herself up and looked him squarely in the eye.  "Any closer, and you'll regret it!  I swear!" she warned crossly, but William's smile only grew.

"That's all right, Pet.  As I'm sure you already know," he leered, flicking a finger over Spike's mark yet again, "I don't mind a spot of pain with my pleasure."

As her loomed over her, Willow screwed her eyes tightly shut, hoping that it looked to William as if she were simply surrendering to the inevitable, when in fact she was drinking again from her small pool of willpower.  When she felt his face close to her own, she slammed the top of her forehead into his nose with every drop of energy that she could find while simultaneously shoving him backward with all of her might.  Ignoring the howl of pain from the vampire as well as her own now-throbbing head, Willow made a break for the door that the vampire had left open in his complacency.  She had no doubt that the bloody nose she'd inflicted upon the vain vampire would only gain her seconds at most, but it was the best she could do.  The clothes she wore did not allow for kicking, flipping or any other form of the defensive measures that she had learned during her travels.

Once in the hallway, she turned left, trying to remember the path that would lead her out of this maze.  <Left...then second left...and then right...I think...> she tried to recall, running as fast as she could in the overly tight and awkward gown.  Realizing that she was only a couple of turns away from the staircase--a couple of dozens steps from the front door and possible freedom, she somehow managed to quicken her pace as she rounded that last corner...

...where she ran directly into Spike.  "Get out of my way!" Willow grunted, trying to push past the astonished blonde vampire.  She wasn't about to let a little thing like a lying demon stand in her way when she was so close to freedom.  Unfortunately, Spike wasn't about to let a little thing like a virginal redhead stand in his way of getting all he ever wanted either.

Quickly getting over his surprise at seeing her free, Spike spun around and easily grabbed Willow by the hair as she tried to dodge him. "Not so fast, Princess," he laughed.  "Can't let the belle of the ball escape before she gets her final dance with Prince Charming, can we?"  Ignoring her venomous and crude reply, Spike literally dragged the struggling woman back toward her room just in time to see William stumble out her door.

Spike shook his head in disgust.  "You have to keep a closer eye on her, mate!  She's a tricky one."  Following William back into her chambers, Spike shoved Willow violently, sending her sprawling on the floor.

William growled at his older self as he brushed himself off and checked to make sure his nose had quit bleeding.  "Obviously," William said in his own defense, "you haven't trained the little girl very well, Spike.  She doesn't know her place, which at this point is either at my feet groveling for her pathetic life, or in my bed...well, or your bed, I suppose."

Willow climbed to her feet, not wanting to give Spike the chance to comment to his dark-haired twin.  "I'm the pathetic one?  Look who's talking!  You two are the ones begging for Angelus's castoffs!"  She didn't even pretend that it was meant for William.  Every word was said directly to Spike.

The blonde vampire glowered and stormed up to the redhead, but she didn't budge from her spot.  "You seem to have forgotten, my little virgin, that I threw you out like last century's old rubbish long before this little bargain with Angelus was struck.  I'm just afraid he'll realize what a rotten deal he's getting and try to welsh on the whole arrangement!" Spike informed her vehemently.

Willow, momentarily revitalized by her anger and the embarrassment over her failed attempt to escape, returned his glare.  "If you ask me, Drusilla's the one getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop!  She should have Angelus, but now she's going to be stuck with a pitiful substitute!"

At the comparison to his sire, Spike's true visage slipped into place, and he lashed out at his ex-lover.  Gripping her throat in one, cold, punishing hand, he dragged her closer.  "Such devotion to your future master already, Pet?" he sneered, casting a quick glance at Angelus's latest marking on her neck.  "Angelus will be touched, I'm sure.  Although, I must say we're all bit disappointed, actually.  We thought you might last more than a day before you succumbed to his charms.  Guess we were the bloody stupid ones to think you were special!" he spat out, enjoying the winces of pain and guilt that crossed her face.  Abruptly, Spike let her go, shoving the woman away as if he were repulsed to touch her.

William was particularly disappointed.  He was expecting Spike to severely punish her for her insolence.  "Is that it, mate?" he asked, casting a glance at the stricken redhead as she struggled to catch her breath.  "Come on, she deserves to be whipped within an inch of her long-life for speaking to us like that!"

Spike's bitter lips pursed in amusement at his younger self.  "If she were anyone else, I'd agree with you," he commented to William.  "But not with our little virgin, here.  She likes to get a bloke all worked up, wants you to lose control with her, and then waits for you to make a mistake.  That way, at least she can blame all of her troubles on you.  What she actually needs to get through her thick skull is that this is all her own bloody fault!" he continued, his voice getting louder.  "She stuck her nose in where it didn't belong, and this is what she gets for it!"  Spike stopped himself before he completely lost his temper.  Reminding himself that he was only hours away from having his Dru in his arms where she belonged, the blonde vampire managed to calm himself down and finally slip back into his more humane face.  "No, William," he said calmly and coolly.  "The only way to really punish Rose is with words and guilt.  It's all she's ever understood."

William forced a sigh.  "Well, that's a bit of a bloody let down, mate.  Here I am expecting some big finale--skyrockets, screaming, pleading for her life, maybe a little world peace--but instead all I get are more words.  I'm starting to think the future isn't much fun if you can't even shed a little blood when your pets misbehave!"

"It's not like this with everyone, William," Spike reminded him with a wry smile, "just Rose.  And trust me, mate.  You aren't missing anything.  One virgin is pretty much like the other.  Plus she's got a bloody big mouth...never shuts the hell up...never!"

Willow's glistening eyes shot daggers at the blonde vampire, but that was all she could manage--dirty looks.  She thought she'd better save what little strength she had left for what lay ahead--not that it would be enough, but she refused to curl into a ball and give up.  Still, just being in the room with Spike and seeing the hatred in his eyes was sucking the life out of her.  Willow had to turn away lest she lose the will to continue fighting altogether.

William watched as the redhead tried to keep her emotions in check and she finally had to resort to turning around so she wouldn't have to look at them.  Spike's words had obviously hit their mark, hurting her as intended.

"Still..." William commented, continuing to speak about her as if she weren't in the room, "Angelus seems to think she's special."

Spike laughed. "Of course he does, mate.  He's bloody obsessed with her!  I don't think he can help it, really.  I mean, he fancied her a bit when he was alive, she was his first meal after he was turned, she's a virgin, and some might even consider her attractive, I suppose.  It's a recipe for obsession if I've ever heard one, and a recipe for disaster if we don't get Drusilla turned before it's too bloody late!"

The younger vampire listened to his older self, acknowledging that what he said could very well be true, but he wasn't able to shake his desire to teach the redhead some respect.  He wasn't exactly sure why Spike let her behave in this manner, even though it was obvious that he had other ways of keeping Rose in line.  Still, as impressed as he was with Spike, William wanted in on the fun.

"Come on, Spike," William whined as he moved towards Willow.  "Let me have a little snack while she's still ours.  Just a little something to fill the gap until we find Drusilla.  Besides, it'll shut her up."

The younger vampire's forward momentum was halted by a strong grip on his shoulder.  "Not now!" Spike said impatiently.  "It's time to..."

William turned to stare at the hand on his shoulder and then at Spike.  Spike's eyes were also glued to the spot where they touched.  Slowly, their awe turned to mirth, and they started to laugh heartily.

Hearing the stereo laughter, Willow had to appease her curiosity, and she tuned to find the two vampires poking at each other like bratty children.  Her eyes widened.  "But...matter...space...*boom*..."

"What do you know, Red," Spike laughed through a smirk.  "It looks like you were wrong...*again*!  I'm beginning to believe you aren't as smart as we thought, Pet."

Willow bit her tongue as she puzzled over this new twist to their time travel.  It looked like she was going to have to add physics to the long list of her belief systems that would have to be sorted out when she got home.  *If* she got home.

"I seem to be missin' all the fun, yet again," Angelus's voice boomed over the laughter as he strolled into the room.  When he noted Spike and William making physical contact with one another without any catastrophic results, he added to Willow, "I see the world has yet ta end, me flower.  This just hasn't been yer day, has it?"

"It hasn't been my century, actually," she murmured meekly, once again having to look out the window instead of at the vampires in her room.  When it was only one of them, Willow felt as if she could almost handle the situation, keep her cool, perhaps even get the demon to lose his.  When she was alone with Spike and William, her unease had increased, but she had somehow managed to maintain some of her dignity.  But now as she stood in a room with all three of them, Willow crumbled inside.  As a team, she knew instinctively that the three vampires would be nearly unstoppable, terrifying in their scope for evilness.  Their combined cruelty when they were together was almost palpable, easily crushing Willow's already weakened sense of hope.  She could feel herself deflate in their presence, all of her previous bravado seeping away as her empty well of strength was quickly refilled, only this time with doubt and guilt.

Satisfied that nothing devastating would happen if he and his later self would accidentally come in to contact, William answered his sire.  "You haven't really missed anything, Angelus.  Well, except for your little captive trying to make a go of escaping, but Spike here put a stop to that."

Angelus's smile faded at the possibility of Willow's escaping.  "Once again I seem ta be indebted to ya, Spike," he told him gravely, but soon Angelus's more indifferent facade was back into place.  "And although I doubt she'd have escaped from the house, I'd hate ta see her as some undeservin' minion's dinner."

"No, we couldn't have that," Spike snickered.  "Not when there are so many of us more deserving."

Angelus turned his attention from Willow to Spike.  "The carriage is out front, waitin'.  It's finally time."

Spike looked to his sire, suddenly deadly serious once again.  He was at a rare loss for words.  He was on the verge of having all his dreams come true--a gift from the vampire that he'd hated with a passion that equaled his love for Drusilla.  Angelus held his eyes, as if somehow understanding the turmoil within his childe.  It was Spike who broke the intense gaze first and without at glance at Willow, he headed for the door with William at his heels.

Angelus remained still as stone as the locking of the door behind the other vampires signaled that he was finally alone with his Rose.  He waited for Willow to acknowledge his presence, but she was being stubborn.  So during their test of wills, Angelus took the time to enjoy the slight movements of her slender body, caused by her ragged breaths, and the tension in the lines of her shoulders as she forced herself to remain calm.

Actually, Willow wasn't purposely trying to ignore Angelus.  She was still reeling from the fact that Spike had finally left her and obviously intended to carry on with Angelus's plan.  It was when the last glimmer of hope was extinguishing itself that she actually felt the Irish vampire's eyes boring into her.

"Take a photograph.  It'll last longer," she told the vampire bitterly without turning around.

Angelus smiled at his success and languidly moved closer to her.  "These new photographs that ya speak of, they can hardly do justice ta a beauty such as yerself.  Only through a man's hand can every detail truly be captured, don't ya think?" he asked, but didn't wait for her answer.  "Ya see, a photograph can only show one brief moment in time...of yer life. But in a drawing, I can reveal all yer secret thoughts, desires, and fears.  It sees beyond the present into the past and even the future.  And all this, with simply a piece of paper and a bit of charcoal...no witchcraft's needed," he murmured into her ear.  "Where's the sketch I did of ya the other night, Rose?  Look at it again.  You'll see the truth in what I say."

Finally t