Down in the Darkness, London. 1789.

Despite her fear, despite her discomfort, Kathryne had managed to snag a few hours of fitful sleep. Her dreams were fleeting things, that came and went with the bat of an eye. And when she awoke, she was still in the dark, still cold, still tied. But she wasn’t naked, or at least, it seemed that way.

Shifting around a bit, she felt something smooth and soft slide over her skin. The sensation was unfamiliar, but this she didn’t fret over. After all, she was a girl from a less than affluent family: she was used to coarse, rough garments. However, the thought of being held by someone wealthy enough to afford such things frightened her some.

*The rich can sometimes… all the time… go unpunished*

Suddenly, her thoughts quieted. The sound of footsteps pierced the dreadful quietness of the room.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, my child," a loud, confident male voice proclaimed. "And how are we feeling today?"

Wondering if the question was a joke, Kathryne decided to answer truthfully:

"I am cold, and I’m afraid. Why have you kidnapped me?"

She was answered with a cold, cackling laugh.

"You’re afraid? You don’t have reason to be afraid… yet."

Suddenly, the blindfold was lifted from her eyes. Blinking at the sudden change, Kathryne’s eyes fell on the speaker. His face was white and distorted. His eyes were set in deep, pink rimmed sockets. His mouth was a bed of sparkling fangs.

"Welcome to your destiny, my child." He held up a dripping needle, hooked to a bottle of fluid. Puncturing her arm, she felt liquid being drained into her body.

"Have fun while it lasts."

Kathryne fainted dead away.

*****

"I canNOT believe you spilled Dr. Pepper on my skirt! Do you know how much this thing cost?"

"Haven’t you ever heard of the word ‘accident’ before, highness?"

As the car sped down the windy road, heading into town, the sounds of Cordelia and Xander fighting once again echoed through the air. Glaring down at her blouse, Cordelia pressed the gas pedal harder.

"You know, I don’t even know why I bother with you."

Xander opened his mouth to make one of his trademark witty comebacks, but shut it abruptly. He saw the fire in her eyes and didn’t want to risk her driving any faster. He had already seen his life flash before his eyes twice on that car ride: a third time would probably give him a heart attack. Besides, he knew how without-a-life he was already. He didn’t need to risk death for that.

"Y’know, Cor, you could drive a little slower… warp speed isn’t necessary unless you are driving to Romulus."

Without even looking at him, Cordelia spat back, "Funny."

*Jeez, I can’t ever win with her, can I?* Xander thought to himself, shaking his head in wonder. But, in just imagining the way her skin felt beneath his fingers, the way her mouth tasted *faintly of Altoids* , the way he felt when she rubbed his chest… he could easily forgive that.

But what he couldn’t forgive was nearly flying off the side of the road when she hit a particularly sharp curve.

"Cordelia!"

"What?!"

Shaking her head, Cordelia proceeded to drive. As she headed off of the mountain road, and into town, Xander breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"God, look at that stain," Cordelia muttered loudly. She held her shirt out in front of her, to look disgustedly at the brown wetness covering part of her silk blouse.

"You know… you could just take the shirt off…"

Whipping her head sharply to look at him, Cordelia retorted:

"Oh wouldn’t you li- -"

Xander suddenly realized that a car was blowing the stop sign, barreling for them.

"CORDELIA! The road!"

!WHAM! The car was hit from the driver’s side, with a crumple of glass and metal. Xander flew forward, hitting his head on the dashboard. The car skidded across the road, and then thudded to a stop. Shaking his head slowly to clear it, Xander turned and looked at Cordy.

"Cordelia?" his voice sounding tiny in the aftermath. Looking at her, slumped forward in her seat, blood trickling from a cut on her head.

Taking off his seatbelt, he leaned over, and stroked her shoulder. "Oh god, Cordy?"

Touching her lips, he felt breath. *She’s alive.* Planting a light kiss on her cheek, he whispered, as though she could hear, "I’ll be right back. I need to find a phone. Hold on, Cordelia."

With that, he threw open the door, and stumbled out of the car. For a moment, he thought that his legs wouldn’t support him: that he would just collapse. Clutching the side of the car, Xander breathed deeply. Soon, the quivers in his knees calmed some, and he started walking towards the houses in the distance.