Metamorphosis (Part 5)

Me


Chapter 5

May 3, 1793
Diary of Philip Devlin, Watcher to Victoria Thurston aka Louise Marion
It's been about a week since I first met Victoria Thurston. I like to think
of her as Victoria, rather than Louise. The name fits her much better.
She's every bit as forceful as Slayers are rumored to be. It's hard to
believe that we are to be married in less than a week; I hardly know her.
However, she's a very captivating young woman and I'm sure I'll have
an...interesting time working with her. She's secretive. I don't think she
trusts me yet, not that I can blame her. She's gone through a lot, and I'm
sure she'll tell me when she wants to.
I can't believe the Council chose me to be her Watcher. While I can see the
urgency to fill the station as quickly as possible, I don't understand why I
was chosen instead of my father. He's much more qualified than I.
Nevertheless, I'll do my job as best as I can. At the moment, I'm attempting
to get to know the Slayer better through small talk and unobtrusive
converation....

***

"So what was it like living in the working class?"

Victoria glared at Philip. She wasn't used to having someone come with her
when she was slaying, but she was glad for the companionship. After all, if
her new Watcher was also to be her new husband, she'd have to get used to his
company eventually. Husband. She still couldn't believe she was getting
married. Philip had confronted her about it only a week before, and their
engagement party was tonight...She shook herself out of her reverie when she
realized he was staring at her, a slight smirk on his face.

"Do you always let your mind wander like that?"

Victoria smiled at him, her voice taking on a sweet tone. "Do you always ask
personal questions that are none of your business like that?" She asked,
referring to his previous inquiry.

"Just trying to make conversation," he replied, mildly. "Besides, I do have
to get to know you. A man needs to know just a little bit about a woman if
she's going to be his--Slayer," he finished lamely, obviously just as
uncomfortable as she when it came to their upcoming nuptials.

"So..." Victoria began, trying to change the subject. "How long have you
known about your destiny as a Watcher?"

"Well, I--" Philip was cut off by a loud growl as a vampire lunged towards
him and Victoria.

"Hold that thought," she said, grabbing a stake out of her cloak. Stepping
up to face the demon, she managed to land a few punches before ducking his
own. She doubled over after getting hit in the gut, but as the vampire
leaned over to bite her, her elbow slammed into his chest, knocking him off
balance. Staking him before he could react, Victoria watched the living
corpse turn to dust.

"Now," she said, looking back at Philip. "Where were we?"

Philip had watched the proceedings with utter fascination. He'd known about
the entire procedure from his father, but had never actually seen anyone slay
before.

"Look whose mind is wandering now." Victoria's voice full of in quiet
smugness.

Philip glared at her, the impact lessening as he paired it with a smile. "I
don't really remember not knowing that I was to become a Watcher. Throughout
my life my father has been telling me that I had to study hard and exercise
patience and all that if I was to become a Watcher, so that's what I did. Of
course, he wasn't as hard on my brother, William, and I don't think Billy
ever understood that. He doesn't know of my destiny, so he thinks father
doesn't care. It isn't true, really, it isn't, but there are some things you
just can't control." He chuckled. "And my brother is definitely one of
them. Takes after our mother, he does, though he'd hate to admit it.
Different goals, but they both have that same energy, you know?"

Victoria smiled. "You two really are close, aren't you?"

Philip nodded, not looking at her. "We were." Changing the subject before
she could respond, he asked, "So, what about you? How did you find out you
were going to become a Slayer?"

"Um, well," Victoria replied, uneasily. "It was pretty simple. Gareth just
came to me one day and told me what was supposed to be my destiny. Of
course, I was surprised at first, but the shock wore off, and here I am."

"I see." Philip frowned a bit. She wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Victoria," he said, stopping.

She stopped as well and looked up at him. Placing his hands on her
shoulders, he looked her in the eye. "If there's anything you want to tell
me, at any time, just know that I'll always be there to listen, alright?"

Victoria, shocked at his statement, just nodded. Resuming their path, they
walked on wordlessly into the night.

***

...Yesterday I looked through some of the Watcher diaries belonging to Thomas
Wyatt, alias Gareth Thruston. I understand that before he died, Wyatt was
working on finding out more about a Slayer named Edith Ambrosia Hargrave. I
was able to find little more on the subject. She was a Slayer about thirty
years ago, killed before she realized her destiny. I'm not sure whether to
feel sorry for her or think she was lucky. She never had to experience the
harsh life of a Slayer, the loneliness and destitution. While I'm sure her
death was probably horrible, perhaps it spared her from the terror of having
to face evil incarnate with no one but your Watcher to help you....

***

The wind whipped at Edith's face as she and Angelus made their way to the
graveyard. Night only just fallen, so the sky was a dark cobalt blue, the
stars not yet showing their faces from behind the clouds. The pebbles of the
dirt road they were walking on crunched beneath Edith's feet, the only thing
breaking the web of silence that had fallen upon the two.

Edith shivered. This morning they had found her only would-be suitor lying
in a ditch, his throat torn open. She'd never wanted to marry Mr. Axeley; he
was a widower and over twice her age. But he was the only man in England
who, Lord knows why, had taken a fancy to her. He wasn't rich, but Edith was
sure her mother wanted her out of the house and would to anything to make it
happen. However, he was dead now, along with all hopes for a husband.

Oh no, Edith thought. She was sounding like a spoiled child like her mother
said. She should be mourning for Mr. Axeley himself, not his potential as an
escape from Catherine Hargrave. Silently, Edith prayed for forgiveness of
her sin.

She stole a glimpse at Angelus, walking beside her. Tonight, she'd begin
what was to be her life's work of slaying demons. She'd not believed him
about the vampires at first, but after Mr. Axeley had been found and her
vision...No. It was not a vision. A vision was sent by the Lord, like
Mary's vision of the angel Gabriel. She should not think this curse was from
God.

She shivered again. The thought of vampires frightened her to death. She'd
always taken all the whispered gossip of demons coming to steal people in the
night as nonsense. But now...

"You know, it's alright to be nervous."

Edith looked up at Angelus. He was wearing a sympathetic expression on his
face. "I mean," he continued. "It's not everyday that you find someone dead
and learn you have to slay the murderer. But don't worry. I'm here if you
need any help."

Just then, someone, a human, she thought, jumped out of darkness and attacked
her. No, not a human, a demon. A vampire with long teeth and fearsome
yellow eyes. She stepped back, frightened. This was the thing she was
supposed to slay? How could she battle a creature like this? She felt an
arm on her shoulder, a hand placing something wooden in her own hand.

"It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of."

The vampire lunged at her, threw a punch. She ducked, screaming. She
couldn't do this. Angelus had led her to her death. The vampire came at her
again, and she frantically kicked it.

As the demon continued to attack her, she heard her Watcher's voice.

"The stake! Use the stake!"

Edith's hand tightened around the piece of wood clutched in her hand. It was
then that something, call it instinct or anger, struck her like a bolt of
lightening, consumed her. She raised her arm and plunged the stake into the
demon's chest.

Nothing happened.

"Again! Again!"

The vampire staggered, and Edith took that opportunity to stab it's back. As
it fell to the ground, she climbed on top of it, staking it again and again
until it burst into ashes.

Her body, numb with shock, and her mind not yet aware of her surroundings,
Edith stumbled back to Angelus. Collapsing to the ground, she began to sob
hysterically as his arms encircled her. Pressing her face against his chest,
she cried for her family, her friends, and the dead. Most of all, she cried
for herself, cursed first with images from the Devil, then this task of
cleansing the world of evil.

After a long time, she looked up at Angelus. Taking a handkerchief from his
pocket, he slowly wiped the tears and dirt off her face.

"Your hands," she gasped between sobs. "They're so cold."

"Shh," he answered. "It's going to be fine. I'll train you so you can kill
demons on sight, and then..." he trailed off, his hand lingering on her
cheek. Staring into her eyes, he whispered, "So young, so beautiful,
so...innocent." Silently he stood up, bringing her with him. "You should
get some sleep. Rest will do you good, help you to get over the shock."

Edith nodded and followed him back to her house.

After saying goodbye to Angelus, Edith turned to the door of the Hargrave
household. Looking down, she gasped. On the door, just under the stone
cross, was a note written in some dark red ink.

"HE WAS THE FIRST. WHO IS NEXT, EDITH? IS IT YOU?"

***

...I know I shouldn't be writing about my personal life in here, but I really
have to get this out. I'm very worried about my brother. Lately, Billy has
been...different. He seems to have lost all interest for life in general.
He's moody around everyone and seems to be infatuated with this girl,
Drusilla Morgan....

***

At the Devlin mansion, Billy hesitantly made his way up the stairs. The
engagement party was underway and below, people mingled and chatted, all
talking about one thing or another. Usually he'd be with them, probably
joking around with Philip or Beth. But Philip was no where to be seen, and
Beth had seemed strangely distant ever since Drusilla had come into their
lives.

Drusilla. It was amazing, what she did to him. She was different from any
other girl he'd ever met. There was no comfortable friendliness like with
Beth, nor the infuriating politeness of most of the other females he knew.
Drusilla was exciting, confusing. One moment she was innocent and childlike,
the next, seductive, almost dangerous.

There were rumors about her being some kind of witch. He'd heard his mother
talking to some of her friends, saying there was something about her that was
unnatural, strange. Of course she didn't dare throw Dru out of the house,
because how would that reflect on her? After all, Drusilla was rich, even
though it was probably new money like her accent suggested. Most people
assumed the wealthy Angelus had taken the poor girl in after her parents died
or something. It was whispered that she had killed them. But Billy didn't
care about her past or what everyone said. The important thing was that she
was here, right now.

Walking into a room, he saw Drusilla staring out the window and the people
arriving below. "Speak of the devil," he murmured.

Drusilla, dressed in an expensive gown, looked around frantically. "Devil?"
At his soft chuckle, she frowned, confused.

"No," he grinned at her reassuringly. "I didn't mean it like that. There's
nothing here that's going to harm you." He looked down, hesitating. "At
least I wouldn't let anything hurt you." He lifted his gaze to meet hers.
He stared into her dark eyes a moment before turning away, trying not to look
at her.

He shouldn't even try. There was no way she'd ever fancy him. And even if
she did, he was completely wrong for her. As a --and he cringed at this--
gentleman, he was expected to be a feeble, unexciting moron like the rest of
this town. Drusilla didn't need that. She needed someone at least half as
amazing as her; someone who was man enough to forget all the rules and
regulations. And that someone wasn't him. Now, more than ever, he wished he
could be the person he'd always wanted to. "God," he said, smirking to
himself. "Who am I kidding? I sound like some romantic sap. I'm no good at
this. Who am I fooling to think I could ever--"

A cool hand on his cheek forced him to lock eyes with Drusilla. Her voice
was soft and earnest, as if her strange speech made sense. "And the stars
will align and smile down on us."

His breath caught in his throat as she moved closer. Yes, he knew what she
wanted to do--what he wanted to do. Her mouth was slightly open, inviting
him to finish what they'd started almost a week ago. The world disappeared
around him and all that existed in his mind was this lovely creature, this
dark goddess. He leaned in.

Her kiss was spicy. Her sweet mouth pressed against his urgently, making his
blood thrill. He returned the kiss with equal passion. Her arms had found
their way around his neck and his hands pressed against her back, holding her
close. She moved her mouth from his and kissed his neck. One of her hands
rested on his chest. He bent his head, kissing it, lingering a moment before
moving his mouth to her wrist and arm.

Wait. What was he doing? Less than five minutes ago he'd been telling
himself how impossible this was. And some voice in the back of his mind told
him this was something that had to stop. He ignored the voice, of course, as
he had been doing a lot lately, and moved his attention back to Dru's lips.
Yes, this was the way it was supposed to be. Somehow he knew that this, he
and Drusilla, was right. They needed to be together forever.

Breaking the kiss, Dru felt Billy smile as she breathed on his neck. Opening
her mouth, her face changed to that of a demon. "Don't worry," she
whispered. "This won't hurt a bit."

***

....But perhaps I'm overreacting. My brother can be rash, but I don't think
he'd to anything too foolish.
-Philip Devlin



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