The Beginning With You

Pict from Raelyn.

This is not the only realm in the universe. 

There are several others, all linked together over magickal pathways waiting for the right persons to find and traverse. But all these realms are separated from the mortal realm; the one hated and reviled above all others. In the mortal realm everything not human is hunted down, destroyed, annihilated until only the myths of such remain. 

It hadn’t always been that way but things had changed so long ago no one knew how it happened. And now, no one knew how to go back to the way things were. And no one much cared to try. 

In the Land of the Light several kingdoms coexisted, strangely enough, peacefully: The Kingdom of Elves, the Vampire Continuum of the Four Kingdoms, the Kingdom of Dragons and Beasts, and the Kingdom of the Hunters. All were immortal, magickal beings that had been at peace with each other for ages. 

They didn’t bother their neighbors and their neighbors didn’t bother them. It worked nicely for all involved and life as they knew it went on. 

Until the day when two beings, quite by chance, met on a field of battle in the mortal realm. That night the tide of everyone’s lives changed, though no one knew it at the time.
~~~~~~~~~~
She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

Considering he was almost a thousand years old and had seen more than his share of women that was saying something. 

But Angelus didn’t think about that now, all he knew was that the golden beauty before him could not possibly be real. There were no myths in the vampire world that spoke about a being of incomparable beauty appearing out of thin air to come to one’s aid; such tales were reserved for other lands. 

Yet she had suddenly appeared sword to the ready, fighting, without a word, by his side as they battled the demons surrounding the vampire. 

But there was something about the glorious creature before him that captured Angelus that, for a brief moment, made him want to believe in such things as myths and creatures of beauty and light. Immediately shaking it off, he was a master vampire and didn’t have thoughts such as that, he went back to his fight. 

It was his own damn fault, he groused as his sword cut through the demon before him, a growl echoing from his lips. He needed some time to himself, away from those insipid courtiers, the increasingly stupid counselors and the pain in his immortal ass lower vamps who thought that he’d actually give them some kind of power. He shared with no one; he never had and never would.

Was it his fault he decided to enter the mortal realm? Well, maybe, but he wasn’t taking the blame for being attacked when all he wanted was some peace and quiet. A chance to get away from everyone and everything for a while. He had already worked off much of his rage, after all, earlier in the week. 

That town was never going to be the same. 

As his sword whistled through the air and beheaded another orange-skinned demon, the mysterious woman chanted something, her eyes glowing as well as her sword, causing the demon before her to combust in an instant. Grinning, Angelus finished off the two remaining demons, who were admittedly distracted by what had just occurred, and turned to his champion. 

Moonlight gleamed off her hair, the golden locks falling to her knees in an intricate display of braids that kept her hair away from her face and arms. The grown she wore was beautiful and flowing, a display of colors the mortal realms had yet to identify. It hugged her slender body in all the right places, showing her curves to perfection and made Angelus long to touch what promised to be soft silky skin underneath. 

Her eyes still glowed an unnatural green, but that could have been part of the aftereffects of the spell. She held her sword proudly, confidently, as if she had been born to do so. Yet she used magicks as well, as if combining the two were an everyday occurrence for the beautiful goddess. 

“I am in your debt, my lady.” Angelus said with a slight bow as he all but swaggered to where she stood. The fact that he was more than confident in his own fighting abilities mattered little when the woman helping him was both graceful with a sword and beautiful to the eye. 

Tilting her head, the woman’s smile was cool yet fascinated. An odd combination but one Angelus took for a sign of acceptance. “You are not from this realm, are you?” 

The question surprised him though he did not show it. Mortals tended to believe in only what they saw; what they could not touch themselves was cause for fear and suspicion. And never did they ask of realms. Then again, Angelus wasn’t aware they used magicks such as the ones he had just witnessed, either. 

“No, no I’m not.” However, chances were that revealing who he actually was would only get him beheaded. He’d much rather spend the remainder of the night experiencing all the carnal delights he could with the fair woman before him than fighting her. Not that that wouldn’t be pleasurable, too, but he hated to destroy such beauty on the first meeting. 

“Whose acquaintance have I made this eve, my lady?” He asked calling on all the court manners he had ever possessed. It was unfortunate that he never cared to use those manners; when one ruled, one had no need of them. 

Her smile changed then, became warmer, more open. “I am called Eliza, here.” 

Stopping just out of her reach, Angelus couldn’t help but stare. “Beautiful, incomparably so, sweet Eliza,” he said and took her non-sword hand, bending over to kiss the back. It wasn’t how vampires greeted one another, but Angelus doubted baring his fangs and growling was the way to win her body, willingly at least; force was one thing but Angelus found himself wanting her willing capitulation. 

Hell, he just wanted her. 

“And you, sir?” Though she asked the question in a soft voice, Eliza never lowered her guard, her weapon always at the ready. Angelus couldn’t help but admire that. 

“Angelus, milady,” he replied, straightening. He tried to gather the threads of his control – he was infamous for it after all – but found that he either could not or did not wish to, not with the woman before him. And forcing her onto the hard ground wasn’t exactly the way to win that willing capitulation he had wanted moments ago. 

Smiling his most charming at her he added, “At your service.” 

Eliza smiled up at him and something happened that Angelus had never before experienced; he lost hold of his control. He leaned in, then, to capture her mouth, full and sensuous, beckoning him to plunder her hidden treasures. She didn’t stop him, instead sighing as his tongue swept through her warmth, tangling with hers, his hand combing through her hair, cupping her neck with a large palm to hold her closer. 

For the first time in his life Angelus felt uncontrollable lust streak through him. Always before he had been able to restrain himself, always know his surroundings and always, always able to manipulate his lover the way he wanted. Eliza took all that and threw it to the winds. 

And he knew only her name. 

He didn’t drop his sword but it was a near thing; all Angelus could think about was keeping her closer, was of being one with her. It was a strange and disturbing thought and one that broke through the haze of lust fogging his mind. Jerking back, Angelus looked at the woman before him, studying her as if by doing so he could discern her secrets. 

Small in stature, her dress was long, the bodice tight enough to outline her generous curves. His hand wandered down her side, following those curves and the master vampire couldn’t help but wonder how her skin would feel, taste as he explored every inch of her body. Her mouth was swollen from his and her emerald green eyes cloudy with her own passion yet she held his gaze without flinching. 

“Angelus,” she whispered after a moment and pulled his head down to kiss him again. 

In that instant Angelus didn’t care about anything other than the woman in his arms and having her. So he took. Carefully he released her fingers from around her sword, placing his next to hers on the ground. He combed his fingers through her braided hair once more, tangling the long locks around his fingers, before looking deep into her eyes as if discerning all her secrets. 

The moon was a slim crescent high above, adding only the slightest illumination to the couple standing so closely together, waiting for that one moment. But even if it had been shinning brightly in the night sky, nothing could compare, Angelus thought, with the glow of Eliza’s eyes. 

In the shifting shadows of the field, her eyes were a deep recess that drew Angelus in and captured him. In those interminable minutes before their lips touched again and he felt himself drowning in her; her taste, her scent, her very essence.           

Their lips touched, softly, gently at first. Flesh on flesh. Then she opened her mouth under his and drew him in. He watched her eyes flutter shut as she gave herself over to him and he pulled her closer, determined to have all of her this night.           

Tiny, invisible tendrils wound around them, drawing them to each other, into each other and together they crossed that final barrier. He felt her hands move; up his sides, over his shoulders to caress his neck, only to wind themselves around him and pull him even closer, molding her body to his…perfectly. 

Angelus thought he knew what it was like to give into lust, to know that rush and revel in it for as long as it lasted. He thought he had experienced everything there was to experience when it came to matters of the flesh but as her hands tugged his shirt off, slowly roaming the bare flesh underneath, he discovered he was wrong. 

Eliza sighed his name, “Angelus,” and the vampire thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. 

Suddenly nothing was left holding them back. Tongues meshed, each dueling for supremacy in a match that could only have winners. Eliza felt his hands move, molding her curves as if to memorize her body. She pressed closer to him, grinding herself into his erection and reveling in the heat that surrounded her.           

A hand moved to cup her breast, kneading the flesh under the soft material of her dress. A whimper escaped her as Angelus lifted her breasts above the material, tugging the nipple between his finger and thumb only to replace his hand with his wonderfully cool mouth. He slipped the dress off her shoulders and watched it glide down her body to pool at her feet. 

And then he simply pulled back and stared. He wanted to look, just look at her for a minute. She was beautiful, exquisite…and all his. 

Desperate to feel his skin against hers, Eliza ran her hands down his naked chest; reaching the waistband of his pants, she yanked the clasp open and swept her hands inside. Moaning at the feel of him, she grasped his waist and pulled him closer to feel all that smooth skin against her.           

Keeping his eyes locked on hers, Angelus backed Eliza to the closest tree, running his hands over her now bare chest, flicking his blunt nails over her already hard nipples, scrapping down her flat stomach, hovering just above her nest of curls, then teased his way back up her body to again play with her nipples.           

Shucking off his boots and letting his pants fall to the ground Angelus lifted her up, she really was a petite thing, and, kissing her with every drop of lust in him, impaled her on his straining erection. Eliza gasped his name and wrapped her legs tightly about his lean waist. She met him thrust for thrust, nails digging into his back hard enough to draw blood. He growled at the scent and moved faster, trailing opened mouth kisses over her flushed skin. 

One hand snaked between their bodies and caressed her clit, his mouth fused back with hers only to have her pull away to cry out his name once more as her climax washed over her in wave after wave. Angelus roared his own completion, his face shifting into his vampiric visage as he continued to kiss the woman in his arms. 

Eliza opened her eyes but didn’t pull back from him, looking deep into the yellow that gazed back at her. She wasn’t afraid and Angelus found himself both intrigued at that and angry. She was supposed to be afraid, wasn’t she? He was Angelus, the most feared vampire in all the Lands, she was supposed to be afraid! But then he dismissed that thought, staying in the moment with her in his arms and her body still wrapped around his and her eyes, drugged with passion, still looking into his. 

She deliberately scrapped her tongue over his fangs and Angelus felt a growl low in his chest at the exquisite flavor of her blood. He had never tasted anything of its equal and wondered if he would again.

Long minutes passed before Angelus stepped away from the tree and lowered Eliza to the ground. He steadied her a moment until her legs held her before handing her dress to her. He fingered the soft material and wondered where he had seen such beautiful craftsmanship before; he couldn’t think of anything other than her, though, so allowed her to dress. Dressing as slowly as she, Angelus couldn’t help the scowl that graced his handsome features as she covered her beautiful body. 

Once wasn’t enough, he wanted her again. 

Well, that wasn’t a problem, whatever he wanted he got. It was a simple fact of his life. And one this beautiful creature before him was just going to have to learn, he thought with a wolfish smile as he stalked back to where she stood, watching him once more. 

Hungrily attacking her mouth, swollen from his already, Angelus pulled her flush with his newly aroused body, wondering why he let her clothe herself in the first place. He was only going to rip the material off her perfect body again. 

A trumpet sounded in the distance just then, breaking the new lovers apart. Angelus growled at the unseen threat, his face shifting even as he pushed Eliza behind him. Who dared to interrupt him? 

Eliza, still in a passion induced haze, took a moment longer to realize what the sound was. When she did, she cursed and turned Angelus around to face her. She noticed his vampiric features, but still said nothing about them. 

“You must leave here, Angelus. Those are the Watchers. They’ve been patrolling this area for days, there’s a rumor of a cadre of demons roaming here and they want to eliminate the threat before the humans discover it.” 

Smirking, his face still in its vampiric visage, Angelus noted she didn’t flinch from him and he lifted a hand to her face, cupping her cheek. His head jerked to the side, indicating the dead orange bodies littering the ground all around them, “I’m fairly certain we took care of them, wouldn’t you agree, my beautiful goddess?” 

Eliza smiled, a faint blush creeping over her golden skin at his words, but remained firm. “It matters not,” she reiterated and lifted a hand to trace his vampiric face, “The Watcher’s have no concept of a middling road, there are extremes only with them – human or demon; all else they take great pains to destroy. You must leave here at once.” 

Though he wouldn’t have minded another fight, Angelus had no idea the strength and numbers of the foe. And Eliza, a trained warrior from the way she handled herself earlier, seemed concerned enough that he took her words seriously. Well, that and he wanted to indulge in Eliza’s body more, not deal with pathetic humans. 

“Come with me,” he commanded as she picked up her sword, handing him his as well. He refused to admit it, but he was…concerned for her welfare. His own life was usually all that mattered, and yet with this woman, whom he had known for such a short time, he found himself concerned for her as well. 

Maybe he should stay and destroy these Watchers after all, just to get this vile feeling out of his system 

“Leave here with me. I know of a cabin not far from here,” his voice dropped to a seductive whisper and he again moved closer to her. His tongue traced the outer shell of her ear and his voice floated over Eliza, making her shiver in response. “Come with me where I can show you all the many pleasures of the flesh.” 

“I can’t, I have places I need to be.” Eliza said and there was real regret in her voice. She tried to control her breathing, but Angelus’ presence, and the delicious things he was doing to her, was making that difficult. Raising her eyes to his, she saw a flash of anger there. “I have responsibilities I must fulfill…” she whispered, swaying closer to him. 

Blinking, as if bringing herself out of a trance, she smiled up at him, her hand tracing his vampiric face in soft strokes. “I can disappear, do not worry.” The trumpet sounded again and Eliza pushed him towards the woods. “Be safe, Angelus, we shall meet again.”

With that Angelus watched as she, literally, disappeared. Rage and disappointment coursed through him but there was nothing he could do. And that made him all the angrier. The thunder of horses sounded closer and Angelus turned to face them, needing an outlet for the energy Eliza incited in him. The horses came to a halt by the orange demons, the five men conversing amongst themselves for several long minutes.

Angelus held back a laugh as they decided that the demons had killed themselves over a quarrel, perhaps. There was one who tried to argue but he was ignored, the other’s snickering at his attempts to inject his opinion. 

“Actually, I killed them,” Angelus said, his voice echoing out from the night. Immediately each man drew a sword; they were fast, the vampire gave them that. “See, it’s like this,” he went on conversationally as he circled the group of them. 

“I was out for a nice little stroll and they just attacked. Now with skin the color of theirs, I’d have voted for the less obvious approach, there’s just no way to hide that much brightness in such an open area. Alas, they didn’t think that way, and so were ridiculously easy to see in the dim night.” 

Angelus stopped in front of the leader of the group and grinned, his face shifting. The men reared back and hastily drew their crosses, shoving them into the vampire’s face. Angelus snarled, fighting the many new emotions coursing through him and didn’t back away; crosses had no effect on someone as old as he. “Oh, good,” he said instead, “A fight.” 

They never descended from their horses, but that didn’t matter to Angelus. It was much more fun to tease them from the ground, giving them the illusion of victory when in fact it was all a game to him. Four men now hung from their skittish horses, blood pooling beneath the beast’s hooves. 

The final man, the one with half a brain, was weak; he probably wouldn’t survive the night. 

All Angelus wanted him to do was survive to tell his tale. What good was a reputation if no one was left alive long enough to spread it?

“Have you a wife, a family?” he asked of the man, lifting the other’s head up by his long blonde hair. At the weak nod, Angelus grinned. “Then go back to them. Tell them of your encounter with Angelus. And maybe you’ll live to see the sun rise.” 

He laughed, a scathing, pleased sound as the horse sprinted into the night, the remaining watcher obviously not letting his life rely on Angelus’ any longer. The lone watcher did make it back to his family, and he quite the Watcher’s Council, immediately. He set up a small inn in another small town a good three day’s travel from the place he’d encountered the demon Angelus and told his children and grandchildren tales of how he’d survived the encounter. 

Sniffing the air, Angelus tried to determine where the lovely Eliza had vanished to, but there was only the slightest trace of her scent in the night air mingling with the acidic smell of magicks. Scowling, part in renewed and unfulfilled lust and a sense of loss he didn’t at all appreciate, and part in anger, the vampire howled at the night sky, cursing fate and this realm. 

Still growling and still in his vampire form, Angelus turned to leave when a glimmer of something caught his attention. Turning to where he had spotted the object, he bent down and retrieved the silver hairpiece. 

It was intricately carved, a meshwork of fine gold and silver that captured and held a single onyx stone in the center. It was unlike anything in this forsaken realm and belonged, he was sure, to Eliza. Had she left it for him, a sign of some sort? Possibly, Angelus didn’t know. 

But he knew that he would find her. If for no other reason than she was never the one to leave, he was.
**********
Fifty Earth Years Later; Ten Land Years 

It was like something out of a fairytale. 

Except that Kynan, Prince of Elves, knew better. The land before him, lush and beautiful though it was, was one where everyone feared to enter. Deceptive in its beauty, the land was one inhabited by vampires, ruled by a council that had been constant for millennia. And a leading member of that council wanted his father’s only daughter. 

His beautiful sister, Buffy.

Though he saw little choice, Kynan wasn’t about to let that happen. The Elf Kingdom was well equipped to protect itself, but against the might of all the vampires in the service of the Continuum? It was a battle neither side could hope to win. 

The lands would be torn apart, centuries of relative peace shattered. Kynan was under no illusions that should he not get his way, Angelus, Ancient of Aurelius, would attack the Elf Kingdom, breaking their treaty and forcing into effect their treaties with other kingdoms. Only in his worst nightmares, could Kynan picture the devastation a war such as that could bring. And the Vampire Continuum had spread in the last couple hundred years, branching into the mortal worlds where the Elf Kingdom had remained as separate as it could. 

Kynan was sure the head of that damned kingdom knew it, too; knew this was a war that could bring nothing but destruction. But it seemed that wasn’t going to stop him; Angelus wasn’t exactly one to take ‘no’ for an answer. As he continued over the Magickal Mountains, cutting through the Singing Pass that separated the Vampire Kingdom from the Elf Kingdom, Kynan debated teaching Angelus a lesson in failure. 

It was unfortunate that he had long ago taken a vow to use his magicks only to help. As the castle came into view, looming over just about everything in the land, the eldest prince wondered if keeping his sister out of the hands of the obviously insane Angelus counted as ‘helping.’ 

It took another hour for Kynan and his guards to make his admittedly slow-paced way to the castle entrance. He wasn’t an especially tall man, but the confidence and power radiating off him was enough to make most beings cower before the elfin prince. The vampires guarding the entrance were no exception. 

“Kynan, Eldest Prince of the Kingdom of Elves,” he announced in as haughty a voice as he could manage. Considering his ire at this meeting in the first place, his voice echoed over the entire area. 

Hastily bowing the nearest minion scurried inside, leaving the rest to lead the entourage into the courtyard. Scant moments later, Kynan was led into the Great Hall where Angelus lounged negligently in his throne. Cloak whipping behind him, his sword a comforting slap against his thigh, Kynan made an impressive picture; and he was equally as sure that Angelus didn’t care at all for whatever picture Kynan made, impressive or otherwise. 

His hair was jet black and hung straight to his waist, bound by a single leather band to keep it out of his face. Kynan’s eyes were a strange purple, a heritage from his mother’s noble clan, and added to the compelling effect he had on most beings. Still, he and his men were vastly outnumbered and they knew it. 

“Ah, yes, the Warrior Prince.” Angelus acknowledged, gracefully standing to greet the Elf before him. He smiled wryly as the prince returned his stare, never flinching despite his situation. Admirable, true, but Angelus didn’t care. Still, there was something slightly familiar about the elf. The way he held himself? Possibly, but not important at the moment. “And I suppose you’re here to protect the honor of your precious little sister.” 

There was a distinct sneer in his voice, but the vampire didn’t care. He had heard rumors of an Elf of renowned beauty and gracefulness and wanted her for his own. For years he had had the mortal realm searched for the elusive Eliza to no avail. She wasn’t from that realm, so chances were that she wasn’t mortal, but no sign of her could be found. His kingdom and those around him had suffered his anger over her disappearance. 

His counselors thought him mad and wanted to know the source of their lord’s obsession; Angelus refused to say, he was, after all, the ruler of this land, not they. In an effort to appease their lord his minions had begun bringing women and girls from every land to be presented before him, but none compared to Eliza. 

Which only made him angrier. 

Which made him more and more determined to either find her or find one who made him forget about her. Unfortunately for the various women – human, demon, magickal it mattered not – that meant once Angelus had sated whatever passions he may have felt towards the woman, or whatever anger the unsuspecting female helped him to exorcize, she was either killed in one of his rages, or was forced into servitude within his kingdom. 

Angelus never noticed them once he was through with them and cared even less about their welfare. 

And here stood some elf, one who dared to think he could refuse Angelus? Okay, the master vampire admitted, that was new. None had dared to refuse him, but now…a spark of grudging respect flared to life for the Elf Prince before him. Still, that didn’t mean anything. Not yet at least… 

But Kynan’s presence also made Angelus want to see this sister all the more. He was about to say something else on the subject but noticed one of the prince’s guards giving him not a hostile look as everyone else in the small group was, but a speculative one. 

Angelus doubted that the guard was seriously going to just hand the princess over but there was something there… 

“Where are my manners?” Angelus asked, changing tactics with skill and ease and startling the group before him though none showed it. “I’ve yet to offer you rest from your trip. Please, follow Hal, he will show you to rooms. We’ll speak when you’ve rested.” 

Kynan’s eyes narrowed and his whole body screamed with not only impatience, but wariness as well; Angelus was hardly known for his hospitality. Nodding once, he saw no other option, the prince followed the minion out. Leaving only one guard behind.

“Why do you not follow your master?” Angelus asked, in part sneer, part curiosity. 

Instead of answering, the guard asked a question of his own. “Have you ever been to the mortal realm?” 

Angelus paused, the question admittedly taking him by surprise. Finally he answered, “Yes…” drawing the single word out. 

“Have you ever met the Watchers?” 

Now the guard had his interest. Tilting his head to the side and raising an eyebrow, Angelus nodded briefly, “Yes.” 

Stepping forward the guard nodded, his face impassive. “I am Oz, First to Buffy, Princess of the Elves. She wishes to know if you are the same Angelus whose life she saved in the mortal realm.” 

“I’ve never met a Buffy,” Angelus hedged, his hand automatically dipping into his pants pocket to toy with the hairpiece he had kept over the long years. “What other name has she?” 

Allowing no emotion to show on his face Oz was nonetheless impressed with the vampire before him. he looked eager but not overly so, and he was more than interested in the woman they were speaking of, even if the vampire did not yet know it was the same woman. Maybe Buffy was right, after all. Oz still doubted it, but it was his job as the head of her personal guard to doubt; and he did his job extremely well. 

“Eliza. She goes by the name Eliza in the mortal realm.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy was more than anxious for their return, but waited while Kynan reported to their father. 

Oz, as a member of the party that was sent to Angelus, was also there so couldn’t tell her anything, either. All of which left Buffy to pace around her bedchamber until she was making herself dizzy. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know, on some level, that the Angelus who was ‘demanding’ her was the same as the one she had helped to rescue all those years ago in the mortal realm. 

The same one who had made her feel more in one encounter than she had ever thought possible in her life. 

She did know he was the same, for two reasons.

One, how many Angelus’ could there be? Not many and Buffy had done her research. Unfortunately, that investigation had taken a while as she had only returned to her home recently and heard about the vampire’s search for the elusive Eliza. 

Secondly she knew it was the same Angelus because she had had Oz track him before Angelus, ah, ‘requested’ her. Oz, for his part, bless his soul, had reported back that the description matched in as unaffected voice as he could manage. Buffy knew her First did not approve of anything to do with the Ancient. 

It was a happy coincidence that Angelus had chosen then to demand she be brought to him. 

Normally Buffy would have refused outright, no matter what the vampire threatened; she never would have succumbed to such an ultimatum. War would probably have been inevitable, but giving in because one was afraid of the consequences was just as bad. Luckily, for all involved, that wasn’t to be. She probably would have found a way to get Angelus on her own terms, once she confirmed his identity, if she hadn’t heard the rumors. 

Normally Buffy would have dismissed them outright; gossip had a funny way of turning on one, except for the fact that the rumor clearly mentioned her. Well, not the name ‘Buffy’ but the name ‘Eliza,’ the name Buffy had told Angelus on their only meeting. Hence Oz and his undercover work. 

Buffy turned to make yet another circuit around her room when a knock sounded on her door. “Finally!” She said and went to open the heavy wood entrance. 

“Oz,” she said, stepping back to allow him to enter. “Well…what happened? How’d it go, come, you must tell me everything!” Buffy waved impatiently towards her most trusted guard and waited until the taciturn man settled himself in front of the fireplace. 

“It’s him,” he quickly confirmed, knowing Buffy’s impatience. “He remembers you, was most demanding to hear of your whereabouts, but all I told him was that I could find you.” Light eyes, heavy with concern, rose to meet her impatient jade ones. “He isn’t stupid, he must know it’s you; and he’s strong tempered. Buffy, I’m not entirely sure this is a wise course of action for you to follow.” 

It was nothing he hadn’t voiced before but now that Oz had seen the vampire with his own two eyes, held a conversation – such as it was – with him, the head guard was even more resistant to his mistress’ plan. 

“I know all this, Oz, I’m well aware of what it is I’m getting myself into. However, you know as well as I that my choices are limited.” Buffy finally settled on the richly cushioned window-seat and waited until her protector and friend joined her. She hadn’t many friends growing up; it was hard to meet people who wanted to know you for you and not because your father was the ruler of the land. Add to that the fact that, as a child, Buffy was painfully shy her only friend was the son of her original personal guard. 

Unfortunately, Oz knew her limits in choices as well. “I’m just not sure that becoming another of his concubine is the way to go, Buffy. I’m sure if you told your father…” 

“No!” Buffy said, cutting off whatever else he was about to say. “I won’t do that to my father. He thinks this whatever between Clan Dororan is best for me and he shouldn’t have to worry about it anyway.”

“Oh, but it’s okay for you to sell yourself to a vampire instead?” 

“I don’t see it that way,” she answered softly, leaning against the wall and gazing, unseeing, out the window. “It’s more than that and you know it. Angelus does as well or he wouldn’t have spent so long looking for me.” She had to believe that or it would give lie to everything Buffy had believed, had felt, for so long. 

“Oz, please, can’t you just trust me on this? I went to the mortal realm to avoid marriage to Halden and met Angelus. Come now, even you have to admit the chances of that are slim.”

Undeterred, Oz pointed out, “Buffy, you hated the mortal realm. You hated every second you spent there and couldn’t wait to come back. Of course you’d go out looking for trouble; and if your father ever found out you found it, I’d be in the cells so quickly you wouldn’t even be able to blink.” He was still angry at her for disappearing that night. 

“Okay, yes,” she admitted, “I hated it there, but that’s not the point. The point is that the chances of my…” she was going to say ‘finding’ but changed it to, “Meeting Angelus were beyond slim. That has to mean something, even if you don’t agree.” 

“Fate?”

“Yes, if you want. But there was a reason we met,” Buffy insisted and tried not to think of Angelus’ magnificent body as she did so, “And I know it was right.” 

Oz looked at his charge for a moment longer, mulling her words. Buffy had never been overly romantic, never so focused on fate and destiny that she couldn’t be practical. And it wasn’t as if he could talk her out of going to Angelus if she truly wished to. The problem was that she, Princess of Elves, would be one of Angelus’ many concubines. 

Vampires weren’t exactly well known for being monogamous, and Angelus was worse than most. Very few vamps preformed the ceremony binding themselves to one person, it was, after all, permanent. 

“I don’t like it,” he said at length, not giving his approval yet not withholding it, either. 

Buffy beamed at him, recognizing his words for what they were. “You know it isn’t your decision, anyway, Oz.” She said even as she stood intent on seeing her father. And then, suddenly insecure about the whole thing, for really, what did she know about the master vampire? “Will you come with me? To his kingdom, will you accompany me?” 

Snorting Oz rose as well, “Like the hounds of hell could keep me away, Buffy. There’s no way in all the domains of hell I’m going to let you go anyplace near that land alone. No way; where you go I go.” 

Laughing as she opened the door Buffy turned to look at her guard and most trusted friend. “Everywhere, Oz? Even the bed chamber?” 

Blushing lightly, something he rarely did and only in front of Buffy, Oz nodded at her implication. “I’ll be right outside the door.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Rupert, King of Elves, wasn’t happy. 

In fact he was so far from happy that Buffy was a little surprised he hadn’t popped a blood vessel. His normally bronzed face was a deep crimson, a muscle in his cheek twitched every time he looked at his daughter, and his hands clenched and unclenched continuously. Maybe she should have waited to spring her decision on him, waited at least until he had calmed from Kynan’s report. 

Still, her arguments were convincing, if she did say so herself. 

“Papa?” Buffy asked, walking to his chair and kneeling before him. “Breathe, papa, before you hurt yourself.” 

“I am breathing, Buffy,” he said through clenched teeth. It didn’t help the image. “What are you up to, daughter?” 

“Exactly what I told you, papa. There’s no way that Angelus is going to let this go, you know his temper the same as everyone in the lands. If he had inquired quietly, then maybe this wouldn’t be necessary, but he proclaimed it for all to hear and neither of you is going to back down. I go, with the stipulation that he marries me, makes me his queen, and the Lake of the Sun becomes Elfin territory and all is well.” 

There was something in her voice; something that Rupert wasn’t pleased with, something that told him his only daughter was doing this for more than to stop a potential war. She wasn’t exactly the selfless type, not to this extend at least. “Why?” 

“Why what?” Buffy asked, trying to keep everything but curiosity out of her voice.

“Why would you want to tie yourself to a murdering vampire forever? You ran away to the mortal realm, of all the infernal places, to escape Halden, who was at least Elfin and…yet…” Rupert trailed off, as he looked at his daughter in a new light. 

He, too, had heard of Angelus’ search for the elusive woman from the mortal realm, had heard of his obsession of her, his desire to find her but until now hadn’t put it all together. “Ah,” the king said, finally understanding it, then again, “Ah.” 

“Ah, what, papa?” Buffy asked, cursing as she realized that he was on to her. 

“While in that cursed realm you met him didn’t you? Changed your name to the one your mother’s annoying family wanted and somehow met Angelus.” Cupping her chin so she’d look at him Rupert waited for his daughter to meet his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Sighing, Buffy answered. “I didn’t realize it was him, not really; at least, not until Oz returned and told me. Remember, I was away for years, first the mortal plane then the Land of the Beasts. I didn’t hear of his search until recently and then he had heard of me, or the Elf Princess, rather. I wanted to be sure it was him before I decided anything. It is and I have decided.” 

“I don’t like it,” Rupert scowled, “Allying yourself with vampires -Angelus of all people – I really don’t like it. Nothing good can come of it, Buffy.” 

“You’re wrong, papa,” Buffy said, smiling as she stood. She knew he’d agree to the proposal, knew that within weeks she’d be on her way to meet her mate. “Only good can come of this.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Life had lost its element of surprise. 

Oh, there was always the occasional uprising, and the dissidents and whatnot, but really, they were easily put down. And his dictatorship was now filled with annoying advisors and meddling counselors and enough clichéd courtiers to drive him mad. Angelus missed the days when he killed at will – okay, so he still did that – but he missed it when the sight of him walking down the street made his citizens cower in terror.

Now they tipped their fucking hats to him.

Was he losing his touch? Was he no longer the vicious vampire he had always thought himself to be? Was he so bored with his life that nothing, not even the thought of mass murder excited him like it used to?

Maybe he just needed to torture someone, but whom? 

There were laws here now, another concession he had made in a fit of ennui. He really had to stop with that, one of these days it was going to get him beheaded. Who said he had to follow those laws, anyway? He was king here and frankly in his opinion he didn’t have to follow anything he didn’t damn well want to.

The problem was it all came back to boredom. Angelus was bored and since everyone pretty much knew that...

The only thing that sparked his interest was Eliza – no, her name was Buffy. Buffy, hmm, odd name but ultimately of no importance. Still, the impending arrival of her, the fact that he could all but taste her remembered skin, hear her remembered sighs of his name, feel her heat clench around him made him smile, a not forced one, for the first time in ages.

Ah the pleasures he’d show her, the things he’d do to her body, that lush bronze skin, the rich blood he’d had but a small taste of – there was something there that he was missing but he quickly dismissed that. Angelus grew hard at the mere thought and wondered briefly at that before shaking it off. So he wanted her, so what. He wanted a lot of things in his long life; this, she, would be no different.

The one hitch in this plan was that he promised to marry her.

He’d never seriously contemplated a life-mate before and could honestly say that if Buffy hadn’t insisted upon it he never would have proposed it, let alone thought of it. But he wanted her, wanted her enough to agree to her terms. There was a faint warning in the back of his mind but Angelus ignored that, too. He’d marry the Elf, bed her until they both couldn’t walk for a week, and then he’d have her out of his system, and they’d both go their separate ways along with a nice Binding Treaty with the Elfin Land. 

It was as simple as that, he was sure.

Except he spent the last ten years looking for her, wanting her, bedding women who looked like her – but then everyone did to his jaded eye – and generally obsessing over a woman he met once and needed again with a passion that would have scared him had it not so thoroughly possessed him. Pushing that thought away, too, Angelus reiterated his belief that once he had her – multiple times and in multiple ways – she’d be out of his system and that was that.

Yes, simple, easy, and pleasurable for the both of them.

Except his ‘people’ were beyond thrilled that he was marrying, taking a life-mate, settling down as it were. Why Angelus had no idea; it wasn’t like vampires did this all the time and it was expected. No, what he was doing was the exact opposite of vampiric norm, so what was with the celebrations?

Scowling as he walked to the windows overlooking the main city, he wondered what his kingdom had become. 

This was what happened when you became isolated from the outside world, when you were content in your life. Tamed, settled, pleased with the status quo; it never should have happened, not to his kingdom, but Angelus wasn’t surprised that it had.

Again his own fault for letting boredom and languor for his own existence cloud his judgment. Maybe he should seriously consider branching out into the mortal realms. He had never stopped anyone from going there, but didn’t want to himself, not on any kind of permanent basis. They were hunted there, declared monsters and murders – and okay there they were, but that was half the fun – and slaughtered indiscriminately.

Why go there when here was much better? Sure the blood wasn’t always human but most vampires didn’t notice the difference, having never experienced the real thing. Blood here literally grew on trees, fruits and vegetables, delicious morsels of every conceivable kind available to all. They were fed, could go into the sunlight, didn’t have to worry of Watchers or Slayers or Demon Hunters or anything of the like.

They were complacent and he had become so as well.

The problem was that he still couldn’t work up enough anger over that to care.

Maybe Buffy was just what he needed.
~~~~~~~~~~
It took three weeks for everything to be arranged. 

Angelus was surprisingly willing to agree with the terms King Rupert stipulated; after all, what use had he of some lake he had never even been to. He only held onto it because he could and the Elf Kingdom wanted it. And he’d marry Eliza – Buffy – whatever. 

And marrying her didn’t preclude having mistresses should he desire them. 

So here he stood, waiting as patiently as he could for the entourage to arrive with his soon to-be-wife and her personal guards. He almost didn’t agree to that, allowing yet more Elves in his land, but Rupert’s response convinced him. It had gone, Angelus mused now, something along the lines of either allow her guards who shall lay down their lives for her and are of her own kind or consider the whole thing off. 

It hadn’t been that Angelus was scared of the threat, more like he respected Rupert’s feelings for his daughter. Such a strong stance on it showed Rupert wasn’t afraid of the consequences and knew his own strength. And Angelus really wanted that woman. 

“So the rumors are true, you’re actually marrying her. Mating yourself for life with an Elf.” The voice was low, a sharp and smoothly delivered comment from the shadows.

Angelus turned to face his sire, eyes flat, his expression giving away nothing. He had long since outgrown Darla’s manipulations; only occasionally indulging in her much used body. And even that not for ages, she had long left the Lands, heading into the mortal realm to spread her particular brand of terror. 

“What can I say, I want to settle down.” Angelus tracked Darla’s movements as she wandered the throne room. He hadn’t seen her for several years now and he could honestly say he hadn’t missed her. “What do you want, Darla?” 

“Came to see my favorite childe make the biggest mistake of his life.” The blonde replied, slowly walking to where he stood by the large windows. He was truly amazing in the sunlight, dark hair and eyes, sculpted features, and a toned body he knew exactly how to use to its fullest. 

“You aren’t invited to the wedding,” he said, turning his back on her. Not that the view was all that appealing, but it was a great insult, showing Darla that he didn’t care she was in the room with him, didn’t consider her a threat. 

“My invitation must have gotten lost with the messenger,” she purred right into his ear, soft hands running up his bicep. “I’m sure that can be remedied. Or better yet,” she added, blunt teeth nipping along his collar bone, “Cancel this whole thing, she isn’t worth it.” 

Stepping out of her loose but somehow still clinging embrace, Angelus walked back to his chair, now positioned next to another slightly more feminine looking one, and sat. Darla noticed, he saw with a smirk, the addition of the second chair but was smart enough to say nothing. “Darla, you’re boring me; leave, now. I won’t kick you out of the land, but don’t bother me again, and don’t even think about harming Buffy.” 

“Buffy? That’s her name, Buffy?” Darla asked shaking her head at the name, but didn’t ask anything else. Angelus’ growl effectively stopped her; it wasn’t often the Sire grew afraid of the Childe, but in Angelus’ case it was more than warranted. He was the most feared vampire in the Continuum and it was a reputation that was well earned. 

“I won’t be far, lover,” Darla said, making an instant decision to stay and see what her childe saw in this Elf. “When you deiced the child isn’t what you really wanted after all, I’ll be there.” 

Angelus ignored her as she left, refusing to let her words, words that were haunting him as well, get to him. Calling in the guard standing at the door he asked, “Were you asleep?” His voice calm and deceptive, “Or are you just stupid?” 

“No, my lord, but she is your Sire…” the man never made it further before Angelus grabbed a sword off the wall and decapitated the hapless minion. 

“Imbeciles, I’m surrounded by damned imbeciles.” He muttered, replacing the sword on the wall and walking back to his chair. 

Darla’s words, despite his dismissal of them, sparked something in Angelus he wasn’t willing to think of too deeply. What if he was making a huge mistake, allying himself not only with the Elfin Kingdom but mating himself with this woman? Sure she was a great fuck and Angelus readily admitted he wanted more of that delectable body, but to forever mate with her? 

“Does that include me, Sire, am I considered an imbecile as well?” A new voice asked, from the still open doorway, interrupting Angelus’ thoughts. The fact that the double doors were still opened reminded Angelus that he needed new guards. Obviously the ones he had weren’t worth the effort it took to make them – or to kill them. 

“William, my boy, what brings you back here?” Angelus asked, pleased to see one of his favorites. 

“Came for the big to-do, of course. Didn’t want to miss it, Angelus mating himself – and to an Elfin Princess of all beings. It’s not something that happens everyday, not even in the imaginations of every female in all the lands.” 

Laughing, the master rose and clasped his grandchilde on the back. “Is Drusilla with you? I’ve missed her.”

”Naturally,” the younger vampire smirked, “Like she’d miss this? Besides, she said something about having a new mommy. I didn’t catch it all, but I think she’s excited.” 

“Good, I’ve so missed her. Will you be staying after the celebrations?” 

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