Willow, involved in chanting a spell, was wide open to
the vampire that suddenly appeared. Xander, however,
ran over to save her and tripped, only by chance
staking the demon just as he grabbed the witch. Buffy
started laughing at the young man as he sprawled on
the ground, panting.

"Only you could come up with such a clumsy way to
fight vamps. Why don't you get one of those joke
flowers and fill it with holy water while you're at
it? No, you could just try and stake one and watch him
shake himself into dust from laughing."

"Gee thanks, Buff. I know, why don't I just fall in
love with one and then whine about it. Or I could
sleep with one, turning him into one of our most
vicious enemies. No, wait, you already did." Xander
glared at her and then stormed off.

"He has no right to speak to me like that!" Buffy said
indignantly, glaring at Xander's back, hands on her
hips. Willow gave her a look and started after him.
Buffy grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Xander, wait a minute! Buffy, let go! How could you
say that to him?"

"Willow, it's not safe for you out there. And as for
Xander, he'll apologize in the morning." Buffy said
complacently. Willow stared at her in disgust before
wrenching free and running in the direction Xander had
gone. "Gee, grumpy much?" the Slayer muttered to
herself before continuing on her patrol.

***

Xander wandered slowly through the park, muttering to
himself angrily and kicking at the ground.

"What brought that on? Okay, that was stupid, but I
didn't trip on purpose. It's never enough for her. I
killed my best friend for her, I saved her life! Does
she even care? That dance in the Bronze, that hurt!
It's all Deadboy, yeah, but why keep leading me on so
I keep hoping? It's not worth the bother. Why didn't I
realise that before?"

"Because you have loved her. That's the way you are,
Alex."

Xander's head shot around in surprise and he stared at
Drusilla as she stood under a tree in the shadows. He
began to back slowly away as she started to move
towards him, her eyes intent on his.

"Drusilla? What do you mean?"

"Hello pretty-boy. I had dreams, about you and me. And
the Slayer, too. In other lives. And you love her each
time, but she never does. Sometimes you go to love
another, sometimes you just try to have her. She never
cares, but always likes to keep you to herself, one
way or another."

Xander hit a tree with his back and stopped, looking
at the beautiful vampire in front of him with wide
eyes as she advanced. And then she was close, so close
they almost touched. If he leaned forward just a
little he could place his lips on hers.

"Why should I believe you? And if its' true, why tell
me instead of watching me suffer?"

"I don't want to see you hurt. You're my pretty-boy
and the only one who hurts you will be me. And maybe
Daddy or Spike if they ask nicely." She took a hold of
his face between her hands and stared into his eyes.

"Oookay. But how do you know this?" Drusilla smiled
and kissed him. His eyes widened even more and then he
sighed and relaxed, kissing her back.

"In my dreams you and I love each other. And she
destroys it, every time. I want that back, I want her
to suffer, I want you to remember. And then you and me
and Spike and Daddy can all be together." He stared at
her and her eyes seemed to glow as she spoke.

"Sp..Spike?"

"Wants me to be happy. So does Daddy. They like you.
Alex? Look at me." She stared at him and her eyes
glowed even brighter as he looked, and began to
remember. 

Part Two  

4TH CENTURY ENGLAND 

He ran forward and grabbed the arm of the soldier
about to hit her, the girl who had formed the village
together into a tight group for defense. With the Fall
of the Roman Empire a lot of soldiers had deserted and
now roamed in bands together, robbing and plundering
small villages like Somerton.

Alex tripped and dragged the man down with him. The
former soldier turned and began to strangle him and he
struggled, until suddenly the pressure fell off as Ann
easily pulled the soldier away. He smiled at her in
thanks but she merely looked at him expressionlessly
before turning away.

Alex stood up, seeing the battle was over, those
bandits who survived being locked up. He watched the
girl admiringly as she organised the villagers into
preparing their defenses for the next attack. 

Ann and her mother had only been in Somerton for a
year, but since then the villagers were better
prepared to defend themselves. Alex suspected her dead
father may have been a high ranking Roman soldier, as
she had a very good knowledge of the former soldiers
tactics. He sighed and walked up to her.

"What can I do to help?" She gave him that look again.

"Why don't you go home? You've done more than enough
for today and I'm sure your mother needs you for
something." She turned around, dismissing him. 

Alex stared at her, hurt, before turning, his shoulder
slumped and walking slowly back to the little hut he
and his mother shared. Ann had a point, his mother
needed help since his father was dead, but did she
have to put it like that?

He stopped at the door and called out before entering.
Sometimes his mother was Working and he knew better
than to just walk in on the middle of that. 

"Mother? Is it alright to come inside?"

"Come in Alex. You're back early." His mother looked
up from her loom, red hair still bright and green yes
sparkling as she did so. The sparkle faded a little
when she saw his face.

"I wasn't needed anymore." Willow sighed before going
over to her son and giving him a hug.

"Well, I need you. You can go and fetch some herbs for
me from the forest. It is safe to go out there, isn't
it?"

"Yeah. Thank you Mom." He hugged her back, carefully,
before letting his much smaller mother go. "What do
you need?"

"Mugwart, mandrake root, and a little foxglove. And
any mushrooms, too."

"Is this for dinner or for your Work?" he teased. She
laughed.

"Silly boy. Go, before I try out some of my Work on
you." He grinned, unafraid, and left. 

An hour later he had found everything but the mandrake
root. He went to an area he had seen it before but it
was gone. He shrugged and started to head back. It was
getting dark and hopefully his mother didn't need it
too badly tonight. He didn't think so because she had
been Working all week, preparing for the Winter. There
would be time for him to look for some tomorrow.

There was a sound he caught, just on the edge of his
hearing and he stopped, head cocked, to try and hear
it. It faded out and then became louder, as if the
noise was drawing closer. Singing. Someone was
singing. 

Shrugging, he moved on. Whoever it was, they sounded
nice. And it was a girl, so it was unlikely to be
bandits. Unlike Somerton, that still respected the old
religion, the bandits only had one use for women. The
singing got so much louder and he listened as he drew
closer. And then he saw her and stopped, staring. She
looked up and gasped, clutching a sack in one hand and
a bundle of mandrake root in the other.

"Please, don't stop singing. I liked it." She stared
at him, eyes wide, and he stared back. Large brown
eyes looked into large brown eyes and saw their other
half. She blinked and he looked away. What was that?

"You did? Thank you. Maybe you can help? I had to hide
from these soldiers and I don't know where I am."

"About a half a mile from the village of Somerton."

"Really? That's where I'm supposed to go. My mother
sent me there to work."

"Are you Drusilla?" she looked at him with surprise.

"Yes. How did you know who I am?" Alex laughed.

"Because it's my mother you're going to be working
for. I'm Alex."

"Hello Alex." She smiled at him shyly and he smiled
back. He took her sack, containing her clothes, she
said, and put the Mugwart, a gift for his mother, in
his pouch with the other things. And they walked back
to the village, talking quietly, beginning to know one
another. 

As they entered the village, Ann saw them and frowned,
before striding up to them.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Alex looked at her in
surprise and Drusilla moved a little behind him for
protection.

"This is Drusilla, my mother's new apprentice. I met
her out in the forest and thought it only right to
show her the way. And what does it have to do with you
anyway?" He demanded, standing up to her. Ann looked
at him in surprise herself.

"I have to know if she's a threat to the village or
not."

"And you think I can't do that myself? With my mother
being who she is? I think not. Come on Drusilla." He
strode off and Drusilla hurried after him. Ann glared
at them both, eyes narrowed.

"Mother, look who I found!" Willow stood up and
smiled, before hugging them both.

"Hello Drusilla. How's your mother?."

"She's well. And she sent this for you." The girl
pulled out a pendant, and Alex stared at it as his
mother exclaimed in delight. It was of a winged horse,
carved out of a strange green stone that matched his
mother's eyes.

"What is it?" He breathed as his mother put it around
her neck then hid it under her dress.

"It's jade, Alex. The Pegasus pendant. It will be very
helpful, and when Drusilla is ready, it will be hers."
Drusilla and Willow continued talking late into the
night, even after Alex had gone to bed.

***

ONE YEAR LATER

Alex and Drusilla had become close, very close. And
they decided to jump the fires at Beltaine.

And then the bandits came again. Ann had sent Alex up
with one group to guard one part of the stockade
surrounding the village while she led another group to
guard another. As he fought, he smelt burning, but
ignored it.

The battle finished, he headed on home and stopped,
appalled. The hut was partially burnt, and as he came
closer he saw Drusilla, lying there. He ran and knelt
by her, afraid to touch her, as she was covered in
burns.

"Drusilla. How...?"He said. She spoke in a low whisper
and he bent over to listen.

"...alex...betrayed...i love..." She closed her eyes
and Alex knew that was it. He sat there and wept,
bitterly. Hearing a sound, he looked up. Ann stood
there with the village headman, Giles. He looked
appalled, as did all the other villagers, excepting
Ann.

"Alex. Your mother?"

"Dead too. Or Drusilla would never have died. How did
they get in?"

"There was a break in our defenses and a group of them
broke in." Ann said.

"That's not possible. Someone let them in." Alex said,
standing and looking straight at Ann.

"What do you mean?" Ann demanded. 

"Mother works...worked on the defenses of this village
as well. The only way any of those bandits could have
gotten in was by betrayal."

"Your mother. The widow. What could she do?" Ann
sneered, not noticing the headman edge away from her,
along with the villagers. Alex stared at her.

"You don't know? My mother was a priestess, once. When
father died, she cam here, to the place she was born,
to have me."

"Superstitious nonsense." Ann sneered arrogantly.

"Willow kept us safe for years before you came here."
Giles declared. "We didn't need you at all. Alex
argued that it might be wise to have a physical
defense as well and Willow agreed."

"My first mistake. I could have loved you. I almost
did, but then I met Dru." Alex said sadly.

"And what does that have to do with me?" Ann demanded.

"Why did you betray us?" Alex said.

"What? I didn't!" Alex stepped forward and pulled her
top down, enough to reveal the Pegasus pendant. Ann
gasped in surprise but then lifted her head up and
looked at him in the face.

Part Three 

"Why did you betray us?" Alex said.

"What? I didn't!" Alex stepped forward and pulled her
top down, enough to reveal the Pegasus pendant. Ann
gasped in surprise but then lifted her head up and
looked at him in the face.

"My mother gave that to me."

"No she didn't. That is the Pegasus pendant.
Drusilla's mother sent it to mine, to keep it safely
until Drusilla was trained enough to wear it. And only
last night she decided Drusilla was ready. Do you know
what happens to those who wear that pendant without
that power?" Alex said in a low voice, that made
everyone strain to listen more carefully. Ann lifted
her hands up to remove the pendant and it burned her.
She cried out and stumbled back.

"What is this? Get it off me!"

"It magnifies spells...and curses. Did you know mother
was training me as well? Giles, I'm sorry. If you
contact Drusilla's mother, later, she will know of
someone who will look after the village."

"Very well Alex. Goodbye. And Ann, I'm glad your
mother is not alive to see this." He walked away,
followed by the other villagers, ignoring Ann's
demands for help when she found herself unable to
move.

"Listen to me Ann." Alex demanded, and she looked at
him, fear in her eyes beginning to rise. Alex held the
knife to his wrist and cut, letting the blood fall on
the ground as he walked around her in a circle,
himself on the inside as well. He sat down and with
difficulty, cut the other, as well, and then stared at
her.

"You killed my love, my soulmate. You will never have
love. It will come close and you will suffer, but it
will never be."

"Why are you doing this? What did I do?"

"You are selfish, aren't you? My village will have no
protection, now, magical or spiritual. More will die
because of you. You let them in. It no only killed my
mother and Drusilla, but it breached those bounds that
kept us safe. I am doing this because you must learn a
lesson."

"How can I learn a lesson if you kill me?"

"I am not going to kill you. When this is done you are
free to go. Outcast. No one for you, to love you.
Until you learn your lesson."

"What lesson?!"

"I cannot tell you. But know this. Until you learn it,
you will never be free."

"But you just said I was!"

"Free to go. Not free of my curse. Go." Alex
whispered, tiring as the blood left his body. Ann
stared at him and left, finding herself able to move.

Alex lay down and waited, patiently. His death would
make the curse more powerful, as would the pendant. In
the next life, he would meet her again, and his
soulmate. But until Ann learnt her lesson, he would be
bound to the same doom as her. 

That was the problem with curses, he reflected. Both
curser and cursee had the same fate. It began to get
dark and he shut his eyes...

***

SUNNYDALE 1998

Opening them again to find himself leaning against a
tree.

"I need a new mattress. Wait a minute, this isn't my
room." He looked around and sat, then stood, grabbing
the tree as his knees buckled a little.

"Oooh, what a head rush. What the...?" his fingers
felt the twin sores at the side of his neck and he
shuddered. "Not dead? No, it was Drusilla. Why didn't
she go further?"

"She's not going to do that to you Harris" a new voice
said. Low, rich in timbre, and deadly. Xander backed
up hard against the tree as Angelus sauntered into
sight. He moved forward, mimicking Drusilla's
position. 

"I don't understand" Xander said, staring at the
Master vampire so close to him. Did he still have that
stake in his belt? Yes. The boy began to slowly ease
his hand down towards it and cried out when Angelus
suddenly grabbed his wrist as his other hand pulled
out the stake and threw it away. Then he bent forward
and placed it on his shoulder, holding the boy still.
Angelus then leant forward to whisper in his ear.

"For one thing, this is so much fun, why stop now?"
Angelus moved his face down the side of the boy's
neck, tongue reaching out to taste the wound Drusilla
had left. Xander struggled, unable to move as the
vampire moved his head lower, sniffing.

"No...I don't want this." He moaned as Angelus nuzzled
his chest.

"When you remember you will love her more. She's your
soulmate, Harris. Who would have thought you're
responsible for one of the most infamous curses in
history? The Pegasus Pendant. Amazing. And I can smell
that power, latent, in you. The things I could teach
you..."

"Get away from him!" Willow screamed, throwing holy
water as she held up a cross. Angelus scrambled back
and then stopped to laugh before moving out of sight.
Xander sat back down, leaning against the tree.

"Thanks, Wills. But he wasn't going to kill me. Not
yet, anyway." He shut his eyes and let his head fall
back in exhaustion. Willow gasped and then all of a
sudden he was drenched in water. He sat up and glared
at her. 

"You have this big bite on your neck. I went to wash
it with holy water and it just...it all came out."
Willow stammered.

"Great. This has been a wonderful night. First Buffy,
then Dru and that dream thing, Angelus and now you
with the water. What next, clowns?" Xander said
tiredly as Willow helped him up. He stumbled a little
and Willow frowned.

"Come on, Giles will fix you up." Xander pulled free
of her.

"No! She may be there. I don't want to see her. I'm
going home. To sleep in a real bed!"

"But..."

"Willow, I can't deal, not right now. I can't take any
more tonight. I'm not the Slayer's whipping boy or her
entertainment. Yeah, I joke, but to break the tension,
not because I'm a fool. See you later, Will. I'm not
going to school, I have a lot of things to think
about. I can't do that with the possibility of seeing
her."

"Are you sure you're okay? This isn't you."

"What, I'm supposed to joke away the insults all the
time? I don't think so." Xander glared at her and
walked away, moving fast but stumbling a little. 

"He's really mad huh?" Buffy said as she appeared
suddenly. Willow shrieked and jumped around, holding
her cross up high. Seeing Buffy she relaxed, but
glared at her as she began to walk away.

"Ahuh. And so am I." Buffy stared after her then
sighed and headed back to the library.

Drusilla appeared, Angelus beside her as she danced.

"That was lovely, Daddy. Soon my Alex will be with us
again." She stopped twirling and put her arms around
Angelus, who smirked as he kissed her, hard.

"And won't that upset the Slayer?" He laughed and they
headed back to their lair.

TBC