Author: Kay Tee maybeshedoes@yahoo.com
Distribution: Take it, but tell me where so I can visit.
Rated: R, for mention of murder, beatings, non-consensual sex, and starvation.
Category: Series
Original Character Warning
Spoilers: Tons for "School Hard," other parts of the series will correspond to other episodes, pretty much in order.
Disclaimer: In my dreams I'm Joss, but during the day I have to face the cold hard truth-- I'm a hack who steals characters. But I'm not giving them back! Or I am, just don't sue me, all I have are speeding tickets and student loans.
Summary: Spike can't take care of Druscilla all by himself, so he gets himself a slave to help. She helps them settle into their new home--Sunnydale.
Author's notes: I don't know where to get transcripts of the episodes, so I'm doing my best with what I remember from the show. Don't hurt me.
***
"This the place?" Spike asked, standing next to the car.
Druscilla hummed half-heartedly, "I can feel his power. Spike? You aren't going to leave me?"
Spike leaned down, resting his weight on a hand on the top of the car, and looked into the backseat of the Desoto.
Druscilla was blinking up at him with wide brown eyes, and their human, Eve, was trying to sooth the vampiress. "I'll be right back," Spike promised. "Eve, you two stay here, I'm going to go greet the family," Spike grinned weakly.
Druscilla had been deteriorating steadily in the last four years-- ever since Prague. His psychic lover had whispered that she would heal if they went to the Hellmouth, and had been giggling that they had family there.
Spike knew that he was directly descended from The Master, but besides Darla and Angelus, he had never met any of his relatives. He'd hoped to keep things that way.
From in the car, Eve watched her mistress's lover enter the warehouse. She admired Spike as much as she feared him. It was clear that he was uneasy about joining these demons, but he hid it well, swaggering into the nest of unfamiliar vampires. Druscilla had insisted that they join their relatives, and Spike never denied her anything.
The vampiress was babbling quietly while resting in Eve's arms. The nineteen-year-old stroked Druscilla's hair and hummed the 'Ode to Joy,' which Druscilla had requested five hours earlier. Eve's throat was getting dry from humming so long, but she wouldn't stop until her mistress gave her permission.
"Let's go inside," Druscilla suddenly said with absolute clarity.
"Dru," Eve stroked the vampiress's arm, "Spike asked us to wait. We'll go in when he comes to get us."
Druscilla pouted. "I want to go in, I'll tell Spike you were mean to me," she threatened.
Eve knew the words would mean a beating, but if she allowed Dru to go inside and something happened to her, the beating would be so much worse. She sighed, "Let's go listen at the door, if there's no fighting, you can go in, okay?"
Druscilla smiled softly and nuzzled Eve's neck. "You love me," she whispered. "You take care of me."
"Yes Druscilla," Eve answered without inflection.
"And you'll take care of me until you're very old." Druscilla pulled away and looked Eve right in the eye, "then you'll die and I'll have to get a new one." She held out her hand expectantly and Eve opened the door to the car. She got out hesitantly and looked up and down the alley before taking Druscilla's hand and helping the vampiress out.
***
Spike clenched his jaw when he saw Druscilla's slave standing under a streetlight at the end of the alley. Smoke settled around Eve's dirty blonde head, testifying to the stillness of the night. The girl's slim frame was clothed in a loose pair of aging blue jeans and a tattered pink t-shirt with a picture of Minnie Mouse on the front. Warm brown eyes met cool blue for an instant before Eve looked away in submission.
"We're moving in," Spike announced, "get the bags and follow me."
Eve followed his instructions, putting out her cigarette and opening the trunk of the car. She removed a trunk and a large duffel bag.
She noted that Druscilla was clinging to Spike's arm and trembling slightly. His duster hung loosely on the vampiress's shoulders, and he was scowling. Tonight was not going to be pleasant.
Eve sighed, strapped the duffel to her back, and hoisted the trunk up into a comfortable carrying position. Spike led the way into the warehouse.
Eve kept her eyes on Druscilla's back; careful not to look at any of the vampires gathered in the main storage room. The three crossed to the back and headed down a staircase. They walked down a long corridor until they came to the room that Druscilla had probably picked out earlier.
Just inside the door was another set of stairs, and they descended quickly. Eve carefully set the trunk down and dropped the duffel next to it. She looked around the basement room. There was no furniture-- she would probably be sent to get some in the morning. But something had to be done until then-- Spike always made sure Druscilla slept in a bed. He was frowning as he surveyed their new home. "Druscilla," he wrapped his arms around the vampiress's waist, "Why don't you set out your dolls, and I'll take Eve to get us a bed."
Druscilla sighed forlornly, "They want to come out of the box, trapped in a chicken coup with no eyes at all." She smiled, "I want a big bed, built around trees in a forest like a princess." She stared up at the ceiling, "Trees going all the way up to the stars, and a lovely canopy of spider webs. Get it for me, Spike?"
The bleach-blond vampire stared at his lover for a moment before swearing, "Of course baby, anything you want." He kissed the side of her head and motioned to Eve. "We'll be right back," he promised.
Druscilla wasn't listening. Eve had opened the locks on the trunk, and the vampiress was grinning at her dolls, "Ooo, they can see again. I'll dress them and then we can all have a tidy tea party. Spike? Get me a bed for a princess?"
"Of course, luv," he let Druscilla walk away from him. She began to sort through the contents of the box, removing her dolls in order of favorability.
***
Eve struggled to keep pace with Spike. He was rushing across town with no apparent idea of where he was going. "Spike," she called, "please, I can't..."
He whirled around to stare at the human. He had some affection for the girl, but was irritated that she had let Druscilla walk into the warehouse at such a tense moment. He opened his mouth to yell at Eve, but noticed that she was barefoot again. And she looked hungry. "Dru threw your shoes out the window again." He sighed; this was starting to be a tiresome habit.
Eve looked sheepish, "She likes my feet," she stated simply. They both looked down at the teeth marks that covered Eve's feet. Spike scowled. "But... at least she's eating," Eve offered lamely.
"Yeah," Spike said quietly, "how much did she eat today?"
"Not enough," Eve admitted.
Spike nodded, "And how much did you eat today?"
Eve's eyes darted hungrily to Spike, then to her feet, and then around the street. They had arrived in a small shopping center, and a closed Starbucks was right behind Spike.
Spike's brow furrowed, he always had a hard time remembering to feed Dru's human.
The vampiress had spotted the girl two years ago. Eve was sitting on a swing at a playground in some tiny Maine town. She was crying quietly, and had a bruise across her cheek. Dru had decided to keep the girl as a pet instead of eating her. After a while, Eve had stopped trying to escape and Spike had trained her to take care of Dru. He noticed that Eve tried to take care of him too; the human seemed genuinely fond of her owners, despite the poor treatment that she received from them.
"When was the last time you ate?" Spike asked.
"Th-three three days, two hours, and..." Eve checked her watch, "twelve minutes ago." She smiled sheepishly at the ground. "We've been driving... I didn't have the chance to..."
Spike waved a hand at her, "You'll get free time again once we're settled in." He looked around and spotted the Starbucks that Eve had been staring at. "Let's feed you then."
They walked over to the shop and Spike kicked the front window in. He jumped over the low wall and entered the store. Eve followed, treading carefully on the broken glass. Spike sat at one of the tables and watched while Eve scampered behind the counter and began to search for food.
She soon joined him with a couple of scones and a bran muffin in her arms. She dumped them on the table and began to tear into them ravenously. She took a few bites from each, knowing that she couldn't eat too much without throwing up later. Luckily, she had grabbed a paper bag, and would bring the food back to the warehouse if Spike let her.
"I was thinking," Eve said, her mouth full, "You could get Dru one of those canopy beds. I'll set up a gauze canopy, and maybe we could grab some spiders to put..." she grinned at Spike's face. When Druscilla wasn't around, they were friends, and she knew he hated spiders. "Okay, well, I mean, we'll improvise, and I'll tell her a story about a princess who has a bed just like the one we get her."
Spike nodded, then leaned forward, "If I recall correctly, you were the one who told the story about the bed made out of trees."
Eve shook her head, "You did, the story was 'Snow White...'" She trailed off when Spike raised an eyebrow at her in question. "Or, it could have been me."
Eve stuffed the rest of her pastries in the bag. "Haven't heard any sirens yet," she observed off-handedly.
"I know," Spike grumbled, "gonna have to find my dinner somewhere else."
***
Eve lay on top of her sleeping bag, staring at the girl lying on the ground next to her. Spike had brought her home from hunting. He went upstairs to chant with the other vampires, insisting that Druscilla eat her.
The girl's name was Sheila, she had said so before Eve gagged her, while the slave was tying her hands together. Soon Sheila would wake up, and probably try to eat Eve. The blonde girl hated Druscilla's new habit. For the last few months, whenever Druscilla ate anybody, she would turn them. Spike had ordered Eve to behead the new vampires while Druscilla wasn't looking, but there would be no opportunity for that before Sheila rose.
Druscilla was sitting on her new bed-- a princess's bed-- and brushing the hair of one of the naughty dolls. "I'm sorry. But I had to punish you," Druscilla's voice was beginning to quiver, and Eve stood up to comfort her mistress.
"Can I braid your hair?" She asked, sitting on the bed next to Druscilla.
"No," Druscilla pouted. "Miss Edith's very upset. She won't speak to me. Make her speak to me." The vampiress held out her doll to Eve, who took it with practiced care.
"Do you think Miss... Edith? Will want her hair braided? I know how much you like that? We'll put pretty ribbons in her hair, and then she won't be mad anymore." Eve wondered when she'd been reduced to coddling centuries old toddlers. But she knew. It was the night she'd run out of her house after another round with her mother. She had promised herself that her mother would never hit her again. Of course, Eve never saw her mother after that, so...
"Ooo..." Druscilla hissed, watching over Eve's shoulder as Sheila stretched and stood up.
Eve didn't have to turn around, she knew what was coming. Carefully placing the porcelain doll on the center of the bed so it wouldn't break in the struggle, Eve took a deep breath a waited for the first blow.
***
Eve lay in her bedroll, waiting for the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Druscilla had been singing, "The ants are marching two by four, hurrah, hurrah. The ants go marching two by four, hurrah, hurrah. The ants go marching two by four, the littlest one went out the door, and they all went marching down, to the ground, where they can't be found."
She had just stopped a few minutes ago, signaling that the vampiress had finally fallen asleep.
Eve knew she shouldn't be worried about Spike. He had gone to fight some big-shot vampire hunter, but he would probably be all right. If something bad were going to happen to him, Druscilla would have a vision. Right?
Eve turned restlessly. She wasn't worried about Spike, or at least, she was trying to convince herself that she wasn't worried about him. Ever since the first night that they had met, she had had a special loathing for her mistress's companion.
He had spent the first week that she was in captivity assuring her that she would die slowly and painfully. Eventually he had started to make her help around the house. When he and Druscilla had decided to move, Eve was surprised to learn that they were taking her with them.
Spike had trained her with beatings and rapes, always from behind, never facing her, and she had eventually learned not to try to run away. Eve didn't know when she had started to care about the vampires she traveled with, but now she had the intense desire to protect them.
But even more powerful was her sense of self-preservation. Eve didn't know a whole lot about the vampires upstairs, because she had not been permitted to leave the room without Spike, but she did know that the other vampires didn't like her mistress's lover. She knew that if Spike were dusted by this 'vampire slayer,' the other vampires would come into their room for Eve and Druscilla. She didn't want to think about what would happen then.
There were unfamiliar footsteps approaching the door. They paused and Eve decided to try to go down fighting. She stood up and went to the foot of the stairs, clutching the stake behind her back that Spike had given her. The door swung open and Spike limped down the stairs, looking dejected.
"She up?" He asked.
Eve shook her head, answering in the negative.
"Good," Spike's voice dropped in volume and he slumped on one of the stairs. "Suck me," he gestured towards his crotch. Eve hesitated, glancing at Druscilla's inert form on the bed. Spike didn't seem to care if the vampiress woke up, so Eve climbed to the stair where Spike sat.
Druscilla had walked in on them before, and wasn't upset; she didn't even seem to notice that they were having sex. In fact, Spike's devotion was the only evidence Eve had that the two had been lovers before Druscilla was injured. They coo-ed at each other from time to time, but that was the extent of their romance. Spike swore that once Druscilla healed, things would be different, but he also swore that when Eve's mistress was back to her full strength, the slave would be the first to die.
Eve questioned Spike with her eyes, but he just stared at the wall over her shoulder, so she unzipped his fly and obediently lowered her head to his crotch.