Author: Kay Tee maybeshedoes@yahoo.com
Distribution: Take it, but tell me where so I can visit.
Rated: R, for child beheading, slavery, vampire abuse, a bad word, and dishonesty.
Category: Series
Original Character Warning
Spoilers: Barely for 'Inca Mummy Girl,' 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. Eve is allowed to go out on her own, and heads to the local high school library to get a good book.
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.
More notes: The books mentioned are real (except for the one on vampires). Alice in Wonderland is by Lewis Carroll; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley; On the Road, Jack Kerouac; In the Lake of the Woods, Tim O'Brien. The others are credited when they're mentioned. No copyright infringement was intended here, I just think that these are the books Spike and Dru would like read to them.
***
Eve lay on top of her sleeping bag, reading Alice in Wonderland, which was the only book Spike and Druscilla owned.
She knew that Spike had killed the leader of the band of vampires that they lived with. He had also killed the leader's most devout followers and the remaining vampires had pledged their allegiance to Spike.
This meant that Eve would be able to move freely again. Pretty soon, she would be allowed to leave the warehouse. Her first move when that happened would be to head to the nearest high school and get something good to read. Eve never stole anything when she was out on her own. If she was arrested, Spike would get very upset with her. She also couldn't rent from public libraries because she had no address, but most high schools believed her story that she was a new student. Eve sighed, wondering why Spike hadn't given her any free time yet.
At that moment, the bleached vampire walked solemnly into the bedroom, glaring around until his eyes fell on Eve. "What are you doing?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes up at her master. "Nothing, absolutely nothing," she answered.
"You don't have any work to do?"
"Nope," Eve sat up and rubbed her eyes. Boredom was tiring. "I washed and ironed all of Dru's dresses. I washed your shirts, but you won't give me your jeans." She looked Spike up and down. "I think you should get some new clothes, these are all hole-y."
Spiked smirked at her terminology, "What about the tea set? And the dolls..." He frowned, trying to remember what he'd told Eve to do.
"Everything is shiny and new. I scrubbed the floor, and the walls, and the *ceiling.* I even got Dru to take a bath." Eve bit her lip to keep from daring Spike to think up any more chores for her. There was always more work to be done.
"Hmm," Spike crouched to look Eve in the eye, "you want to go out and have fun?"
Eve tried not to look too hopeful. "Not fun, I just, could, you know, grab some food, and maybe a book? I'll bring Dru something nice, and I'll get you another Tim O'Brien novel."
Spike smiled at the mention of the author that Eve had introduced him to. He nodded, looking at his watch, "Two hours." He turned and walked back out of the room, and Eve jumped to her feet, slipping on her brand new Keds.
Just outside of the warehouse, Eve glared up at the harsh sun. She hadn't felt comfortable being outside during the day in years. Lighting up a cigarette, she headed into the part of town where she had seen all the stores; the high school couldn't be far from there.
***
Giles looked up in surprise when the library doors swung open. He had just sent Buffy and the others away. The girl who walked in was older, probably a senior. She had her dark blonde hair pulled back in a tight, no non-sense ponytail. Her face was clean, but there were obvious dirt smudges around her hairline, as if she hadn't had a proper bath in some time, or didn't have a mirror at home. She wore no make-up, and her clothes were raggedy. Her jeans were too big and the pink t-shirt she wore was full of holes. Giles sighed; he would never understand the fashion sense of teenagers.
Eve watched as the librarian took her in. His gaze stopped on her bright white Keds and his brow furrowed. Eve walked right up to the counter that he stood behind so he couldn't see her shoes anymore. It wasn't that she really thought he'd take them away; it was just that she was almost irrationally protective of her shoes.
The library was completely deserted, which was strange. Most high school libraries had a scattering of students researching projects at all times. Eve didn't worry too much about it though; she just figured that the town must have an excellent public library.
"Hey," she smiled at the man behind the counter, "I'm looking for some good fiction. A little fantasy... a little gore-- something with battles maybe? That one doesn't even have to be fiction, a good first hand account of World War One will do, and umm..." she looked thoughtful, "something else. I feel like my brain's been leaking out my nose this last week."
Giles smiled at the girl, "Well, yes, let's see then, shall we?" He led her to the card catalogue. "Do you know how to use one of these?" He asked.
Eve grinned, "Yeah, of course."
"You'd be surprised how many young people have no idea what a card catalogue is for," Giles explained.
"Well," Eve shrugged, "kids are used to bookstores-- where somebody always knows where everything is."
Giles smiled at the girl, "Y-you don't prefer bookstores?"
"No." Eve practically spat the word out. "Mostly they just carry best-sellers, you know, 'The autobiography of Barbara Bush.'" She scrunched up her nose. "But even the good books are just... I don't know, they lack texture. There's something in reading a book and seeing the names of the other people who experienced it before you written inside the cover. And then there's the feel of pages that have been turned so many times before..." Eve smiled dreamily, turning to look at the stacks of books that filled the room. She loved libraries.
"Well," Giles cleared his throat, smiling fondly at Eve; there were so few students who actually enjoyed reading these days. "You'll find that the pages of most of our books are... largely un-turned." He frowned at his phrasing, and was about to correct himself when Eve stopped him.
"S'okay. I'll turn them." She smiled at the old man and then dashed right up the stairs, forgetting about the card catalogue and looking forward to losing herself in the stacks for a little while.
***
Eve hummed happily as she clumsily pushed the door to the warehouse open. She walked into the main room and dumped her booty on a crate. She had taken The Mists of Avalon, In the Lake of the Woods, and On the Road out of the library for Dru, Spike, and herself, respectively.
She also had an armful of carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and cabbage that she had stolen from various gardens she passed on her walk.
One of the larger vampires in the room walked right up to her. Eve carefully looked away; she wasn't used to vampires besides her owners and their minions, and this one was unpredictable.
"A human in our midst," he sneered. He clutched one of the perfect ripe tomatoes and threw it into a wall. "She comes and goes as she pleases, bringing food into our layer." His voice dripped with venom as he spit out the word, 'food.'
His hand moved to another tomato and before Eve could stop herself, she put her hand over his to stop him. Too fast for her to register, he grabbed her upper arms and hoisted Eve into the air, "Do you wish to say something to me, human?" He hissed, his fangs dripping with saliva.
Eve took a deep breath and looked the vampire right in the eye. "Leave my food alone," she said rather anxiously, trying to hide her fear, though she knew he could smell it.
The vampire brought Eve's face to his, and their eyes locked. He licked her lips and smiled when she didn't flinch away. "I don't think you understand," he said in his most patronizing voice, "you don't have food, you are the food." The other vampires lounging around the room laughed, and Eve sneered at him. The vampire reeked of stale death and rotten flesh. He couldn't be more than a few years old, but apparently he had already abandoned the human habit of bathing.
The vampire dropped Eve and she landed on her behind, quickly scrambling away. He moved too fast for her and grabbed a fistful of hair, pulling her head to the side and exposing her throat. "I could use a snack," he whispered before letting go of her hair and rearing up.
Eve blinked in confusion, then sighed with relief when she saw that Spike stood behind her attacker, holding his arm at an awkward angle behind his back. The larger vampire grunted in pain and Spike flung him into the crates, knocking Eve's vegetables to the ground.
"This," Spike announced to the room, dragging Eve to her feet by her hair, "is mine." He pulled her head to the side, exposing her throat, and pointed to the very clear bite mark on her neck. "See these? When you see this on a human, it means that she belongs to somebody." He dropped Eve on the ground again.
He stepped menacingly up to the large vampire who was nursing his broken arm. "But you already knew that," he said, breaking the vampire's neck without further discussion.
"Eve," Spike ordered, "take him into the alley. The shadows should protect him from the sun for a few more hours, but then..." he trailed off, grinning sadistically.
***
Eve grunted with effort as she pushed her wheelbarrow through the graveyard. She stopped under a large elm tree and sighed, removing her shovel from the top of the wheelbarrow, and thrusting it into the ground.
Angel watched from the distance as the girl worked. She dug a hole deep enough to cover her head, then threw the shovel out, and pulled herself up out of the hole. She dumped the remaining contents out of the wheelbarrow; the bodies of two children spilled easily onto the ground next to grave.
Eve stared at the complacent faces of the dead children, and shuddered. After taking a few deep breaths, she raised the shovel and brought the edge down hard on the neck of the little boy. His head rolled away from his body a little, but nothing else happened.
Eve turned to the body of the little girl, but stopped when she felt eyes on the back of her neck. She turned slowly, surveying the graveyard. The place was absolutely still except for the light breeze and the buzz of whatever kind of bugs they had here in California. Eve supposed they were the same types of bugs that she knew back home in New England.
She looked back down at the limp body of somebody's daughter. Raising the shovel again, Eve winced before bringing it down on the girl's neck.
This one opened her eyes and shrieked loudly before falling back into true death. Eve tossed the shovel at the pile of dirt she had made and rolled the bodies into their grave.
It would be so much easier if Spike would let her kill the new vampires after they rose, when they would just turn to dust, but he was adamant. Druscilla's favorite treats were children, and after that mob in Prague that Eve had heard so much about, Spike was always very insistent that no child-vampires were allowed to rise.
Eve stared at the two bodies sprawled on the floor of the grave. She heaved another sigh, looked around the graveyard again, and sunk to her knees.
Angel watched. If he didn't know better, he would swear the girl was praying over the bodies that she was burying. He inched forward, trying to hear her words, but she did not pray aloud.
After a moment, the girl stood and used to shovel to cover the bodies. She spread the dirt fairly evenly, trying to hide the fact that this was a fresh grave. When she finished, she gently laid the shovel back in the wheelbarrow and stood over the grave again. Her angle had changed, and Angel could tell now that she was definitely praying.
He stepped out of the shadows, intending to approach the girl, when he heard another sound from behind him. Buffy. Of course. And by the pace of her footsteps, she had spotted him. He turned towards the slayer, confidant that he would see this mysterious girl again.
***
Giles closed his eyes. It had been an interesting last few days, but he was sure that he never wanted to hear the word mummification ever again. Xander was sorting books behind the counter, no doubt cutting class, but Giles didn't care. The boy had been fairly melancholy all morning. At the moment however, he was singing 'Walk like an Egyptian.' If Giles opened his eyes, he would see Xander's interpretation of how an Egyptian walked.
Obviously the little talk that Buffy had given the brunette had cheered him up considerably.
The outside door to the library swung open, and Giles and Xander both looked up to watch Eve walk in. The librarian noted absently that she was wearing the same shirt she'd been wearing a few days earlier, but now she was barefoot.
"Eve," Giles smiled at the bright young girl, "how are you doing? Did you enjoy the books?"
"Oh yeah," she returned his smile and held the three novels up in her arms. "I came to trade them in for more."
Giles's brows shot up. "Y-you managed to read three novels in just four days?" He asked.
Eve carried the books over to the drop-off where Xander was standing. "Yeah, well, I have a lot of free time during the day."
Xander smiled lopsidedly at the pretty newcomer. "During the day? Most of us have class during the day."
"Yeah, those of us who choose to go to class." Eve offered her hand to the other teenager. "I'm Eve."
"Xander," he answered, shaking her hand. He looked at the titles of the books she handed him, "Nice choices," he commented.
Eve brightened. "You've read them?"
"Uh, no." Xander held up one of the books, explaining, "But I've heard of this guy. Jack Kerouac. He was in 'Tank Girl,' right?"
Eve frowned at him in confusion and Giles sighed loudly.
Xander just grinned unapologetically at his complete and total lack of knowledge. Eve returned the grin, winking conspiratorially at the teen. "I'm just gonna head back," she said, gesturing toward the stacks.
"Who is that?" Xander asked, impressed, as he watched her backside disappear into the depths of the library.
"That is Eve," Giles explained with little patience. "You don't know her?"
Xander shook his head. "She's not a junior, maybe she's in the class ahead of us?"
Giles frowned thoughtfully, removing his glasses and wiping them speckless with his handkerchief.
***
Eve bounded down the stairs a few minutes later, surprising the librarian. The last time she visited, Eve had spent over an hour browsing. She must have picked out the books she wanted during her last visit.
She fidgeted with her watch nervously while Xander slowly signed her out. "Okay, Eve Jones," Xander drawled, "Grimm's Grimmest, by Jacob Grimm, Earthquake Weather, by Tim Powers, One Hundred Years of Solitude-- sounds like fun-- by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and, umm, Vampire Mythology and Legends, by Father Patrick Rourke."
Xander and Giles both stared at Eve for a moment before she smiled apologetically. "I really like that kind of fantasy stuff. I've read all of Anne Rice's novels," she gushed, "I've never seen such a large collection as you guys have here."
"Riiiight," Xander sized Eve up quickly. "What's your game, missy?" He tried to be serious, but just sounded sarcastic.
Eve threw her head back and laughed out loud. "Weird town ya got here," she said. "Strange things going on at night, people disappearing all over the place, nobody asking questions, and the local high school library has an entire section of books on demonology." She shook her head as if laughing at a private joke.
"Y-you're not from here?" Giles asked.
"Not originally, no," Eve replied. "Honestly, this place gives me the creeps, an' I can't wait 'til my folks realize how freaky this town is an' move on outta here." Xander and Giles just stared at her, and Eve wondered if her acting skills were failing her. "'Til then, though," she picked up her books and moved towards the exit, "I'm gonna figure out what's going on here. Don't worry, if you're Stepford people, I won't tell anybody." And she was out the door. She scooped up the day's scavengings and rushed to the other side of town, which was luckily only about five minutes away, because her free time was almost up.
As the door slammed shut, Xander turned to Giles, "Was it a bad idea to let her take that book?" He asked.
Giles busily cleaned his glasses. "Uh, no. There's no potentially dangerous information in Vampire Mythology and Legends, just a lot of history and vampire folktales." He grinned a little abashedly, "I doubt Miss Eve, uh, Jones, is actually a student here. But we should ask Willow to look her up on the, uh, th-the net?"
Xander nodded in agreement, his eyes drifting to the door through which Eve had exited. "Yup, I'm starting to get just a little nervous whenever I meet new and beautiful women."
Giles glanced at Xander with a slight smirk on his face, "Beautiful?"
"I'm telling you, G-man," Xander hissed, "It's a conspiracy. All beautiful women are evil, except Buffy, but she's still super-natural."
At that moment, Jenny Calendar breezed into the library. "Rupert, I have to cancel..." She frowned at Xander.
The teen shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders and headed out of the library, giving the teachers some privacy. At the swinging doors, he stopped and turned to Giles, "See what I mean, huh?" Xander nodded towards Jenny.
"Go away, Xander," Giles said gently.
"Gone," the teen said over his shoulder as he walked into the hallway.