Touch of Evil
Part Four
Author: Amanda Arlequin
E-mail: aca203@is8.nyu.edu
Rating: R/NC-17 overall (some parts are mild)
Summary: This is the story of the cat and mouse game Angelus plays with
Willow, and the romance that follows.
Spoilers: This takes place after Angel loses his soul but before Becoming,
which never happened in my 'verse.
I will keep and discard Buffy lore as I see fit.
Disclaimer: While I have taken the liberty of adding a few characters of
my own creation, all of the original BtVS characters and their world
belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and The WB. All are used
without permission and no copyright infringement is intended.
Six Months later
Watcher's Council Headquarters
London, England
Willow stood beside the immense stain glass windows that dominated the
north end of the library. She stared straight out into the crimson tinted
city streets that surrounded the beautiful red brick town house that
doubled as the London based Watcher's Council headquarters. The sun had
only just set an hour ago, and already Willow was on guard; positive, as
she was every night, that this would be the night he would come for her. A
dark prince emerging from the shadows to possess her once again. Taking on
shape and form as he stepped through the barrier of her nightmares and
entered her reality. Willow was so mesmerized by the passing cars and
pedestrians, she failed to notice the sound of someone entering the room.
Willow jumped as the intruder laid a hand upon her shoulder. The scream
died in her throat as she spun around and found herself face to face with
Lydia Briggs, head Watcher and chairperson of the Watcher's Council, not to
mention self imposed Watcher and friend to Willow.
"Willow…" Lydia's usually lilting voice was heavy with concern. "I'm
sorry I startled you. And I'm especially sorry I've taken so long. I had
no idea the meeting would end after dark or I would never have asked you to
accompany me to headquarters today. I know you're still skittish about
being out at night."
Willow fought to slow her still racing heart. Taking slow, even breaths,
she tried to focus on what Lydia was saying. Glancing out the window once
more before responding, Willow bit her lip. "Well, luckily it's not too
late yet. I mean, the sun only just set an hour ago. I know I haven't
wanted to go out at night before, but, well, I'm going to have to
eventually, so why not tonight." Willow attempted a smile but it faltered
beneath Lydia's appraising, sympathetic stare.
"We could always spend the night here at headquarters." Lydia offered,
"Almost every member of the council has done it at some point in time.
It's the reason why we have bedrooms here."
Willow shook her head vigorously as she felt a steel resolve settle within
her. "No, we should go. I know you have some things to attend to at the
house. As for me, I want to go out. It's been 6 months already. I've
allowed myself to be held hostage by my fears for too long. Besides, if I
expect to start school back up again, then I've got to get used to
travelling at night again, or else I'll never have my life back. If I keep
allowing myself to be terrorized by the memory of Angelus then I'm still
his captive and he will have won."
Lydia placed a reassuring hand on Willow's shoulder. "You're right. That
doesn't mean the threat of Angelus isn't real. We all know how dangerous
he can be. But if you want my honest opinion, I don't think he's going to
be coming after you. It's been awhile and if you were his prime target
then we would have heard from him by now. As it is, he's too busy playing
cat and mouse with Buffy. I think it's safe to say she was his true
target, as always."
Willow nodded as Lydia spoke words Willow had thought to herself many
times before. Willow should have been reassured by
the thought, but a small part of her, deep inside- a part that had changed
since her time spent as Angelus' captive- ached at the rejection. Shame
filled Willow at the irrational twinge and she shoved it aside once again.
Lydia was already making her way across the massive library, one perfectly
manicured hand waving over the back of her right shoulder. "Come now,
dear. If we are going to make it home we must hurry. Roger has already
brought the car around." Willow sprinted to catch up to Lydia's quickly
retreating form, trying hard to ignore the mercurial nature of her own
feelings.
To Willow's relief, the drive back to Lydia's sprawling country home was
uneventful. Still, Willow couldn't help the flood of relief that washed
over her as Roger, Lydia's faithful driver and bodyguard, pulled the car
through the black wrought iron gates and around the circular driveway
towards the front entrance.
Sometimes Willow couldn't believe 6 months had passed since Giles first
brought Willow to the Watcher's Council for protection. Ever since that
time, Willow had been staying with Lydia at her enormous home in the
countryside surrounding London proper. The moment Giles had first
introduced Willow to Lydia, she had taken an immediate liking to the
Watcher. Willow had been surprised to find that Lydia, at the rather young
age of 32, was the head of the entire Council. With so many stodgy old
British men on the Council, Willow could have bet even money that one of
them would be in charge. As it turned out, Lydia's late father was the
previous Council head, and in honor of his memory and last wishes, the
Council elected Lydia as the new leader. Ever since appointed, Lydia had
been slowly but surely bringing the centuries old Council into the 20th
century. Despite the circumstances of Willow's stay with the Council, she
was thrilled to be around during these changes. Willow was witnessing
first hand the breaking down of centuries old traditions, and seeing the
motion of bureaucracy that would have it's final effects on Buffy and the
way she did her job. Not to mention the fact that being involved with the
Council helped keep Willow's mind off all that had happened.
Willow still had trouble recalling her rescue. As Angelus's prisoner,
Willow had grown weaker and weaker until the days blended into the nights
and the only times Willow felt alive were the times Angelus was with her,
inhaling the essence of her life through his lips.
Willow didn't much like to think of those weeks. The shame she felt over
everything that happened was too much for her to handle. Everyone kept
telling her it wasn't her fault Angelus had targeted her and kept her
locked up- and she knew that much was true. Nor was it her fault he had
drunk from her nightly, not to mention the other uses he had found for her
body. No, that wasn't Willow's fault. Her enjoyment and pleasure, on the
other hand- well, Willow was definitely to blame for that. No matter what
Lydia said (she was the only one Willow had or would confide the whole
truth to), Willow would always blame herself, and she couldn't help the
disgust she felt with herself for falling victim to Angelus' seductions.
Not to mention the fact that she had done all those things with Buffy's
boyfriend
Willow wasn't sure how aware Buffy was of the things Angelus had done to
Willow while holding her captive. When Buffy had broken done the door to
Willow's prison, Willow had been passed out on the bed, emotionally and
physically drained from the previous night's activities. So Buffy had
found Willow on the bed, unconscious and naked. Wrapping Willow in a
blanket, Buffy had carried Willow all the way back to the library where
Giles was waiting. It wasn't until many hours later that Willow finally
awoke, confused and disoriented. Before she knew what was happening, Giles
was insisting Willow be taken out of Sunnydale immediately, before night
fell and Angelus realized Willow was gone.
So by that night, Willow'' bags had been packed, her parents reasoned with,
and Willow deposited on a plane to London with Giles as a companion. Giles
had believed it was the safest place for Willow, and Buffy had agreed.
Willow hadn't voiced much of an opinion one way or the other, being too
drained too do much beyond quiver in fear at every sight and sound. Shock
and disbelief that her nightmare had finally come to an end had left Willow
mute. She refused to talk about what happened, and after a few attempts to
get her to open up, Giles had let it go. It wasn't until Willow had spent
a month with Lydia that she had begun to speak of the nightmare that still
haunted Willow's nightly dreams.
Under the Council's, and more specifically, Lydia's protection, Willow had
begun to slowly move on with her life. The nightmares in which Angelus
came to reclaim what had been taken from him were coming less frequently,
and Willow's courage was slowly returning. Three months ago Willow would
have had a hysterical fit if she'd been forced to leave Lydia's home after
sunset. But now, here she was arriving home well after dark. And of
course, nothing was happening to her. Just as Lydia had predicted. It
helped that they heard from Giles at least once a week for updates on the
Angelus situation. The last update had come 3 days ago, during which
Angelus had been at home in Sunnydale, wreaking the usual havoc. Willow
was safe in England, for now.
Willow followed Lydia up the stone steps to the front entrance. As Lydia
lingered in the foyer, talking to the house staff on the day's events,
Willow kissed Lydia good night and headed up to her bedroom.
Willow adored every aspect of Lydia's family home. Upon first laying eyes
upon the centuries old mansion, Willow had fallen under the spell of its
charm. The house had history, having been in Lydia's family forever, and
there was so much to explore
Willow's bedroom was located halfway down the hall on the second floor. A
couple of doors down was Lydia's own room, much to Willow's comfort.
Though it was only 10PM, Willow was tired. Perhaps it was the sweet
summertime scent carried on the breeze through Willow's open window, or the
rhythmic chirping of the crickets outside but within moments of entering
her bedroom, Willow was sprawled face down on her bed, her eyes drifting
closed as she succumbed to sleep. Willow relaxed, the giddiness she felt
over having safely ventured outdoors at night subduing to gentle sleep.
On to
Part Five
Back to
Part Three
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