Dalton's Bride Part 7 (Xander)

  For a few moments it was all I could do to keep myself breathing. The bride
  was me? Impossible...wasn't it? I mean...how could I possibly be Lissette?
  And
  yet, as soon as he said it, memories that couldn't have been mine flooded
  my
  thoughts. Horrible memories. The bodies of friends and family from lives
  past.
  But it couldn't be! Those images were just products of my imagination and
  of
  the book that we'd found in the library. There had to be some sort of
  mistake...maybe I'd heard him wrong? "What?" I forced myself to ask,
  staring
  up at the demon's grinning face. Even I could hear how pathetically my
  voice
  shook.

  "Did you really think I wouldn't find you?" he hissed in my ear before
  backing
  away slightly. He grabbed both my wrists and held them both in one of his
  strong hands and maneuvered himself so that he was straddling me.
  "Perhaps
  that I would let you make a fool out of me, again?" He pulled me into a half
  sitting-up position. "Did you think that you and your little friend had
  outsmarted me?" With his free claw he traced a talon along my jawbone
  and his
  face grew darker, the smirk fading. "Maybe you thought that this would
  disguise you? You could never hide from me, Azalea--I don't care
  what...changes...you've made. You will always belong to me."

  I will never belong to you, I raged silently, my mind racing, searching
  frantically for escape. First I was going to have to get him off me, but
  considering that he outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds that
  wasn't
  likely. Unless, of course, I could trick him into letting me up. Maybe if I
  could make him angry enough to hit me, then I could pretend to be
  unconscious
  and he'd let down his guard. But how could I make him angry? I wasn't in
  any
  sort of position that I could launch a physical attack, and my previous
  attempt to fight him had only amused him. But he had said something
  about how
  Lissette had made a fool of him before and it had obviously angered him. All

  I'd have to do was make him think I was laughing at him. But how was I
  going
  to be convincing enough to pull it off while I was so terrified that I felt as
  though my heart was about to explode in my chest?

  I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to summon
  up as
  much courage as I could muster. There wasn't much left in me. I forced out
  a
  slight chuckle. "You honestly think you can beat me? If you take a look at
  the
  record you'll see you're 0 for 6..." I stared up into Dalton's murderous eyes
  and lost my nerve. In fact, for a few moments I lost the ability to even
  breathe.

  Dalton leered down at me, enjoying my fright. "Yes, you have been quite the

  challenge, my Lissette. But after tonight you'll be under obligation to serve
  me and I'll have my revenge. You'll pay for all the trouble you've caused."
  His eyes darkened and his grin grew wider as he ran his talon lightly across

  my lips. "How I've waited for this..." I felt sick as he began to lower his
  face toward mine again. This was NOT happening.

  "Pardon me," I heard Asa's voice call from the doorway, "but Eliza tells me
  that the chapel is nearly ready. Perhaps you should go...get ready, sir?"

  Dalton paused a moment, his eyes flicking from me toward the doorway
  then back
  at me. "Tonight," he whispered in my ear before he released me and rose to
  his
  feet, turning toward Asa. "Yes...yes, of course." In the blink of an eye he
  reverted back to human form. "You'll see to it that my bride is on time."

  "Yes, sir. Kaelan will be coming for him momentarily."

  "Good, good. There's just a small matter outside that I'll need you to...clean

  up. Make sure that dear Wynn be cleaned up and presentable for the
  ceremony.
  My Azalea may still require some...convincing."

  Wynn? My mind searched through Lissette's memories until I could picture
  him.
  He was Lissette's best friend...my best friend. He was talking about Willow.

  Oh, God, I'd forgotten about Willow. Please, let her be okay...I tried to
  imagine what had happened to her after Dalton had hit her with the energy
  bolt. Judging by the fact that I hadn't heard her call out, she was probably
  unconscious after the fall, or she could be lying out there hurt and afraid.
  Or worse. He hadn't cared if he killed her-she'd meant nothing to him...But
  he'd said that he wanted her at the ceremony, so she just had to be alive.

  "Of course, my lord. I'll see to it," I heard Asa agree as he closed the door
  behind them.

  She'd better be okay, I seethed. I don't care how much stronger than me
  you
  are; if you've hurt her I will kill you!

  More likely, I'd die trying, but even that would be better than the
  alternative. There was no way he could force me to marry him. For one
  thing,
  there was the obvious gender problem. Not that it seemed to matter to him
  in
  the slightest, but among other things it was kind of...well...gyughhh!
  Somehow, though, I didn't think he'd go for the argument that he just wasn't
  my type. To him this "marriage" was obviously more of a matter of showing
  power over me and humiliating me than one of love or companionship. But it

  just wasn't going to happen; no matter what they did to me, I would not
  speak
  the vows.

  Just keep telling yourself that, Xander, I thought bitterly. You did such a
  great job of opposing him here...I hated that I'd been so completely under
  his
  control. It wouldn't happen again; I couldn't afford to let myself get that
  freaked again or I'd wind up paying for my cowardice for the rest of eternity.
  Not only that, but if I was still going to get Willow out of this mess I would
  need to be strong and keep my head clear. We'd probably only get one shot
  at
  escaping alive, and I had to be able to move when that time came.

  I climbed to my feet and made my way toward the window. I had to see for
  myself that Willow was alive. With any luck, she'd not only be alive, but
  she'd already be halfway back to town. I looked out and spotted her
  sprawled
  in the gravel. She looked so tiny...and broken. I could see her lips moving
  so
  I knew she was alive but, other than that, she wasn't moving. I wished I
  could
  be there for her, to hold her, to comfort her.

  I was about to call out to her, when the door swung open and Kaelan
  appeared.
  "Time to go," he announced. "We've got to get you ready." As I moved to go

  with him, he grabbed me roughly and slung me over his shoulder as if I
  weighed
  nothing.

  "I can walk on my own," I protested, but my words seemed to fall on deaf
  ears.

  I guess he figured that carrying me would curb any illusions I had of making
  a
  break for it. I considered resisting, but knew that it would be futile at
  best. Even if I weren't already injured, I wouldn't physically stand a chance
  against him. So I decided it would be best to bide my time. I'd find a way
  out
  of this, yet. I was taken downstairs and through the kitchen to the side
  door.
  As we went outside and headed toward the chapel, I spotted Willow, and
  Asa.
  She was on her feet and was angrily arguing with him about something.

  I smiled slightly as I watched her. She never ceased to amaze me. It was
  rather ironic, really. My instincts were to always protect her and take care
  of her, and in reality she was the one who had incredible inner strength and
  courage while inside I was a quivering mass of jello.

  Asa took hold of her wrist but she quickly jerked away and turned as if she
  were simply going to walk away. In that moment our eyes connected and
  her
  hardened expression turned to one of relief. For an instant I thought she
  was
  going to make a break for it--to try and rescue me from my captor--but then
  Asa put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She
  glanced back at him, then back at me, a look of utter shock on her face.
  He'd
  just told her that I was the bride; I could just tell. I suddenly felt more
  humiliated, ashamed, and completely pathetic than I ever had in my entire
  life.

  A few minutes later I found myself in the chapel dressing room faced with
  another degrading prospect. It wasn't enough that he was going to force me
  into the whole wedding thing, but now this...? I stared at it in disbelief. No
  way. No how.

  "Put it on!" Kaelan ordered for the third time, his patience with me at an
  end.

  I shook my head and backed away. "Forget it. It's not happening."

  Kaelan's hand shot out and he grasped my arm, squeezing tight enough
  that I
  could feel the circulation being cut off. "Put it on or I'll kill you," he
  growled softly.

  "Oh, and wouldn't Dalton love that," I taunted somehow finding the bravery
  to
  stand up to this beast that could take my life in a split second. Or perhaps
  it was more that I just wanted him to kill me to spare me from the possibility

  of spending eternity being bound to a demon. I glared at him, expecting him
  to
  attack.

  But Kaelan only sneered at me, seemingly amused by my pitiful jibe. He
  grabbed
  hold of the sweater and tore it off me in one strong yank. He shoved the
  gown
  at me. "Put it on, or I'll go get your little red-headed friend." My heart
  sank. They were going to win; there was nothing I could do to deny them. I
  would take all the abuse they could dish out, but I couldn't deal with the
  idea that they would hurt Willow just to get to me. Kaelan laughed as he
  watched me grapple with my decision. He had me beat and he knew it. I
  nodded
  reluctantly and took the gown from him. I would have to go along with his
  orders...at least until I could be assured that Willow would not be in harm's
  way. As soon as I knew she was all right, I would find a way to get out of
  it...

  As I put the dress on, my mind filled with curiosity about those who had
  worn
  it before me. When had each of them known what was going on? Had
  Dalton
  managed to fool them all as he had tricked Lissette? It would certainly be in

  his favor if the bride didn't know ahead of time what he was...but of course
  with me, that wouldn't have been possible. If he'd been after Willow, there
  was a slim chance that he could have gotten close to her without her
  knowing
  his identity. The problem he would have had was that Buffy's spider sense
  would probably have gone into overdrive, which would certainly have put a
  stop
  to his plans. But with me? Well...even if I hadn't been made aware that he
  was
  a demon, odds just weren't in his favor that I would go along with him.

  After I had the gown on, Kaelan called in two more attendants...the women
  that
  I'd overheard earlier. It took all my willpower not to lose control of my
  temper as I allowed them to affix the veil. All three were highly amused by
  my
  appearance, and it made my blood boil. But I forced myself to remember
  that
  somewhere they had Willow, and I couldn't do anything that would cause
  them to
  harm her. They could have their fun...I would somehow get my revenge later,

  when Willow was no longer a factor.

  The next few minutes passed very slowly as we awaited Dalton's arrival.
  They
  all three watched me very closely, making sure that I wouldn't have any
  opportunity to slip away and go in search of Willow. So, I stayed put. I
  figured that if I didn't give them any trouble now, they'd start letting down
  their guard and at the first opening, when they least expected it, I would
  make my move. Finally, Asa came into the dressing room an announced
  that
  Dalton was ready. He ushered Kaelan and the two women out ahead of us
  so that
  they could take their seats in the chapel's pews.

  "Where's Willow?" I demanded once we were alone.

  Asa smiled. He took my arm and looked at me with a somber expression.
  "Just go
  along with what is asked of you and I promise you that she will be all right."
  And if I don't? A sad look flashed in Asa's eyes and he sighed, but did not
  answer. "Now come; Dalton awaits."

  As Asa escorted me into the main room of the chapel I looked around for
  Willow, but she was nowhere in sight. They must have had her hidden
  somewhere...or...or they'd killed her. She was probably dead and it was all
  my
  fault. I was forced to take my place beside Dalton, who gripped my arm
  tightly
  as we stood before the altar.

  I barely heard a word that was spoken as Dalton pledged his vows. Then it
  was
  my turn. I couldn't do this; I just couldn't make myself agree to love honor
  and obey this demon! It wasn't going to happen. I reached up and grabbed
  off
  the veil. "NO!" I spat, throwing the veil to the ground. I stared at Dalton,
  my heart pounding as I waited to see what he would do.
  His eyes flashed and he backhanded me, knocking me over backward.

  Asa was quickly at my side, helping me up. "Just do it, child. Don't fight
  him; you'll never win." As I stood, I felt slightly dizzy, and I could feel
  blood dribbling down my chin. Asa reached forward to wipe it away, but I
  pulled away from him, wanting to look my absolute worst for the occasion.
  "Please, just cooperate...it'll be so much easier on you." I didn't want it to
  be easy on me. I had gotten my best friend killed. "She's not dead," he
  whispered, assuring me. "Now, please, cooperate or he'll..."

  "Let's get on with this," Dalton growled, grabbing my arm and jerking me
  toward him again.

  The minister repeated his question to me and again I stated my refusal. I
  braced myself for the impact, but Dalton's blow still sent me reeling. Before
  Asa could reach me, I decided to make my move. I scrambled to my feet
  and
  tried to make a run for it. As I'd hoped, my flight caught them all off guard
  and I made it nearly halfway up the aisle before I saw her. All my thoughts
  of
  escaping were instantly quashed as I froze, staring up at her. I could see
  the
  pleading look in her eyes and my heart sank. Oh, Wills, I'm so sorry I got
  you
  into this...She was balanced on the balcony railing with Martel's arm
  supporting her. Her wrists and ankles were tied and there was a gag in her
  mouth. And there was a rope around her neck.

  "She'll be all right if you just cooperate," Asa whispered into my ear, as he
  came up behind me.

  "Please...just let her down-I'll do whatever you want..." I heard Willow try
  to call out, but the sound was muffled behind the gag in her mouth. But the
  desperation in her eyes said it all. I turned to Asa. "Please...no more. Let
  her go. I swear I won't try anything."

  Asa lowered his eyes. "Once this is all over I assure you that she will be
  set
  free. Now come, you mustn't make Dalton angry." He took my arm and led
  me back
  to where Dalton was waiting for me.

  "I trust there will be no more interruptions?" Dalton sneered, grinning at me
  maliciously as he again grasped my arm with his iron grip.

  I shook my head, resigned to being obedient. As the minister once again
  repeated his questions of me, I did my best to tune out Willow's muffled
  cries
  and I agreed to each of the things that were asked of me, my spirit
  diminishing with each concession.

  "May I have the ring?" I heard the minister prompting Dalton after my vows
  were completed. I glanced back over my shoulder and up at Willow, who
  had at
  last grown silent and was staring down at me. Even from the distance I
  could
  see that her cheeks were streaked with tears. In a few minutes it would be
  over and she would be free...I just had to keep telling myself that--it was
  the only thing that kept me from breaking down completely. I remained
  focused
  on her as Dalton released my arm, grabbed my left hand and forced his ring

  onto my finger. Almost free, Wills...

  "Then by the power vested in me..."

  I closed my eyes as the minister pronounced us married. One half of the
  binding was complete.

    Part 7 Willow*
    Part 8 Xander
    Part 8 Willow
    Back To The Labyrinth