BtVS Ficlet: "That Dread Lady"
Nov. 2nd, 2005 12:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alixtiiTitle: That Dread Lady
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Drusilla, OC
Word Count: 720
Summary: Drusilla is in Romania, with something very specific in mind. Part of Windows of My Soul: A Drusilla Project for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fanfic100. Prompt is #086, "Choices."
That Dread Lady
The gypsy knew who the dark woman in front of her was. There was no doubt about it—she was Death. She and her two companions—a brunette man and a blonde woman, each as deadly as the other—had come into the village and slaughtered half of it before they had found the woman they were looking for.
“We were a family once, you know,” the woman said. “Grandmother, Daddy, my William, and me. The stars sang and said we would be together forever. My William, he said we would be together forever. But then something happened, and made the stars lie. Do you know what it was?”
The gypsy woman knew, but did not speak.
“You were naughty and put that wicked soul within him. Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb’s fled from the blackberry patch. Daddy had to leave. He tried to be evil, but his heart wasn’t in it. Hearts are important things, you know. Daddy once gave me a heart, later, when he finally freed himself from the Angel-beast. But now the Angel-beast is back, and Miss Edith is very angry.
“Do you like my story? It is a sad story, you know. Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Drusilla and her fine beau. Grandmummy left to go to her Master, that dreadful creature with the bloody mouth. We couldn’t invite him to tea, not looking like that we couldn’t. What would people think?”
Through all of this, the gypsy sat very still, not moving. Drusilla went on.
“It was just William and me, then. No Daddy, no Grandmum, but we had each other. We were in love. Have you ever loved anyone? You have, I can smell it. Was he very handsome? My William is very handsome, you know. Grandmum could never see it, but Daddy knew. And I knew, of course, because the stars whispered it to me.
“We had a wonderful time. We danced through Europe, a slow waltz. The children screamed out of key. They had to be punished. My William and I came up with the most exquisite punishments. Do you want me to show you?”
The old woman, already pressed against the wall, did all she could do to flatten herself even further.
“And then came her. The Slayer. The she-devil. Or we came to her, after Prague. The stars were cross with me then. They are a horrible thing, Slayers are: an infection, a plague. You kill one, another one comes up. Like avocadoes, or peppermints. My William killed two Slayers, he did. But it wasn’t good enough. You know how they taste? Like ashes. William let me taste once, before we made love over the girl’s body. When I killed a Slayer, I didn’t even drink: I looked in her eyes and slit her throat, like a mother with a little lost lamb.
“He tasted like her, like ashes. Ashes and dust. He was covered in her, all I could see was her devil’s face. He went back to her, you know, which is when the men found him and put the metal in his head. Metal, keeping him from being what he was. A cage.”
The vampire’s voice grew wistful. “We had a cage once. In London. We would keep a girl in it and listen to her scream. Even Angelus admitted the music was beautiful. But cages are not for my William. Do you know what happens when you put a wild animal in a cage? It becomes tame—until even I could not help him anymore. He went himself and got one of those filthy souls, and it burned him up. The river showed it to me, in my dreams.
“And now he’s back. Do you know where he is? With Daddy. They are a family again, fighting and scratching just like in old times. They all got souls: even Grandmummy had a soul growing inside her. But they were a family. I want to have a family. I want to be with them, even if Daddy still won’t hurt me. Even if I can’t be naughty. Even if I need a dirty soul.
“You can give me a soul.”
It was at that moment that a crossbow bolt flew through the air and pierced her chest.
Go to the Windows of My Soul masterlist.
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Drusilla, OC
Word Count: 720
Summary: Drusilla is in Romania, with something very specific in mind. Part of Windows of My Soul: A Drusilla Project for
fanfic100. Prompt is #086, "Choices."That Dread Lady
The gypsy knew who the dark woman in front of her was. There was no doubt about it—she was Death. She and her two companions—a brunette man and a blonde woman, each as deadly as the other—had come into the village and slaughtered half of it before they had found the woman they were looking for.
“We were a family once, you know,” the woman said. “Grandmother, Daddy, my William, and me. The stars sang and said we would be together forever. My William, he said we would be together forever. But then something happened, and made the stars lie. Do you know what it was?”
The gypsy woman knew, but did not speak.
“You were naughty and put that wicked soul within him. Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb’s fled from the blackberry patch. Daddy had to leave. He tried to be evil, but his heart wasn’t in it. Hearts are important things, you know. Daddy once gave me a heart, later, when he finally freed himself from the Angel-beast. But now the Angel-beast is back, and Miss Edith is very angry.
“Do you like my story? It is a sad story, you know. Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Drusilla and her fine beau. Grandmummy left to go to her Master, that dreadful creature with the bloody mouth. We couldn’t invite him to tea, not looking like that we couldn’t. What would people think?”
Through all of this, the gypsy sat very still, not moving. Drusilla went on.
“It was just William and me, then. No Daddy, no Grandmum, but we had each other. We were in love. Have you ever loved anyone? You have, I can smell it. Was he very handsome? My William is very handsome, you know. Grandmum could never see it, but Daddy knew. And I knew, of course, because the stars whispered it to me.
“We had a wonderful time. We danced through Europe, a slow waltz. The children screamed out of key. They had to be punished. My William and I came up with the most exquisite punishments. Do you want me to show you?”
The old woman, already pressed against the wall, did all she could do to flatten herself even further.
“And then came her. The Slayer. The she-devil. Or we came to her, after Prague. The stars were cross with me then. They are a horrible thing, Slayers are: an infection, a plague. You kill one, another one comes up. Like avocadoes, or peppermints. My William killed two Slayers, he did. But it wasn’t good enough. You know how they taste? Like ashes. William let me taste once, before we made love over the girl’s body. When I killed a Slayer, I didn’t even drink: I looked in her eyes and slit her throat, like a mother with a little lost lamb.
“He tasted like her, like ashes. Ashes and dust. He was covered in her, all I could see was her devil’s face. He went back to her, you know, which is when the men found him and put the metal in his head. Metal, keeping him from being what he was. A cage.”
The vampire’s voice grew wistful. “We had a cage once. In London. We would keep a girl in it and listen to her scream. Even Angelus admitted the music was beautiful. But cages are not for my William. Do you know what happens when you put a wild animal in a cage? It becomes tame—until even I could not help him anymore. He went himself and got one of those filthy souls, and it burned him up. The river showed it to me, in my dreams.
“And now he’s back. Do you know where he is? With Daddy. They are a family again, fighting and scratching just like in old times. They all got souls: even Grandmummy had a soul growing inside her. But they were a family. I want to have a family. I want to be with them, even if Daddy still won’t hurt me. Even if I can’t be naughty. Even if I need a dirty soul.
“You can give me a soul.”
It was at that moment that a crossbow bolt flew through the air and pierced her chest.
Go to the Windows of My Soul masterlist.
