alixtii: Drusilla holding a knife to Angel's throat. Text: "Got Freud?" (Drusilla)
[personal profile] alixtii
Title: Fetch a Pail of Water
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Jenny Calendar/Drusilla
Rating: PG
Timeline/Spoilers: Set between "Innocence" and "Passion." Spoilers for "Innocence."
Summary: Jenny Calendar exited her shower to the sound of a woman singing.
For [livejournal.com profile] lilianmorgan, who wanted Season 2, a rose with petals and thorns, and an escape. I didn't get a check to canon-check this, but I'm hoping it keeps continuity with the show.

Fetch a Pail of Water

“Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.”

Jenny Calendar exited her shower to the sound of a women singing.

“Then up Jack got and home did trot, as fast as he could caper; Dame Gill did the job to plaster his nob with vinegar and brown paper.”

The voice was soft and lilting, and she could detect a clear British accent to its cadences.

“Then Jill came in and she did grin to see Jack’s paper plaster. Her mother whipped her across her knee for laughing at Jack’s disaster.”

Jenny wrapped a towel around her, and stepped out of her bathroom to investigate. Following the sound of the voice, she saw the dark-haired woman standing on the fire escape outside her living room window.

“Oh, god,” she said to herself. “This is just what I need right now.” A vampire, and not just any vampire; Jenny clearly recognized her from one of the pictures in Rupert’s books. Which was a pretty clear sign of trouble. That meant this vampire had a name, and a history, and a record of not being killed.

And of killing.

It can’t come in, Jenny reminded herself silently. It can only come in if I invite it. Which she was not going to do.

“You think you are so smart with your ones and zeroes,” Drusilla said, pressing herself against the glass of Jenny’s window. “But plastic and metal and science can’t hold a world. They try, but it busts out, breaks the bonds.” She pulled back her elbow and thrust it against the window. The glass shattered even as Drusilla was thrown back by the invisible barrier. “It is the old rules which still run the world, Janna of Calderash.”

Jenny said nothing as the syllables of her Romani name washed over her, spoken by this creature of the night, spawned by the very beast whom Jenny had been sent to Sunnydale to watch over. A task at which she had failed spectacularly.

“What do you want?” she asked the vampire.

“What do I want?” asked Drusilla, and her voice was soft and welcoming. “I want you, Janna. Your pain and your pleasure. A rose, sweet blood-red petals amidst the most treacherous of thorns. Ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo: we all fall down.” She pressed herself against the invisible barrier where the glass once stood and began moving her hips back and forth. “The King has sent his daughter to fetch a pail of water.”

Nonsense, all of it, or at least Jenny had no desire to pierce the veil of Drusilla’s madness in search for deeper meaning. She looked around, desperate for a way to get the vampire off her fire escape. She picked up the telephone on a nearby end table. If she could call Rupert, or Buffy—but even then, would they come? They weren’t exactly happy with her at the—but no, they would come anyway; that’s what they did. That was what made them heroes.

She picked up the phone and held it to her ear. The signal was dead. Of course. It never rains, but it. . . .

Drusilla laughed. “Rain, rain, go away,” she sang. “Come again on Christmas Day. Little Molly wants to play.”

Why couldn’t Drusilla go away, and take all of her nursery rhymes with her? “You can’t come in, you know,” Jenny said, feigning courage. “There’s nothing you can do to me.” She stared the vampire down, unflinching.

“Be in my eyes,” Drusilla said. “Be in me.”

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-10 07:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lillianmorgan.livejournal.com
Thank you so much for writing this! Very scary too! Really liked how you left it, there's so much Drusilla can do and her mind is her greatest weapon. Particularly liked the refrain of the nursery rhyme running throughout - it adds a feeling of innocence that belies Dru's true intent.
They weren’t exactly happy with her at the—but no, they would come anyway; that’s what they did. That was what made them heroes.
Very nice.
“But plastic and metal and science can’t hold a world. They try, but it busts out, breaks the bonds.”
That's very Drusilla, but too speaks a lot for what happens not only with Angelus but also in Season 4.
Really enjoyed that, thank you.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-10 09:47 pm (UTC)
frogfarm: And a thousand gay men wept. (Default)
From: [personal profile] frogfarm
Yes, thanks for leaving this open-ended. Delicious.

Hm, now I'm flashing on a "Bad Craziness" challenge. Not necessarily sexual or even romantic, just getting them in the same room would rock: Dru/Dana/River.

For bonus points, Illyria babysits.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-10 11:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bookishwench.livejournal.com
Wonderful use of nursery rhymes in this with Dru's voice, revealing and yet not at the same time, and it's interesting that she went after Jenny (or the king, aka Angelus, sent her). The feeling behind this was very creepy and perfect for the pair of them, and it's great to see Jenny in a fic; she's pretty under-represented.

Any chance I could archive this over at Charm School?

Off-topic:

Date: 2006-03-11 01:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hermionesviolin.livejournal.com
Welcome back to LiveJournal.

If you're interested in checking out Ani DiFranco, I put up YSI links for a whole bunch of her songs here.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-11 02:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
Hmm. I've written quite a bit of Illyria, Drusilla, River, and crazy!Fred. I love their voices (both in the sense of the word choice and the actual actresses' voices) and always find them a joy to write--although frequently a challenge. I've never been tempted to tackle Dana, though.

I'm glad you like it!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-11 02:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
Thank you; I'm glad you liked it. Cutting it off where I did is really more a function of trying not to let this be any later than it already was, but I'm glad it works for you as a whole. It's always a delight to return to Drusilla's voice and making sure I don't get rusty--writing Dru's voice is not like riding a bike (or a biker)!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-11 02:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
Yeah, I really poured over my Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (which I bought just to help me write Drusilla) fighting with myself over which ones to use where. I'm glad this collection works for you!

I'd be glad to have you archive it.

Re: Off-topic:

Date: 2006-03-11 02:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
Thanks! I have been away from a while as I try to sort out my life for Lent, but hopefully I'll still be able to takepart in the community. Removing myself from a loving community is completely against the spirit of the season, although committing myuself to things like my thesis is the order of the day.

Re: Off-topic:

Date: 2006-03-11 02:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hermionesviolin.livejournal.com
Oh, I completely hadn't thought of Lent as a reason. (I know lots of people who this year or in the past have cut out/down LJ for Lent, but since I hadn't seen any such announcement from you I just assumed you were eaten by schoolwork.)

Balance is so difficult (and eek, thesis) so I wish you well in the endeavour.

Re: Off-topic:

Date: 2006-03-11 04:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
The announcement is forthcoming. Eventually. I hope.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-11 05:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] morningafter2.livejournal.com
*gasp* Love. Just love it.

I love the way you wrote Dru, with the nursery rhymes and taunting and getting in Jenny's head.

I think I've officially been reduced to a babbling mess, so I'll just leave it at that.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-11 08:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
Thank you!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-12 07:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sheepfairy.livejournal.com
This was lovely! Your Drusilla voice was amazing, as was Jenny's, and I loved the sexual tension.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-12 02:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
Thank you!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-15 01:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bookishwench.livejournal.com
It is indeed now up over at Charm School. Thank you for letting me archive it!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-03-15 05:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
You're very welcome!

(no subject)

Date: 2006-06-05 03:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dariclone.livejournal.com
Ooh. I *love* Drusilla and Jenny indivadully so Drusilla/Jenny is a no brainer for me.
I loved the way you used Dru's nursery rhymes in the fic too.
Thank you.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-06-05 03:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alixtii.livejournal.com
I'm glad it worked for you.

Fetch A Pail Of Water

Date: 2008-10-27 08:42 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
I'm writing a very lengthy fan-fic of my own, about Angelus and his family. It's a bit complicated to explain here, but you can see it at www.legacyofdeath.blogspot.com. Anyway, I'm at a point where the narrator of the piece is interviewing Dru about Angelus. I've looking everywhere for things that Drusilla might say, and have been unable to find anything useful. That is, until I read your story. Very good, btw, I'd love to see more of it. But my question is this: I don't want to use what you wrote here, because it doesn't quite fit my needs, but I was wondering if you might be willing to help me with the story by being interviewed as Drusilla. Here is my email: rowynnecrowley@msn.com.

I love your work, please get back to me when you are able.

Thanks.

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