Go TeamC/A
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Title: Three Vamps and a Princess
Author: Scorched
Posted:
Rating: PG, NC-17 in last part
Category: Humour
Content: S/C/Dr Family, C/Aus at end
Summary: Spike and Dru become parents!
Spoilers:
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: AO & Cal's place
Notes: ...Impress NO MORE CHALLENGES just yet
Thanks/Dedication:
Feedback:Always nice
Part 1“Mommy?” a six and a half year old girl tugged on her mother's jacket sleeve impatiently, she wanted some attention. Yelling, a scowl, a glare any kind of attention would be nice; anything but another…
“Hush honey, mommy's busy” her mother replied for the millionth time as she continued to chat on her cellular phone.
Deciding to try her daddy, the little girl leaned to the other side and tugged on her father's sleeve. “Daddy? Daddy?” she pouted hoping for any acknowledgement she was there. Any kind of acknowledgement that wasn't…
“Not now Princess,” her daddy told her absently, while he looked the waitress up and down appreciatively. Automatically he shook her little hand off the cloth, she might crease it.
“You could at least see what she wants” her mother haughtily told her father with a sneer that aged her classically beautiful features.
“I don't see you asking her either, I thought you were busy” her father retorted in a deep voice, a voice that should have sounded protective to the little girl, but instead sounded full of spite and hate.
“I have too…” the little girl pleaded desperately to either one of her parents, looking from one to the other helplessly. She didn't want to go too the bathroom by herself, it was too far away from their table at the restaurant. But if she didn't go soon then she was gonna pee her pants and since she hadn't done that since she was four, she didn't intend to do it again. Her mother had yelled at her for ruining the expensive sheets on her bed, her mother obviously hadn't cared about the monster underneath it that had stopped her from leaving the sanctuary of the soft surface.
Well, one day that monster is gonna be under her bed and then what will she say? Cordelia bit her lip, and stopped trying to get attention knowing she wasn't going to get any. She peered in the direction of the bathroom signs and debated whether or not to go by herself. She was six and half, almost seven and that meant she was a big girl and she could do almost everything by herself. Not like her parents would notice she was gone anyways.
Hopping down off her seat, the movement making her pigtails bounce and her little pink sundress float around her skinny legs. She was a little too tall for her age, her legs and arms were skin and bone, her face was heart-shaped and full of mischief, her eyes were too big for her head. Her hair was always clean and up in bunches though she hated it and she hated the stupid pink sundress she had been made to wear.
“Stupid mother 'Cordelia, little girls are supposed to wear pink'“ she mimicked her mother in a high-pitched and quiet voice dragging her feet as she trudged to the bathroom. “I hate pink; I like sky blue so there. Let's see how she likes that!”***
Cordelia pushed the heavy door of the bathroom open, still mimicking her mother and then her father too, in as deep a voice as a six and a half year old could manage. Her large eyes landed on a woman with big, green eyes and long, black hair holding a doll. Oooh! She liked the doll, the woman's dress was weird but she liked the doll.
Drusilla's eyes lit up when the little girl walked in, letting the door shut with a slam behind her and she stood transfixed as the girl stood there staring up at her, fearlessly. A half smile flitted across the vampire's blood red lips as her fingers toyed with Miss. Edith's hair.
“Hi” Cordelia said, totally not intimidated in the slightest by someone most adults avoided. “I like your doll”
“Do you really, my lovely?” Drusilla responded, eyes growing larger and fingers ceasing to stroke the doll's hair. Using her free hand, she smoothed down her black, velvet corset style dress with a graceful motion. “And do you like my dress? I like yours, all pink. Little girls should wear pink”
“My mother says that too, but I want to wear sky blue and I don't want my hair in these stupid pigtails. They hurt my head” Cordelia told the strange woman. She knew she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers and this woman was definitely strange but she was talking to her. After being ignored for most of the night, it was nice that she was being talked too and even better that it was another girl talking to her.
“I like blue, like the sky; so pretty to look at” the vampire told her, the little girl was precious like a little princess and she wanted to keep her. Drusilla licked her lips as delicious, little thoughts floated in and out of her singing head. Her Spike always wanted a princess, now he could have two!
“What's your doll called? Can I see it?” Cordelia asked in all innocence, having no idea whatsoever to who and what she was talking too.
“Oooh!” Drusilla purred, her tone coming off light and teasing, “I shall ask her if you can hold her”
“Yes please” Cordelia said excitedly and waited patiently as the woman spoke to her doll.
“Miss Edith” the vampire brought the doll's ear close to her red lips, cooing softly. “Can the little pink princess hold you? She likes you she does, thinks you're very pretty”. Cordelia knew the doll couldn't talk back but when the woman nodded her head as if she were listening to the reply, she giggled. Drusilla held out Miss Edith to the hopeful little girl, another half smile flickered across her lips when Cordelia immediately held out her hands.
“Hi Miss Edith” she spoke politely as she had been taught “My name's Cordelia Chase, but you can call me Cordy” came the polite but exalted introduction. She loved dolls and this doll was well taken care of and the dress was made in soft velvet. “I would love to have a doll like you to play with, my mommy keeps my dolls were I can't reach”
Drusilla watched and listened as the little girl talked too and hugged Miss Edith, her little face bright and flushed with happiness. She was going to keep the little girl, she was going to be the little girl's new mommy and then the little girl could have as many dolls as she wanted and wear sky blue if she chose too.
“I think the nice lady misses you Miss Edith” Cordelia said, she didn't really want to give the doll back but it wasn't hers to keep. “Here. Thank you miss, it really is a nice doll and I do like your dress”
“You're a very sweet little girl, I would like to keep you all to myself” Drusilla replied taking the doll held back to her. “Would you like that? Would you like to be my princess?”
“I already have a mommy, but I like you better. I wish you were my mommy, you talked nicely to me and then gave me your doll to play with” replied Cordelia, wistfully.
“Mmmm… I should love to be your mummy little princess, you could wear sky blue and you could be all mine and play with Miss Edith” Drusilla persuaded, she looked deep into the little girl's eyes with her hypnotic gaze, sending Cordelia into a trance. “All mine my sweet, we could play all day with Miss Edith and we could have tea parties with my Spike and Daddy would be ever so taken with you”.
“Okay miss, you can be my new mommy” Cordelia stated in a distant voice, unable to tear her eyes away from the other woman's gaze. The green seemed to glow a pretty, sparkly orange and she couldn't stop staring. Drusilla shortly broke the hypnotic spell, Cordelia blinked and shook her head a little as she came back to herself, realizing she still hadn't gone to the bathroom.
As soon as that thought entered her head, she immediately became incredibly desperate and began bouncing up and down on the spot. “I gotta go!” Cordelia yelped out when she couldn't hold it in anymore and dashed into a cubicle.
Drusilla blinked once and the little girl had disappeared, she would wait here for her and she would come back then she was going to take the girl home with her where she could be a princess and wear sky blue. She was going to have a little girl, all for her and no one else.
Part 2Spike pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling smoke out of his mouth; he had to give it to her, she had given him a headache in record time. He was supposed to take her out for dinner at a nice, posh restaurant just like she asked of him and he had come out a dad! Was it him or were men only supposed to become dads after nine months of exquisite, hormonal torture?
Drusilla walked alongside him, one hand holding Miss Edith and the other hand firmly holding the little girl's. Both were chatting happily between each other, completely ignoring him as though he didn't exist. Thank God for small mercies!
“Where's my new home mommy? And why is daddy growling like a big grumpy dog?” Cordelia asked, skipping in time with her new mommy. She loved her new mommy, she had gotten more hugs and kisses off her in one hour than she ever did off her old, stinky mommy.
“Oooh princess!” Drusilla purred teasingly “You have a big, new home all made of stone and you can have your own room my sweet. You'll have to show Daddy how so very sweet you are, Princess. You have given me cuddles and kisses but not Daddy”
Spike's headache increased when he immediately felt a tugging on his denim jacket sleeve, he had a 4 foot nothing feeling what it was! “Daddy! Daddy!” came an excited, little squeaky voice from his ankles. Halting his walk, he looked down and directly into two very large, blinking hazel eyes.
“What?” he asked with a little snap in his voice.
“Spike! Be nice to princess” Drusilla scolded harshly with a shaking finger at him.
Cordelia raised her arms and made a little 'pick me up' sign with her hands, “Please Daddy? My feet are tired!”
“Fer cryin out bloody loud!” Spike ground out quietly, flicking his fourth cigarette away as he bent down and picked the little girl up under her shoulders. He forced himself to repress a little grin when he received a little kiss on his cheek for his trouble.
“Thank you Daddy” Cordelia leaned her head on his shoulder, her old daddy never picked her up like this, he just said that she would wrinkle his suit. “I love you and mommy”
“That's nice pet” Spike continued to walk, subconsciously taking care not to jostle her.
“Awww…!” Drusilla cooed so very happily, “My Spike being all sweet to his little girl, you have your very own special princess”
“That's nice poodle” the blonde vampire replied, refusing to believe she had done this to give him a princess! A puff of hot breath on his cheek signalled a yawn from the thing in his arms and he felt that thing snuggle her head down into the crook of his neck. Great, just bloody great!
“Awww! She's going to sleep Spike, look at how sweet she is” Drusilla cooed quietly, stroking Cordelia's pigtails with a gentle, peaceful touch he only ever saw done to Miss Edith. “We have our very own little girl, she loves her mummy she does and she's taken a fancy to Miss Edith. We shall have to get her lots and lots of dolls to play with. We shall have lovely tea parties my Spike, with Daddy and grandmummy and Miss Edith can bring her friends…” her voice trailed off in a longing whisper as she began to ramble about all the things she could do with the little girl.
All Spike could think was what on Earth Angelus and Darla were going to make of this little addition to the family. He dreaded to think!***
Darla and Angelus stood in silence, staring at the little girl looking back at them both; neither vampire knew what to think of it. The situation was surreal. Spike had taken Drusilla out to a restaurant because she wanted someone posh to eat and they had come back with a little girl. Angelus stared down at the little girl while Darla held her jaw in a tight, bone crunching lock. Both were stunned beyond belief, it was almost like finding out humans didn't fear vampires anymore.
Cordelia was holding one of Drusilla's hands and one of Spike's, standing between her new mommy and daddy, her face curling up when she looked up into Darla's stunned blue eyes.
“My mommy says you're my new grammy” she stated, causing Spike to muffle a snort of laughter at the jaw-dropping surprise on her face. “Does that mean that the grumpy man is my new grandpa?”
This time, Spike did snort.
“What?” Angelus looked from Spike to Drusilla then returned his furious gaze back to the little girl who stood knee high to a grasshopper. “I'm not your grandpa you little…”
“Hey, I was only asking geez. Keep your wig on” Cordelia retorted haughtily, the man was just like her father's friend. Angry at everything and everyone with a face that looked like a wet weekend, not that she was scared of him cus she wasn't. Her daddy could beat him!
“Now now, Miss Cordy” Drusilla scolded the child with the same wagging finger that had been pointed to Spike. “You sharnt be rude,”
Raising apologetic eyes to her mommy, Cordelia's lip pooched out in a tiny pout as she let go of Spike's hand to hug Dru's leg. “I'm sorry mommy but he's angry with me and I haven't done anything wrong… Have I?”
“No pet, he's just a big ol grump” Spike assured the little girl just for the sake of pissing off Angelus. “Peaches snarls at every bleedin one, just ignore him and he'll go away”
“What the hell is that?” Darla asked, her voice calm and even, as she finally found the ability to speak. Blue eyes searched both faces of Spike and Drusilla before she looked back down at Cordelia who looked back at her.
“Hi! I'm Cordelia Chase but you can call me Cordy but only if you're nice to me” Cordelia exclaimed, not really liking the woman with the blonde hair. She seemed to be like her mother, beautiful to look at but not a nice person who didn't like kids. Not that anyone could not like her, after all she was Cordelia Chase!
“That's nice dear” Darla replied and immediately turned back to Spike, “You let her just walk out of the restaurant with a kid?”
“Don't blame me grammy” Spike responded, no visible sign of sarcasm in his voice at all. “She went to the loo and came back with the little pixie”
“Dru honey” Darla started calmly “If she isn't here for dinner then you take her back to her parents. You can not keep a kid” she did not want a kid running around the house, she did not want that particular kid running round the house. That kid kept looking at her with accusing, knowing eyes and she didn't like it.
“Sssh grandmummy” Drusilla pressed a fingertip to her ruby lips “Not for dinner grandmummy, Miss Cordy is my little girl, my Spike's special princess she is. Mustn't scare my little girl”
“Dru” Angelus growled at his childe menacingly, unknowingly causing Cordelia to become instantly defensive. “I won't allow you to keep this-this kid, she is not a puppy or kitten” he spoke to his childe as though he was talking to a child Cordelia's age. How he kept calm, he'll never know, but if that damn kid didn't stop looking at him like that he was gonna… do something, what he didn't exactly know!
“You can't tell my mommy what she and can't do mister!” Cordelia spoke up defensively and let go of Drusilla to fold her arms across her chest.
“I can't?” Angelus asked, raising his eyebrows as the kid talked back to him. Most adults didn't even have the nerve to squeak his name after being around him for more then five minutes. But this tiny little kid was talking back to him as though he were nothing.
“No, my mommy can do whatever she wants and there's nothing you can do about it” she gave him a rapid, smug smile that curled the edges of her lips up at the corners. Then she stuck her tongue out at him in a way that even made Darla fight back a grin at the look of sheer disbelief on Angelus' face.
“Your mommy does what I tell her to do little girl, if you're staying here then you will also do what I tell you to do” Angelus snarled dangerously at the little girl and made a move towards her, expecting her to back away in fear.
“I'm not a little girl!” Cordelia barked back, she did take a step back towards Spike who, subconsciously, moved towards her side protectively. “I'm six and a half, almost seven, I can go to the bathroom by myself so see? I'm not a little girl, I'm a big girl and you're just a big, giant meanie who bullies girls because he can't pick on somebody his own size”
“I like this kid” Spike choked out through laughter brought on by her little speech to his grandsire. She was worth keeping around just for the enjoyment of having a six year old, four foot nothing talk back to a 240 year old vampire who had slaughtered hundreds. Angelus' expression was priceless, his eyebrows had reached unprecedented heights, and his jaw was opening and closing while he blinked rapidly.
Darla was just looking from the kid, to Drusilla to Spike and then back to the kid again. She didn't like this one little bit, but if the kid could keep Drusilla busy and out of her hair then she could live with it. It being a scrawny little brat with a mouth too big for her own good. Besides, Drusilla would probably get bored of the kid soon enough and have her for dinner or something.
Cordelia, unaware of the different thoughts about her, looked up at Spike with a super, toothy grin that made him smile back before he could stop himself. She raised her arms again and he immediately responded by picking her up. “I like you too, daddy” she replied shyly with another yawn, “I'm tired now mommy, you said I could have my own room can I see it now?”
“Course you can ducks” Spike replied before Drusilla could, he ruffled the top of her head causing her to frown at him and tell him to stop it. “Come on poodle, let's show Princess here her new room luv”
“See my pet?” Drusilla cooed, forgetting all about Angelus and Darla as she concentrated on Cordelia. “Daddy likes you now you're being sweet, you shall be tired and you should go to bed like all good girls”
“But I'm not a girl mommy, I'm a princess” Cordelia corrected happily snuggling into Spike's rapidly protective hold on her.
“Right you are pet; and all princesses need to have bedtimes and you're up past yours” he told her firmly. He could get to like this, Angelus was speechless and Darla seemed to be the one with the headache for once. That, he could live with!
“Okay daddy, I'll be a good princess and go to bed but only if you and mommy tuck me in and tell me a bedtime story” came the little, sleepy reply.
“Ooooh, I can tell you a bedtime story my sweet, it's about a special princess and her new mummy…” Drusilla cooed, shooing Spike towards the stone staircase inside the mansion. The vampire's voice could be heard talking softly as she told a made-up story to the little girl.
“Angelus…” Darla turned to Angelus the instant the others were gone, her face full of restrained anger, shock and hatred for the little girl.
“What?” Angelus spat at his sire, he was growing tired of her constantly berating him for everything Drusilla did. So what if he was the one who turned her, so what if he was the one who drove her insane; Drusilla was still a grown woman so how was he to blame for everything she did?
“You know what. You can't allow her to keep the kid” Darla barked back, verging on out and out fury. That damned kid raised her heckles and she had no idea why.
“She'll get bored of it soon enough Darla,” Angelus responded, already bored with a situation he had no control over. “Besides, I thought you would have been glad to have Dru outta your way for a while” he told her silkily as he brushed past her to sit down on the couch. He made sure his large, masculine frame took up most of the couch so his sire couldn't sit down.
Darla clenched her hands into fists and grit her teeth together, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Are you saying we shouldn't go up those stairs right now and kill it?” she asked just to be certain that is what he was saying to her.
“Why bother? Dru will just get bored of it soon enough” Angelus replied carelessly, glancing tauntingly at the blonde vampire. “What's eating you Darla? Is it the fact that you hate the kid or is it the fact that Dru isn't giving you her full attention?”
“You can not be insinuating that I'm jealous of a snotty nosed brat?” Darla yelped in shock at her childe. With a shake of her head, she dismissed the entire conversation instantly. “Forget it, let Dru keep it and as you say it'll keep the lunatic out of my way and she'll tire of it soon” her mood then performed a total 180 on Angelus.
“What's say you and I take a long, moonlit stroll in the park lover?” she purred, anything to get out of the damned house and away from faint story-telling voices.
“I like the way you think, love” Angelus purred back, his mood also doing a 180 and lightening with the prospect of eating something young and innocent. Drusilla had some good ideas now and then; a young, innocent brunette sounded delicious right about now! And it just so happened there was one upstairs… No! The vampire shook his head, he was going to leave Drusilla and Spike to their own devices, let them deal with the kid.
“Come on then, lover” Darla brought him out of his thoughts, “Surprise me”
Part 3Drusilla purred with contentment she had never felt before, her hand stroking Cordelia's long, brown hair with delicate, careful movements so as not to wake her from her sleep. Miss Edith was tucked tightly in the sleeping girl's embrace, the doll's head lying in the crook of her arm. The vampire trailed a finger down Cordelia's throat, stopping at the light pulsing of the jugular and felt the throb of life just under the skin.
“Not for dinner my pet,” Drusilla cooed with a light, quiet giggle knowing the little girl had no idea she was a vampire yet. “We must get you some special little girl things, mmm new clothes for Princess. All in sky blue, make you look like the sky I shall and your Daddy will make us some tea”
Cordelia woke up with the sound of talking, eyes snapping wide open and mouth growing into a gigantic, beaming smile when she saw Drusilla lying next to and watching her. Green eyes blinking owlishly and ruby red lips flicking up at the corners when Cordelia opened her eyes. “Mummy's special Princess, all awake she is”
The six year old rubbed her eyes with her fist and yawned, “Morning mommy, what's for breakfast? Is there Wheeties? Or some chocolate?” her old mommy never let her eat chocolate especially for breakfast but maybe her new mommy would. Then again, maybe not but there was no harm in asking!
“Ooooh! We shall go see what Daddy got for you last night” Drusilla responded lightly, “You shall have to mind your manners and say thank you to Daddy”
“I'll give him a big hug and kiss. Promise” Cordelia promised solemnly as she sat up, “What shall I wear today? I only have my stupid pink sundress and I wore that yesterday, can I have a dress like yours but in sky blue?” she asked in the way only a child could.
“We shall see Princess, why don't you go and wake Daddy hmm?”***
The bedroom door blasted open, she raced in at a 100 miles per hour and dove on top of the sleeping lump in the bed. Cordelia bounced with heightened excitement and shook the vampire clean out of his sleep, giggling happily while she did it.
Who the hell had the fucking gall to wake him up at this ungodly hour?!
“DADDY!” Cordelia hollered loudly continuing to bounce up and down on the vampire under the covers. “Wake up Daddy! You have to make me breakfast, mommy said so”
Angelus growled dangerously, stirring slowly, two ochre eyes and a gleaming set of fangs stared at the girl bouncing on his bed. “Get out before I kill you, you little brat” he snarled at the gutsy but annoying little brat. Seeing the eyes, ridges and fangs on the grumpy man, Cordelia immediately stopped bouncing, hollering, and shaking him and sat completely still in silence. Her lower lip popped out in a wobbly pout, her hazel eyes filled with frightened tears and she nodded.
“I-I was just looking for my Daddy, sorry mister. I-I'll go now and leave you alone”
The childish fear was delicious to him, sitting up Angelus decided to make the most of this opportunity in scaring the little girl some more. Cordelia was halfway to his door when he called out to her. “C'mere kid” he ordered.
“No, I'm going to find my Daddy” she replied, her voice full of tears as she tried to process his face in her head. She didn't understand, her mother had told her vampires weren't real but he was a vampire, she saw his fangs. They were big and long and sharp, if she didn't get out of here and warn her mommy then he would kill them all. Like Dracula did on that movie she wasn't supposed to watch. “Sorry I woke you Dracula, you can go back to sleep and I won't do it again”
“Kid!” Angelus ordered louder and dangerously, “My name is not Dracula and get back here NOW!”
“No, you're a vampire and I'm gonna tell my Daddy of you and he'll kill you to death HA!” Cordelia shot back with as much smugness as she could gather and bolted from Dracula's bedroom as fast as she could. “Mommy! Daddy! Dracula's here and he's gonna kill me!” she hollered as she hurtled along the hallway back to her room and ran inside, slamming the door shut.
“Mommy, Daddy! HEEELLLPPP DRACULA'S GONNA EAT ME!” she screamed as loud as her lungs could manage. She could hear Dracula's heavy footsteps bounding along the hallway towards her bedroom, she looked around the bedroom for a place she could hide where he wouldn't find her. A-HA! Dracula would never go in the sunshine!
Cordelia scuttled towards the window, yanked the heavy drapes open and stood in the bright sunlight, waiting for Dracula to try and eat her now. “He wouldn't dare come into the sunlight, stupid vampire. I bet he's not even strong, I bet he can't count to a hundred like I can and I bet he can't speak French and Latin. In fact, I bet he's so stupid he couldn't count his own fingers”
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Spike's voice boomed from outside Cordelia's bedroom, when he heard Angelus snarling about dead, little brats and heard the kid's screaming; he had pictures of finding the cute, little girl in pieces along the hallway.
“Your little snotty, nosed brat ran into my bedroom and woke me up that's what the fuck is going on” Angelus furious voice rang out in reply.
“The little pixie woke you up?” Spike tried his hardest to process this in his head and wished to God he'd been a fly on the wall to see that. “What'd you do to her?”
“Nothing! I did nothing to your little brat”
“He's lying Daddy! Dracula threatened to kill me if I woke him up again” both vampire's heard the hollered words from behind her door. “He's a vampire, kick his teeth in, go on Daddy! Doitdoitdoit!”
Spike heard every word, hung on to the Dracula word like it was a gift from the Devil himself! “Dracula threatened to kill you eh, Pixie?” he edged closer to the door so Cordelia could hear him.
“Yeah he did, and he also threatened to rip my throat out” okay so she was fibbing, but who wouldn't when faced with Dracula himself?! “He said “I'm gonna rip your throat out and kill you if you wake me up again” and I said “Sorry mister, I was just looking for my Daddy” I did say I was sorry, I never meant to wake him up honest. And he said he would kill me so if it's anyone's fault, it's Dracula's!”
“My name is not Dracula you little hell spawn, it's ANGELUS!” Angelus snarled through the door at the brat behind it. He was tired, cranky and he didn't need this in the middle of the night. He didn't need to be dealing with a six and a half year old insistent on calling him Dracula.
“See, now you are lying” Cordelia retorted “Dracula would never call himself by a name that's Latin for Angel. Liar-Liar pants on fi-re, hair sticks up like telephone wi-re!”
Spike and Angelus looked at each other, how did she know that?
“Is he dead yet Daddy?”
“Sadly not Pixie” Spike was the first to speak after a few moments of silence “But he won't eat you or rip out your throat pet”
“Damn right I will” Angelus countered; his voice now shade less dangerous since, the kid had sparked his interest about how she knew what his name meant in Latin. He took an unneeded breath and tried to calm down. “Open the door br… Kid”
“I'm not a kid and I'm not opening the door unless Van Helsing gets here first so there”. Both vampires could picture the huge tongue pulling that likely followed those brave words.
“Come on Pixie, Drac ain't gonna hurt you luv. Daddy'll see to that” Spike told her soothingly, glaring at Angelus and daring the other vampire to contradict his words.
“Where's my mommy? I want my mommy. MOMMY!”
“She's downstairs, making you some Wheeties Pix so why don't you open… Oh sod this” Spike sighed, “Move away from the door pet” he warned just before he kicked the door wide open.
“EEEEEEEKKKK!” Cordelia squealed loudly and darted into the sun drenched patch by the window. “Daddy quick get in the sun, he can't eat us that way. Quick!” she urged as much as she could, trying to get Spike to stand in the sunlight where he would be safe.
Angelus smirked as he looked slyly to the blonde vampire standing next to him with a weird look on his face. “Your daddy's a Dracula too, Kid” he told her bluntly and reveling in the drawn in gasped breath, the widening of the child's eyes and the wobbling of the lower lip.
“You liar, you evil dead liar” Cordelia yelled at him, “You're only saying that cus he's not a grumpy, old man who threatens kids. If he was a vampire, he'd still be better than you because you're nothing but a big dead bully”
Spike was loving this girl more and more! “How's about I get your mum pet? She can sort Drac here out for you” he told her and started to walk away.
“For the last time” Angelus glared at the brat “My name is not Dracula you little scrat”
“Big dead bul-lee! Big dead bul-lee!”
“Stop it”
“Stop it!” Cordelia mimicked suddenly changing her tactics seeing as that would make him more annoyed at her.
“Hey!”
“Hey!” she copied instantly and Spike started to shake with laughter, covering his sniggers by lighting up a cigarette. “Daddy, he won't go away and why aren't you running? Oh I get it, you're not scared of a stupid vampire are you? I knew you wouldn't be but why aren't you kicking his puny teeth in?”
“Cause Pix” Spike told her, locking blue eyes onto the questioning large hazel one's of the little girl. “I'm a vamp too pet, so is your mummy. Welcome to the bloody house of vampires. Don't worry your pretty, little head though Daddy'll protect you!”
“You can't be a vampire” Cordelia's lower lip wobbled again, “Vampires eat little girls, and I know I'm not little but I am a girl… And you were gonna eat me to!” Plump tears began to fall down her heart-shaped face, she wiped them away angrily and gave the best death glare she could manage. “I won't let you eat me, I'll stand in the sunshine until you both go away. MOMMY!”
Drusilla heard the final scream of Cordelia and hurried back up to the young girl's bedroom, her eyes flashing deadly revenge if the girl had been touched or harmed in anyway by either Spike, Angelus or Darla. Cordelia was her princess and hers alone, there would be hell to pay if a hair on her head had been stirred.
“Hush my Princess” came the soft whisper from the female vampire as she approached the bedroom where both Spike and Angelus were standing outside, the males unable to get in due to not yet being invited.
“M-mommy? Dracula threatened me, he said he was gonna kill me and daddy said that he was a vampire too” Cordelia huddled against the drapes in terror that both delighted and annoyed Angelus.
“I didn't hurt her, what's she crying about?” he asked haughtily and tightened his robe, sending a look towards the little girl inside the bedroom. Cordelia looked back with the biggest pout he ever saw. “Put the pout away or you'll trip over it kid”
“You're so ugly that I bet your mother had to tie a pork chop around your neck just to get the dog to play with you!” Cordelia snapped, jumping more into the sunlight when Angelus snarled at her. “Mommy, he's scaring me”
“Bad Daddy” Drusilla cooed to Angelus, running a sharp fingernail down his cheek, “No hurting of Princess, I shall be ever so cross if you do. She's my little girl, all mine” Angelus grabbed her hand in a hard grip.
“Dru” he warned in a singsong voice, increasing his grip to almost hurting point… “OW! What the hell…?!” Angelus suddenly felt a stinging kick to his ankle. Snapping his head down, he saw Cordelia scuttling back inside her bedroom. “You scrawny little munchkin, that hurt!”
“It was supposed to you big dead bully, only coward's hit women and only big dead bullies threaten girls” she snapped back from the safety of the bedroom. “Momma, Daddy I'm scared of that man”
“Peaches isn't anything to be scared of Princess” Spike told her, “I bet you could hurt him a lot more than he could hurt you pet. 'Sides, he ain't so tough, he can only threaten girls remember ducks?”
Spike's words caused a thoughtful look to cross the little girl's heart-shaped face as she contemplated his words deeply. Angelus stood outside the bedroom, unknowing he hadn't been invited, his patience growing thin and his temper on her verge of snapping. After Darla's little game last night in the park and after only two hours sleep, he really was cranky. “Look Kid” he tried through gritted teeth and a forced swallow. “I won't kill you or rip out your throat, which I never said to you by the way, if you stop whining and come out of your room like a good, little girl”
“Liar” Cordelia accused the second he stopped speaking “You would to eat me, Dracula always eats the girls. If you didn't know that then what kind of Dracula are you anyway? If my Daddy is a Dracula than he would know to eat girls, he's not stupid like you are”
“My name is not…”
“Dracula, I know. Geez, I heard you the first time I may only be six and a half but I'm not deaf” Cordelia retorted quickly, cutting his words off. She shuffled on her feet and looked between all three expectant vampires, “So… are you all vampires and drink blood and stuff?”
“Yup” Spike replied with a smile that caused his cheekbones to rise incredibly high and his blue eyes danced with merriment of the whole fiasco. If he hadn't actually lived to see this, he never would have believed it happened, it was too surreal.
“Wow, I wonder what my old mommy would say to me now” Cordelia thought of the only thing that made any sense to her at the minute. “She always told me vampires weren't real, they were just stuff out of fairy stories and they're not. Just goes to show grown-ups are stupid and don't know everything. In fact, I bet Under-The-Bed monsters are real too”
Drusilla brushed past Angelus and walked, invited, into Cordelia's bedroom with a graceful glide, her eyes upon the little girl. “Hush my sweet” she cooed softly, Cordelia became calm almost immediately much to the surprise of the other two vampires. “Not hurt my Princess, mmm… Such a soft and sweet little girl you are. Mummy will take such good care of you my pet… Shush, mustn't let bad Daddy scare you”
“I didn't mean to wake Dracula” Cordelia told her, “He said he was gonna kill me and he scared me a-and then daddy said that you were a Dracula too. Is he lying?”
Drusilla let out a childish giggle and knelt down to face the frightened young girl, her hand caressed the side of Cordelia's tear-stained cheek. “Princess cried tears of fright, Mummy will dry those tears all away and then daddy shall give you a big cuddle he will. Nobody will hurt my precious pet, there'll be no monsters under your bed and things won't go bump in the night.” The little girl seemed to understand the way the vampiress talked, almost like they communicated on a childlike level which was understandable.
When a person was driven to the point of insanity, they regressed to a childlike state and that is exactly what had happened to Drusilla before Angelus turned her. But there was still no-one who could understand the babbling vampire, no-one that is except for a pint-sized pixie by the name of Cordelia Chase.
“Do you promise Mommy?” Cordelia asked hopefully with her lower lip wobbling again, “Are you sure there are no monsters under the bed?”
“We shall see my Princess” Drusilla took the little girl's hand in her cool one, insisting she get down on her knees too. The vampire and girl crawled, giggling, towards the bed Cordelia had slept in and both peered under it. “No monsters under the bed see? Mummy was right all along”
Angelus watched with a bored look on his face, his lip curled up in a sneer and hands on his robe covered hips. He took this opportunity to taunt Spike, “I guess I should congratulate you on parenthood” he remarked casually, not expecting the answer.
“Bout bloody time an all mate,” Spike repressed a smirk at the expression on his grandsire's face when it became obvious he wasn't taking the bait. “Always wanted to be a Daddy, looks like you became a granddaddy Angelus again… Wait a minute, if you're my granddaddy won't that make you the Pixie's great-granddaddy?!”
“Spike. Shut. Up” Angelus growled at the thorn in his side, turning back to the scene in the bedroom, he saw Drusilla leading a calm and giggling six year old out of the bedroom by her tiny hand.
“Bad Daddy” Drusilla snapped on her way past him.
“Bigdeadbully!” Cordelia sniggered and Angelus made a choking motion with his hands.
Part 4The days turned into weeks, the weeks turned then the weeks had turned into six months. The vampires' lives had altered drastically with the arrival of the little girl. No longer was the mansion used for bringing people home to torture or eat, sex on the first three floors had been banned and Darla was hardly ever seen at the mansion. But she was there today, in her bedroom putting some make-up on and humming softly to herself.
Cordelia skipped along the hallway, holding a doll Spike had gotten for her at the funfair the week before. Her brown hair was hanging down her shoulders, ice cream making the ends stick together after she and her mommy had a little food fight. Now she was on her way to get changed when she walked past Darla's open door.
Remembering what she had been told about knocking, Cordelia timidly knocked on the door and waited patiently to be invited in. Darla turned at the sound of the knocking, the little heartbeat and the pitter-patter of the footsteps she tried to ignore. “What do you want?” she asked and turned back to her make-up.
“I just wanted to say I think you're very pretty Miss” she had been told to call that lady miss and not by her name which Cordelia thought was rude. Even the grumpy man, Angelus, allowed her to call him Mister Angel now.
“Oh?” Darla replied only mildly intrigued by the little girl's words, she felt obliged to respond if only to get that knowing look off the brat's face. “I think you're very pretty too, now run along and go play in your room”
“You remind me of my old mommy” Cordelia stated after a few second of silent debate, “She was pretty too. Had long brown hair like me”
“That's nice honey” the blonde replied, now no longer listening to the kid and her ramblings, Darla picked up a wooden handled brush and studied it with admiration. The handle was nicely carved with intricate details and the bristles were a soft, natural material.
“I always wanted to be like my old mommy, I wanted to be prettier than she was and be nicer than she was because my old daddy only looked at women prettier than my mommy. If I was prettier than my mommy, he'd look at me and know I was there”
“Maybe he thought you talked too much” Darla pointed out as she turned to fully face the little girl, her blue eyes locking onto the pulsing vein under her skin. “Little girls are meant to be seen and not heard, didn't your old mommy ever teach you that? Daddy's don't like it when their little girl's talk to them. I'm very surprised your new Daddy has kept you this long… After all you do talk a lot”
“My daddy likes it when I talk and so does my mommy and Mister Angel” Cordelia pointed out in response. She shuffled on her feet, the sneakers she wore making little treads in the hallway carpet and the sky blue denim ruffling with the nervous movement. This lady couldn't be right could she? If little girl's weren't supposed to talk then her mommy and daddy didn't really love her. But she knew that they did and this lady was only lying to her. “Why are you lying to me?” she asked as hurt made her pout.
“Oh deary” Darla chuckled behind her hand “Did your mommy and daddy tell you that they liked listening to your squeaky voice? That's bad of them; parents don't like their children, especially six year old girls, to talk as much as you do. Do you want to know why I don't come here very much?”
“Why?” Cordelia asked in a shaky voice, she had listened to everything the lady had said to her and began thinking what if she was right? What if her parents didn't like the way she talked? If they didn't like the way she talked then they didn't love her and only kept her around because they had too. She knew Spike and Drusilla weren't her real parents, she wasn't stupid or dense and she knew her parents were probably looking for her. But she loved being here with them, even Darla because she was part of her mommy and daddy's family and she wore some really pretty dresses.
“Because I don't like the way they lie to you” the vampiress replied in feigned honesty with a sigh. “I try not to say anything, heaven knows I want too but you see, I simply can't do anything because you're not my little girl”
“They don't lie to me, they love me and I know they do” Cordelia refused to let anything Darla said hurt her or ruin her life with a few stupid lies. “You're the one lying. You're lying because you're jealous of me!” she shot at the vampire now glaring at her and staring at her neck, that wasn't unusual but it was making her nervous. “You're jealous because… Because your boyfriend lets me call him Mister Angel and not you, you're jealous because my mommy doesn't listen to you anymore. And daddy told me that you're nothing but a stuck up, whiny woman who's brains are in her boobies!”
“You vicious little brat” Darla hissed, getting up from the vanity table and stalking over to the doorway, fully intent on killing the big mouthed kid. “I did lie. I don't come here anymore because of you and your talking. I hate the sight of you, I hate the sound of you and so does everybody else. Vampires do eat little girls, but everybody hates you so much that we don't want to eat you. You want to know why we hate you? It's the same reason your real parents hated you”
Cordelia's pupils dilated to twice their normal size and her eyes filled with tears. Darla smiled at the flash of hurt across the kid's face and knelt down to look her directly in the eyes. “I found your parents, Cordelia” the vampire lied “They didn't want you back, they were much better off without you because they didn't have your squeaky voice to listen too”
“Stop it” the words came out in a forced whisper as Darla told her everything she feared, that she wasn't loved or wanted, that she was a mistake and that nobody liked her. She was on her own and nobody loved her.***
Drusilla had gone upstairs to find Cordelia after she had been gone for more than twenty minutes, Miss Edith firmly held in one hand and a bar of the little girl's half-eaten chocolate in the other. Darla's spiteful, hateful words swept around her head, making some kind of sense to the vampiress as she glided towards the now closed bedroom door.
Game face sliding on instantly when she heard muffled sobs and more hateful words from her grandmummy. Drusilla's amber eyes glinted with madness and rare anger as she dropped both the bar of chocolate and the doll to the ground. Nobody hurt her little princess, not even grandmummy. The door was calmly pushed open as she glided inside, horrified to find Cordelia cowering in a corner with Darla running a dagger along the little girl's cheek threatening to make her ugly forever.
Puffy, red and fear-filled eyes saw Drusilla “Mommy” Cordelia cried in relief, taking Darla's distraction to get up and run for the open door. “She was gonna make me a Dracula and scar me forever to keep me ugly so no-one would ever love me” she told straight away, her words interrupted by hiccups and a hoarse voice.
“Hush Princess” Drusilla pressed finger to her lips and kept her eyes on Darla, “Grandmummy was very naughty to scare my pet like that, I'm very cross” the vampire ochre gaze sparkled with merriment and the promise of vengeance. “Tut tut. Naughty grandmummy broke the rules she did and now she has to be punished like a bad girl”
“Come Dru, I was only playing with your little girl” Darla waved off the other vampire's threat like it was nothing to be wary of. “Weren't we?” she looked at Cordelia, daring her to go against her words and say otherwise.
“No! You were gonna kill me you ugly old bag!” Cordelia shot back instantly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve she no longer felt intimidated by the horrible lady now that her mommy was here and she could see her mommy was angry. She had that face, the 'Mommy' face with the pretty, canary yellow eyes and the Dracula fangs, even she knew not to mess with mommy when she looked like that. She was much scarier than either her daddy or Mister Angel!
“You little brat, I will kill you” Darla hissed, also in game face, the snarled warning made the girl run out of the room and hide around the corner of the door. “Dru, you can not be serious about keeping that thing around here any longer. It's destroying our way of life”
“The stars are singing grandmummy” Drusilla trailed her fingernails down her throat, making little welts in her porcelain skin. “Such a sad, little tune. They won't dance to the sad song, all crying soft, pretty tears full of beautiful pain. But you laughed to the sad song grandmummy” she laughed a little and pointed at Darla. “You laughed like a happy little bird… Tweet-tweet tweet-tweet… But not anymore you won't”
Cordelia peeked round the corner just in time to see the wooden brush slammed straight through Darla's chest and the vampire turn to dust right before her eyes. She stopped breathing, her hazel eyes wide enough to swallow her face and her mouth dropped open in surprise as the ashy remains floated to the floor.***
Downstairs, Spike and Angelus were sitting playing cards when both felt the death of Darla, the tingle raced through them almost as fast as they raced up the stairs. Angelus got their first, intent on finding out how and who had the nerve to kill his sire. Spike got a feeling of dread the closer her got, he could smell salty, childish tears and the fear was enough to claw at him.
After Darla had tried, and almost succeeded, in killing her Cordelia, was a shaking mess of skin and bones, trembling and crying in Drusilla's cooing protective embrace. The little girl clung to the vampire as though she were her lifeline, tiny hands locked around her neck and face buried in her shoulder. “There-there my sweet, no more monsters under the bed”
Angelus strode purposely into the bedroom, taking a look at the dusty remains on the floor and then looked at the crying, little girl; his eyebrow rose in amusement. “Who killed Darla?” he asked with a smirk, he figured if it was the kid then he'd laugh his socks off and if it was Drusilla he'd drop down dead of a heart attack!
“Mommy did, she wanted to make me ugly so no-one would love me” Cordelia hiccupped and turned her red, puffy eyes to Mister Angel. “That ugly, old hag told me my mommy and daddy didn't love me and that she was gonna kill me because I was bad”
“Grandmummy was laughing at the sad song Daddy” Drusilla told him over the messy, sticky head of brown hair. “The stars were all sad and my Princess was crying tears of blood and grandmummy was happy when the sad song played”
“You killed my sire?” Angelus asked, not sure if he should go nuts at her or just give up. Sure the kid was annoying but she never really did anything so bad to be killed over it. Normally, she stayed away from him and Darla, what was she doing? “Kid, what happened?” he asked Cordelia, his face and voice showing she should tell the truth.
“I was going to my room to get changed because of the food fight with mommy” she explained, wiping her eyes some more with the back of her hand. “I saw Miss Darla brushing her hair and putting on some make-up, I told her I thought she was pretty and she made me think of my old mommy. A-and then she told me my mommy and daddy didn't love me and thought I was horrible because I talk to much. Then I told her she was lying, that they did love me and then she tried to k-kill me. I'm not lying Mister Angel, I know she was your girlfriend and everything but she was a mean, old lady”
“Dru” Spike held his hands out to take the little girl, “Hello pet, Daddy's 'ere now. Let's get you tucked into bed eh? I'll even look under the bloody bed to make sure there are no monsters under it”
“Miss Darla was wrong right?” Cordelia searched his face to see if he lied to her, “You and mommy do love me and want me around right? I mean, I'm not horrible am I? A-and mister Angel doesn't hate me and want to kill me anymore so I can't be all bad right?”
“Course she was wrong Pixie” Spike patted her on the back gently, stopping his eyes from rolling the more she spoke. “You know me n mommy love you to pieces pet, we would have eaten you for breakfast if we didn't”
“Miss Darla also said that if you really loved me you would want to eat me and I told her that she was lying about that too” Cordelia pointed out as her little girl strength came back to her with the help of her father's protective cuddle and his assuring words.
“Spike, take the kid to bed I want to talk with Drusilla” Angelus told his grandsire, this would have to be dealt with. The only person who had a right to kill Darla was him and not Spike or Drusilla.
“Come on Dru, let's go out into the garden where we can look at the flowers”
“I wanna go with mommy” Cordelia really didn't like Mister Angel, he looked funny at her mommy and she wanted to be with her mommy. “I'm not tired, I wanna go play in the garden with mommy and Mister Angel”
“Not tonight Pix” Spike told her firmly as he walked out of the bedroom, “Peaches isn't going to hurt your mum luv, don't worry your little head” he was a good liar when he wanted to be though he wasn't sure if he was lying. He knew Angelus was furious at Drusilla for the dusting of Darla but yet he also knew how the elder vampire had grown somewhat attached to the 4 foot piece of skinny nothing he was taking to bed.