1880 - Chapter 4

Buffy sipped the cup of tea she was holding as she sat by the fire. It was almost two in the afternoon and there was no sign of William. She told herself that he would come and see her, he’d as much as promised he would and she got the impression that he wasn’t one to break a promise.

Watching the seconds tick by, she tried to turn her concentration to figuring out how to go about breaking into the Council headquarters but she couldn’t get her mind off the time. She had awoken around five hours ago to a knock at the door, and had proceeded to scare the person on the other side by answering it in just the shirt. She had ducked behind the door, hiding herself from his eyes and smiling shyly as he informed her that breakfast was being served in the dining room. On realising that she didn’t have the correct attire for heading down to the dining room, she’d told him she didn’t want anything. He’d offered to bring her some food up so she could eat it in her room instead and she’d readily agreed.

Half an hour later, he’d appeared with a tray full of food and Buffy had thanked him a million times over as she took it from him. When she was safely back in her room, she’d lifted the lid off the tray and listened to her stomach gurgle as she saw the fresh toast, marmalade, cooked meats, eggs and fruit. Sitting down immediately, she’d eaten as much as possible of the delicious food and had then been delighted when another knock at the door brought her a pot of tea.

The food and the tea had gone a long way to make her feel more comfortable and had brightened her mood, making her feel positive about the day. She’d dressed in her dry clothes, combed her hair back into a ponytail and had sat down at the fire.

Four hours later and she was still sitting there.

The whole time she’d been there, she’d been thinking about William. She wished he were here already so they could get on with her plan. She hated having to wait around, hated trying to think of a way to break the news gently to him about what she intended to do tonight.

A knock at the door caused her to look up and she stood immediately, moving over to it.

“Miss Elizabeth? It’s cousin William.” His voice sounded out nervously to her and she smiled at how he was keeping up the pretence of them being cousins.

Opening the door, she smiled at him. “Why come in, cousin William.”

He gave her an awkward smile and entered the room. Closing the door behind him, she turned to find him stood in the middle of the room looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Did you have a nice day with your mother?” She asked as she moved past him and sat back down by the fire.

He followed her silently and arranged himself in the chair opposite her. She almost laughed at how different he was to his vampire self. Spike would have practically thrown himself into the armchair, slouching into it in a limp devil may care way. William sat neatly on the edge of the cushion, his hands in his lap and his knees together.

“I didn’t go with mother. I saw to it she was taken to the… is something amusing you?” He almost frowned as she giggled into her hand.

“Nothing… I’m sorry… continue?” She stifled her laugh and struggled to keep her face straight.

William looked around himself, evidently searching for a sign of what was making her laugh and then slowly looked back at her, right into her eyes.

Buffy’s laughter fled her lips as she saw the tiny hint of hurt in his blue eyes, showing her that he’d realised she was laughing at him.

“It wasn’t you, honest, William.” She sat up straight and leaned towards him, reaching out instinctively and touching his hand as she looked into his eyes. He dropped them to rest on their hands. “Honestly it wasn’t. You just reminded me of someone.”

“That man you talk about?” He asked as he took his hand away from hers and sat back in his seat, placing some distance between them.

Buffy frowned as she heard the coldness in his voice. It seemed ridiculous to her that he could be jealous of himself, but he didn’t know that he and the man were the same person.

“Yes.” She answered truthfully and saw his expression darken for a second and it reminded her painfully of Spike. Maybe they weren’t so different as she’d first thought they were. Maybe it was just that William had a tighter rein on his feelings than Spike did and he didn’t let them out very often. “I’m sorry. Will you continue?”

William idly smoothed his trousers as he tried to get a grasp on his emotions and told himself he was being foolish by feeling such a way. What was it to him who she knew and who she thought about? She was her own person and perfectly entitled to think about this man she knew.

It was the fact that he clearly reminded her of him that pained him the most. He despised the idea that when she turned her beautiful emerald green eyes on him, she wasn’t seeing him—she was seeing this other man.

“William?” She touched his knee and felt him jump slightly as she pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking up into his eyes, she gave him a little smile. “I am sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He found his voice and tried to ignore the warm feeling her hand on his knee was giving him. “Where was I? Oh yes, I took mother to her friend’s house as arranged but didn’t go with her. Instead, I came back to the house and found the books I had once read. The ones I told you about.”

“The time travel ones?” Buffy offered and he nodded. “You might have had more luck with magic.”

Pulling the amulet out of her pocket, she held it out to him and smiled when he took it, his look turning to fascination.

“It’s got some magical property. I don’t know if it will work by itself though. The man I was chasing, he stole a similar piece from the shop my friends own and when I ended up here, he dropped that half on the street near me.”

“Stole it you say?” William frowned at the metal disc he was holding. There were a series of holes in its face and when he flipped it over, he saw there were a number of metal pieces sticking out. Evidently, the other piece and this one interlocked with each other, the metal pieces fitting into the holes that would be on the other half. “So you need the other piece?”

“I think so.” Buffy said with a slight shrug. “He stole the piece, so he must have needed it to jump through time or he would’ve just done it on this amulet alone.”

“Do you have an idea where he went?”

“No. I haven’t a clue. I do know where I might be able to find information on the amulet though and that might give me a clue, or at least help me understand it more. I’m pretty certain that when I find the other half I’m going to need to say something to activate the portal so I can get home.” Buffy took the amulet back from him and slipped it into her pocket.

“So where are we going?” William ignored the tremble in his voice as he asked her that. He wanted to help her. He just wasn’t very good at the hero thing, and the idea of getting into trouble, or even danger, when hunting down this man that had the other part of her amulet made his blood run cold.

“There’s a building I’ve heard of. It’s near the Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament. I don’t have the exact address, but if I get there then I’m certain I can find it.”

“The books are there?”

Buffy nodded.

“Then what are we waiting for?” William stood sharply and offered his hand to her. “I can’t let you go alone. You may run into trouble all alone. There are many thieves and murderers on these streets.”

She just smiled at his words. Like anyone here could hurt her? It was sweet that he was being so chivalrous though. It was another quality that Spike seemed to have retained. He always wanted to patrol with her, protecting her from the demons when she could easily protect herself.

Buffy slipped her hand into his and stood with his assistance. She stared at their hands for a moment, almost seeing the black chipped nails of Spike rather than the immaculate ones of William.

Walking across the room, she slipped into her trainers and then headed to the door, pausing at the side table on her way.

William watched in curiosity as she picked up the little wooden cross that was sitting on the dressing table and put it into her pocket. He wondered if she was missing the cross she had pawned in order to afford her lodgings.

Buffy patted her pockets, checking that the amulet was in one and the cross was in the other. Opening the door, she motioned for William to follow her and then walked out into the corridor.

Stepping out into the fading light, she raised her eyes to the sky and absorbed the sight of the clouds tinted with pink and orange from the setting sun. She stretched slightly, glad to be free of the confines of her hotel room and then looked over at William.

He was watching the people as they stared at her on passing them by. Catching his eye, she gave him a look that said it didn’t matter what other people thought, and then looked at the streets that were heading off in various directions from the crossroads.

“Thames?” She asked William and he pointed down the road to their left.

“It’s a short walk, but we’ll still be a distance from Parliament.”

Buffy nodded in understanding and started down the road. She avoided looking at people as she walked, knowing what their expressions would be and not wanting to let them get her more down than she already was.

William caught up with her, falling in line beside her as she walked and feeling all eyes on him. He couldn’t bear the way they were all looking at her. He couldn’t bear the way they were all looking at him. If word got back to his mother that he’d been seen walking in London with a pauper girl it would be the death of him.

Deciding not to risk being seen, he directed the girl down a side street and plotted a course in his head that would keep him away from the fashionable streets.

She arched a brow at the dirty street she was walking down and brushed her fingers over the cross in her pocket. She knew that this wasn’t the fastest route to the river. William must think she was stupid if he believed she wouldn’t know what he was up to. He didn’t want to be seen with her.

After twenty minutes of walking, they still hadn’t reached the Thames and Buffy was beginning to wonder just what constituted a short walk in William’s eyes. This seemed like a long walk to her.

As they came out onto a wide cobbled road, she found herself smiling at the broad expanse of the Thames. The water was murky, a dirty brown that seemed to match the colour of the buildings that were now lit by streetlamp. She tried to shut down her Slayer side as a noise cut the silence and it instinctively kicked in.

By the time she’d gained some control over her senses, William had walked a good twenty metres down the road and was looking back at her. She hurried to catch up, her eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of trouble.

There was nothing.

Crossing the river, they began to walk up the other side of it. This area seemed a lot less friendly than the one they had just been in, and Buffy let her senses extend outwards, checking for signs of human and demon alike.

William wondered why she had grown so quiet since leaving the hotel. She seemed to be focused on their surroundings and he supposed it was because she’d never seen London before.

“What time are you from?” He asked her quietly and she smiled.

“Twenty first century, right at the start of it. It’s a glorious age. Technology is evolving so quickly and we’ve even been into space.”

He frowned as he looked up at the stars and then down at her. Was that possible?

His eyes roamed over her face as she stared straight ahead of them and he frowned slightly at her ears.

“Why do you wear so many rings in your ears, are you a gypsy?” He asked and she looked up at him with a broad smile on her face.

“No. Where I’m from this is all the rage.”

“The rage?”

Buffy giggled. “It means… it’s in fashion.”

“I see.” He looked at her again. “And is dressing like a boy in fashion too?”

She frowned this time. “I’m not dressed like a boy. Lots of girls wear stuff like this… and in my line of work.”

“Work? You work? Are you lower class then?”

Buffy looked mortified and he instantly regretted his question.

“I work. We all work where I’m from, and we don’t have some ridiculous class system stopping us from doing so.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound…”

“Shh!” Buffy held her hand up to silence him as a noise came from an alley they had just passed.

Turning slowly, she felt her heart accelerating as she waited with baited breath to see what was coming. She slipped her hand into her pocket and grasped hold of the cross as something registered on her radar, and she backed away from the alley, placing a better distance between her and the demon.

“What’s wrong?” William frowned down at her, confused as to why she’d suddenly gone as silent as the grave and why she was staring at the little alley over the road.

As a low growl came from the shadowed street, he stepped back and put his arm out in front of Buffy.

She arched a brow at his actions. Like he was going to be able to protect her from what was coming?

As the vampire emerged into the streetlight, she heard William gasp.

“What in the Lord’s name…” He breathed quietly and looked at the girl next to him. She didn’t seem scared in the least to see the deformed man. She was just staring straight at it, straight into the yellow eyes that were watching them.

“William… I need you to keep calm. The moment I move, you move, understand?”

“Are we running?” He asked as he looked at her and she looked up at him.

“No, you’re running.”

He didn’t have time to react. The second the beast made a move, he felt her push him in the back and he ran for a few metres before finding the courage to turn around.

Buffy pulled the cross out of her pocket and smirked at the vampire as it hissed at the sight of it. “I go a century into the past, and you guys still can’t leave me alone? You want to bite me, you’re gonna have to beat me.”

The vampire snarled at her.

William’s eyes widened as she began to fight the monster. He felt frozen to the spot, unable to take his eyes off her as she moved gracefully, kicking and punching the beast. There was something about the way she attacked it, the way she knew how to defend herself and how to handle it, that made him realise that she wasn’t new to this.

Buffy parried each kick and punch the vampire threw at her, landing her own with precision as she fought back. She frowned as the cross was knocked from her hands and then rolled as she went to retrieve it. Pausing for a second as she came to a stand, she smiled at William and then swept her leg around, catching the vampire across the face as he moved to attack her. Punching it hard in quick succession, she knocked it to the floor and then plunged the end of the cross deep into its chest.

She watched as it disintegrated into dust and then breathed heavily as she straightened up.

As she stared down at the pile of dust on the floor, she hoped to God that she didn’t just disrupt the fabric of time. Instinct had told her to fight, so fight she had. If she was supposed to be here, then this was supposed to have happened.

Buffy felt her temples throb as she tried to get her head around the whole fabric of time thing versus her actually being destined to come back in time. She had to stop thinking. If she kept trying to think about how everything could affect the future then she was going to go insane.

“Miss Elizabeth?” William touched her shoulder and jumped back a few feet when she turned on him with the cross raised like a dagger.

Buffy could see Spike in him when he did that. He was always choosing the wrong moment to try to get her attention, usually resulting in a near staking.

“Sorry… just a little jumpy.” She apologised and then pocketed the cross.

William looked at her and then down at the ashes on the ground. “What was that? What did you do? Where did you learn to do those things?”

“That…” She looked down at the ground and then at William. “…Was a vampire. Me? I fight them. It’s that work thing I told you about. Where did I learn to do all that? If I hadn’t, then I wouldn’t be here. I’d have been six feet under a lot quicker than I was.”

“Was?” William frowned at her back as she began walking again. She seemed as though she was telling the truth, but he couldn’t get his head around the fact that vampires were real. They were fiction, myth. They weren’t something that roamed the earth. It had certainly looked like a demon, but a vampire? A real vampire?

What kind of insane world was this?

What kind of God allowed such disgusting creatures to roam his world?

He realised that she hadn’t taken the cross because she’d been missing her necklace. This was apparently her profession. She’d taken the cross as protection from the demon. He’d seen how horrified it had been when she’d pulled it out of her pocket.

His head hurt with questions and confusion as he hurried to catch up with her. He didn’t want to bring himself to believe that vampires existed, but he didn’t want to face one alone either. If they were real, then he was safest with someone who knew how to kill them.

He looked down at her as they walked. She seemed so small, so slight, but she had handled that vampire as though she was three times her size. When he’d first met her, she’d seemed strong. Maybe this was why. She was a trained killer.

His insides trembled with nerves when he looked at it that way, and a tiny recess of his mind told him that he liked the idea that she was strong, along with clever and beautiful.

When he looked at her now, she seemed to radiate confidence and power.

He couldn’t stop himself from feeling drawn to her.

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