Chronos' Puppet

Cold.

So fucking cold.

Xander shivered, curling into himself as he tried to find whatever body heat he had to
warm his skin. The texture of the silk sheets was lost to him; they could have been made
of coarse burlap and he wouldn't have noticed. Not even his nudity in the foreign
environment permeated his senses. Only the ever-present chill and ravenous hunger that
gnawed at his insides belonged to his world.

"James..." The Voice purred. The mattress dipped behind the ball that was Xander.
Strong arms pulled him up against a solid, firm chest and rumbled comfortingly to soothe
the young man. Something inside Xander recognised this Voice and like strings cut on a
marionette his body slackened and allowed the familiar stranger to cradle him like a child.

"Cold."

"Yes...but it's a small price to pay for the gift I've given you." A scent both wonderful and
tantalising made Xander's hunger scream for it and he salivated like a perverse version of
Pavlov's dog.

"Drink, childe." It was brought to his lips and smearedinstinst his mouth, that salty
ambrosia he craved. Xander clung to the arm like a drowning man as the words worked
its lullaby. The Voice crooned to him, telling him he as a good lad, a clever lad, a
serendipitous surprise too rare to be wasted as a meal or as a minion. He would be
groomed as one befitting the lineage he belonged to, and he would be the crowning jewel
of Solomon's household. A beautiful force of predatory mastery.

Xander felt the wetness gather in his eyes from the warmth and pride that reverberated in
the words that made sure it broke through all of his boundaries and take root in his soul.
His parents had never spoken as though he mattered. Hell, his own friends never thought
of him as having any future beyond a blue-collar fate. He licked the offered wrist
reverently, and turned in the embrace.

"Sire."

"Yes, lad." A warm smile appeared for Xander, the heat of it reaching the glittering
chartreuse that regarded the new childe. Solomon brushed a strand of umber away from
expressive eyes that looked up at him with awe and adoration. The master vampire could
remember back to his own making; his sire had been so gentle with him compared to the
harsh capture that had preceded it. Wilful, was what Agamemnon had called him with
fond amusement. It was an understatement considering Solomon had held his own quite
well against the elder vampire armed only with a cross and a horse whip before
Agamemnon had finally got the best of him. The first few days could make or break
childer, as he later learned. There were masters out there that delighted in torturing them
as though they were fighting dogs to be prodded with sticks until whipped into a killing
frenzy. The current rival master of London was rumoured to have been so cruel that his
newest childe had been driven irrevocably insane. It was unnecessary; a waste of talent
and potential. On the other hand, if the rod is spared the fledgling would become spoiled,
feeding without care or finesse and in one case in Prague, would call attention to their
existence. One master's household had been completely erraticated from the city thanks to
a fledgling that had slaughtered a wealthy family. He was caught sleeping wrapped in the
arms of the lord's daughter, having turned her without consent of his Master. The mob
was prepared to meet them, thanks to the rash of strange killings, with crosses and
swords, and after the mansion had been burned to ashes they tracked the remainder of the
coven down and tortured them until the sunlight finally released the vampires from their
agony. It was a story told to frighten stubborn childer into submission, like the tales that
mothers tell their offspring to keep them in after dark.

No, the proper mixture of care and discipline had to be used. Solomon was fortunate that
he was attractive enough to hold his childe's attention. Xander's blood had tasted of the
purest Belgian chocolate with a zing of cinnamon heat. Dark, rich, sweet. He would taste
of it again soon, but now it was time for the fledgeling's first lesson. "I have a surprise for
you, James. One that I think you're going to like. If you're good and do as I say, then
tomorrow I will take you hunting with me." Xander grinned, the barest hint of fangs
glistening in the lamplight. 'Not the true face, but that will change soon enough' observed
Solomon. Kissing Xander on the cheek, he left the bed and strode to the door as though
he owned the very planet he walked upon. A minion took the quiet order with a sharp
nod and dashed off as though Satan himself were at his heals. They too had their lessons;
the most important being that disobedience in any one of their number called for their
immediate eradication. After all, a master could always make new minions. Candidates
for childer only happened once in a generation if luck was on the Master's side.

The door opened only moments later, and a large, bundled form was hauled in. Xander's
mouth suddenly watered. The thing smelled warm and he immediately recognised it as
prey. Looking over at Solomon his silent question was answered with a grin over his
childe's enthusiasm. Some childer were apprehensive over their first meal; their humanity
not quite extinguished. This James took to the idea like a duck to water, to coin a tired
phrase, and Solomon eagerly awaited the chance to watch how the fledge would handle
the feed. Xander crept over carefully to the bundle on the floor as the minion locked the
door behind his leave, and Solomon noted to himself to reward that one for his foresight in
case the captive woke and tried to run out the door. Meanwhile Xander had taken to
scenting the sheet, allowing his true vampiric features to appear before unwrapping his
present with the enthusiasm of a child with a present...

Xander stopped, the thrall of a newborn vampire banished as he stared down at the limp
figure on the floor.before him. If it wasn't for the sound of the slowly beating heart he
would have thought that they had killed William. As it was, the familiar features of the
poet woke his memories and he looked over at his sire with new, horrifying awareness.

"Yes, you remember me now. I was that man in your room with this boy. I've never had a
meal dare to fight me back as much as you had, and I knew that you were perfect for me.
I captured you, made you my childe, and now he will be your first meal beyond my blood.
It is necessary to break ties with your mortality. It will be your hardest lesson, but if done,
you will be stronger for it."

Xander gently cradled Will's body close, a growl rising from his chest to harshen the
words he spoke to his sire. "You fucking bastard. I won't do it!" Before he had a chance
to say anything else Solomon had rounded on him with supernatural speed and
backhanded him. The move sent Xander sprawling across the floor with William still in
his grasp. "That is your second lesson. I will not tolerate disobedience or disrespect
from my household. Minions know instinctively because of their lower intelligence, but
they are destroyed all the same if they step out of line with me. I will do no such thing to
you James, but my reprimands can be quite...severe." Solomon knelt down beside his
childe and gripped Xander's jaw firmly in one hand while dextrous fingers carded their way
through the dark locks of his offspring. "My wife was my first meal, James. We all do
this. It will be painful for you, to lose him but that is how it is. Fate has given you to me,
as he had been given to you. It's his time to die, James." One more pass and the richly
robed figure of his sire stood, the soothing voice replaced by steel. "I am going to give
you a chance to redeem yourself by earning my trust. I will leave you alone with your
lover for ten minutes to say goodbye and to send him to God. His unconsciousness will
keep him from pain, but you will do this, or I will discipline you. If you escape, I will find
you, and your punishment will be tenfold of what you would have received for not killing
him. Understood?"

Xander met Solomon's eyes squarely at first, but slowly lowered as he succumbed to his
Sire's domina Co Cowed, he said nothing as the other vampire left, his conscious at war
with his maker's command. He couldn't do this. Xander wanted to please his Sire, but to
kill William to do it...he didn't think he could survive it. His mind scrambled and showed
him the faces of his friends back in Sunnydale...Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Tara, Giles...even
Spike had his uses, had even saved their asses a few times, and after spending these past
few days with William he understood the chipped vampire..

Oh shit.

If William died, there would be no Spike, and while the world would initially be a better
place, it was Bad. As in, 'we're going to Hell in a handbasket thanks to Angelus and
there's room for you too' kinda bad. William stirred, moaning softly in his stupor and
Xander made his decision. He picked up the smaller form and brought him to the bed,
stretching out languidly beside him. Drawing the warmth close to him Xander kissed
William, tasting the narcoleptic drug on the blonde's lips. Trailing butterfly touches along
the heated skin, the lips traveled across Will's cheek and brushed past the delicate shell of
an ear.

"Please forgive me..."

The fangs slid home to the juggular.