I've Seen This World Burning for Too Long, Yet I'm the One Left Standing

Willow's POV

The day-well night really- had started out as any other for the vampire known as Willow. She woke up, was barraged by the problems that seemed to plague the territory she ran. Vampires were growing weary of her more civil reign, there was a revolution brewing and it scared Willow. For all her years as a vampire she'd never even dreamt of revealing themselves to the humans- unlike the new vampires of today.They were led by a vampire called simply Darren; a man that had been turned only three years ago. He believed that vampires should take their rightful place and lead this world, treating humans like livestock and nothing more. To Willow she knew this was wrong after all she had more years to judge this plan with than anyone else after all Willow, was widely regarded as the first vampire as she was the oldest known. Willow herself could neither affirm nor deny that claim as she had no memory of her human life, or if she had a human life. That mattered little to Willow, what mattered was putting this unruly, ill-thought out plan down before it tainted anymore minds.

Humans needed vampires as vampires needed humans, it was a balance and one that kept the two species thriving. For humans they made sure that vampires had enough to eat and vampires made sure that the population was somewhat under control. After all the only thing humans had to fear were the things they thought existed only in fairy-tales. Rubbing her temples Willow pushed these thoughts aside, thoughtlessly taking a sip of the blood presented to her in the wine goblet. It was then that her right-hand man, Frank Iero, had come to inform her that Tyler had come back to court- with a human. Naturally this raised alarms in her head as it was strictly forbidden to bring a human back here without their consent, and Tyler was of the new age that didn't seem to care about human rights.

"Do you know the nature of which the human was brought here?" Her soft voice, feral and quiet addressed the tall blonde haired man.

"I don't. I only know there were reports of him being unconscious." Willow nodded and sighed staring down at the blood.

"Well, Tyler must fetch me at some point to let me know he's staying here, and give a report on the state of wherever he was hunting. I'll question him then unless something happens." Frank nodded and his crystal blue eyes held Willow's for a moment.

"You look tired, are you alright?" His own voice still retained his own weariness and Willow shook her head and bit her lip; minding her fangs.

"No I am not alright; I'm rather worried and anxious. There is talk of revolution. That I am old and outdated; my ways are no longer efficient for today's world." Willow knew how tired she sounded, and looking up to meet his eyes whispered softly "And maybe I am. Maybe I am an artifact of old, however as long as I roam this world vampires /will not/ exist openly. We will live in the shadows, for the shadows and night were created for us; they gave birth to our species. We will let the humans rush and frolic about in their sun, keep their population as normal as possible. We will not become their rulers and they will not become livestock- for we all come from a human. No species should rule over the other, we must learn to share this planet with each other. I'm sure we can do it should this poisonous idea of becoming the superior species is stopped."

"You are a fine ruler Willow, these younger vampires don't understand how things work. Don't worry, you still have the overwhelming favor among our kind." His voice was soothing and reassuring, one reason she kept him around.

"Thank you Frank, I hope that continues to be the case." He nodded and approached a bit closer gesturing to the empty seat behind her.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" She shook her head, giving him permission and when he spoke he pushed a case file forward. "These are all the murders and disappearances related to vampires. They're increasing exponentially." This wasn't news to Willow, but it was still shocking. It seemed that more and more vampires were not allowing their meals to live afterwards; either turning them or killing them.

"We've never had a problem like this before. While sometimes you must kill and no vampire has gotten through this life without killing, no vampire is trying to /control/ their blood-lusts anymore. They just give into it, indulge in it for that matter. This needs to stop and no longer will I sit idly by while there are innocent people, father, mothers, brothers and sisters being slaughtered because vampires can not be bothered to let them go. It's sickening and really proves the whole monster label we've gotten over the years." If Willow could of learned how to control her own blood-lust which was prone to drain cities and villages in a single night; these newbie vampires could learn as well. Fuck, Willow would teach any willing to learn how to control blood-lust herself.

"I think that you need to tighten your reigns around this Court. You've let vampires go about their business undisturbed for too long. You need to remind them who's in charge; and why you're in charge." Willow stared at her friend, he was normally so kind and anti-violent it shocked her a bit to hear him say such things. "It angers me that they feel they no longer have to listen to you; after all most vampires come from your blood." It was a good point, yet some didn't seem to care.

"Are you suggesting executions? You know how those usually end. Blood only calls for more blood and violence. I'm sure you remember the Reign Of Terror, the French Revolution? While I'm clearly not suggesting we'd have a rebellion of that scale; I'm just saying we should weary of where that road could lead. If we can get through this peacefully I'd prefer that. Though that's not saying I will not resort to violence. I think that anything that can kill me is gone; though that's not to say I can't be stopped. A stake to the heart would put me into a slumber that I could not wake from myself." Jonas nodded and sighed, a worn down sound that was uttered from the very bottom of his diaphragm.

"We will have to go about this carefully, but I'm sure we'll be fine. We always are." Willow sent him a small tight smile, though the sounds of footsteps could be heard approaching so the two stopped their chatter and glanced up as Tyler sauntered into the large dining hall that was used for meetings or holidays that vampires stopped by for.

"Report Tyler." Willlow commanded and watched from her seat at the head of the table at the young vampire; taking in his features. His short blonde hair had some blood in it and his brown eyes were dark, angry, and in what Willow normally dubbed as Predator mode. His clothes also had blood on them and were wrinkled, the zipper not done up completely. His voice like thunder on rocks rumbled at her through the darkness which had never bothered any vampire.

"The town is fine, not much is going I didn't see any vampires killing humans. I also didn't see a huge loss in their population." She nodded as if fine with this though as he went to turn around Willow spoke out, dark and low.

"Who's the human you're hiding?" Tyler turned around and a hardly concealed look of annoyance creeped into his features.

"Hiding? I don't know what you mean. I've brought a human back but only because I've taken a preference to his blood." Willow stood and narrowed her eyes slightly at him, he wasn't being outright rude there were undertones of it in his body langue and posture.

"Great, then I'd like to check your story with him. You understand you'll be punished if I find him in less than perfect condition. Mentally, physically and emotionally; I don't put up with vampires abusing humans in this Court. Or if he is here against his will." He gave a curt nod and began stalking out of the great dining hall towards the basement. Frank stood as if to follow but Willow would of preferred to do this on her own and passing by him rested a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here. I'll be alright, grab something to drink." His light green orbs narrowed slightly at Tyler though he nodded.

"Alright. I'll be here if you need me." Willow nodded and shot him a small smile. For the last five-hundred years Frank had been a good friend to her, it was understandable he was worried. There was no need, as Tyler himself posed little threat to Willow. Catching up to the blonde she followed him silently through the mansion that was known as Court towards the basement area. A tremor of anxiety hit Willow out of the blue, and narrowing her eyes stepped up her pace, nearly over taking Tyler with her strides.

When Willow had purchased this mansion, it had been from another vampire who hadn't been too keen on humans. There were chains and holding cells for humans in the basement and the house had been in a decrepit state. Since buying it twelve years ago Willow had restored it to a classical beauty, except for some parts of the basement. Even now as they descended the spiral staircase down Willow could see the off white, yellowish wallpaper peeling away from it's mooring on the walls. She'd have to paint down here and do something about the draft that blew around down here. Single light bulbs placed about five feet apart from each swung from their cords, casting strange shadows about the place. In her musings about what she still needed to do, Tyler being the idiot he was, decided that opening his mouth to goad at Willow would be a good idea.

"You know Willow there is talk on the streets." Her eyes snapped up and she barely bit back a snarl of annoyance.

"Was that a threat Tyler? I assure you that would be most unwise." He chuckled, a mirthless sound.

"Threat? No Willow, that was a warning." The foreboding words raised the goosebumps on her arms and Willow narrowed her eyes. Though didn't respond. Although when the two approached Tyler's room the smell of blood could be scented and Willow actually did snarl, as the blood scratched at some memory; though the vampire couldn't quite place it.

"Why do I smell blood?! Not the kind you spill after you feed, no this is much more." Tyler shrugged.

"I may of roughed him up a bit when he came here." Before the male vampire could register what was happening the smaller female vampire had slammed him against the wall with a grip of steel.

"What have you done to him?" The words were spoken, uttered, quietly however rage rolled under words, promising him a world of hurt.

"Nothing. We had sex, maybe a couple broken ribs, an ankle? It's not that bad." The little redhead could feel her blood run cold.

"Did he agree to /any/ of it?" A small smirk appeared on Tyler's lips, as if he were reveling in the memory of the mans screams, turned broken and the feeling of broken bones against his skin.

"No." Disgusted Willow promised herself that she would deal with this trash later, when the human was safe.

"“I told you we don’t treat humans like that in this court Tyler! I don’t care what your excuses are!” Horror was reflected in her voice, which only seemed to add to Tyler's amusement.

“Willow, I told you he’s my property and not your’s so… Make yourself a good little girl and shoo.” Blinding rage bit at Willow and with a snarl she drew him from one wall and smashed him against the other, leaving a crack against the concrete there. Letting her fangs grow out in a display of dominance the little redhead's voice had dropped to a dangerous note.

“Don’t you ever fucking speak to me like that again ok? Now open the door, let me see the condition of the poor thing.”

“Poor thing? He’s lucky I’m letting him live. He defied me after I told him not to.” Anger seeped into Tyler’s voice and Willow could hear a small whimper, a truly frightened and pained noise emitting from the depths of the room.

“Defied you?! You just raped a man and you’re angry that he deified you?! Where do you get off? Vampires are not superior in fact it’s our job to watch out for humans. They give us life. The least you can do is treat them with respect and not like some sex toy or livestock.” Tyler laughed at this, a truly frightening sound.

“You better watch your tongue Willow. You may be the oldest one of us around, but you have your enemies. Some grow tired of your ways.” This angered Willow, and she spoke each word very enunciated, low and angry.

“You are nothing youngling. I've seen empires rise and fall, seen man triumph and fail. I single-handle helped to shape the world as we know it today. I could end your meaningless existence right here. Do not raise my ire more than you have.” This seemed to strike some fear into Tyler and he nodded very compliantly.

“Of course. I did not mean to anger you.” That was a blatant lie and Willow did not buy it.

"If you did not mean to irk me then you know my stance on humans. They deserve their rights and your neighbors have told me they heard screaming and fighting in here. If you've killed him then that's punishable by death in my Court. Are we clear?" There was a nervous squeak from Tyler and he shook his head quickly, it was always enjoyable for wayward vampires to realize they were not invincible. "Now, open the door." Slowly and with a reproachful look Tyler did as he was told and what Willow pictured in her mind was completely different than what she saw before her.

A man lay on the white sheets, stained with blood, naked and trembling furiously from cold, pain, or fright Willow did not know but if she had to take a guess; she'd say it was all three. A few tears of pity prickled at Willow's beautiful jade colored eyes and hesitantly took a few steps towards him but Tyler beat her to it, walking over and gesturing to his trembling, bruised and frightened form.

“See no harm was done. A few broken ribs, and a fractured ankle. He’s not dying.” The unnamed raven haired man began to tremble as Tyler roughly grabbed a fistful of soft, thick, inky black hair and yanked it up, exposing his throat. “There, he’s a fine looking human, and tastes even better. Help yourself if you wish Willow.” That's when it hit Willow how she knew him, all those years ago when she saved him, only he'd been much smaller back then. It was that little boy and his family from the mugger. It must be him and an involuntary gasp was sucked from her lungs. A feeling of protectiveness washed over Willow and from her spot found her voice.

“Release him.” The words were tightly spoken, filled with a rage washed the room with it's power.

“No! I told you he’s mine!” Tyler protested, the stupidest move he could of possibly made on his part. Wordlessly Willow rushed over at him, he never even had time to defend himself; though he did have time for one last damned scream. Plunging her hand into his head she grasped his brain and threw it to the floor, before throwing his head to join the separated brain matter. His body thrashed once, before going still and his blood pooled from the hole in his head, and his neck. A scent of blood settled over the room and thankfully it appeared that Gerard was nearly fainted and didn't understand what had just happened.

When she walked towards him Gerard moaned lowly, trying to hide himself beneath the sheets as if to get away from her. It broke something watching a human who had been through so much in the last few hours; at least it wasn't a lifetime of Tyler. That was the only thing Willow could tell herself as she crouched near him, tempted to sweep the hair out of his eyes but as she was about to stretch out her hand, their eyes met. Hazel clashed on jade and Willow spoke up hoping he'd hear her.

“Oh Gerard, I’m so sorry. I’m going to take care of you now, don’t worry. You just need to stay strong for awhile longer.” His face was swollen, not only with bruises but from crying and he looked as if he wanted to say something, though slumped back down to the sheets, his pulse eccentric. Shaking him gently, in a place that was unmarred by bite marks or bruise Willow frowned as he passed out, and ripping into her own wrist like she had done all those years ago

She pressed the torn up wrist to his lips, prying them open a bit and tilting his head up so he'd swallow it. For a few moments nothing happened and worry set over Willow as she surveyed him carefully. Then to her great relief, his bones began to mend themselves, and his bruises gradually disappeared. Looking around for his clothes she noticed his jeans were torn, though his shirt was in decent condition. He'd need new clothes and with a frown Willow hurried out of the room shouting for help.

It was Frankie that came to her side, fangs bared at the sight of blood that stained Willow's clothes.

"Willow what's wrong?!" Making sure her voice was calm so she wouldn't rile him up any further Willow spoke softly.

"There's a human who needs clothes, a different room, and I just need help dressing and carrying him." Frank nodded.

"I can bring him some of my pajamas."

"I'd really appreciate that thank you." He nodded before blurring and disappearing from sight, only to come back a couple minutes later with promised articles of clothing. Without speaking the two headed into Tyler's room and Frank threw a look of disgust towards Tyler's decapitated corpse. He didn't remark just set to work and quickly dressed Gerard, before slinging him over his back.

"What room?" There were plenty of open ones and Willow shrugged.

"Something close to mine, I don't want a repeat of what happened." He nodded and together the two took the stairs out of the basement towards the nicer part of the house. They passed a few vampires but they were smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Anyone could see that Willow was in a terrible mood. Once Frank laid Gerard down into a clean bed with crisp white sheets he turned to Willow.

"Do you need anything?" Settling down into a chair at the opposite side of the room the redhead shook her head.

"No. I'm tired though I may rest for awhile." Frank nodded and disappeared, without asking who this human was. Perhaps he didn't know that Willow had met him before. Closing her eyes Willow did rest for awhile, and woke when the sun was at it's peak. All windows were equipped with sunblock curtains so the resident vampires would be free to move about the house in the daytime and not burn up.

Willow walked towards Gerard's bed, only to find him still sleeping. She found herself reluctant to leave him alone in case he woke up and having not much else to do the vampire paced around the room. She'd pause and turn back every few moments and finally growing tired of that just settled back into her chair to wait. It wasn't for a few more hours that Gerard began to stir and bolting upwards from her light sleep Willow rubbed her eyes and tried to make herself look a little more presentable.

Their eyes met from across the room and Willow could tell he was in utter shock; she'd have to make sure his heart didn't stop. His eyes traveled up her form and he opened his mouth, as if looking for something to say. Walking over and sitting on the edge of his bed so she wouldn't freak him out; because Willow was pretty sure that after someone was raped they needed their own personal space she held her palms up to show she wasn't a threat.

"Hello Gerard, it's been a long time. It's lovely to see you again though the circumstances are unfortunate. I'm Willow, I saved you and your family twelve years ago." Maybe that hadn't been the right way to start off, and he blinked staring at her with a mixture of shock and possibly terror. "Hey, relax I don't want to hurt you. In fact I want to help you." The woman soothed though gave him enough space so he may feel comfortable. "You've been through a lot in the last day and for that I'm sorry." Gerard seemed to have snapped out of his shock and flinched before scooting further away from her.

"Where's Tyler?" He whimpered, his face paling at the mention of the deceased vampire.

"Dead." Willow answered darkly as she felt her features sink into a near snarl.

"You...?" Willow just nodded and shrugged.

"He disobeyed my direct orders. Humans are not to be treated in such a manner." Gerard nodded slowly before looking down at his hands, relaxing visibly.

"How are you going to help me?" His voice was soft, quiet and on the edge of tears.

"I can make you forget what happened. All you'll know is you were abducted by a vampire but before anything could happen- I saved you."

"Can you really do that?" Gerard's voice was soft and quivering.

"Yeah, I really can." She promised inching closer to him with a sincere smile.

"You did it to my parents- Tyler did it to me!"

"It's called compulsion. I won't make you do the things Tyler made you when he compelled you." With that she gently placed her hands on either side of his face and conjured her compulsion up. "You will forget that Tyler raped and maimed you. You'll remember there was a struggle and that he abducted you though I saved you before anything could happen. You know that you are safe and protected here, and whenever you're feeling better I will drive you back home." He nodded, his face dulled and scrunched up before his eyes re-opened.

"Thanks again for saving me. I don't even know your name, I'm-" She cut him off with her smooth silky voice.

"Gerard, I'm Willow." He nodded as if remembering.

"Do you mind if I rest a bit longer? I'm really tired." Standing up and moving towards the door Willow shook her head.

"Take as long as you need." With that Willow exited his room to a quiet Court. Most vampires would be sleeping and feeling a soft burn at the back of her throat Willow set off in search of a feeder. Feeders while a live human meal, were treated with the utmost respect and paid very well for their services. All were here by choice and fed Vervain so a vampire may not compel them. Once she found a human by the name of Hannah, a soft spoken mild mannered girl Willow approached her. Hannah stuck her arm out compliantly and sensing that Willow was in no mood for chatter held her words back.

Once satisfied Willow thanked her and offered her some blood so she may heal and went back up the stairs to her room. True to his word Frankie had put Gerard in the room next to Willow's so nothing would happen and laying back in her bed she mustered up the energy to change into some pajamas. Thoughts plagued her as she undressed, like the hardly suppressed tone in which Tyler had threatened her with. If vampires were growing bold enough to ignore her word then would the world be safe for humans?

A groan of frustration threatened to spill from Willow's tightly pressed lips as she sunk back onto the mattress and threw the covers over her body. Tomorrow would be a new day to face these threats and protect those she needed to. That led to another question that was bothering her, if Gerard were captured once more or attacked by a vampire how could she protect him? There were ways to link one to another but that required strong magic and would make Willow very, very vulnerable. Was it a chance she was willing to take? If she and Gerard were linked yes she'd know what was going on with him, but if he died than Willow would die with him. Confused and frustrated the vampire fell into a fitful rest that had her tossing and turning all night.