Title: I Wish
Rating: PG
Beta: Couldn't afford one. So all mistakes are on me.
Author's Notes: I have never been to Sheffield so places stated here are randomly named.
Disclaimer: BtVS does not belong to me, yada, yada, yada. You know the drill.
~*~
~Sheffield, England~
~1905~“I wish his eyeballs will explode so he won’t ogle at any other girl!”
“I wish him syphilis!”
“I wish his stomach will twist into knots and his heart to burn!”
“I wish him dead!”Anyanka’s head pounded as she entered the small château she shared with Halfrek. The place was situated just outside of Sheffield and was owned by a Lord Something-Or-Another. Anyanka never really bothered with names when she is busy dishing out vengeance. She immediately fell in love with the place when she first came here some three months ago. Instead of leaving the body to rot in the home like she always did, she took time to clean up the place and made it her own – after leaving the Lord in a ditch somewhere. A month later, Halfrek came knocking, seeking for a place to stay.
Anyanka dropped into a plush sofa near the fireplace and sighed. It had been a long day. She spent the whole day travelling around Sheffield attending to the cries of the wronged and the broken hearted. Though Anyanka enjoyed her job, she quickly got bored after her fifth woman.
Women aren’t creative anymore it seems.
Anyanka was about to close her eyes to seek refuge from her throbbing headache when she heard a faint cry in the distance. Anyanka straightened and swept her eyes around the lounge. The cry did not get louder nor did it get nearer as she waited for the person to come out from hiding. Anyanka couldn’t even pinpoint the exact location of the cry. It sounded like a whimper. Like a child sobbing quietly in a corner.
“Oh lordy! Do you hear that?” Halfrek swept in the room with an annoyed look on her a delicate face. Her white gloves were splatter with bright red spots and a there was a large rip across her chest, giving everyone a bigger view of her cleavage. “And I thought I was done for the day!” she continued as she sat across from Anyanka. She frowned when she caught sight of Anyanka’s wary look. “Everything alright, Anyanka?”
Anyanka shook her head, finally realising where that cry was coming from. “I just thought for a moment that there was someone in the house. I didn’t realised that sound came from my head.”
“It’s loud isn’t it? I think it’s that girl by Lanchester. She has been crying out for vengeance for a couple of weeks now.”
“Why hasn’t anyone attended to her?”
“Because we, Vengeance Demons, always have something else better to do.”
Anyanka frowned as she settled deeper into her seat. She tried in vain to block out the girl’s cry. “What do you mean?”
“That girl isn’t top priority. She’s only seventeen and a daughter of a maid who works for an ambassador. Apparently, she’s in love with the ambassador’s son.” Halfrek pulled off her gloves and threw them into the fireplace, making a note to burn them later. “Teenage romances, never a top priority for us.”
“Well, she is now if we want her to shut up.”
“True. But I had a long day and I’m tired. I thought of taking a long bath before heading to bed.”
“But it’s only seven in the evening!”
“I have an early day tomorrow,” Halfrek replied with a wink.
Anyanka sighed. She was getting annoyed. The girl’s cries coupled with the headache she had was not making her foul mood any better. “Alright,” she finally said, “I’ll take care of her.”
Halfrek’s faced brightened as she smiled at her friend. “Thank you, Anyanka. You’re a doll.”
Anyanka rolled her eyes before snapping her fingers. In a wink, she disappeared and reappeared in a large kitchen, which she assumed belonged to the ambassador. She heard someone gasping in surprise behind her. Whirling around, Anyanka spotted a young girl with long blond hair and bright blue eyes staring back at her. Her dress was stained with grime and there was soot on her face, her tears making black streaks on her cheeks.
Anyanka did a quick search and found the girl’s name. “Rose.”
“Erm…hello. How did you get in here?”
The girl didn’t look as surprise or as frightened as Anyanka thought she would be. She seldom appeared in front of humans like this but when she does, Anyanka always have a phrase ready to calm the humans.
It’s just a dream...Don’t be afraid, I’m only here to make your wish come true...Oh shut up! Either the girl is used to people popping in front of her without warning or Anyanka was not the first vengeance demon that she has met.
“I heard your cries”, Anyanka replied. “It was annoying so I came to answer your wish.”
Rose blinked, lowering her head. “Oh. I’m sorry, my lady. I didn’t mean to make such a ruckus.”
Anyanka waved the girl’s apology away. “That’s not what I meant. I’ll just get right to the point. I know the ambassador’s son hurt you. I’ve come here to help you seek vengeance.”
“Vengeance? There’s no –”
“Don’t be silly, little girl. There is vengeance in your heart. I can hear it and your maddening cries from the other side of town.”
“Oh.”
“Now, tell me what your heart desires and I’ll make it come true.”
“What my heard desires?”
“Yes. Like do you wish him small testicles? Or maybe you wish he went blind? You know, because he was blind to leave you. That sort of thing.”
“Oh no, I can never do that!”
Anyanka rolled her eyes. She came here to lift her spirits not drag it down even more. “Rose, that man you called your lover left you. Surely you want him to pay for what he did. You can’t sit in a corner and cry all day.”
Rose bit her lower lip thoughtfully. Anyanka knew she had her. Just a little bit more of probing and –
“Ok,” the teen nodded. Her eyes were bright with trepidation and Anyanka could see various thoughts racing through her pretty head of hers.
“I wish –”
Something interesting. Something interesting. Something interesting.“– he would never find love!” Rose looked happy with her wish.
Anyanka groaned. Her face started to shift as the pendant nestled between her breasts began to grow warm against her skin. Rose’s eyes widened in alarm as Anyanka revealed her true face.
“Wish granted.”
An hour later, Anyanka was back at the chateau, sitting in front of the fire with Halfrek across from her. Both of them had a glass of wine in their hands as the fire crackled and popped.
“Did you deal with that teenage girl?” Halfrek asked after a few moments of silence.
“I did. She asked for the usual.”
“No love?”
“No love.”
“We should move,” Anyanka said. “This place is getting boring.”
Halfrek raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Boring? I thought you loved it here. You spent ages on this house.”
“I meant the people. The people are boring.”
Halfrek pursed her lips thoughtfully. “We could go to Manchester. Maybe back to London.”
“No. We should leave England. Maybe even Europe.”
“Well, tomorrow’s another day. Maybe it would pick up.”
“Until the women of this damn country grow some creatively, this is all I’m going to stuck with – all
we are going to stuck with.”
“I’m not complaining.”
Anyanka rolled her eyes.
“We’ve only been here for less than a year, Anyanka. Be patient. There’s still much to see.”
“Besides, there’s still –” Halfrek trailed off. She cocked her head as if hearing something from afar. “Hear that?”
How can Anyanka not. The wailing brought back her headache and its little annoying, pounding friends.
Halfrek smiled. “Maybe this girl will be what you need.”
“I won’t hold my breath. Don’t touch my wine.” She disappeared before Halfrek could respond. When she appeared again, Anyanka found herself standing in a dark bedroom, a woman in mid 30s sobbing loudly on the bed. Anyanka cleared her throat loudly. The woman fell silent as she stared at the Vengeance Demon. A second later, she started screaming.
“Oh shut up!”
~*~
And thanks, Bre, for making the awards.