Hello all...
Alrighty it Chapter 10 and boy are you in for a
treat.
No B/W in this one as Spike takes center-stage as he
has to claim the
throne, either by force or diplomacy.
The spotlight will be on Buffy next chapter.
Enjoy!
Stefan Cilia
Royalty
By: Stefan Cilia
Chapter 10: Inner Fires: William Blood
Now how in hell am I gone pull this thing off. Spike
thought as he strode
down the corridors. I can't just burst in there
shooting. Although that's
not such a bad idea. Don't even go there Spike! Good
point alright. I'll
walk in sit down and ask for the word. Can't be that
hard, can it? Ah!
Bloody hell I royally screwed. He now stood outside
the double door leading
into the conference hall. The argument echoing
loudly out into the hallway.
He fixed his tie, buttoned his jacket, checked his
sword and gun and made
his neck crick. Lets get this show on the road. Wait
I need a proper name to
go by. These are snobs and business types in there,
can't just go in there
and say Hi my name is Spike, damn that sounded too
cheerleader like. William
the Bloody, no to aggressive, William Smith, nope,
William Clinton, dear
Satan no, William Blood, hey not bad okay William
Blood it is. Now lets get
busy. He thought and flung the doors open. Impulsive
but effective. Bloody
hell when this is over and done with I'm getting
myself a shrink.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! If I may have your attention
please!" He called out
as the doors slammed into the walls.
"Who the hell are you?" One of the fifteen clan
leaders gathered around the
conference table demanded as the secretaries and
assistants, lined up behind
the them, looked up over their notebooks and
palmtops.
"My name is William Blood" Spike said as he stalked
around the table.
"I'm here to make sure that none of you clan Royals
do anything stupid." He
said and came to rest behind the Prince's chair at
the head of the table. He
went on as he removed his coat. .
"As my associate Rupert Giles has no doubt informed
you of, the Prince has
been kidnapped and as we speak Rupert and a number
of the Prince's guard are
out looking for him." He said and draped his coat
over the chair.
"What of the Slayer?" A dark haired woman, with gray
eyes, asked.
"Regent Luna is it not?" Spike asked and the woman
nodded.
"The Slayer was badly injured in attempting to
protect the Prince and is
currently resting." Spike answered and sat down.
There was a shocked and
almost collective gasp at the table and from the
secretarial staff.
"May I ask why you're sitting in the Prince's chair
Mr. Blood?" The First of
the Elders asked from the far end of the table.
Seemingly not taken back by
Spike's actions.
"Daniel often told me that keeping the peace and
keeping the balance between
the clans was a prince's foremost duty." Spike said.
"That is correct." The man stated.
"What I heard when I stepped into the room were not
signs of peace and
balance." Spike said.
"What exactly do you mean?" A silver haired woman
asked, which Spike
identified as being one of the Chroniclers, asked.
"Daniel had not sired any childe and has no natural
children of his own, so
there are no obvious candidates. Therefore there
will most likely be inner
fighting among the clans about who will govern the
city until the Prince is
found which were seemingly well under way when I
entered. So I ask you this:
Who will be the regent prince in Daniel's absence?"
Spike asked.
"That would be up to the council."
"And has a decision been reached?" Spike asked.
"No we were in the middle of a discussion." A young
looking man said,
frustration and anger in clear in his voice.
Spike held up his hand. Keep calm. He reminded
himself.
"I've heard enough. It is obvious that some of you
are more then ready to go
toe to toe over who will be regent prince and to
tell you the truth I don't
have much faith in the fact that when the Prince
returns."
"If the Prince returns." Someone said, but earned a
piercing glare from
Spike.
"Like I said I don't believe that "when" the Prince
returns that that person
will stand down quietly."
"Just who the hell do you think you are?" The young
looking man demanded.
"Viktor." Luna pleaded.
"No I want to know what right he has to come
marching in here and insult us.
He's not royalty, he's not even undying." The man
spat out.
Spike looked calmly at the man. Keep calm and
reasonable, it won't help
anything if you clean the floor with this prick. He
reminded himself.
"He's right I'm not undying and I'm not of blue
blood." He stated in a calm
voice.
"There you see he admits it himself." Viktor said
with satisfied smile
"I'm not finished." Spike said and the smile on
Viktor's face died.
"I am here to uphold the balance and the peace. I
know from what I've seen
during the last few weeks that the peace between the
clans is fragile at
best and this is no time for internal fighting among
you. So this is my
proposal: I will serve as regent prince until Daniel
either returns or is
confirmed dead after that point I will step down.
I'm willing to sign a
declaration, or perform a blood oath regarding this
if that is what you
wish."
"What if I refuse?" Viktor asked.
"Viktor, his claim is reasonable and he's right we
can not afford a drawn
out fight amongst ourselves." The First of Elders
said.
"Shut up old man. I ask you again William Blood:
What if I refuse your
proposal?"
"Lets put it to a vote first shall we and if the
vote is in your favor I
will stand down and allow you to slug it out and
should the council choose
to back me, you may challenge me for the throne."
Spike said. I just hope he
doesn't have the skills to back up that mouth. He
thought to himself.
"Very well lets put it to a vote." Viktor said.
"All in favor?" The elder asked and raised his hand.
There were ten more.
"All apposed." Viktor alone raised his. Only two
other leaders raised theirs
alongside him.
"The Chroniclers abstain." The woman with the silver
hair said.
"Very well since my own sister betrays me." Viktor
said and glared at Luna.
"You leave me to choice." He stood. "I challenge
you, William Blood, for the
position of regent prince."
"I accept your challenge Viktor Argent." Spike said
and stood. Thank good I
remembered his name or else I would have lost some
serious face. I'm
definitely going to see a shrink when this mess is
over. I even think like
them.
"Lets take this outside shall we don't want to mess
up the furniture." He
said and took out his gun and placed it on the
table, as Viktor strode out.
Everyone else, including the ones that had voted
against him remained
seated. At least I have some respect. That's good.
"Ladies and gentlemen if you would be so kind as to
step outside and I shall
be with you shortly." Spike said and the leaders and
their secretaries