Dark Shadows: Angelique's War -- 1
Date: 10/6/98 2:22:05 PM
From: oberon79

~Prelude~

Wild, vivid spirals danced over the wooden battlefield. Burnt, black pawns littered the chess board. She had won. There would be more opponents, there always were, but for some reason she knew this game wouldn't be like the others. If she didn't do something soon, Barnabas Collins would awaken and then the world would fall apart.

~The Arrival~

Storm-tossed tree leaves blew across the worn and weary foot-path. The weather hadn't always been like that. There was a time when the sun would shine so brightly hate and pain would squint their blind little eyes and run off. Then the nights grew black and the days were riddled with bloodless corpses and victims of "The Bite." That was his time, a time of monsters and fighting, a time of death. That was a time so long ago and yet so soon to come again.

The woman climbed out of her golden-hued taxi and walked through the lightning bolts and thunder bombs. The doors weren't too far away and it's not like she'd melt in the rain. The sun-cab rolled away and when the vibrant streaks were gone, she knew there was no other way.

The heavy iron knockers flung themselves upon the sturdy wooden doors. The deep thud carried through the night and a sickness welled over her pale face.

"Who are you?" asked the cold, wrinkled man, still grasping his wine glass.

"I'm the new governess sir. My name is.. Angelique DuVall."

"Who's that, Roger?" escaped the wrinkled lips of Elizabeth Collins, matriarch of the Collins family.

"Her name is Angelique. She will be David's new governess."

"I've already found him one. I've already told you that Victoria will be here tomorrow."

"That's why I found Angelique. You can tell Victoria to leave when she gets here."

"Neglecting your duty again, Roger? I'm always dealing with your lack of parental control. With David and now with..."

"She is not my daughter! Now if you don't mind, I will show Angelique to her room."

"Vicki will not leave again, Roger. She will stay with us and you will do nothing. I don't care what you do with the other one, but Vicki will take care of David."

******

Roger bolted from the room, throwing back the heavy wooden doors as if to explode from the scene. Angelique recognized the cheap theatrics and grinned to herself. An eerie mansion, a violent storm, a violent argument, and of course a witch pretending to be a governess so that the greatest evil in the world would not be released.

If this were a horror movie, someone would die tonight. At least "the princess" hadn't arrived yet. As long as Vicki stays away, there's a chance for survival. Of course David will still be a problem, but he could always be dealt with.

On top of the spiral staircase Carolyn, Elizabeth's only daughter, stumbled her way to the floor, tripping down three steps at a time. She had obviously inherited the true Collins' curse.

An elegant beauty with a drunken stagger and rather a tendency to talk could hurt the plan, even if nobody could tell the difference between the truth (whatever that meant in Collinwood) and a drunken delusion. She was all Collins and they could destroy even the best of lives.

*******

"Do you mind if I take that room, Mr. Collins?"

"It's just an abandoned room, Angelique. We haven't let anyone in there because of the mess. I suppose if you want to clean it up, it could be yours. There were rumors of secret passages and even ghosts who look like the members of the family, but superstition and innuendo has been the only stable thing in this family. And call me Roger. You seem to annoy Elizabeth without trying and that makes you my equal, not my servant."

"I would like to apologize to her for any problems that I've caused."

"Don't."

*******

As the door to her room shut, the smell of perfume and incense flooded the room. A veil of mist rose from the secret doorway but Angelique only smiled with delight. She was expecting this visitor.

"Hello Alexis. Has death been favorable?"

*******

"You killed me, Angelique. You knew what would happen when I went against Barnabas but you forced me to go there anyway. Didn't your precious Sight tell you what would happen?"

"You let him corrupt you Alexis. You were no better than the others. Each battle, each timeline has had the same end. We always love Barnabas and we always die for that love."

"How can we not love Barnabas, we made him!"

"We made him with evil in our minds, blackness in our souls. When we finally end his threat salvation will be ours."

"IF we end his threat. So far we've only managed to fail."

"That will change. My plan cannot lose."

"Don't pretend that you have some secret plan or hidden weapon. You've only lived this long because you have the sight. It's easy to run when you know who your enemy is."

"I think I've lost the sight. It's been days since the last vision, the one where... I haven't even been able to touch the dreamscape. Now everything is happening and I don't know what will happen next. I thought that Victoria was going to let Barnabas out, but now that I'm here, the feeling should have left. I still have some sensation, some blurry little notion of the future. I've tried to read it but it feels like staring into the sun."

"So you're lost. You live your life in fear and each time you see somebody leave the mansion, you're going to wonder "is that the one who's going to let him go?" Is Roger going to stumble into the tomb? Will Carolyn hear the call? Maybe David will find the hidden room while playing. You don't know how you're going to die but you feel the terror. You're going to die."

"You sound so happy about that. Would you cry if I die? Would you even care?"

"Darling, I'm going to help kill you."

As the greyish fog fluttered into the darkness, Angelique just sat upon her bed and let the tears roll down.

***********
"Angelique! Angelique, come here!"

"Roger? Roger, what's wrong? Has something happened to David?"

"Nothing ever happens to that demon but Elizabeth is dead!"

**********