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Admiral Finn knew his men thought him mad to order such an extensive search of an island that seemed to be deserted, but he knew his darling Elizabeth was there. And when they stumbled upon the small shelter, complete with evidence that someone had recently dwelled within, he became even more firm in his belief.

He stood inside the shelter, surveying the tiny room. His stomach turned as he noted signs of what most likely had occurred there, and his need to find Elizabeth intensified. The thought of how terrified the poor girl must be in the hands of such a ruthless man as William the Bloody chilled him to the very core. No, not a man… His pure, innocent Elizabeth had been at the mercy of a monster. Finn could only pray that anything that may have been done to her had not driven her to insanity.

"Admiral?"

Admiral Finn looked up as his first Lieutenant, Graham Miller, walked into the shelter. "Yes?"

"They still cannot be located, sir."

"Keep looking! Elizabeth has been here, in this very spot!"

"Sir, if I may…are you certain that it was indeed Lady Summers? Then men, well, they've found the bones of a man, sir. It could have been he who was living her, not the lady."

The admiral turned a cold gaze on the lieutenant. "My fiancée is at the mercy of a cruel, heartless pirate. I do not want to hear anything but a promise that every inch this island will be searched, that no man will rest, until she is returned to me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Admiral Finn, sir."

"Then go."

Lieutenant Miller gave a terse bow, leaving Riley alone in the shelter again. The admiral's eyes came to the make-shift bed, then narrowed. "Mark my words, William," he said aloud. "You will pay for daring to touch my Elizabeth."

*** *** ***

Elizabeth's entire body ached. She'd been running with William for hours she knew, and yet, she refused to stop. They had heard voices a few times, and she knew their pursuers weren't far behind. Any wasted second could be just what it took to tear her away from William.

However, her steps were getting slower, her body not responding as quickly as she wanted it to. She was moving now by sheer force of will alone, and she wasn't sure how much further that could take her. She clung to William's hand, giving herself a tangible reminder of why she had to push forward.

Suddenly, she was falling forward, her foot snagged on a tree root. William caught her before she could hit the ground. "Elizabeth?" He frowned, seeing the exhaustion clearly written on her face. "You're tired, my love."

"We can't stop. If we do, they'll catch us." She clutched tightly to his strong arms.

"I could carry you."

"That would only slow you down! We have to move quickly or…"

"Or I may just find ye."

Elizabeth felt cold fear grip her as she turned and met the cold eyes of Angelus. "No…" she gasped.

William moved her behind him, attempting to shield her with his own body. "I will fight to protect her, Angelus," he informed his old rival.

"I'd love fer ye to, Willie. Would mean my new friends here would get to shoot ye." Angelus grinned brightly as several British naval officers stepped forward, their bayonets trained on William.

"You're working with the Navy?" William asked in confusion.

"Told ye I was before ye went and kidnapped the lass off me ship. I was tryin' to bring the girl back to her lovin' fiancé."

"You were not!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "This man is a scoundrel! Don't believe his lies!" she implored the soldiers.

"Life on the island must've made her crazed," Angelus said with a shrug. "Best be gettin' her back to the admiral."

"No! Just let us go!" Buffy pleaded. She clung to her lover in desperation. "William, please, make them leave us alone!"

William swallowed hard. With the number of weapons pointed at him now, he didn't have a chance to fight his way out, even if he had been armed. Still, if Elizabeth hadn't been there, he may have tried, but he would never put her in that kind of danger. "I can't," he said, a helpless expression in his eyes that Elizabeth had never seen before.

And that's when she knew it was over. They couldn't escape, couldn't keep running. Her only choice was to let herself and William be led to the person who would tear them apart—and quite possibly kill the man she loved. With tears in her eyes, she made her way through the woods and back to the beach, William by her side for what she knew could be the last time.

*** *** ***

"Admiral Finn! I've got the lass and that villain William the Bloody!"

Before Elizabeth could even begin to protest Angelus's words, Admiral Finn had grabbed her, embracing her tightly. Elizabeth's eyes widened. Her fiancé had never shown her such affection. "Riley?" she managed to say, his beefy arms almost squeezing the breath out of her.

Riley pulled back slightly then. "Oh, Elizabeth! My darling! How I have feared that I should never see you again, my heart!"

Elizabeth had never before noticed how cold his terms of endearment left her. They held none of the passion of William's, nothing there to make her feel as if her heart and body were aflame. "No danger befell me," she replied. "William took care of me."

Riley's eyes widened, and his arms dropped to his sides. "Whatever do you mean? William, he's…he's the filthy pirate who kidnapped you!"

Elizabeth winced. "That was before. Things have…changed, Riley. You must understand. I've fallen…"

"No!" Riley snapped, not allowing Elizabeth to finish that sentence. His men were present—what would they think of such a thing? "No, Elizabeth. It's…it's the heat! It's made you go mad!"

Elizabeth felt the urge to roll her eyes, and a small voice in the back of her mind told her to inform Riley that he was a "totally lame freak who needed to turn down the wigging factor," whatever that could mean. Maybe she had gone mad from the heat if she was thinking such nonsensical things… However, she instead looked at Riley defiantly and said, "William is a good man, to whom I own my life!"

"He's a pirate, Elizabeth! Pirates can never be good men!"

"He's right there, lass. We're a mean, cruel lot, we pirates."

Elizabeth turned slowly towards Angelus, the look in his eyes making her shudder. "Why are you working with him, Riley? He tried to kill me when I was aboard his ship!"

"I did nothin' of the sort, Admiral! The chit's gone mad, just like ye said."

"No! Riley, please, listen to me!"

William watched the scene in front of him with a heavy heart. He knew the overgrown admiral would never accept what Elizabeth was telling him. He also knew that nothing he could say would help her. They could both plead all they wished, but Admiral Finn would never allow them to be together. William had lost the woman he loved. The inevitability of losing his life as well seemed to pale in comparison.

Riley glanced between Angelus and Elizabeth before settling his gaze on William. "Take this blackguard to the brig."

"No!" Elizabeth yelled again. She tried to run to William as the Navy men brought him back towards the ship, only to have Riley grab her, pulling her back.

"He's a pirate, Elizabeth," Riley said, his tone a harsh whisper. "A lowlife and a scoundrel. Do not embarrass me by forgetting that."

"You know nothing about him, Admiral," Elizabeth replied angrily. "I owe him my life! He has done nothing but keep me safe since that animal attacked us!" She pointed to Angelus.

"I tried t'save her!" Angelus insisted. "Got the lass off his ship. Tried t'get her back to ye before Willie jumped ship with 'er."

"No! That is not at all what happened! Angelus is lying!" Elizabeth said, her voice almost hysterical.

"Angelus is in my employ," Finn said tersely. "His task has been to help save you, which he has done."

"But he's a pirate, too!" Elizabeth exclaimed, clearly exasperated. "If you won't trust William, why will you trust him?"

"We will discuss this no more!" Finn snapped, grabbing Elizabeth's arm tightly and dragging her off. "We are going to the ship, and you will speak no more of this nonsense."

Elizabeth struggled as best she could, but she had no chance against Riley. Eventually, she slumped, resigning herself to the loss of her paradise.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth sat in her cabin, her features tired and drawn. Riley had locked her inside, making it impossible for her to get to William. She'd never been frightened of her fiancé before, but the way he'd been treating her since the island changed that.

She was terrified now, for both herself and for William. She knew Riley would have him hanged, and that thought made her feel cold inside. Where would she be without William? How could she survive without the man she loved so deeply?

Elizabeth heard someone at the door and looked up sharply just as Admiral Finn came striding in. "Riley…"

"I want to hear nothing from you, save for the answer to one question—did you willingly lay with the pirate?"

Elizabeth paled. What she had done with William had seemed right on the island, but now Riley was looking at her as if she'd been tainted by the vilest sin imaginable. "I…I love him," she said, her eyes begging Riley to understand.

Finn's expression darkened, and he slapped Elizabeth across the face. "Whore!"

Elizabeth pulled back, shocked. "Riley…"

"You will address me as Admiral Finn," he said coldly. "I will not take such a dishonorable woman as my wife. You have shamed yourself, and you have shamed the memory of your parents."

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears at the mention of her parents. What would they have thought of her now? "I love him," she said again, her voice soft this time.

Riley sneered. "You disgust me." He stormed from the cabin, leaving Elizabeth alone.

*** *** ***

"Did ye just find out the lass is less of a lady an' more of a trollop?"

Admiral Finn turned, his eyes narrowed at Angelus. "I should throw you off this ship."

"Ye should, but if somethin' were to happen t'me, well, certain secrets might find a way of gettin' out."

"Don't speak of that on my ship," Admiral Finn replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Then ye best be rememberin' out deal, Admiral. I'd hate to see anythin' bad happen to a business partner such as yerself."

The admiral's jaw was tight. "I won't forget our deal, Angelus. I will honor my end of the bargain." He left then, Angelus watching him as he did.

"Oh, I won't be forgettin' it either, Admiral," Angelus said once he was sure Finn was out of earshot. "Only problem is, I'm not one fer honor…"

*** *** ***

"Okay, now that sounded sinister."

Xander frowned as he picked his head up from the table and glanced over to where Dawn had joined Anya in the book reading. "What are you doing, Dawnie?" he asked. "Didn't we establish that that thing isn't exactly G-rated?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Okay, for one thing, I'm old enough to up the rating from 'G.' Secondly, Spike's in the brig, and Buffy's locked in her cabin, so I don't think there's going to be any hanky panky goin' on."

"Spike's in the brig, huh?" Xander said, perking up a bit. "Well, that's good news at least."

"Why are you so dense sometimes?" Anya blurted out, managing to surprise everyone else in the shop. "William is the hero in this." She shook the book at Xander. "And he loves Elizabeth. Therefore, she is safer with him. Duh, Xander."

Xander looked offended. "Look, I don't care what sort of wacky notions that book has, Spike is nothing but bad news."

"Actually, it looks more like Riley and Angelus are the bad news," Dawn said. "They've got some secret evil deal that Angelus plans to be all dishonorable about." She turned to Anya. "How come there are scenes without Spike and Buffy? I thought the book was supposed to chronicle their actions inside of it."

"Because the further they slip into character, the more book-like it becomes. Besides the plot needed to be moved along, and Angelus and Riley certainly wouldn't have had that conversation in front of Spike or Buffy," Anya explained.

"Good point," Dawn replied.

"I've got it!"

Dawn, Anya, and Xander all turned towards the sound of Willow's exclamation. "What did you get, Will?" Xander asked.

"The answer to how to get Spike and Buffy out! This spell will be perfect! It's meant to pull people out of dimensions created by mystical enchantments. It's exactly what we need."

"Yeah, unless it manages to only bring back their toes, or turns them inside out, or something," Anya muttered.

Willow shot Anya a dirty look. "It'll work. I just have to get the ingredients together, and Buffy and Spike will be home before you know it!" Willow grinned as she started getting what she'd need off the shelves of the Magic Box.

*** *** ***

I know it's been a really long time between updates, but real life has been affecting my ability to write. I have no intention of leaving off any of my WIP's or to stop writing all together. I will update as my schedule permits, but updates will probably be a bit sporadic for the time being. There's nothing I can do about this, and harassing me to update will not make anything go any faster. Just know that I am writing when I can, and I don't plan to just leave you hanging.

Review please. It's the only way to let me know that people are reading this!





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