“Oaxaca Nights”, 4/4

[aadler]

 
Final installment.

---

Part 3 here

epilogue

The sun was bright, but the beach umbrella was broad, and Cordelia muted the glare even more with properly stylish sunglasses. She could see the ocean from the hotel’s terrace where (as promised) she rested poolside, and hear the murmur of the waves … and that was all the proximity she needed, she’d had enough Nature In The Raw lately to last her till the end of the year. (Or decade. Or millennium … and, since it was already 1998, that might not even be exaggeration.) On her return to the comforts of civilization, Cordelia had stripped, showered, and then slept for thirteen hours solid; when she woke, well into the afternoon, it was to launch herself into every spa treatment offered by her hotel or any of the nearby establishments. Full-body massage, a deep and agonizing (but oh so welcome) foot massage, steams, soaks, rinses, creams, lotions, oils, shampoos, wraps, facials … and, of course, the most comprehensive, exacting, meticulous pedicure of her entire life.

(The Danicas were in her suitcase. Beyond hope of restoration, they would be buried with honor when she got home.)

All of this was solo. Her mother remained secluded in her own room, her father was still away. (Oh, well, at least he didn’t seem to have a secretary or ‘assistant’ along this time.) At the end of that, and another night’s sleep, Cordelia was ready to proclaim herself almost fully human again. Not completely recovered, not yet, her ordeal was not to be so casually dismissed. But the horror was fading, and she felt … good.

And — no point in denying it — satisfied.

She wasn’t about to get nostalgic over what she’d just gone through. Still, there were moments worth remembering, particularly the one where she marched straight up to the big bad of the moment, told him off in no uncertain terms, and then took that sucker down. Back when she’d first begun her involvement with the ‘Scoobies’, but before the unexpected involvement with Xander, he had once challenged her: “If you ever actually have to face a demon yourself, what’re you gonna do, Cordy? Bitch him to death?”

Turned out, that was totally possible.

With a small jolt of surprise, Cordelia realized she had just thought of Xander and smiled. Huh. How about that?

A shadow fell beside her lounge chair, and a polite voice at her elbow said, “Good afternoon, señorita. Can I get you anything? Towel, sunscreen, refreshment, something to read?”

Cordelia looked up and thought, Ooh, juicy. Aloud she said, “What happened to Reynalda?”

The gorgeous newcomer said, “Her shift has ended, señorita, and now I am to serve you.” He gave her a gleaming smile. “I am Pablo.”

I’ll just bet you are. For an intense, tempting moment Cordelia thought of the whole virginity issue, of exotic locale and vacation memories and what happens in Puerto Escondido stays in …

But please, seriously: a servant?

“I’m mostly good here, Pablo,” she told him, with a potent smile of her own just in case she changed her mind later. “But, yes, a drink would really hit the spot right now.”

The knowing confidence in his eyes cost him points, though it was questionable whether he would ever realize just how much. “And what is the señorita’s pleasure?”

Cordelia thought about it. She really did like margaritas, but for the moment they were connected to unwelcome memories, and piña colada was just utterly off the menu. “I’ll have a strawberry daiquiri,” she decided. “And, Pablo? Keep ’em coming till I say otherwise.”

He departed, and she settled back, content. Yes, better all in all to wait till she got back home. There was, after all, the boyfriend to take into consideration. Plus, the entirety of Senior Year stretched out before her … and, if Cordelia Chase had anything to say about it, that would be one for the record books!

The breeze from the sea was cool. The sun was warm, but kept at a properly respectful distance. And liquid yumminess was on the way.

Life was good.

 
– end –

[ A supplementary drabble for this story can be seen HERE. ]
 

---

Afterword: the author does not share Cordelia’s opinion of Puerto Escondido. However, all descriptive details are accurate to the extent that research could make them; some things depicted here may not have been present in 1998, but every effort was made to provide an authentic representation. The Mixtec ceremonial site described in the narrative was ‘discovered’ in 2000 (i.e., local knowledge became more widely known), and the mask was of the type shown in gillo’s artwork at the beginning of Part I.

---

Banner by gillo

And there you are. Don’t hesitate to offer commentary.

End Notes

Comments

[mymatedave.livejournal.com]

Really liked this fic, excellent Cordy voice.

[aadler]

I aim to please.

The hardest part for me, in this, was writing Cordelia as she was at the time. Her comment in “Becoming”, Part 2, describing her flight from the Library — “I ran. I think I made it through three counties before I realized nobody was chasing me. Not too brave.” — showed an awareness that easily could have lent itself to growth … but, at the same time, Season 3 and the first season of Angel showed that growth to still be in progress, so I couldn’t have her morph into a full-blown heroine straight out the gate.

The story as written shows my attempt to strike the balance. Happy you liked it.

[sam-arkand.livejournal.com]

You always do right excellent Cordelia stories. The call outs to what will happen to her were chilling.

[aadler]

Thank you. She’s such a vibrant personality, she’s usually a pleasure to work with. The truth of the matter is, so many of my current ideas involve Cordelia, I’m trying to delay the writing and intersperse them with non-Cordy fics so I don’t become too one-note.

As for the sidelong references to future events … well, that could be done for practically any of the characters, couldn’t it? And psychics (or those with future knowledge) are the best ones to deliver such lines, cryptic to the characters but meaningful to the fans.

[draconin.livejournal.com]

Queen C at her best. :-) Excellent Cordelia voice and an intriguing cast of OCs. Very enjoyable.

[aadler]

As I observed to mymatedave, Cordelia (or any of the Buffy characters) can be tricky, because you can’t just capture a single personality, you have to make sure you have the right one for a particular time-frame. All the same, the challenge can make you look deeper into the characters, which has payoffs of its own.

Happy the story suits you.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Sorry for not reviewing as I read, but I was just clicking on "next" as soon as I came to it. I love your Cordy. I think the first fic of yours that I ever read was a Cordelia-centric fic and I was knocked out. She's not a character I'd ever thought about being the main character in a fic, but of course she could be! You do her very well.

Great job

[aadler]

The major ones, of course, would be the two Queenverse stories with sroni (though my longest solo fic, “Glass Ceiling”, was also Cordy-centric, now that I think about it). Queen C does provide for some interesting material, doesn’t she?

Your pleasure pleases me. Thank you.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I think "Glass Ceiling" may be the one I read. That sounds familiar.

[thirdgorchbro.livejournal.com]

Great story! I thought you did a really good job of capturing Cordelia's voice in the early stages of her transformation from Queen C to her future self. Nicely done.

[aadler]

It feels so good to see you say that. That was exactly what I was focused so carefully on trying to communicate, and it’s wonderfully heartening to be told I succeeded at the most delicate and necessary task.

Like so many people, I resented and complained about the degeneration of Cordelia’s character in the fourth season of Angel (and almost total absence in the fifth season; the single ‘guest-star’ appearance was, paradoxically, so beautifully done that it reignited my crabbiness over what had gone before). Her gradual growth, starting probably somewhere in “Invisible Girl” and continuing through much of Angel’s third season, provides a rich vein for story possibilities, and this ‘interim’ space — between “Becoming”, Part 2 and “Anne” — felt like it was worth exploring. You reassure me that I did an adequate job of it.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

As others have said, your Cordelia voice is excellent. The shame at having fled, the slow morphing into someone who would tell off a vampire who hunted her for sport next year, the barest beginnings of admitting true feelings for Xander, these all place her development so precisely in the timeline it's quite beautiful.

For a moment, I thought you had stumbled with your depiction of Spike. Not known for his elaborate plans the whole deal with the braclet didn't seem right, until the reveal that it was all to save Dru and everything made perfect sense. That's always a cool reveal, when you think something is off and it turns out just right.

Boone, and the Sisters of Byzantium were a nice touch and nod to the future. Very much enjoyed.

[aadler]

And, as I said in previous comments, my main focus in this story was the ticklish task of providing a plausible depiction of what Cordelia, at this time, would be doing and feeling in the situation I conceived. I actually hadn’t remembered Cordelia’s facing down Lyle Gorch until after I’d written this (but before your comment), but you’re right, that came early enough in Season 3 for my little narrative to be a reasonably valid precursor.

At the same time, not only was it necessary to preserve enough of the ‘old’ Cordelia to fit continuity, it was FUN. Cordelia’s pettiness, egocentrism, and self-centered snark were a huge part of the character’s appeal when we first met her, and even as she began to further develop, and I truly wanted to capture that flavor.

As far as Spike goes, I had actually intended for him to be running a long con on Cordelia, preserving (or trying to preserve) the pretense of being a non-vampire Australian so he could persuade her to voluntarily accept the mask in Drusilla’s place (though of course she wouldn’t know what that entailed). I altered my approach, not because I saw it as out of character for Spike — though I’m inclined to agree with you there — but because the role I’d projected for Cordelia in that scenario was just a little too far-thinking and self-controlled for the high-school Queen C.

Boone and the Sisterhood were chosen (in his case) and developed (in theirs) to accommodate narrative complexities that seemed desirable to me. If they worked, I’m glad.

[comlodge.livejournal.com]

What a rollicking good tale. Enjoyed it a lot. Very, very Cordy from the bits I know of her.

[aadler]

‘Bits you know’? You mean you haven’t watched every episode of both Buffy and Angel?

Cordelia is fun, yes, and I enjoyed producing what might have been her first solo outing. I’m happy it entertained.

[comlodge.livejournal.com]

No I haven't. I came to this universe soley because of Spike. I own BTVS seasons 4 to 7 and Angel S5. I have also got the itunes eps of Spike earlier appearances in both shows. I have also watched others of BTVS when they have been on tv but almost none of Angel. I am a Spikeophile:D I love the journey of the charachter.

I have however spent the past eighteen months or so devouring fanfic from all over the place (mostly centred on Spike). It does sometimes confuse me over charachters - what is cannon, what is not but I do have a fairly good idea of the main charachters. I do want to watch the ATS1 -4 cos I really would like to meet Groosalug and the real Doyle among others.

Oh. I did guess straight away that Nick was Spike:D

And I did watch Secret Squirrel - lol.

[aadler]

There is, of course, much excellent and enjoyable fanfic out there. I’d have to say, however, that if you haven’t seen a lot of BtVS or Angel pre-Spike, you’re missing not only some excellent entertainment, but much of the context that provides meaning to the venue in which Spike moved and grew. The best way, of course, is to see both shows in order from the beginning … which, of course, means delaying Angel Season 1 until the beginning of Buffy Season 4, and then watching them in parallel thereafter. Still, that’s a recommendation rather than a requirement.

[comlodge.livejournal.com]

I hadn't realised that Angel did not start until S$ of BTVS. I did start watching BRVS when it first aired in Oz way back when. I don;t remember how many episodes I watched. I remember thinking Angel was so drool worthy and I do not remember Spike at all so perhaps I only watched Season 1. I also saw the odd Angel episode but my hubbie is not into any sort of fantasy/scifi or alternative world viewing and back then we actually only owned one TV - how totally barbaric:)

I do intend to watch earlier seasons of Angel but just have not been able to justify the expense of buying them and we do not subscribe to pay tv and they are not often on free to air here.

I like the idea of the parallel viewing because I know there was a bit of crossover between the two shows. Thanks for the suggestion.

YOu are obviously a great fan of both shows.

I have started reading ther first story in your Backstage series.

[spikesjojo.livejournal.com]

I love it - you are the queen of Queen C! Enough plot to roll with, and excellent voices. Love the addition of Boone!

[aadler]

It tickles me to think of all these people occupying the same world, and occasionally bouncing off one another. Besides that, it was fun to imagine Cordelia in a role requiring decisive physicality while she was still between Shallow!Cordy (BtVS seasons 1 and 2) and Action!Cordy (A:tS seasons 2-onward).

And, since you responded positively to my previous self-pimping: Boone also appears in “Phase Shift”, and “Glass Ceiling” is a sizeable Cordy-centric fic.