The Devil Within

They Say Even the Archangels Fear Me, Whoever "They" are is Wrong

The corridors of the old Celtic castle brought back memories for Crowley. The cobblestone walls were reminiscent of his boyhood when little Fergus MacLeod snuck into the King's Castle with a rookie invisibility spell, the very first he ever cast. It brought back his one good memory of his mother, Rowena MacLeod. She was elated to see that he did have the magical talent that she was born with, although he was a late bloomer. That didn't stop her from abandoning him a year later without a word, leaving him to fend for himself. There were times when he thought she just up and died, vanishing with no one to mourn her.

Who knew that old bag would still be kicking?

Rowena MacLeod was the last person on Earth Crowley ever imagined seeing. The woman was supposed to be dead for God's sake, yet there she was, dressed in a royal blue gown with sparkles because, of course, she loved sparkles. Crowley ran into her while he was in India, finding her in a five-star restaurant using a hex to get whatever she wanted. The waiter died, as they all do, and Crowley was able to catch up with Rowena as she ran after processing what the Bloody Hell he was witnessing. Because Crowley was in a vessel that didn't resemble what he looked like when he was alive at all, Rowena didn't recognize him. Crowley, with his silver tongue, was able to spin a story to get Rowena to help him before she killed him with her infamous Demon Hex Bag. It miraculously worked and Rowena agreed to help Crowley stay hidden from the big bad Devil in return for what she wanted.

"Ah, Crowley," Rowena said, almost strutting through the hall. "How are you liking the room, Dearie?"

"It's more than acceptable, Miss MacLeod," Crowley hummed, keeping it professional. "Or should I say, Head Witch MacLeod?"

Rowena grinned at Crowley, loving the sound of her name paired with Head Witch. Her greatest desire was to overthrow the Grand Coven's group of Head Witches, all Crowley needed to do was remove the dampeners on her power. From there, Rowena confronted the Grand Coven and cursed each Head Witch into a little pet for her, most of them being of the rodent variety. The new Head Witch was more than satisfied with her deal and gladly held up her end of the bargain. Crowley was put up in the nicest room in the castle- besides Rowena's, of course -with the best protection and hiding sigils known to witch-kind.

"You're such a charmer, Mister Crowley," Rowena gushed, waving her hand. "Now, I have a demon trapped in the Grand Hall claiming to be one of yours. Did you, by chance, send a spy somewhere?"

"I did, but there is a chance they aren't mine," Crowley said, walking forward. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention mo- ahem," Crowley cleared his throat before correcting himself, "ma'am. I will solve this problem quickly."

"You're quite chivalrous for a demon, Mr. Crowley," Rowena said, walking beside him.

"It's a habit," Crowley said without looking at her. "I would also prefer not to anger a host that could kill me with one spell, I'm not an Imp, after all."

"Well, now you're just trying to make me blush," Rowena commented, ignoring the last part of Crowley's statement. "If it isn't an issue, I would like to accompany you, Dearie. Just to make sure the situation is handled properly, I am a leader now."

"Of course, ma'am," Crowley said, holding back his annoyance.

He was hoping that Rowena would stay behind so he could limit as much contact with her as possible. Crowley had a lot of sour feelings toward his mother and wanted very little to do with her, having only made the initial deal with her to save his own skin. It was by sheer dumb luck that Crowley got to his bones before Lucifer, though, not before the Winchesters. Good old Moose and Squirrel helped Robert Singer get out of the deal he made to get Death's location by threatening to torch Fergus MacLeod's bones. If they succeeded, Crowley would cease to exist and truly be dead, something he has tried very hard to prevent.