Title: "Her White Knight" (4/?)
Author: TheQueenly1
Pairing: Giles and Buffy!
Rating: PG for this chapter. Other chapters may have different ratings.

Disclaimer: As far as I know, Joss Whedon owns all the characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I do not, and no infringement of copyright is intended or should be inferred. The original characters in this story are mine, however.

Summary: Buffy and Giles are sent back to the thirteenth century, and in the trials and travails they experience, they discover their love for each other.

Spoilers: At least up to "After Life." It is AU after that, for which I am sure we are all grateful.

Notes: This story was written in response to Challenge # 4 here at the ODD website, "The B/G Knight Challenge." Thank you, Dusty, for the issuing the challenge, or I would not have been inspired to write this story. [Brackets] are used to indicate unvoiced thoughts. *Asterisks* are used for emphasis.

Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to those who have responded thus far!

Giles hefted his sword, pleased at its balance. The castle blacksmith had repaired and sharpened it for him, and it gleamed like new. Maybe he and Buffy could get in some practice while they were here. It would not do to let her skills deteriorate, nor his, for that matter.

"Hey, Sir Giles," a familiar feminine voice said. "Ready for some training?"

Giles turned, sword still in hand, and his eyes widened at what he saw. His Slayer stood before him, in a long white gown, her golden hair curling softly over her shoulders. She had often worn clothing that was far more revealing, but never had her seen her wearing anything that looked so utterly feminine...and deliciously sexy. He had always been devoted to her, and not just out of duty, but for the first time he truly understood the cult of romance peculiar to the late medieval period. For a single smile from the beautiful young woman before him, he would willingly have slain a hundred dragons.

She clasped her hands before her, fingers intertwining nervously. "I-- uh, finished the gruel," she said, softly and awkwardly. "Like you said."

Her words did not make sense until he realized she thought his long silence was due to his being upset with her for not acquiescing to his earlier request. The real reason he found himself so tongue-tied in her presence was that he could not imagine engaging in any kind of combat with her when she looked so lovely and so sweetly feminine, even as part of her training--although he had been thinking about the necessity of doing so just moments before. He swallowed, resisting the urge to blurt out, like a schoolboy, the thought uppermost in his mind; [You're beautiful, Buffy.]

He did not know that Buffy was having similar thoughts. [Giles is so handsome that armor, so...masculine. He looks a damn sight better in that than he ever did in tweed. My bookish, boring, stuffy old Watcher can not only kill dragons, he's a hottie!]

Then, at the heels of that thought, came another that before, she had always been reluctant to contemplate. [He's the same man I always knew; he's just wearing different clothes. If that's true, maybe Giles was never boring and stuffy at all--and I've known for some time that he really isn't all that old. Maybe that's just the way I thought about him. Maybe I was wrong.]

This thought so disconcerted her that she turned away quickly, taking a sword from the nearby weapons rack. "Come on, Giles. See if you can beat your Slayer."

When she turned back to face him, however, he had not moved, except to shake his head slowly. "Buffy, I don't want to fight with you."

This made tears come to her eyes. "Well, I do! Want to fight, that is. Train." She was aware that she was not being very coherent, but for reasons she did not understand, Giles' silence plus his refusal to practice with her made her feel rejected. It gave her the intense but irrational feeling that she was losing him, as she had lost every other man in her life. She brought her sword up. "En garde!"

She thrust at him so quickly with the sword that Giles responded reflexively, and within moments they were sword fighting as they always had, the difference being that Buffy, for all her insistence upon resuming their training, began to make one mistake after another because she found it so difficult to concentrate. [He looks like something out of a medieval GQ. Sexy! No wonder that girl Eleanor is so hot for him...]

A hard smack on the backside with the flat of Giles' sword made her yelp, and the next thing she knew, the point of his sword was inches from her throat. Buffy lowered her sword in defeat, but rubbed her butt with her other hand, giving her Watcher an accusing glare as she did so. "Hey, what's the big idea? That hurt!"

"Only your pride," he retorted. "You're not paying attention! What on earth is wrong with you, Buffy? You didn't fight that clumsily on the first day you picked up a sword!"

[I'm distracted by your manly body,] she thought, but would have sacrificed a limb before saying that out loud. Instead, she reverted to behavior familiar to them both and pouted prettily, hoping for sympathy. "It's not fair. You should try fighting in a long skirt."

Giles raised his eyebrows at her. "Perhaps you should try fighting in armor."

"And perhaps thou should try fighting a man," another voice said, and the young knight Giles recognized as Sir James strode into the arena. His expression as he looked at Giles was so full of anger that both Watcher and Slayer were astonished. "Leave this maid, Sir Giles, and show thy prowess against another knight!"

"Hey, what is your problem?" Buffy demanded, outraged.

Sir James ignored her and faced off against her Watcher. "Well?" he demanded. "Defend thyself, man, or would thou hide behind the maid's skirts?" As he spoke he unsheathed his own sword and swung it at Giles in a hard, fast arc. There was a clash of steel as Giles' sword flashed upward to deflect it, and he shouted; "Buffy, get away from here!"

Buffy swiftly, if reluctantly, stepped out of the arena. She was not about to abandon her Watcher, especially as it looked as if this guy wasn't fooling around, but her presence too close to the flashing blades would only serve to distract Giles at a time when he could not afford distraction. Nevertheless, she gripped the hilt of her own sword, ready to strike if necessary. [I've never killed a human being before, but if this guy hurts Giles...]

She watched and waited, heart pounding. Whether this knight was too angry to fight properly, or just underestimated his opponent, Buffy was not sure, but she could see that the younger man was using more strength than skill. His attacks were hard and wide, bringing his blade down on Giles' sword with angry clashes, forceful without showing finesse. Giles parried the other man's blows easily, but Buffy was stillw orried; this guy was really trying to hurt her Watcher, maybe even kill him--

"Hold!" a man's voice called.

Giles hesitated for a moment, starting to lower his blade. With a shout of triumph, Sir James pressed forward and brought the blade down on Giles' arm--or tried to; the Watcher parried just in time to deflect it, but the blow jarred his wrist and he dropped his sword.

"Hold, damn thee!" the voice shouted again.

Sir James disregarded the command, snarling as he rushed in to secure his advantage, his sword high in the air to deliver a killing stroke. Buffy's own blade cleared its sheath--

Giles ducked and swept Sir James' legs out from under him. As the other man landed on his back with a bone-jarring crash, the Watcher snatched up his sword and held it to the fallen man's throat.

"Do you yield?" he asked. He was breathing heavily, but the arm that held the sword was perfectly steady.

Sir James glared at Giles and said nothing.

The Watcher brought the tip of his sword just into contact with the skin of the fallen man's throat. "Do you yield?"

"I do," Sir James muttered.

"The first wise thing thou hast done so far," the man with the commanding voice said to Sir James, reaching the arena at last. He was a tall, well-built man of no more than thirty at most, with glossy blue-black hair and very blue eyes. He gave the fallen knight a disgusted look and, addressing Buffy's Watcher, said; "Well, Sir Giles, thou hast bested this fool in combat, and thus art entitled to his horse and all his possessions." He gave the fallen man a kick, and not a very light one. "Get up, Sir James, and consider thyself lucky thou hast escaped with thy life. It is only because this knight hath offered thee mercy that thou art still alive. Sir Giles hath honor, even if thou hath none."

Giles withdrew his sword and stood back, while Buffy sheathed hers. Sir James shouted, "Thou disparage my honor?"

The dark-haired knight was not impressed. "I do, if I can disparage a thing that clearly doth not exist. If thou hath a quarrel against Sir Giles, thou should have come either to me or to the Duke about it--or if all else failed, challenged him to a duel before witnesses. Instead, thou accosted and attacked him, giving him no chance to refuse or to seek regress. Such an action be dishonorable for any man, but especially a knight." He turned to Buffy's Watcher. "What say thou, Sir Giles? Dost thou make claim to Sir James' possessions?"

Giles shook his head. "He can keep them. I just want his word that he will not attack or challenge me, or in any way attack or insult the Lady Buffy, while we are here."

"Dost thou believe I would attack a lady?" Sir James shouted as he stood up.

"Peace, fool!" snapped the tall dark-haired knight. "Thou should be grateful for the magnanimity of Sir Giles. Who can blame him for wanting assurance that a man who would attack him without warning will not attack his lady as well? Thou hast got off lightly. Spit on thy hand and seal the bargain."

To Buffy's amazement and revulsion, Sir James spat on his palm and then rather grudgingly held his hand out to Giles. She was even more astonished when her fastidious Watcher did the same. The two men shook hands.

"Now, be off," the tall dark-haired knight ordered. Without a word, Sir James took up his sword, sheathed it without making eye contact with anyone, and left.

Buffy was scarcely able to wait until the defeated man was out of earshot before bursting out; "Giles, you were *great!* But what was that all about? Why did that guy attack you? And who is this guy?" She strode up to the tall newcomer and glared up at him. "Not that Giles can't handle himself, but couldn't you have gotten here a little sooner?"

The dark-haired knight smiled down at her and then glanced over her head to look at Giles. "This be your Slayer, without doubt."

"Giles, who is this guy?" Buffy asked again.

"Sir Giles and I art kinsmen of sorts," the dark-haired man said.

Giles said quietly, "Buffy, this is Sir Geoffrey de Wyndham. He is the Duke's Steward--and a Watcher."

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