Title: "Her White Knight" (9/?)
Author: TheQueenly1
Pairing: Buffy and Giles, natch! Slayer and Watcher were meant to be together.
Rating: R, for this chapter: other chapters may vary.

Disclaimer: As far as I know, all the characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon. I do not own them; if I did, Buffy and Giles would have been together long ago. I am a B/G 'shipper, and proud of it! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so please do not sue. The original characters in this story are mine.

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

Spoilers: At least up to "After Life." It is AU after that. Buffy never became sexually involved with Spike.

Notes: This story was written in response to Challenge # 4 here at ODD, "The B/G Knight Challenge." *Asterisks* are used for emphasis.

Feedback: Is, as always, enormously appreciated! Thank you so much to everyone who has sent feedback thus far, and thank you *so* much to whoever nominated "Her White Knight" in four categories of the Bodice Ripper Awards!

"I can't do this," Buffy was saying. "Really. I'm not refusing, or being chicken. I'm being literal. I can't do this."

She, her Watcher, and the two knights had finally reached the mine that Sir Geoffrey had spoken of, the mine where Sir Geoffrey said his Slayer was imprisoned and where the vampires, especially the vampire lord known as the Master, lay hidden during the day. Sir Geoffrey was trying to be patient with her, Buffy could tell, but she also could see that he was just about ready to start tearing his hair out with frustration--and maybe hers, too. "Lady Buffy, my Slayer needs thy help."

"And all of us shall fight at thy side," Sir James assured her. "Fear not, lady."

"I'm not afraid," Buffy snapped, which was not entirely true. She had a bone-deep dread of the Master that superseded all logic. The vampire had killed her once, after all. He was also the only vampire Buffy had ever slain who had not just turned into dust after being staked, but had left enough behind so that his followers had almost been able to revive him. It had been necessary to smash every bit of his remains in order to make sure he was permanently destroyed. But those events were far in the future, which was Buffy's point. "I'm saying that it's impossible for me to kill him in this time, if I have to meet up with him at a later time." She turned to her Watcher, who had remained silent throughout all this. "Giles, you're better with the explanations than I am. Tell them."

"I am very much afraid that Buffy is correct," he said, slowly and reluctantly. "I cannot see how she can destroy the Master here and now, without altering the course of history."

"Will she not even try?" Sir James shouted. "Lady Eleanor needs us!"

"Peace, Sir James!" Sir Geoffrey said, turning quickly to the younger man to silence him. "We be close enough to the mines now to be overheard. We need not reveal our position too soon." He turned back to Buffy, breathing deeply, as if trying to remain calm. "But Sir James speaks true, lady. Will thou not even try?"

"Let me talk to my Slayer," Giles said, and taking Buffy's arm, led her gently but firmly away from the others, behind an especially large oak tree. "Buffy," he said softly, "God knows I don't wish to put you in further danger, but danger is an inevitable part of being a Slayer. Is there anything to wish to share with me?"

She did not quite meet his gaze. "Like what, Giles?"

He ran his hand gently and encouragingly up and down her upper arm. "You're afraid, aren't you?" he asked very softly, without a trace of judgment in his tone.

"No!" she said, too quickly. Giles gazed at her steadily with kind, understanding eyes. "Well," she mumbled, "Maybe. Yeah. Giles...what if this is it?"

"What do you mean, Buffy?"

"What if...I just can't defeat him this time? Giles, I was barely able to do it before."

"But you did, nevertheless, and you were only sixteen then, Buffy. Now you are a grown woman, and a more formidable warrior than ever." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Moreover, this time there is no prophecy about..." He closed his eyes briefly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "About your death."

She shook her head impatiently. "Giles, I'm not worried about that. I've died twice now, and I know from the last time that what is after death is nothing to worry about. I'm just so afraid--" Buffy looked down.

"Afraid of what?" her Watcher asked softly.

The Slayer lifted her head, looking directly into the eyes of the man she loved. "Of losing you."

"Me?" he echoed, astounded.

"Giles, what do you think makes this life back on earth bearable for me? You. I've found that love is the only thing on earth that is at all like anything in heaven. Now that each of us finally knows we're *in* love with the other, well--" Her expression became increasingly troubled--"I can't stand the thought that I might not be able to do this. That would make me a Slayer unworthy of you, and you might...you might..."

Her breath was coming faster and faster, her eyes wide, and Giles realized with alarm that she was on the brink of a full-scale anxiety attack. He quickly put his hands on her shoulders, massaging lightly. "Breathe, Buffy. Concentrate on breathing. Center yourself, the way I taught you..."

She did so. When her respiration had returned to normal, her Watcher pulled her close in a tender embrace, kissing the top of her blonde head. "Buffy," he whispered into her hair, "do you seriously believe that I might leave you now?"

She was still deeply troubled; he could hear it in her voice. "If I'm not good enough--"

He drew back slightly, cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her first on the forehead, then on the mouth. "Oh, my dearest girl. You are more than 'good enough,' both as a Slayer, and as a woman. Buffy Summers, you are my heart. You are my student and my friend, my lover and my Slayer. The fact that you now reciprocate the love I have long felt for you fills me with unparalleled happiness. I shall never leave you, so long as I have any choice in the matter."

He thought that would reassure her, at least make her smile, but the troubled look on her face did not fade. "That's not what I mean. Okay," she answered in response to his knowing look, "maybe it was. Partly. But Giles--what if I can't kill the Master, and get you killed instead?"

"Buffy, I'm not exactly helpless. And our love makes us stronger, as Sir Geoffrey has said."

"What does he know? He let his Slayer get captured. Giles, the Master is the strongest, most evil vampire I've ever faced."

"Angelus was stronger, but you still managed to do what you had to do."

"I don't mean just physical strength, Giles--although he has plenty of that, too. The Master has vampire strength, plus he has that whole mind-control thing, like Drusilla and Lothos had. Also, he can do dark magick." She released him, stepping back slightly and taking a very deep breath. "Giles, it seems to me that I'm in a Catch-22 here. If I'm enough of a badass warrior-woman to defeat the Master, then that alters the course of history, which is not of the good, right? But if I'm not good enough, if I do something wrong, then the Master walks, Lady Eleanor and Sir Jeff's Slayer aren't rescued, and we all die. No matter what I do, something bad will happen, and it will be all my fault." She looked up at him, anguish in her eyes. "Giles, I can't stand the thought that people might die--that *you* might die-- because I'm not good enough."

He took her face between his hands, lightly stroking her cheek. "Buffy, I have come with you of my own free will. So have the others. We all believe in you. When the time comes, you will know what to do."

"But I don't know what to do."

"Of course you do," he said quietly. "You are not to think about me, or about the other two. We shall all go inside, kill all vampires who oppose us, and rescue Lady Genevieve and Lady Eleanor. That is what we have come here to do. Don't worry about anything else, my dearest girl."

"Thanks, Giles--now you sound like the First Slayer, and look how that turned out," she muttered, and was instantly sorry when she saw the expression on his face. "Oh, God, Giles, I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that she gave me some cryptic advice and then expected me to wing it."

"But that worked, didn't it?" he said gently. "When the time came, you knew what to do. I am sure that will be the case in this situation. You have a talent for improvisation." Abruptly, he pulled her back into his arms, embracing her fiercely as he added urgently; "But please, Buffy, don't solve the problem by surrendering your own life, as you did before!"

She returned the hug, adding a passionate kiss to it, so that it was some minutes before they drew apart. As they did so, she glanced behind him to where the two knights were waiting. Sir Geoffrey stood almost rigidly silent, but Sir James was watching them with what appeared to be considerable agitation. "We don't really have a choice, do we?" she asked softly. "I guess doing something is always better than doing nothing."

"Quite," he said with a smile. "Remember what Sir Geoffrey said: a Slayer is always more powerful when she is with her Watcher."

She smiled up at him. "I've known that for a long time, Watcher- mine." She linked her arm through his, and they returned to the others.

"Art thou ready, my lady?" Sir Geoffrey inquired as she and Giles returned. His expression was outwardly calm, but Buffy could see the lines of tension around his eyes, saw the whiteness of his knuckles around the crossbow he carried, and as he fingered the hilt of his sword. Sir James, by contrast, wore an impatient expression and was fidgeting like a kid who had to go to the bathroom, so restless he was unable to stand still.

Buffy nodded and drew her own sword. "Let's go."

The two medieval knights crossed themselves. Sir Geoffrey bowed his head briefly as he whispered a prayer. Sir James drew his sword, knelt, and kissed the pommel. The others waited until this young knight rose to his feet again, and then as silently as possible they all entered the mine. Buffy went first, followed by Giles. Sir James came next, and Sir Geoffrey brought up the rear.

Not surprisingly, it was very dark in the mine. They paused briefly while Sir Geoffrey made use of his tinder box to light tallow candles that were set in the walls. Buffy wrinkled her nose at the smell, and the candles sputtered a great deal, but they did provide some light. As a Slayer, her night vision was excellent, so she did not need the illumination as much as the others did, but she thought the dim yellow light thrown off by the candles made everything look spooky. It did not illuminate darkness so much as it accented it; the flames of the candles threw out a little light that created pools of shadows everywhere, and glinted off the blades of the swords carried by Buffy, Giles, and Sir James. Sir Geoffrey's sword was still sheathed, but his crossbow was armed and ready. Buffy's Spidey-sense was awake and pounding at her, warning her of the presence of vampires nearby. She tried not to think about how much the interior of the mine reminded her of the sewers below Sunnydale, where she had once hunted, and been hunted herself by, the Master.

The Slayer's head rose sharply as she picked up the almost-inaudible sound of footsteps headed towards them. "Back," she hissed at the men. "Something's coming."

They all drew back into the shadows as much as possible. Within seconds a young blond man clad as a knight entered the chamber from a nearby tunnel. Sir James instantly stepped out of the shadows, an astonished expression on his face. "Sir Stephen! I hath not seen thee since the Duke sent thee forth! How farest thou?"

The young blond man smiled affectionately and started toward Sir James with outstretched arms. "My friend! I be well!" With lightning speed, he grabbed Sir James, who gave a yell of terror as the other knight morphed into game-face, baring his fangs. Buffy grabbed the vampire and flung him against the wall. He scrabbled away at unnerving speed, but was not quick enough to escape the Slayer. She forced the vampire to his knees, pressing the point of her sword to the nape of his neck as the others gathered round. Sir Geoffrey was giving the shaken Sir James a look of exasperation, and Buffy realized that the Watcher would undoubtedly give the younger man an earful when this was all over--provided Sir James lived long enough. If he kept making dumb moves like that one, and then was too scared to fight when a vampire appeared, the odds favoring his survival were not likely. Buffy hoped she had not been wrong in previously overruling Sir Geoffrey; bringing Sir James along might have been a mistake.

"Where is your Master?" Giles asked the vampire.

The creature that had once been a man smirked up at him. "Beyond thy puny power to harm, fool. Once I wert as thou, nothing but weak flesh, before the Master changed me, made me one of his own."

"Corrupted thee, thou mean," Sir Geoffrey said shortly. "Thou art but a walking corpse." He looked directly at Sir James as he added; "This be not the Sir Stephen we remember, but a demon in his body."

The vampire sneered. "And thou art but a fool, and all thy company, if thou believe that thou can kill the Master. He be too strong for the likes of thee."

"Big talk for a guy on his knees," Buffy said.

The vampire glared at her, or at least as best he could under the circumstances. "Thou shall kneel, too, and beg him for thy worthless lives, when the Master comes into his own. He doth not fear the likes of thee; thou cannot slay him."

"We can sure as hell kill you, corpse-breath," Buffy snapped.

The vampire was unfazed. "Killing me will not stop the ceremony. The Master shall soon be all-powerful, invulnerable to the sun."

"When will that happen?" Giles demanded.

"Soon," the vampire said smugly. "The ceremony be almost ready to begin. The Master shall need but a little of the blood of the Slayer to do his work, then we shall all feed upon her. Slayer's blood be most rich, it be said."

Giles' face hardened, and his sword flashed in a quick silvery arc, decapitating the vampire. "Pity you'll never find out," he said shortly, as the undead creature collapsed into a pile of dust at his feet.

"Uh, Giles, that may have been a little premature," Buffy ventured.

"Perhaps," he said, with no trace of an apology in his tone. "But I heartily disliked listening to his remarks about enjoying the blood of a Slayer."

"Right," Buffy agreed. "Let's go find Lady Genevieve, before she becomes the Flavor of the Month."

"We still know not where she be held," Sir Geoffrey said, the tension in his voice nearly as tight at that of his crossbow.

"It seems a safe bet that she's being held where he came from," Buffy said, pointing down the dark tunnel from whence the vampire had come. "Since he was waiting for his chance to sample Slayer blood, I'm sure he wasn't going to wander far from where the ceremony is being held."

"Then we must lose no time," Sir James said excitedly. "Show us the way, lady!"

They descended deeper into the mine, Buffy fighting off feelings of claustrophobia as they did so. Enclosed spaces did not normally bother her, but normally she was not hunting the only vampire who had ever succeeded in killing her. The warning given by her Spidey-sense had not lessened after the slaying of Sir Stephen; in fact, it grew stronger the deeper she went into the mine. She gripped her sword a little harder, simultaneously glad of and worried by the presence of her Watcher at her back. She could bear the thought of something bad happening to her, but not to Giles. And if he should die, leaving her in this world all alone...

She jumped and whirled as behind her, in the near-dark of the tunnel, rocks were dislodged, the sound as noisy as a firecracker. Sir James, looking embarrassed, was being steadied by Giles, who had caught the younger man as he stumbled. Behind them, Sir Geoffrey lowered his crossbow with a shaking hand. Buffy wondered if Sir James had any idea how close he had come to getting shot. She shook her head slightly and they continued on through the mine, although without trying so hard to be quiet. Thanks to the clumsiness of Sir James, everyone and everything in the mine probably knew they were here by now.

They were close enough now to see that the tunnel led to another chamber, one that appeared to be lighted by torches, and much larger than the one at the entrance to the mine. When Buffy saw what was waiting for them there, she started to run, and the men followed her.

Suspended in the center of the chamber was a life-sized cross, hung upside down. Tied to the cross was Lady Eleanor, stripped naked and hanging upside down, her hair almost touching the floor, a gag in her mouth, her eyes wide and almost mindless with terror. Three vampires clustered about her, feeding from her. There was one vampire on each side of the inverted cross, each drinking almost delicately from a tied wrist and lapping up the blood that dripped. The third, kneeling on the floor before the bound victim, leaned forward and sank his fangs into one of Lady Eleanor's breasts; with a horrid sucking sound, the vampire then began to drink the blood that flowed. The three monsters, blood visible on their greedy mouths, looked up and snarled as the Slayer and the three men burst into the chamber.

With a furious roar of rage, Sir James leaped forward, sword in hand, and with a flash of the blade he beheaded the kneeling vampire, the creature bursting into dust before the head hit the floor. Buffy killed the second, and Sir Geoffrey's crossbow bolt struck the third unerringly in the heart, simultaneously scattering the ashes. Giles moved swiftly to lower the cross and cut away Lady Eleanor's bonds, but once free of them, she ignored the Watcher and flung herself, sobbing, straight into the arms of Sir James.

"Eleanor, my love, art thou sore hurt?" the young knight cried as he embraced her. She shook her head, still crying too hard to form words. Sir James swiftly stripped off his cape and draped it around her, gathering her to him protectively. Giles stepped closer and gently took hold of one of the girl's wrists, trying to examine her wounds, but she pulled away from him and hugged Sir James even harder. Sir Geoffrey produced some linen cloths from his belt, and Sir James awkwardly but tenderly used them to bandage his lady love's wrists, then took her in his arms once again.

"I think she will be all right," Giles assured the others softly, over the sound of Lady Eleanor's weeping and Sir James' inarticulate but devoted murmurs of comfort. "Those are punctures, not cuts, and the vampires had just begun to feed, so I don't believe Lady Eleanor has lost too much blood. Nevertheless, she has had a tremendous shock, and we should get her back to the castle as soon as possible."

"But where be my Slayer?" Sir Geoffrey said hoarsely. "Where be she now, if she be not here?"

Buffy, her Spidey-sense still going strong in spite of the slaying of the three vampires, was glancing around as he spoke, and she stiffened at what she saw, gripping her sword as she prepared to do battle.

"Maybe we can ask one of *them,*" she said.

Three other tunnels led into the chamber. Each of those tunnels was now blocked by vampires, lots of vampires, all of them in game face, all of them entering the chamber snarling and flashing their fangs, moving swiftly to block the exits from the chamber. They were surrounding Buffy, Lady Eleanor, and the three men.

"God's wounds!" Sir Geoffrey swore. "This be a trap!"

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