Title: "Her White Knight," (10/?)
Author: TheQueenly1
Pairing: Buffy and Giles
Rating: PG for this chapter. Other chapters sometimes have different ratings.
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 as a couple
long ago. I am a B/G `shipper, and proud of it! Imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery; please do not sue. The original
characters are mine, however.
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: just another thing for
which to be grateful.
Notes: This story was written in response to Challenge # 4 at the
"Of Demons and Destiny" website, "The B/G Knight Challenge."
*Asterisks* are used for emphasis.
Feedback: Would be enormously appreciated!
Buffy whirled, death in motion, her blade making a silvery arc in the air as, too fast to track with the naked eye, her sword cleaved left and right, slaying two vampires in rapid succession.
"Everyone to the center of the chamber!" Giles commanded. "Fight back to back!"
They quickly followed his orders, protecting Lady Eleanor and each other as they forced the vampires to come to them. The vampires charged them, snarling, horrible with their twisted visages and bared fangs. Blades flashed; Sir Geoffrey gave up on reloading his crossbow and brought out his sword. Sir James yelled every time he killed a vampire, but he kept on fighting. Lady Eleanor whimpered as the undead flung themselves toward the small band, but the Slayer and the others quickly dispatched those who came too near.
Most vampires are stupid, and these were no exception. Most of them had been slain before the others realized that the trap had been sprung in the other direction. As their cohorts turned to dust, the wiser vampires turned and fled back down the tunnels. Buffy moved to follow, but Giles held her back. "We mustn't split up."
Buffy nodded. "All right. But how do we find where Lady Genevieve is being held?"
"I must return Lady Eleanor to her father's castle," Sir James said, his arm protectively around the girl's shoulders.
"There be no time," Sir Geoffrey said, his tone unusually harsh. "We must seek out the Master, and find where he be keeping my Slayer!"
"Lady Eleanor hath suffered a tremendous ordeal," Sir James argued, his voice rising. "We cannot expect her—"
"There be no time," Sir Geoffrey cut him off. "We need every man!"
The two men began to argue, Sir James shouting, Sir Geoffrey deadly calm but not backing down in the slightest, his intensity somehow frightening. As Buffy moved forward to break it up, Lady Eleanor, to everyone's surprise, shouted, "Peace!" and shrugged out of Sir James' embrace. She pulled the young knight's cape around herself to conceal her nakedness, but she glared at the others around her. "We hath no time for this," she said, in a voice that brooked no dissent. "I thank thee all for rescuing me, but I cannot go meekly home to my father while another lady be in the power of that bloodsucking fiend. I shall go with thee, Sir James. Sir Geoffrey, I know where Lady Genevieve hath been taken. Let me show thee the way."
Then, as imperiously as any queen, she swept the billowing cape around her, and stalked off back the way they had come, clearly expecting the others to follow. They did so, both Sir James and Sir Geoffrey too amazed to say a word. Even Giles blinked in surprise. He hefted his sword and started after the others; Buffy accompanied him, grinning.
"I think Eleanor just might make one hell of a duchess," she murmured to Giles.
"Indeed," her Watcher replied, smiling a little.
Together they started back down the tunnel. They were about halfway down when they heard a scream, and started running.
Giles and Buffy burst forth from the mine's entrance to find vampires gathered to massacre them. Lady Eleanor was on the ground, struggling with a vampire atop her; Sir James was slashing at several who were closing in upon him; and Sir Geoffrey fought a vampire hand-to-hand as another circled round behind the knight, looking for an opening. Other vampires were closing in on the small group.
Buffy flung herself into the middle of the fray. "Hey, guys, want your favorite flavor?" she shouted. "Slayer blood, right here! Come and get it!"
With snarls and bared fangs, most of the vampires turned toward her. Ignoring her Watcher's horrified shout of: "Buffy!" the Slayer tossed aside her sword, then danced just out of the vampires' range, clearly daring them to follow. Infuriated, they abandoned all thoughts of preying upon the others, intent only on taking down the mocking blonde girl who jumped, rolled, and capered just out of reach, always drawing the vampires away from her associates as she did so. "C'mon, guys, is that the best you can do?" she taunted.
Giles thrust a palm out towards Sir Geoffrey and commanded tersely: "Crossbow bolt!" Bemused, the other Watcher quickly slapped one into his palm.
"Buffy!" Giles shouted again, and tossed the bolt to her. She caught it deftly, whirled about with such swift grace that it was almost a pirouette, and buried the wooden bolt deep in the nearest vampire's heart. He disintegrated into ashes. Using the bolt as a stake, she dispatched one after the other while Giles joined in, finishing off the rest with his sword.
Minutes later they stood, a little shaken; Lady Eleanor and Sir James were in each others' arms again, while Sir Geoffrey went to see to the horses. Giles strode up to Buffy, who was standing where a horde of vampires had once been. Her golden hair was slightly unkempt and her white gown was streaked with ashes, but she was otherwise untouched and looked quite pleased with herself.
"Hey, Giles, thanks for the crossbow bolt," she said, waving it at him. "That was quick thinking—hey!" she exclaimed, as he knocked the bolt from her hand. "What is your trauma?"
Her Watcher glared at her, breathing hard, just barely keeping his rage in check. "What the bloody hell were you playing at, Buffy?"
"I don't—"
"Don't even try to pretend you don't know what I mean. You could have gotten yourself killed!"
She flinched under his gaze. "Well, I didn't."
"Not for lack of trying! Do you *want* to die?"
"No, but I don't want you to die, either!" she cried. "I was doing my job, Giles! I'm the Slayer! I kill vampires! And if I have to die to protect people, then I do that, too!"
Giles stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. "Buffy," he said, his voice quiet but intense, "Is that why you threw yourself from the tower? Because it was easier to die than to be found wanting?"
Her face flushed angrily. "What do you think I should have done? Sacrificed Dawn? I wasn't going to do that. Her blood or mine was the only thing that would stop the destruction of the Earth, and I wasn't going to sacrifice someone I loved. I wouldn't do it then, I won't do it now."
"Stop being so damned noble," he said sharply. "Did it ever occur to you that perhaps it wasn't necessary to surrender your life so readily? That perhaps just a little of your own blood would have been enough to close the portal?"
"I couldn't take that chance!"
"We'll never know now, will we?" Giles shouted. "Because you had to be a bloody hero and sacrifice your life! Did you ever think about those you would be leaving behind? Did you ever think about *me*?"
"Of course I did! I'm your Slayer!" she screamed at him.
"You're also the woman I love, and I don't want to lose you, ever again!" As he shouted those last words, Giles seized her and pulled her close, kissing her roughly but passionately.
When he finally released her, both were breathing hard, each stunned by the intensity of their emotions. Giles' fingers tightened on Buffy's shoulders. "Listen to me," he said in a tone she had never heard him use before. "I am telling you, both as your Watcher and as the man who loves you, that you are not to throw away your life ever again."
"Giles," she said, very softly. "Rupert. I don't want to die, but we still have to face the Master, and—well, what if that is the only way? I'm the Slayer. The First Slayer said that death is my gift. That means if I have to die to protect others, to protect *you*, then that is what I do."
"What you do, my dearest girl, is slay vampires. That, and drive me mad." He added those last words with a faint smile. Buffy gave him a relieved smile in return. He added, "And my job is to watch over you. That is what I intend to do, so let there be no more carelessness on your part, nor any talk of dying." They kissed again, more softly and with great tenderness, and for a moment they just held each other close.
They drew apart, Buffy wiping her eyes. She retrieved her sword while Giles picked up the crossbow bolt. As he turned to give it to Sir Geoffrey, he noticed the other Watcher was gazing at him intently. Sir James and Lady Eleanor, their arms around each other, were frankly staring, although they turned away when they realized Giles saw them looking at him and Buffy.
"Art thou and thy Slayer ready, Sir Giles?" Sir Geoffrey asked calmly. [He has that Watcher detachment down pat,] Buffy thought.
"Yes," Giles said simply.
There was no further sign of trouble, at least in the immediate vicinity, but the little company still did not linger. It was full night, the stars shining cleanly overhead in the clear sky. It was beautiful, but it was also the vampire's time. Sir James helped Lady Eleanor sidesaddle onto his horse, then mounted it before her, allowing her to cling to his waist.
"Where hath Lady Genevieve been taken, lady?" Sir Geoffrey asked the Duke's daughter.
"I heard the evil one say that he would conduct the ceremony at O'Meara's," she responded.
"And for those of us who haven't taken the guided tour?" Buffy asked.
"O'Meara be the name of an Irishman who once owned a small tract of land near here," replied Sir Geoffrey. "When he died, he donated the land to the Church, and a small church `twas built there. But there wert a fire, and with so much of the church destroyed, `twas not rebuilt. The church be de-sanctified; only ruins art there now."
Sir James shivered a little, and Buffy doubted if it was because Eleanor had taken his cape. "There be rumors that Black Mass be celebrated there."
"And worse," Sir Geoffrey assented. "I fear a Hellmouth may be there— that may be why my Slayer and I wert drawn to this place. I think the church atop it did seal it for a time and hold the evil back, but now that the church be destroyed and de-sanctified, all manner of evil things be drawn to it. Christian folk avoid the place, especially after dark."
"It sounds ideal for the Master's purposes," Giles observed grimly. "He may be holding his ritual there in order to draw on the power of a Hellmouth."
"Then let's not waste any more time," Buffy said. "Let's go."
They set off, urging the horses into a full gallop. Buffy clung a little more tightly to her Watcher, grateful for him and his devotion, for the solidity of his presence. While she was the Slayer, and certainly not scared of the dark, the sheer blackness of a world lit only by fire daunted her. Even with the full moonlight and a Slayer's night vision, it was difficult to see anything beyond their most immediate surroundings. She was a city girl, an American girl, and she felt very much out of her element.
[You're also the Slayer. Never forget that,] she reminded herself.
They rode along for perhaps another mile or two; then they saw the fire. Flames from a roaring bonfire—no, Buffy realized, more than one fire—lit up the horizon. By unspoken assent, they whipped up their horses and rode faster. Sir Geoffrey had loaded his crossbow and, when they crested the hill and saw the ceremony laid out before them, began making use of it. The other men and Buffy had unsheathed their swords once more and together they dusted several vampires who were foolish enough to try to attack them.
The Master stood in the center of everything, a bonfire roaring behind him, two others burning steadily on either side of him. He looked completely confident, and was every bit as ugly as Buffy remembered him. He was in game-face, and she wondered if that was how he appeared all the time, even now. [Is the Master such an old vamp that he has lost his human face? Or does it have something to do with his sorcery, or the fact that he became a vampire willingly?]
"Watcher," the vampire lord called out, as Sir Geoffrey rode his steed between the fires and into the circle. "How kind of you to join us. There be someone here whom you know, I believe." He gestured alongside him to where a young woman stood motionless in what was apparently a magick circle.
"Genevieve!" Sir Geoffrey cried.
Buffy blinked at the sight, then nudged her Watcher. "Well, if that's the Slayer, it's not hard to understand why she can't fight."
"Indeed," Giles agreed.
The young woman in the center of the magick circle next to the Master appeared to be about sixteen years old. She had long, honey-blonde hair done up in a long braid as thick as Buffy's wrist, was about the same height as the American Slayer, and was very pretty.
She also was clearly between eight and nine months pregnant.