The Powder Monkey by Pentwirler
Buffy is living in the 18th century. Her father has ordered her to marry Lord Ethan Rayne giving her no choice but to run away from home. Disguised as a boy she takes a job as a powder monkey( A boy that carries gun powder for the canons on a ship); one of the most dangerous jobs at sea.
This story is AU and paired with another I have under ATS fan fiction. That story is called "Liam," and is about Angel before he was to be turned. I hope to somehow 'marry' the two (pun intended), in a sequel.
This is rated T, until adult content and language require that it be rated M. All characters from BTVS and ATS are the property of Joss Whedon, and buddies. I am only using them for entertainment and not for profit.
Please review, and be honest, point out the flaws and make suggestions; how else will I improve.
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Chapter 1 The Escape
June 15, 1752
Outside of London on Captain Summers' estate, just as the sun went down, Elizabeth Anne Summers anxiously paced the floor in her room. She was waiting for her mother to return. Earlier that month she and her mother had pleaded with her father to break off her engagement to the man, Sir Ethan Rayne.
Ethan Rayne was nearly as old as Captain Summers was. He was a widower that had been married several times. What Joyce found most disturbing was that each bride had married at the age of fifteen (the same age as her daughter) and had come to some tragic end before her eighteenth birthday. One had drowned and another fell down a staircase breaking her neck. A horse had trampled another girl and two had simply vanished without a trace. The last young wife was found in the woods dead with a poisonous mushroom in her mouth. Both women believed that Elizabeth's life was in danger.
They told this to Henry Summers, but he would have none of it. He said it was evil rumors spread by gossips and the women should be ashamed of accusing Lord Rayne of such crimes. In his opinion, Elizabeth should be thankful that a man of Ethan Rayne's station would wish to wed her. Henry knew his daughter was very bright. He had provided her with the same excellent education as his son Oscar and his orphaned nephews Riley and Alexander. Ethan had said he was attracted to her quick mind and an unusual memory recall. She would not bore him and her precocious, rebellious nature would only add spice to the match. Henry reasoned that the man's education and maturity made him a very suitable match for his intelligent, but wild and rebellious daughter. Ethan said he could tame her; make her into a reasonable and respectable Lady.
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When it was obvious that Master Summers would not stop the marriage, mother and daughter plotted her escape. They would wait until both men left for the gaming house. Although, both men were insatiable gamblers and could literally be gone for days, the women would take no chances. Joyce with the help of her most trusted maids prepared for Elizabeth's departure. Much to Joyce's mortification she was about to aid her daughter in disguising her as a boy.
She at least took some comfort in knowing that Elizabeth had experience in pretending to be a boy. Many times while growing up with only boys for company, Elizabeth had dressed herself as a boy wearing her brother Oz's clothes and playing pranks on the servants, racing horses, fishing and hunting with the boys.
She had been accepted as not as a girl but as one of them. Each taught her something she would not have learned as a girl. Riley had taught her how to load and shoot both a musket and a pistol. Oz instructed her in the art of French style foot boxing, and the quarterstaff. From her cousin Alexander Harris, she had learned to master the foil, and the short sword; they all had taught her how to swim.
Captain Henry Summers was at sea much of the year and was not aware of what the boys had been teaching Elizabeth. When he discovered the truth, he was furious. He ordered that the boys be sent away. Oz was sent to study at Oxford, Alexander to the Royal Navy, and Riley to enlist in the Army. The lads before they left had adamantly bragged about Elizabeth's prowess in the arts of defense, which angered her father more. Unfortunately, this prompted him to find her a husband as soon as possible. Joyce hoped that despite the fact that Elizabeth had not practiced any of these skills recently, that somehow the knowledge would be an aid to her.
Elizabeth stopped pacing when the door to her room opened and her mother entered. She let out a breath that she did not realize that she had been holding.
"Were Mary and Janet able to refashion my corset the way I drew the pictures?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, Buffy." Joyce replied using Elizabeth's childhood name and beginning to weep.
"There are no stays. How can you keep your back straight and your waist small with out the whale boning? I know that was silly of me. I am just so afraid for you so much can go wrong," Joyce cried.
"Mother we have talked of this. It is the only way. Both Lord Rayne and especially Father will hunt through every corner of England looking for me. Even though Father knows that I may dress as a boy, he has no idea to the extent that I will be disguised. He will not know what to look for. Besides a girl traveling without a chaperone would raise more suspicions," Elizabeth replied as she began to dress in the costume that she devised.
First was the corset that now held her breast flat against her chest. It had padding to give her a male look of a thicker waist, and a smaller hip. She added the stocking pads that less muscular men wore to enhance their calves. Before she was to put on the breeches, Joyce stopped her, handing her a six-inch leather cylinder with a thin strap attached.
The young woman looked up confused. "What is this for?"
Her mother blushed and said, "Tie it to the inside of your right thigh at a slight angle so it will not impede movement."
At seeing Elizabeth's deep frown, Joyce realized the girl did not understand, so she showed her how to put on. Elizabeth looked down and blushed deep red.
"I…I…I th…thought I was to say I was a eunuch?" The girl stuttered.
'Yes, dear, but THAT is not what is cut." Her mother explained with just as red a face. "I know it is unseemly, but if you are suspected you will be grabbed in the nether region to see if you have a pecker. Your being a eunuch is to cover why you can not grow a beard and for the smallness of your frame."
She then donned on the breeches and a fine white linen blouse with ruffled lace collar. She had chosen her brothers long dark burgundy vest, it hung almost to her knees. Elizabeth slipped on the black silver buckled shoes of a servant's son that no longer fit him. Her mother helped her with a black wig of real human hair with a ponytail tied in the back with a blue velvet ribbon. The last was Oz's black frock coat that went past her knees. Joyce looked at her and placed a dark brown tri-cornered hat on her head as a final touch.
The mother smiled and walked Elizabeth over to the full-length mirror in the room. The young woman looked before her and saw a tall pale boy of maybe thirteen years in the mirror. The first impression people would have was that she was a lad of middle class, possibly a successful tradesman's son. She was pleased.
Elizabeth quickly walked over to open the large hope chest at the foot of her bed. She dug through the linens and such until she found a bundle at the bottom. It was the last thing that her favorite teacher had given her before his unexpected resignation. She carefully uncovered the violin and bow.
"Oh, Elizabeth, I know you would like to take the fiddle that Master Giles gave you, but are not you afraid of it being stolen?" her mother asked with concern.
"Mother, I was actually getting these," Elizabeth said as she pulled two sheathed daggers from under the violin and slipped into pockets she had sewn in the lining on each side of the coat.
Joyce let out a small gasp and shook her head.
"Elizabeth, maybe you shouldn't go. What if we ARE wrong about Lord Rayne?" Her mother exclaimed with terror that her daughter might die at the hands of a cutthroat.
"Mother, we talked of this! It is not just rumor. I will not believe that the ages the girls married, when and how they died a coincidence. Have faith, Mother. I will be fine." Elizabeth said, hoping her mother would not lose confidence in their plan at this moment.
"God help us! There is so much that can go wrong. I may never see you again and I will not know if you are alive or dead," Joyce cried, suddenly sobbing.
The young woman ran to her mother and embraced her.
"Mummy, I am afraid too, but this is my best chance at escaping. I will miss you and home. You will always be in my prayers and I promise you, I will return, it is not for forever," Elizabeth declared in tears.
They heard a light knock at the door. Both women composed themselves and Joyce went to the door.
"Who is there?" She asked.
"It is Mary, Madame," The maid answered through the door.
Joyce opened the door and Mary placed on a chair a leather bag that held a change of clothes and few items Joyce thought her daughter would need.
"Toby has saddle you the horse, your father thinks was sold this morning. He does not know it is you, miss. He thinks you are the young man that has come to collect the horse," Mary informed her mistress.
Elizabeth nodded. She pocketed the very full coin purse, as she picked up her bag, she saw her violin and put the bag down.
"I think I will take my fiddle," she said as she wrapped it and secured it to the leather bag.
"Buffy, you must hurry! You better go, before I change my mind." Joyce sobbed.
Elizabeth quickly hugged and kissed her mother.
"Mum, I will write under the pen name Mrs. Witherspoon, I will write as though I am an aging widow giving accounts of my travels. There will not be a return address, so you will not be able to write back. Will that help ease your fears?" The girl said to give some hope to her mother.
"Yes, Dear, be careful and Godspeed," Joyce smiled through her tears.
"Bye, Mum, as soon as I am able, I will write," Elizabeth promised as her own tears threatened to spill; she followed the maid out of the room.
Mary lit the way with a single candlestick, checking first to be sure no other servants witnessed the departure of her disguised mistress.