CHAPTER TEN: GILES
Sunday: 2pm
27th October 1996
London: Watcher's Council
It hit her at about eleven in the morning, a feeling of sudden power rushing through her. It was a heady feeling, one that she had had to try hard to contain. Two minutes after it had hit her, Travers had knocked on the door to her room and told her to follow him. For the first time, she hadn't been afraid of him. She had finally felt something close to peace.
Perhaps it was just because she knew that he wasn't punishing her, only letting her know of her new status as Slayer. She had followed him and his two Council lackeys, both females, towards the Oak Room, where all the official Watcher's business was conducted.
She was told to sit outside a meeting room, and had obediently done so. She'd been sitting there for three hours when the doors had finally opened, and Travers had come out, looking stern as ever, followed by another man who looked to be in his early forties. He had gentle green eyes and looked extremely nervous about something.
Travers glared at the girl and she stood, knowing that she was required to show him respect by not sitting in his presence.
"Miss Summers," Travers said coldly. "You have been Called as the next Slayer."
Beth just nodded, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would only mock the older British man, and she didn't really feel like being on the receiving end of the cane.
"This is your Watcher, Rupert Giles," he introduced. "Rupert, your Slayer, Beth Summers."
Beth gave him a small half-smile and shook the man's hand. It was surprisingly warm, gentle. She gave him a genuine smile when she realised that this man reminded her of Ethan.
Travers fairly shook with disgust. He hadn't wanted Beth Summers to be Called as a Slayer, although, it meant he would be getting rid of her from the Council property three years early. That and it had solved another problem for him.
Rupert Giles was a Watcher who had given the Council a bad name many years ago by trying to run away from his destiny as a Watcher. He had quit his university education when he was twenty-one, and had proceeded to run around with riff-raff, specifically with Ethan Rayne. Travers hated Giles far more than he hated Ethan, because Ethan could be bought. Giles had morals, which had surprised Travers considerably.
Giles believed in the Slayers, rather than in the Council itself. He believed that Slayer were more than just weapons, they were girls, women. It was theories like Giles' that got Slayers killed easily, and when the Council board had informed Travers that Giles was back within the Council, Travers had sworn that the only active Slayer that Giles would ever watch over was one that Travers wanted to see dead. Beth Summers, therefore, was the 'perfect' Slayer for the 'perfect' Watcher.
Travers grinned evilly, and gave a parting 'smile' to both Watcher and Slayer. Beth just rolled her eyes after him, a gesture that Giles caught and tried not to laugh at. Travers had informed him that this new Slayer was headstrong and arrogant, two features that Travers hadn't been able to discourage her from, no matter how many times he had tried.
Beth looked up at Giles hesitantly.
"What happens now sir?" she asked quietly.
Giles smiled at her kindly. "Well, I suppose first I have to tell you that I don't want you calling me sir. Giles, or Mr Giles is fine, Miss Summers."
"Beth," she whispered. She was nervous. She hadn't been alone with a male besides Ethan since the incident with Jeremiah Miller, and even though that had been over three months ago, she was still a little skittish.
"Pardon?" Giles asked, not having heard her.
She looked up at him and tried again. "My name is Beth, Mr Giles. Or Buffy. Unless…I mean…unless you'd prefer the Miss Summers thing."
Giles shook his head. "Beth then," he said.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She could only hope that Giles wouldn't discipline her like Travers did. If her plan to stay alive meant letting her Watcher treat her horribly for three years, she would have to think of a solid Plan B.
"Well, I suppose we'd better head out. There's a car waiting for us."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Ireland for now," he replied. "The Council's heard of some unusual demonic activity, and they wish for us to scout around. After that, we'll be sent where we are needed."
Beth nodded and followed the man, keeping a few paces behind him as Travers had always made her. He slowed down to let her catch up with him, but soon realised that it wasn't as though she was unable to keep up, it was that she was deliberately staying behind. He stopped and watched as she stopped as well, her head bowed.
His eyes narrowed. He'd heard rumours from one of the trainers about Travers treatment of this particular girl, and he had always been inclined not to believe them. Now, he was beginning to wonder.
"You can walk beside me you know," he said gently.
She looked at him and just nodded silently. They continued walking, Beth aware of the silence that hung between them. She didn't like being that close to him, she could feel the heat from his body, and it was making her uncomfortable. She hoped he didn't notice.
They got to the front of the building and Beth looked nervously at the black car that waited for them. Sucking in deeply, she cast one last look at the building that had held her captive for the last ten years and silently said goodbye to the life she had known, and, until recently, had hated.
Giles opened the door for her, and she quickly rushed past him, settling herself as far onto the other side of the car as she could manage. Giles looked at her strangely, but didn't comment on it. The ride to the airport was silent, Giles wanting to say something to the young girl, but, knowing that he didn't know what to say, he kept his mouth closed. Beth did much the same thing.
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She hadn't been on a plane since she had been taken to England so many years ago, and the feel of the turbulence beneath the wings of the plane was making her nervous. Giles noticed that she was wringing her hands nervously, or, alternately, clutching the seat in terror.
He smiled a little and looked towards her.
"You don't like flying?" he asked kindly.
She looked at him, startled that he had spoken to her about something non-slayage related. She had assumed that the man was one of Travers followers who had been given the position that Travers could no longer fulfil, a dictator out to completely ruin Beth's life.
"I haven't flown since I was little. Not since I came to England," she replied.
"How long ago was that?" he asked.
"I was five then," she replied.
He nodded, not entirely sure what to say. He hated how the Potential Slayers were treated, despised how they were taken from their families, sometimes without their parents knowledge and brought up to be the perfect killing machines. The Council's methods were barbaric, but Giles also understood that it was for the greater good. It still wasn't fair to the individual girls who were forced to live such a life.
"And you've enjoyed your training to become a Slayer?" he asked, trying to make conversation.
"Yes, of course," she replied, lying through her teeth. It was the answer that Travers had always demanded of her whenever he had asked her the same question. Travers had been content to hear the lie, as long as she answered yes, but Giles saw through it for what it was.
"And you're real answer to that question?"
Beth went bright red and bit her lip. She looked up at him and saw gentleness in his eyes that she hadn't been expecting. He really did remind her of Ethan.
"Uh…well, it wasn't always bad," she admitted.
He smiled at the answer. He understood the sentiment. He had never wanted to become a Watcher either, but now that he was here, he wanted to do his best.
"Did you want to be Called?"
She gave him a sardonic smile. "It didn't matter what I wanted."
He cocked his head to the side curiously. He wondered how someone so young could understand the ways of Watchers and Slayers when he himself still had trouble.
"That's true enough I suppose," he said.
He could tell that she didn't trust him. She looked almost frightened of him, which was a strange quality to see in a Slayer. He supposed that it would seem incredibly intimidating to her. But, she had been training for this since she was five, and now the time had come. He just didn't like that she didn't trust him. Then again, she didn't really know him. He endeavoured to fix that.
"I didn't really want to be a Watcher, either," he admitted.
She looked at him curiously. She hadn't been expecting him to offer anything so personal about himself.
"Why become one then?" she asked, speaking before thinking. Her eyes went wide as she registered that she had spoken. She swallowed hard, preparing herself for a Travers-like hit.
Giles hadn't noticed the way she had tensed, enjoying her simple way of thinking.
"That's a rather good question," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry s-sir. I shouldn't h-have asked it," she said hurriedly.
He was silent for a moment while Beth was silently having a panic attack. Without looking at her, he began answering.
"I was ten when I found out I was to be a Watcher. I didn't understand it, but my father was adamant that I begin my training. I hated it. I wanted to play cricket and rugby with the other boys. Instead, I studied demons. I went to Oxford when I was eighteen, studying ancient history and mythology," he said. His voice was quiet, lost in memories.
"Couldn't you have quit?" she asked quietly.
He turned to look at her, a smile playing at his lips. "I did quit. I dropped out at twenty one and went to London. I found my way into a gang and…bad things happened. I came back to the Council and began studying again. Then I was assigned to be your Watcher."
She looked at him, taking in his attire, a three-piece tweed suit and his proper British accent. She smiled a little.
"With all due respect sir, I can't imagine you in a gang," she told him.
He laughed aloud at that, startling her. She bit her lip to keep herself from grinning. She made a mental note to make him laugh more often.
"No, I can't imagine myself in one nowadays. And I can assure you I didn't always speak like this," he said. "Was always a bi' more like this. In t'real world, you speak like I was, you'd be called a right bloody toff. Wouldn't be too far off neither."
She giggled a little and he couldn't help but be enchanted by the girl. He'd met other Slayers when they had only just been Called. They were usually by-the-book Slayers who followed orders. He could tell that Beth was a bright young girl with a lively imagination.
He went to say something more to her, but was tapped on the shoulder by a flight attendant.
"We'll be landing in a moment sir," she informed him.
He nodded his thanks and turned back to Beth.
"I think your seat will be rather glad when we get off the plane," he said to her, gesturing to her death grip on the arm rests.
She grinned sheepishly but still clung stubbornly to the armrests. She was beginning to like this man, her Watcher. She could only hope that when she began her slaying duties she wouldn't upset him or make him become like Travers. She could tell he would make a good ally, and probably a good friend as well.
As the plane landed, Beth could only take a deep breath and hope that her life as a Slayer would be a long one.
Big thanks to Dawn (editcat) for correcting me on Giles' age on when he shoulda been at Uni!!