A/N- Anyone else having problems with ff.net?

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CHAPTER THREE

Buffy rode quickly through the forest, the trees becoming a green and brown blur. "Faster, Willow! Faster!" she urged her horse. She had to be in the castle by sunset, or people would notice she was missing. She was to have dinner tonight with her father and William.

Elizabeth cringed. Almost throughout the entirety of her 15 years, William had been nothing but mean and intolerant of her. But when she had reached marrying age…. Suddenly the man couldn't seem to get enough of his 'delicate flower.'

Buffy snorted. If she was a delicate flower, then William was the Pope.

She always had a fiery spirit; when she was younger and allowed to play with the boys- she was always stronger and faster. She would infuriate them; her tangled blond locks always visible as the leader of the pack. She could shoot an arrow just as well as them, too. She remembered little Xander Harris, how he had stolen his father's bow and the village children had used it to practice. Buffy always won any contest.

But she grew older, and it was not acceptable for a young princess to be associating with the commoners. That was the main reason her life was so difficult. If she and her Angel were ever seen together, he would be punished severely.

Angel.

He had infatuated her when she was younger, and that schoolgirl crush had developed into something more. Love, maybe, she wasn't exactly sure. But she knew that she couldn't survive without him. Most of the time, the promise of their weekly meeting was the only thing keeping her sane.

That, and the village gossip she overheard between the servants. Sometimes she felt so closed off from the world, just the sight of Cordelia and Winifred made her heart light. She was a princess, and they were gossip queens.

Angel was certainly a favorite topic of discussion. Cordelia and Fred, as she was called, would swoon over the handsome soldier, fantasize for hours about his dark hair, muscular body, and enchanting eyes. They talked in detail of his relationships, and oh, how there were many. Buffy would burn with jealousy with every new girl. Hell, Angel had even dated Cordelia for a while, who normally would have never dated someone as poor as him. It seemed that no one was immune to his charms.

He'd never be with me, Buffy thought. Why would anyone want a freak like me?

Oh, how she wanted him. To feel his kiss and body pressed up against hers. A pang of shame went through her. Proper young ladies weren't supposed to be thinking of…..that. She found she couldn't help it, though, and a dark blush began to rise in her cheeks as she thought.

Shaking her head sadly, resigned she would never have her love, she quickly unsaddled Willow and raced to her rooms. Quickly dressing, she headed down to the Great Hall where her father and William were awaiting her arrival.

Reaching the Hall as fast as her formal dress would allow, she saw that her father and William were already sitting down talking amongst themselves. She pasted a bright, if false, smile on her face and entered the room, mentally preparing herself for what would certainly an evening of complete and utter boredom.

The two men rose when she entered and curtsied, William taking her hand and kissing it. Hiding her disgust, she floated over to her place at the table, directly across from William.

"Ah…. My love, dear Elizabeth. How was your day? I hope it was well. I couldn't bear the thought of my flower unhappy." William told her, in a sickening sweet tone that made Elizabeth snort internally. If he used that tone on a daily basis….. she held back her laughter. No man would listen to his commander if he talked like that.

But he didn't normally talk like that. The tone was just for show. William wanted to show the king how much he cared for his daughter. King Henry, although he was arranging her marriage, loved his daughter dearly, and if there was even the possibility of love- he would be happy. So William kept up his charade, delighting the king and infuriating Elizabeth.

"Thank you for asking, my dear William. My day was well. Your mind may rest; I am happy," Elizabeth said, hoping the sarcasm that was infused in her words didn't show.

"Excellent, excellent. Have you given any thought to our wedding? Your father and I have discussed the possibility of Midsummer for the ceremony. I know how much you love Midsummer festivities," William answered, his false tone reemerging.

Elizabeth sincerely hoped that her involuntary flinch wasn't noticeable. Thoughts of a wedding….. to anyone who wasn't Angel always made her nauseous. Angel's face flashed in her mind and she was calmed, his imaginary presence almost as soothing as the real thing.

The King chatted with William about the country's various affairs and politics, Elizabeth growing more frustrated by the second. She had no desire to be here, sitting with William the Bloody and pretending she was enjoying herself. She didn't know what she was going to do when the time came she had to marry him.

A giant shock struck her, setting fire in her veins, coursing its way through her body. Her nerve endings were burning, buzzing, as if they had a life of their own. Alarmed and frightened, she grabbed the table with such force that a loud crack rumbled through the hall, splintering the wood.

King Henry and William stared at her in disbelief, the king growing more and more angry with the Royal Carpenters by the second. "What kind of shoddy craftsmanship in this?" the king yelled to William. Still staring at the table in shock, William responded with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "One wonders."

But Elizabeth knew it was not the carpenter's fault the wood had cracked. It was something else. She knew it was she who had broken the table, but she did not know how she had did it. The dark mahogany table's wood was at least six inches thick!

She grasped her pewter goblet, the metal crushing in her grasp. Something was seriously wrong.

What was happening to her?

At that exact moment, a horseman was riding quickly through the village, an urgent message for Mr. Giles. Dressed in black, the figure was camouflaged by the night, becoming a part of it. Darkness rode with the rider, his companion, swallowing him up into the jet-black sky. Upon coming to his destination, the rider jumped off his horse and rushed to the door and began to knock loudly.

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" a muffled voice was heard from the inside of the cottage. Coming to the front door, the sleepy-eyed Giles openly stared at the messenger.

"Urgent message," the cloaked rider told him, handing him the scroll of parchment. Unrolling it, Giles began to read as the rider mounted his horse and rode off into the night.

Shutting the door behind him, he entered his office, eyes once hazed with sleep widening with every word he read.

"Oh dear," he said softly. "Oh dear."

**

END CHAPTER THREE

A/N- Okay, yay!!!! The actual fic has begun! Review, little readers, tell me what you thought of this chapter.

Next chapter- Buffy begins her duty.