Six Foot Deep

by eckles

Dawn has an opportunity to study with her idol, Lara Croft. And Buffy decides to tag along as the next adventure of her sister's Hero happen's to be directly linked to the Slayer Origin. But a deeper mystery is why is Lara now calling herself Mrs Harris?

7. Chapter 7a

Walking up the rich carpeted staircase was easy. Walking down the Hallway was easier. Ignoring the various greetings she received from newly trained Watcher's eager to earn the momentary attention of the famed Slayer who fought and lead a small army of Potential's against 'The First Evil', well, that was something akin to taking notice of a light and passing breeze. However, standing out front of the large and very imposing oak door of Rupert Giles: Head Watcher, that wasn't so easy.

Buffy knew, even before she grasped the handle that would open said door that her impromptu arrival would not be one eagerly met by her former Mentor. This was exactly why she chose to place herself there without offering her former Watcher the courtesy of phoning ahead as was the protocol. After all, after her last audience with the man she could hardly expect to be so eagerly received again. During their last meeting she had said some pretty cruel things. Most of it directed towards him specifically. True, some of it was justified, but for the most of it it was just her venting away at her own inadequacies as a friend and of the haplessness that came from knowing that she had been kept intentionally clueless by those that she trusted above all others.

Willow, Giles, Dawn, as well as everyone else, had in her frantic mind no right to keep events surrounding Xander's activities, dramas and danger's a secret from her. That fact was the one thing in which she was adamant on, and it was certainly one she would not make a single apology over. Yes, maybe it was true that efforts to repair the 3-year-rift that had separated her from him was actually *her* responsibility. After all, it's not like, Xander, had actually done anything wrong. Giles had offered them all their own choices of Assignment and he had chosen one that she disagreed with. It was purely selfish and silly, but when Xander refused to comply with her demands she had felt as though he had somehow betrayed her. And she carried this stupid and very one-sided sense of betrayal all the way with her to Rome.

And yes, maybe it was also true that in the past she had a tendency to blow things out of proportion to the point that they, as a group, genuinely feared informing her on some of his more dangerous Mission's and Adventures. But surely they should have also known that Xander's wellbeing was precious to her. If any of her 'family' were hurt or suffering, she had a right to know and too Hell with her sensitivities or ego. That no childish 'silent treatment' or indignation could compare to how she would feel if anything dire had happened and she had, as yet, not resolved her silly issues. If Xander had died, or was laid up in a hospital bed, or even if he had gotten himself a splinter or a stubbed toe, she had every right to know about it and to be there for him if he wanted her to be. And yes, even if he *didn't* want her too.

With a heavy hand she pushed down the handle and took a deep breath, discounting the repeated demands from Mary, Giles front office assistant that he was 'not wishing to be disturbed'. As she entered the room she observed an unkempt Rupert Giles standing hunched over his large desk staring intently at various sheets of paper lying on its surface. As a matter of curiosity he looked up at who his visitor was, disregarded her presence and then proceeded to return his attention back to his immediate task. This, she had to admit, annoyed her greatly. Not that Giles had been in the middle of a task, but that he had effortlessly dismissed her company.

As Buffy steadily closed the door behind her, silencing Mary's voice, she took another deep breath. This, she knew, was not going to be easy. Only a few days had passed since she accused both Giles and astral-Willow of wilfully lying to her. And now she was about to offer a repeat performance. Only this time the deception, she feared, ran far deeper then her just being 'kept out of the Xander-loop'. If what Croft had told her was correct then it was doubtful that Giles, her Watcher and Mentor hadn't known about the Curse. And if he did indeed know about the 'True Love' clause in the 'Slayer Contract' then that also meant he had been complicit in deceiving her from the very beginning of their association.

With a tired tone, the Englishman spoke. "Buffy if you wish to yell at me some more, can't it wait for another day? I'm pretty busy at present."

Again, to the blonde's annoyance, Giles did not even so much as look up from his desk to address her. What ever it was he was focused on he obviously deemed it more important. And in her present mindset that was possibly the worst move he could have made. Because nothing mattered more to her then the questions she now had burning in her brain.

With a determined stride she crossed the twelve feet that separated them. "Giles, we have to talk!"

"Then make an appointment with Ms Brunt outside, I believe I have a slot available tomorrow morning at ten."

The blonde shock her head in the negative, not that doing so did much as the aged Englishman had not bothered to look up. "When I say we have to talk, Giles. I mean we have to TALK! Present. Not later. Not in an hour, not tomorrow. NOW!"

This demand earned Rupert Giles attention. Slowly he raised his head and allowed his eyes to fall upon the first Slayer he ever trained and who he looked on as his own daughter, if not in blood, bone and flesh, but certainly in spirit and love. His eyes were tired and bloodshot, evidence of a long and exhausting night. And if Buffy wasn't presently possessed with her own direct needs she would have certainly have taken pity on how old and haggard he had now appeared to be. But presently 'pity' was not word she could easily define in her vocabulary.

Slowly, Giles straightened his back and stood tall and proud before her. Maybe it was the large and imposing desk. Or maybe it was because she hadn't seen him as regularly as she used too and his age had taken full claim towards his once distinguished features, with extra wrinkles on his face and the thinning of his light-brown chestnut hair. And if it wasn't for the sound of his voice, she would almost swear that he appeared to be a different person entirely from the pleasant memory she had always cherished. But his now physical visage did little to negate something else that was besieging her sensors; it was how tall he actually was from those self same memories. She never remembered him to being this 'tall'. True, there were very few people shorter then she and she had long gotten used to dealing with this in her daily life. But at that particular moment in time, Giles appeared to her like a giant. And a very angered one at that.

With a very steady and refined voice, a voice that seemed to boom softly throughout the room, he spoke. "Buffy, it has long passed the time when you could waltz into my work place and put demands on my time. In the past I have offered you as much leniency as I could allow. But I am not your Watcher anymore; I surrendered that duty the moment I took command of the Organisation. I am now responsible for over 10,000 individuals. Each one with an equal command upon my available, and daresay, limited time as you seem to believe that *you* do. So if I politely ask you to make an appointment because I am presently dealing with a matter that I deem more significant then playing 'catch up'. THEN YOU DAMN WELL MAKE A BLOODY APPOINTMENT!"

Buffy had been firmly talked to by Giles in the past, and yes, in some of those rare instances he had occasionally raised his voice slightly to help emphasis his annoyance or his point. But never in all her years had he ever yelled at her. Forcing herself to control her quivering lower lip, as she refused to show any weakness, she whispered out a reply to the middle-aged man's demand. But though it travelled softly across the room it was still loud enough to gain the effect that she wanted. "True love, Giles. Why didn't you ever tell me about true love?"

The question caused the aged man to recoil in surprise and confusion. It was hardly the hostile follow-up he was expecting from his first Slayer. Wrenching his glasses off, he looked Buffy Anne Summer's up and down before he found the words to answer. "Excuse me? What are you going on about? What do you mean by 'True Love'?"

With his voice now softer due to puzzlement, Buffy found the steel in herself to continue with her questioning. "Last night I went to that dinner at the Croft's Estate as Dawn's plus-one. Croft knew everything about us Slayer's, Giles. And I mean *everything*. It appears that one of her forefather's, or something, was a Watcher himself."

The Head of the Council barked out a chuckle to this revelation. "Of coarse he was a member of the Council, Buffy. In fact given the Croft Families station in English Society I would've been more surprised if they *hadn't* been recruited to become members at some point of our history. Secret Societies, Buffy, a hundred of years ago were all the rage in Europe. The more Secret the Organisation the more exclusive it was. The Free Mason's, The Hellfire Club, The Black Church, the Illuminati. Given the distinction of the Croft name, as well as the wealth they earned from Trade, and as Property Owner's, their patronage would have been eagerly sought, I suspect, by many. And in all likelihood, the Croft's were probably members of a dozen secret Groups', not just ours. So if you were expecting to shock me with that detail, I am sad to say you have failed miserably."

The Slayer's eyes narrowed, yes, she was indeed hoping that this revelation would have earned a measure of curiosity to what she was here to talk to him about. But still she remained undeterred and continued as though Giles had said nothing at all. "Yeah, well, anyway, as I was saying, when he went into Watcher-retirement he took up a very interesting hobby. That little pass-time being a Documented Analysis of 'Chosen Ones'."

Giles bent frame suddenly stiffened at this extra bit of news. And she was relieved to see his eyes widen with mild-horror and the skin tone of his face go slightly pale at this discovery. Suppressing a small smile of victory at unnerving her favourite Watcher she preceded, her voice carrying within its tone an expectation to be taken seriously. "In his little Journal he said there were cases in which when a Slayer experiences true love that they then lose their Slayer-ness and become a normal everyday person. With the upside being that they had their soul-mate now to live that life beside. A life, Giles. An actual life with kids and a husband. A mortgage and PTA Meetings. No Vamp's or Demon wants to make a name for themselves by trying to rip your head off. A life full of love and happiness."

Rupert Giles remained grimly silent.

Gaining further confidence in the fact that she had not been, as yet interrupted, the elder Summer's sister proceeded to the meat of her issue. "Now Giles, I can't help but remember way back when we first met, of me telling you that I didn't want to be a Slayer. Hell, I practically pleaded with you to give the job to someone else, someone who might actually want it. And do you know what you said? You told me that this was impossible. That it was my Destiny to be the Chosen One and that there was no backsies. So right here and right now, Giles, I'm asking you, with everything we've been through with one another over the past ten years, did you know about this true-love mumbo-jumbo? And if you did, why in God's name didn't you tell me!"

And there it was.

The flicker of recognition to the weight of everything she had just said. To say it lasted the briefest second would be a lie, it didn't. Barely the length of time it would take a person to blink. But it was there, no mistaking. And it all but broke her heart at seeing it, as she still held out onto some vain sliver of optimism that her former Watcher would be proven innocent towards her paranoia.

Buffy gently closed her eyes and in her mind she cursed her former boyfriend for being such an excellent teacher. After all, the Immortal was the one who had taken the time over their numerous late night dinners to impress and educate her on the human condition. And he did so in an amusing fashion by speculating on the various couples at neighbouring dinner tables. Using their body language, choice of clothing, meals and even the way they would handle their cutlery to offer a unique and detailed history of their character and their ambitions. At the beginning it was an entertaining distraction until their meal arrived. But as the weeks progressed to months she started to indulge herself further into the various philosophies sprouting from her then former-lover's lips. True, he may have had an ego to rival God himself, but he sure as hell knew his stuff.

The Immortal: the ultimate salesman.

The Immortal could walk into any room and within five minutes, just by observing reactions to help guide his responses he could talk anybody into doing anything he wished them to do. Even if they didn't want to originally, he could have them convinced that they did. With them also believing that it was even their own idea the entire time. That was the Immortal's true power and why he continued to have such a tight hold over the Demon Community in Italy and had done so for centuries. He had convinced them that they needed him to oversee their business and they, being the simpleton's that they were more brawn then brain, actually believed him.

By simply being 'The Immortal' he received a piece of the demon-crime-pie, all for doing nothing. All that wealth and influence just for a smile and a nod. It was unbelievable. Not that she was complaining at the time, she was enjoying the privileges such entitlements offered her as much as she possibly could. But that was then, this was now. And she was, thanks to his education, now a far wiser Slayer where being lied to face-to-face was involved. Yes, the Immortal was a bastard, but he did teach her well. And it was with these same skills that she also knew Lady Lara Croft was still keeping something concealed from both her and Dawn.

When Buffy once more opened her eyes she noticed that Giles had trained his blue gaze upon her in an unpleasant fashion. He looked like he had just stubbed a toe and was trying his best to hold in a barrage of swear words because he had just noticed her was surrounded by a pack of observant and impressionable five-year olds. In her mind, the Slayer suspected he was at that time formulating an answer that would deflect her enquiry. She was not left waiting long for that to happen.

"Buffy as sympathetic to your love-life woes as I generally am, the writing was always on the wall with regards to yourself and the Immortal. The fact it last over two years is a wonder in and of itself. But carrying on about 'True Love'? Buffy, really? If the Immortal is the kind of person you are setting your sights on, then *"

"*He's not Giles, and you know it! I'm talking about 'True Love', not some … some distraction. True Love!" The Slayer balled her small hands into fist's and levelled them on the table, leaning forward enough so that the thick and classical wooden legs started to creak desperately to the pressure she was applying to it's surface.

Giles eyes refocused once again upon the Slayer, then upon the now light-sloping desk, then once more upon the Slayer. Reluctantly he pulled out his high-back leather chair and sat down, calmly executing a gesture for her to do the same with one of the two similar style, but smaller chairs, opposite to him. Knowing that her point was clearly made, but with her fury still burning in her betrayed eyes, Buffy slowly lowered herself down. And like the father she always imagined him to being, Giles proceeded with a gentle and even toned question. "First off, I have to ask you. What do you know exactly?"

"Exactly?"

"Yes, Buffy. What did Lady Croft tell you about this 'True Love' nonsense?"

"Nonsense? You think love is nonsense?"

"That's not what I mean, Buffy. Please don't be obtuse. I need you to be specific."

"I already told you. Slayer falls in love. They stop being a Slayer. Everyone lives happily ever after."

The Watcher leaned back, his eyes never leaving her face. His tone then became odd, almost cold and challenging. "Fall's in love. Stops being a Slayer. Lives happily ever after. My, my, Buffy. That's very 'Disney' don't you think? A simplistic explanation to a very complicated situation."

"Well, what can I say? I'm a simple kinda gal."

"Simple or Simpleton? Because at the moment I'm having difficulty distinguishing between the two."

The Slayer was expecting this reaction. Sometimes the old argument about a 'good defence being a good offence' is true. And right now, Giles, was doing his best to get under her skin with insults in the hope that she would be consumed and distracted over what she was actually there to talk about. The problem was though, she had read and memorised that 'Play Book' years ago and she felt a need to let him know that she was not going to be dissuaded. "Ouch. I'm guessing I hit a nerve. But you still haven't answered my question: Is what I learned the other night true? I'm guessing it is, given the vibe I'm now getting off of you." Buffy tried to keep her voice as level and as cold as her mentor Ha. Point: Buffy..

Realising his ploy failed the Senior Watcher faces expression cracked into one that offered her now less outrage and more compassion. "Buffy, you have no idea what it is you are asking. As always you are treating this sensitive matter like a proverbial bull in a China Shop. The ramifications of your straightforward question is immense and I do not believe you truly appreciate the coarse your enquiry shall take you."

"Yeah? Well, ya'know what? I *am* asking them, Giles. I'm asking them now! And because I am asking, I am expecting answers. Truthful answers. Or would you rather keep me in the dark? Leaving me to go it alone and start shaking people down in order to find the truth your denying me, because you know I will."

The Englishman grimaced at the notion, and she was right. That would be entirely 'Buffy' of her. The only way he could control the information was to be part of it's supply. Gently he swung his chair slightly to angle in the direction of the window, for a moment his gaze took in a view he had seen over a thousand times. It would, he suspected, not serve him at all well if he continued this awkward discussion by placing her off-side. Slowly he closed his eyes and answered this former Slayer in a cultured and britishly refined murmur. "Very well, Buffy, have it your way. And yes, I suppose on a very base level what you have already said a moment ago and learned thus far is true. But if you think that it's as clear cut as you have made it sound. Then I am sorry to say you couldn't be more wrong. That's the difference between something being true and something being accurate. There is typically a vast distance between the two points."

Giles then swung his leather chair back so that it once more faced his former-Slayer squarely. "Understand, Buffy, this isn't something from the pages of a tacky romance novel. This won't come with the 'happily- ever-after' answer you are hoping for. And it is for this reason I am now begging you, not only as your friend, former Watcher, and the Head of the Council, but also as someone who cares very much for you and your well-being. Please do not pursue this any further. Because I can assure you, Buffy, you will not like where this line of investigation will lead you, of that I am fearfully certain."

Buffy straightened herself in her chair, and stared defiantly at her would-be-father, noting the sincerity in his voice, but choosing to dismiss the warning. "That's too bad, Giles, 'cause I want answers. And after everything I've been through I believe I deserve them. I've saved the World probably a dozen times. Christ, I've died twice. I've lost friends, my innocence, nearly everything to this damned life, this … this Destiny of mine. A Destiny I didn't want in the first place. All I ever wanted, Giles, was to be an ordinary girl, with an ordinary life. And now I discover something like this? A 'Get Out Of Jail' Free Card. After everything. After all the blood I've spilled and shed. After all the pain I've caused and endured. After the deaths. Tell me, Giles, why can't I know the truth? Give me a reason!"

With a slow and steady nod of an aged head a sombre voice followed. "You're right, Buffy. You have suffered and have sacrificed much in your role. But I firmly believe that ultimately this will be a truth you do not wish to know, nor will it serve you in knowing. Sometimes, Buffy, ignorance is indeed bliss."

The Slayer shock her head firmly. "Not your call, Giles. It's mine. It's my life and even if I live to regret what I learn today, as you seem certain I will, I need to know what is real and what is false in *my* life."

Rupert Giles nodded his head once more, sadly. "Very well, but you must accept and wear the consequences, Buffy. And I ask you to commit to your memory that I all but begged you not to take this journey."

The aged and Senior Watcher then looked into his lap, pondering how he might proceed. But in every unwanted scenario that was flooding his mind it was clear to him that little to no joy would ever be earned by the blonde in her education, and as such there would be little to be gained by sugar-coating what needed to be said. Silence and determined eyes was all that was welcoming the Watcher's earlier plea. Both personally and professionally he was hoping that the silence he had just offered her would be enough to make her second guess her stubborn decision. Alas it did not. So with another heavy sigh and a shaking of his head, more out of regret then frustration, the Englishman proceeded. "Very well. You, I fear, have made your choice. Now please tell me everything you were told by Lady Croft."

"Why?"

With another deep sigh, the Englishman leaned forward and addressed the blonde. "Because I need to know if the information that has been shared with you is accurate or if it's just a collection of fanciful wishing. This is … important, Buffy."

By the seriousness of her former-Watcher's expression, she was prepared to offer him the benefit of the doubt given their history. And even though every fibre in her body was demanding that he be the one to start with the talking, she remained silent to this wish. Instead she shared what she was told by Croft, about the Curse and suspected cure thereof, but she chose to exclude the Plate of Alexander the Great and the Amazon Myth as per her agreement to Lady Croft. And she chose not to reveal Dawn's speculation of Faith from her story. It took all of three-minutes for her to finish telling her narrative and during that time Giles remained silent, contemplative. When she concluded the tale, the Englishman returned his glasses to their resting place over his eyes and leaned forward upon his desk once more, entwining his finger's together.

"They're called, and are known best by the title 'The Lover's of Athena'."

Buffy averted her eyes; she could not bear to look at him at that moment. His own words condemning the man she had always trusted of betrayal. "Lover's of Athena, huh? I guess the fact that you guy's having had the courtesy of giving them a name means that they're pretty real."

"Yes. Yes, they are. Once a long time ago, when I was coming through the ranks, I believed their existence and influence over a Slayer's destiny to be an exaggeration." Giles gently looked down at his hands, now concealed under the horizon of his desk, and noticed that they had started to tremble. He was unsure if this physical reaction was due to fear or anticipation of what might come his way shortly. "It was not."

"How do you mean?"

"You see, for every Slayer, Buffy, there is her Lover. One Slayer. One Lover. Just as you were once Chosen, some Authority from on High also selected them as well. But the when, where, and how a Slayer and Lover will meet is always a mystery. Some Slayer's meet their Lover nearly immediately, with other's it could take years. Some I fear never ever get that opportunity, often they perish in the line of duty before destiny allows them that chance.

"Now earlier you referred to them as being your True Love. That, Buffy is a misleading description. You have had relationships, Buffy, and each one of them has been able to earn an endearing place in your heart and had you believing and referring to them as either your True Love, or Soul Mate. But where are these 'Soul Mates' of yours now? Angel, Riley, Spike? When a romance is going well, or going as expected, they are indeed a comfort. But the moment yours or their circumstances change or alter, whether it is for right and noble reason's or ones deemed selfish. They, and you, can fall just as easily out-of-love as in-love. It is true that residual feelings may exist, but that is all. You see, Buffy that is the difference between someone who is your 'True-Love' and someone who 'Loves-You-Truly'. A man who loves you truly accepts you for everything that you are. For all the right and the wrongs. Their love does not judge, waver, or surrender. It just simply 'is'. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Buffy's eyes glistened and shimmered. Yes, she knew exactly what he meant.

"There are only a few accounts in the Archives where a Lover has shared with a Watcher what happens when they … for lack of a better word, accept, their own destiny. And in all the various text's, as few as they are, the information that has been gathered has pretty much remained consistent with each individual telling."

"Why? What happens to them?"

Giles eyes drifted over his desk, taking on a far-away look. As if trying to recall a description or memory he had until that moment easily forgotten. "Well, nothing physically if that is what you're worried about, Buffy. In truth, if you are expecting some sort 'transformation' to have happened, akin to yourself waking up one morning with the ability to lift a refrigerator over your head. Then you would be left disappointed. What they experience is more in line to a revelation. It is claimed that the moment the prospective Lover first takes in the appearance of their 'Chosen One'…" Giles seemed to Buffy to emphasise the secondary title of the Slayer and Buffy couldn't help but wonder if that name played a deeper connection to the relationship between Slayer and Lover. "… everything in their world suddenly stops for them. They become momentarily dazed by her, caught in a unique type of funnel-vision. One where she, in an instant, becomes the centre of everything that matters most to him. She becomes, in short, his entire reason for being."

"Huh?"

Rupert Giles rubbed his temples, if he had to stop and start in order to explain everything then he felt he and his first Slayer would be still in this room till midnight. "Surely, Buffy, you've heard the expression: Like a Bolt from the blue? Being struck by Cupid's Arrow? How about, 'Love at first sight'?

Snippily the Slayer replied. "Of coarse I have."

"Well, that's as good of a description to what happens to them as any. The Lover, Buffy, quite literally is drawn into all the beautiful possibilities that could exist between him and the Slayer. All within a fraction of a second. All that amorous potential becomes imprinted upon them and what is left behind is nothing but pure and absolute clarity. They instinctually know their place in the Universe, and that place, Buffy, is at the side of their Chosen One. …"

Buffy's eyebrows rose once more, now in surprise at how the name and title of the 'Chosen One' was again being applied in Giles description. She had always believed that 'Chosen One' meant that she was 'Chosen' to be the 'One' to fight Vampires, Demon's and other Supernatural threats. But of coarse that was all a lie. There wasn't just 'One' of her. There was Kendra, then Faith and now thousands of others. And if what Lara had said the other night was true? That her selection wasn't about her being the right person for the job. It was all about the convenience of her being in the right state-of-mind when the Spirit was leaping from one body to another. There could have been for all she knew, hundred's of girl's in LA who had fit the same criteria as her when she was Called. But she just happened to have been thinking the kind of thoughts that singled her out as someone the Spirit felt a deeper connection too at the time of their 'joining'. The fact that Willow was able to call forth several thousand other Chosen 'Ones' from all around the World all at the one time is evidence that there really wasn't any 'One'. Just a very picky Spirit.

"…His subconscious mark's her in a way that … " The Englishman voice tapered off and after a moment he continued with a very annoyed tone. "I'm sorry, Buffy. Is this boring you? You were the one who asked me the question."

Buffy momentarily shock her thoughts free and returned her attention to her former Watcher. "Huh? What do you mean?"

The response from the male was at first an exasperated glare, followed by a cutting reply. "Oh, it just looked like you were daydreaming for a moment, that's all. Of coarse if you're finding it difficult to focus, or don't wish for me to continue*"

"* Don't even think about stopping, Giles. I was just … reflecting, that's all. I am permitted to do that aren't I? 'Reflect'?" The Slayer then leaned forward and picked up a pen from the large desk. Twirling it nonchalantly between her fingers, in an effort to demonstrate she was indeed paying attention to the words of her former mentor she decided to contribute to the discussion with a question. "So what you're saying is that these Lover-Guys are attracted to our looks, that we're just a bit of 'eye-candy' for them?"

"Of coarse not. What a ridiculous claim." Giles pushed himself back further in his chair. "Maybe I didn't describe it properly." The Englishman then paused for a moment, rubbing his temples in contemplation. "What I mean, Buffy is that they become *aware* of you. And once this happens it is like all the tumblers start falling into place."

"Tumblers?"

"Yes, for them it is as if all their 'dreams' have now manifested before them and taken physical form. There is a very popular urban-myth, Buffy, that says that there is someone out there for everyone. Now imagine dreaming of what such a perfect person would look like, think and how they would act. And then suddenly, quite out of the blue, bumping into that very 'imagination' out on the street somewhere?"

"That would be …" The Slayer bit her lower lip as she tried to process how such a thing would be like for her. Then becoming momentarily lost in the scenario. That is until, Giles, once again rescued her from her inner ponderings.

"I think the word you are searching for is 'overwhelming'. To witness the personification of all your adolescent desires made flesh, and then to have that very person standing right before you?"

"Yeah. Overwhelming. But what about us … meaning me? Shouldn't I have these same impulses as well? Where is my jaw-dropping moment?"

The Watcher shrugged. "In some recess of your mind there is possibly an acknowledgement of some kind, but I suspect the Slayer Spirit clouds those thoughts from you, as it is not exactly in it's best interest for you to know such things."

Buffy nodded her head, unaware that she was doing so. "Yeah, I heard about that theory the other night from Croft. She said that the Spirit manipulates it's Host's perceptions and might even re-direct and counterfeit emotions. Forcing their Host, in other words *me*, to fall in love with other people."

Giles, in return, also nodded his head in agreement. "It is possible, it certainly would make sense if the Spirit did indeed do such a thing." Giles hand drew across the surface of the desk and activated the intercom to the outer office. "Mary, could you please arrange some refreshments for myself and Ms Summers. I suspect we will be in here for a while. Also could you redirect all my calls and all my morning appointments to Mr Cavender."

A voice sharply cracked from the speaker. "Any particular blend of Tea, Mr Giles?"

"This morning has been full of surprises, what's one more. Your choice, Mary, just none of that Mint-Rubbish."

"Very well, sir."

Giles once more leaned back in his chair and looked appraisingly upon his first Charge. "You said earlier that this is a curse, well then if this is indeed the case then you must accept that the Lover's are not the ones in this pairing who are burdened to prove themselves. It is the Slayer who must work through their insecurities, vanity and doubts. Not them. For the Lover, once they are active, everything is clear. Their heart, mind and soul are not clouded with recriminating questions of either themselves or their worthiness." Giles then entwined his fingers together, creating a steeple with the two index-fingers, then slowly, VERY slowly drawing them up to his lips.

"Do you remember that Movie, the one you said was your absolute favourite as a little girl … 'The Prince's Bride'? The one I was forced and quilted into sitting through, with both Willow and Xander. Eight-years ago when you had that stubborn bout of flu that was going around the school."

"You said you liked it!"

"I said it was 'surprisingly good', not that I liked it. There were far too many historical inaccuracies for me to actually give it a resounding and positive review. I mean truly, Buffy, was it set in the 15-hundreds or the thirteenth century? For a Historian like myself, the overlapping of customs and fashions were almost too much for me to bear let alone behold. That movie's costume designer and fact-checker should have been drawn and quartered."

"Some people focus more on the story and less on the Codpieces, Giles. And for your information it was called the 'The Princess Bride'." The Slayer then blew a strand of hair off her face in irritation, doing her best to discount the critic of her most favourite movie in the entire world. "So? What of it?"

"The two protagonist. Beatrice and Wendell*"

"Buttercup and Westley."

Giles sighed. "The names really are not that important, Buffy. What I am trying to do is direct your narrow understanding of a 'Lover' by employing two characters' you are already familiar with."

"Alright, I can work with that. I'm guessing that in this case, Westley, is the Lover, right?"

"Exactly. A Lover would share many devoted traits to this character. He is single-minded, all he desired was to be at his Chosen's side. To protect her from harm. Regardless of the abuse he would suffer, and all the trials and the dangers he would have to face in doing so. He would gladly endure pain, humiliation and even death, all without complaint. Because the Lover viewed his love for his Chosen to be one that defined him. The Lover's desires, hopes and ambitions become servile and second to that of the safety and happiness of the Slayer, Buffy. His only goal in this life would be to cherish, love and protect his 'Chosen One' from harm and misery, no matter what form it would take. "

"Hang on. Are you saying that this Lover becomes the Slayer's unwilling Slave?"

"Slave is a very harsh definition, Buffy."

"Yeah, but is it accurate?

"Certainly not. They *DO* have choice."

"It sure as Hell doesn't sound like it to me." The Slayer's voice stressed out.

"Their love, Buffy, is self-less. They do not seek reward for their loyalty or fidelity. Their mere acknowledgement is typically enough to sustain them."

"What are they? A freakin' dog? They're people, Giles. PEOPLE! They have emotions."

"Yes, they do. And they feel things more deeply then you and I can possibly imagine. Often to their own detriment. They are Lover's, Buffy. Their passion is their greatest strength. And that passion can take many forms. But it is not the only attribute they possess. If they love you, and you love them in return then they will do everything in their power to make the impossible seem mundane and to live up to every expectation you could hope to have in a partner. A Lover, Buffy, is the perfect compliment to whoever he gives his heart too. What affects you, affects him. When you suffer, he suffers in-kind. True, it may not physically, but the depths of his grief at knowing of your pain would be immense. "

"You almost make it sound as though this is something I should be afraid of."

"If that is what you are taking from what I have said thus far, then you have successfully read between the lines, Buffy."

"What does that mean?"

"The Lover will love you in the manner in which you desire to be loved and he will protect you from all forms of foulness … if he is able. You will be forever defended and eternally adored."

"Not seeing a down side here yet, Giles."

"Yes, well you wouldn't. But that type of devotion takes it's toll. The more they Love, the more they are willing to risk if the source of their love is in danger or has been lost. The Ancient Wizards who created the Slayer Line offered you a man's purest love as an enticement because they believed that the original Slayer was above such menial needs. That she would never be attracted to men. That she was consumed with hunting and killing monsters and demons and not towards thoughts of family. As such, I suspect, they never thought their bindings would ever be broken. But if they were, and the Spirit did vacate their Host, then they knew that she would be left weak and incapable of fending for herself. Karma, it seems truly did exist even thousands of years ago. These Holy Men and Shaman's were so fearful of Cosmic Retribution that they ensured that the Host, once freed, would never live in doubt towards their worth to another and that he would forever be able to protect them from harm."

"HEY! I'm not exactly defenceless y'know. Remember, Cruciamentum?"

"Buffy, we're talking of a masculine perception of over several thousand years ago. Women were weak, Men were strong. Women had the children and Men protected what was his. It maybe Bronze Age thinking, but it did have a purpose. But you are right, times change as do sensibilities. Back then 'Love' was a concept not genuinely sought in relationships, but as times progressed and we as a society and as a people became more modern …."

"Yeah, well I'm a modern day gal." she tried to state in an effort to inject a bit of humour.

"Yes you are, and nobody is above being loved, Buffy. And I mean, truly loved. Truth be told, it is something many of us strive for. But understand, Buffy, this ancient spell works upon your idealised perceptions of what love must be. Not the Slayer's. It is *YOU* who must break the shackles in order to gain your freedom, not the Spirit. Somewhere deep in your mind, someplace that you are afraid to venture, you already know who your 'ideal man' is. The hard bit for you is being able to realise this and to take action. To respond to these feelings and not allow yourself to be distracted by what you think you 'deserve'. Like the Lover, Buffy, you already know what attracts you. But you have repressed your feelings to the point that they do not exist anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I'm 'broken', Giles? That I can't feel?"

Giles leaned forward, about to answer, as a solid knock was heard on his office door. Without being beckoned to enter, the woman who had tried unsuccessfully to bar the Slayer's entrance just 15-minutes earlier entered with a silver tray and two pre-poured cups of tea and a small tray of jammed scones.

The former Watcher and the Slayer awaited Mary to leave the room before they continued their discussion. Giles taking advantage of the silence first. "If I had told you at 16 that all you had to do was fall madly in love with a particular person and then have sexual intercourse with them in order for you to lose you Slayer Gift, Buffy, would you?"

Buffy was momentarily stunned at the directness of his questioning, so Giles pushed his advantage. "What if I asked 17-year old Buffy? How about 18? 19? 20? 21?*"

Buffy's eyes grew sharp. "I don't know. Kinda depends upon the Hottie I guess. What's your point, Giles?"

"My point, Buffy, is that you expect it to be as simple as me telling you who you should love, then going through the motions towards achieving that love. That's it! Problem solved! But that's not it, Buffy. You have to genuinely feel that love coursing through you. It cannot be faked or forced. And I certainly can't make you love anyone who you don't already have an attraction for. You had, in your mind, the 'type of person' someone like you should be in love with. And any suggestions of people that did not fall into your cookie-cutter ideal, you would discount immediately. Your choices were, in all honesty, uninspired and predictable of any adolescent girl. They were generally mysterious, tragic and mature."

"That's not true."

"Really? What about Angel? Riley? Parker? Spike? What about that boy, Owen? You shared nothing in common with him, infact I dare say you had more in common with a bronze doorknob then you did with that lad. Yet you pursued him with vigour."

"That was a long time ago, besides, he was a cutie and I wanted to snag him before Cordy did. It was purely a bit of 'in-your-face-therapy'. I wasn't serious. Not really. I just wanted to date the guy a few times, besides, he seemed really interesting."

"Please, Buffy. That whole 'Tragic Soulful Poet' Act went out of style with Shelley and Byron. His MO was so transparent he might as well have been made entirely out of glass. What I am trying to say is that you made your choices and they could not be made for you. The Lover is not some 'fling', like how you were describing your time with that Owen-Gentleman. They are a commitment, Buffy. They are someone you could see yourself growing old with. Someone you would happily love for eternity and then complain to God that even eternity is too short a time."

Hearing these words only boiled the Slayer's blood. It was like a taunt to perfect happiness, happiness that she was certain had been robbed from her, as well as another. "That's still no excuse about you keeping me in the dark about these 'Lovers', Giles!"

"Would it have made a difference if I didn't? Would it have changed how you acted around Mr Finn or Angel?"

The blonde remained silent.

"It was my decision, Buffy. It may not be seen by you as popular right now, but I stand by it. And I did it for all of the reasons that you now oppose. If you could not see the Love on offer, then you did not deserve it." The former-Watcher drew his tea cup to his lips and savoured a small sip, a pleasing smile briefly making it's mark across his face as he watched his former-Slayer consider the weight of the words he had just spoken. "If I had told you ten years ago that there was some 'mystery man' who could make you a normal teenage girl again. What would you have done? Be honest with yourself, Buffy. If not with me, then at least with yourself. What would you have done?"

Again, his question momentarily stumped her. Even more now that she had suspected Xander as being the man in question. If Giles really did approach 16-year old her, pointed his finger at her bestest-male-friend, then told her to forget the whole ark-weirdness and too start supporting lustful-and-lovey-dovey thoughts about a guy who she had sworn to Willow she would never have or even try for. Only to then take him off to a Supply Closet for a game of '60-seconds-in-Hevean', what would she really have done? Could she have done it?

"I … I don't know. But this is my life, Giles, not yours! I had a right to know. Even if knowing amounted to nothing, I still had a right to know."

"Have you bothered to consider, Buffy, that maybe my decision in this instance was not just wholly directed towards you and you alone?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Giles rested the cup onto it's saucer. As he expected, his former charge had walked in blindly to his snare of words. "Would you object to me providing you with an example?"

Buffy shrugged her shoulders as her arms reached over to take her own tea cup from the silver tray. "Go for it."

"In the 18th Century, there was a young Captain by the name of Daniel Holtz of His Majesty's Royal Regiment. During an impromptu confrontation with a gathering of Vampires, he met and fell in love with a Slayer of his time."

The blonde's interest was now well and truly piqued. "He was a 'Lover', I'm guessing." Buffy had heard the name Holtz before, but could not place it at that moment. Gently she took her first sip, but her attention remained upon the tale now taking form.

"Yes. Captain Holtz and his men were responding to threats on a village. A village that he and his soldier's were stationed near. The intelligence he had was that these attacks were being perpetrated by a gang of cut-throat thieves. As such he and his men were ill prepared for what they faced. A majority of his soldier's died that night. Caroline, the Vampire Slayer of that time had been following some independent leads, and well, her arrival as well as intervention were dearly appreciated by Holtz's and his dwindling forces. Now whether the two, during the melee, were able to acknowledge their attraction for the other and post battle got mixed up in the adrenaline of their survival I cannot say. But the two undoubtedly had relations shortly thereafter because within the week it was reported to the Council that she was a Slayer no-more. Given the time period, Captain Holtz, quickly made an 'honourable woman' of Caroline and wedded her."

The current Slayer snorted in amusement, followed by a sniggering reply of insincerity. But deep down, Buffy, was touched at the gesture. "Good for him." Jane Austin was always one of Buffy's favourite author's, it was one of the few pleasures and secrets she and her mother shared. And even though she didn't understand half of what Jane's books were about, she still enjoyed reading of the polite and over-the-top romantic conduct people all had with one another back then. To her it was always very … civilised and sincere. But she was not about to reveal this vulnerability to her former Watcher.

The middle-aged man ignored the scoffing tone of the woman in his presence and continued unaffected by the sarcastic tone. "Because of the high loss of life of his men, and because no Vampire bodies remained after they had been staked and beheaded. There were no enemy bodies to be found that could substantiate Captain Holtz's bizarre account for the large loss of his men. No Court of enquiry was ever held and the good Captain was hastily expelled from the Service. Quite the humiliation for a Career Soldier. Only through the intervention of the Council, who were trying to keep the ordeal from public scrutiny and notice, was the matter kept quiet with no additional charges laid at Daniel's feet for incompetent command.

"The two of them, Daniel and Caroline, proceeded to live happily for twenty years, their love growing more with each passing day, if that was at all possible. He became an owner of a small, but profitable farm and Caroline became a mother to a baby boy and a little girl.

"But once your eyes, Buffy, have been open to what hides in the darkness and shadows, you can never truly close them again. Daniel, joined an elite group of Demon Hunter's sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church. Using his military training and experience he travelled the expanse of England, doing his best to keep his fellow countrymen safe from that which might threaten them in the night, whatever form it would take."

"Excuse me. When does it get interesting? Not that I'm not fascinated, I'm just sure your building to something and I want to know what it is. Because the way I hear it this seems like the ending of a Fairy Tale to me."

"I believe it starts to get interesting right now, Buffy. You see, *Angelus*, had found out that there was a former and more importantly, powerless, ex-Vampire Slayer living in the vicinity of one of his territories."

"An… Angelus?"

"Yes. Angel's darker-self, Buffy. Angelus, has always been what is popularly known as a show pony. For him, nothing was worth doing if it didn't make a bright-red splash. At the time, I believe, he was all of 30-years undead. His ego, so eager to be acknowledged by his peers as one of the bloodiest vampires to ever draw blood, was prepared to take on any risk. But killing Barroom Wenches, Gambler's and Drunks rarely earns you the notoriety that Angelus craved. Slayer's, however, got you noticed. Killing Slayer's makes other Vampires of standing remember your name. And Angelus, above all things, wanted to be remembered."

"Okay. Interested now."

"Angelus theorised that a Slayer would congregate with other demon hunters. So he tracked down the most famed of his time: Captain Holtz. It took two nights of careful reconnaissance outside his farm house to overhear the pair discuss the glory days of their youth. He and Darla discovered that not only had Holtz married the Slayer they were seeking, but that they had children.

"I doubt Angelus ever bothered to question his good fortune that night. He waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. It took two-weeks for Holtz to leave his family and set off to London on a Mission for the Vatican. When Holtz arrived at his destination, he discovered that the mission was a ruse by Angelus and Darla. To rub salt into the humiliation, Angelus had even left a note explaining his intent to kill the Hunter's family that very night.

"Angelus did have a reputation for sending sickening messages to his quarry, as you recall. Remember what he did to you in second year with that classmate of yours? The one you went to view at the funeral home and whom rose to attack you."

"Yeah." A small shiver ran down the Slayer's spine at the memory of the life both taken and wasted by her ex-boyfriend. "Xander saved me, jabbed her through the back with a wooden easel. Stabbing her heart and then going a big ashy *poof*."

"Quite. At any rate, Angelus knew that by the time Holtz received his message that the Hunter would be far too late to save them from what he and Darla had planned. I daresay, Caroline never stood a chance. Not without her powers and over a dozen years of wedded happiness under her belt. I hazard to guess that by the time she knew of the true peril she and her family were in, it was already to late for her to do anything. Angelus and Darla killed Holtz's wife and baby son, draining them dry of blood. But his little girl? Darla turned her into a vampire. Leaving her for her own father to discover and thereby forcing him to slay."

"That's sick."

Giles nodded solemnly. "Yes, but that was the kind of thing that made Angelus and Darla famous. Nothing bought the 'Vampire with the face of an Angel' greater pleasure then killing the truly innocent. And what is more innocent then a baby or a child? Angelus was going to toy with Holtz, just like he eventually toyed with Drusilla. Drive him mad and then, most likely, turn him. Making him into the one thing he would hate the most.

"I am sad to say that Angelus's plan succeeded, just not in the manner he was expecting. And though it is true that he did make Holtz mad, he did not, however, drive him insane. You see, Buffy, what Angelus and Darla didn't bother questioning themselves over in their joint eagerness to kill a powerless Slayer was this - How did she became 'powerless'? They truly had no idea what a 'Lover' was, or what one would be capable of. Both Angelus and Darla looked upon Holtz as a … trifle, a nuisance Hunter who they might be able to play their sadistic games upon. It was not until they were both fleeing for their very lives through the mountain ranges of Europe did either of them finally take a moment to do some adequate research on what could make a Slayer powerless.

"Now imagine both of their surprise when they discovered the truth? That Angelus's and Darla's most dreaded enemy, an enemy that they had all but invited and provoked, was infact Caroline's 'Lover'! On that day, Buffy, at that very second, Angelus, knew what fear truly was. And he knew that he was but an amateur in comparison.

"He had taken from Holtz his entire reason for living, and now the only thing the Hunter had left in him was revenge." Giles paused, wiping his forehead in a tired motion before continuing with his explanation. "Holtz killed more demons and vampires in his pursuit of Angelus and Darla then any Demon Hunter in recorded history. Over three-hundred documented 'kills' in the Vampire Column, many of them with fifty and hundreds of year's predatory experience to call upon. He had even done away with Trialalis, a Vampire who was said to have been present during the Fall of the Roman Empire. Top that number with an estimated 200 Demon's and it is fair to say that Holtz lived each day dreaming of the one in which his life would finally be taken by those that he killed. That he had a Death Wish of sorts, but that he chose not to crawl-up in a ball and die easily. That he would take a score with him and he would have his revenge if it was the last thing he would do.

"The Vampire-Lovers barely stayed one or two towns ahead of him in their cat and mouse chase across Europe. Holtz. A man. An ordinary man with only a blood vendetta to fuel him forward, Buffy, had those that would one day become known as the Scourge of Europe running scared."

All Buffy could whisper out was "wow."

"Wow?" Giles eyebrow arched in amusement and surprise. "That's all you have to say? 'Wow'? Buffy, a Lover who has been left spurned or left heartbroken is not someone you should ever consider crossing. And if fate dictates that you do cross such a man, then you had best be prepared to face someone willing to burn his own soul to ash in order to gain their revenge. In ancient times that kind of doggedness to a cause would have been admired, and thought heroic and righteous. In today's world however, such a man is a danger and one worthy of fear beyond all comprehension.

"You see, that's what Angelus had not expected when he challenged, Holtz. He had thought that because Holtz fought the good fight that he would abided to some moralistic code. But, Holtz, in his own sad way became more a threat in his search of vengeance then the dark imagination of Angelus could ever dream possible. Holtz crossed nearly every conceivable line and he did it all with a soul. Torture, manipulation, betrayal, murder. Holtz wasn't above any of that if it led him all but one foot closer to getting his reprisal on the vampire's that had killed the family he loved so much."

"So what your saying, Giles, is that these Lover's are like major Bad Asses if you push them too far?"

Again, the Watcher, shock his head in disagreement. "No, Buffy. What I am saying is that they are good, decent and admirable people. But just as Slayer's. Just as we once saw in Faith many years ago, when they turn, as you would colourfully say 'to the Dark side'. Then they become something you must take seriously. Very seriously, Buffy. They're resourceful, resilient and relentless."

"Exactly. So what we're talking about is 'Are you Sarah Conner' territory, right?"

"Don't make light of this, Buffy."

The blonde shock her head to emphasis her sincerity. "Believe me, I'm not! Any guy who can make Angelus and Darla turn tail is, in my book, someone I would happily fly to the other side of the Planet to avoid."

The Englishman paused again, taking a brief moment to once more look out the window again. Softly Giles spoke to the ears of the female sitting anxiously in front of him. "Do not confuse determination with Evil, Buffy. And just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. I hazard to guess that once Holtz started on his path of retribution that he had no idea of the many personal sacrifices he would make or their toll upon his soul. I only offered you Holtz as an example of the extreme. He was once respected, admired, and loved. But when Angelus and Darla took away the source of what he loved the most then all he had left, Buffy, was his hatred, anger and fury to fill that void. They say a desperate man will do desperate things. Now I ask you, to what extent do you think a man without love in his life would go? A man without love, Buffy, is a man who has just that - No love. No love for other's and even less love for themselves."

The Senior Watcher once more leaned forward to pick up his tea cup from the desk. "Holtz paid the ultimate price, he damned his soul. And he didn't even have to think twice as he was doing so. Are you truly so selfish, that you would allow someone you could love with all your being, become twisted and consumed by the mere possibility of your loss?"

"I'm … I don't understand, Giles." The Slayer stared strangely at her former Watcher. "What are you trying to say?"

The Englishman savoured a sip, before meeting his former Slayer's eyes with a response. "What if you died, Buffy. Regardless of the circumstances of how that might happen. Fall off a ladder. Hit by a Bus. Old age. It doesn't necessarily have to be malicious. But are you willing to subject such an ordeal on someone you would claim to love with all your heart? Because I can assure you, Buffy, for as much as you would love them, they would love you a hundred times more in return."

This thought never even occurred to her. For days she had been living with the joyous dream that once her True Love had been claimed, that she and he would disappear into a happiness of their own making. Never to be plagued by worries or doubts. But accidents do happen. How would she feel if something happened to him, and just as importantly how would he feel if something happened to her? Would a love that strong end up being a bad thing? She didn't know, but she doubted she could endure living a lifestyle where all the men she stayed with were men she couldn't or didn't love fully? "So I'm supposed to live a miserable life, never knowing the joys of true love even though it might be only an arms length away?"

Giles eyebrows rose in curiosity at her question. As they lowered his eyes settled on a portrait on the far off wall. With purpose he the rose up from his chair, not saying a word to address the Slayer's query as he did so. He then walked calmly over to the room's mantle/fireplace. Above the mantle there was a life sized portrait of a young woman that Buffy always thought looked a lot like Dawn when she was 17, the only difference being that the girl in the portrait had thick platinum coloured hair and piercing blue eyes. Hair that was so blonde that it almost seemed white. The lone female wore a breastplate of the purest silver, silver that looked white in the reflective quality of the false-sun high above in the painted horizon. The metallic-shine seemed to emphasis her long platted hair. Crossing from her left shoulder to right hip was a deep red sash with a pale blue trim. In her relaxed left arm was a pale shield that supported a vibrant coloured crest on the top right-side, and in her right hand was a short-spear that seemed to project a hefty weight, made entirely out of polished hard-wood.

Buffy didn't know who she was, but she had long taken notice of 'her' every time she had visited Giles Office over the past three-years. But never did she ever enquire into the young woman's identity. Obviously she was a Slayer. But who? Following, Giles, lead she also removed herself from her chair and walked the shorter distance to join him over by the richly coloured painting. As soon as the Slayer joined him, the Watcher spoke.

"You wish to know about never experiencing joys of true love, Buffy? And the pain to always having it a mere arms length away from you? Well then, look above you to the greatest Slayer of all time."

Buffy stiffened. She didn't like that comparison, especially as she had always thought that title belonged to her. "Present company excluded, of coarse."

Giles, didn't so much as miss a beat to her probing enquiry. "Present company *included*, Buffy. Her name was Brunhilde, a Germanic Slayer of the mid 13th Century. Her Germanic name, believe it or not, translates from Brun meaning Armour, and hild meaning Battle. Battle Armour. It was almost as though when she was being Christened that her parent's both knew that it would one day be her destiny to fight."

The diminutive blonde mumbled something under her breath before raising it an octave for her to be heard. "So what? Her name means something. Big deal." Buffy said glumly. "Buffy probably means something as well in some cultures."

"Yes, I believe it is Californian for 'Born to shop'."

The Blonde opened her mouth, prepared to engage. But decided against it, preferring Giles to have his small 'victory'. Knowing well that Giles would not have introduced whoever this 'Brunhilde' to their discussion unless it meant something important. She tried to force some nonchalance into her tone even though her ego had just taken perhaps the biggest beating it had in years. "So what makes her such a big-deal?"

"You really should treat your processors with more reverence, Buffy. Earlier you mentioned the individual sacrifices you have made, but truthfully, are theirs any less then the ones that were called upon for you? You are, after all, not the first to take the mantle of Slayer. Whatever trail's you have been forced to face in your years, these same endurances have been faced many times before and by many more other then just yourself."

The tiny Slayer's eyes searched the carpet at her feet, feeling appropriately brow beaten at her own insensitivity to those girls who had walked the same dark and lonely path as herself. Softly she asked. "And you say this Brunhilde, was the best out of all of them, huh?"

"Buffy. She was the Vampire Slayer."

"I'm a Vampire Slayer too. What's your point?"

"No, Buffy. She was 'The Vampire Slayer'. Prior to her, Slayer's were just known as … well, Slayer's. She put the 'Vampire' in 'Vampire Slayer'. She dispatched so many Vampires in her six-year tenure as a Slayer that she was so dubbed: 'The Vampire Slayer'. And this title was given to her by those that she hunted. The Vampires. Through the expanse of Europe, North to South, East to West, her name became one of notoriety by the Supernatural Community. She went down in history as: 'Brunhilde, the Vampire Slayer'.

"After her passing, the Order, in an effort to envelop and take advantage of the legend that she had created for herself, decided to re-label all fresh Slayer's, calling them *all* 'Vampire' Slayers. After a few hundred years and possibly 60-70 Slayer's, the name finally stuck in the psyche of the Undead. Today you, as well as thousands of others use this title as though it was one you had fought for and earned. But the truth is, Buffy, you have been feeding off of the legend that she had given birth too eight hundred years before."

Buffy looked up at the portrait once more and found it difficult to believe that a girl so young, and yes, even quite beautiful had somehow become the Bogeyman's Bogeyman. "But she looks so innocent, gentle. Almost 'Angelic'."

"This is merely a depiction of her, Buffy. A creation based upon the few physical references made of her in some of our records. This painting was actually done two-hundred-and-fifty years after her passing. Done by one of the true Master's of his Time as payment to being rescued from a succubus. He originally wished to paint the Slayer who saved him, but her Guardian felt that an honour like that would simply go to her head. So the Watcher suggested Brunhilde instead. This painting is near priceless, Buffy.

"When the old Council Building blew up, my heart all but leapt out of my chest when I had thought of this treasure being lost. And when it was discovered in the ruins, unharmed, I ordered that it be kept safe and secure so that when the new building was completed it could be placed once more in a position of privilege."

The Slayer shrugged. "It's not bad, Giles. But I really don't think it rates the kind of praise your giving it."

"Buffy, the artist was the famed Master Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino."

"Look, I get that he's pretty decent, if your interested in this type of style. I mean the guy definitely had a thing for his women being pale and sporting a bit of baby-fat. But …*"

"* Had a … *sigh*. Buffy, he was one of the Great Master's of the Italian Renaissance."

"So you've said. But I've never heard of this Raffaello-character, so he really couldn't have been that good."

"You've never heard of 'Raphael'?"

The Slayer gulped as her eyes bulged. "Like the Ninja Turtle?"

The Englishman pinched the bridge of his nose in response to the question. "And you continue to ask why I and others find it difficult to take you seriously? Yes, Buffy, like the Ninja Turtle."

The Slayer's eyes could not leave the painted work as she estimated in her mind how much this portrait would now be on the open market if it's pedigree was discovered. "But shouldn't this be in a Art Gallery or a Museum?"

"Why? It belongs to the Council. It's Council Property. Besides, there are far too many enchantment's placed on it, so many that it would never be allowed to be placed on public display. These enchantments help preserve it's colour from fading, but they also saved it from being burnt to a crisp when The First tried to blow the Council up four-years ago."

Buffy couldn't stop her eyes from looking up and once more admiring the art work again, but now for completely different reasons. Her mother, who used to run the number one Art Gallery in Sunnydale (before the town became a sinkhole to nowhere), would have loved this. Hell, she probably would have sold her first born (which did not sit to comfortably with her for obvious reasons) for the opportunity to gaze at an unknown work from a Renaissance Master. She thought that she could look upon 'Brunhilde' all day now that she knew the truth of the painting origins. But she was here for a purpose and she could not allow herself be sidetracked.

"So all she did was kill Vamps, huh?"

"Of coarse not. But she was called during mid-13th Century. A time when most of Europe's skilled fighter's as well as other keepers of the peace were all drawn by their faith, the Pope and their King's to do battle in the Holy Land. With all the knight's, soldier's and other able bodied men fighting in Jerusalem, Vampires spread like plagues with very little resistance on offer. Children, Women, the elderly were all ripe sources of blood and merriment. If Brunhilde slayed only 50 Vampires a night, then that was considered by her a very slow night indeed."

As much as Buffy wanted to express to her mentor how impressed she was, she couldn't let the title of 'best slayer' go without a fight. "Yeah, well did she ever kill a full-blood Demon or a Hell God?"

"No. But then again she did not have the same level of support that you did, Buffy. You, however, have had in your collective arsenal over the years two powerful Wicca's, two souled vampires, a military protégé who was beefed up on steroids, a Technomage and a werewolf."

"Hey, Wolfy-Oz wasn't exactly an asset your making him out to be, especially during a full moon."

"Yes, yes. I concede that. But during the days and of coarse the nights when the moon wasn't in full phase. You have to admit, Buffy, that he was a genius on par with Willow, and as such was a major asset to the team."

"Hang-on. Your referring to the fact that he had a Van, aren't you?"

The Englishman blushed. "Well, his Van came in very handy, didn't it? Plus, everyone was able to fit in it without complaint. My sweet little Citroen could only carry so many."

"Tell me about it. Me and Willow usually ended up having to sit on people's laps. Nothing de-psyche's you more then when driving into battle having to get there being treated like a toddler." Buffy couldn't help but notice that Giles had excluded Xander from his rollcall of allies, and wondered if there was a specific reason for this or if he was hoping she had forgotten all about him. If that was the case, then she really believed he needed to have his head examined. Still, it didn't change how she was now feeling about this Brunhilde-chick. She wrapped her arms around herself, unaware that she was doing so. No, she wasn't liking this. It was, in her mind, creepy. She did not want to know about the fate of Brunhilde, because if someone who was so obviously Hardcore like her could have met her maker then what did that say about her potential ending? "Giles, is this distraction of Chosen Ones of yesteryear going somewhere? Because I thought we were talking about Lover's and Slayer's?"

Giles, never taking his eyes from the painting, answered the Slayer's question. His voice supporting an air of tragedy. "Anyone who has ever studied Slayer's, Buffy. And I mean *truly* studied them. They would, in their research, eventually come across the name of Brunhilde. Her accomplishments were so great that her adventures earned mention in other text's other then just Watcher Journals. She was a true Superstar of her Age. King's owed her their allegiances and she averted more then a dozen wars caused by various Supernatural Plot's. If it wasn't for her then the World as we know of it today would have been vastly different. When she was alive she could walk into any Court in the Land and be received with Ceremony. Her words could command armies. But with her passing, well, how quickly these people of power chose to forget. After her death, her name was quickly stricken from their Country's History and the mere utterance of her name would earn you and those who heard your voice a one-way-ticket to Prison."

"Why?"

"Because of who she was. A woman. A Slayer of the Supernatural. In a time when Christianity ruled, to admit that such darkness existed was borderline heretic. Besides, how could any monarchy admit that a mere girl was capable of saving their country when they're own Armies could not. Haven's, Buffy. You do know what happened to Joan of Arc, don't you? And her fate was met two hundred years after Brunhilde. When you are winning and have something to offer, then the World is your friend. But fail or die? That's when your true friend's reveal themselves."

The Slayer nodded, she was well aware how fickle people in authority could be. "Okay then, aside from breaking the all time Vamp killing record, what else did she do?"

"If you must know, you have laid witness to two of her greatest accomplishments. You still remember 'The Judge' don't you? Or did you always think he was born 'ready-to-assemble'?"

"Sh … she did that?"

The Englishman nodded, finally grateful that Buffy was at last showing the former Slayer the respect she had earned. "Yes. No weapon forged by man could kill him, remember? But that did not mean she couldn't cut off his limbs and remove his head."

"Okay, I'm now officially uber-impressed. What was the other one?"

"Acathla."

"Really? Hang on, Kendra stated that Acathla was killed by a virtuous knight. Are you saying that Brunhilde was knighted as well?"

"No." Giles eyes carried a great deal of sympathy. "A vitreous knight did indeed bring down Acathla and converted him to stone. The Knight wielded a virgin blade of the purest silver, one that had been blessed by a hundred holy men for a hundred hours. It was forged to be used only once. Their plan was for Brunhilde to act as a distraction, one that would allow the knight to full fill his obligation.

"Brunhilde penetrated Acathla's Keep, as a small rag-tag army fought outside, keeping Acathla's soldier's engaged. On her route to his Throne Room she killed every one of his Demon Follower's and personal Guard. When she entered, the deadly resistance she had faced was clear by the very bulk of her assorted injuries. One half of her beaten, the other half of her near-dead. There, Acathla, sat on his Iron Throne, safe within a mystical circle that offered him protection. Drawing up all his strength so he could finally open a portal to Hell and complete a ritual that was his birthright and one that would end all human life on this planet.

"The Protected Circle prevented, Brunhilde, or anyone else from entering who wished to do Acathla harm. So instead the plan was to draw him out. And so she did. After killing scores of Demon and Vampire underlings, and with barely the strength to stand, let alone remain conscious. She defiantly stood before his circle and shouted out his cowardice. Saying that she would rather die at her own hands then have her glorious accomplishments be tarnished by dying at his. She then removed her breastplate, wedged the point of her spear between her exposed bosoms and the flagstones at her feet. Took a deep breath and without any fear she thrust herself forward upon the wooden blade. Impaling herself and dying before the eyes of the Demon King."

"No freakin' way!"

"This left Acathla confused, and understandably so. He first thought it was a trick. But he could see and smell the blood as it pooled around her. Surely it is no surprise to you, Buffy, that Slayer Blood is considered to be the most valuable and most addictive of all blood. Anyway, this was a temptation, Acathla, could not deny himself. Against all reason and sense of self-preservation he ventured out of the protection of his Circle, confident that his adversary was indeed dead. His senses were mesmerised by the deep and intoxicating aroma of red slowly flowing at his feet. So caught up in the feast before him he did not spy the Vitreous Knight you had earlier mention spring from concealment, plunging the silver sword deep into the Demon's chest, thereby turning him into stone and ending his threat.

"The rest you know. As a parting tribute to Brunhilde, the Knight swore to take the Demon King far away from any potential followers. People who might unwisely try and revive him. His destination was unknown, even to himself. He stated he would travel with his prize until he could not travel any longer. Somehow he made his way to America and buried it in an empty expanse of land. A place that would one day become known to us as Sunnydale. I have often considered the possibility that given that Acathla's power was to be able to open a portal to Hell, that the Knight, in burying the Stone Demon in what one-day would be thriving suburban city. That it was actually the unholy energies still being generated from Acathla's stone form which was the cause of the weakening of the dimension boarders separating Earth from Hell. And that it was Acathla's burial place that created Boca del Inferno aka 'the Hellmouth'."

Buffy stood stunned. Her mouth opened and closed like some fish. Eventually she did speak, and when she did it came out like Willow-gibberish. "This is huge, Giles. We're talking God is actually a giant fluffy kitten that poops candy, huge!"

The former Watcher chuckled at her reaction. "It is only a theory. It has some flaws. But given that Acathla was supposed to be able to open a portal to Hell and he was buried, coincidently on a Hellmouth, a place that was in itself a gateway to a Hell Dimension, well, join the dots."

The Slayer stood motionless, apprising every syllable and word. No doubt, this was a pleasing detour, but it still didn't address her question about living a loveless life. "Sorry, Giles, but what does this have to do with everything?"

"You mean about love and maintaining the discipline of not enacting upon this love?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she's your answer, Buffy. Anyone who has ever researched Slayer's and their history will eventually come across some material referencing her as to being the greatest one of all time. I can even now think of several mainstream texts off the top of my head which were penned in the last 600 years that does just that. And anyone who would bother to take the initiative and read up on the life and death of Brunhilde, the Vampire Slayer, they will learn of a story as tragic as anything written by Shakespeare himself. Only it would be more so because did indeed actually happen. The narrative of her exploits are even today still spoken as a bedtime story to many children throughout most of Eastern Europe. The tragic tale of 'The Slayer and the White Knight'. Two Lover's destined to be together, and yet also fated to be kept apart. The vitreous Knight you had earlier referred to, Buffy, was the White Knight of the fable."

The Slayer blinked as she began to process the words.

"You can know love, Buffy, just as she did. You can know every joy that may come from the emotion and not feel deprived. But the physicality's of being able to act on that love? Well, as the Fairy Tale goes, Brunhilde and her Knight were aware that if they laid down with one another as husband and wife, that her 'Gifts' would be taken from her. And though both their hearts may have demanded such bliss, their sense of Duty to others overpowered any such thoughts towards their own personal happiness. You see, Buffy? Destined to be together and yet fated to always be apart."

Buffy couldn't help but let her eyes search out once more the beautiful, but obviously now sad face of the girl standing above her. "To be that in love with another and yet never being able to take the next step? I don't think I could have done that. It would have driven me around the bend."

At completing this sentence, Buffy's imagination seemed too splintered off from reality. This was not the first time this had ever happened to her, but usually, usually meaning 99.99 percent of the time it always occurred as she was asleep and dreaming. Only a few time had it ever happened when she was conscious. All her thoughts were now focusing on Brunhilde and her White Knight. And for the briefest second she felt as though she had been possessed by the memory of that Slayer. As though she was now tapping into the painfully raw emotion of the Chosen One framed above her. These 'out-of-body' moments were always significant and typically representative of past-Slayer lives. And as with these other times it left her momentarily feeling nauseous and experiencing a mental-brain-freeze.

In the brief seconds it took for her to regain some composure, she was now left with a small measure of emotional-wisdom towards the fated couple. So much so, that she truly believed what she was experiencing was phantom-memory of the Slayer Spirit and not just an overactive imagination.

It was almost as though she could feel the love the pair shared and yet had to continually deny. For the two to play their roles in this drama, knowing that death would surely meet one and only possibly touch the other, then that meant the two carried within them a respect and trust beyond common understanding. And in touching, for that moment, a ghostly feeling of the love Brunhilde had shared for her White Knight, Buffy knew that what Giles had said earlier was true. That there was no love that could compare to the affection of a 'Lover'.

As this impression started to fade, a shame that had been swimming in the periphery of her mind for the last few days revealed itself once more with a vengeance. If Xander was indeed the 'Lover' she now believed him to being. Then all the years of her playfully flirting with him (with no thoughts on her part of following through), of all the times she used to talk at length about Angel or Riley about how great they were as a boyfriend. And of coarse the less thought about her affair with Spike, the better. If Xander had loved her with all his heart from the first moment he laid eyes, just like the Knight did with Brunhilde, as with all the other Lover's in history, then what she did to him over the years, knowingly or not, must have been the worse torture imaginable.

She was the WORST person alive! How could she reconcile and justify such cruelty with his devotion. It was impossible. A small tear fell from her eye and she did not have the energy or self control to wipe it free.

Gently, Giles drew his Slayer into a fatherly embrace as he noticed the silent tears begin to roll down her cheek. At first she resisted his tenderness, but eventually she succumbed to the warmth of his body as he felt her sobs rise from his chest. He held her like this for minutes until she was finally able to compose herself and draw away from his fatherly concern.

Buffy wiped her eyes clear and backed herself up the distance of the large fireplace. She stared back up at the painting and when her eyes returned to her Watcher, she was again all business and in need of explanations. Giles, mentally recoiled. He was hoping that this affectionate moment they shared could have lasted a little longer and taken the edge off her anger. It had been far too long since he had been able to comfort one of his 'daughters'. But alas he knew that look in Buffy's eyes well and he knew that she was once more back in what she dubbed 'mission-mode'. Aware that answers would be further sought. So, Giles, continued without having to be asked.

"We should not confuse children's stories for fact, however. The Fairy Tale is all about teaching little children the importance of sacrifice and duty to their neighbour. Sadly the truth of their love is far more painful and upsetting."

Fighting every impulse to control her lips from quivering at the romantic ordeal these ill-fated Lover's had endured she tried to speak with an air of authority. "What do you mean?"

Giles started to walk away from the portrait, heading towards the large window of the London City that always seem to claim his gaze when he was deep at thought. "We are not entirely sure of the young Knight's name. White is used in many cultures to describe purity and faithfulness. As such it has been generically attributed and fostered on to him because it carried the truth of his inner quality. Historically, he could have rode under any banner. Red, Blue, Green, even Pink if it so pleased him. We will never truly know, nor do we know which family he was aligned to, or specifically, which coat of arms was his. All we know is that he was indeed a Knight and was either the second, or youngest son of a very influential Noble. A Noble Patriarch that disowned him the moment he swore his allegiances to Brunhilde, a commoner."

Turning sideways so he could address his Slayer better, Giles, offered a small smile. Something, Buffy, knew he always did when he was about to try and 'educate' her. "Back then, Buffy, the honour of adventure, wealth and fame always followed the first-born in Aristocratic Families. So it was the elder son's right to pick up his sword and shield and travel to the Crusade's. In so doing he left his younger brother burdened with tending to their father's lands. Ensuring that Taxes were paid by the people who worked the land and that tributes to the Church were kept safe from thieves and looters. Basically, he helped enforce the King's Law. And usually, through no fault of their own and typically through only succession of birth, the son's who were forced to stay behind were often labelled and thought of by the masses as cowards."

"Pretty stupid if you ask me. Wouldn't they want as many able bodied people at the Crusades as possible?"

"Not if it risked the family line, Buffy. One male sibling would always remain behind to carry out the line of succession if the first-and-or-second son died on the battle field. It was considered a failsafe of sorts and a duty to the family."

"Oh. Makes sense I suppose."

"Well, the White Knight's story goes like this. One day during one of his Patrol of his father's Land, he observed strange coloured smoke arising in the distance. Concerned that the origin of the smoke would be a campsite belonging to Poacher's, he decided to investigate. What he found, however, was not Poacher's."

"What was it?" The blonde asked with genuine interest.

"Hags. Crones. Witches. A large Collection of them. A veritable Summit of magical evil."

"I wouldn't recommend you say that with Willow around, you know how she feels about the whole witchy-stereotype thing."

"Yes, well these were women of different temperament. The Crusades were not just an excellent time for Vampire's, Buffy. The preceding Dark Ages was a utopian time for those who could wield magic and knew of the secret art of potions. Wizards, Warlocks, Witches. Each and all carried a certain amount of respect and power in their communities. But the rapid onset of the Medieval Era caught many by surprise. The Medieval Era embraced different philosophies and values, and as such it was a dangerous time for anyone practicing in Magic. If you were seen as a disagreeable person and so much as sneezed with an accent you could have been accused of casting a spell. And then before you had a chance to shout out you were innocent, you could have been either drowned or burnt at a stake. But with the Crusades and with so many able and righteous men heading to Jerusalem, Witches now saw it as an opportunity to make a claim and take revenge for the past two hundred's of years of persecution. With the objective reclaiming the top of the proverbial Totem Pole and never becoming anyone's victim again. But before they commenced their campaign they first they had to divvy up the territories fairly so no infighting and bad will would happen when they took action and went to War with the 'normals'."

"Went to War? Isn't that an exaggeration? How many where there? Five, six, a dozen?"

"Buffy, at most you have only ever had to face at maximum three fully trained and halfway competent witches at once. And even then we have only ever walked away by the skin of our collective teeth. Can you imagine what would have happened to an army of drafted middle-aged farmer's who were sent against a band of 40 to 70 witches? Countries would fall like dominoes, and there would be no one around to oppose them because all their Knight's and most capable Soldier's were in another land getting heat stroke and dysentery."

Buffy bit down on her lower lip like a rebuked child. "So what happened?"

"The young knight, overhearing their plan of conquest and knowing that no one would ever believe him even if he went to seek help. Decided to take advantage of 'Surprise'. He waited until all had gone to sleep, snuck into their large camp under the security of the night. He then proceeded to hack and chop at every bed he came across. Cutting off as many of their head's as he possibly could and delivering killing blow after killing blow. Within moments the majority of the witches were awaken by the death cries of their 'Sisters'. And by the time they were able to gather their wits and work out what was happening, valuable seconds had been wasted. Even more was spent as they all started to get their minds focused to do battle with their assailant. All the while the Knight continued to carve his way through the throng of Hag's. Eventually he was subdued by the last three standing, the rest he had successfully killed."

"Pretty Gutsy. Pretty Stupid too."

"It is for this very reason that 'Three' is seen as a Power Number by Witches today. Magical wielder's, as you know Buffy, are just as susceptible to superstition as anyone else. So for so many witches to be reduced to so few in mere minutes, well, the few that survived looked upon this as a sign. And though many New Age Books have different origins to the whole 'Power of Three' Mythology, this, Buffy, I assure you, is the true one."

"So I'm guessing, Brunhilde then showed up and saved the day, right?"

"No. The three witches were not inclined to kill the young knight. He was young. Fit. And handsome. There was no gain to it. So they placed a suspension spell on him and kept him prisoner. It took a full year for Brunhilde to hear stories about this new 'Coven' and investigate."

"So what did they do with him during that year? Just keep him frozen?"

"They did whatever they wanted, Buffy."

"I don't understand."

"They raped him. Buffy. Over and over again. Day or night. If one of them was bored and wished pleasures that only a young, handsome, and muscular man could bestow then they would thaw him out and then cast a lust-enchantment upon him. A Lust Enchantment is, as you know, Buffy, just as formidable as a 'Love Spell' and you above all others know exactly how powerful one of those can be. A Lust Enchantment is quicker and more focused towards the physical act. A Lust Spell can have a man, or woman, consumed so much in passion that any ability to reason or offer restraint would be lost to them. You could end up humping a mouldy old sofa cushion infront a group of friend's, not being able to stop yourself."

"Old party prank, Ripper?"

Giles, looked away embarrassed. "Even I had limits during my rebellious days, Buffy. That particular wind-up belonged solely to Ethan. And it earned him more then one-black eye and broken rib I can tell you. But yes, a Lust Enchantment, though consuming has a very short shelf-life as it hastily fades from the subject with the … err … 'completion of the act'. At which point the Knight was immediately frozen once again. Cursed to endure the memory of his forced love making on a woman who was possibly old enough to be his Great-Grandmother."

"Eeeww!"

"Yes, well, try and imagine being raped several times a day, Buffy, and under those circumstances. With no thought's of rescue. This was a very puritan time, the sins that he was forced to perform for the amusement of the Crones, he would believe were attributed to himself. Each vile act was seen as a blemish and burden to his soul. Try and phantom his thought process as he was trapped day in and day out. Motionless. Believing that with his death his soul would be destined to Hell for all eternity."

"But he was rescued, right? You said, Brunhilde, came across some low-down gossip on a Coven."

"Yes. After over a year of captivity, the Knight was rescued. As soon as Brunhilde killed the last Crone. The various spells that existed due to their casting, faded. The Knight was a free man once more. And so grateful was he to the service, Brunhilde, had performed that he swore on his honour and his remaining days to be always at her side."

"And he was her 'Lover'? Quite a co-inky-dink."

"Not really. As I said earlier, Buffy, Slayer's and Lover's are fated. Whether it takes months, years, decades, the two paths will always cross. Even if he had not been captured, as she was entering his father's lands there would have been likelihood that they may have met one another in her travels. But still once Chosen and Lover meet, it is always the Slayer who must decide how she wishes to proceed. Will she balance out contentment and happiness as important, or will she judge some other variable as more significant. You might consider yourself to being placed in a Cage, Buffy, due to this destiny. But that does not necessarily mean that once you are given the key, you should not use it to open the door to your own freedom."

Buffy felt immediately flushed at Giles depiction, and mentally winced. It sounded too much like the example Lady Croft had given her two-nights earlier about being an animal being raised in a penned off area and then having the gate finally opened for them. When Croft had used that example, she had felt immediately insulted to the comparison. "So what happened to them?"

"Him? Nothing much is written. As I had said, as soon as he swore his allegiance to Brunhilde, his father, who was at first relieved at his survival became angered that he had pledged his devotion to a Commoner instead of maintaining their family allegiance to their King. He was immediately disowned of his title and any future claim to his birthright. His Knighthood, however, was one he had earned, as such only the King himself could rescind such an accomplishment. So from that day on he had 'no-name', no family that would even acknowledge him as theirs. This is why the history books only refer to him as the Knight, or the White Knight, or the Knight with the Pure Heart and not by name."

"The two, Brunhilde and the Knight, proceeded to travel together. Fighting Demon's and Vampires. But him, because of the shame of his disownment, he never took credit or glory for his deeds. Infact, some Scholars, myself included, believe that half of the Vampire's and Demon's accredited to Brunhilde were actually his own kills. Eventually the two became close. Incredibly close."

"But they never did the 'Dance-with-no-pants'? Is it because he was ashamed that he had been disowned?"

"That is one theory, Buffy. But I do not believe that is the case. Because if he was truly ashamed towards his lowly status then he would never have dared show her any affection or kindness. And there is an abundance of evidence that suggests that he did. Just not sexual."

"Then what happened?"

"Think about what happened to the man, Buffy. He was repeatedly raped by Hags for a year. I suspect he was traumatised by the experience. So much so that any physical intimacy was likely something he could not endure without encountering painful reminders on how he had been repeatedly violated. Despite a single referencing in the Book of Badyor that both Brunhilde and the Knight, shared a tent and even possibly a bed. Brunhilde, at her death, was discovered to be chaste … meaning in today's language, Buffy, that she was still a virgin."

The blonde was speechless. Now she knew why Giles had provided Brunhilde as his answer to her earlier question. She was so focused upon how things were related to her that she didn't even consider how they must have been for others. Brunhilde who loved her Knight, yet her merest touch or affectionate gesture would stir in her soul mate the memories of the cruellest of abuse. Subconsciously, Buffy, placed both her hands over her heart. Giles was right, this was a tale just as tragic as any written by William Shakespeare.

"When we finished our training as a Watcher, it is expected that we commit two years of our lives putting together a Thesis of sorts. Many choose Famed Vampires and Demons. A few focus on the training methods of Slayer's past. Occasionally you may get a forward thinker who will structure a report on the pro's and cons of certain magic and potions. Mine however had me sent to the British Museum. A place where I spent the next 20-years polishing swords and other artefacts in the Middle Ages Exhibit for my 'affront'."

Buffy's right eyebrow rose in curiosity. She remembered Willow mentioning that he was once a Curator of sorts at the British Museum when they had first met. She even raised that topic a few times later with her Watcher, but he always quickly deflected it. Now to discover that it may have been a result of some punishment, that was just bizarre. "What the Hell did you do?"

"Whereas my peers did the predictable topics, I did the un-predictable. And in so doing I made a few claims that did not sit well with my Teacher's."

"What did you write about?"

The Englishman drove his hands into his pockets. Mentally preparing himself for the worst that was to come. This, he knew would be the turning point of their 20-minute discussion. With a timbre full of gentleness and regret he spoke the words that would now take this conversation into a darker and more dire place. "Would it surprise you to learn that I wrote about 'Athena's Lover's and their impact upon Slayer's?"

Buffy's back stiffened. For her to now learn such a thing would not have surprised her at all, and deep down in her soul, she really wished that it had.

Sorry, about the long wait. As you can see there is more to these 'True Loves' then Buffy, realised. She thought her answers would be simple, but she has just discovered, as will most of her life, nothing is ever really simple. Alice has quite literally walked through the looking-glass, with this one. Every question you ever wished to know about the Slayer is coming in the next few chapter's and it will leave Buffy's World shattered.

Read and Review. I love that stuff. But please, no flames. I'm a very sensitive guy :-)