15 August 2015: Being Marguerite - For An Evening At Least
Title: Being Marguerite - For An Evening At Least
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / The Scarlet Pimpernel series
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of The Scarlet Pimpernel belong to Baroness Orczy. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count:1330
Author's Note: Yeah. It's a Halloween fic.
Summary: Since discovering her husband's role as the Scarlet Pimpernel, Marguerite has found herself in some challenging positions.
Sunnydale - Halloween
Marguerite blinked in surprise. She was not where she was supposed to be and that could only lead to danger for her husband. Still, the year she had spent helping him in his endeavors - sometimes against his will - had taught her to evaluate her situation and proceed accordingly.
In this situation she knew nothing of what was going on and didn't understand the chaos and confusion. Given her lack of knowledge of the situation and her knowledge of how people reacted in general, she took decided to use one of her husband's most successful covers and pretend to be a helpless maid.
With that in mind, she drew upon her time on the French stage, opened her mouth and released a scream.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Somewhere in Normandy
Buffy caught herself just before she fell, only to realize that the hands she was seeing were not her own. Looking up with panicked eyes, she found herself in a small, not terribly clean, storage room. She was still in her Halloween costume, but it looked far newer and, again, the body was not hers. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slowly released it.
Calmed from the influx of oxygen to her brain, she scanned the small room again and found the concerned eyes of a man on her as well as seeing the frightened faces of a young mother and child staring at the door.
From the other room, the sound of scraping chairs and shuffling feet reached her. She could hear the low murmur of voices in what sounded vaguely like French. She silently cursed her lack of language skills. For all she knew they were talking Russian mixed with some demon language.
Feeling the eyes of the man nearby on her, Buffy glanced over. She knew this would be a problem and, somehow, she knew that however she got here and whoever she was being, they were in charge of this little shindig and most likely responsible for getting everyone out.
Laughter boomed in the other room for a moment.
“Marguerite!” the man hissed. “We need to leave soon, while they're distracted.”
Buffy held back a sigh of relief that the man spoke English. Granted it was England English, but still. As his words registered, Buffy looked more carefully around the room. In the back corner, there was a small section of boarding that didn't look quite right.
Praying that was where she needed to go, she lifted her skirts slightly before moving quickly and silently toward that section of wall.
Once she reached it, she crouched down and quickly ran her fingers over the surrounding area.
She quickly found a latch and undid it.
The boards were on a hidden hinge and swung upward.
Pushing it only a small way open, Buffy peered outside.
The back of the building lead to a small, dark yard and the edge of a body of water.
In the moon and starlight, she could just make out the outline of a rowboat. Probably big enough for the four of them.
Satisfied no one was outside, she swung the door the rest of the way up and motioned the others to exit quickly.
As they did, she slipped out, silently cursing her long skirts and closed the door as silently as possible, satisfied when she heard the latch fall back in place.
The man was waiting for her near the shoreline.
She quickly made her way across the lawn, hiked her skirts slightly higher and stepped into the boat, doing her best to ensure her skirts didn't get wet.
The man got into the boat and settled in the middle near the oarlocks.
He reached for the oars that were along the side of the craft. Fitting them into the oarlocks, he quickly began rowing. “We have to stay quiet. The river will take us downstream for about a mile or so, past the checkpoint at the mouth. We'll be close to the shore then and need to duck down so we don't draw attention.”
Buffy and the others nodded their heads in understanding.
Scanning the shores, Buffy saw the occasional faint light from a house or a shape moving along the paths that must line the river. She was grateful that no one had yet raised the alarm. With a slight shake of her head, she put that thought out of her head. Negative thinking never helped anything, especially when she had no idea what was going on or where she was - other than in danger.
An uncertain amount of time later, the man whispered, “Duck down. We're going to let the current carry us out and away a bit.”
Nodding the four figures hunched down in the boat, making them selves as small and silent as possible.
They seemed to be further blessed by a cloud passing across the moon just as the lights of a small town came into view.
Buffy almost held her breath as they passed by the town, but figured it wouldn't help things if she passed out.
Just as they were passing the last of the town, the cloud moved away.
The man looked over and locked eyes with Buffy. She didn't need to know him to read the worry in his eyes.
A few moments later, that worry was justified as the sound of a gun firing from shore sounded.
“Stay down,” the man hissed at them as another crack sounded from the shore.
He slid the oars into the water and began rowing.
The boat picked up speed quickly between the current and the rowing.
They were almost out of what Buffy considered rifle range, when the man grunted and slumped.
Lunging forward, Buffy caught his form and felt blood on her hand from his left shoulder.
“Is that the only place you're hit?” she asked.
“Yes,” the man grunted.
The sound of loud voices and a boat splashing into the water reached her ear.
Biting back a curse, she took a deep breath.
Whatever had sent her back in time to this body had transferred her slayer powers as well. They weren't as strong as in her own, but she didn't need them to be. She just needed enough to get herself and the others to the boat. She would have to figure out something else from there.
“We need to change seats. Don't argue,” she commanded when he opened his mouth. “You can't row like this except in circles and we need to get away.” He held his eyes, letting him read the determination in hers.
Eventually he nodded his acceptance and they switched seats.
Grasping the oars, Buffy began rowing. Her strokes may not be smooth and even, but they were powerful and got the small boat moving even more quickly than it had before.
With her seat facing the rear of the boat, she could see the other boat slowly gaining and pushed harder, regaining the distance she had lost.
She felt the change in the water before she realized they'd made it out of the river.
“Steer to my left,” the man said.
Pulling on that oar, Buffy directed the boat as best she could.
A few more minutes of rowing and following directions, she could hear the sounds of a larger boat behind her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she spied it and quickly adjusted her course and speed so they would arrive next to it and hopefully not overshoot it.
She had just caught the rope that had been thrown down to them when she felt the world go dark around her.
A few minutes later she opened her eyes and looked around.
She was in Sunnydale, in her own body.
She had no idea what had happened, but she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the people in that boat.
“Buffy?”
She looked up and smiled at Giles, grateful to be home.
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / The Scarlet Pimpernel series
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of The Scarlet Pimpernel belong to Baroness Orczy. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count:1330
Author's Note: Yeah. It's a Halloween fic.
Summary: Since discovering her husband's role as the Scarlet Pimpernel, Marguerite has found herself in some challenging positions.
Sunnydale - Halloween
Marguerite blinked in surprise. She was not where she was supposed to be and that could only lead to danger for her husband. Still, the year she had spent helping him in his endeavors - sometimes against his will - had taught her to evaluate her situation and proceed accordingly.
In this situation she knew nothing of what was going on and didn't understand the chaos and confusion. Given her lack of knowledge of the situation and her knowledge of how people reacted in general, she took decided to use one of her husband's most successful covers and pretend to be a helpless maid.
With that in mind, she drew upon her time on the French stage, opened her mouth and released a scream.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Somewhere in Normandy
Buffy caught herself just before she fell, only to realize that the hands she was seeing were not her own. Looking up with panicked eyes, she found herself in a small, not terribly clean, storage room. She was still in her Halloween costume, but it looked far newer and, again, the body was not hers. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slowly released it.
Calmed from the influx of oxygen to her brain, she scanned the small room again and found the concerned eyes of a man on her as well as seeing the frightened faces of a young mother and child staring at the door.
From the other room, the sound of scraping chairs and shuffling feet reached her. She could hear the low murmur of voices in what sounded vaguely like French. She silently cursed her lack of language skills. For all she knew they were talking Russian mixed with some demon language.
Feeling the eyes of the man nearby on her, Buffy glanced over. She knew this would be a problem and, somehow, she knew that however she got here and whoever she was being, they were in charge of this little shindig and most likely responsible for getting everyone out.
Laughter boomed in the other room for a moment.
“Marguerite!” the man hissed. “We need to leave soon, while they're distracted.”
Buffy held back a sigh of relief that the man spoke English. Granted it was England English, but still. As his words registered, Buffy looked more carefully around the room. In the back corner, there was a small section of boarding that didn't look quite right.
Praying that was where she needed to go, she lifted her skirts slightly before moving quickly and silently toward that section of wall.
Once she reached it, she crouched down and quickly ran her fingers over the surrounding area.
She quickly found a latch and undid it.
The boards were on a hidden hinge and swung upward.
Pushing it only a small way open, Buffy peered outside.
The back of the building lead to a small, dark yard and the edge of a body of water.
In the moon and starlight, she could just make out the outline of a rowboat. Probably big enough for the four of them.
Satisfied no one was outside, she swung the door the rest of the way up and motioned the others to exit quickly.
As they did, she slipped out, silently cursing her long skirts and closed the door as silently as possible, satisfied when she heard the latch fall back in place.
The man was waiting for her near the shoreline.
She quickly made her way across the lawn, hiked her skirts slightly higher and stepped into the boat, doing her best to ensure her skirts didn't get wet.
The man got into the boat and settled in the middle near the oarlocks.
He reached for the oars that were along the side of the craft. Fitting them into the oarlocks, he quickly began rowing. “We have to stay quiet. The river will take us downstream for about a mile or so, past the checkpoint at the mouth. We'll be close to the shore then and need to duck down so we don't draw attention.”
Buffy and the others nodded their heads in understanding.
Scanning the shores, Buffy saw the occasional faint light from a house or a shape moving along the paths that must line the river. She was grateful that no one had yet raised the alarm. With a slight shake of her head, she put that thought out of her head. Negative thinking never helped anything, especially when she had no idea what was going on or where she was - other than in danger.
An uncertain amount of time later, the man whispered, “Duck down. We're going to let the current carry us out and away a bit.”
Nodding the four figures hunched down in the boat, making them selves as small and silent as possible.
They seemed to be further blessed by a cloud passing across the moon just as the lights of a small town came into view.
Buffy almost held her breath as they passed by the town, but figured it wouldn't help things if she passed out.
Just as they were passing the last of the town, the cloud moved away.
The man looked over and locked eyes with Buffy. She didn't need to know him to read the worry in his eyes.
A few moments later, that worry was justified as the sound of a gun firing from shore sounded.
“Stay down,” the man hissed at them as another crack sounded from the shore.
He slid the oars into the water and began rowing.
The boat picked up speed quickly between the current and the rowing.
They were almost out of what Buffy considered rifle range, when the man grunted and slumped.
Lunging forward, Buffy caught his form and felt blood on her hand from his left shoulder.
“Is that the only place you're hit?” she asked.
“Yes,” the man grunted.
The sound of loud voices and a boat splashing into the water reached her ear.
Biting back a curse, she took a deep breath.
Whatever had sent her back in time to this body had transferred her slayer powers as well. They weren't as strong as in her own, but she didn't need them to be. She just needed enough to get herself and the others to the boat. She would have to figure out something else from there.
“We need to change seats. Don't argue,” she commanded when he opened his mouth. “You can't row like this except in circles and we need to get away.” He held his eyes, letting him read the determination in hers.
Eventually he nodded his acceptance and they switched seats.
Grasping the oars, Buffy began rowing. Her strokes may not be smooth and even, but they were powerful and got the small boat moving even more quickly than it had before.
With her seat facing the rear of the boat, she could see the other boat slowly gaining and pushed harder, regaining the distance she had lost.
She felt the change in the water before she realized they'd made it out of the river.
“Steer to my left,” the man said.
Pulling on that oar, Buffy directed the boat as best she could.
A few more minutes of rowing and following directions, she could hear the sounds of a larger boat behind her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she spied it and quickly adjusted her course and speed so they would arrive next to it and hopefully not overshoot it.
She had just caught the rope that had been thrown down to them when she felt the world go dark around her.
A few minutes later she opened her eyes and looked around.
She was in Sunnydale, in her own body.
She had no idea what had happened, but she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the people in that boat.
“Buffy?”
She looked up and smiled at Giles, grateful to be home.
End