I really love W/T and I seriously think that Joss didn't give them the necessary attention, so I'm doing just that. I basically picked Willow and Tara and put them in my own little world, but I AM planning on getting them back to SunnyD, rest assured. This will happen later in the story.
This fic is the result of a fanatical W/T shipper and an entire day of watching The Lord of The Rings movies, so be warned, this ain't your garden variety idea.
I'm not a very experienced writer, this is in fact the third thing I write aside from school papers, so don't expect expertise, 'k?
I hope you enjoy the story.
SOULBOUND
by Dexter Banks
Chapter One - Hello Stranger
To the people of the small secluded town, the dark forest had always been a source of mystery. No one that ever entered the strange forest came back. Most believed that the wild animals hiding in the depths of those woods were what made the forest so dangerous.
Tara knew better, though. Her mom had told her all about the forest when she started teaching her about magic. The forest was an area of dimensional convergence. There were an uncountable number of portals that no one could see. Some lead to other parts of the forest, others to different dimensions of the reality. That was why no one ever came back; they either got lost in the maze of dimensional portals or got stuck in a different dimension.
Her mom had warned her to stay away from the forest. That, even with magic, one couldn’t conquer those woods and it was extremely foolish to even try. And she, in all her seven years, had followed those words rigorously up until this day.
Today she had felt a strange need to go into these woods. It was like there was something really important there that she needed to see. It was overwhelming. She wondered if that was the effect the forest had on people. No, her little heart was telling her to enter the forest and her mom had always told her to follow her heart. What harm it could do?
With this though in mind she ventured into the woods no man could ever get out from alive, her need to follow the pull stronger than her mother’s warning echoing through her head.
In the eerie silence of the forest her breath and footsteps sounded too loud in her ears, but she kept walking, never looking back nor thinking about what she was doing. The pull was getting strong with every step she took; it filled her heart with hope and gave her a warm, tingly feeling in her tummy.
She must have passed through at least five portals, for the scenery was constantly changing around her. It surprised her that no animal had made itself known; it was a bit strange that there was no wildlife in this forest. But this was a magical forest, maybe the animals were magical too.
It came sooner than she expected. The pull that had been growing steadily fast was now replaced by an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and she knew then that she had found what she was looking for.
She was in a beautiful waterfall. The water was incredibly clear and reflected the sunlight that passed through the thick woods. The sound of the water falling was almost as beautiful as the singing voice accompanying the natural sounds of her surroundings.
She couldn’t decipher what was being sung, but it was the most incredible thing she had ever heard in her short life. The lilting voice mingled with the background, creating a natural concert that had an incredibly calming effect on Tara.
Tara followed that voice and what she found amazed her even more than the beautiful song. A small redhead girl about her age sat on a tree branch, her bare feet swinging happily back a forth. The simple green dress she wore danced with the wind as did the long shinning hair that went almost to her waist.
The singing stopped abruptly and Tara knew she had been spotted.
“Please, don’t stop. Your song is so beautiful.” Tara asked shyly.
“Really?” the redhead jumped off the tree and fell gracefully on her feet.
“Yes, I’ve never heard anything like that.” Tara ducked her head bashfully.
“Thank you.” Came the melodic answer. “I could teach it to you, if you wanted. What’s your name?”
“Tara.” The blonde stuck out her hand instinctively.
“I’m Willow.” The other girl grinned and took the offered hand, but stead of shaking it she pulled Tara into a hug. “I like this better.”
An euphoric feeling filled Tara’s being and her whole body tingled. She didn’t exactly understood why, but she was disappointed when Willow pulled away. The gloomy feeling soon faded as she noted something else about her new friend.
“Your ears are funny.” She giggled.
“Nuh huh, yours are funny. Everyone back home has ears like mine.” Willow pulled her fiery hair behind her pointy ears.
Tara frowned in confusion and was about to voice her thoughts when Willow’s liquid green eyed lit up and she jumped up and down excitedly.
“Oh! I know! You’re human!” she exclaimed like it was the most incredible thing in the world.
“Aren’t you?” Tara looked at her strangely.
“No, silly, I’m an elf.” She pointed out matter-of-factly.
Tara’s eyes widened comically. “An elf? Like in the stories?”
“You have stories about us?” Willow seemed even more delighted.
“Um, yeah. Some.”
“Wow!” Willow giggled excitedly but then her face scrunched up as something came to mind. “But… How are you here? Aren’t our worlds supposed to be separated?”
“I don’t know… I came through the forest… to find you…” she added hesitantly.
“To find me? What for?”
“I don’t know…” Tara shrugged.
“Well, you found me so… Wanna play?” Willow grinned cutely and Tara found herself smiling back.
“Sure!”
From that day on the elf and the human girl became best friends. Every single day the blonde would come and the two would play together until sundown. The redhead elf taught Tara about her people, their language, their culture, their magic and, in exchange, Tara would teach her about the humans that fascinated her so much. They laughed and played together and everyday their bond got stronger.
Sadly, good things tend not to last very long.
To Be Continued…
So... *peeking from behind the chair* How is it?
A little short, I know, but I figured I write better this way, shor and to the point. Let me know if I'm going too fast, ok?
Weeelll... Questions? Critics? Praising maybe? *hopefully*
I would love some feedback.
Oh, and sorry about the grammar mistakes, I'm lacking a beta.
Dex
The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! - Calvin
Edited by: Snooper at: 7/3/04 2:27 pm
Willow as an elf is the second strangest thing I've read ivolving her in an AU fic besides her being Buffy's sister.
Oh, and Tye-mela’na, melda nin = I love you, my friend.
Please!
BWR 