The Hellebore series (currently: 'Day by Day')

[chilled monkey]

I agree with Justin. I once read a story in which alchemical pollution created monstrous creatures. I wouldn't be at all suprised if something similar happened here (and perhaps Shadai could turn it to her advantage).



I had noticed that the captain's name sounded familiar. Clever idea, him being named Tara's weapons instructor.



I liked Tara's talk about Amazon full names. I know from Star Trek: The Next Generation that 'Lal' is Hindu for 'beloved'.

[Arwen276]

Great Update!!



I liked that Amalee was not judgmental, it's good that she thinks for herself instead of sticking to church's opinions on that matter.

It's also funny to see the parallel between Pollution now and pollution during that Era. It's also normal... and BAD!



I know Willow's brain is working non-stop at the prospect of meeting so many mages, and maybe formulating ideas as to how to deal with Shadai.

I suspected previously Solaris's connection with Solari, it's nice that Tara such a great teacher after all.



My best part of course was : Tara Lal Willow.

Truly beautiful!

Their teasing is extremely funny, and they've gotten into a familiarity that comes to a couple with time. The teasing about their sex life...

It's comforting! and they do make great parents by the way!

I do look forward to their arrival to the city! and the night...as well ...





More soon please!!



~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[Grimlock72]

I think the burned of magic is much like oil-fields, you can't very well extract oil from flames either . It's good to know there a lot of magic practioners in Duncraig, now lets hope they're somewhat organized.



I think Amalee simply is to young to throw a fit over Tara and Willow being lovers. I noticed that she merely took it as a question, adding to her knowledge of the world around her. Neat to see she's becoming a good bard already.



Interesting that Amazon's can appearantly summon ice that big as well. Nifty solution to the beast but it does make me wonder why the amazon male magician even bothered with his long spell .



Hmm... if they could get Shadai in physical form they could nicely dump her into that abyss. Will take at least a while to crawl back out, heh. Gives a whole new meaning to 'till hell freezes over' as well .



This becoming a mighty BIG story by the way, just for my curiousity... was it planned this big ?? :-)



Happy newyear/2004 for all kittens !



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[JustSkipIt]

Well, I probably should go ahead and say when I notice something. I noticed about Solaris' name and wondered if he was named for Tara's instructor but blew it off. Plus which, I figured it was probably an insult to say to a man "gee, I know a woman named that..."



Anyway, loved the chapter. Very eager for Duncraig. Good job. Debra

[sabina]

Hi



I agree with everyone it was great to see Amalee accepting W/T relationship so easily. Good thing she isn't as narrow minded as someone could expect her to be considering that she grew up in a small village. Everyone should be able to think for themselves.



I'm really looking forward for them to get to Duncraig, from your description from far away I guess it will be pretty spectacular



More soon?

---

"I know I was born and I know that I'll die.

The in between is mine.

I am mine!" - Pearl Jam

[RedIshtar]

Your story is great, the way you describe things is just bound to catch anyone's attention, I know nothing of Diablo II, but you're explaining things so well that nothing is left unknow.

It's getting more interesting every update! Amalee is so cute! She kind of remind me of Gabrielle with the strawberry blond hair and the bard thing. Then I realized something: Eponin, Solari, they're that Amazons from Xena, aren't they? Now that I'm thinking, it would be interesting a meeting with Xena, Gabrielle, Willow and Tara in this scenary, not doubt.

Update soon pleaseeee?





=> Kayleen <=

[2DIAMONDS]

Hey Chris!!! Happy New Year!!



I've been MIA the last few updates, so my bad



You know, I was wondering when Amalee would come to realize that Willow and Tara are more than friends. I never thought for a second that she would flip out or anything. I think she's smart enough to realize that there's a lot of REAL evil out there in the world to be concerned about two women who are so obviously in love with each other. She's seen it up close and personal so I don't think she'll all of a sudden stop seeing Willow and Tara as her heroes. I think it's been getting to the point where she views them as parental figures, and Tara and Willow don't mind that at all.



Okay, pirates??!! How about NO, Chris?!...and no giant evil sea creatures either!! None whatsoever. I'm putting my foot down now.



So put this in perspective for me - Duncraig would be like...um, New York City kinda?

Quote:

---

"Tara lal Willow," Willow whispered.



"Just the way you say 'Tara' is enough," she (Tara) murmured, "I feel so loved..."

---

*sigh* I've always loved the way Willow and Tara said each other's name. Definitely so full of love and adoration. You deserve a kiss just for that, so MUAH



Helen

xoxo

[Artemis]

Thanks everyone I've just been working a bit on the next chapter, I expect it to be ready in a couple of days' time. I'm also working on another Special Surprise, to be delivered at the same time.



justin: I'd had it in mind to have Amalee discover Willow and Tara's relationship in that manner pretty much since I thought her up. I wanted to deal with it, but not make a big deal of it, it that makes any sense. It actually turned out a bit longer than I'd first thought - my initial idea was very casual, something like "Are you in love with each other?" "Yes." "Oh, okay. What's for breakfast?" Amalee's nature is to make her own mind up about pretty much everything, rather than just believing what she's told without thinking about it.



I'm sure there will be some amount of pollution in the course of Sanctuary's pesudo-industrial revolution (just wait until they discover the combustion engine), but at the moment it's slight. That stuff they put in the river is unreactive with just about everything - not necessarily because alchemists are environmentally conscious, but because there's a lot of fishing going on, and people in general aren't going to let alehcmists dump a bunch of glowing stuff in the river without working out what effect it will have first. It's slightly less dense that water, so it floats rather than saturating the entire depth of the river, and after a couple of weeks (roughly when it hits the open ocean) it becomes exhausted and breaks down. It does actually expend energy to create that glitter, so it can't keep going indefinitely. Apart from giving the Djinn a way of continuing its journey overnight, that was my effort to give alehcmists something useful to do, aside from just trying to turn things into gold all the time



The magical 'flaring' is similar to what Willow described ages ago, when she was talking about her staff - if you get too much power for the spell you want, you just flare off the excess as whatever form of energy is easiest (for a cold mage, just drop the room temperature by a couple of degrees). In this case, it's pretty harmless, it's basically just small amounts of excess energy being converted into light, so that various ongoing experiments don't get overpowered and spoiled. Again it's not necessarily a case of mages being environmentally conscious, but they don't want to piss each other off by messing up each other's experiments, so they set up standing spells to flare of excess energy in a 'neutral' form - light won't have any great effect on anything much.



In any case, it's not magical energy (magical energy can't exist on its own, in being drawn into the mortal plane it had to be converted into a physical effect), so it's not a potential source of danger, any more than sunlight - if a demon were to learn how to convert light into power, but then again demons (real demons, not hybrids) have their own reserves of demonic magic, and don't really need help.



You're right though, the story isn't over by a long shot



chilled monkey: No monstrous creatures here Sanctuary has quite enough without making more, so mages tend to be careful about that kind of thing.



I did get 'Lal' from Star Trek, but it fits closely enough into the bits of language I made for Amazons, as a conjugation of 'ela', being love. I thought that was a particularly touching (and human) idea on Data's part, so I used it deliberately.



Arwen: Well, as I said there's not so much pollution as it might seem. But the potential for it is there - there is a sort of 'let's see if this works' attitude to non-magical endeavours, so it's possible someone will one day come up with dirty engines and so on, and not think of the consequences until later. That's all decades, or possibly centuries, away though. I think the existence of magic is a blessing and a drawback in that respect, it provides al ot of advantages, but it also makes a lot of fields of study more theoretical than necessary. Why study science when there's perfectly good magic to do the same job? I think Sanctuary still has a good many decades to go before serious science goes beyond the stage of inventors building odd contraptions in workshops, and starts getting into mass production and widespread industry.



I like the familiarity they've developed too. But I don't want things to get dull, so I'm trying to manage a balance between 'comfortable' and 'exciting'. I've got a few ideas along those lines...



Grimlock: You're on the right track with the oil-field metaphor, as I've explained above (well, hopefully I wasn't completely incomprehensible ). As for organisation, Duncraig's mages are a funny lot. They do have a lot of experience and brainpower to call on, and there is an organisational structure at work, with representatives of the various mage clans, and court mages and the city's college, which coveres magic and science and, basically, everything they think is interesting. They're not quite hardened battle-mages, though - they're very smart, but tend to fall into two groups: the solitary 'inventor' types in their workshops, pottering away at gods-know-what, and the communal 'academic' types, who are a bit vague and tend to think of everything in theoretical terms. Don't worry though, they're pretty much the best the western world has to offer, and they take demons as seriously as they should.



A very, very good Amazon can summon that much cold magic, through her bow. Amazon archery uses either fire or cold, there's very few Amazons who can call on both, and they're all older than Tara, or Solari back then. Tara is a fire archery, Solari is an ice archer. I never said the other mage was an Amazon, though We'll be meeting him later.



Concerning planning... I'm basically making it up. I know the plot, but as for how long it takes to occur, I don't know until I've written it TARA turned out a bit longer and more involved than I'd thought, so when I started writing this I decided to just go for it and see how long it ended up. At the time, I think I was hoping to reach the length of TARA, so it's gone way beyond my expectations



Debra: I've been eager to get to Duncraig for ages myself It's grown a lot since I first thought it up, so hopefully it'll be an interesting spectacle next chapter when they finally get to see it.



While there may be some men who would think it unfitting to be named after a woman... well, not if the woman is Solari, it isn't 'Solaris' is actually the male form of the name though.



sabina: I like the feeling that Amalee's going to blossom once she gets to the city. My personal feeling is that her father intended to send her to Duncraig when she was a bit older, as he knew she was way too intelligent to spend her life on a farm. I don't know if she's going to end up a bard though, that's just a bit of humour. She likes stories, but it's equally possible she'll find something else than interests her more than storytelling. I honestly don't know



Kayleen: Eponin, Solari and Ephiny are Xena Amazons, but I used them in this story because I'd already used them as names for my Diablo Amazon characters. Sort of a double-entendre reference I did get Amalee's strawberry blond hair from Gabrielle though (well, before she started changing it every season). Sadly there won't be any actual Xena and Gabrielle appearances - this isn't Earth - but, coincidentally, I do have a vague idea (and a title graphic, if I ever get around to it) for a story where Willow and Tara *are* Xena and Gabrielle.



Helen: I got a kiss Yay. Aw, thank you.



It's okay, there will be no pirates, or sea monsters. Looking back, I think I put in that story about Solari just to fill that gap, so I' have a sea monster in the story somewhere without actually having to spring one on our heroes



Amalee does regard Willow and Tara as parents - not as solidly as that might sound, after all they've only been together for a couple of days - but also there's a bit of hero worship mixed up in there. She's a smart girl though, so she doesn't let it go to her head. She will miss them a lot once she's with her uncle, but not as much as if they had spent longer together. They are going to keep their promise to visit regularly though



Duncraig is maybe a bit of New York (not so much as some other references, seeing as I don't know much about New York, particularly in earlier eras), a fair bit of Renaissance Florence, a bit of Rome and Venice, a large chunk of London, probably a touch of Ankh-Morpork , perhaps some of Sydney (home town), and bits and pieces of all sorts of cultures. There are travellers and immigrants from most of the nations of Sanctuary, all coming together in a spirit of more or less goodwill and hoping to make a lot of money. It's a very cosmopolitan place.

[Artemis]

Hellebore



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: R

Summary: A headstrong sorceress and a young Amazon join forces to locate and destroy an ancient source of demonic power.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon and his talented minionators, and 'Diablo II' by Blizzard Entertainment. All original material is copyright 2003 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



Special Surprise (TM): A map of the city of Duncraig (drawn by yours truly - the map, not the decorations) can be found here: members.iinet.net.au/~ott...llcity.htm

(And don't get anxious, it's just called 'hellcity' to keep all the files together - 'Hellebore city' - not because it's a hellish city. I quite like the place.)



--

Chapter Forty-Five

--



It was mid-morning by the time the Djinn, her sails lowered to slow her to a cautious crawl, came slipping through the crowded river Kingsway towards the Duncraig docklands. Willow and Tara had been woken by Amalee, shared a breakfast with the crew, and now stood on the helm deck with Solaris. Even early in the morning both banks had been covered with houses and workshops, with piers jutting out into the river, and small pontoon docks gently shifting in their moorings. Amalee had been overcome with excitement, pointing and describing in detail each new sight, as Willow and Tara gathered up their few possessions in preparation to disembark. Now, with everything accounted for, Solaris had invited them up to the helm, which offered the best view, and even Amalee stood silently, watching the heart of the city grow closer. Willow and Tara leaned on the forward rail side by side, taking in the awesome sight without comment.



Ever since they had passed, on their port side, the lower tributary of the river Marien, flowing in from the west to join the Kingsway, the shore had been completely covered with stone moorings and wooden jetties, its original contours lost behind the squared-off edges of the docks. Tara spotted and pointed out an entrance to a small lake, man-made by the look of it, just beyond the mouth of the tributary. Beyond its reinforced entrance half a dozen great merchantman freight ships were moored at huge stone quays, with cargo moving on and off over dozens of massive gangplanks for each vessel, every platform wide enough to drive a wagon over with room to spare. The port was surrounded with warehouses, their massive doors open, revealing their vast interiors stacked with crates and barrels. Above a tapering counter-weighted crane swung steadily around, moving out over one of the ships with a wide cargo pallet suspended beneath it.



Further on the riverbanks were crowded with ships and boats, freighters on the west bank at docks and piers, smaller passenger ferries and launches tied to jetties on the east bank. Everywhere people were bustling about, pushing carts full of wares, shouting instructions to one another, getting into arguments, haggling over prices. The sound of a thousand voices carried over the creaking of the vessels' hulls, like a giant bee hive buzzing to itself, full of careful motion that seemed random and chaotic to the outside eye.



It was around then that Amalee tugged on Willow's skirt, and drew her and Tara's attention to the view ahead. The river, which had seemed crowded since they had woken, was positively jammed with boats, all carefully manoeuvring around each other, sails flapping in the breeze, oars thrashing at the water, paddle-wheels churning the river white in their wake. Up ahead, where the Marien's main flow joined the Kingsway, it seemed impossible that any boat could get through, yet the Djinn kept up its steady approach, with Solaris looking unconcerned.



"Flags up," he called down to the main deck, where Refash was waiting for instructions. He hauled on a pulley, and three coloured flags slid up the main mast, the top one blue with a white star in its centre, then red with two white stripes, then yellow with a black circle. Willow glanced around at the other vessels nearby, noting similar arrangements of flags on their masts, and then her attention was drawn to a thin tower rising up from the point of land between the two rivers, behind which was the heart of the largest city in the western world.



"Look at that," she murmured to Tara, peering at the distant tower. It rose high into the air, far above the buildings around it, competing even with the huge stone towers of the city beyond, and its top was very peculiar. Instead of a roof it had a massive wooden framework, within which were a dozen or so panels painted black and white, which seemed to flicker oddly, as if they were moving. Beneath this was a gantry supporting some kind of mechanism, and a suspicion formed in Willow's mind as she watched the tower and its changing patterns, and glanced back at Solaris, who was staring at it through a telescope.



"It's signalling the ships," Tara said, surprised.



"Heh," Willow laughed, "I was just thinking that... that's right, isn't it?" she asked Solaris.



"It is," he said, "that's the Regulator. Five years it's been there, ever since the river started getting too crowded to make your own way through. Now either a captain has to know how to 'talk' to the tower, or else take on a pilot lower down to guide him in to his dock. And the prices those pilots charge," he laughed to himself, "well, I made sure I learned for myself!"



"We use something similar at home," Tara said idly, "lanterns with covers, at night-time. They flip the cover on and off, and send signals to anyone who can see the light appear and disappear. But that's just for convenience, nothing like this... there are people up there, working it? Guiding the ships?"



"On the platform, yes," Solaris said, "a team of men operating the outbound signals, a second team marking the position of every hull on the river, and a third team operating another set of signals, facing down towards the shipping office. That's in a building down below, that piece of land - there's a little stream just behind it, between it and the city - it controls the whole river, as far as the eye can see. And their eyes see very far, they make good lenses here."



"So," Willow thought out loud, "the observers watch where the boats are, and they signal the office on the ground, and they signal back to the tower, and the tower signals the boats?"



"That's it," Solaris nodded, "in simple terms. I've never seen inside the office myself, but I have a friend who works there. In this business, it's good to have many friends!" he chuckled. "She tells me they have a great map of the river, and little wooden models of boats they move around. There are people whose job it is only to listen for reports of certain boats, and move their models, and people who read the signals from the tower, and people who write down every instruction that passes in and out of the office, and the River Masters who decide which boat goes where and how fast. I saw once a big machine in Lut Gholein, wooden wheels and gears all moving at once, and it is like that, my friend says. A huge machine that controls the whole river."



"Do they ever make mistakes?" Tara asked. "Read a signal wrongly, or anything like that?"



"There was a time," Solaris said, still looking through the telescope, "six months after the tower began to work, when it gave orders that were wrong. I do not know why, perhaps someone said the wrong ship's name, or misheard what someone else said. A merchantman - this was before the merchantman dock was built, you saw that earlier, to port - hit a sloop, but both were moving slowly, thank god, and no-one was hurt. They say the shipping office hired more people, and now there is a second team who compare the position of boats on the river to the positions of the models on the map. Or something like that, I do not know exactly how they work. But there have been no more accidents. Ah, there we go." He put away the telescope and called down to Refash: "A touch more sail!" He turned back to Willow and Tara, absently toying with the helm wheel.



"We have a docking permit," he explained, "our route to follow to our mooring. Not long now!" Amalee worked her way in between Willow and Tara, taking a hand from each of them and peering over the rail.



"Looking forward to it?" Willow asked.



"Yup," the girl replied quickly. "When we get there, you'll stay, won't you? For lunch at least? I'm sure uncle won't mind."



"Thank you sweetie," Tara smiled, "if it's okay with him, then yes, we'll stay for lunch. And don't forget we'll keep visiting you. You won't miss us."



"Yes I will," Amalee said, "but it's okay." She flashed both of them a smile. "I won't forget either of you. That's like having you with me."



"Oh, come here," Willow said, bending down to pick up Amalee and sit her up on the rail, keeping one arm securely around her. "We won't forget you either," she said softly, hugging the girl. Tara put an arm around her shoulders, and the three of them turned their attention to the passing riverbank.



The Regulator tower passed by to starboard, and beneath it a large, low building three storeys high, with the walls of its uppermost level composed entirely of panes of glass, shining in the sunlight. Peering at it, Willow could just make out people inside, walking from place to place busily, pausing now and then to look out. On the roof a smaller version of the tower's signalling system flickered away, aimed up at the Regulator's gantry. The signals, she realised on seeing them closer, were boards of wood, one side painted black and the other white, flipping over in their mountings as the pattern changed.



"We're on the Marien now," Solaris commented, as the boat moved beyond the tower's point of land. The southern bank was composed entirely of docks, all clad in hard-wearing stone with moss growing at the waterline. The Djinn took its place in a queue of boats making their stately way up the river, their speed steady even as vessels moved off towards their moorings or swung out to pass through the traffic. Little rowboats and single-sailed launched darted everywhere, edging between the hulls of the larger vessels like dogs scampering across a busy roadway, dodging the wheels of the carts.



On the shore the business of loading and unloading boats was carried out to the accompaniment of shouting from captains calling down to their crews, warehouse-owners on the piers yelling instructions to their labourers, people calling for room to move as huge crates swung around on ropes and pulleys, and the cries of vendors of all manner of wares working their way through the crowds. At one dock a wide-bellied freight ship unloaded its cargo with a pair of cranes built into its deck, the massive pallets of cargo steadily turning through the air and setting down on wheeled platforms on the dock. Beneath it a tiny launch piled high with bags of grain was being unloaded by hand, with porters scurrying back and forth in the shadow of the freighter.



Willow looked north to the other bank, where the land opened up into a huge stone dock, mostly unused for cargo, though there were a few smaller vessels nudged up against the stone walkways, jockeying for position and room to move their cargo. A long, graceful passenger barque rode at anchor inside the docking booms, securely fastened by a dozen thick ropes. People dressed in expensive clothes, finely-coloured coats and travelling robes, were milling about on the shore, a handful slowly boarding the ship over a thin gangplank, while suitcases and luggage crates were taken aboard over another walkway further aft. Willow pointed out to Tara the flag flying from the ship's main mast, a lion rearing up on its hind legs, holding a sword and shield as if it were a knight, all on a rich scarlet field.



"That's the Duke's flag," she explained, "that must be his personal ship."



"The ­Lion Star," Solaris added, "she carries the Duke and his family when they travel. Though these days the Duke stays close to home for the most part, so the ship is used to ferry the very rich back and forth along the river. They say she is a palace afloat, but I doubt I will ever find out how true that is."



"Expensive?" Tara asked.



"Hah! This voyage, we came all the way from the peninsula, seven weeks there and back, with a full hold of quality goods, and perhaps - if I am lucky - our profit would buy a single night on the Lion Star. In a small cabin, you understand. To berth in the rooms that the Duke uses... not in a year would a trader like me make such a fortune." He shook his head and chuckled to himself ruefully. "Run a fast ship and a good crew, and you can make a decent living, but own half a street full of warehouses and never stray beyond your own front door, and you can make a fortune."



A moment later Solaris spun the wheel around, and the Djinn came around, slowing as Refash dropped the sails. They slipped between the shore and a wooden pontoon, and even as they slowed to a halt men were scurrying about on either side, catching the ropes that Refash and Solari tossed down to them and securing the boat to its moorings. Willow glanced back to see the gap they had left in the river traffic quickly filled by a departing barge, and marvelled that they had just come across half the width of a busy river in a single manoeuvre, and every other boat had been in exactly the right place to leave their path free. Her respect for the shipping office and its Regulator increased as she watched the boats go by, efficiently coming and going but never getting in each other's way.



"Well, here I must bid you good day," Solaris said, clapping his hands and kicking the helm wheel's lock into place. "My shoremaster, down there, will be taking my letters in a few moments, if you wish to have your arrival known, he will see your letters delivered quickly. I hate to hurry you, but I have many people to meet."



"That's quite alright," Willow said, "we should be getting on our way, it's a big city. Got to go find your uncle, eh?" she added to Amalee. "Um... you wouldn't know how we might go about looking, would you?"



"At a guess," he said, "a little way west of here is the Centenary Bridge. Cross that, follow its road a little way and you will find the great Parliament house - you will know it when you see it. On the far side is the old hall, that was the town hall in the old days decades ago, and now they use it for the hall of records. If you know the name, they will tell you the place, I am sure."



"My uncle's name is Brydan," Amalee piped up.



"Then, good fortune to you, and may he look after you well," Solaris said, squatting down to look straight at her. "I am glad to have carried you on my vessel. Think well of the Djinn, and you will always have a friend on these waters." He gave her a wink, then straightened up.



"That goes for you too," he said to Willow and Tara, "in the old country, I would say my house is your house. Well, this boat is my house, so you may consider it yours if ever I should be in port when you need passage, to Kingsport or anywhere beyond that I might sail."



"Thank you," Tara said warmly, "you've been very kind."



"Thanks," Willow echoed.



"Oh, and when you see your instructor," Solaris grinned to Tara, "tell her my father, Meshif, remembers her deeds often in Lut Gholein, whenever people gather to tell stories of heroes."



"I will," Tara smiled.



"Then god bless you," Solaris said, descending the ladder to the main deck, "and may he offer you good fortune." With a wave he was gone, lost amid the crates and barrels strewn about the deck, and the dozen or so strong men who had come on board to unload them. Tara helped Amalee down the ladder, and then extended a hand up to Willow.



"My lady?" she said with a grin.



"Oh, thank you," Willow replied, with aristocratic courtesy and not a little amusement, "how kind." She took Tara's hand and daintily stepped down to the deck, keeping their hands joined afterwards. Amalee took her other hand and together, with their bags and belongings, the three of them descended the gangplank down to the pontoon, and from there around the front of the Djinn to the dock itself.



"Well," Tara said with a relieved sigh as they finally felt solid ground underfoot, "we made it."



"We did," Willow smiled. "Quite the adventure, eh honey?"



"Yup," Amalee nodded.



"There's the shoremaster," Tara pointed, "should we send a note to the palace? I'd like them to know we're safe, if we're going to find this Brydan before we go there."



"Right," Willow agreed. She found a spare piece of paper in her belt and spent a moment writing out a quick note, giving the basics of their separation from the caravan and subsequent passage to the city. Tara added her signature to it, and the shoremaster agreed that it would go with Solaris's letters in a few minutes' time, and said his messenger would deliver it to the palace within half an hour.



"Wow," Amalee breathed, as they stepped out of the shadow of the dock's warehouses and offices and into the wide street running behind them.



"I second that 'wow'," Willow said, her eyes wide.



"I third it," Tara agreed. The road was full of traffic, from pedestrians to men on horseback, two-wheeled carts and gigs speeding along, heavy wagons stacked high with cargo and pulled by teams of oxen, even grand-looking carriages, their doors set with gold-painted heraldry, and aristocratic faces peering out of their windows from behind curtains. Labourers were talking and arguing as they went, pushing trolleys or carrying crates or timber between them, street vendors were announcing their wares at the tops of their voices, with trays of produce hanging from cords looped around their necks, or pulling small carts along with them. Willow stood back as a pair of red-coated lancers went by, their points held high and their horses' hooves clattering on the cobblestones.



"I've never seen anything like this," Tara said, staring around as they slowly made their way north towards the bridge.



"I suppose Kurast must be the same size," Willow mused, "but it's all temples and halls, miles of roads and causeways, it's been there for hundreds of years... even Gotunberg wasn't this busy... this place is something else. Oh wow, look at that!" She pointed along the road, where far away a tower rose up over the city, hazy in the distance. For a few seconds a curling, twisting jet of emerald light reached into the sky from its tip, then the spectacle was gone. No-one else seemed to pay it any attention at all.



"Magic flare," Willow said, "that must have been what we were seeing last night... and others like it. Gods, how tall is that tower?"



"It's like one of the great oaks at home," Tara said, "they're thousands of years old... huge old things."



"That must be the court mage's tower, in the Palace," Willow guessed.



"That's where you're going to study?" Tara asked.



"Partly... there's a college around here somewhere too, I've got letters from the Order to study with several of the mages who teach there. At least, they were in the wagon... gods, I'd almost forgotten the caravan," she said, turning to Tara. "Do you think they're okay? I mean, they made it, right, they must have?"



"I'm sure they did," Tara said, "we'll see soon, when we get there. They'll get our letter, and a couple of hours won't make any difference while we find Brydan and make sure Amalee's safe and sound."



"Right," Willow nodded, "you're right... heh, I'm trying to think of everything at once suddenly. This place is infectious, I feel like I should be busy just from being here."



"Sure, because normally your mind is so lazy," Tara smirked. Willow laughed to herself.



"I do remember," she murmured quietly in Tara's ear, so Amalee wouldn't overhear, "several notable occasions when I've been rendered incapable of any thought more complicated than 'yum'."



"That wasn't because of laziness, though," Tara whispered back, "was it?"



"No," Willow agreed, "it was because of you, luscious." Tara shot her a sexy grin as they walked on, keeping to the side of the road, away from the carts and horses moving back and forth along the centre.



The bridge was a huge construction, spanning the river in a single arc from side to side, with stone-railed walkways on either side for people on foot, while faster traffic kept to the road in the middle, clattering over the wooden slats without slowing. Amalee kept stealing glances over the side of the bridge at the crowded river below, but she didn't slow her pace. Willow wondered whether she was anxious to get to her uncle's house, or just hungry. 'Well, she's going to live here,' she thought to herself, 'I guess she'll be able to see the river whenever she wants.' She peeked sideways herself, fascinated at the complex motions of the dozens of vessels, all carefully choreographed by the distant, silent tower. 'Lucky girl,' she grinned.



On the far side of the river they followed the road, which broadened into a tree-lined avenue, until it reached a busy junction. Carts, coaches and riders were going in all directions, and it took a moment to find a safe place to cross - a crossing marked by upright white stones on either side of the road, where the traffic paused to let pedestrians by. On the far side was a narrow strip of greenery, lovingly cared for and sculpted into an impressive garden, with trees of all kinds offering shade to a dazzling array of flowers arranged according to their colour into a soft rainbow blanket. People were dotted here and there, having an early lunch, reading or chatting with each other, seated on the grass or on wrought-iron benches spaced through the garden.



On the other side of the garden, beyond a quieter road, was a great marble-clad building that could only be the Parliament house Solaris had mentioned. Willow and Tara stared at it, as dumbstruck as Amalee, their eyes travelling over the towering columns, the carved friezes of scenes of battle and triumph, and the statues standing at regular intervals between the tall flights of steps leading from the pavement up into the building.



"Tal Rasha," Willow pointed out, gesturing to a grizzled marble figure, depicted in torn robes and battle-scarred armour, "the greatest Horadrim mage ever... that must be Wilfur the Great," a giant, bearded warrior with his hands resting proudly over the hilt of a massive double-headed axe, "he was from the northlands, he was made a general here about two hundred years ago, he was never defeated... Tirion," a man in ornate armour, carrying a mace and shield, "he was a paladin, they called him the Chosen of Akarat... he was born in Kurast four, five hundred years ago, and came out here to try to cleanse the western kingdoms of demons. Oh, look honey," she said to Amalee, "there's Esara! You remember?"



"That's her?" Amalee asked, staring wide-eyed at a statue of a serious-looking woman in her thirties, clothed in flowing robes. In each hand she held a short staff, little more than the length of a club, and both were tipped with claw-shaped pieces holding spheres.



"That's her," Willow confirmed, "when she grew up she became a great sorceress, one of the best."



"Are there more stories about her?"



"There are a few," Willow said, "I don't know all of them - I was always more into theory than history," she added to Tara, by way of explanation, before turning her attention back to Amalee, "but maybe I'll look them up in the library, and when we visit you can hear them?"



"Quite a woman," Tara commented. The sculptor, whether accurately or by way or artistic license, had given the sorceress a commanding presence. Even in lifeless marble she was an impressive sight, with a stern, unforgiving gaze tempered by a face that seemed full of feeling.



"Some of the stories," Willow said, as Amalee devoted her attention to more of the heroic statues, "probably more fairy tale than fact... it's been a long time since she was around, and you know what they say, stories grow in the telling. Some of the things she's supposed to have done are, well, pretty fanciful at best."



"Did she really defeat Goreth the way the story said?" Tara wondered.



"Pretty much," Willow said, "I mean, some of it's simplified... like, what probably happened was that all the sorceresses charged their staves to break the command spell, and Esara just released the staff's charge when she cast her own spell. You can't knock out a rod of command with a firebolt," she grinned.



"I wondered about that," Tara admitted.



"All the old legends are like that, they're sort of... filtered through generations of story-tellers, who pick out the bits they like, and don't always bother with the details that much. Still, what's important always survives."



"Like a little girl finding the courage to stand up to a powerful mage," Tara noted.



"Sounds like fairy-tale stuff, doesn't it?" Willow smiled. "I guess a fairy tale is just fact a few hundred years later."



-----



The hall of records was a wide building with a tall clock tower, marked by a brightly-painted sign fixed to its protruding wooden roof beams, above the old decorative stone faceplate naming it the town hall. Inside Willow and Tara found a tranquil relief from the bustle of the street outside, as the long hall was inhabited only by a handful of scribes and notaries who went about their business quietly and patiently. A portly old man with a white beard down to his waist looked up from the newspaper he was reading as Tara approached his desk, with Willow and Amalee just behind her, still engaged in the tail end of a discussion of famous mages.



"Hello?" he said.



"Um, hello," Tara said hesitantly, "we're looking for this girl's uncle, he's an architect called Brydan? We were told to come here, to find out where to go..."



"Of course, of course," the man said, getting to his feet, "new in town? Yes, well, if you'll come this way... oh, forgive me," he said, turning back to Tara, "Moric, Edar Moric, at your service."



"Oh... I'm Tara."



"Willow, Zann Esu," Willow added, "this is Amalee."



"Hello," Amalee put in.



"Ladies," Edar bowed slightly, before making his way over to one of the rows of shelves that occupied much of the back of the hall. "Zann Esu... that's a mage school, isn't it?"



"Sorceresses," Willow offered.



"Ah yes, the eastern mage women... we had one at the Palace a few years ago, you know, there was some talk about some of them joining the college, can't for the life of me recall whether it was as students or teachers... ah, here we are," he said, retrieving a thick stack of papers.



"Right," he said, dropping the stack on a writing table with a thump that made the quills jump in their pot, "this is a form for a search of the records. Just a formality, really, you're free to come with me while I look it up - probably save a bit of time if you did - but we like to keep records of this kind of thing. If you'll just sign your name here," he handed a quill to Tara and uncorked the ink pot, "and here... family name first, or if you don't use them your town of birth will do... Tran Athulua?" he read as Tara wrote, "where's that? I don't think I've heard of it."



"The Amazon Isles," Tara explained, adding 'Amazon' in brackets after her name.



"Oh, of course, you're with the delegation," Edar smiled, "yes, there was a mention in the paper today."



"They arrived safely?" Tara asked, looking up sharply.



"Eh? Oh, I think so... I didn't read it too closely, just that there were diplomats at the Palace meeting with the Duke's people. Aren't you with them?"



"We were separated on the road," Willow explained, as Tara gave a relieved sigh, "we ended up coming up the river."



"Really? My word... oh, sorry, distracted myself. This line, write down the relevant details of the person you're looking for, if you would. Brydan, did you say?"



"Yes," Willow said.



"Not a common name, that'll make thing easier," Edar said, more or less to himself, "and an architect... we'll see what the records have to say..."



"They made it," Tara said quietly to Willow, relief evident in her voice.



"You always said they would," Willow replied, taking her hand unobtrusively.



"I know, but... well, it's a relief to know." She frowned. "I wonder if they had any more trouble, after that attack? Or what they're doing about us, whether they've got people out looking, or-"



"That letter should have arrived by now," Willow pointed out, "they'll know we're here. Relax," she added with a smile. Tara took a deep breath, and smiled in return.



"Very well," Edar said when the form was handed over, "let's see now... follow me please..." He led the way down the shelves, turning here and there. Rows and rows of books towered over them, all identical save for the inscriptions in gold on their red leather spines. Willow glanced at a couple of them as they passed - the first twenty feet or so of shelves seemed occupied with 'Marriages', sorted by letters, then came 'Births', then they followed Edar around a corner and eventually came to a long set of shelves bearing 'Business Permits, copies (index), by profession'.



"Architect, architect," Edar muttered absently as he tapped the spines of the books, working his way along the shelf. "Ah, here we are..." He hauled out one of the books, six inches thick from cover to cover, and carried it to the end of the row, where he laid it open on a table and leafed through the pages.



"Any idea how long the man's been in business?" he asked. "This is probably the best way to find him, without a family name, but it would help if we could narrow things down a little."



"How old were you when you last saw your uncle?" Willow asked Amalee.



"Three," she said.



"And he was already an architect then? How old are you, dear, eight?" Edar asked.



"Almost eight," Amalee replied.



"Alright, we'll start there and work backwards... I'm afraid we have rather a lot of architects around..."



Willow and Tara waited patiently while Edar worked his way backwards through the book, his finger running down the columns of names and dates as he methodically checked each one, muttering names under his voice. Amalee fidgeted now and then, and Tara crouched down to talk with her, to keep her from getting bored.



"Brydon?" Edar asked after a few moments. "There's a Brydon here, with an 'o'?"



"Sweetie?" Tara asked Amalee.



"Brydan," she said firmly, emphasising the 'an'. Edar went back to the book.



"Your friends got here okay?" Amalee asked Tara while they waited.



"It sounds like it," Tara agreed. Willow crouched down to join them.



"Hey, maybe after we've all gotten settled in," she suggested, "you could come up and visit us at the Palace?"



"You get to stay at the Palace?" Amalee asked.



"I'm sure Tara will be," Willow said, "she's important, you know, she came all the way from the Amazon Isles to meet with the Duke, so I'm sure she'll get a room there. And where she goes, I go," she finished with a smile for Tara.



"Here's a Brydan," Edar called, "Brydan Toled, licensed as a guild architect nine years ago."



"Toled was my grandfather's name," Amalee said.



"That sounds like the one we want," Tara added.



"Good," Edar sighed, "I really didn't want to go into last decade's books, the indexing really wasn't formalised back then... Toled, eh? Well, easy enough, off we go..."



Tara took Amalee's hand and led her along in the wake of Willow, as they followed Edar further into the maze of shelves. He came at last to a series of old oak bookcases with brass rails fixed to them, the shelves filled with newer wooden partitions keeping thousands of tiny scrolls separated from each other, each in its own niche with a little square of chalkboard nailed beneath. Edar dragged over a wheeled stepladder from the end of the row and, clutching the shelf's railing to steady himself, climbed it to reach the scrolls stored up above.



"Commercial permits," he explained, looking across the shelves and peering at the tiny markings beneath the scrolls. "The Guild of Architects is very particular about its record-keeping and standards... back in my father's day it was just anyone who could stack bricks on top of each other, but of course that sort of thing can't last for long..." He fell silent for a time.



"Do you think there's anything they *haven't* got written down here somewhere?" Tara asked quietly. Willow looked around and shrugged.



"I guess running a city this big makes a lot of paperwork," she said. "Nice place they've got for it though. All the Order's records are kept underground, it's kind of gloomy."



"Oh, all the archival records are kept in the basement offices," Edar offered, "these shelves up here only go back fifteen years."



"Ah," Willow said, looking duly impressed as she re-assessed the scope of the hall's records.



"I think we have a winner," Edar grinned, "yes, here we are, Brydan Toled, affiliated with the Guild of Architects, officially registered nine years ago as an independent tradesman." He descended the ladder with one of the scrolls open in his hand.



"According to this he's still a resident," he said as he led the way back to the front desk, "number thirty-nine Harker's road, that's east of here, behind the old docks... actually it'd be the other side of Trader street, wouldn't it... Hamis!" he called out loud.



"Yes?" came a voice from somewhere behind the shelves.



"Where's that street map you had out earlier?"



"I put it back," the voice said in a weary tone.



"Ah, of course," Edar muttered, crossing the room to a small case full of huge rolled-up maps. He pulled one out and unfurled it over a table, covering most of it with a hugely detailed map of the centre of the city, with every street, road, bridge, square, lane and alley marked in delicate calligraphy.



"Alright, now, this is where we are here," he pointed out, "where you want to go it down here, this is Trader street, it's quite busy-"



"We crossed it on our way here," Willow said.



"Well, you know where to go then. Follow that east, past the Market Hall, that's here," he pointed to an enormous square, "the street continues on the other side of it... and here's Harker's road, just here. Let me see..." he peered at the tiny numbers marked on the map, "thirty-nine would be... just here, a few doors north of Trader street. All clear?"



"Thank you," Tara said, and Willow echoed her.



"Thanks," Amalee piped up.



"Good luck to you," the man smiled, turning back to his desk.



-----



"This is it," Tara said to Amalee, as they stood outside a well-kept two storey house, with a small brass plate beside the door proclaiming it the home of 'Brydan Toled, Architect, cert. G. of A.'



"Ready?" she asked, as the girl stared up at the building.



"I think I remember this house," Amalee said, "there's... stairs in a spiral... and a big chair with cushions. I remember sitting in it..." She took a deep breath, and looked up at Willow and Tara.



"I'm ready," she said with the steadfast resolve of a general.



At Willow's knocking, the door was opened by a man in his thirties, with short blond hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and a pair of half-moon glasses perched on the tip of his nose.



"Good day, how can I... help you?" he said, with a slight hesitation as he registered the sight of two armed, leather-clad women on his doorstep.



"Are you Brydan Toled?" Willow asked.



"Yes, I..." he said, and paused, looking down as Amalee peeked out from behind Tara. He frowned in confusion for a moment, then an expression of surprise spread over his face.



"Amalee?" he asked. "Is it... little Amalee?"



"Hello Uncle," she said, smiling and losing her hesitation once the man recognised her. He looked up at Willow and Tara, his mouth open as if to speak, then fell to his knees and hugged the girl.



"Oh gods be praised," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "we were so worried... when we heard about the villages... oh, come in, come in," he said, waving Willow and Tara inside as Amalee returned his hug.



"Darling!" he called out. "Amalee's here! She's safe!" There was the sound of something someone moving from somewhere further inside the house, then a door opened on the balcony overlooking the tall main room and a heavily-pregnant woman appeared, staring down over the railing for a second before hurrying to the side of the balcony, where an iron spiral staircase led down to the ground floor. Brydan finally released Amalee, though she continued to cling to him for a moment, and stood up shakily, looking again at Willow and Tara.



"Her... her father...?" he asked, his voice suddenly quiet. Willow shook her head sadly.



"I'm sorry," Tara murmured. The man put a hand to his mouth, then took a deep breath and glanced to where the woman had gathered Amalee up in a hug, lifting her off the ground and kissing her on the cheek.



"When news came that the villages had... were gone," he said quietly, "that no-one had survived..." he took another breath and steadied himself. "It's a blessing she's alive," he said, half to himself, "yes. Yes. Oh, I-I'm sorry, I forgot myself... Brydan Toled," he said, extending his hand, "oh, wait, you know... welcome," he finished, with a fragile but sincere smile. Willow and Tara introduced themselves to him, and the woman who was still holding Amalee in her arms, and was looking at them, kindly but curiously.



"I'm Joma," she said, offering the hand that wasn't being used to hold Amalee, "Brydan is my husband." Up close, Willow noticed her coffee-coloured skin and the exotic style of her dress, both typical of a woman from Aranoch, though she spoke with a perfect Westmarch accent. She smiled warmly at both of them, then glanced at her husband, and seemed to pick up on his concealed dismay at the news of Amalee's father - 'his brother,' Willow guessed.



"Stay for lunch," she said, inviting them with a wave of her arm further into the house, "please?" Willow and Tara agreed, and were led through to a large ground floor kitchen and dining room, where Brydan cleared some books from one end of a table set for two and brought extra chairs, while Joma set Amalee down and produced extra cutlery and plates from a drawer. While Joma busied herself preparing food Willow and Tara took turns narrating the circumstances of their finding Amalee and their journey to the city, with Amalee making sure they didn't leave out the more heroic details.



All too soon, it seemed to Willow, the meal was over, and she and Tara were standing in the front room ready to leave. Amalee ran up and hugged both of them fiercely around their waists, smiling happily and sniffling at the same time.



"You'll visit?" she asked, for the tenth time.



"I promise," Tara assured her, "in fact... tomorrow, at lunch-time?" she asked, glancing at Brydan and Joma.



"You're always welcome in our home," the woman said warmly, "always. We'll have lunch waiting for you. It's nothing compared to what we owe you."



"Thank you," Willow said, as Tara smiled her thanks.



"Thank you," Brydan said sincerely, shaking both of their hands as Joma gently helped prise Amalee off them. After an extended series of goodbyes, and more hugs from Amalee, Willow picked up her staff, bow and satchel, Tara hefted her pack onto her shoulders and took her spear, and they left the house and returned to the busy streets of Duncraig.



"They'll look after her," Tara said, as Willow took her hand and they headed back towards Trader street.



"I'm sure they will," Willow agreed. "I liked Joma, she seemed very capable. Level-headed, you know?"



"That's settled, then," Tara said, letting out a deep breath. "Nothing more to do... nothing to worry about..." she looked around with a smile, and her gaze settled on Willow. "I think our bedroom beckons," she grinned.



"I think you're right," Willow grinned back, looping her free arm through Tara's elbow. They headed back west, to the huge square dominated by the Market Hall building, which Willow remembered from the map was joined to the Palace by a main road heading north.



"Hey," Tara said as they entered the square, "first chance we get, what do you say to a day shopping here?" Willow nodded eagerly - the Market Hall, an old warehouse by the look of it, was vast, and through its wide doors they could see all manner of stalls and stands within, selling everything from food to clothes, jewellery to books, exotic artefacts, art, vases, sculptures, flowers and plants - Willow even spotted a small stall where a vendor was excitedly touting the virtues of human-sized plaster replicas of some of the statues from the Parliament house. Passing the Hall earlier, with Amalee in tow, neither woman had taken much notice of it, being more concerned with not getting lost, but now they walked at a leisurely stroll, taking in the sights and sounds of the great market with enthusiasm.



"Yipes," Willow breathed, "you know, I think you could fit the whole village I grew up in inside that place." What was more amazing was that the marketplace within seemed to be too big to be contained, even in such a huge space, and had spilled out into the square, with the pavement dotted with vendors and shoppers.



"It's almost as big as the temple of Athulua at home," Tara commented, "and that's the biggest building in the Isles. You remember, I think I told you about it?"



"The one with the grand altar you want to make out on?" Willow grinned slyly.



"Yes, that one," Tara agreed, a mild blush creeping across her face. "That infallible memory of yours."



"Uh-huh," Willow said, "you never know when a detail like that might come in handy. I mean, suppose we just happen to wander in there one day, years from now, and the priests happen to have popped out for a moment?" Her hand snuck down behind Tara and gave her a pat on her bottom.



"Vixen," Tara murmured happily.



"Tara?" Both women spun around on hearing the surprised exclamation from behind them, from a man who had turned from a stall he had been shopping at as they walked by.



"Tryptin?" Tara gasped in surprise. The young diplomat gaped for a moment, then took a quick step forward and flung his arms around Tara.



"You're safe," he exclaimed, as she recovered from her shock and returned the hug, "praise Athulua, you're safe, both of you..." He collected himself and stepped back, looking a little sheepish at his display of emotion.



"Miss Willow," he said, bowing deeply, "it is wonderful to see you again... Tara," he said, turning back to her, seemingly lost for words.



"It's good to see you too," she replied, with a noticeable trace of moisture in her eyes.



"The others will be so relieved," he said, "how long have you been here?"



"A couple of hours," Tara said, "we sent a letter to the Palace, but we had some other business to take care of."



"Then they'll know you're safe already," Tryptin said, grinning broadly, "so I'm the last to know? A fine diplomat that makes me... you're headed for the Palace now?"



"Yes," Willow nodded.



"I'll come with you," he said, "I was just looking for some supplies, but they can wait. What happened to you? Did you get to Kotram, or detour around it? How did you get here- so fast, too, it's not even a week since we lost you, you can't have covered all that ground on foot- sorry, I'll let you get a word or two in," he finished with a wry grin.



"Hey, don't worry, you're looking at a world-class babbler," Willow smiled. "Well, it's a long story..."

[Grimlock72]

Ohh.... the palace will have nice rooms with nice beds for sure. Not sure if they'll be very private though . Besides that, wouldn't it be better to inform the Duke's sourcerers of Shadai and such ? Let them take care of it for a while :-)



Nifty navigation system on that river. Makes it sound like a busy harbour like onces we have over here in the Netherlands. It sure seems to be a very busy city, not just big. Good thing they asked directions, seems easy to get lost in such a crowded place.



Amalee is in good hands I think, even if it is hard to say goodbye to her. Assuming Willow and Tara will go live on the amazonian islands I wonder how often they'll be able to visit at all. It's quite the distance after all.



Heh, if Willow gets enough time to look around at that market she'll come back to her order with twice the books she started out with . Speaking of her order, she does need to write them a little letter about a certain badly behaving demon.



I'm glad they met up with Tryptin when they did. Couldn't really see them getting a nice private room to do whatever they pleased in without meeting up with the amazonian delegation in person.



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[Puff]

Oh what a great update. I loved all the detail you write with as it makes everything so easy to picture. Duncraig s ounds huge and I'm going to take a look at the map after I have typed up my feedback to see how big it is. I am glad that Willow, Tara and Amalee are all safe although I must say that I am sad to see Amalee go. Woo hoo that Tryptin and the caravan is safe and in Duncraig though.



Thanks for the update.

---

So, the day started and I knew my name and had my pants on. So far, so good. Yay.
Amber Benson

[sabina]

Hi there Artemis



Great update



I was happy to see our girls finally reaching Duncraig and safety

And it's great that the caravan too reached Duncraig safely and that they have met there. Poor Tryptin, good thing he doesn't have a weak heart



Now I'm looking forward to see the palace



More?

---

"I know I was born and I know that I'll die.

The in between is mine.

I am mine!" - Pearl Jam

[Arwen276]

woohoo!!

Finally , they made it!!



the city is so beautiful! Kinda wish we were there!

I particularly liked the guiding-tower at the river, it's pretty ingenious, like those radar-control-towers we have at airports!



I'm relieved that Amalee has found her family, her uncle and his wife seem very nice, they'll be great guardians!



Finally, that bedroom you promised!! lol It's a relief that the caravan made it as well, I missed its members, Tryptin and the whole amazon diplomats!



Now we're on to the castle!



More soon!!!



~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[hermitstull]

Chris-



I've been following this story on your website and I just wanted to say how awesome it is! It's one of the best uber/alternate universe that I've read. Thanks for making such a vivid and interesting world for Willow and Tara to explore.



hermitstull

"I was feared and worshiped across the mortal globe. At now I'm stuck at Sunnydale High. Mortal. Child. And I'm failing Math." Anya in Dopplegangland

[chilled monkey]

So Willow and Tara have finally made it to (relative) safety. At last they can get a room of their own.



I'm glad that you remembered to have Tara ask about the seeming inconsistancy of how Esara destroyed the rod of command.



What will happen next I wonder?

[JustSkipIt]

Chris – Yay! They're in Duncraig, found Amalee’s uncle and Tryptin and are on their way to the castle. So glad and relieved. Well done.

---

"I was working on a proof of one of my poems all morning and took out a comma. In the afternoon, I put it back in again." - Oscar Wilde

[2DIAMONDS]

Hey Chris



Thank you, thank you - they finally arrived in Duncraig, safe and sound. And let's not forget the caravan



I think I'll miss our little Amalee. She kinda grew on me as well. Well, they'll be stopping by for lunch



Ok, next destination: The bedroom for more an even more interesting adventure



I'm hoping the next few parts will be NC-17s



Helen

xoxo

[badkitty]

Hi Artemis!



This is my first time posting, but I've been reading fic here for about a year. Just wanted to let you know that I LOVE this fic! I actually call it "Hellacool" to myself. Your writing and your imagination is just amazing. Looking forward to the next update!!!



badkitty (gail)

[Artemis]

Thanks everyone As I write it's just passed midnight here in Sydney, which means it's January 8th, the birthday of the lovely Amber Benson. So be of good cheer Yay. To celebrate, I started writing this next chapter a day earlier than I would have otherwise, so it's ready for posting tonight.



Grimlock: Their room will be private, I've made sure of that



Considering that Willow and Tara aren't permanent residents in Duncraig, they will be there quite a bit, and so they'll see Amalee regularly for a while yet. Willow's 'study tour' has her staying there for a couple of months, and returning twice afterwards (after trips north-east to Khanduras, and further west into Westmarch) before she and Tara are finally done with the travelling. Whether they'll keep travelling for a while after that, or head back home, I don't really know, but - by the standards of the time, where most people don't really leave their home towns/cities - they'll see quite a bit of Duncraig.



Of course, once she's grown up, Amalee might come visit her heroes herself. You never know



Puff: Thanks I adopted that style of writing with incidental detail, particularly for scenes like this, experiencing a new place, from reading George MacDonald Fraser's 'Flashman' novels. He can go on for literally pages just describing a place or a scene, and it's riveting. Of course, his is all historically accurate, while I get to just make it up.



sabina: Yeah, Tryptin did get a bit of a surprise there He's no fool, so I think he figured Willow and Tara were alive and well, and making life miserable for anything that threatened them... but still, of course he worried. Being in the same clan as her, he thinks of Tara somewhat as a little sister (he's not that much older, of course, but you know). And of course Willow's adorable, so even knowing what he suspected about both their abilities in a crisis, he didn't sleep easy until they were safe and accounted for.



Future chapters will show quite a bit of the palace - I'm looking forward to the Duke's resident mage particularly - but for the moment I'm concerned with one particular part of it, that being a certain guest bedroom



Arwen: Air traffic control is exactly what I had in mind for the river tower. I love steampunk-y ideas like that, where a modern notion turns up in earlier eras, and is implemented with the technology of the time. Expect to see more of that, now and then as I think of things.



Amalee's uncle and his wife were characters I'd only vaguely thought of prior to writing, so they basically got made up as I wrote the scene. I like them too; I think they may show up a little more than I'd originally planned.



hermitstull: Thanks



chilled monkey: I'd been meaning to slip in that detail about Esara for a while - I left it out of the original story with the idea of mentioning it later, possibly on the boat, to lead into the idea of fairy tales having real events at their core. The oppotunity never seemed to arise on the boat, so it had to wait a bit. Incidentally, those orb thingies her statue had are from the game, 'orbs' (actually short wands with crystal balls fixed to the ends) are a type of one-handed magical weapon you can find it you're very lucky. They work just like staves, with the added bonus that they leave your other hand free to hold a shield. To be represented wielding two of them, Esara would've been an exceptional sorceress indeed.



Debra: Thank you I'm kind of relieved too - all that lonely wilderness was starting to get to me. I'm glad to be back in civilisation, with hot water and interesting surroundings, and the ability to just drop in new characters whenever I feel like it. (Of course, I dropped in Amalee just because I felt like it, but there's only so much of that kind of thing I can get away with in a land that's supposedly devoid of survivors )



Helen: Amalee will be around now and then. Willow and Tara may not have adopted her, but she's still family in a way, and they'll visit her whenever they can. In fact, I was pondering the final scene of the sequel to this story (I think ahead a lot), and I've got an idea that Amalee might be there



Yup, the next chapter(s) will be NC-17. Practically nothing else, for chapter 46 Don't worry, I won't neglect the plot, but after all that our girls deserve a break.



badkitty: Thanks

[Artemis]

Hellebore



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: NC-17

Summary: A headstrong sorceress and a young Amazon join forces to locate and destroy an ancient source of demonic power.

Spoilers: None.

Copyright: Based on characters from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', created by Joss Whedon and his talented minionators, and 'Diablo II' by Blizzard Entertainment. All original material is copyright 2003 Chris Cook.

Feedback: Please. Here, or to alia@netspace.net.au



Note: This chapter is dedicated to Amber Benson, whose birthday it is today. Even though, admittedly, it would be pretty damn strange (and a bit embarrassing for me, I think) if by some bizarre quirk of fate she were to ever see it.



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Chapter Forty-Six

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Willow and Tara followed a Palace attendant up a spiral staircase, hading for their room at the top of one of the Palace's many towers. It had been a long afternoon and evening - they had told their story to the other Amazons, who welcomed them both exuberantly, Willow just as warmly as Tara, then they had retired to Tryptin's suite. Tara had gone over the events of the past six days in exhaustive detail, while Willow sat nearby at a writing desk, composing her report to the Zann Esu, to go out on the night's mail boat to Kingsport, and then on a fast ship to Kurast. That done, she joined Tara and added her own observations to Tara's account, including her suspicions regarding the demon Shadai's current whereabouts and potential abilities. On the strength of the trust she saw Tara bestow in the young diplomat - and her own impressions of him - she told him in full of her prior encounter with the demon in Entsteig. He listened attentively, without question or interruption, and they paused only to summon a servant and have a dinner brought up when the afternoon darkened into evening.



And now, at last, Willow felt as if she could relax. She and Tara were safe, with the military might of the capital of Westmarch between them and the creatures that roamed the lands around the monastery. The Order would know everything they could about Shadai as soon as humanly possible, the city's mages would be informed of the danger, and set to work devising countermeasures. The Amazons and their other fellow travellers had come through safely, just as Tara had predicted - aside from the poor man they had seen killed by the Carvers' fire blast, only two other people had been wounded, a guard and one of the Duncraig ambassadors, and both were recovering well. Even their wagon had survived, waiting in the Palace's shelter for them to unload. She and Tara had agreed that that could wait until tomorrow, though.



They reached the landing at the top of the stairs, where the attendant, a young, unfailingly courteous woman, unlocked the solid oak door and gave the key to Tara. She bowed to both of them and disappeared back down the stairs after letting them know that she, or another attendant, would be available at any time, day or night, should they be needed. Willow turned from a quick glance out of the landing's small window, overlooking the off-shoot of the Marien river just north of the Palace, and shared a relieved, anticipatory smile with Tara. She pushed the door open, and Willow followed her through.



"Wow," Tara murmured. Willow took a couple of steps past her, and had to agree. The room occupied practically the whole floor space of the eight-sided tower, and was furnished tastefully, expensively, and above all beautifully. To one side was a large fireplace, clad in black marble with gold decoration, logs of wood stacked beside it in a brass-plated metal rack, and in front of the fireplace a pair of cushioned, comfortable-looking chairs waited. Further along, where the wall turned a corner, a mirror in a painted frame reflected the light of two candles in ornate wall brackets on either side of it. Beneath a wide shuttered window an old set of wooden drawers, varnished to a rich, dark tone, with little brass handles on each of the drawers. Beneath it a carpet, woven in the eastern style with colourful geometric patterns, covered the smooth stone floor tiles.



To the other side, beyond a bookcase, of which half the shelves were empty, and half filled with leather-bound books on all manner of subjects, was a sturdy round breakfast table and two chairs, the table covered by a dark cloth with gold patterns woven into the edges. Folded white tablecloths, plates and cutlery were stacked neatly in a cabinet against the far wall. There was a door to another room - 'private bathroom?' Willow wondered, 'not bad at all...' - and past the corner of the wall she saw the edge of a writing desk, which reminded her very much of her favourite desk, tucked away in the back of the Zann Esu library, where she had spent many evenings happily studying old books and making notes. A pair of double doors further along, on which the outer shutters had been left open, led out onto a balcony overlooking the expanse of the great city, and beside them, spaced around another eye-pleasing Aranoch carpet, was a set of cushioned chairs, two single and one long lounge, large enough for three people to sit side by side without touching.



The space was lit by a profusion of candles, glowing strong, clean and white, in free-standing candelabras, mounted on the walls, and in a great brass-plated chandelier hanging by a sturdy chain from the ceiling, where the wooden beams supporting the roof had been left open, varnished and painted with elegant patterns of vines and flowers. It was a room clearly designed to impress upon visitors not just the wealth of Duncraig, but also the culture, the civilisation, the recognition of the finer things in life. Planned, no doubt, by people of impeccable taste, fashioned by master craftsmen and kept as clean and presentable as the day it was finished, Willow could not have imagined a more comfortable, inviting place to stay.



All this Willow gathered in a momentary glance around, but it was not what first caught her attention, nor what she returned to gazing at in pleasant surprise. The bed, situated across the room from where she and Tara stood, on top of a soft, luxurious-looking carpet, was dressed with spotless white sheets beneath warm burgundy-coloured blankets, matching the gauzy curtains that were bunched around the carved wood posts supporting its canopy. A collection of pillows occupied the far end, all neatly arranged, and a pair of candles, one on either side, cast a soft, gentle glow, catching the tiny strands of gold thread woven into the cover of the eiderdown folded neatly at the foot of the bed. Its side was something else, though - Willow guessed she would be able to lie flat across it, with her arms stretched above her head, and barely reach both sides, and it was longer than it was wide.



"Wow," Willow echoed Tara, taking it all in. "That's... that's some bed."



"Yeah," Tara agreed, her voice low and deliberately sexy. Willow turned around as she heard Tara close the door, and saw her leaning against it, biting her lip and staring at Willow with half-closed, seductive eyes. Willow felt the corners of her lips turn up, and was powerless to prevent the wide smile that spread over her face.



"And I'm sensing," she said slowly, leaning her staff against the wall and dropping her satchel, "that it's going to get quite a work-out before long?"



"First things first," Tara grinned, standing upright and walking over to Willow, "let's have a look around." She put one arm around Willow's waist, and her other hand stroked her stomach leisurely. "We have all the time we need."



She leaned forward just far enough to brush their lips together, as her fingers moved down below Willow's waist onto the top of her skirt, then she leaned back and grinned devilishly.



"Ah," Willow smiled, "we're back to drive-Willow-insane Tara?"



"Mmm-hmm," Tara murmured, as they walked arm in arm across the room, "well, it's been such a long time since we had a proper moment to ourselves... and," she leaned close to Willow and whispered in her ear, "I've been thinking about this moment a lot, in between the running away from demons... I think it calls for something special. And if that means that this," her hand again snuck around Willow's waist, her fingers trailing a little lower, "this little desire becomes an unbearable, burning need..." she stepped back an shrugged casually.



"Just remember," Willow grinned, trying not to be too distracted by the way her skin tingled whenever Tara touched her in that leisurely, confident way, spoke to her in that seductive purr, or even looked at her with that calm, promising gaze, "I can give as good as I get."



"I know," Tara smiled, raising her eyebrows suggestively.



"Come here you," Willow said, catching Tara around the waist and pulling her into an embrace, "you wouldn't deny me a kiss, though, would you?"



"Never," Tara sighed just before their lips met. At first they were both satisfied at just the contact, pressing their lips together, experiencing the softness and the warmth as their hands flattened on each other's backs, their two bodies held tightly together. Then Tara's mouth opened slightly, allowing the tip of her tongue to graze across Willow's lips. Willow moaned into the kiss as both their mouths opened devouringly wide, and in the space of a second the simple, gentle kiss became heated, desperate and utterly sexual. Their bodies writhed, the hard leathers covering them pressing firmly together, providing its own stimulation in addition to the feel of hands flat against backs, arms tight around each other, thighs pressing together. Their tongues duelled, tasting each other, both venturing forward and deep at the same time, locking their mouths together.



"Mmmaaahh... goddess," Tara breathed as their lips finally parted a fraction, their breathing brushing hot against each other's lips. "I missed kissing you whenever I wanted..."



"Me too," Willow whispered gleefully, "your lips are so... c'mere..." They kissed again, passionately, but some of the immediate, desperate craving had been satisfied, and Willow found herself quite able to relax and enjoy the way Tara's tongue caressed hers, drawing soft sighs and primal moans out of her with intoxicating ease.



"Mmm," Tara purred as their lips parted and they stood still, their foreheads resting lightly against each other. "You know what would be good?"



"What?" Willow asked impishly, any number of ideas bursting into her mind.



"Do you remember what it was like to have a slow, hot bath together?" Tara murmured, tilting her head to whisper in Willow's ear. "No cold streams, no hurrying... just you and me, heat all around us... steam making our skin glisten..."



"I'll start the fire," Willow said quickly, making Tara chuckle at her enthusiasm. They parted a fraction, then turned back to each other and kissed again, this time Willow thoroughly exploring Tara's mouth, as Tara sighed and pressed her hands against the leather wrapped around her body. Reluctantly, Willow leant back.



"Bath," she said, trying to keep her mind from emptying itself of everything besides Tara again.



"Bath," Tara repeated.



"Right," Willow nodded, finally managing to extract herself from the inviting embrace. Tara reached out to stroke Willow's thigh as she turned around, smiling seductively as Willow grinned over her shoulder, then opened the door to the bathroom and vanished inside. Willow managed to get a fire going in record time, finding kindling and matches waiting in the metal rack with the larger logs, while listening to Tara's footsteps in the other room. She turned to find Tara back in the doorway, looking pleased but perplexed.



"What?" Willow asked. "No buckets for the water?" Tara shrugged and gestured for Willow to see for herself. The bathroom was pristine and elegant, with every amenity Willow could imagine, but dominated by a tub large enough to comfortably contain a small horse. It was no common bathtub intended to be dragged out in front of the fire and filled from buckets - it was fixed to the floor, for one thing - but Willow spotted a series of brass taps and knobs on the wall.



"Ah," she said, "running water." She crossed to the tub and twirled one of the handles, producing a rain of cold water from a showerhead at the far end of the bath.



"There's a water tank up above?" Tara wondered, looking at the roof, which was a more modest version of the decorated beams out in the main room.



"No, it's pressurised," Willow explained, "the tank's probably down at the base of the tower, fed from the river." She experimented with the knobs for a moment, and managed to transfer the flow of water from the shower to the tap lower down. "Probably a couple of standing purification spells as well," she noted. "Then they... actually I'm not sure how it's done. Something technical. And voila, running water whenever we want it. Neat, huh?"



"Voila?" Tara asked.



"Southern peninsula," Willow said, "it means... 'there we go,' I guess. Now, do they have a boiler, or... ah! Yes!" she exclaimed, testing the water.



"What?"



"Hot water," Willow grinned, "gods, I love civilisation." She stood and smiled, as Tara came up behind her and slipped her arms around her waist.



"It'll fill up in a minute," Willow said.



"Um, the plug?" Tara prompted.



"Wha? Oh! Oops," Willow grinned sheepishly, disengaging herself from Tara and putting the plug into the tub's drain, where the water was disappearing as quickly as it arrived.



"Well it's been a while since I was in Kurast," she complained with a smile, "I've got kind of used to the 'put a bucket over the fire and tip the tub out when you're done' school of plumbing." Tara laughed and took her hand, leading her over to a wooden bench up against the wall beside the bath.



"Let's get you ready for your bath, my lady," she said, sitting Willow down and crouching in front of her.



"A likely story," Willow said in a mock-accusing tone, "you just want to get me naked."



"Of course," Tara admitted, gently easing Willow's boots off, "but if that's *all* I wanted, I could do that with a single word."



"Oh really?" Willow asked, only partly teasing, and undeniably aroused by Tara's behaviour.



"Uh-huh," Tara said simply, setting her boots aside. Her gaze slowly made its way up Willow, following her legs, pausing on her hips and her chest as a playful grin teased Tara's lips, finally reaching her face, where it hit Willow with an almost physical wave of sensuality. Willow's mind filled with fantasies of what that look promised.



"Strip," Tara said, in a quiet, commanding tone.



"Yes ma'am," Willow whispered, her hands already going to the straps of her armour. She and Tara laughed at the same time, then Tara leaned forward and helped her, kissing her shoulder as the straps loosened and fell away.



"Well well," Tara murmured, "I'll have to keep *that* in mind."



"Yeah?" Willow asked, undoing the ties in the waist of her skirt as Tara's fingers went to work loosening the laces at the sides of her armour. "What, are you going to wait until we're in the middle of a crowded market and whisper that in my ear?" Tara laughed quietly, then leant forward, tickling Willow's earlobe with the tip of her tongue.



"And the chance that I might," she whispered, "be honest, that turns you on a little, doesn't it?"



"No," Willow breathed, "not a *little*..." She wriggled out of her skirt and let it fall to the floor. "I think," she said in a husky voice, "you can see how turned on I am..."



Tara let her fingers brush briefly against the silky fabric of Willow's underwear as she loosened the leather around her torso.



"Mmm," she purred, "hot and wet... just the way I like you... just like me..."



"It's no surprise," Willow said, doing her best to sound off-hand, and not really succeeding very much, "I mean, *everything* you do turns me on..."



"Everything?" Tara asked silkily. She slipped a finger into the thin strip of fabric around Willow's hips, pulled it tight, and let it snap back into place, making Willow jump a fraction.



"Oh yeah," Willow sighed, "everything..." Tara brushed her lips against Willow's cheek then kissed her, softly, on the lips. Steadily she loosened the laces on Willow's side, pulling them out of their eyelets so she could slip the armour off her without having to lift it over her head. Willow almost didn't notice it go, but when Tara's hands pressed against her bare sides, she moaned and arched her back, glad to finally be free of the barrier between her body and her lover's touch. One hand went behind Tara's head, holding her as she kissed firmer, sucking on Tara's bottom lip as her tongue teased her.



"Mmm, slowly," Tara murmured, breaking away from Willow's lips to press kisses across her cheek and down her neck. "No hurry..." She hooked her thumbs through the waist of Willow's underwear and, with deliberate slowness, started to pull them down her thighs. Willow lifted herself briefly to assist her.



"Tease," she said, as Tara's fingers pressed into the underside of her thighs on their way down.



"And you love it," Tara replied, getting the garment past Willow's knees and letting it fall the rest of the way on its own. She knelt down and leant forward, between Willow's legs, staring up at her with a sexy grin.



"Yeah, well," Willow murmured, "right now, you could bend me over your knee and spank me and I'd love it." Tara raised an eyebrow.



"Is that so?" she said in a low voice that sent a shiver down Willow's spine, directly into her core.



"Only one way to find out," Willow replied in a whisper, surprised at her boldness. Tara paused deliberately, just long enough for Willow to experience another aroused shudder, then licked her lips.



"Maybe later," she said in a mysterious tone. "We've got a bath to enjoy." She gathered up Willow's clothes and boots, then quickly leant forward again and pressed her lips against Willow's waist, just above the curls of copper between her legs. Willow let out a moan, her head falling back, as she felt Tara's lips open against her skin and her tongue press against her.



"Hop in," Tara said, standing up with her clothes, "I'll put these away and join you in a moment." Willow watched her go, sitting naked on the bench and trying to gather her thoughts and get her breathing under control. Once she was sure her legs would carry her she got to her feet and shut off the flow of water into the bath, which looked full enough, though not so much it would overflow with two people in it.



'Oh that sexy minx,' she thought to herself with a wide grin, idly touching a finger to her sex, 'gods she makes me wet...' She parted her legs slightly, and felt the moist trails where droplets of arousal had run down the inside of her thighs. 'Oh my... dripping wet. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.' It was a minor struggle not to continue touching herself, but she managed, albeit by diverting her wandering hand to her chest, where she absently rubbed her moist fingertip over her nipples one after the other.



She tested the water by daintily dipping a toe in, then gingerly stepped into the tub and stood, with the hot water lapping at her shins just below her knees, letting the steam surround her body. 'Yummy hot,' she thought, 'oooh... did we get the heat just right?' She took in a breath through clenched teeth and let it hiss out again, as her legs absorbed the heat from the water. It was almost enough to make her want to run a little more cold water... but not quite. 'Just right,' she smiled, lowering herself slowly, 'just as much as I can take, spot on. Oh gods that's good...' She crouched and reached out to hold either side of the tub, supporting herself as she let her legs relax a little, easing herself back into the water. The contact when her bottom touched the water made her flinch just a little, then sigh out loud as she relaxed and lowered herself, and the water flowed around her hips and between her legs, warming her already heated sex.



'Feels good,' she thought lazily, as she finally reached the bottom of the tub and began to lean back against the side, 'like being touched... hands coming up my body... just underneath breasts...'



"Tara," she sighed without consciously meaning to, her eyes fluttering closed as the water covered her chest, the heat soaking through her skin and making her nipples feel delightfully hot. 'This is not calming me down at all,' she thought with a smile. Her hands floated between her legs, not touching with any purpose, just resting there comfortably with her thighs pressed on either side. 'I feel sexy all over,' she mused, 'almost like when she touches me... almost...'



She heard footsteps on the tiled floor, and the door close. 'I know that's you, baby,' she thought, 'who else could have sexy footsteps?' The footsteps approached the tub, and Willow sensed Tara crouching down close to her.



"Room for one more?" Tara purred in her ear. Willow remained where she was, and let her lips curve into a wide smile.



"If the one is you, always," she murmured. "Now 'fess up... how long were you standing in the doorway watching me?" She heard Tara's soft laugh.



"Long enough to entertain certain... un-chaste thoughts," she admitted slyly. "Then again, you seemed to be doing okay by yourself... to judge by all that sighing and moaning."



"This is, without a doubt," Willow declared, "the best bath I have ever been in... but you *know* nothing could ever feel as good as being touched by the woman I love." She opened her eyes and gazed at Tara, who was crouching by the side of the tub smiling at her.



"Well lucky you," she said, "that's exactly what I had in mind... lucky me, too," she finished with a grin, her eyes straying down over Willow's submerged body.



"As it happens, I'm in the market for a little touching - make that a lot," Willow quickly amended. "Prime quality Willow... get her while she's hot."



"I think I'll do that," Tara said, standing up. Willow noticed for the first time that she was wearing a white cotton shift which came down to the middle of her thighs.



"What's this?" she asked idly. "Covering up modestly?"



"There's a bunch of them in the drawers," Tara said, "I thought seeing as I got to have all the undressing fun with you, I'd give you something to take off me in return. Think of it as unwrapping your present," she grinned cheekily. "So... wanna unwrap me?"



Willow stood up slowly, and Tara rose with her, her lips parting as she took in the sight of the dripping wet woman in front of her, her skin flushed pink from the hot water. Willow gently cupped her face in her hands and leant her forward until their lips met in a slow, languorous kiss. Tara leant further forward, her breasts touching Willow's through the cotton, and sighed as Willow's hands trailed down her neck and covered her shoulders, holding her close. When they finally parted, Tara glanced down, first allowing herself a long look at Willow, then at herself, noticing the patches where Willow's touch had soaked through her shift.



"Heh," she chuckled, raising a suggestive eyebrow, "you got me wet."



"Oh I've barely begun to get you wet," Willow promised, letting her fingers trace lines down Tara's arms before taking her hands. "Come on... let's get wet together." Tara smiled widely as she stepped over the edge of the tub and settled her feet into the water, gasping quietly at the heat.



"You like it hot," she murmured.



"You knew that already," Willow replied. She knelt down by Tara's side and supported her as she lowered herself into the water. Tara stretched her legs out and lay back, her head resting on Willow's chest as she in turn leant against the side of the tub, brushing the fingers of one hand lovingly across Tara's cheek, and with the other teasing at the cotton which floated around her, billowing and swaying gently in the water.



"See?" she said. "Now you're all wet... much better."



"Perfect," Tara sighed. "Hmm... what does it take to build a bath like this, do you think?"



"Oh, not much," Willow said idly, her hands smoothing the soaked shift down against Tara's sides, "it's just a matter of water pressure and a boiler for the heat... or a bit of simple fire magic, nothing complicated... I could probably get the hang of it myself, with a bit of practice... you're enamoured of it enough to have one built back home, are you?"



"There's only one thing I'm enamoured of," Tara purred, reaching back lazily to stroke Willow's hips and thighs, "but I could definitely get very used to this."



"I'll see if I can find some books on the mechanisms to take back," Willow promised, reaching for a bar of soap from the several sitting in a dish at the edge of the tub, "now, I think it's high time I ran my hands all over you under the pretence of bathing you." Tara chuckled softly.



"I like that pretence," she murmured, "it's got all sorts of uses..." She stretched her limbs momentarily, then folded her legs underneath herself and sat up, turning to face Willow with her shift clinging to her as she rose out of the water, and quite transparent wherever it touched her skin.



"Wow," Willow whispered, dropping the soap, "that's... you're..."



"Hmm?" Tara smiled, arching her back. 'Okay, let's just concentrate on not drooling,' Willow thought to herself randomly, 'I know it's difficult, what with oh my gods she's hot, and look at her nipples, oh gods, they're poking towards me, I can practically hear them saying "play with us," Okay, this has definitely been a long time of just sitting here staring at her, so say something!'



"Um, the phrase 'so sexy you should be illegal' comes to mind?" Willow ventured. Tara's smile was as wide as it could possibly be.



"Then come here, my partner in crime," she said in a low murmur. Willow knelt in front of her, and Tara remained upright on her knees, bringing her chest just about level with Willow's mouth.



"How sexy?" she murmured, leaning her head down to whisper in Willow's ear as her hands caressed her face.



"Totally sexy," Willow replied.



"You want me?"



"Uh-huh..."



"You need me?"



"Like nothing else in the world," Willow sighed. Tara sat back on her heels and leant down, brushing her lips down Willow's neck and further, between her glistening wet breasts.



"I need you," she whispered into Willow's skin, "I need you so much it should be frightening... but it's not... it's perfect. You're perfect... you're a work of art, and loving you is the most beautiful thing I've ever felt."



"I love you too baby," Willow sighed happily, "so much, so deeply..."



"And the things you make me feel," Tara went on, kissing her way slowly across Willow's breasts, her tongue sneaking out to tease each nipple as she neared, "the need, the desire... divine, spiritual elation, and," her voice dropped to a husky murmur, "complete sensual, sexual release..." She rose slowly, kissing Willow's collarbone, her neck, beneath her chin, almost reaching her lips before she paused.



"When I see that same need I feel, in your eyes," she whispered, "it's like a kiss to my soul."



Willow opened her lips in anticipation of Tara's kiss, and sighed when they made contact. Tara took her time, unhurriedly nibbling on Willow's lips, stretching her tongue between them, pressing their mouths together. Willow's hands, meanwhile, we not idle, clutching at Tara's back almost frantically, pulling her solidly down against herself, pressing their bodies together so that not the slightest space remained between them, from their joined lips above to below where Willow's legs wrapped around Tara's and her toes pressed against her calves.



"Ah," Willow gasped when Tara finally released her lips, "ah... oh, wow... heh... Okay, *now* it's time to unwrap my present."



Tara grinned slyly, then slowly and deliberately licked her lips as she sat back on Willow's legs wrapped around hers, arching her back, and stretched her arms out above her head.



"Would you do the honour?" she asked.



"I am honoured," Willow replied sincerely, as her fingers slipped beneath the hem of the shift, which was plastered to Tara's thighs, and gradually worked their way upwards. "Clingy," she murmured to herself, as the wet fabric stuck to Tara wherever it touched.



"Mmm-hmm," Tara replied, "all over... feels good... ah!" she gasped, as Willow's hands reached chest-level, and she reached inside the front of the shift to cup her breasts.



"Oh yeah," Tara sighed, "that feels better..." She gathered up the hem of the shift from Willow and pulled it over her head, tossing it aside to land with a quiet splat on the bathroom floor. Willow's hands continued to hold her breasts, squeezing gently, each fingertip constantly varying the pressure it applied. Tara smiled, as her sex warmed with each touch, gently extricated herself from Willow's legs, and turned around to lay back against Willow again, this time with nothing between her back and Willow's chest. Willow's hands returned at once to Tara's breasts, reaching around either side of her body to continue her massage.



"Lovely," Tara murmured, letting her head fall back onto Willow's shoulder, "you know... I think your... mmm... fascination with my bosom... oh yes, just like that... might stem from some... ahh... subconscious recognition that... you're truly gifted... at showing your appreciation in... such a stimulating fashion..."



"Or it could just be that you have a fascinating bosom," Willow suggested.



"I like my explanation better," Tara purred, "it accounts... harder, baby... oh goddess yes... it accounts for the fact that you can bring me right to the edge... like that... of climax, just touching me like this."



"Really?" Willow whispered in her ear.



"Absolutely," Tara sighed, "it's only... because I know it'll be worth it... that I can keep myself in check..."



"I promise it'll be worth it," Willow smiled, lightly kissing Tara's ear, "right now, I've only just begun making love to you..."



"Part of me can't believe it gets better," Tara chuckled, "the way this feels... oh goddess!" she gasped as Willow's fingers closed around her nipples and squeezed firmly. "Oh goddess baby, do that again... mmm! Oh, that's it... you are a goddess... that explains it all... you're a goddess of love, that's how you can do this to me just by touching me... my own goddess..."



"And your body is my temple?" Willow grinned.



"Mmm... exactly..."



"Heh," Willow chuckled, one hand vanishing under the water to locate the errant soap, "in that case, I think this temple should be prepared to receive a prolonged... intimate... visit from its devoted goddess."



She began soaping Tara's chest and abdomen, reaching out her free hand blindly to find the soap dish and take another bar. Soon both hands were at work on Tara's body, caressing her and leaving a foamy lather in their wake, as Tara writhed gently against her, sighing and cooing in her ear.



"You like that baby?" she asked, getting an affirmative moan in reply. "Good... you can look forward to this every day, you know. I want to take good care of you, my beautiful goddess... can we both be each other's goddesses?"



"Why not..." Tara sighed whimsically.



"Yay," Willow murmured, "well then, stand up, my goddess, so I can bless you all over. Consider it a ritual... a ceremony of adoration..."



"I adore you," Tara smiled, lithely getting to her knees and rising out of the water. Once she stood upright, she leaned back a fraction, stretching her arms out above her and grasping both hands around the shower head. "All yours," she purred.



Willow stayed low, prowling through the water to Tara's legs, beginning the task of lathering them with soap, in the wake of her lips which pressed kisses constantly to her glowing skin. Slowly she worked her way up Tara, conscientiously bestowing her affections and attention to every inch of her body. When she reached Tara's thighs an excited shudder passed through the body stretched out before her, and then, as her lips and hands touched her mound, her fingers dipping lower to touch between her legs, a sound rose from Tara's through that became a song, slow and rhythmic, the husky, sultry way Tara sang the words sending images of ecstatic coupling through Willow's mind.



As she continued in her worship of Tara's body, Willow caught words and phrases here and there in the song her lover sang for her: 'bless this day,' 'my simple world becomes paradise,' 'in your arms, my goddess, I am whole,' 'all joy fate gives me, I give to you, for I am yours...' She couldn't decipher every word, for the song was in High Amazonian, with many complicated words and phrases Willow had not yet mastered, and Tara sang in a soft, purring voice that often merged the syllables into one long, melodic sigh of pleasure, yet enough reached her ears to discern the song's meaning - and even if it hadn't, she could feel it as surely as if it had been spelled out, in the motions of Tara's body beneath her hands. A song of worship, of praise, of devotion... and ultimately, of fulfilment, of a soul which had found its place in the world.



Soon, as Willow neared the completion of her ministrations, Tara's voice fell to a whisper, and finally was swallowed as Willow's mouth closed over hers. Willow's kiss was gentle and suppliant, as if opening a channel by which Tara's song of praise could pass into herself and be accepted within her. Both women sighed as the kiss ended, and for a moment they stood silent and motionless, embracing, cheek to cheek, their chests pressing together as they breathed.



"Your turn?" Willow finally whispered, finding Tara's hands and letting the bars of soap slip into them.



"Actually," Tara smiled, "I've got a better idea." She took the soap from Willow, but then tightened her hug, pressing her body up against Willow as close as she could, then slowly bending her knees to lower herself, while Willow remained standing.



"Oh... goddess... that's so... ah..." Willow sighed incoherently as Tara's body slid against hers, supple and slippery. Tara pressed her face to Willow's chest as she descended, her cheek sliding down between Willow's breasts and over her stomach, finally resting against her mound as her knees reached the bottom of the tub, her body pressed against Willow's legs, her arms wrapped tightly around her thighs, and her hands firmly gripping the flesh of her bottom.



"See?" she murmured, her breath tickling the hair crowning Willow's sex, "all soapy now... Now, turn around- no, wait! I can't resist..." Before Willow could move she dipped her head down, and reached out her tongue to its full length, pressing it against the soaking folds of Willow's sex.



"Oh! Oh baby, ah, aaah! Mmmm... oh..." Willow breathed as Tara's tongue slid between her lips, gathering moisture, before Tara pulled back and licked her lips hungrily. Willow let her head fall forward to see her lover staring back up at her, grinning unashamedly.



"Just a taste," she purred, "for later."



"Oh goddess baby," Willow sighed, "it's been so long since I felt your tongue in me like that... much more and there won't *be* a 'later,' I'll come right here..."



"Oh, there'll be a 'later' all right," Tara grinned as she slid elegantly around Willow's legs to embrace them from behind. "It's going to be a long, long time before you come, baby... I'm going to tease you so high..." She slowly started rising up, pressing herself against Willow's back as she went, gyrating slightly to work the soap between them into a lather.



"I'm going to taste you," she purred, her lips against Willow's spine, "lick you... squeeze your nipples between my teeth... nibble on your lips... your clit... I'm going to reach inside you, so deep, my love... touch all your secret places..." Her hands wandered up Willow's front, flattening against her stomach, "gentle caresses... and hard, deep thrusts," she punctuated herself by gripping Willow's breasts firmly, squeezing. Willow moaned and shuddered in her arms, Tara holding her upright, pressing in behind her.



"I'm going to keep you on the edge so long," she whispered in her ear, "so long... you'll forget everything else... you won't remember any sound besides your own moaning... any warmth but my body against you... you'll forget what it's like to touch anything but me... forget what it's like to not have my tongue in your mouth... you'll forget it's even possible to not have me inside you..."



"Oh... please..." Willow groaned, writhing in Tara's firm hold.



"And then," Tara whispered, "then... then I'll take you higher... until you see the clouds below you... and when you can't even remember what you're begging me for," she licked Willow's ear, "then I'll take you over the edge... and we'll fly together."



"Oh gods," Willow babbled, "oh gods, you're so amazing baby, you are a goddess... no human could make me feel this good, it's just not possible..." Tara smiled and kissed her neck, gently lowering them both down into the water, her hands gently stroking all over Willow's body, brushing the soap away. Once they were both lying down, propped up against the edge of the bath, Willow rolled over in Tara's embrace and kissed her, fiercely parting her lips and thrusting her tongue inside, making Tara's mind swirl with delight, her hands joining Tara's, roaming over both their bodies.



"Okay then," she finally gasped, her lips still hot against Tara's, "shall we declare this bath a success and move on?"



"Most definitely," Tara agreed. She quickly brushed a last kiss against Willow's lips, then ducked her head down beneath the water for a moment, rising back up with her wet hair clinging to her neck and shoulders.



"Let's retire to the bedroom," she grinned, "and... see what happens."



"I'm getting some pretty good ideas already about what's going to happen," Willow smiled, before ducking her own head to soak her hair. Tara trailed her fingers over her cheeks as she resurfaced, whispering against her lips: "Keep those ideas in mind... we've got plenty of time... for anything you might dream up."



With a sly smile she rose out of the tub and held out a hand to Willow, helping her to her feet, and both of them crossed to the wooden bench, taking towels from their hooks on the wall. They dried each other thoroughly, enjoying the friction of the towels rubbing over their bodies. Tara leaned back and lifted her legs up onto the end of the bench, over the top of Willow's thighs, and regarded Willow with sultry eyes as she pressed her towel around her legs and rubbed them vigorously.



Willow dried Tara's hair gently, massaging her scalp through the towel, as Tara leaned against her and sighed with pleasure. When her hair was as dry as it could be made, Tara returned the favour, laying a towel over her lap and guiding Willow down to rest her cheek against her thighs as she dried her.



"I'll just be a moment," she whispered, "will you see to the bath and the towels?"



"Love you," Willow replied as Tara stood and walked slowly to the door, swaying her hips deliberately in the certain knowledge that Willow's full attention was on her legs and bottom.



"Love you more," she said, pulling the door to behind her.



-----



Tara knew Willow wouldn't be long, so she quickened her pace once she had left the bathroom. First she saw to the fireplace, stacking a few extra logs on the fire Willow had started to ensure it would burn slowly for a good portion of the night. She moved around the room extinguishing about half of the candles, leaving a warm glow that lent rich shadows and soft highlights, and then busied herself arranging the bedclothes for what she mad in mind. Finally, hearing the door open behind her, she reached into the drawer and found the small bottle she had discovered earlier, holding it behind her back as she turned to see Willow posing sexily against the doorframe.



"Ready for me?" Willow murmured. She straightened and swayed into the room, glancing around. "Sexy candlelight," she went on, "warm fire... big, inviting bed... my Tara. Exactly as promised on all those cold nights out in the wilderness... only so much better in reality." She stopped in front of Tara and tilted her head up to kiss her softly on the lips.



"What've you got there?" she asked impishly, nudging the arm Tara was holding behind her back. Tara dutifully produced the bottle, holding it up for Willow to read the label.



"'Honeydew essence'," she read, "that's from Lut Gholein, it's a kind of... massage oil," she finished, a wide grin spreading over her face.



"I found it in the drawers while I was putting our armour away," Tara said, leading Willow to the bed, "there's a whole load of oils and scents... but this one is special." She sat down with Willow next to her, their thighs pressed together.



"We get shipments of honeydew at home," she explained, "and it's used in a very special ritual... well, more of a tradition... When a couple decide it's time, they use this to prepare themselves to make love to each other."



"Prepare how?" Willow asked, cuddling up to Tara's side.



"Each partner takes the oil," Tara said softly, "and rubs it into their lover's body... all over. The oil itself doesn't really do anything, except feel good of course, but the act of touching lets the new lovers feel at ease with each other, so they have no hesitation in touching each other anywhere they want. I didn't have any with me," she added with a sheepish smile, "I didn't know I'd meet the love of my life on this trip... and I know we don't exactly have a problem touching each other," Willow chuckled, her lips pressed against the side of Tara's breast, "but I'd like to do this anyway... because it's traditional... and because the idea of your hands all over me, making me glisten before you take me..."



"Say no more," Willow grinned. "So, who goes first?"



"Lie down," Tara said gently, pulling the tiny stopper out of the bottle, "relax completely..." Willow obediently lay back, lifting her legs onto the expansive bed, as Tara adjusted her position, kneeling beside her. "Roll over," Tara murmured, which she quickly did. Tara smiled down at her, pouring a small amount of oil into her palm before setting the bottle within easy reach on a bedside table.



"I want you to know what a pleasure this is," she said, rubbing her hands together before placing them gently on the soles of Willow's feet, beginning slow circular motions with her palms that left the skin gleaming in their wake. "An absolute joy... to touch you like this. To feel my hands relaxing you. To know that you, Willow, my goddess, give me this complete freedom, to touch you anywhere... love you any way. Just by lying there, accepting my touch, you give me such pleasure..."



Her hands continued up the back of Willow's legs, working the oil into her skin and muscles, kneading her flesh. Her progress along her thighs was slow, luxurious, caressing her with such ease, such gentle intensity, that Willow relaxed beyond the need to writhe from the pleasure, instead simply accepting it into herself. Tara could practically feel the heat radiating off her centre as her fingers strayed between her thighs.



She paused for a moment for more oil, then applied her hands to Willow's bottom, spending a long time massaging the soft flesh there, smiling as she heard small, gentle sounds of pleasure from Willow's throat. She let a finger slip between her cheeks, and her smile widened at Willow's slight intake of breath as her fingertip touched in passing the small entrance there. Instead of flinching away, Willow seemed to relax even more, arching her back slightly, leaving herself even more vulnerable to Tara's caresses. Tara gathered a quantity of oil on her fingertip and ran it firmly along the path between her cheeks, thoroughly enjoying Willow's delighted shiver, before she moved further upwards.



"I could do this all my life," she murmured, working oil into Willow's back, "just touch you, press my fingers into you, give you pleasure... this, and nothing more, and I would be the luckiest woman in the world. To do so much more than this... I'm in heaven." She straddled Willow's back, staying upright so as not to get any oil on her thighs - that was for Willow to see to - and firmly massaged her shoulders and neck, working her way down her arms and finally surrounding each finger individually, gently stroking each one in her palms.



"Turn over now," she said quietly. Willow stretched slightly and rolled in place, with Tara still kneeling over her, staring down with the utmost adoration. She reached again for Willow's hands and began tracing her path backwards, up her arms, over her shoulders, up her neck and around her face, and down onto her chest. She took her time holding Willow's breasts in her palms, gently moving her fingers to cover her with oil, making sure she missed nothing as Willow closed her eyes and let the most utterly blissful sighs well up in her throat and escape through wet, parted lips. She moved further down, leaving Willow's bosom glistening in the firelight, her nipples standing to attention. She made sure to cover Willow's sides, wanting to leave nothing, not even the tiniest part of her, untouched, then ran her hands over her stomach and came to her hips. Shifting herself down to kneel on either side of her legs, Tara pressed her palms firmly into Willow, caressing her in long, slow sweeps that covered her from waist to knees.



Without a word Willow parted her thighs and presented her centre to her lover. Her folds already gleamed with moisture, but Tara nonetheless reached a hand between her legs and covered her, pressing her palm into her exquisite softness. Willow tilted her head back and gave a primal moan as Tara's palm and fingers slowly moved from the lowest point of her sex upwards, through the soft, moist lips, grazing across her clit, rubbing oil into her silky curls last of all. With Willow's heady sighs echoing in her ears, Tara quickly finished covering her legs, finishing again at her feet.



Her work completed she sat back on the edge of the bed, and for a moment simply looked at Willow, feeling her body stir at the sight. Laid out before her, crimson firelight glinting off the curves of her small, firm muscles, glowing, gleaming all over the length of her naked form, Willow seemed transformed. No longer Willow the sorceress, the occasional adventurer, the scholar, she was now, from the top of her scarlet-crowned head to the tips of her toes, Willow the lover. Erotic, sexual, her gaze when she looked at Tara promising delights beyond the fevered imaginings of mortals, her body a paradise of secrets to be discovered, and pleasures to be shared.



"My turn?" Willow asked quietly.



"Uh-huh," Tara sighed, fighting to control the lustful urges that sprang up in her as she watched Willow move, that glorious body lithe, sensual in motion, as she sat up and leaned forward, reaching for the oil for herself. She waved an arm along the length of the bed, and Tara quickly lay down, feeling the heat from Willow's body still in the sheets beneath her, and the traces of moisture where the oil had soaked in. She closed her eyes, and after a moment felt Willow's hands on her feet, copying her own motions.



"This *is* a good tradition," Willow murmured, working her way over Tara's ankles and up her shins, "just lying here, feeling you touch me everywhere... with no hesitation, no nervousness... oh baby," she whispered, massaging up Tara's calves to her thighs, "oh baby, the things I imagined while you touched me... and then, when you were done... when I was all oiled up, and you looked at me, oh goddess, I swear I almost came... just from the hunger... the way you stared, like you were devouring me with your eyes..." Tara felt her weight shift on the bed, straddling her legs, as her palms moved up over her bottom and hips.



"Do you feel the way I do?" Willow asked quietly. "Are you having the same fantasies... feeling my hands all over you, just like yours were all over me? I felt myself turn to liquid... your hands sunk into me... your whole body pressing against me, through me... sinking into me... filling me, making love to me from inside... becoming one body... one sex... coming, again and again... endlessly..."



"Yessss," Tara hissed, her mind full of Willow's fantasies, feeling herself become a part of Willow, Willow become part of her. Part of her wanted to beg Willow, to plead from the depths of her soul to be taken right now, this very instant... but she held herself in check, willing her hungry sex to lay still, with silent promises of the climax to come, soon. As if sensing her mood Willow's caresses had become faster, more urgent, working the oil into her body, firmly pressing into her muscles, gripping her flesh as her hands moved down Tara's arms.



"Turn over," Willow purred, "let me finish getting that sexy body of yours ready to come..." Tara's breathing was loud and heavy, intakes of breath hissing through clenched teeth, released in deep sighs, as she rolled over beneath Willow and lay there, naked and exposed to her lustful gaze. Willow leant down and began kissing all over her body, gracing every inch of skin with her lips before massaging oil into it. Tara's occasional moans became constant as Willow kissed her way beneath her jaw, down onto her chest, sucking each nipple to attention before enveloping her breasts in her hands, squeezing hard with strong fingers, pressing into her flesh.



Tara groaned and writhed like a wild animal when Willow finally reached her sex, pressing her hands against it one after the other, covering her with oil and heat, and her breath came in gasps as Willow worked down her legs, erasing the last areas of skin that had not yet been touched, laying claim to her body completely. She opened her eyes and looked up as Willow's hands left her feet, and gazed at her lover, kneeling by her side.



"I love you," she whispered.



"I love you," Willow echoed, leaning down, bringing her lips almost close enough to kiss, brushing against Tara's lips as she breathed.



"And now," Tara said, her voice low and deliberate, coming to her as if from a dream, "I am going to make love to you, Willow. I am going to take you, and give myself to you, and we will make love until the night is spent, until our bodies are completely exhausted, and until we have tasted every pleasure we can imagine." She gently reached up, pulled Willow down, and kissed her deeply, swallowing her moan as their tongues met and caressed. The kiss slowly shed its languor, becoming more and more urgent, until Willow finally pulled her lips from Tara's.



"Now take me, you beautiful goddess," she gasped, "take me and make me scream your name." Without a pause Tara's hands were on her arms holding her, and together they rolled over until Willow was pinned beneath her. Her mouth found Willow's again, and this time parted her lips with barely an effort, plunged her tongue inside, demanding and taking everything Willow had to offer. Their bodies thrust against each other, fighting to press as much skin against skin as possible, burning with need. Tara lifted her hips off Willow and planted her knees on either side of her, spreading her thighs wide, as she reached down to cup her sex in one hand, the other twined in her hair, holding her as she kissed her. A guttural moan welled up from Willow and vanished into Tara's mouth as her fingers parted her folds, two fingertips sliding through the slick petals to rest against her entrance.



"Now?" Tara asked, pressing the word against Willow's lips.



"Now," Willow gasped.



"Say please," Tara teased, moving her lips to Willow's ear, so nothing would obstruct her as she gave voice to the climax about to tear through her.



"Uhhnn," Willow moaned as Tara nibbled on her earlobe, "please... oh goddess, *pleeease!*"



Willow's head turned, she met Tara's eyes, and for a moment both were still, their gazes locked in shared acknowledgement of what was about to occur. Both sensed it, both knew: complete submission, complete acceptance, as deep and profound as if Willow were putting her life in Tara's hands.



"Please," Willow whispered.



Tara stared deeply into her eyes, and her hand thrust, burying two fingers within Willow, delving into her sex, hammering against her sweet spot, in one motion sending her hurtling over the edge into a mind-blowing climax.



"*Tara!*" Willow shrieked as her body arched off the bed, lifting Tara with her, as her hands clamped around Tara's biceps with crushing strength, as her sex clenched at her fingers, capturing Tara within her, denying her any possibility of escape as a river of hot, liquid arousal coursed through her and out of her, covering Tara's hand. Tara clung to her, her thighs tight around Willow's, riding her, staying astride her as she bucked and thrashed, and just when it seemed she would begin to calm, to return to awareness of anything but the crushing, crashing waves of pleasure, she began to thrust her fingers inside her.



"Oh, oh, uh, uh, *uh*," Willow grunted as a second climax built within her, giving her barely the moment she needed to flutter open her eyes and meet Tara's intense, lustful stare, before once more all the energy in her body flowed to her core to burst free again. This time Tara couldn't deny herself - her muscles tightened as her own sex pulsed and released its bounty of honey, trickling in trails down the insides of her thighs and onto Willow's.



"Tara," Willow moaned, her eyes opening again as her pleasure achieved a plateau, allowing her a moment to gather her thoughts even as she continued to tense and shudder at the motions of Tara's fingers inside her. "Oh baby, oh wonderful... feel that baby, feel me tighten around you, feel me come for you... it's all for you baby... oh goddess... all yours, all that sweetness flowing out of me, it's yours, every drop... feel that softness clenching around your fingers, that's all yours... deep inside, all yours... I'm yours... I'm yours... I'm... I... I... ah... ah, ah, Tara, yes, *yes!*"



With the wetness of a third orgasm coating her hand, Tara withdrew from Willow and lay her body down on top of her, covering her. She met her gaze once more and brought her hand up to her lips, very slowly and deliberately sucking the juice from her index finger before offering the other to Willow. Willow's hand closed around her wrist and she sucked in each finger in turn, before licking all over her palm, the back of her hand, right down to her wrist, gathering every drop of her own arousal with every appearance or orgasmic joy.



"Mmmm," Willow enthused, "yummy."



"Lucky you," Tara smiled, "I think there's a lot more where that came from."



"Oh there is," Willow promised, "but right now, it's your turn to come like a wild beast." With that, Willow firmly gripped her hips and urged her up, one hand delving between Tara's legs as soon as she came to kneel over her, thighs resting around her waist.



"Yes," Tara moaned as, in one motion, Willow's fingers parted her lips and thrust into her dripping channel, "oh yes, oh yes, yes, yes..." She alternately arched her back, crushing her sex down onto Willow's hand as she moaned to the bed's canopy above her, and leaned forward, exulting in the sensation of Willow's fingers rising inside her.



"Willow, Willow, *Willow!*" she howled as she came, the strength failing in her legs, leaving her to thrust down onto Willow, supported by her, trapping her hand as her sex redoubled the flow of moisture emanating from her core. As soon as she had the strength she leaned forward, reaching down to kiss Willow firmly, hoping to somehow pour all her love into her through their joined lips. She lifted herself off Willow's fingers and spread her knees wide, pressing her soaked mound against Willow's thigh and grinding her hips, feeling Willow do the same as her own thigh slipped between her legs.



"I love you," she whispered into the kiss, "I love you, I love you, oh, goddess, oh baby you're so hot, so wet, so soft..." She deepened the kiss for a moment, opening her jaw wide to cover Willow's mouth, then leaned back, an aroused glint in her eyes.



"Stay there," she breathed, leaning back. In one fluid motion she rolled back off her knees to sit between Willow's legs, stretching her own legs up on either side of Willow. One leg she bent back and then slid beneath Willow's left thigh, the other she left resting over the top of Willow's right side.



"This is called 'leas-ti'," she purred, "the body's kiss." She settled back on her side, reached down to grasp Willow's thighs, one in front, one behind, and shifted her hips towards Willow, fitting against her perfectly, pressing her sex against Willow's.



"Oh! Goddess... soft..." Willow breathed in wonder, as she felt the moist warmth cover her, and her own folds pulse in reply. She reached down to hold Tara's thighs, as Tara was doing for her, and began to gyrate her hips as Tara was doing, doubling the sensation washing through her.



"Oh Tara," she gasped, "oh Tara, Tara, goddess, so, so, good, oh, yes, yes!"



"Come, baby," Tara called to her, raising her voice, leaning on her arms to look down the length of her body, to where she and Willow were joined, "come for me, come all over me, let me taste you in my core, oh baby, oh, oh goddess, get ready baby, it's coming, oh goddess, oh, oh, coming, oh, oh, *ah!*" As her centre once more flowed and burst with warmth, this time accompanied by the delicious sensation of Willow's arousal coursing across her folds, Tara lost all control of her body and sank back onto the sheets, writhing slowly with indescribable pleasure, her eyes closed, her lips searching for her lover's kiss. She was vaguely aware of Willow moving, then her lips were there, kissing her, loving her.



"Willow," she murmured, feeling Willow's mouth depart, and more movement.



"Taste our climax," Willow whispered in her ear, then Tara felt her kneel on either side of her head, Willow's scent, flavoured with her own, filled her lungs, and the gentle softness of her sex descended on her lips. Tara wrapped her arms around Willow's thighs and lapped greedily at her, opening her eyes to stare up, meeting Willow's gaze as she thrust her tongue deeper...



-----



Much, much later... Tara and Willow lay in each other's arms, exhausted in the wake of countless delightful pleasures. Unable to summon the strength even to stir, they lay together, each with a thigh pressed against the other's mound, slick with the evidence of a night's ceaseless passion, and the fresh juice of their most recent climax. They faced each other on the pillows, foreheads resting against each other, each breathing heat across the other's cheeks. In the fireplace the fire had long since gone out, and only a few of the candles around the room still burned at the bottom of their length, the rest having gone out.



"Aaaaahhhh," Willow sighed weakly, "aahh... oh baby... I... oh," she yawned, "I can't move..."



"Me neither," Tara murmured, "don't care..."



"Darn right," Willow muttered, managing to summon just enough strength to tighten her arms around Tara. "I love you..." She opened her eyes to stare into Tara's, then her gaze was caught by something behind her and the glanced up.



"Oh, hey," she said weakly, "look..." Tara managed to turn her head over on the pillow to see the window facing east, where the slits in the shutters were glowing faintly with dawn's light.



"Heh," Tara chuckled, returning her eyes to Willow, "well... I did promise..."



"You did indeed," Willow replied, "you did... indeed... c'mere lover..." Tilting her head slightly she brought her lips to Tara's and kissed her, and where it seemed neither of them had the energy to move, after a moment their embrace tightened, their legs stirred and shifted against each other, and their hips slowly shuddered, pressing forward. Willow's lips became more lively, more insistent, and Tara somehow found the will to press herself into Willow's kiss, no longer merely accepting it, but actively offering herself.



"Mmmm," Willow murmured, "mmm, oh... oh goddess you're a miracle..." In defiance of her exhaustion she gripped Tara tightly, wrapping her body around her, and whispered in her ear: "Make me scream one more time..."



And Tara, to her own amazement, did.

[JustSkipIt]

Well now I'm just speechless. Or at least for real words. Anything more intelligent than uh or wow or golly. You're a master at writing the sensual and I'm amazed. You paid it off supremely.



For my first time, I'm going to use the...





cause that's what I feel like I need.



Well done. Debra

Edited by: JustSkipIt at: 1/7/04 8:05 am

[sabina]

Hi Artemis







That was hot



And it sure was worth the wait



Ok, I'm almost sure I had something more to say but my brain doesn't seem to be running at full speed yet...



More?

---

"I know I was born and I know that I'll die.

The in between is mine.

I am mine!" - Pearl Jam

[Grimlock72]

Heh, they need to bath again



Other than that, they honestly deserve this much time alone. All those days sleeping out in the open air, yech. At first I was a bit worried they would both be to tired and fall asleep the first night... but I noticed the rating and figured it would be alright .



Nifty bath indeed, Willow probably can build one just like it at their home-to-be. I do wonder how to pressurize the water up such a high tower though, never was much good at physics



The Duke must be filthy rich to have rooms like that for mere guests. Sounds more plush than that 7-star hotel in Dubai, heh...



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[badkitty]

Artemis:



That was beautiful. Just beautiful. Thank you!



*sigh*





badkitty (gail)

[Arwen276]

ummm....

err....





Simply Wonderful,



ummm....







~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[Washi]

Hey Chris!



Man, the fates did not want me to finish reading this in the afternoon, and now I know why.

Imagine my blush when one of our house guests would ask me what I was reading.

I've been reading this fic since the very beginning, and I actually forgot if I left feedback before. I love it, it's so sensual, so loving, the adventure is great, it's so detailed, I plain love it. And this latest part was just... mind-blowing. Kudos.

-------------------



"See? I've mastered this tact crap." Anya in Tears Of The Goddess by Lisa



The course of love doesn’t always run smooth, especially for the neurotic and accident-prone. ~ LadyB



.:Dark-bliss.net :. .:Blink.Flash.Sparkle.:. .:My blog:. .:Blood and Ink:. .:Washi's 70s Site:.

[willowfan13]

Hi Chris,



Thank you for *finally* getting them a room, I knew you wouldn't disappoint - I'm worn out just reading it.



And what a birthday present for Amber, you never know, she may be lurkin' about.



Cheers-

jackie

[DarkWiccan]

Chris,







nuff said.



Cheers,

DW

"Promise me you'll never be linear." "On my trout."

[Puff]

Well I don't know about Willow and Tara needing another hot bath but I think I need a cold shower after reading that. Thank you. I am glad that they were not interupted for any reason and I think the palace sounds wonderful. I hope Willow learns how to make a bathtub with running water for when they go back home.

---

So, the day started and I knew my name and had my pants on. So far, so good. Yay.
Amber Benson

[2DIAMONDS]

Hey Chris



I, for one, will never be the same again after reading this chapter



I don't think Willow and Tara will ever want to leave this room, and they really shouldn't have to! *SIGH* Just between you and me, Chris, plots are so overrated. I know I'm being unreasonable That's cool though cuz I know that there are going to be some incredibly lovely memories added to this masterpiece.



I can't even begin to describe what this part did to me. And I wouldn't either, cuz that's really private Just know that you are so damn good It took me forever to finish reading this because I was stuck on stupid for a whole lot of parts such as - Willow requesting a spanking from Tara, the bath scene (especially Tara's singing), the body massage (I give great massages so that oil would come in handy), the sexy talk (which you are definitely a master at), "leas-ti" , and the morning after, which you really can't call morning after since Willow got it going again...*catching my breath* Ya see, just thinking about it gets me all worked up! And I'm at work so that's not allowed!



OMG - Did you mention something about a sequel?!

If you're ever in New York, I owe you a drink! Maybe a house on the island...



Update? Soonish works for me



Helen

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo