Okay so first, it's really been a long while. Stuff happened. Good and bad. And I was afraid I could never finish this fic, which wouldve made me a liar because I did say I really wanted to finish it... So, you all owe your thanks to Heather and the last Neverland update, this is what got me into a writing mood.
Artemis: Well thank god you're commenting. Without you I think I would've dropped this fic a lot sooner haha. Thanks a bunch for reading, and that goes to all the lurkers who don't feel like posting anything too. I see the view count raising and thats already a good motivation to go on.
Title: Askeidevor
Author: Krokador
Email address: krokador@hotmail.com
Feedback: YES PLEASE! I want to know what you think, what you felt, who's your fave character and who doesn't feel like he belongs in the story.
Distribution: Through the Looking Glass, The Rebel Kitten, here... other than that just ask first
Spoilers: None, this is AU
Rating: PG-13, on the safe side as usual
Pairing: Willow/Tara
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the Buffy characters nor do I own Willow or Tara. They're Joss' creation and that's it, no copyright infrigment intended, this is for fun, not for sale.
Summary: We're in the middle of a long war between rebels and the high class. A mercenary named Vladawain Bagnale is engaged against the royalty, and he will meet Tara on his path, and of course, they'll stumble on Willow.
Notes: Yes, it's been a hell of a long time. So this part may be dephazed a bit from the rest (my writing style tends to be very changing depending on a lot of factors) and I'm using it as a transition to the kind of different end of the story. (Ironically this was one of the best part I could drop at and then pick up where I left
). I haven't spell-checked, so probable typos and I'm too tired to fix them, but I don't want to wait before I post
So, on to the story
Enjoy!
Edit ntoes: Through rereading this chapter I noticed that, if I wanted to have a seemingly not-so-bad transition from 3 years ago to today's writing skills, I needed to at least go through one chapter and fix it up a bit. You might want to re-read it to get back into it, anyway
Chapter 8: Finding The Light
Dagdan had picked up the dead corpses, and burned them honoring their memory, the good ones, anyway. He had kept an eye on the girls, but nothing had happened. They were still in that comatic state he had left them in. He hoped they'd wake up soon, so he could sleep. His body was an heavy mass of power he had moved around for a couple days without taking any rest since he had felt something was wrong with his brothers.
The darkness was slowly receding, leaving the world to be colored in a sepia tone, so close to gray yet not quite the black and white nightmare it had been just moments ago. The needles were gone, no trace of the stings left on her skin, but she could still feel them deep inside, along with the echo of her brother's evil laugh. And then the softness of Willow's voice washed it all away, the pain, the fear, the cross she was tied to.
Tara, where are you? She took a few hesitant steps, more patting the ground than walking, wondering if it would all collapse under her feet again and leave her falling forever.
Willow slowly got up, the cage and the bugs only a shadow of what they were only minutes ago, and her flesh not scarred at all from the assault of what seemed like a very bad dream. She kept calling Tara, desperately, hoping she could fight the coldness that was settling in around her by the warmth of her voice.
I'm here Willow, keep thinking about me, and I'll find you. The redhead wasn't going to think of anything else. In fact, the only other thing that could cross her train of thought was how shivery she was and how the now quiet scenary was about as frightening as the cage she was locked in earlier. Only on a different level. Something was
wrong about this place. And she just couldn't place it.
Hurry up Tara, I really don't like this place.
Tara shuffled through her brain trying to remember the very simple yet effective light spell she had learned when she was younger.
And I'm still young... she thought to herself, hoping that part of her mind wasn't open to Willow. The coldness of the place was getting to her, not because she was freezing, but because something kept creeping around her and not dropping the temperature, but the ambiance itself. This world had been created by a magic that was now dead, they didn't have much time left to escape it before it killed them both as well.
Willow, I need you, I can't remember the light spell. She pleaded, but this time, no response came. She looked around slowly, her eyes filled with fear and her fists clenched, muttering to herself. "C'mon Tara, remember, the words, they are easy. Remember... REMEMBER!" Her last word, she yelled with all her strenght, the enclosive coldness around her just too much, her brain unable to form the correct string of keywords to light a bubble in front of her that would guide her to Willow. She pressed her forehead into her hand, the panic making her chest rise and fall quicker, almost painfully now as she clenched her teeth trying to remember the "DAMNED LIGHT SPELL!".
Something burst, and then an heavy, voice-cutting silence fell on what now looked like a very dark desert. There was no Tara voice anymore, no shuffling feet noises as she moved about to try and keep sane in the hell she had been thrown into. With every step it felt like another slice of her will to survive was chunked out, and the very little part remaining shuddered at the thought of being all alone out there with for only anchor a never ending plain, filled with sand. And that flame, that fire suddenly burning in the far-away, quiet horizon. The atmosphere shifted, and instead of the cold sting, Willow's body started to trickle down with sweat as the ball of fire grew bigger, hotter. It would soon engulf both her and the world she was in and as she realized that, it was already too late. No time to turn around and run away, only a split-second to look at the blazing sun with awe and understanding... Then it was all over.
Two eyes opened to a blinding light from a very white ceiling bordered by tiled walls. The floor was ice cold, yet the room felt more... alive. Willow sat up slowly, taking in her surroundings, not quite sure of where, and when she was. To her left was another body, and she turned just in time to catch another pair of eyes flickering open. "Tara!" The blond girl had no second thought on who was beside her. She quickly sat up and threw her arms around the redhead's shoulders, effectively pulling her into the tightest hug both of them had ever experienced. As if holding onto dear life itself, Willow returned the embrace fully, sighing in relief at the same time.
"I... I thought I h-had lost you... f-forever. That... this w-was all over." Tara voiced softly.
Willow closed her eyes and soothed Tara's back with her hand, feeling just the same but assuming she had to be the strong one, at least this time. "Shhh, I'm here with you now, we are together. It's going to be all right."
Silence settled on the both of them and they just held on to each other a while longer, the horror of the past moments still way too fresh to their memory.
When they finally broke away, a second glance to the room snaked worry back into Willow’s mind. "Where are we?" she asked out loud, knowing Tara wouldn't have an answer.
"Maybe we're... dead?" The blonde offered, unhelpful. Now that was kind of worse than no answer.
"Well, considering that a huge fireball hit us, it
is a possibility. What was that anyway?"
Tara's eyes grew wide at Willow's question. "A f-fireball?!?"
Willow nodded her head and traced the shape of a big ball with her hands. "It just like, came out of nowhere and kept growing and growing and it was HOT!" She added to her gestures nervously. “Kinda scary.”
Tara blinked, earning a questionning glance from Willow. "Well I was, um, trying to do that light spell... you know, the one we l-learned when we were kids?" Willow nodded slowly, quizically. "Well the only thing I remember is falling to my knees and fainting, so I must've gotten the spell wrong or something." Tara put on her sheepiest face and looked away from
Willow, who chuckled lightly and brought her hand up to Tara's hidden cheek, forcing her to look in her eyes. "That's an understatement, miss Maclay." she finally said lightly, her eyes boring into the soul of the girl in front of her, in amazement and in awe in front of the beauty of her new frien.
Tara held her gaze, trying to understand the feelings behind those green orbs. It looked like more than love and friendship together, it was just beyond anything she knew. "No one's ever looked at me like this, before."
Willow swallowed the lump in her throat, fighting back the tears that were suddenly threatening to trickle down her cheeks and make her close her eyes, afraid to break the moment. "If only..." she started whispering, still looking at the girl in front of her; all the feelings she had melted together during that one exchange. "If only you saw just how
you are looking at me now." she finished quietly.
No more words were needed. Tara reached up slowly and carefully swept her thumb under Willow's eye to wipe the unshed tear, and then cupped her cheek. The desire to kiss the girl in front of her was so strong, yet something told her to hold back. Somewhere in her far mind, a little bell ringed her, telling her it wasn't time yet. She hoped to the gods the redhead wouldn't have the same idea at the moment, because denying her, right here and now, would just be too much to bear, and too hard to explain.
Still the princess inched forward, hesitantly, until Tara broke eye contact and looked down, biting her lip as she did so, her hand falling back to her side. Willow's brow quirked in surprise and she then frowned in disbelief, but it immediately shifted to worry as she remembered the situation they were in. "I-I'm sorry Willow..." came Tara's weak reply as she tried to find how to explain her reaction to her friend without... What was she trying to avoid, anyway?
"It's alright, Tara." Willow reached out and gently grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up, and noticing the tears that were freely running down that precious face. "I understand, you're right. This is the best thing to do, considering the situation... It's not a dream and all."
It was Tara's turn to swallow, a feeling of sudden warmth filling her as she literally jumped on Willow and held her in a fierce hug. This, she knew, was something she could allow herself to do. And the words that came to her mind at the same moment escaped her mouth in a soft whisper. "Thank you, Willow."
Something moved out on the horizon line. Maybe it was the slowly receding sunlight at dusk that reflected on something... well, metallic.
Dagdan blinked a couple times to readjust his vision. He had about fallen asleep when the first hint of something approaching had shown. He frowned and looked again, but couldn't find a trace of what he had just witnessed. "I must be tired." He said to himself, turning toward the two girls that, in their deep sleep, had curled up together and seemed to enjoy the rest.
I wonder when they'll wake up… He cast another glance toward the valley, and caught another glimpse. "Damn! Something's coming this way!" This time his voice was loud and carried a sense of urgency.
It didn't take him more than a split second to make up his mind to try and wake up the sleeping beauties. He gently squeezed Willow's shoulder, then Tara's, and finally shook them up until they both opened their eyes in fear. "W-what's going on?" They looked at each other, the fact that they were back to reality suddenly dawning on them, and before Dagdan could emphasize on the urgency of the situation, they were both up and ready to go.
"You're not even asking questions?" he said, obviously dumbfounded at the rapidity with which the two girls had gotten back into the real world.
Tara grinned. "I've known you wanted to wake us up for a while, actually."
Willow chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on Tara's cheek before turning back to Dagdan. "So, where do we go now?"
He was completely astonished. A few hours ago these girls had been in the vicegrip of a crazy magician, in his nightmare world, and now they were both standing in front of him as ready as anyone could be in front of the task at hand. He couldn't help but ask. "What the hell happened while you were sleeping?"
Both girls looked at each other and then back at him. And then he understood.