Author's note: I give you willow
the song Tara listens to is Boats and birds by gregory and the hawk
Part Three:
As Tara’s mind came back into consciousness, her eyes slowly took in her surroundings, she was in her bed. She looked around sensing another presence within the room and saw her dad looking back at her. Tara sat up wondering if he was angry at her for leaving her room.
“Dad?” she squeaked her voice tiny from lack of use, he approached the bed in a fluid motion of steps.
Her father was a tall middle aged man with well defined cheeks bones and worry lines under his eyes. His dark caramel hair was already beginning to gray. Many at work knew him as “ripper”, but at home he went by Rupert or Giles.
“Hey that was a close one...” Rupert said with relief, he sat on the side of
Tara’s bed and lovingly pressed the back of his hand to her forehead to see if she was feverish.
“Dad...” Tara started to say, but Rupert cut her off, “too close...” he said, he removed his glasses and began to clean them on his shirt.
“What happened?” Tara asked, she felt the bed spinning underneath her,
but it was only in her head, which was buzzing from the after affects of whatever it was Rack had done to her.
“Your going to be all right, that’s all that matters...” Rupert placed his glasses back on and turned to face Tara giving her a reassuring smile as he took her hand in his.
Tara couldn’t help but be comforted by her father’s familiar scent of cologne and the way his big and warm hand gently held hers. She loved her father dearly, he had been the only person she had ever met in her life, before she met Rack. He had taken care of her and had taught her how to read and write, he informed her of the twisted ways of the new world in which they lived, warning Tara never to venture out alone, for the world could be cruel to a girl with a demon inside of her.
“Are you mad I was outside?” Tara asked her eyebrows furrowing.
“Shhhh... no Tare, you missed your medicine and fell unconscious...”
“There was this warlock...” Tara said trying to explain that Rack was the reason she passed out.
Rupert shook his head “nonsense” he scoffed, “Please be more cautious, you could have gotten hurt”.
Tara sat up more “B-but it was real dad...” she protested.
Rupert didn’t listen he was beginning to get annoyed, he uncapped an orange clear bottle with a white label on it, he shook out a white pill with small numbers indented into it.
“I am the doctor, and I’m your father, please Tara drop it” he said his voice said sternly, he handed Tara the pill and went over to the bedside table and got her some water.
“But dad-”
“Something could have happened to you, you need to be more responsible!” Giles snapped at Tara.
She shuddered and lowered her gaze from his, her father was very frightening when he was angry with her. Rupert glanced over at the small portrait of Tara’s mother that hung on the wall he let his anger fall away and be replaced with sadness.
The portrait seemed to glow brightly and almost seemed to call out to the father and daughter in dismay.
“The curse that took your dear mother from us, passed from her and into your veins, I’d be lost if I were to loose you... I will stop at nothing to keep you safe...” Rupert shivered and grew defensive, he would do anything for Tara, she was his, no one elses, she couldn’t leave him ever, he needed her with him. If he couldn’t look over her, he may go mad.
Tara sensing his sadness pushed back the blankets and got up off the bed and walked over to her father, “I’ll take my meds dad don’t you worry” she reassured him.
“Just until I find a cure...” Rupert replied.
He gave Tara a warm smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes they remained heavy and sad. He kissed Tara on the top of her head, he wrapped an arm over her shoulder and looked down at her protectively.
“Your mother rest her soul, would be so proud of you, though you cannot see her she is here with you, we will always be there for you in your time of need, Tara your the world to me”.
Rupert gave Tara a short hug pressing her face gently into his warm chest, then released her and rummaged through his pocket, pulling out a small ring of keys, he found the one to Tara’s room and locked the door behind him.
When Tara finally heard her father’s retreating footsteps she sighed and set the medicine and water down on her desk.
Tara looked up at the portrait of her mother and sat down on the floor her back pressed into the door, “How much of it’s the curse? how much of it is fate? how much of it depends on the choices that we make? He says I have her eyes too, I also inherited shame...”
Tara shook her head in disgust, she hated this stupid curse, why did her mother have to pass it to her? What did she do to deserve this? She walked past her small telescope and opened up the curtains to reveal the world once more. She opened the latch to the Window and pushed it open, the dark air from outside felt warm and gentle on her skin.
“ I want to go outside...” she whispered earnestly, she gripped the window ledge and pressed her face outside as far as she could without becoming fearful of losing her grip and falling.
She looked out into the eternally dark sky, it was still morning according to her watch, but she could see the stars. The stars could always cheer her up when she felt lonely, and music, music definitely cheered her up.
She walked over to her laptop and pressed shuffle and play on one of her many playlists. A soft guitar began to strum a slow beat accompanied by the singers voice echoing in whispers as Tara increased the volume.
“If you be my star, I’ll be your sky,
you can hide underneath me and come out at night,
when I turn jet black and you show off your light
I live to let you shine,
I live to let you shine.
You can sky rocket away from me
and never look back if you find another galaxy
far from here with more room to fly,
just leave me your stardust to remember me by...”
Tara changed into a small white summer dress, the material was thin and smooth and accented her curves perfectly. She went back to the window and brushed her hair out an hummed along to the song, feeling better instantly.
__________________________________________________________
Willow Rosenberg, a slender 18 year old with fair skin, dark red hair and seaweed green eyes wandered through the alley ways. She caught sight of Rack just as the walls of the alley ended, he was gazing up at an open window in a house across the street.
She had never seen the gaunt looking man before, but she remembered the house which he so fondly gazed at. That house in particular was said to be the home of a crazy surgeon who kept his only daughter locked away in the attic after he murdered his wife. She had heard the story when she was little and was always curious to see if the tale was true every time she walked by.
This was the first night she had seen the window open. Her curiosity grew as she approached the gate a few feet away from the creepy man.
Before Willow could fully study the man’s face, her attention was pulled upwards when she heard singing coming from the open window from above. Willow walked closer until the window was in full view and the lithe form of a girl her age in a simple white dress, she was brushing her soft dark blonde hair and studying the stars in the sky that stretched out far above her.
The mysterious girl was humming an unrecognizable tune, but with each brush stroke of her glossy hair, her scent was carried off by the wind straight to Willow’s senses.
Willow breathed in deep, the smell of honey and clover lingered on her lips and nose, she shivered and gazed, entranced by the figure before her. The only thing that filled her mind were the questions of what her name was? What color were her eyes? Was she the girl from the story?
Her eyes flickered quickly back to Rack, her jealously grew like heat in her chest. How dare this creepy guy stare at this godess like some pervert! Willow had to restrain herself from getting large with her butch side, which rarely showed. She felt very protective of this girl.
She couldn’t help but wince as the watch on her wrist buzzed with an incoming message. She sighed and tore her eyes away from her beautiful discovery and pressed a button on her watch.
“You have... 1 Incoming message from... The master” the computer’s voice spoke from within her watch.
She grumbled and began to walk quickly past the house looking forlornly back at the window and then returning her attention back to the message, she hit the receive button and let the recording play as a small hologram projected from her watch and took the form of the master.
“Rosenberg your late where are you?!” he growled.
“I got sidetracked I’ll be in shortly...” she replied and then ended the call.
Willow Rosenberg at the age of fifteen, after the death of both of her parents was forced into working for the master as his own personal witch. She was forced to conjure things that amused the master and his children; Angelus, Spike and Drusilla. All of them treated her terribly, her hand instinctively covered the bandage on her neck, it was from the last time she had been late, as punishment the master let Drusilla feed off of her.
Her latest wound had only started to heal, she shivered at the thought of Drusilla drinking from her again. She knew that would be her punishment if she didn’t hurry up.
A few blocks away was Willow’s destination, it was a large tower , that had been added on to an old club called The Bronze. The ominous looking building seemed to glare down at her like a bent tree that would moan in the wind. She headed over to the door of the entrance and swiped a card into the acess slot and was let through.
Willow walked quickly through the lobby of the bronze and climbed the stairs until she came across the elevator to the additional levels. She pressed the white button and watched it light up, while she listened to the distant sounds of the elevator plucking a small “ding!” every time it hit the next floor.