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

[WTEL]

This is just to good; Willow and tara ind the world of Diablo. I think i have played that game more than you find healthy, but then it just kinda lost my interest. this story inspired me to begin again. thanks for that.



What makes this story so cool is that you add your own stuff into the, for me, well know world of the game and mix it all up. and of cause you are using my favorite characters; the amazon and the sorc. (And they are not to be forgotten the most powerful ones to -indeed.)



And this is not you. you write very good and your type of writing fits thoose kind of storys excellent.



so to you



I am waiting for an update and let it come soon.



oh and just to be courious will there be any other characters from buffy apearing in this story?

Glory: "Did enybody order an apocalypse?"

[shuyaku]

Fantastic stuff! I love how we are learning about each of their histories/worlds. Willow using a bow - now that ought to be fun



-shuyaku

[chilled monkey]

The idea of Willow with a bow made me think of a programme I saw some time ago about a trip by Alyson Hannigan to Papua New Guinea. She had a go at archery on that.



Glad to hear that the Zann Esu are open-minded, I was wondering if sorceress's had to take a vow of celibacy or something. Since that is not the case, will Tara leave her people to stay with Willow, or is Willow going to return to the Amazon's home island with her?



Very good fic.

[Grimlock72]

I would guess that if the choice goes between Willow's home and Tara's forrest-city, that latter will be chosen. Willow likes some people in her home town sure but she doesn't seem as much attached to the town/city itself. Tara on the other hand clearly loves the entire nature/tree thing.



I kept wondering though, Tara mentioned that other people go against nature by rasing the ground and building house. That may be true but I sincerely doubt Amazone huts are made from thin air, some part of nature will have be used for that. I'll grant her that amazons treat nature with more respect.



This was a very weird line, coming from Willow:

Quote:

---

when she arrived for lessons ten minutes late

---

Was fun reading how Willlow thought about Tara and how to introduce her to her guardians/parents.. good thing she realized that herself as well :-). This Willow attitude reads much like Willow in _Lullaby_, fresh and enthiousiastic.



Good to see how Willow kept changing subject if Tara didn't seem to like the current one. It's indeed obvious she doesn't like to talk about warfare but she did learn the material given to her. I wonder if those tree's could be poisened, that goes through the ground... have fun trying to defend against that from up high in the tree : --> .



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

[Artemis]

Thanks all



BytrSuite: Yep, adorable snoring is diagnostic of true love. I can't remember how exactly I thought that little section up, it just showed up on its own.



WTEL: I go through phases of playing and ignoring Diablo - needless to say, I'm in a playing phase at the moment. I never got the hang of using a sorceress though, I hate relying on magic/mana, it always seems to run dry just as I'm laying down a nice barrage. I used to play an Amazon a lot (1400 arrows without reloading is my kind of combat, though again I tend to hamper myself by ignoring the mana-based fire and cold arrows), but at the moment I've discovered an Assassin with claw mastery/claw blocking and Burst of Speed is fun (again, no mana skills - no martial arts attacks).



I don't plan to have any other Buffy characters show up during this story - I didn't acually plan for Miss Kitty to show up, but she just did. However, I'm laying plans for a sequel (which will be called 'Children of the Reckoning'), which will certainly feature Buffy, Giles, Faith and Xander, and possibly others. I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what roles they'll be playing, though some are more obvious than others



shuyaku: I've been reading up on bows (seeing as it's been years since I've used one), and I think Willow's training will indeed be fun.



chilled monkey: I imagine a lot of the mage clans have vows of celibacy or some equivalent, at least to pander to the stereotype of the lone wizard locked in his room doing arcane spells (or, at most, the Discworld idea of alchemists only getting married so they'd have someone to hold their beakers). The sorceresses are described differently, though - 'athletic, affable and self-assured' according to the Diablo background - and I can't quite imagine them getting, or staying, like that without having a date now and then.



Grimlock: The Amazon nature ideal doesn't stop them from building, it's more a matter of taking the form of the natural world into account when they do - studying and incorporating the land into their designs, rather than just ignoring or flattening it. Tran Athulua is sort of like Lothlorien, without the excess decoration - it's integrated with the forest, takes advantage of the support of the trees, and also lets them continue to grow. Without trees big enough to build in, Amazons would probably end up with something like Hobbiton. They use natural resources, like wood, of course, but they're creating something from the forest, not just exploiting its resources.



I know, it's a bit odd imagining Willow showing up late for a lesson But the system of education she was in was (and is) still a bit crude, so it's not unusual for her to learn a lot more through her own study than by listening to teachers (sometimes not very good teachers, just the best that was available) droning on endlessly. Part of the problem with her was that no-one realised how much she'd learned.



Tara knows a lot about Amazon warfare just by her training as a warrior - if she'd been more aggressive she'd have been placed in a warrior pride where she might see actual combat, and Amazons don't send their women into battle unprepared. It's technically possible for the forest to be poisoned, but managing it is another thing - the Amazons know their forest very well, including how to proetct and heal it. Plus they know all about poisons - poison is the other 'magic' attack available in Diablo to a spear-wielding Amazon, besides lightning - so I imagine they know all about antitoxins as well.

[Artemis]

Hellebore



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: PG

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



--

Chapter Five

--



Around midday Tryptin rode back from the head of the caravan, to let Tara know that they were making good speed, and that he and the caravan captain had decided to press on through lunch to reach the Baron's castle by night. Apologising to Willow for not taking the time to welcome her sooner, he inquired politely about her journey. After answering his questions Willow asked if a rider had being sent ahead to the castle to herald the caravan's arrival, and on discovering that Tryptin would be going ahead himself, wrote a brief letter to be delivered to the Baron's resident mage.



"Kind of him to stop by," Willow observed, after he had gone.



"He's like that, he gets along with everyone," Tara observed. "His family is part of my clan, his father was an ambassador. I guess it runs in the family."



"Is he in charge?" Willow asked. "I kind of thought there'd be more women on an Amazon mission. Or that you'd turn out to be in charge of it, or something," she grinned.



"How old do I look?" Tara asked wryly. "It's a diplomatic mission, I'm just here to represent the warriors. Y-you know, so the Baron and the Duke recognise we're Amazons. Tryptin is the negotiator, him and the merchant emissaries, but, well..." Tara remembered what she had overheard of Solari and Eponin's discussion.



"The nobles have their own ideas about Amazons, and unless they see a sexy woman in leather they won't buy it?" Willow asked.



"E-exactly," Tara managed. 'Sexy?' she thought. Willow had shrugged and started reading one of her books, and Tara unpacked her ceremonial armour and began cleaning and polishing it, occasionally glancing over at Willow thoughtfully.



She was glad to have met Willow, and dispelled her fears that she'd spend the entire journey being seen, somehow, as a strange, intimidating warrior, and consequently avoided. The young sorceress seemed to bring out the most carefree, high-spirited side of Tara - she couldn't count how many times she'd surprised herself the night before, joking and laughing and being so much more open than the shy, quiet girl she had been even among her friends at home. She had even been looking forward to sharing Willow's experience of learning about magic, but since waking up to find Willow stealing a glance at her, she had been surprised at how frequently her thoughts turned to her, and how little they had to do with magic.



Tara wondered if this was what it felt like to have a best friend, someone she could just be with, talk to for hours, take comfort in each other's presence and friendship. She had been envious, in a benign kind of way, of her fellow trainees in that regard. While there had been many kind, caring girls among them, somehow Tara had never felt that spark of intimacy that led to very close friendship. Everyone seemed to have at least one friend they could confide in, could open up to about anything, could chat with about nothing until well into the night, could share life with. Everyone except Tara, who in spite of being accepted into her trainee pride with open arms, had always ended up spending the long evenings in her room at the clan house practising her moves, and during free days had somehow always ended up alone on the archery ranges, perfecting her aim and studying the flight of arrows. She wouldn't admit it to anyone - had no-one to admit it to - but she sometimes wondered if there was some sort of guidebook to life that she'd missed out on, so that she had to stumble through her days figuring out things as she went. Solari praised her talents, and it was true she had some sort of natural affinity for creating focus, but in her heart she knew the rest was simply a matter of long hours spent alone, practising for want of something else to do. She knew she would never be a true warrior, not without the competitive gleam that the other trainees got in their eyes when they managed to disarm their sparring partner, or shoot a thrown target out of the air, but there was something comforting in the martial art itself. The Tara who could whirl her spear around herself until the blade became an impenetrable barrier or flashing metal arcs, or who could close her eyes and still see the target far away, and the curving path through the air her arrow needed to follow to reach it, was not the same person as the Tara who always went home alone, knowing there was something missing from her and wondering if she would ever know what it was.



She finished polishing a greave, held it up in the sunlight to make sure it was perfect, then wrapped it in its cloth and pulled its twin out of her pack, stealing another glance at Willow, whose eyes were darting across the pages of her book at an impressive rate. Tara hoped that she had finally found what she was missing, in this beautiful girl's friendship. For what seemed like the hundredth time since she woke, she reviewed snippets of conversation from the night before, reassuring herself that Willow enjoyed her company, found her interesting, was making an effort to become her friend, not just putting up with her out of politeness. Tara knew she was possibly being slightly insecure, but her doubts nagged at her, making her wonder if she was just a novelty. She remembered how she had gone on and on about home and her people, and winced slightly - she was glad Willow was interested, but wondered whether she had seemed slightly ridiculous, trying to gift-wrap her exotic arboreal city and present it to Willow as a token of friendship. She reassured herself with the memory of Willow's bright eyes fixed on her, and of all the jokes they had fired back and forth, and the inconsequential things they had talked about. Perhaps, she allowed, it wasn't just a matter of her being strange and exotic to Willow, perhaps there was genuine friendship. Tara hoped so with all her will. It felt odd to think of herself as exotic, anyway.



-----



As the sun dipped towards the western horizon the caravan left the city of Kingsport behind, and aside from a few scattered shacks here and there among the trees, was in open country. Willow had found a handful of notes about the nobility of Kingsport in Ember's notebook, and was reading it aloud. Tara lay back contentedly in the wagon, staring up at the sky and imagining patterns in the clouds as she heard how the Barons, though rulers of Kingsport, had for centuries held their court in the old castle in the highlands; how in the current more-or-less peaceful times they styled it the 'summer palace', after the tradition of other Westmarch rulers who maintained an estate outside their cities to retire to during the summer, when the cities themselves became a bit ripe in the heat; how the transition from one Baron to the next was accomplished by a bizarre series of ancient rules of succession, which had ensured stability in the realm, if not necessarily the court, for as long as anyone knew. Tara discovered a new pleasure, staring intently at Willow as she read Ember's more cavalier notes on the nobility themselves, trying to make her laugh. Willow strained herself not to let out so much as a snicker, until she got to the part where Ember described the Baron's court of her time as 'a pack of genial senile delinquents preserved in alcohol', which caused both her and Tara to burst into a fit of giggles.



Just as they were recovering a boy rode back from the main wagon. Tara recognised him as Melcan, Tryptin's aide and apprentice, and introduced him to Willow as he drew up his horse alongside their wagon, with one of the Kingsport soldiers a little way behind him.



"Honoured, ma'am," he said, with perfect formality as Tryptin must have taught him. "Master Tryptin suggested you might like to see the river before we take the highland road," he continued to Tara, "he chose this man of the Baron's guards to ride with you if you wish, and I'm to stay here and watch over your belongings."



Tara looked at Willow, who nodded eagerly. Leaving Melcan sitting dutifully beside their wagon's driver, they both jumped lightly off the back and took a pair of horses from the dozen following in the wake of the caravan's wagons.



"Have you ever ridden before?" Willow asked.



"A little," Tara said, "not very much. We don't use horses very much at home."



"You're probably better than me anyway," said Willow, "me and horses..." She rolled her eyes, and turned to her horse. Tara noticed her holding the reins tightly and looking unusually tense as they followed the guard off the road and towards the gentle slope that went on for half a mile or so to the east. She nudged her horse a little closer to Willow's, and gave her a warm smile that seemed to boost her confidence.



The guard waited for them at the top of the rise, and pointed out into the valley beyond as they reached him.



"Merchant Bay," he said as they stared out at the panorama before them. A mile away the river, the Kingsway, that ran from Duncraig to Kingsport, widened into a small bay before continuing its journey to the sea. The entire western side of the bay was a mass of warehouses and gantries, extending even out into the bay itself, so that glimpses of glittering water could be seen between the low rooves and wooden thoroughfares. Beyond them was a fleet of ships, dozens of merchant barges and flat-bottomed riverboats, some riding at anchor, others manoeuvring through the throng to reach open water, or to take their place at the docks.



"Ember didn't write anything about this," murmured Willow. Her eyes widened, and she pointed out to Tara where a series of counterweighted cranes shuddered and strained, lifting the entire cargo deck of a barge clear of its vessel. Teams of men, small as ants in the distance, pulled the whole construct, cranes and all, back along shining steel rails, making way for another construct to be wheeled into place, lowering a new deck full of different cargo into the barge.



"H-how do they do that?" asked Tara. The guard shrugged.



"Can't say, ma'am," he said simply, "'tis beyond me, that's for sure. They say the Baron hired mages from Duncraig and foreign lands to help build it, though I don't believe there's any there now. I was just a boy when it was built. Our mam says the old river docks got so crowded you couldn't land a cargo of eggs before they'd hatched and died of old age."



"There's got to be magic in it," Willow said to herself, "they must have melded the beams, treated the wood to make it stronger... my gods, look at all the ships!" Tara followed her gaze along the river as it wound between the hills - for as far as she could see there were ships dotted along the river, riding the current or straining their sails against it.



"Aye, the city sees a lot of goods coming and going," the guard observed, "it's from Duncraig, you see. Ships come from all the lands of the world, just about, and they all go along here. They say this river's what keeps Kingsport alive, and, well, I ain't got a head for matters of trade, but I think they may be right." He then fell silent, as Willow and Tara stared out at the great river port.



"We'd best be getting back," he said after a few moments, "it wouldn't do to let the caravan get too far ahead of us."



-----



They returned to Melcan still maintaining his alert vigil over their wagon. He had the driver stop the wagon for a moment so Willow and Tara could get on board easily, then took to his horse and rode back up to the head of the caravan, while the guard disappeared rearwards to return their horses to their place at the caravan's tail end. Willow checked Ember's notebook and confirmed that the Merchant Bay river docks had indeed been built sometime after her sponsor had travelled the region - all she had had to say about the city's river traffic was that its docks were 'small and badly overcrowded', which clearly referred to the predecessors of the complex they had seen.



"M-maybe you should start your own notebook?" Tara suggested. Willow leapt gleefully at the idea, found a blank book from one of her satchels, and spent a few minutes recording her impressions of the giant docks.



"Pity I can't draw," she grumbled to herself as she was finishing.



"I c-could," Tara offered, "i-if you'd like, that is, I could try..." Willow eagerly handed over the book, and watched over Tara's shoulder as she sketched out a remarkably lifelike drawing of the river docks as they had seen them from the top of the rise.



"That's amazing," Willow breathed, as the picture took shape under Tara's pencil. Tara looked up for a moment, blushing and grinning, then returned her attention to her work. Willow sat back and watched her, smiling without realising it as she noticed the tip of Tara's tongue poking between her lips now and then as she concentrated, and the way her eyes seemed to sparkle in the afternoon light as she re-read Willow's text, adding notes to her sketch to complement it.



With grey clouds on the horizon and the afternoon turning into dusk they let down the wagon's canvas roof and fastened it over its wooden frame, lighting a lamp to see by inside as they took turns recording their experiences in Kingsport in the notebook. Willow listened rapt as Tara told her about her meeting with Marela while she wrote, and was fascinated by the amulet as she held it for Tara to sketch, turning it this way and that in the golden light of the lamp. It was just when both of them were staring to wonder about dinner that they heard voices outside, and poked their heads out the front of the wagon to see the Baron's castle looming up ahead of them.



It was fully night by the time the caravan rolled over the moat bridge towards the castle gates. The castle, a vast, ominous stone fortress, sat at the centre of a rambling collection of wooden shacks and storehouses built beyond its walls - a testament to the relative peace that the realm was enjoying, even as the thick walls and high battlements of the castle itself hinted of past times of warfare. The battlements were now alive with torchlight, as were the towers visible beyond them - Willow pointed out one tower with a dome atop it, split down the centre to reveal the lens of a great telescope, which she guessed belonged to the resident mage. The roadway leading up to the bridge was also lit, and a contingent of soldiers rode out as the caravan approached, relieving those who had escorted it from the city. Tryptin was with them, and rode back to Tara after a moment conferring with the merchant emissaries.



"The Baron has begun his dinner early," he explained, "it would be better to settle into quarters quietly tonight, and be presented to court tomorrow when we won't be interrupting. Oh, Miss Willow, a reply came from the mage, he asks that you wait for him in the courtyard at midday in two days' time, he sends his apologies but apparently the constellations have his attention for tonight, and he has an appointment tomorrow."



Willow thanked him, privately dreading another disinterested tutor, but excited nonetheless to see the castle, or the 'summer palace', as the Baron did indeed apparently call it. She was disappointed, however, to find herself separated from the Amazon mission and given private quarters - a mark of respect, of course, but she would have preferred to have Tara's company in place of a room of her own, and she was sorry to have to bid a temporary goodbye to her companion. She asked after the Baron's mage when a notary arrived at her room to welcome her, but it seemed she would have to be content to stay put until the next evening, when she would meet the Baron at dinner and be granted the freedom of the castle, allowing her to wander around and find where the Amazons had ended up. A servant arrived not long afterwards with dinner, and she ate with one hand holding open one of the books she had been given in Kingsport. She consoled herself that she would be seeing Tara again soon enough, and let herself be absorbed by the intricacies of alchemical research as the night grew late.



-----



Tara was no more pleased than Willow at being separated, but managed to distract herself with the company of the various merchants and negotiators from the mission as they ate dinner in the common room connecting their various bedrooms. After dinner Tryptin took her aside and went over the diplomatic protocols she needed to know to meet with the Baron without causing offence, which were few enough - the court of Kingsport was evidently a fairly easy-going place. Tryptin mentioned that, traditionally, women were not expected to take part in discussions with men over dinner unless invited, but then suggested that it might be best if Tara behave as she would at home, speaking her mind if she felt the need to. He assured her that it would impress the various noblemen and remind them that they were dealing with the Amazon nation, rather than merely a group of merchants and businessmen, though Tara got the impression that he quietly relished the opportunity to remind the nobles that not all women spoke only when spoken to.



Tara slept easily in the comfortable bed that had been provided, and woke in time to see the sun come over the battlements beyond her window. She wasn't surprised, though, to find that she already missed having Willow to talk to, and as the morning wore on - a succession of meetings with minor nobles, whom she formally greeted on behalf of the Amazon warriors and then left to the emissaries and Tryptin's negotiators - she was looking forward to the evening's dinner, where she hoped to see her new friend again.



With nothing else to occupy her in the afternoon, she asked one of the passing servants to bring back one of the baths that had been brought to the common room early in the morning, and bathed again, spending a long time washing her hair and carefully drying it. Studying herself intently in the polished mirror in her room, she tied her hair up in a high ponytail, the most typical style for a warrior, and bound it there with a slim bronze clasp. She retrieved her ceremonial armour, which still gleamed from yesterday's cleaning, and laid it out on the bed, making sure everything looked perfect. Of course she wasn't going into battle, so she wouldn't wear a full breastplate, which left her the choice of which tunic to wear with the outfit. She discarded the red - too bright - and carefully donned the other of the two finely-woven tops she had brought, a deep grey that seemed to gleam ever so slightly in the light. She carefully fastened her shoulder harness over it, wiggling her torso and adjusting the straps so that they sat perfect around her shoulders and chest, with her family's crest glinting on the bronze buckle at the corner of the leather padding over her right shoulder. She lifted the shining bronze plate that would go on her left shoulder, then decided to leave it until after she had finished with the rest of the outfit.



With a self-conscious glance out the window - though it was unlikely anyone would be able to see in, unless they were balancing on top of the battlements and were at least fifteen feet tall - she took off the soft trousers she had been wearing and swapped her underwear for the leather equivalent that went with the armour. She caught herself blushing in the mirror, which was a habit she had never quite been able to shake whenever she wore traditional armour - she always wished that there was a skirt, at least, for all that she recognised the unparalleled freedom of movement the arrangement offered. She pulled on the half-skirt, composed of studded leather straps in front and behind, leaving her thighs bare at the sides, and fixed it with a sturdy belt, quickly detaching the various pouches that would help carry her supplies if she were in the field. Doing her best to ignore the nagging feeling that she was half-naked, she pulled on her best boots, pulling tight the straps just above the knees to hold them up.



Next came her bronze greaves, which she gave a quick final polish before strapping them to her shins. She strapped a slim bracer on her right wrist, then pulled a long leather glove over her left arm, strapping it high above the elbow and covering it with a firm leather gauntlet, which in turn had a bronze bracer strapped over it. She finally picked up the bronze shoulder plate and fixed it in place over her left shoulder, making sure it was properly attached to her harness and its weight was sitting comfortably. Lastly she took a slim, well-padded bundle from her bags and unwrapped the circlet that, along with the bronze crest adorning her right shoulder, were all that she really had to remember her parents. She checked the soft leather lining, which was still as good as new, and gently settled the circlet around her brows, closing her eyes as she fixed the clasp at its rear. She picked up her bow and, with a slight effort, strung it with an old, sturdy string that would do for show, though she would have chosen one of the finer ones if she'd intended to actually fire an arrow. She slotted the bow into its place on her back, held by her harness, and at last turned towards the mirror.



A reasonably perfect image of an Amazon warrior stared back at her. With a satisfied nod, trying not to look at her legs too much, Tara turned around, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she looked good from all angles. The straps of her harness had made the tunic a good deal more form-fitting than it had been, particularly around her chest - she giggled at the memory of Willow's summary of the common, lurid image of Amazons as 'big-breasted warrioresses', then composed herself. Content with her preparations she took her spear, silently thanking Solari for allowing her to use it, and left her room to meet the Baron.



-----



Heads turned as the court's page announced the Amazon party, starting with 'Amazon warrioress Tara' and then continuing through the names of Tryptin's diplomats and the merchant emissaries. Tara held her head up high and kept her posture straight as the spear in her hand as she strode towards the Baron's table. Tryptin had told her that the Baron's aides would see to it that he, in turn, knew the proper protocol for receiving an Amazon as a guest, and he had evidently been paying attention, for when Tara bowed stiffly and held out Silverstrike, shaft first with the blade behind her, he stood, lay his open palm on it and bowed slightly in return before sinking back into his seat.



Tryptin, as leader of the mission, also merited the Baron getting to his feet, while the other Amazons each received a nod of acknowledgement as the were introduced one by one and bowed. The party was then led to their seats, not very far from the Baron and his closest noblemen on the long table, and Tara was about to take her seat when she heard the page announce the arrival of 'Sorceress Willow of the Zann Esu'.



She turned to look towards the doors, and in that moment realised that, while she would treasure Willow's friendship for as long as she lived, she also had feelings for the young sorceress that were entirely more passionate.

[chilled monkey]

Nice to see that Willow and Tara are starting to grow closer. I am really enjoying this.



Given what the summary reads, I wonder if some demons will appear later in this story. If so, I suspect that they will be a lot more impressive than the BTVS version.



Edited to add: Count me in as someone looking forwards to Willow (and Tara's) reactions to each other in the next part.

Edited by: chilled monkey at: 7/16/03 9:55 am

[Grimlock72]

Given that it's very hot over here in the Netherlands at the moment I was wondering about Tara's clothing/armour. All that leather and armour sounds mighty warm.



I also kept thinking how Willow would react to seeing Tara in her official-show clothes. Tara's effort to look nice won't be just wasted on the Baron and his men.. there is at least one person in that room that Tara does want to look pretty for



It was very sad to read how Tara was kinda alone when growing up. Sure it wasn't out of cruelty but her tutors/parents/guardians could have done a better job of making her part of a group or something. And yes I know thats difficult with people as shy as Tara, a bit of encouragement goes a long way though.



Even if Willow didn't want to be Tara's friend, she would still enjoy listening to her tales about her home town (of which I can't remember the difficult name:-). Willow enjoys hearing about new things and/or figuring out how stuff works. Speaking of which, those cranes are very efficient... switching entire decks. Don't see why they would need magic for that, just a lot of counter-weights.



Is it my imagination or did the upgrade frequency increase ?? No complaints here of course, nope... :-)



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

[TexanZeppo256]

Nononononononononononononononono NOOOOOOO!!!



You can't just leave it there and... but.. the... dress and... "feelings for the young sorceress that were entirely more passionate" and... and...



WAH!!!



WANT MORE HELLEBORE! WANT MORE HELLEBORE!



BTW, did I mention that I really like this story?



Your writing style is excellent and you always emerse the story in beautiful detail, sometimes taking tangents that are, though somewhat lacking in the W/T department, quite entertaining.



I'm very curious to find how "decked out" Willow made herself.



Heh, I can see it now: The very royal and buisness-like barons throwing sideways glances to the scantily clad girls who're flirting with each other...



This update was very nice Artemis. But another update would be WAAAAY nicer.

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



Listen! Do you hear that? IT'S THE STICKY NOTES OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!! --Double D, "Mama's Little Ed"

[TareBearRS]

I agree.. you can't leave us hanging here!!!



Loving this story and your take on things.



I'd LOVE a picture of Tara in her Amazon outfit...



Renate

[WTEL]

Evil!! you are pure evil!!! you can't leave us there



Ok then but will have to update soon or else...



It was a very nice update. You are good at describing details, whether it is surroundings or clothing... I look forward to the meeting though I have a feeling that the girls wont be very concentrating



Now, when Tara has that cool spear-thing maybe Willow could get some sort of ass-kicking-weapon to -The Oculus for instance

Glory: "Did enybody order an apocalypse?"

[shuyaku]

It's pretty unanimous - that was just evil leaving off there! I have a very vivid image of Tara in my head - now I just need Willow... um, an image of Willow... um... you know what I mean



-shuyaku

[Artemis]

Thanks all



chilled monkey: There will be demons, certainly... The summary (apart from being something I wrote before I'd really nailed down every aspect of the plot) is accurate, but intentionally vague. There are plenty of demons around Sanctuary, though, minor ones left over from ancient battles against big demons, or summoned by careless mages - they're mostly just dangerous nuisances, living in the wilderness and preying on isolated outposts and so on. There are more powerful ones, of course, but it's rare that one of those can both corrupt a mage powerful enough to summon it, and evade detection by all the other mages and warriors who, what with one thing and another, are quite good at demon-hunting. All I'll say for now is that, while I am going to find a way to show a real demon at some point, the finale isn't going to be anything so obvious as Willow and Tara facing off against something with bat-wings, horns and cloven hooves.



Grimlock: The armour that Tara's wearing at the moment isn't too warm for the climate, seeing as she's left the breastplate off, and they're up in the hills getting chilly winds coming down from the highlands. Not that I know anything about climate, I'm making it up.



While it's true that Tara could've been less alone during her childhood - teenage years particularly - it's not really something that could have been addressed by her instructors and so on. She wasn't crying herself to sleep, she had friends, just no-one particularly close. It is kind of sad, but it happens (well, that's my school years summed up, anyway).



The reason the cranes at the river docks needed magic was to strengthen them so they wouldn't crack under the strain. They're counter-weighted enough, but they still have to be able to carry that load across their length, or something like that... at any rate, I don't think it's something that can be done with wood, hence the magic. No particular reason for them, I just threw them in because I like those kind of steampunk-y ideas - modern-like technology approached from a different angle. Steam-powered mechanoids and all that (there won't be any of them in this story, that's just an example).



It's true I'm writing a bit faster than before. I won't be doing the one-chapter-per-day thing I did with TARA, but I expect the regularity of updates will ebb and flow along the way, depending on my moods.



TexanZeppo: Not that I dislike my tendency to ramble, but I blame Heinlein for my penchant for tangents. I wrote a long story a while ago called The Rose, with a similar style to his Starship Troopers - first-person and inclined to talk about whatever was on the character's mind, rather than stick to the narrative, and I've never really shaken off that inclination.



I wouldn't say Tara is 'scantily-clad', quite... more like 'attractively-armoured'. Give or take a few details (like the colour, grey and bronze rather than red) she's wearing exactly what the Amazon character in Diablo starts off with.



TareBearRS: Aside from the glimpse in my title graphic for this story (www.netspace.net.au/~alia/glass.htm), I can't really do a picture of Amazon Tara, at least not in this particular outfit - all the Diablo pictures are obviously artwork, and wouldn't combine well with a photo. But this is the outfit I based the 'ceremonial armour' on, without Tara in it: www.blizzard.com/images/d...amazon.gif



WTEL: I like details, whether they're related to the plot or not. The whole Miss Kitty meeting was one of those, completely pointless as far as the story of Hellebore goes, but, well... it's something that happened. I figure interesting stuff happens to us all the time, without being part of a single big story, so why not do the same in stories? Then again, I know next to nothing about medieval architecture, clothing, society, warfare or, well, anything, so I'm slightly in dread of someone who actually does know their stuff seeing this and noticing all the zillions of inconsistencies. In the meantime, I just try to keep a straight face as I make it up.



Willow's got her staff, but like all Sorcies she's pretty much the weapon herself. She won't have an 'ass-kicking-weapon' really, just her magic.



shuyaku: I know what you mean (although in my case I just want a Tara). But now that I've been unanimously declared evil it's time for Willow to make her entrance...

[Artemis]

Hellebore



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: PG

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



--

Chapter Six

--



Tara wondered if Willow was aware of how... well, sexy, she looked. 'Oh come on,' she chided herself, 'how could she *not* know?'



If Tara's eyes were drawn to Willow's body first, she couldn't really blame herself, and judging by the subtle gasps around her, she wasn't the only one. Willow's shoulders, arms and chest were wrapped in a shimmering green fabric, thin overlapping layers of gauzy cloth, like the bindings of an Aranoch mummy but far more elegant and beautiful. The remarkable fabric itself, matching her eyes, would have turned heads alone, but it was the way that it stopped just low enough to decently cover her chest - in fact, Tara noticed as her heart hammered, the high cut of the material revealed just a hint of the swells of her breasts beneath it. Her body was bare down to the belt circling her hips, an expanse of perfectly smooth skin that made Tara gulp as her eyes followed the delicate curve of her waist and hips. From her belt, which was buckled at the centre with an eye-catching white crystal set in silver, more of the diaphanous emerald fabric formed a tight skirt, solidly interwoven at the centre then stretching out to either side, becoming slightly transparent as it hugged her hips and thighs the way Tara was suddenly imagining her hands doing. Her eyes darted over Willow for a moment, taking in the slim boots topped with silver bands, and the silver clasps at each wrist holding the ends of her sleeves tight, before settling on her face, framed by a silver diadem and her fiery, silky hair.



The minor nobility standing in groups around the dining hall practically fell over themselves to welcome her, bowing deeply and introducing themselves one by one in their most genteel manner. Willow smiled warmly at each one, inclining her head at their bows like a princess, allowing the daring souls among them to take her hand briefly in greeting. Tara wondered if it was her imagination, but she thought she saw Willow's eyes moving around the crowded hall in between introductions, searching for a familiar face. She realised she was staring. A moment later she realised she was still staring, and should probably do something about it. She resolved to return her attention to her companions at the table, in just a moment...



As Willow cleared the impromptu welcoming committee, Tara finally became aware of something else, a sudden murmur of surprise among the noblemen and Amazons around her. She glanced up the table to see the Baron rising to his feet, gesturing quickly for his nobles to follow suit. In the space of a few seconds the whole table was standing, falling in behind the Baron as he approached the young sorceress. She drew up short as she saw him, and he stopped a few paces from her.



"Our court is honoured by your presence," the Baron said in a voice that carried to all who were listening. He held out a hand to her.



"The honour is mine," Tara barely heard her say, as she bowed and took his hand briefly. From where Tara stood, she thought the Baron looked slightly surprised - she recalled it was protocol to kiss the lord's hand, but Willow didn't appear to realise - but he recovered, and evidently took no offence, for he smiled widely as he swept an arm out to indicate the fellow diners crowded around him.



"The court, ma'am," he said graciously, as his wife stepped forward, shooting him an annoyed glance before smiling radiantly at Willow. The rest jostled their way into a line, which Willow slowly made her way along, with the Baron at her side making the introductions. Tara's stomach flipped itself over a few times as the pair worked their way down the line, getting nearer. She glanced quickly up and down the line, realising that she had ended up as the first of the Amazons the Baron would reach - Tryptin's doing, certainly, subtly reinforcing her status for the other guests to see. He caught Tara's eye and gave her a reassuring wink.



"Our other guests this evening," the Baron intoned, snapping Tara's attention back to him and Willow, "a party of Amazons, no less, here to maintain the good relations between their nation and our city... oh, you would have travelled with them, of course. Well, perhaps you know some of them already." He glanced at Tara, earning another stern look from his wife as his eyes paused a little obviously on her chest before moving on - not that Tara was paying attention.



"This fearsome beauty," the Baron went on, "is Tara."



"Yes, we've met," said Willow with a warmer smile than those she'd made for the nobility. She took a step forward. 'Say something!' Tara's mind screamed at her, as she vaguely heard Willow's greeting.



"H-h-h-he... h-hello," she managed after an awkward pause, wondering which god had decided it would be fun to render her incapable of movement. Willow's smile faltered slightly, and she began to look confused as Tara desperately tried to make her voice work again. But then the Baron was introducing Tryptin, and Willow was drawn away, leaving Tara cursing her shyness and hoping for another chance to speak to her. When the Baron's table resumed their seats Willow was on the same side, but with half a dozen noblemen between them, so that it was difficult for Tara to get a glimpse of her.



-----



Willow did her best to present an affable exterior to her neighbour at the table, but inwardly she was not happy. Her brief meeting with Tara kept replaying itself in her mind, preventing her from maintaining a conversation with the noblemen, a minor landowner who affected a great interest in magic, but clearly didn't know what he was talking about. She hadn't expected to be able to spend very much time with Tara during the meal - being an official occasion, the seating of the guests had been arranged, and she couldn't just have sat where she liked - but she had looked forward to snatching a brief moment here and there in Tara's presence, feeling the warmth of her smile that she had sorely missed since the previous evening. She hadn't been expecting Tara to look almost dismayed to see her - her friend's normally expressive face had frozen the moment Willow had reached her in the line, and she had barely answered when Willow had said hello. Far from being pleased, Tara had looked as if she had seen a ghost.



Willow found her thoughts turning against her, giving free rein to all her doubts. Had she been too obvious? She suddenly regretted her choice of clothing - it was Zann Esu, of course, but Tara wouldn't necessarily know that. What if she thought Willow had deliberately chosen it to, well, to try to arouse her? Willow had to admit that wasn't far from the truth - she had barely considered wearing her ceremonial robes, or the elaborate meditation dress that would probably have been exactly what the nobles would expect a sorceress to wear, she had merely imagined herself appearing to Tara in her emerald outfit, sparking some hint of desire in Tara, experiencing for real the warm tingling she felt when she imagined Tara's eyes on her, wanting her... Willow cursed herself for getting lost in her fantasies, not thinking things through - she hadn't even stopped to consider the possibility that Tara wasn't interested in her that way. That night over dinner, when she had mentioned that most Amazons married men - Willow remembered how Tara had stuttered out her answer, when she asked whether that was always the case. She had thought, hoped, it might have been nervousness, but... 'Oh gods,' Willow's thoughts moaned, 'what if she- if it wasn't nerves, what if she's not comfortable with even the idea? Just because her people in general are doesn't mean she is, and now I've gone and flashed my half-naked body in front of her, and she *knows*, and she doesn't even want to talk to me...' Willow's fists clenched as she fought the straining muscles in her face that wanted her to close her eyes and cry. The noblemen at her side was still chattering aimlessly to her; the other chair, reserved for the Baron's mage, was empty - 'Probably doesn't want to waste his time with me,' Willow thought, knowing she was languishing in her hurt feelings and not caring. Willow turned her attention to the boring man, and was probably more interested in his inaccurate observations about magic than he deserved, just in gratitude for the distraction he offered.



-----



Tara was unusually distant through dinner, offering only curt responses to her neighbours' attempts to start a conversation as her thoughts turned inward. While reaching to the platters in the middle of the table she managed to get fleeting glimpses of Willow, though she never caught her eye. Tara could tell she was upset - there was something about the set of her jaw, and the slight manufactured look to her smile as she chatted with the man beside her, that Tara felt she could read like a book. Tara speared a piece of potato with her fork, unnecessarily viciously, and blamed herself entirely. Willow had probably been looking forward to seeing her, assuming she had been cooped up all day with nothing to do, and the best Tara could offer her was a stuttered 'hello', not even taking her hand, as a friend should - gods, the few people at home she had genuinely disliked, she had offered more courtesy to when she happened to meet them. Tara imagined how she must have seemed to Willow: armoured and armed, the image of a warrior, betraying no hint of feeling. She wondered, caught between hope and a dark moodiness, whether she might get a chance to talk to Willow soon, or whether the sorceress would take the hint Tara had unwittingly given, chalk her up as an emotionless warrior, and keep out of her way.



Dinner seemed to pass quickly, and most of the guests had finished their plates by the time the Baron laid down his fork and motioned for them to rise, if they wished. Tara saw Willow get up, and pushed away her own plate, hoping to dodge through the crowd and catch her before she left. But Willow headed directly away from her, not towards the doors, leaving Tara confused - was she leaving, or avoiding her, or what? - and a moment later she found her view blocked by one of the Baron's attendants.



"Ma'am," he said with a bow, "the dancing will commence shortly. Normally women would wait for their partners to choose them, but in your case," he looked uncomfortable, "the Baron would not ask you to submit to such a requirement."



"What?" asked Tara vaguely, trying to look over the man's shoulder to see Willow, among the other diners who had all got to their feet in anticipation of the dance. The sorceress seated herself on one of the long benches at the side of the hall, not far from where the ladies, in a selection of elaborate dresses, were gathering.



"Your diplomat suggested," the attendant continued, "and the Baron has agreed, that you might select your partner? Several of our distinguished nobles have expressed interest, so if you would care to choose your dance partner...?" He gestured to some of the nobles, who were hanging back from the general movement across the hall, where men were bowing and offering their hands to the ladies, the couples taking their place for the dance.



"Yes," said Tara brightly, "present my thanks for the Baron's courtesy, and I will choose a partner." She handed her spear and bow to Melcan, hovering at her side for that purpose, and set off across the hall, heading for Willow.



About half-way the boldness of her sudden idea caught up with her, and she faltered. What if Willow had been too offended by her lack of courtesy earlier? After failing to even greet her properly, as a friend should, did she dare to just walk up to her and ask her to dance? She slowed, noticing as she neared Willow that one or two of the nobles were likewise closing in on her. One, in fact, was turning from her, a disappointed look on his face, and as Tara watched another bowed, spoke to her, and nodded graciously as she gave a brief smile and shook her head. Clearly Willow didn't even want to dance, Tara decided, so she should just turn around and walk away. While she had been debating with herself, though, her feet had been carrying her forwards, and by the time she had resolved not to embarrass herself and upset Willow further, it was too late, and Willow had already noticed her approach.



"Tara?" she said, her expression unreadable - not displeased, not angry, but with too much going on behind her eyes for Tara to guess at her thoughts. She drew to a halt in front of the sitting sorceress, and for want of a better idea, bowed and held out a hand, just as the nobles were doing.



"W-would you c-care to-to... d-dance?" she said, gulping down the nerves that were threatening to make her tongue trip over itself. There was a moment when Willow's expression changed, when she was clearly moving from her unreadable mood to something else, but in that instant Tara couldn't tell what, and she felt pulled in all directions by her emotions, hoping for joy, fearing rejection, worrying about what she might be jeopardising. Then a grin appeared, spread into a wide, brilliant smile, Willow's eyes sparkled, and she took Tara's hand. Tara felt as though everything was right in the world as she walked into the middle of the hall where the couples were gathering, Willow's arm looped around her elbow and her fingers sneaking between Tara's. A murmur went around the hall as the assembled nobles saw the new couple taking the floor, and Tara glanced at Tryptin, wondering belatedly - though not really caring very much - if she was scandalising the court. She was reassured to see him suppressing a grin at the astonished looks on the faces of the nobles near him.



The style of the moment in the Baron's court seemed to be a fairly relaxed sort of dance - Willow had read an account from Ember's notebook of the elaborate, ritual-like dances that had been held in her time, but evidently they had fallen out of favour. With a surreptitious glance at the couples around her, Tara took Willow's left hand in her right, slipped her other hand around Willow's waist, and smiled as Willow's other hand negotiated her shoulder armour for a moment before settling just below it. The court musicians struck up a gentle, cheerful melody, and the dance began.



"I was a bit worried when I saw you," Willow murmured, resting her head against Tara's unarmoured shoulder, "you looked so... serious, before."



"I-I was speechless," Tara said, grinning as Willow leaned into her embrace.



"Why?" she asked. "Because of me?"



"You look s-so..." Tara tried to find the right word, and could only think of: "beautiful."



"I- thank you," Willow said quietly, straightening a little so she could meet Tara's gaze. "I'm sorry I got upset, it's just... well, you know, a boring day doing nothing but reading and not being able to even talk to you. I guess I got a little nervous too." Her smile turned impish. "But seeing as I ended up dancing with the loveliest warrior in the castle, it was worth it."



"W-well, it's only fair," said Tara, her head spinning from the compliment, "seeing as I'm dancing with the loveliest lady." Willow's smile was worth crossing the Great Ocean for.



"Heh," she chuckled quietly, "I don't think a lady would wear an outfit like this."



"I-I bet they w-wish they could," said Tara, surprising herself both with her boldness, and that her shyness didn't keep her from meeting Willow's look and maintaining her most appealing smile. Willow took advantage of a turn in the dance to slip a little further into Tara's embrace.



"So you like it?" Willow asked.



"Oh yes," Tara whispered. "I-is it from Kehjistan?"



"Mmm-hmm," Willow quietly replied, "Zann Esu battlegear." Tara glanced down, and Willow straightened again, seeing her curious expression.



"This is battlegear?" Tara asked, slightly incredulous. Willow grinned.



"I'm a sorceress, remember?" she teased. "We don't get up close and personal with monsters much. And if we do, there're spells to protect us. Besides, this," she said gently drawing Tara's right hand down to her stomach, "is where the magic comes from, the centre of the body. It helps to keep it... unimpeded."



Tara nodded wordlessly. She could feel her fingers trembling as Willow held her hand against her skin - and was it her imagination, or did Willow keep her hand there a little longer than necessary, and press it gently against herself before letting go? Rather than take Tara's hand again, Willow slipped both arms around her waist, as the music changed to something a little slower, more intimate, and the couples around them drew closer. Tara was suddenly even more aware of how close Willow was to her, and that her hands were now wrapped around her bare waist, against her back, holding her in a way that, dance or no dance, was definitely intimate. Until this evening she would have danced with Willow like this, as a friend, and held her like this with nothing more than platonic affection... but now she knew, for sure, that the heat she was feeling was more than the warmth of friendship, it was desire. And, despite the doubts that were nagging at her, she was starting to think that Willow felt it too.



Willow again rested her head on Tara's shoulder, this time tightening her embrace. Tara barely suppressed a visible shudder as she first felt Willow's breasts brush hers through the layers of fabric between them, then press against her as Willow snuggled into her arms. The music had slowed to a soft, gentle pace, as those dancers who participated for show or fun drifted off to converse with other guests, and the remaining couples held each other close, with only the occasional comment murmured into a partner's ear as they moved. Tara was aware, in a distant sort of way, that a number of the spectators were staring at her and Willow, surprised and perhaps amused at the novelty of seeing two women dance together, but she didn't care. All she cared about was in her arms, moving in time with her, her hands radiating warmth through the material of Tara's tunic.



'Perhaps,' Tara thought, 'perhaps she feels it too... if the skin on her back tingles beneath my hands... if she can't help but feel every slight movement of my body... if she feels as blessed holding me as I do holding her...' For Tara, surprised a day ago to have found friendship, it was almost too much to hope for... but she dared hope.



She leaned her head gently down to where Willow's head rested on her shoulder, brushing her cheek against Willow's hair, and felt such contentment as she had never felt before. At last, she knew she was where she was meant to be, doing what she was meant to do, and all the worries in the world had no power as long as she and Willow danced. She closed her eyes, and the warmth she felt seemed to wrap around her, holding her, cradling her in its arms, lifting her...



There were audible gasps from the crowd of spectators, and the musicians faltered, but in Tara's mind there was music, and she didn't even open her eyes when she realised her feet no longer touched the ground.



"Is it magic?" she whispered to Willow, luxuriating in the absence of anything but the woman in her arms.



"It's not sorcery," Willow whispered back, "but it is magic."



-----



It was past midnight when the great hall finally emptied. Willow and Tara found themselves in the south wing of the castle, where the Amazons were quartered, most of whom were still awake and talking in the common room. In the few steps leading up to the door Tara wondered whether it would be too forward to invite Willow in, but Willow's hand on her arm stilled her.



"I should get some sleep," Willow said quietly, reluctantly even.



"Y-you're tired," Tara agreed, noticing her companion suppress a yawn, not the first on their walk back from the hall.



"Yeah, I didn't sleep so well," Willow admitted, "you know, unfamiliar bed and all. But I'll see you tomorrow?" She hesitated, and Tara had a sudden urge to insist she stay, sleep at her side, wake in her arms. But on its heels came an understanding: she wasn't skirting the edge of failure with Willow, and she didn't need to rush to make everything perfect like a fairy tale. She nodded, and quickly, while the feeling of contentment lasted, enveloped Willow in a hug that was pure friendship.



"Thank you," she whispered in Willow's ear, not needing to explain why.



"I should go," Willow repeated, with a little smile. "But," she added, her words coming out in a rush, "just so you know I don't want to-"



She leaned forward, tilting her face up just a fraction so that the last words were breathed onto Tara's lips. The kiss that followed was brief, an instant just long enough for both pairs of lips to part a fraction, then Willow was stepping back with a wide, satisfied smile, and hurrying away down the corridor. Tara just stood there, watching her go with bemused amazement, and it was a good few seconds before she could think of anything but how soft Willow's lips had been.

[chilled monkey]

Great update. I loved it!



Willow sounds absolutely radiant, and the dance with Tara was lovely. Nice to see one of my favourite scenes from the show appearing here.



I'm interested by Willow's comment on where magick comes from. This wouldn't happen to be inspired by the Tan Tien (anyone who practises Tai Chi will know what I mean), would it?

Edited by: chilled monkey at: 7/17/03 3:07 pm

[Grimlock72]

Heh... who's to say Willow's magic really comes from her stomach/tummy ?? It was a good ploy to get Tara's hand there I'll grant her that much :-)



Now if Willow would just stop coming to conclusions way to fast, her life would be much easier I think. Their dancing will probably be the talk of the town and the land surrounding it... for days to come .



Sweet chapter this, esp. since both girls seem to really NEED a close relationship in their lives.



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

[lipkandy]

okay, so I'm not usually an uber fic fan, but wow! if anyone told me I would get sucked into a fic where Tara is an amazon warrior I would have been skeptical at the very least, but your style is so fluid you've managed to describe this complicated world (I know nothing about Diablo or whatever the game is) and draw me in without resorting to awkward and lengthy exposition. Specifically, the fact that Tara, an amazon warrior, lacks the killer instinct despite the fact that she is the most gifted pupil. I think it's the idea that she is drawn to the magic and the skill rather than the 'warrior' aspect that really rings true for me. and it's a beautiful touch that she must use weaponry to access and focus that magic. although I have a feeling that might change when she hooks up with our favorite redheaded mage.

Your grasp of Willow and Tara's Willow and Taraness is flawless. I'm a sucker for great characterization and you've really captured the best of them both and that intangible 'thing' that makes them such a wonderful couple.



And that last scene was so breathlessly fairy tale perfect...just wow! again. magic.



thanks for a lovely read!



xomel

Edited by: lipkandy at: 7/17/03 5:49 pm

[WTEL]

Oh my.. .



I LOVED this update. And again oh my..I cant get the picture of Willow out of my head (lucky me).



update soon

Glory: "Did enybody order an apocalypse?"

[TareBearRS]

Wow what a great update.



The dance sounded great and i am glad that Tara found the courage to ask Willow if she wanted to dance.

Levitating too huh.. cool.



They kissed too... maybe just briefly but other will follow soon i hope.



More soon!!!



Renate

[shuyaku]

Your writing is so visually stunning - the descriptions are amazing. Willow's entry was perfect. I loved Tara going non-verbal - it seems so appropriate for her character. The dance was very sweet and the kiss goodnight was even sweeter.



Fantastic update!

-shuyaku

[Arwen276]

Hello!!



I love the way you're writing Hellebore, the visuals are amazing I'm actually picturing everything and it's like a movie in my head...Willow's dress, Tara's armour, the Baron's introductions, Willow's wonderful entrance...and THE DANCE!

It's just LOVELY!



oh and I love the way you're describing Willow, you've got this sort of inversion of personaes Tara being the "warrior" and Willow the sensual sorceress...not that Tara isn't sensual, but I liked the change.



I can't wait for more updatey goodness!!





~Arwen

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

[justin]

Well your descriptions of Tara's and Willows costumes, along with the dance that followed, were certainly interesting



I like how Willow and Tara seem to be drawn to each other.



Though I'm worried that the lightness of the story at the moment is a prelude to some general nastiness that is coming.

I understand, you should be with the person you l-love


I am

[emyhope127127]

Well, just need to thank you for the wonderful visual of WT in love. No need to mentional all the tension, the romantic feeling you built there. Woo~~ yeah~~ okay, have to bring my jaw back up.....it keeping drooling none-stop though. hehehe.

Great job, well done and more please. I just couldn't get enough~~ well, kinda want more chapter by chapter....

& &



Emy

[Artemis]

Thanks all



chilled monkey: I've heard of beliefs in magic/mystic energy being located in the stomach, though I'm not well-versed enough to know who believes it's where. That provided some of the inspiration; the practical reason, though, is that Willow was wearing the standard Diablo sorceress outfit, and I had to come up with some reason for nearly her entire torso to be bare. Sure it looks great, but I can't quite believe that the Zann Esu order chose that outfit just based on how sexy it was If I ever get to the sequel story, and have to reason why Viz-jaq'taar assassins wear tight laced bodices that don't close at the front... that'll be a challenge to explain.



Grimlock: Heh, yeah... leaping to conclusions is the downside to thinking too fast. Then again, Willow can come up with ideas like the Tara-hand thing in a split second, so it has its benefits too



lipkandy: Thanks for giving the story a try, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm really glad you (and the others who've stopped by to say so) like the characterization - not having any idea how to get that intangible 'thing', I'm just relieved that it's in there



WTEL: Thanks I'm quite taken with Willow's sorceress look myself. Here's the picture it's based on: www.battle.net/images/bat...istory.jpg



TareBearRS: Don't worry, there'll be more kissing to come, and they won't all be brief



shuyaku: Thanks. If ever there was a time for Tara to be struck very literally speechless, seeing Willow in that outfit would be it.



Arwen276: I thought it would be interesting to flip Willow and Tara's initial attraction over - seeing as Willow's usually the one who takes a little while to figure out she's in love with Tara, I figured it's be fun to reverse it, and have Tara be pleasantly oblivious for a bit. But that's more a matter of chance and circumstance - though Willow is definitely the more flirty of the two, Tara won't (hopefully!) be missing any of her sensuality.



justin: Heh. Well, seeing as you mention the story's current lightness - yes, there's peril and struggle ahead. It wouldn't be an adventure otherwise.



emyhope: Thanks. I'm going to try to keep the romance centre-stage, seeing as it's been so much fun to work on this far. So there'll be adventuring and so on, but I'll try not to put the relationship 'on hold' at any point, to stabilise it so it's not a factor in the plot - rather, I hope to have it grow throughout the process.

[Artemis]

Hellebore



Author: Chris Cook

Rating: PG

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



--

Chapter Seven

--



Willow awoke with a start, kicking her legs free of the sheets before she remembered where she was, and the urge to run, to find safety, vanished. She shook her head ruefully and ran a hand through her hair, which had somehow managed to become tangled since she had gone to sleep. 'It can't have been that long,' she grumbled to herself, noting both her lingering tiredness, and the early morning sun just creeping over the battlements beyond her window. 'How does hair *do* this?' She got out of bed, discarded her flimsy nightgown in favour of a thick, warm robe, and sat in front of the mirror, brushing her hair back to a decent state. And remembering her dream.



It had begun innocently enough, with her wanderings carrying her through the gardens of the Church, with birdsong and the crunching of the gravel beneath her bare feet the only sounds. The sun was bright in the sky, casting golden light across the flowers... then the flowers were all around her, covering the ancient stonework of the cloister, carpeting the ground in a soft bed of colour. And the golden sunlight became golden hair, which Willow ran her hands through and buried her face in, laughing with joy as she felt Tara's arms around her. The flowers were like silk beneath them as they lay together, side by side, Willow marvelling at the flawless skin beneath her fingers, as she ran her hand down Tara's side, across her waist, down her thigh... Tara pressed up against her, her leg resting over Willow's hip, her toes trailing along the backs of Willow's legs, and Willow reached back and ran her hand all the way along Tara's leg, right down to her toes, then back up again. Tara stretched her arm out above her head, and Willow trailed her touch all the way up her body, over her shoulder, up along her arms to her fingertips. She could feel Tara shivering in delight, could see the anticipation in her sapphire blue eyes...



Then she had rolled over, and the warmth of Tara's body behind her was receding. The colour of the flowers was fading, and then the irregular surface wasn't flowers anymore, but stone, debris from the shattered columns and broken walls of the building around her. She felt a gaze on her back, but she didn't want to roll back over, because she knew the eyes weren't Tara's...



"Well damn," she said to herself, brushing viciously, "if I'm going to have nightmares, at least the good part could last longer." She gave a lop-sided grin to the image of herself in the mirror, but couldn't quite shake off the lingering unease the dream had left her with. Sure, she had had nightmares since- when she had been recalled to the Church, but they had faded with time, naturally, leaving Willow with nothing more than an annoying tendency to sleep lightly, which she was inclined to blame as much on travelling as on her mind's night-time meanderings. But they had been just bad dreams, easily swept away by the morning light, and a refreshing splash of water over her face when she washed. This time she still had a nagging feeling that she should be looking over her shoulder.



"Heigh-ho," she said to herself, making light of her unease as she checked her robe was decently tied around her and pulled the bell-cord for a servant. She changed into her travelling clothes as the servant departed towards the kitchens to bring her early breakfast and a bath, packing away her green outfit. That drew her thoughts to the previous night, and she resolved to visit the Amazons' quarters and see if she could spend the morning with Tara, before she would have to meet the mage and see what he could teach her.



As it happened, she met Tara half-way across the garden-courtyard between the south wing of the castle, where the Amazons were, and the keep, where Willow's room was. Willow waved unnecessarily as they neared each other, and felt her spirits soar as she noticed the smile that spread across Tara's face as she saw her.



"Hi," she said.



"Hi," Tara answered. "I-I was just coming to see you."



"Me too!" Willow grinned. "Coming to see you, I mean. 'Cause I saw me already, in the mirror when I woke up, morning hair and all..." She shrugged, feeling suddenly and uncharacteristically shy. Tara, on the other hand, seemed bolder than usual, as she stepped closer and ran her fingers through Willow's hair.



"I like you hair," she said softly. "I-it feels wonderful."



"It's just lulling you into a false sense of security," Willow joked. Tara giggled, which made Willow laugh too. A group of servants hurried through the garden, and Tara took Willow's arm and led her off the path. Willow sat beside Tara on one of the low stone walls surrounding the raised flowerbeds, pleased that Tara's hand dropped down her arm to her hand, but didn't let go.



"I can't stay too long," Tara sad reluctantly, "I'm supposed to go with the Baron and some of his noblemen on a hunt." She gestured at the end of the bow sticking up over her shoulder.



"Oh," Willow said sadly, "I wish I could come with you."



"On horseback."



"Well..." Willow hesitated. "I could ride with you, that wouldn't be so bad. Then if I got dizzy or anything I could hold on to you."



"You did okay when we rode out to see the river," Tara said.



"Oh, no," Willow said with mock-seriousness, "I bet I'd have to hold on to you all the time. Can't take chances with horses." Tara grinned.



"Are you flirting with me?" she asked with a sly smile.



"Maybe," Willow replied, drawing the word out longer than it needed to be, eliciting another laugh from Tara. 'Hey, look at me,' she thought, 'I'm flirting! Who'd ha' thought it?' "Why, is there some penalty for flirting with an Amazon?"



"Yep," said Tara triumphantly, "now you have to go with me to the Baron's feast in two days. I-if you want to," she added, her teasing smile replaced by a hopeful look.



"I'd love to!" Willow exclaimed, squeezing Tara's hand. "Thank you, I'd love to," she repeated.



"Great," Tara said, smiling shyly at being the cause of Willow's joy. "S-so, do you know what you'll be studying today? It is today, isn't it? The Baron's mage?"



"Midday," confirmed Willow, "yep. I don't know yet, I haven't even seen him so far. Ember wrote a few notes about him on the scroll the Order gave me, but I don't think she ever met him. Just that he's part of the western Vizjerei clan. They're pretty eclectic, according to her notebook, she met a few of them years ago."



"Eclectic?" Tara asked.



"The western clan are just about the only group of mages to really settle out here in Westmarch," Willow explained, "so they've sort of got the whole place to themselves. Not like Kehjistan, there's practically the whole set of clans and orders within a hundred miles. Vizjerei, the new Horadrim, the reformed Zakarum scholars, the Ennead and the Ammuit, the Zann Esu, plus there's necromancers lurking down south somewhere... the whole continent is full of what we call nodes, places where magic is amplified. Everyone sticks to their own discipline and mostly pretends the other clans don't exist... but out here it's just the western clan, so they study whatever they like. Some elemental effects, some prime magic, alchemy, holy magic, Ember says there's even some druidic influences around. There's no-one to really look over their shoulder, so they research whatever looks promising."



"Sounds interesting," Tara observed, wide-eyed.



"I'll tell you all about it," Willow promised. She noticed movement beyond the archway leading from the garden to the main courtyard. "I think your hunting adventure is getting ready," she said, not without a touch of sadness. Tara glanced behind herself, seeing the Baron's horse being readied, and several noblemen with bows meandering around.



"I have to go," she admitted.



"Well, have fun," Willow said, trying a smile and finding that it came easily when she did it for Tara. Tara squeezed her hand, then let go as she stood up. Willow's hand brushed in the flowers by her side, as she looked up at Tara, who was radiant with the morning sun behind her. "Be careful," she added suddenly, not sure why.



"I will," Tara said seriously, gazing into Willow's eyes. "Is e-everything okay?"



"I'm fine," Willow said, waving a hand dismissively, "I just woke up feeling a bit off-centre. It's nothing." She stood, and impulsively leaned forward and kissed Tara on the cheek - nothing extravagant, just a reminder of how a few minutes with her had brightened Willow's whole day. Tara touched her cheek, smiling beautifully.



"I-I'll see you soon," she said, still smiling. Willow nodded and sat back down on the flowerbed wall. Tara took a step backwards, started to turn away, then turned back to Willow and took two quick steps, bringing her directly in front of Willow. Before Willow could think Tara's hands were cupping her cheeks, turning her face gently to meet Tara's as she leaned down. Their lips touched, pressed together, and Willow's eyes fluttered closed as she felt Tara's mouth open and her tongue graze across her lips. Willow couldn't think, couldn't react, couldn't summon the presence of mind to bring her hands up from where they were resting at her sides... in fact, couldn't do anything but open her mouth, feeling as if her whole body had turned to jelly and Tara's hands gently, firmly holding her head were the only thing stopping her from sliding off her perch on the wall and melting into a puddle on the ground. Tara tilted her head sideways, deepening the kiss, her tongue brushing over the tips of Willow's teeth, gingerly exploring her mouth, darting in to touch her tongue. Willow completely forgot where she was and moaned into Tara's mouth, making no attempt to silence herself. With a final swirl Tara's tongue departed, and her lips closed for a moment on Willow's bottom lip, sucking gently, pulling ever so slightly as Tara pulled back, then letting go. Tara stood up straight, and Willow stayed absolutely motionless for a moment before her eyes opened and she took a deep, shuddering breath.



"I'll be back soon," Tara said, with a smile that was quite restrained under the circumstances.



"Yeah..." Willow managed.



"I'll see you then."



"Yeah..."



"As soon as you're finished with the mage," Tara added.



"Yeah..." Willow said again. She didn't move except to watch Tara as she turned and headed towards the main courtyard. 'Oh gods,' she was thinking, 'oh gods...' With considerable effort she composed herself, and managed to make her legs work before she fell off the wall. 'Well,' she thought to herself, 'let's hear it for flirting.'



-----



Tara waited until she was sure she was out of sight from the garden, then leaned back against the courtyard's wall and took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She had no real idea why she'd chosen that moment to kiss Willow, except that it had seemed like the best possible idea in the world. Any doubt, which had been entirely overridden in the moment, about whether she was moving faster than Willow wished was entirely erased by the look of pure delight on the Sorceress's face as she left.



'I did that,' Tara thought dazedly, 'that look was because of me. I kissed her, and then she looked so happy... I make her happy.' That thought, even more than the searing memory of the kiss itself, made Tara shiver with pleasure, and she was glad that none of the nobles had yet noticed her, because she was sure her expression was hiding nothing. She took a deep breath, and noticed a slight warmth between her legs, underneath her leather skirt. 'Oh goddess, I got wet from a kiss!' she thought giddily. She couldn't stop herself from shivering again, then she wondered if she should go back to her quarters and change her underwear. But no, she told herself she was being silly - it was barely a hint, far less than she was sure she'd be sweating once the hunt got underway. Besides, going back to her quarters would mean going back through the garden, where she'd probably find Willow, and then the Baron and his noblemen would have to pry her away with a crowbar.



She took a moment to turn her grin to something less gleeful, then made her way across to the Baron's party with a spring in her step. The Baron himself had arrived, and was busy greeting the nobles. Tara held back a moment, observing them - the Baron seemed to stand far less on ceremony than he had at the dinner, conversing with the others as if they were just friends out for a ride. He noticed Tara, and waved her over.



"Lady Tara," he said - Tara noticed some of the noblemen wince at his loud voice, and guessed they were nursing hangovers - "glad you'll be joining us. Show us some of that famous Amazon skill, eh? Stefan here is our best archer," he added, clapping a hand jovially on the shoulder of a tall, middle-aged man with long grey hair. He bowed to Tara and held out his hand.



"A pleasure," he said as Tara shook his hand, "if you can find the time, I'd appreciate a contest."



"That'll be something to see," the Baron interjected. He drifted off to welcome some more colleagues who were just arriving. Stefan stayed at Tara's side, showing polite interest as she selected a length of fire spinner silk and bent the bow back to string it. They exchanged bows for a moment, Stefan marvelling at the craftsmanship of the Amazon weapon, Tara running a practiced eye over his bow, and noting that it was a strong design, perhaps lacking a little finesse, but certainly more refined than it looked on first sight. He thanked Tara and wandered off towards the Baron as a groom brought Tara a horse from the stables, which he said was called Kestrel. The horse dipped her head to let Tara stroke her long face, and Tara talked quietly in the horse's ear for a moment, letting her hear the sound of her voice. She was a friendly creature, and Tara found she was looking forward to a day's riding as she and the Baron's party mounted their steeds and headed through the main gate, with a pair of guards bringing up the rear.



-----



Ahead of Tara the Baron's horse jumped a low ditch easily. Tara felt Kestrel's muscles bunching with power, then for a moment they were flying, before the horse's hooves touched the ground on the other side and she continued her gallop in the Baron's wake. Tara couldn't restrain a whoop of joy as they took the next jump - she had never before ridden so fast, with the wind in her face and her hair streaming out behind her. Riding at home, when it had been necessary, had always been fairly sedate: journeys to the outer villages too long to make on foot, but on the twisting paths through the forest it wasn't easy to guide a horse too fast. Now she put her weight on the stirrups and rose up just a fraction out of the saddle, one hand loosely holding the reins, the other steadying her balance on the horse's neck, and she smiled widely as she felt the air fly around her. 'Of course,' she admitted to herself, 'it's not just the riding.'



The Baron reined in his steed as the party finished crossing the castle's fields and reached the edge of a dense wood. Tara reluctantly swung herself off Kestrel's back, handing the reins to the groom who would watch the horses as they went deeper into the trees on foot. The Baron wasn't what Tara would call a precise hunter - he obviously knew a fair bit about the wood, which he had no doubt hunted in all his life, but he made no effort to hide his presence from the wildlife, crashing through the undergrowth and calling out to his nobles at the top of his voice. Most glimpses they had were of animals already beating a hasty retreat, but the Baron was enjoying himself. They meandered around, occasionally pausing when someone saw a beast that hadn't already made itself scarce, but they were usually so far away that when the hunter who spotted it fired his arrow, it landed short, or flew well wide of the mark. The Baron himself, in one of his rare quiet moments, had the fortune to spot a deer not far off, but he identified it as a female and moved on. Stefan told Tara that the Baron, unlike some of his predecessors, wouldn't hunt females or young, and also unlike most nobles had actually taken the time to learn to tell them apart by sight.



They paused in a clearing for lunch, emptying the bags carried by the servants trailing behind the hunting party of bread rolls and leftover meats from the previous evening's dinner. Some of the nobles were quite surprised to learn that Tara didn't eat meat, but the Baron merely shrugged jovially and handed her some cheese to go with the bread. No-one talked to her very much as they ate, but Tara didn't mind - they weren't being impolite, she decided, they just seemed a little wary of her. Besides, the bread was excellent, with juicy berries baked into it, and Tara's mind was on other things. Afterwards, though, Stefan engaged her in a discussion on the relative merits of short and longbows, which drew in the Baron and a few others, and their general nervousness about interacting with an Amazon seemed to drain away - at least, Tara observed, they no longer acted as if she was liable to explode or declare an oath of vengeance for no reason.



After a short while the Baron decided they should resume the hunt, and now he and his companions moved more stealthily. Tara was inclined to revise her opinion of him - he obviously knew how to blend in to the forest, to mask his noise and presence, he just didn't make it a priority at all times, as if he enjoyed the experience of the hunt more than just the successful pursuit of game. Without the ruckus they had earlier been making, the party soon spied a lone stag not far away, and the Baron waved Tara up to where he stood, half-hidden by a tree.



"Would you care for a chance?" he asked quietly. Tara wasn't in any hurry to kill the animal - Amazons never hunted to the kill for sport, only for food - but that thought prompted an idea in her mind, and she nodded and drew her bow. Without making a sound she drew an arrow from her quiver - one of the castle armoury's, for she had decided against using her own Amazon-made arrows. She drew back the bowstring and gazed along the length of the shaft, fixing her eyes on the animal beyond.



"I have it," she said after a moment's stillness, and slowly let the tension out of the bow.



"Excuse me?" asked the Baron.



"Amazons don't kill unless it's for food," Tara explained, "or defence. When we hunt for sport or practice, we only do it until we have a clear shot." She made her face a mask of professionalism, but the Baron seemed more curious than upset.



"Forgive my asking," he said, "but how do you know you'd have made the shot? No disrespect to your skills, of course."



"None taken," said Tara graciously. She glanced at the ground, and bent down to scoop up a small stone. She took the ribbon that had been tied around the necks of her arrows and looped it securely around the stone, knotting it tightly and handing it to the Baron.



"If you would, Baron, swing that as far as you can," she asked. He shrugged and took a few steps back, making sure he had room to swing the makeshift projectile without hitting anyone. Tara examined her stock of arrows for a moment before selecting one. Its weight was very close to those she was familiar with, and the flex in its shaft was very close to perfect. "Your craftsmen make good arrows, Baron," she observed, nocking it and drawing her bow, keeping it pointed at the ground.



"We know the value of good archery," the Baron answered. He then swung the stone around his head twice before releasing it off to one side of Tara. She was already screening out the distractions, the breathing of the Baron and the nobles, the shapes of the trees, the small sounds of animals moving, and leaves rustling in the breeze. She turned and fired in one smooth motion, almost able to see the flight of the receding stone, and the curve of her arrow as she launched it. The trailing ribbon jerked in the air, dragged off its course, and a cheer went up from the noblemen.



"My word!" the Baron exclaimed.



"No offence, Stefan," said another of the men to the old archer, "but my money's going to be on her bow."



"I fear I'll be outmatched," Stefan admitted, "but I'd still like that contest, if you're willing."



"Of course," Tara smiled, glad that her stunt had gone so well - she had gambled that her skill combined with the novelty of Amazon ways would prove more entertaining to the Baron and his men than bringing down the stag would have. Even as she smiled, though, her mind was still drifting through the frame of thought she entered whenever she practiced, seeing the world as shapes and speeds, translating all sight and sound into a field of objects at rest and in motion. She didn't even think as she leant back, her hand flashing out beside her, closing around something, and turning as its momentum spun her for a moment.



The Baron and his nobles were struck silent, as was Tara, as she slowly uncoiled her fingers from around the crossbow bolt she held. She blinked at it, uncomprehending - she hadn't even been aware of danger, she had acted entirely by instinct. Her mind snapped back to reality, and she dropped the bolt, which in turn seemed to snap her companions out of their own shock.



"Guards!" roared the Baron, drawing his sword, "over there! Go!" He stepped around Tara, standing between her and the unseen attacker as the two guards, and several noblemen, crashed through the undergrowth. Tara peered over the Baron's shoulder, seeing a man in dark green clothes scramble up from the ground, start to run, trip over something, and regain his feet too late as the guards reached him. Then the Baron was turning back to her.



"Lady Tara," he said sincerely, "I... am deeply shocked... you are a guest at my castle, my home, and... had you not been able to-" he broke off, then resumed: "I will find out what is behind this, I promise you!"



Tara nodded dumbly, unable to speak. She clenched her hands, trying to stop them shaking, as the Baron turned again to stare towards where his guards were none too gently hauling their captive back towards them. There was shouting from off to the west, where the sun was starting to slant through the tree branches, and more guards, leading horses, appeared. Their captain spotted the Baron and passed the reins of his horse to another guard, sprinting to his lord as quickly as he could.



"Baron," he panted, "you must come back to the castle... you must-" he paused to gulp a breath of air.



"What's going on?" demanded the Baron. "Someone just attacked the Lady here!"



"Your mage, sire," the captain said, "he attacked someone- he'd been doing black magic, sire!"



The Baron stared at the captain for a moment, dumbfounded, then strode past him and commandeered one of the horses the guards had brought. Tara sprinted after him, none of the men protesting as she took a horse and urged it on, following the Baron as fast as she could through the woods, all thoughts of her own close escape replaced by a cold fear for what she might find back at the castle.

[justin]

Yoiks



Who was it who attacked Tara and why?



Why has the Duke's mage suddenly started using dark magic and who did he attack? It wasn't Willow was it?



Ahh, so many questions.

I understand, you should be with the person you l-love


I am

[chilled monkey]

Count me in with Justin in hoping that the mage didn't attack Willow.



Very good update. I was a little suprised by Tara hunting, but again you manage to have it make sese in that she doesn't actually hurt anything. Very cool description of her catching the crossbolt.



I'm wondering what Willow's dream means

[Grimlock72]

Who on earth would want to kill Tara ? She's just an Amazonian diplomat, what would be the point or use of killing her ? Surely she hasn't made any enemies herself... strange.



Same goes for the Baron's mage, something has obviously gone wrong there as well. Would be interesting to know on what the intended target of his dark magic was, I would be suprised it that were Willow. Still, why would anyone go through so much effort just to keep two loving women apart ??



Smart Tara to direct the attention of the hunting part away from an actual kill. I was wondering what she would do at a hunting party anyway, just doesn't sound like Tara :-)



The Baron seems friendly enough, a fellow who enjoys life. Of course he's horribly sorry for what happened, time for a little friendly chat *cough* with the Cowardly Crossbow Man, heh. The middle-ages did have SOME advantages in that regard, oh yeah....



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

[Arwen276]

That was quite an update!!!!

I loved Tara's boldness, the kiss was quite something!

then the Hunting sequence, Tara's prouess... I like the Baron he's a good man, very noble.

And wow with the `catching the arrow behind her back`...

I think I have a fair idea about who was attacked, I just hope I got it wrong...

anyway I CANT WAIT FOR ANOTHER UPDATE!!

I LOVE YOUR FIC!





~Arwen

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

[WTEL]

Wow, to both the kiss, it was fun to see Tara so..bold, and to Tara with that bow, she was awesome.



I am quite curious about the attack, and the black magic abusing mage. I just hope it is not willow who was attacked, but I have a feeling that she is somehow involved, since she was supposed to train with him.



It is that you are updating so frequently. please keep doing that.

Xena: "I'll keep this [breast dagger] for the time being."

Gabrielle: "Ha! It's not like your breasts aren't dangerous enough!"