A Brighter Future?, The story of Tara Willow. Options

[Tábrasa]

Hello! I'll start by introducing myself.

My name is Tábrasa and I'm new to the forums. I've been silently looking at some of the stories on the forums and have felt truly inspired.
Therefore I have decided to start the story of my Breton Wiccan, Tara Willow, who I've been travelling with for the past year. Below is an introduction to Tara, which will soon be followed by the Prologue...

INTRODUCTION TO TARA WILLOW

Tara Willow is a 20 year old female Breton born on the 14th of Rain's Hand, 3E 413.

She is primarily a Conjurer but also dabbles in Destruction and Illusion. She is also handy with a blade in certain situations.

Her father died when she was a teenager and her mother resides somewhere in Cyrodiil, under a new name following events in High Rock that led her to abandon Tara as an infant.

Tara's father was a man obsessed with the art of Mysticism; but in the wrong kind of way. He wanted to experiment the thought of finding a way to turn the human body itself into a soul gem; an experment not only ridiculed, but dangerous.

One day, however, he managed to succeed in his experiment; using a teenage Tara as his unwilling test subject. He managed to trap a spirit withing Tara's body, leaving her in an unusual state.

Tara now has to permanantly live with an extra spirit inside her, who she named Willow, after her surname.
Willow is able to communicate with Tara and take control of her body for brief periods; but only when Tara desperatly need's her assistance. However, Willow's possesions are almost NEVER a good thing.

Currently Tara is on a mission to find her mother, mainly for her own piece of mind. All she knows is that she is in Cyrodiil, but nothing else. The only thing she has to offer any aid in her quest is the memory of her mothers face...

This post has been edited by Tábrasa: Dec 12 2011, 01:17 AM

[Tábrasa]

Athynae: I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story and are looking forward to more! I hope this next chapter satisfies any questions you may hold to what Tara may have in store for Aleksander! Thank you for the nit

mALX: Hehe I'm so glad that you love Willow! Thank you for the compliments. My only notion to Tara anger at her mother is the feeling of abandonment, but TBH onlw Tara can answer those questions... Maybe she will one day

King Coin: I'm glad the chapter help answer some questions for you

Acadian: Aww thank you! It is fun to write for two different characters, and it's so much fun seeing how they interact with each other.

McBadgere: Hehe, thank you!

Fawkes: Thank you so much for the compliments! Im so glad you liked that line of Willows

SubRosa: Thank you for the compliments So glad you're enoying te story

P.S I wonder if any BtVS fans noticed the reference to the S5 episode 'Forever' with Willows line '...I'm a ghost. I know stuff.'

***

1.3 ~ Beginnings

Tara walked over to the dining table, glaring at Aleksander as she sat in her seat. She wondered why he would do such a thing. It’s one thing that he had been in contact with her mother for years on end, but to not tell her about it? It was unacceptable.

Still, despite the subtle anger dripping from her every pore, she couldn’t bring herself to ask him about her discovery. Was she nervous? Yes. Was she scared? Most probably.

She sat with Mildred and Aleksander as she ate her meal, occasionally glancing at Aleksander with every bite of the delicious food. She desperately wanted to say something, but she couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t. Maybe she couldn’t handle confrontation which to lead to the loss of a great friend.

She didn’t know what to think, and with Willow constantly nagging for her to ‘demand answers’ from Aleksander, thinking was not going to get any easier. So she did the next best thing.

“Mildred,” She started, holding the back of her palm to her forehead. “The meal was lovely, b-but I think I need to lie down…”

“Oh, dear what’s the matter? Is it my cooking?” Mildred panicked.

“No, just a mild migraine,” Tara lied. “But I do need to lie down.”

Mildred nodded as Tara stood up and headed to her bedroom. Aleksander was paying no attention to her whilst Mildred had a worried expression on her face. It made her feel sick that she had to lie to avoid confrontation, but she knew that if she had time to sleep on it, she would feel better in the morning. Hopefully.

She walked into her bedroom and changed into her bed clothes. She could see Willow’s image in the window, which made taking off her bra rather uncomfortable. She decided to take her Bra off under her blouse, leading to an awkward moment of trying to undo the knot with minimal room to even move. She couldn’t quite reach, leading to an even more awkward motion of trying to move the bra around so the knot at the back would be at the front, which, again, her having her blouse on for privacy made ever more difficult.

She looked in her reflection and could see Willow giggling at her actions.

Tara smiled slightly before finally removing the bra. She then crawled under her duvet and swapped her blouse for her bed shirt. She knew that one day she would be comfortable with the fact that there would always be someone around watching her change but for now? She wasn’t going to let it happen.

She put her head on the pillow, regardless of the fact that she wasn’t even sleepy, and tried to get her forty winks.

“So what are we going to do about Aleksander?” Willow asked. Tara ignored her.

***

The next morning Tara woke, surprised that she had actually fallen asleep. She got out of her bed and put on her clothes. She walked out of her bedroom and headed downstairs. She stared in awe at the state of the dining room. It was a mess, a mess that certainly wasn’t there when she went to bed the previous night. Chairs were thrown around the room, glasses were smashed and food was splattered on nearly every inch of the wall. The sight that horrified her the most, however, was the painting above the fireplace. It was ruined. Slashed from end to end with burn marks from which looked like- A shock spell?

She continued to stare until she saw Mildred wander in through the kitchen. She ran downstairs to speak with her whilst she brushed the mess into a tidy pile.

“Mildred, what happened?” Tara asked. Mildred didn’t reply.

Tara stood directly in front of Mildred and asked her the same question, but was again met with no reply.

“W-who did this?” Tara asked. This question peaked Mildred’s curiosity. She looked at Tara with a disgusted expression, as if Tara was a lowly beggar asking for change.

“How dare you ask a question like that? You know very well who did this!”

Tara looked at Mildred, confused. Mildred then turned and walked away from her. Tara wasn’t ready to give up, so she decided to try Aleksander.

She assumed he would be in his office so she headed there, and she was right. She walked into the office and before she could say a word, Aleksander looked at her from his chair; a forced smile on his miserable face.

“Tara…” He greeted. His tone worn and empty.

Tara approached him slowly.

“What happened? Is Mildred okay?” She asked.

“I think last nights antic have upset her a bit. You must understand.”

Tara looked shocked. Everyone spoke to her as if she was supposed to know what had happened.

“No, I don’t. Tell me!” She begged.

Aleksander gave a sigh of regret, then rose from his seat and embraced Tara.

“I’m sorry that my deception upset you that much, Tara. And I completely understand and support your decision to leave to find your mother.”

Tara stared at Aleksander in utter disbelief.

“Wh-what? What decision?”

“Tara, don’t try and make me feel better by denying what you said. It may have been said in anger, but you spoke of what your heart desires. Maybe with you going on your journey it will help me find piece of mind, too.”

Tara broke away from his embrace. She couldn’t remember anything that he was speaking of, but she decided to go along with it anyway. If it made Aleksander feel better, then there was really no point in arguing.

“Now, I put your bag by the front door last night.”

Tara smiled reluctantly. She was being pushed out by something she wasn’t even aware of. She didn’t know whether or not she should go, but it was clear that she did. Maybe she did say all those things the previous night and somehow lost all memory of it. Maybe she hit her head during the destruction and caused her memory loss. All she was aware of was that she was gone. For no reason or explanation she was to leave Farrun and Go to Cyrodiil. Why? She didn’t know. But even though it wasn’t her decision, something inside her made her realise it was the right one.

***

Tara stood with her backpack outside Aleksander’s house. Mildred wasn’t present; she was still upset and wasn’t going to forgive the innocent Tara any day soon.

“Make sure you write to me when you find Jada.” Aleksander made her promise.

“How am I supposed to find her? I can hardly remember what she looks like?”

“You’ll know, Tara. Believe me.”

Tara smiled. She didn’t know what else to say, so she waved goodbye and began to walk away. However, after taking a few steps she turned around to ask Aleksander one final question.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Mother had been writing to you?”

“Because she asked me not to. I’ve told you this.” Aleksander informed her.

“Remind me.” Tara asked. Aleksander seemed hesitant for some reason, but he obliged.

“She was worried about your father finding out that she was betraying their agreement.”

“What agreement?” Tara asked.

“I don’t know, she didn’t tell me.”

Tara looked at Aleksander. She could see in his eyes that he was telling her the truth; but it still wasn’t enough.

She smiled and turned to walk away again, but this time turned and ran toward Aleksander, jumping into his arms and holding him tightly. Tears falling softly from her eyes.

“Thank you… for everything.” She muttered. She held the embrace for a few seconds before gradually releasing it.

“Goodbye.” She smiled. Aleksander nodded in a reply.

“Good luck.”

She walked away for a final time and headed out of town. The Farrun air soon to become a memory, but she wasn’t phased. Despite the rush of her leaving she had a new, important focus in life. Despite the people she was leaving and the state she left them in she knew it was the right decision to make. She didn’t make any more final goodbyes, not to Karliah or anyone. She was leaving and that was that.

This was the start of something new for her; a mission. Her mother was waiting and Tara had her questions ready. All se knew was that her mother was in one of the mages guild halls in Cyrodiil under a new name. it was going to be a challenge, but she knew she was going to find her. She knew the journey would be tough, but it’s not like she didn’t have any company.

Maybe now Tara would find the brighter future she’d always craved.

Maybe…

This post has been edited by Tábrasa: Jan 30 2012, 05:12 PM