A/N: Guess who didn't really edit this one? Me! So sorry in advance for any weird grammar and punctuation mishaps as well as weird sentences in general!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Enjoy! (Despite the edit-less parts!)
TORI SHORT STORY #20 — CONFESSIONS AND REFLECTIONS
Tori sighed as she walked through the gated entrance. For a spring day it was unseasonably cold, forcing her to huddle up in her jean jacket and sweatshirt. She figured it was fitting seeing as where she was. Tori wove her way through the pathways, ignoring everything around her completely focused only on the task at hand, until she found the location she was looking for.
She stood there for a minute or two, unsure what to do. Tori never really thought she'd visit this place. It never really crossed her mind. She'd been kidnapped and turned into a Talon. Afterwards it had been hard readjusting to her new self and retraining herself not to kill…not to make a difference without harming others. Finally she just sat down on the slightly damp grass and stared straight ahead at the block of stone,
"Hi mom," she said mutely…the name sounded so strange on her tongue. Had she ever really called Maud 'mom' before? She squeezed her eyes shut, shifting through her memories trying to remember. She had to have called Maud mom or mommy once? When she was little? To little to remember? Or had those memories of actually placing the title of mother onto Maud's shoulders been whisked away to the void in her mind that was still completely blank? Shaking her head she opened her eyes and stared at the elaborate tombstones that marked Maud and Max's resting places. It wasn't true that she hadn't seen them, she'd been at the funeral and Jason had brought her to his grave…but she hadn't stayed…she came and went. Today she had decided to pay a visit to her mother…though she wasn't sure exactly what to say. What does one talk about to the dead? Tori bit her lip and tilted her head back slightly, "Um…I'm in college. I'm almost nineteen. I am technically undead….and I can't die…." Tori frowned…should she be mentioning that to someone who's dead? Would Maud's ghost frown at her and wonder why Tori wouldn't die but she already had?
Most parents wouldn't think that dying before their kids was unfair. Kids would usually outlive their parents, but Maud saw everything as more work she needed to do, more things she needed to improve, changes to be made and differences to be met. She was ever busy and dying hadn't been on the agenda, at least not anytime soon…but not even she could have predicted what happened. Tori bit her lip hard at the thought of her mother's death. At the time she had thought it was her fault…but it had been Mac's fault. By not paying the Talons back and failing to help them through his experiments he brought the wrath of the Court upon his success's family,
"I'm sorry that you had to die. If I had known…" Tori stopped, a lump forming in her throat, "…if I had known…I would have done everything in my power to stop them," silence, a crow cawing in one of the trees and the wind rustling the branches overhead,
"I'm sorry I put you through what I did. I'm sorry you thought I was dead when I wasn't. I was stupid. I was impulsive and too focused on…on…on not being like you," she was shocked with that confession…hadn't even realized it was there to begin with but she didn't stop, "I didn't want to be just a head of a company. I didn't want a periodic way of life. I wanted…glory…I wanted to make a difference…I wanted to be strong in a way that you were not. You never completed your dreams. You let them all turn to dust in the back of your closet. I found the trophies there, the awards and letters from all over the world where your money could have made a difference…and yet you gave it all up for fame and money and power in Gotham. I didn't want to become that. I wanted to be a knight of Gotham…I wanted to save this corrupt city," after a pause in her sudden tirade she let out a bitter laugh,
"But I didn't save it did I? I led a madman to it. I became an inhuman assassin and killed at least twenty people in this city, maybe more...I don't even know how many really, for the Court of Owls…God, you would be so…I don't even know what you would feel about that. I don't really know you do I? I had to find those trophies and broken dreams on my own…I had to see you act as if you were a queen of ice to your own children and I will never know why…and you will never know what I have done since you've passed and for that…I'm actually grateful," Tori felt an unwanted tear slip down her cheek, "I've always had this burning passion, this feeling that I was meant for something more. That one day I'd be found by someone and taught how to save those who suffer and end those who oppress and created the sufferers…maybe I've always had that killer instinct, I was just in a society where that was frowned upon. Maybe I was right, I did find that person…and he's teaching me to be better…to be in control and to be more of a savior for this city," Tori felt a smile reach her lips,
"I won't apologize for not wanting to be like you. You were a very odd and cold person. But I did love you. I do love you. I do miss you. I may not remember all the times you were there for me…but I know they exist and I'm going to make myself remember them because while we're different because of what we chose to do with our dreams and lives…we're still very similar you and I. We both would do anything for our family—even die for them. I know you did everything in your power to protect Cameron…and so did I," Tori stood, the air whistling around her and blowing her hair in her face, "Goodbye mom. It's been great talking…we should do this again some time. I met a really amazing guy who I really want to tell you about, but I have training to do so…rain-check!" With that Tori left the cemetery and hailed a taxi for Wayne Manor, there was work to be done.
A/N: Wonder why Maud acted the way she did...hmmm, I might have to expand on that eventually.
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Next chapter for Things to Resolve on Monday and next Short Story on Wednesday!