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Innocence


Disclaimer : I own none of these characters apart from Tara and characters you don't reconise.Bolvanger and Coutler belong to Phillip Pullman.


Tara kept running her strawberry red hair bounced up and down. She was wearing a thin black cardigan dirty blue shirt and white shorts. Rain splattered down heavily on her. By now her hair was drenched. She didn't know what she was running from. All she knew was that she wanted to keep moving. Hurrrying on a dark dressed man followed her taking his time. He was coming close. Finding somewhere to hide she dashed into a club. The P3. Without thinking she ran into a young woman.
"Ahh!" The screamed. The woman was in her early twenties had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She looked down and her face relaxed a little. " Well who do we have here?". Tara looked down and her hair covered her face. The woman knelt down. Somehow she seemed to become attached to this young girl.
"I'm Piper. How are you?" Piper asked.
"Tara" Tara mumbled and she fumbled with a piece of her hair.
" Well Tara you really shouldn't be here, where are your Mom and Dad?" Piper asked. Tears formed in Tara's eyes. She sniffed and whispered quietly.
" I don't have any."
"Oh honey," Piper said sympathetically. " Where have you been staying then?"
" An opanage," She said
" An opanage?" Piper said with a half smile. " Don't you mean an orphanage?". She looked up and shook her head.
" Don't let them get me Piper!" she said and flung her arms round Pipers neck.
" Don't let who get you?" She asked with a concerned tone.
" The man in th black cloak" Sobbed Tara.
" Oh sweetie.Look, why don't you come back to my place?" Piper asked.
" he won't get me though?" She asked fearfully.
" No he won't" said Piper taking her hand "come on."
At the Manor.
" Look Prue. It says we've got to find her otherwise no more." said Phoebe.
" Phoebe, we've had no more demons for over a month now and i'll rather have it like that." Prue argued.
Piper entered with Tara.
" Hi Prue, Phoebe look what I bought home!" She called. Prue and Phoebe cam running.
" Well who's this?" asked Phoebe.
" Tara," said Piper " I found her in the P3."
"Why didn't you take her to her parents?" Asked Prue
" She doesn't have any." Said Piper.
" Oh!" Said Phoebe sympathetically.
Piper turned to Tara and said.
" Shall we go and get you some clean clothes. We might have some from we were your age." Piper said with a wink. " How old are you?"
" Six and a half" Tara replied. Piper smiled and tugged Tara's hand.
Ten minutes later Tara and the three sisters are in the kitchen asking what Tara wanted to eat.
" I'm not hungry." She said.
" Are you sure Piper's a great cook." Said Phoebe playfully. So far Tara had seemed very grim.
" Can I just have some juice?" She asked.
" Sure." Said Piper and took out a carton of juice and gave it Tara. She yawned and Piper realised that she would need somewhere for Tara to sleep.
" Tara, where do you want to sleep?" She asked. Tara shrugged.
" could I sleep in you bed?" She asked
" Sure i'll have the couch." Piper replied. " Right it's blimey it 11 : 30 off to bed with you."
She asked Tara to follow her and put her in to bed.
" Night night Piper," said Tara sleepily.
" G'night Tara." She left and shut the door.
In the kitchen Prue, Phoebe and Piper sat down at talked.
" She's adporable that kid." Piper said " a bit grim though."
" True." Prue agreed.
" Ever heard of an Opanage?" ASked Piper suddenly
" Yes, well I think I have. IN the Book of Shadows." Said Phoebe
"I think it's a place where they take in kids young kids. Who still have there innncence they kind'a place tests on them there's this demon called Coutler once they lose their innocence they're sent to a dark place with these cracks and a door. The cracks are supposed to be for Coutler it can take the form of anything but it doesn't have an original shape its like a gassy thing.Most of time it takes the form of a shape ofa darkly dressed man."
" Don't send me back!" Came Tara's voice.
" Oh Tara honey, we're not gonna send you back" Piper said.
" He'll get me you're gonna send me back i know yeh are!" Tara screamed.
" No we're not Tara." Said Prue.
" Oh heck," Said Piper frustrated.
" You people are witches en't you." Tara said worridly. " You're just likethe people at Bolvanger!"
" Bolvanger?" Asked Piper unsure.
" The place where we get caught where the Coutler gets us!" Tara screamed. She ran for the door. Piper got up knocking over her chair.
" Tara! Oh Tara sweetie. Come here,"
" Your witches!" She screamed
" yes we know we are, I don't know how you guessed but we arn't bad." Piper said getting more frustrated by the minute. "Look come back to the kitchen."
" Why should I?" Asked Tara stubbornly.
" Because we need to talk to you." PIper said pleadingly. Tara paused but finally she mumbled
" Ok."
Tara sat on the chair and Piper on the other.
" Right Tara, you said you stayed at an opanange. Please tell me what and opanage is." Asked Phoebe.
" I-it's the home of a Coutler and the gateway to Bolvanger." She said queitly. She began to sob queitly.
Meanwhile in the St. Claude's opanage a beutiful young lady. Very tall and brown curly hair stood angrily in front of a desk where an old man sat.
" Where is the girl?" Asked the woman
" Sh-she's b-b-een t-" Stumbled the old man
" Stop stuttering you old fool.!" She said. A red glint in her eye made the man sit up.
" She dissapeared i don't know where to George followed her."
" That's more like it. Now Jones I want you to make sure she gets no where near the witches I need that you hear?" She asked.
" Yes Marla." The old man said. Marla smiled and dissapeared.
The man sighed and rubbed his temples. George wasn't going to be happy. He'd been on a wild goose chase for the past week and hd given up if he asked again it could cost him his life.
" Tara, tell me did you ever go to Bolvanger?" Asked Piper
" Once but this lady came and took me to my bed." She said. Phoebe smiled but couldn't stop thinking what her strawberry red hair resembled.
" Tara do you wanna go back to bed now honey?" Asked Piper. She nodded. Piper picked her up and carried her to her room.
" Ow," Said Tara as Piper tucked her in.
" What it is it?" Asked Piper.
" Nothing," Tara mumbled and she dropped asleep .
" That's weird." Prue said when Piper told her.
" It certainly is." Phoebe agreed.
" Piper, did it ever hit you to ask Tara, anything?" Prue asked.
" Prue, Tara's just a kid, not even seven do you think that, that place would be so thick to tell the kids what they are?" Piper said sharply. Phoebe rubbed one of her temples.
" Heck, this confusing." She said. " All right now we know is that there's an opanage it had this demon thing called a Coutler a door to that Bolvanger place and that Tara's from there."
" There is way, to find out more. But I doubt we can do it." Prue said.
" What?" Asked Piper.
" Erm, does the word travelling through time ring a bell?" Prue said.
" Uh, no out of the question we need to watch Tara." Said Piper.
" Plus, that Coutler thing could get in." Phoebe added " and I don't think taking Tara's a good idea."
" Well then what are we going to do?" Prue snapped. Piper and Phoebe sighed. They looked at each other and finally agreed.
" So do we take Tara or not?" Prue asked.
" Yes." Piper said. " We don't have a choice."