AUTHORS NOTE: SO... THIS IS AN IDEA I HAD FOR A WHILE, MY FIRST BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER STORY. SPECIAL THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL AND AMAZING BETA ATHENABOLEYN13! :) I HOPE YOU ENJOY! :) COMMENT ON IT PLEASE AND THANK YOU. :)
Willow Rosenberg sat Indian style in the center of her bed as she focused the steadiness of her breath. Meditating was something that the red head was getting quite good at, and she enjoyed the inner peace that she gained from it. Her green eyes opened slightly as she heard the bedroom door creak. "You're cheating." Kennedy whispered playfully as she sat down beside the witch. "Why do you always do that?" The potential inquired curiously. "The meditating." She elaborated as Willow furrowed her eyebrows.
The red head shrugged, not feeling comfortable sharing the exact reason with the younger woman. Willow felt very conflicted when it came to the brunette before her. If she was one hundred percent honest with herself, she knew that the only reason she had given Kennedy the time of day at all was because she was the polar opposite of someone else, the woman whose name Willow barely had the strength to say anymore. Tara Maclay. Sometimes she still had nightmares about it, about the whole thing. She was glad that Kennedy was able to accept her for who she was, for all that she had done, but it didn't change the fact that Willow wasn't in love with her. She probably never would be. "You know what happens." The witch finally supplied.
"No," the brunette disagreed, "I know what you tell me." Kennedy sighed and grabbed her girlfriend's hand gently. "When was the last time that you tried it, Willow? Using the magicks, I mean."
"The last time I used magic was probably the same time that I absorbed your energy. Probably around the same time that you freaked out about it." Willow told her bitterly. Kennedy's face still haunted her. Had she been disgusted when she discovered just how dark the witch's magic ran?
"That's not fair, Will." Kennedy argued. "You were invoking some really dark magic, and yeah, okay, I might have freaked, but I get it now. It's not you, Willow. There's no way that you can be evil, you're too… good." The potential finished lamely. "Look, I'm only saying that I think you should try a little bit more magic. You're a lot more powerful than you give yourself credit for."
When Willow remained silent, focusing on the small wrinkle in the comforter instead of the young brunette, Kennedy sighed and stood up. She turned to face the red head once more before finally leaving the room. Goddess, help me. The witch sent a silent prayer before she laid down on the bed and curled up in her old afghan, tears streaming down her face as she recalled the true reason for her meditation.
-X-
"Willow?" A majestic voice spoke serenely. "Wake up, Willow."
The red head's eyes fluttered open slowly. "Hello?" She asked as she tried to take in her surroundings. She was sitting in the middle of a while room on the marble floor, but she couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of her. The best that the witch could tell was that she was lying before some type of dais or stage. "Is anybody here?" Willow asked again, her voice slightly shaky with fear as she stood up.
"There's no need to be afraid of me, Willow." The voice responded. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Sure, like I haven't heard that one before." The red head joked nervously as she tried to understand her surroundings. She had never been anywhere like this place.
The voice laughed musically. "Do you know who I am?" The voice, who Willow decided was female, asked gently.
Willow shook her head; her mouth was cotton and didn't allow any words to escape. The witch wanted desperately to run, to do anything, but her legs wouldn't allow it either. She didn't like feeling so powerless. Funny, she thought, considering how she also didn't like feeling so powerful. Was there ever time when Willow Rosenberg actually knew what she wanted? Yes. A voice in her head whispered, but she tried her best to silence it.
"Look deep within yourself, my daughter, the answer will come to you." The voice instructed her calmly.
"Nyx?" The witch finally managed to choke. Nyx, the Goddess of the night, the mother of the Gods, she must have been dreaming, Willow reasoned, her heart pounding with its new realization.
"This is not a dream, Willow. You have called me, asked me for help, which is why you are here." Slowly, the dark fog that had prevented the witch from seeing too far in front of her began to dissipate and the area directly in front of her became clear; sitting only feet before her was the Goddess Nyx.
"No, this can't be real." The red head shook her head. It made no sense; after all she had done, why now? She should be condemned to purgatory, not awarded a gift from the mother of the Gods! This had to be a dream!
Nyx stood up and walked over to where Willow was standing, her legs unsteady beneath her. The witch held her breath as the Goddess caressed her cheek gently and laughed again, her laughter mirroring the sweet music of wind chimes on a cool summer day. "This is not a dream." She repeated. "After everything you have been put through, after every trial that you've faced, you have managed to find yourself. Though you believe you've shown weakness, you've shown strength, you've shown patience, goodness. That is why you are being rewarded, Willow." Nyx smiled serenely as the red head tried her best to digest what she was being told. Rewarded? How? Her head was spinning as the Goddess watched her closely.
"But I-I've killed-" The witch protested, unable to finish her sentence and relive the horror of her words. "I don't deserve anything, not after what I've done." Willow argued with the Goddess, still unable to believe that she was deserving of the visit she received in the first place, let alone the help that she was being offered.
Nyx sighed softly and removed her hand from the witch's cheek. "If goodness exists at all, it exists in you, Willow. This is what you must understand if you ever hope to fulfill your destiny."
"My destiny?" The red head questioned. "You're going to help me fulfill my destiny?" was that the help that Nyx was offering?
The Goddess chuckled, yet still managed to sound divine. "No, it's far too soon for that. You can't even begin your journey until you have found true happiness, only then can you fulfill your destiny." Nyx explained.
"True happiness?" Nothing that the Goddess was saying made sense to the young witch. She heard the words, but their meaning didn't sink in. How was Nyx going to help if she had to achieve true happiness first?
"When was the happiest time of your life?" Nyx posed a question in response to Willow's. When the red head remained silent, the Goddess sighed sadly. "You can say her name, Willow, it doesn't hurt here."
"Tara." The witch finally managed to choke. "The happiest time of my life was with Tara, but she's- she's gone." Although normally Willow would have been overflowing with tears, none came. A perk of being this dimension, she supposed. She didn't like crying, not after she had done so much.
"That is my gift, Willow." Nyx stated simply.
"What? I-How-It isn't-I-What?" She stammered, wondering if she had heard the Goddess correctly. She knew that they implied, but was it true? Did Nyx have the power to bring Tara back? To return the light that the world had lost?
"I can, if that is what you wish." Nyx responded to the red head's thoughts. "It is not difficult for me, but there are obstacles…" She trailed off cryptically, for once sounding different than the calm and collected Goddess that she was. Whatever it was that she was trying to say, Willow knew that it must be of great importance. "True happiness is something that is only achieved once in a person's life, but it lasts forever. I can grant you one wish, one chance at that happiness without evil's interference, but it comes at a price."
"Price? Obstacles? I-I don't understand." Willow shook her head, as if it would somehow stop the spinning that she was experiencing.
"You have been happy at different times in your life though some far more than others. I can return your greatest happiness, but not without taking away something in return. A life for a life." The Goddess explained. "I can bring Tara back, but only in exchange for the life of one of your two other loves: Daniel Osborne and Alexander Harris. If this price is too high I can offer you a compromise. If you cannot allow one of them to die, then I will allow you to change your path, your future." When the red head remained silent, looking as if she were going to faint, then Nyx continued her proposal. "I can alter your past in such a way that you will be happy with either Daniel or Alexander."
Willow knotted her hands through her hair and shook her head ardently. "I-I'm sorry, but I really don't understand."
The Goddess sighed and returned her hand to the red head's cheek. "Have you ever wondered what your future would have held if you would have remained with Daniel? Would have married your childhood love, Alexander? I can show you." She smiled and removed her hand, using it to push back stray red hairs behind Willow's ear. "If you cannot let either one of them die in exchange for Tara, then I will allow you to live out the life you would have had with either man. You will have a chance at happiness in either life, though it will not be the same."
"I can't do that." For the first time since her conversation with Nyx began, Willow's voice was firm. "I can't choose. You're asking me to either give up the love of my life or kill two of the most important people that have been in my life. I won't do that, I can't."
"You won't remember any other life but the one you've chosen. If you choose Tara, you won't remember making the decision to exchange anyone else's life for hers. If you choose to spend your future with Daniel or Alexander, then you won't remember leaving Tara behind." Before the red head had a chance to respond Nyx spoke again. "You don't have to decide now. I can give you glimpse into each life if you wish."
Millions of thoughts were going through Willow's head. She knew that what the Goddess was offering was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but she couldn't do it. There was nothing that the red head wanted more than Tara, but was it worth the life of Oz or Xander? Could she settle for a mediocre life if she knew that it could have been extraordinary? "A glimpse? What is that, like a vision?"
Nyx smiled, but shook her head. "Not quite."
Willow didn't have a chance to respond before her head seemed to lose all of its weight and her knees buckled beneath her. Good luck. She heard the Goddess whisper before she lost all consciousness.
AUTHORS NOTE: HOPED YOU LIKED IT, I WILL POST THE NEXT CHAPTER SOON, I PROMISE. :)