As the taxi approached their destination, Xander gazed out of the window.
His eyes looked past the olive trees and the coastline. Then his mind
started to wander, back to the day that he had lost Anya. After falling in
love with her and nearly marrying her, in her final hour he wasn't even
able to say goodbye. She had died in the fight to save the world, her
courage empowering her to take the blade of a Bringer to protect Andrew.
She had died saving Andrew. That thought made him smile. Many felt that
Anya was uncouth and crude. But this proved to everyone else what Xander
knew all along, that underneath her greed and insensitivity was a truly
beautiful former demoness. It took a few years with a young man to unravel
over a millennium of cursing and tormenting unfaithful men. Xander sat back
and mourned silently in the back of the taxi. It had been two months since
she died and Sunnydale sank but the fervor of that one-day truly was a
double edged sword. The Hellmouth was sealed and buried under an entire
town. But so was the body of Anya.
"So why are you going there? It's just ruins you know?" The taxi driver looked over at Willow sitting in the front seat, his sweat dripping off his mustache onto his yellow shirt.
Willow just replied with a smile and said, "We're here to see umm the architecture. Yah we're engineering students."
"Ohhh." The taxi driver's eyes grew wide as if he knew something or another about buildings. "Well the Mount was built a long time ago over the remains of the original Oracle temple. It was moved much later to Delphi. This temple is all that's left from when the first Oracle died."
"The first Oracle?" Willow's mind calculated her knowledge of Greek history and the magicks. "I thought that the Oracle was immortal. How could she die?"
"Well." The taxi driver shifted behind the steering wheel. "Hecate's dagger. That is the only thing that could have killed the Oracle."
"Hecate's dagger?" Hecate, the goddess of witch's and giver of visions to seers and diviners. "Why would she create a dagger to kill an immortal servant like the Oracle?." she wondered to herself. No one knows who had given birth to the goddess of the crossroads or who her father was. She stood for birth and death, but as time progress she became a being of the darkness walking the graves with lonely spirits and baying hounds.
"Yes, when Hecate was still very young. She had given visions to a man of great wisdom. But sadly his wisdom could not save him from the insanity of knowing tomorrow." The taxi driver took his right hand off the wheel and wiped sweat off his forehead. " Legend has it that he had a vision and it was so powerful it drove him mad. Not only did he become mad but he became evil. In his insanity the man decided to bring about the apocalypse he saw, so he set off to find a girl and kill her."
"A girl? The Slayer?" Willow thought to herself.
"Crazy huh? Like killing one girl would destroy the world. I think someone should go kill my mother in law that would make the world a better place."
Willow tried to suppress a frown and replied "Yup that's pretty wacky all right."
"So whoever the girl was gets the dagger and is told by Hecate in a dream that the man is coming to kill her. The girl kills him and according to legend the dagger is lost. It went missing for years but the myth is that these witches had gotten the dagger killed the Oracle and planned to put their children in her place. But I mean do you seriously believe this? I think the Oracle just died of old age and her devotees covered it up with this dagger story. I mean all of this stuff about witche's and visions." The taxi driver laughed to himself, Willow just slouched over and wished she could be as oblivious and carefree. The mount slowly came into view, several fading rays of the setting sun gliding off the marble edifice.
"Alright, here is your stop. Remember if you need a ride back to town give a call and I'll take you where you need to go."
While Willow paid and thanked the taxi driver Xander trudged out of the car and shook his head. Right now he was going to talk to the Oracle this was no time for mourning Anya. Besides each night before he went to sleep she was the last thing he thought about.
"Hey Xander you okay?" Willow asked noticing that he was very nonverbal in the car. She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Yah I'm fine." He said putting on one of his famous 'I'm not fine but I love you so I'll act like it' smiles.
"We can talk about it later over ice cream, my treat. Okay?"
"Yah okay."
A shade behind the tree moved. Accacia was more vivid now then Xander and Willow had imagined. She stood tall almost regal with her olive dark skin and her white knit sweater.
"Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg?" Accacia stooped down to see their faces. She had a beautiful smile and her brown hair was wrapped neatly in a bun. "We should see the Oracle she's expecting you." Accacia turned and started to lead them down a path sided with brush. If Xander didn't know any better he would have thought as Accacia turned around that Willow was checking her out.
"No Xander I'm not checking her out." The voice sounded like Willows but it wasn't spoken. It was said in his head.
Xander realized that he was thinking too loud and Willow had picked up on it. He bent over and started laughing in embarrassment.
"Is something funny Mr. Harris?" Accacia looked back at them her face warm like the torches that hung on the cave walls.
"Oh. No. I mean uhhh." Xander let out another nervous laugh.
"It's okay Accacia. He's just a little edgy being around you."
"Me?" Accacia pointed at herself in all of her innocence.
"It's okay I think he's cute." She whispered to Willow. Accacia looked at a blank wall and proclaimed "We're here."
"Umm where?" Xander gave a cursory glance and figured that there must have been at least a hundred feet of rock and calculating their course through the path the only other thing past the rocks was the ocean and a very large drop.
"It's here." Willow replied matter of factly. "May I?"
"Oh by all means Miss Rosenberg. You're after all the witch."
"Uhh Will whatcha doing?" Xander asked while leaning over her.
"It's a spell Xander. The're hidden behind this barrier." Willow's fingers fluttered before the rock wall. She could feel the ripples. Tiny reverberations of magic needed to keep the barrier up. With a smooth turn of her hand the barrier collapsed and became a glowing orange orb, revealing a golden room behind.
"Wow Miss. Rosenberg. That's really cool."
"Call me Willow or Will." With an opposite turn of her hand she let the orb go and it fell gracefully back into position clouding them from the outside world.
&(*&(&(&(***&(&
Hey guys just wanted to ask if you like how the story is going and please drop a review, your opinions are always valued. Much THANKS PEACE OUT MY READERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
"So why are you going there? It's just ruins you know?" The taxi driver looked over at Willow sitting in the front seat, his sweat dripping off his mustache onto his yellow shirt.
Willow just replied with a smile and said, "We're here to see umm the architecture. Yah we're engineering students."
"Ohhh." The taxi driver's eyes grew wide as if he knew something or another about buildings. "Well the Mount was built a long time ago over the remains of the original Oracle temple. It was moved much later to Delphi. This temple is all that's left from when the first Oracle died."
"The first Oracle?" Willow's mind calculated her knowledge of Greek history and the magicks. "I thought that the Oracle was immortal. How could she die?"
"Well." The taxi driver shifted behind the steering wheel. "Hecate's dagger. That is the only thing that could have killed the Oracle."
"Hecate's dagger?" Hecate, the goddess of witch's and giver of visions to seers and diviners. "Why would she create a dagger to kill an immortal servant like the Oracle?." she wondered to herself. No one knows who had given birth to the goddess of the crossroads or who her father was. She stood for birth and death, but as time progress she became a being of the darkness walking the graves with lonely spirits and baying hounds.
"Yes, when Hecate was still very young. She had given visions to a man of great wisdom. But sadly his wisdom could not save him from the insanity of knowing tomorrow." The taxi driver took his right hand off the wheel and wiped sweat off his forehead. " Legend has it that he had a vision and it was so powerful it drove him mad. Not only did he become mad but he became evil. In his insanity the man decided to bring about the apocalypse he saw, so he set off to find a girl and kill her."
"A girl? The Slayer?" Willow thought to herself.
"Crazy huh? Like killing one girl would destroy the world. I think someone should go kill my mother in law that would make the world a better place."
Willow tried to suppress a frown and replied "Yup that's pretty wacky all right."
"So whoever the girl was gets the dagger and is told by Hecate in a dream that the man is coming to kill her. The girl kills him and according to legend the dagger is lost. It went missing for years but the myth is that these witches had gotten the dagger killed the Oracle and planned to put their children in her place. But I mean do you seriously believe this? I think the Oracle just died of old age and her devotees covered it up with this dagger story. I mean all of this stuff about witche's and visions." The taxi driver laughed to himself, Willow just slouched over and wished she could be as oblivious and carefree. The mount slowly came into view, several fading rays of the setting sun gliding off the marble edifice.
"Alright, here is your stop. Remember if you need a ride back to town give a call and I'll take you where you need to go."
While Willow paid and thanked the taxi driver Xander trudged out of the car and shook his head. Right now he was going to talk to the Oracle this was no time for mourning Anya. Besides each night before he went to sleep she was the last thing he thought about.
"Hey Xander you okay?" Willow asked noticing that he was very nonverbal in the car. She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Yah I'm fine." He said putting on one of his famous 'I'm not fine but I love you so I'll act like it' smiles.
"We can talk about it later over ice cream, my treat. Okay?"
"Yah okay."
A shade behind the tree moved. Accacia was more vivid now then Xander and Willow had imagined. She stood tall almost regal with her olive dark skin and her white knit sweater.
"Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg?" Accacia stooped down to see their faces. She had a beautiful smile and her brown hair was wrapped neatly in a bun. "We should see the Oracle she's expecting you." Accacia turned and started to lead them down a path sided with brush. If Xander didn't know any better he would have thought as Accacia turned around that Willow was checking her out.
"No Xander I'm not checking her out." The voice sounded like Willows but it wasn't spoken. It was said in his head.
Xander realized that he was thinking too loud and Willow had picked up on it. He bent over and started laughing in embarrassment.
"Is something funny Mr. Harris?" Accacia looked back at them her face warm like the torches that hung on the cave walls.
"Oh. No. I mean uhhh." Xander let out another nervous laugh.
"It's okay Accacia. He's just a little edgy being around you."
"Me?" Accacia pointed at herself in all of her innocence.
"It's okay I think he's cute." She whispered to Willow. Accacia looked at a blank wall and proclaimed "We're here."
"Umm where?" Xander gave a cursory glance and figured that there must have been at least a hundred feet of rock and calculating their course through the path the only other thing past the rocks was the ocean and a very large drop.
"It's here." Willow replied matter of factly. "May I?"
"Oh by all means Miss Rosenberg. You're after all the witch."
"Uhh Will whatcha doing?" Xander asked while leaning over her.
"It's a spell Xander. The're hidden behind this barrier." Willow's fingers fluttered before the rock wall. She could feel the ripples. Tiny reverberations of magic needed to keep the barrier up. With a smooth turn of her hand the barrier collapsed and became a glowing orange orb, revealing a golden room behind.
"Wow Miss. Rosenberg. That's really cool."
"Call me Willow or Will." With an opposite turn of her hand she let the orb go and it fell gracefully back into position clouding them from the outside world.
&(*&(&(&(***&(&
Hey guys just wanted to ask if you like how the story is going and please drop a review, your opinions are always valued. Much THANKS PEACE OUT MY READERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1