Ha! If you think you're in for a girly episode full of shopping and beauty
treatments then you're in for a surprise. I'm not much of a girly girl to
be honest. Yes, this another double update. Though they might seem to be
becoming a habit, please don't get used to them.
Chapter 16 is dedicated to Barb6 who's been hounding me to write a particular scene into my story. Hope you like it Barb!
Mickis: Talia's father is the Source and so she has quite a bit of a dark side in her as exposed in Only The Good Die Young. Don't you think it would be natural that she would be deeply attracted to someone as dark, threatening, and, of course, exciting as Valdis? Still, she is trying to be good and there's always Josh for that. He's the eternal "good guy" and she has fun being a normal teenager with him. No one knows who she's really going to choose, and that includes me! Talia's become a character in her own right and she does what she bloody well chooses. I guess we'll both have to see what she does next when the rest of the story unfolds.
Chantedly: It's great to have a new reviewer! Thanks for your review. I'm glad you liked the story do far. Enjoy the rest!
Myeslf: Same goes you myeslf! Did you mean "myself" or was that typing mistake on purpose? And you better not be insulting my fuchsia socks! Yes, I actually do have a pair like that, and that's what I was picturing Talia wearing. I picked them up from Sock shop in London. They have horizontal purple stripes and reach all the way to my thighs. They are hysterical to look but I love them to bits and they became my trademark on the seventh floor at the university hall I was staying at last year. They were ideally warm for those cold British nights. The long blue t-shirt I picked up in Rome and it has part of Michelangelo's painting from the Sistine Chapel (Adam reaching out for God and God reaching out to Adam). I was wearing those precise clothes when I was writing that chapter.
The rest of you: charmedfanatic3000, svata2004 and TaniaM: Thanks for all the encouragement guys. You mean a lot to me. Keep reading!
If you review, I'll give you a cookie!
Chapter 15: Combat training and beauty treatments
"Wyatt," called Talia.
She was forced to repeat her cousin's name louder, before she elicited any kind of response. Wyatt was still mostly in dreamland.
"Hrrmmff," was all she heard him say.
Talia smiled an evil smile and her eyes twinkled mischievously. She tiptoed all the way to the bathroom and filled a glass of cold water.
Seconds later fully awake, wet, shocked and spluttering, Wyatt was sitting up in bed amidst soaked bed sheets.
"What did you do that for?" he finally managed.
Talia smiled down at him with an innocent look in her eyes.
"Last night you said you wanted me to teach you some fighting skills, right? I warned you that I wake up pretty early to practice, but you said to wake you up anyway. Well," she said unable to hide the growing smile from her face, "you wouldn't wake up."
Wyatt mumbled something incoherent while throwing daggers with his eyes at Talia. He threw the bedspreads back and slowly got out of bed.
"What time is it anyway?" he asked, more civilly that Talia would've expected, as he left his room to go to the bathroom.
"Half past six," answered Talia easily.
A head of sleep-tussled blond hair popped from the open door of Wyatt's room that Talia was still in.
"You mean to tell me that you woke me up at half past six on a Saturday morning?" Wyatt asked.
"I normally get up at six, but I felt sorry for you this morning," said Talia still smiling from the wakeup call she had just given him.
Wyatt opened and closed his mouth several times in shock. Talia laughed at his fish impersonation.
"You are inhuman!" he finally choked out. Talia's laugh followed him all the way to the bathroom.
*******
A while later, in the manor's back yard, Wyatt had to reluctantly admit, once again, that Talia knew what she was doing. She had initially shown him a simple routine of moves to practice before retreating to her own, obviously practiced, and much more advanced, routine. Wyatt had soon forgotten what he was supposed to be doing, and watched his cousin instead. Talia had become a whirl of motion. Every kick and punch seemed lethal in his eyes. It was her sharp reprimand that made him turn back to his own routine.
Talia may have made a laid back and even a, sometimes, affectionate, cousin, but she made for a harsh instructor. The "simple" routine was later revealed to be only warm up and as the training went on, Talia showed Wyatt some even harder moves. To his increasing annoyance, he spent most of their training session lying painfully on the grass. In fact, it was a good thing the thick layer of grass was there. It helped break his falls.
Two hours later, when Talia declared the training finished for the day, Wyatt hurt all over and couldn't help wondering how Talia was still standing, after the much harder training she put herself through. If anything, Wyatt realized with a start, she seemed actually refreshed. Talia sat on the grass and drank some water out of a small plastic bottle she had had the foresight to bring along. She smiled up at her cousin as he slowly, and painfully, walked up to her.
"You did good," she told him.
He threw her a half smile and sat next to her.
"Don't sugar coat it, Tal. I sucked and we both know it," he said before taking a sip from the water bottle she had passed him.
"Not at all," she continued, "you lasted through both hours of the training. Have you any ideas how fit you must be to do that? To be honest, I didn't think you'd make it."
Wyatt grinned at the compliment.
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
The two cousins sat on the grass in comfortable silence.
"Hey, Tal?"
"Yes Wyatt?"
"Have a good time with the "Haliwell sisters" today," he said grinning at her.
"Don't be mean, Wyatt."
**********
Strangely enough, Talia really was having a good time she realized with a surprise. She sighed in contentment. She was lying comfortably on an armchair, wrapped up in a fluffy towel, and she was happy to let people fuss over her.
"What colour nail polish would you like, miss?" asked the manicurist.
Choices, choices. Talia smiled. She could get used to choices like this.
"That red's nice," she said after a momentary inspection of the colours available.
"This is the life, right Talia?" asked Piper.
"I could get used to it," answered Talia truthfully.
"Thanks Paige," piped Phoebe, from the message table. "I think we all needed this."
The other two Haliwells also voiced their thanks.
"I always come up with the best ideas," said Paige smugly.
That statement was followed by a flying pillow that hit Paige straight in the face. The pillow had come from Phoebe's massage table.
"It's for your own good," she said by way of explanation, " I wouldn't want my little sister to become conceited."
Phoebe laughed and ducked as Paige threw the pillow back at her. The spa employees seemed to be having almost as good a time as the Haliwells.
Chapter 16 is dedicated to Barb6 who's been hounding me to write a particular scene into my story. Hope you like it Barb!
Mickis: Talia's father is the Source and so she has quite a bit of a dark side in her as exposed in Only The Good Die Young. Don't you think it would be natural that she would be deeply attracted to someone as dark, threatening, and, of course, exciting as Valdis? Still, she is trying to be good and there's always Josh for that. He's the eternal "good guy" and she has fun being a normal teenager with him. No one knows who she's really going to choose, and that includes me! Talia's become a character in her own right and she does what she bloody well chooses. I guess we'll both have to see what she does next when the rest of the story unfolds.
Chantedly: It's great to have a new reviewer! Thanks for your review. I'm glad you liked the story do far. Enjoy the rest!
Myeslf: Same goes you myeslf! Did you mean "myself" or was that typing mistake on purpose? And you better not be insulting my fuchsia socks! Yes, I actually do have a pair like that, and that's what I was picturing Talia wearing. I picked them up from Sock shop in London. They have horizontal purple stripes and reach all the way to my thighs. They are hysterical to look but I love them to bits and they became my trademark on the seventh floor at the university hall I was staying at last year. They were ideally warm for those cold British nights. The long blue t-shirt I picked up in Rome and it has part of Michelangelo's painting from the Sistine Chapel (Adam reaching out for God and God reaching out to Adam). I was wearing those precise clothes when I was writing that chapter.
The rest of you: charmedfanatic3000, svata2004 and TaniaM: Thanks for all the encouragement guys. You mean a lot to me. Keep reading!
If you review, I'll give you a cookie!
Chapter 15: Combat training and beauty treatments
"Wyatt," called Talia.
She was forced to repeat her cousin's name louder, before she elicited any kind of response. Wyatt was still mostly in dreamland.
"Hrrmmff," was all she heard him say.
Talia smiled an evil smile and her eyes twinkled mischievously. She tiptoed all the way to the bathroom and filled a glass of cold water.
Seconds later fully awake, wet, shocked and spluttering, Wyatt was sitting up in bed amidst soaked bed sheets.
"What did you do that for?" he finally managed.
Talia smiled down at him with an innocent look in her eyes.
"Last night you said you wanted me to teach you some fighting skills, right? I warned you that I wake up pretty early to practice, but you said to wake you up anyway. Well," she said unable to hide the growing smile from her face, "you wouldn't wake up."
Wyatt mumbled something incoherent while throwing daggers with his eyes at Talia. He threw the bedspreads back and slowly got out of bed.
"What time is it anyway?" he asked, more civilly that Talia would've expected, as he left his room to go to the bathroom.
"Half past six," answered Talia easily.
A head of sleep-tussled blond hair popped from the open door of Wyatt's room that Talia was still in.
"You mean to tell me that you woke me up at half past six on a Saturday morning?" Wyatt asked.
"I normally get up at six, but I felt sorry for you this morning," said Talia still smiling from the wakeup call she had just given him.
Wyatt opened and closed his mouth several times in shock. Talia laughed at his fish impersonation.
"You are inhuman!" he finally choked out. Talia's laugh followed him all the way to the bathroom.
*******
A while later, in the manor's back yard, Wyatt had to reluctantly admit, once again, that Talia knew what she was doing. She had initially shown him a simple routine of moves to practice before retreating to her own, obviously practiced, and much more advanced, routine. Wyatt had soon forgotten what he was supposed to be doing, and watched his cousin instead. Talia had become a whirl of motion. Every kick and punch seemed lethal in his eyes. It was her sharp reprimand that made him turn back to his own routine.
Talia may have made a laid back and even a, sometimes, affectionate, cousin, but she made for a harsh instructor. The "simple" routine was later revealed to be only warm up and as the training went on, Talia showed Wyatt some even harder moves. To his increasing annoyance, he spent most of their training session lying painfully on the grass. In fact, it was a good thing the thick layer of grass was there. It helped break his falls.
Two hours later, when Talia declared the training finished for the day, Wyatt hurt all over and couldn't help wondering how Talia was still standing, after the much harder training she put herself through. If anything, Wyatt realized with a start, she seemed actually refreshed. Talia sat on the grass and drank some water out of a small plastic bottle she had had the foresight to bring along. She smiled up at her cousin as he slowly, and painfully, walked up to her.
"You did good," she told him.
He threw her a half smile and sat next to her.
"Don't sugar coat it, Tal. I sucked and we both know it," he said before taking a sip from the water bottle she had passed him.
"Not at all," she continued, "you lasted through both hours of the training. Have you any ideas how fit you must be to do that? To be honest, I didn't think you'd make it."
Wyatt grinned at the compliment.
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
The two cousins sat on the grass in comfortable silence.
"Hey, Tal?"
"Yes Wyatt?"
"Have a good time with the "Haliwell sisters" today," he said grinning at her.
"Don't be mean, Wyatt."
**********
Strangely enough, Talia really was having a good time she realized with a surprise. She sighed in contentment. She was lying comfortably on an armchair, wrapped up in a fluffy towel, and she was happy to let people fuss over her.
"What colour nail polish would you like, miss?" asked the manicurist.
Choices, choices. Talia smiled. She could get used to choices like this.
"That red's nice," she said after a momentary inspection of the colours available.
"This is the life, right Talia?" asked Piper.
"I could get used to it," answered Talia truthfully.
"Thanks Paige," piped Phoebe, from the message table. "I think we all needed this."
The other two Haliwells also voiced their thanks.
"I always come up with the best ideas," said Paige smugly.
That statement was followed by a flying pillow that hit Paige straight in the face. The pillow had come from Phoebe's massage table.
"It's for your own good," she said by way of explanation, " I wouldn't want my little sister to become conceited."
Phoebe laughed and ducked as Paige threw the pillow back at her. The spa employees seemed to be having almost as good a time as the Haliwells.