Here it is Barb6! It wasn't planned, but it sounded like a good idea after
you mentioned it and you asked so politely. . . As for the rest of your
questions i.e. what happens at the prom, well, you'll just have to wait and
see. That goes for the rest of you!
Like I said, this is a double update and the same
Chapter 16: Tales of memories and ouzo
"Ready?" asked Phoebe, her head popping through Talia's door. "Wow!" she said appreciatively as she took in what Talia was wearing, "you look good in red!"
Talia was wearing the same, favourite, pair of leather trousers she had worn the night she met Valdis which she had teamed up with a tight, strapless, red top that left a flat stomach exposed and, overall, little to the imagination. Her straight brown hair cascaded softly around her shoulders. She didn't look like the naïve young girl she could have been.
Phoebe had to admit feeling a pang at the years the two of them had lost. Talia looked like the dangerous woman she was. Phoebe knew that Talia would be in the heart breaking business the moment that she saw her and Talia's appearance tonight showed that Talia knew it too, and loved every moment of it!
"You too, Mum," said Talia as she handed Phoebe what looked like at beaded necklace, "Could you help me with this?"
Talia turned obligingly for Phoebe to fasten the necklace. Talia couldn't help but admire her mother. Phoebe had retained her girlish figure, thanks to all the combat practice she still got. She wore a wine red dress with a high waist that stopped just above her knee and her hair curled softly framing a face that, may have softened a little bit with age, but had still kept an element of love of adventure and mischievousness, which was evident in the twinkling of her eyes. Phoebe was smart and kind with an incredible sense of humour. Talia could see why her Father had loved her so much.
"We better get downstairs now," said Phoebe smiling at her daughter, "the guys are already waiting for us."
"Mum," said Talia placing a hand at her mother's arm, stopping her, "what happened between you and Father?" she asked softly on an impulse, hoping against hope that Phoebe wouldn't get upset at her question.
Phoebe's face fell at Talia words, and a shadow seemed to descend upon her. Her smile ran away from her face. Talia immediately regretted her question.
"You don't have to answer, mum," she said, "I shouldn't have asked."
"No. I'm glad you did. You deserve to know. No matter what you hear, Talia, I want you to remember that your father and I loved each other very much once. Ours was one of the greatest loves to have ever existed, in fact. A love that broke all barriers, all rules, by its very existence. A love so strong that blurred the line between good and evil; and redefined it more clearly than it had ever been before. But our love just wasn't meant to be," she said, an undertone of bitterness in her voice.
"Because of who you both were," said Talia giving Phoebe the answer her father had given her, when she had asked him. "But if your love was really that strong, why didn't it survive? Why aren't you together now?"
"Our love broke the most fundamental of rules. Cole defied death itself. I, a Charmed One, became his Queen of Evil. And we were selfish in our love. We very nearly tore the world apart in our attempts to be together. Look at all the havoc our actions caused. Had I really become evil when I was married to your father, he could have been unstoppable. Cole made, makes," she corrected herself, "a very powerful Source and with a Charmed One by his side, Evil would have taken over. Good would have been defeated, and the world, as we know it, would have seized to exist. I understood that, and saw the necessary sacrifice that had to be made. Cole didn't care. His attitude was that the world could go hell as long as we could be together. Part of me wanted to do just that, but being good, meant that I couldn't. It meant that I had to be brave enough to end it all."
Talia stared at her mother quietly. She understood. She didn't like it, but she understood.
"Do you hate him for being the Source?" she finally asked.
Phoebe took one look at her daughter and realized that she couldn't possibly lie to her.
"I don't know," she finally said after an internal struggle. "I was shocked when I found out. I wish I could tell you differently, but your father is not a nice man. We hadn't known who the new Source was but we heard about some of the things he did and-" Phoebe paused. She looked up to see her daughter looking at her, urging her to go on.
"I've always felt that Cole didn't have to be the man he later became. He could have been good. He is part human after all. I guess I blame him for turning out the way he did. He loved me. I know that for certain. I got to see a side of him no one else seemed to. He was protective, loving, witty, and he made me laugh. Cole was always the gentleman. He used to read poetry and literature out to me, you know. Part of me still misses him, and I hate myself for feeling that way."
Phoebe bravely met a pair of brown eyes identical to her own. Silence descended on mother and daughter like a soft blanket.
"He used to read poetry and literature to me, too," Talia finally said, softly.
"Really?"
"He was a good father, you know. He used to read Shakespeare to me when I was little. He taught me how to fight, even though he could have easily made someone else do it. He was busy enough. And every summer we used to go on holiday, just the two of us, for a whole month."
"The Source takes holidays?" asked Phoebe with an incredulous expression on her face.
"There's this tiny Greek island called "Pontikonissi" off the coast of Crete. It actually means "as big as a mouse". We used to go there every summer. No demons, no magic, it was great! The natives, mostly fishermen, are really friendly and they soon got used to us. We have a house there and father taught me Greek so I could talk to everyone," said Talia enthusiastically.
"Cole can speak Greek?" asked Phoebe.
"He speaks most languages," Talia shrugged. "I only speak English, French and Greek."
"I'm impressed!" said Phoebe truthfully.
"Like I said," Talia answered, grinning from ear to ear, "he was a good father."
" One summer, the islanders taught me Greek dancing. I loved it, so he learnt too, for my sake. You should have seen him dancing with the rest of them! He was really funny at first, but he stuck to it, and learnt how to do it properly. That kind of dancing is a lot harder than it looks, and he had a hell of a time learning how to do it.
"And we both love Greek food. There's only one taverna on the island, but it makes the best meze you've ever tasted. In the evenings, the men of the village, gather at the taverna, drink ouzo, and talk and dance 'till late. Father used to sit with them, and even though I'm a girl, and women don't really go to the taverna, they used to let me sit with them and listen in on their conversations. They even gave me a little ouzo, sometimes."
Phoebe was at a loss for words.
"Or we used to go off on our own. We'd light a fire by the beach and cook souvlakia over it. He used to tell me stories, then, myths and legends, like the one with the minautaur," Talia's voice had taken a melancholic tone to it, at her last words.
Phoebe was immediately alerted at her daughter's change of mood. Talia didn't seem to notice.
She was staring in the distance seeing a young girl and a grown man playing on a sandy beach, next to a bright blue sea. They were both laughing and they seemed happy. Talia sighed quietly and looked back at her mother, only to see Phoebe looking at her with a strange expression on her face.
"You miss him," she said, and before Talia had time to deny it, Phoebe continued. "It's ok. I understand. He may be the Source, but he's also your father. You have every right to feel the way you do."
Talia smiled at her mother, and when Phoebe put her arms around her, she fell gratefully into them.
"Talia are you-" a young girl's voice was interrupted as she took in mother and daughter in each other's embrace.
Talia lifter her head off Phoebe's shoulder to see a tanned face, framed by short blond hair protruding halfway through the door of her room.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt," said Judy, looking extremely uncomfortable.
The "girls day out" would end with an outing to P3. Wyatt had learned, to his delight, that he and Leo would join them there. Even though Piper owned the club, Wyatt wasn't allowed there much because he was underage, but tonight would be an exception, both for him and Talia. As long as they stayed away from all the alcoholic drinks of course. Piper would hate to loose her license for serving alcohol to minors.
And then Wyatt had a brilliant idea that Talia immediately backed up. Together they talked Piper into allowing them to bringing one friend each, along. Wyatt asked Judy and Talia asked Josh.
"You are not interrupting," said Talia smiling at her friend. "What did you want to tell me?"
"I just wanted to ask if you were ready. The guys are waiting for us downstairs." "Oh, oh," said Phoebe, "we better get down there before they start complaining then."
Phoebe and Talia each grabbed their bags and left the room.
"If you're not down here in ten minutes, we're leaving without you!" threatened Wyatt's voice from downstairs.
"Too late," said Talia.
A/N: Pontikonissi really does exist and it is exactly like I said, a tini island off the coast of Crete (a larger Greek island), whose name means as small as a mouse. No, I haven't been there, but I'd like to go. Here are the translations of the Greek words used: Taverna - a small tavern (as if you hadn't guessed!) Meze - For those of you that haven't had it before it's a must. All it means is that aa huge selection of Greek food is brought to you in succession. Mixed grill (of either, fish or meat or both), among other things. The point is to eat a little bit of everything and wash it all down with some cold beer or ouzo. A meze has been known to consist of 36 different platters! Ouzo - A traditional, alcoholic beverage. Think of the Greeks' version of vodka.
Like I said, this is a double update and the same
Chapter 16: Tales of memories and ouzo
"Ready?" asked Phoebe, her head popping through Talia's door. "Wow!" she said appreciatively as she took in what Talia was wearing, "you look good in red!"
Talia was wearing the same, favourite, pair of leather trousers she had worn the night she met Valdis which she had teamed up with a tight, strapless, red top that left a flat stomach exposed and, overall, little to the imagination. Her straight brown hair cascaded softly around her shoulders. She didn't look like the naïve young girl she could have been.
Phoebe had to admit feeling a pang at the years the two of them had lost. Talia looked like the dangerous woman she was. Phoebe knew that Talia would be in the heart breaking business the moment that she saw her and Talia's appearance tonight showed that Talia knew it too, and loved every moment of it!
"You too, Mum," said Talia as she handed Phoebe what looked like at beaded necklace, "Could you help me with this?"
Talia turned obligingly for Phoebe to fasten the necklace. Talia couldn't help but admire her mother. Phoebe had retained her girlish figure, thanks to all the combat practice she still got. She wore a wine red dress with a high waist that stopped just above her knee and her hair curled softly framing a face that, may have softened a little bit with age, but had still kept an element of love of adventure and mischievousness, which was evident in the twinkling of her eyes. Phoebe was smart and kind with an incredible sense of humour. Talia could see why her Father had loved her so much.
"We better get downstairs now," said Phoebe smiling at her daughter, "the guys are already waiting for us."
"Mum," said Talia placing a hand at her mother's arm, stopping her, "what happened between you and Father?" she asked softly on an impulse, hoping against hope that Phoebe wouldn't get upset at her question.
Phoebe's face fell at Talia words, and a shadow seemed to descend upon her. Her smile ran away from her face. Talia immediately regretted her question.
"You don't have to answer, mum," she said, "I shouldn't have asked."
"No. I'm glad you did. You deserve to know. No matter what you hear, Talia, I want you to remember that your father and I loved each other very much once. Ours was one of the greatest loves to have ever existed, in fact. A love that broke all barriers, all rules, by its very existence. A love so strong that blurred the line between good and evil; and redefined it more clearly than it had ever been before. But our love just wasn't meant to be," she said, an undertone of bitterness in her voice.
"Because of who you both were," said Talia giving Phoebe the answer her father had given her, when she had asked him. "But if your love was really that strong, why didn't it survive? Why aren't you together now?"
"Our love broke the most fundamental of rules. Cole defied death itself. I, a Charmed One, became his Queen of Evil. And we were selfish in our love. We very nearly tore the world apart in our attempts to be together. Look at all the havoc our actions caused. Had I really become evil when I was married to your father, he could have been unstoppable. Cole made, makes," she corrected herself, "a very powerful Source and with a Charmed One by his side, Evil would have taken over. Good would have been defeated, and the world, as we know it, would have seized to exist. I understood that, and saw the necessary sacrifice that had to be made. Cole didn't care. His attitude was that the world could go hell as long as we could be together. Part of me wanted to do just that, but being good, meant that I couldn't. It meant that I had to be brave enough to end it all."
Talia stared at her mother quietly. She understood. She didn't like it, but she understood.
"Do you hate him for being the Source?" she finally asked.
Phoebe took one look at her daughter and realized that she couldn't possibly lie to her.
"I don't know," she finally said after an internal struggle. "I was shocked when I found out. I wish I could tell you differently, but your father is not a nice man. We hadn't known who the new Source was but we heard about some of the things he did and-" Phoebe paused. She looked up to see her daughter looking at her, urging her to go on.
"I've always felt that Cole didn't have to be the man he later became. He could have been good. He is part human after all. I guess I blame him for turning out the way he did. He loved me. I know that for certain. I got to see a side of him no one else seemed to. He was protective, loving, witty, and he made me laugh. Cole was always the gentleman. He used to read poetry and literature out to me, you know. Part of me still misses him, and I hate myself for feeling that way."
Phoebe bravely met a pair of brown eyes identical to her own. Silence descended on mother and daughter like a soft blanket.
"He used to read poetry and literature to me, too," Talia finally said, softly.
"Really?"
"He was a good father, you know. He used to read Shakespeare to me when I was little. He taught me how to fight, even though he could have easily made someone else do it. He was busy enough. And every summer we used to go on holiday, just the two of us, for a whole month."
"The Source takes holidays?" asked Phoebe with an incredulous expression on her face.
"There's this tiny Greek island called "Pontikonissi" off the coast of Crete. It actually means "as big as a mouse". We used to go there every summer. No demons, no magic, it was great! The natives, mostly fishermen, are really friendly and they soon got used to us. We have a house there and father taught me Greek so I could talk to everyone," said Talia enthusiastically.
"Cole can speak Greek?" asked Phoebe.
"He speaks most languages," Talia shrugged. "I only speak English, French and Greek."
"I'm impressed!" said Phoebe truthfully.
"Like I said," Talia answered, grinning from ear to ear, "he was a good father."
" One summer, the islanders taught me Greek dancing. I loved it, so he learnt too, for my sake. You should have seen him dancing with the rest of them! He was really funny at first, but he stuck to it, and learnt how to do it properly. That kind of dancing is a lot harder than it looks, and he had a hell of a time learning how to do it.
"And we both love Greek food. There's only one taverna on the island, but it makes the best meze you've ever tasted. In the evenings, the men of the village, gather at the taverna, drink ouzo, and talk and dance 'till late. Father used to sit with them, and even though I'm a girl, and women don't really go to the taverna, they used to let me sit with them and listen in on their conversations. They even gave me a little ouzo, sometimes."
Phoebe was at a loss for words.
"Or we used to go off on our own. We'd light a fire by the beach and cook souvlakia over it. He used to tell me stories, then, myths and legends, like the one with the minautaur," Talia's voice had taken a melancholic tone to it, at her last words.
Phoebe was immediately alerted at her daughter's change of mood. Talia didn't seem to notice.
She was staring in the distance seeing a young girl and a grown man playing on a sandy beach, next to a bright blue sea. They were both laughing and they seemed happy. Talia sighed quietly and looked back at her mother, only to see Phoebe looking at her with a strange expression on her face.
"You miss him," she said, and before Talia had time to deny it, Phoebe continued. "It's ok. I understand. He may be the Source, but he's also your father. You have every right to feel the way you do."
Talia smiled at her mother, and when Phoebe put her arms around her, she fell gratefully into them.
"Talia are you-" a young girl's voice was interrupted as she took in mother and daughter in each other's embrace.
Talia lifter her head off Phoebe's shoulder to see a tanned face, framed by short blond hair protruding halfway through the door of her room.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt," said Judy, looking extremely uncomfortable.
The "girls day out" would end with an outing to P3. Wyatt had learned, to his delight, that he and Leo would join them there. Even though Piper owned the club, Wyatt wasn't allowed there much because he was underage, but tonight would be an exception, both for him and Talia. As long as they stayed away from all the alcoholic drinks of course. Piper would hate to loose her license for serving alcohol to minors.
And then Wyatt had a brilliant idea that Talia immediately backed up. Together they talked Piper into allowing them to bringing one friend each, along. Wyatt asked Judy and Talia asked Josh.
"You are not interrupting," said Talia smiling at her friend. "What did you want to tell me?"
"I just wanted to ask if you were ready. The guys are waiting for us downstairs." "Oh, oh," said Phoebe, "we better get down there before they start complaining then."
Phoebe and Talia each grabbed their bags and left the room.
"If you're not down here in ten minutes, we're leaving without you!" threatened Wyatt's voice from downstairs.
"Too late," said Talia.
A/N: Pontikonissi really does exist and it is exactly like I said, a tini island off the coast of Crete (a larger Greek island), whose name means as small as a mouse. No, I haven't been there, but I'd like to go. Here are the translations of the Greek words used: Taverna - a small tavern (as if you hadn't guessed!) Meze - For those of you that haven't had it before it's a must. All it means is that aa huge selection of Greek food is brought to you in succession. Mixed grill (of either, fish or meat or both), among other things. The point is to eat a little bit of everything and wash it all down with some cold beer or ouzo. A meze has been known to consist of 36 different platters! Ouzo - A traditional, alcoholic beverage. Think of the Greeks' version of vodka.