New Witch Old Flame

Author's Note:  You may or may not notice, but I am changing the tense that I am writing this story in.  I will be going back and editing the previous chapters, so please please please, don't email me or leave reviews telling me I did this.  I know I did it, it was a conscious choice on my part.  Thanks - Majik

Part 21

"Well Ms. Rosenberg, this isn't the most ideal setting for our meeting, but it will do," said Meg as she pushed the extra chicken feet to one side.

"As basements go, it isn't too bad," Willow said defensively. 

"No, and I suppose I really should get used to basement living," laughed Meg.  "Shall we begin Willow?"

"Well, ah, sure, I guess so," stammered Willow.  She paced nervously around the confines of the basement, tripping occasionally over various items to large to be kept in the store proper.  "What are we going to be doing?"

"First, we're going to talk," said Meg.  "You are incredibly resentful of my being here, and I want to know why."

"No, I'm not, really, I'm not.  I'm o.k. with you.  I'm the ok girl."

"Ok, then we're done," said Meg as she stood up.  "Good afternoon."

"Wait!" shouted Willow.  "I'm ok with you being here, I guess I was just jealous of all the attention you gave Tara."

"But why Willow?  Tara is a wonderful young woman, and a very gifted witch.  She has a lot to offer, and we all have a lot we can learn from her," said Meg with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, it's just that, well," Willow paused.

"Yes," prompted Meg.

"It's just that everyone has always looked to ME for the magic stuff, and you walked in and bam, just took them all away from me," Willow said in a rush.

"Thank you for being honest with me Willow.  It was very obvious what was going on, but until you admitted it, we couldn't get past it.  The first thing we are going to do is look at the issues you brought up and address them.  I will tell you this one thing though.  You are a very powerful witch Willow.  Very powerful indeed.  However, you are walking a thin line right now, and one misstep could send you tumbling down the path towards dark magic.  If you do that, ultimately, it will be you're destruction.

Willow looked at Meg, amazed that she could see so deeply into her soul, to all her hidden secrets.  "How do you do that," Willow asked a bit resentfully.

"How do I do what?"

"See inside of people.  What kind of magic is that?"
Meg laughed and hugged Willow.  "That's not magic, that's understanding human nature, and nothing can teach you how to do it.  It comes with experience."

"Oh," said Willow, slightly disappointed.  "I thought it was a spell or something."

"Exactly Willow, and that is one of the first things you and I will be working on together.  Everything isn't about spells and magic.  The magic is here to help us, not control us.  And it will control us, if we're not careful.  Now, with whom have you studied?"

"Well, nobody really, I mean Ms. Calendar taught me a few things, and I learned a lot from studying her notes after she died."

"Yes," said Meg as she referred to some notes.  "That would be the computer teacher who was killed by Angelus.  That must have been hard for all of you to deal with."

"Oh yeah," said Willow a bit more animated.  "Especially for Giles, I mean he and Ms. Calendar," she stopped talking abruptly, as she remembered the kisses she had seen between Meg and Giles.

"It's ok Willow, I know Rupert loved Jenny.  It was very tragic for him, for all of you, the way she died.  Please continue."

"Well, after that, I studied by myself for the most part.  I tried that Wicca group at school, but they well, they kind of," again she hesitated.

"They suck," Meg said succinctly and the two women burst out laughing.

"Yeah, they do," agreed Willow.  "Then I met Tara, and we started working together, but I, we haven't really studied together."

"Willow, I'm going to tell you something, and it's probably going to upset you, but if you can accept what I'm going to say, we will all be better off.  You need to go back to the beginning and study, and I mean really study magic, and it's proper uses.  I mean back to the beginning studying theory, and very little practical application."

"What!" shouted Willow.  "Why?  I was strong enough to bring Buffy back to life, and I restored Angel's soul that time.  I'm a good witch!"

"No, you are a powerful witch, and there is a difference," said Meg in a calm and soothing voice.

"Is Tara going to have to 'go back to basics' too?"

"Willow, I normally don't make it a practice to tell you other people's business, but this time I will.  No, Tara will not have to start over at the beginning.  She will have to review some things, but remember, she is a hereditary witch.  Everything she learned was handed down to her from her mother.  She had a strong foundation to build upon, you did not.  If we can get you that foundation, then you have the potential to be one of the strongest witches ever.  The question is, can you do it?"

"Does this mean no magic, ever, until you decide I've reached some special point?" asked Willow.

"No, of course not, we can sit down and work out a study schedule of both theory and practical application, but Willow, please, no more raising people from the dead," Meg laughed.

"Well, I guess I can try," said Willow.

"That's all I'll ever ask of anyone, is that they try," answered Meg.  "Now what do you think about," she began but was interrupted by a tremendous bang from upstairs, followed by screaming.  "Let's get up there and see what's going on," said Meg.  "Willow, are there any stakes down here?"

Wordlessly, Willow reached behind Meg and handed her several stakes and grabbed a few for herself.  The two women rushed upstairs and opened the door and walked straight into a battle zone.