Post by StoryGirl83 on Mar 17, 2009 14:10:15 GMT -5
Chapter Two
Phoebe is Dead
Chapter One - Phoebe's Death and Paige's Power
Phoebe is Dead
Chapter One - Phoebe's Death and Paige's Power
Phoebe was dead. There might have been a time when Prue felt worse, like maybe when Andy died. Maybe, but probably not. She clung tightly to Piper as if Piper, too, would disappear. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the remains of Phoebe’s lifeless body burned.
Everything froze and she knew Piper had used her power, again. Prue looked at her through her long, artificially blonde strands of hair. “Piper?”
“We failed.”
Prue sighed. She looked over at the frozen flames. “It was her choice.”
Piper shook her head. “No.”
“Can we discuss this later? Why did you freeze time?”
“We can’t let Pratt see us. He’s already checked us, but he’s watching and something like this would arouse his suspicion sky high.”
Prue looked over at Phoebe’s dead body, tears streaming down her face as her eye lids slid shut. After a few seconds she opened her eyes, again, and looked at Piper. “Let’s go then. We’ll make him return her body to us.”
Prue turned to the door, held out her hand, palm out and twisted it. The door knob turned in unison with her hand. She pulled her hand back and the door opened. Piper took one last look at Phoebe. She heaved in a deep breath and wiped the tears out of her eyes. She turned around and walked out of the room.
Prue stared at Phoebe. “I love you, Phoebe.” She turned around and walked out into the hall. Once there she waved her hand, pulling closed the door behind her.
Piper glanced around. Seeing no one she waved her hands up and down, resuming time. They walked down the hall, tears tightly in check, emotions put in storage while adrenaline pumped through their bodies and the chance of being caught loomed around every corner.
Piper turned one corned only to find two guards patrolling. She waved her hands before they could look her direction and motioned Prue forward. “Breaking out shouldn’t be so easy.”
Prue flashed her an uneasy grin. “Anne would freak out.”
Piper let a giggle escape her before she remembered. She sobered and heaved in a deep breath. “Prue . . .”
“Let’s just get out of here.”
Piper nodded. “We’re going to have to talk.”
“We will,” Prue told her, “after we leaved Hobart State Penitentiary. I lost one sister. I’m not going to loose another.”
Piper nodded and started walking, again. Once they both round the next corner, Piper turned around and unfroze the guards.
The two sister walked in silence for several minutes. The walls seemed to go on forever, but eventually they came to what they deemed to be an outer wall.
“Do you remember the spell?” Prue asked looking blankly at the seemingly impenetrable wall.”
“You’re the one who said it earlier,” Piper reminded her.
“Not me, just . . .”
Piper gave her a look. “Still you.”
“Piper.”
Piper sighed and began to draw a door on the wall with her finger. “When you find your path is blocked, all you have to do is knock.” She looked over at Prue.
Prue rolled her eyes and knocked. A door opened in the wall, allowing sunlight to stream in and the two sisters to step out.
An hour later Prue and Piper were walking up the steps to the manor. “Traffic is usually bad,” Prue complained, “but that was ridiculous.”
“There was an accident,” Piper said off handedly.
Prue looked at her sharply. “Was everyone all right?”
Piper shrugged and pulled out her key. “Except the cars, yeah. Weren’t you listening?”
“Prue shook her head as Piper pushed opened the front door. “Do you recall where they put the book?” She asked as she walked in.”
“They being us?” Piper asked rolling her eyes.
Prue nodded as she walked into the manor and glanced around. “Funny how it’s been so long since I was last her.”
“You were welcome.”
“I guess I was busy.” Prue looked over at Piper with an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. Much as I enjoy my work and it takes a lot of time, I should have been here, for both of you. Now, it’s too late.”
“For Phoebe, but not for us,” Piper said as she shut the door behind her.
Prue gave her a half smile. “Yeah.” She walked into the front room and looked around. “So, any idea where the book is?”
Piper nods. “It’s rather hazy, but I think I do.”
“Good,” Prue sighed with relief, “because I haven’t a clue where it is.”
“Want me to go get it, so that we can put it away?”
Before Prue can answer she heard a knock on the door behind her. “Hold that thought.” Prue walked over to the front door. Through the thick glass she made out the outline of a woman. She pulled open the door, a smile coming to her lips at the sight of the dark haired woman standing there.
Prue Matthews-Mitchell had been a friend of the family for over six years. She was a social worker and one of her children had turned out to be a fire starter, a special type of witch who often found his or her life forfeit when a powerful evil being sought to control their powers. Phoebe had had a premonition of Paige and the boy, Tyler Westcott being killed by demonic bounty hunters passing as Tyler’s foster parents. They had managed to save both Paige and Tyler.
Shortly there after Piper froze a room and Paige didn’t freeze. They had yet to learn what Paige’s powers where, but they knew she was a witch.
Paige’s recent marriage to parole officer and mortal, Henry Mitchell, had changed things between the three Halliwell sisters and their friend, especially with everything going on in the six months since Cal Greene’s death. Henry adored his wife, but he had only the barest inkling about the magic since Paige had no known powers and he wasn’t at all sure he wanted his wife near people in the media’s light if there was a chance that media might turn on his wife.
For now, Paige was alone, a weary look on her face. The smile on Prue’s face wavered. “Come in.”
Paige nodded and walked past Prue, shutting the door behind her. “Phoebe?”
Prue exhaled slowly before saying only. “She’s dead.”
Paige’s eyes slid shut before she responded. “I’m sorry, Prue.”
Prue nodded. “No ‘I told you so’?”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Paige told her shaking her head. “Besides, I didn’t want her dead. I just thought that might be the outcome.” Paige sighed. “I really hoped that it wouldn’t.” She looked up at Prue. “Do you want me to go?”
Prue shook her head. “No. Come in. Right about not I need people around who knew Phoebe and not just her mortal half.”
Paige smiled a little and walked into the front room. She picked up a picture off a shelf of Melinda, Piper’s seven-year-old daughter, in a tutu. “Does Melinda know yet?”
“We’ve tried to keep this from Melinda as much as possible,” Piper said as she entered the room. “I think she knows more than I want, but I don’t think she knows Phoebe is dead.”
Paige put back the photo and walked over to her and hugged her. “I am so sorry, Piper.”
Piper let tears fall. “She was my baby sister.”
Paige held her tight for a minute, letting Piper cry. “I’m sorry this happened. I am so sorry, Piper.” Paige’s voice was thick with emotion and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Paige let her go and looked over at Prue. “Where do you go from here? The power of three is gone.”
“It is gone,” Prue stated simply, “but we just got a wake up call, not just Phoebe’s death, but our own pasts didn’t like what they saw.”
“Your pasts?” Paige asked.
Prue nodded. “It’s rather confusing, but they reminded us, me at least, that I need to rearrange my priorities.”
Behind them a demon shimmered in. Piper, who was facing them, saw the demon as he extended his hand, lightning shooting from it. Even as Piper raised her hands to freeze the demon she called out, “Prue! Paige!”
Both women whirled around. The lightning was headed straight at Paige. Just before it would have hit her, Paige disappeared in the blue-white orb lights of a whitelighter. Prue froze in place, gaping as the lightning passed directly where Paige had been and hit the wall beyond. Piper’s hands stopped, momentarily stunned as she watched Paige reappear. Piper stared for a second before she noticed the demon still moved and swung her hands up and down freezing the room. As expected Paige didn’t freeze.