A special thanks to Constance Burge, Aaron Spelling and all the rest of the production team for the ideas and scripts. And of course Shannon Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan for all the fantastic acting. Without which or witch none of this would be possible. I hope you don't mind my borrowing your ideas and words, perhaps Billie said it best in Repro Manor "Well they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery".
Thanks for the reviews. Especially "master fireball" who pointed out that the Triad could do the same as the Angel of Destiny did by adding Dumain to the collective. The three Triad demon's names start with A, B and C and Dumain of course with a D. After all Xar was once a member. I assumed at the time that Xar had been thrown out by a challenger but a "Quadrad!" is a possibility.
Training Paige
Previous
Prue added "And we have to teach you all the witch skills you will need to know, skills like spell casting and potion making. Also the rules that govern what we are allowed to do, and what can go wrong and often does! We have been learning for the last two and a half years, so you have some catching up to do".
"How long do I have to learn all this?" asked Paige.
"Until lunch" replied Piper "if we are lucky".
And now it continues (midday Saturday)
A clearly rattled Paige stammered "That long?"
With a stern look at Piper, Prue said "Its not that bad, we have managed to hold off all the Demons so far and they will have to get through us first, before they can get to you. Don't under estimate your own powers or ours."
Phoebe added "We don't know how much they know about you, who you are and where you live and work. It took them some time to identify us after we received our powers. That gave us time to learn, but we had no one to teach us". And in a voice that tried to show a mix of confidence and enthusiasm she continued "I am sure that you will learn fast. After all, you are a Halliwell and you have three sister witches and a Whitelighter as teachers".
Piper spoke up "The Angel of Destiny said that Evil, would be told the same as we were, and he told us Paige's name. We have to assume they will know who she is and it won't take them long to find her".
"Angel of Destiny?" queried by now a very uncertain Paige.
"The being that started all this, he wanted to keep this timeline from merging with another which would have resulted in massive chaos. Bringing you into the family early was his way of balancing the Triads presence and preventing this merger. The Angel of Destiny's job is to guide a worlds destiny, they are extremely powerful and always neutral. Thats why Evil has also been told about you" explained Leo.
Paige whose appetite had suddenly disappeared, pushed her plate away and said "What if I don't want this destiny?".
Prue quietly replied "I am afraid you no longer have any choice and before you blame us, please remember", as Prue turned to look sharply at Phoebe "that we also were given no choice when we became witches. Destiny chose us and the Angel of Destiny said that evil would have killed you without mercy if we had not contacted you.
Phoebe said nothing, but blandly stared back at Prue. After a few seconds, she smiled and said to Paige "Prue will never let me forget that I was the one who read the spell from the Book of Shadows that unlocked our powers and that I didn't ask them first".
At this point Piper got up and started to collect all the plates and cutlery. And as Leo also got up to help, Phoebe added "Don't mind Piper" as with a grin on her face, she leant back on her chair, "Piper's a neat freak and dirty dishes never last long".
Piper made a face at Phoebe who laughed and smiles appeared on both Prue's and Paige's faces. "Carry on Prue" said Piper as she started to fill the sink with hot water.
"Does this mean I have to give up my job and go into hiding?. Leave my home and move into the Manor ?" asked Paige.
"No" replied Prue, "you will need to keep as normal a life as possible, otherwise things will just go insane". Piper added from the kitchenette "I have P3, Prue has her photography job at 415 and Phoebe has gone back to school". "Hey" protested Phoebe, "I am taking courses at the Community College".
"What about the Manor?" asked Paige.
Prue said "Its been in the Halliwell family for generations and as a Halliwell, its there for you as well. We have a bedroom for you if you wish".
"So what is magic?, what can I do?" asked Paige.
Leo continued "Magic is everywhere, everything that makes up our world, plants, animals, even the weather is influenced by magic. Both Good and Evil decided long ago, that non magical humans, muggle's if you like, must never know about the existence of anything magical ie witches, demons or any other magical beings. This is why the demons disappeared in flame when you vanquished them last night. All beings who depend on magic for survival, disappear when they die, the loss of magic unmakes them and it helps prevent exposure. Witches and Whitelighters such as yourself with human ancestry don't".
Phoebe added "I always wondered about that"
"Well you should have read more of the Book of Shadows, instead of skipping to the easy bits" replied Leo. Both Prue and Piper remained quiet, especially when Leo with an exasperated look on his face, also looked at them.
"Thats not fair" protested Phoebe, "usually we have to find some critical spell or potion at the last moment and that book weighs a ton. Besides, half of it is in latin or some other language".
Ignoring Phoebe's complaint, Leo continued "Paige, you are fairly safe in the mortal world, as an attack in public, at least one powerful enough to kill you, could result in magic's exposure. Not even the Source would risk this. This is an ancient agreement, with powerful beings greater even than the Source, tasked to prevent it. So you can keep your job, you do have a job, don't you?"
With an insulted look on her face, Paige replied "Yes I do, I am an assistant at South Bays Social Services. We help people who need help, financial or otherwise. I enjoy helping people and I am good at my job. Mr Cowan, my boss has implied that I might be promoted to full social worker status soon".
"That would be your Whitelighter side coming through" commented Leo.
Piper called out, "You must try and keep a life outside of magic, thats important, a job, social life, boy friend, anything is vital".
"You will still need to be careful, especially when you are alone or with strangers as many demons or warlocks can look completely human" warned Leo.
Paige said "What now?".
Leo replied "If you don't object, we will return to the Manor. The Book of Shadows is there, along with potion ingredients and all the other items you and your sisters may need. Any practicing of magic would be better there, as our neighbours tend to ignore strange explosions, something breaking, the occasional scream etc. They have heard it all before and have long ago realised that its easier to leave it be. I think your neighbours might be a bit more likely to call the police."
"Occasional scream?" said Paige.
Phoebe added "Most of them think we keep throwing wild parties" and Piper followed with "We aren't that popular because house prices are lower in our street. We get the blame for that. Mind you, we tend to provide plenty of work for the local repairers. The Grandfather clock alone, has cost us a fortune so far."
Prue spoke up "About the Manor, you are more than welcome to join us, especially as it will be safer for you and we can help you learn. This is one of the reasons why we three still live there".
"Safer?" interjected Paige. "Actually yes" replied Prue, "there is greater safety in numbers and the Manor has its own defenses in a way. What do you want to do?".
"I don't know" replied Paige, "less than 24 hours ago, my life was so different, I was an only child, now I have three sisters, I'm a witch, a whitelighter, and evil wants to kill me. I don't want to move as well".
"Will you at least return with us" asked Leo, "It will make it easier to show you what magic can do". With a deep breath, Paige nodded in agreement.