Pick Your Prey in a Wicca Way
Another peaceful sunrise rose over the Pacific Ocean and began waking up the habitants of San Francisco. It didn't take long before people rushed to work, clogging the highways with the morning rush hour. It was just another day in the monotonous cycle of life.
But for the Halliwell sisters, it was another day of protecting the innocent from evil. As usual, Prue hogged the bathroom, pruning herself for work at Buckland. Piper was in the kitchen making breakfast before running to Quake for her shift.
As Prue walked into the kitchen clad in a black dress and black sweater, Piper turned to greet her with a smile. "Good morning, I have breakfast ready."
"Thanks Piper, but I don't have the time. I've got a big meeting in 20 minutes and Claire will have my head if I'm even one second late." Prue countered as she grabbed her purse and car keys.
"Prue," Piper said in a disappointed whine, "I made breakfast and you're going to eat it!"
"Sorry but I don't have the time. I'll see you later!" Prue flashed Piper her thousand-dollar smile then darted off to work.
"I hate it when she does that!" Piper fumed then sighed. When she didn't hear Phoebe anywhere close, she tilted her head always worried the youngest sister was getting in trouble. "Phoebe?" Piper called out as she walked out of the kitchen to the stairs. When there was no response, a frown crossed her face and she headed up to Phoebe's room. "Phoebe? Is everything all right?" Piper called out again, a strange feeling gripping her heart. There still wasn't an answer and her heart started pounding in her chest, thinking something bad had happened. She knocked on Phoebe's door, wondering if she could call Prue and wishing she were telepathic. "Phoebe? Phoebe, are you all right?" When she turned the knob, she found the door was unlocked and opened it. She stepped inside, expecting to find Phoebe lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
Instead, she found her dancing in front of her vanity, headphones placed firmly on her ears. She was singing along to what she was listening to. Piper breathed out a sigh of relief at seeing her younger sister alive and well. In their line of work, one could never let down their guard for long. Piper walked up behind Phoebe and touched her on the shoulder to get her attention since she obviously couldn't hear her.
Phoebe let out a scream and jumped about ten feet in the air and spun around to face Piper. Her brown eyes were wide and full of fear, her breathing erratic. In reflex, Piper gasped and jumped back. "Oh God Piper, don't do that!" She breathed out as she took her headphones off and turned off her music. "You don't sneak up on people in this house!"
"Sorry Phoebs, but you hadn't heard me. I thought something had happened to you." She took a deep breath while Phoebe took about ten. "Anyway, I was going to tell you that breakfast is ready, and you're going to eat it even if I have to shove it down your throat." Piper said, giving Phoebe as narrow-eyed look.
"You don't have to shove it down my throat, and what happened to the peace-making middle sister? I thought she didn't condone violence on her siblings." Phoebe said in a slight mocking yet playful tone. Piper rolled her eyes in response.
"I wouldn't threaten if Prue had just ate before she left, but as usual she bypassed my food for work." Piper linked arms with Phoebe and headed down to the kitchen with her. Phoebe grabbed a plate and served herself a hefty helping of food. Piper took some for her and sat down with Phoebe to eat.
After breakfast, Piper headed off to work, leaving Phoebe home alone. Being unemployed was both a blessing and a curse. Phoebe loved not having to get up and run off in the morning, but she hated always having to depend on her sisters to help her pay for things. She didn't know how much longer she could survive off of Prue's hand-me-downs or I-borrowed-this-but-forgot-to-tell you-until-you-caught-me-wearing-it.
She picked up the classified sections of the day's newspaper, sat down on the couch and once again took up the tedious task of searching for a job.
Her last attempt at a job, working at a real estate agency, hadn't worked out due to her boss wanting her to lie. Being a moral person, Phoebe decided she should make sure that any job she took wouldn't compromise herself as a human being while at the same time being flexible enough to encompass her demon-fighting life.
As she scanned the pages, one ad leapt out at her. It was an ad asking for a young female with knowledge of the occult to aid in cataloguing family heirlooms. Being the one who was the most in love with being a witch, Phoebe jumped at this opportunity. Without second thought, she picked up the phone and called the number in the ad.
"Hello?" A female voice answered.
"Uh hello, I'm calling about the ad for someone with knowledge of the occult." Phoebe answered, exhilarated at finding something that looked promising.
"Oh yes! I hadn't expected a call about this so quickly. Are you a follower of the occult?"
Phoebe took a breath, knowing it was a bad idea to come right out and say that she was a Charmed One. "I've done a lot of research about it, yes."
"Are you able to identify artifacts?"
"Yes, I am." Phoebe half-lied. Prue was the one who could identify artifacts just upon looking at it. But Phoebe did do research and could always look things up when necessary. And she was desperate for money.
"Good, good. What is your name?"
"Phoebe, Phoebe Halliwell."
"Well Phoebe, if you're free today, would you mind coming over for an interview?"
"Oh yes, yes of course! I'll be there very soon!" Phoebe wrote down the address and the woman's name. After hanging up, she ran upstairs to shower. She then ran into Prue's room and grabbed one of her old skirt suits to wear. After she got dressed, she realized she didn't have a car.
She decided to borrow Prue's car, which was all ready at Buckland. Phoebe grabbed her purse and headed out to catch the bus. She got off as close to Buckland as the bus went, and then walked the rest of the way there. Once inside the office building, she got off the elevator on Prue's floor and headed to her office. Prue's assistant saw Phoebe coming.
"I'm sorry, but Prue's in a meeting. She won't be out for a while."
"Could you please tell her it's an emergency? I really need to borrow her car…" Phoebe said, giving the woman an uncertain smile as she suddenly remembered she was wearing Prue's clothes without asking first.
"I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."
"Oh thank you, thank you!" Phoebe said and watched as the woman went to get Prue.
Prue was sitting at a table with Claire and two clients, going through a collection they wished to sell. They were busily cranking out details of all the antiques when the assistant knocked.
"What is it?" Claire said in an irritated tone. "I told you not to interrupt us!"
"I'm sorry, but Prue your sister is here and says it's an emergency." The woman had a slightly uneasy look on her face, fearing Claire's wrath. Prue sighed heavily.
"Ok thank you, I'll be right there." The assistant nodded and left. Prue smiled politely at the clients and Claire. "I'm so sorry, I'll only be a minute." She got up and left the room. When she saw Phoebe, her eyes darkened and her smile turned into a scowl. "What is it Phoebe? And you went through my closet again! I told you to stop that!"
"Yeah I know, I'm sorry but I have a job interview and I need your car." Phoebe gave her a slightly crooked yet innocent and genuine smile. Prue merely crossed her arms and kept scowling.
"Why can't you use Piper's car?"
"She's all ready at work and you're my favorite sister?" Phoebe's smile widened with hope. Prue narrowed her eyes.
"If I wasn't in the middle of a meeting I would make you go home and change into your own clothes, but I don't have time to stand here and fight with you." Prue walked into her office and grabbed her car keys and handed them to Phoebe. "And if you so much as put one little scratch on my car, you are paying for it."
"I promise your car will be pristine when I come back." Phoebe took the keys eagerly and grinned. "Thank you so much Prue!" She gave her a big hug. "I love you, I'll see you tonight!" Phoebe ran off and Prue could only shake her head as she went back to her meeting.
When Phoebe arrived at the house, she sat in the large driveway staring at it. It was an old mansion that looked like something out of an old horror movie, perhaps like Frankenstein's castle. She got out of the car and walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. While she waited for someone to answer it, she looked around at the front garden and couldn't help but find the place creepy yet oddly appealing to her. Before she could explore the idea of why she was attracted to this place, the door opened.
"May I help you, miss?" The older man said.
"Uh hi, I'm Phoebe Halliwell. Ms. Halifax is expecting me."
"Oh yes, please come in, Ms. Halliwell." He stepped aside to let Phoebe in, then shut the door behind her. "Right this way." He led her down the hall, but she wasn't paying attention to where he was taking her, she was too caught up in the decoration of the house. It looked like something straight out of the Middle Ages. The house was built completely out of stone and it had the dank and dreary feel to it as European castles have. Phoebe was so engrossed in looking at tapestries on the walls that she hadn't noticed the man had stopped walking until she ran into him.
"Oh sorry!" She apologized with a bashful smile on her face.
"Ms. Halifax, Ms. Halliwell is here." The man said. Ms. Halifax, who seemed to be around Prue's age or perhaps a little older, looked up from a book.
"Ah thank you Henry." The man nodded, then left. Ms. Halifax set the book aside and stood, a warm, friendly smile on her face. "Hello Phoebe, it's wonderful to meet you." She extended her hand in greeting.
Phoebe smiled warmly. "Thank you Ms. Halifax, it's nice to meet you too." She reached out and shook the woman's hand. The moment she touched her, she gasped and received a vision of the past.
i Ms. Halifax was clutching a jar in her arms and seemed to be running away from someone. When she turned a corner, a man was there waiting for her, an evil smirk on his face.
She stepped back and the man held up a hand with an energy ball in it. He eyed her and was ready to kill her. But before he could, she placed a curse on him and he was sucked into the jar./i
Phoebe opened her eyes again, wondering what she just saw. As always happened after getting her premonitions, she was slightly dazed and had a ringing in her ears.
"Phoebe? Are you ok?" Ms. Halifax asked, a look of concern on her face. Phoebe blinked and took a deep breath to get her senses back. She smiled and pulled her hand back politely.
"Yes, fine, thank you. Sorry, I just get really nervous sometimes on interviews." She said with a laugh, trying to cover her reaction to the premonition with awkward humor. She completed the act with an awkward smile.
"Oh it's all right, I understand. Please, sit down Phoebe." Ms. Halifax directed Phoebe to the chair sitting across from the one she had just been sitting in.
"Thank you," Phoebe said as she took her seat. Ms. Halifax sat down and smiled at Phoebe.
"You look very professional, you didn't need to dress up. This isn't an office job."
"I like to make good impressions and it's better to be over-dressed than under-dressed." Phoebe said, almost sounding too energetic which caused her to mentally chastise herself to calm down and assured herself she'd consult the Book of Shadows and her sisters later about the premonition.
"That's very good, I like a woman who thinks like that. On the phone, you said you research the occult. How extensive do you research?"
"Well, I normally keep looking until I find exactly what I'm looking for. If that's not enough, then I try to broaden my search and incorporate anything that might help me figure out or understand what it is I'm trying to identify or know." Phoebe tucked some hair behind her ear.
"So you don't give up until you find what it is you're looking for?"
"Yeah, exactly. I'm very thorough and if you need I'd give you copies of everything I found that even mentions something relevant to what I'm looking for." Phoebe said with a smile. She made a mental note to be extra nice to Prue, knowing she'd most likely need her help in some areas on this one.
"Good, good. Now, I'm going to give you a little task." Ms. Halifax stood up and walked over to an elaborate china cabinet, opened it and took a jar out of it, then came back. "I want you to find out everything you can about this. Consider this your entrance exam. If you pass, you get the job. If not, then I'll have to find someone else." There was almost a strange sparkle in her dark blue eyes as she held the jar. "The trick is, I all ready know everything about this jar. I'm looking for how much you bring back to me. I want you to come back this time tomorrow with everything you find, ok?"
Phoebe looked at the woman, a passing question of the woman's sanity crossing her mind for a moment. 24 hours to research a jar? How much could there be about it? Then Phoebe noticed it was the same jar from her premonition and she suddenly realized this might be a very good thing. If she had the jar and had to research it, her and her sisters could take care of the demon that was inside it, then return it to Ms. Halifax safely knowing they helped an innocent. Phoebe smiled and nodded. "Yes that will be fine. I'll be here tomorrow with my research." She stood up and took the jar as Ms. Halifax handed it to her.
"Good. Good luck, Phoebe. I hope you pass, I like you and think you'll be perfect for the job." Ms. Halifax smiled warmly. Phoebe smiled back.
"Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Halifax." Phoebe made her way out and went back home, all the while keeping an eye on the jar.
Once at home, Phoebe went straight to the Book of Shadows. She sat in the attic, flipping through the pages painstakingly. She lost track of time as she tried to figure out what this jar was and who that demon was that was in it. She looked at the jar, then reached out and started turning it this way and that, studying it carefully.
"Why aren't you in the Book? Are you a baby demon?" Phoebe asked then giggled softly. "A baby demon, if only." She sighed heavily and scratched her head as she set the jar down again and closed the Book.
"I know your secret yearning." Phoebe froze and looked around as she heard the voice.
"Who's there?" But as she searched the attic, no one was there. "Hello?" She asked again after a minute or two of silence passed. She stood up and slowly turned in a circle.
"Don't worry, soon it will be yours." Phoebe jumped and spun around.
"Who are you?" She demanded, starting to get scared and hating the fact she was home alone. Still she didn't see anyone. Then she realized the voice she was hearing was more of a whisper, barely more than a breath on the wind passing by her ear.
Phoebe was so preoccupied trying to find out who was talking to her that she didn't hear her sisters calling to her from downstairs. When Prue opened the attic door and walked in with Piper close behind her, she frowned a bit.
"Phoebe, what are you doing?"
Phoebe gasped and jumped. "Jesus Prue, don't scare me!" She said and took a deep breath to calm down. "How many times do we have to restate the whole not sneaking up on people in this house thing?"
"I'm sorry, but we were calling you and you didn't answer. Are you ok?" Prue said.
"Yeah fine, I'm fine." She scratched her head.
"Isn't that Prue's suit you're wearing?" Piper asked.
"Yes it is, I just borrowed it for the day." Phoebe said, always hating how Piper had to point those things out.
"It's all right Piper, I all ready stated my loathing of her going through my closet without permission." Prue said as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Phoebe in warning.
"Why are you wearing it though? You were home today." Piper asked.
"Well I was, but after you left I was going through the classifieds and saw an ad for a job. I called the number and the woman wanted me to go for an interview today."
"Speaking of that, I hope you got the job because I am not walking to and from work again." Prue said, giving Phoebe another look of warning.
"Well, the thing is, Ms. Halifax, my potential employer, is giving me a test to see if I get the job or not."
"What kind of job is this? I've never heard of someone doing an interview that quickly without paperwork and formalities." Piper said, questioning the legality of this job and having a bad feeling about this Ms. Halifax.
"She wants to catalogue all these artifacts and antiques she has. Her test is for me to research this." She grabbed the jar off of the table and showed it to Prue and Piper. "She all ready knows everything about it, she just wants to see how thoroughly I research."
"She wants you to research a jar as a test to see whether or not you get the job?" Prue said, her tone highly cynical.
"Yes." Phoebe responded and could tell neither of her sisters liked this idea. "Look, I can tell you both hate this, and I have my doubts, but when I shook Ms. Halifax's hand, I had a premonition." With that one little word, she captured both sisters' attention.
"What was it?" Prue asked, uncrossing her arms and her mocking scowl turned into a friendlier look of intrigue.
iShe looks so beautiful when she looks at me like that./i Phoebe thought, then she caught herself and wondered where the hell that came from. She shook it off and figured she was just tired or something. "I think it was from the past. I saw Ms. Halifax holding this jar. It looked like she was trying to run away from someone, then when she turned a corner a demon popped out. He was going to kill her but she put a curse on him and he got sucked into this jar."
"Ok sounds like we have a demon to vanquish." Piper said.
"The only problem is, I can't find anything in the Book of Shadows. I don't even know the demon's name."
"Well it seems like we'll have to research the old fashioned way." Prue suggested.
Phoebe looked at her and got transfixed by the look in Prue's eyes. iShe has the prettiest eyes. I wish I could look into them forever./i That thought brought a faint blush to her cheeks and she mentally smacked herself, willing herself to stop thinking things like that and wondering why she was thinking them. "The library?"
"The library." Piper said.
A couple hours later, after having changed and gotten something to eat, the sisters sat in the library, paging through various books about demons and jars. Phoebe kept tedious notes of every tiny detail she thought was relevant.
"How much longer do we have to keep looking?" Piper asked with a slight whine to her voice.
"As long as it takes, Piper." Prue said as she flipped a page. Piper closed the book she was looking at and groaned.
"I'm getting tired. Can't we resume the search in the morning?"
"No we can't. Ms. Halifax wants me to bring everything I've found by tomorrow morning. And besides, there are lives potentially at stake here, namely Ms. Halifax's, so we need to keep looking until we find something." Phoebe said, and then returned to the book she was currently looking through.
Being the expert on antiques, Prue was the one handling the task of finding the jar. She had long since lost track of how many books she'd looked through, pointing things out to Phoebe here and there. Then, suddenly, she found something.
"Oh, oh I think I've got something." She said as she sat forward and set the book on the table. Phoebe and Piper got up and hovered over her shoulders. Prue started reading the passage about the jar. There was even a picture of it, so they knew it was the right one. "The jar has Greek origins, apparently from around the fourth or fifth century A.D." Prue read a few more lines while Phoebe took notes. "Women used jars like this to hold oils or perfumes that they would use to cleanse themselves after having relations they shouldn't have had." Prue's brow furrowed in confusion.
"What do they mean relations they shouldn't have had?" Piper asked.
"I don't know, maybe it means affairs?" Prue said as she read on, but it didn't elaborate.
"Or maybe they just wanted to let loose from time to time and not have their husbands think they were anything but perfect." Phoebe suggested with a giggle.
"Once they had a taste of Vernados, they never went back." Phoebe jerked her head to look over her shoulder as she heard the whisper yet again, confusion crossing her face. "And you're feeling it too. I can tell you love her and want her. Let me help you make it a reality."
"What?" Phoebe asked, still looking for the source of the voice.
"What do you meant what?" Prue asked, looking up at Phoebe. "Phoebe?"
"Oh uh, what?" Phoebe said as she shook her head and snapped back to what they were doing.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Prue asked, a look of concern on her face.
iI love when she worries for me, it shows me she cares. I know I have a special place in her heart. I was the first one she said "I love you" to since mom died all those years ago./i Phoebe thought as she looked at Prue, then suddenly shook her head. "No yeah I'm fine. Just the dust in here getting to me." She figured she was just hearing things and decided to ignore the strange thoughts and voice she was hearing.
"Maybe we should go back home and get some rest. I don't think we'll find the demon in here, but now that we know where the jar came from it might help us find the demon that was put in it." Prue said, though she was really worried about Phoebe.
"Ok sounds good, I'm just going to check a couple of these books out so I can take better notes on everything." Phoebe said as she grabbed a couple books, then headed to the desk to check them out.
Once she was gone, Prue looked at Piper. "She's acting weird. Do you think that Ms. Halifax did something to her?"
"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this. I don't like this and I don't want Phoebe to go back there in the morning." Piper replied, gazing after Phoebe with a look of concern.
"I agree. We aren't letting her go tomorrow." Both Prue and Piper gathered the other books and set them on a cart to be re-filed. They joined Phoebe and headed home.
"All right, I'm going to bed, it's been a long day." Piper said with a yawn.
"Me too, I'll see you guys in the morning." Prue said with a smile.
"Good night guys. See you in the morning." Phoebe smiled and took the library books to her room and set them on her bed. Piper and Prue gazed after her then went to their own rooms.
Phoebe stayed up another few hours gathering information. She had checked the Book for a demon named Vernados and found an entry. He apparently was the demon of yearning and made his victims become consumed by yearning and desire. The more Phoebe researched, the more she started thinking and the more she heard her thoughts center around Prue and admiring her.
At first, she'd merely passed the thoughts off as admiration for her big sister. Though she rarely ever said so, Phoebe really admired and looked up to Prue and wished she could be as strong and brave as her. She knew no matter what, her big sister would always be there for her to protect her and hold her when she needed it. But slowly her thoughts turned more sexual. She was in the middle of quite a dirty thought when she finally caught herself.
"What the hell? Why am I thinking about Prue like that? She's my sister." Phoebe said and shook her head, trying to fight off the fact that her temperature was rising and she kept picturing Prue naked and doing things to her that no one should ever do to their sister.
Finally, after finishing her notes and thinking this would be good enough for Ms. Halifax, she cleared the books off her bed and fell into a deep sleep. Her dreams formed themselves after her dirty thoughts of Prue, but they felt so incredibly real to her. Phoebe rolled in her sleep and groaned as she did in her dreams.
She had failed to realize that the demon Vernados had her in the palm of his hand. By tomorrow, she would be so consumed by her yearning for Prue that she wouldn't be able to do anything except be with Prue and fulfill her yearning.
When morning came, Prue and Piper were up early waiting for Phoebe to get up. They both were in the kitchen nursing mugs of coffee. Prue looked at the clock.
"You don't think she snuck out at some point, do you?" She asked Piper.
"I don't think so. I think she's past that stage." Piper said, though she had her doubts but kept silent. She didn't want Prue to go off on one of her tangents this early in the morning.
Phoebe woke up, finding herself flushed and covered in a think layer of sweat. Her breathing was heavy and labored and she felt like she had just spent the whole night having sex. She sat up and tried to calm down, then suddenly the memories of her dreams returned and she felt her heart pound in her chest all over again. A groan escaped her lips and she could still feel Prue's breath on her skin, the scent of Prue's perfume filling her nostrils.
"Oh God," she groaned out and got out of bed. She didn't attempt to get dressed, still basking in the afterglow of sex, or at least very vivid wet dreams. As she shuffled into the kitchen, Prue and Piper straightened up, but their expressions changed drastically upon seeing Phoebe's wild hair, disheveled clothing. In fact, the tank top Phoebe had worn to bed was hanging off her shoulder enough to almost expose one of her breasts.
"Uh Phoebe, are you ok?" Piper asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm perfect." Phoebe replied with a slight purr to her voice and a sensual smile on her lips. As she looked at Prue, she licked her lips. "Mmm good morning, Prue."
"Uh morning, what's wrong with you?" Prue said, a look of confusion crossing her face.
"Nothing, nothing at all." Phoebe's sensual grin widened and she walked over to Prue. "I hope you slept well." She gently slid a hand up along Prue's arm. Prue shivered and pulled her arm back.
"Phoebe, really, what's wrong?" Prue asked, now worrying that something strange happened to Phoebe during the night. Phoebe stepped closer to Prue, reached out and gently brushed her fingers through her hair.
"You look so beautiful first thing in the morning."
"Whoa whoa ok Phoebe, stop it." Piper said, getting weirded out by Phoebe's actions. She grabbed Phoebe's hands and pulled her away from Prue. Prue took about three steps back, very uncomfortable by Phoebe's closeness.
"Phoebe come on, snap out of it." Prue said. As Piper held Phoebe's wrists, Phoebe started struggling.
"Let go of me, Piper! I need to be with Prue!" Phoebe demanded. The alarms went off in both Piper's and Prue's heads with those words. Piper tightened her grip on Phoebe.
"Stop it, Phoebe!" Piper said, doing her best to not let go. But as Phoebe struggled harder, it was evident that her martial arts training was starting to pay off and she was about to overpower Piper. Prue took matters into her own hands, stepped forward and slapped Phoebe across the face.
Phoebe shrieked and promptly got a hold of herself. She held a hand to her cheek where Prue slapped her and looked at her, confusion clear in her eyes.
"Sorry Phoebe, but we needed you to get a hold of yourself." Prue said.
"No it's ok. I'm sorry, I just don't know what's wrong with me." Her forehead furrowed in both thought and confusion.
"You've been acting weird since last night. We think that woman might have done something to you." Prue said, watching Phoebe closely.
"No she didn't do anything to me. But I've heard this strange voice ever since I got back with the jar. And I've had these weird thoughts." Phoebe said as she sat down in a chair.
"What sort of thoughts? And what voice?" Piper asked, her bad feeling growing even deeper.
"I don't know, it's a male voice. Ever so often I'll hear him talking to me, but it sounds like a whisper in my ear. It comes out of nowhere, there's never anyone there who could have said it to me. He talks about yearnings, and once he mentioned a name, Vernados. When we got back from the library and you both went to bed, I looked up the name in the Book of Shadows. He was in it."
"Vernados? Does he have a vanquishing spell?" Piper asked.
"Yes he does."
"I'm going to go look that up and see what we're dealing with. Piper, you stay here with Phoebe and make sure she doesn't go anywhere." Prue said, then headed up to the Book of Shadows.
"But I have to go meet Ms. Halifax and give her my research!" Phoebe protested.
"I'm sorry Phoebs, but you're not going to see Ms. Halifax." Piper said. Phoebe frowned.
"Why not? Piper I have a job to do! I can't let her down!"
"Phoebe, you're not going. I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing. I don't want you going back there."
"Why not? Ms. Halifax is perfectly fine. She was nice to me, Piper."
"It's not that, Phoebe. Think about it, you got that vision of seeing her put a demon in that jar. Either she put him there for you to find or she's a witch that trapped a dangerous demon. Regardless of which reason it is, I don't like this."
"So you're saying I shouldn't go to work just because you have a bad feeling? I'm not following your 'bad feeling' Piper." Phoebe huffed and crossed her arms. Piper sighed and sat down in the chair next to Phoebe.
"Look, I know you don't like being told what to do, but I'm telling you that my gut is telling me this woman can't be trusted. It also tells me she's done something to you."
"She didn't do anything to me, Piper. She just talked to me and gave me that jar."
"Yeah well she gave you that vision when you touched her. Just please don't make a move until you hear what Prue has to say after checking the Book, ok? We don't want to accidentally release this demon."
Phoebe sighed. "Ok I will."
A minute later, Prue came back downstairs with a serious look on her face. Piper looked up at her and read what was going through her head.
"Uh oh this can't be good." Piper said. Phoebe looked up at Prue and felt something tug at her.
"No it's not. The demon Vernados consumes his victims with yearning and desire." Prue looked at Phoebe, starting to think the demon has claimed Phoebe as his next victim.
"So what do you think we should do?" Piper asked. As Phoebe looked at Prue, she felt her temperature start to rise again as scenes from her dreams returned to her mind's eye.
"Well I think we should keep an eye on that jar and on Phoebe. I'd like to go meet this Ms. Halifax to get a first hand opinion. So the plan is this, we will go with Phoebe to Ms. Halifax's."
While Piper and Prue talked, Phoebe was busy looking at Prue. She licked her lips as she recalled the way Prue's hand had slid along her leg, the way her lips trailed down her neck. She groaned softly and felt a fire between her legs that she couldn't control.
Prue looked over at Phoebe as she heard her groan and looked at her oddly as she saw the look on her face. "Phoebe, are you all right?"
"Yeah," Phoebe said with a purr to her voice. She also had a flush to her cheeks.
"Yes, that's right. You want to grab her, pull her against you and ravish her the way she ravished you in your dreams." Vernados said to Phoebe.
iOh God I can't stand it anymore. I need her./i Phoebe thought.
"All right Phoebe, stop gawking at Prue and let's go get dressed and go see Ms. Halifax." Piper said, grabbing Phoebe's arm and hauling her upstairs to her room and shoved her in to get dressed.
Less than 20 minutes later, they were all in Piper's car driving to Ms. Halifax's house. Prue had called Claire earlier saying she'd be in later. Since most of the details with their newest client had been worked out yesterday, Prue wasn't necessarily needed in the office first thing this morning, a thing she was grateful for.
Piper was in the driver's seat, Prue riding in the front passenger seat and Phoebe in the backseat. Piper glanced at Phoebe in the rearview mirror every so often, wondering what exactly was going on with her.
As Prue sat there, she could feel Phoebe's gaze on her. She shivered slightly, able to feel the intensity of the gaze in her back. She had the sneaky feeling Vernados had gotten a hold of Phoebe. She was going to get to the bottom of all this and knew Ms. Halifax had the answers. Prue would be damned before she let her baby sister fall victim to a demon, let alone one that made it seem like Phoebe was hitting on her.
Prue looked at Piper out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to turn her head to see Phoebe's searing gaze. "Let's hope that Ms. Halifax is alone and doesn't have any other magical people with her."
"If there are, hopefully they're on our side or I can freeze them long enough for us to get away." Piper said, being very thankful for her power at the moment. She didn't always like being a witch, but even she couldn't deny that the ability to freeze time came in handy some times.
"Go on Phoebe, do it. You can't hold yourself back anymore now that you've acknowledged your feelings. Take Prue and make her yours." Vernados said.
iOh God, I can't fight it anymore. I feel like I'm going insane. This isn't right, these feelings aren't right and they aren't mine!/i Phoebe thought, trying to keep herself from losing control of her own body. She'd be damned to let some stupid demon take it from her.
"Oh Phoebe, they are your feelings, you've had them buried inside for a while now. Since your conscious mind refused to acknowledge them, they lurked in your subconscious. Haven't you ever wondered why so many of your dreams are about Prue? Or why you always look to her first? Or why you always feel your heart race when she's beside you or touching you?"
That made Phoebe's breath catch in her throat. It was true that many of her dreams lately had been about Prue. It was also true she always looked to Prue first, but that was because she was the oldest sister, the one with all the answers, the one who always protected her and Piper when the need called for it. As for the matter of her heart racing when Prue was near or touching her, it couldn't be true, could it?
"If you don't believe me, just pay attention next time she touches you or is standing beside you leaning in close. And if you think I'm lying about your feelings, why have you been staring at her so intently since you got in the car?"
iBecause you're controlling me, that's why./i Phoebe countered with a snarl.
"I'm not controlling you, Phoebe. Your body is completely your own. I am not possessing you in that way. I merely just unlocked your true emotions to let them run free."
iI don't believe you!/i Phoebe finally tore her gaze away from Prue and grabbed her head. "Stop tormenting me! Get out of my body!!" Phoebe suddenly exclaimed. Piper swerved and nearly hit a passing tree as Phoebe startled her. Prue cried out in surprise and grabbed a hold of the door as Piper swerved and quickly corrected the car before crashing. Prue turned around and rested her hand on Phoebe's shoulder.
"Phoebe calm down, it's all right. What's happening?" Prue asked, worry and concern clear in her eyes. Piper pulled over and parked, then turned back to Phoebe, determined not to move another inch until they felt Phoebe was ok.
"Stop it! Just shut up!" Phoebe cried out, then she looked up at Prue, still clinging to her head. "Make him shut up, Prue! I can't take it anymore!" Tears welled up in her eyes as desperation filled her voice. Prue undid her seatbelt, got out of the car and crawled into the backseat with Phoebe, then wrapped her arms around her and held her tight against.
"Shh its ok Phoebe, I promise I'll make him go away and leave you alone. I won't let him hurt you." Prue said in a soothing voice and smoothed Phoebe's hair. Phoebe buried her face in Prue's neck and clung to her. Even through her desperation of getting the demon out of her, she could feel the quickening pace of her heart as Prue held her like that. She sniffed and relaxed in Prue's arms slightly, feeling so safe in her big sister's embrace.
"Should we go back home to do the vanquishing spell?" Piper asked as she watched Prue and Phoebe.
"We can't vanquish him until we get him out of Phoebe. If we vanquish him while he's still possessing her we could lose her too." Prue tightened her arms around Phoebe in a protective manner. Phoebe rested her head on Prue's shoulder and took some deep breaths as she snuggled closer.
"But how do we get him out of me? There wasn't anything in the Book about him possessing people, though I know he is possessing me." Phoebe said.
"That's because I leave once my work is done. And you call yourself a Charmed One." Vernados said in a mocking tone. Phoebe closed her eyes tightly.
"Shut up Vernados! Leave me alone!"
"Don't listen to him. It'll be ok, I promise." Prue said, starting to rethink her original plan. "Piper keep driving. I think instead of observing, we need to do the questioning." She narrowed her eyes, determined to give Ms. Halifax a piece of her mind.
As Piper started driving again, Prue continued holding Phoebe, sensing her little sister's desperation and wanting to calm her down. Phoebe closed her eyes and just let herself feel Prue's gentle caresses and closeness. She felt her heart still racing slightly and a little flush come to her cheeks as she remained so close to Prue. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time Prue ever held this long in this way.
"Don't let go of me, Prue…" Phoebe said in a soft voice. Prue looked down at her and gave her a soft, warm smile.
"I won't." She placed a gentle kiss to the top of Phoebe's head, which drew a gentle smile from Phoebe. Phoebe snuggled closer, loving this moment.
"That's it Phoebe, this is what you've always wanted. You've always wanted Prue to hold you like this and not let you go. Show her that you'll do the same back. Show her you won't let go of her." Vernados said.
Phoebe closed her eyes tightly. "Oh God shut up…" She muttered and clung to Prue a little tighter. Prue frowned as she heard Phoebe's words then looked at Piper.
"Piper, will you stop driving like an old woman and step on it?" Prue demanded.
"Hey! I do not drive like an old woman! And no backseat driving in my car." Piper fired back, but she did speed up a bit.
A few minutes later, they arrived a Ms. Halifax's house. Phoebe grabbed the jar since Prue and Piper refused to touch it out of fear of being possessed too. They walked up to the door and Phoebe knocked.
Henry the butler answered the door a minute later. He looked at Phoebe, then at Prue and Piper. "Ms. Halliwell, who are your unexpected guests?"
"My sisters Prue and Piper. They wanted to come along this morning. I hope Ms. Halifax won't mind. I did bring everything. Prue works at Buckland auction house in case Ms. Halifax wishes to make any business there some time." Phoebe said, giving her best impression of a confident smile since she felt anything but confident at the moment with a demon bantering at her and these strange feelings for Prue clouding her thoughts.
"I don't think this will be a problem. Follow me, please." Henry led the three sisters down the hall to the same room Phoebe was in the day before. Ms. Halifax was again in her chair reading. "Ms. Halifax, Ms. Halliwell is here along with her two sisters."
Ms. Halifax looked up, a bit confused that Phoebe brought company. "Phoebe, it's good to see you again, but why have your sisters come?" She set her book aside and Henry left them to go about his duties.
Prue glanced behind her and when the butler was out of sight, she turned to Ms. Halifax and crossed her arms over her chest, showing her she meant business. "Ms. Halifax, we've come with Phoebe because we believe you did something to her yesterday when she was here. She's been acting strangely since she came home yesterday."
"I didn't do anything to Phoebe. I only talked to her, that's all." Ms. Halifax looked at Phoebe and could definitely tell Vernados was doing his job. She could see the change in Phoebe's eyes.
"Well we don't believe you. So come on, tell us what you did." Piper said, getting ready to put the freeze on if necessary.
Ms. Halifax stood up and suddenly smiled a dark, devious smile. "I must say I wasn't expecting this, but now that I have the Charmed Ones in my house, I guess I could explain myself."
"Wait, you know we're the Charmed Ones?" Prue asked, confusion contorting her face just as it did to Piper's and Phoebe's.
"Of course I did. I know all about you. I also needed to get to one of you. So what did I do? I went for the most vulnerable one of you." Her gaze turned to Phoebe.
Prue narrowed her eyes, barely controlling the urge to fling the woman across the room with her telekinesis. "You bitch, you'll pay for that."
"But I saw you curse that demon into the jar!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"No you saw me put the demon in the jar. You just filled in the blanks. I made sure that's the vision you got. I planted the ad for you to find. I planted the demon for you to get. And now you've fallen into the trap. Now all you can do is wait to see what happens next."
"We have a vanquishing spell and we will get rid of Vernados." Piper said.
"Wrong. You can't get rid of him until it's too late."
"She's right, Phoebe. Once I'm done, the damage will have been done and cannot be reversed. What do you think Piper will think when she finds out your feelings for Prue? More than that, what will Prue think when you try to take her for yourself?" Vernados mocked. Phoebe shook her head, trying not to listen to Vernados. Ms. Halifax looked at Phoebe and could tell that Vernados was at work.
"What's wrong, Phoebe? You don't like Vernados' advice? Poor thing, soon you'll be too weak to fight. It really is a pity you're so weak. I thought you'd put up more of a fight than this." Ms. Halifax said.
Something snapped inside Prue at those words. "Don't you idare/i pick on my sister!!" She exclaimed and with a squint of her eyes sent Ms. Halifax flying across the room and crashing into a bookcase. She grabbed Phoebe's and Piper's arms and ran for the door. Phoebe dropped her research and the jar, which broke as it hit the floor. They got in the car, this time with Prue at the wheel, and sped off for home.
Again Phoebe sat in the backseat of the car, trying to make sense of everything and trying to get Vernados to shut up. She held her hands over her ears, pretending that helped keep Vernados' voice away.
"You can't make me go away, Phoebe. I'm here until your feelings have taken control of you completely. Then maybe I'll take Prue and do the same to her."
"No, you leave her alone!" Phoebe exclaimed. Piper looked back at Phoebe. She was going to ask who Phoebe meant, but figured she meant either her or Prue.
"What are we going to do now, Prue?" Piper asked, keeping her eye on Phoebe.
"When we get home, we're going to summon Grams. Hopefully she can help us where the Book of Shadows can't." Prue glanced at Phoebe in the rearview mirror. "I'm counting on Grams to have some answers or at least something we can do to counter act Vernados' hold on Phoebe."
"And what if Grams doesn't know a way?"
"Then we'll keep summoning our ancestors until we find one that does know a way." Prue said, gripping the steering wheel more firmly in her hands. Piper took a deep breath and decided to just trust Prue on this one since she didn't have any better ideas.
Once they got home, they headed up to the attic and set up for the summoning. When all was in place, they joined hands and said the spell. After a few seconds, white orbs began to swirl inside the circle they'd formed from crystals, and then there was a flash of light as Grams appeared before them.
"Hello my darlings," Grams greeted them with a smile, but as soon as she looked at Phoebe it faded.
"Grams, we really need your help." Prue explained.
"I know, sweetheart. Vernados has Phoebe in his grasp, but I'm afraid there's almost nothing that can be done. You can't vanquish him until the moment Phoebe's consumed by the feelings he put inside her, for that's the only time that he'll let go of her." Grams explained. Phoebe sighed and looked at Grams helplessly.
"Then what am I supposed to do? He keeps talking to me and driving me insane with his constant commentary. He can hear my thoughts and comments on them and I can't take this!" Phoebe said, clearly exasperated.
"Sweetheart, you have to be strong. The longer you can fight him, the more you can weaken him. If you hold out long enough, he may give up and release his hold on you."
"But Grams, I'm not that strong. It's almost like deep inside, I know what he's saying is true." Phoebe's voice grew softer, hating herself for admitting a weakness and partially admitting defeat.
"Don't you dare say that. You are strong, Phoebe. I didn't raise you to be a pushover. What happened to the rebel that wouldn't take no for an answer? This situation is no different. Think of it as Vernados saying no to you living your life. Now remember all the times I enforced my will and rules on you and it only made you fight harder? I need you to fight like that right now, Phoebe." Grams said, hating to see Phoebe just give in like this.
"Grams is right, Phoebe." Prue said, turning to Phoebe. "You always fought fire with more fire. This demon is taking away your body and soul, now take it back from him."
"You were always the one who never gave up and admit defeat. Even if you were defeated, you kept fighting, swearing that you would win sooner or later." Piper said.
Phoebe looked at the three of them, knowing they were all right, but at the same time she wished they knew what it was like to have someone constantly giving commentary and manipulating their feelings. She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair.
"I know you guys are right, I do. I need to fight him." Phoebe said.
"You can't fight me. You're giving up all ready, surrendering to the passion in your heart. You do love Prue and you want her. Get her alone and make those dreams you had last night come true." Vernados said. Phoebe grabbed her head.
"Shut up!!" She cried out. Grams frowned deeply.
"Don't fight him with words, Phoebe. Fight him with your emotions, your willpower." Grams said. She didn't like seeing her granddaughter suffering like this.
"Grams, are you sure there isn't some sort of spell we can cast to get him out of Phoebe?" Prue insisted.
"No there isn't. He's not quite possessing her, so you can't counteract that. You can't vanquish him or you'll vanquish her with him. You can only wait for him to give up and leave on his own, or she falls under his spell completely."
"You aren't under a spell, Phoebe. These are your true emotions. You've buried them for so long that they are wild and unbridled, more than you could ever imagine. Once you give into them completely, I will take you. You have the most raw power out of everyone I've done this to." Vernados purred, feeling just how powerful Phoebe's emotions were. On top of that, she was a Charmed One and she was stronger than any other witch he'd encountered.
"You can't have me! I won't let you take me!" Phoebe cried.
"Now that's the Phoebe I like to hear." Grams said with a little smirk upon hearing the fire in Phoebe's voice.
"I bet you never thought you'd say that." Prue said with a smirk of her own.
"No, I certainly didn't. It's probably a good thing your mother didn't have to deal with that. The stress of Phoebe's teenage years would've killed her." Grams said.
After a minute, Phoebe managed to regain control and shut Vernados up for the moment. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I want to be alone right now. I'll talk to you later." Phoebe said, her voice showing the exhaustion and frustration she felt. She turned and headed to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower.
"Now that she's gone, I need you two to keep at her and make sure she fights." Grams said, looking at Piper and Prue.
"But she's weakening, Grams. I can tell just by looking at her. That's not the same Phoebe that she was yesterday." Piper said.
"You can't just watch her give up either, Piper. Do you really want to sit there and watch your sister give up and die?" Grams said, giving Piper a stern look.
"No I don't, but how are we supposed to help her fight when she's losing the battle before it's even gotten started?"
"I really wish we could just vanquish him without harming Phoebe. I've had more than enough of this demon possessing one of my sisters." Prue grumbled, her eyes narrowing in determination. "Is there a spell that can give Phoebe my strength to fight?"
"Prue, I wouldn't mess with things like that. You could end up making things worse. For now, just do what you can to help her stay strong. I'll talk with our ancestors and see if they come up with anything. If something comes up, summon me. Otherwise, summon me tonight and I'll give you the verdict of our ancestors." Grams explained.
"Ok Grams, thank you." Prue said with a soft sigh.
"Keep your chin up. You're the strongest when you're together." With that, Grams' spirit returned to the other side.
"Well, I'm going to go make something for lunch. You hungry?" Piper asked.
"Not really, I'm too worried about Phoebe."
"I'll make you something anyway. Then the three of us can eat together." Piper rubbed Prue's arm. Prue knew this was Piper's attempt to both comfort her and give Phoebe the support she needed. Prue patted Piper's hand gently and smiled softly.
"Thank you, I appreciate it. I'll bring Phoebe down soon." Prue said. Piper nodded and headed down to the kitchen to make some food.
Prue glanced at the Book of Shadows, wanting to look through it for some spell to help them, but instead she turned and went to check on Phoebe. When she found she was in the shower, Prue waited outside the bathroom, ready to run in if Phoebe cried out or anything.
"Prue's waiting outside. Why don't you finish your shower and go take her?" Vernados suggested as Phoebe just let the water run over her body. He then played scenes from her dreams through her mind's eye.
Phoebe groaned and felt the world spin as her temperature rose again. She licked her lips and ached for Prue's touch so badly. Her cheeks flushed and she turned the water off. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, then headed out of the bathroom. As she came into the hallway, Prue stood up straight. Phoebe smiled sensually and walked over to her.
"Were you waiting for me?" She asked, a slight purr to her voice.
"Yes I was." Prue replied.
"Aww that's so sweet of you. I should give you a nice present for being so sweet." Without any hesitation, Phoebe leaned in and kissed Prue full on the lips. Prue's eyes flew wide and tried to pull away, but Phoebe only pushed closer, her hands sliding up to tangle into Prue's hair. Prue pressed her hands against Phoebe's shoulders and finally managed to push her back.
"Phoebe, get a hold of yourself. Don't let Vernados control you!" Prue was breathing a bit heavily, her breath having been stolen by the sudden kiss.
"I do have a hold of myself, Prue. And I must confess I've wanted to kiss you for so long…" Phoebe gazed at Prue's lips and slid a fingertip along them. Prue pulled her head back.
"Stop it Phoebe, this isn't you."
"But it is me, Prue." She stepped closer to Prue, and Prue stepped back, her back pressing against the wall. Phoebe pinned her against the wall by pressing her palms against the wall on either side of Prue and pressing close to her with her body. "You are so beautiful…" Phoebe leaned in and kissed Prue again. This time it was a deep, passionate, fiery kiss. Prue went wide-eyed and felt everything stop as Phoebe kissed her. After a minute she finally managed to push Phoebe away again.
"Stop it, this is wrong! We're sisters, Phoebe! Stop doing what Vernados wants you to do!"
"I can't," Phoebe said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. She once again threw herself at Prue, pinning her against the wall with her own body. Prue struggled against her.
"Phoebe! Stop it!" Prue exclaimed, starting to get frantic as Phoebe's hands started wandering to places a sister's hands shouldn't go. But Phoebe wasn't giving up. When Prue felt Phoebe's lips on her neck, she couldn't hold back anymore. "I'm sorry, Phoebe, but I have to do this…" She said, then squinted her eyes and sent Phoebe flying across the hallway and crashing into the far wall. Phoebe collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
Piper heard the thuds of Phoebe hitting the wall and floor from the kitchen and went running upstairs towards the sound. "Prue?! Phoebe?! What's happening?" She called out, then found Prue pressed against one wall, shaking and staring at Phoebe. She ran over to her and rested her hand on her shoulder. "Prue?"
"She…she attacked me…I used my powers on her…she wouldn't stop…" Prue said, worrying that she'd seriously hurt Phoebe. Piper turned and saw their younger sister crumpled on the floor.
"Oh God…" Piper ran over to Phoebe and checked her vitals. "She's breathing, I don't think she's seriously hurt." She went back over to Prue, a serious look on her face. "How did she attack you?"
"She attacked me like…like she wanted me sexually…" Prue said, still staring at Phoebe, paralyzed by the way she'd kissed her and touched her.
"What? Excuse me, she what?" Piper said. Prue repeated herself. "All right, that's it. We need to get rid of this demon right now, damn it! Let's take Phoebe upstairs and get Grams' ghostly butt back here." Prue nodded and she and Piper carried Phoebe upstairs and laid her on the couch in the attic. They then summoned Grams again, but this time she wasn't alone. Grams spotted Phoebe on the couch almost instantly.
"What happened?" She asked, worry etched across her face. Next to her stood her daughter, Patty.
"Phoebe, under the influence of Vernados, attacked me. I tried to push her away, but when she wouldn't give up I…I used my powers on her." Prue explained, deep regret and worry in her voice as she looked over at Phoebe who was out cold.
"How did she attack you?" Patty asked.
"She…she kissed me…pinned me against the wall…and started touching me…" Prue said, wrapping her arms around herself and shivered. She was still in shock over the way Phoebe touched her and completely self-conscious. She pulled her sweater tighter around her and suddenly wanted an oversized hooded sweatshirt to wear. Patty and Grams exchanged looks.
"Did you guys come up with any solutions?" Piper asked, standing close to Prue and started rubbing her back soothingly to comfort her.
"Yes and no." Grams said with a heavy sigh. "We need to get Vernados out of Phoebe now before he makes her do anything else. But there's no way to get him out of her until he finishes his job with her. With Phoebe unconscious, he can't do anything, so maybe if you can keep her unconscious we can find some way to lure him out of her."
"Why can't we just use a curse and trap him in something else?" Prue suggested, wanting this demon gone so that they could have their sister back. She decided to take Phoebe on a shopping spree to make up for using her powers on her.
"You can't curse him, especially not with him still inside Phoebe." Patty explained. "You could curse him into staying inside Phoebe forever." Prue ran a shaky hand through her hair in frustration.
"Then tell me what we're supposed to do? I refuse to just sit here and do nothing while that demon controls my sister's thoughts and actions! Especially when he makes her sexually assault me!" Prue cried out.
"Breathe, Prue. Getting hysterical won't help anyone." Piper said gently.
"Stay out of this Piper, you weren't just sexually assaulted by a demon using your sister's body!"
Grams and Patty exchanged looks of worry. "Prue, please try to calm down."
"Mom, please don't do that. Do you have any idea how freaked out I am right now?" Prue exclaimed and started pacing. Phoebe groaned a bit as she started coming to. Piper turned around and went over to her.
"Phoebe? Are you all right?" She asked as she sat down. Phoebe cracked her eyes open.
"What happened?" Phoebe groaned out. Prue looked over at Phoebe, wondering if it was really her or the demon.
"You attacked me and wouldn't stop. The only way I could stop you was by using my powers on you. I'm so sorry, Phoebe, I didn't want to do that, but I couldn't do anything else." Prue said. Phoebe turned her head and looked over at Prue, her eyes squinted a bit, light coming through the windows making her head hurt even more.
"I'm sorry Prue, I didn't mean to. Did I hurt you?" Phoebe groaned out and closed her eyes as her head pounded in sync with her heart.
"No you didn't. Did I hurt you?"
"I don't think so. Except I have a really bad headache right now." Phoebe cracked her eyes open and finally saw Grams and Patty standing there. "Um…are Grams and mom really here or am I seeing things?"
"No they're here. We summoned Grams after I knocked you out and mom came along with her for the ride. Which reminds me," she said as she turned back to her mother. "Why did you come back here with Grams?"
"Grams felt it would be better for you if I was here to help offer support and comfort." Patty explained.
"Please don't talk so loud, it hurts." Phoebe groaned and closed her eyes again.
"I'll go get you something for the pain." Piper said, then got up and went to get some painkillers.
"Don't let them trick you. You want Prue, so take her. Give in to your feelings for her." Vernados said.
"The not talking so loud applies to you too, demon invader." Phoebe grumbled and shifted slightly. "In fact, you should just shut up altogether." She added as an afterthought.
"Phoebe, what is Vernados saying to you?" Grams asked, extremely curious and anxious as to what the demon was doing to Phoebe.
"He said that I shouldn't let you trick me and that I want Prue so I should take her." She mumbled a bit. Prue of course thought the demon was making Phoebe think and act that way, so she didn't think anything more of those words. But Grams and Patty both seemed to have an understanding of what was really going on.
"Don't let him talk you into anything, darling. You need to stay strong and fight him." Patty said.
Piper finally came back with a couple painkillers and a glass of water. She helped Phoebe take them, then looked over at Prue, Grams and Patty. "So what are we going to do?"
"The peanut gallery isn't doing anything except offering support." Prue said, casting a pointed look at Grams and Patty.
"Well it's not our fault that there's almost nothing that can be done until the demon lets go of Phoebe." Grams said.
"Why do I get the feeling you two aren't concerned about Phoebe? How can you both be so calm when your daughter and granddaughter is possessed by a demon and making her sexually assault me?!" Prue cried out.
"Oh not so loud Prue, please." Phoebe pleaded, her face contorting in pain.
"Sorry, Phoebe." Prue said. Prue, Piper, Grams and Patty continued on talking, trying to find a solution, but Phoebe's thoughts turned elsewhere.
iThe way her lips felt against mine when I kissed her was like Heaven. I've dreamed of doing that for so long./i Phoebe thought. She lifted a hand to her lips and gently ran her fingertips along her lips. iI want to kiss her again so badly…/i
"Yes, that's it. You're almost there…" Vernados said, feeling Phoebe was ready to admit her feelings.
iI…I love her…/i
"Yes!" Vernados exclaimed. Suddenly, Phoebe cried out and grabbed her head. She started writhing around on the couch. Prue, Piper, Grams and Patty all turned and looked at Phoebe.
"Phoebe? Phoebe what's wrong?" Prue asked as she and Piper ran to Phoebe's side.
"No, stay back! The demon must be releasing her. Get the vanquishing spell!!" Grams exclaimed. Piper got up and ran to the Book of Shadows, opening it to Vernados' page. Prue stayed by Phoebe's side, waiting for the demon to release her, then pull her to the Book of Shadows.
As Phoebe writhed around, she felt the demon leaving her body. Even though he came out of her mouth as smoke, it hurt her so badly. It was only another minute or two for Vernados to exit Phoebe's body completely. Once he took physical form, Prue grabbed Phoebe and dragged her over to the Book.
"You're too late, witches. Phoebe is mine." Vernados said.
The sisters started saying the spell, and before long, Vernados exploded, vanquished completely. After all was said and done, Prue closed the Book with a heavy sigh.
"Thankfully he's gone now. I don't think I've ever been this glad too vanquish a demon." Prue said as she looked at Phoebe.
Phoebe managed a weak smile. "I'm going to lay down until my head stops trying to explode." She gave a little wave to Grams and Patty before she slowly shuffled off to her room.
"Do you think she'll be all right now?" Piper asked.
"I don't see why not. We got rid of the demon." Prue said.
"She should be fine after getting some rest." Grams said. "For now, we must be going."
"Give Phoebe a hug for me. And give her some extra love, I think she'll take this one harder than before." Patty said.
"We will. Thanks mom and Grams." Piper said with a smile. With that, Grams and Patty returned to the other side.
"Well, with that excitement out of the way for now, I'm going to go back to the kitchen and finish making lunch." Piper said.
"I'll go check on Phoebe. I think we should have her favorite food for dinner tonight." Prue said with a smile.
"I agree. I'll get started on that after lunch." Piper smiled back, then headed down to the kitchen.
Prue headed to Phoebe's room. The door was closed and she stood outside of it for some moments, wondering whether or not she should knock. Finally she did knock. "Phoebe? Can I come in?"
"Yeah," came the reply. Prue opened the door and walked over to Phoebe's bed. She sat down on the edge of it and gently stroked Phoebe's hair.
"Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine." Phoebe replied.
"I'm sorry about throwing you into that wall. I'm going to take you on a shopping spree to make up for it."
"Thanks Prue, that's very sweet of you." Phoebe smiled.
"No hard feelings?"
"As long as you don't have any hard feelings about me assaulting you."
"No hard feelings." She smiled, then hugged Phoebe. Phoebe hugged her back, doing her best to shield her true feelings from Prue. "And this one is from mom." Prue hugged Phoebe a little tighter and Phoebe smiled a bit wider.
"Thank you." Phoebe said.
"All right, get some rest. I'll come get you when dinner's ready." Prue kissed Phoebe's forehead gently, then stood up and went downstairs, closing the door behind her.
Phoebe watched her leave, and then once the door was closed, she sighed heavily. She knew the demon was gone now, but her feelings still remained. It was now clear to her tat she really did love Prue in that way and that it hadn't been Vernados planting those things inside her.
Phoebe closed her eyes and tried to get some rest. However, rest was far from her grasp. She kept thinking about her feelings, and realized she had felt this way about Prue for a long time. She couldn't tell how long she'd felt for her, but from the strength of her feelings, she knew it had to have been years.
Little did she know that years ago when Grams had bound her powers, she had bound something else. The Charmed Ones were completely unaware of Phoebe's true feelings for Prue, and of the prophecy that went along with them. But very soon, they would become more than aware of it.