Chapter 1:
Read Me a Story, Tell Me a Tale
"Pheebs, sweetie, whatcha doing up there?" Piper called up the stairs.
"Nothing." This was the only reply she got back. Shaking her head slightly, Piper started up the stairs. Quickly glancing around the second floor Piper realized her younger sister must be up in the attic. Stopping at the door, Piper hesitated, thought about knocking, then proceeded straight through without a second thought.
She found Phoebe sitting cross-legged in the far corner with a box opened in front of her. Coming closer Piper found that she had a book in her lap and was thumbing absent-mindedly through the pages. "What's that?" Piper asked as she crouched down beside her sister.
Phoebe flinched in surprise, she had not heard her sister coming, "Oh, it's nothing, just a book of mine from a long time ago," she shrugged.
"Timeless Tales of Romance, yeah Pheebs, that's just the sort of book I'd imagined you kept under you pillow every night." Taking the book from her, Piper started to flip through it herself, she finally stopped on a page that was evidently creased, as though someone had spent a lot of time reading it.
"The Tragedy of Enoch & Valora, this one seems to have been read once or twice." Piper raised her voice and her eyebrow suggestively as she looked at her sister.
"Yeah, that story always interested me, cause it never really ended." Phoebe shrugged and turned back to the box she'd been rummaging in.
"What's it about?" Piper asked as she continued to thumb through the pages.
"Well," Phoebe sighed and set down the Doctor Seuss book she'd just pulled into her lap, "if I remember it correctly, Valora was the daughter of some minor European Baron. She was so hot that every prince on the continent wanted her. But she was in love with the castle healer, a guy called Enoch. Valora was engaged to some other prince though, so she and Enoch planned to elope. But the prince who she was supposed to marry found out about her and Enoch, he got so jealous, he decided to have Enoch murdered. Valora found out though, she had a vision of the prince standing over Enoch's body, so she ran out to warn him, but there was a heavy storming going and she got lost in the forest. She wandered through the forest looking for him. Then, in a flash of lightning, she saw him, she called out to him and shouted that he was in danger, that he'd been tricked into coming out of the castle, and that someone was trying to kill him. Enoch tried to run to her then, but before he could get to her, a bolt of lightning struck her. When he got to her, Enoch was so distraught that he just stood there over her body. The men the prince had sent to kill Enoch found him like that a couple of hours later and killed him from behind, then they buried Enoch in the forest and took Valora's body back to the prince. Even in death they were denied each other." Phoebe wiped her eyes, the old story moving her heart as it had so many times before.
Piper exhaled loudly. "Well, that's real up lifting, but how does the story not end, I don't understand?"
"The story goes that, some witch took pity on them and cast a spell that said the souls would have one more chance to find each other, and, if they could give each other true love's kiss before a single day had passed, then they would be allowed to spend the rest of eternity together." Replacing the book that had been in her lap back in the box, Phoebe shrugged. "The whole, lost souls deal was always appealing to me, I like to think that fate has a little to do with what goes on."
"Do you think you and Cole are lost souls reunited?" Piper asked, thumbing through the pages again.
"I think we're soul mates, yes, but I think I would have felt it if we'd met before. No, I just always wanted Valora and Enoch to find each other again is all." Shrugging, she pushed the box away from her back into the corner and swiveled on the wood floor to face her sister.
As Piper closed the book she saw a piece of paper sticking out the side, pulling it fully out, she recognized her sister's untidy scrawl. Scanning the words she began to read aloud,
"Spirits of the past lost in the time,
Come now forward at the sounding of the chime.
Come seek the one whom you have lost,
And be forever reunited at all cost."
"Pheebs, what's this?" Piper asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," Phoebe replied, taking the piece of paper from her older sister and stuffing it in her jeans pocket. "It was sort of a spell I wrote before I knew we were witch's. I wanted to help Valora and Enoch find each other."
"Well that's kinda silly," Piper laughed, "it's not like they were real people, it was just a story."
"I know," Phoebe shrugged again, "I guess I'm just a sucker for love, Lord knows that's how I got this far," she said as she rubbed her slightly swelled stomach.
Standing up, Piper looked down at Phoebe. "Which reminds me, what are you doing up here anyway?" Stretching out her hand, Piper helped Phoebe up from the floor.
"Since I've been on this whole impending motherhood thing, I thought I come rummage up here and see if any of our old baby stuff was still around, I found this box of books, and sort of got side tracked." Brushing off the bottom of her jeans, Phoebe started for the attic door, "but if my stomach is right, and it usually it, I think it's time for lunch, so I'll leave the investigation for another day."
"Well, I have to get down to the club, but if you need me for anything, supernatural or otherwise, I'll have my cell phone." Piper called after her as she started for the door herself.
Downstairs Phoebe had her face in the fridge, searching for something to snack on, she barely heard the door open and close as her sister left for work.
***** * *****
Later that evening, Phoebe was laying on her bed in sweat pants and a tank top, having just finished her workout, the cloths she'd been wearing earlier were discarded on the floor. She was reading through the "Timeless Tales of Romance" book again, thinking about when she'd been a love sick teenager waiting for her very own knight in shining to arrive. That thought made her giggle, her knight had turned out to be a tormented demon who she'd had to almost vanquish, and fight the Source for several times.
Hearing the door open behind her, she looked over her shoulder to watch her husband close the door behind him and come to sit on the edge of their bed. "Hi sweetie," Phoebe said, blowing him a kiss and rolling over onto her back so she could look at him properly, laying the book across her exposed stomach.
Cole leaned over and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. "Hello to you to," he whispered against her lips. Standing back up, he walked over to the closet, unknotting his tie as he went.
Halfway across the room his legs became entangled in the jeans Phoebe had earlier discarded. When he picked them up, a piece of paper fell out, bending over, Cole picked it up and read softly to himself,
"Spirits of the past lost in the time,
Come now forward at the sounding of the chime.
Come seek the one whom you have lost,
And be forever reunited at all cost."
"Hey sweetie, what exactly is this, a new spell?" Cole looked at her, extending the piece of paper.
"Actually it's a really old spell, one from before I knew I was a witch, it's nothing, really." Picking up the book she began to read again. Shrugging, Cole put the paper on top of the dresser and his wife's jeans on a nearby chair. Hanging his tie on the closet doorknob and unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt Cole returned to sit opposite Phoebe on their bed.
"So, what did you do today?" he asked.
"I had planned to go looking up in the attic for stuff for the baby, but I didn't get very far," she said, waving the book in front of her, "I got a little distracted."
Cole caught her wrist and took the book out of her hand, briefly examining the front cover, then skimming the first few pages. "Boy, I knew women's hormones got messed up when they got pregnant, but I didn't know that got that messed up. I don't know that I'm really ready for a new, gentler Phoebe."
"Oh relax," Phoebe sighed, "it's just an old book of mine that I found when I was snooping up in the attic today."
"And that spell," Cole asked, "is that to summon your true love?"
"I already had that spell," Phoebe laughed, and, in a loud singsong voice called out,
"Magic forces black and white,
Reach out through space and light
Be he far or be he near
Bring us the demon Balthazor here"
Cole glared at her across the bed. "That's not funny, and you know it."
"I was only kidding," Phoebe pouted, "besides, I never wanted Balthazor, I only wanted you." Stretching out her arms to him, Phoebe laughed in delight as Cole fell into them and they rolled together on the bed, exchanging affectionate kisses and nips.
***** * ******
Piper and Leo were sitting in the kitchen downstairs, picking at the remnants of dinner and laughing over a private joke. Both were thinking of how long it had been since they'd had time to sit down and enjoy anything together, even if it was leftover macaroni and cheese, and salad.
By the time everyone was home and assembled no one had wanted to cook, so Piper had pulled out 'ye olde easy Mac' to satisfy the hungers of the masses. That along with a Kraft tossed salad had encompassed the elegant dinner that the Halliwells had consumed that night.
Now there were only a few sparse leaves and a few noodles left, but Leo and Piper refused to relinquish the few moments of quiet and privacy they had, besides, Piper was in the middle of telling Leo all about Phoebe's sad tale of lost love and searching souls. Leo listened intently, for something in the story seemed to stir in his memory, as he listened he was trying to recall where he'd heard this story before.
But before Piper could finish the story, the doorbell rang and Piper got up in a huff and went to answer the door.
***** * *****
Upstairs Cole and Phoebe heard the doorbell ring as well. "Who the heck could that be at this time of night," Phoebe mused, hugging Cole closer.
"I don't know, but I better go see," Cole replied as he got up, "you never know who it might be."
"Somehow I don't think it's any demon, if that's what you're worried about," Phoebe called after him.
"No sweetheart, it may have been a while since I've worked for that side, but last time I checked demons didn't use doors for the most part." Cole called over his shoulder as he walked down the hall and down the stairs. Sighing deeply Phoebe swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up to follow her husband downstairs.
***** * *****
Cole reached the door a moment after Piper did, Piper had just let Paige in. Coming down the stairs Phoebe looked around to see Piper, Paige and Cole standing by the door, with Leo standing in the doorframe to the living room. Paige started to explain how she'd had to ring the bell because she'd forgotten her house key this morning, but stopped in mid sentence. The whole room was silent as they watched Piper and Cole, who were staring at each other with an intensity that they'd never shared before.
A.N.
K guys, what did you think, any suggestions, any anything, let me know since this is my first Charmed chapter fic.