A/N: okay, so this is totally a cross over...I know...why didn't I put it in the cross over section? Well, I fell like a lot of great stories get lost there and I really want for you guys to be able to find this and hopefully love it. It takes place in 2023 and involves the next generation of Halliwells as well as all of our favorite vampires. Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcomed.
"Family field trip, here we come," the sarcasm rolled off of Prudence's tongue. She had wanted to spend the summer back packing through Europe and having new experiences but her mother had another idea. "'Road trip across the states,' she said; 'explore your family history,' she said," slamming the door shut to the luxury SUV.
"Quit your bitching, I say," her cousin Phylicia mocked her little outburst. "I mean, I know it's not what you wanted but we are nearly three thousand miles from home. I think that's plenty distance between you, your parents and sisters," Phyl pointed out.
"Seriously," Payton interjected, slamming the driver side door. "Besides, there'll always be time for Europe and it's only a transcontinental teleportation away. Besides, we're only teens; did you really think our moms were going to let us go anywhere without some kind of supernatural lo-jack to keep track of us," Paige's daughter griped. "Get a clue," she opened the trunk and the girls started removing their luggage. They were finally on the east coast and Payton was glad to have a normal human experience. Her siblings and cousins took their magic for granted while she loved to do things the regular, old fashioned way. It came in handy whenever something interfered with their powers and it gave her a sense of independence.
Walking into the lobby, the girls checked into their hotel which Phoebe had generously paid for and headed up to their suite. Prudence heaved her bag onto her bed, grateful that her mom had sprung for the suite and allowing each of the girls to have their own bed. Opening her suitcase, she took out her toiletries and headed for the bathroom determined the freshen up after the four hours they spent on the road that morning. She had been traveling with the twins for nearly two weeks, stopping along the way to take in the tourist traps along the way. At sixteen years old, she was already itching to get out of her house and head to college or anywhere that put a lot of space between her and her family; not that it would stop them from popping up whenever they wanted but the young witch could always put a privacy ward up wherever she lived.
Brushing her teeth and touching up her makeup, she threw her makeup bag back into her suitcase and put her long mahogany hair up in a high pony, letting it trail between her shoulder blades down to the middle of her back. Unbuttoning her plaid shirt, she replaced it with a plain white tank top to go with her dark denim shorts. Apparently Virginia also suffered heatwaves in the middle of summer. "So, what's the plan? Now that we're here we need to get started on our little family mission 'cause you know if we don't bring back some proof our mom's are going to kill us. I'd like to live long enough to get out of the house," she shared.
Phyl looked to her twin sister, shrugging as if to say 'here you go' and Payton pulled out her iPhone XXV, pulling up a holographic itinerary. "Visit university of Richmond to look up old records," Siri recited. "Look up Warren family tree and property records-" Payton discontinued Siri's services. "We're also going to visit several of mom's contacts here and take some lessons in herbs, homeopathy, and different kinds of tradition. I'm actually really excited for when we hit Louisiana. I know we try to stay away from the dark stuff but I think it's better to know it and not need it then the other way around."
"Okay," Phyl drawled out, "but what are our plans for today? Are we hanging out here or are we going to go visit the campus, or what?"
"I say we hit the campus," Prudence put her two cents in. "The sooner we find something out the sooner we can go explore and have fun. Besides, I don't even really understand the whole point of this. We know our family history, why do we have to dig more up?"
"Come on, Denny," Phyl begged, "try and have some fun with this. Otherwise I'm gonna lock you in a suitcase and orb you back home gagged and bound. The aunts are all home and we're on the east coast. Alone," she pointed out, "with boys."
Pursing her lips, Prudence playfully pondered her cousins request. "Fine," she threw a pillow in her face, "but only because of the boys."
Sighing, Payton grabbed her purse and keys. "Great. Something else to worry about," the seventeen year old lead the way out.
Caroline was in her seventh year of study at the University of Richmond, earning her Ph.D in Museum studies/ancient cultures and civilizations. She had taken a two year break in between her masters and doctoral programs to gain real world experience and to travel; a much needed break away from the stacks where she was currently researching her own hometown of Mystic Falls as a part of her dissertation. Elena had been kind enough to give her all of Isobel's notes and the Gilbert family journals that had been hidden away at her vacation home. The chatter of two -no make that three- somewhat distinct voices entering the huge library disturbed her from her task all the way across the room. Opening her senses, she used her vampire hearing to tune into the discussion.
"Where do you think the research librarian is," Phylicia whispered; not her strong suit.
Groaning, Caroline marked the pages she needed and made her way back to her desk. Technically she was supposed to be working but it was the middle of summer and there weren't that many students left on campus. It was a great time to get ahead on her work and getting paid at the same time was a huge bonus.
Putting on her biggest smile, she approached the girls and realized that two of them were identical, explaining why she had thought there were only two of them at first. "I'm Caroline," she introduced herself. "I'm the research librarian here. Can I help you with anything?"
"Yeah," Payton stepped forward. "We wanted to look into old records and do a little genealogy report on our family. According to family lore we had an ancestor who originally lived in Virginia before moving to Salem."
"Salem," Caroline giggle while looking between each of the girls. "What an interesting family legacy to have; such an interesting period during our history, what with the rich mythology and tragic circumstances. I can help you with several things," the blonde informed them, "internet searches to see if the documents you are looking for are archived so we can compile a family tree for you, as well as a search for any particular ancestor you might know of and old property deeds and journals from that time. If you know the family name used back then we can look through the journals for any mention and you can scan the journals to have copies of."
"That sounds great," Payton let out a huge breath. "To be honest, this little history project was the price of being allowed to road trip by ourselves. Our mothers way of keeping us out of trouble."
"Oh, where do you guys come from," Caroline asked.
"San Francisco," Phyl answered. "Payton and I -my name's Phyl by the way- go to UCLA and Berkeley, and we thought we'd come check out colleges with our cousin."
"I'm Denny, by the way," she shook Caroline's hand.
"It's great to meet you and I'm excited to help. I'm a grad student studying ancient cultures and civilizations and one of the areas I love to research is the history of Virginia. Why don't we head back to the stacks and I can pull some books for you before doing those searches," she lead the way, pulling her phone out and mass texting her friends.
Sighting= witches, she typed and continued to their destination.