I stared at the numerous black dots on the sheet in front of me. The circles (as completely strange and unrealistic as this may seem) were mocking me, beckoning me to attempt to follow them. I put my fingers to the keys of an old piano, and hit the first (and correct) note, the white ivory was smooth and cold to my skin.
I stopped, and looked over my shoulder. 'Good, no one's there…' I thought to myself. I would be somewhat embarrassed if anyone was listening to me trying to learn this piece of music that my brother Jackson had written.
My dear older brother did have a way with music and songs, it was just a very complex matter to follow…he was reaaaally good at the whole writing out long chords, and difficult transitions, which sounded amazing; if you could indeed play them.
For a long while, I suppose, I tinkered with the piano, trying to play, but stopping and restarting the song anytime I messed up a note. I closed my eyes and decided not to play his piece anymore, I was almost certain I'd go insane if I went on.
I was pulled out of my daydream when I heard a familiar 'welsh'-ing noise I knew so well. I turned to see my White Lighter, Elizabeth, standing in front of me. She smiled, her straight blonde hair falling over her shoulder. She looked into my eyes with a reflecting blue color, and sighed. I tipped my head to smile back in a childish way, the only smile I knew, really. Elizabeth laughed a little and then stopped almost as quickly, which made me a little bit anxious.
"Hi there, Rose." She said, using my nickname that she knew I loved.
I got off the piano bench and stood up, meeting her chin. It wasn't that Elizabeth was tall, actually, she was the average height, it was more like she was normal sized and I was the tiny one. I was only five foot, and I was turning fifteen next March. I took little pride in knowing I was not only the shortest one in my class, but in the class below me too…sometimes I hated being small.
"Hi, Elizabeth!" I smiled again. "What's up?"
She paused a moment, and my grin faded slowly with each second the White Lighter hesitated. Finally, Elizabeth broke through the silence and asked, "Could we get the whole family in here?"
I nodded my head and yelled throughout the whole house to get everyone downstairs. In a few minutes, there were twelve people sitting on three couches, all ranging in age from fifty four down to two.
Elizabeth sweetly smiled at us all, and opened her mouth very quickly, but as soon, she shut it closed, keeping us all in suspense.
"I hate to say this…" Elizabeth sighed. "But…I've been asked to leave you all as your White Lighter."
We all sat in shock for a while. It was probably a Kodak moment actually, I was almost certain that Joseph's mouth would have been wide open, while Elson's eyes must have been bugging out of his head…but I couldn't even muster a simple emotion to show on my face. I was completely and utterly surprised.
"But…" I murmured and searched for words.
"…Why?" Katie looked down, finishing my sentence.
"All I was told…was that there was so much that was going to happen to you. And you needed time without a White Lighter to guide you."
And a lot did happen.
A few weeks later, my mom said that I had to go to some special school far away. I really didn't want to leave my mother, and siblings, and nephews, but I didn't really have a choice. The fact of the matter was, was that I had to go some new school to learn about something (Very vague I know.)…and They (being the elders) wanted me to go and learn from some Mr. Wyatt.
My mom took me outside and carried my bags for me. Our house was a neutral battle ground…nothing, good, or other wise, could sense anything that happened in that one spot. My brothers and sister and in-laws all came out and hugged and kissed me. I said good byes to them all, and they promised to visit once I had settled in. I tried not to cry, and I didn't think I did…until Elson wiped a tear from my eye. I just clung to my mom, and when she said it was time to go, I pulled myself together, and it surprisingly took more effort than I had ever expected it would.
"Rosalie, we don't have any relatives out in that part of the country, so you'll be staying with some people we know through the elders, okay?" My mom said, hugging me again.
"Okay…" I sighed, kind of sounding a bit unsteady.
My brother, Jack snapped his fingers, and I immediately found myself in a strangely old-fashioned, but immensely beautiful building. It had dark marble floors, and long corridors with sky high ceilings. There were lots of little kids running to classrooms, and people in long robes closing doors. I was holding all my bags, and I didn't know what to do with them, so I waddled over to a near by couch and dropped everything quietly. (Well…tried to at least.) My suitcase's handle nearly hit me in the face as I sat down, and bags of things were like a circle around me. I didn't have a clue if I screamed that I was a new girl who had absolutely no idea where she was going, or a new student just hanging out. Though I knew I didn't really fit in, simply because there were kids aging two through nineteen teleporting in. I sighed, and sat still.
Finally a tall dirty blonde haired man came up to me. He was wearing a black robe, and black boots stuck out at the bottom. He held out his hand and smiled. I looked at it for a minute, and trying not to be rude, I took the outstretched hand and shook it. The hand was so warm…and big. I could really fit my hand inside his. They were rough and inviting. He seemed pretty nice.
"Hello, are you Rosalie?" He asked. His voice was like it was coming from a dream. It was soft and deep, but had this edge of knowledge and love. In short, it was like an angel…it was really awesome.
"Yes, sir." I answered politely. "I'm…uh, new here I guess, and my family told me I had to look for a Mr. Wyatt…do you know where to find him?"
"Mr. Wyatt, huh? Well, if you look straight here, you'll see him." He laughed.
"Oh! Are you him?" I scratched my head, acting somewhat blonde, even though my copper hair was what I pushed from my face. "I'm sorry! Hi, Mr. Wyatt! How are you?"
"Well, I'm fine, and call me Leo, please, Mr. Wyatt was my father!" He laughed again.
"Hehhh, yeah!" I said quietly. "I mean yes! Sorry…I should remember my manners, shouldn't I…"
"Don't worry about it." Leo said, tilting his head to the side.
Helping me up, he waved a hand and in seconds, a few men were around, and with a flick of their wrists the bags were gone in a flash of white light. Leo let go of my hand and the men left. He smiled down at me, and I had to look up kind of far, I only made it to his chest. I smiled back with my normal child-like grin and his hazel eyes sparkled.
"So, what kinds of powers do you have, Rosalie?" He asked.
"I think this is a magic school right?" I asked, and Leo nodded. "Then I must be in the wrong place…because I don't have any powers. None at all, actually."
At this, Leo seemed troubled. "None?"
I nodded my head. That's what I felt like doing all day…just nodding. I was too ashamed to say anything right now. My mom had sent me to magic school, and I didn't have any powers to speak of. My family were all what they called the Elementals, one of the high beings of the good side… they really were important. They watched over the neutral part in the east, protected it from bad, and whose sole purpose was to protect some coven of witches who had saved my ancestors. And of course, they had all the powers, and I didn't. Maybe because the brother closest to my age was twelve years older than me, I might have missed out on the powers. But for whatever the reason, here I was at a darn magic school, and I wasn't at all magical.
Way to go Rosalie.
"Yeah. Maybe you should just call my family and send me back." I said quietly. "Sorry for the let down."
"No, I'm sure you have a good family who knows that something is going to happen and they want us to help you… What it happens to be, I don't quite know yet, but we'll figure it out, won't we?"
I looked up and he smiled back down at me. Strangely, his face hid no emotions, and I sensed no tiny inkling of sympathy. That was good, seeing as I would have felt a little bit annoyed if they pulled the 'Ohhh, this poor little girl doesn't fit in, we should pamper her' card. Only I can feel bad about myself…it's good for my development!
"So, do you want to stay and watch the little ones with my sister-in-law?" Leo asked, pointing to a nearby room.
"Sure!" I smiled.
"Her name is Paige, and don't be worried, she's very nice." he told me, opening the door.
A young woman, slightly resembling a porcelain doll in figure and in looks, gazed over her shoulder and smiled at Leo. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes which were soft and warm. She walked to us, shaking a little boy who clung to her leg. She looked a little confused when she saw me, but I held out my hand anyways.
"Hi. I'm Rosalie, uhmmm…I guess I'm here to help you!" I laughed and that seemed to break the very thin ice.
"Nice to meet you, Rosalie!" She smiled and took my hand and shook it. "I'm Paige, and we always accept help around here! It can get hectic, that's for sure."
"Alright!" Leo smiled. "And now I leave you to be with my class…" And with that the nice young man ventured out the door and into the hall.
"Soooo…" Paige looked at me. "Are you good with little kids?"
"Yeah, actually, I am!" I giggled.
"Got little siblings?" She asked, thinking that was it.
"Nope, I've got three nephews though!" I gleefully replied. "Collin's ten, Lucas is five, and little Nathan is two."
Paige looked in between alarmed and surprised. "Nephews? I've got two of them myself! They are actually both Leo's and his wife Piper's kids, Wyatt and Chris."
"Oh! How cute! So, you're Piper's sister then, 'cause Leo said you're his sister-in-law…"
"Yup! Boy, aren't you good at the whole process of elimination thing!" She laughed, good-heartedly.
"Yeah, I suppose school does help out, doesn't it?" I chuckled.
"Yes seree it does!" Paige looked around. "School actually ends in like two hours. When did you get here?"
"Well, I left home about three…" I mumbled.
"Where do you live?" Paige asked, her eyes following a little boy running around.
"In Salem, Massachusetts." I smiled.
"Well, this school is right in San Francisco, California, so it was already twelve when you left, and school gets out in about an hour and a half…"
"When do classes start?" I questioned curiously.
"At eight." She responded, smiling.
I was quiet for a second. "And that would explain why I'm so not with the time…"
Paige's heart shaped lips parted and a soft laugh escaped them. My fingers fluttered wildly at my side, it had been so long since I had been treated like this around someone about the age of the third or second youngest in my family. It was like… I was being respected by someone probably twice my age. Of course, this would all change if she ever found out about my siblings being either older or very close in age to her…I hoped she wouldn't find out soon.
"So, uhm, how are you?" Paige asked me, turning from my gaze.
"Me? Oh, I'm just dandy, thank you for asking!" I laughed this time, trying to catch her eyes again. "Yourself?"
"Oh, yeah." Paige sighed. She seemed distant. Hard to read; hard to reach. I couldn't see her stare, but I knew something wasn't all right.
"Uh, what's up? You don't seem…" Well, how could I put, 'you look like something's on your mind, I just met you, and now I want you to completely take me in and tell me everything about what's going on.' It just wasn't that easy to come out and say, that's all.
"Like myself?" She said quietly, still not meeting my line of sight.
"…Yes, exactly, thank you!" I chuckled out.
"Well, I don't think anything is wrong…" Paige looked to me finally, locking in on me with an eagle gaze. "…It's just nothing is going right either."
I nodded my head. Boy did I know that feeling. It tended to happen a lot when nothing really exciting goes on at your house except for the weekly defense of the home and hearth. It can really get annoying if you can't do anything about the attacks either…all I could do is distract my nephews while everyone else takes care of the demons and the things trying to invade our home.
"Well, shall we get to work?" Paige asked, gesturing with her hands.
"We shall!" I smiled.
The next hour and a half went swimmingly; all was well. The kids were pretty decent, couldn't say perfect, but they were very young ones. After we dismissed all the children, I grabbed my coat from a small chair where I had thrown it, and walked out to the main corridor. Leo, Paige, and a small little blonde headed boy were waiting for me. The child was very tiny, and clutching as if his life depended on it, to Leo's rugged index finger. His hazel eyes darted all over me as if I were a picture. I saw his grip on Leo's hand tighten, which made the professor very aware that someone else was here.
Leo's face lightened up when he saw it was only me, and I smiled. The young boy turned to face him, and tugged on the material of his pants. He motioned 'up' so Leo grabbed him from under the arms and lifted him high into the air, catching him and cuddling to the small thing.
"Ready to go home?" Paige asked me, holding out her hand. "We're gunna orb, is that okay?"
As if that'd be a bad thing… "Sure!" I grinned, taking her hand. It was smooth; the skin was soft and delicate, just like the rest of her appeared to be.
In a few seconds, we weren't in the school anymore. The long corridors were exchanged for a foyer, and a beautiful glass door. I turned around to look at where I was, and I was eye to eye (well, practically…) with another gorgeous young lady. This one had shorter, darker brown hair, reaching her shoulders. The woman was about five inches taller than I was, and I looked to see she wasn't wearing any heels. Greaaaat…just wonderful…once again, I was undeniably short, though I was starting to get used to it. She was wearing a white blouse with a tan coat over it. Tight, dark jeans covered her long legs, and a pair of ballet flats was on her feet. She smiled at me, and took a small step back.
"Woah! Hard to see you from there!" She laughed, making a dazed look on her face. She was absolutely beautiful.
"Phoebe…" Paige said, smiling. "This is our new house guest! Her name is Rosalie…uhm, she didn't tell me her last name actually…"
"Oh! I'm Rosalie Hansen!" I held out my hand, and she took it, shaking it up and down. "Nice to meet you, Phoebe, right?"
"Yes! Phoebe Halliwell!" She grinned right back. "What a pretty name you have!"
"Thanks…" I looked down.
"Not a fan of it?" She asked, trying to catch my gaze again…which she was able to do.
"Ehhh, well, I like my nicknames, but Rosalie is really old fashioned!" I laughed.
"Really? And what are those names?"
"Well, my nicknames are Rosie and Rose… but you could call me 'HEY YOU' and I'd probably respond." I shrugged.
I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping to sway my new house hosts to call me by my beloved nicknames. I was happily responded to with a nod of the head.
"Well, they're all beautiful." Phoebe said, looking slightly apprehended.
"Gotta go to work?" Paige assumed, pointing towards the door.
Phoebe nodded, and glanced at her clock. She made a face, pleading for Paige to magically transport her to work… and she did. Paige waved her hand and said, "The Bay Mirror" and in a flash of blue light, Phoebe didn't stand there anymore, just a little spot where she was before.
I turned and faced Paige who was looking down at the ground. I tilted my head to catch her eye. I smiled and she found my gaze, grinning back. She giggled, and patted my shoulder.
"Sorry… we like to use magic a lot…" A voice said from behind me.
I whipped around, and there was a young woman, standing with her arms folded across her chest. Her face was square-ish with high cheek bones, and deep brown eyes that sparkled like gems. I smiled sheepishly and she smiled at me, laughing a little bit. Her hair was like a cascade of long, feather soft looking chocolate, and it was pinned at the sides, and curled slightly to give a gentle, mother-like, appearance. Little blondie ran over to her and hugged her leg.
"Oh, why, hello there, Mr. Wyatt!" She said in a sweet, higher tone than before. "How's my little boy?"
This had to be Piper. The little boy, Wyatt, I assumed, was Leo and her son, and that she was Paige's sister. There we go, family issue solved, pat on the back for Rose. I smiled as the boy looked at me, and the woman did too.
"Oh, it's no big deal, really!" I smiled. "I'm pretty used to it, anyhow."
"Oh, greeeat…" she laughed, "So this is normal for you?"
"Yeah, pretty much!" I giggled, pushing a lock of hair from my shoulder.
"Hey, Piper…" Leo waltzed over and kissed her forehead. "…how was the house?"
"Well, I wasn't really in it to be honest…" She looked up into her husband's eyes. "…Chris and I went to the grocery store, then to the book store, and now he's napping…so I had Phebes put away the food."
"Ahh, busy bee, aren't we today?" Leo smiled boyishly at her.
It was rather easy to see they were in love.
"Yes, yes, yes." She leaned up and kissed his lips softly. He grinned again, and I was beginning to feel like he was still head over heals for Piper.
"Well, don't feel the need or anything to introduce me…" she winked.
"Oh, right, this is Rosalie, or Rose, or Rosie…did I get all the nicknames?" he laughed, looking me in the eyes.
"Yup!" I giggled.
"Alright then, this is my wife, Piper." Leo finished up.
"Nice to meet you." She smiled.
"You too…" I looked around.
The house was stunningly gorgeous, antique and old-fashioned. There were beautiful stained glass windows lining every wall in the lower floor, and as far as the eyes could see, there was maple-stained woodwork, all perfectly glossy together. It was truly a beautiful marvel to take in. I walked away, kind of half taken aback by the house, and began to search it. I knew all three pairs of eyes were on me as I wandered around, picking up blankets and putting them on couches, and when I'd stop and stare at things on the walls.
I glanced at the pictures, and picked up a few of them, little girls in most of them. On a single small table, there were all these pictures of the same girl, which ever one it was, I couldn't tell. She was kind of small, which didn't really give me any lead on who it was. The only thing that set her apart was the smile on her face. It seemed to be calling to me for some odd reason. Her eyes were a chestnut brown, and she had kind of darker eyelashes and lighter eyes. I was beginning to believe it was Piper. I looked over what the picture held, and I turned my attention towards the adult Piper. She was giving me a look, but her glare softened and turned sweet.
Now I was pretty sure it was her.
In the middle of the small table, there was only one other person in the pictures. There were two pictures with someone else in them. One of them was a wedding picture of Leo and Piper, and the other was of a man who resembled Leo a lot, but it was weathered and old looking, not to mention black and white. And another thing that led me the other way was that he was wearing an old soldier uniform. I picked up the golden frame in my hands, and looked at it a moment longer. I felt a hand on my shoulder, but when I turned around, no one was there. I shook off that feeling, and put the picture down.
"Who is that?" I asked, turning back to life, facing Piper and Leo, Paige must have gone off somewhere.
"Uhhh, it's me." Leo scratched the back of his head. "…Why?"
"Really?" I said in amazement. "You don't look…uhm, well, old."
"Yeahhhh…" Piper smiled, waltzing over to his side. "…it was hard for me to understand too, but you'll get used to it soon," she promised.
"I was a White Lighter." He informed me, "I didn't age. Until recently of course. I uhm, became mortal a while ago."
"Ohhhhhh…" I smiled. "That makes sense!"
I began to look around again, and noticed my bags on the landing of the stairs. The luggage was piled up high. Actually, most of it was pictures, some of it was clothing, and other bits were things I needed to bring, like a toothbrush and a hair comb. Of course, that didn't take up much room, but like I said, it was necessary, wasn't it?
"Do you want to see where you'll be staying?" Leo asked me, gesturing up the stairs.
"…At Hotel Halliwell?" I joked, throwing them a sideways grin.
"That sounds just about right…" Piper laughed, moving towards the staircase.
Piper led me up the stairs, I grabbed a few of my bags, and Leo trailed behind, carrying the rest of my stuff. She walked down a corridor and entered an empty room. There was a nice sized bed, a few tables here and there, a huge window, and two dressers in there. It was a fairly nice room, actually. I put my bags on the bed, and Leo followed what I did. I nodded my head as a thank you, and they turned to leave.
"We'll let you be alone for a bit, get settled in, and put away all that stuff…" Piper looked at me.
I stared right back, not afraid of her gaze. "Sure! Thanks."
"Alrighty then…we'll be going," Leo smiled.
And the couple left. I looked around, and sighed. Opening up a bag of mine, I found one with clothes. I had packed all my summer and spring stuff, seeing as it was much warmer here than in Massachusetts. First came out a pink shirt and a white skirt. I folded them up and put them in my drawers. I didn't really have that much clothing, I had more of a mix and match arsenal. I pulled out some Bermuda shorts, and another few shirts, followed by more skirts and a casual dress. The first dress of three was dark blue and it had white polka dots on it. My white flats with the blue ribbon went with that. The second one I had was more of a party one. It was yellow and had purple embroidered flowers all over it. A white daisy type thing was on the side and it zippered up the back. I had some cork sandals that went great with this dress. The last one I pulled out, which was the last bit of my clothes, was a gorgeous cranberry dress. It had a white sash tied around the middle. The skirt was puffy and it had a gorgeous cinched waist. The bottom had white lace fringing the bottom.
I set the clothes in my drawers and the dresses in the large closet. It was actually kind of depressing to just have three lonely dresses hanging in there. Oh well.
I decided my hair was bugging me, and I pulled on of the three elastics from my wrist and pulled up my curly hair into a pony tail. I smoothed the top, and got back to work, opening my last two suitcases.
The luggage was filled to the brim with pictures of my family, and music, and the other large thing on my bed was my acoustic guitar.
I pulled photo after photo of my siblings and mom out of the suitcase, setting them up around my room. The one I loved the most, the one of my mom and I, I put up on the nightstand next to my bed with my clock. There was another one I really loved, and I put that one on my nightstand too. It was of my oldest brother Elson holding me when I was a newborn, and if you couldn't imagine a bear of a man holding such a delicate little thing, this was the perfect picture for you. There was a family portrait of my whole family, starting with mom, and ending with me. There was also a picture of my three nephews that I put on my dresser. I had about twenty or so pictures now around the proximity of my room, lining probably every single square inch of the place. It was so cozy.
At last, I put down the suitcases, pushing them under the bed. I heard a clack as I put down my final one, and it flew open. On the bottom was a picture frame with a note in it. I pulled out the note, not even looking at the picture.
'Rosalie,
I found this picture lying around my room, so I decided you should have it. I know you don't have any pictures of your father, so I thought I'd surprise you. I hope your time with the Halliwells goes fine, I know I'll hear from you soon, my dear.
I love you.
Mom'
My mother's handwriting was to die for; the letters were beautiful and precise. I folded the note and put it away in my pocket.
Looking down, I finally glanced at my picture. A tall man with dark golden blonde hair was standing with a guitar, playing. He wasn't even looking at the camera; his eyes were glued to his fingers running along the frets. His shoulders were broad, his face was clean shaven. He looked like Elson did a little… our house was covered in pictures of him, but I tried not to look at them too much, I was scared I'd want to meet him so badly, as if that wasn't an issue already.
I heard a knock on my door, and Paige was standing on the threshold. She had her arms folded and she was smiling. I put down the last picture I was gripping in my hand, and I motioned for her to come over. She did, and looked around at the pictures.
"Wow… got a lot of family?" She laughed, pointing at the family portrait.
"Yeah." I smiled back.
"So, who are all these people?" She asked curiously, holding it in her hand and giving it to me.
"Well, this is my mom Elaine, my brother Elson, Jackson, my sister Kathryn and her twin brother Ryan, then there's Joseph, then me!" I smiled, out of breath.
"What about your dad?" she asked, kind of digging.
"Uh…" my voice got quieter. "He died the day after I was…"
"Born?" Paige assumed, looking into my eyes with sympathy.
"No, umm, more like conceived." I corrected her.
"What do you mean?" she asked me, still penetrating with eyes unceasingly boring holes into me.
"I don't know if now is the time…" I said quietly, glancing down. "…sorry, I'm still a little weired out of the whole thing."
Her glare changed, and she became loving again. "I'm sorry, I should be more careful, shouldn't I?"
"It's alright… you wouldn't have known."
She sat down on my bed, still looking around.
"What's this?" She asked, touching the large instrument on my bed.
"Oh, it's my guitar." I smiled. "I couldn't fit an amp into my suitcase!" I scratched my head, laughing.
"You play?"
"Yeah!" I replied.
"Cool."
"Yeahhh, so anyways." I said, at lack of anything else to say.
Paige's cell phone rang, and she pulled out a sleek phone. I looked down, remembering I had brought some covers and sheets for me to use… it was somewhere in this mess of stuff…
"Hello? Oh, hey, sweetie!" she cooed. Pausing a moment, she smiled and let out a small laugh, she had the sweetest little giggle. "Oh, really?" She continued.
I tried to listen in, but all I heard was a deep buzzing noise, no words at all. She moved her hand a little and a flash of light caught my eye. Two beautiful diamond rings were placed on her fingers, and they glittered in the late afternoon sunlight.
"Well I'd be happy to meet you there, officer…" she said.
Officer? What? I was beginning to get confused. Again.
"Alright… I'll be over soon." She waited another second. "I love you too, Henry. Bye!"
First 'sweetie', then 'officer', then 'I love you too, Henry!'… did Paige have multiple personalities problems?
She clicked her phone shut and plopped on my bed, her head hitting the pillows. I smiled and leaned over to see her eyes flutter closed and open again. She let out a quiet sigh, and smiled to me.
"You know, at one point, I used to think I didn't want to get married… don't ever think that when you have the chance." She warned me, sitting up.
"Officer?" I asked, still confused.
"Oh! My husband, Henry, is a police officer!" she laughed.
"Good! For a few seconds I thought you were in trouble…" I laughed at my utter blonde-ness. 'Or were troubled…' I thought to myself quietly.
"It's a perfectly good thought!" She smiled. "But now, I must go, I don't want to be late! I'll see you later, hon."
"Right on. I'll see you round." I grinned and waved.
She rolled her eyes at my old lingo and orbed out. Alright, time to unpack my guitar and stand. Pulling my acoustic guitar from its black case, I set it next to my bed and took out my favorite pick. It was gray and had a single rose on it. It was given to me when I got my first guitar, and it would stay with me until I lost it, which would be never. Ever.
I opened a drawer on my nightstand and took out my sheet music. Most of it was all for the piano, and I could have sworn I saw a piano downstairs. Meandering towards the staircase, I wandered down to the living room. The grandfather clock on the thresh hold read three o'clock. I walked a little bit farther and saw Leo playing with Wyatt on the floor with trucks. Holding my sheet music in my hand I waved to them, and they waved back.
"What's up?" Leo asked me, smiling.
"Well, is your piano in tune?" I asked, gesturing towards the grand piano.
"I believe so… would you like to play?"
"If I could, please!" I smiled.
"Be my guest." He began to play with Wyatt again.
I grinned and sat down at the brown wooden bench. It was a gorgeous piano; all the keys were weathered from former use, or lack of use, either way it worked for me. Putting my sheet music up, I glided my fingers over the C scale and tried out the piano. It was in tune and sounded wonderful. I smiled in happiness and began to actually play. It was a song my brother had written, and I could feel the glances of all the eyes in the room turn to me.
I was pretty much sitting straight up, my eyes down towards the keys, hands moving fluidly, and my fingers rapidly across the white and black sea of ivory. The chords rung out through the house, and each note sounded beautiful. I heard footsteps come from the other side of the house, and all noises quieted as I continued the piece.
The progressions became louder now, going into a minor scale, but moving swiftly into a major again, God knows Jack can't keep changing in a scale. I lightened my finger strokes to a quiet, piano sound, and I used the "ripple affect" signed above the last chord of the song. Still eyes were on me, and I was scared to turn around, wondering if they were disgusted or happy with my music.
I slowly turned, and they were actually all surprised. Leo's face was pale and his eyes were glued to my face. Wyatt was smiling, his little teeth shining when he giggled. Piper had a wash cloth in her hand and she was wringing out her fingers with it.
"I can't tell if you're pleased or just annoyed!" I joked.
"That was beautiful!" Piper smiled. "I didn't have any idea you were a pianist… and a good one at that!"
Leo nodded in agreement. There wasn't a need for a guess with Wyatt, he was still grinning ear to ear and walked over to me. He didn't seem half as shy as before and he struck a key at the piano.
"Pwease?" he asked, pointing to the instrument.
"Oh sure!" I smiled. I patted a place beside me and he hopped up, and I moved over so he could sit at middle C. He looked at me, not seeming to know what to do.
"Do you play?" I asked.
He shook his head, saying no. I sighed and took his small hand in mine. I placed it at the middle C and had Wyatt hit the key.
"Wyatt, this is middle C." He hit the next note and looked to me. "That's D." we went all the away up the ivory before he was done.
I seemed to loose track of time because in what seemed like moments Piper was in the room again, telling us it was time for dinner. I smiled and looked to Wyatt. He jumped down and ran over to the table. I followed him to the dinning room.
The table was full of delicious food and I was surprised at how hungry I was that night. It was strange; I don't think I had ever eaten so much food in my life. I was stuffed, and after dinner I helped to clean up, even after numerous times of being asked to just go rest or hang out, it was pretty much ingrained that you should help. Especially if you were a guest, that's when you should really help out.
Although it was only eight o'clock and Leo and Piper were putting the boys to sleep, I decided to get ready for bed as well; it was eleven where I was used to being. Wandering to my room, I closed the door and turned on the lights. Reaching into my dresser, I pulled out an old Guns N' Roses band shirt, the logo fading with gold and white lettering. The once crimson rose was fading to a light red and I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was still up, so I just tucked the few strands of my hair that had fallen out behind my ears and I took out my diamond earrings. Pulling off my jeans and put on a pair of white shorts that were well loved, I was surprised they weren't see-through yet!
I grabbed my toothbrush from the top of my nightstand and headed over to the bathroom. Running the cold water, I put my brush under the faucet, and slathered on some mint toothpaste. I proceeded to brush my teeth, taking my time; I didn't like the feeling of dirty teeth. Call me obsessive compulsive girl about that, I don't care, but it was a very odd feeling to me.
Finishing up, I quickly put the tooth brush into the little holder with the others and walked out of the bathroom. I almost bumped into a blonde girl walking down the hallway, and I felt my arms fly to my side as to not hit her.
She was very pretty, only in her early twenties if she was even that old. Her hair was dirty blonde; streaks of brown hair strands were spaced through out the golden ones. Brown eyes darted all over me so she could comprehend what almost smacked into her, and I tried to be friendly, so I smiled. Luckily, she smiled back, so I knew she wasn't angry at me.
"Who are you?" She asked me.
"Oh! Sorry, I'm Rosalie. Rosalie Hansen!" I replied, holding out my hand.
"You must be who's bunking with us! Nice to meet you." She grinned, shaking my hand. "I'm Billie Jenkins."
"Nice to meet you!" I giggled. "What a cool name! I've never heard of that for a girl before… it's neat!"
She laughed, again, my lack of new words was sometimes funny to some. "Neat, huh?" She said, proving my theory.
"Anyways, I am getting a little tired, so I was on my way to say goodnight to Piper and Leo!" Looking into her eyes, I tried to sound less tired than I was.
"Oh! Sorry for holding you up then." Billie nodded. "Good night! I'll see you later."
"Night!" I walked towards the lit bedroom and knocked on the wooden door.
After a few seconds of some muffled sounds, I heard a quiet "Come in…" and so I did.
Opening the door cautiously, I was pleased to see them sitting upright in their bed. I noticed the smudged lipstick on Piper, and the matching color on Leo, but I tried to ignore it, and smiled.
"Well, I was just heading to bed… thought I'd say good night to you both." I said, scratching my head. "Good night then!"
"Sleep tight…" Leo smiled back waving.
"Yes, yes, good night." Piper said quietly.
I flashed a quick grin and closed their door, allowing them to go back to whatever they were doing, and I walked back to my room.
Shutting my door and my lights, I made my way to my bed, lead by the dim light of the moon, filtering through my window curtains. It cast a bluish silvery glow on everything in my room. I was beginning to feel the dark creeping up on me, and I didn't know why, but I was sad.
Time passed quickly, the next time I glanced at my clock it was already past midnight, and my eyes were now fully adjusted to the dark. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but I for some reason, I couldn't. I rolled over, and I was surprised by a figure right in front of me.
I nearly jumped in the air, but a cool hand covered my mouth and it stepped where I could see it. The figure in my sight was my brother, Jackson. His blonde hair was done in his usual duckbill, and his blue eyes pierced through the darkness. His pale skin lit up, and he sat down in my bed with me.
"What in the world are you doing here?" I asked as soon as he let go of my mouth.
"You need to come home." He said his face and voice emotionless. "And you need to bring the Halliwells with you."
"What?" I sounded surprised. "Why?"
"I can't explain now, or here, but you do. If you don't, we will all be hurt." He said.
And then he was gone.