(Three months after the end of Wicca & The Frenchman)
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Portia and Wyatt, happy birthday to you!" Wyatt and Portia blew out the eleven candles on their cake together. It was Portia's first birthday with her new family.
"You know, Patrice. I'm glad they were born a week apart. That way we can have one party for the two of them," Piper said as she pulled the candles out of the white frosted cake. She had made the caked herself. It read, "Happy Birthday Wyatt & Portia. Blessed Be." She cut it into pieces and handed them out to the family.
Phoebe was sitting down in a chair. She was four months pregnant now, and finally over her morning sickness. Skylar sat on the arm of the chair. She adored Phoebe and Jason and had started calling them Mom and Dad. She was excited about the baby, which was a girl! They had already picked a name out for her, Aislinn. The whole family was excited about the new edition.
Patrice and John sat down on the sofa next to Paige. She and Patrice had become best friends and they had the freaky twin telepathy thing. John and Patrice had renewed their wedding vows with the entire family present, and the best part was the elders couldn't say a word. Leo had asked Piper to marry him again, but she declined, it was too soon.
"What did you guys wish for?" John asked them.
"Nothing too important, I already had my number one wish come true." Portia smiled at her parents. Her wish had been that they remarry and they had done that. She also had her dad.
"I didn't make a wish." Wyatt said begrudgingly.
"Why not?" Leo asked him hearing this.
"Didn't really feel like it. Plus, none of y wishes ever come true," he shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. I'm happier than I've been in a long time."
"Well, I hope you're happy, because you're going to be one of my groomsmen," Bane cheerfully said. Prue and Bane were due to be married in one month. The June wedding they had planned was going to be perfect. All Prue's sisters and Skylar and Portia were her bridesmaids and Bane had Leo, John, Darryl and Wyatt.
Bane walked up and hugged Prue. They were happy, everyone was happy. Life was perfect...well...not entirely perfect. Was everything ever perfect for the Charmed Ones? (A month later, the day before Prue's wedding.)
"Now, everything is at the church that's supposed to be at this church, right?"
"Yes Prue. Everything will be fine," Phoebe reassured her sister.
"I'm so nervous, I didn't think that I would be this nervous."
"Oh, every bride gets pre-wedding jitters, trust us," Paige said speaking for all her sisters.
Piper walked in the room with a checklist in hand. "I just confirmed the catering order and the cake. We're all set for tomorrow.
"Thanks Piper," Prue said. She looked at her watch. It was three o'clock and the rehearsal was due to start at four. Everyone was meeting at the church.
"And the food for tonight is ready, I've been cooking since this morning," Piper added. "Now I'm going to go round up the kids."
Phoebe patted her belly, "I got one out of two right here."
"That one doesn't count yet," Piper joked. Phoebe was growing larger by the day.
"Come on, you bundle of nerves, it's time to go. You can't be late for your own wedding rehearsal." Paige said to Prue.
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"Hey, Wyatt, have you seen my pen?" Portia yelled from the kitchen.
"It was on the table, but I don't know where you put it," he replied from his place on the sofa. He was flipping through channels with the remote. "Did you check the cushions in here?"
"Good idea!" Portia said walking into the room. She proceeded to search the chair cushions. "Get up!" She said to Wyatt. Slowly he rose and she pulled out the cushions. "You were sitting on it!"
"Is that what that was?" He said laughing.
"You men are all the same," Portia, said rolling he eyes. She sat down at the table and started writing on a piece of flowered stationary.
"What are you writing?" Wyatt asked looking over her shoulder.
"It's my present for Aunt Prue and Uncle Bane."
"Can I read it?"
"No! It's not done."
"When you're finished?"
"Maybe."
"Oh, come on Portia!" He hollered grasping for the paper.
"When it's done!" She hollered back pulling it out of his reach.
Skylar came down the steps with Piper behind her. "Guys, it's time to go," she informed them as she walked into the foyer to put on her shoes. The others followed suit, it was time to go to church. "Hey beautiful!" Bane said as he walked up to Prue. He kissed her passionately.
"Hello to you too!" She giggled back.
"Ahem!" Phoebe coughed behind her.
"We're blocking the aisle," Prue said as she and Bane moved aside to allow the Halliwell procession to go by.
After an hour and a half of rehearsing, Prue decided that everything was as good as it was going to be. Everyone did just as Prue wanted; no one wanted to piss her off. After the rehearsal, they got in their respective automobiles and left for the rehearsal dinner.
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The next morning arrived and Piper was up scurrying around her room. Leo had spent the night. He stirred at the noise that she was making. "Good morning!" he said tugging at her shirt as she walked by, trying to pull her back into bed.
"Hectic morning," she said turning around to kiss him. She gently placed her lips on his. But to tell the truth, she was not in the mood to snuggle. And on top of things, she had missed her period last week and the thought of being pregnant, though pleasant, was annoyingly looming in the back of her mind. "Come on, we have to get dressed and then I need to help Prue. Get out of bed sleepy head."
Leo rolled out of bed and followed Piper into the bathroom. After brushing their teeth they showered together to save time, but Leo only fooled around, pushing Piper's buttons. She rushed him and they finished.
Leo dressed and did his hair while Piper did the same. "You look gorgeous," Leo said to Piper.
"Thank you," she said as she rushed out of the room and into Prue's. Phoebe, Paige, and Patrice had already worked their magic on Prue. She looked beautiful. "You guys work fast!" Piper exclaimed closing the door behind her. "And you're already dressed. All I need to do is put on my makeup."
"That's all that we have to do too," Patrice replied as she hooked the last hook on Prue's dress.
"Well, then you better get to it, or you'll make me late for my own wedding."
A voice came from downstairs. "Your dad is here!" Jason yelled. Victor entered the room.
"You look beautiful Prue."
"Thanks dad," she said getting up and hugging him. Victor hugged Piper and Phoebe. He hugged Patrice and Paige, even though they weren't his daughters; they were a part of Patty.
The girls put on their make-up and Portia brought up some small sandwiches so that Prue wouldn't starve. The limo picked them up at noon to go to the church. Prue and Victor had a limo all their own as they headed to the church for the most important day in Prue's life.
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"Another Charmed One is getting married!?! Do these women ever give up? They've tried and tried for a normal life, but they will never have it."
"What are you planning, my liege? To ransack the wedding would be a bad idea."
"And why do you say that Oracle?"
"One of the Charmed Ones is pregnant."
"Yes, I know, the third child, Phoebe."
"Yes, she is pregnant, but not her, one of the other sisters."
"Which one?"
"I am not obliged to tell. I am a neutral force, one that works for both good and evil."
"TELL ME ORACLE!!!"
"A pretty woman she is, but it is not the child she carries that you seek. A son, that's who will be most vulnerable after he hears his mother's news."
The man laughed. He knew that the son had already been treading close to dark waters, but his mother's influence had been so strong. He would be hard to convert at the moment, but a demon...yes, that would weaken him. It may take years to bring the boy down, but his rise to evil would eventually come. "Now I must focus on the sisters if I am to weaken the boy. Xerxes!" The man yelled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They arrived at the church fifteen minutes before the ceremony started. Bane was out front talking to his parents, who couldn't have been happier for him. Over the last five months, they had grown to adore Prue as much as their son.
In the back, Prue was pacing. Phoebe stopped her to do a touch up on her make-up. Piper fixed the bow on the back of Skylar's dress, as Patrice did the same for Portia. The girl's dresses were different from the adult dresses. They were floor length, but they had sleeves and a bow, they also poofed at the bottom. The adult dresses were sleeveless and floor length, and only poofed slightly at the bottom.
The groomsmen were waiting for the bridesmaids. Wyatt took both Skylar and Portia's arms. They were at the end of the line. Piper and Leo were first, followed by Phoebe and Jason, Paige and Darryl, and Patrice and John.
With everyone lined up, the music was cued. Slowly Piper and Leo started the walk down the aisle, and the rest of the line proceeded at intervals. After Wyatt, Portia and Skylar had taken their places Prue and Victor appeared at the end of the hall.
There was a group gasp. Prue looked like she had stepped out of Sleeping Beauty. Her dress was full at the bottom with a train that was embroidered with pearls and small diamonds. The bodice was fitted and dipped with her breast line. It was sleeveless with gloves that came up just past the elbow. The veil consisted of a tiara. The material was attached to combs, which could be taken out after the ceremony. The color of the dress was slightly off-white and the dress had small delicate patterns that contained diamonds that made her sparkle like a star.
Slowly she marched up the aisle. Her jitter had disappeared and all she could do was smile at Bane. He too was beaming back at her. Today she would finally be his.
When Prue reached him, Victor lifted her veil and gave her a kiss. She then took Bane's hand. After a few ceremonial words, they said their vows.
"Prue, from the first time I met you, I knew that you would change my life. You give off this aura that oozes confidence and a willingness to help. And you helped me. You turned me into the man that I am today. Without you, I would have had no drive in this life. But I have a drive, you. You make me want to be a better person, you make me whole. You are the world to me, and I'll love you for the rest of my life."
"Bane, I had only been in love one time before I met you. You changed my world too. You gave me something else to focus on, rather than work and family matters. I used to be a work-a-holic, but now there is something else for me to strive for. Bane, you soon will be my husband, and you accept me like no one else ever has. With all my flaws and imperfections, I'm surprised that you still look at me like a shiny diamond. I am thrilled to be your wife, your friend, and your lover. For the rest of my life, you'll be my one true love."
The high priestess said her last few words, and pronounced them man and wife. They kissed and the gathered crowd cheered them as the walked out of the church. The groomsmen and bridesmaids followed.
But a dark shadow lurked in the back. A man dressed in normal clothes, but who's demeanor held a darker purpose. The reception that followed the wedding was as beautiful as the wedding. The room was decorated with white lights that looked like stars. Everyone ate and then Prue and Bane shared their first dance together as a married couple to the song, "Stay Awhile," by Journey. As the dance ended everyone clapped and then Prue danced with Victor to "Because You Loved Me." She was so happy and she cried on her dad's shoulder.
Then there was the wedding party dance. Piper and Leo danced together. Phoebe and Jason danced, kissing each other over the growing child in her belly. Paige danced with Darryl and they talked about good times. Patrice and John were doing much the same as Phoebe and Jason. Portia and Skylar danced together with Wyatt. The song that played was "Amazed."
The cake was served. And as Bane had promised Piper, he did not shove cake in Prue's face. Then, Leo, Bane's best man got up and made the speech.
"Well, I've known Prue for a long time, and Bane, you've married into quite a family. I'd know. You're a lucky man, Bane, you got quite a woman. A good woman. And Prue, I've known you for a long time, and what can I say, you're like a sister to me. I hope that you guys will be happy, and be together forever. I love you guys!"
The crowd clapped as Leo took his place next to Piper. She took his hand under the table.
After hours of partying into the night, Bane and Prue left for their honeymoon, with the sisters assuring that they wouldn't be disturbed, if it could be helped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Life at the Halliwell Manor the next day was surprisingly...boring...normal. Jason was fussing over Phoebe lifting a grocery bag. Skylar laughed at them. All the bag had in it was some bread. But Jason persisted and Phoebe finally gave in. Sometimes he annoyed her with that. She was pregnant, not an invalid.
Piper, who had brought the last bag in laughed at her sister. Now Phoebe knew what it was like to constantly be babied by all those around her. Like how her sisters treated her when she was pregnant with Wyatt. But Piper quickly remembered the bout of morning sickness she had had this morning, She had felt as if she was going to hack up a lung. Luckily, no one had heard her.
Wyatt sat in the living room with his cousins. They had been watching TV, but were soon bored. "Well," Portia said, trying to break the silence, "what do you guys want to do?"
"No magic, Portia!" Wyatt quickly said.
"No DUH! I'm not stupid." She retorted.
"Why don't we read one of my mom's old stories, you know the fairy tales?" Skylar grabbed the book that was under the coffee table.
"But those are for little kids," Wyatt complained.
"Right, and I didn't catch you watching Aunt Prue's copy of Beauty and The Beast the other day," Portia teased. She and Skylar giggled as Wyatt turned 40 shades of red.
"Alright, fine, which one?"
"I hate Snow White," Skylar said as she flipped past the tale.
"How about Sleeping Beauty? We all like that," Portia suggested. Skylar opened to the tale.
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So the young ones like fairy tales? The boy...it begins now."
"Master, he will be more vulnerable after his mother's announcement." The Oracle replied.
"Very well, I will wait, but they will be welcomed into a world of illusion!"
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"LEO!" Piper yelled in the confines of her room. The blue and white lights of his orb appeared.
"Hey," he said welcoming her with a kiss.
"We need to talk," she said quickly and coldly.
"I'm all ears." He sat down on the edge of the bed.
"You know I love you, and you've told me that you love me. Well, I hope you love me enough to marry me again...and be a dad again." She looked down at the floor.
Leo stood up and went to her. He embraced her. "You mean, you're going to have another baby!?!" She nodded. He kissed her on the forehead. "Piper, I'm so happy and yes, I do want to be your husband again. I couldn't be happier!" He started to laugh, which made her laugh as well.
"Maybe we'll have our little Melinda?" She paused momentarily. "But what about Wyatt?"
"What can he say, you're already pregnant!" He took her in his arms once again. They kissed. Carmel CA was beautiful in June. All the flowers were in bloom and it was warm. No fog, something Prue wasn't used to. They had arrived at the hotel, the Wyndham, the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort. The property was secluded and private, perfect for a week alone without magic.
Prue and Bane had spent the whole night making love in front of the fireplace in their bedroom. There was complimentary wine and a huge dinner brought in by room service. She was in heaven. She watched Bane as he slept under the blanket next to her. Her dreams had come true, and she was normal for once. It didn't matter that she had magical powers or a magical family. She was just Prue, on her honeymoon after a normal church wedding.
Not wanting to disturb Bane, slowly she rose and walked to the bathroom. The had planned a tour to go and see all the celebrity houses. Clint Eastwood and Doris Day lived in Carmel, along with many other celebrities. She brushed her teeth and started the shower, but not before Bane came in and joined her.
The shower was yet another moment of ecstasy that the couple thoroughly enjoyed before they got out. They both dressed, Prue in a light blue sundress and Bane in a white shirt and cacki's. They headed for the hotel lobby, where the tour would start from.
"I've never been happier, Prue," Bane said as they walked to the elevator.
"I know, for once we're just normal people."
"And the fact that your sisters aren't' going to call us makes us all the more normal."
"Yeah, but they can call if something big happens. I want to know if someone is hurt, then we'd have to cut the honeymoon short. But hopefully, nothing of that nature will happen."
He nodded and leaned in to kiss her as the elevator finally reached their floor and they got in.
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"Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a princess..." Skylar started but was interrupted by her Aunt Piper.
"Hey, where is everyone?" Phoebe, Jason, Paige, Patrice, and John ran into the room. "I have an announcement to make. Leo and I are going to get remarried by hand fasting."
"That's great!" Phoebe replied with her hand on her belly.
"But...that's not all...I'm also going to have a baby." There was silence in the room. Both Piper and Leo looked at Wyatt. Everyone was shocked, but Wyatt's reaction was more important to them.
"Wow," Paige said breaking the silence.
"Yeah, exactly, wow!" Patrice replied back. But the movement across the room shifted everyone's attention.
Wyatt stood up. "I don't know what to say...I guess I'm happy." He went over and hugged Piper.
"Well at least he's not mad," she said to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "He knows Oracle, and why isn't the boy upset?"
"He is upset, you just need to look deeper." The warlock looked into the seeing dish and stared harder. He then saw Wyatt's inner thoughts and was pleased.
He turned around with an evil grin on his face. "What would you suggest, Oracle. A separated tale for each of the children, or throw them into a mixed up tale?"
"The mixed up tale would be rather fun, but as I told you, I am a neutral party, unable to make decisions for you."
"The mixed up tale it is. But I'll separate them. Eventually Wyatt will find his cousins...dead, and that will place the child into my hands."
"Beware my master, he's a very strong child, and it will take more than just that. It will take time."
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Wyatt sat back down with his cousins after the excitement died down. His mom was pregnant, that was inevitable. After all, she was sleeping with his dad. Not a biggie. "Let's start that story Sky," he said to his cousin as she plopped down next to him and Portia next to her.
"Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a King and a Queen. For years they had wanted a child, but alas they had none..."
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"It's just a story, but truth it becomes. Let's mix it up, so unrecognizable it be, they won't get out, death's the key." The warlock blew some powder into the looking dish.
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"Do you feel weird?" Portia asked her cousins. Her insides began to tingle.
"Yeah," they both answered at the same time.
They got up to tell their parents they were going upstairs to lie down. On their way back, Skylar grabbed the book and took it upstairs.
Once they had reached Wyatt's room the spell unfolded. As the children opened Wyatt's door a bright light flashes and they disappear into the book, which Skylar had dropped. "Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault."
When Portia awoke she lay in a royal bedchamber. The walls were made of a dark stone, which made the room extremely gloomy in spite of the sun that shone in the windows. Portia looked around the room. It was lavishly decorated. Tapestry's depicting Roman times were hung on the wall. A vanity table and mirror inlaid with gold was across from the bed. Shortly, a woman dressed very shabbily entered through a large wooden door.
"Where am I?" Portia asked aloud. A minute ago she had been on her way into Wyatt's room.
"In your bedchamber your highness."
"Your highness? Why are you calling me that? I'm not royal..."
"Are you trying to trick old Aggie again? You and your games Princess!" Aggie proceeded to help Portia up and over to the vanity table. When she looked in the mirror, she saw herself, but when she checked a second time a very beautiful blonde girl of fifteen stared back at her. Her own sable hair had turned to a golden blonde, and her eyes from brown to blue. Her lips were a unnatural blood red, darker than their usual color.
"What's my name Aggie?" She said turning to the maid who was brushing her hair.
"You're the Princess Aurora my dear." Her stomach knotted immediately. She was in a fairy tale. "And tomorrow is your 16th birthday." Portia's heart sank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wyatt awoke in a pile of hay. "Where am I?" he thought to himself. He looked down at his clothing, which had changed from jeans and a t-shirt to a canvas top and stockings. A horse neighed, he was in a barn.
"Get up boy!" A man's voice yelled. A large ogre of a man staggered towards him, obviously drunk. The man pulled a large belt out from around his waist. Wyatt guessed his mission and ran into one of the horse stalls. The man took a flying leap at Wyatt and landed on the ground. He tried to get up, but passed out saying, "When I get you Philip, I'll..."
Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. "Who's Philip? They must be mistaking me for someone else." He got up and brushed the hay off his clothes.
"Philip! It's time to saddle the princess's horse for her riding lesson." A tall dirty woman entered the stable. "Oh, look at the state of Master Hahn, why if the King found out surely he'd be thrown out. You can do it, you are 16. Now get to work, she'll arrive shortly." The woman left the stable. Wyatt was eager to ask her questions as to where he was, but he didn't want to push it.
"Great, I don't know the first thing about horses, let alone how to put that stuff on them. And which one belongs to the princess? There's at least 20 horses in here." Wyatt got an idea and walked up to Master Hahn. "Hey, which horse belongs to the princess?" Hahn mumbled incomprehensibly. "What?"
"Third one on the left." Wyatt walked away from the man and over to the third stall. A beautiful chestnut mare stood gallantly in the stall. The horse lowered its head as Wyatt approached.
"Hi buddy, you must know me, huh?" He patted the horse's head and spotted a saddle and bridle tacked to the wall. He walked over and grabbed the bridle. He'd seen enough westerns to know what goes where, but making sure everything was put on right was another story.
"Where am I? And what happened to Skylar and Portia?"
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Skylar awoke in a huge kitchen. There were huge fireplaces and pots all over the place. Obviously it wasn't San Francisco.
"Dora! Get ready to serve dinner. Get your smocks! The royal family is dining early tonight. They are retiring early, you know, the Princess's birthday is tomorrow. That's to be the event of the year you know. That is, if the faeries curse doesn't come into play."
"And what Princess are you talking about?" Skylar asked assuming the woman was speaking to her. But why did this woman speak to her like an old friend.
"Silly child, you should know, you've been serving this family since the day you were born. The Princess Aurora of course!" Skylar gulped. A curse, Aurora. She was in a fairy tale. But how had she gotten there?
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Prue and bane returned from their sightseeing tour around five thirty. The city of Carmel was beautiful as all the travel brochures had said. The afternoon had been lovely. During the entire tour they only had eyes for each other.
They ate an early dinner and retired to their room with whip cream and strawberries. They spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.
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Back at the Manor, no one had even given a thought to the fact that Wyatt, Portia, and Skylar had missed dinner. They were presumed to be sleeping. But being the typical mother, Piper had decided to wake up her son and nieces.
She knocked on the door, no answer so she went in. "Hey kids, it's time for dinner..." but no one was in the room. She checked all the rooms upstairs. "****," she said to herself. As she walked back past Wyatt's room she noticed a book lying next to the doorway. She picked it up. "Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault." then Piper remembered their own fairy tale mishaps.
It all was falling together. The book of fairy tales and missing kids. Something was up and she had a hunch that a magical being was not far behind it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Portia had been outfitted in a velvet hunter green gown with a tightly fitted black bodice. "Guess breathing's out of the question," she thought to herself as her chambermaid cinched it tighter. A man dressed in stockings and a woven smock of blue and red canvas entered the room when she was dressed and escorted her onto the grounds for her riding lesson. "At least I know how to ride," she mumbled under her breath as she walked up to the stable.
In the doorway stood a huge chestnut mare. At the horse's side, a stable boy was tightening the girth. "There you are your highness," the boy said as the man hoisted her up on the horse side saddle.
"Thank you," Portia replied. The boy looked up at her. It was Wyatt.
Wyatt was just as surprised to see that the young lady he had been calling Princess was his cousin. He had wanted to speak, but bit his tongue. "I will be supervising your riding lesson today, as Master Hahn is ill." He mounted another horse and turned it out of the stable. Portia followed him. They headed to the riding pasture.
Once they were out of earshot they began to talk. "Where are we?" Wyatt asked, still not having figured it out.
"Fairy tale land, Sleeping Beauty to be exact. And you're looking at the cursed Princess Aurora right here!"
"Well, at least you didn't wake up and almost get a beating from a drunk ogre. Why do you always get to be royalty?" He whined.
"That's not important right now. First of all, we need to figure out how we got here and we have to do it fast, while not making anyone suspicious. Have you seen Skylar yet?"
"No. I don't know where she is."
"Okay, well, we have to think fast. Do you know what tomorrow is?" His mind drew a blank. "My...I mean her 16th birthday." Wyatt thought back to the story, but hesitated too long for Portia. "Wyatt! I'm going to fall asleep for a hundred years. We've got to get out of here!"
Wyatt could tell Portia was scared, and rightly so. They had to get out of this world. Then he remembered, maybe there was a way out. "Portia, in the story in the book, didn't the fairy that saved you from death also travel thousands of miles to put the whole kingdom asleep? She's obviously good, maybe we can tap into that, summon her."
Portia looked around, they needed to act normal. "We need to ride, you're supposed to teach me, not talk to me. Keep in character." She galloped off, which was hard to do riding sidesaddle and Wyatt followed her, riding like a pro despite his lack of experience. It seemed to him that at times the instinct of the body he was in took over.
Portia did some dressage circles, cantering, trotting and galloping. The butler gave a signal and the two came in.
As she trotted in she requested a service. "I would like this boy to give me all my future riding lessons. He is much better than Master Hahn."
"It shall be done, your majesty. Someone will inform the Master when he is in good spirits again. Now, you must change for dinner. I will escort you to your room and Aggie will help you dress." The man led Portia off. She gave a wayward glance to Wyatt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skylar was dressed in the formal smocks worn by all the castle staff. A dress of blue and red and a cap that resembled a beret. The kitchen smelled delicious and she could hear the hubbub and the King, Queen, and Princess entered and were seated. Skylar was kind of excited, she had always wanted to meet a Princess. She was given a pitcher full of red wine and put at the back of the serving line.
As the servers in front of her stepped out, they curtseyed or bowed, and Skylar did the same. She tried not to look at the royals, as she had read that it was inappropriate, but her gaze wandered to the Princess Aurora.
At first glance, she wanted to rub her eyes. The Princess looked like Portia...the Princess was Portia! It was apparent that Portia had seen her too. Her eyes widened. As the rest of the servers made their rounds, Skylar followed. She filled the King's cup first, than the Queen's and then Portia's.
"Meet me tonight in the pasture. I found Wyatt. Midnight," Portia said in a whisper that Skylar could barely hear. Skylar nodded and curtseyed. She made her way back into the kitchen to refill the pitcher. She watched Portia all through dinner.
"Why did she get to be a Prince?" She caught herself, "Now, Skylar, that's not what's important. Think of the story...a good fairy saves Aurora. Maybe that fairy is still alive. I need to get to her."
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"Piper, what do you mean the kids are gone? Did you check everywhere?"
"Of course I did, Phoebe," she said with an attitude. "But I did find this." She held out the book that she had found outside the bedroom door.
"Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault? Not again!" Paige said. She too remembered everything that had happened when fairy tales became involved. "Well, this book is a big clue. What page was it open to?"
"Sleeping Beauty, but if they dropped it, it could be any story." Piper replied.
"We have to find out who's behind this, and find the kids. I'm going to go check the book." Patrice ran up the stairs.
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At exactly midnight, Skylar and Portia met up to go get Wyatt. They walked across the grounds silently until they came to the barn. After quietly waking Wyatt up, they headed out to the pasture.
"we have to get in touch with that fairy. The one that lightened your sentence," Wyatt started.
"I know, but how? The story said that she's...10 or 12 leagues away. How are we supposed to get word to her? I sleep tomorrow night for a hundred years."
"A summoning spell. She's magical so it should work, " Skylar said.
"We might as well try." Wyatt looked at Portia, she was good at making up spells.
After a few minutes spent coming up with the right rhyme, Portia started. "A land we are in, in which we belong not. A Princess condemned to a century's sleep, seeks the good fairy, before she slumbers deep." Portia shrugged her shoulders. But she was a quick thinker, when the fairy would arrive, she'd see the Princess Aurora, not Portia. She needed another spell. In a tiny spinning cloud of fairy dust, a small lady with wings appeared. Portia started her second spell. "You think we are people we are not, grant out true selves revealed, as well as our quest, so you can help us out of this mess."
The little fairy was startled. At first she had seen the beautiful Princess Aurora, but in her place stood a young girl with darker features equally as beautiful. "Who are you?"
"let me explain, we haven't much time," Portia started. "We come from a different time. In the future. We aren't sure exactly how we got here, but now we don't know how to leave. We were hoping that you could help us find out who sent us here." The little fairy looked skeptical. "I know you don't have a reason to trust us, but maybe you've heard of our parents. The Charmed Ones?" The Fairy no had no reason not to believe the kids, she begged them to go on. "Do you know of any demons that could have put us here? Obviously it wanted to trap us, and there's no better place to do it."
"Why would a demon want to get rid of you?"
"Why wouldn't a demon want to get rid of us? We're the children of the Charmed Ones. But we have to get out of here. Otherwise tomorrow we all take a hundred year nap." Portia said. Paige picked up the fairy tale book. "Maybe the answers are in here." She flipped through each story, but stopped when she reached Sleeping Beauty. The picture of Beauty was blurry, her face was practically wiped out. "That's odd. Hey Pheebes, look at this." Phoebe walked over by Paige and looked into the book.
"That's weird, it wasn't like that before."
"Exactly, I think that we found our story."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, young ones, I cannot undo the evil witch's spell. I can however, reduce the time the spell lasts."
"Well, what's the shortest you can make it?" Wyatt asked.
"Three days. Then the Princess will be kissed and wake up."
"You can't make it any shorter? We really need to get out of here." Skylar insisted.
"That is all I can do. And I will keep you two awake. Aurora, you must sleep." Portia looked down at the ground, and a faint smile came across her face. She was going to have her first kiss.
"That will have to do," Wyatt said. "Portia, you have to get back now, what if someone finds you're missing?"
"Yes." She and Skylar headed off, but Skylar stopped.
"How are we supposed to get a hold of you?"
"Just call my name and I'll be there."
"But what's your name?" Skylar asked.
"Angeline." And with that the little fairy disappeared. Wyatt went back to the barn to his hay bed. Portia went to the royal chambers and Skylar returned to the kitchen. Tomorrow would just have to play out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The Elders examined the book. They think that they found the demon who's behind this. He's called Xerxes, but he rarely comes out of hiding. He was condemned by the source when he fell in love with a witch."
Paige elbowed Phoebe lightly in the side. Phoebe knew all about demon lovers. "Well, let's get the book and look for him," Phoebe said grabbing Paige by the arm.
"And let me have that book, Leo. We're going to see if anything else is changed in the story." Leo handed Piper the book as she and Patrice sat down. The book was already opened to the correct page, it was only a matter of searching each page carefully. Piper knew this book like the back of her hand. It had been Prue's and they always used to read it. "I'll read, you look at the pictures," she said to Patrice as they both started looking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun rose and sent floods of light into Portia's room. She hadn't slept at all, the fact that she was going to get a three-day nap already disturbed her. Aggie had already come in and dressed her, so she had her best royal gown on. A beautiful blue fitted dress and a golden crown. She examined herself in the mirror, or rather she examined Beauty. Hair was shiny and clean. Her cheeks had been pinched so hard by Aggie that they ached, but she looked flush. The crown was everything she had ever imagined and on Beauty's golden hair it looked like a natural extension of her body. Portia had never felt so beautiful in her entire life. She was to be at breakfast in a half an hour. Her shoes were extremely painful. Portia had no idea how she was going to get from her bedroom to the dining hall.
The same butler arrived from the previous day to escort her to breakfast. "How are you faring my child?"
"I am in good spirits, thank you." Portia had no clue where this language was coming from. Obviously the true Aurora was still present.
"And today you are a woman, your father will name your husband today." Portia didn't answer. She felt bad for Aurora, married at 16. My how society has progressed. "The Prince of the kingdom to the east seems to have won your father's favor. He is a handsome young man. He will be here today." She rolled her eyes. Were these people completely clueless? I'm not going to marry him, some other Prince is going to rescue me.
She quickly thought of the Prince and wondered how he would know that she would need to be kissed in three days. Hopefully her family would save her before she got married.
They reached the dining hall and the butler left Portia after seating her besides her father. "My child, happy birthday." He kissed her on the forehead.
"Thank you my father." Her mother opened her arms and embraced Portia as well. Portia examined the Queen closer. Beauty looked a lot like her, she was beautiful.
"Tonight, the whole kingdom will rejoice after the setting of the sun," the King flamboyantly stated. "Prepare a feast fit for a King and a court of a thousand.
The number surprised Portia, a thousand people would fall asleep with her tonight. At the conclusion of breakfast, she was able to speak to Skylar and all she was able to say was, "Ask Angeline about my Prince."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sisters had found their entry about Xerxes. Leo was right, he was a pacifist demon, not really into killing witches. They decided to summon him anyway, to find out what was up.
"We might as well get it over with," Paige stated. She hated dreaming up spells, she could only come up with haikus.
Phoebe sighed and started rhyming. "A demon we seek, a mystery we must solve, Xerxes we summon, to find who is involved." The spell was iffy, but no sooner than she finished the last sentence a very handsome man appeared.
"No, please no more witches!" Xerxes yelled. "Why do you plague me?"
"We need to find out some information, now if you cooperate, we won't vanquish you."
"Please, it's the best thing that you could do. My heart was broken long ago. I'll help you, but put me out of my misery. What do you want to know?"
"Our children are trapped in a fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty to be exact, and we were led to believe that you put them there," Phoebe said.
He laughed, "What?! Me! That story plagues me, my beloved is Beauty."
"Wait," Paige interrupted, "I thought you said that your love was a witch."
"No, she was CURSED by a evil witch. I fell in love with Beauty."
"So, that story is true?" Patrice asked.
"Of course, all those stories are true, it's just modern people don't believe them."
"Well, maybe we can help each other out. If you help us get our kids back, than we'll help you get your love back."
Xerxes didn't say a thing, he was silent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nearing sunset and the celebration was in full swing. Portia's betrothal was just about to be announced. The king rose from his seat. "My friends, my only child, my beautiful daughter Aurora will be getting married in the near future. Tonight I would like to honor her and her future husband, Prince Joseph." The King called the young man over to the table and beckoned Portia to stand. The Prince approached them. He was quite handsome. He had fair skin and deep brown eyes and was buff. Portia would have had no problem being married to him.
Suddenly, Portia felt a strong beckoning to leave the room. She excused herself and followed an eerie sound up into one of the turrets of the castle. There an old woman sat sewing some cloth on a spinning wheel. Now Portia had no control of her thoughts or body, it was all up to the Princess Aurora.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Phoebe stood next to Piper as Xerxes took their hands and said a spell. "Allow the written to become real once again, to a sleeping Princess and a faraway land, our mission is simple, no changes we make, we want to restore the order that many forsake." A magnificent light emanated from the book on the floor. Quickly Paige and Patrice grabbed his hands and they all disappeared into the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Portia's hand reached out to touch the spindle, though she was trying her best to control her actions, this fatal move she could not stop. A shooting pain pierced her finger and the world around her slowly went black. "Angeline..." she said as she hit the floor.
The woman who had been at the spinning wheel cackled and turned into the warlock. He saw the shimmery lights of the fairy and shimmered out.
Angeline saw Portia lying there and knew her duty. She created a bed out of magic and placed Portia on it, covering her up with a light silk sheet. A red rose was placed in her hands as the fairy went to put the kingdom to rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where in the hell are we?" Piper asked when they appeared in fine medieval linens in a grand hall.
"The royal palace, we need to get out of here! The Princess has met her fate." Motioning to a hidden door in the stone, the girls followed Xerxes behind a hidden door into a corridor. "The good fairy Angeline will be putting the kingdom to sleep for a hundred years, we must avoid that." He peeked out the door and saw the fairy appear. He ducked behind the door as the fairy put the King and Queen to sleep. After putting the rest of the room to sleep she left, but there was one person who was still awake, a servant girl. "Come," he told the girls and they followed him out. He approached the servant girl.
"Great, now Portia's taking a nap, and I have no clue where Wyatt is! He wasn't at the stables." Skylar began to pace around when a man approached her.
She screamed, everyone was supposed to be sleeping. The man grabbed her, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to save my cousin if that's alright with you!" She yelled in his face, but saw four other people move behind him. Her mother came up to her.
"Skylar! I didn't think that I'd ever find you."
"Mom, I'm so glad to see you," she hugged Phoebe hard and gave each of her Aunt's a hug as well.
Patrice spoke first, "Do you know where Portia is?"
"You're starring in her fairy tale, but I believe she's sleeping right now." Patrice got sick to her stomach.
"You mean, Portia is Princess Aurora?" Piper asked. "And what about Wyatt?"
"He's a stable boy right now, Portia got lucky...well...anyway, umm we got the fairy to shorten the time she's going to sleep. Only three days now."
"I know how to wake her up, but we have to let her sleep," Xerxes said. "The reason she sleeps for a hundred years is because I got kicked out of the story and it took me a hundred years to get back in. I kissed her and she woke up and there's the happy ending."
"Wait...you have to kiss my daughter?"
"Well, technically it's not your daughter, it's the Princess Aurora, they are just sharing a body. But if you wan t her to wake in three days I have to kiss her."
"Well, let's find her and then we can all have a happy ending." Phoebe said taking Skylar's arm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skylar led the troop out of the castle and to the stables. From outside, the sound of a belt slashing and screams could be heard. Skylar quickened her pace; she had heard that Master Hahn was mean as hell when he was drunk. Coming around the corner of the stable, Piper through her hands up in the air as Wyatt was over this man's knee being beat.
She rushed up to him. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Oh, he's just beating me because I dropped a horseshoe from the fire on his foot. It really was an accident and then I couldn't get away from him." Piper hugged him close.
"How did you get here?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, that's what we'd like to know. I just woke up here," suddenly Xerxes pulled them into a stable as Angeline came by to put the harsh Hahn to sleep. She missed them.
After she left they came out. "Okay, well, let's go get Portia out." Skylar said hurrying to the door of the barn.
"Wait! What about the Prince?"
"We've got him right here!" Piper replied. "Wyatt, meet Xerxes." The two shook hands and the group left the stable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They climbed the thousand stairs that led to the uppermost turret of the castle. The fairy hadn't made the forest of thorns grow, so the turret was easy to access.
Portia lay on the bed; she looked like a woman beyond her actual years. The blonde hair of the beautiful Aurora replaced her own chestnut hair. When they reached the top, they all gasped. Never had Portia looked so serene and beautiful. The family all saw Portia, but Xerxes only saw Aurora. Her skin glowed like he had never seen her before and her lips were red as blood.
"Royalty suits her," Paige said. "She's beautiful."
"What can I say, she looks like her Aunt." Portia did look like Phoebe. They were almost identical. Bane had described their features appropriately when he said that Portia could have been Phoebe's daughter.
Xerxes was nervous to kiss his beloved with all these people around, considering that another was inhabiting her body. "What are you waiting for?" Patrice asked him. Even though she wasn't too keen on him kissing her daughter, it was the only was she was going to wake up.
Slowly he kneeled besides the bed and took of his hat. He leaned in and planted a tender kiss on Aurora's blood-red lips.
Portia's eyes fluttered open. Before her stood a man that was more handsome than the Prince Joseph. She hadn't been asleep that long, but it had felt like an eternity. As she looked around she saw her mom and her Aunts. Slowly she sat up and her mother ran to her. "Hi mom," she said.
"Hi sunny. My you had me worried."
"Mom, I'm a Princess okay? I had tons of people to take care of me." She laughed and then looked at Xerxes. "And who is this hunk of man?" Her mom glared at her. "Just kidding mom. HI, my name's Portia."
"I'm Xerxes." He rose and bowed to her. She had become accustomed to this behavior.
"Portia, sweetie, we need to get you out of her body and into your own. Same with the rest of you," Piper said.
The three of the body switchers nodded their approval, and Phoebe, who had just made up the incantation in her head started to speak.
"A magic spell we wish undone, a mixing of souls through time. Unmix the souls and return them to their rightful place, to their bodies, make no mistake."
Suddenly the group of three doubled and standing next to Portia stood a beautiful Princess, next to Wyatt a young stable boy and next to Skylar a pretty young kitchen girl.
Aurora saw Xerxes and ran into his arms. They kissed each other for a long time. The stable boy and the kitchen girl quickly exited, trying to make sense of what happened. Aurora was the proper Princess and spoke to the strangers. "Thank you, though I know not who you are, you brought me my true love and broke the curse." She turned to Portia. "And you, you are a truly beautiful person, one who is as worthy of the title of Princess as myself. Again, I thank you all." She curtseyed and took Xerxes hand. He waved to them as they exited the turret.
"Great, how do we get out of here?" Paige asked.
"Angeline!" Skylar, Wyatt and Portia answered in unison.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Allow the real to return to the written, we restored the order and now seek our own time, to the Halliwell Manor in the flash of an eye!" Phoebe chanted as the group held hands and they disappeared in the same light that they arrived in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The group of Halliwell's now complete appeared back in the living room of the Manor. Everyone was happy that the drama was over. "That was a lot of fun!" Portia shouted as she plopped on the couch.
"Fun for who? You were a Princess, me, I got beat by some drunken ogre!" Portia and Skylar laughed at him.
"Well, at least everything is back to normal," Piper said as Leo orbed in. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Where have you been? You've been gone for four days. Prue's coming home today!"
The sisters all looked at each other in disbelief, time passed differently in fairy tales. "Oh, we've been Once Upon A Dream," Piper replied as they heard keys in the door.
"We're home!" Prue yelled from the foyer. She walked into the living room and into the arms of her sisters.
"How was your honeymoon?" Paige asked.
"Great without any magical disturbances." Prue saw the look on her sister's faces and the smile that spread across Portia's, and then she noticed a shiny gold crown on Portia's head. "Alright, what happened and what is on your head?"
Portia reached up and pulled the crown off her head. "I guess I get to keep a little memento of my time as a Princess. I know that will never happen again!"
Everyone sat down and told Prue and Bane of all the happenings that took place while they were gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, they still have no idea who put them in that story, though it did not weaken the boy, Oracle."
"Give him time, Master, and he will crumble. All things that seem strong eventually do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (About four months later)
The Halliwells minus Phoebe and Jason sat nervously in the waiting room. Phoebe had gone into labor this morning, and it was already late afternoon. They hadn't heard from Jason or the doctor.
"I hope mom's okay," Skylar said as Piper hugged her. Pipers own belly was protruding now.
"Your mom is going to be fine, she's a strong woman," Piper said comforting the eleven year old. SKylar understood the birds and the bees, but she had never heard of such a long childbirth. She pulled out of Piper's arms and sat down by Portia and Wyatt, who were playing rummy with a deck of cards that Paige had called for.
After three games of rummy, the announcement finally came, Phoebe had had a little girl, and both of them were fine. The doctor informed them that the baby had been breech, so it took longer to position the baby for a safe delivery.
"Thank God," Piper exclaimed.
"When can we see them?" An excited Skylar asked.
"In a few minutes, they're on their way to the room. It's 330W on the third floor."
"Thank you doctor," Leo said standing up and shaking his hand. The doctor didn't say anything about strange occurrences in the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey," Patrice whispered as she entered the room with the Halliwell gang close behind. They walked in the room and crowded around the little bed where Phoebe was holding her baby girl.
"What did you decide to name her?" Portia asked. She loved babies.
"Aislinn Elise Halliwell. Aislinn, I want you to meet your big sister Skylar and your Aunties Piper, Paige, Patrice and Prue, and your cousins Wyatt and Portia, and Uncle Leo, and Uncle John." The baby started to fuss. "I know, that's a lot of people, huh?" The group laughed. Aislinn was as sweet as could be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three days later, Phoebe and Jason brought little Aislinn home. She was a precious child, she hardly ever cried at night, and giggled at everyone.
Skylar was so happy about her baby sister. Each day when Jason would come home she'd give him the update of what Aislinn did.
Phoebe couldn't be happier, she had her daughters, and a husband who loved her. Piper was happy to. This pregnancy was less to worry about than the first.
Wyatt's demeanor was beginning to change. He was happy about the babies, but something was changing...something magical. But he wasn't quite as intuitive as his Aunt Phoebe, so he just left it alone.
Portia sat in the kitchen with her Aunt Prue. She had waited to give her her wedding present until after. Prue opened the envelope and pulled out the stationary. She began to read and when she finished, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Prue reached over to give Portia a hug. "You are too many things, little girl." Portia smiled.
"You know," she said to herself, "a lot has happened over the year. I found a family, I've gotten to know my mom and my dad. Aunt Prue got married to the man of her dreams, I got sucked into a story just by reading a book, and Aunt Phoebe had a baby, and Aunt Piper has one on the way." She picked up the rattle that lay on the counter next to a book on parenting. Suddenly the doorbell rang, she knew it was her mom. "Huh, a bell, book and rattle. Kind of like that old story...I guess everything's a story, one giant fairy tale."
FIN
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Portia and Wyatt, happy birthday to you!" Wyatt and Portia blew out the eleven candles on their cake together. It was Portia's first birthday with her new family.
"You know, Patrice. I'm glad they were born a week apart. That way we can have one party for the two of them," Piper said as she pulled the candles out of the white frosted cake. She had made the caked herself. It read, "Happy Birthday Wyatt & Portia. Blessed Be." She cut it into pieces and handed them out to the family.
Phoebe was sitting down in a chair. She was four months pregnant now, and finally over her morning sickness. Skylar sat on the arm of the chair. She adored Phoebe and Jason and had started calling them Mom and Dad. She was excited about the baby, which was a girl! They had already picked a name out for her, Aislinn. The whole family was excited about the new edition.
Patrice and John sat down on the sofa next to Paige. She and Patrice had become best friends and they had the freaky twin telepathy thing. John and Patrice had renewed their wedding vows with the entire family present, and the best part was the elders couldn't say a word. Leo had asked Piper to marry him again, but she declined, it was too soon.
"What did you guys wish for?" John asked them.
"Nothing too important, I already had my number one wish come true." Portia smiled at her parents. Her wish had been that they remarry and they had done that. She also had her dad.
"I didn't make a wish." Wyatt said begrudgingly.
"Why not?" Leo asked him hearing this.
"Didn't really feel like it. Plus, none of y wishes ever come true," he shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. I'm happier than I've been in a long time."
"Well, I hope you're happy, because you're going to be one of my groomsmen," Bane cheerfully said. Prue and Bane were due to be married in one month. The June wedding they had planned was going to be perfect. All Prue's sisters and Skylar and Portia were her bridesmaids and Bane had Leo, John, Darryl and Wyatt.
Bane walked up and hugged Prue. They were happy, everyone was happy. Life was perfect...well...not entirely perfect. Was everything ever perfect for the Charmed Ones? (A month later, the day before Prue's wedding.)
"Now, everything is at the church that's supposed to be at this church, right?"
"Yes Prue. Everything will be fine," Phoebe reassured her sister.
"I'm so nervous, I didn't think that I would be this nervous."
"Oh, every bride gets pre-wedding jitters, trust us," Paige said speaking for all her sisters.
Piper walked in the room with a checklist in hand. "I just confirmed the catering order and the cake. We're all set for tomorrow.
"Thanks Piper," Prue said. She looked at her watch. It was three o'clock and the rehearsal was due to start at four. Everyone was meeting at the church.
"And the food for tonight is ready, I've been cooking since this morning," Piper added. "Now I'm going to go round up the kids."
Phoebe patted her belly, "I got one out of two right here."
"That one doesn't count yet," Piper joked. Phoebe was growing larger by the day.
"Come on, you bundle of nerves, it's time to go. You can't be late for your own wedding rehearsal." Paige said to Prue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Wyatt, have you seen my pen?" Portia yelled from the kitchen.
"It was on the table, but I don't know where you put it," he replied from his place on the sofa. He was flipping through channels with the remote. "Did you check the cushions in here?"
"Good idea!" Portia said walking into the room. She proceeded to search the chair cushions. "Get up!" She said to Wyatt. Slowly he rose and she pulled out the cushions. "You were sitting on it!"
"Is that what that was?" He said laughing.
"You men are all the same," Portia, said rolling he eyes. She sat down at the table and started writing on a piece of flowered stationary.
"What are you writing?" Wyatt asked looking over her shoulder.
"It's my present for Aunt Prue and Uncle Bane."
"Can I read it?"
"No! It's not done."
"When you're finished?"
"Maybe."
"Oh, come on Portia!" He hollered grasping for the paper.
"When it's done!" She hollered back pulling it out of his reach.
Skylar came down the steps with Piper behind her. "Guys, it's time to go," she informed them as she walked into the foyer to put on her shoes. The others followed suit, it was time to go to church. "Hey beautiful!" Bane said as he walked up to Prue. He kissed her passionately.
"Hello to you too!" She giggled back.
"Ahem!" Phoebe coughed behind her.
"We're blocking the aisle," Prue said as she and Bane moved aside to allow the Halliwell procession to go by.
After an hour and a half of rehearsing, Prue decided that everything was as good as it was going to be. Everyone did just as Prue wanted; no one wanted to piss her off. After the rehearsal, they got in their respective automobiles and left for the rehearsal dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning arrived and Piper was up scurrying around her room. Leo had spent the night. He stirred at the noise that she was making. "Good morning!" he said tugging at her shirt as she walked by, trying to pull her back into bed.
"Hectic morning," she said turning around to kiss him. She gently placed her lips on his. But to tell the truth, she was not in the mood to snuggle. And on top of things, she had missed her period last week and the thought of being pregnant, though pleasant, was annoyingly looming in the back of her mind. "Come on, we have to get dressed and then I need to help Prue. Get out of bed sleepy head."
Leo rolled out of bed and followed Piper into the bathroom. After brushing their teeth they showered together to save time, but Leo only fooled around, pushing Piper's buttons. She rushed him and they finished.
Leo dressed and did his hair while Piper did the same. "You look gorgeous," Leo said to Piper.
"Thank you," she said as she rushed out of the room and into Prue's. Phoebe, Paige, and Patrice had already worked their magic on Prue. She looked beautiful. "You guys work fast!" Piper exclaimed closing the door behind her. "And you're already dressed. All I need to do is put on my makeup."
"That's all that we have to do too," Patrice replied as she hooked the last hook on Prue's dress.
"Well, then you better get to it, or you'll make me late for my own wedding."
A voice came from downstairs. "Your dad is here!" Jason yelled. Victor entered the room.
"You look beautiful Prue."
"Thanks dad," she said getting up and hugging him. Victor hugged Piper and Phoebe. He hugged Patrice and Paige, even though they weren't his daughters; they were a part of Patty.
The girls put on their make-up and Portia brought up some small sandwiches so that Prue wouldn't starve. The limo picked them up at noon to go to the church. Prue and Victor had a limo all their own as they headed to the church for the most important day in Prue's life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Another Charmed One is getting married!?! Do these women ever give up? They've tried and tried for a normal life, but they will never have it."
"What are you planning, my liege? To ransack the wedding would be a bad idea."
"And why do you say that Oracle?"
"One of the Charmed Ones is pregnant."
"Yes, I know, the third child, Phoebe."
"Yes, she is pregnant, but not her, one of the other sisters."
"Which one?"
"I am not obliged to tell. I am a neutral force, one that works for both good and evil."
"TELL ME ORACLE!!!"
"A pretty woman she is, but it is not the child she carries that you seek. A son, that's who will be most vulnerable after he hears his mother's news."
The man laughed. He knew that the son had already been treading close to dark waters, but his mother's influence had been so strong. He would be hard to convert at the moment, but a demon...yes, that would weaken him. It may take years to bring the boy down, but his rise to evil would eventually come. "Now I must focus on the sisters if I am to weaken the boy. Xerxes!" The man yelled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They arrived at the church fifteen minutes before the ceremony started. Bane was out front talking to his parents, who couldn't have been happier for him. Over the last five months, they had grown to adore Prue as much as their son.
In the back, Prue was pacing. Phoebe stopped her to do a touch up on her make-up. Piper fixed the bow on the back of Skylar's dress, as Patrice did the same for Portia. The girl's dresses were different from the adult dresses. They were floor length, but they had sleeves and a bow, they also poofed at the bottom. The adult dresses were sleeveless and floor length, and only poofed slightly at the bottom.
The groomsmen were waiting for the bridesmaids. Wyatt took both Skylar and Portia's arms. They were at the end of the line. Piper and Leo were first, followed by Phoebe and Jason, Paige and Darryl, and Patrice and John.
With everyone lined up, the music was cued. Slowly Piper and Leo started the walk down the aisle, and the rest of the line proceeded at intervals. After Wyatt, Portia and Skylar had taken their places Prue and Victor appeared at the end of the hall.
There was a group gasp. Prue looked like she had stepped out of Sleeping Beauty. Her dress was full at the bottom with a train that was embroidered with pearls and small diamonds. The bodice was fitted and dipped with her breast line. It was sleeveless with gloves that came up just past the elbow. The veil consisted of a tiara. The material was attached to combs, which could be taken out after the ceremony. The color of the dress was slightly off-white and the dress had small delicate patterns that contained diamonds that made her sparkle like a star.
Slowly she marched up the aisle. Her jitter had disappeared and all she could do was smile at Bane. He too was beaming back at her. Today she would finally be his.
When Prue reached him, Victor lifted her veil and gave her a kiss. She then took Bane's hand. After a few ceremonial words, they said their vows.
"Prue, from the first time I met you, I knew that you would change my life. You give off this aura that oozes confidence and a willingness to help. And you helped me. You turned me into the man that I am today. Without you, I would have had no drive in this life. But I have a drive, you. You make me want to be a better person, you make me whole. You are the world to me, and I'll love you for the rest of my life."
"Bane, I had only been in love one time before I met you. You changed my world too. You gave me something else to focus on, rather than work and family matters. I used to be a work-a-holic, but now there is something else for me to strive for. Bane, you soon will be my husband, and you accept me like no one else ever has. With all my flaws and imperfections, I'm surprised that you still look at me like a shiny diamond. I am thrilled to be your wife, your friend, and your lover. For the rest of my life, you'll be my one true love."
The high priestess said her last few words, and pronounced them man and wife. They kissed and the gathered crowd cheered them as the walked out of the church. The groomsmen and bridesmaids followed.
But a dark shadow lurked in the back. A man dressed in normal clothes, but who's demeanor held a darker purpose. The reception that followed the wedding was as beautiful as the wedding. The room was decorated with white lights that looked like stars. Everyone ate and then Prue and Bane shared their first dance together as a married couple to the song, "Stay Awhile," by Journey. As the dance ended everyone clapped and then Prue danced with Victor to "Because You Loved Me." She was so happy and she cried on her dad's shoulder.
Then there was the wedding party dance. Piper and Leo danced together. Phoebe and Jason danced, kissing each other over the growing child in her belly. Paige danced with Darryl and they talked about good times. Patrice and John were doing much the same as Phoebe and Jason. Portia and Skylar danced together with Wyatt. The song that played was "Amazed."
The cake was served. And as Bane had promised Piper, he did not shove cake in Prue's face. Then, Leo, Bane's best man got up and made the speech.
"Well, I've known Prue for a long time, and Bane, you've married into quite a family. I'd know. You're a lucky man, Bane, you got quite a woman. A good woman. And Prue, I've known you for a long time, and what can I say, you're like a sister to me. I hope that you guys will be happy, and be together forever. I love you guys!"
The crowd clapped as Leo took his place next to Piper. She took his hand under the table.
After hours of partying into the night, Bane and Prue left for their honeymoon, with the sisters assuring that they wouldn't be disturbed, if it could be helped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Life at the Halliwell Manor the next day was surprisingly...boring...normal. Jason was fussing over Phoebe lifting a grocery bag. Skylar laughed at them. All the bag had in it was some bread. But Jason persisted and Phoebe finally gave in. Sometimes he annoyed her with that. She was pregnant, not an invalid.
Piper, who had brought the last bag in laughed at her sister. Now Phoebe knew what it was like to constantly be babied by all those around her. Like how her sisters treated her when she was pregnant with Wyatt. But Piper quickly remembered the bout of morning sickness she had had this morning, She had felt as if she was going to hack up a lung. Luckily, no one had heard her.
Wyatt sat in the living room with his cousins. They had been watching TV, but were soon bored. "Well," Portia said, trying to break the silence, "what do you guys want to do?"
"No magic, Portia!" Wyatt quickly said.
"No DUH! I'm not stupid." She retorted.
"Why don't we read one of my mom's old stories, you know the fairy tales?" Skylar grabbed the book that was under the coffee table.
"But those are for little kids," Wyatt complained.
"Right, and I didn't catch you watching Aunt Prue's copy of Beauty and The Beast the other day," Portia teased. She and Skylar giggled as Wyatt turned 40 shades of red.
"Alright, fine, which one?"
"I hate Snow White," Skylar said as she flipped past the tale.
"How about Sleeping Beauty? We all like that," Portia suggested. Skylar opened to the tale.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So the young ones like fairy tales? The boy...it begins now."
"Master, he will be more vulnerable after his mother's announcement." The Oracle replied.
"Very well, I will wait, but they will be welcomed into a world of illusion!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"LEO!" Piper yelled in the confines of her room. The blue and white lights of his orb appeared.
"Hey," he said welcoming her with a kiss.
"We need to talk," she said quickly and coldly.
"I'm all ears." He sat down on the edge of the bed.
"You know I love you, and you've told me that you love me. Well, I hope you love me enough to marry me again...and be a dad again." She looked down at the floor.
Leo stood up and went to her. He embraced her. "You mean, you're going to have another baby!?!" She nodded. He kissed her on the forehead. "Piper, I'm so happy and yes, I do want to be your husband again. I couldn't be happier!" He started to laugh, which made her laugh as well.
"Maybe we'll have our little Melinda?" She paused momentarily. "But what about Wyatt?"
"What can he say, you're already pregnant!" He took her in his arms once again. They kissed. Carmel CA was beautiful in June. All the flowers were in bloom and it was warm. No fog, something Prue wasn't used to. They had arrived at the hotel, the Wyndham, the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort. The property was secluded and private, perfect for a week alone without magic.
Prue and Bane had spent the whole night making love in front of the fireplace in their bedroom. There was complimentary wine and a huge dinner brought in by room service. She was in heaven. She watched Bane as he slept under the blanket next to her. Her dreams had come true, and she was normal for once. It didn't matter that she had magical powers or a magical family. She was just Prue, on her honeymoon after a normal church wedding.
Not wanting to disturb Bane, slowly she rose and walked to the bathroom. The had planned a tour to go and see all the celebrity houses. Clint Eastwood and Doris Day lived in Carmel, along with many other celebrities. She brushed her teeth and started the shower, but not before Bane came in and joined her.
The shower was yet another moment of ecstasy that the couple thoroughly enjoyed before they got out. They both dressed, Prue in a light blue sundress and Bane in a white shirt and cacki's. They headed for the hotel lobby, where the tour would start from.
"I've never been happier, Prue," Bane said as they walked to the elevator.
"I know, for once we're just normal people."
"And the fact that your sisters aren't' going to call us makes us all the more normal."
"Yeah, but they can call if something big happens. I want to know if someone is hurt, then we'd have to cut the honeymoon short. But hopefully, nothing of that nature will happen."
He nodded and leaned in to kiss her as the elevator finally reached their floor and they got in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a princess..." Skylar started but was interrupted by her Aunt Piper.
"Hey, where is everyone?" Phoebe, Jason, Paige, Patrice, and John ran into the room. "I have an announcement to make. Leo and I are going to get remarried by hand fasting."
"That's great!" Phoebe replied with her hand on her belly.
"But...that's not all...I'm also going to have a baby." There was silence in the room. Both Piper and Leo looked at Wyatt. Everyone was shocked, but Wyatt's reaction was more important to them.
"Wow," Paige said breaking the silence.
"Yeah, exactly, wow!" Patrice replied back. But the movement across the room shifted everyone's attention.
Wyatt stood up. "I don't know what to say...I guess I'm happy." He went over and hugged Piper.
"Well at least he's not mad," she said to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "He knows Oracle, and why isn't the boy upset?"
"He is upset, you just need to look deeper." The warlock looked into the seeing dish and stared harder. He then saw Wyatt's inner thoughts and was pleased.
He turned around with an evil grin on his face. "What would you suggest, Oracle. A separated tale for each of the children, or throw them into a mixed up tale?"
"The mixed up tale would be rather fun, but as I told you, I am a neutral party, unable to make decisions for you."
"The mixed up tale it is. But I'll separate them. Eventually Wyatt will find his cousins...dead, and that will place the child into my hands."
"Beware my master, he's a very strong child, and it will take more than just that. It will take time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wyatt sat back down with his cousins after the excitement died down. His mom was pregnant, that was inevitable. After all, she was sleeping with his dad. Not a biggie. "Let's start that story Sky," he said to his cousin as she plopped down next to him and Portia next to her.
"Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a King and a Queen. For years they had wanted a child, but alas they had none..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's just a story, but truth it becomes. Let's mix it up, so unrecognizable it be, they won't get out, death's the key." The warlock blew some powder into the looking dish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Do you feel weird?" Portia asked her cousins. Her insides began to tingle.
"Yeah," they both answered at the same time.
They got up to tell their parents they were going upstairs to lie down. On their way back, Skylar grabbed the book and took it upstairs.
Once they had reached Wyatt's room the spell unfolded. As the children opened Wyatt's door a bright light flashes and they disappear into the book, which Skylar had dropped. "Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault."
When Portia awoke she lay in a royal bedchamber. The walls were made of a dark stone, which made the room extremely gloomy in spite of the sun that shone in the windows. Portia looked around the room. It was lavishly decorated. Tapestry's depicting Roman times were hung on the wall. A vanity table and mirror inlaid with gold was across from the bed. Shortly, a woman dressed very shabbily entered through a large wooden door.
"Where am I?" Portia asked aloud. A minute ago she had been on her way into Wyatt's room.
"In your bedchamber your highness."
"Your highness? Why are you calling me that? I'm not royal..."
"Are you trying to trick old Aggie again? You and your games Princess!" Aggie proceeded to help Portia up and over to the vanity table. When she looked in the mirror, she saw herself, but when she checked a second time a very beautiful blonde girl of fifteen stared back at her. Her own sable hair had turned to a golden blonde, and her eyes from brown to blue. Her lips were a unnatural blood red, darker than their usual color.
"What's my name Aggie?" She said turning to the maid who was brushing her hair.
"You're the Princess Aurora my dear." Her stomach knotted immediately. She was in a fairy tale. "And tomorrow is your 16th birthday." Portia's heart sank.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wyatt awoke in a pile of hay. "Where am I?" he thought to himself. He looked down at his clothing, which had changed from jeans and a t-shirt to a canvas top and stockings. A horse neighed, he was in a barn.
"Get up boy!" A man's voice yelled. A large ogre of a man staggered towards him, obviously drunk. The man pulled a large belt out from around his waist. Wyatt guessed his mission and ran into one of the horse stalls. The man took a flying leap at Wyatt and landed on the ground. He tried to get up, but passed out saying, "When I get you Philip, I'll..."
Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. "Who's Philip? They must be mistaking me for someone else." He got up and brushed the hay off his clothes.
"Philip! It's time to saddle the princess's horse for her riding lesson." A tall dirty woman entered the stable. "Oh, look at the state of Master Hahn, why if the King found out surely he'd be thrown out. You can do it, you are 16. Now get to work, she'll arrive shortly." The woman left the stable. Wyatt was eager to ask her questions as to where he was, but he didn't want to push it.
"Great, I don't know the first thing about horses, let alone how to put that stuff on them. And which one belongs to the princess? There's at least 20 horses in here." Wyatt got an idea and walked up to Master Hahn. "Hey, which horse belongs to the princess?" Hahn mumbled incomprehensibly. "What?"
"Third one on the left." Wyatt walked away from the man and over to the third stall. A beautiful chestnut mare stood gallantly in the stall. The horse lowered its head as Wyatt approached.
"Hi buddy, you must know me, huh?" He patted the horse's head and spotted a saddle and bridle tacked to the wall. He walked over and grabbed the bridle. He'd seen enough westerns to know what goes where, but making sure everything was put on right was another story.
"Where am I? And what happened to Skylar and Portia?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skylar awoke in a huge kitchen. There were huge fireplaces and pots all over the place. Obviously it wasn't San Francisco.
"Dora! Get ready to serve dinner. Get your smocks! The royal family is dining early tonight. They are retiring early, you know, the Princess's birthday is tomorrow. That's to be the event of the year you know. That is, if the faeries curse doesn't come into play."
"And what Princess are you talking about?" Skylar asked assuming the woman was speaking to her. But why did this woman speak to her like an old friend.
"Silly child, you should know, you've been serving this family since the day you were born. The Princess Aurora of course!" Skylar gulped. A curse, Aurora. She was in a fairy tale. But how had she gotten there?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prue and bane returned from their sightseeing tour around five thirty. The city of Carmel was beautiful as all the travel brochures had said. The afternoon had been lovely. During the entire tour they only had eyes for each other.
They ate an early dinner and retired to their room with whip cream and strawberries. They spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Manor, no one had even given a thought to the fact that Wyatt, Portia, and Skylar had missed dinner. They were presumed to be sleeping. But being the typical mother, Piper had decided to wake up her son and nieces.
She knocked on the door, no answer so she went in. "Hey kids, it's time for dinner..." but no one was in the room. She checked all the rooms upstairs. "****," she said to herself. As she walked back past Wyatt's room she noticed a book lying next to the doorway. She picked it up. "Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault." then Piper remembered their own fairy tale mishaps.
It all was falling together. The book of fairy tales and missing kids. Something was up and she had a hunch that a magical being was not far behind it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Portia had been outfitted in a velvet hunter green gown with a tightly fitted black bodice. "Guess breathing's out of the question," she thought to herself as her chambermaid cinched it tighter. A man dressed in stockings and a woven smock of blue and red canvas entered the room when she was dressed and escorted her onto the grounds for her riding lesson. "At least I know how to ride," she mumbled under her breath as she walked up to the stable.
In the doorway stood a huge chestnut mare. At the horse's side, a stable boy was tightening the girth. "There you are your highness," the boy said as the man hoisted her up on the horse side saddle.
"Thank you," Portia replied. The boy looked up at her. It was Wyatt.
Wyatt was just as surprised to see that the young lady he had been calling Princess was his cousin. He had wanted to speak, but bit his tongue. "I will be supervising your riding lesson today, as Master Hahn is ill." He mounted another horse and turned it out of the stable. Portia followed him. They headed to the riding pasture.
Once they were out of earshot they began to talk. "Where are we?" Wyatt asked, still not having figured it out.
"Fairy tale land, Sleeping Beauty to be exact. And you're looking at the cursed Princess Aurora right here!"
"Well, at least you didn't wake up and almost get a beating from a drunk ogre. Why do you always get to be royalty?" He whined.
"That's not important right now. First of all, we need to figure out how we got here and we have to do it fast, while not making anyone suspicious. Have you seen Skylar yet?"
"No. I don't know where she is."
"Okay, well, we have to think fast. Do you know what tomorrow is?" His mind drew a blank. "My...I mean her 16th birthday." Wyatt thought back to the story, but hesitated too long for Portia. "Wyatt! I'm going to fall asleep for a hundred years. We've got to get out of here!"
Wyatt could tell Portia was scared, and rightly so. They had to get out of this world. Then he remembered, maybe there was a way out. "Portia, in the story in the book, didn't the fairy that saved you from death also travel thousands of miles to put the whole kingdom asleep? She's obviously good, maybe we can tap into that, summon her."
Portia looked around, they needed to act normal. "We need to ride, you're supposed to teach me, not talk to me. Keep in character." She galloped off, which was hard to do riding sidesaddle and Wyatt followed her, riding like a pro despite his lack of experience. It seemed to him that at times the instinct of the body he was in took over.
Portia did some dressage circles, cantering, trotting and galloping. The butler gave a signal and the two came in.
As she trotted in she requested a service. "I would like this boy to give me all my future riding lessons. He is much better than Master Hahn."
"It shall be done, your majesty. Someone will inform the Master when he is in good spirits again. Now, you must change for dinner. I will escort you to your room and Aggie will help you dress." The man led Portia off. She gave a wayward glance to Wyatt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skylar was dressed in the formal smocks worn by all the castle staff. A dress of blue and red and a cap that resembled a beret. The kitchen smelled delicious and she could hear the hubbub and the King, Queen, and Princess entered and were seated. Skylar was kind of excited, she had always wanted to meet a Princess. She was given a pitcher full of red wine and put at the back of the serving line.
As the servers in front of her stepped out, they curtseyed or bowed, and Skylar did the same. She tried not to look at the royals, as she had read that it was inappropriate, but her gaze wandered to the Princess Aurora.
At first glance, she wanted to rub her eyes. The Princess looked like Portia...the Princess was Portia! It was apparent that Portia had seen her too. Her eyes widened. As the rest of the servers made their rounds, Skylar followed. She filled the King's cup first, than the Queen's and then Portia's.
"Meet me tonight in the pasture. I found Wyatt. Midnight," Portia said in a whisper that Skylar could barely hear. Skylar nodded and curtseyed. She made her way back into the kitchen to refill the pitcher. She watched Portia all through dinner.
"Why did she get to be a Prince?" She caught herself, "Now, Skylar, that's not what's important. Think of the story...a good fairy saves Aurora. Maybe that fairy is still alive. I need to get to her."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Piper, what do you mean the kids are gone? Did you check everywhere?"
"Of course I did, Phoebe," she said with an attitude. "But I did find this." She held out the book that she had found outside the bedroom door.
"Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault? Not again!" Paige said. She too remembered everything that had happened when fairy tales became involved. "Well, this book is a big clue. What page was it open to?"
"Sleeping Beauty, but if they dropped it, it could be any story." Piper replied.
"We have to find out who's behind this, and find the kids. I'm going to go check the book." Patrice ran up the stairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At exactly midnight, Skylar and Portia met up to go get Wyatt. They walked across the grounds silently until they came to the barn. After quietly waking Wyatt up, they headed out to the pasture.
"we have to get in touch with that fairy. The one that lightened your sentence," Wyatt started.
"I know, but how? The story said that she's...10 or 12 leagues away. How are we supposed to get word to her? I sleep tomorrow night for a hundred years."
"A summoning spell. She's magical so it should work, " Skylar said.
"We might as well try." Wyatt looked at Portia, she was good at making up spells.
After a few minutes spent coming up with the right rhyme, Portia started. "A land we are in, in which we belong not. A Princess condemned to a century's sleep, seeks the good fairy, before she slumbers deep." Portia shrugged her shoulders. But she was a quick thinker, when the fairy would arrive, she'd see the Princess Aurora, not Portia. She needed another spell. In a tiny spinning cloud of fairy dust, a small lady with wings appeared. Portia started her second spell. "You think we are people we are not, grant out true selves revealed, as well as our quest, so you can help us out of this mess."
The little fairy was startled. At first she had seen the beautiful Princess Aurora, but in her place stood a young girl with darker features equally as beautiful. "Who are you?"
"let me explain, we haven't much time," Portia started. "We come from a different time. In the future. We aren't sure exactly how we got here, but now we don't know how to leave. We were hoping that you could help us find out who sent us here." The little fairy looked skeptical. "I know you don't have a reason to trust us, but maybe you've heard of our parents. The Charmed Ones?" The Fairy no had no reason not to believe the kids, she begged them to go on. "Do you know of any demons that could have put us here? Obviously it wanted to trap us, and there's no better place to do it."
"Why would a demon want to get rid of you?"
"Why wouldn't a demon want to get rid of us? We're the children of the Charmed Ones. But we have to get out of here. Otherwise tomorrow we all take a hundred year nap." Portia said. Paige picked up the fairy tale book. "Maybe the answers are in here." She flipped through each story, but stopped when she reached Sleeping Beauty. The picture of Beauty was blurry, her face was practically wiped out. "That's odd. Hey Pheebes, look at this." Phoebe walked over by Paige and looked into the book.
"That's weird, it wasn't like that before."
"Exactly, I think that we found our story."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, young ones, I cannot undo the evil witch's spell. I can however, reduce the time the spell lasts."
"Well, what's the shortest you can make it?" Wyatt asked.
"Three days. Then the Princess will be kissed and wake up."
"You can't make it any shorter? We really need to get out of here." Skylar insisted.
"That is all I can do. And I will keep you two awake. Aurora, you must sleep." Portia looked down at the ground, and a faint smile came across her face. She was going to have her first kiss.
"That will have to do," Wyatt said. "Portia, you have to get back now, what if someone finds you're missing?"
"Yes." She and Skylar headed off, but Skylar stopped.
"How are we supposed to get a hold of you?"
"Just call my name and I'll be there."
"But what's your name?" Skylar asked.
"Angeline." And with that the little fairy disappeared. Wyatt went back to the barn to his hay bed. Portia went to the royal chambers and Skylar returned to the kitchen. Tomorrow would just have to play out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The Elders examined the book. They think that they found the demon who's behind this. He's called Xerxes, but he rarely comes out of hiding. He was condemned by the source when he fell in love with a witch."
Paige elbowed Phoebe lightly in the side. Phoebe knew all about demon lovers. "Well, let's get the book and look for him," Phoebe said grabbing Paige by the arm.
"And let me have that book, Leo. We're going to see if anything else is changed in the story." Leo handed Piper the book as she and Patrice sat down. The book was already opened to the correct page, it was only a matter of searching each page carefully. Piper knew this book like the back of her hand. It had been Prue's and they always used to read it. "I'll read, you look at the pictures," she said to Patrice as they both started looking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun rose and sent floods of light into Portia's room. She hadn't slept at all, the fact that she was going to get a three-day nap already disturbed her. Aggie had already come in and dressed her, so she had her best royal gown on. A beautiful blue fitted dress and a golden crown. She examined herself in the mirror, or rather she examined Beauty. Hair was shiny and clean. Her cheeks had been pinched so hard by Aggie that they ached, but she looked flush. The crown was everything she had ever imagined and on Beauty's golden hair it looked like a natural extension of her body. Portia had never felt so beautiful in her entire life. She was to be at breakfast in a half an hour. Her shoes were extremely painful. Portia had no idea how she was going to get from her bedroom to the dining hall.
The same butler arrived from the previous day to escort her to breakfast. "How are you faring my child?"
"I am in good spirits, thank you." Portia had no clue where this language was coming from. Obviously the true Aurora was still present.
"And today you are a woman, your father will name your husband today." Portia didn't answer. She felt bad for Aurora, married at 16. My how society has progressed. "The Prince of the kingdom to the east seems to have won your father's favor. He is a handsome young man. He will be here today." She rolled her eyes. Were these people completely clueless? I'm not going to marry him, some other Prince is going to rescue me.
She quickly thought of the Prince and wondered how he would know that she would need to be kissed in three days. Hopefully her family would save her before she got married.
They reached the dining hall and the butler left Portia after seating her besides her father. "My child, happy birthday." He kissed her on the forehead.
"Thank you my father." Her mother opened her arms and embraced Portia as well. Portia examined the Queen closer. Beauty looked a lot like her, she was beautiful.
"Tonight, the whole kingdom will rejoice after the setting of the sun," the King flamboyantly stated. "Prepare a feast fit for a King and a court of a thousand.
The number surprised Portia, a thousand people would fall asleep with her tonight. At the conclusion of breakfast, she was able to speak to Skylar and all she was able to say was, "Ask Angeline about my Prince."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sisters had found their entry about Xerxes. Leo was right, he was a pacifist demon, not really into killing witches. They decided to summon him anyway, to find out what was up.
"We might as well get it over with," Paige stated. She hated dreaming up spells, she could only come up with haikus.
Phoebe sighed and started rhyming. "A demon we seek, a mystery we must solve, Xerxes we summon, to find who is involved." The spell was iffy, but no sooner than she finished the last sentence a very handsome man appeared.
"No, please no more witches!" Xerxes yelled. "Why do you plague me?"
"We need to find out some information, now if you cooperate, we won't vanquish you."
"Please, it's the best thing that you could do. My heart was broken long ago. I'll help you, but put me out of my misery. What do you want to know?"
"Our children are trapped in a fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty to be exact, and we were led to believe that you put them there," Phoebe said.
He laughed, "What?! Me! That story plagues me, my beloved is Beauty."
"Wait," Paige interrupted, "I thought you said that your love was a witch."
"No, she was CURSED by a evil witch. I fell in love with Beauty."
"So, that story is true?" Patrice asked.
"Of course, all those stories are true, it's just modern people don't believe them."
"Well, maybe we can help each other out. If you help us get our kids back, than we'll help you get your love back."
Xerxes didn't say a thing, he was silent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nearing sunset and the celebration was in full swing. Portia's betrothal was just about to be announced. The king rose from his seat. "My friends, my only child, my beautiful daughter Aurora will be getting married in the near future. Tonight I would like to honor her and her future husband, Prince Joseph." The King called the young man over to the table and beckoned Portia to stand. The Prince approached them. He was quite handsome. He had fair skin and deep brown eyes and was buff. Portia would have had no problem being married to him.
Suddenly, Portia felt a strong beckoning to leave the room. She excused herself and followed an eerie sound up into one of the turrets of the castle. There an old woman sat sewing some cloth on a spinning wheel. Now Portia had no control of her thoughts or body, it was all up to the Princess Aurora.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Phoebe stood next to Piper as Xerxes took their hands and said a spell. "Allow the written to become real once again, to a sleeping Princess and a faraway land, our mission is simple, no changes we make, we want to restore the order that many forsake." A magnificent light emanated from the book on the floor. Quickly Paige and Patrice grabbed his hands and they all disappeared into the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Portia's hand reached out to touch the spindle, though she was trying her best to control her actions, this fatal move she could not stop. A shooting pain pierced her finger and the world around her slowly went black. "Angeline..." she said as she hit the floor.
The woman who had been at the spinning wheel cackled and turned into the warlock. He saw the shimmery lights of the fairy and shimmered out.
Angeline saw Portia lying there and knew her duty. She created a bed out of magic and placed Portia on it, covering her up with a light silk sheet. A red rose was placed in her hands as the fairy went to put the kingdom to rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where in the hell are we?" Piper asked when they appeared in fine medieval linens in a grand hall.
"The royal palace, we need to get out of here! The Princess has met her fate." Motioning to a hidden door in the stone, the girls followed Xerxes behind a hidden door into a corridor. "The good fairy Angeline will be putting the kingdom to sleep for a hundred years, we must avoid that." He peeked out the door and saw the fairy appear. He ducked behind the door as the fairy put the King and Queen to sleep. After putting the rest of the room to sleep she left, but there was one person who was still awake, a servant girl. "Come," he told the girls and they followed him out. He approached the servant girl.
"Great, now Portia's taking a nap, and I have no clue where Wyatt is! He wasn't at the stables." Skylar began to pace around when a man approached her.
She screamed, everyone was supposed to be sleeping. The man grabbed her, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to save my cousin if that's alright with you!" She yelled in his face, but saw four other people move behind him. Her mother came up to her.
"Skylar! I didn't think that I'd ever find you."
"Mom, I'm so glad to see you," she hugged Phoebe hard and gave each of her Aunt's a hug as well.
Patrice spoke first, "Do you know where Portia is?"
"You're starring in her fairy tale, but I believe she's sleeping right now." Patrice got sick to her stomach.
"You mean, Portia is Princess Aurora?" Piper asked. "And what about Wyatt?"
"He's a stable boy right now, Portia got lucky...well...anyway, umm we got the fairy to shorten the time she's going to sleep. Only three days now."
"I know how to wake her up, but we have to let her sleep," Xerxes said. "The reason she sleeps for a hundred years is because I got kicked out of the story and it took me a hundred years to get back in. I kissed her and she woke up and there's the happy ending."
"Wait...you have to kiss my daughter?"
"Well, technically it's not your daughter, it's the Princess Aurora, they are just sharing a body. But if you wan t her to wake in three days I have to kiss her."
"Well, let's find her and then we can all have a happy ending." Phoebe said taking Skylar's arm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skylar led the troop out of the castle and to the stables. From outside, the sound of a belt slashing and screams could be heard. Skylar quickened her pace; she had heard that Master Hahn was mean as hell when he was drunk. Coming around the corner of the stable, Piper through her hands up in the air as Wyatt was over this man's knee being beat.
She rushed up to him. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Oh, he's just beating me because I dropped a horseshoe from the fire on his foot. It really was an accident and then I couldn't get away from him." Piper hugged him close.
"How did you get here?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, that's what we'd like to know. I just woke up here," suddenly Xerxes pulled them into a stable as Angeline came by to put the harsh Hahn to sleep. She missed them.
After she left they came out. "Okay, well, let's go get Portia out." Skylar said hurrying to the door of the barn.
"Wait! What about the Prince?"
"We've got him right here!" Piper replied. "Wyatt, meet Xerxes." The two shook hands and the group left the stable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They climbed the thousand stairs that led to the uppermost turret of the castle. The fairy hadn't made the forest of thorns grow, so the turret was easy to access.
Portia lay on the bed; she looked like a woman beyond her actual years. The blonde hair of the beautiful Aurora replaced her own chestnut hair. When they reached the top, they all gasped. Never had Portia looked so serene and beautiful. The family all saw Portia, but Xerxes only saw Aurora. Her skin glowed like he had never seen her before and her lips were red as blood.
"Royalty suits her," Paige said. "She's beautiful."
"What can I say, she looks like her Aunt." Portia did look like Phoebe. They were almost identical. Bane had described their features appropriately when he said that Portia could have been Phoebe's daughter.
Xerxes was nervous to kiss his beloved with all these people around, considering that another was inhabiting her body. "What are you waiting for?" Patrice asked him. Even though she wasn't too keen on him kissing her daughter, it was the only was she was going to wake up.
Slowly he kneeled besides the bed and took of his hat. He leaned in and planted a tender kiss on Aurora's blood-red lips.
Portia's eyes fluttered open. Before her stood a man that was more handsome than the Prince Joseph. She hadn't been asleep that long, but it had felt like an eternity. As she looked around she saw her mom and her Aunts. Slowly she sat up and her mother ran to her. "Hi mom," she said.
"Hi sunny. My you had me worried."
"Mom, I'm a Princess okay? I had tons of people to take care of me." She laughed and then looked at Xerxes. "And who is this hunk of man?" Her mom glared at her. "Just kidding mom. HI, my name's Portia."
"I'm Xerxes." He rose and bowed to her. She had become accustomed to this behavior.
"Portia, sweetie, we need to get you out of her body and into your own. Same with the rest of you," Piper said.
The three of the body switchers nodded their approval, and Phoebe, who had just made up the incantation in her head started to speak.
"A magic spell we wish undone, a mixing of souls through time. Unmix the souls and return them to their rightful place, to their bodies, make no mistake."
Suddenly the group of three doubled and standing next to Portia stood a beautiful Princess, next to Wyatt a young stable boy and next to Skylar a pretty young kitchen girl.
Aurora saw Xerxes and ran into his arms. They kissed each other for a long time. The stable boy and the kitchen girl quickly exited, trying to make sense of what happened. Aurora was the proper Princess and spoke to the strangers. "Thank you, though I know not who you are, you brought me my true love and broke the curse." She turned to Portia. "And you, you are a truly beautiful person, one who is as worthy of the title of Princess as myself. Again, I thank you all." She curtseyed and took Xerxes hand. He waved to them as they exited the turret.
"Great, how do we get out of here?" Paige asked.
"Angeline!" Skylar, Wyatt and Portia answered in unison.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Allow the real to return to the written, we restored the order and now seek our own time, to the Halliwell Manor in the flash of an eye!" Phoebe chanted as the group held hands and they disappeared in the same light that they arrived in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The group of Halliwell's now complete appeared back in the living room of the Manor. Everyone was happy that the drama was over. "That was a lot of fun!" Portia shouted as she plopped on the couch.
"Fun for who? You were a Princess, me, I got beat by some drunken ogre!" Portia and Skylar laughed at him.
"Well, at least everything is back to normal," Piper said as Leo orbed in. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Where have you been? You've been gone for four days. Prue's coming home today!"
The sisters all looked at each other in disbelief, time passed differently in fairy tales. "Oh, we've been Once Upon A Dream," Piper replied as they heard keys in the door.
"We're home!" Prue yelled from the foyer. She walked into the living room and into the arms of her sisters.
"How was your honeymoon?" Paige asked.
"Great without any magical disturbances." Prue saw the look on her sister's faces and the smile that spread across Portia's, and then she noticed a shiny gold crown on Portia's head. "Alright, what happened and what is on your head?"
Portia reached up and pulled the crown off her head. "I guess I get to keep a little memento of my time as a Princess. I know that will never happen again!"
Everyone sat down and told Prue and Bane of all the happenings that took place while they were gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, they still have no idea who put them in that story, though it did not weaken the boy, Oracle."
"Give him time, Master, and he will crumble. All things that seem strong eventually do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (About four months later)
The Halliwells minus Phoebe and Jason sat nervously in the waiting room. Phoebe had gone into labor this morning, and it was already late afternoon. They hadn't heard from Jason or the doctor.
"I hope mom's okay," Skylar said as Piper hugged her. Pipers own belly was protruding now.
"Your mom is going to be fine, she's a strong woman," Piper said comforting the eleven year old. SKylar understood the birds and the bees, but she had never heard of such a long childbirth. She pulled out of Piper's arms and sat down by Portia and Wyatt, who were playing rummy with a deck of cards that Paige had called for.
After three games of rummy, the announcement finally came, Phoebe had had a little girl, and both of them were fine. The doctor informed them that the baby had been breech, so it took longer to position the baby for a safe delivery.
"Thank God," Piper exclaimed.
"When can we see them?" An excited Skylar asked.
"In a few minutes, they're on their way to the room. It's 330W on the third floor."
"Thank you doctor," Leo said standing up and shaking his hand. The doctor didn't say anything about strange occurrences in the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey," Patrice whispered as she entered the room with the Halliwell gang close behind. They walked in the room and crowded around the little bed where Phoebe was holding her baby girl.
"What did you decide to name her?" Portia asked. She loved babies.
"Aislinn Elise Halliwell. Aislinn, I want you to meet your big sister Skylar and your Aunties Piper, Paige, Patrice and Prue, and your cousins Wyatt and Portia, and Uncle Leo, and Uncle John." The baby started to fuss. "I know, that's a lot of people, huh?" The group laughed. Aislinn was as sweet as could be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three days later, Phoebe and Jason brought little Aislinn home. She was a precious child, she hardly ever cried at night, and giggled at everyone.
Skylar was so happy about her baby sister. Each day when Jason would come home she'd give him the update of what Aislinn did.
Phoebe couldn't be happier, she had her daughters, and a husband who loved her. Piper was happy to. This pregnancy was less to worry about than the first.
Wyatt's demeanor was beginning to change. He was happy about the babies, but something was changing...something magical. But he wasn't quite as intuitive as his Aunt Phoebe, so he just left it alone.
Portia sat in the kitchen with her Aunt Prue. She had waited to give her her wedding present until after. Prue opened the envelope and pulled out the stationary. She began to read and when she finished, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Prue reached over to give Portia a hug. "You are too many things, little girl." Portia smiled.
"You know," she said to herself, "a lot has happened over the year. I found a family, I've gotten to know my mom and my dad. Aunt Prue got married to the man of her dreams, I got sucked into a story just by reading a book, and Aunt Phoebe had a baby, and Aunt Piper has one on the way." She picked up the rattle that lay on the counter next to a book on parenting. Suddenly the doorbell rang, she knew it was her mom. "Huh, a bell, book and rattle. Kind of like that old story...I guess everything's a story, one giant fairy tale."
FIN