Authors Note: Many, many thanks go to NeptuneCharm47, kcbelles, Mony19, will. you. say. ok and MAD DOGG for reviewing the second chapter. I love getting feedback! Here's the third chapter…
Chapter Three: Trying to Understand
There were many tears around the Halliwell living room that day, yet these tears were no longer tears of grief, but ones of gratitude.
"I just can't believe it…" Phoebe said, staring in awe at her oldest sister. "After all these years, now you're back? Out of nowhere? I'm, I'm shocked… and relieved, and amazed." Phoebe shook her head, and looked between her three beloved sisters.
Piper followed on after Phoebe, as she herself was wondering much the same thing. "Why now Prue? I mean, we cast spell after spell trying to bring you back… We begged them to let you return to us. And, and, now… we suddenly have you back, why now? Did the elders finally decide to do something decent?" Piper declared, flinging her arms about around her.
Henry flinched away, he'd seen those hands in action, and as much as he knew after ten years Piper had very good control over her powers, it never hurt to be cautious, especially when the sisters were so emotional.
"Honey, be careful…" Leo said warily, glancing up to the ceiling meaningfully.
"You're a mortal now honey," Piper said smiling at her husband. "They can't take you away from me anymore." The couple looked at each other, and smiled, remembering the many past hardships.
"Woah, wait…" Prue said. "You're mortal Leo? Since when?" Prue said, as she glanced around at the family she hadn't seen in years, what had she missed out on?
"Oh you know," Leo said. "After Wyatt and Chris were born… But quite a while before our beautiful baby girl." Leo said, bobbing baby Prudence Melinda up and down gently as he made faces at his daughter.
Prue really couldn't get her mind around it all; she plonked herself wearily down onto the couch. "Wow Piper, three kids." She smiled at her little sister. "You sure have been busy."
Piper grinned back, an arm around each of her sons. "I think it's about time we explained everything that's gone on in the past seven years." Prue nodded; relieved that she was finally going to get the answers she'd been begging the elders to give her for years.
"So, you know about me then?" Paige asked. "About Sam, mom's whitelighter being my dad? And how I found Piper and Phoebe soon after you- well, after you died?" It felt weird talking to Prue about her death, Paige thought as she looked at her eldest sister. Suddenly, Paige realised she did resemble this woman she'd never known quite a lot. The dark brown hair, so dark it was nearly black, the high cheek bones… Paige smiled, and thought to herself I think I can get used to this, to knowing Prue, to this new power of four thing…
Prue smiled at her youngest sister. "Yeah, grams and mom told me about you when I was, you know, up there, before I was given my whitelighter duties."
"So…" Paige said slowly, "What's it like 'up there' after the whole dying thing." Paige asked.
"Nice try sis," Prue said smirking. "Can't answer though." Prue paused, her face growing more serious. "Please, tell me about everything, I've been dying to know for so long."
Piper, Phoebe and Paige looked between each other and began their story, of discovering Paige, of Phoebe marrying Cole and of all the hardships between them, of Piper and Leo's obstacles that they fought through together, of the various earth-shattering demon battles, of the birth of Piper and Leo' two beautiful boys, of losing adult Chris, of the avatars, of Paige meeting Henry and Phoebe meeting Coop and both their marriages. And, finally, the birth of Prudence Melinda, the third child born of the Charmed Ones.
Piper looked at Prue, "it can't be a coincidence." She said, her arms around her baby daughter. "The day I give birth to my daughter named after you, you come back into the world, and you come back to us. After all these years, I think we can recognise when there's a higher power at work."
Prue nodded, "you must be right, after all, that was one of the first things we learnt as witches, remember? There are no coincidences."
"Everything happens for a reason." Wyatt said quietly, the sisters smiled down at the small boy, as he looked up smiling at his mother and aunts.
"I don't know much, but I'll tell you what the elders told me." Prue said, as her hand absent-mindedly stroked her nephew's head.
"The elders said that it was time, that the third child had been born and the awakening had begun. I was told it was time to join my sisters once more, and that it was time to fulfil my new destiny." Prue paused, as she tried once more to get her head around the limited information they had.
Pure looked back up at her sisters and begun to speak once more. "So, what we know is that the birth of your daughter Piper, triggered the beginning of some 'awakening.'"
"And this awakening," Phoebe continued, "will bring about yet another destiny, and if it involves you Prue, then it probably involves all four of us."
The four sisters looked between each other nodding, as the rest of the family sat back and watched the Charmed Ones do what they did best, work as both sisters and witches.
"So the question is," Piper said. "What is this awakening, and what is our new destiny?"
Silence fell, as each sister sat perplexed, unsure of how to continue. Then, suddenly, Paige looked up and smiled.
"How are we supposed to solve a magical conundrum without the assistance of family's book?" Paige smiled and held her hands out in front of her. "Book of Shadows!"
The sisters crowded around Paige as they flipped through the book rapidly. "Hey guys," Prue said smiling, "Remember, there is a quicker
way at doing this."
"The Awakening, cross reference the Charmed Ones and umm, destiny?" Prue said shrugging, holding her hands over the book. The pages began to flip backwards and forwards before settling open on a page with 'The Awakening' written elaborately across the top of the entry.
"The Awakening" Phoebe read "refers to a time in history when the status of good and evil are severely altered. This is often caused by a rising source of a new powerful evil creature, race or faction. Good magic releases an equal force of good to keep the grand design in balance. Inevitably, these two new forces will meet at some stage in time to battle until one of the forces are extinguished from existence.
Ultimately, such a battle results in a new era for magic, depending on the conqueror in the battle; the new era will either be one of light magic, or one of dark."
Phoebe swallowed, and looked up at her sisters. "Ok," she said. "It looks like we've been given Prue to help combat an evil so powerful that Three Charmed Ones aren't strong enough to defeat."
"But… " Paige said, "I thought the Power of Three was the most powerful source of good magic. Period." At her words, the book flipped open to the very beginning of the book.
"Hey," Phoebe said smiling, "I remember reading this before we had our powers… I spoke the incantation and brought our powers back, and you guys," she said looking at Piper and Prue, "were furious with me."
Paige smiled, she could picture her sisters arguing about becoming witches.
"Wait," Prue said, pointing at a line of writing in the Book of Shadows. "Look, the Book says the most powerful force of good magic is the Charmed Ones, right?"
"Well yeah," Piper said. "But of course we know that."
Prue smiled, "yes, but you all agree that each of us is a Charmed One, yes?"
"Yeah." Each of her sisters replied simultaneously as Prue's grin grew. "And yet, there's four of us, isn't there? So, how about we remain the Charmed Ones… but, we just alter the bit where it refers to 'the power of three.'"
Paige looked up at her eldest sister and smiled. "And instead we become the Power of Four." Paige nodded.
"Phoebe cocked her head to one side, "The Power of Four… Forever More… It kind of has a ring to it doesn't it?"
"Hey look," Piper said, looking back down at the book. "There's an activation spell for the force of good of the awakening."
"But we already have our powers…" Paige said looking confused. "Wait, do you still have your powers Prue?"
Prue nodded, "yeah, I've got my Charmed powers as well as my whitelighter powers."
"Well, should we give the spell a shot anyway?" said Phoebe. "It can't hurt can it?"
And so, the four sisters joined hands, looked down at the book and began to recite the spell.
"We call upon the magic of the light,
We call upon our ancestor's strength and might.
In this time of war
We need the powers of none before
Let the powers of warriors forsaken,
Unearth to be reawakened
Bring to us the strength we require
Of earth, wind, water and fire."
Silence fell, and nothing seemed to change. Yet, unknown to the Halliwells, powers much deeper than they'd ever come across before, began to surface.
Authors Note: Thanks so much for reading! I really love feedback; constructive criticism is welcome as well! So please review, they really make my day! xx