Chapter 6 – Meeting the Elders
The two elders walked away leaving mom and me behind
"Do you have any idea what just happened?"
I asked mom who shook her head.
"Come on, my class is ready to show their costumes"
Laughing she pulled me by the hand down a maze and arriving to a class filled with tiny kids, floating objects around, and laughter.
"Hello miss Renee"
Twenty five voices greeted making mom smile immediately.
"Hello guys. This is my daughter Bella. She wanted to see our costumes"
"Hello miss Bella"
"Hi"
I smiled at them. I was hard to remain upset around all those kids. One by one, the tiny kids would show what powers and magic they knew and talk about their costumes. They had even make a costume for mom as a gift only she wasn't allowed to wear it and passed it on to me. I glared at her for a bit but the funny and joyous mood had me agreeing to the strange white dress, with flowers, glitter, color patches, more glitter and wings.
Just when I thought standing out beat being 18 and dressed as an angel!
A tingle was heard and and a letter appeared on mom's desk above the glitter. Mom picked it up and her happy mood turned somber
"Bella you're summoned"
"Summoned where?"
"Up there"
She pointed upstairs.
"I don't suppose there is another floor... is there?"
Mom shook her head fighting a smirk. Oh dear... I'm being summoned to the head master's office in a school I don't even attend!
"How do I get there?"
A young man fetched me (all I missed is the ball and a tail) and took me 'up there'. I wanted to not feel threatened by it and be able to say it's not much. Only it is!
'Up there' is literally up there. The ground was a cloud, the walls were clouds and the place was serene... somehow. In a large 'room' there were a large table and people clad in white, silver or gold robes every single one staring at me and my mocking wings?
"5th grade"
I felt the need to explain.
No one smiled.
I tried not gulp.
And failed
"Take a seat miss swan"
One of the gold robes ordered. In front of me appeared a chair also made out of clouds. I sat down. To my right the four Halliwell sisters, or should I say 'the Charmed Ones and the Spare' were sitting in identical chairs.
"You were called today because of your prophesized births. The Charmed ones have fulfilled theirs but left no female descendants to pick the mantle"
Piper grumbled something under her breath. Prue elbowed her.
"And miss swan has already been marked"
Marked?
"There are only two ways now ladies"
"Which are?"
Prue asked.
"The Charmed ones will perish or become white lighters, live in the manor and pass their powers on"
"White lighter"
Paige agreed immediately. Makes sense, she already is a half white lighter.
"If it means stay with my husband and kids, white lighter"
Piper chose.
"White lighter. I've been dead too long"
Prue declared, her eyes gleaming making an African American woman in a silver robe lower her face in shame.
"White lighter"
Phoebe agreed with her sisters.
"If you take this path, your powers will pass down on another witch and your sons will be rendered powerless until they are ready to handle their powers"
A blond woman in a gold robe informed them. Her eyes were accusatory when she said they'd strip piper's kids' powers. Leo (who is also Piper's husband) looked resigned. Is it me or did his eyes flicker to me? The Q look-a-like smiled
"Miss Swan, you were chosen as the Source's bride when you were born"
My eyes bugged out of their sockets. The Halliwell gasped.
"By whom?"
I stuttered.
"The Source himself"
"But we vanquished him"
Paige shouted
"Many times"
Piper joined her red headed sister.
"It doesn't matter. There will always be a Source of all evil. You just vanquished the more recent one."
A brunette Elder dismissed the sisters.
"You will either join him with your own free will or embrace your powers and fight it"
"I choose not. I'm a big fan of free will"
My mouth spoke the words without my brain registering them. Was I given truth serum in my morning coffee? Leo smiled.
"There is only one way for that to happen"
"What is it?"
"To accept as many good powers as possible. Starting with the Power of three"
I blinked. My eyes traveled to the four shell shocked sisters.
"Th... The power of three?"
I muttered my throat suddenly dry. All eyes were on me. Panicked I shook my head 'no' in disbelief
"Is this some kind of a joke? Just because we don't like you.."
Piper exclaimed throwing her hands in the air.
"Piper stops!"
Prue turned to her sister
"How can you say that Prue?"
Piper asked her sister
"How can I say that? I raised you Piper and I've watched over you for years. Do you remember when we went to the future? Do you remember how self centered we were? How the book was filled with personal gain spells and we vowed we would never do it? If I go through the book now, how many spells like that will I find?"
"But they took you..."
Piper stomped her foot on the cloudy ground like a brat
"It was my time to die piper. It wasn't your fault, it wasn't Leo's, it wasn't Phoebe's or even Cole's. It was just my time. Using my death as an excuse only shows why the situation is what it is"
Prue fired back. Paige kept her mouth shut as if Prue wasn't referring to her. Piper had set her mouth in angry snarl refusing to back down and only phoebe sighed sadly
"We lost our way"
She spoke aloud realizing the truth in her oldest sister's words. Prue nodded.
"Is it up to us or Bella if she will access the power of three?"
"Both"
The blond Elder said softly in a maternal tone.
"I say 'yes'. As long as we train her"
Prue smiled at me.
"Yes. I saw it"
Phoebe added softly. She sounded like Alice only I didn't get the selfish tingle I always felt coming from the pixie vampire when she uttered those words
"Yeah, whatever"
Paige shrugged. She had confided in me that she never felt as a charmed one. Sure she had more use in her whitelighter powers but she somehow couldn't connect to the other two Halliwell well and mostly felt like a tool to access the power of three.
"Piper?"
Leo asked his wife who had a betrayed look in her eyes.
"No! It was our legacy to become the charmed ones"
She has a point. A tall burly dark skinned man handed her what looked like a giant drop of water.
"Look in it and see your life"
He dictated. Piper touched it and her eyes fell backwards, like Alice's when she gets a vision. I don't know what she saw but her eyes were teary and she looked small, young and scared when the show was over
"Yes"
She agreed, her eyes not meeting mine, or anyone else's. Suddenly she looked young yet old at the same time, tired but relaxed. Like someone lifted a burden off her shoulders. All eyes came back on me.
"Yes"
I decided and the burden sat on my shoulders.
"Here we go then"
The head elder in his golden robe handed a rolled parchment to me. It unrolled on his own
"Read it. Out loud"
"Powers of the Halliwells' rise,
Course unseen across the skies,
Come to me who calls you near,
Come to me and settle here"
Six small round balls of light flew out of the four sisters chests, Prue's and Paige's became one, flew in the air and came to me entering my chest. I gasped feeling like someone punched me in the solar plexus and needed to take a few deep breaths before I could find a resemblance of balance again
"Welcome to the world miss Swan"