Almonds and Cherries
For Wisdom and Divination
"You think this will be it?" Melinda asked Henry and Paige as she helped Henry with the cleaning as Paige drew on the triquetra. "Just walking right through after some spell?"
"It's worked before," Paige said, not feeling very much like talking – like changing the future.
"Yeah, but… what if us, me and Prue's being here is something bigger – something that is meant for you, Phoebe and Billie."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Paige said, her voice almost monotonic, making Henry curious as to what she was avoiding.
"I'd like to know," Henry said, as he walked toward Paige, still cleaning. "Why these things happen – are they just that random, or does your life have an actual purpose?"
Paige, now a little pissed, with fire burning in her eyes, stopped drawing and darted her eyes on Henry.
"What does that mean?" She demanded of him, claiming her reigning title of Butch Matthews – Halliwell, in Henry's mind.
"All of these occurrences, these demons, life or death, apocalypitcal, ugh, it's all… it feels random to me, just… like you could deal without it." He explained, sitting on the couch, now.
"It's not like I asked for it," Paige reminded him, her hands on her hips as she cocked her head to the right and the sound of her voice actually came back.
"I know that, Paige," Henry said from his post. "It's just… I know and I feel that our relationship is real – that it was set in destiny, but… if you weren't a witch, would we still have met? And how?"
"Henry…" Paige said as she walked over and sat next to him on the couch. "I love you, and… I don't know the answer to that, but I bet in whatever other worlds out there, you would be happy with your life," and with her hands on his face, she leaned in forward and said, "because I wouldn't let you be anything less," and kissed him.
Melinda just stood there, waiting, as if she would ever need to tell them anything of their future – well, not tonight.
As Prue walked outside, Leo was just walking in, as if he was waiting to get back inside to Piper ever since he stepped outside. Such a loyal, loving husband, Prue thought to her with a smile and then saw her mother surrounded by Billie and Coop, looking all sad and devastated, almost weakened, as if anything could weaken a crone like her. Coop looked up just in time to see Prue exit the house, and tapped Billie on the shoulder once, making her look over and they both left after a sentimental moment between them and Phoebe and a weird glance with Prue and Billie occurred before it was just Prue and Phoebe outside.
The night was dark, and that surprised Prue – it was already night time.
The time was quiet, and that scared the both of them. Prue, ready to leave, turned on her heel to get out of there, and Phoebe didn't stop her. Prue, ready to explode, after so much imploding, turned around and started walking towards Phoebe, breaking the distance between them.
Her entire body fuming flames and energy, Prue stood right in front of Phoebe, and that worried Phoebe, that her own daughter could hold so much power and hatred… for her.
"Have something you gotta say?" Prue asked, that certain teen – sarcastic edge in her voice, and in her eyes, setting down to her lips…
"Why do you hate me?" Phoebe asked, her eyes getting wet at asking her this.
"I – I –"Prue was flustered now, because Phoebe never asked her that. Phoebe never really asked her anything in her life, she always just sported her view, and that gave Prue words to say. "You never ask me anything, about what I want or where I want to go, or what I even want to do with my life! It's like I'm some sad, pathetic, fan of yours asking for advice, when I don't want it! Don't you understand? I need a mother, not Ask Phoebe," she said, full mockery in her voice. "A mother would be nice, some understanding not orders and demands. I have my own life – something that I would like to have part in, but what the hell?" She mused, her hands on her hips now as she straightened her back. "If you had it your way, we'd be the same, me, Penny and Josie, we'd all be living together until we were in our thirties."
"I'm sorry," Phoebe said after a while of silence, giving relief to Prue. She didn't like waiting for an answer, especially in silence. She felt tested. Trapped.
"For what?" Prue eventually asked, she wasn't used to hearing – she'd never heard her mother say that she was sorry, and she wanted to know what she was sorry for, to document it in the pages.
"That I'm a horrible mother," Phoebe said, her eyes somewhere else…
"Your –" Prue didn't want to see her mom like this, she wanted to see her hit by a trunk, or left by her husband, because he was way too good for her, in Prue's opinion, but she didn't like seeing her mother weak. She wasn't used to this. To any of this. "It's just… me," she admitted, joining the club that everyone else was subscribing to on Facebook. "I just want my freedom, I want – I don't want anything, really. It'd just be nice to get to know you, but – you're always so cold, like some corpse."
Phoebe immediately just thought of her mother.
"Maybe I'm just trying to save you – you know, I lost my mother when I was young and… too early, trust me, it's a miracle I've lived to see you turn eighteen."
"It'll be a miracle if you see me off to prom," Prue told her, honestly.
All Phoebe knew to do was give her a hug, the perfect thing to do at the time.