Frightening Little Princess

Summary: The Ipswich Covenant isn't the only power around. A powerful friend of the families returns to Ipswich at the request of her grandmother, who fears for her life. But returning to Ipswich makes things worse and puts them all at risk. Sometimes the only way to save the ones you love is to sacrifice everything, including your life. TylerOC.

Disclaimer: Yeah… I own nothing. Damn.

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A/N: Thanks to S K B C, xxkpxx, and gxaxbxbxy!

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The first week of classes at Spencer had been exactly as Raven thought they would be. Essentially, it was easy to reintegrate herself back into the social scene... It helped that she had come back so much before moving back. Everyone knew who she was, what she looked like, and who she was bound to hang out with. Nothing was unexpected... At least, mostly. Some jealous people didn't like the attention she gave Cordelia Verity, who was supposedly just another freshman. Those were few and far between, however, and they were quickly silenced by others who knew how close Cordy's and Raven's families were.

Raven truly hoped that she would somehow be able to bring the Verity's and the Families back together. The fact that no one really knew what Francis Danvers had done didn't sit well with her and she didn't want to be torn between friends. The beginning of what she hoped would bring them back together was Cordy's birthday present, a cell phone that Raven (with permission from Aggie) gave her in Choir, a class that she had with Caleb as well.

In all honesty, Raven was particularly happy with the way her schedule worked out. U.S. History with all four of the boys and Lorelei (and, unfortunately, Kira and Aaron as well, but she made sure to sit away from them); Calculus with Lorelei, Tyler, and Caleb, English with Lorelei, the boys, and Sarah and Kate; P.E. with Lorelei, Sarah, and Kate; Advanced Biology with Pogue and Tyler; AP Spanish with Reid and Lorelei; and Choir with Caleb and Cordy. Though she didn't have all of her classes with Lorelei, Raven was glad that Lorelei had someone she knew in all of her classes, particularly when Raven had Choir. At that time, Lorelei had AP Studio Art with Reid (who was a fantastic artist despite what one might think when they first meet him).

But now that the first week back was over and the boys were off to practice, Raven and Lorelei relaxed in Kate and Sarah's room before heading out to Nicky's, "I knew you didn't have a cousin... You would have mentioned it before. Why did...?"

"Kate, we were in a public place. I couldn't exactly tell you everything... And please keep your voice down, these walls are really thin." Raven replied.

"Sorry." Kate said, "I just... This is a lot to take in in such a short amount of time."

"Trust me, I get that, but it's something that is going to be a lot easier to take in if you take the time to work through it and not bite off more than you can handle... You have a lot of questions that you have to ask and, honestly, sometimes it is way better to listen." Kate nodded and Raven continued, "Just relax. Everything will be fine."

Lorelei seemingly was staring into space, something that Raven could tell was unnerving to Kate and Sarah. Lorelei had a tendency to not blink when she stared into space. Unlike humans, Ancients only blinked because they wanted to, not because they needed to. Lorelei hadn't blinked in nearly five minutes.

"Lorelei?" Raven asked, "Lorelei?" Lorelei remained motionless, "Lorelei! Wake up!"

Snapping back to reality, Lorelei gazed at Raven, "What?"

"You were really spaced." Raven replied, "You weren't blinking."

Lorelei stared at her for a moment, "Sorry. I was concentrating."

"On?" Sarah asked.

"Reid." Lorelei stated simply.

"What?" Raven asked, quite perturbed. She, Sarah, and Kate shared confused glances.

Lorelei was confused at their confusion, "We have to do most of our major projects for AP Studio with a partner starting next week. I'm hoping that if I concentrate hard on Reid, he'll end up being my partner. I don't want to work with someone I don't know."

"You realize that the logic behind that is nil, right?" Raven asked. Lorelei nodded, "Just checking."

"So…" Sarah said after a moment's pause, "What exactly do you know about what happened before you came back?" Her voice lowered as she spoke. It was clear that Kate was uncomfortable for some reason; a reason that Raven couldn't exactly place.

"Everything. At least, everything according to Caleb." Raven replied, shuttering, "I cannot believe that the fucking Putnam line showed back up after so long. Ugh…" She shuttered again.

Hesitantly, Sarah said, "You seem to hate them more than the boys do." Raven raised her eyebrows, as if asking for Sarah's point, "I didn't even think that was possible. Why do you hate them so much?"

Raven was quiet. Lorelei, not knowing what else to do, spoke up, "It's a personal story." She had been told the story after Raven called the Danvers' during the weekly dinner. Sarah clamed up immediately. That hadn't been Lorelei's intention but she would take it.

"It's okay Lorelei." Raven said, "John Putnam was never exactly fond of my ancestor,"

"Faith Lang," Kate interrupted, "Sorry… When I moved here my freshman year, I did a lot of research." Raven raised eyebrows again, "You know I'm a history buff."

Sighing, Raven continued, "Anyway, John avoided Faith as if his life depended on it. He never spoke to her, never made contact with her unless he had to. Then, after she gave birth to her daughter, he changed. Paid too much attention to her, to be honest."

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1692 -Ipswich Colony, Massachusetts

It had been easy to fool the citizens of Ipswich; they quickly believed the lies that the founding families told them about Faith. She was Grace Parry's cousin (there was a slight resemblance between them that allowed the lie to be legitimized, though Grace was brunette and Faith had red hair) who had been widowed soon after her marriage and, as such, had come to live with them for help in caring for her and her late husband's then unborn child. No one questioned the story.

Charlotte, Grace, Abby, and Anne had insisted on being with Faith when she gave birth. Isobel had assisted in the birth as the midwife –a woman in the city named Susannah Jones- had been unable to be there due to a late season snowstorm. Faith had thought that all the better. There was something off about Susannah Jones (though Faith could easily attribute that to paranoia; she'd been plenty paranoid since her husband's death) and she trusted Isobel wholly and completely.

It was because of Isobel that Faith had finally gained some semblance of control over her gifts and the reason that her daughter would be raised knowing what she was. About a week after coming to Ipswich, Faith accidentally shot a bolt of electricity out of her hand (it had almost hit John, thus adding to his dislike of the girl) in front of the Families, as well as Isobel and Jerome. Isobel became extremely excited and asked if Faith was a Universal Being. Faith was shocked to hear the name come out of the mouth of anyone other than her mother. She had always felt so alone in regards to her powers.

"You know what Universal Beings are?" She had asked, shocked.

"Yes, Miss." Isobel had replied. Then, very tentatively, as if worried that what she revealed next would anger Grace, "I… I am one."

Faith had begged Isobel to teach her what her own mother could not. She had begged Grace to allow Isobel to teach her and to not be angry with Isobel, who insisted that she only used her gifts when absolutely necessary and never against people. Grace, as well as the other wives, was more than thrilled that Faith would finally learn to control what scared her so much (particularly with a baby on the way) and they insisted to Isobel that there was nothing to be scared of and that no one was angry.

It had only occurred to her after her daughter was born, but Faith wouldn't have been surprised if Isobel had had something to do with that snowstorm. She knew exactly how Faith felt about Susannah Jones and, as Faith learned, was quite good at controlling weather. That was something else that Faith hadn't known before. Every Universal Being had one aspect of their gift that called to them, so to speak, and became their strongest attribute. Isobel's was weather control. Hers, she would eventually learn, was her ability to control fire. Isobel said that there was no discernable reason for why certain attributes chose certain Beings. Faith had an idea about why controlling fire chose her. It could only be the universe apologizing to her, giving her control of the element used to kill her husband and his family.

But that was the farthest thing from Faith's mind at the moment. She had just finished feeding her daughter, Eliza, who was quickly falling asleep. Eliza was such a beautiful and peaceful baby. Faith hoped that her calling would be something calm.

Humming gently, Faith walked over to the handmade crib that Lucas, Edwin, Oliver, and Paul had all helped make for her. She lowered Eliza slowly, making sure not to wake her angel. She made her way back to the chair next to the window in her room, picking up her knitting as she did so. Making herself comfortable, Faith continued on the knitting she had left behind to feed her daughter. She was knitting small baby booties, booties which would be far too small for Eliza. They were for Paul and Abby, who were the first of her new family to be expecting. Faith had a sneaking suspicion that Edwin and Anne were going to announce their own good news soon, so she was already planning on making more booties.

A light knock came on the door, causing Faith to look up, "Come on." She said quietly, placing her knitting in the small drawer next to her bed. John entered; he was the last person Faith expected to see, "John? What are you doing here?" She hadn't known what else to say. John had been extremely strange and she didn't know much about him. At first, he had wanted nothing to do with her. Then, he wouldn't stop staring at her. He never spoke to her, just stared.

"That isn't a pleasant greeting." John replied.

"I'm sorry," Faith replied, "I… What can I do for you?" She asked as she walked towards him.

He chuckled as he walked towards her. He opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it. In a flash, he slapped her as hard as he could across the face with the back of his hand. Faith was so shocked that she could only let out a squeak of a scream as she feel down on her bed, the taste of blood in her mouth. It quickly healed, but John was turning her over and straddling her waist.

"John?" She asked, trying and failing to keep the terror out of her voice, "What are you doing?"

"Well, I thought that that would be obvious." He said, tauntingly, "Now, shh! We wouldn't want to wake the baby." Faith whimpered a little, trying desperately to use her powers. She was shocked to find that, like that fateful night just months before, her powers weren't working, "Oh, what's wrong? You're powers aren't working?" He reached down the collar of his shirt and pulled out a chain with an amulet attached to it. Faith gasped, recognizing the amulet as a Baines amulet.

"How… Why…" He silenced her by grabbing her throat.

"Helpful, these." He said, "I had never heard of them before you mentioned them. You remember?" Faith nodded minutely, tears swelling in her eyes, "I had to know what they could do." The memories of the night her husband died rushed back into her memory. She knew that John wasn't going to let her go as easily as the witch hunters had dispatched her then family. He was also done talking. His eyes exuded evil as he pulled up her dress, ripping it as he did so. He tugged furiously at the fabric and Faith fought against him, trying ferociously to push him off of her. He beat her in the face, but she didn't give up. When she could no longer stand it, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. He smashed his fists into her face even faster, but she fought through the pain.

The fighting and screaming had awoken Eliza, who was crying in her crib. Her cries were so loud and clear, as if she too were trying to gain attention to help her mother. John almost had his pants off and Faith began fighting even harder, biting at the hands that were trying to smother her. Through the pain and the terror, she saw the door open behind John. Isobel entered, shocked. She grabbed the cast iron bed warmer from the fireplace and hit him on the back as hard as she could. He fell off of Faith, who clambered over the bed to Eliza.

"Get out!" Isobel shouted, brandishing the bed warmer at John.

"I will tell them what you did to me." John threatened in a low voice, "You will be whipped if you're lucky. If not…" He trailed off, looking to Faith, "Do you think that they will believe you over me? I have known these men my entire life. You have known them mere months."

Then, just as he was moving towards Isobel, the door opened again. Edwin, Lucas, Paul, and Oliver entered with a frazzled Grace and the jailer, Mr. Dewhurst. They stared in shock at the scene before them. A slave woman wielding a weapon at one of the most prominent men in the city, whose pants were around his ankles and whose face, neck, and hands were covered in bite marks and scratches.

"He was gonna do evil things to her!" Isobel cried, dropping the bed warmer and shielding Faith from John, "I had to stop him!" The group collectively looked to Faith, whose own face was bloodied and whose neck was bruised. Her dress was ripped and she was shaking.

"You monster!" Grace cried, racing past him to Faith, who was trying to calm her wailing daughter.

"John Putnam." Dewhurst said, "I have a warrant for your arrest," John growled, "for witchcraft." The men stiffened, showing that Dewhurst hadn't told them why he was looking for their friend.

"Ridiculous." Putnam shot back venomously.

"He has an amulet!" Faith cried, "Around his neck."

Oliver walked deathly slow towards John, reached down his shirt collar, and pulled out the Baines amulet, "Dewhurst,"

"Sir?"

"Get this barbarian OUT of my house!"

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Present Day- Ipswich, Massachusetts

There was very little that Reid Garwin had to complain about. Sure, his ascension was just under a month away and it scared the hell out of him, but he was perfectly content with the way that his life was going at the moment. With Raven back, he regained a partner in crime. He'd always had Tyler, of course, but Tyler was more of the conscience that he didn't listen to. Raven had always been willing to go along with his schemes, sometimes even beating his with one of her own.

That, however, wasn't the only thing.

"So," Antoinette said, pulling one of the mini deserts off of the platter that the waiter had placed in front of her, "What is this?"

Reid smiled. He had finally asked her out after seeing her in town and she had agreed, albeit hesitantly. However, she seemed to be having a good time, "That is an egg tart. Very popular in Asian cooking. The Portuguese have a variation, but this is closer to the Hong Kong variety."

With a half-smile, Antoinette took a bite of the tart. The look on her face told Reid that she enjoyed it immensely. After finishing the tart, Antoinette looked at him for a moment, "I think I get it."

"Get what?" Reid asked.

"Why you like taking out public school girls."

"I already told you." Reid said, "The first night we met. I said that public school girls were less drama than private school girls."

Shaking her head, Antoinette replied, "I know that's what you said. But that isn't the real reason, I'm sure. I think it's because you like to impress. Private school girls, for the most part, are harder to impress because they've seen more. Most public school girls don't get the same chances. Granted, I'm speaking generally, but you get the point."

"I can't just like girls who have less money than me because they seem nice?"

"Of course you can, but you seem to be having too much fun with spouting out random knowledge." Antoinette replied, "I can't help but think…" She was cut off by her phone vibrating in her purse, "Oh… Sorry, it's probably my brother. He'll freak if I don't get back to him."

"It's alright." Reid replied.

"Thanks." Antoinette said, pulling her phone out of her purse and reading the text, "Rocco… You moron." She muttered as she texted back. Putting the phone away, she looked back up at Reid, "Sorry, he's a little overprotective sometimes."

"It's alright." Reid said, "Was he the bodybuilder looking guy that I saw you with last week at the Clam Box?"

"That's Rocco." Antoinette sighed, "He's annoying as hell, but he's my brother and I love him. Besides, he's the only one I've got and…" She stopped short, realizing what she had just said. She immediately looked uncomfortable.

Reid stammered for a moment before saying, "You don't have to tell me."

"Thanks." Antoinette replied, "But it's okay, it's been a while. My parents died in a plane crash about six years ago. Rocco's been taking care of me ever since." Reid was silent but Antoinette could tell that he wanted to ask, "They were flying back from a trip to the Jamaica. We were living in North Dakota at the time, so they had a layover in Atlanta. According to official reports, the plane in Atlanta had some small hiccup or another but no one thought anything about it. Then the plane crashed, killing everyone on board. Then they thought about."

"I am so sorry." Reid replied.

"You didn't kill them," Antoinette said, "But thanks anyway." Reid smiled politely, not sure what else to do. He had only known one other person whose parents had died in such a way: Rae. Antoinette gave him a thankful smile back before leaning over the table and kissing him lightly on the lips. Reid smiled as she pulled back. A moment of silence fell over them, though not an awkward one. After that moment, Antoinette picked up another small desert and asked, "Okay, what is this one?"