Chapter 21

Respite

--

The sun had only just begun to peek over the horizon, and still, Phoebe was already awake. She had found it difficult to sleep the previous night, despite being in Hermione's presence, which would always seem to comfort her. For some reason, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was coming, rising like the sun above their island. Hermione, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all. She had fallen asleep quickly and was still sleeping soundly. Phoebe watched her chest rise and fall in a deep, rhythmic pattern for several minutes before turning to look out over the city. The Promenade was more or less abandoned, the reconstruction effort having not yet had the time to repair anything more than the damage done to the palace during the small attack staged by the Council. The damage, even city wide, was minimal. Most of the battle had taken place at sea, meaning that much of the destruction in the city was cosmetic.

Phoebe sighed deeply and leaned against the balcony railing, her eyes focusing on a small group of construction workers repairing the entrance to the Grand Forum, soon to become, according to Hermione, the home of her new government. Hermione had confessed to Phoebe that she wanted no part of the new leadership, yet she realized that she had no choice. The Atlanteans had lived under the rule of the Council for millennia. They had no idea how to govern a nation. Hermione had decided to accept the public's plea for her to take over the government of the island. Hermione had spoken with several high standing citizens, each of them agreeing to the establishment of a monarchy, with Hermione as its head. Phoebe had jokingly poked fun at Hermione by referring to her as 'Your Royal Highness', 'Your Majesty', and 'Your Esteemed Worshipfulness'. Much to Phoebe's disappointment, Hermione had flatly refused the suggestion of a monarchy. Instead, Hermione had begun developing her own form of government, more or less similar to a republic. Phoebe, while approving of Hermione's choice of giving the people a voice in the government, she wasn't sure how long Hermione could stand dealing with the bureaucrats. Hermione had shot down Phoebe's misgivings by stating that she'd fought in three separate wars in which she'd been shot, stabbed, cursed, jinxed, poisoned, raped, imprisoned, betrayed, beaten, tortured, ambushed, trampled, cut, strafed, bombed… after all that, what could be bad about a couple of strongly worded memos from political representatives?

Phoebe moved away from the balcony and sat silently on the side of the bed. Hermione didn't even stir as Phoebe moved nearer to her. Phoebe smiled as she watched the younger woman sleep. Phoebe's eyes ran up the length of Hermione's body, much of her slender form covered by the blankets. Phoebe grinned slightly when she noticed one of Hermione's favorite Atlantean flowers tucked behind the young goddess's ear. The yellow bud was entwined in her beautiful chestnut curls, and, in Phoebe's opinion, made her look all the more lovely. Phoebe's gaze shifted to Hermione's closed eyes and a terrible wave of sadness washed over her. What those hazel orbs must have seen! Phoebe couldn't even begin to imagine what horrible things she had been forced to witness in her life. Phoebe tried not to think about such things, of course, but it seemed that Hermione spent most of her time dwelling on the pain of her past. Phoebe didn't know why, and hadn't had the courage to ask. Phoebe knew Hermione cared very deeply for her, but she feared that if she pushed Hermione too far, or dug too deeply into past events that Hermione would rather not share with anyone, Hermione might simply strike her dead on the spot. Phoebe knew the power Hermione held, and that fact scared her senseless. Hermione wielded more power than anyone she had every heard of, even the very forces of nature obeyed Hermione's commands. Phoebe was closer to Hermione than anyone else, and yet Hermione still remained an enigma to her. There was still so much about Hermione that Phoebe didn't know, and probably didn't want to know. Even though Phoebe deeply wished to help Hermione overcome her pain, she knew Hermione would never let her. Hermione preferred to deal with her own problems, and Phoebe had to let her do just that.

Deciding Hermione had slept long enough, Phoebe gently tickled the end of her nose. Hermione made a light slapping motion with her hand to push her away. Phoebe repeated her assault on Hermione's nose, only to cause her to jerk awake.

"Damn it, Phoebe." Hermione exclaimed, holding a hand over her heart. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry, Mi." Phoebe said, faking a pout. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"God, Phoebe…" Hermione muttered. "My sister used to do that crap. It was annoying then, it's still annoying now." Hermione climbed out of bed and walked over to her closet.

"I… didn't know." Phoebe said quietly.

"Know what?" Hermione asked absentmindedly, searching for something to wear.

"That you had a sister. What happened to her?"

"I… she died. It happened long after I'd been spirited away from the magical world. Voldemort was once again marching on Hogwarts. Everyone was still heartbroken over Catherine's death nearly two years before, in the previous battle at Hogwarts. At the time, the Order was… broken. Defeat after defeat had shattered both morale and the Order's ranks. From what I understand, Electra… though, we all called her Alex, she… Harry and Dumbledore had prepared for one last stand in what looked to be a losing battle. Alex wasn't a witch, but she decided to stay at the school and help in any way she could. The Order was completely routed. Somehow, Harry and Alex managed to seal themselves in the Chamber of Secrets. It took Voldemort nearly a week to find them. He went down alone… I guess he wanted to be the one to kill Harry, and didn't trust his Death Eaters not to… take too long to kill Alex." Hermione broke off, breathing deeply and wiping her eyes.

"Apparently, Alex was caught in a crossfire between Voldemort and Harry. One of their spells… Alex wouldn't have known what hit her. I don't know if it's true or not, but Catherine believes Harry loved her. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me. She was very beautiful, not to mention fiercely loyal." Hermione smiled slightly.

"I remember one time when we were kids, she… uh… " Hermione was forced to stop and wipe her eyes again.

"Mi, you don't have to talk about this if you'd prefer not." Phoebe said, gently taking Hermione's hand. "I understand. I mean, just thinking about Piper and Paige makes me want to find a way to join them. I know I'll never see them again, and… I mean, right now I'm happier than I've ever been, but I… Those two were the only family I had left. Sure, Leo, Wyatt, and Chris are safe at Magic School now that it's been rebuilt, but even so… They aren't my sisters." Neither of them said anything for a long moment. At last, Hermione patted the back of Phoebe's hand.

"I'll find a way, Pheebs." she said, though she couldn't quite meet Phoebe's gaze. "I'll find a way to bring them back." Without another word, Hermione stood and left the room, leaving Phoebe alone with her thoughts.

--

Far from the confines of the palace, Miley and Danielle walked along the beach. The two girls had been desperate to leave the palace the moment the war ended, and now that they were free they really didn't want to go back. They planned to spend as much of the day as they could away from that place. Both young women enjoyed their afternoon walk, occasionally stopping to play in the moist sand or to let the water lick at their toes. They were surprised, however, around five in the evening, to spot Catherine, sitting by the ocean, arms wrapped around her knees, staring out to sea.

"Hey, Kat!" Danielle shouted the moment she saw her sister. Miley, on the other hand, remained silent. Something felt wrong.

"Oh, hi…" Catherine said distractedly as the twins sat down beside her.

"Kat, what's wrong?" Miley asked, noticing that Catherine had been crying.

"Nothing's wrong." Catherine said. Danielle snorted.

"Yeah, and Mum's not neurotic."

"You can talk to us, Kat." Miley said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Seriously, girls. Everything's great." Catherine told them.

"No, it's not." Miley countered. "You've been crying. C'mon, talk to us." Catherine sighed.

"Fine." she said darkly. "There… there's something I haven't told Mum, and I'm scared as to how she'll react when I tell her."

"And what haven't you told her?" Danielle asked. Catherine looked at both of them in turn and let out a long, steadying breath.

"I'm pregnant." she said softly. "I knew, even when I went back in time. I've kept it from Mum, because I knew she'd be furious if she knew how much danger I've put both myself and the baby in by coming back here. Now, though… I'm running out of time to keep all this hidden."

"Well, you need to tell her." Miley advised.

"Yeah," Danielle added. "you two have always been more like sisters than mother and daughter."

"I know," Catherine said, "but…"

"Mum lived in a period of time much more dangerous than this one when she was pregnant." Miley interrupted. "We've already stopped the Council. Who else is going to challenge Aurora? We're safe here, now."

"Maybe." Catherine said quietly.

"Now, what's that supposed to mean?" Danielle wanted to know.

"I don't know… it's just something Phoebe mentioned the other day. She wondered if the danger really has ended. She thinks there may be another threat on the horizon."

"When isn't there?" Miley put in. "Look, even is there is something else about to attack us… do you really believe it could stand against Mum?" Catherine shrugged.

"I don't like to think so, but sometimes… I have to wonder."

"Yes…?" Danielle pressed.

"Look, it's just… there's still a lot of evil in the world and Mum's not invincible."

"She's near enough." Miley said. "Listen, Kat, sweetie, would it be so bad if we didn't have to worry about some evil force trying to destroy us all the time? Admittedly, we don't get much peace around here. Why not enjoy it while it lasts?"

--

"I understand that, Phoebe, I really do. But this is not the right time for something like that."

"Why not, Mi? It's not like anything would drastically change if we did."

"I know you want to do this Phoebe, to make our lives more… normal. But still, this is a lot right now. There's too much going on to take such a big step." Phoebe sighed and shook her head.

"I'm not talking about marrying you or something like that, Mi. I would just like to move back into the manor."

"I know, sweetie." Hermione sighed. "Look, once the situation on the island returns to normal and we finally get some form of true government here, we'll look into going home. But for now, I've got to be here. I'm sorry." Phoebe sighed, but nodded.

"I understand." she said at last. "You're just trying to do what's best for the world." she smiled slightly. "Damn you for being so selfless."

Hermione was about to respond when a knock came at the door and Catherine stepped in.

"Hi." she said. "Could I talk to you?" she asked of her mother. "Alone, please?" Hermione nodded.

"Of course." she looked to Phoebe. "Would you mind…?"

"Sure." Phoebe said, standing to her feet and walking toward the door.

Once Phoebe had left, Catherine sank onto the foot of the bed and said nothing.

"You… wanted to talk?" Hermione said.

"Oh… yeah." Catherine said. "Mum, there's…. there's something that I should have told you a long time ago." Hermione shook her head.

"How did I know you were going to say that? Look, whatever it is you can tell me. I think you know that."

"Yeah, I… I know, it's just…"

"Spit it out, Kat."

"Fine, I'm pregnant."

--

"Oh, there you girls are. I was just wondering if you two wanted to… What's wrong?" Miley and Danielle both shook their head and continued to study one of the consoles in the control room where Phoebe had found the two girls.

Phoebe moved around them to look and the console herself. It seemed to be a sensor used to detect surges of power across the globe… and a serious spike of energy was wavering over San Francisco.

"What is that?" Phoebe asked.

"We don't know." Miley and Danielle said together.

"But whatever it is it's causing massive power fluctuations across the planet." Danielle added.

"It's clearly magical, but I can't think of any magical being capable of controlling that much power at once. It's almost as though…"

"It's more than one person." Phoebe said in a quiet, awed voice. "My god, I know what's happening." She turned to Miley. "Raise the shield, now." Miley turned and hurried over to the control panel, and seconds later a bubble of magical energy formed over the island.

"Danielle, go get your mother." Phoebe ordered, her eyes not leaving the screen displaying the steadily increasing energy source. As Danielle turned and hurried away, Miley spoke up.

"Phoebe, what's happening?" Phoebe turned to face the seventeen year old, her expression grim, and uttered one, single word.

"Utopia."