Eva sat with Prue and Phoebe at a table in the open for business P3 Club. She couldn't help but think that just because it was open for business it didn't mean there would be any business. Which there wasn't. There were hardly any patrons there and that was the present discussion Eva was having with the sisters.
"So, are you going to take me up on my offer or what? No interest and you can pay me back anytime or not at all." Eva was completely serious about this. She didn't want Piper's club to fail before it even had a chance.
"We're definitely more willing to take it now than before." Prue shared a look with her sister before asking, "It's not spell money is it?" Even if Eva wouldn't be affected by any personal gain she didn't want personal gain consequences to follow them for accepting it.
"I've only ever had to use that spell once. And besides it doesn't create money like bills, it transmutes other metals into gold." Eva explained to them where the money came from. "It'd be pretty ridiculous if an Immortal didn't have more than enough money after living as long as I have."
Prue and Phoebe had a silent discussion with each other before they agreed. "Alright, but we don't tell Piper until the Club is in the black. Deal?"
Eva shook Prue's hand in agreement. "I'll get you the check in the next day or two. How much would you like for the investment?"
"How much have you got?" Phoebe asked in a joking manner. She didn't expect what Eva said in reply.
"The question you should be asking is how much do I have in the US." Eva smiled as she left the table then the Club soon after.
Phoebe looked at Prue in a manner that practically screamed 'did you hear that?'. "How rich is she?"
"If I had to guess I'd take how old Felix is and add a whole bunch of zeroes to it."
While the Sisters were at the Club, Mara stayed home to work on her Witchness. In other words she wanted to study up on spells and potions and ingredients and whatnot with the hope of being more prepared later on.
Mara was also cooking during this potion practice and just about dropped the frying pan she was about to put on the stove when Felix said,
"Careful not to mix those up." He laughed at her reaction. "Should I have knocked?"
"I didn't hear front door," Mara admitted as she set the pan down.
"I didn't use the front door. I came in through the upstairs closet." He waved his hand around as he spoke. It didn't take him long to figure out that Mara didn't know what he was talking about. "Your mother hasn't mentioned it?"
Eva turned off the burners no nothing would boil over. "Hasn't mentioned what?"
Felix waved for her to come along and led her upstairs to the linen closet. "Open it up."
Mara eyed him skeptically but did as he asked and opened the door but saw nothing out of the norm. She even reached out to touch the shelves and tap the back of it but still nothing. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Hold your horses. We're getting to it." Felix closed the doors again. "Now think about Eva's Loft and open the doors again."
Mara rolled her eyes and thought he was just pulling her leg but went along with it anyway. She thought about her mother's Loft, opened the doors again. This time the closet wasn't there but another door. Mara opened that one as well and gasped when she saw the Loft on the other side. "Holy shee-it! No way!" She darted through the doorways with laughter and entered the Loft then back to the Manor. "Do P3 know about this?"
"Surprisingly enough my sister did as them for permission. I'm surprised you didn't know about it yet." Felix closed up the doors and explained how they worked. "As long as the doors on either side are unlocked travel back and forth is possible. And the door will only appear if you're a resident of either location and think about where you want to go."
Mara thought this was the coolest thing ever. "So we can go back and forth any time? Man I love magic."
Felix went back down to the kitchen with and sat at the island to get a peek at what Mara was working on. He didn't recognize her concoctions. "What are you making there?"
Mara added in the last ingredient and it 'poofed' in a cloud of smoke that quickly dissipated. "I got the idea from Landon, the boy living next door. He said that red chili peppers were used to warn against danger and he was right. So I thought I'd give it a try." She picked up the wind chimes from the counter, lowered them into the potion and when the chimes glowed, she removed them. The chimes shimmered before returning to their normal state.
Felix followed Mara to the front door where she hung the wind chimes outside. "I've never seen it done like that before. It will be interesting if it works."
"Well, the theory is if there's danger then the chimes will ring louder than in their normal tinkling way." Mara had no idea if it would actually do what she wanted it to, but it was worth a try.
"If it does work you should put that in the Tome. It's very innovative." Felix returned to the kitchen with Mara once again as he asked, "How are your songs coming?"
"They're not." Mara sighed as she started cleaning up the kitchen.
"I went to your open mic and it was a success." Felix didn't understand why Mara would just stop like that.
"I read one of my songs aloud the other day and inadvertently cast a spell instead. The lyrics were about love finding me and until I cast an actual spell to stop it, completely random guys were following me around professing their love. It was freaky."
"I don't know what to say to that. Writing song lyrics shouldn't be the same as writing spells, but then again you are a powerful little thing." Felix had an idea. "Try singing it instead. If it's the same reaction then there might be an incantation or a potion to keep your songs from becoming spells." This was something he would have to discuss with Eva because either Mara was unintentionally writing spells into her song lyrics or some old Sibley magic had trickled down through the family tree and adapted to Mara's powers.
The following morning Felix sat at the kitchen table in Eva's loft and filled her in on what Mara had told him the previous night about the song. Eva listened to every word he said and rubbed her temples in thought. "This only happens to the songs she writes?" At his nod, Eva rubbed her temples even harder before stopping. "That shouldn't be happening."
"And yet it sounds like a twist on a power we already know is in the Sibley line. And if it is it's only a matter of time before it grows." Felix lifted his glass of milk in a 'think about that' manner. "It wouldn't be the only power she's inherited from her." He almost slipped and said that Mara inherited a twist on another unwanted power, but he caught himself before he did. Saying something like that would just add more fuel to an already troubled fire.
"I really hoped she wouldn't have inherited a variation of that one. We'll just have to keep an eye on her." Eva drank her coffee with a heavy sigh. "I'm not ready to pull Mara into the history of the Sibley Family Tree."
"Oh it's not too bad. Pretty diverse and at times quite dark, but over all not too bad." Felix's feline-esque grin spread across his face, knowing quite well there was far more to it than that.
"Sometimes I swear you're the evil one." On that note she gestured to his chest. "How's your heart? And don't tell me nothing happened when you healed mine."
Felix was hoping they wouldn't have to have this discussion. "A block did form around it but it's nothing I can't handle."
"You're more than an Immortal Witch, Felix. How can your other half manage with a block around your heart? That's a recipe for disaster." Eva was worried for her brother's well-being.
"And it's a recipe I'd create again if it meant getting you back to as normal as possible." Felix was true to his word on that. "Besides, it's not a strong block. I'll be fine after I get a little loving." He grinned again before finishing off his milk.
"A little loving from who?" Eva asked with pursed lips before leaving the table. "Later, little brother."
Felix simply hissed at her in reply and tried very hard not to think about the answer.
Eva went to Buckland's after a meeting with the bank. She wanted to give Prue the good news and luckily she caught her at a good time. She sat in the seat across from Prue at her desk and smiled proudly. "I met with the bank and took care of the loan there and here is the check for the rest of the investment." Prue's odd expression worried her. "Did I miss something?"
"We don't need the investment anymore but that's rather moot now. I did try calling." Prue had actively tried to get ahold of Eva to tell her about the band Dishwalla playing at the Club which would definitely put them into the black and keep them there, but she wasn't able to.
"Did you try the doorway?" Eva could tell Prue hadn't thought of that. "It's there for a reason," she added in with laughter.
"I'm sorry about the runaround. It's just that Dishwalla is playing at the Club tonight and…"
Eva raised her hand to cut her off there. "You don't owe me an explanation, Prue. I am truly glad that things are working out. And don't worry about the bank loan, it's already paid off."
"We're going to pay you back." Prue wouldn't have it any other way.
"The Warren stubbornness, I recognize it well." Eva thought for a moment and came up with an alternative. "If you're not going to take no for an answer then put it into an account in Mara's name. While she knows where my cash caches are, it wouldn't hurt for her to have a few of her own." This time it was Eva who extended her hand in agreement. "Deal?"
Prue thought those terms were generous and she shook her hand in agreement. "Deal."
Eva grinned before taking her leave, "Aren't compromises great?"
Mara had been filled in by now about how Leo cast a spell on Carlton, Dishwalla's manager, to get the band to play at the Club because Carlton had made a deal with a Demon named Masselin who was devouring innocent souls as payment for Carlton's fame or whatever.
Presently she was helping Phoebe and Piper with the potion they'd have to get into Masselin's mouth to essentially throw up all his still living victims before becoming vanquished. "So, how else can I help take down the Demon scum? Can I be the bait? I so want to be the bait."
"You're not going to be there. You're underage and the last thing I need is the Club getting shut down." Piper wasn't going to budge on this.
"Oh come on. My fake ID looks legit." Mara forgot the detail that they didn't know she had one.
"You have a fake ID?" Piper raised a brow at that before holding out a hand for Mara to cough it up.
Mara dropped her head with a groan before fishing her wallet out of her back pocket. After finding the fake one she handed it over to Piper.
Piper looked at the ID on the front and back with an impressed expression. "This really does look legit, but you're still coming tonight."
"So what am I supposed to do while the tree of you are at the Club? A bored mind with magic powers is not a good combination." Mara hoped this would help her case but the sisters weren't budging.
Phoebe was getting on board now. "Any other location you'd absolutely be there, but not the Club. I'm sorry, sweetie."
"Just for that you're finishing this potion on your own." Mara made a 'so there hmph' sound before leaving the kitchen.
Once Mara was out of earshot, Phoebe asked Piper, "You really think she's going to listen?"
Piper went over to the blender saying, "Eh, fifty-fifty chance."
Mara felt bad about ditching Piper and Phoebe in the kitchen to deal with the potion themselves, but she was having a moment and it's not like they couldn't handle it themselves. She sat outside the Manor on the front steps and tried very hard not to feel like a child. Between having magical powers, being eighteen, and having finished high school she felt mature – like an adult with a stable place in every part of the Sister's lives, so to have it pointed out she couldn't help vanquish the Demon because of a human law it kinda threw her.
Mara was pulled from her thoughts when Landon and Dan came up the walk. She figured Dan was looking for Piper so she spoke along those lines. "Piper's inside if you want to talk to her."
"Thanks, Mara," he replied and went up the rest of the steps to do just that.
Landon on the other hand didn't have any intention of going into the Manor since who he wanted to talk to was sitting right there. He sat down on the step below Mara's hand handed a book over to her.
"What's this for?" Mara asked before she took it and saw it was a journal documenting all kinds of spices and their mystical meanings.
"My parents always try to bring me something back from their travels that isn't a normal souvenir." Landon gestured to the small journal. "Thought you might like to see it, maybe even copy it in the book your non-boyfriend picked out for you."
"Thank you, but I'm only borrowing because it'll give me some new recipes ideas. I'm not into the whole mystical side of things." Mara was of course lying but she felt she had to. Being a Witch wasn't something she could just broadcast to the world.
Landon reached out and lifted the Infinity pendant Mara wore around her neck, remembering the book Mara purchased had the exact same one on it. "If you say so." He released his grip on her pendant and went back to his house next door.
Mara drummed her fingers on the journal in thought. As far as she knew she hadn't done anything to make him suspicious of her being a Witch or anything, but he did mention that he was into that sort of stuff so perhaps he was just phishing? Now Mara was worried that Landon was someone she'd have to worry about.
"Hi, Mara," Leo greeted as he approached. "Everything alright?"
"Things are probably better with me than they are with you. Piper is pissed, you know that right?" Mara didn't wait for him to reply and got up to go into the Manor before he did.
That night, after wishing the Sisters good luck with the vanquish, Mara went upstairs to the Attic. She was flipping through the spice journal Landon gave her when Sebastian Orbed in. "Let me guess; You're here to babysit me so I don't try going to the Club?"
"Busted." He moved her feet off the sofa so he could sit as well. "What's that?"
"A spice journal Landon is letting me borrow." Mara handed it over to him. "I cross referenced a few things between the Book and the Tome and so far things check out."
"He doesn't know you're a Witch does he?" That would not be good if he did.
"No, but he's pretty much said his interests in magic went from wanting to be a magician as a kid to something more. Depending on how much he's already researched it might not take him long to figure things out." Mara accepted the spice journal back from Sebastian and set it on the nearby table.
"If he could become a liability then you should stay away from him." Bash really should have worded that better because Mara did not take it well.
"Now you're telling me what I can and can not do? Since when am I not allowed to make decisions about my own life?" Mara got off the sofa and pretty much stomped off but Sebastian caught up with before she could leave.
"Whoa, take a breath there, Sweetheart. I'm giving you advice – I'm guiding you. That's what a Protector does." There was clearly something else bothering her. "What's eating at you?"
Mara threw up her hands in a huff. "I feel left out. Are you happy? I'm being a whiny, petty teenager because I can't help vanquish the Demon all because of stupid human laws."
"Understandable. You're deeply connected to the Charmed Ones. It's part of your destiny to battle evil alongside them, so it's no wonder it's eating away at you not being able to." Bash actually thought that changed a lot. For Mara, not fighting with the Sisters was like going against her nature. He ad a feeling there was more to it than that. "And you're also worried that since you're not there the consequence will happen?"
Sebastian hit the nail right on the head there and Mara didn't like it one bit. "I don't like you."
"Feeling's mutual, Sweetheart." Bash wrapped his arm around Mara's shoulder and guided her out of the Attic. "Now let's share our mutual dislike for each other over a slice of pizza and a cheesy horror movie?"
Mara crossed her arms in defiance but caved. "Fine. But only because I'm hungry."
Bash smirked smugly. "Whatever you say."
A couple days after the Charmed One's successful vanquishing of the Demon Masselin, Mara sat in the Manor kitchen eating a bowl of cereal when the Sisters practically bounced into the room with excitement. Mara raised a suspicious brow at them and asked with a mouthful of cereal, "What's going on?"
"We have something for you." Piper grinned and held out a shimmery silver plastic bracelet out for her.
Mara set her bowl of cereal down and took it to find it was printed with green lettering around the band. "Do not serve?" She looked at the Sisters in a 'huh?' manner. "I don't get it."
"That's your official uniform. You, Mara Sibley, are an official employee of P3." Piper smiled at Mara's beaming expression. "I talked to the state and as long as you wear that bracelet and don't work behind the bar, you are legally allowed to be in the Club."
Mara practically screeched in excitement as she flew off the kitchen stool and hugged the three of them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She pulled back from their hug and put the bracelet right on. "I am going to wear it with pride."
"You better because you start work tonight." Piper poked at her ribs before saying, "Now finish your breakfast."
Mara saluted them with a beaming smile and returned to her morning meal while the Sisters left the kitchen.
P3 went into the living room where Bash was standing and waiting for them. Piper was the first to say, "Thank you for filling us in on your chat with Mara."
"I'm looking out for her. It's what I do." Before Bash Orbed away, he made sure to request, "Just don't tell Mara."
When he orbed away Piper looked at Phoebe and Prue, asking, "What are the odds that he'll stick to his guns and not fall for Mara?"
Phoebe looked briefly at Prue before answering with what they were likely all thinking, "Eh, fifty-fifty chance."
End Season 2 Episode 4