"We should've taken the Porsche," Prue grumbled as Piper pushed her up the walkway. She was dragging her feet, even as Phoebe tried to hurry ahead, anxious to ring the doorbell.
Piper attempted to keep the umbrella over all of them, but in the end Phoebe made a mad dash for the door and Prue scrambled away, stealing the umbrella right out of her hands. Piper bit her lip as the cool rain drenched her, soaking into her jacket. Prue and Phoebe stared back at her from under the overhang and Prue grinned as she closed the umbrella.
"The Porsche would've been so much cooler."
"My car is fine," Piper said as she finally reached the front step. Squeezing the water out of her hair, she nodded at Phoebe. The younger girl bounced a little as she pushed the button by the door. They could hear the bell going off inside and Phoebe crossed her arms, looking quite proud of herself.
"Piper, you're using a spare tire," Prue said. "The Porsche had four good ones."
"I wouldn't have needed those four, or the spare for that matter, if a certain someone hadn't become Little Miss Car Thief!"
"Piper?" Danny opened the door, confusion spreading across his face. But then he started to smile as Phoebe pushed around him, letting herself into the house. Looking bored, Prue sighed and followed her sister.
"Where are you-?" Piper tried to pull them back but they were already halfway down the hall. Phoebe pointed at a door and turned back towards them.
"Is that your room?"
Danny nodded, even as Piper stood in the doorway, trying to decide what she should do. Leo had been right, of course. This had been a horrible idea. And now her sisters were roaming around a stranger's house, acting as if they owned the place.
As she stood there, staring at Danny, she remembered his mother, the woman she had killed so many months ago. Piper felt nauseous and she glanced down at her feet, wishing that she had never come. Finally, she took a deep breath and drummed up enough courage to look him in the eye.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure," he said. He held the door open for her, then nodded back down the hall. "I mean they're already here."
"I know, sorry." Piper slowly stepped into the house. She thought about grabbing her sisters and making a run for it. But that would only prove that the guilt was still there and that she couldn't face it. She'd spent so much of her time convincing everyone that she was all right. Now it was time to show it. Besides, she needed Danny's help. Without him, the real Prue and Phoebe might never return.
"I just wanted to talk to you for a couple of minutes," she said finally. "Are we bothering you because we can come back later, if-"
"No," Danny said quickly. "Uncle Edward and Flynt are in the garage and Carson already left."
"Good." Piper clasped her hands together. She didn't need any more witnesses to this conversation. It was bad enough she had the two juvenile ones. "That's very good."
"We can hang out in my room."
Piper nodded and followed him, happy for the short delay. She needed the extra time to find the right words, to figure out just what she was going to say to the boy. Piper glanced around as they walked. And she also needed to figure out exactly what had become of her sisters.
But as she entered the room, she spotted both Phoebe and Prue lounging on the floor. They had already discovered a box of old toys and were hastily searching through it, even as Piper glared at them. But Danny didn't seem to mind. He was staring at her, waiting anxiously for her to say something. Piper thought she saw a tiny hint of the googley eyes syndrome, and she bit her lip. This certainly wouldn't be easy.
"So um, I was just wondering..." Piper crossed her arms, trying to smile. She knew she was going to sound crazy. But she had to say something. "Have you ever tried any, you know, magic or anything like that?"
"Magic?" Danny seemed a little surprised. Surprised is good, Piper thought. At least he doesn't look scared.
"Yeah, magic." Piper nodded quickly, before she could lose him. "Like making things happen when you want them to?"
"Like spells!" Phoebe's head popped up from the other side of the bed. "Do you cast spells? 'Cause we can-"
"Can't," Piper said hurriedly trying not to look as worried as she actually felt. She'd forgotten how much of a big mouth Phoebe had been as a child. "We can't, but we thought maybe you could...for um, for some reason." She turned, pretending to examine his room. Danny was giving her that look, that Piper's-crazy-so-what-should-I-say-now look.
"Did you know my mother or something?" he asked abruptly.
Piper's eyes widened and she was ready to leave. Any minute now, Phoebe was going to pop up again and blow everything. Either that or Piper would just die right there on the spot. Already she could feel her heart starting to race, her mind screaming at her for lying to some poor innocent child. There was that feeling; that horrible guilt that wouldn't let her forget. There was no longer any way she could look at Danny without seeing Faith.
"Piper?"
"Huh?" She glanced up at him, snapping back to attention.
"Did you know my mom?"
"Your mom?" Piper swallowed nervously, twisting the ring on her finger. She could hear little alarm bells going off in her head. She half expected Faith to arrive on the scene. "That's an interesting story actually. Your mother and I were kind of, well, I guess you could say..."
"You were friends," Danny answered for her. More like mortal enemies, Piper thought. Oh yeah, and then there's that part where I killed her. "So you knew she was a witch?"
Piper gritted her teeth to keep her mouth from falling open. Danny obviously hadn't been trained very well in keeping the family secret. Then again, Phoebe had nearly broadcast hers through the house only moments before.
"Yes," Piper said, relief sweeping through her. At least the whole magic thing was out in the open. "Yes, I knew she was a witch."
"That's so great!" Danny's face broke into a grin. "I didn't know you knew Mom!" His face turned a little sad and Piper felt horribly ashamed of herself. "Why didn't you come to her funeral? I wish I had seen you there."
"I-I was..." she stopped. "I was helping Prue at work that day."
"Did not!" she heard Prue say.
"Yes, yes. I remember." Piper nodded. "I really wanted to go, but-"
"It's okay," Danny said. "Lots of other people came. Everyone really liked her."
"I'll bet." Piper shifted uncomfortably, then looked at the ground. What was she doing here, leading this child to believe total lies? Hadn't she hurt him enough already?
"Listen," she said finally. "I just wanted to know if, well Phoebe's been acting a little strange, and I just thought-" Piper swallowed again. "I thought maybe since you've been hanging out with her so much at the play, that maybe you'd know why."
Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw her sisters look up. Silence fell over the room as the embarrassment crossed Danny's face. Piper wasn't sure what to do, whether she should press him, or just let him sit there, thinking it over. She was terrified that one of her sisters might say something, and she watched them carefully, praying that they would keep quiet.
Finally, Danny stood and walked over to his shelf. He shoved a few books aside, to reveal a smaller red volume he had hidden in the back. He slid it off of the shelf then flipped to a marked section. Then he turned and reluctantly gave it to Piper.
"What's this?"
"My spell book," he said quietly, returning to the bed. He sat back down, suddenly preoccupied with his shoe laces.
Boredom settled over Prue's face and she disappeared behind the bed again, pulling Phoebe down with her. Piper sighed as she glanced over at Danny. The boy looked a little unsure of himself as he nodded towards the book.
"I cast a spell and somehow, I don't know. I guess it rubbed off or something."
Or something is right, Piper thought.
"Why would you cast a spell on yourself?" Phoebe's head shot up. Piper silently cursed herself for discussing this in the same room as her overly curious sister.
"It wasn't for me," Danny mumbled, trying to turn away so that they couldn't see his face. But Phoebe wasn't about to let him off that easily. She stared at him, waiting for him to finish. When he didn't, she was only too ready to help him along.
"Who was it for then?"
"No one," he said. "It was just a stupid spell."
"You cast a spell for no one?" Phoebe narrowed her eyes. Piper turned and gestured for her to go back to the toys. But Phoebe ignored her. Instead she watched Danny, completely disinterested in everything else. "That seems like a pretty dumb spell."
"No," he said finally, his voice barely audible. "It was for Piper."
Piper's legs nearly fell out from under her and she slowly lowered herself onto the bed. The realization finally hit her. Danny's googley eyes had been much more than that. Out of everyone at that stupid play he had become attached to her, to the person who had ruined his life. And all along, Piper had found his crush cute, funny even. She glanced over at Phoebe who had rested her chin on the comforter.
"You liked her that much?"
"Yeah," Danny's voice just kept dropping. He looked a little bit pale, then suddenly brightened. He laughed a little as he closed the book for her. "But don't worry, I don't like you like that now. That'd just be weird."
"Oh," Piper said, nodding a little. "Well, that's good, I mean that you..." she trailed off. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Piper didn't know what to say. For once, she was speechless.
Piper hadn't even noticed, Prue thought. She'd been too wrapped up in her little chat with Danny to be watching. Prue grinned at the thought. It was so obvious that he liked her. The poor kid didn't have a chance. Piper was going to break his little heart before they could leave. But Prue certainly wasn't going to be there to see it.
Slowly, she crept down the hall. She'd heard Danny say that his uncle and cousins were outside, but still she was careful not to make too much noise. Piper would kill her for exploring. But Prue was sick of listening to her. Piper wasn't her mother, and she wasn't her boss. She was Prue's little sister. And Prue certainly didn't have to take anything from her. She'd given Piper a Porsche, and her sister hadn't even bothered to thank her. Prue sighed as she glanced around, eager to find something interesting to look at. That was the last time she ever helped Piper.
If Danny's mother really had been a witch and Danny had powers too, then the house had to have something cool in it. Pushing open a door at the far end of the hall she realized that she'd found the basement. She turned around, careful to make sure that no one was watching, then took the stairs down two at a time.
The basement was pitch black and she fumbled around for a light switch. But she couldn't find one. Prue stumbled around in the darkness, tripping over different objects on the floor. Finally she stopped in the middle of the room and took a deep breath. She had never been afraid of the darkness before, but now... She felt her blood running cold as she turned in a circle, trying to get her eyes to adjust.
Smart move, Prue, she thought. You couldn't have gone to the second floor?
Slowly, she reached out into the darkness and took a few steps farther into the room and away from the safety of the semi-lit stairwell. She wasn't going to be a baby about this. There's nothing to be afraid of, she reminded herself.
Suddenly her hand hit a wall. She slid it down, then jumped back as something sliced into her palm. Prue bit her lip, blinking back tears as she scrunched her fingers into a fist. Cautiously, she stuck her other hand out and finally found the light switch.
As soon as the lights came on, Prue spun around, trying to ignore the pain in her hand. The room was full of cool stuff, not the least of which was the huge knife that was mounted on the wall right in front of her. There seemed to be hundreds of daggers surrounding it, and Prue looked from one to the other, admiring the beautiful carvings on each.
The rest of the walls were lined with bookcases holding a large number of ancient looking texts. There were some more weapons resting on the top shelves, weapons Prue didn't even recognize. She had thought she'd seen everything while working at Bucklands. But she had been wrong. These weapons were bigger, some with blades longer than her arm. Prue couldn't resist the temptation.
Reaching up towards one of the knives, she motioned it forward. It floated effortlessly through the air, gently landing in her good hand. She took a closer look at the ornate carvings, thoroughly intrigued. The weapon gave her a sense of strength she had never felt before, not even when using her own power. But it wasn't the same. It seemed to be missing the positive energy and after only a few seconds Prue wanted to be rid of it. She felt suddenly ill, weak, as the strength that had surged through her only moments before began to seep away.
"What are you doing down here?"
Prue turned abruptly, dropping the knife. She bent down to pick it up as her eyes shot towards the figure at the top of the stairs. She couldn't quite make out his features as he stood in the doorway.
"I was, um-" Prue felt her mouth go dry as she set the knife down on a nearby table. "I was looking for the bathroom."
"This obviously isn't it," the man snapped, his voice a little more menacing than Prue would have liked. As he slowly made his way down the stairs, she recognized him. It was Edward, Danny's uncle.
"I'm really sorry." Prue said quickly. She couldn't decide if she was more frightened or embarrassed. But neither felt good. As Edward came closer he picked up the knife, holding it out in front of her. His demeanor changed almost immediately but that only increased the creepiness factor.
"Beautiful piece, isn't it?" He smiled at her. "It's an heirloom, one that has been in my family for countless centuries. I certainly wouldn't want anything to happen to it."
Prue stepped back a little, suddenly wishing that she had stuck with her sisters.
"It's fine," she said. "Nothing happened to it. It's.."
"Prue!" She could hear Piper yelling from the floor up above them. Prue sighed in relief as Edward lowered the weapon. "Prue, where are you?"
"That's my sister," she said, hastily moving around him. "Gotta go."
Prue ran up the stairs without looking back, and met Piper halfway down the hall. For once, Piper didn't look angry. She just looked tired, and maybe a little sad, as she clutched a small red book to her chest. Phoebe stood next to her, still smiling, completely oblivious to whatever had happened.
"Come on." Prue grabbed Phoebe's hand and led her towards the door. Piper followed them without saying a word.
Danny fell back onto his bed, throwing his pillow over his face. Piper hadn't really said anything when he'd told her the truth. All she had wanted was a way to reverse the spell, nothing else. She'd hardly seemed to care what he had done for her, or had tried to do with the best of intentions. Maybe she wasn't all that he thought she was. Maybe she never had been. Of course, what could Danny have really expected? He'd cast a silly spell, and gotten a lousy result. His mother would have given him the I-told-you-so speech.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Danny quickly lifted his pillow, pushing himself up onto his elbows. His uncle had slipped in undetected, and now he stood there, staring at Danny.
'"I didn't know you were in here."
"Well, I was," he said. The anger flashed through his eyes as he looked out the window. Danny could hear Piper's car starting up. And then she was gone. His uncle turned back to him, clenching his fists. "What was running through your head when you let them inside? What did she say to you?"
"Piper just wanted to ask me something." Danny rolled over onto his stomach. His talk with Piper had been embarrassing enough. Reliving the whole thing didn't sound all that fun.
"What did she want?"
"Nothing," he mumbled into his pillow. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Danny, this is important." Uncle Edward came and stood over him, and Danny could feel the man's eyes boring into his back. He shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny, but still he refused to look up. He didn't understand why the man cared. All he'd been worried about before was the ceremony.
"I told her about the spell, okay?" he said, mad that his uncle would push him on this. "She knew Mom was a witch and so..."
"What did she say?" his uncle demanded.
"Nothing. I gave her my book and now she's gonna try and reverse it." Danny rolled over to stare at his uncle. But obviously his uncle was waiting for more. "That's it!" Danny felt his frustration rising within him. "That's all that happened."
"Fine," he growled, "but if they come over again tell me first, okay?"
"Don't worry about it." Danny laid his head back on the pillow. "They won't be back any time soon."