Someday part 2: As Sweet as a Dove
From the pictures and stories her father and aunts told her and her own memories, Melinda felt as if she knew her mother more then she really did. When she smelled the lilac blooms, her father was surprised to hear her say, 'I love you, mommy,' because lilac was the perfume Piper Halliwell used to wear. Everyone told Melinda she was too young to remember her mother because she had died when she was only three, but Melinda knew they were wrong. She remembered her mother and she worshipped her like a Goddess. In school, they had to write about someone they admired. Melinda had thought about this assignment. There was her Aunt Prue, whom she admired for her bravery and cautious nature. There was her Aunt Phoebe, whom she admired for her wit, and ability to make everything seem bright and cheerful. She admired her father for what he did for a living, and for the way he always knew the right thing to say. But there were negatives to these people as well. Melinda didn't like it when her father was away from home even if she did get to stay with her aunts. Her aunts always acted as if she were to young to do things and were overprotective. But there was a person who no one had anything bad to say about. Her mother. Phoebe always said she admired her and Prue did, too. And her father had loved her. They always said she was beautiful, smart, witty, brave, strong, and even panicky at times, and that was what they loved her for. In Melinda's eyes, Piper was a hero; an angel that always smiled. When she drew a picture of her mother how she remembered her, long, raven hair, dark hazel eyes, wings and a halo, her father laughed and said 'that's definitely Piper.' He always told Melinda that if Piper were alive today, she would have been very proud of her. This made Melinda feel very happy especially, for a no reason she could think of, when a white bird was watching in the window.
Leo started dating again when Melinda was nine, six years after his wife's death. Melinda had grown so attached to her mother and the idea that she was always watching her, that she didn't like the people her father brought into the house. She would begin to dance and say there were evil sprits in the house that didn't like Leo's new girlfriend. She would question and annoy them. She would always be around Leo and whenever his date wanted to 'go upstairs alone' with Leo, Melinda pretended to be ill. She hated them. And when these didn't work, like in the case of Maria, Leo's 5th girlfriend, Melinda would go to extremes.
"Hello, Maria," she said casually one day when she went into the kitchen to get a drink.
"Hello, Melly," Melinda hated that name.
"What's a smug cow?" Maria looked at Melinda.
"Why?"
"Oh, it's something I heard my dad say," Melinda could hardly keep from laughing as Maria gave her a stern look.
"Really, what else did he say?"
"Oh something about my mom and how she had a lot more character then the little girls he's dating now,"
"Really?" and with that, she stomped out of the room to Leo and left Melinda to snicker.
One day, however, Leo brought home a girl Melinda couldn't scare away.
"Denise, this is my daughter, Melinda. Whenever I introduce my dates to her they are always scared off. Melinda, I want you to be extra nice to Denise," Denise smiled and looked down at Melinda with bright green eyes, her long, wavy brown hair brushing her soft cheeks. She looked at Melinda as if to say, 'no one will come between me and my man.' Melinda looked back as if saying the same thing. Out of all the women her father brought home, this was the one she hated most. Melinda did her usual routine and nothing worked! She even came up with some new ideas! None helped. Some even brought Denise and her father close together. Like when Melinda told Denise her father had a fear of commitment from after he'd lost his first wife. Denise just rushed right up to Leo and comforted him, saying that she loved a man who wasn't afraid to show his emotions and one who was sympathetic. But Melinda had a fire inside her that she had inherited from her mother's side that kept burning bright and she was not going to give up.
When Denise moved in was when Melinda flipped! Denise went through the house.
"Oh, Leo, these pictures are simply awful!" she said, tossing one of Melinda's favorite photographs of her mother behind her. Leo caught it.
"But Denise, these are pictures of my deceased wife! And it comforts Melinda to know she's there on the hearth, watching us,"
"Please, Leo, I don't want to hear that you're still in love with a dead woman," this almost made Leo very angry, but he became patient.
"Honey, I am surprised to hear you say that. Piper is- was my wife and the mother of my child and I will always love her. If you have a problem with that, you can leave," Denise looked up at Leo.
"I'm sorry, honey, how about we keep one, and give the other pictures of her to Melinda," Denise took all the pictures, including the ones that Piper wasn't even in (except the ones with Leo in them), and kept one of Piper. She put the discarded pictures in a pile. She stuffed the picture of Piper into the corner of the hearth and began to put up pictures of her and Leo and only one of Melinda.
"There," she said. The only picture of Piper was almost completely hidden and Leo wasn't happy about that, but he said nothing.
Denise went through the house and put all of Piper's old things in the attic or threw them out except for the ones Melinda and Leo refused to be taken away from them. Melinda watched as Denise changed her father like an artist molding clay. She had no one left to turn to except her aunts. And now, she was really desperate. And all the while, a small white dove was watching the whole thing perched on a branch on a tree outside.
"No, honey, that is dangerous!"
"Please Aunt Phoebe! I need a banishing spell! You don't like her either," Phoebe turned and looked at her niece.
"You're right, I don't like her. However, magic is nothing to play with. It's not for personal gain!"
"Then what is it for?" Melinda looked quizzically at her aunt who looked completely taken aback.
"You'll find out. It's what your mother died for..." Phoebe stopped for it still pained her to speak of her sister's death. Prue entered the hall.
"Aunt Prue!" Prue looked at Melinda.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can you teach me a banishing spell?"
"No, honey, magic isn't a toy! Now, do you want Phoebe to take you to school or not?" Melinda sighed and followed Phoebe out the door as Prue went upstairs. Prue and Phoebe had taken the manor after Piper had died and Leo thought it was only fair. When Phoebe and Melinda went out the door, a familiar white bird flew over head.
"I'm sorry, Melinda. I hate my new step-mom," Melinda's friend, Jessie said. Jessie's parents were divorced and since Jessie most often lived with her dad, they knew how each other felt. In fact, they schemed together sometimes to get rid of their dads' new girlfriends. They were best friends; two peas in a pod and nothing could split them apart.
"WITCH!" screamed Jason Kraft, a boy who hated Melinda and her friends and whom she hated in return. He threw a stone at Melinda. Jessie stood up to Melinda's defense.
"What makes you say that?" she demanded.
"I saw her doing magic! She's evil!"
"Am not!" Melinda stood up beside Jessie.
"Really? Prove it!" all the kids in the fourth grade were watching now, some took Jason's side, some took Melinda's and some just stood there, watching the fight on the playground, much like the dove on the jungle gym
"She ain't no witch!" declared Alex Davis, Melinda's other best friend, "What magic did you see her do?"
"She dropped her pencil, right? And it rolled under the teacher's desk, right? Well you know it was during a test and it would be hard to get it back, right? I looked at her she looked around the room. She didn't get up, but I looked at her again, 3 seconds later, and she had the exact same pencil with the teeth marks and everything, even the weird eraser, and she just started writing again like nothin' happened!"
"Anything could explain that! She coulda gotten another pencil!" Jessie retorted.
But Jason shook his head, "Uh uh! The pencil under the desk? It was gone!" everyone ooed and awed and more people joined Jason's group. But to Melinda's surprise, even more joined hers.
"So what if she is a Witch?" asked one of the newcomers.
Jason seemed surprised by this question, "Because Witches are evil! Didn't you ever read Snow White, or the Wizard of Oz?"
"Yeah, I've read the Wizard of Oz! As I recall, there were good witches in it too!" cried the same newcomer. She seemed very sure of what she was saying. Melinda thought she was extremely tall for a fourth grader and her wavy blond hair fell a little past her shoulders.
"What a load of Bull, Lisa, let's get out of here!" another girl game to the newcomer's side.
"No, Jane, I don't like it when people tease people smaller then them!"
"They're only fourth graders! Now come on! Mrs. Anderson will be mad!" Lisa took one last look at Melinda, winked her lovely brown eyes, and left with the other girl. Melinda looked after her, curiously.
"How was school today, Mel?" Prue asked in the car.
"Strange..." she replied, trailing off. Her mind was still on that girl, Lisa.
"What do you mean 'strange?'"
"Well... This boy accused me of being a witch and this girl came in- I think she was in sixth grade- and defended me. When she had to go, she winked at me,"
"Interesting. You didn't use magic at school today, did you?" Prue asked.
"Well..."
"Melinda!"
"I'm sorry! It was just once and it was a difficult situation! I just used your power to get my pencil! I made sure no one was looking! He didn't see me do it, he was just suspicious,"
"Melinda, what have I told you about using your powers in public?"
"Power, Auntie Prue, I only used one," Melinda pointed out. Prue, Phoebe, and Leo knew that Melinda was a special witch. She was the child of a Charmed One and she had special gifts to accompany that. The first gift and surprise to her aunts and parents, was that she had the combined power of the Charmed Ones. The ability to freeze time, have premonitions, and telekinesis. She had no other powers, but that, in itself, was new.
"It doesn't matter what you did as long as you don't do it again,"
"I won't," Melinda promised, reluctantly.
When Melinda arrived home (even though she begged and pleaded to stay with her aunts), she received a phone call.
"Hi, my name is Lisa Martin. You don't know me, but I was that girl today at recess, the sixth grader. Any way, I wanted to ask you a question: Do you believe in magic?" there was a long silence as Melinda thought about her answer. Her aunts had told her not to tell anyone about her powers, but Melinda didn't think Lisa was an ordinary girl.
"... My Dad doesn't like me discussing things like this with strangers,"
"Oh. I'm sorry to bother you,"
"WAIT!" Melinda cried into the receiver, "I... I wouldn't really call you a stranger. In fact, I'm stranger then you,"
"Are you now? I wouldn't be too sure,"
There was another pause and then, Melinda did something bold, "Are you a Witch?"
Silence, then, "That depends. What would you call a Witch?"
"A... person who... who, um... has magic powers and... helps people?"
"Right answer. Yes, you could call me a Witch," Lisa said.
Melinda asked a question she had been asking forever, "What are spells for if not personal gain?"
"Spells? Why do you want to know?"
"Because my aunts won't tell me! They just tell me I can't use it for my own needs! They keep saying it's what my mom died for,"
"Well, I'm only a few years older then you and I'm still not quite sure," Lisa lied, "but maybe we could get together sometime and talk,"
"I'd like that," Melinda said, and they hung up.
"Melinda, I have some excellent news," Leo smiled at his daughter. Denise smiled at her, too, but her smile was full of cruel intentions.
"What?" Melinda asked.
"Denise and I are getting married!" Melinda's eyes widened and she walked slowly up the stairs and to her room and screamed.
"I think she took it rather well," Denise laughed.
"Melinda Wyatt!" screamed Denise, "What do you think you're doing in here?" she was very angry. Melinda was looking through Denise's drawers trying to find something easy to put a simple curse on.
"I... I..."
"I never want to see you in here again without my permission! NEVER! There are private things in here! And look what you've done to the place!" Melinda looked around. She had thrown articles of clothing over the room, pillows were on the floor, curtains were off their hinges- she had gone through all of this looking for an object to curse.
"I didn't mean it,"
"You didn't mean it! Of course you did! You hate me as much as I hate you and you want me out of this house just as much as I want you out of my life! But Leo won't let me send you off to a boarding school. He said there are things that you have to learn here! I hate you just like I hated your mother-" Denise gasped and covered her mouth.
"You... You knew my mother?" Melinda asked, aghast.
"I... I knew her. My sister went to her club and she kicked her out... In a sense of the phrase,"
"And you hated her?" Melinda didn't know one person who hated her mother.
"Yes! I hated her and her whole family! Your mother was nothing but a selfish human doormat!"
"Stop it!" Melinda said covering her ears, but she could still hear the malevolent words of her father's fiancé.
"She stole your father from me, you know. And she was cruel to every one she met! We were enemies from the day we met! That's why I sent- I sent her a note telling her to leave Leo alone!"
"STOP IT!"
"She was ugly, too! And she was no good at running a business!"
"IT'S ALL LIES!"
"And do you know what? You're even worse then she is,"
"STOP IT!!" Melinda screamed and ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door, where Melinda passed a gorgeous white dove...
Melinda ran into the woods and began to weep terribly. She sat against a tree and hugged her knees close to her. What was she going to do? She didn't know. She hated Denise and she never wanted to go back. She couldn't go back. She would be punished and probably the flower girl in a wedding she wished would never happen. She wanted to talk to someone, but Jessie was out of town and Matthew wouldn't understand. She had no idea where Lisa lived, either. She kept crying. Suddenly, a white bird flew onto the damp soil in front of her and cooed as if to comfort her. Then, there was a flash of white light and where the dove had been, appeared a dark-haired young woman with a beautiful smile.
"Mom?" Melinda asked, unbelieving.
"Yes, honey. I love you and I always will. I'm very proud of you. Denise will not get what she wants especially if you go back home. Your aunts will help you understand when you get there. You are a very special girl, Melinda, and I want to tell you the same thing I told my sisters. I am always watching over you and I will always be there for you especially when you need me most, remember that,"
"I... I will... Mommy," Melinda stuttered.
Piper smiled, "I love you, sweetheart. Now go home, your father and aunts need you," in another flash of white light, she transformed back into a white dove and flew away.
"I love you, too, Mom,"
"How could you let this happen?!" Leo demanded of his affianced.
She sighed, "Oh Leo, I'm growing tired of your love," she yawned, lazily.
"What?" Leo asked, completely shocked.
"You idiot!" She waved her hand and Leo and he went flying towards the wall. He was pulled up it as if by a rope with another wave and his hands became locked tight in chains that came from nowhere and coiled around his neck. His chained hands and neck hanged him on the wall like a picture frame and his feet weren't touching the ground.
"Do you know what they did to torture people in the Middle ages? They would use the headcrushers, which exerted tremendous force on the head by means of a screw. This could be used as a means of execution. Some headcrushers had a sharp point at the tip of the screw which would drive into the skull, anchoring it for the pressure of the skull plate," Leo flinched at this detailed description, "Of course there is also the Cat's Paw, which was about as large as four fingers of a man's hand, these devices, usually attached to a short handle, served to rip the victim's flesh to shreds and to strip it off the bones, in any part: face, abdomen, back, limbs... do you want to hear about other devises to choose from for your torture, or should I just use that?"
"Who are you?" Leo asked.
"Who am I... hmmm... interesting question. Well, let's just say I know something special that happened Saturday, June 26, 2006. I know what the people involved were talking about. I know what time one of them left. I know the look on another's face when she saw the fate of their sister. I know the sister's last words to her younger sister. And I know that the promise she made was broken," She smiled and Leo looked at her with all the hatred he could convene.
"YOU KILLED HER!" He screamed.
Denise laughed, "No, actually, I didn't. I sent someone to kill her. He did well, too, and he was well rewarded. He stole her love, life, and beauty from her and gave it to me. That's what made you love me. She is me,"
"NO! You're not her!" The door opened and closed and Prue and Phoebe came in.
"Leo, we heard what happened and- Oh my God!" Phoebe said when she turned the corner and saw the situation.
"Oh yes, if it isn't the Darned Ones," Denise shook her head. Prue tried to throw against the wall, but found her power was useless.
"You're all so idiotic. Your powers are useless against me. Why do you think, Phoebe, that you couldn't have any premonitions about me?"
"I had a bad feeling about you,"
"That has nothing to do with your psychic abilities! Many people have 'bad feelings!' And Leo, why do you think you couldn't sense anything wrong with me? I am invincible against everything in this world! I used to be a young witch like you until he came and offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. My soul for immortality, invincibility and ever lasting beauty! I gave it to him and ever since I have been killing anyone and everyone and my favorite was witches. Until I fell in love with you, Leo. But then, she came and had to steal you away. I couldn't kill her then, because I had just realized my strength. But when I had practiced and wheedled my way to an upper class warlock, I could hire someone to do it for me. She knew I was coming, we had had a confrontation at her club and she had kicked me out a few days before she died. She was weak while I was strong and I knew all demons and warlocks alike would worship me if I broke the Charmed circle. And I was. I have more power then you could dream of. But there was still something I wanted, Leo. You. But I had forgotten that you had a daughter. She would have ruined everything if she had known about demons because the combined power of the Charmed Ones is the only thing that can stop me. I needed her out of the way and now she is. She won't come back, I've made sure of it. And now, Leo, I have grown tired of your love and your consistent whining! Since I have no soul I can feel no love, compassion, or guilt. I only thought I loved you when I really wanted you... as a trophy. Time to die Leo once and for all with white lighter poison" Denise gathered all her energy into a black ball of electricity.
"STOP!" Melinda screamed when she entered the living room.
"Melinda!" Denise gasped, "I didn't know you would be returning,"
"Yeah well, I'm back and you're not going to hurt my family!"
"Melinda, only you can stop her; only you have the complete power of the Charmed Ones," Phoebe whispered. Melinda nodded even though she didn't really understand. But as if she had spoken them before, Melinda knew the words to say.
"The Power Of Three Will Set Me Free! The Power Of Three Will Set Me Free! The Power Of Three Will Set Me Free!"
"NO!" Screamed Denise as she disappeared in a haze of jet black smoke.
"What made you come back?" Prue asked.
Melinda smiled, "Oh, a little bird told me," Leo was confused but when Prue and Phoebe looked out the window and saw a white dove flying out of sight, they understood.
From the pictures and stories her father and aunts told her and her own memories, Melinda felt as if she knew her mother more then she really did. When she smelled the lilac blooms, her father was surprised to hear her say, 'I love you, mommy,' because lilac was the perfume Piper Halliwell used to wear. Everyone told Melinda she was too young to remember her mother because she had died when she was only three, but Melinda knew they were wrong. She remembered her mother and she worshipped her like a Goddess. In school, they had to write about someone they admired. Melinda had thought about this assignment. There was her Aunt Prue, whom she admired for her bravery and cautious nature. There was her Aunt Phoebe, whom she admired for her wit, and ability to make everything seem bright and cheerful. She admired her father for what he did for a living, and for the way he always knew the right thing to say. But there were negatives to these people as well. Melinda didn't like it when her father was away from home even if she did get to stay with her aunts. Her aunts always acted as if she were to young to do things and were overprotective. But there was a person who no one had anything bad to say about. Her mother. Phoebe always said she admired her and Prue did, too. And her father had loved her. They always said she was beautiful, smart, witty, brave, strong, and even panicky at times, and that was what they loved her for. In Melinda's eyes, Piper was a hero; an angel that always smiled. When she drew a picture of her mother how she remembered her, long, raven hair, dark hazel eyes, wings and a halo, her father laughed and said 'that's definitely Piper.' He always told Melinda that if Piper were alive today, she would have been very proud of her. This made Melinda feel very happy especially, for a no reason she could think of, when a white bird was watching in the window.
Leo started dating again when Melinda was nine, six years after his wife's death. Melinda had grown so attached to her mother and the idea that she was always watching her, that she didn't like the people her father brought into the house. She would begin to dance and say there were evil sprits in the house that didn't like Leo's new girlfriend. She would question and annoy them. She would always be around Leo and whenever his date wanted to 'go upstairs alone' with Leo, Melinda pretended to be ill. She hated them. And when these didn't work, like in the case of Maria, Leo's 5th girlfriend, Melinda would go to extremes.
"Hello, Maria," she said casually one day when she went into the kitchen to get a drink.
"Hello, Melly," Melinda hated that name.
"What's a smug cow?" Maria looked at Melinda.
"Why?"
"Oh, it's something I heard my dad say," Melinda could hardly keep from laughing as Maria gave her a stern look.
"Really, what else did he say?"
"Oh something about my mom and how she had a lot more character then the little girls he's dating now,"
"Really?" and with that, she stomped out of the room to Leo and left Melinda to snicker.
One day, however, Leo brought home a girl Melinda couldn't scare away.
"Denise, this is my daughter, Melinda. Whenever I introduce my dates to her they are always scared off. Melinda, I want you to be extra nice to Denise," Denise smiled and looked down at Melinda with bright green eyes, her long, wavy brown hair brushing her soft cheeks. She looked at Melinda as if to say, 'no one will come between me and my man.' Melinda looked back as if saying the same thing. Out of all the women her father brought home, this was the one she hated most. Melinda did her usual routine and nothing worked! She even came up with some new ideas! None helped. Some even brought Denise and her father close together. Like when Melinda told Denise her father had a fear of commitment from after he'd lost his first wife. Denise just rushed right up to Leo and comforted him, saying that she loved a man who wasn't afraid to show his emotions and one who was sympathetic. But Melinda had a fire inside her that she had inherited from her mother's side that kept burning bright and she was not going to give up.
When Denise moved in was when Melinda flipped! Denise went through the house.
"Oh, Leo, these pictures are simply awful!" she said, tossing one of Melinda's favorite photographs of her mother behind her. Leo caught it.
"But Denise, these are pictures of my deceased wife! And it comforts Melinda to know she's there on the hearth, watching us,"
"Please, Leo, I don't want to hear that you're still in love with a dead woman," this almost made Leo very angry, but he became patient.
"Honey, I am surprised to hear you say that. Piper is- was my wife and the mother of my child and I will always love her. If you have a problem with that, you can leave," Denise looked up at Leo.
"I'm sorry, honey, how about we keep one, and give the other pictures of her to Melinda," Denise took all the pictures, including the ones that Piper wasn't even in (except the ones with Leo in them), and kept one of Piper. She put the discarded pictures in a pile. She stuffed the picture of Piper into the corner of the hearth and began to put up pictures of her and Leo and only one of Melinda.
"There," she said. The only picture of Piper was almost completely hidden and Leo wasn't happy about that, but he said nothing.
Denise went through the house and put all of Piper's old things in the attic or threw them out except for the ones Melinda and Leo refused to be taken away from them. Melinda watched as Denise changed her father like an artist molding clay. She had no one left to turn to except her aunts. And now, she was really desperate. And all the while, a small white dove was watching the whole thing perched on a branch on a tree outside.
"No, honey, that is dangerous!"
"Please Aunt Phoebe! I need a banishing spell! You don't like her either," Phoebe turned and looked at her niece.
"You're right, I don't like her. However, magic is nothing to play with. It's not for personal gain!"
"Then what is it for?" Melinda looked quizzically at her aunt who looked completely taken aback.
"You'll find out. It's what your mother died for..." Phoebe stopped for it still pained her to speak of her sister's death. Prue entered the hall.
"Aunt Prue!" Prue looked at Melinda.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can you teach me a banishing spell?"
"No, honey, magic isn't a toy! Now, do you want Phoebe to take you to school or not?" Melinda sighed and followed Phoebe out the door as Prue went upstairs. Prue and Phoebe had taken the manor after Piper had died and Leo thought it was only fair. When Phoebe and Melinda went out the door, a familiar white bird flew over head.
"I'm sorry, Melinda. I hate my new step-mom," Melinda's friend, Jessie said. Jessie's parents were divorced and since Jessie most often lived with her dad, they knew how each other felt. In fact, they schemed together sometimes to get rid of their dads' new girlfriends. They were best friends; two peas in a pod and nothing could split them apart.
"WITCH!" screamed Jason Kraft, a boy who hated Melinda and her friends and whom she hated in return. He threw a stone at Melinda. Jessie stood up to Melinda's defense.
"What makes you say that?" she demanded.
"I saw her doing magic! She's evil!"
"Am not!" Melinda stood up beside Jessie.
"Really? Prove it!" all the kids in the fourth grade were watching now, some took Jason's side, some took Melinda's and some just stood there, watching the fight on the playground, much like the dove on the jungle gym
"She ain't no witch!" declared Alex Davis, Melinda's other best friend, "What magic did you see her do?"
"She dropped her pencil, right? And it rolled under the teacher's desk, right? Well you know it was during a test and it would be hard to get it back, right? I looked at her she looked around the room. She didn't get up, but I looked at her again, 3 seconds later, and she had the exact same pencil with the teeth marks and everything, even the weird eraser, and she just started writing again like nothin' happened!"
"Anything could explain that! She coulda gotten another pencil!" Jessie retorted.
But Jason shook his head, "Uh uh! The pencil under the desk? It was gone!" everyone ooed and awed and more people joined Jason's group. But to Melinda's surprise, even more joined hers.
"So what if she is a Witch?" asked one of the newcomers.
Jason seemed surprised by this question, "Because Witches are evil! Didn't you ever read Snow White, or the Wizard of Oz?"
"Yeah, I've read the Wizard of Oz! As I recall, there were good witches in it too!" cried the same newcomer. She seemed very sure of what she was saying. Melinda thought she was extremely tall for a fourth grader and her wavy blond hair fell a little past her shoulders.
"What a load of Bull, Lisa, let's get out of here!" another girl game to the newcomer's side.
"No, Jane, I don't like it when people tease people smaller then them!"
"They're only fourth graders! Now come on! Mrs. Anderson will be mad!" Lisa took one last look at Melinda, winked her lovely brown eyes, and left with the other girl. Melinda looked after her, curiously.
"How was school today, Mel?" Prue asked in the car.
"Strange..." she replied, trailing off. Her mind was still on that girl, Lisa.
"What do you mean 'strange?'"
"Well... This boy accused me of being a witch and this girl came in- I think she was in sixth grade- and defended me. When she had to go, she winked at me,"
"Interesting. You didn't use magic at school today, did you?" Prue asked.
"Well..."
"Melinda!"
"I'm sorry! It was just once and it was a difficult situation! I just used your power to get my pencil! I made sure no one was looking! He didn't see me do it, he was just suspicious,"
"Melinda, what have I told you about using your powers in public?"
"Power, Auntie Prue, I only used one," Melinda pointed out. Prue, Phoebe, and Leo knew that Melinda was a special witch. She was the child of a Charmed One and she had special gifts to accompany that. The first gift and surprise to her aunts and parents, was that she had the combined power of the Charmed Ones. The ability to freeze time, have premonitions, and telekinesis. She had no other powers, but that, in itself, was new.
"It doesn't matter what you did as long as you don't do it again,"
"I won't," Melinda promised, reluctantly.
When Melinda arrived home (even though she begged and pleaded to stay with her aunts), she received a phone call.
"Hi, my name is Lisa Martin. You don't know me, but I was that girl today at recess, the sixth grader. Any way, I wanted to ask you a question: Do you believe in magic?" there was a long silence as Melinda thought about her answer. Her aunts had told her not to tell anyone about her powers, but Melinda didn't think Lisa was an ordinary girl.
"... My Dad doesn't like me discussing things like this with strangers,"
"Oh. I'm sorry to bother you,"
"WAIT!" Melinda cried into the receiver, "I... I wouldn't really call you a stranger. In fact, I'm stranger then you,"
"Are you now? I wouldn't be too sure,"
There was another pause and then, Melinda did something bold, "Are you a Witch?"
Silence, then, "That depends. What would you call a Witch?"
"A... person who... who, um... has magic powers and... helps people?"
"Right answer. Yes, you could call me a Witch," Lisa said.
Melinda asked a question she had been asking forever, "What are spells for if not personal gain?"
"Spells? Why do you want to know?"
"Because my aunts won't tell me! They just tell me I can't use it for my own needs! They keep saying it's what my mom died for,"
"Well, I'm only a few years older then you and I'm still not quite sure," Lisa lied, "but maybe we could get together sometime and talk,"
"I'd like that," Melinda said, and they hung up.
"Melinda, I have some excellent news," Leo smiled at his daughter. Denise smiled at her, too, but her smile was full of cruel intentions.
"What?" Melinda asked.
"Denise and I are getting married!" Melinda's eyes widened and she walked slowly up the stairs and to her room and screamed.
"I think she took it rather well," Denise laughed.
"Melinda Wyatt!" screamed Denise, "What do you think you're doing in here?" she was very angry. Melinda was looking through Denise's drawers trying to find something easy to put a simple curse on.
"I... I..."
"I never want to see you in here again without my permission! NEVER! There are private things in here! And look what you've done to the place!" Melinda looked around. She had thrown articles of clothing over the room, pillows were on the floor, curtains were off their hinges- she had gone through all of this looking for an object to curse.
"I didn't mean it,"
"You didn't mean it! Of course you did! You hate me as much as I hate you and you want me out of this house just as much as I want you out of my life! But Leo won't let me send you off to a boarding school. He said there are things that you have to learn here! I hate you just like I hated your mother-" Denise gasped and covered her mouth.
"You... You knew my mother?" Melinda asked, aghast.
"I... I knew her. My sister went to her club and she kicked her out... In a sense of the phrase,"
"And you hated her?" Melinda didn't know one person who hated her mother.
"Yes! I hated her and her whole family! Your mother was nothing but a selfish human doormat!"
"Stop it!" Melinda said covering her ears, but she could still hear the malevolent words of her father's fiancé.
"She stole your father from me, you know. And she was cruel to every one she met! We were enemies from the day we met! That's why I sent- I sent her a note telling her to leave Leo alone!"
"STOP IT!"
"She was ugly, too! And she was no good at running a business!"
"IT'S ALL LIES!"
"And do you know what? You're even worse then she is,"
"STOP IT!!" Melinda screamed and ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door, where Melinda passed a gorgeous white dove...
Melinda ran into the woods and began to weep terribly. She sat against a tree and hugged her knees close to her. What was she going to do? She didn't know. She hated Denise and she never wanted to go back. She couldn't go back. She would be punished and probably the flower girl in a wedding she wished would never happen. She wanted to talk to someone, but Jessie was out of town and Matthew wouldn't understand. She had no idea where Lisa lived, either. She kept crying. Suddenly, a white bird flew onto the damp soil in front of her and cooed as if to comfort her. Then, there was a flash of white light and where the dove had been, appeared a dark-haired young woman with a beautiful smile.
"Mom?" Melinda asked, unbelieving.
"Yes, honey. I love you and I always will. I'm very proud of you. Denise will not get what she wants especially if you go back home. Your aunts will help you understand when you get there. You are a very special girl, Melinda, and I want to tell you the same thing I told my sisters. I am always watching over you and I will always be there for you especially when you need me most, remember that,"
"I... I will... Mommy," Melinda stuttered.
Piper smiled, "I love you, sweetheart. Now go home, your father and aunts need you," in another flash of white light, she transformed back into a white dove and flew away.
"I love you, too, Mom,"
"How could you let this happen?!" Leo demanded of his affianced.
She sighed, "Oh Leo, I'm growing tired of your love," she yawned, lazily.
"What?" Leo asked, completely shocked.
"You idiot!" She waved her hand and Leo and he went flying towards the wall. He was pulled up it as if by a rope with another wave and his hands became locked tight in chains that came from nowhere and coiled around his neck. His chained hands and neck hanged him on the wall like a picture frame and his feet weren't touching the ground.
"Do you know what they did to torture people in the Middle ages? They would use the headcrushers, which exerted tremendous force on the head by means of a screw. This could be used as a means of execution. Some headcrushers had a sharp point at the tip of the screw which would drive into the skull, anchoring it for the pressure of the skull plate," Leo flinched at this detailed description, "Of course there is also the Cat's Paw, which was about as large as four fingers of a man's hand, these devices, usually attached to a short handle, served to rip the victim's flesh to shreds and to strip it off the bones, in any part: face, abdomen, back, limbs... do you want to hear about other devises to choose from for your torture, or should I just use that?"
"Who are you?" Leo asked.
"Who am I... hmmm... interesting question. Well, let's just say I know something special that happened Saturday, June 26, 2006. I know what the people involved were talking about. I know what time one of them left. I know the look on another's face when she saw the fate of their sister. I know the sister's last words to her younger sister. And I know that the promise she made was broken," She smiled and Leo looked at her with all the hatred he could convene.
"YOU KILLED HER!" He screamed.
Denise laughed, "No, actually, I didn't. I sent someone to kill her. He did well, too, and he was well rewarded. He stole her love, life, and beauty from her and gave it to me. That's what made you love me. She is me,"
"NO! You're not her!" The door opened and closed and Prue and Phoebe came in.
"Leo, we heard what happened and- Oh my God!" Phoebe said when she turned the corner and saw the situation.
"Oh yes, if it isn't the Darned Ones," Denise shook her head. Prue tried to throw against the wall, but found her power was useless.
"You're all so idiotic. Your powers are useless against me. Why do you think, Phoebe, that you couldn't have any premonitions about me?"
"I had a bad feeling about you,"
"That has nothing to do with your psychic abilities! Many people have 'bad feelings!' And Leo, why do you think you couldn't sense anything wrong with me? I am invincible against everything in this world! I used to be a young witch like you until he came and offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. My soul for immortality, invincibility and ever lasting beauty! I gave it to him and ever since I have been killing anyone and everyone and my favorite was witches. Until I fell in love with you, Leo. But then, she came and had to steal you away. I couldn't kill her then, because I had just realized my strength. But when I had practiced and wheedled my way to an upper class warlock, I could hire someone to do it for me. She knew I was coming, we had had a confrontation at her club and she had kicked me out a few days before she died. She was weak while I was strong and I knew all demons and warlocks alike would worship me if I broke the Charmed circle. And I was. I have more power then you could dream of. But there was still something I wanted, Leo. You. But I had forgotten that you had a daughter. She would have ruined everything if she had known about demons because the combined power of the Charmed Ones is the only thing that can stop me. I needed her out of the way and now she is. She won't come back, I've made sure of it. And now, Leo, I have grown tired of your love and your consistent whining! Since I have no soul I can feel no love, compassion, or guilt. I only thought I loved you when I really wanted you... as a trophy. Time to die Leo once and for all with white lighter poison" Denise gathered all her energy into a black ball of electricity.
"STOP!" Melinda screamed when she entered the living room.
"Melinda!" Denise gasped, "I didn't know you would be returning,"
"Yeah well, I'm back and you're not going to hurt my family!"
"Melinda, only you can stop her; only you have the complete power of the Charmed Ones," Phoebe whispered. Melinda nodded even though she didn't really understand. But as if she had spoken them before, Melinda knew the words to say.
"The Power Of Three Will Set Me Free! The Power Of Three Will Set Me Free! The Power Of Three Will Set Me Free!"
"NO!" Screamed Denise as she disappeared in a haze of jet black smoke.
"What made you come back?" Prue asked.
Melinda smiled, "Oh, a little bird told me," Leo was confused but when Prue and Phoebe looked out the window and saw a white dove flying out of sight, they understood.