Phoebe sang loudly along with the radio as she pulled into the parking lot of the cozy bookstore and greenhouse that belonged to Sarta and Paul Winstead.
"Hello?" Phoebe called out as the small bell on the door tinkled her arrival.
"Yes? Oh, Phoebe! I'm glad you're here." A petite dusky-complexioned woman peeked out from behind a row of large potted plants. Sarta herself was not a witch, but she had married one, and together she and her husband Paul ran a mystical bookstore and herbarium.
Throwing her long dark braid behind her shoulder, Sarta ushered the youngest Halliwell into the store proper. "Just in time. I just got a shipment of banana plants in, and Goddess help me if I can't find a place to put them all!"
Laughing, Phoebe ducked under the long green leafy stalk that batted her on the head. "Wow. Planning on repopulating the rainforest single-handedly?"
Giving a rueful sigh, Sarta grinned at the younger girl, "You have no idea. I gave Celia the day off, since I knew you were coming, and-oh hi darling." She cut off and reached up to give her husband a peck as he came into the room.
"Hi sweet pea." Paul said as he gave his wife a nuzzle. "Well, hi there Phoebe, you've come to help us out today?" Paul was a tall, thin man with wire-rimmed glasses and the slight rumpled look of a longtime professor.
"Yeah, I'm hoping to raid your flowerbeds when you're not looking." Phoebe grinned back at the pair. "Hey, how do you guys do it?"
Giving Paul a squeeze around the middle, Sarta looked at her quizzically. "Do what? Wrestle banana plants?"
"No, I mean, you've been married for more than 10 years, how do you two stay so much in love?" Phoebe asked, "My sister the newlywed is having a few, uh troubles, you might say."
The couple looked at each other knowingly. "Let's just say it takes a lot of communication." Sarta said. "And knowing when to give each other space." Paul continued.
"Hmm…" Phoebe mused.
"Alright love," Paul gave Sarta a peck on the forehead. "I'm going to see what I can do about the books, if you want to give Phoebe the grand tour. Oh, and Claudia said she was going to stop by later to pick up a few things."
Nodding cheerily, Sarta took Phoebe by the arm and led her back into the jungle.
"Oh this is not good." Claudia stirred from her trance and snuffed out her meditation candle.
Claudia was a stately figure of a woman. A High Priestess for well over 20 years, Claudia had been a longtime friend of Penny Johnson, the grandmother of the Charmed Ones, and she had a presence about her that was undeniable.
"Something is not quite right…" Claudia had a rarely seen power, one that was usually reserved for White Lighters or other mystical agents of The Powers That Be. But that was exactly why she was the head of this generation's members of the Keepers of Hope--she had the ability to sense and seek out both good and evil magic. Though it was not an active power, it was useful in knowing who to recruit and who to be wary of--it was what had drawn her to the Halliwells in the first place. But today her radar was going off the chart; the only problem was that it was zigzagging in both directions, good and evil.
Frustrated, Claudia drummed her fingers on the table, mumbling to herself. "I should be able to discern the nature of it…but there is something blocking me."
Standing up quickly, Claudia spoke aloud, "'The fool who waits is a fool indeed.' Maybe Sarta has something that I'm lacking."
"Wow, so you mean you can substitute powdered hen's wart for bat guano? Prue is gonna be happy about that one!" Phoebe had her glasses on, and was going through the inventory list with a red permanent marker. "OK, so tell me the truth, what's the deal with newt's eyes?"
Sarta opened her mouth to answer when the bell on the door chimed, and it swung open. Claudia swept into the room with an almost regal air about her. "Sarta, I need your help. Why, Phoebe, what a pleasant surprise. 'What one least expects, one should expect the most.'" Claudia was like an old nursemaid, always levelheaded, and always chock full of 'wise' sayings.
Phoebe grinned, and skipped across the room to give the stately woman a warm hug. "Hiya Claudia! I came to help Sarta out with a little spring cleaning." Then worry crossed her features, "Wait a minute, what's wrong?"
Taking the seat that Sarta offered, Claudia arranged her skirts, and then looked at each of them in turn. "Something's brewing…I can sense it. The problem is that something is blocking my sight, even in meditation I was not able to see if what I'm sensing is good or evil." Looking then at the youngest Charmed One, she continued, "Phoebe, perhaps you can get a Premonition?"
Phoebe shook her head. "I can't just call premonitions at will. Besides, if its something that is so vague that even you can't determine it, I have nothing to go on."
Claudia frowned as she took in the information, then sighed in exasperation. "All I could tell was that it concerns you and your sisters, Phoebe. If only I could SEE what it is…it seems so close to you, yet so far…"
Sarta flipped her braid behind her shoulder again, giving worried looks to both witches. "Well if that's all we've got to go on, then we've definitely got a problem."