"Whoops! Damn." Driving to the club, Piper backed her Jeep out of the intersection that she had almost crossed against the red light. This morning had been a disaster, she still had not resolved anything with Leo, and it had ended up with him sulking in the hallway, and her storming out of the house. She was still so distracted about it, that operating a motor vehicle was probably not the best of plans.
She wasn't really mad about Leo orbing out during the night. Though that did still gall her a bit, she truly did understand the need for Leo to answer the call. Jerking the car forward as the light changed, she blew back an errant strand of hair that fell into her eyes. The real problem wasn't Leo; she admitted to herself, the real source of her bad moods was her stress about having to play out their minor marital dramas in front of her sisters every day.
As she pulled into P3, she argued with herself. Married life was a compromise. But why did she have to do all the compromising? Her sisters tried to be patient with her, but they just didn't understand how much of a strain being married and being a Charmed One really was. Since the need for the Power of Three could come upon them at any minute--and it wouldn't wait for a drive across town--there was no way that she and Leo could move out and start their own lives. So there they were. Forced to try to make their marriage work under the watchful eyes of her two prying sisters.
Walking through the club doors, Piper glared fiercely at nothing in particular. It wasn't the first time she had lamented her destiny. But she knew by now that there was no cheating fate, besides, the thought of all those innocents at the mercy of demons if she were ever to quit was enough to make her accept her duty. Still it rankled sometimes. "Dammit!" Piper winced as she snagged her sweater on the edge of the bar. "Great. Just great."
She decided to take out her aggression on the employee schedule she still had yet to finish. Pulling out all the papers and time cards, she settled down at a table to spread things out. It was still early; the first-shift employees wouldn't even be in for a good five hours.
She was crouched over her work, just getting into it, when she jerked straight up as suddenly the sound system came on at full volume. The music of the latest teen-pop group loudly reverberated around the empty club. "What the hell…?!!" Piper leaped up from her chair and looked around her in alarm before running cautiously up to the D.J. booth. Slamming her hand down on the console power button, she cut off the sounds of female voices just starting to harmonize their way into a chorus.
Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she glanced around the crowded booth, and almost missed the small movement of a leg pulling back into the shadows behind the equalizer underneath the enormous mixing board.
"Hey! You get out from there! What are you doing?" Piper arched her eyebrow as a young red-faced girl awkwardly crawled out from beneath the console. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my club? How did you get in?" Piper stood there with her arms crossed and steel in her eyes.
The young girl hunched her shoulders and mumbled some words. She couldn't be more than 13 years old, her dark hair pulled into a long ponytail that reached halfway down her back. She wore running shoes in the latest fashion, and reached for the tiny backpack that she had accidentally set down on top of the speaker's on-switch.
Piper spoke once more, "Say that again? I didn't hear you." Seeing that the girl was obviously intimidated, Piper softened her voice a little, but only a little. "I repeat, how did you get in here?"
Still not looking up at Piper, the young girl stammered, "I, I'm Pammie."
"Yes…and?" Piper set her jaw and looked at the girl expectantly.
"I, I came to find you." Came the timid reply from the downcast head.
"What are you talking about, do we know each other?" Piper responded.
"Well, not really. But…" Then Pammie finally raised her eyes to meet Piper's own. Piper blanched briefly and touched her head for a moment to dispel her dizziness.
"Oh! Pammie! I'm sorry sweetie! I forgot that you were going to be here today!" Piper rushed in to catch the girl up in a quick hug. "Come on honey, do you want to help rack glasses?"
Pammie cocked her head to the side and smiled up at the older woman, all traces of timidity gone. "Sure, Big Sis!"
Back at the manor, Phoebe entered the parlor closely followed by Claudia, both of them laden with little packets and jars of various herbs and dried roots. "Piper! Are you around?"
"I'm in the kitchen!" Came back the muffled reply.
Turning toward Claudia, she motioned for her to follow. "All that work this afternoon, and we've still got nada on this unknown threat. I'm hoping Piper will have some new insight."
Claudia nodded agreeably. "'Too many cooks spoil the potion, but a fresh pair of eyes always adds to the flavor.'" As they entered the kitchen, Phoebe grimaced slightly at the image, and glanced down at the small jar of salamander eyes that she had picked up along with a package of powdered hen's wart.
"Is that my favorite earthly High Priestess I hear offering up some more of her sage advice?" Piper chirped, in a good mood at last.
"Hello my dear." Claudia said as she received Piper's warm hug. "Now where's that lovely husband of yours?"
A brief cloud passed over Piper's face as she remembered the events of the morning. "Oh, I suppose he's off at a staff meeting or something."
"I see." Claudia replied as she saw Phoebe's surreptitious warning gesture. "Well then. We have a problem on our hands. My morning meditation revealed something indistinct that involves you three sisters, and so far we haven't figured out a way for Phoebe to get a Premonition about it."
"And we've got to figure it out before anything bad happens. Hey," Phoebe interjected, "Aren't you supposed to be on-shift at the club tonight?"
"Yeah, I'm going back soon, I just had to drop Pammie back home first, since she came to help me out today." Piper answered.
Phoebe shook her head in real confusion, "Huh? And I mean it when I say, 'Huh'?"
Before Piper could answer, all their eyes turned as a teenaged girl sprung through the back kitchen door.
Both Phoebe and Claudia gave themselves a small shake as a chill passed through them.
"Well hi there little sis!" Phoebe said as Pammie plopped herself down in a chair and eyed the newcomers. "I thought you were spending the day at Ocean Beach with Veronica and Matt?"
Pammie shook her head as she swung her legs under the table, "Nope, it's too windy out to be any fun. So I thought I could help Piper out at work. Hi Claudia."
Phoebe nodded absently as she soothed her forehead from the brief flash of dizziness that was already fading away. Claudia gave the little girl an indulgent smile, though she too was rubbing her temples.
"Well, Claudia was just helping me carry these things in. Claudia, would you like to stay for some tea?" Phoebe asked as Pammie stared intently at the two of them.
"Oh no dear, I have to be going, I just stopped in for…for…well, I suppose I just wanted to say hello." Claudia appeared perplexed for a moment, but soon smiled benignly as she set her burden down on the kitchen counter. Phoebe crossed over to the young teenaged girl to give her a friendly yank on her ponytail, but Pammie danced up from her seat.
"I'll walk you out to your car, Claudia." Pammie offered graciously as she smoothly evaded Phoebe's playful tug.
"Oh yes Pamela, that would be nice." Claudia made her goodbyes, and the two sisters busied themselves with putting away the things that Sarta had given them. All thoughts of identifying an unknown menace had completely vanished from their minds.
Later that night, Pammie crept down the halls of the Manor, avoiding the creaky spots in the floorboards as she headed towards the attic.
Piper was still at the club, and Phoebe had called it an early night. The air was still with that calm and quiet that hits just before midnight. But sweet-seeming little Pammie cursed like a sailor when she saw that it had gotten so late. Standing there in the hall, she clutched at the bunch of small trinkets dangling from the charm bracelet on her left wrist. Each midnight she had to refresh the spell that clouded the minds of her "sisters", or they'd immediately be able to see through her spell.
"Eye of might, Eye so clear, Make them see, And make them hear.
Sisters Three, Now have me, Cloud their eyes from What should be."
The chimes from the grandfather clock downstairs had just finished tolling in the background. Pammie breathed a quick sigh of relief, and was just turning toward the attic stairs again, when Phoebe opened her door for a trip to the bathroom.
"Pammie! Ack, you scared me! What are you doing up so late?"
"Oh, hi Pheebs." Pammie wheeled around to change direction in mid-step. "I just thought I had left my glasses up here in the reading nook. I'm always forgetting them somewhere! Don't you hate that?"
Phoebe yawned as she answered sympathetically, "Oh, yeah, I know what you mean. I'm always leaving my glasses around somewhere too."
"Well, I don't see them here, I guess I don't really need them right now. I mean, I can always finish my project tomorrow, right?" Pammie sidled past Phoebe and edged her way back toward her room. "Um, will you let me know if you see them?"
"Sure thing." Phoebe yawned again as the bathroom door clicked shut behind her.
Pammie pursed her lips sourly as she made her way back to 'her room'. "Right. As if you could see anything, my dear *big* sister." She snorted contemptuously as she fondled the charm bracelet once more. Closing the door behind her, she glanced around the room. "Ah, Prue. So sad you don't exist anymore. I'm sure you at least would be able to see what's right in front of your face."