Prue's heart was fluttering as she tried to think of a way to tell Abby
about her secret without frightening her. Abby was young enough that
accepting the supernatural and magical stuff would be rather easy for her.
It was the constant battle of good versus evil she figured would be the
scary part. After mulling it over for a few quick moments, she got an idea
that would make it a little easier for all involved. She lifted Abby out of
the chair and sat down herself, settling the little girl on her lap. "I
want to show you something."
Abby looked up at her, both wary and confused, but Prue just gave the girl a smile. She met Piper's eyes and nodded her head in the direction of the Book of Shadows. Piper grinned once she realized what Prue was going to do. She lifted the Book from its lectern and handed it over to her sister. Prue opened the Book, gripping the sides and resting the bottom of it on Abby's knees. "Whoa," Abby said softly. "That looks really old."
"It is really old," Prue said with a smile. "It's been passed down in my family from generation to generation since the 1600s."
"Wow," Abby whispered, her eyes widening once she realized just how old the volume was. "What is it? I mean, besides a big book."
"I'll get to that." She turned to the page that told the story of Melinda Warren's prophecy. "This woman is our ancestor," she explained gently, "and we are the sisters she was talking about."
Abby skimmed the page, then looked from the Book to Prue cautiously. "But that means you guys are witches."
"That's right, sweetie," Prue said quickly, "but we're not like the witches in the movies. We use our magic for good."
"Magic?" Abby asked, a small smile forming on her lips.
Prue smiled at her. "Yes, magic. Real magic. Each of us has a special power and we use them to fight evil."
"This is why it's complicated, honey," Piper explained as she crouched down in front of the chair. "Our lives are very dangerous and because you don't have powers, you can't protect yourself the way we can protect ourselves."
Abby took a deep breath. "What kind of evil?" she asked warily.
Prue and Piper looked up at each other, unsure how to answer the question without scaring the little girl. "Well," Prue said, clearing her throat nervously, "they're people with powers just like ours. The only difference is they use their powers to hurt people instead of helping people like we do."
"Oh." Abby flipped through the pages of the Book of Shadows silently, trying to process what she had just been told. The sisters were magical and, from what she gathered, in constant danger. Because of that, she couldn't stay with them. It didn't seem fair at all. She wanted to stay with the sisters desperately. She liked all of them, though she was a little angry at Phoebe for arguing that she couldn't stay, and she appreciated everything that they were doing for her. They cared about her and now their magic was about to tear apart the only chance she had at a family. "Well, what if I say I don't care about the danger and I want to stay here anyway? Could I stay then?"
Prue glanced over at Phoebe and shot her an angry glare. She wanted to tell Abby that if it were up to her, they'd be her legal guardians right now, but she had to get permission from all her sisters and Phoebe was the one standing in the way. "Sweetie, it's not that easy," she said instead. "We'd have to go through the courts and stuff, and they might not let you stay here, even though you want to and we want you to."
Abby pouted, then leaned back against Prue, lazily flipping pages once again. Nothing seemed fair or right. She finally had people who seemed to care about her, and she couldn't stay with them. It shouldn't have to be this way, she thought angrily. I shouldn't have to look for people who want me. She closed her eyes against the tears that were gathering and bit her lip to keep herself from crying.
Phoebe slowly approached the little girl and put her hand on her arm, trying to comfort her. Abby pulled away and reached up, hugging Prue instead. Heartbroken, Phoebe looked up at Prue, silently asking what she should do. Prue just shrugged, softening a little when she saw how upset Phoebe was. Phoebe hadn't meant for Abby to feel like she wasn't welcome. She was just concerned about the girl's safety, just like she herself and Piper were. After a quick moment of thought, Prue grinned and tapped Abby's shoulder. "Hey, guess what. Phoebe may have found a way to find your mom."
Abby finally opened her eyes and looked up. "Really?" she asked, blinking back tears. The small smile was beginning to come back on her lips. She seemed excited for a second, then her face fell again. "But my mom doesn't want me, either."
"Honey, we don't think Peter was telling you the truth when he said that," Phoebe said gently. She rested her hand on Abby's knee, and to her relief, Abby didn't pull away. "There's a spell in the Book that might be able to find her."
"It's not for sure?"
"No, sweetie, it's not," Prue said, hugging Abby lightly. "See, the way the spell is written, you have to say it. But you're not magical like we are, so it may not work."
Abby sighed, shaking her head. It felt like they kept running into dead ends. "It can't hurt to try," she said after a moment, shrugging. "I mean, if it doesn't work, nothing bad will happen, right? Nothing will be different."
"Right," Prue answered, pulling Abby's long hair away from her face. The humidity of the attic was causing her hair to curl and form tendrils around her face. "So, what do you say? Want to try?"
"Sure," Abby answered with another shrug. Prue lifted the Book off of Abby's knees so the girl could hop off her lap. Abby did just that and watched as the sisters got to work, setting up the attic for the spell.
Prue laid the Book on an old steamer trunk as Prue set out a small circle of candles. A little chill ran down Abby's spine once Phoebe lit the candles and the attic lit up with flickering candlelight.
"Okay, sweetie, come here," Prue said, holding one hand out to her and flipping the pages of the Book with the other. Abby slowly stepped over to Prue and took her hand. Once Prue found the spell again, she led Abby into the circle and sat her down exactly in the center. "All right, you ready?"
Abby nodded, silently praying that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. "It's now or never," she said, her voice shaking slightly.
Piper grinned and set a small silver chalice in front of Abby. Phoebe finished writing something on a small yellow notepad with a flourish and handed it to Abby. She took it with a confused expression. "All right, this is what you have to do," Prue said gently, hoping to ease Abby's confusion. "Phoebe just handed you the spell you have to say. Read it, then stick one of the corners of the paper into a candle flame. After it catches, just put the paper in the chalice and that's it."
Abby took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves. This whole thing would be cool if it wasn't so overwhelming, she thought. After a moment, she opened her eyes and let her breath out slowly. "Okay, here goes." She looked down at the paper and tried to steady her hands. "Hear me now, I seek to find, the one whose name is on my mind. Carol Lancaster, please hear my call, and return to me once and for all." She placed the tip of the paper into the candle and quickly dropped the burning paper into the chalice.
As soon as the paper burned out, Prue leaned over and blew out the candles she could reach. "All right, that's it," she said with a smile.
"That's it?" Abby asked, jumping up from the floor. She blew out the rest of the candles before stepping out of the circle. "How do we know if it worked?"
"We won't know for a day or two, honey," Piper answered, wrapping her arm around Abby's shoulders and giving her a small sideways hug.
"What if it doesn't work?" Abby asked quietly, almost as if she was afraid to find out the answer.
"We look for something else to try," Prue said, strong determination in her voice. "Come on, sweetie. How about we play a game or something downstairs? All four of us."
Abby cast a nervous glance at Phoebe before sidling up to Prue. "Sure, why not?"
Prue locked eyes with Phoebe and gave her a gentle, apologetic smile. Phoebe smiled back, but as soon as Prue turned around, she allowed her face to fall. She wouldn't blame Abby if she hated her. After all the little girl had been through, the last thing she needed was to hear someone giving reasons why she couldn't stay with them. She just hoped against hope that she could gain Abby's trust back.
Abby looked up at her, both wary and confused, but Prue just gave the girl a smile. She met Piper's eyes and nodded her head in the direction of the Book of Shadows. Piper grinned once she realized what Prue was going to do. She lifted the Book from its lectern and handed it over to her sister. Prue opened the Book, gripping the sides and resting the bottom of it on Abby's knees. "Whoa," Abby said softly. "That looks really old."
"It is really old," Prue said with a smile. "It's been passed down in my family from generation to generation since the 1600s."
"Wow," Abby whispered, her eyes widening once she realized just how old the volume was. "What is it? I mean, besides a big book."
"I'll get to that." She turned to the page that told the story of Melinda Warren's prophecy. "This woman is our ancestor," she explained gently, "and we are the sisters she was talking about."
Abby skimmed the page, then looked from the Book to Prue cautiously. "But that means you guys are witches."
"That's right, sweetie," Prue said quickly, "but we're not like the witches in the movies. We use our magic for good."
"Magic?" Abby asked, a small smile forming on her lips.
Prue smiled at her. "Yes, magic. Real magic. Each of us has a special power and we use them to fight evil."
"This is why it's complicated, honey," Piper explained as she crouched down in front of the chair. "Our lives are very dangerous and because you don't have powers, you can't protect yourself the way we can protect ourselves."
Abby took a deep breath. "What kind of evil?" she asked warily.
Prue and Piper looked up at each other, unsure how to answer the question without scaring the little girl. "Well," Prue said, clearing her throat nervously, "they're people with powers just like ours. The only difference is they use their powers to hurt people instead of helping people like we do."
"Oh." Abby flipped through the pages of the Book of Shadows silently, trying to process what she had just been told. The sisters were magical and, from what she gathered, in constant danger. Because of that, she couldn't stay with them. It didn't seem fair at all. She wanted to stay with the sisters desperately. She liked all of them, though she was a little angry at Phoebe for arguing that she couldn't stay, and she appreciated everything that they were doing for her. They cared about her and now their magic was about to tear apart the only chance she had at a family. "Well, what if I say I don't care about the danger and I want to stay here anyway? Could I stay then?"
Prue glanced over at Phoebe and shot her an angry glare. She wanted to tell Abby that if it were up to her, they'd be her legal guardians right now, but she had to get permission from all her sisters and Phoebe was the one standing in the way. "Sweetie, it's not that easy," she said instead. "We'd have to go through the courts and stuff, and they might not let you stay here, even though you want to and we want you to."
Abby pouted, then leaned back against Prue, lazily flipping pages once again. Nothing seemed fair or right. She finally had people who seemed to care about her, and she couldn't stay with them. It shouldn't have to be this way, she thought angrily. I shouldn't have to look for people who want me. She closed her eyes against the tears that were gathering and bit her lip to keep herself from crying.
Phoebe slowly approached the little girl and put her hand on her arm, trying to comfort her. Abby pulled away and reached up, hugging Prue instead. Heartbroken, Phoebe looked up at Prue, silently asking what she should do. Prue just shrugged, softening a little when she saw how upset Phoebe was. Phoebe hadn't meant for Abby to feel like she wasn't welcome. She was just concerned about the girl's safety, just like she herself and Piper were. After a quick moment of thought, Prue grinned and tapped Abby's shoulder. "Hey, guess what. Phoebe may have found a way to find your mom."
Abby finally opened her eyes and looked up. "Really?" she asked, blinking back tears. The small smile was beginning to come back on her lips. She seemed excited for a second, then her face fell again. "But my mom doesn't want me, either."
"Honey, we don't think Peter was telling you the truth when he said that," Phoebe said gently. She rested her hand on Abby's knee, and to her relief, Abby didn't pull away. "There's a spell in the Book that might be able to find her."
"It's not for sure?"
"No, sweetie, it's not," Prue said, hugging Abby lightly. "See, the way the spell is written, you have to say it. But you're not magical like we are, so it may not work."
Abby sighed, shaking her head. It felt like they kept running into dead ends. "It can't hurt to try," she said after a moment, shrugging. "I mean, if it doesn't work, nothing bad will happen, right? Nothing will be different."
"Right," Prue answered, pulling Abby's long hair away from her face. The humidity of the attic was causing her hair to curl and form tendrils around her face. "So, what do you say? Want to try?"
"Sure," Abby answered with another shrug. Prue lifted the Book off of Abby's knees so the girl could hop off her lap. Abby did just that and watched as the sisters got to work, setting up the attic for the spell.
Prue laid the Book on an old steamer trunk as Prue set out a small circle of candles. A little chill ran down Abby's spine once Phoebe lit the candles and the attic lit up with flickering candlelight.
"Okay, sweetie, come here," Prue said, holding one hand out to her and flipping the pages of the Book with the other. Abby slowly stepped over to Prue and took her hand. Once Prue found the spell again, she led Abby into the circle and sat her down exactly in the center. "All right, you ready?"
Abby nodded, silently praying that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. "It's now or never," she said, her voice shaking slightly.
Piper grinned and set a small silver chalice in front of Abby. Phoebe finished writing something on a small yellow notepad with a flourish and handed it to Abby. She took it with a confused expression. "All right, this is what you have to do," Prue said gently, hoping to ease Abby's confusion. "Phoebe just handed you the spell you have to say. Read it, then stick one of the corners of the paper into a candle flame. After it catches, just put the paper in the chalice and that's it."
Abby took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves. This whole thing would be cool if it wasn't so overwhelming, she thought. After a moment, she opened her eyes and let her breath out slowly. "Okay, here goes." She looked down at the paper and tried to steady her hands. "Hear me now, I seek to find, the one whose name is on my mind. Carol Lancaster, please hear my call, and return to me once and for all." She placed the tip of the paper into the candle and quickly dropped the burning paper into the chalice.
As soon as the paper burned out, Prue leaned over and blew out the candles she could reach. "All right, that's it," she said with a smile.
"That's it?" Abby asked, jumping up from the floor. She blew out the rest of the candles before stepping out of the circle. "How do we know if it worked?"
"We won't know for a day or two, honey," Piper answered, wrapping her arm around Abby's shoulders and giving her a small sideways hug.
"What if it doesn't work?" Abby asked quietly, almost as if she was afraid to find out the answer.
"We look for something else to try," Prue said, strong determination in her voice. "Come on, sweetie. How about we play a game or something downstairs? All four of us."
Abby cast a nervous glance at Phoebe before sidling up to Prue. "Sure, why not?"
Prue locked eyes with Phoebe and gave her a gentle, apologetic smile. Phoebe smiled back, but as soon as Prue turned around, she allowed her face to fall. She wouldn't blame Abby if she hated her. After all the little girl had been through, the last thing she needed was to hear someone giving reasons why she couldn't stay with them. She just hoped against hope that she could gain Abby's trust back.