A/N: The song that was on Chapter 5 is called "On Monday Mi Amor" by Soluna. Also, I want to thank my reviewer mae15. Happy Reading!
Special Christmas GiftBy the time December hit, the Halliwell Manor and its occupants were in full celebration swing. Everyone was anticipating the day. Piper, Phoebe, Page, and Alanna went shopping together while Leo, Gary, George, and Jon did the same. One shopping day Alanna was having a hard time trying to find Jon a gift. She looked all around but nothing clicked. "Page, what do you think Jon would like," she finally asked.
"I don't know. Hopefully he'll like the movie that I got him."
"What kind?"
"'Ghost Ship'" Page answered.
"I guess that he will. I just don't know, whenever we do something together, like go to the movies, we have fun. But I really don't know what he wants. I mean I know that he enjoys just being with me, but like what he does while we're not together I really have no clue."
"Well you could just ask him," Page suggested.
"No, I can't do that, that'll make me into those overprotective girlfriends. I don't want to do that."
"Well, how bout this," Page held up a silk long sleeved black pinstriped shirt that had silver cuff links on each sleeve.
"You can get that for him but I'm not," Alanna said. "But it has to be something that he can cherish. Can you think of anything?"
"I don't know. How bout this, you probe into his mind to see what his deepest desire is, then take that as your ammo,"
"But that'll be an invasion of privacy, I can't do that!"
"Alright but it was a mere suggestion. If I were you then I would take what I could get, Alanna."
The two women took their time finding something for everyone else but Alanna was still empty handed on what to get him with only eight days left until Christmas to go.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile at the Manor, Jon was talking to Leo, having the same problem on what to get Alanna for Christmas. "… Living with her for three months and dating her for one month really doesn't give me any idea as to what she likes these days. I mean, back in Tortall she was into fighting and sometimes being a lady. But that was all three years ago, and now she has dramatically changed. Its like I don't know her anymore. Each day I'm finding out something new about her, like when she dyed her hair it was because of a spell that backfired making it purple, so she dyed it brown instead of getting it back to its original color." Leo laughed at the memory, she was performing a Truth Be Told spell and the only way for it to work was if she went through a transformation that everyone would notice (meaning that the fact that her hair turned purple made her dye it brown, that being her transformation). Jon continued "I mean its like she's a completely different person. But then again, since you have given her gifts in the past three years you know what she likes, so do you have any indications as to what she'll like?"
"Don't be asking me, teenage girls change all the time. But I do know that she enjoy photography. In a way, she reminds me of Prue."
"Who's Prue?"
"Prue is the eldest sister of the Halliwell's," Leo answered.
"But I thought-" Jon started.
"That Piper was the oldest. Living, yes, but completely- no. You see before Paige (A/N: I went onto the Net to see about some spells and I found out that I was spelling Paige's name wrong- I apologize to the Charmed fans) and Alanna came there was only Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. Then, Prue was killed while we were trying to kill a demon; we had to reverse time because someone caught Prue and Piper using their powers on film. It was broadcasted throughout the city. To undo the secret being out, Phoebe and I had to go to the Underworld to talk with someone that could turn back time.
"When Phoebe and I got back it was too late, Piper and Prue were already hurt. I made a mistake though, I healed Piper first instead of Prue, and when I got to Prue, she was already dead."
"So, when Prue died that only left the Power of Two. Where does Paige come into all of this," Jon asked.
"Piper did a spell to summon Prue. It was unsuccessful though, but it did bring Paige. Paige was brought here through that spell that Piper did, it restored the Power of Three back to the way it was. Now to speed things up a little, Melinda Warren, their great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, went missing, so therefore they started to search for her. While doing so, they called upon a clue from the past and it brought Alanna here.
"Alanna was having a hard time trying to understand things here. That's when Phoebe decided to write 'Knowledge of Present Time' so that Alanna wouldn't have to learn as much as she needed to, that it would just be stored into her head. It worked and it was the same spell that was used on you, Gary and George." Leo closed the story when both men heard a car door slam, "We better start trimming the tree before Piper has a huge fit."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was down to the wire and the couple still had no clue as to what each other wanted for Christmas. They both got things for everyone else but not for each other. It wasn't until the 18th when they both got wind of what each other wanted. During the day Piper went around talking about Prue to Jon, she found it odd for him to be asking questions about her. "You know that you might as well spill it now on why you're asking all these questions about her," she finally said.
"Well, Leo mentioned that Alanna was kind of like her, so I was kind of wanting to know everything about Prue before I-"
"Whatever you do- don't turn her into Prue. Yes I agree with Leo that Alanna is like Prue in some ways but not a lot. Prue was serious about magic and work that she didn't stop to smell the roses every once in a while. Alanna, however, looks at the good and bad of things; Prue never really did that until it was too late. You see if you're going to get Alanna a gift then why don't you just get her a camera. And while you're at it, maybe you could fix up the old dark room that Prue used for all of her works. It'll help so that way Alanna wouldn't have to worry about paying for just developing film."
Jon thought about this for a moment, Alanna did say that she wanted to capture life and make that one special moment last forever. "Why not, but what type of camera should I get?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Late that night, Alanna was lying down in bed with Jon. He was already asleep and she was just watching him. She was trying to fight the urge to probe into his mind for the perfect gift. Paige said that you could, but it'll be an invasion of privacy and you don't want to have to do that again, she thought. But the last time was to find out about his feelings for you, this time it's for a small gift that you can get for him. Finally giving in, she felt her way inside going as gentle as she could so that she would disturb him. However instead of directing her concentration to his thoughts she went for his dream.
Jon was running, he had his armor on and his shield with him, his sword was in its sheath. He stopped rapidly to only find two images of what could be his parents forming in the distance. Slowly he walked over to him, but by the time their image was clear, there was a force field blocking him from reuniting with them. "Mother! Father! What's going on?" Jon asked.
"We are waiting my dear," his mother answered.
"Waiting for what," he questioned.
"For her to open the gates so that we'll be able to see you," his father replied.
"Who to open the gates,"
"The one that will be your wife," his mother responded.
"Thayet,"
"No, the one that you will sacrifice being without for another three years. She will be the link to finding Melinda," his father stated.
"How,"
"Both of you shall see," his mother answered. With that there was a clap of lightning breaking the force field. His parents were gone.
Jon stirred awake from his dream only to see Alanna resting her head on his chest. He ran a hand through her hair that it made her look up into his eyes. Her amethyst eyes showed concern in them. "Are you alright," she asked sleepily.
"Just fine, I was just wondering if you could do me a favor."
"Sure, just as long that I don't have to get the Book of Shadows then I see why I shouldn't"
"Alright, remember when you said that you could look into the past and future?"
"Yes, I remember saying that," Alanna answered waiting for him to continue.
He drew in along breath, "I was just wondering if you could show me what is going on in Tortall right now," he said.
"That's going to be hard because I'll need the Book of Shadows to shift my power into you for just a glimpse. But I can look and tell you what's going on for now and in the morning I can shift my power to you so that way you can see as well," she suggested.
Jon wondered about this, she did have the power and her word is true, also he had the chance to see for his self about Tortall's conditions. "Do what you can for now."
Alanna then closed her eyes focusing hard on the past. She saw all the different generations and centuries fly by. Focusing rapidly she finally saw the decades stop in front of Tortall in 1303. The day was rainy and the castle looked dreary. Slowly looking around she discovered that she was inside of Jon's room; a fire was lit in the hearth, and sitting next to it was Thayet. Servants, and Buri surrounded her. "Your Majesty, you must marry another and not wait upon Jon. It has been three months already and he will not return. If you claim that he was taken by a portal just like his champion Alanna of Trebond and Olau, then he might never return," a servant pleaded.
"I must wait for him. I will not give up that easily. He will be found for that he is the true King and if I shall be your official Queen then I must marry him," Thayet spat. The servants ranted on how she should marry another if he never returned. "All of you, leave," she finally commanded. When alone with Buri, she spoke the truth. "They are right. I really should marry another, I mean that Jon- he really never was the one for me. I really never loved him, it was just that he was the one that proposed to me first and as a Princess at the time, I had to say yes. You never reject the King."
"Do what you feel is right, but might I warn you that Jon will be back weather Alanna will come or not," Buri warned. The two women talked the rest of the time about politics and how Corus should be ran.
Alanna pulled out and went to the city. The streets were muddy and busy. Merchants selling rip offs and prostitutes leered around looking for a good lay. Bits and pieces of talk about Jon and Alanna passed by while Alanna glided through. "The King probably is shagging his champion," an individual said.
"Yeah and maybe bearin' his kid," another replied. Alanna chose to ignore this because it was only a rumor. Going in deeper she saw a new statue in front of a new building.
Once inside she saw an area full of occult items. Many of them looked present day 2003. Peculiar, this stuff isn't even supposed to be here. Looking around some more, she came across a room. Choosing to go in she saw a group of demons sitting at a round table. One, however, was standing. "…The Charmed Ones and their pathetic friends must die. They have the King and his friends with them. Yet one of their friends happens to be a partial Charmed One. She too must die. Be sure to take the baby for he holds the greatest amount of power. If we are to stop our end then we must have that child," the one standing spoke. "Any questions?"
"I do," a female voice said.
"Yes, and you might be…"
"Selah, I was wondering who might be."
"Scrimshaw, Selah what capabilities do you hold to getting to the Charmed Ones?"
"I work for the dirty Charmed Ones at their filthy 'club' P3. I go by Bridgett there," Selah answered. Bridgett was the one that Alanna always worked with behind the counter at P3, now Alanna knew the truth. I'll be sure that you'll be fired as soon as Piper, Phoebe, and Paige gets wind of this, Alanna thought.
Alanna opened her eyes; the clock read 1:02 AM. "How long have I been there," she asked.
"A half hour. I woke up at 12:32 remember." Alanna only nodded her head. "What happened there?"
"A lot," she replayed everything that happened to him and what they needed to do in the morning. "… We need to look up Scrimshaw in the Book and see what he does. He needs to be vanquished soon or else Wyatt won't have that much of a happy future."
"I agree, but for now lets rest," Jon ruled. She easily complied.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finally the Wednesday morning of Christmas Eve came. Things were finally in order. Alanna discussed what she wanted to do for Jon to Piper, Phoebe, and Paige and they agreed he needed to see his family once more. Jon had the dark room under control and two cameras to go with it. He got her one digital and the other a 35mm with a detachable/ retractable 75mm zoom lens. He didn't know which one she wanted so he got her both. Everything that was wrap able was squared away under the big pine tree in the sunroom.
Piper had consulted with Grams that afternoon and it ended in a big argument. When Piper told everyone at lunch she was on a role with her ramblings. "… So guess what she does? She blows me off completely! I mean if marrying an angel and having a boy wasn't enough then what is!"
"Wow, all in one breath," Phoebe said trying to shine a little light on the situation.
"Oh come on Piper, loosen up. You know that it's hard to win against that woman. Besides, she always up there and we're always down here so don't worry all that much. Just as long as we're able to do the ceremony tonight then everything will be fine," Alanna countered.
"What ceremony?" Jon asked.
"Don't worry, you'll see tomorrow morning, I promise." Alanna whispered.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Early Thursday morning, Alanna got out of bed to head to the attic. It was a challenge to do so because Jon had a strong grip around her waist. Yet she managed to get away from his grip. By the time she got up into the Attic Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were all surrounding the Book of Shadows. All of the women were dressed in white and were standing in a circle of white candles. "Step into the Circle and call upon the spirits. We're here to help when they show up. Once when the sunrise comes they'll be able to step out of the Circle, you blow out the candles and they'll be allowed to stay for the day." Piper advised.
"You'll know that the spell is working when you get a cold chill," Phoebe recommended.
"Remember to hold the strongest image of them in your heart as you recite the spell," Paige warned.
"Thank you for allowing me to do this. Jon is going to appreciate this."
"Don't bother thanking us, just do the spell, you have only three minutes until sunrise."
Taking their advice Alanna started:
"Hear these words, hear my cry,
Spirits from the other side
Come to me, I summon thee
Cross now the Great Divide."
A cold chill surrounded the room, as a wind made the candle light flicker and her hair blow in her face. In the center of the candles two images appeared, one man and the other woman. "Where is our son," Lianne asked.
"Still in bed hold on." Alanna searched her powers and tapped into Prue's. She astroprojected herself back into her room where Jon was asleep. "Jon. Jon, can you please wake up," Alanna whispered.
"Why," he moaned.
"Because there's someone up in the attic waiting to see you," Alanna cooed.
"Who?"
"Just come," and she got herself out of there. Once when her astroprjectial self was back into her true form, she shuddered.
"Don't worry, Prue had to get used to it herself," Piper said. They heard footsteps on the attic steps.
Jon walked in to see Alanna, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige along with two others inside a circle of white candles. "What's going on," he asked sleepily.
The two images turned around to face him "Son," his father said. Lianne turned to look at Alanna to see if it was all right for her to hug her son.
"Go on ahead, both of you. Step out of the circle so that I can blow the candles out. You only have from now until sunset to visit your son," Alanna said.
His parents walked out of the circle as Alanna started to blow out the candles. Jon hugged is parents gratefully and an hour later when they were accustomed to American clothing he pulled Alanna out to the side while his parents explored the kitchen. "I just want to say thank you for doing this for me," he breathed.
"Merry Christmas, this is your gift from me to you," she answered before placing a soft kiss on his lips.
A/N: OK done w/ 6! Let me just say that Sara, I have a feeling that you love this chapter b/c no emotional roller coaster or anything! Well maybe a little. Everyone please review! I hate to beg but I really don't know what 2 do w/o you! Also, do any of you understand the Charmed concept b/c if not then I'll explain it more.
Ciao Bella,
Alanna-Lianna