Attic.
Raelyn stared at the paper, wondering what it meant. Shrugging off her apprehension, she decided there was only one way to find out.
Nervously, she made her way upstairs. It struck her as odd when she realized that, although she'd lived in the manor her whole life, she'd never been inside the attic. Neither had her sisters, to the best of her knowledge. Her father had always said that it was full of valuables that the girls' grandmother and the aunts had collected over time, and they weren't allowed in the attic so they wouldn't break anything or get hurt. Rae had never questioned this explanation, until now.
Raelyn stopped in front of the attic door, her hands shaking. Apprehensively, she tried the doornob. It didn't turn. Rae struggled with the nob until she noticed an antique dresser next to the door. She rummaged through it, but she found no key. Sighing, she gave up. Accepting defeat, she leaned against the door. As soon as she put some weight on it, it popped open so easily that Raelyn nearly fell in. She stood just inside the doorframe, staring at the now wide-open door. A minute ago, it had been locked. She was sure of that. So why, then, had it swung open under so little pressure?
Cautiously, Raelyn stepped inside. It was dark in the attic, though there was one small spot of light. Rae followed it, until she came to it's apparent source: A large, leather-bound book.
Without her touching it, the book flipped open to the front page. "The Book of Shadows." she read aloud. As soon as she said the name, the book started flipping again. This time, it stopped on a page toward the back, written in what Rae immedeately recognised as her grandmother's handwriting. Silently, she read the text.
"To my three darling granddaughters,
I'm not sure where or how to begin, so I'll just get to the point. You have all been blessed with a wonderful gift, the same gift that has been given to every woman in our family for hundreds of years. You have the gift of magic.
Our ancestor, Melinda Warren, was burned at the stake in colonial times for being a witch. Before she died, she had a vision of three sisters, more powerful witches than anyone on earth. You are these sisters. You, my darling girls, are the Charmed Ones.
I know that this is a lot to take in. I understand more than you can ever know. This letter, and the powers you will or have already received, will confuse you, amaze you, and infuriate you, sometimes all at once. Your destiny is a huge responsibility and an enormous danger, but it is also a wonderful blessing. Please don't ever forget that.
I have to end this now. It's late, and your father, who as I write this is little more than a week old, is crying. Please treasure your gift, and above all, stick together. You will need each other more than you can imagine.
Blessed be,
Love, Piper"
Raelyn jumped back as the book started flipping again. This time, it went back to the front. Rae came closer to the book, staring at it warily, and read.
This page was filled with the story of Melinda Warren, in more detail than Piper had gone into. At the end was what looked like an incantation of some sort. Somehow, Raelyn got the sense that she should read it aloud.
"Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
The oldest of gods are invoked here,
The great work of magic is sought,
In this night and in this hour,
I call upon the Ancient Power,
Bring your powers to we sisters three,
We want the power... Give us the power!"
Raelyn heard a crash, and ran to the window. She looked up and down the block, but there was nothing. She was hit with the sick realization that the sound had come from inside the attic. She whirled around, and came face-to-face with the ghost of a woman that bore a definate resemblance to her younger sister.
"Who are you?" Raelyn asked, her voice coming out in a choked whisper.
"I am Melinda Warren." the figure answered simply.
Rae shook her head. "That's not possible.. Melinda Warren was burned at the stake in the 1600s."
"Don't remind me," Melinda said, wrinkling her transparant nose. "It was quite painful."
Raelyn bit her lip. Despite herself, she was beginning to believe that this was the ghost of her ancestor. "How did you get here?"
"You summoned me, of course." Melinda answered, as if it should be obvious. "You and your sisters are the Charmed Ones, are you not?"
"I... I don't know." Rae stammered.
"I hope you are." Melinda said. "It was bad enough we got it wrong the last time; do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be for the Elders if we were wrong about you, too?"
"Last time?" Raelyn questioned.
"That's right, they didn't tell you, did they?" Melinda asked, her voice full of pity. "We had thought that your grandmother and her sisters, Phoebe and Prudence, were the Charmed Ones. They weren't, obviously; as we later found out, they had a younger half-sister."
"Aunt Paige." Raelyn murmured, smiling at the thought of her great-aunt. "Wait, so what does this mean? Gram left us a letter in the- in that book, over there." Rae said, gesturing to the Book of Shadows. "She said that we had powers. What are they?"
"Oh, the Book of Shadows." Melinda exclaimed, ignoring her great-great-great-great-many-times-over-granddaughter and instead inspecting the book. "It's gotten so full. Every one of my daughters has added something or other. You will, too, my darling." she said, turning to Rae again.
"But what about the powers?" Raelyn pressed. "And the danger? What's going to happen to us?"
Melinda looked troubled, and her image started to fade. "I have to go. Blessed be." With that, she was gone.
Raelyn stared at the spot where Melinda had been. She contemplated calling after her, but knew it would be useless. Rae was filled with fear. Melinda hadn't answered her most pressing question.
What was going to happen to them?
****************
A/N: So, what do you think? Let me know. Review. Now. Go. Please?
Raelyn stared at the paper, wondering what it meant. Shrugging off her apprehension, she decided there was only one way to find out.
Nervously, she made her way upstairs. It struck her as odd when she realized that, although she'd lived in the manor her whole life, she'd never been inside the attic. Neither had her sisters, to the best of her knowledge. Her father had always said that it was full of valuables that the girls' grandmother and the aunts had collected over time, and they weren't allowed in the attic so they wouldn't break anything or get hurt. Rae had never questioned this explanation, until now.
Raelyn stopped in front of the attic door, her hands shaking. Apprehensively, she tried the doornob. It didn't turn. Rae struggled with the nob until she noticed an antique dresser next to the door. She rummaged through it, but she found no key. Sighing, she gave up. Accepting defeat, she leaned against the door. As soon as she put some weight on it, it popped open so easily that Raelyn nearly fell in. She stood just inside the doorframe, staring at the now wide-open door. A minute ago, it had been locked. She was sure of that. So why, then, had it swung open under so little pressure?
Cautiously, Raelyn stepped inside. It was dark in the attic, though there was one small spot of light. Rae followed it, until she came to it's apparent source: A large, leather-bound book.
Without her touching it, the book flipped open to the front page. "The Book of Shadows." she read aloud. As soon as she said the name, the book started flipping again. This time, it stopped on a page toward the back, written in what Rae immedeately recognised as her grandmother's handwriting. Silently, she read the text.
"To my three darling granddaughters,
I'm not sure where or how to begin, so I'll just get to the point. You have all been blessed with a wonderful gift, the same gift that has been given to every woman in our family for hundreds of years. You have the gift of magic.
Our ancestor, Melinda Warren, was burned at the stake in colonial times for being a witch. Before she died, she had a vision of three sisters, more powerful witches than anyone on earth. You are these sisters. You, my darling girls, are the Charmed Ones.
I know that this is a lot to take in. I understand more than you can ever know. This letter, and the powers you will or have already received, will confuse you, amaze you, and infuriate you, sometimes all at once. Your destiny is a huge responsibility and an enormous danger, but it is also a wonderful blessing. Please don't ever forget that.
I have to end this now. It's late, and your father, who as I write this is little more than a week old, is crying. Please treasure your gift, and above all, stick together. You will need each other more than you can imagine.
Blessed be,
Love, Piper"
Raelyn jumped back as the book started flipping again. This time, it went back to the front. Rae came closer to the book, staring at it warily, and read.
This page was filled with the story of Melinda Warren, in more detail than Piper had gone into. At the end was what looked like an incantation of some sort. Somehow, Raelyn got the sense that she should read it aloud.
"Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
The oldest of gods are invoked here,
The great work of magic is sought,
In this night and in this hour,
I call upon the Ancient Power,
Bring your powers to we sisters three,
We want the power... Give us the power!"
Raelyn heard a crash, and ran to the window. She looked up and down the block, but there was nothing. She was hit with the sick realization that the sound had come from inside the attic. She whirled around, and came face-to-face with the ghost of a woman that bore a definate resemblance to her younger sister.
"Who are you?" Raelyn asked, her voice coming out in a choked whisper.
"I am Melinda Warren." the figure answered simply.
Rae shook her head. "That's not possible.. Melinda Warren was burned at the stake in the 1600s."
"Don't remind me," Melinda said, wrinkling her transparant nose. "It was quite painful."
Raelyn bit her lip. Despite herself, she was beginning to believe that this was the ghost of her ancestor. "How did you get here?"
"You summoned me, of course." Melinda answered, as if it should be obvious. "You and your sisters are the Charmed Ones, are you not?"
"I... I don't know." Rae stammered.
"I hope you are." Melinda said. "It was bad enough we got it wrong the last time; do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be for the Elders if we were wrong about you, too?"
"Last time?" Raelyn questioned.
"That's right, they didn't tell you, did they?" Melinda asked, her voice full of pity. "We had thought that your grandmother and her sisters, Phoebe and Prudence, were the Charmed Ones. They weren't, obviously; as we later found out, they had a younger half-sister."
"Aunt Paige." Raelyn murmured, smiling at the thought of her great-aunt. "Wait, so what does this mean? Gram left us a letter in the- in that book, over there." Rae said, gesturing to the Book of Shadows. "She said that we had powers. What are they?"
"Oh, the Book of Shadows." Melinda exclaimed, ignoring her great-great-great-great-many-times-over-granddaughter and instead inspecting the book. "It's gotten so full. Every one of my daughters has added something or other. You will, too, my darling." she said, turning to Rae again.
"But what about the powers?" Raelyn pressed. "And the danger? What's going to happen to us?"
Melinda looked troubled, and her image started to fade. "I have to go. Blessed be." With that, she was gone.
Raelyn stared at the spot where Melinda had been. She contemplated calling after her, but knew it would be useless. Rae was filled with fear. Melinda hadn't answered her most pressing question.
What was going to happen to them?
****************
A/N: So, what do you think? Let me know. Review. Now. Go. Please?