Chapter 13 breaking through
"No!" The shout of alarm had the great hall going still. It was Princess Piper who approached the lord of the manner.
"My Lord?" She asked frowning." "What hath happened?"
"Piper you have to help her." He was there, holding the girl's arms, and she felt it start, the shaking, the coughing and alarm truly hit the princess. "One of your mother's ladies was a creature, she trapped us but Prudence sent me away."
"Oh heavens, we might not have the power to help her…"Piper said frightfully. She knew that of them all only Prudence had fully come into her full powers, if she tried she might not be able to do this. She then frowned, her mother once said... "Gather my sisters to me." She ordered the lord who called for the two girls.
***
"Who are the three?" Prudence demanded but the demon just laughed and began to fly about her, swooping in low to try and tare at her hair and clothing with its talons.
"Winged creature of the night!" Prudence began the words just popping into her mind. "tis clipped yee be…"
***
Prince Coleridge sat there just listening to the room around them as he tried to think what he'd want someone to say to him if he were a little girl such as princess Pheona.
"Do you know I wish I had known your mother better?" He said at last adding. "By all tale she was a good woman." Nothing, but had he really expected a miracle? He tried to think what to say next but couldn't come up with anything. Then as he watched the people moving about he had a thought. "This hall mjust be smaller than yours.' Her head turned and he went on. "The servents move like ghosts at home so this seems to be utter chaos.
It was a little surprising when Princess Pheona nodded in agreement. Perhaps he could find the words after all.
"You know it must have been hard, to see them kill her, when I saw my mother struck down…' Unbidden the image of his own mother came to mind and he felt ill. He could see the blood and the blade…
Belatedly he felt the soft hand on his arm and looked up. Pheona was looking at him, sympathy in her soft eyes. He realized that for some reason the creator had taken both of their mother's for a reason, and maybe they were right in a way. If not for this could he have changed her blank stare to this?
"Pheona you must come Piper needs your aide." Lord Andrew called and as if needing the support she looked to Coleridge. He saw her fear and knew what he had to do. Nodding he rose, leading her to where Piper was drawing the circle on the ground.
"Yee shall be fine, just do what she bids." He coaxed and she nodded and turned to her sister, only then releasing his hand.
"Alright we have to save Prudence so I need your powers." Princess Piper told the two younger girls.
"Mine." Paige asked her tiny voice crackly with sleep.
"Aye love, I'll just borrow them for a bit."
"Aye." The child nodded and Piper turned to Pheona who was waiting silently where Prince Coleridge had left her. Piper noted his position and would have smiled in any other circumstances. He looked like a protective brother, not that they'd had one but she'd seen enough to know how they'd act.
"Alright Pheona, Yee must stand here." Piper said pointing and Pheona moved to the spot. Then she had the younger girls join hands about her.
"Take My Powers, Blessed Be," Piper began and as the circle began to glow she knew it was working, she could feel the air changing. "Multiply Their Strength by Three." Piper finished and the whirlwind of light began to spin from the little ones and then in a flash Piper felt it encompassing her.
"Did it work?" Lord Andrew asked and Piper turned to him with a nod as she then closed her eyes and was gone.
***
"And let me be!" Prudence knew even as she finished the words that the flames would have her and still she knew she had to try and get answers from the demon thing. She raised both hands, calling.
"Traitorous eyes, look unto thee..."
"May they soon extinguished be." The new voice joined in and Prudence saw then her sister illuminated by the blaze about them.
"Bend your will to the power with in me" Prudence picked up and then slowly her sister added.
"Eye of earth, energy disburse!" And in a single flash the demon was no more and the blaze about them slowly dying.
"Tis better now." Prudence said quietly as she felt her body starting to shake. She knew this was neither the time nor place to break down so took a grip on her wayward emotions.
"Aye, shall we do what we came here to do?" Princess Piper asked looking about them in disgust.
***
A mere fifteen minutes passed, during which the sisters moved aside singed roots and other charred items and yet they found nothing.
"I don't honestly know how anything survived the fire." Princess Piper said tossing a charred peace of material, one she thought she recognized from one of her mother's gardening gowns. In another time or place she might take more time to look it over but not now, they were on a mission.
"Aye, yet knowing mother she would have put a safety on it, to keep it from…" Prudence agreed thoughtfully as she moved the remains of a work bench to one side.
"How about a trap door?" Princess Piper asked and Prudence turned slowly then seeing the large cedar chest her sister had found. She knew it had to be it, for there was nay a mark showing what it had been through.
"Aye, that would be it." She said finally and then they were both kneeling before it. "I believe we might need help opening it."
"Tis true, did you and Lord Andrew come with an escort?" Princess Piper asked and Prudence nodded.
"Aye, though I'm sure our demonic friend saw to them." She said, with the certain knowledge anyone who'd have performed such atrocious deeds would not have left such a detail to chance.
"Aye you're most likely right." Princess Piper said and despite her skirts rocked back on her heels. She tried to think over their options, what could they now do? She wondered if the powers she'd borrowed and that of her sister would be enough to open it. "How about this power of ours? Twould it not be of some aide?"
"Wait just a moment, Princess Piper how prey tell did you come here, I know your power tis not enough for such a feet." Prudence said frowning.
"Oh, I borrowed those of the others." Princess Piper said quietly and Prudence looked at her sister a long minute.
"Wait, then Princess Pheona was able to speak?" Prudence asked but her new hope fell as Princess Piper shook her head and explained what had happened.
"Well then, since you have the extra energy mayhap we can transport it back to the manner."
"Aye, twas what I was thinking."
"Well then, we need a spell…"
TBC
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A.N. I wanted to say to all of the C/Ph fans I did add slightly more to this chapter of those two, however as I said when this tale began, this is just the first volume; it was to mainly be of Prudence. Then in the second will be P/L and the third will be Pa/G. Still I need my own fix of the second two so there it is. Rest assured that prince Leo shall return soon enough and things will get more interesting.