EIGHTEEN
"Leo," said Piper, "I want to talk to the Elders. At least one of them. We have a few things we need to get straight."
"Piper," said Leo, "I'm not sure we can do that. You don't just go up to the Elders and order them to talk with you."
"I don't care," said Piper. "There are some ground rules they have to know about. And I'm not about to let them get away with what they almost did again."
Just then, a man orbed into the living room. He was wearing the white robes of an Elder.
"We figured you might want to chat," said the Elder. "Leo, it's okay. We've been expecting this for a while."
"Okay," said Piper, "you listen to me. My baby is my concern. Mine and Leo's. You have no right to interfere with it. I don't care if you do think it might grow up to be the next Source, whether I carry to term or not is not up to you. You got that?"
"Perfectly," said the Elder. "In fact, we've been talking about that very topic. We now realize that we may have gone a bit overboard in this matter. Everyone was so concerned with the baby being evil, we forgot the cardinal rule for humans."
"What's that?" asked Paige.
"Free will," said Leo. "No matter what happens, humans have free will. Not even the Elders have the authority to take that away."
"Leo is quite right," said the Elder. "By forcing you to terminate your pregnancy, we would have been taking away your free will. We are deeply sorry for that. You have my word that it shall never happen again."
"Okay," said Piper, some of her anger abating. "Just make sure you remember it."
"Oh, we will," said the Elder. "Although I doubt such a situation will ever arise again. From all we can tell, you child is going to be very good. There's no cause for concern on that part."
"There better not be," said Piper. "I've already lost my mother, my grandmother, and my older sister. I'm not about to loose this baby."
"We understand," said the Elder. "And rest assured you will never need to worry about us interfering in this matter again."
"See that it doesn't," said Piper. "Well, I'm glad we got that settled."
"My pleasure," said the Elder. "You've done a great deal for us over the years. It was wrong of us to try to force you into a situation like that. I hope you will accept our sincerest apologizes for it."
"I guess so," said Piper. "As long as it doesn't happen again."
"It won't," said the Elder. "Well, Leo, there's a special meeting tomorrow morning. Kiethrans' appearance in the White Lighter realm has shown us that there isn't enough communication between the Elder Council and the Druid Council. We're thinking about setting up a permanent liaison with them. Since you have so much contact with a druid, your input would be greatly appreciated."
"I'll be glad to do what I can," said Leo. "Only with my current responsibilities, I want to say that I don't think I'd be a good choice for this liaison."
"You are not being considered for that," said the Elder. "Your duties as the White Lighter for the Charmed Ones takes precedent over all of your other duties. They are the most important charges for you. We would just like any ideas you might have for setting up the liaison."
"Okay," said Leo. "I'll be there."
"Good," said the Elder. "I must be getting back. Ahken Tan may be gone but there are other matters that the Council has to contend with. As humans say, the paperwork never ends."
The Elder orbed out of the living room leaving Piper and Leo alone.
"Do they really do paperwork up there?" asked Piper.
"It's a figure of speech," said Leo. "But there are a lot of details you never know about. I much prefer to be in the field, so to speak."
"Let's get into the kitchen," said Piper. "I'm suddenly having a craving for some of that leftover lasagna and I don't want Phoebe and Paige to eat it all."
With their arms around each other, they walked into the kitchen.
The End
If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Charmed" stories at my website, www.geocities.com/killeenmale/ . You can also post your own "Charmed" stories if you like to write fan fiction.
"Leo," said Piper, "I want to talk to the Elders. At least one of them. We have a few things we need to get straight."
"Piper," said Leo, "I'm not sure we can do that. You don't just go up to the Elders and order them to talk with you."
"I don't care," said Piper. "There are some ground rules they have to know about. And I'm not about to let them get away with what they almost did again."
Just then, a man orbed into the living room. He was wearing the white robes of an Elder.
"We figured you might want to chat," said the Elder. "Leo, it's okay. We've been expecting this for a while."
"Okay," said Piper, "you listen to me. My baby is my concern. Mine and Leo's. You have no right to interfere with it. I don't care if you do think it might grow up to be the next Source, whether I carry to term or not is not up to you. You got that?"
"Perfectly," said the Elder. "In fact, we've been talking about that very topic. We now realize that we may have gone a bit overboard in this matter. Everyone was so concerned with the baby being evil, we forgot the cardinal rule for humans."
"What's that?" asked Paige.
"Free will," said Leo. "No matter what happens, humans have free will. Not even the Elders have the authority to take that away."
"Leo is quite right," said the Elder. "By forcing you to terminate your pregnancy, we would have been taking away your free will. We are deeply sorry for that. You have my word that it shall never happen again."
"Okay," said Piper, some of her anger abating. "Just make sure you remember it."
"Oh, we will," said the Elder. "Although I doubt such a situation will ever arise again. From all we can tell, you child is going to be very good. There's no cause for concern on that part."
"There better not be," said Piper. "I've already lost my mother, my grandmother, and my older sister. I'm not about to loose this baby."
"We understand," said the Elder. "And rest assured you will never need to worry about us interfering in this matter again."
"See that it doesn't," said Piper. "Well, I'm glad we got that settled."
"My pleasure," said the Elder. "You've done a great deal for us over the years. It was wrong of us to try to force you into a situation like that. I hope you will accept our sincerest apologizes for it."
"I guess so," said Piper. "As long as it doesn't happen again."
"It won't," said the Elder. "Well, Leo, there's a special meeting tomorrow morning. Kiethrans' appearance in the White Lighter realm has shown us that there isn't enough communication between the Elder Council and the Druid Council. We're thinking about setting up a permanent liaison with them. Since you have so much contact with a druid, your input would be greatly appreciated."
"I'll be glad to do what I can," said Leo. "Only with my current responsibilities, I want to say that I don't think I'd be a good choice for this liaison."
"You are not being considered for that," said the Elder. "Your duties as the White Lighter for the Charmed Ones takes precedent over all of your other duties. They are the most important charges for you. We would just like any ideas you might have for setting up the liaison."
"Okay," said Leo. "I'll be there."
"Good," said the Elder. "I must be getting back. Ahken Tan may be gone but there are other matters that the Council has to contend with. As humans say, the paperwork never ends."
The Elder orbed out of the living room leaving Piper and Leo alone.
"Do they really do paperwork up there?" asked Piper.
"It's a figure of speech," said Leo. "But there are a lot of details you never know about. I much prefer to be in the field, so to speak."
"Let's get into the kitchen," said Piper. "I'm suddenly having a craving for some of that leftover lasagna and I don't want Phoebe and Paige to eat it all."
With their arms around each other, they walked into the kitchen.
The End
If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Charmed" stories at my website, www.geocities.com/killeenmale/ . You can also post your own "Charmed" stories if you like to write fan fiction.