Thank you very much for the reviews. Really means a lot to me and helps my
muse. Here is the next chapter.
Chapter 8
When Phoebe and Paige arrived to the Manor they found a very worried Piper and Leo.
"Where the hell have you been?" the oldest Charmed One yelled. "I come home, nobody is here, there is no note, your mobile phones are off and a frantic Elisa keeps calling every 10 minutes."
"Don't yell, Piper," Phoebe was not in the mood for a lecture. "We went to see Cole."
"Cole?" Piper repeated incredulously. "You went to see your ex husband who happens to be the most powerful demon on Earth and you don't want me to yell?! Why did you go and see him?"
"Because I had to," the middle Halliwell yelled. "Because he's about to ruin somebody else's life and I am not going to stand and watch it happening. And don't start on your lecture, Piper, because I am in no mood to listen. When you come down we have to talk how to deal with this son-of- a-bitch. And now, if you excuse me, I have to go to work." She turned round and marched out the door.
Leo followed her with the gaze full of concern. Then he turned to the younger witch, "Paige, what happened?"
"You don't want to know," she answered and plopped on the sofa. "We went to Cole's because Phoebe was convinced that he was up to something. Her and Cole got into a massive fight. Phoebe demanded that he stopped seeing mortal women and he told her it was none of her business. And then Phoebe threatened him that we would vanquish him and Cole warned us that we'd better be careful threatening him. He was so angry, I never seen him like this, even when he was the Source. I thought he was going to kill us on the spot especially when he put this barrier around us so I could not orb. And then this blond girl came into the room and he just kicked us out.
Leo and Piper exchanged worried looks. "Oh, God," Piper clasped her fingers. "Why did you even go there Paige? We don't want to fight Cole, we can't. He is invincible now and we can't stop him from dating mortal women. As long as he does not hurt them we have no reason to go after him. And in all honesty I do not believe that he will."
Paige nodded in agreement. "I know Piper and I tried to talk Phoebe out of going there. But she just would not listen. And I did not want her to go there alone," she sighed. "I am worried about her," she continued. "She seemed to be completely obsessed with not letting Cole to get on with his life. And you should have seen her face when she saw this girl in the Penthouse. It was like somebody punched her in the stomach."
Piper shook her head, "I don't know where it all comes from," she said. "A month ago we were all praying that Cole would give Phoebe a divorce and move on with his life. And now when he seems to be doing just that, it causes even more problems." She gave Leo a questioning look. "What shall we do?"
The whitelighter looked at his wife with the eyes of an unhappy puppy. "I don't know Piper. I will try to reason with Phoebe but we all know how stubborn she can be. And as much as I don't want to be right about this, I think there is a significant degree of jealousy behind her behaviour and I really hope that it's because she just does not want another woman in Cole's life and not because she wants to get back with him."
*******************
Cole and Nicole were finishing their breakfast/lunch in Penthouse kitchen. While Cole was in the shower the young woman wondered into the luxurious kitchen just to find out that the numerous cupboards and massive fridge were mostly empty. This did not surprise her since Cole did not strike her as a cooking type. She decided to go downstairs to the sandwich bar she noticed the first time she came to see him and soon returned with two large Lattes, some juice and a selection of sandwiches with chicken, bacon and cheese. When Cole entered the kitchen he found Nicole pouring down the juice into the glasses. She smiled at him, "I took the liberty to invade your kitchen," she smiled at him, "I hope you don't mind?!"
"Not when it smells like this," he breathed in the nice smell floating in the kitchen. "Where did you get all this?"
"I went downstairs to the sandwich bar. But I hate cold sandwiches so I decided to warm them up. They'll be ready in just a minute." She handed Cole his Latte.
After they enjoyed the selection of hot sandwiches, which Cole had to admit were much nicer than cold ones, Nicole eyed the half demon warily and decided to proceed with the question, which had been on her mind since she woke up.
"Cole," she asked cautiously, "can I ask you something?" He nodded. "Have you made a decision?" she paused, "you know, whether or not you want to accept the inheritance and become a Lugel?"
The half demon shot her a quick look and decided that the truth was the best answer. "Yes, I have," he answered carefully choosing his words.
Nicole paused and then continued uneasily, "But you don't want to tell me, what you decided?!"
Half demon heaved a sigh. "Look, Nicole. It's not that I don't trust you or anything. But I don't want my choice to influence yours. I mean, for me all this is not such a big change as it is for you. I always knew about magic, I grew up having magical powers, they are part of my life and always were. For the brief time when I lost them, I was lost myself. I did not know who I was anymore or what to do with my life. So I can partially understand how you feel. I also know that magic can severely screw up your life. And the more powerful you are, the tougher it gets. This thing the Lugels want us to do is going to be very difficult and dangerous. Of course, the powers you receive are fascinating and you probably are curious to try them. Also 20 billion dollars is a hell of a lot of money. But trust me you'll pay for having them and a higher price than you can possibly imagine. You'll pay for it with physical pain, grief, isolation, basically with parts of your heart and soul. So I don't want to influence you decision. It won't be fair to you."
"And you think dumping this choice on me this way is fair?" Nicole grumbled. She was touched by his words and a little scared.
"Probably not," Cole allowed himself a small smile. He liked her attempt to make a joke. "But this way two months down the line you can't blame me for your choice."
"You are such a lawyer," Nicole shot, a hint of exasperation in her tone. But she was not really angry and had to admit that Cole was right there.
Cole smiled broadly, "Sorry..." he drawled. "I'll try to be of more help in future."
They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Nicole continued. "But since we are supposed to be the Chose Two, it means that either both of us have to accept or there is no point really?!"
Cole nodded, "That's true, but try to think what's best for yourself. I am sure that even one of us will be able to help Lugels a lot. And this is not the choice you can get back on. From what your uncle said it looked to me that if you became a Lugel, you were going to die a Lugel as well." He paused and asked, "So have you made your decision?"
Nicole tore her gaze from the empty cup she's been studying for the past 5 minutes. "I think I have," she said. Cole was surprised; he thought that Nicole would be deliberating her decision until the last minute. He felt concerned that she did not understand what her choice really meant. His thoughts were interrupted by Nicole. "I did not take the decision lightly, Cole, if you are worried about that. But if you knew me better you'd understand that for me it's not really a choice. My life for the past 25 years was not exactly what you call a happy life. You probably gathered already that my mother had very particular ideas for my upbringing. And let's just say that her ideas made my life pretty tough. If I don't accept this opportunity then she'll win. And yes, I did promise my uncle that I would not take the decision out of resentment and I am not. But for my whole life I was deprived of my heritage and I don't want to end my days without knowing what it is. Especially since there was nothing in my life before I came here that would tie me to it. I don't have a boyfriend or a loving family to go back to or even a favourite job. So it's not that I have to give up a whole lot. And the last thing, which is probably the most important I don't want to be saying in forty years time "I wish...". So I am going to "embrace my destiny" as my uncle calls it and become a Lugel." She paused and half demon could see that she was struggling to find right words, then she lifted her eyes and gave him a defiant smile. "And I just hope that you decided to do the same. See, I am not that honourable as you are and would not mind influencing your decision to the one, which would help me."
Half demon smiled, "you don't have to. I would have accepted anyway." Seeing her questioning look he continued, "Well, it would give me something to do. And I am up for the challenge, in all honesty."
Nicole's smile broadened "So we are partners?" she stretched her hand.
"Yes, we are," he smiled back shacking it.
******************
In the realm of the Lugel's Council a hooded figure stared at the piece of parchment flashing with a dazzling blue sparks. Another hooded figure materialized next to the first and spoke with a distinct French accent. "They decided to accept their destiny. The first step is taken."
Chapter 8
When Phoebe and Paige arrived to the Manor they found a very worried Piper and Leo.
"Where the hell have you been?" the oldest Charmed One yelled. "I come home, nobody is here, there is no note, your mobile phones are off and a frantic Elisa keeps calling every 10 minutes."
"Don't yell, Piper," Phoebe was not in the mood for a lecture. "We went to see Cole."
"Cole?" Piper repeated incredulously. "You went to see your ex husband who happens to be the most powerful demon on Earth and you don't want me to yell?! Why did you go and see him?"
"Because I had to," the middle Halliwell yelled. "Because he's about to ruin somebody else's life and I am not going to stand and watch it happening. And don't start on your lecture, Piper, because I am in no mood to listen. When you come down we have to talk how to deal with this son-of- a-bitch. And now, if you excuse me, I have to go to work." She turned round and marched out the door.
Leo followed her with the gaze full of concern. Then he turned to the younger witch, "Paige, what happened?"
"You don't want to know," she answered and plopped on the sofa. "We went to Cole's because Phoebe was convinced that he was up to something. Her and Cole got into a massive fight. Phoebe demanded that he stopped seeing mortal women and he told her it was none of her business. And then Phoebe threatened him that we would vanquish him and Cole warned us that we'd better be careful threatening him. He was so angry, I never seen him like this, even when he was the Source. I thought he was going to kill us on the spot especially when he put this barrier around us so I could not orb. And then this blond girl came into the room and he just kicked us out.
Leo and Piper exchanged worried looks. "Oh, God," Piper clasped her fingers. "Why did you even go there Paige? We don't want to fight Cole, we can't. He is invincible now and we can't stop him from dating mortal women. As long as he does not hurt them we have no reason to go after him. And in all honesty I do not believe that he will."
Paige nodded in agreement. "I know Piper and I tried to talk Phoebe out of going there. But she just would not listen. And I did not want her to go there alone," she sighed. "I am worried about her," she continued. "She seemed to be completely obsessed with not letting Cole to get on with his life. And you should have seen her face when she saw this girl in the Penthouse. It was like somebody punched her in the stomach."
Piper shook her head, "I don't know where it all comes from," she said. "A month ago we were all praying that Cole would give Phoebe a divorce and move on with his life. And now when he seems to be doing just that, it causes even more problems." She gave Leo a questioning look. "What shall we do?"
The whitelighter looked at his wife with the eyes of an unhappy puppy. "I don't know Piper. I will try to reason with Phoebe but we all know how stubborn she can be. And as much as I don't want to be right about this, I think there is a significant degree of jealousy behind her behaviour and I really hope that it's because she just does not want another woman in Cole's life and not because she wants to get back with him."
*******************
Cole and Nicole were finishing their breakfast/lunch in Penthouse kitchen. While Cole was in the shower the young woman wondered into the luxurious kitchen just to find out that the numerous cupboards and massive fridge were mostly empty. This did not surprise her since Cole did not strike her as a cooking type. She decided to go downstairs to the sandwich bar she noticed the first time she came to see him and soon returned with two large Lattes, some juice and a selection of sandwiches with chicken, bacon and cheese. When Cole entered the kitchen he found Nicole pouring down the juice into the glasses. She smiled at him, "I took the liberty to invade your kitchen," she smiled at him, "I hope you don't mind?!"
"Not when it smells like this," he breathed in the nice smell floating in the kitchen. "Where did you get all this?"
"I went downstairs to the sandwich bar. But I hate cold sandwiches so I decided to warm them up. They'll be ready in just a minute." She handed Cole his Latte.
After they enjoyed the selection of hot sandwiches, which Cole had to admit were much nicer than cold ones, Nicole eyed the half demon warily and decided to proceed with the question, which had been on her mind since she woke up.
"Cole," she asked cautiously, "can I ask you something?" He nodded. "Have you made a decision?" she paused, "you know, whether or not you want to accept the inheritance and become a Lugel?"
The half demon shot her a quick look and decided that the truth was the best answer. "Yes, I have," he answered carefully choosing his words.
Nicole paused and then continued uneasily, "But you don't want to tell me, what you decided?!"
Half demon heaved a sigh. "Look, Nicole. It's not that I don't trust you or anything. But I don't want my choice to influence yours. I mean, for me all this is not such a big change as it is for you. I always knew about magic, I grew up having magical powers, they are part of my life and always were. For the brief time when I lost them, I was lost myself. I did not know who I was anymore or what to do with my life. So I can partially understand how you feel. I also know that magic can severely screw up your life. And the more powerful you are, the tougher it gets. This thing the Lugels want us to do is going to be very difficult and dangerous. Of course, the powers you receive are fascinating and you probably are curious to try them. Also 20 billion dollars is a hell of a lot of money. But trust me you'll pay for having them and a higher price than you can possibly imagine. You'll pay for it with physical pain, grief, isolation, basically with parts of your heart and soul. So I don't want to influence you decision. It won't be fair to you."
"And you think dumping this choice on me this way is fair?" Nicole grumbled. She was touched by his words and a little scared.
"Probably not," Cole allowed himself a small smile. He liked her attempt to make a joke. "But this way two months down the line you can't blame me for your choice."
"You are such a lawyer," Nicole shot, a hint of exasperation in her tone. But she was not really angry and had to admit that Cole was right there.
Cole smiled broadly, "Sorry..." he drawled. "I'll try to be of more help in future."
They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Nicole continued. "But since we are supposed to be the Chose Two, it means that either both of us have to accept or there is no point really?!"
Cole nodded, "That's true, but try to think what's best for yourself. I am sure that even one of us will be able to help Lugels a lot. And this is not the choice you can get back on. From what your uncle said it looked to me that if you became a Lugel, you were going to die a Lugel as well." He paused and asked, "So have you made your decision?"
Nicole tore her gaze from the empty cup she's been studying for the past 5 minutes. "I think I have," she said. Cole was surprised; he thought that Nicole would be deliberating her decision until the last minute. He felt concerned that she did not understand what her choice really meant. His thoughts were interrupted by Nicole. "I did not take the decision lightly, Cole, if you are worried about that. But if you knew me better you'd understand that for me it's not really a choice. My life for the past 25 years was not exactly what you call a happy life. You probably gathered already that my mother had very particular ideas for my upbringing. And let's just say that her ideas made my life pretty tough. If I don't accept this opportunity then she'll win. And yes, I did promise my uncle that I would not take the decision out of resentment and I am not. But for my whole life I was deprived of my heritage and I don't want to end my days without knowing what it is. Especially since there was nothing in my life before I came here that would tie me to it. I don't have a boyfriend or a loving family to go back to or even a favourite job. So it's not that I have to give up a whole lot. And the last thing, which is probably the most important I don't want to be saying in forty years time "I wish...". So I am going to "embrace my destiny" as my uncle calls it and become a Lugel." She paused and half demon could see that she was struggling to find right words, then she lifted her eyes and gave him a defiant smile. "And I just hope that you decided to do the same. See, I am not that honourable as you are and would not mind influencing your decision to the one, which would help me."
Half demon smiled, "you don't have to. I would have accepted anyway." Seeing her questioning look he continued, "Well, it would give me something to do. And I am up for the challenge, in all honesty."
Nicole's smile broadened "So we are partners?" she stretched her hand.
"Yes, we are," he smiled back shacking it.
******************
In the realm of the Lugel's Council a hooded figure stared at the piece of parchment flashing with a dazzling blue sparks. Another hooded figure materialized next to the first and spoke with a distinct French accent. "They decided to accept their destiny. The first step is taken."