Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 77
Chris struggled to open his eyes and fixed his gaze on the visitor. A mixture of confusion, shock, and surprise defined his facial expression. "Lethana?"
The guardian of magic smiled sympathetically and extended her hand to help Chris up off of the floor. Her smile changed into a look of concern when it became apparent that he was too weak to bring his hand up to meet her own. She gently knelt down and examined Chris' injuries. A warm sensation enveloped the young Halliwell as he felt his wounds being healed.
As soon as the wounds closed, Chris struggled to his feet, his head slightly bowed. "Thank you," he said softly.
"You're most welcome, Chris."
Chris looked deep in thought as he debated whether to ask the questions that were on his mind.
"Ask whatever is bothering you, Chris," the guardian of magic suggested, as if reading his thoughts.
Again, Chris seemed caught off guard by Lethana's comment. "Well, I was just thinking…at first I was confused…but now, it seems a little more clear…" Chris stopped as he realized that he was rambling. Look a little nervous, he decided to try again. "What I'm saying is that I'm pretty sure me being here was no accident. And seeing you here, I'm sure that there was a reason for this…a lesson that I was meant to learn. But I'm just not sure what that lesson is…"
Lethana smiled broadly at Chris. "I'm more convinced than ever that you are the perfect one to take on this very critical destiny. You are right, Chris…there was a reason that you were put through this test. How did you feel when you were confronted by your adversaries back in the dungeon?"
"I felt helpless," Chris answered honestly. "I mean, none of my powers worked and it just seemed like there was no way for me to win."
Lethana nodded as Chris described his feelings. "That's the first lesson, then. Yes, you're the son of a Charmed One and you have magical powers that will strike fear in the forces of evil. But, you must learn not of rely only on your powers."
Chris nodded as he understood what the guardian of magic meant. "Because if I do, my powers will actually become a weakness. Those who know about this will strive to deprive me of my powers, knowing that I'll be a helpless prey then."
"You're very intelligent," she commented. "As I said, you have a huge arsenal of magical powers. You have also been blessed with a very quick mind. Now, you just need to build up other skills to help you in this fight."
"Like Aunt Phoebe…at least know how to defend myself without using my powers," Chris whispered to no one in particular.
"Exactly."
"Thank you, Lethana," Chris smiled. "But wait, you said that was the first lesson. What else was I supposed to learn?"
"What was the most shocking thing that happened to you while you were in the dungeon?"
Chris thought for a moment before answering. "The girl. She was injured and I only tried to help her. And before I knew it, she was trying to kill me."
"So?" Lethana asked, encouraging Chris to continue.
"Don't take anything at face value? Things are not always as simple as they seem?" Chris asked, still puzzled.
"Yes, Chris. You have a big heart and that is a wonderful thing. But your enemies will use that against you. You need to be vigilant and skeptical – without losing your capacity to care and to love."
Letting the words sink in, Chris nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll remember that. Thank you."
"I have to be honest with you," Lethana continued. "This lesson got somewhat out of hand because someone didn't follow their instructions." At that moment, an elderly man appeared in shackles.
Chris gasped at the sudden appearance of the man, not really knowing what was going on. "Olivius was instructed with watching over the lesson as it unfolded," Lethana explained. "However, his jealousy consumed him and he unleashed excessive force in his quest to satisfy his envy. He deliberately disobeyed me by ignoring his orders and failing to treat you with respect. For that, he will be punished."
Olivius cowered as he saw Lethana's fury. Chris again debated whether to speak up and after a quick moment of hesitation, he made up his mind. "Lethana, I have a small request…"
The guardian of magic's fury quickly subsided as she turned to Chris. "What is it?"
"Well, Olivius was wrong to disobey orders. But I wasn't really hurt and he really made my lesson very memorable. So I was wondering if perhaps you can be lenient with him?"
Lethana smiled proudly at this request. "You continue to impress me with your maturity and compassion, Chris. I promise that I will be lenient with Olivius. His powers will be temporarily suspended and once he demonstrates repentance, I'll restore his powers. Until the next time, Chris…"
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"Are we planning to do anything besides waiting and searching through the Book of Shadows?" Wyatt asked again, his impatience increasingly obvious.
"Do you have anything constructive that you can suggest besides wearing a hole in the rug?" Paige asked with a slight smirk.
"This is not funny, Aunt Paige," Wyatt replied, clearly not amused by his aunt's attempts to lighten up the mood.
"Well, I suppose we could try a spell," Phoebe offered lamely.
"We've already tried all of your spells," Wyatt said angrily. "And they obviously are not helping." Frustrated, he ripped the Book of Shadows from the pedestal and hurled it at the wall, just as a bright blue light filled the attic.
"Woah!" Chris yelled as he caught the Book just before it hit him in the head. "Who's trying to kill me?" he laughed as he reformed from his orbs.
Chris' laughter faded as he realized that no one was laughing with him. Instead, he noticed quite a few pairs of eyes staring at him – and most of the people staring at him did not seem too amused. Chris laughed nervously, "Uh…hi?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Wyatt yelled, angry and relieved at the same time.
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain," Chris answered.
"I don't care. Explain," Piper demanded with her no-nonsense look.
Ryan took pity on his brother's predicament and decided to intervene and help out. "Hey, I bet Chris is really hungry now. So why don't we go downstairs, get some food, and then Chris can explain?"
Wyatt was not falling for Ryan's ploy but it seemed that everyone else thought this was a good idea. "Yeah, I didn't realize how hungry I was until Ryan mentioned it!" Paige added. Realizing that he was outnumbered, Wyatt reluctantly followed everyone else to the kitchen, but still determined to find out the truth about why Chris went missing.
"Thanks, Ry," Chris said appreciatively, hugging his baby brother, once everyone had gone downstairs.
"No probs," Ryan grinned. "It's good to have you back."
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Chris breathed a sigh of relief as he walked down the quiet street. He had survived his family's inquisition without divulging too many details. Even his over-protective mother and older brother seemed convinced that all was well.
Now, it was time to deal with the next crisis. Jamie. Both Ryan and Wyatt had given him advanced warning that this wasn't going to be easy. Chris had decided to walk over instead of choosing to orb in order to have more time to work out his explanation.
He finally took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. He was still going over his speech in his head when the front door opened. The only problem was that the person greeting him was not the person that Chris had wanted or expected to see. Instead, a young man, dressed in a bathrobe, his hair messy, greeted him. "Can I help you?"
- to be continued -