It's Not Easy
Chapter 1: Family Emergency
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. I do, however, own the characters I have invented.
Patricia Halliwell was bored. She was always bored at school, but today, it was excruciating. The teacher droned on, but Patricia didn't take in a word. She tried to pay attention, but what the teacher was teaching meant nothing to her. She had never wanted to take the stupid class in the first place. World History wasn't going to help her later on in life. All Patricia ever wanted to be was a witch; nothing more and nothing less.
She wanted to go to Magic School, but her mother, Phoebe Halliwell, would not hear of it. Her mother still clung to the hope that she could have a normal life. Patricia, or Patty, as most of the world called her, was far from normal. She was the daughter of a Charmed One who fought demons on a regular basis. At only 13 years old, she had not only accepted her destiny, but embraced it. She loved being a witch, and she wished her mother could just accept that.
Mr. Farrow, the teacher, continued on with his lecture. Patty didn't even know what it was about anymore. She began to nod off…
"We will now be having a pop quiz", Mr. Farrow said briskly.
Patty certainly was awake now. She looked around the class in panic. All of her classmates seemed disappointed, but none looked as panicked as she was sure she did. She risked a glance at her cousin Grace who sat in the front of the classroom. Grace looked calm and even a little excited. There was no surprise there. Grace had always loved school and got straight As. Patty's grades left a little to be desired. Despite their differences, Patty and Grace were best friends.
The test papers were handed out, and most of the students had already begun writing. Patty nervously turned over the paper and glanced at the first question. She tried to figure out the answer on her own, but her brain drew a complete blank. She cast a furtive glance at Megan, the smartest girl at Baker Middle School.
'This is so easy', Megan thought, "The first one is obviously May 27, 1872."
Patty felt slightly guilty at using her power of telepathy for her own gain. This, however, was a matter of academic life and death! If she failed another pop quiz she would fail the class. She didn't want to have to do the stupid. She scribbled down the first answer and was about to listen for the rest when a stern voice in her own head interrupted her.
"Patty, that's cheating. If you don't stop that, I'm telling your mother', the stern voice of her cousin Grace reprimanded.
Patty had almost forgotten that Grace was a telepath as well. She knew she couldn't continue her new method of "learning" under Grace's watchful eye. She sighed and tried to get back to her usual method of random guessing. The next few questions were multiple choice, so she only had to circle random letters. The final question was an essay style question, and Patty had no clue what to write. She couldn't just skip it, it was worth too much.
Patty fiddled with the necklace she always wore, which was a sure sign that she was nervous. It was an exquisite silver necklace with a triquetra pendant. It made her feel connected to her family, the triquetra being the symbol on their Book of Shadows. Her mother got her that necklace for her 10th birthday. That necklace was her most treasured possession. She picked up the pendant and twirled it in her fingers. The moment her fingers touched the triquetra, her body convulsed as her mind was thrown into a terrifying premonition.
She saw the living room of the Manor, looking as calm as ever. Aunt Paige and Cousin Penny. Dozens of darklighters dark orbing, encircling them. Trying to orb. Doesn't work. Paralyzed. Fear, panic. The darklighters shoot. Falling to the ground. Blood. Can't breath, can't escape. Hurts so much. Need help. Dying. Darkness.
As quickly as it began, the premonition ended. Patty was terrified. She would never let her Aunt Paige or Penny die. It took her a moment to realize she was shaking. She looked around the relatively mundane reality of the classroom. No one, not even Grace, had noticed her trance like state during her premonition. They were all busy with the test. She had to get to the Manor. Now.
"Grace, we need to get home right away", she said telepathically to her cousin.
"What is it?" Grace asked urgently. She was shocked at the absolute panic in her cousin's telepathic message.
"Aunt Paige and Penny are in trouble. We need to get home", Patty thought hurriedly
"How do we go without anybody noticing?"
"Freeze them and we'll orb out. We have to risk it. If we don't go now, they'll die!"
Without question, Grace raised her hands and flicked her wrists. Their entire class, except of course Patty and Grace, got up and made their way to the front of the class, careful not to bump into any frozen classmates. Grace grabbed Patty's hand so they could orb out together. Before they could orb, Patty told her cousin, "It was darklighters. You need to be careful." Grace shrugged, indicating that she was not afraid. The two cousins disappeared I a swirl of blue-white lights.
They reappeared in the Manor's living room. It was there that they saw their aunt Paige and Paige's daughter Penny arguing. For the moment, they were fine.
"Grace, Patty what are you doing here? Patty what's wrong?" their aunt Paige asked quickly. She hadn't failed to notice that Patty's face was chalk white. She also noticed that her niece was shaking. Patty was still terrified about the premonition that she had had.
Patty said, "Aunt Paige, I was at school where I had a premonition and I saw…" She was interrupted by the circle of darklighters that dark orbed around them, trapping them. "Darklighters", Patty finished lamely.
As a single until, the darklighters cross-bows materialized, and they took aim. Patty tried to charge at them, but she found she couldn't move. None of her family moved either. They all appeared to be paralyzed.
"How are you doing this?" Patty asked, in a tone she hoped sounded menacing.
"We had some help", said the nearest darklighter grinning. Patty felt totally useless. She was powerless to do anything. The darklighter who had spike shot his cross-bow. The darklighter on his left and on his right shot as well. One arrow hit Grace in the abdomen, another embedded itself into Paige's side and the third hit Penny in the arm. One by one, they crumpled to the ground. This seemed to lift the paralysis spell they were under. Patty rushed to their sides instantly. They all looked pretty bad. Someone with healing powers had to get there immediately.
"Uncle Kyle! Uncle Leo! Wyatt!" Patty called, glancing upwards. No one appeared. Her gaze flew wildly around the room, desperately searching for some way to heal them. She then realized that one of the darklighters was still there.
"No one will come. They cannot hear you", the darklighter said menacingly. With that, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
"Anyone!" she yelled. No one came. The darklighter was right. Her aunt and her cousins were dying, and Patty was all alone…
TBC…