Mel shimmered into her dark bedroom and flopped down onto the bed. Hot tears stung her eyes and her body shook with suppressed sobs.
The girl had been right.
She was evil.
She had wanted to kill Chris…and she couldn't deny the feelings of hatred she had been feeing all night. As soon as she had been hit with the spell she had felt so free - it had been as if the barriers that had always kept her actions restrained had been suddenly lifted.
She had liked that feeling.
She had allowed herself to be consumed by it...she had come to the manor ready to destroy…
'Demon-You're a demon.' Her mind screamed as her body shuttered in self- hatred.
Mel had never seriously thought about that part of herself until tonight- of course she had always known of her fathers past, but she hadn't considered what it meant for her. She had never really thought that a part of her was evil. But her days of ignorant bliss were now over- she knew what it felt like to be filled with immense hate, strong enough to hurt those she loved. She knew that the desire to kill had always been inside of her- she had just never embraced it…
Tonight she had.
Tonight she had let that part of her take over.
Tonight had changed her forever…
Even after the physical effects were erased, she could never go back to her denial. There wouldn't be a second that passed without some distant thought about this
Letting out another loud sob, Mel slowly got to her feet and made her way across the room to the large mirror that hung above her desk. Still shaking she stepped in front of it and she could hardly suppress a horrified gasp as she stared at the reflection.
Deep red skin, covered in black markings…pointed teeth, ready to tear the flesh of her victims…dead yellow eyes, looking back with spine tingling coolness…
She felt sick, and her head spun with a hundred dark thoughts as she studied the image.
She couldn't deny it; the person starring back at her was a monster.
A demon…
Just as frightening and hideous as those that her family had been vanquishing for years…
No wonder the girl had been afraid of her…she was afraid of herself.
Letting out a cry of anger and pain, Mel flung a fireball into the mirror, breaking it, and the reflection of the monster, into a thousand pieces…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"We have to go after her!" Wyatt exclaimed, angrily getting up from his seat and beginning to pace around the living room. He turned angrily towards Jenny. "We told you, she's not evil, she's our cousin!"
Jenny looked down at the floor and a slight redness brushed her cheeks. "I...I'm sorry." She whispered, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I couldn't help it. She tried to kill Chris less than an hour ago…and I know you said she's not evil, but it's hard to just accept what she did. When she came in I just…I couldn't help being afraid."
Chris placed a comforting hand atop of hers and gave a loud sigh. He felt very torn at the moment- he could understand Jenny's reaction, and he cared for her too much to be angry…but on the other hand, her comments had hurt Mel- even his cousin's demonic exterior had not covered up the pain she felt inside. He couldn't stand to see her suffer like that…
"It's alright." Chris muttered, forcing Jenny's eyes up to meet his own. "I can't imagine what it's like to be hit will all of this in one night. You're right, she did try to kill me, but you have to remember that that was purely because of the spell. Once you get to know her, you'll understand that she would never hurt me- or anyone- intentionally."
"Yes, and you had damn well better apologise." Wyatt added bitterly from across the room.
"Hey." Chris defended, rising from his seat on the couch and glaring over at his brother. "Back off Wy. Put yourself in her position- she just found out that demons exist! We understandbecause it's our family and we know Mel, but Jenny doesn't. I cansee whyshe'd be a little afraid when someone who looks a hell of a lot like a demon sits down three feet away from her."
Wyatt folded his arms across his chest and locked eyes with his little brother. He could see what Chris was saying- but Mel was his cousin, and she was upset because of Jenny- Chris may be head over heels in love with the female witch whitelighter, but he certainly wasn't…to him, Mel was the one that mattered. "Fine." He said, his jaw clenched in annoyance. "But Jenny really should apologise when this is all over- and give Mel a chance."
Chris nodded in agreement. "She will." He replied, turning back to look at the girl. "Won't you."
"Yes." Jenny said as she glanced back down at the floor. "Of course I will- I never meant to hurt her; really…I just got carried away."
Feeling slightly more satisfied, Wyatt gave her a weak smile. "Good. Now, do you think I should go check on her?"
Chris looked thoughtful for a moment before responding. "Maybe not." He began. "You know what Mel's like- it might be best to let her calm down a bit first- she might blow you up if you try to reason with her now- I'll go up in a few minutes…I think I'm the one she needs to talk to…"
"Alright…" Wyatt agreed reluctantly as he sat back in his chair and began rubbing his temples to relieve some of the stress building there. "I just want this whole mess to be over."
Chris sighed as he too returned to his seat. "I couldn't agree with you more..."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Piper and Emily arrived in the kitchen to see Paige rummaging frantically through the cupboards. "We are out of coffee!" she exclaimed angrily as she sensed her oldest sister enter. "How can we be out of coffee?"
"I was going to go shopping tomorrow morning- it was on my list." Piper replied as she glanced over at a nearby shelf. "Are you sure we don't have at least a bit left?"
"I'm sure." Paige shot back as she held the empty tin up for her sister to see. "This really is the worst night ever."
Piper grinned slightly at Paige's ranting; it was a well know fact that when the youngest Charmed one went without caffeine for too long she could get seriously grumpy- as she was demonstrating quite clearly right now. "I guess we'll just have to do without it then." Piper shrugged as she walked over to the fridge. "You can help us cook- I think I have enough ingredients to make a large batch of pancakes."
"Pancakes?" Paige asked with a raised eyebrow. "At night?"
"Well, technically it's already morning. Two am to be exact." Emily cut in as she went to help Piper retrieve the necessary ingredients.
"Urrg, don't remind me." Paige groaned, slamming a few of the cupboards closed. She already had a mild headache from her fatigue and she wanted nothing more then to collapse in bed. Paige had always valued her sleep, and she hated it when her Charmed duties prevented her from getting a solid eight hours. "I'm sleeping for a week when this stupid mess is over." She muttered.
Piper shook her head in amusement as she began cracking eggs over her largest mixing bowl. "Ahh, come on Paige." she began. "Just stay positive- you were all peppy and psyched up a few minutes ago."
The youngest sister rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well that was before I realized that we were out of coffee- now, I'm just pissed."
Chuckling slightly, Piper poured flour into the mix and began to beat the various ingredients together. It was soothing to be in the kitchen doing something she loved after this very stressful night. Despite the ongoing problem, she was still amazingly happy that the family was all together again. Mel and Phoebe were no longer evil, Cole was safe (although still under the spell), and everyone else had come out of the attack unharmed.
She knew that they could face the remaining challenge- as Leo had said, they just had to trust their power- everything would come out okay in the end…
"Paige, could you please set the table?" Piper asked as she mixed in the final ingredients and turned on the stove. "And Emily, there is a second frying pan in the cabinet over there- bring it over and we can both start cooking."
The other two witches did as they were told.
"Maybe I could just orb into a grocery store and grab a new tin of coffee." Paige muttered as she roughly placed the forks on the table. "I'd leave the money of course…"
"Personal gain." Piper said absently as she began flipping the bubbling batter. "You'll be fine without it Paige, move on already. We have more important things to deal with that your lack of caffeine."
"Alright." Paige huffed, finally giving in. "But if I collapse from exhaustion, then it's your fault."
"Fine- I take full responsibility." Piper said amusedly. "You know, for an angel, you sure are grouchy…"
Emily gave a quiet laugh as the youngest Charmed on flopped down in the nearest chair. "Damn straight."Paige muttered, folding her arms across her chest and glaring angrily at the empty tin of coffee. "This is definitely the worst night ever…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Food's ready!"
Piper's voice echoed into the living room, breaking Wyatt, Chris and Jenny out of the silence they had been sitting in for the last several minutes. They were all tired, hungry, confused and slightly annoyed after the most recent conversation that had taken place.
There was still a strong tension between Wyatt and Jenny over what had happened with Mel, and, much to his displeasure, Chris found himself caught in the middle. Maybe it was the pacifist in him talking, but he just wanted this all to end- and he wanted everyone to get along.
"Good, I'm starved." Wyatt muttered before quickly orbing out in a swirl of blue.
Chris sighed and looked over at Jenny. "You go on, I'll be there in a bit." He said giving her a reassuring smile and hoping that Wyatt wouldn't pick a fight with her in his absence.
The girl nodded and slowly began to head for the kitchen. When she reached the doorway, she paused slightly and turned back to face Chris. "If you're going to see Mel, tell her I'm sorry- tell her that it won't happen again…"
"I will." Chris replied, smiling reassuringly again as he orbed off to make amends with his cousin.
He reappeared outside the door- deciding it would be best not to startle her by orbing straight in- and knocked lightly. "Mel, it's me."
There was a long pause before her received a quiet reply. "Go away I want to be alone."
Sighing, Chris tried again. "Please Mel." He said, his voice begging. "You've had enough time alone. We need to talk."
He waited for a response for several seconds before giving up and simply orbing to the other side of the door. The room was dark, but when his eyes adjusted he could see that Mel was curled up on her bed, her face buried in her pillow.
"Stupid whitelighter powers." The girl muttered as she sat up to glare at her cousin. "You know in most normal families, when a person says 'go away' people don't ignore them and teleport in anyway."
Chris smiled slightly as he walked over to the edge of the bed and took a seat. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, this isn't a normal family."
Mel was silent and as Chris pondered what to say next, he caught sight of the shattered mirror that now littered the floor of her bedroom. He sighed again and turned back to face her, his eyes full of both love and sympathy. "Look, Mel…" he began slowly. "I know you're upset- and I'm sorry about what Jenny said- you really can't beat yourself up over this. Strange stuff happens to us all the time- we just have to accept it and move on."
She scoffed angrily. "Accept what?" she asked. "Accept that I'm a demon who tired to kill my own cousin?"
"No." Chris replied quickly before she could continue with her rant. "Accept that you were under a spell that turned you temporarily evil. Accept that although you did try to kill me, you never really wanted to…and that you managed to overcome hate with love."
The girl turned away from him as she thought over what he had said. She could remember what had happened in the attic- how she had stared down at his dying body and suddenly realized that she did care- that she wasn't a cold hearted demon. She had wanted to save him…
Maybe he was right.
Maybe it was time to move on…
If he could accept it, why couldn't she?
"But Chris-" she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't think I can forgive myself for doing such horrible things. I can't deny that I wanted to commit evil- that a part of me is evil."
He shook his head slowly and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "You're not evil." He said firmly, his voice full of conviction. "You were brought up as a good witch, by a good family. You've done nothing but good your entire life- and tonight you weren't acting on your own free will. That wasn't really you. And if it makes you feel better to hear it again, I forgive you Mel…even though there isn't actually anything to forgive."
Mel could not suppress the slight smile forming on her face as he spoke. The sound of his gentle and heartfelt words was so comforting, and she could not stop herself from believing all that he said.
She wasn't evil.
She was a good witch…and she had broken the spell because of the love she felt for her family.
Demons didn't feel love…but she did.
She felt it right now as she sat comforted in her cousins arms- she had felt it as she embraced her mother in the attic- she felt it every time she thought of her parents, her aunts, her uncle and her cousins…
She couldn't possibly be a demon.
Not where it really counted…
"Alright." She said, biting back the tears of happiness that had formed from this revelation. "Alright. I believe you Chris."
He smiled and gave her a tight hug. "It's about time." He said, his voice suddenly full of relief. "And Jenny wanted me to tell you that she's sorry about her reaction…she just found out about everything tonight- she's still pretty confused." He paused. "Don't worry, soon, we can put this whole terrible night behind us. We'll break the spell completely and go back to normal…well as normal as the Halliwell family gets anyway…"
Mel laughed slightly and returned his embrace, her arm brushing against his feathered wings as she did. "For both our sakes I certainly hope so." She said, smiling genuinely for the first time that night.
"Agreed." He returned her smile as the two gently drew apart. "So we're good now? You're totally okay?"
"I'm alright." Mel replied. "Better then I have been all night. Thanks for breaking me out of my self pity Chris- you're pretty good at the whole whitelighter advice thing."
He laughed. "Hardly."
"No really." The girl insisted. "I swear you sounded just like Uncle Leo for a minute there with the whole 'love overcoming hate' bit. Maybe you should consider signing up for whitelighter duty after you graduate angel-boy."
Chris laughed quietly again, pleased to hear a light and playful tone re-enter his cousins voice as she spoke. "Yeah, I'll think about it." He replied, still smiling.
Mel looked over at him thoughtfully and cocked her head to the side. "You know, it's actually not a bad idea…you could be my whitelighter…I'll need my own once I move out of the manor…"
"Maybe." The word came out rather quietly as he considered what she said. As crazy as the night had been, it had helped him connect with that part of himself…perhaps it really was his true calling…he really didn't know what he was going to do once school was over- that was always an option…
'Chris' a voice echoed in his head before their conversation could continue and he turned to directly face his cousin. "Mom's calling." He stated as he stood up slowly. "I almost forgot, she's got some food ready for us downstairs- you must be starved."
The girl nodded enthusiastically, noticing suddenly that she really was quite hungry. "Sounds good." She said as she too stood up from the bed and stretched her tired muscles. "I'll race you!"
And with that she began to shimmer away.
Chris rolled his eyes. "No fair, shimmering is faster than orbing!" he shouted after her as he dissolved into a shower of sparkling blue…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Finally!" Piper exclaimed as her niece, followed quickly by her son, appeared in the manor's kitchen. "Your food is getting cold."
Everyone else had arrived several minutes ago, and they were all hungrily consuming the makeshift meal she had prepared. Piper had been a little disappointed to see that Paige and Phoebe were still avoiding each other- and that, strangely, Wyatt seemed to be mad a Jenny…but she supposed that in the stress of the night she couldn't really expect everyone to get along perfectly.
At least they were all safe.
"Ha, beat you!" Mel exclaimed, grinning over at Chris.
He shook his head in amusement and took his spot at the table as Mel did the same. "You're so mature." He muttered under his breath.
Wyatt looked up from his plate and glanced between his brother and his cousin. "You guys okay?" he asked, resting his eyes directly on Mel.
"Yep, fine." The girl replied, her voice rather chipper as she began attacking her pancakes. "Got some advice from my new whitelighter and all is well."
"New whitelighter?" Leo asked, suddenly alarmed. "The elders never mentioned-"
"No no." Mel cut in with a quiet laugh. "I meant Chris. We talked, and I decided that he's good at the whole whitelighter thing."
Chris blushed slightly and Leo's face broke into a proud smile.
"What did you talk about?" Phoebe cut in, her motherly instincts immediately on alert.
"Stuff." Mel replied, reaching for another pancake and giving a loud yawn.
Chris noticed Jenny shift uncomfortably in her seat and he placed a comforting hand over hers. He was glad to see that she could now sit in the same room as Mel without drawing back in fear. "It's fine." He whispered so that only she could hear. "Everything will be okay."
The girl nodded and squeezed his hand tightly before taking a few small bites of her food.
Chris smiled slightly, he was sure that Jenny would apologise personally later and then, hopefully, everyone would be back on good terms. Finally, the night was beginning to look up.
Paige suddenly gave an excessively loud (and forced) yawn from across the table, causing everyone to glance over in her direction. "You know what goes good with pancakes?" she asked, shooting a glare over at Piper. "Coffee."
"Honestly Paige." Piper muttered as she shook her head at her youngest sister. "We get it you're tired. We're all tired to you know…"
"Well, then maybe, we should sleep." Paige shot back, folding her arms across her chest.
Piper sighed. "Paige, really, I think-"
"You know, that's not a bad idea." Phoebe cut in before the oldest sister could finish. "You're right, we're all exhausted, we've had a long night, and we're getting no where with the research…maybe after a few hours of rest we'll be more productive."
"Fine." Piper said, throwing up her hand in exasperation. "Maybe you're right…I just hate to think about all the time we'll be wasting…"
"It's not wasting." Phoebe insisted. "We need this, or we'll never get anywhere."
After a slight pause, Piper agreed. "Okay, okay. You win. After we clean this up we'll all get to bed…but I expect you up bight and early so we can reverse this stupid spell as soon as possible."
"Deal." Paige said, standing up quickly and bringing a few of the dishes to the sink. "I promise I'll be nicer in the morning…" And with that she orbed out of the kitchen, eager to get all of the sleep that she could.
"She certainly didn't hesitate." Emily noted with amusement as she began to help Piper clear the rest of the used dishes. "Perhaps Jenny and I should go home now; I wouldn't want to take advantage of any more of your hospitality."
"Don't be ridiculous." Piper replied, giving the witch a warm smile. "You have been great- a huge help tonight- and you are more then welcome to stay- the more witches here to help reverse this spell tomorrow the better. We have a guestroom, and the couch in the living room pulls out into a bed…"
Emily smiled back. "If you're sure."
"I'm sure."
"You can borrow some of my PJ's" Phoebe added helpfully. "And Jenny can borrow Mel's."
Piper nodded as she took the last of the plates off the table. "Perfect. Now, all of you get going- we might as well take advantage of every last second we've got."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few minutes later, Jenny hesitantly approached Mel's room.
Phoebe had insisted that she borrow some of the girl's pyjamas, and she didn't want to appear rude by declining the offer, but she was more than a little worried aboutconfronting Mel.
Not because she was afraid…she wasn't anymore…really. The love she sensed that both Wyatt and Chris held for their cousin made it difficult to deny that Mel was indeed good- despite her current appearance and recent actions. She had been hasty in her judgement, and she regretted it now…
She only hoped that Mel would forgive her…
Chris said it would be okay, but she could never be sure. Not until she confirmed it herself.
Taking a deep breath, Jenny knocked on the door and waited for a reply. Mel opened it only a moment later and, much to her surprise gave her a warm smile.
"Hey." She said quietly. "Mom said you'd be coming up." She took a few steps into the room and grabbed a pile of clothes off the bed. "It purple okay? This is the only set I have with a low cut back, which I figured you'd need because of the -err- wings."
"They're great." Jenny said softly, taking the pyjamas. "Purple is my favourite colour."
"Mine too." Mel replied, smiling again.
There was a tense pause, and Jenny could hear nothing but the nervous beating of her heart. Mel certainly didn't seem mad…
"Look, about earlier." The girl began, looking down at the floor. "I'm really sorry about how I reacted- this night has just been so crazy- I was- am- so shaken up…"
"It's alright." Mel replied. "Sure, it pissed me off…but I understand." She paused. "You never knew about magic before today?"
Jenny shook her head. "Nope. Not at all. And then I get hit with this strange grey mist in the school gym, run outside, faint and wake up with my own pair of white feathered wings…because, evidently, the father I have never met was actually an angel. It's a little hard to digest."
"Wow. Intense." Mel said, looking at Jenny in fascination. "Well, if you ever need another witch to talk to call me up. I may look like a demon at the moment, but 99 of the time I'm, just your everyday average witch, who has never really had a female witch my age to share stuff with before."
Jenny's mouth dropped open in shock and her heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that –despite everything- Mel was still hoping that they could be friends?
That confirmed it…Mel wasn't evil…no true demon could ever be that forgiving…
"Sure, it would be great to have someone to talk to." Jenny replied, smiling widely.
Mel nodded. "Don't get me wrong, Wyatt and Chris are great…but I have always wanted another girl to talk to…" she trailed off and smiled once again. "Well, good night- I guess I'll see you in the morning- enjoy the PJ's."
"You too. Thanks."
And with that Jenny walked off down the hall, feeling relieved, excited and most of all, happy.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/N- Sorry for another wait- stuff kept coming up. Arg. Anyway, it didn't quite turn out how I hoped, but I hope you liked it. Thanks to everyone that reviewed…I will respond later…it's four in the morning now and I am far too tired to think anymore, lol. Sorry 'bout that.
Next Chapter- a few more fluffy night scenes (wanted to include then now, but am too tired)- some Piper/Leo moments (every good story has some), and an update on Cole (sorry I left him out this time)
PLEASE REVIEW!
Tata,
Leigh