ELEVEN
"Paige, I asked Chandler to come here," said Leo. "Actually, it was Cole's idea."
"What idea?" Paige demanded.
"To get you to take protecting magic more seriously," said Cole. "We have Chandler's counterparts in the underworld. But I didn't think bringing a demon in the manor was a good idea. So I asked Leo if he could help. He explained that they had Chandler who handled these types of situation."
"Paige," said Piper, "we know you understand intellectually about protecting magic. But you've always said you didn't understand why it was so important. You didn't seem to understand how important it was that we keep mortals from finding out."
"But I said I would keep the secret," Paige protested.
"We know," said Phoebe. "And believe me, we know you would not deliberately break that promise. But you weren't taking our admonishments seriously. Sooner or later you would have made a mistake. And you could have exposed magic without meaning to."
"I would never have done that," said Paige.
"Tell that to Wellington," said Chandler.
"You said that was all in my mind," said Paige.
"Yes," said Chandler. "I am a member of the White Lighter Council as I said. But many White Lighters don't take the admonishments seriously either. It's my job to impress upon them the seriousness of this matter. So I use my power to show them what can happen if they inadvertently expose magic to the mortal world."
"Is that what happened to me?" Paige asked.
"Yes," said Chandler. "Once our hands touched I was able to use my power on you. The actual scenario you witnessed in your minds' eye was not real. But the underlying reasons for it are quite real. You saw just what could happen if you use your magic in front of mortals."
"But I was trying to help," Paige protested. "A man's life was at stake."
"Yes," said Chandler. "And he chose to take that life. You see, in trying to help him you actually violated the two most important rules. You exposed magic to the mortal world. And you interfered with someone's free will."
"He was distraught," said Paige. "He didn't know what he was doing."
"Sometimes," said Chandler, "you just have to stand by while bad things happen. Yes, you tried to save a human life. And in so doing saw what happened. You exposed magic to the mortal world and put yourself and them in danger.
"Paige, this is only one example of what could happen. In this vision you were at the mercy of a secret government organization. Believe me, there are such organizations. Now, just imagine what would happen if the knowledge of magic wasn't restricted to just a covert organization. If the entire mortal world had learned of it."
"I imagine the consequences wouldn't be pretty," said Paige.
"That's putting it mildly," said Chandler. "In your vision Wellington mentioned Senator McCarthy's search for communists in the United States. You're too young to remember that. It happened before you were born."
"I learned about it," said Paige. "In high school and college. It was compared to the witch hunts in Salem in the 1600s."
"Exactly," said Chandler. "And that was just a hunt for people who didn't think the way McCarthy did. Imagine the affect if people became aware of others with your powers and abilities. Able to do the things you can do with really no one to govern what you do."
"There are all those rules we have to obey," said Paige.
"Yes," said Chandler. "And if you don't follow those rules? You know what can happen then. Now, imagine how people would react if they learned about that. And not just a few of you. Hundreds or even thousands of witches all over the United States and the world. Able to control magic and do practically whatever they wanted to. Can you imagine the hysteria, the fear, the madness that would ensue?"
"I guess I never thought of it that way before," said Paige.
"That's why I asked Chandler to come here," said Leo. "Piper and Paige knew you would never understand just by what they said to you. You didn't understand how serious this was."
"Paige, honey," said Phoebe, "we didn't want to fool you like this. Piper and I only learned what was happening a few minutes before Chandler arrived. That's why Leo asked Piper to help him with the ice cream. And why Cole asked me to go upstairs with him. They were explaining to us what they had planned."
"But we agreed with them," said Piper. "I'm sorry we had to do this to you. But we had to show you just how important it is that you not expose magic to the mortal world. Even to save someone. The consequences could be disastrous."
"I understand now," said Paige. "I must admit I didn't really see what the harm was before. But believe me I do now. I guess I can't fault you too much. I suppose I would have done the same thing in your place."
"I'm glad you understand," said Cole. "I know it was my idea. And I know I'm not your favorite person. But even demons know the seriousness of protecting magic. It's even more so for you."
"I know," said Paige. "And I'll be a lot more careful in the future. I guess I still have a lot to learn about magic."
"We all do, sweetie," said Piper. "Phoebe and I have been doing this a lot longer than you have. And there's still a lot we have to learn."
"Well," said Cole, glancing at Chandler, "except for him I'm probably the oldest one here. And believe me when I say you never stop learning. Even after almost a hundred years I still learn things."
"Just like the little incident with the Book of Shadows when you 'borrowed' it and took it to work," said Phoebe.
"Trust me, that is not going to happen again," said Paige. "And I'm going to be a lot more careful when and where I use my magic in the future. I have no desire to end up the pawn of some secret government agency. Speaking of which, I do have a question. You said there were secret organizations like the one I had in my vision. What about this Initiative? Do they really exist?"
"Actually, yes, they do," said Chandler. "But they aren't in San Francisco. There are a couple of cells in California. But they operate in other areas."
"That's good," said Paige. "I didn't like that Wellington one bit."
"Well, Wellington wasn't real," said Chandler. "It's part of the vision. I like to think of them more as docudramas than visions. Fictitious stories based on actual facts. As they say, some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent."
"Or the crazy," said Paige. "He was a piece of work, let me tell you."
"You can tell us all about it," said Piper. "We never did get to our ice cream."
"Isn't it melted by now?" Paige asked.
"Those visions only last a moment," said Chandler. "Even though it might have seemed like hours to you it's only been a couple of minutes in real time."
"Great," said Paige. "I've been looking forward to some Rocky Road ice cream. So, none of them saw my vision?"
"No," said Chandler. "I saw it because I'm the one who created it. And of course you saw it because it was meant for you. But it only happened in your mind. The others aren't privy to the exact specifics of the vision."
"Well then," said Paige. "Let's all go into the kitchen for that ice cream. And I'll tell you exactly what happened. Or what I thought happened. It was pretty frightening."
"It was meant to be," said Chandler. "Sometimes fear is the best motivator."
They all gathered up their bowls and the ice cream and headed for the kitchen.
The End
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