Leo had taken Piper to the Elders. He didn't know any other way to get in touch with the nine. Immediately, on arrival, the two of them knew the Elders were pissed, not Elders could ever be pissed. Many ignored Leo and his visitor, walking passed them without so much as a glance. It reminded Piper of high school; making her almost laugh.
The two of them kept getting tossed back and forth between Elders; the Elders were to busy for questions. Surprisingly, it was Leo that got fed up first, not Piper.
"I'm supposed to be an equal to them, instead I'm just a nuisance." He hissed in Piper's ear, taking her arm and disappearing in disassembling blue lights. Landing them in a completely foreign place to Piper.
They were outside, a breeze blew the woman's hair lightly across her face. Leaves lightly touched one another, a euphony of sound followed each touch. Piper still felt the hand of Leo holding her arm, as he lightly led her toward a single story building, with many windows on all the faces of the structure. As the two got closer, it became apparent that the inside of the building couldn't be seen through the windows. Only the outside was reflected in the glass. Piper watched herself and Leo move across one window onto the next.
"We see only the outside, however, on the inside, they see everything…they see us." Leo explained, catching Piper studying the windows.
"And who are they?"
"Collectors of information, they probably know where we need to go."
"The Collection, Collectors-is there a running theme today?" Leo hinted a smile, as they reached the door of the building.
"Be quiet when we are in there. They like information, and your something new to them." Piper didn't get a chance to ask what that meant, because Leo gently tugged her inside, and immediately started down the right corridor from the door.
Her shoes clicked on the hard wood floors, echoing in the archways of the hallway. The interior was well lit, there was no use for the burning candles on the walls, save for the wonderful aroma they spread through the air. The light of the candles flickered on the cream colored walls.
Leo hadn't let go of her arm yet. She wasn't going to tell him to.
"Elder," a voice strongly announced from the corner of the room, they had just entered. "Leo, Correct?" The creature extended its hand toward the pair, eyes glowing a soft blue. Leo took the offered hand.
"Yes. Sorry, but I don't know your name."
"Narem is my title, and you have nothing to apologize for we have never met." The creature smiled warmly.
"Yet you knew my name." Narem's smile deepened, and he chuckled softly.
"It is my job to learn, and you are an Elder. However," Narem's soft glowing eyes turned toward Piper, "your name I know not." Piper extended her hand, just as he had done moments previous,
"My name is Piper." The offered hand was taken joyfully.
"A Charmed One." He continued to shake her hand, longer than necessary. "That I do know. Two sisters you have, and their names are?"
"Phoebe and Paige." She gently pulled her hand out of the embrace, careful not to give the wrong impression.
"All begin with 'P's, why?"
"My mother thought it was cute."
"Why?"
"He name started with a 'P' as well."
"Why?"
"Because My Grandma gave her a 'P' name."
"Why?"
"She had a -"
"Excuse me, Narem, I was wondering if you could help us talk to the jury of nine, called the Collective." Interrupted Leo, to which Piper was thankful. It was like talking to a child, so many questions, but she guessed that would be why they were collectors of information. "Their whitelighter is on trial with the Collective and she wishes to see it, but we don't know where to go."
"I do not see how I can help you."
"You help them, right?"
"We collect information on the accused for them, yes."
"You have a way of giving them that information, you talk to them."
"Did you collect information on Chris?" Interjected Piper.
"Christopher, you whitelighter, yes." Narem tilted his head, " not that there was much to collect. It's very interesting." Again, he smiled widely, "I would love to ask him many questions; he seems…colorful." Piper rolled her eyes.
"What did you find out?" The creatures answer was to nod his head, as if satisfied.
"I believe the expression is, 'a girl after my own heart'." He turned back to Leo. "I'll take you to them, but I seriously doubt that they will allow you to watch the proceedings. It doesn't happen often."
"We still like to try."
"Anyway, it may give me a chance to see this Christopher." He said as he grabbed the unprepared couple and flickered out of the room, like a sparking breaker.
The pair found themselves in an expansive chamber, darkness surrounded all but the well lit center, where below a lone figure sat. He was talking, the voice echoing off the walls lightly, but Piper didn't hear the words, only the tone. Familiarity sprang up within her, the tone was different, something she had never heard the voice speak in, but she knew the voice well. Her movements toward the voice were stopped by Narem. She threw off his touch but he was persistent.
"These actions will certainly not get you your request." He hissed in her ear. Piper continued to squirm, silently debating.
The figure in the middle bristled, stopping midway through a word. He knew who had arrived; he had felt them. Any freedom he had in explaining himself was shackled the moment they had arrived. His silence was noted by the nine; they too knew the repercussions of such information touching the ears of the Charmed ones. Ten heads turned toward the new three.
"Narem." Piper could have sworn she heard annoyance within the chorus.
"These two wish to see the proceedings."
Nine emerald cloaks shook as Piper pushed off of Narem, toward the proceedings. Her steps were hesitant after she bravely threw off the protection of the Collector. Her Brown eyes wondered over toward Chris and a scoff escaped her body. In the months the whitelighter had been with the witches, he had been on guard, always protecting himself and what he knew. He had hidden himself behind so many things, that his outward appearance never betrayed his emotions. She and her sisters had been gentle, relying on their empathy, their humanity. Hoping he would open up to them in time.
Months of nothing and now here that man was with no walls. He lay naked amongst the crumbled debris of his walls with nothing to cover him for miles around.
Not to the people he was protecting, not to the people who mattered, but to nine strangers he showed himself.. Piper's back straightened as she addressed the Collective.
"He doesn't deserve any punishment you give him; he wasn't working out of malice; he was tryi-"
"We understand. That has been covered."
"Then why-"
"There's more to it. It is not the crime we try; it is the person. That crime merely brought him here." A third new voice called out, definitely male.
"Do you know that it is a transgression to interrupt a trial?" Narem was the one to respond.
"Do not hold it against them. I was the one who brought them here."
"You knew," the voice paused, "as well as the Elder, that this isn't allowed."
"A trial must go on without interruption." The first voice informed the arrivals.
"I just want to help Chris," Piper spoke softly, thinking, "trials have witnesses. Can't I be a witness, speak for him."
"Only the accused speaks." First voice left no room for debate. The whole time, Chris had not moved or said anything. He merely watched with almost a fascination, his eyes moving from his mother to the emerald robes. He watched as desperation latched onto Piper's features, surprising him. Her bossiness had always won; nothing could prevail against it. Chris would know, he learned his stubbornness came from her, and how that screwed him over royally when it came to fighting with his mother. Dad would always have to split them up, send them off into isolated corners, much like the referee in a boxing ring.
"I will not leave." Her voice left no room for argument; Chris smiled knowing full well that she would fight tooth and nail, but stopped it realizing that she couldn't be here during his trial; she would find out too much. That could not happen.
A collective sigh moved through the room as the nine contemplated the situation. Silence filled the air. Piper, not knowing what to do, looked to Chris in the center of the room.
When she first came, it didn't really strike her as odd that Chris was solid, in the middle of a lit circle, with nine robes surrounding the outside. But he shouldn't be, he was in the attic, sitting cross-legged, sliver eyed. Narem noticing her perplexed look, guessed at her vexation.
"He's corporeal when in the circle. He can not leave it." He motioned toward the Collective, "They learned a long time ago that it's best to summon the mind rather than the whole package, less powers to deal with, their lives aren't as threatened this way."
"He's completely powerless in there?"
"Completely and utterly."
Piper noted that Chris' walls were slowing being rebuilt as the silence progressed. She would bet a pretty penny that it was because of them.
Future Consequence, right?
"We will not break our rules for you, and it would be in your best interest to leave and protect yourselves against those demons who have attacked you earlier."
Piper and Leo stood confused, but it was not their voice that questioned the nine.
"Excuse me, what?" Questioned Chris.
"It would not be in the best interest of the Charmed ones if we left the power of three broken while a plot against them brews."
"Caspian vanquished them," he laughed lightly, "I mean, that's why I'm here, because of him."
"You charged him with that, yes, but we condemned him before he fulfilled your proposition." Chris was on his feet and moving toward the edge of the circle.
"Each one is still alive?" He asked tightly.
"Only one was vanquished by his hand." Answered the nine. Chris threw himself toward the barrier, screaming.
"You find it more important to put me on trail than to let some stupid demon kill some other stupid demons! You could have gotten them killed! Your fucking rules will get them killed!" Piper, as well as Leo, were surprised by the anguish in his voice.
"Calm yourself, Christopher." Their indifference made Chris even angrier and he stepped out of the circle, to find himself going nowhere. He only felt himself fuzz out, like his leg was dissolving into the air, and soon each part attached to that part. Frightened, and angry, he lurched backward away from the dissolving feeling. No longer listening to the voices of the nine, he didn't give himself time to think, only that he was moving toward Piper, as close as the circle would allow him anyway. He looked her straight in the face.
"You need to get out of here."
"But-"
"You need to get out of here, now. This is a very vulnerable point for you, one that they would love to exploit it. Fuck it, they might even know that I'm here, because of Caspian. You need to go to your sisters and you need to protect them."
"But you-"
"Fuck me, GO!" Piper swore she felt the wind of his breath.
"What's so bad about these demons?" Chris didn't answer her but turned his gaze to Leo.
"Yrrahs." There was no hesitation in Leo's hand as he disassembled himself and Piper away.
The only thing Piper could think before being completely departed was,
What a stupid name. When will they learn?