Author's Note: I know. It's been a LONG time. If it makes you feel any better, I've spent the entire past week, including Easter weekend, writing a 40 page Chemistry Lab Report, a 20 page Genetics Lab Report, and studying for three tests. Please keep this in mind before you set me on fire So here's the next installment. As usual read and review and I'll try to update sooner next time. Thanks for understanding and all your great reviews. I enjoy ready them!
P.S….Anyone that was desperate for this next chapter, thank blueeyesbetter for giving me a little motivation.
Chapter 8: A Look into the Past
The room began to spin until their surroundings were nothing but a blur.
"I have a bad feeling about this. I don't think this is supposed to happen when memories are restored, " Hayden said when the world finally stopped moving. Kiara and the 3 boys found themselves alone in the middle of a forest.
"Okaaaaaay," Chris drew out as he turned slowly in a circle.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Hayden asked.
"Spells always happen for a reason. We just have to play this one out," Wyatt told Hayden reassuringly. "Ten to one says we sent ourselves into Kiara's past."
"Drums," Kiara said quietly, pulling the boys from their conversation.
"Huh?" they said at the same time.
"Can't you hear the drums?" she asked as she began to head into the woods.
The boys looked at each other, shrugged, and followed her into the woods. After about five minutes of walking the witches found themselves at the base of a large, crashing waterfall that was feeding into a pool of crystal blue water. The water was flowing steadily, but somehow the noise was not overpowering.
"There's your drums," Wyatt told her.
"No, I can still hear them."
"I can too," Chris confirmed.
"Where?" Wyatt asked disbelievingly.
"Behind the waterfall," Kiara stated simply as she began to walk towards the water.
"We can't get behind the waterfall. There's nothing there." Wyatt told her.
Kiara ignored him and continues walking to the side of the waterfall, stepping cautiously into the smooth water at the edge. As she did so, the waters on the side parted, creating a small pathway behind the waterfall leading to a cave that led into the cliff.
"Clearly I was mistaken," Wyatt admitted as he followed her into the cave. The traveled into the darkness and Chris lit up a fireball in each hand to light their way. After a few minutes of walking, they saw the light at the end of the tunnel…literally. As they approached the exit, they noticed that there was a waterfall on this end as well, and like the last one, it parted as the neared it.
"What's with these waterfalls?" Hayden asked.
"They are nature's way of protecting the people here. The tunnel is a magickal portal and is the only way to enter or leave the village. The waterfalls will not let anything evil pass either in or out," Kiara said in a monotonous voice.
"Ok, how'd you know that?" Chris stopped and asked her.
"I don't know. It just came out." Kiara said as she continued walking. She led them along a little path though a strip of trees and into a village of wood and grass homes. There were various fires and clotheslines dispersed between the 100 or so homes.
The four watched as people bustled about, making food and doing laundry along with other various chores. They found there source of drums as they watched a group of teenagers tapping out rhythms while children danced wildly around them.
Kiara looked up and spoke, "I live there."
The boys looked up to see a large tree house nestled 30 or so feet up the tree. As they were looking, a little girl burst out of the door and jumped down from the tree, gliding gracefully to the ground. As she landed she was greeted by one of the villagers, "Good morning my Queen."
The girl giggled and wished the lady a good morning as well. The child couldn't have been more that 5. She started to run off but was stopped by a voice from the house she had just jumped from, "Kiara. Be back in an hour!"
"Ok, Aunt Vivy," the girl called back and then turned and began to run again.
"You were queen when you were 5?" Wyatt asked.
Kiara didn't say a word, but instead stared up at the woman in the tree house, as the woman watched Kiara's smaller form run off. Before they could explore anymore, the world began to spin again and soon dropped them off in a dark cave.
Two other people were in a dimly lit room at the back of the cave, and the quartet moved as one to the back so that they could hear what was being said.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation, dear queen." The man said quietly to the child standing before him.
"You didn't leave me much choice," young Kiara replied with venom in her voice.
"I came here to offer you a most generous proposal. I am going to take over the world. That it my goal, my purpose. My problem is that, according to the prophecies, you are going to band together with some outsiders and stop me. I can't have this. Now, I know that you would do anything to protect you people. Take my word on it: if you fight me, your people will get hurt."
"You think you can get into the village?"
"No, but your people must leave the village to gather food and other things. If I go down I will take them with me."
The 8-year-old girl crossed her arms angrily and waited a moment before responding. "What do you want with me?"
"I will guarantee the safety of your precious Sorceri clan, if you remove yourself from the equation."
"How so?" Kiara asked faintly.
"A memory-erasing spell. I will erase your memory completely and in return will guarantee the complete and total safety of your people."
"How can I trust a demon?"
"I'm not a demon, I'm an elder."
"You're still evil."
"I am not lying though. Think about my offer. I will give you three days."
"One day I will kill you for this."
"Such strong words for one so young. Be careful what you wish for."
"How about I just kill you now," young Kiara asked, pulling a knife from its strap on her hip.
"You can't. I'm not really here," the man said as he vanished. After a moment, young Kiara flamed out as well, leaving the four alone in the cave. The world spun again and they found themselves back in the attic.
"Well, that was educational," Wyatt said as he headed towards the door.
"Wait," Chris stopped him. "Look around. We're still in the past. None of our stuff is up here."
A moment later the young Kiara flamed into the attic and walked towards the podium with the BOS on it. "I hope that you can do it without me," she said softly as she placed a cloth bag with a note attached on the podium and flamed out again.
"Do what?" Hayden asked as the world spun again.
This time they found themselves back in the attic in their own time. They sat down on the attic floor together in silence, each processing the information.
"He played right into the hands of the prophecy without even realizing it," Hayden said after a while.
"How so?" Wyatt asked, wondering what his brother was thinking.
"She came and dropped something off here. She probably read the prophecy he was talking about and figured out that someone here was supposed to help her. So she came and dropped of some items she thought we might need. If he hadn't erased her memory and such it is possible that she never would have known about the prophecy, and never would have met us."
"It's possible. I think the important thing is that now at least she has something of her past. Even if it was just a glimpse," Chris said, gently rubbing Kiara's back.
"More memories are trickling in slowly. I can feel them trying to break through. I think the spell showed some important pieces, but now it's starting to restore everything else."
"Time to eat!" the four heard Piper's voice calling up the stairs and rose slowly to their feet.
"Mom's going to kill us," Hayden said as they walked down the stairs.
"Yea, but we have to tell them what we say. They'd only find out eventually and kill us even more if they found out we tried to hide it," Chris said dully.
"Time to face the music," Wyatt said as they entered the kitchen, arms around his brothers' shoulders and smiling widely.
Piper turned around as they entered, and after a moment asked, "What'd you do now?"