A/N: As always a big, huge, tremendous, colossal (you get the picture) thanks goes out to all of you who took the time to leave your comments on the last chapter. Also thrilled that many of you are enjoying the story so far. I personally cannot read enough Piper and Leo stories and I tend to have a soft spot for that time period when they were fighting their feelings for each other. With that said, on to the next chapter and if you get the chance please leave a line or two to tell me what you think!
Chapter Three
The four spent the better part of the afternoon going over various attack spots as well as areas heavily populated by those gifted with any form of magic. When they returned back to the Governor's house, they were tired, hungry and no closer to solving the demon problem.
Gathering in Prue's room, they went over what little information they had gotten. "I was hoping our trek outside would prove more fruitful." Commented a disappointed Prue.
"I know we don't know much more than we did before." Agreed her youngest sister.
Leo always the optimist said, "You've only been here a few hours. I'm sure you'll figure it out, you just need more time."
"Come on Leo. We've got nothing at the moment. I mean where do we go from here?" Piper's tone was so caustic; it caused a frown to form on his brow. "What?" She returned.
He elected not to answer her. She had been distant all day. Barely saying two words to him and when she did they carried a hard edge to them. He knew working together would be uncomfortable, but she was determined to make it worse. It was if she was mad at him for something and for the life of him he could not figure out why. Course lately she didn't seem to need a reason to be upset with him, she just was.
"Leo's right." Prue's firm voice broke through his thoughts. "We've only been here a few hours, we can't get down. There are plenty of other avenues to explore."
"Can we do it after we eat?" Asked Phoebe hopefully, since her stomach was starting to growl.
As if someone had read her mind there was a knock at the door. When Prue answered it, she was informed dinner would be served in the main dinning room shortly.
At the announcement Phoebe grinned. "Nice."
The three entered the dinning hall a little while later to find the governor, his daughter and Leo already seated. Rising to his feet, Rhaid welcomed them and motioned for them to sit. Prue took in the details of the table. The ornate silverware and glassware along with the hand painted dishes. Large porcelain bowls were filled with exotic fruits and served as centerpieces down the long table. Feeling like royalty she enjoyed the experience.
Phoebe also took everything in, but her stomach overrode her capacity to appreciate all the lovely items. If the food wasn't served soon, she was going to dive into the fruit bowls.
Piper noticed none of it. When she entered the first thing she noticed was Leo seated next to Nala and the latter leaning in close, talking into Leo's ear. The whole scene had an air of intimacy, which grated on her nerves like nails on chalkboard. Leo's eyes did flicker over to hers briefly, as he continued to listen avidly to the woman beside him. As hungry as Piper had been before, she found her appetite diminishing with each passing minute. Throughout the meal, she listened with half an ear as her sisters, Rhaid and occasionally Nala, conversed. She added very little to the dinner talk and pushed more of her food around her plate than actually eating it. She never imagined how seeing another woman paying attention to Leo would make her feel and she was not pleased by it. Realistically she knew she shouldn't feel this way. After all she had Dan in her life now and made it clear to Leo that was where her heart lay. If he was enjoying the company of another, it was none of her business. She had relinquished any and all claim to him. However her heart was a completely different matter as the dull aching feeling proved.
Leo ever a tuned to Piper, observed immediately her quite mood and lack of appetite. Concerned filled him. 'Was she ill?' 'Did something happen that he was unaware of?' He often tried to capture her gaze, but she avoided all his attempts, instead focusing on the food on her plate. It never occurred to him, the attention given to him by Nala was behind Piper's mood. Why should it? He knew Piper no longer care for him in that way. Dan had taken that place. Totally oblivious he returned his attention back to the others deciding he would find out later what was wrong.
Even though she conversed easily with everyone, Nala also took in the unspoken tension, which floated just beneath the surface of the room. She did not miss how often Leo's eyes touched on the sister named Piper and could feel his body language change when he did so. And this Piper, her eyes purposely avoiding his and said not a word to him. She was the one, Nala thought with not a little frustration. This was the woman who held Leo's heart, preventing him from having deeper feelings for her.
She had fallen in love with Leo when she was about eight years old. He had come to her father explaining he had been assigned to watch over them and help when he could. All those years ago she thought of him as her golden angel and hoped that when she grew up they would be together. Patiently she waited and when she came of age she began to overtly send him signals of her feelings for him. All her overtures were met with friendship only. A caring and loving friendship, but a friendship all the same. As time went on she began to suspect if there was someone else in his life who held his heart and keeping him from her. Tonight she finally knew for sure. A Charmed One had captured his heart.
Looking from beneath her lashes, Nala studied her competition. Grudgingly she admitted Piper Halliwell was beautiful. But then again so was she. No, there was more than just good looks at play here. The only thing Nala could take comfort in was this Piper obviously did not return Leo's feelings, for the woman barely spared him the time of day. This was good news. She just needed to make Leo see what a waste it was loving a woman who did not love him back. Make him see there was another woman right in front of him who did and would appreciate him. Nala became even more determined than ever to have Leo as a part of her life permanently.
As dessert was being served Rhaid felt it time to turn the conversation over to a less pleasant topic. "So did your journey outside reveal anything of value?"
"Unfortunately no." Prue answered. "But that doesn't mean anything. We haven't been here that long. These things sometimes take a bit. We'll figure it out."
The governor was buoyed by her confidence. "Good, good. We have great faith in your abilities. So do you have a next step in mind?"
"A few actually." Phoebe now took up the conversation.
"We can set up a crystal cage and trap and demon. Get him to spill what he knows and hopefully discover who's behind the attacks."
"Is that not dangerous?" Nala asked fascinated.
"Yeah, but not as much as option number two. Which is we use ourselves as bait to draw out the ring leader."
Leo interrupted here. "Why don't we leave that for the very last option Phoebe."
"Leo, it's not where we want to go, but it may come to that."
"I agree Prue, but I still feel you need to make that your last ditch effort."
Anxious to help, Rhaid said, "What can we do to help aid you."
"We need to make up some generic vanquishing potions just to have on hand." Thought Phoebe. "At least until we know what specific demon we're dealing with."
"There is a full kitchen at your disposal." Rhaid informed. "Use it however you need it."
Prue nodded her appreciation. "Great! Once we know who is behind the attacks, then we can come up with a Power of Three spell to vanquish him."
Rhaid was very pleased. It seemed The Charmed One's did indeed know what they were doing.
When everyone had finished eating, it was decided everyone would call it a night. Tomorrow would hopefully be a busy and productive day. Leo managed to catch up with Piper before she entered her room.
"Hey Piper, wait a minute."
She really didn't want to talk to him, however she knew he'd not give up until she did. "Yes?" She replied and she turned to face him.
"Are you all right?"
The concern reflecting in his green eyes went down to her very being. "I'm fine." She answered and was proud of how steady her voice sounded.
"You sure? You were really quiet during dinner and you barely ate anything."
"It's nothing Leo, I'm just tired." When he looked unconvinced, she sated it more firmly. "Really, I'm good. I just need to get some sleep."
He wasn't buying it, but knew that tone and knew he would get nothing more out of her. "Okay, if you're sure. If you need anything I'm here."
Instead of replying she nodded her head and went into her room.
She woke up the next morning feeling no more rested than she did the night before. The good night sleep she was hoping for eluded her as she tossed and turned. These rioting emotions she was having needed to get put under wraps and soon. Not just for her own piece of mind, but also so she could focus on the mission at hand.
It was agreed that morning to make up some vanquishing potions just in case they ran into anything nasty. While Prue and Piper worked on that, Phoebe went in search of crystals to be used for a cage. This being a magical community it didn't prove too difficult a task. Next was the Power of Three spell. For now they just needed something basic and they could tweak it once they knew whom they were trying to vanquish.
By mid afternoon they had accomplished all they had set out to do. It was good timing, for outside screams could be heard. Instantly the girls were on the run to investigate. They arrived in time to witness a very nasty looking demon throwing fireballs at a crowd of people. Two had missed their marks, but a third managed to connect with a young man. He didn't have a chance as he burst into flames and vanished.
Prue first to react, threw out her hand tossing the demon to the ground. The demon confused at first, quickly recovered and jumped to his feet, with a fiery orb already in the palm of his hand. It was Piper who responded next and froze their foe. This gave Phoebe time to dig a small vial out of her pocket. With accurate aim, she tossed the potion and was relieved to see the demon explode into a million pieces.
The crowd around them broke out in loud applause. The girls smiled at the appreciation. For so long they had preformed their supernatural duties in secret. It was nice to be able to do it in public and the overwhelming appreciation went a long way. The feeling was fleeting because the reality was they had only vanquished a low level demon. They were still no closer to discovering who was behind it all. Also in the rush to save innocents they killed a potential stool pigeon. Instead of capturing the demon and getting him to tell them useful information, they had a pile of dust.
"Damn." Piper swore under her breath when she realized that important fact.
Prue knew exactly what she meant. "Yeah, not one of our smarter moves. I was so focused on saving the innocent I didn't think."
"Well saving innocents is what we do." Defended Phoebe with heat.
"But we needed him alive to pump him for information." Piper observed.
As the sisters headed back to the house they waved off the handshakes, hugs and shouts of thanks thrown at them. Next time they would be better prepared.
They spent the next day scowling the community for attacks, the Charmed Ones had come up empty. By early evening they decided to call it quits. After having grabbed a quick bite, they talked about what more they could do and then said their good nights. Hopefully tomorrow would bring them better luck.
After taking a long hot bath, Piper dressed in a soft silk nightgown with matching robe. Both had been provided for her and in the cooling temperatures, the fabric was just enough to ward off a chill. Not quite ready for bed, she strolled out to the balcony just off her room. It overlooked a beautiful and well-tended garden. The soft breeze held the scents of the fragrant flowers, which were abundant below.
Closing her eyes she let herself enjoy this simple pleasure. She had been on edge since arriving here and it was nice to feel her body relax. Letting her mind drift, she thought of Dan and a shaft of guilt sliced through her. Realizing she had not thought of him since going on this trip. She chalked it up to the chaos surrounding her wiccan duties, but that wasn't entirely true. Sadness filled her as she realized if she was honest with herself, Dan just wasn't as important in her life as he should be. She cared about him, enjoyed his company, but when he wasn't around she did not experience that sense of loss. Shouldn't she be feeling like a part of her was missing because he was? No she only felt that way when she was separated from her sisters and…and here she hesitated to even think it, but when Leo left.
God how she hated to admit that. Desperately she had tried to move on from him. Find a normal man to share a life with. Someone who would always be there for her. The question was, was the trade off worth it? Ah, this was the burning question that constantly plagued her as her mind and heart battled inside. Was it worth feeling only half a person to have a somewhat of a normal life? Or was it better to feel whole, alive? To feel passion with someone who was not? In her heart she knew the truth, however did she want to change her life yet again or just be satisfied with what she had. Maybe it was just being so close to Leo again which brought out these doubts. Maybe when she was back home, back with Dan the doubts would fade away into the background. 'Yeah right!' Her heart rebelled.
A movement below caught her attention as she witnessed Leo and Nala stroll down one of the stone walkways, which crisscrossed through the garden. Too far away to hear their conversation, she could only watch as the two stopped by the large water fountain and sit down on a marble bench. Piper continued to observe, as the pair appeared to be deep in conversation. Her body filled with envy at the intimate picture they presented.
"You're quiet tonight?" Nala spoke quietly.
"Am I?"
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
"No, of course not." He reassured her with a weak attempt at a smile.
Nala shook her head knowingly. As long as she had known him, he could never pull off a lie. "You never were a good liar. I see the sadness in your eyes."
His gaze fixed on the fountain he replied quietly, "It's nothing Nala, really."
Nala had a feeling she knew exactly the reason for his subdued mood and was almost afraid to have those feeling confirmed. "It's her isn't it?"
She was rewarded by a startled look that entered his eyes and knew she was right. "This Piper. She is the reason you're eyes are sad."
Recovering quickly, Leo shook his head. "I really don't want to talk about it."
She persisted. "You love her. I can see it every time you look at her."
"Doesn't matter." Was his curt reply.
Nala couldn't help herself, she needed to know more. "Why doesn't it?"
Leo lifted his head up to the sky and swallowed deeply. "Because she's in love with some one else, someone normal." His words held so much pain, and she felt her heart ache for him. It also hurt to know how much he loved this woman and complete bafflement that this love was not returned. Was this Piper insane? To have a man such as Leo be in love with you and to spurn such love. Of course this opened up the door for her. She would help him move on. To get over this woman and make him happy. She loved him enough for both of them for now and in time he would come to love her just as much.
From her vantage point, Piper could not watch anymore. Couldn't witness how close the two sat, or the way Nala put her hand on Leo's shoulder. The woman was way too familiar with him and it bothered Piper more than she liked. Fading into the shadows, she retreated to her room knowing it would be a long night.