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Chapter 14Prue reached into her wardrobe and pulled out a short black dress. She turned to face Melinda Warren, who had changed out of her woollen dress, and held the garment up for approval.
Melinda nodded. "This should fit me."
"Okay." Prue laid the dress flat on the bed and began to pull down the zip.
Melinda gasped, her deep blue eyes wide. "Don't rip the dress to make it fit me."
"I'm not," Prue assured her with an amused smile. "It's called a zip. See?" Prue picked up the dress and dragged the zip up, closing the gap.
"Oh." Melinda took the item of clothing and yanked the zip up and down. "A wise witch must have made this. Which sheep had wool so soft?"
"A synthetic one."
"Did it take you long to make?"
"Make? No, I bought it," Prue replied.
"Oh, you must be rich," Melinda guessed, slipping on the dress.
"No, she has credit cards," Phoebe corrected her ancestor as she and Piper walked into their oldest sister's bedroom.
"Oh wow, Melinda you look great," Piper complimented.
"Thank you. But who do you keep your legs warm?"
"We drink coffee," Prue answered with a smirk."
Bright lights filled the room as Leo materialised. "The Elders…" The whitelighter trailed off when he noticed Melinda. "Hi."
"Hello," Melinda greeted.
"Err, Leo this is Melinda, our ancestor. Melinda, this is my boyfriend, Leo," Piper introduced.
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise, and congratulations for the baby."
"Oh…" Leo's face turned crimson and he ran a hand through his hair.
"Did I say something wrong?" Melinda asked, gazing worriedly at the sisters.
"The baby isn't Leo's," Piper explained with a small smile.
"I'm sorry," Melinda apologised. "I just assumed…"
"It's okay." Leo slid his arm around Piper's waist and rested his other hand on her swollen stomach. "The baby may not biologically be mine, but I love her like she is."
"Okay, wasn't that fun?" Prue asked sarcastically. "We've got to go now."
"Wait," Piper ordered. "What did the Elders say?"
"Well, they didn't know anything about a Warlock from the seventeenth century. All they could tell me was that he's very powerful and dangerous. They want you to be careful," Leo replied.
"Aren't we always?"
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Matthew flexed his fingers and an innocent by passer slammed into a wall, which surrounded the back alley. As she fell to the floor, Matthew noticed the cracked bricks caused by the force of the female hitting the wall.
The eldest Charmed Ones' powers were so strong, like an intoxicating drug flowing through his veins. Unfortunately, her sisters' gift were just a powerful, particularly the middle one's. Imagine what damage he could do with the ability to blow people up.
But before he could gain the others' gifts, he needed to stretch his powers after three centuries of being cooped up. The warlock advanced on his victim with a dangerous glint in his eye. It was time for some fun.
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"And once Matthew got what he wanted, he told the town council I was a witch." Melinda smiled up at Prue as the oldest sister slipped the locket over her neck. "And they arrest me, then burnt me at the stake."
"Why didn't you use your powers to get free?" Phoebe wondered.
"I had a daughter," Melinda explained, casting a glance at Prue. "Her name was Prudence. She meant everything to me. If I used my powers it would've proven Matthew's charge, and Prudence would've burned too."
'She was trying to protect her daughter,' Piper realised. She knew what a terrible decision it must've been for Melinda, to leave her daughter all alone. But in doing that she had saved Prudence's life. Piper would do exactly the same thing for her baby.
"So I thought I'd accept this and pray some kind soul will take pity on my daughter and raise her in a safe home," Melinda continued. "Only then could the Warren line grow. And it must've worked, because here you are."
"Why do Warren witches lose their moms so early?" Phoebe asked.
"I can't change the past Phoebe," Melinda told her sadly. "But I think I can help protect the future."
"How?" Prue wondered. "Matthew has this wild power. He can be in one place the next…"
"In the blink of an eye?"
"Exactly."
"It's called blinking," Melinda explained. "He probably copied it from another witch."
"Copied?" Piper repeated.
"Matthew has the power to copy any good witch's power and use it against her. Once he has a power it has no affect on him. If he gains all of your powers he will become unstoppable."
"So what do we do?" Prue asked.
"We curse Matthew back into the locket," Melinda replied.
Piper shifted nervously. "And if we can't?"
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"I can't believe I don't remember all the ingredients."
Prue turned to face her ancestor, who was just entering the attic. "It's been a long time."
"Yeah, like three hundred years," Phoebe said as she followed Prue, Melinda and Piper.
"The ingredients should be in here." Piper placed her hands on the Book Of Shadows and turned the podium so it faced Melinda.
The blonde witch gazed down at the volume in wonder, thumbing through the pages. "The Book Of Shadows," she breathed. "Oh my! It's got so big."
"It wasn't always?" Prue asked.
"No. Obviously each generation has added to it. Have you ever written anything in the book?"
"Us? No, we can't just make up our own spe- wait, can we?"
"All things in time Phoebe," Melinda replied, causing Phoebe to grin excitedly at her sisters. "Sometimes the book teaches you, other times you add to it. Oh, here's the spell."
"Here you go." Piper handed Melinda a pencil and bit of paper.
The seventeenth century witch just stared at the pencil, unsure what to do.
"Just write," Piper instructed.
Melinda rested the paper on the book and began to write. She gasped with delight as words began to form. "No ink?"
"No ink," Piper confirmed with an amused smirk.
"A spell to increase patience," Phoebe noticed, glancing down at the book. "Grams must've used that a lot raising us."
"We weren't all trouble makers, Phoebe," Prue teased.
"A free spirit," Phoebe corrected.
"A pain."
Piper stayed out of the mini argument. She still felt awkward about the fact that she hadn't grown up with her sisters, and thinking about her childhood brought back painful memories of her parents; moments she wasn't ready to relive. It had been three months since their death, and she still missed them terribly. She wished her mother was here to help with the pregnancy, but so far Grams had done a great job in reassuring her worries.
"A Warren," Melinda said, breaking into Piper's thoughts. "It's a family trait. So are the strong wills, short tempers, the great cheekbones, and of course, the powers. All signs of where you came from." Melinda touched the book lovingly. "This book is your connection. And it began with me."
"Well, let's make sure it doesn't end with us," Prue said. "We need to get going."
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"The curse is really simple as long as you have all the ingredients," Melinda told her descendants as she handed Piper the list.
"Okay. Phoebe can do the spices. I'll chop the scallions," Piper offered.
"This is so cool, we've never done a curse before." Phoebe mixed together a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper.
"Oh, I'm glad. They're not to be taken lightly." Melinda peered over Phoebe's shoulder, like a teacher supervising her students.
"It just feels like there's so much we could be doing."
"I'd savour my first gifts before I move onto the next," Melinda advised.
"I see pictures, float and feel other people's emotions. What's to savour?"
"You see visions of the future and the past, and get an insight into the enemy's mind. That'll allow you to protect and to heal."
"Hah! You hear that Prue?" Phoebe asked smugly.
Piper looked up from the chopping board to glance at her eldest sister.
Prue was pacing and chewing her thumbnail, obviously agitated.
"Prue, relax," Piper instructed gently. "Matthew won't show up yet. Phoebe gave him a pretty hard kick."
"You're probably right," Prue agreed, but she made no effort to stop pacing.
"The spices are done," Phoebe announced, wiping her hands.
"So are the scallions. What else do we need?" Piper asked.
"An owl feather and some more herbs."
"Okay. Phoebe and I can get the herbs. Prue can astral project… somewhere to get the owl feather," Piper decided.
"No," Melinda protested. "You two can't leave the house."
"We'll be fine," Piper argued. "How can Matthew even know about China Town? Come on Phoebe." Piper grabbed her coat and marched out the house.
"Yes ma'am." Phoebe mocked saluted and chased after Piper.
Prue ran her hands through her hair. "I know the prefect place." She walked over to a chair and sat down comfortably. "See you in a few."
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Piper read down the list again, carefully selecting flawless ingredients. This was often her favourite part of the whole Charmed thing; brewing potions. She loved to see which ingredients worked well together, and often she discovered new recipes. Her eyes skimmed over a bag of chicken innards and she shuddered. Sometimes this part of her job made her fell ill.
"I need a pee," Phoebe whispered in Piper's ear.
"Well go then," Piper hissed. "There's some out the back."
"Okay." Phoebe scurried into to the toilets. She stepped into the room equip with cubicles and came across and man. "Sorry," she apologised quickly, thinking she had stumbled into the wrong toilets. But the she looked again, the man's clothing striking her as odd. It was Matthew! She tried to back out the door, but found it was locked. What was she going to do now?
"No need to apologise," Matthew said with fake politeness as he began to advance on Phoebe. "You're just the person I wanted to see." With a sudden lunge the Warlock grabbed the witch's arms and a vision played in both their minds.
- - Melinda scooped the mashed up herbs, spices and scallions into a leather pouch. Prue passed her the owl feather and the blonde witch urgently stuffed it in with the rest of the mixture, Piper frantically threw out her hands and froze Matthew at the last minute. Melinda chanted the spell and Matthew was cursed back into the locket - -
Matthew gasped as the premonition ended and dropped Phoebe's arms. The warlock grinned evilly. "I see you're planning to curse me. And I see Melinda's here." With that, he disappeared into thin air.
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Melinda wandered aimlessly through the rooms of the ground floor in Halliwell Manor, studying family portraits and inspecting new technology. She was amazed at how the world had progressed in three hundred years and do proud of how her family
Had grown into strong, powerful women.
Deciding to check on Prue, Melinda strode into the kitchen. Prue was still slumped in the chair; astral projected at some unknown location. She looked fine, so Melinda traipsed over to the counter. Bored, she pushed a random button on an electrical appliance. The liquidiser whirred into life and Melinda jumped back in fright, startled. When she realised the appliance posed no threat, she reached forward tentatively and pushed off.
Melinda spun around and stalked into the foyer as she heard the front door slam shut. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realised it was only Piper and Phoebe.
"Hey. Has Matthew been here?" Piper asked.
"No. Why?"
"He attacked me in the toilets. Got my power of premonition," Phoebe repiled.
"But did you get the herbs?"
"Every last one," Piper answered.
"Good, then let's get the potion started. By the time it's done Prue should be back." Melinda led her descendants into the kitchen, where they began mixing the ingredients.
A few minutes later Prue jolted awake and a tawny feather floated to the floor. Prue bent low to retrieve it.
"Hey," Piper greeted.
"Hi." Prue walked over to the island.
"We're nearly ready," Phoebe told her, taking the feather.
"Shame. I'm ready now," Matthew said, blinking into the room.
"Prue."
"I'm on it." Prue flicker her finger and a chair flew at Matthew.
"Ready," Phoebe announced as Matthew got to his feet.
"Piper, now," Melinda ordered
Piper threw out her hands and froze Matthew.
Melinda unclasped the locket and held it out.
Outside of time, outside of gainKnow only sorrow, know only pain
Matthew unfroze as he contorted in pain and was pulled into the locket. "This is not the end!"Matthew snapped the locket closed. "Oh yes it is."
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"Grams!" Phoebe cried a few days later, running down the stairs. "You're early."
Penny embraced her youngest granddaughter as she flew into her arms. "I got the feeling you needed me, so I got an earlier flight," Penny explained. "What have you been up to?"
"Oh, the usual."