Chris couldn't decide whether the uneasiness he felt whenever he went up there stemmed from his father's decision to abandon their family so he could answer the call of being an Elder or from the hours he'd spend forced to stand next to Wyatt, while his brother burned the place to the ground. Still, even though he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the problem emanated from, he felt the hair on his nape standing as he took in his surroundings.
It looked better when the flames blazed their false temples to ruins, don't you agree, brother?
Chris's gut twisted in distaste.
He shivered. In an effort to get out of his head he threw a sideways look to Melinda; the girl was not shaking anymore, but her eyes, red and puffy, were pinned on her shoes like she was afraid that looking up would invite something horrible to happen. Instinctively, his hand moved towards her to offer some comfort, but midway there he caught himself forcing it down by his side.
Remember how they screamed? His voice started murmuring in Chris' head again, relentless; How they begged for mercy, when I brought the sword down on them? Of course, I had to do all the work, because you were always so weak, Christopher, weren't you? Afraid to own the narrative, to own your power, so I had to help you. Do you remember the fire, brother, do you remember their screams? Do you remember how you didn't even try to help them?
Chris gritted his teeth, his hands balling into fists by his sides. His voice was becoming more and more incessant with each passing day and Chris was starting to fear he was going insane. He was trying to ignore it the best way he could, but it was getting harder and harder and Chris was beginning to doubt there was a point in fighting it anymore.
The small gasps for air to his left brought him back. Melinda was neither crying nor shaking, but it looked like she couldn't control her breathing. Her head was still cast down ways, her lips parted, and she was clenching fistfuls of the blue hoodie she was wearing. Chris' blue hoodie, he realized with a jolt. The knot in his stomach eased up, if only a little, and Chris allowed himself to reach out to her. Carefully he brought his hand to her back, drawing small circles. Melinda kept her fingers clenched around the hoodie, but instead of pulling away, as he'd thought she'd do, she leaned into his touch.
Several cloaked figures walked by them, clicking and clacking between themselves in Elder tongue, but no one seemed to pay any mind to them. Chris was getting progressively more annoyed and so, he hadn't been able to hold his tongue.
"So, you kept calling just to what? Play hide and seek?"
"Your presence has not been requested, Chris Perry," Zola's calm barytone, drifted to his ears. Showing great restrain Chris refrained from rolling his eyes.
"And how did you expect me to show up without a Whitelighter's helpful orbing?" Melinda surprised him then, not only because he hadn't expected her to speak, but also because he hadn't expected the amount of disdain which colored her words. He dared a look at her, to find her smiling mildly at the Elder.
"We wanted to speak with the person responsible for the creation of a portal in downtown San Fransisco," another voice spoke, and this time Chris couldn't stop the eyeroll when Odin came to stand next to Zola. The Elder visibly ignored him, focusing his annoyed gaze solely on Melinda. "You cannot honestly expect us to believe that a teenager has that much power."
"Oh, believe me, I expect nothing of you," Melinda said, still smiling. Chris scoffed under his breath, earning a reproving glare from Zola.
"Who are you and why are you standing in front of us?" Odin demanded. Melinda slowly crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head slightly to look at him.
"Well, I was suddenly able to hear this loud jingling in my head, which could only mean you wanted to speak to me, so I did the polite thing and showed up," Melinda said, adding an impassive shrug.
Melinda's tone and voice were so steady that Chris wondered for a second if her previous anxiety had simply been a show, just to drag him up there with her. Maybe it had been a ploy to get him to feel sorry for her, to get him to open up, lower his guard, maybe she was trying to get him distracted... But the girl was still leaning towards him, as if she felt comforted by their proximity and Chris didn't miss that her shoulders were still tense, like she was still ready for an impending attack.
"Common witches can't open portals, girl, do not mock our intelligence," Odin spat.
Melinda let a small hiss and scowled.
"Common witches?" Chris remarked, "Who speaks like that?"
"Odin, try to act civilly," Zola cut in, before his fellow Elder managed to even open his mouth. "No need to get hostile, we were simply wondering who had cast the spell to open a portal that's -"
"Everyone knows that portal creation is not to be taken lightly!"
"And yet, common witches are not the ones abusing time travelling spells, are they?" Melind asked, giving Chris an emotional whiplash with the seer resemblance to Piper's favorite honey sweet condescending tone.
"I beg your pardon?" Odin's voice boomed his face tinted red and at the same time Zola said,
"Was that an accusation?"
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be rude," Melinda instantly backtracked and there was a sincerity in her voice, which completely contradicted what she'd said just said. "You wanted to know who tried to open the portal and I am happy to give you an answer."
"Well then?" Odin pressured.
"It was the Charmed Ones, of course," Chris decided to cut in. Melinda didn't try to stop him. "That's why I'm here, escorting her; she's their innocent, she needed help. They tried to help, you stopped them before they could," he explained, forcing his voice to sound as bored as it could.
"The Charmed Ones?" Odin didn't sound convinced. "Why are you here, then, instead of them?"
"I'm sorry, did you expect the sisters to drop everything they are doing, so they could show up to get scolded by the principal?" Chris asked, raising both his eyebrows. Odin fumed.
"Listen here, Chris Perry-"
"Odin," Zola's voice was thinly veiled with warning and Odin shut his mouth, pressing his lips together. "So, the Charmed Ones were responsible for the portal?" Chris nodded in affirmation. "And may I ask, what was the portal created for?" He continued, clearly addressing Melinda.
"I needed to retrieve something I lost a week ago," Melinda said with a small shrug.
"Was it something of value?"
"It was my grimoire," she said, dropping her eyes on her shoes. "I was attacked at my house and it got stolen, so I thought I should ask for their help."
"Wasn't there someone older, a parent or guardian perhaps, to take care of this matter?" Zola asked and Odin arched an eyebrow, showing his interest in her answer. Melinda's shoulders hunched and a soft sigh escaped her lips.
"My mother is... She's not...And my dad died, when I was young," Melinda shrugged, again, rubbing the upper part of her arm. "I'm emancipated, now, so, I'm the only one who can take care of me."
"Ah so, I see," Zola said, tapping a finger against his chin. "Wouldn't it be more prudent to track down whoever stole it?" He asked.
"You think they didn't try that before casting a spell to open a portal?" Chris countered.
They'd reached an impasse, it seemed. The Elders were still looking at them sternly, but they didn't have any more questions to ask. Chris had knowingly taken a risk by bringing up the sisters; it would either corner the Elders or sent them into a raging fit. Thankfully, Zola belonged in the minority of his battalion, the one that actually possessed enough braincells to know endangering their alliance with the Charmed Ones over a portal was not smart. Odin did not belong in the same minority, but Zola was capable enough to keep him in line.
Melinda was still looking at the floor, curled up into herself.
"Okay, is that all?" Chris asked, lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet; he had so many questions. The Elders looked at each other, but remained mute. "I take it this is our que to go... Melinda," he prompted, offering his hand.
Melinda's head snapped at the sound of her name. Her eyes travelled between the three of them before her fingers wrapped around his own.
"Tell the Charmed Ones that they are not above following the rules," Odin said, just as Chris was about to orb. "Portals are not to be treated heedlessly."
"Yeah, I value my life far too much to ever utter those words to them so, hard pass," Chris said with a chuckle. "See ya, never again, I hope."
Their affronted expression was the last thing he saw as a swarm of blue lights orbed them away.
A second later, Chris found himself standing in the middle of the attic. The house was silent, sunbeams were slipping through the windowsheels and he couldn't sense anyone else awake, but the two of them. Melinda sighed heavily, her arms quickly coming around her abdomen to hold herself. The color was still drained from her face, but she appeared to be calmer now that they were back in the Manor.
"So, I guess we can't just act like this whole thing didn't happen, huh?" she said, looking at him from under her lashes.
Chris laughed mirthlessly.
"Yeah, no, that's not gonna cut it. Let's start from the top."
"Oh boy..." Melinda muttered, running a hand through her dark hair. "Alright, alright, I guess I owe you an explanation. Okay, get settled," she said, gesturing towards Aunt Pearl's couch, "'Cause this could take a while."