Thanks to eveyone who reviewed the last chapter :) I love you guys so much :) To those who have been asking I love Aria/Ezra and Piper/Leo so I'm sure there will be more of that coming up ;)
Aria arrived at Hanna's house at 11:05. Her mom had questioned why she was leaving so late but luckily Aria was able to come up with what she hoped was a convincing lie very quickly. She'd told Ella that Hanna had a date and wanted everyone to come round afterwards. Ella seemed to accept what her daughter was saying, having no reason to doubt her, and let her leave with a promise to text when she arrived at Hanna's so she knew that she was ok.
Once all four girls were there they set off for the kissing rock, where they were due to meet Alison in just under an hour. The journey was relatively quiet, although it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. If Aria were to take a guess, she'd say that her and her friends were all in shock; too focused on where they were going to make small talk.
Hanna parked her car and everyone got out. All four girls got their phones out to use as a source of light so as not to trip over any tree roots or rocks.
"Do you think she'll actually come?" Emily asked as they started walking deeper into the trees.
"She wanted to see us all. I don't know why she wouldn't be there." Aria said.
It was clear that nerves and anticipation were running high in the group as they reached this kissing rock at a quarter to midnight. There was no sign of Alison but Aria figured she wouldn't come early. Ali always liked to make an entrance.
After waiting for about twenty minutes they heard a rustling of leaves somewhere nearby.
"What's that?" Hanna asked, grabbing Spencer's hand for comfort.
Aria stood up to see if it was Ali.
"Someone's coming." She said, noticing the figure coming towards them. She couldn't make out much about them apart from their red coat. Whoever it was had their hood up covering their face.
"Ali?" Emily asked as she caught a glimpse of blonde hair underneath the hood.
Slowly the figure pulled down their hood and the four girls breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that it was Alison.
"It's true." Spencer remarked in shock. "You're alive."
"Did you miss me?" Alison asked with a sad smile.
"I can't believe it. You're really here." Hanna exclaimed.
"Look, I don't have much time. It's still not safe for me to be here." She replied, her voice filled with sadness and fear, along with something none of the girls expected from her: regret.
"Don't leave again." Emily protested.
"I want to come home." Alison admitted. "But you have to help me."
"Why? Who are you afraid of?" Spencer asked.
"Evil." She replied to the girls cryptically, before addressing only Aria. "The Source of all Evil."
The four girls remained silent at their friend's revelation. Aria was in shock, while Hannah, Emily and Spencer stood confused. How did Ali know about the Source? Was she a witch?
The silence was broken by the ringing of cell phones.
Five liars together at once. Today must be my lucky day. Better run and hide bitches. –A
They each looked up from the message in synchronicity, well aware of what the threat meant. 'A' knew Alison was alive and they all knew that meant trouble. Even though she still hadn't explained why she'd faked her death, it had to have been for a good reason.
Alison brought a finger to her lips, silently telling them to keep quiet about their meeting. Before waiting for them to nod in agreement she was gone. She ran off into the forest, leaving the four girls alone again.
"We should get back to Hanna's." Aria suggested suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.
"Good idea." Spencer agreed. "Then we can talk about what Alison meant."
The others nodded in agreement as they started walking back to Hanna's car. No one said a word for fear of 'A' overhearing their conversation. They thought they were safe meeting with Alison in private but 'A' had ways of finding out what they were doing the second the plans were spoken or read.
Aria's mind wasn't on the impossible tricks 'A' could pull. Instead she was thinking about Ali's revelation. If she was hiding from the Source she had to be magical, right? Why would he be interested in a normal teenage girl? She knew she needed to talk to her mom about it, and that the conversation would undoubtedly lead to why she'd lied to her. Aria knew that would be unavoidable but at this moment she had more important things to worry about. What was she going to tell her friends? Alison had made it obvious that she was talking to Aria when she mentioned the Source, as if she knew Aria was the only one who would recognise the name. As much as Aria hoped she'd been able to school her facial expressions well enough to hide her shock, she'd be willing to bet that at least one of her friends had picked up her reaction. How could she explain it without revealing her family's secret? Or was it time to tell them the truth?
Once inside the car, Hanna was the first to speak. "What was Ali talking about when she said she was scared of the Source of all Evil? I mean it sounds like a terrifying thing and all but what did she mean?"
"I don't know but she looked like she was talking to you, Aria." Spencer said. "Do you know what she meant?"
Aria cursed internally, momentarily hating Spencer for being so damn observant. She took a second to weigh up her options. On one hand, keeping her secret was important. If word got out about her family being witches it could be disastrous. On the other hand, these girls were her best friends and she knew that they were better than anyone at keeping secrets. Isn't that what they'd been doing since they'd met Alison? And if it could allow their friend to come home wasn't it worth that risk?
"Yes." Aria said quietly, no quite believing she was admitting to this. "Hanna can you drive us back to my house? We need to talk to my mom about this."
Hanna agreed and Aria was thankful that she didn't need any more persuasion than that. She knew that her friends trusted her judgement and that made what she was about to do a lot easier. There was no telling how they'd take the news once they got there, though, and that's what worried Aria the most.
By the time they reached Aria's house, her nerves were sky high. How would her friends react to the fact that she was a witch? How were her mom and aunts going to take the news that the Source was after Ali? What would they think about telling her friends?
Hanna pulled up next to the driveway and everyone got out of the car.
"Look, do you mind if I just go in first and warn my mom? I'm not sure how she'd going to take this." Aria admitted honestly.
Everyone agreed, still not sure what was really going on with their friend but trusting her nonetheless, as they all had to do in their situation. They couldn't have lasted this long against 'A' if they didn't trust each other completely.
Aria unlocked her door, surprised to see that her mom and aunts were still awake in the living room.
"Aria, you're home early. Is everything alright?" Ella asked as she opened the front door.
"Not really." Aria admitted. Ella instantly jumped up, rushing to her daughter's side. "We've just met up with Alison and she said... she said the Source was after her." She finished hesitantly.
"Oh God!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"What would the Source want with your friend?" An unexpected voice asked. Aria looked over at the couch and saw that Prue was there with them. The young girl smiled at this, feeling more at ease about what she was about to say now that the aunt that she was closest to was there.
"I don't know. She wouldn't say, especially not in front of the others." Aria said. "I've had to bring them back here though. They could tell I knew what Ali was talking about and they deserve answers, especially with 'A' around and taking an interest in us."
"You're going to tell them?" Ella asked, slightly uncertain.
"Yes. They deserve the truth mom. I was hoping you could help me explain it."
"Of course, as long as you're sure you want to tell them."
"I'm sure. It's too dangerous for them to be in the dark now and it's one less thing for 'A' to use against us. They're outside now, shall I bring them in?"
Ella nodded and Aria went to invite her friends inside.
"Hi Mrs Montgomery." Emily greeted as the girls made their way to the living room.
"Emily, you know you can call me Ella outside of school." She smiled.
"Sorry, Ella." Emily replied.
Aria introduced each of her friends in turn before turning to her aunts. "These are my mom's sisters: Phoebe, Paige and Prue." She said, gesturing to them each in turn.
"Prue?" Hanna asked. "I thought you said she was dead?"
"Tactful as ever, Han." Spencer commented.
"I'll explain that in a minute." Aria said, hoping to ease them in to the idea of magic. She didn't think things would go so well if she started by telling them her aunt was a ghost.
Ella could tell that Aria was hesitating and decided to break the ice. "Do you girls want anything to drink?" She asked. Aria was thankful for the distraction and the time her mom had given her to think about how she was going to start. Everyone else made small talk while Ella was in the kitchen, the girls sensing that Aria's mom should be present for whatever revelation she was about to make.
Meanwhile, Ella was pouring some juice when she heard the quiet jingling of someone orbing into the kitchen.
Turning around, Ella saw Leo standing behind her.
"Leo!" She whispered. "What are you doing here? You can't just keep orbing into my house unannounced."
"I sensed before I orbed." He protested. "I just wanted to check up on everything."
"Why do you need to check up on us? We'd call if we needed you." She replied.
"I meant about whatever had you so upset the other day."
"I don't see how that's your business." Ella remarked, the tension from the last couple of days making her react slightly more harshly than she normally would. She knew Leo was just trying to help. And it was one of the things she loved about him. No, she told herself, one of the things she had loved about him. Past tense. She didn't still love Leo, right?
"I still care about you, Piper." He told her, moving closer. Ella was sure there was something more to that statement, but put it down to her imagination. He couldn't be implying that he still had feelings for her.
"I know I'm your charge and you have to make sure I'm safe but I'm fine, really." She protested. "Now could you go, I'm in the middle of something important." She said, although even as she said the words she regretted pushing him away.
Leo's face fell but he nodded and stepped away. "I'm always here for you though, Piper. Don't forget that." He told her as he orbed out.
Ella stood by the kitchen counter in shock. She wasn't sure what had just happened. Was Leo acting differently? Or was he just being his kind and loving self, checking up on her like he would any charge who had called him upset? On top of all this, Ella started to wonder why she was even thinking like that about him. She was a married woman, for goodness sake! She didn't still have feeling for Leo, right?
Back in the living room, everyone was starting to realise that Ella had been gone a while.
"Do you think someone should check that she's ok?" Phoebe asked.
"I'll go." Paige volunteered herself, walking out to the kitchen. "Ella, is everything alright?" She asked tentatively.
Ella quickly snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah everything's fine. Could you give me a hand bringing the drinks in?" She asked.
"Drinks." Paige called out from the door, orbing them too her.
"Show off." Ella commented.
"Jealous." Paige argued back.
"Personal gain." Ella pointed out with a laugh. "Come on, let's get this over with." She sighed as the pair headed back to the living room. Ella was glad for the short banter she'd had with Paige, allowing her to bring herself out of her thoughts of Leo and back to the present.
"So what's all this about?" Spencer asked once Ella and Paige had sat back down.
All eyes fell on Aria, who looked to her mom for support.
Feeling her daughter's uncertainty, Ella stepped in. "When Alison mentioned the Source she was talking about a demon." She paused, waiting for the shock to sink in. "We've been trying to kill him for years but he's only getting more powerful."
"What do you mean by a demon?" Emily asked.
"Never mind that." Hanna interrupted. "You're trying to kill him? As in actually killing someone else?" She asked in shock.
"Like I said, he's a demon. He's not human. He's from the Underworld. It's our duty to protect innocent people and stop him from killing anyone else."
"Is this some kind of wind up?" Hanna asked, sceptically.
"Han, she's telling the truth." Aria spoke up.
"And why is it up to your mom to kill this all powerful devil guy?"
"Because we are witches." Ella told them.
"Witches?" Spencer scoffed.
This time it was Phoebe who spoke up to explain. "Our family comes from a long line of powerful witches and it's fallen on us to take the Source out. He stayed quiet for a number of years after one of his assassins killed Prue because we were no longer powerful enough to be a threat to him but now he's back and targeting innocents like your friend Alison."
"But Prue is right there. How could he have killed her?" Emily asked.
"I'm a ghost." Prue tried to clarify.
"Look, there's a lot to explain and this could take all night. Why don't you girls sleep here and we can talk about it more tomorrow before school." Ella suggested.
"Ok Aria, how did you get your family to play along with this?" Hanna asked.
"We're not joking." Phoebe said.
"So if you really are witches show us some magic." Spencer challenged them, crossing her arms and sitting back, as if expecting to prove them wrong.
"Aria, do you want to show them?" Ella asked.
Aria looked a bit shocked to be put in the spotlight like this, having stayed quiet for most of the conversation, but Ella thought it was best that she was the one to show them magic first. After all, they'd only just met Prue, Paige and Phoebe but they'd all known Aria for years. If she were to show them magic hopefully it wouldn't scare them off as much.
Hesitantly Aria looked around the room for something to demonstrate her powers on. Settling on the television remote, she squinted her eyes at it causing it to come flying towards her. She caught it in her hand and turned to face her friends, trying to gauge their reactions.
"Holy shit!" Hanna exclaimed before muttering an apology to Ella for her language, who only smiled in response.
"You're really a witch?" Emily asked.
Aria nodded. "Yeah I am. I only found out a few weeks ago though. Mom did some spell to bind my powers when I was born to keep me safe." She explained.
"So if you really are a witch does that mean this demon really is after Alison?" Spencer questioned.
"Unfortunately, yes." Ella replied. "Although we're not sure why. We don't even know if Alison's an innocent or if she's really a witch."
"There might be a way to find out." Prue piped up. All eyes turned to her for an explanation. "We could try the spell to call a lost witch. If she is a witch it should work."
"It's worth a shot." Phoebe agreed. "I'll get the Book."
A minute later Aria's aunt had returned carrying a massive book which seemed to catch everyone's attention. Placing the book on the table, Phoebe started to flip through the pages until she found the one that they needed. While she turned the delicate pages Spencer, Emily and Hanna looked in fascination at the drawings in the book, occasionally catching the names of demons and magical creatures written at the tops of the pages. None of them could believe the sheer amount of information that book held and how the vast majority of the world had no idea that anything in that book existed.
It was agreed that the Charmed ones would say the spell with Aria. They hoped that with more power behind it there was a better chance of it working.
The four witches started to chant the words aloud and Aria's friends stared at her with wide eyes.
"Power of the witches rise
Course unseen across the skies
Come to us who call you near
Come to us and settle here."