Well, here we are at chapter 4!! Hope anyone who actually reads this enjoys it!! Thanks to all who have reviewed!!!!! Sorry this chapter is so short, but it seemed like a good place to leave it hanging!
Disclaimer: Don't own Charmed, yadda yadda yadda.
Chapter 4
'Yes Prue. I think I know why you hide out at work,' Piper had her arms crossed as she gave her older sister a piercing look. Prue bit her lip, and kept her eye focus on the Book of Shadows on the desk.
'Do you really think that after all these years I wouldn't know you better? That I wouldn't figure it out?' Piper continued. Prue remained silent, thoughts racing through her mind.
How does she know? Does she hate me for it? I don't want to deal with this now, not today of all days, when we have Phoebe to save.
'Prue, I know how alone you feel. You hide at work because you don't want to go home to an empty house. It's alright to admit you're lonely.'
Prue was confused for a moment, and then she sighed in relief. She doesn't know.
'What I don't understand,' Piper carried on, 'Is why you never moved back into the manor after Leo and I…after we…Well, Pheebs moved back in. And there's still room for you if you want to come back. So why do you still live halfway across town when we could live how we used to?'
'Piper, I don't hide at work, I just enjoy my work,' Prue reassured her sister, with an inward smile because her secret was safe. 'Now can we make sure we know these spells off by heart and go save Pheebs?'
Piper joined Prue by the desk, and they started to flick quickly through the book.
'Ah ha!' Prue exclaimed. 'I was trying to find this spell!'
Piper peered over her shoulder.
'What has that got to do with saving Phoebe?' she asked in confusion as she read 'The Lost-And-Found Spell'. 'Didn't Phoebe come up with that when she was in her 'we need a spell for every eventuality' phase?'
Prue nodded.
'Guiding Spirits, I ask for your charity, lend me your focus and clarity. Lead me to the one I cannot find. Restore that and my peace of mind.'
Suddenly, Piper found herself staring at a raven-haired Prue. She gaped in astonishment.
'You said that spell just to restore your hair colour?' she asked incredulously. Prue nodded again.
'Yep,' she replied, turning back to the book. 'I was tired of having blonde hair.'
'I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!' Piper shouted angrily. 'Our sister is going to be burnt at the stake today, and you're worrying about your hair? What is wrong with you?'
Prue spun around to face Piper, her face pale.
'I am trying to cope Piper, ok? I won't be able to get over losing another family member. I've been left behind by too many as it is. Phoebe is not going to leave me, dammit! Don't you understand, Piper? If I think about it, about what might happen today, it's too much. It's just all too much.'
Prue paused to take a breath, and the next thing she knew, Piper's arms were wrapped around her.
'Phoebe isn't going to leave you, Prue. Neither am I.'
The sisters remained in their embrace for a while. Then suddenly, both of them felt a 'tug' inside of them and they felt compelled to leave the office. Piper picked up the Book of Shadows, and Prue quickly slipped a hat on.
'Have to hide my hair,' she told Piper with a crooked smile. Her feet were moving her towards the door as she spoke, Piper just behind. Something was drawing them to the entrance hallway of Buckland.
Guiding Spirits, I ask for your charity, lend me your focus and clarity. Lead me to the one I cannot find. Restore that and my peace of mind.
Paige quickened her pace as the guards drew closer. They were pushing people off the sidewalk in their haste to catch up to her.
Don't appear guilty she told herself firmly. Don't run, as that would seem suspicious. Just walk fast and hope it isn't you that they're after.
'Hey! Stop that girl in the red skirt!' a voice shouted. Paige looked down; she was wearing a red skirt.
'This is NOT my day,' she muttered as heads turned in her direction. 'Excuse me, coming through!'
Suddenly, she felt a 'tug' inside her, and her feet were leading her in another direction. She hurried around a corner of the street, and slipped through the glass doors of a tall building.
Guiding Spirits, I ask for your charity, lend me your focus and clarity. Lead me to the one I cannot find. Restore that and my peace of mind.
'Why did I come here?' she asked herself as she stared around her. She was standing in the entranceway to what seemed expensive offices. She had never even seen this building before, yet she felt as if she was meant to be there. Then she heard two voices as people approached.
'Hide, girl, hide!' she whispered. How could she explain why she was in there? 'I felt compelled to come' seemed a poor excuse, but Paige couldn't go back outside, as the guards were still looking for her. Before she could make up her mind about what to do, the owners of the voices came into view. One was a brown-haired woman with dark eyes and a motherly air to her. She was carrying a large green book, and was talking to a black-haired woman at her side. The other woman had ice-blue eyes, and a feeling of power emanated off her. The cold eyes immediately found Paige's.
'Who are you?' she snapped. Paige began to stammer.
'I…I…'
Ok, so I hope you liked this oh-so-short chapter! Don't worry Phoebe fans, she will return in later chapters. There's just not a lot for her to do in jail at the moment!
Big thanks to all who reviewed!
Princess Pinky: Well spotted with the name! Yep, it IS the same Marianne from 'The Power of Two!' And you are definitely on the right track about Prue, but she does have more to her story. As the girls have a different history from S2 onwards, Piper never owned P3, and so Paige never visited it, or really knew about the Halliwell sisters. About Henry, well I'm not really a bigger fan of one than the other, so it just happened to be my choice! I will try and r&r your story when it's up, too!
Thanks also to: Shawn-n-Bell, Afw, keepholdingon1, Ally-617-luv-tv, -0-charmed-freak-0-, Coginom, and Hotcutii! If I've forgotten anyone, please don't hesitate to complain! And please review!!!