Chapter 2

Julie watched Kyle leave before she took the long route to the bus stop. She was about run to catch the bus people were boarding when she decided to continue her walk to the downtown L.A. area. It was a gorgeous and cold December day with temperatures in the fifties which was unusual for L.A. Julie almost loved the constant warm weather as much as she loved her new L.A. life. Despite loving her life in L.A., Julie still missed Valhalla.

Julie's mother Billie Jenkins had been a friend to the residents of Valhalla and had been shown favor among the Valkyries. Julie didn't know what exactly her Mother did to earn the trust of the Demi-Goddess Freya (whose hate of outsiders rivals none), but Julie had been told by the Halliwell Sisters that her Mother had helped vanquish a demon that threatened the very existence of Valhalla. Freya had offered Billie training which Billie accepted. After Billie found out she was with child, Freya continued to train the mother-to-be in the Valkyrie ways. Freya even bestowed favor on Julie and let the girl visit Valhalla with her Mother whenever the witches wanted to visit. Julie had spent countless days in Valhalla during summer vacation and other school breaks while her mother went on demon hunts or trained with the Valkyries. Julie loved Freya like another Aunt and Julie knew Freya felt the same even if the Demi-Goddess didn't always show it. It had been Freya's idea for Julie to join her in Valhalla after Billie's death when Phoebe went to Freya for advice on how to help Julie cope with her mother's death when mortal as well as magical counseling was not helping. Valhalla was also the place Julie ran to after she was forced to retire from her Gymnastics' career.

After Julie left San Francisco the summer before her Junior year of High School, she threw herself into her training to cope with the pain of Chris' abandonment. She had already competed on a national level as a junior gymnast before her Mother died, but it took five years for Julie to be invited back to a National competition even though she had only taken six months off from competition while she was in Valhalla after her Mother's death during those five years. State competition had been the last competition Chris ever saw her compete in and it had been the weekend after that competition that Chris' graduation party had been held. Julie had spent the last few years trying to forget the fear on his face as he told her he loved her and wanted to be with her officially. Chris knew that he wouldn't have as much time to see Julie since her training time would double in preparation for Nationals, but he never complained about her training schedule since he knew how much Gymnastics meant to Julie and how it had been Billie's dream to see her daughter succeed in Gymnastics or some other activity that didn't involve demon hunting. Chris' leaving enabled her to go to Ontario to get the extra training needed for her to do well at Nationals and won her a ticket to Germany to compete at World Competition representing team USA. Julie had already won a gold medallion in the team event as well as a bronze for overall individual and was about to compete in the high beam competition which had always been her strongest skill. She was just about to mount the high beam with the routine that had her heavily favored for winning the gold medal when a group of demons attacked the event. Julie (who had taken a temporary power binding potion as she did before every competition so she did not risk being tempted to use her powers to help her win) was immobilized and had to rely on the Halliwells who were in the audience to fend off the demons. Julie had done nothing to help the innocents around her since she was powerless and had been trying to get out of the gym when she was caught in-between the cross-fire. Julie was not only knocked unconscious from the attack, but also suffered a torn rotary cuff injury in her right shoulder and an unhappy triad (a tear of the acl, mcl, and meniscus tear) knee injury. After the Doctors as well as her coach told her the Olympics that were being held next year was out of the question and that she had to face the idea that her Gymnastic career was over, Julie asked Paige to heal her leg even though she would take the next year off as if she was really recovering. Paige refused so Julie went to Wyatt who told her that Paige tried to heal Julie while she was unconscious. The Elders had forbidden any Whitelighter and healer from healing Julie's injury since she would not have been injured if she hadn't taken a power binding potion or had helped innocents escaped.

It was decided by the Halliwell sisters and Leo that Julie would return to Magic School while going through her surgeries on her knee and shoulder. Julie had already obtained her GED which made going back to her High School in San Francisco impossible and none of the sisters wanted to run the risk of Julie being caught in another cross-fire by keeping her at any of their homes. Julie sat through three months of classes while she pleaded with the Elders to allow her injuries to be magically healed. They denied her each time saying that her injuries would heal on their own and she would get enough motion back where she would to complete day to day tasks including demon hunting. Julie reminded them that she was only seventeen and had the rest of her life to hunt demons. All she wanted was to experience the Olympics just once and then she would cut out Gymnastics so she could accept her Wiccan duties. The Halliwell sisters had a rule with all their kids as well as Julie that they weren't even suppose to go demon hunting until they were eighteen any way. All Julie was asking for was a chance to make a miraculous recovery that would send her to the Olympics the following year after which she would retire and tell the reporters she hadn't fully recovered like she thought she had. The Elders (who were angry with Julie's constant pleading) convinced the Halliwell sisters to temporarily bind Julie's powers so she could not project herself to the mortal realm to train when Julie risked further injuring herself. Julie had never cried as much as she did when the sisters explained why they were taking her powers with a power of three binding potion that could only be reversed by the Charmed Ones. Julie's heart and body had already broken that year, but her spirit broke at the loss of her free will and more importantly the sisters' trust.

The Elders should have known Julie would rebel when the hurt ceased and the pain of betrayal set in. Even though Julie didn't have her active powers and was unable to have access to the potion's lab without supervision, Julie was still able to send a help signal right under Leo and the other teachers' noses. It didn't surprise Julie when the demi-Goddess herself all but kicked down the door to Julie's advance spell casting final exam to bring Julie back to Valhalla with only Mist and Kara as backup for the numerous magical beings that tried to stop them. Katrina (who had figured out the day before what Julie had done) threw a blinding potion so Julie could escape with the Valkyries in a more peaceful way then the Valkyries had entered. Julie had barely gotten settled in Valhalla when a group of Elders showed up with the Charmed Ones. The Elders demanded Freya step aside so they could take Julie back to Magic School so she could continue her studies to become a responsible witch. Freya refused stating that Julie was a daughter of Valhalla and as daughter the girl would always be protected so long as Freya herself was alive. The argument had almost resulted in a Valkyrie Elder showdown, but Phoebe stopped them and asked Julie what she wanted. Julie said she wasn't sure, but she wanted to stay Valhalla with her powers to train until her mind was more clear to make decision since hurt was the driving force behind her right now. This had led to more arguing from the Elders and Freya threatening to release all the warriors into the mortal realm if Julie's wishes were not met.

Julie was sure a fight was about to ensue when three Angels of Destiny appeared and ordered everyone to leave except for Freya, the head Elder at the time, and the Charmed Ones so that they could resolve the situation with the Angels. Julie wanted to stay, but was ordered to leave and found herself nervously pacing outside in the middle of a circle of Valkyries. When Phoebe came outside to get Julie, the girl was led inside and told by the Angels that the path she was on now had not been the one originally intended. Julie learned she was suppose have suffered a normal injury two months after the Olympics that would have ended her Gymnastic career and the start of her Wiccan duties, but the Elders had chose to speed this process up by refusing to let her be healed. She was offered the opportunity to be sent back in time to be healed and sent back on her original path where she was healed and wouldn't remember anything. Julie stated that version of herself was no longer her and all she wanted were her powers back with the chance to live her life as she chose even if it was a life she was not destined for. Julie thought that she was owed that much for her life being turned upside down the past three months. The Angels agreed since Julie's freewill had been taken and since Julie was not the one who had ruined destiny. Paige and Phoebe had tried to convince Julie to go back in the past to redo things and not harbor the feelings of resentment towards the Elders. Only Piper (who Julie had always been the least close with out of the three sisters) was for Julie staying in this time. She argued that this was valuable experience the Elders should learn from and that the Charmed Ones should have never bound Julie's powers. Piper reminded her sisters that each of them had been angry at the Elders at one point or another when the Elders tried to interfere with their personal lives or how they handled their Charmed responsibilities and Julie was not different. Julie might only be seventeen, but Piper believed she was responsible enough to make her own decisions even if the sisters didn't agree with it. The experience was one Julie needed to learn and it was better for her to learn it at a young age according to Piper. The next thing Julie knew, the Sisters reserved the spell and Julie had her powers once more. They waited until the Angels and Elders left before they said their goodbyes to Julie. Phoebe threatened to kill Freya if any harm came to Julie on the Goddess' watch and Paige orbed them before Freya could retaliate. To this day the sisters didn't know that Freya had simply smiled at Phoebe's words and told Julie she had never had beings as powerful as the Charmed Ones jealous of her before.

A week later, Wyatt came to check on how Julie was dealing with all the sudden changes in her life. It was rare for Freya to let any outsider (especially a male) stay in Valhalla for more than it took to deliver a message, but she had made an expectation for Wyatt because he was a friend of Julie's, not because he was the future King of Magic. Although none of the Valkyries approved of Wyatt's presence in Valhalla, they bore their disapproval in silence and only glared at the witches the entire afternoon they spent on the shores of Valhalla. Julie admitted to him she didn't like how she left things or how she had to leave, but she was happy and felt at home in Valhalla. The routine of mediation and the exercises for Julie's injuries that Freya had her doing were strengthening her mind, body, and spirit. When Wyatt asked her if this was the first time she had felt at peace since Chris left, Julie had tried to skate around the topic. Eventually she confessed it was the first time she felt like herself since Chris left. She was able to channel her emotions into her training like she had in gymnastics, but didn't have to hide her true self. She was in the magical community with people who knew Julie all her life, but she didn't have to deal with pressures she was facing at Magic School especially what she was going to do when she turned eighteen. It was the first time in her life that she had no idea what she was going to do in the future and had no one demanding their expectations be met. Wyatt suggested Julie should stay in Valhalla while she healed and figured out her next move even though he didn't like the fact that her family wouldn't be able to see her. He could see the improvement she was making in the week she had been in Valhalla and knew just like her Mother's death, she needed time to heal in place she could be left alone.

Julie chose to stay in Valhalla the last two months of her Junior year of High School as well through the Summer leading up to the time she would have left for college. She didn't apply to any College during the year and half she spent in Valhalla unsure whether she wanted to live a normal life or return to magical community. Her injuries had healed so she was able to do the majority of gymnastic elements that she had once been able to do without being in pain except for the elements that once made her one of the best in the world. She would still never be able to compete again due to the high risk of injury, but it left the door open if she wanted to teach or to use her gymnastic skills in a fight. As her second consecutive summer in Valhalla came to end, Julie realized she wasn't going to find her new destiny in Valhalla. Julie told Freya this and Goddess offered her a chance to become a Valkyrie. Julie mediated the offer seriously considering becoming a Valkyrie especially since becoming a Valkyrie would give Julie a purpose in life that she would know and not one she would have to find. By the end of the week Julie gave Freya an answer in tears saying she wished she could stay, but knowing it was not the place she meant to be even if it would always be home to her. Julie half expected Freya to call the girl an ungrateful child or make fun of Julie for not being strong enough to hold back her tears, but Freya didn't. Instead the Goddess kissed the girl's head and told Julie that the girl who was like a niece to her was always welcomed to come home even if Julie had no intention of ever becoming a Valkyrie. Freya presented Julie with her very own Valkyrie pendant Freya had specially made for her. It allowed Julie to wear at all times without being transformed into a Valkyrie and would give Julie the powers and abilities of a Valkyrie when she used the pendant without having to lose her witch abilities. Julie could turn the pendant on and off with a simple Norse chant while she wore the pendant and held it with her left hand. The best part was the pendant would recognize Julie's power which meant it would be useless to anyone if they were to steal it or try use it.

Freya gave Julie her blessing so the girl left Valhalla traveling the world (mortal and magical alike) in hopes of finding herself and a new path to be on. She took an array of jobs for money to feed and shelter herself, but spent most nights outside tucked away in her bedroll under the stars. Julie would call for Wyatt every week or so to check in with him and he would orb to her if he needed her help. Julie lived on the road for a few months until she came to L.A. right before Christmas last year. She came to L.A. to visit Katrina since Katrina had moved back in with her parents after graduation from Magic School because Katrina (like Julie) had no idea which world she wanted to live in if she could not live in Valhalla. It was on that trip that Julie met Kyle. Julie had been walking back to her hotel room when she was attacked by a shifter demon who had acquired a few extra powers on the black market. Julie got away after she realized the demon had become too powerful to be vanquished without a potion. When Julie went after the demon armed with a potion, the demon was attacking Kyle for his powers. Julie was originally only concerned about vanquishing the demon, but the demon had tossed an unconscious Kyle at Julie so the demon could escape. Not wanting to leave Kyle in the open where she risked him exposing her to the cops, Julie got him back to his apartment and patched up his wounds so he wouldn't go to the hospital. He came in and out of consciousness while she took care of him, but she left him in order to project to Halliwell manor for Wyatt's help before Kyle became fully conscious. Kyle had been obsessed with tracking Julie down and found her mid-vanquish two days later without Wyatt. Julie was surprised by the boy's dedication and even more shocked by his tenderness once she had gotten to know him. Julie had already thought about staying L.A. before she met Kyle, but when the two of them came clean about their magical side on their third date she decided to stay in L.A. She had been considering starting school at UCLA in the fall and she began piecing her life back together.

Julie decided that she would go back to school after buying the beach house. She needed to go back to school (like the Halliwell sister had been bugging her about the past two years) and decided she wanted to stay close to Kyle since he was the only boyfriend she could open up to…not counting Chris since he and Julie had never been in an official relationship. Julie had then called Penny about the possibility of enrolling at UCLA knowing Katarina had already been accepted. Penny agreed and had told Lydia (whose Mother was good friends and had been on the PTA board with Piper) who wanted to come as well. When Julie had figured out who Angela was last February, Julie had invited her new Whitelighter friend to live in the beach house in order to give the girl a chance to live somewhat of a normal life since Julie knew what it was like to have the Elders ask to give up everything to serve them. LA was the perfect place for Julie and her friends. It was far enough from San Francisco where Julie, Penny, and Lydia could get away yet close enough where if the girls were needed in San Fran they could get there.

"Help!" Julie heard someone scream. "Someone please help me!" Julie ran toward the voice and unzipped one of the pockets of her backpack. She pulled out her cell phone along with her wallet and shoved both items into her jeans pocket. She then pulled out her potions pouch that looked like a coin purse before ditching the backpack in an open dumpster. Julie drank a yellow liquid that changed Julie's appearance from her petite sandy blond hair and green eyes with a 5'2 frame to a 6 foot tall girl with violet hair and matching violet eyes. Julie then made sure her potion belt was secured in another pocket before she pulled out a red vile. Julie turned the alley corner cautiously and found an ugly male human looking demon pinning a human man against the wall.

"Go ahead and scream," the demon suggested as it tighten its grip on the man's throat. "No one will hear you and even if they could who would come risk their life to see yours."

"Hey," Julie yelled causing the demon to let go of the human. The man fell with a loud "thump" on the alley floor. "I'm standing right here in case you didn't notice."

"Are you crazy?" the man asked Julie as the demon turned his body and attention toward her.

"I got it under control from here," Julie told the guy. "So you may want to run." The guy looked at her before he took her advice and took off.

"Cocky little girl," the demon taunted Julie as he took another step towards her. He sniffed the air before he gave her a smirk. "Or should I say cocky little witch." Julie laughed as she gripped a potion.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you big things come in small packages?" The demon threw a fireball at her and Julie did a back flip to get out of the way. She landed before she threw the potion at the demon. Julie was alarmed when she saw the potion barely broke the skin.

"Is that the best you have, witch?" he taunted. He threw another fireball and Julie did a roll dive this time to avoid it. The demon threw a third ball and Julie ducked before she threw a fireball of her own which caught him off guard. She projected a knife to throw at the demon, but the demon exploded. Julie looked and saw a platinum blond hair person her age holding a vile. He threw it at her, but Julie used her powers to make it hit the wall. Julie then closed her eyes and projected herself back in her living room. When the girl opened her eyes she was sitting on the marble tiled living room floor of her beach house. Julie groaned as she got up into a sitting position. Julie looked up at the sound of footsteps on the staircase.

"What's wrong with you, Jules?" Angela asked as she passed Julie to go into the kitchen. "And why did you take a glamour potion."

"I was just saying there's no place like home so I could come back home," Julie joked half serious. "And how come you can tell it's me." Angela grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before she turned to Julie.

"Violet hair and violet eyes? That's almost as tacky as the cheap leather outfit you like us to wear when were out hunting demons." Julie stood up. "Where were you? You look like you just got in a fight with a candle."

"It was the fireplace," Julie corrected. Angela sighed as she came into the living room.

"Fine be a witch," Angela stated as she took a sip of the water. "By the way, Penny told Dr. Hemingston you got food poisoning from breakfast which is why you're not in class right now. The sad part is he actually got food poisoning from the taco bar last week."

"I'm not surprised." Julie looked at the clock on the TV. "Don't you have class right now?" Angela snorted.

"If your cutting class because you're upset with Penny I think I can skip for being out all night with a charge and then writing a paper which I emailed in earlier. I'm going to bed."

"Sweet dreams," Julie wished as her Whitelighter went upstairs. Julie sat on the floor listening to hear if any of her other housemates were home. When she didn't hear any movement, Julie went into the Attic and grabbed a potion off one of the shelves to reverse the glamour. She then decided to take a shower using the bathroom attached to the attic in attempt to shake the feeling someone was now after her. She sighed when she realized her Friday night would now consist of homework and demon research…maybe after a nap.

AN- Remember to Review!