Tuesday Evening at the Manor: Telling Matt.
As the door bell rang, Phoebe looked up and across the room at Paige as she turned to look towards the door. As Paige half closed her eyes to reach out with her sensing power, a large smile appeared on her face. She turned to look back at Phoebe and Piper and said "Its Matt and he's going to ask" in a soft and drawn out manner.
Before Prue could move, both Piper and Phoebe with big grins on their faces, jumped from their chairs and raced down the hall, each trying to beat the other to the door. Paige also started to rise but sat back hurriedly as she picked up on Prue's state of mind.
Phoebe won the race and paused only long enough to pose seductively as she opened the door and greeted Matt with a longing look, perfectly designed to embarrass him. To Matt's credit, he refused to bite and simply asked "Hi Phoebe, Piper, is Prue in ?".
As Prue walked down the hall, the look on her face meant that first Piper and then Phoebe decided that it wasn't worth the risk to continue hassling Matt. They both retreated down the hall and joined Paige to look just around the dining room door so they could see and listen to what was said.
"Sisters" said Prue in a tone and manner that implied insanity, and the possibility of a violent death very soon. However she smiled and reached up to kiss Matt with both passion and delight as he returned the kiss with enthusiasm. As they relaxed, Prue watched as Matt looked down at her with a slightly scared but determined look as he reached into his pocket.
Hastily Prue reached out to hold his hand and said "Wait, please, there is something I need to tell you". She then turned to look back at her sisters with an almost pleading look on her face. Piper immediately got the hint and grabbed her two sisters. "Right, upstairs now, they want privacy and they are going to get it". Giving Phoebe and Paige no time to argue, she pushed them across the hall. Only mildly resisting, both a laughing Paige and Phoebe allowed Piper to chase them up the stairs towards their bedrooms. Phoebe paused for a second at the top of the stairs to call down, "Be good" and then they vanished into the upstairs hallway.
Prue, looking out into the steadily darkening sky, and thinking of the remaining Wolfen still out there, gently pulled Matt into the hallway and closed the door. "There is something I need to tell you, something you need to know". Prue gently grabbed his right hand and started to pull Matt down the hallway.
As Matt looked around, Prue added "Leo and Cole are out for the night and my sisters will stay upstairs" and after a short pause, added, "if they know whats good for them".
He resisted her pull and as Prue turned to look at him, he said, "I have something important to ask you, I think you know what I am going to ask" in a quiet and almost pleading tone. Prue reached up with both her hands to cup Matt's face and replied "Yes, I do, but there is something I must tell you, please let me go first, I have been trying to tell you for sometime and I could never find the courage".
With a confused and uncertain look on his face, Matt allowed Prue to lead him into the kitchen where he sat down on a chair Prue pulled out for him. Looking at Prue, he realised that she was afraid of something. As he had never seen or could imagine anything that could scare the strong and confident woman he loved, a chill began to seep through him.
Prue instead of sitting, started to set the table, pulling out mugs, biscuits, then filling the coffee jug with water and turned it on. While she was doing this she started to explain to Matt what she had been trying to do for some time. All her carefully practiced sentences and explanations were forgotten and she found herself starting from scratch.
As she placed various items on the table she said "There is one secret I have kept from you, I didn't want too but I didn't have a choice, not initially. Its something you need to know and its big". Matt paused then reached out to hold Prue's hands "Tell me, I can't imagine anything that large that could change how I feel about you". Prue sat alongside Matt, took a deep breath and said "Do you believe in magic, I don't mean magic tricks, I mean real magic, spells and witches and things like that".
For a second Matt thought Prue was joking but as he looked into her eyes and saw the uncertainty and worry on her face, he realised she meant it. "I'm not sure what you mean" he replied, "I admit as a journalist, I have met people who have claimed to be witches or wizards, even seen one or two things I can't easily explain. Are you trying to tell me you are a witch?"
"Yes" answered Prue as a relieved look appeared on her face. Finally it was out and now she could explain. Rapidly Prue continued as she wanted to get it all out as quickly as possible. "I am a witch, a real witch, I can do magic and I have powers, powers I use for good". As she looked at Matt, she could see the conflict in his face, between trying to believe her and his natural skepticism.
"Let me show you" she said and she turned to look at the fridge and waved her right hand from the fridge to the table. In front of Matt's eyes, the fridge door opened, and the milk jug sailed out and moved around to sit in the middle of the table. At the same time the fridge door closed. In silence he watched as the coffee pot also glided over from the bench and then filled the two mugs with hot black coffee. Then the black coffee grew whiter as milk appeared in the mugs without coming from any visible source until he noticed the milk level dropping in the jug. Finally one of the mugs lifted into the air and glided over to sit next to him, while the other drifted over to sit next to Prue.
"You are doing this?" he asked in a normal voice which surprised him almost as much as what he had just seen. "Yes" replied Prue, I am telekinetic and I can do much more than move little things around". "What do you mean?". "You should see how I change a flat tyre!" was the reply.
Matt stared at Prue, as he tried to catchup with what was happening. "You said powers ?".
"I can also Astral project" replied Prue, as she closed her eyes and relaxed. Matt jumped as someone tapped him on his shoulder, turning he found himself looking at another Prue.
"I can project a copy of myself to any where I can visualise". Astral Prue picked up a plate of biscuits and offered them to Matt. Taking one biscuit and carefully taking a small bite, he turned to look back at the first Prue and then back to look at the second. After placing the plate back on the table, the second Prue faded in front of his eyes, Matt turned to see the first Prue open her eyes and look at him.
"I am a witch, a powerful witch. I am not like Samantha Stevens or any other witch you see on TV, I don't twitch my nose, no black cats, hats or broomsticks, but I can cast spells. We use our powers for good. Remember those times I had to leave you or cancel a date because of a family emergency or when something weird happened at the Manor, those strange happenings you asked about and the damage you saw."
"We ?" asked Matt as he tried to understand what Prue was telling him.
"My sisters are also witches like me, we all have powers. You may have even heard of us, we are called the Charmed Ones". Hearing those two words made Matt jerk and look at Prue again. "I remember listening to two witches talking about magic and their lifestyle, they mentioned the Charmed Ones, almost with reverence. They said that they were four very powerful witches that evil feared", Matt paused as he realised. "and you have three sisters".
"Yes we tend to get that, we are powerful compared to most of the magical beings out there. We were given our powers and a destiny, to protect and help people who are threatened by evil. Some of those emergencies and strange happenings are part of that destiny".
"Last night you mentioned the first anniversary of the bomb attack in the park was coming up. We were partially responsible for that. We had just found out that Paige was our sister and a demon called the Source of All Evil tried to kill her because she was to become one of us. We joined her, to fight him and what happened that day is because of that fight".
Matt who was still trying to understand what Prue was trying to tell him, couldn't help but ask "You mean all that destruction, what people saw was this demon and you fighting?". "Yes" replied Prue,"although he had many demonic allies to help him".
"What about the two police officers who went missing?" Matt asked as he remembered more about the event. "We couldn't save them" replied Prue, A Source killed them before we arrived". And in a bitter tone she added "We can't save everyone".
"Was what happened last night something to do with magic?" Matt asked.
After a short pause to consider her answer, Prue said "Yes, you know about what people are calling the Park murders?". As Matt nodded, she continued "We are helping the police with them as the deaths are due to demons called Wolfen, like werewolves only much worse. They have killed many more people, only they have just disappeared. On Sunday we found some of them and attacked them, killing two of them. Yesterday they came after us, and while we managed to kill two more, they almost overwhelmed and killed all of us, that was why I couldn't see you".
Prue decided she had said enough and she waited for Matt's response. As her heart beat impossibly fast, she watched his face to see how he would react. "Wow" he said as he tried to assimilate what Prue had said. "It explains some of what has happened around here" as he remembered some of the strange incidents that had worried him since he started to date Prue. "Just after we met, when your front door and that wall was destroyed, was that demons?" he asked.
"Yes" said Prue, "a powerful demon called Shax tried and almost succeeded in killing Piper and me, but Leo, Phoebe and Paige saved us. Together we vanquished the demon". The damage you saw was a result of that fight".
"Your sisters are witches?, of course they are." stated Matt.
"Yes, and we all have different powers" said Prue as she paused to give Matt time to catch up. "Piper can freeze things or blow them up, Phoebe can see into the future and levitate, and Paige can teleport, we call it orbing, either herself or other objects too or away from her. All four of us together are especially strong, it was the four of us who defeated the Source in the park battle. And we just don't fight battles, remember the white dog you hit before we met, well that was me, a spell we cast to find a Banshee turned me into that dog".
Matt couldn't help but look at Prue as he remembered the white dog he had run over in his car, considered adopting and which had vanished out of his life, at the same time Prue had come into it. "You were that dog ?" he couldn't help but ask. "Yes, it allowed me to track the Banshee, remember when I demanded to be let out, she had returned" answered Prue.
Matt remained silent as he tried to understand what he was being told.
"I am still Prue, what you have seen over the last six months is me, the only difference is that you now know I am a witch, a real witch. There are other things, that evil is trying to kill us because we are a threat". Prue stopped as she could clearly see that Matt probably could not cope with much more.
From the bottom of her heart, Prue finished with "I love you and always will".
Suddenly Matt got to his feet as an urge to run flowed through him and he stumbled into the hallway. Turning to look back, he found Prue had followed as far as the Dining room doorway, where she now stood, holding onto the door jam with both hands. He could clearly see the fear and grief on her face and he paused to watch in fascination as a single tear began to fall down her cheek.
The urge to run from the Manor disappeared as if it had never been and he stepped forward to look more closely at the witch he did not know, only to see the woman he had always known. Memories of the Prue surfaced in his mind, of meeting her for the first time, their first kiss, the first argument and the first time they had made love. Of late night discussions, picnics and the far too often feelings of anger and sadness when she had been late or cancelled a date because of those family emergences, now explained.
As Prue stood in the doorway waiting for Matt to respond, she found herself so uncharacteristically uncertain about the future. Matt asked "You are you, I mean the Prue I love, she is still here in front of me?". "Always" said Prue.
"Is there anything else I need to know?" asked Matt. As hope began to rise within her, Prue replied "No, thats everything, there's nothing else". Taking one of Prue's hands in his own, Matt simply asked "Why didn't you tell me earlier, why now?". "I couldn't tell you when we first met, we have to keep that we are witches secret, or we won't be able to follow our destiny. I wanted to tell you but I didn't want to risk losing you".
"You thought I would run if I found out?" said Matt. "Others have" replied Prue with some bitterness, "from me and my sisters". "I don't run quite so easily" replied Matt in a stronger tone and he lent forward to kiss Prue gently. Without thinking about it as he knew that he had to make a decision now because if he didn't then Prue would pull away from him and he would lose her.
Still holding her hand, he stepped back into the Dining room, gently pulling Prue with him and looking inside himself, he tried to feel what he wanted. One thing immediately surfaced in his mind, that he had secrets as well, ones that he had not told Prue and one of these would almost certainly come back to haunt them.
For what seemed the longest time, he tried to reach a decision and he found that there was still only one possibility he wanted. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small blue velvet covered box which he offered to Prue. "I came to give this to you, will you open it".
With suddenly trembling fingers caused by emotions she usually easily suppressed, Prue took the box and carefully opened it. Inside was a ring with a large diamond, surrounded by small green emeralds. Dropping to one knee and with a nervous smile on his face, Matt carefully lifted the ring out and offered it to Prue with the words "Prue Halliwell, will you marry me?".
Lifting her eyes from his hand, to look at his face, Prue initially couldn't tell if her heart had stopped beating or was racing at speed. "Yes" was her reply.
With a great deal of care, Matt carefully placed the ring on her finger.
Neither saw the cloud of orbs from the conservatory as a jubilant Paige orbed back upstairs to tell her sisters. Only Piper's threats prevented both Paige and Phoebe from tearing down the stairs immediately to congratulate their oldest sister.
Prue wrapped her arms around Matt and held him close as she tried to suppress her emotions so that the various kitchen utensils currently slowly flying around the kitchen would land without breaking. Matt, unaware of what was happening in the kitchen, returned her embrace and then kissed Prue gently, removing the few tears that still flowed down her face.
As they both recovered from what had been an extremely intense and emotional time, Prue remembered her sisters. After asking Matt, she called for them to come on down. All three joined them rapidly, to examine the ring, congratulate Prue and ask all the questions usually asked in such circumstances.
Piper finally remembered Leo and Cole, who had promised not to return until they were called. After quickly checking with Prue that Matt had been told about witches and magic, she called out Leo's name and told him to bring Cole. Matt watched in awe as both Leo and Cole orbed into the hallway and since it was obvious what had happened, they promptly came over to shake his hand and congratulate him as well.
Over the next hour or so, Matt learned much about magic, Halliwell witches, whitelighters, demons, warlocks, the Book of Shadows (which let him turn its pages) and the latest threat, the Wolfen. Even Paige showing off her orbing ability only fascinated Matt, although Prue flatly refused to allow Paige to show him what it was like. Finally it was obvious to Prue that Matt had, had enough and it was getting late.
Prue offered to escort Matt back to his apartment, and it would give her time to talk to him in private. There was still so much more to tell him and he would have questions of his own. As they both prepared to leave the Manor, Piper realised that the Wolfen could use their distraction to attack.
Matt however refused to be intimidated so Leo and Piper decided to walk with them at least as far as his apartment. Neither Prue or Matt were keen on this however the risk of a Wolfen attack made them except the situation. By the time they reached his apartment, Prue had decided to stay the night, to be with Matt and defend him if the Wolfen did turn up.
After seeing them safely in to the apartment and that everything was secure, Leo and Piper orbed back to the manor.
Jumper
Piper was right to worry, as hiding under a house, some 60 meters from the Manor, Jumper, the packs best stalker carefully watched what was happening. Even at this distance and at night, his keen senses allowed him to clearly see enough to identify the two humans he had attacked in the upstairs hallway. Watching with disbelief as the witch and her mate who he had definitely fatally wounded the night before, joined the others on the outside porch, showing no sign of the severe injuries he had inflicted.
Under strict orders from Firstfang who was still angry with Bloodletter's stupidity, to only watch and to take no other action, he just watched the humans who walked down the street escorted by another male and female. Three of them were clearly on edge and watching for any possible attack.
That the witches were capable of healing severe wounds, wounds that should have killed, meant that the pack had underestimated them. And at least two of them were capable of disappearing in those strange bubbles and how had they known that the woman needed rescue. They had shown abilities that the pack had not seen in witches before and Jumper made the mental leap to consider what else the pack may be unaware of.
The pack had lost four of its members, two adults in their prime, one irreplaceable cub and one old, almost useless Wolfen and still all the witches lived. Jumper now realised that the pack must know more about them before attempting another attack and this increased his already high opinion of Firstfang's leadership as he realised that she too must have been considering this possibility.
As he now had more information for Firstfang, Jumper carefully exited from under the house on the other side and made his way back to the new lair. Arriving less than an hour later, having covered some distance, he passed on the bad news about the failure of the attack to do anything more than damage the Manor.
He arrived just minutes before Striker and Seeker, who had been tasked to scout the Hunters lair.
