She couldn't believe it. Out of all the people to find her, she gets found by a witch. Not just a witch though, one that has two sisters. She was dead for sure. If it wasn't bad enough having demons after her, but witches?
She ran up the stairs and through the level, trying to find a place to hide. Her heart was racing, and fear was clouding her eyes. Seeing a set of stairs going up to a higher level, she took the chance. Turning sharply, Robin made her hasty entrance into the attic.
Upon entering the top level, a man, who was rummaging through some boxes, spoke without looking up at her.
"Piper I can't find the dish you want, are you sure it's not down stairs?" When he only got heavy panting in reply, he looked up at the extremely frightened girl.
She at first thought she had made a turn for the worst until she realized she couldn't sense any active magic in him, only magic that used to be. This man had once been an Elder and by way of a treaty, Elder's and Whitelighters could not kill her kind, even if she was only a half blood.
The sound of footsteps outside the door she had closed reached her ears and she ran behind the man as the door opened to reveal the three witches and the magical man.
"What the-" the mortal Elder asked.
"Leo? She's not afraid of you?" Paige asked in confusion.
"Afraid, why would she be afraid? Who is this anyway?" Leo looked at the four questioningly. Leo looked down at the girl that was clinging to the back of his leg. She was visibly shaking and her eyes big eyes were full of tears.
The girl's eyes flickered around the room and landed on Excalibur. When Mute's breathing grew heavy, all five adults followed her eyes to see what was increasing her panic. The adults looked back at her to see her retreating further into the depths of the attic.
"Oh, honey, no, that's just Excalibur. We won't use it on you," Piper told her in a motherly voice that caused anger to mix with the fear in Mute's eyes. "Paige, do something with it."
At the moment Piper told her little sister to orb Excalibur away, Mute's back hit the wall. She slid to the ground, bringing her knees up to her chest. She closed her eyes and started to rock back and forth, the whole time muttering to herself in another language. When Piper took a step towards her to comfort her and prove she wasn't dangerous, a large red shield came up around the girl.
Piper stopped in shock.
"That's like Wyatt's shield. Paige, why does your innocent have my son's shield?"
"Piper, it's not Wyatt's shield. Wyatt's is blue. Paige why don't you ask the Eld…" Leo broke off mid-sentence for an old looking scroll appeared in front of him, suspended in midair without any help.
"I don't know what the girl is," Paige admitted to Piper as Leo examined if the scroll was safe to touch. "All I know is that she flinches when touched and some sick bastard tattooed a pentagram on the inside of her wrist." Paige looked over to where Mute was still safely inside her shield, still rocking back and forth but no longer mumbling.
"Paige it's not a tattoo but it may explain this." Leo grasped the scroll and brought it closer to him before opening it. "The pentagram on the wrist is a birthmark of a Consobrina."
"Of a what?" Phoebe asked, raising her eyebrow.
"A Consobrina, its Cousin in Latin. Look it up in the Book of Shadows. The point is she summoned this because she feared for her life. Witches don't particularly trust Cousins." Leo held the scroll up to the others. "It's a treaty, called the Treaty of Ca'toy'ess. Ca'toy'ess was a princess of this girl's people; she was then named King because her father was too weak to defend their land and her brother was too young to even walk. King not Queen because she was fighting like along with the soldiers and she was unmarried. I don't know the full story but apparently a human king found out the Consobrina people were holding a human as a slave. He attacked to free the human, the Cousin's fought back and the Cousin King Cay'toy'ess was killed by the human king's sword. It was only after she was killed did they find out the slave was only called a slave to stop the royal family's people from forcing the human to leave their world. Apparently the royal family and the slave family were close; they never asked the slave to do anything they didn't wish to do. After that the Consobrina people wanted revenge. They were going to attack our world, bring us to our knees and avenge their king's death. That's when the Elders stepped in and made the Treaty of Ca'toy'ess. The treaty says that no human will enter the Consobrina's world unless invited by one of royal blood and they can not stay for more then a year. Also no Elder can let a Consobrina knowingly die, especially one of royal blood, in this world. In return, no human will be harbored in the Consobrina's world. In the case of a half-blood, the human parent will be allowed to stay every second year until the child reaches the year of its fourth birthday, when it will ascend to greater heights of power."
"So wait, she's one of these Cousin things?" Coop tried to understand.
"I think she might be of royal blood. That would be the only reason she summoned this scroll to me. She knows I'm an Elder, or at least used to be. I'm held by this treaty, and so is Chris… if he knows about her." Leo looked at the girl still safely in her shield and then at Piper. Piper seemed to know what he was thinking because moments later, she opened her mouth.
"Chris." The sound bellowed out of the attic door and to the kitchen. Next minute, the little boy who had been sitting at the kitchen table with the book appeared in a flurry of blue and white lights.
"Yeah, Mum?" Chris asked once he was no longer a ball of lights.
"Peanut, I have to ask you for a favor," Piper told her youngest son.
"Sure, anything."
"You see the little girl behind the shield?" Piper gestured to the corner and waited for her son to look over before continuing. "She's a magical creature or a magical species but apparently some witches didn't play friendly with her kind and we need her to understand we are friendly."
"Umm, why don't witches play friendly with them and why do you need me to let her know we're nice?" Chris' forehead creased in confusion at his mother's odd request.
"Witches don't trust them because their cousins to two demon species and only one good magic species," Leo explained, "and the reason we need you is because hundreds of years ago Elders brokered an agreement with her people. They promised to never knowingly let the blood of her people be spilt. You're half Elder. You can help let her know that we can't hurt her. Please try."
Chris nodded in compliance before walking over to the girl who still had her shield up. Without bothering to look at his parents, Chris started talking to the girl.
"Hi, I'm Chris… Perry Halliwell and I'm half Elder. I was told theirs a treaty stopping the witches from hurting you if an Elder knows. My mom and aunts won't hurt you even if I wasn't here. They're good witches."
Mute lifted her head and opened her eyes. Looking at Chris through puffy eyes, she proceeded to studied him, and then she lowered her shield.
Chris smiled at her and moved closer.
"My brother has a blue one. Handy trick isn't it?" he asked. The girl just nodded. "What's your name?"
"Robin Juliet Cinderella De'mon," Mute whispered.
"Hi Robin," Chris offered her a hand and when she took it, he pulled her up off the ground. Still holding her hand, Chris led her over to his family.
"Hello, Robin, we didn't have a chance to meet properly," Piper started tentatively. "I'm Piper Halliwell, Chris' mom, and this is Leo Wyatt, Chris' dad."
"You're a witch." Robin's voice was strong now, like she knew she was safe.
"Yes, how did you figure that out?" Piper asked out of curiosity.
"I saw the book." Robin looked at Paige. "You didn't know what I was, did you?"
"No, I didn't, but it doesn't matter. We won't hurt you," Paige assured her.
"Were you raised not to trust witches?" Coop wondered.
"A witch killed my mother three months ago. I was banished from my land for being a half blood. Until I am sixteen I can not return otherwise the treaty will be broken." Seeing that Phoebe was going to ask a question, Robin answered it for her without her speaking. "I return at sixteen for a year to do my training and learn to control my advanced powers."
"Let's go down stairs and look in the book," Phoebe said, walking towards the stairs.
"Oh, jiggling," Paige said, bringing a hand up to her head. "It's the Elders, I have to go. It might have to do with a charge."
"Bye, Aunt Paige." Chris pulled Robin towards the stairs before letting go of her hand.
"Bye, Peanut. Hey, call Henry and tell him Robin's name. It will help with the search," Paige instructed.
"I wont be in there," Robin told her ask she walked down the stairs with Chris.
"Ok, tell him to stop looking and come over then." With that all said Paige orbed out.
Down stairs, Chris led Robin into the kitchen. Upon seeing the book again, she halted slightly, forcing Chris to take her hand again and drag her to the table where she sat next to him in front of the book.
"You can touch it. It will sense you're good," Chris reassured her, bringing her hand towards the book. Robin laid her hand on the books open page just as the four adults came in.
Robin withdrew her hand sharply at the adult's arrival as Piper turned to her.
"Hi, Sweetie, why don't you find the information on your people for us?" Piper asked kindly.
In response, Robin blinked and a heavy book fell from the air, landing on the table with a thump. Robin then climbed onto the table to sit in front of the new book. This book was as thick, if not thicker then the Book of Shadows but looked nothing like it. The Book of Shadows has a moss green cover with a triquetra on the front. This book was ivory white, had a curved and raised gold border a few centimeters from the edge of the book. Inside the border was a tree made from silver filigree. The tree was faint and over the top of most of it was a gold, raised pentagram, much like the border. The silver tree could be seen through the gaps of the pentagram and above it.
"Is that her Book of Shadows?" Coop asked as he waited for Henry to pick up the phone.
Robin nodded and opened to one of the first pages. She turned the book to Piper to let her see the pages. Piper and Leo, who was looking over her shoulder, gasped. On the pages were two pictures; one, a handsome male and the other, a beautiful female.
"Oh my god! Look at him!" Piper demanded, than added in an after thought to Leo, "Sorry."
"It's alright, I know. Cousin's, when they reach sixteen, turn into… into." Leo shot Chris and Robin a look before being more discreet, "into eye candy."
Chris looked at Robin with a frown and cocked his head to the side.
"People will see you as candy?"
"No. They mean males will get horny over my appearance," Robin answered, causing the adults to gasp.
"Horny?" Chris asked.
The adult's eyes widened but Robin answered before they could stop her. She pointed at his pants.
"That thing stands up."
Chris looked down in shock before looking up at his parents for conformation. When Piper and Leo just sighed and dropped their heads, Chris turned back to Robin.
"Oh. Do you like that?"
Robin had a thoughtful look for a moment.
"Apparently it has uses but I don't see what."
All the adults had to refrain from laughing at the two children's wide-eyed innocence.
"There's a use for it? Is it easier to pee?" Chris asked, looking down at his pants.
Robin just shrugged and Piper cleared her throat, deciding it was time to change the subject.
"You'll find out about that when you're older," Piper told them. "Let's find the cousins in our book. It seems like yours only talks about your family history not your species in general."