A/N: Heyyyy. Ugh, I'm so sorry you guys! You all probably hate me. I've been really under the weather the last few days, so I've been going to bed early and I've just been too foggy to write a chapter. Two days of warm weather and blooming trees and BAM! My allergies turn on me :(
CharmedOpal: Yes! Yes, she is!
Lizardmomma: Thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Yes, that was definitely a surprise plot twist, even for me! I didn't decide until a few chapters before I did it. Yeah, that's definitely the episode I got the inspiration from!
Semper Fi Witchlighter: Hahahaha! I'm so glad you're enjoying! I'm glad you like Rebecca! I love her snarky, sarcastic lines, too; they're so fun to write!
So I wrote this chapter in like... ten or fifteen minutes and it's very hastily put together, and probably more like filler than anything. But I'm really still feeling blah, and I wanted you guys to get a chapter. Forgive me?
I hope you guys enjoy, despite it being not my best work. Please read and review!
...
"No!" Rebecca snapped, backing up until she hit the bars of her cage. "I won't do that! I won't embrace anything demonic." She narrowed her eyes in outrage.
Carsaeus studied her silently, a small smirk on his face. He said nothing; he didn't threaten her or taunt her. He didn't even try to persuade her. It was almost creepy, the way he silently studied her.
Rebecca felt her heart pump wildly in her chest; she suddenly felt very weary, and very afraid. This man might be her father, but he held no love for her. He had murdered Prue, and he had lured her and her cousins here, only to take her hostage. No, there was no love lost.
And yet, she wondered...
"It was you, wasn't it?" she finally blurted out.
He quirked a brow at her. "Beg pardon?"
Rebecca scowled. "Don't play dumb. I know you were the one posing as the Angel of Destiny. Weren't you? You tried to get us to kill a witch!"
Carsaeus' smile broadened and, much to Rebecca's annoyance, he began a slow clap. "Bravo. Give the girl her prize!"
"But... But why?" Rebecca demanded to know. She moved forward, gripping the bars of the cage, desperate for an answer.
He shrugged. "Why else? She's a witch. So, you know..." He paused, pointing at himself. "Demon. Right? It's my job to kill witches, first of all. Mostly, it was just for my entertainment purposes."
He paused again, an odd expression on his face. Rebecca couldn't place it at first. Then, she realized what it was... He reminded her of a little kid who knew a secret and was dying to spill the beans.
"And?" Rebecca snapped.
"I wanted to see how far you would go to get your mother back," he finally admitted, grinning gleefully at the look of horror dawning on her face. "Well, I was also hoping to trick you into using your demonic powers. But that was more of an afterthought, really."
Rebecca turned red with anger, feeling nothing but contempt for the man standing before her, reveling in his brilliant plan – that had almost worked.
...
"Melinda?"
Corrine descended the attic stairs, rounding the corner onto the second floor landing. She glanced around, frowning in concern.
"Mel?" she called again, chest tightening in worry.
"In here," came Melinda's reply a minute later, sounding close but soft, like she was whispering.
Corrine glanced uncertainly in the direction of Rebecca's room. She cautiously took a few steps forward, hands at the ready in case this was a trick or a trap.
"Mel?" she called again, approaching Rebecca's doorway.
"Yeah," Melinda replied again.
Corrine poked her head into Rebecca's room. She spotted Melinda immediately, sitting on the end of Rebecca's bed and staring absentmindedly around the room.
"What are you doing in here?" Corrine questioned her, coming to a stop a few feet from the bed.
Melinda shrugged, avoiding eye contact. She had left Corrine and Katelyn with Karen nearly fifteen minutes ago, promising she'd be back in five. She had needed some space to clear her head, to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. But when she'd passed Rebecca's room, she had felt compelled to go in.
"Sweetie?" Corrine moved closer, cautiously, and sat beside her cousin. "What's wrong?"
Tears brimmed in Melinda's eyes. "I just... I fell terrible, Cor!" she finally admitted, sniffling. "I know it was the malice spell... But I feel like Rebecca getting kidnapped was all my fault. Like if I'd been nicer and listened to her more, maybe we could have stopped this from happening."
Corrine frowned, wrapping an arm around her cousin. "No, sweetie, don't think that way, okay? This is not your fault. You were under a spell. You couldn't control what happened, and you certainly couldn't have prevented Carsaeus from tricking us all. He didn't just fool you, you know."
Melinda shrugged, wiping a tear from her cheek. "But my anger drove us all apart, made us weaker. Maybe if we'd been... less weak... we could have fought him. Or... Something. I don't know."
Melinda slammed her hand down on the mattress, frustrated. "I don't know! I just... I feel like I could have done something. And instead, I did nothing. Not until it was too late. I can't forgive myself for that. And if anything happens to Rebecca, I won't forgive myself, ever!"
Corrine frowned, leaning in and pulling Melinda closer. She sighed in frustration. She had wondered some of the same things, though she had never blamed Melinda. If anything, she blamed herself. As the oldest, she should have sensed they were walking into a trap. But she hadn't.
Even before that, she should have sensed the malice spell hadn't really worn off. If she had at least gotten that right, maybe things would have turned out differently.
"Do you think Karen's right?" Melinda asked, after a few moments of silence.
"What do you mean?" Corrine asked, stroking Melinda's hair.
"Do you think he'll keep Rebecca alive?"
Corrine pondered this question, choosing her words carefully. "I think... As long as she's useful, he will. So that just means we have to get to her before she isn't useful to him anymore."
"Hey."
Both girls jumped in fright, glancing up to find Katelyn in the doorway, looking concerned.
"You guys have been gone forever. We have potions to work on. You coming?" She crossed her arms impatiently.
Corrine nodded, and she and Melinda stood. She gripped Melinda's hand and gently squeezed, reassuring the younger girl that they were in this together, and that they would get through this, one way or another.
Grateful, Melinda squeezed back.
...
"You know I'll never embrace my demonic powers, right?" Rebecca asked, putting as much attitude in her voice as she could.
Carsaeus chuckled. He had spent the last hour trying to goad her into using her demonic powers. He'd taunted her, thrown insults at her, and even tried to sympathize with her. But she hadn't fallen for any of his tricks.
Finally, he had given up and gone about his work, moving around the lair and gathering what looked to Rebecca to be potions supplies.
At her words, he stopped what he was doing, though he kept his back to her.
"Oh, yes, I believe you will," he said calmly.
Rebecca heard some soft clinks, like glass hitting glass. She frowned in curiosity.
"And what makes you say that?" she demanded, her voice laced with amusement.
At this, Carsaeus turned to her. He crossed his arms, tilting his head a little. He wore that all-knowing look on his face again. Like he had a secret he was dying to share with her.
"You'll embrace your demonic powers," he said, when he finally spoke nearly five minutes later, "Because it's the only way to save your cousins' lives."