Author's Notes: "I May Never See the Light" is a re-tooling of a story I wrote 20(!) years ago when Charmed was still on the air. I always wanted to write an evil Leo and Piper, and a darker worldview than Charmed ever got to explore, but the original didn't have Cole, which felt like a miss. It's been fun to revisit this story with fresh eyes.
There's some dialogue in chapter two between Piper and Leo that comes from the episode "Bite Me" (originally between Rowan and Paige). When writing an alternate universe, I think there should be echoes of the "prime" universe, even when things start to diverge dramatically.
January 1998
The Battery Bluffs in San Francisco were an excellent spot for a picnic, a long stroll outside of the bustling city, or to take a few photos of the Golden Gate Bridge. Hardly any of the mortals traipsing about knew that beneath the surface lived most of the city's vampires. Nor were they aware of the Vampire Queen who had been trapped there for centuries– which was exactly how she liked it.
Compared to the castles she had spent most of the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries in, the Bluffs were inglorious. After more than a hundred years, the Queen had made the craggy tunnels into something more luxurious. She named the underground space where her brethren lived beside her "Čachtice", after the castle that had once been the home of Elizabeth Bathory– and at the end of her life, had become her prison.
Now in her throne room, female attendants dressed in her signature crimson were at her beck and call; one brushed her hair as another painted her fingernails. A bewitched harp played songs from her youth in the background, while the torch flames created dancing shadows on the wall. These were the conditions known to soothe the Queen, who had been in a rage all day— or rather, all night.
Vampires did not dream. Their dormant minds replayed images from the past while they slept, which was how the Queen knew she had been dreaming the day before last. She presumed that the interloper in her head wanted to share something important with her; after all, why go through so much trouble? So the Queen had maintained her silence and listened to the hooded figure. She was glad she had; now she could prevent her death.
The hooded figure told the Queen that in approximately four years time, she would be killed by fireball at the hands of the Source. After over a century at odds with one another, the Queen wasn't surprised that the Source could possibly be her ultimate undoing. What was strange was that the Source would prioritize killing her in order to protect the Charmed Ones– three good witches.
The Queen had heard about the prophecy of the Charmed Ones centuries ago, but after sending her child Rowan to learn more about them, she learned that the prophecy had yet to come to fruition. The Halliwell sisters were completely unaware of their destiny.
Which made now the perfect time to strike.
The sisters must die– at least one of them, thought the Queen. That way, the Power of Three cannot be awakened. But whom should I send?
The Queen was a mother first and foremost: she loved her large family. Every child was special to her… but she couldn't deny that some were more special than others. Those who had been by her side through the decades and maintained their loyalty without falter.
She closed her eyes and sent out a silent call to one of her oldest children. The Queen could sense him above ground, feeding from a woman in an alley just outside a mortal bar– and she could sense his annoyance. Nevertheless, he obeyed his orders.
A few minutes later, a bat flew into the chamber and landed in front of the Queen, before shape shifting into a tall, muscular man. He ran a hand through his blond hair, as his fangs slid neatly into his gums. Without hesitation he dropped onto one knee, bowing his head. "Yes, My Queen?"
"I hope I did not intrude on your dinner," she said, beckoning him to stand.
"Not at all. I was just finishing up."
"Good, for I have disturbing news. Come forward." He approached, eyes narrowed. "My death has been foreseen… four years from now."
"I'm terribly sorry," he said, cocking an eyebrow. "I'll do my best to remember to send my sympathies in advance."
The Queen smiled but it was a hard one. "It has become clear that the Charmed Ones are the key to my demise. Have you heard of them?"
Leo's nose wrinkled. "Three sisters, prophesied to be the most powerful witches in the world? It's a cute story."
"They live in the city above us, and have not yet come into their powers. Kill them, any of them. Rowan will tell you where to find them."
"Consider it done, my Queen," said Leo. He bowed once more before he transformed and flew into the night.
In the distance, a sister was screaming. That wasn't cause for alarm for Piper, who had grown up screaming and being screamed at. No, that evening she did her best to mind her own business while her sisters got ready for their dates. Even Grams had gone out, joining her friends for canasta night.
Piper, on the other hand, was wearing sweatpants and slippers. She'd recently moved back into the manor after Grams was diagnosed with a heart condition, which made Piper feel like she was back in high school. Her job at the bank ran her ragged during the week, giving her little time to pursue cooking, or dating for that matter.
Piper's plan that night had been to treat herself to a special dinner, but she'd had a long week at work. Instead, her steak remained in the freezer and her arugula was probably wilting in the crisper. She popped a bag of Paul Newman's finest into the microwave.
She closed her eyes as Prue's and Phoebe's voices rose in volume and pitch, refusing to get involved–
"PIPER!"
Unless otherwise summoned. Piper sighed and headed upstairs.
Her sisters were in Prue's room. Much of Prue's closet was spread out over her bed and desk chair, but she and Phoebe had a death grip on a black satin dress. The moment Piper entered, the screaming started again.
"Piper, tell her–"
"Don't you think it's totally unfair–"
Piper held up her hands, which, to her amazement, actually did something. Her sisters stopped talking. "Why am I here?" she asked.
"Piper, tell Prue that I can be trusted with her dress!" said Phoebe. She dug her hands into the fabric and yanked it towards her again. "I have a first date tonight, and he's taking me somewhere fancy, like 'little candles on the table' fancy."
"That's not news, Phoebe. Saying you're going to make out with a new guy tonight is like announcing you decided to breathe today," said Prue. "I think Roger's going to propose tonight and this is the dress I wore on our first date."
"Propose?" said Piper. The word sucked her out of the room, into a miserable future where she was the last sister living at home, the single spinster stuck with their grandmother and probably a few cats. "But– I thought you wouldn't want to get engaged until after a year or two–"
"We just celebrated a year together in November," said Prue. Her voice took on that harsh edge that had made Piper wince as a kid, and even now still worked on occasion. "It's been an appropriate amount of time. If you'd been on a date in the last, I don't know, year perhaps, you might be aware of modern dating conventions."
Phoebe snickered. Piper felt her cheeks flush. "You two are big girls, you can work this out yourselves," she said softly, and left.
Heading back downstairs, her microwave popcorn was little more than burnt kernels. Piper rolled her eyes, chucked the bag into the garbage, and headed into the living room. She flopped on the couch and flipped on the TV, inviting an infomercial to deaden her mind. Why is it so easy for Prue and Piper to meet guys? thought Piper. She tried to recall the last time she went on a date; the last one she could think of was senior prom.
Yes, she was exaggerating a little… but sometimes Piper thought she'd never be happy, and moments like this made that reality seem all the more possible.
The doorbell rang; Piper ignored it. Phoebe ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Piper briefly turned around to see Phoebe, dressed in her own clothes, leaving with her date. "Have fun tonight, Piper!" Phoebe called out behind her. "Don't stay out too late!"
Piper glowered silently. A minute later, the doorbell rang again. "Piper, could you answer that?" Prue shouted from upstairs.
Piper sighed and forced herself up. At the door she found Roger, bearing a bouquet of red roses.
"Hi, Piper," he said, "Prue almost ready?"
As if on cue, her sister made her way downstairs, wearing the black dress. "Ready to go!" she said. Prue looked gorgeous, and happy; Piper felt a stab of jealousy, followed by another of guilt. Why couldn't she be happy for her sister?
Prue greeted Roger with a kiss. "Hey, babe. Thanks for the flowers, they're gorgeous!" She turned back to Piper, shoving the bouquet into her arms. "Don't stay out too late, sis." Prue grabbed Roger's arm and walked out.
Piper scowled. "Phoebe already made that joke!"
She slammed the door shut so hard that the paintings on the wall rattled. She set Prue's bouquet on a side table but it fell to the floor. "Oops," Piper muttered as she picked up the flowers. She examined the roses, inhaled their scent. Piper went to stroke the soft petals, but managed to catch her thumb on a thorn. She winced and set down the flowers, grabbing a tissue to stop the bleeding.
The doorbell rang, again. Piper raised her eyebrows as she wrapped the tissue around her finger. Who could that be? she wondered.
She opened the door and took a deep breath. Wow , she thought, taking in the man on her porch. Maybe being home alone isn't the worst thing…
He smiled at her; Piper felt like she had just stepped into a ray of sunlight. His blond hair was carelessly tousled, his brown eyes dark and soulful. He wore faded jeans and a leather jacket, but he looked so good that the clothes were really wearing the man. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you," he said. "My car broke down around the block. Your house was the only one with the light on. Do you think I could come in and call a tow company?"
Piper blinked; had she heard a word he'd said? Whatever it was, he wanted to come inside. "Oh, sure," she said, scooting aside so he could enter. "The phone's on the wall in the kitchen."
"Thanks," he said, but he didn't go back to the kitchen. His eyes were fixed on Piper; specifically, her hands. "You're bleeding."
"What? Oh–" Piper showed him her tissue-wrapped finger. "Just a little rose mishap."
"I see. Your boyfriend sent you roses?"
Piper blushed. "No, these are from my sister's… I don't have a boyfriend."
He nodded thoughtfully, a smile curling at the corner of his lips. "What's your name?"
"I'm Piper. Who are– uh, what's yours?"
"Piper," he repeated, like he was testing how the word tasted in his mouth. "What a pretty name. I'm Leo." He leaned against a table in the parlor. "What's a nice girl like you doing at home alone on a Saturday night?"
The smile he gave Piper made her legs feel like Jell-O. She let out a little laugh, partially embarrassed but also enjoying having someone's sole attention. "Me? Oh, I didn't have any plans."
"But your sisters did?"
Piper frowned. "How did you-"
Leo pointed to a photo on the wall just behind Piper's head, of the three sisters at Prue's college graduation. "Three sisters, huh? Where do you fall in line?"
"Dead center," she said tightly, doing her best to smile without gritting her teeth. "Do you have siblings?"
Leo's smile twitched, like he wanted to make a joke but thought better of it. "Lots of them. I'm from a big family, but… I'm not into group dynamics, really. Sometimes you just want to live your own life. Do you know what I mean?"
Piper nodded emphatically. "I've shared everything with my sisters since the day I was born," she said with a snort. "I've never had anything that was just mine."
"Neither have I," he said. Their eyes met– and Leo felt as if his dormant heart skipped a beat. Who is this girl? All Leo knew was that she was destined to be a Charmed One, and that meant she had to die.
He took a step closer to Piper. Leo took in the scent of her shampoo, the cosmetics lingering on her skin, the sweetness of her lip balm… but the minuscule amount of blood dripping from her thumb blotted out the other scents and focused his senses towards the hunt. He wanted her, and it had been more than two hundred years since he'd been denied anything he desired.
Leo looked into her eyes. "Come with me."
Piper blinked. "Where?"
"Anywhere. Doesn't matter. As long as you're there."
She smiled. Before Piper could say anything, Leo pressed his lips onto hers.
Piper kissed him, her body flooding with excitement. I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought. I just met him! A rush ran through her, even though something was making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up…
Leo wrapped his arms around her waist, and felt Piper's body loosen up. He did his best not to lose himself in the rhythm of her kiss, but it was difficult… very difficult. Leo's mouth dipped down, softly kissing her neck. He heard Piper gasp softly, causing Leo's mind to wander what Piper's face looked like if he were to-
Instinctively his fangs broke through his gums, pressing against the inside of his lips. Leo bit Piper.
She screamed; he cupped her mouth with his hand. He couldn't be distracted at the moment. Leo had tasted witches before but this one was different. The taste of human blood was impossible to describe to a mortal, who could never understand how the coppery elixir in their veins was more intoxicating than any wine. But drinking from a Charmed One was like tasting the center of the earth: solid rock with a molten core that left Leo feeling like light was pouring out of his pores.
Piper's screaming died down to a murmur, then a gurgle. He felt her heartbeat slow, her knees buckle. The matter of letting a person near death become a vampire was one purely of intent on the sire's part. Leo had sired vampires before, but only on the Queen's command.
He'd never been interested in making a mate for eternity… but this was a unique opportunity. What would it be like to take this meek girl and turn her into a vampire? What would the evil inclination do to her? Leo understood why this kind of corruption appealed to vampires; after all, it was what the Queen had seen in him.
But beyond that… when Leo looked into Piper's eyes, something told him that she could make an eternity together interesting. He pulled away from her throat, his fangs sliding back into place. Leo couldn't stop grinning from the sweet blood pumping through his veins. He pressed a thumb to Piper's neck wound to stop the bleeding, beginning her transition.
Piper's eyes fluttered open. "Why?"
"You'll understand soon." Her eyes closed, her head dipping backwards. "I promise, the transition is much easier if you're asleep." I can't wait for you to wake up, Leo thought as he stroked Piper's cheek.