A/N: So, it may have been a year since I last updated this and I figured for those of you who have been reading and reviewing that I owed you the next chapter. I promise, I have not given up on Wyatt's love story.
Bianca walked into The Haunt and scanned the crowd for her husband. He should have been at home working on his syllabus but the tensions running through the family meant stepping in to alleviate the mounting pressure building between his siblings. Finding him behind the bar, Bianca trekked on and hoped that they could have their first civil conversation since he had ambushed her and Melinda with a family meeting.
She maneuvered her way through the crowd and managed to grab a barstool just as someone was heading out. Dressed in a black leather pencil skirt and a burgundy halter crop top, Bianca was the walking embodiment of her phoenix heritage. Some girls liked pearls, others diamonds; for Bianca it had been and would always be leather. It helped that she knew just how much Chris loved to see her in it, especially since she was trying to get back on his good side.
"Hi , stranger," she greeted as she watched her husband prepare her favorite old time drink; absinthe. He gave her a nod and pushed it towards her before taking care of a young woman two seats down from her.
Bianca wasn't a fool and she wasn't the jealous type. Chris was gorgeous and girls were going to ogle him. It usually made her feel good to see how desirable he was and watch him ignore all the pretty little things that hit on him. It was exciting to know that he would only and ever be hers but tonight Chris laughed a little too much and the bleached blonde trollop was a little to hands on with her husband.
She didn't like to feel jealous. Possessive was one thing but jealousy implied a lack of a trust, a doubt that Bianca couldn't allow to seep into her mind because she had worked too hard at being a person whom was capable of loving someone and letting herself be loved. Since meeting Chris it had been an on going struggle to let him in but once he was there in her heart Bianca had sworn to herself she would do whatever necessary to keep him there.
Chris must have noticed her staring them down because his face contorted in a half smirk she had never seen on him before. Was he surprised that she was jealous? Did he like seeing her at a loss of words; tortured? Was this payback?
Before she knew what she was doing she was up and walking…no, not in the direction of the skanky little tramp whom was hitting on her husband; towards the office where he had spent many of the past few weeks sleeping because they couldn't be trusted to have a simple conversation without either lashing out.
It was like any other office. Desks and office supplies scattered all over the place. Thank the Goddess that Piper Halliwell wasn't permitted back here or she would have blown a gasket about the clutter. Grabbing a stray shirt off the loveseat, Bianca threw herself down and brought the flannel shirt to her nose. It smelled of Chris's cologne, something his pillow at home hadn't smelled like in weeks.
The witch reminded herself that she shouldn't have been surprised that he followed her here as her husband stepped through the door and gently closed it. Any time they were in a room together there were either too many words or not enough, so when he paused at the door Bianca knew that this wasn't going to be an exception to the rule. They would either fight until they broke, or not fight enough to fix the pieces that had already been chipped off since the revelation.
Standing, Bianca had already decided which fight had to happen. The one they had both been ignoring. So she grabbed his collar and pulled him towards her so she could kiss the man she had missed so much before pushing him down onto the couch. There would be time for talking later. This was what was important.
Melinda left the bar and walked into the crowd. There were a line of young girls waiting for readings and so the witch would not disappoint them. This was the only time Melinda could be a witch in public without fear of exposure. People thought it was just a gimmick and so the youngest of Piper's children was known for putting on a show.
Her hair flowed loosely over her shoulders with a Dutch braid wrapped around her crown, distressed and with wildflowers woven in her hair. High gloss lipstick painted her pretty cupids bow lips in a dusty rose color, and though her complexion was snow white her cheeks were blushed with rouge. She wore a light chiffon dress that just hinted at the cleavage underneath and the skirt just grazed her knees. Melinda looked like an ethereal spring fae and practically glided through the dance floor.
Tonight was a celebration of sorts. She had been scattered earlier after the fight with her sister-in law and hadn't known what to do in order to keep things under wraps. Then she remembered she still had a tube of Bianca's favorite lipstick and so the youngest of Piper Halliwell's children had cast her spell. The phoenix would find herself tongue tied should she try to divulge any of Rhiannon's secrets. As it was, Melinda's duty was to her queen and not her king, although, if Melinda fixed things like she wanted then everyone would eventually end up getting what they wanted.
As she made her way to the settee she saw Rae quickly slide beside her before the bouncer officially removed the velvet rope separating the enthusiastic crowd from their local witch. Her red hair was straight and parted down the middle; her green eyes accented by gold eye shadow and smudged brown eyeliner. Everything about the petite woman screamed sleek and chic, from her perfectly style hair to her black strapless dress to her killer purple stilettos.
"Thank you for making it possible for me to meet you here," her queen said. "I was going a bit stir crazy in my new apartment. Your brothers sure do know how to cast a wicked locator spell."
Mel laughed and shuffled the tarot cards. "That is true," the brunette agreed, "but I see more than most and I see it further in advance. It was easy to switch out their ingredients for weaker substitutions beforehand."
"Didn't you take a chance that the rest of the family would brew a bad vanquishing potion?"
"I stocked up their pantry with pre-made ones. It'll be a while before they have to brew any of their own and since many of those potions become stronger with age I doubt they'll be tempted to make fresh," Mel explained. "Pick a card."
Reaching forward Rae let her hands travel over the cards before choosing the first and placing it in the center of the table.
"One more," the witch pointed, "and place it on top."
And so the queen picked out card after card until she had completed the Celtic cross spread.
"No surprise here, but your problem lies in the fact that the fates have placed you and your lover on a trajectory towards catastrophe, the root," Melinda lifted a card to reveal an ill dignified Pope, "treacherous counsel. In the past you were influenced by a passionless love. Someone you loved like a brother.
"Presently you find yourself in counsel with wise women. Your future may yet be influenced by faith, should you find a way to renew your soul and heal old wounds. You are reluctant to make choices about your love, whether or not to seek out hope that it can end differently this time. You're scared of having love in your life again because it ended so tragically the first time. You don't want to go through that again.
"In the wake of finding yourself amongst your new family you will find joy and happiness, unlike the last time. They will help you achieve your goal. If you allow yourself to be positive, you will have the opportunity to seek new experiences beyond your past lifetimes; marriage and children.
"And finally, you will find yourself at the beginning of a new journey. Perhaps leading a life you never had the opportunity to complete before," Mel said after flipping the last of the tarot cards.
Rae pursed her lips and ran her tongue over her front teeth, her right eye narrowing as she appraised the cards. "So what you're telling me is that this is going to work out this time and I should stop avoiding your brother."
Mel shrugged her shoulders and restacked the deck. "That's up to you," she shuffled and covered the cards with velvet cloth. "You know my duty always has and always will be to you. I'll continue to divine what I can, seek what shall be sought. However, my darling brothers won't stop until they find some answers and a certain cousin of yours has recently switched sides. While I've taken measures to prevent her from telling them any inside information sooner or later they will find something. And it would be much easier for us if we controlled what they think they know," the witch cast a mischievous glance at her queen.
"You mean trick them," the redhead sat back on the settee. "Not actually include them in our plans just make them think that we've given in."
"It just might give us the extra help we need with research and we can keep a better eye on them. Prevent any unexpected moves and help us protect them. Because that is what this was all about, isn't it?
Rae sat up and crossed her legs, leaning forward. Her right elbow rested on her thigh, her hand resting against her chin as she thought. "And if they're not planning a move than there's no need for them to know that we were working with them as a decoy."
"Right. Besides, after hijacking our spell Wyatt is cursed now too. If we had been able to bind it to the Gollum like we had planned than Wyatt wouldn't be dying with you. Now that he is I could really use him and Chris and the rest of our family magic to figure out how to unbind the curse and strip Mordred of his strength."
"So what do I do," Rae asked.
"Well…"