Post by noazmale on Jan 6, 2007 18:11:21 GMT -5
TWENTY-ONE
Prue stirred the ashes in the fireplace checking to make sure that nothing remained. George had orbed in several times with boxes of items he had brought to be burned. Some of the items, he said, looked like normal, mundane things. But he wasn’t taking any chances. It had taken a while but eventually all of the items considered a danger in Jessica’s house were reduced to nothing more than bags of ashes. Leo began to fill another trash bag with the ashes.
“I don’t understand how Jessica didn’t know the Grimoire was trapped,” said Piper. “With her clairvoyance we couldn’t be sure if she was watching us or not.”
“I cast an obscurement spell on the attic,” said Prue. “She might have been able to counter it but would have taken her a few minutes. Long enough for me to coat the pages with the chemicals I had. Besides, I was pretty sure if she were watching the manor she’d be more interested in you or Phoebe. You were the ones preparing our defenses against her.”
“So, what do you think alerted Grams to Jessica?” Phoebe asked. “They were supposed to be good friends.”
“Probably this photo,” said George, picking up the one that showed Grams holding the athame. “I had forgotten but when Jessica moved back to Salem, Penny gave her that necklace as a going away gift. A reminder of where she had come from. Penny probably saw the photo and realized it wasn’t her in it. When she saw that necklace it wouldn’t have been hard for her to figure out who it was.”
“Why didn’t she just vanquish Jessica?” Prue asked. “She was a high priestess. She should have been powerful enough to do that.”
“She probably was,” said George. “But she probably suspected that Jessica was a Dark Priestess as we did. That would have changed the complexion of things. Penny would need to confront Jessica here at the manor, where she was the most powerful, to have any kind of assurance of success. That’s probably why she held onto those items instead of destroying them. Bait to bring Jessica here.”
“Then, Penny probably realized what Jessica was doing with the descendents,” said Leo. “And she must have realized that another innocent was about to be murdered. So she enchanted the attic to keep anyone out and went to save them.”
“She probably failed,” said George. “But she was able to get the athame from Stuart. That’s why the killings stop after Penny died. Jessica and Stuart didn’t have the athame and couldn’t get into the attic to get it. There was nothing they could do until Phoebe read that incantation from the Book of Shadows and broke the enchantment.”
“But they waited almost a year and a half after that,” said Phoebe. “Why so long?”
“She had no way of knowing when you’d find the book,” said Leo. “Even after you did, she probably didn’t realize it at first. It’s like when Piper’s cooking. She periodically checks whatever she has in the oven to see if it’s done. But she doesn’t stand there and constantly watch it.”
“So she’d use her clairvoyance to look in on the attic from time to time to see if we had found the Book of Shadows,” said Phoebe. “But since we never moved the chest it was in she probably figured it was still in there.”
“Right,” said George. “And she never realized the Book of Shadows was sitting on its pedestal in another part of the attic. If she had I’m sure she would have sent Stuart after it long before this.”
“Well, it’s all over now,” said Leo, tying up the last bag of ashes. He picked up four large trash bags containing the ashes of what they had burned. “I’ll just orb out to the middle of the Atlantic and drop these off. Once they sink to the bottom no one will ever find them again.”
“Don’t take too long,” said Piper. “Dinner is almost ready.”
“I won’t,” said Leo.
He then orbed out of the manor.
“George,” said Phoebe, “what about this Tome of the Ancients? Is it really as powerful as Jessica said it was?”
“More so,” said George. “No one knows for sure what’s in it. But she was right about it containing magic that’s been forbidden to humanity. It is known that the magic in it is so powerful that no human can be trusted with it.”
“Do you think Giles Corey really found out where the tome is?” Piper asked.
“Maybe,” said George, “who knows? At least it’s still hidden wherever it is. We can rest knowing that someone like Jessica won’t be getting her hands on it any time soon.”
“I told you Grams hadn’t turned,” Prue said to George.
“I know,” said George. “I’m glad you were right. A lot of what she did those last few months she was alive makes more sense now. She must have known about the Dark Lighter poison. That’s why she sent me away. To protect me from it. She knew if she told me what was going on I’d insist on helping her.”
“How did you get it back here, anyway?” Phoebe asked. “I thought just touching it would kill you.”
“It will,” said George. “But it was in that vial. Just like the power-stripping potion you had. The vial couldn’t hurt me. As long as I didn’t open it and get the poison on me, I was fine.”
“You were right, too, though,” said Prue. “Anyone can be turned evil under the right circumstances. It was my emotional attachment to Grams that wouldn’t let me believe she had turned. If it had been someone else I would probably have agreed with you.”
“Don’t apologize,” said George. “It was your stubbornness that helped put an end to all this. If you had just accepted that Penny had turned evil we might not have learned what Jessica was up to.”
“Prue Halliwell apologizing?” questioned Phoebe, a smirk on her face. “I have to write this down in my diary.”
“I apologize when I’m wrong,” Prue protested. “I’m just rarely wrong, that’s all.”
“She’s a Halliwell, all right,” said Piper, putting her arm in Prue’s. “Come on, big sister. Let’s go set the table for dinner. George, I’m setting a place for you, too. After all the help you’ve been a good meal is the least we can do for you.”
“Well, if the way Leo brags is any indication,” said George, “this will probably be the best meal I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Of course it is,” said Piper. “I’m not just a cook. I’m a chef. And a damned good one, too.”
“I’ll be right back,” said Phoebe.
“Where are you going?” Prue asked.
“I need to go upstairs and put my boots on,” responded Phoebe. “It’s starting to get pretty deep in here.”
Everyone just laughed and headed for the dining room to set the table for dinner.
The End
If you’ve enjoyed this story, you can find more “Charmed” stories at my website, www.geocities.com/killeenmale/. You can also post your own “Charmed” stories if you like to write fan fiction.
Prue stirred the ashes in the fireplace checking to make sure that nothing remained. George had orbed in several times with boxes of items he had brought to be burned. Some of the items, he said, looked like normal, mundane things. But he wasn’t taking any chances. It had taken a while but eventually all of the items considered a danger in Jessica’s house were reduced to nothing more than bags of ashes. Leo began to fill another trash bag with the ashes.
“I don’t understand how Jessica didn’t know the Grimoire was trapped,” said Piper. “With her clairvoyance we couldn’t be sure if she was watching us or not.”
“I cast an obscurement spell on the attic,” said Prue. “She might have been able to counter it but would have taken her a few minutes. Long enough for me to coat the pages with the chemicals I had. Besides, I was pretty sure if she were watching the manor she’d be more interested in you or Phoebe. You were the ones preparing our defenses against her.”
“So, what do you think alerted Grams to Jessica?” Phoebe asked. “They were supposed to be good friends.”
“Probably this photo,” said George, picking up the one that showed Grams holding the athame. “I had forgotten but when Jessica moved back to Salem, Penny gave her that necklace as a going away gift. A reminder of where she had come from. Penny probably saw the photo and realized it wasn’t her in it. When she saw that necklace it wouldn’t have been hard for her to figure out who it was.”
“Why didn’t she just vanquish Jessica?” Prue asked. “She was a high priestess. She should have been powerful enough to do that.”
“She probably was,” said George. “But she probably suspected that Jessica was a Dark Priestess as we did. That would have changed the complexion of things. Penny would need to confront Jessica here at the manor, where she was the most powerful, to have any kind of assurance of success. That’s probably why she held onto those items instead of destroying them. Bait to bring Jessica here.”
“Then, Penny probably realized what Jessica was doing with the descendents,” said Leo. “And she must have realized that another innocent was about to be murdered. So she enchanted the attic to keep anyone out and went to save them.”
“She probably failed,” said George. “But she was able to get the athame from Stuart. That’s why the killings stop after Penny died. Jessica and Stuart didn’t have the athame and couldn’t get into the attic to get it. There was nothing they could do until Phoebe read that incantation from the Book of Shadows and broke the enchantment.”
“But they waited almost a year and a half after that,” said Phoebe. “Why so long?”
“She had no way of knowing when you’d find the book,” said Leo. “Even after you did, she probably didn’t realize it at first. It’s like when Piper’s cooking. She periodically checks whatever she has in the oven to see if it’s done. But she doesn’t stand there and constantly watch it.”
“So she’d use her clairvoyance to look in on the attic from time to time to see if we had found the Book of Shadows,” said Phoebe. “But since we never moved the chest it was in she probably figured it was still in there.”
“Right,” said George. “And she never realized the Book of Shadows was sitting on its pedestal in another part of the attic. If she had I’m sure she would have sent Stuart after it long before this.”
“Well, it’s all over now,” said Leo, tying up the last bag of ashes. He picked up four large trash bags containing the ashes of what they had burned. “I’ll just orb out to the middle of the Atlantic and drop these off. Once they sink to the bottom no one will ever find them again.”
“Don’t take too long,” said Piper. “Dinner is almost ready.”
“I won’t,” said Leo.
He then orbed out of the manor.
“George,” said Phoebe, “what about this Tome of the Ancients? Is it really as powerful as Jessica said it was?”
“More so,” said George. “No one knows for sure what’s in it. But she was right about it containing magic that’s been forbidden to humanity. It is known that the magic in it is so powerful that no human can be trusted with it.”
“Do you think Giles Corey really found out where the tome is?” Piper asked.
“Maybe,” said George, “who knows? At least it’s still hidden wherever it is. We can rest knowing that someone like Jessica won’t be getting her hands on it any time soon.”
“I told you Grams hadn’t turned,” Prue said to George.
“I know,” said George. “I’m glad you were right. A lot of what she did those last few months she was alive makes more sense now. She must have known about the Dark Lighter poison. That’s why she sent me away. To protect me from it. She knew if she told me what was going on I’d insist on helping her.”
“How did you get it back here, anyway?” Phoebe asked. “I thought just touching it would kill you.”
“It will,” said George. “But it was in that vial. Just like the power-stripping potion you had. The vial couldn’t hurt me. As long as I didn’t open it and get the poison on me, I was fine.”
“You were right, too, though,” said Prue. “Anyone can be turned evil under the right circumstances. It was my emotional attachment to Grams that wouldn’t let me believe she had turned. If it had been someone else I would probably have agreed with you.”
“Don’t apologize,” said George. “It was your stubbornness that helped put an end to all this. If you had just accepted that Penny had turned evil we might not have learned what Jessica was up to.”
“Prue Halliwell apologizing?” questioned Phoebe, a smirk on her face. “I have to write this down in my diary.”
“I apologize when I’m wrong,” Prue protested. “I’m just rarely wrong, that’s all.”
“She’s a Halliwell, all right,” said Piper, putting her arm in Prue’s. “Come on, big sister. Let’s go set the table for dinner. George, I’m setting a place for you, too. After all the help you’ve been a good meal is the least we can do for you.”
“Well, if the way Leo brags is any indication,” said George, “this will probably be the best meal I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Of course it is,” said Piper. “I’m not just a cook. I’m a chef. And a damned good one, too.”
“I’ll be right back,” said Phoebe.
“Where are you going?” Prue asked.
“I need to go upstairs and put my boots on,” responded Phoebe. “It’s starting to get pretty deep in here.”
Everyone just laughed and headed for the dining room to set the table for dinner.
The End
If you’ve enjoyed this story, you can find more “Charmed” stories at my website, www.geocities.com/killeenmale/. You can also post your own “Charmed” stories if you like to write fan fiction.