Page 41 of Charmed

“Hey, the orb seems to be glowing now,” said Stone, his eyes fastened on the gazing ball in her hand. “Fast. Look within and tell me what you see.”

“Huh?” She hadn’t even noticed. Her attention dropped to the ball in her hand. To her surprise, once again she saw those swirling colors of blue, pink and orange. “Oh, I see those swirling colors again. They are so pretty.”

“You must mean the portal, right? What else do you see?” Stone looked over her shoulder eagerly wanting to know more. You can scry, right?” he asked her again, sounding as if he wasn’t sure if she could really do it.

Persimmon’s excitement grew as the swirling colors started to part and the silhouette of a person actually started to appear but it was only a shadow. And then it all quickly disappeared as fast as it came.

“She doesn’t see a thing. She’s a liar, just like her mother.” Elric’s voice next to her only broke her focus and shook her nerves. Persimmon looked next to her to see her father with his rain of disappointment washing down upon her.

“Father, don’t say that. Mother wasn’t a liar.” Her mother had been a good person and she wouldn’t let anyone say otherwise.

“She was a liar, and so are you. I knew it all the time. Just admit it. You can’t see a damned thing in that gazing orb, can you?” Elric crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his toe on the ground, waiting for her to answer.

“Don’t speak to her that way,” spat Stone, coming to her rescue. “Persimmon is a good and kind person and deserves respect. Quit calling her a liar. She has seen things in the gazing crystal and also sees something right now. Tell him, Persimmon. Tell him what you see.”

By now, the rest of her new friends had hurried over to her, and crowded around her.

“What’s going on, sister? Are you all right?” Lira was the first to get there.

“Shhhh, Persimmon is about to tell us what she sees in the gazing orb,” said Stone, raising a hand in the air. “Please, sweetheart. Please, let this be true,” he said to her in a mere whisper.

“Hrmmph! She sees nothing and has been deceiving all of us this entire time.” Elric shook his head. “I’m not going to stay here and listen to any more lies. I’m leaving.”

“Wait! I need my king’s gemstones,” said Stone, trying to stop him.

“The gemstones are not your king’s and I will never let you have them.” Elric dashed away in a blur.

“What did he mean by that?” asked Aithrod, hurrying over with the hound at his side. “The stones belong to our king. Why would he say otherwise?”

“What’s happening?” asked Zann, walking up with his brother, Darium. Talia-Glen approached with Medea at her side.

“Quiet, everyone,” Stone told them. “Persimmon is about to reveal to us what she sees in the gazing orb.”

“She is?” This came from Medea. “Persimmon? What are you doing?”

“Oh, tell us, quickly,” begged Talia-Glen. “I can’t wait to hear.”

Persimmon looked back down to the orb but now she couldn’t even see the pretty colors or that strange shadow of a person. There was nothing there at all.

“Please, tell us,” said Stone. “Everyone is counting on you.”

“Yes,” said Aithrod from the center of the group. “We need to complete our mission and return to Taelgonoth. Our king is depending on us to save his kingdom and we are depending on your visions to help us do it.”

“We also need to find the elderly couple’s son, don’t forget,” said Talia. “My herbs don’t seem to be helping them. Alaina is with them now but said they probably won’t live to see the morning.”

With all the pressure building up inside her, Persimmon felt her head spinning. This was too much for her and she felt like she was about to snap.

“My father is right,” she finally said, blurting it out before she could change her mind about doing it. “I am a liar,” she admitted softly.

“Persimmon, no.” Stone closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. “Please, don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth,” she told the group. “I have no power to scry, and never have. I wanted to impress all of you and especially my father. I wanted to feel special. To make you all like me. That is the only reason I pretended to be someone I am not.”

“Oh, sister,” cried Lira, sounding very sad. The rest of the group, including Stone remained silent. The dog whined and lay down with his nose between his paws.

It was happening already. Every one of them would start to despise her now and Persimmon realized that she had brought this all on herself. If she had just been honest with them all from the start, perhaps she would still have the adoration of her new friends and family. But sadly, after this, she realized she would once again be abandoned, rejected, and live the rest of her life alone.

“I don’t feel well. Stone,” she said, reaching out for him with one hand as her eyes closed and the dizziness overtook her. Any sound or sense of surroundings disappeared as Persimmon blacked out and entered a deep, dark, silent void that, to her, was worse than death.