Prologue

It all started at the beginning, really.

But that leads us to question, when was the beginning? To be honest, not one of us has a stable clue, our ideas always change each time we read up on it.

But one thing I believe firmly. My family is more rock stable than the history of witches could even come close to being. So I guess that should be our beginning.

I shall start with my thousand-times great-grandmother, though by now, I really should refer to her as my greatest ancestor. She began all of this. Her name was Melinda Warren, and though her mother and father Charlotte Warren and Lawrence Cutler dabbled in the magicks themselves, it really started with Mel.

You see, she practiced in the arts of telekinesis, molecular immobilization, and premonitions, and created the Book of Shadows which is to now be guarded by our last remaining Warren-Halliwell line of my aunt, Prue Halliwell, who is the older sister to my mother, Piper Halliwell, and their younger sisters Phoebe and Paige.

The arts our greatest ancestor, Mel, practiced in was passed down through tough generations of women in the Warren-Halliwell family line until it was finally passed to mom, Prue, and Phoebe as three separate powers. And when aunt Prue had 'died', the whole lot of our bloodline had gotten more complicated than just the three sisters with the family witches Power of Three...

You see, my aunt Paige's last name wasn't Halliwell at first. It still isn't. Paige Matthews grew up as an adopted child in the house of two human parents who never told her she was adopted, not even knowing that she had the blood of a witch and whitelighter running through her veins until the Source of All Evil attacked her. And by her being attacked and re-awakening her powers, and mom searching for a 'lost witch'-thinking that Prue had died-the Power of Three was restitched up again! Hooray!

Oh yeah... I did say that our bloodline had gotten more complicated... meaning the Power of Three is considered a 'useless commodity'.

See, my aunts and mother still have their powers. Yes, all of them, including Prue, who hadn't died but had been lost in the Astro plane before Paige had crossed her in her dreams and brought her soul back to her body the day of her 'funeral'. Even though this all happened, in a strange set of circumstances, some consequences and sacrifices for that decision were dished. But the second part to the P3 not being so three-way-divided is that my mother and father-who is a White-Lighter-Leo, had my older brother, Wyatt, and myself... and we also still have our powers.

Of course, that doesn't make The Power of Three a complete 'useless commodity'. But the title was made a bit pointless when it refered to the gifts being distributed between three sisters. Because, see, now there arere three full witch sisters, a sister who is twice-blessed (Half-witch, half white-lighter) and two young adult siblings who are also twice-blessed.

None of this is on the radar though. They believe that the Charmed Sisters and their offspring are dead.

After Paige brought Prue 'back to life' my entire family had been marked in the Power's that Be's Book of Judgement, and have been in hiding for 17 years—even before I was born, when Wyatt was just a toddler.

My mother and her sisters ended up heading back in time a year before it happened, and were transfered to their old bodies. They didn't know if they would be able to escape the Elders of the White Lighters by doing that, but so far they hadn't been found out. Each and every one of them had a disguise, and Wyatt and myself had grown up in pretty normal lives.

Questions?

Who am I? I am Isabella Marie Halliwell "Swan", daughter of witch, Piper Halliwell, now being referred to as "Renee Swan" by strangers. Who is married to "Charlie Swan" (my father, Leo). My aunts had chosen new names as well. But we only called each other these names when we need cover.

Nearly 17 years ago, the entire Halliwell family was killed off in a brutal house fire. Not one of them survived... well you guys know the truth.

Right now, my family of witch/witch-whitelighters are spread out and away from California. My mother went off to "live in solitude" in Phoenix, Arizona-but not so alone. My father would always orb to see her and spend a lot of time with her on "business trips for being a cop" even though publically they weren't seen together.

I left my private school in Phoenix to live with my father so that I could spend the rest of my high school years in Forks where it would be easier to go unnoticed and blend in than staying in the overly active city.

I sat in the cruiser besides my father, looking through the windshield out at a beautiful though dry-looking black olds-mobile looking vehicle that sat in his drive with mild curiosity, and he must have caught me looking because he turned and gave me a full-on pearly white smile. "You like it, Bells?"

The whitelighter in him seemed to make him seem all the more brighter with joy as he smiled at me. And seeing my father happy was something that made me smile automatically in return. "It's beautfiul, where did you find it?"

"An old friend of my grandfather's was going to junk it, but he let me take it off of his hands," he paused, seeming to be looking back into the past. "Your mother mentioned that you were wanting a car... She's all yours, Bella."

My father seemed to know my style pretty well, I grinned as I threw an arm awkwardly around his figure and he instinctively done the same. "Thanks, Ch-dad!" It was a habit I had formed, starting off by calling him Charlie even though his name is Leo, so that when asked... I told strangers the name he publically went by.

He smiled into my cheek and told me, "You're welcome, sweetheart."

"What kind of car is it, anyway?"

"It's an Impala '1967, one of the best makes."

I smiled as I got out the car and walked up to it. "It's so me. Thank you, dad."