Piper

Nowhere to run

"The puppet masters only concern is how well they can manipulate their marionettes."

― Steven Redhead

I have been expecting you! What took you so long?

Tabitha looked around for the person who broadcasted that message. Surprisingly, it didn't appear that it belonged to the little girl who was sculpting a figure before them. 

Tabitha expected an evil spirit to announce the greetings instead. She wondered where that little rascal was hiding and why Piper brought them all here in the first place. Let alone lure a cat to the mystery spot, which was quite sneaky of her.

The disembodied voice coming from afar sounded more adult; a more mature one that appeared to be welcoming a crowd to their performance. And as creepy as it sounded, the girl's mouth was  sewn together with thread, astonishing Tabitha, who eventually fell backwards. Luckily Hansel was behind her back and quickly positioned his hands in order to catch her fall.

A sudden thought came upon Tabitha's mind due to seeing this sight. The fear of being taken away at such a young age brought Tabitha back memories of her own. Yet, she was thankful that the Witches of Warwick adopted her and a decent family of mystical powers took her in as one of their own.

She wondered if that was the same girl from the elevator that Piper must have hypnotized. Eerie as it was, Tabitha started feeling tingles upon her arms and butterflies in her stomach. She was supposed to be a brave little witch, but her human side still showed. It was as if she was stuck like glue allowing Piper to win.

Seeing her friend's ogling eyes focused on the open air, Astrid tapped Tabitha's shoulders in order to wake her up from her reverie.

Putting her hand in front of Tabitha's eyes, and waving it to distract her friend's daydream, Astrid kept calling out her name.

"Tabitha, Tabitha ... are you alright? Talk to me!"

But the witch stood still as if she was in a daze.

Fearing for the worst that she might be stuck in a wax museum forever, Astrid panicked.

"Hansel, help me! Start shaking her or something ... we are still young and have a bright future. I don't want to die here!"

Astrid turned around and managed to shout out some words that were dying to get out of her system.

"You wicked thing, whoever you are! Bring us back our friend!"

She stomped her feet since Astrid was getting irritated and confused.

And with that Hansel shook Tabitha hoping that she would come back to life.

Before Tabitha left the Witches of Warwick congregation, the leader warned her not to look straight into Piper's eyes or her evil markings. 

Doing so would make a witch in training mesmerized or fall into a trance for she has not achieved full status yet.

It was a known fact that only a full-blooded witch could directly look into a fiend's eyes and not succumb to their immorality. And many have not been able to break that spell, but Tabitha would be the first of her kind if she could outwit Piper.

Gretchen warned her that evil spirits were as clever as a sly fox ready to take one's soul away, so Tabitha had to prove she could fight against it. Gretchen had fate in her for not only was Tabitha young, but she was a true fighter. 

Not realizing it yet, Piper might just have met her match.