"Hello?" I said, picking up my phone.

I was currently sitting alone in my room, trying to get the homework I had been putting off done. I told Abbey to leave me alone because she was distracting me and I really needed to get my work finished. I had been slacking and my grades were starting to reflect that.

"Are you alone?" the inmistakeable voice of Gerrard replied.

"Uh...yes..." I said. "Why so secretive, Ger?" I asked.

"Cain told me to tell you that you have to come here Friday after your classes. You'll be here through the evening," he said.

Cain. He used Elijah's nickname, which meant that the phone he was using was not secure.

"Do I get an explanation as to why? Training?" I asked.

"No, it's not training. I can't tell you through here. Just arrive by 4:00 on Friday. I have to go. Bye," he said, and then hung up.

I looked at the phone, confused. I wondered what the emergency was. I shrugged and decided not to ponder about it. I guess I would find out Friday night.

Luckily for me, Trey told me he had made other plans so we weren't going to hang out. Abbey and Lance were going out. I would just tell them that I would hang out with Oralie and Matt for the evening. And then in reality, I would go to Elijah's.

As I returned my attention back to my History essay, I realized how creative I had become with my excuses and lies. It bothered me slightly at how good I was at it. Maybe I really was meant to be on the dark side.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, do I get to know what this is all about yet?" I asked Gerrard when he met me outside of the mansion Friday evening.

"I'll tell you as you get ready," he said, taking my arm and leading me inside.

"Get ready?" I asked. "Get ready for what?"

"Just hold your questions," he said. We went inside and I was surprised to find people bustling about and cleaning, scrubbing the marble floors and dusting the light fixtures in the foyer.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, stopping abruptly to watch a man levitate the big chandelier back onto its hinges. Gerrard prodded me in the back, making me move forward.

"I'll tell you upstairs," he whispered. We walked up the stairs, which were also being scrubbed clean by brushes that had no owners to them. It was really interesting to watch. It reminded me a bit of the Mickey Mouse version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

"Caley, pay attention!" Gerrard hissed in my ear. I blinked, realizing that I had stopped on the stairs again to watch the scene below. I walked up the remaining stairs and went towards my bedroom. When I walked in, I let out a gasp.

In my room were about ten different gowns, of all different styles, cuts and lengths. They were all the same shade of blood red, though.

"All right, what the hell is going on?" I asked, turning to face Gerrard. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him expectantly.

"You're being officially initiated tonight. All of the important members of Elijah's inner circle got the same ceremony. It's nothing big, but since you're such a key player in Elijah's strategy for this war, he turned the ceremony into a ball of sorts," he replied.

"And why was this so difficult to tell me beforehand?" I asked.

"It's an important ceremony. We're not supposed to discuss it like it's common conversation," he answered.

"Which one am I wearing?" I asked, going to the dresses. I ran my fingers over the different materials. They all looked beautiful. I had no idea which one to pick.

"Whichever one you'd like. You've got plenty of options," he answered.

"I can't pick, though! I like all of them!" I exclaimed after examining each of them individually. "Which one do you like best?" I asked.

"Honestly..." he began. He walked forward and pulled out a silky dress that had black lace on the bodice. "This one," he said. I considered it. It was one of my favorites. I took it from his hands and looked at closely. The material was extremely silky. It felt like cold water rippling on my hand.

"What's with you and black lace?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I just picked the dress that you'd look sexiest in," he replied, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Pig," I said.

"You need to come up with a new insult," he remarked. I chuckled. "I'm sending in your stylists. They'll take care of you and help you get ready. I'll come back in around 7:00, which is when I'll be taking you down.

"Do I really need three hours to get ready?" I asked. He opened the door and several people with crazy hairstyles walked in.

"Yes, yes you do," he replied before shutting the door behind him.

I eyed my stylists warily as they looked me up and down, scrutinizing what they had to work with. This was not going to be fun.

Three hours later, I was cleaned, waxed, plucked, groomed, and made-up. I felt like my body had gone through physical abuse. The three hours that my stylists took to get me ready included waxing my entire body (although that was completely unnecessary), plucking and threading my eyebrows to perfection, scrubbing my face to remove dead skin, pulling and yanking at my hair to style it, and then doing and redoing my make-up until it was just right.

Now I stood looking at myself in the length-wise mirror on my closet door.

I was almost unrecognizable.

My skin seemed to be glowing in a way that it did when I first received my magical powers. My eyes, due to the dark make-up, stood out starkly. My hair fell in elegant waves down my back, a particular glow to it that had never existed before. And the dress. The dress fit absolutely perfectly, hugging my curves in all the right places.

Even I thought I looked stunning.

"Another job well done," Sheila, one of the stylists, remarked.

"Of course, when we work our magic, we really work it," Kim, another stylist, replied.

After thanking them, I told them they could leave and go get ready themselves. I decided to invite them in case Elijah didn't. After all, they had worked so hard on me.

A few moments later, I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I called out, running my hands over the silky material of the dress.

The door opened and Gerrard came inside. He stopped in his tracks and his jaw fell slightly. I immediately felt a blush creep onto my cheeks as he checked me out, making no effort to hide it.

"Merlin's pants..." he whispered. I chuckled nervously.

"Do I look all right?" I asked him.

"All right would be an extreme understatement," he replied. I blushed again and slapped his arm.

"Shut up," I said.

"I'm being serious. You look beyond beautiful," he said. I shifted on my five-inch heels. He came up to me and lightly brushed back my hair off my shoulders. "Too bad you're taken," he whispered, leaning in closer to me. I pushed him away, my cheeks burning red.

"Gerrard!" I exclaimed. He chuckled, his blue-grey eyes twinkling. He jumped slightly and pulled out the silver tree branch that Elijah used to communicate with his inner circle.

"It's time," he said.

I felt my stomach turn. Suddenly, I was very nervous. Gerrard seemed to sense this because he took my arm gently.

"There's nothing to worry about," he whispered in my ear.

"I'll probably face-plant. These shoes were definitely a bad idea," I said. He chuckled again and put the branch back in his pocket.

"You know, after this ceremony, you'll get a silver branch of your very own," he told me.

"Oh, the incredible excitement," I said sarcastically. He smirked at me and we walked out of the room. He led me to the stairs and then paused before we turned the corner.

"All right. Take a few deep breaths right now to steady yourself," he instructed.

"Why now?" I asked.

"Just do it," he said. I did as he told me and when I was done calming my nerves and assuring him that I was ready, we moved forward.

No amount of steadying my nerves could have prepared me for this.

There were about a hundred people standing in the foyer around the staircase. Each and every one of them had their eyes on me. I froze at the top of the staircase, feeling my blood run cold and my face pale.

Gerrard noted my sudden terror and gripped my arm a little tighter.

"It's going to be all right," he whispered to me from the side of his mouth.

I looked at him with frightened eyes.

He had said it was a gathering of people in Elijah's inner circle. This looked like a pretty freaking large circle to me!

Gerrard began to move down the stairs and I realized if I didn't follow him, he would end up dragging me down the marble steps. This would have been bad for a number of obvious reasons. So I gingerly took a step forward, my legs wobbling due to the height of the heels I was wearing. If it weren't for Gerrard holding onto my arm, I would have toppled right down the stairs.

As we descended the stairs, all eyes were on me. I knew they were on me because I could feel the death glares of about fifty girls that were standing below, no doubt probably jealous of my position or my dress. If only they knew how uncomfortable I was with all of this...

I let out a sigh of relief when I got down.

"See? No bruises," Gerrard said, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

"Yet," I grumbled.

"If you would all proceed into the ballroom in a patient manner, that would be much appreciated," I heard Dom's voice say.

I scanned the crowd and found the young man ushering people down a hallway to where the ballrooms were. He looked a little frazzled, no doubt from all the people that were walking by hastily to get to where the party actually was. Next to him stood Isobel, who looked bored and absolutely stunning in a deep purple and black gown.

"Good luck," Dom whispered to me as we walked past him. I looked at him curiously. Gerrard stood staring at Isobel, who rolled her eyes at me.

"On what?" I asked Dom.

"You'll find out," he replied with a wink. I looked at Gerrard, a worried expression on my face, but he wasn't paying attention to me. He was too busy gawking at Isobel. I cleared my throat loudly and he jumped slightly, glancing at me.

"Uhh...let's go inside," he said, recovering swiftly.

Gerrard and I walked behind the crowd and into the ballrooms.

I was a bit taken aback when I stepped inside.

The lights from the chandeliers above our heads were dimmed down low so that I had to squint to make out faces. There were people everywhere and even in the dark, I could tell they were looking and whispering about me. I took ahold of Gerrard's arm and he glanced at me. I squeezed him arm in response and he shook his head, chuckling at my nerves.

As we walked into the crowd, the people began parting to make a way for us. It was so strange and it reminded me vaguely of the Christian story about Moses parting the seas for the Israelites. On either side of me, people looked at me in wonder, dislike, awe, or jealousy.

"Why are they staring at me?" I whispered into Gerrard's ear.

"Because you're beautiful," he whispered back. I felt my cheeks flush with color and pursed my lips together. He didn't seem to think he had said anything to make me feel even more uncomfortable and continued to usher me through the crowd.

When the last of the crowd had parted, I was surprised again to see what lay at the very far end of the ballroom. It was a large black stage. Thick, heavy black velvet drapes hung around the back and the sides of the stage, which took up an entire wall. In the middle of the stage, a little off-center, was a wooden stool that had a elegantly carved box on top of it.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's apart of the initiation ceremony," Gerrard replied. I looked at him. "Today's the night of the Yellow Moon, Caley. You're officially being initiated on a day that magic is at its strongest," he explained. "That's why Elijah wanted to go all out," he added.

I felt my nerves take over again.

The stage surely meant that I was going to have to be standing on it. As if walking down the stairs and walking through the large crowd of people wasn't enough, now I was going to have to stand on stage, as if I were a spectacle of some kind.

"We're going backstage. Come on," Gerrard told me, leading me by the arm to behind the thick, heavy curtains.

Back here, we found Elijah standing and conversing with Gianna and Isaac. They all turned to face us when we came up.

"Ah, Caley. Our guest of honor," Elijah said, a smile on his lips. I felt a shudder run down my spine. It was strange to say, but Elijah was one of those people that looked better when he wasn't smiling. Because when he was, he just looked...well...he just looked evil.

"Can someone explain to me what exactly is going on?" I asked.

"I told Gerrard to tell you," Elijah said, looking at Gerrard.

"He did. But he didn't tell me what exactly is happening," I answered.

"Well, that's for you to find out in due time," Elijah told me. I frowned. I was really getting sick of that answer.

"I will go on stage, introduce you. And then you will be escorted onto stage by Gerrard, who will then leave the stage. The initiation will begin from there," Elijah explained to me.

I nodded. It sounded simple enough. I only wished that Gerrard didn't have to leave the stage. I was counting on him to support me in case I fainted or something.

"Very well, then. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" he said, clapping his hands together.

I felt my stomach flip inside of me and immediately felt like I was going to be sick. Elijah brushed past me and went onto the stage. Gianna and Isaac went further backstage. I listened carefully to his introduction. Gerrard wrapped his arm around my waist in an effort to comfort my racing heart.

"Thank you all for attending this very special and important event tonight. Your support means a great deal to me and will make all the more difference in the activities of the night. As you know, tonight is the night of the Yellow Moon, which is a cause to celebrate in and of itself," Elijah began.

People cheered at this. I wondered what the big deal was.

"Since tonight is a night that holds a great deal of power to the people of the Magii, I chose this day to fully initiate our secret weapon, Caley Lucia," he continued. I heard a collective gasp from the crowd.

"Yes, I know what you're thinking. The daughter of Katerina Lucia, here on our side? What a great pleasure and honor it is!" he exclaimed. People cheered again and I felt my heart beat faster.

"So I thank you once again for attending this important moment. I thank you for serving as witnesses to this achievement, for our dear Caley is the key to winning this war once and for all!" he cried out.

This earned Elijah an eruption of deafening applause. I glanced at Gerrard, my heart racing so fast I was sure I was going to pass out right there and then. He gave me a sympathetic look, the grey in his eyes stormy, the blue dark.

"And so, without further ado, I present to you the newest member of our army, Caley Lucia!" Elijah called. I guess that was my cue.

Gerrard led me carefully onto stage. I told myself not to look at the crowd, so inevitably, the first thing I did was look at the crowd.

Immediately, my stomach burst into nervous butterflies, my palms began sweating, and my heart was beating so fast that I could hear it thrumming in my ears. As Gerrard led me to the middle of the stage where Elijah was speaking, I tried pleading with him with my eyes, begging him not to leave me. But he wasn't looking at me. He was looking right at Elijah. When he turned to go, I grabbed his wrist, begging him silently to stay. He met my eyes briefly, his own storming with an internal dilemma of their own. My grip slackened on his wrist and he walked off the stage. Now I turned to face Elijah.

His lips were turned up in that horrible smile of his, his ocean blue eyes glimmering. A figure came up from behind him, a blood red cloak in its hands. Whoever it was, placed the robes on Elijah and the disappeared into the back again. Elijah pulled up the hood to the robe, so that his face was immersed in a black shadow.

What the hell was he doing?

"Now, let the sacred Blood Oath Ceremony begin," a voice from the back called.

I felt my face pale. Blood Oath? What did that mean?

"To officially initiate you into our army, we must perform the sacred Blood Oath ceremony. With this, Caley Lucia, you will be permanently under my power," Elijah said, grabbing my wrist.

I tried to pull it away. Permanently under his power? What was that supposed to mean? When I signed up for this, I didn't think it meant I would be a slave to Elijah forever.

I yanked my wrist, trying to get away, but his grip on my arm was tight and my struggle was fruitless.

"Hold her still!" he ordered. Two people, who I assumed to be Gianna and Isaac, came around behind me and held me in place. Now I struggled against them.

"NO! LET ME GO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" I shouted. I was slapped across the face by who I thought to be Isaac.

Elijah opened up the box that was sitting on the stool beside him. I gazed in horror as the open lid revealed a large ruby-encrusted knife. I let out a small yelp and tried to get away. This was all a mistake. He pulled the dagger out as a deep hum in the background started up. Elijah closed his eyes and began chanting in Latin. This was the translation:

From light to darkness

I make this plea

From this blood sacrifice

With us you will forever be...

He held out his right hand and cut it with the knife so that blood oozed out from his hand. I winced in disgust. Isaac gripped my right arm tightly and held it out for Elijah. Elijah approached me with the bloody knife and held it to my hand. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what he was going to do. I screamed as the blade cut through my skin, tearing my flesh apart. Deep red blood poured from the wound and I gasped at it, getting dizzy from the sight of my own blood.

Through ease and strife

And sickness and health

I have your life

To bring fortune and wealth

He took my bloody hand in his, holding our wounds together. I gasped at it and recoiled as our blood mixed together. A burst of red light shot from our hands and encircled us, raising us from the stage, above everyone else. After a moment, we were brought back to the ground, the light vanished, and Elijah pulled his hand away from mine. I looked down at my hand and saw a red tear droplet shaped wound on the palm of my hand. It was glowing bright, and then it faded, and the wound disappeared completely. I flexed my hand and looked up at Elijah.

"It is done," he said, smiling viciously.

And then I fainted.

                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~

I felt cold water being splashed onto my face. I didn't want to open my eyes, though. Besides, the water felt nice...

"Caley!" my bliss was interrupted by a hiss. I grimaced, my eyes still closed, and then popped one eye open. I saw Gerrard's face hovering over my own. I opened both of my eyes now and sat up, wondering why I was on a bed.

"Finally she's awake. What a wuss," I head Isobel say. I looked up to see her standing in the doorway.

"Isobel, go tell Elijah that she woke up. Tell him that the initiation was successful," Gerrard instructed. Isobel sighed loudly and walked away. I looked at Gerrard. Initiation? What was he talking about?

And then it all came back to me.

The horrors of what had happened a mere hour ago. I had had my palm sliced open, my blood taken and mixed, and become permanently put under Elijah's control. Forever.

I felt my throat constrict and my eyesight become blurry. I put my hands over my mouth, choking on the tears that spilled down my cheeks.

"Damnit, Caley. Don't cry," Gerrard whispered.

"I can't believe it! I can't believe what he did! You should have told me! You lied to me, Gerrard!" I exclaimed through my sobs.

"I didn't lie to you--" he said.

"You said everything would be all right," I snapped back. "And it's not. It's not all right. You should have told me!" I yelled.

"Caley, what was I supposed to do? I was under orders--" he started.

"Orders from the person that has put me permanently in bondage to him. Even when this is all over, he'll still have control over me. I'll never be free now," I sobbed.

"He won't hold you prisoner, if that's what you're thinking," Gerrard said.

"How do you know?!" I exclaimed. He gave me a long, hard look and I returned it, trying to stifle back my tears.

"You have to trust me," he said.

"I'm done trusting you," I hissed, getting up from the bed. I stumbled when I got to my feet, my head dizzy from the sudden movement. Gerrard grabbed a hold of me before I toppled backwards onto the ground.

"Sit down. You're still weak," he said, helping me back onto the bed. I glared at him.

"I hate you," I said.

"No you don't," he replied. I glared at him further and then sighed, leaning into his chest.

"I know," I squeaked weakly. He shook his head and put his arms around me, leaning us both against the headboard of the bed. A few brief moments of silence ticked by.

"Remember a while ago, you asked me if Elijah was my father?" he asked me. I nodded. "Well, he's not. Not biologically," he said. I looked up at him.

"What do you mean? You're adopted?" I asked.

"In a sense, I guess so. But I didn't have parents to begin with," Gerrard told me. I raised my eyebrows.

"You were an orphan?" I questioned. He nodded. My formed a slight 'O'. He chuckled.

"Don't look so shocked. It fits, doesn't it?" he said. I bit my lip. I guess it did.

Gerrard had always put on this tough, external persona. He was completely independent, not needing anyone to help him with anything. He pretended like he was so macho and strong, which he was. But I knew on the inside, he was just a nice person. At least, he was when it came to me.

"So Elijah just walked into an orphanage one day and adopted you?" I asked.

"Not quite," Gerrard replied. "I was four when he found me. I hated the orphanage I grew up in. It was somewhere in Germany, if I remember correctly. This was probably around the time that the war had completely died out, so Elijah was in hiding. Since I hated the orphanage so much, even as a young child, all I wanted to do was escape it. And so I did. I ran away. Only, a four year old can't do much to sustain himself for too long. I wandered around the streets in downtown Berlin, lost and alone and hungry. And that's when Elijah saw me," he explained.

He shifted my head so that it was now resting on his lap. I closed my eyes as he ran his fingers through my tangled hair.

"I don't exactly know why I stuck out to him. There were plenty of homeless kids walking around. I thought it might have been for the fact that I was so incredibly young at the time and yet I was still alive and not complaining. But when I asked him, he told me it was because he sensed the magic in me. He said he took one look at my eyes and knew that I wasn't a normal mortal human. He knew I was different. And so he took me in and raised me as his own son," he continued.

"From the very beginning, from when I turned about ten, Elijah began prepping me for when I received my powers. He taught me how to discipline my mind, how to make myself stronger, how to keep myself focused. So when I turned 17 and got my powers on the night of the Yellow Moon, I was completely ready to delve into magic. I'm 20 now and I've been practicing magic for three years. I wouldn't be as powerful as I am today if it weren't for Elijah," he said.

I pursed my lips and looked up at him. He was staring off into the distance, his fingers brushing my hair back gently. I smiled up at him softly and sat up to face him.

"I guess that's why you're always so quick to defend him," I said. "He's like a father to you."

"You could say that. But--and I'll deny it if you ever bring it up--I honestly don't agree with him on some things. I don't always like the way he does things. Like how he didn't even warn you as to what would happen to you tonight," he said.

I smiled guiltily at him. I was wrong for yelling at him. Gerrard had always been there to help me out. He had never done anything to purposefully hurt me. At first I may have thought he was introverted and rude, but once I got to know him over time, I saw a different side of him, a side that he didn't seem to show anyone else but me.

He looked at me, his blue-grey eyes unreadable.

"What?" I asked. He reached out and stroked my cheek gently.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked. I nodded and leaned forward, kissing his cheek.

"Thanks," I told him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For always taking care of me. I know I can be a burden sometimes," I said.

"Sometimes?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. I laughed and shoved him. He chuckled.

"Are you done chatting yet? It's almost midnight. She has to be back before then or else her cover will be blown," Isobel snapped, walking into my room. She sent me a glare. "I honestly can't believe Elijah chose you as our secret weapon. You can't even handle a little blood," she said. And without another word, she walked out of the room. I stared after her.

"I still don't get why she hates me," I mumbled.

"It's not your fault entirely," Gerrard said. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you trying to say?" I asked. He shifted under my gaze, but I didn't break my stare. What was he going on about?

"All right! Stop looking at me like that!" he exclaimed.

"What did you mean it's not my fault entirely?" I asked. He sighed, running his hands over his face.

"I meant that...uhhh...Isobel...she...we...I...uhh..." Gerrard stammered. I almost laughed. I had never seen Gerrard nervous before. This was really entertaining.

"You two aren't dating are you?" I asked. He didn't say anything. I gasped, putting my hands over my mouth. "No way!!!" I shouted. "I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you two! No wonder she always looks like she wants to bite my head off everytime we're together!" I exclaimed. Gerrard clamped his hand over my mouth.

"Will you keep it down?" he hissed. I bit his hand so he moved it away.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me before," I said.

"It's not something we wanted to tell people," he grumbled.

"Does Elijah know?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No one knows. Except us three and Dom," he said.

"Dom?" I asked.

"He's my best guy friend," he replied.

"I didn't know you had friends," I said, putting on a mock surprised expression. He rolled his eyes and pinched my nose.

"Hilarious," he said, getting off my bed. He held his hand out and helped me up. "Go change. Then I'll take you back. You might not be stable enough to Transport on your own," he said.

I nodded and retreated into the bathroom to restore my looks to normal.

___________________________________________________________________________

A/N: LONG CHAPTER!!! Woooo! This is one of my favorite chapters because of the Blood Oath Ceremony. My absolute favorite chapter is coming up soon! So stay tuned for that!

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