I was distracted.

There was no other way to describe how I felt at the moment, except that. Distracted. Valenya's strange actions would not erase themselves from my mind. She had told me a prophecy. There was no other explanation as to what she had been saying. But was it my prophecy? Why tell me now? And why the hell was it about fishes?

After our trip back home and after we ate lunch, I managed to shake Trey off by offering to help Natalia with something around the house. She gave us two separate jobs: Trey had to find and clean the fancy china wear in the basement and I had to hang up the Christmas decorations in the rooms inside the house. This was a perfect opportunity for me to sort through my thoughts without worrying about Trey getting suspicious.

I pulled a wreath out of the box and went over the prophecy in my mind again. I kept repeating it over and over so that I wouldn’t forget it.

Two fishes swam in a stormy ocean.

Two fishes. Who could the two fishes be? If the prophecy was indeed about me, it could be that the two fishes represented people in my life. By the sound of it, the fishes seemed like they were a couple, which meant that they could be representing my mother and father or they could represent me and Trey.

If I was indeed right about the fishes being either of the two pairs, and the second part of that sentence was that the two fishes swam in a stormy ocean, then it could mean that the stormy ocean represented the world that the fishes inhabited. Of course, there is more than one ocean in the world, which could mean that there is more than one world that exists, like the world of magic and the non-magical world. The world, or ocean, that the fishes inhabit was stormy, which could mean that the world that the fishes live in is troubled or at war. If this was the case, it could represent the fact that the magical world was approaching the brink of war.

I sighed. That much I had figured out. The rest of the prophecy puzzled me. I went over the next parts again in my head.

One chosen, one astray.

What did that mean? Of the two that swam in the stormy ocean, one was chosen and the other veered off the right path. But what did it mean that one of the fish was chosen? Chosen for what? I let out an aggravated sigh and then yelped.

I looked down at my hand and realized that I had just stabbed myself with the thumbtack. I saw a tiny bubble of blood start to ooze out from the puncture and groaned. I whispered a healing spell and winced slightly as I felt the skin reseal over the wound. I remembered what Gianna had told me about healing spells.

“Healing a wound of any size is painful. It is easy to disrupt the balance of the human body, but to restore it is a painful endeavor at any level,” she had said.

After the dull throbbing subsided on my finger, I looked down at the freshly healed wound.

One chosen, one astray…

“Ugh, this is hopeless,” I groaned. I pinned the wreath onto the door of the living room and then sat on the ground, crossing my legs. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to clear my mind. I brought my hand up to the necklace that Trey had given me, feeling a calmness fall over me.

After a few moments, I heard the door open. I opened my eyes and looked up to see my father standing over me.

“Caley?” he asked.

“Dad?” I responded.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Umm, clearing my mind,” I answered, getting to my feet.

“Why?” he asked. I tried to think up of a lie on the spot.

“Because…umm…I had a…uh…headache,” I said slowly. It wasn’t a complete lie. I did have a headache.

“Are you not feeling well?” he questioned. Where did this concerned father come from?

“Umm, no. I just had a lot on my mind,” I said.

“Everything all right with Trey?” he asked.

“Yeah! Of course! Why wouldn’t it be?” I replied with a half-laugh. I brought my hand up to my necklace again, a nervous habit that I couldn’t seem to break ever since I had gotten the necklace. My father noted this movement and smiled slightly.

“You know, that’s a special necklace you have there,” he said.

“Because Trey gave it to me?” I asked.

“Well, yes. That’s also a reason. But it’s not the one I was thinking of,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“That’s a water stone, a sphaera aquaria,” he said.

“I have no idea what that is,” I said.

“A water stone. It’s a stone made out of water,” he told me. I touched the smooth surface of the gem.

“It doesn’t feel like water,” I said. He chuckled.

“I mean, it’s made from water by wizards. Water and magic,” he said.

“How?” I asked.

“I’m not really sure how, because it’s an almost secret art, but I do know that it takes a lot of skill and patience and time. And the elemental stones, because they are forged from the elements themselves, hold a great deal of energy in them, which is why you probably feel a calmness when you hold it,” he said.  

“How did you know that?” I asked. He twisted the wedding ring that was on his finger and then held his hand out to me.

“The gem that is in my ring is a water stone,” he said. I gazed at in awe.

“And here I was thinking that it was just a normal sapphire,” I said. He laughed lightly.

“Every element has its own stone that can be forged by manipulating the element and magic,” he explained.

“So what makes this one so special?” I asked.

“The fact that it’s a water stone. The thing with elemental stones is that they can only be forged by those that are masters of the respective element. Fire masters can only forge fire stones, air masters can only forge weather stones—“ he said.

“And water masters can only forge water stone,” I said. He nodded.

“Precisely.”

“So I still don’t get why it’s special,” I said.

“Because, as you know, the race of the water masters is dying out. There are very few water stones left in the world. They are the most valuable of the precious stones in the world of magic,” he told me. I nodded, understanding.

We heard the door open and both of us turned to see Trey standing in the doorway.

“Oh! I didn’t know you two were—“ he began, his eyes wide. “I’ll just…” he started to turn away.

“No, no. It’s all right. I was just leaving,” my father said.

“No, it’s okay. I can—“ Trey began. My father shook his head.

“No. It’s fine. I’ll see you later tonight, Caley,” my father said to me.

I nodded, looking at him curiously. He looked back at me with the same expression and I wondered for a few moments if he was thinking the same thing that I was: that that had been the first conversation we had ever had in which there was no hostility, especially from my end. It was an actual normal conversation.

With another lingering look, my father turned around and walked out the door, clapping Trey on the back as he left. Trey walked inside and approached me.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“He told me about the necklace you gave me,” I replied slowly, still staring at the doorway thoughtfully. I blinked and looked at Trey. “It’s a water stone,” I said.

“A what?” he asked.

“A water stone. A stone forged from water and magic,” I replied. He looked at the necklace.

“Huh. And I thought it was just a regular old sapphire,” he said.

“Same here,” I said. He nodded thoughtfully and then looked around.

“Caley!” he exclaimed, making me jump.

“What?!” I cried, startled.

“What the hell have you been doing in here?!” he asked incredulously.

“What do you mean?” I asked, taken aback.

“You hung up one wreath!” he said, pointing at the lone decoration hanging on the wall.

“Umm, no. I also put up the mini Christmas tree,” I said, pointing to the corner. He gave me a look and I shifted on my feet.

“You’ve been in here for an hour now and that’s all you did?” he asked. I frowned and then stomped my foot.

“I got distracted!” I exclaimed.

"With what?" he asked.

"Nothing," I grumbled. He was silent for a moment.

"Caley," he said, tapping my chin so that I was looking up at him.

"What?" I asked. He looked at me for a few moments, a distant look on his face. Then he sighed and ran a hand over his face before brushing my cheek with his hand. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Never mind," he replied. I looked at him strangely, wondering what it was that he was going to say.

Suddenly, the door across the room opened up, making Trey and me jump apart. Natalia walked into the room, looking around with an annoyed expression on her face.

"What is going on in here?!" she asked.

"Ummm--" I started.

"Why isn't this room done yet? Guests are going to start arriving in two hours and all that's in here is a wreath!" Natalia cried.

"And a Christmas tree," I added. She shot me a glare and I pursed my lips closed.

She went to the center of the room and muttered something under her breath, pointing at the box full of decorations and then raising both her arms up over her head. The decorations floated out of the box and hung themselves up, as if there were invisible hands picking them up and putting them around the room. Trey and I stood watching in awe.

"What are you waiting for? Go get ready!" she exclaimed, pulling us out of our reverie. We jumped and then took off, running out of the room laughing.

                                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour and a half later, I was changed and ready.  The dress Natalia had set out for me was a fire engine red color and one shouldered. It was quite short on me and I had to pull it down every few minutes to keep it from riding up. I went into my closet and picked out a pair of black platform pumps that had a big black bow on the back of them. When I walked back into my room, I found Trey standing at my dresser, smellling my perfume. I walked up behind him and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"This stuff smells awful," he said, grimacing. I rolled my eyes at him and took the perfume out of his hands. He turned to face me and then smirked.

"Sexy red dress?" he asked.

"Your mother's choice," I replied.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "You know, you already have my attention. You don't have wear risque clothing to get it," he added.

"Shut up, Trey," I said, hitting him on his arm. I tapped my finger on my chin, looking at my choices of jewelry. The necklace Trey had given me wouldn't match the dress at all, but it was the one piece of jewelry I was most comfortable wearing. I sighed and decided on a gold necklace. I held it up to Trey and then turned around so that he could clasp it in the back. Then I let my hair fall over my shoulders and reached down to pull my shoes on. I held Trey's arm for support before standing up straight on my two feet.

"Ready?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You tell me," I replied.

"You know that I'll always say that you look beautiful no matter what," he said.

"That's why you're useless," I told him.

"Well, that's the way you look to me," he said, shrugging.

"All the time?" I asked.

"All the time," he answered. I smiled at him and shook my head. "We should go downstairs before Mom comes up to bite our heads off," he said. I nodded and took the arm he offered. We descended the stairs and then went into the kitchen, where Christopher and my father were chatting.

"We're ready!" Trey announced. They both looked at us and Christopher laughed.

"Your mother's upstairs," Christopher said.

"Damn," Trey muttered.

"Caley, you look beautiful," Christopher told me, smiling.

"Thanks. You're looking pretty handsome yourself," I replied. I glanced at my father, who had a distant expression on his face. He was smiling slightly and looking at me. I wondered briefly what he was thinking about.

Cole walked in, holding a handheld video game in one hand and fussing with his collar with the other.

"I hate dressing up!" Cole exclaimed, sitting down on one of the stools around the island.

"But you look so handsome," I said, running my fingers through his silky, dark hair.

"I don't want to look handsome," he pouted.

"You don't want all the girls all over you?" Trey asked teasingly.

"Eww! Girls are disgusting," Cole said.

"I'm a girl," I replied.

"But you're pretty," he answered. I chuckled and kissed his cheek, which he promptly wiped with his hand.

Natalia walked in next, looking stunning in an emerald green cocktail dress.

"Good, everyone is ready. The guests should be here in--" she began to say, but before she finished, the echoing sound of the doorbell rang through the air.

"Right now," she said, turning on her heel and walking out of the room. Christopher and Dad followed suit. Trey, Cole and I trailed behind.

When we reached the foyer, Natalia was already ushering in the first of the guests. I smiled when I saw that it was Sylvia. And then it immediately dropped when I saw who was with her.

"Isobel?!" I blurted out.

Everyone turned to look at me. Isobel, who was standing by her mother looking absolutely gorgeous in a short black dress, glared at me.

"You two know each other?" Natalia asked.

My eyes widened and my mind went blank. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?

"Umm, yes. We met once. When I was buying school things in Trinity Hollow. Over the summer," Isobel lied. Everyone looked at me to confirm this statement. I blinked.

"Umm, yes. Yes, that is where I met her," I said lamely. I could feel Trey's gaze burning into me, but I forced myself to keep looking forward. The awkward and tense moment quickly passed, much to my relief, and we continued to greet each other. Natalia invited Sylvia in to the living room and Christopher and my father followed. Cole wandered off upstairs again and Trey led Isobel and I to the sunroom.

The sunroom was my favorite room in the Vulcan residence. It was made entirely out of glass: the ceiling, the walls, and even the floors. In the summers, it was beautiful to sit in because the surrounding forest in the backyard was in full bloom. In the winter, like now, there was an amazing view of the snow covered grounds.

Isobel sat on one of the couches that was in the room, crossing her ankles elegantly and tossing her long, dark hair over her shoulder.

"I don't think I've seen you in almost 8 years," Trey said to her.

"Well, I was in France for high school," Isobel said. I coughed and Trey looked at me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Isobel shoot me another annoyed glare. I simply shrugged and turned away, going towards the windows to look out of them.

"And you never visited or nothing," Trey said, turning his attention back to Isobel.

"I was busy," she answered.

"Well, you look amazing," Trey said. I saw her smirk from her reflection in the window.

"As do you," she replied in a fakely sweet voice. I wanted to gag.

What the hell was she doing here, anyway? It couldn't be that she missed her mother or that she wanted to try and make me jealous by flirting with Trey--although she was doing that, too. No, there had to be another reason why she was here.

I knew for a fact that many of the members of the Order would be either residing in Trey's home or going in and out of Trey's home during the holidays. I had planned on walking in on one of these meetings and demanding that I be a part of it. Then, I could truly begin my work as a spy.

I turned around to look at Isobel, who was laughing at something Trey had said.

She was trying to steal my job.

That had to be the reason she was here. She had always been jealous that Elijah assigned me such a vital role in the war. She had told me herself that she didn't think I was capable of handling such an enormous responsibility and that I wasn't nearly clever and deceitful enough to pull it off. She was probably going to try and take my role. I glared at her.

Trey got up and went to the mini refridgerator that was in the room.

"Would you like something to drink?" he offered, extracting a bottle of white wine. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Don't tell Mom," he muttered to me.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't," I said, taking the bottle from him and pouring myself a glass. I handed him the bottle back and downed the glass in one gulp, savoring the sweet taste of the liquor on my tongue.

"Woah, slow down there," Trey said, noticing my action.

"Oh, hush. I'm fine," I said, waving my hand. He looked at me uneasily and then poured a glass for Isobel and himself. We heard the sound of the doorbell ring again and after a few minutes, discovered that it was Jason's family that had arrived. I was a bit surprised at this. I didn't think Jason's family would be in the Order.

"Hey!" he greeted, walking into the sunroom.

"Hey, man. How are you?" Trey said, greeting his friend with a manly hug and clap on the back.

"I'm good. What about you?" he replied.

"I'm all right," Trey answered. Jason smiled and then looked around, his eyes landing on me. "Damn, Caley. I feel like you get more and more attractive every time I see you," he said. I chuckled and Trey coughed by his side, making him smirk. "Too bad your taken," he said, nudging Trey.

"Shut up, Jason," Trey said. He laughed and then his gaze fell on Isobel.

"Oh my God. Isobel?! Is that you?!" he exclaimed. I was taken aback by this. Jason knew Isobel?

"Jason. It's been a while," Isobel said.

"I'll say. I haven't seen you since grade school," he replied.

"I haven't been around since then," she answered.

"Yeah, I heard, " he said.

Jason took a seat on the couch next to Isobel and the three began chatting about the past eight or nine years. I wandered back into the house, feeling left out of the conversation. The doorbell rang once again and I went to the foyer to see who the next guests to arrive were. I was pleased to find that it was Peter Long--the assistant to the minister of the Trinity Government--and his family. After him entered the minister himself with his wife. Christopher had answered the door and greeted the two important and powerful men enthusiastically. I went up next to him in hopes that he would introduce me.

"Caley!" Christopher exclaimed loudly. I could tell that he was incredibly nervous and anxious to have the minister and his assistant in his home. These were the two most powerful people in the Trinity Government and they were on the threshold of Christopher's home.

"Who is this young lady?" the minister--John Blackwood--asked, looking at me.

"This is Caley Lucia. She's my son's girlfriend and--" Christopher began explaining.

"The daughter of Michael Lucia," Blackwood finished, in his deep, calming voice.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," I said, smiling sweetly at him. I saw a look of anger flash over Blackwood's face before he quickly recovered. I wondered vaguely what had brought on the emotion.

"You look just like your mother," he said.

"I get that a lot," I said with a hollow laugh.

I understood now why he had been angry. I was the daughter of not only the head of the Order, but of the woman who caused the good side to lose the last Trinity war, which he no doubt was a part of.

"But you have your father's eyes," Blackwood noted. I nodded. He looked at me a moment longer before turning back to Christopher. "Has everyone arrived yet?" he asked.

"Not yet, but they are due to be here within the hour," Christopher answered.

"Excellent. Let us proceed," he said, nodding in the direction to the hall that led to the living room. Blackwood and his wife followed Christopher out of the foyer. I looked at Long's two daughters, who were younger and probably around Cole's age.

"Cole is upstairs if you want to go play with him," I told them. The two girls were standing shyly next to each other, sheepish expressions on their faces.

"Go on, girls. Have fun," Long said to his daughters. Upon getting permission from their father, the two girls bolted towards the stairs and swiftly ran up them.

"They're cute," I said.

"They're my little angels," Long replied. "I'm Peter Long, by the way," he said, extending a hand.

"Caley Lucia. As you heard," I answered, shaking his hand. Immediately when our skin made contact, Long pulled his hand away, a curious expression on his face. I wondered what had happened and looked down at my hand. I made sure the walls were up in my mind so that he couldn't read into my thoughts.

"Well, I should go. Nice meeting you, Caley," he said, smiling and nodding at me. I forced a smile back and watched as he disappeared down the hallway.

About an hour later, all of the guests had arrived. I didn't get a chance to see them all until dinner was served, and even then, I only got a glance. Not all of the guests had children, and if they did have children, they left them at home. The only people that were mine and Trey's age were Isobel, Jason, two girls named Olivia and Charlotte, and a handsome Spanish boy named Fernandez.

The younger adults and the kids sat in the kitchen by the island to eat dinner, while the adults took the dining room. The food, as expected, was delicious. Although I was irritated beyond belief by Isobel's presence, I found that I was enjoying myself. Fernandez, as it turned out, was not only incredibly attractive, but also funny as hell.

"And so I stood there, completely taken aback and not knowing what the hell to do. She just kept looking at me," he recounted. Currently, he was telling Charlotte and me a story about how he went fishing with his father one day and how he came face to face with a goose.

"Well, you're the one that poked its child with a stick," Charlotte said.

"I didn't mean to bother it! I was just being friendly," Fernandez exclaimed.

"By poking it with a stick?" I asked quizzically. He smirked and then winked at me, causing me to flush slightly.

"Anyhow, so the mother goose wasn't too happy with me and I felt a little intimidated, like she was staring me down. And then she just lashed out! She bit me!" he continued. We burst into laughter. "It's not funny!" he exclaimed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trey look over, a slightly annoyed expression on his face when his gaze fell on Fernandez.

"It's hilarious. Is that why you have this on your nose?" I asked, tapping a small scar that was at the bridge of his nose. He smiled sheepishly.

"I like to tell people it was a shark bite," he replied.

"Yeah, a baby shark bite," Charlotte chuckled. I laughed and he rolled his eyes.

"Serves you right, though," I said.

"Yeah, you're telling me. Now I know to never provoke a mother goose," he said, taking a bite of his broiled salmon.

"Noted. Next time I come face to face with a mother goose, I'll make sure to stay away," Charlotte said.

"Oh, whatever. I'm sure it could have happened to anyone," Fernandez said.

"No, I don't think so," I replied. He blinked and then shrugged.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said, making us laugh again.

"So you live in Spain?" I asked. 

I grew up there, but I went to school in California. Now I'm at Spain University of Magic," he answered.

"How do you know Trey's family?" I asked.

"I don't. My parents do. Apparently, they all attended TUM together," he replied.

"As did my parents," I said.

"I'm kind of upset. I wish I had met you earlier. You're quite beautiful, you know, Caley," Fernandez said. I chuckled lightly at his comment.

"Oh, stop," I said, brushing his comment away.

"Seriously, though. That Trey is a lucky guy," he said, nodding at Trey, who was leaning back in his chair and laughing at something Jason said. I shrugged.

"I guess I'm a lucky, girl," I answered. He smiled at me and we fell into a brief silence so that we could finish our food. After dinner, dessert was served and once our bellies were at the points of bursting, we retreated back into the sunroom. Trey brought out some more wine and poured everyone a glass.

"So, Isobel. Tell us about France. How is the university there?" I asked. Isobel glared at me. I knew full well that she couldn't tell us details about the university there, because she didn't actually ever attend it.

"It's amazing. I honestly think that the education over there is much better than what is offered at TUM," she said.

"Oh, really? And how is that?" I asked, leaning back on the couch. I saw a vein pulsing in her forehead. The others looked between the two of us, clearly confused by the obvious tension between us.

"The professors actually know what they're talking about. They've had experience. They aren't just magic users that have had their noses in books all their lives. They've actually done things," Isobel replied.

"Like what?" I asked.

That was the last straw. Isobel stood up.

"MayI talk to you in the other room, Caley?" she asked through gritted teeth. I felt curious eyes on me as I stood up as well.

"Yes, you may," I replied bitterly.

I stood up and followed her to the drawing room that was down the hall. Once we stepped inside, Isobel closed the door and locked it with a spell. Then she turned around so fast, I didn't even see it happen, and before I knew it, I was being pinned to the wall, Isobel's arm at my throat. I felt my eyes open wide in fear. I didn't think Isobel was that strong.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed. I struggled against her vice.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," I said, the words struggling to get out. She pushed harder on my throat, blocking the passage of air in my throat.

"You are going to expose both of us if you don't knock it off," she said, her voice low. I finally managed to push her off of me and reverse our roles, pinning her to the wall instead.

"What the hell are you doing here, anyway? Trying to steal my job?" I asked. She glared at me, her grey eyes dark and stormy. "I always knew you were jealous of me. Of my friendship with Gerrard. Of the importance Elijah placed on me by making me spy," I continued.

"I am not jealous," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Oh, yeah right. It's obvious as anything that you are. You've been flirting with my boyfriend all night to try and get back at me for being friends with Gerrard. And now you're going to try and steal my job from me," I said. I pushed harder against her throat like she had done to me. "You knew that all of the members of the Order were going to be here for the holidays. You came here on purpose," I accused.

She glared at me hard and without saying a word, I was thrown off my feet, landing painfully on my back. She came up to me, her hips swaying as she walked. Then she raised her hand, and just like Natalia had raised the decorations out of the box earlier, Isobel raised me off the floor. She pinned me to the wall again, narrowing her eyes at me.

"You are so petty and ignorant," she spat. "I'm not here to steal your precious little boyfriend or your so-called job. I was sent here by Elijah himself," she said. With one final glare, she let me go and then walked out of the room.

I leaned against the wall weakly.

Why did Elijah send her? What did that mean?

I closed my eyes when the answer came to me.

He didn't trust me to go through with it.

He thought I would fail.

_____________________________________________________________________

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I know I said I would be updating a lot more often, but I got caught up with work and summer classes. But in my defense, I was going to post this chapter a week ago, but freaking Wattpad's technical glitches deleted my entire chapter. So I had to rewrite this whole thing, which took me a while.

I think this story is getting really interesting. Next chapter will focus solely on the Order.

Questions to ponder: What was it that Long felt when he shook Caley's hand? Why did Elijah send Isobel? Do you think Caley will be able to get initiated into the Order?

Leave me a comment below! And don't forget to vote!

XOXO