"I can't believe he proposed to you," Abbey said, clutching my hand in hers and staring at the diamond ring that sparkled on my finger.

We were currently sitting on the beach alone. I had told the boys that I needed to talk to Abbey alone so that I could tell her the news. I hadn't told her the night before because she was so excited to be in Rome and start exploring her favorite city. And I wanted to tell her when Lance wasn't around.

"Me either. It was completely unexpected," I said.

"I can't believe you said yes," she said, still entranced by the ring. I snatched my hand away from her now.

"Why wouldn't I say yes?" I asked.

"You're not even 20 yet!" she exclaimed.

"So? I will be in a few months. And besides, age doesn't matter," I said.

"You are way too young to get married," she said.

"I'm not getting married! We're only engaged!" I cried.

"But still! You've only been dating for 2 years," she said.

"That's a really long time, Abbey," I said.

"How do you know you've made the right decision?" she asked.

"Because..." I trailed off.

She was right. How did I know I was making the right decision?

I had never dated anyone before Trey, let alone had fallen in love with anyone before him. So how did I know that what was between us was actually love? What if Trey decided, after he found out who I really was, that he didn't want to be with me anymore? Should I have waited until after he found out about my double agent status? He was my fiancee now, but there were still so many secrets between the two of us.

"Because what?" Abbey prodded, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Because I know how I feel around him. And you said it yourself, you've never seen a love like our's before. He's the one. I know he is," I told her.

"Regardless, you should have waited," she said.

"Until?" I asked.

"Until you two sorted out the problems between yourselves. They're still existant. Just because you've got a ring on your finger now doesn't mean that they'll go away. What if you can solve them all? What happens then? I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm totally rooting for you two, but I just think you guys should be smarter about all of this," she said.

"We'll get through it. I know we will," I said, trying to convince myself more than Abbey.

"I hope so. Because that ring makes things pretty permanent," she said, putting her sunglasses on and leaning back on her elbows.

I sighed and put my glasses on, too, laying down and letting the sun shine over me.

There was one thing that I was sure of, and that was that I didn't want to hurt Trey anymore than I already was. But by saying yes, had I set him up for more pain in the future?

                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't think I can do this," I muttered, brushing the skirt of my dress down with my sweaty hands. I was so nervous I could feel my knees trembling and could hear my heart thumping in my ears. I kept twirling the beautiful engagement ring on my finger around and around on my ring finger, a nervous habit that I picked up ever since Trey had given it to me nearly three weeks ago.

The remainder of the Italy trip had been fun, to say the least. Trey and I had put all of our troubles aside and decided to relish our time together and celebrate being newly engaged. We pretended like the trip was a pre-marriage honeymoon. We took pictures, did corny romantic things like take a gondola ride in Venice, and spent every second together.

It was some of the most amazing time I had ever had in my life. And I was truly happy to have been able to spend it with Trey.

But now we were back home in New York. Trey and I had decided to call a family dinner with my father and Trey's family to announce our engagement. I had no idea how my father would react. I had an inkling, however, of how Natalia and Christopher would take the news. But my father--I had no idea.

Would he be happy for me? Would he be happy that I had found true love and was pursuing it in the right way? Or would he be upset that I hadn't involved him enough? Would he be sad that I didn't ask for his advice before giving my answer? Would he be angry all together because he didn't approve? I had no idea what to expect, and for that reason, I was incredibly nervous.

"Relax, everything's going to be just fine," Trey said, his breath at my neck as I fiddled with the necklace he had given me.

"That's easy for you to say. Your parents are awesome!" I exclaimed, turning to face him.

"Your father loves you and respects your decisions. He's not going to be upset by this," he told me.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked. He cupped my face in his hands.

"Trust me," he said, kissing my forehead.

We heard a knock at the door and we both turned to see Cole walk in.

"You guys coming down or what?" he asked, flipping his long hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, we're coming," Trey said to his little brother.

"Well hurry up! I'm hungry!" he cried.

"Get out of here!" Trey growled, making a pouncing movement towards his younger sibling, causing him to flinch and run out the door. I chuckled.

"What?" Trey asked as I laughed at him.

"You realize you're twenty and he's nine, right?" I said.

"He's my younger brother. Age is automatically negligible," he replied, putting his arm around my waist and leading me to the door. We went downstairs and to the dining room, where Natalia, Christopher, my father, and Cole were waiting for us.

"I am so excited. What is all of this about? I hope it's good news!" Natalia said excitedly.

"It better be good news," Christopher warned. My father glanced between Trey and I, eyeing us both curiously.

"It is good news. But let's...let's eat first," I said.

"No! Let's hear the news first," Natalia insisted.

"Honey, give them their space," Christopher said, but I could tell he was itching to hear what we wanted to tell them.

"Oh, just tell us already!" Cole cried out loud in exasperation.

"Cole!" Natalia scolded.

"We're engaged!" I accidentally blurted out.

"What?!" Natalia shrieked.

"Caley!" Trey cried, looking at me with an annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry! It slipped!" I said, covering my mouth.

"Oh. My. Merlin. Is that the ring?" Natalia asked, snatching my hand off my face and pulling my arm closer to her so she could inspect it.

"We were supposed to tell you together," Trey said.

"I can't believe you didn't consult us first," Christopher said.

"Did you ask for her father's blessing?" Natalia asked Trey.

"I-I--" Trey stammered.

"We wanted it to be a surprise," I said, coming to Trey's rescue.

"He has my blessing," my dad said.

"I do?" Trey asked.

"He does?" I said at the same time.

My father laughed lightly, his eyes bright.

"He does. I couldn't think of a better man for my daughter to marry," my father said. I felt my eyes water slightly and looked at Trey. His cheeks were slightly flushed and he seemed relieved. His multi-colored eyes glittered and I knew that he was happy.

I was happy myself. My father had approved of us. He had given us his blessing. I wondered, however, longingly if my mother would have approved of us, too. Would she be happy to see me getting engaged at such a young age? Although, I was nearly 20 years of age and my mother had me when she was about 22. I really wasn't that young.

"Oh! I just want to hug you!" Natalia cried, jumping out of her chair and reaching towards Trey and me. We laughed as she wrapped her arms around the both of us, kissing our cheeks.

"Mom," Trey said, wiping his cheek of his mother's lipstick.

"I am just so happy. You have no idea," she said.

"We all are," Christopher interjected.

"When are you planning on getting married?" Natalia asked.

"Natalia," Christopher warned.

"What?" she asked.

"They just got engaged. I don't think they're thinking about marriage just yet," my father said.

"Are you?" Natalia asked. I glanced at Trey, who shrugged.

"I think we're taking it one step at a time for now," I said.

"Well," Natalia said, sitting down in her seat again, "when you do decide to get married, I better be the one planning the wedding," she told us. The maids brought out our food for us as we laughed.

"Who else would we ask?" Trey said.

"Abbey," I muttered under my breath. I caught Trey's eye and smirked at him.

"So, Caley. Your father tells us that you're travelling abroad next semester," Christopher said as we began to dig in. I nodded.

"I guess everyone knows now," I said, looking at my father. He smiled sheepishly at me.

"And you're going to be in Italy?" Natalia asked.

"That's the plan," I replied.

"Why the sudden interest, can I ask?" Christopher queried.

"I heard this girl talking about it. Oralie? I think you know her. But she went to Egypt and said it was amazing. I want to have the same experience," I replied.

It was a rehearsed answer now. Whoever asked me about my sudden desire for adventure got the same boring response. I couldn't hardly tell them that I was going so that I could fulfill my destiny and break the curse on my elemental line.

"That Oralie...she was a weird one," Christopher commented.

"Christopher!" Natalia scolded. Trey and I laughed.

"She is pretty weird, though," Trey said.

"Very mystical," I added.

"Well, her mother was a prophetess," my father said.

"No way?" I asked, stopping my fork midway before it reached my mouth.

"What's a prophetess?" Cole piped up, finally speaking. We all jumped a little in our seats, having completely forgotten that the child was there.

"Nothing, dear. Go upstairs and play your video games," Natalia said. Cole humphed and pushed back his chair, leaving his empty plate on the table. Once we heard him go up the stairs, we resumed our conversation.

"Oralie's mom was a seer?" Trey asked. My father nodded.

"Oralie, although a fire master, comes from a very diverse background. It's no wonder that she's so knowledgeable," my father replied.

"I met her mother when I was at Trinity High. She was a year older than me. I remember her being very aloof and strange," Natalia reminisced.

"In what way?" I asked.

"She would randomly fall into these strange stupors where she froze and wind blew all around her. She'd always make wild predictions that seemed so strange at the time, but they ended up proving to be true," Christopher explained.

"She predicted our marriage," Natalia said, pointing to her husband and smiling.

"How was that strange?" Trey asked.

"They hated each other," my father replied. The three of them laughed, remembering old memories.

"Is Oralie's mother still alive?" I asked. The laughter died down immediately and everyone's faces turned grim. I glanced at Trey apprehensively and then back at the three adults.

"She was killed in the last war," my father said, his voice hollow.

"Along with Oralie's father," Natalia added. I bit my lip, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Oralie's an orphan?" I asked. The three nodded their heads solemnly. "She seems so upbeat, though," I said.

"She's a very strong young woman. Just like her mother," my father said.

"What other powers do seers have besides predicting the future?" Trey asked, simply to change the subject.

"Well, as you know, all magic users have the ability to use all the elements. Although everyone cannot be a master of every element, it is possible to be able to use each element to an extent. Seers have a disadvantage because mastering their own element wouldn't help in battle," my father explained.

"Can't they, like, predict the enemy's next move?" I asked. My father chuckled.

"It doesn't work like that," he said.

"Seers can only predict events in the far future, not immediate events," Christopher explained.

"It's troublesome, their element. Most people don't like having their future told to them. It takes away a sense of free will. This angers many," Natalia said.

"Even if your destiny doesn't change, you can still alter the way you get to it, though, can't you?" I asked.

"But what's the point if the final outcome is still the same?" Trey asked.

"That's the problem with us; we do have the ability to change our futures. It's up to us. We have this sense of pre-ordainment whenever we hear a prophecy. But prophecies are tricky things because there can be many ways in which they can be true," my father said.

"So just because a prophecy predicts one thing, doesn't necessarily mean it will be true?" I asked.

"No, it does mean that it will be true. But it can be true in a number of different ways. And that's why choosing a proper course of action is important," my father replied.

Natalia laughed lightly, taking a sip of her wine.

"What?" Trey asked.

"I just think it's funny how incredibly curious the two of you are," she said. "I don't remember ever being this curious about magic when I was young," she added.

"I guess it's different this time," I muttered, thinking about my destiny and the journey that awaited me.

"What was that?" Natalia asked.

"Nothing. I'm tired. I think I'm going to go to my room now," I said, pushing my chair out.

"Oh. Goodnight, then, dear," Natalia said, looking confused.

"Goodnight, everyone," I replied, waving as I walked out of the room. I heard Trey come up behind me as I went up the flight of stairs.

"Success?" he asked once we got into my room. I turned and faced him, grinning.

"Success!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him. He laughed and his lips crashed down on mine. I kissed him back longingly and for just a moment, everything felt normal.

_______________________________________________________

A/N: Kind of uneventful. Sorry about that. This was just a filler. I couldn't just let the summer end.

Think about Valenya's role and what she prophecized about Caley. Do you think Caley will go down the same path her mom did? Or do you think she'll find another way to figure out the countercurse?

I won't be updating for a while. I had half of this chapter written from break, so it was easy to finish. But the rest of the book is going to need a LOT of thought. I have a general outline, but I need to work out the detail, which will take time. I'm the head of an organization at school and this is also the MOST important semester of my undergraduate college years. I REALLY need to focus and do well so that I can get into medical school. So if I don't update for weeks at a time, don't hate me and don't give up on me. We're almost to the end of this story and I know you all want to know what happens. I won't leave you hanging, I promise. I just can't do that to this story. But at the same time, I need to set my priorities. So please try to understand.

Leave me comments! And vote! (And please don't tell me to update, because chances are, I won't. Sorry.)

XOXO