I marked off the final date on the calendar before the circled date. August 22nd. The day I would leave for Italy.

I heard a knock at my door and turned around to see my father walk in to my room.

"All packed?" he asked, looking around at my suitcases. I nodded.

"I'm packed," I said, my voice small and quiet. 

"Are you ready to go?" my father asked. He wasn't asking in an urgent way, telling me to hurry and get going. He was asking me because I knew he knew that I wasn't completely sure that I wanted to go anymore.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said.

"You're going to have a really great experience, Caley. Italy is the place to go to learn about some of magic's most ancient roots. It's a place full of history. You can even visit the Trinity Government while you're there and see for yourself how our system functions," my father told me.

"I thought the government was being taken over?" I asked. He frowned.

"That's true. I guess you're not exactly picking an ideal time to leave, then, are you?" he said, a half-smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry I won't be much help with the war," I said.

"I think it's better that you'll be away from it. I'd rather you be safe and far from here than in the action," he replied. I bit my lip, looking down at the ground. I am more a part of this war than you would ever know, Dad. I have so much invested in this, so much to lose that I can't afford to.

"A year's a really long time," I said.

"I've been away from you for much longer. I think time will go by pretty fast," he said. I looked up at him, blue eyes meeting blue.

I hope so.

"Keep Trey on track, will you? Make sure he doesn't put too much into the war," I said. I saw my father's expression darken slightly before he nodded silently.

"We should get going. You still have to say good-bye to Trey and your friends. We don't want to miss your flight," he said. I nodded and stood up. I grabbed one of my suitcases and dragged it out of the room. My father followed behind with the other two.

The plan that Gerrard and I had made was that we would meet in Sicily. He would come pick me up at the airport and from there, we'd go to the apartments that I would be staying in. Gerrard was going to get there a little bit before to set up.

We had taken one of the captives that Elijah had locked up in the dungeons that had blonde hair. Her name was Nina. We transformed her to look like me and then spelled her into obeying our orders. Nina would take my place in the classes that I had been signed up for so that my father would be able to receive a monthly report on how I was doing and what I was learning. We had compelled her into drinking weekly the potion that would keep the disguise up. The compulsion spell was permanent until one of us died; it was an ancient spell that we had found in Elijah's library when we were researching during the summer and creating our plan. Nina would continue to obey our orders until we set her free when we were done with our mission.

Gerrard and Nina would be waiting for me at the airport in Sicily. Initially, he had wanted us to go together. But I wanted to say a proper good-bye to my friends and family. Who knew if I would ever even see them again? And if I did, under what circumstances would we meet? I had to say my farewells because I didn't know if I would get a chance to later.

After about an hour, my father and I reached the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. The city was bustling and busy as usual. The airport was crowded with people of all different nationalities. We parked at the terminal where the flights to Italy were departing from. As I got out of the car and helped my father get my bags out of the trunk of the car, I felt my heart beat escalate.

It was happening. I was leaving. I was finally going to be completely on my own, pursuing the destiny that I had ignored for so long. I was finally going to do something for me and Trey, for my father, and even for Elijah. I was going to remove the curse off my elemental line, so that any future water masters that would ever be born would be able to love freely, without having the fear of something terrible happen to them. With this in mind, feeling liberated, I followed my father into the airport.

Waiting anxiously by the check-in counters were the people that I was closest to. I saw Abbey and Lance, sitting and tapping their feet impatiently as they waited for me to arrive. Natalia and Christopher were there, chatting idly. Cole stood by, playing a game on his father's phone. Even Oralie and Matt were there, two people I was surprised to see. And then there was Trey.

He was standing off to the side, away from everyone else. He stood near the windows, gazing outside with a somber look on his face. His features were dark and gloomy. His stance was stiff and uncomfortable. I could almost hear the sadness that was pumping through his veins as it was through mine.

"Caley!" Abbey exclaimed, standing up when she saw me. Everyone looked over at once. My eyes were fixed on Trey, who didn't move an inch. He simply stood staring off, completely lost in his own world.

"I'm going to check in your bags, Caley," my father said to me. I nodded as he walked off, meeting Natalia and Christopher on the way.

"Hey," I breathed out as my friends approached me.

"I can't believe you're actually leaving," Abbey said.

"Being here makes it so real," Lance added.

"I know," I said in a quiet voice.

"You're going to have an incredible amount of fun. Trust me," Oralie said, her amber eyes glittering as usual.

"You have quite the go-away party, don't you?" Matt asked jokingly.

"I'm really glad that you all are here, though," I said, reaching out and hugging him.

"We're going to miss our favorite underclassman," Oralie said as I hugged her. I laughed as Abbey rolled her eyes.

"So you'll be gone for a year?" Lance asked. I nodded.

"That's the plan," I said.

"I hope you find whatever you're looking for," Abbey said. I smiled softly at her.

"Me too," I said. I glanced at Trey, who still hadn't moved.

"He's been quiet ever since he got here," Abbey said.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! Congratulations on the engagement! Abbey was telling me," Oralie said. I looked down at my ring.

"Oh! Thanks," I said, smiling shyly.

"Finally put a ring on it, did he now?" Matt asked.

"It was bound to happen," I told him.

"Unfortunately," he sighed dramatically. I laughed as Oralie shoved him and told him that he was an incredible prick.

"I'm going to go talk to him," I said.

"Go get your man," Abbey said. I laughed and moved away from my friends. I walked over to Natalia and Christopher first, ruffling Cole's hair as I walked by him. Natalia smiled as I approached her.

"Excited?" she asked.

"Nervous," I replied.

"You'll be fine," Christopher assured me.

"And you'll have a lot of fun and learn a lot," Natalia added.

"I sure hope so," I said, not really believing that I was going to have much fun. My journey would be anything but that. I glanced at Trey.

"He's been quiet lately," Natalia said, noting the sad expression on my face.

"Me, too," I replied softly.

"Maybe some time apart will be good for you two. It'll give you a chance to miss each other," Christopher said. I laughed hollowly.

"That's what we told each other when he went to England last summer for a month," I said.

"You two will be fine," Natalia said, gently touching my cheek. I forced a smile at her and nodded.

"I'm going to talk to him," I said.

"Good luck," Christopher said. I smiled half-heartedly at him before walking away and towards Trey.

I felt my heart rate increase as I drew nearer to him. The electricity that always welled up whenever we were close to each other heightened. I brought my hand to the ring on my finger and I twirled it around nervously, a habit I couldn't seem to let go. As I walked towards him, memories of our last night together flooded my mind.

                                                             ~~~~~~~~~

It had been a little over a week ago. Trey and I had decided to get away from everyone and go on a trip together--just the two of us. He rented a small island in the Carribbean for a few days. We stayed together for three days, just talking, enjoying the sun, and relaxing. We tried as hard as we could to not think about the upcoming good-bye, but it was difficult.

On our last night together, as we were getting ready for bed, I had walked out of the bathroom to find Trey outside on the balcony of the little house that we were staying in. The glass doors were pulled aside and the sheer white curtains fluttered around in the cool breeze. The room was filled with the scent of the ocean, which could be heard from our little house. I could hear the waves crashing against each other, lapping up against the shore and then receding once again. It was calm, but there was a looming sense of sadness in the air.

I walked out onto the balcony and stood next to Trey. He didn't look at me; not at first. We simply stood staring out at the dark ocean in silence, my farewell hanging over us omnipresently. I felt Trey's warmth radiating off of him in the comforting way that I loved so much.

After a few long moments of silence and stillness, Trey wound his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. He turned me so that I was facing him and he brushed my hair back behind my ears gently, a sad expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, knowing full-well what exactly was wrong.

"How long will it be before we see each other again?" he asked, caressing my cheeks with his thumbs.

"A week," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. His lips twitched up slightly before falling back into a thin line.

"I keep hoping that I'll wake up from all of this and find out that this was all a really bad dream and that you weren't going to leave me," he said.

"I'm not leaving you, Trey. Not forever," I said. He chuckled.

"Who knows how much will change in a year?" he asked. I put my hand on his cheek.

"Nothing is going to change, Trey. We're still going to love each other just as much as we do now, if not more," I told him.

"Being away for so long--" he started.

"Means nothing. We'll miss each other, yes, but that will only make us realize how much we really love each other," I interrupted. I raised my hand and showed him the engagement ring. "This, Trey," I said. "Just remember this and everything is going to be okay. I'm going to come back and we're going to get married and we're going to be happy," I told him, hearing my voice crack as I forced myself to believe what I was saying. It was extremely idealistic, but I needed to give him something to hold on to, even just for a little while, before I actually broke his heart.

Trey looked at me, his multi-colored eyes scanning every centimeter of my face, as if memorizing it before I left him.

"We're going to be happy," he repeated.

I nodded and smiled through the tears that had formed in my eyes. He reached up and brushed them off my cheeks and leaned in, kissing me gently at first and then with more need. I pulled him closer to me until I felt his body touch mine. He lifted me off the balcony and brought me into the bedroom, our lips connected the whole way.

I could feel the electricity build as the moment grew intense. With each article of clothing that hit the floor, a light in the room went out. Sparks flew--both literally and figuratively--and I felt as if I were on an electrical fire. Like the adrenaline rush that comes from being shocked with an electrical fire, I felt high. It was as if an electrical current was running through a stream of water, creating a fire full of pleasure and desire. And when the desire peaked so high that it almsot hurt, and every light in the room was out, we collapsed on the bed next to each other, breathing hard, but in perfect rhythm.

Fire and water; we were completely opposite, and yet, inexplicably the same.

                                                ~~~~~~~~

"Trey," I said, my voice soft as I approached him. I saw his back muscles stiffen before they relaxed. I stood so that we were standing next to each other. I felt the eyes of all of our friends and family watching us, waiting for the tears and waterworks. But no tears would come this time. I had shed my tears when we said good-bye on our little island.

"All packed?" he asked. I nodded.

"My father just booked everything," I replied.

"No trouble?" he asked. I shook my head. "That's good," he said, nodding as if to convince himself of something else. "How long until the flight?" he asked. I checked my phone.

"An hour," I replied.

"You should probably get going then," he said. I nodded.

"I should," I said, my voice squeaking slightly. Trey looked down at me now.

"Caley," he said. I looked up at him, my blue eyes meeting his colored ones.

"I'll be fine," I told him, more for myself than for him.

"I know," he said, knitting his eyebrows together. "I will, too," he added.

"Okay," I said, nodding.

"Caley! You have to get going! They'll be boarding in 20 minutes!" I heard my father call. I glanced back at him and saw Natalia shushing him and telling everyone to turn away and give us our space. I looked back at Trey.

"I should go," I said.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Well, I guess this is good-by--" I began, but he cut me off, his lips crashing down on mine. I reached up and encircled my arms around his neck, not caring who the hell was watching. He kissed me longingly and with emotion and I kissed him back the same way. We put all of our unsaid words into that kiss, that last kiss.

When we pulled away, we were both breathless. I saw an elderly couple walk by, smiling at us, feeling happy about our love.

"No more good-byes, okay?" Trey said when I looked back at him. I nodded.

"I love you, Trey," I told him. He smiled and kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment.

"I love you, too," he whispered. I pulled away from him and he grabbed onto my hand, holding it for just a little longer before letting it go.

Then I turned by back to him, taking a deep breath.

It was time to go now.

__________________________________________________

A/N: LA LA LA. I should be studying right now. I'm an idiot for updating this. But I wanted to write this damn scene because it's been plaguing my dreams for the past week or so.

There's the good-bye. I hope it lived up to the cheesiness that I was trying to portray. It's going to be a while before we see Trey again. I won't keep him out of the story until the end. I'll put in some Trey's POVs for the sake of seeing what the Order is up to. But we won't see any Trey-Caley interaction until the actual war.

So...the adventure begins with the next chapter. What do you think will happen? Where do you think Caley and Gerrard will go? What do you expect? What do you WANT to expect?

Leave me a comment below! I love interactive fans because I like knowing what you're thinking.

Please continue to be patient with me. I recently made a plan for myself for the rest of the year and I'm pretty much going to be booked the rest of this semester. I might update if I ever get a chance to breathe, but once again, I ask you to be patient.

Thanks a bunch! Don't forget to vote!

Also, if anyone would like to make a banner for this story, feel free to! I'll post it in the chapters and then dedicate them to you!

XOXO