I came into a well lit house, and everyone was up, watching a DVD. As I walked in, Mom saw the mess my tears had made of my face and makeup, and she quickly wrapped me in a hug.

"Are you all right, honey?”

“It’s been an interesting night, Mom. Very interesting.” I giggled as I tried to wipe off my makeup with some tissue.

Grandma smiled, and I knew she had been probing. I really do need to learn how to shield.

“I know that look, Mom. Emily, what happened after you left?”

“Well, it started out with some deer...” I told them about the accident, and what I had done. Mom said she understood why I had used magic, but she thought I should have quietly erased a bit of Tim’s memory, but I disagreed. I’m not familiar with that, and I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that to him. Suppose I had wiped all of his memory? No, I did what I did, and I’ll live with that.

“How did Tim handle your revelation?”

“Well, ah, we, umm, got...engaged?” I said, and I braced myself for the explosion.

Total silence.

Okay, I thought the worst thing would be the yelling. Instead, the silence was so oppressive that I had to sit down.

After a few very uncomfortable minutes of silence, I decided to go to my room. I didn’t know what to say to them, and I got the feeling they didn’t know what to say to me, either. I went in and got undressed, then put on an oversized sleep shirt and went to the bathroom to clean up. I made it a lot harder, because I couldn’t stop my tears.

After a few minutes, I heard a knock on the door.

“Emily?” Grandma said. “Honey, can I come in?”

“O-Okay.” I unlocked the door and sat sniffling on the edge of the tub.

“Oh, honey.” She came over and hugged me, and the floodgates opened. I was starting to hyperventilate, and I felt Grandma come into my mind, calming me down.

“Just relax, breathe...wipe your nose, sweetie, that really looks awful. For what it’s worth, I’m very happy for you. Your Grandfather and I were married when I was a bit younger than you are now, but that was the way of things then. I am assuming you aren’t planning on a wedding anytime soon?”

“No, Grandma (sniff), we’re a long ways from that. I think I should graduate from High School first, for one thing (sniff).”

“Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea,” she chuckled. “I think your Mom and Dad will be relieved, too.”

We laughed for a while, maybe as a bit of an emotional relief.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll talk to your parents, and let them know they don’t need to worry about arranging your wedding yet.”

“Thanks, Grandma, I love you.” I kissed her on the cheek, and then I went to my room. I was sitting in my bed reading when Mom came in and sat on the edge of my bed.

“I’m so sorry, honey.” She said as she leaned over and hugged me. “You really surprised us, Emily. I’m sorry that we made such a wonderful thing feel bad for you.”

“It’s so right, Mom! I’ve seen it, and I know we are supposed to be together. Of course, I wasn’t expecting him to propose already! I don’t think either of us had planned this, but Mom, I love him. He’s the one, I know it.”

“Honey, it may come as a surprise to you, but your Dad and I know it, too.” She kissed my forehead and I felt so loved. “We just...weren’t expecting this just yet. It was a shock, that’s all.”

We hugged each other. “Thanks, Mom.”

“We love you, sweetheart,” she told me, and then she got up and turned out the light. I heard her whispering. “Congratulations, Baby.”

I actually slept quite well, much to my surprise. My alarm went off at 7:30, and I woke up feeling great. I went in to shower, and got ready for my day. I was surprised how quickly I was ready. I wasn’t really sure what we would be doing, so I went with my blue jeans, pink tee shirt, some ankle socks and my trainers. I also brought a bag that held a swimsuit, a sundress and some sandals with a 2” heel. You never know what might happen, but I was going to be ready!

I put in some simple gold studs, my amulet, a matching bracelet and my watch. Then I did my makeup very simply, and then went to the kitchen for a couple of toaster pastries and some coffee.

Tim pulled into the driveway at about 8:45. He came up to the door, and I pulled him in. He was totally shocked when Mom hugged him, but he recovered quickly.

“So, I guess you’ve told them?” He said, happily. Grandma hugged him and kissed his cheek.

“Yeah, she did. It was a shock at first, but it was obvious you two are made for each other.” My Dad said as he walked into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee, while I blushed like crazy.

“I love Emily with all my heart,” Tim said. “We really haven’t discussed anything beyond that. I knew I would eventually ask her, but I think we were both surprised at what happened.

I think Emily would agree that it will probably be a long engagement, but I’m just happy to know she loves me.”

“That’s good thinking, and it’s nice to know you two aren’t jumping into anything.” Mom said with a smile.

“Why don’t you two go have fun,” Dad said. “I know there are a lot of things you want to talk about. Be careful, all right?”

“We will, Dad. See you later!”

As usual, Tim opened my door for me, and before I sat down, I gave him a quick kiss and whispered in his ear, “I love you, Tim.” I sat down and got comfortable.

He smiled and went over to the driver’s side and got in. “You never fail to make me smile, sweetheart, but now it’s my turn. I told my Mother about my proposal this morning. She didn’t seem surprised at all, but she did chew me out for doing it wrong.”

He pulled into the old lot where we had parked last night, then turned off the car and got out, walking over to my side. He opened the door, and before I could stand up, he got down on his knee.

“Emily Randall, would you do me the great honor of marrying me?”

“Yes, I will, enthusiastically and without reservation.”

This is where he surprised me. He pulled out a beautifully crafted ring and slipped it on my finger. It didn’t quite fit, being just slightly large.

“Mother said I needed to do it right, this time, and she told me to give this to you. It was my great-grandmother’s ring, and has been passed down each first borne son. It’s supposed to be very lucky. Each woman to wear this ring has had a long, happy marriage.”
It was so beautiful, but it had to be very expensive, and it somehow made me nervous to have that much money sitting on my finger.

“Uhm, Tim? Just how much is this beautiful ring worth?” I asked nervously.

“Emily, trust me-You really don’t want to know.”

“Please, Tim, At least give me some kind of estimate?”

“I honestly don’t have any real idea, Em. I know that it is insured for a lot of money, but it’s basically priceless and irreplaceable.”

“It’s so...graceful, I guess. What kind of stone is that?” The translucent silvery gray stone had several blue striations that ran through it, something I had never seen before. Two small sapphires and a small diamond were set around it, and the ring itself was an unusual shade of silver. It really was almost unnaturally beautiful.

“Good question. Someone told me once, but all I know is that it’s rare and very unusual. My Grandmother once told me that it was made from a meteorite, and polished for a very, very long time.”

“I love it, Tim.” As I kissed him, I quietly reshaped the ring to fit my finger, and then tried my first protection spell, hopefully keeping the ring safe from damage.

“You said you had some questions.” I said, smiling as we separated. “I’ll tell you everything, as truthfully as I can.”

“Well, let’s start with the obvious. What can you do?”

“You’ll have to take my word for this, because I honestly don’t know. It’s said that almost anything I can imagine, is possible, as long as you have the energy. Most witches are actually fairly weak, which limits their ability.”

“Amazing,” he said, and I could see in his mind what he was going to ask next. “So, how strong are you?”

“I hate that question.” I wasn’t kidding at all. “Don’t read too much into this, please? I’m told I am the strongest witch...ever.”

“Wow, I would think you would be proud, but I can tell that it really bothers you. There must be something I’m missing.”

“Tim, it’s a little hard to explain. In the first place, the strongest witch leads the coven. I’m only 16, and I’ve only been a girl and a witch for a very short time.”

“So you didn’t have any power when you were Gabe?”

“No, there’s something about the way our brains work that inhibits a male’s ability. I had the genetic potential, and could pass it to my daughter, but I never had any ability myself. Then I went through my transformation, thanks to...well, mostly it was an accident, but after I changed, my talent ‘woke up’. We recently discovered my strength as I began my training, and I have to tell you, it’s a major pain in the buns!”

“Is it very hard to control? Is that why it bothers you so much?”

“It’s hard to explain, but no to both of those questions. I was afraid that I would have problems like that, but no, I can control it pretty easily. The reason it bothers me is the responsibility, and the demands on my life. I just want to get used to being a girl, and I have to deal with all of this as well. It’s almost too much for me to handle.

I didn’t want to be a girl, and I hated it at first, but then I met you.” I blushed. “I think I fell in love with you right from the start, and before meeting you, I thought I would never be happy with a guy.”

“I think I would probably feel the same if the same thing happened to me.”

“It almost did.” He looked at me in surprise. “The reason I was affected was because someone had cast a spell over me, and the same person cast the same spell over you. If I hadn’t been the focus of the wild magic...”

“What spell was on me? You mean, I could’ve been the girl?”

“Yeah, I believe so, although you wouldn’t have had any magic. Don’t worry about it. I’m quite used to being female, now. I can’t tell you about the spell, because I don’t want you to be angry at the caster, just believe me that nothing really happened for you, and what happened to me was an accident. I have forgiven the spell caster, and that person has been punished, okay?”

“All right, pretty lady. So, do all the women in your family have magic? How does your Dad feel about it?”

“I don’t know how Dad was at first, but he’s always been fine with it around me. Mom and Grandma both have strong magic. That’s why Mom is a nurse, and Grandma was a counselor and therapist until she retired a few years ago. Witches generally feel a great need to help people, we just don’t talk about it. If people knew that Mom was a healer, there would be folks lined up outside our door and down the block.”

“Yeah, I can see that, and it must be hard, wanting to heal people, but knowing there’s no way she could take care of everybody. She’d probably be in a lot of danger from greedy people who want her power for themselves.” He took my hand. “I promise, Emily, that I will never tell anyone your secrets, or reveal the fact that magic is real. I swear it,”

I hugged him so hard. I couldn’t believe that I had fallen in love with such a wonderful person.

“You said that witches needed to help people, which is why your Mom is a nurse. What do you want to do?”

“Even before my change, when I was Gabe, I’ve always loved helping people. I probably won’t do it as a formal occupation, but I’ll continue to volunteer and support my mother at the hospital. One of the traditions we have is that the strongest witch becomes the leader of the coven, and as I told you, I’m apparently the most powerful witch ever (shudder). Wow that just gives me chills to even think about that!”

“So, you’re the leader of the coven, now?”

“No. my Grandmother is right now. I’m still in training, and I confess, I’m hoping to be in training for a very long time yet. Right now I’m Grandma’s assistant and secretary.”

“So are you going to go to College?”

“Yeah, I’ll be taking business and biology classes eventually. I still have two and a half years of high school yet, though. What are your plans after graduation?”

“Oh, I have a definite career plan.” He said with a smile. “Eventually, I’ll inherit my father’s businesses. Just like you, I’m learning a lot by working with my dad, but I need some college education to understand new technology and things like Business Law, or Marketing. I plan on going to our local community college for a couple of years, but then going to a more formal college to get the rest of my training.”

“So, you won’t be going very far away for a while then?” I asked him, and he smiled and pulled me over to him.

“No sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere without you. I think we should get married after your graduation, and then I believe I should transfer to Elmtree. It’s not far from here, so we could still live in town. That way we could both work on our apprenticeships and school.”

“That’s genius,” I said. “It’s also completely workable. Even my parents would be happy with it. Elmtree State is a great college choice, and yes, I love it that it’s close.”

“I thought about it all night.” Tim told me, not looking at me. “I realized that I would be leaving for college after this year, and I decided I was going to stay here, no matter what.
I won’t leave you, my lovely Miss Witch. Of course there’s the added benefit of being able to keep working with my father, so that I’ll know what I’m doing when the time comes, which will please my parents.”

“And it let’s me continue working with Grandma, which will please my parents.”

“I think that solves the majority of our problems,” Tim concluded.

“Well, ah, almost. First I need to check something, if you’ll let me.”

“Emily, I trust you completely. What do you need me to do?”

“Just stand there a minute and close your eyes, okay? I’ll tell you what I’m doing afterwards.” I had to do this, even if it broke my heart. I put my hands on his temples and focused on Tim. I knew that he could have been manipulated, and if so, I had to free him from any spells, no matter what it did to us. I was so afraid, and the only reason I had Tim close his eyes was so he didn’t see my tears.

It only took a minute, and I was immensely pleased. There was no sign of tampering, but several deep signs of love. I was so happy I kissed Tim, and I felt him smile and return my kiss.

“So, did you find what you were looking for?” He asked, smiling, but touching my wet cheeks.

“Nope, and that’s a good thing.”

“So what was that about?”

“I had to check to see if you were really you.” I said. “I’ve had someone trying to manipulate my emotions somehow, and I had to make sure they weren’t trying to do it to you.”

“Someone could do that?” I nodded. “So...what did you see?”

I gave him a huge smile. “Lots of love, honey. So much love there.” I had happy tears. “You are so special.”

“Well, yeah! I knew that part, of course.” He smirked, and made a “muscleman” pose, which made me giggle.

My cell phone rang, so I grabbed it and took the call. “Hello?”

“Emily?” Debbie sounded like she was crying.

“Deb, are you all right?” Tim quietly held me from behind.

“No, I’m not.” She said, weeping. “I’m scared, and on my way to your house now. I'm pretty sure my Mom is possessed.”