TheRoyalspart20

“Get off of me right now…” Michael gasped out as everyone attacked him in his room. In the corner, safely away from the Michael-war, Alex laughed at his best friend. Michael had been tickling Andy for a good five minutes before the toddler’s laugh had brought the twins, Jessie and Leigha from the depths of the twins’ room. Now they were all holding down the eldest Guerin so that the little three-year old could counter attack.

“Get him Andy,” Ryan laughed as Jessie and Leigha kept Michael immobile by sitting on his legs. He was keeping one of Michael’s arms pinned while Trent had the other. Their baby brother was attacking Michael’s ribcage with all his little might, and Michael was squirming accordingly.

“Andy,” Michael gasped out. “If you help me out I’ll give you a surprise.” Andy Guerin stopped his attack and looked at his brother expectantly. “I’ll read you a story every night for a week,” Michael quickly bargained. “I’ll even do the voices that you like.”

“Andy,” Isabel said from the doorway, “if you keep tickling Michael I’ll do arts and crafts with you for an hour every day for a week after Mom finishes with you.”

It was no contest. Even at three years old, Andrew Guerin knew which was the better deal. Michael would read to him no matter what. But arts with Iz-bell were a special, special treat. She let him use her special pencils and paints and glitter and everything. With a wicked little laugh Andy launched himself back on Michael and began to tickle him relentlessly.

“Go for the underarms Andy,” Maria added from where she had entered the room and moved to stand beside Alex.

“That was just wrong,” Alex laughed to Maria with a wink. “You know that’s where he’s really ticklish. He was just laughing at the rib thing to amuse Andy.”

“I know,” Maria said with a grin. She looked at her boyfriend who was now withering for real on the bed and laughed. Leigha and Jessie were now holding onto his legs for safety more than to keep him down. “But at least I didn’t mention the feet.”

“Stop, stop,” Michael gasped out as Isabel joined in the battle. “Izzy don’t you dare….ack…” he choked out as Isabel went to where the girls where and began to lightly run her fingers up and down his feet. “Stop…stop…I give up…UNCLE!”

Everyone was laughing now as they finally stopped torturing Michael and backed quickly away. If he were going to kill anyone it would be now. He turned to the Guerin that started it all.

“Qwit it Michweal…” Andy giggled as Michael grabbed him and scooped him on the bed where he began to tickle the little boy mercilessly. “Helwp…helwp me Iz-bell…helwp me Wyan…helwp me Twent.” The others in the room looked at each other for a moment before with a giant war cry they all - Alex and Maria included - jumped on Michael and began to all tickle and hit each other with pillows.

“Now that’s a nice sight,” Georgia said to her husband from the doorway where they had gone unnoticed since Isabel and Maria had entered the room.

“Yes it is,” Caleb Guerin said as he looked at both his immediate and extended family with love. God he would do anything to protect them all from what was happening. “Come on George,” he said to his wife. He purposely used the nickname that she’d hated ever since the first time he’d used it when she had been four to his seven. He led her down the stairs towards the living room. He wanted to give his children some peace and space, and he knew that his wife wanted to discuss things that they couldn’t discuss in front of the children. They were not allowed to.

“Can’t we just tell them a little of what’s happening?” Georgia sighed after glaring at her husband for a few moments. “It just doesn’t seem right to let them go into this blindly.”

“You know we can’t do that,” Charles Whitman, Alex and Jessie’s father said from where he stood in the open doorway with Eleanor, his wife, and their toddler Danielle. “Honey why don’t you take Danny up to where the others are and then come back down,” he added to his wife as he kissed his youngest daughter on the head softly.

Eleanor nodded solemnly and quickly made her way up the stairs where she left her daughter. The small Danny quickly launched herself into the pillow/tickle war that was still in full effect. Eleanor sighed softly at the sight and then turned to go quietly back down the stairs. This was a conversation that she wanted to be a part of as well.

“I want to tell them just as much as you do,” Charles said with a sigh. “But aren’t allowed to. We knew that they were special thirteen years ago and so did the Council. They are meant for greater things than being a part of the infamous Willow Witches. But to get there they have to make it on their own, completely without our interference.”

“But what about Amy?” Eleanor said with a sharp look at them all. Her jealousy was nipping at her momentarily. “She’s allowed to be there with them…to help them on the path…why aren’t we?”

Rubbing her extended belly Georgia nodded, her own jealousy rearing its ugly green head. “Do you really want to be in Amy’s position?” Caleb asked both of the women sharply. “She’s as big a part of it as they are. She’s the only one who has a chance of helping James Valenti move past his wife’s death…to move past his vengeance for what he thinks happened. But how do you think he’s going to react when he finds out that it’s not all-innocent attraction for her - that she’s also been keeping him away from learning the truth about the real Royals of our world?”

“Amy is their protector, their healer and mentor. All we are is their family. We are here to keep them on the right path, not to help them choose it and act upon it,” Charles added solemnly. “And I for one wouldn’t change places with Amy Deluca for the world right now. She’s fallen for the new Sheriff like a ton of bricks, and once he learns what she is…what his son is…what this all is…he will never look at her the same again. That will make two men in her life that she would have lost because of her heritage…her birthright. We have to stay in the background on this one, for her…for all of them. We’ll come out when they need us to…when the Council allows us to. Until then…”

“Until then,” Caleb said firmly as leader of his generation’s Willow Witch coven. “We will do as we always have done. We will stand together and let them lead their own path, draw their own circle and when the time is right, we will show them their part in the larger circle.”

The two mothers looked at each other and sighed. They both knew the jealously of Amy was unfounded and childish and as always it had disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared. They sighed again as each leaned against her husband…at least they both had their soulmates, who would never turn away from them, and who would protect them always. Just as they would all protect their children…their hope…the Royals.

*****************

“Tess,” Kyle said much later that night while they made their way to the beach. It was quarter to twelve. He turned his eyes from the path to look into her beautiful Carolina blue eyes. “I really had fun with you tonight.”

Beside him Tess smiled and then grimaced when he returned his gaze to the surrounding scenery. He wasn’t going to be saying anything like that to her for a while after tonight. “I had fun too Kyle,” she whispered as he squeezed her hand in his. “I seem to always have fun when you’re around.”

“Well then I’m going to have to hang around more often,” Kyle said with a laugh. He mentally reminded himself yet again to thank his father for moving them to the town. His dad had even put that nonsense about witches behind him. Of course it was kinda hard to hunt for witches when you were totally enraptured by a woman/suddenly existence love life, but hey…it kept his dad from doing something psycho. They had reached the beach now and Kyle’s eyes moved from one end to another, and an odd light caught his gaze. “What the hell is that?” He thought out loud.

“Damn it,” Tess mumbled to herself when Kyle dropped her hand and moved toward the light. What the hell were Maria and Isabel doing calling on the powers this late it should have been done way before they got there…they shouldn’t have waited until…Tess looked at her watch. “Damn,” she cursed herself. They were fifteen minutes early. It was her fault that it was going down this way. “This isn’t the way he’s supposed to learn about it damn it,” she cursed under her breath, following after him quickly. “Kyle, wait up. It’s nothing that can’t be explained…”

“Jesus,” Kyle said as he got his first look at where the light was coming from. “What the hell are Isabel and Maria doing?”

“They’re calling the powers,” Alex said from behind them. “Asking them to witness your initiation.”

“My…you’re…oh my God,” Kyle sputtered as all the rumors from school and what was occurring before his eyes locked together into one obvious conclusion that he’d never thought possible.

“We’re witches Kyle,” Tess said softly as she came up to him. “We decided that you should know before you get any more caught up in us.”

Tess was expecting him to back away from them all in horror, Alex was expecting him to freak out and try to kill them or something, but what happened shocked all of them. Kyle stared at Tess in a tortured daze, then moved his eyes to where Isabel and Maria where still enshrouded in a mystic silvery-violet light drawing a circle in the sand, and then he moved his eyes back to Tess. She was the last thing he saw before everything went black…before he did the one thing that every jock/male in the world was afraid of doing…before he fainted at her feet.

TBC