Author's Note: Hey guys, so this is my new story…its basically a remake/retelling of my previous story, "Meeting Their Match." This story takes place in an AU where four girls, who are known as the Daughters of Ipswich, exist. The Sons have known them their whole lives and each Son shares a birthday with a Daughter – as has each generation since the beginning of time. This generation, however, is a little different in that there are romantic ties between the Sons and Daughters. I really hope that you guys will like it and find it interesting! Please review!
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I do NOT own The Covenant or any of its characters. Trust me, if I did, I would be Mrs. Caleb Danvers. I do, however, own the storyline and any original characters within this work.
"Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."
–Erica Jong
Prologue: Twelve Years Ago
Savannah Sinclair and Caleb Danvers stood facing one another across an invisible line that separated them from one another, and neither party seemed willing to cross it. The two five-year-olds stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Leader to leader, eye to eye, and heart to heart.
"I'll kiss you, but only for a second." Savannah declared with an air of finality. Caleb's forehead crinkled, as if he was carefully considering every word that fell from her lips.
Behind Savannah, the ringleader of sorts, stood Paige Kessler, Ember Young, and Lacey Townsend. Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms stood behind Caleb – the alpha male, if you will – in a show of solid support for the oldest Son.
"Savvy's going to have to go see the cootie doctor right after!" Ember squealed in youthful delight.
"Nuh uh! Girls have cooties, not boys!" Reid defended, crossing his little arms across his chest and sticking his tongue out.
"Okay. Let's get this over with." Caleb piped up, putting an end to the bickering. He stepped forward, crossing the invisible line, and tilted her chin up with his fingers. He planted a chaste kiss, one that was filled with childhood innocence and a hint of curiosity, squarely on her mouth.
The kiss was over faster than it had started, but they still made a show of wiping their lips with the backs of their hands as their friends erupted into a chorus of "Ewwws!" and "Yucks!"
"Now we're officially family, Cay. Just like my mommy and daddy." Savannah exclaimed, breaking into an irrepressible laugh.
"Guess so." Caleb agreed matter-of-factly at her exclamation. Watching the pretty dimples that had found their way somehow to her face, he wondered if Savannah had discovered, as he had, that kissing wasn't so bad after all. Especially kissing Savannah.
Four Years Ago
Caleb and Savannah stayed home for their shared thirteenth birthday, deviating from tradition. Usually, Evelyn Danvers and Audrey Mason-Sinclair would join forces and go all out to host a birthday extravaganza of epic proportions – each year trying to top the previous year's party. Turning thirteen in the Danvers-Parry-Garwin-Sinclair-Kessler-Young-Townsend clan, however, marked the beginning of the rest of their lives…and not so much in a good way.
There were only a matter of moments before it was officially September 9th, 2001…exactly thirteen years to the day they were born...the day when the oldest Son and the oldest Daughter would finally get their first taste of power, a test of self-control and willpower.
The occasion marked the passing of power from one generation to the next. The older generation could only hope that their children would have a brighter future than they themselves had – they couldn't help but think of what had become of William.
With all of their family members gathered at the Danvers' Estate, the wait for the clock to strike midnight had turned excruciating. The soon-to-be, full-fledged teenagers laid sprawled side-by-side on a pullout couch in the living room, fingers interlaced discretely between their two bodies.
"It's almost time…" Savannah whispered, just loud enough for Caleb to hear, her face blue in the glow of her cell phone.
The knots in Caleb's stomach tightened, but he still kept up a façade of composure – whether it was for her sake or his own, Caleb didn't know.
"How much longer?" He asked, working to keep his voice level.
"About thirty-five seconds…now thirty-four…" She informed him, managing a wry smile despite the panic plunging icily in her stomach.
He could sense the barely hidden fear in her voice.
"Don't be scared, Savvy. Everything will be fine…think of it this way, soon we'll have the power to tag team Reid." He joked in mock seriousness, earning him a "Hey!" from Reid, who was God-knows-where – he stopped paying attention to anyone who wasn't Savannah a long time ago.
Ten
Nine
Eight
"You promise?" She asked him with wide-eyed concern.
"Yeah, I promise." He assured her as he traced his thumb along the back of her hand.
Five
Four
Three
Two
One
The clock ticked over to midnight. Their birthday is officially here.
Caleb is the first to get hit – that is the only word he can use to describe it – with the power and it hits with the force of a Category 5 hurricane.
Beside him, Caleb could just barely make out the sound of Savannah screaming. Her voice choked with pure undiluted agony.
Just before his vision goes black, the last words he hears are those of Ember's. "Happy birthday Cay and Savvy."
"What's with the parental summit meeting, Bri?" Sean Young questioned one of his oldest and closest friends, Brian Kessler, as he walked into the family room of the Kessler's Estate where everyone was gathered.
"Yeah, I want the answer to that, too…and why aren't the parents of the Sons here?" James Townsend asked from his seat by the fireplace. His wife, Julia Townsend, gave his hand a gentle squeeze to calm his nerves.
Brian sighed heavily, steeling himself, suddenly looking much older than his years. He removed a folded up piece of paper from his jacket pocket and showed it to the group.
"Bri…you don't think that means what I think it means do you?" Heidi Young asked the man, her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a comforting way.
"I can only pray that I'm wrong, that the book's wrong…" Brian trailed off, not quite willing to finish the thought.
"…but we all know, deep down inside our hearts, that this prophecy is meant for our daughters." Nathan Sinclair finished for him, hating that he was confirming one of their biggest fears.
"Honey, we don't know that for certain yet." Nathan's wife, Audrey Mason-Sinclair, said.
"Nate's right, Aud. Anybody with two eyes and half a brain can see that the kids are already paired off. It's inevitable, always has been and always will be." Sean reluctantly admitted, his voice laden with defeat.
The rest of the parents nodded, acknowledging the truth in his statement.
"Caleb and Savannah are like mirrors of one another." Audrey and Nathan commented, smiling slightly.
"Pogue and Paige, too." Olivia and Brian said.
"Our little Ember is basically the female version of Reid, and if anybody asks, we never said any such thing." Heidi and Sean confessed.
"Same goes for Ty and Lace." Jules and James added.
"So where does that leave us?" Olivia Kessler asked the group.
As much as they loved the Sons, which they absolutely did – they loved them as if they were their own children, they had a core obligation to protect and promote the best interests of their own daughters.
"I say we just let the kids be…for now, at least. We have no cause for worry until another year or two." Audrey said very diplomatically.
"Fine, but we do not mention this to the kids." Brian determined, refolding the page and slipping it back into his jacket pocket.
Three Years Ago
As it turned out, Audrey's words about not having any "cause for worry until another year or two," was right on the mark.
The worry-free zone lasted about a year. A grace period in which the four pairs of parents remained hypervigilant, overprotective and chronically anxious about the well-being of their respective daughters.
Ironically enough, in the end, it was the golden boy and girl who ruined it for everyone.
Prior to the "incident-that-shall-not-be-spoken-of" (read: Savannah's parents walking in on them in the middle of a hot and heavy make out session), everyone had their bets placed on Reid and Ember. The precocious fourteen-year-olds were the type of children who seemed destined to give their parents gray hair at an early age. While they were far from a couple, nobody could deny the chemistry between them. Reid and Ember were teetering on the border of "just friends" and "friends with benefits."
Caleb and Savannah, on the other hand, were the type of couple who went perfectly together – so much so that people started referring to them as one entity, "CalebandSavannah" or "Cannah" (their couple name as dubbed by their friends) – and it would be easy to hate them both if they weren't so nice. They were as close as two people could be without merging into a single soul. When one wept, the other tasted salt.
That kind of connection would be intense, possibly even too much, for any "normal" couple to handle. Add the seductive call of the power into the mix, which they were still struggling to control, and the combination spelled out one thing: trouble.
So, really, in all honesty, it wasn't that much of a surprise that they were the ones that let their hormones get the best of them. What did come as a surprise, however, was the reaction Savannah got from her parents.
She expected them to be angry, or wild, even want to ground her (a true rarity in the Sinclair household), but she was not prepared for the horrified expression that met her. And was there a hint of guilt in their eyes?
To say Savannah's dad had a holy conniption would be an understatement of almost criminal magnitude.
After talking in loud hushed tones, Savannah's parents summoned half of the Covenant – the Kessler's, the Young's and the Townsend's – to their house for one of their infamous parental summits.
The parents deliberated in depth over what they would, could and should do before reaching a final decision – one that would not be popular.
One that they hoped would buy them another year's peace.
They decided to separate the Sons from the Daughters…at least school wise. Rather than enrolling them at Spenser Academy for high school, they decided to enroll them in public school for the first time in their lives.
Three Months Ago
"Flight 2758 to Honolulu, Hawaii is now boarding at Gate 5. I repeat, Flight 2758 to Honolulu, Hawaii is now boarding at Gate 5." The sophisticated voice of the flight attendant announce over the speakers.
This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. This had to be a nightmare.
Paige squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that when she opened them she would be back in her bedroom at home, but when she opened them she was still in the middle of the frenzied airport.
"Everything okay, Paige?" Savannah asked her, effectively snapping her out of La La Land.
Savannah, Ember and Lacey stood with their luggage at their feet, obviously waiting for her so they could board the plane.
Was she okay?
Her boyfriend of almost a year kissed her archenemy.
The guy she's known, quite literally, her whole life cheated on her.
"I'm perfectly peachy." Paige answered sarcastically as she stood up to join them, grabbing her luggage and hauling it forward.
Savannah, Ember and Lacey quickly exchanged glances of concern and worry, but they followed after her.
Paige headed towards Gate 5 to board their flight, walking at a brisk enough pace that made it seem like she was practically running.
"Oh boy, this is going to be an interesting summer." Ember muttered under her breath, dragging her suitcase behind her as she fell into step alongside Savannah and Lacey, who were trailing far behind Paige.
This was so not a good sign for their impending senior year.
Well, there's the prologue ladies and gentleman!
The story is going to be chronicling their senior year (for the most part), which will be present time, but I just wanted to kind of give you a glimpse of the characters and their past – what it was like growing up together, what their personalities are like, their history with each other, etc.
I hope you guys liked it so far. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
Please review? Pretty, pretty please with a sundae and a cherry on top?
