Chapter 1: The Past

"Come on Peyton! Baby girl run faster!" A 10 year old boy with big brown eyes and dirty blonde hair called after the girl behind him. They were racing home from playing with their friends, trying not to be late for dinner...again. Though she was running as hard as she could, Peyton was no match for her cousin's speed.

"I'm coming Pogue!' Peyton yelled, her long brown stick straight hair flew out behind her, a cape that didn't make her super hero fast. She resembled her cousin, so much so that people often guessed they were brother and sister. 'Wait up Pogue!"

They raced through the woods to the Parry Manor, tearing through leaves and bushed that left scrapes down their arms and legs. Their legs and arms pumped, willing themselves to speed faster towards their destination. With the wind blowing as they ran, the two kids were welcomed with open arms of four loving adults once they reached their mansion.

How the six inhabitants came to live in the Parry Manor is quite a story. Daniel and Gale Parry had their son Wayne nearly a year after being married, around the same time as the newlywed Garwin, Danvers, and Simms families.

Together, they made up the covenant, as the first born males in each of the families were warlocks. Gifted with magic, they got a taste of it at 13 and ascended at 18. Unfortunately there were two major issues with this gift. First, whenever the boys used their powers after they ascended they aged dramatically. Secondly, the boys never had siblings. Only one child was born to each of the families, a male. The boys looked to each other for siblings and saw each other as brothers.

For several years, Wayne was a happy only child and Gale and Daniel couldn't be prouder. He was energetic, spending all his time with William, Glenn, and and Joseph. A shock came 8 years later when Gale found out she was pregnant once again.

Never in the history of the covenant had there ever been a second child born to one of the families. At first, there was questions about the legitimacy of the child, but none of the other couples said anything to Gale and Daniel about their suspicions. But, once the baby was born, there were no doubts of the parentage.

For the first time it was a girl born to the covenant. Gale and Daniel were ecstatic. They named her Julia. Where Wayne mirrored his sophisticated, smart, and sensible father, Julia took after her hippie mother. She was a wild child, filled with spunk and energy. She was a trouble maker.

When she hit puberty things got worse, especially since Daniel died from "using" too much. Julia started sneaking out of the house, stealing booze from her family, partying with too many boys, and got in a lot of trouble. It finally caught up to her when at sixteen she got pregnant, and to make matters worse, she didn't know who the father was.

Naturally Gale being open and free took charge of the situation, deciding to help her daughter raise the child. But, she had her hands full with not one, but two pregnant women in the house. Wayne had gone to Harvard, met Beatrice and married her, and at the same time as Julia, Beatrice was pregnant. The two girls dealt with the 9 months of being pregnant.

Beatrice gave birth first to a little boy, Pogue. One month later Julia gave birth to a girl, Peyton. They all lived in the Parry manor together, the six of them. Julia was a good mother and eventually moved out to the pool house so she could live with her child alone.

Ten years went by, and to all the world, the Parry family was perfectly content. Pogue and Peyton were beautiful and smart. They spent everyday with their friends Reid Garwin, Caleb Danvers, and Tyler Simms. But, as the years went on, Julia was slowly being worn down.

She couldn't stand her brother and sister-in-law giving her the judgmental looks. Their little comments and glares broke her down little by little. She was raising her daughter as though she were her little sister or best friend, not a daughter, and this disappointed the family. When her daughter was 10, she had finally had enough. Though her mother had always been supportive, Julia just couldn't handle it anymore.

It was a summer night in the middle of July when Julia left. She had spent the day packing all of hers and Peyton's stuff. After one final family dinner and a round of hugs and kisses good night, Peyton and Julia retired to their little pool house.

Around midnight or so Peyton was woken up by her mother. She quickly got dressed and followed her mother out of their house, through the garden, and silently around the house.

"Wait here, baby." Julia went out to load their stuff in the car leaving Peyton to stand in the grand hallway hugging the stuffed teddy bear Pogue had won for her at their last school fair.

"Pey? Whatcha doing?" A whispered voice called from the stairs. Peyton's bright green eyes turned to see her cousin and best friend in his pajamas, standing there half asleep.

"I dunno Pogue.' Peyton was scared. She usually ran to Pogue for comfort but it seemed her mother had better ideas. 'Mama packed up all our stuff. I think we're leaving Pogue."

"What? No! You can't go!" Pogue rushed at his cousin, grabbed her and held her tiny frame in his arms. His heart was breaking as he felt her tears dampen his shirt. The other boys wouldn't take this well, but all Pogue cared about was holding his cousin. 'Please don't go?"

"Peyton!" A voice in a hushed whisper called from outside the front door.

"I gotta go Pogue.' Peyton squeezed Pogue in a hug one more time and turned to walk out the door without looking at her crying cousin. 'I love you."

"Love you too.' She heard back from behind her. With a final look, she heard Pogue whisper, 'You'll be back. I'll see you again. Promise."

"Promise. I'll be back." Peyton smiled, knowing her promise was her and her cousins word and there was no way it wouldn't happen now. She walked out of the door and out of his life, knowing she'd be back, someday.