Here's the next chapter! Please review, I'd love to hear what you guys think! xo

...

Serena quietly followed Nate. She thought going to the coven was the worst idea possible, but he asked her to trust him. They went to the library and to a bookshelf where Nate pulled at three books and she heard creaking. "Woah…is the wall moving?"

"Yup. Crazy, right? This has been here the whole time." He pushed firmly and they walked into the hallway. They walked for a bit until the hallway opened up to the cozy room with couches. "Elder."

Serena looked at Nate. She wanted to tell him there was no one here but instead she went to admire a painting.

There were footsteps descending the staircase. "Nate, is that you?"

Nate saw his figure appear. "Look, I'm sorry I came here. I just didn't know where else to go. This is Serena."

Serena turned to see a handsome man with wise eyes and white hair looking at her. "Oh, hello."

He smiled at her. "Well, aren't you lovely? Nate, she is stunning."

"I know." Nate smiled at him but it quickly faded. "I'm not sure what you were trying to accomplish by showing me what you did…but I'm guessing you didn't do it so I could bond with Isabel. I know this is asking for a lot…but can you help us?"

Maximilian was silent for a while. "Your grandfather is a very powerful man. Tradition is what has ensured the survival of the coven for centuries."

Serena frowned at him. "So is there nothing we can do? Maybe if we somehow proved to him that this isn't just some act of teenage rebellion."

The elder held out his hand to her. "May I?"

She put his hand on his and he grasped it with two hands. Serena let out a small gasp as his eyes went completely black and he stood as still as a statue. She wasn't scared though, and she let her eyes close.

After a minute, he let her go and looked at them both. "Very interesting, indeed. Your friend…Blair…she has visions?"

They nodded at him. "I think I know what can convince William to let you two be together, he won't be happy about it but it will appeal to his survival instinct."

Nate wasn't catching on. "What do we do?"

"You both go to William and tell him you want to be together and that you will reject the ceremony. Then you ask for a trial. He will give you a public trial and then the rest will fall into place."

"That's it?"

He nodded. "Just make sure Blair is there."

…

It had been an hour since Nate and Serena showed up at William's house and told him he wasn't going to be bonded to Isabel. William locked himself in his study with Nate while Serena paced around outside. She alternated between sitting and staring out the window too.

The door opened and Nate walked out. "Let's go. Our hearing is tonight."

Serena frowned but followed him quickly. "A hearing? Is that really necessary? Why can't he just let us be?"

Nate shook his head at her. "I wish but he thinks it's a personal betrayal to him. Needless to say, Isabel's family wants our heads."

"So when does the hearing start?"

"In two hours. The elders are going to meet to discuss everything beforehand. Eleanor is in Paris for a fashion show, so Blair is going to sit in. I think that's a good sign."

"Wait, the elders are meeting? Does that mean Elder Maximilian will be there too?"

He shook his head. "No. He technically has a right to be, more than any of them. But he's never showed up to one, or any council meeting. I'd never even met him until a couple of days ago."

"Nate, are you scared?"

He looked at her and nodded. "Yes. Are you?"

"No. I just have a feeling about this. It's going to be okay."

Nate rolled his eyes. "A feeling? That's it?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?"

He smiled innocently and put an arm around her. "Never." They walked into Central Park. "Let's go on a walk."

…

Nate led Serena to the familiar chairs in the center of the circular room. All eyes were on them. He gave her hand a squeeze and they took their seats.

Usually hearings were public, but this one only consisted of the council members and Isabel's father. Chuck had begged his father into letting him take his place for him. Blair and Chuck gave them worried looked as William began his opening statement. He started off by giving facts about how long the tradition of bonding had been going on. He cited the famous couples that were soul mates. He talked about how they were disgracing their customs.

Serena looked at Nate. "I thought this was a hearing…isn't there someone who is supposed to be defending us?"

Nate frowned at her. "We are supposed to be defending us."

All the questions William directed at them were phrased to only make them seem like a meaningless fling.

William cleared his throat. "I ask for them to be punished for conspiring and treason. For her, exile for 15 years. For him, a year in prison and whatever physical punishment is necessary. We must make it clear that this is unacceptable, no matter who it is."

Nate was shocked. "Treason!? He's crazy!"

"Silence!"

Blair stood up. "William, please! Be lenient."

"Sit down, Ms. Waldorf! Your being here is a courtesy to your mother."

Blair's body suddenly tensed up and her eyes went black. Serena gasped because she'd never seen that happen to her, but everyone else looked intrigued. After a few seconds her lips went up into a smile and she blinked and looked normal again.

William looked at her suspiciously. "What did you see?"

She walked down from her seat and went to him. She held out her hand. "Please. See for yourself."

William touched her hand and his eyes went black too. After a few seconds, he stepped away. A minute passed and they were still touching hands in front of Serena and Nate. Blair pulled away from him and walked quietly back to her seat.

William looked around the room, everyone was eager to hear what they saw. "I call for a recess. We will reconvene at the same time tomorrow."

…

William waited for the room to clear and then motioned for Serena and Nate to follow him into his office. He led the way and waited for them both to get there and closed the door behind him.

Nate stood protectively in front of Serena. "What is it?"

William poured himself a drink. He kept pouring until the glass was full and took a long sip. "You name your first child after me. You call him Liam for short. He's beautiful."

Serena's eyes widened and she really wished she could see the look on Nate's face. Nate didn't know what to say. At least now he knew they lived long enough to have children. "You mean we'll have more than one child?" It wasn't customary for people in the coven to have more than one kid, but it happened every now and then.

"You will have three. Can you believe it? They will terrorize these halls." He took another sip of their drink. "I am in shock. I saw them so clearly, I heard their laughter and they love me. And I them. "

Nate looked back at Serena and took her hand. He wasn't sure what to say. "I—"

William held his hand up to keep his from talking. "You two will be punished. There are plenty of things around here that need to be done. The books in the library are all surely out of order. I will think of something and you will be grounded, or whatever teenagers who behave inappropriately are subjected to."

William looked past Nate and right at Serena. He took another sip of his drink. "Now go, before I change my mind."

Nate said thank you quickly and then led Serena out of there as fast as possible. He walked out of the coven to see Blair and Chuck waiting outside. Blair ran to them. "You're here! Already? What happened? What is he going to do to you?"

Nate shook his head at her. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Oh um, we're grounded or something."

Blair hugged them both. "I'm so glad to hear that!"

Serena smiled at her. "Blair, I can't believe what you showed him. How did you come up with that?"

Blair shrugged. "I don't know. It was a vision. I've never had a clearer one. Can you guys believe it? I know how many children you're going to have 10 years from now but I can't even see what I'm having for dinner tonight."

Nate kissed Blair's cheek. "You saved us. Big time. I don't even know what to say."

Chuck let out a relieved sigh. "I don't know about you guys, but I could really use a drink."

…

"Happy birthday."

Serena felt a kiss on her lips and opened her eyes to see Nate smiling at her. They hadn't officially moved in together but they'd been inseparable for weeks.

"Wow…does everyone feel this shitty?"

Nate frowned at her. "Uh…not after you wake up, no. You've been asleep for over 20 hours."

She sat up slowly. "Oh."

"What is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I am just still so tired."

"Sleep. We can postpone everything."

"Are you sure?"

Nate nodded. "Yes. What's important is that you feel well." He sat with her until she fell asleep then called Blair.

"Nate, what's up?"

"Hey, we're going to have to postpone the celebrations. Serena woke up not feeling too well so she went back to sleep."

"Oh…that's not normal."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me that, Blair. But I'm trying not to freak out."

"She's going to be fine, Nate." She glanced at the clock. "You take care of her and I'll deal with everything else, okay?"

Nate nodded at her through the phone. "Thanks, you're the best."

Blair hung up the phone and started making calls. She walked right past the receptionist outside of Chuck's office. The receptionist quickly got up and followed up. "Miss Waldorf! Mr. Bass is busy and cannot be disturbed."

Blair turned to her. "Excuse me?" She knew for a fact that Chuck avoided Friday meetings at all costs.

"He has a very important meeting."

"What?"

She looked taken aback. "It was very last minute."

"With whom?" She rolled her eyes and took a seat. "Fine, will you tell him Serena's dinner is postponed? Thanks."

…

Nate smiled at Serena. "How are you feelin?"

Serena smiled back at him. "Different…but good."

"We still haven't celebrated your birthday, you know." He handed her a small box. "This is your present."

Serena opened the box to see beautiful diamond earrings. "Oh I love them, thank you."

Nate kissed her cheek. "Blair has been calling you nonstop. Something about going shopping?"

Serena nodded. "Yes! We're going to shop for dresses for the Founder's Day ball next week."

"Ah. But dinner tonight…the four of us?"

Serena smiled. "Perfect."

Serena showered and got dressed before she met up with Blair. Her muscles were a little tense but she felt great overall. She stopped at a café for a coffee.

"Serena?"

Serena turned around and felt her heart stop.

Dan flashed her a perfect smile. "Wow…I can't believe it's really you."

Serena hugged him tightly. His arms wrapped around her and held her close. She pulled away after a few seconds. "Hi Dan."

"Hi Serena." He gently touched a strand of her hair.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here now. I'm doing a summer program at NYU and I'm going to start there in the fall."

"So…you're moving here?"

He nodded at her and suddenly looked serious. "Where have you been? It just kind of ended."

"It's a long story." She picked up her coffee. "Look, I have to go."

"Can I see you again?"

"Yes. Wait, no. I mean…"

Dan raised his eyebrows at her. "Please?"

Serena found herself nodding. "Okay."

Dan took her phone from her hand slowly and put his number in. "Text me…or call me, whenever." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "It was good to see you."

Serena said nothing and walked away quickly. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach and felt incredibly guilty.