"Mommy, why are we here?" little Victoria asked as she clung to her mother's warm hand.

She looked up at her tall mommy who was almost the mirror image of herself when she was to grow up except for her eyes which were the color of honey. In her mommy's eyes she found an uncontrollable sadness lolling around that her mommy had carried with her the whole day stoically.

Her mommy hadn't told her where they were going. She had just tied the shoelaces to Victoria's flashy white new shoes that lit up in red beads of color whenever she walked in them.

She had just brought her to the old cemetery that laid on the edge of the city.

It was one of the oldest cemetery's around. It had been there for three centuries now. It was also one of the most beautiful cemetery's Victoria had ever seen. The many cherubs and the colorful marble angels of the old gravestones smiled down at her peacefully as she walked quickly past them on her four-year-old legs trying to keep up with her fast walking mommy.

They came to a section of the cemetery that hadn't been used in a while and it was there that her mommy stopped. Victoria took in a gulp of air as she looked upon the dark gray gravestone.

This gravestone wasn't even half as pretty as the others. It was slowly crumbling in its old age, and it didn't even have any poems or loving words placed upon it by the person's family.

It merely read: Valerie Woods
October 4, 1905-Feburay 17, 1924
R.I.P

"Grave rubbings?' she asked her mommy looking up at her with inquiringly innocent blue-violet eyes.

"No, honey." her mother replied as she knelt down beside her in the patch of forest green grass. "Remember when Mommy told you that she could see things others couldn't see?"

"Yes, mommy." Victoria replied. "It's a secret."

Her mommy smiled down warmly at her as she touched her chubby cheek gently and then looked at the gravestone, "Yes, our little secret. Well, this is something I saw once."

"Who was it?"

"Oh, sweetie. She is a part of you. A part of you that you won't be able to get rid of."

"Are we family?" she asked, gently tracing her small fingers over the letters.

"Not really, dear. But, I guess, you could say that in a matter of words."

"Why are you sad, mommy?" Victoria asked her mother as she touched the suddenly falling crisp tears running down her mother's face.

"Oh, sweetheart." her mother whispered as she gave her a long, hard hug. "I need to tell you this before my time comes to an end. You won't understand either. Not till it's too late, but I can't call myself your mother and let you live not knowing. Especially, when I won't be around to protect you."

"Mommy, where are you going?" little Victoria asked, frowning.

Her mother laughed her innocent question and brushed away some of her steadily falling tears. "Somewhere where you can't follow."

"Will daddy be there?"

"No, not for awhile, sweetheart. Not for a while," her mother told her as she looked deep into her violet-blue eyes.

Her daughter's eyes were the eyes of a stranger. They weren't eyes of anyone in her family and because of that she had the burden of powers she wouldn't know what to do with. Powers that would make her stronger then the average witch, and powers that could easily target her demise.

She pushed Victoria's dark red hair out of her face as she looked at her so intently. Victoria didn't understand any of this. Which was understandable.

She was only a child. She was still innocent to the world. Even to death. Her mother had known that her time was coming to an end on Earth, but she didn't know how to warn Victoria about the hardships to come.

How could Victoria understand her warnings let alone use them? She was only a child. She would forget this as easily as she got over her old toys and grew up.

Years would bury this memory and she'd never understand the warning. She wouldn't get it until it was too late.

Her poor baby.

When Victoria had first been born she'd seen her future.

It had been beautiful. She'd done so many good things in it and had saved so many people. Then, her future had changed. Victoria's mother never understood how it had happened or even how it could have changed.

She realized Victoria's future had changed the day she'd found out she was dying of cancer. Of all things she could worry about, she'd been so worried about her baby girl.

She'd looked into the future just to make sure Victoria would be okay without her. She'd expected to see the same brilliant future as she'd seen the day Victoria had been born, but it had changed somehow.

She'd seen Victoria suffering unlike any other suffered.

Instead of happiness, she'd seen death everywhere in Victoria's future. Death had outlined her happiest moment. Her wedding day.

It was then that Death staked his claim over Victoria and had been with her every day for the rest of her life.

Death was her future. Not love, and not life, but death.

"Shhh. Be quiet. You won't remember this well, but I have to try. I love you , Victoria. Never forget that." she gave her daughter a kiss. "I have a warning."

"Mommy, I'm scared."

"Sweetie, I don't mean to scare you. Listen to me. Okay, Victoria? Just listen to what I have to say and remember it as if your life depended on it," she whispered, intensely.

"Okay, Mommy."

Softly she whispered the spell hoping that it would keep the words in her daughter's mind as a fair warning. "Time heals, time steals, the words I speak, your mind shall keep, as well as your fate shall seal."

She kissed her daughter on her forehead as pain vibrated throughout her body. Her time was coming to an end quickly. She would soon die in this very graveyard with her daughter standing beside her.

This was the only warning she could give her daughter.

Unless, of course, her daughter chose to bring her spirit back to her later in life.

Poor Victoria. She'd have no guidance through life, through magic, or even through death who haunted her even now as a child. Death knew what laid in store for her daughter. She'd seen him often with Victoria throughout her life.

She hated Death for being there. He had no claim over her daughter yet, but he still lingered near her. He had no claim over her until the day she experienced true happiness. Coincidentally, that day would be the same day as the one the gravestone read.

"Child, you will use your magic again. I'm sorry for the circumstances that will lead you to it. But fate must be answered to. You're cursed, Victoria. You will never know what love or happiness is. If you do feel it for even the slightest moment you will pay dearly for it. I'm sorry, my baby. I can't help you at all."

She felt the panic rake through her body as well as the pain as her last words fell into the air. She was dying. It was her time. She'd lived the life she was supposed to live and now she had to let go of it.

"I love you, my baby. Don't forget that ever," her mother told her as she laid down on her daughter's last life's grave.

"Mommy, are you okay?"

"I'm just sleepy, baby." she told her. It was the easiest way to leave her. It was her last lie. "Mommy, just needs a little rest. Now, sweetheart. I want you to dial 9-1-1 when I start to sleep. Tell them.."

Her voice faded. Her life ended and she smiled her last softly at her baby girl. It was all she could do to let go.

Victoria stood beside her mommy and watched as her breathing stopped. Then, she slowly took the cell phone out of the blue purse and dialed 9-1-1 like her mommy had asked her to.

She knew her mommy was dead. She knew she should have mourned for her, but she couldn't feel anything.

Her mommy had left her alone.

----- ------ ----- --------------

"Mommy," she whispered.

It was hard to open her eyes now. Victoria could feel the sunlight poring onto her, but she didn't want to wake up. She wanted to lie around in bed all day and never wake up again. But, somehow, she knew she had to.

Instantly, she remembered the whole day from the wedding, to attacking Wyatt, to falling in love with Chris all over again, and now she was somewhere she didn't think she wanted to be.

She was with Andrew.

He had somehow found her all over again and had attacked Chris at the Manor when they'd been waiting for everyone to come back with the ring. He had used the ring to exchange places with Wyatt and now Wyatt was in the past. Her powers hadn't done her any good. He had still hurt Chris and had taken her away without any problems.

She slowly opened her eyes very aware of not wanting to be there. A bad feeling spilled through her blood as she looked around at her surroundings.

She was lying on her bed in her own bedroom.

She saw the golden posts of her bed that held the wispy ivory colored canopy that floated in a phantom breeze. The sun was gleaming through her opened bay window bringing with it the sounds of people gossiping and laughing. It was almost normal as if nothing had happened. As if she had merely only had a nightmare.

Maybe, it had all been a dream.

As she rested up on her elbows she noticed that she could faintly hear Cannon in D playing from down below. As her ears registered it it slowly started back at the beginning again. She knew it was playing for a reason and that was reason was her. Somehow she had slept through the day and the last minute wedding preparations.

It was her wedding day all over again.

She quickly parted the ivory canopy and slithered out of bed. From there she slowly walked to the bay window to look down at the backyard. She wasn't too sure on what she was going to find there.

Everything and everyone was lit in soft orangish pink hues coming from the sunlit sky setting a romanticism to the wedding going on below.

Small white and baby blue marble towers had been set up down at the ends of every aisle with red roses sprouting out of them almost as of they had grown there wild. The white chairs had been set up in the shape of a horseshoe around the aisle so that everyone would get a clear view of Victoria on her way down to the altar. Small white Chinese globes lit with pink candles covered the whole yard where everyone was sitting. Up and down the aisles and all over the veranda they had even set up a beautiful pattern of white glittering Christmas lights. The aftermath of all the soft glows and warm red hues along with the sunset almost blew her away as she looked down.

White and pink roses were strewn in patches crisscrossing over the white veranda's frame where she was to say her wedding vows.

Her father, oddly, was already standing at the altar. Her fiancé was standing with his back to her and exchanging a few words with the priest. He didn't seem at all that nervous. He seemed ready to get the show on the road.

People were waiting for her come. Everyone was seated and waiting for her to walk down the aisle towards her husband to be.

Everything was in its place. Everything was perfect, but she still had a chill flowing steadily through her bones that she couldn't get rid of. Was this a dream?