A/N: well, I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted. ïSob. Ok, never mind. I'll start the story now.
Sweetsoutherngal: Thanks for reviewing; I'm updating now, lol.
Christine Marquez: I kinda thought that it would be boring to go in too much, because I couldn't really think of anything exciting that would happen during her childhood. Shrug. Oh, and Ciaran knows because he knew that Maeve was pregnant, and just assumed that the girl with her was his daughter. And maybe because it was some fatherly instinct, or he could sense her?
Fire-Imp-666: Thanks for reviewing, yeah, I did update twice, I hope you like this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sweep/Wicca or any of its characters. They belong to Cate Tiernan.
"I... well, I don't know, Mom." I said, feeling confused, hadn't Mom been about to bit Dad's head off just a while ago? What had changed since then? Now I really began to wonder about what they had talked about in private.
"What did you two talk about just now?" I asked her.
"We uh... we talked about you," Mom said uncomfortably, she refused to look me in the eye; I could tell that she was lying.
"You did?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"We did talk about you," she insisted. We just talked about something else, too. My uncanningly accurate witch senses told me what she had just thought.
"I knew it! What else did you talk about?" I asked, feeling many mixed emotions at the same time. Ciaran seemed nice, but I had only known him for less than a day, how was I to know that he wasn't actually a bad guy? But on the other hand, it would be nice to have a father for once. Shouldn't I trust my mother's judgment? She wouldn't have had me if she didn't love him. But, he had lied to her, who's to say he wouldn't do it again? All these thoughts ran through my head repeatedly. So loud that I almost missed what Mom said next.
"Well, we talked about... us." She looked embarrassed, and was it a faint blush that I saw on her cheeks?
"Okay, I'm gonna go take a nap now, can we talk tomorrow?" I said, faking a yawn, I couldn't wait to get back to my room and think things over by myself.
"Sure. I'll wake you up in time for dinner. Sleep well" Mom said, patting me on the head, I hated it when she did that, it made me feel like I was a little kid and still so short.
Instead of making a fuss, like I usually would do, I walked off to my room, turning off the lights and slipping into the welcoming bed. I didn't sleep, I closed my eyes and meditated, not the most ideal position, I knew, but that was the only way that I wouldn't be disturbed.
What should I do? I asked silently. Should I trust my father, or not? I waited for a reply, not even sure that there was going to be one.
What I didn't except was to hear and see all different kinds of images. A whole coven, murmuring dark words, moving their hands in shadowy patterns. By the runes everywhere, I could tell that they where working dark magick. One man stood out in particular, he looked familiar, and I could tell that he was the leader of the group.
I gasped as I recognized him. The man I had met in the park, the man that was in my house, the man that was my father. Then more images came, they were shape shifting. It was forbidden magick! Goddess, I thought, I have to tell Mom!
I was jolted out of my meditation state by someone shaking me awake.
"Mom?" I said anxiously, looking up at the face above me, it wasn't my mother. It was the man in the images- my father.
"No, it's me, Morgan. Your mother asked me to call you down for dinner." He said, looking at me with a concerned look.
"Are you okay? You look like you had a bad dream or something." Ciaran told me, worry etched into his features? Was it real? Or was it just another lie?
"Oh, I'm fine; tell Mom I'll be down in a sec." I said to him, climbing out of my bed and heading towards the bathroom.
As I closed the door, I felt him leaving the room and I sighed with relief. Splashing my sweaty face with cold water and then drying it on a towel again, I looked at myself in the mirror and was shocked to see that my face was as pale as a human face could get.
Shaking my head, I rubbed my cheeks to get some color into them, and then I went downstairs.
I stayed quiet throughout almost the whole of dinner, so quiet that Mom asked me whether anything was wrong a few times.
Finally, I got so frustrated that I blurted it all out.
"No!" I shouted. "Everything's not fine! I just saw him," I pointed at Ciaran, "and a whole group of other people practicing dark magick and shape shifting and all that!
I think that qualifies under the category, 'everything's not fine'!" my voice had lowered by now; I didn't want any neighbors to hear me shouting and think I was crazy.
"What?!" Mom looked ready to hit the roof.
"Yes, he was practicing dark magick!" I said again, as much as I didn't want to believe it, I knew that is was true.
"Is what she said true?" Mom demanded of 'Dad'.
"It is," he admitted quietly.
"Get out!" Mom yelled at him just as he was about to say something. She grabbed his shirt and starting pushing him.
"Wait, Maeve! Let me explain, please!" Ciaran pleaded, grabbing hold of Mom's hands and trying to still her.
Mom stopped struggling for awhile, regaining her composure quickly. "Okay," she said, folding her arms "let's see you try, you have two minutes."
"I used to practice dark magick, because of influence from my mother and my mother-in-law. Adding the fact that you just left me to the mix, the situation left me with no choice.
Greer, my mother-in-law, once said something to me that made me realize, who better to call on dark magick than one whose own soul has sunk into darkness? But, when I found out that our baby was alive, Maeve, I realized there was still hope; I gave up Amyranth that night, and I know that they've been trying to track me down ever since. I've never stopped searching for the both of you, you have to believe me on that, I love you with all my heart, my whole being. Will you forgive me? Will you accept me into your family? At the very least, give me a chance; let me prove it to you." Ciaran said this all in one breath, and he was breathing hard when he finished.
I looked to Mom and saw that her eyes were actually tearing. She had been convinced. Ciaran took this as a yes and turned to me.
"What about you, Morgan? I know that I've not been here for you for the past 12 years, but I want to be around to watch you grow up in the coming years; will you give me that chance?" he sounded sincere, and when I cast my senses, he let me in, I could feel his regret, his deep love for my mother, and for...me.
"Okay," I finally said.
"So, Neimhidh, finally got your happy, little family, aye?" said a sinister voice coming from the entrance to the kitchen.
All of us swiveled around to find...
A/N: hahahahaha.. if you wanna find out what happened next... review! Lol... oh and I got what greer said from the 7th book. Its actually true. Review!