A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my beta: Leeese!

Disclaimer: Don't own OTH

Chapter Sixteen

The Honeymoon's Over

When Nathan and Haley appeared in the building, they immediately could see an assortment of magical creatures waiting in the entrance hall. Nathan frowned, knowing that this wasn't a good sign. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen this many creatures at the Witches Council building. "Let's see if we can find my mom or Victoria," he told her as he led her away.

"I wonder what they are here for," Haley said in a curious tone.

"Most of the time, they come here to protest about something," Nathan replied as he looked at the crowd again. "And a crowd this big isn't good." Haley had a feeling that it had to do something with them. However, she didn't say anything as he led her down the hall. They suddenly ran into one of the Witches Council members, Ellie. She was looking worried. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

Before Ellie could answer, another familiar voice spoke up first. "We need to talk in private," Charlene Rimkus said as she caught up with them. She had seen them arrive and had been waiting for the right moment to walk over to them. "Why don't you two come into my office?" she asked them as she gestured them to follow her. Nathan and Haley looked at each other before following her into her office. "Please take a seat," she told them as she shut the door.

"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the members of the Witches Council?" Nathan asked her as he and Haley sat down in the two chairs. He was surprised that Ellie hadn't joined in the conversation.

"They are too busy trying to do damage control," Charlene replied. Nathan and Haley were confused. "I'm afraid that we may have made a mistake in marrying you two."

Nathan couldn't believe his ears. However, Haley wasn't surprised. "It's because of my mother, isn't it?" she asked her as she sighed.

Charlene nodded. "I'm afraid that many creatures of the magical community are questioning your loyalty and whether you truly belong with us or with Brooke and her coven."

Before Nathan could answer, Haley spoke up first. "Actually, that's the reason why we came here today. I want to know if I will become evil like my mother."

"I keep telling her that just because her birth mother is evil doesn't mean that she will be," Nathan added. "And we don't know anything about her birth father. So there is a slight chance that she can still be good."

"There's also a chance that he is mortal as well," Charlene replied. "We don't know all the facts yet."

"The only one who does is Mr. Durham," Nathan said. "Did he tell my mom or Victoria anything new?"

"I'm afraid that Mr. Durham is keeping his secrets to himself. When he came barging in the emergency meeting, he only told us that the prophecy wouldn't happen if we allowed Haley to return to Ms. Davis. But I'm now starting to have doubts about that."

Nathan shook his head. "No, it's true. If you looked at the picture with the prophecy, one of the witches is wearing a wedding ring. And that witch is Haley. Just give her a chance to prove herself. I can guarantee that she will win the battle."

Charlene admired Nathan's persistence. "The problem is that it's not just me or the other members of the Witches Council. She has to prove it in front of the whole magical community. And we can't just force the prophecy to happen. It has to happen when it's destined to."

"But we don't know when that is supposed to be," Nathan protested. "It could be days from now."

Haley thought for a moment before speaking. "It has to be Halloween night. Isn't that the most powerful day for a witch?" she asked them. She had remembered reading that when she was in the Scott's library. Nathan nodded. "So it would make sense that we would have to battle on that day. Not to mention Brooke and I met on Halloween night almost four years ago."

Charlene raised her eyebrows. "You do realize that it won't be easy to vanquish her?" she asked her.

"I'm not planning on vanquishing her. Even though she is a killer, I won't be. I'm going to bind her powers and make her a mortal," Haley replied.

Charlene smiled proudly. "See, that is the difference between you and your mother. I'm sure as long as you fight that temptation to turn to the dark side, you will be able to stay a good witch."

Haley and Nathan exchanged smiles. "See, I told you that you were good. You should listen to your husband more often," he teased her.

Haley then came to a sudden realization. "Oh my god! Halloween is just a few weeks away." She hadn't even realized just how close the date was; until now. She started to panic. "How am I going to prepare for this battle when I only have premonitions to help me?" she moaned. She had seen Brooke use her powers too many times and knew that she was no match for her.

Nathan tried to calm her down. "Don't worry. I'm sure your other powers will show up soon. They always do as you get closer to the prophecy date."

Charlene nodded in agreement. "He's right," she said. "For now, I will trust that you are on our side."

"You don't have to worry. She won't ever go to the dark side of magic," Nathan assured her as he took his wife's hand and they got up from their chairs. He was about to snap his fingers when Charlene stopped him.

"But I'm afraid that my word won't be enough," Charlene repeated. "The magical community will want proof. And I can't give that to them right now." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "So I'm afraid that Haley will have to return to Brooke." Nathan and Haley were about to protest when she continued. "It will only be temporary. It's just until we find out about Haley's birth father. Then we'll see if she really is on our side or not."

"I thought true love triumphs over a magical contract," Nathan protested. He had a feeling that something was off with her, but he didn't know what.

"This is not about the agreement between Haley and Ms. Davis, Mr. Scott. It's about whether Haley is an evil witch or not," Charlene said, trying her best not to get angry. "I know what I said, but my word means nothing to that mob out there."

"And what mob is that, Charlene?" asked a familiar voice. Nathan and Haley turned to see the other members of the Witches Council. Victoria was the one who had spoken. "Is it the one that you conjured to make it look like there were a mob after Nathan and Haley?"

Nathan and Haley were horrified as they realized that she was a traitor. However, they didn't have a chance to say anything as she snapped her fingers and the bracelet disappeared from Haley's wrist. It reappeared in her hands. She smirked at Haley. "Well, I'm sure Brooke will be thrilled to find out what has been blocking her magic all this time."

"I should never have told you about the bracelet," Karen exclaimed angrily.

"Well, you were concerned about Haley. But I wouldn't worry about her. She will be in good hands," Charlene replied. Nathan glared at her as he went towards her. Before anybody could use their magic, Charlene threw down a potion and a vast cloud of smoke filled the room. Everyone had to close their eyes for a few moments as it stung their eyes. When it finally cleared, Nathan was upset to see that both Charlene and Haley were gone.

"I can't believe that she betrayed us," Nathan exclaimed angrily. "Why the fuck would she help Brooke and her coven?"

"Because she's the leader of Brooke's coven," Victoria told him. Nathan was shocked. "I had some suspicion about her for awhile. So I did what I did best and found out that she was not on our side."

"If she isn't on our side, why did she allow us to get married? And why didn't you tell us sooner and do something to stop her?" Nathan asked in an angry and distressed tone. He didn't let anybody answer. "I don't care why she did. I just want my wife back. I'm going over to Brooke's house."

"You won't find her there," Karen said. Nathan was confused. "She has moved out of Tree Hill, along with the rest of her coven. And we don't know where they went. And we can't sense them because they have blocked their magic from us."

Nathan didn't want to hear any more. He just wanted to find his wife. "I don't care. I'm not going to lose her like Lucas lost Brooke," he replied before leaving the room.

When Haley could finally see through the smoke, she immediately felt hands grab her arms. She struggled to get out of Julian's grip, but she was held tight. "Well, I'm glad to see that you changed your mind and decided to come back to me," a familiar voice said. Haley didn't even have to guess to know who the distinctive voice belonged to.

Haley glared angrily at Brooke. "It was by force and you know it," she exclaimed before she turned to Charlene. "I can't believe you! You're a member of the Witches Council! How could you betray your own people like this?"

Charlene just ignored her and gave Brooke the bracelet. "Here is what Haley has been hiding from you," she said.

Brooke examined the bracelet closely and smirked at Haley. "I can see why Nathan chose this. It was perfect to hide under your sleeve and I didn't ever notice it."

"Well, you now know about the bracelet. So why don't you just punish me and get it over with?" Haley snapped.

Brooke didn't get upset. Instead, she used her magic to have Haley's wrists bound with rope behind her back. Julian continued to hold Haley tight. "I wouldn't do that without letting you get settled in the new house first," she replied. Haley then looked around and noticed that they weren't in the Davis mansion. "Actually, it's a castle that has a perfect view of the North Sea."

Haley wasn't even listening. "You really think you can keep me here? And that I would go back to following your orders? I've changed, Brooke. I'm not going to listen to you anymore."

Brooke nodded in agreement. "You're right. And you don't have to. All you have to do is suffer through my lovely punishments." Haley hung on the last word. She was about to ask when Brooke continued. "Did you really think that I would have just one punishment waiting for you when you came back?"

"And guess what the first one is?" Chris asked happily as he came into the room. He gave Haley a smile before turning to Brooke. "Can Chris Keller play with her now?" he asked anxiously. Haley could tell that he had wanted to do this for days.

Brooke just rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't count your playtime with her as one of my punishments. And I'm afraid that you can't right now. Haley needs to get settled in her bedroom before she does anything else." Chris was again disappointed. He tried not to show it as Brooke gave out orders. "Julian, you can take her to the dungeon now." Haley gave her a surprised look. Brooke knew what she was thinking. "It's only until you decide to be a good little witch and obey my orders again."

"Well, I guess that I'll never be out of there," Haley snapped before Julian dragged her out of the room. She didn't even have a chance to look around as he snapped his fingers and they reappeared in the dungeon, where there was a huge cage in the middle of the room.

He quickly untied the ropes before he pulled her to the cage and pushed her in. He then shut the door. She barely had time to turn around before she saw him locking it. She then sadly watched as he snapped his fingers again and disappeared from sight.

Haley looked around her prison and was disappointed to see that there was no way out except for the door. She had a feeling that the cage was magic proof. So she wasn't going to get out the magical way. She groaned in frustration. She couldn't believe that she was back to being Brooke's prisoner.

"I guess Brooke really wasn't bluffing when she said that she was going to put you in the dungeon," a familiar voice said, startling Haley. She turned around and saw Nikki leaning against the wall. "I just didn't think we would be in the same cell."

"What did you do this time to end up down here?" Haley asked her.

"Nothing," Nikki replied. "They just don't want me in the way while they discuss their plans."

"Where exactly are we?" Haley asked anxiously. "Brooke said that we're in a castle by the North Sea." She knew that they had to be in a different country. She just wished she knew where.

Nikki had to think for a moment. "I think we're in Scotland. I heard them talking about possible countries to move to after Brooke had you back and Scotland was on top of the list."

Haley sighed. "Do you have any idea how to get out of here?" she asked her. She really wanted to get out of there before her punishments started. "Besides using magic?"

"What's your big hurry? Your big battle with Brooke isn't for a few more weeks yet," Nikki reminded her. "Are you afraid that you won't survive until then?"

"Actually, I am," Haley confessed. "In case you didn't know, Brooke has multiple punishments lined up for me. Not to mention that bastard Chris wanting to have his fun with me. And I have a husband who I love who I want to get back to."

"So the rumors are true? You and Nathan really got married?" Nikki asked. Haley held out her hand and showed the ring to her. Nikki was impressed. "Boy, you really went behind her back this time. No wonder she has multiple punishments ready for you."

"Well, I don't care," Haley replied as she pulled back her hand and looked down at her wedding ring. "I love him. And nothing she can do to me will change that."

Nikki raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you sure about that?"