Chapter 38

“A witch?” Ned asked, snickering. “You mean like warts and broomsticks?”

Alexis smiled, at least he hadn’t freaked out yet. “No, not like that. Like this.” Figuring that seeing is believing, she waved her hand and the bottle of champagne that was chilling at the other end of the limo’s cabin lifted out of the bucket and floated over to her. She caught it in her right hand and held it up to him.

Ned stared in disbelief at the bottle, then at the bucket, then back at Alexis. “How did you do that?”

“I told you, I’m a witch. I have magical powers. I know, it sounds crazy, especially coming from me, but it’s true.” She waved her hand again, this time bringing a glass over to them. “Champagne?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think I should be drinking right now. Why haven’t you ever mentioned this before?”

“I couldn’t tell you until we were married. I don’t know if that’s a general rule, or just a family tradition, but it’s the way I learned. Please don’t be angry with me for keeping this from you, it doesn’t change anything between us, I promise.”

“Wait, did you say family tradition? Does that mean all the Cassidines are witches?” he asked, still unable to believe he was having this conversation.

“No, just my mother. And Liz. It’s passed down from mother to child, so Stefan’s side is mortal. At least, we think so.” She smirked at her joke, thinking how Luke would have been proud of her.

“Liz is a witch too? Oh man, this is too much!” He sat back and rubbed his forehead, trying to process the new information. “You can’t put spells on people or anything, can you?” he asked warily.

She shook her head. “No, at least, I don’t know how. I’m still pretty new at the whole thing. I can move stuff around and read people’s auras, but that’s about the extent of it. Oh, and Liz and I can communicate telepathically.” She chuckled at the confusion and shock on his face. “Just think of it as a different kind of religion or something. I’m still the same woman you fell in love with and married. I just have a few extra abilities that most people don’t.”

Ned sighed and turned to look at her, his face softening. “Well, I guess as long as I don’t find you standing over a cauldron in the middle of our kitchen cackling, I can deal with this.” She laughed and hugged him, happy that he was being so understanding. “I love you too much to let a little thing like this stand in the way.”

“Oh, Ned, I love you too!” She looked up at him and smiled as he reached down to kiss her.

He pulled away and grinned. “You know, with my family, a witch might not be a bad thing to have around. Hey, are they allowed to know, or is this supposed to be a secret?”

“I think only immediate family should know, unless it’s necessary to tell the others. Personally, I’d prefer the Quartermaines didn’t know. It’s bad enough that I’m a Cassidine, I’d hate to see what they’d do if they knew this!”

~*~

Liz walked into the reception hall and looked around for Alexis and Ned. It didn’t look like they were there, and she was becoming a little worried.

“There you are!” Jax called out, hurrying over to her. “Where are the bride and groom?”

“They’re not here yet?” she asked. He shook his head. “Oh, well, she had something to discuss with him in the limo, so maybe they’re just driving around. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

“They better be! This thing is supposed to be starting.” He checked his watch, then walked away to find his brother. Liz sighed and looked at the door, wondering where they could be.

“Liz!” Phoebe called out, rushing over with her sisters. “We’ve been looking for you. Did she tell him yet?”

Liz turned around and smiled at them. “She’s probably doing it right now. She was going to tell him in the limo. I just hope he took it well.”

“Me too,” Pru said thoughtfully. “But, he seems to really love her, so I’m sure everything will work out fine. Anyway, we’re going to go find our table, we’ll see you later!”

“Bye, guys, have fun.” Liz watched them walk away, then turned back to the door just as Alexis and Ned walked in. She hurried over to them, eager to hear what happened.

Did you tell him? How’d he take it? She asked excitedly.

Alexis chuckled and looked up at Ned, who still looked slightly perplexed. “He’s still dealing with the news, but I think he’ll be okay.”

Ned looked at them both strangely. “Why do I feel like I missed part of that conversation?”

“Remember what I said about how Liz and I can talk telepathically?”

“You mean, you were just...” he asked, looking from one to the other. They both grinned and nodded. “Okay, I can tell this is going to take some getting used to.”

“Don’t worry,” Liz said. “We won’t do it too much when you’re around.”

“Except when we want to talk about you,” Alexis added with a devilish smile.

“Come on, let’s go sit down. They want to start this thing,” Liz said, walking over to the head table. Ned smiled with relief and followed her and Alexis to their seats, hoping that as long as they were in front of everyone, he could pretend they were normal again.

Once they were seated and everyone had begun to eat, Alexis turned to Liz and grinned. What do you say we have a little fun with him?

You’ve evil, you know that? Liz asked with a giggle. I want to go first! Figuring she should start small, she waved her hand under the table, and the napkin fell off of his lap. Frowning, he reached down to retrieve it, but continued to eat, unaware that his new family was messing with him.

Cute, but we need something bigger. Alexis studied the table for a moment, waiting until no one was looking, then tried to hide a smile as a piece of his steak leapt off of his plate into his lap. He jumped back, nearly falling off the chair, then looked at the two of them as they tried not to laugh.

“What are you two doing?” he whispered, picking the meat off of the napkin. They both shook their heads, trying to look innocent, but he wasn’t buying it. Just then, his water glass lifted about an inch off the table and hovered there, obscured from everyone else’s view by the large centerpiece. He quickly grabbed it, then glared at them. “Stop that!”

Okay, I think we’re starting to freak him out, Liz said, snickering. Alexis nodded in agreement and went back to her food, then burst out laughing as she caught him still glaring at her out of the corner of her eye. That was all it took to get Liz laughing too, and suddenly everyone in the room was staring at them.

“What do you think that’s all about?” Lucky whispered to Nikolas from their table. Stefan had decided not to attend the reception, so Nikolas was sitting at the Spencer table with Emily.

“I don’t know,” he said, looking at Ned thoughtfully. He had never tried to read someone’s mind from such a distance before, but he figured he might as well give it a shot. After a few minutes, he turned to Lucky in confusion.

Hey man, you’re not going to believe this!

Graphics Courtesy Of: