3. The Proposal

Josie

I walked downstairs to the kitchen to see my mom, My aunt Kara, and my three cousins, Wren, Gwen and Quinn sitting at the breakfast bar. They all turned to look at me and I couldn't help but to notice how beautiful my cousins had become over the past 13 years. Wren and Gwen had been the ones that help my aunt Kara and my sister in law, Abby, steal my memories from me, and I could see their guilt in the way they couldn't even look me in the eyes. I didn't say anything to them as I stalked towards the coffee pot to make myself some coffee. My head was pounding from the amount of dark liquor I had drank the day before, and having 2 and half lifetime's worth of memories shoved back into my mind as I slept didn't help either.

I reached up and opened the mug cabinet, knowing this house like the back of hand now that my memories had been returned, and pulled a mug down before pouring myself a cup of the hot, dark goodness. I took a sip of it to awaken my senses before walking out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the lounge. Unlike yesterday when I had arrived, I walked behind the bar and helped myself to it's contents, pulling a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream from the small refrigerator that sat under the bar. My mom walked into the lounge as I poured the coffee liquor into my mug and watched me with her perfectly groomed eyebrow arched.

I ignored her though, and returned the liquor to the refrigerator before grabbing a drink stirrer from the bar and mixing my drink. I didn't care much for her judgement, afterall, I had plenty of my own to pass to the 5 of them. Little did they know, their best bet was to let me get some alcohol into my hungover body before they began to bother me. At this point I wasn't sure whether I was more furious with their betrayal, or the fact that had I had my power, my current situation would be completely different. Chris would still be here with me if I would have had my power that night.

I brought my mug to my lips as I mulled over my enraged thoughts and took several gulps of the now warm, liquid goodness that was the perfect mix of caffeine and liquor. I knew that the few shots of liquor that I had poured into my morning coffee wouldn't be nearly enough to get me drunk, but it would soothe the throbbing headache that was my body and mind screaming out for it. Sure, I was aware that I had become an alcoholic, but atleast the liquor was something to live for. I had debated suicide for the first few weeks after Christopher's death, afterall, it wasn't like I had to live to birth and raise our child, I had lost it that terrible night as well. But, as I drowned myself in bottles of wine, debating on whether I wanted to keep living or not, I found that the more I drank, the more my body became dependent on it. So, I started living just to give my body the alcohol that it craved.

"Did you want to say something or are you just going to stand there and watch me?" I asked my mother with a voice laced with disdain.

She sighed as she watched me put the mug back to my lips to finish off what was left of my morning coffee. I wasn't sure I would ever forgive her for the role she played in usurping my throne, and the look in her eyes told me that she knew she wouldn't be easily forgiven. I finished my drink and reached into the refrigerator to pull the Baileys back out, this time shutting the fridge door with my leg as I grabbed my mug with my free hand and started back towards the kitchen. She followed behind me then stopped to watch as I made myself another mug. I filled the mug half way up with the liquor this time, causing her to sigh once again.

I snickered at the sound, knowing that she was quite disappointed in my alcoholism. I didn't care about her feelings though. She had no idea about the pain and heartache I'd suffered through all because she had worked with the ancestral council to ensure I was powerless to stop it. I was aware that perhaps that was cruel, but it was honest. I was numb to the plight of the covens, or of my family. Their betrayal had cut me deeper than they could have ever imagined it would have all those years ago.

"You really should slow down. It's not even 10am and we have much to discuss Josette. Please, sit and have breakfast with your family. I made your favorite, biscuits and gravy." My mother spoke softly as I put the Baileys into the kitchen refrigerator for easy access.

"I don't eat carbs anymore mother, let alone sausage gravy. Afterall, I'm just a normal human now so I don't have any magical healing abilities to keep my arteries from clogging. So, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. I also have work to do, because I am a normal human now, so I have to earn an income. Though I'm guessing that I don't actually have a consultation today and that was just your way of getting me here. Regardless, my books don't write themselves, I write them, manually, because I am a normal human girl so I don't get magical shortcuts. Whatever there is to discuss I'm sure you witches will figure it out, afterall, you are the Queen now so I'm sure you can handle whatever it is that the supernatural community needs." I told her as I slammed the refrigerator door and began walking out of the kitchen.

Quinn snickered at my outburst, before falling silent. No doubt our mothers had shot her glares to silence her. She, Ellie and I had been incredibly close before everyone turned on Ellie and I. I couldn't help but to wonder what happened to Ellie over the years, after we were both stripped of our ancestral power, bound from our connection to the elements and forced to forget that we were the witch princesses of New Orleans.

"They want to give you your power back Josie. They want to restore you to your throne." My mother spoke, stopping me in my tracks.

Sure, I wanted my power back, ofcourse I did, it was a part of me, but I knew the ancestors better than any other witch in this country. I had been their voice in the earth realm for two complete lifetimes, always setting the laws they told me to and punishing those who disobeyed them, then as soon as I did what was necessary to protect my own mother, they turned on me. So, I'm sure if they wanted to "give" me my power back now, it was only because something was awry in the supernatural community, and only me, with my power could fix it.

"Let me guess, there's something terribly wrong and I'm the only one who can fix it, so they want to 'give' me my power back so that I can, right? But ofcourse my dethroning was supposed to be a lifetime sentence, so, ofcourse receiving my power back will come with conditions I assume." I asked with a chuckle as I used my pointer and middle fingers to air quote the word give.

"Demons. There's demons on earth again. It seems this time they are hell bent on wiping the Werewolves from existence. The ancestors would like you to help the werewolves, but they won't force you to. However, if you want your throne back, you will have to. They've ensured that by making the Alpha Prince's venom the key to unbinding your connection to the elements, as well as the transportation system to push your power back to you." My mother stated matter of factly as she stood there smugly holding her coffee mug and staring at me intently.

"The demons can drag all of you to hell for all I care." I told her before turning on my heel to exit the kitchen.

"And what about Ellie? You would condemn her to life as a Vampire? Apparently she is the mate of a vampire, and Liz says her mate has been trying to talk her into turning so that she won't be weak and helpless. But the ancestors promised that if you tied your soul to the Alpha Prince's that they would give her back her memories so she would remember who she is and resist the urge to turn. Then, once you have your power back, you can give her back hers." Quinn spoke up this time, bringing up Ellie which she knew would make me stop and listen.

I couldn't stand the thought of Ellie turning into a vampire. She had always stood by my side loyally, so the fact that she had been stripped of her power and had her memories stolen was ultimately my fault. I knew then that I had to do this if only for her, so that she could be complete again. I began formulating a plan in my mind, deciding that I would tie the knot with the Alpha Prince and let him mark me so that Ellie and I could have our powers back. I would even go to war against the demons with him, but only after I finished my degrees. But I would reject him after I got my powers back. Afterall, the last thing I needed was a new husband while I was still grieving the one I'd lost.

I chugged my drink as I stood there staring at Quinn. She sure had gotten beautiful. Her long, bright red hair complemented her ocean blue eyes perfectly. I couldn't help but to notice the rock she wore on her left ring finger and I smiled as she subconsciously started playing with it when she saw me staring. I finished my drink and walked my mug over to the sink where I rinsed it before setting it in the dishwasher.

"Fine, I'll do it. But I'm only doing it for Ellie. She deserves to know who she is and have her power back." I told them all as I stared out the window that sat above the sink and played with the silver heart charm around my neck that contained Christopher's ashes, praying he would understand my actions and forgive me.