"Come on Nic, won't you do it for me?"

Stella laid across a blanket under the midnight sky, one leg wrapped across Nicky's torso, a hand trailing down her neck. Nicky sighed dreamily, staring back into Stella's dark swirling eyes and feeling all traces of fight leave her body, as though she was under a spell.

"Run it by me one more time," she whispered, and Stella grinned wide. To anybody else, it would be a smile of pure evil, but when Nicky was under her spell, it was like the sun.

"You'll be partnered with Alex during the Civil War Reenactment, I'll make sure you both get roles as soldiers. You convince her to pretend to shoot each other with your 'fake' guns, so you can leave earlier, but your gun won't be fake," Stella grinned again as she moved her lips to Nicky's ear, "yours will have real bullets in, and you'll shoot her, right in the chest."

Nicky nodded, transfixed by Stella's presence,

"And why do I need to do this?"

"What Alex and Piper have is wrong, toxic. It's dangerous for all of us, and while she still lives, we can't be together. She'll cast a spell, make Alex forget that they even knew each other, but spells can be broken. If Alex is dead, we'll be safe. Don't mention anything about Piper to Alex, we wouldn't want to risk her memory being jogged"

Nicky nodded, hand on Stella's cheek,

"I'll do it," she whispered, and Stella embraced her. Whilst Nicky settled into the hug, eyes closed and under Stella's control, the Caster kept her eyes open, an evil smile on her face as the final piece of her puzzle to keep the darkness in her family settled into place.

Alex groaned as her alarm woke her from her dream. She turned to smack at the button, willing the noise to stop and trying to remember what had happened. She was in a field, and there had been snow all around her, but the harder she tried to remember it, the more slipped away, and she sighed as she sat up, rubbing her face roughly.

Opening her eyes again, she looked around the room. She had a weird feeling in the back of her mind last something was different, something was missing. It was like that feeling when you walk into a room just to forget why you went in there, but it never went away. She stared at her walls, posters of bands, photos of Nic, Julie, her mom. She frowned as she moved her eyes to the desk filled with books. One was open by her bed, but she couldn't remember reading it recently.

Shrugging, she rose from bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready for school. The battle reenactment was in a few days, and she needed to make sure she got her part before all the good ones were taken.

As she hopped down the stairs she gave Julie a kiss on the cheek as she passed her, throwing some bread in the toaster,

"You're very cheerful this morning," Julie quipped, then turned away as she sighed, "I didn't expect you to be here, I thought you'd be with Piper," she muttered, and Alex let out a scoff as her toast popped up,

"Piper? Piper who?"

Julie turned around slowly,

"Chapman?" She said, dragging the word out, and Alex frowned at her as though she was insane,

"The Ravenwood girl? Why the hell would I be with Piper Chapman, I barely know her," she said as she took a bite.

Julie hid the sadness from her face, shaking her head and plastering on a smile,

"I must have gotten her mixed up with someone else," she said, and Alex shrugged, hopping down from the counter,

"Nic's outside, I'll see you tonight,"

She kissed her on the cheek again, leaving in a hurry, and Julie let her head rest on one of the cupboard as the door slammed, closing her eyes in a strange mixture of both relief for Alex's safety, and sadness for the loss she didn't even know she had endured.

"Stretch," Nicky greeted as Alex jumped in her car, "we're getting our roles for the battle today, what do you reckon we're gunna end up as?"

Alex shrugged, leaning her head against the window,

"Hopefully not a fucking handmaiden, they're not getting me in one of those dresses for a million fucking dollars,"

Nicky laughed, nodding,

"Got the dance coming up soon, too. You gunna take anyone?"

Alex laughed sarcastically,

"Number one, could you imagine what this town would do if I took a girl to the dance? The Jesus freaks would have me hiked clean outta town,"

Nicky laughed and nodded, turning into the school,

"And two, why the fuck would I wanna go to one of those things in the first place?"

Nicky shrugged,

"I guess it's a chance to wait till the drunk straight girls fancy a little something different," she teased, and Alex scoffed,

"You're a fiend, Nicole."

Stella found herself pacing down the corridors in Litch High, making her way towards the classroom Nicky had informed her was the history room. The hallways were dead, students having not arrived yet, and she easily stayed concealed as she slipped into room 32A. As expected, the teacher was already sitting at the desk, taking out notes for the start of the day. As Stella closed the door behind her, she looked up,

"Can I help you with anything?" She asked, pausing what she was writing to watch Stella cross the room,

"Yes, actually," she smiled, "I'm Piper Chapman's relative, I've been sent to talk about the War Reenactment that's taking place tomorrow?"

Stella leant down across from the teacher, faces level, and let her magic flow through her eyes as she made contact with the brown ones of the professor,

"Piper won't be able to take part due to family commitments," she whispered, eyes swirling as they easily controlled the thoughts of the woman across from her, who nodded blankly, "and you should give Alex Vause and Nicole Nichols parts as soldiers, make up an excuse, not enough boys to make up numbers or something,"

The teacher nodded again, and Stella smirked,

"Forget that we had this conversation," she whispered, slinking out of the room and out of the school, smirking as her plan began to fall into place.

"Hey Vause! Vause!"

Alex turned from where she was leaning against the locker, talking to Sylvie,

"Have you seen the role sheet for the reenactment? We're soldiers man, fucking score,"

Alex laughed but frowned, turning carelessly away from Sylvie to follow Nicky,

"How the fuck did that happen? They never let girls be soldiers,"

Nicky shrugged,

"Not enough guys to make up the numbers or something, who cares man, it means we don't have to wear those fucking dresses,"

Alex laughed and nodded, and Nicky turned slightly to nod her head towards where Sylvie was before,

"You still on with that one?"

Alex chuckled,

"Nah, but I gotta keep her happy, she's easier to deal with if I talk to her every now and then,"

Nicky chuckled, shoving into her playfully, and Alex jumped at her, arms around her shoulders as she turned the corner, not even noticing the person standing by the locker right near her.

Piper stood, frozen to the spot with a file in her hand. The raspy voice that she could hear coming down the hall was one she would recognise anywhere, and her heart clenched painfully for the countless time in the past 24 hours.

Turning slowly, she held herself up by her hand against the metal of the locker as she laid eyes on Alex Vause for the first time since she had forced her out of her life. She looked so beautiful, her long hair thrashing as she playfully shoved Nicky, that throaty laugh of hers ringing through Piper's body. She longed to go to her, kiss her, make her remember what they have, what they mean to each other, but she stopped herself. It was for the best. Alex was safe this way, and that was what was important.

She swallowed nervously as Alex got close to her, unable to take her eyes away. A small part of her, the part that liked to pretend they were still them, waited for her to look at her with those warm, green eyes, throw her that smirk she loves so much, hearing her greet her with a raspy "Pipes" as she embraced her, feel the protective warmth of the kiss to her forehead, but then she remembered. She was nothing to Alex anymore. She was just another passing face, another insignificant girl in the hallways at school. Alex passed her without a single glance, diving on Nicky and laughing carelessly as she turned the corner away from her. Piper felt her heart break a little more, slamming her locker shut and running to the bathroom to lock herself in a stall. Collapsing onto the closed toilet, she forced herself to even out her breathing, trying in vain to remember that Alex wasn't being like this intentionally. Piper had sent her away, and that was something she just had to deal with.

Sighing, she let her head fall back. She didn't have long to endure. The claiming was tomorrow, the day of the reenactment. Once she was in the light, her family line rightfully healed, there had to be a way to get Alex back.

She would find away to get her back.

AN: Hey guys! Not as long as my chapters usually are but it's a really important one in the direction of the story. The next chapter will be a big one that I'll most likely split into two, so my next update will be a double one. The reenactment and the claiming will be happening, and then there'll only be a couple chapters left! Everything is coming to a head now, thanks again for all your reviews. As always, let me know what you think, and if anybody here is wondering about an update to my other story School Days, there should be one in the next day or two!

Laura :)