Chapter 16

Charlie stared intently at the task that had been placed before her. A distorted version of her own green eyes stared back, as if to challenge her. Charlie exhaled and gave a slight grin. This was a challenge she should be able to accept, no problem. After all, she was a strong and intelligent woman. And who was her challenger? An ordinary drinking glass; no better than every other glass she’d seen in her life. Please—it was almost too easy.

The glass was going down.

Charlie concentrated on the glass as hard as she could. She sat completely still for a moment, allowing her energy to mount. Then in one calculated sweep, she pushed the concentration out of her body and toward the glass. Charlie’s ears were greeted instantly with a satisfying shattering sound. What had formerly been a cup sat in a pile of broken glass in front of her, the pieces so small they were practically powder. Charlie was about to congratulate herself on a job well done when she looked up at the wall in front of her.

“Oh crap,” she muttered.

She had thought the breaking sound had been a little on the loud side.

“Professor Thyme?” Charlie called tentatively; half hoping the professor wouldn’t hear her.

But Thyme flew in half a second after Charlie’s call, showing she must have been waiting right outside the door, probably hoping Charlie would screw up. The professor fluttered close to Charlie’s face. Charlie could see Thyme’s sea-colored eyes gleaming disapprovingly at her. Professor Thyme didn’t look terribly old (Charlie had yet to meet a faerie the looked older than fifty), but her constantly cranky tone and general elderly-person irritability showed Thyme for the old bat she really was. For being such a tiny faerie, Thyme had proven herself to be a rather large pain in Charlie’s ass.

“What did you do now?” Thyme asked.

Charlie sighed. “Well … I broke the glass.”

“I can see that,” Thyme said impatiently. “But that was what you were supposed to do.”

“…Yeah. See, I broke all the glass.” Charlie flicked her head toward the wall.

Professor Thyme followed Charlie’s gaze then exhaled heavily. “Charlie, if you keep going at the rate you’re going now, Sealalions is going to run out of windows for you to break.” The professor flew over to the opposite wall, pulling out her wand on the way. She pointed her wand at the heaps of broken glass on the floor and the windows slowly began to fill back up with glass.

“I could’ve fixed it; you didn’t have to,” Charlie said, annoyed.

“I just didn’t want you to knock the whole building down in the attempt. I swear; Mr. Thatcher made that wand too powerful for your own good.”

Charlie hugged the wand in her right hand to her protectively. This wasn’t the first time a professor had blamed Charlie’s sometimes explosive magic skills on her wand. Ever since Charlie had started magic lessons a month ago, her various professors had been speculating that perhaps Charlie and her wand were too good of a match for each other. Charlie was able to muster so much energy from her wand that it could sometimes be difficult to only release as much power as a spell required. If Charlie didn’t keep her energy in check, things ended up exploding or breaking. Charlie had learned that releasing too much energy could even kill plants (she still felt really bad about ruining Abbe’s entire supply of lavender). Charlie no longer feared a lack of magical ability on her part. If anything, she was now afraid she had too much ability.

But in spite of all this, Charlie absolutely loved her wand. The feeling she got holding her wand was similar to the comfort she got out of wearing a gemstone, only this feeling was infinitely better, because she knew the wand was made for her and her alone. Nothing but having her wand in her hand could make Charlie feel so focused, so insanely calm. The wand was long and slender and constantly reflecting white, gold, and silver light. Every time Charlie looked at her wand, the beautiful eyes of the unicorn head carved at the top stared back. When Randy had presented Charlie with the wand, she hadn’t been able to help being surprised by the animal he had chosen to carve into her wand. With her temper and general sassiness, Charlie couldn’t see how Randy had been able to associate her with the tranquility and innocence of unicorns. Charlie had been afraid that Randy had only given her a unicorn wand because a unicorn was on the Village flag and served as the emblem for royalty in Albanon. Charlie had hoped Randy would look deeper than her royal status in deciding how to decorate her wand.

When Charlie had questioned Randy about the unicorn, he had grinned. “Obviously you haven’t seen many young unicorns, love. It’s the old ones that have all that calm and wisdom. Don’t get me wrong, the young ones are pretty damn smart. But they’re wild. The younger ones are great when you’re on their good side, but they’re still known for having some of the fiercest tempers out there. Those horns aren’t there for decoration, after all.” Randy looked down at the wand. “Yup, I think the unicorn will be a good fit for you your whole life long.”

Charlie had adored her wand ever since. And she hated it when bitches like Professor Thyme made her feel like there was something wrong with the stick of wood she’d come to love so much. “Actually, Professor, I doubt my wand was the problem,” Charlie said. “Professor Genir just did a real number on me in Telepathy this morning. My concentration hasn’t really been able to bounce back.” Genir was known for being one of the toughest teachers at Sealalions.

Thyme nodded; an understanding expression suddenly on her face. “That woman,” she said detestably. “She just doesn’t know when to stop pushing.” Genir had actually quickly become one of Charlie’s favorite professors, but Charlie didn’t feel the need to voice that opinion just then. Thyme pulled out her itty bitty pocket watch and nodded. “Well, I’d say it’s about time we ended lessons for today. You did good work, aside from the windows.”

Charlie got up from her table, “Thanks. I’ll see you next Monday then?”

Thyme nodded. “You’ll practice over the weekend, of course?”

Charlie nodded back as she shrugged into her jacket and grabbed her book bag. “Of course.”

“Just remember: control, control, control. I think you could have some real possibilities if you could just learn to stop showing off.”

Charlie resisted the urge she often got to smack the pompous little faerie into the wall. Thyme had somehow gotten it into her tiny brain that Charlie purposely did all this huge magic in an attempt to impress people. Charlie didn’t really see the logic in this, since she though it would be a lot more impressive if she actually did the spells right. But she just gave Thyme a fake smile and replied, “Yeah, I’ll try to work on that. Have a good day.”

Charlie walked out of the classroom. She saw Lexi leaning against the wall of the hallway, looking intimidating. Lexi was one of Charlie’s many new bodyguards. Gandoff was still her dominant bodyguard, of course, but he couldn’t afford to miss work every morning during Charlie’s lessons. After the Rena incident, Joan Athen didn’t want to leave Charlie unguarded for even a moment. So he dispatched several Defense Department Intermediates to baby-sit Charlie during her four hours at Sealalions each morning. Lexi, Joe, Cooper, Jayla, and Sampson had their respective days when they would guard Charlie. Friday was Lexi’s day. Charlie liked Lexi well enough, though her yellow werecat eyes still unsettled her a little.

“How were the lessons today?” Lexi asked as she fell into stride beside Charlie, walking down the hallway. “You take a fly swatter to that fluttering bitch yet?” Lexi had suffered through Professor Thyme’s class herself when she had been a Sealalions student.

“Not yet,” Charlie replied. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Lexi chuckled as she and Charlie made their way down the stairs and out of Belanzine, the building Charlie’s lessons were held in. Belanzine was a building reserved for after-school tutoring and was blessedly empty during Charlie’s lessons. The last thing Charlie needed while she was trying to concentrate were a million students peeking in, curious about the princess.

Before Charlie knew it, she and Lexi were heading out of the entrance hall of Sealalions’ main building and onto the grounds. Charlie hugged her jacket closer to her as she walked. Though it was still only November, the chill of winter was already finding its way into Albanon. Charlie frowned as she felt her ears grow cold. She’d have to invest in a hat before long, or stop tugging her hair into its customary ponytail if she didn’t want her ears to get frostbitten and fall off.

Charlie walked toward the lake and sat down on the ground, setting her book bag down beside her. Lexi stood against a nearby tree and reverted to silent watchdog mode. Charlie leaned back on the palms of her hands, studying the lake in front of pulled her wand out of its holster on her belt. She pointed it at one of the many leaves lying on the ground. The leaf rose into the air like a child eager for a playmate. It twisted and twirled in whatever patterns Charlie’s mind willed it to. Charlie couldn’t get over the inner peace she got from doing magic. She was so angry with herself for not trying to learn sooner. But the combination of Gandoff’s disappointment in her and Rena’s brief but terrifying appearance had certainly lit a fire under Charlie’s ass. For the past month, Charlie had been rising at seven AM, doing four hours of magic lessons in the morning, then four hours of combat training and education on the war in the afternoon. Then her evenings were often filled with royal meetings, studying, and homework. This was all incredibly hard work, but Charlie was determined. No one had ever called Charlie a joke before in her life, and she never intended anyone else to have cause to. And next time Rena or any of Rasma’s other cronies came around, Charlie wanted to be ready.

Charlie felt a slight jolt in her concentration. The leaf dancing in front of her stopped short and fell in the water.

Gandoff.

Charlie kept thinking she would get used to the moment Gandoff entered into the range of their telepathic link. But his consciousness merging with her own always managed to distract her, if only for a moment. Charlie could feel Gandoff a few miles away from Sealalions on his motorcycle. She let out the sigh of relief that always came when Gandoff came back into range. After a month of living with the link completely unblocked, Charlie had grown accustomed to Gandoff’s thoughts flitting on the edge of her mind. She felt somehow empty when Gandoff was too far away for the link to work. What had once been such a burden had become something of comfort to Charlie. (Though she still certainly didn’t like the link … it just wasn’t quite the pain in the ass it had been at first. …Yeah. That was it.)

Charlie looked at the water, summoning the fallen leaf back into the air. She concentrated perhaps more than she needed to on making the leaf dance. One of the best ways to practice individualized concentration turned out to be magic. Doing magic, Charlie had to concentrate so hard on herself and her own energy that there was less room in her mind for Gandoff. And she knew it was distracting to have the link working so strongly when Gandoff kind of needed to concentrate on driving. So Charlie threw herself into playing with her new leaf friend, hoping her thoughts wouldn’t distract Gandoff too much.

Fifteen Minutes Later

Lexi started out of bodyguard mode when she noticed that several leaves around Charlie had risen into the air. Tons of leaves were spinning in mini tornadoes around the princess. Charlie sat in the middle of the chaos, completely oblivious. Lexi came over and patted Charlie on the shoulder. “Charlie?”

Charlie looked up, startled. The leaves stopped their strange spinning and fluttered back to the ground. “Oh, wow, sorry,” Charlie stammered. “I was just playing with my wand and got a little carried away, I guess.”

“That was quite a show, kiddo,” a voice called.

Charlie could see Gandoff’s cornflower eyes shining at her even though he was still about fifteen feet away. His eyes looked even more intense than usual, thanks to the blue shirt he had on underneath his Center duster. Charlie blushed slightly. “Well, you know, that’s me,” she replied. “Always showing off, aiming to impress.”

Gandoff grinned wryly as he came closer. “So, I take it Bitchy McBitchface was as bad as ever today?” Gandoff had gone through an intolerable four classes with Thyme back in his Sealalions days.

“Pretty much,” Charlie answered. “I might deserve it though. I broke a few more windows.”

“How many today?” Gandoff asked matter-of-factly.

Charlie thought for a moment. “Three.”

Gandoff shrugged. “Could’ve been worse. You could’ve, you know … killed someone. Although, if that someone would’ve been Thyme, that would’ve been better, not worse. Maybe you should release a little more energy next time you have a class with her … see what happens.”

Charlie laughed. Lexi walked over to them. “Hey there, Winter,” she said.

“Hey Lex,” Gandoff replied. “Sorry I’m late. Got held up at work.” Gandoff was technically supposed to come get Charlie at 12:00 sharp. He always came at 12:30 or later, with some bullshit excuse for his lateness. Both Gandoff and Charlie knew Gandoff purposely came late to give Charlie a much-needed break, though neither of them had ever acknowledged that fact out loud. Charlie was very grateful for his constant lateness though, since she was pretty sure this half-hour of downtime each day was what was keeping her sane.

Lexi shrugged. “It’s fine. Should we head out?”

Gandoff and Charlie both nodded. The three began walking toward the gate. Gandoff glanced at Charlie as they walked. So, feeling okay today? he asked mentally. No headaches?

Charlie absent-mindedly rubbed at her temples. Not really. You shouldn’t worry so much.

Gandoff gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. I know a lot of people who have been through I.I. I’ve heard it really takes its toll on you.

Well, it’s been okay so far, Charlie replied.

I.I. was an abbreviation for a process called Informational Implantation. During this process, two people put on what looked like black headbands with suction cups attached to the tops. The suction cups of each headset were connected by a chord. Each person would lay the suction cup over his or her third eye and one person would then telepathically implant information into the mind of the other. The only people licensed to perform I.I. were the Center employees who worked in the Forced Transport Rehabilitation Unit. People in FTR used I.I. to implant information into the minds of people brought to Albanon from another planet or realm. Center workers could share their knowledge of spells and magic with newcomers quickly and efficiently, so no one had to deal with the awkwardness of being behind in their schooling.

The first hour of Charlie’s lessons every day was dedicated completely to I.I. The next three hours were spent with various professors, practicing the spells and methods that had just been placed in Charlie’s mind. After all, the magical information meant nothing if Charlie didn’t get a chance to try the spells out and make sure she could actually do them. I.I. was incredibly convenient—it saved Charlie countless hours of time that would’ve been spent studying and memorizing information.

However, there was a hitch in I.I. The human mind wasn’t built for the large intake of information that I.I. entailed. So I.I. could result in serious headaches or even loss of consciousness. This was the reason schools even existed and people didn’t just use I.I. to complete the entirety of their lessons. It was also why time spent using I.I. had to be strictly regulated. Joan Athen had originally wanted Charlie to undergo two hours of I.I. a day, but Bryce and Gandoff both advised highly against it. Bryce had gone through I.I. himself, and said it hurt so bad he sometimes had to make himself sick to relieve the pressure in his head. And Gandoff had worked part-time in FTR and had seen the effects I.I. could have. Charlie had followed their advice and the time had been lowered to one hour.

Charlie was starting to wonder if perhaps the effects of I.I. were somewhat exaggerated. It was true that Charlie felt a slight pressure on her temples immediately after I.I. sessions, but it was never anything terrible. She secretly agreed with Joan Athen, and wished he’d been more adamant about letting her stick with two-hour sessions.

Just because one hour doesn’t hurt you doesn’t mean two hours won’t, Gandoff interjected as the group walked through the Sealalions gate. It probably means one hour is exactly the right amount of time.

Charlie narrowed her eyes at Gandoff. I thought we agreed to individually concentrate unless one of us was intentionally trying to talk to the other. So stop spying!

That rule didn’t seem to apply much when you tried a million times to use the link to find out stuff about me and Billie.

The group reached Lexi and Gandoff’s motorcycles, so Gandoff and Charlie were spared the awkward moment that always came whenever Gandoff’s relationship with Billie was brought up. Lexi grabbed her helmet off her purple motorcycle and put it on. “Well, Charlie, always a pleasure,” she said. “See you in a week. And see you around the office, Winter.”

“Bye,” Gandoff and Charlie both said. Lexi got on her motorcycle and sped off. Charlie and Gandoff followed suit, putting on their helmets and getting on Sasha to go to the Center. So, Charlie started once they were moving, how are things with Billie? Maybe if she was polite about it, he’d talk.

You know I don’t like to use the link while I’m driving, Gandoff replied, guarded.

Charlie should have known better than to try and start a conversation about Gandoff’s romantic life. For the past month, Charlie and Gandoff had been getting along really well. Now that Charlie was actually trying with the princess stuff, Gandoff was being much nicer. For the past month, he had been extremely helpful and supportive, teaching her spells when he could and talking Charlie down when she got too stressed. Charlie honestly didn’t know how well she would’ve dealt with all this crap without him. But even with this shiny new beam of friendship between them, there was still the fact that Charlie and Gandoff were both respectively dating people that the other one didn’t like. Bryce and Gandoff had hardly spoken since Gandoff and Charlie had arrived in Albanon. And while Billie didn’t exhibit quite the level of loathing she once had for Charlie, the two of them weren’t getting ready to exchange Best Friends Forever bracelets anytime soon. So, out of respect for their newfound friendship, Gandoff and Charlie had made sort of an unspoken agreement not to talk about their love lives. This, however, didn’t keep Charlie from trying to peek into Gandoff’s mind every now and then to find things out about him and Billie. She considered Gandoff to be one of her best friends these days, and it was weird not to know anything about that whole chapter of his life.

Gandoff, on the other hand, didn’t try too hard to learn things about Charlie and Bryce. Which was good, Charlie supposed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about Bryce. Things were great with Bryce … when Charlie actually got a chance to see him. This sadly wasn’t very often anymore. Between lessons and training and meetings and homework, there hadn’t been much time for Bryce. And Charlie was trying really hard to spend most of her nights at Revingale, so she wasn’t even seeing Bryce at night. That was okay though. Bryce had a big exhibition at his gallery coming up anyway and needed a lot of time to work on it. But the time apart was still kind of a strain. So it was nice that Gandoff wasn’t constantly bombarding her with questions about Bryce or trying to read her mind about him. Charlie made a mental note to return the favor.

We’re here, Gandoff said as he parked Sasha. The pair got off the motorcycle, took off their helmets, and made their way toward the Center. They went through the usual routine of hellos and goodbyes to the guards and began walking down the hallway toward the lobby. Charlie couldn’t help stopping to look at the portrait of Amalthea when they reached it.

Gandoff groaned. “I swear; you waste a few minutes every day looking at that painting.”

Charlie shrugged. “It calms me. Gets me in gear for training.”

Gandoff walked back to look at the painting with Charlie. He nodded. “Yeah, I guess I see what you mean.”

“Yeah. And I also like it ‘cause…”

“’Cause of what?”

Charlie looked away from the painting. “Well, I’ve never seen the qu—my mother—before, and this is the only picture I’ve seen that comes even close to what she might look like.” She looked at Gandoff. “Does she look like Amalthea at all?”

Gandoff shook his head, sad to let Charlie down. “Not really. I mean, yeah, she has golden hair and eyes like Amalthea did. But that’s not a terribly uncommon combination here—it’s a lot like your red hair and green eyes. Naw … Queen Viola looks like you, except for the gold features.” Gandoff chuckled as he began to walk again with Charlie following, “In fact, I’d say you look more like Amalthea than your mom does.”

Charlie raised her eyebrows. “Me? Why?”

“Well, your mother has a very sweet look to her. She’s the kind of woman people want to take care of.”

“And Amalthea wasn’t?”

“Well, you can even tell from her eyes in the picture that she was the kind of girl who could take care of herself.” He glanced at Charlie. “More like you.”

Charlie blushed slightly. “Oh, well, thanks, I guess.”

Fiona smiled at Charlie and Gandoff as they came into the lobby. “Hey there, Charlie, how were lessons today?”

Charlie smiled back. “They were good. And how’s your school going? Don’t you have finals coming up?”

“In a few weeks. I’m actually going to take some time off soon so I have time to study.”

Charlie frowned slightly. She’d grown used to seeing Fiona every day—she was pretty attached to the kid. Gandoff walked behind Fiona’s desk and patted her shoulder. “Aw, well, we’ll miss you around here, Fi.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back right after finals,” Fiona said, blushing. She shook her head quickly and looked at Charlie. She pulled out Charlie’s duster and a small parcel, “There you go; I think the sandwich is caprese today.”

Charlie never had any other time to eat lunch, so Fiona always gave her a sandwich she could eat on her way to combat training. “What’s caprese?” Charlie asked.

“Uhh … mozzarella, tomato, lettuce, and basil pesto. It’s really good.”

“Thanks a lot, Fiona,” Charlie said.

Fiona picked up a post-it and looked at it. “Oh, and Joan Athen told me to tell you to expect the Under-Monarchs for dinner at 7:00 tonight.”

Charlie frowned as she took her coat off and shrugged into her duster. “Couldn’t he have given me a little more notice?”

Fiona shrugged. “You know the Boss Man.”

Charlie sighed and handed Fiona her coat. “Fine. Did he say anything about what we’d be meeting about?”

Fiona shook her head. “Probably just the usual. You know … the war, saving Albanon, all that good stuff.”

Gandoff and Charlie both laughed. “All right, see you later Fiona,” Gandoff said.

“Good luck with your finals,” Charlie contributed.

“Bye you two,” Fiona said.

Charlie and Gandoff walked out of the lobby and into the hallway. They eventually came to the elevator. Gandoff watched Charlie as she tore into her sandwich. Charlie looked up at him. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Gandoff grinned and shook his head. “You really are the most disgusting eater I’ve ever met. You’ve got pesto all over your chin.”

Charlie quickly tried to wipe the pesto off while she continued to chew her sandwich. “It’s not fair for you to judge my eating skills on these elevator rides. I have to try and finish this whole sandwich in about a minute. I’m not usually this sloppy.”

Gandoff shrugged. “It’s not like I expected you to be dainty. But seriously, watching you eat … it can be pretty revolting. Thank Amalthea I don’t have your fear of heights or these rides would be unbearable. You know: the combined unpleasantness of watching you eat and being so high up. How’s your phobia doing, by the way? In this fragile little elevator, going up so fast?”

Charlie shook her head, smirking. “You can be such an ass sometimes.”

“That’s my charm.”

The elevator stopped at the Defense Department. Charlie had grown extremely familiar with this department over the past few weeks since she used their rooms for combat training every day. As Charlie and Gandoff walked out of the elevator, she looked around at all the maps on the walls. Charlie felt proud that she actually knew what land each map represented now, thanks to her History lessons. Charlie turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She grinned, “Catch! I barely recognize you!”

Instead of his usual head-to-toe armor, Catcher was dressed in normal work clothes and a black Center duster. He smiled at Charlie. “Yeah, you get to see me out of the knight costume for once. They’ve got me working on some research up here today. Glad I got to see you though.”

“Not even a ‘hi’ for me, Catch?” Gandoff asked, mocking hurt feelings.

Catch grabbed Gandoff in a one-armed hug. “I love you man, but you know the princess is always going to upstage you any day of the week.”

Gandoff shook his head, “Bastard.” He glanced at Charlie. “Better scarf the rest of that sandwich down, we’ve gotta go.”

Charlie stuffed the rest of the sandwich in her mouth and made a big show of chewing.

“Wow,” Catcher said. “That’s attractive.”

“You’re lucky you don’t have to see it every day, man,” Gandoff said.

“Oh my God, I am going to smack you,” Charlie threatened.

“Glad to see everyone hard at work,” a familiar, creaky voice called.

Charlie’s face split into a smile. “Joan Athen!” she called. She ran toward the old man and caught him in a hug.

Joan Athen smiled warmly and patted Charlie’s back. “Crazy girl, it’s only been a week.”

Charlie pulled back. “So … how did it go?” Joan Athen had been off on a negotiation mission to the realm of Patlina, attempting to gain their support in battle. Charlie had been surprised by how much she’d missed him. The Center just didn’t feel the same without the crazy man’s vibrant energy.

Joan Athen shrugged. “No blessings, no curses. Patlina has her own path to walk.”

By now, Charlie had become pretty good at deciphering Joan Athen’s strange turns of phrase. She saw that Patlina had chosen to remain neutral in the war. She frowned. “That’s too bad; I know we could use them as an ally.”

“Better to lose an ally than to gain an enemy, Poppet. No worries.”

Charlie supposed he was right. At least it seemed that Patlina had promised to stay completely neutral and that they wouldn’t help Selvinia either. “Well, that’s good I guess.”

Joan Athen began walking toward the training rooms. Charlie and Gandoff followed, Charlie walking beside Joan Athen and Gandoff behind. Joan Athen looked at Charlie. “So, how’s that vault of thoughts? Not ready to burst, I hope?”

“Actually, I think there’s a little bit too much room to spare in the vault,” Charlie said smiling, glad Joan Athen had brought this up. “I wanted to talk to you about possibly bumping my I.I. sessions up to two hours.”

“Charlie!” Gandoff exclaimed angrily.

“Shut up, Gandoff,” Charlie said quickly.

Gandoff sped up to walk on the other side of Joan Athen. “Sir, you know it’s too dangerous—”

“No it’s not,” Charlie countered heatedly, “and I can handle it—”

Joan Athen stopped walking, putting his hand in front of Charlie and Gandoff. “Youth and pointless noise … funny how they always come hand in hand.” Charlie and Gandoff both looked at the ground in angry silence. Joan Athen looked at Charlie and patted her head. “Such a brilliant mind. That’s a gift that deserves protecting.”

“Exactly—” Gandoff began.

“Boy,” Joan Athen said warningly. Gandoff returned to his irritated silence.

Charlie frowned at Joan Athen. “But, Joan, I know I can handle more I.I.! Everyone keeps talking about headaches and getting sick, but it hasn’t hurt me at all!”

“Headaches and getting sick … a fancy ball everyone gets to go to but you,” Joan Athen replied, smiling.

Charlie groaned. “It’s not that I want to get sick.” She glared at Joan Athen. “You were the one who set it at two hours in the first place! Just, you know … put it back.”

“If a man has any claim on wisdom, he should be able to admit when he’s wrong, if nothing else,” Joan Athen said calmly.

“So you’re not willing to even consider changing it?” Charlie asked.

Joan Athen thought for a moment. “Well there are personal wants and the wants of one’s friends. It’s not right to cater solely to either … a bit of a middle ground perhaps? Neither here nor there?”

Charlie stared at Joan Athen, trying to decipher his wording. Charlie liked Joan Athen a lot, but she thought it would probably save everyone a lot of time if he just talked like a normal person. “So … you’ll let me do I.I. for an hour … and a half?” Joan Athen nodded almost imperceptibly. Charlie grinned. “And if that works out, you’ll bump it up to two hours?”

“Walking ahead of yourself is impossible so don’t even try,” Joan Athen replied briskly as he began walking again. Charlie supposed she should just appreciate the extra half hour of I.I. and not push for more.

The group stopped outside Training Room 4. Charlie looked over at Gandoff. “So I’m doing fencing today, right?”

Gandoff nodded. “…Yeah.”

Charlie stared at Gandoff. “Why’d you answer all hesitant-like?” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you mad about the I.I. thing?”

Gandoff sighed. “No, it’s not that, it’s just—”

“I need Gandoff’s help with something today,” Joan Athen interjected. “So he won’t be doing your training.”

Charlie frowned. Whenever Charlie had fencing training, Gandoff was always her coach. Since he’d been captain of his team in school and coached a team now, Gandoff knew a lot about fencing. Charlie usually looked forward to when he coached her. “But then … who’s coaching me today?”

“Um, well…” Gandoff began, and then he whispered something unintelligible.

“What?” Charlie asked. “I didn’t hear you.”

Joan Athen shook his head. “Such a strong man can be such a mouse.” He looked at Charlie. “Agent Tiger-Eye.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Billie?!” She glared at Gandoff. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

Gandoff looked down at the floor. “Well, eh … I didn’t really think it would be right to make you worry.”

“Otherwise known as you didn’t have the balls to bring it up,” Charlie said.

Joan Athen gave a high pitched cackle.

Gandoff sighed. “Listen, it’ll be fine. Billie was one of the best fencers on our team at Sealalions. And it’ll probably be good for you to get some coaching from a female perspective.” He put his hand up as Charlie began to speak, “And don’t pull any of your hyper-feminist bullshit on me. Even you have to acknowledge that the male and female bodies are different, and therefore have different fencing tactics. So training with Billie will probably be a good thing.”

Joan Athen patted Charlie’s shoulder. “Best of luck, Poppet.”

Gandoff looked at her as Joan Athen walked away. “Charlie … I’m sorry. It’ll be okay though.”

“Easy for you to say,” Charlie said angrily. “But, fine, go do your stupid Center crap. Leave me alone with your scary girlfriend.”

Gandoff and Charlie both stared at each other for a second. Charlie had never called Billie Gandoff’s girlfriend before, and neither had Gandoff in Charlie’s presence. Gandoff looked at the floor then looked back up. “Well, okay.” He gave her arm an awkward pat. “See you later then, kid.” Then he walked away, following Joan Athen.

Charlie stared after Gandoff. If the two of them were going to be friends, they really needed to figure out a way to make talking about their love lives less awkward. It would be better if they were dating people the other got along with. Charlie shook her head. What was she thinking? It would be perfect if they were dating people the other liked. Because that was the only thing that made talking about their relationships weird between them. No other reason.

She sighed and opened the training room door. Billie stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. She wore a wife beater and work-out shorts. Billie stared at Charlie. “What are you waiting for? Close the door and come in.” Charlie closed the door and came closer to Billie. “What took you so long getting here?” Billie asked.

“I was talking to Joan Athen about my I.I. sessions. Sorry.” Charlie said the ‘sorry’ with distinct sarcasm.

“Oh, did you get him to increase the time?” Billie shrugged at Charlie’s questioning stare. “Gandoff told me you’d been complaining about it.”

It seemed incredibly unfair that Gandoff talked to Billie about Charlie and yet he wouldn’t talk to Charlie about Billie. “Yeah, Joan Athen’s letting me do half an hour more.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.”

Charlie looked at Billie, surprised by this lack of hostility. “Yeah … yeah, it is. Gandoff was actually pretty asinine about it though. He doesn’t think I can deal with more than an hour. Bryce’ll probably react the same way.”

Billie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t be ungrateful. You’re lucky Bryce and Gandoff care so much about you.” Billie shook her head in annoyance, her shortly absent hostility having returned. “Now go get dressed—we’re already off to a late start.”

Charlie walked over to the door to the locker room. She began to change into the set of work-out clothes that magically appeared in her locker every day. She didn’t have to wear any of the protective covering fencers on Earth had to wear. A charm was put on Albonian fencing swords so the swords couldn’t hurt anyone with their blades. That had been a great relief to Charlie, who would’ve been cut to ribbons by now if that hadn’t been the case.

As Charlie dressed, she cursed the fact that Billie was coaching her. Stupid Gandoff should have told her earlier, given her some warning. Charlie hoped to God this was only a one-day thing. She didn’t understand how Billie could be a better coach than Gandoff. Billie’d only been a member of her Sealalions team. Gandoff had been captain and still coached fencing in his spare time. On top of everything else, Billie seemed to be in a strange mood today. She’d been nice for a second, but then gone back to bitchy. It reminded Charlie of Gandoff in his bastard phase. And that was not a phase she was eager to revisit. Once Charlie was changed, she took a deep breath. She could handle this. So she was going to go through hours of fencing training with Gandoff’s bitchy girlfriend. That was fine.

Dammit.

Charlie opened the door and walked back out into the training room. Billie had a sword in her hand, which she was artfully twisting and stabbing through the air. She looked up as Charlie entered. “Okay, start stretching,” Billie said. “Then grab a sword and we’ll see what you can do.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Like … we’re actually going to … fence?”

Billie stopped to stare at Charlie. “No, we’re going to have tea. I thought the swords would be good for stirring in the cream and sugar. Of course we’re going to fence.”

“But—” Charlie began.

“If you’re going to insist on talking, you need to at least stretch while you do it. I don’t have all day.”

Charlie sat on the floor and began stretching her calves. “Gandoff’s still been teaching me moves and technique. I haven’t actually fenced with another person yet.”

“Yeah, well, that’ll change since we’re fencing now.”

“But,” Charlie replied through gritted teeth, pulling her arm behind her head to stretch it, “I’m not sure Gandoff thought I was ready to start fencing for real yet.”

“That’s fun. But Gandoff’s not your coach today,” Billie said with a grin, “I am. And I think we’re fencing.”

“You know, you could back off at least a little bit. I can understand being mad at me for the way I acted my first week here. But I’ve been working my ass off for the past month!”

Billie nodded, looking as though she was seriously considering what Charlie was saying. “Okay, glad to see you want to fence as much as I do. Because all I heard was you talking about how much you want to fence.”

Charlie stared at Billie in angry silence while she finished stretching. Then Charlie stood up and grabbed a sword out of the rack on the wall. “You wanna fence?” she asked. “Fine, let’s fence.” Charlie knew she might make a fool of herself. But, at least this way, she’d be able to stab a sword in that smirking bitch’s direction.

Charlie walked toward Billie and the two began to circle each other, looking for an opening. After about a minute, Billie aimed an attack at Charlie’s left side. Charlie parried it quickly, forcing the blade of Billie’s sword away from her.

Billie raised her eyebrows. “You’ve got pretty good control.”

Charlie grinned. “Don’t underestimate me.” Charlie went for an attack on Billie’s shoulder but Billie deflected it like it was nothing. Damn. Charlie knew her statement would’ve seemed a lot more badass if she had been able to follow it with a successful stab. Oh well.

“I’m surprised you can even lift that sword,” Billie commented.

“Oh, come on. This is nothing compared to the weights I had to lift in FBI Training.” Charlie knew she was being a little overly boastful. The sword really was very heavy, and it had taken her over a week of regularly lifting it to feel comfortable holding it one hand.

Charlie and Billie crossed swords a few more times, neither one able to get the upper hand. “Bryce tried to explain that FBI thing to me. He said it’s a lot like this place, except not as good,” Billie said.

Charlie attempted another unsuccessful attack on Billie’s right side. “Don’t assume that just because something isn’t magical, it’s automatically inferior.”

Billie grinned. “Those were your boyfriend’s words, not mine. Maybe you should take that issue up with him.”

Charlie thrust an angry stab at Billie, which Billie leveraged into a successful attack on Charlie’s stomach. Charlie watched the sword go through her stomach. She had been told that the blade wouldn’t hurt if she got stabbed, and it would simply go through her like it would through a hologram. It was incredibly to experience this firsthand. There was a sword in her stomach, but she felt absolutely nothing, and there was no wound when Billie pulled her sword away.

Magic was so weird.

Billie smiled at Charlie, showing her overly sharp canines. “Can’t lose your concentration for even a second, Princess. Always got to keep your form tight.” She gave a nod. “Now let’s keep going.”

Two Hours Later

Through all of her FBI Training, Charlie could not remember a time when her body had hurt this much. After Billie won their first duel, Billie had taken Charlie through every possible attack she could think of, teaching Charlie how she could defend herself. Billie was insane. They had been fencing for the past two hours straight, without even a five minute break. When Charlie mentioned this, Billie simply barked that people didn’t get breaks during battle and that was what they were preparing for, wasn’t it?

Even if Billie was a total Nazi, Charlie had to respect the girl’s fencing skills. She was incredibly quick, and every move she made was perfectly calculated. In the past two hours, if the swords had been real, Billie would’ve killed Charlie about fifty times. As for Charlie, she had only gotten four successful attacks past Billie. But considering Billie’s skill and the fact that this was Charlie’s first real attempt at fencing, Charlie was extremely proud of those four attacks.

Billie stood back, looking at Charlie. “You tired?”

Charlie shook her head. “I can keep going.”

Billie smiled slightly. Then she shook her head, as if to shake the smile off. “Don’t be stupid. You look like you’re about ready to fall over. We’ve gotta stop anyway. Joan Athen told me to send you down to the Military Sector after two hours.”

Charlie nodded and began stretching. Billie followed suit, bending her leg at the knee and pulling her foot from behind.

Billie glanced at Charlie. “You did good work today. Better than I expected.”

“Told you not to underestimate me.”

“Yeah, that was right before I blocked your hideous excuse for an attack, right?” Billie asked, grinning. “But really … good job.”

Charlie looked up, meeting Billie’s gaze. “Thanks. …Um, you’re really good at fencing.”

Billie raised her eyebrows. “Oh, well, thanks. I’m nothing compared to Gandoff though. You’ll be in for a fun ride whenever he decides to fence with you. He could’ve fenced professionally—he got all kinds of offers for contracts when he got done with school.”

“Really? I didn’t know that,” Charlie said. “Why didn’t he take them?”

“He thought it would be wrong to squander his telepathy abilities when we were in a war. Thought it was his responsibility to use his telepathy to really help people instead of his strength to just entertain them and make a bunch of money.”

“Wow,” Charlie said. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah, well, he’s a really cool guy,” Billie said, smiling slightly.

Charlie frowned as she remembered that Gandoff and Billie were dating. She’d actually forgotten for a few moments. “Um yeah. Well I guess I’m gonna get changed.”

“I’m gonna stick around out here and do a little more working out.”

Charlie stared at her. “How are you not tired?”

“My vampire half’s not all a curse. Gives me extra endurance.”

“Well, if you have the blood cigs, it’s not really a curse at all, right? It just makes you stronger and faster than most people.” Charlie attempted to show off what she’d learned about vampires and half-breeds.

Billie’s eyes darkened. “Don’t tell me what my vampire half does to me. Now go get changed—they’re expecting you in the Military Sector.”

Charlie went into the locker room and began changing back into her normal clothes. Billie and Gandoff really did deserve each other. They were both so bipolar sometimes. Charlie couldn’t help finding herself not quite so hateful toward Billie as she had previously been. As harsh as Billie had been with her training, she had probably taught Charlie more in the past two hours than Gandoff had in the past month. Charlie realized that Gandoff had been kind of babying her. She wondered why. He was the one who had been so fierce about the fact that Charlie needed to try harder. So why had he gone so easy on her in training?

Charlie pulled on her duster and walked back into the training room. Billie was punching at a punching bag that had magically appeared in Charlie’s absence. Charlie watched Billie for a second. “So, was you coaching me a one-day thing, or are you going to coach me again?”

Billie shrugged. “Don’t know, Joan Athen didn’t say.” She looked at Charlie. “Why?”

Charlie shrugged, looking down. “Um, I don’t know. I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing if you coached me part of the time. I mean, it would be pretty close. But maybe not the absolute worst.”

Billie smirked. “Well, I guess we’ll see. But you should really be going.”

Charlie nodded. She headed for the door then stopped and looked back at Billie. “Um, Billie, can I ask you something?”

“You can ask—I’m not gonna guarantee an answer.”

Charlie had no idea why she suddenly had the courage to ask this, but she may as well seize on it. “Well … how are things with Gandoff? Because he doesn’t really talk to me about it and … it’s weird.”

A fierce scowl began to form on Billie’s face and Charlie braced for herself for the angry yell concerning respect for Billie’s privacy that was sure to ensue. But then Billie stopped herself and her features softened slightly. “Gandoff has talked a lot about how annoyed he is that you want to do more I.I. I doubt he’s talked that much about anything concerning me to anyone. See if that tells you anything.” She shrugged, her face hardening again. “Now, you seriously have to go. I’ve had enough of you for one day.”

Charlie nodded slowly and walked out the door. She walked toward the DD’s main office, contemplating what Billie had said. So Gandoff talked about Charlie a lot. That wasn’t that weird. Charlie talked to Bryce about Gandoff a lot too. Charlie hoped that didn’t bother Bryce the way it seemed to bother Billie. Billie was stupid for thinking that Gandoff talking about Charlie had any romantic significance. Gandoff and Charlie spent so much time together; it was hard not to talk about their respective days without talking about each other. That was nothing to get jealous about.

Charlie really hoped Bryce didn’t feel jealous.

Because there was no reason for it.

Charlie sighed as she waited by the elevators. An elevator opened and she stepped inside. She felt tempted to look through the elevator’s glass floor. Charlie hated her fear of heights—it was completely irrational and she had no idea why she had it. Charlie exhaled deeply. She was so used to taking every elevator with Gandoff. It was weird not to have him here. Charlie searched in her mind for Gandoff. She quickly found that he was sitting with Joan Athen and some other people, looking at maps.

Charlie heard a mental groan. No spying, Charlie! I need all my telepathic energy for what I’m doing right now.

Sorry, Charlie thought. What are you doing?

Tell you later, kid.

Charlie felt the wall that went up when Gandoff individually concentrated. Charlie got the hint and tried to do the same. She concentrated hard on herself, staring at her hands. She dug her fingernails into her palms—pain made individualized concentration a little easier. After a few seconds, Charlie felt Gandoff’s consciousness recede far enough away from hers that they could both focus on their own stuff without being too distracted.

Charlie wasn’t given too much time to wonder what Gandoff was doing, since the elevator stopped as soon as she was individually concentrated. She stepped out into the Military Sector. John, the MS receptionist, smiled as Charlie approached. “Hey there, Charlie. How was fencing today?”

Charlie grimaced. “I hurt.”

John laughed. “Yeah, I heard you were with Tiger-Eye today. I’ve heard she puts her trainees through hell. If it helps, they usually turn into the best Agents.”

Charlie shrugged. “Maybe a little. So what am I doing down here today? Please say I can just sit in a big cushy chair and someone can lecture me on the war.”

John shook his head. “’Fraid not. Master Harvey’s gonna take you through some astral training today.”

Charlie’s grimace deepened. “Fun,” she said sarcastically. She actually really enjoyed astral training. But if fencing was physically taxing, astral projection was even more psychically exhausting. “Is that for the full two hours?” John nodded. “Which room?”

John glanced at a paper on his desk. “Three. Master Harvey will come out to meet you though.”

After a few minutes of waiting on a couch, Master Harvey came out of a nearby door. Charlie had worked with Master Harvey before. He was middle-aged, his coal black hair graying in spots. He had harsh black eyes that rarely softened. Harvey had once been an astral soldier, but had retired and gone to work at the Center. He was a good trainer, if a little on the strict side.

“Nice to see you’re finally here, Charlie,” Harvey said gruffly in his Scottish-sounding accent.

“Hey now, I was the one waiting for you,” Charlie replied. She knew Harvey scared some people, but she wasn’t one of them.

“I waited out here for you but you took so long I went back to my office.”

“Aw, well, I’m sorry about that,” Charlie said sincerely.

“Just try not to waste my time, all right?” He began walking toward the astral rooms.

“Okay, okay,” Charlie said, following him. She looked at Harvey. “So, how’s your family? Did Maggie have her school play?” Harvey didn’t respond. “Come on, Harvey! Don’t be pissy ‘cause I was a little bit late. You know you love me.”

Harvey couldn’t help grinning a little bit. “Crazy girl.” He was silent for a bit. “Yes, Maggie had her play and she was great.”

Charlie patted his shoulder. “Glad to hear it.”

Harvey and Charlie went through the door to the astral room. Charlie took in all the cylindrical Astral Machines. She could hardly believe that so many of the machines held soldiers, who at this very moment could be fighting for their lives on the astral plane. Just as Harvey and Charlie were walking in, a few Agents were opening one of the machines. They lifted a soaking wet female shoulder out of the machine and set her in a wheelchair. They quickly covered her in a heavy blanket.

Harvey rushed over. “Cain, are you all right?”

The soldier nodded slowly, shivering. “Y-yeah. Those fucking Scraysins almost got me.”

While soldiers were in battle, technicians were able to keep close watch on their activity through telepathic devises called mind screens. A chord would come from the Astral Machine and connect to a mind screen, which would relay everything the soldier did and saw. If a soldier was in danger, technicians tried their hardest to disconnect the soldier from the astral network before any harm befell them. If a person got killed on the astral plane, they died in real life too.

Cain shook her head. “I swear I don’t know how much longer we can keep them down. I-I…” But she couldn’t seem to get the words out. Between being almost killed and suddenly pulled off the astral plane without warning, she was understandably shaken.

Harvey patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.” He looked at the Agents. “Be sure and get her to a bed straight-away.”

One of the Agents nodded. “Of course, sir.” The Agents wheeled the soldier away. Harvey stared after them frowning.

“So, I guess things aren’t getting any better with the Scraysins?” Charlie asked.

Harvey shook his head. “They’re trying to push through to the Fourth Samoran right now. And from the way Cain made it sound, they could make it before the day’s over.”

Charlie raised her eyebrows. It seemed like it had only been yesterday that the Scraysins were on the Sixth Level. “What happens if they get through all the astral levels?”

“Then all hell breaks loose, Charlie. We can’t allow them on our soil.” He shook his head. “We’ve got to figure something out soon.” He looked at Charlie. “And so the sooner you’re trained on astral, the better. So get suited up.”

Charlie nodded and walked into her second locker room of the day. She grabbed a wet suit off the rack on the wall and changed into it. She walked back out and saw that Harvey was already standing next to a machine. “Where are we going today?” Charlie asked.

“Green World.”

Charlie smiled. Green World was one of her favorite astral simulations. There were two ways for a person to train in astral projection. One was Travel—this was when a person attempted to astral project to a real place and simply practiced going back and forth. The other was Activity. During Activity training, a person astrally projected to an astral simulation—a program designed for astral training. In a simulation, a person could practice battle skills on the astral plane without fear of being discovered by the Selvinians.

An Agent came through the door. Charlie handed the Agent her wand, which the Agent placed in a special compartment on the side of the Astral Machine. This way, Charlie would be able to use her wand on the astral plane. The Agent handed Charlie her blindfold. The blindfold was more like a bulky pair of goggles, except the lenses were black and opaque instead of clear and see-through. The Agent also stuck plugs in Charlie’s ears. The Agent took her hand and guided her into the Astral Machine. Charlie lay in the machine. Due to her temporary deafness and blindness, she couldn’t see when the Agent closed the top of the machine. Lying in the machine, Charlie suddenly felt completely alone.

She still couldn’t get over how strange yeatarla was. It was water, and yet it was water in which she could float and breathe perfectly without any effort. Yeatarla also helped to desensitize Charlie so she became less aware of her body. When Charlie felt sufficiently separated from her body, she tried to clear her mind. This was always the hardest part. Luckily, she couldn’t feel Gandoff’s part of the link very well at all. He really must have been concentrating hard on whatever he was doing. Charlie took a deep breath and thought very hard about the Green World. She visualized the trees and grass in intense detail. She thought what the bark of the trees would feel like if she touched it, the sounds of the birds chirping…

Charlie felt herself falling. It was as though she had been looking into a hole and had lost her balance. As she fell, all she could see were strange neon lines and shapes around her. The shapes were a lot like what Charlie saw when she closed her eyes and pressed in on her eyelids. Charlie became dizzy as she fell further and further…

Charlie felt wet grass against her face. She looked up, squinting against the bright sunlight. She saw Harvey standing over her. She sat up slowly. “So … how’d I do?”

Harvey nodded. “Pretty good. I’ve only been here for about … eh, I’d say seven minutes.”

“Really?” Charlie asked dejectedly. “Why does it still take me so long?” Charlie knew the astral soldiers were able to project themselves in a few seconds.

Harvey put a hand out to help Charlie up. Charlie ignored that and got up on her own. Harvey shook his head. “You’re doing fine, Charlie. You can’t expect to be a pro right away.”

Charlie shrugged. “So, what are we doing today?”

Harvey pointed his wand at himself, morphing his wetsuit into a t-shirt and sweatpants. Charlie took her wand, which had transported itself to sit next to the ground, and followed suit. Harvey pointed his wand at the woods around them, and suddenly there were people all over the place. They began running toward Charlie. “You’re trying to freeze them in their tracks today. Go!”

Charlie glared at Harvey. He loved pulling this trick where he’d create the pseudo-people she was fighting and then tell her how he wanted her to attack them. Charlie thought it would make much more sense to do it the other way around, but Harvey didn’t seem to share her opinion. Charlie crouched and pointed her wand at an oncoming fake person and forced her energy forward. The woman coming forward, along with the three people behind her all froze in midair.

Charlie grinned, “I did it!” Then she felt a slight shock in her side. One of the fake people had aimed a fake spell at her.

“Yeah, and in your celebrating you just got killed,” Harvey said, standing off to the side.

Charlie rolled her eyes, jumping away from the nearest attackers. She accidentally jumped close to one of the pseudo-soldiers and put her energy into kicking him out of the way. Then she felt a shock in her chest. “Dammit!” she exclaimed.

The people all froze as Harvey paused the program. “Charlie, do I really have to tell you this again? Physical violence has no use on the astral plane. Spells and magical attacks are the only way to get anything done. No one’s psychic self is gonna be harmed by a little kick. Save those for flesh battles.”

Charlie groaned. “I know, I know. It’s just my instinct to kick someone who’s in my way.”

“Well, that’s part of the point of this training, to shake you of those nasty habits.” Without warning, Harvey set the program back in motion.

Charlie mounted all the energy she could, shooting the freezing spells toward every attacker she saw. She sensed some coming up behind her and she whipped around, pointing her wand. “Oh, no you don’t,” she said grinning, taking down the four attackers all at once.

Harvey watched for the next several minutes while Charlie fought the pretend people. Eventually, every soldier was frozen in the air, just as they had been when Harvey had paused the program. Charlie looked at Harvey, smiling. “Look, I won.”

“If this were a real battle, you would’ve died four times already.”

“Don’t be such a pessimist.”

Harvey laughed, waving his wand to make the frozen soldiers disappear. “All right. That was actually pretty amazing. I’ve never seen someone take out so many soldiers at once so early in their training.”

Charlie brightened at the compliment. Harvey didn’t exactly hand those out. “Thanks.”

“Don’t get too excited. While you’ve got a lot of raw talent, you’ve got a long way to go in learning what to do with it. You’ve got to try harder to keep a strong focus. Remember that we’re training for real battle, all right?”

Charlie nodded. It pissed her off that so many of the fighting skills she had meant absolutely nothing in Albanon. She’d spent years learning fighting techniques on Earth. And now she had to relearn everything. But Charlie was determined to be just as good at Albanon fighting as she had been at the Earth stuff. “Okay. What are we doing next?”

“Well,” Harvey began, but then an Agent showed up next to him out of thin air. Harvey looked over, “Bradley, what are you doing here?”

Bradley looked down nervously. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said quickly, “but all the MS Masters are needed for a meeting.” Then he walked over to Harvey and whispered something in his ear.

Harvey nodded. “Okay.” He looked at Charlie. “Sorry, Charlie, but we’re gonna have to cut training short today. Why don’t you go home for a little while?”

Charlie furrowed her brow. “But what’s going on?”

Harvey and Bradley looked at each other. Harvey sighed. “We just have some military business to attend to. We’ll bring it to you as soon as we sort it out a little better.”

“What?” Charlie said angrily. “Why can’t I come to the meeting and help you sort it out?”

Harvey shook his head. “Charlie, you’re doing a great job so far. But you have only been here a month. We just want to sort through a few things. Then we’ll be able to explain everything in a way you could understand.”

Charlie could hardly believe this. Everyone had been pressuring her so hard about princess stuff, and now she actually wanted to be involved, and they were trying to shut her out? Charlie glared at Harvey and Bradley in anger. Charlie felt the world around her begin to shake. She was thrust through the astral tunnel and found herself back in the astral machine. She still couldn’t see or hear, but she became aware of her floating body again. She felt herself being lifted out of the tank and placed in a wheel chair. Charlie yanked her blindfold off and took the earplugs out of her ears. She stood up and walked toward Harvey who was sitting in wheelchair nearby.

“You really shouldn’t walk right away.” Harvey said.

It was true—Charlie felt extremely wobbly on her legs after half an hour of the floating tank. But she did not want to be sitting down right now. “I can’t believe you guys are trying to keep secrets from me!”

Harvey sighed, “We’re not keeping secrets—”

“Really? Then what do you call knowing something and not telling someone? Sounds like keeping a secret to me!”

“Really, you are so like your father,” Joan Athen’s voice called from the doorway. “Such tempers.”

Charlie rushed over to Joan Athen on unsteady legs. “Good, you’re here. They’re having some kind of meeting and not telling me what it’s about.”

Joan Athen smiled sadly. “So much ability for knowledge … would be silly to overestimate.”

Charlie narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“Ones step at a time, Poppet, one step at a time,” Joan Athen said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Try to understand everything at once and you’ll understand nothing at all. Give it some time, Love.”

“…You don’t think I should go to this meeting either?” Charlie asked quietly.

“No secrets, Poppet. Just time to learn.”

Charlie shook her head. “Okay, fine. You guys have your meeting without me. Drive me crazy with all this information about the war then don’t let me use it! That makes perfect sense.”

Charlie walked into the locker room. She quickly hopped into one of the showers. Yeatarla had a slightly gel-like consistency, so Charlie liked to shower after astral sessions. She showered as quickly as she could and pulled on her clothes. She didn’t even bother to dry her hair or put it up, letting it hang wet around her shoulders. She walked back out into the astral room. Without saying anything to anyone, she stormed out of the room into the hallway. She felt a hand catch her arm. “Let go of me!”

“Charlie, calm down.” Gandoff said.

Charlie looked over at him. He must’ve been standing behind Joan Athen and Charlie hadn’t noticed him. “Why should I? I’m trying so hard to learn everything, and now they won’t even let me come to their stupid meeting.”

“Charlie, you have to let the Center exist on its own to some extent. Your parents didn’t come to every meeting the Military had.”

Charlie sighed as Gandoff led her into the elevator. “Yeah, but I just got the distinct feeling that they didn’t want to tell me what the meeting was about. Like they thought I wouldn’t understand.”

“Well, Charlie, maybe you wouldn’t.”

Charlie stared at Gandoff. “Oh come on, what the hell? I’ve hardly done anything this month but cram my mind with information about this stupid war. I know about the Scraysins, I know all about Rasma’s history and how he started the Minions, I’ve been learning about all the alliances and enemies Albanon has ever had—”

“Yeah, but this is a war that’s been going on for as long as you’ve been alive. No matter how much studying you’ve done, you can’t know as much about it as the Center does. Can you blame them for wanting to have a serious meeting without someone asking questions every two seconds?”

Charlie and Gandoff walked out of the elevator and down the hallway. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I can. You guys drag me here and tell me it’s my responsibility to fix things. And then you don’t even let me try? Yeah, I’m sorry, that still sounds completely fucked up to me.”

Gandoff sighed and the two of them walked in silence until they reached Fiona’s desk. They both took off their dusters and gave them to Fiona.

Fiona smiled as she took Charlie’s duster and handed her her coat. “So, did training go well today?”

“Yeah, it was fine,” Charlie said; an angry edge in her voice.

Fiona looked quickly at Gandoff then back at Charlie. “You okay?”

“She’s just tired,” Gandoff said as he put his own coat on. “Bye Fiona.”

“Bye,” Fiona said, still looking at Charlie uncertainly.

Charlie and Gandoff walked through the hallway and past the guards at the gate. Once they were a little ways from the Center, Gandoff looked at Charlie. “Charlie, you mind taking a walk with me?”

“That depends. Are you going to lecture me on how I shouldn’t interfere with the Center and let it do its job?”

Gandoff shook his head. “No.”

“Okay, then fine.”

Charlie and Gandoff walked a little ways away from the Center. They walked through the Village, past buildings and street vendors. Gandoff looked over at one building. “That’s my bank. It’s cool having it so close to work.”

“…Yeah,” Charlie said. “Is that what we walked out here for? So you could show me your bank?”

Gandoff sighed. “Okay, so I know you’re pissed off about the Center thing.”

“Yes.”

“And … well, I wanted to let you know I know how you feel.”

Charlie hiked an eyebrow. “Oh … so you’re actually a prince of some random realm and they dragged you away from your home, made you learn a bunch of stuff, and then they didn’t let you use that knowledge toward anything? I didn’t know that.”

“Shut up, Charlie, I’m being serious.” He sighed. “When I got the assignment to come get you, a lot of people weren’t exactly … supportive.”

“What do you mean?”

Gandoff shrugged. “Most people thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I was so young and hadn’t been a Master for very long. They all thought I wasn’t really the best guy for the job. Even though I hadn’t even volunteered for it, and had been chosen to do it, a lot of people gave me crap about it. Especially…”

Charlie looked at him. “Especially what?”

Gandoff looked hard at the ground as they walked. “Bryce hasn’t really talked to you about me, has he?”

Charlie shook her head slowly. Gandoff was mentioning Bryce without any prompting? “My first night here, he told me how you guys first became friends. But no … if I try to ask him stuff, he usually shrugs it off. Just like you.”

Gandoff nodded and sat down on a nearby bench. Charlie sat next to him. “Yeah, well, about a week before I left…”

---

Gandoff waited outside the door to the kitchen, barely able to contain his smile. He’d been waiting weeks to tell them. This mission was incredibly high security—deservingly so. He hadn’t been able to get permission to tell them till now. Gandoff couldn’t wait.

He took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. He was greeted by four expectant faces. Randy and Abbe sat at the table while Billie and Da Vinci were at the breakfast bar. Randy shook his head at Gandoff, mocking disappointment. “Five minutes late. If you’re going to call a meeting, you should at least be on time.”

Abbe nodded in agreement. “Seriously. It’s not like we all live here anymore.”

“Sorry, guys,” Gandoff said.

“Well, come on, Gandoff!” Billie said, her pretty face furrowed in impatience. “Tell us what’s up.”

Gandoff took another deep breath, “Okay, well you guys know how much more they’ve been talking about sending someone after the princess since Queen Viola disappeared, right?” Everyone nodded.

“Damned waste of time, if you ask me,” Billie said. “I don’t know what difference some little Earth kid is going to make.”

Da Vinci nodded. “Yeah. It seems like you guys are doing a good job—why risk somebody’s life to find someone who probably won’t even be able to help?”

“If they were really doing a good job, they would’ve found Queen Viola by now,” Abbe said. “No offense to the Center, guys.”

“None taken,” Gandoff said. “But anyway, we can get into a political argument later. What’s important is that they’ve finally decided who they’re going to send to Earth.” He smiled proudly. “ …It’s me.”

The group stared at Gandoff in open-mouthed silence.

“But … why?” Da Vinci asked.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Randy said quickly. “But why exactly did they pick you?”

Gandoff looked down, slightly offended. He’d gotten enough crap from people in his department about how he was too young for the job. “Well, my telepathy will help a lot with figuring out good tactics to use to explain things to the princess. And I’m one of the best fighters in my department, so I’ll be able to defend her if any need for it comes up. And … I don’t know, but they picked me, and I’m honored.”

Abbe and Randy both stood up and gathered Gandoff into a hug. “Of course you’ll do an amazing job,” Abbe said. “We’re just worried ‘cause you’re our best friend.”

Randy nodded, pulling out of the group hug. “Yeah, Earth’s a pretty sketchy place, I should know. But if anyone could get through it and get our princess back safe, it’s you.”

Billie stood as well, giving Gandoff a hug of her own. “I don’t really agree with you going. But congratulations on the honor, and I know you’ll do awesome.”

Gandoff shrugged. He hadn’t expected much more from Billie. “Thanks, Bills.” He looked over at Da Vinci, the only person still sitting. “So, Da Vinci, what do you think?”

Da Vinci looked at the counter, toying with a napkin, “I … are you sure you should do this?”

“What do you mean?” Gandoff asked, surprised.

Abbe looked between Gandoff and Da Vinci. “Hey, Randy, Billie. I planted some herbs in your garden earlier, you want to come look?”

“Why would we want to look at the…” Billie began. Then understanding came into her eyes. “Oh, uh, yeah, sounds great.” She looked at Da Vinci. “Bryce, do you still want to maybe hang out later?”

Da Vinci looked up. “What? Oh, uh, maybe. I don’t know.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Billie said quickly, blushing.

Randy patted Gandoff’s shoulder. “Congratulations, man. It really is amazing.”

“Yeah,” Abbe said.

The three left the room, leaving Gandoff and Da Vinci alone. Gandoff looked down. “So, really, man, what do you mean, am I sure I should do this? I mean, I know you have all your Centerist bullshit, but finding the princess might be the last option we have. And if she’s anything like her parents, she’ll probably be able to help us.”

Da Vinci frowned. “But she won’t be anything like her parents. She grew up on Earth. She doesn’t know anything about magic—you’d have to train her in everything. You don’t know Earth like I do. You have no idea how naive she’ll be. And I don’t want you risking your life over nothing.”

“Bryce,” Gandoff said, using Da Vinci’s real name for the first time in years, “it’s an honor to do this for Albanon. I mean, yeah, maybe it won’t work out, but it’ll be good to know we tried.”

Bryce shrugged. “Earth’s so different from here, Gandoff. You could get stabbed or shot for no reason other than the money in your wallet. Do you really think you could deal with that?” Gandoff couldn’t help noticing Bryce’s condescending tone.

“Randy thinks I’ll be okay,” Gandoff said, starting to feel angry.

“Randy lived on Earth till he was seven. I was there till I was seventeen. My memories are a little more fresh. And I’m just surprised that they would send someone...”

“Someone what?”

Bryce sighed. “Someone who grew up here. I would’ve thought they’d want someone who was originally from Earth, who would know what they were dealing with. Not some spoiled Albonian kid.”

Gandoff stared at Bryce. He honestly hadn’t expected this from him. Yeah, he’d expected some Centerist talk, but he’d thought Bryce’s kind nature would come through and he would support Gandoff. “Yeah, well, I think Joan Athen knows what he’s doing. That’s what you Centerists are always saying, isn’t it?”

“Yeah … Earth is just a shit place. And I just don’t think…”

“What? What don’t you think?”

“I don’t think you can handle it!” Bryce said, raising his voice for the first time.

They were silent for a few moments as Bryce’s words rang through the air.

Gandoff could hardly believe what he’d heard. Bryce had been one of his best friends for years. How could he not support him in this? “What? Are you serious?” Gandoff said, breaking the silence. “Who was the weak, wallowing one when we first met? Who had to pull you out of the gutter so you could have a normal life?”

“But, Gandoff, the only reason I was weak and wallowing was because of what Earth did to me! Yeah, I know you think you’re so amazing and invincible. That’s pretty easy to do when you grew up in sweet, pampered little Albanon! You should’ve tried having my life.”

Gandoff walked closer to Bryce. He spoke, his voice low and quiet, “You think you’re so much better ‘cause you had to deal with your shit Earth life? Well, believe me; you don’t need to live on Earth to have a bad childhood—you can do that anywhere. If dealing with some hard stuff growing up prepares you for Earth, I should be just fine.”
Bryce stared at Gandoff for a second. “You can’t spend your whole life thinking you can do anything. Who knows, maybe Earth’ll be good for you. You can get the rude awakening you need.”

“What the hell, Bryce?” Gandoff yelled. “Do you think I’m not nervous about this? This was a time I really needed my friends behind me—what the hell are you doing?”

“I just don’t want you to take on more than you can manage!”

“And how would you know what I can and can’t deal with? The Center chose me to do this, and you’re insane if you think I would turn them down.”

“Fine,” Bryce said, getting up from his seat. “Go to Earth, have fun, save the day.” He walked out of the room.

“Yeah, fuck you too,” Gandoff said under his breath. He couldn’t believe Bryce had reacted this way. Bryce had been one of his most supportive friends … and now Gandoff had the biggest opportunity of his life and the guy didn’t think he could handle it? Well, he’d show him. He’d go to Earth and get the princess. If Earth was really as bad as Bryce had said, then the princess would be happy to get away from it.

---

Gandoff looked at Charlie as he finished talking. “So … yeah,” he said. “That’s basically why Bryce and I aren’t friends anymore.”

Charlie sat back against the bench. It had been pretty intense hearing the story from Gandoff. She not only heard the words that he said, but through the link she had been able to see what had happened from Gandoff’s point of view. “I’m not really sure what to say,” Charlie said slowly. “I guess you kind of do know where I’m coming from with all the people-not-thinking-you-can-handle-stuff stuff.”

Gandoff nodded. “Though, to be fair, people didn’t think I could handle a job I was more than happy to take. The Center doesn’t think you can handle running the kingdom … which is the whole reason we sought you out. So I guess your situation is a little worse.” He sighed. “Sorry I was a little mean about it before. I’d forgotten how much it sucks to feel like people don’t believe in you.”

“Yeah…” Charlie thought for a moment. “I mean, really, Bryce was just trying to protect you…”

“Please don’t do that. I’ve gotten enough of that from Randy, Abbe, and Billie. Besides, I could say the Center’s just trying to protect you. They’re scared you’re trying to take on too much and just want you to take things slow.” He looked at her. “Doesn’t make you feel much better, does it?”

Charlie shook her head, “No.” She sighed. “Bryce just cares a lot about people—I’m sure he just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Charlie, don’t make excuses. It’s not your responsibility to fix this.”

“Yeah, but if you guys always stay angry at each other, that doesn’t make things very easy for me.” Charlie looked down at the ground. “I like that we’re friends now, but I don’t know how we can stay friends if you and Bryce never make up.”

Gandoff exhaled deeply. “Yeah … it’s not like you’ve tried to get along better with Billie.”

Charlie shrugged. “She was mean to me first. And I did spend a whole two hours with her today. And it wasn’t completely awful. I’d be nicer to her if you talked to Bryce.”

Gandoff shrugged back. “Maybe I will.” He looked Charlie in the eye. “I like that we’re friends too.”

Charlie held his gaze for a moment then looked away. “Yeah, well, we should probably get going. I kind of want to visit Bryce at the studio before I get ready for dinner with the Under-Monarchs.”

Gandoff nodded. “Yeah.”

Charlie and Gandoff walked back toward the Center in silence. Charlie thought about what Gandoff had told her. She checked to see if Gandoff was trying to spy on her thoughts, but he seemed pretty absorbed in his own. Charlie really didn’t know what to make of Gandoff’s story. She understood both sides. She saw that Bryce hadn’t meant to insult Gandoff and that he was just worried about him. But she could also see how much Gandoff had needed Bryce’s support and how much Bryce had let him down. Charlie knew that if she had been in Gandoff’s situation, she would have been just as angry as him, if not worse. With how understanding Bryce had always been, Charlie was surprised he hadn’t seen how much Gandoff had needed Bryce to support him.

Gandoff and Charlie reached Sasha. They put on their helmets and headed off. Charlie rested her head on Gandoff’s back, feeling incredibly confused. She almost felt like she was taking Gandoff’s side over Bryce’s, and she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t make any final decisions about what she thought until she heard Bryce’s side. Gandoff had probably exaggerated things.

Charlie spent the entire ride to Bryce’s studio in unhappy contemplation. Gandoff stopped outside the studio and they both got down and took their helmets off. Charlie ran her hand through her hair. It was extremely tangled, having dried in the wind. “I wish I had a hair tie,” she said sadly.

“You shouldn’t,” Gandoff said. “You look better like that. A little less hideous.”

Charlie punched him in the arm. She looked at the stairs leading up to Bryce’s studio in apprehension. “I guess I should go then.”

Gandoff nodded. “Listen, sorry if I made things weird by telling you. That was partly why I waited so long.”

“Naw, it’s all right. I’m glad you told me.” She looked around. “So you’re just going to wait here?”

“After what happened with Rena, Joan Athen would eat me if I tried to leave.”

Charlie laughed. “Okay, well, see you soon then.”

She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Bryce opened it. He smiled brightly when he saw Charlie. “Char! I didn’t expect to see you for another hour!”

Charlie hugged him and gave him a quick kiss. “Well, they let me out a little early today.”

Bryce closed the door as they both walked inside. Bryce led her to the supply room where he took Charlie’s coat and they both sat down. “How come you got out early?”

Charlie sighed and relayed the story about the Military Sector meeting. Charlie’s temper rose as she told it, remembering how angry they’d made her. “So, basically, I’m really mad at the Center right now,” she finished.

Bryce patted Charlie’s arm. “Aw, babe, I’m sorry. I guess it’s just going to take some time.”

Charlie blinked. “Yeah, but we don’t have time. This war is going on right now, and they should not be keeping secrets from me! They’re the ones who brought me here, and they should damned well let me help!”

“Char, they’re obviously not doing this to spite you. They just want to give you time to get the facts straight before they include you in every meeting.”

For once, Bryce’s calming voice wasn’t working on her. But Charlie tried to let it slide. “Yeah, whatever, I guess it’s fine.”

Bryce nodded. “So what do you want to do for dinner tonight?”

Charlie frowned. “Oh, um, I can’t tonight. Joan told me this morning that the Under-Monarchs are coming to Revingale at seven.”

Bryce raised his eyebrows. “But that’s the fourth dinner meeting this week!” Charlie shrugged. “Wow … you really shouldn’t complain that they’re not letting you be involved enough. If anything, they’re trying to make you do too much!”

Charlie stared at Bryce. “Are you serious? It’s not like anyone has time for me to slowly ease into being princess. I think it’s good that Joan Athen keeps scheduling these meetings. It helps me know firsthand what’s going on with the war.”

“Yeah, but I feel like you’re eventually going to go crazy from all the stress!”

Charlie stood up, angry. “That’s my business, Bryce!” She shook her head. “God, you don’t think anyone can handle anything, do you? You didn’t think Gandoff could come to Earth, and now you think I can’t handle being princess!”

Bryce sighed deeply. “He told you.”

Charlie nodded fiercely. “And I was so surprised because I thought you were so understanding. But you don’t want to let me do anything either! You keep complaining about how much I’m taking on—you’re treating me just the same way you treated Gandoff!”

“If you mean I’m worried about you because I care about you, yes, I am treating you like Gandoff.”

“Well, Gandoff proved you wrong and I can too, dammit,” Charlie said.

“Charlie, calm down. I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t think you can handle being princess—I just think you might be trying to take too much on. And I know better than anybody that the Centerists are just waiting for you to falter the littlest bit so they can seize on you. I’d hate to see that happen because you’re trying to do too much at once.”

“It just sucks to come here after all the training and shit I have to deal with, and hear you complain about how much I do. I could really use your support.” Charlie looked at Bryce. “Gandoff could’ve too. Why’d you shoot him down like that?”

Bryce exhaled looking away. “I don’t know. I was worried about him. I didn’t see how someone from Albanon could deal with place like Earth. And in all the time I’d known Gandoff … he just always seemed to get what he wanted. I was afraid for him to have to deal with a situation where things might not come so easily.”

“Why were you so mean about it though?”

Bryce frowned. “Gandoff was mean first. He said I was weak and wallowing.”

“And that makes it okay that you refused to support your friend? Gandoff really needed you! And I need you too … you need to stop worrying about how much people can handle and just be there for them!”

“But I am being here for you! I’m being here to try to keep you from wearing yourself out. Charlie, I just care about you, that’s all!”

“Bryce, it wasn’t Gandoff’s fault that you were jealous of him, and it’s not my fault that you’re angry that all my princess stuff keeps me from seeing you very much. You can feel the way you feel, but don’t mask it by saying how much you care.” Charlie grabbed her coat off the rack and put it back on. “Now I have to go to Revingale and get ready for the Under-Monarchs. Ear stone me when you feel like talking.”

Bryce looked at Charlie, disbelieving. “Charlie, I want to talk right now! You’re making a whole lot out of nothing.”

“I have to go.” Charlie rushed out of the studio and down the stairs. She was glad to see that Bryce didn’t try to follow her.

Gandoff looked at Charlie as she came toward him. “Well, that didn’t take very long.”

“Yeah, well, I need to get back to Revingale and get ready for the Under-Monarchs.”

Gandoff nodded. “Yeah. So … how’d it go?”

“It went fine. We talked and I got a little mad, but it’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

Charlie was started when she felt Gandoff’s arms around her. She decided not to question it, and dug her head into his chest. She hugged Gandoff tight for a little bit before letting go. She exhaled, glad the hug had made her feel a little better.

Gandoff smiled at Charlie. “Sorry, you said the word ‘fine’ so many times it made me want to give you a hug.”

Charlie smiled back. “Thanks. We should probably go to Revingale. Who knows, maybe if I’m lucky, one of the Under-Monarchs will tell me what the big secret is.”

“Maybe. Let’s go.”

Charlie got on the back of Sasha. She felt angry at Bryce, and she was still mad at the Center. But she just leaned against Gandoff and tried not to think about any of it. Things would work themselves out.

Hopefully.

---

Raymond and Salazar watched as the princess rode away on the motorcycle. Raymond sat back in his chair. “My money’s on the blond one—he really seems to care about her.”

Salazar shook his head. “Got to be the dark one. All that sexual tension, ya know?”

They were both silent as the Boss walked in. “Seriously, you two. I told you to watch the princess, not make bets about her love life.” The Boss narrowed her red eyes at the screen, watching the princess. “What has she been up to anyway?”

Raymond shrugged, “Pretty much the usual. Had a bit of a fight with the boyfriend just now, not too much to get upset about.”

The Boss shook her head. “I have no idea what possessed Master to put two dim-witted ogres like you in charge of watching the princess.”

“You’d be surprised by the depth of their observational skills, Rena,” a deep voice said.

Rena and the ogres cowered on the ground. “Sorry, I meant no disrespect, Master,” Rena said quickly.

“Just don’t let it happen again. Remember that it’s good for us to know little details about her love life and such. Lets us know her vulnerabilities.”

Rena stood up and walked closer to her master. “But what are we doing just watching her like this? Shouldn’t we just get her out of the way?”

He shook his head. “No. It would still be too easy.” He laughed. Then he pointed at Rena. She gave a cry of pain and fell to the ground. “And if you ever question my plans like that again, you’ll be the one ‘gotten out of the way.’”

“Of course, Master, I apologize,” Rena said, her breath short.

The master walked away from the group, looking through the nearby window. He didn’t see the outside of course, but just another room. A lady slept on the bed. Her golden hair and eyes brought back so many memories of another queen … he smiled to think of them even though it had all been so long ago. But this one exhibited none of the other’s fire. He’d see that fire again, soon enough.

Soon enough.

Author’s Note: I’ve come back to life again, yay! I don’t know how many people are still following this story, but here the chapter is for whoever wants to read it. I’m hoping to get more chapters out before my winter break is over. Hope whoever’s reading likes this chapter!