Chapter 11

Kat sat huddled on her bed. The clock on the table reminded her that she should have been in bed hours ago. While her body was quite sated, her mind was in utter chaos. She couldn't believe that he had actually tied her to her bed and made love to her with his mouth. What was she going to do? She loved what he had done to her but if he kept digging in her past, he was going to reopen old wounds. She knew that if he was seriously considering marrying her, then he had the right to know her background; but she wasn't going to marry him and she didn't relish the idea of him finding out about her past. As his mistress, he had no reason to pry.

The communications console next to her bed flashed before giving off a soft beep. She sighed. Glancing at the digital display, she could tell that it was Charlie. If she didn't answer his summons she knew that he would more than likely come and check on her. And she didn't want that. Leaning over she punched the button. Immediately his deep voice filled her room.

"Kitty-kat, why aren't you sleeping?"

"Because I'm not tired, Charlie. Other than calling to annoy me, is there another reason for you to be calling me at two in the morning?"

"My room is right next to yours, Katrina. I can see the light under the door. Obviously I didn't please you well enough. Shall I come back over and try again?" His voice deepened and she was sure that she would be able to see desire in his eyes if he had been present.

"No!" she quickly protested.

"My teachers always did say I was a quick study, Kitty-kat. I'm sure that I'd get it right this time," he coaxed.

"You stay in your room!"

"Then come to mine," he suggested. "It's not as if you haven't been here before," he added.

"What! I've never been in your room."

"Really? What about the night on our journey here? If I recall correctly you were there."

"I'm hanging up now, Charlie." She went to push the button to disconnect the call.

"If you do, I'll come over there right now," he admonished.

"I've locked the door!"

"So? I'll just come in the same way I did before." He sighed heavily, before continuing, "Talk to me, Katrina, until you get tired," he coaxed.

"What?" she asked, confused by his request.

"Talk to me about your planet, Earth," he suggested. "Where you come from-this country, E-owa?"

"Eowa?" A frown crossed her face before she realized what he was trying to say.

"Yes."

"You must mean Iowa. Iowa isn't a country, Charlie. It is a state in the Midwest. Which is part of the U.S."

"The U.S.?"

"Yes, the United States of America. I lived there my entire life. In a town that is not even half the size of your capital. It is mostly a farming and manufacturing state. We grow corn and soybeans. There are several cereal plants there."

"Cereal? You mean like Captain Crunch?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes," she laughed, knowing his fondness for the children's cereal. It was quite a sight the first time that she had gone down to breakfast and she had seen him hoarding a box of it.

"When we go on our wedding tour we will have to stop at this place where they make Captain Crunch."

"Wedding tour?" she asked in a daze.

"Yes. It is customary for newly wed royals to have a tour after six months of marriage. I would love to tour your homeland. The only reason that Rand and Gracie have not is because she is carrying the next heir. All heirs are born in the castle which they will one day rule."

"So you were born in this castle?"

"No. I received that right when I married Deanna. She was born here."

"And when she died that right - it came to you?"

"It normally doesn't work that way, Katrina. The council decided I was a better risk than Aric."

"Aric. The Aric that Gracie banished?"

"Yeah. He's an illegitimate of the last king."

"So he tried to claim the throne?"

"Several times. And he wasn't above using his sister, his uncle, or me to achieve his goal."

"Your uncle? I read some where that you were Deanna's cousin?"

"Yeah. Second cousins on our mother's side. I started looking after Deanna when she was an infant. My mother would come to visit her sister, The Queen. While the ladies were busy in doing ladies' things, I would be sent to the nursery. It was quite a let down for an eight year old. But the first time I saw Deanna toddling around in her little pinafore I was smitten. I never out grew it either as we grew older. I am from the Vindexicis Warrior class. The urge to protect is deeply seated in us." Kat could hear the affection in his words.

"The Vindexicis?" She shifted uncomfortably. Did he still love his dead wife?

"Yes, it is a class of warriors that has all but died out. I am a throwback to that class. There are only a handful of us born every sixth generation."

"So, this class, do they also carry the wizardry traits of Venus?"

"No. I have no magic. Until I have the Traiectus I have no power."

"What are you going to do, Charlie, when you go through this traiectus?"

"What do you mean?" he asked confusion evident in his voice.

"Your ban on magic. How are you going to abide by it when you have magic yourself?"

"I won't go through it. There is a special ceremony that I have to complete to welcome the power into me. I don't ever plan on completing the ceremony that will unleash such a thing."

How sad, that he is going to deny something that is such an enteric part of him, she thought before changing the subject to a lighter note. She did not want to fight him.

"So do you have any siblings?" she asked brightly. She watched the clock on the table as she laid back down on the bed.

The next morning, Kat yawned widely as she attempted to study the material in front of her. It had been almost four before she had dozed off listening to the sound of Charlie's voice. And now she was paying for it.

"Kat..." Arianna's soft voice broke through her stupor.

"Yes," she answered as she looked over at her.

"Didn't that son of mine let you sleep last night?" Arianna stopped beside her and placed a warm hand on Kat's shoulder.

"I had a bit of insomnia last night. I couldn't sleep."

"Let's take a walk, dear. Nothing says that we have to conduct your training in a classroom. You can accompany me on my rounds."

"Rounds?" Kat asked as she picked up the papers in front of her.

"I usually visit the local clinic at least once a day to offer my assistance if it's needed. And I'm sure that the doctors would love to meet the future queen." Arianna added as she guided Kat out of the room.

"But I'm not going to be the queen..." Kat protested as Arianna led her down the hall.

Stephan was pouring over the report that he had gotten on Earth's customs with Charles when his aide came into his office. He nodded absently at the young wizard.

"So you are telling me that if a school aged child uses any of their abilities in a public school, they can be sentenced to prison?" Charles's voice was harsh.

"It seems to be the case, Charles."

"God, I hope that didn't happen to Kat."

"Here's the preliminary report that you requested, Councilor Dean," the aide said as he offered Stephan a thick manila folder. He took it with a puzzled look on his face. He tried to remember what information that he had requested.

"Thank you, Edward. That will be all for now."

After the aide left, he opened the folder, very aware that the king was watching him. The first thing that caught his eye was a picture of a five year old girl. Something about the girl was familiar. Picking up the picture, he studied the carefree expression on her face. She had dark brown hair and eyes. She seemed to be laughing at who ever had taken the picture. He handed it across the table to Charles. While Charles was studying the picture, Stephen picked up the first piece of paper.

On top of it, it listed Katrina's full name, date of birth and location. He briefly pursuing the information. He began to read aloud.

"Katrina Elenora Littlebird, date of birth March 8, 2088. Born in Iowa City, Iowa at the University of Iowa Hospital. Mother- E. Littlebird. Father-unknown. Enrolled in Iowa City Elementary school in 2092. Was expelled in 2093 for breaking "No Power Law." Was sent to Institutional Teaching School which she graduated from in 2103..." he trailed off, glancing up at Charles. He could see the anger brewing deep inside of the king.

"Please tell me that is a boarding school," Charles said harshly.

Stephen pawed through the rest of the paperwork, looking for more information on ITS. He finally found another reference to it in Kat's record. Her criminal record. It only showed the date of her sentencing and her sentence. It said nothing of her crime. He assumed that it had been sealed due to her age. He sighed and debated on whether to tell Charles. It was in the past. What good could it do now, other than piss the king off? He slipped the paper to the bottom of the stack.

"I'll have to get back to you on that, Charles. There is a lot of paperwork here and most of it is vague." He reached over and hit the communications console. "Edward, come in here," he ordered turning back to Charles.

"Yes, sir?" Edward asked as he walked back into the room.

"Let me know when you get the rest of the report from Earth. I want every bit of specific information on the Institutional Teaching School."

"I also want to know if she was ever abused." Charles added. If so, it would explain some of the hurt he saw in her eyes when she thought he wasn't watching.

Rand scowled as he followed the tracks of what he hoped were Gracie's and her captor's. Every time that he thought he was closing in on them, the tracks just disappeared. The only thing that gave him any comfort was the fact that each night when he stopped to sleep, his beautiful wife was waiting for him. The moment that he dozed off he always found himself in her arms, cradled against her swollen belly, feeling their children kick.