Chapter 1

Kat sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. As usual she saw the petite, brunette woman with troubled brown eyes, that she always saw. Today, the official from the testing institute was coming over. Prince Rand had contacted the Institute on her behalf shortly after she had arrived on Venus. She didn't know if she was ready for this. She didn't know if she would be able to use her abilities. She hadn't used them in front of audience in years.

There was a knock on her bedroom door. She turned to the door and walked over to it. When she opened it, she was not surprised to see Princess Gracie. She was becoming one of Kat's closest's friends. After she stepped back, she waited for Rand's wife to enter her room. She moved slowly due to her advanced state of pregnancy.

"How are the babies feeling today?"

"Frisky." Gracie sat down on Kat's bed with a grateful smile.

"I bet. Are you ready for your test?" Gracie rubbed her stomach as one of the babies kicked her again. Sitting down next to her, Kat gently placed her hand on Gracie's swollen stomach...

"I guess. Sore?"

"Yeah, these three have been using my inside as a trampoline."

"Relax," Kat urged as she slowly felt her hand begin to heat. The power that lay dormant inside of her came quickly to her call. Gracie gasped softly as she felt the warm heat sooth her tender insides. Kat gritted her teeth as she tried to keep her power within her control. As she felt it slipping, she moved away from Gracie quickly. She struggled for a moment before pushing her power back down. She sighed as it grudgingly receded.

"Thank you, Kat... I feel... so much better," Gracie mumbled around a yawn. Kat turned around to see her dozing off. Damn it, she thought, I used to much again. She checked Gracie to make sure that she was only sleeping and not unconscious.

"Gracie?"

"Not now, Rand. We can make love later..." Gracie muttered as she rolled over onto her side. Kat sighed in relief. She snagged her grandmother's afagan and draped it over Gracie. After glancing at the clock, she realized that it was time for her test.

When she entered the study, she found Prince Rand with another man. He seemed to be friendly. He stood almost as tall as the prince. Which still made him almost a foot taller than her. In his hand he carried a briefcase.

"Here she is. Katrina, this is Mr. Eljah."

"Good morning, Sir. I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you but I'm nervous about taking this test."

"I can imagine, Katrina. Prince Rand requested me because I have had plenty of experience with testing Earthlings. I know the stigma that your world places on any type of power. So it's understandable that you are nervous. All I am going to do today is just test your basic ability. From there we will decide if you need training or if you are ready to be certified."

"Well, that's a bit of a relief."

"Great. Shall we get started?" he asked as he opened his briefcase.

"I guess."

"Well, I'll leave you two alone," Rand said.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Kat replied. "Rand, if you're looking for Gracie, she's asleep in my room."

Rand nodded before he left them alone. After she pasted a smile on her face, she turned back to Mr. Eljah.

"Okay, what do I do first?"

"Well, the first thing I want you to do, Katrina, is relax. This will be much harder on you if your tense. The first thing I need is some background information. Why don't we start with there? Where were you born?"

"How specific do you want?"

"Well, I assume you were born on Earth. From your accent I would guess that you are American. So where exactly in America were you born?"

"In the Midwest. My hometown is Iowa City, Iowa."

"Alright then. What kind of upbringing did you have?"

"Until I started school, I lived with my mother and grandfather on a farm. But when I entered school at ITS and then became an accountant."

"ITS?"

"Yes, it is a school that only kids with power go to. I graduated at sixteen and then went to college to become an accountant."

"Quite a feat for someone of your age."

"I guess. Hunger is quite motivating. On earth, I had to support myself."

Mr. Eljah stopped scribbling for a moment and looked over at her. There was obvious concern on his face.

"You were supporting yourself at sixteen?"

"Yeah."

"That isn't a normal behavior is it?"

"In my family, yes. But it's in the past. I came here looking for my future." He looked at her thoughtfully.

"I understand that you came back with Prince Randall?"

"Yes. I met him on my grandfather's farm. He invited me to come back with him."

"He was the one to suggest you get tested?"

"He mentioned that on Venus most every one with any magic or abilities is tested and registered. Since I don't plan on leaving Venus in the near future, I thought it would be a good idea to get registered."

"That is a good idea, Katrina. We've finished the easy part. Now comes the hard part. You are going to have to let down you guard and let me in. It is the only way that I can judge how strong your power is."

"Let you in?" Kat asked uneasily.

"Yes. My ability is to judge the amount power within a person. I will hypnotize you and slip inside of you to assess your power."

"Is it hard?"

"Yes. I have had extensive experience with Earthlings and your race is cynical about most things and resistant to hypnosis."

"Lets hope I will be a different story."

Rand walked into Kat's bedroom and found his wife asleep on the bed. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he brushed her chestnut hair off her cheek. He sure hoped that at least one of their kids got their mother's hair. Aside from her big blue eyes, it was his favorite part of her. She stirred a bit before opening her eyes. She smiled sleepily before slowly sitting up. Placing an arm around her, he helped her.

"How are you feeling, Gracie?"

"Sleepy," she mumbled against the front of his dress shirt.

"The babies are just tiring you out." He laid his head on top of hers. Pulling her onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around her swollen belly. He sighed with pleasure when he felt their babies wiggled against his arms.

"You just had to go and wake them up," Gracie joked as she snuggled closer to him. Whatever he was going to say, was cut off when Kat ran into the room. She was in a panic.

"Rand, Gracie, you've got come with me. I think I killed Mr Eljah."

"I'm sure you did nothing of the sort," Gracie soothed as Rand helped her to her feet. "But we'll come."

When they entered the room, they found Mr. Eljah in a heap on the floor. Bending down, Rand looked for life signs.

"Is he..."

"Relax, Kat. He's merely slumbering." Rand shook him gently. Mr. Eljah stirred. After he opened his eyes, he focused on Rand briefly before looking around the room. He saw a concerned Gracie and red-faced Kat. He sat up, shook his head, and rose unsteadily to his feet.

"That's quite the power you have there, Mistress Katrina," the tired man yawned.

"I'm sorry."

"Nonsense, young lady. You have a great deal of power inside of you. If anyone is at fault it is me. I should have taken better precautions. You would think that as many Earthlings that I have examined I would know better."

"So what's the prognosis, Mr Eljah?" Rand asked as he helped the man into a nearby chair.

"Well, best that I can conclude before I went to sleep, Mistress Katrina possesses unlimited ability to heal. There is no level of power that I can assign her that would do justice to her. She is unassignable."

"Son of a... even here, I'm still a freak," Kat groaned.

"No, you're not!" Gracie said as she drew Kat to her side. "You're a close friend of Rand and I. We would never turn our backs on you."

"Mistress Katrina, what I would suggest is that you have some training. I think you should train with Arianna deSethal."

"Arianna, would be perfect. She is a healer in her own right," Rand agreed.

"So how do I contact her?" Kat asked.

"That will be easy. Have Charles take you over to see her," Rand told her.

"Hmm, that sounds like a plan. He's been avoiding me as usual. Lets hope he doesn't run the other way," she joked.

"I'll talk to him," Gracie said with a smile. Rand looked over at his wife. There was something brewing in her clever little mind.

"No, I won't do it," Charles said, frustration evident in his voice.

Gracie watched him across the table with cool eyes...

"Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not a good enough reason, Charles. Kat is the one that was responsible for making sure Rand returned safely to me. Is it to much to ask?"

"I don't trust her," he growled as he shoved away from the table. He stood and headed for the door.

"Stop!"

"Yes, your highness."

"Charles, please don't make this an order. Just give her a chance. She is totally different than Deanna. Do you understand how long it took us to talk her into taking the placement test? She comes from a world that frowns upon any time of magic. Mr Eljah wants her to train with Arianna. That's before she can pass her test."