The Gift

A week at the palace passed, then two, and the end of the third week found Alex in Queen Adela's private study.

"Is ther something wrong, your Majesty?" Alex asked nervously. Maybe she had figured out who this wide-eyed page was, or was curious to know, since there were no Tirragens around the city.

"Yes, there is," the Queen said, then smiled. "Oh, you're not in trouble. But I followed what your dream said, and found that there are dangerously low supplies of usable energy in the Earth. Of course, I shouldn't doubt the Mother's word..." She picked up a rod from her desk. "I'm just curious as to why she chose to tell you, instead of me directly."

Alex managed a weak smile. "Perhaps she knew I'd be of help, yet keep my mouth shut about it, your Highness," she said.

The Queen's face was thoughtful. "Maybe..." she said absently. Then, her eyes widened. "Alexander, did you know you had magic?"

Alex remained calm, but pretended to be surprised. "Magic?"

"Yes, magic," the Queen repeated. "You have a tremendous amount of it, far greater than mine. That's why the Mother Goddess told you! I had to learn that you had magic. Alexander, do you remember any time you've shown signs of magic?"

"As in, witchcraft, your Majesty?" Alex's voice remained innocent.

"No, not exactly." The Queen was patient. "Have you ever seen any - sparks - fly out of your fingers? Anything weird, unusual?"

Alex thought of something that would be acceptable. "Well, when I was little, I would move things without touching them. I - uh-" she blushed, "threw a flower pot at my father once. They called me possessed, though. And when I'm mad, it's really windy, even if it was the calmest day five minutes before. I don't know if that would be classified as that, but my family thought it was weird and the devil's doing." She smiled. "My parents were very religious, you see."

The Queen nodded. "Those are definitely signs of magic, not of being possessed. I thought only the royal family had it, though. But, you must have learned to control your magic, or the world would be in total chaos."

"Well, when people started calling me possessed, I tried to stop it," Alex said. "Of course, being called that didn't help my temper, so once, a tornado came tearing through the town. Of course, we moved after that, and I had to learn how to control my temper."

"Yes, but now you must learn to use your magic, as a weapon and a precaution. You may be excused now, but I'll talk to you later." Alex bowed a final time and left, and the Queen sat down in a chair with a sigh.

"I seriously thought only my family had magic," she thought out loud. "I guess not. This means I'll have to go through all the boys in the palace. I've detected magic in Joshua, but put a shield around it and didn't bother about it any further. But now, this lad comes, and now I must check every boy. I wonder how I shall do that? And one may be Alexandria, with her sister asking for a disguise spell and all..."

~*~

"Where have you been?" Stuart asked Alex when she returned to her room. "It's almost lights-out."

"I know what time it is," the girl growled. "I was talking to the Queen. She - she knows that I have magic. I don't think she knows who I am, since she didn't say anything, but she knows about my magic."

"So that explains this," Stuart said as he held up a white card. "I'm scheduled for an appointment with the Queen to talk. Alex - I haven't told you everything about me. My mother has magic. I-got it from her. That's why I actually came here, to learn how to use my magic, because my mother knew the Queen had it. I never went to her, though, because I was afraid of my magic. And that's why I never told you."

"Why are you afraid of it?" Alex asked. "Sure, when used incorrectly, it can be evil, like any other thing, but it can also be used for good. I mean, we can heal with it, and protect ourselves."

"Yeah, but it just doesn't seem honest," he protested. "I mean, we have something not everyone does, and we can easily use that to our advantage. It's not fair."

"Well, I for one didn't ask to have magic," Alex said, "but I do, so I will use it to help others out." The bell above the pages' wing rung, signaling that it was lights-out time. "Goodnight, Stuart."

~*~

Two days later, the Queen had finished all of her interviews, and had notified all of her new students. Alex reported to the class after breakfast, and was surprised to see quite a few people in there, one being Prince Joshua. The Queen walked in and smiled.

"I'm sure none of you know what you're doing here," she started. "With the exception of Alexander. No, don't all turn around to look at him. All of you here are special. You are Gifted. That is, you have a secret power called the Gift. It is magic, and can be very powerful in some. How this world has survived without any control of your magic, I have no idea. This may sound very foolish to all of you, but think back on your lives. Have you ever thrown things without touching them? Started a fire without a match? Seen sparks fly out of your fingers? These are all signs of magic, and the gods only know why we were blessed - or cursed - enough to possess it. Yes, I said gods. There are a great many gods and goddesses, all of whom you'll learn of in time. Still don't believe me?" She held out her palm, and an orange ball of light formed above it. "It is vital you all learn how to use your abilities to the fullest. In four short years, the Great Mother Goddess has warned, all of electricity will be gone. It is us who must shed light upon the world and help people cope with it. All the things you learn - not only in this class, but as you become a knight - will be put to use then, and we must prepare." She closed her hand, and the ball vanished. "First, we will start with the basics, but tomorrow. It is time to go to your other classes. And mention this to no one, for they'll think we're crazy."

As Alex and Stuart left the room, Joshua caught up to them. "Sometimes I don't wonder if my mother is crazy," he told them. "But I'd love to know how she did that ball thing."

"She's not," Alex said, "and anyone with magic can do that 'ball-thing'." She held out her palm and the ball of light appeared, before she quickly put it out. "The Mother Goddess' warning? She came and told me. I told your mother. That's why she tested all of us, because I had it, so she had to see who else had it. I never expected that many had it, though."

Joshua stared at Alex. Surely this boy couldn't be telling the truth! "If Mother knew I had it, why didn't she tell me long before?" he asked.

Alex shrugged. "I could see why you wouldn't believe me, though," she said. "I didn't believe her either, at first. But then, everything started fitting together, from when I was little."

"You should come to Alex's room tonight," Stuart told him. "He knows lots of spells. Perhaps we can learn a little from him."

Alex glared at her friend, but it went unnoticed. "I'll try to," Joshua replied. "It sure would be interesting."

"Well, it certainly won't be any worse than when I burned down an old stable," Alex said with a slight laugh, and the three looked at each other.

"Uh...maybe we should find a stone room," Stuart offered. "Just in case."

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