Felitïa gasped and woke up, her head pounding. Something had happened at the well—something at the edge of her memory. She tried to concentrate on what it was, but her head hurt too much. Slowly the pain subsided, but the memory was gone.

She was lying in her bedroom at the back of Elderaan’s Mystic Palace. Sitting up, she looked around, spotting Elderaan sitting in the room with her, dozing. Felitïa could feel something...in her head, like... Thoughts, like at the well. But no, it was different. Not as intense. Not clear. But she could sense something. This concerned her. No wait. It wasn’t her concern. Was it? This was confusing. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Now she really was concerned, but there were also now two completely separate feelings of concern in her head and one wasn’t her own. What was going on?

“Elderaan?” she said.

He snapped out of his half-asleep state and looked up. “Ah, Felitïa, my child. You’re awake at last. They brought you here after you collapsed by the well. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I figure letting you rest would help. I never realised that this could be so severe; otherwise, I’d have been more prepared for it. This really is the sort of thing you need a mother-figure around for. Not some doddering old man. Maybe I should have asked for Ezmelda’s help or any of the women at the Hall of Knowledge. Hell, even Angelida. Are you all right?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. Did he know what was happening to her? What did he mean by mother-figure or getting Ezmelda? “I feel strange. I heard things.” That feeling of concern that wasn’t her own had changed to worry and near panic. It almost made her want to panic too.

“Heard things?” Elderaan said. “Explain.”

“Thoughts, I think,” she said. His eyes widened. “By the well, I could hear everyone’s thoughts. At first, I thought they were just voices. There were so many of them and they were so loud. But it’s calmed down now. And there was something else.” The panicked feeling began to fade as a sense of intrigue and curiosity rose. These still weren’t her feelings, though. Were they somehow Elderaan’s? She really wanted to panic now.

Elderaan nodded and remained quiet for a moment. “Hmm,” he finally said. “You never cease to amaze me, Felitïa. You’re thirteen now. That would be about the right age, maybe even a little late. And with the blood on your clothes...Well, I never would have expected this in a hundred years.”

“The right age for what?” she asked. The alien panicked feeling was completely gone, now replaced by wonder and delight.

“Puberty.” He stood up and began to pace around the room, all the while muttering, “Remarkable.”

This was not what Felitïa had understood puberty to be like. “Is this normal?”

Elderaan chuckled. “Oh, dear me, no. Not for the average person at any rate. These abilities, when they occur, usually manifest themselves during puberty. Truly remarkable. The odds of all this—well, I don’t know what the odds are. You’re absolutely certain that you could hear people’s thoughts? You weren’t just delirious? What am I thinking now? Hmm?”

Felitïa concentrated for a moment. “I don’t know. It’s... It’s different now.”

“Go on,” Elderaan prodded.

The alien feelings of wonder and delight were still there, but mixed now with a bit of impatience. “It’s not clear,” she said. “You’re excited, I think. But I can tell that by looking at you. And you’re impatient because I’m not answering fast enough, but you’re always impatient.” A flare of annoyance joined the outside feelings for a moment. “I’m sorry. I can’t hear the thoughts as clearly as I could at the well. It’s more like just feelings now.”

“Interesting,” Elderaan said. He bent over her and carefully examined her eyes. “Allow me to probe your thoughts for a moment, my dear.” She nodded her consent, and he gently took hold of her head between his hands. “Look into my eyes.”

She did as she was told, and a moment later, the energy of his spell coursed through her. This was a spell she had to learn! It was probably beyond her at this point in her training, though. She could still only manage the simplest of things. Silly her! If she really was telepathic, she wouldn’t need this spell!

Elderaan let go of her a few seconds later, but the feel of the spell lingered for a little while. “Well, I can’t say for certain why you heard more at the well, Felitïa. I’ve never actually met a telepath before. However, from what I understand, the initial manifestation of telepathic abilities is often much stronger than the abilities end up. I would say that while you were asleep, your abilities had a chance to settle to the level at which they might remain.”

“So, I’m only partially telepathic then?” That was a disappointment. Or, remembering the headache, maybe it was a relief.

“Empathic possibly,” the old wizard said. “It is also possible that they might increase again with time, as you get older and learn to use them. Whatever the case, it still doesn’t change how remarkable the whole situation is.”

Felitïa lay back down. She was tired and needed time to think about what was happening to her. “I think I’m going to try to get some more sleep.”

Elderaan nodded and headed to the door, but stopped. “One last thing. The final decision is, of course, up to you, Felitïa. However, I would advise that you tell only those you trust most about this.”

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“Why?” she asked.

“Well, I was saying how remarkable it all is. Others will think so, too. Telepathy is extremely rare. Even amongst the Isyar, only one in five hundred is a telepath; amongst Humans, it’s more like one in five hundred thousand. In addition to that, you had the opportunity to begin studying magic before your telepathic powers manifested. Now, it’s not unusual for a telepath to start studying magic after their powers have manifested; the added recognition that comes from being telepathic ensures this. But normally, it is very difficult to gain a teacher in magic. Few have the opportunity for that before their powers appear. Finally, of the three disciplines of magic still known to humans, mentalism is the most suitable for a telepath. And you just happened to find a teacher in mentalism without even knowing you were telepathic.

“Felitïa, you have beaten a great number of difficult odds to get where you are now. Others out there would also be aware of this, some of them—Darkers and worse—less than scrupulous. They would want to study you, to learn how you came to be how you are. They would use all the powers at their disposal to do this. You would be treated as nothing more than a test subject, no better than the rats I sell in the store. Do not advertise your abilities to the world. Keep them to yourself and your closest friends. No others. At least, not until you have the strength to defend yourself.”

“Yes, sir,” Felitïa said. “I will remember that.”

“Now, get some sleep,” Elderaan said and left the room. Shortly after, the extra feelings in her head faded away and were gone.

Fears—her own fears—of what Elderaan had told her kept her awake awhile. She did not want to become a test subject. Would these people do that even to a princess of the realm? That was, if they even realised she was a princess? Of course, she had thrown away her birthright—something for which she had no regrets, mind—so she could hardly rely on it. Eventually, the exhaustion she was still feeling overtook the fear, and she fell asleep.

* * * * *

A sudden pain, like that of a pinch, came from her elbow, but Felitïa ignored it. It was followed quickly by another one at her ankle. She ignored that too. Four Elderaans sat at the dinner table, one on each side. Felitïa studied each carefully. All had the same silvery grey receding hair, the same grey eyes, the same large nose and ears.

“Peering more closely like that won’t help you,” they all said. “You should know better than that. Concentrate on your thoughts. Remember that it’s your own mind that’s betraying you here.” She felt several more pinches across her back and down her legs.

Focusing on her exercises, she tried to clear her mind, using her own telepathic abilities to find the intrusion. A burning smell reached her nose, and she spun around to check the roast.

“Concentrate on your thoughts,” the Elderaans said, “but don’t forget about your surroundings.” Their noses wrinkled. “You’ve burnt my dinner, haven’t you?”

Felitïa pulled the charred piece of meat from the fire and shoved it aside. She hadn’t realised so much time had passed. “Sorry,” she said, as several more pinches raced across her body.

“Don’t let yourself be distracted.”

Right. No distractions. She had to ignore her now aching body. This time, she was going to succeed at this. Relaxing, she tried to clear her mind again, letting all her own thoughts go. Yet something remained. She could feel it there. Then, with a little mental shove, it was gone, and so were three of the Elderaans and all the pain from the non-existent pinches.

The remaining Elderaan smiled. “Good girl.”

“I did it!”

“Yes, you did. Now, maybe next time you’ll be able to do it without burning dinner. In time, you should be able to do it without a second thought.”

Felitïa sat down in one of the now empty chairs. “I’ll make you another dinner.”

“Of course you will. Now, tell me about the spells I used. You watched me carefully?”

She nodded.

“Good. If you were to make images of yourself the same way, how would it affect you?”

Felitïa thought carefully back to what Elderaan had done, remembering his precise posture and the movements he had made. “I think that if I were to cast it the same way you did, it would drain me about half way. However, if I were to lower my arms a little, I think I could make the drain negligible.”

Elderaan’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Negligible, eh? Show me.”

Felitïa nodded eagerly and started to get up.

“But don’t stand up,” Elderaan added.

Felitïa sat back down. “But that changes everything.”

“Does it now? Too difficult, is it? In that case, fetch me my pipe and then make me dinner. That will be all for today.”

“No, no, I can do it,” she said, desperately trying to re-evaluate the spell.

Elderaan nodded for her to proceed. When she failed to do so immediately, he said, “Well?”

She nodded. “Okay, I think I’m ready.” She cast the spell. Nothing happened.

“Not bad,” Elderaan said. “But there’s only one image, not three, and I can see by your disappointed expression, that you forgot to allow yourself to see the image as well.”

“Sorry.” She released the spell.

“Not at all,” Elderaan said. “You did very well, given the circumstances. In time, you’ll learn to improvise. How do you feel?”

Felitïa thought for a moment. “Not too bad. It didn’t drain me much.”

“Open your mind to me,” he said. “Let me feel what you feel.”

She came over and knelt beside him, allowing him to take her head in his hands. The familiar feel of the magic coursed through her, and then he let go, nodding.

“Well, your concentration may still need a great deal of work, my dear, but you have certainly learnt the extent of your own abilities and how to deal with them. Do you think you’re ready to cast spells on your own?”

Felitïa squealed. “Yes! Yes, definitely! It’s been three years. I know I’m ready.”

“Very well,” Elderaan said. “You no longer need my supervision to cast any spells. What do you say to that, hmm?”

Felitïa hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and his embarrassment flooded through her. “Thank you!”

“Now, get me my pipe and my dinner.”

“Right away! Thank you!”