Alice, Virginia, and Ellen took a collective breath as they stood in front of the door that would transport them to their final exam. The only thing that they had been told about this exam, other than what time to be at the door, was that they would have to get through an individual trial and then find each other to complete the rest of the test.

Alice had to admit to herself that she was more nervous than usual going into this test. This was the first time Hieronymous had apologized to her in advance of an examination. Virginia, in particular, thought that did not bode well for them.

"Ready?" Ellen said, raising her hand to the door.

"Let's get it over with," Virginia agreed, and the three young women moved as one to touch the door.

As Alice touched the door, her world went black. Not just black, there was nothing. There was no floor, no air…she could no longer sense anything at all.

Alice wondered what she was supposed to do when she saw a light ahead. She started to move towards it when something else caught her attention. A figure was materializing beside her…a figure that looked so much like her, she could have been looking into a mirror.

"Grandmother?" she thought.

The woman smiled, and stretched a hand to her. It occurred to Alice that maybe she was supposed to go towards the light, that this was a trick of some kind. Yet…the presence felt familiar. It felt like the prickling in her mind, the warning that she had not understood the night Nancy had almost died.

Deciding to trust her instinct, Alice reached toward the apparition and they sped away from whatever her test would have been. They flew through nothingness until they reached some sort of a barrier, strands of white light woven into a web. The web parted for her grandmother, who then pulled her through behind her.

If Alice had had a voice, she would have gasped.

As far as she could see, there was a winding river of gold. It was stationary, and made of more golden fibers than she could count. There were spectral beings of light so bright that she could not look at them, tending where the river came into being, weaving a multitude of threads into the final creation.

Grandmother took her further 'upstream' where there were still unorganized threads that were still fluid. She carefully paused, finding one that seemed to glow brighter than the rest, and motioned Alice toward it.

Alice hesitated slightly, and then grabbed hold of the golden thread.

And darkness claimed her again. The darkness faded, revealing that she was walking down a hall lit by magical lights. At least, the body she was riding in was walking. She could feel the soft cloth of a dress against her skin, smell the slight must of ancient wall hangings that decorated the hallway, and hear the measured clop her shoes made on the stone floor. However, when she tried, she could not so much as lift a finger.

A hand she thought was her own rose to knock on the wood of an elaborately carved door.

"Enter," she heard a voice from inside.

She opened the door and closed it behind her, seeing her father-in-law sitting behind a massive desk covered with papers. He looked up at her.

"Alice," he said, as if faintly surprised. "I did not think that I would be your first stop after what happened."

So it was her own body she was riding in. But what was going on?

Her body shrugged her shoulders, and took a chair without first getting permission. "I already know that Grandfather will do whatever he can, so it would be illogical to request his help."

"But you are unsure of my stance?" he finished for her. "You know my feelings on the subject."

"Your present feelings, yes," she answered. "I had thought that perhaps you had not yet realized how you could benefit from the situation."

One of her father-in-law's eyebrows started to twitch up before it was forced back down. "You have an offer for me, my dear? Very well, I will listen. Since you already planning to give me grandchildren, I assume it is something else."

Alice listened carefully, trying to pick up on what was happening. Was this a possible future, or merely a worry made flesh in her mind? Either way, she needed to find out more, starting with why she needed the help of that snake of a man.

"Naturally. It would greatly help your work if you had my Grandpa as a secretary. After all, you need help sorting the wheat from the chaff since you have been expanding your intelligence network, since Hieronymous has been giving you additional time to do so by taking over business obligations for you. You would not have to change your position much, just to decide that only useful normals should be let behind the Velvet Curtain. As a former member of the CIA, Grandpa's skill in gathering and interpreting information would be invaluable to someone with your…interests. I believe he would put all those skills to your use willingly, provided you asked nothing of him that would conflict with the oath he gave to the United States or would cause his family harm."

"My interests," he repeated. "I know your grandfather would not have told you about them, and no one else that you know is aware of what those interests are. Exactly how much do you know about my work, and how did you find out?"

"Grandfather merely admitted that you had a pursuit that he approved of. As to how I know that you are one of the three charged with information gathering that report only to the High Council…well…I can only say that I told myself."

Aloysius looked flabbergasted, and Alice laughed at herself. She had indeed just told herself. It made sense, in a way. Of course, Aloysius would assume that she meant that she had found out about it without aid from anyone else. She did not know whether he would think it more likely that she had a resource within the High Council itself, or if she shared Nancy's talent with White to a degree that she had not yet exposed and had been able to penetrate a mind of one of the High Councilmen without revealing herself. Either way, he would decide that she was potentially a very valuable resource of information herself.

"There are two others?" he asked.

"You must have suspected," she said. "Only a fool would rely on one source of information. That way they would be more likely to know if a source had become contaminated, and would then be able to use that source to their own ends by feeding it only what you want your enemies to believe."

His eyes narrowed. "I knew that I was not the only one, but the exact number was not known to me. And now you have given me two tidbits without specifying what you want in exchange."

He wanted to know what specifically she wanted in exchange for her information, and for her silence. Of course, the 'tidbits' were what she knew, and that she knew. One could make her dangerous to him if she decided to reveal the secret, and the other made her a resource he could not ignore, even if she was only able to repeat her tactics on rare occasion. Alice could see what she was doing…she was giving her father-in-law no choice but to try to make her an ally, applying both the proverbial carrot as well as the stick.

She knew that he would realize that erasing her memory of the subject might not work. This was one instance where the night of the opera would help her; he knew that she was resistant to being mentally controlled, so she would also be resistant to having her memory erased. It would be risky to try, never mind whatever Hieronymous' reaction would be, and having her as a source of information was a tantalizing reason to leave her memory unaltered.

She felt her face smile. "It could be even better. You appear not to have told Hieronymous about your 'hobby.' He would be against me bringing any of our children anywhere near you, but would likely allow them to spend time with their great-grandfather. If Grandpa is here working with you…."

Aloysius nodded, and there was an eager glint in his eyes. He had some reason to want to be near his grandchildren, at least on occasion. Perhaps he wanted a successor for his 'off the record' duties, and wanted to identify a grandchild that would be able to handle them? He was probably not only building power for himself with his intelligence ring, but for the House as well. His efforts there would be for naught if the position died with him.

Alice also wondered why it had become so important that her Grandpa, of all people, be let behind the Velvet Curtain. If she had had a choice, her parents would have been first.

"And I assume that the fact that your father's father is a retired CIA operative is not something you have disclosed to others? Am I to also assume that your grandfather would, if given the chance, immediately offer some position to your father that would allow him access behind the Velvet Curtain as well if we let the 'useful' normals in?"

So, her father had been involved in whatever incident that had triggered this conversation. She was now fighting for her father's right to know his own daughter again. Alice guessed that both she and her father-in-law knew that even allowing 'useful' normals behind the Velvet Curtain would allow any family member of a witch or wizard if they could find a sponsor. The normal would have to agree to whatever employment they were offered in order to maintain a connection to their family member. If not, the normal's memory would be erased of the magical world.

Well, at least this way, there would be a way for the normal parent to retain that connection with the mage even if it did mean abandoning their normal career. And there would be surveillance of the normals by whoever employed them, and perhaps that would be enough to put the minds of at least some of the traditionalists at ease.

The biggest outright injustice that she could think of would be that this favored the mage that had the financial ability to provide positions. The average Wildseed might not be able to use this option, well, unless they were able to locate a sponsor that was willing to hire the normal. It did occur to her, though, that the normal had to be useful, but not necessarily paid. For example, normal parents of a Wildseed might be allowed behind the Curtain if they provided childcare for their grandchildren while the mage lived or worked in Otherworld.

At least, it would be a start.

"I have not spouted the details of Grandpa's former employment to anyone," she answered. "You could take him as a secretary, and everyone would probably assume that you had done so merely so you would see your grandchildren regularly. As his and my father's memories do not appear to have remained erased of the memory of my sister, it is logical that even if they were erased again they might not remain so. It is better for everyone to deal with this now rather than later."

Alice froze. How had they found out about Nancy again?

"I wonder what would have happened had your staff not caught them conducting surveillance of your house?" her father-in-law mused.

Of course, they had probably seen Nancy playing in the yard or something and that had initiated the return of memory of her. But why were they even at her house?

"Dad probably would have grabbed me the next time I went to the mall and demanded an explanation," she answered. "From what I hear, they are debating in their cell whether it is magic, or some alien technology that made them forget Nancy, wrapped them up in air, and Teleported them into a cell with no doors of any kind. They are also debating whether this 'secretive society' my siblings and I have seemed to join is dangerous to our health and well-being or not."

"And what made them feel it was necessary to watch your home?" he asked.

"Dad his mixed feelings about my 'dating' an older man, and had Grandpa perform a background check. From what was in their car, they know that Hieronymous is married to the former Alice Carleton, the marriage certificate was signed by a Lord Carleton as her guardian and Dad knows he pays for our educations, a house not far from the school is registered in her name, and there was a photo of my deceased grandmother that looks stunningly like me."

"I can see where that would make them curious," Aloysius admitted. "The incident could be passed off as one of those 'switched-at-birth' happenings, with your true grandfather deciding to claim you as his own but not allowing you to tell your father of it for some reason. It would be an unlikely but not an impossible situation. But the memory of your sister being erased and then returning…that could not be explained so easily."

"I have answered your questions as I could," she said, "and you have my offer."

"My gaining a very able secretary that could help me with my work and access to my grandchildren in exchange for my support in finding your father and grandfather status behind the Velvet Curtain, and changing my position to have 'useful' normals included behind it," he said.

"For your success in finding Father and Grandpa status behind the Curtain, not merely your support," she corrected.

This was all very well for her father and grandpa, but what about her mother?

Aloysius smiled. "In exchange for my work, I am allowed one boon from the High Council every ten years, and I have not asked for anything for longer than that. If I so choose, it will be done. I cannot guarantee a change in the law, but as you said, their memories did not remain erased and it could be argued that attempting to do so again would produce the same results. This excuse might allow for an exemption for them, as well as set legal precedence. It is unlikely that the actual secrecy laws would be changed anytime soon, even with my 'new view.' Your husband will be taking over my political duties before much longer, so any further effort on the subject on behalf of House Grabiner would be up to him.

"Now Alice, my position runs in my family but I have found my son unsuitable to continue it. Can you tell me why?" Aloysius asked.

"My husband loves knowledge for its own sake, without much thought to whether or not it is useful, or if it has the capability to become useful," Alice answered immediately. "While sometimes extraneous information has the potential to become useful, one cannot let it distract from what is actually of importance. Therefore, he is unsuited to continue your work. As I have a more practical mindset when it comes to information, I am not unsuitable for the post. I assume this is part of your counter-offer?"

So, the carrot and the stick had produced results. In return for being able to tell her father and grandpa everything, to allow them contact with Nancy again, she herself would train to be a spymaster. Alice thought that she could live with this deal, even if it involved spending time with her father-in-law. At least, the man respected her now…after this conversation. She thought that this had been the main thing she had disliked about the man. When he had drugged her during the opera, his action told her that he considered her a tool to be used instead of a person that could simply be reasoned with. She did not necessarily think that he had any true affection for her, or anyone else for that matter, so respect would be the best she could expect from him. Letting her father-in-law train her, and then helping him with his duties, would certainly keep her from getting bored.

"You would be training for much of the time while your children spent time with either your grandpa or myself, yes," he said. Whatever he had planned to pass on to the children, his attention to them would now be divided with her. Alice thought that this could only be a good thing.

"I would want to be able to make Hieronymous fully aware of our agreement. He might squawk, but I do not think he will object overmuch under the circumstances," she replied.

Aloysius nodded. "You would be free to deal with your husband on the subject as you see fit. I have every confidence in you to convince him of whatever you wish. After all, you have had him wrapped around your finger for some time."

Wrapped around her finger? It was not like she had ever manipulated him into doing anything for her. Alice had always felt that she had always been open and honest with her husband, and that her requests were reasonable and far between. Perhaps to someone like Aloysius it would look different, since he had had trouble getting Hieronymous to do anything he wanted him to do. This was why it was wise to marry someone that wanted the same things that you did.

She felt her head nod at the acquisition. "Also if my mother becomes part of the deal, and is also allowed behind the Velvet Curtain again…done," she answered.

"It would be easier if she had been involved in her husband's plan," he noted, but she smiled.

"Would it make it easier if…say…Nancy had been making trips into Mom's dream to locate her severed connection, and had managed to repair it?" she asked. "Under the current conditions, I doubt she would turn down a chance to return to the magical world."

Nancy had done what?!

Alice's reaction would have mirrored her father-in-law's expression, could she move. His jaw slacked, and his eyes widened before he could stop himself. "That's impossible," he said.

"You mean, 'it has not been done before,"' she corrected. "I believe that Mom can only use White in her current state, and I do not know if she is aware of it yet. The twins tell me that they have seen tendrils of magic appear when she is trying to figure out what they are up to, and she has been getting better at 'getting into' their heads. You may advise testing her to ensure that their reports are accurate."

"Very well, we have an agreement," he finally answered, standing up. He then paused. "How much of a hand did you have in creating this situation? If you have done as much as I suspect you have—and somehow managed to hide your fingerprints—I am really not sure why you were so eager to leave your position in House Carleton. You would have thrived in the Council."

What could she have done with this result in mind? Well, she had married Hieronymous in the normal world before turning eighteen, and had put the house in her name instead of his. Her father would be less suspicious if he had found that Hieronymous had owned a house. Perhaps Aloysius thought that she had somehow encouraged her grandpa or father to try to find everything they could about her husband, or that she had Nancy try to repair her mother's severed connection to magic. Come to think of it, did she have to do anything additional to bring this day to pass?

"As you know, one does not need to be seen to have power to possess it and I would rather not be at the forefront. You also seem to be discounting that I am as devoted to your son as he is to me, and I could not have him without stepping aside. Not to mention that I did the work because it was necessary and needful," she replied. "Clark, however, will actually enjoy it." Something pulled on her, and the scene faded away, returning to the river of gold. Her grandmother returned her to the other side of the barrier to where she had been before fading away, but the light that Alice had avoided in order to go with her grandmother had disappeared.

Not knowing what else to do, Alice found the only thread of light—the one connected to her—and concentrated on making it strong.

She was suddenly aware of lying on cold stone, and she opened her eyes. She breathed deeply for a few moments, thinking about what she had just seen, before remembering that she was in an exam and it might not be safe to dwell on it now. She should start by looking for any immediate threats. A third sight spell told her that she was alone in a small room, and she would have to teleport through the wall to reach the rest of the test. Remembering the instructions that she had to find her roommates, she searched more carefully until she found Virginia in another room.

Alice teleported to the location, and practically stumbled over Virginia who was still out cold on the floor. Regaining her balance, Alice noticed something was…off, and formed a small light so she could see what it was. Silent tears were running down Virginia's cheeks, and there was a something that sounded almost like a whimper coming from her friend. She was not sure if she was supposed to wait for Virginia to find her way out of her own trial, but she had not been told that she should not wake her.

Alice deftly cut the spell, and Virginia's eyes popped open. Virginia grabbed her and started sobbing into Alice's robes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean…" Virginia started.

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked.

"You didn't see…?" Virginia asked, starting to calm down.

"I think we all saw different things," Alice told her.

Virginia took a deep breath, letting go of her, almost becoming limp. "I can't marry your brother," she whispered. "I just can't."

So, Virginia had seen something where her marrying Clark led to something bad happening? For her to react in this way…this did not seem like how Virginia usually behaved at all. The every-day Virginia would have cracked some joke about how long it had taken Alice to get there, or how much she was enjoying her 'nap.'

It had to have been something that terrified Virginia right down to her marrow.

Alice doubted that Virginia's experience had been as accurate as her own had been. Perhaps the first part of the test had been to show students what their fears were? And then her grandmother's spirit had claimed her to show her something else instead? It was plausible.

"We can't worry about that now," Alice said. "We have to find Ellen and get out of here."

Virginia just stared at her. "How can you be so…if you just went through anything like what I just did…."

"It's not real, or at least, not yet," Alice said firmly. "And if Ellen is going through what you just were, we should find her as fast as we can."

It was not that hard to find Ellen, who seemed to be in something of a nearly blind rage when Alice cut the spell. As something significant had to have happened to make Virginia listless, something just as traumatizing had to have happened to send the normally calm Ellen into this level of intensity. Through the rest of the test, Alice had to get Virginia to focus, and Ellen to not waste her manna by obliterating everything in sight when she did not need to.

Maybe this test was about using your magic even when experiencing powerful negative emotions. But the only powerful emotion she had received was hope. Her family might be able to be together again. Since what had happened to her had been so vastly from what had happened to her roommates, it lent credence to what she had seen had been factual rather than part of the test.

Alice considered if she should pretend that nothing unusual had happened, that she had not seen what she had. Would the event be more likely to happen if no one else knew about it? She wondered if the magical community had been able to locate her grandpa or not, in order to erase his memory. He kept himself concealed most of the time, and it would be possible that they had not found him. It would also be possible for him to be able to jog her father's memory, and bring up Nancy. But that might not happen if someone suspected that his memory was still not erased and set someone out to do so, so she decided to stay mum on the topic.

Instead, she put on a mask of grim determination and focused on the rest of the test.