Anger filled Althea's veins with a swiftness that surprised her for a second. But it didn't take long for that anger to spur words.

"You played me." she said, a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"What?" Gemma acted innocent, but Althea had connected the dots. 

"You knew that if you pushed me into those Royals, that I would take their Powers and they would then have it out for me. You knew you'd put a price on my head before you did that. You did it on purpose. Not so I could 'see what I was capable of'. No, you did it so I would have no choice but to turn to you for help staying safe."

Gemma considered Althea coolly. "I'll admit, the repercussions of what I was doing did cross my mind. But I decided the risk to your safety was worth it. I did it to show you Althea, not to trap you. And I'd do it again."

When Althea didn't say anything, Gemma softened her tone. "Look, believe what you want. If it makes you feel better, believe that I pushed you into the Royals knowing full well they'd want you dead afterwards. But does it really change the situation you're in? You still need me."

Althea fumed. Gemma was right, of course. Althea had no way out of jail, and no one was going to let her out anytime soon. If she stayed here, she'd be killed. If she joined Gemma's rebel group, she'd probably be killed too. But at least she'd have a chance at surviving."

"What are you asking of me. In return for my safety."

"I'm just asking for one little thing in return Althea. You don't have to join our group. You don't have to even support us. All I want you to do is agree to participate in a scenario where we would put you in contact with the Queen, and you would touch her. That's all. One little touch."

Althea had had a feeling this would be what Gemma wanted. She groaned, and dropped her head into her hands, trying to think of a way out.

"We can guarantee your safety." Gemma added, "Afterwards, I mean."

"Oh, because that makes me feel so much better. After you just told me that the whole reason you're in jail is because you got one of your other little project girls killed."

Gemma's face drained of all color, and she sat stiffly on her cot. "It's your choice Althea. I'm done trying to convince you. You can take it or leave it. But you don't have forever. Organizing our - or my as the case may be - escape will take time. Something we don't have a lot of."

Althea thought hard. She had to agree to touch the Queen. Althea looked down at her hands. They looked so innocent, so harmless. But she knew now hat they were capable of. But what if they weren't? Or rather, what if she could learn to control them. 

Althea knew that most people with Power learned to exert a great deal of control over their gifts. They could strengthen them, or weaken them. They could evolve them into variations on their original form. They could optimize their usage. They could turn them on and off.

If Althea could learn how to turn her Power off, she'd be safe. She could touch the Queen, and nothing would happen. She could touch other Royals even, without taking their Powers. 

Althea flexed her fingers, thinking. Did she trust herself to learn how to control her Power that quickly. Most people had years to learn after they found their Power. She'd just learned of hers today. But Althea already felt a deep connection to her Power. She could feel it, even now, humming through her very veins. 

Althea closed her eyes, letting herself feel. She followed the flow of power from her heart, where she imagined it pumping out in waves, up to her shoulders, where she let each shoulder drop away from her ear, relaxing them, down into her arms to the tips of her fingers. When she reached the tips of her fingers, she stretched them out, picturing her Power bubbling there, pooling up at their tips. Then she clenched her fists, using all her will power to pull her Power back in toward her heart. 

Althea felt something, a tug, at the very ends of her fingers. And with that, Althea opened her eyes.

"Okay." she said, her tone still hostile.

"You agree?" Gemma didn't look surprised, but she did look excited.

Althea nodded, "I agree to the deal you said. About touching the Queen. Not about joining your little group. I'll touch the Queen. You'll keep me safe. That's all."

Gemma nodded eagerly. "Done! You won't regret this!"

'I know I won't,' Althea thought to herself, but all she said was, "I hope you're right."

Gemma bounced to her feet and walked over to the side of their cell, with the barred window overlooking the grounds. Holding the bars, she climbed to the very top of the floor to ceiling opening, and stuck her tiny wrist through the bars. When her hand reemerged, it was holding a little cube, inside of which was a tiny lightening bug.

Releasing the latch on the top of the cube, she pulled it towards her mouth, whispering instructions Althea could barely make out. Then Gemma crossed her wrist back through the window with the lightening bug extended on her finger. 

Althea watched as the bug took flight.

"Shapeshifter?" she asked.

"No." Gemma replied, "We have some, but their high value, high profile. They projects they're working on are too important to interrupt. We have an animal whisperer though, and lightening bugs are highly intelligent. She's taught many lightening bugs, not to mention other animals, English, and we use them as messengers. When little firefly there gets to her, she'll send in the troops to bust us out of here."

"That bug was out there this whole time wasn't it?" Althea asked suspiciously. "You could have gotten us out of here from the start."

Gemma shrugged. "If there's something I've learned running a rebel group," she said, "It's that timing is everything."

Annoyed again, Althea looked out the bars. "So what now?" she asked Gemma. Now that she had decided on a course of action, Althea was ready to put it into motion. She'd need to practice to hone her Power before the big day, and she could hardly practice on Gemma. Althea needed to get out of the jail so she could find some real test subjects. 

"Now," Gemma interrupted Althea's thoughts, "We wait."

As Althea sat, she suddenly realized what she had volunteered herself to do. She was about to commit treason. But beyond that, in order to prepare herself to avoid committing treason, she would have to practice on other Royals with Powers. And if it went wrong, it could be deadly for her. For that matter, if it went right it could be deadly, since facilitating physical contact with a Royal was bound to be difficult in the first place.

And, Althea reminded herself, even if you do manage not to return every Power the Queen has ever taken, when you touch the Queen and nothing happens, you'll have double crossed a rebel group. Althea wasn't sure, but she was fairly certain the rebels wouldn't be too happy to have wasted time on someone who double crossed them. They themselves might be out for her blood when this was all over.

Althea wondered if this deal had merely put a time delay on her death rather than prevent it. Maybe the deal she had just made was the wrong choice after all.