Affinity Witch

Chapter 4: Unpleasant Conversations

"Please tell Tante Olga I'll be right there," she instructed the Helferin, who nodded before floating away, the hem of its robe hovering just above the stone floor.

Sabrina moved the microscope and slides into her bedroom before placing the empty wooden crate outside the door of the apartment. She then quickly made her way back to the workshop. Bettina glanced up, worry creasing her forehead, but Sabrina caught her eye and shook her head, trying to convey that nothing terrible had happened.

Tante Olga was bent over a low bench, peering through a magnifying lens at a gold broach inlaid with pearls, but she straightened when Sabrina hurried in.

"I'm sorry," Sabrina said without preface. "I received a message my father had sent over a present, and I was distracted. It won't happen again."

Tante Olga smiled at her. "That's certainly understandable," she said. "What did your father send?"

Sabrina eagerly began to describe the new microscope but after a moment of expounding the differences between her old version and this newest one, she could tell Tante Olga hadn't expected her answer to be so long, or to contain so much information. Reigning herself in, she quickly concluded with, "I didn't realize I'd been gone for so long. I'm sorry."

Tante Olga nodded amiably and returned to her work, leaving Sabrina to return to hers, as well. As she tied the strings of her apron behind her back, she felt her previously good mood slip away. None of what she was working on today was especially important. All of it could have waited to be completed, giving her the afternoon to enjoy her new gift.

Why did the wants of the Hexen take precedence over her own desires? Why did she have to sacrifice what she wanted in order to repair things for those who'd been clumsy enough to break them in the first place?

When it was time for dinner, Sabrina waved Tante Olga and Bettina away. "I won't be much longer," she assured them. "I want to get these finished today."

The truth was, she didn't care about the items, but she'd told Tante Olga they would be finished today, and she hated going back on her word. Better to miss dinner and push through the work so it wouldn't spill over into tomorrow.

*****

A few hours later, all her repairs completed, Sabrina trudged upstairs, tired and even more irritated, if such a thing was possible. She'd grabbed dinner from the Hexen kitchen, which she'd eaten without really tasting, and she was so exhausted she doubted she'd be able to stay up and enjoy her microscope.

Stepping inside the apartment, she noticed her mother sitting in one of the two wingback armchairs in front of the fireplace. Offering a dull greeting, Sabrina turned towards her bedroom, intending to retreat into solitude as soon as possible, but her mother lifted her head, causing her thick, shoulder-length brown hair to sway.

"I didn't see you in the Essen Hall at dinner," said Marlene, and while the words themselves were perfectly innocuous, Sabrina could feel the disapproval in her mother's tone; it slid against her skin like a scratchy woolen blanket. This was the tone implying Sabrina had done something wrong that reflected poorly on her mother as Sprechen.

"Father sent a present," Sabrina explained. "A new microscope. I was distracted and lost track of time, so I stayed late to finish my work."

Marlene blinked. On anyone else, the expression wouldn't have been noteworthy and might even have come across as bored. But Sabrina knew that blink. Her mother was thinking, turning over events in her mind as she searched for something known only to her.

"That was certainly a lapse in judgment on your part," Marlene finally said. "What did Olga say?"

Sabrina bristled at hearing her excitement over the microscope referred to as a "lapse in judgment" but did her best to hide it. "I apologized and stayed late to ensure everything was finished," she said instead. "The work was completed, so I can't see what she'd be upset about."