Witch, Wolf, Woods

CHAPTER 2: AFFINITY TESTING

"While it's very exciting to discover your affinity," continued Tante Bettina, "it's also like looking for a needle in a haystack. You'll find it, eventually, but it's going to take time, and, in the case of your testing, you'll most likely spend the first few days discovering everything you don't have an affinity for. This can be very discouraging, but it's not intended to be; it's simply part of the process.

"Every witch has an affinity, and many of them aren't uncovered until the very last day of testing. So, if the days go by and you don't find yourself connecting with anything, don't get upset. Just go on to the next test, because eventually you will discover your affinity."

Elise raised a hand, and Tante Bettina nodded at her.

"What if we're really good at more than one thing?" Elise asked, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. While she didn't state it explicitly, it was obvious from the look on her face she was referring to herself.

"Having an affinity for something isn't the same as being good at something," explained Tante Bettina. "And just because you enjoy doing something doesn't mean you have an affinity for it. For something to truly be your affinity, you must connect with it the same way a key fits into a lock. When you discover it, you'll know. This is why testing takes so long and covers so many things—you'll be good at more than one thing, and you'll enjoy more than one thing, but you'll only ever have one affinity."

"How will we know what our affinity is?" pressed Elise, and Tante Bettina simply smiled.

"It's different for everyone," she said. "I don't know what it will feel like for you; all I can say is, you'll know."

Elise frowned, clearly displeased with the answer, but Tante Bettina moved on.

"As Sprechen Olwyn said, your affinity will benefit not only you, but the entire Hexen," she said. "Everyone who lives here contributes to the community in some way using their affinity, and you will be no different. Today, we're going to start with the arts, beginning with painting."

She introduced two witches who worked as artists, creating anything from large murals throughout the castle to small paintings that were sold to travelers in the Hexen shop. They explained that, in addition to painting images or scenes on walls, they also painted on boxes, plates, vases, and other surfaces, as well as painting portraits for any Hexen who wished to have them.

Katja wondered if either of them had painted the portrait of her mother, but she was too nervous to ask.

Instead, she admired the vials of paint and gently ran her finger over the soft bristles of a brush, amazed at how many different sizes they came in. Each girl was given an apron and an easel and encouraged to paint whatever came to mind.

Katja chose to paint the forest across the river, and while her final creation was an acceptable imitation, it was by no means impressive. She liked seeing the lines of paint on the paper, but it was frustrating picturing something so clearly inside her head, only to be unable to recreate it on her canvas.

After they finished painting, they moved on to musical aptitude, which consisted of each girl taking a turn with an instrument. Much to Katja's relief, they didn't have to go one at a time and perform in front of one another...there were different music stations overseen by Hexen musicians, and each girl chose a station and stayed there until it was time to switch.

Katja had never thought of herself as particularly musical, although she liked to listen to the performances put on by the Hexen musicians, which could range from an impromptu solo concert to an organized recital attended by everyone in the castle. She tried her hand at numerous instruments, and while she enjoyed the piano best, nothing was especially moving or exciting, and she decided she preferred listening as an audience member to playing an instrument herself.