Even though she was tired from making the bracelet, Katja headed to the library after dinner, as the sooner she removed the spells from the necklace, the sooner she could use the pendant as the basis for her enchanted wolf.
Tante Winola was in her usual position at the librarian's desk, only this time her head was resting against the back of her chair, and she was snoring gently. Katja quietly made her way past, setting up at a table in a secluded corner, and getting to work with renewed vigor.
She kept up this routine for the next several weeks—working during the day, eating meals as quickly as possible, then retreating to the library every evening after dinner to work on deciphering spells.
It had been every bit as tedious and difficult as she'd anticipated, but she'd also learned things about removing spells she likely otherwise might not have known.
For instance, when combining spells, it seemed the most powerful combination was the nine-layered spell, and while she hoped for fewer layers than that, she was also prepared for the eventuality of having to break through nine distinct layers.
In addition to needing to understand the sigils in order to decipher the spell, she also needed to know what mark served as the cornerstone, for you couldn't undo a spell without starting there. Once you identified the cornerstone, you could then pull on the mark and begin the process of unraveling the spell, much like undoing a tapestry by pulling away one thread at a time.
One evening during dinner, there was a commotion at the front gate, and Katja watched as Sprechen Adeline and several other witches ran out of the Essen Hall to address the interruption. While a few witches attempted to continue with the evening meal, the room eventually fell silent, and food was pushed back and forth across plates, the air turning heavy with worry.
When it became clear the Sprechen wouldn't be returning anytime soon, the witches slowly began to stream out of the Hall, most leaving in groups of two or three and whispering amongst themselves.
Katja waited until almost everyone else had left, then silently passed her dirty dishes across a counter to a cook and made her way towards the library. She hugged the side of the passageway as she walked and, as usual, no one noticed her, allowing her to overhear snippets of what had transpired as witches hurried past her:
" —Can you imagine? Being attacked like that?"
" —I know Nichts want a reliable map of that forest—we'd love one, too—but you'd think they would understand the dangers of going into the Schwarzwald by now!"
" —He's lucky he made it out of the forest! Imagine if that cave bear hadn't been forced to stay in the shadows and had crossed the border!"
" —Do you really think he saw those things? Half-dead creatures walking around and acting as if they were alive?"
By the time she reached the library, Katja had overhead enough to piece together what had happened. A group of Nichts had gone into the Schwarzwald, determined to create a reliable map of the region, but shortly after entering the forest, they'd been attacked, and only one man had escaped alive.
He'd made his way to the castle, on the verge of shock and begging for sanctuary, and while in the Medizinhalle, he'd spoken of things almost too fantastical to believe, including trees that had ripped their roots right out of the ground, then used them to drag members of his scouting party deep beneath the earth.
He'd also spoken of strange animals, creatures that appeared to be little more than bones and sinew, either kept on the edge of death or brought back to life by some sinister force...he himself had been chased by what he'd described as the skeleton of an enormous cave bear. He'd only escaped by managing to reach the edge of the forest, where he'd thrown himself out of the shadows and into the sun, while the creature had been forced to stop at the border.
Katja did her best to focus on deciphering more of the spells, but she found it difficult to concentrate, given the events of the evening, and she kept finding herself distracted, thinking about the Schwarzwald and what the Nicht man had seen.
After a while, she closed her books, deciding the spells could wait until the following day, then made her way to her bedroom, trying to imagine what the charging skeleton of a cave bear might look like.
Had she not been so lost in her own thoughts, she might have heard the tread of footsteps approaching behind her, but she didn't realize she wasn't alone until someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. She gasped, and the wall sconces flared brighter, revealing Elise, Mila, and Rosamund.
Katja jerked her arm from Elise's hand as her heart beat faster. She considered making a run for it to the safety of her room, but there was a chance the girls might chase her, and she wasn't especially fast. Perhaps it was better to see what they wanted.
"Well, well, Katja," said Elise, her blue eyes coolly appraising. "We so rarely see you these days, I was beginning to think you'd up and left."
Katja remained silent, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to keep her gaze where she wasn't quite looking up but would still be aware if any of the girls lunged at her.
"What are you doing out so late at night?" asked Elise. "You couldn't possibly be sneaking out to meet a suitor." She giggled, and the other girls immediately joined in, but suddenly Elise held up a hand, and they immediately fell silent.
"Actually," she said, taking a step closer to Katja, "perhaps you were planning on meeting someone...after all, it's so much harder to see things in the dark." She cast a pointed gaze at the scar on Katja's face, her full lips twisting into a wicked grin.
Katja felt a flush spread across her cheeks and bit her lower lip. She didn't even think to question what Elise was doing out of her own room so late; she very well might have been meeting someone for a night time stroll through the courtyard or shared kisses in the orchard.
Katja wasn't certain what was worse—that Elise assumed she would never have a suitor, or that any suitor Katja had would only consent to meet with her in the dark of night.
"Well?" Elise demanded, her tone sharpening.
"I was just leaving the library," replied Katja softly.
This, of course, earned another round of giggles from Elise and her followers.
"Why am I not surprised?" Elise said, shaking her head. "What were you looking for in there? A spell to heal your face?" Her eyes took in Katja from head to toe as a disdainful sneer crossed her lips. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if no one's been able to heal you after so many years, you'll never be anything other than what you are—deformed."
Tears rose to Katja's eyes, although she did her best to stifle them. She desperately wished another member of the Hexen would walk past, pausing Elise's bullying if not ending it entirely and allowing her to escape.
Elise sighed, clearly disappointed her words hadn't elicited more than a few tears.
"Well, as fun as it's been catching up with you, I promised to help my mother with some family business tomorrow morning, so I'm off to bed." She flashed Katja an overly sweet smile. "You're so lucky you don't have to worry about helping your mother with things. You're free to do as you like with your metal."
And with that, she spun around and walked gracefully down the hall, flanked by the other two girls like a queen trailed by her retinue.
Katja trembled, then continued down the hall, walking faster and faster until she was practically sprinting. After what seemed an eternity, she reached her room, ducked inside, and closed the door before applying several of the strongest locking spells she knew.
Tears were falling freely at this point, and Katja collapsed onto her bed, curling in on herself as sobs shook her body.
"It's not fair!" she cried, wrapping her fist around the wolf pendant. "Why are they so mean to me? I've never done anything to them. I'm nothing compared to them. Why can't they just leave me alone?"
The worst part was, Elise was right—Katja didn't have a mother. She didn't have anyone in the castle, and she never would, not a mother, not a father, not a suitor, no one.
Katja wasn't certain why she continued to talk to the wolf pendant, other than it made her chest not feel so tight, and she recounted her most painful memories, the ones she'd never been able to tell anyone about, until she eventually fell into an exhausted sleep, wishing not for the first time she'd died alongside her mother.
(Artworkby PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay)