Grateful her thoughts didn't appear to have shown on her face, and that no one seemed to have noticed her lapse into silence, given Warren's enthusiastic description of something she'd missed, Sabrina took a drink of water.

"So, is our task tomorrow to protect the Nichts?" she asked, collecting herself.

Hermann grimaced, and Jessa reached out to take his hand before answering.

"We're not entirely sure what will be required of us tomorrow," she said. "We just believe it's better to be present and aware of what's happening than to remain purposefully ignorant. The Nichts can do as they like, even if we wish they'd act differently, but it's also important that, whatever happens, the Waldkonig knows we magic users had nothing to do with it."

Sabrina nodded, thinking back to what she'd learned in school about the other covens living on the edges of the Schwarzwald. The Hexen castle was directly east of the forest and below them was the Zurasammen coven; further south still was the Magischer coven, which was similar to the Hexen in that it was composed entirely of women.

North of the Hexen lived the Allein coven, a group of witches and warlocks who kept mostly to themselves and interacted with other magical practitioners only when absolutely necessary. Past them were the Mannlich coven, a group of warlocks Sabrina knew almost nothing about, save they sometimes sent a delegate or two to Hexen festivals, where their not-inconsiderable charms made them the object of more than one young witch's dreams.

She'd heard of a coven of witches who lived far beyond the Mannlich, known as the Trennen coven, but she'd never met anyone from there and wasn't sure she could locate the their home on a map.

Beyond those six, she had no idea if covens existed on the far west side of the Schwarzwald, and she pressed her lips together, frustrated and embarrassed at her lack of knowledge.

"How many covens sent delegates?" she asked, hoping to gain information without broadcasting her own lack of it.

"Including the Hexen, all six major covens are represented," replied Jessa, making Sabrina feel better about her limited knowledge, which at least appeared to be accurate. "I was truly surprised to welcome someone from the Trennen coven, as I've never met a witch from there before, but Hermann and I reached out to everyone we could, at least on this side of the forest." She smiled at Sabrina. "I'll introduce you to everyone first thing tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," replied Sabrina, a flutter of anxiety passing through her chest. Her mother really ought to be here. What would these other important witches and warlocks think when they met her, a seventeen-year-old girl, representing one of the oldest covens in the area?

Some of her worry must have shown on her face because Jessa leaned forward, catching Sabrina's eye. "Everyone's going to be so be happy to meet you. They all know your mother, or are at least acquainted with her, and if Marlene believed you were up to this task, they will respect that and treat you as they would her."

Sabrina forced a smile to her face as she murmured her thanks, reaching for her wineglass and taking a sip of the dark red liquid, forcing her suddenly trembling hand to be steady.

Jessa's words had brought up a very real possibility she hadn't even considered until this moment, a possibility just as awful as being sent to form a romantic attachment with Warren—it was quite likely her mother had sent her here for the express purpose of introducing her daughter as her successor, ensuring the other covens met Sabrina and understood the role she would be playing in the Hexen's future.

A role Sabrina did not want to play.

"Speaking of your mother," interjected Hermann, helping himself to another heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes, "how is she?"

"She's very well, thank you for asking," replied Sabrina automatically, knowing her mother would expect her to make such a reply even if it weren't true. "She was sorry she couldn't make the journey herself and sends her warmest regards."

The conversation focused on Marlene and the general state of the Hexen for a few moments before it turned to more interesting things.

"I believe the Hexen refer to magical abilities as affinities...is that correct?" asked Hermann, and Sabrina nodded. "We're not so different here, although we use the term 'affiliated with' rather than 'affinity,'" he explained. "For instance, I'm affiliated with music...singing, in particular."

"Oh, that's right," replied Sabrina, an older image rising inside her mind. "I remember you singing in the Essen Hall with some of the Hexen musicians one night when you were visiting. Everyone agreed you had a remarkable voice."

Hermann beamed as his wife reached across the table and squeezed his hand proudly.

"Jessa here is affiliated with glass," he said. "You should see some of the things she's created."

"I'd love to hear more about your work," replied Sabrina eagerly. Having never spoken at length with a glassmaker before, she had numerous questions about working with a fragile substance prone to breaking at any given moment.

"Oh, it's a fine thing to be affiliated with," replied Jessa with a careless wave of her hand, "but my true passion is dancing."

Her eyes sparkled, reminding Sabrina of two emeralds set in a gold bracelet she'd once repaired. "Unfortunately, I fear I've forced Warren to learn far more styles of dance than he otherwise would have been interested in...but on the upside, he's a fantastic partner. Perhaps he'll have the chance to show you at an upcoming festival!"

Sabrina nodded politely, even though she could imagine only a few things worse than dancing face-to-face with Warren, trapped within his arms, unable to escape.

"What are you affiliated with, Warren?" she asked in an effort to steer the conversation away from dancing. 

"I'm affiliated with water," Warren replied, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "I can sense it deep beneath the ground, and I can identify why a pond or lake isn't healthy. I can also tell when it's going to rain." He smiled. "I've read of witches and warlocks who could change the course of a flooding river to protect their village, and I'd love to be able to do that, should the Zurasammen ever face such a natural disaster."

Sabrina felt her eyebrows rise of their own accord, as even she couldn't deny the impressiveness of such an act.

"But until that day comes," Warren continued, his eyes shining, "I mainly help with irrigating the orchards and fields. Less impressive, perhaps, but no less necessary."

Sabrina nodded. Did Warren, like her, wish for more than his current lot in life? Would he prefer to be out doing grand things that drew accolades and allowed him to demonstrate his abilities, rather than being relegated to watering plants and trees? If Warren was capable of similar dreams, perhaps she had underestimated him.

"I feel like I ought to remember this," said Hermann sheepishly, "but what's your affiliation...I mean, affinity, Sabrina?"

"I'm a metallurgist," Sabrina replied. "I create and repair things made of metal."

"Well, I was close," Warren grinned at his father before turning to Sabrina. "I told Father I was certain your affinity involved stone. At least I wasn't too far off."

"That's quite an affinity," noted Jessa, taking another bread roll before passing the basket to Sabrina. "Do you have any specific plans for what you wish to do with it?"

Sabrina wanted to respond truthfully, to open up her heart to someone who would listen, to tell them of her dreams and her passion for pushing herself to constantly learn more. But a small voice in the back of her mind warned that anything she said could possibly make its way back to her mother, so, rather than speak freely, she chose her words with care.

"I like trying new things," she said. "I enjoy pushing myself to understand everything I can about my affinity. Someday I hope to create something new...something no has seen before."

"What a wonderful goal!" smiled Jessa. "The Hexen are fortunate to have someone so visionary in their thinking. I have no doubt that will serve you quite well."

Sabrina wasn't so sure, as her desire to create only seemed to make her different from everyone else and lead to arguments with her mother about her future in the Hexen. But her mother always maintained you didn't air dirty laundry in public, so she simply dipped her head and accepted the compliment with the kindness Jessa had intended.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing the various similarities and differences between the Hexen and the Zurasammen covens, and Sabrina appreciate the opportunity to learn about things she'd never before considered. A few times she became irritated at how lacking her education had been, as it would have been nice to have at least some information about how another coven functioned, but she settled for asking questions to satisfy her curiosity rather than bemoaning the failings of her instructors.

After dinner, a time to meet the following morning was agreed upon, and Warren volunteered to escort her back to her room. This time, Sabrina found herself actually looking forward to speaking with him further, as she had quite a few questions about his water affiliation.

"How are you working on improving your affiliation with water?" she asked as they strode out of the dining room.

Warren looked at her curiously, so perhaps an explanation was in order.

"We have instructors and mentors who teach us how to use our affinities until we come of age, and then we're pretty much on our own," said Sabrina. "Unfortunately, even though I still have a few months of training left, I've been on my own for a while now...I've surpassed everything the other metallurgists can teach me, so anything I want to learn, I have to teach myself."

"We undergo similar mentoring," nodded Warren, "but I've been practicing independently for two years now. Anything I want to learn about my water affiliation, I have to teach myself, too." He grinned. "It seems we're alike in that way."

"So, what are you doing to improve your affiliation?" Sabrina asked again, now that Warren knew what she was talking about. "Aside from reading books from the Hexen library and trying things on my own, I'm not certain how to keep growing as a metallurgist. I'd love to hear what you're doing...perhaps I could try something similar, but in my own field."

"Oh, well, I'm not really doing anything specific," replied Warren, ducking under a low-hanging brass lamp. "I completed my training, and I use those aspects of my affiliation I'm best at to support my coven." He glanced over at Sabrina. "It sounds as if you take your affinity very seriously."

"I do." Sabrina looked up at him as they turned a corner. "Don't you? Isn't that why you were saying you wanted to learn to direct waterways?"

"Oh, I just meant it would be nice to do that," clarified Warren. "Outside of the one book I read that mentioned it, I'm not even sure it's possible."

"Did you ever try?" pressed Sabrina.

"No," Warren shook his head. "Perhaps we're different in our coven, but we tend to find the aspects of our affiliations we're best at and focus on those."

"But then how do you ever know the extent of what you can do?" asked Sabrina.

"I just do what I'm good at," smiled Warren. "Of course it might be nice to do more, but I'm happy contributing what I can. My water affiliation is all well and good, but it's not the main focus of my life, and I'm sure it will play even less of a role as I get older and eventually marry."

From the corner of her eye, Sabrina saw him glance toward her as he said the word marry, but she purposefully kept her gaze directed straight ahead, clenching her jaw as she did.

So, there wasn't anything special about Warren, after all. He wasn't willing to put in the additional work to test the limits of his affiliation or master new aspects of his skill; it wasn't even a driving force in his life and clearly not as important to him as marriage.

Thankfully, the next corner they rounded put them back at Sabrina's room, and when they reached the door she offered a quick, "Thank you for escorting me," before attempting to duck inside. Unfortunately, Warren extended a hand and caught the door before she could close it.

"If it's not too much of an imposition," he began, causing Sabrina's stomach to tighten, "would you like to go on a picnic with me tomorrow? After this business with the Nichts is finished, of course. It might be nice to see more of the countryside here."

Sabrina had even less interest in spending time with Warren now than she'd had before dinner, but she also didn't see how she could decline in a polite way. At least with a picnic they would be outdoors, which wouldn't be too terrible, given how lovely the weather had been today. Perhaps as part of the tour, she could ask him to introduce her to some of the Zurasammen metallurgists or at least see their workspaces, keeping the outing from being a complete waste of her time.

"I suppose that would work," she replied, before quickly correcting herself. "I mean, that sounds very nice. Thank you."

Warren grinned and after assuring Sabrina he would handle all the arrangements, wished her a pleasant goodnight, and she closed the door, the dread she felt over the picnic almost replacing her anxiety about meeting the other coven representatives the following morning.

Picture by Nicole Michalou from Pexels