After letting herself inside her workroom, Sabrina made her way toward the wall of windows, waving a hand to stop the lights that began to glow, spelled to respond to her presence. Coming to a stop before the panoramic view, she gazed outwards, letting her eyes adjust to the moonlit scene.

The tall trees of the Schwarzwald appeared especially ominous at night, their tips waving gently in an invisible wind, but whether they were warning her away or trying to entice her closer, she couldn't say.

Sabrina lowered herself into a sitting position before the windows, not even bothering to grab a chair or conjure a cushion. From her vantage point, the Neckar River looked like a silver ribbon thrown carelessly across a black ground, twisting this way and that, shimmering beneath the full moon.

Gazing at the woods, she tried to imagine what in the spells would ever possess her to set foot where her kind were forbidden. While she'd always assumed most of the stories she'd grown up hearing about the forest were greatly exaggerated, intended to keep curious young witchlings from venturing too near, she'd also seen for herself just how dangerous the Schwarzwald could be, making it even more likely she'd keep her distance.

But now, knowing at least one of her possible futures directly involved the forest, she felt an intense interest in the woods. Now that it affected her personally, the Schwarzwald was far more interesting. If only she had a way to gain more information about it...

Staring out into the blackness as moonlight danced off the river, Sabrina narrowed her eyes, thinking, methodically rifling through her stored mental images, recalling things from books, lectures, and conversations. She paused when she recalled some of the things Hermann Vale had mentioned, most notably about Nichts being interested in the forest for valuable resources such as timber and precious metals.

She'd become increasingly skilled at connecting with metal without needing to touch it or even see it...was it possible to connect with the metal inside the Schwarzwald?

A flicker of excitement sparked inside her chest, and Sabrina sat up straighter, even as she cautioned herself not to be overly hopeful. Most likely the Waldkonig had secured his forest against those who sought to connect with it in any way; after all, even the Hexen Seers couldn't see anything involving the Schwarzwald.

Additionally, it seemed impossible that no other witch over the past two hundred years had attempted to gather information about the Schwarzwald using her affinity...Sabrina had stumbled upon the idea completely by accident, but surely she couldn't be the only one.

Of course, it was also possible the Forest King had secured his forest against those who sought to look directly at it, while overlooking the need to bar those who could gain information about the woods by accessing it indirectly...like she could through her affinity.

And the majority of the Hexen were content doing as they were told, especially when it came to the Schwarzwald. It was at least possible most of them had never even considered trying to connect with something inside the forbidden forest, much less actively attempted such a thing.

Thinking back to her experience with the knife in the tavern, Sabrina suddenly remembered that just because she was capable of doing something didn't necessarily mean she ought to, and for a moment, she pondered the wisdom of what she was considering.

Ultimately, though, she cast her doubt aside. Now that she'd asked the question, the need to find an answer consumed her, leaving her with a singular focus. And, she reasoned, she wouldn't technically be violating the treaty, as she wouldn't even be near the forest, instead performing her magic safely on the other side of the Neckar River, inside the castle.

Closing her eyes, she began to take deep breaths, resting her hands on her knees. Thanks to her countless hours of practice, she'd become quite skilled at sensing metal, and based on her last experiment, she could discern it up to three miles away.

To her surprise, she easily sensed the metal just across the river. She imagined looking through the eyepiece of her microscope to situate herself squarely within the Schwarzwald, then began adjusting mental knobs and dials, moving her perspective below ground, focusing to allow the fuzzy image on the blank page in her mind to sharpen.

Her concentration moved slowly, purposefully, sinking deep below the ground, until—there! Silver flashed before her eyes, and she gasped as she connected to a vein of silver far below the forest floor.

Before she could congratulate herself or communicate with the silver, however, another image appeared in her mind, and the hair on the back of Sabrina's neck rose as she found herself staring at a man...a man of indeterminable age with blond hair trailing past his shoulders, sharp cheekbones, and hazel-grey eyes that seemed to bore into the center of her very being.

The sharp tines of his large gold and silver crowned glinted wickedly as he tilted his head to one side, but Sabrina couldn't tell if he was surprised, upset, or merely curious about her presence.

She held her breath, afraid to move, and a frown carved its way across the man's face. Shaking his head, he extended a hand, and Sabrina gasped as she found herself thrown backwards so hard, she curled into a ball to avoid striking the back of her head against the stone floor.

Lying on her side, breathing heavily, Sabrina's heart raced as she stared out the window. Slowly pushing herself up into a sitting position, she tried to think, imposing order on the chaos swirling through her.

While it seemed almost too preposterous to believe, Sabrina was certain she'd just encountered the Waldkonig.

To be fair, she'd never seen a picture of him, or even read a description of his appearance, but who else would have such an intrinsic connection to the Schwarzwald...not to mention wear a crown and wield magic the likes of which she'd never seen before?

She'd never had another witch, not even another metallurgist, insert themselves into her mind while she was connected to metal; each witch used their affinity in their own way and there was no borrowing or sharing powers with one another.

Sabrina didn't understand how the Waldkonig had sensed her mental presence in his woods, but one thing was abundantly clear...he maintained a connection to the forest that went far beyond any one affinity.

Sabrina drew a shaky breath, trying to fathom the immense power he must wield. Some of her earlier fear slowly gave way to a feeling that was no less strong in its intensity...a feeling of jealousy, followed by an almost overwhelming urge to know more about the Forest King.

Rising to her feet, Sabrina stepped closer to the windows, placing the palm of her hand against a pane of glass. Closing her eyes, she reached out again to the silver across the river.

This time, however, she found herself unable to extend her senses inside the forest. It was as if an invisible barrier had been erected in the past few minutes, barring her way and preventing her from communicating with anything metallic in the forbidden woods.

After a few minutes with no identifiable progress, Sabrina let out a frustrated groan.

"I just want to speak with you," she said, the sound of her voice seeming overly loud in the otherwise silent room. Even though she'd expected as much, there was no answer, which left space for a new thought to blossom in her mind...if she truly had somehow interacted with the Waldkonig himself, would he view that as a violation of his treaty with magic users?

Encountering him seemed different, and far more important, than merely connecting with metal in his domain.

Something tightened inside Sabrina's chest as she pondered a second question...if the Waldkonig viewed what she'd done as a violation of his treaty, would he respond?

A cold sweat broke out along her hairline, and Sabrina, who only rarely felt scared, suddenly felt quite afraid.

Would the Forest King march out of the Schwarzwald and appear before the castle, demanding she be punished for her actions? While that would be bad enough, she didn't want to even try and imagine her mother's wrath, should she be the reason the Waldkonig left the forest and attacked the castle or did something worse. She desperately wished there was a way she could apologize and assure the forest ruler she hadn't meant any harm.

Not entirely certain it would work, but feeling as if she had to do something, Sabrina lifted a latch and pushed open one of the glass window panes. Casting a voice-capturing spell, she said, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to cause trouble...I saw what you did to the Nichts a few days ago, and I'm not looking to steal from your forest. I was just looking for answers. Please don't punish the Hexen for my actions."

The small blue orb of light pulsed as it recorded her words, then Sabrina waved her hand, sending the orb through the open window, across the grass-covered field surrounding the castle, and over the Neckar River, ordering it to stop just at the edge of the Schwarzwald.

The spell was little more than a flickering blue speck by now, but Sabrina could still make it out, and she snapped her fingers, dissolving the orb so her words would be freed. Given how intimately the Waldkonig was connected to his forest, it was at least plausible he could hear things along the boundary of his domain, and since she couldn't send a message directly into the woods, this was the best she could think to do.

Nothing changed among the trees, at least that Sabrina could see, but she felt better having done what she could, so she pulled the window closed and refastened the latch. As she did, something Heloise had said earlier popped into her mind, and Sabrina spoke the thought out loud as she often did when trying to solve a particularly challenging problem.

"In my third future, Heloise said she heard me say, 'We did it.' But she didn't mention anyone going into the Schwarzwald with me...so who was I referring to?"

The darkness didn't offer her an answer, and when one wasn't forthcoming within her own mind, Sabrina rubbed her fingertips against her forehead, the beginnings of a headache coming on.

At least she didn't have to make any decisions tonight; none of her possible futures would be happening anytime soon, as she couldn't even think about leaving the Hexen, whether for another country or the Schwarzwald, until she turned eighteen, and that was still a few months away. That meant she had plenty of time to decide which of the futures she wanted to bring to life for real and not just inside the mind of a Seer.

Picture by flo222 from Pixabay