Sabrina followed the Helferin through the hallways, grateful it was there to lead her to the Medizinhalle. While she could have navigated the castle on her own, her mind was so full of racing, half-finished thoughts, it was nicer to simply follow the spelled helper.

Even though she knew the Helferin had no reason to lie, she also struggled to believe anything serious could have befallen her mother. Her mother hadn't been sick as far back as Sabrina could remember. She never got colds or fevers and appeared to have a much hardier disposition than even Sabrina herself, who often processed her stress in the form of debilitating headaches.

Eventually, they reached the entrance to the Medizinhalle. Gerta was standing outside the dark double doors, wringing her hands and mumbling to herself, but she raised her head when Sabrina approached. Tears filled the other girl's eyes, and for a moment Sabrina couldn't breathe. Gerta rushed up to her and took both of Sabrina's hands in her own.

"I'm so sorry," she managed to say, her voice broken by hiccuping sobs as tears spilled freely down her face. "The healers, they—"

"—What happened?" interrupted Sabrina. She needed information, not hysterics. "Where's my mother?"

Gerta drew a shaky breath and attempted to collect herself. "Your mother had an accident on the astronomy tower. She didn't survive."

Sabrina stared at her friend, hearing the words Gerta was saying but not understanding them. Yes, her mother often went up to the astronomy tower to think. Sabrina had seen her there before, walking along the edge of the observation deck, staring into a flame she'd conjured as it danced across her palm.

But to think that her mother, who had never been sick a day in her entire life, had experienced an accident, and what's more, an accident that had resulted in her death—it was simply unfathomable.

"No," Sabrina shook her head. "It couldn't have been her. It's not possible. You're mistaken." It was much more likely Gerta had misidentified someone than for Sabrina's mother to have died.

Gerta closed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

"I'm so sorry," she said, blinking her eyes open and splashing tears onto her cheeks. "Healer Fallon is inside." She laced her fingers through Sabrina's, then used her other hand to push open one of the heavy doors. "We'll go together."

Sabrina allowed herself to be led inside the Medizinhalle, which always reminded her of a church sanctuary she'd seen in a book as a child, with its high beamed ceilings and large stained glass windows. Candles flickered, casting shadows on the stone walls and highlighting the empty benches below, making the cavernous space feel forgotten and deserted.

Various corridors led off to private rooms, and Gerta directed their steps towards one, gently guiding Sabrina until they stepped inside a small chamber fitted with a single bed. Sabrina felt Gerta hesitate, so she quickly freed her hand and stepped closer to the bed, barely registering the presence of the Hexen's most senior healer and High Council member, Healer Fallon.

"I'm so sorry, Sabrina," said the healer, her arms crossed loosely over her white apron. Sabrina turned to look at her just long enough to wonder why healers always wore so much white. Didn't it get dirty far easier than brown or grey? Better yet, why not wear red? That way the inevitable blood stains wouldn't show.

Shaking her head at the ineptitude of the medical Hexen, Sabrina turned her attention back to the bed, where a sheet—white, of course—was pulled up to cover what was presumably a body underneath. She reached out a hand, grabbed a corner of the sheet, and pulled it back...only to find herself staring at the unmoving body of her mother.

Sabrina couldn't breathe. Was this some kind of ridiculous prank? Something her mother had concocted to make her feel badly about wanting her own life...a stunt designed to make Sabrina regret standing up for herself and saying the things she had? Marlene's body was perfectly still, so still, in fact, Sabrina had the urge to shake it, to tell her to wake up and stop the charade, anything to get her to move.

Yet her mother continued to lie there.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked.

"We're not entirely sure," replied Healer Fallon gently as Gerta moved to Sabrina's side. "She was discovered at the base of the astronomy tower. It seems she fell off the observatory platform. Her neck was...broken on impact."

Grief covered the senior healer's face. "Two witches were coming back from the stables and happened to find her. They summoned me, and I sent a Helferin for you as soon as she was brought into the Medizinhalle." Healer Fallon shook her head. "I didn't want you to see her until...that is, we wanted her to look presentable, when you saw her."

As if how her mother looked dead would make the slightest bit of difference to Sabrina.

Healer Fallon continued. "Based upon what we could put together, your mother was taking a walk around the observation platform. The storm hit much sooner than expected, and the entire astronomy tower was struck by lightning...did you feel it?"

Sabrina nodded, clearly recalling the fingers of lightning that had reached for the castle, lighting up the countryside as if it was noon rather than late at night in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"Your mother didn't die from the lightning, but based on injuries, it seems she was struck by it. She was likely disoriented and seems to have stumbled too close to the edge. The ground was wet, given the rain, and...we believe she slipped," concluded Healer Fallon.

"You believe," said Sabrina slowly, feeling each word hang heavy in her mouth before shaping it with her lips and tongue. "You don't know for certain."

"We don't," admitted Healer Fallon. "No one else was up there or saw what happened, given the weather." She paused for a moment, and Sabrina could tell the woman was trying to find a polite way to say her next words. "Do you have idea what she might have been doing up there?"

Sabrina shook her head. Part of her considered sharing how she and her mother had quarreled, but that wouldn't shed any light on what had caused her mother's death.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered if her mother had killed herself on purpose, throwing herself from the tower to disrupt Sabrina's life, to make some lasting and final point she could never refute, allowing her mother to always have the last word, in a sense.

But even as she considered it, Sabrina quickly discarded the idea. While her mother might have hated her making her own life choices, Marlene also loved life and simply had too much to live for—she adored being surrounded by the Hexen, making decisions, and being sought after for her wisdom and advice. She wouldn't give up all of that, not even to make a point to Sabrina.

Sabrina sighed, and Gerta stepped closer, raising an arm as if she might put it around Sabrina's shoulders, but Sabrina wasn't in the mood for comforting and stiffened just enough to make Gerta pull back and slide her hands into the pockets of her apron.

Sabrina turned towards Healer Fallon. "What do you need from me?"

The healer appeared somewhat taken aback by the abruptness of Sabrina's question, but really, what else was she supposed to say?

"We'll need to inform the rest of the Hexen," Healer Fallon finally said. "A temporary Sprechen will need to be named, at least until the High Council can convene and vote for a permanent replacement. We'll organize a funeral to be held within the next two days. But don't worry, we'll handle everything; you can be involved as much or as little as you want. You don't need to do anything other than take care of yourself."

Her gaze softened. "Do you have anyone you'd like to stay with for a while, or have come and stay with you?"

"I'm fine by myself," replied Sabrina, barely suppressing a shudder at the thought of being forced to spend time with some well-meaning but ultimately intrusive witch when all she really wanted was to be alone. "Although I would like to spend a few minutes with my mother...if you don't mind."

"Of course not," assured Healer Fallon, stepping quickly towards the door and motioning for Gerta to follow her. "Take all the time you need. We can discuss the funeral tomorrow."

Sabrina dipped her head in acknowledgement and as the door closed behind Healer Fallon and Gerta, she grabbed a chair from against the wall and moved it next to the bed. Sitting down, Sabrina stared at her mother, trying to categorize the feelings welling up inside of her.

Her mother was dead.

Sabrina would never again enter their apartment and see her sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, reading a book or letter. She would never again hear her mother speaking to the assembled Hexen, informing them of something important or wishing them a happy solstice. Her mother would never again preside over Affinity Testing, never light the ceremonial candles at festivals, never lead the procession into the courtyard and offer the first toast celebrating the harvest at the Autumnal Equinox.

Sabrina's chest tightened, and her throat began to burn as a tear slid down her face. Her mother hadn't been particularly affectionate, and while Sabrina wasn't losing physical expressions of love, she would never again see the faint light glowing in her mother's eyes when she did something to make her proud, something that made her glad Sabrina was her daughter.

Of course, Marlene had really only been proud when Sabrina had done what she wanted, and that truth sparked a flame in Sabrina's tight chest that rose upwards and burned away the remaining wetness ready to fall from her eyes.

Her mother would no longer be exasperated with her, wishing she had a daughter who was a copy of herself, destined to rule at least some small corner of the world, presiding over others content to follow her lead. She would never again frown at Sabrina for doing something she considered inappropriate or untoward or simply a waste of time. She would never again make Sabrina feel less than or like she was failing simply because she wanted different things than her mother...because she valued different things than her mother.

Straightening her spine, Sabrina rose to her feet. Looking down at the still form on the bed one last time, she said, "Goodbye, Mother."

And then she turned and left the room without a backwards glance.

Picture by Madbax from Pixabay