Witch, Wolf, Woods

CHAPTER 30: THE STRANGER AT THE FESTIVAL

The next morning, Wolf elected to stay behind in Katja's room while she went to her workspace, saying he'd like some privacy to "think about things."

While she didn't like being apart from him, she also gave him his space, since there was so little else she could do for him, and she turned her attention to preparing for the upcoming Lammas festival, a day the witches celebrated the importance of grain.

At one time, the day would have involved everyone going out and harvesting grain from a field by hand, but thanks to the proliferation of mills that easily turned grain into ready-to-purchase flour, the witches observed the day with baking and other celebratory activities rather than manual labor.

An air of excitement settled over the castle, with Hexen decorating and cleaning and cooking with increased vigor. Katja was so busy repairing last-minute items deemed necessary for the festival, the days flew by, although her heart tightened every time Wolf chose to stay in her bedroom rather than come to her workspace.

She missed his company, missed talking and laughing with him. She told herself this wouldn't last forever but, given that she'd never had a friend to disagree with before, she honestly wasn't sure how long the distance between them might last.

The evening of the Lammas festival, Katja closed her workshop earlier than usual and returned to her room to change for the celebration. Wolf came padding out from behind the screen in wolf-form and sat down on his haunches a few feet away.

"I think I'll stay here this evening," he said quietly, keeping his eyes on the rug. "I don't dance, and I'm not feeling particularly celebratory."

A mixture of emotions surged through Katja—sorrow her best friend wouldn't be there to join her at one of the few social events she willingly attended, anger he wouldn't discuss her proposal of going into the Schwarzwald further, and fear that something terrible was about to happen neither of them would be able to fix.

She wanted to shout at him, to shake him, to get some kind of a response from him other than this polite withdrawal from her life, but she didn't know what to say, other than the truth, so she replied in a tight voice, "I wish you were coming, but of course, it's your choice."

She did wish he was coming. Even though she enjoyed the food and music at the festival, she would have felt so much better with Wolf at her side, even in wolf-form, each noting things they could discuss and laugh about together later. She felt so much bolder when he was with her, and now she would be more focused on avoiding Elise than anything else.

In addition to that, festivals were always well-attended by travelers, and Katja had secretly hoped she might convince Wolf to attend the event in human-form, where he could easily pass as a visitor. Katja had been excited for him to see her in her nicest clothes, and she'd even entertained the faintest idea of perhaps dancing with him, although she'd never danced with anyone before.

Now none of that would happen, and she felt foolish for even considering such an unlikely possibility.

"Well," she swallowed sadly, "if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Wolf nodded and retreated behind the wooden screen without another word, where Katja heard him flop down on his mattress with a loud sigh.

Katja gathered her things from her wardrobe, bathed, dressed, and considered herself in the mirror, trying to avoid focusing on her face. At least her dress looked nice, although the dark green skirt and sleeves reminded her a little too much of the Schwarzwald, which made her think of Wolf, but the black ribboned bodice fit her nicely and brought out the dark flecks in her eyes. She brushed her hair until it shone, wearing it down to block at least part of her face from view.