Affinity Witch

Chapter 5: Asking for Help

The next morning found Sabrina still puzzling over the conundrum of obtaining her own workspace. She thought about it over the course of the day in between her repairs, which included a cast iron frying pan, the handle of a drawer, numerous pieces of jewelry, two lanterns, a shovel, a pair of fireplace andirons, the gears of a cuckoo clock, a picture frame, a mirror, a kettle, and a heavy chain used to secure things inside the Hexen gardening shed.

She was still thinking about it as she made her way to meet her mother for dinner, and she briefly considered bringing it up over the evening meal, but the Essen Hall was especially lively. Numerous witches kept coming over to the table, stopping by to say hello, offer her mother a hug or a compliment, or simply share what they believed to be an interesting anecdote about something that had taken place in the castle that day.

Marlene seemed to enjoy it all, never appearing disgruntled or bothered by the steady stream of interruptions, and Sabrina made sure to keep an appropriately cheerful smile on her face at all times, as her mother would be less inclined to assist if she thought Sabrina had been rude.

After dinner, Sabrina followed her mother to their apartment, and as the Sprechen sank into the armchair by the fireplace, a pile of parchments summarizing the running of the castle in her hand, Sabrina couldn't keep from pacing back and forth, trying to decide where to start.

"What's on your mind?" asked Marlene, her eyes flitting up from the stack of papers she was clearly eager to read.

Sabrina hadn't completely decided what she wanted to say, but the words spilled from her mouth of their own volition: "I'm not progressing in my metallurgy as well as I'd like."

"Oh?" Her mother adjusted the long strand of pearls around her neck. "All I hear from Olga and Ingrid is how well you're doing. Have they told you otherwise?"

"No," Sabrina shook her head, overlooking the compliment in her mother's words. Of course the other metalworkers thought she was doing well. But doing well wasn't good enough, and she refused to settle for their praise when it was actually her own accolades she craved. "They're perfectly fine with my progress, but it's not enough. I can be better. I can do better. I just need the space for it."

"What did you have in mind?" Marlene studied Sabrina, tilting her head slightly to one side.

Sabrina clasped her hands behind her back. "I need my own workspace," she said, "someplace I can do my research without being bothered or having other people come in and move things around. I need a place where I can work without being distracted or worrying someone's going to barge in and interrupt me."

"It seems like you've given this some thought," noted Marlene. "Have you mentioned it to your teachers?"

Sabrina drew a deep breath, wishing her mother would, for once, make things easy on her rather than forcing her to practically get down on her knees and beg.

"I mentioned it to Tante Olga," she said, trying to keep her irritation from reaching her face, as well as her voice, but not entirely certain how well she was doing on either front. "She seemed offended I didn't want to spend my life sharing a workspace with her and the other metallurgists. I wasn't trying to be offensive. I just want to master my affinity."

Marlene nodded, even as her cool grey eyes gave away nothing, not the slightest hint of what she was thinking.

Swallowing her pride, which felt about as pleasant as shoving knives down her throat, Sabrina finally said, "You're the Sprechen. I thought, perhaps, you could help me."

"You want me to use my position to help you obtain a workroom?" asked Marlene, disapproval twitching faintly in the corners of her mouth. But whether it was due to the audacity of the request or the fact that her daughter wanted to spend more time with her metal, Sabrina couldn't say.