I had only closed my eyes for an instant before I was rubbing them and trying to turn away from the light. The nightmare I usually had decided to change, instead of me trying to escape through the illusion and finding it to be solid wood, I had made it out.

Only to be surrounded by people holding anything with a sharp edge. The faces were a blur, but they were meant to be people I knew from the town.

The light was still bothering me, which was confusing since there were no windows in the cottage. My eyes flung open and my mind worked to catch up to the unfamiliar surroundings. I was on a soft bed, buried beneath a large sheet with sunlight filtering in through the curtains.

Entirely different from my usual mornings.

It didn’t take long to understand where I was, and what was going on, but the spike of panic would make getting back to sleep difficult. I settled on gazing up at the ceiling with as empty a mind as I could manage.

Mother had me get out of my hammock at dawn to go fetch water from the stream for her. I’d kept up the routine with a more relaxed pace since her death, but now there wasn’t anything to get me out of bed. In town, water came from taps or wells, not streams.

There was another problem. I did not know if I should leave, or where to go. Waiting for Trissa seemed like my best option, so I stayed where I was and followed the pattern in the wood across the ceiling. When that got repetitive I started to fling gusts of wind at the curtains and watched them ripple and swish.

It was different from rustling the leaves of trees, but satisfying in the same way.

It was too quiet. In the forest, there were always creatures nearby making noise or sharing subtle feelings with me, but there was nothing here besides some dull insects. I tried to reach out and found only the rat version of a panicked scream and then silence.

A satisfied cat pawed at their catch.

I had been starting to convince myself to go downstairs when I heard Trissa’s door open. With the covers thrown off, I ran to the door. The handle was a weird knob that I twisted and turned each way. It rattled as I tried to push and pull it open.

The knob forcibly twisted in my hand to the left and the door slowly pushed inwards. I took a step back to see a bleary eyed Trissa staring at me.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Nothing…what are you doing?”

“I’m going back to bed after using the lavatory. Mum doesn’t start work till the second bell and Dad’s probably downstairs already making breakfast if you want to go down.”

“Oh, ah, I’ll wait.”

I retreated into my room after watching Trissa drag herself into the room across from ours. She’d shown me the amenities, but it all seemed a bit much. I would cross that bridge when I needed to.

I closed the door part way, so I didn’t have to open it again.

There was an empty basin on the nightstand that I filled up slowly with conjured water. I splashed my face with it then stripped to dump the rest over my head. It was heavy, but I got it over me, ready to pour when I glanced down at the wooden flooring.

Would it drip through the floor?

I was too scared to try, so I put it back on the nightstand and picked up the water to move it over my body. I felt a lot better after, not feeling all sticky anymore, I thought the combination of warm clothes, bed sheets, and a cold sweat from the nightmare were to blame.

The clothes from yesterday were sitting on the couch and I changed back into them.

They had said I could take what was in the wardrobe, but I didn’t feel ready to start rummaging around and wearing their daughter’s clothes.

I bounced my legs while I sat on the couch. I was bored. Not because there was nothing I wanted to do, but because I was unsure how to do it.

When a knocking sound came from the door I almost dropped the water I had picked back up and had been playing with over the rug. It went back into the basin before I answered.

“Yes?”

Trissa poked her head in the room, still in the same kind of sleeping clothes I had worn.

“Having fun sitting there?”

“Not really.”

“Want some breakfast?”

I trotted behind her to the Kitchen where her mum looked equally as sleep deprived as Trissa.

“Oh, morning dear, you just missed your dad. Good morning, Valeria.”

“Good, he’s always too happy in the morning,” Trissa said.

“That’s not a nice thing to say out loud,” Pilim said.

I peered over Trissa’s shoulder as she served herself from a series of pots and plates on the counter. The least meaty dish available was eggs and cubed potato, so that’s what I took. It was a weird hang-up considering the animals were already dead and I didn’t have their fear and pain imprinted in my mind.

But, it still made the meal less enjoyable.

Making breakfast for my mother had always been one of the most worrying times of the day. It was when she laid out her plans and I found out what I was in for. Trissa and Pilim sat in silence except for mumbled requests.

I had spied the garden through the kitchen window and slipped out with the basket I brought to go see it. The cuttings I had taken were not the most careful, but I could help out with magic. They had a few of the plants I liked for seasoning meals. Their berries were only barely flowering despite the season almost ending. No medicinal herbs, no tea plants, and very few vegetables.

I stood back and started to plan out my additions to the garden. A little section with the tea, another for some of the leftover tubers from last night's dinner, help the poor berries yet to flower. Maybe some herbs to make a few basic tinctures, if I could get the alcohol for it.

I needed something to wear, so my skirt didn’t get covered in mud and a garden trowel. It was too much to keep asking for and would be more annoying than helpful if I kept bothering them for stuff I needed.

Glancing back through the kitchen window let me see they were no longer there, so I started sifting through the soil with magic. I made small trenches for the tubers I floated up, broke in half, and let fall into them, moving the soil back after.

Tea was next and was one of the plants that was dying off in the ashy soil near the cottage, I was happy to find a new home for it. It was easier to move the small tea cuttings about than trying to slice the tubers in the air.

What took the most time in the planting was trying to find small wood chips to prop up some of the more fragile cuttings. Once everything was in place I sat down on the grass and placed my hand in the soil. I slowly grouped up all the different plants in my mind and encouraged them to grow their roots and flourish.

I wasn't tired at all after, so paid special attention to the flowered berry plants, getting them to grow their ripened fruit.

It was the first time I had done magic without worrying about Mother, or a fire was burning down my home, or while trying to accomplish some mundane task. Besides the berries I had already plucked off and was shovelling into my mouth, I had been careful not to be too obvious with my meddling.

Jacob openly talked about magic; the farmers openly did magic. If I wasn’t a witch I must have been like them, but I was still afraid.

I almost laid back in the grass to relax in the sun before remembering I was wearing my nice clothes. I already missed my set that I didn’t have to worry as much about.

Going to the cottage was something I needed to do soon, to get the last of the coins, some of the books, the potions, soaps, and whatever else I saw as useful. I hadn’t expected to start staying here so soon, I hadn’t expected to be allowed to stay at all.

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“Valeria?”

My looting plans for the cottage were interrupted by Trissa at the kitchen door. I got up and brushed the grass off.

“Woah, you’ve done quite a lot here, right? Unless Mum’s been out here a lot without me noticing.”

“I planted a few things,” I said while trying to get the soil off my hands without magic.

“Ah huh, Mum and I wanted to know if you would like to come to the shop for the day and practice sewing?”

“I’d like to try.”

Trissa led me back through the hallway only after she showed me where to wash my hands, and then how to use the tap. We walked through a door and came out in a large room bathed in soft yellow light from tinted glass along the top of the walls. We were situated behind a counter covered in shelving that was stuffed with paper, fabrics, and other clutter.

The rest of the room had large rolls of colourful material, some shone while others looked rough to the touch. Torsos made of beige fabric and supported on sticks stood to one side, covered in strips of fabric with small pins keeping it in place.

Pilim was working at a large slanted desk with the biggest pair of scissors I had ever seen. She was slicing through an unrolled sheet using the blade of the scissors rather than cutting, it was weird since I assumed that was the only reason you would use them over a knife.

Pilim glanced back at us with a pencil between her lips. Her words were muffled slightly, but we understood her just fine. “Dear, measure me out half a yard of twine, please. Valeria, you are welcome to sit behind the counter there or wonder about, we do not usually get customers till later.”

Trissa skipped over to a bundle of tightly wound thread and started to measure out some using her forearm as a reference. I didn’t want to be in anyone's way or touch anything expensive, so I sat on the stool behind the counter. I had to adjust and smooth out my skirt till it sat properly, but once I settled I could see the entire store and let my eyes slowly roam over it.

I watched Trissa dance about the room and deliver items, or spools of fabric to Pilim. The two of them moved to and from the table and one of the fabric torsos had the beginnings of something forming on it. Pins held together the extra layers they were adding and let them do the stitching only after Pilim approved of the placement.

A ding echoed through the room and the door fully opened for a woman to walk in. The first thing I noted about her entrance was her eye-catching presence.

It was more because of her magic, but her outfit also fit that description. It was—her presence—much stronger than people like Jacob, but I had not been close enough to the men who tried to burn down the cottage to compare it to theirs.

Her sky-blue dress swished at her knees as she turned to close the door behind her. Her hands were covered in white gloves that went all the way to her elbow.

“Ah, Jaqalin,” Pilim said, as the newcomer took off her matching hat and smoothed out the bits of hair its removal caused to fall out of place.

“Good morning, Madam Iraya,” Trissa said.

“Morning, Pilim, Trissa,” Jaqalin said. “I promise I am not here to pester you about my new hat, I have an order to place for Greyson. The boy seems to grow every time I feed him. Have you noticed, Trissa?”

“Well now that you mention it I think he may have grown slightly,” Trissa said.

“Boys do seem to do that,” Pilim said, stretching out her hand towards me. “Jaqalin, let me introduce you to Valeria.”

“You actually went ahead with it? When you said…” Jaqalin started before following the direction of Pilim’s arm to lock eyes with me. She blinked at me with mild shock.

I got off of the stool to stand. “Hello, Madam Iraya.”

Jaqalin folded her hands over her waist and took a deep breath. “Ah yes, hello. Valeria was it? I somehow did not notice you there.”

“She’s going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future, Cragar was being difficult, but he came around,” Pilim said. “The house has felt so empty since Olera left.”

Jaqalin nodded along. “I am sure I will feel the same once my son gets into Equitier. Though I still can not believe you followed through with it, Pilim. I must confess some of the other ladies were aghast at the thought of some uncouth individual living with you. I for one applaud your charity, she has cleaned up quite well already. Obviously your influence.”

I glanced at Trissa who was at a loss for words. I luckily didn’t think I was expected to respond to any of that considering she hadn’t looked at me again.

“Oh, it is hardly charity, she is a sweet girl, but thank you for the compliment anyway.”

Jaqalin turned back to me. “Listen here girl, Pilim has given you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remove yourself from those other ruffians. It behoves you to not repay that kindness with bad behaviour. You have a Trissa here to be a good role model in what you should strive for.”

“Yes…Madam.” I thought I had done well, tried to speak like them, to eat like them, and dress like them. But a stranger had walked in and was convinced I didn’t belong here despite all of that.

Madam Jaqalin started discussing with Pilim what she wanted to order for her son. I heard a few mumbled mentions of dress shirts and undergarments.

Trissa came over to where I was still standing near the stool and leaned close to my ear. “Mum says she isn’t that bad compared to city folk. Lots of hissing, but not venomous. Makes me think twice about going to the city.”

I leaned in as well “Maybe that’s her goal since she doesn’t want you leaving. What does ‘uncouth’ mean anyway?”

“I don’t know, Mum is always trying to get me to speak properly and did you hear that comment about Greyson? The way she wiggled her eyebrow at me was uncouth.”

I snorted at the unexpected comment but made sure I did not start laughing when the woman was still in the room. “At least he’s leaving? To that Equitier place?”

“Argh, lucky bastard was born with mana and rich parents, I’d love to go to school there. Oh, umm, not that I’m ungrateful for my situation, it's just a bit unfair, you know?”

I did not understand why she got so flustered.

I regretfully started to think back to Mother and her lessons. Mana wasn't a word she used often when teaching me, but it did come up when she got technical.

The bell above the door chimed again and two more women walked into the store. There was a lot of ‘how lovely to see you,’ ‘you are looking well,’ and 'good mornings' overlapping as the four women greeted each other. I didn’t manage to catch the newcomer's names, but one did look around and raise a hand to us which we returned.

I turned to ask Trissa whose mothers they were, but she was not beside me. The top of her head was still in my peripherals, so I looked down to see her crouching behind the counter.

Trissa flapped her hand at me and when I didn’t know what that meant I should do, grabbed my arm to drag me down.

“That’s Jacob’s mum,” she said. I was still confused about why she was on the floor.

“And?” I asked.

“And, I cannot be rude to her since she's the mayor's partner. And she’s getting persistent about matching me with her son. Thinks being associated with Mum’s family is a good thing.”

“So, we’re hiding?”

“I panicked and it’s too late to just pop my head back up and try to join their conversation. I don’t even want to join their conversation.”

We both eyed the door a few yards behind us.

“If you crawl they shouldn’t be able to see you, I’ll open it for you,” I said and stood back up to check on the women. They were surrounding one of the partly done pieces and not looking anywhere near us. Trissa started to crawl towards it, but jerked to a stop.

A splinter of wood had caught her clothes. I stopped staring directly at her since it would look strange if anyone saw me. I found something interesting on the wall to look at instead. I hoped the ladies were still absorbed in their conversation and were paying me no mind.

“Valeria?”

“Huh?” I said while spinning around to look at them.

Three of the four were looking at me passively, but Jaqalin scowled and clicked her tongue. “Huh!? Show Madam Hasting some respect.”

“Oh, come now, Jaqalin. She does not know any better yet. Would you like her to attend my etiquette classes, Pilim?” A woman with a vague semblance to Jacob said.

“I will see if she wants to,” Pilim said. “Valeria, where has Trissa gone off to?”

“She left a while ago…Madam Hasting.”

“Ah, maybe another time then Malisa,” Pilim said to Jacob’s mother.

“Yes, perhaps dinner?”

When they had all forgotten I existed again I slinked over to the door, turned the knob hard, pushed the door open, and stepped through. Trissa crawled in right on my heels and the door closed behind her.

Trissa stood to brush off her clothes and examine the new tears in them. She sighed. “Maybe I should have just stayed instead of letting her get the idea of dinner in her head.”

“I don’t want to imagine sitting through an entire meal with them,” I said.

“Yeah, I think Mum only puts up with them because they’re good customers…Lunch?”

She did not give me any time to respond before she headed for the kitchen. I followed her away from the faint voices still coming from the store.

“What would you like?” Trissa asked. “I usually don’t eat very much.”

The meals I ended up making Mother and I came from a book titled, 'A Recluse's Guide to Self-Sustainability,' and it was terrible. No straightforward recipes, or directions, just a list of things that generally went well together and how each of them needed to be prepared. It had taken a lot of trial and error to get meals Mother didn’t throw in my face. Altogether that left me with little knowledge of what meals were called beyond stew and soup.

“The same as you, or I don’t mind not eating, it’s fine either way.”

Trissa got out some of the leftover flatbread from the larder and started placing vegetables on it. When she went for the cuts of meat I worked up the courage to ask her not to put any on mine. She didn’t bat an eye at the request and I was soon trying to hold together the ‘wrap’ while eating it without a plate. It was great and made me sad about missing out on eating bread most of my life.

Buying a roll for myself had been one of the only advantages to going into town for Mother.

“We should go change,” Trissa said while drying off her hands after eating her wrap in half the time as me.

“What for?” I asked around a mouthful.

“To meet up with everyone, unless you want to wear a skirt out again? I won’t stop you.”