Gabby had been very quiet at breakfast, Sharna slowed down to walk beside her as they headed to the workshop. She was now looking quite pale, and hadn’t eaten much.

“Are you feeling okay?” Sharna asked gently.

Gabby flushed, “I’m fine thanks, I guess I just didn’t sleep too well.”

Eliza was also listening in, “You did seem really restless last night.”

“Maybe you should go and grab a coffee or something.” Sharna suggested.

“I’m off coffee at the moment,” said Gabby quickly, looking even paler. “Trying to mix things up, but thanks.” She pasted a smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Sharna felt a little put off, Gabby had been much friendlier yesterday. Maybe it was just that Gabby was tired or maybe Sharna just didn't quite understand the dynamics yet. She decided that it wasn't her place to push Gabby further and simply smiled agreeably back at her, then turned her attention to the workshop.

The workshop was not at all as she had expected. The main house was well proportioned, bright and full of light. This workshop on the other hand was poky and only had two tiny windows close to the ceiling.

Sharna was glad that they only had to be in here for a short time each day.

“It's a tight fit in here for all of us?” Sharna said.

Looking around the space, Myra nodded, “we often take turns. Anna and I prefer that this work is completed each day before the four of you start on any other projects though. Also, the palace has provided this workshop for us and expects all of these image-manifestation projects to be completed in this space.”

Myra explained that they went over plans for the week's work together in the sitting room on Sunday evenings to keep them on track, based on the lists that they were provided by the palace’s event planner. Myra also showed her where everything was located and the combination for the lockbox type compartment on the outer wall.

Then Myra pulled out some detailed drawings along with some completed napkins. The napkins were decorated with green vines and purple grapes, elegantly twining along the borders. “These are what we are currently working on. The region’s new wine has recently been released and they would like a prominent reminder throughout their upcoming event. You can see from the plans and the list that we've been through that we still have thirty napkins and several runners left to complete.”

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Sharna ran the fabric through her fingers “This material is amazing quality, and the sheen is gorgeous, where does it come from?”

“This is a cotton and silk blend from Stellarc, the palace sources their fabrics from all over the continent.”

Sharna nodded, Stellarc was the kingdom neighbouring their own kingdom of Beldorn to the south. Stellarc was well known for its silk but not so much cotton. Cotton usually was grown in warmer areas, further north. This blend was interesting because Stellarc were traditionally known for only trading with their immediate neighbours.

Sharna had been exhaustively educated in the geography and politics of their continent as it was extremely important information for her to personally know in depth. Due to her unusually large amount of magical power and knowledge, she could easily step into a dangerous situation by accident if she were ill-informed.

While the entire continent had deeply ingrained misogynistic tendencies, the consequences for women ‘overstepping their boundaries’ in her kingdom were relatively mild compared to other kingdoms. Social ostracization was obviously preferable to the capital punishment meted out by some of the more militant kingdoms. Her grandmother had actually been part of the driving force for the increase of available women's roles and education in their kingdom, one of multiple reasons that she had been beloved by so many.

There was currently no known way to test an individual’s magical power without their consent and participation. The only such test available involved channelling all of one's mana into a specially designed crystal to get a reading. This relied on the user complying, and was used more to prove eligibility for particular roles than gauging power that an individual wanted to keep secret. However, it was conceivable that some of the kingdoms that strictly policed magical use had secret techniques that they didn’t care to disclose to foreign powers. Regardless, Sharna hoped to keep her capabilities a secret from anyone in power.

Meanwhile, Anna had set up at two of the tables. The design plan and a single piece of fabric was laid out at one table and the remainder of the linens were piled neatly on the other.

Anna gestured Sharna forward to watch.

Anna smoothed the fabric out and closed her eyes for a few seconds while she appeared to focus. She opened her eyes, raised her hands slightly above the fabric and started gently humming. Sharna could see a faint light coming from under Anna’s hands, above the fabric. Sharna was surprised by the simplified pattern of movements and sound. She moved a little closer but could still feel no warmth or shift of sensation travelling through her body.

Sharna knew that the amount of heat she produced while she worked her magic wasn’t normal, which was why she had attempted to draw it back to her during her assessment, but to create none..?

Out of the corner of her eye, Sharna could see that Eliza was watching her again and immediately softened her questioning look to one of open interest.

“Phew,” Anna breathed a sigh of relief, a little puffed from her efforts, and stepped back. Sharna ran her fingers over the cloth again. There was absolutely no temperature change, how interesting.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Anna smiled, “we could probably do four or five each a day with a little break in between. But as I mentioned earlier, they only require one a day for each of us.”

Sharna was glad that Anna definitely didn’t know what she was thinking. She kept her face in the same engaged expression, “it’s a lovely pattern, beautiful work, I can see why they value your image-manifestation so highly.”

Anna beamed, pleased at the compliment. “Come on girls, you can all show Sharna your techniques now, one by one, and then she can have a try herself tomorrow. And you don’t need to worry -” this last part was directed at Sharna, “they always give us a few extra pieces of fabric so it’s okay if it doesn’t work out perfectly to start. You must have practised extensively for your assessment piece.”

Sharna smiled back but she actually felt like she was starting to get a headache. She had literally decided on the image for her assessment piece as she was starting the assessment.

For the first time she found herself questioning her decision to come here.