Sonya gave her a small smile. ‘I did alright, then?’
‘Darling, you did a fantastic job,’ Kiri said. Dania entered behind Kiri, and Kiri grabbed her off the floor, lifting her up. Her bare feet were covered in dirt. ‘Come, let’s get you clean before you make a mess of all of Sonya’s hard work.’
‘I not even dirty,’ Dania protested, but Kiri carried her up the stairs.
Despite being tired, Sonya got up off the sofa, heading for the garden door. She took a basket of the clothes she had gathered, then washed them in a bucket. She wished she could have washed her own dress, but she didn’t have another one to wear while it was washing and drying. With a sigh, she set about washing the other things.
When she was finished, she hung them up on the clothesline, then sat back on a wicker chair, angling her face to the sky. The sun was bright and warm, a balm on her cheeks. It was a warmer spring day today, and the birds were chirping happily in the sky. She glanced around. Where there were buds growing on the bare branches of trees, leaves and flowers would soon return, coming back to life after a long and cold winter.
Sonya took in a deep breath of fresh air, admiring it all. She did go for walks through the castle gardens, but even then it was always with an escort. She was never able to just stop andbreathe, like she was now.
A little while later, Kiri came out and handed Sonya a bowl of sliced fruit and a plate that had a piece of bread and cheese.
‘You must be exhausted,’ Kiri said, sitting on the wicker chair beside her.
‘Yes, but in a good way,’ Sonya replied. Her arms were aching even as she popped an apple slice into her mouth. It was satisfying to know that she haddonesomething with her time, that another day hadn’t simply passed her by.
‘Thank you for this,’ she said, taking a bite out of the bread. It was fresh and warm, the crust nice and crunchy while the inside was soft and fluffy. ‘This is divine.’
‘It’s the magic,’ Kiri replied with a wink.
‘You’re a kitchen-witch!’ Sonya exclaimed, realizing.
Kiri nodded, smiling.
‘That’s wonderful,’ Sonya said, hoping Kiri didn’t catch the wistful note in her tone. ‘What is it like?’
Kiri described it to her, and it was similar to what Arabella always told Sonya. Magic was a core part of a witch, as intuitive as breathing.
Sonya finished her light lunch, and when Kiri saw that Sonya was done, she stood.
‘I was going to the market to pick up some things for dinner,’ she said. ‘Are you too tired to come along?’
While Sonya was tired, the prospect of exploring was exciting. She got up immediately. ‘No, not at all!’
Kiri smiled. ‘Wonderful,’ she said, adjusting the shawl around her shoulders. Sonya followed her inside where Dania was sitting at the table, paper and coloring pencils spread out around her. Kiri collected the market baskets from where Sonya had stacked and put them away by the kitchen.
‘Our garden has some vegetables and herbs, but we get most of our groceries in town,’ Kiri explained, handing a basket to Sonya. ‘And, of course, we get meat straight from the butcher.’
Sonya nodded, looking around. The downstairs of the cottage was clean, and even Dania was sparkling. The little girl was hunched over her paper on the tabletop, drawing vigorously. With a smile, Sonya walked over to her.
‘What are you drawing?’ she asked.
‘No! Don’t look!’ Dania shouted, covering the paper with her arms.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Sonya said, heart beating fast. Guilt spread through her as she moved away from Dania, back to where Kiri was standing by the door.
‘Don’t worry,’ Kiri said, seeing the aghast expression on Sonya’s face. ‘Children and their mood swings. It’s nothing personal.’ She turned to Dania. ‘Come, now, we’re going to the market.’
‘Wait!’ Dania cried, not looking up. Her coloring intensified. ‘I almost done!’
She quickly finished, then threw down the yellow coloring pencil, looking down at the paper. A slow smile spread across her face at the sight of her own handiwork.
She picked up the paper and bounced over to Sonya, grinning as she bequeathed it to her. ‘For you,’ she said.
Sonya’s heart melted. ‘Oh.’ She crouched down so that she was eye level with Dania, who came to stand beside her.
‘See, that’s me,’ Dania said, pointing on the paper to a drawing of what was obviously meant to be a little girl, though her head was twice the size of her body and the same size as the sun drawn in the corner. ‘And that’s you!’ She pointed to the other figure, who was holding hands with the little girl. They were the same size, but this figure had short hair.
