[Rybinsk] Что ты знаешь про меня? (Valera)

7th October 2003

Everyday had been exactly the same for a while now. Every morning Aglaya woke with a fainter hope that she'd feel better and was disappointed when she realised that she felt just as weak and scared as the previous days. The rest of her family was living their lives, nobody really had a lot of time to spare to spend with her and the young woman couldn't blame them. Her recovery was taking long and she was not exactly good company either. After all, she was not only struggling physically. Aglaya felt depressed, desperate and anxious making it hardly easy for anyone to be around her.

Nastya had been there the previous day and had surprised her in more than one way. Her sister had given her a dog. Aglaya wasn't sure what to make of that. She was not sure if she liked the idea of having a pet, one that she ought to take care of and take out several times every day. Besides she wasn't sure what exactly had made her sister consider it – was it because she thought that the dog could keep her company so the family could neglect her some more? Or did she really think that the creature would protect her from her stalker? That was simply ridiculous. It was no problem for a wizard to take out a dog with just one flick of their wand.

Aglaya had left the dog downstairs the night before, hoping that it would stay put where she'd placed the feeding bowl and had gone to bed, feeling very weird about having a living animal in her house. What did Nastya expect her to do? What did the dog expect from her? Would the dog even want to be with her? Could her sister force the pet to like her when she felt that there was nothing left to like at all? What if the dog turned against her? Her sister might have left her with a murderous beast for all she knew.

She woke with a start the next morning when she heard her new housemate bark in front of her bedroom door. Her heart was beating quickly as she sat up in bed, trying to figure out what on earth this meant. It took her a while until she got out of her bed and opened the door just enough so she could sneak a peek on the dog and figure out if it was going to try and attack her or if it was friendly. Bronislav wagged his tail excitedly as she opened the door just this bit and Aglaya assumed that this meant she had nothing to fear from her new companion.

“You wait here, I'll get dressed,” she muttered to the dog, closing the door again and changing into jogging pants and a hoodie. It took her a while to do that because her arm was still pretty painful despite the fact that Nastya had done her best to make it better. She took a deep breath and opened the door to step out of her bedroom. Bronislav wagged his tail again and licked her hand, making Aglaya retrieve it and put it into the pocket of her hoodie. She wasn't sure if she liked this kind of greeting and tried to get past the excited dog to get into her bathroom, but it took a while as she struggled to keep Bronislav outside.

When she was done in the bathroom and ready to get out again, Bronislav had laid down right in front of the door, making it impossible for Aglaya to open the door if she didn't want to push it against the dog. “Hey you, go away so I can get out.” she said but the dog did not move yet. “Please...” she whined and slowly pushed the door against the dog, afraid to hurt it and yet hoping to motivate it to move away. Bronislav obliged but Aglaya already felt stressed. “How could Nastya leave us alone, huh?” she asked the animal that looked expectantly up to her. “You'd probably rather be elsewhere, right? You deserve a pet owner that's not as worthless as I am...”

She wasn't quite sure what she should do now, neither with the dog nor in general so she slowly moved downstairs, assuming that the animal might be hungry. “You stink a little,” Aglaya muttered as she bent down to put some food into Bronislav's bowl. For a moment she just stood there, watching the dog eat. “You do not expect me to do anything with you, do you?” she asked with a frown, still being rather wary of her new companion. She was just tempted to leave Bronislav downstairs and retreat to her bedroom again when the doorbell rang. Her heart skipped a beat as she knew that neither her mother nor her sister would ring the bell. Nobody but them (and rarely her father) had come to visit her and so she felt rather panicky. Of course the young woman knew that nobody would even see her house if neither her mother nor she herself had given the person on the other side of the front door the information where it was. It was well protected and yet she did not expect anyone and wasn't sure she wanted to see anyone either. Bronislav, however, seemed a lot more eager to welcome guests and ran towards the door barking loudly.

“No, be quiet” Aglaya whispered faintly. She felt anxious as she followed the dog to the door and hesitated before finally daring to look through the peephole. She saw Valera in front of her door but was it really her relative or maybe an imposter? She couldn't be sure, could she? For all she knew her stalker could have taken polyjuice potion to impersonate a relative and got her mother to tell them where she was. Her heart was racing now and she swallowed hard. “Who's there?” she asked but realised that her timid voice would hardly be loud enough to be audible on the other side of the wooden door. Therefore, she tried again a bit louder. “Who's there?” She hated how her voice was shrill and trembling and nothing like it used to sound in the past.

@Valera Tikhomirova

It had been several days since Valera had visited Anton and found only his wife at home instead. While ve and Alyona had never been close, the woman had been at her wits' end about Aglaya and had unexpectly confided in vir. Since then, Valera had been worried but had also been kept busy at the shop, then Grigory had returned home and thus ve hadn't been able to get away for more than a couple of hours. While ve could have paid a fleeting visit to vir niece, Valera didn't want the poor girl to think that she wasn't good company and thus had waited until ve had a full day free in which to visit her house.

Finally that day had arrived and ve felt surprisingly nervous about the visit. From what Alyona had told vir, Aglaya wasn't just recovering from the poisoning but as struggling mentally as well. That was hardly surprising; the poor girl must have been terrified for a while now whilst keeping the news of her stalker a secret. Valera wondered anew why she hadn't said anything sooner. Did she feel somehow responsible, as if being in the public eye meant it was something she just had to put up with? Valera felt furious at the very thought. How dare someone frighten vir niece, and worse, actually threaten her life in that way. Of ve ever got vir hands on the culprit ve wouldn't need a wand, ve'd tear them apart with vir bare hands...

And that was how the past few days had been. Concern for vir niece, then confusion and questions quickly followed by fury and rage at the mystery stalker. Valera wanted nothing more than to catch the piece of filth and... ve took a deep breath as ve stepped out of vir own home, stepped behind the tall fir tree that had been planted to provide a conveniently secluded area, and disapparated.

Ve reappeared at the end of the street where Aglaya lived, giving virself a couple of minutes walk in order to once again calm virself. It wouldn't do to sound brusque and irritable given the girl's likely delicate mental state. Dressed in crimson silk trousers, a charcoal grey shirt and matching boots, with a mid-weight cloak over the ensemble, vir heels clicked on the pavement as ve approached the house. Another deep breath and then ve rang the doorbell, immediately jumping back in surprise at the sound of a largish dog barking.

No, that was good. Clearly a new charm in order the deter unwelcome visitors, and a pretty sensible one at that. Valera chuckled to virself as ve waited, thinking that anyone up to no good would likely be put off at the thought of a dog on the other side of the door, at least for long enough for Aglaya to be forewarmed. Ve wondered briefly if they'd charmed the house so the young woman would be able to apparate herself out but nobody else would be able to enter or leave by that method. It was a difficult set of spells, from what little ve understood of the process, but it might be worthwhile. Ve resolved to ask later, but for now...

Ve was about to ring a second time when vir niece's voice came form the other side of the door. That is, it sounded like her voice, but as if all the strength, courage and self-confidence had been drained away. Heart sinking, Valera cursed inwardly that ve hadn't come sooner. Hadn't insisted on paying the poor girl a visit weeks earlier...though what could ve have done? "Aglayka? It's Valera...Alyona told you I would be coming to visit, yes?" ve hesitated, and then continued, hoping to put the girl at her ease "the dog barking charm is very realistic, that's a great idea..."

What she had seen through the peephole seemed to be confirmed by the words that her visitor spoke from the other side of the closed door. Nonetheless Aglaya did not feel reassured, did not rush to open the door and let Valera in. She leaned against the wall next to the door, feeling how she was shaking. The girl felt almost like crying because she was scared although she was pretty certain that this was indeed Valera and no threat at all.

As her mother was mentioned she shook her head. No, Alyona hadn't told her that ve would be visiting or had she? Maybe she had. Most of the time Aglaya felt in a daze and she couldn't say for sure what her mother said or didn't say. However, she realised that Valera would not see her shaking her head now, would, in fact, not see her at all. Briefly this realisation calmed her down a little. If her relative could not see her, ve could not know just how terrible she looked, just how broken she felt.

The mention of a dog barking charm made Aglaya look at her excitable new housemate that was wagging his tail. “You want me to let vir in?” she whispered. Bronislav looked up to her but, of course, didn't give a satisfying answer.

Aglaya stretched out her left hand to touch the door handle, shocked to see how badly her fingers were trembling. She just couldn't press the handle down now. She felt the cold metal touch her skin and she shuddered. Her heart was beating frantically and the young witch felt how tears were watering her eyes. This wasn't normal. She should be gladly opening the door and letting vir in. Why was she so terrified now?

She took a deep breath and looked at Bronislav again who was moving hectically back and forth, clearly expecting to have some fun with their guest. Looking at the pet now, she doubted that the dog would be of any help if they'd be facing a possible threat. He was looking like he was eager to make friends with anyone. After all, Bronislav had even accepted her and that alone had to mean that the dog wasn't really picky when it came to befriending people.

After maybe a minute or two or even more had passed, Aglaya finally pressed the handle down, feeling that it took some energy to open the door. She only briefly glanced at Valera, feeling unable to actually make eye contact and took a few shaky steps backwards. Bronislav, however, was a lot more enthusiastic when it came to greeting vir.

“Come in,” she muttered faintly, looking down and hoping that Valera would not take a closer look at her either. She was still shaking and wished that she could just pretend to be okay if only to avoid concerned looks or worried questions.

The wait for a response was too long, long enough that Valera worried. Ve had expected to find vir niece sad and despondent, maybe even angry and refusing to see anyone, but when the response came Aglaya just didn't sound like herself. The same tones were in her voice, but it was as if someone had stripped all the life, all the emotions out of her. Valera fancied ve heard whispering on the other side of the door and had a fleeting fear that the poor girl was talking to herself. Was she debating whether it really was safe to open the door? Valera was deciding on the best thing to say - perhaps to mention a memory of Aglaya's childhood that no stalker would ever know about - when the door opened.

Slowly, as if it took a great deal of effort, Aglaya opened the door. A greeting was already on Valera's lips, something cheerful and friendly and yet definitely nothing like "my goodness you look exhausted" but ve was distracted by an excitable four-legged whirlwind who bounded through the door and greeted vir with a delighted "woof!" Valera was thrilled.

"You didn't tell me you'd got a dog! What a wonderful idea! How long have you had it - him?" ve amended, as the dog jumped up and its gender was immediately obvious "What's his name?" Valera was laughing, petting the dog's head with both hands as the animal gave those same hands an enthusiastic bath even as ve tried to calm the animal down.

Ve was going to follow the young woman into her home but the dog abruptly dropped down onto all fours and began trotting towards the pavement "Oh..." ve began, turning round to follow the dog, but already the animal had lifted his leg at the side of a neighbouring building to relieve himself. Valera took the opportunity to get close enough to slip vir hand firmly under his collar as he returned to all fours and led him back to the house. "I guess you haven't had time to take him out for a walk yet, eh?" ve asked, stepping into the house.

It was then that ve got vir first good look at Aglaya, and it was all ve could do not to simply envelop the girl in a hug there and then. Alyona had said there were problems, but Aglaya looked on the verge of collapse from more than just physical illness. "Aglayka...it's good to see you" ve managed, and then, because ve was afraidve as going to blurt out vir concerns right away, added "have you made any coffee this morning? I woke late and didn't have time to brew a pot..."

Aglaya did not really dare to look at Valera, did not want to see reflected in vir eyes how she had changed, how pitiful she looked now. While she was still unsure what to think of the dog her sister had given to her, she was actually quite relieved that Bronislav took it upon himself to greet their visitor a lot more excitedly than Aglaya could possibly have done herself.

She took a few steps backwards, feeling like retreating into the living room and leaving Valera to busy virself with Bronislav instead of talking to her. However, ve talked to her and Aglaya briefly glanced at her relative who seemed to be enjoying virself with the dog.

“Nastya brought him here yesterday,” Aglaya said, surprised by how bitter her voice sounded. It was not that she did not appreciate her sister’s gift. She just couldn’t quite understand what had made her younger sibling believe that this was a good idea. Besides she did not feel capable of looking after the animal, not yet anyway. “His name is Bronislav,” she added quietly.

As Bronislav trotted outside, Aglaya felt tense and scared. She would not follow the dog outside no matter what. There was no way she’d feel up to doing that now. She swallowed hard and then sighed in relief when Valera followed the dog out of the house and led him back inside.

“I…” Aglaya began and shook her head, feeling how tears were threatening to water her eyes. She bit her lips, trying her best to stay calm and not end up crying. Aglaya Antonovna Tikhomirova did not cry, after all. She tried to remind herself of how she had once been but it felt ridiculous to think of her former strength when nothing of that seemed to be left anymore now.

“I have not taken him for a walk yet. I don’t…” her voice trailed off again and she turned around, unwilling to let Valera take a closer look at her now and tell vir that she did not feel up to going for a walk with the dog at all. What would happen if she did not go out with him though? The prospect of Bronislav using whichever place in her house as his toilet was disgusting. Nastya clearly hadn’t thought this through. How typical for her.

Valera stated that it was good to see her and Aglaya shook her head defensively, her gaze turned down at the floor. Ve couldn’t be serious. Fortunately though Valera went on speaking and vir question made Aglaya glance up briefly again.

“Coffee?” she asked as though making coffee was the most foreign concept to her. “No…” she said faintly but turned to walk into the kitchen. She hadn’t drunk coffee since before her poisoning. She did not feel like drinking coffee and Alyona had warned her to be careful with what she ate or drank because her stomach was still a little oversensitive to some things.

Under normal circumstances Aglaya would probably have made coffee for her guest, as it was, though, she felt exhausted from the stress that Bronislav’s presence and Valera’s unexpected visit had caused. Since she even felt a little shaky, Aglaya sank down on a chair and offered Valera’s feet an apologetic smile. “Feel free to make coffee though,” she muttered, gesturing vaguely in the direction where Valera would find everything ve needed.

"Yesterday? I guess that was a surprise for you?" ve asked, careful to keep the same level of enthusiasm in vir voice, though that wasn't difficult on this occasion. Valera would have been delighted if someone had unexpectedly brought vir a new pet, even one as large as this dog. "Bronislav..." ve said thoughtfully, trying the name out, though the dog nonetheless turned his head in vir direction and let out a small woof at the sound of his name.

Well, even if Aglayka wasn't pleased with the dog, Valera thought it was a great idea. It also solved or at least helped with the problem of someone watching over her. While a determined stalker still might find their way in, ve felt that most people would be deterred by the presence of a large dog, especially one that loudly announced the arrival of visitors. However, ve could see a problem because Aglaya clearly hadn't bonded with the animal yet, and now Valera came to think of it, she hadn't really been the sort of person to want to take care of pets as a child. Though perhaps rather than seeing it as a problem, it was quite the opposite. Valera imagined they could bond over the dog and be able to talk about the whole sequence of events that had led up to vir niece's troubles.

Or...perhaps not. If the poor girl didn't even dare to step outside in the company of a large dog, then...

Right, first things first. "Of course you haven't if you only got him yesterday. We need to be sure he's well trained enough to walk nicely on a lead first" ve said, as if that was the most sensible consideration in the world "We can do that later, if you like?" ve continued to talk, because once ve stopped ve was going to have to think about how exhausted and drawn Aglayka looked and how she clearly hadn't eaten anything this morning.

Valera knew ve should be worried that vir niece didn't even have the energy or desire to offer a coffee, but on the other hand it meant that ve could find something to tempt her. "Alright, give me a minute..." ve said, not really wanting to leave Aglaya alone but on the other hand, there wasn't much harm she could come to with someone else in the house. Once in the kitchen, ve opened cupboards and glanced inside, quickly finding coffee but also a box of chamomile tea. It wasn't Valera's first choice, but it might help Aglayka to feel a bit calmer. With a flick of vir wand ve boiled the kettle and set a pot of tea to brew, finding cups and a jar of honey to add a little sweetness. Another search turned up some bread which looked as though it was a day old, but a simple charm fixed that. Ve quickly sliced some cheese and cold meat, and a couple of apples and put everything onto a tray together with plates, cups and the pot of tea.

"I hope you don't mind...I didn't actually have breakfast yet either" ve lied as ve returned. Bronislav, smelling the sliced meat immediately got to his feet and looked hopeful. "You - sit!" ve said, pleasantly surprised when the dog obeyed. Then ve took the tray over to where vir niece was sitting - well, slumped - and put it onto the closest table. "I was going to make coffee, then I spotted the chamomile and thought that would be nicer. Shall I pour you a cup?"

Aglaya nodded in response to Valera’s questions, wondering why the dog was of so much interest to vir. “Yeah,” she muttered, “you could say so.” Really, it had been a surprise to have been given a pet. A surprise or one could also call it a shock. The dog seemed to be quite happy to have a guest around and Aglaya felt tempted to ask her relative to take him away. What should she do with a dog anyway? She was barely able to take care of herself these days.

Valera kept talking about the dog and how he needed to be well trained and walk on a lead and Aglaya wondered what made vir think that she was interested in dealing with any of that. It hadn’t been her idea, her wish, to get a pet. She still felt exhausted and clearly didn’t see why she should tire herself out by walking a dog.

Ve asked if Aglaya wanted to check how well the dog was trained later and the artistic flyer just shook her head defensively. “I…” she began but she didn’t really know what to say. She did not want to make her family member worry about her but she did not really feel up to dealing with the excitable dog either. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “It still feels quite strange to have a dog in the house and… I’m not sure I…” she sighed and shook her head again. “I don’t think I want to go out with him yet.” This conversation was difficult and Aglaya knew that she was not doing a good job at seeming okay. “Well, he likes you,” she offered, glancing up at Valera for the briefest moment, hoping that ve would offer to take care of Bronislav for a while.

She was relieved that Valera seemed to have no problem helping virself to some coffee or whatever ve really wanted. Aglaya tried to breathe calmly and relax while she listened to Valera prepare something in the kitchen. There was no reason to be terrified of Valera and, although she did not quite trust the dog, Bronislav wasn’t exactly a dangerous animal either. The way the dog wagged its tail was a clear sign that it would not try to bite and kill her anytime soon.

Valera approached her with a tray after a moment and Aglaya shrugged. “I don’t mind at all.” She was surprised to see what ve had found. “I wasn’t aware there was so much food in the house,” she said with a small smile.

The offer of chamomile tea seemed like a good one and the young witch nodded. “Yes, that would be nice,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

This didn't feel like talking to vir niece but a stranger. Worse than that, it was as if she was trying to communicate with someone whose personality had been stripped away or buried, like all the joy and emotions had somehow been leached away. Valera wondered if ve could be any help at all. Maybe ve should just offer to take the dog for a walk, make vir excuses and leave?

But that wasn't in vir nature. Besides, Alyona had been so worried she was certain to ask how the visit had gone, and Valera couldn't let vir sister-in-law down by leaving without really trying. Ve managed another smile. "I'm not surprised...you've not had a dog before, have you?" Ve glanced at the animal, who thumped his tail on the ground in response to the attention "They're actually pretty easy to manage. Food, exercise and a place to sleep - oh, and a scratch behind the ears - that's about all they need. And they're much easier to train than birds, even if you can't teach them to talk" Ve didn't expect Aglayka to respond to any of this, but hopefully later on the girl would remember what had been said and would relax a bit around Bronislav.

At least the tea was better received, though it was obvious that Aglayka wasn't taking care of herself if she hadn't known what food was in her own kitchen. ""I expect your mother brought it last time she visited" ve suggested, pouring two cups of the tea and placing one in front of vir niece before sitting down. Ve pretended to relax for a few moments before adding conversationally "If you didn't know the food was there, I take it you haven't eaten yet today?" Not wating for a response, ve put an empty plate in front of each of them, but didn't mention the food.

The dog had noticed, of course. The smell of meat meant that Bronislav had gradually been creeping closer, just a couple of steps at a time before sitting down again and wagging his tail. By now he was just a metre or so away from where Valera was sitting, his tail wagging so vigorously that the whole dog seemed to be shivering with excitement. Clearly he expected that some of the food would be coming his way before long. Valera couldn't resist smiling, but ve was determined not to encourage the animal into bad habits. He could maybe have something when they'd finished eating - assuming Aglaya could be persuaded to take something, of course.

"Your mother told me what happened" ve said once they'd both drunk a little of the tea, hoping that encouraging the girl to talk asn't going to backfire horribly. "If that happened to me, I think it would take a long while before I could feel safe again."

“I haven’t,” Aglaya confirmed, looking at Bronislav again. She wasn’t sure what to think of her new pet and thought that it would definitely take another while to get used to it. It was not surprising though. She hadn’t planned on getting a dog. Had never even talked about the possibility. Nastya had surprised her with Bronislav only yesterday - how could she already be used to his company? At this point, Aglaya really wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep him.

Valera knew more about animals than she did, but she only half listened as her relative told her what dogs needed. She nodded distractedly as Valera spoke of the fact that she couldn’t teach a dog how to talk. That was actually quite a relief. The prospect of having Bronislav repeat things she said or, even worse, talk freely was disturbing. She eyed him warily. He could not betray her to her family and ‘tell’ them things one way or another, could he?

“Probably,” Aglaya confirmed Valera’s suspicion that Alyona had brought food to her place. She pulled the cup a little closer to herself after ve had filled it and placed it in front of her. “Thanks,” she muttered.

“No, I haven’t eaten yet,” Aglaya said quietly, avoiding her relative’s gaze. “I didn’t get up very early,” she explained herself. A plate was placed in front of her and Aglaya nodded to herself. Well, she did not avoid food per se. In fact, she thought that she ate quite enough. After all, she wasn’t training these days. She hardly needed as much food as she did when she was training several hours per day. However, she was very careful with what she ate as the few times she had felt that she could eat normally again had made her feel quite sick.

Aglaya took a sip of her tea as she eyed the food that Valera had put together suspiciously. She was just about to put her cup down and reach for a slice of bread when Valera spoke again. She put her cup down with an almost shattering noise, spilling some tea as her hands were trembling all of a sudden. Her pale face turned even paler and she shook her head defensively.

Had Valera come to talk to her about the poisoning? Her heart was beating quickly now and she tried to breathe calmly. “She shouldn’t have told anyone,” she said in a toneless voice. Glancing up briefly. “It’s not… personal,” she shrugged apologetically.

“I don’t think I will ever…” she shook her head again and reached for a piece of bread now, taking a bite just so she had an excuse to leave that sentence unfinished.

At least Aglaya was responding, even if she didn't sound enthusiastic. Valera wondered if ve'd made a mistake by mentioning the poisoning, but really, how could ve do anything else? It would be a hundred times harder to pretend nothing had happened and ve'd just dropped round out of familial duty. Aglayka was intelligent, she would see right through that.

Ve took a piece of bread virself and topped it with a slice of meat, trying to ignore Bronislav who immediately repositioned himself a fraction of a centimetre closer to vir seat, still wagging constantly. At least with a dog, it wasn't able to fly onto the table and actually walk across your plate if you weren't paying attention. Her budgerigar had done that so often that sadly not only did it have to be caged at mealtimes but was also convinced that it's name was f*** off, which was embarrassing when entertaining visitors who didn't know vir well. Not for the first time Valera was glad that ve was of little interest to reporters these days, otherwise the foul-mouthed (or beaked) pet would doubtless be as familiar to followers of the sport as it was to vir family.

"I know it's not personal" Valera replied, having been expecting such a response. Nobody liked to think they were being discussed behind their back, especially when it was something so frightening. Aglayka was still dealing with the aftermath, it was little wonder she didn't want anyone talking about it. Ve had been furious after vir accident about every newspaper report, factual or imagined, and equally furious when ve wasn't being written about. Another reason why managing the shop was a lifestyle ve found far more enjoyable.

"She had to talk to someone. She was worried about you" ve stated, deliberately using the past tense, and left it at that. Ve took a bite of the food, letting the words sink in. Letting it appear that ve believed that the whole situation was in the past and everything was fine now, even with ample evidence to the contrary. Maybe trying to persuade Aglaya to walk the dog today would be a step too far, but she couldn't stay hidden in here forever. Not least, it would only be a matter of time before the press decided to stop waiting and try to find out why the champion artistic flyer was keeping herself shielded from the public eye.

"You will. One day you'll decide it's the right time" ve replied, giving a deliberately vague answer "But you mustn't think about that now" ve took a long drink of vir tea, which for once was exactly the right temperature, neither hot enough to burn vir tongue nor already cooled to merely lukewarm. "Anyway, have you read the news at all? Did you hear about the Ridgeback that escaped in Bulgaria? Apparently three thousand muggles had to be obliviated! Can you imagine the amount of paperwork involved with that?"

A weak smile spread across Aglaya’s face briefly before fading into nothingness again. She was relieved that Valera knew that it was not against vir that she didn’t want vir (or anybody for that matter) to know about what had happened. Aglaya hadn’t dealt with many people since her poisoning. In fact, there had only been her immediate family and even of that she had not even seen much. She could count on one hand how often her father had been there and, while her mother and sister had been there regularly, nobody had really tried to talk to her about the things that had happened. Aglaya wasn’t sure if it was to spare her or if they just didn’t want to hear anything about it.

“Hmm,” Aglaya muttered, as Valera stated that her mother had been worried about her and had needed to talk. Although the young witch tried to keep her expression neutral, it was probably still obvious that she did not approve of her mother confiding in anyone and did not believe that she had been so worried about her. It was much more likely that Alyona was worried that the family's reputation might suffer from the recent events.

Aglaya lowered her gaze when Valera said that she’d decide one day that it was the right time to… what? Feel safe again? Move on? She didn’t want to contradict, she didn’t have the energy to fight, but she did not think that it was really a matter of deciding to get back to normal. Right at this time she felt like she couldn’t ever live her life the way she used to again as long as the stalker was out there somewhere. As long as they were free, she wasn’t.

Aglaya exhaled loudly when her relative conceded that it wasn’t time to think about that now and was grateful that ve was kind enough to even change the topic of conversation. However, she realised that she did not care at all about the dragon that had escaped. It meant nothing to her that so many people had to be obliviated and that had caused a lot of work for the ministry. She felt disinterested and numb.

Yet, the story provoked a thought that she had had and dismissed a couple of times over the past weeks. She took a sip of her tea and watched Bronislav who seemed far more interested in Valera than in her. Then she turned to face her relative, opened her mouth and closed it again, hesitating to voice her thoughts.

“I’ve been wondering...” she began, her voice barely louder than a whisper, “maybe Mama could oblivi-…” She bit her lips trying to suppress a sob and shook her head. She didn’t feel able to finish her sentence, even regretted having said as much. She didn’t want to cry in front of her relative. She was known to be strong and to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t want to be this weak now.