Chapter Text
“Sweetheart, is there something bothering you?”
Hilda looked up from her place on the couch. Her mum had made a point of asking that question more often these previous months: whenever she was being a little too quiet, or staring in one spot for too long a time, or seemed a little too withdrawn for an ordinary day.
But who could blame her? After the last year, with everything that Hilda had done and had happened to her, of course her mum would be more worried–that was her job. And even though it could be a little much sometimes, Hilda always knew she meant well.
So she kept the triggers to a minimum, trying her best not to parade any sadness in front of her mum, only letting it show during her weekly therapy appointments, with someone who was trained for this sort of thing. The last thing the woman needed was more stress on top of everything else, and that’s what had formulated Hilda’s plans for the day, a very familiar date in early July.
“Just thinking about things.” Right off the bat, she could tell how weak her words were, and that ultimately her mum had a higher chance of buying an entire butcher shop, than a line like that.
Sure enough, the woman sat down on the couch with Hilda, a clear look of doubt in her expression. “What sort of…things?” She didn’t seem pushy or suspicious–this was a calm curiosity. They both knew that some things were hard to talk about, and a few of them were meant for Dr. Conorsen’s ears only. Her mum respected those boundaries very well, but she still had the right to ask a general question on the topic, just in case Hilda’s emotions were flaring up or something of the like.
Hilda didn’t want to lie to her mother–she never once enjoyed it, especially after what’d happened in the past. But she couldn’t let this slip to Johanna, and saying that it was a private matter would only lead her to think that it was something bad, leaving her feeling anxious until her daughter’s next appointment, which could sully today’s events no matter how things turned out in the end. Maybe it was okay to bend the rules, just this once?
And so, she’d come with a plan already prepared. “It’s just a favor I wanted to ask. Frida needs a certain textbook for her studies, and I was hoping you could pick it up at the library.”
Johanna’s expression relaxed a bit, but the inquisition didn’t leave her eyes. “I suppose, I could. But aren’t you kids going to be out today? You could pick it up then, or Frida could do it herself…”
Hilda swallowed dryly, hoping that she wasn’t being too obvious. “But our plans aren’t near the library!” She had said that a little loud, but she quickly recovered her composure. “Plus, the book is age-restricted, so she needs an adult to go check it out for her. Her magic teacher…went out of town, and she can’t fetch it from out there.”
Her mum relaxed a little bit more. “That’s too bad. But why does Frida need an age-restricted book?”
“Well, that rule is mostly to keep young witches from taking on anything too weird or advanced without someone to look after them.” The Committee of Three was a cold group, content to let young witches suffer the consequences of their actions without giving any help or sympathy. A preventative measure like this, was all anyone could get from them. “And don’t worry–Frida won’t do anything without Tildy there. She just likes to read through the fine print of spells first to become familiar, even the easy ones.”
The only lie she’d told so far was regarding Tildy’s whereabouts; the rest of this was true, although a bit stretched to…provoke an assumption, that would meet Hilda’s needs in this situation. And sure enough, Johanna seemed close to buying it. “That does sound like Frida. But why doesn’t she ask her own parents for help?”
Believe it or not, this was the easy part. “Um, remember what Frida said, back when we first told you about it?” Having reached a better place as of the Night of the Trolls, there was no sense in Hilda keeping her role as a witch’s Familiar secret from her mum. But on the other hand, Frida…didn’t have that benefit with her parents, not with their way of thinking, about things both mysterious and magical.
A look of bleak recognition crossed her mum’s face. “Oh, that’s right. They…don’t know about this.” It had been a tricky tightrope to walk all of those months ago, convincing someone as sincere as Johanna to not only accept them keeping a secret, but also help them do it. She had come around in a short time, though, as she did now with a small sigh. “Alright, I’ll pick it up. What’s the title of the book?”
Hilda felt her mood lightening; the plan was nearly in motion! “Well, um…it’s a long title. It was ‘Applied Vacation…for Home Goblins…in Everyday…Complex Writing’ or something like that." Tildy’s handwriting left something to be desired, and while Frida was used to it, Hilda had faced some trouble with the reading list. “But the librarian is a friend of ours, and always knows where to get the books we want, even before we know we want them! She can help you find it, but…” Hilda quickly fished through her skirt pocket and pulled out a scrap of lined paper. “...Frida did give me this. Those books are usually just for reference, but they’ll let you check it out if you have the call number.”
The woman took a look at it for a moment, and a tiny shred of doubt briefly remained in her eyes, before abating as she put it inside her purse. “Alright. I’ll stop by there later today.”
“Great! Thank you!” Hilda got up from her seat and leaned into her mum, hugging her tightly. Naturally, a pair of arms wrapped around her in kind and returned the gesture.
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Soon after that, Hilda pretended to leave for her plans. Which…did involve leaving, but not going very far, ducking into a back alley across the street, and keeping watch over the flat’s front door. The “plans” she’d mentioned actually took place inside of the flat, and needed her mother out of the way in order for it to work.
They had plans, which weren’t near the library, and it was more practical for Johanna to go alone–the important things were all true. Hilda had to keep reminding herself that she was in the clear for that one.
So she waited patiently against the bricks, and soon watched as her mum came out of the building, and began heading towards the bus stop that would take her to the west side of the city. It seemed like a shame to make her go all of this way, so late in the afternoon, but this was all for the greater good. A factor she hoped wouldn’t blow up in her face, like it had the last time…
Nevertheless, the coast was clear. She ran back to the building and up the stairs, unlocking the door and propping it open. “Tontu, we’re in the clear now!”
There was a familiar sound in the air, followed by a pink flash of light as the Nisse came out from his den. “Alright, we can get this whole thing started already.” He went back in and began taking out supplies, while Hilda got on her walkie-talkie to get the guest list rolling; they had an hour and a half at best to pull this off, so they needed to move quickly.
“Badges, do you copy? The coast is clear. Over.”
“Badges calling Blue, I copy, and the guests are on the way.” Frida’s voice through the radio put Hilda at ease. “Bug-Man, are refreshments prepared? Over.”
“Bug-Man reporting.” David’s voice then answered Frida’s. “The cake is prepared, ready for transport. Over.”
“Great!” She then called out again. “Tontu, when you have a moment, go and fetch the cake from David’s house.” She didn’t use a walkie for Tontu this time, and there had been a prior disagreement over his codename anyway, so she wasn’t in any hurry to bring that back up.
There was a groan from somewhere in the room…or in this case, Nowhere Space. “Fine, but I’ll need to clear the way.” Tontu poked his head out again. “Some of the stuff you needed me to store is blocking the aisle, so I’ll have to move it out first.”
Hilda sometimes asked Tontu to help her with side projects, unrelated to the party, so he was already set for doing favors for the time being. “That’s fine, we’ll just put it back after you’re done.”
With that, the party was in motion, and Hilda’s guilt fell into dormancy–it still lingered, weighing down on her chest a little bit, but not bothering her so much. What made it easiest was her mother’s dismissal, barely even remembering this day in past years, much less doing anything about it–Hilda’s yearly homemade card always came as a surprise, no matter how many times it was given. But this year, she deserved something bigger, to stop having to worry about her daughter for a few hours and have things be about her for a change.
Despite a few bumps already present, this was going to be Johanna’s best birthday ever!