It was some time after you'd woken up that you got started on that morning's breakfast. Seemingly you must've dream't rather vividly, for surely you must've been dreaming as Howl was gone from his place beside you the moment you woke. His side of the small straw mattress was also cold, "perhaps I was just delirious".

You yawned and steadied your other hand on stirring the ladle you grasped ever so tightly. Bored of eggs and bacon, you'd decided to make savory mince, but it seemed you were out of bread. Though it seemed rather far-fetched that the relatively empty castle had enough hungry mouths to devour 8 loaves of fresh-pressed bread. Calcifer had been quite passive this morning, due to you feeling rather tired since you'd woken up. You were moving slower, had less energy.. even your feet seemed to be hurting more than usual.

"Oh, morning (Y/n)" Markl scrunched up his little nose as he came stumbling down the stairs in his hand-sewn pajamas. His bed-hair was certainly an amusing sight you relished in as he hobbled over to pull himself up onto one of the wooden stools beside the kitchen bench.

"Good morning Markl" You chirped in rhythm like a songbird, "say, wont you be a dear and go buy me some bread for breakfast?" You jingled a small purse of coins you'd swiped from Howl's room, that you still hadnt finished cleaning yet, in front of the boy's nose.

His petite snout twitched as he caught on to the aroma leaking out of the steel pot you had roasting on the stove, "oh golly what's that smell?!" He clambered over the bench, knocking over your plate setting and the cup of bread-sticks without a care in the world. He stopped just short of the burning pot and leaned in to look upon the steaming tomato-infused mince. 

"Its just a recipe I learned, unfortunately I don't know many, but at least the ones I do know always turn out alright". With the pot set safely on the table, you finished setting the table. But, just as you were handing a napkin to Markl for him to tuck into the lip of his shirt, you heard a small explosion and a frightened, unearthly cry from upstairs.

This was quickly followed by a nearly naked Howl, only wrapping in a towel, sprinting down the stairs tearing at a new head of orange hair that'd seemingly replaced his old blonde colours.

"(Y/N)!! What did you DO!? You sabotaged me! You swapped my potions in the bathroom!!" He didn't even stop as he ran at you, the two of you collided and you nearly toppled over as he pushed his scalp against your chest in his tantrum. "Look what you've done! Is this what you wanted all along!? To humiliate me!?". Looking up at you with wide his cloudy-blue eyes, he reminded you a lot of a spoilt child. With a pout like a youngster who was very much used to getting what he wanted.

"Oh quiet Howl" You seized his head in flat hands and pressed his head back so he was forced to sit in the chair in front of Calcifer, "you know I wouldn't do such a thing!" Now you were annoyed, how could he accuse me of doing something so foolish!?  As his head slumped forward, arms on his bare knees and the water droplets from the bath still dripping over his bare shoulders, his hair began to morph.

"Now I'm repulsive... I cant live like this". Howl's head sunk into his hands and your nose wrinkled as his hair changed tones from magenta, to dark black, the man's face hidden in palms that pressed tightly to his skin. "That's it... I don't see any point of living if I cant be beautiful". 

"Its ok, you should have a look at it now, its such a beautiful colour" Your hand extended out slowly and you lay your hand against his slim shoulder. But as your fingers skimmed over the smooth skin, you were repulsed to feel a slimy texture instead emanating from his shaking form. As you picked up your hand, you gagged as three strings of strange slime were drawn up from his bag. 

This big of a tantrum!? Over something so trivial as outer beauty!? Tears welled up in your eyes and you flicked the slime quickly off with a fling of your wrist, "ARGH! You're so vain! You're so obsessed with your looks that you'd let yourself fall so low into your own delusions!" 

As Calcifer recoiled back under the logs you'd earlier played out for him, you watched through blurred eyes as Howl's hands slid away from his face, covering his ears instead to drown you out.

You raised your hand to smack him out of it, but, frightened at your own actions, you deduced to grasp your hand tightly instead. "You don't see me acting this way!! And I've not been beautiful even one day in my life!!" You cried and whirled around, shoving Markl aside as he tried to grab you and throwing yourself against the magic front door.

It gave way and opened out to the storming Waste, the misty plains you'd only days ago trekked so valiantly into. Now, as you ran to stand on the edge of the hill the Castle took residence on, you finally let go and cried out violently into the storm.

Your brain ached and your feet stung as lightning struck and ground around you as you called to it, bringing your hands to clutch the sides of your long lace nightie, and letting your head fall up to the rain.

Hot tears fell down your face with rivers of sky water, and you felt like you were in a river, crying to much to even consider breathing. Your lungs burned and you began to cough, finally straightening your head and opening your eyes. 

I should've just left out one of those doors like Howl wanted me too. Since when do I feel so much pain being around this stranger! And one so self-absorbed and attention-seeking!

As you thought about leaving right then, running through the storm, the burden of the rain seemed to subside, and you looked up to see the Scarecrow holding an umbrella over your figure.

"Turnip-head?" You sniffed and tried to scrub your messy, red face free of most of the water that'd accumulated. "You don't have to be so kind to me, you know".

The Scarecrow's large, cartoonish smile curled upwards once more, as if to try to relax you. It made you smile, and you wrapped your arms around your wet torso, slightly embarrassed that you'd let your clothes become soaked in the rain.

I guess I throw tantrums too, you sighed.

"(Y/n)! Please come back inside! You have to help us, Howl's in trouble!" Markl was calling desperately out of a golden-lit doorway that was surrounded by a dark sea of blue mist. It seemed the inside of the castle was the only path you'd be able to take at this moment. 

"Thankyou Turnip-head" You bowed your head slightly, your tears had stopped falling, for the most part, and so the walk back into the castle didn't feel as heavy on your shoulders as leaving it did.

As you came back inside, a darkness had engulfed the entire downstairs, even Calcifer's light seemed to have been dipped by the shadowy figures that were ominously floating across the castle's walls. At the centre of it all, an oozing body that had once been the dreaded Howl, flopped lifelessly against the edge of Calcifer's firepit.

"(Y/n) please help him! He's calling the spirits of darkness, he did this once when a girl dumped him.." Markl pinched his cheek as his weeping brown orbs looked powerlessly over to you.

"Howl, cut it out, ok? Howl! I'm going to drown" The fire demon spat scarcely as it tried to carry its weight onto one of the logs, eyes wide with fear. As a flood of gelatinous, dark goop seeped from Howl's resting head towards the fire. "I'm drowning here Howl!"

The edge of your lip trickled up in a sad smile, "What a dramatic.." Dusting off your hands, on a wet dress which didn't appear to do anything helpful at all, you walked up towards the chair Howl was slouched in.

"Is he dead?!" Markl's little hands clamped tightly to the fabric of your dress as he stood by your side, fearful for the wellbeing of his master.

"No" Letting out a gentle breath, you put your hand against the wizard's black hair, as you touched it, the goop hurried away from your hand and your palm began to glow, "he's just throwing a fit". As the ooze flew away from everything your hand graced, you slid your hand back down Howl's neck gently and landed against his shoulder. 

You gestured for Markl to help and get around his other side as you slid the man's arm around your shoulders, sliding your other arm across his back. Together, the two of you got him to his feet, with Markl more pushing up Howl's other arm than actually supporting him, and made your way to the stairs.

"Get the hot water running" You called as Markl's little frame scrambled up the rickety stairs. Howl was quite heavy, but you maintained your sluggish pace helping him up. There was a strange sound, like something fell into the goop collected on the stairs and you looked back to see Howl's towel on the bottom board.

"Oh" You murmured, and quickly turned your eyes up so not to be tempted to do something you'd regret, even accidently.

Looking away, you sat Howl down into the bath and grabbed some tonics you knew were actual herbal liquid soaps, and poured several in. In seconds, as if just with you being in the room, the ooze seeped back into his skin, and Howl's dripping hair lifted up from its heavy fall just enough to see his disheartened expression.

The undersides of his lashes was a dark colour, his cheeks were flushed from the bath water's heat, and his complexion was paler than it was before. Realising he probably didn't want to talk to you, you used just a small amount of magic to find a suitable shampoo and conditioner, and sat yourself on a small wooden stool behind Howl's head.

There were minutes of silence, a nice tranquil quiet as you lathered his hair in the soapy liquid that smelt like roses. Much like when you'd intimidating him into cutting his hair before, he didn't move, and it was a long time before he spoke.

"I..." He began, his back still facing you, eyes downcast towards the hills of bubbles walking the surface of the bath water, "apologise.. For how I acted".

"Are you sorry enough to mop again? After all, you did cover my nice clean floor with green slime" You poked the back of his shoulder-blade with your small comb that you had been using to meticulously go through his flaxen locks.

He looked back at you in shock, it was the first time your eyes had met in ages, and it made your chest swell. Even with such a warm feeling in your cheeks, you still felt empty, your heart didn't even flutter.

"I'm joking, Howl" You chirped softly and his tense posture seemed to relax, he mutter an 'oh', before sitting back once more so you could go through the rest of his hair.

After that, you left him to his own business and closed the bathroom door. It was still morning, and you'd concluded a long list of tasks you'd set out to do today.

"Howl?" You stood outside Howl's bedroom, your knuckles a faint drumming on the freshly waxed wooden door. In your other hand you held a small cup of warm milk you'd heated, after some fire-demon persuading. 

The only sound was the breeze as it lifted the curtains of the small window behind you, and fluttered the puffy white shirt you'd taken from Howl's washing, since all of your clothes were still drying. That, coupled with your high-waist riding jeans and boots, you felt quite clean and comfortable, having bathed after your hard day's work. You had to clean the tub first after all, since Howl had left ooze on the edge of the tub and dripped it back from his hair onto the floor.

As you failed to hear an answer, you twisted the golden doorknob, "I'm coming in". It was the first time you'd ever been in Howl's room, since he usually kept it locked and asked you not to clean it. But looking upon it, everything in the room seemed a bit like a beautiful chaos. Thousands of gaudy, golden trinkets and magical baubles decorated all the surfaces and hung from the ceiling. Like windchimes they knocked gently against each other on their strings, ringing soft knots around the room. 

In the centre of the bedroom, Howl's king-size purple, checkered duvet covered every inch of the bed, dotted with strange hand-stitched stuffed toy's, lying discarded at the feet of the fully-clothed wizard.

"Howl, I heated up some milk for you" You said, sliding a small box across the floor in front of you as you spoke, to act as a doorstop while you moved through the sparkling mess to the man's side.

Lying still just as he did, with his brows burdened by tension the likes you hadn't seen in him before, and with his new black hair sprawled out either side of his head as his emerald earrings jingled. He looked more like a prince than some dangerous wizard, perhaps a sleeping prince that didn't have to open his stupid mouth and talk only of himself for eternity.

But, it didn't look as though you'd be blessed with such silent as the stormy, grey eye of Howl's opened slowly and glanced over to the mug you now clutched with two hands. Without invitation, you walked over to his side and he sat up just a little. Taking a seat at the side of his bed, not close enough to make him uncomfortable, but just enough so you could hold up the cup to him.

Before you did so, you blew gently across the milk's hot surface, and steam drifted from its lip into the air, bumping ornaments into a ringing melody. Howl watched the whole time as you did this, up until you moved slowly to hold it to his mouth, so he could take careful sips of the warm milk. 

When he waved his hand, gesturing he didn't want anymore, you sat the cup in your lap and looked down into it absently.

"The Witch of the Waste" The sound of her name, even in his voice, instantly sent a shiver down your spine like no other. You desperately closed your eyes and squeezed the warm sides of the white cup, in order to prevent your fingers from shaking.

"What about her?..."

Howl brushed a loose strand of your (H/c) behind your ear, curious to find how startled you'd grown just by the mention of that foul witch. But more than that, he could sense the rage in your mind that for some reason, failed to show in your features. You seemed a little more like the lioness, than the gazelle drinking at the river. "She's trying to find my castle".

Biting the inside of your cheek, you nodded at his words, expelling his caress of fingers against the edge of your cheek. "I see... I did see a henchman of hers at the harbour yesturday with Markl".

After you'd turned your face away, Howl slumped childishly back against the bed and closed his eyes, appearing more exhausted than even. "I'm such a coward, all I do is hide".

A perplexed look broke across your features, I hadn't expected him ever to say that. Setting the cup on his bedside table, you felt more compassionate than your usual self, and reached out to hold his colder hand between yours.

"And all of this magic is just to keep everybody away".

You could feel it, as your thumb and index finger laced over his thumb. The little flutters of energy that danced from his hand up your arm, the magic that was poured so high in his glass, it was almost overflowing.

"I can't stand how scared I am" Howl squeezed the first hand he could catch of yours, his other arm shamefully hiding his eyes as his tiredness made it more difficult for him to control his composure.

You hummed and turned his hand over in yours, tracing soothing lines over his palm and down his fingers, "I understand how you feel, my mother sold me to the Witch of the Waste when I was only a baby..." Howl's hand dropped and you quickly tried to calm him with a dismissive wave of your own hand. "No don't worry, I escaped before anything bad could happen, and I'm perfectly alright now".

Howl remained quiet, but an impression of a pout dropped onto his handsome face and his hand bent once more to hold yours, his own thumb rubbing over the top of your hand as he thought about something different.

But another question edged at your mind, so you decided there was no harm in asking, "Howl, why is the Witch of the Waste after you?"

"She was once quite beautiful, so I decided to pursue her... Then I realised she wasn't so, as usual, I ran away".

This sounds exactly like him, why did I expect anything different? You smirked, but quickly dropped it off your face before he could pick up on it.

"I cant run away much longer though... I have to report to the palace, as both Pendragon and Jenkins".

You frowned, "Well, what's the harm in going? Give the king a piece of your mind. This war is so pointless! Just tell him you're not doing to participate, and he can shove off!" You huffed out your nose and crossed your arms. On the subject of royals and royally-regarded sorcerers, you weren't exactly on the favouring side.

"You obviously don't know what these people are like..." Howl grumbled.

You rolled your eyes, lashes dark and forbidding as you glared at the familiar pattern of oath from the Royal Sorcery Academy that hung up on Howl's wall. Your mother had had one just like it.

"I've got it!!" Howl sprung up and clasped your hands tightly, so quickly you panicked and squealed in fright slightly, "why don't you go to the palace for me?!"

"What!? I don't think so mister.." you tried to poke his nose but his hand was hanging over the edges of his face and he was moving too much in his excitement. With a big wide, beautiful grin over his face, the happiest he'd been in days it seemed.

"Yes come on, you can do it!" Howl tugged your hands closer so your knuckles brushed against his shirt and you had to lean back slightly, "just tell them you're Pendragon's wife! And your cowardly husband is too afraid to show his face!"

"YOUR WHAT!?"

TO BE CONTINUED....

(Also hello, sorry its been ages. I've been overloaded with uni work since its all being converted to online format due to this whole COVID-19 thing. Hope you're all staying safe at home!! If you ever need someone to talk to in this troubling time, my DM's are always open!! xxxx        - Lady)