Howl's Apprentice

1: Meeting Howl

I stood with a fire poker clutched in my hands, staring at the tall dark figure who entered the room. Room, moving castle? Either way, I found myself cornered. It came closer and stepped into the light from the fire, Calcifer, who I spoke with earlier when I first found the castle. I found it was not a monster, but rather a very handsome man.

He wore a plain white shirt and dark pants, with a plaid coat in red and a blue-ish shade of gray, with yellow rims and sleeve ends. He doesn't use his sleeves at all, and instead lets the coat loosely hang on top of his shoulders. He wore a pendant around his neck, a blue drop. His eyes cut through the darkness as he observed me before he spoke.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?" I responded, clutching onto my fire poker for dear life.

"How did you get into my castle?" He asked, stepping forward. He glanced at the poker in my hands with complete dismissal; Like getting stabbed wouldn't phase him.

"To be fair, your castle came to me like a lost puppy. Or I guess Calcifer did." I retaliated, gesturing over to the bright flame. Only his eyes were visible as he sank lower into the fire pit.

The man turned to look at Calcifer, and asked with an odd calmness, "Is that true, Calcifer? And you spoke to her, let a stranger in our home?"

"Yes, but only because she needed help and she triggered the-"

"Enough." The man said, holding up his hand to silence the flame. He then looked at me once more. "Who was your apprentice?"

"My...What? Like, my boss at my job? I worked at a cafe for a while."

He shook his head, his long blonde hair swishing back and forth around his beautiful face. He smiled a little, probably getting amusement out of my stupidity. "No, no, kitten. Who trained you?"

My face went pink when I heard his pet name for me, subconsciously lowering the poker. After a moment, I cleared my throat and shook my head, though it was still muggy.. "I haven't been trained, I don't think, in what you're referring to...In- In what?"

I could see a change in his eyes as he smiled even wider. He walked over to the table, pulled out two chairs and stood for a moment, turning back to me. He gestured to the chair as he sat in the one across from it. "Please, my dear."

Hesitantly I walked forward, keeping the poker in hand as I sat. I looked at him once seated, examining his face once more. Strong but elegant facial structure, ash blonde hair that went below his chin, bright blue eyes, plump pink lips. Crap, this guy was gorgeous.

He smiled when he noticed me staring, chuckling a bit more. "So, you're telling me- Wait, pardon me, I'm so rude. What's your name, love?"

"Celestia," I responded, easing up a little bit. Calcifer grew a bit larger, peering over the edge of the fireplace over at us.

"What a gorgeous name," He mumbled, sitting back in his chair. "I'm Howl. Howl Pendragon."

"The wizard, Howl Pendragon? I've heard the other girls at the cafe speak of you. They all find you-" I stopped, locking eyes with him.

"Terrifying? Evil? A monster who rips girl's hearts out?" He questioned, looking over to Calcifer. I could see anger and pain in his eyes.

"No, actually. They say you're gorgeous." I blurted out, eager to make him feel better. I jumped a little as he jerked his head back, then bursted out laughing.

I widened my eyes, but smiled a little.

"Seriously, was it Witherton?" He asked, leaning forward to rest his chin in his hand and he stared at me. "Or Thrimble?"

I was beyond confused, so my small smile faded. I set the fire poker in my lap. "I don't know...What you're talking about."

"Your mentor! The one who taught you your spells, your inner power, the ability to lure Calcifer, a fire demon, directly to you!" He playfully shouted, smiling childishly. He lifted his leg up, balancing his foot on his knee comfortably.

I sat, flabbergasted. Was he insinuating I was a witch? I mean, the castle did quite literally walk up to me in the middle of a bunch of grassy hills, but I wasn't a witch, was I? He clearly saw the confusion on my face, his smile dimming like mine had. His expression became astonished.

"You don't know what you are, do you?" He asked, leaning forward with his piercing blue eyes. "And, you don't have a mentor?"

I shook my head no to him, still questioning this entire situation.

"Well we can't have that. You'll be my apprentice," He said, standing and walking to a nearby cluttered desk. He picked a notebook off the top, walking back over. He pulled a quill out of thin air and opened the journal. "I'll need you for several days at a time; Very tiring work, so you'll need good rest. Any holidays or family occurrences need to be cleared with me first, this is very important, Celestia. Will your parents agree to these terms?"

He looked questioningly at me, waiting for an answer. My throat began to choke up, and I swallowed to keep it down. "I don't...Have any parents to sign that." I kept my eyes trained on a crack in the wooden floor, letting the poker slide down to the floor as well. "I lost them in the war. I'm an orphan."

"Mm." He said, shaking his head. He sat back down in the chair across from me, causing me to pull my eyes up to look at him. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. The war was very unfortunate, we lost a lot of good people. It was a tough fight."

I nodded, staring at him for a moment. "So am I good to go? Do I need to sign any?"

"Well..." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you're an orphan, and judging by where Calcifer found you, I'm going to guess you don't have anywhere to stay, correct?"

I shrugged. This became more than a new hobby; Now I was essentially insinuating living with him. Geez.

He nodded, standing and walking to a nearby cupboard. He opened it, pulling out a few folded blankets and a pillow. He walked past me to some stairs, pulling back a blanket draped across the underside of them. Underneath the stairs, there was a cozy looking cot, with string lights. He placed the blankets and pillow down on the bed, and gestured with his hand. "You'll stay here while you are my apprentice. You will be fed, you will be taught, you can keep clean here, but you'll also have a few housekeeping chores."

I nodded, listening carefully. So far, this seemed pretty sweet to me.

"I take leave every so often to take care of personal business. When I do, your chores can be completed. Simple things, dusting, organizing, sometimes cooking if I'll be home later than normal." He walked over to Calcifer, snatching up some old egg shells on the rim of the fireplace. He tossed them in and as Calcifer munched, I swear I saw a mouth within the flames.

"We'll start simple, with the basics of witchcraft. We'll start in a few days so you can get settled first; You don't want to rush any of it." He then sat back down across from me. "You'll be safe here. We'll take care of you. You don't have to run anymore, darling."

I nodded, trying to hold back the tears that welled up. I blinked a few times, turning my face away. "Thank you," I whispered, sniffling.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, warm and comforting. I practically melted at the touch.

"Welcome home, Celestia."