❛ 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 ❜

25

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: i apologize in advance that this chapter is on the shorter side and if it's anticlimactic, i tried my best not to make it like that. so, ahh! (·•᷄‎ࡇ•᷅ ) but, on the bright side of things, that means i am a chapter closer to adding more stuff between y/n and howl.

- ͙۪۪̥˚┊❛ ❜┊˚͙۪۪̥◌

y/n had been trudging through unfamiliar lands for days, relying on the kindness of strangers to give her even the most basic directions. she didn't know where she was going—she only knew she had to keep moving. each person she approached, she asked the same question: "is there a town or village nearby?" and each time, the answers varied. some told her of a distant kingdom, others gestured vaguely toward scattered villages she might stumble upon, but none could give her the certainty she sought.

her journey had become a patchwork of small mercies and desperate measures. on the good days, someone would spare her a scrap of bread or point her toward a barn where she could sleep without fear of being discovered. on the bad days, y/n found herself stealing food from unattended carts or sneaking into empty stalls, her guilt mounting with each small act of survival.

she looked terrible. her clothes, once clean and neat, were now dirt-streaked and torn, clinging to her like a second skin. her hair was tangled, and her face bore the smudges of sleepless nights and endless wandering. if she passed herself on the road, she'd think she was looking at a beggar. but that's exactly what she was—homeless and aimless, caught between fear and necessity.

the thought of returning to ingary had crossed her mind more than once, but it always came with the same crushing realization: her mother would never take her back. not after what had happened with howl. no, if she showed up there again, her mother would likely throw her out, and she'd be right back where she started. and as for howl...y/n wasn't even sure how she felt about him. part of her missed the warmth of his castle, the strange comfort of calcifer's glow. but the idea of seeing him again, after everything, made her chest tighten with a mix of fear and confusion. she couldn't go back—not now, not like this. what would he think? it was those thoughts that had forced her hand and pushed her to her last and most reckless option: the wastes. the decision to venture into the desolate, cursed land had been born out of desperation and a sliver of cunning. y/n knew howl feared the wastes—feared the witch who ruled it with her cruel magic. she was banking on that fear keeping him at bay, giving her enough time to think, to breathe, to figure out her next move. but y/n wasn't just here to hide. no, she had a plan or at least the beginnings of one.

she was searching for the witch of the waste. it was an insane idea, she knew that. the witch had no reason to help her, and every reason to curse her on sight. their last encounter, back in her family's shop, had been tense at best.

y/n had barely escaped unscathed. but she wasn't here to beg for mercy—she was here to make a deal. the details of the deal were still forming in her mind, shifting and uncertain, but she knew one thing for sure: she had to convince the witch to help her. to keep howl away, to make him stop. she had nothing to offer but her words and her desperation, and she prayed it would be enough to at least buy her a moment to speak before the witch decided to unleash her wrath. the landscape around her grew more barren with each step she took, the air heavier, the skies darker. the wastes weren't just a place—they were a feeling, a creeping unease that settled into her bones and refused to leave. every shadow seemed to shift, every gust of wind carried whispers she couldn't quite make out.

y/n shivered violently as she hugged herself, the damp air of the wastes clinging to her like a second skin. the dense fog had rolled in so quickly it felt as though it had swallowed her whole, the world around her reduced to a smothering gray haze. she could hardly see more than a few feet in front of her, and the cold seemed to seep into her very bones, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. her lips pressed into a thin line as she shut her eyes, trying to will the ache in her chest to subside.