Howl

Start Again

Thank you for deciding to read Howl, I hope you enjoy it.

Btw this may seem like a slow start the first couple of chapters but I promise you that it gets better!

Don't forget to comment and/vote! I would honestly love to hear what you have to say.
Has not been edited so I apologise for any mistakes.

Hikaru xx

Amanda Seyfried as Elisabeth Shore
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Chapter 1

It's so cold.

That was the first thought I had upon exiting the vehicle in which I had got on to get here. It had been a rough journey. I had gotten a flight from Manchester airport to Seattle then another short ride on a plane to Anchorage. The final part of my journey was down to a hired driver. I was unfamiliar with this part of the world and I knew that if it weren't for my brothers diligent planning, I wouldn't have made it here so easy.

I looked around, shoving my gloved hands into my pockets as the biting air nipped at the exposed skin of my face.

England was cold. But this was fucking insane.

Tall birch, and further out evergreen, trees were everywhere, they lined the road we had driven through and had seemed to cover most of the land as I had seen from up in the sky during the flight. The second most substantial thing was the snow. Right now it fluttered down softly in a slight snowdrift, but it covered most of the ground, the roofs of houses, the car and the trees. When it wasn't snow it was a mucky grey sludge that had the consistency of a thick soup.

I exhaled heavily, a large puff of white air escaping my mouth and disappearing. The drivers side door opened and Mikael, the hired driver, got out and rounded the front of the car where it was parked on the roadside. He had driven me from the small airport to the equally small lodgings I had bought to occupy. It was a homely cottage type of house. Though, instead of large stones, it was mainly a blend of thick rich wood and brick. And instead of fields of wheat or corn, it was cushioned beside a cluster of tall trees that made it seem even more small.

It looked nice though, with a wide porch and petite steps at the front with a wooden handrail. The house itself was nearer to the outskirts of the city I had chosen to stay at. It was named Talkneetna and it was a fairly unknown and quaint city, not large in size, its largest asset being the abundance of wild forest and the Kenai River. It was lucky that I had managed to research it somewhat before I left in a hurry.

I pushed aside the impending thoughts on my hasty exit of London and instead focused on thanking Mikael. I smiled warmly at him "Thank you so much, I'm sorry that my arrival was on such short notice." He laughed deeply, shaking his head, the long silver strands fluttering about his weathered face "It is okay child, I had nothing of importance happening anyway. It was good to be the first to meet the new face here." He grinned.

I laughed faintly too and pulled out the key to the house from my pocket. It had arrived in the mail a fortnight ago when I had first purchased the property. "I'll call you if I need a lift somewhere, alright?" I teased as I started up the stairs and he went back to the car. He nodded and waved. I waved back, watching him pull away from the curb at the front of the property, and shoved the key into the lock and twisted.

I opened the door slowly, having no idea what to expect on the inside. Maybe a moose head on the wall? Or a stuffed bear? Okay, stop being stupid now, I scolded myself as a brush of heat caressed my face.