Howl

Chapter Ten

Artemis's POV

    Calcifer does not take well to me silencing him. I hear the fire demon muttering from beneath the hot metal of the pan, as I stare at the burning omelets. I still don't understand the big deal with the stirring! I try to ignore what just happened though by picking up a half melted plastic spatula to put the omelet on a plate. I could probably just feed the burned eggs to Calcifer, seeing as the 'food' can't possibly be safe for human consumtion.

    "Here," Howl takes the plate and spatula from my hands, setting on the wooden table, covered in a fine layer of dust with many deep carvings serving as blemishes to the oak wood table top. "Now, where were we, Sophie?"

    Howl leans in towards me again, about to kiss me, but, "What the hell, Howl?! I am so not Sophie!" The wizard blushes and turns away. How had he possibly mistaken me for his lost love?!

    "I am very sorry, Artemis. You are just . . . so . . . so like her sometimes! She was the only besides myself who could ever command Calcifer! And that was only because they had a deal! You just come marching in here, all haughty and mighty, demanding to learn-"

    "I only asked for you to teach me because I am sick of killing people!" I shout back, looking straight into the eyes of the dark hairedwizard- so fragile looking is the tall, slim man, his peircing blue eyes filled with a pain that shouldn't be felt, because of the runes. Unless this was a different kind of paint than the one he felt for his lost love, Sophie.

    "Well- Wait, what?"

    "It's my fault for so many! I need to control m powers so that people stop dting! Everyone I care about- everyone I have ever loved or gotten close to died! They died because of me! If I had known how to control my abilities- Even strangers, like Sophie, die because of me!"

    "Stop blaming yourself! Not everything is your fault! Everyone dies at some point!" Howl shouts back, not with his usual, cocky smile.

    "But Sophie- she died when I cam here-"

    "She was messing with my potions! It was not your fault whatsoever, Artemis. She messed with my potions and she should have stayed out of them. I wish you would stop blaming yourself for everything. You can't control your abilities altogether, so what? You came to me, and now your learning."  I can't help but relax a little, under the gaze of Howl. His words reassure and comfort me, although he is practically a stranger.

    Suddenly, simultaneously, I find that we both are closing the gapp between our faces-

    "Howl!" Markl is tromping down the stairs, into the foyer with us. He sees us and cocks an eyebrow. "What is going on? I heard shouting, and now-"

    "I think we should get to know each other better," Howl and I claim at the same precise moment. Easy smiles again, and we return to the art of omelet making.