Howl's Twisted Castle

12: Dear Lettie

I don't know who it was that invented the quill, but at this moment I despised them. Sure it was the only way I could write anything on paper, but nothing is worse than being a left-handed seamstress who has to write anything at all on paper. My hands always smeared the ink all over the paper, making the writing entirely and utterly illegible. It was so sorry looking that at one point, my sister insisted on teaching me right-handed by making me hold an apple in my left hand. It was a sound plan in theory, but after two hours of writing and destroying my dress, the table, and over a dozen sheets of parchment, my sister concluded that I was a lost cause. Anytime we had to send a letter, it was Lettie and not I, who wrote it.

This predicament is where I currently found myself. My fingers were covered in stains all the way to my wrists, and no amount of scrubbing could remove the ink from my hands. I'd finally written a decent letter to my sister, but that was after I'd ruined roughly five pages of parchment. After giving up on cleaning my hands, I settled on reading over the letter to her:

Dear Lettie,

I'm so sorry that I left home without any notice, but I had little time to tell you. I can assure you that I am safe, so please don't worry. Continue to run the shop in my stead and promise me you won't let Gerta get to you. I know she can be trying at times, but your will is stronger than hers. I'll try to write regularly, but my schedule is unknown at this time. I promise to do my best to come home as soon as I can.

All my love,

S

I hoped this letter conveyed enough information to keep Lettie from doing anything irrational. My only concern was Gerta finding the message before Lettie, but I made sure to avoid such a scenario by writing the return address as a fake supply merchant. I knew that although Gerta enjoyed the wealth our business provided her, she wanted nothing to do with actually running it.

Satisfied with my handiwork, I folded it neatly and tied it with a spare piece of rope from the spool Markel had left out. It was the best I could do without a proper wax seal to use at any rate. I gathered my things, making sure I had the money Markel had given me earlier. First, I needed to make sure my sister got the letter, and then I'd stop by the supply shop to get whatever else I needed.

***

Delivering the message wasn't tricky; seeing my sister through the window pane, however, hurt in a way I couldn't possibly explain. Her hair was pulled into a severe bun, her dress was covered in dirt, and the waltz in her step was there no longer. A huge part of me wanted to burst through the doorways and tell her I was okay, but I knew that was impossible..

Seeing her like this convinced me that she needed the letter now rather than later. I slipped into the hat shop, which was still busy despite my absence, grabbing a shawl from a nearby rack. I wrapped it neatly so that all that was visible was my nose and mouth and slipped into the crowd.

The cacophony of patrons made it difficult to hear anything at all, but I could have sworn I could hear my sisters voice above the noise. I worked my way through the crowd, but a second voice made me freeze before I could take another step. Hastily, I ducked out of the way before either of them could spot me.

"Won't you at least consider it?" Howl pleaded with my sister.

"Will it bring her back?" her voice cracked as she buried her face in her palms. "I just want her to come home, please just do what you need to and find her."

I peered over at Howl, who's attention was fixed solely on my sister. It was the first time I'd ever seen him look less than perfect. He had on a pinstriped suit that seemed less than fresh; his hair was a bit messy, and his eyes betrayed the fatigue he was under.