Howl's Twisted Castle

31: Cursed

Neither of us chose to speak as we made our way back into town. Alex knew full well that I had questions for him, but he was determined not to answer unless I agreed to stay with him. That was his caveat, stay away from Howl. I knew in my heart that I couldn't say yes, so silence was our company for the rest of the trip.

This frustrated me greatly. I could say yes and stay here with Alex, but that wouldn't help my predicament. So long as the Witch hunted Howl, I couldn't go home, which meant I would never see Lettie or my shop again. Furthermore, I would have to leave Howl, forget that I ever knew him and hope that by staying away, he would be safe.

I just couldn't bring myself to do that, which meant that I would have to accept that I'd never get the answers I sought from Alex because I chose Howl over him. 

As we approached the outskirts of town, something caught Alex's attention. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared straight ahead. I followed his gaze to the market, expecting to find whatever it was that alarmed him, but nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.

I cocked an eyebrow, waiting to see if he would explain his reaction. 

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder hastily. "I just forgot that I was supposed to check on something back that way."

"Check on what exactly?"

Alex fixed his eyes elsewhere when he answered.

"Crops."

"Crops? What are you, a librarian or a farmer?" I jeered.

"I am a bit of everything," he said, his voice distant.

"Alex what did you see just now?" I asked, but my question was met with silence. Alex was already gone.

***

Port Haven was much the same as I had left it a few hours ago, only this time I was determined to figure out what it was that Alex saw to make him leave so suddenly. Sure there were some merchants selling questionably fresh fish, judging by the excessive amount of flies, but that couldn't have been the reason. 

I had a nagging feeling that it was someone, rather than something that Alex saw that made him leave. Maybe the Witch was still here. I shuddered at the thought and erased the image of the Witch before she could take residence in my thoughts. After all, there was no way Alex would have seen her in public in broad daylight.

I took a deep breath and focused on my immediate surroundings. The people of Port Haven seemed like a busy bunch, always moving with purpose. Unlike Market Chipping, there wasn't a rich crowd roaming the streets in their carriages and buggies with money to waste. No one here was looking to please potential customers with a random assortment of baubles and their merchandise reflected just that. Only the essentials like food and wares were available to purchase.

Walking through the busy streets, I searched high and low for a place to sit so that I could watch for Howl's return. Spying a collection of crates near the alleyway, I considered that it was as good a prospect as any, so finding a discarded newspaper, I perched on the edge of a smaller crate and did my best to look busy. As I scouted over the yellowed edges of the newspaper, two voices caught my attention. Shifting ever so slightly on the crate, I got a better look at the men who were arguing nearby.

The first was a grey-haired older man, whose skin was so dirty it soiled his once white undershirt. His disheveled appearance was dwarfed only by the product he was pedaling, which I was certain was some sort of manure given its pungent smell. I hopped off the crate and found a safer area in which to observe the two men. 

The old man had upended one of the crates, dumping its contents onto the ground, which he then shoveled into mason jars. Capping them, he set them out on a table.