The Heart Devouring Wizard ⛥Howl X Reader⛥

A Dream

(A/N: I apologize for such a slow chapter this time, I promise that the next one will go a lot faster)

Bright light warmed my body and the cotton that filled my head had cleared. I open my mouth to breathe, and a gasp escaped my mouth. My chest heaved as I scuddled my hands over it and what was once an insufferable pain was now gone.

Had I survived?

Sitting up on the ground, I had looked around the shop; it looked untouched compared to last night's fiasco so it begged the next question in my head.

If this is the afterlife had I gone to Heaven or Hell?

I wasn't ever overly religious but hell, if what happened last night was real then I'm willing to give this religious stance a shot, but in the meantime- what happened?

I finally got off from the floorboard and looked around the cleaner than usual shop. Everything had seemed so out of place. The board groaned under the weight of my foot when I took my first step to the kitchen. Something beckoned me to come closer and I listened to it.

Perhaps it's the Witch of the Waste, or maybe Howl.

Either way, I'd have a few words I'd like to say to them both.

I grabbed the handle and gently twisted my wrist; the door creaked on its hinges as I pushed into the kitchen. The warm glow of the sun fell into the room and a recognizable silhouette was laying pie crust into a pan, I let go of the door handle and felt my anxiety lift.

"Mom" My voice caught in my throat as I tried to call out to her, she turned her head and her soft face turned to a smile.

"(Y-n), you shouldn't be here" she started to me and I reached my hands out to her. Mother tenderly grabbed both of my hands and locked into my eyes "You grew into such a lovely woman" she beamed as she looked me up and down and I let a slight grin grow on my face before my eyes fell.

"It's been so hard without you, there's been so little customers then there used to be and war is imminent between Ingary and  Strangia" I blabbered about life without her and mothers smile kept on her face "And yet you stand so tall, you were always so strong like that" She placed her hand on the side of my face. A small laugh left my lips, and she tilted her head "You have such evil magic in you, what happened?" she finally asks and I squeezed her hand "Honestly I'm not too sure myself, I met this young Wizard who saved me one night and a Witch who tried to kill me the next" I let out a huff at the anger of both of them. "It seems like you're still needed somewhere else it sounds like, it's time" she laughed just a bit before going back to her warm grin, my head began to spin and fill with cotton just as I arrived here "Wait, I don't want to leave you again!" I put my hand to my temple to try to steady myself before I gave a long blink.

Struggling to open my eyes again, I finally lifted the droopy lids to see I was once again on the old shop floor. My muscles throbbed as I moved my palm to the floor and struggle to get up, I opened my mouth and choked for air as my lungs burned for me to take a breath. Lifting my eyes to search the shop, I saw that items on my sewing tables laid across the ground 'This will take forever to clean' my mind sighed. Unlike earlier when everything felt fine, something felt...off? Besides the aching in my joints either gained from sleeping on the hard floor or the night before, it felt deeper than that.

Pulling myself to the shop wall I leaned against it as I pulled at the top buttons of my dress, if they popped off I couldn't care less. Finally getting them undone, I looked down at my chest and caught my breath at the sight of my skin. Blackened skin laid atop of my chest and branched out of sight of my exposed skin, I tugged at the sleeves of my dress and the vein like branches reached all the way to the end of my wrist. The more I checked the more that it covered, extending to my calf and sparing little room of pure skin left. I felt as if my head would burst from the sight but I took in a shaky breath as I got on my feet, my body still sore but manageable. Toppling towards my room I muttered to myself, "Doctor, I should see a Doctor. Yeah, they'd know what to do... Right?" of course not, what doctor takes a course on magic.