fleur ! - howl pendragon

three.

Days turned to weeks, and weeks to a month since howl had first visited the quaint little flower shop, nestled cozily within a strip of numerous other shops and small businesses within the bustling town square. Eventually, Edith had come to forget the young wizard, his peculiar presentation, and angular features soon fading to the back of her mind as time went on. It was until a cloudy mid-afternoon shopping trip through town,  Edith's memory was jogged. She stepped curiously into a local tailors shop, a brown leather shopping bag draped loosely over her narrow shoulder. She, of course, knew full well she lacked the wealth needed to indulge in such fine silk gowns and fur pea coats, but it didn't hurt to window shop every once in a while, did it? "Oh, girls, look!" the voice of a young woman rang through the air like church bells as she hurried to the window, her group of rather wealthy-looking friends quick to follow as they crowded around one of the windows at the back of the shop. "It's howls castle! There, in the waste!" one of the girls, a tall brunette, chimed in. Howl, such a familiar name, Howl. Howl! Edith shuffled over to a lone window at the mention of the name, then beginning to remember that one fateful day at the flower shop. She gazed beyond the thin layer of glass, marveling as she watched the sizeable machine-like structure navigate the horizon. Then, as quickly as it came, it disappeared behind an opaque wall of grey mist. "Aw, it's gone." The brunette fussed, leaning her hands against the dusty wood of the window sill. "It's just hiding." Her friend added. "You've heard the rumors, haven't you? Supposedly howl eats the hearts of pretty girls. My aunties friend said they saw him devour a young ladies' heart some time ago, in an ally way." The girl cowered, earning a few whispers and concerned mumbling from within her friend group before they shuffled away and out of the shop. Edith had stopped listening shortly after the mention of howl 'eating the hearts of pretty girls', she felt as if her mind had gone blank, staring ahead beyond the window in front of her. What a silly rumor, she thought, but still couldn't shake the twisting feeling in her stomach as the woman's words looped in her head on an endless cycle. Howl didn't seem like the vicious type, from what she'd been witness to in their previous brief conversation, but he certainly didn't come off as the type to take pleasure in ripping away the still-beating hearts of young women and devouring them in the process. But could she be sure of that? But Edith was sure of one thing, she wasn't a pretty girl. She had nothing to worry about as long as she looked the way she did.

Edith wandered gingerly down a narrow alleyway through the city, shortly after making the split decision to take a shortcut to the local tea shop instead of walking an extra 30 minutes. She held her bag close to her body, posture stiff and upright as she kept moving. She'd never particularly enjoyed alleyways, the dark twists and turns of the cobblestone pathways always seemed to rack her nerves. But what made it worse was that there was now a possibility that a heart-eating wizard roamed the streets of the city. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by a sudden figure looming in front of her, followed by another. She stopped in her tracks moments before she had the chance to bump into the two, slowly lifting her head. "Are you lost, honey?" one of the men spoke, a heavily condescending tone evident in his voice. They were both guards, still in uniform. Their stature was tall and broad, they intimidated her. This is why she hated walking by herself. "I-I'm not lost. I swear- I was just on my way to the-" Edith spoke, only for her words to be cut short by the second man, looming closely as he leaned up against the brick wall beside him. "We'll help you find your way, 'show you a real good time." he cooed, earning a menacing chuckle from his friend as he crossed his arms to his chest triumphantly. Ediths skin crawled with discomfort and fear at the larger man's words, she was cornered. The two were by far much taller and stronger than her, they hovered closely, making her feel so much smaller than she already was. She felt like crying, and she almost did, until she felt the arm of another drape itself delicately around her waist, the smell of jasmine and white sage filling the air around her. "There you are, sweetheart. Sorry I'm late, I've been looking everywhere for you. -My apologies, boys, we were just about to leave." spoke a voice oh so familiar to Edith, it was Howl. Though, his appearance seemed to be completely different. His hair was dyed the shade of a beaches sand on a sunny day, shaping him up to be utterly unrecognizable in contrast to his previous raven-black hair. The two of the men appeared disgruntled at the young wizard's emergence, beginning to speak up before an invisible source seemingly zipped their mouths shut as Howl raised his a finger on his right hand. Edith watched with an inquisitive eye as the men turned, posture straight and eyes forward as they marched off in unison with 2 movements of Howls finger. Edith stood in awe, unable to find the words she needed to speak at that moment before Howl spoke up. " Where to? I'll be your escort for this evening." He was soft-spoken, allowing a reassuring smile to come upon his lips as he took his arm from Edith's waist, choosing to instead politely extend his arm for the small ginger to take.  "T-the tea shop- on Glennwood street, I believe." She answered, gaze traveling up to the man as she wrapped her arm around his. He simply nodded, beginning to walk with her once more through the alleyway. Even though the thought of Howl ripping out her heart right then and there was still in the back of her mind, she was just happy "Don't be alarmed, but I'm being followed, act normal." He looked straight ahead, soft blonde locks blowing in the evening's breeze as he began to pick up the pace with Edith still close. "Followed? Followed by who-" Edith questioned, only to be cut short when the answer to her question seemed to appear before her very eyes. She could feel her stomach drop as 4 masses, as black as night, emerged from the brick walls before the two on both sides. They had an oil-like sheen to them, their bodies seemingly made up of a gelatinous tar as they bubbled and dripped from their 'bodies'. Howl remained calm the entirety of the time, somehow, not once tensing up or showing signs of panic. He must deal with this often. "Sorry, 'looks like you're involved." He stated calmly. Howl still had that same smile on his face, only his eyebrows had slightly furrowed as he raised a hand before him, the black tar masses splitting and dissipating long enough for the two to swiftly pass through. They stopped in their tracks, however, at the sight of a dead-end before them, the large brick wall towering into the sky with no escape in sight. Edith felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as her heart fell, turning her head over her shoulder only to see 3 more of the tar masses following close in pursuit. "Here we go, hold on tight." Howl spoke as he unlinked the twos arms, grasping onto her hands with a firm yet still gentle grip. Before Edith could even think to question Howl's motives at the time, he jumped, sending the two straight up into the air seconds before the group of gelatinous masses crashed into each other blow them. Edith could have sworn she felt her soul leave her body the moment they ascended into the sky, a hoarse scream escaping her throat before they began to float, Howl stretching his legs out straight and beginning to walk on the air. Edith couldn't speak, her heart racing too fast for her to even begin to make out the words she needed to say at that moment. "Now, straighten your legs and start walking." Howl reassured her in a comforting tone, his grip on her hands now loosened as they floated along. She complied, slowly but surely stretching out her legs and beginning to match her step with Howl's. "See? not so hard, is it? You are a natural." Howl chuckled, checkered coat flowing in the wind behind him. Edith laughed with astonishment while she looked down, a smile beginning to spread upon her face as she watched the city come alive below her feet. "I told you we'd meet again." He smiled, watching her face as she marveled at the sights below them. "I- Howl, this is incredible." Edith's eyes sparkled with a peculiar sense of wonder, a genuine smile of joy tugging at her lips as she looked at the young wizard. They momentarily came upon the roof of a church, Howl using it to push the two forward as they walked along the sky, the upper balcony of the tea shop coming into view. Within moments, the two had reached the balcony, Edith still in awe as howl lowered her down to the balcony. "I'll make sure to draw them off. Make sure you wait a bit before you head back outside." Howl held onto her hand for a few moments more, standing gracefully upon the railing of the balcony. "I will." Edith nodded, smiling and holding her other hand to her chest as she gazed up at him. Her heart was still beating like the wings of a bird. "That's my girl." he allowed his hand to slip away from her own, stepping off backwards from the balcony and floating down out of sight. Edith gasped, running to the balcony and gripping the dark, freshly waxed wooden railing in an attempt to catch a glimpse of where he was, but he was gone.

A/N: hi! i honestly don't know if people are even reading this story yet, but i'm having a lot of fun writing it so far! i have a lot of plans for this story so i hope you'll stick around til then, i also hope you like slow burn 😳. as you probably could tell from this chapter, i'll also be writing in some scenes/lines from the movie, just some that i thought were cute. but most of it is gonna be original plot line i promise. thanks for reading this long ass authors note!