The witch was furious. For months now she was chasing Howl. He seems to be everywhere at once and then he was nowhere to be found! All across Ingary she has been searching, hunting for this young man with the most delicious magic and those refined features. He was nearly perfect! But the witch was not stupid and she was very resourceful. Howl was not really perfect. He was using all his magical know-how to appear perfect! But as soon as the spells wear off he was just an ordinary man. A man that might be a little bit better looking and a little bit more charming than the average Joe but not perfect. No, but she was nearly done making the perfect man. All she was missing now was a heart. A beautiful heart! A heart that was so very soft and so very strong at the same time! And she knows whose heart she wants to have, only one would do. Just this one heart would make her man the perfect one. But it was hiding so well!
The witch would never have thought that such a small little thing could turn into so much trouble. Howl's heart was a slippery little thing. It was passionate about a lot of things. But it never stayed with anyone. So the curse she put on him was useless. Someone whose effort is put purley on the surface does not really fall in love. She tried everything! But as soon as the girl will declare her love for the elusive wizard he will do what he does best. He will be gone.
Her spells do not ensare him. He can see right through them. The young ladies from all over Ingary cannot hold his attention for long. And he can even slither out of the summons of the king. And everyone of his majesties magicians swore an oath to fallow his command.
So how to find him? There are rumours of a walking castle in the hills behind Market Chipping. But Howl is not stupid and he has his fire demon who shall not be underestimated. They will have their eyes on everything that approches them. So how to make sure that she will fly under their radar?
The witch tried with very little succes to get someone admitted into the castle.
And it was so much work. First she tried it with a puppetier spell, but her marionette did not get close to the castle. She could practically hear the fire demon cackling and laughing as he runs over the hills and vanished into the misty mountains. And it was so much effort to find someone to sent and search for his castle. Horrible Howl who eats the hearts of young girls. He got the people terrified.
And then after endless talks, much flattery and a little bribe those few that are brave enough to go on this little quest lose all courage as soon as they see the black castle moving and hearing it groan like someone is suffering a terrible death.
So the witch sat comfortably on her throne, that her Garçon placed there for her, on the highest mountain. It was on the border between her waste and the hills in which the Castle was moving. Such cheek to practically prance in front of her doorstep and never stepping in. But she will get him.
As she sat there watching, waiting a small little crystal of ice made its decende from the skies. It danced left and right and finally sat on the highest branch of the highest tree and encouraged his brothers and sisters to join on the frozen land. Slowly the first fallowed down and as they saw that it was safe more and more little flakes snowed down and layered the earth with a soft white blanked.
The witch did not even react to the weather conditions, her eyes were busy gazing at every valley and every mountain crest. And her patience would be rewarded, because there it was. The Castle of the wizard Howl. Slowly it made its way down the neighboring hill. Such cockiness! They practically stepped on the line to the waste. HER domain! And with such laziness they stroll through the mountains. If the witch thought she was angry before, now she was furious. How dare he?! First he chases her, makes her feel beautiful, he would have made her fall in love if her own heart had not taken leave quite some time ago, and then he runs away! Runs from her? She who is beautiful and powerful and feared by all those weak minded fools! And he does not even have the decency to look troubled?! After all her hard work?
Determined she marches in his direction. Magic he can detect, but she does not need some silly spell to get to him. She will go in there and then she will take what is rightfully hers!
But the snowflakes came faster and faster and soon she had to fight for every step she took in his direction. After some minutes she slipped and slid down on her back. Frantically she tried to hold onto something. She barely felt the cold, but she would not slide down the mountain on her bum or belly! No way!
Finally she was stopped by some shrubbery and she could regain her breath. She was so focused on her destination that she completly overlooked her sourroundings. The snow now covered the ground at least ankle high. And she had trouble making our the castle although she knew it was not very far away anymore. And worse she was covert from head to toe in the white mass.
She was about to brush as much of the wet stuff away as possible when she realised someting. If she was covert in white, she would blend in with her surroundings! She would be invisible! Without magic! But how to get to the ever moving castle. Walking was a disaster. Penisve she held onto the next best thing. A branch of the shrubbery. For a moment she just stood there gazing at nothing,but then she blink two times and nearly clapped her hands. She would slide down the mountain. But not like some helpless creature. She would slide down in style. She calculated how far aways Howl was and how strong her magic had to be to be detected. A few touches later she held a board in her hand. With the endings shaped just so, that she would glide over the layer of snow.
Calcifer was busy moaning his fate. In the mountains it might be snowing, but in Port Haven it was raining. And the cold wet rain was dripping on his place! Micheal was trying to catch the water in a bucket, but he was a bit clumsy and every now and then a little drop would fall on Calcifers head and it would hiss and turn into a puff of mist. All the windows were fogged over and it did not seem like the downpour would end anytime soon.
Suddenly there was a banging on the door. "The Waste" called Calcifer between dodging Michaels sleeve and a mean drop from above. Michael froze with his arms held high. Who would knock on the castle door? And again somthing thumbed against the door. "Who is that?" wants the young man to know. "I can't see!" complaint Calcifer not for the first time. "Well is it malicious?"
Calcifer just stares at him. "It is not using magic" he replied and gets back to avoiding the water from hell. Back then when he was still a star he never had to put up with rain!
Michael was to busy staring at the door to notice that the bucket was overflowing and making Calcifer even worse. "Give that to me!" the demon snapped and grabed the bucket out of Micheals hands. "Why don't you do something usefull?" complaint he and held the bucket over his head and tried to reach for a dry log of wood at the same time. Micheal was insecure. Maybe someone needed help? Who knows what the weather was like in the mountains? Maybe someone got lost?
Cautiously he opend the door. He could not believe what he saw there.
A snowmonster was chasing the castle. "Calcifer! You need to move faster!"he screamed and tried to close the door. But something was not quite right. The door would not let itself move. "Quick! Calcifer!"
Calcifer was a bit bewildert, why would Micheal be screaming like that. And then he saw her. "THE WITCH OF THE WASTE?! Why would you open the door for someone like her?" and he frantically grabbed every piece of wood within his reach and moved the legs of the castel as fast as he could!
Calcifer was roaring in his fireplace sending waves of heat in all directions. The Castle moved faster and faster, but the witch fallowed closely. "Let me in!" she screamed and waved her arm in a comical manner. "You cannot escape!" she had a manic glint in her eyes. With every passing second the witch and her prey gained speed and slowly the snow which was stuck on the witches clothes and hair slid down and flew behind her.
"How can she keep up?" Micheal stared at the Snow witch. He was halfway scared and halfway fascinated. The pins that once kept a hat and the hair in place still stuck from her head, but the hair flew around her face with no control whatsoever. Her Eyes were big and watery and her dress and coat were pressed against her front and flapped around her knees. And she stood on a piece of wood?
"I will get you!" she screamed and a wide grin spread over her red cheeks.
"Get out of the way Michael!" commanded Calcifer and Micheal had just enough time to dive beneath the work bench to avoid the explosion of fire Calcifer sent every which way and out the door. The witch screamed and fell on her behind and vanished into the white mass. Micheal peeped out of his hiding place. "Is she gone?" But Calcifer was to busy changing the course of the castle. Suddenly there was another loud knocking. "Oh bother. Who could that be?"
Michael tried closing the door again, but a little piece of wood was stuck underneath it. With a spoon Micheal found under the table he carefully poked the piece of wood. You never know what else it might be. But apparently it really was just what it seems to be. He pulled it out and threw it out the door, he gave the witch a daring wave goodbye and gently closed the door. He breathed sigh of relief. She was gone. He was just about to change the door to Kingsbury when the door burst open. Micheal pracitally flew under the table and Calcifer was about to throw his last bit of Energie at the door again when Howl strutted into the room. "What was going on? I could not get in?" he asked indignantly but did not bother to wait for an answer. "I really need my blue suit.." he muttered and climbed up the stairs.
Micheal shared a glance with Calcifer and shrugged his shoulders, he was not going to tell Howl about The Incident.
"Next time I will recognize the ugle hag." declared the fire demon and demanded more wood from Micheal, which was all that mattered to Calcifer.