Here we go, with the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing, SammiRichGurl and lonewolfgirl-sademo588.
Miyoko knew that she should dress in a semiformal way when she went to Parliament, so she wore her most expensive pair of jeans, and a plain short-sleeved white blouse. It was one of the few outfits she'd packed that suited her as an older woman. All her clothes, surprisingly, still fit her, although she couldn't ever wear her dresses without tights, and hadn't bothered to pack them.
Howl actually left his room and came downstairs without spending even an hour in the bathroom. He slid one of his rings over Miyoko's ring finger. "The charm on this will keep you safe." he told her. "Good luck."
Miyoko smiled at him and murmured her thanks before leaving.
She walked through. She wasn't sure whether she really expected Howl to follow through on his promise and follow her in disguise, but she wasn't going to look for it.
It was only when she got about an hour away that she reached the building. But then, a convertible came up beside her. "Oh, look who it is. Little Miss Flirt."
Miyoko looked at the blonde. "Hello, Rosaria." she said coldly. "What are you doing here?"
"I got a summons." Rosaria said proudly, tossing her hair. "By the way, thanks for sending on my love letter to Howl. I would've emailed, but that boy really has to move with the times and get a computer."
"Now, that's borderline obsessive." Miyoko said. "How old are you? Way too young, that's for sure. He's in his twenties."
"Well, you're too old!" Rosaria countered.
Miyoko shrugged. "Whose fault is that? Besides, I'm not interested in entering a romantic relationship at all, but you're just too possessive to accept it. Why don't you lift the spell?"
Rosaria got out of the car, ready to ascend the high steps. "Sorry." she smirked. "I don't lift spells. I cast them."
Miyoko didn't really care. She'd just have to have the curse broken with other means. It's not like she expected Rosaria to do anything like that, anyway.
Rosaria groaned when she saw the stairs. "I never usually have to walk." she complained. "Now I have to do this?"
Miyoko was already halfway up. She was starting to get more energy, more like she was twenty-nine, although her exterior was still middle-aged. "Turn me back and I'll help you if you want." she called down.
"I don't need your help." Rosaria growled. But even as she said it, she stumbled, not used to walking, even on a flat surface.
"Don't you even have a wheelchair?" Miyoko called down. "Too bad I can't help you without overworking myself to death...unless you took off the curse!"
Rosaria really didn't want to admit it to the other girl, but it was the only way she'd get up the stairs properly. "I can't!" she cried. "I don't know how to lift spells, only how to cast them. It's not up to me any more."
"Too bad." Miyoko said. "You get up the stairs yourself. I did it."
Rosaria scowled as the other woman raced up the rest of the stairs, barely breaking a sweat. Rosaria had to climb on hands and knees, basically, although she managed to stand as she and Miyoko entered the building.
Rosaria was taken somewhere else while Miyoko was shown into another part of the building – a part that had survived medieval times. And like medieval times, the prime minister had a head sorceress called Natasha Rainbow, a misleadingly sweet name. The sorceress appeared young, but her vibe was imposing.
"Welcome." she greeted Miyoko calmly. "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you." murmured Miyoko as she sat down.
"So you're Howl's stepsister." Natasha said. "I never knew he had a stepfamily. So why did he send you?"
"He doesn't mind admitting that he just doesn't have the courage to show up." Miyoko said, just letting words spill out of her. "I don't really think he'd be of use in the war."
Natasha frowned. "We really need him to come here. I'm sure you know how powerful he is. In fact, I've never seen such promise. But one day he lost his heart to a demon, and since then, he's only using his power for his own selfish reasons. He can't keep on like this. Being literally heartless and powerful makes him very dangerous. There are two options left. He responds to the summons and helps in the war, and I help him to get his heart back from the demon. If not, I'll have to strip him of his powers. He'll end up just like the Teenage Witch."
"Rosaria?" Miyoko said.
"Send her in!" called Natasha.
A blonde teenager stumbled into the room, assisted by a young man in a suit. Miyoko gasped. The girl wasn't the Rosaria she knew. The Rosaria she met was very pretty, pale and blue-eyed with nearly white-blonde hair. This Rosaria was blonde, and she had wide blue eyes, but she was still different. She looked more like a pixie than a witch, with eyes too big for her face and an anorexic body. She wasn't at all pretty, either.
"She, too, had so much promise as a child." Natasha said calmly. "She was so young when she, too, lost her heart to a demon. I had to strip away her powers."
A lightbulb went on in Miyoko's head. "I've got it!" she cried. "With all due respect, Ms Rainbow, I now understand why Howl was reluctant to show up. You lure people here, and then you just take away their powers. Howl is not like Rosaria. He's really a good person, even if he's selfish, vain, and unreadable. All he wants is freedom." As Miyoko spoke, the silver streaks in her hair disappeared, her voice grew younger, and her face lost its lines. "Howl doesn't need your help. He'll deal with the heart thing on his own."
Natasha surveyed Miyoko, and at that moment Miyoko knew that Natasha knew she wasn't really Howl's stepsister or even related. "I understand now. You've fallen in love with him."
Miyoko was shocked back into the curse.
Rosaria gripped the cuff of Miyoko's jeans. "Did you just say Howl was going to show up?" she cried. "I really do have to speak with him. Plus, I really have to have his heart. It's rightfully mine!"
"Shut the shiz up!" Miyoko hissed, braver now that Rosaria was no threat. "Howl isn't going to come here."
"I think he will." Natasha said calmly. "In fact, I think he's nearly here already."
The rest of the visit will be in the next chapter. What do you think of Natasha? It may be a little bit unnecessary, but I wanted an unlikely person to be the Suliman of today. Please review!
