Another chapter of the tale of mystery.

FAMILY SECRETS

A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC

Chapter 43

The moment in which you decide not to trust someone is awkward enough without being so close. I couldn't let the man know that I didn't trust him. Or that I had no intention of carrying out this stupid plan! It was doomed to failure anyway. It's not my fault that he couldn't see it. Still, I needed to him to lead me to one who killed my father. So, I had to pretend to go along with him. I had to try and carry out his crazy plan. Only I had no idea how to do that. It was far too broad and too general for me to be able to go there. If he wanted me to make the attempt then I needed more information. Which the man sorely lacked. Which was not helping.

It also doesn't help that I'm terrible with lies and deceit. It's just not my strong suit. That's much more of Howl's department. Often it can be hard to get the truth out of him. I am not that way. My lies are usually horribly transparent. Howl always picks up on them. The gig was usually up before I started. Now, I know that this man isn't Howl. That didn't mean that I could easily lie to him. Hell, I could barely hide my distaste. How was I supposed to lead him on and do what he asked while looking for the mastermind? I was no Howl Pendragon. I couldn't perform miracles!

Now I know, this is where Howl would say that I can perform miracles. He says that all the time! Only I never believed him. There is no way that this is true! I am not nearly as powerful as Howl. I can't do what he does. Hell, I can't even think the way he does! One never knows what he is thinking. Me? You know what you're getting: an honest, hard working witch who sometimes can make weird things happen. That's not nearly good enough. Not at a time like this. This situation called for someone far more cunning and underhanded than I really was. It called for someone like Howl.

Only Edvard couldn't know that Howl was here. He was my trump card right now. I had to make due with my paltry skills. I was the star of the show for now. Hopefully, Edvard wouldn't see through me. If he did then this was all over. I would lose this chance to find the one responsible. I could not waste it. Not now. I had to go forward and do the best that I could.

Only I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to progress. Edvard had left me speechless. How does one respond to such a request? I had no clue. Fortunately, Edvard seemed seemed totally unaware of my true feelings. How that was possible I do not know. I to telegraph everything. My best guess was that he was just too wrapped up in himself to notice. Not that I am complaining. It helped, a lot. So I went with it. I just prayed that he didn't pick up on that.

Finally, he seemed to notice my distress and grabbed my hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you."I really didn't like him touching me. "I know that I am asking for a lot. It may even be impossible, but it's worth trying. Think about what we could accomplish! It's mind-boggling!"

"It is mind-boggling." I admitted. I figured the truth would work here. It just wouldn't be the whole truth, that's all. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. I need specifics. Like a date, a time, a place, or what I am looking for! Something, anything, to guide my efforts. You have none of that." I took my hand away. "I understand your desire to help your people, but I need more than that. I have no idea how to find what you're looking for!"

This was all mostly true. I really did have no idea how to find his whatever it was. True, I didn't want to find it either, but that was a different story. One that I didn't want to tell him. If this thing did exist then it should not be in Edvard's hands. No good would come of it. The people of Strangia would suffer. While I had no love for this land or it's people I did not wish for them to suffer. I did not want to find this thing. Assuming it even exists. I wasn't really sure of that. Edvard wasn't the most reliable source of information.

He nodded gravely. "You're right, of course. I don't know very much. So, I can't guide you very well. Hopefully, I can inspire you. That may not be a lot, but I hope that it will be enough."

Edvard was certainly charismatic. I will give him that. I could see why he had so many followers. If I didn't know any better than I might actually believe him! Of course no one who was truly righteous wouldn't have kidnapped someone. No matter what the circumstances were. It wasn't right. He could not be trusted. I had to keep my guard up. I also had to play along. I could not want to show my cards yet. I had to keep it together!

"I'm sorry, but it's not enough." I swallowed hard. "I can't cast a such a vague spell. Magic is far too powerful of a thing. One needs to be specific on everything you do. If I have learned anything from husband then I have learned that. I may be able to cast the spell, but no good would come of it. I would be just shooting in the dark. That is not something that you want to do with magic. It would be disastrous! I am sorry, but I cannot cast the spell."

I wanted to shoot myself. Here I was, trying to get this man to lead me to his boss and I shut him down! How stupid am I? What the hell was wrong with me? How was I supposed to get myself out of this one? I simply couldn't believe how stupid I was. It made me wonder if Howl was wrong about the eldest thing. Surely, it had something to do with this blunder. It had to! How else would explain it? This was exact opposite of what I should say. I had no screwed everything up.

Edvard sighed. Clearly, he didn't like what I said.. "I am not a wizard. So I do not know much about these things. If you say this is the truth then I believe you. You cannot cast the spell right now. I understand. Sadly, I do not have the knowledge that you need. I have told you all I know." He stood up. "However, I do know someone who might know. He is the wizard that brought you here. He might know. It is worth a try. I will try to contact him. Hopefully, he can tell us what we want to know!"

With that he left the room. Leaving me utterly stunned that it worked. Kind of. It sounded like he was just going to summon 'Seus,' a man that my husband wanted to kill. Not a great if we wanted to keep things moving. I sighed. This was not what I wanted to happen, but it was better than nothing. I did have a lot of questions for that man once I saw him again.

Next Chapter coming up!