Another chapter of the tale of mystery.
FAMILY SECRETS
A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC
Chapter 48
'Seus' didn't return for a quite a while. Instead, I was visited by the 'Great' Wizard William. He was polite, but I couldn't exactly say that I enjoyed his company. It made sense. After all, I was terrified of him. He was worse than the witch of wastes! There was no way that he would let me go. Not without performing his little miracle that is. Which I had no intention of doing. At least he didn't try to win me over. He knew that I would never believe in his cause. So he didn't bother telling me how righteous his goals were. It seemed that William didn't care about my feelings. He only cared about whether or not I opened the gate. Somehow I doubted that he cared about my well being. I was merely an means to an end. That's all. The rest was unimportant to him. That was pretty darned chilling.
"Do you honestly expect me to help you?" I finally managed to croak out. I was nowhere near as impressive as I had hoped to sound.
He sighed. It seemed that he was disappointed. "No, I expect you to fight me tooth and nail. Not that it matters. In the end, you will open that gate. You will get me what I want. You simply do not have a choice in the matter."
"You sound fairly confident."
"Yes, I am." He laughed. "You will help me, Mrs. Pendragon. There is nothing that you can do about it."
I stared him down. "Don't underestimate me. I will find a way!"
He was surprised for a second then his calm exterior returned. "I see that my apprentice said too much. No matter. I do not care if you know my name. It will not help you. For I am William of Hanover, the first Lord of the Earth. Or I will be shortly. You will help me achieve that goal. Afterwards, I don't care what you do. Nothing matters about this world or the people in it. You are only a means to an end. Open the gate and I will leave you in peace. You have my word."
There was it was again: A Wizard's Word. I wasn't sure if this William of Hanover really meant what he said. This was the man who taught 'Seus.' Who broke his word already once. Surely, William would too. I wasn't as confident in the word of a wizard as my husband was. I didn't fully understand the weight of such words. I knew that it was important, but what was the consequences for breaking one's word? I did not know. Howl never said. Not that it mattered. I couldn't honestly harm one world to save another. That was just as bad. I couldn't live with myself if I did that. Besides, I had to protect Howl's world. For Howl has done the same for ours. It was only fair. I could not allow my family's past to ruin another world. I had to fight back!
"I don't believe you. Your apprentice gave me his word then broke it. How will I know that you won't do the same?"
Once again was caught off guard. "He gave you his word? What a fool! He has no authority to do that. He is bound to me. He can only act as I command. Therefore, he cannot make any promises without prior approval from me. For my bond is always paramount. It would inevitably break any such promise. Which a wizard should never do. I taught him better than this. He should have never made that promise. He was not in the position to keep it. I apologize for his ignorance. I will punish him accordingly. It will not happen again. I will see to it."
I was surprised by his words once again. The way he talked about 'Seus' was almost as if he was a slave. Like he had no soul of his own. It seemed that the very concept of the boy promising anything enraged William. Which was so unlike Howl. He would have been angry that Michael had broken his word, but not for giving it in the first place! Michael was a free man. Free to make his own mistakes. Howl was his teacher, not his owner. It seemed that it was not this way for these two. It made me sick to my stomach. I realized that 'Seus' was just as much a victim just as I was. I had to help him. If for nothing else to get him away from William. He deserved a better life than this.
"You don't need to do that." I eventually said.
"Yes, I do." He said gravely. "I will not enjoy it, but it will be done. The boy must understand the consequences of breaking one's word." He explained as if I was a child. "There are few things worse this for a wizard to do. He must never do it again. One needs to be more selective about their promises. He shouldn't have ever promised to protect you. He cannot do that. Not if you do not help me. If that happens then he cannot keep his word. Which is unforgivable! If you die then he must die with you. It is the appropriate punishment for breaking one's word. One that I will have to carry out. He should have known better than promise you that. For I will kill you if you continue to resist. Then I will have to kill my apprentice. Honor will demand it. He has done quite the foolish thing."
That was one of the most chilling statements that I had ever heard in my life. He will kill 'Seus' if he kills me. And he will kill me if I resist him. There was no concern for me or his pupil. If I resisted then we would both die. He wouldn't care if the boy died. He was just do it. I realized what kind of man I was facing. It terrified me. I needed Howl now more than ever! Only I had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't arrive in time. I had to act on my own. I had to stand up to William without getting us killed!
Only that was easier said than done.
Next Chapter coming up!