Another chapter of the tale of mystery.
FAMILY SECRETS
A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC
Chapter 49
I couldn't put off helping. William of Hanover any longer. If I did then he would kill me and then 'Seus.' Now, I found myself agreeing to help to save his life! While I had a grudge against him I did not want him dead. I was not that cruel. Not that William shared that sentiment. Honor mattered more to him than his own apprentice's life. Either I cooperated or he killed us both. I had little other choice.
There was a critical problem though: I still had no idea on how to find it. What I told Edvard before I was true. I needed more than what I had to do anything. I needed a name, a date, a picture, or anything that would help me focus my magic. I told him this then he thought about it for a while. He eventually consulted some ancient book that I had never seen before. It didn't look like a spell book, but I wasn't sure. It was pretty ancient and regal. It certainly was odd. I wondered where it came from. To which he explained:
"This is my family tree. It dates back some three hundred years. It does not include the Queen that the story speaks of, but it gives us a more accurate idea of when she might have lived." He pointed to the first page in the book. "This is Edvard of Seuss. My first ancestor to be born in my world. He was born almost three hundred and twenty-five years ago. Shortly after the death of the Queen. My family was exiled around that time. So, we are likely talking about anywhere between three hundred and thirty years to four hundred years ago. That should give you a better idea of where to look."
"Edvard of Seuss?" I asked innocently.
"Yes, Edvard of Seuss. A man that time has forgotten. Even I do not know much about him. He was the first of my line. A mixture of your world and mine. He is the one that I owe my life to. It is why I named that boy 'Seus.' After my honored ancestor long ago."
"So then Seus really isn't his name?"
He waved me off. "Yes, yes. It's not Seus. It's Hans or Peter or something like that. Whatever these natives like to call their children here. It's completely and utterly boring if you ask me. Why have so many brats with the same name? It's maddening! I just improved his name when I took him in. If you want to know his original name then you will have to ask him. I don't know what it is nor do I care."
It was actually worse than I thought. Not only was 'Seus' not his name, but it forced on him by his enslaver. Who never took the time to learn his name. It was quite cold. Just like what I had come to expect from the man before me. Neither of us had any real value beyond what we could do. We were cannon fodder to him - One hundred percent expendable. We were in over our heads. How the hell was I getting out of this?
"Got it. Thanks." I said while trying to hide my fear. "This helps, but it still isn't enough. 70 years is a lot of time to play with. I can easily miss the mark. Do you know what her name was or what the item looks like?"
He shook his head. "No. That has also been lost to time. However," He started to dig through his papers. "I do have a wood cut of her husband, King Sedgewick the first. Would that help?"
I nodded. "It might. Please, show it to me."
It took him a minute then he found it. An old picture of a long dead king. I stared at the man and thought of the Queen. I realized that it might be possible to do this. There was still a great probability of error, but it was possible. Which it wasn't before. That was something, right? I was not really sure.
"I might be able to do it. However, I need two things."
"What are they?" He asked cautiously.
I asked for a flower and water. I didn't tell him that I already had a flower from Howl. He didn't need to know that. It was my ace in the hole. I had to keep it secret for now. I had no idea when it would be useful. Or if it would be useful. It didn't really matter right now. This would buy me more time. Time that would hopefully allow Howl to catch up. At least I hoped that it would. It was all that I had now. I would need him unless I could find a way to outwit William. Which wasn't looking very likely to happen. For the flowers appeared very quickly along with a large tub of water. Damn those wizards! They can make so many things appear out of nowhere! I needed that to take time! Oh well I had no choice but to try. Maybe I could get to it before he did. It was a long shot, but I had to take it.
I was out of time. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to find a way to prevent him from ever receiving this power. Or else Howl's world was going to be destroyed. All while staying alive. It was a very tall order indeed.
Next Chapter coming up!