• The Demon's Curse •

19: In Which Lily Visits Wales

        "Wales? Why?" Lily asked.
"It's a piece of home. Some of us don't mind sharing."
"I didn't know you were Welch." she said, slightly horrified.
"Of course you didn't. After all, who would be frightened by a Welch Wizard?"
        Lily smiled when he said this. It's true. No one would be afraid of a juice brand wizard. Lily looked out her white-board sized window. It was hard to see past the fog and vinary but she liked it.
"You still have family there?" She asked, spotting a row of flats. Ifrit had also jumped up on the window, just as Michael came stumbling in with a bleeding hand. 
        Howl rushed over to Michael, thinking quickly and wrapping his injured hand in a spare handkerchief. "What happened Michael?"
The Gyptian boy squeezed his hand, repressing the needle-like pain. Through clenched teeth he uttered, "It was that damned cat! He just kept staring and I thought it was hungry. So I laid a dish of cream and he attacked me!"
        Lily's head turned sharply, as she grabbed the cat by the scruff of his neck. "Bad Ifrit!" She yelled, giving him a flick to the nose. The demon even hissed at her before he scurried off under the bed.
"Ifrit?" Howl asked, raising a brow.
        Lily sighed, "It's what I decided to call him, though perhaps Lucifer was a better option."
"I should have some medicine to take care of that." Howl began to look through shelves and cupboards as Lily and Michael followed him downstairs. He reemerged with a small wooden chest, no bigger than his hand.
        "PollyMaple?" Lily read aloud. That wasn't an herb she had ever heard of before.
"That's right. And it seems I've run out." He tapped his chin with his forefinger and pursed his lips in thought. 
"I suppose we'll be taking a trip then."
        "Where?" Lily asked, rinsing Michael's bleeding hand.
"To my sister's in Wales. She's a Medicine woman." he said, packing away the chest in a coat pocket.
"Why not just use magic to fix him?" Lily asked, closing the wound with some thread. She had never seen a cat scratch so hard. The wound was deep and seemed to drag through his hand effortlessly. She would need a word with Ifrit later.
        Howl let out a sigh. One of those sighs that Lily knew all too well by now. The Lily-You-Closed-Minded-Fool sigh. "I'm a Wizard not a doctor. I can't just wave my hands and make everything better."
Calcifer wheezed in his hearth in a fit of unexpected laughter. Howl glared at him, "Shut it. Lily you come with me. I have a feeling, my sister will bicker less with you around."
        "What about me?" Michael shrieked. "You can't just leave me here with him!" He frantically pointed at the stalking cat in the hallway.
"Don't worry Michael. I'll be sure he doesn't hurt you again." Calcifer's evil eyes slide over to the feline dangerously. Ifrit bristled and backed away, finding a bench to lay upon.
        Lily fetched her coat and followed Howl. He turned the dial Black down and yanked Lily along behind him. The blackness was short but felt suffocating. If she hadn't of followed Howl than she surely would have gotten lost. Lily expected the sun to be blinding her as it does so many times in Upper Folding but found herself wide eyed at the scene. A thick fog settled in on the small housing areas. Howl began walking down a narrow concrete path, about as colorless as the sky.
        Lily mimicked his steps until they reached an old garden gate. It was mossy and smelled of rotten driftwood. The wizard turned to Lily, "I know you are a clever girl so pay attention. You are not to mention the Castle or Calcifer. You are not to mention you are from the flat plane or that we have income. You should be pretty good at spinning lies by now." 
        Somehow, his last statement really sent a pang in her chest. She never meant to lie or hurt anyone. She just wanted to go home. She felt even worse when she felt her glasses in her pocket. He fixed them for her even after he found out that she lied.
        Within a moment, Howl's best red and gold suit turned brown tattered. She, herself looked shabby so nothing seemed to change for her. Howl led her into the garden which seem to hold no flowers but vegetables. He held a ring of keys in his pocket fiddled with one that seemed to open the run down yellow flat.
        Once inside, shouting could be heard. Shouting and laughing. 
"Howell!" Shouted a woman. The woman was seemingly older than Howl, with the base of a scarf being knitted in her hand. She took her time to stand when a small girl was being followed by two older boys. The girl instantly jumped into Howl's arms and stuck her tongue out at the two boys. 
"Mari!" He smiled at her. 
        "Uncle Howell! How was your trip? Did you bring me back anything?" The tiny girl asked. She was a spitting image of her mother; the woman knitting. 
"I'm not sure. I only bring gifts to good girls."
        She pouted her lip, as far forward as it could go. She even leaned in close to his ear, "They won't believe me that you can do magic."
He smiled and rubbed her nose with his own, "That's alright. I don't think I can do much magic either." He held a small parcel in his palm wrapped in red. She rambled off something in Welch quickly once she caught sight of Lily. Howl put her down and watched her run off to the living room. 
        The mother smiled and gave Howl a quick hug, "It's good to see you again."
Howl placed his hand on the small of Lily's back, encouraging her forward. "This is Lily Mason, Lily this is my Sister Megan Parry. You've already seen my rotten niece."
        Another boy came up to meet Lily, "Hello, I'm Neil. Howell's favorite nephew!" The boy looked a lot like Michael with dark hair as he popped out from behind his mother's shirts. She scolded him lowly, making Lily jump.
Another boy popped out from the other side, "I'm Grayson and I'm Howell's favorite!" Both boys fought for Lily's attention, making her shrink awkwardly. Megan gave a firm yank to both of their ears and scolded again in Welch.
        "I've told you both I don't have a favorite and if I did, it's Mari." Howl corrected. 
Megan quirked a brow and seemed to give Lily a once over. Not a very pleased look, found her face.
"Gareth isn't here-"
"What a shame. We can't stay longer. I'm afraid we'll miss your husband."
        Megan was annoyed, as if she didn't know what her brother was up to. Again. 
"I was wondering if you had any PollyMaple on hand. Michael got hurt and I've seem to run out."
        Megan's look of disapproval slipped as she went over to her small, old fashioned kitchen. Howl offered her the chest where she sprinkled dried leaves inside. They smelled good, much like fresh moss and pumpkin spice. She tapped her finger on the counter, "Oh, and lest I forget; Miss Angorian wanted a word with you."
"Neil's teacher? Why?"
        "Something about his homework, she refused to tell me. She said that you two had known each other longer and that it was important."
If you haven't been paying attention; unlike Lily, you wouldn't have noticed Howl's change in moods. For some reason he didn't like the mentioning of Miss Angorian and hid it very well. It was clear he didn't want to reveal something.
        "Where is she living these days?" he asked, carefully tucking the chest away.
"That flat over by the Phillip's Tea Shop. The old road behind the cemetery." She snapped her fingers, trying to desperately remember the name of the road.
"Cardiff Road." Howl finished for her.

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