Hello, Readers! Hope all is well in your lives. I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to those who have followed/favorited/reviewed the story! The support is really motivating, and I am so pleased you enjoy the story enough to keep reading it. So thank you - you are all so wonderful in every way ^.^

Enjoy Chapter 5!

Chapter 5

Markl, the Witch, and the traveler ate their breakfast with more consistent conversation and fewer uncomfortable silences as their meal progressed. Once Maggie had displayed her abilities, Markl peppered her with questions regarding her magical resume.

"So, do you have a mentor?" Markl asked, with wide eyes, leaning across the wooden table with eager anticipation.

"I wouldn't call her that," the girl sighed. "I studied a bit under my grandmother – it was not a formal mentorship what-so-ever. We really didn't see eye-to-eye…"

"Wow!" Markl exclaimed. "I study under Master Howl – he's taught me a lot, though, he can be rather absent at times. Granny has helped fill in some blanks though."

"He's the worst student I've ever seen," Granny groaned. "Markl has the attention span of a teaspoon and finds no joy in acquiring a solid basis of knowledge before attempting extravagant spells."

"Granny!" Markl exclaimed. "Don't talk about me like I'm not even here! I DO have a good base, you just refuse to teach me anything EXCITING!"

Magnolia took the opportunity to chew her food and take in the scene before her. This is not at all what she expected from Horrible Howl's henchmen. They seemed more like a dysfunctional family rather than evil-doers. As Markl and Granny's conversation got a bit more heated, laughter overcame her. When she giggled, there was a sharp, stabbing pain in her ribs. Magnolia clutched her right side and held her breath. Granny and Markl both looked over to her with deep concern across their flushed faces.

"Maggie, dear?" The old witch said, voice heavy with concern. "Are you unwell?"

"Aye, sorry. I took a dreadful fall out in the Wastes," She sucked in another painful breath through pursed lips. "The bruise is rather dreadful, I'm sure I cracked the rib."

"Oh my dear," Granny said. "Let us see it then."

Magnolia untucked the right side of her shirt, raising it just enough to expose her lower ribs. Granny and Markl gasped at the deep purple and blue bruise. "Well then Markl," The Witch said with a gleam in her eye. "Fix her up!"

"What?! Me?!" Markl yelled. "Maggie, why don't you fix it up yourself? You seem to know plenty…"

"I don't know too much Markl," Maggie said, slightly embarrassed by her lack of ability. "I honestly only know a few spells of necessity. You know, like cooking food without a fire or bewitching a broom or two to help get the chores done."

A soft 'oh' left Markl's lips. An uncomfortable silence befell the room, until…

"Hey, Mags," Calcifer said from his cozy hearth. "There's a salve that will help your rib up on the counter there."

Maggie's gaze followed his flaming finger to a small jar on the wooden counter-top. "Oh," Maggie said. She got up from the bench and made her way to the counter behind the table. She opened the jar and the smell of cinnamon hit her nose. Carefully, she took another whiff of the contents of the jar, trying to rule out any possibility of being turned into some kind of animal or root-based vegetable. Calficer seemed to sense her uncertainty.

"It's honestly just a medicinal salve, kid."

Well, she thought to herself. I haven't lost my heart yet – it's worth a try.

Maggie lifted the side of her shirt to find Markl at her side. "I can put it on, if you want."

Maggie smiled at him and nodded, grateful for the extra set of hands. Markl applied a generous layer of the salve, making Maggie gasp with the sudden chill from the cream-like substance. The chill was soon replaced by a warm, tingling sensation that seemed to dull the ache that appeared to persist after her bout of giggles.

Maggie turned to Calcifer, "Thank you, Calcifer! It feels better already."

"Don't thank me, kid."

Markl got up, and retrieved a roll of cloth bandages. "Let's put this over it," he suggested. "The effects will last longer."

With a smile, Maggie held her shirt to expose her stomach and low back. She saw a small blush grace Markl's cheeks as he got to work, wrapping the bandage snuggly around her lower ribs. "Thank you, Markl." She said with a smile.

He nodded, then moved to clear the dishes from the table and began washing them. Maggie was about to help, when Calcifer's voice interrupted her.

"Howl left me a message to deliver to you, Miss Maggie."

Maggie stopped, feeling the color drain from her face. "He knows I'm here?"

Calcifer huffed, sending a bit of ash into the air, "Of course he knows you're here. He has permitted you to stay here as long as you contribute to the castle to earn your keep."

"I can stay?" Maggie asked, dumbly.

Calcifer rolled his eyes dramatically, "Yes, girl! Weren't you listening? Look, you have some pretty basic responsibilities while you're here. You are to maintain the upkeep of your room, keep those fools fed," He gestured towards the old witch and Markl, "Keep me well fueled, and help Markl with our customers."

Maggie's jaw still hung loosely agape. I wander in from the Waste and now I'm an employee of Howl?

"That is," Calcifer said, voice sounding a bit more sullen. "If you want to stay."

Maggie stood there, finally closing her mouth. If she stayed here, she could see the world. Get some real training. Help people in need. If she stayed here, she'd be working for Horrible Howl and no doubt enabling his devilish ways. Is he really so horrible? Maggie wondered to herself. She looked over to Markl, still washing dishes but listening intently to her discussion with Calcifer. She looked to the old witch, who pretended to be much more interested in cleaning her ears than the conversation at hand. The whole castle appeared to be waiting for her answer. After another moment, she broke the silence.

"Well, hell," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "I guess I can do all of that – I'm rusty in the magic department though, and I'm less than qualified for this job…"

"That's okay!" Markl shouted, sending soap into the air as he hastily wiped off his hands on a rag. "I can catch you up! And Master Howl is the best teacher in the world, he really is! You just gotta listen to his weird gibbering, but it does start to make some sense after a while. Oh, and he can be a bit of a pompous ass, but don't take it personally."

Maggie was about to respond when there was a sounding bell and a click. Maggie turned in time to see the colorful dial by the door switch from green to red. "Kingsbury door," Calcifer announced.

"Perfect," Markl said, grabbing onto Maggie's hand. "Your training starts now – we have our first customer."

He dragged her over to the desk with cabinets above it. It was a mess of magical writing on parchment and little parcels and jars were all about the stacks of books. Markl opened the cabinet revealing more parcels, little bags, and jars with labels. They have quite the cliental, Maggie thought to herself as Markl opened a ledger carefully locating the name he was expecting. As he flipped through the pages, Maggie saw a ridiculous number of locations they were servicing. Kingsbury, Porthaven, Market Clipping (though most of those were crossed out)… How do they-?

"Hey, keep up!" Markl shouted, donning a deep blue cloak and putting the hood up. A few giggles escaped Maggie's lips as Markl disguised himself with a massive silver-grey beard. "Hey, I'm practicing."

Maggie placed a hand to her lips, "Very good, kind sir." She gave him a slight curtsy to emphasize her sassy tone. She got what she would like to think was a smirk beneath the bushy facial hair.

She followed Old-Man Markl towards the door as he turned the dial from green to red. He opened the door, and much to Maggie's surprise, they were no longer looking out into the Waste any more. Before her stood a strong-looking man not much older than her and a bustling street behind him. Car horns honked and the smell of fuel found its way to Maggie's nose in the castle. Her jaw fell agape. What a fantastic portal, she thought in amazement.

"Good day, sir" The man spoke. "I'm here to pick up my spell from the Wizard Pendragon. Is it ready?"

The exchange occurred, Markl using a shakier version of his own voice to sell the elderly-disguise. The man in the doorway caught her eye. "M'lady," He said removing his cap. Maggie smiled with a bit of color rising to her cheeks, giving the man a friendly wave from the top of the stairs. Markl bid the man farewell and shut the door.

"Boy, you're going to be trouble," Markl said walking past her while removing his hood. The ridiculous facial hair disappeared as well. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do."

And so, Maggie continued to follow Markl as if she were his shadow for the rest of the day. Around noon she made them all lunch, then they continued to work on spells for the upcoming day. Maggie even got her hands dirty a couple times, turning the dial on the magical door, creating a spell to help a sail capture the wind, gather random ingredients for a salve Markl was making for a fisherman's wife. It was fun, but time consuming. When she got in the way, Markl would hand her a book on magical concepts and use that the old witch would help her go through. By the end of the day, when dinner was done and dishes were clear, she pulled a chair up to the hearth. Markl put out the lanterns and tucked the old witch into her bed.

"Hey Maggie," Markl said from the bottom of the stairs. "You'll stick around a while, right?"

Maggie smiled and turned to face the boy on the stairs, "Yes, Markl. Until Horrible Howl kicks me out or eats my heart!"

"He's not like that, you know," Markl said, a sad look came over his face. "He's really not a bad guy. Goodnight, Maggie."

"Goodnight, Markl!" Maggie said, hoping that she didn't offend him. She was scared, and tried to play it off with humor towards his absent master.

Maggie opened the book of basic spells and wizardry and placed it on the edge of Calcifer's hearth. He creeped forward to give her some light to read the passages and admire the magical figures.

"You don't have to learn it all in one night, kid," Calcifer said gently, looking up at her tired but eager eyes. "There's always tomorrow."

"Oh, I know," Maggie yawned deeply. "I just want to be of more help tomorrow – less dead-weight, you know?"

Maggie rested her chin on her forearms as she read the book with Calcifer. Her eyelids grew heavy, and Calcifer watched as sleep overcame the young girl. He smiled when her head tilted to the side, resting safely on her arms as a pillow. She was beautiful, truly. His fire brought out the red in her strawberry-blonde hair, and the freckles lightly sprinkled across her nose and cheeks were endearing. Her breathing was soft and steady, and her pink lips were slightly parted.

The dial on the door clicked to the black wedge, and the door creaked open. Howl made his way up the stairs, sloughing off his exuberant coat and tossing it over the railing. When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw the sleeping girl, book open, and fire demon watching over her.

"You were out late," Calcifer whispered snarkily.

Howl moved closer to the hearth, placing his hand on the back of the girl's chair. "How was her first day?"

"She made all the meals, using magic each time," Calcifer reported. "She even helped Markl with some of the customers today. She knows some, but there are definite gaps in her knowledge, Howl. She's going to need a better mentor than the boy."

"Hn." Howl said, moving his eyes down to the girl. "So she chose to stay."

Howl slid the book carefully out from under the girl's arms, walking to the desk to grab a small piece of thread to hold her place. He opened her bedroom door and lit the lantern and returned to the sleeping girl. He leaned her back carefully into his arms, picking her up easily – bridal style. Her head slid onto his chest and he heard a gentle sigh. Maggie shifted in her arms until she had a loose grasp on his tunic-shirt. He hummed to himself as he moved her to her room.

As he laid her down on the bed, he saw her eyes open slightly. Through her sleepy haze she mumbled, "Thank you." And fell back into a slumber.

Howl removed the girl's grip from his shirt, pulled the quilt up around her and returned to the now vacant chair by the fire. "I will be in house tomorrow," Howl announced to Calcifer.

"Huh, finally going to handle your responsibilities, eh?" the fire said in a snarky tone. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Now Calcifer," Howl said in a demeaning tone. "I have a new student! I wonder if she'll dare to stay once she meets Horrible Howl in the flesh."

Howl leaned back in the chair, rocking it onto its rear legs as he kicked his legs up onto the hearth. He lounged there, hands supporting his head as he leaned back. Calcifer rolled his eyes, hard.

"Don't underestimate the girl,"Calcifer said, the snores of the Witch resonating throughout the room making Howl groan.

"I can't listen to this," Howl said as he gestured to the old woman. "Heat some hot water for my bath."

Calcifer sighed and complied, too tired to come up with a snarky retort.

Author's Note:

I know, I know... she hasn't met Howl yet... BUT they're going to meet next chapter… I PROMISE! do you think it's going to go well? Or is Horrible Howl going to earn the name?

Hope you're having a lovely start to the week!

Until next time,

JMaine