Finding me (Howl x Reader)

PART I EARLY LIFE

I've always found it a tiny bit bizarre how my grandma used to tell me that I was a witch, and that I must find my way to "another world" to learn magic. Whereas my mum would tell me that there is no such thing as magic, and I mustn't take grandma's words seriously. "She's just trying to make your life a little more fun" my mum would say.

As a little girl, naturally, I preferred to believe that I am a witch. Grandma told me so many stories about "another world", full of powerful wizards and witches, where people use magic in their daily lives, but they don't have any modern technology that we do. 

"They don't have any phones?" I asked astonished and my grandma shook her head. "And no TV's? even these huge ones?" Once again, the answer was negative. 

Nonetheless, I was fascinated by this "another word". "Just imagine, being able to fly! And... and I wouldn't have to do anything myself, it could be done with magic!" I was thinking out loud. However, my mum, for some reason, wasn't very fond of such talks. "Y/N, dear, would you stop this and go do your homework?" she'd say.

I didn't care what she had to say. I was just a child after all. I had a magic wand made of a tree branch I found in our backyard. I also had a pile of spells and charms "books" which in fact was just a pile of notebooks with silly spells and charms I made up. My imagination was surely impacted by the place I grew up – Wales. This picturesque, mysterious and simply beautiful place indeed made me believe there could be more to what I know or what my mum wants me to know. Even though many things I saw when climbing the hills, hiking, or reading  books by the sea I created in my head, there was one instance I witnessed something that definitely wasn't from our world. It changed my life forever.

It happened in the evening. The sun was about to set, it was getting colder. I was sitting by the wall of castle remains on the hill. For some reason I felt uncomfortable, scared even. I looked around to see if there was anyone on the hill with me. I didn't notice at first, but after a second or two I saw a boy of my age standing on my left, almost on the edge of a cliff. There was something about him, something so mysterious that drew me towards him, but it also seemed to be frightening and dangerous. I decided to try my luck and moved towards this boy. I took no more than five steps when the mysterious fellow jumped off of the cliff. I gasped. With slight hesitation I started moving towards the cliff, walking at first, then running. By the time I reached the edge of the cliff I was shocked even more to see the boy walking in the air. "Great heavens" I said to myself. "He's flying! He's walking in thin air". I thought "I must be dreaming. That's right, I fell asleep on the hill. That's just a dream".

As I learned later, it wasn't a dream after all. The boy started walking in the air towards an old hut just at the foot of the hill. I couldn't understand why, but I felt like I needed to follow him. Slowly but steadily the boy reached the hut without turning his face to me. He entered the hut leaving the door slightly open. I followed.

As I entered the hut, I suddenly found myself in an immense hall. "No, it can't be", I thought to myself, "this can't be the inside of this tiny little hut I just entered". The boy I followed seemed to be long gone. I started to look around. It looked like a palace. The stairs, the carpets, marble, golden vases and white statues, just like in a museum I visited last week. "it is a palace" I mumbled.

I was too afraid to go any further, so I decided to come back where I came from and stay out of a trouble. After all, it was not like me at all. What was I thinking following this boy who appeared out of nowhere and then started flying? I must've lost my mind. Perhaps I am still dreaming. I reached the door and turned the knob. I opened the door with some effort just to find a busy city street outside. It wasn't anything like any street from back home. People wore different clothes: no jeans, no miniskirts, no shirts with funny prints. Just plain or moderate long dresses on women and suits on men. Another thing that hit me, there are no cars, no busses, no signs of metro anywhere. What on earth is this place? Is it.... Could it possibly be the true? The "another world"? At least it all matched up – magic. The boy must be a wizard of some kind. And this world is so different from mine...

Before I could think about it more, I was approached by a young lady. I was scared to death because of all I just witnessed. "Y/N, Welcome to Kingsbury. Madam Suliman is expecting you," she said. "I am sorry no one came to meet you at once. We had a bit of a trouble at the palace. Please follow me."

"How does she know my name? and why am I following her like that? What has gotten into me?" I thought.

As it later appeared, it was indeed "another world" – Ingary, my grandma was talking about it... it was real. The reason I was brought to Madam Suliman was because I indeed was a witch, it runs in my family. As it turns out, my grandma was from Ingary, but once she traveled to our world and met my grandpa. They were so in love, she decided to give up on her powers and live a regular life. My mum was aware of it and she was very concerned I might learn the truth. She was afraid of what magic could get me into. After all, it is not only about flying and having fun.