❛ 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 ❜

4

y/n didn't know how long she stayed on the rooftop after the blond wizard left her, she was breathless and still on cloud nine but unfortunately for her, she knew that she'd have to come back to reality soon and return to her lethargic life. when she finally returned home, she looked up at the building as a pool of anxiety formed in her stomach. the h/c-haired woman then leaned down, turned over a fake rock, and grabbed the spare key that was inside.

she fumbled with the key for a moment as she could sense the tension in the air. the house was unnervingly quiet, save for the faint ticking of the clock in the hallway. not only that, but the lights were still on inside, meaning that someone was still wide awake. y/n knew it had to be her mother. "damn it..." she muttered to herself before pushing the door open where she was met with the piercing gaze of her mother, standing there but a mere feet away like a sentinel, her arms crossed and a look of fury etched on her face.

"where the hell have you been?" the older woman yelled, tossing the newspaper to the ground. "do you know what time it is?" she said, her voice filled with disdained and not a grain of worry for her only daughter. "where have you been?" she repeated.

y/n swallowed hard, trying to find the right words to appease the brewing storm. "i-i lost track of time, mom. i'm sorry." she apologized.

"lost track of time?" her mother's voice rose with each word, dripping with incredulity, not caring that y/n's younger brother was fast asleep upstairs. "it's nearly two in the morning! you should've been home hours ago!" she pointed out the obvious.

y/n could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she tried to steady her voice. "i know, i know, mom. i'm really sorry. it won't happen again." she promised.

but her mother wasn't having it. "just what were you up to, young lady?"

y/n paused as she looked away. well, there was no point in lying to her mother about what happened to her earlier. "a few guards were being shameful toward me and a man stepped in and sent them away. oh, it was so magical..." her heart fluttered at the remembrance of the wizard's beautiful golden locks and equally as enchanting blue eyes. she smiled to herself.

"excuse me?" her mom raised a brow. "what, was he a wizard or something?" she asked, genuinely interested for once in her life which surprised y/n since her mother never really cared for her, she always was paying attention to alex unless she wanted to pestered her about doing chores, help running the family's store, or bringing up the idea of marriage. 

"he was very gentle..." y/n said, softly. "and he saved me."

"so, you had your heart stolen, haven't you? if that wizard had been howl, your heart would have been eaten," the older woman advised as if y/n didn't know this already. "you must be more careful. listen. it's getting dangerous out there. some say recently even the wicked witch of the waste is back, so you can't just go galavanting whenever you feel like it."

"it wasn't him," y/n swiftly shook her head. "it wasn't howl. i heard his targets are beautiful girls." he wouldn't waste his time preying on someone like her—she just wasn't pretty enough.

"well..." her mother started up again, clasping her hands together. "even if you did run into howl, i hardly doubt he'd want you, especially if he knew just how immature and disrespectful you are," she said, prompting her daughter's breath to hitch. "do you realize how embarrassed i was when you stormed out of the restaurant?"

y/n's frustration bubbled to the surface. "immature? disrespectful? you want to talk about disrespect, mom? what about the constant jokes you make at my expense? or how you're always trying to pawn me off to some man like i'm some kind of commodity?" she sassed.