Florian and Ash made their way back upstairs. Ash caught a chill on the way up the stairs, and she visibly shivered. She turned to Florian, and looked down at Jade in the bucket.
"Do neither of you feel that?" She implored. Florian nodded, and Jade bounced in the bucket.
"I do! I do!" She said excitedly. They continued up the stairs, and reached the room where they'd left Howl and Al. As they peered into the room, it looked like the abyss. They could see nothing, and the room looked empty. The Fire Demon spoke up,
"I feel energy like Milton here! I thought you said he was dead!!!" She screeched.
"He is, but at the hands of another of his kind." Florian said, looking at the room. The darkness was stirred as a small voice spoke,
"Cold..." The voice sounded female, and they assumed it was Al. She sounded so far off, she was hard to hear. They started to approach the room, when the door slammed shut in their faces, leaving them staring in wonderment.
On the other side of the door, Al slowly lifted her head. There was someone else in the room, sitting on her bed. Their head was slow, and she couldn't tell who it was. She looked through blurry eyes, and she slowly spoke,
"Howl?" She asked. The Wizard looked up. His azure eyes were soft, and almost defeated behind his black hair.
"You're alive..." He said, seeming to try to reassure himself. She nodded, and tried to sit up, when she slipped and Howl caught her in his arms. Her head rolled to the side, and Howl caught the sight of blood. He gasped, and he withdrew himself a bit, and he moved her mahogany hair to the side. There was a large cut to the back of her neck, from the shattering of the bottle. She had lost a lot of blood. He needed to get her home, but first he had to stop the bleeding. He looked for something, anything to clean off the wound. He lifted her from the bed, and he cradled her in his arms. He kicked the bedroom door open, and he stormed out past the others, Al falling limply in his arms. Ash and Florian fell back as the door was opened swiftly. They watched, and Ash spoke up.
"Is she alright?" She asked, concerned for the well being of her friend.
"She's lost a lot of blood." Howl said simply. He couldn't tell what else beyond that was wrong, if anything. He hoped it wasn't anything more serious, because he couldn't cope if something happened to her. He pushed those sort of thoughts from his head, and he walked into the bathroom in the hall. He gently sat her down on a chair in the corner. He grabbed a towel hanging near the sink. He ran some water on it, and he moved back to her. He lifted her hair back to the side, and he gently laid the towel over the wound. The water washed the claret away, and he cleaned the wound as best he could. It looked pretty deep. He ran his hand over it, and his ring glowed red. The light stopped as the injury looked more like a cat scratch. He removed the towel, and tossed it to the floor. He put his arms around her, and he lifted her princess style, and he started out of the bathroom. As he did, the walls behind him started to crumble. Ash and Florian listened in horror was the house started to cave it.
"What did you do!?" Florian cried. Howl looked at him, no hint of emotion to his features.
"We leave now." He said simply. He felt no need to explain himself. He did for him, not for others. He moved down the stairs noisily, and he pushed the front door open. He stepped out into the abylss darkness, and he never looked back to see if they were coming. He knew they would keep up. He heard the house fall noisily to the ground behind him, and he didn't even stop to glance. He moved through town, and he got looks carrying Al like he was. She had to get home, she had to rest. He never slowed his pace, and he knew they were behind him, he could hear the nagging of the fire Demon the entire way. He smiled lightly over that thought, and he slowly looked around, he knew he was close to home. His ring glowed, and he turned to the others.
"My Castle is near. You may dwell there for a time." He said simply. Demanding, and the couple didn't really have a choice. He looked to the west, and with a great clattering bang, the Castle appeared; walking from in between some mild knolls. He looked back as he heard a gasp, and he smiled lightly. The female of the other couple looked a bit apprehensive. He took some steps towards the castle, and he could hear Florian assuring his love it would be alright. The Castle halted before them, and he took a step up the stairs, and he didn't look back. He left the door open for them, and he quickly mounted the stairs. He looked at Calcifer as he entered, carrying Al.
"What happened?!" Calcifer blazed. Howl looked at him, as he sat in a chair, cradling Al to his chest. He looked her over, once he got into some light, and she looked a little better, but still had a long ways to go.
"Milton hit her over the head with a bottle." He said darkly. The mention of Milton made his blood boil. Calcifer started to say something else as the door to the Castle shut, and the other three ran in. They looked about, and they cautiously took seats near to Howl.
"This is the other that was held captive there." Howl said, motioning at Ash. She waved at Calcifer, and she slowly placed the bucket on the table. She looked into it, and Jade looked scared. She raised an eyebrow.
"Is something the matter?" She asked her. The demon looked from the walls of the bucket into her eyes.
"There's a demon in here!" She squeal in a loud whisper. Ash assumed she meant Calcifer, and she smirked. She looked at Howl, and she asked,
"She's running out of fuel, may she stay near your Demon?" Ash tipped the bucket towards him, and the little fire demon blinked her large eyes at him, and he smiled lightly and nodded. Ash then stood, picking up the bucket. She walked into the hearth area, and tossed the bucket towards the fire. Calcifer winced, and thought it to be water, but instead, out rolled a little demon like himself.
"Hello." He said with a grin, and she giggled, and scurried into the fire place, cuddling up to him.
"Hi there!" She said, nuzzling him. He blushed, if that were possible for a fire demon, and he looked back at the couples. Howl stood, and he slowly turned back to the couple.
"There's an extra bed over there, I'm sorry it's not luxerious. I'll try to fix it tomorrow. I have to get her upstairs. I will see you both in the morning." He turned to the fires, nodding good night, and he carried Al upstairs.
Ash and Florian looked at each other, and their lips met for the first time. It felt like fire ignited in them, and then exhaustion set it. Florian scooped up as Howl had Al, and he carried her towards the makeshift bed. Then, slowly, the fire demons too went to sleep, making everything in the large moving castle sleeping, and resting for the happier days to come.