Chapter Fourteen

DC: I don't own Howl's Moving Castle.

The breeze was warm, the sun shone through the sky, the sea lapped up against the sand. Sophie felt herself smile as she ran her hand through her short silver hair. It was nice to not have any more worries. It was nice to sit in the sun and enjoy life as she knew it to be.

But it wasn't as she knew it to be. She searched around her. The scene was too happy, though not happy enough without Howl, Markl, Calcifer or even the Witch. Where was the dark? She knew she and Howl were just fighting. The air here was too warm. The sun wasn't shining back there, nor were there any happy feelings at all.

Sophie stood up, her blue dress flapping in the warm wind, and walked out into the sea. Although the water pushed past her, she didn't feel anything. The warm was still there, but the water was supposed to be cold. It wasn't wet either; and there was no force in it at all. She shook her head. "This isn't home."

The sky blacked out. The waves disappeared. The black room came back into vision; her eyes never being able to adjust to the dark. She was still alone. A high pitched sound ran through her ears as she gasped for air. The pain in her chest came back. Nothing was as painful as the ringing in her ears and pain in her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as every gasp brought another round of pain and sound. It ate through her throat and soon she couldn't breathe at all and was consumed by coughs that rocked her body. She was left without oxygen and she could feel her eyes rolling. I'm going to die! she thought desperately, struggling against the need to pass out.

Just as Sophie couldn't take it any more, she remembered that she wasn't alone. Her husband found her in the darkness. Howl was with her and provided the light to lead them out. Just thinking his name made a pant of air meet her lungs. She felt the blood pulsing back to her brain as she held her throat and head. She kept her mind on her Howl and things became easier to control. She felt herself laying back down into the position she was in before the invasion sent her to that warm paradise.

She opened her eyes, took a moment, then said, "Markl."

--

Howl stared disbelievingly at Markl as he tried to dodge the young boy's attacks. They were fierce; nothing like Howl ever taught him, and they were dark. He blocked attacks and sent low leveled magic right back at him. Mark wasn't stopping. He came back, unharmed by the little things Howl threw at him.

Davies sat on the throne, legs crossed, hands on his lap, a smile fixed on his face. His eyes were the only thing that moved as Howl and Markl made their way around the dark. Howl growled in frustration, attacking with a little more force.

"He left you Markl, remember?" Davies called out to the young apprentice. "He left you for his new family."

Markl didn't say anything, but Howl felt his block on Markl's attacks weaken. The young boy was getting stronger out of rage. It could get worse, and Howl knew that Sophie was still lying on the floor behind him. He moved closer to her, hoping to protect her more that way.

"Oh, he's leading you to the other source of your misery." Davies didn't do anything but yell. His body kept the same posture, though the smirk on his face grew. "Take her away and he breaks. Go on. She could be all yours to kill."

"Markl!" Howl made sure that his voice was louder than the dark on the throne. "Markl, you've got to show me that you don't believe his lies!" Markl didn't do anything but advance closer. Howl could see the hate in his eyes. He knew he couldn't talk him out of anything. "Come on! I saved you from the streets."

The next hateful blow left Howl defenseless for a moment. He gathered himself up just in time to dodge another attack. Markl paused, gathering energy in his hands. Howl braced himself, closing his eyes and chanting. Markl threw what was in his hands but it didn't touch Howl. The dark energy was absorbed into the shield.

Markl stood, aiming another, when Sophie started to cough. Both Howl and Markl's full attention went to her. Howl chanted another shielding spell for the both of them, while Markl aimed another discharge of energy at her.

Howl managed to block it, but was feeling the stress. He opted to just stand in front of Sophie, saving anything he had. Markl moved closer.

Sophie lay still for several moments, her breathing coming back to normal, before she opened her eyes. She stared at the boy advancing towards them. "Markl," she croaked.

Markl stopped moving. Howl took a nervous glance at his wife. Tears stained her cheeks and new ones threatened to pour out. "Markl. I've—I've missed you dearly."

"Don't listen to her." Davies suddenly didn't have the confidence he did before. "Go on! Attack!"

"I've missed you at home." Sophie shifted positions. Howl wouldn't move, not trusting, but he felt a tug on his trousers. He looked down. "Howl move just a little. I feel so weak…I just couldn't…manage to move all the way…"

Howl looked down at Sophie. He could see her fierce trusting gaze behind the sweat matted hair and shallow complexion. He obeyed, reluctantly, but kept his eyes on both Markl and the throne.

"Markl don't you remember?" Sophie stared into his red eyes, ignoring the hypnotizing power. She could tell the question puzzled him. It was a good thing he was confused, it bought them time. "I promised you that I wouldn't leave. I would stay and we could be a family!"

Markl seemed to be mouthing something. Howl knew that it wasn't a chant. Was that a flicker of blue I saw in his eyes?

"Markl you've got to stop listening to the foolish woman! She will do nothing but deceive you!" Davies was up on his feet now, pointing an accusing finger at her. "She's going to have a baby! They're going to leave you behind!"

Markl stopped and stared at Sophie again, eyes blazing. Sophie's own eyes were fierce, even more so than Markl's. He seemed to back down a little. "Just because I'm going to have a baby doesn't mean that I will start a new family!" she bellowed. Sophie let her tears fall. She turned more to the young boy as she said, "I love Markl Fisher and he will always be apart of our family!"

"Sophie!" Howl almost moved in front of her again, but Markl was only hugging her. "Sophie, I've missed you guys so much! How is Calcifer?"

Sophie laughed weakly. There came a roar from the throne, and Howl was giving direction. "Markl, a shield charm now! Hold it as long as possible!" Howl turned back to Davies, who was on his feet now. His hair seemed to be floating around him, as his eyes burned, what seemed like literally, from their sockets. So much dark energy was emanating from him, that Howl could feel the cold suddenly attack his insides.

"You all will pay for his mistake!" Davies's voice got deeper. The light coming from the throne area had vanished, though everyone could still see the dark Wizard glowing. Howl's breath came out in shallow puffs of air. He felt cold down his whole body and had a hard time concentrating.

"Howl…I can't…"

Howl turned around to see Markl on his knees, the little barrier he set for them slowly started to disappear. Howl tried to move but his arms and legs couldn't. He didn't want it to end. He had to move, but was frozen to the spot. He watched in horror as the barrier finally collapsed, and Sophie's head dropped to the floor.

There came a chilling laugh. Howl turned just in time to see Davies about to leap on them all, but then a blue light covered the area.

--

Hello Lala Rue here!

Sorry for the unintentional lie. I really meant to update, but college came faster than expected. My first week went by fast and I found time to update. Just so everyone knows I plan on the next chapter to be the final one. It could be long, but it also has a chance to be short. (I'm not very good with fight scenes.)

And I want to give out a special thanks to my anonymous reviewer Brieanna. What you said cheered me up greatly, and further put me into inspiration to finish this story. It's taken me over a year to write this, and at times I've almost given up, but reviews like that remind me how much people actually like my writing. I wish you luck with your own stories! Thank you again, and thanks for reading my story!

I would like to thank everyone also who have had this much patience with me. You guys have been with me through the long run and I'm happy you haven't given up on me!

I'll update soon!

Love, Lala Rue!

(P.S.: Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!)