Disclaimer: I do not own Howl's Moving Castle

A/N: Okay, I have returned, but only on the cough polite request of anymousse rox but she or he will have to cease their complaints when I have to go away and revise for my exams. But alright, since she highjacked by other story in order for me to update this one. Or he. I have to admit telling me that he or she was a huge fan kind of convinced me to write a new chapter.

Also, some of you may have noticed that I changed the rating of the story to T because I was thinking that the content of the previous chapters between Kain and Daniella concerning their inner thoughts wasn't appropriate for a K+ rating.

I was also thinking that I might make a regularity of dedicating chapters to people who review ever since anymousse rox requested a chapter and I thought 'why not dedicate the chapter to her as well' sorry! I called her a her again without knowing her gender. Sorry! Although sorry if you are a girl and that I might be...you know. Anyway here's a new chapter and don't worry Teks, I have a special chapter in mind for you.

Chapter Twenty

For mangaanimefan4eva

It was just as she had remembered. After all those years of wondering if it had changed without her or that she could remember those years that Lady Belladonna tried to force her to forget. The memories still found a way to remain. Or was it because they remained because she allowed them to haunt her? The cold, stone buildings were still there. The train that sent a cloud of smoke sweeping across the rooftops still remained. The bright sun shining down upon the paved streets, glistening against its smooth surface as it always had done. She resisted twirling around in circles and laughing and crying to herself. She would look too much like a maniac and she didn't want to send Kain away running for his life, thinking that she was a lunatic. Instead she restrained herself as she always had done and looked around in a childlike wonder and sometimes giggled at seeing the street children running around, playing games or, as she knew all too well, up to no good. Her laughter was like silver bells to Kain. A pure, sweet music. The kind which made you stop in your tracks and listen to its precious symphony. It was the kind of tune that promised to save souls from desolation and comforted him as the mother he had long lost before he could even rightfully call himself a man. It was as rich as honey, it was irresistible.

It made him want to reach out to her and express in all the human and physical ways possible to express how he felt about her. It could even break a heart of stone and turn it into gold.

"Daniella." He breathed huskily.

She turned to him, her eyes were clouded by a sunlit daze. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when a warm, summer breeze brushed against her dark locks. She looked at him still with the electric, childlike wonder. All these moments took him back to that night and took her back to the innocence that he destroyed. But he reminded himself of a greater force that motivated him to do so and it was the force that he was continually fighting against.

She stepped forward with a frown hanging on her face. "What is it Kain?"

He felt a huge lump in his throat block up all the air in his body. He didn't know what to tell her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her that it was alright if she didn't love him in return. He froze and stood erect in front of her like a silent statue. Daniella took this opportunity to observe the dark figure in the sunlight. He seemed more beautiful in the sunlight opposed to the dark that he shrank into. Every angle and curve of his face was outlined by a golden line of light. His skin seemed warmer but paler at the same time. His eyes now glowed with soft ambers, greens and brown. His raven black hair now seemed to have strands of hazel and gold. He looked majestic, like a Prince in his first moments of being King. At the moment she was snapped back into reality and realised that they could never be. He was too good for her. Who was he? A learned, mysterious, wise and reclusive sorcerer. And who was she?

She was a naïve, still had much to learn, an open book girl studying to become a sorceress. He was her tutor and they could never be anything more. No matter how much she yearned for it. He was too strict and sensible to allow something like that to happen.

He regained by closing his eyes and putting his thoughts back together. He was starting to make it obvious that he had unsettling feelings between them and he wanted to hide from that her more than anything.

"I was just thinking that we ought to get this dress, shopping thing over and done with. Neither of us want to spend too much time here do we?" He asked wincing. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"No." She replied calmly. She didn't want to spend too much time there. Not before her past would come caving in again.

Ten years earlier...

It was coming. The heavens were raining down her giving her the signal fire that it was going to happen that day and that there was nothing she could do to stop it. For weeks on end she had been haunted by images of chaos and blood. Black bodies crashing, colliding against each other and exploding with red flying out of them like fountains. She would always wake up gasping for breath and drowning in sweat. The only reason why it haunted her was because she saw something in that dream which terrified her more than those dark, dangerous images. After she had awoken from those visions she would be too afraid to sleep again and she would remain awake until the sun rose protecting her from the dangers of the night.

Ella would ask her what it was that was troubling her but she would simply turn away. Too afraid of telling her of secrets of the future. She thought that perhaps it was her magic that was testing her. In case she told them of her powers it would act against her and punish her in the most horrible way possible. So she drew back into herself, deciding to face her fears alone. As she always had done until Ella had come along. She didn't know that there would be more years to come which would demand her to stretch her ability of self-efficiency. That she would have to continue having to go things alone. She didn't know that she would have a saviour that she would feel was hovering above her head, always watching over her like Ella.

As she walked through those streets she allowed the rain to drench her. Drown her in the misery that it was commemorating. The streets were grey, they were no longer sparkling as they were in the morning with the promise of a new day. Now there were to be no more promises. It was marking that day which she would depart and return to her loneliness. She wanted to cry out but she knew that it was not yet time to throw out her despair. She still had time to hold back and keep her emotions close to her chest before she would wander about the streets, returning to the ghost of her former self.

Then she heard it. The gunshot. The gunshot that would shoot a hole through her perfect image of her life. She was so careful. She tried it all ways possible to make sure that it wouldn't break apart. Everything else inside her, before this life was broken. Her past family was broken and faded away. Her soul was almost broken and now there was this. Before she willed them to, her legs began to move. Soon they broke into a run and moved at such a speed that she felt like she was flying. Maybe if she had been able to fly or do so many things she may have been able to save her that day. But she couldn't. She never would be able to save her but she was still the hopeful child willing herself to defy destiny. In this moment of flying on the wind gave her a sense of invincibility. She ran round street corners, through alleys until she met with it. With her destiny and her demise. She froze. Was she ready to face this?

All the workers wages had been reduced by a massive amount and a protest had begun that day as workers refused to work. They had smashed windows. Set building, particularly factories alight. It was chaos. Absolute chaos. Danny had joined in, despite Ella's protests. She told him that if she had let it be they would eventually bring it back up again, let the men do the rioting. But he replied that he didn't want to betray his friends if he sat this one out. He would be a traitor. After they had heard from a neighbour that it was getting worse Ella ran after him, to warn him, to bring him back home. Daniella knew what was going to happen that day when he walked out that day but she did nothing to stop him because she knew her efforts would be fruitless. With a deep breath she took a step forward until a woman from behind pulled her back.

"Stay out of it, sweetheart! You'll just get hurt!"

"But my-" She protested, but the woman shook her head.

"Don't worry, sweetie. The police are going to put a stop to it. Leave it to them." She replied gently. But she knew that it would be too late by the time they would intervene. She scanned the crowds desperately trying to spot Danny or Ella, but all she continued to see was a black grey rapid of heaving, angry bodies. It sent a shiver over her and made her stare wide-eyed at the madness of man.

"I have a husband in there."

"I hope he's alright."

"When are the police arriving?"

"Why don't they just go to work like the others? They still stick it out."

"Hey what's that girl doing there?"

All the women including the little girl turned to who the woman was referring to. It was Ella. She was climbing onto a cart to try to find Danny. Her hair was wild and loose. Her face was stressed by agitation and anxiety.

She was about to step into the crowds until a gunshot could be heard. All those in the street turned their head to the approaching police force. The protesters began taunting them. Daring to come up to them and face them with their guns. Everything soon became a daze to her and she watched the leader to try to speak peacefully with them until someone threw something at him then it led to a battle. She watched Ella cling onto to cart fearfully. She took a huge gulp knowing what was coming. Moments and moments were passing, building up to what was to come. Building up to what she couldn't stop.

A single gunshot rang through the air and a moment later Ella fell back. Disappearing into the crowd. Fading away from this world into the next. Her ears began to ring but a piercing was able to escape from between the girls lips.

The Present day

Every morning that she woke to Daniella wishing she couldn't remember that day. There were so many things she couldn't remember but she could always remember that day and it was a day, whenever she thought about it sent a dagger throw her heart. Piercing it with its malice and misery. Whenever she thought of it she knew that if she didn't quickly put it away from her mind that she would never be able to stop crying.

If she ever spoke of it to someone she knew that there would be the same result. It was the moment when she realised that her soul had been smashed into so many pieces that she would be unable to pick them up and trying to mould them back together again because then they would always fall apart again.

She vowed never to even speak of Ella or Danny because she knew the question of what happened to them would come along and the story she never wished to tell would have to be remembered and live in the memory of another and soon it would spread until she wouldn't be able to escape from it.

"What are you thinking about?"

Daniella blinked and tried to smile so that he could see that there was nothing wrong. "I was just thinking...about someone."

He grinned as he threw an apple up in the air before taking a bite out of it. "Anyone I would know?"

She smiled grimly and shook her head. "No...I wish you did though."

He frowned. "Why?"

"Because they were, excluding you, the only people who were kind to me."

"And because of that similarity we must therefore be able to to get along?" He teased.

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. "One would hope. I don't know it you would have gotten along with the brother, the sister on the other hand wouldn't have paid any mind to it and would try and see the good in you."

Kain chuckled. "Well then she would certainly be an accomplished woman if she could find any good in my dark soul."

She stopped him by placing a hand upon his arm and looked up at him. He noticed she didn't have to crane her neck back that much to do so.

"You shouldn't think of yourself in that way, Kain. I think you're a better man than you think you are."

"I think you think too highly of me. There isn't good in everyone, Daniella." He said to her seriously.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes...I certainly learnt that lesson the hard way. Then again if you're as bad as you say you are why did you help me?"

He smiled. "I suppose you caught me on that one."