Another chapter of the tale of mystery.

FAMILY SECRETS

A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC

Chapter 36

It wasn't long after that they were visited by my captors again. Howl was fairly well hidden in my shirt again so the man didn't seem to notice him. The man said that his name was Heinrich. He was an elderly man that somehow managed to instill dread. It seemed that he was the middle man that 'Seus' was working for.

"Welcome home, child."

"Home?" I asked.

He smiled at me. That made me sick to my stomach. "Yes, dear, home. You're finally home now."

"This is not my home!"

"It is. This is your family's ancestral home. What is left of it that is. Like I said, welcome home!"

Now I knew where I was. I was inStrangia near that village that I visited before. It was not the place that I called home. In fact, it was the last place that I wanted to be. I had no idea why I was here. My Grandfather was gone. Why would I be here? Who was my captor? My stomach started to do somersaults again. I had a really bad feeling about this.

"I don't want to be here." I mumbled.

The man waved me off. "Doesn't matter. You're here now. You might as well get comfy. No one is going to find you." He laughed. "I'll tell the boss that you're ready to see him."

If I couldn't feel Howl's warmth then I would have given into despair. I wasn't alone. I had to remember that. Howl was there by my side. He would act if things got too bad. I wasn't alone. I just had to remember that. Things would turn out okay. I had to believe that it would all work out. I couldn't give up.

I thought that the boss would appear immediately but he didn't. We waited and waited. Which was really boring. I had a hard time staying put for any real length of time. As Howl would attest to. I have to keep busy all the time. Which I wasn't doing at the moment. Along with the trapped and bound thing. That was getting old fast. I needed to take my mind off of things, so I pestered my husband.

"Howl?"

What? He almost sounded annoyed.

"I've been wondering: How did you get away?"

He was silent for a moment then asked. Why does that matter?

"Humor me, please."

He sighed. Alright, I was brought here with you. When they found me I was still in cat form. Those goons out there provably were the ones to toss me out. They don't have a scrap of magical ability. Otherwise they would have recognized the spell I used. Provably just thought I was some pet cat of yours.

"I get that. They are pretty stupid, after all. But something's been nagging at me."

What?

"It's 'Seus' . . ."

Why are you bringing him up now? He demanded.

"There's something that's been bothering me about him." He grunted but said nothing. "You said that a Wizard's word is his bond, right?"

Yes, I did.

"So, why did he allow us to be captured? Wouldn't that be breaking his bond?"

More silence then I finally heard. Yes. He didn't attempt to hide his anger anymore. Clearly he was angry at 'Seus' for breaking his word. I wasn't as angry as I was puzzled. 'Seus' had made that promise. Why did he break it? Something didn't add up.

"Doesn't that not make sense to you? You made it sound like it was the worst thing that a wizard could do. I think murdering or kidnapping someone is far worse, but that doesn't matter. You said that a wizard's word IS his bond. It sounds like he can't break it."

Sophie, what in the hell are you going on about?

"I don't think that he betrayed us."

Of course he did! Look where we are!

"In a cell on my family's estate. Exactly where I wanted to go. Well, I didn't know that I wanted to go here, but you get the idea."

May I add that your magic has been sealed and you are bond.

"You can get me out of that at any time."

So what?

"So what?" I nearly shouted. I immediately lowered my voice again, "So what? Why didn't he tell those men who you were? You can explain why they didn't notice you, but can you explain why he didn't tell them? He's a wizard too. Plus, he knew all about you coming along. Why didn't he tell them?"

He was silent for a while then finally said. I don't know.

I thought about for a second then the words came to me, "Because he gave his word."

Next Chapter coming up!