Another chapter of the tale of mystery.

FAMILY SECRETS

A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC

Chapter 53

When I woke up I found myself in modest bed in a plain bedroom. For a second, I feared that someone had taken advantage of my condition, but it appeared not to be the case. There were no bruises or cuts on my body and I felt no pain. Nor had my clothes changed. I appeared to be completely untouched.

"Thank god."

I said out loud as I slowly got up. Everything seemed alright. Of course one had to question who helped me, but that became clear pretty quickly. For my savior appeared mere moments after I woke up. It was William. He had saved me. My world was crushed. I was still in the hands of the man who threatened to kill me. I had not escaped him.

"Good. You are finally awake." He offered his hand. "Here, let me help you. " He helped me slowly make my way to a nearby seat. Once I sat down he added. "You must be starving. I'll bring food up shortly."

He started to leave but before he could I asked. "Wait!" He stopped dead in his tracks. "Why . . .?" I managed to get out.

"Why did I help you?" He stopped dead in his tracks. "It's quite simple actually. I need you. You're no good to me dead or injured. Only you can the open door, remember? I don't wish to remain here forever. There is nothing here for me. I want to leave as soon as possible."

"So, I guess you didn't find it then."

His eyes hardened. "No. I did not."

"That's good." I said before I could stop myself.

He turned on me. "What does that mean? Did you send me here on purpose?! Maybe you wanted me to waste my time! To trick me into coming here. Then to abandon me here. Maybe you thought that it was funny! Well, I'm not laughing!"

I realized my mistake. He could kill me right now if he wanted to. I had no way of fighting back. Not now at least. I had to keep him calm. "No! Of course not! I meant . . . I meant . . . I . . ." I had no idea what I was going to say next.

"You meant what?" He demanded.

"I meant . . ." I tried to gather my courage. "I meant that I do not want . . . you to find . . . whatever it is that you are looking for." He went to strike me, but I managed to hold him off with a look. "Go ahead, strike me." I dared. "It won't help you. I still won't want to help you." I forced myself to stand up. "What you are doing is wrong. It won't even work! No one will accept you as their leader. You don't even care about them! The only one that matters is yourself. You will never become a leader."

"Your opinion doesn't matter, witch."

"Yes, I am a witch. But I use my powers to help people. Can you say the same?"

"I have helped plenty of people."

"Who were all very useful to you I'm sure. Name one person that you helped without expecting anything in return." He was silent. "I've made my point." I threw myself back into my chair. I had won this battle. Now I just needed to find a way to win the war.

"Why does any of that matter?" He asked quietly. I could hear the threat lingering in his voice.

I laughed at him. "Being a leader has nothing to do with magical power. Look at my king: He is no wizard. Yet he leads us well. Why? Because he has the will of the people. He cares about us and he works tirelessly for our benefit. Can you honestly say that about yourself? Do you really care about the people of the Earth? Would you give your life so that they can live? Tell me!"

William growled. "Why would I die for some fool that I've never met?"

"If you don't know then you are not fit to lead."

"I should kill you for this."

"But you won't. You need me. You need me to find you that power of yours. A power that I do not want you to find. For you are not worthy of it. Nor will you ever be. So, long as you place yourself before others you will never rule. I will not help you!"

I could see the bloodlust in his eyes. I had pushed him too far. I may have been right, but I was no position to backup my words. I should have kept my mouth shut. Only I couldn't. I never really could. Now he wanted to kill me more than anything else. A glorious blunder from Sophie Pendragon. Antagonize the powerful wizard who is holding you captive. That's a great idea! I just hoped that I hadn't signed my death warrant.

There was a long pause as he tried to calm himself down. Finally, he said. "You are free to disagree with me. However, you will help me become the leader of the Earth. You have no other choice. If you do not then I will kill you and everyone around you." His eyes locked onto mine. "Personally, I would like to avoid such draconian measures. I prefer to wield a scalpel over a bludgeon. That doesn't mean that I won't do it if I have to. Keep that in mind as you recover. It would wise discontinue your efforts to stop me."

He said before stalking out of the room. What had I done now?


Next Chapter coming up!