Several Hours Later:
"How is the girl?" Howl asked Derry after noticing him checking on her.
"The same. The kitten is up but won't leave the girl's side; I'm thinking she's afraid. The fairy and the demon are also unconscious." Derry answered, watching the girl.
"Hmm… Do you think it wants food?" Sophie asked, watching the kitten cuddle up to the girl.
"Possibly. Hold on." Howl answered before conjuring up a bowl of cat food; he then set it on the mattress.
"Why didn't you set it next to the cat?" Sophie asked, annoyed.
"I don't want to scare the cat away. We let them come to us at their own pace." Howl firmly replied, just as annoyed.
"Ya'll are loud." A female voice spoke: it was the fairy.
"Oh, you're awake. My name is Derry, and I am a doctor. These are my friends; we're not going to harm you, your friends, or kitten. Can How are you feeling?" Derry greeted the fairy before asking.
"Can you tell us your names?" Markl asked, watching the fairy.
"How do I know I can trust ya'll? How do I know any of ya'll won't hurt any of us?" The fairy sternly asked, watching Derry, Markl, Howl, and Sophie.
"You don't. You just have to have faith that not everyone is out to get you." Howl responded, watching the fairy.
"You're the man who caught us in the air last night." The fairy spoke, watching Howl.
"Last night? No, that was a few hours ago. It's a little after five tonight—the same night." Howl replied, a little shocked.
"That's not right. It was night." The fairy argued, confused.
"Where are you from?" Howl asked, watching the fairy.
"Space." The fairy answered.
"Where in Space?" Sophie asked, watching the fairy.
"Space." The fairy repeated.
"We get that. But where in Space are you from? Mars? Mercury? Moon?" Sophie asked, becoming frustrated.
"I cannot say." The fairy replied, angering Sophie even more.
"You cannot say for the safety of your princess? This girl?" Howl asked, remembering something that he heard them say earlier.
"How? How do you know she's a princess?" The fairy asked, shocked, becoming apprehensive.
"Earlier, you and another female yelled at the girl to wake up: you both called her "Princess." I can only imagine that this girl is your princess. I'm also guessing, seeing as you think it was nighttime when you arrived, you're not from this universe; you're from an entirely different world, aren't you?" Howl deduced, watching the fairy, shocking everyone there.
"Mmmmm…" The fairy made a noise, standing in front of the girl.
"Relax. They're not evil—and they're not going to hurt any of us. They would've done so already if they were with them." The blue demon spoke, floating.
"How can you be so sure?" The fairy demanded, watching the demon.
"Because of Calcifer." The blue demon answered, floating along.
"How do you know me?" Calcifer asked, becoming defensive.
"My name is Kori; I am an ice demon. However, like you, I was once a falling star. Or—I was supposed to be. Something happened, causing me to detour to our princess. That's Pixi; she's a Space Fairy. Her domain is all of Space. However, she was captured hundreds of years ago by rare fairy hunters. She was later rescued by our princess's great grandmother. She strongly believes she's forever indebted to the family. However, that ended after our princess's grandmother passed. Pixi decided to stay and protect the family for all of eternity. And with our princess—she desperately needs it. She's not very strong and her only source of power is a powerful crystal that she possesses. She's also the only one able access its power." The blue demon, Kori, explained, watching Howl and Derry.
"Which is odd because she barely has enough strength to use it." The fairy, Pixi, added, folding her arms.
"Yes—I'll give you that. But anyway: you're right about us being from a different universe. However, it was recently destroyed, and we were sent here—to this universe for safety from the ones who wish our princess dead. We may be immortal, but we can be killed. We were told to find a fire demon called "Calcifer," a wizard called "Howl," and they're group. We were told they would help protect our princess." Kori continued to explain.
"Does your princess have a name?" Sophie asked, watching Kori.
"And what of the kitten?" Markl asked, curious.
"Our princess is Cassandra, and her kitten is Willow-Sky." Pixi answered.
"Cassandra is the first of her family to be born immortal. The rest of her family died of old age—except for her mother; she was murdered. Willow-Sky is also immortal and is forever a kitten; she is also one of her best friends. We are her friends as well, but for the most part, we're her advisers." Kori continued to explain.
"Mmmm…" Cassandra moaned in pain but did not wake.
"Hey, are you ok?" Derry asked, kneeling next to Cassandra.
"How is she?" Pixi asked, concerned.
"She's doing better than before; she may wake up soon. Her arms are healing better than her forehead, but that'll get better." Derry explained, changing Cassandra's bandages.
"Mrow." Willow-Sky whined before cuddling up to Cassandra.
"She stays pretty close to Cassandra. The only place Willow-Sky's not allowed to go is outside." Kori stated as Willow-Sky fell asleep.
"Where are you going?" Sophie demanded, watching Howl walk away.
"Out. I'll be back after a bit." Howl answered, walking to the door, black down.
"That's Howl for you." Calcifer stated, watching the door.
"Who are all of you?" Kori asked, watching Derry.
"Well, as you know, that was Howl and this is Calcifer. I'm Sophie and this is my boyfriend, Derry. Somehow, Howl is my older brother." Sophie introduced herself, Derry, Howl, and Calcifer.
"I'm Markl; it's nice to meet you." Markl introduced himself.
"As Sophie told you already, I'm Derry. This is my dog, Taco. Like all of you, we're all immortal." Derry explained, watching the girls.
"Is the dog immortal as well?" Pixi asked, watching Derry.
"Yes. He became immortal when I did. He may not be a puppy, but he's good with people, kids, and cats. He won't hurt any of you; I promise you that." Derry firmly insisted.
"We can tell. Cassandra, on the other hand, might not see it the same way though." "After being attacked by one, she's terrified of dogs." Kori started only to be interrupted by Pixi.
"Well, one way or another, we'll have to convince her that Taco's not a bad dog and won't hurt her." Sophie insisted, determined.
"We'll have to keep him away from her the time being." Derry sighed.
"It's not fair to keep him locked in a room or outside—especially since the castle is usually always on the move." Sophie argued while Markl petted Taco.
"I didn't say that. I'm saying Taco will stay with me or you at all times. If I have to check on her while she's awake, Taco will stay by your or Markl's side." Derry clarified what he meant.
"What if we're all hanging out together?" Sophie questioned.
"Taco's a good boy and listens to me; he's also smart enough to stay away from people who may be fearful of him." Derry answered.
"Unless they want to hurt us." Markl stated, making a point.
"Yes, unless someone wants to hurt us." Derry agreed, covering Cassandra and Willow-Sky with a blanket again.
"Now what?" Pixi asked, looking around.
"Are you hungry?" Derry asked, watching Pixi and Kori.
"I'm starvin'. What do ya'll got?" Pixi excitedly asked; she loved food.
"Nothing too hot: I could melt." Kori added, floating about.
"So—what are ya'll? And how are you somehow his sister?" Pixi asked as Derry went to the kitchen before asking Sophie.
"Howl's a wizard and I'm a witch. When I first met Howl, I wasn't his sister; we weren't related in any way. After some time, we started dating. But after so long, we broke up, something happened, and I, biologically became his younger sister. We still don't know what happened—not even Howl knows." Sophie explained, sitting in a chair.
"I'm Howl's assistant; he made me immortal a few hundred years ago—around the time Sophie became his sister.
"I'm a doctor for the occupants of this castle. I used to date a witch, but she became clingy and controlling, so I broke up with her. She didn't take it well and killed me. Well, she attempted to kill me and only ended up leaving me for dead. Howl and Sophie found me a hundred-fifty years ago. As long as I agreed to become bound to the castle, he would give me immortality. I agreed so long as Taco could stay as well. He agreed so long as I promised to be a doctor for only the people living in this castle. I was surprised when he allowed me to tend to Cassandra because she didn't live in the castle. However, now it seems you all get to stay here." Derry explained in detail.
"I wonder what their payments will be. What? Howl always demands something, doesn't he? That's how I became the castle's housekeeper." Sophie complained.
"We'll just have to wait and see. For now, they'll relax and be safe from whatever it is they're running from." Derry stated, making something for dinner.
"Oh, yeah. What are you running from?" Sophie asked, watching Pixi and Kori.
"I can't remember." Pixi answered, sitting on the top of a chair.
"I'm not at liberty to say; it's a curse I'm under. Cassandra and Pixi have a temporary spell on them to make them forget. It's precautionary to keep Cassandra safe. Once the spell wears off, my curse will wear off three days later." Kori calmly explained.
"What is Cassandra a princess of? What is she?" Markl asked, interested.
"We can't say. What Cassandra is, is part of the same spell that makes us forget who's trying to kill her." Kori answered.
"Can you tell us when the spell will break?" Derry asked, interested.
"Yes and no. We don't particularly know other than anywhere between two weeks and a month. There's a reason our king and queen did that, but we do not know why; they don't tell us everything in order to keep us from Cassandra knowing for her safety." Kori somberly answered.
"You're safe now; that's all that matters." Derry stated with a smile.
"Yes, we are." Kori agreed.
"But for how long?" Pixi eerily asked.
"Pixi!" Kori exclaimed, horrified.
"What? It's a valid question and you know I'm right? How long before whoever those people are find us?" Pixi questioned, annoyed.
"Whether they find a way into this universe or not, you two, your princess, and her kitten will be safe here." Howl insisted, walking through the door with a bunch of bags and crates.
"Howl? That was fast. What are you doing back?" Sophie asked, stunned to see him.
"How can you promise that?" Pixi demanded.
"How can you be so sure?" Kori asked, concerned.
"I'm a powerful wizard and as long as you stay in this castle, your auras will be cloaked from anyone who may know you except for us. From what I understand, it takes a lot to transport someone to another universe. And in order to keep balance, something substantial needs to be paid in return. As for why I'm back so soon: I didn't go out for leisure; I went out to get necessities. I got some new groceries, supplies for the doctor, and things for Cassandra and Pixi. I also got kitten food, dog food, litter and a little box, food and water dishes for the kitten, and dog and cat toys. I even did my best to find something for Kori." Howl answered, setting things down.
"Thank you." Derry, Kori, and Pixi thanked Howl.
"It's my pleasure. How's Cassandra?" Howl replied before asking.
"About the same." Everyone answered at the same time.
"I'm going to take a bath. Hot water, Calcifer. Please and thank you." Howl informed everyone before instructing.
"Wow." Calcifer announced, shocked once Howl was behind closed doors.
"I know. He said, "please and thank you." He never does that." Sophie spoke, also shocked.
"Maybe it has something to do with Cassandra." Derry suggested.
"How so?" Markl asked, confused and interested at the same time.
"Well, Cassandra exudes kindness and politeness, but she can't make a person be the same way." Kori explained.
"Not to mention, she's not even conscious." Pixi plainly stated.
"Who knows?" Kori asked, floating around.
'Whatever it is, I think Howl's in love.' Calcifer and Derry thought to themselves as Derry cooked over Calcifer…