Howl's Moving Castle: A Cursed Heart

Fan fiction

By

Magical Creator!

Chapter 4: Stories Of A Nightmare

Howl was following the old strange woman in front of him, that she didn't look like a witch at all.

" Where are we going?" Howl asked impatiently.

" Hush, annoying boy!" the witch said and made Howl frowned. Annoying? Really?, he thought.

" There. We're here." the middle aged woman said.

Howl looked at the destination where the woman's finger was pointing. His eyes become wider and his mouth was left open.

It was a graveyard scattered in two parts. Fog was surrounding the whole place and Howl's heart broke.

" What is this?" he said trembling. The woman sighed and looked over the graves.

" This is what you wanted to find out. This – is what happened here, what is happening for the past eight years now." the woman said with sadness in her voice.

Howl frowned. He couldn't understand. If that happened because of what he was thinking about, then all those graves was created not only from what did this but from him too, 'cause if it was really what he created then all this blood was on his hands too.

" Over there" she pointed to her left. " Are the family graves and over there" she pointed to her right " Are the normal ones." Howl has been left with his mouth open. He could feel his pulls pounding like crazy, he was feeling heat rising up inside him. He was feeling pain in his soul and sadness was clear in his eyes.

" You told me you're gonna meet me your family. Why are we here then?" Howl said looking at the witch. She formed a sweet smile and took Howl's hand in hers.

" Close your eyes" she whispered at him and so he did. When he opened them, they were standing in front of two graveyards that were placed side by side.

" My son and my husband" she said staring at the graves.

" I'm sorry" Howl said not knowing what to do or what to really say at that moment.

" We all are! Look son" the witch sighted. " This city it's not safe for anyone anymore."

" Then why aren't you leaving?"

" And leave our homes back? Leave the place that we grew up to its fate? To be destroyed? No! We couldn't possibly do that."

" But people are dying form this thing" Howl said frustrated.

" Exactly! People that once used to be our families, our neighbors. Look son, this history won't stop until we put an end on this, until we get our revenge for the people that we lost. And we will take it soon enough. This time the only blood that will be shed it will be form the beast." the witches eyes burned with hatred and determination. Oh no! They were planning to kill it, to kill her. What could he do now? He knew that this wasn't her fault, he did this to her, if that thing was her.

What have I done?, Howl thought as he looked the discuss and hatred be drawn on the woman's face.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

" So where are you two going?" Anna asked after they were over with the handshake.

" Um... we actually don't quite know." Sophie laughed. " You don't happen to know any good or open shop with clothes, do you?" she asked.

" Of course I do" Anna smiled. " It's before the end of that street. Come on I'll take you there" she said kindly.

" Oh thank you very much miss." Markl said blushing really red. Sophie wanted to laugh so bad with Markl's reaction to this girl. It was clear enough that he liked her and that for some unknown reason was amusing her.

" No worries kid!" she said winking at him and he turned even more red than before. Sophie couldn't hold herself anymore and she let escape a small laugh form her mouth that made Markl look at her with anointment.

The three of them were walking down the street and Sophie took her time to study more carefully the buildings that were passing.

It was clearly that half of the town was pretty much destroyed and her curiosity was starting to asked the best of her. She could notice the pain on people's eyes and see that the damages was not recent. There must have been months even years that this damage had been done. But it seems that it was so big that it lasted till now.

Anna's eyes witnesses the girl next to her and saw that she was skeptical, but she didn't speak. It was quite enough and she didn't want to change the silence.

" You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Sophie finally asked Anna as she was watching a poor old man fixing his house.

The girl glanced Sophie and she sighed. " Yeah... A lot!" she said.

" So what was it? A tsunami, a hurricane?" Sophie finally asked. The green eyed girl avoided the eye contact with Sophie and she replied to her.

" A beast!" she said simply. Sophie froze on her feet. What did she mean by saying ''a beast''? She couldn't mean that. She was absolutely sure that there was no magic or mythical creatures involved in this town but ti seems that she thought wrong.

" Excuse me?" Sophie asked like she didn't understand. Anna continued walking, lost in her thoughts. She had put on a serious face and the tone of her voice was deep but smooth.

" It's an old story, it started eight years ago. It says that at the end of the fifth month of every year, the Blue Moon appears and that's when the beast awakes. No one knows what it really is honestly or how it looks. We only know that it kills. It's hungry and it craves for blood."

Sophie was left dumbfounded. She couldn't find the right words to speak. She stopped walking and Anna looked behind her, questioning the frozen girl with her sight.

" You mean- that... all these were caused by- by a monster?" Sophie spoke out the words. Anna squeezed with all her strength the basket that she was holding, when the words have been heard.

" The thing is that whatever this is...it's out of control and it has killed people that we care about. We've lost many people Sophie. People that we loved." Anna said with sadness and pain in her voice.

" Have you-"

" My brother. Yes! He was its first victim." Anna looked down for a minute and frowned. She tried to hold back her tears and keep a good control of her emotions.

" I'm sorry!" Sophie said really meaning it.

" We all are."

" Why aren't you leaving?" Sophie asked. Anna had realized that this girl was new there, her questions betrayed her and she wondered for a second what the heck was a young girl like that doing in a town like this? Did she have a death wish?

" No one can leave town. Not until the beast is dead or the curse is broken. Something like that." she replied to her.

" A curse?"

" Can't explain it otherwise. It seems that this town has been cursed by someone."

" Then why aren't you stopping it?" Anna laughed at her words.

" Stop it? No one can stop it. There is nothing or no one that can put an end on this. You just have to learn live with that. And we have, to be completely honest. We've been living this torture for the past eight years. And it hasn't stopped. So nothing can make it stop"

" Maybe I can help" she suggested and Markl questioned her with his sight. He wasn't speaking all that time, he couldn't find the words to say. He was blown away form what he has heard. A beast in that town? People that had died? Where on the earth had Howl brought them to?

" You?" Anna said surprised.

" Well not me but a friend of mine."

" No -"

" But he is-"

" I said NO!" Anna yelled making Sophie and Markl gasp in surprise. What was that?

" Look, I really appreciate your offer, but I told you, there is nothing that can stop this thing and I'm not gonna put new comers in danger." Sophie made a move to speak but she was cut off for once more by Anna.

" On eight days form now the Blue Moon will rise. I suggest you to leave town now, 'cause if you'll stay, you'll be the first that the beast will hunt down. Take your friend and leave town as fast as it is possible." Anna looked once more to the wide girl's eyes and left as fast as she could.

Sophie and Markl stood steel as they were watching her leaving and then turned and looked at each other with a questioning sight.

What's up with her? Markl thought. But Sophie no matter what the girl said she has this strange feeling that she should help. And she was about to...

" Come on Markl, we have to find Howl." she said pulling the boy to come with her.

" What about the dresses?" he asked.

" We'll buy them later. We have eight whole days." Sophie said and Markl's eyes become even wider than what they were. He knew what Sophie meant by that and he also knew this wouldn't end well. He hoped that Howl wouldn't agree with that. Besides Sophie couldn't understand. Now that Howl is not connected with Calcifer he's unable to help, 'cause if this is magic they were talking about, then they were at a place where they didn't belong anymore.

( So sorry that it's taking too long to update, but I'm trying my best. I hope you like it so far. There are more interesting things to come. So what will happen? Will Howl and Ann cross paths again? Will Sophie find out what is truly going on? Will she and Howl be able to help the town now that Howl is out of magic? I guess you'll find out at the next chapters. Thank you all again. Leave reviews if you want and let me know your opinion. Again thank you and I appreciate your time reading my story 3 )