Another chapter of the tale of mystery.
FAMILY SECRETS
A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC
Chapter 46
How we made it to the cell without getting lost is a miracle! One would guess that Howl used a spell on me to ensure that I didn't get lost. Not that he would ever admit to doing that. That wouldn't be Howl! It really didn't matter. We got here. Safe and sound. That's what mattered.
Howl returned us to our original forms. Then he went about setting up the wards and barriers that we needed. He didn't go into a lot of detail about what we were doing, but he didn't need to. I got the gist of it. These wards wouldn't exactly stop our enemies as much as delay them. Which would hopefully give us time to mount a counterattack. Allow us access to their boss. Either outcome was acceptable. It would make this endeavor worth while. I wanted to face my attacker. Howl was dedicated to helping me achieve that goal. For that I would be eternally grateful; regardless if this worked or not. What mattered was that he never gave up on me. No matter what. Words cannot express how grateful I am to him.
"That should do it." He said finally. "It won't hold long, but it will make things interesting. Now all we have to do is wait until they find us."
"How long will that be?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea."
Great. It sounded like we are going to be in it for a long-boring-wait. I decided to pass the time by trying to think of an escape plan. I managed to force my husband to create a flower for me to use - just in case. He insisted that we didn't need my time-traveling ability, but I disagreed. It was a great way to slither out of this. Something that he should be intimately familiar with. I had no idea why he still loathed to use my power. Sure, it wasn't something to be used on a whim, but it was still helpful. It could provide a method of escape. Wasn't that worth something? Wasn't worth a little risk? After all, this situation was far from ordinary. The stakes were far too high. My power could make the difference. If only he would see that. It's not like I wanted to use my power to help those men. That was wrong. Even I could see that. I did not plan to misuse my power. I just wanted it as an option!
It was at least an hour or two later before the men found us. Howl was right that they didn't think of this place. Why would we want to go here? It just didn't make sense. It threw the enemy off balance. Which was a critical advantage. Since the battlefield would be mostly be in their control. It was their castle after all. We were just squatters here. We had to take we could. We now faced both 'Seus,' and a small army of men. All of them were wizards of some sort. None of Edvard's men were with them. He wisely decided to hold them back. A normal human was no help for a battle among wizards. They were only a liability. Even I might be a bit of a liability. I am just not good at combat. I just don't think that way. Howl is much better at this than I am. He is amazingly clever and inventive. One never knows what he is going to do next. A battle with him is never straightforward. It was part of genius. He was unpredictable. This would not be easy for the man.
'Seus' seemed reluctant to start the battle. Instead, he stood right outside the bars for several minutes while he trying to convince me to give up. He didn't seem to be concerned for his own wellbeing. Instead, he pleaded for my life. Which puzzled me. Why did he care? I was just a tool to him. A means to an end. Why would my fate matter? Surely, he was not still consumed by his pledge to do me no harm? As far as I was concerned he had already broken his word. These men were not here to be nice to me. He was going to try and force me to cooperate. That would definitely harm me. Therefore he had broken his word. So why was he continuing this charade? It just didn't make sense!
As for Howl, he was not interested in listening. Earlier on he had restrained himself for the sake of our plan. Now he didn't bother. He told 'Seus' exactly what he thought of him and his word. He didn't believe a word he said. Nor would he ever again. Howl was quite insistent that he punish 'Seus' for breaking his word. The way he talked I would have assumed that 'Seus' had killed someone. Which might not be too far from the truth. Somehow I doubted that 'Seus' was as virtuous of a man he claimed to be. Not that he would ever admit to being anything less than a saint. Not that I cared. I agreed with Howl on this. 'Seus' could not be trusted. I just didn't want to his blood anymore. That's all.
It couldn't. The stakes were far too high. 'Seus' wanted my cooperation and I wanted his boss. Those goals were not aligned with each other. Words meant little now. Only fighting would make a difference. I just hoped that we would be able to find who this boss was. It was far too early to tell.
While the men attacked 'Seus' hung back. He focused only on defending himself. He took no other action. His reluctance continued to puzzle me. I had no idea why he did not want to fight. It didn't make any sense. He was playing for the other team. Our welfare should be none of his concern. Yet, he seemed to be trying desperately to keep his word. Why I had no clue. As far as we were concerned he had already broken his word. There was no point in continuing this charade. So why was he doing it? What is the point? Surely, it would only get him in trouble with his boss. It would do nothing else. So why was he doing it? It just didn't make any sense.
Next Chapter coming up!