Another chapter of the tale of mystery.
FAMILY SECRETS
A HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE FANFIC
Chapter 50
Working alongside William made me sick to my stomach. I had a pretty good idea of what kind of man he was. He would hurt a lot of people with the power he sought. He had to be stopped. Only, right now I had no way of doing that. If I didn't help him then he would kill me. Then 'Seus' would die. I don't know why that threat kept me working. I shouldn't care. 'Seus' was not my friend. He had done so much to me. Yet I couldn't allow him to die. So I kept working on a project that I did not want to succeed. All while trying to find any way to derail it. Which was not easy with a powerful wizard standing over your shoulder. What I needed was Howl. Which was exactly what I didn't have. I had to make due on my own. Which was easier said than done. I had no idea how to delay project. Much less stop it!
I now had an idea of where to look: It was anywhere between three hundred-thirty years ago and four hundred years ago. I still lacked a name or a exact place, but I might be able to get that. If I could open a gate to that general time I might stumble upon the Queen somehow. Then she might be able to help me stop William somehow. It was a long shot, but it was all I had. I was still cut off from Howl. I was all on my own now. I just had to pretend that I wasn't going to betray him. Hopefully, he wouldn't see right through me. I told him about how the flower and the water work. I admitted that I had never tried using it on such a small body of water before. It might not work, it would be far better to go outside and try this. However, that was not going to happen. He had made that pretty clear. I was not allowed to leave. I think he was afraid of Howl finding us. Which was a very real possibility. I knew that he was trying to find me. He wouldn't give up so easily. He would save me or die trying. I was stuck waiting for him.
"There is going to a lot of trial and error. You gave me an idea of where to look, but it is not enough. It is highly likely that I will get it wrong on the first try. We will have to go through and see what we find. Maybe we can find some information that get us the right time and place. I don't know. I won't really know until I open that door."
He nodded. "Understood. I know that you will do your best, Sophie." When I gave him a puzzled look he clarified. "Your lives are riding on this. I know that you will achieve success eventually. You have no other choice."
"Right." I said curtly. "I have no other choice." I repeated before adding. "There is one other thing that you should be aware of."
"Oh? What is that?"
"This process wears me out. I tend to get bedridden. That was with just opening a door for someone to go through. All while only going back a few years. We won't be doing that. We will be going back hundreds of years. I don't know if this will take more magic or not. I've never tried it before. So I don't know. I could collapse." I took a breath. "Finally, I can't tell what is going on in the past. It's all a blank to me. So, I won't know when you are ready to return unless I go with you." He nodded. "Only, I've never actually journeyed through one of my doors before. I don't know what will happen when I enter. We could both die."
He cut me off. "Understood. I will ensure your protection while you recover. Should that happen. I will also try to minimize the opening of the doors. It is not wise to trap oneself in the past if one can help it. I will look for more concrete information before asking you to open the next door. That way you do not have to open more doors than needed."
"Thank you." I said awkwardly.
It was weird to hear something so considerate and cold at the same time. There was no true sense of concern. He did not really care if I lived or died. He was only being careful for his own benefit. He did not want to be trapped in the past. That's all. Nothing more. He was so utterly different than my husband. Howl would have argued against this plan. It would not be because it won't work. It would be because of the danger involved. My wellbeing was one of his top priorities. That was not the case for William. He only cared about himself. If I died as result then he did not care. So long as he got what he wanted. The only reason that he showed any concern was because it might mean that he would lose what he wanted most. How in the world was I going to get out of this?
Next Chapter coming up!