Once Upon a Wizard [Howl's Moving Castle Fanfic]

Chapter 11

The bomb shook the house and Y/N let out a small scream as she stumbled to the window. 

"Markl," she yelled, grabbing the boy and dragging him away from the window. She slammed the pane shut and shut the curtains, eager to try and block out the light. The house shook around her and she hugged the boy tight, dropping him into Sophie's arms as she ran outside. 

"Sophie," she exclaimed, watching as the red and black clouded the sky. "Keep everyone inside, I'm going to go and check on the shop!" 

Sophie nodded and shut the door behind Y/N, hurrying to make sure that everyone was safe before sitting by the door and anxiously waiting for Y/N to return. 

Y/N dashed into the shop, pleased to see that it was still intact, but as she stepped outside, her joy quickly diminished. A raging inferno was growing on some houses at the end of the street, and soot was starting to clog the air. She could see people yelling for everyone to bring water to try and put out the fire, but Y/N knew that it would be no good. She picked up her skirt and sprinted over to a man directing everyone and grabbed his arm.

"You must get out of the town! It's not safe here! Pack everything and leave, there's no point in staying here."

"We cannot leave our family's entire fortune!"

"At least get out of town until the battleship is gone. Until it is you put everyone you love in danger trying to protect this place!"

The man could see the urgency in her eyes and sighed. He pulled away from her and started calling for everyone to pack up and get as far away from there as they could. 

"Run for the mountains," Y/N called over her shoulder as she ran back to the shop. Just as she was climbing the steps, she saw a sight before her that she desperately wished that she hadn't. Suliman's henchmen were surrounding the storefront, slowly oozing from their uniforms of disguise.

"Oh my stars," Y/N exclaimed, pressing her back against the door. "There are bombs dropping everywhere, can't you just be helpful for once? Go grab a bucket and put out the water." She quickly groped around for the handle and pulled it, throwing herself inside and slamming the door shut behind her. She quickly locked it and ran from the room, panting as she ran for the courtyard. Her lock did nothing and soon the blob men were surging into the room with the speed of light, eager to get their prey. 

Y/N was about to run into the house when she saw a terrifying sight. A battleship was flying directly overhead and bombs were falling from the compartment underneath. Though Y/N knew that she should run to try and escape to the safety of the castle, her feet remained locked where they were, frozen in fear at the imminent danger that was rushing towards her. But what terrified her more was the sparrow-like figure on one of the bombs.

"Howl," Y/N screamed. "Get out of here!"

The bomb dove toward the courtyard, and as other bombs started to land, the city shook once more, throwing Y/N into the wall. She grunted as her shoulder made contact with the firm foundation, but when she looked up, she felt her heart swell.

"Howl," she exclaimed, running over to the man and throwing her arms around him. "Oh my stars, you're all right."

"Yes, darling," Howl whispered in her ear, folding his arms around her body. "I'm okay." He pulled away and stared at Y/N. "We're both okay. I'm sorry, I should have gotten here sooner."

"You're alive, that's all that matters," Y/N said, nuzzling into Howl's feathers. Despite the odd feeling, she found comfort in his embrace.

Their moment was quickly ruined when they saw Suliman's henchmen struggling to fit through the door, but slipping through one by one. Howl pulled Y/N close and walked to the door leading into the castle. The door burst open as they flew through the door, and what few henchmen had managed to slip in behind them were quickly blown out by a gust of wind.