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

Epilogue

A/N: Not my video, music, or picture

~ 𝟷𝟶 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 ~

The breeze was calm as it floated through the open window as if nothing more than a butterfly searching for a flower to rest its weary wings. It swirled about the room, filling each nook and cranny with its warm and calming breath, bringing the scent of the changing seasons. From summer to autumn. Foretelling the chilling cold that was to come in the following days, creating intricate patterns of frost and ice on the glass panels of the large building, followed soon after by snow that would cover the landscape in a blanket of peace and serenity. 

A young woman looked up from her mending and smiled as she felt the warm embrace of the breeze. As it danced away from her, she set her things aside and rose to her feet, grabbing her shawl from a nearby chair and throwing it over her shoulders. She tied the two f/c tassels shut around the front and approached the door to her house. She turned a strange dial and pulled the door open, stepping out into the mountain woodlands that she had called home for the past month or so.

She stepped out into the warm night, shutting the door behind her as quietly as possible. Then, she turned and headed down towards the quiet brook that ran before their front door, trickling through the grass and the reeds as it tumbled down the side of the mountain, searching for a lake, or perhaps even the ocean, that it might call its forever home. She crouched down beside the quiet stream and dipped her fingers into the chilling water, shivering slightly as the cool kiss of the water brushed against the tips of her fingers. There was something wonderful about the sudden cold compared to the warm temperatures surrounding her. 

The gentle music of the forest slowly floated out from beyond the line of trees and the woman rose to her feet, smiling as she felt the caress of the chirping birds singing goodnight. The sound that the crickets made as she carefully stepped over them. The sounds that the frogs in the pond made as she passed by where they hid amongst the reeds. The sounds of the woodland critters watching her, though never letting her see them. Save for one daring robin that floated down from the trees and settled on the woman's finger as she held it out for them. She tenderly ran the back of her finger over the feathers on the little bird's chest, smiling when it chirped once, then twice, as if it was thanking her for the affection.

Soon the bird fluttered off, heading back into the trees where its nest was waiting for it. And the young woman continued through the forest. Her fingers brushed against the barks of the old cedars and willows, her dull earthy boots hopping from one exposed root to the other, and her eyes shining in the ethereal light of the moon. A small patch of mushrooms sprouted up in the shadow of a large oak and the woman crouched beside the fungi, smiling as she watched a single firefly settle down atop the cap of one, its glowing abdomen illuminating the red and white spots. 

There was a sudden chirp behind her and she slowly turned, her eyes widening with joy when she saw a tiny chipmunk crouched behind her, a single chestnut clutched in its tiny paws. It stared up at her, as if trying to figure out what she was, and then quickly stuffed the nut into its mouth, scampering off to plant it somewhere. The woman giggled as she watched it scurry up a tree, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

"Y/N? Darling? Are you out here?"

The woman turned back to the faint glow of her home and started the short trek back. It seemed as though she had once again lost herself in time as she explored the forest, wanting nothing more than to sleep beneath the fronds of an ancient willow, staring up into the star-dotted heavens as if she floated among them while she slept on a bed of moss.