The world was still once again. No bombs were dropping from battleships, there was no torrential rain, and there were no screams of pain from the witch as she clutched Howl's heart. It seemed as if the world had just gone silent, unable to make any sound after the pain that had just been inflicted.
Sophie walked through the door, contemplating everything that she had just seen in Howl's childhood. How young he had looked, watching all those stars fall from the heavens. How Y/N had emerged just after Howl had made a deal with Calcifer to give up his heart. How the two of them had been in love even then, all those long years ago.
As Sophie walked through the door she was met with a heartbreaking sight. A mound of feathers, heaped over like a small hill, dead in every way but the small bit of life that remained within the missing heart. The mound of feathers heaved in pain as it tried to gather another breath, and Sophie slowly stepped up to it. A drop of liquid dripped down from Howl's face and Sophie inhaled sharply before pulling the feathers away from the man's face.
"Howl," she asked. When she saw the forlorn look in his eyes, she felt her heart break. Blood dripped from his body and she cleared her throat, trying not to sob at the sight. "I'm sorry. Did I come too late? I didn't mean to make you wait this long." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Howl's cheek. "I need you to take me to Calcifer."
Howl didn't move and for the longest time, Sophie thought he wouldn't, but then, his body shifted and his wings dropped something on the ground in front of her. Sophie gasped as she saw Y/N's limp body a black mark on her back and her chest from where the lightning had struck her. She kneeled and cradled Y/N closer to her, pulling her tight against her chest. She understood what Howl was saying. He didn't want to leave Y/N behind.
As carefully as she could, Sophie sat on Howl's foot when he revealed it, making sure that she and Y/N were secure before holding onto Howl's leg in a silent gesture that he was okay to start flying. Though Sophie felt broken for Howl's almost dead self, she couldn't stop thinking about how Markl would react to Y/N's loss of life. He loved the woman more than anything else in this world, and yet here she was, dead, without a pulse, never to smile again.
Soon, they found what was left of the castle, a single platform slowly walking through the wastes, directed by Turnip Head. Howl flew down and landed on one side of it, slumping over and collapsing on the deck. As soon as his body hit the wood, the feathers disappeared, leaving an unconscious man in place of the bird-like creature. Sophie sniffed and gently lay Y/N next to him. She gently flipped Howl over and moved the hair away from his face.
"Y/N?" Markl asked, walking over to the woman. "Howl?" A choked sob escaped him as he saw the mark on Y/N's chest.
Sophie got to her feet and walked over to the Witch of the Waste, kneeling in front of her and holding her hand out for Howl's heart. "Howl needs that back now," she said.
"Don't look at me. I don't have it. I don't know what you're talking about," the witch rambled, trying as best she could to hide the flickering blue flames in her hands.
Sophie embraced the witch and held her tight, surprising the old woman at the act of kindness. "Please. Please give it back."
The witch felt her resolve breaking and sighed. "You really want it that badly?"
"Yes," Sophie cried, letting go of the hug.
"All right then," the witch said, holding out the heart for the young girl. "You better take good care of it." She held it out. "Here, dear."
"Thank you," Sophie whispered. "You have a big heart." She kissed the witch on the cheek and stood, turning back to Howl. She knew that she wouldn't be able to bring Y/N back, but at least Howl's heart wasn't directly wounded.
She knelt next to the wizard's body and stared into the flames, searching for any sign of Calcifer. "Calcifer?"
"Sophie, I'm so tired."
"If I give Howl back his heart, what will happen to you?"
Calcifer sighed. "I'll be okay if you do it. I think. I mean, you dumped water on me and Howl and I both survived."
Sophie gave Calcifer a small smile. "I'd better try then. It's so warm, and fluttering like a bird." She held Howl's heart close for a moment.
"It's still just the heart of a child."
"Please help Calcifer live, and please help Howl take back his heart," Sophie whispered, before leaning forward and pressing the heart into the cavity of Howl's body where his heart should be. It was quiet for a moment before sparks of light suddenly started to dance off of Howl's chest, and a small ball of light drifted up from the man's body.
"I'm alive," Calcifer declared, swirling around Sophie. "I'm alive! I'm free! Free!" He laughed as he spiralled up into the air, disappearing into the sky, overjoyed that he was finally free of his deal with Howl.
But with Calcifer gone, everyone was suddenly aware of the problem. With Calcifer not able to ensure that the house stood standing, or the single wooden platform, in this case, the legs grew weak and crumbled, eventually breaking off of the house and sending the entire platform down the side of the mountain.
Everyone screamed as they flew down the mountain, Sophie guarding Howl and Y/N's bodies to keep them from flying off the platform. Turnip Head jumped off the wood and sunk his pole into the earth in front of the wood, slowing its descent down the mountain. It seemed to work and they paused just before tumbling over the edge. Thankfully there was another small ledge the perfect distance away and the wooden platform became wedged between the two, holding them up.
"His pole snapped," Sophie said, cradling Turnip Head in her arms. "Are you all right? We'll get you a new pole, okay?" She paused for a moment. "You saved us, Turnip." She pressed a kiss to Turnip Head's cheek, and to everyone's surprise, Turnip's body started to wriggle until he jumped from Sophie's arms. He landed, still slouched over, but a second later, his suit changed to the colour of sand, and he stood up, revealing his now human figure.
"Thank you, Sophie," the man said, falling into a sweeping bow before the woman. "I'm the prince who has been missing from the neighbouring kingdom. Somehow I got that blasted spell put on me."
"I know that spell," the witch exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "A kiss from your true love breaks it!"
"That's right," the prince said. "If it wasn't for Sophie, I would be a scarecrow for the rest of my life."
Suddenly, Howl started to shift and Sophie turned back to the man.
"What's going on," Howl asked, grunting as he tried to sit up. "What am I doing here?" Suddenly there was a pain in his chest and he grimaced. "I feel terrible. Like there's a weight on my chest."
"A heart's a heavy burden," Sophie said with a sigh. She glanced over to Y/N's motionless body. "Howl, we were able to save you but..."
"Y/N!" Howl immediately picked up the girl's body, holding her close to his chest. "What happened? Why did she come back?"
Sophie felt the tears coming to her eyes. "She said that she was going to help you. She felt guilty because you were staying behind." She wiped away a few crystal droplets of water. "We had made it to the Wastes, but she went back to look for you after she saw the battleship explode."
Howl stared at the woman in his arms and gently brushed the hair from her face. "Why would she do that?" He wasn't asking Sophie. His heart ached and he held Y/N tighter, lifting her chest to his ear to try and listen for any sign of a heartbeat. He could hear a faint one, but it was weak, and Howl hadn't gotten Y/N's talent for magic.
"Y/N," he whispered. "Why would you come back for me?" He rested his forehead on hers and started to rock her back and forth. "You were always the braver of the two of us." He gently took her hand in his and pressed it to her heart. "Why must you do this to me after I just got you back?"
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Y/N's. Never again would he be able to feel the loving touch that sent shocks through his body as if it was their first time holding hands. Never would he feel his warm lips on hers again, and never-
Suddenly he felt Y/N's lips moving against his and he pulled away from her, shocked to see her eyes fluttering open. She smiled at him. It was a weak and tired smile, but a smile nonetheless, and a sign that there would be more days to come.
"Y/N," Howl whispered. "Are you truly-"
"Alive? Yes. I wasn't going to let that lightning get the better of me." She laughed and winced at the pain.
"That's my girl."
Howl leaned forward and pressed his lips to Y/N's, his hand slowly trailing up her body to her neck and then to the back of her head where he cradled her as if she was as delicate as a ball of glass. Y/N's hands fisted the shirt around his chest and pulled him tighter as one snaked up to his hair. Howl smiled into the kiss, pushing Y/N tighter to his body, though not tight enough that she would feel pain.
Feeling somewhat dangerous after their close encounter with death, Y/N nipped at Howl's bottom lip and the boy chuckled, returning the gesture to her and swiping his tongue over it to ease the slight shock of pain.
As the two lovers reunited, Sophie turned back to the prince and got to her feet. "You said that I'm your true love?"
He nodded and bowed low to her, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. "Yes, Sophie. You are the one and only woman for me in this strange and grief-stricken world." He glanced behind Sophie to see Y/N and Howl getting to their feet, slowly but surely. "It's wonderful to see you awake again, Y/N. I must admit that I was worried that you had left us."
Y/N frowned, "Pardon me but, who exactly -"
"Turnip Head," Markl exclaimed, running over to Y/N and hugging her tight. "Don't ever do that to me again, Y/N. I love you! You can't ever leave me like that!"
Y/N let go of Howl and bent down to embrace Markl. "I won't leave you like that again, Markl. You have to count on me irritating you for the next long while." She pulled the younger boy into a hug, ignoring the dull throbbing in her chest that came from the pain. Eventually, she let him go and Howl helped her back to her feet.
"Be careful, darling. You're still just coming back from the brink of death."
"I'm fine now, Howl," Y/N said, but she allowed him to wrap his arms around her, pulling her close to his side. She had no reason to let him go.
Y/N turned to the prince. "It's nice to meet you as a human..."
"Justin. Prince Justin."
"Well, Prince Justin," the witch of the waste said, "You should go home and tell your king to stop this dumb war."
"Yes, that's exactly what I will do." He turned to Sophie. "Sophie, will you accompany me back home?"
Sophie turned to look at Y/N and Howl, wondering if they would be okay without her. Y/N, feeling the questions in Sophie's mind, let go of Howl and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her friend.
"For the short time that I have known you, Sophie, I have come to care for you as a sister. And as a sister, I say go with him." She glanced over at Justin. "He cares for you a great deal, and I feel as though you might one day grow to love him too."
"Will you be okay without me?"
"Of course. So long as that the both of you come to visit us now and then."
Sophie nodded and breathed out shakily, embracing Y/N once more. "This has been a wild ride, hasn't it?"
"Indeed it has, Sophie. And now is the time to enjoy the simple pleasures that life gives us. Like spending time with our loved ones." Y/N stepped away from the hug. "And this is not a goodbye. It is simply a... see you later."
Sophie walked over to Justin and smiled up at him, allowing him to take her hand. "See you later, Y/N."
"See you later, Sophie."
***
Days later, if you were to look to the sky, you might have had the chance to see a strange sight flying overhead. It was as if a castle had sprouted wings and had learned to fly. But of course, that is exactly what happened. With the help of Y/N, and the return of Calcifer, Howl had been able to reconstruct their home even bigger than before.
And as the clouds passed below them, Y/N turned to Howl as they stood out on the balcony. "So what now?"
Howl smiled and moved closer to the girl, taking her chin between his forefinger and thumb. "I think we could fall in love once again."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea."
And with those words, the two sealed their love with a kiss, promising to love each other until the end of time, whenever that may be.