When the chapel bells echoed twice from the tower above, the sound resonated in painful shivers throughout Sophie's body. The loud clang of the hour marker was an agonizing reminder that time was up. Her walk down the aisle was any minute now.

She held her dress up and hurried over to the window that surveyed the Kingsbury Palace. She was taken by several guards through the courtyard to the Palace chapel, hundreds of people hoping to find a glimpse of the future Princess of Kingsbury.

Sophie shut her eyes tightly. Princess Sophie – that was always her sister's dream. Lettie said that she would marry a Prince one day, and part of Sophie always hoped that her dream would come true. That was before she had met the cursed scarecrow and the heartless wizard.

Sophie rested her palms on the windowsill, watching as the crowd migrated to the front entrance below, hundreds of people all dressed in their finest attire to attend the wedding of the year. This was not her dream wedding. As a child, she always pictured a small, simple wedding with close family and friends. Lettie and Martha would stand up, both as maids of honor, since she would never be able to choose between the two. Her husband-to-be would watch her as she walked down the aisle, his eyes glowing with wonder and awe. His words would express nothing but love and gratitude, saying it was fate to have found someone like her.

Sophie never thought she was worthy enough for anyone. No matter how many times Howl explained to her that it was quite the opposite, it was hard to believe when she had been known as the lesser of the three sisters all of her life. The eldest of three, and the most likely to have a simple, boring, going nowhere life.

She just had to go looking for her fortune.

Sophie heard shuffling through the hallway and backed away from the window. She hadn't seen Gwenda since her mission of finding Howl, but she prayed she hadn't been caught by Suliman. Sophie was still a little skeptical to the idea of telling Howl the truth, but Gwenda assured her that it was their best option. Gwenda seemed to have good instincts about these things, so she trusted her opinion.

She heard two people laughing and one opened the door to her room. Suliman waved off her companion and made eye contact with Sophie. Her cynical smile widened as she gently shut the door behind her. Sophie's shoulders began shaking, causing Suliman to let out a hefty laugh.

"I can see you shaking, my dear." Suliman said. Sophie froze, taking a moment to calm her thoughts and relax her fears. Though Suliman scared her more than most, she knew that exposing it was worse than the fear itself.

Suliman walked with her hands behind her back toward the round table near the dark walnut armoire. Sophie's wedding bouquet sat in a vase, eleven pure white roses without a single dead petal. Justin's trademark, Sophie thought. Only fitting for him to see his bride-to-be carrying his prized flower down the aisle.

Suliman added the one rose in her hand to the bouquet, completing the dozen. She primped the bouquet as a young girl would primp her curls. Sophie clenched her fists, her recently manicured nails digging into her palm.

"Stressed, are you?" Suliman asked. "I'm actually surprised with how well you're handling the situation, my dear. Lettie didn't have the strength to hurt you the way I did, though you have no trouble breaking Howl's heart by marrying another."

"I'm not doing this to hurt him, I'm doing this to save him." Sophie said through clenched teeth.

Suliman laughed. "Please. With the situation I've placed you in, Howl's heart will be helpless either way."

The lights danced a torturous melody in Sophie's eyes as they glistened like two crystal balls. Her nightmare was flooding back to her. Suliman clutching Howl, staring at him hungrily, her hand reaching inside of him and pulling out his beating heart – maybe it wasn't just a dream after all.

Suliman approached Sophie in her typical stance. "Once he sees the happiest new couple, he'll reach his breaking point. His heart won't be able to contain the betrayal, and eventually he'll give up altogether."

"No." Sophie said, standing firm with her fists clenched in front of her. "You'll never have Howl's heart. He's too strong to give it up that easily."

"Ah, but when it comes to you, my dear," Suliman said, pushing Sophie's chin upward with one finger, "he's completely vulnerable. You're going to destroy his precious heart and singlehandedly give me the pieces."

Sophie stared into Suliman for what seemed like a century. Her grey eyes revealed nothing but vengeance and wickedness. Her smile was as frightening as her words. And the longer she bowed to Suliman's control, the more Howl would come to begrudge her submission to the sorceress.

A lady knocked on the door and walked in, her head bowing immediately. She coughed softly and whispered, "Madame Suliman, the ceremony is about to begin."

Suliman nodded and dropped her hand to Sophie's shoulder, their eyes never parting. "Well then, I believe we shouldn't let Prince Justin wait any longer to marry the woman he loves."

Suliman strolled to the door, the lady continuing to hold her head down as she walked through the doorway with pride. The lady looked at Sophie and motioned for her to follow the sorceress, but Sophie froze. These were the last few moments she had of being Howl's, the last few moments she had of being free. She had run out of time and out of prayers. Gwenda was too late.

As Sophie allowed a single tear to get the better of her, she knew Howl would resent her for this forever.

. ❀ 。• * ₊ ° 。❀ ° 。

The Palace servants looked around the halls aimlessly, wondering where the strange gust of wind had come from. They were oblivious to the temperamental wizard running rampage through the Palace. He sprinted through stairwells and hallways until he couldn't run any longer.

He found a quiet section on the top floor and took a moment to catch his breath, pressing his hands on his knees. He squeezed them tightly until his muscles began to shake. His emotions were out of his control again, running wild through his body. His hands shook with a mixture of anxiety and rage and his eyes glowed a fierce red. He couldn't believe what she had done.

Sophie, the only person for whom he felt honest love; Sophie, the woman for whom he wanted to be genuine; Sophie, the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on – now, she had become the one who took that love and ripped it to shreds.

He couldn't believe the betrayal; he couldn't believe the lies and the sneaking around. He wondered how she looked him in the eyes and said 'I love you,' all the while preparing for a wedding with another man.

And not just any man.

If this had been someone Howl had never met, his rage would be less volatile. Knowing Prince Justin had taken Sophie from him made her leaving even more bitter and agonizing. He saved the man's life from the Witch of the Wastes, and this was the repayment for such an honorable deed.

The Howl back then never would have done anything without first finding something advantageous to himself. However, meeting Sophie and seeing her willingness to go to the extreme for people she had recently met and barely knew - he desperately wanted to become more like that.

Howl's infuriation increased at the thought of Sophie. He couldn't control the power in him, so he punched a nearby wall, the force blowing through the thick wood and shattering the planks into tiny splinters. The hole broke through to the outside wall, and the afternoon sun was very much in plain sight.

Howl lowered his body until he sat on the ground, propping his knees up to his chest. He thought Sophie was the one. He knew she was different from the girls he normally chased, which was why he wanted to pursue her. He knew from the moment she cooked over Calcifer's fire that she was no elderly woman. He didn't see her true form, but knew it existed somewhere beneath her curse. He also believed if he helped her break the spell, she would repay him kindly. He didn't expect her to transform him as well.

Howl rested his head against the wall. He was defeated; he was alone; and most of all, he was heartbroken.

"Howl!" The shattered wizard didn't flinch as his comrade rushed down the hall, bending down to comfort his friend. Kenta saw the hole in the wall, but shrugged it off. He placed a hand on his shoulder, though Howl hardly focused on anything except for the thoughts storming through his mind.

Kenta tightened his grip. "You have to go to the church and stop this wedding. It's the only way to bring Sophie back and save our comrades."

"What's the point?" Howl whispered, his voice dejected with every breath. "She's made it clear she doesn't want me anymore."

Kenta bobbed his head back. "Sophie doesn't want to marry Justin."

Howl whipped his head to Kenta, turning his attention to the wizard. He slowly stood up and his voice increased with each word. "If she didn't, then why would she be in that chapel about to walk down the aisle and say 'I do' to that wretched, no-good son of a bitch they call a Prince?"

Kenta stood up and raised his hands in front of Howl. "She's being forced into this. Suliman threatened your life unless Sophie agreed. Suliman told me herself."

"And you're going to believe that woman?" Howl said, shaking his head. "My word, what has she done to you?"

"I know you think Sophie is doing this to hurt you, but she isn't. I know I barely know the girl, but you love her. You know her darkest secrets, her hopes and dreams, her passions. You know her feelings for you are truer than any you've seen in your life."

Howl darted his eyes to Kenta. He was right in a sense. Sophie expressed love like no other. She had a true gift for it, showing people that there was someone out there who cared for them.

But that didn't erase her betrayal.

"If I knew her darkest secrets, I wouldn't be doubting my trust for her right now."

"You know she loves you." Kenta pressed on. "And if you stop this wedding, maybe you'll get the explanation you need to understand her side of the story."

Howl shook his head, tightening his eyes shut. He had shielded himself from this sort of infidelity with the absence of his heart, and he never thought he could be so vulnerable. He never thought someone could have that much power over him.

Howl looked up into Kenta's eyes, an avalanche of tears streaming down his face. "I don't want to lose her."

Kenta bit his lip and nodded. "You don't have to."

Howl sniffed and wiped his eyes clean, but the tears flowed nonstop out of him. He hadn't cried in years, never allowing himself to be so sensitive in front of anyone, ever. He needed to protect himself from those who would take advantage of his fragile heart.

Kenta wrapped his arms around Howl, the broken man holding his dear friend tightly. He cried into his shoulder, allowing the tears that had been held in for so long pour out of him. He loved Sophie like a mother loved her child; like the Witch of the Wastes loved her magic; like Suliman loved power.

He loved Sophie because she made him the person he yearned to be. Without her, he'd still be a womanizing, heart-breaking, power-hungry fool. He loved Sophie because she gave him a reason to be good.

He loved Sophie because even through the worst times, she never stopped loving him.

Kenta cut the embrace and held his shoulders, watching Howl's frailty shift into determination.

Howl raised his chin. "I will not let her go."

Kenta smiled and nodded. "Then we'd better hurry."

Kenta patted Howl and they ran through the hallway at lightning speed, off to the chapel where the wedding would commence. However, at the bottom of the final staircase stood a tall guard, almost as if he had been waiting for them.

Howl looked at Kenta and they both nodded. This would be an easy target. Nothing lethal, nothing too serious - just a casual spell to get him out of the way.

"Master Howl?" Howl and Kenta raised their eyebrows at the guard who supposedly knew him. He didn't know if he should attack, but before he could make the decision, the guard transformed into a small, redheaded boy who looked terrified. "Thank goodness I found you."

Howl lowered his arms and rushed down the stairs to the boy. "Markl, what are you doing here? You should be at the castle with Calcifer."

Markl embraced his master, his arms shaking. "Master Howl, I was so afraid. The Palace is a lot scarier than I thought."

"I know," Howl said, "that's why I wanted you to stay home and protect yourself."

"A servant of the Palace said she was coming to see you."

"Me?" Howl questioned.

Markl nodded. "She said that Sophie sent her to tell you about the wedding and to find a way to stop it before she has to marry Prince Justin."

"How... how did you know Sophie is marrying Prince Justin?" Kenta asked as he walked down the staircase. "We only found out moments ago."

"Gwenda told us, the servant."

"Gwenda?" Kenta asked, creasing his eyebrows. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "Where is this Gwenda girl?"

Markl sighed. "Suliman captured her. She turned her into a flower and that's why I was wandering here alone. I was trying to find you, so we can complete the mission."

"Well, Howl?" Kenta said. "What do you say?"

Howl turned from the boy to Kenta with reassurance. "Let's bring Sophie home."

Markl cheered and Kenta nodded approvingly. As they were about to head for the chapel, the faint cries from the bell tower striking twice sent chills down their spines. Time was not on their side, and the wedding could have been over and done with for all they knew.