Chapter 1 – A Feeling
In a far away land, the outline of a young man could be seen by the large heath of the fire. To the normal passerby, the light build of the man could have easily been overlooked. He seemed to be nothing but a colored statue, the only movement coming from him the occasional blink of his eyes. After sitting there silently, staring at the fire intently, he sighed loudly, seeming to shake himself from his reverie.
"What is troubling you, young prince," a man standing halfway in shadow asked from the corner of the room.
"Oh, nothing. I was just letting my mind wander," the prince replied, not looking at the person speaking to him and returned to his soft vigil near the fire.
"A mind that wonders is one that's heart is lost," the man replied mystically.
"Maybe…"
"Tell me, where is it that your mind has been wandering to? It has not been one day since you returned to us that you have not been less aware of your surroundings, always falling silent and receding into your thoughts. It seems as if we have still lost you; that some part of you is still cursed"
"This may be true," the young man whispered to himself. It was true; he was not the same man he was before. He was changed so many months ago. Yet, as he looked back at the experience, he did not regard it as something displeasing. No, the more he thought about it; it seemed that he had quite enjoyed himself there with those strange people. He could not help but have his mind still wonder there, like if he tried hard enough, he would find himself back at that lofty house, back with her once more.
Her.
To tell the truth, she was the reason that he wanted to return. She had been his true love, breaking the curse with only one kiss on the lips. "Hearts change," he had said, and yet the more he thought about it, the more it seemed absurd; the more he wanted to leave this dreadful place and see how she was doing. If anything bad had happened to her, he did not know what he would do.
Suddenly turning towards the man in the corner, the prince answered, "to that castle, the one I stayed at during my imprisonment." Then he let out another heavy sigh, looking down while he twiddled his thumbs. "If only I could see how they are doing: Sophie and that little boy that was the wizard's apprentice."
At the sound of a wizard, the man in the corner raised his head a little, paying more attention to the prince's ramblings. However, he knew that he had to play his cards wisely, least he give anything away.
"You could always visit them again, as long as this wizard is not any threat to your well being."
"Who, Howl?" the young man asked, "no, not at all. He is a friend and should not be feared."
"Well then, if he is no threat, what is stopping you? Do you still remember where he lives?"
The young man nodded, remembering that small hat shop that held the portal to their home. But what was stopping him? That was the real issue here. Maybe it was the fact that things would be different between him and Sophie. He was now back to his normal form, not the silly form of a mere scare-crow. In truth, he did not know what she would think of him now.
"Now, I guess it's settled then. I'll tell your servants to pack the necessary equipment for your trip and you'll be off in the morning," the man said as he raised himself from his seat in the corner and started to walk out the door.
"Wait," the prince got to his feet, "won't you come with me. I do not wish to make the journey alone, and you being so well read with magic could protect me if someone tries to put a curse on me again."
The man smiled a little as he bowed his head in agreement.
"Whatever you wish, Prince Justin."
Sometimes his magic did have its advantages.
………
Sophie let out a staggered cry as she was pulled awake from her slumber. She quickly sat up, eyes wide and unblinking, trying to make out what was the cause for this eerie feeling she felt in the pit of her gut.
It was strange, as if a sense that something was horribly wrong, yet she could not find anything out of place. The war had been over for almost a year now. Madame Suliman's henchman seemed to have stopped looking for them, and everything could not be better. Both curses where broken, and she could finally be with the man she loved.
"So what is this feeling" Sophie thought to herself. A quick glance out the window showed that dawn was still a few hours off and for a castle that is loosely held together by magic alone as well as flying in midair, it was surprisingly quiet.
"Sophie…" Howl yawned next to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Sophie staggered.
"Sophie, what's wrong? Why are you up at this hour?" She could tell he was still tired, yet Howl attempted to raise himself into a half-sitting position, staring at her with droopy, concerned eyes. He had been out all day, returning only in time for supper. It was amazing how he could find himself so busy when the land was at peace again. Yet, as Markl kept reminding her, this was just the thing Howl did.
"Howl…tell me, do you sense anything strange?" she asked in a small voice.
"What do you mean by strange?" he asked, now more awake.
"I don't know, I just can't shake off this feeling of dread. It feels as if something really bad is about to happen."
At this his gaze softened. Pulling her into the shelter of his arms, Howl whispered into her ear, "Sophie, love, you know that I would never let anything bad happen to you. I'm here now. It must have been a bad dream, that's all." He slowly released her enough to look into her large, fearful eyes.
He could still see that she was worried and that alone troubled him above anything else. Though Sophie did not have the same magic skills as he, Howl still knew well enough to trust her instincts. She was the one who had figured out how to return his heart and all. Though now, as he looked past her bright eyes to look into her soul, he could see nothing but worry.
And Sophie was afraid, afraid that something would happen and she would loose Howl forever. He had barley come out alive last time; she did not know what she would do if she lost him. Howl was the only person that made her feel special, made her feel loved. He was so caring and sweet that she did not care that he could be childish now and then or would leave for days at a time without an inkling of when he would return. Sophie loved Howl with all her heart, faults and all, and she did not know how she could live without him.
"Look, how about in the morning I renew the protective spells around the castle and put up a few more barriers. Would that ease your mind a little?" She nodded her head slightly.
"Thank you, Howl."
Howl gently lifted her chin and leaned his head down to kiss her reassuringly on the lips, calming her down some. She returned his kiss passionately, never wanting it to stop. She loved the way he made her feel when he kissed her, like the whole world fell away and there was only them. As if nothing else mattered but their loving embrace. She also felt safer here, like nothing in the world could ever harm her as long as Howl was there with her. She knew that he would never let anything happen to her, that he truly did love her with all his heart, (a child's heart as it may be) and this seemed to make her feel better.
Sophie tried to stifle her yawn as they broke apart; reminding them both of what a late hour it truly was. They both needed to be well rested for tomorrow and whatever it brought along with it.
Sophie's hand reached out to caress his cheek, moving her fingers softly over his skin. Without even noticing it, she found herself smiling up at him. Even though Howl was exhausted to the bone, he still had enough energy to worry about her.
Without any more words, Sophie gave Howl one more kiss goodnight and then motioned for them to go back to sleep. They quietly settled down. Sophie nestled into the crook of Howl's body, his arms firmly wrapped around her.
Yet, even with Howl's warm body wrapped protectively around hers, somewhere, in the depths of her soul, Sophie still could not shake off the feelings she could not name as they danced through he subconscious and into her dreams.
Hey, hoped you liked it. This is my first fic, so please be gentle.
I'll warn you right now, I am a terribly horrible speller and if there are any mistakes, please fill free to tell me and I'll try to fix them. I do use spell-check, however it seems to take on a life of its own sometimes…
Thank you so much for reading this and would love to hear what you think.
On a final note, before I bore you to death, I am sad to say that I do not own any part of the HMC universe. There, said it, now don't kill me!
Hope to see u soon,
Signed,
OneRogueAngel
