Disclaimer: I own not the book, nor the characters. Diana Wynne Jones owns it, I only wish I thought of it first.
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It had been a week since the defeat of the Witch of the Waste and her fire demon. Calcifer had been gone two days, and Michael was out visiting Martha. He went to see her quite often, and always brought a cake back for Sophie and Howl, for the ending of their story had been happy indeed.
Or it least... it had been, until now. Howl and Sophie were in the midst of their first fight. And what a horrid fight it is, and the tragedy is that neither of them can remember why they started yelling in the first place.
"I don't know why I even bothered to stay! I should have gone home with Fanny!" Sophie cried out. Tears ran down her face as she hurried down the stairs. She couldn't believe that Howl didn't want to run the flower shop anymore. Sophie loved the shop, and he knew she did. Why did he want to get rid of it?
Sophie sat down in the chair in front of the fireplace. She put her head down on her arms and sobbed. She began to really wish she had gone with Fanny to the mansion where she lived with her husband. But now she couldn't. She had to show Fanny how strong she could be. And besides, Calcifer could come back, and Michael would miss her as well. Sophie jumped when she heard a voice in the grate.
"What's the matter Sophie?" It was Calcifer. He must have just gotten back from wherever he had spent the last two days. He looked at the now young Sophie with concern in his orange eyes.
"Oh, it's Howl. He wants to get rid of the flower shop even though he knows I love working in it. I don't even know why he wants to get rid of it." Sophie looked up at Calcifer, tears still streaming down her face. The fire demon was so very easy to talk to. He always listened and provided helpful advice on what to do about Howl.
"That's terrible. I can't see why we can't keep the flower shop. He'd have to move again, and what good would that do? There's no more danger, and Wizard Suliman is back so the King doesn't need Howl to be Royal Wizard anymore..." Calcifer felt sorry for Sophie, and was angry at Howl for making her cry. In truth he had feelings for Sophie and had left for two days to sort them out. After all, he was made of flames, there was no way he could steal her away from Howl.
"I don't see why we can't keep the shop either." Sophie wiped away the last of her tears. She never really could cry for very long. She looked into Calcifer's eyes and saw not only concern but something else... He looked away before she could figure out what it was.
"I think Howl might be jealous of all the men who come in to see you." Calcifer looked back at Sophie. "You are very pretty after all."
Sophie looked at Calcifer surprised. He had never really complimented her before. Her eyes quickly switched to a look of concern when the fire demon started to flicker and grow a lighter shade of blue. "Calcifer... what's wrong?"
But Calcifer didn't reply. He looked like he was in pain, and indeed he was.
Sophie didn't know what to do. Should she call for Howl? Calcifer continued to glow brightly. Sophie soon had to shield her eyes. She was getting quite frightened, and on the verge of calling to Howl for help when the light started to dim. Sophie didn't dare open her eyes until the light had died out all together. In fact she didn't open them until Calcifer spoke again.
"Sophie, it's alright. Open your eyes." Calcifer was grinning ear to ear. It had taken most of his magic, and he was extremely tired, but he had achieved something great.
When Sophie looked at the fireplace she did not see the fire demon who had been there before. She saw a man with shaggy black hair that was so dark it shone green in the dim light. He had light green eyes that seemed to shine with an internal fire, and he was a bit on the pale side. But he was also very handsome, and somehow... familiar. "Calcifer?"
"Yes, it's me." Calcifer smiled at the look of utter shock and surprise on Sophie's face. "It took a lot of magic to transform like this. But I managed to make it permanent." Calcifer took Sophie's small hand in both of his now solid ones.
"But... why?" Sophie was quite confused. "Why do you want to be human? You're much more free as a fire demon." Although Calcifer made a very handsome human, Sophie wondered why he would want to become one.
"Well because... I love you, Sophie. You're the reason I came back to the Castle in the first place." Calcifer looked Sophie in the eye wondering what she would say. He didn't know for sure how Sophie felt about him. After all she only saw him as a fire demon and never thought he could love anyone.
"Really? I... didn't know..." Sophie didn't really know what to say. She had never thought that Calcifer would love her. He was a fire demon, she didn't think fire demons were capable of love. But here he was, saying he loved her. It was thoroughly confusing to Sophie.
"I'm pretty good at hiding things." Calcifer smiled meekly. He smiled a bit wider as a blush creeped up Sophie's pale cheeks. "Come away with me." He said suddenly.
"Where? Go with you where?" Sophie had to admit she had wished that Calcifer was human more than once, but now that he was, she didn't know what to do. And now he was offering to take her from the castle.
"Anywhere. We could go anywhere." Calcifer began to get excited at the idea. "We still have the seven league boots, we could go anywhere we want!" He jumped up off the fireplace and pulled Sophie through the door to the front of the shop. He wouldn't take no as an answer. He knew Sophie had feelings for him, he saw it in her eyes. And besides while he was turning into a human, he had sensed a stirring, an evil stirring somewhere there in Market Chipping.
"I... I dunno Calcifer. I-" Before Sophie could finish what she was saying she heard Howl coming down the stairs. She looked over at Calcifer who had also heard Howl, and saw that he was wide-eyed, and also that he had the seven league boots in his left hand.
Calcifer knew that this flight would have to be now or never. He quickly put his arm around Sophie's waist and half carried, half dragged her to the front door of the shop. He put the seven league boots on the ground, and quickly put his feet into them.
Before Sophie could say anything, Calcifer put one arm under her knees and the other on her upper back, near her shoulders. She was lifted off the ground as Calcifer took a step in the opposite direction of the castle.