Genre : Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Romance, Humor, Mystery (all in all "General." There are too many genres to fit in only two slots!)
I absouletly love this book and decided to write a fanfic. Please enjoy!
He looked down onto his hand; a symbol outlined the middle of his palm. He crutched his fist, hoping he was mistaken. Reopening it, the markings seem to have gotten darker. Curses! Pacing back and forth in the limited amount of space in his room, he contemplated the cause of the curse on his hand. The symbol was clear. Round the circle it went, through a straight line across. The inside outline of the circle had swivels, a language he wasn't able to decipher.
Howl didn't want Sophie to find another curse upon him. He was afraid that this matter didn't involve her, so such a matter had to be dealt on his own. Before he could begin his quest upon breaking the curse, a familiar voice echoed near by.
"Howl! Where are you?" The voice huffed, seeming as if the person entered from a busy street. Other voices echoed behind, but they were much softer.
Rather than answering back, Howl sulked in his room, pretending he couldn't hear anything.
Sophie entered the room, staring at the gloomy wizard. "Now what has gotten into you?" Sophie placed a hand on her hip, waiting for a decent answer.
Changing the subject, he asked Sophie why she hasn't been wearing any of the dresses he had bought her.
Sophie sat beside him on the bed. "I told you that I don't need those fancy clothes! You know how difficult it is to walk on a very busy day in that? It's like dragging a whole bag of gold behind you!" She looked Howl right in his eyes. "But I know you're intentions were good." She smiled gently and kissed Howl on the cheek.
Howl couldn't help but grin back. He touched his cheek with his fingers and remembered how much he loved Sophie. He remembered how much he loved her mouse-y like smile. He remember how even thought she wore that same grey dress almost every day, it suited her, and make her look as good as anyone in a fancy dress. He remembered their first encounter; she was quiet and shy, yet he was bold and vain. Remember the nostalgic memories about Sophie almost made him forget about his own troubles.
Feeling happy again, Howl decided it was time to change his hair colour. He wanted something to match his emotions. So, quickly he dashed into his bathroom and locked himself in for an hour or so.
Meanwhile, Sophie began preparing dinner.
"Calcifer, do you mind lowering your flame please? Any higher and it's going to burn me." Sophie grabbed the pot, filling it with hot water.
"Right, just remember I'm the one keeping this castle running." Calcifer huffed as he lowered the flame.
"I know. I know." Sophie smiled as she prepared the other dishes.
When dinner was finally prepared, Sophie called for both Howl and Michael to come eat dinner. At the same time, she rearranged Calcifer's logs, making it more comfortable. But neither of them rushed to the table as usual. The abnormal silence made Sophie raise some questions. She tried calling for them again. And finally, Howl came out of the bathroom.
"Your hair!" Sophie exclaimed. Even though Sophie knows that Howl changes hair colour as fast as night and day, she still gets shocked every time,
This time around, Howl changed his hair into a chestnut brown. The brown locks wrapped around his face, made Howl look very dashing. Even Sophie had to admit that. Though he changed it to chestnut brown because he wasn't too depressed to have it black, so he added it lighter to reflect his slight happiness.
Sitting down with Howl for dinner, Sophie couldn't help but shade a light rose on her face. Howl's handsome face captured her very heart. Just as they were about to eat, Sophie again wondered.
"Where is Michae-" Before finishing her question, she nearly jumped out of her seat. For the door was being pounded.
"Someone open the door!" Calcifer roared.
Sophie leaped from her seat and hurried to the door, opening to the red knob. An officer from Kingsbury crutched in his hand, what looked like Michael. He had a few cuts and bruises on his face and hands. "Michael!" Sophie pronounced. "What happened to you?" She grabbed him by his arm and led him inside the castle.
"Thank you officer."
The officer nodded, "Just all in a days work." He saluted Sophie and marched right back to work.
Sophie slammed the door, letting the castle rumble.
"Please watch what your slamming Sophie." Howl stood up. "Calcifer is going to have another fit if he falls out of the hearth again." Howl ran his fingers through his hair as if Michael's cuts were normal.
"Howell Jenkins! Do you see what has happen to Michael? If that officer hadn't brought him here like this, goodness what he would have ended up like!" Sophie huffed right at Howl.
"I'm sure he's quite alright, if you would just like him talk."
Sophie pouted. She had gotten to ahead of herself and had forgotten about the importance of WHY Michael was actually the way he was. She managed to grab some bandages, attempting to help heal Michael's injuries.
"Don't worry about it Sophie." Michael refused the treatment. "I have a spell that can help heal these wounds faster."
"Well then." Sophie felt unable to help, making her a little sad. "Everything and anything can be done by magic." Sophie sighed and dreamt about the simpler days.
Michael reached into his pocket, only to pull out a yellow sunflower. It was slightly crushed, but a rare sight none the less.
Sophie stared at it in awe. "That's a…that's a-" she reached towards it and gently touched it on Michael's hand.
"I'm guessing you've never seen one before." Howl laughed heartily.
"I thought those were extinct. It's such a lovely flower." Sophie still couldn't believe she was looking at an actual sunflower.
Howl explained that they we're extinct at one point, but brought back by a mysterious wizard that visited the King of Kingsbury. It was said that together they made a deal that nobody, not even the ones closest to the King know. Only two people know. The King and the Wizard. So the sunflowers lay in the King's garden, with tight security. And the deal? It's still being dealt with.
"But how…" Both Howl and Michael knew what Sophie was going to ask. But instead of going into more detail and wasting more time, Howl just thanked Michael for the artifact and placed it his closet.
As they all sat around the table, finally starting to eat dinner, Michael perked up and spoke. "I didn't know that a sunflower was so important for breaking that curs-" Michael was interrupted by Sophie's glare.
"Michael…what are you talking about?" From the corner of her eye, she could see Howl slowly getting up from the table.
"Uhh…" Michael shifted his eyes from one side to another then stuffed his face with Sophie's food. He forgot about not mentioning anything about the curse when Sophie's present. He knew he was going to get it from Howl.
Howl moved from the kitchen to the stairs, avoiding any contact with Sophie, even though it was impossible. Sophie placed her spoon quietly on the table, worrying Michael on what she was about to do next. She grabbed Howl by his hand as he stood on the stairs and noticed a line of black ink on his palm.
Sophie felt heartbroken as she looked at the markings. "Is that it?"