Hello! I love Howl's Moving Castle, whether it be the book or movie, and had always wanted to write a fic about it. So now that I finally have, I'm really excited to see how it is received. I really wanted to see things from Howl's perspective, and I think I was able to write his character fairly accurately (I hope xD). I wasn't really sure if I should write it based on the book or movie, but I eventually chose the movie because it seems that that's what more people are familiar with. But, I will use some scenes that only happen in the book to show more growth in Howl and Sophie's relationship. I also plan on writing longer chapters in the future, because I know this one is a bit on the shorter side. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I promise the A/N will be shorter in the future. :)

The Wizard Howl took pride in his power, looks, and charm. To keep all three of these qualities, a wizard such as himself could not have the weakness of a heart. So he had hidden it with a fire demon, which, he had always told himself, was a selfish act completely to his advantage. Oh sure, the demon would have died if Howl hadn't created their contract, but that was beside the point. If a good deed or two came from his wickedness, so what? Howl didn't care in the slightest.

Howl lived in a large castle. He had shops in Porthaven and Kingsbury as well, which were connected to his castle. Oh yes, and his castle moved around the land on four gigantic, clawed feet. Big deal.

His castle had one other occupant beside himself, two if you counted the demon, Calcifer. The other resident was a small child who had appeared one day, a cold, shivering orphan from Porthaven named Markl. Howl took him in solely because he desired someone other than Calcifer to talk to, and he became Howl's apprentice so Howl had something to do when he was bored. Again, this was all for Howl's benefit, and no one else's. At least, that's what he tricked himself into believing.

. . .

It was May Day, and Howl was on his way back to the castle. His blonde hair blew in front of his eyes as he recalled the prior day's events. As usual on May Day, he had slyly went through the crowds of Market Chipping, scoping out women.

One girl in particular had stood out to him, but not in the usual way women stood out to him. A young girl, no older than 19, dressed in a faded green dress you would see on an old woman. He had saved her from two nosy guards, who had other thoughts than protecting Ingary on their minds. Of course, that was when the Witch of the Waste, his ex-lover and rival, had decided to attack him. Her slimy henchmen had been following him all day, much to his amusement, but really, could they have chosen a less convenient time to charge him? Having no other choice, Howl took to the skies with the girl, amused by her fear. He had turned on his charm, telling her she was a natural. When he had reached her destination, he left her with an over-the-top, "That's my girl," and jumped off the balcony into the swarming crowd below. He always was one for a good dramatic exit. His favorite part of the whole ordeal was that the girl hadn't seemed flattered or happy to be be literally swept off of her feet. Frankly, she seemed to be silently screaming, "Why me?" the whole time.

By the time he had reached the castle, it was early morning. The sun was already a good way into the sky. But Howl wasn't at all tired, even though he had been up all night. As he stepped into the familiar grit of the castle, he heard sizzling and unfamiliar raspy voice saying, "Hold still. I need to crack the eggs."

Markl was the first to notice Howl's return. He looked helplessly at the wizard, and then to a stout old woman who was bent over Calcifer with a frying pan, and seemed the be quite enjoying herself. "Who on earth are you?" he interrupted.

The old woman jumped. She turned around quickly and looked Howl in the eye. The fear shown in them reminded Howl of the girl from Market Chipping.

The woman regained her composure. "Sophie."

He cocked an eyebrow. "How did you make Calcifer bend down?"

A muffled voice came angrily from underneath the frying pan. "She bullied me!"

"Not many people can do that," he said. He felt almost no emotion from the situation. That often came from not having a heart. "Calcifer only likes me to cook on him," Howl continued. "Pass me the frying pan."

Sophie obeyed-grudgingly-and sat down in an old armchair. "Tell me why you've come here," Howl said while cooking their breakfast on the still disgruntled Calcifer.

"I'm your new cleaning lady," she said. Lie.

"Calcifer hired me." Lie.

"After all, this place is filthy." Truth. Howl chuckled to himself.

"You can just call me Sophie. Old Sophie." Strange-another lie. But what was she lying about? Howl decided to study her.

The rest of that day went by uneventfully, except for two invitations from the king and some furious cleaning from Sophie. But, later that week, Howl finally discovered what was so strange about Sophie. She was under a nasty curse, one of the Witch of the Waste's by the looks of it. Late one night, he confided in Calcifer about it. When Howl asked Calcifer if he had noticed the curse, he had actually laughed. "Took you that long to notice? Geez, Howl, sharpen up."

"I've had other things on my mind, thank you!" Howl protested. He sighed. "What do you think the affects of the curse are?"

Calcifer didn't answer for a moment. When he did, it was annoyingly vague. "Wasn't it strange how she said 'Old Sophie'? As if we couldn't already see that?"

Howl knew Calcifer knew more than he was letting on, but decided not the push the matter. He decided to let Sophie stay. A good mystery was just what he needed between girlfriends.

. . .

The smoke burned Howl's eyes. He flew over miles of wreckage and fire. This war had gone on long enough. The only people not suffering were the king and his war consultants. Twice now he had see swarms of demons. But he knew better. They weren't really demons, but witches and wizards who were forced to turn themselves into savage monsters to aid a pointless war. He knew many of them were fated to never be the humans they once were, eternally trapped as a mindless slaves for the king's bidding.

If Howl hadn't known better, he would be with them as another living shield for Ingary. He knew he couldn't ignore the king forever. He hated to admit it, but he was terrified of the the war, the king, and her. As usual, he looked for a window out. But the only window he cold see required actual effort on his part, which he was not willing to give.

Tired of the carnage, he left. When he stepped through the veil of nothing over the door, he expected to turn back into his human form. When he didn't, he knew time was running out faster than he had hoped. Luckily, there was no sign of Sophie or Markl. But Calcifer saw him right away. "Yeesh, Howl. I saw you and thought we were being attacked by a demon!"

Howl could only reply with a low growl. That was what he was now, wasn't it? A demon.

Calcifer looked worried. "You know what this means don't you?" he said. Howl didn't answer.

With a painful grunt, Howl forcefully changed himself back. He felt more exhausted than he had in years. He shuffled up the creaking castle steps into his room. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he dissolved into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I plan on updating once a week, but who knows? It might be faster or slower, depending on my schedule. I apologize for not being able to give more definite update times. If you liked it, please review with suggestions, constructive criticism, or just something you liked. If I get any reviews, I will reply to them in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!