Chapter One

In Which all is as it should be

.

.

The moving castle was drifting slowly over the land of Ingary as if taking a stroll to see the sights; though everyone who was anyone knew that it had memorized the hills so well that there were several ruts where its feet would drag. Black smoke drifted lazily from one of the many turrets, darkening the already violet sky. The sound of its grinding legs screeched and groaned through the dusk air. Farmers would poke their heads out dimly lit windows, eyebrows creased with worry, before they would shake their heads and hush their bright-eyed children who leaned over the sills to point at the lone figure on the sky line.

All the boys and girls in Ingary (and some even as far as Alberia) knew the tale that came with the moving castle. The story book romance had spread through town like a wild fire, lighting the hearts of all who heard: Sophie and Howl Pendragon, two magical lovers living out their lives and earning their well deserved happy ever after.

Or so they thought.

Sophie Pendragon had anything but a story-book life in her opinion. She was born the eldest of three – destined for mundane life fraught with disappointment. It was a moment like this where she wished such a fate had come true.

"HOWL!" Her voice carried through out the house, causing the spiders in the rafters to retreat in fear.

"HO~WL!" The note she ended his name with was punctuated by a hacking cough. The bathroom she was in had filled with thick black smoke. There was a curious noise like a cat getting sick in the thick of it all, but when the smoke cleared there was only a naked child in the middle of the bathtub looking guilty.

"Mum... I dun mean it... I just-"

The boy's word's were cut off by another round of Sophie screaming herself hoarse until there came a gentle bounding up the steps and an angular face appeared at the door.

"Yes?" Came the entertained voice that followed. His twinkling green-blue eyes looked from Sophie's splashed clothing and sooty face to the boy in the bath tub who suddenly shed all of his fair hair.

"I see. Another spell gone wrong. Good job Morgan. At this rate you're bound to get one to work proper – even a broken clock is right twice a day." There was weariness in Howl's sarcasm that hinted this probably wasn't the first accident that occurred that day. He knelt down beside the tub and looked over his son's bald head with concern. When he was satisfied with his findings he stood and went back to the doorway.

There was a look of pleading in Sophie's eyes when he turned to go. "Can you put his hair back? If I do it, it's bound to grow for miles..." Her voice had the same level of tiredness as Howl's.

Howl scratched his head. "He'll be fine for the moment. I'm working on a spell for Ben, he can't get the identifitrameter to work for Mrs. Stapleton and I have no clue as to what went wrong with it."

A voice traveled up the stairwell as if in an answer, "Howl, I think it's the stimulus clamp!"

This caused the man's attention to snap back downstairs. "Really? Well that makes no sense. Let me take another look..." His footsteps sounded rushed as they fell away from the bathroom leaving Sophie to deal with the mess herself.

Sophie ushered for her son to stand and remove himself from the bathtub for a rub down. She let out a heavy sigh as she dried him off. "Honestly, I can't get decent help with anything! Your hair will have to wait. I have no idea why you would have even attempted to do anything with it! What were you thinking Morgan?"

The young boy blushed as his mother wrenched a pastel colored night gown over his head, but didn't say anything. This made Sophie raise an eyebrow at him. "Morgan, don't you dare try to give me that look. What were you thinking young man? You could have blown your head off!"

Morgan shuffled his feet. "I thought my hair might look better black." He shuffled his feet, embarrassed, which made Sophie's heart melt slightly. She knew that he was trying to imitate Howl, and that his previous attempts were scolded because Howl wasn't exactly the best role model. For instance, his ability to slip out of conversations…

Morgan attempted to escape the bathroom when his mother's expression softened and Sophie latched on to the back of his gown the instant he set his toe out the door. Her arm snaked around her child's tiny waist and held fast.

"No you don't! I have plenty of practice with slither-outers and I can slighter out after them faster! You need to brush your teeth – no buts." She lifted him with slight difficulty onto a stool in front of the sink, and then shoved a toothbrush into his hand. Morgan resigned to the boring task like someone who had just been given the death penalty.

After several minutes the boy was being marched into his room by Sophie. Morgan whined and tugged at the apron covering his mother's dress, but Sophie just urged him onwards.

"But I'm not even tired Mum, and Dad might need my help with that identificalculator... or whatever... and I'm good with things like that!" His wide blue eyes tried to work their charm on his captor, but to no avail.

Sophie picked him up with a silent wheeze, and then carried him to his room. He was starting to get too heavy so she had to place him in the middle of the room instead of her intended target – his bed. "Morgan, please don't kick up a fuss. You know it's your bed time." She had to catch her breath - lugging a six year old isn't an easy task. "Now get into bed."

"But Dad lets me stay up all the time!" He tried, looking up into her face looking cute though his whines.

Sophie gave him a glare that made him automatically jump up on his bed and sit there innocently as if he didn't say anything at all. Sophie however grumbled something about 'inconsistencies' and 'lack of parental responsibility'. Morgan hoped he wasn't going to be the catalyst for yet another argument between them.

His mother turned towards the door, but Morgan let out a noise of distress, "No mum! Can you read me a story before you go?" The question seemed so desperate that a look of concern crossed Sophie's face.

"I haven't read you a bedtime story since you were four... you hate it when I read to you..." It was true. Howl usually did the story-telling. He liked to do the different voices. Sophie had to admit that even she got caught up in Howl's dramatic re-enactments of strange fairy tales from his homeland. The hesitation in her movements made Morgan add a sickly sweet, "Please...?"

"All right. Which one?" The woman made her way over to the bookshelf and started calling out titles. After ten suggestions Morgan selected a story called The Wizard of Oz which was one of his favorites. Sophie made herself comfortable in the rocking chair Howl bought her years ago when Morgan was an infant. The memories made her smile as she opened the book. She was about to begin when Morgan interrupted her.

"Mum...?"

"Yes?" Impatience crept into her voice, but it wasn't enough to deter Morgan from answering.

"Can I sit on your lap...?"

Sophie paused, genuine apprehension written on her features. "You've been awfully odd today Morgan. Is anything the matter? You know you can tell me if anything is the matter." He wasn't usually so clingy, nor in the mood to listen to her this time of night. Morgan just shook his head however, and asked the question again.

Sophie sighed, "You're getting too big for this you know, I don't know if my lap can take it... but we'll try I suppose - just for tonight."

Morgan grinned and slid into his mother's waiting lap, his legs hung over one of the rocking chair's arms and Sophie grabbed a pillow so that he could lean his back comfortably against the other. "There. Now, you can't interrupt me or the deal is off, got it?" Sophie said sternly.

Morgan nodded obediently and let the story begin.

After half an hour Morgan nodded off, becoming dead weight on Sophie's thighs. She sighed and stretched to reach the night stand in order to set the book down and assess what to do next. Morgan was warm and comforting to her, though his bald head did cause her to frown.

Minutes passed as she stared at her child's face, not even knowing that she had fallen asleep. She was barely conscious when the weight was gently removed and feeling came back to her feet. The sensation of pins and needles in her legs roused her slightly and she looked up into the face of Howl as he watched her doze with a look of amused serenity on his face.

"Coming to bed?" He whispered in an almost chuckle as Sophie attempted to rise. She stumbled and had to grab onto her husband's arms to steady herself.

"I cut off the circulation to my legs... give me a minute."

They both took a moment to stare at their child, his face angelic looking now that it was framed by a fleece blanket. Sophie was happy to see that a stray lock of reddish hair rested across his face. "You fixed it... without waking him as well, I'm impressed. Did you finish that tool for Mrs. Stapleton?"

Howl shook his head and guided his limping wife out of the room.

"Well, you're going to have to finish it the day after tomorrow then. It's your turn to take Morgan to the park tomorrow. I promised Lettie I'd be over and if I take him with me I won't get anything done."

"You know, I think I know where Morgan gets his ability to complain about everything from." Howl smiled as he helped Sophie wiggle out of her clothing. Sophie playfully elbowed him in the side, "Don't you dare say me. I'm surprised he hasn't had a green slime episode yet. You're his worse role-model yet! Sometimes I wonder whose better behaved!"

This made Howl chuckle. "I wonder indeed..." His blue eyes wandered in such a way that made Sophie blush. Howl grinned roguishly and threw himself into the bed as if trying to hog as much space as possible. He stared at the ceiling and smiled to himself. "I blame Calcifer."

Sophie pushed him over roughly and slipped under the covers before mirroring his grin. "Fine, let's blame Calcifer and re-start this argument in the morning." She felt his arms pull her closer to the heat radiating from his body and the scent of lavender lulled her into a sleepy stupor.

"Agreed."

.

Author's Notes:

Just updated this story from a two year hiatus, hopefully I will complete it this time! I'm going chapter by chapter, editing some horrid writing. If there are any errors, please sumbit a review and I can fix them ASAP. Hope you enjoy this tale~! - GinTsuki