It was raining in Market Chipping and the chimney in the castle dripped, as Calficer was careful to point out to Sophie every time she made him go into the hearth.
"Stop whining and take it like the all-powerful demon you claim to be! A tiny drip never hurt anyone and I have to get lunch ready. Howl and Michael will be in soon and they're bound to be starving after working on that spell all morning," Sophie told him as she took out her pan.
"But Sophie, it's water! And I'm a fire demon! It's going to put me out!" complained Calcifer. Sophie glared at him and he bent his head down. "I knew it was a mistake to let you into the castle…"
Just as Sophie was laying out the meat to cook, the door to the yard opened with a bang. Michael and Howl trooped in looking wet and miserable. The spell they were currently working on for the king was due to be presented to him the next day, so the wizards had to work on it despite the bad weather.
"I shall catch my death of cold!" Howl moaned, dripping water all over the floor. "And what shall the king do then? If he's killed off one of his Royal Wizards, who knows what he'll do to poor Ben! Dwp gwaedlyd brenin a'i holl ofynion chwythu...(Stupid bloody king and all his blasted demands...)" he trailed off, muttering angrily in Welsh.
"What was that last bit, Howl?" Sophie asked eagerly.
"Oh, nothing to concern yourself with, dear!" Howl shook himself dry.
"It was in Welsh! Why won't you teach me? I've been asking for months!" She put her hands on her hips and took a step towards him.
"Oh, look! Lunch is burning!" He ran past her towards the skillet.
"If you're going to slither out, you shan't be getting any lunch at all!" She bumped him out of the way.
"Sophie... I've been working all morning out in the rain. Won't you take pity on me? I'm about to collapse!"
She snorted at him.
"Fine. Let your poor husband starve. Cold and hungry! In my own home!" Howl said as he dragged his feet slowly up the stairs stairs and commenced moaning and groaning for the benefit of his captive audience. After half an hour, Sophie sighed and brought him up some lunch. But only the burnt bits and the ends.
XXXXXX
Sophie cuddled into Howl's chest. She could hear his heart beat. She was content. Howl played with her hair absentmindedly. He began to sing softly:
"Os wyt ti'n fy ngharu i
Fel rwyf i'n dy garu di
Mal un, dau, tri, pedwar, pump, chwech
Meddai clychau Aberdyfi.
(While the heart beats in my breast
Cariad, I will love thee, by
One, two, three and all the rest
Of the bells of Aberdovey.)"
"Howl?"
"Yes?"
"Teach me Welsh." Howl sighed.
"Why are you so insistent about this?"
"Because I want to be able to go with you to Wales and not embarrass myself!"
"They speak English (Inglish?) in Wales!"
"And they also speak Welsh in Wales! And," she added in a smaller voice, "I want to understand all these beautiful songs you sing for me." Howl looked at her for a long moment.
"Alright, cariad. I'll teach you a Welsh song."
XXXXXX
"…Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân,
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,
A'r gath wedi sgramo Joni bach.
Who beat the All Blacks?
Who beat the All Blacks?
Who beat the All Blacks?
Good old Sosban Fach!" Sophie sang, nodding her head to the beat to help her keep time.
"Look at that! I could take you to the pub to watch a rugby match and only be mildly embarrassed!" Howl said proudly.
"Embarrassed?"
"Well, one doesn't generally take one's wife to a match, darling. It's sort of a men's night out. But you can sing Sosban Fach with the best of them!"
A/N: I, of course, do not own HMC or its characters. A few notes on translations: The first line of Welsh, I got from Google Translate. So if you know any Welsh, please correct me if that is any way wrong! The second bit is a traditional Welsh song called The Bells of Aberdovey. My translation comes from here: http:/ / www. contemplator. com /tunebook/wales/aberdovy .htm (without the spaces!). The third bit is a very famous Welsh folksong. It is often used as a drinking song and also as the fight song for the rugby union club Llanelli RFC. It also happens to be the saucepan song that Calcifer sings to Sophie in HMC. You can read about it here: http:/ / en. wikipedia .org/wiki/Sosban_Fach (again, without the spaces!). Thanks for reading! :D