Tadah~ The second chapter follows quickly. Though this may be the first and last time I can actually update so fast. I'm still looking forward to your reviews and suggestions—a big thank you to those who have already commented here or elsewhere! Please enjoy this chapter!


Howl stumbled over his words as he was taken aback by Sophie's fierce attitude. "Eh, I was…"
"…going to go out wearing that?" Sophie finished his sentence, narrowing her eyes. She was actually so upset that the gesture was a result of trying to prevent tears from falling. She turned around quickly and stomped down the stairs, heading for her cubby hole. Suddenly she no longer wanted to talk with Howl at all.

It took Howl a moment to realize what had actually happened. Of course he had already noticed that Sophie had not been particularly fond of that suit. She would mostly just glare at him whenever he had been about to leave the castle dressed in it. The grey and scarlet suit was certainly like a red rag to a bull to Sophie. In a way it was her own fault—with her tendency to be able to speak life into things, it was her who had made the suit such a lady-killer.

However, the worst thing was that Howl hadn't been able to explain. On the other hand it might not have had much effect. He went down the stairs as well, and then looked around to see where Sophie had gone. He didn't see her, so he assumed she had gone to bed. At least he hadn't heard the door open or close, so he assumed she had not gone out.
Calcifer burst out from between the logs in the grate. "Which one of you is the hopeless case?"
Howl took a deep intake of breath and shook his head. Taking his hand to his forehead, he closed his eyes. "I really don't know."

Without saying another word, Howl headed for his room again. He was puzzled, and he really needed time to think. On the other hand he needed to get used to his new feelings. Although he hadn't been particularly cruel without a heart—unlike the Witch of the Waste—some benevolent emotions did feel very unfamiliar. Yet he could not recognize the current bad feeling either.

On reaching his room, he closed the door behind him and just threw himself down on his bed, tossing the grey and scarlet suit aside. No earlier had he even noticed that his room had been cleaned. He frowned at the sight, but once he noticed spiders crawling carefully in the top corners of his room, he could sigh of relief. Perhaps no one had had to die for the cleanliness.

But Howl was not completely relieved, rather far from that. He did not know what exactly he ought to do, but he guessed that Sophie did not trust him. Or perhaps she wanted to, but did not yet know if she could. When Howl thought about it, he didn't even know whether he was trustworthy himself. He couldn't really tell how much he had just changed.

Howl lay still on his bed, eyes closed. For a while he concentrated on listening to the steady beating in his chest. What a strange feeling, something that he had completely forgotten during the years. But the feeling made him feel alive. However, he did not know if the feeling was comfortable at all. Everything had suddenly turned out so complex. As if something was trying to force him to think more. Yet those things did not seem to be solved merely by thinking.

Howl wondered whether Sophie had got so angry that she would leave. Or if she had already left after all? Or if she would do so very early on the following morning? The mere thought brought an aching feeling to Howl's chest. He wanted to prevent such from happening, but he did not know how—it wouldn't probably do any good to try to talk to Sophie right then, but it could be too late in the morning. And Howl did not even know what to say. He only knew that he could not possibly slither out of it unless he wanted to screw everything up.

*

Sophie was sitting on her bed, with her blanket wrapped tightly around her. The trails of tears on her cheeks had already dried up, but crying had made her head hurt. She felt bad, extremely bad. Suddenly she had no longer felt sleepy at all, merely exhausted and upset.

She knew that she had acted on an impulse. She had been quick-tempered. She should have given Howl an opportunity to explain. But on the other hand she had a bad feeling that her worst guesses would be correct. Howl had already seemed to be so very much like the old, heartless Howl. Why would have he changed? Courting must be very entertaining once you notice how talented you are. Why would Howl—a man who obviously loved to be admired—give up such a flattering hobby?

For a while Sophie had considered packing up her property and leaving. She had considered that so many times already, and every time she had felt she had had a reason for it. Yet every time something had thwarted her plans. Right then she did not even know where she could have gone. Most of their guests had already set out for their long ways home. Martha would have been relatively near, but it was possible and likely that she was not home at the moment, but somewhere out with Michael. That thought gave Sophie another reason to worry, until she realized it was not even too late yet. Besides, Michael would barely leave Martha alone out there, and Sophie knew very well that she could trust the boy to take good care of her sister.

Sophie knew she did not want to leave. But she did not want to be exploited either. She still believed that she would have to suffer from being the eldest, but she did not want to suffer that way. She could only wish everything would be fine in the morning. Even if it meant that she was old again, the Witch of the Waste was alive and she did not break Howl and Calcifer's contract… She might get another chance to try to make things go her way. She frowned at the thought, realizing how ridiculous it was. Things going her way? Barely. But she only wished things had not gone so wrong just before she had gone to bed.

*

Sophie woke up in the morning, still not feeling remarkably well. However, she slowly sat up on her bed, stretching out her arms before she stood up and got dressed. She took a peek out of her cubby hole and could not see anyone else but Calcifer asleep on the grate. With quiet and careful steps, she walked over to the fire demon.
"Calcifer?"
A flame rose very slowly, then Calcifer opened one eye and looked at Sophie, seeming a bit annoyed at the disturbance.
"Did Michael return at night?" she asked.
"Yes, he did. Not much later than you went to bed," the fire demon answered slightly sourly.
Sophie sighed. "Then…" she began, turning to look at the stairs. "…there is probably someone who will have breakfast, at least."

Sophie went to check out all the cupboards, but she couldn't find enough groceries for nutritious breakfast. With another sigh, she picked up a basket and headed for the door. "I will be back soon," she said and added in a low voice: "I guess…"
Then, she set out for Market Chipping.

Right after the door had closed, Howl appeared downstairs. He looked even worse than the day before—with hair even messier, with two days' growth of stubble and red-rimmed eyes. "Where did she go?" he asked Calcifer and sat down on the stool near the grate. Calcifer was—again—disturbed by the question. "Grocery-shopping," the fire demon growled quietly.

Howl was relieved to hear that. He seemed to have hope. He remained silent for a while, tapping his fingertips against each other. Then, he leant towards the grate, taking his face relatively close to Calcifer's.
"Calcifer, I have been thinking," the wizard announced.
"About time too," Calcifer grumbled in response.
"For real," Howl said and leant if possible even closer, making the fire demon back away slightly. The strange, slightly ominous expression on the wizard's face made Calcifer get more alert. He was about to tell Howl to stop looking at him so intensely, but Howl was quicker: "You had better help me get rid of my burden."