Sophie started stirring when the sun came in her window, warming her. She heard the birds chirping outside her window. But something was wrong. Where was Howl? Where was she? Sophie walked downstairs and realized she woke up in her old room. "That's strange." Sophie murmured to herself. She walked by a rack of hats and froze. Why was she in the hat shop? Sophie looked around, but the castle was gone. Sophie ran outside as fast as she could.
"Howl!" Sophie yelled, tearing up. "How-" she tried yelling for him again, but Sophie choked up. Her body started to shake violently with fear, and Sophie began to sob and yell for all she was worth.
"Howl, No!" Sophie yelled desperately.
"Sophie!" Howl pulled Sophie into his arms, and she woke up in a cold sweat. "Sophie shh... Shhh it's okay Sophie... Calm down, it's okay... Shhh..." Howl comforted Sophie as she continued crying and shaking.
"Don't go!" Sophie yelled, not entirely conscious yet.
"Sophie! It's okay! I'm not going anywhere!" Howl yelled almost sternly. But it was enough to bring Sophie to.
Sophie looked into Howl's eyes, and Howl was relieved to see that she was okay. "Oh, Howl!" Sophie embraced Howl. Tears were still running down her face. "I thought you left me forever."
"Sophie... shh, stop crying now..." Howl pulled her chin up, "You know I would never do that." Sophie just buried her face in her hands again. "I'll go get you some water, Sophie. Do you want anything else?" Howl said as he pulled the bed sheets down. It was still the middle of the night, and it would have been a miracle if Sophie hadn't disturbed Michael, who probably got in late on top of that.
"Don't go, Howl!" Sophie gave Howl an alarmed look, grabbing his wrist.
"It's okay, Sophie. I'm just going downstairs. I'll be right back in just a minute." Howl comforted her with a reassuring look.
But, alas, it didn't work. "Stay with me," Sophie pleaded, "please."
Howl climbed back into the bed and curled up with Sophie. "I will," he closed his eyes, "try to get some sleep, my girl."
Sophie's eyes fluttered shut when she was sure that Howl was really there. Fortunately, Sophie slept soundly for the rest of the night.
In the morning, Sophie was the first out of bed. She slid out of Howl's arm and the covers without Howl stirring. She silently slipped on her slippers and wandered downstairs. As she sat down in the chair next to Calcifer's dim glow, she heard the door creak open. Sophie whirled around, startled, and saw Michael sheepishly walking in.
"I- uh.. didn't know- uh- I- I though... you would be- uh- asleep. I- I'm..."
"Michael!" Sophie gasped. "Where have you been!" Sophie said scoldingly.
"I was- I- uh... Sophie! I swear nothing happened! It's not like that! Don't be so suspicious-"
"Michael, you go straight to bed!" Sophie hissed. "And don't wake anybody up!" she added.
"Too late." Calcifer moaned sarcastically.
"Sophie, it was so late that I just stayed in a spare room. I got enough sleep, I promise!" Michael protested.
"Well, I suppose I can't really tell you what to do." Sophie grumbled. "You're not exactly a child."
Michael sighed in relief. "I'll make you breakfast, Sophie. Okay?" He smiled.
Sophie smiled back, accepting his attempt of an apology. "Could I have some tea too?" She asked sweetly. "I'm sorry too, I just worry about you and my little sisters."
"I know that Sophie." Michael smiled as he got out the kettle.
"Michael, did you hear?" Calcifer smiled demonically. "Howl and Sophie slept together."
"What?" Michael said angrily. "And you were scolding me, Sophie! Who are you to talk? For shame!"
Sophie blushed and looked flustered. "I didn't- um... well... Martha's my little sister! I have every right to yell at you for circumstantial evidence! You two are so young! And all we did was share a bed!"
"Will you two stop arguing!" Howl said as he came down the stairs. "Don't get so worked up. You two go apologize and pick some flowers outside for the shop. Go ahead, I'll make breakfast." Howl ushered them toward the door.
Michael and Sophie began picking flowers to sell that day in the shop. It was just about dawn and the sunrise created beautiful colors in the morning sky.
"I'm sorry for picking a fight, Sophie. I know you're just worried about your sisters." Michael apologized.
"It's alright, Michael." Sophie said merrily, "You're old enough to make your own decisions anyway, and so is Martha. I just haven't accepted that. I forget, sometimes, that she has grown up; probably because I raised her when Fanny couldn't."
"Calcifer!" Howl yelled as he raced around like a pinball, "Make sure you're ready to move today, I want to surprise Sophie and Michael."
"Howl! It's not all that difficult to move anymore. You're forgetting that I'm not bound here anymore." Calcifer jumped out of the hearth and buzzed over like a blue sparkler by Howl.
Howl jumped back a little in surprise, "oh yeah," he put his hand over the spot where his heart was located in his chest. "If we do it right now, the moving castle will stay in place for Michael and Sophie, right?"
"I don't see why not. We need the flower field for the shop, and we need to access the Waste. Okay, what details should the house have?" Calcifer asked.
"Well, right now, the old castle is mixed with the old hat shop, but I want more of the rooms from the hat shop, while keeping Michael's room, my room, and that extra bedroom that we made for Sophie with the window looking out at Market Chipping."
"So our main location will be Market Chipping and not your old Porthaven home anymore?" Calcifer assumed.
"Yes." Howl said. "Also, the room that we are in has more space in the Market Chipping residence, and Sophie wanted a bigger kitchen, so we should adjust it to the dimensions that the residence already has."
"Okay, I've got an idea to make this quite simple." Calcifer said. "But some of the rooms that we currently have will be moved. I'm going to take the hat shop and house attached and just move our rooms into it. That way, we won't have to bend much space at all. Except of course for the other doors. Which one's were they again?"
But Howl was already altering the spinning wheel by the door. "We will have the flower garden at the Waste which will stay purple, the mansion which is orange, the Market Chipping residence which is yellow, Porthaven blue, Kingsbury red, and Wales black. Oh, and my old friend lives quite far away, in High Norland. We should put an entrance near his house too. It bends quite a lot of space, so we should be able to add a door there easy." Howl dipped his brush in the rainbow paint bucket and it came out pearly white.
"There are eight colors on that wheel, Howl." Calcifer stated sarcastically.
"I'm aware, I'm using all my own magic to create a eighth entrance. It's a surprise for you too, Calcifer." Howl smiled.
"You don't have to do that, Howl." Calcifer said nicely. "After all, I owe Sophie for the life she gave me."
"It's okay, Calcifer. I want to do something on my own for a change. That one will be green, for now we'll put it in the Chipping Valley near the Waste where the moving castle used to be."
"Geez, he really has changed." Calcifer said to himself.
"Okay, Calcifer, are you ready?" Howl asked.
"As I'll ever be." The ever sarcastic demon answered.
Howl marked up the floor hastily now, and calcifer started glowing bigger and brighter, hovering in the middle of the room. As howl finished up, he stood straight up and put his arms out at his sides. "Let's go." Howl said. Howl spun counter clockwise, and Calcifer zoomed around him clockwise twice as fast. The whole room seemed to spin with them, and the combined living room kitchen grew into Sophie's old home. The sounds of the rooms upstairs moving around could be heard, like wood sliding on wood. After a moment, it seemed to be over and Howl opened his eyes. "Perfect," he smiled.
Howl started opening the doors to check them, to make sure they were just right. He opened the door to the flower field where Sophie and Michael were to find them heading back inside. "Come on in!" Howl said to them.
"What happened in here?" Sophie asked, looking around at the changed room.
"It looks quite different." Michael said. "A bit bigger than before, isn't it? And there's even new pots and pans! Howl that must have cost a fortune!" he looked around.
"This table is beautiful, Howl!" Sophie said, looking at there new, yet simple table with chairs instead of benches like before.
"Do you like it?" Howl asked. "Calcifer and I changed the castle while you were out. There are eight entrances now."
"Eight!" Michael said in surprise. "How did you manage it that fast?"
"Well, now that Calcifer and I are separate, our power is much stronger together. Also, the inside didn't change very much, and we didn't change the castle's actual location." Howl pondered.
"What do they lead to?" Sophie said, approaching the door.
"As nosy as ever, aren't you?" Howl said, amused. "Well, it has all of our old doors, plus one that leads to a friend's in another country and one that I made for you. Open the green one, Sophie."
Light came flooding in the castle and Sophie wandered outside. She noticed it was suddenly quite breezy. There was a small lawn outside, and a lovely set of table and chairs. There was a nice stone path and further out a bridge maybe? It seemed to go on forever, but Sophie realized, "Are we in the air?" She ran to the edge and found a rail. "Howl, this is incredible! Just look at the view!" Sophie said in amazement. Michael and Calcifer followed them out and ran to the other side of the castle door, exploring the rest of the floating yard.
"Do you like it, Sophie? I made it for you." Howl joined Sophie
Sophie tackled him with a hug, "I love it, Howl! it's beautiful."
Howl chuckled, "I'm glad. Sophie, are you crying?" Howl asked, shocked. "What's wrong? Why are you crying, are you alright!"
"I've just never been so happy in my entire life. No one has ever done so much for me." Sophie explained with tears in her eyes.
Howl just stood there, hugging Sophie and running his hand up and down her back to comfort her.
"I had originally planned to show you later because I have something special planned, but I'm glad I showed you this now. You would've found out anyway, knowing you." Howl smiled at Sophie. "Come, Sophie. Look at the front! There's a long lookout."
"I won't fall, will I?" Sophie said, concerned.
"It's okay, you'll never fall with me here." Howl held his hand out for Sophie, and they walked out to the edge.
"It's so beautiful! Just look at the view." Sophie sighed. "Howl," Sophie started, looking at a passing cloud. "I love you. Very much."
Howl pulled Sophie's chin around. "I love you too Sophie." Howl said, giving Sophie a sweet kiss. When they broke apart, Howl took Sophie's hands in his. "What would you say to having dinner in Wales tonight? Would you like to come and meet my family?"
"Your- your family? I- I don't know, I'm not so sure that- uh..." Sophie stuttered nervously.
"Don't worry, they'll love you, Sophie. And I promise I won't leave your side." Howl said reassuringly.
"I'm not afraid of meeting them so much as I'm afraid that I won't fit in in Wales. You said it was so different." Sophie looked at her shoes.
"It'll be the perfect opportunity to show you around, Sophie! We can go there sometime in the afternoon and have dinner with my family in the evening."
"Okay." Sophie agreed, gaining some of her confidence back with a smile.
"But, first I have something to ask you, my dear." Howl said, as he got down on his knee. "Sophie, will you marry me?" Howl said, holding out a simple, yet beautiful silver band with small diamonds evenly spaced around the middle.
A/N: I'm not very pleased with this story right now. It keeps getting away from me and writing itself. But tell me what you think. I've gotten some positive stuff and I really appreciate it. I really wanted to re-write the end of this chapter, cause I didn't plan the ending at all. But if you guys like it, I guess it's okay. And if you haven't read the book Howl's Moving Castle- here's some helpful information: Markl's actual name is Michael. When it got translated to Japanese and back to English, it ended up being Markl. And he's not much younger than Sophie at all. Also, Wizard Suliman is actually male, and not the antagonist. The Witch of the Waste was beautiful and stayed young; she was evil the whole time and was killed in the end by Howl. I think that's a good enough foundation, although I could go on for hours. Tell me if you have any questions about it.