Hello people of the interwebs! Sorry for not updating…I was reading fanfiction…my bad.
Disclaimer: I don't own Howl's moving castle… =_=
Howl stopped walking, and lifted his head up. His gaze fell onto the house before him. The front yard was clean and neat with freshly cut grass, and the sidewalk was swept clean of any dirt. The house itself was built of red bricks and a blue roof, the sign "HATTERS" hung above the purple door. Behind on the other side of the house would be were the families hat shop was.
"Well this is it." Sophie said quietly, "please let me down." Howl nodded, neither of them had spoken a single word throughout the walk home. The silence was suffocating. Howl put Sophie down gingerly, still having a grasp on her arm so she wouldn't have to put her weight on the swollen ankle. They stood there in an awkward silence, both looking down at their own feet.
"T-Thank you, for all your help today, it was very kind of you." Howl looked at Sophie whose head was still down. He gave a small smile, his blue eyes beginning to glitter.
"It was no problem. But in return…" He paused giving a lewd sideways glance at Sophie. Sophie's head shot up, her fear of Howl still a reality. Howl gave her a teasing smile. "Can I borrow your outdoorEd notes? Vici's were horrible."
All Sophie could do was gap at him, he was teasing her about her fear of him; it was humiliating. Sophie was truly terrified of him and he made a joke about it, typical Maggie. Sophie's cheeks went red with anger, her eyes glared menacingly up at Howl. Seeing how she looked at him, and not being able to hold his laughter, Howl bellowed out a laugh.
"I'm going inside." She said curtly, but before she could even begin to walk away, Howl pulled her back. "No! Don't touch me!" Sophie exclaimed, as she tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp.
"Sor-Sorry," he gasped through laughs "you just reminded me of something is all." Howl continued to laugh his free hand clutching at his aching side. He hasn't laughed this hard in a while.
"How can you be sorry? You haven't even stopped laughing yet!" Sophie fumed. Howl shouldn't be laughing at her but he was after all a Maggie, and Maggies titter at people like her, despite his odd kindness. How can he not laugh?
"O-Ok," Howl cleared his throat. "Okay," he said more clearly, his faced seemed to have shifted to a dead pan look. In an effort to try and appease Sophie's anger.
Sophie suspiciously eyed him, making sure his actions were genuine. Pleased with the results she let out a tiny sigh. "Do you think you can walk me to the door?" Howl looked at Sophie with surprise. This was a bold move on Sophie's part.
Seeing his expression Sophie immediately regretted what she had said. She was not on any friendly terms with this Maggie what so ever. When in fact, was just dreading the thought of her ankle, which had gone stiff from the lack of movement. She shivered at the pain her ankle would produce when she would have to hobble over to the shop door.
"You know what just forget what I said, I don't even know what I was think—"
"Okay," Howl cut her off, a smile touched the corners of his lips. He truly was a radiant being. "I will walk you to your door." Sophie began to feel embarrassed, as she brought her head down. She was embarrassed that he would actually agree. Barely an attention was ever on Sophie.
"Ah, Thanks. Truly I appreciate it, but I am going to the shops front door…Not this one." She pointed at the houses purple front door. "I don't have the key for this door." Which was true, but not the real reason she avoided the purple door.
"Isn't there someone home? Look I can even see lights on, surely they would let you in?" Howl questioned, the front door of the house would probably be closer to a medical kit than going around to the back and through the shop?
"It is easier to go through the shop…trust me" Sophie smiled a sincere smile.
Howl gave a skeptical look. "If you say so…" Sweeping Sophie up off her feet Howl walked through the yard to the side of the house, quickly stealing a look in the side window.
A woman with light honey colored hair placed in a loose bun, sat at a small white desk. Her violet rimmed glasses were perched at the bottom of her nose, the woman's eyes were narrowed with concentration.
Arriving at the shops green wooden door, Howl set Sophie down again carefully, making sure to have a good hold on her.
"Really thanks a lot," Sophie said as she fished for the keys in her dress pocket. Her dress maybe the style of an old grandma's but it was efficient. "I mean for everything that you have done for me…even the alley part."
Howl gave one of his dazzling smiles. "Of course, I was more than happy to help."
Sophie shuddered remembering what she saw in the alley. Finally finding her keys Sophie unlocked the door. On the beside the door a cane laid against the wall, it was brown and very shabby looking, obviously thoroughly used. Sophie picked it up.
"You have a cane?" Howl asked, one eyebrow rose in question.
"Uh, it's not mine, it's one of our employees. Often she forgets her cane at home so we have one here just in case. I am sure she won't mind if I use it."
"So not a lot of young people working at the hat shop I take it." Howl shoved his hands in his pockets and walked inside the shop. He gazed at all the hats hanging from the numerous racks.
It was a small shop, but the hats were captivating. Each seemed to have its own personality, suited for only that one person. Even at first glance Howl could tell these hats had a lot of work and detail poured into them.
Sophie made her way to the clerks desk, ignoring his earlier comment. The desk was old, but in good condition, Sophie made sure it was. "I have the notes for outdoorEd here, I don't bother keeping anything at school."
"Oh? And why is that?" Howl stopped looking at the hats to look at Sophie. He had a feeling already that school was a taboo subject for her.
"Oh, no reason." Sophie gave a shrug. Shuffling the notes into a pile then aligning them so they were neatly stacked together.
"Here," she handed the notes to him with a stern look on her face. School was definitely a no touch zone. "The trip is in a couple of days so know them off hand by then."
Howl was about to open his mouth to say something when a voice called out from the back of the shop.
"Sophie I know you have company but please I really need your help." The voice sounded peppy and sweet, it reminded Howl of candy.
"Of course Fanny, I'll be there in just a moment." Sophie called back. Turning to Howl she gave a natural store clerk smile, one that must be practice in order for it to be natural.
"Well you heard her. I have other things to do so you can go now." Howl's eyes widened slightly at her blunt comment.
She hobbled alongside him to the door and opened it for him. "You can keep the notes."
Sophie closed the door, locking it behind her, and headed to the back of the shop.
Still stunned at Sophie for rushing him out the door in such a crude way, Howl moved to the side of the house, careful to not be seen as he peeped through the window.
He could see the lady more clearly now. Her bust was the most noticeable part of her along with her curvy hips, giving her that long desired hour glass shape. She wore grey sweat shirt and grey pants to match; her hair was completely disheveled as if she had been trying to tear it out.
And the lady was yelling at Sophie.
Howl used his magic to hear the conversation better through the houses walls. Placing a hand to the outside of the house, he used his magic so that his hand would act like a personal amplifier to the sound inside.
"Who the hell do you think you are? I pay for this damn house, and for your food, for everything! Don't you dare do something like that again!"
Sophie stayed silent. Her head hung down towards the ground, as if she was ashamed of the wrong she committed.
"Well say something you friggin idiot. You know this is all your fault, right?"
Sophie brought her head up and smiled. It was her clerk smile, so no one would know what was going on in her head. "I am truly sorry for coming home late Fanny. Even though I know you were expecting me I didn't come on time. My apologies."
Fanny's face turned beet red with anger, her hands balled into fist and shook with rage. "You cheeky little brat, you know how important this date was to me." Fanny abruptly turned around to storm out of the room. A new wave of rage must have hit Fanny because she viciously turned back toward Sophie and threw a small shot sized bottle at Sophie. "And stop figgin smiling you stupid girl!" Howl stopped breathing.
Not even flinching Sophie took the blow, the bottle hitting on the upper side of her right arm. It rebounded off sending it crashing to the floor, exploding into hundreds of tiny shards. Fanny's eyes at that moment seemed to have lost its fiery edge, as if pulled down to reality by the sound of the shattered bottle. They stood there motionless for a few moments, letting the situation sink in. Sophie discreetly eyed the desk were a vast amounts of the same bottle seemed to have accumulated. Fanny broke the silence.
"Clean it up." Fanny turned around and exited the room, leaving Sophie with the mess. Howl stood there at the edge of the house, lifting his palm off the side of the wall, he exhaled. It was one thing to see people get yelled and thrashed on, he had seen it all the time in non-magic movies. So much that he had even desensitized himself from that sort of thing…But to see it happen to Sophie. Howl tried to choke down on his anger, nothing good would come from him getting mad here at this moment.
What could he do? He may be a very powerful Maggie, maybe a bit too powerful the Royal Court argued, but this was a matter that magic could not solve. It made him feel helpless, and he hated feeling helpless. It had always reminded him of when he was a kid never having the ability to change something, to fix or mend a problem.
Howl closed his eyes tight and clenched his teeth together; taking a deep breath he tried to relax himself. Exhaling he took another long breath, counting between each of his breaths. After a few moments he felt the rage in him subside enough to let his body relax. Looking down at his hand he saw Sophie's notes all crumpled up, he sighed. Howl must have unconsciously clenched his fist, ruining her notes.
He shook his head side to side, as if he was tsking at himself. "Now how am I going to give her notes back?" Turning around Howl headed towards the bustling streets of the East Side market. He had this odd spring in his step, as he glided through the crowds, hardly registering the smitten looks the females gave him, or the sighs as he walk by. Nothing but a bunch of flittering chicks, he inwardly sighed, they were nothing he wanted.
With any luck things will look up for him soon, a smile crept slowly onto his handsome face…And he was a very lucky fellow indeed.
Okay so here is chapter two. Seriously though, you guys have been awesome with the reviews, I was truly blown away! Hopefully since it is summer vacation I will be able to update more frequently…hopefully. Please keep reviewing, that stuff is like power juice. So my beta is kinda off duty and I am not so sure on the quality of any of my chapters. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though. (^.^)
Lilly-Petal
