Author's Note: Well! I wasn't expecting such a big turn out of compliments and watchers alike! o-o I'm pretty amazed and I wasn't going to update yet, but because everyone seems to like where I'm gong, I've decided to break from homework and whip up this little chapter. :) By the way, for those of you who like tea, I've unwittingly stumbled across a spectacular combination! Apricot and chamomile together = a fantastic smell and a sweet, gentle taste. :3 You'll love it, I know.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in here, really. Oh, and I have strep throat, so I blame any confusion and bad writing on that. :D

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Chapter Two: In which Sophie makes a decision

Sophie stared at the Prince after he asked her out on a date in front of Howl. He was actually asking her out? Right there? Right when Howl was standing right there? She looked at Howl, her eyes wide in surprise and was even more surprised to find the magician staring sullenly out the window. There wasn't a single thing about him that suggested that he liked the idea, but he wasn't speaking up for her either. Wasn't saying anything to the extent that they had a relationship and, by golly, Justin ought to respect that even if he was a prince. He just sat there, sullenly, like a child who was stubbornly refusing to say anything in order to get what he wanted. Sophie sighed to herself. Of course, that was who Howl was.

She gave Justin a bit of a smile, an apologetic smile, and said, "Well I… I'm flattered, really-"

Before she could finish, Justin cut in eagerly. "You've gotten all my other flowers, right?"

"Yes-"

"The pink ones and the red ones and the white ones?"

"All of them." Sophie smiled.

"And you liked them?"

"Yes." Sophie said.

"Then, will you come with me to pick out some more flowers?"

Sophie paused. She looked at Howl. He was still looking out the window. "Well I… who are they for?"

"That's a secret." Justin said with a smile.

They weren't going to be for her? Well that she could do. Sophie smiled. "I'd-"

"Sophie!" Michael burst into the room and tripped on his own feet. "We have a problem!"

"What is it?" Sophie turned in surprise.

"I can't find Martha!"

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Martha was found a few hours later shopping around for things for her wedding. She had left a note on their ice box of where she had headed off to, but apparently Michael had mistaken it for something Sophie put up for Howl (or more likely, the other way around) and had ignored the little slip of paper. Sophie was now back in her room, this time without Howl and Prince Justin, and was currently tending to some flowers that needed to look just right in order to make the bouquet that she was trying to do.

"Now you listen to me," She said, wiggling her finger at them, "You listen to me, you hear? You're going to do this and you're going to do it right, alright?" Then she set to work. She put the roses there, and the daisies here, moved the green leaves over to the side and splaying around the middle, put the baby's breath here and continued to talk to the flowers. "You're such pretty things, you are. But so delicate. You could break with a breath—but you won't." She added hurriedly, not wanting to cast that kind of unwitting spell upon them. "No no you won't. And you'll last forever. Or at least most of forever." It would be far into the future when an archaeologist was digging that her flowers would be found, fresh as the day they were buried, marveled at, put up in a museum, and stared at in wonder until centuries later they collapsed into dust.

"You know," she wondered, "I don't suppose it would be too bad to go out with that Prince Justin…" She put a pretty little lilac in there for good measure. "He's certainly more attentive than Howl ever is." She sighed, wondering why her heart wasn't feeling what her head was saying. "And he would probably know how to care for a girl's feelings more than his own…" She sighed again, putting a sad little flower in the arrangement. "Perk up," she told it, "you're with a bunch of pretty flowers, even if you're not that stunning, you make the arrangement all the more beautiful because you're different." She went back to her original problem. "The problem is that I wish that Howl would say something, but I don't suppose that's his way, is it?" She frowned a little, wondering why it was okay even if it was his way.

"But I don't think that Justin would be like that, would he?" She thought about it. Or would he? Was he doing the same thing as Howl was? Courting a girl until she gave in and then becoming bored with her? "Goodness!" She breathed. "That is not what the world needs!" Another Howl! Just think about it! She shook her head at the flowers. "I can't let that happen!"

She bustled away from the flowers and moved to the kitchen where she started to cook lunch, muttering to herself about how it wouldn't be good, no no it wouldn't be good at all if there was another Howl in this world.

"Calcifer," she said once, "what would you think if there were two Howls?"

Calcifer, who was hampered just a bit by the boiling pot of water on his face, sputtered in shock, "Two? Sophie! What did you do this time!"

"I didn't do anything you old spark," she said. "I'm just curious about what you think."

He sputtered more and then settled. "I think it's a bad idea."

"That's what I thought." Sophie sighed.

Calcifer was quiet before questioning suspiciously, "You're not planning anything, are you?"

Sophie scowled at him, "Be nice. Of course I wouldn't plan anything as silly as two Howls."

"That's not what I meant…" The fire-demon muttered, but Sophie was already on the other side of the room, finishing up what she was making and heading out to see if she could find Michael or Martha or someone else who might want to eat lunch with her.

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It wasn't until much later that Sophie would make her decision, and in the time that it took her to come up with that answer she had done many things. First, she had made a wonderful lunch, both Martha and Michael had said so. Second, she had arranged all the flowers for Michael's and Martha's wedding. Third she had tidied the house again, even carefully arranging Howl's potions and whatnot so that they could be easily found—not that he ever looked at things when he grabbed them, he just reached for where he thought he knew it should be, this caused a bit of a problem when later that evening he grabbed wart-maker instead of skin smoother and Sophie knew that she was bound to never hear the end of it—and she even managed to make it so Calcifer had both plenty of wood that was within range, he also had a clean chimney to blow smoke out of.

She stood there after all her work, soot in her hair and over her clothes, dirt under her fingernails, a mop in one hand and a dusting towel in the other, and was looking around quite proudly when Howl came traipsing in (his warts now gone) and said, "Goodness Sophie, you certainly can keep a clean house—" and she almost said thank you before he continued, "—but you really know nothing about keeping yourself clean. Go take a bath. Calcifer, hot water."

Sophie threw down the towel, tossed the mop with a clatter and stormed to the bathroom without a word, the door slamming behind her. That was it! She was getting no appreciation here, none at all! If he was just going to treat her like a maid (it didn't matter that she acted like one, that didn't mean she had to be treated like one!) then that was probably all she was to him! So much for the ending of that book! It was all one big fairytale and everybody knew those didn't exist.

Sophie got washed and cleaned, she dressed up in the prettiest thing she had (which happened to actually be quite pretty. Howl had bought it for her on a whim, spending the money he was still getting on commissions willy-nilly, and it flattered her quite nicely), did her hair the nicest way she knew how and stuck the nicest hat she had on her head. When she sailed out of her room, it was past dinner time and the three house guests were seated at the table waiting for her.

"Wow! Sophie, why are you all dressed up?" Michael asked in astonishment as she sailed on past them.

"I'm going on a date!" Without a single look to any of them and quite pointedly ignoring Howl, Sophie swept out the door and slammed it behind her. She stopped once outside and looked around.

The door behind her swung back open and she glanced back coolly to find Howl and Martha standing there and Michael flitting behind them.

"A date with who?" Martha asked, her eyes wide.

"Who do you think?" Sophie said. "Prince Justin."

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Author's end note: Sorry it took so long guys. I got all distracted with work. Hopefully you'll have another update by the end of a month…