*Note*

HELLO. Sorry its taken SO FLICKIN long to update. All I can say is I am so happy that junior year is nigh unto its END. However, I shall be updating more frequently as your kind reviews and favouriting has really motivated me and they've been a true delight.

DISCLAIMER: See first chapter, can't be assed.

Howl's Moving Castle: The Aftermath

Chapter 3: In Which Sophie Changes Her Fashion

Sophie paced about her room, her boots clicking on the shiny wooden floors. She was itching to grab her big, shady cloak and go to this meeting covertly, at least. She had every right to be there. She had had a direct hand in the demise of the Witch of the Waste, didn't she? A snide voice in the back of her head casually mentioned the fact that, first of all, she had let in the Witch's demon into the castle, then she'd fallen into the Witch's trap in her attempt to be a hero, and also she'd been cursed by the Witch in the first place. And the fact that she returned Howl's heart was not relevant to the meeting with the King. Sophie sat with a sigh and a thump on her lumpy bed, and told her snide voice to shut up.

Howl had said he was going to construct a brand new room for her. Sophie doubted this, as there were no spare rooms, but then again, he was a crackpot wizard who did whatever he wanted. She fingered her threadbare dress, and then looked at the boxes that held the clothes Howl had bought her. Inwardly grimacing at how many alterations she'd have to do, she flung herself backwards onto her bed. With a whack, she banged her head on the wall, having misjudged the distance, and cringed.

"OW ow ow ow…"

She dug her fingers into her red-gold hair, and clutched her aching skull.

"Sophie? You okay?" Michael's voice floated faintly in from the other room.

"Yes, I'm fine," came her muffled reply. The sparkles of pain slowly faded from her eyes. The snide voice apologetically came forth, and suggested for her to make the best of the day. She didn't need Howl to make her happy, why in fact; she shouldn't need him at all. Going to a King's meeting would only be worrisome and stressful, and besides, she really didn't have anything to wear. "Why don't you go do something you haven't done in a while?" it asked. "Something you couldn't do when you were old." Sophie tapped her lip, jutting out her lower jaw as she did. That's right. She'd do something wonderful. She pondered about visiting her mother, as she lived quite close by, but somehow her mother didn't seem like very appetizing company. However, she still hadn't seen the bakery, that would be a liable excuse, and of course Michael would be delighted to take a break from his work to visit as well. It would give him a change to practice calling Martha by her real name, and not Lettie. He seemed quite unperturbed when the sisters related their switch, but he still stumbled over Martha's name in conversation.

"That's good,' she thought. "There I can get new clothes as well with Martha, and have a tailor adjust the clothes from Howl instead." She smiled with satisfaction. Didn't she deserve to spend a bit of the hard earned money from the shop? And of surety they had plenty to spend. Howl attracted and enticed many customers, Sophie glumly thought. She then uncurled herself from the fetal position she'd taking upon whacking her head, and slid off the bed. Poking her head into the main room, she saw Michael fruitlessly plugging away at the spell.

"Hey Michael," she said. "I'm going to Market Chipping. Would you like to come?"

His head popped up immediately, a smile on his face.

"Sure!" He looked at his spell then. "I can't get this one anyway. I'll go get my coat and the…thing…for Let…eh Martha." He left his materials on the bench, and raced past Sophie upstairs. She looked to the fireplace to see if Calcifer might come, but he wasn't there. Sophie wondered to herself where in the world Calcifer spent his free time. Howl and Calcifer had worked on some week long, grueling spell so that Calcifer only had to visit the castle once a month for it to keep functioning. Since then, he'd been flitting in and out of the castle frequently.

Sophie went back to her cubby and scorned her shawl for a nice fitted jacket that was not too lose and didn't go with her dress at all. She then dug out a sack from underneath her bed that she'd found her second day in the castle, and put all the boxes of clothes into it, leaving the hat boxes and the silk stockings lovingly on the bed. After deciding not to wear a hat, she headed into the shop where Michael was waiting antsily, putting up her hair in a hasty knot. He gave her a shy smile, and went to open the door for her, but Sophie first went to the shop's register and took out a substantial amount of money.

"Now," she said to her purse. "Don't let any nasty hands in, yes?" Stoutly walking past Michael, she pointedly ignored the chagrined look upon his face, to flip the open sign on the door to 'closed'.

The day was nice and sunny; the beginning of summer, and the air was full of pleasant smells. Michael politely offered Sophie his arm, and the two walked at a brisk pace into the town. They looked a silly sight, Sophie in her mismatched clothing and her giant sack, and Michael having the distinct look of trying not to care about anything, while clutching tightly to the small package.

Soon enough, at the end of the square, they reached the bakery, where mid-morning customers were already bustling through. As they walked in, Sophie could already spot Martha's full fair hair hovering to and fro at the counter, and a familiar face that sat behind her. Michael immediately parted through crowd, and Sophie huffed behind him.

"Michael! Sophie! Oh how wonderful to see you! I've been getting so many visitors, look see here's Lettie! Oh yes, the éclairs re two each. How are you Sophie! I haven't seen you since…well you know. Oh Michael! Yes, one second, yes the bonbons do come in gift packs. Here's your change sir!"

Sophie and Michael slipped in behind the counter, where Michael immediately went to Martha's side to whisper in her ear. Lettie stood up to greet Sophie, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Oh Sophie, I was about to visit you right after Martha, you see I just got here, Mrs. Fairfax has been absolutely nuts preparing me for my new apprenticeship…" Lettie blushed.

"Lily, can you take over for me?" Martha rushed past them into the back, in tow of Michael. Soon after, a pleasant faced girl came forward, smiling shyly at Sophie and Lettie, before taking place at the register.

Lettie turned back to Sophie. "So how have you been?" She eyed Sophie's attire, and then her sack. "And what is that?"

Sophie opened her mouth to reply, when a shriek sounded out from the back. Customers stared and craned their necks curiously as Sophie and Lettie ran into the back. There, Martha stood with her hands clasped to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes, with Michael on one knee in front of her, a ring proffered with both hands. Martha then nodded vigorously, and placed on of her hands forward, upon which Michael gently put the ring. He stood up and clutched Martha to him, as she smiled and sobbed. Lettie and Sophie watched from the door. Sophie smiled, and felt a slight pang that she couldn't identify. All she knew was that Howl suddenly appeared in her mind, to which she instantly shoved him out. Michael and Martha came towards them, Michael beaming and Martha babbling.

"Oh Lettie, Sophie, look, its dragon egg pearl, you know how I love pearl, oh my heart, oh, he never said he'd get a ring, we're going to get MARRIED!"

Laughing, Lettie embraced Martha, and patted her on the back. Sophie patted Michael on the arm, and nodded at him.

"Well done Michael."

"Thank you Sophie! You know…I can't get used to you being young…" He chuckled weakly, still shaking slightly in exuberance.

Sophie smiled brightly, and cocked her head. "We've got time."

The owner of the shop came out and embraced Martha, before patting Michael resoundedly on the back. "Free honey buns for all! Our Martha is officially engaged!"

Lettie smiled and pulled Martha, Michael, and Sophie up close. "Let's all go out, oh its fine Martha dear, and celebrate. Also, I think Sophie came for a little shopping…" Lettie indicated Sophie's bag, which lay forgotten behind the counter, the clothes boxes spilling out.

Sophie soon found herself in a hair salon. Lettie had take one look at the boxes, and brought them first to Scissors, an eccentric looking shop where two assistants fell upon Sophie, took her measurements, took her clothes, and ushered them all out, urging them to come back in two days. Then, Lettie took another look at Sophie's hair and clothes, and she sighed audibly.

"For someone so skilled at the needle, you're horrible at dressing yourself," she'd said, before taking off Sophie's jacket and handing it to one of the tailor's assistants, leaving Sophie feeling very bare. Lettie had that horrible calculating look that tormented many years of her childhood. And so they ended up in at Coiffeuse, where the walls were bright pink, and frill decorated the chairs. Michael and Martha were given a seat where they could stare lovingly at each other, and Lettie took the hairdresser aside, describing something vividly with her hands. Sophie fidgeted with her hands nervously, wondering if she'd be able to make a dash for it.

Too late. The hairdresser turned to Sophie, and smiled kindly, before gently undoing the knot. It took a while, for Sophie had let it tangle, and the hairdresser frustratingly combed through the masses of ginger hair, until it hung straight, covering her like a veil, far past her elbows. As much as Sophie dreaded it, the process was very calming, the comb and the scissors like a douse of tranquility. The only interruption was Lettie's sudden suggestions, and murmurs of approval. Sophie didn't realize it was over until Lettie tapped her shoulder, and suggested she take a look. Slowly, she opened one eye, then the other, and found herself looking at a stranger. Her long hair no longer fell to her waist, but curled lightly mid-arm. It was tousled, teased, and layered, and she was given a fringe that covered most of one eye, and gave her a very mysterious look. All in all, she looked like a courtesan just out of the bedchamber. Sophie watched the blush rise in her cheeks and was about to turn and yell to the heavens at Lettie, but Lettie only grabbed her out of the chair, and was about to bring her over to Martha and Michael, but then thought the better of it, as they didn't seem to notice anything. Lettie took Sophie's purse, paid the hairdresser, and bustled them out to a café across the street. Dumping the lovebirds at a table, Lettie turned to Sophie.

"Now. I know you've a bunch of clothes at the tailor, but I do think that a man's taste is something best not to rely on. Yes obviously I know they're from Howl, you hardly ever buy yourself clothes. Please do not object, you really don't know what's best for you. And besides, once I'm finished with you, Howl won't be able to take his hands off you."

Sophie gaped at Lettie, who rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Everyone knows, and besides, you obviously haven't gotten anywhere otherwise you'd have visited sooner, and not with those lame expressions on your face. I know this fabulous place that just opened over here, Mrs. Fairfax loves them…"

Sophie let herself be dragged away by the unbeatable force named Lettie. After being poked, prodded, and turned about behind a foldable screen in a store that looked like a royal parlor in her undergarments, she was left shivering slightly, mostly in embarrassment; she waited for Lettie's choice of dress to come. Lettie came around to Sophie's side of the screen with something sinister in her hands.

"Sophie, this is a corset."

"Lettie…no. I will NOT wear that thing…it looks like some sort of torture device. I REFUSE…"

Lettie only looked grimly at Sophie, and called out for them to bring in the dress. Sophie made to demur again, and was contemplating violence, but Lettie took her by surprise, and attached the first part of the corset on, and began lacing the strings tightly. Sophie, slightly dizzy, could not bring herself to protest. A skirt, and then a surcoat was pulled onto her slight frame, and with a push from Lettie, she staggered out from behind the screen to face a mirror. The dress was an emerald green, with darker green embroidery. Her hair popped, her eyes popped, and she stared in shock at herself. Never, in her life, had she felt so pretty. Lettie tiptoed behind her, and placed a glorious hat on Sophie's head.

"Right. So, the green of course, the red, the blue, and the…" Lettie conversed with the assistant, holding Sophie's purse. Sophie just looked at her self, feeling like those gorgeous girls she'd seen parade away on May Day, like the kind of girl Howl always went after. She turned to her sister, who'd just finished haggling, and hugged her as tightly as she could in the corset, which, she admitted, made everything look quite nice, however constraining it was.

"Oh Sophie," said Lettie blushing, "This is for those lovely dresses you made me."

They walked out of the shop soon enough, Sophie clad in her new green dress, feeling wonderful, and lugging half of her new purchases.

"Sophie, I know you're having trouble with Howl…intimately…right?" They'd arrived at the café, and had taken a table near Michael and Martha. Sophie decided that this was not a time to deny everything till death, and nodded morosely.

"Well, I happened to learn a few things. And I am going to pass my knowledge unto you. I shall start with just two words. Coquette and lingerie."

Sophie blanched.