Chapter 4

Bruises, Knocks, and other Curiosities

Am I on a cloud? Because I'm pretty sure my mattress isn't this comfortable. Whatever, I don't really care. I could sleep the whole day away like this…. Wait a minute. Don't I have school today? Sophie's eyes abruptly opened as she realized that she was probably going to be late to school if she didn't get up. She rolled off her stomach and accidentally fell off the bed. "CRAP! I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

She attempted to comb her hair with her fingers, put on her shoes, and walk across the room at the same time to little success.

"Um Sophie?"

"Not now Howl!"

"But –"

Sophie turned towards the blonde wizard sitting at the dining table. "Don't you see that I'm late for school!" She ran down the stairs leading to the front door, and just as she was about to grab the handle it occurred to her that she had just spoken to Howl. Fictional Howl. From Howl's Moving Castle.

She sheepishly climbed back up the stairs. "Um, whoops." She scratched the back of her head, embarrassed, as Howl, and even Calcifer, laughed at her expense. "The laughing is really unnecessary, thank you very much."

"Sophie my dear, you have no idea how ridiculous you looked just now," Howl said with chuckle.

"Okay, that's quite enough out of you," Sophie rolled her eyes and pushed her bangs back. "It was an easy mistake to make. Why would I have any reason to believe I was anywhere else besides my own – what's wrong?" Howl had suddenly stood up while she had been ranting and was staring intently at her. He didn't say anything, just kept staring at her. "What?" His change in mood was really weird, especially since just a moment he had been laughing and lighthearted. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He came up to her and leaned in close to her face with his own. Is he going to kiss me? Sophie thought to herself, heart pounding. But I haven't had a chance to brush my teeth! Howl cupped her cheek lightly with his own hand and brushed the skin beneath her eye with his thumb, as though he was trying to catch a stray eyelash. Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!

"Who did this to you?"

Sophie's mind blanked. Out of all the things she expected to come out of his mouth, that certainly was not one of them. It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. She immediately stepped backward, shaking off Howl's hand. "It's nothing."

Howl grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him. She squeaked in surprise. "It's not nothing. Someone hit you." He swept her bangs out of her face and examined her. He pulled out a handkerchief and Sophie remained motionless as he wiped away the remaining foundation and concealer that had somehow held up over the past few days. As he wiped away the makeup, shock registered on his face. "Someone hit you hard."

Sophie sighed and looked away. She had worked so hard to hide that bruise. In all the excitement of waking up in a magical land and meeting Howl and coming to his castle, she had completely forgotten about concealing her injury. What must Howl think of her now? That she was someone who lived on the edge and got into fights? Someone you should avoid by all costs and not associate yourself with?

"Who did this to you?" Sophie whipped her head up. Howl was… angry? "Who would ever do such a thing to you?" His hand clenched the dirty handkerchief tightly, a sign of the anger boiling within Sophie guessed. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were pursed tightly.

Sophie was surprised to say the least at this reaction. She always thought people would think the worst of her for seeing her bruised up, especially because of the clothing she wore. She had found that when you dressed in spikes and all black, people tend to think you're the kind of person who gets into fights and is tougher than nails. Maybe some people were like that, but she certainly wasn't. She was the exact opposite. Whenever her parents became aggressive, she cowered and tried to hide. She couldn't remember a time she had fought back and she was certain that she never had.

She didn't say anything as this swirl of confusion filled her mind. Howl must have thought she was intimidated or scared by his anger as he began to calm himself down. In an even voice, he said, "You can trust me. Tell me what happened." Pause. "Did you get your hip injury at the same time?"

Sophie raised her eyebrows in surprise. So he had known that she had been hurt and not just overtired. She slowly nodded. "It was late. My parents usually come home at late times, but this was late even for them so I was worried," she laughed bitterly at that part, "Silly I know considering how awful they are, but nonetheless I was concerned."

"Where have you been?" Sophie asked, "You said you would be home hours ago."

Fanny stumbled forward, laughing and hiccupping. Sophie could smell the alcohol on her from the moment she had stepped into the room. "Oh would you relax! I'm the adult here!" Fanny slurred, obviously completely wasted.

"You don't act like it," Sophie muttered under her breath. She hated how Fanny looked down on her even when she was drunk. "You guys have work in the morning. You could get fired again."

"Don't be such a killjoy, Sophie."

"But – "

WHAM!

Sophie staggered backward from the force of her dad's punch. She could already feel the bump blossoming on her face. This will be difficult to hide, she thought to herself.

"I'm sorry, Dad –" She didn't get to finish. Her dad had shoved her against the table. Hard. She, much to her dismay, cried out as she collided with the table. Before she could catch herself, she fell flat on her back onto the floor. For a moment, she just lay there, wondering what exactly she had done to deserve all this. Had she ever mistreated someone enough to warrant this severe a punishment or was this all the result of some bad karma from a past life?

She didn't have time to ponder it further as the sounds of her parents snogging filled the room and she had no desire to stay and watch as they potentially created another child to torture. Limping, she walked past them, eyes forward, and slowly ascended up the stairs to her room. Her hip was definitely wounded more than the typical injuries her parents gave her. She really hoped it wouldn't need medical attention. She pushed away the feelings of self-pity taking root within her.

"Goodnight," she whispered, mostly to herself, and she tried to pretend that a leak in the ceiling was causing the wetness on her cheeks.

Sophie tried to gauge Howl's reaction to her story, but found it difficult. He appeared troubled if anything by her tale, but there seemed to be something else there. Something she couldn't quite place. Silence settled between the two of them as they both seemed to soak in what she had just said.

"Let me see your face," Howl said after a minute or so or silence.

"Why?" Sophie asked quietly.

"I want to heal it." As if to emphasize his point, he held up his hand and a light green glow emerged from his fingertips.

She didn't respond. She simply tilted her head up to him, as if to say, "Go ahead." Howl gently brought his fingers to the bruise. It felt like he was applying a cool salve to the wounded area. It felt very soothing. She wasn't sure where to look as he worked. She felt it would be odd to just stare at him, but looking away also felt kind of weird. She settled on the groove of his neck. She found herself thinking how lovely his neck was. The way it so smoothly connected his head to his body was not unlike the elegance of a Greek statue. Sophie, you have some serious problems, she chided herself as it occurred to her how bizarre it was to think of someone's neck as "lovely."

After a couple moments, he pulled his hand away. "That's better. Here," he looked around the room and then pulled a small, handheld mirror off a nearby table. "Take a look." Sophie peered into the glass. Her face was completely unmarred. Though she knew he had healed her, she still was surprised. She smiled at her reflection. "Now lift up your shirt."

Sophie looked at him as though he were crazy. "What did you say?"

"Pull up your shirt," he repeated nonchalantly, "I want to heal your other injury."

"Oh," a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "I thought… Never mind." Somewhat… naughty thoughts had popped into her brain when he had said 'pull up your shirt,' and she really hoped Howl hadn't noticed. Unfortunately for Sophie, her expression gave her away completely.

A small grin appeared on Howl's lips, "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing!" She croaked, "I just… didn't hear you." Yup, he'll definitely believe THAT, she thought to herself in dismay. This was getting more and more embarrassing by the minute.

"Oh really?" Howl obviously was completely unconvinced by her lie. "Then why are your cheeks so red?" He brought a hand up to her forehead, as though he was checking her temperature, "Do you have a fever?"

Sophie could feel her face overheating in embarrassment, "No no no," she stepped out of reach of him, "I'm just standing too close to Calcifer." She gestured towards the fire demon who was a good several feet away. "Yup that's definitely it."

Howl chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, if you say so." Sophie was pretty sure that Howl did not believe her, but she was thankful he decided stop teasing her about it. She twirled a lock of her lavender hair between her fingers, embarrassed. "As I was saying before, can you lift your shirt up a bit so I an heal your hip?"

Sophie wasn't quite sure what to do. The limited experience she had with members of the male sex made a situation like this one incredibly uncomfortable for her, especially since Howl was… Howl. Don't be silly, Sophie! It's not a big deal. "Um, okay." Sophie held the hem of her shirt between shaky hands. She took a deep breath. A large hand suddenly covered hers. She looked up in surprise.

"It's okay. I'm not going to do anything indecent," he reassured her. Was it that obvious that she was worried? Sophie blushed, again, and nodded dumbly. He gave her hand a squeeze and then let go. With less hesitation, Sophie pulled the shirt up to her waist, revealing the pale skin of her stomach, blemished only by a large, ugly bruise blossoming on her left hip. Howl knelt on the ground to get a better look at the injury. He touched the discolored skin lightly with his fingertips, curiously. She winced. Even the lightest of touches were painful. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Other than a small frown, Howl's face was mostly stoic as though he was having trouble figuring out how he felt about what he was seeing.

His fingertips erupted in a green glow again and, like before, he healed the area. It took more time than before, probably because this was a more serious injury, but as previously the cool sensation felt very nice. Unlike the first time Howl healed her, Sophie's eyes settled onto Howl's face rather than the curve of his neck. His eyebrows were now furrowed and he seemed troubled by something. Well, I suppose it is rather troubling to see a young woman beaten so badly by her own parents, Sophie reasoned, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something else was bothering him. After a few moments, the injury was completely gone.

Sophie pulled her shirt back over jeans as soon as Howl pulled his hand away. "Thanks Howl for – " She was cut off by the sound of a knock at the door. The sound of footsteps upstairs immediately followed and within moments Sophie watched as a young boy, climbed down the stairs. He paused quizzically when he saw Sophie, but was prompted back into action another bout of knocking.

"Porthaven door," Calcifer announced as the boy, who Sophie realized was Markl, wrapped himself in the cloak and pulled down a beard.

"Stand by," he said in a voice imitating that of an old man. He turned the dial to blue before opening the door to reveal a middle aged gentleman standing just outside. "Hello, to what do we owe this honor?"

"Good afternoon, sir," the man tipped his hat, "Is the Wizard Jenkins at home?"

Howl was just out of sightline for the man at the door, but Markl was perfectly capable of seeing over his shoulder the I'm-not-here gesture Howl was making with his hands. "My master is out at the moment. I speak for him in his absence."

The man at the door seemed unbothered by this. "An invitation from His Majesty the King. The time for war is upon us! His majesty requires every wizard, magician and witch in the kingdom to aid our homeland." He paused to clear his throat, "Wizard Jenkins must report to the palace immediately. That is all." He bid Markl farewell and then turned his heel and left.

Markl shut the door quickly behind him. He drew back the hood of his cloak as he went up the stairs back into the living room. "Now who are you?"

"My name is Sophie. It's nice to meet you, Markl."

"How did you know my name? Are you a witch?" Markl asked, evidently astounded by her knowledge of his name.

"No, I saw the… never mind," Sophie didn't feel like bringing up the whole movie thing again. She was about to say something else when another knock rang through the house.

"Porthaven door, again!" Calcifer declared just as Sophie said, "It's a customer, a young girl picking up a spell for her family's boat."

Everyone looked at her oddly. Fixing his disguise back on, Markl slowly went to the door after grabbing the spell Sophie predicted would be requested. "Stand by," he said as he opened the door to reveal a little girl. "Yes my dear child?"

"My mom sent me to pick up a spell."

"The one for your boat, right?" the little girl nodded in response, "Here you are. Dust your ship with this powder and the winds will favor it."

"Thank you!" She paid Markl for the spell and then skipped away. After Markl shut the door the room was silent. Everyone was surprised that Sophie had been able to predict so accurately who was at the door.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" Calcifer asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"You mean like how I know that someone from Kingsbury is about to knock at the door?" Sophie asked, grinning inwardly. She enjoyed the fact that she was increasingly becoming an oracle-like figure in the eyes of the stupefied Howl, Markl, and Calcifer.

Before Calcifer could respond, another knock came from the door. "Kingsbury door," he said slowly in disbelief.

"It's just a soldier asking for the great Wizard Pendragon. He has an invitation for the king, time of war, all wizards to assist, yada yada yada." Sophie said nonchalantly.

Markl immediately dashed down to answer the door, almost forgetting to put on his disguise again in his haste to see if Sophie was correct. "Stand by," Markl called as he twisted the knob to red. He opened the door and just as Sophie said, a soldier stood there in a grand red uniform holding an envelope that Sophie was certain was addressed to Wizard Howl Pendragon.

"Would this be the residence of the great Wizard Pendragon?" He asked in a sophisticated voice.

"It is," Markl said in his old man voice.

"I bear an invitation from His Majesty the king. Please inform Mr. Pendragon that all wizards are required to report for duty at the palace," he said as he handed Markl the small envelope.

"I will inform him right away," Markl said with a nod. He shut the door as the soldier left. He came up the stairs, grasping the envelope in his hands, staring at Sophe.

"Does anyone else plan on joining us today?" Howl asked, simultaneously amused and amazed by Sophie's "prophetic abilities."

"As far as I know, no one else should be coming to the door," Sophie said. "At least if this world follows the plotline of the movie exactly."

"You still haven't explained what that is," Howl reminded her.

"It's not important."

"But you keep bringing it up."

"It's too difficult to explain."

"I still want to know."

"Too bad."

"What exactly is going on?" Markl asked. Howl and Sophie ceased their bantering and turned towards the young, confused boy standing by the stairs. "Who is this woman, Master Howl?"

Howl seemed to consider his question before deciding he didn't feel like explaining everything to his apprentice at that particular moment, "Markl, could you go run some errands for me?"

"But –"

"I need to discuss something with Ms. Sophie, Markl. Besides, the fresh air will be good for you! You spend too much time cooped up in the castle anyway." He shooed him down the stairs and out the door. "Here's some money, go have fun!" He pushed a complaining Markl out the door and slammed it shut quickly.

"What's so important that you had to kick Markl out of the house?" Calcifer asked as Howl made his way back up the stairs and into the living room.

"Exactly what I said," Howl said with a serious tone, "I need to speak to Sophie about something important."

Calcifer raised his fiery eyebrows at this, but said nothing. Sophie, on the other hand, was confused and made a point of saying so. "What do you mean?"

Howl cast a glance at Calcifer. "Come with me." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the steps leading to the front door. He turned the dial to green and opened the door. He half-dragged half-tugged Sophie through the door, into the wastes.

At this point, Sophie was completely baffled by Howl's peculiar behavior. He never acted this irrationally in the movie, (Unless if it involved his hair, of course, Sophie reminded herself) and she really did not know what to make of any of this. In any other circumstance, she would have just guessed he wanted some privacy, but they had only moments ago discussing very serious matters in front of Calcifer and he hadn't seemed to mind it then. At least she thought he hadn't minded.

"Howl, what's going on?" She said after he shut the door behind them.

His back still to her, he took a deep breath. "Sophie, are you eating properly?" He turned to face her as he said it.

Sophie had had so many surprises these past few days she really shouldn't have been that shocked by Howl's statement, yet she was still amazed. How did he… Right. Her hip injury. He had seen her stomach when he healed her hip. He must have noticed that her ribs jutted out just a smidgen more than what was normal even for a skinnier girl.

The answer to his question wasn't a simple one. It wasn't as though she was starving, but over the past few months she had been eating less and less. She wasn't anorexic and her parents weren't starving her, she just… She just avoided meals. Her parents spent a lot of time in the living room and the only way to get to the kitchen is through the living room, and since Sophie went out of her way to see her parents as little as possible, she hadn't been eating as much as she should have recently. She hadn't thought it was a big deal; she still ate lunch everyday. Evidently skipping breakfast and dinner more often than not took its toll after awhile.

"Why did you bring me out here to ask me that?" She wasn't trying to dodge his question, she genuinely wanted to hear his answer to hers before she explained to him why she wasn't eating well.

He blinked. Apparently even he didn't know why he had pulled her aside to ask her the question. "I… I figured you'd want some privacy due to the nature of the topic."

"We've discussed a lot of things that could warrant some privacy in front of Calcifer, so why now are you being private about everything?" Sophie asked, thoroughly unconvinced by his pathetic response.

"Well, I…" He paused. "I don't know."

The two both stood, speechless, staring at each other. Neither knew what to make of the other. No one had ever cornered Howl like that before and Sophie had never

"I guess… I guess I thought you might be uncomfortable discussing everything in front of Calcifer. He is a fire demon and all. Calcifer and I," he stopped for a moment, as though trying to think of how to word what he wanted to express, "Are close – that's one way of putting it, I suppose – so I don't really mind talking about… you know." And she did. "It occurred to me, that perhaps you did mind though."

He was being considerate of her. Something about that caused her heart to flutter. "Oh. Thank you." She did her best not to smile. "It's not a big deal."

He seemed relieved to hear that. "Oh good."

They both were quiet again, though this time it was nowhere near as awkward. It was much more lighthearted and almost bashful, like little children just getting over the whole "cooties" thing.

After a moment of this, Howl remembered why he had dragged her outside. "Sophie, are you eating properly?"

Sophie paused before she responded, wanting to ensure that she answered in a way that made sense. "It's not that I'm not eating properly, it's just that recently I haven't been eating as much as I should." She then went on to explain herself further to which Howl nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, we'll just have to start fattening you up then," he said with a small grin.

"What does that mean?" Sophie said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh you'll see. Come on!" He headed back towards the door of his castle. It was then that something occurred to Sophie.

"Howl?"

"Yes?"

"If you were just going to bring me outside to discuss this, why did you kick Markl out of the house?"

He opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. He then sheepishly muttered, "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Howl could be such an idiot sometimes.


Author's note: Yay for quick updates! I am officially a second semester senior, so I think its safe to say that this will be updated a lot more frequently. I'm almost scared to say that though because the last time I said that, i didn't update till years later. -_-'' Hopefully that won't happen again, especially since I love where this story is going.