I do not own Howls Moving Castle.
It was like a switch, all of my anxiety had vanished, almost like a spell. He was always the only person capable of doing this to me. No matter how stressed out I was, as soon as I hear his voice or feel his warm touch, everything stops. Including time itself. I feel the hand carefully spin me around and a pair of warm lips press against my cheek causing me to close my eyes. I open them slowly and find myself being held close in Howl's arms, I blush at the position he's put me in and look away. "Howl…" I say but he places a finger on my lips to stop me from speaking. "Shh, I have something to show you. Just close your eyes...trust me." He says turning me around and placing my hands in front of my own eyes. Every time he touched me it was as if he was touching a fragile vase, afraid of breaking it. Howl was so gentle he almost made me forget all of my troubles, almost. "Howl wait, I need to talk to you." I say putting our hands back down and facing him again. "You want to talk now? But I have something for you." Howl says trying to raise our hands to my eyes again but I place them back down. "Howl I'm serious. Please." I firmly say turning to look him in the eyes. He lets out a sigh and nods.
"Howl I need to know what has been going on lately, why did you keep Lucina a secret from me? Why have you been gone so much and why are you avoiding my questions? Both of you actually! Lucina blew an orange tele-bomb in the house today just to escape my interrogation." Howl takes a whiff of the air around him "Wow she actually managed to create one? She really is a wonder that girl." Howl says laughing, but he quickly composes himself after noticing how angry it made me. "I'm serious, what have you been hiding from me? It's bad enough that I haven't been feeling well lately but how you've been acting suspicious. If you want me to leave then just say it already… I'd rather go with some dignity than be dragged along out of pity. And on top of all that you've even forgotten my-" I shout but Howls laughing overpowers my voice. "Howl!" I yell but he continues to laugh even harder and harder until he's holding onto his own stomach.
"I apologize Sophie, I really do, but you're such a fool." Howl says turning me around to face the front door. I shout angrily at him for calling me a fool as he walks me up to the door, my shouts are stopped by his lips suddenly pressing against my own. He backs away slowly, still staring into my eyes. "You put too much thought into everything, you realize that right?" He says while turning the dial to black and opening the door. My eyes are still fixed on Howl but a strange glow takes my attention and I look through the door. I become completely stunned by the view in front of me. "Howl…" I whisper before taking a step outside.
Before me is something I never thought I would see in my entire life, it's Starlake. Not just Starlake but Starlake with actual stars floating on top of the water and in the air. They're glowing all around us causing a magical ambiance to form. The sky is covered in stars as well and the entire field of grass decorated with flowers of all kinds. Enchanted by the scenery, I silently and carefully walk through the grass gazing in every direction, it wasn't until I looked up was when my jaw completely dropped. Bright and beautiful, a full moon stood in front of my eyes, closer than I had ever seen before, almost close enough to touch. It was like walking into a storybook, there was even the calming scent of lavenders floating about. It was beautiful, one could not so much as imagine how stunning the view was. "Howl…" I say again even quieter, he could tell how astonished I truly was at the sight considering I barely moved and my expression didn't even change. I couldn't take my eyes off it, it was perfect.
I feel sweet hands wrap around my waist and a head rest on top of mine. "Do you like it?" Howl asks softly while pulling me closer to him. "Like it? I can't find the words...It's beautiful Howl." Feeling tears form in my eyes I quickly wipe them away. Howl lifts his heads and takes a few steps to where he's standing directly in front of me. He takes a hold of my chin and gently lifts my head up towards the moon. "I cannot give you the world, but I am willing to give all that I have, even the moon." He then releases my chin and waves his arms out to show the stars behind him, snapping his finger to cause a rainfall of shooting stars. "You are the only thing that I wish for in this life… and Sophie, you shine brighter than a million stars put together." He lowers his arm and bends down. Howl slowly brings a flower bud to my face and makes in bloom right before my eyes. "I only want to grow more with you, grow our love, our relationship, and our family." The petals fly from the stem in a careful gust and Howl drops the remaining pieces.
"Our family? But Howl-" I try to speak but Howl quietly shushes me before kneeling down onto the ground, leaving one foot planted and holding both of my hands in his own. "I love you Sophie Hatter, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about you, or our future together. Grant me my only wish and say you'll be with me forever, what do you say? Would you like to be the real ?" Howl places a kiss on my hand awaiting my response but I am still in total shock. "Wait, are you asking me to marry you?!" I ask jumping in my boots. Howl only nods at me, keeping direct eye contact. At this I turn the deepest shade of red humanly possible and my hands begin to shake, this was NOT what I was expecting. "Really?! But what about-well-um...I'm sorry I just wasn't expecting this at all. Are you sure you really want to choose me? What about all that stuff earlier?" I ask trying to form a complete thought without stuttering. I see Howl's head slowly drop down, hair covering his face and he lets out a big sigh. He looks up at me and shakes his head, he stands up and holds both of my hands to his chest tightly.
"Sophie, I'm going to make this quick. Yes I choose you, yes I am sure, 100% sure, I swear it. I love you. I have not been spending time with Lucina but with her father. He's an old friend of mine and I needed help making all this happen." He waves one of his hands around to show off the scenery. "Lucina was only there to give me advice and ideas, as powerful as I am this was just WAY too much magic for one person to hold together. I didn't want you around her because she has quite the loose lip and I wanted to surprise you. The items I left behind at her house were ingredients for potions to make this happen. I have been gone so much lately because I have been planning with Lucina and her father. Everything had to be perfect, I wanted to give you the greatest birthday present ever." Howl says taking a knee to the ground once more. "B-birthday?! You did all this for my birthday?! I have to say it really is wonderful but honestly I even completely forgot what today was until about an hour ago." I say giggling at my own foolishness.
Howl's eyes open wide at this and he tilts his head. "You really didn't remember today was your birthday? I thought that was why you were so upset, because you had thought I had forgotten. What a mess." The two of us give out a long laugh at our misunderstanding before sweetly gazing into each other's eyes silently. Howl smiles at me, "You really do have baby brain." I tilt my head at this and think for a moment. "Baby brain? What's that?" I ask before noticing Howl's eyes widen and his skin turn pale, very pale. "Do you really not know? Sophie don't tell me you haven't realized…" Howl asks almost in disbelief. I simply continue to stare at him questionably before I notice Howl getting very nervous. "What's wrong Howl?" I ask placing a hand onto his cheek. He grabs onto my hand and turns it onto my own stomach. "Sophie, you haven't been feeling well lately. You've been dizzy, nauseous, sleepy, weak, absent-minded, your thoughts have been cloudy, and when was your last menstrual cycle?" Howl asks waiting for the answer to hit me and it does, like a ton of bricks. "It was...about two months...ago….oh my-OH MY HEAVENS! Howl, am I?!" I shout looking down at my own stomach and back at Howl who is sitting there with the widest grin on his face. "Yes Sophie, how could you not have noticed?! I'm a man and I knew, even Markl knew. Granted Calcifer was the first to notice, demons have a sense of some sort on those things. Did you really not realize…Why else did you think I have been so over protective over you lately?" Howl asked as if he was waiting for me to say I was only joking with him. "No! I've been so busy worrying about you and taking care of the house! And Markl! Oh my goodness, we're a family now, I cannot believe this!" Tears begin to flow down my face and Howl wipes them away before taking my hands once more. "Not yet." Howl says looking at me with a serious face and taking a deep breath. "Not until you say yes, remember I asked for your hand and I have yet to receive an answer." Howl says patiently waiting for my response. Tears flow so heavy from my eyes that even my vision is getting blurry. The words simply won't come out, I was so terrified of losing him just a few hours ago and now he's here, asking me to marry him, telling me we're going to be a family. There were no words to express my emotions at that moment. There was just so much love flowing inside of my body.
I nod my head and manage to whimper out a 'yes' before Howl reaches and lifts me up into his arms. We wrap our arms around tightly and begin to cry into each other's shoulders, even Howl spared a few tears to the moment. "You've just made me the happiest man in the world Sophie, you know that? I promise I'll never make you feel insecure ever again, I will love you until the day we die and even into eternity." Howl kisses me firmly on the lips and all I can do is kiss him back. After a few minutes of deep passionate kissing, we part for some much-needed air. "Thank you, Howl." I sweetly whisper giving him another kiss on the cheek. "No, thank you, Sophie." Howl whispers back giving me a quick kiss on the lips instead. I pull back my blushed face and begin to laugh with him. This is the man I love, I couldn't be any happier with anyone else in the entire world. I've never felt this way about another human being, it was as if we were actually meant to be together as if fate itself was pulling us towards one another. He might not be perfect but he is perfect for me, I don't think there is anything in the entire world that could ever make me hate him. "Alright everyone, go ahead and come on out!" I hear Howl shout and notice Markl coming out from some tall grass and Lucina appearing from behind the castle holding a cake in one hand and Calcifer in the other.
"Have they been there the entire time?" I ask slowly turning red for the hundredth time in one day. I was expecting for him to shake his head and say no, to tell me 'of course not', but instead Howl turns to me with the biggest grin and I already knew. "Of course they were! Isn't this great! I wanted everyone to be together for this moment." Howl pulls me into a deep hug. I am still unsure if he did this to hide my red cheeks or to keep me from clobbering his face. "How embarrassing..." I quietly say into Howl's chest. Everyone lets out a good laugh before lighting the candles to sing and cut the cake. Markl was the first to approach me, he couldn't stop jumping up and down. "Is it true Sophie?! We're going to be a family?" Markl says running around, trying to get rid of some excess energy. "Yes Markl it's true, but you know... We already were family." I say sweetly as I bend down and give him a kiss on the cheek and pull the little wizard into a hug.
Lucina gives me a smile from afar and I run and hug her tightly. "Thank you so much, I'm sorry I ever accused you of anything." I begin to apologize but Lucina only shakes her head and smiles. "It's alright, I would have suspected the same if I were you. But please, have some more confidence in yourself. You are a young, beautiful, intelligent, strong woman and I can see exactly why Howl has fallen for you." She says holding onto the sides of my head as if she was trying to beat the words into my brain. I see Howl and Calcifer talking from afar. Calcifer and I lock eyes for a moment, he isn't one much for emotional words but the warm smile I received was enough. It was so magical, we all sat together watching the stars and laughing about life. A simple night with wondrous scenery and unexpected surprises, I don't think I had felt happier in my entire life.
Markl can be heard laughing while performing simple magic tricks with the floating stars. Lucina one the other hand, has taken a stroll around the lake with Calcifer. As for Howl and I, we sit hand in hand with my head resting upon his shoulder. I let out a big sigh which catches Howl's attention causing him to look down at me. "Everything alright?" He asks in a calm tone, kissing the top of my head. "Yes, I've just never felt so happy. Everything is perfect, down to the last detail. I cannot believe we're going to get married and that we're a family now. It's just too good to be true." I ease into his arms and relax deeper than I thought was possible. To my surprise though I feel Howl grab onto me and roll me over into the grass. He's practically laying on top of me, holding himself up with his elbows and knees. Expecting another kiss, I close my eyes, I feel his presence get closer and closer before he is only inches from my face.
"So does that mean you'll finally be sleeping next to me from now on?" Howl asks smirking at me. My eyes shoot open and I push him off of myself before rolling over to try and escape. Too soon though I feel a strong hand pull me backwards and I fall into Howl's arms once more. He holds me tight and places his chin on top of my head before kissing it. "You can hide it all you want, but I love seeing your blushed cheeks." He says softly while squeezing me tighter. I roll my eyes before smiling and sink into his chest, the two of us continue to gaze upon the stars for hours. Not making a sound, not wanting to ruin it, only wanting to find a way to make the moment last forever. A moment so perfect, I would continue to replay it in my mind of the rest of my life, for the rest of our lives, for eternity.
The end.
Thank you so much, I really hope you like the story!