Chapter Ten

DC: I don't own Howl's Moving Castle

"Wow! I've never even see anything magical! Ooh. What a pretty fire!"

"She reminds me of the old witch! Get her away, Sophie!"

Lettie giggled at the blue talking flame, taking everything she could absorb in slowly. Sophie watched as she went from thing to thing, poking and touching. Howl got a little antsy, and started gathering things she shouldn't touch. Lettie finally had her fill, several minutes later, and sat in a chair. "Sophie, come tell me everything!"

"Always the one for gossip, huh?" Sophie smiled.

Howl, meanwhile, fed some more wood into Calcifer. He ate them happily. "Relation to Sophie?" he asked between bites.

"A sister she hasn't seen in months. Play nice Calcifer. Mind the castle; I'm going up to rest."

And with a look towards Sophie and her sister, he bounded up the steps two at a time. Sophie dragged another chair over, sitting next to her sister. "Where to begin?"

"From the beginning! I haven't seen you for months! When did you get the hair cut, and why is it so silver? Tell me your life with the heart eating Howl!"

Sophie laughed. It felt good to be with her sister. "Oh, hush about Howl. He hasn't ate my heart, nor I don't think ever will. My hair wasn't like this in the beginning, either. That's actually more towards the end. Well, to start with, after I left you the last time all those five months ago, I met the Witch of Waste."

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Lettie took up a rag, standing at the sink with Sophie. "Wow, Sophie. So much has happened." She smiled. "To think, my older sister getting married, and having a baby! Mother will be most excited to hear the news! Wait, have you told her?"

Sophie shook her head. "Not yet. You are the only other person, other than this castle, who knows."

Lettie giggled. "I'm so excited. Ooh, do be careful though. I don't know how many women I've heard having troubles lately."

"Oh, don't say that, Lettie. I'd rather not think about it." Sophie's mind twisted around the fact that she hadn't told her little sister of the curse that was put on her. She made the split decision to hold the information back. Her sister wasn't very much knowledgeable in magic or curses, and she also didn't want Lettie to worry so much about her. "Let's not think of the bad things, okay?"

"You're right." Lettie dried another dish and set it aside. "How long were you going to wait to tell me?"

"Not long. I was trying to get Howl to let me leave the castle when we bumped into you. He's one of those stubborn kinds of men."

"Oh the worst kind," Lettie teased.

"Don't think I can't hear you."

Howl passed Sophie his dinner dishes and planted a kiss at the top of her head. "I wouldn't call it stubbornness; I'd call it being protective."

"Overly," Sophie added. "It's all for the good, right?"

"Of course." Howl gave her another quick kiss on the cheek. "Be good, love. Don't you and your sister bore Calcifer, now. I'm going out."

Sophie didn't need to ask where he was going. Howl was still on the search for Markl. She whispered her goodbye, and went back to her dishes.

"So mysterious," Lettie giggled, breaking the silence. Sophie laughed, splashing some soapy water onto her face. "What? I'm serious!"

"He's not mysterious. He's just worried."

"Oh, about his nephew?"

Sophie nodded. It really wasn't the truth, in a way. Markl wasn't his nephew, but his assistant. Sophie finished the last dish. "We really miss him. He livens up the place."

Lettie followed her sister out into the living room. There they sat, talking a little more about the past things.

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Sophie couldn't sleep. Things were bound too tightly inside herself. There were thoughts that were coming into her mind that made her chest twist. She crept her way out of her room, which was to her a process. Her legs felt like jelly, and they moved every which way and that. She took her time and finally made it down to the hearth. Calcifer peeked his way through the logs, lighting the room up. "Can't sleep?"

Sophie shook her head. She fed him another log, and then pulled a chair up. "Not at all. There are too many things on my mind right now. It's hard to think straight."

"Well, how's your sister taking everything?" Calcifer's voice seemed to lower a little, as if she were standing right behind her when in fact she was sleeping in a guest room up the stairs.

Sophie shrugged. "I didn't tell her everything. There are the things I left out, like the curse that was put on me. I didn't tell her the whole truth about Markl either. Oh, how I miss him. I really hope he's okay."

"Remember that curse, Sophie. You can't be too depressed."

"It's hard not to be, Calcifer."

The weight was coming back. She took in a deep breath, and put her head in her hands. She let it out slowly and sat waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. Her mind was empty of any kind of emotion. She looked back at Calcifer. "Whoa. You look tired," Calcifer whispered.

"I feel tired."

"Why don't you go to sleep? It'll be best for you…well…the baby I suppose."

Calcifer looked a little awkward. Sophie smiled at his kind words. She nodded, and wished him a goodnight. She made her way back to her bed, checking on her sister along the way. The trip down and up the steps took a lot out of her. She carefully crawled back into her bed, pulling the covers up over her shoulders.

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The day after, during the afternoon, Sophie escorted her sister back home. Howl hadn't come back just yet, but she knew that her sister needed to get back to work safe and sound, so she made it her duty to take her back home. As she started her way back to the castle, she stopped along the market and picked up a few things that she would need for coming meals.

So far it was a quiet day in Market Chipping. The streets were quiet and people around seemed to be whispering. Sophie felt an odd feeling about her, and hurried with her shopping. Home sounded just about right and it wasn't too far away. When she did make it back home, Howl was in the kitchen making all sorts of noises.

"Sophie! There you are!" Howl's voice called out. He stepped out of the kitchen, swiping a hand through his hair to douse the fire that had singed its ends. He looked flustered and Sophie could tell he wasn't very happy. "Where did you go?"

"I took my sister home and picked up some things." Sophie laid her basket on the table and started putting things away. Howl stood over her at the doorway, watching every move she made. Sophie grew increasingly irritated as he did so. Was it needed for him to watch her like that? "Howl? What's going on? Why are you being so…so forceful?"

"Forceful?" Howl crossed his arms, not liking her choice of words. "I'm not being forceful! I'm just worried."

"Worried?" Sophie set down the bundle of carrots a little more firmly than she wanted. The sound of it and her tone of voice made Calcifer turn to them. The dog, Heen, also picked his head off of the floor. "Worried? I don't believe that's the right word for it! You've been on my tail ever since that stupid Wizards meeting! What's the harm in going outside?"

By now Calcifer had retreated back inside the hearth and Heen was making his slow way into the Witch's room. The soft snores of said witch could hardly be heard above the sudden anger. Howl frowned down on his wife. "What do you mean by that? Sophie, somebody came into the house and took Markl away! If someone can get into this castle, then by all means there is danger outside!"

"So much that I have to be stuck in here, or glued to your side?" Sophie was drawing herself full height now. There was a hot burning sensation pulsing through her, and she didn't know where it was coming from. "I don't see why! Market Chipping was absolutely silent today; a perfect day to go out and have a nice time!"

Howl took a step closer. Sophie could see the anger in him too, but didn't back down. "Can you hear yourself? Going out into Market Chipping is the worst possible idea! You know there are bad men out there! Just go ask your sister—"

"Howell Jenkins, don't you drag Lettie into this!" Sophie hissed.

"I can, and will." Howl took a hard look at her. "And what with you being pregnant and all—"

"Oh, I've had enough of that card too." Sophie could feel her frustration pop. Now she felt the need to cry. What was going on? Her voice softened to an almost whisper. "It's always the baby, never about me or what I feel."

"That's not what I mean, Sophie," Howl said, trying to lower his voice. "You know I don't mean it that way."

"Yeah, right." She pushed past her husband, and found that her feet were taking her up the steps and to their room. Tears were blurring her vision now, but it wasn't going to stop her. She shut the bedroom door, and leaned against the door. One sob broke out before she started to cough and wheeze. She made her way across the room and to the desk. On top of the desk was the vial of medicine she needed to take in case the curse started acting up. Before she coughed herself into misery, she took a sip. It took a moment, but the aching stopped and she could breathe again.

The bed looked welcoming. She fell into it, suddenly feeling tired. All of these emotions upset her. "Maybe this is what they mean by mood swings," she said to herself quietly. She hugged a pillow, hoping Howl wasn't too angry with her either, and let a few tears carry her into sleep.

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Lala Rue here, and it's been...a few months.

I haven't touched any fanfics for two months. Almost three, actually. Why? Because I did this awesome little contest called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and succeeded in typing 50,000 words in one month. That is the reason why I haven't done anything in November, but in October I was planning out the whole story.

Sorry for not updating...sorry. Forgive me.

But anyway.

I can start writing again! Fanfiction anyway. I'm excited.

Love to all good and evil!

Love, Lala Rue!