Sophie sat in silence as Calcifer's warm fire illuminated the small room. Calcifer noted the blank stare on her face and how she was as white as a sheet. He wasn't sure of how he could comfort her, because even he wasn't sure if Howl would survive this vicious battle. Two more bombs had fallen from the hazy sky. But with Calcifer's magic, the hat shop and Sophie were completely unaffected, just as Howl had planned. But Calcifer sensed that Sophie was frightened of what was going on around her. She wrapped her arms around her knees and brought them close to her small body. Suddenly their eyes met, and her face came back to life.
"What?" she asked, frowning at him.
"Nothing," Calcifer replied.
They were silent for a few moments before Sophie spoke again.
"We need to help him." Calcifer blinked with surprise, and shook his head.
"It's much too dangerous, my dear. We don't want to risk you getting hurt-"
"But I can't just sit here and do nothing!" she yelled, interrupting Calcifer. He sighed and continued to shake his head. "I'm sorry Sophie, but we don't want to jeopardize losing you." She groaned and stretched out her legs and placed her arms behind her for support.
"I don't think you realize just how important you are to Howl. You're the one who is going to save him," he said slowly, knowing the price of telling her, but also knowing that this would catch her attention. As expected, her ears perked up and she arched an eyebrow at the burning flame. A faint blush crept onto her face.
"What do you mean?" she asked, curiosity colouring her tone.
Calcifer sighed with annoyance, but knew this was coming.
"Did you ever wonder why Howl came into your life? Were all those events a coincidence or fate? Well, you're a woman, so I don't know how your mind works… Anyways, you're aware of the rumours I presume." He said it like a statement, not a question. Sophie nodded, thinking back to those girls outside the shop gossiping about him a few days ago.
"Well, they're not true. Well, not all of them…" he trailed off. He waited to see Sophie's reaction, but she remained still. She waited patiently for him to continue. Calcifer cleared his throat.
"Howl is obviously different. This is because when he was younger, when he was practising wizardry; his mentor knew he would be able to do great things. Aside from his superficial attitude, he is actually quite smart; brilliant even. But he grew power mad, and knew that it would lead to his demise. It was too late to ask for help. The ones who loved him were afraid, and those who he loved thought he was a monster. So with the assist of a witch, he took his heart out so he wouldn't feel any pain." Calcifer stared at Sophie, and her eyes were glossy with tears. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand quickly.
"You see, Howl doesn't have a heart... well not inside of him anyways."
Sophie was silent, letting it all sink in. She was trying to find the connection between her and him being "heartless".
"I don't understand where I come into the equation," she said. He smiled.
"He doesn't have the ability to reverse the spell. Only the chosen one can."
"And you think that's me?" she exclaimed. They both sat in silence for an instant. Sophie brought her hands back to her chest and hugged herself tightly. She closed her eyes and mumbled an apology. Calcifer heaved a sigh and smiled at Sophie.
"I know you're the chosen one. You've got Howl wrapped around your finger, my dear, you just don't realize it." She shook her head in denial. Howl, in love with me? She thought. He's just teasing me.
"The only way to save him from himself is to put his heart back inside of him… it's not as gory as it sounds, I promise," he said as he noticed Sophie cringe a little.
"And how do I find his heart, Calcifer?" she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"You're talking to it right now."
Sophie stared at the warm flame.
Calcifer is Howl's heart?
"You mean… oh… this all makes sense now. You have Howl's powers… does that mean you have his feelings too?"
"Not necessarily; he still has his emotions and his mood swings, but he only feels a fraction of what he would if he had a heart. He's a fragile man, that Howl… too fragile for such a powerful wizard. That's one of the reasons he wants to get his heart back; so he can know what it's truly like to feel, though he'd never admit it," Calcifer explained, and Sophie redden, wondering if Howl's feelings for her were real or not. Then she had an idea.
"Well if I'm going to give him his heart back we need to leave right away, don't we!" Sophie said and he stood up and looked for her coat.
"But Howl told us we need to- where are you going? Howl will kill me if you get hurt, please Miss Sophie!"
"Oh, don't worry, Calcifer, you're coming as well…" Sophie grabbed the locket from her front pocket and raised an eyebrow at the fire. Calcifer decided not to argue, knowing that Sophie's mind was set. He obediently whisked himself back into the little locket, and it glowed and shined in the moonlight. Sophie put the locket on and tip toed over to the door.
Glancing outside, there was no one in sight, but she could see down the road some of the houses had caught fire. There were dark clouds hovering over the city, and she could see sense the sun was going to rise soon. The air smelled of smoke and ashes, and the town was eerily quiet except for the crackling of fire. She frowned and felt something stir inside of her. She could not believe that Howl really was heartless. Did it explain things? Not really. But regardless, she knew she would do whatever it took to save Howl… even if it was the last thing she'd ever do. She inhaled all the air her lungs could hold and with Calcifer's magic, she darted through the streets, in search of Howl. It was her turn to rescue him; her knight in shining armour.