Howl is immortal & permanently stunted at 27; Sophie was not immortal & died many, many years ago. Howl swore he'd never fall in love again. That was until he met a young witch who was immortal like him. She is a descendant of Sophie's sister, Lettie; However, Howl can feel a strong connection to Sophie; it feels like her presence…but at the same time she is different…much more shy & quiet vs. Sophie's abrasiveness. Will this girl fall for him as well? Read to find out.
PLZ NOTE THAT I DO NOT OWN HOWLS MOVING CASTLE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS; I ONLY CLAIM THE STORY & CHARACTERS I CREATE!
Also, this is my first Howl's Moving Castle Story...plz no flams; but I'll take constructive criticism.
Finally got the update & editing done with the first few chapters. I am so happy & proud of this & myself. I've merged some chapters & added & made chapters longer. I'm hoping you like this so far as much as I do. There are some new, added, & extended details here and there. I'm hoping you like this so far as much as I do.
It won't be 100% perfect, but I did the best as I could & I also used Grammarly Premium, which doesn't always get everything, but most.
Howl x Kari (Car-E)
Calcifer
Connor
"Howl, are you alright?" Calcifer asked, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine." Howl replied, eerily calm.
"Howl, it's been a hundred years since Sophie—and fifty since Morgan…" Calcifer stated, making a point—trying not to upset or anger his longtime friend.
Sophie died about a hundred years ago due to old age.
Their son, Morgan's death was accidental and happened fifty years ago. He became incredibly disoriented when he got trapped in a burning building. He not only suffered from burns and smoke inhalation from the fire; a falling beam also crushed him.
Morgan might still be alive had he not been trapped.
Howl was sick in bed that day; he still blames himself to this day. However, not as bad as when it first happened.
Morgan was only half-immortal because his father is immortal while his mother was not. He was permanently stunted at nineteen but could still be killed.
"I know that, Calcifer…" Howl grumbled, only slightly annoyed; he knew Calcifer was just concerned and trying to help.
"Maybe we should leave him alone." A boy with short, messy orange hair and blue eyes calmly suggested; his name was Connor.
Connor was Markl's great-grandson.
Markl passed away about sixty years ago. None of Markl's kids or grandkids wanted to work with Howl; Connor eagerly took over as Howl's apprentice.
"I suppose…" Calcifer mumbled in a gloomy tone.
"I think I'm going to take a bath and then a nap…" Howl sighed, slowly sitting up straight—until he heard something that made his blood run cold.
"Wahhh!" The trio heard a terrified, young-sounding girl screaming in the Wastes.
"What's going on?" Calcifer questioned, looking around.
"I'm not sure… But this presence feels like Sophie." Howl stated, standing up, and immediately took off.
"But that's not possible!" Calcifer yelled after Howl. However, it was too late; Howl was gone.
"Should we help him?" Connor questioned, looking from the door to Calcifer.
"Stay here and don't get in his way. When he gets that look of pure determination in his eyes, there's no stopping him. If you really want to help Howl; stay here, wait, and be ready for when he returns." Calcifer sternly instructed.
"Yes, of course." Connor replied.
With Howl:
Howl went running from his castle faster than he had ever done before, in order to find the presence that reminded him of Sophie.
However, as soon as he stepped foot on the ground, the girl's screams started getting further and further away.
"I don't have time for this…" Howl growled, deciding to take desperate measures; he transformed into his bird form and flew to his destination.
When he got to the source of the screams, Howl saw a girl, roughly sixteen or seventeen. She had long, wavy brownish-orange hair and emerald green eyes.
Instantly, Howl noticed she had Sophie's facial features and presence.
Some unknown creatures were chasing the girl.
The creatures' bodies looked like they were made of solidified dark purple slime.
They had three menacing black eyes: two where they should be and one in the center of what Howl assumed was their foreheads.
They had jet-black hair that stuck to their bodies like glue.
And they wore what looked like clothes a guard would wear.
They didn't have any visible ears, mouths, or noses.
Howl didn't give a flying fuck what those creatures looked like; his only objective was to find out just who this girl was. He used a small spell that slowed the slime creatures down to allow the girl to get further away.
The girl was nearly free when she slipped on a wet patch of grass, fell down a steep hill, and hit her head, rendering her unconscious.
"Damnit…" Howl growled, frustrated. Not so much at the girl, but rather because he used a spell to keep the slime creatures at bay instead of something to make the grass less slick.
The unknown slime creatures were closing in on the girl when Howl used a last-ditch spell and blew them away.
"What were those things?" Howl asked himself aloud, gracefully making his way down the hill to the girl.
Howl sighed as he knelt next to the girl and studied her.
"That's going to be a decent bruise. Well—I can't very well leave her out here like this. What kind of a guy would I be if I did that?" Howl noted, looking at the side of her forehead where she had hit the rock before carefully picking her up.
"Mmmm…" The girl lightly moaned but did not wake; she didn't even stir.
Howl knew there was no chance of waking the girl; he would have to let her wake on her own.
After a few minutes of looking at the girl's face, Howl flew with her back to his castle.
Five Minutes Later:
When Howl was about a yard or so away from his castle, he landed, set the girl down, and changed back into his human self. He then picked her back up and started walking.
Connor was pacing around, waiting for Howl to come back.
Not only did he have the ability to know when someone was coming to the castle's door, but Connor could also pick up on the scents of people he knew. He never needs to look out a window or have Calcifer peer out to see.
"He's back!" Connor happily announced just before Calcifer stopped the castle, allowing Howl to enter.
"Who is the girl? Is she ok? What happened?" Connor frantically questioned, concerned, noticing the girl before Calcifer.
"I'm not sure who she is. She was being chased by four weird slime creatures; she fell and hit her head. She's alive, but I'm not sure if she's ok." Howl answered, holding the girl, looking at Connor.
"That feels like Sophie's presence—but at the same time, not." Calcifer remarked as Howl placed the girl on a spare mattress in a corner.
"Yes, I agree." Howl agreed, moving some hair from her face.
"She even kind of looks like Sophie. I mean I've only seen pictures, but still—she looks like her." Connor added, looking at the girl.
"Yes, I agree. Who is this girl?" Calcifer asked again.
"I don't know. Although, I do know she's been cursed; it seems she has magical powers but cannot use them." Howl noted, looking at the girl.
Oh, how she reminded him of Sophie?
"Mmmm…" The girl moaned, starting to wake up.
"Look, she's waking up!" Connor happily exclaimed as the girl tried sitting.
"Easy there." Howl calmly spoke, noticing the stiffness in her body.
Once her eyes fully adjusted and she saw Howl, Connor, and Calcifer, the girl started panicking.
"No! No! No! Wh-who are ya-you?! Wh-where a-a-am I?! Wh-what do ya-you want from me?! Uh-uh-are you going to r-r-rape me?! Ow!" The girl panicked, backing away, only to smack her head right into a bench.
"Hey, it's ok; calm down. You're safe here. You are in our moving castle. We're not going to rape or hurt you. My name is Howl Jenkins Pendragon. This is my fire demon, Calcifer, and this is my apprentice, Connor. Now, let me see your head. Who are you?" Howl calmly explained and then calmly asked, inching closer to the terrified girl.
It was then that Howl got a closer look at her, her clothes, and her legs:
-Because of her fall, she was a little wet and was covered in gunk and grass.
-Her skirt was severely torn, and there was blood running down her legs.
-Her shirt was a little disheveled but not destroyed like her skirt.
-She had bruises on her wrists and ankles that made it look like she'd recently been tied up.
-She had knee-high socks on at one point because she had the tops of the socks around her knees.
-Her feet were dirty, cut up, and overall were rough-looking, indicating she wasn't wearing shoes.
At that moment, Howl connected what she just asked and how she looked.
"Wait… Were you raped?" Howl questioned, concerned, closely watching her.
All she could do was look away from him.
"Hold still…" Howl instructed as he went to inspect her head; he wouldn't go near her lower half to give her the decency of privacy.
"Do you want to go wash up?" Howl asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"What's your name?" Calcifer impatiently asked.
"Calcifer! Come on; let me help you up." Howl snapped at his longtime friend before kindly offering the girl his hand to help her up.
The first thing Howl noticed was that this girl's personality was far different from that of Sophie's.
Maybe because he suspected, she was raped, but Howl could tell she was a mousy type of girl; she didn't seem very bold.
"Go get washed up and then we can talk. Hot water, Calcifer. Go on; you're safe here." Howl instructed just as knocking came from the Wastes side of the door.
After the girl was securely in the bathroom and they heard the water running, the banging on the door got louder and louder.
"Stand by." Howl instructed, walking to the door.
When he opened it, two men stood there with another man standing outside next to a fancy and important-looking carriage.
The man by the carriage looked like he could royal or something.
The two men at Howl's door looked like a royal adviser and a bodyguard.
"Can I help you?" Howl politely queried, stepping outside so they could not get into the castle.
"I do certainly hope so. I am looking for the prince's fiancé; it seems she's just ran away. Her name is Kari; she's just turned sixteen, has long, oddly-shaded brown hair, and green eyes. We were told she ran into the Wastes as was seen running south. She's not exactly a strong, healthy girl—but she can run. She didn't show up for their wedding—and misbehaved when it was time for the consummation. For some reason she doesn't seem to want to be with our prince; however, she is who he chose. She doesn't seem to understand what an honor it is to be chosen by our prince. Have you seen her?" The man at the door asked, describing the missing girl before showing Howl a picture said girl; it was the girl inside.
'Kari, huh? That's a pretty name…' Howl thought to himself.
"No, I haven't seen this girl recently; I have however seen her in town a few times." Howl lied; today was the first time he's ever laid eyes on Kari.
There was something about this Kari that drew Howl in. Aside from the fact that he was sure this prince raped this girl, something else about this prince scared her.
"If you see her, do let us know." The man sternly ordered.
"Yes, of course." 'Heh! Over my dead body.' Howl replied and then thought to himself, looking at the men.
The bodyguard remained silent and just stood there, watching the area, making sure nothing attacked.
"Would you mind if we came in to have a look around?" The third man at the carriage requested, walking over, looking at Howl.
"Your highness?" The one man questioned, shocked, looking at the young man, who looked like he was in his very late twenties or early thirties. He had short sandy-brown hair and brown eyes. And worst yet, he was the prince.
Although he did not directly know him, Howl knew his type; he was certain this guy—this prince, raped the girl.
And although he wanted to tear this prince apart, he had to remain calm because he had no proof—let alone confirmation from Kari that any of that happened to her.
"Not at all." Howl calmly obliged, letting the men in so they could search.
Using small amounts of undetectable magic, Howl changed the castle around so that the bathroom moved elsewhere when the men searched that specific area.
Howl kept moving rooms just the tiniest bit until the prince and his men were satisfied—or rather, unsatisfied with their results.
After thoroughly looking around—and not finding anyone, except Howl and Connor, the men left. The assistant or adviser—or whatever he was, tipping his hat as he did so.
The prince did nothing but mumble, demanding he be informed if Howl were to see Kari; Howl, of course, told him he would keep them informed.
It was clear that none of those men had ever heard about Howl and his moving castle. If they had, they would've pushed more and made sure he was absolutely, under no circumstance, using any sort of magic.
After they left, Howl closed and locked the door.
"Howl, what's going on?" Calcifer questioned, looking at Howl.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure. But the girl's name is Kari—and I'm pretty sure that that prince hurt her. Oh, you're out already? Would you like clean clothes?" Howl answered and then asked, noticing Kari standing halfway up the stairs. She had changed back into her dirty, tattered skirt and dirty shirt.
"I don't have anything else…" Kari softly answered, looking down, either embarrassed or ashamed.
"Hold still." Howl gently instructed before using his magic to change her clothes into a nice, warm pair of pajamas.
Instead of her tattered skirt and shirt, Kari now donned a long-sleeved, light blue pajama shirt with matching sleep pants—both covered in stars.
It was getting late, and the sun was going down.
"Thank you." Kari mumbled.
"How do you feel now?" Connor asked, scaring the poor girl; she fell backward, down the steps.
"Are you alright?" Howl asked, concerned, helping her up.
"I'm sorry." Connor sincerely apologized.
"It's ok." Kari replied, standing still.
"Your name—it's Kari, isn't it?" Howl asked, looking at the girl next to him.
"How? They came looking, didn't they?" Kari softly asked, looking down, scared.
"Yes, the prince and two of his men showed up, looking for you. You were raped by your suitor—this prince, weren't you?" Howl asked again.
"Yes… But I'm ok." Kari replied, trying not to cry.
"Listen to me very carefully. You are going to stay here—with us. You'll be safe here. Those men and that prince will never get you. Do you understand me?" Howl declared and then sternly asked.
"But…" Kari started.
"No buts; you'll stay here. I'll just have to rearrange a little so you can have your own room." Howl persistently insisted.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, I'm a complete stranger." Kari questioned, looking around.
"Because you deserve safety; you don't deserve to be tortured and raped by anyone." Howl answered, watching the nervous girl in front of him.
"Do you like cleaning?" Calcifer asked after a few seconds.
"Yes…" Kari softly answered.
"Well, then—that's how you'll earn your keep; you'll keep the castle clean. Now, sit still next to Connor and don't move." Howl stated and then instructed, getting ready to rearrange and create a new bedroom for Kari…