I lied, the chapter's title isn't In Which Sophie REmembers...my plans for this story have changed and now I'm pretty sure that this chapter will reveal how questionable my characters can be. I mean...Calcifer, concerned? Howl on the same bed as Sophie? Hmm...sounds out of it to me but I thought this chapter was sweet in a way...then again, I AM the one who wrote it. Oo

In Which Sophie Dreams

Where am I? This isn't Howl's castle…how could I have gotten here?

Sophie peered around her, there were stars dancing around her, twinkling and taunting as she drifted slowly past them, the ruffling of her skirts were enough to drown out any sound other then the whistle of wind that shrilled in her ears despite her rather gradual decent. She had to have been dreaming to be falling at a speed no faster then her walking. She wasn't afraid of the fall either…the ground was darkened by the unbroken night and she wasn't certain how far she had to fall still but there was one thing about her descent that made her heart skip a beat then return to its regular rhythm…

Looking down at her hands, she could see that they were becoming more and more wrinkled, the joints stiffening and the veins becoming more evident when she flexed her fingers. These hands weren't very foreign...she never did fully recover from the knowledge gained in her times as the cursed old woman she was. It was no more disturbing then sitting down. She knew that she was becoming Grandma Sophie again…a form she was better suited for.

The floating sensation ended as her feet suddenly touched down on the earth, her joints cracking as her weight rested upon her little aching feet. She peered side to side, hobbling over in one direction where grasses swept over the hem of her dress and tickled her skinny, old legs. It looked familiar but at the same time completely foreign as she made her way across the soft earth and through the tall grasses.

Something suddenly swooped overhead and she froze, watching a dark figure sweep overhead then circle around in a graceful loop that brought it back to her. She spotted the face belonging to the strange flyer.

"Howl?" she stared.

He didn't seem to hear her, he tipped over onto his side, sweeping around then tightly corkscrewing up into the sky. A few feathers fluttered down and Sophie allowed one to land in the palm of her hand. The plumage was still warm from his body heat…

"Sophie, you're old again."

Howl's voice was behind her and she seized up for a moment then spun around, facing him.

The young wizard was standing before her, his face humane but feathers were sprouting from his hairline to his ankles where his feet were still very much like a bird's. He lowered his wings, which were what was left of his arms and extended them out to her slightly.

"Well what about you? You're all feathery again." She pointed out, "Don't tell me you've been transforming into a birdman again…don't you realize you might not be able to become human again if you keep this up?"

Her Granny voice was what she had missed about being old, it sounded as if she had years of wisdom on her side and yet she was hardly any more knowledgeable then and eighteen-year-old.

Howl seemed to like it as well since he smiled, stepping closer to the old woman and bending down a little, turning up her face so that he could catch the wise old eyes. "Sophie, you're in a dream…you know this by now, but what you don't know is that a part of me is still missing."

"A part of you, Howl?"

"I am Howl, Howl is me, but I am a mere portion of him. He has lost me when he regained his heart but I am not such a bad part to lose. You may fill that void, Sophie." He smiled, "I don't mind being replaced, but give me Howl's dreams at my leisure at least. I have to have some connection with Howl after all."

"Will it hurt Howl to dream of you?"

He shook his head slowly. "I can't guarantee I will grant him sweet dreams the rest of his life, I am entitled to a few nightmares after all."

Sophie looked a little uneased by this.

"Now, don't look at me like that…" the feathers brushed over her cheek, "But I have many ideas to keep him busy…at least until you've both established it."

"Established what?" she stared at him.

"Ah, I can't tell you." He smirked, "This is my world after all and as long as you're here in a dream, you will see what could have been. Your curse could have never been lifted and Howl would have become a monster. Which I'm glad you remedied by the way. These feathers do tend to be a problem…they irritate my skin."

Yes, this was indeed a little piece of what Howl was…concerned about his skin and appearance.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sophie asked finally since she wasn't sure if she would be waking up at any time soon.

"It comes with sleeping in Howl's bed." He smiled, "Wizards always leave some little bit of magic behind on their beds. Escapes from their ears I think…unless Howl sleeps with his mouth open, I can't remember. A portion of the memory disappears to "bits and pieces" of a person."

"That sounds awful…" Sophie said, sympathetic to the piece of Howl.

He shook his head, the dark strands of his hair managing to fall over the feathers partially and frame his face a little more, appearing more like the Howl Sophie knew. He closed his eyes with a small smile, turning his head to glance back behind him at the dark horizon untouched by anything but stars. A soft breeze threatened to pull the hair back away from the feathers sprouting from the sides of his face until he turned his back to the wind and the hair was blown to either side of his face, split by his feathery neck being in the way.

Sophie lowered her eyes, twisting her old hands together and watching her skin move over the bones of her knuckles. The sight wasn't revolting to her but to some they man have recoiled away from her…this strange fascination with pliable skin was enough to make anyone cringe or at least disagree with the awkward motions of her purposely pulling on her hands so make the skin tighten but it wrinkled up again when the tension was removed. It was somewhat disappointing and she was beginning to hope that she wouldn't wake up as old as she was at the present time. Howl wouldn't want her around if she did since this meant the curse had not been lifted.

"I deal with the memory loss." He said finally, "In a way, it makes remembering thingsinto a game, which of course, I shall win."

Sophie hobbled towards him and wrapped her arms around the piece of Howl's waist since that was about as much she could reach up at the moment, her limbs already stiff from the unfamiliar sensation of floating in the sky for so long and then becoming re-acquainted with gravity. For a moment she didn't know why she wanted to hold him…but it was nice feeling the warm plumage of his body against her wrinkled cheek. His winged arms draped over her and rested lightly over her back, revealing that he didn't mind the embrace fromthe old woman.

"You shouldn't think that you're plain around Howl." He said, "You're exquisite with hair like starlight and he may be vain but he loves you. Plain or vivacious, you're beautiful in his eyes."

That was enough to make evenGrandma Sophie blush. It looked like this piece of Howl also contained his flattery even though it was misplaced. She pulled away from him, looking down at the ground with a nervous air to her slight actions of moving away and smiling at the grasses and his bird feet.

"Let's remove that disguise for now." Howl said, sweeping a wing over her and she felt her aches fading away immediately, her height increasing and she watched her hands firm up again. It happened much quicker then she thought it would have, for she was soon tall enough to reach Howl's shoulder now, their usual heights but Howl still looked as a birdman. "I understand you're sick when you're awake."

She nodded as he pulled her back to him by draping a wing around her shoulders and gently steering her up to him. Sophie rested her hand over the feathers of his chest and gently placed her head against where his collarbone was most likely to be. It felt nice to be able to be close to Howl, even if it was a merepiece of him. Had she been awake, she wouldn't have dared this without him indicating he didn't mind the position. A piece of Howl was willing…did that mean what he said was really true and she could put her trust in this new knowledge that Howl really loved her? It wasn't just him playing a game with her?

"You'll have to wake up soon…Calcifer is here."

At that moment Sophie could hear the distant voice of the fire demon.

Sophie, Sophie! Hey! Are you still with us?

"Go on." Howl removed his wing. "Wake up."

Sophie recoiled from Howl as his wings suddenly flapped, buffeting her with a rush of air and she felt as if she was sent reeling backwards, slamming down onto something soft and her body jerking.

"It must have been some dream…"

"Sophie!"

Letting out a soft groan, the cleaning lady's eyes snapped open and Sophie's body was aching again but not with old age, but sickness. She was still ill…it wasn't cured immediately after all. She turned her eyes to the side of the bed were the human Howl was standing with Calcifer peering over the side of the large black frying pan where a few wood chips offered him a nice little base.

"About time you woke up! I was starting to worry about you!" Calcifer said; flaring up a little before shrinking to a more decently sized flame.

"Worried? About me?" Sophie asked, pushing herself up on her elbows wearily.

"Yes, about you." The fire demon said, his flames turning a more rosy red for a moment.

She smiled, "I'm alright…I was just having a nice dream, that's all."

"Well if you're ok…"

Sophie nodded and the fire demon leapt out of the pan, dancing in the air for a moment then zipping out of the room, he was either going to the fireplace or he was going out to do something since she was alright. That meant that she and Howl were alone…together…in Howl's room. And after a dream such as she just had…this wasn't the right time, the wizard may have caught her blushing.

"We keep ending up like this, don't we?" Howl asked, not seeming to mind the predicament as he set the useless pan onto the floor then sank onto the edge of the bed.

"Yes, we do…"

It felt awkward, the dream still fresh on her mind and the memory of Howl's kiss that had occurred much earlier chose that moment to leap right back into her mind, making her glad her face was already red with fever and it could hide her blush. But with that in mind…it wasn't enough. Sophie pulled the covers up to her nose to make her feel a bit morehidden in his presence.

"Do you think you can get better soon?" Howl asked, "Calcifer and Markl have assisted me whenever I cooked and even then…I think food needs a woman's touch to truly taste any good. So can I count on you get well?"

"I didn't choose to be sick you know, sorry I can't cook for you like the slave I am." She said with a thick sarcasm, frowning at how self-centered he was.

Howl gently brushed his fingertips over her feverish face and her paled lips, wiping the frown off her face by the simple gesture alone. She stared at him with a sort of astonishment now, almost as if he had bewitched her somehow but no such spell had been cast upon her, his little mouse was still quite untouched by his magic, you have his word on that.

"I can see your spirit remains in tact…" he mused, "That's good…I'd hate to see that broken as well."

Sophie couldn't help but smile; a little flushed by this statement and she sat upright, resting her hands in her lap. He was worried about her (in a way)…it was nice to see that at last but he could have shown it a bit more obviously so that she didn't feel so awkward looking at him as he was at the moment. Black hair shiny and soft, his pale face untouched by feathers and eyes so alive now that a heart beat within his breast. This was the Howl she had fallen in love with and the piece of him said that he loved her as well but how much of that birdman could she trust?

"Howl…I'm—"

He rested his hand over hers.

"Scoot over. I want to take a nap."

"R-Right now?" she stared; he was already kicking off his shoes without a care. He removed his hand so that he could turn and laid back. "I-I can move back to my bed then!"

Sophie immediately shifted to climb out of the bed from the other side but Howl's hand caught her wrist and tugged her over so that she had to brace herself with an elbow to keep from falling over. He turned onto his side, eyes turned and staring up at her as he gently squeezed her wrist. It was a silent plea that she stay beside him, wasn't it? Even though he could nap on his own…he wanted her to stay next to him on his bed? That was selfish of him…she hoped he knew that.

Hesitant for a moment, Sophie finally lay back down, resting her head on the far end of the pillow. At least she had the advantage of being under the covers; a comforting thought that there was a force field there to shield her off from Howl since he was lying on top of them.

Howl smiled at her…it was a knowing smile, as if he knew something she didn't.

Unsure of what this smile meant…Sophiehesitantlysmiled back.

Let's see if I can get another chapter out of this. Reviews help fuel my inspiration so please send some in.