Authoress: Thanks for all your reviews, if it weren't for you guys, I'll probably quit this story by now…anyway, here's chapter 4, hope you'll like it. (.)
Chapter 4
"Damnit!" Sophie cursed, banging on the steering wheel, "You stupid piece of junk! Why did you have to break down in the middle of no where, and when I'm with that irritating Howl too!"
"I'm honored." Howl smirked.
"You are not HELPING." Sophie said through gritted teeth.
"Calm down my sweet, this is not as bad as you deem it to be…" Howl said.
"Not as bad! You tell me being stuck in God knows where after dealing with the Fat Bitch from Hell, add to it the fact that I'm hungry and tired and down-right frustrated is fine!"
"Well…when you put it that way…" Howl trailed off with an elegant shrug.
"Sheesh. And I thought you are the ever caring and sensitive gentleman."
"Oh…you do now…don't you." Howl said smirking.
"I did, as in the past tense."
"Touché my sweet…"
Sophie scowled. "Are you going to sit there the whole time annoying the hell outta me, or are you going to fix the damn vehicle!"
"How do you expect me to do that my sweet?"
"Duh! By using your magic, you are a Master sorcerer after all."
"Well…like you said my sweet, I'm a Master Sorcerer, not a mechanic…"
"Fine. Is it that you can't do it, or that you won't do it?" Sophie asked.
"Perhaps both…"
"Damn you!"
"I am beginning to think that that is your favorite word, my sweet…"
"Well…damn you, damn the jeep, damn the witch, damn this god forsaken place, and damn it for being night. Does this confirm it for you?"
"Hmmm…pretty much my sweet…"
"Argh, you sick bastard, you are enjoying this aren't you!"
"Hmm…sick bastard…my, there sure is capacity in that vocabulary of yours…" Howl said, putting on a look of admiration.
"You want to see vocabulary? I'll show you just how wide it is you narcissistic, sadistic, chauvinistic pig, you are such an asshole, a jerk, a creep, a big time shit head, and all time f…"
Howl sat through the whole thing unfazed, waiting for Sophie to run out of breath or vulgarities, which ever comes first.
"Are you finished now my sweet?" Howl smirked at the panting Sophie.
"Damn you to hell." Sophie wheezed out.
"I believe you have already said that." Howl said with a cool smirk.
Sophie scowled darkly.
"Now, if I did remember correctly, there should be an inn after that turn off, we can stay there for the night…" Howl said with a tilt of his head.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Sophie asked incredulously.
"Perhaps I enjoy annoying you; you look cute when you're mad." Howl smirked.
Sophie's cheeks tinted red; partly from blushing; and partly from anger.
True to his words, Sophie spotted the small cozy cottage inn after the turn off.
Sophie strode up to the counter and rang the bell, drumming her fingers against the polished wood of the counter as she waited for someone to serve her.
"What can I do for you young miss?" An old granny asked, as she totted down the stairs and towards the counter, upon seeing Howl she added, "That your boyfriend dear? He's quite a catch, you are so lucky. Ah…sweet young love, seeing you young couples always reminds me of me and my Ted…"
"Erm…I think you are quite mistaken, he and I are not together."
"Oh. That's a pity…You two would make a lovely couple…"
"I totally agree with you ma'am." Howl spoke up, coming up from admiring the hall's display cases to stand beside Sophie.
"Well…my dears no need to be shy about it, granny here totally understands…" She said with a wink.
Sophie blushed.
"W…we…are really not an item…in fact I'll like to book two separate rooms for the night." Sophie said. Howl opened his mouth as if to protest, but was cut off when Sophie elbowed him in the ribs.
"My…two separate rooms? That could be a problem dear…as this is a small inn, and we are but left with one room…but the bed fits two though…"
"We'll take it." Howl interjected before Sophie could say anything. "We'll get our luggage while you prepare the room for us." Howl said with a smile; at the same time dragging Sophie away before she could say anything.
Sophie glared at Howl.
"What did you think you are doing just now Howl…" Sophie asked darkly.
"Getting us a room." Howl stated.
"You do realize that I'm not sharing a room with you."
"As much as you hate it my sweet, there's no more rooms available, and this is the nearest inn for miles, so there is no other choice…" Howl said simply.
Sophie sighed. "Well…I guess beggars can't be choosers…but I'm warning you Howl, no funny business or I will not be accountable for my actions…" With that Sophie whirled on her heels and headed up the stairs to her room, or should I say their room.
In the room…
"Get your ass out of the bathroom now Howl! You've been in there for over an hour already!" Sophie yelled, banging her fist at the bathroom door for the fifth time now.
"I'll be out soon my sweet." Howl answered.
"That's what you said the last time!" Sophie bellowed, raking her fingers through her hair in frustration. The amount of time Howl spends in the bathroom is unbelievable…seriously…
"I did now, did I?"
"Course you did! Now you better come out before I'm forced to break this door down and kick you out." Sophie growled.
"Be my guest my sweet, I always knew you wanted to see me naked…"
Sophie smacked her palm to her forehead. 'This guy is unbelievable…can't believe I am stuck with him for the night…Damn, wait till he gets out of there…I'm going to enjoy strangling him…the nerve of that jerk!' Sophie thought viciously.
"I'm done now my sweet." Howl said, as he swept out of the steamy bathroom. He donned a black satin shirt with a slit down the front, exposing the wide expense of his chest, and a tight leather pant that is a purple so dark that it's almost black. His creamy pale complexion contrasted greatly with the dark outfit, making Sophie catch her breath.
"Like what you see my sweet?" Howl whispered.
'Always.' Sophie thought, but out front she said, "Don't flatter yourself Howl." And with that she strode towards the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Later that night…
"You sleep on that side of the bed; do not cross over the booster." Sophie ordered, placing the booster in the middle of the bed.
"Aww…come on my sweet, there's no need for the booster, I won't try anything."
"You better not…" Sophie threatened, placing her wrist needles under her pillow. "Else I'll be forced to use these on you."
Howl visibly shuddered. "Well…goodnight my sweet."
"Goodnight." Sophie replied.
KABOOM!
'What the Hell was that!' Sophie awoke with a fright, blotting upright; her fingers curling instinctively round the cool steel needles under her pillow.
"Sorry about that my sweet…that was my cell…"Howl said sheepishly, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"God damnit Howl! Why must you choose such a stupid ring tone?" Sophie muttered angrily.
"That's my message tone…"Howl corrected.
"Whatever…You are just too dramatic for words, even your ring tone is dramatic, and that says a lot."
"Message tone." Howl said calmly.
"Whatever. Ring tone; message tone, do I look like I care." Sophie muttered irritably.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Howl mumbled.
"Huh?" Sophie asked confused.
"I have a message from the Queen."
"What?"
"I said I have a message from the…"
"Yea, yea, I got that, but what's it about?" Sophie interrupted. Her interest sparked once she knew it's from the Queen.
"Apparently there's another murder, one involving some kind of magic; the cops down at the scene said that there are symbols all over the victim's body and it's acting as some kind of barrier; preventing the cops from going near the body."
"You said 'another' just how many murders are there?" Sophie questioned.
"You are pretty sharp my sweet, it would be great to have you as my Servant." Howl said.
"Don't try to change the topic."
Howl gave Sophie a wry smile. "Can't fool you huh?"
"Answer the question already." Sophie said impatiently, frowning a little.
"Well…it's classified." Howl replied with a smirk.
"Hey, no fair!"
"Is it? If I recalled, someone told me just that a few days ago when I wanted to know more about a certain mission…" Howl teased.
"Well I…I…"
"You what?" Howl taunted.
"Fine, but since you tagged along for my mission, I'll tag along for yours too!" Sophie said in triumph.
"I don't think that is wise."
"Why not?" Sophie asked haughtily.
"The crime scene is not the place for a lady such as yourself my sweet…"
"Don't give me such crap Howl."
"Alright, the scene would be grisly, and I don't think you'll be able to handle it." Howl said seriously.
"I believe I shall be the judge of that, and I rule my stomach as strong enough to take the heat." Sophie said firmly, staring unwaveringly at Howl. "Besides, I have been to a few crime scenes before."
"This is different from those clean death by a bullet crime scenes, this is gruesome."
"I'm still going." Sophie said.
"Sometimes you are too stubborn for your own good…" Howl said shaking his head.
Sophie scoffed.
Back in the jeep after the Inn's son repaired it…
"Where to?" Sophie asked.
"North, that's where the murder had taken placed."
"Ok."
And the two sat with only the radio to fill in the silence…
"Hey Howl, I'm hungry. Stop over for lunch ok?"
Howl nodded, pulling into the nearest car park with a restaurant.
"Fish and chips please." Sophie placed her orders.
"I wouldn't advice that…" Howl said.
"Like I care."
"Suit yourself. One salad for me." Howl said, turning to address the waiter.
"You on a diet or something Howl?" Sophie teased.
"I don't plan on throwing up at the crime scene later. And it would do you good not to finish that whole plate of fish and chips my sweet; the cops don't appreciate people messing up the crime scene."
"Yea, yea." Sophie dismissed, and ended up cleaning out the entire plate despite Howl's disagreement.
At the crime scene…
"You are not allowed to go any further, turn back." A cop said.
"I'm the Master Sorcerer Howl, here on the Queen's order." Howl said calmly.
"Ok, you may pass." The cop said.
Sophie tried to follow Howl, but was intercepted by the cop. "You are not allowed in there miss."
"But, I'm with Howl." Sophie said.
"I'm sorry, but no unauthorized people beyond this point, there will be no exception, even if you are Howl's girlfriend."
"I'm not Howl's girlfriend. I work for the Queen. Here." Sophie said, whipping out her badge.
"This is the Secret Forces Badge…You are?"
"I go by the name Needles in the Force, but the public dubbed me as Death Sender." Sophie said simply.
"Ah…the renowned Death Sender…never expected you to be the one." The cop said, as he sizes her up.
"May I pass now?" Sophie asked rather impatiently.
"Sure." The cop said, "The body is up that hill, nasty one there, really messy. Can't believe anyone would do something so terrible…" The cop said, motioning towards his right.
"Thanks…"Sophie said, as she hurried to the site of the body and where Howl is.
Sophie clambered up the hill just in time to see the after glow of Howl's spell.
"The barrier's gone; your team may proceed without hindrance now." Howl said.
Sophie looked around the small clearing, and was immediately hit with a wave of nauseous, as she took in the blood splattered area, her eyes zeroed in on the mess in the center. The victim had ancient symbols engraved onto his body, and his stomach had been ripped, his intestines spilled out and lay in a pile beside the body. The victim's limbs were all bent at an awkward angle and his mouth and eyes were wide open, he seemed to be in shock, perhaps he had died in the middle of his screams. Sophie gasped, and the pungent odor of death and rusty scent of blood assailed her senses. Her head swam, she could feel her lunch threatening to spill forth, she did the only thing she could, she turned; running to the nearest empty spot and puked.
"How are you feeling Sophie?" Howl asked.
"Like shit." Sophie grimaced.
"I hate to tell you I told you so, but I told you so." Howl said shaking his head.
"Just shut up Howl…and I was hungry…"
"And throwing your lunch up was helping your hunger?"
"Insensitive prick."
"Calling me names now?"
"How can you joke at a time like this…?"
"To take the tension off what you and I have just witnessed…"Howl replied, his face sobering.
"….I appreciate that…but what the hell did that?" Sophie asked.
"I have no idea my sweet…no idea at all…"
"I think I'm feeling better now…" Sophie said, stumbling to her feet. She wavered. Howl reached out and steadied her.
"Thanks…" Sophie said, smiling weakly.
Howl merely nodded before releasing her.
"I want to have another look at the body." Sophie said.
"Why's that?"
"I want to help, maybe I can spot something the cops can't…I don't want any more innocent people to die…"
"Don't force yourself…"
"I want to do this and I can do this." Sophie said determinedly, as she walked back to where the body was.
'You can do this Sophie; you can take it, look at calmly.' Sophie thought to herself.
Once again Sophie surveyed the scene. 'The blood have dried; a rusty brown. The victim; male with auburn hair though I can't be sure since it is pretty much soaked in blood. His limbs appeared to have been broken; hopefully this was not done while he was still alive…and that slithery pool by the stomach is the...intestine. Okay, intestines…damn I'm feeling sick again. Calm down Sophie, relax, it's just intestines, no big deal…yeah right who am I kidding. No! Be detached, must be detached else I'm gonna vomit again…detached. The victim's eyes and mouth was still wide open, nobody bothered to shut his eyes. I don't plan to do it either, not because I didn't want to mess with the scene, but because it is never as easy as it looks on TV to shut a dead man's eyes, I've seen a cop try to shut a corpse's eyes for about 5 minutes before he finally manage to do it. I have been to enough crime scenes to know that at least…Now looking at the body; the symbols look kind of familiar though…' Sophie thought hard trying to remember where she had seen it before.
"That's it!" Sophie shouted.
"What's it?" Howl asked, coming towards Sophie.
"I know what the symbols represent!" Sophie said.
"You do?" Howl asked.
"Yea, now I remembered my roommate in college who's absolutely into moose code and those kinds of things, he actually wanted me to learn this new language that is on some Internet game. And it looks exactly like the symbols on the victim's body!"
"You really are smart my sweet, do you know what game it is?" Howl prodded.
"Ummm…it's elf something, elf...elf…argh…I don't remember."
"It's alright; I'll inform the officer-in-charge, maybe he'll be able to find out what that is."
"Thank you Miss Sophie, we would work on this piece of news immediately, hopefully it will lead us to the man behind the murders." Officer Brook-a big burly man said, shaking Sophie's hand.
"Don't thank me yet…find the murderer; I'll kill him. Then you can thank me." Sophie said leveling her gaze with Officer Brook.
Officer Brook nodded.
Howl and Sophie left.
"Back home at last…" Sophie sighed, staring out at the busy street.
"Yes, my sweet. Shall I take you straight home?" Howl asked.
"Home of course, I'm beat…wait a minute! You can drop yourself off first, and I'll drive home myself, this is my jeep after all."
"You sure you don't need me around to ease your tiredness?" Howl asked a hopeful lithe to his voice.
"Hah! You'll sooner drain me of all my remaining energy than ease me of my tiredness…" Sophie said wryly.
"You are so negative my sweet…"
"You mean truthful."
"That hurts." Howl feint.
"Don't the truth always." Sophie interjected.
"You can be so mean with words my sweet…"
"Who? Me?"
"Yes you. Doesn't angel Sophie pop out to give you advice?"
"Angel Sophie? What the hell is that!"
"You know everyone has an angel and devil, the angel is supposed to pop out and advice you to do good and walk the straight path." Howl said matter-of-factly.
"Well then, Angel Sophie had quit her job eons ago, so live with the devil!"
"Tsk, tsk. I'm sure the angel is in there some where my sweet…"
"Maybe. Well…too bad that you always seem to bring out the devil." Sophie said with a shrug.
"You are so sarcastic my sweet."
"Well, don't you know Sarcasm is my best friend?"
"Ah…I'm glad you are back to yourself my sweet."
"Huh?"
"A while back there, you were so solemn that I was worried that you have been traumatized by what you saw at the crime scene…"
"Traumatized! What gave you that idea Howl? You think I'm some innocent kid or something?" Sophie demanded; feeling insulted.
"T-that's not…you are just so quiet on the trip back and you looked kind of sad."
"Feh, I'm just tired you baka." Sophie said, looking out the window to hide her blush. 'I didn't know he cared that much, and paid that much attention to me. Though his interpretation skills needs brushing up…'
"If you are that tired, I could drive you back."
"Yea, if you do that how do you supposed you are going to get home?"
"No worries my sweet. I can teleport." Howl winked.
"Suit yourself."
So Howl drove Sophie home and teleported back to his castle.
A few hours later…
Sophie yawned. "That was a nice nap…but I'm kind of hungry now…um…maybe I'll go back to that restaurant with the cute waiter-Justine." Sophie thought aloud.
"I see you are back pretty Sophie." A smooth baritone voice said.
"Hey." Sophie smiled.
"Order what you like fair Sophie, it's on the house." Justin winked.
"On the house? This is your restaurant?" Sophie asked bewildered.
"Nope, it's my treat." Justine smirked.
"Well…I couldn't, you work hard for your pay, I can't just let you treat me." Sophie said.
"Money has never been a problem; in fact, I'm loaded; as rich as the Prince." Justine said a corky smile in place.
"Yea right…" Sophie said skeptical.
"Of course it is right. I am actually the Prince himself…" Justine said matter-of-factly.
'Ya…as if a Prince would be working as a waiter…' Sophie thought cynically.
"You seem unconvinced." Justin said with a smile.
"Who? Me? Now why wouldn't I believe that a waiter working at a restaurant is the Prince…maybe because the Prince would probably be seated comfortably on his throne eating his sumptuous dinner instead of serving others theirs…" Sophie said sarcastically.
"Right, right, you do have a point there…but perhaps the Prince is bored of the palace life and is out seeking some fun." Justine said.
"Ooh…and you call being a waiter and serving picky customers their food fun! Get real!" Sophie scoffed.
The Prince smirked. "Well, care to bet on that?"
'Bet? Is this guy nuts? As if the Prince would even be here…' Sophie thought rolling her eyes.
"Fine, I bet you are not the Prince, and if you lose…" Sophie said smiling evilly, "You have to wear a dress and parade around the square singing nursery rhythms and to top it all off you have to propose to the oldest lady there." Sophie finished off smugly.
"Done, but if you lose you'll have to be my girlfriend for a whole week, and do whatever I tell you to." Justine said.
"You're on! As if I'll ever lose to a braggart like you." Sophie said.
"Prepare to lose Sophie, for I am the Prince. As prove; I'll show you the imperial seal of the crown prince." Justine said whipping it out with a flourish.
Sophie's eyes widened. "No way, that must be a fake."
"Here, you may check it." Justine said, placing the article in Sophie's hand.
Sophie studied the said article carefully, checking all sides for clues that it may be a fake.
"Looks like the genuine article…"Sophie said, "How did you manage to steal it!" Sophie asked sharply.
"Whoa, I don't have to steal it, I am the Prince. If you're still not satisfied, I'll make an announcement through the Imperial Announcer at the square at noon sharp tomorrow."
"Heh. I guess I'll believe you if you do that, but make sure it is grand." Sophie said.
"I'll make it grand if you so desired it." Justine said with a charming smile.
"You'll better if I'm going to believe it." Sophie shot back.
The next day at noon, there's a huge crowd gathered at the square; everyone was murmuring among themselves in shocked whispers, as they stared in disbelief at the huge banners and signs with the horrific words, which goes…
'Dear Sophie Hatter, these are the terms of the bet we have agreed upon, if I Prince Justin Kruz am not the Prince, I shall wear a dress and parade around the square singing nursery rhythms and I'll also have to propose to the oldest lady present, and if I AM the Prince, you will be my girlfriend for an entire week, and do anything I so say. We both will honor our end of the bet and face the consequences of our words and actions.'
When Sophie saw those horrendous words, she gasped out, "What the Hell!"
And at that precise moment, Prince Justin came out onto the stand, smiling charmingly at the audience, he said, "and there is the beautiful lady I made the bet with." nodding towards a shell-shocked Sophie.
All the millions of spectators swerved their attention to Sophie.
'Damnit! This is soo…unnerving!' Sophie mentally screamed.
"Stop staring at me like I'm some walking experiment, or mutated freak show!" Sophie screamed.
The audience gasped.
Sophie eyebrow twitched. "Quit staring already! Or do all of you here have zero IQ?"
Another collective gasp.
"That's it! I had it enough with all you dumb asses…Leave.Me.Alone!"
Appalled looks all around.
'Damnit! Boy, are these people slow…' Sophie thought in frustration.
Taking a deep breath, Sophie said calmly. "Listen up all you innocent civilians, there is a bomb planted in the vicinity, so could ya all stay calm and file out of the square orderly. Please refrain from pushing and shoving."
The crowd blinked, and then some shouts of "A bomb!" And all chaos ensues, as they stampeded out the square.
'Funny how people always does the opposite of what you tell them to…'Sophie thought wryly, as she stared at the now vacant square…well…that is…an almost vacant square; Prince Justin is still there by the podium, smiles and all.
When Sophie caught sight of him, her expression visibly soured.
"An interesting lady you are Sophie, very interesting…"
Sophie scowled. 'You are beginning to remind me of a certain pesky master sorcerer I know…'
"I take your silence as consent of your defeat? Well then, Saturday night at seven, I'll pick you up for dinner. Dress up for me ok?" Justin winked and left.
'Its official, the fates hates me. I didn't know there are so many irritating corky bastards around…' Sophie thought forlornly.
The next day…
"What?" Howl exclaimed, chocking on his morning tea, when Markyl read the morning paper's headline.
Markyl continued on, "Sophie Hatter and Prince Justin is an item, and they will be going on their first hot date this Saturday, will the Prince share a passionate kiss with his lady…"
Howl did not wait around that long to hear Markyl's recitation of the article, as he promptly teleported himself to Sophie's apartment.
Howl burst into Sophie's bedroom, only to see the girl snoring blissfully in bed, totally oblivious to Howl's urgency.
Howl shook Sophie.
Sophie groaned.
Howl shook harder.
Sophie frowned.
Howl persisted.
Sophie mumbled a 'get lost.'
Howl heaved her off her bed.
"Huh? Wha-what?" Sophie stumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"You tell me what." Was Howl's response.
"Howl!" Sophie exclaimed, immediately awake. "What the hell are you doing in my room you pervert!"
"What are you doing going out on a 'hot date' with the Prince!" Howl demanded.
"That's none of your business." Sophie said.
"It is my business." Howl muttered darkly.
"How so!" Sophie interjected.
"You are my Servant." Came Howl's cool reply.
"I.am.not.you.Servant. Do me a favor and get that in your head already!" Sophie shouted, a little more than pissed right now after being so rudely awakened.
"You are the one not accepting the truth here my sweet."
Sophie took a long torturous breath of air, trying desperately to calm herself down. "Ok. Let's get this straight Howl, I am not your Servant, since the spells have not been completed, and even if I am your Servant, this is my LIFE. And I get to live it any way I want to, you have absolutely no right at all to butt into my life, I mean for Christ's sake even my parents don't get to butt in on my business, why should you." Sophie finished off with a painful jab to Howl's chest.
"Right. As you have said so yourself, the spell is partially complete, so that makes you partially my Servant. And I don't need 'rights' to 'butt into your business', I just do it." Howl smirked.
"Why you insufferable…"
"Get used to it my sweet." Howl said all too sweetly.
"Damn you."
"Love that word." Howl smirked.
"Argh!" Sophie yelled, throwing a pillow at Howl, who easily caught it in mid-air.
"I pity your pillows…" Howl said, giving the pillow in hand a sympathetic look.
"Get lost Howl."
"Lost? Where's that? How do I get there my sweet?" Howl asked, faking a confused look.
By now, Sophie's practically breathing fire out of her mouth.
"Get. Out. Now." Sophie said menacingly.
"Ok. But before I go, I'll like to inform you that I'll be going with you to your 'hot date'."
"What?" Sophie sputtered. "Like how do you suppose to do that?"
"We'll see…" was Howl's mysterious answer.
Authoress: Ahh…Finally done with this chappy, so how was it? I think I kinda dug myself a huge hole this time…have too many ideas, dunno which to use…and I kinda added the crime scene and Prince Justin thing to the mix, so I guess I'll have a hell of a time making this work…wish me luck guys, and thanks for your support! I'll try my best! So pls review!