Disclaimer: I don't own Howl's Moving Castle so don't sue. I'm po' anyway. Read and be happy.
Things Are Not As They Appear
Nothing. Not a thing. She must have been imagining it. Howl's various trinkets and bobs made wild whizzing sounds in the dark but she paid no attention to them. She grew used to the noise after a week of sleeping in Howl's room. Of course she had never gotten very comfortable in the bed beside Howl but she eventually went to sleep listening to his calm breathing. Nights in the moving castle never ceased to surprise her. Howl was sleeping quietly beside her, new blond locks in adorable disarray. Howl was the only one that would even consider staying up this late.
She could almost hear Michael's clipped snores from down the hall and she relaxed a little. Maybe it was just Calcifer making all that racket so they would wake up and give him attention. Calcifer was known for experimenting and running wild a little after hours. Maybe it was that dumb dog scratching at one of the doors. Whatever it was Sophie knew that Howl and Calcifer were more than enough protection- at least in most cases.
Sophie sighed a little gustily just to see Howl's hair lift and fall gently back over his eyes. And she turned over to get some more sleep. Her lids felt so heavy...SCRATCH SCRATCH!
"Huh?" Sophie turned to Howl debating wether to shake him awake or not. Howl had looked so tired when he had come home she couldn't bring herself to shake him awake. She set her face and slipped out of their bed. Howl made a small noise but didn't wake. Sophie was surprised noone else had awoken to the strange noise; It was quite loud.
Hesitantly she opened the door a fraction of an inch. She could see nothing but darkness except for a small glimmer of light from a quietly snoring Calcifer. Looking up at the ceiling and down at her feet she wondered if maybe her time as an old woman had somehow made her hear things or perhaps just made her a bit paranoid.
Frowning, she made her way quietly back to Howl. Perhaps she had been on the brink of deep sleep and she had only imagined the sounds. She hoped that was all. She flipped back the covers, gave an annoyed sigh, and buried her face in her pillow. In the morning she would see about those funny noises. For now, she wanted some sleep.