A/N: Hello, just a quick interruption. As much as I love writing, my life is very busy (even now I have a lot on my plate, but my day job has a lull every 3 months, which is how I am able to write all this so quickly.) Unfortunately I'm not compensated for my time, and writing is most definitely a time consuming hobby.
If you enjoy my writing, please consider visiting my twitter page KapranosMrs for ways to support me so I can produce more of what I love. My first goal (after finishing this story) is to finish my Harry Potter fanfiction, "What Do you Want." Afterwards, I'd love to see what my readers would like to see!
Thank you!
!IMPORTANT! This chapter has mature, romantic scene. It will start after the line across the screen and goes until the end of the chapter. Feel free to skip as it doesn't really add anything to the plot. I just can't help but make this sort of stuff haha.
Ch 6
Sophie held Howl's arm tightly as they exited the palace with Michael. She continued to hug him close while they used a speed spell to arrive at the front of the moving castle. The charmed castle's black mass floated delicately around the fields of flowers. Sophie sighed happily at the sight, squeezing Howl's arm to herself.
At last, there was real hope for her. Despite the fact that Howl had hidden this option until everything else was exhausted, Sophie was grateful to him for all his persistence. She knew he was a coward, so it wasn't a surprise to learn he was avoiding a difficult task. She was simply relieved to know that there was someone in this world that could cure her. Howl was best wizard she knew, so he was sure to be successful in convincing the Hermit to help.
Howl opened the castle door for Sophie, and, to her surprise, he picked her up by her waist to gently place her inside. She made a small gasp and gave silent giggle. She turned around to grin at Howl. Howl smirked at her with a look that made her stomach twist with a tingling warmth. His green eyes stared into hers as he entered through the doorway. His handsome, angled features broke into an irresistible smile as he took her into his arms. Sophie felt her heart quicken and her stomach grow warmer.
Sophie didn't understand how she was upset with him before. He was so marvously good-looking and charmingly gentle as he held her. She wanted to kiss him for the rest of the day. The look on his face told her he would wholly comply.
Howl and Sophie both jumped at the sound of Michael slamming the castle door. Sophie shuddered as her anticipation evaporated. Howl raised an eyebrow irritably and glared at Michael.
Michael frowned slightly back. "Howl, didn't you say we have to get the Kingsbury door functioning by this afternoon. It's already lunchtime."
Still holding Sophie close to himself, Howl complained, "Michael, must you remind me of my responsibilities in inconvenient times?"
Michael bravely replied, "Y-you told me you have to build a new dimensional door, and that it could take half a day."
Sophie looked up at Howl's glare pointed at no particular direction. It made him even more attractive, and Sophie also wished Michael would stop talking.
"Howl, you made it seem very important minutes ago. You know I can't do it by myself." As Michael continued to talk, his bravery slipped away into helplessness.
Howl gave an exaggerated sigh and hugged Sophie. Before he let go, he moved his face close to her ear and whispered, "Say we'll continue this later?" Howl looked at her expectantly, and she nodded with a small smile. He flashed a grin at her and gave her a quick kiss on her lips.
Immediately, he whipped around and grabbed Michael by the back of the neck. "Let's go then! To the shop! We must make haste, shan't we Michael," Howl said loudly and sarcastically.
Michael looked miserable and completely unsure of himself as he was directed towards the shop entrance.
Howl caught sight of Calcifer, silently watching them from atop a half-burned pile of logs, and pointed to him. "You too! You want to be involved? I'll be sure to make use of you now that you're not bound to the hearth. Come." Calcifer's yellow eyes widened, surprised to be a casualty of Howls frustration.
Sophie stood by the castle's front door, still reeling from the sweetness of Howl's touch. She heard the men discussing their plan in the other room while she was daydreaming about Howl whisking her off to some far off place where they could be alone. Sophie's desire to be with him was so great, she knew that she would do whatever he wanted, including spending the rest of the day in bed.
Fanny had taught Sophie and her sisters what happens between a man and a woman in their bed. In fact, Sophie heard it twice. That was because Fanny had the talk with Sophie and Lettie when they grew from children into young ladies, and again when Martha got older. Sophie knew all the mechanics, but she didn't quite understand the full picture. Fanny never went into much detail, even though Lettie and Martha would often inquire. Fanny's descriptions and notes were so vague, Sophie could not determine whether the event was supposed to be fun or a chore.
She never experienced excitement or longing like this before Howl. When they were close together, there was an ache inside that wanted Howl even closer to her than possible. Sophie must be ignorant of more than she thought. None of Fanny's talks prepared for this.
"Sophie!" Howl called from the shop front. "Sophie, come here. I need you."
Sophie shook her head to clean her mind. Not knowing what use Howl would have for her, she quickly made her way to the flower shop through the broom cubby.
Howl had his long sleeves tied behind him as he knelt crouched in front of the open door to the yard. He was scratching runes and symbols on the inside of the doorframe with chalk. The symbols were incredibly small. It would certainly take an hour or more to complete the whole doorframe at this rate. Michael stood next to him, scribbling his own symbols on the wall around door, muttering something like a spell under his breath. Calcifer hovered above the two looking bored waiting for his turn and wishing he was back in the fireplace.
The door was swung open but the scene beyond the doorframe was obscured, as if underwater. At first, Sophie could see the flower shop yard. Then a ripple broke the scene, and the shining streets of Kingsbury glittered from the doorway. It rippled back suddenly to the yard and changed no further.
Sophie touched Howl's shoulder lightly, hoping not to break his concentration. He finished what he was drawing, then turned his head to see Sophie. His concentrated expression became instantly cheerful as his eyes met hers.
"Good, you came," he said smiling. Then he turned his head back around to focus on writing more. Sophie, always having her board in hand, wrote, "What do you need?" and put it in the general eyesight of Howl. Sophie was worried she would mess up the process if she bothered Howl.
Howl eventually glanced at the message then smiled charmingly at Sophie. "I need something beautiful nearby to refresh me. Otherwise, I'll go insane from this process."
Sophie's cheeks warmed, and she cracked a smiled. She pushed his foot with hers to punish him for the ridiculous compliment. "Ah, careful," Howl said with an almost real concern. "I forgot how wretched this task is. One wrong marking and I have to start from scratch. If I recall correctly, Calcifer, you were supposed to remind me how awful this is whenever I chanced upon the idea of making an additional door."
Calcifer seemed to crackle low and steady like engine. It reminded Sophie of an old man humming as they thought. "I did remember, but as you were being so childish, I decided I'd rather us suffer together."
"What are you suffering from," Howl asked indignantly as he squinted to draw the next rune.
"Boredom," Calcifer spat, and he gave a large, teethy yawn.
Sophie too grew bored watching Howl and Michael scribbling away around the door. They seemed to constantly be working, yet little progress showed from it. Sophie took a few glances around the shop and realized it had been days since it was properly looked after. She went back into the castle to get dressed into her plain, grey dress and load up her arms with all the cleaning supplies she could carry.
Howl, Michael, and Calcifer's attention was stolen by Sophie as soon as she began to clunk her way down the steps with bucket, broom, mop, and rags. Howl gave a scoff then a short burst of laughter. Michael was grinning to himself, quite pleased. Sophie shot them a confused frown.
Calcifer bobbed up and down slowly, with a blue-flamed toothy smile. "Michael bet Howl that you would start cleaning in less than five minutes of arriving."
"Sophie," Howl cried sadly, still kneeling and glued to the doorframe, "you can't even stand ten minutes of sitting still and being my muse?"
Sophie scrunched her nose at the thought and gave an audible snort. There was work to be done, and she wouldn't sit around doing nothing. She loudly placed all her tools against the counter to announce she was ready to dust, sweep, then mop, in that order this time.
What a difference it made, Sophie thought, to be young after being old. Cleaning was so much easier and invigorating, rather than painful and aching. Sophie felt so content being able to briskly clean and organize the shop that she began to hum whatever songs she fancied upon. Hearing her humming voice made her choose cheerful songs as time went by.
After a while, Howl spoke. "It's wonderful that I get to hear something from you, Sophie. I'm glad we improved that a bit." Howl was now standing on his feet, crouched slightly, continuing to add tiny symbols to the doorframe. "You can hum, growl, snort, and stomp, but not laugh or talk. Interesting." He paused for a few moments then said, "I actually miss arguing with you. But I don't mind this quiet either." Sophie smiled to herself, silently agreeing as she attacked the corners of the shop with her rag covered broom.
All of them continued their chores while Sophie hummed different tunes. To her surprise, Calcifer knew a few and joined in when he felt like it, hovering over Sophie most of the time. Even though she had so much she wanted to say, the silence was comforting to her. It was a natural, familial silence.
No matter what others think, Sophie thought, she and Howl had a real connection. She did admit it was a rather sudden relationship, but it was so natural. What did it matter if no one else believed? They had each other, and that was all they needed. Maybe Howl had a point. Maybe you didn't need to be married to spend the rest of your life with someone you loved.
Howl was closer to the top of the frame and standing straighter when he asked her, "Sophie, my love, can you go fetch me a red-dyed leather-bound book in my room? It's rather large and would take you two hands to carry. There's nothing else like it, so you should find it easily."
As Sophie dusted herself off and set her broom against the counter, Howl sighed loudly and added, "And perhaps-" he paused his writing and looked at the runes as if to read them, "-get me the rolled up map of Ingary on my desk in my room. It's right on top, can't miss it. Thank you," he finished, continuing on the next symbol.
Sophie now wished she could tell him off for treating her like a servant. It was even more tempting to push him a little and cause a mistake. But being quiet led her to think before she acted. If he had to re-do this all over, that would mean less alone time for them. She chose to grumble as loudly as she could as she walked by.
"You're a dear," Howl civilly replied.
As she entered his room, her stomach notted up. She always wanted to go into his room alone, and now he had given her permission. She grinned, recalling how she had thought he kept pieces of women and their hearts in here. Maybe he did, she thought to herself. It was entirely possible to hide some body parts as there were so many piles and stacks of things. She hadn't noticed it much before, but considering the size of the castle, his room seemed unusually large. She thought it must feel even bigger with all the junk removed.
She had been in a cleaning frenzy downstairs, scrubbing every imperfection she came across. It was hard to turn that off. It took all her willpower not to rearrange and dust any surface she walked past. The bookshelf was on the other side of the room with his desk right next to it. There were at least five long rolls of paper on his desk. One of them would be the map, Sophie thought. She decided to look for the leather book first.
She started at the top of the bookshelf and found the red, thick book right away. She stood on her tiptoes to reach it, and slowly pulled it out with her finger tips. It eventually tipped out, and Sophie caught it. It didn't seem as heavy as Howl said it would be, Sophie thought as she passed it from one hand to the other. As she tipped the book with the pages facing down, bits of paper fell out of it. Sophie's eyes widened by the unexpected discovery.
She placed the book on the desk and bent to pick up what had fallen out. She tried not to look too closely, feigning some respect for his personal things. However, as she opened the red book to put the papers back into, she knew she was going to inspect what was inside. She accepted the fact she was nosey, and Howl probably expected her to do such things. So all was fine.
Sophie took a sharp inhale, taken aback by what she found. There were two small paintings, but they were too shiny and perfect to be paintings. She eyed them fairly closely until she considered that they were just some strange painted pictures from his home world.
The first couple of pages was scenery and buildings, with no human subjects. As she turned the pages, pictures of small people, a boy and a girl, in front of buildings began to fill the pages. Their faces were not very clear, but they looked like grown children.
Eventually she came across the first close-up of people. It looked like a picture of a father and a son outside on a grey day. It was plain to see they were related by the familiarity of their faces. The father had his hand on the boy's shoulder, but they were both serious. The boy was giving quite the glare on top of it. Sophie quickly realized by the boy's eyes that it was a young Howl. He looked around ten or eleven and had straight, brown hair.
Sophie began to inspect each small picture more closely, realizing this was a collection of his home world. There was a series of blurry, confusing pictures. Some of them only had half of the picture finished, with the other half all-white. In the parts she could discern, there seemed to be a boy and an older girl. The boy was making faces, and the girl was not amused. Sophie half smiled, realizing it was Howl and his sister Megan. There was one small picture in the collection that had both of them smiling.
The book seemed to be filled with pictures of Howl's life at the time he was turning from a child into a young man. There were pictures of dark-colored rooms and lively gatherings. Other pictures were of local sports teams and boys in uniforms. Sophie thought she could find Howl in each one, but occasionally there were times she couldn't decide which was him. There were quite a few boys with brown hair.
A favorite picture of Sophie's was one with a sweet looking woman smiling and wrapping her arms around young Howl. It had to be his mother. Their smiles were the same. Both were dressed for an outing near the seaside. It was the one picture out of the whole book where Howl looked the happiest.
The last few pages were filled with photos of a particular room. The room decorations were all white but the furniture was made solely of metal. Most of the photos were young Howl leaning across a woman lying in the metal bed. She was thin and pale. She had a tired smile and occasionally a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Howl seemed cheery in most of the small pictures of the white room, but his eyes glared like they had with his father.
She closed the book and suddenly had a lot to think about. She couldn't measure how long she had been looking at the pictures, but it was probably a suspicious amount of time. As she was putting the wrong red book back in the shelf, she realized she hadn't stuck in those bits of paper that fell. Now that she examined the fallen items, they were all glossy pictures except for one tract made of yellowish paper. Sophie glanced at the photos as she tucked them in between the pages of the picture book.
One picture was a part of the blurry collection. Sophie could only see someone's hand pushing down hard on the boy's face, as if they were fighting. The back of the picture had some scratching on it that looked a bit like the word, "evidence." There was another odd picture of Howl holding a bright blue egg in one hand and a forest green colored egg in the other. Sophie recognized his charming smile as he held the eggs proudly. She had no idea what he was proud of, but it made her happy to see his boy-self smile like that. She read the tract last, but quickly regretted it. It was a funeral pamphlet for Mrs. Jenkins.
Sophie shut the book and quickly pushed it back to its spot with her fingertips. Her eyes hurriedly scanned the rest of the bookshelf, and she found the red-dyed leather book. Feeling the soft leather in her hands and the weight of the tome, Sophie felt foolish for confusing the two books. The picture book wasn't even leather bound.
She grabbed all the scrolls on his desk and hurried downstairs. Her arms were tired as the book was very heavy. She couldn't go as fast as she wanted as the scrolls kept blocking her vision no matter how much she adjusted them.
Finally, she reached the shop, and she dumped the contents on the counter next to her cleaning supplies. "Did you find what you were looking for Miss Nose?" Howl asked, now staring directly above himself at the top of the door frame still adding markings. Michael had acquired the chair that usually sat in front of the fireplace. He stood on the seat in order to reach the wall above the doorframe to continue his markings.
Even if Sophie could talk, she wouldn't know what to say. She was embarrassed that she had looked too deeply into something that was obviously very private. Howl was so mysterious at times, she wouldn't be surprised if he knew what she done.
Calcifer cackled, "She looks like she found your collection of hearts, Howl."
"Ha, ha," Howl said flatly. "Lucky for you Miss Nose, you can now snoop wherever you want as long as you promise not to move anything. I have a very delicate system in place. Ah," he said as he stopped his work to look at what Sophie had delivered, "you brought all the papers down."
He stood next to Sophie, thumbing through the rolls of paper to find the map of Ingary. After he found it, he gave Sophie a mischievous smile and said, "You look like you saw a ghost."
After staring at Sophie for a few moments, he raised his eyebrows, guessing what she had done. He pulled Sophie close to himself and stroked her hair. "I do have ghosts hiding up there. It's alright if you found a few." Sophie looked up at him guiltily, but he continued to smile back at her and hold her.
"Why don't you start some lunch for us? I'm sure we'll be close to finishing by the time it's ready."
Sophie became lost in her thoughts as she cooked up some lunch. Howl and Michael finished the door ten minutes after Sophie called that lunch was ready. Sophie watched from the castle's doorframe as Howl passed through a pentagram he drew on the shop floor. Calcifer hovered next to Howl as the flower shop in Market Chipping became connected with an unused stable in Kingsbury. Calcifer grew very blue and large while assisting Howl with his magic. The walls shuddered and fluctuated until they settled into a new position. From Sophie's perspective, very little changed about the layout of the shop other than the room was squatter and squarer than before. Howl caught Sophie's eyes and waved her over.
"Let's check if it worked," Howl said, one arm around Sophie's waist and another hand conjuring a special, square doorknob for the yard door. Rather than four colors, it had only two: gold and green. He turned the knob to gold and opened the door. Kingsbury laid before them, with a few people left in the street rushing back to work after their lunch hour.
"This won't be so bad," Howl said, half to himself. "We can go on proper outings now, and get you better clothes," he said eyeing her work dress. "Ah, right. We need to go get your dresses today. As soon as they come to deliver the rest of the reward, we'll go out about town, what do you say?"
Sophie nodded, pleased. It really was a wonderful thing, having Howl in love with her.
Within the hour, all three of them were sitting and eating while Calcifer enjoyed a nap on some fresh logs in the hearth. Not even a minute went by after Howl finished did the yard door of the shop begin to pound. Howl looked at Calcifer immediately, but the fire demon sleepily replied in a deep rumble, "I have no control of that door. You'll have to find out for yourself."
Howl, with great flourish, accepted from the king's messenger the remaining reward. Four large coin sacks were lined against the wall next to the shop door. Sophie was in shock by how much money there really was. After the messenger left, she saw the glint in Howl's eyes as he crouched in front of the money bags. He was sure to be imagining the quickest ways to spend it all. Sophie went to Michael immediately and tried giving him her most serious expression, hoping he could read minds. Thankfully, he could and nodded in silent agreement. Sophie grabbed her board and wrote, "I distract, you hide."
"How much?" Michael whispered.
Sophie erased with her hand and wrote, "Hide half of each bag - fill the bottoms."
Michael nodded again, understanding the seriousness. If they weren't careful, that money would be spent sooner rather than later.
Sophie sped off to begin her part of the mission. Howl was still lost in his imaginative spending as he fingered a coin from one of the open bags, and Sophie cleared her throat to get his attention. He looked up, and Sophie spun around trying to make eager expression as she touched her dress. He was momentarily confused, cocking his head and frowning. Sophie giggled, and a smidgen of sound came out.
Howl slowly nodded and said, "Right, the dresses. Well now, let's not go about town in that color, please. Grey doesn't suit you. I tell you this and you don't care." Howl gently touched her dress, and Sophie stuck out her tongue. He was right. She didn't care, but she liked that he did.
As Howl stood up, Sophie noticed her dress was changing color. A dark blue was inking its way from the hem of her dress up to the top of her shoulders. She rolled her eyes at him for making too much fuss about her dress color. He looked far too pleased with his handiwork. Sophie casually pushed Howl with her body to knock him off his balance, but he caught her in his arms. Sophie tried to escape, but to her surprise, Howl was quite strong. She happily squirmed to break away, but he simply laughed at her futile attempts.
"Why must you resist fashion?" Howl asked through laughs as Sophie tried with all her might to break through. She realized it was useless and decided to do a deadman's drop, as her sisters did when they fought. Howl barely caught her, and they broke into hilarity.
After they calmed down, Howl stared at Sophie with the same look in his green eyes as before. His hands rested lighting on her waist while Sophie's hands rested on his shoulders. She was tempted to touch is hair. Her heart beat faster. She was completely under his spell again. Howl bent his head towards hers as if to kiss her.
Before their lips met, he suddenly pulled away and shook his head. "I-I've got – I've got to pay these people, Sophie. Come with me, and we'll come right back home and spend the rest of the day together." He snugly wrapped his arms tight around her. Sophie's eyes narrowed, not wanting to go anywhere except upstairs. Then a small smile broke through, and she nodded. She liked to see him a little flustered.
"You're wonderful, Sophie," he said, brushing a hand through her hair. His other hand slowly traveled down her back. Sophie hands intertwined behind his neck. This was a strange way to leave the shop, she thought. He reached in to kiss her again and met his mark. Sophie melted in his embrace. His hand combed through her hair again. He held her neck and head as he kissed her more intensely. His other hand went lower down her back and lightly squeezed whatever he could find. Soon, he began to scrunch up the fabric of her dress to touch her skin.
Sophie pulled away and licked her lips. She said, "Not here!" though no sound escaped.
Howl grinned sheepishly. "Right, right, I need to go to town first." Sophie eyed him. He had better make up his mind, she thought.
Before they left, properly this time, he stuffed handfuls of coins into his secret pockets where the rest of the money hid. Sophie didn't want to believe he had spent that much money in just a few days. It was far too much! Beyond reasonable expectations.
As she found out during the next few hours, Howl simply owed a lot of money to a lot of people. She longed to have her voice back to pester and complain. How could he be so wasteful with his spending? How could he owe this much money? She remembered Calcifer once calling him a "Feckless spendthrift," and now she could see why.
Instead of yelling at him, she had to be content with crossing her arms and giving a shocked look every time they arrived to a new door. She didn't know most of the places, but she remembered the café where she cursed herself. Being there made her feel even more bothered. Sophie might have seen glimpse of the dark-haired woman with the blue felt hat sitting under the patio again, but she was quite addled by that time.
Everyone but Sophie acted like this payday was a normal occurrence. Only when they were alone and Howl caught Sophie's stare did he ever look remorseful. A tiny part of Sophie was glad Howl was willing to share this side of him with her. But the louder voice was quite concerned how reckless his spending was. She knew it was bad, but not this bad! Now it dawned on her why he seemingly wanted her approval at the palace whenever money was mentioned. Further, he probably was taking advantage of her silence curse by confessing his problem now. Both realizations made her more upset.
The last stop was Madam Toile's, and Sophie didn't want Howl to buy the dresses. "They've already been tailored. It's done. They are paid for – only now I'm delivering her the payment. Oh Sophie, don't be so upset over gifts!" Howl said, his voice edging closer to a whine.
Sophie scribbled quickly, "I don't want them."
Howl frowned good-naturedly. "Of course, you do. Don't be ridiculous, woman. Like I said, they are paid for. Here, see," he said as he handed three small coin bags to the young assistant standing in the doorway of the shop with a stack of boxes behind her. "Done. Paid. Now let's take these home, and you can berate me wearing one of your new dresses." He flashed her a grin as Sophie lifted her hand to smack him out of embarrassment.
It was hard to stay upset at Howl as he carried the numerous boxes down the empty cobblestone road. He stood tall and confident, despite the fact that the boxes of dresses were staked so precarious that a timely wind could knock the whole tower over. He looked very fine and handsome. Though Sophie was still reeling from the discovery of Howl's debt, she was proud to walk beside him.
She had only known Howl for a few months, but it felt like years. It was less than a week since her curse was lifted and Howl told her they would live happily ever after. In her heart, Sophie was still processing the fact that Horrible Howl, the Royal Wizard Pendragon, was in love with her. If her fortune had been foretold last winter, she would have demanded her money back for spinning such absurdity.
Howl was certainly one of a kind. He was cowardly, vain, dramatic, over-emotional and helpless. But he was also kind, charming, sweet, considerate, and the best wizard in all of Ingary. And he belonged to Sophie Hatter.
Back inside the castle, Howl insisted on carrying the boxes up to her room himself. Sophie glanced at the shop on her way up the stairs and hoped Michael hid the money like they planned. She heard a few boxes fall down the stairs, and Howl's blocked voice say, "Don't lift a finger, Sophie, I'll come back round and get them." Sophie continued up the stairs and gathered the three boxes that fell, shaking her head. She desperately wished she could yell at him, "You're being ridiculous!"
All the money spent was beyond what she was comfortable with. Yet, it bothered her a bit to realize Howl was right. She did want the dresses. Growing up the eldest, she never let herself think about nice things for very long. The eldest was dealt with a life of mediocrity. An "average" life. Sophie had told herself that she needed to learn to settle for less.
Howl, on the other hand, gave her a life of extraordinary. She never even dreamed of owning these many stylish clothes, even if they were completely unnecessary.
Sophie had a dreamy smile as she met Howl at the threshold of her room. "Really woman. I told you, I would pick it up," Howl said. He took the boxes from her and flung them into the room carelessly. Sophie made an appalled expression. He ignored it and pulled her into her room.
A new wardrobe filled a side of her room. It was finely made of stained oak and vines of roses were carved into it. The door to the cabinet was open, and all the dresses hung inside. The empty boxes were flung around the floor of the room with only the decorative, wrapping fabrics left inside. He must have used his magic to hang them all up, Sophie thought, as there was no time to do it the ordinary way.
Sophie sighed, wishing she could be pleased. This was probably another thing he paid for today. Perhaps it was a lesson from Fate that she was cursed silent. It gave her a chance to think about how she felt rather than yelling it out without thinking. After her frustrations subsided, she felt rather glad she had a nice wardrobe to hold her new dresses. She gave Howl a smile of appreciation.
He was lying casually on her bed, with one arm propping his head up. He looked at her, as if he was waiting for a performance to begin. He looked rather stylish that way, and the pain of not being able to tell him struck her. Tomorrow, she thought, Howl would find the Hermit, and she would be cured. She could stand one more day. She survived a few months as an old woman. She could certainly remain strong now.
Sophie had her hands on her hips, staring back at Howl. Eventually she shrugged exaggeratedly and spread her hands out. What did he want from her?
Howl waved his free hand in the air and said, "Let's see you try on some. I worked hard for them, so I deserve some sort of compensation."
Sophie opened her mouth in awe of his brashness and made a disgusted scoff. But she was also trying hard not to grin. How she wished she could give him a piece of her mind! His eyes were playful and a small smirk appeared. He must know what a torture he put her under, and he found it fun! Sophie growled at him as she went to the wardrobe. The gold one called to her, and she pulled it out.
Howl looked expectant, but Sophie wasn't going to tolerate it. She felt for her writing board slung around her arm to make sure she still had it. In the most attractive way she could imagine, she sauntered over to her bed. Howl's eyes flickered with excitement but he stayed lying down. As soon as Sophie was close enough to him, she gave him a look as sultry as she could imagine. The next moment, she covered his anticipating face with her board. "Aww," he groaned sadly. "I'm not allowed to watch?" She smacked his chest lightly. Of course not, she thought.
Sophie cleared her throat when she was finished. Howl needed no further encouragement to remove the board from his face. His eyes widened with enjoyment, and he twirled his finger around. "Turn around. I want to see the full effect." Sophie complied but felt as awkward as she had in Madam Toile's. At least they were alone this time. Howl truly seemed to enjoy watching her, which made Sophie feel warm inside.
The gold, shimmering dress clung to her in places she didn't expect, but by the look on Howl's face, he was quite pleased. It was a long dress, meant for lifted shoes as the fabric draped the floor. It was also a bit more modern than her usual taste, and she felt as if it showed more of her chest and back than she preferred.
"You make everything look ravishing, my dear Sophie," Howl said, now stretching his arms. He was so tall that his arms and legs were too long to fit neatly on her bed. "Let's see a blue one next, if you please. I am particularly in love with you in blue."
Sophie flashed him a smile and went back to find a blue dress from the wardrobe. He continued talking, "I would love you in other colors, too, if you only let me put a few spells on your hair. It would be quick and painless. And you'd have a whole new shade of colors you could wear."
Sophie shot him a look that made him clamp his mouth shut. His eyes held their impish look. Sophie pointed at her board and then to Howl's face. "Oh, honestly, do I have to? I'm going to see everything eventually, so why not start today?"
Sophie dashed over to Howl on the bed, who laughed with a twinge of fearfulness. She grabbed the board and smacked it onto his face. "Ouch!" Howl half cried, half laughed. "You must be more gentle with me. You've become quite abusing since losing your voice, do you know?"
Sophie knew, but he needed tough love. She put a dark-blue dress on and looked at herself in the mirror within the cabinet door. She preferred this style of dress to the last one. The fabric was smooth and shimmery. Although the dress had thin straps and a square neckline, there was a matching half-length jacket with short sleeves to cover her shoulders. The dress was tight around her chest with a similar colored belt around her waist. It flowed out nicely due to the pleating at the waist. All-in-all, she found herself liking the dress very much.
Sophie forgot about Howl and swished her dress back and forth while she watched her reflection in the mirror. "See, I told you blue suits you," Howl said, sitting on the bed and gracefully resting against his bent knee.
Sophie stepped over to the bed and raised her hand to threaten him for not having permission to look. He grinned mischievously and grabbed her swinging arm. With his other hand, he snatched her waist. By the next moment, Sophie partially sitting on top of Howl in her bed. Before she could stop him further, he twisted her hips and moved her legs, forcing her to straddle his hips. The dress was bunched and bundled in an odd shape, and Sophie felt she might tip over from being tangled. She cried out with no sound, "Howl!" but he spoke at the same time.
"Much better, don't you agree?" Howl put his hands on her waist and looked at her, quite pleased with himself. Like a cat that finally cornered the mouse.
Sophie thought she would be uncomfortable in such a position with Howl. In reality, it was easy being this close to Howl. She could still smell the faint, rosy aroma from his morning bathroom ritual. She felt her stomach twist and her heart pound as she thought about what this kind of situation could lead to. Howl stared at her with a small, contented smile.
Sophie didn't know what to do – she knew what she wanted to do, but a part of her still questioned whether that was the right thing to do. She nervously tucked a hair behind her ear and stroked her bare arms.
Howl had been moving his hands slowly along her waistline, feeling the fabric of the dark-blue dress. "As much as I like you in this dress," Howl said, his eyes flickering to her chest, "I'd much prefer you out of it."
Sophie was taken aback and grinned madly. She couldn't help herself from lifting up her hand to playfully threaten him. As she raised her arm, Howl seized it again. She tumbled forward, and her face stopped inches from his. He held her waist firmly as her body lied on top of his. She wouldn't be able to roll away easily – not that she would try.
"You are far too predictable Miss Hatter," he murmured in a low voice, and he reached out to kiss her.
At his touch, Sophie instantly softened her body into his. Her senses were flooded by his taste and smell. She put a hand behind his head and ran her fingers through his thick hair. She placed her other hand his chest and fidgeted with the buttons of his suit.
His hands explored her body but lingered at her exposed skin. The twist in her stomach began to drop down to the space between her legs. It changed into a heat that bothered her. She felt an overwhelming desire to be as close to him as possible, and she felt as if their lips needed to touch or she wouldn't be able to breathe.
Howl broke away. His hair was tussled and disheveled, and his eyes held a lively spark. He confidently turned her body so that they were lying side by side on the bed. Sophie wasn't given a very large bed, so they both barely fit together on the mattress. He propped himself up on his arm again and placed his other hand on her exposed knee.
Howl looked at her lovingly and bent his head over hers. To Sophie's relief, he kissed her again, but not the long, intense kisses she was used to. Rather, he kissed her lightly and gently, first on her lips and then around her mouth. He slowly kissed his way down her jaw and continued at her neck. At the same time, his hand slowly caressed her knee down towards her thigh.
Sophie was overwhelmed at how Howl seemed to have full control of her body. She couldn't stop herself from moaning with pleasure, but very rarely did she produce any noise. Whenever a note did make it through, it startled the both of them. Howl seemed to rather enjoy it and went back to kiss the spot on her neck that made her squirm.
His hand reached the top of her leg and rested on her hips. His fingertips gently touched her stomach, and the burning between her legs grew stronger. She didn't know what he was going to do, but she wanted him to do it anyway.
He couldn't feel any of skin due her undergarments, but he wasn't about to let the fabric get in the way. Sophie made another audible whimper. Howl's face looked devilishly pleased, and he kissed her lips. She cried out silently with satisfaction as Howl's hand slipped under her clothes and found the spot that had been aching between her legs.
Sophie was lost in the pleasurable sensations he created. Every touch of his hand was incredible, and she never wanted it to stop. If there was a heaven, she had found it. She raked her fingers through Howl's hair as she pulled him closer into their kiss. She was breathing hard, blissfully confused by Howl's touch. How could he make her feel this way? She didn't even know her body could do this! The sensation Howl gave her was so addicting that Sophie knew she would never leave him.
Howl broke away from their kiss, but his hand slid further between her legs. His fingers explored her private area and continued a pleasing pattern. She could barely keep her eyes open, but whenever she saw Howl, he wore a very satisfied smirk. It only made her fall further into ecstasy.
As his fingers slowly made their way inside her, she arched her back and cried out and a squeak of noise emerged. If she had been uncursed, she would have been making quite a racket. Howl hand began to build pressure and speed as he whispered into her ear, "Do you feel something building, love?"
Sophie nodded and glanced at him through the overwhelming sensations. She bit her lip but continued to moan and cry with only tiny sounds erupting here and there. Something was coming, and she didn't know what to do. She only knew that he could not ever stop what he was doing.
Without warning, a knocking sound was heard. A muffled voice hesitantly called out, "Howl? Howl?"
Howl growled, then kissed Sophie's neck and whispered, "Ignore it." His fingers continued their dance as Sophie began to feel her body moving closer towards some unknown culmination.
Howl continued kissing her neck, trying to find the sensual spots from earlier. But the voice continued to knock and speak.
"Howl, the king's messenger has been at the door for the last twenty minutes. He says he has to speak to you personally," the voice – probably Michael – said irritably. "I keep telling them you're out and won't be back until tomorrow, but I think they know you're here."
Her body tensed as he brought her to the edge of bliss. Sophie couldn't register any of what was said. She was in her own world with Howl. The next moment, there was an explosion of euphoria that made her shudder and grab tightly onto him. Howl whispered sweet nothings into her ear, which only made her squeeze him harder and cry out louder. To both of their surprise, her groans were loud and deep. Howl kissed her on the lips to keep the sound down, all the while keeping his hand between her legs. There might have been a fraction of a second where Sophie was concerned about the noise, but largely she did not care. In fact, she didn't care about much anymore. There was nothing but blank satisfaction as she floated in bed.
Michael's voice reappeared from behind the door. "What was that noise? Howl, please come out – or at least tell me what to do with them."
Howl grumbled to himself as he pulled away from Sophie and stood next to the bed. He had to adjust his pants and growled quite loudly, "I'm going to turn them all into toads, I swear God!"
He strode angrily to the door. Before he turned the knob, he looked back to Sophie and said, "Don't you dare move. I'm coming right back after I deal with this." He emphasized the word in utter contempt.
Sophie could not do much and was on the verge of passing out. All she could think of was how much she loved Howl. She faintly heard him berate Michael quite terribly, and only caught phrases like, "…never, ever, bother me upstairs… some kind of stupid imbecile?...let them rot, as far as I'm concerned… turn you into a toad too!"
Eventually Howl came back up to her room, but there was nothing he could do to wake her. He sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed, watching her breathe steadily with her mouth slightly agape.
"You're naturally a heavy sleeper, huh?" Howl said softly. "It wasn't the Witch of the Waste's curse, then? Well," he gathered himself up and went to leave, "I'll have to keep that in mind in the future. Good night, my love."
A/N: Again, if you have enjoyed my writing and would like to see more please visit my twitter KapranosMrs and consider supporting me as a writer.
Thank you! Happy readings - mrs.k
