Hey! New chapter, woo! Tell me if you like it or how i can improve xx Sorry for OOC Howl haha ^_^

Sophie walked with a bowed head, watching the stones on the path pass by as she took step after step. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier:

When Howl and Sophie had arrived home yesterday, Markl was ecstatic to meet Heen. He grinned from ear to ear and embraced the dog in hug, laughing while Heen licked his cheek. His reaction made Sophie feel as if Markl really was just a child, despite his cold demeanour. When Sophie had asked him if he liked dogs, Markl silently turned away from her with a frown.

She tried to fix their tense relationship, "Markl, please talk to me, I want us to be friends", she pleaded, hopeful that he would want the same thing. Sophie didn't expect his response.

"Why?!" Markl exclaimed in annoyance-paused-then whispered, "You're just going to leave anyway", before turning abruptly and retreating to his room.

Sophie felt terrible. She was so lost in her thoughts of last night that she walked down the street in a daze-like state. Sophie suddenly collided with something due to her lack of attention to where she was going.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Sophie looked up only to gasp when she took in what she had walked into. It was an extremely tall man, with a mean looking face.

The man swung his arm towards Sophie, "Watch it you little-", but he was interrupted by Howl grabbing his hand and stepping in between them.

Howl glared at the man, "You might want to reconsider that move", and threw the man's hand aside before picking up Sophie's own and leading her away. The two of them briskly walked away from the man and Sophie held on tightly to Howl's hand, frightened of what would of happened had he not been there to help her. Once they reached a quiet place he let her hand go and turned around to face her. His face said it all. He was annoyed at Sophie for being careless.

"I-I'm sorry, I just couldn't stop thinking about Markl. Would you tell me why he said that?" she asked earnestly.

Howl pondered in thought before answering her question, "He doesn't trust easily. His mother abandoned him when he was young, once his wizard powers had activated", Sophie saw Howl's face tense in anger, "She didn't want to have a wizard son, so she tossed him aside as if he were garbage. Now he finds it difficult to trust people, specifically women", he frowned grimly.

"That's awful", Sophie eyes welled up.

"Maybe you can show him that not everyone is like that", he gave her a smile in which she returned with a newfound determination to become close to Markl.

"He seems to like you a great deal", Sophie stated more like a question.

"That's because I took him in soon after, he's been my apprentice ever since", he gave her a fond smile before gesturing with his head that they should continue on their way. The two of them headed the rest of the way towards Porthaven's morning markets.

They arrived at the bustling scene. Sophie watched as people were bartering prices, rushing to and fro, and carrying more than they could handle. She pulled out her list of things she needed for tonight's dinner.

"Hmm, fish, and potatoes…" she mumbled to herself as she wandered down the lane filled with food stalls, "Ah", she stopped in her tracks to peer into a barrel filled with white sugar. It was an ingredient she 'needed' for the spell.

"One bag of sugar, please", she asked the owner, who readied a bag for her. They exchanged currency and product. Sophie then continued to purchase the food she needed.

Once Sophie had everything she needed she headed to the edge of the harbour, where Howl had told her to meet him when she was finished with the shopping. As she drew near she saw Howl leaning against the wooden poles that line the boardwalk. He was staring into the distance, lost in the deep blue of the ocean. Sophie reached him and had to get his attention.

"Howl, I've got everything we need", she watched him come back to the present moment.

He turned to her, "Ah, there you are, Milady", he pulled out a beautifully blooming purple flower. Sophie reached out to accept it. She inspected it, admiring its vibrant color. She couldn't believe someone would buy a flower just for her.

"Thank you", she beamed.

"There's something else", he said eagerly before showing her a jar filled with water that he had been holding.

"It's sea salt! Ha-ha! Isn't this fantastic, were so close I can taste it!" he put an arm around Sophie while he said this and shook her about excitedly.

"Y-yes, it is…great", she gave a faltering smile.

"Let's be on our way", with that the two of them began to head home. While they did so, she couldn't help but feel nervous. The sugar and sea salt meant she was one step closer to having to do the spell. She needed to figure out what to do. Maybe there was a secret to countering Howl's spell in her mother's book of potions. In any case, she wondered what Howl's reaction would be if he found out that she had no clue what she was doing.

They were almost home when suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a man who came barreling towards Howl.

"You!" he bellowed, "You did this to me!" he charged toward Howl. Before Howl could defend himself, the man swung a punch at him. Howl had been hit right in the cheek. Sophie shrieked, and backed away until her she met the brick wall behind her.

Howl's eyes narrowed, he clenched his fists. This was the first time Sophie had seen Howl angry, and she watched in terror.

"You're going to regret tainting this face", Howl spat as he dodged another swing and jumped forward to deal his own.

The man fell to the ground and Howl turned to grab Sophie and ran.

Howl pulled her along as they ran as fast as they could. Sophie could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She kept glancing backwards behind her, scared that he was still near.

When Howl knew they were clear, he stopped running to catch his breath, "What-", he huffed, "What is it with the townspeople today?"

Once he'd recovered his breath, he heard soft sniffles coming from behind him. He turned around to find Sophie crying, her shoulders trembling. Howl's eyes widened. Sophie still held his hand, squeezing it tight. Howl embraced Sophie, holding her to his chest and patting her head softly.

"Shhh, it's alright", he reassured her. Sophie wasn't used to that kind of violence and excitement, she had been scared.

"W-why did he do that?!" she yelled, tears falling uncontrollably. Howl hushed her, rhythmically patting her head as he calmed her.

"I'm sorry. He's a bad man. He's done many awful things to people. He's mad at me for tricking him into making a deal with me. I used my magic to give him what he desired, when it was in fact, just a rouse to expose him. I'm sorry you got caught up in this" he held her tight. Sophie pulled away to look up at him. His cheek was red and she could tell it was sore. She reached out and gently touched it, causing Howl to wince slightly.

"We've got to get you home, quickly", she tugged on his arm and the two of them rushed home.