AN: I've never written for Howl's Moving Castle before, so please be gentle. I'm not entirely certain if this is going to have more points from the Anime or from the Book, but who knows. It's AU, but have pity on me. Once again, this is a first time thing, and if it goes well, I'll continue it. If it doesn't...well, I'll probably just leave well enough alone.

Disclaimer: I dun own Howl, Sophie, or their castle. Please don't sue me, I have mouths to feed.

Mist and Mysteries

By: Chibi-no-Oneesan

Chapter Six

Everyone was relieved when they woke up in the morning and Calcifer was back to his old cranky and cantankerous self. Howl even made a few eggs just for Calcifer. Sophie seemed extremely relieved that she hadn't done any permanent damage.

Michael was just glad they got to eat a hot breakfast.

The conversation over breakfast was mild, although Calcifer couldn't stop teasing Michael for his rather dreamy-eyed behavior the night before. The adolescent pointedly ignored it and used some pithy, creative language to describe to Calcifer exactly where the fire demon could shove his opinion, whether it was anatomically possible or not.

Idly, Sophie wondered who exactly he'd learned that kind of language from and found herself hoping that he didn't use many of those words in front of her strong-minded sister.

Howl told Calcifer to heat some water and Calcifer's response was equally pithy and creative, but he heated the water anyways.

"Did his mother not teach him any manners?" Sophie wondered aloud, washing the morning's dishes.

Calcifer snorted. "I'm sure she did. I'm equally certain that he uses them when he's attempting to sway whoever he's presently courting into his arms or bed or whatever it is Howl does with them..." The fire demon scoffed. Then, he noticed how rigid Sophie's back had become. "Sophie, are you alright?" He asked, somewhat alarmed.

Michael looked towards where her hands were elbow deep in the water and his eyes widened. Great bubbles were rising to the surface and bursting. Almost like boiling water, because they were going faster and faster, and Sophie seemed not to notice, and finally, he cleared his throat. "Hey, Sophie, do you think when you're done with your work, you could help me with this spell?" He asked mildly, wishing she'd take her hands out of the water.

Howl may slime the house when he loses control, but for some reason, Sophie angry is infinitely more terrifying, he thought, watching her relax slightly. Michael glanced towards Calcifer and gestured with his head to the water.

"I have some laundry to do after this..." She said, slowly extracting her hands from the now painfully hot water. How odd, had she forgotten to turn on some cold water as well? She sighed, drying her hands and bending over to take a look at it. "I could try. I'm not sure how much help I'll be." She said, sighing. After all, she couldn't even figure out Howl and Calcifer's contract...

Howl...

Her anger was starting to bubble up once again and she took a steadying breath. She turned on the cold water and waited till the water cooled to a tolerable temperature. She heard the wizard humming cheerfully and began muttering. "How I wish he'd scald himself in a place that takes a long time to heal..." She grumbled, not noting how nervous the other two occupants in the room were getting. "Or turn his hair pink or purple or bright orange..." She continued to mutter vindictively until there was a distinct yelp from up the stairs and her brow furrowed in concern.

Then there was a squeak of a foot on a wet floor and then a thud that shook the castle.

Michael and Calcifer quickly buried themselves into what they were doing and Sophie did the same thing, feeling slightly better, since Karma had reached out and slapped the overgrown peacock.

Howl didn't come down right away, and seemed blissfully unaware when he did that Sophie seemed incredibly irritated. "How clumsy of me. Fell as I was getting out of the bath." He hummed cheerfully, tossing another log towards a disbelieving Calcifer. He barely spared Michael a glance, instead turning his gaze towards Sophie, whose forearms seemed unnaturally pink as she folded a pile of laundry that had finished drying in the time it had taken him to finish preparing himself for wherever he was going. He frowned. "Sophie, what happened to your hands?"

"I forgot to turn on the cold water with the hot." She said in a calm tone. She glanced up, about to be snotty, but her words died on her tongue when she saw the genuine concern on his face. "They'll be fine..." She said softly, looking down before anyone saw the blush rising to her old cheeks. "Leave the blue and silver suit. I'll mend it." She said calmly. She heard Howl moving around, but didn't look up, feeling ashamed for her wicked thoughts and words earlier.

Howl shifted a few things on a shelf and gave a slight grin when he found what he was looking for. A good sized tub of aloe vera. Then, he walked to where Sophie was dealing with clothes and set it down beside her. "Use this on them. It'll help." He then turned, ignoring the fact that Michael and Calcifer were looking at him suspiciously. "I'm off to Upper Folding." He announced, heading towards the door.

"Who are you seeing this time?" Calcifer asked, his brow narrowing. He managed to distract Howl from Sophie, who looked two parts annoyed, one part ashamed.

Michael jumped up. "Tell me she doesn't have any aunts I'm going to have to deal with!"

Howl waved them off. "You needn't worry about it."

Calcifer noted Sophie was getting more annoyed. She'd finished folding the laundry and was holding a rather large pair of scissors in a way the fire demon could tell likely meant pain for Howell Jenkins. He was about to warn Howl when the rather overdressed man headed towards the door, humming cheerfully. He threw open the door and stopped, eyes widening abruptly.

A rather horrible looking scarecrow stood there, looking at him as it bounced on the end of it's stick.

"Bloody hell..." He said, eyes widening. That was when the scarecrow seemed to decide it should force it's way in past him. It hit him hard enough in the chest it very nearly knocked the wind from him and he had to brace himself to not get bowled over.

Sophie let out a shriek, nearly losing her grip on the scissors and she scrambled backwards out of the chair, feet barely even touching the floor.

Calcifer blinked. "Then there really was a scarecrow?" He wondered, then huffed. "Wonders really never cease..."

Howl got his feet wedged against the thing's chest and shoved it forcefully from the castle as hard as he could. "That's...quite enough..." He said, storming outside and onto the heather. "What the devil do you think you're doing?"

Sophie managed to regain her composure enough to head towards where Howl was facing off with the scarecrow near the door. Michael's hand was at her elbow, as though he was worried she'd faint.

The scarecrow didn't answer. But then, it was a scarecrow, and scarecrows can't speak.

"Now you'll just have to leave. You scare Sophie." Howl said, his voice cross. "And who knows what she'll do when she's scared."

Sophie's hand tightened on the scissors.

Michael wisely backed away from her.

"Now that I think about it, you're scaring me, too." Howl said, then said something quietly and waved a hand, sending the scarecrow soaring backwards, arms pinwheeling in protest. The wizard glanced in briefly, his eyes on Sophie. "I daresay you're right. Quite a fearful creature. Is that all that remains of the last person you cleaned for?" He teased lightly as if he didn't notice that she held those scissors like she was about to take them to his throat.

Sophie sputtered.

Calcifer dove under the logs to hide.

Michael backed farther away from Sophie.

"Well, it's gone. I'm off now. Lettie's waiting." He said it so easily and he was out the door before anyone fully registered what had just been said.

Michael turned pale, looking towards Sophie. "Shit...Calcifer, you don't think he means..."

Calcifer trembled beneath his logs.

Sophie stared at where the wizard had once stood, her whole body shaking. He was going to see Lettie all those times he went to Upper Folding. He was moving in on her baby sister, and there was nothing she could really do to stop him. She felt a surge of envy, but she wasn't sure who she was jealous of, Howl for getting to see her sister, who'd been missing for quite awhile, or Lettie, for being the one who held Howl's attention.

She stormed up the stairs, found the blue and silver suit and sat down in her chair, feeling vindictive and angry. The scissors closed with a deadly sounding snip. She hoped Howl wasn't particularly fond of this suit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Lettie was pretending.

Howl smiled indulgently as the girl pretended to show interest in what he was doing. He could tell that there was something on her mind, something that had her scared. "What's bothering you, Lettie?" He asked, leaning close to her and brushing some hair from her face.

She blushed in irritation. He figured it was because he was able to see right through her. It wasn't his fault. As she'd pointed out, she wasn't like the other girls he'd seen. "What is your interest in my sister, Howl?"

Ah, blunt as usual. Right to the point. "What makes you think I have some interest in your sister? You know you're the only girl for me." He teased.

She scowled at him. "My sister. Sophie."

His smirk faltered at her statement. He carefully mixed the two herbs together into the spell he was working, paying close attention. "I'm afraid I'm quite lost, my dear." He said calmly, pretending not to notice the glare he was receiving. "What about your sister?" Besides the fact that she's been my cleaning lady for nearing two weeks and she's about the most hard headed woman I've ever met and I think I'm falling in love with her regardless.

"You've been asking an awful lot of questions about her. Are you planning on going to Wales and trying to woo her like you do so many girls here?!" She demanded, slapping his arm lightly to get his attention. "Quit pretending that you're ignoring me."

He huffed, looking up at her from under his black eyebrows. "I always thought it was polite to ask questions in order to show interest in what a girl is talking about." He said, trying to remain calm. They were being watched. He could feel the eyes on his back, burning with a familiar kind of anger. Ah, it would figure that she would follow him. She must have 'borrowed' his seven league boots. He returned his attention to the girl he was with and saw her giving him a look that from where he stood was uncomfortable. He wondered if Sophie could see it.

"Howl Jenkins, don't make me wallop some sense into you." She said quietly, in a warning tone.

He leaned forward, kissing her cheek lightly and effectively stunned her into silence. Then, he went right back to working in silence. He heard a cat-like hiss from the doorway, but pretended he didn't. It wouldn't do to embarrass his Dragon-Lady into hurting anyone, mainly himself.

A few minutes later, that intense stare was off his back and he smiled sadly. She'd probably gone back to their home. Idly, he wondered what kind of temper tantrum she'd throw when she got there. He wasn't sure why he was so enamored with irritating the woman, but there was something about the angry light that she got in her eyes, the way they flashed, the way they darkened.

He could almost imagine that she might love him back.

A hand hit the back of his head, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked towards Lettie, who was dark red still and fuming. "Sorry, what?"

"Howl, if you're my friend, you'll tell me how you know my sister." She said softly, her tiny hands balled into two angry little fists.

He sighed softly. He could keep a friend or he could try to slip out of answering and potentially ruin the rather good thing the two of them had going. "I wouldn't have to go to Wales." He said evenly, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. "And since she's gone now and I don't have to worry about letting her know that I know, I suppose it's safe to tell you."

She blinked, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"Sophie." He made a vague gesture. "Did you know that she's arrived in Ingary quite recently. Wandered right into my castle, actually." He glanced at her and saw she was extremely pale. "She looks like she's about ninety years old, but now and then you can see the face behind the illusion. When she's angry, or when her guard is down."

Lettie set down quickly. More accurately, it was likely that she couldn't stand any longer. "Sophie..."

He smiled sympathetically. "Evidentially the Witch of the Waste found her in Wales and cursed her, but Sophie has a hand in it herself. It's almost as though she likes the disguise." He crossed his arms, looking out the window and descending to his thoughts. That would explain a lot. If she was doing it herself, then he wouldn't be able to break the curse.

"What are your intentions?" She asked in a weak sounding voice.

Damn that question. "I intend...to remove the curse from her." He said pointedly. "Then she may do as she pleases."

Lettie pressed a hand to her chest. "Can I see her?" She asked, sounding slightly broken. She looked up at him, her lower lip trembling. Tears swam in her blue, almond shaped eyes. "She's my sister..."

He considered how best to answer this question. He could tell her an outright lie, that she couldn't, or he could try to discourage her. He had a distinct feeling that letting her see Sophie too soon could be disastrous. "If you were cursed in such a way as she...would you want to see anyone you cared for?" He asked calmly, measuring a spoon full of cayenne into the spell.

She went silent, contemplating his words. "I don't know. I wouldn't want them to worry, so I suppose not..."

"Precisely."

She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him slightly. "Has Martha magically wandered in from Wales as well, Howl Jenkins?"

"Not as far as I know. Unless Sophie is hiding her somewhere for fear that I might eat her heart..." He said in a bland tone of voice. He heard Lettie let out a very unladylike snort and grinned towards her. "Something to say, my dear?"

"I'd be more worried for Sophie than Martha." She said bluntly. Then, she stood, grabbing the collar of his scarlet and gray suit in one small hand, pulling him to her level and looking him in the eye. "She's a sweet girl, and she isn't used to male attention."

He laughed outright. "I get that impression." He wheezed when he'd calmed enough to eek out a sentence. "But you're wrong, dear Lettie. The Sophie Hatter I know isn't a sweet girl at all." He saw her about to shout at him and shook his head, still chortling with laughter. "She's a dragon-lady..." He actually went weak-kneed and fell to the floor, sending up a layer of dust to hover in the air as he curled up on his side and laughed madly.

Sophie Hatter, a sweet girl! Picture that! The girl that told him his home was a pig-sty, the girl that called him heartless to his face, the girl that called him childish, who could engage in wordplay as well as he, was a 'sweet girl'.

The idea caused a strangled giggle to escape his throat as he tried to suppress his laughter.

Lettie sniffed in disdain.

When he'd regained control of himself, he sat against the table leg, catching his breath. "Thanks, I needed that..." he wheezed. He took several deep breaths to regain his control and looked at the irritated young lady.

"Howl..."

"I met the mouse as well, Lettie. The little mouse of a girl accosted by two men in a Welsh back alley on her way to Cesari's. I met her, and I'll tell you this, the Sophie that walked into my castle that night is a completely different woman." He got to his feet, dusting himself off.

The girl still looked troubled.

"Fear not, my dear." He said, offering his arm and smiling at her. "As Sophie is not like any other woman, I don't treat her like any other woman. Much like I don't treat you as any other woman." He said pointedly. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing me a favor come midsummer's day..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After a lovely evening with Mrs. Fairfax and Lettie, he came home expecting his Dragon-Lady to be spitting mad. He expected the same questions he'd received from Lettie earlier that day. He expected to have a shouting match with the woman who he shared his home with. He was rather looking forward to it, actually.

He was not expecting the subdued company that waited for him.

Sophie was staring aimlessly over the soup she was stirring, Michael was sitting at the table, chin on his hands, staring into nothing as well. It would appear that they were deep in thought about something.

Calcifer was the only one who noticed him come in. "They've been like this for hours. He bemoaned. "I don't like them like this!"

Howl walked into the castle and saw Sophie's eyes focus a bit and turn to him. Then, she frowned slightly, huffed and deliberately, pointedly even, looked away.

Hm, so his dragon hadn't fully gone into hiding after all. He smiled cheerfully, walked over to her, took her shoulders and eased her into a chair and stood at the stove in her place. "If you cook while you're staring into space, you'll burn dinner. He said lightly, ignoring her soft growl of irritation. He idly wondered if she was showing her young face. A glance in her direction saw the illusion wavering. He hummed slightly, sniffing the soup. Perhaps she didn't want him to treat her how she thought he'd treat an old woman and wanted him to see her young face when she was angry. Interesting.

She huffed, turning and looking away from him. She longed to scream at him, wanted to yell and throw a world class temper tantrum that would shake the castle's very foundation. But her sister hadn't seemed to mind the wizard's attention. Seemed to even being enjoying it from what she'd seen. She could feel the envy clawing at her chest and forced herself to swallow her bitterness, remembering what else had happened that night.

In a valiant attempt to distract her from her anger, Michael had asked for her help with the spell he'd been working on. They'd been working for quite awhile, when finally, they'd decided to attempt one of the things in it and what resulted had been what had caused them to be so distracted that evening.

They tried to catch a falling star, had chased one until finally they just missed it, watching as the star lived it's final moments. It was terrified, and they had offered to help it, but it seemed more afraid of them than they were for it.

It had died.

She stared out at the star filled sky, her eyes slightly sad.

Howl frowned deeply when his mild badgering didn't spark a response. When he glanced towards her, he noticed she looked even older than normal. He sighed, turning his attention back to the soup. "Michael." He managed to keep the edge out of his voice, but only just. When he was certain he had the boy's attention, he continued. "Set the table." He said, keeping his feelings deep inside, as usual. The laughter of that afternoon seemed a thing of the past.

As Michael worked, Howl pulled the soup off Calcifer, who breathed a heavy sigh. "How's that spell going?" Howl asked cheerfully, forcing the emotion since everyone else's somber attitudes were making him feel on edge, and rather grumpy. He served the soup, watching in concern as Sophie hobbled over to the table. He did, however, notice the red on her arms had died down to a dull pink. She was moving like she looked, not like the energetic Sophie he was used to.

"Dismally." Michael said, sitting down and huffing. "Sophie had to help me and we still couldn't figure it out, and you know she's smart."

Indeed he did, but why did the adolescent need help on such a simple spell? He sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose I can give you a hand tomorrow when I return from speaking with the King..." He offered Sophie a hand to sit down, which she ignored. He pretended he didn't feel hurt by the action. After what he'd done earlier, he supposed he deserved it. It would appear his little Sophie had a jealous streak no one told him of.

Michael examined Sophie, seeing the rather irritated expression on her face and glanced towards Howl, who looked as he always did. Happily oblivious to the irritation growing in the older woman. He didn't, however miss the hand that brushed the woman's shoulder and the feel of magic that came from that gesture. It only took him a moment to figure out that Howl was trying to ease the pain she felt from their run earlier that evening.

He quickly reassessed his tutor's feelings for the woman and it suddenly hit him that if he'd realized that Sophie was in fact cursed, Howl undoubtedly knew as well. Knowing that he was seeing Sophie's other sister, the missing sister that Martha had told him of awhile ago, confirmed that there was no way that Howl didn't know. Suddenly, all the arguments made perfect sense. All the frustration that Michael had briefly glimpsed before it was quickly masked. Howl had been trying to break the curse, to no avail.

Michael had a feeling that whoever had cursed Sophie was a formidable opponent indeed.

Sophie heard Lettie's name mentioned several times over dinner and flinched each time she heard it. She longed for nothing more than to grab the soup pan and smash it into the side of Howl's smiling face, but she was too tired. It seemed that her rest had paid off as the pain in her joints had died down almost completely. She desperately wanted to yell at him to stay away from her sister, but she wasn't sure if that was the protective older sister, or the jealous woman inside her.

But she couldn't.

She didn't want Howl to know that she was the girl he'd helped on May Day, in Wales. The girl he'd left standing on the roof of Cesari's.

"If you go to walk your Martha home tomorrow, would you bring a loaf home?" Howl asked calmly.

Michael flushed darkly. "Hmm?" He asked, looking up.

Sophie looked towards the blushing boy and wanted to yell at him too suddenly. That, however, she knew was just an over-protective sister. From what she could see, Martha was giving Michael a run for his money, considering how strong-minded she tended to be.

"A loaf of bread?" Howl repeated, blinking innocently at the blushing boy. He glanced toward Sophie and saw her hunch further into herself. She knew that he was dating her youngest sister, eh?

"Oh..." Michael blushed. "She doesn't work at Cesari's anymore..." He said, scratching his neck. "They told her she couldn't go home because she was sick, so she told them to stick the job up their..." He cleared his throat. "Kazoo."

Howl and Sophie stared at him, stunned.

Michael squirmed under their intense gazes. Calcifer was snickering in the fireplace, throwing sparks.

Howl rubbed the bridge of his nose, his lips quivering.

Sophie's mouth twitched.

They looked at each other, and it seemed that seeing the other's amusement broke the tension that had been settled over the room for the majority of the day.

Sophie burst into giggles.

Howl tried to smother his laughter behind his hand and failed miserably.

Michael finally grinned grudgingly. He stood, carrying his empty bowl to the sink. "What can I say?" He said as he headed towards the stairs. "She has a way with words..." He shrugged, then went up to go to bed.

Sophie found herself with a severe case of the hiccups when her giggles finally died down. Ah, Martha, she thought, wiping a tear from her eyes. How I miss you..."I think Michael is in trouble." She said, hiccuping twice in the middle of the sentence.

Howl watched her giggle, finding he liked her face when she was happy. She didn't look old when she was happy, either. Her guard was down. Perhaps he should throw her off further. "I think you're right." He agreed, glancing towards where Calcifer was still dissolved in chortles. He was rolling around the fireplace. Some of the blackening on his heart appeared to have healed as well.

He smiled a bit, getting to his feet, seeing Sophie wipe a tear from her eyes as she giggled a bit more. "I think I shall head to bed, Sophie. Goodnight." Then he leaned towards her and kissed her cheek lightly, then walked steadily towards the stairs. When he'd reached them, he glanced back, seeing her staring at his back, a stunned look on her face. He just turned his gaze up the stairs and headed up after Michael.

Sophie stared at where he'd stood, eyes wide in shock. He'd glanced back at her before he'd disappeared up those stairs, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she felt heat rising quickly to her cheeks.

Howl had kissed her.

That sent her crashing back to earth. But he'd kissed Lettie in a similar manner earlier that day. Why had he kissed her?

She silently collected the dishes, setting them in the sink and staring into nothing as she began washing them. If he liked Lettie, why had he done such a thing? Guilt filled her. Then, she shook herself, her eyes saddening.

He'd only kissed her cheek. It wasn't anything special. Just a light brush against her cheek. He had affectionately told his cleaning lady goodnight. That was all.

Calcifer, who'd gone deathly silent when he'd seen Howl kiss Sophie on the cheek had been watching her as she cleaned the dishes, heating water without needing to be asked, because he could see how dazed the poor girl was. She was almost finished when quite abruptly, she went from looking young to ancient in a matter of moments. When the dishes were done, she quietly put the remains of the meal in the cold box and climbed into bed.

He watched her still, his orange eyes sad. Alas, but Howl has his hands full as well, he thought quietly, before deciding that sleep was probably a good idea. He settled in the logs and dozed off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

AN: It was pointed out how amusing it would be for Sophie to confront Michael about Martha but I don't think that would have worked considering the direction I'm taking the story in. I thought about it, believe me, but unfortunately, Sophie doesn't know anyone but Calcifer knows of her Curse yet. (Kinda naive of her, but there you go...) Anyways, please don't kill me for Sophie's angst bucket behavior at the end of the story. What would you do if you saw the guy you like kissing what you would consider a more attractive younger sister of yours and then he kissed you later? Personally, I think I'd try to strangle him, but...eheheh... . ; Expect new clothes for Sophie, Howl to yell at Sophie and Michael, and a trip to Wales next chapter 3 Anyways, thanks to:

laurashrub: Glad you liked it XD I seriously thought about having Sophie throw the scissors at the door after Howl left at the beginning of the chapter. XD It's what I would have done. I'll save the Sophie-violence for when she finds out that Howl actually knows about her curse XD

Irin Black: Yes, Wales is in our world. I'm glad you like how I'm doing with the characters. I kinda think I made Howl a little too honest with Lettie at the beginning of this chapter. But I put myself in her situation, and that's what I'd do. Besides, they always describe her as being rather strong minded in the book, and considering their relationship as friends, lying would definitely hurt it. LOL But who knows.