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 Seven
"You're lucky Howl hasn't found out exactly what you two were up to last night." Calcifer said to Sophie, chewing noisily on a log.
Sophie, done with the days work, sat in a chair beside him, thumbing through the pages of one of Howl's books on magic for something to do. She'd quite finished Gulliver's Travels, and a book of Fairy Tales, and all other fiction in the house, and decided that these might help her with Calcifer and Howl's predicament. Besides, the sooner she was able to help them, the sooner Calcifer would help her, and the sooner she could get the hell out of this insane place. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Probably better that way." He muttered, settling down among his logs to relax. Howl had long since headed off to the Palace and Michael through the black door into Wales. It was unlikely either would be back anytime soon, which meant he had Sophie to himself. He was pleased with that, but he wasn't certain why. Perhaps it was because she could talk life into things, or because she had more than two braincells to rub together.
Most likely, however, was because he did, in fact, hold Howl's heart, and it seemed to be growing healthier in her presence. He'd noticed it first days ago, the pulse in it growing stronger, the blackened part lightening, looking more and more like the heart had when he'd first taken it.
Just wait until Howl felt it do some of the tricks it tended to in Sophie's presence once he had it back.
Calcifer watched her trying to concentrate on the book she held, but her eyes kept drifting towards the door, a confused expression on her face. "Penny for your thoughts..." He said, although he had a feeling he knew where her thoughts were.
She jumped, blushing faintly. He grinned. She was cute like that, he decided. Old or not.
She brushed a stubborn strand of hair behind her ear and closed the book, holding it in her lap, her brow creasing. "Howl and Michael are dating my younger sisters..." She said softly. "Lettie and Martha..." She sighed, resting her chin in her hands and resting her elbows on the huge book. "Martha I'm not so worried about, she's a tough girl and Michael is young..." She looked towards Calcifer, seeing a knowing look on his face. "It's Lettie..."
The fire demon felt some pity for the girl. Of course she wouldn't admit to being jealous of her younger sister, it wouldn't be sisterly of her. At least he knew why she'd mangled one of Howl's suits the day before. He wouldn't tell Howl that Sophie cared for him like that. He should know himself. "You don't want her hurt?" Calcifer, sighed when she nodded, an uncertain look on her face.
"Lettie's a big girl, but..." She shook her head and waved a hand in a vague manner. "I'm afraid when she sets her mind to something..." Her face saddened. "Yesterday was the first time I'd seen her in very nearly two years." She felt even older than normal. She gave Calcifer a tired glance. The demon was looking at her in concern. "Don't worry about me, Calcifer. I'm not going to fall for Howl Jenkins. I'm not so foolish that I'd fall for someone who doesn't care for me. I'm just a cleaning lady." She sagged slightly in the chair.
That caused the heart to flinch a bit and he wanted to reach out and comfort the girl. But that was probably Howl's heart talking. "You're not just a cleaning lady, Sophie. And you deserve better than him, anyways."
Sophie looked at Calcifer, who was blushing and looking away, a rather embarrassed look on his face. A slight smile turned up the corner of her lips and she leaned forward, kissing the demon lightly on the forehead. "You're sweet, Calcifer." She said, pretending not to notice the demon go from green and blue to red in a matter of seconds.
It took several moments for Calcifer to put his thoughts back on the track. A wry grin turned up the corners of his lips and he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "You know, if you ever kiss Howl like that, he'll likely not know what to do with himself." He quipped, pleased when she blushed a bit herself.
She looked towards the door, her eyes uncertain. She could still feel Howl's lips against her cheek. The memory made her heart skip several beats in her chest. Her hand reached up slowly and touched where his lips had rested. Who was she trying to kid? Herself or Calcifer? Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Why did she feel so damn jealous that she wanted to hit him with whatever was available?
Why had she felt a pain in her chest when she'd seen him kissing Lettie, and then why had her heart done a funny flop when he'd done the same to her?
She looked towards the fire demon, who was looking at her with a sympathetic but knowing expression on his face. "I don't want these feelings..." She whispered, confused. "You were right..." She whispered. "Howl doesn't eat hearts...he just steals them and when he's had his fun he breaks them." Tears welled in her eyes and she looked away so Calcifer wouldn't see. That's the problem. She wanted Howl to herself, but if Howl decided he wanted her, it would break Lettie's heart. Then, when Howl found someone new to entertain him, she too would be left broken, another in the chain of hurt women that formed behind Howl Jenkins. "Damn him..." She whispered fiercely, fisting her hands around the books binding.
Calcifer wanted to comfort her, tell her the truth, but that would be too close to telling her that he did, in fact, have Howl's heart in his care. "Howl's heartless..." He agreed. "But someday he'll find a girl that he doesn't want to toy with. I almost pity her when he sets his sights on her, because considering his reputation, she likely wont know until there's no question..."
She laughed bitterly and discretely dried her eyes. She glanced towards the table, where the pieces of Howl's blue and silver suit rested and huffed a sigh. She stood and walked towards it, finding a sewing needle and some blue thread and set to work on it, feeling tired and very, very old.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Howl walked down the street through Kingsbury, feeling very edgy. As he suspected, the King ordered him to find his brother, who'd gone after the wizard Suliman months ago. It was also heavily implied that destroying the Witch of the Waste would be nice too. It didn't help that he had the distinct feeling of impending doom settling over him.
It was catching up.
He walked up the steps leading to Mrs. Pentstemmon's home, feeling remarkably heavy-hearted considering he didn't have one. He was admitted and placed in one of the woman's sitting rooms. He stood when she entered, walked over and kissed her hands.
"Here again, Howl?" She asked, arching a fine white eyebrow at her pupil. "How may I help you today?"
He walked to a chair, dropping into it with a dramatic sigh. "It is as I feared. To add insult to grievous injury, he's talking about appointing me Royal Wizard." He huffed in a very child-like manner. "I have enough problems with that dragon lady and that damn curse of hers and the curse on me without having to deal with this too."
The old woman waited patiently for the rant to end. When he was finished and leaning back into the chair, sulking because she wasn't patting his head and treating him like the child he was pretending to be, she arched an eyebrow. "So...The kind has offered you and those whom you share your home a steady paycheck, and that's a bad thing why exactly?"
"Alas, I knew you wouldn't understand! You live in the king's right pocket!" Howl moaned. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his face. "It's selling my soul to the royal family!" He dramatically flopped backwards, sighing heavily.
"You know, if the Witch were out of the equation, you would only have two things to worry about." Mrs. Pentstemmon said calmly. "That is your Dragon-Lady and her curse." She rested her hands on her lap, looking at him, eyes clear. "Yours is catching up."
He nodded wearily. "Indeed." He said with a huff. "And I still don't know why I'm having such trouble with her's..." He shook his head. "Bloody woman likes it or something, I think..."
"Have you considered asking your fire demon about it?" She leaned onto one hand, looking at him with interest. There was something about the way his eyes go when he spoke of this woman Sophie. Something ancient and familiar. Her eyes narrowed slightly. A wry smile turned up the corners of her lips. "Or have you tried telling her you know?"
He looked towards her, quite pale. "No, of course not! The crazy woman makes water undrinkable when she's angry. If she finds out I've known all along..." He shuddered. "No, I'll not take that chance..."
She sighed, nodding. "Very well. Send her to me when you send her to blacken your name. I've no doubt you'll do that. And Howl..." She watched him pause in the act of standing and he looked at her, wide-eyed. "Do make sure that she has appropriate clothing. I'll undo the spell if I'm able, but...no promises..." She smiled knowingly at him and saw what could have been faint hints of a boyish blush coloring his cheeks. There was the young man she remembered training. "Go on, dear. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon..."
Howl left the old woman, still feeling worried.
He would have been even more worried if he'd known that as he left the house, a woman was watching him, a slight smirk on her face.
"Ah, Howl...I have found you..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Sophie and Michael were both laughing when Howl returned from Kingsbury. He almost yelled at them, instead, preparing himself for the drama he excelled at. "Alas, disaster is upon me and no one can even say hello!" He practically wailed, sailing in, his arms laden with parcels."
Calcifer snorted. "I never say hello." Except to Sophie, he added mentally. He also reminded himself to poke fun at Howl for the odd flops his heart did whenever Sophie leveled that blue-green gaze at him.
"Good afternoon." She said, then turned back to the suit she was mending.
Howl walked over to the table, set one stack in front of Michael and the other in before Sophie. He walked around the table and sat down, watching their baffled expressions. "Are you going to open them or not?" He felt testy, tense. He wanted to know if Sophie liked what he'd gotten her.
Sophie frowned, opening the first box, and her eyes widened as her fingers lightly petted the attractive watered gray silk, which was edged with cream lace. The lace alone was worth a small fortune, since it appeared to be hand-made. Yes, there were the slightest flaws that only a trained eye would see. She looked up at Howl and saw him watching her closely. "What on earth is this for?" She asked, her voice trembling just a bit.
"I need you to pretend to be my mother and go blacken my name to the king." He said, blunt and to the point. He couldn't help the guilt he felt when the faint twinge of joy in her eyes was quickly squashed, and the youthful appearance she was getting sank back into the ancient face he saw whenever she felt quite old. He mentally cursed. He gestured towards Michael. "He can pretend to be your footman."
"You're presuming an awful lot." She said, her voice cold. "Why should I go blacken your name to the king?"
He felt irritation rising in him. How dare she presume to argue with him?! He put his most mournful voice out, hoping that he would sway her. "He has asked me to find his brother, being rather blunt that I should deal with the Witch as well..." He sighed mournfully, putting his face in his hands as though he was in despair. "And I fear if you don't agree to do this, I might slime the house you work so hard to clean. It's really out of my control at the moment, because I'm quite terrified..."
Fury roared through the woman. She stood slowly, resting the box on the table and walked towards the fireplace, but she wasn't looking at Calcifer. She was wondering if beating Howl with a burning log would knock some sense into his yellow-bellied self. Threaten to slime the house, would he?! She ground her teeth together, her hands balled into tiny fists. She bit her lip hard, keeping the flow of fury from leaving her lips. She could let him have it later. "Fine." She bit out after several minutes of silence with Michael and Calcifer looking at her in worry. Without a word, she picked up the parcels and headed towards her cubby.
"Howl, could you help me with this spell now?" Michael asked timidly.
Howl's mood brightened considerably when she agreed to do as he asked and he turned towards the boy, arching an eyebrow. "Yes, yes. Show me..." He extended his hand, waiting for the spell to be put in his hand. When the paper was, he stared at it, dumbstruck. "This isn't the spell I left you." He said, getting up and digging through the papers.
"Sophie and I tried working on it all day yesterday, but we couldn't figure it out. We tried to catch a falling star but-" Michael was cut off when Howl rounded on him, eyes furious.
"You what?!" He yelled. "You and Sophie?! Sophie..." His voice dropped to an angry snarl. "Of course, it would have been..." He turned towards the place she'd made herself at home and called her. "Sophie, get out here!"
She did so with a great deal of grumbling. When she reappeared, she glared at Howl in such a way that Howl definitely should have had his hair catch on fire, but she didn't speak.
"Two questions..." He asked, looking down at the paper. "Did you and Michael go try to catch a falling star?" He raised his hand, shaking his head. "Forget it. I can see you did. For the love of..." He muttered several curses, trying to gain control of his anger.
She didn't speak, instead, she continued to glare at him.
"You're both damn lucky you didn't catch one!" He snapped.
"I rather felt sorry for it..." Michael muttered, feeling guilty. He'd accidentally tipped the house upside down himself this time, and Sophie looked like she was about to reach out and touch Howl, and not in a good way.
"You would." Howl growled at him. "And if you'd caught him, you'd have felt a great deal more sorrow for yourself!"
Calcifer piped up. "It wasn't that long ago that you caught one yourself!"
"I know that and I-" He felt his vocal chords seize and realized that the spell wouldn't let him talk about that, so he glared at the demon angrily. He could feel Sophie and Michael looking at him. Finally, he rounded on Sophie once again. "Second, did you turn the doorknob black side down and stick your nose through that door?!"
She huffed. "Just a fingertip, actually." She snapped back at him.
"Sophie strikes again..." He huffed, looking at the paper again. "I know what this is..." He started walking towards the door and hesitated. Sophie would follow anyways, and Michael should know what it was. It meant taking Sophie back to Wales, though. "Bloody hell..." He looked back at them and gestured for them to follow. "Come along, then. Michael deserves to know, and you'd just follow anyways, Dragon-Lady."
Sophie scowled at Howl as he turned the knob black side down and opened the door.
Calcifer called her. "Hey, let me know what's on the other side!" He said. "And you just got a hint!"
She was too distracted to realize what he meant or to think about it too much. The blackness swallowed Howl and Michael, who had traveled through it before, but she hesitated. She really could only do so for a moment when a hand reached through, wrapped around her wrist and pulled her though.
The darkness was only an inch thick, but she recognized the warm taffy feeling. Her eyes flew wide as she stepped into her own home town of Wales. It was a rather foggy day, like the day she'd met Howl in the first place. She glanced down to see whose hand had pulled her through and found it was Howl's. A flush colored her face abruptly and she quickly pulled her wrist from his hand.
She abruptly realized that she could easily walk to Cesari's from here. Or her own Hat shop. Her hands trembled and she looked in the direction of where she had once lived, towards her sister's apartment. She glanced towards Michael and Howl and saw a knowing expression on their faces.
"People usually feel a little unsettled after passing through the first time." Howl said calmly, not eluding to how much it really was that he knew.
She bit her lip, nodding. They headed up the street, towards a Tudor style home. She pretended she couldn't feel Howl's eyes on her back. She desperately wished he'd stop watching her.
When they stopped at the house, Howl moved forward, knocking at it lightly, smiling faintly and putting his hand over the peep hole. Sophie could hear some muttered curses in a female voice. When she glanced back to Howl and Michael, she blinked, noting their clothing had seemed to blur into a different look. Across Howl's back was "Welsh Rugby" written across his shoulders. It took her a few moments to realize she was looking at a letter jacket.
What on earth?
The door swung open, and a woman who looked an awful lot like Howl started speaking before she even looked up from the letter in her hands. "Whatever you're selling, we're not-" She looked up and stopped speaking abruptly. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice sounding cross.
"Ah, is that the only hello I get, Megan?" Howl asked, spreading his arms.
Sophie wanted to glare at him.
The woman frowned slightly. "Are you out of money again, Howell?"
Howl feigned a wounded look. "Do I need an excuse to visit my dear sister?" He asked, resting a hand over his chest. He held up the page, smiling faintly. "Has Neil lost a bit of homework?" He inquired, smiling.
The woman huffed, standing aside and letting them enter. She peered at those who walked in with him.
A young girl, much younger than even Martha looked up and jumped to her feet, running towards Howl and throwing her arms around his waist, almost knocking him to the floor. "Uncle Howell!" She cried happily. She squealed in delight when Howl picked her up and heaved her lightly into the air.
"Ah, I have something special for you, Mari." He said, then reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a coin, did two neat flips with it and turned it into a silk flower. "Now, where is that boy..." He set Mari down and put his hands on his hips, looking around. Then, he glanced at his sister. "Are my books still here?" He asked in a good natured way.
Megan walked towards a chair and frowned at him. "It's been awhile since you've been here, Howell. We sold them a year ago."
"Blast." He cursed.
"Blast!" Mari repeated.
"Mari!" Megan snapped, then glared at Howell. "Watch your language around your niece, little brother, or you'll be missing a vital piece of anatomy!"
Howl winced, then laughed. "Very well. Tell me, where is Neil?"
"In his room with that awful game." She gestured vaguely. "Will you be staying long?"
Howl smiled in a warm, fake-looking way. "I'm afraid that's impossible, dear. Perhaps during the Holidays." He bowed to his sister, winked at Mari, then headed into the hallway.
Sophie frowned faintly. Howl was from Wales as well? She hadn't know. Granted, he did know the little saucepan song, but she just thought that was an odd bit of information he'd picked up. She watched his back, seeing him smile pleasantly as he walked into a room and immediately unplugged the game system plugged into the huge tv.
A chorus of no's went up around the room.
One boy, she presumed he was Neil, spun and glared at Howl.
"Missing something?" He asked, waving the piece of paper in front of the boy.
Neil grabbed the paper and stared at it. "Where'd you find this? I looked everywhere for it!"
Sophie watched Howl slither out of the situation in an expert manner.
"More to the point, do you have the rest of it?"
Neil scratched his head. "Heck no. Got it from Ms. Angorian, my new English teacher. Found some paper with weird writing on it and when I couldn't find the homework, I turned that in to her instead. She's kind of terrifying when you don't turn in your homework."
Howl laughed in a good-natured way. "As are all English teachers."
"Now, what do I get for helping?" Neil asked, glaring at Howl. "You messed up my game, so no complaining, and don't try to slither out of it."
He gave a dramatic sigh. "I suppose next time I come by I could bring you a new game..."
"Could it be another one that nobody else has?!" The young boy was about to bounce out of his skin.
Howl patted his pocket and reached in, pulling out a square of plastic, handing it to the young boy. "Try this one on for size, then." Then he turned towards Sophie and Michael. "Now that we have that bit of information, shall we go?"
On the way out the door, Megan stopped them. "Ms. Angorian lives down town, over top a little tea house that used to be a hat shop." She said a bit coldly, her arms crossed over her chest. "And next time you're going to spoil one of my kids, make sure they're allowed to have what you give them. You disappear doing god only knows what, then show up asking for money when you bring things that cost ungodly amounts of money for my kids. Why don't you go out and get yourself a job?!"
Michael stared at her and was ducking behind Sophie for protection when the elderly looking woman spoke up. "Howl, we need to get this errand over with, or there's going to be paperwork piling up on your desk." She chided evenly.
Howl looked towards her, eyes wide, then grinned, catching on and playing along. "Of course, Miss Sophie." He agreed, then leaned forward, kissing his now embarrassed sister on the cheek. "Alas, but it was good to see you and the kids, Megan. Give Gareth my best." Then he headed out the door.
Once outside, with the door shut behind him, he flashed Sophie a quick thumbs up. "Quick thinking, my dear." He said in a teasing voice. "Now, let us go meet this Miss Angorian. I believe it will be highly educational. For all of us." He felt a broad grin spread across his face. The curse was at his heals, now. It wouldn't be long at all before he was pulled into it. At this point, he couldn't see any other choice than to let himself be.
Hopefully, his plan would work, or else life was going to become a great deal more complicated.
For everyone.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
AN: Another chapter gone. Sorry about the wait, I actually started having a little bit of trouble during the mid-end of this chapter. Hope it didn't disappoint. The next chapter will introduce Miss Angorian, and soon, Sophie will learn that Howl knows about her curse (watch out for fireworks XD). I'm still debating the future of this story, as in, the sequel, and I'm thinking that this might wind up being three parts. I don't know for sure. I just feel the need to go into what happened between the end of the first book and the start of the second. It is possible, though not probable, that the second 'Chapter' will wind up with a slightly higher rating than the first or third. Why? Because in Castle in the Air, Sophie is pregnant. There is only one way I know of that a woman gets pregnant. Ahem. Anyways, moving onto the thanks...
prettyinpinkgal: O.O Wow. Thanks for all the reviews, and all at once. I'm glad you like the story, and I'm pleased that my last few chapters haven't been disappointing. In all honesty, I'll probably wind up going through this poor story before starting the 'Sequel' and revamping it, adding more detail, and throwing in a few things that I've been thinking lately (I don't have a beta and I don't proof read usually), just to flesh some things in it out before the ending. Anyways, thank you lots
littleprincessofmercury: Thankies, and god I hope everyone likes it as much as the original. O.o; I'm still not 100 percent certain what I'm going to do with it, but I'll figure out something. The trick is going to be what I'm looking at between book 1 and book 2, since I have NO idea what happened then...o.o; Should be fun! Thanks!
laurashrub: LOL. Well, we'll see what I can swing. That little speech might have to wait until HMC 1.5. Sophie violence will occureth within the next two chapters. LOL
Irin Black: Glad you liked Chapter 6. Hope seven didn't disappoint. No, in this version, Martha is always Martha and Lettie is always Lettie. Since you've hopefully read this far, you'll see that Miss Angorian is in fact, going to rear her ugly head. Castle in the Air is going to be interesting to rewrite. I've already come to the conclusion that I can't possibly write that one without doing some of what I do with this one. As in, you're going to hear thoughts from everyone. LOL I'm not sure how I'm going to handle Sophie and Morgan being cats. It should be interesting, regardless!
Also, thankies to everyone who have put this story on Alert or on their favorites list! I love you all to pieces!