Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm so glad you like my story! Natalie xxxxx

I started to make my way down the hill towards Howl. Distracted by looking at the man I had grown so fond of, I stumbled and started to fall. I braced myself for the impact with the floor, strangely it never came. I opened my eyes slowly and gasped as I found myself in Howl's embrace.

Howl and I never really shared intimate moments during the day and so I found myself leaning into him, craving his attention. He didn't seem to mind at first, and then he coughed quietly. I smiled and he set me back onto my feet.

"Sophie! It's a good job I saw you, you could have hurt yourself there!" He was laughing and his eyes were dancing over my form.

"Are you wearing one of your new dresses Sophie? It looks beautiful."

I found myself blushing and the butterflies that were in my stomach since the first time I saw Howl came to life. I burst into a fit of giggles and Howl smiled and offered me his hand. My hand in his felt so right. We took off running through our gardens until Howl stopped under a tree.

"Sophie, will you have lunch with me?"

"Of course I will."

He pulled me toward the windmill that was centred in the middle of the gardens and through the front door. He led me up a spiral staircase and then into a beautifully flush room. All of the material in the room, the carpets, the cushions, and the sofas- were all a deep red colour with gold piping throughout the design. The tables and the rest of the wood in the room was a dark mahogany. The room felt like a warm winter's day and once Howl had set a fire I began to feel completely at home.

"Howl, did you do this?"

He nodded his head. "Yes I did, I had a little extra time on my hands when Markl insisted on me taking a break from magic so I thought I would make a special place for you Sophie. I just want you to be happy here, with us."

He crossed the room with two long strides and put his hands on either side of my face. "You would tell me if you weren't happy wouldn't you? You would tell me if you would be happy somewhere else with… Someone else?"

I nodded my head "Howl what is all this about? What is wrong?" I couldn't bear to see him like this. I placed my hands over his and closed my eyes to fade out the hurt in my eyes. Did he want me gone?

As if he was reading my mind he pulled me to him. "I know that this is not the easiest of situations Sophie. I'm not sure I can give you the kind of life that most women want. I know you are different and patient, but I don't want you to live your life walking on eggshells around me, if you want to find yourself a real family to replace this slightly diverse one I will understand completely."

I couldn't place where all of this was coming from. I looked into his huge blue eyes and put my thumbs over his furrowed eyebrows to even them out.

"Howl I'm not leaving. I love it here. I love y…" I turned my head.

"You love…" he was searching for the answer to the question that plagued us both. After all we had been through together of course I loved him, I didn't want to leave his side, in fact, the thought of not going to his rescue every night made me panic. But I couldn't tell him. He could never love me back, not just because I was nowhere near beautiful enough for him but because of his heart. It was that of a boy. He couldn't love me. And so I said nothing.

Howl sighed and turned away from me. It broke my heart.

"Howl, I promise I am going nowhere. I'm happier than I've ever been"

He turned now smiling. "Oh Sophie that's all I needed to hear." He pulled me into his arms and once again I was breathing in the smell that was becoming so familiar.

Once we had eaten and cleared up we left the windmill and picked a small bunch of flowers each to display around our house. I told Howl that it was too early for us to pick flowers for the shop and he said it was a shame to pick none.

When we returned to the house we set about cooking for everyone. Calcifer still preferred Howl to cook on his stove although he allowed me to when Howl was away so he cooked whilst I set the table and then went to collect Markl.

To everyone in the small village we now resided in we were a happy family Howl, Markl and I. We were faced with this assumption when our neighbour's Jim and Samantha came to introduce themselves to us along with their son Toby.

"Oh how lovely it is to have another family move into the village. As I was about to correct her Howl snaked his hand around my waist and put a strong hand on Markl's shoulder. Sophie and I are not actually married yet are we sweetie? But this is our son Markl. He's 8 years old. We plan to open florists from the shop across the road."

Howl explained to me later on that it would be much easier to have everyone believe we were a couple than to try and explain what we were. I had to agree with him… I didn't even know what we were. I was smiling inwardly at the fact that Howl would be okay with people thinking we were a couple. Maybe I had hope after all.

I walked down our front path, out of the gate and then next door. I knocked on the door and asked Samantha to call Markl for me. He came to the door and smirked at me.

"Sophie… I don't want to come home yet. Can I PLEASE stay for a while?" I shook my head no. Howl had his heart set on eating together tonight and I wanted to make him happy.

"Markl, please… Howl is home and he wants us to have a nice family tea… he's cooking something yummy for us right now! Quick! Let's go and see what surprises he has for us tonight!" I winked at him. Samantha had no idea that we were a 'magical' family and we wanted to keep it a secret. When we all ate together Howl would surprise us with a present each. My favourite present from Howl was a delicate white- gold chain with a daisy pendant. He had enchanted the stone in the centre of the flower to change colour to suit my mood and I wore it often.

When Markl returned from gathering his toys we made our way home.

"Markl! Hello son!" Howl shouted from the stove. Calcifer grumbled a hello too and Markl burst into giggles at his grumpiness. "Hey Howl!" Throwing a half-eaten jam sandwich into Calcifer's mouth he shouted "Cheer up Cal!"

"OM NOM NOM! Hey KID! I HATE it when you call me that but… Thanks for the food." I laughed at the sight before me. As we sat at the table eating i felt my heart fill with joy. Howl was showing Markl how to use his new magical toy that fired colourful bubbles from its end. My family was certainly eccentric. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

A.N: Hey guys! I know its been a while since I updated… I have no excuse I suppose I'm just a terrible person :L
I loved your reviews last time and I tried to take your advice into account as much as possible… If you leave me a review I will definitely read it and I will try to reply. Natalie xxxx