"Michael, be a dear and get me some eggs before the market closes down, will you?"
"Let me just finish this spell and I'll be off," he said. "..wing of newt and a smidgen of crushed mole root." He sprinkled in the last ingredients and ducked. "Perfect." he said when it didn't explode in his face.
"Howl seems to be taking a while," remarked Calcifer, munching lazily on a twig.
"Well, if he gets another cold it'll just serve him right for acting so childish all the time," said Sophie.
"I'm sure he's fine," said Michael.
"Besides, he knows if he doesn't come in soon that Calcifer won't heat the water for his bath." "Got that right," said Calcifer.
Just as Michael slammed the door shut the square knob swung to purple-blob-down and there stood Howl, looking very wet, very miserable and very cold. Sophie's heart went out to him. "You ridiculous excuse for a wizard you," she chastised, helping him to the stairs. "The faster you get yourself washed up the faster you can have your tea." The wizard gave a vague nod to show he'd heard and locked himself in the bathroom for what promised to be a long time.
"I wonder if I should be worried about him," said Sophie, listening to the sound of water filling the bath. The fire demon shrugged his thin blue shoulders.
"Last time I saw him like this he was pining after some girl- but you and I both know that can't be the case."
...
The next few days were strange ones for the inhabitants of the castle- and that was saying something considering it was home to a wizard, his soon-to-be-wizard apprentice, a Hatter with astonishing magical powers and a fire demon.
"Where's Howl?" asked Michael appearing tousle-haired and scruffy into the kitchen.
"Hark if I knew," said Sophie a trifle testily. "He still owes you that final lesson does he?"
"Yeah," yawned Michael. "Oh well," he said, cheering up. "At least that means I'll be able to go visit Martha today. Want anything from Cesari's?"
Sophie waved her hand. "No, no. You go have your fun. Say hi to Martha for me."
"Will do." He picked up a spoon and dove into his bowl of cereal.
Sophie turned her back to him, washing up her own breakfast dishes in the sink. It would be May day soon, plenty of flowers to be sold, young girls gadding hoping to be accosted by the young men gadding about looking for young women to accost. Couples old and young thronging the streets and all of them would stop by to buy a bouquet of flowers to give to their beloved.
Michael was to be leaving them soon. Not in the manner of a few days or weeks but certainly sooner than Sophie enjoyed thinking about. "Well at least there will be a wedding to attend," she said to herself.
Martha had been gushing wedding plans at her as soon as Michael had proposed and would talk of nothing else. Howl would do the fireworks at the wedding and she, Sophie, would be in charge of the flower arrangements and the bride's wedding hat of course.
Howl had declined at first, hailing an 'obscene sudden increase in spell requests, nothing he could do about it' as the reason but after a brief, private (and loudly insistent) discussion with Sophie he agreed, on the condition that there was to be no discussion about the day until the morning of the event.
How incredible, thought Sophie. Why, she could still remember Martha's notorious way of getting into trouble, cutting up people's silk drawers and the like, and to think that she was soon to be married! It was quite overwhelming, and although it'd been a while since Sophie had looked into a mirror and seen grey hair and wrinkles staring back at her, she often still felt like an old woman. "Sophie Hatter, your habit of over-thinking shall be the death of you."
"Talking to yourself again I see," said Howl jovially strolling in, smelling like hyacinths.
"None of your business," she said shortly. "Where have you been? You're supposed to be giving Michael his final lesson."
"Oh, the boy's probably much happier with Martha anyway," said Howl. And then, "For you."
Sophie turned around and found herself nose-deep in a bouquet of lilies, roses, baby's breadth and a whole bunch of flowers even she couldn't put a name to. She looked up at Howl, beginning to feel bad for the accusations she'd been meaning to hurl at him.
"What for?" She asked, glad that she'd held her tongue for once.
"I always get flowers for the girl I'm courting," said Howl, subjecting her to the full power of his meltingly charming smile. This did not have quite the effect Howl was hoping to achieve-
"So I'm just another courting girl to you then?" bristled Sophie.
Howl threw his hands up in annoyance. "Why do you see the incessant need to turn every act of kindness I do towards you into some sort of insult? Now stop being so difficult and accept my gift."
Sophie put her hands on her hips, unrelenting. "Because I know you Howl Jenkins and every act of yours has some sneaky motive, and I intend to figure out what it is."
"Fine, you ungrateful woman." He said irritably, making the flowers dissapear."Calcifer, I shall be out all day. I have alot of work to do."
"To slither out of, you mean," snorted Sophie.
He ignored her. "Tell Michael I've left his spell on the bench for him." And with that he was gone.
"Hmph," said Sophie. Calcifer laughed his crackling, hissing laugh. "Things never get dull around here, do they?"
...