Disclaimer: Howl's Moving Castle doesn't belong to me. Its original version belongs to Diana Wynne Jones and the movie version belongs to Hayao Miyasaki.
Note: This story is based on Miyasaki's movie and doesn't have any connection with the original book except for some names and small details references.
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First Waltz
By Eiko Makimachi
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Chapter 9: The first waltz starts to play.
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One day passed quite quickly, so when Howl woke up that morning he could already see the outside of the flower shop quite crowded with men buying bouquets for their girlfriends and wives. He thought it was awfully early to be awake, but Sophie insisted to have a final dance before the actual ball.
"Howl, just wash your face, you're looking like a zombie!" said Sophie when he appeared at the kitchen.
After having breakfast the couple went once more to the ballroom. They danced for hours, until Howl heard Markl yelling and Heen barking.
The music stopped immediately. He ran to the kitchen, where Markl was, followed by Sophie, who was torn between thinking that the boy had tried a new spell and that he had just burnt eggs again.
When they reached the kitchen there was no smoke or flying things attacking and breaking things. But they did see Prince Justin's hat transformed into a big orange pumpkin that, just after transformed fell to the ground and making now a big, orange mess.
"I'm sorry, sir! I was aiming for the skull, not your hat, sir!" Markl exclaimed, while cleaning the floor nervously.
"There, there, I am not angry, young man. Oh, there you are, Sophie, I must have a word with you and Howell." said the prince, whose yellow trousers were now half yellow, half orange, but seemed to not mind it.
"Fine, but just PLEASE stop calling me Howell!" said Howl, annoyed. "And I think you would like those cleaned, right?" he continued, waving his right hand to cast a cleaning spell. In a blink of eyes all the prince's clothes and the floor were cleaned, to Markl's surprise.
"Anyway, have you talked to Lettie?" Sophie asked.
"That is the reason why I am here. I spoke to her and she told me everything, so I went to Cesary's with her to try to solve our problems. When her boss saw that I was really asking her to go with me to the ball he let her go and do the extra work another tomorrow. He told me he thought Lettie had invented everything because she was angry with that costumer, but now he even apologized to Lettie. Still, he couldn't let her go out of the punishment, because it seems that noble woman was a really important costumer and rules are rules." the prince said.
Sophie felt light-hearted after hearing such good news. Howl already ignored the prince's presence and grabbed a pan. All they could hear afterwards was Calcifer's usual complains about having to cook and heat the castle's water.
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It was 7 o'clock and two couples were standing in front of Calcifer's fireplace. Howl and Sophie were wearing the outfits they had bought the other day. Prince Justin changed his usual suit for a more elegant one, with gold buttons and some silver pins that Howl was sure to be signs of his current royal status. Lettie, matching him, was wearing a light yellow long dress and her hair was adorned with a golden flower hairpin. Ironically, the prince opted to not wear a top hat that evening, while Howl for the first time was wearing a black one.
"I'm so glad I'm able to be here with you all today." said Lettie. "But I'm curious, why were you in Wales, Prince Justin?"
The prince slightly blushed. "Please, call me just Justin, no need for formalities between the four of us. Actually, I went to Wales to see a place where we could stay for a while, until Howl's issue with Madam Sulliman is forgotten." he explained. "She didn't seem to suspect anything, since I'm always making quick travels for diplomatic reasons" he quickly added.
Howl interrupted the prince suddenly. "Wait, you just called me 'Howl'?" asked the wizard, astonished.
"Yes, I have remembered you said before you did not like people calling you 'Howell'."
"And only now you've taken this into consideration?" Howl thought, frustrated.
"Lettie, remember when I've explained our problem to you yesterday? We had to find a place where you two can stay until Howl and I can make Madam Sulliman forget about Howl's past mistakes and leave us alone. It's for your own safety."
Lettie recalled talking about it with her sister on the previous day. Sophie had visited her to see how she was doing and told that Prince Justin was coming back to solve everything. When the prince arrived both told her they had something really important to tell her, and she had listened to it quietly.
After hearing their problem she had felt a bit sad and angry with the whole situation. After all, they were using her. But Sophie told her that they wouldn't have continued their original plan if they knew Lettie didn't love Justin. And the prince had promised her that what he felt for her was truly love, otherwise he wouldn't put himself in a situation where a spell can make him fall in love with the wrong woman.
"Yet, how am I supposed to leave my work to go to Wales, Sophie?" she complained.
"Oh, don't worry, we've found someone to work in your place while you're gone." said Sophie, pointing to Howl.
Lettie looked to the magician with top hat. "But, Sophie, he is a man! He cannot work as a waitress!"
"It's not like I ENJOY disguising as a girl, but we couldn't have you losing your job, right?" Howl said, while placing his hand on his head. As he did that he shrunk and got longer hair. His outfit changed to one of Cesary's uniforms and where once was a wizard now stood a waitress from Cesary's. "I believe this should do. What do you think of your friend Olette? I'm glad you only work during the day, because I can't stay with this disguise for too long." the waitress said.
Getting used to the unusual things that used to happen in that castle, that time Lettie did not faint, but couldn't help but stare with wide eyes to Howl, who now just waved his hand to the side and changed back to the tall man with top hat he was.
"And since we are going to stay with your bodies changed for at least three days I'll go to Cesary's as you and explain everything." Sophie continued.
Lettie considered all the things and so far it seemed to be a good plan, but her thoughts were interrupted by Howl's clock announcing the hour. It was half past seven. They should start the spell now or they wouldn't make to the palace on time.
Howl ordered both sisters to stand one next to the other and drew a circle where each one was standing with a piece of chalk, then connected both circles with a line. Both were instructed to not leave the circle from now on because that would cancel the spell, so Lettie could only watch nervously as the wizard wrote something on both sides of the line and drew triangles on the circles' borders and other symbols she couldn't recognize. As he continued drawing the lines started to glow faintly.
When the last line was drawn by Howl the whole drawing emitted a strong light. At first the skirt of Sophie's dress changed to yellow slowly, then Lettie's short gloves transformed into long sleeved ones almost instantly. Sophie felt her short hair become heavier and when she looked to Lettie she saw herself with blue eyes. But in one second those eyes became brown and soon her sister's hairpin disappeared from the top of her head to appear on Sophie's now blond hair.
On the other side Prince Justin and Markl were watching the magic working and couldn't believe in what they saw. As for Howl, he was still holding the piece of chalk he used to draw and watching as his Sophie became Lettie and Lettie became Sophie.
Once the magic finished the wizard broke the chalk he was holding into halves andt he light faded. Howl then told both girls they could now step outside their circles.
"Now, remember that while you two look like your own sister, you still are Sophie and Lettie. You two have to pretend you are someone you are not." Howl warned.
Sophie looked to her sister. "You are looking just like me!"
"And you, me!" said Lettie, astonished.
"Hurry, we have to go to the palace!" said Howl, who looked to his watch nervously. He switched the door to Market Chipping instead of Kingsbury. "We cannot use the Kingsbury door because there are too many people that might find strange that we are coming out of an old, dirty house." He explained. Everyone agreed with that.
As they opened the door the two couples could see many people with elegant dresses and suits in their way to Kingsbury. Some women were carrying bouquets of white roses; others received red ones, all of them bought at the Hatter's flower shop. However, most of them were just too busy making sure they were impeccable and with as many jewels as they could to show their social status. Sophie and Lettie were wearing small, golden earrings and very simple necklaces, but one could dare to say that they were more beautiful that many rich girls that passed by them.
Howl called for a carriage for four people, but when all of them were inside it and the carriage started moving they heard someone complaining about "getting their carriage". For some reason, both Howl and Lettie had the impression that they knew that irritable voice, but none of them actually shared this impression with the others.
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When they saw the lights of the capital city many other carriages of all colors could be seen next to their own carriage. Soon they were standing in front of the giant gates of the royal palace, with many other couples talking and laughing while waiting for the opening. Howl noticed that while the invitations the four of them had in hands were envelopes with letters written in green ink and with the King's seal most of the crowd was holding invitations written in red ink and were just a piece of card rather than an envelope.
Prince Justin was the one who had given them their invitations, each one with their names written on the back side of the envelope. He walked towards the guard that was in front of the gate and showed Sophie's envelope and his own invitation. The prince had explained that only very important people received the "green invitation", most of them people close to the royal family.
"Prince Justin and Miss Sophie Hatter!" the guard announced, opening the gates.
Everyone stopped talking to see the prince and Lettie, who now was Sophie pass the gates. It was popular belief that Sophie was living with Howl, so no one quite understood why Sophie Hatter was walking side by side with Prince Justin. Soon they came to the conclusion that the wizard wasn't invited or was too anti-social to really care for any commemoration so he let Miss Hatter go without him. The fact was that no one really knew who the great wizard Howl was.
Howl and Sophie followed the couple and presented their own invitation and soon no one understood a thing anymore. The guard remained in silence for a while before announcing their names.
"Miss Lettie Hatter and Mr. Howell Jenkins, the Great Wizard Howl!"
Everyone turned their attention to the couple that just passed the gates. One tall, young man, dressed elegantly in black was with no other than Lettie Hatter, Sophie Hatter's sister and well known waitress of the famous Cesary's patisserie. But no one was actually paying attention to Lettie's beauty, for they were much more interested in the mysterious dark figure that now everyone knew was the famous Wizard Howl.
In the middle of the crowd Howl heard again the same voice they had heard when they left Market Chipping. The said annoying voice came from a woman who now as white as the petals of the many white roses decorating the palace's gardens.
"I can't believe he is here!"
Neither Howl nor Sophie could see who said that, but next to that unknown person they saw a familiar face to the wizard. It was that girl he had bumped into in Market Chipping. So that voice could only belong to…
"Why, if it isn't the noble woman who I've met in Market Chipping!" he exclaimed when he finally saw the short woman shaking while trying to maintain her composure next to her daughter. "It is a pleasure to meet you two again!"
Sophie looked to Howl and then to the other two and then remembered that incident in which Howl got in trouble while doing the grocery.
What she didn't know was that Lettie had also met the two women.
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Author's note: Sorry for being lazy and not updating this, but I'm taking extra care with it now that we are reaching the final chapters. References to previous chapters are going to happen from now on, so I recommend you to read them again in case you forgot something. Also, finally things are going to become clear, and some unexpected things are going to happen in the future.
Like some of you requested, the woman and the girl from Market Chipping strikes back! And it seems Lettie knows them too, but I'll only write about it on the next chapter to not spoil the fun.