Sophie had to concede as she had no clue where she was as she didn't recognize any of the landscape. She finally stepped aside after glaring at the unfamiliar landscape for a few minutes grinding her teeth. After about an hour of walking and silence Howl broke the silence which had fallen between them.

"Its just over the next hill precious, we will be there soon."

"Finally I can have a hot shower and my own bed. Hopefully my parents won't be too worried that I have been away for a while. That's a point I have no idea how long I have been here but I will be glad to leave."

They trudged along in the mud and heather for another 15 minutes, Sophie was quite just glaring ahead of her thinking of all the things she had missed while she was away.

"Here we go, this is where I found you and if I am right your portal will be around here somewhere."

"Great I want to go home, so get searching wizard boy!"

"Sophie there is a slight glow coming from that tree over there."

Sophie ran over to the tree excited at the prospect of going home. Peering into the hollow bark of the tree Sophie could see images of her home.

"It's my home, I can get back."

"Looks like sweet thing. We just need to cross the threshold, which I am guessing will be as easy as walking from one room to another. The gap should be between those two trees. Would you like to go first?"

Sophie hesitantly stepped towards the trees, as much as she was excited about getting home she had no idea what to expect. As she stepped between the two trees Sophie disappeared from Howls world, shortly to be followed by Howl himself.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sophie felt like all the air was being forced out of her lungs at once. It was like being on a rollercoaster that was going straight down and there was no light to show you where it was heading. This sensation only lasted a couple of seconds but it had a very disorientating effect on anyone experiencing it.

Sophie and Howl both landed with a thud in some very long grass.

"I'm home, I can't believe it I'm actually back. I know where we are." Sophie shouted joyfully as she looked around her.

"This is your home? No offence but you live in a field no wonder you didn't feel at home in the castle." Howl smirked.

"Shut up Howl. You know fine well this is just a field my house is over there." Sophie turned around and pointed to the housing estate behind them.

"Well what are we waiting for I want to get home? My mum will have been beside herself with worry."

"Lead the way precious"

"Don't call me that!"

"Why not sweet thing?"

"I'm going home and you are not invited. Go and find someone else to annoy, you've seen my world so better yet why don't you just go home?"

"And leave you without an escort to your parent's house? Now that would just be rude. Anyway how else will your parents meet the man of your dreams?"

"Get lost Howl I am going home, without you." Sophie started running down the field away from Howl."

Howl tried to use his magic to make her slow down but it wasn't working.

"Interesting, it seems your world doesn't have any semblance of magic at all."

Howl decided his best course of action was to follow Sophie to where she lived. This was not as easy a task as he had anticipated. There were strange and new things to look at everywhere he went. Both men and women wore funny clothing, some of it practically indecent. Ladies showing soo much flesh was unheard of in his world but here they walked down the street in skirts that only came down as far as mid thigh. Many of the women still tried to get his attention when he went past which inflated his ego immensely, apparently even in this world he still had it.

Howl was glad that he had put a tracking bug in one of Sophie's pockets as he had completely lost sight of her now. There was no sense in hurrying to catch her and there was soo much to see that Howl decided he would have a wander around and find out more about this place he was in.

Sophie on the other hand breathed a sigh of relief as it seemed that Howl hadn't followed her. How on earth she was going to explain to her parents where she had been was going to be tough as she couldn't think of a plausible excuse. What on earth was she going to say when she saw them again? She was now standing right outside her house, it looked a little different but Sophie just took that as being that someone had re-painted the front porch.

Sophie looked around in the usual places for her spare key but couldn't find it. Maybe her parents had taken it into the house because they had forgotten theirs. So Sophie knocked on her front door and waited for one of her family to open the door. Breathing deeply Sophie breathed in the smell of sweet pea's growing up the trellis as she waited. The door opened in front of her and there was her mum standing on the porch with a shocked expression on her face.

"Hey mum in back."

"Sophie is it really you?" Her mum gasped out in shock as tears started running down her face.

"Yes mum it's me." Sophie responded tears now running down her face. Sophie's mum pulled her into a hug which was more like a death grip than a normal hug.

"Where have you been we almost gave up hope of ever finding you, the police stopped searching 6 months ago?"

"6 months!" Sophie shouted. "How long have I been missing for exactly?"

"You've been gone for over a year."

I know, I know it's a short chapter sorry folks but I am getting there with this story it's just going to take some time I think.