A/N: I had to change the whole time-stopping thing in this chapter. It had been bugging me since before I posted it. Thanks to Mad-4-Manga for the decoy idea.
Chapter 5: In which Howl and Sophie get into an argument
In the next three days, Sophie did not see Howl once. Not even a single glance. When she told Fanny that she was going to Cesari's to visit Martha, she also managed to duck in to the flower shop to see Howl, but he wasn't there. The next day when she begged Theobald to take her to Kingsbury to visit Lettie, who had moved in with one of Mrs. Fairfax's friends so that she could apprentice with the Wizard Suliman, she hoped that Ben Suliman might be able to tell her something about Howl's business with the king. Ben, unfortunately, was extremely tightlipped when it came to Howl. Lettie herself didn't seem too enthusiastic about the engagement. Both excursions left her feeling disappointed and a little guilty about using her sisters to catch a glimpse of Howl, or find out about him.
On the third day she stayed home, but found herself jumping at every sound of a horse and carriage that came trundling by the Smiths' house in the hopes that it was Howl come to see her.
Sophie was a great reader and so, in order to try to distract herself from thoughts of Howl, had begun reading some book that he had recommended to her about some abbey because he said that both she and the main character let what they read in books affect their natural reason and logic, and he hoped she might learn something from it. She had never heard of this author before, which she found somewhat unusual since she had been very familiar with most books of any merit. She wondered if perhaps it had come from Wales. From the very first page she was intrigued, and found herself identifying with the heroine, whom the author identified as unlikely, as well as laughing at some of her antics, but her thoughts inevitably drifted back to Howl every few lines. Where was Howl and why hadn't he come to see her? If he only had two weeks left with her before he had to leave, wouldn't he want to spend every moment he could with her? Quincy interrupted those thoughts by announcing that Mrs. Johnson was there to see her.
She put her book down immediately, wondering what Howl's former lover wanted to see her for. Then she remembered that Mrs. Johnson was her stepmother's stepdaughter, and she was living in her former home. Her reason for being there probably had nothing to do with Howl. She really ought not to feel so jealous of Mrs. Johnson, but she couldn't help herself.
Mrs. Johnson entered the little sitting room as if she were a queen making her appearance at a royal ball. "Dear Sophie, thank you for seeing me, although it is a little strange to be announced in what was once your own home," she began regally.
"You are always welcome here, Mrs. Johnson."
"Please, call me Maria. Surely, you think of me as a sister the way I do you?"
Sophie didn't think of Maria of a sister so much as a rival, but she didn't want to give off the wrong impression. "Of course, I do. And you may continue calling me Sophie, just the way you have been." Perhaps she wouldn't be able to play as nice as she had thought. She plastered on a smile.
Maria's smile changed in its brilliance to a cooler, less familiar expression. "I'm so glad that we can consider each other family so soon."
They continued to chat inanely for at least half an hour, talking about the weather, the latest fashions, and anything else to keep them from having a real conversation. Finally, Sophie got bored and said, "I have wonderful news to tell you. Howl and I are going to be married!"
Sophie had to hand it to her stepsister-by-marriage, she didn't flinch at the news, in fact she showed no reaction, which tipped Sophie off that she felt very strongly about her announcement, and suspected it was jealousy. And knowing Mr. Johnson, who could blame her?
"Congratulations!" Maria exclaimed, not skipping a beat. "I'm sure you both will be quite happy. I must say that this doesn't come as a surprise since there has been gossip about you both ever since Prince Justin was returned safe and sound thanks to you and Howl. I am surprised, though, that Howl made no mention of your engagement when I saw him yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Sophie croaked. "You saw him yesterday?"
Smelling blood in the air, Mrs. Johnson went in for the kill. "Yes. I needed to buy some flowers and his is the best flower shop in the area so I went there and we had the most delightful conversation about the last bouquet of flowers he bought for me."
"I thought you said you merely had a paltry acquaintance with him."
"Did I?" She smiled serenely and got a far away look in her eyes. "I'm sure in his eyes it was. You know Howl, he never could commit. As soon as he has made you love him, he's ready to bail, ready to find some other girl to make love to. But I'm sure he really loves you this time. He must to have asked you to marry him, don't you think? Except he did ask the Witch of the Waste to marry him once, and we both know how that turned out."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Maria looked her straight in the eyes. "I thought I ought to warn you, sister. Howl might seem like a good man at first. He makes a great suitor, all warm feelings, and ardent words, passionate embraces, everything coldly calculated to make you love him. But once he has you, he doesn't need you anymore. Howl is a heartless creature. All he cares about is the chase."
"That's not true!"
"Well, I hope not. But I hoped that he wouldn't leave me for that tramp maid of mine, but he did."
"Thanks for the warning, Maria. But it isn't necessary. I know the kind of man Howl is. And he may have been heartless before, but he isn't anymore." Sophie stood up. "Now I'd hate to kick you out of your own home, so instead I'm going to go out and take a walk in the garden." With that, she left the room and ran outside to the garden.
The fragrant flowers did little to keep Maria's bitter, angry words from repeating over and over in her mind. The myriad blues, reds, oranges and yellows didn't distract her eye from seeing Maria's face, her expression full of contempt, for her, or Howl, she couldn't tell which. Despite herself she began to wonder how much truth there was to her words. How was it that Howl had time to spend in the shop, but he couldn't come to see her. Had he already become bored with her, now that she had agreed to marry him?
She sat down on one of the benches strewn throughout the garden and looked at her ring. A ring fit for a princess. Was she only deluding herself to think that Howl could make a good Prince Charming? She had seen herself how quickly he had gotten over Lettie, who he had claimed that he would love forever. That wasn't exaggerated rumor. So what could make her think that she was the one to finally conquer him? She wasn't anything special. As the oldest daughter, she had been destined to be the least beautiful. And she never thought anything through. How could she have ever been silly enough to think that she had enough going for her to keep Howl interested?
"Sophie? There you are. Fiona said that you were out here."
"Hello, Howl," Sophie replied, turning to look at him. He looked resplendent in his suit of brown and green. His hair was a deep gold that contrasted with the paleness of his skin and brought out his bright blue-green eyes, making them appear less glassy than usual. He was so gorgeous, and it made her feel all the more self-conscious of her red-gold hair and plain features, and the embarrassing sprinkle of freckles that became more prominent the more time she spent in the sunlight.
"You don't seem very happy to see me. Perhaps I've come to the wrong house. I think there's another Sophie out there who would have a very different reaction to seeing her fiancé after three long days," Howl joked.
"Is that what I am to you? A joke? Some sort of game? Did you stay away from me for three days just so that I would miss you, just the way you did with Lettie?"
"What? No! Didn't you get my flowers? And the guitar I sent? I figured even though I am unmusical, there isn't any reason why you shouldn't be serenaded all the same. Would I have done those things if I was trying to play the 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' card?"
"I…I did…the flowers were very beautiful, Howl, and the song too…but I would have preferred seeing you to receiving all of the gold in the King's treasury. Why didn't you come yourself to see me?"
"I couldn't! I have been busy every day making preparations for my diplomatic mission to Strangia. If I could have come I would have."
"But if you were so busy, how did you manage to have enough time to sell flowers?"
"What flowers? I sold no flowers—"
"Don't lie to me! I know you did. My step-stepsister told me that she saw you at the shop yesterday."
"I do live at the shop you know," Howl said looking wronged and injured. "I only came home to get a bath and some sleep after being up since the crack of dawn, and as I was going through the flower shop Mar—Mrs. Johnson saw me and asked me about a bouquet."
"Are you sure? That's all there was to it?"
"Yes, of course I'm sure," said Howl, sounding slightly exasperated. "And anyway, I'm here now. Part of the reason I've been working so hard these past few days is so that I can spend the last of my time with you. There's some place I want to take you." Howl seemed so honest and forthright with his explanation, and Sophie really had no reason not to believe him. Not unless she simply did not trust him. But if she didn't trust him, then why was she engaged to him? She reminded herself that she knew what she had been getting into when she had agreed to marry him, and even before that when she had agreed to become his housekeeper and try to break the spell between himself and Calcifer. She wasn't going to let a little insecurity make her start doubting him now.
"Okay, Howl. Where do you want to take me?"
"Wales!" he exclaimed. "I want you to meet my sister and her family as you are now. I want to tell her that her younger brother is finally settling down! She'll have kittens! It'll be wonderful."
Sophie felt delighted and terrified at the prospect of meeting Howl's family. From what she remembered of Megan Parry, she was a fierce woman with very strong opinions, much like herself, and her disappointment in Howl seemed to stem from how much she cared about him. At the same time, she could also be almost as intimidating as Mrs. Pentstemmons. And what about the children? What if they didn't like her? Especially little Mari. Howl was wild about her, and if she disliked her, then Sophie probably didn't have a chance with Howl.
"What's wrong now?" Howl asked, when Sophie didn't get up from her seat.
"It's nothing." But then she shook her head. "It's just…you want me to meet your family."
"And why should that surprise you? I've met your family."
"Yes, and they're all wary of you. They don't think you'll do right by me, which is why my mother demanded that you court me properly."
"Well, they have good reason—err…I mean…I have in the past…not had an exactly stellar track record, but I do intend to prove them wrong. My family has no reason to dislike you. They'll fall in love with you on sight. Just like I did."
"But …it's your family. Won't they be upset with you for getting engaged to some woman they've never met before?"
"Probably." Howl smirked. "But they expect that sort of thing out of me. I'm always turning up surprises on them. And if they're upset, it will be with me, not you. Sophie, my beloved, why are you behaving so insecurely? They are going to love you!"
Instead of answering his question, she decided to ask one of her own. "What is Wales, exactly?" She rather suspected that Howl would try to slither out of answering her question, the way most teachers did when a female asked questions that they thought were beyond a woman's realm of intelligence, especially if they were male themselves, but Howl was not like that. He sat down beside her, giving her his full attention.
"Well, what do you know about your own world?"
"I think that it's a round ball…I know that for a long time a lot of people believed that it was flat, and it certainly seems that way except for all the mountains and hills that make it bumpy, but I've never once heard of anyone actually falling off of it. And it just sort of hangs in space as it circles the sun the way the moon circles it."
"That's right. And what if I told you that the sun was just one of billions of other suns, which make up the stars you see at night?"
"Does that mean that since there are other suns out their like this one, there are other worlds, like this one?"
"That's exactly it!"
"And you come from one of those other worlds?"
"Yes, I do."
"But how did you travel so far?"
"Even that I'm not so sure of," Howl began, shaking his head. "I've theorized that I stumbled upon some portal, or wormhole, or time-space compressor that allows me to travel a great distance in a very short amount of time. But so far I've only been able to find a couple of hundred of these portals, although I'm sure there must be more. And I only have a very limited understanding of how they work."
"And do you explore them all?"
"Well, no. Actually this is the only one that I can get through. The others I just know are there, but can only see through. I think I'm not quite powerful enough to just go through any portal. Ingary…well, the world that Ingary is a part of…it's got much more concentrated magic than any other place that I can tell. And I think that's what drew me here."
"That's interesting." But Howl's mentioning the stars mad her curious about something else. "I just have one more question."
"All right."
"Is our sun a fire demon, too? Will it fall to its death, too?"
"Well, yes…it will. And when it does it will destroy all the life on this planet. But that won't happen for another few billion years or so. This solar system is still young yet."
"Oh," said Sophie, suddenly feeling really depressed.
"That's part of the reason why I felt so sorry for Calcifer and tried to deny the balance of Nature. But it came at a price. But you, dear Sophie, managed to right that. It shows how powerful your magic is. You're almost like Nature herself."
"I'm not that powerful," she responded, modestly. "You are much more powerful than me. You—"
"I've had more experience with magic than you have. I'm sure with the right training you could become a powerful sorceress, maybe even more powerful than me."
"You think so?"
"I do, and that's why I'd like to train you myself. And I would even start immediately, except that I must leave." Fearing that he was speaking presumptuously, he quickly added, "But that is only if you want my help, that is."
"Of course, I do! You are the best wizard in the land. Very deserving of being named First Royal Wizard. I wouldn't want anyone else to train me."
Howl smiled delightedly. "Good, that's settled then." They both simply sat there in the middle of the garden smiling at each other. Then Howl seemed to remember that they were there for another purpose. Howl offered his arm to Sophie, and they walked back towards the house. As they were walking, Sophie noticed that everything had gotten really still. Eerily so. She didn't hear any birds singing, or feel even a breath of wind. It was as if time stood still. Then she noticed Fiona peeking at them from behind a bunch of manicured bushes, completely frozen like a statue. She turned a beseeching eye on Howl. "What have you done?"
"Oh, just stopped time. It's the easiest way to sneak you out of here without making anyone suspicious of where you went."
"But why would you do that, when we could have just as easily walked out in real time."
"Do you think your stepmother would have let you leave without demanding to know where we were going or insisting on a chaperone?"
"Good point."
"That's what I thought. Now help me pick out something I can use as decoys for us."
"What do you need decoys for?"
"Do you know the principle of how time flies when you are occupied and its opposite, that when you have nothing to do, time creeps by slowly?" Sophie nodded. "Well, I've manipulated those principles to pause time for a bit, but it only works for a little while, and when time starts again everyone will be curious about where we went off too—especially your Fiona over there—unless we have decoys."
"Oh! I get it." Sophie grinned. "How about those butterflies on that flower over there?" Sophie pointed out two Monarch butterflies that were fluttering around each other in a ritualistic kind of dance.
"They're perfect. Male and female and the most beautiful insects in this garden. Let's see how well they hold up as us." With that Howl spoke with very long words that sounded like thunder clapping, and a whirlwind of magic took hold of the two butterflies twisting them about until they disappeared in a cyclone of gray wind. When the wind finally died down, Howl and Sophie found themselves staring at mirror image replicas of themselves, wearing the same clothes, with the same hair, and same eyes, and same skin.
"Howl, that's amazing! You should have done this much earlier. Can you imagine how much faster I would have been able to clean the house if there were two of me!"
"Not much, I'd wager. While these two butterflies might look very much like you and I, they are still only insects. They're not good for much other than looking pretty and watering the garden."
"Really?" Sophie walked towards her doppelganger and smiled welcomingly. The other Sophie simply stared. "Hello," Sophie greeted. The other Sophie turned around and sniffed a bright pink hibiscus flower. The other Howl sniffed the other Sophie. Sophie frowned.
"What are they doing?"
"The appear to be 'courting' just like your stepmother wanted. Now don't worry. We'll be back well before the male attacks the female. And either way that ought to keep Fiona occupied.
"But—"
"Now let's go," Howl said grabbing Sophie's arm and leading her out of the garden before she could protest.
They didn't go through the house, only around to the front driveway where Howl's horse and carriage were waiting to take them back to the mansion across the way, seemingly unaffected by Howl's spell. When they made it into the comfortable little room that the castle mostly consisted of they found it empty. Michael was gone and the hearth was cold and barren. So they simply turned around and went through the door again, this time black blob-side down.
Sophie took Howl's hand as they stepped through the inch-thick nothingness. Sophie saw the familiar yellow brick house with the wavy-glass door, and the wooden sign that said RIVENDELL. A gray fog appeared around them and then disappeared revealing that Howl was wearing the same WELSH RUGBY jacket and strange blue pants that she had seen Michael wearing the last time she had come with him to Wales. When she looked down she realized that her clothes too had changed. And it seemed as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. Her skirt came up to her knees, showing off an indecent amount of calf! And her shift and stays were gone leaving her feeling quite loose.
"What have you done? I look like a common trollop on the Porthaven Docks!"
"Trust me, you look fine. This is the kind of stuff that women wear in my world. Although," he added glancing down at her legs which were covered in a golden downy fuzz, "most women shave their legs…and their oxters. But I like my women hairy. Very Women's Lib. Besides I couldn't deal with a woman who spent more time in the bathroom than I do."
"Why would women want to shave?" Sophie asked, horrified. "Only men do that!"
"It makes them feel pretty…and it makes their skin smooth. Not to mention it diminishes the odor."
"What's wrong with my odor?" Sophie demanded.
"Nothing. I love the way you smell." He leaned in and took a deep whiff for emphasis. "Like soap and rainwater…and those daffodils you like so much. And you are one of the cleanest women I know. You have very good hygiene. But unfortunately, that is a rarity in your world."
"That's true enough," Sophie said, thinking of Mrs. Reed, one of her former customers, who smelled like she had never had a bath in her life. She had sold her a pink and gray hat with a ribbon like a curly-q that reminded her of a pig's tail.
Howl took out his keys and finding the right one, turned to Sophie and asked, "Are you ready?" Sophie took a deep breath and nodded. Howl stuck the key into the keyhole and turned, only to find that it wouldn't budge.
"What?" Howl questioned, confusedly. He took the key out and inspected it, then put it back in, but it still wouldn't turn. Then he tried all the other keys, knowing that none of those would work either. "I suppose Megan changed the lock. I'm not surprised, given that her family was just attacked by a witch. I'll just have to use my master key,' Howl said conjuring another key out of thin air.
"Why not just knock?" Sophie asked.
"Because this is my house. I used to live here. I refuse to be allowed in, like I'm some sort of stranger."
This time the key worked and Howl escorted Sophie in. Mari ran up to them and threw her arms around her uncle. "I was so scared! What happened to you? Who was that lady that made me come to her? And my mom is SO mad at you!"
Megan appeared at the foot of the stairs. "What are you doing here? Mari, I told you not to let him in!"
"But I didn't—"
"Don't lie to me, girl! I had the locks changed," Megan interrupted angrily, making her way down the stairs.
"She didn't lie," Howl said, coming to his niece's defense. "I picked the lock."
Megan turned her fury on Howl. "You good for nothing scoundrel! How dare you come into my house after what you did! It was because of you that the evil woman came to my house and tried to kidnap my children!" It was then that she noticed Sophie standing beside Howl. "You!" Megan cried out, lunging at Sophie. "It was you who came and frightened me nearly out of my wits. I should have you arrested for attempted kidnapping, trespassing—"
"Sophie did no such thing," Howl said, pulling his sister away from her.
"You think I'm a fool don't you! I saw her. She has the same red hair, and the same cold dead eyes. But I see everything clearly now. It was just a prank. Another one of your games for you to have fun at my expense. Well, I won't put up with it anymore. I want you and your dirty whore out of my house!"
Mari had begun to cry. "No! No, Uncle Howell! Don't go! Mommy, don't make him leave!"
"Mari, go to your room."
"But—"
"Go!"
Mari looked at her uncle with wide beseeching eyes, but he only shook his head at her. That only seemed to make Megan even madder. "Don't you look at him; go to your room now!" Mari could do nothing more than do as she was told.
Then Megan turned to look at Howl and Sophie. "What are you two still doing here?"
"Megan, I know you're angry with me, and you have every reason to be, but not in the way you think. Sophie had nothing to do with what happened. In fact, she helped me to prevent it from happening again."
"Oh, I'm sure she helped you all right," Megan replied skeptically.
"Just let me explain."
"I'm listening."
"This is Sophie Hatter. Even though their appearances may seem similar, the similarities are superficial. Sure they both have blue eyes and red hair, but they are completely different people."
"Sophie Hatter? Isn't that the name of the old woman who was with you the last time you came here?"
"Yes, well…" Howl stammered, lost about what he should say.
"She is my great aunt," Sophie added, making up something for Howl. "I was named after her."
"So, Sophie, what are you and your great aunt doing involved with Howell?"
"I…we…cleaned his house. First she did it, but when she had to retire, she asked me to do it for her." Sophie had learned that when it came to lying, it was best to stick to the truth as much as possible. It was harder to slip up that way.
"Is that so? That still doesn't explain how you aren't that horrible witch that tried to take my children."
"Witch?" Howl asked, alarmed. "What makes you think it was a witch?"
"I was being figurative! She could have been the Queen of England, I don't care! I don't want her anywhere near my house. Now get out."
"But Sophie wasn't the woman you saw. You're right…it was a prank. But it wasn't Sophie, and I didn't mean to scare you. If I had realized what a big deal you were going to make of it I would have come much sooner."
"Well, you didn't think because you never do! You only ever think about yourself. Not what I've done for you, all the sacrifices I made for you, only for you to waste it all gadding about."
Seeing that Megan was far from being pacified by Howl's explanation, Sophie pulled on Howl's jacket. "I think we should leave."
Howl nodded dejectedly. "I'm really sorry, Megan. If you never believe anything else I say, you have to believe that." Megan grumbled and crossed her arms, becoming a rigid immovable object.
Sophie went out the wavy-glass door first, then Howl. It had begun to rain, and in the matter of moments that it took for Howl to change the wavy-glass door into the familiar castle door they were both soaked. When they were back in the castle's room, Sophie went into the bathroom to grab a fluffy towel to dry off with. Howl shook himself like a big shaggy dog and was dry. Taking the towel from her, he whispered something strange and mysterious and found that her other clothes were back and she was completely dry, even her hair.
"Come now, Sophie, don't give me the silent treatment. It's not like you."
"I would like you to take me home now."
"That's it? You're not going to tell me how incredibly stupid I was not to make sure that Megan was all right sooner?"
"That was incredibly stupid, Howl. And insensitive. What were you thinking?"
Howl sighed as if he was glad that he was finally getting the opportunity to defend himself. "She and the children were safe. And I needed to get to you because you had fallen into the Witch of the Waste's trap. Then I got distracted by courting you and trying to stop this war. It's just sometimes it's easy to forget about Wales when I'm here. I have so many commitments here."
"And what about when you go to Strangia? How will I know that you won't become distracted by all your commitments over there?"
"Sophie, I thought we had already talked about this when I proposed. What made you suddenly stop trusting me?"
"Maybe because I haven't seen you in three days except for a couple of notes, and when I finally see you, you whisk me away to another world where I'm confronted with just how irresponsible you can be. I don't think your sister is ever going to like me because of this."
"I told you I was busy!"
"I don't want to hear it Howl. The fact is you should have gone to see your sister. And despite how busy you claimed to be, you still had enough time to have an intimate conversation with Maria Johnson!"
"Ah! I get it now. You are jealous!" Howl laughed. "Trust you to get jealous when I don't want you to."
"I am not jealous!"
"Yes, you are, and you have been ever since you realized that Mrs. Johnson and I knew each other. I should have told you about her sooner. And for that I'm sorry."
"You certainly are sorry! You're the sorriest excuse for a man there ever was. And I'm beginning to be sorry I ever agreed to marry you."
"I'm sorry? What about you! You don't even have the decency to admit what you're really angry with me about. Not about my bad judgment with my sister, or even Mrs. Johnson because you know that nothing is going on there. She wouldn't be so spiteful if there was. What you're really mad about is that I'm going to be leaving in a week. But there's nothing I can do about it. Believe me, I would if I could!"
"Oh!" Sophie huffed. "Go turn yourself into a slimy green toad!"
"Hit a nerve did I? You're reverting to your crotchety old ways again." And she was too. Her hair had become sprinkled with salt and pepper and the smooth skin of her face had become slightly wrinkled.
Sophie gasped when she noticed herself in the mirror sitting on top of the mantle over the empty fireplace. "At least you know I age well. You'll probably get old and fat. And lose all of your hair!"
Howl raised a hand to his hair reflexively. Then lowered it to caress her face. "Sophie, do you know why you make yourself seem old whenever you're upset? The spell on you is broken, I know it. You are doing this to yourself."
"I guess…I'm just afraid. And being old makes me feel less afraid." Saying her fears out loud seemed to give them less power. When she glanced in the mirror again her hair had returned to its rich red-gold color and her skin was fair and smooth.
"There's no need to be afraid, Sophie. I'll keep telling you that until one day you believe me," Howl said earnestly. "But you were right about one thing. You do age well, and I think you look beautiful no matter how old you are."
Tears were in Sophie's eyes. "Oh, Howl. You were right, too. I am mad that you're leaving. And sad and afraid too. Just when our life together is just about to start." Howl pulled her into his arms and began to rub her back comfortingly.
"Don't worry, love. Everything will work out. You'll see. I'll be back in no time, and then we'll have the wedding of both our dreams and really begin to live happily ever after. Won't that be nice?"
"I can't wait, Howl."
A/N: If this is your first time reading this chapter, then there's some Jane Austen goodness hinted at. I suggest reading all over her novels (there are only six) if you haven't already and figuring out which one I was talking about :)