Chapter Two

DC: I don't own HMC

Sophie stayed in bed all the rest of the day. Howl cleaned up, and finished the cookies. Things had finally quieted down in the Moving Castle and everyone was resting the rest of the night.

By morning, Sophie was ready to start again. She got up early, careful not to wake up Howl, and got dressed. She swept up the kitchen floor, cleaned everything that needed cleaned in the kitchen, made breakfast, and did the dishes.

By the time everyone was up, she was in the bath, after asking Calcifer to heat up some water, just relaxing. She washed up, and went downstairs.

"G'morning, Sophie!" Markl said, a mouthful of toasted bread was in his mouth. "Are you feeling better?"

"I'm feeling much better, thank you."

Sophie sat down to her own plate. Howl was reading something as he ate. It was some book that talked about something or another. Sophie concentrated on her food.

But something made her feel queasy about the egg and toast. It was more of the smell of it, more then the look. She got up, and fed it to Calcifer, who took it without complaint. Instead Sophie went into the kitchen and got some milk.

"Not feeling good?" Howl asked. He had watched her feed the food to the fire.

"I'm not hungry," Sophie said, sitting with her glass of milk. "I might still be a little sick from last night."

Howl nodded, and turned back to his book. Markl finished his plate and put it into the sink. "What are we doing today, Master Howl?" he asked.

"We are…well, we are moving." Howl looked outside. They were in fact moving through the mountains. "And I suppose we should get some training done a little later, after we clear the rocky surroundings."

Markl smiled happily. He loved practicing his magic with his master. He got up, set his dishes in the sink, and went up the steps to his room, wanting to decide what to wear for his training.

Sophie set her own cup into the sink, and turned the water on. Howl came in after, and set his dishes into the sink. He then wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"For the most part, yes," Sophie answered. "I don't want to give you anything, so you'd better stop leaning on me."

"I never get sick!" Howl teased. "I'm the healthiest wizard I know!"

Sophie laughed. "Then the time you got sick two weeks ago—"

"That was just a little slip in my immune system," Howl explained. He gave Sophie a kiss on the cheek. "I got better."

Sophie smiled, and stopped the water from running. Howl let her go. "I got a summoning from Kingsbury," Howl said, leaving her in the kitchen.

"What for?" Sophie asked, adding soap to the water.

"I'm not sure yet. Madame Suliman wants me to drop by for something important."

Madame Suliman is the Great Wizard from Kingsbury. She works for the King, and has great magic. She's getting older, though, and needs to find another apprentice. Sophie frowned. She hoped Howl wasn't going in for that reason.

"I can hear what you're thinking!" Howl said. "I won't do anything if it has anything to do with taking up her position."

Sophie turned and smiled. "That was exactly what I was thinking. Although I know you couldn't hear it."

"I can tell by that silence." Howl smiled, and picked up the summoning letter. "I'll go check it out, and then come back."

"Lunch will be ready by then," Sophie said. "Then you promised Markl to train with him."

Howl nodded, and grabbed his cloak. He tied it on, and went to the portal door. "Calcifer, watch the castle while I'm gone."

"It's not like I'm going to burn it!" Calcifer whined.

Howl turned the portal knob, and left through Pendragon's shop and into Kingsbury. Sophie scrubbed at the breakfast plates. She hoped that everything would go better this day then the last.

--------

Sophie made lunch. She, Markl, the Witch, Calcifer, and Heen ate. Howl hadn't come home yet. They cleared the mountains, and Markl was getting even more excited. He couldn't wait.

"It's been awhile since I actually went outside to train with Master Howl." Markl talked to Sophie as they did the dishes. He dried them and put them away. "I can't wait till he gets home!"

"I bet it will be exciting," Sophie replied. "Let's hope he gets home soon."

Sophie and Markl talked lightly here and there as they finished the dishes. Markl cleaned up the table, and Sophie went upstairs to grab something.

As she came back down the hallway, she made a stop in the bathroom. Anything she ate wasn't staying in her stomach. She supposed she should go see the doctor soon, but now wasn't the time. She went down the steps after cleaning up the mess she made, to find Calcifer dodging water.

"Are you going to do this everyday?" Sophie took the little bucket of water away from the Witch.

"But the nice fire is hot!" the Witch cried.

"I am not!"

Sophie made sure the Witch of Waste wasn't looking, and hid the bucket from her. She hoped the poor old woman wouldn't find the bucket. Maybe then Calcifer could have some peace.

There was a knock on the door. Markl put on his cloak, pulled down his old man disguise, and went down the little steps, saying, "Standby." He opened the door to an herb customer.

"Hello Doctor Byron." Markl lead him up the steps. "What can I get you today?"

The young looking doctor made a list of potions to get. Sophie waited for Markl to start getting the potions and other things before confronting the doctor. "Hello, doctor."

"Hello Sophie," Doctor Byron replied with a little bow. "And how are you this fine day?"

"Right now I'm feeling okay, but lately I haven't been able to keep much of anything down." Sophie rubbed her stomach. It almost made her sick thinking about it. "I always seem to bring it back up. I was wondering if I could stop in sometime."

"I'm free on...well, in about two days, if you'd like to come in." The doctor got a little notepad out from his pocket. "Yes, yes in two days."

Markl came back with the potions. The doctor took them, and inclined his head. "Thank you very much. I'll see you later, then, Sophie."

"Thank you Doctor Byron." Sophie turned and went into the living room. She sat down on a couch, and relaxed.

Her stomach growled, but she ignored it. She was going to try to let it all settle before she tried to eat anything else. A few moments later, she found herself getting tired, her eyelids were drooping. Within a few minutes she was snoozing away on the couch.

--------

Sophie woke up sometime later to a smell of something cooking. It was considerably darker, meaning her nap took longer then she thought it would. She yawned and sat up. There was a light glowing in the other room, and she decided to investigate.

Howl sat in a desk. He was holding several papers, and from the glow of the light, his face looked a little sad. Maybe even worried.

But he hid it all behind a smile when he saw her step into the room. Sophie traveled over. "When did you get home?"

"Hours ago." Howl grabbed her hand, and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her forehead, she relaxed into his arms. "When did you fall asleep?"

"Hours ago," was Sophie's reply. She laid her head onto his shoulder. "I'm starving."

"I made some soup," Howl said, motioning towards the kitchen. "You can go have some."

Sophie got up and went to the pot in the kitchen. She smelled the fumes. Her stomach growled. She got herself a bowl and spoon and filled the bowl up.

"What is this?" Sophie asked after taking a bite. "It's good!"

"It's odd you liked it," Howl said from his seat. "It's turnip."

Sophie froze with the spoon to her lips. "Turnip?" She almost gagged, but ate the spoonful. It was really weird. She didn't mind the taste at all. She dipped her spoon in again, and ate some more. "I seem to be eating it well enough."

She moved to the table. Howl turned around in his seat to face her. "How was your day?"

"Good. The Witch loves trying to put out Calcifer, though. It seems to be her new found hobby."

"She needs a new hobby then," Howl said with a smile. He then sighed. Sophie looked up, setting her spoon down.

"What happened today?" She asked.

"Well," Howl rested his hands onto his fists. "I visited Madame Suliman, I came home, trained with Markl, made dinner, looked at some papers, and then you woke up."

"What did Madame Suliman want?" Sophie didn't want to ask, but she had to know.

Howl sighed again. "There seems to be trouble brewing between the countries and some sort of wizard. People are getting hurt, some killed."

"Kingsbury going into another war?" Sophie asked. Howl nodded. "Does she need you?" Howl nodded again. "I can't exactly say anything to make you stop, can I?"

"I'm under an oath," Howl said with another sigh. "As are all the witches and wizards. Well, at least most."

Sophie didn't want to finish her bowl of soup, but was too hungry to refuse anything. She quickly slurped the soup down, and set the dishes in the sink. She went back over to Howl, who was busy with his papers. He couldn't keep a yawn away from her, though. Sophie rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You should get some rest."

"You, too," Howl replied.

Sophie stifled a yawn. She bent down and they shared a goodnight kiss. "Don't worry. I'll be in bed soon enough," Howl said with a reassuring smile.

Sophie went into their room, changed, and lay down. She snuggled deep into the pillows. The soup made her feel warm inside, which made her feel happy. Something went right, she thought, today at least.

--------

Hullo people! Hope your having a good summer break, if you're out already. I still have five days. Then I will officially be a Junior! I'm excited.

I'm happy you liked the first chapter! You'll figure out what's happened to Sophie soon enough. It become obvious enough though.

I'll update soon if I can get some reviews!

Love, Lala Rue!