Chapter Six

DC: I don't own HMC

(Important message at the end! Please read after my little note)

Sophie tried to clean up the mess, but it was too depressing. Everything was messed up. The Witch of Waste was sleeping soundly in her room, much to Sophie's relief. Calcifer was still sleeping, but she was worried about him. He didn't look too good. He didn't give off so much light. Heen was in the corner, snoring deeply. At least the dog looked okay.

She sat in a chair, and looked up at the ceiling. Things were not going very well, and now she was so confused. Something happened to Howl, she just knew it. That or else it wasn't Howl at all.

It just had to be! No one else looks like him! she thought, but she didn't trust her words.

Calcifer woke up a few minutes later, with a loud unintelligible word and a crazy look around the room. Sophie snapped her head to him. His flare was back, and she was a little happy at that, though it wouldn't make her smile. She got up, and kneeled in front of him. "Calcifer, are you okay?"

"Are you okay? Oh, geez. Howl told me to—"

They stopped that conversation right there. Sophie could feel tears spring into her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. Calcifer had a sad look on his face. He didn't mean to make her cry.

"I can't believe…I saw this look in his eyes." Sophie took in a shuddering breath.

"I saw something creepy, too. He was acting weird when he came through the portal door. He…he took Markl. Him and those shadow demons of his."

Sophie sniffled. The tears were running hot down her face. Calcifer sighed, not knowing what else to say. She got up, and ran into the bathroom. Calcifer grimaced. He could hear the sick sounds coming from her, and watched as she slowly came out holding her stomach. "I think I need to lie down."

"I'll keep the castle moving. No use sitting like ducks," Calcifer said. "Cheer up, okay? We'll get to the bottom of this soon."

Sophie didn't go back upstairs. Instead she went to the couch, and plopped down on it. She stared at the wall, as she slowly stretched out on it, thinking about the events of last night. She wanted it all to go away, to disappear.

She came to think that maybe her sister was right. Howl was a bad man. But she quickly took that out of her head. Howl was the perfect man she'd ever met. No one could say differently.

Well, a lot of people could say differently, she thought to herself. No one really understands him like I do.

Of course, now she didn't even know if she understood him. He was being a very puzzling wizard.

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Sophie woke up to the door closing. It took her a moment to realize she was lying on the couch, waiting for something to happen. She got up and quickly walked out to where the sound came from. Howl stood in the middle of the room. Just stood there, eyes locked onto the mess on the floor.

Sophie sucked in her breath. Howl looked strangely around, before his eyes connected with hers. He had the look of utmost worry and concern for her. She had a moment of uncertainty before she realized that it was Howl. Last night that man wasn't Howl. His eyes were evil and his smile, too. She could feel the love from the look he was giving her.

"What happened?"

"Howl…I...I tried…" Sophie put her hands to her face. A moment later she felt his arms wrap around her in a warm embrace. He rubbed her back and Sophie wrapped her arms around him. She wanted to let go. Her body shook when a sob broke through.

"Come, sit."

He took her to the chair, and bent down to her level. Her eyes were red from crying, her hair was a mess, and she was still in her night clothes. He took his hand and wiped away a tear. Sophie sniffled and took a deep breath. Her eyes hurt and she had a headache. Her stomach didn't want to agree with her either.

"Are you okay?" Howl sounded very worried. "Is everyone okay?" The last question earned him a little wail from Sophie. She buried her head in his chest and let it out.

Upon hearing the crying, Calcifer appeared in the fireplace. Howl turned his head around, and broke the embrace. "Calcifer!"

"Howl!"

There was an intense glaring from one another. "You were supposed to protect the castle!" Howl bellowed.

"What, from you? You're the one who came and wrecked it!" Calcifer fired back.

"What do you mean?" Howl's tone died down a bit. Calcifer knew he was being unreasonable and lowered his attitude too. "What do you mean? I would never!"

"Calcifer it wasn't him," Sophie said shakily from her seat. "It had to be someone else."

"He looked just like him though." Calcifer knew he wasn't winning this fight. "Then tell us where you were."

"The meeting with Madame Suliman lasted all night. We were preparing!" Howl explained. "Madame Suliman can prove it to you, I was there all night!"

Calcifer waved a fiery hand. He believed that tone coming from Howl. "I believe you."

Howl turned back to Sophie. She was still crying, but trying desperately, with shaky hands, to wipe the tears away. He went back over to her. She sniffled and said, "That man…he took Markl. He…took him. I couldn't do anything! He was just outside my door! I could hear him yelling and…and…it was horrible!"

"That man locked all the doors, and trapped me into his weird bubble. I couldn't do anything either," Calcifer added.

Howl frowned, his brow furrowed. But then he leaned down, giving Sophie a kiss on the forehead. "Don't worry everything will be alright."

"All this loud noise. How is anyone to get any sleep?"

The three looked up at the steps. There the Witch stood, with her pleasant old smile on her face. "Hello. Good morning. My, my. This place is messy."

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Howl cleaned up the castle. He put the books and parchments back. He picked up the quills and cleaned up the ink. These chores were done quickly; he used his magic, and left the castle in good shape. Sophie made a light breakfast, although no one really was hungry, other then the Witch, but she forced every little bite she could down. She couldn't starve herself, not in her position.

Howl sat in a thinking silence, much like when Sophie did when she thought about things the day before, only it was more intense. No one felt as though they could feel comfortable enough next to him.

Howl said, moments later, "Calcifer? I want the castle to fly."

"Why?"

"It's just to make sure no other shadows can come in. They can only come in if we travel on the ground."

Calcifer made the lift off into the sky. Sophie cleaned up lightly, not feeling like she could help at anything at all. Everything was way to confusing at the moment, and she couldn't think.

Howl, though, helped with the dishes. Usually Markl helped her, but he wasn't there. It was almost too hard to manage, and with Sophie being pregnant, she didn't want to say anything she'd regret later. Her emotions could cause a argument. She kept the silence. Fortunately, Howl did too.

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So...Yay Howl's not evil! Smile everyone! (I know I am!)

Has anyone played the game Tales of Symphonia? I'm making a fanfic on it, and I just want to know if anyone really reads the stories or not. I love the game, Zelos being one of my favorite characters.

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

Love, Lala Rue!

(I know that this chapter has been up and everything, but I have to tell you some depressing news...My computer crashed and I lost the rest of my chapters. I am trying to rewrite them, and if you can imagine, it's hard. I lost this whole story, but at least I got most of it on Fanfiction. I'm happy for that.)