Sophie let out a heavy huff as she flopped down onto a piece of furniture in the main room of Howl's castle. The day was dreary and the castle was empty, save herself, leaving her with not even Calcifer to chat with. All the cleaning she could manage had been finished, quite a feat when living with Howl, and Sophie was left with no errands to run or things to do. She sighed quietly, feeling a bit awkward simply sitting in silence. Her gaze swept around the gleaming room, looking for a distraction from her boredom, before landing on a beige colored envelope. Lettie's wedding invitation.
Sophie could hardly believe that her sister's wedding was so near, though perhaps it should have been a bit more real, considering that Sophie herself was the one arranging things. Today was a rare day off, and she was banned from anything wedding related. Michael and Martha had taken great care to place everything out of Sophie's reach, and no amount of coaxing the people or the objects resulted positively. Sophie sighed again and thought about how her younger sisters were growing up. She was hit by a wave of nostalgia, remembering how she had taken care of them when she was young. She smiled fondly as she recalled the her sisters' favorite source of entertainment; fairytales.
Lettie and Martha had never tired of being told tales involving dashing young men sweeping women off their feet, saving them in moments of distress. The two would often stay up long after Sophie had told them to go to sleep, comparing ideas about what a prince would really look like. They liked to pretend they were princesses in a far away land, princesses that were rescued from one horrifying crisis or another-usually involving a dragon or two-and were wed to their heroes with a lovely happy-ever-after ending, where neither girl had to cook or clean or think about lifting a finger ever again. Most of their fairytale endings were discussed after a particularly busy day at the hat shop, and it was usually discussed loud enough for Fanny to hear the girls' discontent.
Sophie, as the eldest of three, had never really believed in being swept off her feet. She was resigned to living her life boring and secluded, and expected to be married off to any fellow that looked at her with interest, just to please Fanny. She would inherit the hat shop, continuing the shop as best she could. Sophie had no great aspirations to live up to, and she did not believe in fooling herself into thinking a prince would come for her. Perhaps it was a good thing she didn't, seeing that she lived with Howl.
Howl was the exact replica of what Lettie and Martha dreamed of when describing what kind of man would sweep them off their feet, complete with a suave, gentlemanly nature. He was attractive, had the coveted blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed the part, and knew every possible way there was to woo a woman. Sophie quickly learned that such a person was not without flaws, something her sisters didn't think of, and Howl had plenty.
Howl was a slither-outer, a coward, a liar, and a self-centered brat. He hogged the bathroom, cared more about his appearance than the average woman, only thought about what was in his best interests, spent more on one outfit than a month's supply of food, talked in Welsh simply to flaunt that he could, used magic for anything that would benefit him, threw major tantrums daily, and had the mind of a five year old with the hormones of a teenager. He was unbearable to be around when feeling neglected, he left for long amounts of time and returned without so much as an apology, never thought things through, and always had a melodramatic air around him, as well as an almost nauseating combination of perfume. He was vain and pompous, overconfident and a little too attached to spiders. He did everything on earth to infuriate someone when he wanted attention, and was always obnoxious about bringing up another person's fault. Honestly, there was no way on earth Howl would ever be classified as Prince Charming to anyone who knew him.
"Sophie," came a gentle whisper. Said woman looked up to see the object of her thoughts in front of her, giving her one of his heart-melting smiles. He kissed her briefly. "I'm home."
Knight-in-shining-armor, though, was a completely different title altogether.
A/N: So, anyone enjoy that? I had fun writing it, to be honest. So what'd you think? And please point out any spelling, formating, or literary mistakes. Thanks!
~Chibi-chan