A.N.: Okay, I'm really, really sorry that I didn't update so long, but I didn't know how to go on from the last point, I was stuck with writers block and university was really ... I don't think I need to specify this and recently a lot of my friends had problems with their health or their families along with me, so that left me also little to no time for writing. Some of you might be wondering why I started a second story if I didn't have time for only one. Well the story is in my native language, so I don't have problems in finding the right words like here and the chapters get longer because of this too. Also, I mostly wrote the other story in my courses at the university when I was bored out of my mind. I really need many hours and peace for English chapters to write. Sorry, but that's the truth.

Okay, I also want to thank all of my reviewers and those who put my story on watch-, and/or favoritlist. I'm too lazy to tipe you all here, but know that you all made me really happy with this even though I let you down somehow. Okay, so this chapter is shorter than the last ones, but I still hope you can enjoy it. And as you all know it, I checked for grammar issius and wrong spelling, but I'm sure I missed something, so please excuse me.

Last time:

She didn't know how it could possibly be still there. But it was. And she feared for the day her stepfather and future husband would notice this. She wished it wasn't there, yet she wished it wouldn't go away. She had to make some escape plans, especially if Howl needed more time in rescuing her. Her hope and love towards him was still unbroken, still as strong as ever. But now she had to be careful around the two devils visiting her.

For she feared what would happen…

Chapter Eight: Talent

She just lay there, motionless, on the cold, hard floor. Her body was too heavy to move in her weak state, in too much pain to do anything but breathing. She even had to force herself to breath, since this was also so painful. Drops and little pools of her own blood were scattered everywhere in her room.

Todays beating season had been worse than the ones before. She could only guess why, but she believed it had something to do with Howl. She smiled in her thoughts. They would never be able nail him down, for he was like a wild animal or bird, he was uncatchable and would remain free till his last day. They were fools to think they could capture him.

A new wave of pain washed over her body, making her cry out softly. Silence once again fell upon the room as she tried to catch her breath. Her tears stung in her eyes, as she tried angrily to blink them away. She would not give her tormentors the satisfaction of knowing in how much pain she was. She didn't know why, but she was absolutely sure that they were watching her somehow. Most likely with magic.

If there only could be a way to contact Howl and lead him here… but she didn't know where she was so that fell out of question. But still, there had to be some way to get him here, maybe with something like an impulse… impulse… they were watching with magic… magic… impulse… magic…magic impulse… pulsating magic… PULSATING MAGIC!

Why the hell hadn't she fought about this before? How stupid could she be? Of all the idiotic and stupid mistakes she ever did not remembering her own magical talent, even if she was untrained, had to be the most idiotic and stupidest mistake she ever had done. Really, if she wouldn't have been in this situation she might have considered slapping herself, or at least face palming her forehead.

What did Calcifer say about her magical talent back then when they had had a contract? One of his reasons for choosing her was because she could talk live into anything. That was it! She could talk life and protection into it and also send Howl something to at least letting him know she was still living and more or less okay. She could only pray and hope that her plan would succeed and her captivators wouldn't notice her use of magic.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she curled further up into a foetus position and laid her hands onto her stomach, where she seemed to have gained very few pounds and began to talk life and protection to her unborn child, so it would survive this hellhole they were currently stuck. That is if they could survive it…

Howl laid on their bed, everything in the house was quiet and dark. It had to be way past midnight. Not even the moon was shining through their window, since it was new moon. The darkest night in the month, perfect to watch the slow dance of the stars as they wander across the sky, their dance floor, or the wild race of the shooting stars with their wildfire of a tail. Sophie's hair would often seem like this wildfire of the shooting stars. Sophie…

How long had it been since he had the luck to listen to her even breaths in the dead of the night, the steady rhythm lulling him into a healthy sleep, a small on his lips, when knowing he could get her railed up and furious again the next day… She was always so cute while being angry… even if she would occasionally kill him therefore. How long did he have to waive without Sophie sleeping next to him?

He had lost count of the weeks, but it had been so long… too long. He could only hope she was safe at the moment, safe and sound. But even to him it sounded delusional. They were surely putting her through some sort of torture if they couldn't kill her at the moment.

He breathed out. It came out as a long, sad and tragic sounding sign. Sleep wouldn't come easily within the next few hours, even if he was as tired as he was now.

He signed again and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would for once come soon.

Only to open them a second later. Wasn't there a noise, like a soft knock?

Only silence greeted his ears. Probably his strained nerves and lack of sleep letting his imagination run wild. Nothing abnormal.

Knock, knock, knock. There it was again! And this time Howl was sure it wasn't his imagination. Quietly he slipped out of his bed, hiding in the shadows. If this was a new wave of attack, then they should just come. He wasn't in the best mood and if they were so stupid to attack his home now with all the new protection spells and charms. But why weren't they attacking. The house was quiet and dark, everyone should be asleep.

"Let them think everyone is asleep, they will have to correct this mistake soon enough," Howl thought grimly.

Knock, knock, knock. It seemed to come directly from his window above his bed. He crept near his window, still suspicious and ready for any attack that might be coming.

Behind the glass was a dark shadow lurking, somewhat in the form of a bird. He seemed to sit on the windowsill, waiting. Waiting for…him?

Soft blue glowing eyes seemed to search the room for him until the eyes landed on the spot in the dark where Howl was still standing. Long moments past, neither one was moving. The bird-thing waiting, Howl calculating. No words were spoken, but the eyes seemed to plead him to be let in.

Against every shred of common sense in his mind and against every warning bell that was ringing in his head, he reached forward and opened the window. If something happened he could surely manage to destroy it, before it became dangerous. The blue-glowing-eyed bird-thing did one or two steps on the windowsill forward into the room, and then it fluttered onto the bed. It stared Howl into the eyes for one moment, then it closed its eyes, spread its wings and erupted into dark and light blue flames, leaving only a piece of paper with something written on it. It seemed suspiciously like sorcery marks. But who would send him a message now? He marched forward and picked it up. At first he couldn't really understand them, it seemed like a child had written them, or someone who wasn't trained in writing such marks. He quickly searched for the one signature mark that would tell him who wrote the note.

In the middle he found it. Seven shooting stars, but at the same time they seemed to build something greater, more like they were symbolizing some threads or… hairs. Hairs built from the tails of shooting stars. There was only one person who would have a signature like this. Sophie…

Last A.N.: Okay, thanks for reading it till the end, that means everything to me. Especially if you didn't like this chapter/charakters/story or all of it. Please review, I want to know what I could do better, and I'm open for any kind of review, even if it isn't a good one. Thanks again, Fantasyfreak17