Author's notes:

Awww, thank you so much, again, xXCanaryXx , for your generous review! I did change the sentence, like you suggested, and naturally it was supposed to be "waved"... :-)

To answer your question–yes, I've read the book, but though I enjoyed it tremendously, I felt the movie characters of Sophie and Howl to be closer to "my" vision. By the way–make sure to read the sequels as well! They're really amusing, even though they're not centered around Howl and Sophie.

In fact, reading the book, you'll notice that I *do* throw in some references and hints now and then... though I will leave it for my readers to find out the details. ;-)

By the way–I'm sorry to say that I can't make promises about any updates for the rest of this month, I'm the coordinator/editor of a magazine written in my first language, and we're just approaching the deadline for the August issue... which means loads of work for me. But I've got a lot more written on this story, and will start posting again once things settle down a bit.

In the meantime–enjoy!

–––

Sophie and Howl had both agreed that considering the troubled times, the food and water concerns and everything they recently had been through, now was not the right time to have children–if it was possible to wait. And yes… there was a spell for that… a crimson red Sophie eventually confessed when her sisters were asking her for the umpteenth time if she was pregnant yet.

In fact, Sophie had already heard the rumors of such a spell years ago, long before she even knew Wizard Howl by name. Mothers were usually warning their daughters about wizards in general, and it was said that some of them were in fact quite promiscuous, taking the concept of "courting" to an entirely new level without having to worry about the consequences. While the girl might not find herself to be in the family way, she would often be left heartbroken and disgraced while her cavalier was turning his back on her, moving on to new challenges. Some rumors were even nastier, talking about consuming illness following in the young wizards' tracks, obviously related to the courting.

Naturally, similar things had been said about Howl. But judging from the way he'd been acting on their wedding night, his previous attempts at courting had been just as innocent as with her, limited to the holding of hands and the occasional kisses. (And the flattering that was worthy of a Master's degree, Sophie sarcastically mused to herself). From what Lettie had told her, few men were willing (or even capable) of downplaying their experience with love. But if that, against the odds, was the case with Howl… she didn't want to know anyway.

She was, however, aware of that Howl had been familiar with the infertility spell long before they met. It could be, and was in fact likely, that he'd found it in one of the hundreds of books that cluttered the castle. And particularly during the dark times of war, it was one of the most requested spells from Howl's customers. Those customers were often quite distinguishable from the lot–standing at the doorstep, even the middle aged men were usually blushing like school boys. Some of them brought their female partners, but Sophie was quite surprised to see that even many women came alone. Obviously, the spell worked both ways.

Howl was always granting his customers' requests, showing them into another room where they could talk in private. If Markl was near, (disguised or not), the wizard would always give him a sharp look that allowed no arguments, and if he didn't leave for his room at once, he'd make him run with just a flutter of his fingers. Should anyone request such a spell while Markl was alone at home, he was under strict orders to ask them to wait until his master was back, without further questions.

Judging by the fact that there were no complaints, the spell (and its counter spell) seemed to be working flawlessly. Still, Howl had–obviously much to his own surprise-been terrified when he was about to use it on himself, a few days before the wedding. Sophie had offered to take it instead, but he wouldn't let her. "God forbid, should something happen to me, I'd never ever want you to be stuck with such a spell, no matter that there are others than me who could reverse it." "Besides," he added with a wry smile, "I'll finally know what my customers feel like…"

Sophie nodded with a swelling feeling of proudness. This was the new Howl speaking-still sensitive, but determined to battle his fears.

They were sitting on Howl's bed, bedroom door closed. Everyone else were sound asleep and even the castle appeared to be holding its breath. Howl was supporting himself on his tightly closed fists, looking as if he couldn't decide whether to rise from the bed or not. He was very pale, trembling so badly that Sophie could feel it through the mattress.

"Just go ahead and do it, then, Howl." She gently stroke his cheek. It felt clammy to the touch. "It's not like the end of the world if it shouldn't work… I want to have children some day, you know… of that I'm certain."

Howl drew a deep, trembling breath. "Oh, Sophie… just… hold me…"

Sophie had to force back a small giggle that threatened to escape her lipst, but she moved herself closer to him, hugging him from behind, leaning her head against his neck. "Just do it, Howl," she whispered. "You'll be fine…"

A few moments passed in silence. Then, with a jolt, Howl's hands flew forward, did a couple motions as he bolted off the bed… and then, his body went limp as he sank back down again, gasping. "I did it… I did it…"

"Are you all right?" Sophie's heart was still pounding in her ears after this sudden fright.

To her relief, his mouth was starting to twitch. "I did it… and guess what… I really didn't hurt one bit!" He flopped backwards onto the bed, suddenly breaking down with laughter.

Sophie threw her head back. "AARGH!" she yelled in mocked frustration, grabbing a pillow, and whacking it over his face. Both were now howling with laughter. Curling up beside her soon-to-be-husband, she pressed her face against his shoulder, wetting it with tears of joy.

As the laughter eventually faded, Howl drew her even closer. Rolling over, he put his other arm around her, gently stroking her back.

"Is there any… way of knowing the spell actually worked?" Sophie wondered.

Howl's lips stretched into a teasing smile as he was propping himself up on his elbow. "My my, someone's eager to find out." He met her eyes with a meaning glance, his eyebrows twitching.

"HOWL!" Blushing furiously, Sophie was grasping for the pillow again. "I didn't mean it like that, and you know it!"

"No, but seriously, Sophie, there's no way of telling… yet," he smiled. "Most people don't feel anything… me neither. But we won't have to wait too long now, to find out…"

–––

Indeed, the spell seemed to be working as intended. About a month after the wedding there were still no signs of pregnancy, and from what Howl and Sophie could tell, there were no other ill effects.

After her sisters had had the existence of the spell confirmed, Sophie was soon to notice that the number of blushing customers from Market Chipping was rapidly increasing. If she happened to be the one answering the door, she was very well aware of that they were all glancing at her abdomen. She couldn't really muster up any anger toward Martha and Lettie… after all, gossiping was a part of human nature, and the more customers, the better the chances to be able to provide the family with decent food…

Some people, however, were less than overjoyed with the phenomenon. One afternoon, a plump and very pregnant woman was banging on the Market Chipping door, so hard that pieces of the plaster were peeling off the doorway. The woman demanded to speak to Howl, and Sophie was surprised to hear that she was using his first name, without the wizard prefix. At the sight of her, Calcifer yelped and hurriedly hid under his logs. Markl and Granny were out, playing with Heen in the backyard.

For once, Howl was home rather early, and at the sound of the woman's voice, he came bolting down the stairs. "Dana! What a surprise… What are you doing here? I thought you were still living in Porthaven?"

Despite the fact that this lady now must be married to someone else, Sophie felt a sting of jealousy. Howl obviously knew her from before, and judging from the tension in his voice, their relationship had been more than… casual…

"I got married to a man from Market Chipping," she replied in a snappy voice. "But contrary to what seems to be the norm around here nowadays, my husband married me because he wanted me to mother our children… children who deserve to live, and be born just whenever God wants them to! And that's what marriage should be all about–not just a pathetic excuse for getting the girl into bed without having to face the responsibilities that come with adulthood! But hey, what am I thinking, we're talking about you here… Great. Wizard. Howl. Or is it Jenkins or Pendragon these days? Now that is not exactly my definition of "responsible"…"

"Now hold on just a minute!" Sophie felt her blood boiling as she started moving across the room, intending to place herself between the woman and Howl. However, before she was able to continue her scolding she was silenced by a dismissive wave of Howl's hand. Instead, he walked up beside her, putting an arm around her waist.

"Dana. I want you to leave my house now," he demanded, still with a rather soft, but determined voice. "Leave now… before I have to use any force necessary."

"Oh, I'm leaving all right." With something that sounded like a mix between a stifled giggle and a snort, she started backing out the door. "But what you're doing is wrong. It's unnatural! And be aware, there are many people out here sharing my opinion–trust me, you will be punished… one way or another. And I will be back."

With a slam that sent the china rattling on the kitchen shelf, she shut the door behind her.

Howl was just about to say something, his fists tightly clasped, as Sophie saw that Markl had returned from the garden, obviously curious by the commotion. Eyes wide, he starred at the door.

"Sophie… master Howl… What does she mean, "unnatural?" Are you to be punished?" His eyes were wide open in fear.

Sophie sighed in frustration, rolling her eyes as she was glancing at Howl. But her husband just shrugged, reaching out his free hand and putting it on Markl's shoulder. "Markl, we're wizards. Should everyone reason like her, everything we do would be considered punishable. Magic in itself isn't natural."

"She said she was coming back… with others…"

Howl was rubbing Markl's shoulder. "Don't you worry. Neither blob men nor mobs of angry females will make it through this door. Though she used to be quite a handful, even back then," he added with a smirk.

"Arrgh," Sophie blurted out in annoyance, making a vain attempt to break herself loose. "No details… if you please!"

To be continued...