Thank you, once again, dear readers, for your patience and your wonderful, kind words! I'm so sorry that I'm taking so long between the updates, but once again, my job's been killing me, and for the last two months I've had to work more than twelve hours a day to keep a deadline. But, good news (hopefully) for you fan fic readers, this will be the last magazine for me since I can't take this schedule any more.

Whatever happens though, I promise you, I won't abandon this story, don't worry! I can't make any promises regarding when I'm updating, but I will. And a good part is already written, way ahead.

Once again, thank you so much–I really appreciate your input! :-)

Love, always, BoMD

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Sophie let herself sink down into the bath, the warm water creating goosebumps on her skin. How could such a delightful evening turn into something so awful? Despite what Calcifer claimed, had she been too hard on Howl? She would always love him with every cell of her body, but then again, where were this marriage going if she couldn't fully trust him? And where on Earth was he gone? Some nights, he did stay away until late, but she had never spent an entire night alone since they got married, and only twice had she fallen asleep before being awakened by a pair of slender but strong arms, gently wrapping themselves around her waist.

This time, however, something was different. She couldn't even put a finger on what was worrying her the most–that he might still be upset over their argument or that something had happened to him…

No, speculations wouldn't do her any good. As she rose from the bath, her limbs felt like lead. After washing herself off, she wrapped a towel around her hair, and another around herself, stepping out into the hallway. The house was all quiet…save from the usual occasional faint creaking of the wooden beams. With a sigh, she walked across the hallway and opened the door to their bedroom, hoping and praying to find that Howl had returned, waiting for her in bed. But no, their bed was as neatly made as she had left it in the morning, and nothing had been touched.

Closing the door behind her, she draped the towels over a chair and put on her night dress, eying Howl's night gown and robes that were lying in a crumpled heap by his bedside chair. Lifting the covers, she slipped in underneath them, curling herself up into a shivering ball, despite the hot bath and the fact that the room appeared to be warmer than usual–which only added to her worry, since it was a sign of Calcifer acting more compassionate than usual–which, in turn, was a sign that he was worrying himself.

Despite the fact the bedsheets had been changed rather recently, they still bore Howl's scent. Rolling over to his side, she buried her head in his pillow, breathing deeply. "Please," she pleaded into the fabric. "Please let him come back… and let him be all right… please…" Eventually, she fell into a fretful sleep.

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She awoke with a start, jerking upright in bed. For a moment, she felt as she was trapped under water, fighting to breathe. A burning sensation of pain was suddenly shooting through her entire body. Gasping for air, her heart was pounding so hard that her ears were ringing. She didn't have to look around to know that she was still alone in bed. The first light of a grey dawn was finding its way through the curtains, and she knew that she would not be able to get back to sleep again.

Putting on a very casual dress and an apron and giving her hair a quick brush, she hurried downstairs, calling out for Calcifer as she ran. To her surprise, he was already awake, hovering tensely over the hearth. He shook his head at Sophie's silent question. "I'm sorry, Sophie, but I still have no idea where he might be… He left through the black portal, meaning he could have ended up anywhere. And if something happens to him while he's in Market Chipping, people surely would have told us. I could always get out and sweep the landscape for a bit, but…"

Sophie nodded. "I just don't know what to do…" Her voice was trailing off.

"Well, you know… Howl will always be Howl. Wouldn't surprise me if he's just… distracted…"

"Now, would it?" Sophie snapped, but regretted her tone as soon as the words left her lips. "I'm sorry, Calcifer… Well... we should probably make Markl some breakfast… but I think he's gonna sleep in today…"

However, she had barely finished the sentence as she heard the clicking of Heen's paws approaching from the stairway, followed by Markl's soft feet. "Soophie…" he sniffed. "Is… Is master Howl still gone?"

"Get down here, Markl…" Sophie said in a soft voice. He obliged, and she swept him up in a warm embrace.

She felt him shivering in her arms, clinging to her. "It's my fault… I should've remembered about dinner too…"

"Markl!" Sophie grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. "Markl, look at me. It is not your fault. Grown up people argue sometimes, no matter how much they love each other. Howl might have been a little upset yesterday, but he should've been back by now, and yes, I am worried. But whatever it is–it's not your fault, all right?"

Markl gave a small nod, but his lower lip was still quivering.

"Good." Sophie kissed his forehead and stroke his cheek. "Now, why don't you get dressed, and we'll prepare some breakfast in the meantime!"

Markl nodded slowly, and turned around, but his steps were heavy as he was walking up the stairs once more.

Sophie prepared some oatmeal for breakfast. Recently, they had managed to afford a very overpriced sack of genuine ground oat from one of the returning merchants, and though it probably had been stored for a little more than a year it didn't taste too old and there were no signs of any attempts from rats trying to sample it. Still, Howl had performed his usual food decontamination ritual before they opened the sack. It had, however been long since they had some real milk, and now she tried to make some milk powder dissolve itself in reasonably cold water.

But in fact, the mere thought and smell of food was making her nauseated this morning. Still, as Markl came down and helped himself to his breakfast, she forced herself to swallow a few mouthfuls.

After breakfast, Sophie offered the remains of the meal to Calcifer. As expected, even Markl hadn't been able to down more than about half a serving. She washed the empty plates in silence. Markl took Heen out for a quick walk, but returned shortly, looking very restless. Eventually, both of them just sank down at the table, silently staring in the direction of the front door.

Just as Calcifer was about to speak again, he was interrupted by a familiar sound coming from the hallway. The dial by the door was turning! They all winced, and Sophie leapt up from her chair, nearly tripping on the dog in the process. Her heart was beating so fast she was almost out of breath. "Howl?"

The door opened slowly. The view outside the window was their street in Market Chipping; apparently he hadn't been that far off after all. But as he became visible in the doorway, Sophie immediately knew that there was definitely something wrong. He was slumped forward, his clothes stained with what looked like mud, and his lower pant legs were all covered with dust up to his knees, as if he had been kneeling down. She couldn't see his face, since his hair, looking strangely lifeless and uncharacteristically dirty, had fallen over his eyes. He was clutching his lower ribcage on the left side with both hands, breathing heavily.

Sophie froze to the floor, speechless, a hand covering her mouth as Howl staggered up the entrance steps, still clutching his ribcage with one hand, and the railing with the other. The door slammed shut behind him, the sound finally making Sophie snap out of her paralyzed state. She was already running toward him as he lifted his head and she saw his anxious eyes. "Sophie… help…" he hissed, stretching out his right hand toward her before his eyes rolled upwards and his knees buckled. Just before Sophie was within reach, he toppled over forwards, and fell to the floor with a sound thud.

To be continued...