Howl's Moving Castle Fan Fiction ❯ Revelations About the Birds and the Bees... ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: “Howl's Moving Castle” and all its characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. I, on the other hand, own nothing and have absolutely no money. But donations are welcome.

 

July 31, 2005

 

Revelations About the Birds and the Bees…

(and other things not mentioned as the aftereffects of “Happily Ever Afters”)

 

Chapter Two

by Ina-chan

 

 

“You told my sister what?!?”

 

Needless to say, Howl was not pleased when his wife told him what she'd promised. Michael had already conveniently snuck to the safety of the flower shop by the time Sophie stepped back into the castle to find a furious Howl. He was standing by the work bench expectantly, his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl marring his handsome features. His hair was still disheveled and there was still the shadow of overnight stubble still on his face, as he waited for her return. Sophie had seen her husband angry before, but somehow, this felt different. His expressive green eyes flashed with such intensity that for a moment, Sophie actually felt frightened. It appeared that Calcifer shared her anxiety.

 

The fire demon poised from the edge of his hearth silently. His flames were barely flickering as if he had been frozen in the spot. His orange eyes were fixed on Howl with intense concentration. It was almost as if he was trying to anticipate towards something that would happen next. Sophie flinched and braced herself for whatever spiteful words that were sure to spring forth from her husband's mouth. Nonetheless, she prepared herself with exactly what was in her mind regarding his selfishness.

 

Howl, however, took a deep, calming breath instead. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose as if nursing an impending headache. Calcifer immediately relaxed upon seeing the Wizard's actions, almost as if in relief… though the fire demon kept his silent gaze.

 

“What in heaven's name made you do that?” Howl growled angrily.

 

“You would recklessly risk your neck to save your sister from the Witch of the Waste but won't do a simple favour such as babysitting for a weekend?” Sophie retorted incredulously.

 

“I strongly suggest that you keep that long nose of yours out of other people's business, Miss Nose,” Howl rebuked sardonically. “You had no right to rush off to Wales on your own, or volunteer me to do a task without consulting with me, for that matter.”

 

“If I may be allowed to remind you, Mister Hypocrite,” Sophie shot back, “I vaguely remember a certain cowardly Wizard volunteering me to lie and conspire against the King to save his own skin without asking for my permission either.”

 

“That's different,” Howl snapped back.

 

“And just how is THAT different?” Sophie demanded angrily.

 

“If there's anything I hate more than being pinned to do something I don't want to do is the inconvenience of having decisions made for me without being consulted first,” Howl responded in equal fervor, completely ignoring his wife's question

 

Sophie stared at her husband with an expression as if she was physically slapped across the face upon hearing his words. She felt tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, so she quickly turned away and bowed her head, not wanting for him to see. She swallowed the painful lump forming in her throat before attempting to speak in a shaky voice, “I see. Well then, Mister Jenkins. I promise not to inconvenience you any further.”

 

The nerve of him! If he didn't want people making decisions for him, it would have been better if he'd slithered out of their wedding day, instead of passively going through it after Fanny and Mrs. Fairfax strongly imposed it upon them. She had honestly believed him when he'd proposed that they'd live “happily ever after” together. She was very much willing to stick it out, even if HEwas being impossible. She even went beyond her way to try to get along with his family and do her best to keep Mari happy.

 

And THIS was how he was going to react?

 

The ABSOLUTE nerve! After the wedding, he never even tried to make an effort to make things easier for her! Well, he was not going to get away with it! And she wasn't about to allow him to slither out and leave a poor, innocent little girl hanging.

 

“But there's still a sweet little girl over there depending on you! If she ends up with her heart broken because of that loathsome, self-serving, repugnant ego of yours… I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!”

 

With that, she spun away furiously, leaving Howl frozen to the spot like an animal caught off guard by a bright light. She made her way up the stairs without looking back, then slammed the door behind her with great satisfaction. She threw herself on their unmade bed and screamed her frustration into one of the pillows. It took a good five minutes of screaming her throat raw and crying her eyes out before she felt her anger ebb away, and her sobs fade into quiet hiccups.

 

It was only then that she noticed the faint hint of Howl's flowery scent on her pillow that nearly brought her into another round of tears. Instead, she closed her eyes and buried her face in the cushion, trying to will herself to remember the more pleasant moments of being married to her husband… which were ironically, just sleeping or lying with him in bed.

 

Even after being married all this time, they hadn't really done anything in bed other than that. Sleeping, that is. They'd only gone as far as kissing and touching. For some reason or other, Howl would always stop and pull back before things got too far… which was of course rather ridiculous, since they were already married! Nonetheless, Sophie didn't mind their slow pace at all.

 

It took some time to get used to sleeping with another body beside her. Now, she found that it was much harder for her to fall asleep during those nights when he was working late on spells with Michael downstairs or in the yard with a new contraption for the King.

 

There were many pleasant mornings when she woke early to find him curled next to her, looking deceptively noble and innocent in his sleep. She would often reach out to him to brush a stray stand of impossibly yellow hair from his closed eyes. If he didn't stir, she would proceed to place an ear over his chest just to hear his heart beating steadily. It often filled her with wonder that no matter how many times she did it, she found that eventually his heart seemed to adjust its pace to beat in time with her own.

 

Being married to Howl wasn't entirely as terrible as their frequent fights seemed to indicate. Some time ago, she had told Martha about the insecurities she had been feeling about her marriage. After all, she and Howl had only lived together for only two months before the impromptu wedding. All in all, they really were still strangers.

 

To which, Martha replied with words wise beyond her years, “Two people may know each other for a lifetime, but it only takes one brief moment to fall in love.”

 

Sophie honestly believed her sister's words. She knew now that she really did love Howl. She loved him with all his faults and annoying quirks! She would like to believe that he felt the same way. Alhough, unlike those times with Lettie and even with Miss Angorian, he was not as vocal about his feelings and lamentations with her unless if he was complaining about something she had done. It also didn't help the fact that aside from refusing to crossing that particular line of intimacy, Howl had yet to directly tell her that he loved her.

 

Not that they had time for that either…

 

When they were not busy with arguments or dealing with each other's nosy relations, there was also the added load the King was putting on his Royal Wizards. Any opportunities for romantic trysts were rare and way too far in between. While she never saw herself as the bothersome, clingy wife, it was getting rather frustrating to know that he wouldn't go out on his way to make time for her for an afternoon.

 

Sophie let out a defeated sigh. She did have a hidden agenda with the babysitting issue. With Megan and her husband gone and Wales being far, far, far away from her own relentless family and the King in Ingary, it was the perfect opportunity. As much as she hated to admit it, she simply wanted to have him to herself, even it were just for brief moments in between sharing him with their niece and nephew. Of course, her husband was either too stupid to realize it or didn't really think much about her.

 

Then again…

 

Sophie sighed again as she turned onto her side and clutched her pillow tighter. She knew she was really being selfish. She already knew how much Howl hated dealing with his sister more than he absolutely needed to. It was already asking too much for him to grin and bear it during the formal introductions and obligatory visits they had made to his sister's household make in order for them to get to know Sophie better.

 

Sophie sighed for the third time as she pulled herself up, and wiped the remnants of her tears with the back of her hand. The children were depending on them to show up, and there wasn't much time. She really had no other choice than to go to him, apologize, and beg for him to go through with it. Her expression soured at the thought, but nonetheless, made her way out of the room and quietly crept downstairs, only to pause as she heard her husband and Calcifer arguing.

 

“Look, just go spend time with her and your sister's kids. I know how much you hate going back there when you don't really have to,” Calcifer fizzed meaningfully, “but I think you need it. It'll make her happy and you can have some time away without having to think of magic. In fact, don't even think about using magic the entire time you're in Wales. You know the idiotic situations you get yourself into when you get too stressed and emotionally strung out. You barely caught yourself just a few moments ago.”

 

Sophie frowned upon hearing that. She knew that her husband was prone to bouts of foolishness now and then. And no doubt, some were due to his emotions getting the better of him. But there was a certain sense of urgency in Calcifer's tone that made her stop where she stood. She quickly remembered the expression on Howl's face earlier when she came in, which was... come to think of it… not that different from how he looked when he flew out angrily after the Witch of the Waste attacked Megan and the children.

 

“I should have known that you would turn against me as well. You've always favoured her side,” Howl shot back angrily.

 

“At least she has common sense AND she's not afraid to face what's troubling her head on,” Calcifer crackled back in the same tone, “I can't say the same for a certain coward who would rather run away with his tail between his legs rather than even attempt to figure out exactly what it is he's running away from.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” her husband replied, incomprehension evident in his voice. “I fail to see how this suddenly became my fault!”

 

“You're hopeless,” Calcifer hissed in exasperation before making a sound that indicated that he was leaving his hearth to make his way up the chimney and out of the castle

 

“HA! Can't say anything else, can you? Look who's running away now?” Howl shouted after the fire demon.

 

Sophie put a hand over her chest, trying to slow down the hammering of her heart. She made a quick mental note to thank Calcifer in person for standing up for her when he came back. Though she couldn't help but wonder, what exactly Calcifer meant. What did he mean about Howl running away?

 

“Sod it!” Howl muttered under his breath, cutting her thoughts short as he made his way up the stairs.

 

Sophie quickly rushed back towards their bedroom, not really wanting him to catch her eavesdropping and waited for him to appear at the door… only to realize that instead of going to their room, Howl had gone straight to the bathroom. Knowing how long it took for her husband to emerge from his bathroom rituals, Sophie ran out in horror and banged on the door, “HOWL! Megan is expecting us in less than an hour!”

 

“Good heavens, Sophie! At least give me a moment's peace while I'm in here!” Howl's muffled voice bellowed irritably

 

Then again, she didn't really have much to worry about. With Calcifer gone, along with the hot water, Howl re-emerged relatively in his usual manner… only a tad bit grumpier and sulkier… in less than a fraction of his usual time.

 

Several last minute instructions for Michael later, the couple finally went out the black-knob down entrance, and Sophie found herself facing Rivendell's door once again. Neither husband nor wife talked the entire time. In fact, they didn't even make an attempt to glance at each other. To be honest, Sophie was a little surprised that Howl even decided to go. He could be so unbearably obstinate when he set his mind on something.

 

Based on Megan's expression when they arrived, Sophie wasn't the only surprised. Though Sophie couldn't help but notice that Megan had an unreadable expression on her face as she looked at her brother as soon as she got over her astonishment. After making a big show of ignoring Gareth, Howl gave his full attention to Mari, who was tugging at his sleeve for attention. Sophie suddenly found herself pulled aside by her sister-in-law. The older woman then gave her last minute instructions about emergency numbers and house rules, occasionally emphasizing several rules by yelling over Sophie's head so that her children or Howl or all of them could hear.

 

“And make sure that he eats,” Megan added in a low voice

 

“Yes, I'll make sure Neil doesn't sneak any of his vegetables under the table,” Sophie replied blandly, desperately trying hard to keep her infuriation from reaching her voice

 

Megan however, was not as restrained in showing her irritation. In fact, she even glared accusingly at the younger woman with such a familiar and intense scowl that Sophie almost forgot which sibling she was talking to. “I wasn't talking about Neil.”

 

Sophie took an instinctive step backwards at her sister-in-law's venomous snap. A loud honk from Gareth's horseless carriage called for attention, thus Megan turned away from Sophie and kissed her children goodbye. Moments later, they were all on the front yard, the children waving, as Megan and Gareth drove away out of sight.

 

“Well, I'm off too,” Neil announced as he started to run off

 

But Howl caught the boy by the collar with his free hand before Neil could successfully break away, “And just where do you think you're going?”

 

“Across the street to Tom's house,” Neil replied in annoyance as he struggled to untangle himself from his Uncle's grasp. “Uncle Howell, c'mon, let go!”

 

“Ah, so you're using me as an alibi so you can go off on your own while your parents are away? I think not,” Howl shot back in equal irritation, “I'm not as irresponsible as you think.”

 

“But the game against New Zealand will be on in a few minutes,” Neil whined in protest

 

“Have you finished your home work?” Howl asked, ignoring the boy's complaints

 

“Uncle Howell! It's a Saturday!” Neil exclaimed in a scandalized tone

 

“If you finish your school work, I'll consider it,” Howl stated uncompromisingly, as he prodded the boy back inside the house, “Until then, you can haul your arse inside and watch the match in OUR telly.”

 

Neil let out another barrage of loud protests, but complied with his uncle's will. Mari simply sucked on her thumb contentedly, her other hand holding on to her uncle's. Sophie didn't hide her bewilderment as she watched the whole exchange.

 

Despite of herself, a strange flutter flooded her entire body with warmth, not very different from what she felt when her heart was behaving badly back when she was an old woman. Though this time, it was behaving unsteadily for an entirely different reason.

 

True that she was quite impressed of how her Howl handled the whole situation. He does make a rather good impersonation of a responsible adult. But for some reason, after seeing the picture of her husband interacting his sister's children with almost paternal grace… she couldn't help but imagine what the picture would be like with their own children.

 

“Sophie, aren't you coming in?”

 

Sophie blinked and saw a pair of green eyes studying her with silent interest as he stood by the doorway. The children had already wandered in, and she was the only one left standing outside. All at once, she felt an embarrassed flush of heat rush up her face. She immediately lowered her gaze, unable to meet those eyes all of a sudden, as she hurried after them. “Ah! Y-yes! I'm coming!”

 

“What were you thinking of?” Howl's low whisper asked curiously when she was near enough.

 

“Mind your own beeswax,” Sophie huffed as she closed the door behind her, also feeling a little too self-conscious to share what she was thinking

 

“Ah,” Howl whispered again in a knowing tone, his warm breath against her ear made Sophie shiver involuntarily, “you don't have to keep those kinds of thoughts from me, Cariad. I'll be more than happy to hear them.”

 

“THAT'S NOT---!!!” Sophie spun around to face him, completely scandalized at what he was implying.

 

Only to have her words interrupted as her husband's lips silenced her, his arms going to her waist as he pinned her against the closed door before she could pull away. Before her stunned mind realized what she was doing, her lips were already responding to his kiss on its own. She flung her arms around his neck as her knees buckled under her own weight. What was left of her reason protested indignantly, reminding her of the fact that she and Howl were still supposed to fighting. However, it was quickly snuffed away Howl deepened his kiss, instantly fanning the passionate flame inside her into a full blown fire.

 

“Uncle Howell! Aunt Sophie! Neil is being mean!” Mari's voice cried out from the family room.

 

“Snitch!” Neil shot back in the same tone.

 

“UNCLE HOWELL!!!” Mari wailed.

 

The couple instantly broke apart, their senses creeping back into their fogged minds as both remembered where they were. Howl moaned pathetically and made such a comical show of reluctantly disentangling himself from his wife, that Sophie couldn't help but giggle.

 

As she let her husband lead her further in the house, her thoughts wondered again at the great enigma that was her husband. As horrible and incorrigibly annoying as he was most of the time, he could turn around and do something like that just as easily. She couldn't help but wonder if he was actually secretly putting a spell on her. Whenever he did that, she completely dismissed whatever it was that they were fighting about in the first place and forgot the million and one reasons of why Howell Jenkins was the worst human being alive in the universe.

 

“All right, what is the trouble this time?” Howl called out sternly, as he faced the children in mock indignation.

 

“Neil is being a brat!”

 

“Who are you to talk?”

 

Nevertheless, she was thankful that they'd put on a temporary truce for this weekend at least. She was very glad that he had agreed to come as well. Despite the obvious inconveniences, seeing Howl interact with his sister's children was showing her a rather pleasant side of him that he probably wouldn't show in any other situation.

 

 

 

 

End of Chapter Two

To be Continued…

 

 

Author's Squawk:

 

First off, thank you to Mimea, a great HMC fanfic writer, who has given me the honour of beta-ing this chapter and also pointing out some inconsistencies in the fic. Howl and Sophie actually met on May Day and the story went on until Midsummer's day, making it around two months. Thanks for pointing that out Mimea, and that has been promptly edited.

 

Anywayz, comments, criticism, bribes and offerings for the muses… send them to ina_chan@yahoo.com.

 

Ja!
Ina-chan