The comfort of the soft, cotton quilt couldn't soothe Sophie as she slept - or at least as she tried sleeping. Every so often, she plumped the pillows and flipped them over, itching to find a relaxing position yet to no avail. Once more, she picked up the pillow and tossed it around, laying her head on the cool plushness. Sometime during the night, she did fall asleep.

However, her mind wouldn't leave her alone.

The sound of her clinking shoes on the ground echoed off concrete walls as Sophie ran through a long hallway. It was dark, so void of anything there was no telling what lay in the vast beyond. She didn't know why she was running, either, only that she needed to – that someone needed her to.

When she reached the end, Sophie was in a square room, an exit on all sides. She looked down each, wondering which would lead her down the right path. There were too many options and not enough time. A deep voice bellowed in pain, reverberating against the walls and deafening her ears. It was too deceiving to determine where it was coming from, but she had to act fast.

Before it was too late.

Time was up - the ground faded away and eventually Sophie couldn't stand anymore. She screamed as she fell through, her arms reaching up as if she could pull herself back to safety. Yet instead, she kept falling faster and faster, the wind picking up and sending chills down her spine. As she looked down, there was no end to the fall.

Contrary to the painful screams, Sophie next heard a maniacal laugh grow in volume. The laughing grew so loud that even when she pressed her hands against her ears, the sound resonated in her mind. She couldn't escape from the horrors of this nightmare.

In a flash, she landed hard on the ground, though she thought for certain it would be hours before she landed. She also thought that she would wake up before landing on the ground, as was most common during a nightmare, but rather she felt the pain surging through her body, her bones nearly broken and useless.

Sophie tried pushing herself up, but her arms were so weak and feeble that she fell forward, her cheek colliding with the cold, hard concrete. The laughing and screaming molded into one sound, screeching in her eardrums and forcing her eyes to open. From the ground, she saw two figures, a woman standing over a man, raising him up by his ratty, torn shirt.

Her vision was blurred, but she saw that the woman had complete control over the man, his body limp in her grasp. His dark hair covered his face and his mouth was agape, blood dripping down like the end of a heavy rainstorm.

The woman turned to Sophie, her words bouncing off like a distant echo. "Watch closely, dear Sophie."

When Sophie's vision cleared up slightly, she could make out the figures. The woman's perfectly rounded, light grey hair was too haunting to forget.

"Suliman..." Sophie whispered, only causing her wicked smile to grow wider.

"Such a shame, you could have had everything. Now, you have nothing." Suliman reached forward, her hand submerged in the man's chest. Sophie screamed in pain - not for herself, but for watching Suliman torture the love of her life.

Sophie tossed and turned in bed, her muscles twitching out of control. A rough hand brushed against her skin, running up and down her arm. Was this in the nightmare or reality? She felt a cool breath on her neck as a pair of dry lips just barely grazed against her ear.

"Sophie, wake up."

She jolted her eyes awake and sat up immediately. Her heart pounded against her chest, trying to break through the confines of her ribs. She breathed in and out in short breaths like a woman about to give birth. The sweat lined her forehead, sticking to her hair as if she had been exercising for hours. She knew someone was next to her, so she grabbed his shirt with sharp fingernails.

She needed to believe this was real, that she was really alive and that the nightmare was just a twisted figment of her strange imagination. Her worries slowly drifted away as the man placed his hand over hers, the other resting on her cheek.

At this point, Sophie made an effort to meet his gaze. His eyes, soft and caring as they were, scanned hers like he'd been expecting a happier expression.

She wasted no time in pulling his shirt so that his body slammed into hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her chin resting in the crook. She whimpered softly, refusing to let even a single tear form. "Howl, you're back."

He breathed a laugh and embraced her further. "Yes, I'm back." He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back, having to add a little force so she would break the hug. "You were having a pretty bad nightmare. Care to tell me what it was about?"

Sophie turned away. Howl. Suliman. Everything she was afraid of happening all at once. The pain was so real, so heartbreaking. She shivered at the memory, now etched into her mind, never to be forgotten. Something like that could never be erased.

"Not really." Sophie whispered.

Howl leaned closer to her. "C'mon, Soph. You can tell me anything, you know that."

"Howl." Sophie darted her eyes to his, her eyebrows creased downward. "No. I don't want to talk about it."

He parted his lips to argue, but closed them and nodded instead. "All right. I respect that. However..." He wrapped his arms around the small of her back and pulled her body closer to his. She sat on his knees, her legs wrapping around his waist. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Sophie threw her head back laughing. "Very optimistic, are we?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly."

Sophie raised her eyebrows, then smiled as Howl moved closer. He parted his lips for a kiss, and Sophie submitted for a short sense of euphoria. She missed the feeling of his lips molded with hers, the way he made time slow down slightly until it came to a complete stop, and for a brief moment in time, they were the only ones in the room, the castle - even the universe.

He tried picking up the pace, but Sophie laughed and pulled back. Howl naturally bobbed forward, but Sophie waved her finger back and forth. "You know it won't be that easy."

Howl sighed, but smiled nevertheless. "Should have figured."

"I told you; I'm just not ready yet."

"What, a little making out?" Howl shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Is Sophie Hatter still the sheltered, innocent girl as the day I met her?"

"You know where this leads." Sophie said playfully. "It's better to stop it before it goes too far, don't you think?"

Howl chuckled softly before leaning back and collapsing fully on the bed. He groaned loudly and rubbed his hands down his face. "Oh, you're killing me, Sophie."

She lay next to him, jutting up close to his body and running her fingers through his thick hair. "But you love me anyway."

Howl peeked through his fingers, and a second later, he pushed his body to lay on top of hers, tickling her incessantly. Sophie laughed uncontrollably as Howl pressed his forehead against hers. "It's impossible not to love you. Even though you torture me like a dog."

Sophie tensed. Her nightmare rushed back again. She needed a distraction - anything to clear her mind of thoughts that reminded her of Howl being hurt.

"I should really start breakfast." Sophie said as she scooted herself out from under Howl. He was shocked by her aggression, how quickly she transitioned from being relaxed to anxious in a matter of seconds. She walked toward their closet without even looking at him. "And I think Markl would love to see you, too."

Howl raised his eyebrows, shocked by this reply, but eventually obeyed her wishes. She scanned the closet for anything to wear and filled her mind with different meals to cook for the day and even for the rest of the week, all in the hopes that she would forget about her nightmare and focus on the good things.

Like Howl being home at last.

. ❀ 。• * ₊ ° 。❀ ° 。

Sophie emerged downstairs to see the house already busy. Markl was waving his wand around and lifting Heen's ears as he slept on the couch. The dog opened one eye and glared at Markl, but the boy persisted in his foolish antics.

Howl stood by Calcifer, a skillet in hand and a basket of eggs next to him. He had asked to cook, saying it had been so long since he had the proper utensils to cook a decent meal. While he thought that would make Sophie happy, she instead cringed at his words, wondering what his mission required him to do this time.

He never gave her insight as to the specifics of his journeys - only a flexible time frame and an apologetic sigh. She tried asking him times before, but somehow he would find a way to change the subject and draw her away from the situation. It came to the point where Sophie just had to accept his secrets and hold faith in his decisions.

"Hey, little miss sunshine is up." Calcifer said. Howl fed him another egg shell after dropping the yoke in the skillet.

"Over easy, Soph?" Howl asked. Sophie smiled and nodded as she went to set the table. Markl was by his side, waving his wand in a rapid circle. After Lettie's unannounced visit last week, Markl evaded her punishment to wait until Howl came home to use magic. As much as Sophie wished she had more control over him, he was Howl's apprentice – stubborn and conniving, just like his master.

"Markl, the vanishment spell." Howl commanded.

"No more magic from this kid." Calcifer said, his eyes widening. "You should have seen what he did when you were gone, Howl. He mutilated me!"

"I was just having a little fun." Markl said, trying to act innocent.

Howl flipped the eggs. "Markl, you are only allowed to use magic on inanimate objects. Calcifer is not a play toy."

The fire demon sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Howl nodded. "Now, the vanishment spell."

Markl nodded excitedly and scanned the room. He stepped slowly in a half circle humming softly; his murmur was as quiet as a bug flying in the house. Markl thrust his wand upward and then pressed one end into the ground. In a flash, everything in the room disappeared. Heen lay in midair for a split second before falling to the ground in a loud thump.

Howl chuckled. "Very good."

Sophie stared around the wide open space - everything was gone, vanished into thin air. Only the plate in her hand was left of her once beautiful living room. She could see the wooden floorboards lined one by one from the back of the house to the front. Howl stood in front of Calcifer with the skillet. The fireplace and whatever they held were the only things still left.

Sophie grumbled. "All right, you had your fun. Now bring everything back."

"But Sophie, this is for my training." Markl whined.

"Howl." She crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows at him. He turned, a wide smile present on his face.

"He has to learn somehow."

"But here?"

"Where else?" Sophie groaned loudly and rolled her eyes. Howl laughed heartily and flipped the eggs. "All right, Markl, bring it all back."

"Yes, Master Howl." Markl bent down, his wand pressed into the ground like before. He whispered something under his breath and then jolted upright, his wand an extension on his arm raised toward the ceiling. In an instant, everything was returned back to normal.

Sophie rolled her eyes and returned to setting the table for breakfast. Markl rushed to Howl's side as Heen jumped back on the couch. "How was that, Master Howl?"

"You've been training hard, I can see. Keep up the good work and maybe I'll teach you the mage's spells."

Markl gasped and dropped his wand. He covered his mouth and breathed in and out in short breaths. "Y-you...you mean, I-I get to learn th-the-"

"You're on your way, kid." Howl winked at the child and walked toward the dining table with the skillet. Markl pressed a hand against his chest and fell on his back. Calcifer chuckled as Heen plopped onto the floor and slowly stepped over to the fallen boy. The dog sniffed him, making sure he wasn't dead.

From the hallway, the Witch of the Wastes rushed to her chair and sat down, utensils already in hand. She examined the plate and sighed in a joyous delight. "What a lovely breakfast."

"Glad to see I'm back?" Howl asked.

"You know I'm always glad when you're here, Howl." She winked. Howl cringed and sat down as far away from the old woman as possible. Sophie took the seat across from him, and Markl took the head of the table. The young boy dug into his meal while everyone else ate quietly, a long silence filling the air amongst the family.

"So, while I was on my last mission, I started thinking about home." Sophie looked at him, her eyebrows propped up. "Well, mostly about you, Sophie, and how difficult this must be with me leaving all the time taking care of... things."

Sophie lowered her gaze. Though he was right, she didn't want to admit it. "You have responsibilities. I get it."

"But I also have a responsibility to you; and to our crazy family of misfits." He turned to Markl and ran his fingers through his messy hair. "From now on, my family comes first."

Sophie bit her lip, trying to hold her smile. She hadn't exactly been sure if Howl cared about his absence, not to mention if it had ever crossed his mind. Even still, she couldn't shake the uneasiness that clouded her, doubting if Howl would indeed keep his word.

But the fact that he was willing to try meant so much to her.

As everyone cleaned their plates, no one noticed Heen walking through the dog door with a slobbery newspaper in his mouth. He jumped on the couch and dropped the drooled clump of papers next to him, immediately resting his eyes. Howl was the first to notice, and since he had been gone for over a week he felt it was long-awaited to catch up on the current events.

He sat next to Heen, running his hand down the dog's spine as he read the front page.

"Uh, Sophie?" Howl said, his eyes glued to the headline article.

"Yes?" She walked up to the couch and wrapped her arms around him, patting his chest. She clenched her hand harder when she read the headline:

Royal Kingsbury Wedding Approaching!

"I believe Lettie Hatter is not a very common name." Howl turned to Sophie, though she was reading the article very carefully. Prince Justin of Kingsbury has announced his engagement to Lettie Hatter, an employee of Good Cooking Pan Bakery. For six months, the couple had been seen in a romantic endeavour before Prince Justin's proposal last week. The wedding is set to be at the Royal Palace Chapel on October 2nd...

"Sophie, did you know your sister was getting married?"

Sophie blinked and turned to Howl. "Oh, yes. Lettie came by the other day and asked me to be the maid of honor."

Howl raised an eyebrow. "And it doesn't concern you at all that she's marrying Justin?"

"Why would that worry me?"

"Well, he confessed his love for you and then a year later he's engaged to your sister?" Howl stared at the words on the paper, reading and rereading to find a secret answer. "It just doesn't seem like a coincidence to me."

"Well, I think it means he's not in love with me anymore." Sophie shrugged. "I'm happy for them. I can't wait for the wedding."

Howl creased his eyebrows upward, eventually nodding and turning the page. "As long as he's not trying to win you over, I'm happy."

Sophie and Calcifer caught a brief glimpse of one another before she walked out of the room, reminding herself why it was best for Howl not to know the things he missed.

. ❀ 。• * ₊ ° 。❀ ° 。

The next day, Sophie told Markl he could practice his magic and she would take over work in the flower shop. He rushed out, wand already in hand. She sat for a couple hours waiting for customers, but no one stopped by for quite some time.

Around midday, the bell chimed and a tall, slender man walked in. He had long, black hair and a pair of shades covering his eyes. He barely paid Sophie any notice as he observed one shelf of flower pots.

Sophie found this quite odd, since most customers smiled or at least nodded in her direction, acknowledging her presence. This man completely ignored her, not once recognizing her existence.

"I'm here if you have any questions." Sophie said. He only nodded toward the flowers. Sophie stared suspiciously at the man. He was quiet and brought an eerie presence to her lively shop. She wondered if he could be an enemy of Howl's, since many had popped up since she entered his life. It wasn't until she saw the blue pendant around the man's neck did she recognize him.

"So, are you new around here?" Sophie said, acting clueless to his tactics. "I've never seen you before."

"Just moved, actually." he said, still barely acknowledging her. "I was hoping to find a lovely bouquet for my girlfriend."

"How sweet." Sophie touched her heart, then sighed with an overly-dramatic flair. "That's more than my boyfriend ever does."

The man straightened his posture, still not turning to her, though. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, he's always away on business and never has time to do sweet things like that."

The man slyly walked closer to the front counter. "Well, maybe he's trying to change that."

Sophie sniffled and faked wiping a tear, somewhat proud of her theatrics. "I doubt it. He says he wants to be home more, but I think he's just trying to make me feel better."

Sophie watched as he trotted to the front counter, his creepy smile ever-present. "Well then." The man flicked his wrist and gestured his hand toward Sophie. "Maybe we should change your perspective on that."

The flower shop began to distort and fluctuate in size. Sophie huddled down, but the man stood next to her, holding on to her shoulders.

"Howl, what are you getting at?" Sophie grumbled.

He chuckled softly. "You'll see."

The flowers on the shelves molded into the ground until they were planted down, as if they hadn't been picked yet. Soon, the flowers began to multiply and spread out over hundreds of acres, a clear lake glistening in the sunlight. The mountains in the distance shielded the serene land from the outside world, giving them the peace and solitude they desired.

"So, you really think I was just trying to make you feel better?" Howl winked.

Sophie playfully elbowed his side. "I was only messing with you. I knew you were trying to fool me."

"I guess I should know by now – you always see right through my disguises."

"It's become a skill of mine." Sophie laughed lightly. The breeze picked up, sending Sophie's glittering hair flowing with it. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool air, letting the wind push her back just far enough before she returned to reality and sealed her feet to the ground.

"Wait!" She shouted. "The shop. I can't leave it unattended."

Howl burst a short chuckle. "So, you notice my disguise but not when I flipped the open sign to close?" Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. Howl was always one step ahead of her.

"So, why did you take me here?"

"Don't tell me you forgot." Sophie stared wide-eyed at Howl, completely clueless as to what he meant. Howl clasped his hands over his mouth. "The great and all-knowing Sophie Hatter forgot the most important day of the year?"

"And that would be...?"

Howl snapped his fingers, and in the flower patch that floated in the middle of the lake appeared a blue and white blanket and a wicker picnic basket. Howl stepped in the air and held his hand out for Sophie. She placed her hand on top of his and they walked on air toward the picnic.

She descended to the ground and lay on the blanket, feeling the soft cotton around her. Howl opened the wicker basket and instead of food, fireflies emerged and danced around Sophie. She giggled as a few touched her nose. They flew toward the sky, forming a series of letters for her.

She squinted to read them, since it was still daylight, but the words eventually were clear to her.

Howl sighed and lay back with her. "Now look who's forgetful."

Sophie sat up and curled her hair around her ear. Howl joined her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay. I forgive you for forgetting our anniversary."

Sophie laughed lightly, but she knew she had to tell him the truth. "Um, I didn't forget."

"Seems like you did." Howl said with a confident smile.

"Actually..." Sophie whispered. "You did."

Howl turned to her, but she kept her gaze down. "No I didn't. Look, it's right there in plain sight. I obviously didn't forget, Soph. Tell me you're lying."

She smiled and closed her mouth to contain the bursts of laughter that were erupting. "Our anniversary was last week."

Howl's face dropped, and Sophie released humor in roaring snorts when she saw him. She fell back on the blanket holding her stomach as she couldn't control her laughter.

"Sophie, why are you laughing? I feel terrible now. I can't believe I forgot our anniversary. I feel like such a jerk."

Sophie tried to simmer down as she sat up, wrapping her arms around Howl from behind him. She kissed his cheek. "You're fine. It's still so sweet that you did all of this. You were just about five days late."

When Howl saw Sophie's smile, he couldn't help but join. "I was hoping to make this special though, and now that it's not on the right day, it kind of feels stupid."

Sophie held her breath, watching Howl sift through the wicker. Her heart raced with her quick intakes of air. Could this be it? Could this be exactly what she had been waiting for? Was Howl finally ready?

He held a small object in his hand, not in the typical fashion as someone about to propose would. However, this was nothing close to Sophie's expectations.

"Sophie, you taught me something no one ever could, not even my uncle who cared for me since I was young. You showed me that having a heart was a burden worth taking, that having someone to love and cherish was more important than being a narcissistic wizard with powers beyond belief. You showed me that I could feel this way for someone, and for that, I want to entrust you with this." He held a necklace with a blue pendant similar to Howl's, but this one had a gold figure with simplistic wings in the center. It was beautiful, but it wasn't what Sophie wished to see.

"This necklace has been in my family for generations, and only worn by those who can uphold its magical properties. I noticed it recently has taken a liking to you, and felt it was appropriate that you finally wear it."

Sophie felt her eyes water, but knew this wasn't the moment to cry. She wasn't crying tears of joy, so these tears were pointless. And Howl noticed.

"Why are you sad?" He touched her shoulder, but Sophie sniffled and forced a smile, wrapping her hands around his.

"I'm not; I love it." She stared into his eyes, hoping he couldn't see the pain behind the wall she built. He nodded and wrapped the necklace around her. She touched the pendant and it glowed ever so slightly, giving Sophie the strength to wait just a little longer for Howl to make the commitment she so desperately yearned for from him - and only him.