Porcelain Doll (Howl X Reader)

Prologue

The day was to be a long one, as a elderly woman had begun her job cleaning. Her grey hair was held back in a braid with a cloth covering her face, hiding the scowl underneath it.

"I don't understand how Howl could live in such a dirty place" The lady huffs tossing water along the floors, wiping it down with the mop.

"He is rarely home enough to care" A younger voice pipes up. The elderly woman turns to the boy with a shake of her head. She moves towards a chair lifting off the blanket which lay over it.

She squeaks, taking a step back. In the chair sat a life-size porcelain doll, slouched over the seat, yet placed so elegantly.

"Now why would he even have this?" She questioned, stepping forward to move the doll so she could clean.

"Wait Sophie! Don't touch her!" The boy shouts, stopping the lady in her movements. She glances at the boy with narrowed eyes.

"I said I was here to clean and that is what I plan to do" She huffs, picking up the doll carefully and setting her down in a clean area.

"Sophie, that's not a smart idea. You should put her back before Master Howl notices..." The boy trails, cowering in the corner.

"Markl will you stop it!" She wets the floor where the chair once was placed next to the fire and begins mopping. She seemed more aggressive with her wiping as she continued to speak to the boy with a harsh tone "I don't understand why you are getting so upset, plus it isn't wise he keeps the thing that seems so precious close to somewhere it can burn."

"Excuse me" The fire next to Sophie pipes up, a face forming in the flames "I choose what I burn, thank you very much"

"Of course Calcifer" Sophie rolls her eyes, continuing to sweep as the room grows silent, the only noise made in the room was the crackling of the fire and Sophie who was hard at work. Markl stood by the doll Sophie had moved with wide eyes, entranced by it, with a nostalgic look to his eyes.

"Sophie!" A voice booms through the small room.

"Uh oh" Markl whispers, snapping out of his daze. He scrambles to a corner farthest away from Sophie and hidden in the shadows. Sophie simply ignores Markl's whisper of concern and continues her chore.

"Sophie!" The voice growls, closer to Sophie than before. She jumps in surprise, turning to face the tall man glaring at her. She glared back at him. His gaze held hostility, anger evident in his features.

"Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean, Howl?" She feigned innocence, though it wasn't a complete lie, she didn't know why he was so riled up over a doll.

"Where is she?" He towers over the elderly woman.

Slightly intimidated, Sophie caved first. She had never seen him so angry, so slowly she raised her frail arm pointing at the porcelain doll set neatly on a blanket on the floor, surrounded by piles of trash.

"Were you planning to throw her out?!" He gasps, racing over to the porcelain doll, picking her up with extreme caution, as if she were a person.

"It's a doll" Sophie rolls her eyes "No need to get so emotional. I am cleaning. I was going to put her back after I finished"

The blond's grip around the porcelain doll seemed to tighten as he stared down at it, before he released a sigh. He seemed to have calmed slightly.

"Do not ever touch her again" He states coldly, staring Sophie down. Hesitantly, Sophie nods her head, never breaking eye contact with Howl's narrowed eyes.

Averting his gaze, Howl gently places the doll back in her seat, positioning her to sit how she was before Sophie had moved her. Carefully he puts the blanket back over her, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. Without another word, Howl leaves retreating to his bedroom, leaving the room in total silence.

Once the bedroom door is closed Sophie turns to the fire with a raised eyebrow.

"What's his deal? Why is he so protective of a porcelain doll, they are kinda useless other than sitting there and looking pretty" She whispers for only the three to hear.

"He's very attached to her," Markl says. He walks towards Sophie who was leaning against the mop. Sophie noticed the young boy's gaze still locked on the doll who was now underneath the blanket. "And I don't blame him, I am too"

"But why? Why would he react that way" She questions, curious about the answer. Markl crosses his arms over his chest staring up at Sophie "Aren't you being nosy"

"It's a long story," Calcifer says before Sophie could say something to Markl. Sophie glances around the room, grabbing an empty chair and pulling it up next to the talking fire.

"I have time," She replies. Markl sits down on the floor next to her with a solemn look, sharing a gaze with Calcifer.

After a few moments of silence Calcifer speaks up to break it. There he began telling a story, the story of the porcelain doll.
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A/N: Hello and welcome! This is the start of Porcelain Doll. As for updates I plan to have the prolouge out the first few weeks before starting to publish every week or every other week (hasn't been decided yet). I hope, in the future you all can enjoy this story as much as I did writing it!