A Heart in Flames #2 (Howl's Moving Castle fanfiction)

Chapter 11: Creature of Limited Purpose

As a fire demon, Calcifer always saw himself as a creature of limited purpose. He was constrained to fireplaces and steel boxes, unable to move freely on his own. Heating baths and moving a junky castle were not what he expected to be doing in his second life, yet he knew he shouldn't complain. If it weren't for the Wizard Howl, he wouldn't even be alive.

Calcifer sat in the fireplace, his eyelids weighing down and begging for rest. Though it was not a necessity for him to survive, sometimes a little sleep helped him focus better. He dozed off atop the growing pile of ashes and the fragile heart that kept him alive, giving in to the tempting slumber.

Their relationship was one of high complexity. Calcifer kept Howl's heart hidden and protected while it fed into his own life. Howl avoided most, if not all, human emotions and focused more on magic. They kept this balance for nearly a decade. Howl wanted to avoid any human connection, and Calcifer feared what would happen if he lost Howl's heart - as long as Calcifer carried his heart, their curse stayed active.

"Peekaboo!" Calcifer shot his eyes open only to find a small child standing in front of him. Calcifer blinked a couple times, taking in the sight of the boy. He had short ginger hair and dark brown eyes. He wasn't very tall, only a few inches above the height of the fireplace. He couldn't have been more than four or five years old. The boy had torn clothing in his arms and over the knees, and his face was scuffed with dirt marks and a few cuts.

He laughed. "You're a fire."

Calcifer rolled his eyes. "No, I'm a fire demon. They are two completely different things."

The boy covered his mouth as he continued his laughter. "Can I touch you?"

Calcifer widened his eyes. "No you cannot. I'm not a toy!" Howl walked down the staircase, his eccentric attire too peculiar to miss. His blonde hair swayed back and forth, long enough to cover his eyes. He held a stack of clothes fit for the small boy.

"Howl." Calcifer breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. Would you tell me why you let a child in here?"

"He was sitting on our doorstep in Porthaven." Howl said. He waved his hands over the dining table, closing a spell book he had been studying earlier that day. "He told me he had no home to go to, so I allowed him to stay with us."

The boy reached onto the cement fireplace. Calcifer backed away as far as he could. "Well, would you tell him not to touch me? I'm a fire demon."

The boy climbed onto the fireplace and dropped his hand on Calcifer. Not a second later did the boy fall back on the floor, crying with a burned hand. The tears flooded as he held his hand close. "Bad fire, you burn me."

Calcifer gawked. "I told him not to touch me! It's always the same; I only hurt people."

Howl waved his hand to Calcifer and bent down next to the boy. "Does it hurt, Markl?"

He nodded, using his other hand to wipe the tears from his face. Howl set the clothes on the floor and held Markl's burned hand with one hand, waving over it with his other. With a whisper of ancient words, the mark on his hand faded away and returned to a healthy color.

Markl smiled wide and held his hand up. "It doesn't hurt!"

Howl nodded. "You will learn these things as well. I will train you to be a great wizard."

Calcifer frowned - that's why he brought the child in. He wanted an apprentice. They had been acquaintances for a decade, and Calcifer knew Howl's motives for almost every decision he made. This was of no surprise to him.