Howl and the Soulmate Stone

Part Two : She's Gone

Back at the castle, Howl was not fairing nearly as well as Sophie and the Witch. When he had seen that the Witch had taken Sophie he wanted to fly right out the door after them.

But without Howl in the castle, it would stop going places. That was part of the magic to the place without Calcifer. And, thanks to that horrid Prince Justin, the castle was now far above the ground and moving steadily. If Howl stepped foot outside it would plummet and his beloved castle would be no more.

Again.

He really didn't think he could go through that, his castle was precious.

However, so was Sophie. Howl hated the thought of it so much that he ended up calling forth the spirits of darkness like he had when he had lost his beloved hair color. "Why did she leave me?" he wailed in to the empty castle. There was no reply.

Blackness swirled around him, making the night darker than it had been before. Even the dull moon and the dying fire were drowned out by the evil spirits milling around the wizard. "Why, why, why must I- a humble wizard who has never done anything wrong in this life deserve this sort of betrayal?"

Then it hit him straight between the eyes. The spirits of darkness stopped swirling and Howl raised his head, looking angry. "Hold on, Sophie didn't leave me... the Witch of the Waste stole her from me against her will! Sophie would never leave me willingly (who on earth would want to leave someone as amazing as this?)!" he exclaimed. "She has wanted my heart for so long and now she has stolen the object of my love! I must get her back!"

And slowly, the spirits of darkness dissipated and Howl came back to himself. "As soon as I can find a safe place to land the castle I will set out in search for her!" he muttered to himself.

"Jeez, what happened in here? Did Sophie finally dump you?" Calcifer's voice came from somewhere behind the distraught wizard. He spun around to see the fire demon hovering in front of him.

"What do you mean, finally," Howl questioned. "She was taken by the Witch of the Waste and I must find her. Before that evil Witch does something horrible."

Calcifer laughed. "That old lady? She couldn't hurt Sophie if she tried!" he reasoned. "I mean, look at her, she was probably a hundred years old and powerless too. Remember?"

"She regained her magic," Howl informed him darkly. Calcifer's flames shot up, bright and hot in his surprise.

"What? Oh that is so not good! Poor Sophie!" he muttered, flying in a circle around Howl's head, dangerously close to the wizard's precious hair.

Howl ducked as the demon took another swing around the room. "Yes, we have to act quickly."

"We?" asked Calcifer incredulously. "Look, I love Sophie, you know I do. But the Witch of the Waste?" He shuddered and his fire flickered. "I never want to see that witch again." Howl frowned but understood and, after a small chat, Calcifer disappeared into the night. Just like Sophie had. Howl missed her already...

Because he had resolved to wait until morning to land the ship he could only wait as the castle shuddered beneath him and the mechanical noises and the sound of the wind filled the night. He felt very alone.

Howl had obtained his castle from another wizard, his uncle, a very long time ago after the man had died. He had always felt attached to it both mentally and, when Calcifer was tied to his heart, physically. But he had never really been on his own in it.

When he had first visited his uncle had been there. When he first moved in it had been with Calcifer. Then with Marukuru and finally with Sophie. Really he couldn't remember the last time he had been truly alone in his own castle. It was not a good feeling.

Where were the people admiring his talents and looks? Where were the adoring fans and people to praise him? Or even just talk to him. He was lonely. And it had only been about half an hour. It was going to be a very long night.

Howl was sure that he would not be able to sleep, so he paced the castle restlessly. Where could that witch have taken her? The Waste, surely... It was pretty far from there, though. And where were they now?

There had to be some way to track her. Some way to figure out where that Witch was holding her captive. Howl shook his head, trying to think. Frustrated, he ran his hands through his gorgeous dark locks and yelped in pain as one of his rings snagged. "Ouch! Why that cursed thing-!" Frustrated he tugged the metal band off his finger and threw it to the floor.

It bounced with a light tinkling of metal and for a moment the moonlight caught on the small green stone that adorned the silver. As it clattered to a stop, Howl was struck with an idea. He could use the ring to find her! Quickly he thought back to the time Sophie had worn it to find her way back to the castle after she had gone to help him brave the evil and terrifying Madame Suliman. She had long since given it back to him, apparently the green didn't suit her, and he had been wearing it ever since.

The thing was supposed to be for finding the castle, but if he just adjusted the spell a bit... Stooping and grabbing the ring Howl studied it for a moment. The spell wasn't too powerful, which mean that it wouldn't be hard to alter.

The wizard closed his eyes and concentrated, bringing all of his (okay, most of his) focus to the ring and changed the spell. As he did the dark strands of his long hair rose up off his shoulders to sway through the air and the ring's gem glowed a bright emerald. If the prince's eyes had been opened they might have been hurt from the blinding flash that followed.

But they were closed and when the boy opened them again the ring was back to normal and he was standing in his deserted castle in the dark. With nothing left to do and feeling quite exhausted, the wizard reasoned that, even though he had told himself he couldn't, getting a few hours of sleep would probably do him good and help him gain more stamina for his journey in the morning. It was only a little ways away now.