Howl's Moving Castle

Part 1

"Howl! You know I'll always love you right?" I said as I fell into Howl's arms.

He held me tight and smiled. "I know Sophie. I love you so much too."

We kissed for a brief moment. Howl then let me down onto the ground. He bent down on one knee. I gasped.

"Sophie, my dear Sophie Hatter." He pulled out a small velvet box from his pocket. "Will you do me the honor of becoming Sophie Pendragon?" He opened the box and revealed a lustrous blue diamond.

"Howl..." Tears poured out of my eyes. "Oh Howl! Of course I will! Yes! Yes!" Howl slipped the ring onto my finger. "It's beautiful Howl."

"Yes. Yes it is. But not nearly as beautiful as you."

~Timeskip~

I locked myself in the bathroom. What had I just seen? Howl! Howl was in our bedroom with another woman! I sobbed. I didn't care enough if they heard. IF HOWL HEARD! HE! He. He.....he's gone.

"He doesn't love me! It's because I'm not pretty isn't it? How can someone be so cruel!?" I cried out.

I heard the sounds of Howl and the woman's love making stop. They must have heard me. I tried to clear my tears from my eyes. But they were relentless.

"Sophie!?"

Oh no. It was Howl's voice. He was coming closer. What do I do? What do I do! I slammed the door on Howl's face which to my sadistic pleasure made Howl elicit a yell of pain. I ran for the door.

"SOPHIE!" Howl yelled.

I made no effort to look back.

"SOPHIE!! WAIT! SOPHIE! NO!!!"

I was never going back. And with that, I hastily removed the blue diamond ring Howl had given me, along with the other ring that led me to Calcifer....in other words, I lost my last connection to home.

~"I'm trying to hurry, but I just can't seem to stop crying."~

1 year later.

"Sophie Pendragon. You show great promise." Ms. Hennessy stood up from her chair. "I-"

"Please don't call me that. Call Sophie Hatter, ma'am."

"If you wish, Sophie. As I was saying, I sent a letter of recommendation to the High Table."

My eyes widened. The High Table! The High Table was composed of the best magic users in all the land. Going there means that I would need to pass the Trials. The Trials are brutal. Only those who are worthy survive. Last year, 9 out of 80 of our witches at Maverick (the institute/House where I study) were selected to represent our House. And out of those 9, none survived. My friend Yolen was one of the victims. She was such a kind soul.

"Do you wish me to die?" I asked.

Ms. Hennessy stared at me strangely. "What ever made you think that? You're mistaken. I think that you will make it through. That is one of the reasons I've called you here in the first place.

Huh? One of the reasons? "I'm curious as to what the other reason is ma'am."

For a moment I thought I saw Ms. Hennessy stiffen. She cleared her throat. "Well, the other reason I called you here was because you have someone here who wants to see you."

"What?"

"That person is waiting for you in the Main Hall in the Gold Wing."

The Gold Wing. That must mean that this person is rather important. "If that is all, then may I excuse myself ma'am?"

"Yes you may."

As I walked past the junior magicians they all bowed down to me. It was really no surprise by now. I had been announced one of the most accomplished magic users in our House about a month ago, after everyone had learned about the monster dungeon I had cleared. It was a level 7 dungeon, one of the hardest levels to clear. I'm actually curious as to who this visitor may be. I haven't kept contact with people who weren't part of my House except for my family. Perhaps they came to visit? I immediately waved that idea off. The person is waiting in the Gold Wing. If my relatives came to visit, they wouldn't even be allowed to come in without a personal visit from me. But even so, it is highly discouraged to invite an "outsider" onto magical grounds. My thoughts were interrupted when my friend Mackie, a 3rd year like me, ran straight into my right shoulder.

"Tsk. What was that for?"

Mackie squealed. "The wizards from the Royal Academy are hosting a banquet in 2 weeks!"

I furrowed my brow. "And what makes that so exciting? If you wanted to socialize with guys then you should've considered going to 'Clacy's Academy for Boys and Girls.'" I chided.

"Then that means I wouldn't have met my BFF. No way! Girlfriends over boyfriends anytime."

I smiled. "Sure M. Sure."

"What, don't you feel the same?" Mackie questioned with an exaggerated look of hurt on her face.

"I feel the same, I feel the same. I have to go now. I have someone who wants to see me."

Mackie's eyes sparkled. "Is it a boy?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Side note: The House that Sophie is at is called Maverick. Maverick is the #1 female school of magic. To enter, you must pass a test in which the applicant must endure intense physical, mental, and emotional pain while staying in control of themselves over the course of 30 days. It is nothing compared to the Trials. If said applicant manages to pass the trials, they are given the *Sight.

*Sight is the way magic users are able to see things most people cannot. All impurities in the eyes are removed, resulting in the iris usually turning into a silver grey color. Over the 756 year history of Maverick, only 2 magic users had irises the colour of violet. Intense, vivid, piercing, and glowing. The first person with eyes of violet was the Founder. The most recent one is Sophie Hatter.