Thorns of a Rose #1 (Howl's Moving Castle fanfiction)

Chapter 21: Blessings and Curses and Worse to Come

The screech of the train whistle immediately woke Sophie as they approached the small town of Magnol. Sophie squinted at the golden sunlight that twinkled through the window. A field of trees flew by as the train sprinted across the tracks, its destination only minutes away.

Sophie looked around the sleeping passengers, all of them leaning against something or someone in a deep slumber. Markl still held Calcifer's box tucked under his arm. The Witch of the Wastes slumped against the compartment wall, Heen sleeping peacefully next to her. Sophie turned to Howl, who held his gaze out the window. She wondered if he had slept at all or if he had stayed vigilant all night.

Sophie snuggled under his arm and he naturally pulled her closer to him. She ran her fingers over his chest, which captured his attention and he soon realized that she was awake. He looked down at her and smiled, like his lips were pulled up by strings. She blew him a kiss and, with his free hand, he pretended to catch it.

Sophie giggled quietly. She couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was the atmosphere or the feeling of knowing they were isolated away from Suliman and her schemes, but Sophie felt calm. For the first time since Justin first proposed, she truly felt calm.

"Sophie." Howl whispered. He pointed out the window. "Welcome home."

Sophie sat up and peered over Howl to see what he was pointing at. She smiled wide as the fields of corn and rice and beans rushed by the moving train, blowing coarsely in the wind. The small town of Magnol stood in the distance, no building taller than three stories from what Sophie could see. A truck carrying a heavy load of crops drove next to the train on the country road, hardly matching its speed. This was what they needed – a nice, small farm town far away from the mayhem of Kingsbury. A place to blend in.

Sophie turned to Howl, his visage so innocent and warm. His eyes were a cloudy rainstorm glistening in the morning sunlight. He brushed his fingers through her starlight hair, carefully trying not to pull hard on the knots. Sophie laid her head on his chest and exhaled with peace.

When the train pulled into the station, the Pendragon family wasted no time in removing their luggage and slyly departing from the train, as they hoped the conductor wouldn't see them escaping. Howl found it easy to evade the conductor's curiosity by continuing with the invisibility spell whenever he walked by, though without Markl's help, it was slightly weakened.

Howl led the Pendragons to the nearest exit. He held Sophie's hand as she jumped onto the platform, then did the same for the Witch of the Wastes as she arduously made her way down. Markl held Calcifer's box as he jumped onto each step before landing on the platform with the others. Howl checked to make sure they were all together when he heard a harsh wheezing from behind him.

Heen stood at the exit, stepping forward slightly and then backing away extremely. He was too afraid to jump down. Howl sighed and shook his head. As he reached his arms toward the frightened dog, Heen was much more relieved in the wizard's grasp.

"Don't worry, little guy." Howl grunted, surprisingly unaware of Heen's hefty weight.

The Witch smiled. "Aww, look at these two. A match made in heaven."

Howl rolled his eyes and set Heen on the platform. He looked around the group to do another head count, only this time Sophie was missing.

He stretched his neck to see above the crowd, but Sophie was not among them. His heart started to race, wondering where she could have gone or if something terrible had already happened to her without him noticing. He jerked his head all around, until the beautiful silver hair came into view.

"Sophie!" Howl called out. She turned around, a wide grin present on her face. Howl creased his eyebrows inward, wondering what she looked so happy about. An older woman stood next to her, displaying a very enthusiastic and perky personality. Sophie pointed to Howl and waved for him to come over.