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

Chapter 10: Illumination

"Lettie is dead?" Calcifer dropped his jaw. He cared for Lettie. Though they were unable to have any real conversation for fear of her discovering Sophie's magical lifestyle, he still heard enough from her to feel a sense of familial love for the girl. He didn't think Suliman would go to such lengths for an arranged marriage.

Which begged the question in his mind of how long Madame Suliman had been tricking them, but he assumed Sophie didn't want to continue talking about such tragic news.

"We'll get you out, Soph." Calcifer said, his voice determined. "Don't worry, Howl and Kenta will be here soon. I'll let them know–"

"No, Calcifer." The fire demon looked at her with worrisome eyes; she already looked defeated. "You can't let Howl know about this. I'd rather him not know until it's done."

"But Sophie, we can save you, we'll get you out. You don't have to–"

"I can't leave." Sophie pleaded with him, wiping her eyes clean. "If I don't marry Justin, Suliman will arrest Howl for murdering my sister. She plans on giving him the death sentence. He has to stay as far away from here as possible."

Calcifer's flames grew larger and redder. "She can't do that. Howl would never kill anyone close to you, especially your sister."

"She can do whatever she wants." Sophie said in anguish. "She's the most powerful sorceress on the continent - probably the entire world. No one other than Howl has ever dared to stand up against her and walk away unscarred."

"Sophie, you'll hurt him more than you can imagine by marrying Justin – of all people, the Prince is the one person he despises the most."

"But he'll get better." Sophie said, trying to smile. "If he's rotting in a jail cell, he'll never forgive me and his dark side will take over. If he's dead there's no way to reverse it. He'll be better off if I'm not in the picture."

"His dark side already came out." Sophie widened her eyes. She hadn't seen Howl release the demon inside of him since the day they stopped the war. And, with his heart back, she hadn't seen its true power. He had been able to control his anger over the small things, but nothing had pushed him over the limit.

"How? What happened?"

"Tonight, after I told him Justin proposed to you." Sophie covered her mouth. "You may not think Howl loves you the way you love him, but he does. He loves you more than anyone in the world, and just hearing that someone wanted to marry you drove him over the edge. How do you think he'll react when he sees the papers tomorrow talking about the happiest new royal couple?"

Sophie curled up once more and cried into her knees, hoping this was just a bad dream. She begged for it to go away like the other dreams and nightmares that tortured her, but it was no use. Whatever she decided, Howl would hurt.

Calcifer sighed. "We're going to do everything we can to stop this wedding. I promise."

"And if Suliman gets to Howl first?" Sophie asked. She searched Calcifer for a hopeful answer, but even a charismatic demon like himself couldn't hide his doubt.

Calcifer lowered his gaze. "First, let's focus on getting you out of the Palace. Then, we'll worry about Howl."

Sophie nodded. She wasn't sure if they could even get her out of the Palace, but she felt a sense of relief knowing her family would go this far to aid her. Though she feared Suliman, she believed in the love of her family more.

"I have to go back and help Markl protect the castle, but don't lose hope. We're not leaving you." Sophie smiled and nodded, grateful to have a family willing to go to such lengths to save her from these mistakes.

"Thank you, Calcifer. I love you so much." Sophie leaned closer to the fire and kissed him softly, a slight trickle of fire burning her lip. Calcifer smiled, then the demon slowly faded away until eventually, the fire returned to its inanimate state.

Sophie lay down on the carpet, resting near the fire. Howl released his dark side, something he had been able to conceal for some time. She didn't believe that something as petty as love would be his breaking point. Howl hadn't been that person before.

When did he change? When did he start using his heart to express real love for her? There was never a day she questioned her love, yet constantly she wondered when Howl would shield himself from their promise. With his constant missions and consistent disappearance, she always thought his priorities were elsewhere.

How did love become his undoing?

After everything he had done, after all the pain he had caused her, she would still do anything to keep him safe and alive - even if it meant marrying his greatest rival.