When Lettie opened the apartment door to her older sister standing on the doormat, Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. She had knocked on the door twice before opening, which concerned Sophie, thinking Lettie wasn't home. She needed her sister now more than ever.
Lettie opened the door wider, her face washed with concern. "Sophie, what's wrong?"
Sophie sniffed and lowered her eyes. "Um, is there any way you could... if I... could spend the night here?"
Lettie's eyes widened. "Of course. You're my sister, I would do anything for you." Lettie embraced Sophie softly rather than lunging toward her, as she usually would have done. Sophie was impressed with her maturity. Maybe Justin was teaching her to be more proper.
Or just using her to get to Sophie.
She didn't want to bring that up. She didn't want to be the person who ruined her sister's first love. She would coerce Justin into admitting everything he had done since the day they met, especially his false accusations against Howl. Lettie would eventually know the truth. Maybe then, Sophie could be honest about her true relationship.
Sophie walked with Lettie to the small living room. Her apartment was quite small, about twice the size of the main room back at home. There was a short, two-cushion couch parallel to a coffee table and a quaint fireplace. A brown armchair stood to the right of the coffee table.
"Do you want some coffee or tea?" Lettie asked on her way to the kitchen. "It's no trouble."
"Tea would be nice. Chamomile, please." She took the couch and immediately rested her head in her palm. It had been such a long day - disputing with Suliman and then immediately arguing with Howl. Before, Sophie would have submitted to both of them, but instead she stood up for herself. And she felt more confident because of it.
"Here you go." Lettie snatched a coaster from the coffee table drawer and placed the hot cup of tea on top. She sat in the armchair as Sophie took a quick sip. "All good?"
Sophie set the cup down with a sigh. "Very. Thank you."
"So, is this what I think it's about?" Sophie looked up to Lettie, her eyebrows raised and the side of her lip curled up. When Sophie nodded, Lettie crossed her legs. "All right, what did he do?"
Sophie wished she had said his name because she was wracking her brain to remember the alias she conjured up in place of Howl. She would have to just stick with pronouns to describe him. "He and I are just not getting along very well right now."
"How so?"
"Well, we had an argument today about..." Sophie stopped herself. She knew she had to be as vague as possible, otherwise Lettie would know it was Howl. She gulped before continuing. "He lied to me."
"It must have been a big lie." Lettie stood up to add a couple logs to the fire. "You seem really distressed about what Donald did."
Donald. Right. How did she come up with Donald from Howl? Sophie brushed it off and sighed in relief. It was better to have the name than to guess.
Sophie took a bigger sip of tea. "It was a big enough lie for me to wonder why I trust anything he says."
"Don't be so hard on yourself." Lettie returned to the armchair and leaned in close to Sophie. "I'm sure he had his reasons."
"Yes, selfish reasons." Sophie's voice grew in volume. "He only cares about himself most of the time, and his family means nothing to him. He didn't even remember Markl's birthday until I told him because he had been gone for so long. I just wish he would take a moment to consider how I feel about the decisions he makes. But no. It's always about him – not about me or Markl or–" Sophie slowed down again. She tried not to let her emotions get the better of her, but the anger she felt toward Howl was too much to keep locked inside.
Lettie fiddled with her fingers and lowered her gaze. "I wish I knew him better than what you've told me. I feel as though I would be more helpful that way."
Sophie lightly smiled and held her hand. "Just having you to talk to is more than enough."
Lettie rubbed Sophie's hand and smiled. "It would be nice to finally meet him, though. I may be able to understand your situation more."
Sophie blinked. "Oh, I don't know about that. He's very um... it's just hard because–"
"Sophie, stop making excuses." Lettie's voice became stern. "You two started living together right after you started dating. I've been to your home hundreds of times and he's conveniently never there. You're trying to keep me away from him."
"No I'm not." Sophie said, her voice pleading for Lettie to believe her, and partially to believe in her own words. "He's always gone, and that's another reason why we're having problems. I'm not hiding him because there's nothing to hide."
Lettie sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. It's just strange, being in a man's house and never actually seeing the man."
Sophie took a quick sip, her headache affecting her worse than before. "He's gone more than he's actually at home. I feel like I don't know him anymore. He just disappears, running around going on missions that I don't have the mentality to understand."
"Missions?" Lettie asked.
Sophie widened her eyes. "Missions. Yes... like a business trip, but they call them missions."
Lettie dropped the corners of her mouth, not believing a single word. "Stop lying."
Sophie raised her eyebrows. "I'm not."
"I can sense it in your tone. There's something you don't want me to know."
"Well, much of this is personal to me, things I'd rather not say."
"Sophie, you can trust me."
"I can't tell you." Sophie glared at Lettie, staring her down. "I know I came to you for help and you're trying and I'm so glad to have you, but there are some things better left unsaid."
Sophie went to take a sip of her tea, and Lettie widened her eyes. "Is he hurting you?"
Sophie almost choked on her drink. "What?"
"That's the only thing I can think of. Is he hurting you? You have to get out of there fast, and take Markl with you. He can't do that to you, Sophie, he just–"
"Lettie, he hasn't laid a finger on me!" Sophie tried calming her sister down, but her voice became more enraged than soothing. "He would never do that to me, no matter how bad things got or how hurtful the argument was. Howl is a good person, and you would know that if you didn't assume such horrible things about him."
One of the logs in the fireplace fractured in two, the crackle and scorching flame filling the dead room with a bitter sound. The sisters locked eyes, neither daring to move. Sophie's heart pounded against her chest as she repeated her words over and over in her mind. There was no hiding anymore.
Lettie tried finding her voice, but it cracked. "Ho-Howl? You... you're living with the wizard, Howl?"
"I know how it sounds, Lettie, but he's not the person you think. He hasn't done the things you believe he's done. Those were only stories."
Lettie crinkled her eyebrows inward. "He kidnapped my Justin."
"No he didn't." Sophie held her hands and knelt down by her sister's side. "He hasn't done any of the things Justin told you. I know; I was there. Howl helped me save Justin from being a scarecrow; he would never hurt anyone."
"Then why would he lie about that?"
"I don't know. He wants to get Howl in trouble for something, but I honestly don't know why Justin said those things about him." Another lie, Sophie thought. She knew Justin's reasons very clearly, but she didn't know how much Lettie's heart could take after the first confession.
Lettie's eyes began to water, but she blinked the tears away. "I don't believe you."
"You have to, Lettie, I'm your sister! Why would I tell you this if it wasn't true?"
"I don't know; why didn't you tell me you were in love with the most heartless wizard from the Wastes?"
Sophie's lip trembled. "You're right. You're right; I should have told you and I didn't. But I'm trying to make up for it now."
Lettie turned away, but Sophie tightened her grip on her hands. "Howl was the one who gave me the life I have now. He gave me Markl, a place to call home with people who love and need me in their lives. The rumors you heard about him eating young women's hearts are false. He's never done anything of the sort."
"Never?" Lettie asked, her voice stretching out the word. "You're saying he's never done anything as heartless as what I've heard?"
Sophie licked her lips and lowered her gaze. If she wanted her sister to trust her again; she had to confess more. "He... it was years ago, but he did accidentally kill someone."
Lettie darted her eyes to Sophie, her tears almost entirely gone. She raised her voice. "He committed murder?"
Sophie waved a hand toward her sister, pushing her own voice almost to a whisper. If Suliman could get into their safeguarded castle, who knew the various places she had access to? "Yes, but it was a long time ago and he had no intention of killing them. I don't know everything, but he trusted me enough to share his heaviest burden. It was an accident; I promise."
Lettie raised her eyebrows slightly. "But you are saying he committed murder?"
"Yes." Sophie said with a heavy sigh. "But please, don't think any less of him for a mistake he made in the past."
Lettie sat back in the chair, her posture very proper and poised. She tapped her chin, a light laugh escaping from her lips. "Wow, I didn't think it would be that easy."
Sophie dropped her hands. Lettie continued to stare off in the distance, every so often letting out a laugh or a smile. Somehow, her aura had transitioned into something more crooked and odd. This was too strange for Sophie.
When Lettie finally turned to her, she shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry." Sophie's eyes widened as Lettie's blonde hair curled into a grey, proper form. Her face molded from beautiful, clear skin to wrinkled and distressed. And her maniacal smile now seemed more appropriate.
Sophie gasped. "Suliman!"
Suliman's laugh sent chills down Sophie's spine as she couldn't comprehend what had just happened. "I'm surprised you didn't notice earlier, my dear. I must be a better actress than I presumed."
Sophie backed away as far as she could get. "Where is my sister?"
Suliman rested her chin in her palm, tapping her cheek with her index finger. "Well, if I remember this correctly, she had a terrible accident about... oh, three or four months ago? Tragedy, and so sad that none of her family could claim her. It wasn't until they brought her to me was I able to identify the poor girl."
Sophie raised her trembling hands to cover her mouth, her entire body and mind in shock. Lettie was dead. This wasn't possible; she had been sitting directly across from her that very night. Lettie had come over to the house time and time again during those months. She sat at their dinner table, laughing with the Witch of the Wastes and spoiling Markl and Heen with gifts and treats.
She had begged her to see Howl, even if she could just be in the same room as him. She had announced her engagement to Justin the very same day he proposed to Sophie. So many questions, so many inconsistencies, yet Sopie was more concerned with keeping Howl a secret that she missed the obvious clues.
Sophie was supposed to protect Lettie. She was her responsibility, and now she would never be able to tell her sister the truth.
"Oh, but don't worry, I didn't let her untimely passing go to waste." Suliman said through her sinful smirk. "I made sure I got something out of it."
"Suliman, you wretched sorceress!" Sophie lunged at her, hands grasping at her throat. The two fell to the ground, forcing the coffee table to turn over and the tea to spill onto the carpet as Sophie's hands wrapped around tighter and squeezed harder.
"Isn't it enough that you have a castle and all the magic in the world?" Sophie shouted from the darkest corner of her throat. "How could you take her away from me? She's my sister, and you killed her!"
Suliman struggled to breath and she kicked the chairs and coffee table behind them. Sophie held her grip for a few seconds longer before her hands lost control, immediately releasing from Suliman.
As Suliman coughed, Sophie stared at her quivering hands, wondering what was happening to her. Her vision became blurred and she could barely sit up. The last thing she saw before her eyes rolled back into her head was the smile Suliman wore when she had won.
. ❀ 。• * ₊ ° 。❀ ° 。
Sophie fluttered her eyes open, regaining consciousness to a killer headache. She pressed her palm into her forehead, trying to focus on where she was. She lay on a soft, cushiony surface that when she pushed up, her arms barely used any muscle. She shook her head and her eyes met with a crackling fire. At first, she thought she'd fallen asleep at Lettie's, but this room was far from homely.
She was in a grand bedroom filled with the most glamorous décor and a balcony to the side: A soft pink covered everything from the bedspread to the carpet to the wallpaper, and the room illuminated from the shining light of a chandelier in the center. She stared out the glass door that led to the balcony, and the Kingsbury Palace surrounded her.
She jumped out of the bed and rushed to the balcony, opening both doors and sprinting to the rails on the balcony. Guards stood at every exit and below she could see the long staircase leading up to the main entrance. In the distance, she saw the royal city of Kingsbury in all its tainted beauty, lit up at the dead of night like a sky filled with glowing stars. The thought of it made her sick.
Sophie was trapped in the Royal Palace.
As she walked back to the bedroom, the doors flung open. Suliman stood between two guards, her hands behind her back and her shoulders propped up. She walked in alone, and the guards closed the doors. Sophie was once again, for the third time that day, alone with the most feared sorceress in the country.
Suliman stood a fair distance from Sophie, wearing the same twisted smile as before. "I assume you had a pleasant nap? Actually, I'm surprised you awoke this early, but then again you barely drank that tea your dear sister took the time to make."
Sophie breathed in heavily. Though she debated strangling her throat once more, she couldn't attack her here. Sophie had no advantage over Suliman – she was vulnerable.
Suliman laughed at her silence and moved in closer, forcing Sophie to draw backwards in fear. Sophie wasn't good at thinking on her feet, and she had an obvious weakness, what with not being able to use magic. Suliman had the upper hand – she always did.
"I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but it's never smart to go into something without a backup plan."
Sophie shook her head. "You killed my sister for this?"
"Now, don't say it like that." Suliman said, inching closer with every word. "I told you it was an accident."
"Then why don't I believe you?"
"I guess someone just has some trust issues she needs to work out."
Sophie turned away, not wanting to see that smug smile plastered to her face. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes tightly, hoping that if she wished hard enough, this would all turn out to be a horrible dream.
Unfortunately, this was her reality - and there was no escape route in sight.
"Sophie, we haven't the time to waste. I need your agreement immediately."
"No." Sophie whispered. "Whatever it is, I won't do it. Just leave me alone."
Suliman sighed. "I guess Howl will have to suffer for your consequences. Such a shame; I thought Justin would get something out of this."
Sophie turned around when she heard Howl's name. "What are you going to do to him?"
Suliman raised her chin. "Now I have your attention."
Sophie rushed toward her until they were inches apart. She dared to match her gaze. "I asked you a question. What are you going to do to Howl?"
"Nothing he doesn't deserve." Suliman lightly lifted Sophie's chin, but was instantly pushed away. "You said it yourself - Howl committed murder. He deserves to go on trial, same as every other murderer, and accept the death penalty as his consequence."
"But he's not a murderer. It was an accident."
Suliman raised her eyebrows. "My dear, you have a lot to learn. Just because you believe it wasn't his intention, doesn't mean he didn't commit the crime."
"Why is this so important to you?" Sophie asked. "It happened ten years ago, so why are you bringing it back up?"
Suliman narrowed her eyes. Sophie knew there had to be a reason why Suliman cared so much about this murder in particular. While Sophie didn't know the specifics of what happened that day, she couldn't imagine why Suliman worried herself with this.
Sophie widened her eyes. "It wasn't... it couldn't have been... did you know the person?"
Suliman snapped her fingers, and instantly a newspaper appeared in her hands. She handed it to Sophie. "Look at the date and the first page story."
Sophie reluctantly did as she was told. The newspaper was dated for the next day, and the headline read, "Second Warrant for Wizard Howl Pendragon on Murder Charges!"
"Second warrant?" Sophie asked.
"Well, someone has to take the blame for Lettie's death." Sophie gasped. "And who better than Howl? It'll be easier for a death penalty sentence if he has two accounts of murder charged against him."
"That's why you did this." Sophie said. "You couldn't get a case for that murder all those years ago, so now you're framing him for Lettie?"
Suliman smirked. "Here's the alternative headline for tomorrow."
Sophie turned to the newspaper, and the words changed. "Royal Wedding for Prince Justin and Sophie Hatter!"
Sophie dropped the paper and backed away. "No! No, you can't force me to marry him."
"Oh, but you underestimate me, dear." Suliman gestured her index finger at Sophie, and pulled her closer like a magnet until her finger grazed Sophie's neck from her collarbone up. "Unless you want Howl to die on a murder he didn't even commit, you'll marry Justin. You'll marry him and forget all about that dear wizard you once loved."
Sophie shook her head, breathing in and out with short breaths. She couldn't force her; this wasn't the life Sophie wanted. Suliman found a way to trap her with no escape route. Either way, she would be betraying Howl. Either she allowed Suliman to take him on bogus murder charges, or she would marry someone else, breaking his heart and forcing him to revert back to his heartless ways.
She closed her eyes. If she married Justin, Howl had a slim chance of recovering and moving on from her betrayal. He couldn't recover if he was trapped in a graveyard.
She loved Howl too much to see Suliman take advantage of his brokenness.
With her chin held high, and the tears held in, Sophie nodded. "All right."
Suliman smirked. "I need to hear you say it."
She bit her lip, breaking the skin and tasting blood almost instantly. "I'll marry Justin."
"Excellent." Suliman shouted, clasping her hands together. "Now, we just need to make it official, my dear." She called for the guards and they opened the doors. Waiting on the other side, Prince Justin stood in his yellow tuxedo, matching the glamour of Sophie's yellow dress. He looked as charming as he did the day she met him. Only she no longer saw him as her friend; he was someone she feared.
"Lovely place, isn't it, my love?" Justin said, wearing the same insane smile as Suliman. He reached for Sophie's hand and raised it to his lips, gently brushing them against her soft skin. His eyes stayed locked on hers, quickening Sophie's heart rate. The way he looked at her was the way he always had. She didn't know how he could still love her after all the countless rejections.
But this time, she couldn't say no.
As he still held her hand, Justin bent down on one knee. His hand continued grazing hers as the other reached into his suit pocket – composure, confidence, and certainty written all over his face – and pulled out the little velvet, satin line ring box Sophie had seen five times already.
And she knew it was over.
His eyes glistened from the light above, two glass orbs staring amorously at the woman before him. "Sophie, the love of my life, will you marry me this time?"
Through the oncoming tears and heavy gasps, Sophie kept her eyes closed as she answered, "Yes."
Justin, with a proud look, took the ring out of the box and slid the extravagant diamond onto her finger. He stared in awe at the sight he had been waiting so long to witness – Sophie wearing the ring that bound them together for life.
Immediately, Sophie retreated her hand back. She held her wrist, her eyes glued to the ring wedged around her finger. The diamond glistened from the chandelier lights. He finally got what he wanted.
Justin exhaled blissfully as he clasped his hands together. "Then it's settled. I'll have all the arrangements finished by the time you walk down the aisle tomorrow."
Sophie bobbed her head back. "To-tomorrow? You... you want to get married tomorrow?"
"Why, of course." Justin said as if she should have known. "We wouldn't want you trying to find a way out of it."
"B-but I'm not ready. I don't... I can't, you–"
"Everything will be taken care of, my love." Justin rested his hands on her shoulders as they shook up and down in fear.
"Oh, and don't think about trying to escape, my dear." Justin and Sophie turned to Suliman, who they both forgot was in the room. "I sealed this room with more protective spells than your dear Howl did for your little surrogate home. Enjoy your night; it'll be your last as an unwed woman."
Sophie narrowed her eyes at Suliman as the sorceress escorted herself out of the room. Justin leaned in close to Sophie, his lips brushing her ear and kissing her cheek softly. She froze at the feeling of someone's lips on her body, someone other than Howl.
"I cannot wait to see you walk down the aisle." Justin whispered, and with that he left her alone in the room.
When he shut the door, Sophie broke down, sitting on her knees with her hands resting in her lap. She shook her head, still thinking she would wake up next to Howl, still thinking she would see her sister, still thinking Justin wasn't the monster he had proven to be. And for the first time in a long time, Sophie burst into tears, letting them stream down her cheeks.
"Oh, Howl." She whispered, her words barely audible through the tears. "I'm so sorry."
Sophie suddenly remembered what her father had said when she was very young, about how things could always be worse. Yet at this moment, she didn't know how things could get worse than this.