Disclaimer: I am not nearly amazing enough to even pretend I own Howl's Moving Castle. All I may do is occasionally borrow the characters and play around with them. And then you read about it, and my life as a writer is a little more fulfilling.

So, without further ado,

.:BINDING ENCHANTMENT:.

The kiss had seemed so innocent at the time. Just a simple little affectionate peck between friends. They'd been out on the balcony, sailing over beautiful landscape. He'd taken one look at her, in her breezy yellow dress and silver starlight hair, and he'd felt an urge to place his lips on hers... they'd both dismissed it later as just a kiss. A kiss that meant nothing.

And nothing changed between them. She returned to cleaning the castle as always, and he went about his business. Nothing changed.

Except for the rapid beating in his chest from the long-absent heart that occurred whenever he looked at her. His Sophie.

No. Not his Sophie. Just Sophie Hatter, the cleaning lady. She was clearing the table now, and he couldn't tear his eyes away. She was finally wearing one of the dresses he had given her- the light shade of purple suited her well. The collar dipped a little too low for her taste, but he thought the dress only brought out the natural beauty she was sure she didn't have...

"Howl?"

Her sparkling brown eyes met his vivid blue ones, and they both realized he'd been staring. He quickly averted his gaze instead to the table top.

"Yes?" Howl answered, his voice slightly hoarse from lack of use.

"Are you through?" Sophie acknowledged the plate in front of him. Though he'd barely touched his food, he pushed it away in silent signal that he wasn't hungry. Sophie took the plate, muttering that he should eat more or he would waste away. But looking at her, having her there, it just made him lose his appetite.

This was no time to be thinking of her. Of how stunning she always appeared to him. He pushed back from the table and stood quickly, causing the chair to topple over backwards. He didn't bother to pick it up.

"Calcifer," Howl commanded the fire demon that currently consumed leftovers from the meal, "Heat the water for my bath"

"Yes, Howl," was the orange flames impatient reply. And the wizard disappeared up the stairs. His last glimpse of Sophie was her picking up the chair with an irritated sigh.

Minutes later, Howl sat half-submerged in warm water, tracing swirling patterns over the surface with one finger. Every few second a small drop of water would fall from a lock of his raven-black hair and create tiny ripples that never seemed to stop. He was still thinking of Sophie.

Frustrated, Howl held his breath and slipped completely under, wanting to shut out the world. He wanted to retreat, to hide from all the complicated emotions that seized him whenever he looked at her, or heard her voice. Slowly he allowed his breath to escape in small bubbles between his pale lips until his head spun and his lungs screamed for air.

He resurfaced with a deep, gasping breath. His dark hair was plastered to his face, and he shook it dry. Why did Sophie always make him feel so hopeless? Like he couldn't live without her? In his frustration, he slammed his fist into the wall, sending a spider web of cracks erupting through the plaster.

Of course, the voice at the door a moment later was hers.

"Howl?"

The sound of her saying his name sent shivers all through him. He didn't answer, knowing she would say it again...

"Howl?!" her voice had grown more urgent when he did not respond, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Howl replied, standing up and getting out of the bathtub. He hesitated a moment before saying her name in conclusion, "Sophie."

"What's going on?" she persisted. The doorknob clicked softly and he knew she was resting her beautiful, slender hand on it.

"I dropped something," Howl lied, pulling a towel securely around his waist and finger-combing his hair. It was then that he realized his knuckles were bleeding, as he had cut them on a sharp piece of broken plaster. Hastily he wiped the blood on the towel.

"Oh," Sophie's voice was drowned out by the sound of the doorbell. Howl had recently disguised one entrance to his home as the entrance to a potion shop. No doubt it was a customer calling on them. Markl would take care of it. Howl listened as the click of Sophie's heels grew softer in departure.

Moments later, a shriek of protest stirred alarm in Howl's newly-regained heart. With a quick wave of his hand he was dressed in a loose-fitting white shirt and black pants. He raced downstairs to find Sophie struggling against the grip of-

"Turnip Head?" Howl exclaimed in disbelief. He corrected himself when the prince shot him a glare. "Excuse me, your highness."

Howl further assessed the situation. Sophie's brown eyes were wide in surprise, and Prince Justin's hands were gripped around both her wrists. Howl narrowed his eyes into a hateful glare.

"My apologies," the former scarecrow excused himself politely, releasing Sophie, "I merely returned for Sophie, to see if she was willing to accompany me on an outing"-

Howl would hear nothing of it. A flick of his wrist and the prince was forcefully turned around. Another and he was walking away, shouting in protest to the wizards magical control of his body. And a third flick slammed the door behind him.

But when Sophie turned to face Howl, her eyes were angry. "You didn't have to do that!" she shouted, her hands balled into fists.

Howl was taken aback. "You were screaming," he argued defensively.

"He'd only startled me!" Sophie answered before turning on her heel and leaving the castle to follow the prince.

Howl sighed hopelessly, and sunk into a chair, burying his face in his hands. Markl, who'd stayed silent, politely left the room.

"Don't get so worked up," Calcifer soothed from his place on the hearth.

But Howl wasn't listening. He got up and began to climb the stairs, cursing all of them under his breath as he went. He reached the balcony in no time. The place where all his confusion had first started. Without a second thought he launched himself over the rail.

An instant before he splattered to the hard earth below, he swooped up, now taking the appearance of an immense bird-like creature. He no longer worried about taking this form- having his heart back made it easier to transform into a man again.

He ascended higher, watching the castle disappear below him until it was just a tiny, moving speck. He swept through the air in an elaborate dance, trying to forget her. But even miles above the earth, he couldn't get Sophie out of his mind. His Sophie.

No! Not his Sophie. If anything, she was the prince's Sophie now. She would never belong to him. That familiar sense of hopelessness overtook him. He folded in his wings and dropped like a stone out of the sky.

Would she care if he allowed his body to shatter against the unforgiving stones below? Would she have cared if he had gone through with drowning himself earlier? Did she care about him at all? The way he cared about her?

The ground was rushing rapidly up at him, and he made a snap decision that her affection was not worth killing himself over. Besides, if he was dead he'd never find out if she did care about him at all. He spread his wings again and eased into a harmless glide an inch above the tips of the grass.

For many hours he continued soaring, contemplating his feelings for Sophie as he did so. Could it be... perhaps... that he loved her?

The sky had grown dark by the time he reached this conclusion. He, the great wizard Howl. Had fallen in love with the sweet and venerable Sophie Hatter.