A/N: I didn't think I would ever start another fanfiction, and was still wondering how I was going to finish my others, but this one caught me by surprise. I think it will be interesting to be part of the first group of people posting fanfictions for this Movie, and to see how much it grows. I loved the movie, as I have loved all of Hayao Miyazaki's films, but this one made a special impression on me.

So here I go with the preface to my new Howl's fanfic Devil's Advocate, which will get pretty graphic, pretty dark, but then again all of my stories do.

WARNING: Rated M for future coarse language, violence, and adult themes including sex and abuse. You have been warned.

The Devil's Advocate

By Gothic Tinkerbell

Preface The Gesture

Another plume of black smoke rose about the tightly packed cobblestone street, but the trolley tracks still showed no sign of a coming streetcar. Sophie had been waiting for what seemed like hours for the next car to take her home. Patiently she stood on the sidewalk, sighing to herself on occasion, looking down the tracks for the terribly late car, and trying not to pay too much attention to the growing dusk.

The bags in her hands were becoming almost unbearably heavy, but she knew she couldn't leave groceries and the days earning from the hat shop unattended. Again she peeked down the tracks, saw nothing, and heaved a sigh.

Half of the rusty sun had already fallen behind the mountains to the west, with the horizon, trees, and rooftops of the rickety old houses glowing with it. The smell of smoke and the cooking pots of supper lingered about the streets and Sophie began to feel very overheated. She wore a long, dark green dress, with 3/4 sleeves, a high collar, fitted bust, and sixteen buttons running down her back to keep it form fitted. The emerald color dress was causing her much discomfort, and she wished to take it off dearly, and let her long auburn hair out of its braid.

Another unexplainable puff of coal smoke shot up, too close this time, and Sophie had to fight for clean air. When it had cleared, there was still no streetcar, and Sophie was left coughing and tired.

She caught a glance of the mountains again and dreadfully realized it would soon be very dark. Then her eyes wandered down the twisting slopes to the land of the wastes. The rolling planes began at the slopes of the western mountains and came all the way down to the river that separated them from the city. The wastes looked yellow and quite alive as the last parts of the sunset threw light upon them.

Sophie had always been curious as to what the wastes were truly like, but was never courageous enough to go explore herself. With witches and wizards wandering about its heart, not to mention monsters, demons, and the cursed, it had no end of horrible stories to its name.

She remembered the stories her father would tell her when he was still alive, about the wastes, what lived there, and the things he had seen when given no choice but to travel through. On one occasion Sophie's father had come across a man who was much like himself, but that to his misfortune had been turned into a very large jackrabbit by a witch. Apparently this man had been caught trying to hunt the witches special scouting birds, and had been justly cursed. Sophie's father had become very frightened to hear this, because he had just finished hunting a few of the same birds - for they were the only animals around to eat. Sophie's father knew not what had happened to the man in the end, but did manage to bring him back to the city safely. The last he heard the cursed jackrabbit-man had taken a train to the royal city to find someone who could lift the curse.

But Sophie's favorite stories were always the ones about Howl and his monstrous castle. She had heard many different stories about him, and almost all painted him as a different character. Some told of him as a charming man with a shallow demeanor and short temper. Others said he was mysterious and secretive, who became a wizard to learn dark arts, and wandered the wastes by himself, locked away in his moving castle to study the occult. But most described him as desirable and enigmatic, but cruel and heartless. He was the dashing kind of wizard who would chase immense wealth, power, and beautiful women, but also had the reputation of being a sneaky, selfish coward. It was also said, not very often and usually not loud enough to hear, that he was cursed himself, maybe even a demon, and could shape shift into horrible creatures. Howl had enchanted Sophie, and not even stories of demonic power could change that.

But she wondered to herself which he truly was, for she had never known anyone who had actually met Howl, and ever spoke of it. Her father had once come uncomfortably close to his possessed castle, which scoured the hills on four, large, heaving, mechanical legs, billowing steam stacks, numerous compartments, and even a face like a demon on its front with sharp teeth. But it was also said that Howl traveled under many aliases, so people could meet him and never realize it. This turned out to be one of those moments, so of course with out realizing it Sophie's fantasies would come true, just maybe not in the way she had hoped.

Now in the dimming bluish-yellow light a large shadow resembling a streetcar came rolling down the street towards Sophie. It was moving quite fast and surprisingly silent, but had a posture of determination as it rolled closer. She sighed with relief, and prepared herself to board the car. The shadowy vehicle slowed to a stop before Sophie and right under a street lamp.

The car was now revealed in the burning light to not be a car at all, or at least one unlike any Sophie had ever encountered. The vehicle was more like a carriage, and shaped like a snail shell with half-a-dozen beetle like legs holding it up. The whole thing seemed alive in itself, swaying slightly as if breathing, beetle legs twitching, and Sophie became more and more awed and nervous by the moment. She stood very still, staring at the carriage, sizing it up with her eyes, and almost jumped back when the spiral on the snail shell before her unwound itself into a door.

The headless snail carriage then kneeled on its beetle legs till the opening was accessible for Sophie. After all this, she was hardly startled when an arm extended out of the opening, offering its soft pallid hand - the voice didn't frighten her either.

"Come my dearI'll take you home." The strange and yet familiar voice echoed out of the carriage and the sound engulfed Sophie. Eyes and a shadowed face could soon be seen behind the pleading hand, and their seductive nature brought Sophie from her stoic, frightened manner.

Timidly she put her hand in this stranger's, and felt his grip tighten. Sophie couldn't help but stare straight into his eyes, shivers running down her spine. And without realizing what she was doing, where she was going, who she was getting involved with, and the affect this single gesture would have on her whole life, Sophie entered the carriage with out fear. In truth she had much to fear, but those were eyes she so wanted to trust, and at the moment it didn't matter if she could or not.

A/N: There you have it, first installment, and a cliffhanger at that. I appreciate support, especially when I'm still trying to figure out if I should continue with this or not. So please review, and I will more likely than not have the first chapter up very soon, which will be filled with juicy, angsty, dark plot, because Sophie and Howls first encounter will be very tumultuous, and lets just say he has plans for her

-GT