“Did you hear?”

There’s the smattering of footsteps against the polished wooden floorboards, the maids already up with the dawn, idle chatter interspersed with the occasionally yawn, muffled laughter twisting and lodging itself into the bright bustle of early morning.

“There’s a boy from the boundary farms come to town, says he’s seen the Moving Castle!”

“Now way, Howl’s Castle?”

The pipes in the walls roar as someone opens the laundry taps, the dull squelch of a cloth being wrung out, the slap of water against the tiles. 

“Yeah, and there was that family who came across to the Capital and heard all those weird clanking noises when they passed by the hills – “

“Don’t be stupid Tiff, this is the Capital, Howl couldn’t possibly come here. Not with all those soldiers hovering about at any rate.”

The voices drop suddenly, and Jongdae drops himself bodily against the floorboards to catch the hushed whispers.

“They say that Howl’s supposed to be real handsome though…” A maid giggles, and Jongdae can almost see her young face, flushed with the excitement of entertaining small fantasies.

Another girl snorts, “Yeah, but he eats human hearts, Jess.” In his mind’s eye, Jongdae pictures the girl rolling her eyes. “He lures in pretty maidens and takes them back to his castle where he lives with his demon…”

“Apparently he’s friends with the Witch of the Waste!” Another voice cuts in suddenly, and Jongdae recognises Jongin, the washerwoman’s boy, voice pitched with barely repressed awe.

“Don’t be silly Jongin,” the story-teller tuts and Jongin must have pouted because the assembled maids coo in unison.

“Didn’t no one ever tell you the stories? Howl’s enemies with the Witch of the Waste, like Arch Enemies. Apparently they don’t even have hearts.” Jongdae’s eyes are wide from where his face is pressed into the floor. “Neither of them?” Jongin whispers in morbid fascination. “Nope,” the maid pops her ‘p’

“but…” she trails off conspiratorially, looking around to see whether she had the full attention of the gathered company

“Howl can charm beautiful young girls and then…” the whole room holds its breath

“HE DEVOURS THEIR HEARTS” She roars suddenly and Jongdae jumps, before hurriedly looking left and right to make sure no one had caught him acting silly.

In the kitchens below, one of the more timid maids has dropped a plate in fright. There’s the scraping of glass and the clink of the dustpan emptying into the trash.

Their voices become quieter as the maids separate to prepare different rooms in the House and Jongdae pouts in disappointment as the highlight of his day draws to its close. A disapproving cough from close by startles him into jumping up, back ramrod straight before coming face to face with Kyungsoo’s judgemental stare.

“If you were that desperate for news,” Kyungsoo deadpans, accepting the bucket from Jongin and upending it into the tub so aggressively half of it splashes out the sides and onto the carpet, “you could have just asked me, instead of listening to the maids gossip.”

Jongdae huffs before perking up again. “So you’ll tell me about Howl? And the castle – have you seen it? Is he evil? Does he really keep demons? Why doesn’t the King like him and – “ Kyungsoo claps a hand over his mouth, jerking a thumb towards the tub.

The moment he lift his hands however, Jongdae’s mouth opens again. “Is he really as handsome as they say? Why does he only eat the hearts of girls?” he pushes the sleeping robe off his shoulders impatiently and steps out from behind the curtain.

Jongin flushes a deep scarlet and trains his gaze firmly towards the door. Kyungsoo buries an involuntary swallow deep in his throat and walks forward to help Jongdae in.

Jongdae, who is currently be Kyungsoo’s refusal to let him add bubbles to his bath. Kyungsoo is ready to pull his hair out in frustration.

“For god’s sake there’s no time, Jongdae.” he hisses as the boy whines and drags Kyungsoo’s sleeve into the water.

“Don’t look at me like that!” He groans averting his face as he bites out, “Your first client will be arriving within the hour.”

The insistent grip on his arm falls away and Kyungsoo can’t bring himself to look into Jongdae’s face.

From the doorway, Jongin watches with wide, unblinking eyes and a slight furrow between his eyebrows. Jongin’s not sure what it is Jongdae does all day, but he never seems to leave his rooms and the maids make sure to keep him away from the King Suite until nightfall. Jongin would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little curious, but the dejection he sometimes sees in Kyungsoo’s expression keeps him from openly prying into House business.

When he looks back up, Jongdae has his eyes closed, head tipped back against the rim of the wooden tub. Kyungsoo, content to let Jongdae rest in the warm water for a moment longer, runs a soft washcloth down the slim line of his neck. Jongdae’s eyes lift open, slow in their resignation, and Kyungsoo wordlessly wraps a towel around his bare torso.

It’s one of those bad grey days, Jongin thinks sadly, watching as Jongdae gently dislodges both of Kyungsoo hands and retreats behind the long curtains to dress himself.

Chin tucked tightly against his chest, shoulders tense as he takes a slow breath in, forces a slow breath out, Kyungsoo’s hands twist into his damp work shirt, knuckles standing white against bath-pinked skin. If people could cry without tears, Jongin reckons this would be it.

Below, The Bell chimes faintly, sickly, as the front door is pulled open in welcome.

Chen steps out into the King Suite, perfectly assembled, perfectly composed. From where Jongin is hidden, ensconced behind the sliding partitions, Jongdae looks like he’s glittering.

A/N: So I didn't really think any of this was explicit enough to warrant a M warning but let me know if I'm wrong. I will try and improve the flow of my writing (constructive crit is always welcome!!!)