Author's Note: Merry Christmas, Cotton Candy Mareep! I really hope that you like this, especially since this is your first year doing the Secret Santa. If you are unsatisfied with this story in any way, I am totally willing to rewrite it or write a completely different story altogether! ^^;
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.
A White Christmas
Nami watched as the snow outside the Inner Inn's windows continued to fall in steady clumps. It was Christmas Eve and it had been snowing since before the sun had risen and it looked like the flakes would continue to fall long after the sun had descended. Nami didn't mind. The weather was of little consequence to her. It could be bright or cloudy, hot or cold. What did it matter? Weather was weather; a lesson she had well learned during her brief time as the weather girl for Flower Bud Village.
But she was in Forget-Me-Not Valley now, sitting behind the desk at the Inner Inn, icing sugar cookies. Tim and Rock were in the corner across from her decorating the Inn's freshly cut Christmas tree. Pine needles littered the floor and the redhead winced at the thought of possibly stepping on one with her bare feet if they were unable to sweep them all up. Rock was holding the tree steady while his father twisted a strand of lights across the branches. Once the men were satisfied with the placement of the lights they let out a consecutive sigh of relief, only to discover that half of the lights were dead once they plugged the tree in.
"Every year," Tim grumbled while placing his head into the palms of his hands, "I swear this happens every year!"
Rock chuckled at his dad's lament as he searched through the box that contained the Inner Inn's Christmas decorations for a string of working lights. Meanwhile, Ruby was in the kitchen baking more sugar cookies and gingerbread. The kitchen door was propped open so Ruby could easily see into the main room in case the boys managed to get into mischief. The Valley's best cook simply shook her head and smiled at her husband's frustration.
The Inner's weren't the only people in Forget-Me-Not Valley that were getting into the holiday spirit. Every tree in the village had been covered in lights earlier that week and a festive Christmas wreath was now hanging from every door. Even Daryl the mad scientist had a wreath made of wires and seashells for some odd reason in front of his laboratory. The Blue Bar had added eggnog to its drink menu and Jack the farmer had provided everybody in the valley with fresh cocoa power and milk free of charge.
It was Nami's first Christmas in Forget-Me-Not and she couldn't help but feel like an intruder. She knew how absolutely absurd that was, of course. Ruby, Tim, and many of the other Valley folk had done nothing but do their best to make her feel welcome since she had arrived. Nobody had tried to keep away from her despite her cold and distant nature. Everyone had been the perfect picture of politeness. Matter of fact, the only person who ever really got on her nerves was Rock, and even he was only a minor annoyance.
So why did Nami feel so lonely?
The redhead shrugged and returned to her cookie decorating. She was in the middle of frosting a Santa Claus shaped cookie. Nami dipped her butter knife into the bowl of red icing and plopped down a gob of the sugary substance into the "hat" area of the cookie. As she spread the icing around she continued to watch as the snow fell in front of the windows. It seemed to be coming down in greater amounts then it had been only minutes earlier.
The light issue had finally been resolved and the tree was now lit up with a thousand rainbow lights as Tim and Rock proceeded to hang up silver bulbs and memorable family ordainments upon its branches. Many of the ordainments looked handmade, most likely crafted by Rock when he was still a young child. Ruby walked into the main room and placed a fresh batch of cookies in front of Nami.
"Oh, Nami! These look lovely!" Ruby gushed as she picked up a cookie that Nami had just finished icing.
"Oh, um, thank you, Ruby," the redhead blushed. Taking compliments had always been hard for her to do.
"The tree is looking great, boys!" Ruby turned her head to face her husband and son.
"Of course it looks great, mom!" Rock laughed, "I'm the one decorating it!"
The Inners and Nami groaned. Rock never was one for being humble, but seeing as how it was Christmas Eve, nobody decided to press the issue.
A sound of jingling bells caused Ruby, Tim, Rock, and Nami to turn their heads towards the door, which had just been opened by Gustafa. Cold air blasted through the open door bringing both snowflakes and goose bumps into the inn. Or, at least Nami tried to convince herself that the bumps popping up on her skin were caused by the recent decrease in temperature and not by the man now standing a few feet in front of her.
The bard was a weird subject for the redhead to address in her mind. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him or the little pinpricks of warmth that flared through her whenever he was near. Gustafa was a pleasant enough fellow. He wasn't the most handsome man in the valley, but since when did looks matter anyway? He had interesting enough tales to share, being a fellow traveler himself. Although, Nami didn't quite know if she believed his story about him once being the personal minstrel to a king in a distant land. But teller of tale tells or no, Gustafa was a very caring person who always greeted her with a smile, even when she didn't smile back.
Gustafa was covered in snow and his sunglasses were steaming up from the sudden switch from cold air to warm. He took off his frames and rubbed them against his shirt, smiling at the inn's occupants as he did so. Nami realized that this was the first time she had ever seen his eyes without the sunglasses being in the way. They were green, like the rolling prairie grasses of summer. She couldn't help but blush at such a poetic thought.
"Hello, Gustafa. What brings you here tonight?" Ruby smiled back at the bard.
The bard put his glasses back on and took off his coat which was quickly becoming damp from the melting snow.
"Why, the Christmas Eve party, of course!" Gustafa continued grinning, "I even brought over my guitar and many of my favorite records for everyone's enjoyment."
"Er..Christmas… Eve party?" Tim and Ruby's faces fell blank.
"Your son invited everybody in the valley."
The couple turned towards Rock, their faces now holding stern grimaces.
"Rock Romeo Inner! What did we tell you about throwing parties without our permission?!" Tim bellowed in anger.
"Chillax, dad. Isn't Christmas about spending time with family and friends and all that jazz?" Rock took a bite of one of Nami's cookies before continuing, "Well, now we'll be spending time with all of our friends!"
Nami rolled her eyes. Any excuse for that boy to have a party…
As if on cue the other valley folk began to arrive. First came Muffy and Griffin totting a few containers of eggnog. Next was Romana and Sebastian, the recently married elderly couple. Cody, Daryl, Dr. Hardy, Galen, Patrick, and Kasey entered in one big clump. Chris and Wally were right behind them with an excited Hugh in tow. Grant and Samantha entered afterwards, their daughter Kate looking less than thrilled to be there. Carter and Flora traveled to the inn with Celia, Marlin, and Vesta. The last "guests" to arrive were Jack and Lumina carrying their young son, Todd. All the while the snow outside continued to fall ever harder…
"Welcome to the party, everyone!" Rock cheered once every person in the valley had arrived, "Now let's rock this Christmas Eve!"
The party boy grabbed the records out of Gustafa's hands and threw one onto the inn's record player. Instantly Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree began to pour forth from it. The valley folk began to dance, kicking around the unswept pine needles as they did so.
Nami still sat behind the desk with a half iced cookie in her hand. Tim and Ruby stood behind her with dazed looks on their faces and wondered how their quiet evening became so out of control so quickly.
Vesta danced over to the desk and snatched the cookie out of Nami's hand.
"Thanks for throwing this shindig!" the farmer told Tim and Ruby as she took a bite, "The valley really should get together more often!"
Cookie eaten, Vesta returned to her dancing.
Ruby sighed and turned to face the red head.
"We're really sorry, Nami. We should have known Rock would pull something like this," Ruby said.
"Why are you apologizing to me?" Nami was confused.
"We just wanted you to have an authentic Inner Christmas. We…Tim and I…consider you part of our family now, Nami. You're the daughter we never had."
"I…" Nami didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever been so nice to her before. It was an incredibly embarrassing thing for them to say, but she didn't mind in the slightest. She was…happy with the news. She didn't quite know if she considered them her family yet herself, but with the option now there, maybe she could learn to.
"Thank you," she finally said.
"Ugh!" Kate, who had been listening, groaned, "Its mush central over here! Hugh, where are you?! I'm bored!"
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas was now playing on the record player. A few of the valley's couples slow danced while the other folk began to talk and catch up with each other. Not being one for socialization, Nami stayed where sat and continued to decorate cookies. From her place behind the desk she could hear many threads of gossip.
"Have you heard about the farmer in Mineral Town? "Samantha whispered to Chris, "Apparently, the only crop she ever grows is cucumbers and the villagers have seen her conversing with a strange, green man! How scandalous!"
"The affairs of the heart are not for us to judge, Samantha," Chris answered.
Hugh, Kate, and little Todd had begun a game of tag. Todd was "it" and kept tripping over his little legs as he chased the other two children. Hugh and Kate swerved between the feet of the adults as they tried to keep away from him.
From across the room, Daryl watched as Flora talked to Celia and Lumina. He couldn't help but notice a branch of mistletoe hanging above the archeologist's head. He wondered if he should take a chance and kiss the woman of his dreams.
Muffy and Griffin passed out mugs of eggnog to all of the valley's residents who were of drinking age. The barmaid placed a cup in front of Nami. The red head stared down at the liquid before finally deciding to take a swig. It was pretty good, as far as alcohol went.
"Fine job, Griff!" Patrick complemented the bar owner after finishing his mug, "Finest bathtub eggnog I've had in a long time!"
This comment caused many valley folk to spit their drink back into their cups.
A slap echoed throughout the inn. Everyone turned towards the mistletoe, where Flora had just round house kicked Daryl in the face.
"Never mess with a martial artist, you pig!" she screeched.
With both broken heart and pride, the scientist gathered his coat and headed towards the door. He opened it only to find a pile of snow up to his knees. Nami stood up out of her chair. Rock stopped the music. Ruby gasped. The laughter and mirth of the party quickly vanished as the people of Forget-Me-Not valley gathered around the open door and saw the storm raging outside.
The snow was two feet high and was quickly growing higher. It fell in such amounts that it looked as if a great white fog had descended upon the land. Daryl held his hand outside the door and it quickly disappeared between the freezing cold flakes.
The great blizzard of 2012 had arrived.
"The weather station said nothing about a snowstorm," Jack said as he watched the snow torrent about.
"What are we going to do?!" Hugh cried as he hugged his mother's leg.
"Do you have a radio?" Griffin asked Tim and Ruby, "We need to hear the weather immediately."
"I have one. Wait just a second," Rock answered before he ran up to his room to retrieve the device.
Nami walked up to the window and pressed her hand against the glass. A burning cold swept throughout her body and she removed her hand immediately. The temperature had dropped by several marks since last she checked. The snow bank was sweeping up against the glass making it extra hard to see outside. The storms she had reported during her time as a weather girl paled in comparison to this one. In all her years of travel she had never seen such treacherous weather.
Clutching his radio close to his chest, Rock descended the inn's stairs two at a time. He ran up to the desk where Nami had previously been sitting and moved a plate of cookies out of the way and placed the radio down on the cleared area. He pressed the "on" button.
The radio stayed silent.
Rock pressed the button again. It didn't turn on. He tried a third time. A fourth time. After his eighth try he finally came to a startling conclusion.
"The batteries are dead," he whimpered.
"Do you have any more?" Griffin asked.
Rock shook his head "no."
Jack grabbed his coat and headed towards the door.
"I'll go check the weather channel on my TV!" he shouted as he turned the doorknob, "I'll be back as soon as I can!"
"Jack, no!" Lumina grabbed his arm, "It's freezing out there! The farm is too far away! You can't go!"
The farmer kissed his wife's forehead.
"Don't worry, honey. I'll be fine," he reassured her.
With that, he sped out the door.
"Jack? JACK!"
"Mama! Where dada go?" Todd toddled up to her.
Lumina picked up her child and sat by the window looking and waiting for any trace of her husband.
Not knowing what else to do, Nami took a seat on the stairs next to Flora and Muffy. All of the valley folk were sitting now. The inn was silent. The gravity of the situation was just starting to become clear in their minds.
"Let me guess? We're all stuck here now?" Kate groaned.
"Look at the bright side, honey. At least we're all snowed in at an inn!" Samantha told her.
"People are going to have to share rooms. We don't have enough for everyone," Tim sighed.
Many villagers nodded while others groaned. The only person who didn't respond was Lumina who was still staring out of the window. Nami sighed. The idea of the villagers possibly rummaging through her stuff as they camped out in her room wasn't exactly thrilling. Rock looked even less amused.
"But, Daddd!" the blond boy whined, "I don't want anyone in my room!"
"Can it, pretty boy! It's your fault we're all stuck here!" Kasey threatened.
"Right, because, you know, it was totally my plan for everyone to get snowed in!"
"I'm going to wipe that smug mouth right off your face!" the pyrotechnician lunged at Rock.
Patrick grabbed one of Kasey's arms and Griffin the other.
"Cool it, brother," said Patrick.
"The weather is nobody's fault," Griffin added.
Kasey sat down, but continued to glare at Rock from across the room. Rock did likewise.
"Mommy, where is Santa going to deliver our presents if we are at the inn?" Hugh asked Chris.
"Oh, honey, Santa will…Santa will still deliver our presents to our house," his mother answered.
"I thwought that Maywor Tomwas delivwerd the presents, Mama?" Todd looked up at Lumina.
Lumina stayed silent, her thoughts still with her husband.
"Everyone must be hungry," Ruby reasoned, "I'll go whip up some sandwiches."
The cook disappeared into the kitchen and everyone began to settle in. A few people joined Lumina in waiting for Jack, while others circled up for a game of cards. Kasey continued to glare at Rock and Rock at Kasey. Daryl stayed on the opposite side of the room as Flora at all times and rubbed his face where he had been kicked. Gustafa played a few cords on his guitar. Nami decided that she should go help Ruby with the sandwiches.
An hour passed and Jack had not yet returned.
Lumina was a statue. Her eyes were wide open and she had gone a while without blinking. Her back was straight, her poise perfect. No sound came out of her, not even the sound of breathing. She just sat at the window with Todd wiggling on her lap.
"Mama? Mama! Where Dada? Why you no answer?" Todd cried.
"Jack has been gone a long time," Muffy said.
"I think it's time we sent out a search party," Griffin suggested, "Grab your coats, boys."
The men of the valley began to prepare for the search. They dressed as warmly as possible, covering every possible inch of skin. Dressed, they gathered by the door. They turned the knob…
The snowdrift had risen above the height of the door. There was no way out.
Lumina wailed. The sound erupted forth from her as suddenly as a lightning strike.
"Eek!" cried Todd as he covered his ears at his mother's sudden sound.
Celia, Muffy, and Flora rushed over to the window to console the weeping farmer's wife. The rest of the valley folk looked at the pile of snow in front of the door in despair. Even Nami felt a shudder echo through her body as she realized how trapped they were.
She shuddered again and only then did Nami notice the puffs of air coming out of her mouth. It was getting colder. A lot colder. Griffin closed the door. During the few seconds that the door had been opened the temperature inside the inn had plummeted by several degrees.
"Great! Just great!" Kate threw her hands up in the air with exasperation, "I'm going to freeze to death, on Christmas Eve, surrounded by a bunch of losers!"
"N-n-now, Kate, t-t-that's not a nice thing to say…" Grant tried to reason with her.
"Oh, shut up, Dad! It was your idea to come to this stupid party in the first place!"
"Well, there wouldn't be no party to freeze to death at if it weren't for that prissy pretty boy over there!" Kasey pointed at Rock.
"Well, excuse me for wanting the valley to have a fun holiday, you old geezer!" Rock stamped his foot.
"I can't believe that dirty scientist tried to kiss me!" Flora whaled.
"JACK!" the distraught Lumina cried.
The inn broke out into utter pandemonium. Everyone was shouting either at each other or at the Harvest goddess for forsaking them. And Lumina still cried for her husband. The only people who stayed silent were Gustafa; who only wanted peace, Tim and Ruby; who looked at each other with sad eyes; and Nami; who could do nothing but stand there. It was indeed the biggest mess the valley had ever faced.
And then the electricity went out.
The sudden darkness brought the noise to an immediate halt. Nobody dared to breathe. The darkness was so absolute that the valley folk might as well have been blind. Outside the wind howled with fury as it brought forth more snow and chill. A startling truth dawned in everyone's mind; Without electric, there would be no heat. They really were going to freeze to death now.
Nami shivered and felt a hand slip into hers. Normally she would've jerked her hand away, but with what was certainly her death looming before her, she instead took comfort in this simple gesture. Now she wouldn't have to die alone in this midnight hour.
With what little heat there was left slipping out through the cracks of the old building, the inn quickly became much colder. The valley folk stretched their arms out in the darkness, finding their coats, blankets, tablecloths…Anything they could find to help them retain their precious body heat. Eventually, they all gravitated to the middle of the room, huddled together like emperor penguins in order to keep warm.
But the dawn was far away and the inn so cold. The valley folk doubted that they would all live to see morning.
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know," a voice sang, echoing through the silence.
It was Gustafa and he was the one holding Nami's hand.
"Where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow," he continued.
"Oh, shut up! Nobody wants to hear any songs about snow as it kills them!" Kasey growled.
But Gustafa continued and Nami joined him, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas with every Christmas card I write…"
Tim and Ruby added their voices in, "May your days be merry and bright…"
Soon the whole valley was singing, even Kasey, "And may all your Christmases be white…"
And so, the people of Forget-Me-Not valley sang Christmas songs as they waited for the sun to rise. The singing helped warm both the inn and their hearts and gave them hope that they would live to see dawn. Soon the wind died down and the snow with it. As the first rays of light peaked through the windows, the valley folk let out a sigh of relief. They were tired and their throats were sore, but they had all survived.
As they stood up to stretch a sound of shoveling could be heard. The door opened and there stood Jack, snow shovel in hand and half of Mineral Town behind him.
"JACK!" Lumina jumped into his open arms.
"We came to dig you out as soon as we heard that you were snowed in," Mayor Thomas explained, "Jack rode his horse through the blizzard all night in order to reach us."
"Oh, Jack! I'm so happy you are alive!" Lumina cried.
Nami went to rub her eyes and realized that she was still holding Gustafa's hand. He was smiling at her, the rays of the morning sun reflecting off of his glasses. Slowly, a small smile appeared on her face as well. She was alive. They were alive. The valley was alive. The redhead let go of the bard's hand and walked over to Tim and Ruby and embraced them. They held her close, as any parents would a daughter.
May all my days be as merry and bright as this, she wished, for now and forever.
Author's note: And there you have it! Please forgive me if you didn't like it, Cotton.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!
(It occurs to me that this is the second year in a row that I have written a story about all of the villagers from one of the towns being trapped together on a holiday eve. Maybe it's becoming something of a tradition for me! XD)