Chapter One: Forget-me-not About This Place
I stared for a moment, sighing at the waterfall as I crossed the bridge. This'll be so weird. I can't believe Aunt Rose. I do not need some adjusting, period…I thought rather bitterly.
It wasn't quite the day to think such thoughts. It was a perfect day in the country, really. The strange, seemingly empty farm behind her had rich plants growing proudly up from the thick, moist soil, and the water made gentle ripples quietly. As far as the weather went, droplets of a previous shower delicately laced the grass. She heard some humming in the distance. Yes, you could say Forget-me-not Valley was in beautiful shape.
That didn't change my mind.
I tied back my frizzy locks to keep the firm, breezy wind from messing it up any farther. I spotted another farm close ahead, though it was a rather blocked by a kind of path. Gosh, people here sure love the country ways. How come there's some random mansion, then?
I made an odd face at the thought and passed a building, which clearly stood out in it's color, a deep red. I admitted she liked it quite a bit….what's it use, I wonder? Suddenly a redhead boy ran around me, losing my balance. I mentally cursed.
"Hi lady! I'm Hugh." He said, sweat dripping down his red, freckled face. "I really like running, don't you?" He coughed and his skin turned even darker.
I recovered from the bit of shock that had hit her. Thinking about it, I didn't care much for running, to tell the truth. "I'm Anastasia, not "lady".Um, kind of. You know where the mansion is?"
"I have to go, because Kate's chasing after me. She's slow!" He stuck his tounge out from behind. "But it's on a hill, the other side of the valley. You know what a valley is?"
I nodded at the energetic little kid and trudged on. Who was this Kate? Probably his mother. She followed Hugh's intructions and walked glumly on. I thought about this new place I'd be staying. It'd be fancy, I thought. Overlly fancy. I wouldn't fit in. But do maids really need to fit in?
Passing through the unbelievably small village, and looking back, I noticed a long-nosed hippie dude with a guitar, a beautiful green-eyed blonde, an derpressed old man, and a dark-haired farmer-ish guy. They all noticed my appearance some way or another. For example, though the blond seemed to pay a lot of attention to the farmer, she smiled and said her name was Muffy. She seemed rather flirty. I made a mental note to stay away from her.
I couldn't quite remember the hippe guy's name at the time, but I'll always remember my shock as he greeted. "Peace, dude. It's groovy today, don't you think?" That almost made me laugh, a bit rude or not.
The old man just grumbled, and the farmer said briefly his name was Jack and he ran the farm, but not the one near the dig site. Having no knowledge of the digsite, this wasn't helpful. I said my name was Anastasia to all and realized this would be an interesting experience here.