I'm back from my year long hiatus. For those of you that have read my other fanfics, I may or may not be continuing my HTTYD fics…I'm still internally debating it. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then just enjoy the fic!

Chapter One: A Rocky Start

"I'm just curious," the captain of the ship said, taking the pipe out of his mouth and leaning on the railing, "What makes a young person like you want to come all the way out to Castanet? It isn't every day the Island gets new residents." He tipped his hat to the girl standing not far away, on the bow of the ship. She'd been mostly quiet for the three hour trip across what seemed to be an endless expanse of water, but now turned her brown eyes to the man addressing her and shrugged.

"I never really liked city life," she said, scanning the horizon for the little island the captain assured she would see. "Now that I'm 18, I decided I needed a new start, in a new town, you know? Somewhere quieter, where you can really breath." The captain smiled, and puffed on the pipe again.

"Well, Castanet is definitely quiet," he laughed, turning back to the boat's cabin. "Oh, by the way, what did you say your name was again?"

"Molly," the girl answered, patting down the fly-away hairs on her head. She was so used to having long hair, that it surprised her sometimes to reach up and find that her curly locks were now all gone. She'd told herself she needed to cut her hair short before she left; she wouldn't have time to fix her hair if she was going to be a rancher! But now, she wasn't so sure. She doubted she'd ever get used to such short hair!

"I'm Pascal. I hope you like Castanet, Molly." Pascal pointed over Molly's shoulder, and when she turned to look, was stunned to see the Island coming up fast. It was smaller than she'd imagined, but smaller wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Smaller just meant…cozier. And hopefully friendlier!

Town Hall is just up that staircase," Pascal said, indicating the direction Molly needed to travel in. "The Mayor should be there, he'll tell you what's what. Well," she looked over the shoulder at Pascal as he smiled and waved. "Perhaps I'll see you around. I sincerely hope you like it here," As he started to walk away, Molly thought she heard him say: "Because God knows you'd be the first one." Shaking her head to clear that thought, she turned back to the staircase which Pascal had indicated, and then realized: Harmonica town was all staircases. She had no idea which one he'd meant for her to take! There were three right in front of her, and each one branched off into several more! How would she ever learn to find her way around?

"Don't be stupid, Molly," she told herself, "Just pick one and climb it. You'll find Town Hall eventually." Nodding at her resolve, she started climbing the closest staircase, and when she reached the top, crossed a few bridges. Each building she passed had a sign over the door, though none of them read 'Town Hall'. Another staircase, and Molly was feeling hopeless. "I will NEVER find my way out of this maze!" she mumbled, reaching the top of yet another staircase, and coming face to face with a large white house, whose sigh read 'Wizard's House.'

'Wizard?' she thought to herself, cocking her head to the side. 'What a weird town. Could a Wizard really live here?' Shrugging and figuring, wizard or not, if someone was home, they probably knew the way to Town Hall, she stepped forward and knocked on the door. A few moments passed, and no one answered. Another knock, and another minute, and still no answer. It was getting late, and the sun would be setting soon, and seeing as Molly didn't relish the thought of sleeping outside in an unfamiliar town, she tried the doorknob of the door, and found that the house was unlocked. 'I hope the wizard doesn't mind me letting myself in,' she thought, stepping through the doorway into the dimly lit house.

Books were scattered here and there, most very old and worn-looking. Star maps littered the walls, and several chalk drawings of the night sky decorated the floor-boards. A table sat in the middle of the room, and on top sat a cloudy looking crystal ball. But besides the general clutter, there seemed to be no one home.

"Hello?" Molly called, tip-toeing into the room. "Um, is anyone here? I could use some directions…"

"Who are you?" the girl was startled and nearly jumped right out of her shoes when a voice sounded behind her. Spinning around, she saw a cloaked figure descending a set of stairs on the far side of the room which she hadn't noticed. She couldn't make out the man's features in the dim light, but his startlingly white hair was visible in the low lighting, as were her his eyes; curiously enough, one was yellow, and the other green. "What are you doing in my house?" His tone was calm, not angry, as Molly would have expected someone's voice to be upon finding a stranger creeping around their house.

"Uh, I'm sorry about letting myself in," she started, one corner of her mouth pulling up in a pathetic attempt at a smile, "But no one answered the door, and I…uh, well, I could really use some help." It was a horrible way to make a first impression, she thought, breaking into someone's house and then asking for help. But if she ended up staying here on Castanet, she swore to herself she'd make it up to this man.

"And…?" the man prompted, and he finally stepped into a shaft of light thrown by a window on the far left wall. Molly didn't quite understand what he was asking, and her answer was further stalled by her apparent awe and/or curiosity at this man, the Wizard's appearance. Dark skin and heterochromatic eyes weren't the only unusual feature about him; what looked like tattoos were stenciled onto the skin under his right eye, and his white hair was cut short, save for a braid that twisted down next to his left temple. He wasn't as old as the color of his hair would make you think; in fact, he looked quite young, though the expression he wore gave Molly the feeling he was far wiser (and far more irritated) than anyone her age would be.

"And…what?" she asked, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear self consciously. The Wizard heaved a sigh and strolled over to the crystal ball that sat on the table in the middle of the room.

"And, what is it you need help with?" he replied, setting both hands on the table and looking briefly into the crystal.

"Oh, um…I just need to know where the Mayor's Office is." The way the Wizard had been looking into the crystal ball made Molly feel that he'd been expecting her to say something outrageous, like she needed help slaying a dragon or something, and when she'd finally asked for directions, the way he stared at her, as if to say 'That's all?' only goaded that assumption.

"Follow the road to the left of the front door and take a right. It's at the bottom of the hill; I'm sure you won't be able to miss it." Seating himself at the table and interlacing his fingers, he continued to gaze at the crystal, and for a moment, Molly didn't move. It wasn't until he the Wizard looked back up and said "Well? Are you leaving, or are you going to wait until you forget the directions and require my assistance again?" did she finally catch the hint and skitter towards the door.

"Right!" she said, rubbing the back of her neck, "Right, thanks for your help!" Wizard didn't look up as she closed the door behind her and followed the path down to Town Hall. Her face was burning red from embarrassment as she entered the tiny office and spied the portly Mayor Hamilton. "Um, hello? Mayor Hamilton?"

"Hmmm? What's that? Oh!" The squat fellow turned and smiled as Caitlin walked in, clapping his hands together. "You're the new rancher, aren't you! Welcome to Castanet!" he exclaimed, shuffling out from behind his desk. "My, my! You're much younger than I thought you'd be! And you're face is so red! Did you run all the way here from the docks?