DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness or any of the characters mentioned in this story. I have simply given a few personality make overs, renamed them, and created false lives for the amusement of myself and others.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.
Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
--Steve Job
Author Notes: Alright, so it may not seem like a MarkxChelsea story at first, but it's about her making the mistake of marrying the wrong man (don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Elliot, I just don't like him) and having to go back in time to undo her mistakes and marry who she should have married in the first place. (hrmcoughMARKcough) Please, shippers of other pairings, don't beat me up. You don't have to know anything about Harvest Moon to read this story, because I kind of re-modeled some of the characters. So... those HM fans might get confused. IoH is the only game of the series that I've played, so please don't kill me if I got something wrong.
"Leah, you look beautiful."
Two watery, blue eyes looked up at Felicia. She looked absolutely dazzling herself. Her strawberry colored hair was let down and curly, beautifully accenting the soft green tones of her dress. No stranger could have guessed she was the mother of two children, one of whom was getting married today.
"Really?" Leah asked quietly. For some reason, she sure didn't feel beautiful at all. She felt like a leper. Like a liar and cheater and an overall terrible person. How could she do this to him? To his family? To herself? Despite everything she's done in the past two years to try and be a good person, this would probably be the biggest sin of her life and she could never take it back.
"Really." The two women turned around to the old male who had walked into the room. Taro looked… nothing like himself. A single tuxedo and pink corsage could do quite a bit to a man's appearance. It was such a stark contrast to his usual pair of overalls and a handkerchief around his neck. The only thing Felicia let him keep were his white gloves – but she insisted on buying new ones for him. Leah and Taro secretly agreed that the woman was putting too much effort into the wedding. It was only a one day thing, and the only people in attendance would be the regular villagers, but Taro didn't dare tell his daughter that, and Leah felt too tired to argue with her soon-to-be mother in law.
"You sure look fancy," Leah said, grinning wearily.
"Aren't you one to talk, Missy?" The bride and veteran farmer shared a smile before a pretty pink haired girl entered the room.
"Alisa says that it's almost time." Leah raised an eyebrow and almost inquired about the mystery girl's identity until she stood next to Felicia and it clicked.
"Natalie?!" she asked, surprised. The younger girl rolled her eyes.
"Who else?" Leah let out a disbelieving laugh and hugged her friend, grabbing her by the shoulders so she could examine her. It was hard to recognize the tough little Natalie under all the hair pins, curls, and make up. And the dress.
"You hate dresses," Leah remembered quietly. "I didn't even expect you to wear church clothes." Natalie gave her long lost sister a smile.
"I'll break a promise for you any day." Leah bit her lip as a fresh new set of tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. Oh, Natalie. How could she betray Natalie? Before she knew it, Felicia had an arm around her and was dabbing the corners of her eyes, muttering about how she knew she should have gotten new waterproof eyeliner.
"Are you going to be alright?" Felicia asked. Leah found herself nodding and trying to take deep breaths. The two pink haired females walked out of the room, leaving only the sharp dressed Taro and the teary eyed bride.
"Thank you for walking me down the aisle," she said as he stood beside her and they stared into the mirror. He was at least four inches shorter than she was. It was almost funny how much growing she'd done over past couple of years.
"It was the least I could do," he muttered," Considering your own father decided that he didn't want to come." Leah choked back another sob and took a deep breath. She was sick of this. She was through crying over her parents and everything they didn't do. By now, she should have learned not to expect anything from them anymore, but that never helped to ease to pain that came with knowing they weren't going to be there. Her father missed her birth, and over half of her birthdays. Her mother made the chauffer drop her off to the first day of kindergarten. Elliot's relatives were more family like than her own kin ever were.
"Are you sure you can walk down the aisle with those heels?" the older man asked, looking down. Leah gave a small 'yup' and tried not to hyperventilate as Taro led her into the main church area. It seems that Alisa had already managed to get everyone out of the church. Felicia insisted on an outdoor wedding. It was just so fitting, apparently, because the farmer girl was marrying the old farmer's grandson. "And-" Leah remembered Felicia say," It will bring out the red tones in your hair that you always hide under that handkerchief."
Leah didn't feel like herself without her bandana. Of course, she didn't feel like herself at all. While she was trying to convince herself that this was how everything was supposed to go, there was a little part of herself, deep, deep inside that told her this was all wrong.
"Alexandra?" Taro asked softly, calling her by her real first name. It took her a moment to realize that she'd stopped right in front of the closed double doors. "Are you ready?" She closed her eyes and quickly asked someone, anyone to help her through this. She just wanted to know if she made the right choice, after all.
"Yes, Taro," she answered confidently. "Let's go."
--
"I, Alexandra, choose you, Elliot, to be my husband, to respect you in your successes and in your failures, to care for you in sickness and in health, to nurture you, and to grow throughout the seasons of our lives." Seasons of our lives… seasons of our lives… There were mostly sounds of "aw" and murmurs of affection amongst the crowd, although Leah could have sworn she heard a few chuckles. Denny told her to throw in the "seasons" joke. A small, sad smile graced her lips as she looked into Elliot's large, caring brown eyes, and the affection he held for her was just a reminder of what she really didn't deserve.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Leah closed her eyes and felt a soft pair of lips brush her own. Cheers rang amongst the villagers and the bride felt hot tears begin to run down her face as Elliot pulled away. She did it. She officially ruined the rest of her miserable little farmer girl life.
"Leah, honey, what's wrong?" Elliot murmured, taking her face in his hands.
"I-I'm just so happy," she hiccupped. He smiled and she felt herself being scooped up and led away from the church. Leah felt speechless as he carried her away. Out of her peripheral vision. She could have sworn she saw Natalie laughing. Apparently, Elliot did get a lot stronger. There was no way he could have picked her up when they first met."What are you…" There was a whinny and Leah saw Vaughn come into view, holding the reins of her horse.
"Oh, you brought Lily." Her husband chuckled and helped her get on Lily's back. It was obvious from her smell and shiny coat that someone had given her a nice, overdue bath.
"Vaughn, thanks so much," Leah said gratefully as Elliot sat behind her and gripped the reins. The livestock dealer adjusted his hat and gave the couple a single nod.
"It's my job."
Leah gave a bittersweet smile at those familiar words and then cocked her head so she could look at Elliot.
"So where do you plan on going now?" She asked him.
"Home." Elliot kissed her cheek and urged Lily forward. "Where else?"
--
"How cute," Hecate droned. The witch was hidden nicely in the thick cover of the forests, but the newly wed couple probably wouldn't have noticed her if she stepped right in the middle of the main trail. "You didn't look all that sad. I was even a bit envious, at first, until I saw how you turned out."
"Oh, why thanks," Leah replied dryly. She left the witch princess's side and floated towards side of the trail. Elliot looked happy in that moment, and if only his bride had smiled, then perhaps it would have made a cute picture. The kind that happy couples decorate their mantles with and loving mother-in-laws hang upon their walls.
The newlyweds zoomed by on Lily and Leah shivered as her younger self passed by her spot. A sigh escaped her lips and she floated through the forests, not even bothering to dodge the trees, until she found the blond, cloaked figure in the shades of her secluded home.
"Even after seeing this, you still want to go through your life? You really want to redo all the mistakes and pain just so you have the possibility of changing who you married?" Leah took a seat in midair and looked down at her semi-transparent hands folded on her lap.
"Yes."
The princess rolled her eyes and motioned her inside the little hut. "You do know that Miss High and Mighty won't approve of this one bit, don't you?"
Leah closed her eyes in pain and nodded. Once again, she was going against everything she believed in and betraying those closest to her just to do something selfish.
"I ruined my entire life for my mother," she whispered to Hecate. The witch stopped in her tracks and turned around, glaring sharply at the aged woman. She was a pathetic sight, only half way visible, thin and frail looking, graying hair. Leah was only a year into her thirties and she looked almost as old as her husband's mother.
"If you had ruined your life for anyone else, then I wouldn't be helping you at all. Now hurry up before the daylight dies. You never know when she might pop her head in."
Leah sighed and followed behind the witch, phasing through the door as Hecate apparated inside.
"We've gone over the rules, haven't we?" she asked Leah, who nodded.
"I only get one shot, every difference I make must be bigger than the last one, and I'm not allowed to see my future until it's over."
"Good," Hecate murmured, walking towards her shelves filled with potions and worn out teddy bears. Even in the thousands of years she's been alive, Hecate's always had a strange affinity for those stuffed animals. The witch moved potions around and rearranged bears until she found what she was looking for. The blond grinned as she walked towards Leah, her red eyes nearly glowing with excitement.
"Close your eyes."
"Haven't we had enough surprises already?" Leah snapped. A habit that she'd picked up thanks to Belle.
"Fine, fine," Hecate mumbled. She handed Leah a small, pinkish red vial. "This will keep you from disappearing for a while. You'll start to become translucent again, and that's your cue that the magic's wearing out. Just think about where you want to be and it should happen."
"Wait, I'm going alone?"
"You didn't have a problem going anywhere along when you were a teenager. You'll see me again very soon." Leah looked down at the solid vial. It almost looked as if it were floating in mid air. Her hands were only slightly visible, and her arms seemed to be disappearing as well. "Trust me," Hecate said. It wasn't a very reassuring thing from someone who spent her days plotting mischief and wreaking havoc on the island.
"Goodbye, Hecate. Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah," the witch waved dismissively. "Hurry up before I change my mind."
Leah opened her mouth to say something more, but Hecate had turned back towards her now messy shelves of potions and animals. Leah opened the vial with a now invisible hand and took one deep breath before she guzzled down the sweet, sweet liquid in two gulps.
Author Notes: If you've read this far, congrats!!! I'd love any feed back of positive and negative things I've done. Just, er, no flames, please. I'm somewhat sensitive. But I had this idea from three main sources. No.1 was the song "If I could Turn Back Time" that came on when I was getting ready for work. Thank you, Cher. The second was a Teen Titans episode, "How Long is Forever" where the team breaks apart and Star has to go back in time and change the fate of herself and her friends. And the final source, the reason it's a Harvest Moon story, was my handy dandy Save File 1. It was my first game of Island of Happiness, and I was in a rush to get everything done (everything shipped, everything built) and I rushed into a marriage with Denny because he was really easy to please. Seriously. A small fish a day keeps the Lanna away. XD Haha. I joke. But we ended up marrying in the Spring of Year 2, and now that it's almost Year 3, I thought," This isn't fun anymore, I don't even like Denny. I should have waited on Vaughn or Mark." And I really, really wished that I could have turned back the time to marry one of them instead. And then I got this story idea!