Harvest Festival
Celia wishes to speak with Jack at the Harvest Festival.
Celia, hugging herself fiercely, watched a cloud of mist drift away from her face as she slowly exhaled. Marlin, her coworker, eyed her with concern and stiffly offered her his jacket.
"N-No," she chattered, whipping her head left and right. "N-No. I'm f-fine."
"Take the jacket, Celia," Vesta, her employer, rumbled. "Don't want you to get sick now, ya hear?"
"I-I'll s-stay next to the p-pot," Celia compromised, scooting away. Marlin's dark eyes followed her longingly, but she didn't seem to notice.
She huddled next to the roaring fire as close as she dared. Wavy lines danced in her vision. There was Daryl, Ann, Thomas, Flora, and…
Celia sucked in her breath.
Keira. Celia hadn't seen her since early summer. The princess clutched a large basket of what appeared to be yams to her midsection. She was glancing left and right, looking bewildered and lost. Celia was about to reach out and assist her when Jack materialized next to the pale-skinned girl. Instantly, Keira brightened, and she attached herself to Jack's side. Celia shrunk away as the two approached.
Keira's dark eyes widened as she craned her neck upward to examine the massive pot. Wordlessly, as always, she handed Jack the basket of yams as he prepared to clamber up the ladder. She watched him go with worried eyes, and she swayed to and fro with concern. Celia could see her tense shoulders suddenly relax when the brave farmer's feet touched the ground.
Celia said nothing as she watched the two drift away into the chattering crowd. Reluctantly, she slunk away from the cooking fire, sniffling a little.
"Eh? What's wrong?" Vesta demanded when she returned.
"Nothing," she said, hugging herself when the breeze robbed her once again of her warmth.
"You're cold," Marlin observed flatly. He reached for his coat again; this time, Celia accepted it, because the night breeze felt especially frigid when compared to the air in the fire's vicinity.
"What's wrong?" Marlin pressed, after a few moments of silence.
"I…well, I want to talk to Jack," Celia admitted finally, glancing at her companions nervously.
Marlin shrugged. "Then go over to him," he said matter-of-factly.
Celia opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. "I…I can't," she stammered.
Her coworker pursed his lips. "You never had a problem before," he reasoned.
"But I…I haven't really talked to him." Celia blushed. "Not since…"
"Not since he got married." Vesta's voice was embarrassingly loud. Celia winced.
"You might want to talk with him now, then," the large woman continued. "Might as well get it over with, eh?"
Celia gave her a blank look, and Marlin's eyes widened marginally.
"W-Well, maybe I should talk to Keira instead, then," said Celia, unsure of what Vesta meant. "Er—I mean first. I'll talk to her first."
Vesta shrugged her shoulders.
"Go and get 'em, girl," she encouraged, confusing the young girl even more. In the end, Celia, not willing to get trapped in another one of Vesta's strange insinuations, simply hurried away.
Celia had to wait quite a while before Jack finally parted from Keira, who, for some reason, looked a little frightened when he did. Celia rushed up to her.
"Hello Keira," she said, forcing a bright smile. "I'm Celia. I don't know if you remember me, but I was there at your wedding."
Keira stiffened.
Celia plowed on regardless. "You're really lucky, you know. To have Jack, I mean. He's…he's a really great guy. He used to go to the farm—I mean, my—er, Vesta's farm all the time. We talked a lot. He'd give me flowers…uh…stuff…now and then. Yeah, he was really nice," she finished lamely.
Keira blinked owlishly. Slowly, she drew out a writing tablet and began to scribble something on it.
Thank you, it read.
"When…when did you meet?" Celia continued desperately. "I mean…I don't know a thing about you…"
She could detect the princess slowly starting to relax. Tentatively, the pale girl erased her previous words and began anew.
I lived in the mines, she told Celia. Floor 255.
Celia gasped. "He went down there every day?!" she exclaimed, her head spinning.
Keira slowly shook her head. Once a week, she corrected her. For three years.
"How…how did you live down there?" Celia wanted to know.
Keira's life slowly began to unfold. I was cursed. I slept down there. I would only wake up when Jack arrived…She blushed madly. He gave me Suns.
"Suns?" Celia prodded.
At this, Keira dipped her hand in her pocket and withdrew what appeared to be a small, ornate mineral. When Celia leaned in closer to examine it, she could tell that it glittered with a mysterious inner light.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, her breath ghosting over Keira's palm. The princess smiled before closing her hand and slipping the Sun back in her pocket.
Jack was the only person who visited me…she told her sadly. And yet I couldn't remember who I was. But he cared about me anyway…
Celia shuddered violently. Keira gave her a curious look, and Celia explained that the cold was getting to her. She waved goodbye before striding back to the warmth of the pot.
"Hello, Celia. Cold?" Thomas chuckled good-naturedly, and she returned the gesture a wane smile.
"A little," she said, though she was really starting to heat up under Marlin's thick jacket. "I'm starving," she admitted.
"Well, you won't be disappointed, because this year's stew will be fantastic. The crops were great this season!" Thomas's eyes shone with anticipation. "And it smells so lovely too! I can hardly wait!"
His eyes suddenly bugged out. "Oh hey, is that Jack over there? Hey, Jack!" He waved, and Celia seemed to shrink.
"He's really grown a lot of good stuff this year!" Thomas hissed to her out of the corner of his mouth. "Heeeeey, over here!" He yelled enthusiastically.
Jack waved in reply and nodded to Celia as well, who pretended not to see him.
"Ha! What a fine fellow!" Thomas proclaimed proudly. He turned to glance at Celia…who was no longer there. He looked around frantically. "Oh, Celia? Celia? Where'd you go?"
He spotted her near the ground. "What are you doing down there, little girl?" He chuckled.
"Nuh…uh! I…I…I want to talk to him!" Celia stammered, gazing into the dark fearfully. "But I'm…I'm t-too scared!"
"Talk to who? Jack?" Thomas looked bewildered. "Then why don't you just go over to him?"
"C-Can't. T-Too, s-scared…" She shivered.
"Is something wrong, Celia?" Thomas furrowed his brow in concern. "I can go fetch Vesta…"
Celia shook her head vigorously. "No! No. I can do it. I can talk to him…" She stood up again. "Hey, Jack!" she called, jogging to him.
The boy turned. "Nice to see you, Celia." He grinned…but the smile faded away rather abruptly. "Uh? Is something wrong?"
Celia felt briefly annoyed.
"I want to talk to you," she said, fidgeting. "Alone."
Jack, bewildered, blinked owlishly. He slowly nodded in agreement, and the two retreated to the unoccupied benches. Jack watched her expectantly while she twisted her hands nervously.
"I talked to Keira," she admitted finally, not looking him in the eye. "She's nice."
He beamed. "Yes, she is," he breathed, glowing. Celia's heart sank.
"It's…it's interesting, you know," she continued hesitantly. "I've never met her…I mean, I didn't meet her until the day of your wedding."
Jack eyed her apologetically. "Actually, she lived deep in the mines, so—"
"I know that," Celia interrupted him. "I asked her. But she told me that you visited her every week for three years."
"Yeah, it was tough," Jack admitted. "But I had to go there anyway, because I had to dig out some gems to sell. I'm not really much of a farmer actually." He looked sheepish. "I make most of my money from digging stuff out of the excavation site."
She nodded slowly. "Yes…I know."
"But I still plant—oh, what am I saying? I've told you all this already." He chuckled. "Well, the thing with Keira is that—she lived all by herself, you know? She'd been all alone for years and years. When I first met her, I found out that she really was a sweet girl, so I just had to come back. The poor thing."
Something hot and unpleasant bubbled inside of Celia. "So you married her just because you felt sorry for her?" she burst. Suddenly, she covered her face. Did such hurtful words really just leave her mouth?
She could feel Jack's gaze resting on her.
"It wasn't like that," he said softly, his warm breath tickling her hands. "It's just that…if I didn't marry her and take her out of the mines, then who would? I was the only friend she had."
The hot feeling faded, and instead, Celia felt as if ice cubes were shifting around in her belly. So that's what happened, she thought sadly. That's why he married her.
Jack continued to gaze at her softly. "I know what you're getting at, Celia," he said finally. "And I'm sorry if I hurt you."
She jumped, blushing furiously.
"G-Getting at what?" she stammered. "I don't under—"
"I thought you were a sweet girl too," Jack interrupted. "I liked you. And you liked me, and I…I tried to not give you the wrong impression, so I stopped giving you flowers. But that didn't change things, did it?" He stepped closer to her, and Celia bowed her head.
Jack's voice dropped to a whisper. "I loved you too, Celia, but unlike Keira, you had somebody else. Somebody else who cared about you as much as I do, who I know would take good care of you." He touched her shoulder.
Celia's eyes widened with shock. "W-Who?" she wanted to know, taking good care to keep her eyes staring fixedly at the sand.
Jack didn't move. "Marlin," he said.
Celia jerked her head up. "Marlin?!" she exclaimed, looking at Jack in surprise. "What gave you that idea?"
He regarded her impassively. "He's always cared about you," he said quietly. "You just never noticed."
Celia frowned. "But I—we—we're just friends. Just coworkers, that's all."
He shrugged. "Then maybe I was wrong. I always thought you two were on good terms."
Celia looked desperate. "Yes, but not that kind of…of terms…" She turned away, sniffing.
"Celia? Are you okay?" asked Jack.
Thomas, who was examining the steaming brew from the top of the ladder, suddenly announced, "It's ready! It's ready! Everyone come here!"
The two stood frozen for a moment.
"Do you want to eat with me and Keira?" the boy offered.
The girl shook her head, unwilling to slurp down the hearty festival soup in such an uncomfortable environment. "No…I'll eat with…with Marlin," she said reluctantly, and, for some reason, a little bitterly. Involuntarily, she choked out a sob.
"Celia…" Jack began, but she was already off and running, tears streaming down her cheeks.