Disclaimer :: I do not own Harvest Moon.
001. Defiant
A thick blanket of clouds hung in the sky, dotting out the stars. The moon was hidden somewhere, like a giant eyeball that drooped its lid downward until it was no longer visible. Every light in the village was put out, down to the last candle.
Witch loved nights like these. Yes, full moons meant more potent spells and ingredients, but slipping through the darkness and breathing in shadows seemed equally as magical. No one was awake at this hour. There was something about seeing the island like this, all grays and blues instead the usual bright colors... something special.
3AM was a different world, one that only she knew of. The unspoken words of the the day still clung to the exhaled breaths of their holder, lingering in the air. Sometimes Witch would collect these words. Trapped wishes, angers, and yearnings so deep they were unable to even manifest themselves into whispers.
Though rather common, they were still excellent when used in charms. She perked her ears and tried to listen for the especially wistful ones. By coincidence (or perhaps not) they were always about affection or loneliness, and those were especially useful.
Then, she heard it. It was faint and fresh, silvery and translucent. Small, fragile in its sincerity, and fleeting like a tail end of a sweet dream.
Rare.
She followed its sounds, orange eyes bright with appetite. She needed to hurry before it vanished completely. A gleam in the blackness seemed to light the way, and as she neared it, Witch realized with some apprehension that not every light in the village was put out. One still remained, and it was the where the source of the sound was coming from.
Of course it had to be Wizard's house.
She paused and a flicker of doubt passed over her features. Perhaps this wasn't a good idea. She should turn back, leave this be, let those unspoken words vanish as they were always meant to. She frowned. No. Against every instinct she stepped forward. There was no listening to her feelings. There was no bending to sentiment. She defied the very intuition that that molded her into who she was.
And somewhere within her, Witch knew that it was for no mere charm.
Wizard's door was open as it always was. He never found the need to lock it. The islanders never bothered to visit him. But as Witch turned the handle she came to the painful realization that she was wrong. Perhaps more wrong than she could even imagine up until that moment.
I love you.
The words escaped as Witch opened the door. She didn't even make an attempt to catch them. Why should she? They weren't hers to keep. Gold and green eyes locked with orange. Wizard only stared at her. No greeting, just silence. He was waiting for her to fill it just like she always did. She realized vaguely that he probably didn't hear them. Mortal or magical alike, no one can hear their own unspoken words.
She pressed her lips together before opening her mouth and saying something about how selfish he was the way he never left any Fugue Mushrooms for her. Anything to make sense of the reason why she was here.
Wizard could only stare at her over the pages of his book. Witch... she was always so loud, yelling about one thing or another. But as she stormed off, he could have sworn he heard something. Something quiet, something he couldn't even make out before it seemed to suffocate like a flame in too much oxygen.
Why?
He turned back to his book. Whatever is was, it wasn't important. 3AM was a different world. Anything that seemed meaningful now would probably be forgotten by morning.
~o~