I've always wished I could go through Rune Factory 3 as a girl protagonist, but this is the closest I think I'll get. There were a lot of areas in the RF3 story I felt could use some elaboration or clarity, and character moments I felt could be expanded on, so I smashed the girl-protagonist desire and my ideas for the plot in one. I hope you enjoy!

A sharp crack of thunder was the first thing I could recall. The world around me was foggy, dizzy and damp. Cold, heavy rain had pelted me for so long that I no longer felt the chill of it. My quick breaths were raspy and my chest ached from exhaustion, yet I couldn't slow myself to rest. The soil beneath my feet turned to grassy mud that splashed up with each heavy footfall, but I couldn't care. I would let myself get wet, cold, and dirty as long as I could still run. Carry on, run fast, but I could not remember what for. All I knew is that the drive to do so was overwhelming.

The dizziness wore heavily over me, and I felt my world rocking from side to side like a ship in a heavy storm. I tried my best to hold onto consciousness; tried to will my eyes to fix themselves so I could keep going. As I began to slow and stumble, the dizziness proving too much to handle, I felt my feet tangle and my world turned black before I hit the ground.

The faint scent of gardenias and roses drifted to my nose as the world began to return around me. The distant chirping of birds would have easily been drowned out if there was anything else but silence. My eyelids felt heavy, not wanting to open, and if it wasn't for the dull ache pounding against the back of my head I might have fallen back asleep right then and there.

I slowly craned my neck to the side, stifling a dry groan from the soreness of my body. I lifted a lazy hand to rub at the inner corners of my eyes, ridding them of sleep and forcing them to slowly open. I licked my lips, finding my mouth to be very dry and uncomfortable and my jaw to be stiff. As I slowly began moving my limbs to sit myself up on the side of the bed, I felt my body pulse with tight pain. It felt like I had ran a marathon then received a hearty gang-beating at the end of it.

I placed a cool hand upon my forehead and squinted my eyes against the light that filtered through the window where the white curtains had been drawn. I began to wonder who had put those curtains up as they were unfamiliar to me, but my eyes began to widen with the realization that everything in this room was foreign right to the very bed I sat upon. The wooden walls and furnishings that were lightly worn from age, the cotton blankets, the little trinkets lined on the dresser…I didn't recall seeing any of these before. Confusion and worry began to set in.

Where the hell was I?

I stood up from the bed, feeling weight pull around my hips. Curiously, I patted my sides and realized I had a set of matching blades from either one. I furrowed my brows. I didn't recall putting on a belt or sheathing any blades, but they seemed more in place than anything else I've yet to look at. I patted the rest of my body to see if it held any more surprises, but everything seemed fine and in place. Fluffy, thick hair atop of my head, nothing hiding around my chest, hips were clear, boots were tightly laced (if not a little muddy).

Without knowledge of where I was, I walked out of the room without any expectations of what would be in the next. A small hallway and a staircase leading downstairs faced me and I took gentle steps down, learning that a few of the planks had become creaky. I discovered where the scent of flowers had come from once I reached the bottom floor; flower displays were placed left and right and all over with vases and ribbons to match. I was more interested in the door across the room than I was of the flowers and so I exited the peculiar wooden home I had awoken in.

Upon the first step out the door, my boots stepped onto dewy grass and moist soil. The sun was coming up over the horizon in the distance, trees and rooftops blocking the sight but the cloudy sky was turning into a gentle shade of blue. I could recall the morning – as in, I had felt I had experienced many mornings before – but this morning felt so different. It was new, yet old, and I couldn't place a finger upon why. My head ached further with confusion as its fuel and I cursed myself for whatever I did to put myself in such a sorry state. Not that I could remember.

As my feet began to carry me along the grassy terrain between wooden homes, I began to realize that I couldn't remember the day before that. Or the day even before that. What had I been doing this whole week? What about last month? Where were all the people I knew? Where…where did I live? Where did I work?

Who the hell was I?

My heart started to tighten in my chest. No matter how hard I thought about simple things that I should be able to recall, nothing came back into my mind. The furthest thing back I could remember was a faint crackling of thunder and blurry images that I couldn't peg.

Before I had a chance to growl in frustration, my attention was taken away from my thoughts and dragged towards a woman standing ahead of me on the path. I would have been more taken by her long river of red hair that fell to her behind if it hadn't been for the sight of the thick, towering tree before her. Pink and green petals stemmed from its branches, looking a little bare but I chopped it up to the current spring season. Funny. I could remember that trees and flowers began to grow in the spring but I couldn't even think of my own name or where I came from.

As I walked up behind the red-head, she looked over her shoulder towards me and I was met with a sharp pair of blue eyes and a frown. She turned her body half-way, carefully assessing me like a suspicious stranger. The woman hadn't even said two words and I somehow already felt offended. Why was she looking at me with such a cold scowl?

Still, she was the first person I had come across so far and since I could remember nothing, I didn't think I had anything to lose. I casually slipped my thumbs into my pant pockets and gave the girl a soft 'I mean you no harm' smile. "Hey there."

"…"

"How are you?"

"…"

"What's your name?"

"…"

"Do, uh, do you live around here?"

"…"

The girl never shuts up, does she?

The woman's foot moved with the intent to pass by me and part of me wanted to stop her for a chance at information, but I didn't need to. She looked over my shoulder as a cheery "hello!" rang out behind me and stayed put. I turned myself part way around and my sights set upon a small woman with orange hair cut short around her shoulders and a flower crown. Her smile was as bright as the flowers that accented her outfit; a sharp contrast to the woman I was standing in front of. Her cloudy blue gaze switched from the red-head towards me, curiosity lighting up on her face in the subtlest of manners.

"Hello there." The young woman greeted with the same enthusiasm she showed the red-head. She gave me a quick glance over, "I haven't seen you before. Are you a traveller?"

"Uh-" I choked, unsure of how to respond. I didn't want to let a stranger in on my current state of vulnerability so I lazily shrugged my shoulders, "S-something like that. Maybe?"

"Maybe?" The woman questioned. She let out a soft giggle, "I'm Shara. This is Raven." She introduced as she gestured to the red-head who continued to remain silent. "What's your name?"

Name? Oh, geez. Another thing I couldn't recall. My face scrunched up as I chewed on my lower lip, desperately trying to recall a simple piece of my identity. Shara must have seen my discomfort, frustration – whatever emotion was dominant at the time – because her smile fell and she looked concerned.

"Are…are you okay?"

"Uh-" I started flatly. I couldn't seem to keep the secret for long so I sighed, releasing a breath I hadn't noticed I was holding and looked towards my feet. "I, uh…I don't actually remember my name…"

"What do you mean?" Shara asked, a bit of a giggle returning to her voice. How could she giggle at a time like this?

"I mean I don't remember much of anything." I cleared my throat nervously and lightly kicked at the dirt. "Nothing, actually. I don't even know where the hell I am."

Shara gasped, her delicate fingers caging over her mouth. "Oh dear! That sounds like amnesia."

"I guess?"

"Don't worry." Shara assured with an air of confidence. "I'm sure your memories will come back to you. In the meantime, do you have something that we can call you?"

Her use of the word 'we' tickled me since I doubted Raven would say a single word, much less use my name. I thought for a moment, trying to conjure up a name that felt at least the tiniest bit familiar.

"Micah." The name rolled off my tongue unsurely, but then I nodded with confirmation. It would have to do. "Micah. Call me that."

"Okay, Micah." Shara said with a clap of her hands. A thought visibly streaked across her face, and she blinked a few times as if gaining understanding in its wake. Shara looked towards Raven, "Hey Raven, could you do me a favour?"

"…What is it?"

Stop the presses, the girl could talk.

"Could you take Micah to the Sharance Tree? I'll be back really quick."

Raven nodded, and Shara smiled brightly. "Thank you." Without another word to me, she skipped off the way she came from to do God only knows what.

The quiet red-head took a few steps towards the large tree, uttering a quiet "come" that I was surprised I managed to hear. I looked once back at the path Shara went down before following Raven.

A long staircase was situated in front of the large tree and we began our ascent. A wooden door was nestled in the trunk with a mailbox to the right. The stairs stopped in front of it on a small plateau. We were only two-thirds the way up the tree and were still high off the ground. I wouldn't want to fall from the stairs at this height.

Raven opened the door and walked inside with the comfort of a frequent visitor. I cautiously followed her in and stared at the interior in awe.

"There's a house in this tree?"

"…"

Despite Raven's lack of response, I stepped in, turning as I did so to take a look around the room. It was open-concept and made into a rough circle with a bed to the far left and a small kitchen to the far right. There were a few things here and there; a wooden chest, a shelf with a few trinkets above the bed, a scarce bookcase…not much else aside from the leafy vines that winded along the walls and window panes.

After inspecting the high arching ceiling, I looked over towards Raven, "Who lives here?"

"You do!"

I blinked as the voice that responded was not Raven's, but Shara's instead. We both turned towards the door to see that she had entered without a sound. Her bright smile was still stretched upon her face.

"I'm sorry?" I ask, unsure if I had heard her correctly as I take a few steps forward to hear her better.

"You live here now." Shara confirmed with a nod of her head.

I blinked, confused, and looked towards Raven for answers but all she offered me was a scowl. I shook my head towards Shara, "I can't just live here."

"Sure you can! I even talked to my grandfather about it." Shara said with a cheery clap of her hands. "He's the Mayor of Sharance and he said it would be alright as long as you maintained the fields."

"I'm sorry…what about the fields?"

Shara giggled and a catty part of me wanted to smack some seriousness into her. I restrained as I watched her move towards a ladder that was sticking out from an opened hole in the floor, "Come this way and I'll show you!"

I sighed as I watched Shara descend, deciding it would be in my best interest to follow her. Raven continued to say nothing but came with.

I scuttled down the wooden ladder until I was able to hop off and gently land on the soil beneath me, Raven following suit. Shara had been patiently waiting with her eternal smile never leaving her face. Wordlessly, she gestured her arm out towards the expanse before us.

It's definitely not what I had expected to be concealed in the base of a tree. Two large, long fields stretched out towards an arc that led to the outside that was gradually becoming sunnier. A damp mist hung visibly in the air, giving the area a rather mystical feel. The fields themselves were messy and untended to; weeds and broken stumps and rocks were littering it. Even the scarce amount of wood that sat in the open wood shed was mossy and brittle from the power of time. A few butterflies fluttered about and the sounds of trickling water, coming from the small pool to my right, were the finishing touches to the magical place. Had I been here under different circumstances, I might have appreciated the view more.

"What…exactly is all this?" I ask, turning my attention towards Shara. Despite being shown, it wasn't answering any questions.

"Consider this your rent!" Shara chirped happily, which only made me raise a questioning brow. She continued, "The fields haven't been tended to for a long time. If you can keep them maintained then you are free to live in the Sharance Tree for as long as you like! Perhaps you'll remember something while hard at work."

I was kind of annoyed at how I was enlisted as a farmer without my consent, but what other choice did I have? I still couldn't remember a damn thing and there was no telling how long it would take until things started coming back to me. Even if I left, what chance did I have that another friendly person would come along and just hand me a home and a job (even if the job seemed less than glamorous)?

I nodded reluctantly, not that it would have mattered. Shara had already decided my temporary fate and that—

"Monsters!"

Shara shrieked as she made the loud declaration, her arm pointing out somewhere behind me, and I think I heard the faintest of gasps from Raven. I snapped my head around, my eyes falling upon a furry, brown orc waddling its way over with a make-shift axe in hand. Before I could think about my actions, my hand fell upon the hilt at my left and I unsheathed the blade. I took a few quick steps forward and with an upwards swing, the orc was dispatched.

I ignored the light that appeared to take the Orc away to the Forest Of Beginnings – something I oddly seemed to remember about despite the absence of my memory – and instead I stared at my blade in confusion. The shining gold was sharpened to perfection and was polished so well I could see my reflection in it; the face of a young woman, no younger than twenty, with wild hair resembling a lion's man, a small nose with an upturned point, modest lips, and sharp-cornered eyes. I was transfixed on my own appearance for a moment, as if seeing myself for the first time, but another screech from Shara forced my attention away.

"More of them!"

I looked up quickly, and this time I saw two of the same kind of Orc coming my way. My free hand unsheathed my other sword, a perfect match to the first, and I found myself making clean cuts on the monsters with no hesitation or trembling. Like the first, they were quickly defeated and left the living plain.

Hearing gentle clapping, I turned around and noticed Shara staring at me in awe, her hands held up before her. "Wow, Micah! That was amazing! We could have been in real trouble without you."

I gave Shara a blank look. I didn't have difficulty with the monsters. Surely the flower girl could have handled them on her own if worst came to worst? Then again, she did appear rather fragile if you looked past the blossoms and hair.

"Seems like you didn't need my help, after-all."

Shara looked past me with a smile and I turned around, looking towards the arching entrance to the fields. A lithe man slowly paced in with a gentle smile. His short, black hair gently wisped about his face and pointed ears, and the one eye that was open was half-lidded and coloured silver; the other eye sealed shut with a blue mark running over it. He held a hammer loosely in his right hand, his other hand hanging freely at his side. His skin was slightly glossed, most likely from work. Raven was quietly pacing behind him.

"I guess not!" Shara said with a giggle as the man and Raven joined them. "It seems she's a skilled fighter."

I switched glances between Shara and the man, confused as to how he even knew anything was happening here. My sights drifted over to Raven and she averted her gaze, her silence saying everything.

"So, who is this warrior?" The man asked as he looked towards me.

"This is Micah." Shara responded for me as she gestured a hand in my direction. "Micah, this is Gaius. He's our town's Blacksmith."

"Nice to meet you, Micah." Gaius said, his voice holding a relaxing quality that I was trying my best not to blindly trust (being without memory felt too vulnerable). None-the-less, I shook Gaius' hand in greeting and gave him a gentle nod and smile.

"Well, it's about time to open shop." Shara announced. She looked towards me with her eternal smile, "I work and live at the flower shop in town just a bit south from here. Come on by if you need anything, okay?"

I nodded, and Shara waved her goodbyes. Gaius rested his hammer between his hands as he watched her leave before turning his one eye back to me. "Raven and I should get back now, too. Why don't you take a look around town and introduce yourself? Everyone here is pretty friendly."

Gaius dismissed himself, and Raven followed without a word. Not that I had expected her to say anything.

Now alone and with some guidance as to what to do next, thanks to Shara and her aggressive kindness, I looked towards the fields; the long expanses of weeds, coloured grass, stumps, and rocks. I let out a heavy sigh that I had been keeping lodged in my chest and shrugged my shoulders in defeat, "Time to get to work, I guess."