Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon and its characters.
Warning: This story takes place after the chapter "Apple" in my other story, By Any Other Name.
After so many years of living in the forest, Vivi had grown accustomed to bumps in the night. Whether it was animals, insects, or annoying carpenters strange noises were commonplace in the woods.
Yet she wasn't prepared for a knock on the door.
Vivi's head perked at the sound, distracting her from the brew she was working on. (She always worked better at night rather than the day.) The knock came again and Vivi figured it must be her sisters; they were the only ones she ever expected to visit, and they would usually come unannounced and definitely uninvited.
Sighing, she ignored the noise. Her sisters could wait the whole night for all she cared. They deserved it for the last time they had come over and destroyed her cottage. It had taken months to scrape the entrails from the walls...
Returning to the cauldron, she added an herb with dark, curled leaves. She clapped her hands and an orange spark floated over the smoking brew; it hovered for a second before falling and dissolving into the liquid. The brew's murky gray color turned to a clear blue.
The Witch Princess picked up a measurement glass that contained a questionable red liquid. Narrowing her eyes, she tilted the cup until thin stream trickled into the cauldron. The brew sizzled like bacon.
Knock-knock-knock!
Her hand jerked and a gush of liquid flew into the brew, which took only seconds to blend into the liquids. Vivi rushed to grab a vile and dumped its contents to rectify the mistake, but angry bubbles continued to surge. A billow of foul-smelling smoke rose up and cloaked Vivi's face.
Frantically waving away the fumes, the witch coughed and backed away until the smoke dissipated. Eyes watering, she peered into the cauldron to see the damage that had taken place. The potion had transformed into a dull brown color and was as bubbly as flat soda. A stench like rotten-eggs penetrated the air, and Vivi knew it would take weeks for it to air out. She groaned. The priceless brew had transformed into a failure.
And all because of that wretched knocking…
The sound in question came again and Vivi's orange eyes blazed in a rage. Her sisters were in for it now...
Her stomping as she approached the door resonated throughout the house, rattling the potions in their shelves. She thrust open the door and it slammed against the adjacent wall.
"What?!" The shout was so booming it made the rest of the forest as silent as a crypt.
Instead of her sisters' red eyes, a familiar brown gaze flicked down at her. He quickly composed himself and cleared his throat. "Uh…hi." The man gave a half-hearted wave. "I, eh, got lost in the forest and I really need to get back home. I wandered here and thought I could ask for directions…" The brunette cleared his throat again.
The man tried not to squirm as Vivi shamelessly scrutinized him, orange eyes flickering up and down and making his skin crawl. Long brown hair brushed the back of his neck and he wore a plain, white shirt with red sleeves. He was taller than her by at least a foot, and lean muscles corded his limbs. There was something about his deep brown eyes that Vivi couldn't describe…something that made her hesitate to immediately cast a hex on the boy (that was an achievement in itself).
After she finished her examination, the next thing she did made the man blink in surprise.
She slammed the door in his face.
There was a moment of pause as the man stared at the closed door. Then, as suddenly as it closed, it reopened to reveal Vivi holding a broom with its bristles frayed. Not sure of what was happening, he stood motionlessly as Vivi tossed a pale leg over the broom.
"Well?" she snapped. "Are you getting on, or are you just going to stand there gawking all night?"
"But—"
"Get on!"
He complied and awkwardly mounted the end of the broom. He had barely enough time to secure his hold on the handle when a kick off the ground sent them flying. In moments the two were above the treetops, the wind in their faces and thousands of stars twinkling above them.
His eyes widened as he tried to take everything in-the sky, the trees, the ground a mile below them. "This is amazing!"
"I know I am," said Vivi.
High above, the world was put into a new perspective as they flew across the night sky. A full moon watched them, shedding a pale light over Vivi's wintry skin. The moonbeams made her silvery hair shine like the stars above. The wind breezed past them, gently pushing back the witch's black dress so it brushed against the man's knees. He couldn't decide which was more impressive: the witch in front of him, or getting a bird's eye view as they soared through the sky. On a broomstick.
"I can't believe that you do this every day," he said, marveling at how smoothly the broom cut through the air. Unlike a plane, the broom was noiseless as it swiftly glided through the dark.
"I don't ride during the day," Vivi amended, not bothering to look back. "I would be spotted otherwise."
"What do you mean? Everybody in town knows you live in the forest, right?" Surely the villages of Castanet would know that a witch was living nearby.
The witch shook her head as they passed a solo raven that blended into the shadows. "Of course not. Nobody knows about me except the Wizard…and now you."
"Why? The townsfolk are good people; they wouldn't mind you living nearby."
Vivi snorted. "Ever heard of the witch hunts? I've seen what happens when a witch reveals themselves to others: 'off with their heads' and 'burn thy devils'! No thanks, I don't do self-inflicted pain."
The man pursed his lips. She had a good point, but he still didn't think the townsfolk would do something as terrible as that. He couldn't imagine the aloof Mayor Hamilton hurting even a fly. "Why are you doing this for me?"
This time Vivi did look back. "Doing what? Getting you out of my forest?"
The man laughed despite the harsh words. "Well, if you want to put it that way…"
"I do." In the corner of her mind, Vivi searched for an explanation for her uncharacteristic actions, but even she could not find an answer. Finally she said, "Would you prefer it if I just threw you off my broomstick? The tree branches would stop your fall…if they don't skewer you first."
"Eh, no thanks."
"Then be quiet and stop pestering me."
"Yes ma'am."
One minute.
Two.
"They accept the Wizard just fine."
"This is not being quiet," she grumbled. Did this boy ever shut up? "And they don't fully understand the Wizard's strength; they think he's just some loner who tells cheap fortunes."
"But even if the townsfolk found out, they still wouldn't harm either one of you," he protested. "Some of the people might even become your friends."
Silence. Finally, she gave in with a sigh. "Oh, yeah? And who would those people be?"
"Me, for example."
The witch didn't have a comeback for that. She let awkward pause thicken. For once, the other rider didn't speak up again. The rest of the journey was spent silently as they followed the breeze over the trees. The night's air was cool and tickled their skin, though neither seemed bothered by it. Eventually Vivi pointed the tip of the broom downwards and they descended. As softly as a cat's paws her feet touched the ground, followed by the clunk of her companion's.
"The gate is straight ahead." She nodded towards the direction but did not loosen her grip from the broomstick.
The man took the hint and swung his leg over the broom, planting both feet on the thinning grass. "Thanks for the lift."
Vivi nodded again and stared straight ahead past the line of trees. She was about to kick off when his voice caused her to pause. "By the way, my name is—"
"Kasey," Vivi interrupted. "Yeah, I know. You told me when you threw an apple at my head."
Kasey was grateful that the night's shade was dark enough so it covered his blush. "Right…sorry about that."
"Whatever," she grumbled. "You still owe me a potion, mister." Vivi's feet kicked the ground and the broom lifted a foot into the air. Tucking her knees beneath her, she aimed her ride upwards to only be stopped once again.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Vivi rolled her eyes but stopped the broomstick. "What is it now?" she called, squinting down.
"I never got your name."
"And you don't need it."
"I do if I want to thank you properly."
Vivi considered this for a moment. "Just call me Witch Princess," she answered at last
With that, she was soaring into the night. Her figure grew smaller in the distance as the witch followed the light of the moon. Kasey stared after her and wondered if this had all been but a dream. Dream or not, he knew that one way or another he would get the forest's witch to trust in people again. And she would start by trusting him.