Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon or anything you recognise!

I've been wanting to write a Harvest Moon fic ever since I purchased Tale of Two Towns and when I came up with this idea I couldn't resist writing it down despite the fact I'm supposed to be immersing myself in revision!

The prologue is a little abstract, the rest of the story will be much more 'normal'. It follows Lillian, and uses all of the game characters with only one OC (who doesn't appear much). I'm including several ships too, which will be revealed in time ;) But yeah I hope you like it!

Enjoy.


Prologue

Of scattered secrets and shy smiles; of whispered wants and forbidden friendships; of flying failures and hidden hopes; of daring desires and dying dreams; of shared scars and lonely liars; of lessons learned and bridges burned… is a story borne of storms. Storms of feelings, storms of desires, storms of clashes, and storms of ambition. But, most importantly, storms that rage on in the heart.

xXxXxXxXxXx

I was just sixteen when I was struck a blow by fate. She called it destiny, but I think 'fate' is more fitting. For it was a terrible, terrible blow, one I should not have recovered from – only she gave me a chance. I was young and innocent, naïve to the ways of the world. I had my whole life ahead of me, I didn't want to die… Surely you can understand this?

I'm sorry, truly I am. I never should have come here. I should have left these two sparring towns well alone. I was a fool. A wretched, wretched fool.

All I wanted was to live. But never did I ever, ever want this. This is no life, shrouded in secrecy with no choice but to follow another's will.

I thought that if the only price to pay for living to old age was to carry out her bidding then it would be more than worth it. But the things I've done… I deserve a fate worse than death, if such a thing even exists. Then again, with the things I've seen, I wouldn't be surprised.

I can't say I don't deserve this, because I do. But if true repentance counts for anything, I want you to know that if I could go back to that moment when I had those two different paths ahead of me and a choice to make, this time I would choose to die. Because this is worse than anything I would have ever imagined.

xXxXxXxXxXx

It's dark in here. Moonlight filters in through a hole in the roof, shedding soft light upon the scene of chaos. I wish it was darker. Chicken feed sprawls across the hut floor, mixing with scattered hay. Over-turned stools and broken shelves creak in the strong wind that encourages goosebumps to dust my skin. Holes have been ripped in the walls and the roof has half fallen down. Two chicks are dead on the floor, having had their necks snapped. A still, cold lamb lies next to them. A tear trickles down my cheek. I force my eyes to move on, to look at something else. In the darkest corner a human figure is slumped on the ground. He's not breathing. He's dead. He died thinking I never cared about him. Another tear leaks from the corner of my eye, soon followed by another, and then another until I'm crying uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," I choke, "I'm so, so sorry." No amount of apologies will bring any of them back.

"Lillian," a harsh voice interrupts my weeping. I look up to see a silhouette in the entrance to the hut. She glides forward, a neutral expression on her face. "Is this what you want? It this truly what your heart desires?"

"No! No, no, no." I force the words out past the duck-egg-sized lump in my throat, in between my sobs.

"You knew the price – a life for a life."

I shake my head. "I didn't- I wasn't- I couldn't- I didn't know," I try desperately to explain, but the words evade me.

She smiles coldly. "You didn't want to know, Lillian. There's a difference. You knew deep in your heart that there would be a cost; there always is for these sorts of things."

"I didn't know it would be him!" I burst out. "He's the only innocent one in all of this, why did it have to be him?"

I drop my head into my hands as my whole body shakes. She glides closer. "Lillian. Look at me, Lillian."

I don't want to look at her. This is all her fault. If only she had just told me… No. I can't blame her. Everything that happened is on me, and the sooner I accept that the better. So I look up, into her beautiful green eyes that promise you the world. "I'm sorry," I murmur.

"Oh, Lillian. This is a mess, isn't it?" She sounds regretful, but I don't know if I buy it as genuine emotion or not. "This is a right old mess."

"Yes, it is." I'm wary now. She sounds exactly how she did when she offered me that first choice.

"You know, I never wanted this either. Both of us have lost out."

I narrow my eyes in a half-hearted glare. There's little room for hate in my soul of guilt. "Don't lie to me. This is exactly what you wanted – you planned it all out, every detail. Do you deny it?" The words sounded more forceful than I meant them too, and I drop my gaze.

"No," she replies lightly.

"Then you won. You should be happy."

"But Lillian, I'm not happy," she objects. She sounds playful now, and I squeeze my eyes closed. Maybe if I count to three, when I open them she'll be gone and this will all be a horrible dream.

One…

Two…

Three…

She's still there, and she's smiling as if she knows exactly what I just tried to do. I shiver, and not because the wind is battering my skin.

"So," she continues slowly, "I'm going to offer you a choice – oh, don't look at me like that, this one will be nothing like the last one, I promise!"

I hesitate. I want to just say no and refuse to take part in her games any longer, but then I glance over at his body in the corner. Nothing could be worse than losing someone who you care about and having to live on knowing that you caused their death. So against my better judgement I nod. "Go on."

"You can carry on as you are and live on with the knowledge that you caused all of this suffering, or you can start all over again and none of this will have to happen." She looks down at me with a smug look on her face, watching the hope flicker in my eyes.

"You can give me another chance to put things right? To go back to the beginning and start over?"

"I can," she confirms slyly.

"But…" I hesitate, hating myself for even thinking it, but forcing the words out anyway. "Will… Will I have to die to undo everything?" I ask timidly, cursing myself inside. I should gladly die to right these wrongs and to save his life, but some small, stubborn survival instinct rooted in my heart makes me voice the question.

She laughs a tinkering laugh. "No, dear, you won't have to die. In fact, you can't die – or at least not yet. You're far too important you see, for your destiny is not to just save yourself but it is linked to something much bigger than just you. Now, I need an answer. Do you accept this chance I am offering you?"

I glance one last time at his body lying still behind me. After everything that's happened, I know that I can't trust her. She'll have some scheme up her sleeve, some hidden purpose that will only cause more pain. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, not this time." Her voice is cold, concealing a warning. If you don't take this chance, it will be worse for you, her eyes seem to say.

I have to take this opportunity to start over. Not just because of what she might do to me if I don't do what she wants, but because I don't know if I can continue to live this life knowing that everything that's happened is entirely my fault. The guilt is too much.

So, with a bad feeling in my stomach but hope in my heart, I utter the word of acceptance. "Yes."

The last thing I see is her smiling, joyous face before I'm falling… falling… falling.


Author's Note: So what do you think? Of course this is only the prologue with the proper story to kick off next chapter, but I hoped you liked it! Oh and don't hesitate to correct me if you notice any spelling mistakes/ typos/ grammar mistakes - I'm not great at spotting the accidental errors in my own writing.

Thank you so much for reading!

~ Jay