Three choices stood before her, testing her nonexistent ability to make decisions. After opening and closing her mouth several times—which only succeeded in making her look like an unsightly, gaping fish like the ones caught in the murky pond by her dilapidated house—she pointed to the one on the far left. "That one," she finally agreed.

Cain nodded, his grin making him look even younger than he usually appeared. "Good choice. Surprising. I pegged you as a traditional white-with-black-spots type of girl." He paused, switched gears. "Now you get to name her."

Angela blinked at her new calf, taking in the shiny, pure black coat and warm brown eyes. Another decision. Great. "Uh… Viola?" It was more of a question at first, but her voice steadied. "Yes. You're Viola, aren't you, sweetheart?" Reaching out her hand, Angela pet her spindly-legged livestock on her gentle head.

"You are two peas in a pod," Cain said approvingly. Without further ado, he added "Well, off to work! I'll drop 'er at your place once I get a chance." Angela nodded, a slow smile playing on her face.

"Thanks, Cain." With that, the young farmer left through the open gates of Horn Ranch's barn. She felt a little dazed, wondering why a near stranger had given her a calf, free of charge. In the city, where she grew up, she would have suspected that a man showing such kindness to a young woman in her twenties had another, less chivalrous motive in mind. But, for some reason, Angela trusted this kindly married rancher. She had resolved to trust in her new neighbors' generosity instead of being suspicious, so with this idea in mind, she set off for "home."

Home was a dilapidated shack with more holes than a legal contract written by a corrupt attorney. Piles of molding logs were strewn in the exact places Angela would most likely trip and the ceilings leaked right above her pillow on rainy days. Still, it felt more like home than any old bedroom or college dorm had been, and was certainly the cheapest. Of course, the 5,000 gold owed to pay off the ramshackle little house was still too steep a price for Angela to pay immediately, and she was still working diligently to pay off those costs.

It was only her second week in sleepy Harmonica Town, but already Angela felt at ease with the villagers. Living in a close-knit community certainly forced everyone to learn kindness and hospitality, which was proven by the number of gifts and praises her new neighbors presented her.

Much like Viola.

Thinking about the calf gave Angela an idea. Because everyone she met had been unbelievably welcoming to her, the novice farmer would prove her thanks by giving gifts of her own. Angela had spent much of her time so far planting and watering fickle seeds and heaving the hammer inside of the Garmon Lower Mine. In fact, she had barely spoken to "the natives," as she liked to call the villagers, except when she rushed by them on the streets or dirt paths through the town. These people had been so sweet to a complete stranger—

Smack! Angela's train of thought was interrupted as she collided into another body, who she presumed was a girl due to the soft-looking hair and barrettes. Unfortunately, Angela had run into the other person with such force that the poor girl had dropped everything she had been carrying, which was all food-related.

"I'm so sorry!" Angela gasped, embarrassed at her own stupidity. "Let me help!" She dropped to her knees and began shoving half-ruined dishes onto mercifully intact china plates. "Mostly everything looks fine; I'm sure—"

Her babbling was cut short by a surprisingly masculine voice. "Get up, it's too late to fix anything." Angela looked up, confused, a chunk of potato in her left hand and a misshapen rice cake in the other. The voice did not belong to a girl, as she had assumed, but a young man. His hair was a strange mix of orange, red, blond, and maybe even pale pink, but his large eyes were even more odd—they were violet, and shone with temporary annoyance. Barrettes did in fact adorn his messy hair, but he was definitely not a woman. Oh, shit, Angela thought. Grovel, apologize, then grovel some more, and quickly make an exit.

"I'm sorry," she repeated quickly. "I wasn't watching where I was going, obviously, but I didn't mean to run into you. I'm new here and I don't know the paths very well, and I guess I—"

His gaze was so sharp that she shut up mid-explanation. "Forget it," he said coldly. "I don't have time to deal with a stupid new farmer who can't even see three feet in front of herself."

Angela was so shocked that she dropped the food in her hands. She felt rage building under her skin like volcanic lava; her infamously rapid temper was another of her "qualities". "Well excuse me," she said, trying to imitate his sarcastic tone, "I guess Mr. Perfect over here can just pick up the mess himself." With that, she turned and stormed away, leaving Barrette Boy to clean up. What a jerk, she thought with contempt. Now I know who is definitely NOT getting any gifts from me!

Later that afternoon Angela must have been pummeling the rocks with extra force because Owen walked up to her, looking confused. "Angela, you smashed that rock with the first hit. I'm not sure if you realize, but here in the Mine District we do have a blacksmith who will shape that gold for you," he said, half-joking.

Angela had not, in fact, been looking at what she was smashing. It felt much better to throw the hammer around, pretending she was crushing Barrette Boy with every heave of the lethal tool. "Gold?" And indeed, gold was on the floor in front of her, looking slightly smashed but beautiful nevertheless. As soon as she snatched up the precious metal, a realization hit: she had all the metals necessary in order to ring the Red Bell! Thrilled, Angela waved goodbye to a still-baffled Owen and half-skipped out of the Lower Mine. Barrette Boy was all but forgotten as she rushed into Ramsey's shop to give the blacksmith the materials in order to finally ring the Fire Bell.

So this chapter was way shorter than expected and kinda crappy, but the next ones will be much, much better! You all have my word. Thanks for reading!