Hello everyone! Welcome to my first fanfic!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, although if I did I would be extremely happy. :)
I woke up covered in seaweed and coughing up water. The sun coming up over the ocean nearly blinded me, and the gentle surf rising around my waist was bone chillingly cold. I was freezing; I needed to get inside, but where? My arms and legs were paralyzed with cold. Where am I? I wondered. All was deathly silent.
I was headed from the mainland to the Mountain Islands, where my parents lived. My father had been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. I knew he didn't have long, so I was headed there to see him and to help my mother cope. Everything went as planned, I packed my bags, bought passage aboard a steamship, and boarded. The only thing that I didn't plan for was Hurricane Beryl. She tossed the ship left and right, making me nauseous in my small berth. I dashed above deck, into the melee of seamen trying to get the ship under control. Things were falling left and right, and the deck was slick with rain. As I was vomiting over the edge, something must have hit me and knocked me out, causing me to fall overboard into the tumultuous ocean below.
Now I was stuck on this beach. Great. I stood up, pushing my tangled and wet hair behind me. I only made it about half a dozen paces from the sea before my legs gave out and I fell back down. Angered with my weakness, I began to drag myself forward. Suddenly, a pair of dark, calloused hands reached out and grabbed my shoulders. I struggled like a wet kitten.
"Woah, there! No need to struggle; you're among friends. I'm Denny. I like to fish," he explained, as I let him pull me to my feet. Denny wore a purple bandanna and purple fisherman's clothes, with a strange, penguin-like bird perched on his shoulder. I nodded.
"Thanks, I'm Chelsea Indigo. Where am I?" I unsuccessfully tried to brush the sand caked to my clothes off. Denny pulled my arm around his strong shoulders and began to help me walk away from the ocean.
"You're on Verdure Island, part of the Sunshine Archipelago. Hold your questions until we get everyone. They'll be so excited about today's 'catch'," Denny laughed. We began to slowly limp towards the center of the island.
By the time we arrived at the center of town, we had attracted quite a group of followers. This island is actually much more populated than one would think, I noticed. Before long, Denny was pounding on the door of a large, rectangular orange horse. A ruffled old man's voice rang out from inside.
"Denny, we don't care about the type of elusive fish you've caught today. Go show it to Lanna; then both of your eyes can glaze over while you marvel at its beauty. I honestly don't care-" The old man opened the door, and his expression instantly changed. "Oh. Unless it's a girl. Bring her in, quickly." The door shut behind us.
I was sitting in a chair, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and a mug of something steaming clutched between my fingers before I could blink. A middle-aged woman with pink hair sat in the chair across from me, her expression soft. Behind her, two redheaded young adults about my age were arguing. The boy looked close to tears.
"Welcome, dear. I'm Felicia, and these are my children, Natalie and Elliot." The girl and boy straightened up. The boy walked toward the door and left. "You've already met my father, Taro. We run the shipping business on the archipelago."
The grizzled old man limped over to us. He looked me up and down.
"Looks strong enough," he muttered to himself. Then he looked at me. "Welcome to the archipelago. What happened to you?"
I briefly told him who I was and my story, and Taro nodded. "Thing is," the old man said, "Our islands are struggling. There are five of them currently: Ranch Island to the north, Lighthouse Island off of Ranch Island, Sprout Island to the east, Meadow Island to the west, and Verdure Island, where you are now. Long ago, people inhabited these islands. Back then, there were 14 islands. Then a great disaster occurred, casting those nine smaller islands into the watery depths of the ocean and the people to leave. We landed here about a year ago. We need to restore the islands, and we can't do that without the sun stones.
"Legend tells of 100 pieces of the sun, appropriately titled sun stones, scattered over the islands. Legend also says that these stones have the power to raise the rest of the islands and restore the archipelago to its former glory. Now let me ask: What do you know about plants?"
I shook my head.
"To be absolutely honest, nothing. But I like animals." Taro and Felicia lit up.
"Perfect! With my help, you'll be the best rancher in the whole world! I know this is kind of sudden, but whaddya say: will you be our rancher and help us fix the islands?" I pondered his request. It would be no walk in the park, but who was I kidding, I longed for a really good challenge. And this place was beautiful, unlike the big cities I had lived in on the mainland. Some part of me already felt grounded here.
"Sure, why not?" I grinned. Felicia and Taro patted me on the back and left me to think in the middle of their kitchen. Natalie walked over.
"I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Natalie, as you heard. That pathetic excuse for a human being was my brother, Elliot. We can be friends if you want." She stuck out her hand. I shook it. The door blew open, and there stood a very tall, very blonde woman wearing short shorts, tan boots, and a baby blue men's dress shirt tied above her belly button. She looked at me, and her jaw dropped. She dropped the tomcat she was carrying and ran towards me. I stood up to meet her. Her arms went around me and squeezed.
"Chelsea!" she yelled.
"Julia!" I grinned back. After an eternity, she finally let go. Julia held me at arm's length.
"You look so good! And it's been so long!" With that, she pulled me back in for another bone crushing hug.
Yay! First chapter's finished! *phew*
What do you think? Please review; I'm always looking to improve my writing.
I'm open to suggestions, too!