How long has it been since I wrote for HM? I bet you all missed me and my lack of spectacular writing skills! Just admit it, I know what you're thinking in awe right now!

I once again played HM More Friends of Mineral Town after finding it again after I could have sworn it was lost forever. But hey, I'm just lucky my copy still works and I have my precious original saved game on it that I had been working for YEARS to make successful as it is right now. I happened to play through the "dearm" sequences and was surprised by the random-ness within those "dearms" of Claire's! So, that gave me the inspiration to write this.

It's not much and it's really weird, but it's just a series of mostly unconnected dreams of Claire. With various hints at pairings and some established CliffxClaire.

Hope you enjoy~!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon in any way. Which really sucks, because I WANT to. T.T

-MidnightSakuraBlossom

. . . . .

Claire's Dreams

Written By: MidnightSakuraBlossom

Beta-ed By: StormofyourDestiny

Rated: K+ - borderline T

. . . . .

"I am so happy." Claire smiled and clutched the several beautiful wildflowers in her hand. Her wonderful husband, Cliff sat near her on the edge of the lake overlooking the small cave that was only available during winter. Their bare feet floated in the sparkling, clear water and this day was just beautiful all the way around.

One of the freshly-picked flowers was placed softly through some locks of long blonde hair. The rest of them were put away into a rucksack. And Claire giggled to herself, feeling a breeze rustle her hair.

The whole scene was just too sweet and peaceful. She didn't want to end it. She never once got moments like this with Cliff because of so much work in their lives lately. She looked over at Cliff and inched closer to rest her head against his arm.

"I don't want this moment to end. Ever. Cliff, please promise me that we won't ever let our relationship falter..."

"I promise." Suddenly, there was a bright light. Claire gasped and shut her eyes as to not get blinded by it. When she opened them back up, she was stunned to see that she was now resting her head against the shoulder of mayor Thomas! "Claire, I will love you forever. Now, kiss me, my love."

Claire's eyes widened to the size of plates as mayor Thomas leaned in to plant a kiss upon her lips...

All of a sudden, a figure shifted uncomfortably in the large double bed. A head of messy blonde hair popped out and Claire sat up staring wide-eyed by what she had just dreamed.

"Dream...?" She caught her breath and her eyes shifted to the lump beside her. With caution, she peeled back the covers to see Cliff curled up and sleeping peacefully. Not the mayor. She sighed with relief. "Oh well. I guess I'll go back to sleep."

With a fond smile, Claire gave her husband a soft kiss on his cheek before embracing him and falling back asleep.

. . . . .

Claire was feeling fatigued after a long day of farm chores and mining. With her hoe in hand, she trudged out of the not so small cave and noticed that the sun was beginning to dip low into the orange horizon.

She blew fallen, sweat strands of hair out of her face. She wanted to get a lot done today, but she didn't even get to go shopping for food to stock up, get those seeds Karen had ordered for her, or talk to her friend Zack about helping out with the surprise birthday party everyone was going to through for Cliff's upcoming birthday. Maybe Karin would come, if she wasn't still sore about the fact she used to be a rival for Rick when Claire had her eyes set on him seasons back.

Her blue eyes shifted around the area to see that no one was really around now. And of course, the Harvest Goddess was still in her pond or whatever that body of water was. Taking a peek over the covering in front of the hot spring, she smiled as to see it was empty and perfectly steaming.

Well...a dip couldn't hurt. Cliff said he would be preparing dinner tonight, and she could always return home at nighttime for the leftovers. Happily, Claire tucked away her tool and sprinted into the dressing room of the hot spring.

Moments later, she was sitting in the nice, soothing warm water sighing. It felt so good after a rough day. This was exactly what she needed. And coming in here always gave her a chance to reflect on the day, or think about what she would do the next. Her eyes fluttered closed and her legs shifted and splashed as she adjusted her position.

And then, she felt a short vibration. The water swirled violently, her eyes opened immediately and she jolted upright from a slumped position to see something rise out of the water.

"You...beautiful." A look of pure shock flashed across Claire's face as a green creature, Kappa, stood up and looked her over with glimmering eyes. His webbed hand reached for her slender, limp arm and pulled it Claire was soon standing before him wet and naked, totally horrified. "Come with me. I have plans."

"W-what are you talking about?" Claire finally managed to shriek, her eyes growing wider by the second as Kappa moved in way too close for comfort. "K-Kappa?"

"You will let me-"

"RAPE! KAPPA RAPE! AAAAAH!"

"WHAT? WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Claire sat upright in bed, breathing roughly and staring with widened eyes. Cliff was too awake, from her sudden proclamation of rape which he really didn't understand in his drowsy state.

The clock on the wall ticked, Claire finally realized it was all a dream...well...nightmare...she looked over at a stunned Cliff and managed a hoarse chuckle.

"Um...let's go back to sleep, it was just a dream. About a mystical and cucumber-obsessed beast."

Cliff didn't quite understand what she meant by that, but he nodded nevertheless and went back to sleep as did his horrified wife.

. . . . .

For once, Claire was having a peaceful rest. She lied in bed with Cliff, curled up in his arms and even smiling a little. And for the first time in seasons, she wasn't experiencing any unusual dreams she couldn't describe.

Some things just shouldn't be described. Like her dreams, how awkward it was when recently-married Gray and Mary slept together, or what went on in the head of Gotz when he remodled Claire's house.

And then, another dream formulated in her brain...

Wind whipped over the pier overlooking the horizon. The sky was dark, only lit by lightning bolts in the distance. And the waters raged and thrashed.

In the midst of this dramatic scene, two girls stood before each other on the pier. One very pretty with dark blonde hair, she was grimacing and holding a raised knife. The other cute with long golden blonde hair tousled and gathered in a ponytail, she looked betrayed and was on her knees beaten down.

"I didn't once forgive you after the way you stole Rick from me!" Karen roared over the claps of thunder filling the storm. She gradually, evilly advanced closer to the severely injured Claire. "Your love for Cliff was just a trick for you to make me feel safe! Maybe we haven't gotten married yet, but it doesn't entitle slut trash like you to come along and steal him away! We've known each other forever, you barely know him like I do!"

"I am so sorry!" Claire apologized frantically. Tears began to fill her eyes, she raised her limp, bleeding arm to her eyes and wiped the tears before finding her voice and saying, "When I saw Rick all alone at your place, I just...I wanted to experience a time with him at least once! It-it won't ever happen again, we both agreed it would never!"

"You're lying! I bet you won't be able to keep your filthy hands off of him the next time you see each other!"

"NO! I SWEAR! And after all was said and done, Rick confessed he still loved you and I mentioned Cliff was still the only one for me! I don't...I don't even understand why we did it, maybe it was just to-"

Karen's pace picked up. It was shaky, and she was also bruised from their previous fist fight when meeting up at the beach. But now, Claire was unarmed after her hoe was thrown into the violent waves. "I would appreciate it if you shut your mouth! You've already done too much with it anyway, and I cannot allow you to go on with this heavy burden on your shoulders...it may seem like a heartless murder, but I," A slasher smile formed on Karen's lips. Claire paled even more, she had never seen this kind of look on her before. "I wouldn't want a sweet, innocent girl like you to be labeled as a slut for the rest of your life and have every one in town hate you. So it is fitting for you to be stabbed to your much-anticipated death."

"KAREN...!"

The knife was driven into her arms again, Claire's horrified screams filled the short silence before the thundered rumbled again. If she died from blood loss, Karen didn't care. As long as she was dead and no one witnessed this.

Silhouettes suddenly appeared, Claire's vision was blurring and her body felt like it was shutting down and she couldn't move. When she made out both Cliff and Rick sprinting onto the pier, she felt safe.

Until Cliff opened his mouth, saying in a harsh tone that was so unlike him, "Stabbing the unfaithful slut to her death isn't good enough. Throw her into the water and let her drown and choke to death on her own blood."

Claire's eyes filled with tears again, but she couldn't find her voice in the moment to scream.

"No, wait, this has gone too far! Karen, let go of that knife and help me take Claire to the doctor ASAP!" Rick snapped at his girlfriend. Karen gave him an evil look, but she did let go of the knife.

Into Claire's face. Rick stood there, horrified. And was soon shoved unexpectedly into the water by Karen as she called him a worthless cheater. But, in the process, she too slipped and they struggled to swim back to shore, but got carried away by the violent waves and soon perished.

Claire was dying, she knew it. Blood poured as the rain washed it all to the pier. And the last thing Claire could see clearly before it all faded to black was Cliff grabbing the knife and positioning it to his neck.

With a startled scream, Claire bolted upright and near fell out of the bed. She was breathing quickly, clutching her heart as if it was a time bomb ready to explode. She soon found herself being held in Cliff's arms, whom had been awake at the time reading. For the next several minutes she cried in his arms.

The next day, Cliff had taken a peek into the journal she kept of her nightly dreams. And was traumatized to see that the 'main highlights' of this dream was unfaithfulness, drowning, a storm, Karen being evil, and death. It was then when he decided to take her to the doctor for some kind of treatment.

. . . . .

With some special treatment by the local doctor, Cliff assumed it was safe for Claire to sleep again. She was given a mysterious new medicine that was only legal in Mineral Town and Forget Me Not Valley so far. Although, if one were to try and order this stuff in other places, it would take months to receive and it would have to done cunningly and stealthily.

The medicine promised to block out dreams if taken once before going to bed. Two tablespoons full, with a twelve second gap in between, and would have awkward side effects should it be taken too many times. But Elli didn't go into detail about that, neither did the doctor. This should make her weird dreams and the nightmares subside. Claire just tried to remain positive and did as told when taking the dreadful tasting concoction.

Then she went to bed...

Claire was humming a peppy tune as she walked through Mineral Town. She had previously been out with the girls at the inn. Her stomach as full with milk and pizza. So she was just fine.

Everything seemed normal, she now decided that she would visit Carter at the church. Not many people attended the services these days, not many really believed in the Harvest Goddess like the man did. But she actually was being converted more and more, the longer she hung around Carter. Maybe religion was contagious, she didn't know.

There was, she tried to tell herself, time to kill. So why not hear a sermon? It was more appealing than heading deep into mines and heaving tools and gems all afternoon. Becoming depressed that she can't hold much in the trusty rucksack on her shoulders.

Her hand pressed itself to the door and she noisily pulled it open. Something was not right in the atmosphere. It was chilling, still. She gulped involuntarily and yet, took a bold step inside.

The church was totally empty and dark. But she could feel a presence in a way she could not describe. A vibe. There was a soul in here, but yet she saw no one at all. Instinct told her to run, but Claire was prepared for the worst possible. She took a sharp intake of breath, however, when something soft and almost weightless hit her head and fell to the floor.

"What is this...? Carter...?" Stupid question. Carter wasn't even around. Claire, however, did look down at the object on the floor. She blinked and then bent lower to get a closer inspection. "Is this a turnip? A turnip inside the church...I don't think Carter likes turnips..."

There was, in fact, and perfectly grown turnip right there on the red carpet. Claire assumed wildly this was what hit her head as if thrown. She loved turnips, they were her favorite crop to grow and eat. But something was off here, turnips weren't typically thrown at guests, there usually was sunlight through the windows, Carter was up at the main area, and at least the atmosphere was inviting. Her lips parted. Was something wrong?

All of a sudden, there was a gust of wind that just occurred with no logical back up. Claire brushed her hair out of her eyes to see that the turnip was floating in midair with an evil purple aura surrounding. She shrieked and turned to run, but then the doors wouldn't open when she frantically pulled, they were locked.

"How dare you forget to harvest me before the next season. How dare you let me wither and die." A high-pitched, ghostly tone said in a monotone by it's standards. Claire's eyes opened wide and she slowly turned, her skin paling to see a evil face now on the crop and it's eyes were streaked with tears that looked vaguely like blood. It must have...said that.

"L-look, this is a church! You can't corner me in here and you can't be talking to me! You're just a turnip!"

"Silence, cruel and unfaithful bitch," The turnip hovered closer, real blood dripped from it's leaves and roots. The withered roots extended closer and went to Claire's throat. "This church never once was an innocent place for worship. The Harvest Goddess has the split personality of a demon from the fiery pits and she must punish the sinful and give a one way ticket to their eternal place."

"PLEASE! DON'T! I JUST FORGOT TO HARVEST THE TURNIPS, GODDESS!"

"The Harvest Goddess has NOT forgiven you and you will pay the ultimate price...NOW..."

The withered roots encircled Claire's throat and shoulders to prevent her pathetic attempts to escape. While she cried out in agony, the demon turnip used her own sickle from her rucksack and drove it into her over and over again. Blood soon covered the church and Carter walked in after she fell lifeless to the floor. He was shocked, and the turnip then turned to him and attacked him for no reason-

"Carter...Carter...run, Carter! The turnip slaughtered me but I'm still able to communicate via my soul that he couldn't take away! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

"Claire! Claire, wake up!"

Claire's eyes were brimming with tears and her body was covered in sweat. She woke up panting breathlessly to see her house and Cliff over her looking panicked and worried for her.

Obviously, the medicine didn't work as well as they hoped...if her dreams were getting worse...

. . . . . .

The winter had brought snow and chills through Mineral Town. People were trying to stay warm by crowding around fireplaces, crops were unable to be grown and Claire had to rely on a stocked supply, the blizzards proved to be bothersome, and there was time for romance to spark for some of the couples; in Cliff and Claire's case, bring them together for some special moments after a long time of being too busy.

As the snow fell forcefully outside, Claire walked away from the window and took a seat on the floor by the newly-added fireplace. The flames crackled and filled the silence. She smiled and extended her frozen hands closer to get relief. These were the kind of moments she liked the most out of the year, and this was why she told others winter was her favorite season.

"Claire, I think the snow is picking up. We probably won't be able to leave the house for a while until it calms..." Cliff mentioned, he didn't sound too worried. As he took a seat beside his wife and reached an arm around her frame and pulled her close to him. "Maybe we can survive until then."

Claire giggled, not worried in the slightest as she snuggled against his shoulder and arm. "Yeah, we'll be okay. I love winter~!"

...Because of moments like this. It was the time she could be snuggled with her husband and reignite some sparks to keep their marriage alive. Others found her crazy, but she loved this.

All of a sudden, a loud thud hit the house. The two were shaken by the vibration and silently panicked when another was heard among the striking and sharp winds.

Once it all died down, Cliff released his hold on Claire and scrambled to his feet in order to check through the window. Just as he feared...all he could see was puffy, white snow and nothing else.

In other words, they were screwed. Trapped within their own home because of a build up of snow. And the lights were flickering on and off, the television also turned to rainbow lines from an episode of Aaron Changes and went dark. There wasn't much heat in the home, and Claire was even more panicked. She started to worry survival would not be easy.

"C-Cliff...what will we do now?" Claire asked weakly, shivering as the flames inexplicably died out. She noticed Cliff was thinking before replying, and she came over uneasily with obvious fright.

"We will be able to survive, Claire." Cliff assured her. He turned and hugged her tightly, she was pulled into his body and she was caught off guard for an instant moment, but smiled regardless. "Because, I have a secret, budum."

...Budum? Since when did Cliff ever say that? And where has Claire heard that random word before? Horrified, Claire separated from her husband just as a bright multi-colored blast exploded. And from where Cliff was standing, was all of the Harvest Sprites! She stared, paling.

"We love you, budum." The red sprite, Chief, said with no hint of worry that Claire would freak out. "We want to make sure you survive this blizzard. But we will do so together."

The timid, green sprite, was suddenly sitting on Claire's right shoulder while the orange one sat at her left. "Y-yes, budum, um...we...we will all die together if we have to."

"Isn't it great to know you'll die with the people you love, budum?" The orange sprite said dreamily as he extended his tiny hands and hugged Claire's neck.

That was when Claire screamed so loud it shook Mineral Town.

Claire woke up with a jolt, but hadn't yet emitted a powerful scream. She looked around the room worriedly, for any trace of evidence that horrid dream was real. But she found none. So she sighed with relief and pressed a kiss to her sleeping husband's cheek before settling back under the covers.

"It was just a dream...now I'll go back to sleep."

And the rest of the night was totally dreamless.

. . . . . .

"Claire, I'm very concerned about you." Cliff slowly mentioned one morning while he and Claire ate breakfast.

Claire, smiling obliviously, stuffed another piece of buttered bread in her mouth before replying, "There's nothing to be concerned about! I'm refreshed from last night and ready to harvest those pineapples, mine for silver to upgrade my ax, and prepare Boss for the big horse race! There's so many things to do, I must get started now if I'm going to get in everything..."

"But Claire-"

"Love you, sweetie!" Claire leaned over the table and pressed a twenty-second kiss to her husband's lips before arising quickly and skipping out the door.

Cliff was left there, worried about her. He was going to explain he was becoming concerned of her multiple and abnormally crazy dreams that occurred almost every night. She didn't wake up to one last night, maybe this was why she was full of spirit all of a sudden.

Still, he silently believed she was experiencing something mentally, and had meetings with Elli and the doctor to come to a conclusion. All they said was no amount of medical knowledge could prevent weird dreams, all the dreamer could do was wake up either in panic or confusion only to fall back into the sleeping state. But he thought they should take this deeper, they had to go deeper. We're talking inception.

But it's too bad they didn't actually do that. Mineral Town wasn't very advanced on that kind of medical expertise of all things.

The sun began to set beautifully on the horizon, reflected down against the soft ocean waves. Claire leaned over the ship's railing looking at this sight with awe. She loved the way this looked, she couldn't imagine ever wanting to return back to the smoggy city life after all that she as been through.

Life in the city didn't work out, so she went to Mineral Town and found herself tricked by the mayor to taking over an abandoned farm. He told her she could stay here and take over, maybe even settle down with a husband and children. But that town didn't work out either because she shirked her responsibility and the man she loved almost left the town but stayed to work at the winery; where she believed she could finally confess her love.

But she was too late. Ann, her friend, moved in ahead. And before Claire left Mineral Town for good in search of a better life, love, and companions, she received news of their engagement. Such a pity she didn't confess her feelings in the hospital after Cliff awoke from passing out in the middle of the square. That was when she realized everything. She waited, but she would never be pissed off at Ann. Ann was still a good friend, she was saddened by the news but was still relieved she could find someone who actually did feel the same way. Ann wasn't an evil bitch, she just never knew of Claire's feelings because she hid them even from her.

Now was not the time to feel heartbroken. Maybe she and Zack, Ann, a few of her other tight friends, would still be in contact through letters. For now, she looked ahead at the setting sun with sparkling determination in her eyes.

"Another chance." She told herself firmly, blinking away trailing tears, "I will make the most of life here. It's all coming together nicely."

A day later, and the ship was almost at it's destination. Some place called Castanet Island, where she knew of a young man named Kasey. Kasey was once her childhood friend but recently received a letter claiming he has moved here, started a ranch, settled down with a seamstress named Candace, and was expecting a child.

If a city-slicker like him could have a great life like that on Castanet Island, she was positive she would too. And they could catch up again.

Just as Claire turned to walk back into the ship's cabins, a man suddenly yelled and ran over to her looking quite terrified.

"Ma'am, do you know how to swim?" The man asked, Claire noticed he was probably one of the sailors judging by the way he was dressed. She stared, paling at the question because she didn't know. "We're going down! The ship just crashed into a pointed rock we didn't notice and it's going down! If you can swim, jump off immediately!"

"I-I don't know how!"

"AAAAAAH!" Came from the cabin rooms. "WE'RE SINKING?"

Pretty soon, passengers and sailors were dashing around the ship yelling at the top of their lungs and trying to combine their ability of use by getting out rafts to escape safely on. Claire didn't know what to do, her life was flashing before her eyes and was terrified she would never make it out alive.

Claire dashed over to the railing again and battled away some terror to see that the water level seemed to be rising – when it was really the ship going down like it was made of paper. A large hole was visible and debris fell to the ocean, she nearly passed out at the sight.

Freaked out, she whipped her head to the direction of where frantic passengers were huddling and the captain and sailors were working as fast as they could to break out the supposed life saving rafts.

"The rafts are stuck! The ropes are all tangled and we can't untie it!"

"AAAAAH!"

"The ship's sinking faster and faster, my feet are getting soaked!"

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

Noticing the water beginning to reach her torso, Claire blacked out just as soon as the ship totally sunk.

She should have been dead. Claire knew this...so why could she feel her rough breaths and smell a tropical scent. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she sat up, gazing around. The last thing she recalled was blacking out because of extreme fear of sinking with the ship and dying. Did everyone survive? Or were they all now perishing in the midst of chaos?

"Don't move, dear. You nearly drowned when I saw you."

At that voice, Claire's eyes widened and she looked to the right of the tropical, mysterious island she now lied on soaked to the bone, freezing, and believed to be near death. She saw...mayor Thomas next to her wearing a Hawaiian printed shirt, goofy blue shorts, and no shoes.

Slowly...Claire came to the awful realization.

She would never make it to Castanet Island, her ship sank and thirty passengers and one captain, and five sailors drowned with it, Thomas looked stupid in Hawaiian print clothing, and she was stranded with him on this exotic island with no chance of survival for all of eternity...

"NO! NO, I DON'T WANT TO BE STRANDED WITH THE MAYOR!"

Claire yelled again, falling out of bed and landing on her left side on the floor painfully. She lied there for a few moments, stunned, slowly noticing that it had all been a dream and Cliff was now wide awake and leaving over the bed to make sure she was safe and sound after the tumble.

Cliff sighed aloud and then reached for Claire's hand to pull her up. "Claire, this has gone on for too long. What happened in your dream this time?"

"You chose Ann over me and I decided to leave and go to Castanet Island...the ship went down and I was saved by a tourist version of Thomas and was stranded with him forever!" Claire explained very fast, barely taking breaths in between. She stood back to full height and looked worriedly into her love's eyes.

. . . . . .

Eventually, Cliff decided that he was ultimately concerned of Claire's constant nightmares. Many of them, not counting the ones which were mentioned, were completely insane and didn't seem to make any sense. The doctor and Eli couldn't find a cure no matter how hard they tried. Claire even consulted the powerful and knowledgeable Harvest Goddess at the spring because she was on good terms with her.

Not even the goddess held an answer for it. It seemed hopeless, and Cliff and Claire would continue to have sleepless nights and eventually die from lack of sleep or something like that.

Finally, Zack took the liberty of knocking on their door one day. He came in and they all shared a lunch Claire offered to make while discussing the shipper's plan to stop her nightmares. He explained his theory: Maybe Claire had all of these because it was her subconscious trying to hint she was spending too much time in Mineral Town and cut off from the outside world. After all, her nightmares seemed to all be about Mineral Town folk loosing it, her demise, Mayor Thomas staying by her side for all of eternity, ...being raped by a Kappa... so it seemed she should leave for a little while and return only when she's seen some of the world and relaxed.

It turns out that Zack already made arrangements with the mayor. Various people pitched in to raise some money to loan to the couple for them to go off together. And they even got her cousin Kasey from Castanet Island to stay here during that time with his wife and watch over the place. With little to no consideration involved, Claire and Cliff went off on the ship and the rest was history.

The change of scenery did Claire good, she and Cliff had a wonderful time seeing various sights and chilling. Kasey and his wife enjoyed their stay in Mineral Town, their son was even born there. It seemed that all's well ends well because Claire never did have an other weird and or gory dreams. Although...during the trip...she continuously freaked out and asked Cliff if that guy over there reminded him of Mayor Thomas. Only to be told that she was wrong and just paranoid.

The End.

Or is it?

. . . . . .

You know, I have absolutely no comment. XD Um...so...let me try...I would like to thank StormofyourDestiny for beta-ing in the middle of the night when she was tired as hell and giving me the idea to use that whole "ghost of a turnip" concept from Rune Factory Frontier as the plot of one of the "dearms". And I also thank all of you for reading this piece of crap.

I kind of want to make a sequel focusing on Kasey and Candace's time in Mineral Town with their misadventures, encounters, and son's birth. But I don't know if I will publish it. Let me know your thoughts on that, please.

Read and review. If you don't feel like it, listen to my shameless advertising and check out my other HM or RF fanfics! :D

-MidnightSakuraBlossom