Welcome all to my new story, "Satan's Embrace"!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.

- - - - - Chapter 1: Tilt the Hourglass - - - - -

At 18, Aiden took over a run-down and abandoned farm found in Forget-Me-Not Valley. It was originally his father's farm who died 7 years ago. After getting entirely fed up with the annoying people who suffocated the city streets and his girlfriend telling him flat-out that she slept around with other men, he decided to move to the quant and peaceful valley for a change of pace. Of course, everyone was in utter shock when he made the decision to move to Forget-Me-Not. No one had expected it from the one and only Aiden.

He was popular back in the city, he had a load of so-called 'friends' and people admired and envied him. He was beautiful – a gorgeous young man who stood at 6'1 who was toned nicely with muscle weighing at 150lbs. Long, sleek, black hair and penetrating deep, crisp, cerulean eyes. However, he allowed no one near him. He seemed untouchable – no matter how much someone longed for him he looked down at them as though they were dirt. He was overly stubborn, cocky, and always came off as a prick. But no matter that, people still looked up to him as a godly figure. Men were jealous of his good looks; women wanted him in their pants… You could say he was the definition of 'perfect' – the absolute epitome of beauty and lust.

To say it bluntly, he hated people. The only one he ever cared for in his life was his ex-lover, Olivia. The gorgeous Olivia… Slim and slender with lustful curves; sinful, erotic, green eyes. Long, lush, golden hair and pale skin that rivaled a porcelain doll's. He knew she was the one that all men were after, but he had to have her – and so he had her. It turned out that Olivia was interested in the mankind-hating Aiden, the one and only Aiden. He bestowed upon her tender and sweet love; showed her a blissful smile he showed no one else. Men envied him; women envied her. They've gone steady for 3, long years without a single breakup and now she was telling him that she didn't love him anymore and began to sleep with other men? He was beyond heartbroken and when opportunity came knocking on his door to release him from hell, he took it.

Meeting everyone in town was… to put it flatly, beyond irritation and boredom. Aiden began to ponder if it was a mistake coming here. Even though the valley had little inhabitants, something about it just didn't sit right for him. Sure, the 3 single ladies in town were nothing less than attractive, but something just didn't 'click'.

Groaning to himself, he sprawled out onto his bed and stared a bit angrily up at the ceiling. His dog, Pika, barked playfully up to him as she licked his foot. Startled, Aiden jumped up and quickly looked down at the small dog and surrendered a soft smile.

"You know I don't like it when you lick my feet," Aiden said down to the dog, picking her up. Pika barked again and began to lick his face joyfully as Aiden laughed.

Pika was the type of dog you'd never expect a guy like Aiden to have. She was a creamy, white and light brown Pomeranian only at 3 months old. He always had a soft spot for animals, and dogs were his favorite. And Pika was his kind of dog – absolutely loving and loyal to its owner and a bit nasty to everyone else.

Getting out of bed, Aiden slipped on his pair of Vans and stepped outside to take in a good view of his new 'home'. Setting Pika down beside him, he walked around the pasture and checked the insides of the barn and chicken coop. Pika sniffed every crevice she could find and she was soon running frantically all over the farm, yipping with excitement.

Watching Pika with content, he heard a soft-spoken 'hello' and foot steps. Turning around, he saw Celia and she was smiling sweetly.

"I'm sorry to intrude… I got curious as I was walking to the spring and I saw your dog running around. She's quite adorable," Celia said beaming up at him.

Aiden merely let out a grunt and looked at her quizzically. "Mhm…"

Celia was a bit plain for his tastes; she had long, brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her clothes were dusty with dirt, however, she smelled quite divine – the smell of fresh irises. She was a rather petite woman and he was almost a foot taller than her. Despite how plain she looked, her face was quite pretty and it had a nice, slender shape. And being the typical guy, he noticed she was rather flat. Barely a B-cup… He mused idly to himself.

Celia paid no attention to his dull response and continued showing him a sweet smile. "If you don't mind me asking, what made you want to come to a place like Forget-Me-Not Valley?"

Aiden's expression was a sharp look of utter boredom and disinterest as he replied back to her, "I don't know. I was bored of my life back home."

"The city? I find that hard to believe," she said with an innocent giggle. "It's usually the other way around, people usually move to the city because they're so bored of the valley. Nothing ever changes here, and it's pretty laidback and peaceful," she paused and looked over at the pasture. "Did you change the farm's name?"

"Yup," Aiden responded bluntly.

Celia waited for him to continue but noticed he wasn't going to. Still smiling, she asked: "What did you name it?"

"I named it after a rare, winter flower. Amorous," he responded flatly.

"What a pretty name!" She looked at him intently and grinned. "You like flowers, don't you?"

"Look, darling," Aiden responded, his body seething with prickling annoyance. "I'd love to stay and chat but weren't you going somewhere?"

Celia's smile shifted into one of hesitance and she laughed awkwardly. "Oh… Yeah, of course. I'm sorry if I was bothering you." With that, she turned around rather hurt and headed back to Vesta's farm rather than the spring.

Glaring slightly at Celia's fading figure, Aiden groaned softly and picked Pika up in his arms. Pika whined and licked his face lovingly as he brought her back inside the house. Locking the door behind him, he set out for the local bar.

On the other hand, Celia trudged back to Vesta's farm and let out constant sighs. Her face was flushed with embarrassment and she felt like a complete fool. Of course, he would never like someone as plain and unattractive like me. Aiden was unbelievably handsome and as soon as she laid eyes on him, her heart skipped a beat. She'd never been in love before even at the tender age of 16. She'd figured this is what they called 'love at first sight' but she believed such a thing never existed.

"Why is he so cold?" She mumbled to herself, with a slight pout.

"Welcome!" Muffy greeted to Aiden as he stepped inside the Blue Bar.

He simply shot her a rather peeved look and said nothing in return. He looked around and saw Griffin washing the dishes, oblivious to the fact that he stepped inside the bar. Taking a seat at the counter, Muffy came over to him and sat next to him.

"Is there anything that you'd like?" Muffy said rather seductively, flashing her bright green eyes into his raw, blue ones.

Aiden scanned his eyes up and down at her figure and didn't remotely care that he was being obvious. She had a pretty face with long, curly blonde hair and seductive, green eyes. Her looks reminded him of Olivia and he began to feel a prickle of annoyance erupt within him. She wore a tight red dress and she revealed enough cleavage to keep your mind imagining. A C-cup, almost a D-cup. Her face was graced with a sweet and noticeable pink blush and she was slightly taller than Celia, 5'4. He only wished she didn't wear so much perfume – he hated it when girls would drench themselves so much in it. Quite frankly, she stunk like antique, fake roses.

He bore his eyes straight into hers and his lips curved into a rather belittling, cold, lustful smile. "Don't see anything worth my time. Nice rack, though."

Muffy smiled sweetly at him.

"Want anything to drink?"

"A drink would be nice," Aiden replied sardonically.

"So what would you like?" Muffy asked as she motioned her hand to the list of drinks on the wall.

"I don't care, just give me something that tastes good and I can get drunk off of."

Muffy flashed another smile as she went to the back counter to prepare his drink. "So, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Nope," he replied flatly as he idly drummed his fingers on the table.

"Oh? Why not? I'm sure you can have anyone you want, pretty-boy."

"You're right, I can," Aiden replied dully. "Thing is, I don't want anyone."

"I'm sure that'll change," Muffy giggled.

He cast another cold smile in her direction and said: "Doubt it."

Muffy shot him an amused smirk and rested a glass of liquor before him. He gulped it down and asked for more. If anything, Aiden knew how to handle his alcohol but he so desperately wanted to be drunk. Glass after glass, he continued to drink. Barely being able to walk straight, he got up and walked out of the bar without paying.

"Interesting kid," Griffin stated. "Make sure you collect his bill later, alright?"

Muffy simply mused to herself as she thought about Aiden. She turned to face Griffin and nodded, "I'd be glad to."

As Aiden stepped outside, he noticed the sky was colored magnificently in shades of yellows, pinks, and oranges. He stared at it in awe. Back in the city, you could never see such a vivid and crisp sunset. He felt a wave of warmth envelop his body and it sent shivers up his spine. He walked over to the beach with silent steps. The slight buzz he got off of drinking already wore off and he was glad that he wasn't drunk to take in the view.

Sitting down gently on the sand, he absentmindedly played with the grains beneath his finger tips. His thoughts traced back to the city and he groaned as his mind flashed with vivid images of Olivia. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed a small rock and threw it into the ocean.

Staring out at the ocean bitterly, Aiden snapped out of his thoughts as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey," a rather low, feminine voice called.

He shifted his gaze to see Nami staring at him. A rather tall girl, 5'7, with short red hair. She had blue eyes just like him, but they were lighter and rivaled a sky blue. She seemed to be the quiet, wise, intelligent type who didn't give a rat's ass about what people thought about her.

Making no friendly gestures, Aiden simply grunted a low 'hey' in response.

"What are you doing here?" Nami asked as she sat a fair amount of distance away from Aiden.

"…Just thinking," he replied tonelessly.

Nami simply nodded for her response and gazed out at the ocean. Aiden found her hard to read – a bit of a mystery. Her face revealed no expression and he found himself being drawn to her by an invisible force. He watched her with curiosity until she stood up to leave without a word.

"Where are you going?" Aiden asked quietly, yet quickly.

"I'm not stupid; I can feel you staring at me," Nami replied without looking at him. "…I'm leaving."

Aiden simply watched her leave without saying a word. He couldn't shake Nami from his thoughts. What the hell is her deal?

"Aiden…" A gruff voice called.

Aiden turned around and saw Takakura standing within his doorway. "What?"

"If you need any help with anything, just tell me."

"I won't need any," Aiden replied with rising annoyance. With that, he proceeded to his house and slammed the door slightly behind him.

Takakura continued to stare at Aiden's house and the shut door. He let out a heavy sigh and spoke quietly up to the sky, "I wonder if he has what it takes… Eh, old friend?"

- - - - - End: Tilt the Hourglass - - - - -

Bah. This chapter was short. But oh well! I'm going for a bit of a laidback atmosphere for this story like the AWL/etc games provide. I hope I get some readers. -nudge- :D I also know that I said that my next story would be about Jae, but I have the first 4 chapters of that written. That's gonna be up as soon as AAE is done. I had this chapter lying on my comp for about 3 weeks now, and I decided now was the time to put it up.

Celia is 5'2. It nags at me that I didn't have a proper way to say it in the chapter so I'm saying it here (I'm a bit nitpicky with small details like this, bleh).

Despite I'm making Muffy into a huuuuge flirt in this fanfic, I absolutely adore her and I will/already have stuck up for her. The girl srsly needs some fans. : But I guess my fanfic isn't justifying what a great chara she is. -sigh- Someday, I will write a story where she is Jack's love interest! I WILL. But I really, really need a flirty chara for the story and Muffy's the best choice.

Review loveys!

- Tara