A/N
A plot bunny. 'w' There may be some OOC, because I haven't played far enough into SI to really get anywhere. Chelsea's characterization is also different from as she is in the game because... Well... SHE'S A PROTAGONIST, DAMMIT! I like giving otherwise silent protagonists character- IoH and SI screwed that one up for me by putting them in the game. Thus, I'm ignoring their in-game characters.
WARNING: Shoujo-ai, which is a girl/girl pairing. Deal with it. =w=
The Sunshine Island's farmer was by no means a nosy girl. She was quiet, but approachable and sweet. Her manners were never forgotten, and she was wise for her age. It seemed to everyone that Chelsea was just a remarkable, mature young woman.
While sowing her seeds for spring, it was fairly obvious that she was into her work. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead from the plowing she'd done previously, but a bright grin was on her face. Chelsea sung softly to herself in off key, wavering notes. Her dog, Chime, flicked his ears with distaste at the noise, and leaped into the grassy pasture filled with other farm animals. There the floppy-eared mutt nosed at his runty cat compadre, who batted back at him with a playful flick of her tail.
The brunette in her field held her smile as she went about watering her land. Life was good. Simple, but purely excellent. Chelsea's farm brought in tons of money, even during the winter, thanks to her exquisite way with animals. Plants almost seemed to bow to her will, and she went into town often. She really couldn't ask for more, even though most everyone was always wondering why the brunette hadn't gotten married.
Admittedly, there weren't many people left to marry after four years on these islands. Shea was… frightening to Chelsea, for one reason or another, despite how cute he could be, and the Witch Princess…
The brunette bit her lip, sense of peace disturbed for once. A slight flush came over her cheeks. She liked the Witch, which was inappropriate at best. Chelsea twirled her hair nervously, trying to forget about it. After Leanne (her cat) tumbled at her feet with a loud mew, Chime on her tail, the farmer succeeded, breaking into rough, trilling giggles.
Little did she know, her small attraction would soon be brought to attention.
.x.X.x.
It was not long after that warm, sunny day that Chelsea got herself into a little trouble. She'd found the strangest object in the mines; a small, almost unnoticeable pendant. It was a black bird of some sort, and the brunette absolutely loved it. It shined with millions of iridescent purples in the moonlight, and she started to feel stronger as soon as she put it on.
Over the next few days, the farmer girl went through changes. Her schedule gradually shifted until she came out only at night, her crops began to grow less vibrantly, and, most strangely of all, her animals started to shy away from her. All of them except Leanne, who seemed curious as to why Chime no longer played with her near Chelsea.
Everyone took notice, after seven days of wearing that pendant, that her eyes started to almost glow red when she was out at night. "Seriously, Chelsea, you should get something for that!" Lanna exclaimed, setting her fork down to examine the farmer's eyes more closely.
Chelsea shifted uneasily, knowing that even in the Diner's lighting, her eyes would have a tint of red to them. "I don't know. It hasn't affected me all that much," She said hesitantly, biting her lip. When Lanna gave her a look, she caved, "Okay. My animals don't like me so much anymore, and my plants aren't growing as well."
The pop star raised a delicate eyebrow. "Not just that. You used to come visit me in the morning! Now you only come by at night… It seriously messes with my beauty sleep!" Lanna ended with a high whine. "You need to get that fixed!"
Chelsea was quiet. She had a distinct idea of what was causing her transformation, and she had already taken it off. That hadn't stopped it. Now, there was an issue of who she had to go to if she wanted to 'get it fixed', as Lanna put it. The brunette spun her finger into her hair.
Lanna, picking up on the other's hesitation, took that as her cue to leave. "Speaking of beauty sleep, I gotta go. Please, Chelsea, try, okay?" She said sternly, giving her friend an intense look. Chelsea had to hold in a giggle, because Lanna and stern did not mix well. The farmer gal nodded instead, and the blonde left with a cheerful smile.
Chelsea let the smile fade from her face as the truth set in. She'd promised Lanna she would reverse her transformation; that meant going to see an expert on magic.
That meant going to see the Witch Princess.
.x.X.x.
Chelsea knocked on the Witch's door, heart beating nervously. It was late in the night and chilly for spring. In her hand she clutched several red herbs by their stems and the pretty black bird pendant. She tried to keep all of the thoughts racing through her head at bay, hoping that maybe her crush had disappeared since she'd stopped talking to the Witch Princess.
The door opened.
Scarlet red eyes narrowed, a hint of annoyance flashing in them. A wry smirk appeared on her face. "Hello Chelsea. What are you doing here?" That was it. The Witch Princess was clearly annoyed with the farmer girl.
Said girl was shell-shocked. A slight pink tinge came over her cheeks. She'd forgotten how beautiful the Witch was in all her time away from her. Chelsea shook her head, swallowed, licked her suddenly cotton-dry lips and whispered, "Princess… Look, I'm sorry I started avoiding you last fall. It's just… I just…"
The spell caster's smirk grew a little more. "Go on…"
"I just like you more than I should…" But Chelsea didn't actually say that. There was a tense silence in which the Princess stood languidly, a certain glimmer in her eye daring the brunette to say what she was thinking. "H-Here!" Chelsea stammered out instead, thrusting her arm out and presenting the pretty red herbs, which had kept quite nicely through the winter.
With a roll of her eyes and a disappointed 'tsk', the Witch took the wild grasses and stepped aside. "Come in, I guess. Careful, the brat's sleeping. Actually, make as much noise as you want. She sleeps like a log," the blonde snickered. Chelsea took heed of the warning, not finding it in herself to giggle at Witchkins. She wandered in cautiously, glancing around and wrinkling her nose at the strange smell. Sure enough, Witchkins was asleep in her bed, snuffling softly.
"So," the Witch Princess said as she closed the door, "I'm assuming you're here because of that weird red eye thing you have going on?"
"Ah, yes, Princess," Chelsea shuffled her feet shyly. "I put on a strange pendant I found in the mines, and even though I took it off, I've still changed." She held out the offending item, and it glistened in the low light. Its ruby eyes sparkled coldly.
The Witch Princess's eyes widened as she snatched up the black bird. "Hey! That's mine! That stupid Harvest Goddess took it and hid it from me a long time ago!" She put it on, and everything about her seemed to liven up and sharpen beautifully. The brunette's breath caught in her throat.
"Thanks, Chelsea!" Grinned the blonde, giving a twirl. "I appreciate you finding it… so I guess I should probably fix the spell it put on you! The charm's only for witches, so it gave you a few funny side effects. It's supposed to make me more beautiful. Did it work?" The Witch whirled around again, and Chelsea almost stopped breathing.
She nodded almost imperceptibly, staring. "Haha! You're lucky you brought those herbs! I need them for the counterpotion," The Witch Princess took Chelsea's silence as a yes, a smug air about her now. She took to her cauldron, and then to her shelves of vials and concoctions. Within moments, something was brewing. It smelled noxious and oppressive, but both the farmer and the spell caster seemed unaffected.
Sometime later, when the sun was only a few hours from rising, the Witch ladled out a tall glass full of a milky white potion. "Here you go! Drink up!" Chelsea sniffed it distrustfully, but took a swig. It didn't taste like much, besides something woody and mildly nutty.
"What's in this, Princess?" The brunette asked quietly, even as she felt her eyelids drooping with the need to get back to her regular sleeping schedule.
The Witch Princess's eyes glittered brilliantly. "Just some regular old counterpotion… and a truth serum I've been working on."
Chelsea froze. She'd already downed half of the drink. Was that enough to start the effects? "Okay, time to test it out, my guinea pig! Why'd you really come here tonight?"
"I came because Lanna wanted me to get myself fixed. My farm wasn't going too well with the side effects your pendant caused."
It came out of the farmer's throat before she could stop it; it almost didn't feel like she had talked, though she knew she had. "Tsk," The Witch wasn't happy with her answer. "So you would have kept avoiding me if Lanna hadn't asked?"
"Yes."
Again, Chelsea couldn't stop it. She looked at her beautiful, wicked witch with wide, mortified eyes. The blonde's lip curled into a sneer, ruby red eyes hardening. "So, why have you been avoiding me?" The farmer's eyes grew to the size of the moon. She felt her vocal cords quiver as they started to form a reply, and she shut her eyes tightly.
"I like you. Very much. But it's nasty, because my dad wouldn't like it if I was dating a demon."
The Witch Princess's sneer vanished, her eyelids fluttering lazily. "So that's why you won't admit you like me. You're dad is an idiot who didn't teach you the proper term for demon," She rolled her eyes, "I could have done this a lot sooner if I'd known that."
"Done wha-?"
But Chelsea was already being kissed; it was bruising, but wonderful. It sent her spiraling back into the bliss she'd been in before this whole mess had started.
