This is the sequel to my Harvest Moon fanfiction Drown Me in Amber. I really recommend you read that first before reading this... a lot of stuf might not make sense if you don't ;;; Anyway, I tried to edit it as best as I could... and I really hope you all like it!! :)

A Silver Star

Chapter 1

Griffin's Return

Haru took great gulping mouthfuls of the sweet, scented evening air as she ran steadily down the hill. Everywhere the world was coming alive around her and the light aroma of newly budded flowers hung in the lavender colored night. A few stars were peeking out of the pale, darkening sky. Haru's cheeks were pink with exertion and she ran from the hill to the lane. Her chestnut hair bounced steadily behind her as she went.

On her face was a brilliantly happy smile and her heart was filled with the sort of incandescent happiness that only love can bring. For the life of her she could not stop grinning as she passed by the Inner Inn.

Almost there, almost there! She thought, listening to her own heavy breathing and footsteps on the cobbled pathway. Ahead at the bar, the lights were on and the muffled murmur of voices could be heard intermixed with the clinking of glasses. Haru began to feel a familiar feeling of nervous fluttering in her stomach, but did not possess the ability to stop herself.

Is it tonight? Could it be tonight? She thought as she stopped in front of the bar's front door. A cracked and peeling sign bore the name "The Blue Bar" beside her face. The amber colored windows flickered warmly out at her, inviting her in. Haru stood for a moment with her hand on the door knob. From inside came Professor Carter's distinct laugh.

Swallowing hard, Haru grasped the slightly weathered doorknob and pushed the door open with gusto. As the wooden door flew open, a myriad of sights met her eyes, but there was only one person she was looking for.

"Haru!!" Several voices shouted in her direction amiably as she took in what was before her eyes. Kassey and Patrick, the old twins who made fireworks, were sitting at the bar beside Carter, a dark-haired archaeologist who was a regular at this bar, and the surly Marlin. Beside him was, Gustafa and the girl who lived with him.

"Nami!" Haru waved at her as she stepped in doors. Behind the bar a girl appeared who was a few years older than Haru. She had glossy blonde hair that spiraled in elegant waves and curls down her shoulders and flashing green eyes. She gave Haru and excited and meaningful smile and stood completely still.

"Oh my gosh…." Haru spoke to the girl, "Muffy… do you mean…"

Muffy could not handle it any longer. She shook with happiness and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Yes!!" She screamed excitedly, running over to Haru and grasping her hands. Haru's heart began to pump at full speed.

"W-where is…" She could barely start to ask when the door to the back room opened slowly and a tall, skinny man came out slowly.

It was like seeing him again for the first time. Haru's hands slid unconsciously away from Muffy's as she turned to face the man, taking him in with her amethyst-colored eyes.

He was a good foot taller than Haru with long scruffy, dark hair that he kept held back in a ponytail. He had a mustache and misty gray-brown eyes that were always filled with an uncommon sort of gentleness. When he saw Haru he could not speak, but merely stared at her paralyzed.

"Haru…" His husky voice finally came forth. Haru was being drawn closer and closer to him without realizing. She had no sort of awareness that the entire bar had gone silent and all eyes were on them. She could not even begin to care.

"Griffin…. You're…. You're finally back…." Her voice trembled as she thought it would. Griffin smiled with genuine affection back at Haru, but looked slightly over at Muffy as if asking her permission for something. She winked at him.
"Go on… I can take care of these customers for one more night." She them moved from behind the bar and shooed both Haru and Griffin outside into the delicate, purple evening.

The two of them walked slowly down the grassy hill, hand in hand towards a place where no one would bother them. Haru grasped Griffin's hand tightly, feeling that she never wanted to let go again.

"I missed you… I really did…" She told Griffin, trying to speak normally but failing. Her voice was high and tremulous. He laughed softly.

"I missed you too…" He sounded shy, but truthful. Haru looked up mischeivously into Griffin's eyes.

"So?" She urged him playfully.

"Soo…" He continued, nonplussed.

"So, how did the trial go?" Haru could barely contain her excitement as the two of them walked over to Turtle Pond. It was reflecting the opaline sky above beautifully and the swaying of the tree's leaves and branches created a calming atmosphere. They sat down shoulder to shoulder with their backs against the tree.

"She's gonna be put away for life, it seems." Griffin told Haru with a note of grim finality in his voice. After short pause he grinned a little. "She won't come back to bother us ever again." He added. Haru felt relieved and leaned her head against Griffin's shoulder and shut her eyes.

"Thank goodness… I thought you'd never get back…" She sighed. It was so unreal to be back with him again. Haru felt as if she were unable to actually feel all the happiness that was inside of her chest. "So, did you find a prettier girlfriend in the city?"

Griffin turned to face her with an earnest glance.

"That's impossible." They stared at each other for one emotional second, then Haru leaned forward and kissed him fully. She was filled with bliss. Haru had absolutely no idea how she had gotten on without him these past weeks.

After several passionate minutes she broke away.

"Griffin… I'm sorry... I have to do this...I've been waiting for this moment ever since you left…"

She was suddenly extremely serious. Griffin looked a little taken aback. She knew what she had to do. She had promised herself over and over the past few weeks that this is exactly what she would do when Griffin returned to her. She slowly took off her rucksack with shaking hands and rummaged around inside for several moments. Griffin looked very confused.

"I… I tried once before, remember? But there was that mix up…. And with the trial and everything… it just didn't seem right to ask right after Valentine had made such a mess of things…" Haru began to explain as she pulled out a wooden box from her rucksack. She opened it carefully. The contents remained unharmed and pristine. Griffin waited for her without saying a word, though he still looked quite lost. Haru cleared her throat and tried to look as grave as possible.

She grabbed the azure feather that was in the box and held it up to Griffin, her face straight and determined. The feather was was shining with an ethereal light.

"Griffin… please…. I...I want to be your wife. Will you marry me?" She asked demurely, feeling as if she could die at any moment of nervousness. Griffin looked a little stunned, but eventually he took it gently from her hand and looked into her eyes.

"You sure you want a useless old bachelor like me?" He asked her finally, as if this whole thing was too good to be true.

"Of course!" Haru chimed, her heart unable to contain all the feelings that were coursing through her. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

"Come on, Haru…" Griffin's face suddenly became stony. Haru felt a moment of fear pass through her heart like a lightening bolt. She could not handle a rejection from him a second time, even though it had been a mistunderstanding. "After all we've been through, do you really even have to ask?"

A wave of relief consumed and she began to bounce a little where she sat.

"So is that a 'yes'!?" She piped happily, smiling broadly, her fingers intertwining with his as she squirmed with excitement. Griffin laughed with a shade of humilty.

"It's a definite 'yes'." He reassured her, "I'm just sorry that you beat me to it!"

Haru could not contain herself any longer. She leapt forward with a happy yell and threw her arms around Griffin's neck. There was no way to express how she was feeling as she held Griffin close to her and let the moment envelope and take over her. She wanted to remember the way she felt forever.

"Oh my gosh, FINALLY!" Came a shout from a ways off. Haru and Griffin moved slightly away from each other, bother wearing similar expressions as they looked in the direction of the voice.

Muffy and all the customers who were previously in the bar were all watching from a short distance away. The joy that had started in Haru had spread to all of them.

"Agh! How long were you guys watching!?" Griffin was flustered, his cheeks turning bright red.

"Jeez, I thought Haru would NEVER do it." Muffy teased
"We thought you weren't going to go through with it again." Marlin said with his arms crossed. Haru was humiliated as she got up from where she sat.

"Muffy!" She cried shrilly at them.

"Hey, haven't you heard of privacy?" Griffin was looking thoroughly violated.

"An eye for an eye, brother! You were there when I confessed to Nami." Gustafa called out to him as the group strolled towards Haru and Griffin.

"Yeah, you also saw it when I told my wife my feelings too, so all's fair in my eyes." Marlin retorted after Gustafa. Griffin's expression became muddled.

"You two got married already?" He asked Marlin. Marlin nodded.

"Yeah… it was a quiet wedding… sorry you couldn't come, you were busy with the trial." Haru looked over at Griffin as Marlin explained the news. The world seemed to blur away as her embarrassment faded.

My husband… She thought with pride and excitement. She almost couldn't believe it was true. She had practiced that proposal over one hundred times. Not in one of the possible scenarios she had dreamed up had it gone so perfectly as it had just gone. It was like the beginning of a fantastic story she had been waiting all her life to hear, or the start of a day she knew would be amazing.

"Whooa… Earth to Haru…" Muffy waved her hand in front of Haru's eyes and she snapped back into reality.

"Wha-?" She looked around.

"We just asked you a question…" Nami told her. All eyes were on her all of a sudden.

"When's the wedding going to be?" Kassey repeated in Haru's direction.

"Uh…" She looked over at Griffin for some help. He shrugged and scratched his head, looking muddled. "A… week from today? At the church in Mineral town?" She offered to the group, looking around for some sort of approval.

"It's decided, then! I'm going to go home straight away and tell Celia and Vesta." Marlin smiled roguishly and broke away from the group waving.

"Come on, Nami. Let's go let Lumina and Rock know." Gustafa ushered Nami away and the twins followed, flashing Haru and Griffin thumbs up.

"Ohh! I'm so excited!!" Muffy shrieked, dancing around, "Haru's going to get married! Oh my goodness, we need to pick out your dress! I have to go find that catalogue from Lumina's wedding!" Muffy was talking more to herself than to anyone else as she rushed in a flurry back up towards the bar.

Haru and Griffin were left standing alone next to the pond again. It was if a whirlwind had just passed through. After a few moments of stunned silence, Haru looked up at Griffin. He gave her a shaky smile.

This is real… Haru realized as she took his hand. This is it…

The reality of what her future slowly came and rested down upon her shoulders.

And it couldn't have been more beautiful.

--

"Oh… this one's really nice too!"

"Ew, no… Look at the trim."

"Oh, I didn't see that part, ahaha!"

"How about this one?" Lumina came out holding a huge, puffy wedding dress in her arms. Celia and Muffy oohed and Haru stood dumbfounded.

"It's only 400,000 G!" Lumina told them as if she had spotted a real bargain. All the girls looked slightly horrified which left Lumina utterly bewildered. Nami scoffed and turned away.

"I don't see why it has to be a dress… why not just a nice suit like this one?" She gestured to a morose black suit set on a female mannequin.

"I think Haru wants a dress, isn't that right?" Muffy asked Haru. Haru was a bit overwhelmed. She had been woke up early by a gaggle of squealing girls and brought to the city outside of Mineral Town, spent a utterly all too much on flowers and been swept into a dress store.

"Uh… yeah… I think. Yes… a dress, definitely." Haru said slowly as she watched Flora examining a lopsided hat that was covered in glittering beads. Lumina tiptoed over to Haru and giggled.

"I think she's still in shock. I remember I felt that way before I married Rock, too. Everything happens so fast the days before the wedding."

"Ooh!!" Muffy was skipping around the store, holding up dresses over herself and looking in the mirror.

"It does go by fast, doesn't it?" Celia remarked, "It feels like just yesterday I was getting married, too…"

"Maybe that's because it was three weeks ago." Nami commented snidely. Haru giggled a bit.

"Oh… I'm just kinda…dazed, I guess…" Haru admitted as she took a seat on a cushy, circular sofa in front of the mirrored walls.

"Do you like hot pink, Haru?" Muffy's voice called from across the store. Haru couldn't even respond. The clerk was watching the girls from across the room with an annoyed expression on his face. They had already been in the store for over and hour and were chattering away loudly. He was used to this group of girls by now, as it was their third time purchasing a dress.

"Don't worry about it, Haru. Everything will turn out right in the end, you'll get all this craziness sorted." Lumina patted Haru on the knee. Muffy approached the small gathering holding a radiant pink dress in her hands. Flora was sitting off by herself a ways off, staring off into the distance. If it was possible, she seemed even more distant and lost in thought lately.

"How do you know that? Not all marriages work out, you know. In fact most of them fail." Nami said suddenly. Muffy's expression turned rageful.

"Don't say that, Nami, you're awful!" Muffy shouted at her.

"Yeah, that's not a good thing to say before someone's wedding. That's not even what Lumina was talking about, anyway." Celia scolded. Nami shrugged and looked a little annoyed.

"Just saying…" Nami looked sullen. Haru smiled around at everyone with a delicate and joyful look swimming in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it… That's one thing I'm not worried about. If there's one thing in my life I can be sure about, it's Griffin. I know without a shred of doubt in my mind that I will love him until the day I die." She said it with such conviction and confidence, that even Nami looked astounded.

"Aww…" Muffy cooed, "You guys are adorable… I wish I could have a love like yours…" She commented wistfully.

"What, things aren't working out with Haru's brother?" Lumina asked Muffy suddenly. A false smile popped up on Muffy's face immediately after Lumina spoke.

"Of course they are working out. Everything's just fine." She said as if it had bee rehearsed. Haru looked over at Muffy with some concern.

"Huh? What's going on…?" She could read Muffy well after knowing her for over a year.

"Nothing's the matter, didn't I just say…?"

"OH MY GOSH, HARU LOOK!" Celia interjected from a ways off. In her arms was a delicate white and pink dress that looked as if it were made for royalty. It was sleeveless and fitted with gossamer white pink fabric on the front. Haru let her most feminine instincts take over as she was drawn from where she sat towards to dress.

"It's…a….masterpiece…" She said breathlessly, taking the soft pink fabric in her hands. Nami looked at the dress and held up her hands.

"Oh wait a sec." She spoke aloud and strolled to the other side of the store, then returned with something in her hands, "I don't really know much about fashion and what not, but would this look good with it?"

In her hands she held a headdress that was crafted from pink pearls. She placed it carefully on top of Haru's head and stepped back to enjoy the effect. Haru spun to behold herself in the mirror. When worn it was as if the pearls were dripping in a delicate white-pink rain over her hair. The gems clustered towards the top of her head in a ornate tiara-like display.

"Can I try on the dress?" Haru smiled at her own reflection as she took the dress from Celia and went into the dressing room. Moments later she emerged and all the girls gasped and squealed.

"You look like a princess, Haru." Lumina commented in a mystified tone, "It's fantastic! Let's go get the clerk!"

Lumina ran off with Celia and Flora while Nami followed in tow. Muffy stood fast beside Haru, still gazing at Haru's reflection in the mirror with a sort of melancholy joy.

"Haru, you're beautiful." Her voice was almost a whisper. Haru could barely believe the woman staring back at her was actually herself.

"Muffy… if this is a dream… I don't ever want to wake up." She told her friend with a dreamy tone. Muffy smiled at her wistfully.

"It's all real, sweetie. You got exactly what you wanted… which is more than a lot of girls can say."

Haru looked worried suddenly and turned quietly to face Muffy.

"That's what bothers me… no one ever gets exactly what they want… right? What if… What if all this good luck just means that something bad is about to happen?"

Muffy grabbed Haru's hand with comfort and gave it a little squeeze.

"Nothing bad's going to happen, I promise you." Muffy told Haru… and Haru believed her.