Lillian sighed as she opened the door to her new home. It was apparent that no one had lived in it for quite some time. She retrieved her mop and bucket from her cart and got to work.

Lillian had never really felt like she belonged in the city. When she decided that she would move to the country her friends had laughed at her. Undeterred she set out anyways, looking for somewhere where she felt like she belonged. When the horse she had rented got spooked and bucked her, she was surprised to wake up to the faces of two concerned mayors. It was rather awkward standing there while they bickered over which town she should go to for medical treatment. In the end she decided to go with Rutger, who seemed the friendlier of the two. On the way to Bluebell they chatted and he had somehow convinced her that she should move into the old abandoned farmhouse on the edge of town. "Well why not?" she wondered, she was looking for a place to start new anyways. The town was quaint and westernized; apparently the other one was rather a traditional Japanese village. Lillian didn't think she would stand a chance when it came to learning their culture and was glad that she was moving to a town where she could easily fit in.

~~

Farm life kept Lillian busy, but she made time to get to know the villagers. She became fast friends with Georgia, a sweet girl with a southern twang. They often visited Laney at the café and chatted about everything under the sun. Laney especially liked to tease Lillian about the boys in town.

"So you don't like anyoneeeee?" she moaned, unimpressed with the lack of interest Lillian showed in romance.

Lillian shook her head. "Not really, I mean Ash and Cam are nice and all but I haven't even been living here that long. I don't feel like I really know them enough to like either one of them."

Georgia giggled and nudged Lillian's arm with her elbow. "Careful Lil, Laney has dibs on Cam."

"What!?" She screamed as her face turned red. "I most certainly do not!"

Lillian and Georgia laughed. Laney stuck out her lip, pouted, and then had a sudden realization. "Waiiiiit," she hissed, "What about Mikhail? He will be coming back here this fall."

Lillian cocked her head. "Mikhail? What's he like?"

Laney grinned, "Oh he's got lovely blue eyes and light hair. He's also a traveling musician. He leaves town when it gets hot but he's always back in time for the music festival. He's rather soft spoken, but very sweet. The two of you might have a lot to talk about since your both from the city."

Lillian smiled and nodded. It would be nice to talk to someone who understood where she came from.

The girls continued to chat, but Lillian found herself daydreaming about the mysterious Mikhail.

~~

Summer was almost over. Laney and Georgia had eagerly told Lillian everything they knew about Mikhail over and over. She was a little embarrassed to admit it, but she had developed a crush on this man that she had never even met. The girls had informed her of his likes, and she was determined to find something to give him for his birthday, which would fall just a few days after he arrived in Bluebell. She headed out to the mountain to search for rare treasures that he might enjoy.

~~

Lillian panted. She had climbed to the top of the mountain, had reached the base of the other side, and still hadn't found anything that she thought Mikhail would like. She frowned as she faced the path that lead to the entrance of Konohana. It was possible that one of the shops there would have something he would like, but did she dare go inside the village? She was worried that the mayor would be angry with her for not moving there. Lillian took a deep breath, and started to walk into town, her passion for finding something for Mikhail driving her.

She smiled when she saw stone turnips on the gate separating the town from the mountain path. She had never seen so much bamboo growing before either. There was a large fenced-in area up ahead and she eagerly ran up to see the horses inside. "Hello horsey," she cooed and she stroked the main of an older brown horse. The horse happily whinnied as Lillian scratched behind its ear.

"Can I help you with something?"

Lillian turned around to and saw a tall young man with kind brown eyes smiling at her.
"Oh no I'm sorry I just stopped to see your horses on my way into town. My name's
Lillian, what's yours?"

He held out his hand, "Kana. I run the shop here. I sell pets, carts, and horses. That there is Hayate, she's mine." Lillian shook his hand and he joined her at the fence. Hayate nuzzled against him and he laughed. He pulled a treat from his pocket and she happily accepted it before walking away to visit with the other horses. "So I haven't seen you around before, are you from Bluebell?"

Lillian nodded. "Yeah I'm the new farmer there."

"So what are you doing all the way over here? Aren't you worried what the others will think?"

Lillian cocked her head, "The others? What do you mean?"

"Well the people in your town. We're rivals you know; our towns have hated each other for a long time."

"Ah really!?" Lillian's face turned red, "I didn't realize! Am I not allowed here?" She looked around panicked, and here she was just worried about the mayor not liking her. Now that Kana had brought it up, Lillian remembered Georgia mentioning that the towns were rivals, but she hadn't been to any festivals where the towns faced off yet. She had been too busy on the farm.

Kana laughed, "No I think you're fine. You're kinda an outsider in that town anyways aren't you? I mean it's not like you grew up there. I doubt there would be any bad blood towards you from anyone here."

"But I turned your town down," Lillian wailed. "When I crashed on the mountain I met both of the mayors and I said no to yours."

Kana frowned; he didn't mean to upset the poor girl. "Hey it's alright; here I'll show you around town. No one will mess with you if I'm escorting you."

He held out his arm and Lillian gingerly took hold of it. Kana led her throughout the entire town and introduced her to everyone. They all seemed nice. Some, like Sheng the blacksmith and Gombe the shop keeper were very eccentric. There were also very shy people, like Reina and little Ying. Kana and Lillian stopped at the town hall and Mayor Ina politely introduced herself again and told Lillian she would be welcome to move to the farm there if she ever wished to. Lillian still felt like Ina gave off a rather standoffish feel, but she didn't seem angry that Lillian had chosen to move to Bluebell.
They ended up back at Yun's tea house and Kana offered to buy Lillian supper. He ordered food for the both of them since she was unfamiliar with the items on the menu. Everything was delicious; Yun was a very good cook. Kana walked with Lillian back to the entrance of the town when they were finished.

"Kana thank you so much for today, is there any way I can repay you?"

He grinned, "Well you could cook me spicy curry." Lillian gave him a confused look and he laughed. "Ah I guess you don't know how to make it. Well how about you just come visit me at the shop again soon?"

Lillian giggled, "That I can do. Maybe I'll bring a treat for Hayate too."

Kana nodded and waved to Lillian as she began her path back over the mountain. He smiled to himself, what a neat girl.