Hello, and welcome to the very first chapter of the Sunshine Islands Project! The rules for this can be found in the author note of my only other Harvest Moon story/one-shot/songfic or on AnimeFan202's profile. Or, if you just feel like PMing me, I'll gladly explain it for you.
But for now, here's the first chapter.
VaughnxWitch Princess
The Witch Princess looked into the mirror, horrified. The only thing she could find comfort in was being subconsciously grateful that Witchkins wasn't here to see her in her moment of panic. But there were more pressing matters at hand than that little brat.
What had she just done?
Something horribly stupid that's what. Something not thought-out at all.
So maybe the best way to fix and un-thought-out mistake is with an un-thought-out action.
She quickly snatched her cloak off the chair it was currently draped across, put up the hood, and hurried from the mansion.
…
After informing Nathan and Alisa, Mark caught a ride back to Verdure Island with Kirk, sharing the good news with him as well. His happiness could not be contained by the small boat. Mark was practically walking on air.
He leaped off at the dock, thanked Kirk, and hurried into town, ready to share the good news with everyone.
He figured that as a common courtesy, he should at least make sure that Taro is the first to know.
The old man is easily located, but a worrisome thing happens as Mark begins to recount his tale. Taro's frown begins to grow deeper and deeper with each word. Finally, Mark has to cut himself off.
"Taro, what's wrong?"
Taro sighed, wondering how to break the news. Finally, he decided the best way was to just be blunt.
"I'm sorry, Mark. The Witch Princess is gone."
…
The Witch Princess had let the hood of her cloak drop back down. Her hair blew in the wind as she leaned over the railing. She'd caught the first ship off the island possible.
With a final sigh she dropped the blue feather she'd been twirling in her fingers off the side of the boat, letting the waves wash it away.
Oh, why had she ever said she would marry him in the first place? She should've gotten out of there at the first hint of trouble. She'd suspected for quite some time that Mark had taken an interest in her. But when she'd begun to realize that she was more than a little interested in him…
Well, no matter. It was all over and done with now.
As the dock to the mainland grew closer and closer, the Witch Princess tried to permanently put Mark out of her mind.
…
"I… I don't understand what you mean," Mark finally responded a few moments later.
Taro sighed and rubbed his furrowed brow, trying to think of how to explain this.
"Mark… I don't know how much you know about her… but the Witch Princess is very… old. Ancient really. I did quite a bit of research on this when you started to… show an interest in her. I'm sorry. I should have intervened…" Taro's voice fell away.
Mark's expression had gone from one of joy to one of shock in a matter of seconds. As he still didn't seem to be fully comprehending what he was being told, Taro continued.
"There have been many stories… For centuries, men have told accounts of falling in love with a beautiful witch… But whenever things got to close, she would mysteriously disappear. There one day, gone the next. The Witch Princess never ages. I'm afraid she just couldn't stand to be with someone who does.
"Maybe this sounds hypocritical, but, Mark, try not to judge her. Living forever makes a hard life. Someday you and I will both pass on. She never will. I'm sure she really loved you. She probably really loved all those other men. She just couldn't stand the thought of having to live without all of you one day."
…
Once off the boat, the Witch Princess made her way into a bar. It was crowded and dark, but she made her way to the front counter and plopped herself down onto a stool.
She really wasn't much of a drinker, but she was sure with her sick expression and red eyes she looked drunk already. But what the hell. Nobody else's opinion mattered tonight.
She didn't take notice of the man sitting beside her until she'd received her first drink.
She was slightly surprised to recognize the shock of silver hair, the violet eyes, and the black cowboy hat.
Vaughn had looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. Though only he looked it, they were both still sober, perhaps the only two still sober in the entire joint. The Witch Princess had never pegged him for a drinker either, but he had a glass with some form of alcohol in it as well.
To be honest, she'd never had much patience for the anti-social cowboy. However, as the time went on and they both took in more drinks, she found herself spilling out her story, and soon Vaughn was talking as well. Her told her that he was afraid of committing to anyone. Though he could feel Sabrina pushing for it, he wasn't sure he wanted to settle down in one permanent place yet.
Any other day, she couldn't have cared less, and she suspected Vaughn felt the same way about her.
However, many drinks, and one night later, she found herself waking up with his arms wrapped around her, missing quite a few articles of clothing that she hadn't remembered taking off.
As she slipped out of Vaughn's still-sleeping grasp and gathered up her clothes she was very aware (even through her pounding headache) that it wouldn't make any difference to Vaughn whether he saw her when he woke up.
The feeling stuck until she came to a conclusion.
Maybe she'd misjudged her 'type'. Maybe her type was the type you never had to worry about coming back to.
This one-shot was written by: duckielover151
