HALF BREED

Author's Note: I don't own Harvest Moon. I just own my characters. This is for my good friend, The Stone left Unturned. And I will be making a regular Fic for this soon. It's called Shadow Island. It's based off my forum Please review!

Chapter One: Painful Past

Icie Baker sat on a bench on the boat, heading to Shadow Island. She had run away from the Baker Mansion, wanting to get away from the controlling and abusive parents. She knew about the island because her grandfather had been born there and died there. Her heart clenched at the memory. The night where she had to watch her grandfather was brutally murdered in front of her eyes.

Sighing, Icie let a single tear run down her cheek as she shifted on the bench. The cool air shifted her hair, playing with it teasingly. The water lapped against the boat as it cut through the blue water. Sea gulls screeched loudly from the sky, circling in the air, looking for pieces of food that they hopped the tourists would drop by accident.

"Something wrong child?" a gentle voice broke Icie out of her thoughts, causing the girl to turn toward the owner. Icie smiled slightly, seeing an old man that slightly resembled her grandfather. He had graying hair, busy eyebrow and a full beard. He was hunched over and leaning on a hand carved cane.

Icie wiped the tear away and gave the man a small smile. "No…not really," she said, her voice wavering a bit. The man took out a clean hankie and gave it to her. Icie took it and used it to wipe her eyes, sniffling a bit.

"It sounds like a lot if a nice young girl like you is on her own," he said, taking a seat next to her. "Now tell ol' Jack what's troubling you." He patted Icie's back gently, like a grandfather would do.

"Are you sure?" Icie asked, uncertain. "If I tell you, you may not believe it. It's pretty unbelievable tale."

Jack laughed kindly. "I'm an old man, lass," he said. "I've seen a lot of things in my time. I'm sure it's not so bad." Icie face took on sad look as she looked at the ocean, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Now now," Jack said comfortingly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Icie broke down crying as she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a hug.

Icie continued to cry, resting her head on the old man's shoulder. The tears didn't want to seem to stop. Her body shook with each pain filled cry. Some of the passenger's heard Icie's cries and raised a curious brow at her direction, wondering why she was crying. Jack waved them off, thinking that the girl didn't want an audience.

The crying was slowly losing steam as Icie settled down, hiccupping and sniffling as she wiped the tears away and blowing her nose with the handkerchief. "S-Sorry…" she mumbled pitifully, making a whining sound in the back of her throat, making Jack raise a grey brow in question.

"I think you better start from the beginning, lass," Jack encouraged her. "So I can understand yer problems and maybe help if I can."

Icie nodded slowly, knowing that he was right. "A-Alright…" she said quietly. "Where do I even begin…?" She shifted into a comfortable spot, taking a breath and letting it out slowly.

"The beginning always helps," Jack said gently, wondering what could make her so upset like that. He gave a kind smile.

Icie could barely muster a smile back at him, knowing that he wouldn't want to be near her when she told him her story. Closing her eyes for a bit, Icie tried to think of a way to begin the story. Opening her eyes, Icie started to speak.

"It all started when I was born," she began slowly. "I wasn't born into a loving family, like a lot of kids do. My parents were anything but loving." Her voice had lost all of its feeling; it just sounded cold and dead. Jack started to worry about the girl.

Icie's hands formed into tight fists as she gripped her pant legs, letting the memories flow through her, feeding her resolve to talk about her bloody and horrid past. The pain, the anger, the hurt ran through her veins, giving her almost vaporized strength new life.

"Lass?" Jack asked, a little fearful for the girl's state of mind. "If it's too painful for you to talk about it, I understand."

"No," she said, keeping her emotions controlled. "No, it's alright. I-I…it's just been too long since I've talked about my past. It may do me some good."

Jack nodded in understand, finally seeing the reason behind her anger and hurt. "Just take your time," he said gently.

Icie nodded, taking in slow breaths to calm herself, knowing it wouldn't do any good if she got upset. She needed to get it out, to let someone else know her pain.

"This may sound crazy," Icie finally spoke, loosening her grip on her pants. "But do you believe in werewolves?"

"Werewolves?" Jack asked, confused. Icie nodded, keeping her gaze on the ocean below them. Jack thought for a second and nodded. "I sure do. They're not the nicest of people but what does werewolves have to do with this?"

"Because I'm a half breed," Icie said slowly, her voice hitching slightly. "I'm half human and half werewolf." She went silent, waiting for Jack to start laughing historically, like so many others have. When he didn't start laughing, Icie turned to look at him curiously. She saw that he had a thoughtful expression on his old face.

Finally, Jack spoke, "If that is true, child than you have a hard but promising future ahead of you. There will be pain."

Icie blinked slowly, surprised that he was taking the news well, a little too well. "Uh…" she started, not sure what to say to that.

Jack smiled a kindly smile at her. "I'm very well familiar with that look," he chuckled. "I get that from my own granddaughter. I'm just surprised that you lived this long with the purebloods being around." Icie nodded. "Uh yeah," she said, still feeling shocked. "My grandpa helped with that. He's human."

"I see, I see," He said, still smiling. "You're lucky than. But anyway, I'm not surprised that you're shocked by me taking this so well. It's like I said, I'm old and I've seen plenty in my time. But isn't it extremely rare that for half breeds to live past the age of five?"

Icie chuckled. "Okay. And yes, it's extremely rare for half-bloods to live past the age of five and the only reason why I'm alive is because of my grandpa," she explained.

"Sounds like your grandpa is a great man," Jack said. "Sounds like he loves you very much." Icie smiled sadly. "He did. He's dead now. He was murdered by a lone wolf, when I was ten," she said. "He used to live on Shadow Island. And every chance I get, I'd come here and visit him."

"This tale of yours is starting to be very interesting," Jack said.

Icie chuckled. "Hold onto your hat, Jack," she grinned. "This tale isn't going to be pretty."

To Be Continued….