Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harvest Moon series.

AN: I had been debating about turning my latest oneshot Misunderstood: A Mortal's Little Secret into a multichapted fic. I have decided to keep it a oneshot, however, what happens will be explained in this story, and it will be multichaptered. As before, I have permission from Awesome Rapidash to write this, and he is even helping me with it! Thanks Rapid-chan!

This takes place after chapter 17 of Misunderstood, and Misunderstood: A Mortal's Little Secret.

Christy and Maya, a mortal girl and a witch, walked side by side through the dark forest. It was a little too eerie for the brunette's liking, but she knew they had to get away. Maya appeared to be deep in thought, but she didn't say anything.

Both of the girls were on the run. At the moment, they were trying to get as far away as they could, to find a place where they could settle down together as well as being accepted. But they wouldn't have to go this far if it wasn't for what happened not long ago.

On a recent trip to Forget Me Not Valley, Christy had met Hikari, the Witch Princess and the last known survivor of the Hychi clan. The blonde haired witch was married to her good friend Jack, who now owned Pallet Farm, and they had an adorable little girl named after her.

Meeting her wasn't too bad really. In fact, while the mortal had been a little jealous, she was very happy for Jack and Hikari. In fact, her problems had come when she met Maya's family; particularly her father, Daniel.

Maya and her family were members of the Huuga clan, who had attacked the Hychi clan a long time ago. They had been looking for the remaining survivor, but they couldn't find her. But now they knew someone who had the information they sought; Christy. But the brown eyed girl refused to tell, because before she left the valley and Mineral Town, she made a promise.

Maya suddenly gasped, catching her friend's attention. "I feel my father. He is close by, Christy!"

Christy looked alarmed as she turned her gaze to the witch, so she wouldn't be looking at the dark trees that surrounded them. "What do you mean you feel him?"

"It is difficult to explain," the black haired girl said. "All I know is that he is close."

The brunette looked a little nervous. "He caught up rather quickly, didn't he? We didn't have any time to get out of these woods!"

Maya only sighed before turning her attention to her friend. "I don't know what will happen. But, promise me this; no matter what happens, you won't break your promise, even if I am threatened."

"Even if you… but, Maya!"

"I have no regrets, Christy! When I ran away with you, I accepted what would happen!" The witch looked into her friend's eyes. "Now please, promise me!"

"Okay, Maya," Christy nodded slowly and managed a small smile. "I promise!"

Christy groaned as she opened up her eyes, finding herself in a cold place, with a stone wall behind her, and a concrete floor she was lying on. There were also steel bars in front of her, showing that she was a cell. The cage was wasn't very small, but at the same time, it wasn't very big either. From the look of the walls, she was pretty sure she was in someone's basement, and she had a pretty good idea where she was. She also knew who had brought her to this place.

Not long after she agreed to her friend's terms, she had been attacked from behind and fell on the grass. The last thing she could remember was hearing Maya's voice calling her name, and then she blacked out. Even though she didn't see who had hit her, she still knew. She had been captured by Daniel, Maya's father, which meant that she was back in her friend's home. But most likely it wasn't her friend's home anymore, ever since Maya's family came.

Christy shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to keep warm. She wondered about what had happened to Maya. The girl was truthfully afraid for her. Sure, they were family, but she had a feeling that even that wouldn't stop her friend from being hurt. That was proven when she made her promise not to tell, no matter what happened to her.

As Christy leaned against the stone wall, her brown eyes scanned the cold, dark basement. It didn't take her long to find a figure on the other side of the room. Almost weakly, she stood and walked over to the cell door, her legs trembling, because she didn't know what she would see.

The brunette's hand shot up to her mouth when she saw a ragged looking Maya in the cage across from her own. Her clothes were ripped, her hair looked tangled, and she just looked completely awful! "Maya… w… what happened to you?"

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs alerted the girl that someone was coming. She watched as a familiar black haired man turned the corner and stopped directly in front of her cell. He unlocked the door, and came inside. The girl tried to stand her ground as Maya's father loomed closer.

"Did you really think you could escape me? Foolish mortal!" Daniel glared at the girl angrily. "I don't know what you did, but you have my daughter convinced that what you are doing is justified. And while I don't believe so, she attacked me in order to save you!"

Christy gasped only slightly as she recalled how her unconscious friend looked. That was why she looked so terrible? She attacked her own father in order to help her?

"Now then, I will ask you to give me the whereabouts of the surviving Hychi clan member!"

The mortal girl glanced back at the man before her, trying to show determination over her fear. "I won't tell you anything! I made a promise, and I intend to keep it!"

"Do you not realize what I could do to you, you foolish girl?" Daniel demanded, looking coldly into Christy's brown eyes. "I could fill your life with pain and suffering. Would that be worth it?"

"I was willing to die to keep my promise!" Christy reminded him. "When I lied to you about being a member of the Hychi clan, I knew that I would die, but…. The reason I did was to keep my promise! I won't break it so easily!"

A small smirk crossed the man's face. "I see. Then perhaps I must use another method to convince you. And, I believe I know just the thing. Perhaps I should punish someone else in your place. Like Maya."

An alarmed expression filled Christy's face. "You wouldn't! She's your daughter!"

"She has defiled the name of her clan, and as such she no longer deserves to be known as my daughter," the wizard told her.

"She didn't dirty her hands by killing the members of the Hychi clan, like you have!" the brunette quickly accused.

"No, she chose to turn her back on her fellow clansmen. And to make matters worse, she knew that you were hiding the truth from us, yet remained silent!"

"You can't use that against her!" the brown haired girl yelled, hoping that she was defending her friend. "She couldn't tell you because of my promise! I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, including her!"

"That is true," Daniel agreed, but continued to stare coldly at the human girl. "But, once Maya knew of your little secret she didn't try to capture you to turn you over to me; she chose to flee with you!"

Christy placed her hands on her hips, staring back at the man that had hurt her friend. "It's because she is my friend! Friends help each other!"

"She is a member of my family, as well as the Huuga clan before being friends with you! No bond should be stronger than that!"

"A family bond doesn't matter in this case! At times, you have to follow your heart on what you feel is right!" As she spoke, the mortal girl placed one hand over where her heart was, beating hard against her chest. "Honestly, I think she has made some pretty good choices."

Daniel chuckled a little. "Of that I doubt. You've seen her yourself. Does it look like she has made some good choices?"

"She may have been hurt, but she does not regret her decisions," Christy explained slowly. "Before you attacked, she made me promise something else… that even if you threaten me by punishing her, I wouldn't say a word. It was as if she knew you would try that first, to use my friendship with her against me. Like her, I am willing to face what will happen." A small sigh escaped her lips, but she tried to look confident. "I may be your prisoner now, but like Maya, I do not regret my decision!"

Daniel took a few steps backward, but kept his gaze on the mortal girl. "You say this now. But in time you will beg for mercy!"

Christy tried to keep herself from looking as scared as she felt. After all, a promise to her friend Jack, whether of not he knew of her promise, was stronger than her fear. "I won't! Like I told you, I won't tell you what you want to know!

"Is that so? Well, let's see what happens to you when you experience some discomfort and starvation." Daniel chanted a spell and before the brown eyed girl knew it, she was on the cold, hard, concrete floor. He smirked at her and walked back toward the brunette taking some rope out of his pockets to bind her arms and legs. After all, a spell would fade over time, but regular ropes can only be removed by hand. Once he was he done tying her up, he removed a cloth from his other pocket. He placed it over the girl's mouth, tying it tightly behind her head.

Christy just moaned and groaned as this was going on. She knew what Daniel wanted, but she wasn't going to be giving him the satisfaction he wanted from this. There had been times she had gone without as much food and water than she would like. So, this just meant she would be hungry for a little while longer, and she would just have to endure some pain as well.

Besides, there was one thing she was sure of. She had the information that they needed. Because of that, the girl knew that she wouldn't die, that is until she told them what they wanted to know. But she was willing to protect this secret until the bitter end. She would protect Jack, Hikari and baby Christy.