Part Two: Responsibility

Jill leaned forward onto her hoe, clasping her hands over the handle and tucking her chin over them. The farmer had accomplished quite a lot today, having finally collected enough material stone for a sturdy chicken coop and would soon be eight thousand dollars richer due to the jewelry she had dug up in the mine.

However, those tasks took quite a lot of time away from the ranch. Realizing that she had too much to do and not enough time to get it done, she went in for some back-up early that morning.

"Thanks again, guys," she said sincerely to the busy-body sprites scuttling around her farm. "You really helped me out today."

"No problem," the captain, Forest, chuckled. "We were happy to lend a hand."

Jill closed her eyes and nodded. "Good thing, too. I've been passing out all over the place lately. Especially in the mines…" She ended the sentence with a sigh, stepping back from her newly upgraded tool to lift it over her head, muscles aching from the weight. With a small grunt, she brought it back down, tilling the earth.

When she was nearly done placing all eight squares an equal distance apart, she called absently, "Can someone grab the seed packets for me? They're by the selling bin."

"On it!" a sprite replied. A moment later, the green-clad creature was pulling on her pant leg and holding out the small pouch.

"Thanks…uh-oh." The farmer's smile was replaced by a panicked expression as she saw an approaching figure coming up the path.

She turned to the sprites urgently. "Everybody hide! Someone's coming!"

Forest only chuckled at her. "Oh, you don't have to worry about something like that."

Jill gaped, desperately wishing they would just get out of sight. "What? Why?"

"Watch," the captain answered simply.

"Hey, Jill? Are you home?" the young, feminine voice called out.

The farmer blinked. "Popuri? Yeah, I'm over here."

The pink-haired girl smiled as she approached her. "Hey, guess what?"

"Um," Jill had to work hard to keep her gave from flitting back to the sprites, who were swarming curiously in around them, whispering amongst themselves. Surprisingly, Popuri hadn't noticed them at all. "What's going on?"

"Well, the duck festival is tomorrow," she informed with a smile. "I thought I'd ask you to stop by."

Jill blinked again. "But I don't have any ducks yet."

"Oh, I know," Poupri said quickly. "But it's going to be fun, and it'll be a nice break from work."

The farmer appeared thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay, why not? I'll go."

"Great!" the pink-haired girl clasped her hands together then turned on her heels. She waved as she yelled, "You'd better have an entry next year!"

Jill nodded and waved back. "Will do!"

Once the younger girl was safely out of hearing distance, the farmer sighed heavily. Turning back to the sprites, she put her hands on her hips and frowned. "How come she couldn't see you?" she asked accusingly.

"Well," began Forest, not the slightest bit intimidated. "The Harvest King and Goddess will grant a few lucky humans-"

The farmer raised an eyebrow.

"…The ability to see them. This doesn't happen to often, but in your case, it was necessary."

Jill chose to bite back a retort, letting her curiosity overcome her anger. "Is there anyone who can see them without the Harvest King's blessing?"

Forest looked thoughtful. "Yes. Every few centuries, there are some humans so in tune with the world around them; they had no problem seeing us at all."

"Who were they?"

The captain looked her squarely in the eyes. "Your mother and father, actually."

After a moment, Jill leaned back and peered into the sky, sighing loudly. "I have no trouble believing that at all."

The farmer settled her gaze on the mob of sprites. "I want to be as good as they were."

Forest nodded. "You will get there as long as you keep saving the rest of us."

"No," she muttered quietly so they wouldn't hear. "There's more to it than that."

"Hey! Let's get back to work!" she remarked, picking the hoe up off the ground. The sprites, sometimes, felt like way too much responsibility.

Especially when they began to crawl over the mayor when he stopped by with her pay, completely oblivious of the magical creatures pulling on his mustache and playing with his hat, made Jill feel like she was knee deep in something she probably couldn't handle.

It didn't stop her from laughing at the sight, anyway.