A/N:

I would like to thank Adurna Skulblaka for reviewing.

Anywho, I'm having a little fun with this venture.

Disclaimer: Nope…still own nothing.

Every Reason Why

By Catsitta

Chapter One: Seal it with a kiss

The sound of wedding bells used to make her happy. It was a reminder of those innocent days so long ago when the world was simple. Not easy, not kind…but simple. Days when she was just a child and could not realize the fact.

Claire found herself smiling sadly as she recalled her earliest seasons spent alone on the farm, her eyes lingering on the happy couple kissing to seal their vows.

She had to grow up so fast after her father's death, and now, at twenty-five, the world had lost all wonder. All shine. It was as if all were painted in monochromatic shades of gray—when it used to be in color. Not that she had yet to get over the passing of her sire, but rather, new grief hung over her like a shroud. A heavy burden that had haunted her for over a year, and stripped from her the last of her innocence.

Last Spring, after four wonderful years of marriage, her husband, Gray, suffered a terrible accident at the Blacksmith's shop where he worked. The details were grim and involved a Maker machine and his arm. Less than a day later, after falling into shock, the man slipped away in his sleep. Whenever Claire thought about it herself, all she could imagine was the blood. All of it. Everywhere. And then she remembered how pale Gray looked in the hospital bed and how hollow she felt when Trent, the town doctor, informed her that there was nothing he could do. That their medical equipment was not sophisticated enough to treat such severe levels of trauma.

Things would never be the same with him gone.

Their daughter Hannah, three come the 4th of Winter, would grow up without a father. She would never meet the quiet man who won Claire's spirited heart. She would look in the mirror and see eyes that belonged to a stranger. She would wonder why and what if. And there was nothing Claire or anyone else could do to change that.

All anyone could do was keep going—move on with life and hope for the best.

It was hard, but a far cry from impossible.

"Mama?" Claire shook free of her musings and glanced at her toddling girl. Hannah, all dressed up in a blush colored skirt with a matching bow in strawberry-blonde hair, was staring at her with Gray's cobalt eyes. "All the other people are gone."

"You're right, they are, aren't they?" She murmured, taking her daughter's hand and standing up. "We should say congratulations to the new couple." Gustafa and Nami had taken their own pace when it came to getting married, choosing not to rush into things as some of the other couples in the valley. Their friendship was not lifelong like Celia and Marlin or Lumina and Rock, but their courtship by far the longest, outlasting the impulsive engagement of Muffy and Griffon and the odd arrangement between Flora and Carter by a span of years.

Nonetheless, the pair were married, a stranger, yet more perfect set none could ever find.

Except…herself and Gray…they contrasted each other in so many ways. No one thought it would ever turn into something more than friendship, much less into a declaration of eternal love.

"Nami looks happy." Hannah chirped, once again breaking through Claire's dark humor.

"She does…doesn't she?"

"And pweety."

"Yes…she looks very pretty." The reply was dull, automatic. It tasted sour upon the lips of a woman who was renowned in the valley for her vivacious nature. But, it was hard to keep up appearances when her mind kept putting herself in the bride's place, and Gray in that of the groom's. It was her blonde hair curling in the Summer breeze, rather than Nami's red. It was her blue eyes bright with adoration, not the bride's. It was her dressed in white, smiling, once again without a care in the world.

It was painful to fake a smile and wish them the best of luck.

"Come Hannah, it's time to go home."

"Awe."

"I have work to do. So be good for Uncle Taukura."

Together, they left the beach.

New Hope Farm would not tend itself.

000X000

Spending the morning at the wedding cut a huge chunk out of Claire's daylight hours. But, she never had a problem with working late. Nothing ever happened in the valley. Never was there any crime…There was not even a local drunk who made a nuisance of himself.

So, she was perfectly safe as she harvested the last of her crops from the special field she discovered six years ago behind the waterfall. Perhaps it was due to its years of being fallow or its closeness to the Goddess Pond, but something about the soil here made crops grow particularly quick and healthy.

"There…that's the last of them." Claire muttered as she wiped the dirt from her hands and adjusted the basket full of tomatoes and onions on her arm. Then she glanced at her wristwatch. Midnight. "I need to get some shut eye." And with that, she yawned and wandered out from behind the waterfall, her feet finding the path leading past the Goddess Pond with ease.

Drowsy, the blonde did not pay much attention to what was ahead.

At least, not until she walked straight into something…or someone, to be more accurate.

Startled, Claire staggered backwards, apologizing profusely.

"It's quite alright fair maiden, no need to…." The stranger in the dark began, a man by the sound of it, but his words trailed off into the merest of whisper. "…apologize."

"It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention…but..." She squinted, catching a glimmer of silver hair and the faint reflection of turquoise eyes. "You aren't from around here, are you?"

The stranger remained eerily quiet.

"Who are you?" Claire asked, taking a cautious step back.

"Don't you remember…?" His voice was cool, dismissive. "It has not been so long as for you to forget…Claire."

"How do you know my name?" She was nervous now.

A hand closed around Claire's wrist and those bright eyes were suddenly much too close, peering deeply into her own, burning with an intensity that set off a thousand different alarm bells inside her head. "Remember now?" The man's features were illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight—revealing to her a beautiful, yet somehow roguishly handsome countenance. His lips were twisted into a razor thin scowl, however, his thin brows furrowed.

Claire struggled, yanking her arm free and dropping her basket of vegetables. The man was much too close.

As she stepped backwards, the man seemed to fade into the inky darkness, only the outline of his hair glinting in the poor light. He did not come closer, but he did not move from where he stood, blocking the path and her way home. The blonde, now more than a little panicked and a touch angry, unclipped the watering can from her belt.

"Get away from me, or else!" Claire growled.

The stranger tilted his head, chuckling with dry amusement,"Or else what? You'll get me wet?"

Well, it was not much of a threat…but it was all she had. "I'm warning you."

He did not heed her warning, choosing to edge closer. "Ah, you always did look beautiful while angry." The man sounded almost condescending—was he mocking her? "Tell me Claire, do you remember me now? It has only been four years."

Claire swung her watering can. The stranger paused briefly, wiping back wet bangs.

"Stubborn as always, fair maiden."

"Don't call me that!"

The stranger was once again much too close for she could yet again see the color of his eyes. But before she could swing her watering can again, his hands were tangled in her hair and his lips crushing her own. What was frightening was the fact that she did not feel repulsed by his actions, nor did she immediately pull away. Had it been so long since a man touched her this way that she was willing to allow a stranger?

No.

"Remember me now?" The man inquired, his lips ghosting above her own.

Claire struggled away and smacked the man with the can as hard as she could in response.

"Creep!" She cried before turning, grabbing her basket and running as fast as her legs would take her. Much to her relief the man did not follow. But something was off. Something was wrong. For all he was a stranger in the dark, a man whom without prompting molested her, Claire could not help but feel…something for him. It was as if she did know him from somewhere…but, if they had met, if they had kissed…how could she have forgotten?

After all. It was not as if there were many men with silver hair and turquoise eyes.

TBC

A/N: ( Review please! Skye's point of view will come up next chapter so we will learn his motivations for returning to the valley and kissing the woman her wished he had never met.

Word Count: 1485 )