I still don't own the Harvest Moon series. I didn't a second ago, and I don't now.
The boat rocked restlessly in the storm, waves lapped over board and made the deck slippery. It was going down. She could tell, and the pink haired family obviously could see that fact too. Hiding in your cabins hoping for the best would only bring your own destruction as the ship sank.
I'm not going to die now! She thought desperately. Not after everything I just went through to get here!
"Look!" Said the pink haired girl, barely heard over the roar of the rainfall, "An island!"
The ex-soldier followed the girl's outstretched finger and could confirm that there was indeed a large figure up ahead. Grabbing a life jacket, she jumped into the cold water and paddled with incredible strength. A large wave came as she approached the island and washed her ashore. She dragged her wet and tired body further inland out of the waves reach. The last two days finally took their toll and she faded into unconsciousness.
"Heelllooooo? Are you dead?" The girl feel a finger poking her cheek. Sitting up she groaned, her head felt like it was going to split and her throat burned.
"ZOMBIE!" Cried a boy's voice and she could hear him flee across the sand. She sat up and checked her surroundings with an experienced eye. A shack, appearing to have been abandoned years ago, a rock completely covered in seaweed, and lastly, a dock with no boats.
She jumped a little as something was thrust in front of her. "Gah!" She exclaimed, her voice coming out rusty and strained.
It was a cup of clear liquid. She wasn't foolish enough to presume it water. She took it tentatively and glanced behind her. A women, maybe in her early forties smiled at her friendly. The lady from the boat, the girl never forgot a face, both a blessing and a curse. She tried to match the smile, all the while still eyeing the pink haired woman cautiously.
"Hello! My name is Felica!" The woman's eyes didn't appear to open the girl noted, "And you just met my son…"
The girl put the cup to her lips as the woman spoke and discreetly sniffed it. Water.
"-Me and my family washed up here as well…"
A small taste test, the girl let the smallest drop land on her tongue. Not poisoned. She jugged it down, it instantly put out the fire in her throat.
"Anyway," said the woman, "What is your name?"
The girl froze, then quickly responded "Chelsea." The first name that came to mind. She liked it, it had a nice ring to it. Much better than her other name, Reaper. It was unfortunate that she could not recall her given name but then again, most of the soldiers in the Deadman army were taken at too young an age to recall.
"Nice to meet you Chelsea, I'm sure you will get along with my children splendidly! Now follow me please, let me introduce you." The woman told her. 'Chelsea' followed her soundlessly, experimentally moving each joint of her body to check for damage. Despite soreness, she was miraculously unscathed.
The woman led her up a path and into an old-looking house. Her family was situated around a table inside.
"This is Chelsea." Said the woman, Felicia, Chelsea told herself.
The bespectacled boy, presumably the one who ran from her on the beach looked at her but seemed too embarrassed to make eye contact. The girl at the table simply glared at her unimpressed. It was the old man who surprised her though. Despite looking ancient he sprung up from his seat, spry as a sixteen year old and marched straight up to her. In surprise the girl reached for her scythe only to remember it was no longer there. Instead she put on the brightest smile she could muster. Her new defense mechanism.
"Hello!" She told him.
He looked her up and down. "Perfect!" He said.
"Pardon?"
"You will be this islands rancher!"
"But gramps!" Protested the girl, "She's smaller than Elliot! She's way too weak to do that farm work!"
"Who are you looking at Natalie?" Asked the old man, "This girl may look small but she has muscles on her. I can tell!"
Chelsea grinned a little taking his words as a compliment.
"So what do you say? Asked the old man, "Will you start a new life with us on this island? I can teach everything I know, I may not look it but I used to be quite the farmer."
Chelsea smiled, perhaps her first genuine one on this island. A new life was all she wanted.
"Alright!" She said.
Two weeks had passed since the boat sunk. The old man, Taro, was true his word. The family gave her a huge property in the North side of the island to start her farm. Every day the old man would come and teach her new things about how to use her tools and how to raise crops. She had already harvested her first batch of turnips with seeds they found in the tool bin.
Today she had decided with utter determination that she would clear out at least half of her enormous field. For pride's sake, she chose the side closest to the entrance. It was already noon and the girl had made some progress, about a third of her goal. She wiped the sweat from her brow and glanced up, Elliot, the old man's grandson was making his way up the walkway to her farm.
"Wow! He exclaimed. "You did all of this this morning? Chelsea, you're amazing!"
Chelsea smiled slightly, the boy had come to trust her. Natalie on the other hand still seemed to hate her despite the sheer amount of smiles she shot her way. She wondered if the girl suspected her ingenuity.
Two more families had moved to the island. One, a woman, Mirabelle and her daughter Julia, who had started their own little ranch and were raising livestock. The second was a family of Eastern descent, a man Chen and his ten year old son Charlie. They had opened a store that supplied the basic materials.
"Thank you Elliot." She said brightly. His cheeks turned pink and he walked away mumbling something or other about having to go help his grandfather.
She stopped and decided to break for lunch. She went to Chen's store for some rice balls, since they were currently the only meal to be bought on this island. The bells chimed as she walked into the shop.
"Welcome!" Said the man.
"Hi lady!" Called his son.
She smiled and walked up to the counter. "Could I have some rice balls please?"
"Certainly!" Said the man.
She sat at the beach, listening to the seagulls as she ate her meal. She had already striped the rock of it's seaweed for the day and sat atop it. She had always liked high places, they made her feel bigger. Julia and Mirabelle had come to the beach and were now watching the sea intently. Swallowing the last of her lunch she hopped of the rock and walked over to them. Everyone in the town seemed to follow a schedule, whether they meant to or not, the beach at noon was unusual behavior for the two women.
"Hi!" Called Chelsea.
Julia jumped, wheeled around and sighed putting a hand to her chest in relief. "Chelsea! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
She grinned, "Aww, come on Jules, I doubt that's true." Back to her original objective, "Anyway, what are you guys doing."
"My cousin's coming by boat today." Julia said, "He's an animal dealer."
"Oh, a new person huh?" Chelsea said conversationally, "Maybe I'll wait with you."