A/N: It's me again! First chapter actually on time! I'm so proud.. Anyways, I'd like to thank my loverly reviewers, Trapper Chavez, Aurora Aurie, and awesomeness777. I know you ghost readers are out there, I get emails and can't figure out how to turn them off. Moar reviewz plz. I'm trying to get better at writing, and feedback is lovely.

I did have other ideas for this chapter, but after thinking about it, I agree with Aurora Aurie. I love Shea too much to make him a psychopath. So, I went with something still threatening, but much less psychotic than a dead bird. I still had to incorporate the bird, though, so it might seem odd.

Chapter 4

Chelsea woke up early the next morning, and for the first time in a long while, seemed happy to do so. She whistled all through her morning ritual. By that time, her cow had forgiven her for her previous lateness, and she was able to successfully feed the chickens through the window. All in all, a wonderful morning.

Unfortunately, Chelsea's lack of concentration led to several unfortunate mishaps with the watering can. First, she accidentally tripped and the whole thing spilled all over her. This, of course, resulted in an astounding level of cursing. Next, once the can was full again, she got all the way over to the fields, and dropped it on her foot. Again, more cursing.

"Oh, this is sooo not worth it." Chelsea threw the can into the middle of the field, and left the water to seep out of the can. "Well, now that that's done, what does one wear to a Starry Night Festival? It's really early, but still.." She wandered back over to her house, and noted the lack of flowers from the mysterious stranger. She shrugged it off, and went to look inside her closet. "Well, let's see.. Yellow t-shirts.. Jeans.. Vests.. Bandannas.. Damn." She pushed through all of her oddly similar clothes to the back of the closet, where all of the ridiculously girly clothes she got as presents from her mom and Lanna resided. "Mini skirt.. No.. The smallest dress I've ever seen.. No.. I can't figure out why my mom gave me a wedding dress as soon as I turned 18.. Creepy.. What the crap, a ballerina dress?" And there it was, tight-fitting bodice, poofy tissue-paper skirt and all. Sunshine yellow. Absolutely hideous.

Chelsea gagged and slammed the door shut. "No way. It's Elliott, for Goddess's sake. Sabrina has.. Conservative dresses. I'll borrow something from her." She smiled at her brilliant idea, and left her house. She walked down the valley, when she saw the villagers standing in a large group around Elliott's house. Elliott saw her out of the corner of his eye, and turned to face her, a weak smile on his face.

"Um, hi Chelsea.. I, uh.." He looked distinctly sad and disappointed. "I'm very sorry, but I don't think I can accompany you during the Starry Night Festival tonight. Early this morning, someone threw odd little balls made of feathers through all the windows in our house. They're harder than you'd think." He chuckled, then sombered up again. "Anyways, I need to help my family put in the new windows, since we can't afford to pay Gannon to do it for us. I'm really sorry.."

Chelsea nodded and grabbed Elliott's hand. "It's okay. I totally understand. Another time, then." She kissed his cheek, causing him to turn beet red, then turned and went back to her farm. She murmured, "Well, at least I don't have to worry about what to wear. There's always a silver lining! I'll just cook for myself, then."

She sighed softly, and opened the front door to her small house, and then everything went dark.

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Shea looked down at the fallen girl, a large bump on her head slowly forming. He frowned, slightly guilty at what he had done, but shook it off, and easily picked her up, one arm under her legs, the other under her shoulders, her head leaning on his shoulder.

Shea walked through the open door and gently kicked it closed, trying not to disturbed Chelsea too much. He quickly walked into the forest next to her house, keeping his head turned behind him, to be sure they weren't followed. He half ran back to his hut, ferns and leaves occasionally hitting Chelsea's face. Each time, she groaned and stirred, but managed not to regain consciousness.

Wada watched Shea burst into the hut and lay Chelsea on his bed, a look of utter shock on his face. "What.. You do?!"

Shea brushed Chelsea's hair out of her face, then sat on the edge of the bed and looked to Wada. "She.. Not safe in town. Bring to hut to make her safe. Please, Wada, don't bring back. Okay?"

Wada glared at Shea, unsure of how to properly respond. "Others will come. You know?"

"I know. But I must protect her. They hurt. I not hurt."

Wada shook his head, and they both gazed at Chelsea. Wada thought of possibly being forced to leave again. She only thought of Chelsea, and how innocent she looked when unconscious. He touched the bump on her skull, then jumped back when she stirred.

Chelsea opened her eyes and looked around, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes fell on her captors, and she blinked slowly. "Huh?"

Shea grinned and bounced slightly on his toes. "My name Shea! This is Wada." He pointed over to Wada, who was sitting on his own bed. He nodded, still looking concerned.

Chelsea frowned and furrowed her brow. "Uh, my name is Chelsea.. Where am I?'

"Shell.. Sea? Shellsea, you in my and Wada's hut. I bring you here."

Chelsea stared blankly at Shea, taking in what he had just said. "Huh?"