"I just….I just don't understand it," Chelsea said, after a long silence had passed. She had emptied the wooden chest out completely, surprised to find it holding more than she had thought. A few more tools, plus several more seed bags. There had even been a few strange bottles mixed in, which Vaughn had identified as animal medicine.

"What's there not to understand?" he responded from across the room. Vaughn was facing away from her, rummaging through the dusty cabinet Chelsea had noticed before. She could hear the rustling and shifting of objects within its drawers, but paid little attention to the noise. Her mind was stuck on the bigger picture. She didn't entirely expect him to understand, or even care.

But perhaps Chelsea was being too judgmental of him. She hardly knew him, after all.

"It's just…It's almost as if something just right up snatched them from this place. Whoever lived here, I mean. It's like whatever caused them to leave took them by surprise. It's unnerving."

Although she didn't see it, Vaughn turned to frown at her briefly. "You're over thinking it. Maybe they got tired of livin' in the sticks and went back to civilization."

Besides neither animal nor person being present, it was almost as if life on the farm had simply been frozen in time. Upon closer exploration, it was Vaughn who discovered the feeding bins. It had been a shock to see an abundance of corn-based feed flood from the chicken coop's bin once it was opened. Vaughn seemed less amused by the discovery than Chelsea, as it was his boots that were buried in it.

It was the same with the stable and the barn, as well. The feeding bins were chalk full of food, suggesting that whoever the farmer was had anticipated having enough to feed them far in advance. The feed would have lasted for months, at least.

Chelsea's suspicions were only solidified as they had examined the home more closely. This time, it was Chelsea who, against good judgment, decided to open the refrigerator. The pungent stench of rotten food invaded her senses almost immediately. Who would keep a refrigerator stocked full of crops if they were planning on leaving?

As she had staggered away from the kitchen, holding her nose and willing herself not to be sick, she had seen Vaughn shaking his head at her slowly, a low rumble emanating from his chest. Needless to say, it was Chelsea who was less than amused by this particular discovery.

Standing up, Chelsea stretched before turning to Vaughn. "We should go. Before we do anything else, I need to tell Taro about-"

Chelsea watched as he casually pocketed two bottles of some kind of liquid from the cabinet before looking back at her guilelessly. Looking at them more closely, Chelsea assumed them to be some sort of alcohol.

"Did you just steal those bottles from the cabinet drawers?"

Taking one of them from his pockets, he looked at it contemplatively before looking back up at Chelsea. "I reckon I did. Why, you want one?"

Chelsea frowned. "Doesn't that seem kind of wrong to you, stealing from someone's home?"

"Nope. Way I see it, they're not gonna use it now. Might as well make good use of 'em. You want one or no?"

"No…"

Vaughn shrugged. "No skin off my nose." Without another word, he strode off past her, undeniably expecting her to follow after him. Sighing to herself, Chelsea had no other option as she ran after him.

What a strange, strange man he was.

0o0o0o0o

As the pair passed through the entrance to the beach, it was evident that they had missed a lot in the time they had spent investigating the farmland. Had they really been out there for that long? As Chelsea took in the shadows cast by the wreckage, and the setting sun, she estimated that it had to have been several hours since she first set off with Nathan and Chen. Time passed by quickly on the island.

Taro stood in the middle of the clearing again, with most of, if not all, the castaways gathered around him. Fleetingly Chelsea wondered if this many meetings a day would become a normal thing, before she noticed the hunk of hollow wreckage sitting off to the side of him. It was full of something, something colorful, with varying shapes and sizes…As soon as she realized what it was, it took all of her self-restraint not to go running up to take it all for herself.

Food! Some of the searchers must have hit the jackpot somewhere. Although, Chelsea wasn't necessarily surprised. On an island like so, uninhabited and full of natural resources, food must be abundant.

Her eyes scanning the crowd, Chelsea smiled as two pairs of waving arms summoned her over. Leaving Vaughn behind, she ran over to Elliot and Natalie as quickly as she could without drawing too much attention to herself.

"You're late," Natalie commented in a whisper. "No big deal, though. The old geezer's just rambling on about food rations."

"-create a system that assures each person receives enough food to sustain themselves. Hoarding of the food is forbidden, and we will have patrols going out daily in order to collect more-"

"He sounds so official," Chelsea murmured. "He's taking this very seriously."

Natalie scoffed, unconvinced, while at the same time Elliot replied, "Yeah…but I think he knows what he's doing. He's probably the best candidate for leader right now. He knows all about living off the land. Used to be a real farmer, you know."

Chelsea stared at him, astonished. "What?" she whispered urgently, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Elliot blinked, suddenly unsure. "H-he used to be a farmer in his younger days…A real good one, my mom says. That's how he can predict the weather so well."

Chelsea turned back towards Taro, looking at him in a new light. She would have never, ever guessed…that this old, wisp of a man once ran a farm, and was apparently quite good at it. But the more she thought about it, the more sense it made…How else could he have known that the weather today was to be sunny, cloudless? Or how else was his uncanny knowledge of the land and its resources supposed to be explained?

"Chelsea?"

To her right, both Elliot and now Natalie as well were watching her, seemingly waiting for an answer to their unasked questions.

"I found a farm." It slipped out before she could stop herself. Silently Chelsea cursed herself; she didn't want word to spread of the farm yet. How would everyone react?

Expressions of shock and confusion passed through their visages, but before they could ask anything further, the group of castaways surrounding them broke apart. Most of them were moving towards the cornucopia-like piece of debris holding the food; Chelsea took it as a sign that some sort of agreement had successfully been made concerning the handout of food. Unfortunately, as more people began milling around the food source, Chelsea quickly lost track of Taro.

"Taro, Taro!" she called out, running off without another word of explanation to the siblings. "Taro!"

Zigzagging through the throng of people, many of whom gave her rather curious looks, Chelsea sighed in mild frustration as she finally found him. He was talking to several other castaways, most of whom looked to be listening to him deeply. At this rate, it would be all night before she got a chance to speak with him.

It's not like it's a big deal or anything, she found herself thinking in a rare moment of true irritation. Just a farm, that's all.

"Pardon me, my lady…Would you care for some fruit?"

A man had approached Chelsea in her angry stupor, and upon turning, Chelsea found herself face to face with a young blonde man, holding out fruits to her in an offer.

"U-um…Why, yes. I would love some. Thank you."

The man smiled, a charming grin that seemed to dazzle. Chelsea couldn't help but to return the gesture as she graciously took the fruits from him.

"My name is William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Reading Roger Southwark Alnwick Plymouth Junior Regison III."

"O-oh, wow…That's a very long name…"

The man laughed, a high, clear sound. "Yes, it is quite the mouthful. Worry not, my lady. You may call me Will."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Will. My name is Chelsea."

"What a delightful name. It is only fitting, for such a fair maiden as yourself." The man smiled again, and Chelsea, despite the fact that she rarely was affected by such charisma, was besides herself.

"Chelsea, would you be ever so kind as to grant me the honor of having this celebratory feast with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Chelsea said with a smile. It would be refreshing to share a meal with someone, even more so with someone kind and agreeable like Will.

Finding a vacant log to sit on, the two settled down for the first meal to be had since landing the previous afternoon. Chelsea hadn't realized just how hungry she had been until she took a bite of a ripe, reddish-yellow fruit. As soon as the fruit touched her tongue, an explosion of flavor sent her taste buds soaring. Sweet, piney juice flooded her mouth, and Chelsea recognized the juice as being from a mango.

"Interesting, is it not, how lovely food tastes after not eating for a long time."

Chelsea nodded, agreeing with him. She then turned towards him, recalling something. "I remember seeing you from the first night. You sat with the pale man who was unconscious on the beach…And a girl, who looked related to them."

Will nodded, looking very regal. Despite the dirt that was smeared across his clothing and skin, and his bedraggled blonde hair, he managed to maintain a very sophisticated, put-together air.

"Indeed, they are related. The man is my Uncle Regis, and his daughter Sabrina is my dear cousin. As fate would have it, we were traveling together abroad when the ship was destroyed."

"I'm sorry," Chelsea murmured, genuine sympathy in her words. She felt lucky all of a sudden. At least she hadn't been on a vacation, of sorts, when the ship had crashed.

"No matter, dearest Chelsea. Unbeknownst to my uncle and cousin, a part of me feels rather happy in washing up on this island."

Puzzled, Chelsea simply looked at him, waiting for an explanation. He seemed to understand, and smiled gently.

"You see, my lady, I have traveled quite a lot, as of late. My father has told me to see the world, wanting me to gain knowledge of the many cultures and lifestyles of the world."

Will paused then, his smile deflating just slightly as he looked out across the beach towards the ocean. Chelsea followed his gaze, taking in the sun as he sunk lower beneath the water's surface. Light pinks and oranges illustrated the sky amongst the blue, making for a truly gorgeous sunset. She could just begin to make out the thousands of stars dotting the sky, and somewhere amongst them the crescent moon.

"I have been accompanied part of the way by my relatives, which has been a comfort. But I have found, throughout all of my travels, that I grow to be more lonely and homesick with each place I leave behind. In a way, I dare say that I am almost glad to be stranded here, as it means I may not have to leave again for quite a while."

"I understand where you're coming from."

They were silent for a few moments, watching as the waves crashed on the sand gently, the last of the day's sun reflecting against them.

"This island suits me quite well, from what I have seen today. I have faith that it is very possible for us to survive here."

"Have you seen much of the island already?" Chelsea asked, surprised by his statement.

Will nodded. "I was placed into the mapping group, along with a quite admirable young maiden who goes by the name of Lily. With the amount I have traveled, I have become adept at cartography. We have begun to scale the island and its entirety, while mapping out important land features. From what we have seen so far, this island is very remarkable."

"Wow," Chelsea replied, somewhat impressed. She, herself, could barely read a map key.

Before she could say anything further, however, a woman traipsed up to their sitting place quietly. She was the exotic looking woman from the day before, who had brought up the idea of rescue.

"Ah, Lily," Will said with a smile. "How good it is to see you again."

"My humble greetings. I apologize, I do not intend to interrupt, but Taro requests your presence. There is something pertaining to the map that he wishes to discuss with us."

"I shall be there at once," Will said. The woman, Lily, nodded at them both before walking away. He turned apologetically towards Chelsea, looking regretful.

"It is very reluctantly that I must depart from you now, dear Chelsea. I humbly apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I cannot let down those who need me."

Chelsea smiled, waving him off. "Oh, you're fine. Go on, they need help. Thank you for the food, and thank you for sharing this meal with me."

Looking relieved, Will smiled the most charming of smiles. There was no doubt in Chelsea's mind that many a young woman had once pined to be at his side. "Thank you, fair maiden, for understanding, and for allowing me the pleasure of dining with you as well. I wish to speak with you again, and soon. But for now, I must wish you adieu." Leaning forward, he kissed her hand in farewell. Chelsea felt her cheeks grow warm, to her own dismay, but said nothing.

With a final wave, Will set off in the same direction Lily had left from, his blonde hair blowing in the wind. Chelsea shook her head, smiling. She had certainly never met anyone like Will before.

By now, the sun had fallen completely below the horizon. People were settling down, having eaten and drank from the river. Most had wandered back to the shelter they had taken the night before. Chelsea imagined they would be using these temporary shelters for at least a few more days, until the buildings were properly explored and the worst parts fixed up. She hoped the storm wouldn't return.

In the meantime, Chelsea sighed in satisfaction as she saw Taro, alone, watching the castaways with a satisfied look in his eyes. Stumbling across the sand towards him, Chelsea would finally be able to tell him of her findings, something she had been waiting to do for what seemed like days.

As soon as he saw her coming, he smiled, recognizing her. Chelsea pulled him to the side, where she was sure nobody would overhear. She didn't want everyone to know quite yet, else there be pandemonium. Three people was already pushing it. Asking if she could talk to him, he obliged, curious as to what she was so eager about.

The words slipped out from her mouth easily as she launched into her findings. Almost instantly, she found them replaced by a small, but inarguably there, feeling of hope.


Author's Note: Greetings again, readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for reading as always. I would like to address the placement of Will and Lily as characters in this fic, despite it taking place on The Island of Happiness, not Sunshine Islands. Alas, I cannot use SI's map because I don't know it. :( I tried to include Will and Lily in this however, for I am planning on them both having essential roles in the plot. I'd appreciate it very much if you let me know if I was portraying them OOC or anything, or what I could do to put them more in character. Thanks again for all the feedback I'm getting, and happy reading!